wuvewUfa/ s*y THB LIFE AND CAREER OF MAJOE SIB LOUIS CAYAGNAKI, c.s.i.,K.c,B. r BRITISH ENVOY AT CABUL, TOGETHER WITH A JSRIEF OUTLINE- OF THE SECOND AFGHAN WAR. eOMPILED BY KALLY PROSONO DEY. PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY J. N. GHOSE & CO., PRESIDENCY PRESS, 8, CHITPORE ROAD, CORNER OF LALL BAZAR. i 88 i. (All rights reserved.) T>S 5 MORSZ STEPHEMt THE FOLLOWING PAGES A&E Respectfully Dedicated to His Excellency SIR SALAR JUNG, BAHADOOR, a. c, s. L IS WELL-KNOWN TO THE PEOPLE OF INDIA ; AND W80SE PATRIOTISM TO INDIA, AND PEVOTIOIS^TO THE ^NGLISH Have on many Occasions been Exhibited. 512241 PREFACE. 'I I 7 HEN the terrible news of the massacre of the British Em- bassy at Cabul was flashed through the country, there was a feeling of universal grief throughout India. Whatever may have been the differences of opinion in men's minds about the policy of the Afghan war, those differences were forgotten in the general lamentation for the loss of the lives of those gallant British officers, who, in the performance of their duty, fell victims to the treachery of a fanatical nation, destitute of all sense of truth and honor. Of the three brave officers who, together with their small escort of fifty men, were so treacherously and ruth- lessly butchered by the Afghans, SIR Louis CAVAGNARI was the Chief, and it is my purpose to give in these pages a brief sketch of the life and career of that distinguished officer. In placing this book before the public, I need scarcely say, I claim no higher title than that of a compiler, as almost all my materials have been collected from the public prints of the day. RALLY PROSONO DEY. Uth July, 1880. a : -a NOTE TO PREFACE. I REGRET very much, that this short Biography has been so long delayed, by circumstances over which I had no control. Domestic bereavement, and other causes, have conspired to pre- vent its appearance at as early a period as I could have wished. My best thanks are due to Lady Cavagnari, who has kindly supplied me with information which, otherwise, I could not easily, if at all, have obtained, and who has taken a deep interest in this little volume. The following letter, in answer to enquiries made of Madame Cavagnari will interest the reader : THE PRECINCTS, ROCHESTER, Kent England, Dec. llth 1879. SIR, I received your letter by last mail enclosing one addressed to Madame Cavagnari, which I forwarded to her. She has returned it to me, and begs me to answer the questions you ask in it, which being of a similar character to those you ask of me, my letter will be sufficient. Major Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari, K.C.B.,C.s.l., was born at Stenay, Department of the Meuse, France, on the 4th of July, 1841. His Father the Count, Major Adolph Cavagnari served in the French Army under the Emperor Napoleon, and afterwards became equerry to Prince Lucien Bonaparte. He was descended from the ancient Kalian family of Panea, and married Caroline, third daughter of Mr. Hugh Lyons Montgo- mery of Laurenstown Co Down, Ireland. In 1851, Major Sir Louis Cavagaari entered Christs' Hospital, where he was educated; and after studying there for six years, he passed the necessary examinations at Addiscombe; and passed direct as a Cadet into the service of the Honorable East Indian Company, in April 1858, and joined the 1st Bengal Fusiliers (now 101 Bengal Fusiliers) served with that Regiment through the OadeCampagni of 1858 (Indian Mutiny Medal) appointed to the Staff Corps in July 1861, and gazetted an Assistant Commissioner in the Punjab, He held political charge of the Kohat District from April 1866 to II 6th May 1877, when he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar; and served as Chief Political Officer in the following Hill expeditions. 1. Bizote expedition and capture of Gara, February, 1869. 2. Expedition against Kabul Khel Waziris, April, 1869. 3. Blockade of Kohat Pass, Afridis, 1875-1877. 4. Jawaki Expedition, 1877-78. 5. Sapri Expedition, February, 1878. 6. Shakote Epedition, March, 1878. 7. Utonaukhel Expedition, March, 1878. In September, 1878, he was appointed to accompany Sir Neville Chamber- lain's Mission to Kohat, &c., &c. I hope these details may be of use to you ; and that your work may be a success. Sir L. Cavagnari married in November, 1871, Mercy Emma, second daughter of Henry Graves, Esq., M. B,, p. B. s., of Cookstown Co., Tyrone, Ireland. Your faithfully, MERCY EMMA CAVAGNARI. I take the present opportunity of thanking the Government of India, and the following gentlemen : The late lamented Sir George Pomeroy Colley, K.C.B., Captain Sawyer, Assistant Secretary in the Military Department, Nawab Abdul Luttif Khan, Bahadoor, Baboo A. T. Banerjee, Baboo Debendra Dutt, and others I might name, without whose en- couragement and assistance, this brief record of a very noble life, would not have been undertaken and completed. KALLY PROSONO DEY. NO. 32, KALLY DASS SINGHEE's LANE, Calcutta, 18th August, 1881. MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K,C,B,,C,S,I, Major Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari, K.C.B, c.s.i, was born at Stenay, Department of the Meuse, France, on the 4th of July, 1841. His grand-father was Private Secretary to Napoleon the First, his grand-mother was a French lady. His father, General Adolphe Cavagnari served in the French Army under the Emperor Napoleon, and afterwards became equerry to Prince Luciene Bonaparte. General Adolphe Cavagnari married Caroline, the third daughter of Mr. Hugh Lyons Montgomery, of Laurenstown, county Down, Ireland, and Louis Cavagnari was the issue of this match. In 1851, at the age of ten, Louis Cavagnari entered Christ's Hospital, London, and, after studying there for six years, he passed the necessary examinations at Addiscombe and became a direct cadet of the Honorable East India Company in April 1858. He arrived in India on 12th July 1858, and joined the 1st Bengal Fusiliers. It was a terrible time for India then. The great sepoy mutiny was raging in all its fury, and the British Empire in the East was shaken to its foundations. Thus before he was out of his teens, Louis Cavagnari had to experience all the untold hardship of a soldier's a LIFE OF life, and had had the opportunity of winning laurels on the field of battle or falling a martyr to the cause of his country. He served with his regiment through- out the Oudh campaign of 1858-59 ; and, like the other memorable heroes of that period whose com- bined efforts prevented the overthrow of the British Empire in India, Louis Cavagnari, boy as he was? had also his share of the great work. He was present with a detachment of his regiment, under the com- mand of Major T. Wheeler on the 30th of October 1858, when five guns were captured from the Nussira- bad Brigade, and the intrepidity he had shown throughout, did not go unrewarded, for, when the distribution of honors came, the breast of the boy Cavagnari was emblazoned with the Indian Mutiny Medal. In July 1861, Cavagnari was appointed to the Staff Corps, and gazetted an Assistant Commissioner in the Punjab. Possessed of remarkable energy, indo- mitable courage, and a genial character, he soon acquired distinction in the Frontier service, and was ultimately appointed Deputy Commissioner of Kohat, in which capacity he had to conduct numerous nego- tiations between the British Government and the Frontier tribes ; a duty which he discharged with great ability and tact. He held political charge of the Kohat District from April 1866 to May 1877 when he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNART, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 5 Peshawar. He served as Chief Political Officer in the following Hill Expeditions : 1. Bizole Expedition and Capture of Gara, February, 1869. 2. Expedition against Cabal Khel Waziris, April, 1869. 3. Afridi Expedition, 1875-77, (Blockade of Kohat Pass). 4. Jawaki Expedition, 1877-78. 5. Sapri Expedition, February, 1878. 6. Shahkote Expedition, March, 1878. 7. Utmankhel Expedition, March, 1878. When the despatch of a British mission to the Amir Shere AH under Sir Neville Chamberlain, the Commander-in-chief of the Madras army, was decided upon, Major Cavagnari was attached to the staff, and he was, from first to last, the most prominent figure in the Afghan negotiations, from the time when he knocked at the gate of Ali Musjid, in September to the date of his massacre on the 3rd September 1879. Here it will not be amiss to quote a passage from the letter of the Times correspondent with the Khyber Force. " It is difficult," wrote the Times correspondent," to do full justice to the way the nego- tiations have been conducted by Major Cavagnari, and the mingled firmness and conciliation which he has displayed. The Government has, indeed, been excellently served by him in this difficult and deli- cate affair. The Amir shows unmistakable feelings of attachment to Major Cavagnari." But the most interesting sketch of Sir Louis Cavagnari is supplied by the special correspondent of the Times of India, a LIFE OF in the course of an account of an adventurous ride they took together through the Khyber Pass just before the war was declared. " Let me," said the correspondent, " describe to you Major Cavagnari, who has already played a prominent part, and will play a still more prominent part in our Frontier policy. He is about five feet nine inches in height, and slimly but powerfully built. Broad shoulders, set on a powerful chest, small and well-knit limbs, and an elastic, buoyant step betoken the utmost strength united with intense activity and powers of enduran3e. At first sight Major Cavagnari might be thought to be a learned professor ; his countenance wears a thoughtful and abstracted expression, which is intensified by the use of spectacles. But the placidity of expression on a closer scrutiny is lost in the resolute firmness of the lower face. He has a singularly pleasing and mild tone of address and conversation, and is a most agreeable host. Major Cavagnari is one of that school of frontier warriors and administrators of whom Nicholson and Edwards were the grand representatives in a past generation. We have had few more heroic arid wiser chiefs than the custodian of our Khyber Frontier, who, by the influence of his character and strength of will keeps in awe, and quells the fierce turbulence of these savage mountaineers." Of the personal courage of Major Cavagnari, the following is an exemplary a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 7 instance. " Cavagnari," wrote a correspondent, u although he never loses his temper, can on occasion hit wonderfully straight from the shoulder, I re- member once riding with him to an appointment he had with some Afridis to settle some vexed land question. I remained on the road, while he alone, in the centre of about a dozen stalwart ruffians, armed to the eyebrows, walked round the field. Presently the loud angry accents of a dispute reached my ears. The Afridis were surrounding Cavagnari, gesticulating with passionate vehemence, some with hands on their daggers. Cavagnari stood quiet, per- fectly fearless, utterly impassive. Suddenly I saw the biggest of the Afridis go down like a bullock, and Cavagnari, with unruffled composure, returning his hand into his pocket. He had knocked the ruffian down, and the swift thoroughness of the act cowed the fierce hillmen. About halfway on the return journey, Cavagnari remarked apologetically, ' It was absolutely necessary. Please don't think I lost my temper. I was perfectly cool, but I was forced to maintain my ascendency,' and then he added medi- tatively, ' and I wanted also to save my life.' ' The courage with which Major Cavagnari faced the dangers that surrounded him on all sides in an enemy's country, immersed in barbarism, marks. him out as no mean hero, while the tact and judgment he displayed in carrying on the negotiations with LIFE OF the savage tribes inhabiting the mountainous tracts of Afghanistan, make him conspicuous as a diplo- matist of the highest order. The Mission which Sir Louis Cavagnari led to Cabul, constitutes the last chapter of that eminent man's life. And as this last chapter of his life is also the brightest, and at the same time the most important one, it is my purpose to record the details of it, collected from the ephe- meral writings of the day, in this permanent shape. Since the time of Peter the Great projects for establishing commercial relations with India at the expense of England, for replacing the English rulers of India, and finally for destroying the power of England by depriving her of her possessions in Asia, have been unquestionably entertained by the Rus- sians. The Emperor Paul devised various projects for invading India. It was he who first formed the idea of attacking India by two different routes one by way of Persia, Herat, and Candahar, the other by way of Khiva, Bokhara, and Balk. Every suc- cessive Emperor since the days of Paul has devised or considered plans for invading India. Alexander I, when allied to Napoleon in 1807 ; Nicholas, when the British Government sent the first mission to Cabul under Burnes, in 1837, and again at the time of the Crimean war, and lastly Alexandar II. at a recent period ; all these Emperors have had plans sub- mitted to them for the invasion of India. Moreover, a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 9 as an English journal pointed out sometime ago, on the authority of a well-known Russian journal, " every General, every staff Commander, who has gone into the steppes from Khruleff to Tchernaief, has sent home to the war office some plan for the invasion of India ;" and though many of these pro- jects may have been mere fantastic schemes elabo- rated for the sake of wiling away the time, the pro- gress of the Russians in Central Asia, must itself be looked upon as little else than an advance against India. Khiva is regarded as an important station on the road to India. The first expedition that Russia sent against this place was in 1 707. The object of this expedition was to proceed still farther than Khiva. After occupying Khiva, Prince Bakovitch-Cher- kasski, the chief of the expedition was instructed to "send a merchant on thence to Amou-Daryer (Oxus) : ordering the same to ascend the river as far as vessels can go, and from thence to proceed to India, remarking the rivers and the lakes and des- cribing the way by land and water, but particularly the water way to India by lake or river, returning from India the same way ; or, should the merchant hear in India of a still better road to the Caspian Sea, to come back by that and to describe it in writing." Besides the real merchant, a naval officer, Lieutenant Kojar, with five or more " navigators a 10 LIFE OF were to be sent to India in merchants' s attire. The expedition had been announced to the Khan as an embassy of a friendly character. But neverthe- less, the Prince and nearly the whole of his troops were cruelly murdered. This expedition, the Russian historian tells us, " threatened Khiva with final ex- tinction, and accidental circumstances alone pre- vented this result." It was Peter's desire to send out a second expedi- tion, and preparations were made with that end in view, but events in Europe compelled him to change his mind. In 1800, Emperor Paul sent out a hastily and somewhat " wildly organized" force against Khiva with instructions to continue the march to India. Paul entertained the idea of invading India from Astrabad, by the road through Herat and Candahar. In a communication to Napoleon on the subject he proposed that, with a combined army of 70,000 men, France and Russia should "chase the English from India, liberate that rich and beautiful country from the English yoke, and open new roads to England's commercial rivals, and especially to France." "The country," said Paul in answer to some objections by Napoleon, " is not savage ; it is not barren. The soil is not like that of Arabia and Libya, covered with dry sand ; rivers water it at almost every step. There is no want of grass for fodder. Rice grows in MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C,B.,C.S.I. 11 abundance, and forms the principal food of the inhabitants." The Russo-French alliance, however, broke up, and the project of a Russo-French expedition to India came to the ground. But Paul did not lose heart nor did he abandon his long cherished idea, and in 1801 he sent General Orloff with an army composed of Cossacks and horse artillery, from the Don to Orenburg, and from Orenburg towards Khiva, on arrival in which place he was to have arranged for himself an expedition to India. The General, in less than a month, traversed upwards of 450 miles, but when he had just reached the heights of the Irgiz, to the north of the Aral Lake, Paul's life came to an untimely end, and Alexander I. having ascended the throne, commanded him to abandon the enterprise. From the reign of Peter the Great down to the present day, throughout her career of conquest in Central Asia, the eye of Russia has been resolutely fixed upon India. Thus for nearly two centuries the Russian Frontier in Asia is advancing towards India, slowly but surely. At the beginning of the eighteenth century it was 2,500 miles from the English. In the hundred years following the distance was reduced by 500 miles, and in the early years of the present cen- tury it was shortened 1,000 miles. Since the Crimean war the inter vening territory has been narrowed about 12 LfFE OF 400 miles. It is, then, evident that England and Russia must come into direct contact in Central Asia sooner or later. The two nations are entering into a long course of rivalry like that which existed for up- wards of a century between England and France, and which finally came to an end in the field of Waterloo. It is the gradual advance of Russia towards India that has induced the British Government to endea- vour to consolidate the Western Frontier of India. Whether or not Cabul is really to be the Waterloo that shall put an end to the long-existing rivalry "between Russia and England, is yet to be seen. It is plain, however, that circumstances are gradually driving the two rival nations towards that end. The circumstances under which the fatal Mission to Cabul was sent are fully explained in the Secre- tary of State for India's Despatch to the Govern- ment of India. It is as follows : THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA'S DESPATCH TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ON THE AFGHAN QUESTION. " India Office, London, Nov. 1878. " Secret, No. 49. To His EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HON'BLE THE GOVERNOR- GENERAL OF INDIA IN COUNCIL. "My Lord, 1. The letters* and telegraphic despatches which your Government has transmitted to -me, reporting "* No. 53 secret, August 5, 1878; No. 61, secret, August 19, 1878; No. 67, secret August 27, 1878 ; No. 79, secret, September 9, 1S78 ; No. 86, a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.O.B.,C.S.I. 13 the circumstances connected with the reception of a Russian mission to Cabul in July last and the subsequent rejection by the Amir Shere Ali Khan of the special Embassy accredited to his Court by your Excellency, have been considered by Her Majesty's Government with the care due to their importance. " 2. The various communications which have from time to time passed between the Government at home and that of India, ending with Lord Salisbury's despatch of the 4th of October last year, contain a complete exposition of the general policy of the British Government towards Afghanistan, and set forth, more- over, the considerations which lately induced Her Majesty's Government to endeavour to place their relations with the Amir on a more satisfactory footing. In order, however, that no mis- apprehension may exist on this subject, I deem it advisable to recapitulate some of the leading features of that policy, and to trace the course of events which have led to the present condi- tion of affairs on the Frontier. " 3. Although much difference of opinion has existed, and still exists among eminent authorities on the subject of the Frontier policy to be pursued by the Indian Government, that difference has reference rather to the methods to be followed than to the objects in view. The consistent aim of the British Government during a series of years had been to establish on its north-western border a strong, friendly, and independent State* with interests in unison with those of the Indian Government, and ready to act in certain eventualities as an auxiliary in the protection of the Frontier from foreign intrigue or aggression. The Treaty of 1855t negotiated by Lord Dalhousie, with the secret, September 16, 1878 ; No. 93, secret, September 26, 1878 ; No. 95, secret, October 3, 1878. "f Article 1. Between the Honorable East India Company and His Highness Amir Dost Mahomed Khan Wallee of Cabul and of those countries now in his possession, and the heirs of the said Amir, there shall be perpetual peace and friendship. Article II. The Hon'ble East Indian U LIFE OF approval of Lord Aberdeen's Government, and still in force* bears witness to the importance then attached to friendly relations with Afghanistan : It was described by the Governor-General (J) in words which fully explain its intended effect : >The treaty gives to the Government of India on its Western Frontier as complete security against a foreign and distant enemy as it is possible for us in the nature of things to compass. " 4. The question, however, has assumed special prominence since the period of the transfer to the Crown of the direct ad- ministration of India. The growing interest in the subject has been the result partly of the increased responsibilities assumed by the Government of Her Majesty in maintaining her Indian Em- pire, and partly of the intestine disorders to which Afghanistan became a prey after the accession of the present Amir to the throne in 1863. Upon Lord Lawrence devolved the direction of the policy to be adopted in the new state of affairs, and that statesman considered that the objects of the British Government would be best obtained by abstaining from active interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, and by the friendly recogni- tion of the de facto rulers of that country, or of portions of it, without undertaking inconvenient liabilities on behalf. On this basis Lord Lawrence thought that the British Government would have the greatest chance of gaining the permanent friend- ship alliance of the Afghan people. The outposts of Russia were then distant from the borders of Afghanistan, and His Lordship's Government attached no special importance to the Company engages to respect those territories of Afghanistan now in His Highuess' possession, and never to interfere therein. Article III. His Highness Amir Dost Mahomed Khan, Wallee of Cabul and of those countries of Afghanistan now in his possession, engages on his part and on the part of his heirs to respect the territories of the Honorable East India Company and never to interfere therein, and to be the friend of the friends and enemy of the enemies of Honorable East India Company. " J Minute, 30th April, 1855, in Secret Letter, No. 3, of the 10th May 1855." a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 15 probability and danger of the growth of the former Power in the direction of India, which, they considered, would in any case best be restrained or rendered innocuous by a friendly understand- ing on the subject between the English and Russian Cabinets. "5. The views of Her Majesty's Government of that day on the subject of their relations with Afghanistan were in com- plete harmony with those of Lord Lawrence. They did not desire to exercise active influence at Cabul, not to interfere in the conflicts then rife between contending parties in Afghanistan long as those conflicts did not jeopardise the peace of the Frontier. This policy was, therefore, adhered to, although not without some inconvenient results, duiing the civil war which raged for so many years after Shere All's accession, and might not unreason- ably be thought suited to the circumstances of the time. But the final and unaided success of the Amir in regaining his throne in the autumn of 1868 in some measure changed the position of affairs, and in the opinion both of Lord Lawrence and of Her Majesty's Government, justified some intervention in Highness favor and the grant to him of such assistance in money and arms as appeared conductive to the maintenance of his authority. " 6. The policy followed by Lord Mayo's administration in its dealings with Afghanistan was to a considerable extent in accord with the course of action thus finally adopted in the autum of 1868 by his predecessor. While, however, Lord Mayo did not deviate in any material degree from the attitude of non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan which had been so long maintained, he recognised Shere Ali as the de jure as well as the de facto ruler of that country, and, in a letter addressed to that prince, engaged to view with severe displeasure any attempt on the part of his rivals to disturb his position. This step, added to the marked personal influence obtained by Lord Mayo over the Amir, was sufficient at the moment to remove a certain feeling of resentment which had been generated in his mind < a 16 LIFE OF by the apparent indifference shown by the Bribish Government to the result of his struggle for power, and at the same time, rendered His Highness' position at Cabul more assured than that of any previous ruler. " 7. The advances of Russia in Central Asia had not up to this period assumed dimensions such as to cause uneasiness to the Indian Government. Lord Mayo agreed, therefore, in the views of his predecessor that the best means of averting inter- ference on the part of the Turkistan authorities in the affairs of Afghanistan would be by a frank interchange of views on that subject between the Government of Her Majesty and that of the Czar. Her Majesty's Government had independently arrived at the same conclusion, and early in 1869 initiated friendly negotia- tions at St, Petersburg, which terminated in a very distinct understanding on the subject, and in the recognition by a Czar's Government of the limits of the Amir's territories in complete accord with the wishes of Shere AH and of the British Govern- ment. " 8. The policy of his predecessors was that substantially fol- lowed by Lord Northbrook, although the rapid development of events in Central Asia was gradually increasing the difficulty of abstaining from closer relations with the ruler of Cabul. The Capture of Khiva by the forces of the Czar in the spring of 1873 and the total subordination of the khanate to Russia, caused Shere All considerable alarm, and led him to question the value of the pledges with reference to Afghanistan which had been given by His Imperial Majesty to England, and which had been communicated to His Highness by the British Govern- ment. Actuated by his fears on this score His Highness sent a special Envoy to Simla in the summer of that year charged with the duty of expressing them to the Government of India. " 9. Finding that the objection of the Amir was to ascertain definitely how far he might rely on the help of the British Gov- MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 17 eminent if his territories were threatened by Russia, Lord Northbrook's Government was prepared* to assure him that under certain conditions the Government of India would assist him to repel unprovoked aggression. But Her Majesty's Govern- ment at home did not sharef His Highness' apprehension, and the Viceroy ultimately informed the Amir that the discussion of the question would be best postponed to a more convenient season.