Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-10-12

THE LATE AMER OF AFGHANIsTAN.
kingmaker in his own country or as a
fugitive from it, as governor Of the
CisoXian provinces, as an exile in the
courts of Meshed, Khiva and Bokhara,
as Il pensioner of the Russians at Sa
marcand and finally as the British NOM
inee to the throne of Afghanistan-n
all these roles he was the strong figure
in the miserable drama of Afghan poll
tics.
During the civil war in 1864 in AZ
ghanistan he played leading part on
the side of his father against his uncle
and gained several battles. The great
victories of Shaikhabad and Khelati-
ghilzai were mainly due to his ability.
The governorship Of Balkh was in
trusted to him, where he made himself
popular by his moderation and by
marrying the daughter Of the chief CT
Badakshan.
In 1868, however, he was unable to
offer successful resistance to his
cousin Yakoub Khan, son Of Shere Ali,
who defeated him at Bajgah, near Ba-
main, and also finally at Tinah Khan.
Abdurrahman then fed from the coun-
try, ultimately reaching Russian terri
tory. The Russian General Kaufman
permitted him to live at Samarcand,
and allowed him pension Of $4,000
rubles year. Here he remained until
1870, when he slowly made his way
through Balkh to the Kabul frontier,
and in July of 1880 he was formally
chosen by the leading men of kabul
and acknowledged by the British In
dian government as ameer of Afghan
istan. From the British Indian gov
eminent he received regular subsidy
of 100000 a year, with large gifts or
artillery. rifles and ammunition to i'm
prove his military force.
In the spring of 1893, when it was
thought that the ameer was to fulfill
his long cherished plan Of visiting Eng
land, news came from central Asia
that he had determined to proclaim his
heir coregent, and. although he had to
give up his trip. he did give his son
larger share in the management of the
government than formerly. The deter
mination to make his son coregent, to
rule with plenary power in his absence,
was, of course, the most natural pre-
liminary to such an undertaking, for
to leave the Afghan throne without an
occupant, even for q short time, would
be fatal.
The Ameer Abdurrahman had five
legal wives. The first of them is q
woman Of very high rank, grand
niece, indeed, of Dost Mahomet. She
had only one son, who would probably
have been the heir had he not died in
boyhood. The second wife is childless,
and so is the fifth. The fourth wife is
royal princess and Is now the head
of the harem, but her only son also
died years ago. The only legitimate
living sons Of the ameer, therefore, are
the two born to him by his third wife.
Habibullah and Nasrullah. The for
mer will succeed the la = ameer.
A man Of great statue and colossal
strength, with broad, massive coun-
tenance, brilliant black eyes, dignified,
commanding bearing, great intellectual
power and Of wide range Of informa-
ton, Abdurrahman controlled turbu-
lent, warlike people with a rod of iron.
Not even the autocrat of all the Rus
sias nor the sultan of Turkey has been
more absolute in his authority, and
his motto has been:
zone must be lion If he would gov
ern wolves"
The death Of the ameer of Afghanis.
tan may precipitate the long threatened
conflict between Russia and Britain in
the far east.
In his fascinating autobiography pub
lished not long ago in London he speaks
Of his country as "a goat at which a
lion British 1ndia) from one side and a
terrible bear Russia) from the other
side are staring, ready to swallow at
the first opportunity"