THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 /0 
 
 TKAYELS 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 AFGHAN BOUNDAKY COMMISSION
 
 I SIR PETER LUMSDEN. 
 3 CAPT. C. E. YATE. 
 
 2 SIR JOSEPH RIDGEWAY. 
 4- GENERAL KOMAROFF.
 
 Rngland and Russia Face to Face 
 in Asia 
 
 TRAVELS 
 
 WITH Tin: 
 
 AFGHAN BOUNDARY COMMISSION 
 
 BY 
 
 LIEUTENANT A. C. YATE 
 
 BOMBAY STAFF CORPS 
 
 WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS 
 
 EDINBURGH AND LONDON 
 
 MDCCCLXXXVII 
 
 All Rights reserved
 
 PKEFACE, 
 
 I HAVE made the basis of my book the letters I wrote from 
 the Afghan Boundary Commission camp to the ' Pioneer,' 
 ' Daily Telegraph/ and other journals. I have thought fit 
 to preserve them rather than endeavour to rewrite a more 
 connected narrative, partly because that which is written 
 under the vivid impressions of the moment gives often a 
 truer conception of events than a carefully considered nar- 
 rative written a year later, and partly because my official 
 occupation left me little leisure for literary work. I have 
 also given a summary of the work of the British Boundary 
 Commission both as a whole and individually, and I have 
 stated my views of the respective positions of England and 
 Russia in Central Asia as affected by the events to which 
 the despatch of the Boundary Commission has given rise. 
 
 The maps and illustrations now published are illustrative 
 of places that have never before been made the subject of 
 the artist's pencil or the photographer's camera. The map of 
 Central Asia, Persia, and Afghanistan is based on the surveys 
 carried out by Major Holdich, and Captains Gore, Peacocke, 
 and Hon. M. G. Talbot. The plan of the Russian and Afghan 
 positions at Panjdeh was drawn up by Sergeant (now Lieu- 
 tenant, 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards) Galindo of the Intel- 
 ligence branch, on information furnished by Captain C. 
 E. Yate.
 
 vi PREFACE. 
 
 It may possibly be expected that I should say something 
 of the frontier as it has been now demarcated from the Hari 
 Rud to the Oxus. I have, however, several reasons for not 
 touching on this theme : firstly, because I wish this book to be 
 a record of my own personal experiences, and not hearsay 
 reports ; and secondly, because I understand that an officer 
 now with the Boundary Commission, and who knows as much 
 of the frontier and its worth as any man, intends on his 
 return to give the world the benefit of his opinion about it. 
 
 This book is intended to be not only a record of the move- 
 ments of the Afghan Boundary Commission, but also a 
 description of travels through country that is practically 
 unknown to the civilised world. I allude, of course, to the 
 route taken by Colonel Ridgeway and his party from Nushki 
 to Herat, and to Badkis generally. A solitary journey from 
 Herat to the Black Sea, after leaving the Commission, enabled 
 me to obtain some information on more than one point of 
 interest to England such as concerning the demarcation 
 of the Russo- Persian boundary, which I have given as an 
 Appendix. To suppose that the Russo-Persian frontier, as 
 recently settled, will long remain a fixture, would be mere 
 self-delusion. I cannot find any distinct definition of the 
 frontier drawn from Kalat-i-Nadiri to Sarakhs, and it is just 
 in that quarter that rumour credits Russia with further 
 aggressive designs. One of the most significant signs of the 
 times is the proposed construction of a chaussde from Ashka- 
 bad to Mashhad. That is the highroad of Russian access to 
 Herat, and it is therefore not surprising that Russia should 
 early develop an interest in it. 
 
 A. C. YATE. 
 SIMLA, 12th June 1886.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. I'AciK 
 
 I. PREPARATIONS, ..... 1 
 
 II. FROM RINDLI TO NUSHKI, .... 3 
 
 III. ACROSS THE DESERT, . . . . 52 
 
 IV. FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT, . . . 70 
 
 V. FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN, . . . .143 
 
 VI. KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB, . . .166 
 
 VII. IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS, . . . 204 
 
 VIII. AT GULRAN, . . . . . 270 
 
 IX. THE PANJDEH CRISIS, AND THE RETREAT TO TIRPUL, 311 
 
 X. A VISIT TO MASHHAD, . . . .361 
 
 XI. INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY, . . . 385 
 
 XII. RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION, . . . 424 
 
 XIII. MILITARY STRENGTH OF PERSIA AND AFGHANISTAN, . 447 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 I. THE PANJDEH RACE MEETING, . . . 453 
 
 II. CAPTAIN YATE AT PANJDEH, . . . 457 
 
 III. THE RUSSO-PERSIAN FRONTIER, . . . 462 
 
 INDEX, ....... 473
 
 ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 PORTRAITS OF SIR PETER LUMSDEN SIR JOSEPH RIDGEWAY 
 
 GENERAL KOMAROFF CAPTAIN C. E. YATE, Frontispiece 
 
 THE START FROM NUSHKi, . . To face page 52 
 
 IRAK GATE, WESTERN FACE, HERAT, . 140 
 
 ZULFIKAR PASS, .... 290 
 
 INK I IE I Hffffflm, ... 3 
 
 MACHKANDAK CAMP ON THE AB-I-SIXJAU, . 401
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 AFGHAN FRONTIEE COMMISSION 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 PREPARATIONS. 
 
 THE intense national interest that the Afghan Frontier Com- 
 mission awakened in the early part of 1885 is a very marked 
 contrast to the melange of indifference and ill-will that it 
 aroused in the autumn of 1884. In England the feeling 
 was one of indifference indifference arising from ignorance 
 of the important issues at stake ; in India it was one of ill- 
 will the ill-will of disappointment and jealousy. It was 
 only natural ; for every officer of ambition and spirit longed 
 to be one of the chosen few, and who a more suitable victim 
 for their chagrin at failure than those who had succeeded ? 
 
 While the public, then, was indifferent or ill-disposed, the 
 members .of the Commission were each toiling in their respec- 
 tive spheres. The preparations of the Intelligence, Survey, 
 Geological, Botanical, and other scientific Departments rep- 
 resented with the Commission, were in the main confined to 
 their own particular branches. The escort, both infantry and 
 cavalry, had only themselves to look after. It was on the 
 
 A
 
 2 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Foreign Department, and on Major Eind, the officer in whose 
 single personality were united the duties of Commissariat, 
 Transport, and Treasury officer of the Commission, that the 
 brunt of preparation fell. On them devolved the provision 
 of tents, mess stores, mess servants, warm clothing for all 
 ranks of the escort and followers, camp furniture, horses and 
 ponies for those attaches and subordinates entitled to them, 
 commissariat supplies for some 1200 mouths for a year (ex- 
 cept the staples of life, which the Amir undertook to provide 
 such as flour, rice, grain, forage, &G..&C.), transport (1300 camels, 
 100 mules, and 250 ponies were provided to start with), and 
 treasure (a large amount was taken in Eussian gold). In the 
 case of the political officers, these duties were in addition to 
 those more specially appropriate to their department. 
 
 Apart from the susceptibilities of the Amir and the ques- 
 tionable tolerance of the Afghans, the passage of the Beluch 
 desert was the hardest crux before the Commission ; and to 
 solve it, Mr H. S. Barnes of the Bengal Civil Service and 
 Captain Maitland of the Intelligence branch were deputed. 
 The Beluchistan agency was looked to, to furnish information 
 about the routes from Quetta and the Bolan across Beluch- 
 istan to the Helmund, near Eudbar ; but it was not till Captain 
 Maitland, assisted by one or more native subordinates of the 
 Beluchistan agency deputed by Sir Eobert Sandeman, had per- 
 sonally explored the several rival routes, that a decision was 
 arrived at. To Sir Eobert Sandeman, Mr Barnes, and other 
 officials of the Beluchistan agency, the Commission owes much, 
 for the provision of camel transport, supplies, guides, and ap- 
 paratus for carrying water, and for the general facilitation of 
 its march to the Helmund. The efficiency of the material sup- 
 plied, however, left something to be desired. Valuable assist- 
 ance was rendered by the Afghan officials in the provision of 
 water and supplies near the Helmund. With assistance 
 readily afforded by the Beluch and Afghan chieftains, and 
 owing to the care with which Colonel Eidgeway ensured the 
 satisfactory completion of way provision essential to success, 
 the march of the Commission to the Helmund was carried out 
 without the slightest casualty.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM EINDLI TO XUSHKI. 
 
 RINDLI, Slst August. 
 
 THE nucleus of the Afghan Boundary Commission has at last 
 been formed here. The escort of 200 sabres of the llth 
 Bengal Lancers under Major Bax, with Captain Heath and 
 Lieutenant Drummond, and with Dr Charles in medical charge, 
 arrived here in two trains on the 29th and 30th respectively. 
 Captain Yate and Lieutenant the Hon. M. G. Talbot, RE., 
 arrived at Jacobabad on the evening of the 29th, and were 
 followed by Dr Owen on the 30th. I joined them there, and 
 we all came on to Eindli on the latter date, arriving about 
 10 P.M. Naturally at that hour there was nothing to do 
 but to unload such of our baggage as was indispensably 
 necessary to our comfort, and to retire to rest in the Govern- 
 ment bungalow. After a hot journey of eight hours across 
 the " Put," we felt it our duty to try and do justice to the 
 meal which the messman here had prepared for us. A very 
 few mouthfuls, however, sufficed to blunt the edge of an 
 appetite dulled by the heat, and we preferred rather to do 
 justice to the niceness of our gastronomic tastes by judicious 
 abstention. Happily ice and aerated waters were plentiful ; 
 and so, solaced by a peg and a cheroot, we retired. In this 
 climate, indeed, ice, and not bread, may justly be styled the 
 staff of life. It appears that the llth Bengal Lancers were on 
 this occasion provided with no ice. Why ? In May 1881, 
 when the Kandahar force was withdrawn, ice was provided in 
 abundance for all troops, whether European or native, along
 
 4 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the entire route from Pir Chauki to Karachi, Lahore, or what- 
 ever might be the destination of the troops. One regiment of 
 native infantry that had only to travel some 400 miles from 
 the terminus at Pir Chauki was provided with 1800 Ib. of 
 ice to allay the thirst and mitigate the heat which, it was 
 feared, might prove too much for them. There is little differ- 
 ence between the heat then and the heat now, and yet even 
 the officers of the llth Bengal Lancers were without ice. 
 One of them described to us the magic effect which the sight 
 of the word "Ice," written in capitals on the ice-waggon 
 which accompanies eveiy mail-train on the Indus Valley State 
 Railway, wrought upon him at Rohri, opposite Sukkur, on the 
 Indus. As their troop-train came in, the mail for Lahore was 
 just leaving. Reclining hot and weary in his carriage, sud- 
 denly ice loomed before his vision. In a moment he was up 
 and half out of the carriage, shouting " Ice ! for God's sake, 
 some ice ! " There must have been a heartrending sincerity 
 in the tone of his voice, for it penetrated to the soft corner of 
 a native's heart, and he, mirdbile dictu, rushed to the ice-box 
 and threw out a large block on the platform as the mail passed 
 out of the station. That native received no payment, and 
 knew he could receive no payment. I should like to know 
 that native. I feel that his acquaintance would do any man 
 honour, even the Good Samaritan. 
 
 The heat here is much greater than I anticipated after the 
 for this locality late heavy rainfall in July and early in 
 August. Nature, too, has during the last few days been en- 
 deavouring to administer to itself relief in the form of dust 
 and rain storms. Yesterday afternoon we sallied forth from 
 Jacobabad station under a rattling salute from a dust-storm. 
 The effect, however, of these atmospheric disturbances extends 
 over but a limited sphere, and Rindli has not been admitted 
 into the favoured precincts. The zone of dust is considerably 
 broader than the narrow belt of rain which follows in its 
 wake. In Jacobabad isolated drops fell ; but ten miles or so 
 towards Sibi we crossed a narrow semi-deluged tract, where 
 the trees and herbage were still glittering with moisture in 
 the bright sun-blaze that succeeded the storm.
 
 FROM RIXDLT TO XUSHKI. 5 
 
 On arrival at Sibi yesterday we were joined by a very 
 voluble Beluch or Brahui sardar, who represented that he was 
 collecting transport for the Mission, and who, if his deeds were 
 at all on a par with his words, had already rendered, and was 
 still further likely to render, invaluable assistance to the 
 Mission. He has accompanied us here, where we found that 
 Sardar Yar Mahomed Khan, the son of the late well-known 
 chief of the Bolan, Alluddinah, had also arrived for the pur- 
 pose of meeting Colonel Pddgeway, who is expected to arrive 
 here (by special train from Jacobabad) to-morrow about day- 
 break. One of the inspectors of police under the Beluchistan 
 Agency and the Tehsildar of Sibi have also been deputed by 
 Sir Kobert Sandeman to this place, for the purpose of pro- 
 moting as rapidly as possible the collection of carriage for the 
 Mission. I hear that 1100 camels and 2500 loading-ropes are 
 actually present here thanks to the excellent and energetic 
 measures adopted by the Resident in Beluchistan for the 
 collection of the required transport. It is estimated that in 
 all 1300 camels will be required. Amidst so much that is 
 excellent, one drawback, however, must not be overlooked, 
 and that is, that there are no sullectahs. 1 The cavalry, it is 
 true, have their own ; but how are the hundreds of packages 
 of private baggage, tents, mess stores, office records, stores and 
 records of the Survey, Intelligence, Medical, and Scientific 
 branches, to be loaded ? I have not yet heard that that 
 question has received a satisfactory answer. The arsenals of 
 Quetta and Karachi are within call ; but I imagine the Zhob 
 expedition, and consequent movements in relief, have already 
 taxed or will tax severely their resources. 
 
 In all there are eight members of the Mission assembled 
 here now, and at present the Government bungalow, with the 
 aid of partial doubling up, suffices to house us all. The 
 accommodation for troops, however, is very limited. The 200 
 men of the llth Bengal Lancers are accommodated in a landi, 
 or long sort of shed, where at least they obtain shelter from the 
 direct rays of the sun. Their horses are, of course, picketed 
 
 1 Sulleetah or, to adopt the Hunterian spelling, salita is a large loading- 
 sheet of strong coarse material, in general use with camels in all parts of Asia.
 
 6 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 in the open air, as also are many of those belonging to the 
 officers of the Mission. Besides a number of horses that ar- 
 rived previously, and the horses and ponies that have been 
 collected here under Sir E. Sandeman's orders for the use 
 of the clerks, munshis, and other subordinates of the Mis- 
 sion, to each of whom Government has presented an outfit 
 allowance of Es. 500 and a steed of sorts, some 35 horses 
 arrived this afternoon with tents and other stores of the 
 Mission in a train under the charge of Eessaldar- Major 
 Baha-ud-din Khan of the Central India Horse, and Subadar 
 Mahomed Husain Khan of the 2d Sikhs, native attaches 
 accompanying the Mission. The only other native attacliA 
 here is Sardar Sher Ahmed Khan, an Extra Assistant Com- 
 missioner in the Panjab, and a son of the present Gov- 
 ernor of Kandahar. He did the Government good service 
 at Kabul in 1879-80, and found it convenient to withdraw 
 to India when his cousin, the present Amir, ascended the 
 throne. 
 
 The detachment llth Bengal Lancers will probably march 
 to-morrow morning for Mach, the wisest course they can 
 pursue, considering the heat and the meagre accommodation 
 for man and beast accommodation that will daily grow more 
 limited as the various component parts of the Mission con- 
 gregate here. There is no difficulty about forage, for any 
 amount of grass can be obtained in the surrounding jungle 
 and cultivated land for the cutting. But the fact is, there is 
 no work for the cavalry here, especially now that we expect 
 the arrival of a detachment of infantry in a day or two. This 
 morning early, as we were sitting together over our chota- 
 hazri (early breakfast), a telegram, addressed to a mythical 
 personage named "S. S. O., Eindli," was brought up. The 
 senior officer present considered that under the circumstances, 
 and in furtherance of the interests of Government, it was 
 his duty to take upon himself the dignity and duties of 
 that official, and opened that telegram. Accordingly it was 
 opened, and it stated that 240 bayonets of the 20th Panjab 
 Infantry had been directed to start from Jullunder without 
 delay, and might be expected here in two or three days. The
 
 FROM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 7 
 
 receipt of this news was greeted with a general expression of 
 satisfaction, especially on the part of the cavalry. It does 
 indeed appear matter for congratulation that Government 
 has deemed it advisable to rescind its previous determination. 
 It does not seem within the bounds of possibility that a small 
 body of cavalry could march the greater part of the day (or 
 the best part of the night as the case may be), performing 
 the duties of a baggage and rear guard, and when at the halt 
 furnishing all the sentries required by a camp containing 
 at least 1000 souls, and at the same time attend to their 
 horses, arms, accoutrements, and saddlery, and perform all 
 the other duties appertaining to the daily routine of a cavalry 
 soldier. The conveyance of the infantry over the strip 
 of waterless desert 50 miles broad which is situated 
 between Nushki and the Helmund, is a matter for which due 
 provision must be made. There seems, however, nothing to 
 prevent their being conveyed across on camels, provided the 
 camels are forthcoming. I am informed that the subjects of 
 Azad Khan of Kharan (from whom camels for the Commission 
 might be obtained) are in the habit of raiding into Seistan 
 and other equally distant districts, mounted, not on horses, 
 but on camels. In their case speed is no great object, for the 
 booty they carry off consists of herds and flocks a species of 
 plunder that cannot be taken off at a gallop. Similarly, in 
 the conveyance of the infantry across the desert, no undue 
 haste is necessary. Any camel could carry a man 50 miles in 
 fifteen hours, and consequently the infantry can be conveyed 
 across this strip of desert in a single night. What more is 
 needed ? Every man, of course, will carry water for himself 
 in such vessel as he possesses, and puckali camels will supply 
 the rest. I hear that a number of mules are expected to 
 arrive shortly by rail: they are doubtless intended for the 
 carriage of ammunition, hospital panniers, and such other 
 stores as must not be allowed to lag behind. I doubt the 
 advisability of taking a large number of mules in a country 
 where scarcity of fodder and water is anticipated. A camel 
 will make an excellent meal on thorns, but a mule is par- 
 ticularly delicate on the subject of food and water.
 
 8 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 It is proposed, if possible, to avoid pitching the camp here 
 in any regular form. I am disposed to doubt the advisabil- 
 ity of such a policy. Human nature, whether it be in the 
 foreign, military, survey, medical, or scientific branches of 
 the service, does not instanter accommodate itself to a condi- 
 tion of things that is either entirely foreign to it, or from 
 which it has been estranged for some time past. For that 
 reason I certainly think that if the camp be not regularly 
 pitched, every man who has his tents unpacked, and pitched, 
 and lowered, and repacked at least once before we march to 
 Kuudilani, is a sensible fellow. It was with this view that 
 I this morning directed my butler, who speaks only Marathi 
 or Hindustani, and three Pathans whom I engaged for camp- 
 work, and who speak only Persian and Pushtu, to pitch my 
 tents. I had been sitting writing quietly for fully an hour 
 when the sound of angry voices broke on my ear. I recog- 
 nised the gruff tones of the Pathans and the more treble 
 notes of the Hindu. I went out. A very babel of tongues 
 was going on, with which I intermingled a few comments in a 
 style of English that is not generally classed as " the Queen's." 
 For I ascertained that the four worthies between them had 
 in one hour so far progressed in the art of tent-pitching as to 
 fix in the ground four pegs, tie four ropes to them, and break 
 an upright pole short off at the head. Having calmed the 
 war of unknown tongues, and myself too, I explained to them 
 that though prevention is better than cure, still when a case 
 has exceeded the bounds of prevention, cure, and not mutual 
 recrimination, especially in the language of Babel, is the best 
 course to follow. So I sent them off to the bazaar for a new 
 bamboo and an ironsmith to fit it, and instructions not to 
 trouble me any more in the matter. I only wish I may not 
 have any more trouble about that pole. However, whether 
 the camp be pitched here or not, it is proposed to move to 
 Mach as soon as possible, and pitch it there on a systematic 
 form. At present neither the date of our departure from 
 here, nor the date on which we are likely to march from 
 Mach, is fixed with any degree of certainty. It is possible 
 that more may be known when Colonel Eidgeway arrives to-
 
 FROM RIXDLI TO NUSHKI. 9 
 
 morrow ; but I am disposed to think that the two words 
 " transport " and " loading gear " contain the key to our 
 movements i.e., until we have both in sufficiency we can- 
 not move, and as yet we have neither. Our route from Mach, 
 as at present proposed, is via Mastung to Nushki, and thence 
 north of the routes followed by General Sir C. Macgregor 
 and Captain Lockwood, straight to a point on the Helmund, 
 some 30 or 40 miles north-east of Uudbar. However, I 
 believe that as yet no route has been definitely decided on. 
 The selection will be based on the reports sent in by 
 Captain Maitland and Mr Barnes, who are out beyond 
 Nushki collecting supplies and information. 
 
 A tonga (light dog-cart) has been ordered to be in readiness 
 for Colonel Eidgeway on his arrival, and he will leave at once 
 for Quetta. As I write at this moment (5 r.M.) another heavy 
 dust-storm is careering along. No doors or windows can keep 
 out the impalpable dust that it drives along. Why did not 
 Nature decree that the rain that usually follows should pre- 
 cede it ? 'Twere more rational surely. Captain Yate, Lieut. 
 Talbot, and Dr Owen, have been busy unloading horses, tents, 
 and survey stores all the afternoon. It is terribly trying work 
 remaining out long in the sun. The coolness and shade of a 
 dust-storm are even welcome as a protection from those 
 murderous rays. It seems hardly credible to those who do 
 not know Upper Sind and the Panjab frontier, that on one 
 of these scorching days a man will welcome the advent of a 
 dust-storm, and go out in the whirling dust that he may feel 
 the delicious coolness of the breeze that accompanies it. 
 Already complaints are made that some of the cases of stores 
 are too large even to load on camels, and that such being the 
 case, the transport will break down. I am certainly at a loss 
 to understand how the naturalist of the party proposes to 
 carry and utilise the contents of the numerous large cases 
 which I see labelled as for his use. Indeed, not a few hints 
 are being let fall that the greater part of these cases will 
 never be opened by scientific hands, but by those of the 
 rapacious Beluch or Pathan, whose eyes will grow round with 
 amazement as he surveys the mysterious contents. One
 
 10 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 hopes that, if such be the case, those freebooters may be 
 tempted to try a meal off arsenical paste. 
 
 1st September. 
 
 Major Hill, E.E., the head of the Survey party, and Dr 
 Aitchison, the naturalist and botanist accompanying the 
 Mission, arrived late last evening. After the dust-storm in 
 the afternoon a light dropping rain commenced, and continued 
 till late at night, and thankful indeed we were for it, since it 
 ensured us a cool night. I would that it could also have 
 ensured us a restful night, but that was hopeless. Shortly 
 after midnight the llth Bengal Lancers began to prepare for 
 their march to Kundilani, and till 3 A.M. the roars, snorts, and 
 grunts of the camels and the shouts of the men rendered 
 aught but fitful snatches of slumber impossible. At last the 
 silence of night regained its sway, and sound sleep closed our 
 eyelids, but not for long. About 4 A.M. the sounds of steps 
 and voices betokened the arrival of Colonel Eidgeway and 
 his party. After that, all idea of further sleep was resigned. 
 Colonel Eidgeway did not stay longer than was necessary to 
 ascertain how the provision of transport was progressing, and 
 to issue instructions for its collection, and the despatch of all 
 stores, baggage, and followers without delay to Mach. The 
 officers of each department will, as soon as they have received 
 their tents and stores, and collected their establishments, 
 move forward up the Bolan. Captain Yate has his hands 
 full, distributing tents, and handing over stores and transport 
 to each individual and department; and as such work can 
 only be done in the open air, no one envies him his arduous 
 task. Moreover, the paucity of hands available for this work 
 is a serious source of delay. At present the services of some 
 twenty followers of the Survey Department alone are procur- 
 able, the public followers of other branches of the Mission 
 not having arrived yet. The burden of toil and heat rests 
 not much less heavily on the officers of the various depart- 
 ments who are taking over tents and stores. 
 
 The cavalry seem to have stolen a march on the transport 
 authorities in the dead of night, for they have walked off
 
 FROM EINDLI TO IsUSIlKI. 11 
 
 with no less than 192 camels for 200 men, and such a 
 proportion is not exactly in accordance with the familiar 
 Kabul scale. By the by, Colonel Podge-way on arrival 
 found a telegram awaiting him, stating that the headquarters 
 and 100 additional sabres of the llth Bengal Lancers were 
 under orders to accompany the Mission ; and in accordance 
 with a suggestion made in the same telegram, the band of the 
 regiment has been asked for. 
 
 It is estimated now that at least 300 camels are neces- 
 sary to complete the transport required for the use of the 
 Mission. Apparently the interview of Sardar Yar Mahomed 
 Khan with Colonel Kidgeway was not attended with any 
 satisfactory results. The voluble Beluch to whom I have 
 alluded previously, when asked how many more camels he 
 could supply within three days, had nothing to offer but 
 empty long-winded phrases. A new camel contractor, by 
 name Larinda Khan, is expected to arrive with Major Kind, 
 and it is hoped that he, with the assistance of the Tehsildar 
 of Sibi, will collect the required number of camels in three 
 or four days. Anyhow, a little competition will tend to 
 smarten up all parties. The Survey branch hope to move 
 on to-morrow night, and perhaps also the dispensary under 
 Dr Owen, and the natural science department under Dr 
 Aitchison. The last - named department alone requires 20 
 camels for its stores. Owing to the increase in the escort, 
 an increase will also be made in the staff and stores of the 
 medical branch, and all this means extra transport. Major 
 Kind is procuring 500 sulleetahs, but the rest of the load- 
 ing must be done with ropes alone. Each officer of the 
 Mission is to be allowed three camels for his private baggage, 
 but it is not certain whether that is meant to include tents or 
 not. When I look at the piles of tents, mess-stores, toshak- 
 hana (treasure) cases, survey, geological, medical, and scientific 
 appliances lying on the railway platform, or stowed in the 
 verandahs and rooms of the ddk bungalow, I can only breathe 
 a hope that it may not be necessary to cut down the proposed 
 allowance of private transport. 
 
 Several of the native attaches of the Mission, of whom
 
 12 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 there are nine in all, arrived yesterday ; among others, Sardar 
 Mahomed Aslarn Khan, Commandant of the Khaibar Jazail- 
 chis ; Khan Baba Khan, Extra Assistant Commissioner of 
 the Panjab; Mirza Ghularn Ahmed, and Eessaldar-Major Ma- 
 homed Husain Khan, 7th Bengal Cavalry. Mirza Ghulam 
 Ahmed accompanied the Seistan Commission of 1872. All 
 these attaches have been provided by Government with very- 
 good tents of the Kashmir or Swiss-cottage pattern, and pals 
 are also supplied for their servants. All the English mem- 
 bers of the Mission have been fitted out with Kashmir tents, 
 240 Ib. in weight ; while for the use of the British Commis- 
 sioner and the mess on the frontier, large hill and double- 
 poled tents and shamianahs have been procured. Nor has an 
 adequate supply of mess furniture been overlooked. It was 
 originally intended that the heavy camp and stores, which 
 would not be required till the Mission reaches the frontier, 
 should be sent vid Kandahar and Farah under an escort 
 furnished by the Amir. That plan has now been abandoned, 
 and everything will travel vid Nushki and Seistan. It is 
 hoped that two of Berthon's collapsible boats will arrive 
 from Bombay in time to be taken with the Mission. There 
 is some difference of opinion as to the purpose for which 
 they are really intended, but it is generally agreed that they 
 will be useful if we get any good duck-shooting on the Hel- 
 mund or Tejend, Oxus or Murghab. Should, therefore, 
 urgent need oblige us to abandon some stores in the path- 
 less desert, the collapsible boats must not be lightly parted 
 with. It would be better were the scientific branch asked 
 to sacrifice its countless reams of blotting-paper. What 
 would the nomad do with it ? Would its felt texture tempt 
 him to make a kibitka of it? It would be a collapsible 
 kibitka after the first fall of rain ! 
 
 Colonel Ridgeway left here for Quetta by tonga about 
 7 A.M. Major Eind and Mr Merk are expected to arrive 
 to-day or to-morrow. Captain Yate has been placed in 
 charge of the camp until Colonel Eidgeway rejoins, and will 
 stay here till all baggage and followers have arrived and been 
 passed on to Mach.
 
 FROM RIXDLI TO XUSHKI. 13 
 
 3d Septcmler. 
 
 The following arrivals have taken place in the last forty-eight 
 hours : 244 rifles of the 20th Panjab Infantry, with five native 
 officers, under Major Meiklejohn, accompanied by Captain 
 Cotton and Lieutenant Eawlins ; Mr Merk, Personal Assistant 
 to Colonel Eidgeway ; Captain Gore, of the Survey; Major Hind, 
 Assistant Commissary-General ; and Lieutenant Burne, 23d 
 Pioneers, in charge of transport. All the commissariat stores 
 and a section of a field-hospital, with about 150 kakars, 1 have 
 also arrived. Altogether the number of public and private 
 followers who are to accompany the Mission has now been 
 swelled to about 900. To house them, little groups of tents 
 have sprung up here and there around the railway station, and 
 an air of camp pervades the place, not, however, bearing the 
 stamp of military precision. But at present there is no special 
 call for rectangular regularity. Kazi Mahomed Aslam Khan 
 and Azizullah Khan, two of the native attaches, have also 
 arrived. Of the first named, the only thing worthy of note 
 that I have heard is that, presuming on the generosity of a 
 Government which had already supplied him with two tents, 
 a horse, a chair, a table, and Es. 500, he went to the officer in 
 charge of the Mission camp and asked whether Government 
 would not also supply him with a charpoy? The officer re- 
 ferred to is an official of perhaps more than usual forbearance, 
 but on this occasion his reply was couched in terms of more 
 than usual expressiveness. 
 
 The career of Jemadar Azizullah Khan during the past 
 seven or eight years is sufficiently checkered and curious to 
 merit repetition. Lord Blandford (now Duke of Marlborough), 
 when travelling in India, took a fancy to him, and took him 
 with him all round the world, and finally to England. Prom 
 Lord Blandford's service he passed into that of H.E.H. the 
 Prince of Wales, with whom he remained for two years. In 
 1878 he went to Turkey, and being appointed a lieutenant in 
 the Sultan's army, was in Kars throughout the siege. For his 
 services during that war he received a medal and the 5th 
 
 1 A kahar is a stretcher-bearer or carrier of sick. 
 
 2 Charpoy is an Indian bed.
 
 14 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 class of the Order of the Medjidie. From Turkey he re- 
 turned to India, and being appointed a jemadar in the 5th 
 Panjab Cavalry, served with that regiment during the late 
 Afghan war, receiving the medal with clasp for Charasia. 
 From the 5th he went to the Panjab police, and now he 
 is told off to accompany the Afghan Frontier Demarcation 
 Commission, though in what capacity is not clearly denned. 
 A strange career, but too akin to that of the rolling stone. 
 He does not seem to have gathered much moss. 
 
 The solution of the question of transport still presents con- 
 siderable difficulties, which the increase in the strength of the 
 escort has not tended to decrease. There are 1100 camels 
 here now, and 200 more on their way down the pass, but it is 
 estimated that not less than 1600 are required to convey the 
 Mission from here to Mach, and whence 300 extra camels are 
 to be procured no one at present knows. In the meantime, the 
 heavy camp tents were sent off last night loaded on 80 camels, 
 and orders have been issued that every corps, department, and 
 individual is to move to Mach as soon as possible. With 
 this view the officer in charge of the Mission camp is issuing 
 the light camp tents and camp furniture, and the commis- 
 sariat officer distributing to followers warm clothing ; and 
 each party, whenever it is completly equipped, will get under 
 way. News has just been received from Captain Maitland 
 and Mr Barnes at Nushki. The former reports that, provided 
 the Mission can collect sufficient transport to convey it to 
 Nushki, all will be well, as he expects to be able to assemble 
 there a number of spare camels. The present difficulty of 
 obtaining transport is due to the Zhob expedition. A report 
 on the road from Panjpai to Nushki has been sent in to 
 Colonel Ridgeway, and on the 28th ultimo the above-named 
 officers were to start from Nushki towards the Helmund, to 
 report on the road and supplies of forage and water. When 
 it is considered that the Mission camp will comprise not less 
 than 1600 human souls and 600 horses and mules, and that to 
 the best of our present knowledge a tract of desert, over 200 
 miles in breadth, during the last 50 miles of which water is 
 not procurable, has to be crossed, it is obvious that such a
 
 FROM EIXDLI TO XUSHKI. 15 
 
 route should not be attempted without previous reconnais- 
 sance. 
 
 One of the most intricate cruccs that is at present taxing 
 the ingenuity of the transport officers of the Mission is how 
 to convey the flag -staff to the frontier. It is a solid and 
 weighty structure in three pieces, each about 16 feet long, 
 so that the whole, when erected, will be about 45 feet high. 
 It is to be hoped we shall experience no revival of the " flag 
 question" which proved such an annoyance to Sir Fred. 
 Goldsmid on the Seistan Boundary Commission. I must not 
 omit to mention another important member of the Mission 
 viz., the Bull-dog that will keep watch at the foot of the Brit- 
 ish flag -staff. Such a guardian may be necessary, if it be 
 true, as some suggest, that the British Lion will not be sent 
 to support the Mission. 
 
 5th September. 
 
 The veil of difficulties and delay is lifting, and a brighter 
 horizon looms before us. The indefatigable Tehsildar of 
 Sibi, to whom be given all praise that is his due, brought in 
 124 camels this morning, and reports that 180 more camels 
 and 60 donkeys are on the way hither. There is good reason 
 now to hope that the night of the 8th will see the last of 
 us out of Eindli. The Survey party and Dr Aitchison 
 with his establishment left here on the night of the 3d, and 
 were followed last night by three companies of the 20th 
 Panjab Infantry, one company remaining here for guard 
 duties. Captain Peacocke, R.E., of the Intelligence branch, 
 and 64 sabres of the llth Bengal Lancers under Lieu- 
 tenant Wright, arrived this morning. The remainder of the 
 llth Bengal Lancers, with Colonel Prinsep and Lieutenant 
 Beatson, are expected here to-morrow. The 100 additional 
 sabres of the llth Bengal Lancers now arriving will be 
 sent back if the infantry succeed in crossing the desert. 
 It is proposed, if possible, to despatch this evening for Quetta 
 600 or 700 camel-loads of mess and commissariat stores. 
 By the by, a telegram was received yesterday from Colonel 
 Kidgeway directing that the camp be formed at Quetta, and 
 not at Mach. The fact is, that the Bombay commissariat
 
 16 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 depot at Quetta had only thrown one day's supplies for the 
 estimated strength of the Mission into each station in the 
 Bolan Pass, and consequently the detention of any portion of 
 the Mission, far less the whole, at Mach for more than one 
 day became impossible. The success of the Tehsildar of Sibi 
 in obtaining this extra transport is most opportune. Owing 
 to the Zhob expedition, every available animal, from a camel 
 to a donkey, in or around Quetta, has been bought or hired, 
 consequently it is not surprising that Colonel Eidgeway 
 yesterday telegraphed that he could send no more transport 
 from Quetta, and that the Mission must do the best it could 
 with the 1300 camels already provided for it. Such being 
 the case, the course that was yesterday evening deemed the 
 only one feasible was to leave here all such mess and com- 
 missariat stores as would not be required till the frontier was 
 reached, to be conveyed vid Kandahar to Herat by Khora- 
 san carriers. This last addition, however, has, it is hoped, 
 smoothed away all hindrances. If only the Mission can 
 reach Quetta, sufficient transport can be in the meantime 
 collected there for the onward journey. Of the camels now 
 at the disposal of the Mission, a large number belong to a 
 Brahui contractor, named Ata Mahomed, whose deeds will 
 bear no comparison with his words. His camels ply only 
 between here and Quetta. Sardar Yar Mahomed Khan came 
 down here with him ostensibly to assist the Mission ; but so 
 far as his fulfilment of that duty is concerned, he might as 
 well have stayed in his native wilds. He is quite ready to 
 sell anybody a Beluch mare at an exorbitant price, and it 
 is possibly with that object in view that he squats for hours 
 daily in the verandah of the ddk bungalow, surrounded by 
 ringleted and perfumed (in sooth, too highly perfumed) 
 retainers. Most of us here are much too busy to have any 
 spare time to devote to small-talk with him, even if he pos- 
 sessed any interesting qualities or powers of conversation. 
 Strong enough hints, indeed, he receives that his room would 
 be more welcome than his company, but they fall unheeded 
 on the innately dull or wilfully dense tympanum of his mind. 
 However, Ata Mahomed is his subject, and Ata Mahomed's
 
 FROM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 17 
 
 500 camels are essential now to Government, and so the 
 little foibles of both him and his master must be viewed 
 with an indulgent eye. The other camel contractor here is 
 one Abdullah Khan Nasiri, of the Povindah tribe, who has 
 been settled at Quetta for some years. His 900 camels 
 are to go all the way with us to the frontier, and his pet 
 little game is to load two maunds on a camel that ought 
 to carry five. However, he was caught red-handed, and 
 successfully thwarted by the vigilance of the officer super- 
 intending the despatch of the heavy camp equipage, and he 
 will probably try some new artifice with the next batch that 
 he sends off. I hear that Government has contracted to pay 
 Us. 35 monthly for each of these camels. 
 
 It is much to be regretted that the pie dogs of this neigh- 
 bourhood cannot be impressed and utilised as transport. 
 At present they lurk by the wayside and waylay the unwary 
 footsteps of the horseman, or pounce out from behind on 
 any strange dog that passes by. Such unprovoked assaults 
 necessarily incite the owner to assist and defend his canine 
 follower. A native of the Low Countries would promptly 
 harness these vicious and cowardly brutes to a little cart, 
 and make each drag his maund or so. These dogs are but 
 one of the many evils of Eindli. As a token of the heat, 
 I may mention that the thermometer now (3 P.M.) stands at 
 102^ in my room. Imagine what it is to be out all day 
 in the sun ! As for the flies, they worry from morn to night. 
 They rouse you from your well-earned rest at daybreak, and 
 they leave you in peace only when the shades of night are 
 falling. And when their innings is over, the sand-flies go in 
 at you ; and happy is he who, between sand-flies, the loading 
 of camels, and the whistling and shunting on the railway, has 
 enjoyed one night's perfect rest here. Can you wonder that 
 the prospect of a speedy departure is welcomed by all ? 
 
 The real work of the Survey, Scientific, and Intelligence 
 branches will scarcely begin till we are beyond Nushki. 
 When the Eusso-Afghan frontier is reached, the Survey 
 Department will be specially occupied in surveying the 
 boundary as fixed, or proposed to be fixed, by the British and 
 
 B
 
 18 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Russian Commissioners. In addition, however, to that, the 
 special duty of the Survey Department, all the country that 
 is traversed by the Mission will be surveyed with as much 
 accuracy as time and circumstances will permit. Dr Owen 
 is to prepare and submit to Government a report on the 
 ethnography, arts, manufactures, trades, and agriculture of 
 the peoples and tribes through whose territory we pass (he 
 has with him a young native artist from the Jaipur School 
 of Art) illustrating it with photographs and sketches repre- 
 senting the dress and types of the inhabitants, and the most 
 interesting views and sites. This, of course, will be in addi- 
 tion to his dispensary work, which will prove an arduous 
 though interesting duty. Of the prospective sphere of work 
 of the natural history and botanical department, it is Dr 
 Aitchison's intention to extend his researches and studies to 
 every branch of the science which he represents, and to col- 
 lect specimens of all kinds, be it fish, flesh, fowl, or creeping 
 thing. In addition to the shooters who accompany him, there 
 is little doubt that the sporting members of the Mission and 
 that term probably includes all, or almost all will afford him 
 assistance in collecting specimens ; and possibly Jsome of the 
 younger associates of the Mission will not be sorry to revive 
 a pastime that is a passion with most British schoolboys, and 
 volunteer to assist our ornithologist in collecting birds' eggs 
 and nests. Unfortunately, he, steeled by his enthusiasm in 
 the interests of pure science, spoke ruthlessly of the necessity 
 for his purpose of shooting the sitting bird. Now I would 
 not mind scrambling up a tree, if not too high, after a bird's 
 nest, but I really could not shoot in cold blood the bird 
 that sat thereon. Alas that such weakness should be engen- 
 dered by want of scientific ardour ! 
 
 6th September. 
 
 Captain Griesbach, the geologist accompanying the Mission, 
 arrived last night, and starts for Quetta this evening with Mr 
 Merk and myself. Colonel Prinsep and Lieutenant Beatson, 
 with some 40 sabres of the llth Bengal Cavalry, arrived 
 this morning, and will probably leave for Quetta to-morrow 
 evening, to be followed by Major Rind, Captain Yate, and Dr
 
 FROM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 19 
 
 Owen, and the last of the Mission camp on the 8th. Captain 
 cle Laessoe is expected here on the 8th. It is good news to 
 hear that there are no less than three photographic appara- 
 tuses with the Mission, in charge, respectively, of Dr Owen, 
 Captain Gore, and Captain Griesbach. The results of their 
 labours will, it is to be hoped, familiarise the general public 
 with scenes from countries that have been rarely traversed 
 before by British footsteps, and never by a photographer. 
 Now that all difficulties about transport have disappeared, 
 the next question of interest is the route from Quetta to the 
 Helmund. 
 
 QI'ETTA, I2tk September. 
 
 I left Eindli with Mr Merk and Captain Griesbach at 
 midnight on the 6th instant. The last string of camels filed 
 out of the Eindli railway storeyarcl on the morning of the 
 9th, and during the afternoon of the same day Major Rind 
 and Captain Yate received a telegram from Colonel Ridge- 
 way, requesting them to join him at Quetta with the least 
 possible delay, as he wished to go on to Xushki, and could 
 not do so until their arrival. They accordingly started at 
 5 P.M. in a tonga that some happy coincidence placed at their 
 disposal, drove to Kirta (18 miles), and thence rode, using the 
 horses of the Beluch levies, to Sir-i-Ab (60 miles). There 
 or thereabouts they overtook on the road a tonga returning 
 empty to Quetta, and quitting with a sigh of relief the hard 
 and merciless pigskin, completed the remaining six or seven 
 miles on wheels. I may mention, as an instance of the march- 
 ing power of camels, that Captain Yate's kit, which left Rinclli 
 at 5 P.M. on the 9th, arrived here early this morning, thus per- 
 forming a journey of 85 miles in about two and a half days in 
 three marches, respectively 32, 29, and 24 miles in length. 
 Such rapidity of marching is almost equally trying to horses 
 and servants, and is entirely to be attributed to the energy and 
 endurance of the small escort of the llth Bengal Lancers that 
 accompanied the party. Too much praise cannot be bestowed 
 on all ranks of that corps for the cheery heartiness with which 
 they applied themselves to every task that was required of 
 them. For some days at Rindli no other hands were available
 
 20 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 for fatigue-duty, and all day long in the sun-glare they toiled, 
 not only without a murmur or symptom of fatigue, but with 
 a readiness that must have done much to lighten the labour 
 of the officer who had to superintend the sorting and distribu- 
 tion of the tents and stores. There are times when an un- 
 willing horse would break a man's heart, and this was one 
 of them. 
 
 The Bolan Pass, with its heat and flies, dust-storms and 
 sand-flies, stony plains and rocky ridges, is too well known to 
 need description, and yet the Intelligence Department of all 
 others called on the military authorities here for a report on 
 it only the other day. If, however, its natural features may 
 be dismissed without comment, I think that one or two of its 
 artificial conditions merit attention not for their excellence, 
 but for the very reverse. It should be remembered that 
 the Quetta garrison is a large one, and, moreover, there are 
 some thirty ladies in Quetta. Consequently British officers 
 and their wives and families must be continually travelling 
 up and down the Pass. How is it, then, that the bungalows 
 are all more or less dirty and uncared for more espe- 
 cially that at Bibinani; that at some stages there is no 
 Tdiansamah, or he is found to be absent ; that there are no 
 servants; and that the food provided by the khansamah 
 would, by its sight and odour alone, blunt the edge of the 
 keenest appetite ? That supplies are dear is not surprising, 
 for the Bolan Pass is a barren waste. The want of cleanliness 
 of the public bungalows was thrown into strong relief by the 
 neat and cleanly condition of the bungalows reserved for the 
 sole use of the executive engineer. It is a poor argument to 
 plead that no fee is charged for the use of the bungalows, and 
 that the executive engineer poor fellow is doomed to live 
 always in the Pass. Why not provide cleanly bungalows and 
 a staff of servants, and charge for them ? As for the second 
 argument, one might as well say that the engineer would in 
 time grow callous to dirt, whereas it gives a shock to the 
 untrained feelings of the casual traveller. As for the rations 
 supplied by the commissariat for the use of the officers of the 
 Afghan Boundary Commission I speak from my own expe-
 
 FEOM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 21 
 
 rience they were such as would probably never be issued to, 
 and certainly not accepted by, the British soldier. I admit 
 that the meat and potatoes could not be expected to be good ; 
 but tea, sugar, rice, and salt can be provided, and preserved 
 good and pure in the Bolan as well as anywhere else. In 
 time of war some allowance may be made for the occasional 
 inferior quality of rations, but in time of peace there is no 
 excuse. The filthiness of the sugar supplied at some of the 
 stations defies description. The Wwosa issued for our horses 
 was such that the horses refused to touch it. However, the 
 memory of how we were housed and fed in the Bolan is un- 
 pleasant, and I gladly pass on to a more attractive theme. 
 
 On arrival at Sir-i-Ab on the morning of the 10th instant, 
 I found that the camp was just being pitched on the plan 
 which is intended to be followed throughout the march viz., 
 briefly, the llth Bengal Lancers in front, the 20th Panjab 
 Infantry in rear, and the Foreign Office, Survey, Intelligence, 
 and scientific members of the Mission, with their servants and 
 horses, in the centre. The position of the transport was not 
 defined. I there heard that both Major Hill, E.E., and Lieu- 
 tenant Burne, of the 23d Pioneers, had been pronounced by 
 the medical authorities unfit in point of health to be sent on 
 an expedition which will undoubtedly be arduous and trying 
 to any constitution. It was also reported that the infantry of 
 the escort would be conveyed across the desert to the Hel- 
 mund at all costs and hazards ; and that the detachment of the 
 llth Bengal Lancers, under Colonel Prinsep, which left Eindli 
 on the 7th instant, would return to Umballa. However, up to 
 the present moment no decision has been arrived at on this 
 point, and it is the cordial wish and hope of every member of 
 the Mission that no fraction of the llth Bengal Lancers may 
 be subjected to the mortification of returning to India from 
 Nushki or anywhere else. It is true that sentiment cannot be 
 allowed to enter into the motives that influence a Government 
 (although many a Government has had to yield to sentiment), 
 but in this case there is more than mere sentiment. What- 
 ever members of Government seated in Simla may think, 
 every one is agreed that 300 sabres and 250 bayonets are not
 
 22 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 a man too many for the duties to be performed. The possi- 
 bility of an attack on the Mission by the inhabitants of the 
 country through which it will pass is an accident on which the 
 estimate of the required escort cannot be based. The Mission 
 is one of peace, and its character should be sacred (one is 
 doubtful what tenets the marauding Biluch and Turkoman 
 and the wily Afghan hold about the sanctity of missions), and 
 it appears that the Amir has guaranteed its safety anywhere 
 in his territories except in the neighbourhood of Zamindawar. 
 The escort as at present constituted could repel any ordinary 
 attack, and to believe so is no small consolation when about to 
 poke one's nose into what is almost terra incognita, although 
 such is not its supposed object. 
 