}; The effect of this announcement on His Highness, although conveyed in conciliatory language, was not favorable ; the policy which dictated it was unintelligible to his mind, and he received it with feelings of chagrin and disappointment. His reply to Lord Northbrook's communication was couched in terms of ill-disguised sarcasm ; he took no notice of the Viceroy's proposal to depute a British officer to examine the northern fron- tier of Afghanistan ; he subsequently refused permission to Sir Douglas Forsyth to return from Kashgar to India through Cabul ; he left untouched a gift of money lodged to his credit by the Indian Government, and generally assumed towards it an attitude of sullen reserve. " 10. Such was the position of affairs when Her Majesty's present advisers assumed office in 1874. The maintenance of Afghanistan as strong and friendly Power had at all times been the object of British policy. The method adopted in attaining that object had not met with the success that was desirable. Its accomplishment was nevertheless a matter of grave importance, and it had now to be considered with reference to the rapid march of events in Turkestan. Her Majesty's Government could not view with indifference the probable influence of these events upon the character of an Asiatic Prince whose dominions " * Telegram from Viceroy, July 24, 1873. " t Telegram to Viceroy, July 26, 1873. " J Letters from Viceroy, 6th September, 1873, in Secret Letter, No. 75 dated 15th September, 1863. 18 LIFE OF were thereby brought within a steadily narrowing circle between two great military empires, and although no immediate danger appeared to threaten British interests on the Frontier of Afghan- istan, the situation in Central Asia had become sufficiently grave to suggest the necessity of timely precaution. Her Majesty's Government considered that the first step necessary was the im- provement of their relations with the Amir himself. With this object in view they deemed it expedient that His Highness should be invited to receive a temporary mission at Cabul, in order that an accredited British Envoy might confer with him per- sonally upon what was taking place, might assure him of the desire of the Queen's Government, that his territories should remain safe from external attack, and at the same time might point out to him the extreme difficulty of attaining this object, unless it were permitted by him to place its own officers on his Frontier to watch the course of events beyond it. It was true that the Amir's relations with the Russian Governor-General of Turkestan had of late become more intimate, and that a cor- respondence which that official had commenced with the Cabul Durbar in 1871, and which at one time had caused serious disquiet to the Amir was being carried on with increased activity, while His Highness* original practice of consulting the Indian Government as to the replies to be sent to General Kaufmann's com- munications had been discontinued. Nevertheless, Her Majesty's Government were willing to believe that Shere Ali, if his intentions were friendly, would be ready to join them in measures advan- tageous to himself, and essential for the protection of common interests. " 11. In view of these interests and of the responsibilities which had morally devolved upon the British Government on behalf of Afghanistan j looking also to the imperfect information available in regard to the country in respect to which those res- ponsibilities had been incurred, Lord Northbrook's Government a MAJOR SIB LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.l. 19 had in 1 873 expressed the opinion that the temporary presence in Afghanistan of a British officer, as then proposed by them, might do much to allay any feelings of mistrust lingering in the minds of the Afghan people, and might at the same time prepare the way for eventually placing permanent British representatives at Cabul, Herat, and elsewhere. Encouraged by this opinion, Her Majesty's Government came to the conclusion that, although Lord Northbrook's efforts to attain the desired object had not met with success, the time had come when the measure, thus indicated could no longer with safety be postponed. Your pre- decessor in council had, indeed, while appreciating all the advan- tages to be anticipated from it, frankly represented to Her Ma- jesty's present advisers the difficulties attending the initiation of it ; he believed the time and circumstances of the moment to be inopportune for placing British agents on the Afghan borders, and was of opinion that such a step should be deferred till the progress of events justified more specific assurances to Shere Ali, which might then be given in the shape of a treaty, followed by the establishment of agencies at Herat and other suitable places. Her Majesty's Government, however, were unable to agree in this view ; they deemed it probable that if events were thus allowed to march without measures of precau- tion on the part of the British Government, the time would have passed when representations to the Amir could be made with any probability of a favorable result ; and they considered it impor- tant that the actual sentiments of His Highness in reference to which different opinions were held by different authorities, should be tested in good time. " 12. Accordingly, on your Excellency's departure from England to assume the Viceroy alty, Her Majesty's Government instructed you to offer to Shere Ali that some active countenance and protection which he had previously solicited at the hands of the Indian Government. It was clearly impossible, however, to 20 LIFE OF enter into any formal engagement in this sense without requiring from the Amir some substantial proof of his unity of interests with the British Government. While Her Majesty's Government, therefore, authorised your Excellency to concede to His Highness substantial pecuniary aid, a formal recognition of his dynasty, so far as it would not involve active interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, and an explicit pledge of material support in case of unprovoked foreign aggression, you were directed not to incur these heavy responsibilities unless Shere Ali, on his part, were prepared to allow a British agent or agents access to posi- tions in his territories (other than at Cabul itself) where, without prejudicing the personal authority of the ruler, they would acquire trustworthy information of events likely to threaten the tranquility or independence of Afghanistan. '* 13. The measures which your Excellency adopted on your arrival in India to give effect to the instruction of Her Majesty's Government were framed with discretion and in a spirit of con- sideration towards Shere Ali. You sent your Native Aide-de- Camp, E-essaldar-Major Khanan Khan, to that Prince, charged with the duty of informing him of your desire to depute tempo- rarily to his capital, or to any other point in Afghan territory agreeable to His Highness, a special Envoy, whose mission was not merely to be one of compliment, but one for the discussion of matters of common interest to the two Governments ; and you took care to convey to His Highness verbal assurances of the friendly character of your advances to him, but Shere Ali rejected your overtures and declined to receive your Envoy. " 14. Your Excellency exhorted the Amir to consider serious- ly the consequence of an attitude which might end in compelling the British Government to look upon him thenceforth as a Prince who voluntarily desired to isolate his interests from those of the British Government. In a conciliatory spirit you abstained from pressing upon him the reception of your Envoy, a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 21 and you acceded to a suggestion of His Highness that your Vakil at Cabul should make personal representations to you on the Amir's behalf. These representations proved to be a recapitulation of grievances, dating from 1872, and were briefly as follows : " 1. The communication which he had received from the late Viceroy in 1874 on behalf of his rebellious son, Yakub Khan, whom he had imprisoned. " 2. The decision on the question of the Seistan boundary. " 3. The gifts sent by the late Viceroy direct to the chief of Wakhan, who is a tributary to the Amir. " 4. The repeated rejection of his previous requests for an alliance and a formal recognition of the order of succession as established by him in the person of his son, Abdullah Jan. " 16. These grievances appear to weigh heavily on His High- ness' mind, and you, therefore, lost no time in assuring Shere Ali, through the Vakil, of the friendly feeling of the British Govern- ment towards him, of your desire to remove, by a frank exchange of views, all causes of irritation on his mind, and of your willingness to accede to his proposal that, in lieu of Sir L. Pelly proceeding to Cabul, an Afghan Envoy should be deputed to meet one from your Fxcellency at Peshawur. "16. Your Vakil thereupon returned to Cabul charged with the duty of explaining to the Amir, with the assistance of a clearly-worded aide memoire the favorable treaty which the British Government was prepared upon certain conditions to negotiate with him and its desire to clear up past misunder- standing. His Highness evinced no cordiality in his reception of him ; but after some delay he deputed to Peshawur his minister Syud Nur Mahomed Shah there to carry on with Sir Lewis Pelly the negotiations which Her Majesty's Government had consi- dered of sufficient importance to have taken place on Afghan soil with the Amir himself. Although the Amir had been informed in writing both of the concessions which the British Government 22 LIFE OF was ready to grant to him and the conditions attached to them, and although, at the same time, it was signified to him that it would be of no avail for him to send his Envoy to Peshawur unless His Highness were prepared to agree to those conditions as the bases of the proposed treaty, it became apparent in the course of the conference that the Minister r had received no spe- cific authority to accept them. As, moreover, the language and conduct of Shere Ali, which had so long been dubious, became openly inimical, you judiciously took advantage of the sudden death of His Highness' Envoy to discontinue negotiations, the bases of which had been practically rejected. "17. This step in your part, as well as all proceedings throughout the year preceding the conference, met with the entire approval of Her Majesty's Government. As observed by my predecessor in his despatch of October 4, 1877, Her Majesty's Government had felt justified in hoping that the advantages which they were ready to tender to the Amir, would have been accepted in the spirit in which they were offered. At the same time the attitude of His Highness for some years past had been so ambiguous as to prepare them for a different result. Far, however, from regarding" the possibility of failure as affording sufficient grounds for total inaction and continued acquiescence in the existing state of relations with the Amir, they had arrived at the conclusion that while the prevailing uncertainty as to His Highness' disposition rendered caution necessary in their advances, it was in itself a reason for adopting steps which would elicit the truth. From this point of view Her Majesty's Government cjuld not regard the result of the Peshawur Con- ference as altogether unsatisfactory in as much as they were no longer left in doubt as to the reality of the Amir's alienation which has previously been a matter of speculation. On the other hand, the proceedings at the Conference and the previous negotia- tions had placed before the Amir in a clear light the views of Her fl MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.O.B,,C.S.I. 23 Majesty's Government as to their existing obligations towards him, and had at the same time informed him of the terms so favorable to his interests, on which they were willing to draw closer the bonds of union between the two countries, and to place their mutual relations on a footing more advantageous to both. "18. Their overtures having been thus treated, Her Majesty's Government were of opinion that no course was open to them but to maintain an attitude of vigilant reserve until such time as the Amir might better realise his own position and interests. This view has been anticipated by you in the final assurances conveyed to the Afghan envoy by Sir Lewis Felly, and your policy since the close of the Peshawur Conference has been in accordance with it. While carefully watching the course of affairs in Afghanistan, so far as the imperfect means of obtaining information has admitted, you abstained from all interference in them, in the hope that time would enable His Highness to realise the dangers accruing to himself by the rejection of the friendly advances of the British Government. That hope, however, has not been realised. The Amir has persisted in his unfriendly iso- lation and ultimately having two years ago declined to receive a British Envoy, even temporarily, within his territory, on the ground that he could not guarantee his safety, nor thereafter be left with any excuse for declining to receive a Russian Mission, he welcomed with every appearance of ostentation an Embassy from the Czar, despatched to his Court at a time when there were indications that an interruption of friendly relations between this country and Russia might be imminent, " 19. In these circumstances your Excellency represented to Her Majesty's Government I/hat a policy of inaction could no longer be persisted in, and that the Amir's reception of the Russian mission at such a time and under such circumstances left him no further excuse for declining to receive at his capital an Envoy from the British Government. Your Excellency proposed, 24 LIFE OF therefore, to demand the reception of a mission to Cabul, headed by an officer of rank, in the person of Sir Neville Chamberlain, whose name and family were held in high esteem by the Amir. "20. This proposal was approved by Her Majesty's Govern- ment. It was evident that a potentate who willingly admitted to his capital, at a critical period, Envoys of a Power which at the moment might be regardifl as making its advances with object not friendly to the British Government, could not rea- sonably refuse to receive a mission from a Power with which he had continuously been in alliance. Your Excellency in Council did not anticipate any such refusal, and Her Majesty's Govern- ment saw no reason to question the soundness of your opinion on this point, based as it must have been, on the best information at your command. " 21. The anticipations both of your Excellency and of Her Majesty's Government were, however, disappointed by the event. In a friendly letter carried to Cabul by the Nawab Golam Hussein Khan, you informed the Amir of the date on which Sir Neville Chamberlain was to leave Peshawur, and you give His Highness adequate time in which to issue orders to his local officials for the reception of the mission. You caused it, moreover, to be intima- ted to His Highness and his officials that a refusal of free passage to the mission would be regarded by you as an act of hostility. The orders sent to the Afghan officers at Ali Musjid were nevertheless the reverse of what you had a right to expect, and Major Cavag- nari who went in advance of your Envoy was distinctly informed that any attempt to enter Afghan territory would be resisted by force, of which an ostentatious display was at once made. " 22. This conduct on the part of the Amir was wholly without justifications. He was aware from various communications address- ed to him by your Excellency's predecessors that the Russian Government had given assurances to the Government of Her Majesty to regard his territories as completely beyond its sphere MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 25 of action ; he was equally aware that the whole policy^ of the British Government since his accession to the throne had been to strengthen his power and authority and to protect him from foreign aggression, although the methods adopted for doing so may not have at all times accorded with His Highness' own views : he had received from the British Government evidence of goodwill manifested by large gifts of money and arms, as well as by its successful efforts in obtaining from the Czar's Government its formal recognition of a fixed boundary agreeable to himself, between his Kingdom and the neighbouring khanates ; his subjects had been allowed to pass freely throughout India to the great benefit of the trade and commerce of his country, and in no single instance has the Amir himself or any of his people been treated unjustly or inhospitably within British jurisdiction. By every bond of international courtesy as well as by the treaty engage- ment of 1855, existing between the two countries binding him to be the friend of our friends and the enemy of our enemies, the Amir was bound to a line of conduct the reverse of that which he adopted. " 23. In reporting to Her Majesty's Government the forcible rejection of your friendly mission, your Excellency expressed the conviction of the Government of India that this act deprived the Anair of all further claim upon the forbearance of the British Government, and necessitated instant action. Her Majesty's Government were, however, unwilling to accept the evasive letter brought from Cabul by the Nawab Gholam Hussein Khan as Shere Ali's final^answer to your Government, and determined to give him a short time for reconsideration. While, therefore, Her Majesty's Government acknowledged fully as binding on them the pledges given by Sir N. Chamberlain to the friendly Chiefs and people who undertook the safe conduct of his mission, they decided to make an effort to avert the calamities of war, and with this object instructed your Excellency to address to His Highness 26 LIFE OP a demand, in temperate language, requiring a full and suitable apology within a given time for the affront which he had offered to the British Government, the reception of a permanent British Mission within his territories, and reparation for any injury inflict- ed by him on the tribes who attended Sir N. Chamberlain and Major Cavagnari, as well as an undertaking not to molest them hereafter. These instructions were promptly carried into effect by your Excellency's Government, and the Amir has been inform- ed that unless a clear and satisfactory reply be received from him by Nov. 20, you will be compelled to consider his intentions as hostile, and to treat him as a declared enemy. "24. It only remains for me to assure your Excellency of the cordial support of Her Majesty's Government in the onerous circumstances in which you are placed, and to state that I have received the commands of Her Majesty to publish this despatch for the general information of the public, in anticipation of the papers connected with the important question with which it deals. Those papers are in course of preparation, but as they cover a period of not less than fifteen years they must necessarily be voluminous. " I have the honor to be, my Lord, your lordship's most obe- dient humble servant." " CRANBROOK." It will not be out of place to insert here the letters which Lord Lytton wrote to the Amir Shere Ali immediately before the despatch of the British Mission to Cabul. I should mention here that the tone of the Viceroy's first letter was considered objectionable by many when the correspondence with the Amir was published, and Lord Lytton was found fault with. It has been remarked that the letter MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 27 was not so courteous as it ought to have been. One gentleman, writing from the Traveller's Club, London, went the length of characterising the letter in question as u one of the most bullying, discourteous letters ever addressed to an independent Eastern Chief from our Indian Foreign Office." But I may mention here, upon the authority of a well-informed English journal that the letter was not Lord Lytton's composition. It bore his signature, but had none of the marks of his literary composition. The follow- ing are the letters alluded to : No. I. From His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, to His Highness Amir Shere Ali Khan, Wali of Cdbul and its Dependencies, Dated Simla, Uth August, 1878. The authentic intelligence which I have lately received of the course of recent events at Cabul and in the countries border- ing on Afghanistan, has rendered it necessary that I should com- municate fully and without reserve with Your