Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-26
THE GATE OF INDIA
Where England's Forces Are
Always on Guard.
MEN WITH AUTHORITY
EVER ON THE LOOKOUT FOB
THEIR coUNTRY's GOOD.
How Many War Has Been Averted
Along the Border-Some Strik-
ing Anecdotes.

| Written for The Evening Star.
At a meeting of the Royal Colonial In
stitlte in London some time ago dues-
ton affecting the administration OF India
affairs came up in the course of discus
sion following a lecture. The institute is
a peculiar body which his exact prototype in
this country. Nearly every one of its mem
bers is man who, has made a great naue
| for himself in the service Of his coun-
| try.
| Admirals; generals, cabinet ministers and
colonial governors got up one after another
and expressed their views on the point in
Then an old, white-haired man arose from
a seat in the back of the room and asked
the chairman's permission to speak.
He was in evening dress, for he had just
breast of his coat simply blazed with deco
rations and medals. Compared with the
other speakers, however, he was quite an
obscure person. being only retired major
general of the Indian army.
II am the father of Grant of Thobal,"
he began, land my boy wrote me letter
the other day about this very matter. He
said"
farther. The entire assembly ambassadors,
admirals, cabinet ministers and all-rose to
their feet and burst into wild cheering
The name Of Grant of Thobal is one to
lieutenant in command Of a small post of
native troops on the northern frontier of
India when the Manipuri rising broke out.
| He held his little fort with handful OF
| soldiers, none of them of his own color,
against thousands of fanatical barbarians.
Attack after attack, by night well as
by day, he repulsed, and at last the enemy
! settled down to starve him out.
! Act Of a Hero.
| He had been besieged for week when he
heard, through native spy in his employ,
that the Manipuris were going to detach
part of their force to raid a mission station
about forty miles off, where there were
some English women.
Ten minutes after hearing this news
Grant of Thobal rode out from his fort with
a third of his men at his back. cut his way
through the beleaguering host and did not
draw rein until he reached the mission sta
ton. He made the people leave that place
| and come with him, placing them In the
| center of his little force.
| After a fierce hand-to-hand fight, he cut
| his way back to the fort. He was wound
ed in half a dozen. places by bullets and
/ tulwar slashes, and SO were most of his
/ men; but the women whom they defended
| reached the fort in safety. Grant OF
| Thobal held it for few weeks longer until
| the siege was raised by a British column.
| The incident appealed powerfully to the
| British imagination. Grant became a ma
| tional hero not alone on his own merits,
but because everybody recognized that he
| was merely type of thousands or otnef
| young soldiers and officials who are ruling
india for England, and guarding the Indian
| frontier against the native tribes and Rus
| STA Nine out Of ten of his colleagues would
have done as well as he did If they had
| BEEN placed in his position When the menu
| bers of the Royal COLONIAL Institute cheeree
his name, they knew that they We're really
| cheering the genius of British rule in India
the thing of which, next to the British
| navy. Britons are proudest.
| Adventure and Romance.
There are no men who have more adj
yenturous and romantic lives than Brit
| aims servants in India, especially those sta
| toned on the northwest frontier Whether
| they are civilian officers or soldiers, the
| same holds true. The official has to fight
| quite as often as the soldier, and the SOL
| der frequently has to be ruler and dlplo-
| matiSt as well a warrior.
| Nowhere else in the world, probably DO
| compare lively unknown men have such tre-
mendous work to do, such great problems
! to solve, such frightful risks of making. or
| preventing war TO run IN the course OIL
| their days work.
This was particularly exemplifed in the
| case of the late Sir Robert Warburton,
| who died a year or two ago after serving
| his country as few men have done. He was
| only a colonel in the Indian army when he
died. but 1t is safe to say that during his
career he saved England from at least half
/ a dozen frontier wars.
| And yet he was not a pure-bred English
man. Therein lay his peculiar power. His
father was an officer in the British army
| and his mother was an Afghan princess.
He was sent home to be. educated at Elton,
oxford and Sandhurst. When he grew up
| he became an officer, like his father, and
| was sent to India. long-sighted COM
| mander -in-chief assigned him to special
| duty on the Afghan frontier.
| Became One Of Them.
| Warburton knew nothing of the Afghans.
| for he was as thoroughly English any
man could be who had gone through his
| training. But when he got in touch with
| them he could understand them in a few
| weeks better than gray-bearded political
officers who had studied them for a life
| time. He soon learned their language, and
| the chiefs of all the tribes along the from
| tier hailed him as one of themselves.
For twenty years he kept the peace of
| the border. single-handed. better than an
| army corps could have done. His adven-
lures during that time would have fur
| nished material for score of thrilling nov
| els
Again and again fanatical "Ghazis." who
hated the English and objected to his in
| fiuence over the tribes. tried to assassinate
| him. He was shot at. stabbed. served with
| poisoned food; but he seemed to bear a
charmed life, and eventually he died in
| bed.
| He rarely spoke of his exploits, but men
| who served with him would tell tales of a
| native coming by midnight to the fort
| where Warburton held command. with a
| horse dying under him from exhaustion
| and message that would not brook an
| instant's delay
| Warburton would arise from his camp bed
| talk to the man in his own tongue for a
| few minutes. and then ride off alone with
| him. Perhaps they would travel fifty miles
| to the chief village of some tribe of WazirIs
| or Pathans. They would arrive there iust
as some fanatical mullah was lashing the
| tribesmen into fury of rage against the
| infdel British. Warburton would take the
floor and speedily convince them of the
| folly of their intended raid. He would thus
prevent one of those troublesome hill wars
| which occasionally cost England a few
| hundred lives and few millions of dolIa rs.
| This he did not once or twice, but many
| times.
The British authorities took too long con-
siderng the proposal and before they made
up their minds the Ameer OF Afganistan
| undid Robertson's work by picking a
| quarrel with the Kafirs and adding their
| country to his dominions after a brief war
| There is a man living in Bombay TODAY
| who probably does more even than War
| burton did to keep the peace not only Of
| the Indian frontier, but of all India He Is
| his highness Sultan Mahomed Shah the
/ Aga Khan. hereditary head of all the Is
| mailiah sects of Mohanlmedans, which in
| clude many millions of the finest lighting