 After a short halt at Sir-i-Ab I rode on here with Mr Merk, 
 Captain Griesbach remaining at Sir-i-Ab. With the exception 
 of Colonel Eidgeway, whose sphere of work obliges him to be 
 in Quetta, every one was at Sir-i-Ab. Since then Major Eind 
 and Captains Durand and Yate have arrived here. Captain 
 de Laessoe and Dr Owen are marching up, and are as it were 
 the rear-guard of the Mission. They and all the baggage 
 should arrive at Sir-i-Ab on or before the 14th instant, and 
 after that there appears to be nothing to delay the departure 
 of the Mission for Nushki an event for which, I hear, Sir 
 Oriel Tanner and every one else fervently prays. The fact is, 
 between this Mission and the Zhob expedition, there is not a 
 pack-animal to be got in the place. I wanted to send some 
 potatoes, which in Quetta grow to perfection, to a friend of 
 mine : I could not even raise a donkey to carry them. Such, 
 indeed, has been the zeal of the transport caterers for the 
 Mission, that even Government transport urgently required 
 for other purposes narrowly escaped being impressed. The 
 carts of the Government contractor here were only released 
 in obedience to a telegraphic order from the General ; and 
 even an officer hurrying up to join the Zhob expedition had 
 difficulty in defending his camels from the ready grasp of 
 the Mission emissaries. The transport that is now available 
 to accompany the Mission on its onward march to Herat con- 
 sists of 1300 camels and 100 mules, and there is no intention
 
 FROM 1UNDLI TO XUSHKI. 23 
 
 of taking more. If that is not enough, then the amount of 
 stores and baggage will be lessened. At present it is proposed 
 to send commissariat supplies for the whole force for one year, 
 except of flour, of which only a five days' reserve is being 
 carried. For my part, I cannot see the necessity for so doing. 
 Are the bazaars of Meshed and Herat, the fertile Herat, 
 supposed to be empty ? At Koine do as the Eomans do. 
 Does the Hindu expect to get everywhere the masalas and 
 spices of his native land ? When he goes abroad, let him eat 
 the food of the country in which he finds himself. The 
 Afghan and Persian know very well how to live. Indeed, if 
 you told the latter that the art of gastronomy was practised 
 to greater perfection in India than in his native land, he 
 would indignantly argue the point with you. Furthermore, 
 the greater part of the escort are Afghans, who will naturally 
 find in their own country the very food they like best. 
 
 When the arduous nature of the march that lies before the 
 Commission, and the trying changes of climate and temper- 
 ature to which they will be exposed, are taken into due consid- 
 eration, it must be admitted that the medical authorities are 
 very right in refusing to send any man who is not in a sound 
 state of health. There will be sickness enough, without start- 
 ing burdened by sick. Already the sudden migration from 
 105 in the shade at Eindli to 60 at night at Darwaza, has 
 bowled over men of all ranks, castes, and callings, right and 
 left, with fever. It has spared neither master nor servant. 
 However, a little touch of fever is soon put right. By the 
 by, I hear there is a rumour abroad that this Commission is 
 fitted out with unprecedented splendour and luxury ; indeed 
 I have seen some allusions to that effect in the press. The 
 sooner that idea is abandoned the better. In providing for 
 officers, the escort, and the followers of the Mission, a judi- 
 cious effort has been made by Government to mitigate the 
 hardships and alleviate the discomforts to which all alike 
 will be exposed. It ill becomes the resident in India, who 
 in the heat can avail himself of the punkah, the tatty, and 
 the thermantidote, and in the cold weather can draw his easy- 
 chair to the fireside with closed doors and windows, and retire
 
 24 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 to rest in a warm room, to cavil at the luxury of a body of 
 men who in a few weeks will be struggling across the desert 
 of the Garm-sir under a broiling sun, and a few weeks later 
 will be shivering under half-a-dozen blankets and a poshtin, 
 while the wind finds ingress at every corner of his tent. I 
 never yet knew a place styled " Garm-sir " (hot region) with- 
 out a very good cause to wit, the Garm-sir between the shore 
 of the Persian Gulf and the mountains of Fars ; and it is gen- 
 erally reported that on the steppes of Turkistan the thermom- 
 eter goes considerably below zero at night, and snow often lies 
 thick on the ground. 
 
 13th September. 
 
 Colonel Eidgeway and Mr Merk started at 2 A.M. this morn- 
 ing for Kanak en route to Nushki. At Kanak (32 miles from 
 here) they will overtake Captain Gore and Lieutenant the 
 Honourable M. G. Talbot, E.E., with the Survey party, and 
 Captain Peacocke, E.E., of the Intelligence branch, and the 
 whole party should reach Nushki (89 miles from here) on the 
 17th. There their duties of obtaining all possible informa- 
 tion about the routes from Nushki to the Helmund, and of col- 
 lecting supplies along the route or routes (for it is not unlikely 
 that the Mission will be formed into two divisions and move 
 on parallel routes) selected, and facilitating the conveyance of 
 water with the Mission for use at halting-places where water 
 is not procurable, will commence. If proper measures are 
 taken for providing the means of carrying water with the party 
 i.e., if every man is supplied with a small mussuk, 1 which 
 he will fill, and either carry himself, or, if he gets the chance, 
 attach to a camel-load and if water is carried either in 
 camel or mule puckals, 1 or, as is the custom in the llth Ben- 
 gal Lancers, under the bellies of the horses themselves, then 
 it may reasonably be expected that the occasional want of 
 water at places will be the cause of little difficulty or incon- 
 venience. It may be that now and again the Commission may 
 be lawfully entitled to prefer a claim to the designation of 
 " The Great Unwashed," but it will not be likely to be sum- 
 
 1 A mussulc is a small water-skin carried by a man ; a puckal is a large one 
 carried by camel, mule, or bullock.
 
 FROM EIXDLI TO NUSHKI. 25 
 
 marily removed from the trackless desert to the happy hunt- 
 ing-grounds. The difficulties before us, in fact, pale before 
 those encountered by the Bussians in their various endeav- 
 ours to reach Khiva; and to suppose for a moment that this 
 Commission is exposed to the risk of incurring the disasters 
 which befell them is simply unreasonable. Up to the present 
 time, however, no very clear and satisfactory information 
 about the various routes has been received from Captain 
 Maitland, Mr Barnes, C.S., and Eai Bahadur Hitu Earn, 
 C.I.E., who are now engaged in exploring routes and collect- 
 ing supplies. Captain Maitland has been as far as Arbu, and 
 reported that route so far practicable. He is now, I hear, 
 returning to Nushki, but his report on the route beyond Arbu 
 is not yet known. The Kuh-i-Arbu (Arbu Peak) is a solitary 
 conical eminence rising out of the level desert plain ; a spring 
 of good water bubbles out at its foot. The route vid Chagai 
 has not yet been reported on, but is generally considered by 
 the authorities here to be the best. The Arbu route termi- 
 nates at Bagat, and the Chagai route at Khwaja Ali on the 
 Helmund. It is well known that a belt of desert, some fifty 
 miles in breadth, forms the southern border of the Helmund, 
 and that belt must be crossed whatever route is followed. 
 From Nushki as far as the edge of that belt of desert, water 
 is, as a rule, procurable either from springs, tanks, or wells, 
 at distances within the compass of a day's march. The quan- 
 tity of water in the tanks and wells, however, is variable, 
 and for that reason it is essential to ascertain beforehand 
 what amount of water will be available. If there is an 
 abundance, then the Mission may march en masse, or perhaps 
 in two or three divisions, at a day's interval between each. 
 Should it prove, however, that in some of these wells the 
 supply of water is scant, and that the water filters into them 
 very slowly, then it will be necessary either to divide the 
 Mission into a number of small parties marching at a day's 
 interval from each other, and perhaps also along different 
 routes, or to carry an adequate supply of water from stage 
 to stage. By sending on an officer with a small party two 
 or three days ahead of the main body, the actual state of the
 
 26 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 wells at the time can be ascertained and reported, and meas- 
 ures should be taken accordingly. In short, it is evident 
 that if proper precautions are taken, and suitable arrange- 
 ments made, the march of the Mission to the Helmund is 
 perfectly feasible. The roads mere tracks, or the suspicion 
 of a track, in the desert in themselves present no difficul- 
 ties, except that the provision of competent guides is an 
 imperative necessity. The camels, of course, pick up their 
 own living. There then remains the provision of firewood 
 for cooking of fodder for the horses and mules, and rations 
 for the men a duty that has been allotted to Mr H. S. 
 Barnes, C.S. 
 
 I4th September. 
 
 My telegram on the 6th, that " all difficulties about trans- 
 port had disappeared," was, I regret to say, premature. I 
 cried before the Mission was out of the wood. I reckoned 
 without the camel contractor, who on this occasion has 
 proved but a sorry host. His camels or camel-men with 
 camels have been bolting freely in the Bolan ; even some of 
 the loads have disappeared. Moreover, he has not nearly 
 enough of drivers in proportion to the number of camels. 
 However, it is more than probable that he will be made to 
 smart severely for his failure to fulfil his contract. The 
 torrent of rupees, of the flow of which from Government 
 coffers into his pocket he has probably been dreaming much 
 of late, will, I trust, be considerably abated by the infliction 
 of a heavy fine. But for the non- arrival of these stores, 
 which cannot now reach Sir-i-Ab before the 17th, all is ready 
 for a start. As it is, the 18th appears to be the first possible 
 date of departure. Dr Owen reached Sir-i-Ab this morning 
 alone, Captain de Laessoe having gone off at Darwaza vid 
 Mastung to meet Colonel Eidgeway at Nushki. Eai Baha- 
 dur Hitu Earn, C.I.E., has reported a scarcity of water be- 
 yond Chagai ; that in a large tank where a fortnight ago 
 there was a foot of water, there is now but six inches, and 
 that, too, is rapidly evaporating ; and in some wells there 
 is not more than two feet of water. This is a statement,
 
 FROM HINDU TO NUSHKT. 27 
 
 however, that has not yet been confirmed by good authority. 
 If it be true a portion of the escort must go back, although 
 the present intention is that the whole of it i.e., 300 sabres 
 of the llth Bengal Lancers and 240 bayonets of the 20th Pan- 
 jab Infantry, under command of Colonel Prinsep should 
 accompany the Mission. An order from the Government of 
 India has been circulated throughout the camp cautioning 
 every one to avoid any cause of friction with the inhabitants 
 of the countries through which the Commission will pass. It 
 is also directed that the operations of the Survey, Intelligence, 
 and scientific branches must be suspended until the frontier 
 is reached, except in the immediate vicinity of the route and 
 camp, and then only when unattended by any risk. Villages 
 and towns are to be avoided, and the camp is always to be 
 pitched in a defensible position. When the Amir's escort 
 joins us, communication with the inhabitants is to be carried 
 on through its commander, and in the event of any diffi- 
 culty arising, his intervention is to be called for. Only in 
 the event of absolute necessity for defensive measures is the 
 British escort to take any action. The command of the 
 whole Mission, until the junction with Sir Peter Lumsden, 
 is vested in Colonel Ptidgeway. 
 
 Before I leave Quetta for an indefinite period, I wish 
 to mention the courtesy of the Quetta Club in making the 
 entire Mission honorary members. That act of kindness on 
 their part has been a real boon to us all both those scat- 
 tered about the Quetta cantonment and those who ride in 
 from Sir-i-Ab to spend the day or a few hours. For my part, 
 I find Quetta charming, at least for a passing visit. The 
 climate is cool and bracing; delicious fruits and vegetables, 
 and good meat, and the best bread ever tasted, may be of the 
 number of those carnal delights for which we should, as taught 
 in our Catechism, profess the most profound indifference but 
 still, for the benefit of the outer world, I will just remark that 
 they can be obtained in Quetta. Then a turf polo and cricket 
 ground, and race-course in how many more stations in India 
 do you see that ? And yet among the residents I hear but 
 one unanimous cry, and that condemnatory ; and not without
 
 28 AFGHAN FEONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 reason, seemingly. What is the place, after all, but a dry 
 brown plain shut in by sterile grey mountains, a barrier be- 
 yond which no one goes ? They tell me that, after a time, 
 this confined position assumes to the resident the air of a 
 prison, beyond whose walls the wide world with its beauties 
 and joys is known to lie, but escape is impossible. This sense 
 of isolation brings in its train weariness and depression. Of 
 the unhealthiness of Quetta there can be little doubt. 1 I hear 
 that the North Staffordshire Eegiment has 180 men in hos- 
 pital No wonder the residents here feel it an injustice to 
 themselves that the press are eternally lauding the salubrity 
 of the climate. As for the sanguine contributor to the ' Pall 
 Mall Gazette,' who has already in his mind's eye turned 
 Quetta into a great manufacturing and agricultural centre, he 
 is universally ridiculed. He may be right for all I know. 
 His brewery is already about to be started. The soil seems 
 fertile, and the supply of water, whether for the mill-wheel or 
 the ploughed field, is plentiful. The population is increasing, 
 and will go on increasing if the present large cantonment here 
 is maintained. But does Government mean to maintain it ? 
 When one looks at the meagre accommodation here for officers, 
 why, there are some married men here living in the veriest 
 dovecots ! we must trust 'tis the honeymoon, and hears the 
 reports of the discomforts and sufferings of troops, followers, 
 and horses in the cold weather, one can only suppose that, 
 owing to uncertainty of plans, a just and humane Government 
 is unable at present to authorise the construction of better 
 and more extensive lines. 
 
 1 Since the above remarks were written, the hot weather and autumn of 1885 
 have demonstrated more clearly than ever that Quetta is a station fatal to the 
 general health of its residents. Sir Charles Macgregor in September, and Sir 
 Donald Stewart in November 1885, both visited it. I was somewhat surprised 
 to find that the former was not convinced of its unhealthiness. If I remember 
 rightly, the 1st Battalion Oxfordshire Light Infantry lost 70 or 80 men, and 
 the 14th Bombay Native Infantry about 60, during the summer and autumn 
 of 1885. Cholera raged on the Bolan and Hurnai routes. We have at least 
 one good reason for being thankful that war with Russia did not break out 
 in the spring of 1885, and that is the knowledge that our troops, so few and so 
 precious as they are, would have been decimated by cholera, choleraic diarrhaa, 
 dysentery, and other diseases, before they ever reached Kandahar.
 
 FROM PvINDLI TO NUSHKL 29 
 
 FAXJPAI, 19th Septcmlcr. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 16th I received orders to proceed 
 to Nushki without delay. Personally I was ready to move at 
 a few hours' notice, but personal mobility was in my case 
 liable to modification by external influences viz., transport 
 and escort. Both, I was informed, would be present at my 
 tent on the evening of the 16th. The camels arrived about 
 10 P.M., but the escort roused me from my dreams at 5 A.M. 
 on the 17th to inform me that they had arrived, but without 
 transport. There is nothing more annoying than to be delayed 
 when ready. I got up sharp and went off in quest of camels, 
 and luckily secured the number I wanted before they had all 
 gone out to graze. I then had leisure to inspect my own 
 transport, and four more miserable animals I have rarely set 
 eyes on young, under-sized, and weak. Clearly Abdullah 
 Khan Nasiri, the contractor, had been weeding out his stud. 
 I had no choice but to utilise these camels for the first stage 
 of 16 miles to Girdi-Talab; but when, on arrival there, I found 
 ample supplies for man and beast, and ascertained that a 
 similar amount of supplies had been laid in under Sir E. 
 Sandeinan's orders at every stage between Quetta and Nushki, 
 I at once decided to hand over three camel-loads of fodder, 
 which I had brought with me for the horses of the escort, to 
 the gomashta in charge, and in future to indent at each camp 
 for the fodder I required. I was thus enabled to afford my- 
 self the satisfaction of returning at once to the contractor the 
 three worst camels he had sent me. 
 
 A minute description of my route is unnecessary. Every 
 one knows South Afghanistan and its valleys, mountains, tor- 
 rent-beds and mountain-passes, and flies. I cannot let the flies 
 pass unnoticed. The sun may scorch by day, and the cold may 
 bite by night, and between the two that obtrusive organ the nose 
 has " a real bad time of it," as a Yankee would say ; but would 
 that the sun glowed fiercer, and the chill air blew keener, were 
 there but no flies in South Afghanistan. On the march, they 
 ride in hundreds on the traveller's hat, coat, and trousers, and 
 martyrise the tip of his nose and the lobes of his ears. Does 
 one take a meal ? they buzz ravenously over his face, hands,
 
 30 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 and food, and in their reckless greed meet a sudden death in 
 a cup of boiling-hot tea. Does one take up the pen ? they 
 gluttonously imbibe the ink ere it dries on the paper, thus 
 robbing the blotting-paper of its honourable functions. They 
 are ubiquitous ; escape is hopeless. On horseback, beneath a 
 tree, inside a tent, wherever man is, there is the fly in 
 myriads. Do you think you escape them at night ? Not so ! 
 As you smoke the pipe of rest after dinner, the pipe that 
 should be so enjoyable after a good day's work, they come 
 dropping from the roof of the tent, where they have taken 
 shelter from the chill night air, on to your head, causing in- 
 cessant irritation, till at last, exasperated and worried beyond 
 endurance, you throw aside pipe and book, " douse the glim," 
 and seek in darkness the peace and rest that are denied you 
 in the light. The Holy Scripture has portrayed the devil as a 
 roaring lion : I believe that there is more innate devilry in one 
 fly than in all the other members of creation combined. No 
 one who has not marched and lived in tents in oriental climes 
 can possibly realise the horrors of the Egyptian plague of flies ; 
 and yet, irritating as is the torment of flies here, it fades into 
 insignificance in comparison with what the wayfarer endures 
 in a Persian chapparkhana (post-houseX Probably the fly, as 
 a communicator of disease and impurity, is unequalled. An 
 insect that clusters over a foul sore, that swarms around the 
 sick and dying, that delights to hover around and settle on all 
 that is foul, impure, and uncleanly that is the insect that 
 defiles our food, persons, and property with its polluting 
 touch. Have the researches of science discovered in the fly 
 any good qualities to counterbalance the evil ones ? 
 
 Girdi-Talab, as its name implies, is the site of a tank ; in 
 fact it is nothing but a tank, and a very small one, though 
 big enough to water many animals. To go to it from Quet- 
 ta, the traveller passes round the north spur of the Chiltan 
 range, and then shapes his course west by south, and con- 
 tinues to follow that direction, with some slight deviations, 
 all the way to Nushki. From Girdi-Talab to Kanak is a dis- 
 tance of some 18 or 19 miles ; 12 miles from Girdi-Talab 
 the valley widens, and is studded as far as Kanak with vil-
 
 FROM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 31 
 
 lages, seamed with irrigation channels, and dotted with fields 
 of maize, carrots, tobacco, water-melons, and lucerne grass. 
 Wheat, barley, bajri, and other grains are grown here as rcibi 
 (spring) crops. Amid so many villages, we, being without a 
 guide, had great difficulty in finding Kanak. The inhabitants 
 evinced a general disposition to afford as little assistance as 
 possible to the British intruder ; and even had their feelings 
 been more friendly, linguistic difficulties stood in the way. 
 It is well known that the Pushtu of the west differs very 
 widely from that spoken around Kabul, so much so that the 
 Afghan of the Khaibar barely understands the Pathan of the 
 Peshin. Consequently the sowars of my escort, hailing from 
 the highlands between Peshawar and Kabul, could neither un- 
 derstand nor make themselves understood by the denizens of 
 this district, and any communications between them resulted 
 in a minimum of information acquired, and a maximum of 
 imprecations from the lips of the sowars. However, the steady 
 repetition of the word " Kanak " was ultimately crowned with 
 success, and beneath the grateful shade of a mulberry-tree we 
 awaited the arrival of our camels. The village of Kanak lies 
 to the north of a mound crowned by what may be the remains 
 of a fort. From the western slope of that mound issues a 
 clear cool spring of delicious water. It is rare to meet with 
 such a spring in South Afghanistan, where almost all the 
 water has either some unpleasant flavour or some pernicious 
 quality ; and here man must step in to nullify the beneficent 
 work of Nature. In the evening I strolled up to the foun- 
 tain-head, and was watching with pleasure the pure sparkling 
 current as it flowed from the soil, when four or five women of 
 the village approached, and casting a number of dirty mus- 
 suks (water-skins) into the water at the very fountain-head, 
 stepped in after them, and proceeded to cleanse both them- 
 selves and the mussiiks, I turned away in disgust, and re- 
 turning to camp, emptied my chhayul (leather water-bottle) 
 and sent a servant off to refill it, instructing him to take 
 care that 110 Pathan ladies were bathing higher up the stream. 
 From Kanak to Panjpai is a march of some 15 miles 
 through a country almost entirely barren. Half-way the
 
 32 AFGHAN FEONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 road crosses a stiffish pass, which, however, could be made 
 passable for wheeled carriage in one or two days by a regi- 
 ment of pioneers and a company of sappers. Throughout this 
 country there is a marked scarcity of food and fuel. The 
 natives themselves largely use wormwood-scrub ; but its strong 
 pungent perfume must be very objectionable when burning, 
 and apt almost to taint the food. On the hills and higher 
 slopes of the mountains, and on the borders of torrent-beds, 
 dwarf trees and bushes grow, and these constitute the only 
 material for fuel which this country is capable of producing. 
 The few apricot, mulberry, and willow trees that grow around 
 the villages and on the banks of the water-channels are too 
 precious, on account of the fruit and the shade from the sun's 
 burning rays that they afford, to be ever made the victims 
 of the woodman's axe. The rations laid in from Quetta to 
 Nushki for the use of the Mission consist of wheat and barley- 
 straw (bhoosa), barley, ghee (clarified butter), coarse flour, 
 dhcdl (a kind of small pea to which natives of India 
 are very partial), and salt, and of these only the straw 
 and barley are procurable locally. Lucerne grass is grown 
 in large quantities in this neighbourhood. One of the few 
 products of these parts, and one that might well be dis- 
 pensed with, is a small species of leech which swarms in 
 any water that is not fairly flowing. I removed three from 
 the mouth of one of my horses to-day. The sight of blood 
 on his lips after a long hot march rather alarmed me. I 
 feared some internal rupture, and was consequently relieved 
 to find that it was nothing worse than a few leeches. 
 
 KHAISAB, 2.1st September. 
 
 The march yesterday from Panjpai to Singbur-Chaman was 
 an easy one of about ten miles, albeit most uninteresting, for 
 the country we traversed was as unproductive as the Libyan 
 desert. Singbur-Chaman is a curious spot in fact a tiny 
 oasis. Not that it is inhabited, nor indeed did I see any trace 
 of an owner. It is merely a large meadow lying among the 
 barren hills. Water is very near the surface so near, indeed, 
 that it trickles out in two places, but in such minute quanti-
 
 FROM EINDLI TO NUSHKI. 33 
 
 ties as to be quite inadequate to meet the wants of a large force. 
 The main water-supply consists in two pits, dug specially for 
 the use of the Mission, some ten feet deep and three or four 
 feet in diameter, each containing from one to two feet of 
 water. The grass which entitles this spot to be termed a 
 meadow is of a tough spiny character, such as I have never 
 before noticed ; a dog runs over it like a bear on hot irons, 
 and yet horses eat it readily. Singbur proved a most pleasant 
 camping-ground. A cool west wind blew freshly down the 
 valley, and the green grass seemed to take all the sting out of 
 the rays of a sun that hereabouts is usually reflected from 
 burning sand or soil. The distance from Singbur to Khaisar 
 is 25 miles, and a very wearisome march it is, over hill and 
 dale and stone-strewn torrent-beds, and shut in by bleak hills, 
 dotted here and there with a stunted tree that tends only to 
 bring out the general barrenness in stronger relief ; for it 
 reminds one of a fact that one might otherwise forget here 
 viz., that verdure is a reality and not a dream. The distance 
 from Panjpai to Khaisar is therefore about 35 miles, and the 
 necessity of a watering-station between these tw T o places has 
 doubtless been the origin of Singbur-Chaman. Khaisar also 
 is a name and a watering-place, but not a habitation. Khaisar, 
 as I was informed by a Beluch sowar, is the Beluchi word for 
 tamarisk. The river is termed Khaisar Lora, because its bed 
 (as far as the eye could see) is a dense mass of tamarisk. 
 When it was finally decided that the Mission should take the 
 Nushki-Eudbar route, Sir E. Sandeman was called upon to 
 collect supplies at suitable stages, and institute a postal service 
 between Quetta and Nushki. The postal service is, of course, 
 carried out by the " local levies," 1 and seems to act satis- 
 factorily. In selecting the places both for the collection of 
 supplies and the relays of postal sowars, Sir E. Sandeman had, 
 of course, to be guided mainly by the water-supply. Singbur- 
 Chaman and Khaisar are cases of Hobson's choice, there being 
 
 1 The " local levies " are a body of horsemen kept up by the petty chiefs in 
 the Beluchistan agency for the service of the Indian Government. They have 
 replaced that distinguished corps erst known as the " Beluch Guides," or 
 " Catch-'em-alive-oh's."
 
 34 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 water nowhere else. It is with a sense of thankfulness that 
 I now look upon the march from the former to the latter as 
 for me a thing of the past, and I feel sympathy and pity for 
 the force of 1100 men for whom it is still a task of the future. 
 Before leaving Quetta, I was informed that the distance was 
 17 miles. Luckily for me, some of Colonel Eidge way's ser- 
 vants arrived at Singbur yesterday from Nushki, and from 
 them I learned the real distance to be 25 miles. I ac- 
 cordingly altered my plans, and started off all the tents and 
 baggage at 10.30 P.M., following myself at 4 o'clock this morn- 
 ing. The camels arrived at 11 A.M., and I at 12.15 P.M. 
 
 Azad Khan of Kharan came into Nushki a week ago and 
 visited Colonel Eidgeway, and through his (Azad Khan's) in- 
 strumentality and the exertions of Mr Barnes, the political 
 officer, some 300 riding and 100 puckali i.e., for carrying 
 water camels have been assembled at Nushki for the con- 
 veyance of the infantry, followers, and water across the desert. 
 Some 120 bhistis' (water-carriers') mussulcs and fifty leather 
 buckets for drawing water have also been provided. The 
 chief reason, however, for Azad Khan's visit to Nushki was 
 to explain the action taken by his eldest son, Sardar Nauroz 
 Khan, relative to some Mingal Brahuis who, having murdered 
 some natives in the Bolan, had taken refuge with Nauroz 
 Khan. The chief of the Mingals, when the crime was traced 
 to his tribesmen, went down to Kharan to seize them. Sardar 
 Nauroz Khan, through some misunderstanding, declined at 
 first to give up the murderers, but ultimately, when matters 
 were explained to him, handed them over. From this trivial 
 occurrence sprang a rumour, current in Quetta ten days ago, 
 that Nauroz Khan had collected 300 men and rebelled against 
 his father's authority. It was even said that he proposed to 
 worry the Mission on its march to the Helmund. So much 
 for the truth of bazaar gup. Although one must fain admit 
 that the inability of the Amir to escort the Mission in safety 
 vid Kandahar to the Eusso- Afghan frontier is rather galling 
 to the pride of a nation that subsidises him, and avowedly 
 regards him as a dependant, still the energy and promptitude 
 he has shown in despatching officials to stock the road from
 
 FROM EIXDLI TO XUSHKI. 35 
 
 Khwaja All to Chagai with supplies, and provide water at 
 Pattan-reg, must be accepted as a clear proof of his genuine 
 desire to facilitate the passage of the Mission. The fact that 
 his officials have been instructed to lay in supplies up to 
 Chagai is a significant fact, as intimating that the Amir still 
 regards that place as within his frontier line. It appears, 
 however, that the Amir sent orders to the Sinjarani chief at 
 Chagai to provide these supplies free of charge, an order 
 that the chief, seeing safety in distance, flatly declined to 
 obey. Practically speaking, the frontier line between Afghan- 
 istan and Beluchistan, drawn from the Persian frontier south 
 of Seistan to the Indian frontier near Quetta, is entirely arbi- 
 trary, and subject to alterations based on the will and interests 
 of the local chieftains. For instance, formerly Azad Khan of 
 Kharan was a subject of the Amir of Afghanistan, and received 
 in virtue of his allegiance a monthly subsidy of Rs. 6000. 
 More recently he has been an independent chief, and perpet- 
 ually at feud with the Khan of Kelat ; and more recently still, 
 in fact last winter, when Sir Robert Sandeman went to Kharan 
 and Panj-gur, he tendered his allegiance to the Indian Govern- 
 ment an offer that was, I understand, accepted. The renewal 
 of the subsidy formerly granted by the Amir was a measure 
 recommended for adoption by the Government of India, but 
 whether adopted or not, I cannot say. There have been times 
 when the force of events has drivent he Sardar of Kharan into 
 the arms of Persia ; but his allegiance in that quarter was 
 never genuine or lasting. It is to be hoped that the ties that 
 now bind him and his interests to the Indian Government 
 may not lightly be ruptured. Azad Khan himself, however, 
 is very old (ninety-five), though hale and hearty ; and his 
 eldest son and successor, Mir Nauroz Khan, has the repu- 
 tation of being an ardent adherent of Sardar Mohammed 
 Ayub Khan indeed, was with him at the battles of Maiwand 
 and Kandahar in 1880. 
 
 I hear that, as intended, the first relay of the Mission left 
 Simungli yesterday, and consequently are at Kanak to-day, 
 where Colonel Ridgeway will see them en passant. Owing to 
 the small supply of water at Singbur-Chaman, the Mission
 
 36 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 marches in three relays to Nushki. The last relay is ex- 
 pected to arrive at Nushki on the 27th. It was with 
 regret that I learned this morning that Colonel Prinsep and 
 100 sabres of the llth Bengal Lancers have been ordered 
 to return to India. Such a final resolution (for many have 
 been the orders and counter-orders from Simla) seems the 
 more strange when it is considered that the difficulties on 
 account of supplies and water have proved less formidable 
 than expected. It is somewhat amusing to consider that if 
 only the Mission had left Sir-i-Ab a few days sooner, recall 
 would have been impossible, there being no supplies to feed 
 the men and horses on the return journey. Once at Singbur- 
 Chaman and they were safe. What a chance lost, and what 
 hard lines ! 
 
 NUSHKI, 22d September. 
 
 I arrived here this morning, and was glad to find Mr Barnes 
 and Captain de Laessoe encamped here. Even six days' soli- 
 tary marching enables one to meet and greet a fellow-country- 
 man with renewed zest. During the six days in which I 
 have been shut out from the world, everything seems to have 
 undergone a change. The last thing I heard before leaving 
 Quetta was that the Chagai route was the one ; the first thing 
 I heard on arrival here was that the Chagai route was entirely 
 out of the betting, and that the odds were all in favour of the 
 Kani-Galachah route. It appears that Mr Barnes, who was 
 sent down here more than a month ago i.e., as soon as it 
 appeared probable that the Mission would travel this way 
 immediately on arrival commenced an inquiry from native 
 sources as to the respective advantages of the several routes 
 from Nushki to the Helmund. Native opinion was strongly 
 in favour of the Kani-Galachah route, but in higher quarters 
 the Chagai route continued to find backers. However, the 
 game is played out now, and backed by the reports of Mr 
 Barnes and Captain Maitland, Kani has won the day. It 
 is so exceedingly improbable that the public has the very 
 smallest conception of the magnitude of the task which Mr 
 Barnes was instructed to undertake, in collecting supplies 
 and providing water for about 1100 men and 2000 animals
 
 FROM EIXDLI TO NUSHKI. 37 
 
 in the desert between Nushki and the Helmund, that I am 
 justified in entering into some detail on this subject. The 
 following are the stages from Nushki to Galachah, and the 
 means of water-supply at each stage : 
 
 Sancluri, 10 miles 6 wells, each 40 feet deep. 
 
 Band, 15 miles watered by a large tank in which rain-water is col- 
 lected. 
 
 Umar Shah, 10 miles watered_ by tanks in which rain-water is col- 
 lected. 
 
 Zaru, 7 miles 210 wells, 6 to 8 feet deep.] 
 
 Kani, 18 miles 13 wells, averaging 30 feet in depth. 
 
 Gazeh Chah, 15 miles 52 wells, averaging 6 feet in depth. 
 
 Sana, 14 miles 2 wells and a tank. Water abundant. 
 
 Shah Ismail, 16 miles 20 wells, 10 feet deep, and a spring. 
 
 Salian, 10 miles 2 springs and a tank. 
 
 Muzhdan, 7 miles 10 wells and a tank. 
 
 Mamu, 12 miles 150 wells, 6 feet deep. 
 
 Galachah, 11 miles 5 wells, each 15 feet deep. 
 
 The great majority of these wells, especially the shallow 
 ones, have been newly dug, and all the old wells and tanks 
 have been cleaned and deepened. The springs mentioned 
 were in most cases buried and lost in the sand. They have 
 been unearthed, and given a new lease of life. Now, consider 
 that this is a desert, where none but a few stray nomads live, 
 absolutely destitute of food-supplies except grazing for camels, 
 and here and there for sheep and goats ; consequently all the 
 labourers who dug out these wells and tanks had to be ob- 
 tained from distant localities, and every mouthful of food 
 that they and their transport required had to be conveyed to 
 the various scenes of labour on animals which themselves had 
 to a certain extent to carry their own food ; and as a large 
 number of labourers are still working away out there, it has 
 been necessary for several weeks to see that food was duly 
 conveyed to them. Add to this that Beluch sowars have 
 from the first been posted at all the stages, for the purpose 
 of communication and for postal service. These, too, and 
 their horses, could not live on the sand of the Eegistan, or 
 the black gravel of the " Lut." Furthermore, Mr Barnes has 
 obtained from the districts of Quetta, Shora Eud, Shorawak,
 
 38 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Kanak, and other localities, and stored at each of the stages 
 above named, 200 maunds of grass and Ihoosa, 90 maunds of 
 barley, 40 maunds of flour, 50 maunds of wood, 4 maunds of 
 ghee, and a sufficient amount of salt and dlwill. This is the 
 quantity calculated to furnish one day's supplies for the entire 
 Mission ; and in addition to it as a reserve, a similar quantity 
 has been stored at Band, Arbu, and Galachah, and half the 
 quantity at the other stages. Eoughly speaking, therefore, Mr 
 Barnes has collected and conveyed through this desert 6500 
 maunds, or 1300 camel-loads of supplies an undertaking that 
 requires no litttle administrative ability to ensure success. 
 These supplies, or rather the balance left unconsumed by the 
 Mission, will be carefully guarded until Mr Barnes and his 
 party return to Nushki from the Helmund, to which point 
 they accompany the Mission ; anything that then remains un- 
 consumed will become the booty of any nomad or loafer who 
 will take the trouble to go and fetch it. The two officials of 
 the Amir who came to Chagai have now been directed to lay 
 out their supplies as a reserve on the stages between Shah 
 Ismail and Galachah. The Amir has been so considerate 
 as to send down, in addition to the ordinary staples of 
 life, tea, tobacco, sugar, opium, and other luxuries for the 
 use of the Mission. Notwithstanding these efforts (not the 
 least of which are the 400 water-camels which are to meet 
 the Mission at Pattan-reg *), a very strong opinion prevails 
 that the Amir has not done what he might have done ; and 
 that, had the Government of India adopted towards him a 
 more decisive and imperious tone, he would then have be- 
 stirred himself to ensure the safe passage of the Mission by 
 the Kandahar-Farah route. He has, however, undertaken to 
 have the mails of the Mission to India conveyed to and fro 
 vid Kandahar. In fact, as soon as Mr Barnes leaves the 
 Mission on the Helmund, communication with India vid 
 Nushki will cease, and the posts will be sent vid Girishk and 
 Kandahar. Later on, when the Mission nears Farah, Kan- 
 dahar-Farah will be the postal route, and that route 2 will 
 
 1 Pattan-reg is about half-way between Galachah and the Helmund. 
 
 2 Owing to some mistaken conception, whether engendered by the Foreign
 
 FKOM RIXDLI TO NUSHKI. 39 
 
 be adhered to as long as the Mission is employed in delimit- 
 ing the frontier between the Hari Paid and Khoja Saleh. 
 Under the Amir's orders, supplies are now being stocked 
 on the road from the Helmund to Kuhsan on the Perso- 
 Afghan border, west of Herat. 
 
 As described to me, the Kani route to the Helmund runs for 
 some 160 miles over hard put (alluvial clay), winding in and 
 out among scattered sandhills. To the right and left the road 
 is bounded by the Eegistan i.e., sandy desert more espe- 
 cially to the right, in which direction the Eegistan stretches 
 away to Shorawak, Kandahar, and Girishk. Year by year 
 this vast mass of loose sand is moved steadily, presumably 
 by the action of wind alone, to the north-east, and some 
 persons of a scientific bent have even gone so far as to gauge 
 the rate of annual progress, and calculate in how many 
 thousands of years the now smiling valley of the Arghandab 
 will be a howling wilderness a " burnt-out hell," as it has 
 been graphically termed. Ordinary mortals, however, I have 
 noticed, do not evince any strong interest in the eocene period 
 of the future ; let us, then, leave the future of the earth's crust 
 to itself, and to those who make it their special study. The 
 last 50 or 60 miles of the desert to the Helmund is in local 
 parlance known as the "Lut," and consists in the main of 
 black gravel, whence no drop of water is known to issue. 
 Across this inviting spot it is proposed to march the Mission 
 in four relays at a day's interval : first, cavalry ; second, in- 
 fantry, with the medical and scientific establishments ; third 
 and fourth, the heavy baggage with infantry escort. The 
 marches will be made by night and by moonlight. On the 
 28th, on which date it is expected the cavalry will move to 
 Band, the moon will be well up and give a good light as soon 
 as the shades of night fall. It is probable that as soon as 
 the heat of the day abates, the tents and kit will be loaded, 
 
 Office or postal officials, at the commencement of the winter of 1885-86 the 
 Afghan Boundary Commission postal route was transferred from the Quetta- 
 Herat to the Peshawar-Kabul, the result being dire confusion. As a matter 
 of fact, the Quetta line has throughout remained the only reliable means of 
 communication between India and the A. B. C. The Hindu Kush passes be- 
 tween Kabul and Balkh are in winter blocked with snow.
 
 40 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 and the party will march as soon as all is ready. A political 
 officer or a native attacM will accompany each relay, and 
 will be responsible for its safe conduct. To lose the way (I 
 cannot say path, for there is none) in this wilderness is a 
 common thing even to a habitual denizen of it ; and therefore 
 the axiom, that the safe conduct of each relay from one stage 
 to another demands every care and precaution, requires no 
 demonstration. Three mounted and five foot guides accom- 
 pany each relay, and at night fires will be lighted on suitable 
 elevations near the route at intervals of three or four miles, 
 and, if feasible, a system of signalling by rockets and mag- 
 nesium wire will be arranged. It is probable that the entire 
 Mission will march vid Shah Ismail and Galachah to Khwaja 
 Ali; but should any difficulty about water between Shah 
 Ismail and Galachah arise, then the cavalry will turn off at 
 the former stage and reach the Helmund at Landi, vid Arbu. 
 There is an excellent spring under the hill at Arbu. The 
 distance from Arbu to Landi is 50 miles, and must be 
 traversed in a single night march. However, each horse in 
 the llth Bengal Lancers carries a small mussuJc attached to 
 the girths. The infantry and heavy baggage will proceed vid 
 Galachah to Khwaja Ali, where the cavalry will rejoin them. 
 I am agreeably surprised with Nushki. I had pictured to 
 myself a second Eindli ; not so. The days are a bit hot in a 
 tent, but the strong breeze enables one to bear the heat with 
 equanimity. True, the flies lead one the life of a dog, and 
 the boisterous breeze spreads a film of dust over everything. 
 However, I prefer the breeze plus dust rather than the heat 
 minus breeze. Any one who prefers the latter alternative will 
 have nothing to grumble at here. The present camp is 
 pitched close to four water-mills, which have ground most 
 of the flour collected here for the natives of the Mission. 
 From the north-west to the south-east stretches a strangely 
 ribbed and furrowed, ridged and hollowed range of hills, ter- 
 minating to the south in a highish peak. Across this vast 
 semicircle or arc stretches a low line of hills from the north- 
 west to south-east, forming as it were its base. From the 
 camp, if you look to the west and south-west over this low
 
 FROM HINDU TO NUSHKI. 41 
 
 line of hills, or through gaps in it, you see, some fifteen or 
 twenty miles distant, a red hillocky barrier ; that is the edge 
 of the desert which the Mission has to cross. At present 
 the camp is mostly represented by the five days' supplies 
 collected here, and by a lot of wild-looking Fathans, Beluchis, 
 and Brahuis, who doubtless are all contributing to the 
 success of the journey of the Mission. When I rode in 
 yesterday morning at 9 o'clock, I found Mr Barnes and 
 Captain de Laessoe, with Sardar Aliyar Khan Eaisari and the 
 inevitable nondescript mob of hangers-on, busily employed in 
 passing in review the camels and camel pud-cds which are to 
 accompany the Mission. Most of the latter passed muster all 
 right, and the remainder were put aside to be repaired and 
 have mutton-fat rubbed into the seams. The bhistis' mussuks 
 are kept filled with water under grass to shelter them from 
 the sun's rays. By the by, in addition to Jcurbcc and Wwosa 
 (fodder for animals), I see stacked here a large quantity of 
 what I conclude to be the celebrated Shorawak grass, which, 
 being discovered in the winter of 1880-81 at the close of the 
 Afghan campaign, conferred, so report says, on the happy 
 finder the distinction of being mentioned in despatches. It 
 bears a close resemblance to small dry sticks, and looks as if 
 it would make better fuel than fodder. A hungry horse, how- 
 ever, is not hard to please. In the collection of supplies here, 
 and at the stages across the desert, the neighbouring Belucli 
 chieftains have been active in affording assistance, more 
 especially Sardar Azad Khan of Kharan, Sardar Aliyar Khan 
 Eaisari of Kanak, and Sardar Ali Khan Sinjarani of Chagai. 
 The supplies sent down from Quetta have been a fertile source 
 of toil and trouble to the political officer here. Almost all of 
 them arrived largely adulterated, but whether before leaving 
 Quetta, or by the sowars on the road, is not certain. How- 
 ever, it seems likely that the sin will be brought home to the 
 perpetrators before long. I saw some bags, supposed to con- 
 tain barley, that admirably illustrated the term of " half-and- 
 half," the other half being dirt. The water here is abundant 
 and fairly good, but should not be kept long after being 
 drawn off from the stream, as it contains much vegetable
 
 42 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 matter, and rapidly putrefies. The stream here is the same 
 Khaisar Lora that is crossed at Khaisar. I have noticed that 
 the water of streams flowing in channels where the tamarisk 
 grows is invariably full of vegetable matter, and speedily 
 becomes putrid when drawn from the stream. A quarter of 
 a mile to the south of the Mission camp lies the camp of 
 Azad Khan, consisting of three or four tents, a stack of grass, 
 some fifty Beluch mares and horses picketed anyhow, and the 
 usual retainers, whose appearance cannot consistently with 
 truth expose them to compliment. 
 
 As Colonel Padgeway is desirous, if possible, to march the 
 whole of the Mission vid Shah Ismail and Galachah to 
 Khwaja Ali, Captain Maitland started from here a few days 
 ago to examine and report on the condition of the water and 
 supplies from Shah Ismail to Galachah. The latest report 
 from Mr Barnes's native subordinate, who has charge of that 
 section, is favourable. Eeports from Captain Peacocke of the 
 condition and quantity of the water in the wells and tanks 
 from Sanduri to Shah Ismail, and the rates at which the 
 wells refill, have been received, and, all considered, the re- 
 port is satisfactory. It was pleasant to read that at Umar 
 Shah camels were daily in the habit of bathing in the tanks, 
 and that consequently the water was very foul and full of 
 worms, the nomads and others who frequent the place being 
 obliged to filter it through a cloth. Still it is abundant, and 
 a filter and boiling may render it fit for human use. Those 
 who can will undoubtedly take on water from Sanduri or 
 Band, and not seek to share with the nomads the privilege of 
 drinking from the crystalline fount of Umar Shah. It is 
 possible, however, that the several relays may march straight 
 from Band to Zaru, merely halting at Umar Shah sufficiently 
 long to water the animals. The distance is only seventeen 
 miles, less than the marches from Zaru to Kani, and Gal- 
 achah to Pattan-reg. 
 
 24th September. 
 
 Mr Barnes left yesterday morning for Band, 25 miles, 
 returning this morning. Last night at 7 o'clock a trial of 
 the magnesium-wire light was made from the top of a hill
 
 FROM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 43 
 
 near the camp. It was found that a wind of ordinary 
 velocity put it out. This is a serious drawback, as it ne- 
 cessitates the use of a shade ; and as no special shades 
 transparent on every side are available here, an extempo- 
 rised opaque shade, open at only one side, must be used. 
 Consequently, if the wind be blowing from the direction 
 towards which it is desired to show a light, it is probable 
 that the wire as soon as ignited will be extinguished. Mi- 
 Barnes at Band was looking out for our light, and says he saw 
 once a high and star-like flare lasting some fifteen seconds. 
 Actually we showed some seven or eight flashes varying in 
 duration from two or three to twelve or fifteen seconds, 
 according to the power of the wind at the moment. The 
 longer flashes were only obtained by holding a hat between 
 the wind and the light. The duty assigned to me here is to 
 select a camping-ground, and frame a scheme for the organ- 
 isation and distribution of the riding and water camels, 
 mussuks, buckets, issue of water to men and animals at the 
 several stages, employment of guides (five mounted and five 
 foot accompany each relay), and establishment of signals by 
 beacons and rockets. 
 
 I have just heard that on the 22d the whole of the main 
 body of the Mission was still at Simungli. What can be the 
 cause of delay ? A week ago every one indicated the com- 
 missariat as the offending party ; but the commissariat offi- 
 cer, if asked, would probably have summarily included all 
 the other members in the list of delinquents. The com- 
 missariat has been very heavily worked, and overwork in 
 this case, as in most others, implies short-handedness. The 
 evil of this delay cannot be overestimated. The light of the 
 moon for night marches across a desert that presents no land- 
 mark, and where the nomad sojourner loses himself, is, if not 
 indispensable, very desirable. The moon on the 27th or 
 28th will be sufficiently high and full to light the cavalry 
 throughout its long march of 25 miles from here to Band. 
 The march across the desert for the heavy baggage, and prob- 
 ably for the infantry, will last fourteen days ; consequently 
 the last relay (the latest report is that three relays, not four,
 
 44 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 will be formed), if it had left here on the 29th or 30th, would 
 have reached Khwaja Ali on the 12th and 13th proximo, by 
 which date the moon would be waning, and only visible in 
 the small hours of the morning. But here we have still 
 further delay. Apparently the cavalry cannot start from 
 Nushki before the 29th. They, by making double marches, 
 could reach Pattan-reg in ten or eleven days; not so the 
 infantry, and least of all heavy baggage, whose arrival at 
 Khwaja Ali is now post-dated to the 13th and 14th proximo, 
 when the moon will no longer come forward to befriend them 
 and guide their doubting steps. However, there is no help 
 for it now; so, like the devout Mohammedan, let us say 
 "Insha'llah" all will go well. The water in the tanks is 
 drying up, and the worms in the tank at Umar Shah are 
 multiplying. Eeally this delay is very vexatious. But 
 Colonel Eidgeway, who knows how valuable in this case is 
 every day lost, is now with the headquarters of the Mission, 
 and it must indeed be an insurmountable obstacle that he 
 will recognise as a valid reason for further delay. 
 