Highnesss upon matters of importance which concern the interest of India and of Afghanistan. For this reason, I have considered it expedient to depute a special and confidential British Envoy of high rank, who is known to Your Highness, His Excellency General Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army, to visit Your Highness immediately at Cabul, in order that he may converse personally with Your Highness regarding these urgent affairs. It appears certain that they can a LIFE OP be best arranged for the welfare and tranquillity of both States, and for the preservation of friendship between the two Govern- ments by a full and frank statement of the present position. This letter is therefore sent in advance to Your Highness, by the hand of Navvab Gholam Hussein Khan, o. s. i., a faithful and honored Sirdar of my Government, who will explain all necessary details as to the time and manner of the Envoy's visit. It is asked that Your Highness may be pleased to issue commands to your Sirdars and to all other authorities in Afghanistan upon the route between Peshawur and Cabul, that they shall make, without any delay, whatever arrangements are necessary and proper for effectively securing to my Envoy, the representative of a friendly Power, due safe conduct and suitable accommodation according to his dignity, while passing with his retinue through the domi- nions of Your Highness. I beg to express the high consideration I entertain for Your Highness. No. II. Letter to His Highness the Amir of Cabul, dated Simla, 23rd August, 1878. After the despatch from Simla of my letter, dated 14th August, 1878, which Nawab Gholam Hussien Khan will deliver with this letter to Your Highness, I received from Peshawur the melancholy news, that Your Highness has suffered a great affliction in the untimely death of Sirdar Abdullah, Khan, the Heir-Aopa- rent to Cabul, and its dependencies. I desire to express to Your Highness personally the sincere regret which this intelligence has caused to me ; but life and death are in the hands of God, and resignation to His will is unavoidable. In consequence of this calamity, I have directed my Envoy to postpone for a short time his departure, in order that Your Highness may not be troubled as MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B..C.S.I. 29 by any public business, however important and urgent, until the usual period of mourning shall have elapsed. Nawab Gholam Hossein Khan was the bearer of the Viceroy's letters to the Amir. This gentleman was the British Envoy in Cabul for many years before Ata Mahomed Khan's appointment, and was thoroughly well liked and appreciated by most of the Afghan Sirdars. He arrived at Cabul with the Viceroy's letters on the 10th September 1878, and was received with marked honor and hospitality at the Court of the Amir. He had a private inter- view with the Amir on the 12th, when he delivered the letters of which he was the bearer. In the mean- time preparations were in progress at Peshawur for the despatch of the mission to Cabul. Suitable tents, stores, and horses were being purchased, servants hired, and other details arranged by Major Waterfield, the energetic Commissioner of the Peshawur Division. Sir Neville Chamberlain left Simla on the 8th September 1878, and reached Peshawuro n the 12th. Immediately on his arrival at Peshawur, Sir Neville placed himself in commu- nication with Major Waterfield, and also with Major Cavagnari, who was then specially charged with the conduct of the British intercourse with Cabul and the Afridi tribes. The position of affairs, as described by Sir Neville Chamberlain himself, was as follows : 30: LIFE OF The Mission was directed to leave Peshawur on the 16th September, or as soon after as possible, so as to reach Cabul about the end of the month, by which time the fall period of mourning and of the Past (Ramzan) would have ended. This was also the time named by the Amir's Minister as the period when His Highness the Amir would be able to attend to state affairs. Major Cavagnari, in obe- dience to instructions, previously communicated to him by His Excellency the Viceroy, was then in course of arranging with the independent Khyberi tribes for the safe conduct of the mission through the pass as far as Ali Musjid, at which place it would come into contact with, and under the protection of, the officers of the Amir. All the necessary arrangements with the independent tribes were going on satisfactorily, when, all of a sudden, on the morning of the 14th, information was brought to Major Cavagnari that Faiz Mahomed Khan, the Commandant of the Amir's troops, stationed at Ali Musjid, had sent in to Peshawur to call back to the Pass all the Khyberi inaliks, or head men, who were then carrying on negotiations with Major Cavagnari. The maliks applied to Major Cavagnari to know what course they should adopt, as they felt that if they disobeyed, the allowance they were in receipt from the Amir might be stopped. This action on the part of the Amir's officials was considered discour- a a MA JOE SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.c.B.,c.8.i. 31 teous, if not hostile ; for the occupation of Ali Musjid by the Amir's troops had been of no long duration, whilst, indeed, it could at no time have been carried out had the measure been objected to by the Government of India. It was, however, thought to be impossible that such occupation could, under any circumstances, be accepted by the British Government as being allowed to interfere with, or to become a bar to the right of the British Govern- ment to hold independent relations with these tribes, or to interfere in any manner with the previously existing relations with them. Deeming it unreasonable to accept the position assumed by Faiz Mahomed, and at the same time being unwilling to give the Amir any plausible ground of complaint, Sir Neville Chamberlain addressed the following courteous and friendly letter to Faiz Maho- med, explaining to him the object of the Mission and the motive of the British Government for arranging with the Pass men for its safe conduct as far as the Ali Musjid : No. 1. From His Excellency Sir Neville Chamberlain, G. c. B. G. c. s. i. To Faiz Mahomed Khan, Commandant of H. H., the Amir's Troops at Ali Musjid Dated, Peshawur, 15th September 1S7S. A. C. I write to inform you that, by command of His Excel- lency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India a friendly Mission of British officers, with a suitable escort is about to 32 LIFE OF proceed to Cabul through the Khyber Pass, and intimation of the despatch of this Mission has been duly communicated to His Highness the Amir by the hand of the Nawab Gholam Hossein Khan. I hear that an official from Cabul has recently visited you at Ali Musjid, and he has doubtless instructed you in accord- ance with His Highness the Amir's commands. As, however, information has now been received that you have summoned from Peshawur the Khybari headman with whom we were making arrangements for the safe conduct of the British Mission through the Khyber Pass, I therefore write to enquire from you whether, in accordance with the instructions you have received, you are prepared to guarantee the safety of the British mission to Dhakka or not, and I request that a clear reply to this enquiry may be speedily communicated by the hand of the bearer of this letter, as I cannot delay my departure from Peshawur. It is well known that the Khyber tribes are in receipt of allowances from the Cabul Government, and also, like other independent tribes on this Frontier, have relations with the British Government. It may be well to let you know that, when the present nego- tiations were opened with the Khyber tribes, it was solely with the object of arranging with them for the safe conduct of the British Mission through the Khyber Pass, in the same manner as was done in regard to despatch of our Agent, the Nawab Gholam Hossein Khan ; and the tribes were given clearly to understand that these negotiations were in no way intended to prejudice their relations with His Highness the Amir, as it was well-known that the object of the British mission was altogether of a friendly character to His Highness the Amir and the people of Afgha- nistan. I trust, that in accordance with the instructions you have received from His Highness the Amir, your reply to this letter will be satisfactory, and that it will contain the required assurances MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 33 that the Mission will be safely conducted to Dhakka. I shall expect to receive your reply to this letter not later than the 18th instant, so please understand that the matter is most urgent. But at the same time, it is my duty to inform you, in a frank and friendly manner, that if your answer is not what I trust it will be, or if you delay to send an early reply, I shall have no alter- native but to make whatever arrangement may seem to me best for carrying out the instructions I have received from my own Government. The purport of the above letter was explained by Major Cavagnari to the maliks, who fully under- stood and approved of its conciliatory nature, and expressed themselves willing to abide by the result. They were further told that up to that time it was considered that their previous arrangements with the Amir were held to be in force ; that nothing had occurred to put an end to them ; but that if the Amir, because of their relations with the British, stopped their allowance, it would then be continued to them by the British Government. At this period, Sir Neville Chamberlain wrote to His Excellency the Viceroy that he was not sanguine of receiving a satisfactory answer, for he felt that a man in a subordinate position like that held by Faiz Mahomed Khan, would never dare assume the responsibility of acting as he had done without orders, ancl that, therefore, he had most probably carried out the instructions he had received from Cabul. But, so far from Faiz Mahomed feeling any embar- 34 LIFE OF rassment in replying to Sir Neville Chamberlain's letter, he did so at once, and his answer was received on the afternoon of the 16th. The following is the reply in question : No. 2. Translation of a letter from Faiz Mahomed Khan, to His Ex- cellency Sir Neville Chamberlain (letter not dated.) A. C. Your friendly letter which you sent me by the hands of Arbab Fateh Mahomed Khan has reached me to-day, the 1 7th Ramzan (16th September). I was gratified by the perusal thereof and feel obliged. Kind (Sir), you mention therein that you have been ordered to proceed on a friendly Mission to Oabul, and that you are negotiating with the Afridis for an escort to Dhakka. But the Afridis are a faithless (literally, " fearless") and covetous race. No confidence can be reposed in their engagements. Their head- men and chiefs are all with us, and in receipt of allowances from His Highness the Amir. The letter which my kind friend Major Waterfield, Commissioner of Peshawur, wrote on the subject of the advance of a friendly Mission to Cabul, I have forwarded by the hands of my servant to the Mir Akhor, our superior and chief at Jellalabad ; but as yet we have received no orders from Cabul or Jellalabad which we might communicate to you, whether to let the British Mission proceed or to stop it. "When we hear that the Amir has no objection (to your going), we shall do you good service and escort you to Dhakka, whether there be any Afridis or not ; for the friendship between you and the late Amir Sahib is clearer than the sun. When we receive orders from the Capital (Cabul) to invite you, we shall be bound to serve you well. But as yet we have received no orders to let you go. We are servants to carry out the orders of (our master ). MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 35 Should you come without His Highness' permission or orders, it will lead to a collision between us and the Afridis on one side and you on the other ; all hopes of friendship will be lost. While I was writing this letter, a man arrived from Dhakka with news that the Mir Akhor would shortly be here with two sowars. As he is a great man, he may have brought some orders which he, by way of friendship, will communicate to you. He will also learn your views, (" jawab-o-sowal"). What I have stated above is all that I have to communicate. Further, you are at liberty to do what you like. Whether you stop at Peshawur until the Mir Akhor arrives, and has a friendly com- munication with you, or you proceed at once by force ; you can do what you choose. There could be no room for misunderstanding Faiz Mahomed's meaning. He was a soldier in command of an out-post ; had no orders to allow the Mission to pass, and would stop it by force of arms if need be. The position thus assumed was in fact to imply that the relations then existing between the Amir and the British Government were tantamount to a state of war : and thus all doubt was removed as to the nature of the orders given to Faiz Mahomed, or the source from which they ema- nated. Just one ray of hope might, however, be extracted from his last paragraph. The Mir Akhor was, he said, just about to arrive at Ali Musjid from Dhakka : he might be the bearer of fresh instructions from Cabul; and he recommended Sir Neville to delay the advance of the Mission. News of the Mir Akhor's arrival duly reached 36 LIFE OF Sir Neville Chamberlain. This official has been very aptly described as the " sourest old fanatic in Afghanistan and the bitterest enemy of the Kafir, English or Russ." It was reported that the Mir Akhor's object, far from being of a friendly character, was to see that Faiz Mahomed did not flinch from the execution of his orders. It soon became apparent that both Faiz Mahomed and the Mir Akhor were endeavouring their utmost to make the Afridis close the Pass to the advance of the Mission. All reserve was thrown aside now, and, with the sanction of the Viceroy, the Afridi Maliks were told (on the 19th) that British Government was ready to deal with them independently of all other considerations, and the promise of indemnifying them for any loss they might sustain from the Amir withdrawing his allowance, was repeated to them. On the 20th September, the Maliks announced the willingness of their clansmen to escort the Mission to Ali Musjid, or to any nearer point until the Mission should come into contact with the Amir's officials ; and that they would, if necessary, give it safe con- duct back to Jamrud. They asked for one day's time to enable them to make the necessary arrange- ments for the security of the Pass. On the 21st September, the Mission moved to Jamrud. For the first three or four miles, the road from Peshawur to Jamrud lies due west through rich a a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 37 cultivation and groves of young sisoo trees to JBurj-i-Hari Singh, a tower where a picket under ordinary circumstances warns peaceful travellers that if they venture further west, it is at the risk of their lives. Beyond Burj-i-Hari Singh a bare gravelly desert stretches to the foot of the Khyber Hills, some seven or eight miles off. Three miles from the mouth of the Pass lies the half-ruined Eort of Jamrud, a somewhat picturesque structure, lying just inside British territory, and held for the British by the chief of a village in the neighbouring plain. Just to the east of its crumbling towers, the British camp was pitched. The Mission was composed as follows : Envoy, General Sir Neville Chamberlain, a. c. B., G. c. s. i. ; second in command Major Cavagnari, c.s.i. ; attached -Surgeon Major Belle w, c.s.i. ; Major St. John, Royal Engineers ; Maharaj Pertab Singh Bahadur of Jodhpore ; Nawab Obaidullah Khan, Shahibzadah of Tonk ; personal staff of the Envoy Military Secretary, Captain Hamick ; Aides-de-camp, captain Onslow, Madras Cavalry ; Lieutenant Chamberlain, Central India Horse ; Rassuldar- Major Mahomed Aslam Khan, 5th Bengal Cavalry ; Interpreter, Kazi Seyud Ahmad, Foreign Office Attache. With the escort were Colonel Jenkins, the Guides, command- ing; Major Prinsep, llth Bengal Lancers ; Major Stewart and captain Battye, the Guides, with a total 38 LIFE OF of 234 fighting men, Natives of the escort. The rest were camp-followers, including over 200 people, camel-drivers and others, belonging to the Commis- sariat, which carried nine days' rations for man and beast. The carriage consisted of 315 camels, about 250 mules, and 40 horses. The whole would have formed a cortege considerably over a mile in length. Major Cavagnari was ordered by His Excel- lency Sir Neville Chamberlain to ride on towards Ali Musjid as soon as possible after the arrival of the camp at Jamrud, taking with him only a small escort of the Guides, and the headmen of the British Frontier villages and of the friendly Khyberis, to demand from the Amir's officials permission for the advance of the Mission. The tact and temper dis- played by Major Cavagnari on this very delicate and perilous errand have been j ustly considered on all hands as " admirable. " The following report of his interview with Faiz Mahomed Khan will be read with interest : From Major N. Cavagnari, C. S. I., on Special Duty, Cabul Mission To His Excellency General Sir Neville Chamber- lain, G. C. B., G. C. S. /., Envoy Extraordinary, Cabul Mission Dated 22nd September 1878. In obedience to your Excellency's instructions, I left Peshawur early yesterday morning, with the view of proceeding to the fort of Ali Musjid in the Khyber Pass, in order to ascertain from the Amir's officials in charge of this post, whether they would permit MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,c.s.I. 39 a the British Mission to pass through the Khyber, and be respon- sible for its safety and proper treatment during its journey to Cabul or not. 2. On arrival at Jamrud, where the camp of the Mission was pitched, I communicated with Colonel Jenkins, Commanding the escort, and it was arranged that he and Captain W. Battye, with a small escort of cavalry, should accompany me on my mission. 3. Negotiations had been concluded on the previous day with the Khyber headmen present at Peshawur to escort the British Mission from Jumrud to Ali Musjid, or to any other point within the Khyber at which the Amir's officials might be stationed, and back to the British Frontier, if it was necessary to return. I, therefore, sent off the Khyberis, who had preceded me to the camp at Jumrud, to make arrangements through the Pass ; and I deputed messengers to Ali Musjid to inform the Mir Akhor and Faiz Mahomed Khan, the Commandant of the fort, that I with two other British Officers, were leaving Jumrud for Ali Musjid, in order to have a personal interview with them. 4. After waiting a sufficient time at Jamrud to enable the Khyberis and my messengers to get well ahead, I left camp and entered the Pass. On reaching Mackeson's bridge, I was met by one of my messengers, who was returning from Ali Musjid, and who informed me that Faiz Mahomed Khan had desired him to return and request the officers to halt at whatever place the messenger should meet them, and that he would come to inter- view them. As this was palpably an attempt to gain time a line of conduct the Amir's officials are specially proficient in and as it was my object to get as near Ali Musjid as possible, so that there should be no question as to the responsibility of the Amir's officials for any obstruction I might meet with, I directed the messenger to return and inform the Khan that I intended to proceed onward until I met him. 5. When we reached the heights above Lala China, which LIFE OF are about a mile from All Musjid, and within sight of the fort, some of the Khyber headmen met us, and informed me that the ridges in front of us, which completely commanded the remainder of the road to AH Musjid, were held by the Amir's levies fKhasadar,) who would not let our party pass. We also observed large numbers of men descending from AH Musjid to strengthen these positions, indicating beyond doubt that there was every intention to oppose us if we attempted to proceed. As these pickets were within the limits of that portion of the Pass the Khyberis who accompanied me were responsible for, I sent a party of them to parley with the levies ; but the latter threatened to fire if any one approached. I, therefore, sent another messenger to Faiz Mahomed Khan, inviting him to come and meet me, or to arrange for my safe passage to Ali Musjid, as his men held command of the road and refused to allow my party to advance. As some time passed and no definite answer was received, I sent one of the Kalil Khans who had accompanied me, to ascertain the position of affairs ; but shortly afterwards I received a report that the Khan had been stopped, and was not permitted to advance. 6. I then prepared to write a letter to the address of the Mir Akhor and Faiz Mahomed Khan, informing them that I had been stopped by the advance pickets of the AH Musjid post under their command, but that I intended to proceed until fired upon, and that, if this occurred, the responsibility would be theirs, and that the act would be held to indicate that as the Amir of Cabal's representatives absolutely declined to allow the British Mission to advance. I intended to let a reasonable interval pass, and then, if no satisfactory reply was received, Colonel Jenkins and I, with a few men were to advance towards Ali Musjid until fired upon, when we would have retired under cover of the remainder of the escort which was to be left with Captain Battye on the heights where we had halted. a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 41 7. Before this letter was ready for despatch, a message was brought me from Faiz Mahomed Khan to the effect that he was about to come to a ruined tower in the bed of the stream just below where we halted, and that, on his arrival there he would send for myself and three others and would hear anything we had to communicate. 8. As it appeared to me that it would have been an indignity to have remained and waited until Faiz Mahomed Khan should send for me, as well as to be dictated to as to the number of men that should accompany me ( it would have been different had I been permitted to proceed with my escort to the fort of AH Musjid, when, of course, I would only have entered the post with as many men as the officers in command chose to admit), I deter- mined to advance at once with as many men as I thought fit to take, and endeavour to meet Faiz Mahomed Khan before he should reach the spot named by him. 9. Accordingly, Colonel Jenkins, myself, and one or two of the Guide Cavalry, with some of the Khyber headmen and the Native gentlemen, (Nawab Bahadur Shere Khan, Arbab Sarfaraz Khan, Arbab Fateh Mahomed Khan, Afridi Khan, Munshi Bakhtiar Khan, Abbas Khan, and several others) descended without delay into the bed of the stream, and advanced to meet Faiz Mahomed Khan. A party of Afridis, headed by Abdulla Nur, a Kuki Khel Afridi Malik in receipt of special allowances from the Amir, attempted to stop me, saying that only four per- sons should advance. I rode past him, telling him that my Mission concerned the Cabul officials, and that I desired to have no discussion with the Afridis. The Malik made no further opposition in fact, he knew that most of his tribe were with me, and he himself was only acting a part to save his allowances. 10. After meeting Faiz Mahomed Khan and exchanging salu- tations, I pointed to what I considered a suitable place for an interview it was a water-mill with some trees close by it, and a a 42 LIFE OF on the opposite side of the stream to the spot originally named for the place of meeting. Faiz Mahomed Khan was accompanied by the Naib, or Deputy of the Mir Akhor, a considerable num- ber of the AH Musjid levies, and some of the Afridi headmen of the upper villages of the Khyber, and their respective followers. 