The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-10-12
THE SPIES
A. D. 1912


From earliest childhood Eldred Pot
finger was out of place in crowded
England. Gunpowder is good exciting
stuff to play with, and there could be
no objection to his blowing up himself
and his little brother, because that was
all in the family; but when he mined
the garden wall and 1t fell on a couple
of neighbors, they highly took offense !;
and when his finely invented bomb
went off at Addiscombe college he rose
TO the level of public nuisance. On
the whole, 1t must have been a relief
TO his friends when he went to India.
There he had an uncle, the president in
Scinde, shrewd man who shipped
young Pcttinger to the greatest posi-
bic distance in the hinder parts of
Afghanistan
The political situation in Afghani-
oriental kingdoms, and the full particu-
lars would bore the reader just as they
bored me. 1t was Pottinger's business
TO find out and report the exact state
of affairs at a time when any white
man visiting the country was guaran-
teed, if and when found, to have his
throat cut. Being clever at native
languages, with a very foxy shrewd-
ness, the young spy set off, disguised
as native horse dealer, and reached
Cabul, the Afghan capital.
The reigning ameer was Dost Ma
VIZ p
with Kamran, king Of Herat, and Pot
fingers job was to get through Herat
without being caught by Dost. The
horse-copper disguise was useless now,
so Pottinger became a Mahommedan
syed, or professional holy man. He
slipped out of the capital on foot by
night and made his way to his camp.
So he reached the country of the Haza-
reh tribes, where his whole expedition
was captured by the principal robber,
Jakoob Beg, who did fairly good
business in selling travellers, as slaves,
except when they paid blackmail.
'The chief" says POttinger, was the
finest Hazareh l had seen, and APP
peared well-meaning, sensible person.
He, however, was quite in the hands of
his cousin-an ill-favored, sullen and
MISUNDERSTANDING rascal /, by the
way Of covering my silence, and to
avoid much questioning, took to my
beads and kept telling them with great
perseverance, much to the increase of
my reputation as holy parsonage"
The trouble was that Pottinger and
his devout followers were Of the Sou
nee faith, whereas the robber was of
the Sheeah persuasion. The difference
was something like that between our
Catholics and PrOtestants, and Pottin-
ger was like Methodist minister try
ing TO pass himself off for cardinal
without knowing the little points of
etiquette. The prisoners prompted
one another into all sorts Of ridiculous
blunders, so that the ill-favored cousin
suspected Pottinger of being a fraud.
'.Why, he may be Feringhee him
self" said the cousin. Il have always
heard that the Hindustanees are black
and this man is fairer than we are"
But then the Feringhees-the British
We're supposed to be monsters. and
Pottinger was in no way mOnstrous to
look at, so that he managed to talk
round the corner, and at the end of a
week ransomed his party with the gift
of fine gun to the chief. Eighteen
days journey brought him to Herat.
where he felt perfectly safe, strolling
unarmed in the country outside the
walls, until gang of slave catchers
made him an easy prey. His follower,
Synd Ahmed, scared them off by shout
ing to an imaginary escort.
Shah Kamran, with his viZier, Var
Mahomed, had been out of town, but
on their return to Herat, Pottinger in
troduced himself to the king as Brit
fish officer, and his gift of brace of
pistols was graciOusly accepted.
Not long afterward a Persian army
came up against Herat, and with that
force there were Russian officers. For
once the Heratis could look for no help
from Afghanistan; and for once this
mighty fortress, the key to the gates
vi was 6uoAuSu w q Nui. IL
Herat fell the way was open for Rus
STA, the ancient road to India of all the
conquerors. There Is the reason why
the British had sent spy to Herat.
The Heratis were quick to seek the
advice of the British officer, who or
ganized the defense and in the end
took charge, the one competent man in
the garrison. Shah Kamran sent him
with flag Of truce to the Persian
army. The Persian soldiers hailed him
with rapture, thinking they would soon
get home to their wives and families
So POttinger was brought before the
shah Of Persia, who would accept no
terms except surrender, which the
EngIishman ridiculed. He went back
to the city, and the siege went on for
months.
AT the end of SIX months, June "a,
1888, the Persians tried to carry the
place by assault. AT four points the
assault was repu1sed, but at the fifth
point the storming column threw itself
into the trench of the lower fausse-
braye. The struggle was brief but
bloody. The defenders fell at their
posts to a man, and the work was car
ried by the besiegers. Encouraged by
this first success, the storming party