 CAMP NUSHKI, 28th September. 
 
 The course of the Boundary Mission thus far has been 
 simply a series of rendezvous. Eindli, Sir-i-Ab, Simungli, 
 and Nushki have all in turn seen the Afghan Boundary Com- 
 mission gathered together, and in turn have seen, or will see, 
 it scattered abroad ; and, as far as I can see, its onward course 
 will be cast on similar lines. We shall rendezvous on the 
 Helmund and at Ghorian, or on the Eusso-Afghan border, 
 and possibly at a dozen places in between. Captains Gore, 
 Maitland, and Peacocke, and Lieutenant Hon. M. G. Talbot, 
 are all in pursuit of their several avocations between here 
 and the Helmund, whether on the Chagai or on the Kani- 
 Shah-Ismail route. Mr Merk is putting a finishing touch be- 
 tween Shah Ismail and Galachah to the work set on foot by 
 Mr Barnes, the political officer of the Pishin. Life here has 
 now a changed face. Yesterday morning the first relay of the 
 Mission marched in, followed this morning by the second. 
 All is toil and turmoil, work and bustle. Before, life was a
 
 FROM EINDLI TO XUSHKI. 45 
 
 calm not the calm of idleness, but the calm of reasonable 
 and not uncongenial occupation. It was like a picnic an 
 outing. Men came and went, to and from Quetta, to and 
 from Chagai and Shah Ismail ; and all experienced at the 
 hands of the political officer here the truth of that axiom of 
 the hospitable Briton, " Welcome the coming and speed the 
 parting guest." For in his tents every comer w r as given of the 
 best that he had ; and when duty called him away, whatever 
 he stood in need of be it a riding or baggage camel, a guide 
 to steer him straight across the desert, or a bottle of liquor to 
 cheer him in his sandy solitude lie knew where to find it. 
 The isolated and ill-provided members of the Mission whom 
 the call of duty summoned to Nushki ahead of the main body, 
 would indeed have enjoyed here but few creature comforts had 
 it not been for the kind and hospitable reception accorded to 
 all by Mr Barnes. Well, now our little picnic is over, and 
 the face of affairs has assumed the stern expression of imper- 
 ative duty. So we are working, all of us, like galley-slaves. 
 Nushki is hot enough, although much cooler than Pdndli 
 in fact the nights are a bit chilly. They say the desert 
 is cooler than this, and feels fresher. One can quite under- 
 stand its being fresher. The air of a place that for six 
 weeks has been the haunt of scores of Beluchis, Brahuis, 
 and Pathans, their horses and their camels, is not likely to 
 be of the balmiest. However, our present duty is to get out 
 of it as soon as possible, and not to dwell upon its advantages 
 or disadvantages. The moon is at a premium, and we must 
 get every day's interest out of her that we can. But before 
 we place the desert between us and the civilised world, I feel 
 moved to weave one more link in the chain of correspondence 
 which will, I trust, remind those we leave behind us of our 
 existence. Once well away from Nushki, we are in the posi- 
 tion of an army that has deliberately severed itself from its 
 base. The security of that army depends on its winning a 
 battle, and the safety of the Mission hinges upon its gaining 
 the Helmund by steady and uninterrupted progress. 
 
 The following are the arrangements for the desert march : 
 On the evening of the 29th, the infantry under Major Meikle-
 
 46 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 John and Mr Eawlins, accompanied by Captain Durand as 
 political officer, Dr Aitchison, Captain Griesbach, a section 
 of the hospital under Dr Owen, two native attaches, and the 
 requisite commissariat and transport establishment and stores 
 under Major Eind, will leave Nushki, and should arrive at 
 Khwaja Ali on the 15th proximo. On the evening of the 30th, 
 the cavalry under Major Bax, Captain Heath, and Lieutenants 
 Drummond and Wright, accompanied by Colonel Eidgeway, 
 Dr Charles in medical charge, commissariat, transport, and 
 medical establishments, one native attacM, and the head- 
 quarters of the Political Office, will start, and, passing the 
 infantry at Band, reach Khwaja Ali on the 12th proximo. 
 On arrival at Pattan-reg on the night of the llth, the cavalry 
 will find there 400 mussuks of water provided by the Amir's 
 officials, estimated to contain 1600 gallons i.e., about a gallon 
 for each man, and two gallons for each horse, mule, and pony. 
 Having duly watered each man and beast, the relay, after a 
 short halt and rest, again sets off, and all being well, reaches 
 the Helmund on the morning of the 12th. The infantry or 
 first relay fills at Galachah all the puckals (camel puckals, 
 105, and mule puckals, 29) and mussuks (about 125) supplied 
 by Mr Barnes and the Commissariat Department, and takes 
 them with them for the march from Galachah vid Pattan-reg 
 to Khwaja Ali. The first relay halts a day at Pattan-reg. Mr 
 Barnes, the political officer deputed by Sir Eobert Sandeman 
 to pave the way of the Mission across the desert will per- 
 sonally accompany Colonel Eidgeway, who will move inde- 
 pendently from relay to relay wherever he deems his personal 
 presence most desirable. 
 
 The third relay consisting of the commissariat and mess 
 stores and the heavy tents, accompanied by Captain Yate as 
 political officer, Captain Cotton commanding the escort, and 
 Lieutenant Yate as assistant transport officer, with a native 
 attacM and the required commissariat and hospital establish- 
 lishments leaves Nushki on the evening of the 1st October, 
 and, marching stage by stage, with occasional halts, is timed 
 to reach Khwaja Ali on the 16th. The 400 mussuks used 
 by the cavalry relay will be refilled and returned from the
 
 FKOM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 4*7 
 
 Helmund in time to meet the third relay at Pattan-reg on 
 the 15th. The political officer and the officer commanding 
 the escort with each relay have been provided by Colonel 
 Ridgeway with very clear, precise, and detailed instructions 
 on the subject of food, water, guides, night-signals, order and 
 method of march, &c. The water-carriage for the present 
 is divided between the first and third relays, the cavalry 
 having their own mussuks. On the arrival of the third 
 relay at Salian on the llth proximo, the assistant transport 
 officer has been directed to move forward witli all the 
 water-carriage accompanying that relay, and overtaking the 
 first relay (infantry) at Mamu, to inarch with it to Gala- 
 chah and make all the necessary arrangements for filling 
 the puckals and mussuks, and conveying them to Pattan-reg. 
 The infantry escort of the third relay are, every man, mounted 
 on riding-camels, to enable them with greater facility to carry 
 out their duty of carefully watching the section of the long- 
 line of baggage-camels intrusted to them, and preventing loss 
 of touch. Although each relay has ten guides five mounted 
 and five on foot that number will not suffice to conduct safe 
 to its destination a line of camels three miles in length, if it 
 be allowed to straggle and divide itself into innumerable small 
 sections. The water-carriage, supplied partly by the commis- 
 sariat and partly by Sardar Aliyar Khan Eaisari under the 
 orders of Mr Barnes, which accompanies the Mission on its 
 march, will, it is estimated, supply 2800 gallons at least for 
 the use of the first relay (infantry) at Pattan-reg. At some 
 few halting-places the camels will not be allowed to drink, but 
 in no case will it be necessary to reduce the allowance for men 
 below two gallons ; and it seems probable that horses, mules, 
 and ponies will get their full allowance except at Pattan-reg. 
 The 240 riding-camels available suffice to seat about 350 of 
 the infantry and camp-followers in short, more than one- 
 half of those who have no means of locomotion but their 
 own legs. 
 
 To turn from the present to the past. On the evening 
 of the 24th a sowar arrived, bringing a letter from Kazi 
 Saad-ud-din, announcing his presence in Shorawak, and his
 
 48 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 arrival at Nushki on the morrow. He is the son of Khan- 
 i-Mulla Khan, the leading religious spirit in Kabul. After 
 our evacuation of Kandahar, and when Abdur Eahman, by 
 the defeat, or rather discomfiture, of Ayub for it was only 
 the treachery of a Kabul regiment with Ayub that gave 
 victory to his rival had established his power there, Kazi 
 Saad-ud-din was appointed Kazi of that city. Subsequently 
 he fell into disgrace, and was recalled to Kabul. However, it 
 appears by his present appointment that he has reinstated 
 himself in the Amir's good books. On the morning of the 
 25th a second letter came in, intimating that he had reached 
 a village some twenty miles distant, and would be in Nushki 
 some time during the day, accompanied by 150 sowars. About 
 3 P.M. news was brought that he was nearing the camp. Ac- 
 cordingly Mr Barnes and Captain de Laessoe went out to 
 meet him, although nothing in the form of an istikbcd was 
 attempted. Accompanied by ten or twelve Afghan officers of 
 cavalry to judge by the diversity of their attire, they must 
 have represented most of the cavalry regiments in the Amir's 
 service he was conducted to Mr Barnes's shamianah, and 
 thence, after a brief spell of conversation and the sipping of 
 sundry tiny cups of green tea, he and his suite were shown 
 into a tent prepared for their reception, there to rest after 
 their long ride, and await the arrival of their own tents and 
 baggage. The sowars with the Amir's agent number only 
 80, and it is probable that this number will not be in- 
 creased until the Mission nears the Turkoman border, when, 
 it is said, a regiment of Afghan cavalry will join us, and march 
 parallel to our left flank, at a distance of four or five miles, to 
 obviate the possibility of a Turkoman onslaught on our pro- 
 tracted baggage-line. 1 On the arrival of Colonel Eidgeway 
 from Quetta yesterday morning, the Amir's agent at once 
 visited him a courtesy that was returned this evening by 
 
 1 This rumour was based, it is believed, on a communication from the 
 Amir himself. No one at all conversant with the state of affairs on the Turko- 
 man border gave any credence to this report from the very first, and subse- 
 quent events have proved how unnecessary such a precaution would have 
 been.
 
 FROM RIXDLI TO NUSHKI. 49 
 
 Colonel Eidgeway. It is intended to present him with a 
 handsome Australian horse, as a token of regard from the 
 Indian Government. The first impression made by him on 
 all those here who have conversed and associated with him, 
 seems to be tolerably favourable. 1 
 
 On the morning of the 24th, Sardar Azad Khan of Kharan, 
 attended by a number of Beluch chiefs, his adherents, visited 
 Mr Barnes. As I was most anxious to see one who, for his 
 feats of strength as a younger man, and as a bold raider all his 
 life, stands unrivalled in these parts, and who has maintained 
 his independence against the encroaching efforts of Afghan- 
 istan, Persia, and Kelat, I made a point of being present. He 
 is believed to be close on a hundred years of age consequently 
 I was not surprised to see him bent and somewhat infirm ; 
 but when he shook hands with me, the power of his grip told 
 me that the astonishing reports current of his former strength 
 could not be without good foundation. Among others, it is 
 said that he could bend and unbend four horse-shoes, clamped 
 one above the other, with the ease with which most men 
 would bend a pliant cane. He can still ride long distances : 
 he rode just now from Kharan to Nushki, and it is said that 
 during the last few years he has personally joined in more 
 than one raid. He spoke at length in Persian to Mr Barnes 
 about certain matters affecting his territory with a clearness 
 of meaning, though not of intonation, that showed that his 
 mental faculties were but little if at all impaired. I gathered 
 from what he said that but little love was still lost between 
 him and the Khan of Kelat although nominally, I under- 
 stand, the breach between them has been repaired. Another 
 point on which the conversation turned was the southerly 
 limit of the Amir's suzerainty. Azad Khan emphatically 
 denied that the Amir had any sovereign rights south of the 
 Helmund. However, as every one knows, the frontiers of 
 Afghanistan are very elastic, and contract and expand in pro- 
 portion as the fortunes of the holder of the reins of govern- 
 ment at Kabul are in the ascendant or otherwise. 
 
 On Colonel Eidgeway's return, Sardar Azad Khan was 
 
 1 This first impression did not withstand the test of time. 
 D
 
 50 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 received in state in durbar, and presented with a khillut. It 
 is generally considered here that his allegiance, and that of 
 the chiefs and tribes who adhere to him, to the Government 
 of India should be cemented by a subsidy. And yet again it 
 is tolerably clear that none of his sons has the prestige and 
 ability that has attracted to his side so many of the Beluch 
 chieftains. There is no mistaking the marked respect, and 
 perhaps affection, with which he is regarded by them. What 
 is now the use of subsidising the aged head of a confederacy 
 which will probably be scattered to the four winds on his 
 demise ? It seems a doubtful policy. On the other hand, if, 
 as is thought, the route now traversed by the Mission will in 
 future be of great value as a means of operating on the flank 
 of a force invading India vid Herat and Kandahar, then it 
 must be admitted that the friendliness of these tribal chiefs is 
 of paramount importance. Maybe a neutral policy is best. 
 Preserve friendly relations now, and subsidise when more 
 active aid is needed. These chiefs have largely aided the 
 Mission, and the liberality with which Government has met 
 their efforts cannot fail to be appreciated. For instance, the 
 riding-camels procured by Azad Khan will be paid for at the 
 rate of one rupee per diem, and the puckali camels provided 
 by Aliyar Khan will be each paid for at the rate of Es. 16 for 
 the march across the desert. The mounted and foot guides 
 are to be rewarded with similar liberality ; and the Sinjarani 
 chief of Chagai has received, or will receive, in the form of 
 pecuniary gain to his subjects, a token of the value attached 
 to his services. Furthermore, the safe arrival of the Mission 
 at the Helmund will be commemorated by a judicious distri- 
 bution of khilluts to those who are numbered among the de 
 civitate bene meriti. In the existing state of affairs, with 
 Azad Khan on the verge of the grave and a sketchy future 
 on the horizon, such a policy seems the best. It conciliates 
 to the British Government the goodwill, and, what is the 
 main point, the personal interests, of the people, and yet 
 does not involve it in the delicate position of a subsidiser. A 
 subsidy once granted cannot be withheld without exciting 
 rancour. I have mentioned above only a few of the benefits
 
 FROM RINDLI TO NUSHKI. 51 
 
 that have accrued to the chiefs and tribes of Beluchistan by 
 the passage of this Commission through it. It has been most 
 welcome and invaluable to them as a fount of wealth, and it 
 is to be hoped that the seed of interested and disinterested 
 friendliness hereby established may produce a fine crop of 
 advantageous results hereafter, to be reaped by the hand of 
 the sower when the time comes to apply the sickle. I may 
 add, apropos of the above remarks as to the value of this route 
 for strategic purposes, that it is the opinion of the officers who 
 have explored the several routes from Xushki to the Helmund, 
 that the water-supply obtainable by the construction of wells, 
 formation of tanks, and exploitation of springs is simply un- 
 limited ; that the country presents almost no difficulties to 
 the construction of a railway, and is fitted in most places for 
 wheeled carriage ; and that the development of the water-sup- 
 ply would be at once attended by the influx of population 
 and spread of agricultural enterprise. The perpetual shif tings 
 of the drift-sand is the chief drawback. 
 
 Not much news conies in from the front. Captain Peacocke 
 came in on the 25th, having been to Shah Ismail and back in 
 six or seven days on a camel, and having measured the con- 
 tents and rate of refilling of the wells and tanks at each 
 stage. His reports are entirely favourable. He started oft' 
 again yesterday with four native subordinates of the Intelli- 
 gence branch to explore routes via Chagai and Dilbandan to 
 Galachah. Captain Gore and Lieutenant Hon. M. G. Talbot, 
 E.E., are respectively surveying the routes from Xushki to the 
 Helmund, via Chagai and Kani, meeting at Galachah.
 
 52 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ACBOSS THE DESERT. 
 
 CAMP BAND, 3rf October. 
 
 THE despatch of the mission from Nushki in three relays on 
 the 29th and 30th ultimo and 1st instant has been accom- 
 plished satisfactorily. Men who are accustomed to the pre- 
 cision and discipline of the movements of regular troops 
 provided with organised transport may possibly smile at the 
 suggestion that the movement of 1400 men l in three bodies 
 presented serious difficulties. It must, however, be remem- 
 bered that the transport of this Mission, whether for man, 
 food, water, or baggage, consists of hired camels, which are 
 entirely in the hands of wild and undisciplined Pathan and 
 Beluch drivers. "With such men the enforcement of discipline, 
 as understood in the army, is impossible. You may urge, 
 encourage, and cajole, even threaten them ; but if it came to 
 a question of compelling them, they have it in their power 
 at any moment to decline to serve the Government any 
 further, and then difficulties would follow. True, you can 
 place the refractory owner in arrest, and take along his camels 
 by force, but such a system would never answer. It is their 
 interests, and not their fears, that must be regarded as the mo- 
 tive power. Of course they try to make the best of their bar- 
 gain. What is more natural ? They prefer, if possible, to 
 load nothing at all on the camels for which Government pays 
 
 1 The Indian section of the Commission was approximately composed as 
 follows: Europeans 30, escort 465, camp-followers (including hired camel- 
 drivers) 900 total 1395.
 
 ACROSS THE DESERT. 53 
 
 Es. 35 a-month ; but as a bare puck-saddle can hardly evade 
 detection, they seek to combine absence of weight with ap- 
 pearance of bulk. A pair of large cases, weighing 30 or 40 
 Ib. each, made an imposing and yet easy load, and were much 
 sought after. The method of providing the first two relays 
 with transport did not admit of very extensive deceptions ; 
 but when it came to the third relay, with its GOO camel-loads 
 of tents and commissariat and mess stores, then indeed the 
 game began in real earnest. Everything seemed to be pro- 
 gressing swimmingly till the task of loading neared comple- 
 tion. Then, only then, was it ascertained that while many 
 loads still lay on the ground, the camels to carry them were 
 not forthcoming. By dint of various expedients, however 
 mainly by the opportune presence of a troop of fifty or sixty 
 donkeys everything was loaded and despatched by 7.30 P.M. : 
 the loading began at 3 P.M. The following day at Sanduri the 
 officers in charge of the third relay made a careful inspection 
 of the loads as they lay scattered on the ground, and all loads 
 deemed light were increased and readjusted. The loading 
 began at 2 P.M., and at 4 P.M. all was ready for the march. 
 The advanced-guard, ammunition, &c., having been sent off, 
 two sowars were posted, and every camel had to file between 
 them. In this way the number of loaded camels was counted, 
 and every camel that was being sent on its way unloaded or 
 lightly loaded, was stopped and set on one side. When all 
 had filed through, the loads of those set aside were readjusted, 
 and all spare camels returned to the rear-guard. In this way 
 some system of order and discipline was forcibly impressed on 
 the camel-men, and a correct idea obtained of the actual 
 number of camels required and employed to carry the heavy 
 baggage. Only in this way could an effectual check be placed 
 on the hoodwinking and scrim- shanking games of the camel- 
 owners. 
 
 The country traversed so far presents little of interest. It 
 is only a flat plain seamed with sandhills excellent in most 
 places for marching. At Sanduri we found six deep wells 
 that amply supplied men and horses. The camels were not 
 allowed to drink. Here at Band is a huge tank length and
 
 54 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 contents unknown, enough water to supply the fabulous host 
 of Xerxes. "We had heard beforehand of the sand-grouse here, 
 so we started off (three guns) about 8 o'clock (the mornings 
 now are chilly and moreover, a severe sandstorm has been 
 blowing since daybreak) along the banks of the tank. We 
 certainly walked one and a half miles in pursuit of our shikar 
 we found duck and teal, and even a few snipe, besides an in- 
 cessant influx of thirsty sand-grouse and even then we had 
 not reached the end of this tank, although in width and depth 
 it had become but a tithe of what it is at the Band itself. On 
 arrival here at 11 P.M. last night, were Colonel Ridge way and 
 Mr Barnes with the cavalry still here, also the Amir's agent. 
 However, by the time we ventured to put our noses outside 
 the chicks of our tents this morning, our relay alone repre- 
 sented civilised man on the plains of Band. I exclude from 
 the above heading a few nomad Mingals (Brahuis), a small 
 plot of thirsty-looking tobacco-plants, some bulrushes, and a 
 variety of water-birds, including the small blue kingfisher. 
 The cavalry are at Zaru to-day. We march to Umar Shah 
 this afternoon, carrying water with us from here to obviate 
 the necessity of drinking the worm-infested liquid which the 
 nomads there declare to be water. 
 
 CAMP GAZEH CHAH, 7th October. 
 
 I closed my last letter at Band, the second stage from 
 Nushki, and this one I commence at the sixth stage, where 
 we are halting for a day to give the camels the rest and 
 leisure for grazing that they decidedly need. The men need 
 no such rest, for all of them, down to the lowly sweeper, has 
 his steed, be it horse, mule, pony, or camel. The infantry 
 escort of this, the third relay or echelon (as it is officially 
 termed), are all to a man mounted on riding-camels, and the 
 followers are mounted promiscuously, some on the top of a 
 camel -load, others astride an empty camel puckal, and the 
 sick in Moseley crates slung on the back of a camel. Ingenious 
 and excellent for their light simplicity as are these crates, I 
 feel sure that some form of foot-board or foot-support is essen- 
 tial to their comfort and completeness. These crates are, how-
 
 ACROSS THE DESERT. 55 
 
 ever, made for carrying baggage, not men ; their use now in 
 place of kajawas l is exceptional. To sit for hours with the leg 
 from the knee downward dangling in mid-air is \vearisome, 
 nay more, intolerable to any man ; and from observation I 
 came to the conclusion that a inarch for a sick man in a 
 Moseley crate consisted in an alternation of efforts to attain 
 ease and rest by coiling and uncoiling the legs. To the sick 
 man a day's relaxation from this vain striving after the unat- 
 tainable, and to the camel a day's holiday in which to make 
 up for the short commons of the past, and, if he be a provi- 
 dent camel, to lay in a reserve stock for the future, must be 
 alike welcome. Poor camels ! what with denial of water at 
 one stage, and absence of grazing at another, and last, not- 
 least, the presence of a poisonous shrub or grass at a third, 
 life at Zaru has not been a bed of roses for them not, indeed, 
 that a camel would desire such a bed, for they are known to 
 have a remarkable partiality for thorns. Zaru wrought sad 
 havoc in their ranks. Its reputation as the charnel-house of 
 camels is of old standing, and as usual in such cases, the mys- 
 teries of superstition are called in to explain the handiwork 
 of nature's products. 
 
 There is a Mohammedan shrine at Zaru called Ziarat-i-Saiyad 
 Mahmud, and to that Ziarat is of course attached a fraternity 
 of fakirs. Well, I say fraternity, but as I was not introduced 
 to the andarun of their luxurious mansion, constructed of 
 plaited grass and woven twigs of tamarisk, I am not prepared 
 to vouch for the existence of none but fraternal relations be- 
 tween the members of this band of devotees. Indeed I can 
 only hope that the chief fakir, with whom I conversed, and 
 whom I found to be singularly wanting in general intelligence, 
 may sometimes be able amid the solitude and privations of his 
 lot to turn for solace to the bosom of his family. The dul- 
 ness of his eye in no way belied the density of his intellect ; 
 and yet that lack-lustre orb is endowed with a weird and 
 mystic power. Woe to the caravan bashi who passes this 
 way, and neglects to win the heart and ward off the cold gleam 
 of the fatal eye of that fakir ! On the morrow he will wend 
 
 1 A kind of pannier for camels or mules.
 
 56 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 his onward way, leaving the carcasses of a score of camels to 
 feed the vultures and prove a warning to the next comer. 
 And not easily appeased is that eye which duly appreciates 
 and values its own prestige and power. Our caravan bashi 
 gave him five rupees, and was graciously permitted to go on 
 his way with the loss of only seven camels. The sudden way 
 in which these camels were seized, fell down, and died, struck 
 a perfect panic in the breasts of the owners. At nine or ten 
 o'clock in the morning all the camels were seen trooping back 
 into camp. No more grazing for them that day. The minds 
 of the camel-owners were harassed between two doubts. While 
 cursing their head-man for not having presented the fakir 
 with a sufficiently liberal douceur, they at the same time inti- 
 mated that there might be some truth in the report that there 
 grew around this camp a deadly poisonous grass whose seduc- 
 tive toothsomeness lured the unwary camel to its doom. The 
 camel jemadar himself declares that he watched the camels, 
 saw one approach a shrub, browse on it, stagger, and fall down. 
 Its fall was speedily followed by its death. This, however, is 
 not conclusive proof that that particular plant is the fatal one, 
 and the majority of the camel-men confessed that they had 
 failed to ascertain the root of this evil. It is possible that the 
 fakir of the deadly eye may know ; but naturally he has no 
 inclination to disparage the special virtue of his own visual 
 organ for the credit of the lowly offspring of a sandhill. 1 
 
 The public may imagine possibly that our march is one of 
 drear monotony. The march itself may be briefly depicted 
 in the following parody on two lines of (I think) Barry 
 
 Cornwall 
 
 " So band by band 'cross the desert sand 
 We march to the light of the moon." 
 
 But it is not monotonous this life. Every day, every march, 
 every stage has its own individual features, whether features 
 of events or circumstances, of situation and scenery. Why, 
 the sight of a tree is an event here ! At Umar Shah we camped 
 close to a splendid tamarisk, and hard by stood a row of 
 
 1 A third and not the least probable explanation is, that the villanous fakir 
 smears the plants on which the camels feed with some poisonous compound.
 
 ACROSS THE DESERT. 57 
 
 willows over which towered a high sandhill, threatening ere 
 long to bury them alive. This morning I went a mile out of 
 my way to visit two trees seen in the distance. I imagined 
 there must be water where there is verdure. I found but two 
 dry old tamarisks in a rugged torrent-bed. At Sanduri we 
 clambered up the sandhills in the morning, and took a last 
 farewell of the mountain-range behind our camp at Xushki, 
 and watched some flocks of the pelican of the desert, who, as 
 they regained warmth under the genial rays of the sun, rose 
 on the wing slowly, and then, soaring in wide circles, wended 
 their way leisurely, still ever circling, to I know not where, 
 southward apparently. Marching as we do late into the 
 night, we are not as a rule early risers. Then comes break- 
 fast, followed by an hour or two devoted perhaps to making 
 pen travel over paper, or in urging the ever-recalcitrant and 
 argumentative Beluch, Pathan, or Hindu, to the performance 
 of his duties. About 2 P.M., before you know w T here you are, 
 the loading bugle sounds, and then down goes your tent and 
 the bustle begins. The first day at Xushki the loading of the 
 heavy baggage began at 3 P.M., and it was not till 7.30 P.M. 
 that the rear-guard moved off. Next day at Sanduri loading 
 began at 2 P.M., and every baggage-camel was en route before 
 5 P.M., notwithstanding that they were obliged to file between 
 two lances firstly, with a view to detecting and turning back 
 lightly loaded camels ; and, secondly, to check the numbers 
 actually loaded. As Government has undertaken to pay 
 Es. 35 a-month for every camel that carries four maunds with 
 the Mission, the owner who has condescended to place his 
 camels at the disposal of the Sirkar for such modest remuner- 
 ation, feels it incumbent on himself to endeavour to make a 
 little something extra. Therefore he has a passion for loads 
 bulky in appearance but intrinsically light. A man who is 
 detected marching off his camels with loads of from two to 
 three maunds and turned back to put up four, considers he has 
 a grievance, and his expression of injured innocence were a 
 fitting study for the artist's pencil. Band, the second stage, 
 is admirably adapted for taking a census. Every camel and 
 every driver (in fact, the whole of .the third relay) had to pass
 
 58 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 in single file across the dam. Such an opportunity was taken 
 full advantage of. Since the second stage from Sanduri to 
 Band all has gone well. The rear-guard gets off between 5 
 and 6 P.M., and, according to the length of the march, the 
 advanced -guard reaches the next camp between 8 and 11 
 P.M., followed by the rear-guard some two hours later. 
 
 So far the moon's rising light has immediately succeeded 
 to and replaced the waning light of day, consequently halts 
 have been unnecessary; but in future, as soon as darkness 
 sets in the advanced-guard will be halted to allow the line of 
 camels to close up, and a similar halt will be made from time 
 to time, as circumstances require, until the moon is well up. 
 Once a man loses the track in this desert, he is in a ticklish 
 position. A sowar of the llth Bengal Lancers managed to 
 lose himself between Band and Zaru on a bright moonlight 
 night how, he alone can explain. We hear very little of 
 the infantry and cavalry echelons, except that they are getting 
 on all right. Sometimes we get a polite message from them 
 as follows : " Sorry we've drunk up all the water before we 
 left ; hope you will find a little when you arrive." As the 
 wells refill here from twice to thrice daily, this amiable 
 wish on their part has hitherto always been gratified. 
 
 At Band we were treated to a very fine dust-storm alto- 
 gether an unusually fine specimen of its kind. We shot sand- 
 grouse and duck and teal in the midst of it, and very good 
 sport we had too. At Umar Shah, which is a tank, formed by 
 rain-drainage off the sandhills, we also had some good sand- 
 grouse shooting, as long as it lasted. These birds come to 
 drink between 8 and 10 A.M., and if they come in large 
 numbers the fun is fast and furious. Numbers of nomad 
 families of Mingal Brahuis live at Band and Umar Shah, and 
 combine agricultural with pastoral pursuits. At Kani, too, 
 nomads reside, and the hollows between the sandhills every- 
 where bear the traces of their previous habitations. Zaru is a 
 large level space surrounded by sandhills, and after rain is 
 evidently a swamp, as the stumps of reeds and rushes still 
 standing show. The flat surface of this level area is now 
 relieved by no fewer than 220 pits, some six feet deep and three
 
 ACROSS THE DESEHT. 59 
 
 feet in diameter, containing each about one foot of water. An 
 ingenious man in Captain Yate's service discovered that three 
 out of these 220 pits contained sweet water, whereas that of 
 all the others was brackish. On being further questioned, he 
 affirmed that he had gone round with a puyri and lota, 1 and 
 sipped the water of each of the 220, and found but three that 
 pleased his fastidious palate. Unfortunately he only impart- 
 ed to us his discovery just as we were leaving for Kani. A 
 curious history is attached to this man. He always dresses 
 as a European, and on first sight any man would at once 
 recognise him as a Briton. It is said that he was stolen by 
 Afghans as an infant from the 52d Foot at Peshawar, and 
 that he was found at Kabul by General Sir F. Koberts's force 
 in 1879-80. He then made his way to India, and was to be 
 seen at Simla, earning his livelihood as a wrestler, a curios- 
 ity, or in some equally precarious profession. Subsequently 
 he appears to have been employed as a servant, and in that 
 capacity to have reached Quetta, where Captain Yate engaged 
 him as a man likely to be useful with the Mission. He talks 
 Persian, Pushtu, and Turki fluently, and Hindustani and 
 English fairly, and appears to have travelled over many 
 parts of Afghanistan in his youthful days. He does not look 
 over twenty now. 2 
 
 From the sandhills above Zaru camp \ve had a fine view of 
 the surrounding country. From east to west via south, the 
 level scrub-grown plain was bounded by dim ranges of dark 
 mountains here and there a strange isolated cone cropping 
 up with weird effect. The camp at Kani lies just below the 
 northern end of the range of hills visible from Zaru to the 
 west. As far as Kani the hard put (alluvial clay) affords 
 splendid going for all arms ; but around Kani and between 
 Kani and Gazeh Chah the plain is either ankle-deep in sand 
 or formed of that crisp friable saltpetre -impregnated soil 
 
 1 Puyri is a native head-dress formed of a narrow piece of cloth, often 20 or 
 30 feet long, wound round and round the head. It can be used as a rope. 
 Lota is a metal drinking-vessel. 
 
 2 I hear that he has since enlisted in the 43d (1st Battalion Oxfordshire) 
 Light Infantry.
 
 60 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 known in Sind as kullur. Marching in such soil is most 
 fatiguing. Kani camp lies in a hollow among rolling sand- 
 hills. There are a dozen deep wells scattered in groups of 
 three or four in these sandy basins. The remains, too, of a 
 score of old nomad habitations are evidence of the comparative 
 abundance of what is here the staff of life. From Kani to 
 Gazeh Chah is a long fatiguing march of 18 miles, followed by 
 two still more fatiguing ones from Gazeh Chah through a 
 long stony defile to Safiya, and from Safiya through a saiid- 
 strewn valley to Shah Ismail. The water at almost every 
 stage is more or less brackish ; but, curiously enough, here and 
 there a well or pit of comparatively sweet water is found in 
 close proximity to wells whose water is decidedly unpleasant 
 to the taste. At Gazeh Chah we found 52 shallow wells with 
 small tanks attached for watering animals. At Safiya the 
 water - supply was obtained from two deep, narrow wells, 
 excavated in the solid rock. Each of these wells would refill, 
 if emptied, in half an hour, so plentiful is the supply. These 
 wells, to the depth of some five feet from the surface, were lined 
 with intertwined tamarisk boughs and twigs : such lining, 
 when new, of course imparts an unpleasant flavour to the 
 water : below this, the sides of the well appear to be of solid 
 rock. They are the only wells I have seen on this route that 
 have any pretension to finish or completeness, and even these 
 were not provided with covers to keep the drift-sand out when 
 not being used. 
 
 SHAH ISMAIL, IQth October . 
 
 It is most difficult in this perpetually peripatetic existence 
 to snatch even a brief hour for writing. At 1.30 P.M. the 
 camel-bugle sounds, and then begin the roaring and grunting, 
 the shouting and bawling, the striking of tents, the packing of 
 kits, the adjusting of pack-saddles. At 2 P.M. the " dress " 
 bugle sounds, and by that time the camels are all ready in 
 their allotted positions, and the loading begins. At 2.30 
 follows the " fall in," and after that the ammunition on mules, 
 under a cavalry escort, and the advanced-guard of the 20th 
 Panjab Infantry on camels move to the front. It is not per- 
 haps generally known that the Mission is accompanied by
 
 ACROSS THE DESEKT. 61 
 
 a fine corps of mounted infantry, or, if you prefer the title, 
 a camel corps. The banks of the Helmund, as well as those 
 of the Suez Canal and the Nile, will witness the advent of 
 this the latest "gym" of military science. Yes! 100 of 
 the 20th Panjab Infantry, mounted on 100 of Sirdar Azad 
 Khan's riding-camels, are an important feature in the escort 
 of the Mission ; and if Colonel liidgeway reviews his little 
 army on the Helmund for the benefit of the Afghan, our 
 camel corps will march past creditably. I doubt, though, 
 if their line in a march past would dare to throw down 
 the gauntlet to a wall. Most of these camels are young, 
 untrained, and frisky, except such as are too weak and miser- 
 able to be either, and many are the edifying spectacles they 
 afford us at the start. I'll defy any fellow not to laugh at 
 a camel executing rapid circles round a nose -string with a 
 Beluch warrior with sword, shield, and gun bedight at the 
 end of it, and a luckless sepoy or follower clinging on to the 
 saddle with grim tenacity. Well, one must not look a gift- 
 horse in the mouth, they say, though in good sooth there is 
 little of a gift-horse about these riding-camels. The drivers 
 get a rupee a-day and rations probably never had such a 
 good time of it in all their lives ; and yet they threw down 
 their ration of flour, glue, and dliall at the feet of the commis- 
 sariat sergeant the other day, because he, having no sheep to 
 spare, was unable to give them the ration of meat which they 
 had hitherto received ! A good sound flogging would have 
 been the best reply to such insolence, but such behaviour is 
 truly worthy and characteristic of the Oriental. All natives 
 with the Mission, whether soldiers or followers, receive an 
 extra ration of meat, tea, and sugar an indulgence that 
 in toto was not extended to the troops lately serving in 
 Afghanistan. 
 
 Mais revenons. I was just in the act of getting the heavy 
 baggage of the Mission under way, when the attractions of 
 our camel corps seduced me into a digression. The advanced- 
 guard having taken up its position a few hundred yards out 
 of camp along the road, the camels as they are loaded move 
 out and form up behind it. Then when the political officer
 
 62 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 in charge gives the word, the advanced-guard moves off, fol- 
 lowed by the camels in single file, a mounted sepoy being 
 told off to accompany and look after each separate string of 
 camels. After a week's practice the camel-men attained such 
 perfection and expedition in loading, that now by 4 P.M. 
 every baggage-camel, except the spare with the rear-guard, 
 has started. The officers then partake hurriedly of an al 
 fresco meal, and by 4.30 P.M. they and the rear-guard are also 
 en route. After that all goes pretty smoothly till dusk, and 
 then (as there is now no moon) the column is halted for half 
 an hour to let stragglers close up. Then we move on again, 
 halting for ten or fifteen minutes from time to time, as seems 
 advisable, to prevent straggling. As soon as the moon gets 
 up, further halts are deemed unnecessary, and we move on 
 straight for the camping-ground. On the last three long 
 marches the advanced -guard has rarely come in before 1 
 A.M., and the rear-guard between 3 and 5 A.M. It is near 3 
 o'clock before the tents are pitched, and sleep, so eagerly longed 
 for, is obtainable. That we sleep till 8 or 9 A.M. is not strange ; 
 and ere breakfast is over it is mid-day, and at 1.30 P.M. the 
 same old game begins. We march to-day to Salian 16 
 miles. We expected to find here some of the Amir's lux- 
 uries ; but between the departure of the commissariat officer 
 and our advent, the promised treat of beef and chickens has 
 faded into nothing but a few pen-and-ink lines. However, 
 we thrive very well on our rations, and it is no small advan- 
 tage to be on escort-duty with the Afghan Boundary Com- 
 mission mess-stores. 
 
 From Salian the assistant transport officer has orders to 
 hurry on with all the water-transport of the third party, 
 and join the infantry relay at Mamu. Proceeding thence 
 with them to Galachah, he will superintend the conveyance 
 of water from that camp to the halting - place half - way 
 to Khwaja Ali. Mr Merk, who has been completing the 
 arrangements on the Salian-Khwaja Ali section, appears to 
 have got everything into good working order, supplies, 
 water, guides, night-fires, &c. Each stage is in charge of a 
 native subordinate, Mr Merk himself being at Galachah. He
 
 ACROSS THE DESERT. 63 
 
 reports the distance from Galachah to Khwaja All to be 50 
 miles of waterless plain, mostly good marching, but crossed 
 12 miles from Galachah by a belt of heavy sand four miles 
 broad. The half-way halt is 26 miles from Galachah. The 
 400 mussuks supplied by the Amir's officials, containing 
 2400 gallons, are to be at this halting-place at mid-day on 
 the 13th for the first relay, and again at mid-day on the loth 
 for the second relay, so Mr Merk reports. If this be the 
 case, the water-carriage provided at Quetta and Xushki for 
 the Commission will no doubt be placed at the disposal of the 
 third relay. 
 
 Mr Barnes's arrangements for guides and supplies, night- 
 fires, and landmarks, have been entirely successful. The 
 man who guided the plough along the route from Xushki to 
 the Helmund had, it is clear, an artistic perception of the 
 monotony of a single unbroken line. To relieve that, he 
 would not unfrequently lay out a few miles in neat dotted 
 lines and elegant contours that would do credit to most 
 students of military drawing at the garrison class. The 
 little heaps of earth or stones set up at every 20 or 30 yards 
 were also an infallible guide ; and as for the fires, if one did 
 happen to get isolated for a time, one could then thoroughly 
 realise the comfort of having them as a beacon and a safe- 
 guard against losing the road. In no case has there been any 
 scarcity of water and supplies. 
 
 CAMP SALIAN, llth. 
 
 All has gone well so far. Not a single man has been lost, 
 as the sowar reported strayed on the night of the 2d instant 
 has rejoined all right. Occasionally we pick up a straggler 
 from the first two parties ; and indeed, as the saviours of waif 
 and stray dogs, we have some claim to rival the authorities of 
 the Dogs' Home in Battersea Park. 
 
 GALACHAH : Evening of 1 2th Oct. 1 
 
 We left Salian yesterday at mid-day, overtook the infantry 
 at Mamu, and joined the cavalry here to-day, mid-day. The 
 cavalry are now starting for the Helmund. The infantry and 
 
 1 Telegraphed from Quetta, October 19.
 
 64 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 heavy baggage start together on the evening of the 14th, and 
 reach the Helmund on the 16th. 
 
 Heliographic communication between Garmashki and Gala- 
 chah will be carried on ; and should any hitch in the return 
 of the water-camels from the Helmund for the use of the 
 second party occur, the latter will be advised, and its depart- 
 ure postponed. Each party carries with it from Galachah a 
 further supply of water in puckals and mussuks. Precise 
 orders regulating the time and order of march and carriage, 
 and the issue of water and rations, have been issued, and all 
 arrangements for guides and beacons completed. We estimate 
 the distance to Garmashki at 26 miles, and thence to the Hel- 
 mund 25. 
 
 The heavy baggage arrives here to-morrow, and on arrival 
 at the Helmund it will be consigned to the Amir's officials, 
 who will escort it through Afghanistan, following one day's 
 march behind the main body of the Commission. 
 
 Kazi Saad-ud-din is ill at Mamu, but is expected to rejoin 
 us shortly. His sowars may be regarded as his suite, and not 
 as any escort to the Mission. No additional Afghan escort 
 will be provided beyond the Helmund ; and as for the rumour 
 of an escort that is to protect us from Turkoman raiders 
 between Sabzawar and Ghorian, that may be viewed as an 
 excellent farce. 
 
 On the 19th, Mirza Yakub Ali leaves us at Khwaja Ali, 
 taking with him our last outward mail vid Nushki. He 
 withdraws the postal sowars as he goes. From that date our 
 outward mails will be sent with such regularity as is feas- 
 ible along the Helmund to Kandahar, until we near Farah, 
 when that will become our nearest post-town, and subse- 
 quently our posts will go and come vid Farah and Herat. If 
 possible our inward mails will be forwarded from Kandahar 
 vid the Helmund as long as that is the nearer route, and after 
 that from Farah towards Seistan to meet us. Colonel Ridge- 
 way has addressed the Governor of Farah on this subject. 
 With regard to parcels: Mr Barnes, the political agent in 
 Pishin, is to receive them, and as soon as a few camel-loads 
 have been collected, will hand them over to a respectable
 
 ACROSS THE DESERT. 65 
 
 Afghan trader for conveyance to us, invoices of the contents 
 of the loads being sent to our news-agents at Kandahar and 
 Herat Mirzas Hashim Khan and Mohamed Takki Khan. 
 
 On the 19th we leave Khwaja All, cross the Helmund near 
 Ashkanik, three marches beyond Rudbar, and then follow 
 Khanikoffs route in 1858 vid Lash-Juwain (and some 20 miles 
 west of the main route through Farah, Sabzawar, and Herat) 
 to Kuhsan. Between Khwaja Ali and Kuhsan three halts of 
 one day each will be made two of them near the Seistan 
 border, when inquiries will be instituted by Colonel Ridgeway 
 into the nature of a dispute existing between the Persian and 
 Afghan Governments relating to the Seistan frontier, as fixed 
 by Goldsmid and Pollock in 1872. The only report on our 
 trans-Helmund route that we possess is based on a letter from 
 the Amir. The distances therein given can at best be re- 
 garded only as approximate, and the statements about water 
 must be cautiously received. However, if difficulties arise, the 
 main road can always be reached in a day's march. It is, 
 however, deemed inadvisable, owing to the reported inimical 
 tendencies of the inhabitants, to follow the main road. Be- 
 yond the Helmund the Commission will throughout its 
 inarch take all the precautions customarily observed by a force 
 in an enemy's country. The officers of the Survey, Intelli- 
 gence, and Scientific Departments will, whenever considered 
 perfectly safe, conduct their investigations and researches 
 under escorts provided by the Amir's agent. 
 
 Captain Gore and Lieutenant Talbot have respectively sur- 
 veyed the Kani and Chagai routes, and the results of their 
 independent labours have on comparison proved entirely satis- 
 factory, several important points having been fixed in partic- 
 ular, that of Kuh-i-Khanishin on the Helmund. They have 
 every hope of successfully continuing their work. Captain 
 Peacocke, after leaving Nushki on the 27th ultimo, crossed the 
 Pishin Lora hamun to Chagai, 30 miles without water, and 
 thence vid Robat and Sakalik to Galachah. His report of 
 this route compared with that taken by the Commission is 
 unfavourable. The water-supply is inferior, and less capable 
 of development. The road is longer and more difficult for 
 
 E
 
 66 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 troops, and in some places so heavy with sand as to be im- 
 passable for wheeled vehicles and artillery. The grazing is, 
 however, better, and Chagai affords some supplies. 
 
 KHWAJA ALI, 17th October. 
 
 Had it been daylight when we first, after our 225 miles of 
 desert marching, set eyes on the limpid (I speak comparatively) 
 waters of the Helmund, flowing onward between banks ver- 
 dant with willow, poplar, and tamarisk (there is not a village 
 within eight miles of this camp, nor an acre of tilled land), 
 we might possibly, animated with some small portion of 
 that sense of joy and relief which drew from the lips of 
 Xenophon's Greeks, on first sighting the Euxine, that expres- 
 sion of long-pent-up feeling and hope long deferred, that one 
 short cry, " The sea ! the sea ! " in that case, I say, we might 
 possibly have joined in "three cheers for the Helmund." 
 Most, however, if not all of us, wound our way wearily down 
 to its banks in the dead of night; and the cold miasmatic 
 vapour, rising from the water and the tamarisk, sent a shiver 
 through our bones, and any enthusiasm that at a distance 
 may have burned in our breasts, at the near approach oozed 
 out at our numbed finger-tips. 
 
 The nights here are much chillier than on the uplands of 
 the desert. We are encamped on a narrow strip of heavy 
 sand close to the river, and from morn to eve a ruthless wind 
 blows from the west up the river-bed, and whirls clouds of 
 dust through the camp. At eventide one's kit is so success- 
 fully disguised beneath a layer of sand, that one feels disposed 
 to apostrophise it in the terms with which our friends gener- 
 ally greet us when we go home on furlough viz., " I should 
 not have recognised you." The cavalry, which arrived here 
 on the morning of the 14th, state that the heat on that and 
 the following day was unpleasantly great ; whereas since we 
 arrived yesterday morning, dust by day and chill by night 
 have been the evils of the hour. The natives say that two 
 winds rule supreme here, and that they, weary of contending 
 for supremacy, made overtures of peace, held a conference, 
 and amicably agreed that each for a week alternately should
 
 ACROSS THE DESERT. 67 
 
 hold the reins of power. As for the one at present seated on 
 the masnad, I can only say that his rule is not characterised 
 by that urbanity and mercifulness towards his subjects which 
 becomes every good and just monarch. Possibly he is guided 
 by the maxim, " Whom I love, I chastise." 
 
 I hurriedly closed my last letter on the llth at Salian, 
 having received orders to reach Galachah without delay. 
 Accordingly, with great difficulty, thanks to having ventured 
 to place a modicum of trust on the word of the camel-con- 
 tractor, I got my baggage under way before mid-day, and 
 then rode hard to Muzhdan (11 miles in an hour and a 
 quarter), hoping to overtake the infantry before they left that 
 camp. They too, however, had also marched at mid-day, and 
 I gained naught by my haste but the risk of fostering splints 
 and sprains on the legs of a young horse. At four o'clock 
 my camels came up, and having seen them fairly en route for 
 Mamu, I rode on leisurely to that camp, dined and slept 
 there, and reached Galachah next morning, where I found 
 Colonel Eidgeway and the cavalry. The question of the 
 moment was, of course, the march across the 58 miles of 
 waterless desert to the Helmund, and I think that the word 
 " water " might have been found stamped in capital letters 
 on our brains. 
 