11. When we had seated ourselves, I commenced the inter- view by pointing out to Faiz Mahomed Khan that he and myself were servants of our respective Governments, and had met to carry out whatever orders we had received ; so that, whatever the result of our meeting might be, there need be nothing per- sonal between him and myself. After the Khan had fully reciprocated this friendly sentiment, I proceeded to state that he was well aware that the British Government had decided on sending a friendly Mission of European British officers, accompanied by a suitable escort, to His Highness the Amir of Cabul ; that the Mission was encamped at Jumrud, and intended to proceed through the Khyber on the following day ; that, in consequence of various reports received, I had been deputed by my Govern- ment to ascertain from the Amir's officials at Ali Musjid whether they had received instructions, or were prepared to guarantee the safe passage and proper treatment of the Mission during its journey to Cabul, or not ; and I hoped that, if there was any latitude for independent action in the orders he had received from Cabul, he would do all he could towards an amicable adjustment of affairs between the two Governments. Faiz Mahomed Khan replied that he had every desire to act in a friendly manner, and that actuated by such motives, he had allowed Nawab Gholam Hussein Khan to proceed without any detention, but that his action in this respect had met with disapproval from the Cabul Durbar ; that if he had not been friendly disposed, he would not have con- sented to the present interview, or have restrained his levies from firing on my party ; that he had received no orders from the Amir a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 43 to let the Mission pass his post ; and that, without such orders, he could not let it proceed ; but that, if the Mission would only wait for a fe ,v days, he would communicate with Cabul and ask for orders. I replied that my orders were distinct, and that I was instructed to say that the Mission would advance on the next day, unless I received a reply from the Amir's officials that its advance would be opposed ; and I begged the Khan not to take upon himself such a heavy responsibility as to say he would oppose the advance of the British Mission, unless his orders were clear and distinct in the matter ; for whatever his reply was, it would be considered as that of the Amir of Cabul. Faiz Mahomed Khan replied that he was only a sentry, and had no regular troops, but only a few levies ; but that such as his orders were, he would carry out to the best of his ability, and that unless he received orders from Cabul, he could not let the Mission pass his post. I rejoined, to this, that it did not signify what the actual strength of his post was, as the Mission was a friendly one and bent on peaceful objects, and again urged him not to take such a grave responsibility if he had any option in the matter. He replied that it was a very heavy matter for him to decide upon ; as on the one hand, he could not act without orders from Cabul, while, on the other hand, he was told that his reply would be considered as that of the Amir of Cabul. He then began with much warmth to question the friendly intention of- the British Government by stating that it was not a sign of friend- ship for the British authorities to negotiate direct with the Khyber tribes, who were subjects of the Amir of Cabul, and in receipt of allowances from that ruler, and induce them to escort Nawab Gholam Hussein, and also some British officers (meaning my party) without the Amir's permission. I replied that there vras no cause for dissatisfaction in what had been done in the matter. It was never anticipated that a friendly Mission would have met with any opposition, as such Missions are never a a 44 LIFE OF opposed in any civilized country ; and that the arrangements made with the Afridis were merely to induce them to undertake the safe conduct (" badragga") of a peaceably-disposed Mission, which every independent Pathan tribe has a right to undertake in its own country. Faiz Mahomed Khan continued with increasing warmth to allude to the subject, and there was an uneasy sort of murmuring commencing amongst the people around, which appeared to me (and, as I afterwards ascertained, the same idea occurred to Colonel Jenkins and to some of the Native gentlemen with me) to indicate that, if the discussion was any longer prolonged, the movement alluded to might assume a more decided form, which might possibly be one which our small party could not deal within a suitable manner. I, there- fore, interrupted the Khan by saying that the subject was one which it did not behove subordinates to discuss, and that, if the Amir considered what had been done as a grievance, I had no doubt that the British Government would give him a suitable answer. I then asked the Khan for the last time if I correctly understood him to say that, if the British Mission advanced as intended on the following day, he would oppose it by force \ and he replied that such would be the case. I then got up and shook Faiz Mahomed Khan by the hand and assured him that I had no unfriendly feelings against him personally, and that I hoped to meet him again on some future occasion. I then turned to the Native gentlemen who were with me, and asked them if they did not consider a clear and decisive answer had been given ; and they replied that it was so. 12. In fact, there was scarcely any necessity for an interview to settle this point, as the hostile preparations made by the Ali Musjid garrison on seeing my party approach, notwithstanding that my object in coming, and the small strength of my escort, had been communicated to, and received by, the Commandant of the fort, and the Amir's representative, the Mir Akhor, would ordi- MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 45 narily have been quite sufficient to indicate pre-determined affront, and insult ; and I believe that, with any other of the Amir's officials, but Faiz Mahomed Khan, who, from first to last, has behaved in a most courteous manner, and very favorably impressed both Colonel Jenkins and myself, a collision of some kind would have taken place. The general belief is that Faiz Mahomed Khan was acting under the direct orders of the Mir Akhor, who had been purposely deputed by the Amir to supervise Faiz Mahomed Khan's management of Khyber affairs, and to see that, without orders to the contrary, he checked the advance of the British Mission. I have no doubt that Faiz Mahomed Khan softened down a great deal of the insult that was intended, though, short of actual collision, it is possible to imagine what more could be done to effect the Amir's object. 13. The Khyberis, as far as their conduct was tested, acted faithfully to their engagements, and but for their assistance, we should not have been able to bring matters to a definite issue with the Amir's officials without a great deal of trouble, expense, and delay. 14. The interview with Faiz Mahomed Khan being concluded, we returned to Jumrud, and I returned to Peshawur and per- sonally reported to your Excellency all that had taken place. 15. In conclusion, I would desire to bring to your Excellency's favorable notice the ready and courteous assistance I received from Colonel Jenkins. The Khyber arrangements were managed by Arbab Fateh Mahomed Khan, and I purpose bringing his services to notice in due course, The conduct of Major Cavagnari on this occasion cannot be too highly praised. He had thoroughly studied the oriental character, and it was his perfect knowledge of the peculiarities of that character, a 46 LIFE OF added to his own natural courage, great presence of mind, and sound common sense that helped him to perform so admirably the difficult task with which he was entrusted. In allusion to this inter- view, Sir Neville Chamberlain records it as his opinion that, " but for the tact displayed by Major Cavagnari at one period of the interview, even the lives of the British officers and of their small escort were endangered. " The following letter from Lieut- tenant Colonel Jenkins, who was with Major Cavagnari, and was present at the interview, will give a better idea of what transpired on the occasion. From Lieutenant-Colonel F. G. Jenkins, Commandant, Corps of Guides (Q. 0.,) to Captain St. V. Hammick, Military Secretary to Sir Neville Chamberlain Dated, Camp Peshawur, 22nd September 1878. I have the honor to make the following report for the informa- tion of His Excellency General Sir Neville Chamberlain, G. c. B. 2. According to his orders, I marched from Peshawur early on the 21st September, with the camp of the Cabul Mission, and reached Jumrud soon after 7 o'clock. 3. About 8 o'clock, Major Cavagnari arrived in camp, and told me that he was going up to Ali Musjid to get an answer from the Officer Commanding, regarding the passage of the Mission through Ali Musjid, and its safe conduct to Cabul. 4. After a short delay, to allow the headmen of the Kuki Khel Afridis to send some of their people ahead of us up the Khyber Pass, to tell Faiz Mahomed Khan that Major Cavagnari was coming to talk to him, and that he had only a small escort with him, Major Cavagnari and I started from Jumrud, having a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 47 with us Captain Wigram Battye and twenty-four men of the Cavalry of the Corps of Guides. 5. We marched by the gun-road made by Colonel Mackeson in 1840, which we found in very good order, and, before noon, reached a hill, from which we could plainly see AH Musjid, about three-quarters of a mile distant from the fort. 6. When the people in Ali Musjid saw our uniform on the hill, they immediately made preparations to resist us. Some manned the walls of the fort, and some occupied a ridge, along the foot of which the road between us and Ali Musjid ran. At the same time, one or two signal shots were fired. 7. If we had advanced then I am sure that we should have been at once engaged with 300 or 400 hundred men under circumstances of great disadvantage, for we should have been fighting on the lower ground with the enemy strongly posted on our front and right flank. Besides this I am persuaded that the Amir's officers would have excused themselves from all blame for what might have happened by saying that we had rashly come into collision with their troops without giving time for explanation. 8. Under these circumstances, Major Cavagnari wisely, I think, decided to remain on the hill, where we were for a short time ; but it was agreed that if Faiz Mahomed could not be induced to come and meet us, Major Cavagnari and I with a couple of men were to go towards the fort and get an answer to the question he had come to ask. 9. After waiting on the hill for about two hours, during which more than one message was sent to Faiz Mahomed Khan, Afridi Khan, Arbab of Malazai, came back to say that the Sirdar was coming to meet us in the valley below where we were standing. Shortly after this, we saw Faiz Mahomed coming with fifty or sixty followers, aud Major Cavagnari and 1, with two men of the Guides, went down and met him. Major Cavagnari had also with him Fateh Mahomed Khan, Arbab Afridi Khan, and a few ff f}-. ; 48 LIFE OF of the Kuki Khel Afridis who held come with us up the Pass ; also Bahadur Shere Khan, the Bangash Chief. 10. After shaking hands with the Sirdar, we crossed the stream, and sat down under a tree close to the village of Lala China. Directly we sat down, several more of the Sirdars 's followers turned up, and we had 150 or 200 of them close round us while we sat and talked. 11. Major Cavagnari began by saying that the British Government was sending a peaceful Mission to the Amir Shere Ali Khan, of which due notice had been given to the Amir, that the camp of the Mission was at Jumrud, and that he came to ask for a passage through Ali Musjid, and a safe conduct to Cabul. 12. The Sirdar replied that he had already written more than once to say that the Mission could not pass Ali Musjid without the Amir's sanction, which had not been received, and that- we must wait, and that he would again, refer to the Amir for orders on the subject. 13. Major Cavagnari said that the Sirdar's letters had been received, but that the British Government would not believe that a peaceful Mission going to the Amir on business of importance would be refused a passage, and had, therefore, sent one of its own officers to ascertain how matters stood. Major Cavagnari added that, as the Amir knew that the Mission was on its way to him, if it was stopped at AU Musjid the British Government would consider that the Amir had himself stopped it. 1 4. The Sirdar owned that this was true. 15. Major Cavagnari then asked whether, under these cir- cumstances, the Sirdar would oppose the passage of the Mission ; and the Sirdar said that he would most certainly do so. In fact, the Sirdar never flinched from fiist to last, but gave us distinctly to understand that he would oppose the passage of the Mission by force, and that it was waste of time to argue with him. MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 49 16. Major Cavagnari then said to the Sirdar " You are a servant of the Amir, and you take upon yourself to stop a Mission going to him from the British Government, with which he has long been on friendly terms. How do you know that the Amir himself will not be very angry with you for doing this ?" 17. The Sirdar replied " What friendship is there in what you are doing now ? If the Amir had given me orders, I would have gone down to Jumrud to meet you, and bring you up the Pass ; but now you have come here on your own account and bribed the Amir's servants to give you a passage. You are setting Afridis against Afridis and will cause strife and bloodshed in this country and call yourself friends !" 18. The Afridis who were standing round us applauded this speech ; and it would nob have been prudent to have continued to converse in this tone. Therefore Major Cavagnari said to the Sirdar "We are both servants you of the Amir of Cabul, I of the British Government. It is no use for us to discuss these matters. I only came to get a straight answer from you. Will you oppose the passage of the Mission by force ?" 19. The Sirdar said" Yes, I will ; and you may take it as kindness, and because I remember friendship, that I do not fire upon you for what you have done already." After this we shook hands and mounted our horses : and the Sirdar said again: " You have had a straight answer." 20. We returned to Jumrud by the road we came, and reached camp about 5 o'clock in the evening. 21. I was very much struck with the behaviour of the Kuki Khel Afridis who went with us up the Pass. Their conduct was excellent throughout the day. 22. I enclose a slight sketch of the ground about Ali Musjid to explain this report. Thus the Mission failed. The result of Major 60 LIFE OF Cavagnari's interview with Faiz Mahomed Khan having been telegraphed to the Viceroy, Sir Neville Chamberlain received His Excellency's order to return with the Mission to Peshawur. Before doing so, Sir Neville Chamberlain addressed the following letter to Faiz Mahomed Khan : From HisExcellency Sir Neville Chamberlain, G.O.B., G.C.B.I., To Faiz Mahomed Khan, Commanding H. H. the Amir's Troops at A li Musjid. Dated Camp Jumrud, 22nd /September, 1878. A.C. You are aware that the camp of the British Mission arrived at Jumrud yesterday, with the object of proceeding to-day through the Khyber Pass on a friendly Mission to His Highness the Amir of Cabul. Major Cavagnari and two other British officers were deputed yesterday afternoon, under my orders, to hold an interview with you, in order to obtain from you, as His Highness' Commandant at Ali Musjid, the necessary assurances of safe conduct to enable the Mission to proceed on its journey. The said officers were prevented from approaching the fort of Ali Musjid, as your pickets were posted commanding the road, and refused to allow them (the officers) to advance. After these British officers had sought and obtained an interview with you at a place (Lala China) some short distance this side of Ali Musjid, and after you l;ad been warned by them that your reply would be regarded as that of His Highness the Amir of Cabul, you declared that you had received no instructions to permit the British Mission to pass your post, and stated that you would certainly oppose it by force if it advanced. I am, thei-efore, commanded by His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India to inform you that your reply is considered as being that of His Highness the Amir of Cabul, and the British Mission fe-- MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 51 is now returning from Jumrud to Peshawur. I again assure you that the British Government entertains nothing but friendly feelings and intentions towards the Chiefs and people of Afghanistan. Sir Neville Chamberlain also wrote a letter to Nawab Gholam Khan, under the orders of the Viceroy, directing him to immediately take leave of the Amir, and to return forthwith to Pesliawur. As the concluding portion of Sir Neville Chamber- lain's report to the Government of India, is of deep interest, I need not make any apology for inserting it here. It runs thus : The Mission had failed it had been turned back at the threshold of the Amir's dominions with an affront delivered before all the world. It failed because of the Amir's indifference to any indignity imposed by him on the British Government ; whilst he himself would not tolerate anything which could be strained to bear the appearance of even a slight to his kingly privileges. It seems to me that a reasonable way of judging of our position is to suppose the conditions inverted. Let it be supposed that the Amir had considered that his interests and his honor called for the immediate despatch of an Envoy to the Government of India to discuss pressing differences in a friendly manner j that he had deputed a confidential Agent of rank to the Viceroy to announce the approaching departure and early arrival of a Mission ; that the Government of India thereupon had sent no direct answer to the Amir, but had endeavoured to bar the pas- sage of the Mission through neighbouring friendly tribes ; and that, on its succeeding in reaching our most distant oufcposfc, it had been met and turned back by the threat of a resort to force 52 LIFE OF if it ventured to continue on its errand. There can, I think, be no room for two opinions, unless the relations between neigh- bouring States are to relapse into the worst form of barbarism, and to be controlled only by brute instincts and by brute force. It may be said with certainty that a Mission despatched under such conditions would have met with no success had it been allowed to advance, and that it was better to fail at starting through a direct insult, than to reach Cabul to arrive at no result. Before concluding this report, I desire to correct a misap- prehension which has prevailed as to the strength of the military escort attached to the Mission. It consisted of 150 cavalry and 50 infantry, or a total of 200 men ; and, considering the description of country to be traversed, and the habits of the tribes to be passed through, this number was not in excess of requirements. My Mission was not of the nature of a surprise, and to be conducted secretly and expeditiously : it had therefore, according to custom, to be accompanied by a proportionate amount of camp- equipage, baggage, and transport animals ; whilst in addition to our own requirements was added the charge of valuable gifts to be presented to the Amir. I had, in fact, to go in the most open and formal manner, to represent the dignity of my Sovereign and the claims of my country ; and to do this suitably, a certain amount of outward state was customary and necessary. No exception is ever taken by this Government to the amount of escort which accompanies any foreign Prince visiting India ; and whenever the Amir of Cabul, or one of the Princess of that house, has come to India, he has invariably been accom- panied by an escort far in excess of that which I was to take ; although, be it added, any individual of any nationality may traverse the length and breadth of India, unarmed, with perfect security and without let or hindrance. Finally, I would observe that so great was my desire to -ff MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 63 prevent, if possible, any false rumours of armed preparations pre- ceding me to Cabul, that I even requested the Brigadier-General commanding the Peshawur garrison to suspend the movement of troops ordinarily carried out at that period for the preservation of the men's health, consequent upon the setting-in of the sickly season. Sir Neville Chamberlain ordered back the Mission to Peshawur on the morning of the 22nd. Before leaving he summoned the headmen of the friendly Khyber tribes, and thanked them for their assistance. One of them said, " What are we to do, if the Amir attacks us ? . "Sir Neville replied, " I promise you this, not from myself only, but from the Government, which, as you know, always keeps its promises, that as long a soldier remains in the ranks, and a rupee in the Treasury, you shall suffer no harm for the good service you have done." The Mission reached Peshawur long before noon, and the next morning orders were received to dis- solve it. Thus ended the first act of the drama. THE CAMPAIGN. THE ill-fated Amir Shere Ali had no chance of escape from the consequences which his wrong- headedness had brought about. He had not only declined the proffered friendship of the British Government, but had openly offered insult to that a- 64 LIFE OP Government by obstructing the passage of the British Mission, while he had honored a Russian Mission with a pompous reception at his capital. The repulse which Sir Neville Chamberlain's embassy had met with at All Musjid, must be avenged now. But with that considerateness and sense of justice which characterise the British Government in all its dealings with the allied States, the Viceroy before declaring the Amir an enemy of the British Government, addressed a friendly letter to him, demanding an apology and reparation within a prescribed time. The Viceroy's letter runs thus : From His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor- General of India, To His Highness Amir Shere Ali Khan, of Cdbul Dated 29^ October 1878. A. C. I have received and read the letters which your High- ness has sent to me by the handa of my Sirdar Gholam Hossein Khan. 2. It will be in the recollection of Your Highness that imme- diately on my arrival in India, I proposed to send you a friendly mission for the purpose of assuring you of the goodwill of the British Government, and of removing those past misunder- standings, to which Your Highness has frequently alluded. After leaving this proposal long unanswered, Your Highness rejected it on the ground that you could not answer for the safety of any European Envoy in your country, and that the reception of a British Mission might afford Russia a pretext for farcing you to receive a Russian Mission. 3. Although such refusal to receive a friendly mission was con- a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 65 trary to the practice of allied States, yet the British Government, unwilling to embarrass your Highness, accepted your excuses. 4. Nevertheless, your Highness has now received a Russian Envoy at your capital at a time when a war was believed to be imminent in which England and Russia would be arrayed on opposite sides ; thereby not only acting in contradiction to the reasons asserted by your Highness for not receiving a British mission but giving to your conduct the appearance of being actuated by motives inimical to the British Government. 5. In these circumstances the British Government, remem- bering its former friendship with the father of your Highness and still desiring to maintain with you amicable relations, determined to send, after such delay as the domestic affliction you had suffered rendered fit, a Mission to your Highness in charge of Sir Neville Chamberlain, a trusted and distinguished officer of the Government, who is personally known to you. The escort attached to his Mission, not exceeding 200 men, was much less numerous than that which accompanied your Highness into British territory, and not more than necessary for the dignity of my Envoy. Such Missions are customary between friendly neighbouring States ; and are never refused except when hostility is intended. I despatched by a trusted messenger a letter informing your Highness that the Mission accredited to your Highness was of a friendly character, that the business was urgent and that it must proceed without delay. 