 On the evening of the 12th, the day I reached Galachah, 
 the cavalry baggage started for Garmashki under escort, fol- 
 lowed by the main body of the cavalry at an early hour on 
 the morning of the 13th. Colonel Pddgeway having seen the 
 infantry arrive, and ascertained that the arrangements for the 
 march of the infantry and heavy baggage to the Helmund 
 were complete, started for Garmashki about mid-day on the 
 13th. It had been decided that the infantry, which reached 
 Galachah on the evening of the 12th, and the heavy baggage 
 which was due there on the evening of the 13th, should 
 inarch together to the Helmund. The only objection to this 
 arrangement was the fear that the camels of the heavy 
 baggage would, without a clear day's rest, be unequal to the 
 long march to the Helmund a fear not without foundation, 
 considering that those camels, but indifferently fed and
 
 68 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 meagrely watered, had been marching in a country affording 
 but poor grazing for twelve days, the marches averaging in 
 length 15 miles, and the time of duration of each march, 
 from commencement of loading to end of unloading, averag- 
 ing eleven hours. Actually these camels were allowed at 
 most six hours a-day for grazing, and at many camps the 
 grazing was a mere name, especially after the cavalry and 
 infantry camels had been let loose amongst it. Fortunately 
 a few seers of barley per camel were available at most stages, 
 otherwise the above rapid rate of marching could not have 
 been maintained except at the risk of having to abandon a 
 considerable quantity of stores. As it is, all went well, and 
 the camels did their 58 miles from Galachah to the Helmund 
 in thirty-six hours without the loss of one animal or load. 
 The union of the infantry and heavy baggage was attended 
 by the important advantage that there was little or no risk 
 of any failure in their water-supply. They carried with 
 them from 800 to 900 gallons of water sufficient, supposing 
 that the 400 mussuks of water to be sent from the Helmund 
 by the Amir's officials should from any cause fail to reach 
 Garmashki in time, to stave off the pangs of thirst. As it 
 happened, both sources of water-supply were available, and 
 every man and beast (except the camels) had a reasonable 
 allowance. The cavalry, except 22 puckals containing about 
 300 gallons which accompanied them from Galachah, de- 
 pended solely on the 400 mussuks from the Helmund. 
 These duly met them on the morning of the 13th at Gar- 
 mashki, and as soon as emptied were sent back to the Hel- 
 mund, to be refilled and returned for the use of the infantry 
 and heavy baggage. The whole thing went like clockwork. 
 The second party, which numbered 902 men (including 
 camel-drivers) and 212 horses, mules, and ponies, was allowed 
 one gallon per man, and from two to three gallons per 
 animal. Fifty of the 400 mussuks from the Helmund were 
 reserved for the use of Kazi Saad-ud-din, who, being seriously 
 indisposed, was obliged to remain behind at Galachah. He 
 arrived here this morning, and is reported to be now fairly on 
 the way to recovery. The road from Galachah here is by no
 
 ACROSS THE DESERT. 69 
 
 means plain sailing for troops or transport. Twelve or thirteen 
 miles from Galachah, a little beyond a spot termed " Sor-reg " 
 (though why it should have a name at all is a mystery), a 
 belt of deep, shifting, billowy sand-drifts is encountered. In 
 this loose and treacherous footing our horses were repeatedly 
 brought down on their knees ; and as for the ammunition 
 and treasure mules, I more than once saw them floundering 
 helplessly on their sides in the sand, unable to rise till their 
 loads were removed. Camels fortunately are more at home 
 on suchlike going, and neither flounder nor fall.
 
 70 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 
 
 KHWAJA ALI, 18th October. 
 
 barely finds time to lay pen to paper except for official 
 work. I rode out with Captain Peacocke this morning to the 
 top of the line of sandy bluffs that overlook the Helmund from 
 the right bank. We have just bought some riding-camels for 
 the use of the Mission, and we deemed this a good opportunity 
 to test the usefulness of one or two of them. The Helmund 
 here is almost up to a man's neck, and even unladen camels 
 sometimes lose their footing. When we got near the middle 
 our camels stood still, and evinced a stout determination to go 
 no further. We owe a debt of gratitude to a good-natured 
 Pathan, who, seeing our dilemma, came to our rescue, laid hold 
 of the nose-string of the leading camel, and piloted us across. 
 The strength of the current and the coldness of the water 
 seemed to be a matter of indifference to him. On our return 
 our camels showed no reluctance to cross. Captain Peacocke 
 was desirous of fixing, relatively to Khwaja Ali, the position of 
 several of the principal peaks and hill-ranges in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and the atmosphere was unusually propitious. The 
 peaks of Arbu and Samuli, which are best seen from the Shah- 
 Ismail-Mamu road, of Ainak and Malik Do-kand, which are 
 situated a few miles south of Galachah, a range of hills to the 
 west of these towards the Helmund, and the Kuh-i-Khanishin 
 on the left bank of the Helmund, some 30 miles above Khwaja 
 Ali, were all distinctly visible, the distance of the first-named 
 being at least 70 miles. The view of the Helmund and its
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 71 
 
 banks which we obtained presents but few distinctive fea- 
 tures. The bed of the river itself is merely a stretch of 
 tamarisk jungle relieved by clumps of poplars, varying in 
 width from one to two miles or even more, amid which the 
 waters of the Helnmnd flowed glistening in the sunlight. 
 Some three miles above Khwaja Ali (the place takes its name 
 from a mud tower near our camp, said to have been built and 
 inhabited by one Khwaja Ali further details about him were 
 not forthcoming) the river forms two branches, which reunite 
 just above our camp. On either side the banks consist of 
 a series of sandy undulating hillocks rising gradually to a 
 plateau, the distance between the two plateaux being about 
 seven miles. Behind us on the right or northern bank 
 stretched similar sand-strewn undulations as far as we could 
 see. Not a trace of habitation or cultivation could the eye 
 detect anywhere, save only our nomad camp. Even Khwaja 
 Ali or his posterity seems to have found the locality more than 
 human nature could endure. Possibly the reported battles of 
 the winds were too much for them. To-day the wind and 
 dust have been pleased to grant us a holiday, and I think we 
 have all fully appreciated the boon. We can most of us digest 
 our dinners without the assistance of grit. 
 
 It has been a busy day for all. The owners of the riding- 
 camels which Sardar Azad Khan of Kharan was good enough 
 to place at the disposal of the Mission, have been dismissed to 
 their homes with a liberal gratuity, and his youngest son, Sar- 
 dar Amir Khan, was presented with a suitable khillut. 1 As 
 before stated, a few of these camels have been purchased for 
 the use of the Mission. The greater portion of the commis- 
 sariat stores and heavy tents which have been handed over 
 to the Amir's officials, and loaded on camels supplied by 
 them, are just now (10 P.M.) leaving camp for Landi Barech, 
 our next halting-place. It is intended that these stores 
 should be thus conveyed one day's march ahead to Kuhsan. 
 There has been some little difficulty with the camel-contractor, 
 Abdullah Khan Nasiri. The intrustment of the heavy bag- 
 gage to the Amir's officials for conveyance has, of course, taken 
 
 1 A gift conferred as an honour by a superior on an inferior.
 
 72 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the bread out of the mouth of a number of his camel-owuers. 
 Whether or not this had anything to do with a little affray 
 that sprang up yesterday evening between his sarwans (camel- 
 drivers) and the Amir's men, I cannot say for certain. What- 
 ever the cause, the whole camp was set on the qui vive about 
 6 P.M. by a great uproar near the tents of the Amir's agent, 
 who arrived yesterday morning from Galachah. It happened 
 that Abdullah Khan's camels were just then returning from 
 grazing on the right bank of the river. It is said that 
 one of the animals strayed among Kazi Saad - ud - din's 
 horses, and that the advent of this unwelcome visitor im- 
 pelled the Kazi's sowars to the use of abusive epithets. Op- 
 probrious terms soon blossomed into offensive blows, and 
 then there was a brief but animated m$Ue with sticks and 
 stones. Abdullah Khan will carry the marks of it to his 
 dying day in the shape or misshape of four teeth dislodged 
 by a for him too truly aimed stone ; and not a few of the 
 warriors on both sides retired from the conflict decorated 
 with insignia which proved that they had been in the thick 
 of it. The prompt arrival of several of our political officers 
 on the spot soon put a stop to the fray, but none too soon, 
 as it seems probable that sticks and stones would ere long 
 have been abandoned for more deadly weapons. Among 
 Abdullah Khan's sarwans is one Khuda Xazar, nicknamed 
 among his fellows, owing to his prodigious strength, " Pahl- 
 wan," and reputed to be a match for any six ordinary men. 
 I am told that he was seen at Quetta to throw four men, 
 who had maltreated a chum of his, one after the other, down 
 a karez. This doughty warrior was seen standing with 
 a smiling countenance in the middle of this affray, scorn- 
 ing to spoil a fair fight by the exercise of his redoubtable 
 powers. Having put a stop to the conflict, the political offi- 
 cers ordered Abdullah and his men back to our camp ; and as 
 they were very excited at the injury their chief had sustained, 
 and breathed vows of vengeance, measures were taken to pre- 
 vent them leaving camp limits. This morning, when their 
 blood and fury had been cooled by the chill night air and a 
 night's rest, a deputation of them, headed by a native attach^,
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 73 
 
 was sent over to the Kazi's camp, and the late rival combat- 
 ants were induced, if not to shake hands a TAnrjlaise, to dis- 
 avow any intention of renewing the quarrel. The site of 
 the Kazi's camp was admirably adapted for shielding the 
 occupants from the wind and dust which to us have been 
 so fertile a source of discomfort. It lay snugly ensconced 
 under the lee of a high bank crowned by a clump of poplars. 
 
 RUDBAR, 20th October. 
 
 Yesterday at 3.30 A.M. rtveilU sounded, and before daybreak 
 the cavalry and infantry main bodies were en route for Landi 
 Barech, leaving the baggage to an escort of cavalry and in- 
 fantry, and two or three officers detailed for that duty. The 
 main body of the cavalry and infantry led, followed by the 
 baggage in three parallel lines in charge of the transport officer, 
 assisted by three native attaches. The rear-guard was com- 
 manded by a European officer, and flanking parties of cavalry 
 protected both flanks of the baggage. This disposition will 
 probably be maintained throughout our march to Kuhsan, 
 except that the three parallel lines of baggage will be subject 
 to modification by the nature of the route. Our baggage- 
 camels will number about 700, to which must be added about 
 200 spare camels for the purpose of replacing casualties and 
 mounting the infantry rear-guard and a portion of the follow- 
 ers. As the condition and equipment of the camels supplied 
 by the Amir's officials is by no means as satisfactory as could 
 be desired, it is intended that the whole of Abdullah Khan's 
 camels viz., about 360, plus the 900 already mentioned 
 should accompany us for one or two stages. Should it then 
 appear that the provision for the transport of the heavy bag- 
 gage made by the Amir's officials is likely to prove adequate, 
 the at present unemployed surplus of camels belonging to 
 Abdullah Khan will be dismissed to find their way back 
 to Pishin. They will have no difficulty in returning either 
 by the Kani or Chagai route. Water they will find in 
 plenty, and of food they can easily carry a sufficiency for 
 a fortnight's journey. Small caravans frequently travel by 
 both these routes.
 
 74 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 It was past nine o'clock before the rear-guard got out of 
 camp, the main cause of this delay being the obstructive policy 
 of the discontented camel-men, who at present bear to us the 
 honourable relation borne by certain well-known Irish mem- 
 bers to the remaining members of the House of Commons. A 
 census taken of the camels showed that either the hand of 
 death had been as busy among them as at Zaru, or that the 
 allurements of a " home, sweet home " had proved irresistible 
 to their owners. Anyhow, evidence of a decrease or mortality 
 of three per cent in three days was the result of our labours. 
 Now a mortality of 30 human beings per 1000 per annum in 
 our European capitals is a fair average. It would thus appear 
 that for camels, at least, Khwaja Ali may be safely classed as 
 the most deadly climate on the face of the globe. Some 
 fellows insinuate that these camels have been playing " hide- 
 and-seek " with us in the surrounding jungle. If so, the play 
 has been all on their side, for we certainly did not even dream 
 of seeking for them. Fortunately the climate is not so deadly 
 to the human race. A chuprassi (messenger) of the Foreign 
 Office lies buried at Khwaja Ali, and a sowar of the llth Ben- 
 gal Lancers at Singbur-Chaman. It was a long weary march 
 yesterday of 18 miles. No one enjoyed it. The mess camels 
 threw their loads ; and consequently the members of the Mis- 
 sion, some eighteen in number, who went ahead, had to fast till 4 
 P.M. We, however, of the rear-guard, who would otherwise have 
 had to bear the burden and the heat of the day, and of the toil 
 and labour, with empty stomachs, fell on our feet, and under the 
 welcome shade of a mud pillar (2 P.M. and a hot windless day) 
 we relished with an appetite earned by a 10 hours' fast the 
 delicacies for which our comrades at Landi Barech were hun- 
 gering. Having thus made our peace with the inner man, and 
 therefore feeling at peace with all mankind, even our camel- 
 men, we very foolishly rode into camp ahead of the mess 
 camels. Yes ! assuredly it had been wiser to have sent them 
 on as a peacemaker. We may have felt disposed to chaff our 
 less fortunate friends, but if a jocular word was not checked 
 by the earnest expression of the hungering gazes that met our 
 view, any jocular propensity was at once nipped in the bud
 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. 75 
 
 by the cold reception accorded to our ill-timed levity. In fact, 
 it was not safe to address on any subject those whom accident 
 had thus against their will condemned to Lenten observances. 
 Even the most bigoted of Mohammedans deems the observance 
 of the fast in Rama/can unnecessary when he is on a journey ; 
 and here were men who probably do not find that good suc- 
 culent meat chokes them on a Good Friday, forced to keep a 
 fast that is not in any calendar that I know of. Hard lines 
 indeed ! The rear-guard got in about 5 P.M., and the camels 
 of course had to graze at night, so we had more trouble with 
 
 O O ' 
 
 the camel-men. However, some thousands of rupees and two 
 seers of barley per camel pacified them. The march this 
 morning from Landi Barech to Rudbar, 13 miles, was much 
 less trying. The rfoeilU sounded again at 3.30 A.M., and the 
 main body of the escort left camp before 6, followed by the 
 rear-guard at 8 o'clock. In future, probably the rear-guard 
 will always get off by 7 A.M. We are encamped two miles 
 beyond Rudbar, which is but a small village. Our route 
 merits but a brief description. One sees nothing but tamarisk 
 jungle three miles or more in breadth, flanked by high, sandy, 
 hillocky slopes, with here and there signs of cultivation, an 
 irrigation canal, some wheat, stubble, &c. Pulalak consists 
 of three villages of Barechis, situated some 10 or 11 miles from 
 Khwaja Ali. Formerly there were four villages here, but 
 one now lies in ruins. The Barechis are a branch of the 
 Durranis, older than the Barnkzais, but now far below them 
 in the scale of power and honour. At Landi Barech there is 
 a considerable settlement of this branch of the Afghan race, 
 which occupies a large portion of the Garm-sel. Crowning 
 the elevated ground to the left of our road, we occasionally 
 see the ruins of an old fort. To-morrow we have a long 
 march of 20 miles before us to Khaju, and on the following 
 day of about 12 miles to Chahar-burjak, at the end of which 
 the Helmund will be crossed. The depth of the water at the 
 ford is only 2^ feet. 
 
 KALAH-I-FATH, 24<A October. 
 
 The day before we reach a camping-ground at which it is 
 intended to halt for a day, the universal cry is " Thank heaven,
 
 76 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 we shall have a rest to-morrow ! Thank heaven, no getting 
 up at three o'clock to-morrow morning ! " True for the last 
 bill ; but as for the first, the man whose sanguine imagination 
 couples the word " halt " with " rest," is doomed to disappoint- 
 ment. Eest ! Every halt seems to mean a reduplication of 
 the toil. The hours spent on the march are the hours of peace 
 and rest, and the moments spent at the halt are the moments 
 of toil and unrest. On such occasions blessed indeed is he 
 that expecteth little, for he shall not reap disappointment, 
 whatever he may reap. There is, however, one hour of the 
 day when the vision of rest realises itself, and yet only then 
 by defrauding the human frame of its natural rest viz., the 
 after-dinner hour. We dine early in camp in fact, as soon 
 after sunset as possible ; for when rtveilti sounds at 3 A.M., the 
 hours of sleep are few and precious. In the artificial exist- 
 ence of modern civilisation everything tends to invalidate the 
 soundness of the good old maxim steadily drummed into our 
 ears in the days of our youth by our elders (forgetful of an- 
 other maxim equally sound in theory and equally liable to 
 transgression, " Practise what you preach ") viz., " Early to 
 bed and early to rise, is the way to be healthy, wealthy, and 
 wise." In camp-life, au contraire, all tends to necessitate the 
 observance of this model rule of life ; and if it fails to bring 
 with it an influx of wealth, it undoubtedly imparts a healthier 
 tone to systems inevitably enervated by the insalubrity of 
 an Indian climate, and to minds insensibly impaired by the 
 monotony of Indian existence and the narrow range of thought 
 and interest of Indian society. 
 
 I have up to this point left unnoticed the progress of the re- 
 searches and operations of the scientific members of the Mis- 
 sion. It is full time that such an omission were atoned for. 
 
 The work of the Survey Department is one of primary 
 importance, inasmuch as the country which we have traversed 
 and which we are about to traverse has rarely, and in some 
 places never, been visited by any European traveller, far less 
 been scientifically surveyed. If we except the journey of 
 Christie in 1810, and the travels of Sir Charles Macgregor 
 and Captain Lockwood in 1877, the desert tracts of Northern
 
 FEOM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 77 
 
 Beluchistan are entirely innocent of the " footprints in the 
 sand" of European travellers. At the time when Generals 
 Goldsmid and Pollock were deputed in 1872 by the Home 
 and Indian Governments to settle the Perso - Beluch and 
 Seistan frontiers, Sir Oliver St John and Colonel Lovett were 
 enabled to survey the country through which the Mission 
 moved, and the labours of the first-named officer and of Major 
 the Honourable G. Napier have furnished the Survey Depart- 
 ment with accurate maps of Khorasan and North-Eastern 
 Persia and of the Herat valley. Based on the travels of 
 Grodekoff and Prejavalsky, and the work of the Russian 
 topographical survey, the latest and best maps of Herat and 
 Afghan-Turkistan have been produced. The travels of Sir 
 C. Macgregor through Eastern and Northern Persia in 1875 
 were also productive of an extended topographical knowledge 
 of that country. With regard, however, to the route which 
 the Mission is about to follow from the Helmund to Ghorian, 
 no European, I believe, but Khanikoff has ever before set foot 
 on it, and he only in part, and with a rapidity that precluded 
 the possibility of accurate observation. The field of labour 
 therefore now thrown open to the operations of the survey of 
 India is one of unusual extent and interest. All that lies 
 between Nushki and the Persian frontier is, from a survey 
 point of view, a terra incognita, and it is the hope and aim of 
 the officers of that department now with the Mission to suc- 
 cessfully carry out the important task allotted to them, and so 
 connect the Indian triangulation system with the survey work 
 based on traverses and observations of latitude and longitude 
 conducted in Persia by St John and others. As far as the 
 Helmund these hopes were amply fulfilled. Captain Gore 
 surveyed the route vid Kani and Shah Ismail, and Lieutenant 
 the Honourable M. G. Talbot the route vid Chagai to Galachah, 
 and on arrival at that place a comparison of the results ob- 
 tained thus independently left no room for doubting their 
 accuracy. Furthermore, the peak of Kuh-i-Khanishin, on 
 the left bank of the Helmund, about thirty miles east of 
 Khwaja Ali, was trigonometrically fixed, and on the arrival 
 of the Mission at that river there seemed every reason to hope
 
 78 -AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 that the work so successfully begun would be successfully 
 continued. Major Holdich, who was at the last moment 
 transferred from the Zhob expedition to take up the post 
 with the Afghan Boundary Commission vacated by Major 
 Hill invalided, overtook his subordinate officers at Galachah, 
 and there assumed the direction of the work of his depart- 
 ment. At Khwaja Ali and Landi Barech the clearness of the 
 atmosphere was favourable to trigonometrical observations ; 
 but on the subsequent marches, when time did not admit of 
 moving far from the line of march, and the configuration of 
 the high ground on either side of the river rendered a distant 
 view unattainable, the necessary observations could not be 
 made. On the 22d the thickness of the atmosphere proved 
 an insurmountable obstacle ; and on the 23d, when the officers 
 of the survey remained behind at Chahar-burjak, in the hopes 
 of obtaining the observations essential to the completeness of 
 their work, the atmosphere was equally unpropitious. In 
 fact a dust-storm blew all day, as it has done to-day. It has 
 been ascertained that the present position of the Kuh-i-Khan- 
 ishin, as shown on the most recent maps, is 16 miles too far 
 east, and that a similar but gradually diminishing error 
 affects all places on the Helmund west of it up to this point. 
 The result of this survey will be an important rectification 
 of the present maps of the Helmund and the surrounding 
 country. Galachah, for example, occupies on the maps a 
 position at least 20 miles west by north of its real position on 
 the face of the globe. As the trigonometrical observations 
 which it was hoped would be obtained from various points on 
 the Helmund have been rendered unattainable for the reasons 
 above mentioned, the accuracy of the survey between Landi 
 Barech and Kalah-i-fath depends on the traverse which was 
 carried through without a break at the rate of 18 miles a-day. 
 From Kalah-i-fath a range of distant hills is visible to the 
 west and north-west, supposed to be the Sarhadd hills, ob- 
 servations to which have been taken. As the route of the 
 Mission henceforth runs nearly due north, traverse distances 
 will be fairly checked by latitude observations. In conclud- 
 ing this brief summary of the labours of the Survey Depart-
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 79 
 
 merit, I cannot refrain from expressing my admiration for 
 the zeal and enthusiasm in the pursuit of science which in- 
 duce men, after a hard day's work, to snatch a hurried meal 
 in discomfort, and devote, every night, some hours of well- 
 earned rest to astronomical observations. I also take this 
 opportunity of recording the latitude and longitude of some 
 of the principal points on our route, for the information of the 
 general public. I am indebted to the courtesy of the survey 
 officers with the Mission for the details : 
 
 Lat. Long. E. 
 
 Kaui, 29' J 34' 30" 65 5' 
 
 Galacliah, . . . . 29 43 63 40 
 
 Khwaja Ali, ... 30 15 63 6 
 
 Rudbar, .... 30 10 62 37 
 
 Kliaju, .... 30 11 62 19 
 
 Chahar-burjak, . . . 30 17 30 62 4 50 
 
 Kalah-i-fath, . . . 30 33 35 61 53 20 
 
 PADHA-I-SULTAX, 25th October. 
 
 We left Kalah-i-fath this morning. The country we have 
 traversed during the past three or four days westward from 
 Rudbar should be dear to the souls of the philosophers of the 
 pessimist school, if, as the title they bear would imply, they 
 are ever moralising on the vanity and uncertainty of all things 
 human, and hunting for proofs in support of their theories. 
 They might search further and find less evidence of the sound- 
 ness of such tenets than the banks of the Helmund afford. 
 From Eudbar to six or seven miles north-west of Kalah-i- 
 fath our route has conducted us through a very labyrinth of 
 ruins of various stages of antiquity. I am no archaeologist, 
 and in that respect I have the honour to recognise the local 
 Beluch as my coequal. To his intelligent and cultivated 
 mind what is ancient is Kayani, and what is Kayani is 
 ancient. But if you strove to ascertain in what his concep- 
 tion of antiquity consisted, or when he believed the Kayani 
 dynasty to have flourished, you would speedily discover that 
 he had never heard of the rival systems of chronology of 
 Usher and Newton, and that he was not prepared to pro- 
 nounce judgment on the respective merits of the Biblical and
 
 80 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 geological theories of the world's age. In fact, the sum of his 
 conceptions on this point may be expressed in the terms of 
 " long, long ago." For my part, when I come across the ruins 
 of buildings made of mud and sun-dried brick (some of the 
 remains, however, were of kiln-dried brick), I take old Kan- 
 dahar as my standard. We all know that it was laid waste 
 by Nadir Shah about 1730 A.D.; and knowing this, and having 
 a fair recollection of the present state of its ramparts, citadel, 
 and lesser edifices, we can by comparison with it estimate 
 approximately the age of structures of similar nature and 
 material. Some parts of the citadel of old Kandahar were 
 constructed of, or buttressed by, stone-work ; whereas in this 
 neighbourhood I have not noticed one single hewn stone used 
 in any description of building. Sun-dried brick is the main 
 feature. Burnt brick is comparatively uncommon. At the 
 south-east angle of Kalah-i-fath stands a tomb or caravan- 
 serai faced with burnt brick, and six miles north of the same 
 city I remarked that the debris of some ruins was mainly 
 composed of burnt brick. Add a small dome, whose interior 
 had evidently been exposed to fire-heat, and might have been 
 a kiln for burning bricks or tiles, and my list is finished. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to mention a tomb of burnt brick 
 situated a quarter-mile to the left of the road on the edge of 
 the plateau shown five or six miles south-east of Kal'ah-i-fath, 
 which is associated by an interesting legend with the brick 
 caravanserai to which I have just referred. The tomb in 
 question is known far and wide by the name of " Gumbad-i- 
 bana-i-yak-dast " i.e., the tomb of the one-handed architect. 
 The story goes, that in the days of Abd-ul-fath, one of the 
 Kayani kings, and the reputed founder of Kalah-i-fath, there 
 lived an architect of great skill, who, by the king's orders, 
 furnished designs for and superintended the construction of 
 the caravanserai. So pleased was the monarch with this 
 edifice when completed, that, forgetful of the laws of gratitude 
 and justice, he vowed that that structure should stand the 
 unique monument of his and the architect's fame. By his 
 command the luckless architect forfeited the right hand which 
 had made him the envied of all, and yet the victim of envy.
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 81 
 
 Long he pondered on the king's injustice, and inwardly 
 breathed silent vows of revenge. Finally he decided that to 
 thwart the king's jealous and selfish ambition would be the 
 bitterest revenge he could take. He left the city, and on the 
 barren plateau hard by, he, unaided but by the inspiration of 
 revenge and the skill of his own left hand, erected the massive 
 tomb which stands a memorial to ages to come of his masterly 
 handiwork and his king's futile injustice. In the last and 
 choicest production of his powers of design and workmanship 
 the architect lies interred. 
 
 I think there is little doubt that the majority of ruined 
 forts, cities, and various edifices strewn in marvellous pro- 
 fusion over the fifty-six miles of the valley of the Helmund 
 and Seistan plain, from Eudbar to beyond Kalah-i-fath, are 
 contemporary with, or more recent than, the old city of Kan- 
 dahar. Not unnaturally the ruins of forts or citadels are 
 most conspicuous, their greater size and solidity presenting a 
 longer and stouter resistance to the assaults of the atmospheric 
 forces. One of the native attacks of the Mission informed 
 me that, according to local tradition, seven of the ruined 
 forts near our camp opposite Khaju were reduced to ruins by 
 the Emperor Baber, and that two ruined forts on the right 
 bank of the river between Rudbar and Khaju bore the names 
 of Abkhur-i-Rustam and Fa-kashak-i-Rustam. That some 
 of the ruins we saw should date from the reign of Baber is far 
 from improbable ; but that mud forts of the era of Rustam, in 
 whose family the viceroyalty of Seistan was vested under the 
 Kayani dynasty, should still present a tangible and describa- 
 ble shape, seems more than improbable. It becomes a moot 
 point whether these were isolated forts or the citadels of con- 
 siderable towns or cities. So numerous are they, that if we 
 consider each of them to have been surrounded by more or 
 less considerable areas of dwellings and public buildings (an 
 opinion that in many cases is supported by the traces of walls 
 and bastions and outlying buildings around them), we at once 
 ask ourselves " Whence did the enormous population which 
 formerly must have occupied this valley obtain their food- 
 supplies ? " However fertile the soil, and however extended 
 
 F
 
 82 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the area of land formerly under cultivation, it could not have 
 sufficed for the hundreds of thousands of mouths demanding 
 sustenance from it. We must therefore suppose that the 
 necessaries and luxuries of life essential to the support and 
 comfort of this veritable human bee-hive were to a great 
 extent imported, and there is nothing improbable in this sup- 
 position. Besides the resources of the Helmund valley from 
 Girishk to the Seistan Hamun, the food-supplies of the valleys 
 of the Arghandab, Tarnak, and Arghasan, and of the whole of 
 Seistan, would be available, irrespective of more distant sources 
 of supply ; and in addition to the local manufactures which 
 must have given employ to the non-agricultural portion of 
 this vast population, the manufacturing towns of Yezd, Kir- 
 man, and Birjand, not to mention Ispahan and Shiraz, were 
 easily accessible. Did the people of former times utilise the 
 Helmund as a trade-route ? We have followed the course of 
 that river for 100 miles, and I have seen nothing to authorise 
 the belief that it is not navigable for boats of light draught. 
 It is said to be now at its lowest, and yet the fords are over 
 three feet in depth. There is little doubt that boats could 
 descend it easily ; and there seems no reason to doubt it could, 
 like the Indus and many other Indian rivers, be navigated 
 up-stream by small sailing-vessels. The Nile nugger might 
 be introduced here with advantage when the banks of the 
 Helmund are once again tenanted by a flourishing people. It 
 is a notable fact that at the present day not a vestige of a 
 boat or craft of any sort is to be seen on this section of its 
 waters ; and this leads to the conclusion that in former times 
 also it was not used for navigation. At the ford at Khaju we 
 found a boat sent down from Girishk to assist our passage. 
 It was about 30 feet long with 9 feet beam and 20 tons 
 burthen. There is no ground to suppose that the former 
 inhabitants of the banks of the river were in the habit of 
 navigating it by draught (as in our canal system), even if it 
 were practicable. 
 
 To revert to terra firma : there is a local rumour that be- 
 tween Rudbar and Ashkinak exist the remains of a palace of 
 Cyrus, known by the name of Kalah-i-Madar-i-Padshah. The
 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. 83 
 
 mention of the name of Cyrus carries one's thoughts away to 
 Persepolis and Istakhar, and the tomb of Cyrus (locally known 
 as the Takht-i-Madar-i-Suleiman) north-west of Shiraz, and 
 the ruins of Shapur near Kazerun, with their solid, almost 
 cyclopean masonry, and finished architecture and sculpture. 
 One is loath to believe that the monarch who trod the splen- 
 did halls of Persepolis was content with a mud palace on 
 the Helmund. Yet necessity knows no law. No stone suited 
 for building purposes is obtainable in this neighbourhood. 
 Even the alabaster quarries near Galachah, whence the reign- 
 ing Amir recently transported to Kabul several hundred camel- 
 loads of slabs for the adornment of a mosque or tomb which 
 he is said to be constructing, produce material only suited for 
 the exterior facing of a \vall or pavement of a floor. Conse- 
 quently the great Cyrus may have been constrained, when 
 he visited his province of Seistan, to content himself with an 
 edifice of sun-dried brick. I cannot, however, say that I saw 
 any building that had the appearance of dating from the era 
 of the great Persian monarchy. According to Bellew, most 
 of the Seistan ruins date from the period of Taimur Lang's 
 invasion in 1383 A.D., and are of Arab origin. 
 
 Some noteworthy ruins lie grouped around Kalah-i-fath. 
 The remains of that city itself, with its striking citadel on the 
 eastern face, are interesting on account of the tragic occur- 
 rence which obliterated all trace of the greater part of it from 
 the face of the globe. Accuracy of date is out of the ques- 
 tion ; but, according to current rumour, some years ago the 
 Helmund, being in flood, burst the bounds of its customary 
 channel, and coming down with irresistible force on the town 
 of Kalah-i-fath, washed away at least two-thirds of it, leaving 
 not one brick standing on another. Certain it is that now 
 one of the channels flows over ground once occupied by the 
 central part of this town, and half a mile to the west of it 
 a clump of poplars is pointed out as the former site of the 
 western wall. After this catastrophe the small uninjured 
 remnant was deserted by its inhabitants, or what remained of 
 them, for it seems improbable that such a disaster was un- 
 attended by heavy loss of life. Who these former inhabitants
 
 84 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 were I could not ascertain. Some eight years ago Sardar 
 Mahomed Sharif Khan Narui, then settled with his tribe at 
 Kalah-i-nau and Sharifabad in Persian territory, being at 
 feud with the Amir of Kain, besieged him in his fortress. 
 The arrival of a body of Persian troops obliged him to raise 
 the siege and to take refuge in Afghan territory. Subse- 
 quently he repaired to Kabul, and tendered his allegiance to 
 Amir Sher Ali Khan. At the request of the Amir he brought 
 his tribe from Kalah-i-nau and settled at Kalah-i-fath. He 
 is at present at Kabul, having been summoned there by Amir 
 Abdur Rahman, who is said to entertain some suspicions of 
 his fidelity to himself. According to the statement of a native 
 of Kalah-i-fath evidently a sincere admirer of his chief, 
 since he informed me that he (Mahomed Sharif Khan) was 
 famed in all the four quarters of the globe the Amir is 
 pleased to grant a subsidy of Es. 40,000 per annum to this 
 Beluch chief. I learn, however, from Kazi Saad-ud-din that 
 the actual amount of the subsidy is Rs. 20,000 paid to Sharif 
 Khan, and another Rs. 20,000 to his nephew at Khash. So 
 my informant was not, as I supposed, drawing the long bow. 
 He was right as to the amount, but misinformed me as to its 
 destination. 
 
 The subjects of Mahomed Sharif Khan term themselves 
 Naruis or Sheranzis. On inquiry it appears that the Naruis 
 are a section of the Sheranzi tribe. Sardar Imam Khan and 
 his son Sher Mahomed Khan at Chahar-burjak are Sinjaranis. 
 The former is said to be paralysed. Sardar Ibrahim Khan of 
 Chakansur, the reputed murderer of Dr Forbes in 1841, is at 
 present an exile at Jahanabad in Persian Seistan. He is said 
 to have declined to obey the Amir's recent summons to Kabul, 
 and was in consequence turned out last year, and replaced by 
 an official nominated by the Amir, universally known by the 
 cognomen of the " Akhundzada," who is under the orders of 
 the Governor of Farah, Sardar Mahomed Yusuf Khan. Some 
 men of the labouring class here with whom I had conver- 
 sation, voluntarily remarked that they were much better 
 off under the rule of the Amir's representative than under 
 that of Ibrahim Khan, and explained their meaning in the
 
 FKOM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 85 
 
 following expressive terms : " Xeither of them has ever 
 given us anything, but the present governor takes less away." 
 Some of the peasantry, however, and probably the majority, 
 entertain different views. All, however, mention, with an 
 air of gratitude and satisfaction, that as yet i.e., for a full 
 year the Amir has taken no revenue from them. According to 
 their statements, land-tenure is based on the following terms, 
 simple but somewhat unremunerative to the tenant viz., one- 
 third of the crop to the Amir, one-third to their chief, and 
 one-third to the cultivator, the last named supplying the seed. 
 The crops here are entirely dependent on irrigation, none on 
 rain. Rain falls in limited quantities, probably insufficient to 
 render probable the arrival at maturity of a crop dependent 
 solely on it. 
 
 There is little doubt that in the neighbourhood of Kalah-i- 
 fath exist the buried ruins of cities of great antiquity. I even 
 heard it suggested that this might be the site of the famous 
 city of Pasargada3. Certainly the great area covered with 
 countless mounds of all shapes and sizes lying to the east of 
 Kalah-i-fath suggested that excavation there might not be in 
 vain. However, as the limited period of our stay did not 
 admit of excavations being made, we are none the wiser. I 
 could not ascertain that the local residents had any suspicion 
 or legend of the former existence of a great city on that spot ; 
 in fact, the sum total of their replies amounted to this, that 
 they were new arrivals, and knew nothing about it. They 
 entered, however, with interest and animation into a descrip- 
 tion of the extensive ruins of Sar-o-tar (some pronounce it 
 Sur-o-tur), some twenty miles east or north-east of Kalah-i- 
 fath. Their practical statement of the distance to these ruins 
 was, that if a horseman started from Kalah-i-fath at sunrise, 
 he would reach Sar-o-tar at afternoon-prayer time. They 
 spoke of the coins, turquoises, and gold found there ; and I 
 subsequently heard that after a heavy fall of rain a general 
 excursion was invariably made by these people to Sar-o-tar, 
 to collect the treasures which the beneficent hand of nature 
 thus brings to light, and that the sale of these collections to 
 passing traders moving between the great centres of commerce
 
 86 AFGHAN FKONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 was an important item in their means of livelihood. Certain 
 it is that very few of these curios were to be found on the 
 spot. Indeed it is well known that the antiquarian in search 
 of his pet weaknesses will find them, not on the spot where 
 they are actually discovered, but at the trade centres to which 
 they invariably gravitate. Some coins and seals were, how- 
 ever, procured by the more fortunate or more energetic in- 
 quirers after them ; many coins and curios have since been 
 obtained. 
 
 DEH-I-KAMRAN, 26th October. 
 
 My letter from Eudbar gave my first impressions of the 
 Helmund. This country presents no variety of natural fea- 
 tures, nor indeed of artificial ones. The channel of the 
 Helmund is the same throughout, a broad bed of tamarisk 
 and poplar, intersected by one or more water-channels accord- 
 ing to the sweet pleasure of that river, which at one time 
 glories in rolling along in single grandeur, and again delights 
 to ripple away in two or three minor streams, which, as they 
 bid each other adieu, may fondly murmur, " When shall we 
 three meet again ? " And meet again they do, sure enough, a 
 few miles lower down. Beyond Eudbar the southern line of 
 bluffs which has hitherto pursued a westerly line, parallel to 
 the course of the river, trends somewhat to the south, leaving 
 a broad slope of undulating gravelly soil, a naturally mac- 
 adamised plain (only clear away the loose pebbles) between 
 itself and the river, and beyond Ashkinak takes a south- 
 westerly direction, and then the broad plain of Seistan opens 
 out before the traveller's gaze, stretching away to the far 
 horizon, against which looms a dim range of hills or moun- 
 tains the Sarhadd hills, I believe. Opposite Chahar-burjak, 
 67 miles from Khwaja Ali, at the close of our fourth day's 
 march, we forded the river, which there runs in three channels. 
 The water in the deepest part was rather over three feet. Eopes 
 on tressels both above and below the ford were stretched across 
 each branch ; in fact, the arrangements made by the Amir's 
 officials for our safe passage were all that could be desired. 
 Not the slightest casualty or mishap occurred, unless I may 
 include under that head the spirit of devilry (alias the desire
 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. 87 
 
 for a bath) which induced a young horse I was riding to lie 
 down and roll with me in the water, very much to the detri- 
 ment of my saddlery and outfit in general. The spectators 011 
 the banks evidently thought it an excellent joke. 
 
 From this ford, ever memorable for me, to Kalah-i-fath, we 
 had a nice little march of 23^ miles, leaving the river four miles 
 beyond Chahar-burjak, and taking a bee-line across the elevated 
 plateau of undulating gravelly hillocks and level put which 
 borders the Helmund on the right. Eighteen miles from 
 Chahar-burjak we again rejoined the river, and soon came in 
 sight of the walls and lofty citadel of Kalah-i-fath. Our 
 first post since the 18th at Khwaja Ali met us at Chahar- 
 burjak, and a welcome surprise it was, and speaks well for 
 the goodwill of the Amir and his officials towards us. We 
 have since had posts in regularly, and we send out posts daily 
 for India. On the same day at Chahar-burjak a special 
 messenger from Herat brought a letter from the Governor, 
 Sardar Sarwar Khan, enclosing one from Sir P. Lumsden. 
 Postal communication has now been established between us 
 and Sir P. Lumsden, and letters for Europe can be now for- 
 warded via Herat and Teheran. 
 
 We halted on the 24th at Kalah-i-fath, and there the 
 consignment of all our reserve commissariat and mess stores 
 and heavy tents to the Afghan escort was completed. It 
 is so arranged that this heavy baggage leaves the camping- 
 ground daily as soon as possible after the main body has 
 started. The hour of rdveilU is at 3 A.M. ; and now that 
 things are in thorough working order, the rear -guard is 
 enabled to start directly that daylight permits the officer in 
 command to ascertain for certain that no person or thing is 
 left behind. Eessaldar-Major Baha-ud-din, with a small escort 
 of the llth Bengal Lancers, is in charge of, and accompanies, 
 the heavy baggage. The Mission has every reason to be 
 satisfied with the arrangements for its pleasant and peace- 
 able transit through his territories made by the Amir, and 
 for the general friendliness and willingness to aid shown by 
 his officials. In addition to an ample supply of the neces- 
 saries of life, the Amir makes handsome presents continually
 
 88 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 of tea, sugar, candles, tobacco, and other luxuries to all ranks 
 of the Mission ; and almost every camel, or horse, or pony 
 that has strayed en route or out of camp, has been recovered 
 by the sole exertions of the Afghan officials, and that, too, in 
 a country where poverty, and I think I may say education, 
 renders the population prone to robbery. Some few days 
 ago Captain Durand lost a valuable waler on the march. 
 Kazi Saad-ud-din so he informed me at once gave the 
 people in the neighbourhood a choice of two things : either 
 to recover and return the horse, or pay a fine of Rs. 2000. 
 The horse was recovered to-day. 
 
 The march to Padha-i-Sultan yesterday, and thence to Deh-i- 
 Kamran to-day, as regards the natural features of the country 
 presents nothing worthy of notice. The ruins have become 
 fewer, and some six miles beyond Kalah-i-fath dwindle into 
 insignificance, at least outwardly. 
 
 CAMP IBRAHIMABAD, 2Sth October. 
 
 Descending the Helmund from Khwaja Ali, the first in- 
 habitants met with are Barechis, of the same stock as the 
 Barechis of Shorawak. From Eudbar to Chahar-burjak the 
 country is in the hands of Beluchis of the Sanjarani tribe, 
 whose chief, Sardar Imam Khan, lives at Chahar-burjak. Not 
 that all the subjects of this chief are Sanjaranis. Some of 
 them with whom I conversed styled themselves Kharakins, 
 and on being asked if they were Sanjaranis, replied in the 
 negative with a gesture that unquestionably implied an ac- 
 knowledged inferiority of position. It is supposed that these 
 classes are in a position of semi-bondage to the Sanjaranis, and 
 are mere labourers, owning no property either in land or 
 cattle themselves. At Kalah-i-fath we find Beluchis of the 
 Narui section, or, as they also termed themselves, Sheranzis ; 
 and near Nada Ali, a branch of the same section under Sardar 
 Fakir Mahomed Khan are the tenants of the soil. Eiding 
 from Nada Ali to Deh-i-dadi, I chanced to overtake the last- 
 named Sardar, and had some talk with him. Some eight months 
 ago he had a severe fall from his horse while chasing a wild 
 boar, and sustained an injury to his hip, which threatens to
 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. 89 
 
 trouble him for life. He was coming in to see Dr Owen, in 
 the hope that he might benefit by his medical advice and 
 treatment. 
 
 Between Padha-i-Sultan and Deh-i-Kamran, some two miles 
 to the west of the road, is the Seistan Bund. I visited it. 
 It is constructed of plaited tamarisk boughs, and lias to be 
 renewed or repaired every year after the spring floods. Just 
 above it, a canal, some 25 or 30 yards in width, diverts a 
 considerable portion of the waters of the Helmund for the 
 irrigation of Persian Seistan. The remainder flows onward in 
 its natural channel, more or less parallel to the route we are 
 following to the Hamun. In former and more prosperous 
 times there was no Hamun, the water of the Helmund being 
 exhausted for purposes of irrigation. Taimur Lang, in the 
 fourteenth century, did all he could to damage the irrigation 
 system of Seistan, besides sacking its towns. He seems to 
 have been animated with the bitterest hatred for the Seis- 
 tanis : some state, in explanation of this implacable resent- 
 ment, that his lameness was due to a wound received in his 
 first raid into Seistan. On arrival near the Bund, I found 
 Kazi Saad-ud-diii there with his suite, among whom was 
 Mahomed Saiyid Khan, a son of Sardar Mahomed Sharif 
 Khan of Kalah-i-fath. Since I met him (the Kazi) first at 
 Nushki, I have had no chance of intercourse with him. Long 
 marches and our duties in camp leave us all but little leisure 
 for the mere courtesies of this world. Presuming on my in- 
 troduction at Nushki, I went up and paid my respects to him. 
 He received me courteously, and offered me the usual cup of 
 tea, thus giving me the opportunity for conversation which I 
 desired. He stated that this Bund was formerly constructed 
 a little lower down the river; but that the Amir of Kain 
 took advantage of the difficulties in which Afghanistan has 
 been involved of late years to transfer the Bund to a point 
 above the fort of Kuhak, which is situated on the Persian 
 side of the river, between it and the canal. It is now held 
 by a small force of Persian infantry. This change in the site 
 of the Bund would necessitate a corresponding change in the 
 position of the canal's mouth, and I have not been able to
 
 90 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 ascertain that any such change has been made. Some re- 
 marks by Captain (now Colonel) Euan-Smith, 1 may perhaps 
 explain the real alterations made in the Bund by the Amir 
 of Kain. 
 
 About five miles north-west of Deh-i-dadi, at a place termed 
 Band-i-shamshir, there is a small and rather dilapidated Bund 
 on the Helmund, above which a small natural channel some 
 two feet deep diverges to the right or Afghan side, and ulti- 
 mately flows into the Naizar. The land enclosed on the west 
 by the main channel of the Helmund, on the east by the 
 minor channel, and on the north by the Naizar, is claimed by 
 the Persian Government. The Afghan Government contends, 
 on the other hand, that the main channel of the Helmund 
 is the boundary between the two monarchies, and that con- 
 sequently the disputed tract is rightfully Afghan territory. 
 Warshufta is the name given to it. If the Helmund is the 
 recognised boundary between Persia and Afghanistan, then 
 the main channel of that river, and not any minor offshot, 
 should be held to be the true boundary ; and the attempt of 
 the Persian Government to push their frontier beyond the 
 main channel should be held to be an unjustifiable infringe- 
 ment of the terms of the settlement. Moreover, it appears 
 that the Afghan Government has nine points of the law in its 
 favour, inasmuch as both banks of the lesser channel are in- 
 habited by Afghan subjects. It is said, again, and apparently 
 with truth, that the Helmund has recently shifted its main 
 channel westward. If so, the Persian claim may prove not 
 ill-founded. This is a point, however, which should be 
 decided according to the laws dealing with river boundaries 
 laws which, unlike those of the old Medes and Persians, 
 but like many rules and regulations of the present day, admit 
 of a most accommodating variety of application and inter- 
 pretation. Here, however, evidence only on the Afghan 
 side has been gathered, and it is not at present intended 
 to attempt more. To-morrow morning Colonel Kidgeway, 
 attended by several other political officers, rides out to the 
 Naizar, distant some ten or twelve miles. The results of the 
 
 1 Goldsmid's Eastern Persia, vol. i. p. 281.
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 91 
 
 Seistan settlement of 1872 were, briefly, Down to Kuhak 
 both sides of the Helmund, Afghan ; from Kuhak north to a 
 point almost due west of Chakansur, the Helmund forms the 
 boundary between the two kingdoms ; beyond which again 
 both banks are Afghan, the frontier bending to the north- 
 west so as to include the Hamuns both of the Helmund and 
 the Farah Kud within the limits of Afghan territory. 
 
 Although the banks of the Helmund no longer support a 
 teeming population, they are by no means a desert waste. 
 Certainly not a desert in the true sense of the word, since 
 labour alone is required to transform the plains, where tama- 
 risk and camel-thorn now grow in wild profusion, into pro- 
 ductive fields of wheat and barley, jowar, peas, and cotton. 
 At this time of the year, when the autumn crops have been 
 gathered, the country to a cursory glance presents an ex- 
 tremely barren aspect. It is only on closer inspection that 
 one detects great areas of land on which the stubble of last 
 season's wheat and barley crops is still standing ; and here 
 and there one comes across large heaps of grain and stacks of 
 Ikoosa, stored generally on the threshing-ground itself. Eggs, 
 milk, chickens, sheep, and melons are fairly plentiful. A 
 kind of pea locally termed "mash" is also produced. The 
 people here catch fish in weirs. We had for dinner one 
 night a very excellent fish caught in the Helmund. Often 
 as I have looked on the waters of that river, I have never 
 yet seen a fish rise. The limited number of herds and flocks 
 here is also noticeable, and accounts for the small value 
 placed on dry fodder. 
 
 At Padha-i-Sultan we encamped in the midst of a large 
 field oijowari, the stalks of which (familiarly known in India 
 as Jcurbee) were seemingly regarded as not worth cutting and 
 stacking. Our horses, having lived on bhoosa for six weeks, 
 by no means evinced so sovereign a contempt for good food. 
 Similarly the wheat and barley straw is only gathered in a 
 very perfunctory manner, enough being left standing or ly- 
 ing to support any number of animals ; and although this 
 country is overgrown with luxuriant jungle and scrub, that 
 could afford sustenance to thousands of camels, that animal
 
 92 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 is rarely seen. When 200 of the camels procured for us by 
 the Amir's agent bolted in the night from our camp near 
 Khaju, it was with difficulty that 100 were collected at 
 Chahar-burjak and Kalah-i-fath to replace them, and then 
 only by sending for them to the districts further north. 
 The supplies for the use of the Mission are, as I have before 
 stated, obtained in the main locally, and are popularly sup- 
 posed to be a forced contribution levied on the inhabitants. 
 It is a question, however, whether such obligatory contri- 
 butions convey to the mind of the Afghan subjects the same 
 sense of injustice and extortion that they bear in the sight of 
 the freeborn Englishman. It may be that the conditions of 
 land-tenure in Afghanistan subject the tenant or landowner 
 to these extraordinary contributions, just as much as to the 
 payment of a certain percentage of the yield in kind, or to 
 the equipment of a certain number of horse and foot soldiers 
 at need. Or, again, the supplies now exacted may be taken 
 in part payment of the revenue in kind. During the last 
 two days I have remarked several infallible signs of the 
 more prosperous condition of this district viz., more villages, 
 more inhabitants, a greater area under cultivation, more herds 
 and flocks, and a great increase in the number of canals and 
 minor irrigation channels. So numerous, indeed, were the 
 latter, that the progress of the baggage was greatly delayed 
 by them. Fortunately the march to-day was unusually short, 
 only seven or eight miles. All the bridges were mere tem- 
 porary structures, and gave way either entirely or in part 
 before the long line of 1300 or 1400 camels had crossed it. 
 Where the country is open, the camels march in several 
 lines abreast. Here both the denseness of the jungle and 
 the frequent recurrence of narrow bridges made a single line 
 obligatory. Occasionally the fore or hind legs of a camel 
 would disappear through a bridge, and then all had to halt 
 till the poor beast, lucky if he escaped uninjured, was ex- 
 tricated. 
 
 The exit from the last camp was a truly animated scene. 
 Some 300 yards out of camp was the first bridge over a canal, 
 about 30 or 40 feet broad. The infantry and cavalry main
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 93 
 
 bodies' having crossed with becoming order, the baggage 
 followed on, and then came the tug of war. The enrolled 
 transport-driver, trained to some sense of discipline, is hard 
 to manage in a position where order and patience are 
 supremely necessary ; but when it comes to the independent 
 Beluch or Pathan, who heeds no command unsupported by 
 moral or physical force, then, indeed, the preservation of 
 order is a herculean task. Not only had the united onset 
 of six or seven strings of camels each pressing forward to 
 reach the bridge first to be met and resisted ; but in the 
 very act of meeting this front attack, we found ourselves 
 taken in flank by the baggage-camels of Kazi Saad-ud-din 
 and his following. The contest was truly exciting, load 
 crashing against load with a scrunching sound, that made 
 one feel thankful that one's head was not in between. So 
 tightly packed, however, were the camels, that they mutually 
 assisted each other to keep their loads in their places. With 
 the exception of many a broken mahar (nose-string), to the 
 detriment probably of many a camel's nose, no great amount 
 of harm was done. Fortunately no heads were broken, 
 though I saw portions of the commissariat oven, tent-poles, 
 spears, and big trunks and cases swaying to and fro in a 
 manner very suggestive of concussion of the brain. The 
 united efforts of several European and native officers, aided 
 by some sowars and sepoys, employing such weapons of hand 
 and tongue as nature has gifted mankind with, succeeded in 
 cooling this ill-timed spirit of emulation among our camel- 
 men, and in inducing them to believe that half-a-dozen 
 camels abreast could not cross a rickety bridge without dan- 
 ger to life and limb and load. The passage of the baggage 
 across the bridge was then effected with some semblance of 
 order, although it required all our vigilance to prevent the 
 opening scene being reacted. 
 
 At Deh-i-Kamran our escort was increased by a small 
 body of Afghan regular infantry summoned from Kalah-i- 
 kang, which we passed on our march to-day. It is known 
 that Sardar Ibrahim Khan, late of Chakansur, is living at 
 Jahanabad in Persian territory, just across the Helmund ; and
 
 94 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 as the whole or most of the Beluch population in this neigh- 
 bourhood are strong partisans of his, and view with disfavour 
 his replacement by an Afghan governor, it was deemed not 
 improbable that he might incite them to attempt an attack 
 on our camp or on our line of march, with a view to bring 
 discredit on the Amir's arrangements for our unmolested 
 passage. Latterly, in consequence, our sentries and baggage- 
 guard have been increased, and at night Afghan sentries are 
 posted outside our own. 
 
 The fort of Kalah-i-kang is of some size, being more or less 
 of a circular shape, with a diameter of 200 yards or more. The 
 walls, which are of no great height or strength, are surrounded 
 by a broad deep ditch full of water. It is barely a year since 
 it was occupied by Afghan troops sent down from Farah, and 
 its defences are still in process of being strengthened. The 
 military headquarters of this district, under command of a 
 sartip (colonel), are at Chakansur, distant some seven or 
 eight miles east by north of Kalah-i-kang ; and a detachment 
 is quartered at Burj-i-asp, where the main road from Xasira- 
 bad to Chakansur, near Nada Ali, crosses the Helmund. This 
 route is one of strategical importance, as from Chakansur it 
 continues via Khash to Girishk. It will be seen by reference 
 to the latest survey map that the road between Girishk and 
 Farah is crossed, near a village called Langhera, by a stream 
 named Shandu, whose further course is marked by dotted lines 
 to a point near Chakansur. If, as is supposed, water is to be 
 found, either on or near the surface of this channel, it will 
 also acquire some importance from a strategical point of view. 
 Native information estimates the garrisons of Chakansur, 
 Kalah-i-kang, and Burj-i-asp at 400 sowars and 1000 infantry, 
 all irregular troops. The cavalry are entitled " Sowar-i-khud- 
 aspa," or " Khawanin Sowar," and the infantry " Jazailchi " or 
 " Khassadar." The actual strength of the force quartered in 
 this district is probably somewhat less. Ibrahimabad, which 
 was settled and founded by Sardar Ibrahim Khan, was re- 
 duced to ruins last year by the Amir's troops. 
 
 Eiding from the Seistan Bund towards Nada Ali, one sees 
 successively on the Persian side of the Helmund the forts of
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 95 
 
 Khwaja Ahmed, Shahristan, and Sharifabad. The two former 
 are said to be now deserted the latter occupied. Nada Ali 
 and its neighbouring mounds of Surkh-dak and Sand-dak are 
 visible for miles around. In thus spelling the last two names, 
 I have the authority of the distinct pronunciation of the in- 
 habitants of the neighbourhood, whom I carefully interrogated, 
 supported by the testimony of Euan-Smith, 1 who thus remarks : 
 " Dak-i-Dehl derives its name from a Sistani word dak, which 
 signifies mound or hill." Etymological discussions may seem 
 inappropriate here, but as the correct names of these mounds 
 have been a good deal canvassed, I may be excused. These 
 two words are pronounced Spidak and Surclak by the Beluch 
 chaw-bacon (may the Prophet pardon me for associating the 
 name of a good Mohammedan with pork in any form !) but 
 these are mere provincial corruptions of the true names. 
 Surkh-dak is, of course, " red hill," and the origin of this name 
 is accounted for in the following story. In former days (i.e., 
 once upon a time) a person, be he king or general, fired 
 whether by lust of conquest or by enmity, came with an im- 
 posing army and proceeded to besiege Nada Ali. With this 
 object he fortified Safid-dak and Surkh-dak, connecting these 
 two points by a line of fortifications, of which traces are still 
 easily distinguishable. The thousands of burnt bricks lying 
 about lead one to suppose that the assailant contemplated not 
 merely a temporary fort, but a lasting dwelling-place of men. 
 However, while he was thus plotting the destruction of Nada 
 Ali, the people of that city were no less active in counterplot- 
 ting ; and one day (it may have been a fine one) the red brick 
 ramparts and bastions that proudly crowned the summit of 
 Surkh-dak were elevated to a still prouder position in the 
 circumambient air, and after a short aerial flight returned to 
 earth once more, covering the mound-top and its slopes below 
 with a rich red carpet of brickbats. Hence its present name. 
 Seeing that Surkh-dak is fully half a mile from Nada Ali, the 
 successful conduct of a mine from the one to the other argues 
 well for the engineering skill of the besieged. Extensive ruins, 
 relics of its former prosperity, lie around Nada Ali, conspicuous 
 
 1 Goldsmid's Eastern Persia, vol. i. p. 285.
 
 96 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 among which is a tower reputed to have been built by some 
 king unknown, for a daughter equally nameless. The name 
 Khushk is attached to it. This tower is the best architectural 
 specimen that has as yet been seen in Seistan. At the foot of 
 Safid-dak stood a ruined windmill. Not a single mill, wind 
 or water, have I seen in working order in this country. I am, 
 however, informed that there are two water-mills at Kudbar 
 
 and one in Kalah-i-kang. 
 
 IBRAHIMABAD, 29th October. 
 
 We halted here to-day. At 6.30 A.M., Colonel Kidgeway, 
 accompanied by several members of the Mission and an 
 escort, started for the Naizar, for the purpose of obtaining in- 
 formation bearing on the boundary dispute to which I have 
 already referred. "We rode to a mound some 10 miles west 
 by south of Ibrahimabad. The mound was a heap of earth 
 some 15 feet high and 50 yards in circumference, and was, I 
 found, despite its insignificant proportions, dignified by the 
 name of Silagh-sar, a name that may be translated " spit-head." 
 When at Cambridge I used to gaze with some amusement at 
 the line of hillocks bearing the imposing title of the " Gog- 
 Magog Hills." There, as here, it is the extreme flatness of the 
 surrounding country that invests the most trifling eminence 
 with an exaggerated importance. These little mounds are all 
 known here by the general term of " Puzak," or " little noses." 
 To reach this mound we crossed many water-channels of 
 varying width and depth, and traversed belts of tamarisk 
 jungle, intersected by patches of once marshy ground and by 
 effete fields of joivari. One or two villages we passed, the 
 hovels as usual built of tamarisk matting and straw or grass, 
 daubed occasionally with a little mud. All the villages here- 
 about are of the same material. One can but conclude that 
 the inhabitants are quasi nomads, changing their abode as the 
 exigencies of their pastoral and agricultural pursuits demand. 
 It appears that the pursuits of the inhabitants of this neigh- 
 bourhood are mainly pastoral. I noticed during our ride this 
 morning large flocks of sheep and many cows grazing. Camels 
 also are more numerous. 
 
 The basis of the dispute between the Persian and Afghan
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HEEAT. 97 
 
 Governments about this Xaizar appears to be this. The people 
 of several Persian settlements on the western side of the Naizar 
 possess a very large number of sheep and kine (20,000 it is 
 roughly stated), and pasture them in the Xaizar. The Afghan 
 authorities maintain that the ISTaizar is Afghan territory, and 
 if the Persian herds and flocks graze there, they must pay a 
 poll-tax to the Afghan Government. The Persians again 
 state that they have grazed their flocks and herds there from 
 time immemorial, and if they are deprived of this grazing- 
 ground it will be a serious loss to them, and they have an old- 
 established prescriptive right of grazing their cattle there. 
 From conversation with the Beluch peasantry, it seemed that 
 they personally had no objection to Persian cattle grazing in 
 the Naizar. The point at issue is, to whom the tax on herds 
 and flocks owned by Persian peasants, but grazing in Afghan 
 territory, should be paid. From what we saw of the Naizar, 
 which stretches from the Hamun of the Helmund to the 
 Hamun of the Farah Eud, and which is annually flooded, it is 
 nothing but a waste of hard, dried mud, covered with dead or 
 dying reeds. Verily, what went we out for to see ? Some 
 reeds not shaken by the wind even, for there was not a breath 
 stirring. Anyhow, that is all \ve saw. 
 
 CAMP TAKHT-I-RUSTAM, 31 st October. 
 
 Yesterday we marched 16^ miles to a camp near Makbara- 
 i-Abil, and thence, to-day, some 16 miles to the camp from 
 which this is despatched. We are on the banks of the Hel- 
 mund Hamun, whose wide waters, reed-girt and ruffled by a 
 boisterous north-west wind, stretch west and south-west as far 
 as the eye can see on a dusty hazy day. To-morrow we march 
 to Lash Juwain. 
 
 CAMP PANJDEH, NEAR LASH JUWAIX, 1st Nov. 
 
 I looked forward with some interest to seeing the twin forts 
 which established custom has linked in the one name of Lash 
 Juwain. If I had been asked why, I could not have given 
 any specific reason beyond the fact that the name had, in iny 
 mind's eye, held a prominent position among the features of 
 
 G
 
 98 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Seistan. It may have been that it is printed in large capital 
 letters in the map ; it may have been the perusal of Bellew's 
 and Euan-Smith's descriptions. Whatever the reason, the 
 place was in reality but a name to me. If I had any precon- 
 ceived notion of the appearance of the twins, you may feel 
 sure that, like all such preconceptions, it was very far from 
 the reality. As we reached the brow of each successive fold 
 of the plateau we crossed during our march to-day, I looked 
 eagerly forward for the waters of the Farah Kud, and the pair 
 of strongholds that, as I pictured to myself, reared their proud 
 walls on either bank, and kept jealous guard over the ap- 
 proaches to the stream. As it happened, it blew a gale of 
 wind from the north-west all day right in our teeth, and the 
 dust raised by k hundreds of camels obscured the air. Some 
 say this wind blows incessantly during the four winter months 
 at Herat; others, that the four months' wind for which 
 Herat is notorious blows in the summer, 1 and that beyond 
 Anardara, the fifth march from Panjdeh northward, there is 
 a cessation of wind and an increase of cold. Naturally the 
 weather will become chillier as we attain higher elevations. 
 At present this wind is bearable, though even now in the early 
 morn it sends a chilly shiver through the body, and the dust 
 it brings plays sad havoc with the eyes. But when this bois- 
 terous blast careers through an atmosphere in which the 
 mercury in the thermometer stands below freezing - point, 
 then indeed we shall need all our ulsters, postins, cardigans, 
 Balaclava caps, fur-lined cloaks, chamois-leather waistcoats, 
 gloves, and mitts, to keep it out. Supposing, however, that 
 the condition of the atmosphere to-day had been favour- 
 able for a view, the following panorama would have been 
 spread before us, as we gazed north-west towards the Farah 
 Eud from the edge of the plateau of gravel and sandstone that 
 lies between here and Chakansur, and which we have been 
 skirting and crossing during the three last marches. To our 
 right and left the plateau on which we stand sweeps in a 
 
 1 The latter is correct. See Morier's Haji Baba, chap. xi. : " This wind, 
 which lasts for 120 days during the summer months, and without which the 
 inhabitants would almost die of heat," &c.
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 99 
 
 curved line north and south towards the Farah Paid, which 
 flows at a distance of some seven miles from north-east to 
 south-west. Beyond the Farah liud, and running more or 
 less parallel to its right bank, rises a scarped sandstone bluff, 
 culminating in gravelly slopes similar to the one on which we 
 stand. Aw r ay to the west, or west by south if the day be 
 clear, we see the green plains bordering the Farah End 
 stretching far away, and beyond, on the dim horizon, the 
 Kuh-i-Bandan. To the north, and at no great distance, we 
 see the Kuh-i-kalah-i-kah (also called Kuh-i-Imani Zaid, for 
 a reason to be given hereafter), towards which to-morrow we 
 shall direct our march. The broad semicircular plain below 
 us looks attractive in its greenness. From the midst of its 
 carpet of grass tufts, camel-thorn, wormwood, and dwarf 
 tamarisk stands up the fort of Juwain ; wlu'le around, for some 
 miles northward and southward, stretch the ruins of some 
 populous city of olden times. Slightly to the left of Juwain, 
 which is only about four miles distant, and two or three 
 miles beyond it, the fort of Lash crowns an isolated and com- 
 manding headland of the bluff that overhangs the right bank 
 of the Farah Eud. Nothing can be more dissimilar than the 
 position and general aspect of these so-called twin forts. The 
 one in the centre of a verdant plain, a quadrangle with four 
 bastioned walls of mud ; the other on the edge of a cliff, its 
 walls rising in tiers from base to apex of a sheer precipice. 
 And now that the one (Juwain) is in the hands of a Sayhzai 
 (this is the local pronunciation, the more correct one being, I 
 am informed, Sak-zai, an abbreviation of Ishak-zai) chief, and 
 the other garrisoned by the Amir's militia, their claim to 
 twinship may be declared null and void. Approaching Juwain 
 closer, you see it is a rectangle, each wall being from 300 to 
 400 yards long, with bastions at each angle, and at intervals 
 of about 100 yards on each face. It is built on a slight 
 natural eminence, and its walls are of unusual height and 
 solidity. Euan-Smith says it has never been taken. Never- 
 theless, some three years ago, when Abdur Kahman Khan, after 
 his defeat of Ayub at Kandahar, sent a force to reduce and 
 occupy Lash Juwain, the chief, perceiving that the Amir was
 
 100 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 in earnest, and not being very keen about having his lands 
 laid waste, and himself and adherents starved into submission, 
 deemed discretion the better part of valour, and recognised 
 the suzerainty of the Amir. The present garrison of Lash 
 was a portion of the force sent to guide Sardar Mahomed 
 Hasan Khan and his followers into the path of duty to the 
 Amir. On the south face of the walls of Juwain I noticed 
 a temporary entrance, and it seemed also that some of the 
 embrasures (or whatever the use of the orifices were) were 
 found by the inhabitants a convenient means of ingress and 
 egress. The main entrance, however, is in the centre of the 
 north, or rather north-western, face, flanked by two bastions ; 
 and just opposite to it, a group of a hundred or more domed 
 dwellings give shelter to such of the inhabitants as cannot be 
 accommodated within the walls. In this fort resides Sardar 
 Mahomed Hasan Khan Sakzai, with his tribesmen. Around 
 the walls a considerable area of land is, or has been lately, 
 under cultivation, and the busy revolutions of a dozen wind- 
 mills prove that there is a good deal of grain hereabouts, and 
 a goodish number of mouths to consume it. The inhabitants 
 of Juwain consist of Afghans of the Sak-zai or Ishak-zai 
 section, and of Kizilbashes. The former are naturally the 
 dominant race ; but the latter are, I hear, treated with more 
 than ordinary consideration, lest they forsake Juwaiu and 
 emigrate to Persian Seistan, as many have already done at the 
 invitation of the Amir of Kain. It appears that some twelve 
 or fifteen years ago this district was visited by drought and 
 famine, and the Amir of Kain then offered the starving 
 Kizilbash population a home and the wherewithal to live 
 in his own territory an offer they not unnaturally availed 
 themselves of. Xone of our party entered the walls of 
 Juwain ; and from the description given of its interior by the 
 inhabitants, I have reason to believe that we should con- 
 gratulate ourselves on this omission. A Kizilbash with whom 
 I conversed, complained of the injustice of the chief towards 
 his class ; but I doubt if his statement was worthy of credit, 
 seeing that I was informed on good authority that, for fear of 
 a general emigration of the Kizilbash inhabitants, the chief
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 101 
 
 was careful to check even religious differences between his 
 own tribesmen, who are Sunnis, and the Kizilbashes, who are 
 Shi'ahs. 
 
 Some three or four miles beyond Jiiwain, on the right bank 
 of the Farah Eud, stands the village of Panjdeh (some 300 
 yards south of which our camp was pitched) a collection of 
 mud houses and walls, with two windmills and half-a-dozen 
 mulberry-trees. There is a striking absence of fruit-bearing 
 trees between Khwaja Ali and Juwain. However, to return 
 to the windmills. If Seistan ever produced a Don Quixote 
 (Eustam was a great hero, but his ambition never soared to 
 the height of windmills), he might have safely challenged to 
 mortal or any other style of combat, the windmills of his 
 native land. Firstly, he could not have got in at them ; and 
 secondly, and more to the point, he could not have got within 
 reach of their arms, unless his Eosinante had been an un- 
 usually magnificent fencer. These windmills, whose plane 
 of motion is horizontal, not vertical, are elevated from 10 to 
 15 feet above the ground, and surrounded by a proportionately 
 high brick wall on every side. As the prevailing winds here 
 are from the north, the mills are specially adapted by con- 
 struction for that wind. When the wind blows from the 
 south, the mills have a holiday. The south side is, therefore, 
 entirely open to give free escape to the wind, which enters at 
 the north-west angle ; while, on the east and west sides, the 
 wall is built up to such a height that the beam, in a socket in 
 which the upper end of the axle of the sail revolves, can be 
 embedded firmly in it. On the north side the north-west and 
 north-east angles are open, the remainder being closed by a 
 high wall, built, not at right angles to the east and west walls, 
 but slightly obliquely. The angle at which this wall was 
 built would appear to facilitate the ingress of the wind from 
 the north-west angle, while it obstructed the entrance of the 
 wind from the north-east. This is an excellent arrangement, 
 provided that the north-west wind, which, for the past two 
 days, has added not a little to the fatigues of our inarching, 
 predominates here. The sails are of grass-matting, in shape 
 slightly curved, and affixed to a wooden frame at the angle
 
 102 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 best calculated to catch the full force of the wind, and when 
 in motion causes the upper millstone to revolve on the nether, 
 which is stationary. The fineness of the flour is regulated by 
 means of the nether millstone, which, by the insertion or 
 withdrawal of wooden wedges, is elevated or depressed as 
 required. The feeder is worked by vibration imparted by the 
 revolutions of the axle and upper millstone. 
 
 In the afternoon a party composed of Major Bax, Captain 
 Yate, Captain Griesbach, and myself, rode down the valley of 
 the Farah Eud to visit the fortress of Lash, distant about two 
 miles. "We were accompanied by a sad-bashi (captain) of the 
 Amir's militia (Khassadar), commanding one of the two com- 
 panies that form the garrison of Lash. In course of conver- 
 sation with him, I ascertained that the two companies of 
 Khassadars at Chakansur, with the two companies at Lash, 
 formed a battalion under the command of a sartip (colonel), 
 who, with two sad-bashis, three other officers, and 200 men, 
 were quartered at Lash. I have reason to believe that in my 
 last letter I overestimated the strength of the garrisons of 
 Chakansur and Kalah-i-kang. One of the companies at 
 Lash was composed of men from Kabul, and the other of men 
 from Farah. They had been quartered there for three years, 
 and did not appear to entertain any expectation of being 
 speedily relieved. It appeared that all, or most of them, lived 
 with their families in the upper citadel, which we were, as a 
 matter of course, not invited to enter. The Kabuli men ex- 
 pressed no discontent at so long an enforced absence from 
 their own province, and appeared to accept as indisputable 
 the Amir's right to keep them at Lash as long as he deemed 
 necessary. In placing a garrison of his own troops in Lash, 
 the Amir Abdur Rahman was, no doubt, actuated by a per- 
 ception of its strategical importance. A reference to the map 
 will show that five important roads (irrespective of minor 
 routes) converge on and meet at Lash Juwain. On the Afghan 
 side the roads from Herat and Kandahar meet at Farah, which 
 is connected by a good road with Juwain, and from Girishk 
 Juwain is approachable by a practicable route along |the Hel- 
 mund valley. From the Persian side three roads one from
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 103 
 
 Maslihacl vid Birjand ; the other from Ispahan via Yezd, Kir- 
 man, and JSTeh ; the third from Bain vid Xasirabad all meet 
 near Lash Juwain. For a Persian invasion the Afghan fron- 
 tier offers no more vulnerable point. The strength of this 
 fortress is due partly to its natural position, and partly to 
 artificial defences. The position is an isolated commanding 
 point of the cliff that overhangs the right bank of the Farah 
 Bud, protected to the east by a sheer precipice ; to the north 
 and west by a high and very steep slope, at the foot of which 
 is a broad and deep ditch ; and to the south, towards which 
 point the cliff slopes gradually down to the river-bed, by a 
 series of fortifications forming three successive citadels or de- 
 fensive works. The two upper citadels completely command 
 the plateau to the west and north, from which the fortress is 
 separated by a natural hollow, 60 or 70 feet deep, and several 
 hundred yards in breadth. The lower citadel is commanded 
 from the plateau north-west of it, but at a distance that 
 would render the fire of a jazail comparatively ineffective. It 
 is, moreover, defended on that side by a high, strong mud 
 wall, and a deep ditch. Its defences are now in an indiffer- 
 ent state of repair. Moreover, the precipice to the east is 
 a source of danger, not protection, to the fortress, since it 
 threatens to fall in at any moment, and bring the whole 
 structure down with a run. It is useless against modern 
 artillery and firearms. From its walls we obtained an ex- 
 cellent view of the surrounding country. Some two miles to 
 the north-east stood the fort of Juwain (the etymology of 
 this word is discussed. in Goldsmid's 'Eastern Persia,' vol. i. 
 Some suppose it to be the Arabic dual form of the Persian 
 word/in, an irrigation channel, from the two canals which, it 
 is supposed, irrigated the surrounding plain) encompassed by 
 miles of verdant plain and miles of crumbling ruins. Here, 
 where scores of herds and flocks might be fattening, not a 
 single head of cattle nor a single sheep was to be seen. To 
 the south-west, as far as the eye could see, the same verdure 
 carpeted the plain on either bank of the Farah liud ; and on 
 the horizon, with binoculars, we could detect very extensive 
 ruins grouped round an eminence that, in days gone by, was
 
 104 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 doubtless the citadel of this city of the dead. The Afghan 
 soldiers gave this place the name of Salian ; so I conclude 
 that we were gazing on the ruins of Peshawaran described in 
 Goldsmid's ' Eastern Persia.' To the south a bold cliff marked 
 the end of the plateau that concealed the Hamun from our 
 view. To the west and south-west the Kuh-i-Bandan loomed 
 on the horizon ; while to the north lay the Kuh-i-kalah-i-kah, 
 and north-west several peaks, under which, we were told, lay 
 Farah. During the time that we were striving to impress on 
 the retina of our mind's eye a vivid picture of the view from 
 Lash, Captain Griesbach was more profitably employed in 
 taking an impression of the fortress on a chemically prepared 
 plate of glass. I say " more profitably," because this is the 
 first time that photography has had the chance of presenting 
 to the general public faithful representations of the scenery, 
 features, and most interesting sites of Seistan. It is true we 
 have three or four photographic apparatus with the Mission, 
 but .unluckily the officers who can use them are so fully 
 occupied with their own special duties, that they have no 
 leisure hours to while away in the light pastime of photo- 
 graphy. Dr Weir, the ' Times of India's ' correspondent with 
 the Mission, has come provided with a photographic apparatus, 
 and has taken a number of photographs of interesting scenes 
 and sites. The officers of the Survey are busy, not only from 
 sunrise to sunset nay, even the falling shades of night bring 
 them but a short respite ; for no sooner has daylight closed the 
 innings of the plane-table and the prismatic compass, than the 
 twinkle of the stars intimates that " time is up," and the inn- 
 ings of the theodolite commences, and the still night air is 
 broken by solemn voices proclaiming mystic numbers and 
 degrees that fall with comic meaninglessness on my unscien- 
 tific ear. Since the unfortunate break in the chain of trigo- 
 nometrical observations caused by the haziness of the atmo- 
 sphere between Eudbar and Kalah-i-fath, owing to which the 
 connection with the Indian triangulation system was un- 
 avoidably severed, a new system of triangulation, on the basis 
 of the traverse, which has been successfully carried through, 
 has been established. Although the scheme of carrying the
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 105 
 
 Indian system through to the Kusso-Afghan frontier has thus 
 been thwarted, the importance of the results of this survey 
 will suffer thereby little if any diminution. 
 
 CAMP KAIN, 3cZ November. 
 
 Dr Owen, who is also a photographer, has his hands so full 
 of medical work that he is obliged to devote such leisure 
 moments as he can snatch from philanthropy to archasological 
 pursuits and inquiries into local arts and manufactures, about 
 which, I understand, Government desire to obtain some in- 
 formation. No sooner do we reach a camping-ground than 
 Dr Owen is surrounded by a crowd of patients suffering from 
 every conceivable disease, more especially diseases of the eye. 
 The keen, almost frenzied, eagerness with which they all, 
 young and old, crowd round the " Hakim sahib," whose magic 
 skill, they hope and believe, can deliver them from the thral- 
 dom of an ailment or disease that threatens to embitter all 
 the days of their lives, is a spectacle curious, and yet painful, 
 to witness. There is no fear of pain ; the one all-powerful 
 hope of relief or cure leaves no scope to the sense of dread 
 of bodily suffering. Men, women, and children throw them- 
 selves at his feet and clasp his knees, entreating him to employ 
 all the resources of his skill and science in their behalf. And 
 these crowds of blind, halt, and maimed, and of those griev- 
 ously afflicted with divers diseases, are not persons whom the 
 news of the sudden advent of the " Hakini-i-Farang! " have 
 called from their hamlets hard by the camping-ground. No ; 
 the fame of his approach has travelled before him, and the 
 sick come from far and near to seek a cure at his hands. 
 To-day, for instance, a number of people from Farah were 
 awaiting his arrival, and persons disappointed at one camp 
 have accompanied us for one or more stages until they have 
 attained their object. At first it appears to have been not 
 generally known that the Mission was accompanied by a 
 medical man for the express purpose of tending the sick of 
 the districts we passed through. As soon, however, as Colonel 
 Eidgeway informed the Amir's agent that such was the case, 
 information was given to the inhabitants, and the result was
 
 106 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 that more patients came for relief than could possibly be 
 administered to or operated on. 
 
 In the five days from 27th to 31st October, 773 patients, 
 according to the entries in the hospital records, obtained 
 relief, and during the three first days of November 137 more. 
 During this period of eight days no fewer than sixty-three 
 major operations were performed, including an amputation 
 of the thigh, several cases of tumour and lithotomy, and one 
 of dropsy, and a very large number of operations on the eye. 
 Eye - diseases, in fact, predominated, and were seemingly 
 entirely beyond the range of skill of the native practitioners. 
 The fact is that such diseases can only be effectually reme- 
 died by surgical operations ; and the physician of the Yunani 
 or Arabic school, however great an adept in the efficacy and 
 application of herbs and simples, charms and talismans, is 
 a perfect tyro in the use of the knife. In one single day 
 288 patients were tended ; and it must be remembered that 
 these figures, supplied from the hospital books, but inade- 
 quately represent the true number of those to whom medical 
 aid was administered. Their number was so great, that to 
 register their names, ages, and complaints was a sheer im- 
 possibility. The hospital tents, establishment, and equip- 
 ment rarely reached camp before 1 or 2 P.M., and thus barely 
 three hours before dark were available for attendance to the 
 wants of hundreds of applicants. That in eight days, each 
 of three working hours, so much was effected, is the strongest 
 proof we can adduce of the untiring energy and devotion to 
 their profession of Dr Owen and his assistants. It cannot be 
 doubted that the advent of the Farangi Hakim in the western 
 provinces of Afghanistan is an event that will be remembered 
 and spoken of with gratitude and wonder for years to come. 
 However, who can say that, ere many years pass over, civil 
 dispensaries and their branches will not be established by the 
 British Government at the headquarters of every district in 
 Seistan ? Not only male but female patients of all ages are 
 freely brought for medical attendance. As I have before said, 
 fear of pain and the sight of the lancet and other suggestive 
 instruments, that give most ordinary mortals the cold shivers
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HEEAT. 107 
 
 (though the outward demeanour may seek to cloak the 
 inward tremor), seemed to have no horror for the ignorant 
 Beluch and Pathan. There they sat in a grim circle, and 
 watched, without a wince, the incision for lithotomy, the 
 amputation of a limb, the operation of a new pupil in an 
 eye ; and when the knife, the lancet, and the probe had done 
 their work before their eyes, did they shrink back ? Not 
 they ! It was who should first be the next subject for the 
 operator's magic skill. They were loath to believe that only 
 one at a time could be operated on. They dreaded that the 
 shades of night might fall, and that the lancet should have 
 brought to their visionless orbs no hope of a future ray of 
 light. They were no lambs led to the slaughter, but inspired 
 with the frenzy of a forlorn hope not only men but women. 
 Sometimes a man would wince under the lancet (chloroform 
 \vas only administered for very serious operations), and if he 
 persisted in flinching, and so delaying the operator in his 
 work, he was promptly and ignominiously removed from the 
 operating - table, with the consoling comment that he was 
 unworthy even of being a woman. And forthwith, as an 
 example to the rest, a woman was selected and operated on. 
 The admirable pluck and indifference to pain exhibited by 
 one old lady are worthy of record. After a painful operation 
 on the eye, which she bore without a wince or murmur, the 
 hospital assistant approached the husband and asked his wife's 
 name, age, &c. The old lady was fifty, if she were a day. 
 However, the husband, a venerable old greybeard, after some 
 cogitation, hazarded the reply, " thirty years old," an assertion 
 which was greeted with a general burst of laughter. The old 
 lady herself was just being helped off the table, and having 
 heard the question and answer, and the perhaps unbecoming 
 merriment it elicited, she raised her bandaged and still sight- 
 less (though soon to regain their lost powers) orbs to our 
 faces, and, with a good-humoured smile and chuckle, ejacu- 
 lated, " You may not believe me, but blessed if I'm a day 
 over fifteen ! " It is needless to add that this sally, exhibiting, 
 as it did, her pluck and fortitude, was greeted with much 
 merriment and many expressions of approval.
 
 108 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 After this brief account of Dr Owen's indefatigable efforts 
 for the spread of the fame of British philanthropy and chir- 
 urgic skill through provinces that have hitherto been closed 
 to European civilisation, I will endeavour to summarise the 
 results of his archaeological researches. I must premise that 
 his arduous medical duties have seriously impeded the pro- 
 gress of his other scientific pursuits. Fortunately, however, 
 he is not the only member of the Mission imbued with a 
 taste for archeology, and the knowledge requisite to make 
 that taste subservient and conducive to profitable results. 
 Captains Durand and De Laessoe have succeeded in collecting 
 a considerable number of archaeological specimens ; and the 
 numismatic knowledge of Lieutenant the Hon. M. G. Talbot 
 and Captain Griesbach has proved of great assistance to the 
 collectors. The rapidity of the movements of the Mission 
 has, of course, rendered independent excavation out of the 
 question ; and the fact that all the most valuable coins, 
 signets, and other curios are promptly carried for sale to the 
 chief centres of commerce, and that a vast number of silver 
 coins are melted down into silver bullion (a lunya stated that 
 he obtained four maunds of silver bullion from the melting 
 of one lot that he had purchased), will account for the diffi- 
 culty of obtaining locally rare and valuable coins and curios. 
 Still there is reason to believe that those which have been 
 collected by Dr Owen, and which, I understand, will be 
 hereafter forwarded to the British and other museums, will 
 throw some light on the history and artistic progress of the 
 ancient cities that are now but symbols of the former wealth 
 and prosperity of this wasted country. Many specimens of 
 ancient pottery have been collected, whose excellent glaze 
 and lightness, combined with strength, indicate that the 
 Seistani potters of yore were no mean adepts in their art. 
 Among coins, the commonest are those of the Ghazni and 
 later Persian dynasties ; while those of the Sassanian and 
 Bactrian dynasties are comparatively rare. Coins of the 
 later caliphates are not uncommon ; whereas not a single coin 
 of the first caliphate, and only one Greek coin of the post- 
 Alexandrian monarchies, has been obtained. Not a single
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 109 
 
 gold coin has been procured. Among a number of ancient 
 seals that have been collected, only three two Greek and 
 one probably Assyrian are of great rarity and value. Not 
 the least, indeed perhaps the most, valuable of the archae- 
 ological specimens obtained here, are two bronze arrow-heads 
 of great but at present uncertain age. Unfortunately the 
 person who presented them for sale was unable to say where 
 they were unearthed. Last, and not least, is an admirable 
 specimen of old Persian brass-w 7 ork, seemingly a candlestick. 
 
 "With regard to modern arts and manufactures as practised 
 in Seistan, the list is but brief, and the standard of excellence 
 but ordinary. In the first place, it may be mentioned that 
 the Beluch inhabitants from Kuclbar to Kaluh-i-fath placed 
 so high a value on the products of their artistic skill that 
 they persistently refused to exhibit them to the prying eye 
 of the British intruder. Did they fear that the inquisitive 
 Briton sought to penetrate the mysterious secret of their 
 very commonplace productions, or was some official instiga- 
 tion the true secret of their reluctance ? Probably the latter. 
 Good and durable Jehurjins (saddle-bags), kcdins, and kalinchas 
 (dhurries or carpets, large and small), and a coarse cotton 
 cloth, are the only local fabrics I saw. According to the 
 statements of the inhabitants, all other articles of apparel and 
 domestic furniture and utensils were imported. All their 
 weapons guns, swords, &c. were undoubtedly manufactured 
 elsewhere. A good deal of cotton is grown in this country, 
 and, according to the statements of the people, is all utilised 
 locally. I have before remarked on the absence of mills, 
 wind or water, except at Eudbar and Juwain. The natural 
 conclusion is that the grain is ground by haiidmills, as 
 required for consumption. 
 
 CAMP GIXG, 4th November. 
 
 I must reserve for a future letter an account of the results 
 of the labours of the geological, botanical, and natural 
 history departments, for some details about which I am 
 indebted to Dr Aitchison and Captain Griesbach, and will 
 now give a brief description of our inarches since we left 
 Ibrahimabacl on the 30th ultimo. The marches are
 
 110 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Ibrahimabad to Makbara-i-Abil, . . . . 16J 
 
 Makbara-i-Abil to Takht-i-Rustam, . . . 17 
 
 Takht-i-Rustam to Panjdeh, 15 J 
 
 Panjdeh to Khushk Rud, 17 
 
 Khushk Rud to Ka'in, 13 
 
 Kain to Ging, 21 
 
 From Ibrahimabad to a few miles beyond Takht-i-Bustam 
 {i.e., about 36 miles) we followed the edge of the Naizar and 
 Hamun, having on our right a low plateau of sandstone 
 underlying conglomerate, which stretches away for some 
 miles to the west and north of the Hamun. The Naizar is 
 merely a broad belt of land surrounding the Hamun, which 
 is annually flooded in the spring, and dries up gradually as 
 the flood-waters abate and evaporate, or are absorbed in the 
 soil. It is densely covered with reeds and bulrushes, on the 
 feathery heads of which cattle browse. In places that are 
 subject to but brief inundation, two kinds of grass to which 
 cattle are partial are produced. The one is that known in 
 Pushtu as kabal, and in India as doob or luiriyali ; and the 
 other is called locally kirta, and in Beluchistan drab. This 
 latter seems to flourish on any alluvial soil that obtains a fair 
 share of water from rain or other sources. It is almost 
 always found, together with camel-thorn, on fallow lands. 
 Camel-thorn grows among the reeds on the edge of the 
 Naizar ; but, notwithstanding, the camels fared but indiffer- 
 ently on the edge of the Hamun, compared with the varied 
 and luxurious banquet that was daily spread before them on 
 the banks of the Helmund. The Makbara-i-Abil (tomb of 
 Abel), which gave a name to our camp on the 30th ultimo, was 
 actually situated on the edge of the plateau 1^ mile north- 
 west of the camping - ground. The site of the Garden of 
 Eden is a much-contested point, and the abode of Adam and 
 Eve after their expulsion from that earthly Paradise is no 
 less uncertain. I am not aware, however, that our learned 
 divines have ever given due weight to the claims of Seistan to 
 this honour. And who can say what spot on the face of the 
 globe was first stained with the blood of murder ? The 
 sterile gravel- strewn plateau that overlooks the still waters
 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. Ill 
 
 of the Hainun could scarce have been more lonesome and 
 drear in the days when three men and one woman were the 
 only reputed human denizens of the earth than it is now. 
 What more weird and lonely place could Cain have selected ? 
 And here now stands the ruined tomb of Abel, marking the 
 spot where the unbridled passions of man first dared to usurp 
 the privilege of the Creator to take away the life that He had 
 created. 
 
 I have already described the plain in which Juwain is situ- 
 ated and the site of Lash. The bed of the Earah Paid is about 
 a quarter of a mile in breadth, and at this season of the year 
 almost dry. The water, in fact, percolates through the shing- 
 ly soil of the channel, and here and there bubbles up to the 
 surface, and flowing away in a clear rippling stream for a few 
 miles, again disappears beneath the porous gravel. After the 
 stagnant water of which we had partaken on the banks of the 
 Hamun, a draught from the pure sparkling springs in the bed 
 of the Farah Hud was more welcome and refreshing than the 
 choicest brands of champagne. In the cantonment life of 
 India the value of good water ceases to be appreciated. It is 
 only when water becomes an essential of existence that the 
 excellence of clear, cool, spring water is valued at its proper 
 worth. It was, therefore, not without regret that the next 
 day we bade farewell to the Farah Hud, and struck due north 
 across a gravelly plateau to our camp on the Khushk Bud. 
 This latter is not the most inviting of names. The " dry 
 river-bed" sounds decidedly unpromising; and yet it is to 
 this very name that the Khushk End owes its character of a 
 pleasant surprise. After marching some eight or nine miles 
 across an expanse of put and gravel, almost entirely innocent 
 of even a suspicion of verdure, a charmingly peaceful vale, 
 carpeted with luxuriant grass, suddenly opens before the sur- 
 prised gaze of the traveller. It is no river-bed at all. The 
 secret of the productiveness of its soil lies in this, that natu- 
 ral springs of water flow immediately below the surface of the 
 ground, as at Singbur-Chaman, between Quetta and Nushki. 
 To obtain water, one has but to dig a pit two or three feet in 
 depth. The water is not very inviting to look at, but when
 
 112 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 freed from sediment by filtration, is all that can be desired. 
 Between Khushk Eud and Kain we crossed the boundary-line 
 between the Farah and Herat districts. Here a small detach- 
 ment of irregular cavalry from Herat relieved the cavalry 
 escort which had hitherto accompanied the Amir's agent, and 
 the infantry escort furnished from the Farah command was 
 also dismissed, and replaced by a detachment from Sabzawar. 
 On the way from Khushk Eud to Kain I had a long chat with 
 one of our guides, a Kizilbash from Juwain. Talking to one of 
 these men is very much like knocking one's head against a hard 
 wall a deal of pain, albeit mental pain, with very little profit. 
 This fellow, however, although he took great liberties with the 
 Shahinshah's Persian, was both intelligent and communica- 
 tive. Bellew or Euan-Smith, or both, give detailed accounts 
 of the singing sand-drift of Imam Zaid, but I had forgotten 
 its proximity until reminded of it by this guide. Afterwards 
 I asked several other natives about it, but the lukewarmness 
 of their descriptions contrasted strongly with the zeal and 
 warmth of expression of my first narrator. He was evidently 
 a man of a religious bent. He had but a year before prayed 
 at the shrine of Imam Eaza at Mashhad, and both his voice 
 and gesture betokened his wonder and admiration at its 
 golden dome. He asked me earnestly if I had visited the 
 shrine of Imam Zaid, and regarded me compassionately when 
 I replied in the negative. In compliance with my expressions 
 of interest and desire to know something about it, although 
 stern duty prevented me from going twelve miles out of the 
 way to visit it, he described in vivid terms how the pious 
 Mohammedan who desires through the medium of the de- 
 parted Imam to humbly lay his petition at the feet of the 
 Deity, clambers up the steep sandy slope (this great sand- 
 drift, lying between two ribs on the south side of the Kuh-i- 
 kalah-i-kah, and reaching more than half-way to the summit 
 is visible for miles around, and is a miracle in itself. How did 
 this sand collect here ? Why should it drift up here, and in no 
 other crevice of the hill-range ? I remarked a precisely similar 
 freak of nature on the southern slope of the barren range 
 overlooking our camp at Gazeh Chah. Does some peculiar con-
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 113 
 
 formation in these particular parts of the hill-ranges produce 
 an eddy, a back-current, of drifting sand ? For in each place 
 the prevailing winds are northerly, not southerly.) So long a 
 parenthesis compels me to take up anew the broken thread of 
 my narrative. I left the good Mohammedan, whether conscious 
 of a sin and hopeful of absolution, or desirous of a favour and 
 expectant of its concession, toiling up the laborious ascent a 
 pilgrimage meriting in itself the pardon of many past sins, 
 and the bestowal of many future favours to the tomb at its 
 summit. Arrived there, he sacrifices a sheep, duly observing 
 the ritual and ceremony prescribed for such occasions, offers 
 up his prayer, and, not forgetful of the claims to his benevo- 
 lence of the pious ascetic who tends the shrine, seats himself 
 near the tomb, and patiently awaits the vouchsafement of a re- 
 sponse to his petition. Should his sacrifice and prayers fail 
 to propitiate the mediating Imam (or, as some surmise, should 
 the coldness of his charity have chilled and hardened the 
 heart of the attendant fakir), no response is vouchsafed. But 
 if, on the contrary, the sacrifice be full, the prayer earnest, 
 and the cause good, and the heart of the fakir be wisely won 
 over to the interests of the petitioner, then, ere long, the mass 
 of sand is shaken by vivid vibrations, and mysterious rum- 
 blings, as of distant thunder, fall on the awe-stricken ear of 
 the favoured devotee. Thus, controverting the rule that 
 " silence gives consent," Imam Zaid reveals to man his power. 
 I desired to learn whether the Imam had died and been buried 
 on this spot, but my queries found no satisfactory replies. 
 Some said that he must of course be buried there ; but as for 
 where he died, God alone knew. The intelligent and devout 
 guide replied that he neither died nor was buried there, but 
 that the divine will had guided him to that spot, and had thence 
 taken him up to heaven. I am inclined, however, to believe 
 that some confusion existed in his mind between Imam Zaid 
 and Imam Mahdi. The latter, the last of the twelve Imams, 
 is believed by Mohammedans to be not dead but invisible, 
 and his return to, or reappearance upon the earth, is as much 
 a tenet of their faith as the millennium is that of some Chris- 
 tians. The hitherto unchecked career of his pseudo-represen- 
 
 H
 
 114 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 tative in the Soudan has made the name of this Imam of late 
 only too notorious. I have heard no reasonable explanation 
 of this phenomenon of the " vocal sand." 
 