6. Nevertheless, your Highness having received my letter, did not hesitate to instruct your authorities on the frontier to repel the Mission by force. For this act of enmity and indignity to the Empress of India in the person of her Envoy, the letter from your Highness affords no explanation or apology, nor con- tains any answer to my proposal for a full and frank under- standing between our two Governments j nor even an acknow- ledgment of my letter of condolence. a 56 LIFE OF 7. In consequence of this hostile action, I have assembled Her Majesty's forces on your frontier. But I desire to give your Highness a last opportunity of averting the calamities of war. For this it is necessary that a full and suitable apology be offered by you in writing, and tendered in British territory by an officer of sufficient rank. 8. Furthermore, as it has been found impossible to maintain satisfactory relations between the two States unless the British Government is adequately represented in Afghanistan, it will be necessary that your Highness should consent to receive a perma- nent British Mission within your territory. It is further essen- tial that your Highness should undertake that no injury shall be done by you to the tribes who acted as guides to my Mission, and that reparation shall be made for any damage they have suffered from you, and if any injury be done by your Highness to them, the British Government will at once take steps to protect them. Unless these conditions are accepted fully and plainly by your Highness and your acceptance received by me not later than the 20th November, I shall be compelled to consider your inten- tions as hostile, and treat you as a declared enemy of the British Government. I beg to express the high consideration I entertain for your Highness. When no answer was received within the period prescribed, the Amir was declared an enemy of the British Government, and the British forces entered his kingdom on the 21st of November, 1878. When military operations against Amir Shere Ali were necessitated by the circumstances already mentioned, our Government determined to direct them, not only to the punishment of an unprovoked a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 67 affront, but also to the prompt and complete attain- ment of the following objects : Firstly The exclusion of all foreign influence from Afghanistan ; and secondly, such a rectification of the Afghan Frontier as would suffice to render impossible for the future the exclusion of British influence from that State. These, at least, were the results, which it was the object of the British Govern- ment to secure. The known strength of the Amir's army was about 60,000 men. Its artillery was believed to be good. With this army, it was anticipated, the Amir would have to garrison all his outlying pro- vinces, protect his Persian flank, defend his capital and central districts, and at the same time resist the British advance. It was therefore not difficult to calculate approximately the maximum force he could oppose to the British at any given point. Our Government consequently determined to attack him on three different lines, thus obliging him to dis- tribute his force, or else to leave one or other of these lines undisputed. The three lines selected were those of the Khojak, the Khyber Pass, and the Kurrum Valley. Special importance was attached, to the Kurrum Valley force the command of which was entrusted to General Roberts. The force operating on the Khyber line was commanded by General Sir Samuel Browne, 58 LIFE OF whose instructions were to capture Ali Musjid. expel the Amir's garrison from the Khyber, and occupy Lundi Kotal, Dhakka, or such other point as might be found most convenient at the head of the pass, thus threatening Jellalabad, but not advancing further. The longest line of operations lay in the direction of Candahar. The command of the Candahar force was entrusted to General Stewart. The Generals commanding the forces employed on the above-mentioned lines of advance were invested with the chief political authority beyond the frontier. The campaign was opened on the 21st November 1878. On that date General Sir Samuel Browne entered the Khyber Pass and attacked the Fort of Ali Musjid. " The fire of the fort was well sustained and directed, and the defence made by the garrison of Ali Musjid for several hours was creditable to its spirit. But the position having been turned during the night, was precipitately abandoned by the enemy with the loss of all his guns, stores and camp equipage." After the capture of Ali Musjid Sir Samuel Browne marched to Dhakka without meeting with any resistance. In the month of December the General was ordered to advance beyond Dhakka and to occupy Jellalabad, which he did without resist- ance. fe -Hi MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 59 On the same day General Roberts entered the Lower Kurrum Valley, and soon after occupied the head-quarters of the district, without opposition. Continuing his advance into the Upper Kurrum Valley, General Roberts encountered a large Afghan force on the ridge of the Peiwar Kotal. This force he immediately attacked. " The attack resulted in the sharpest and most important engagement that has occurred during the whole campaign. The strategic strength of the enemy's position was very great ; but it was quickly turned by our troops who, under the skilful command of General Roberts, com- pletely defeated and routed those of the Amir." On the 26th of November General Biddulph entered Pishin, and found it already evacuated by the Amir's Troops. The small but unimportant dis- trict of Sibi, lying upon the British line of commu- nication close to the Beluch border, had in the meantime been occupied by a British detachment on the 23rd of the same month. General Stewart reached Pishin in December and assuming command of the Candahar Expeditionary Force, crossed the Khojak Range. On the 29th of January, after a skirmish with the Amir's out-posts he entered Candahar. The occupation of Candahar was effected without much resistance. " Thus," to quote the Viceroy's despatch (dated Simla, 7th July 1879) to the Secretary of State, e 60 LIFE OF th day of the month of JamacTi-us-sani, 1196, A. H. (Sd.) AMIR MUHAMMAD YAKUB KHAN. (Seal) (Sd.) N. CAVAGNARI, MAJOR, Political Officer on Special Duty. (Sd.) LYTTON. (Seal.) 76 LIFE OF This Treaty was ratified by His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, at Simla, on Friday, this 30th day of May 1879. (Sd.) A. C. LYALL, Secy to the Govt. of India, Foreign Dept. TELEGRAM, Dated 26^ May 1873. From Muhammad Yakub Khan, Amir of Afghanistan, To VICEROY OF INDIA, SIMLA. Now that the Treaty of Peace has been concluded, it only remains for me to express to your Excellency as the Representa- tive of Her Imperial Majesty my sincere hope that the friendly relations now established between the two States may day by day increase. TELEGRAM, Dated 27th May 1879, From VICEROY OF INDIA, SIMLA. To His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan. I have received with sincere pleasure the news of the conclu- sion of peace between our two Governments, and your Highness' friendly telegram. I feel confident that the Treaty now signed will conduce to the mutual advantage of the two States, and to the consolidation of your Highness' authority; and I shall always earnestly co-operate towards the fulfilment of the good wishes expressed by your Highness, which I cordially reciprocate. By Order of His Excellency tlie Viceroy and Governor- General of India in Council A. C. LYALL, Secy, to tlie Govt. India, Foreign Dept. MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 77 In his despatch to the Secretary of State, Lord Lytton makes the following remarks on the several articles of the foregoing Treaty : " The several articles of this Treaty were framed in the belief, that they fully secure all the objects of the war, which have already been explained. The 3rd Article establishes our paramount posi- tion in Afganistan, and our adequate control over the Amir's external relations. Our obligation to assist His Highness against foreign agression is the legitimate consequence of this condition ; and it is required of us not less imparatively for the security of India than for the independence of Afghanistan. But the British Government could not have under- taken such an obligation, if the means of fulfilling it had not been secured by the 4th Article of the Treaty, which provides for the residence at Cabul of a a British representative, and for the right to depute British Agents, as occasion may require, to all parts of the Afghan Frontier. The Amir himself had re- quested that our permanent representative should reside at his capital ; and, from the opening of the negotiations, he has evinced no disinclination to the admission of British officers within his dominions. Such disinclination would, indeed, have been incom- patible with any sincere desire for the advantages of British friendship and support ; and the Amir's appreciation of these advantages has been manifested, T8 LIFE OP not only by his conduct during the negotiations^ but still more effectually by the alacrity and loyalty with which he is already carrying out his treaty obli- gations in reference to the Amnesty clause, ancl other minor matters, . "Under the 6th and 7th Articles of the Treaty, His Highness engages to take measures for the pro- tection and encouragement of commerce between India and Afghanistan. This engagement will re- ceive practical development in a special Commercial Convention to be concluded within twelve months from the ratification of the Treaty of Gundamuck. Some such interval was required for the arrangement of details connected with the selection and improve- ment of roads, and for the examination of the nature and circumstances of the trade between the two countries, as well as for the reciprocal adjustment of duties. It is premature to forecast the ultimate re- sults of arrangements, now for the first time possible, in reference to the security and expansion of the overland commerce of India with other Asiatic coun- tries. But on our western Frontier access to and from India, although far from easy, is not impeded by such great natural barriers as elsewhere interpose almost insuperable obstacles to regular and frequent intercourse, by land, with the rest of Asia. On this part of our border the main hindrances to commerce have always been political ; and of late years such MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 79 hindrances were increased both by the chronic mis- rule and jealous isolation of the Afghan Govern- ment, and also by the inadequacy of internal res- traints upon the marauding tribes who hold the Passes. When these impediments disappear, we may look for a considerable expansion of the landborne commerce of Northern India. Afghanistan itself is a country of no great productive resources ; but it commands the routes which penetrate into Central and Western Asia, and the commercial classes, not only of the country, but also of those immediately beyond the Upper Oxus, are largely Indian, or of Indian descent. The trade of Afghanistan is princi- pally in Indian hands ; and the Russian Governor at Taskhend recently promulgated a severe edict against the Hindu bankers of Turkestan, who are mostly emigrants from the western districts of India. The route by Herat and Candahar runs through the more open and fertile parts of Afghanistan, connect- ing the important towns of Herat and Candahar. The Treaty signed with His Highness the Khan of Khelat towards the close of the year 1876, effected the pacification of Biluchistan, and re-opened the great trade route through the Bolan Pass, which has not since been interrupted. By that arrangement the commerce of Central Asia, after reaching Can- dahar, is placed in safe connection with the railway system of India, and the rising seaport of Kurrachi. a 80 LIFE OF There is already a noticeable tendency to increase in the number of caravans now annually passing the Bolan ; and the merchants of Sind have always been among the most industrious and enterprising of our foreign traders. With proper management, there- fore, and under a judicious system of transit duties, considerable expansion may be reasonably expected in the external commerce of India upon this impor- tant line. All such considerations will receive our careful attention in the negotiation of the Commer- cial Convention which remains to be concluded with the Amir of Cabul. (i It may be here mentioned that our political officers, who accompanied the columns withdrawn from Candahar in the spring of this year, have ex- plored much of the country, hitherto almost unknown, which lies on the direct lines between Pishin and the Indian Frontier below Dera Ghazi Khan. They have ascertained that the routes through this country traverse elevated valleys and high plateaux, where the climate is at no season of the year very unfavor- able, and where supplies and water are comparatively abundant. The tribes who inhabit this region are less unfriendly to strangers than the northern Pathans ; and the construction and maintenance of good fair- weather roads present no serious difficulties. There is little doubt that this was the direction taken by the earlier trade routes into India from Persia and MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNAUI, K.C.B.,c.g.l. 81 Southern Afghanistan ; and on commercial, as well as on military, grounds the possibility of restoring those channels of communication deserves further examination. " The Treaty of Gundamuck provides for the immediate commencement of telegraphic communi- cation between Cabul and India. The advantages of such communication are obvious ; and the esta- blishment of it will both illustrate and confirm the character of the change now effected in our relations with Afghanistan. " The territorial concessions imposed upon the Amir, are light, and involve no permanent alienation of any part of the dominions claimed by his Govern- ment. The Khyber Pass has never formed part of those dominions ; while the districts of Pishin, Sibi, and Kurrum are obtained by the British Government under an assignment. For the better protection and security for our Frontier and for the proper mainte- nance of communication with our advanced garrisons which will observe and command the three principal Passes into India, it was essential that these three districts should remain in our hands. But we have entertained no projects for establishing ourselves permanently in the interior of the country, or for occupying any posts not absolutely required for the defensive purposes explained in the llth paragraph of this despatch. Accordingly, the towns of Can- a 82 LIFE OF dahar and Jellalabad are restored by the Treaty of Gundamuck to the Amir of Cabul. The Passes of the Kojak Mountains will be carefully kept under our own control ; and it is probable that the hill skirts of the Pishiri country, like the upper districts of the Kurr um Valley, will provide fresh and valuable sani- taria for our troops. But the local experience recently acquired by our expedition into Western Afghanistan, has fully confirmed our previous impression that the strategic value of Candahar exists only in connection with a system of Frontier defence much more exten- sive than any we now require, or have ever contem- plated. Candahar is now easily accessible from our advanced position in Pishin, and can, at any time, be occupied without difficulty ; but the permanent occupation of it ( involving the maintenance of long lines of communication) would have considerably increased our military expenditure, without strength- ening our military position. It is, however, mainly on political grounds that the retention of Candahar was excluded from the conditions of the Treaty of Gundamuck. Such a condition would have been extremely painful to the Amir, and detrimental to the strength and credit of his Government. With- out Candahar it would be difficult for the central authority at Cabul to maintain any effective hold upon Herat ; and the foreign occupation of so im- portant a city, in the interior of his dominions, would MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C,S.I. 83 have been inconsistent with those relations of friend- ship and mutual confidence which the Treaty was designed to establish between the British Govern- ment and the Amir of Afghanistan. " Similar objections applied to the retention of Jellalabad. As a military position that town offers no advantages not better secured by a garrison on the Luitdi Kotal ridge. It can, at any moment, be seized by a rapid advance from the Khyber ; and to hold it as a permanent frontier garrison would require the prolongation, as far as Gundamuck, of a trouble- some line of military communications. Such an extension of our Frontier, though necessarily increas- ing our permanent military expenditure, would also, no doubt, increase our permanent political influence over the adjacent tribes and pretty Chiefships to the north-east of the Frontier thus extended. But the only political advantage thereby acquired would be the means of utilising those tribes and chiefships as a barrier, in case of need, against the action of any hostile power at Cabul ; and for the control or punishment of such action material guarantees, far more effectual, are provided by the Treaty, which secures to us the permanent military command of Cabul from the crest of the Chutar Gurdan. In short, we have framed this Treaty with an earnest desire to render all the conditions of it, not only consistent with, but also conducive to, the mainte- a a 84 LIFE OF nance of that friendly and mutual advantageous footing, on which it re-establishes our relations with Afghanistan : and from those relations we have labored to eliminate every appreciate cause of irri- tation and disunion." "The engagements thus concluded, at Gunda- muck, with the Amir Yakub Khan, represent and attest an important change in the whole condition of Central Asian affairs. The magnitude of this change will be best appreciated when our present position and influence beyond the frontier are com- posed with what they were during the greater portion of the preceding period between the Umballa differ- ences and the recent Afghan War. We do not, however, profess to ascribe any talismanic virtue to written engagements on the part of Afghan Princes. The late Amir Shere Ali throughout the whole period of his reign, was under a formal Treaty obligation to be the friend of the friends, and the enemy of the enemies, of the British Government ; but that en- gagement in no wise prevented his adoption of a course which led him into inevitable rupture and open hostility with this Government. We regard the present Treaty rather as the commencement, than as the confirmation, of a new and better era in our relations with Afghanistan. It provides for, and facilitates, the attainment of results incalculably beneficial to the two countries concerned. The -Hi MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 86 character of those results, however, will, to a great extent, be determined by the steadiness with which the British Government maintains, and the intelli- gence with which its local agents carry out, the policy that has dictated this Treaty : a policy which has for its object to substitute co-operation for isolation, and to replace mutual mistrust by mutual confidence. Nor do we disguise from ourselves that the practical value of the Treaty mainly depends upon the cha- racter and disposition of the Amir and his successors. Relations established with Afghanistan under the most favorable conditions, and with the most promis- ing prospects, may, of course, be again impaired either by the disloyalty of Afghan Princes, or by the alienation of their unrequited confidence. In either case, complications may arise, against which no present precautions on our part can completely guarantee our successors in the Government of India. But, though anxious to deal considerately with the Amir's susceptibilities, and to take into the fullest account all the reasonable requirements and legiti- mate interests of his Government, we deem it abso- lutely requisite that, in countries like Afghanistan, the power of the British Government to punish its enemies and protect its friends should be so generally recognised as to render unnecessary the frequent assertion of it. We have, therefore, been careful to secure, for British interests and influence in Afghan- 86 LIFE OF istan, a position substantially independent of the personal caprices of any Afghan ruler ; and for the effectual maintenance of that position the Treaty provides strong material guarantees, by the territo- rial conditions which place the British Power in permanent command of the main avenues from India to Cabul. " Your Lordship will, of course, understand that, in thus speaking of British interests and influence in Afghanistan, we mean the interests, only of our alliance with that State in reference to external affairs ; and the influence, only, which is necessary to maintain and direct a common policy on behalf of those interests. We, in no wise, contemplate any system of interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan ; and the British Envoy at Cabul will be strictly required to abstain from such interference. The small subsidy which we grant to the Amir will, we hope, strengthen his hands in maintaining his authority. " Notwithstanding the conditions it imposes, the Treaty of Gundamuck, so far as we can judge, is regarded with satisfaction by the Amir, to whose possession it restores important tracts of territory which His Highness could not have recovered by the sword and to the peaceful consolidation of whose authority it will, we trust, powerfully contribute. We desire to record our high appreciation of the a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 87 signal ability with which Major Cavagnari conducted the negotiations to this successful conclusion ; and it is, we think, difficult to overestimate the value of his political services throughout the campaign. The political officers, generally, had difficult duties to perform, and they discharged them with great tact and efficiency, " We have also much pleasure in mentioning to your Lordship that not only the justice of the war, and the humanity with which it has been waged by the British Government, but also the fair and generous terms on which we have concluded it, are now recriving unreserved recognition in numerous communications spontaneously addressed to the Viceroy by Her Majesty's feudatories and Native subject in all parts of India. " By the Khan of Khelat (with whom our rela- tion, four years ago, had been very unsatisfactory) the cause of the British Government throughout this war, has been well supported beyond the Fron- tiers of India. It cannot be doubted that the conditions of the Treaty signed with the Amir of Cabul it Gundamuck in 1879, have been greatly facilitated by the results of. the Treaty, signed with the Khan of Khelat at Jacobabad in 1876. Certain it is, that the military difficulties of the war, and the political impediments to the peace, now happily concluded, would have been seriously aggravated by a 88 LIFE OF hostile, or untrustworthy conduct on that part of the Sovereign and Sirdars of Khelat. For the fide- lity with which the Khan has observed his treaty obligations, and for the uninterrupted sympathy and good-will of the Biluch tribes and Sirdars, we are largely indebted to the personal influence of Major Sandeman, and to the ability with which he has discharged his important duties as the Governor- General's Agent in Khelat. We shall take an early opportunity of submitting your Lordship the mea- sures whereby we propose to mark our appreciation of the friendly and l^yal attitude maintained by His Highness Khodadad Khan, of Khelat, throughout the progress and settlement of our disputes with that late Amir of Cabul. " It