 CAMP ZEHKIN, 6th November. 
 
 Since Khwaja Ah' our marches have averaged 17 miles 
 in length. To-day we halt here, and then march straight 
 for Kuhsan without a halt. On the 4th we marched 21 
 miles from Kain to Ging, traversing a fine broad valley 
 covered with excellent grazing, and studded with some 
 half-dozen villages surrounded with extensive areas of land 
 under cultivation. The cotton crops are just ripening, and 
 the young wheat just appearing above the ground. The 
 names of these villages are Langar, Kush-kak, Dustabad, 
 Sarak, Kalah-i-kah, and Ging. The first named is inhabited 
 solely by Saiyads, and the remainder by a mixture of Nurzais 
 and Persians. Sarak is a very picturesque little village, lying 
 embedded among padda (white poplar), mulberry, and other 
 trees, a clear karez flowing through it, and the time-honoured 
 shrine of Baba Ibdal throwing a halo of sanctity around it. 
 Here and at Zehkin the presence of a few date-palms proves 
 that, although the thermometer now falls below freezing-point 
 at night, we are not yet without the limits of the Garmsir 
 i.e., if we accept as a definition of Garmsir the climatic 
 limits of the date-palm. In this valley, which, if not the 
 Dasht-i-Babus itself, is on its very confines, fruit-trees abound. 
 I saw the mulberry, apricot, fig, pomegranate, and date- 
 palms, and opportunities of closer inspection undoubtedly 
 would have revealed other kinds. Among vegetables not 
 before seen in Afghanistan, I may mention a kind of bean, 
 called locally bagholiz, as growing here. I was not a little 
 surprised, too, to see here the black tents of the Iliat, as they 
 are called in Persia or Aimak, as I believe they are termed 
 here. Their tents are made of coarse camel-hair. They told 
 me they owned large herds of camels, sheep, goats, donkeys, 
 and cattle.. Their camels, however, had been taken for the 
 service of the Mission, and God knew, they said, whether they 
 would get any hire for them. This is their summer abode.
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 115 
 
 In winter they descend to the dasht, where they find good 
 grazing; but where the daslit may be, I failed to ascertain. My 
 informant, in reply to my questions on that point, waved his 
 hand vaguely in a southerly direction. Coming from Kai'n to 
 Ging, we passed round the north-east spur of the Kalah-i-kah 
 range. On each side of this range, almost opposite to and at 
 the foot of its centre, and connected by a path or road over a 
 kohtal (mountain pass), or through a gorge in it, is situated 
 a fortified village named Kalah-i-kah (" the fort of straw " 
 it would seem to mean, but none the less built, as usual, of 
 mud). I was rather surprised the day before at Ka'iu, when 
 a man told me that Kalah-i-kah was both on this side and 
 that side of the range. I failed to see how it could be in two 
 places at once, and I was not informed that it was a case of 
 twins in fact, Siamese twins, since they have a connecting 
 link in common between them. The Dasht-i-Babus is a mag- 
 nificent grazing-ground of great extent ; it is evident that 
 thousands of sheep and goats are annually grazed on it. It 
 is even now supplied with water for irrigation from a large 
 number of excellent karczcs, 1 and this source of supply might 
 undoubtedly be developed to any extent by the excavation 
 of more karezes, and by the construction of tanks for storing 
 the rain-water from the hills, which at present merely floods 
 a number of channels for a few hours, and flows away un- 
 utilised. 
 
 On the march from Ging to Zehkin we crossed the bed of 
 the Harud, a broad stony channel, dry as a chip, and thickly 
 overgrown with tamarisk, wild lavender, and other bushes. A 
 glance at the map would lead one to suppose that water would 
 always be found in this channel, and yet, in reality, it is dry 
 the greater part of the year. There is a great scarcity of fire- 
 wood here. On these broad plains, so productive of good 
 grazing, and so fertile if cultivated, not a bush or tree grows 
 naturally. Only near the river or torrent beds are bushes of 
 any size found. All the wood we used at Kai'n was brought 
 from the bed of the Farah Eud. As an instance of the value 
 
 1 A karez is an artificial subterranean channel, tapping a source of water- 
 supply.
 
 116 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 of firewood in this neighbourhood, I may mention that just 
 before leaving the camping-ground at Kain, some few of us 
 were standing round a blazing camp-fire, near which lay a 
 large heap of wood, supplied for the use of the men, which, 
 however, had not been consumed. "We noticed a number 
 of Kizilbashes hovering around this wood, and surmising 
 that they were only waiting for our departure to take it, we 
 inquired what they wanted. "We want this wood," they 
 replied. " All right, take it," we said. No second hint was 
 required ; they fell on it with one accord, and after a brief 
 scramble on the " devil help the hindmost " principle, they 
 each secured and bore off a small bundle to their homes. It 
 must have been a godsend to them. It seems strange that 
 this fertile alluvial soil should produce nothing bigger than 
 wormwood scrub, while the sand of the desert produces large 
 bushes. One of the most ghastly characteristics of the water- 
 less tract between Galachah and the Helmund was the thou- 
 sands of dry leafless shrubs, some as many as 10. or 12 feet 
 high, which covered its surface. What had first brought these 
 skeletons of a bush into existence ? Had there been at some 
 time in the past an unprecedented fall of rain there ? And 
 yet one single deluge of rain could not give life and susten- 
 ance to these bushes till they attained a height of from 6 to 
 12 feet. Nothing could have been more suggestive of the 
 complete inanition of the productive powers of the soil of this 
 desert than these weird skeletons of withered branches ; and 
 yet our horses, during the halts, would greedily devour the 
 sapless twigs. A famished horse, however, is not hard to 
 please when he seeks to satisfy the cravings of an empty 
 maw. 
 
 The march from Ging to Zehkin, 22 miles almost due north, 
 presents no particular features of interest a flat plain of 
 scrub all the way, flanked on either side by rugged ranges of 
 limestone. Five miles from Ging we crossed the Harud river, 
 and 12 miles further a village named Kalata, inhabited by 
 Afghans of the Alizai section. Zehkin is quite a model 
 village, probably because it is brand-new. It appears that 
 when Ayub Khan came down in 1881 to occupy Kandahar,
 
 FEOM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 117 
 
 he detached a force to reduce to subjection the districts west 
 of Farah. The people of Zehkiii all, or almost all, Persians 
 or Tajiks hearing of the approach of this force, withdrew 
 with their families, herds, and flocks, and all the property 
 they could carry away, within the Persian border. Last year, 
 when the storm of civil war and anarchy had subsided, they 
 returned, rebuilt their villages, and brought their lands under 
 cultivation. Walls, houses, domes, all bear the traces of 
 recent restoration. The village was of some size, probably 
 had a population of 700 or 800 souls, and yet the resources of 
 its bazaar were practically nil, Xot even a pair of native 
 boots or shoes, or a poshti?i, or the warm socks usually worn 
 by the people of Afghanistan in winter, were procurable. I 
 was referred to Anardara for all such articles. Nimchas (a 
 coat of felt with half -sleeves the short poslitin with half- 
 sleeves bears the same name), and a sleeved overcoat of coarse 
 camel-hair, were the only apologies for warm clothing that 
 the village could boast of ; so I determined to wait for the 
 supplies which we hope to obtain from Herat and Mashhad. 
 Another of our great wants is good artisans. Xever was a 
 British expedition worse fitted out in this respect. A coat or 
 pair of breeches that has been subjected to the tender mercies 
 of our " snip," a pair of boots or article of saddlery that has 
 been operated on by the skilful and practised hand of our 
 cobbler, and the chair or table that has been set up on its legs 
 again by the delicate manipulation of our carpenter, are all 
 proofs of the eagerness with which the artisans of India vied 
 for the honour of accompanying the Afghan Boundary Com- 
 mission. In this noble spirit of emulation they found worthy 
 rivals among that body so well known for their devotion and 
 attachment to their masters the bearers and khitmutgars. 
 These latter, many at least, if not most of them, while with 
 tears in their eyes they expressed regret that family ties pre- 
 vented them from travelling to distant Herat and meeting- 
 face to face the Russian Bear, represented humbly that they 
 would be only too glad to accept the sinecure post of guardian 
 of their master's kit during his absence. The remainder 
 hands crossed on breast and eye meekly downcast, while the
 
 118 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 impassive face concealed the activity of a brain calculating 
 the probable net profits replied, when asked if they would 
 go: "Sahib parwasti karega, to be-shakk jaenge;" or, in 
 other words, " I don't mind going for a consideration." As 
 far as concerns the artisans, it appears that they acted on the 
 motto, " Better apauli in my own gaon than a rupee in Herat ; " 
 and so only those who could not even earn a pauli at home 
 volunteered for the Afghan Boundary Commission. However, 
 Sir Peter Lumsden has been asked to bring a number of good 
 workmen of each of the trades in demand from Mashhad. He 
 is also bringing some Persian servants from Teheran for such 
 members of the Mission as had the forethought to ask for 
 them. I hear rumours of our going into winter quarters on 
 the frontier, but the place is not yet fixed, nor does it seem to 
 be decided whether we shall be domiciled in houses or kibitkas. 
 Sir Peter Lumsden having been to Sarakhs, will come down 
 to meet us at Kuhsan, and only then will our future move- 
 ments be decided. It is on the cards that we may not follow 
 the Hari Bud to Sarakhs, but move north-east from Kuhsan 
 to Panjdeh, near the junction of the Khushk and Murghab 
 rivers. It is pleasant news to hear that in a climate where 
 the thermometer falls below zero, firewood is very scarce, and 
 that that most indispensable requisite of a hard winter will 
 have to be obtained from the neighbourhood of Herat. I 
 take leave to doubt this. Is it likely that the banks of 
 the Murghab, the Hari Eud, the Tejend, the Khushk, not 
 to mention the Mashhad river and other minor streams, are 
 utterly destitute of firewood ? It is simply incredible. 1 Why, 
 even the desert wastes of Beluchistan positively bristled in 
 places with splendid firewood, more especially where the water 
 was scarcest and the sand most plentiful. After passing 
 Anardara to-morrow, we enter the country of the JSurzais ; 
 and as the disposition of this tribe, which even among Afghans 
 does not appear to possess an enviable reputation, is suspected 
 to be the reverse of friendly to us, we proceed without a halt 
 to Kuhsan. In view of this rapid marching, about 350 camels 
 
 1 It is nevertheless a fact. Except in the neighbourhood of Kuhsan, there 
 is an absolute scarcity of wood on the banks of these rivers.
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 119 
 
 have been provided, at Colonel Eidgeway's request, by the 
 Amir's agent for the conveyance of followers, public and 
 private. The 20th Panjab Infantry, with a spirit worthy of a 
 regiment whose men are remarkable for their fine physique, 
 and which, after the night march that terminated in the 
 successful storming of Tel-el-Kebir, took part in that long, 
 arduous forced march, the promptitude and rapidity of which 
 was indisputably the cause of the capitulation of Cairo with- 
 out a blow, have declined to avail themselves of any assist- 
 ance other than that of their own sturdy limbs. I am sorry 
 to say that the project of forming a camel corps of 100 
 men of the 20th Panjab Infantry at Khwaja Ali fell through, 
 owing to the impossibility of obtaining 100 decent riding- 
 camels to mount them. Now that Sardar Azad Khan's 
 camel - men have been handsomely remunerated, (they 
 never made such a profitable trip in their lives before, fed 
 like fighting-cocks, and paid like, well, as only the British 
 Government pays, their most successful chapaos (raids) 
 never brought them so fine a haul), and dismissed to their 
 homes, I need no longer conceal the fact that the camels 
 were a terribly weedy lot young, rebellious, untrained, full 
 of devilry, not to mention lame and sore-backed. Yet, strange 
 to say, I believe no one between Nushki and Khwaja Ali 
 sustained any serious injury by a fall from a camel ; whereas, 
 of late, two broken ribs and a broken arm are among the 
 bodily injuries for which fractious camels are responsible. In 
 fact it must be admitted that, be the owner an Afghan or a 
 Beluch, he is a very unpleasant customer to deal with where 
 camels are concerned. To say nothing of the defects of 
 temperament and physique in the camel, it is vexatious to be 
 kept out of bed till midnight, when rfoeilU sounds at 4 A.M., 
 counting over and distributing camels. The Englishman likes 
 to sit down to his dinner with a mind at rest, and a thankful 
 sense that the day's work is over. Not so, seemingly, the 
 Afghan, when, after many false promises of early delivery, he 
 brings his camels to the scratch at 10 or 11 P.M. However, 
 after all, it is not difficult to appreciate his motive. Dark- 
 ness, like charity, hides a multitude of sins. The engineering
 
 120 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 talents of the Afghan are, moreover, not of the highest. He 
 has no conception how strong a bridge is required for the 
 passage of 1500 camels. He throws one narrow, weakly 
 structure across a canal, forgetful that 1500 camels in a single 
 line extend over 7 miles, and would consequently take at least 
 3 1 hours to cross that bridge, even if it were possible to con- 
 duct the passage with perfect order. But the impetuous 
 Pathan camel-driver will fight to be foremost, and the con- 
 sequent snapping of mahars (nose-strings) is a dire spectacle 
 for the rear-guard officer, who already foresees the shades of 
 night fast falling ere his weary task is done. In one or two 
 such dilemmas as this, the timely aid of a fatigue-party of the 
 20th Panjab Infantry with picks and shovels saved hours of 
 delay. It did one's heart good to witness the goodwill and 
 muscular vigour with which these men went in at a deep 
 broad ditch, and ramped it in three or four places in no time. 
 However, it is scarcely just to ferret out this one weak point 
 when we have in every respect received the most hospitable 
 treatment in the Amir's territory, and every attention and 
 civility at the hands of the Amir's officials. 
 
 Whatever the motive, it is a fact that a body of Afghan 
 cavalry will meet us three marches this side of Herat. It 
 may be that the Turkomans are dangerous. I wish, however, 
 that the Russians were as little to be feared as the Turko- 
 mans, and the lukewarmness of the Government and the in- 
 difference of the British public as both. It is too much to 
 hope that the Persian Government will join hands with the 
 British and Afghan. Is it likely that a Government that has 
 for years past been but a tool in Eussia's hands, would now 
 suddenly reassert its right of independent action on behalf of 
 its own interests ? I would it were likely. I cannot but 
 think that a railway from Quetta via Nushki and the Hel- 
 mund, and through Seistan to Kirman, Yezd, and Ispahan, 
 and thence to some port, say Alexandretta, on the Mediterra- 
 nean, would, irrespective of its strategical value, do much to 
 re-establish our waning influence at the Court of the Shah. 
 Some will say, wait till you get permission from the Shah 
 to make such a line. For that we must bide our time.
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 121 
 
 CAMP CHAH GAZAK, 12th November. 
 
 We are halted here to-day, and enjoying the rest well 
 earned by our march of 38 miles yesterday from Sher Bakhsh. 
 I do not suppose that many marches of 38 miles performed 
 by a force numbering about 500 fighting men, 700 followers, 
 and 1800 camels, irrespective of other means of transport, are 
 on record ; and probably not any, or at least few, have been 
 carried out with such rapidity, regularity, and freedom from 
 loss. It must be remembered, too, that this force had the day 
 before covered 23 miles, and for the last six weeks has been 
 doing an average of 16 or 17 miles a-day. This, however, 
 combined with the excellence of the grazing at most of our 
 camps from Khwaja Ali onward (although the length of some 
 of our marches left the camels but scant leisure for enjoying 
 the rich repast spread before them by nature), is probably the 
 secret of the power of endurance and excellent condition 
 which enabled all alike, man and beast, to undergo the 
 fatigues of yesterday's march. A few of the cavalry horses, 
 more especially those who, after a march of 23 miles on the 
 10th, were out all that night at Sher Bakhsh on picket duty 
 (the pickets were doubled there), and coming off picket 
 duty yesterday morning, had to march 38 miles 011 rear- 
 guard duty whose backs, in short, from 5 A.M. on the 10th 
 to 11 P.M. on the llth, had only for two or three short hours 
 been relieved of the saddle and a trooper's weight, and who 
 during that time had of course been but irregularly watered 
 and fed are looking somewhat sorry for themselves. The 
 camels and mules are naturally fatigued; but after a good 
 and thorough rest, and abundance of food and good \vater, 
 they will be quite fit again for the work before them. As for 
 the men, from the senior political officer to the humblest 
 follower, every one looks as spry as if yesterday, and not to- 
 day, had been a holiday. This general air of contentment 
 and good spirits may be attributed to two things : firstly, the 
 sense of having accomplished, and accomplished well, an ar- 
 duous task ; secondly, the sense of enjoyment of rest enhanced 
 by a slight suspicion of lassitude. 
 
 Before entering into details about this march, I have a
 
 122 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 word or two to say about the unsatisfactoriness of the 
 arrangements, both as to water and distance, lately made by 
 the Amir's officials for our marches. It would be unfair to 
 throw any blame on Kazi Saad-ud-din, as he is as much if 
 not more a stranger in these parts than we are. The man 
 who is responsible for the late inaccurate reports about 
 water and distance, and for the injudicious selection of our 
 camping - grounds, is the collector of the district, a person 
 named Mirza Amin-ullah Khan. One of the native attacks 
 summed up his value in these words : " He is barely worth 
 the trouble of hanging ; but that is the fate he deserves." On 
 the 9th instant we started from Karez-dasht, as we under- 
 stood, on a inarch of 17 miles, to a place named Sar-mandal, 
 some two miles west of Aukal. The actual distance proved 
 to be 10| miles. About mid-day on the 9th, Colonel Eidge- 
 way was informed that the water at Sher Bakhsh was so 
 impregnated with saline properties as to be scarcely drink- 
 able. Accordingly, with a great deal of trouble all the 
 available puckals and mussuJcs were filled with water, and 
 arrangements made for their conveyance to Sher Bakhsh. 
 I will instance some of the difficulties attending this duty. 
 Firstly, the pucJcals and mussuJcs, which had not been used 
 since we reached Khwaja Ali, and had only been occasionally 
 and partially soaked and greased, were quite unfit for im- 
 mediate use. Not more than three hours were available for 
 soaking them, and that proved quite insufficient. However, 
 bad, good, or indifferent, they had to be filled. The filling 
 commenced at 4 P.M., and it was 10 P.M. before it was finished, 
 and the puckals, &c., stowed away in a room to protect them 
 from the disastrous effects of frost. We had 11 of frost 
 at Karez-dasht on the night of the 8th, and it also froze hard 
 at Sar-mandal. What the fingers of the unfortunate im- 
 pressed labourers suffered while dabbling for six hours in icy 
 water, must be left to the imagination. Wood was so scarce 
 that they had to go and cut and collect low scrub to light a 
 fire at which to restore warmth from time to time to their 
 benumbed hands. This neighbourhood is quite destitute of 
 any natural vegetation larger than wormwood and camel-
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 123 
 
 thorn. Well, after all this trouble, it was found at 5 A.M. 
 next morning that the imcl^als and mussuks had leaked so 
 much in the night as to be almost empty. Only then was it 
 ascertained from some of our camel-drivers that for five or 
 six miles after leaving our camping -ground at Sar-mandal 
 we would follow the course of an irrigation channel full of 
 excellent water. 
 
 Our march on the 9th was 10-|, on the 10th, 23 miles. 
 Why were we not encamped at the point where the road to 
 Sher Bakhsh parts company with the water-channel above 
 mentioned ? Had this been done, we would have had two 
 ordinary marches of 16 and 18 miles respectively. The water 
 collected in a tank for us at Sar-mandal was a dirty, muddy 
 mixture ; that of the irrigation channel was from a clear, 
 fresh, swiftly running stream. Furthermore, had we been 
 told of the existence of the irrigation channel, puckals and 
 mussuks could have been sent out five miles ahead on the 
 evening of the 9th, soaked all night in the running stream 
 which would not freeze, and, being filled at or even before 
 daybreak, despatched in advance of the Mission. But this is 
 not the hardest pill we had to swallow. When we reached 
 Sher Bakhsh we found there a plentiful supply of good clear 
 water, very slightly tainted with saline properties, and which 
 we all drank readily. All this worry and trouble for nothing. 
 What was left of the water in the puckals and mussuks was 
 sent on at 2 A.M. on the llth to a place said to be half-way 
 between Sher Bakhsh and Chah Gazak. Lastly, the Afghan 
 officials, by their inaccurate estimate of the distance of yester- 
 day's march, upset everybody's calculations. Had it been 
 known that the distance was 38 and not 30 miles, we would 
 undoubtedly have started at 1 or 2 A.M. instead of 4. We 
 had been steadily descending from Karez-dasht, and at Sher 
 Bakhsh it did not even freeze. Also, there was moonlight in 
 the early hours of the morning, consequently all was in favour 
 of the earliest possible start, so as to reach Chah Gazak before 
 nightfall. The survey has been sadly put out by the unex- 
 pected length of this march. In fact, on its account the 
 imperative necessity for this long march, occasioned by the
 
 124 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 absence of water and by the reported hostility of the Alizais 
 and Nurzais, as well as the desirability of keeping our ap- 
 pointment with Sir P. Lumsden at Kuhsan (on the 16th 
 ultimo Colonel Eidgeway telegraphed to Sir Peter from 
 Khwaja Ali, and undertook to meet him at Ghorian on the 
 15th instant, we shall actually meet him at Kuhsan on the 
 16th : not bad in the way of punctuality), cannot be too much 
 regretted. Just as we were approaching Herat, the traverse 
 which Captain Gore had up to this point carried out with 
 a rapidity almost if not quite unparalleled, was broken off. 
 Twenty-eight and a half miles from Sher Bakhsh, the falling 
 shades of night compelled him to abandon plane-tabling ; and 
 from that point to Chah Gazak the sole record of distance is 
 the perambulator, which, with unflagging energy, was wheeled 
 by the subordinates of the department from first to last. I 
 have just learnt that Lieutenant Talbot has gone back to-day 
 to pick up the line of the traverse at the point where it was 
 broken off yesterday, so all will be well after all. The pres- 
 ent survey fixes Chah Gazak at a point about six miles south- 
 east of Pahri. Pahri, however, is reported to be 12 miles 
 from here by the shortest road, leading to the natural con- 
 clusion that Pahri is at present incorrectly shown on the 
 maps. It is not improbable that a similar if not greater 
 error affects the position of Herat. "We shall know, I trust 
 by to-morrow. 
 
 I now return, however, to yesterday's march from Sher 
 Bakhsh. The cavalry and infantry, accompanied by the 
 mule transport, moved off punctually at 4 A.M., followed 
 closely by the camels, some 1500 in all, including those for 
 the conveyance of public followers. Before 4.45 P.M. the 
 cavalry pickets were withdrawn, and the rear-guard marched 
 off the camping-ground. The main body of the cavalry, ac- 
 companied by some of the political officers, started to march 
 straight through. They reached Chah Gazak at 3 P.M., and 
 the duty of arranging for beacons and guides to assist the 
 infantry and baggage in safely reaching the camp was in- 
 trusted to Mr Merk, assisted by two native attaches and some 
 sowars. The infantry, when within two or three miles of the
 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. 125 
 
 camp, just as the night was closing in, took a wrong turn, 
 owing to the ignorance or stupidity of their guide, and found 
 themselves half an hour later unable to see ten yards ahead, 
 and hopelessly in the dark as to where the right road lay. 
 The guide, however, still maintained he knew exactly where 
 he was, and could conduct us safely into camp. To test the 
 truth of this statement, he was sent on with a native officer 
 and a guard ; and sure enough, a few hundred yards ahead he 
 brought them to the top of a hillock, and showed them the 
 lights of the camp in the valley below. The threat which I 
 heard enunciated repeatedly in a truculent tone by the guard, 
 of having his eyes put out if he did not find the road quick, 
 appears to have sharpened his wits. Doubtless the obtuse 
 Parsiwan (we generally get Parsiwan guides, Parsiwaii camels, 
 sarwans, labourers, Parsiwan everything ; and very little they 
 get in return, I imagine), unfamiliar with the merciful but 
 firm hand of British rule, fully expected that the threatened 
 fate would be his reward for faithfully guiding a body of 
 British troops for 38 miles. In the meantime, however, the 
 sounds of the drum and suronais (bagpipes) of the 20th Pan- 
 jab Infantry, and of a bugle blown at intervals, had been heard 
 in camp, and the lighting up of the beacons was speedily fol- 
 lowed by the arrival of two native attaches to show the way. 
 The infantry reached camp about 7 P.M., marching in to the 
 music of the suronais and their own cheers, as gaily as if 
 they were just returning from a short route march. Yet 
 these men had marched 61 miles in 37 hours, not to mention 
 heavy guard and other duties. Major Meiklejolm avers that 
 they are quite ready for another 38 miles to-day. In the 
 meantime three mounted guides had been sent back to meet 
 the baggage and put stragglers on the right road. Captain 
 Heath informs me that he found several followers happily 
 asleep by the roadside or in snug corners under the banks of 
 torrent-beds, evidently prepared to make a night of it. It 
 was very cold last night, so they may congratulate themselves 
 on having been prevented from thus foolishly yielding to the 
 blandishments of desire for sleep brought on by excessive 
 fatigue. Most of the followers were mounted on camels
 
 126 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 entertained at Ging on the 4th instant, for the express pur- 
 pose of enabling both public and private followers to endure 
 the fatigues of these long marches. The distance of 134 miles 
 from Ging to Chah Gazak was done in six marches, averaging 
 22J miles each day. The infantry, with becoming pride, 
 declined the offer of a mount on camels. In fact, Subadar- 
 Major Mowla Dad of the 20th Panjab Infantry, one of the 
 finest and most distinguished native officers in the Indian 
 army, nipped any such idea in the bud by promptly declar- 
 ing that, if any one of his men rode a camel, he would foot 
 it himself the whole 38 miles. As a native officer of long 
 service, who has fought in most of the Indian campaigns of 
 the last 30 years or more, who has thrice been decorated 
 with the Order of Merit, who wears the Order of the Med- 
 jidie, of British India, and of the Indian Empire, and who is 
 a good soldier and good man all round to boot, his influence 
 in his regiment is such as few native officers ever command. 
 
 Now, if it is considered that this rapidity of marching has 
 been unattended by the loss of a single soldier or follower, or 
 even of a single load, or (if I except some half-dozen camels 
 which succumbed to sores and fatigue, and which, as involv- 
 ing no pecuniary loss to Government, are of no account what- 
 ever) the abandonment of a single animal, I think it may 
 fairly be conceded that the arrangements for these marches 
 must have been well planned and well carried out. Moreover, 
 the health of the whole Mission is remarkably good, and that, 
 too, although it is the general belief that the chetif Hindu 
 follower cannot face severe climatic variations. In this case 
 he has shown himself as good a man as his neighbour ; and if 
 we need to look for a reason for this, I would attribute it to 
 the liberality of a Government that provided them with warm 
 double-fly tents, unstinted warm clothing, and, in addition to 
 their ordinary ration, ^ Ib. of meat daily, as well as tea, sugar, 
 rum, and tobacco occasionally. The issue of these additional 
 creature comforts, of course, entailed a great deal of extra 
 work on the commissariat. Yet amid all the fatigues of long 
 marches, obliging them often to work long after sunset to 
 complete their allotted tasks, no department with the Mission
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 127 
 
 has more efficiently done its duty, and nothing could surpass 
 the willingness of its chief and his subordinates to comply 
 with every reasonable demand made at reasonable hours. If, 
 when unreasonable demands were made at unreasonable hours, 
 they point-blank declined to attend to them, they were but 
 upholding their old just right to reasonable consideration. 
 Last night neither Major Rind nor his subordinates detailed 
 for the issue of rations retired to rest until the rear-guard 
 came in at eleven o'clock, and every man and beast that 
 wanted rations had got them. I must not omit to mention 
 that the convoy of reserve stores in charge of Ilessaldar-Major 
 Baha-ud-din and an Afghan escort followed close 011 the foot- 
 steps of our rear-guard, and were all in camp before midnight. 
 We are only too prone to scoff at the laxity of discipline and 
 inefficiency of the Afghan trooper ; but in this case he showed 
 himself not unworthy of his hire, if indeed he gets any. With 
 regard to Eessaldar-Major Baha-ud-din, it suffices to say that 
 since the time that he brought down a train full of Mission 
 stores from Umballa to Rindli (31st August) to the present, 
 he has throughout shown himself to be an officer of excep- 
 tional energy, cheeriness, and practical common-sense. The 
 record of this march is further of interest and importance as 
 showing the great mobile power of good Indian troops. If 
 a force composed mostly of camp-followers, provided with 
 camel transport, and hampered with impedimenta of all sorts, 
 can march 22 miles a-day, what could not a brigade or division 
 of native troops, lightly equipped, and with mule and pony 
 transport, perform ? 
 
 It now remains to give a brief description of the country 
 we have traversed since then. Leaving Zehkin, a purely 
 Parsiwan settlement, we passed into the country of the Nur- 
 zais and Alizais. These tribes, according to the statements of 
 the Afghan officials to whom the safety and guidance of the 
 Mission is intrusted, view unfavourably the passage of a force 
 composed of races whom they regard as both by nation- 
 ality and religion antagonistic to themselves, through their 
 territory. It is therefore in order not unduly to arouse 
 their political and fanatical antipathies that the Mission has
 
 128 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 avoided the main road from Farah to Kandahar, and followed 
 a route parallel to it, and skirting the western edge of the 
 district inhabited by them. The chief political officer of the 
 Mission was called upon to choose between two alternatives : 
 that of a good road and easy marches, with the chance of the 
 inviolable character of the Mission being rudely encroached 
 on ; and that of an indifferent road and long waterless marches, 
 and comparative security from any hostile attempt. A choice 
 between two evils, no doubt ; but the result proves that the 
 choice fell on the lesser one. 
 
 On the 7th we marched 17 miles from Zehkin to Sangbur. 
 Seven miles from Zehkin we entered the Anardara Pass, 
 through which flows a considerable stream that irrigates the 
 gardens which cover almost the entire length and breadth of 
 the pass. About a mile from the southern entrance to the 
 pass, in a wide bay under the precipitous mountain -range 
 which forms its western boundary, is situated the town of 
 Anardara. The name apparently means "the vale of the 
 pomegranate." Whether or not that particular fruit abounds 
 there, I cannot say ; but this I can say, that in few places in 
 Persia or Afghanistan have I seen such a large area of soil 
 devoted almost exclusively to the cultivation of fruit-trees. 
 I could not but regret that the lateness of the season pre- 
 vented us forming an opinion of the merits of the fruits of 
 Anardara. The absence of blossom, and, in most cases, of 
 leaves on the trees, made it difficult to recognise the species. 
 The familiar shah-tut (mulberry) was there in abundance, but 
 not a trace of a vineyard. At Zehkin we heard a good deal 
 about some ancient inscriptions and remains of interest to be 
 seen in the town of Anardara. Those who visited them, how- 
 ever, considered the inscriptions, which were in Persian and 
 Arabic, to be not more than 200 or 300 years old. There is 
 one characteristic of that sweet vale, however, which, for some 
 time to come at least, will make us all shiver at the mere 
 mention of Anardara, and that is the bitter north-west wind 
 which, blowing down its narrow gorge with a force which 
 may be represented in the terms (velocity of wind x contrac- 
 tion of channel), chilled us to the very marrow, and pinched
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 129 
 
 our features into scarce recognisable forms. Oblivious of its 
 walled orchards, at other times suggestive of luscious golden 
 apricots and red-cheeked down} 7 peaches, dark-purple plums 
 veiled in a rich bloom, and white-heart cherries, whose blend- 
 ing tints put the fairest Saxon complexion to the blush, not 
 to add apples, pears, and quinces ; regardless of the grandeur 
 of the rugged frowning cliffs that tower aloft on either side, 
 almost cursing the pure clear streamlet beneath our horses' 
 feet for looking so cruelly and ruthlessly cold, we press blindly 
 forward, animated but by one hope, that of escaping from this 
 gorge and its bitter biting blasts. We envy but one thing> 
 and that is the snug position of the densely packed town, 
 with its loopholed walls, cosily ensconced in a bay where the 
 wind careers harmlessly past it. Yes ; the founder of this 
 settlement knew what he was about. Possibly he built his 
 first village in the middle of the valley : if he did, I'll 
 guarantee that the north-west wind very soon taught him the 
 value of the bay under the western mountain-side, which, one 
 would think, nature had created expressly for the purpose of 
 rendering a spot so fertile and yet so martyrised by violent 
 winds, habitable by man. The windmills here, as well as 
 those at Zehkin, prove the general prevalence of the north- 
 west wind, of which the structure of the windmills of Juwain 
 and Panjdeh were an almost infallible indication. The only 
 difference in construction between the mills of Anardara and 
 those of Juwain consisted in this, that the northern or back 
 wall was at right angles, and not at an oblique angle (as I 
 remarked in a recent letter), and that the opening at the 
 north-east angle was either entirely built up, or was replaced 
 in some cases by a narrow orifice in the centre of the northern 
 wall. In all cases, the opening at the north-west corner ad- 
 mitted the wind that set the sails in motion. The inhabitants 
 of Anardara are mostly Tajiks or Parsiwans, with a small ad- 
 mixture of Nurzais and Sakzais. The kalantar, or headman, 
 is also, I was informed, a Tajik. Anardara is spoken of in all 
 the country round as a place of some commercial importance. 
 I met several commis voyageurs from this town at Panjdeh, 
 near Juwain. One of them assured me that Anardara, al- 
 
 I
 
 130 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 though a cold place, was rarely troubled by winds. He must 
 have been an incorrigible farceur; and yet I did not catch a 
 merry twinkle in his eye, nor did I see him wink at his 
 brother journeymen. Certainly the natives of the district we 
 have traversed since we left Quetta, if they excel in no other 
 art, trade, profession, or science, are absolutely unequalled in 
 the noble "art of lying." I trust that the officers of the 
 Intelligence Department are duly careful to season all the 
 statements and information they cull in this neighbourhood 
 with a liberal infusion of salt. According to my experience, 
 the best receipts for compounding the essence of truth from 
 the material at our disposal in these parts, is to collect as 
 much of this material as possible from different sources, amal- 
 gamate it, and then accept the mean result as the nearest 
 approach to truth. My unimpeachably veracious informant 
 about the Anardara winds, or rather absence of winds, stated 
 that the garrison of Lash consisted of 30 Afghan militiamen. 
 The actual strength is 200. 
 
 There is a small fort at Sangbur and a karez. The route 
 from Sangbur to Karez-dasht (23 miles) traverses a tract per- 
 fectly innocent of cultivation. Seven miles from Sangbur the 
 road, leaving an old fort perched in a strong position on an 
 isolated mound to the west, enters a defile some ten or twelve 
 miles in length. In this defile was visible the line of an old 
 karez called, " Karez-i-khiyar-zar " Anglicd, " Cucumber-gar- 
 den-beck." (I hope my readers know the good old Yorkshire 
 word "beck." The Persian original has a smooth euphony 
 that defies imitation in an English translation.) This karez 
 is now choked up except in two pits, whence travellers and 
 caravans still obtain an abundant supply of water. The lux- 
 uriant growth of green rushes and grasses in each of the old 
 choked-up pits shows that the water is still trickling along 
 beneath the soil. Some day when prosperity returns to 
 Western Afghanistan i.e., when a British (or Russian ?) gar- 
 rison occupies Herat, and a British railway opens up the com- 
 mercial and agricultural resources of this country this karez 
 will once more be opened up, and the cucumber-beds that are 
 now but a name will once more be a reality. This defile is
 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. 131 
 
 very rich in excellent firewood. There is an old Persian verse 
 which runs thus, " Balg o bulut, khinjak o tut," representing 
 the four favourite kinds of firewood in use in Persia. Balg is 
 a low thorny shrub with a red berry, commonly seen in this 
 country, especially in dry torrent-beds. Khinjak is the Pis- 
 tachio cabulica, and is common all over Afghanistan and Persia 
 in mountainous districts. Tut is the common mulberry- 
 tree. Balg and khinjak abound in this defile : so we at 
 least have the wherewithal to bid defiance to the nightly 
 frosts. At Zehkin we had one degree of frost, at Sangbur 
 several degrees, and at Karez-dasht we reached the maximum 
 of eleven degrees. When the cavalry reached Sar-mandal, 
 near Aukal, at 9 A.M. on the 9th instant, they found the 
 tank for watering animals covered with a thick coat of ice. 
 Since then, we have been descending as rapidly as we before 
 ascended from Ging to the top of the watershed, three 
 or four miles south of Karez-dasht, and for the last two 
 nights the thermometer has not recorded a fall to freezing- 
 point. The elevation of the top of the watershed above 
 referred to is about 3500 feet, whereas Herat is about 1000 
 feet lower. 
 
 From the Dasht-i-Babus onwards we have daily seen, 
 pitched near the walls of a village or perched away on the 
 slopes at the foot of some hill-range, the black tents of those 
 pastoral nomads who everywhere in Persia are termed " Iliat," 
 and hereabouts "Aimak." These two terms indicate the 
 occupation and mode of life, not the tribe or race, of these 
 roving shepherds. The latter name is apt to lead to the sup- 
 position that these nomads are members of the Chahar Aimaks 
 (Jamshidis, Firuzkuhis, Taimanis, Hazaras) near Herat ; but 
 it is not so. On the contrary, many of them are Afghans of 
 the Nurzai and Alizai tribes, while others are Parsiwans. 
 They own large flocks and herds, besides camels and donkeys, 
 and occasionally till the soil. Around the old fort at Karez- 
 dasht were a number of fields of young wheat springing up, 
 the result of the agricultural labours of the nomads of the 
 valley. Now, having seen the wheat spring up, they all, 
 except one or two families left behind to tend and irrigate the
 
 132 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 crop, migrate southward with their flocks and herds to graze 
 in a warmer clime, returning in spring in time to gather in 
 the harvest. In the hottest part of the summer these nomads, 
 as well as many Pathans, Beluchis, and Brahuis, inhabiting 
 villages further south, migrate into the hills, and find grazing 
 for their sheep and goats among the rugged rocks when the 
 plains below are dry and scorched. This country, at least to 
 the European eye, has not been endowed with any beauty or 
 variety of form, or clothed in those external attributes, such 
 as forests and woods, fair green fields and purple heaths, which 
 nature has been pleased to bestow on more favoured climes ; 
 but, after all, may not taste in landscape, as well as in other 
 forms of beauty, be rather regulated by the scenery to which 
 we are habituated ? "Who knows but that the Afghan prefers 
 his limestone and granite mountain -ranges and his brown 
 scrubby native heath to the magnificent verdure and fertile 
 plains of Europe ? These rugged ranges in the ruddy glow 
 that precedes sunrise are singularly picturesque. It is a sight 
 worth seeing, those dark jagged peaks and indented ridges lit 
 up in the semi-darkness of early dawn by a marvellous golden 
 red flush, in which every nook and cranny, every spur and 
 ridge, every gorge and gully, is thrown into relief. However, 
 I really cannot say that these masses of trap-rock and lime- 
 stone have a single attractive feature at other times. 
 
 Aukal, near which we encamped on the 9th, is a large 
 village some 20 miles west of Sabzawar. Its valley is said to 
 be watered from the Adraskan river, which flows past Sabza- 
 war. Around the village a large area is under cultivation, and 
 the valley between it and Sabzawar is also studded with 
 villages ; and where there are villages, there also will be found 
 cultivated lands. But between Aukal and Chah Gazak, a 
 distance of 61 miles, I did not see one square foot of soil 
 under cultivation, nor do I recollect seeing a single nomad's 
 tent. The fact is, there is no water throughout this tract 
 except at Sher Bakhsh, where the water, slightly saline, issues 
 naturally from the soil. On the side of a mound near this 
 water I remarked a few graves, and I think the top of the 
 mound was crowned by a ziarat (Mohammedan shrine), but
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 133 
 
 without a fakir. In fact, no living being seems to haunt this 
 
 ' o O 
 
 wilderness, nor did we meet any travellers. By the by we did 
 see water at one place some seven or eight miles south-west 
 of Chah Gazak. Some shallow pits had been dug in the bed of 
 a torrent, and water had collected therein. As my horse re- 
 fused to touch it after a 30-mile march, it must have been 
 somewhat unpalatable. This tract of 61 miles in length con- 
 sists of a series of undulating ranges of hillocks, intersected 
 by several plains of small extent. In the distance to the 
 north or north-west stood up the Du-shakh range, so called 
 from a double peak near its centre. At Chah Gazak, the two 
 peaks as seen from the east appear but as one. At Gliorian 
 again we shall see both. At Chah Gazak there is a small 
 fort, a karez, and a neglected garden. I saw no sign of culti- 
 vation. The water is good. It is probably merely an outpost 
 held by Afghan irregulars. There we first tasted the fruits 
 of Herat apples, melons, grapes, pomegranates, pears, and 
 quinces. The two first were excellent, as also the grapes, 
 which, however, do not improve by keeping. These grapes 
 were probably cut from the vine two months ago. They eat, 
 however, better than they look. The skins of most have 
 from keeping turned of a brownish colour, but the flavour 
 has not much deteriorated. Other kinds, again, look as fresh 
 as if they had just been cut from the vine. The apples are 
 said to come from Mashhad. 
 
 To-morrow we march to Pahra, and on the 14th to Zinda- 
 jan, some 30 miles west of Herat, where Sarclar Mahomed 
 Sarwar Khan, Naib-ul-hukuma, Governor of Herat, meets us. 
 However, of this, and of all we see of Herat, I will write 
 hereafter. 
 
 CAMP RAUZANAK, NEAR GHORIAN, 16th November. 
 
 It seems hard to pass near Herat, and to be constrained to 
 content one's self with a view of its walls, but faintly looming 
 through the ill-timed veil of mist that, on the 13th and 14th 
 instant, the only days when we were within eyeshot of the 
 city, settled on the face of the valley, and effectually obscured 
 it from our sight. On the morning of the 13th we moved on 
 Pahra, following a route whose circuitousness would certainly
 
 134 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 have made the ancient Eoman, with his predilections in favour 
 of short cuts over hill and dale, open his eyes in wonder at the 
 obtuseness of a race that deems two sides of a triangle less 
 than the third. It is true that the third side of the triangle 
 was reported to be a defile difficult, if not impassable, for 
 camels. The road via this defile was not more than 10 or 11 
 miles in length, Pahra being situated about north by west 
 from Chah Gazak. The road we actually took was measured 
 17^ miles by the survey. It first ran slightly north of west 
 for about nine miles, then struck northward for a couple of 
 miles, and finally made off north-eastward to Pahra. Shortly 
 after leaving camp I went off to a hill some four miles north- 
 west of Chah Gazak, to see if I could get a sight of the city 
 and valley of Herat. Arrived at the summit, I saw a party 
 of mounted Afghans with several camels, just below me, 
 taking the short cut to Pahra. It was this sight which led 
 me to surmise that the dance of 17 miles which we were 
 being led was somewhat unnecessary. From this hill I was 
 prevented from seeing the city of Herat itself by a somewhat 
 higher range intervening. I obtained, however, an excellent 
 view of the whole valley west of the city, to a point where an 
 outlying spur of the Du-shakh range (called Kuh-i-kuftar 
 Khan), running from south-west to north-east, abuts on the 
 Hari Rud, and severs the Herat valley proper from the valley 
 of Ghorian and Kuhsan. South and east I looked over the 
 broad undulating plain traversed by several low ranges of 
 hills, the scene of our 38-mile march, on the llth, from Sher 
 Bakhsh to Chah Gazak. Eastward the double peak of the 
 Kuh-i-du-shakh (the two-horn range) appeared as but one ; 
 whereas from the south at Sher Bakhsh, or from the north at 
 Zindajan and Eauzanak, the two peaks are distinctly visible. 
 Failing to get a glimpse of Herat itself, I made for another 
 hill, some two or three miles to the west, where I found Cap- 
 tain Gore with a survey -party busily engaged in putting the 
 prominent points of the valley of Herat and the surrounding 
 ranges on paper. With the assistance of an unusually intelli- 
 gent and willing guide, and a pair of binoculars, we succeeded 
 in discerning through the already thickening inist the south
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 135 
 
 and west walls of the city. The south-west angle was dis- 
 cernible with tolerable clearness, and an edifice, which after- 
 wards proved to be the citadel, was dimly distinguishable. 
 All else was lost in a fog. The eastern end of the valley, ex- 
 cepting the distant ranges that hem it in, was wrapped in a 
 cloud of white vapour; but the centre, lying south of the 
 city, which is situated at the foot of the range bounding the 
 valley to the north, with its almost countless villages, forts, 
 and gardens (I cannot add fields, because, although actually 
 there, they were at this season, when the crops are either only 
 just sown or just peering above the soil, invisible at a dis- 
 tance), bore testimony to its fertility, and to the degree of 
 prosperity it might attain under a stable and peaceful govern- 
 ment. The absence of green crops and the bareness of the 
 trees robbed the landscape at our feet of that luxuriance of 
 verdure which has been the theme of the pen of some pre- 
 vious European travellers. Still, any one who has seen the 
 valley of the Arghandab and the vicinity of Kandahar in 
 spring-time, when the rabi (spring) crops are ripening, and 
 the orchards are a mass of variegated blossom and budding 
 leaves, can realise what the valley of Herat must be at the 
 same season. Its length may be some 50 miles, and its 
 breadth about 20, watered throughout by the Hari End. The 
 purity and excellence of the water of that river have drawn 
 words of praise from earlier visitors ; and as I first drank a 
 deep draught from it towards the close of a thirsty march of 
 30 miles, I am prepared to fully endorse, if not to enhance, 
 their encomiums. The western end of the valley is much 
 more sparsely inhabited and cultivated than the centre not, 
 however, from any scarcity of water for irrigation. On the 
 contrary, as one journeys westward to Zindajan, Ghorian, and 
 Eauzanak, one crosses a series of canals of greater or less 
 width, which, in the aggregate, drain off a very large body of 
 water from the still strong-flowing stream of the Hari End. 
 In addition to the inhabitants of villages, a considerable popu- 
 lation dwell in gizlidis, as the black tents used by the pastoral 
 nomads of Persia and Afghanistan are termed. These nomads 
 are popularly spoken of as " the people with their houses on
 
 136 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 their backs," or " they who dwell in black abodes." These 
 gizhdis one sees in every valley around Herat, and in the 
 valley of Herat itself their number is legion. The tent is 
 constructed of a coarse blanketing made of camel or goats' 
 hair, supported on rough-cut stakes some six feet in height. 
 The chinks at the corners and the open spaces between the 
 bottom of the blanketing and the ground are closed, at least 
 in this chilly weather, by bags of grain and other articles of 
 food-supply used by the occupants. 
 
 The village of Pahra, which lies about twenty miles south- 
 west of Herat, is a curiosity of its kind. It is a perfect little 
 beehive. On a low spur to the north of it stands the Ziarat- 
 i-Mulla Alijah, and from this point one can look down into this 
 quadrangular nest of domes. Imagine several hundreds of 
 small low mud domes, closely girt around by four solid w T alls 
 of mud or mud brick. That narrow thoroughfares must exist 
 is a certainty, but so narrow are they that the eye cannot 
 detect their whereabouts. The inhabitants, I was informed, 
 were a mixture of Populzais, Barukzais, Taimanis, Tahuris, 
 and Tajiks. The entire quadrangular area of domes appeared 
 to be composed of a number of smaller quadrangles of domes ; 
 and it seems not unreasonable to suppose that one or more of 
 these lesser quadrangles or quarters would be assigned to the 
 several tribes and races of which the population is composed. 
 Around this village extends an area of some five or six square 
 miles under cultivation. In some parts the young crops were 
 just appearing, in others the plough was busily at work. 
 Water for irrigation is obtained from one or more karezes, as 
 well as from a stream flowing towards the Hari Ptud. The 
 channel of this stream was in some places quite dry, the water 
 percolating clandestinely beneath the gravelly bed, only to 
 reseek daylight at some point lower down. The numerous 
 settlements of nomads in this neighbourhood are sufficient 
 evidence of the excellence of the grazing. From Pahra the 
 Mission marched on the 14th in a north-westerly direction 
 through the eastern offshoots of the Du-shakh range to Zinda- 
 jan, a distance of 21| miles. As Colonel Padgeway had 
 decided to halt on the loth at Zindajan, it was thought pos-
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 137 
 
 sible that the Governor of Herat would consent to a party of 
 officers visiting the city. It would appear, however, that he 
 did not consider such a visit advisable, perhaps owing to the 
 rumoured unfriendliness of the Kabuli regiments, and also, I 
 hear, of a Kandahari regiment stationed there. 1 
 
 1 It must rest a matter of opinion how far the Afghan officials have made 
 an exaggerated use of the supposed fanaticism of certain tribes and troops 
 with a view to circumscribing, as far as possible, the knowledge of the country 
 acquired by the Mission during its passage through it, and also with a view to 
 exercising as complete a control as possible over its movements. Any indepen- 
 dence of action aimed at by Colonel Ridgeway would, no doubt, have drawn 
 forth the polite intimation that the Amir's representatives regret they 
 cannot answer for the security of the Mission if the proposed course be fol- 
 lowed. In fact we have been hitherto almost entirely under Afghan guidance, 
 and I think I may add surveillance. I hear frequent complaints on the part 
 of the Intelligence Department about the difficulties they have to encounter 
 in the pursuit of topographical information ; and yet, after all, they have 
 effected no mean result. They have opened up a military route, passable for 
 all arms, from Khwaja Ali to Herat, by which the flank of an enemy advancing 
 on Kandahar via Farah can be most effectively operated on ; and they have 
 gained much new information, and confirmed or corrected the reports of 
 previous travellers. The preliminary orders of the Government of India 
 should have prepared them for no great liberty of action. I remark that the 
 burden and heat of the day imposed on the shoulders of the people of West- 
 ern Afghanistan by our passage through it, falls mainly 011 the subject Parsi- 
 wau, not on the dominant Afghan. An excellent instance of the casual way 
 in which our so-called guides are provided occurred this morning. Just as I 
 was leaving camp, I came across an officer of the Intelligence Department re- 
 garding with an eye of indignation two dirty unshorn ?/m?-clad objects. 
 (Namad is coarse, thick felt, much used by the lower classes as wfcrm clothing. ) 
 These, I found, were guides, and both averred they were never at Rauza- 
 nak in their lives before ; and as for Zangi-sowar or Kuhsan, they were but 
 names and not realities to them. One of them recounted to me thus briefly 
 the story of "how he came to be a guide" : "I am resident of a ziarat near 
 Chali Gazak. When the news of the advent of the Mission of the illus- 
 trious English Government arrived, I was -ordered to arrange for the sup- 
 plies " (godam is this a corruption of the familiar British expletive with 
 a double d, or of the well-known Anglo-Indian word " godown " ?). " I did so ; 
 and now for four days have I been following the Afghan Commissioner, begging 
 for a receipt for what I supplied. Last night I was told that if I acted as a 
 guide to Kuhsan I would then get my receipt. Never before in my life was I 
 at Rauzanak or at Kuhsan ; but I must have my receipt." Zeal for the ser- 
 vice to which he belongs impelled the officer of the Intelligence branch to 
 reject that guide, and seek to tempt with Indian silver some villagers to 
 take a trudge to Kuhsan. Several volunteers at two rupees were found; but 
 their noses were put out of joint by a more than usually needy customer who, 
 with a leery grin of satisfaction on his pinched countenance, agreed to go for 
 one rupee. However, he never got his rupee ; for, to the best of my know-
 
 138 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Furthermore, the distance of Ziudajan from Herat, close on 
 30 miles, made such a visit practicable only for those who had 
 a good steed at their disposal, and who did not shrink from 
 the risk of overtaxing the strength of horses that had already 
 been severely tried by a succession of exceptionally long 
 marches. As a letter had been received from Sir Peter 
 Lumsden, who, after visiting Sarakhs and Pul-i-Khatun, is 
 now en route for Kuhsan, stating that he would not reach 
 the last-named place before the 19th instant, we might 
 perhaps have halted two days at Zindajan, and thus afforded 
 the Naib-ul-hukuma an opportunity of evincing the friendly 
 and hospitable feelings he entertains towards the Mission, 
 which has marched in all haste nearly 900 miles to maintain 
 the integrity of the frontier of his country. Nothing, I feel 
 sure, would have given more pleasure to all the members of 
 the Mission than to have ridden into Herat on the 15th, seen 
 all that could be seen in a brief space of time, availed them- 
 selves for the night of the hospitality of our Afghan allies, and 
 returned to Zindajan on the 16th. Such an agreeable pro- 
 gramme, however, was not destined, at least for the present, 
 to be recorded among the annals of the Mission ; and there- 
 fore I do not regret having ridden somewhat out of my way 
 on the 14th to see what I might see. At this season the early 
 morn is the only time when a distant view is practicable. As 
 the day advances, the misty vapours and smoke settle thicker 
 and thicker in the valleys, and the range of vision becomes 
 very limited. From an eminence in the Herat valley, how- 
 ever, some 7 miles north-east of Pahra, and 12 to 15 miles 
 south-west from Herat, I got a much better view of the 
 city than I had obtained on the previous day. The citadel 
 was distinctly visible, as were also the imposing minars 
 (six or seven in number) and buildings of the Minar-i-Musalla, 
 and the Ziarat-i-Khwaja Abdullah Ansari on the slope to the 
 north of the city. Herat and its neighbourhood have been 
 so thoroughly described by previous travellers by English- 
 men, indeed, who have been long resident there, as Pottinger, 
 
 ledge, his noble fellow-villagers threatened to denounce him. So the man in 
 search of a receipt had to go after all.
 
 FROM THE HELMUND TO HERAT. 139 
 
 D'Arcy Todd, Sanders, and others that any attempt at de- 
 scription from one who has not been within 12 miles of it, 
 and depends for his information on the statements of natives, 
 seems superfluous. However, I believe the generality of the 
 public are not given to reading the works of these travellers 
 of the last generation, so what I have learned of the present 
 condition of the city may still be news to some. 
 
 Herat, in its general outline, closely resembles Kandahar ; or 
 rather the simile should be reversed, for I have little doubt 
 that Ahmed Shah Abdali, the first monarch of the Saddozai 
 family, took Herat as his pattern when he founded Kandahar 
 about 1750 A.D. The city is almost a square, each of its walls 
 being somewhat over three-quarters of a mile in length, 
 whereas Kandahar is more of an oblong shape. Herat has 
 five gates, of which one is on the northern side, to the west 
 of the new citadel. The remaining four gates are situated 
 at or near the centre of the four faces, and from each of them 
 a broad street leads to the Chahar-su, which is, both topo- 
 graphically and commercially, the heart of the city. Chahar-su 
 is the exact equivalent of our word " cross-roads," except that 
 it is, to the best of my knowledge, only or generally applied 
 to the point in the centre of a city where four main streets 
 meet under a large dome in which are situated the best shops, 
 and from which the foci of trade radiate, and to which com- 
 mercial interests converge. It is at once the Bourse and the 
 Burlington Arcade of the Afghan provincial capital, with this 
 exception, that the type of the frenzied French financier who 
 frequents the former, and of the matchless " masher " and 
 somewhat questionable habitude of the latter, are replaced by 
 the varied types of the Afghan, Turkoman, Uzbek, Hazara, 
 and Tajik, and the sombre blue of the chaste and impene- 
 trable burka. 1 However, let us wend our way back from the 
 Chahar-su to the gates. The northern gate is termed Dar- 
 waza-i-Kutichak ; the western, Darwaza-i-Irak ; the southern, 
 Darwaza-i-Kandahar ; and the eastern, Darwaza-i-Khushk. 
 Each gate is flanked by two bastions, and the moat which 
 encircles the city is bridged at each of the four gates by a 
 
 1 Burlca is the veil worn by women in Persia and Afghanistan.
 
 140 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 wooden drawbridge, which is raised and lowered by mechan- 
 ical appliances worked from inside the walls. The walls, 
 which are some 25 to 30 feet high, and each face of which is 
 furnished with 20 to 25 bastions (on the southern face, on 
 which the morning sun was shining, we could see each bastion, 
 as well as the position of the gate, distinctly), are built on 
 the top of an artificial embankment (locally termed khakriz), 
 some 40 or 50 feet high. On the exterior slope of this 
 embankment two lines of shelter -trenches, one above the 
 other, are carried all round the city, except where the gates 
 are, and at the foot of the embankment runs the broad 
 moat. From a strikingly neat and lucid plan of the city 
 drawn for me by a guide who, if a stranger to the curriculum 
 of a school of art, had at least a natural perception of the 
 elements of geometrical drawing, unfettered by the meretri- 
 cious aids of the compass and the ruler it would appear that 
 the old citadel (Ark-i-kuhna) is situated on a slight eminence 
 in the north-west quarter, and that the Ark-i-nau, or new 
 citadel, lies between it and the north wall. The old citadel 
 is surrounded by a moat. The garrison is said to consist of 
 two Kabuli and two Herati cavalry, two Kabuli and two 
 Herat! infantry regular regiments ; and some twenty guns of 
 varied calibres are mounted on its walls, besides numberless 
 others lying dismounted on the ramparts. Twenty guns to 
 defend 3 miles of wall ! The population of such a city is, of 
 course, a strange medley. In addition to the races before 
 named, I may add that several hundred Hindus, mostly 
 bankers, pawnbrokers, and haberdashers, are located here, 
 as well as some Armenians, and that the Jews have a quarter 
 of their own. The two last-named races, in addition to other 
 occupations, monopolise the manufacture of wines and the dis- 
 tillation of ardent spirits. The Prophet decreed, " Thou shalt 
 not taste wine or intoxicating liquid ; " but the letter of the 
 law and the unwritten social law of the Mohammedan of the 
 nineteenth century, inspired by a wider tolerance for the weak- 
 ness of human nature, hath thus laid down : " Thou shalt 
 not brew thy own liquor ; but the accursed Jew, the heathen 
 idolater, and the Christian Kafir may brew it for thee. Thou

 
 FROM THE HELMUXD TO HERAT. 141 
 
 shalt not get drunk at the corner of the street or in any public 
 place ; but go into thy inner chamber and close the door, and 
 there drink till the cup of drunkenness be full." I under- 
 stand that the position of Herat, as fixed by the traverse 
 conducted by Captain Gore and by other observations, differs 
 from those previously fixed by English and 1'ussian. surveyors, 
 but most nearly approaches the latest Russian results. I am 
 sorry I cannot at present publish a further list of the longi- 
 tudes and latitudes of our camps and other important points 
 on our line of march from Kalah-i-fath to Kuhsan. It is 
 considered undesirable to publish these figures until they have 
 been thoroughly tested and proved to be correct. Mistakes 
 once published are too apt to be perpetuated. For instance, 
 the distance from Galachah to Khwaja Ali still continues to 
 be stated by organs of the press to be 52 miles, whereas I 
 have certainly mentioned several times that the Survey 
 Department has fixed the distance at 58 miles. 
 
 After looking at the dim outline of Herat till I felt that 
 looking longer were but looking in vain, I moved north-west 
 for some eight miles, parallel to the line of forts and villages, 
 whose inhabitants, except the dogs who assumed an inimical 
 and offensive attitude, and the women who thought discretion 
 the better part of valour and ran away to their homes, scarcely 
 seemed to think the Briton worthy of a passing glance. I 
 must say that the hatred of the Farangi and infidel attributed 
 to these people is veiled under a strangely impenetrable mask 
 of mock friendliness. While I was looking through my binoc- 
 ulars at Herat, three Afghans rode up to the foot of the hill 
 where my horses were. When I had seen all I could, I went 
 down and had a chat with them. They told me they had 
 formed part of the body of irregular horse (Khawani Sowar) 
 that had gone out from Pahra to welcome Colonel Ridgeway 
 and the Afghan Commissioner, and that they were now 
 returning to their homes. They were much taken with the 
 binoculars, which with some trouble I adjusted to suit their 
 respective powers of vision. Most entertaining were their 
 expressions of wonder and gratification as they gazed through 
 them on their native villages, forts, orchards, and fields, and
 
 142 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 spotted a stray man, or horse, or camel, a flock of sheep and 
 goats, or a group of gizlidis. And these proved to be Alizais 
 those fanatics thirsting for our blood. When we parted they 
 displayed more cordiality than any native I have accosted 
 from Khwaja Ali to Eauzanak. In reply to a question 
 whether any stranger was allowed to enter Herat, they re- 
 plied that foreigners were not allowed within the gates 
 without a permit from the Governor. When distant some 
 three or four miles from the Hari Eud and the western end 
 of the valley, I turned to the west over a somewhat steep and 
 difficult pass, evidently but little frequented, into the Ghorian 
 valley. Having crossed the pass, I moved south to join the 
 main road from Herat to Zindajan, and then turning west 
 again, and more or less following the left bank of the river for 
 some ten miles, finally reached our camp situated north-west 
 of the last-named village. The left bank of the river was 
 entirely barren and uninhabited, but on the right bank I 
 noticed several villages and forts. Zindajan consists of a very 
 large area of walled gardens and fields, but I doubt if the 
 population is more than 300 or 400. The pigeon-towers are 
 its most noticeable feature, but I saw no domesticated pigeons. 
 In the neighbourhood of Ispahan an enormous number of 
 domesticated pigeons are kept by the landowners, the high 
 towers constructed for their inhabitance attracting the atten- 
 tion by their curious style and shape. There the main object 
 is the collection of their droppings, which are highly prized as 
 the best manure for melons. Here the object is possibly the 
 same. Certainly the melons, which, in addition to grapes, 
 pears, quinces, apples, pomegranates, pistachio-nuts, almonds 
 and raisins, and the most seductive sweetmeats, the Governor 
 of Herat has provided to adorn our mess-table and tempt our 
 palates, are, after the fruits of India (I beg to make an excep- 
 tion in favour of mangoes and green-figs), truly ambrosial food. 
 I have tasted better melons, though, at Kandahar.
 
 143 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 
 
 KUHSAN, 18th November. 
 
 DURING the last four days we have had a foretaste of the 
 winter that awaits us farther north. Hard frost at night one 
 can endure if tempered by a few hours of genial sunshine in 
 the day ; but a bitter blast, blowing night and day, numbing 
 hands and feet on the march, and piercing the thickest pile of 
 blankets in the hours of rest, is not more than human nature 
 can stand, for we have all stood it ; but, if we had been given 
 any option in the matter, we would have preferred not being 
 put to the test. Circumstances, moreover, combined to render 
 our marches on the 16th and 17th more than usually trying, 
 as I will mention hereafter. However, here we are at our 
 goal ; and though the north-west wind the same wind that 
 we found so unpleasant between Ibrahimabad and Lash 
 Juwain and at Anardara shows no signs of slackening the 
 vigour of its assault ; still, as \ve are to be stationary some 
 days, we can, by intrenching our tents, strengthening the 
 defences of our doorways, and keeping up a steady fire of 
 embers within, bid defiance to Boreas. Fold back a portion 
 of the carpet of your tent, dig a little hole, fill it with hot 
 embers, to be renewed from time to time, put your writing- 
 table and chair over it, draw on a pair of poshtin or fox-skin 
 overalls, covering boots and trousers up to the knee, and then 
 you can sit and write all day, and all night too if you like. 
 Your shivering pen will not then trace more than usually
 
 144 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION, 
 
 illegible characters on the paper, nor will an insidious numb- 
 ness creep slowly upward from toe to knee. 
 
 Who is the Jonas who brought us this dirty weather ? no 
 less a personage, it would seem, than Sardar Mahomed Sarwar 
 Khan, Naib-ul-hukuma, Governor of Herat. And yet his 
 genial countenance should rather dispel than compel clouds, 
 should rather blunt than sharpen the edge of a cutting north- 
 west wind. On the morning of the 14th he came out two 
 miles from Zindajan with an escort of cavalry and infantry 
 to meet Colonel Eidgeway, who, in view of this meeting, was 
 attended on this march by all the political officers and a strong 
 cavalry escort. In fact, as the main body of the detachment 
 llth Bengal Lancers with three British officers were with 
 him, they, to all intents and purposes, though not by order, 
 acted as his escort. On arriving in camp, Colonel Eidgeway 
 and all the officers accompanying him were conducted to the 
 Governor's tent, and, as customary, provided with some light 
 refreshment in the shape of tea, fruits, and sweetmeats, after 
 which they retired to their own camp. It was arranged that 
 the Governor of Herat and Kazi Saad-ud-din should pay a 
 formal visit to Colonel Eidgeway the same evening. How- 
 ever, the late arrival of the baggage with the shamianah, and 
 the cloudy chilliness of the afternoon, combined to postpone 
 this ceremony until the following day. Since the afternoon 
 of the 14th, when this unfavourable change in the weather 
 set in, we have had occasional falls of rain, sleet, and hail, and 
 hard frost every night. The visit of the Afghan officials was 
 fixed for 2 P.M. on the 15th, and the return visit for 3 P.M. on 
 the same day. Both for the reception and the return of this 
 visit, Colonel Eidgeway was attended by all the officers, 
 native attaches, and native officers of the Mission. What a 
 transformation ! The figures which had been hitherto clad in 
 sombre khaki (dust-coloured cloth) the dark-blue frock of 
 the llth Bengal Lancers with its red kamar'band and the pic- 
 turesque loongi had been almost our only attempt at colour 
 suddenly bloomed out in every variety of hue and tint. The 
 more sombre colours worn by the political officers, the llth 
 Bengal Lancers, the officers of the Engineers and army staff,
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 145 
 
 was relieved by the red tunic of the 7th Bengal Lancers, the 
 drab of the 20th Punjab Infantry, the red and green of the 
 Beluchi, and the green and black velvets and broadcloths, pro- 
 fusely adorned with gold lace, affected by some of the native 
 attacks. Breasts which had hitherto scorned decorations, sud- 
 denly appeared adorned with a veritable blaze of medals and 
 orders; and among these none more conspicuous than Suba- 
 dar-Major Mowla Dad, of the 20th Panjab Infantry, and 
 Ressaldar-Major Baha-ud-din, whom to see was to envy. I 
 have not forgotten the tenth commandment, but the flesh will 
 be weak at times. The diversion of studying and criticising 
 each other's splendour helped to make us forget the chilly 
 wind, and to pass time until the sounds of a drum and suronais 
 told us the guard of honour of the 20th Panjab Infantry was 
 approaching, and then our criticisms were diverted to them. 
 I can safely say that their fine physique and martial bearing 
 drew forth naught but looks of approval and words of praise 
 from the onlookers. On most of their breasts reposed the 
 Afghan, Egyptian, and Frontier medals. Our Afghan visitors, 
 who were escorted from their own camp to ours by three 
 native attaches, arrived punctually, were met by Mr Merk as 
 they alighted from their horses, and by Colonel Ridgeway at 
 the door of the sha/mianah, and conducted by him to their seats 
 the Governor of Herat on the right, and the Afghan Com- 
 missioner on the left. They were unattended by any suite. 
 After a brief space of time devoted to conversation, they took 
 their leave. They were reconducted to their tents with the 
 same ceremony as attended their arrival. After a brief in- 
 terval, some members of the Afghan suite, with a small escort 
 of Lancers (part of a regular cavalry regiment), arrived to con- 
 duct Colonel Ridgeway and his suite to the Afghan camp, 
 where we were received at the door of the durbar tent by the 
 Governor and Commissioner. Colonel Ridgeway introduced 
 each individual, British and native officer, to the Governor. 
 After some conversation, Colonel Ridgeway took leave of the 
 Governor, and went off with the Commissioner to inspect a 
 kibitka. It is proposed to house the Mission in kibitkas for 
 the winter. What was shown us was a framework of light 
 
 K
 
 146 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 lattice-work covered with felt. It was circular, with a dia- 
 meter of 10 to 12 feet, and perpendicular sides rising six 
 feet, from which height the roof slopes upward to a point, 
 leaving at the apex a small aperture for the escape of smoke. 
 This aperture in bad weather is closed by a felt cap. The 
 roof is one solid piece of felt, or composed of several pieces 
 sewn firmly together. The sides are likewise one single piece, 
 the door being the only opening. The edges of the roof-piece 
 lap a few inches over the sides. It can be taken to pieces, 
 folded and packed, and unpacked and erected in no time. 
 Such a one as we saw requires no stay-ropes except in the 
 roughest weather. The points of the lattice-work are buried 
 in the ground some eight or nine inches. This lattice-work 
 folds up into a small compass, exactly like those ornamental 
 wooden expanding flower-pot holders, or silver expanding 
 napkin-rings. Undoubtedly a kibitka well made and finished 
 is a far snugger, if not more portable abode, than the best 
 tent ever turned out at Fatehgarh or Jubbulpore. 
 
 Having seen a kibitka, we all returned to camp, not sorry 
 to escape from the cold and our best toggery. Next morning 
 we marched for Eauzanak, the hour of departure being, owing 
 to the cold, postponed till 8 A.M. Away to our right (north) 
 were visible in the distance the snow-covered summits of the 
 high range between us and Badkis, commonly and erroneously 
 known as the Paropamisus. This march, although only 17^ 
 miles in length, was productive of more difficulties than many 
 much longer ones, owing to the intricate nature of the coun- 
 try. "Within 200 yards of camp all our camels had to cross a 
 deepish muddy ditch, the only bridge being a narrow steep 
 structure of brick, which proved a greater obstacle to laden 
 camels than even slimy mud. Not a few camels came to 
 grief. A few miles farther another broad and deep canal had 
 to be crossed by a single bridge, admitting of the passage of 
 only one camel at a time. Then came the river (Hari Eud) ; 
 and last, not least, within half a mile of Eauzanak another 
 ditch, more muddy, and with more precipitous banks than the 
 first one, had to be crossed. Dire was the wailing and lam- 
 entation among camel-men and camels, escort and followers.
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 147 
 
 The shades of night fell, and still many a camel was on the 
 wrong side of that ditch. The work of crossing was continued 
 by the light of lanterns, and not till 7 P.M. did the rear-guard 
 enter camp. Experientia docct. The next [morning we found 
 the water in this irrigation channel had been turned off, and 
 a broad road across it constructed by filling in the ditch with 
 dry soil. So we filed out of camp in very different style from 
 that in which we entered it. At the end of the long march 
 of 24 miles from Bauzanak to Kuhsan, we had again to cross 
 a deep canal to reach a camping-ground. The Afghan officials 
 had, however, constructed two fairly good and stout bridges 
 across this canal, and as the road itself had presented no 
 obstacles, all the baggage was seen safe over these bridges and 
 into camp before dark. Eauzanak is situated on the right 
 bank of the river, some seven miles north of Ghorian, which 
 lies on the left bank, and near which we did not pass. 
 
 At Zindajan the escort of the Governor of Herat was en- 
 camped several miles away from us. On the 14th, however, 
 the Governor very courteously expressed a wish that Colonel 
 Eidgeway would review his escort, and a spot on the line of 
 march from Zindajan to Eauzanak was fixed on for that pur- 
 pose. The review came off about 10 A.M. The Afghan troops 
 w r ere drawn up in line to receive Colonel Eidgeway, and on 
 his approach a salute of thirteen guns was fired. The troops 
 then marched past in the following order: Mule -battery, 
 infantry, regular cavalry, and irregular cavalry. The mule- 
 battery consisted of four guns, seemingly six or seven pound- 
 ers, and presented altogether a soldierly and workmanlike 
 appearance. After firing the salute, they took their guns to 
 pieces and loaded them on the mules smartly, and then 
 marched past without delay or confusion. Their uniform, as 
 usual with Afghan troops, depended more on their own sweet 
 pleasure than on the Afghan dress-regulations. The teams 
 were composed partly of mules and partly of ponies. It is 
 said that this battery marched from Kabul through the Haz- 
 arajat a fact, if authentic, of considerable importance. As 
 yet, neither the Survey nor the Intelligence Department has 
 succeeded in obtaining any very accurate or trustworthy
 
 148 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 knowledge of the routes between Herat and Kabul through 
 the Hazarajat. 1 Several subordinates of the Survey have been 
 sent to investigate these routes, but all have failed. It is 
 something, therefore, to learn that there is a route practicable 
 for mule and pony transport. The infantry consisted of but 
 one, or, as some say, two companies, dressed anyhow, and 
 armed with Sniders and Enfields. Their march-past was so 
 extremely irregular and eccentric in its method, that it was 
 difficult to decide what formation they were supposed to be 
 in. They appeared to obey commands both by word and by 
 bugle, and they progressed by a series of movements at the 
 quick and the double. The two regiments of cavalry were 
 much more satisfactory. Firstly, they were well mounted, 
 almost all of them, on stout horses of Afghan breed, about 14 
 or 14.1 in height. The regiment of regular cavalry marched 
 past to the harmonious sounds of some bugles and trumpets, 
 supported by a drum or two, in fours, and with their swords 
 at the carry. The officer or officers of each troop and squad- 
 ron saluted after the British fashion. Some of the troopers 
 were armed with carbines, which they carried on the right 
 side of the saddle, not in buckets, but stowed away in a 
 curious fashion under the right leg. The regiment of irregu- 
 lar cavalry raised from among the Chahar Aimak was as well 
 mounted as the regular regiment, but evidently less drilled 
 and disciplined. They marched past in half sections, and had 
 no arms but muskets or rifles of native manufacture, which 
 they load and fire on horseback. They no doubt closely re- 
 semble in their tactics the Turkoman cavalry with whom the 
 Russians had to contend in their subjugation of Central Asia. 
 They have no idea of any formation for combined attacks 
 beyond that of manoeuvring in a swarm round an enemy and 
 discharging their guns at them. How, without swords, they 
 can follow up any demoralisation produced by their wild 
 system of " fire-tactics," is a mystery to me. The importance 
 of this review consists in this, that probably never before have 
 
 1 The travels of Captains Maitland and Hon. M. G. Talbot from Herat, vid 
 Obeh, Daulatyar, and Bamian, to Balkh, during the autumn and winter of 
 1885, have altered all this.
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 149 
 
 Afghan troops, regular or irregular, marched past before a 
 British officer. From a review to co-operation in the field is 
 perhaps, after all, not so very far a cry. But I must admit, 
 that until Afghan troops are better drilled and disciplined, if 
 possible by British officers, they will be rather an embarrass- 
 ment than an assistance to a British force, unless we used 
 them, as the Eomans did their mercenaries, to break the brunt 
 of the battle. Even then we run the risk of having them 
 driven back in disordered masses on our disciplined ranks. 
 
 A few words about the route from Zindajan to Kuhsan. 
 The main road from Herat to Kuhsan follows the right bank 
 of the river, and the remains of three magnificent caravan- 
 serais of burnt brick along this route are evidences of the 
 former commercial prosperity of Herat. One of these is situ- 
 ated nearly opposite to Ghorian ; the second at Shabash, where 
 there is a small village, and an advantageously situated but 
 decidedly dilapidated fort ; and the third at Tirpul. As far as 
 Shabash, the open plain, studded with villages, stretches from 
 the left bank of the river four miles to the foot of the Du- 
 shakh range, and south-west to the Persian frontier. Opposite 
 Shabash the hills close on the left bank of the Hari Eud, 
 whose trough thenceforward to Kuhsan does not exceed two 
 miles in width, and, in contradistinction to its previous want 
 of natural trees, is thickly overgrown with a species of poplar 
 that makes excellent firewood, fortunately for us. Tirpul is 
 one of the most striking bits of scenery we have come across, 
 with its huge rambling tumble-down caravanserai (Eabat-i- 
 Tirpul), with great domed chambers and courtyards half 
 choked with heaps of brick and mortar ; its bridge of five or 
 six arches, built of burnt bricks a foot square, resting on 
 pillars of stone-work, and paved with broad stone slabs ; the 
 still dark-green waters of the deep pools below ; above, some 
 islets covered with long waving grasses and rushes and 
 stunted poplars, amid which the stream winds with swifter 
 flow ; and towering above the bridge, on a spur overhanging 
 the left bank, an isolated brick loophooled tower, the whole, 
 viewed from the bridge, presenting an impressive coup d'oeil. 
 In crossing a narrow but deep channel near Tirpul, one of our
 
 150 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 party got a most unpleasant ducking. The bridge not being 
 too wide, and the horse nervous, the animal managed to plant 
 his hind-legs on the edge of the bridge, which gave way 
 promptly, and in went horse and rider. Both were extricated 
 in no time. The rider mounted a sowar's horse, and rode 
 sharp back to camp. But the memory of that evening ride 
 of six or seven miles in wet clothes, in the teeth of a 
 bitterly cold wind, will long abide with him. The tower 
 mentioned above is at once a place of refuge from the 
 Turkomans, and a point of vantage from which a heavy 
 fire can be brought to bear on the bridge should they wish 
 to cross it. It is barely two years since the Turkoman 
 raiders rendered life around Kuhsan scarcely worth living. 
 No wonder it is a mass of ruins, of tumble-down walls, 
 and that the only conspicuous thing about it is a strong fort 
 with a high wall and a deep broad moat full of water. It 
 once boasted a madrasa (college), but I doubt if it can now 
 boast of a single student, far less a preceptor. The only signs 
 of its former decorative splendour are a few fragments of de- 
 signs in glazed and coloured tiles still adhering to parts of the 
 dome, gateway, and chambers. The inhabitants of Shabash 
 are said to be Tatars of the Jagatai tribe. An individual, 
 stating that he was a native of Lahore, and had been taken 
 prisoner at Maiwand, turned up there, and then accompanied 
 us to Kuhsan. Subsequent cross-examination has proved, 
 with fair conclusiveness, that he is an impostor. 
 
 In viewing the Russian subjugation of Central Asia, one is 
 apt at times to overlook the immense boon that they have 
 conferred on the population of Northern Persia and Afghan- 
 istan by putting a bit in the mouth of those inveterate ruth- 
 less marauders, the Turkomans. Till within the last three 
 or four years they used to ride as far south as Ghaur and 
 Kalah-i-kah near Farah. For the last two years, even Kuhsan 
 has been free from their alamans. As an instance of the 
 utter destitution and depopulation resulting from the un- 
 bridled rapacity of the Turkomans, Sir Peter Lumsden's party 
 state that between Sarakhs and Kuhsan they scarcely met 
 half-a-dozen human beings. A loyal Afghan with whom I
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 151 
 
 was conversing to-day boldly maintained that the commence- 
 ment of the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman was the auspicious 
 event which sealed the doom of Turkoman f reel tooting, and 
 sounded the knell of their nefarious slave-trade. The truth, 
 however, is, that the Persian and Afghan Governments have 
 neither possessed the power nor displayed the spirit and 
 energy requisite for coping with these lawless tribes, which, 
 too lazy to till the soil, and finding pastoral pursuits but little 
 profitable, adopted the simpler and more attractive means of 
 livelihood afforded by looting and selling into captivity their 
 neighbours. The only Persian expedition sent against them 
 in recent years resulted in a miserable disaster. Xow and 
 again a band of Turkomans would be cut off and made pris- 
 oners, and then terrible would be the penalty that they had 
 to pay, not only for their own sins, but for the injuries and 
 bereavements suffered by thousands at the hands of their 
 fellow-tribesmen. One instance, I recollect, occurred at or 
 near Shahrud, where some thirty Turkomans, being taken 
 prisoners, were compelled to put each other to death. This 
 severity, some would say brutality, of punishment, but the 
 memory of a thousand injuries to life, limb, and property, and 
 a thousand domestic bereavements pleading for revenge the 
 deepest, bitterest revenge is an extenuating feature not to 
 be ignored, so far from intimidating the Turkomans, merely 
 added the thirst for revenge to the love of plunder. To this 
 unequal struggle affording to the Turkoman all the pleas- 
 ures of the chase, combined with the risks and excitements 
 of war, and attended by considerable pecuniary gain, and 
 spreading ruin and devastation over the greater part of Khor- 
 asan the capture of Geok Tepe and Ashkabad in 1880, com- 
 bined with the previous stoppage of the slave-trade in Khiva, 
 Bokhara, Samarkand, and other towns of Central Asia, im- 
 posed an effectual check ; and the occupation of Merv, and the 
 complete submission of the Tekke, Salor, and Sarik Turko- 
 mans, has finally put an end to it, except among the Kara 
 Turkomans on the Oxus near Kilif, who still perpetrate raids 
 on the Uzbeks of Maimena and Andkhur.
 
 152 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 KUHSAX, 19th November. 
 
 The issue of a farewell order last night by Colonel Kidge- 
 way reminds me that the individual existence of the Indian 
 section of the Boundary Commission is at an end, and that 
 the present is therefore a suitable term for a brief review of 
 its acts and results. Nothing could have been more inaus- 
 picious than its early infancy, and nothing more successful 
 than its maturity. The criticisms of the press, three or four 
 months ago, with regard to almost every point connected 
 with the strength, preparation, and outfit of the Mission, need 
 only to be alluded to, not repeated. They cannot as yet have 
 faded from the memory of the public. Not unnaturally the 
 uncertainty of the supreme authority was reflected in every 
 department. Hence it is that the representatives of most of 
 the various corps and departments which form the Indian 
 section of the Mission are unanimous in their complaints of 
 the unusual difficulties and obstacles opposed to their efficient 
 preparation of an expedition of such importance. On the 
 part of the military authorities an air of incomprehensible 
 mystery and reticence appears to have been adopted. One 
 regiment furnishing a portion of the escort was warned to be 
 in readiness for service, what service was not stated, but 
 could very well be conjectured. Why then make a secret of 
 it ? The other regiment got two, or at most three days' notice, 
 and that when about to undergo a march of 850 miles, during 
 which it would have to encounter the most trying vicissitudes 
 of climate. One cannot, moreover, feel sufficiently thankful 
 that the hastily considered intention of the Government to 
 march the Mission across the desert in August and September 
 proved abortive. " Man proposeth," &c. Anyhow, in this case 
 the Government proposed and the Amir disposed ; and whe- 
 ther or not the Amir be a true friend and ally of the British 
 Government, he, on this occasion, showed himself a true friend 
 of the Mission, when he so delayed its departure that its pas- 
 sage of the waterless desert was at least not made at the most 
 thirst-productive of seasons. "We all of us have still a vivid 
 recollection of the heat at Eindli from the 31st August to 10th 
 September. Could we and our horses, which were at times
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAX. 153 
 
 put on a short allowance of water, and our camels, which -on 
 several occasions got no water at all, have borne up against 
 heat aggravated by thirst and bad and deficient water ? More- 
 over, it would appear that the Government entirely under- 
 rated the difficulties that attended the provision of supplies 
 and water sufficient for the Mission during its passage across 
 the desert. "When Colonel Pudge way, accompanied by Mr 
 Merk, Captain Peacocke and others, reached Xushki on the 
 17th September, much, notwithstanding the able and energetic 
 measures adopted by Mr Barnes and Captain Maitland, re- 
 mained to be done. Not until an accurate report of the water- 
 supply available from Sanduri to Shah Ismail had been sub- 
 mitted by Captain Peacocke, and it had been ascertained that 
 the wells and other sources of water-supply between Shah 
 Ismail and Galachah were being satisfactorily developed by 
 Mr Barnes's subordinates, under the personal supervision of 
 Mr Merk, and that the supplies laid in by Mr Barnes and 
 furnished by the Amir's officials had been duly laid out at the 
 various stages, would Colonel Eidgeway have been justified in 
 starting to cross the desert. Now, as a matter of fact, the 
 arrangements above specified were not completed before the 
 25th of September ; and seeing that the Mission left Nushki 
 between 29th September and 1st October, it is not unreason- 
 able to say that on this occasion, as it has done on many 
 another, both for individuals and Governments, the force of 
 circumstances stood the Government in better stead than its 
 own appreciation of the true nature of the enterprise on which 
 it was embarking. On the other hand, it must be remem- 
 bered that the necessity of consulting the Amir on most 
 points connected with the march was a source of embarrass- 
 ment to the Government. 
 
 Cradled as it thus was in the lap of uncertainty, and em- 
 barked on its career in a hurried, no doubt unavoidably 
 hurried way, without one word of God-speed, farewell, or en- 
 couragement from Government, the public, or even hardly 
 from the press, which, instead of viewing it as an enterprise 
 of national interest and a source of national pride, laid itself 
 out to carp enviously at the mental and physical qualities of
 
 154 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 its members, and to forebode its failure and futility, at the 
 same time instituting odious comparisons with Eussian policy 
 and Eussian Commissioners this Mission has, nevertheless, 
 shown itself able to cope with and overcome all these initial 
 drawbacks. Never, perhaps, has any body of men, in defiance 
 of ill-considered and unfounded assertions, shown themselves 
 to be more thoroughly at home both at the desk and in the 
 saddle. To pilot a force of some 1200 men, burdened with 
 an abnormal quantity of impedimenta, through 226 miles of 
 desert and some 540 miles of foreign territory inhabited by 
 races of whose neutrality, far less friendliness, nothing certain 
 could be predicated, without the loss of a man, beast, or load, 
 by neglect or carelessness, and without once exciting the re- 
 puted fanatical spirit inherent in the Afghan, argues at once 
 good organisation, thorough discipline, untiring energy, and a 
 great power of self-restraint and conciliation. 
 
 As a proof that this march has not been without its physi- 
 cal trials, I will append here a list of the marches, with the 
 distances as recorded by the perambulator. As the peram- 
 bulator is usually wheeled in a straight line from point to 
 point, and consequently does not always represent the wind- 
 ings of the road, I shall add two per cent to the total distance 
 as shown by the perambulator, and the result will represent 
 with fair accuracy the distance covered by the Mission be- 
 tween Nushki and Kuhsan. The heavy baggage of the Mis- 
 sion left Nushki on the evening of the 1st October, and reached 
 Kuhsan on the evening of the 17th November; the actual 
 duration of the march is therefore represented by forty- 
 seven days. The actual number of marches is, as will be seen, 
 thirty-eight : 
 
 Perambulator 
 Miles. 
 
 Oct. 1. Nushki to Sanduri, . . . . . 10.5 
 
 2. Sauduri to Band, 15.6 
 
 3. Band to Umar Shah, 11.0 
 
 4. Umar Shah to Zaru, 7.2 
 
 5. Zaru to Kani, 19.0 
 
 6. Kani to Gazeh Chah, 14.7 
 
 7. Halt. 
 
 8. Gazeh Chah to Safiya, . . . . 18.3 
 
 9. Safiya to Shah Ismail, . . . . 17.4
 
 FROM HEEAT TO KUHSAN. 
 
 155 
 
 
 Perambulator 
 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Oct. 10. Shall Ismail to Salian, 
 
 15.7 
 
 11. Salian to Muzhdan, .... 
 
 10.2 
 
 12. Muzhdan to Mamu, .... 
 
 14.9 
 
 
 12.4 
 
 14. Halt. 
 
 
 15. Galachah to Khwaja Ali, . 
 
 57.0 
 
 16-18. Halt. 
 
 
 Total, 
 
 223.9 
 
 Oct. 19. Khwaja Ali to Landi Barech, . 
 
 17.8 
 
 20. Landi Barech to Rudbar, . 
 
 13.1 
 
 21. Rudbar to Khaju, .... 
 
 19.5 
 
 22. Khaju to Chahar-burjak, . 
 
 17.3 
 
 23. Chahar-burjak to Kalah-i-fath, 
 
 23.9 
 
 24. Halt. 
 
 
 25. Kalah-i-fath to Padha-i-Sultan, 
 
 11.5 
 
 26. Padha-i-Sultan to Deh-i-Kamran, 
 
 15.6 
 
 27. Deh-i-Kamran to Deh-i-dadi, 
 
 12.8 
 
 28. Deh-i-dadi to Ibrahimabad, 
 
 6.7 
 
 29. Halt. 
 
 
 30. Ibrahimabad to Makbara-i-Abil, 
 
 16.5 
 
 31. Makbara-i-Abil to Takht-i-Rustam, . 
 
 17.8 
 
 Nov. 1. Takht-i-Rustam to Panjdeh, 
 
 15.5 
 
 2. Panjdeh to Khushk Rud, . 
 
 17.5 
 
 3. Khushk Rud to Kain, 
 
 12.0 
 
 4. Kain to Ging, 
 
 21.0 
 
 5. Ging to Zehkin, .... 
 
 22.0 
 
 6. Halt. 
 
 
 7. Zehkin to Sangbur-karez, . 
 
 17.0 
 
 8. Sangbur-karez to Karez-dasht, . 
 
 23.5 
 
 9. Karez-dasht to Sar-mandal, 
 
 10.2 
 
 10. Sar-mandal to Sher Bakhsh, 
 
 20.9 
 
 11. Sher Baksh to Chah Gazak, 
 
 37.5 
 
 12. Halt. 
 
 
 13. Chah Gazak to Pahra, 
 
 17.5 
 
 14. Pahra to Zindajan, .... 
 
 21.1 
 
 15. Halt. 
 
 
 16. Zindajan to Rauzanak, 
 
 17.3 
 
 17. Rauzanak to Kuhsan, 
 
 23.0 
 
 Total, 
 
 . 448.5 
 
 Add, 
 
 . 223.9 
 
 
 672.4 
 
 Allowance of 2 per cent for deviations, 
 
 13.6 
 
 Total, 
 
 686.0
 
 156 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Thus the average length of the marches, exclusive of halts, 
 is rather over 18 miles a-day ; and, including halts, 14.6 miles. 
 The march from Khwaja Ali to Kuhsan shows an average of 
 18.2 miles excluding, and 15.23 including, halts. The latest 
 remarkable march that has been made by any British force, 
 is the now historic march of Sir Frederick Roberts's force 
 from Kabul to Kandahar in 1880. If I remember rightly, 
 that force kept up an average of 16 to 17 miles for some 
 seventeen or eighteen days. It was composed of select regi- 
 ments and corps, free of all possible impedimenta, provided 
 with mule-carriage carefully selected, and burdened with only 
 just as many followers as were indispensably necessary. On 
 the other hand, the Mission is composed of at least two fol- 
 lowers to each fighting man, is hampered with an average of 
 four maunds of stores, baggage, and tentage per man, and is 
 provided with camel transport. Sir Frederick Roberta's force 
 was traversing a route of which every inch had been sur- 
 veyed, and which had been recently marched over by many 
 of the troops forming it, whereas the Mission has followed a 
 route practically unknown. The latter, however, found its 
 supplies ready collected for it; indeed, without such an 
 arrangement its march would have been impossible. 
 
 During this long journey two remarkable forced inarches 
 have been made, on both occasions owing to the absence of 
 water : firstly, 58 miles from Galachah to Khwaja Ali ; and 
 secondly, of about 60 miles from Sar-mandal to Chah Gazak, 
 the above distances being in both cases covered within 
 thirty-seven hours, and that, too, not over macadamised roads, 
 but across a desert deep in sand, and a hilly undulating tract 
 of country. Not only do the troops of the escort merit every 
 praise for their endurance of fatigue and their cheerful per- 
 formance of heavy picket, guard, and rear-guard duties, but 
 also for their almost unprecedented discipline and good con- 
 duct. Not a single complaint of any sort has been preferred 
 against them by the inhabitants of the districts through which 
 the Mission has passed. The humble follower is wont to be 
 ignored in the award of praise ; but as the burden of toil albeit 
 that he was very often given a lift on the back of a camel
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAX. 157 
 
 fell heavily also on him, let him be given his due. When he 
 reached camp, his day's work had often only begun. And of 
 all the followers, none perhaps had a rougher time of it than 
 the "kit" and the "bearer." 
 
 KHUSHK, ^th December. 
 
 Before I follow the progress of the Mission after its dis- 
 persal from Kuhsan on the 24th and 25th ultimo over the 
 face of Badkis, I must hark back to the 19th, when Sir Peter 
 Lumsdeii joined us. A detailed description of the istikbal 1 
 and the formal exchange of visits between the British Com- 
 missioner and the Afghan officials, Sardar Mohammad Sarwar 
 Khan Naib-ul-hukuma and Kazi Saad-ud-din, are unneces- 
 sary. It was but a repetition of what occurred on the 14th 
 and 15th November at Zindajan the same formalities, the 
 same personages to a great extent, and the same display of 
 varicoloured uniform exhumed from the depths of trunks 
 expressly for the occasion. General Lumsden was received 
 by a guard of honour of the 20th Panjab Infantry opposite 
 the durbar tent on his arrival in camp ; and on his dismount- 
 ing, all the European and native officers of the Indian section 
 were presented to him. The rest of the day or rather what 
 little of it was left after the receipt and return of the cere- 
 monial visits was devoted to consultations, doubtless re- 
 specting the future movements of the Commission. The 
 Governor of Herat and the Afghan Commissioner were of 
 course present, as it rested with them not only to carry into 
 effect any plans decided on, but also to give advice and 
 information. 
 
 However, I am steaming ahead, whereas both time and 
 method indicate " hard astern." With Sir Peter Lumsden 
 arrived Mr A. Condie Stephen, Captain Barrow, ISTawab 
 Mirza Hasan Ali Khan, and Mr Simpson, the special artist 
 of the ' Illustrated London News.' Colonel Stewart has been 
 detained in England by ill health, but it is just possible that 
 
 1 Istikbal is the oriental ceremony of going out to meet an arrival. The 
 rank of the personage that heads the istikbal, the size of the escort, and the 
 distance to which it goes out, are in proportion to the rank of the person 
 arriving.
 