now only remains to notice those condi- tions of the Treaty which have reference to the in- dependent tribes of the Khyber and Michni Passes. We do not, of course, anticipate the immediate or habitual good behaviour of all these wild hill men, whose tribal organisation is infinitely various, and whose management will doubtless require much skill and patience on the part of the political officers intrusted with that task. But it is a task which presents no difficulties insurmountable by the steady exercise of such qualities. At no time since the annexation of the Punjab has the mountain border of that province been wholly free from depredation a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,c.s.l. 89 and insult on the part of the surrounding tribes ; nor can it be reasonably expected that what succes- sive Governments of India have failed to accomplish in the course of thirty years will now be accom- plished all at once. We must be prepared for occas- sional misconduct (especially during the first two or three years of the new arrangements) requiring from us recourse to punitive measures. But, apart from the indirect advantage of such increased respect as our authority has acquired from our military suc- cesses during the war, our practical power of con- trolling the border tribes has been greatly strength- ened by the Treaty. The Amir of Cabul has now neither the motive, nor the means to incite these tribes to acts of hostility against us. The policy applied during the last three years to the past tribes of Biluchistan has already effected the complete pacification of even their most turbulent section ; and the Bolan Pass, though unguarded by British troops, has been remarkably safe and quiet. These facts justify us in anticipating the most satisfactory results from the judicious and patient application of a similar system to the management of the Khyber and Michni Passes. " We cannot close this narrative of the second Afghan war without bringing prominently to your Lordship's notice the high character maintained by Her Majesty's troops both English and Native, and 90 LIFE OP their admirable conduct throughout the campaign. The enemy's positions in the Khyber and Kurrum Passes were of great natural strength ; but, though powerfully armed and vigorously defended, they were rapidly captured. His forces, dislodged from these positions with the loss of their guns and stores, were not merely defeated, but dispersed. In the advance to Candahar, the superiority of the British cavalry was established as soon as tested at the out- set of the campaign. Against the valour and steadiness of the British soldier the fiercest assaults of the most warlike mountain tribes were as inffec- tual as the organized resistance of the Amir's regular troops. Under conditions more trying than those of actual combat, the strictest discipline has been maintained throughout all ranks of the field forces, and the life and property of non-combatants effec- tually protected. It would be out of place in this report to specify particular services of particular regiments ; but the Viceroy desires to record his high appreciation , in which we cordially concur, of the good service performed by the Native, as well as the European, regiments of the Army of India in Afghanistan ; where their discipline and courage were attested, not only by the uniform success of their arms, but also by the steadiness of their conduct under those trials and privations which are incidental to periods of inaction on the part MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 91 of an invading army in a wild and inhospitable country. " We have also to acknowledge with sincere satis- faction the thoroughly creditable efficency and patrio- tic spirit with which the contingents of the Native States have sustained their honorable part in labors of the late campaign. We have the honor to be, My Lord, Your most obedient and humble servants, (Signed) LYTTON. F. P. HAINES. A. J. ARBUTHNOT. A. CL/RKE. J. STBACHEY. E. B. JOHNSON. W. STOKES. A. R. THOMPSON." THE CABUL EMBASSY. THE Treaty of Gundamuck was signed towards the end of May 1879, and the Amir Yakub Khan and the Viceroy exchanged congratulatory telegrams the following day. By the middle of July, Sir Louis Cavagnari as British resident at Cabul, accom- 92 LIFE OF panied by a small escort, was on Ms way to take up his residence and duties at that city, and the Times of India s Correspondent thus writes from the Kurum Field force on the 22nd July : The Mission left Alikhyel and halted on the 18th at Karatiga, where to spend the night. I have just heard that .Major Cavagnari has been made a K. C. B. a title well earned, and which will give its holder a fitting position as our Envoy. Mr. Jenkins, Major Cavagnari's assistant, Lieut. Hamilton, V. C.,, and Dr. Kelly, were the only Europeans, and an escort of the Guides is the only force that accompanies the mission. I believe it was thought wise to excite as little jealousy as may be by restricting the numbers of the party as much as possible. About 8 A. M. on the 19th, Khushyal Khan, accompanied by a squadron of dragoons, came to the embassy camp ; and after the necessay diplo- matic delays, was admitted to an audience. When Major Cavagnari was ready to start, a guard of honor of one hundred men of the 67th Regiment was drawn up to grace his departure, and a salute of fifteen guns was fired by the Mountain battery. Matters were so arranged that there could be no doubt that the honor was intended for our Envoy. Khushyal Khan is a fine looking man, of a determined appearance, and his moustachios, which are of an unusual size, given him an appearance of fierceness. a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 93 , , He has with him as escort a regiment of Hirati horse. They are very fairly mounted, and are dressed in imitation of English dragoons-red tunics, blue breeches, jack boots, pipe clayed cross-belts, &c. The head-piece is a brownish felt helmet, which is so large that it falls over the eyes, and the chin straps, which are of brass chain, are so long that they reach almost to the breast. They are armed with carbine pistols and sword, the latter of Russian pattern with brass hilts. The men are small but wiry, and when galloping look as if they gathered themselves into a bundle, and yet they ride well, and go over the roughest ground at full speed with apparent ease and safety. Under European leader- ship they should make good irregular cavalry. At present, their want of discipline is painfully manifest. They keep together or not just as the fit takes them. The dress of the officers forms a marked contrast to that of their men : it consisted of a dark frock-coat and plants and Astrakan lambskin caps. Both officers and men answered questions clearly ; and, on the whole, received the mission as well as could be expected. The inhabitants of Karatiga were rather more inclined to stand off, and refused to hold the officers' horses. We are building a fortified post here, which it is proposed to place in charge of the head man of one of the neighbouring tribes, present- ly in our pay. a 83 94 LIFE OP The Mission after starting proceeded over the Turki Kotal, or red hill, so called from the color of the soil : about fifty officers who had permission to accompany it to the summit of the Shutae Gurdan, were of the party. On reaching the Afghan Durbar tent, which was pitched the other side of the kotal, the whole party entered to partake of tea, and that the usual formal compliments might be exchanged. The tent was a fine one, of English manufacture, with spacious verandahs. In one of these a tank had been cut, and a rill of sparkling water had been introduced so as to run through it. The floor of the tent was covered with handsome Persian carpets. There were but a few chairs, and these were occu- pied by General Roberts, Major Cavagnari, Khusyal Khan, &c. The remainder squatted on the floor, with what grace they might, none succeeding in look- ing comfortable, or at home. Two armed attendants, carrying trays covered with cloths of red and blue satin, fringed with gold, and richly embroidered with silk, entered the tent, and placed the trays on the floor ; another, supposed to be a person of some importance, his belt full of knives and pistols and a handsome gun slung over his back, followed and knelt down near the trays. In a remarkable solemn manner he removed the cloth from one of the trays and folded it. We beheld about ten Russian cups on a tray, they were of a blue and red color, and were -a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S,I. 95 ornamented with raised medallions on which were painted various flowers. There was also a sugar bowl of the same pattern, but of a peculiar shape. Next he removed the cover from the other tray ; on it were four teapots ensuite with the cups, the tea ( Eussian) they contained was highly aromatic, and is supposed to have been prepared with cardamoms. The cups were next filled ; but, to the horror of all the dispenser of the tea in the most innocent manner used his fingers in placing the sugar in the cups. The oriental grace and solemnity was disturbed by whispers and growls, " the best using his dirty claws of all work. I won't touch the stuff, &c." How- ever, all had drunk, and as the number of cups were limited, they had to be filled several times before all were served. The cups were not washed between either; some did not like this. We are becoming rather fastidious since peace has been declared. The trays were then removed, but soon reappeared. This time we were helped to warm milk and sugar. Tea d la Afghan is decidedly novel, and the idea of ad- ministering the milk afterwards did not meet with much approval. A move was now made ; and, after a short ride, we reached the summit of the Shutar Gurdan. Away beneath us stretched the Logar Vally, the streams running through it seeming like bands of silver, and the dark patches of cultivation and foliage standing 96 LIFE OP out in marked relief to the general plain surface. A softened aspect was thrown over everything by the summer haze which shimmered around. Behind a bend in the mountain, and within view but for it, lay Cabul. Major Cavagnari says that next year officers will be able to visit it in safety. Of the present party, most would have given a good deal to go there now, as they may never have an opportunity of seeing it again. Wishing the Mission every success, our last adieux were made, and we turn our horses' head homewards. At the foots of the mountain there is a halt, and halsters and havresacks overhau- led to obtain the wherewithal to refresh the inner man The announcement that the Amir had dinner prepared for the party was joyfully received, and all again proceeded to the Durbar tent, and seated them- selves in a circle. Attendants entered, and laid down a splendid Duster khana (table-cloth) of Russian leather. This was covered by a white cloth. A procession now appeared, coming from the boberchee- kana, about a dozen men carrying on their heads huge trays, about six feet long by three feet wide, made of papier mache, and tastefully ornamented. The contents of the trays were hidden by new white cloths. The trays were placed on the table cloth and the cloths removed. Then the domeshaped leaden colored covers with which each dish was covered were removed, and a most varied array of a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B ,c.s.I. 97 viands met liis eye. Kabobs, curries, game, fish, pillaus, fowls, kids roasted whole, and a number of Native dishes, whose names were unknown, but whose toothsome properties were admitted. Forks, spoons, or knives, were waited for in vain. At last it was made known that these articles de luxe were not the fashion in Afghanistan, chupattis serving as plates. The attempts made to do the correct thing was really ridiculous. Some poured the contents of a dish on to their chupatti, and raising the whole thing to the mouth tried to eat ; others, shielding their fingers with pieces of chupatti, tried to fish out some dainty morsel ; others boldly plunged their hands into a pillau ; and manfully gnawed at the treasure in their greasy fingers, some one or two put their fingers in the dishes, arid sucked them. It was a thing to be remembered this dinner, a le main, in contrast. The imperturbable gravity of our Afghan host was a contrast with laughter and gaucherie: not a muscle showed their appreciation of the situa- tion and whether indifference, amusement, or contempt were their feelings. One might pretty safely assert that they gave vent to a fine volley of maledictions on our departure. Water in peculiar looking vessels was bought and poured over our hands and the wash was very decidedly needed. Tea was again served, and the usual compliments having been got through the party, were soon in the saddle, and 98 LIFE OF en route for Waykula, which we reached safely. On the arrival of the Mission at Cabul, Yakub, who is only waiting for it, will start north to try and estab- lish his authority in the rebellious districts. Should he fail in this, the Oandahar force may have a chance of seeing some service : still in any case, they are not likely to be removed till matters are more settled than they are at present. The Mullahs, it appears, are preaching against the English, and the hatred which Shere AH so assiduously fostered is now re- bounding on his son. However, we are in for it now, and will have to stick to our bargain. General Roberts in temporarily leaving the force, addressed an order complimentary to its discipline and efficiency ; and expressed his desire, that should occasion again require, he might be so fortunate as to command such a fine body of men. The force fully reciprocates the compliment, and if their services were called for, all would long to be under their old chief. In addition to personal popu- larity, General Roberts had obtained the confidence of the men, who would have followed him to any place. No one in the force worked harder than the General, and his care for the well-being of the men was incessant, and extended to every detail affecting their health and comfort. General Massy commands in his absence. A court-martial on the men of the 8th implicated in the MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNA1U, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 99 Kotal Dadel is to take place in a few days. The general health of the force is fair, but the 72nd Highlanders have a big sick list : they went through a good deal of exposure last cold weather. The heat in the single fly tents at midday is very trying. The men have to wear their helmets in the tents a fact which needs no comment, and the results of which will appear sooner, or later. Some ripe fruit is now being brought in for sale to tke men this should be found to benefit their health very much. Is it not funny all telegrams for the Press, of what- ever nature arc refused, unless they bear the signa- ture of the General commanding. Why ? one may well ask the question. Postal communication with Major Cavagnari is kept up by means of runners to the Shutar Gurdan, thence to Cabul by sowars. TUB Civil and Military Gazette s own correspon- dent of July 21st, gives the following graphic pic- ture of Major Cavagnari on the Afghan Frontier : Major Cavagnari, with Mr. Jenkyns and an escort of the Guides, have passed through AH Kheyl. On the 18th they started for Karatiga, which is on the frontier line, as it is propos d to be marked out, but the actual delimitation of frontier has not yet been laid down. We are building a fortified post here, which will be held for us by one of the headmen of a neighbouring tribe for a consideration. The Mis- sion rested at Karartiga on the 18th about 8 A, M. On 100 LIFE OF the 19th Khusyal Khan, who has been deputed to escort the Mission to Cabul, arrived to pay a visit to Major Cavagnari, he was accompanied by a troop of cavalry ; after some diplomatic delays by which he was made to dance attendance for a little, he was admitted to an audience when the usual eastern con- venances were strictly observed. When Major Cavagnari was ready to make a start, a guard of honor of one hundred men of the 67 the was drawn up, and a salute of fifteen guns was fired. Matters were very cleverly arranged, so that Khusyal Khan should see that it was our Envoy, and not him for whom these arrangements were made, and our politi- cals are quite satisfied at the result. The escort to accompany the Mission to Cubul consists of a regi- ment of Cavalry which met it at Karatiga, and some Artillery and Infantry which will join it at Kushi. The Cavalry, a Herati regiment and mounted on Herat horses, were brought up at the close of the war, but were too late to join in it. They were dressed in red tunics, blue pants and jack boots, and were armed with carbine, pistol and sword, the latter, of a Russian pattern with brass hilts. They had white cross belts, and were got up in imitation of an English Dragoon regiment. Their heads were adorned with brown felt helmets some sizes too large, with brass chin straps, several inches too long, the men were small and wiry, and when galloping had a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 101 huddled up appearance ; this taken with tlieir inde- pendent and irregular movements, their grinning and chattering, caused them to strongly resemble a lot of mounted monkeys in a circus. With training and under European leaders, doubtless they could be made into serviceable irregular cavalry. They fell out to water their horses, to have a look round, or a smoke, as the humour took them, and then rejoined the main body, at a breakneck pace over very rough ground. The officers were a great contrast to the men, they were dressed in dark semi-frock coats, dark pants, and lambskin caps, and did not look the soldier at all. Khusyal Khan was similary dressed. He is a striking looking man of a rather determined appearance, and rejoices in a most ferocious suit of moustachios, as the Yankis would say. The Mission, its ranks swollen by about fifty officers, who had obtained leave to accompany it as far as the Shuter Gurdan, soon passed the limits to our territory, and crossing the Turki Kotal, red hill, so called from the color of the soil, reached the Durbar tent. This was a very fine English built tent with specious verandahs, in one of which a tank had been made, and a rill of crystal clear water ran through it, which had a pleas- ing effect. The floor of the tent was covered with rich carpets, and there were a few chairs and which were occupied by General Roberts, Major Cavagnari, Khusyal Khan, &c. The remainder of the party ifl 102 LIFE OF squatted on the carpets, with as near an approach to Oriental ease as they could assume. Tea was now served, it was brought in on two trays by armed attendants. The trays were covered with red and blue satin, cloths fringed with gold and richly worked in silk, with red and yellow patterns, they were deposited on the ground in the middle, and a man very much armed, his belt full of knives and pistols, and a gun on his back entered, and solemnly knelt near the trays, then he reverently raised the cover from one, and exposed to our curious gaze about ten Russian tea cups. They were about the size and shape of ordinary cotfee cups, and were half of a blue, half of a red pattern and with raised medallions on which were painted roses and other flowers ; this tray also contained peculiar looking bowls of similar pattern to the cups which contained sugar. The knight of the tea tray then removed the cloth from the other tray, on it were four tea-pots of the same design as the cups, he then filled the cups with a very highly flavoured tea. I believe that the tea used is Russian, flavoured with cardamoms. The above proceedings were conducted and observed in solemn silence, but when the operator proceeded to pick up a lump of sugar with his fingers and drop it into each oup, the feelings, not quite blunted by a campaign, got vent. " The fellow, with his dirty fingures" and similar expressions of a very decided * fl- MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,c.s.i. 103 character were whispered about ; " I won't drink the stuff," &c. However, all had to take it, and as there were over fifty the cups had to be used several times (without being washed). The trays were now removed, but soon appeared again, this time we were all treated to warm milk and sugar. The partakers of afternoon tea at home should give it a la Afghan, if they want a new sensation. After the usual salu- tations, &c., the party proceeded en route ; and, after a short ride up the slope of the mountain, reached the summit. To those who had not previously been here, the scene must have been very interesting ; below and away into the far distance stretched the Logar valley, its surface of mottled green and brown relieved here and there by silver streaks of water, the distant objects softened, and their outline deadened, by the summer haze that hung over every- thing. Behind a mountain and clearly discemable, was Cabul, the promised land which many of us, like the old Isrealites, are destined only to see from a distance. Major Cavagnari says that officers will be able to visit it in safety next year, but by that time, the present party will be pretty well scat- tered. All wished the Mission a hearty God-speed, and after another round of tea, which was served to us here, the party turned and retraced their steps down the mountain ; at the bottom there was a halt and a general emptying of holsters to find comforts -ff 104 LIFE OP for the inner man. These were speedily discarded, on the welcome intelligence that the Amir had pre- pared a dinner which all were expected to partake ; very cheerfully the invitation was accepted, and soon all were squatted in a circle in the Darbar tent. An attendant now entered, and placed a splendid Duster Khana table-cloth on the floor. It was of very fine Russian leather, this was covered with a white cloth. Then there appeared a procession of ten or twelve huge trays each about six feet long by three feet wide, they were of papier mache, and were very taste- fully ornamented ; each was carried on a man's head, and the contents were hidden by a white cloth. At the door of the tent two attendants removed them from the heads of the bearers, and placed them on the Duster Khana. When all were arranged, the cloths were taken off, and the dome-shaped covers, with which all the dishes were covered, were removed. To our hungry gaze was exposed a goodly array of kabobs, pillaus, curries, fowls, fish, dried fish, sweet- meat and game. Kids roasted whole, Native dishes of unknown names and mountains of huge chupatties, but knives, forks, or spoons, there were none. There was a pause, no one knew how to commence, at last some one said use the chupatties for plates, accor- dingly some made use of a whole chupattie, and poured some of the contents of a dish on to it, others covering their hands with chupattie essayed to scoop MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B..C.S.I. H)5 out of the dishes what they wanted, others would introduce a finger carefully into a dish, and then suck it meditatively. The cooking was unanimous- ly voted good, and the food far superior in quality to what most of us have been enjoying for some time past. Our host sat stolidly gazing at the scene, and shewed not a sign a& to whether he was indifferent, amused, or disgusted, at our behaviour, which must have appeared to him very gauche indeed. Doubtless, he, and his grim attendant of the double barrelled rifle were bottling up any amount of curses of the Kaffir, of which they relieved themselves on our departure. Tea was again served, the youngest of the party relaxed to the extent of slyly pelting each other with sweetmeats when unobserved ; and young and old enjoyed the affair as much as schoolboys out for a treat. We now, after the usual greetings, mounted our gallant steeds, and made tracks for Dray Kula, where our escort was waiting, and the next day returned to Alikhey. The whole affair went off very smoothly, and every body appeared to be pleased. On the whole, the Mission was received with as much cordiality as could be expected. The officers and men of the Afghan escort were cheerful in their replies; but the Natives about Karatiga rather reserved in their manner, would not hold officers' horses, &c. Yakub is said to be anxiously awaiting the arrival of Mission as he is then to start on a 106 LIFE OP tour to endeavour to restore obedience to his autho- rity in the northern portions of Afghanistan. Should Herat offer a successful resistance, very likely the Candahar force will be given a chance of seeing some fighting ; in any case they are not likely to be removed from there till Yakub feels himself more secure thin he is at present. The Mullahs are preach- ing a crusade against the English, and the hatred of us which Shere Ali fostered is now rebounding on his son on account of his alliance. General Roberts, who is temporarily leaving the force, has issued a farewell order in which he hoped that if called on again to fight for the Empress, he hoped to have as fine a force as the one he at present commands. The members of the column will only wish to have him as a commander, if they are again actively engaged. He had gained the affection arid confidence of the troops, and they would have cheerfully followed him to any place ; no one in the force worked harder than General Roberts ; and his efforts for the well-being of the men were untiring. A court-martial on the men engaged in the races at the Kotal will take place in a few days. Major Cavagnari has communications established with us by means of runners as far as the Shurter Gurdan, and from thence to Cabul by means of sowars. Can any one explain why Press telegrams of whatever nature will not be despatched without countersignature ; it sounds funny that, in MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 107 time of peace a telegram will not be received for the Press without the Major-General's countersig- nature. The general health of the force is fair, and the sale of fruit which has now commenced, should be found to benefit the men. The heat at midday is still very great ; the men have to wear their helmets within their tents. I don't think that this will benefit them much. Double fly tents are needed here. The Embassy entered Cabul on the morning of 24th July, and received a brilliant reception. The Arnir's demeanour was most friendly and the British resident and his escort took up their residence in the Bala Hissar, the citadel and the residence of the Amirs. There has been consider- able discussion regarding the wisdom or unwisdom of sending a British Resident to Cabul, and it may not be unappropriate to state that Sir Louis Cavagnari was the third British envoy to Cabul. Before des- cribing these missions, it may be stated that our duty to our Envoys renders it incumbent upon us to take as many precautions as possible to keep them out of unnecessary danger, and for that reason alone the condition of Cabul must undergo a very considerable change, before it would be prudent for us to risk the life of another Envoy among its fanatical people. It is this consideration which gives a practical value to the suggestion made in the columns of the Times that the capital of the State should be transferred & 108 LIFE OF back to the old Durani city of Candahar. Not only are the Oandaharis much less turbulent and with fewer antipathies towards foreigners than the Cabulese, but they have lately given unquestionable demons- tration of their friendly feeling towards England. The welcome which the troops returning from Pishin, received the other day proves conclusively that the sentiment of the Candaharis is a friendly one. This has more or less always been the case. The resi- dence of the Lumsden Mission at this town during the worst portion of the Indian Mutiny will be remembered, and it may be asserted with some con- fidence that, had it been stationed at Cabul, its fate, despite Dost Mahomed's firmness, would have been the same as that of Burnes and Cavagnari. The question of principle is, that a British Envoy should reside at the Court of the Amir ; it is a matter of detail that must be decided by local causes where that Court shall be. The first British Mission to Cabul was that of Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone in 1808 ; but as it only proceeded to Peshawur, we can but simply refer to it. The journey of Mr. Forster to the Court of Timur Shah in 1783, had given Englishmen a clearer knowledge of the Durani Monarchy, and when it appeared probable that the influence of France was obtaining the upper hand in the Councils of Teheran, it suggested itself to Lord Minto that it would be --a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 109 well to repair the check received in Persia by a great success at Cabul. Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone was, accordingly, despatched to Cabul to negotiate a treaty with the King against France and Persia. That the British Government " would not hesitate to adopt any plan of hostillity against Persia conso- nant to the views of the King of Cabul" formed the chief part of Mr. Elphinstone's instructions. These were, however, altered in consequence of the pro- gress of events in Europe and the failure of the French schemes in Persia. The reception given to our representative at Peshawur, then in the hands of the Afghans, was magnificent. The King's " hospitality was profuse." Shuja-ul-Mulk, who, for a brief space, had established his authority, was most gracious. The least fanciful of his expressions was that " the Creator had designed England and Cabul to be united by bonds of everlasting friendship." On the other hand, it is necessary to remember that much of this friendship was due to the fact that this Embassy was conducted on a grand scale. The pre- sents it brought were most costly. The expense was characterized by Lord Minto some time afterwards in an official minute as "enormous." But it had come at an unfortunate moment. Afghanistan was on the eve of a civil war which was to cost Shuja his crown ; and the best advice the Shah could give Mr. Elphinstone, after the signature of a --ff 110 LIFE OF treaty of friendship, was to leave Peshawur without delay. We have to pass on for nearly 30 years before we come to the second British Mission to the Afghan Court, and the first to reach the city of Cabul. This time, instead of being a move of high politics, it was ostensibly one produced by trade considera- tions alone. Its very title proclaimed its character. It was the Commercial Mission to Cabul. Towards the close of the year 1835, Lord Auckland became Governor-General of India, and in the spring of the following year he received a letter of congratulation from Dost Mahomed, at that time the predominant chief in Cabul, Jellalabad, and Ghuzni. The Dost was hard pressed by the Sikhs in one quarter, and the rivalry of the members of his house was a cons- tant source of trouble to him. Moreover, there hung over him the great cloud of the pretensions of the Sudosyes, the pensioners of Ludiana. He was eager to participate in the security afforded by British protection. He asked Lord Auckland for suggestions as to the settlement of his affairs, and, in truly Oriental language, told him to consider him and his country "as your own." The result of that letter was that the Governor-General resolved to " depute some gentlemen" to Cabul to discuss commercial and other kindred questions. There was a darker cloud on the horizon beyond the border-lands of India, and MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. Ill the rumours of Russian intrigues at Teheran and Rus- sian activity against the Khirgiz beyond the steppe had served to give additional interest, and importance to a scheme, that had suggested itself some years before to Lord William Bentinck and Sir John Malcolm, and which had given rise to the second Mission into Afgha- nistan. The gentleman Lord Auckland selected for the delicate mission was Alexander Burnes, who, by his proficiency in Native languages and his skill as a draftsman, had distanced all his contemporaries in the service. In 1830, when he was 25 years of age, he had visited in an official capacity Runjit Singh at Lahore, and had seen Shuja-ul-Mulk at Ludiana. It was this journey that brought Burnes under the immediate notice of Lord William Bentinck, who saw in this traveller full of enthusiasm and eager to explore the countries of Central Asia, the very man for " opening up fresh fields of geographical and commercial inquiry." In December 183 1, Burnes left British territory, ostensibly as a private traveller, but with special passports from the Government. Travelling with three companions through the Punjab, he entered Afghanistan by the Khyber, and met with a most flattering reception at the hands of Dost Mahomed. He arrived at Cabul on the 1st of May 1832,* and remained there until the 18th of the month, when he resumed his journey, and travelling over the Hindu Kush, reached Bokhara, where he 112 LIFE OF resided two months. Returning by way of the Kara Kum desert and Meshed to Bushire, he was back in India early in 1833, having accomplished what was certainly the most remarkable journey that had at that time been achieved by an Englishman. During his residence at Cabul he had ingratiated himself with Dost Mahomed and many of his principal Sirdars, and was made the most welcome of guests. He had succeeded, because he had acted with the most remarkable tact, and the same quality which carried him safely through the dangers of fanatical Cabul helped him among the still more fanatical people of Bokhara. No man then appeared to Lord Auckland to be better fitted for the task he had in hand than Burnes, who was spoken of as " the friend of Dost Mahomed." A mission of amity to Cabul would have an aspect of sincerity, if it were intrusted to that ruler's old guest. While performing a delicate task at the Court of the Amirs of Sind, Burnes received orders, therefore, to hold himself in readiness to undertake the charge of the Embassy to Afghanistan. On the 26th November 1836, he set out on his second mission to Cabul. Travelling through Sind and Bhawulpore, he, with four companions, reached Peshwur shortly after the battle of Jumrud between the Sikhs and the Afghans ; and pushing on from that place they traversed the Khyber without accident, a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 113 although the deputation of the pass tribes to conduct them had not arrived. On the 20th of September 1837, they entered Cabul. They were received a with great pomp and splendour." Akbar Khan came out in person at the head of a fine body of Afghan cavalry, and Burnes entered the capital seated on an elephant beside the heir to the throne. Special quarters were provided within the Bala Hissar, and the Mission lived as " the guests of the King." On the following day, Dost Mahomed re- ceived Burnes in state, and expressed to him ; " his high sense of the great honor conferred upon him/' but the real interview was held on the 4th of the following month, when other schemes than the ex- tension of trade by an improvement in the naviga- tion of the Indus were discussed. Dost Mahomed's great grievance was the loss of Peshawur. For the recovery of that he would do anything. Burnes could hold out very small hope that Runjit Singh would relax his hold on that possession. The month of October was passed in repeated negotiations on this and similar topics, and while the Candahar Sirdars were gravitating more and more towards the Shah and his Russian advisers, the Cabul ruler's alliance with the English was becoming firmer and more patent in the eyes of the neighbouring peoples. The problem became more invovled with the arrival of the Russian Envoy, Vickovitch, who reached a 114 LIFE OP Cabul in December. At that conjuncture Cabul had as its guests at the same moment, for the first and per- haps the last time an ambassador from Calcutta and another from St. Petersburg. For two months Vickovitch received but cool treatment ; but then, it having become known that the English Government would not concern itself in the question of Peshawur, a change occurred, and the Russian officer was placed on a better footing Numerous other abortive "inter- views were held, and at last Burnes took his depar- ture from Cabul on the 26th of April, seven months after his entry into the city. So far as the objects of the Mission went,it had been a failure. Neither com- merce nor policy was benefited by Burnes' long resi- dence at Cabul,and when he set out, on his return jour- ney ,he left Vickovitch apparently master of the field. History shows us, therefore, that there have been three English Missions to Afghanistan, two of which have resided at Cabul. They were successful in that respect which persons would now assume it was im- possible for them to be. They returned in safety. Several English travellers, both before and about the same time, performed the same feat without any un- pleasant consequences, and, on the principle that what has been should occur again, it may be asserted that there is nothing insuperable in the way of de- puting resident British officers even to Cabul. Tact and judgment on the part of the Envoy would avoid a- MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 115 petty annoyances, and it cannot be doubted that our measures on the present occasion will have the effect of impressing upon the Afghans that the murder of British Envoys is too dangerous an amusement to be indulged in. The TIMES OF INDIA'S correspondent writing from Ali Kheyl on the 31st August, thus describes the state of affairs during this month : I find that the disturbed state of affairs in Cabul noted in my last letter, has not improved. According to the latest accounts they are even more formidable than was supposed. In Badakshan Yakub's authority is set at naught. In Herat, it is almost nominal. Some Herati regiments that had come to Cabul, suffered from a severe attack of cholera of a very malignant type. A great number died. Of the remainder, the principal part bolted for their homes, and the few who did not desert, received permission from the Amir to visit their homes. This is an unfortunate occurrence, as every effort was being made to get together as large a force as possible, so as to overawe resistance when the Amir goes to pay his recalcitrant subjects in the north a visit. New regiments are being raised for the Amir's service ; but time is now pressing, and if Yakub means to do anything this year, it is time he were moving. The winter season sets in early, and might very seriously interfere with his operations. 116 LIFE OF On the Khyber route, there has been considerable disturbance, several caravans have been plundered, and Ayoub Khan appears quite unable to maintain order. On the Shutar Gurdan Road, nearly all the fruit-traders, who have passed, have been, more or less looted. Not satisfied with robbing them of any valuables, a considerable portion of their fruit was seized ( levying duty in kind.) Padisha Khan could make the road perfectly safe by a mere expression of his will, but he is playing a waiting game. By no overt act will he offend the Amir, but assist him he will ; not, till he receives a quid pro quo. Religious fanaticism, which has always played such an important part in the politics of Afghanis- tan, is being excited to the highest pitch by the preaching of the Mullahs, and Yakub must use some means to win them to his side, or he may find him- self deserted by his troops upon the first emergency. Loyalty to the Amir does not exist in Afghan- istan. The power of the Amirs and obedience to their rule has been established, and must be maintained by force. Any clannish feeling of the Afghan is merged in his more immediate chief. The chiefs are so inflated with pride that they would acknowledge no superior, had they the power to maintain their independence. The English are more disliked and dreaded than the Russians, or any other "infidel." It was to appease this feeling that Yakub a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 117 begged so hard for an immediate withdrawal of the troops on the Khyber side. Our complacency has cost us the lives of hundreds of brave soldiers. This feeling of aversion towards us and the blind bigotry of religious intolerance are being used by Yakub's enemies as levers to upset his rule. The chiefs with- in his reach have many of them assumed a passive attitude, which is more embarrassing than actual resistance. But the conflict cannot be long deferred which will decide the establishment, or destruction of the present ruling power. Indirect help we will afford Yakub as far as we can. Should we eventu- ally have to assist him with men, the assumption of the actual rule of the country will be forced upon us. Foreseeing this, we are now endeavouring to with- draw all our troops from the territories of the Amir. The course that events will take during next winter, will be a guide as to what may be expected from Yakub's reign. Already attempts are being made to shake his determination to adhere the English alliance. He is unable to fulfil the conditions for the protection of traders ; but a Ghilzai merchant can travel through any part of Afghanistan. One of the tribe, who came from Cabul the other day, was unmolested on the way ; and, when asked, if he did not fear being robbed, or murdered, said, " Oh no, if I were killed, four men would be killed for me." This fact is so well understood by the other a- 118 LIFE OP tribes, that they allow the Ghilzais to travel unmo- lested. An injury to one of them would be resented by whole tribe. Robbery of them is, therefore, too dangerous a business for most tribes to indulge in. The man I speak of, had, in addition to some coun- try manufactured cloth, &c., a large bag of Cabul rupees with which he did a good trade by exchang- ing them for English ones. The Cabul rupee is roughly manufactured. It is made of very pure silver, and is equal in value to about fourteen annas of our money. Would that we took a lesson from the Ghilzais, and taught the tribes that molestation of any one under our protection would entail on them far more terrible consequences than they would expect to suffer from injuring a Ghilzai. We reward the tribes that plunder us, and murder our followers and soldiers. The lungi and a lecture are adminis- tered, and they are dismissed with a request not to do it again. I do hope that a rumour which has reached here, and, apparently, has some foundation in fact, is not true. It is that the Zaimukhts have been squared by a money payment. If it be a fact, we shall undoubtedly receive compound interest in lead. On our main line of communications, murders and robberies have been sufficiently numerous. The Duffedar at the Kotal must have met with a pretty painless death. The wound which nearly severed MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 119 the head from the body must have been the first re- ceived, as though there were several other wounds on the body, the ground did not show any traces of a struggle. There is a mystery about this murder, which has yet to be explained. Then, there was the murderous affray on the road to Chinack, ending in the death of two of our men, and the wounding of two so severely that they are not expected to recover. Of the enemy, one killed (body bagged), and some wounded, but uncaptured was the result. The 67th, you will remember, had been moved to a new camp- ing-ground, owing to an attack of typhoid, from which they were suffering. There were several small camps established. This .breaking up of them into small parties, together with the very broken nature of the ground, on which they were encamped, favored the operations of thieves. Four mules were stolen, and have not been recovered ; a lot of cloth, ditto ditto. Next a fine mare, the property of Major Cardew, was stolen. The loss was known almost immediately the theft had taken place, and pursuit was made by several parties of men ; but as it was night-time, without success. A sergeant returning at daybreak came on the tracks of the animal, and after tracing them very cleverly for over three miles, ran her to earth in a village. The Mullick of the village and the Pathan orderly did not want him to enter ; but the sergeant would not be denied ; and, after a search, found the a 120 LIFE OP animal in the country-yard of one of the houses. He returned to camp with the mare, and the two Mullicks of tho village as prisoners. Three camels have been stolen from the 92nd, and a detachment of the 72nd had some of their cooking things stolen. Captain Connolly, our political, appears to under- stand these people. He has a number of them now in prison, and he succeeded in recovering the value ot some of the things stolen. I expect that he will not be allowed to inflict any severe punishment, and for mere fines they do not appear to care much. The telegrams sent by Cavagnari to the Viceroy, by him to the English ministers in London, give no hint of the dangers which ultimately overwhelmed the British Envoy this gallant companions. Here are the closing telegrams : 30th July, 1879." Cavagnari telegraphs : < Cabul, 27th July. All well, Had interview with Amir and delivered presents.' " 6th August, 1879. "All continues well at Cabul, Envoy and Staff rode through city bazar on 30th July. People orderly. Officers of Embassy more freely about city environs. Amir very friendly, and shows every disposition to act up to treaty. Has sent horses and specimens of country produce to Embassy." 13th August, 1879." Reports from Cabul state that turbu- lence of some regiments recently arrived from Herat had caused some excitement ; now subsiding." 21st August, 1879." Cabul reports all well." 28th August, 1879. "All well with Cabul Embassy." 3rd September, 1879. " All well in the Cabul Embassy, outbreak of cholera reported." ..[ji MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B ,c.s.i. 121 Dr. Kelley bad opened a dispensary and daily treated patients who came to it. It is quite apparent now, that Cavagnari and the gallant Lieutenant Hamilton, as well as Dr. Kelley realised the danger of their position; and met their oath like true men. On the morning of Sunday the 7th September all England and India were startled, and moved pro- foundly by the following telegrams : FROM THE PRESS COMMISSIONER. AN OUTBREAK AT CABUL THE BRITISH RESIDENCY ATTACKED BRITISH TROOPS ORDERED TO ADVANCE ON CABUL. SIMLA, 6TH SEPTEMBER 1879* Late at night, on 4th September, a Ghilzai messenger reached Alikheyl, having come at full speed from Cabul, and reported to Captain Conolly, the Political Officer at Alikheyl, that the British Residency at Cabul had been attacked by several Afghan Regi- ments, who had mutinied for their pay. He said that the Em- bassy and Escort were defending themselves. The intelligence reached the Government at Simla, early on the morning of 5th September, when orders were at once issued to General Massey at Alikheyl, for an immediate movement upon Shutur Gurdan, while General Roberts was instructed to start for Peshawur, to take command of troops for immediate advance on Cabul. General Stewart was ordered by telegram to hold Candahar. All troops on that line, now under orders for return to India, have been directed to concentrate again on Candahar. The British forces in the Khyber to prepare for operations, by Jellalabad when re. inforced. On the night of the 5th, Captain Conolly telegraphed the substance of letters received at Alikheyl, from the Amir him- self. These letters state that certain Afghan Regiments, which 122 LIFE OP had already shown strong symptoms of mutiny against the Amir, had been assembled in the Bala Hissar to receive arrears of pay which they had demanded. They suddenly broke out into violent mutiny and stoned their officers. They next made an attack on the British Residency which is inside the Bala Hissar ; but were received by a heavy and effective fire from the British Escort. The city mob then poured into the Bala Hisssar, plundered and destroyed the Amir's Arsenal, Magazine and stores and joined the mutiniers, in attacking the Residency in overwhelming numbers. The Amir was taken entirely by surprise ; but appears to have used every endeavour to control the tumult. He sent to the Envoy's assistance General Daud Shah, who, on approaching the Residency, was attacked and unhorsed ; and is said by the Amir to be dying of his injuries. The Amir next sent his son and the Governor-General of Cabal, and also some influential personages of the Town; but the mob was completely beyond control. The attack and defence appear to have continued all Wednesday until evening, when the Residency took fire. On Thursday morning the Amir, writing in a tone of the greatest distress and anxiety, said that he was himself beseiged, and had no certain news of the fate of the British Officers of the Mission, nor is it yet known what has become of them. General Roberts leaves Simla this afternoon to assume command of the force, which will be imme- diately directed on Cabul, and which will be speedily reinforced and supported. The following is from the Pioneer : -A sudden and most lamentable misfortune has again befallen the English nation. On Wednesday last, our Resi- dency in the Bala Hissar of Cabul was attacked by Afghan Mutineers ; and messengers from the Amir Yakub, himself besieged in his place hard by, have come in haste to the English outposts to say that, MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 123 having tried in vain to send help to our officers, he knows nothing for certain of their fate. But there is little room for uncertainty. The dwelling given over to the Embassy, was a large building on the south-east wall of the Bala Hissar, enclosing a spa- cious courtyard on two sides of which were the houses our officers lived in one of two stories, the other of four. Here were the four Englishmen, Sir Louis Cavagnari, Mr. William Jenkyns, Lieute- nant W. P. Hamilton, V. C., and Surgeon A. H. Kelley, with their little escort of 50 infantry and 25th cavalry of the Guides. On the morning of Wednesday last, several Herati regiments of the Amir's army, in which signs of disaffection had, for some little while past, been visible, broke out into a sudden mutiny, stoned their officers, and attacked both the English in the Residency, it would seem, and the Amir in his palace. The infuriated soldiery were soon joined by a mob, swarming out from every street and bye way in the city. The regular population of Cabul, it should be noted, numbers very few Afghans. Nearly half the people are Persian Kizzil Bash ; there is also a large Usbeg section : and allowing for Jews, Armenians, Hindus, &c., there would remain but few Afghans proper in the city, apart from the regiments quartered there. But the mixed mob was animated, no doubt, by the same cruel thirst for blood. The Rainzan, the Mahome- E3-, 124 LIFE OF dan fast, had begun on the 20th of August, and re- ligious hatred may have added to the general fury and excitement. The mutineers and rioters burst into the Amir's arsenal ; they surged round the walls of the Residency. Our men, as we might know, even without the assurance given in the tele- gram, fought bravely. Less than a hundred fight- ing men, they kept up a heavy fire all day. The Amir tried to send help : he sent Daud Shah, his Commander-in- Chief, who was driven back wound- ed, and barely escaped with his life. Yakub then sent his own son, together with the Governor of Cabul and other chief men ; but the infuriated mob ceased not from the attack till Wednesday evening, when they fired the Residency. Writing the next day " in the greatest distress and anxiety" Yakub could give no news of the fate of the British oifi- cers. It is too early to inquire now, why the Amir never went himself to the help of his friends ; the sad question to be asked is about the probable fate of our countrymen. And the answer, as we have said, seems unfortunately too certain. Their house was fired, and there is but a very slight chance that one or two of the party might have escaped in the confusion, to some refuge in the city. There is no- thing to show that the attack was organized, or that the mutineers obeyed any leaders. Their own offi- cers they had stoned. Otherwise, there might be MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 125 some faint hope that the members of the mission had been taken prisoners ; though even this would seem too improbable as we write, telegrams come which say unmistakably, that the Embassy has pe~ rished. The accursed knives of the Afghan have once more done us irreparable harm. Once more have Englishmen, distinguished for wisdom and courage, fallen fighting at their posts ; and our only consolation for this great and national disaster is that the duty they were engaged in was noble, that their end was valiant and true. There is no after thought here, that the livesso valuable to us were lost in a fight which may have been unjust. The British Embassy to Cabul was sent on no mission of intrigue ; its objects were neither to enlarge our boundaries, nor to spread discontent amongst the lawful subjects of a neighbouring nation. Its errand was of peace ; the outcome of a policy conspicuous alike for the justice of its aims and the success, till now, of its operations. That this sudden misfor- tune should dim for a moment, and indeed, for ever the history of those operations, is, of course, in- evitable ; and it may, perhaps, seem that the Go- vernment ran too great a risk of an accident. The escort, even at first, was thought small ; and that Sir Louis Cavagnari had so few men to defend him will now be most deeply regretted. But there were risks of many kinds, which no escort could have re- 126 LIFE OF moved. Candahar was occupied by an army, yet Major St. John escaped assassination almost by a miracle. Again, it was at one time far more likely that the Embassy would be attacked by cholera than by rebel Afghans. This is not the time, however, to wonder, if an escort of two or three hundred men would have saved our Envoy ; it will be well for us to look forward. It is vain, also, to call up memo- ries of an even larger disaster the massacre of an English army in Cabul. The attack on the Resi- dency last week bears no relation to the outbreak of November 1841. Our misfortunes then, werethe di- rect result of our own negligence, and of a reckless- ness in every direction which to-day seems incre- dible. This time we shall mete out punishment for an outrage utterly unprovoked, and only imagined as possible in idle, or morbid fancy. It is retribu- tion and a vindication of the national honor that we must think of now ; stimulated by the deepest sor- row for the fate of Cavagnari and of those who, we fear, have perished with him. The telegraph shows how swiftly will this outrage be avenged ; fools were the Afghans to lay hand on our Envoy when armies able to avenge were still so near. The orders have gone forth, and Candahar is as much ours as Lahore. The place was to be evacuated by to-day, but the telegram from Candahar and a letter just received and published elsewhere show how strongly MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 127 it will be re-occupied. Whilst General Stewart at Candahar keeps Southern Afghanistan quiet, si- multaneously movements on the capital will be made from Kurrum and by Jellalabad. There will be no political reasons for delay this time. General Roberts should be in Cabul soon enough almost to rescue the Amir, though whether Yakub can ever again be Amir of Cabul seems very doubtful. But the political aspect of affairs will be plainer when further information is received. There is only one point that will be suggested to nearly every one. India has been condemned to spend vast sums on a long and wearisome war ; to lose many valuable lives in battle and by disease ; and lastly, the Mis- sion, representing in itself, the highest qualities of which Englishmen are capable, is brought to an end by treachery and bloodshed. To whom do we owe such constant and at last such grievous trouble ? There seems no reason, as yet to suspect Russian intrigue in combination once more with the villainy of the Afghans ; but this is certain, that, as being the accident of our Afghan policy, the outrage on the Embassy may be traced, by no means indirectly, to the unceasing ambition, and the unscrupulous dishonor which forced that policy on our rulers to the only nation which will be base enough not to deplore our misfortune. The debt we owe Russia is growing still larger, but big though it 6- 128 LIFE OF is a time will surely come when England will pay it The following appeared in the Times : Our special correspondent with the force under General Roberts sends us the following description of the attack upon the Residency at Cabul, and the events pre- ceding it, written by a Native who had formerly served in a high position in the army of India : " Some two or three days after the arrival of Sir L. Cavagnari and the Mission, six regiments of infantry arrived at Cabul from Herat. They en- camped for three days at Debori, about one kos distant from Cabul. On the morning of the fourth day they marched in order through the streets of Cabul, headed by their officers and with bands playing. While marching along they shouted out, abusing the Envoy by name, asking why he had come there, &c. They also abused all the Kzil- Bashis, saying that they were not men and that they (the Herati soldiers) would show them how to act ; that they would soon put an end to Cavag- nari. They then marched out of the city to their camp at Shirpore. The residents of the city said nothing to them ; they appeared neither pleased at what was going forward nor the reverse. I was present when this took place, and at once took the news to the Envoy, who said, ' Never fear, keep up your heart ; dogs that bark don't bite !' I said, a a MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 129 c These dogs do bite, and there is real danger/ The Envoy said, ' They can only kill the three or four of us here, and our deaths will be well avenged/ I then went to Mr. Jenkyns and told him what I had heard and seen. He asked me if I had been to the Envoy, and, if so, what he had said about it. I told him what had passed, and Mr. Jenkyns said, ' what the Envoy says is very true ; the British Government will not suffer from losing the three or four of us here/ A day or two after this, these Herat regiments were all paid up most of their arrears of pay ; and were given 40 days' leave to revisit their homes. At this time cholera was raging violently. About 150 men out of their number died in one day; and the men dispersed to their homes in a fright. Placing* their arms in the Bala Hissar, they did not even wait for their leave certificates. Up till date none of these troops have returned. In my opinion, the greater part of them will not rejoin, though some of them may do so. The Commander-in- Chief (Sipah Salar), Daoud Shah, was present when the troops marched through the city as above men- tioned, and was also abused by them. He did not reply at all. Some of my own countrymen were serving in these regiments ; on my asking them what the meaning of all this was, they answered, ' Do you think soldiers would have acted thus a a 130 LIFE OP without orders. We were ordered to act as we did by our officers, and to shout out as we marched alone." " I called upon a well-to-do Hindu, whose son is a servant of Sirdar Ibrahim Khan (the elder brother of Yakub Khan). He knows the ins and outs, of what goes on in the house of the great men. He had been to see the Envoy twice before. I called him up and sent him to report to the Envoy ; he went towards the Residency for that purpose ; he came back to me and told me that the Amir's sentry would not let him pass, and stoned him. I report- ed this to the Envoy, who said, ' it is untrue, the man lies.' The next morning another man endea- voured to get speech of the Envoy ; this man was also stopped by the sentry. I don't know who this man was, but I reported this also to the Envoy and asked him, l What is the use of being kept like a prisoner, and no one allowed to come near you V He answered, < I will have that sentry removed.' A day or two after this the sentry was removed by the Envoy's order. Lieutenant Hamilton was sent to order the sentry's removal, which was according- ly done. I heard that the Amir was very angry at the removal of this sentry. A day or two after this the Envoy asked me whether I knew what the Amir's intention was to travel with him to the frontier as he had engaged to do at Gundamuk, or whether he intended not to go. MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 181 " I have omitted to mention one thing. Before the arrival of the six regiments from Herat, men- tioned above, the Envoy, agreeably to a suggestion of mine, wished to pay Wulli Mahomed Khan a visit, to condole with him on the death of his mother. The Envoy said that he wished first of all to ask permission from the Amir before going, He did so, and the Amir answered, * Go/ The Envoy then told me what he had done, and said that he in- tended to visit Wulli Mahomed Khan the next day, ordering me to go and prepare Wulli Mahomed Khan for the visit. I went to Wulli Mahomed Khan's house and told him this, and the Sirdar made every preparation to receive him. The next day, however, the Envoy told me that he had asked Ghyas the Mehmandar whether the Amir would real- ly like his paying this visit, and that Ghyas had an- swered, i No, the Ameer will not like you geing/ I then said, * I warned the Sirdar that you were com- ing ; and every one expected that you would have paid this visit, and all the Sirdars, hearing that you have put it off, have begun to tremble in their hearts ; saying u We wonder what our fate will be if the Sahib is afraid of going, or is unable to go and visit our chief Sirdar." ' When the Envoy asked me about the Amir's intentions, as to his proposed journey with him round his frontier, I replied, * He will not go ; he has made no preparations for it at 132 LIFE OF all ; if you wish to make further inquiries call the Mustaufi Hubibulla Khan.' The Envoy ordered me to call him. I went to the Mustafi, who said, * I am not well to-day ; I will go to-morrow. Give the Sahib my salaam.' I went to the Mustaufi the next day at 10 A.M. to call him, as he had promis- ed to be with the Envoy at 8 A. M. The Mus- taufi went to the Amir and stated that the Envoy had called him. The Amir gave him permis- sion to go, but said, ' Don't go alone ; take Shah Mahomed, $ie Vazir, with you. 1 They both ac- companied me to the presence of the Envoy, who made the three of us sit down, and entered into conversation. He then said to them that he had heard that the Amir was not treating well the Sirdars, who had accompanied him (the Envoy) ; that he had stopped giving them the income they were entitled to, and which the Amir's father had given them regularly ; that they had nothing to live upon, and would suffer in consequence ; that the British Government would not let them be the losers, and would pay their allowances, if the Amir refused to do so ; and that the Amir would not be pleased at this. The Mustaufi said he was unaware that this was the case ; that he would mention it to the Amir : and say that if this was the case it was not proper. The Envoy then asked the Mustaufi whether it was the Amir's intention to travel with MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 133 . him, as promised, or not. Both the Mustaufi and the Vazir said, 4 He cannot go this year, because the country is unsettled ; but he will go next year/ The Envoy said, * Very well/ He then asked them, whether the Amir intended to go to meet the Viceroy in India. The Mustaufi said, * Yes, he will go about December/ The Envoy said to them * Ask the Amir again about this.' They said, 4 We will ask him/ They Envoy then dismissed them and asked me my opinion as to whether the Amir intended to go to India or not. I answered, ' No, he has thrown up the idea of going on this tour with you, and he does not intend going to the Durbar/ I heard shortly afterwards from a friend of mine that he heard from a friend of his, who was present at the time, that on the Mustaufi and Shah Mahomed leaving the Envoy, they went straight to the Amir and mentioned what had taken place at the interview. The Amir was very angry. The Mustaufi said, ' Why are you angry ? If you do not give these men anything, and the British Govern- ment gives nothing to them either, they will suffer from actual want/ * The Amir then asked Daoud Shah what he thought of it. Daoud Shah answer- ed, ' I am a soldier ; I don't understand this sort of thing. I think that the promise with the British at Gundamuck ought to be carried out/ The Amir answered, ' This country is Afghanistan ; we cannot a 134 LIFE OF get on here without practising deceit/ On this the Naib Lall Mahomed (Farasbanni) said, ' If this is true, what you say, that Afghanistan cannot be managed without practising deceits, then we may look upon Afghanistan as on the way to ruin ; it will go out of our hands/ The Amir made no reply. On hearing all, I reported it to Cavagnari, who said ' The Amir can do as he likes/ (This took place some eight or ten days before the 3rd of September.) u About three days after this, the Envoy said, ' I will go and call on the Amir to-morrow/ When I went to the Amir's Durbar the next day I saw the Envoy sitting alone with the Amir. When he re- turned to the Residency, I came and spoke to him. He told me that he had a private interview with the Amir, that lasted two hours ; that the expression of the Amir's face was a pleased one ; that it was the same expression that he had seen him wearing at Gundamuck. On the 2nd Septemper, the Envoy told me that he had asked Shah Mahomed to secure a house for Nawab Gholam Hassan Khan, somewhere in the Bala Hissar, but away from the Residency, This Shah Mahomed had refused to do. The Envoy asked me to look out for one for him either in the City or Kzilbash quarter, or some other place than the Residency ground. I had selected one, and was coming towards the Residency the next morning at MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 135 7 o'clock to report having done so. On arriving at the gate of the Bala Hissar, I heard a report that Daoud Shah had been killed by some men of a regi- ment. I went on and saw three regiments, and a few bazaar people going towards the Envoy's quar- ters. I followed them with two of my own retain- ers. Some of the men of one of the regiments re- cognized me, and said, ' Kill him ; he is Cavag- nari's father. They were unarmed as a rule ; some of them had side arms. Two men attacked me with sticks. One struck me on the shoulder and another struck my horse, which reared and turned round. I found that I could not get to .the Envoy's, so I went up a by-street to Sirdar Wulli Mahomed Khan's house, and leaving my horse in his stable, I went inside the house, where I found Wulli Maho- med, who was taking his bath (ha mam). I called out to him to come out ; he did so, and said, ' What is the matter T I said, ' Men have gone up to kill Cavagnari.' He said, ' Don't stay below ; go up- stairs,' and from there, 200 yards off, through a window I saw all these people go up to the Envoy's stables, and begin stoning the syces, and undoing the horses and plundering. Some went on to where the sowars' horses were, and began to stone them, and began to plunder and unfasten the horses. The sowars armed immediately, and I then heard two or three shots evidently fired by the sowars. I cannot 136 LIFE OF tell whether any damage was done by these shots > but they all retired at once, and some 200 of them went to the upper part of the Bala Hassar to fetch their comrades, the rest of the soldiers going out by the Shah Shahir gate of the Bala Hassar to fetch their arms from their camp. " I heard that when the men had gone to fetch their arms, the Envoy wrote a letter to the Amir and sent it to him by a Chuprassy. I heard that this letter reached the Amir, but did not hear whether he sent any reply or not. "In about half an hour's time, at about 7-30 or 8 A. M., the soldiers returned with their arms, and a regular fight began. Firing went on without inter- mission on both sides. The Afghan soldiers had capi- tal cover, and surrounded the Residency on all sides. The officers of the Afghans directed their men. They had looted the magazine of the upper Bala Hissar, and had plenty of ammunition with them. All the clothing stores, Treasury and other store- houses are near the Residency. The storehouses were looted. They attacked the Treasury, but were stop- ped by the regiment on guard there. This regiment was I suppose about 500 strong and remained at the Treasury all the day. The Amir's house is about 250 yards from that of the Envoy. Besides the re- giment on duty at the Treasury, I suppose there were some 2,000 followers of the Amir who had come in- -EP s MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 137 to the Bala Hissar early that morning who were all round the Amir's house. They were all armed. None of those joined the attacking party, though some of them did so at about 2 P. M. I hear that the Amir several times said, " Some of you go to the Envoy's assistance," but whenever any did go towards where the fighting was going on they only shouted out 'kill, kill.' This is only hearsay. " At about 9 A. M., when the fighting was going on, I myself saw the four European officers of the Embassy charge out at the head of some 25 of the garrison. They drove away a party that were hold- ing some broken ground. When charged, the Afghan soldiers ran like sheep before a wolf. About a quar- ter of an hour after this, another sally was made by a party with three officers at their head (Cavagnari was not with them this time) with the same result. A third sally was made with two British officers (Jenkyns and Hamilton) leading. A fourth sally was made with a Sikh Jamader leading. No more sal- lies were made after this. They all appeared to go up to the upper part of the house, and fired from above. At about half-past 11 o'clock, part of the building, in which the Embassy was, I noticed to be on fire. I do not know who fired it. I think it pro- bable that the defenders, finding themselves so few, fired part so as to have a less space to defend. The a a 138 LIFE OF firing went on continually all day. Perhaps it was hottest from 10 A. M. to 3 P. M., after which time it slackened ; and the last shots were fired ahout 8-30 or 9 A. M., after which, all was quiet and every one dispersed. The next morning I heard shots be- ing fired. I asked an old woman, to whose house I had been sent for safety by Sirdar Wulli Mahomed Khan, what was going on. She sent her son to find out. He said. They are shooting the people found still alive in the Residency. The whole of the day the dead bodies, stripped, remained in the Resi- dency. On the next day, I heard that the bodies of all Mahomedans, Hindus, and the two British officers, Hamilton and Dr. Kelly, were all thrown together into a place dug for the purpose. I heard that the body of Mr. Jenkyns was taken to the Amir. I know nothing more about it. Cavagnari's body was not found. I am of the opinion that it must have been burnt in the house. I heard that, on the 4th, the soldiers found some money in the Residency. On hearing this, the Amir posted sentries over the house ; and on the 5th caused the bodies to be buried; and from other money he found there, he paid each Sepoy of the regiment, that had guarded the Trea- sury, a present of seven rupees each man. I asked Wulli Mahomed Khan to send me to some safe place. He gave me three ponies. I dressed as a grass-cutter, and with one grasscutter riding one pony MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 139 in front, and the second behind me, with the other pony, we got safely to Aoshaho, where I remained in hiding about nine days, when, hearing that the Bri- tish Force was at the Shutar Gurdan, I travelled by night and reached that place in safety and reported myself to the Brigadier- General commanding there. On about the 13th or 14th of September, the man in whose house I was concealed came to his house, and stated the ftx lowing facts. He said: 'The Amir called up the Sirdars of every clan the Ghil- zais, Khostanie, Cabulis, Kizlbashis, Taj is,