 158 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 he may join us later. It is undoubtedly to be regretted that he 
 is not with the Commission, as of course his prolonged resi- 
 dence in this vicinity has given him an intimate acquaintance 
 with the country, and the advice and information he could 
 have at once afforded would have been of service. We had ex- 
 pected to find Mr Herbert, one of the attaches of the Legation at 
 Teheran, with General Lumsden. Illness, however, compelled 
 him to turn back from Sabzawar or thereabouts. Of the 
 universal courtesy and hospitality experienced by the Com- 
 missioner and his party in Persia, the public has already been 
 informed through the columns of the press. Eeceived at 
 Enzelli by a Persian official specially deputed by the Shah, 
 lodged and entertained in the Shah's own seaside residence 
 there, conveyed to Teheran in one of the Shah's own royal 
 carriages, and on his arrival there granted a personal inter- 
 view in which every mark of goodwill and cordiality was 
 displayed what more could a monarch do ? Could courtesy 
 go further ? Admitted, it could not. Yet, what a pity that 
 Persia should be so enslaved to Russian behests arid Russian 
 interests, that it has not the pluck to raise a little finger in 
 self-defence ! What a chance to let slip ! Here we see Eng- 
 land and Afghanistan uniting to check the aggression of 
 Russia, and we know that Persia's true interests are identical 
 with theirs. And yet Persia stands aloof silent and neutral. 
 What can be the motive of such a policy, if not Russian pres- 
 sure ? And what is the bribe that Russia holds out to Persia 
 to allay its apprehensions while it stealthily undermines its 
 power ? What compensation has it promised to it for the 
 territory out of which it has wheedled or coerced it on its 
 northern frontier ? With what golden apple is it seducing 
 it from the path of wisdom and foresight, while it quietly 
 spreads its network of military force around the north-eastern 
 angle of its dominions ? Is it Herat and Kandahar the re- 
 vival of the glorious days of the Suffavean dynasty, and the 
 transient triumphs of Nadir Shah that are held out as a 
 bait to the fourth monarch of the Kajar tribe ? Let him not 
 put his faith in princes. An oriental potentate, if any, should 
 believe in that proverb.
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAX. 159 
 
 Certain it is that the Persian officials were courteous in a 
 marked degree. At Mashhad the Commission were housed 
 in splendid tents in a garden outside the town reserved for 
 their sole use, and on their arrival some of the cooks of 
 the Governor of Khorasan, Abdul- Wahhab Khan, Asaf-ud- 
 daulah, were sent down to prepare their breakfast, and 
 the Governor's own band discoursed sweet music during the 
 repast. This is progress. We may still hope to dine at a 
 Persian regimental mess, to the strains of a Persian regi- 
 mental band ; and if only some pious Mohammedan could un- 
 earth an original and authentic copy of the Koran, in which 
 those verses condemning the most moderate addiction to the 
 juice of the grape (even in private), and extending to all good 
 Mussulmans the Jewish abhorrence for the flesh of the pig, 
 could not be found, the one barrier which prevents the 
 Mohammedan from being a thorough good fellow and boon 
 companion would be removed. We all know very well how 
 little at heart and in private life educated Mussulmans are 
 fettered by the trammels of their religion. A very large 
 number of them, while outwardly conforming to the precepts 
 of their faith, make no secret of their deistic or atheistic 
 beliefs. And as for abstention from intoxicating liquors, it is 
 a law observed more in the spirit than in the letter. The 
 accursed Jew and the abject Armenian make the wine, and 
 the worthy Mussulman drinks it in the privacy of his own 
 chamber. I must admit that the Mussulman is rigid on the 
 subject of pork. But then I doubt if he ever read Elia's 
 "Dissertation on Roast Pig." 
 
 Sir Peter Lumsden reached Mashhad on the 31st October, 
 and stayed there two days, starting on 2d November for 
 Sarakhs, which was reached on the 8th. Captain Barrow 
 surveyed the road from Mashhad to Sarakhs. For the first 
 two marches inhabited villages and cultivated fields were 
 passed ; but during the five remaining marches nothing but 
 a depopulated jungle (though capable of cultivation, and in 
 former times actually cultivated) was seen. This, of course, 
 is the work of the Turkomans, who for years past have raided 
 almost up to the walls of Mashhad. New Sarakhs is a fort and
 
 160 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 town on the left bank of the Hari Eud, garrisoned by some 400 
 or 500 Persian troops. The river-bed here is about half a mile 
 wide and quite dry, though a few miles below i.e, northward 
 the water reappears. Ten miles south of Sarakhs is a dam 
 whence water is turned off both to New Sarakhs and the 
 Russian camp between Old Sarakhs and the river-bed. The 
 Russians could at any moment destroy this dam and rob 
 New Sarakhs of its water-supply. The Russian force there 
 consists of some 600 men housed in kibitkas. There is 
 also an outpost of 60 infantry lodged in reed-shanties at 
 Pul-i-Khatun. When Sir P. Lumsden arrived, both General 
 Komaroff, the Governor of the Russian trans-Caspian province, 
 and Colonel Alikhanoff were there. Visits were exchanged 
 between Mr Stephen and Colonel Alikhanoff, but General 
 Komaroff avoided a meeting with the British Commissioner. 1 
 General Zelenoy was not there. Mr Simpson, who was not 
 fettered by any diplomatic ties, crossed the Hari Rud bed 
 to the Russian camp, and called on General Komaroff to 
 ask permission to make some sketches in the neighbour- 
 hood. These you will see in due time in the ' Illustrated.' 
 General Komaroff received him courteously, and invited 
 him to stop and see some Cossack dances which were 
 being performed by the Cossacks of the garrison for the 
 edification of their officers. This garrison is composed 
 of regular Russian infantry, Cossacks, and irregular cav- 
 alry recruited from among the Tekke and Akhal Turko- 
 mans. So the Russians are already beginning to utilise their 
 Turkoman subjects for military purposes. They are very 
 handy fellows, well mounted, hardy, require no tents or com- 
 missariat, graze their horses anywhere, and can make very 
 long marches. The Jamshidi irregulars in the Amir's service 
 are just the same stamp of troops. Two troops (risalas) of 
 them furnish our escorts, and several more were in the train 
 of the Naib-ul-hukuma. See them arrive at the camping- 
 
 1 The arrival of Sir P. Lumsden at New Sarakhs, while Komaroff was 
 encamped at Old Sarakhs, appears to have produced nothing but unpleasant- 
 ness. The Russian and English journals each accuse the opposite party of 
 gross discourtesy and insolence.
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 161 
 
 ground, picket their horses all over the valley to graze, and 
 bivouac under the canopy of heaven. These are just the 
 stamp of men to operate in. a desolate tract like Badkis ; and 
 if the Eussians should prove unable to inarch a force of 
 regulars of all arms across Badkis to Herat, they would find 
 no difficulty in despatching several thousands of these Tur- 
 komans across it to co-operate with regulars moving along 
 the banks of the Murghab and the Hari Paid. Vambery is 
 pleased to libel the Chahar Airnak, as being turbulent and 
 likely to give rise to disputes with the neighbouring Turko- 
 mans under Kussian rule, thereby endangering the durability 
 of the frontier soon about to be denned, Vambery evidently 
 knows but little about these tribes, which show themselves 
 more tractable than the Afghans and Turkomans. 
 
 Sir Peter Lumsden left Sarakhs on the llth, and reached 
 Kuhsan on the 19th, being escorted from Mashhad to the 
 latter place by a troop of Persian cavalry. Supplies for his 
 party were laid out by the Persian Government as far as the 
 Stoi Pass, and beyond that by the Afghans. Mr Finn, of the 
 Legation at Teheran, who takes Colonel Stewart's place during 
 his absence on sick-leave, left the party on the Perso-Afghan 
 frontier and returned to Mashhad. The road from Xew Sarakhs 
 to Kuhsan was surveyed by Captain Barrow. It is in a very 
 bad state of repair, in some places barely passable for mules 
 and ponies. Its banks are absolutely depopulated. Kuined 
 forts and caravanserais and deserted villages were the only 
 proof that there ever had been people settled here. In one 
 or two places a few tufangchis (sort of armed police) were 
 found. The stages were : 
 
 Miles. 
 
 1. Sarakhs to Naurozabad, . . . . . 16 
 
 2. Naurozabad to Pul-i-Kliatun, .... 22 
 
 3. Pul-i-Khatun to Khoja Sahm-ud-din, . . 24 
 
 4. Khoja Sahm-ud-din to Gaular, .... 8 
 
 5. Gaular to Stoi, . . . . . . . 17 
 
 6. Stoi to Tuti-darakht, 19 
 
 7. Tuti-darakht to Du-ab, Hi 
 
 8. Du-ab to Toman Aka, 17 
 
 9. Toman. Aka to Kuhsan, 16 
 
 Total, . . . .155 
 L
 
 162 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 As this route is of some strategical importance, I will enter 
 into a fuller description. As I have before said, the Russians 
 hold Pul-i-Khatun at the junction of the Keshef with the 
 Hari Eud, and they thus dominate two lines of advance on 
 Mashhad. Near Pul-i-Khatun the country on the left bank 
 of the river is low and undulating, whereas the right bank is 
 bordered by high ground, which both conceals the movements 
 of troops behind and enables a force occupying it to observe 
 all the movements of troops manoeuvring on the opposite side 
 of the river. South of Pul-i-Khatun the road crosses a very 
 rugged pass a pass, indeed, so rugged as to be completely im- 
 passable to wheeled artillery or transport. In its present 
 condition it imposes an effectual barrier to the advance of an 
 army marching on Herat. But if the Eussians are allowed to 
 remain at Pul-i-Khatun, it cannot be doubted that they will 
 take an early opportunity of setting their engineers to work 
 to improve this road. 1 From Pul-i-Khatun to the Zulfikar 
 Pass the right bank is bordered by a sheer precipice some 150 
 to 200 feet in height, rendering the river inaccessible. Such 
 a feature is of course a disadvantage to a force advancing to 
 attack Herat, as it would prevent any co-operation between 
 a force on the left and a force on the right bank. At Gaular 
 the road leaves the river and crosses the eastern spurs of the 
 Jam range. Twenty-five miles from Gaular the top of the 
 Stoi Pass, 4000 feet above the bed of the Hari Eud, is 
 reached. This pass is impassable for any animals but horses, 
 mules, and ponies. From the top of the pass to Tuti-darakht 
 (11 miles) the descent is continuous. Three miles beyond 
 Du-ab the road rejoins the Hari Eud at a place named 
 Kaman-i-bihisht, and at Toman Aka crosses the river into 
 Afghan territory. 
 
 Kuhsan is a large straggling village, containing a ruined 
 madrasa (said to have been founded by the same grand- 
 daughter of Taimur Lang commonly called Tamerlane 
 who built the bridge at Pul-i-Khatun), a tolerably strong fort 
 
 1 It is reported that they are now (May 1886) improving the communica- 
 tions southward, from Pul-i-Khatun on the right, if not also on the left, bank 
 of the Hari Rud.
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 163 
 
 surrounded by a wide and deep moat, a considerable number 
 of dwellings, whether tenanted or deserted, and a large area 
 of walled gardens and fields. We were all glad to obtain 
 here a plentiful supply of dried lucerne for our horses, who 
 for some weeks had been fed solely on Ihoosa (chopped straw) 
 and barley. The unusual cold of the weather from the 15th 
 to 20th November created a great demand for warm clothing 
 for servants and horses a demand of which the Herat! 
 traders took every advantage. Since the 21st November we 
 have enjoyed comparatively mild and pleasant weather. The 
 banks of the Hari End for some miles above and below 
 Kuhsan are thickly overgrown with poplars, many of which 
 had been previously felled to provide our camp with firewood, 
 a plentiful supply of which during the intense cold was a 
 godsend to all. In this jungle, they say, tigers were found 
 not many years ago. The area of land under cultivation 
 around Kuhsan is very considerable. Some nine miles west 
 of Kuhsan is situated the fort named Kafir - Kalah, till 
 recently claimed by the Persian Government. The Afghan 
 frontier outpost is now there, the Persian being at Kariz. 
 
 Although Kuhsan is not a lively place, we all of us 
 thoroughly enjoyed our week's rest from the 18th to the 
 24th. When I say rest, I do not mean idleness, but emanci- 
 pation from daily marching and rising before cock-crow. We 
 had nothing to shoot, though a solitary woodcock was seen. 
 Nearer Herat large flocks of duck, teal, and sand-grouse 
 promised excellent sport had we had leisure. However, we 
 had plenty to do for the first four or five days. How to 
 keep warm was a problem we all strove hard to solve, and 
 I doubt if many of us were successful. When General 
 Lumsden arrived on the 19th, the arrangements and prepara- 
 tions for our future movements commenced. The officers 
 of the Intelligence Department made excursions to Kafir- 
 Kalah and Ghorian, and those of the Survey were busy com- 
 pleting their past work and preparing for the future. Every 
 one had arrears of official and private work to pull up. The 
 Commissariat, with becoming unselfishness, was busy provid- 
 ing warm clothing for us all, while every individual was
 
 164 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 solely absorbed in protecting " No. 1 " from the bitter cold. 
 On the 22d and 23d, when the routes and movements of the 
 several parties had been decided, commenced the work of the 
 Transport. No doubt the prime cause of the discontent and 
 insubordination of the camel owners and drivers may be 
 traced to the treatment they experienced the Quetta men 
 at the hands of the contractor Abdullah Khan, and those of 
 Anardara, Sabzawar, and Herat at the hands of the Afghan 
 officials. The nominal rate of hire of all the camels engaged 
 was Rs. 35 a-month ; but it is very certain that the owners 
 themselves, especially the Afghan owners, received but a 
 modicum of this exorbitantly high charge. That an oppor- 
 tunity of fleecing the wealthy British Government should be 
 thrown away was out of the question, but that the humble 
 camel-owner should be allowed to take the wool could not 
 be tolerated for a moment. No: the fountain-head of our 
 troubles about transport must be sought for in higher and 
 more favoured circles. If the camel-owner himself could 
 have got Es. 35 a-month he would have gone with us to the 
 antipodes. And what camels ! The Quetta contractor, with 
 all his faults and shortcomings, at least gave us fine full- 
 grown animals ; but of the condition and capabilities of the 
 transport that replaced them at Kuhsan well, the less said 
 the better. Their physical inferiority, however, might have 
 been excused if their owners had evinced a reasonable 
 tractability of disposition. So discontented, however, were 
 they with the terms on which they had been engaged or 
 impressed by the Afghan officials, and so averse were they 
 to the kind of employment for which they were destined, 
 that their obstructive tactics very nearly obliged the Com- 
 mission to postpone its departure beyond the 25th. On the 
 morning of the 24th, General Lumsden's party, consisting of 
 Mr A. Condie Stephen, Captains Durand. Barrow, and De 
 Laessoe, Major Holdich and Mr Simpson, and Mirza Hasan 
 Ali Khan, with an escort of 50 lances under Captain Heath, 
 and Surgeon Charles in medical charge, being provided with 
 mule and pony transport, started for Panjdeh. It was in- 
 tended that Captains Gore, Maitland, and Peacocke, and
 
 FROM HERAT TO KUHSAN. 165 
 
 Lieutenant the Honourable M. G. Talbot, with the Survey 
 and Intelligence parties, under an escort of Jainshidi Irregular 
 Horse, should start at the same time. However, no sooner 
 did the owners of the camels intended for their use ascertain 
 the work for which they had been told off, than they refused 
 point-blank to move one step. Persuasion availed nothing. 
 The men left their camels and started off with their bundles 
 of kit towards Herat. Afghan sowars had to be sent to bring 
 them back, and it was then ascertained that they had only 
 accepted the terms offered them by the Afghan officials on 
 the condition that they should go straight to Khushk with 
 Colonel Ridgeway's party, and there be dismissed. Con- 
 sequently the loads had to be taken off their camels and 
 reloaded on others, and it was late in the afternoon before 
 the Survey and Intelligence parties got under way. In 
 the meantime the Quetta contractor had been playing a 
 pretty fast-and-loose sort of game a game a la Fabius 
 Cunctator, with the addition of lies and false promises. The 
 shades of night on the 24th closed in, and his promised camels 
 were still " grazing in the jungle." Dawn on the 25th 
 produced the same answer ; and finally it was decided that 
 Colonel Ridgeway's party, consisting of the main bodies of 
 the cavalry and infantry escorts, Captain Yate and Mr Merk, 
 Dr Aitchison, Captain Griesbach, Major Rind, Lieutenant 
 Yate, and Dr Weir, with Dr Owen in medical charge, should 
 march at once, leaving the heavy baggage at Kuhsan in charge 
 of Ressaldar-Major Baha-ud-din and an Afghan escort until 
 transport for them could be obtained from Herat. In the 
 meantime Ressaldar Faiz Mahomed Khan, the official deputed 
 by Kazi Saad-ud-din, who accompanied General Lumsden, to 
 remain in attendance on Colonel Ridgeway, had sent off 
 sowars post-haste towards Herat both to stop and bring back 
 the Quetta camels, and procure others if necessary. They 
 succeeded so well that the heavy baggage was able to start 
 from Kuhsan on the morning of the 26th, overtaking Colonel 
 Ridgeway's party the same evening at Chashma-i-sabz.
 
 166 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 
 
 KHWAJA KALANDAR, NEAR KHCSHK, 
 5th December. 
 
 IT is nearly a fortnight since the Commission split up into 
 four parties of varying sizes with varied objects, and in 
 another ten days the majority of us will be reassembled in 
 winter-quarters. Chahar Sharnba is the place originally fixed 
 on at Kuhsan, but now I hear vague rumours that the odds 
 on Bala Murghab are improving. It is said that the latter 
 place is warmer, but the former affords more supplies. For 
 the past three days we have received warning from the 
 weather that the winter is nigh. Heavy low clouds, and 
 rain like a Scotch mist, with a damp chilly atmosphere and 
 frost at night, have not added to the joys of life. To-day, 
 as we marched from Khushk to Khwaja Kalandar, we saw 
 snow lying on the range of hills distant some miles to our 
 right i.e., to the south, for our course up the Khushk Eud 
 ran east or south of east. Bala Murghab has, we learned at 
 Khushk, been occupied by a settlement of 1000 (some say 500) 
 families of Jamshidis from the latter place under Aminullah 
 Khan, third son of the late chief, Khan Aga, whom Ayub 
 Khan, unjustifiably it would seem, put to death in 1881. 
 It is said that even that severe and impolitic act has not 
 alienated from him (Ayub Khan) the loyalty and sympathy 
 of the Jamshidis. This statement, however, may be received 
 with caution. Whether, however, the Jamshidis are faithful 
 adherents of Amir Abdur Eahman or not, they obey his
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MUEGHAB. 167 
 
 behests, and are now cultivating Bala Murghab, which for 
 some years had been deserted. Similarly, Aminullah Khan, 
 second son of Khan Aga, was installed last year as Gov- 
 ernor of Panjdeh. By a recent order of the Amir, Amiii- 
 ullah Khan has been replaced by Yalantush Khan. The 
 occupation of Panjdeh, the headquarters of the Saruk 
 Turkomans, and of Bala Murghab by Afghan troops, is un- 
 doubtedly a counter-stroke to the aggressive movements of 
 Russia, and not improbably the outcome of suggestions made 
 by a Government which is pledged to exclude Russian in- 
 fluence from Afghanistan. The Saruk Turkomans, alarmed 
 by the annexation of Merv, sent envoys more than a year ago 
 to Herat imploring Afghan protection. The despatch of 
 Yalantush Khan was the response. There is not much doubt 
 that the Russian Government, whether as the dominant power 
 in Turkistan and over the great majority of Turkomans, or as 
 the suzerain of the Amir of Bokhara, whose ancestors have 
 now and again extended their frontiers to Maimena and 
 Panjdeh, or even farther south, will advance a claim to all 
 territory now occupied by Turkomans and Uzbeks. However, 
 it seems equally improbable that the Government, w r ho is 
 taking up the cudgels on behalf of the Amir of Afghanistan, 
 will be disposed to admit any such claim ; and indeed, both 
 on the ground of prescriptive right and present possession, 
 the Afghan claim is so strong as scarcely to admit of being 
 overruled. 1 
 
 General Lumsden's party must have reached Panjdeh 
 three or four days ago. The Governor of Herat encamped 
 at Tutuchi on the 29th ultimo when we were there, and on 
 the 30th marched for Kara-tapa to join the General. On 
 the 27th, as we stood on the top of a high peak above the 
 pass by which we crossed the so-called Paropamisus (known 
 locally as the Kuh-i-Kaitu) from Chashma-i-sabz to Asiab- 
 dev, we then saw the Governor and his escort crossing the 
 dasM from Ghorian. When I say we saw them, I mean we 
 saw the dust they raised. Crossing the Paropamisus by the 
 same pass as we did, they marched parallel to and between 
 
 1 Might, however, has overruled right.
 
 168 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 us and that range, crossing our route at Tutuchi. Desolate 
 as Badkis is now, it has yet, at least near the Paropamisus, 
 a water-supply ample for drinking purposes, though not large 
 enough to irrigate more than a small area of land. This 
 latter point, however, in a country where rain -crops are 
 extensively grown (as, for instance, at Khushk, where the 
 tops and slopes of the hills on either bank are cultivated, 
 and also, I am told, at Bala Murghab and Maimena) is of 
 no great moment. I am, of course, speaking in particular 
 of the country we traversed north of, and parallel to, the 
 Paropamisus, and distant therefrom some 15 to 20 miles. 
 Every few miles a stream crossed our path a spring of 
 delicious, cool, clear, sparkling water, the purity of the 
 appearance of which, however, was often spoiled by the 
 black soil of the channel. In fact, the soil is simply preg- 
 nant with springs, and ready to give birth to them on the 
 smallest provocation. A few turns of a spade would, I 
 think, be the only human assistance required ; nature would 
 do the rest. Plentiful, however, as is the water here, it is 
 not so with food and fodder. These latter are nil, except 
 grazing. All our supplies and those for the General's party 
 and the Naib-ul-hukuma and his suite had to be sent from 
 Herat, Khushk, and Kalah-i-nau. Although the country for 
 20 or 30 miles to the north of the Paropamisus is fairly well 
 supplied with water, there is little or none beyond that, ex- 
 cept on the route from Gulran via Kangruali and Adam 
 Yulan to Pul-i-Khatun. Consequently the movement of 
 regular troops across it would be a matter of some diffi- 
 culty. The irregular horse of the neighbouring districts, 
 be they Turkoman, Afghan, or of the Chahar Aimak tribes, 
 independent as they are of commissariat, think little of 
 traversing its arid tracts. Possibly, also, the Cossack would 
 find it no obstacle to his movements. 
 
 CAMP KOKCHAIL, 6th December. 
 
 I to-day heard of the arrival of Sir Peter Lumsden near 
 Panjdeh, on the 2d instant. His marches are as follows :
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MU11GHAB. 169 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Nov. 24. Kulisan to Chashma-i-sabz, ... 23 
 
 ,, 25. Chashma-i-sabz to Asiab-clev, . . . 10j 
 
 26. Asiab-dev to Karabagh, .... 8 
 
 27. Karabagh to Tutuchi, 10 
 
 28. Tutuchi to Kara-tapa, .... 29 
 
 29. Kara-tapa to Chaman-i-bed, . . . 17| 
 
 30. Chaman-i-bed to Kalab-i-maur, . . . 20.} 
 
 Dec. 1. Kalah-i-maur to Burj-i-Auzar Khan, . . 9 
 
 2. Burj-i-Auzar Khan to Pul-i-khishti, . . 19 
 
 Total, .... 146J 
 
 As far as Tutuchi, General Lumsclen's and Colonel Eidge- 
 way's parties followed the same route. At Kara-tapa the 
 former entered the valley of the Khushk and followed it 
 thence to Pul-i-khishti (the bridge of bricks, not Pul-i-kishti, 
 or bridge of boats, as printed in the latest Survey map), where 
 it flows into the Murghab. In the Khushk valley numbers of 
 enormous pigs were seen, and four speared. We, however, 
 saw neither pigs nor their traces near Khushk and between 
 that place and Khwaja Kalandar, although their traces were 
 seen on the banks of a small stream during our inarch into 
 Khushk on 2d December. Since we crossed the Paropamisus 
 we have been traversing a country that affords by no means 
 a poor field to the sportsman. The big game showed itself 
 most wild and wary ; but that is to be expected in a country 
 where every man carries a gun and most men are sportsmen. 
 When we were at Chashma-i-sabz, south of the Paropamisus, 
 a report came in that some twenty Turkomans were hanging 
 about the northern spurs of that range in pursuit of the wild 
 ass (gur or gurakhar), a rumour that came near being ex- 
 aggerated into a scare of an alaman. The origin of this 
 word alaman, applied to a party of Turkoman raiders, is 
 perhaps not generally known. It is an Arabic term, signi- 
 fying, in this case at least, very much the same as sauve qui 
 pent. It is the cry of, and warning raised by, the terrified 
 traveller or peasant surprised on the road or in the field, 
 and seeing no escape from death or lifelong slavery. And 
 finally, the term expressing the effect was applied to the
 
 170 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 cause. But to revert to the wild denizens of Badkis : we 
 saw large herds of antelope, but so wild that no one could 
 get within 200 yards of them, if so near. A few uriyal 
 (wild sheep), here called mull or kuch, were observed at a 
 distance. Very fine specimens of their horns were seen in 
 some of the ziarats. In the Ziarat-i-laglag-khana, near 
 Khushk, I saw a fine pair of horns which strongly resembled 
 those of the Barahsinga of Cashmere, though others have 
 suggested that they are those of the Siberian stag. Wolves 
 and foxes we saw, but the ruggedness of the country gave 
 dogs no chance after them. We were all particularly keen 
 to see a wild ass, but fortune did not favour us. The leopard 
 is said to haunt the Paropamisus, and the tiger the jungles of 
 the Khushk and Murghab valleys. Of small game, the ckikore 
 (red-legged partridge) was found in abundance on any rocky 
 slopes near a stream ; snipe on every bit of marshy ground ; 
 duck, teal, and geese]near Khushk ; and the siyah-sina, or black- 
 breasted sand-grouse, was frequently seen in large flocks. 
 
 I must, however, turn from the trivial theme of game, big 
 or small, to the more weighty subject of the movements and 
 interests of the Commission. It is evident that the lower 
 classes of the Afghans and Chahar Aimak by no means com- 
 prehend the object for which a British Commission has been 
 sent here. It is not to be expected they should. I was 
 asked the other day by a Jamshidi what our little escort 
 would do if the Eussians wanted to fight. Had I been 
 prone to oriental figures of speech, or versed in oriental 
 veracity, I should have replied that one Briton was a match 
 for a score of Eussians, and that, supported by the indomi- 
 table valour of the Jamshidis, we would, InshallaJi, make 
 the Eussian bite the dust. Being a simple Englishman, I 
 said that neither we nor the Eussians had at present come 
 here to fight with the deadly arms of war, though doubtless 
 those wily weapons of intrigue and diplomacy, the tongue 
 and the pen, would find their work cut out for them. My 
 interrogator did not deem this answer satisfactory, for he 
 again persisted, " But suppose the Eussians insist on fight-
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MUEGHAB. 171 
 
 ing at once." l Seeing that a lengthy exposition of Eussian 
 policy would not be likely to convince my companion, I told 
 him that in that case he would soon see some thousands of 
 British troops where now there were but a few hundreds. 
 If the ideas of one man may be held to represent those of 
 the generality, two inferences may be drawn from this con- 
 versation : firstly, that the inhabitants of this country would 
 not view with disfavour the presence of a strong British force 
 here as a protection against Eussian aggression ; and secondly, 
 that they deem such a force necessary, and are surprised to 
 see nothing but a weak escort. 
 
 There is a report current which may explain why the 
 inhabitants of these districts anticipate some resort to force. 
 Some two weeks ago information reached Ghaus-ud-din, the 
 Afghan General commanding at Bala Murghab, through 
 Yalantush Khan, Governor of Panjdeh, that Alikhanoff (here 
 always called Ali Khan) was advancing with a body of troops 
 to occupy the last-named place. The Afghan General, with 
 laudable energy and promptitude, started off, accompanied by 
 all his cavalry, with a foot-soldier seated behind each trooper, 
 for Panjdeh (at the same time sending off special messengers 
 to the Naib-ul-hukuma and Kazi Saad-ud-din), and on arrival 
 there found Alikhanoff near Pul-i-khishti. He at once wrote 
 to ask Alikhanoff's intentions, intimating that if he wished to 
 fight, he was quite prepared to resist him. Alikhanoff. finding 
 that he was too late, then withdrew. If this story be true, 
 then it would appear that Alikhanoff, who is said to have been 
 at Sarakhs on the 8th when General Lumsden arrived there, 
 must have started for Panjdeh soon after the latter left for 
 Kuhsan. We furthermore see in this occurrence, firstly, a 
 specimen of the manoeuvres by which the members of the 
 Eussian Commission hope to outwit the British ; and 
 secondly, a practical proof of the determination of the 
 Afghan to manfully resist Eussian aggression and to be 
 
 1 Circumstances have proved that the untutored Jamshidi more accurately 
 forecast the future than all the sapience of a Ministry headed by Mr Gladstone 
 and Lord Granville.
 
 172 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 our true friends and allies. If it be also true that the 
 Sarakh Turkomans solicited Afghan protection, the Russian 
 claim to Panjdeh has not a leg to stand on. Of the feeling 
 of the Uzbek population at and around Maimena I have as 
 yet heard nothing ; but, judging by the antipathy of the 
 Jamshidis and the Turkomans at Panjdeh, and the rumoured 
 discontent of the Tekkes at Merv, not to mention that their 
 status under Afghan rule is far more independent than it 
 would be under Russian, it is not unreasonable to conclude 
 that the generous offer of Russian suzerainty and protection 
 will, if made, meet with but a lukewarm reception, if not a 
 downright refusal. 
 
 Of the four tribes of the Chahar Aimak, Jamshidis, Hazaras, 
 Tainianis, and Firuzkuhis, the two former alone occupy terri- 
 tory adjacent to the probable frontier of the future. Of the 
 distribution of the Jamshidis and Hazaras, as we are or have 
 been in their midst, I will give a few details. The head- 
 quarters of the Jamshidi tribe is at Khushk, in which town 
 and in the adjacent villages scattered eastward along the 
 banks of the Khushk or among the neighbouring hills, and 
 thence northward to the Kotal-i-Zinda-hasham, which we 
 crossed on to-day's march, and which is the boundary-line 
 between the Jamshidi and Hazara country, the population is 
 estimated at about 2000 families. Add to this the 1000 
 already mentioned as located at Bala Murghab, and some 500 
 to 1000 families said to be resident in or around Herat. The 
 eldest son of Khan Aga, Haidar Kuli Khan, resides in Herat. 
 He is said to be a man of no ability or influence, and was 
 hence supplanted in the chieftainship by the second son, 
 Yalantush Khan, on whom the Amir bestowed the title of 
 Amin-ud-daulah when he sent him recently to occupy and 
 govern Panjdeh. The fortified residence of the chief of the 
 clan is situated in the town of Khushk. Wali Mohammed 
 Khan, nephew and son-in-law of Khan Aga, at present resid- 
 ing there, visited Colonel Ridgeway during our halt. This 
 family is said to be connected by matrimonial ties both with 
 Ayub Khan and Musa Jan. The reigning or aspiring rulers 
 of Afghanistan have a simple and popular method of con-
 
 KUHSAX TO BALA MURGHAB. 173 
 
 dilating to themselves chiefs of whose allegiance they are 
 doubtful, by taking to wife one of their near female relatives. 
 Such a method, however, when counterbalanced by the assas- 
 sination of the chief himself, is apt to fail in its object. The 
 chief of the Hazaras, Mohammed Khan, Nizam-ud-daulah, 
 with another brother, Mohammed Kuli Khan, is now living 
 at Kalah-i-nau, the chief town of the tribe. Of the two other 
 brothers, one, Sher Mohammed Khan, is said to be with the 
 IsTaib-ul-hukuma, and the other, Mahmud Khan, with the 
 Amir at Kabul. The two latter are no doubt retained as 
 hostages for the fidelity of the tribe. From the top of the 
 Kotal-i-Zinda-hasham, which lies some 12 or 15 miles east 
 of Kushk, we looked north-east over the country populated by 
 these Hazaras. 1 
 
 1 The Hazaras are not, properly speaking, one of the four tribes of the Cha- 
 har Aimak, who consist of the Taimuris. Jamshidis, Firuzkuhis, and Taimanis. 
 The Hazaras of Kalah-i-nau, Badkis, Bakharz, and Mashhad are of the same 
 origin as the Barbari Hazaras of the Hazarajat and the Kuhistan of Kabul. The 
 features of both are exactly alike, being of the Mongolian type. They differ 
 only in their religion, the Barbaris being Shias and the others Sunnis. The 
 manners, customs, and language of both are identical. In the time of Sultan 
 Abu Said Saljuki (i.e., some 700 or 800 years ago) the Hazaras revolted. That 
 monarch attacked them, and carrying off 1000 families of them as hostages, 
 settled them in the district of Herat. Hence their name from hazar ( = 1000). 
 During the early part of the reign of the present Shah of Persia, Nasir-ud-din, 
 owing to their population having abnormally increased, several thousand 
 families migrated westward. At first they settled near Isfiraz, in the western 
 part of Khorasan. Afterwards they spread hither and thither, and now some 
 dwell in the Bakliarz district, near Muhsinabad, and others (about 800 families) 
 at Kana-gusha and Kana-bait, near Mashhad. It is estimated that there are 
 not more than 1100 or 1200 families of Hazaras now dwelling in Persian territory. 
 The western Hazaras are divided into the two main branches of Deh-zangi 
 and Deh-kundi. The former is said to number some 2500 families and to have 
 no subdivisions. The latter has many subdivisions (the names of about forty 
 are known), and numbers, it is said, from 7000 to 8000 families. The Deh- 
 zangis are also found settled in the Hazarajat between Daulatyar and Kabul. 
 Of the Deh-kundis, it is said the majority dwell near Herat and Kalah-i-nau, 
 and the remainder in Khorasan. The chief of those at Kalah-i-nau is Moham- 
 med Khan, Nizam-ud-daulah ; of those near Herat, Ahmed Kuli Khan, son of 
 Sikandar Khan ; and of those in Khorasan, Yusuf Khan Begler-begi. The 
 latter is said to be 100 years old, has the rank of Amir-i-panj, and lives at 
 Muhsinabad. He has four sons, of whom the most influential is Ismail Khan. 
 Owing to his father's age and infirmity he now practically rules the Khorasan 
 section, residing at Kana-gusha and Kara-bait, near Mashhad. His brother, 
 Gul Mohammed Khan, resides in Bakliarz, and rules that district on his behalf.
 
 174 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 General Lumsden, on his approach to Panjdeh, accompanied 
 by the Governor of Herat and the Afghan Commissioner, was 
 received by the Governor and the General commanding the 
 Aniir's forces there with the honours due to his rank and 
 position. The reception accorded to him is said to have been 
 in all respects cordial and amicable. The troops were drawn 
 up in two lines, the first consisting of a regiment of infantry 
 600 strong, with two brass mule-battery guns on their right, 
 and the second of a regiment of cavalry 400 strong. A salute 
 was fired. It is not stated whether General Lumsden was 
 asked to inspect them, as Colonel Eidgeway was asked to do 
 and did near Ghorian. But none the less, to see Afghan 
 troops parading for and saluting a British general is an im- 
 portant point of departure in the history of our relations with 
 Afghanistan. 
 
 PADDA-I-KACH, 7th December. 
 
 Before giving a brief description of our own march from 
 Kuhsan, I desire to say a few words of the movements of the 
 Survey, Intelligence, and Geological parties that have been 
 detached. "With General Lumsden went Major Holdich, and 
 under his supervision the route from Kuhsan to Panjdeh, 
 described above, has been surveyed. It is intended also to 
 make a survey on a large scale of Panjdeh and its environs, 
 as it is considered to be an important point affording a 
 strong defensive position. The same party will conduct 
 the survey up the Murghab to Bala Murghab. I may as well 
 repeat what I mentioned three weeks ago, that native subor- 
 dinates of the Survey and Intelligence Departments left us at 
 Zindajan on the 15th ultimo to travel vid Herat and the Arda- 
 wan Pass to Bala Murghab. I have since heard that they 
 came by the Baba not Ardawan Pass. With regard to the 
 pass known as the Paband-i-Baba, between Herat and Khushk, 
 Captain Griesbach left us two days ago to cross it towards 
 
 Ismail Khan has the honorary rank of Sartip (Colonel). The two other sons, 
 Khan Baba Khan and Mohammed Raza Khan, are by a different mother and 
 have but little influence. The former usually resides in Mashhad, doubtless 
 as a sort of hostage for the fidelity and good conduct of the tribe, just as 
 Mahmud Khan resides at Kabul as security for the Hazaras of Kalah-i-nau.
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 175 
 
 Herat; and although the objects of his expedition are in the 
 main photographical and geological, 1 have little doubt that 
 he will be able to furnish some report on its condition as a 
 road for traffic and a route for troops. From a range over- 
 looking Herat he expects to obtain either a good photographic 
 view, or, with the aid of a camera lucida, a good sketch of the 
 city. That done, he turns east to the main road, and, on join- 
 ing it, retraces his steps in a north-easterly direction to Kalah- 
 i-nau, whence, if the weather and the authorities permit, he 
 makes for the Tirband-i-Turkistan, where he hopes to find 
 traces of coal. He states that the strata seen in the Paro- 
 pamisus (Kaitu) range are such as are usually seen in the 
 mountain-ranges of India overlying coal. Hitherto the geo- 
 logical features of the country \ve have passed through have 
 held out no hopes of the existence of valuable mineral deposits, 
 if we except some lead and antimony mines near Herat. The 
 main party of the Survey and Intelligence, when they left 
 us on the 24th ultimo, went to Kafir-Kalah, and thence to 
 Toman Aka, whence they commenced operations. Captain 
 Peacocke, leaving the main party, travels via the Eabat Pass, 
 Kizil-bulak, Ak-rabat, and Hauz-i-Khan, to Bala Murghab, 
 where he is timed to arrive 011 the 12th instant. He was 
 last heard of at Kizil-bulak. The main party, consisting 
 of Captains Gore and Maitland and Lieutenant the Honour- 
 able M. G. Talbot, are following in our wake (except that 
 from Toman Aka they go straight to Chashma-i-sabz, where 
 we halted on the 26th ultimo), and were last heard of at 
 Kara Bagh. They are timed to reach Bala Murghab on 
 the 22d instant. The results of Captain Peacocke's survey 
 will set at rest the question whether or not the centre 
 of Badkis has any adequate water-supply developed or 
 capable of development. 
 
 Now for our own route. On the 25th the cavalry moved 
 straight to Chashma-i-sabz, while the infantry, taking their 
 own water in mussuks and puckals, halted half - way at 
 Hauz-i-dak. It is one thing to call a place a tank (hauz), and 
 another to fill it with water. At this time of the year the 
 bottom of the tank, which is of extensive area and is evidently
 
 176 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 covered with a few inches or even a foot of water after heavy 
 rain, is admirably adapted either for a polo-ground or a race- 
 course. It was just like a billiard-table. However, had it 
 contained some water it would have served our purpose better. 
 Apropos of sports, I already hear proposals for polo and lawn- 
 tennis at our winter-quarters ; but first let us find the ground. 
 Not a few of us also have skates, but we have yet to get the 
 ice to bear. On the 26th the infantry rejoined the cavalry at 
 Chashma-i-sabz, where there is certainly a small spring of 
 water, but not that expanse of verdant turf which the name 
 leads one to expect. The waterless gravelly tract between 
 Kuhsan and Chashma-i-sabz produces a great quantity of asa- 
 foetida, the stalks and branches of which were strewn or 
 standing everywhere, as well as those of some other um- 
 belliferous plant. Chashma-i-sabz lies some 25 miles north- 
 east of Kuhsan, under the southern slopes of the Paropamisus. 
 Our march thence of about 1 1 miles over that range to Asiab- 
 dev was very trying work for our camels. It is one of the 
 stiffest passes I have seen for camels not for its ruggedness, 
 but for its prolonged steepness on both sides. I was surprised 
 to find the Paropamisus range so insignificant. Yet on the 
 16th and 17th ultimo we saw snow lying on its slopes and 
 peaks, remnants of which were found ensconced in shady 
 nooks on the north side ten days later. From a high peak to 
 the east of the pass a most extensive view of the surrounding 
 country on every side was obtained. I think I am not exag- 
 gerating if I say that we could see to a distance of 100 miles 
 in any direction : northwards to Pul-i-Khatun, Panjdeh, and 
 Bala Murghab ; west to the Jam range, beyond the Hari Rud, 
 and up the broad valley traversed by the highroad from 
 Herat to Mashhad ; southward to distant ranges, so distant 
 and so dim as to be barely discernible through a good field- 
 glass ; and eastward over the confused chaos of mountain- 
 ranges grouped around and beyond Herat. The panorama 
 lying before us to the north and north-west, between the 
 Hari Ptud and the Murghab and towards Panjdeh, presented 
 not a single range of any importance nothing but a vast 
 expanse of undulations. Without entering into details, for
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 177 
 
 which my knowledge of the country does not at present 
 qualify me, I may safely say that the future maps of Badkis, 
 based on the survey now being made, will present very 
 different features from those seen on the maps hitherto pub- 
 lished. The vegetation on the north side of the Paropamisus 
 presented a striking contrast to any we had seen before. 
 Stunted junipers grow here and there on the steep slopes ; 
 and in the nullahs, wherever the water was near to or ex- 
 uding from the soil, the bramble and other smaller plants 
 familiar to the English eye were found growing. The spring- 
 water that issues in countless streamlets from the slopes of 
 the Paropamisus is as pure and delicious as mortal man can 
 wish to drink. Those who long for better should become 
 converts to the faith of Islam and make tracks from this 
 transient world to the Prophet's paradise as soon as possible. 
 
 CAMP AU-SHARA, 9th December. 
 
 After crossing the Paropamisus the general direction of 
 our march was slightly north of east, the total distance from 
 Kuhsan to Khushk being a little under 100 miles. In the list 
 of marches of General Lumsden's party I have mentioned our 
 first five marches (that from Kuhsan to Chashma-i-sabz being 
 covered in two marches, as before mentioned). It remains to 
 add the three last marches into Khushk : 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Tutuchi to Aftu, . . . . 15 
 
 Aftii to Ali-Kusa, . . . . 15 
 
 Ali-Kusa to Khushk, . . . . 16 
 
 Our march throughout led us over the northern spurs of the 
 Paropamisus ; and a more persistently uneven route I have 
 seldom followed up and down, up and down sadly weary 
 work for camels. And this infinity of undulations stretches 
 for miles as far as the eye can see, assuming between Khushk 
 and Kalah-i-nau even intensified proportions. The soil is 
 excellent; and if the rainfall be plentiful, the seed brings 
 forth fruit a hundredfold so the natives declare. Now, how- 
 ever, it lies untilled, and yields nothing but pasture to such 
 flocks as are brought to graze on it. About half-way be- 
 ar
 
 178 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 tween Asiab-dev and Karabagh we passed the now deserted 
 " Ziarat-i-Baba-i-furkh," a clump of mulberries and a semi- 
 ruined dome of sun-dried brick on the banks of a streamlet, 
 the tomb of the saint, surrounded by the graves of many 
 pious Mohammedans who have sought and found here their 
 last resting-place, lying on the summit of an adjacent hill- 
 ock. Some of the tombstones of black and white marble 
 there are well worthy of a visit. There, it is said, lie 
 buried the Jagatais who built and tenanted the old fort 
 at Karabagh, of which all that now remains are the mud- 
 heaps that mark its double line of ramparts, and a slight 
 depression in the ground indicating what was once a moat. 
 It stands on a mound some 50 feet high, and in the centre 
 of the keep is seen the mouth of the well, some two feet in 
 diameter, which supplied the garrison with water. Throw 
 down a small pebble, and it strikes the bottom in from three 
 to four seconds. Forts and ziarats, with their attendant 
 cemeteries, are the sole relics of the former denizens of this 
 wasted tract. It must be admitted that the men of pious 
 memory who tenanted the ziarats, showed in their selection of 
 sites an artistic appreciation of the advantages and beauties 
 of nature. Always by the side of a rippling stream of crystal 
 water, sometimes in the sheltered precincts of a rock-bound 
 vale, sometimes near an expanse of meadow rendered verdant 
 by some perennial spring, they lived and died, and the wil- 
 lows which they planted in their lifetime have now attained 
 a size but rarely equalled. 
 
 The evening we encamped at Karabagh, a Tekke Turko- 
 man came in, a strange, wild-looking little creature, but self- 
 possessed to a degree, and utterly unimpressed either by the 
 novel sight of an Englishman or the dignity of a Boundary 
 Commission. His apparent object in approaching us was to 
 beg for our intervention on behalf of his wife and family, 
 who, he stated, were detained at Merv by the Eussians. His 
 presence so .far from Merv he thus explained : When Amir 
 Abdur Eahman was an exile from his native land and a ref- 
 ugee in Turkistan, he met with considerable kindness at the 
 hands of a Tekke of some position named Aziz Sardar. He
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 179 
 
 then promised his benefactor that if ever lie sat on the throne 
 of Kabul he would remember him. Accordingly, in 1881, 
 Aziz Sardar, foreseeing the approaching annexation of the 
 Tekke country by the Russians, repaired to Kabul, and was 
 rewarded by the gift of lands on the northern slopes of the 
 Paropamisus \vest of Pabat-i-sangi. To this spot he emi- 
 grated, accompanied by a following of some twenty retainers, 
 who have since found occupation in cultivating their newly 
 acquired property. It appears, however, that later on, when 
 they sent for their families to join them, the Prussians, who 
 had by that time annexed Merv, declined to let them go, hop- 
 ing doubtless that such a course would induce the emigrants 
 to return to the home of their fathers. Our Tekke seemed 
 perfectly familiar with the name of Mr O'Donovan, but 
 whether he actually saw him at Kala-i-Kaushid-Khan I 
 cannot say. 
 
 Some three miles beyond Karabagh we crossed a stream of 
 salt or brackish water, near which the Afghan officials, with 
 becoming consideration, had originally proposed to encamp us. 
 Thanks, however, to the precaution taken of sending on a 
 native attach^, Subadar Mahomed Husain, one march ahead 
 to report on the state of the road, water, distances, sup- 
 plies, &c., we were spared the infliction of having to drink 
 water which even our horses would hardly touch. The sup- 
 plies were moved to Karabagh. Just above where we crossed 
 the Shura Rud, its waters collect on a broad level expanse of 
 ground which is thus transformed into an extensive marsh, 
 overgrown with reeds seven or eight feet high. Among these 
 reeds, where the receding waters had left the ground dry, 
 were the lairs and pathways of some species of wild beast. 
 As neither the trodden-down reeds nor the banks presented 
 a single discernible track, it was impossible to say what the 
 animals were : probably pig. The leopard keeps to the hills 
 and precipitous defiles, and the tiger is said not to haunt this 
 particular region. A native, however, assured me he had, two 
 years ago, seen four camels killed by a tiger lying dead in 
 the jungle near Shabash, between Ghorian and Kuhsan ; but 
 as he admitted he had not seen the destroyer, his evidence
 
 180 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 must be considered unsatisfactory. The jungles of the Hari 
 Rud thereabouts are now scarcely dense enough for the hiding- 
 place of the tiger, although Terrier states that in 1845 it was 
 the lurking-place and hunting-ground of many carnivorous 
 animals. The leopard appears to inflict considerable loss on 
 the owners of camels and cattle: rarely, they say, does it 
 touch a goat or sheep ; it scorns such puny prey. Its thirst 
 for blood can only be quenched by a long deep draught from 
 the throat of a camel or an ox, an uriyal (mountain sheep), or 
 an antelope. That of a goat or sheep is but as a drop in a 
 bucket to a beast that is devoured with an insatiable thirst 
 for blood, and casts aside untouched the carcass whose life- 
 blood he has sucked to the very last drop. 
 
 It is among the spurs of the Kuh-i-Kaitu that one first 
 sees, though few and far between, the pistachio-tree, which, 
 farther to the north-east, exists in countless myriads. They 
 are trees of no stature, rarely attaining the height of 15 feet, 
 and yet in the branches of one we found the nest of a very 
 large bird of prey, probably an eagle a nest some three feet 
 high and three feet in diameter, the accumulation of years, 
 the home of many broods or even generations of eaglets. 
 What a proof of the utter desolation of this tract ! A 
 bird that seeks the most inaccessible cliffs as the nursery 
 of its offspring here rears them in a home that the passer- 
 by can touch with his hand from the ground. And yet 
 the peasant has but to furrow the hillside and throw in 
 his grain in spring, and then falls the life-giving rain, and 
 in autumn a crop proportionate to the extent of the rain- 
 fall is reaped. It will be not uninteresting to watch the 
 gradual settlement and cultivation of this tract, now that 
 the Turkoman is under the Eussian thumb, and that the 
 definition of a "strong frontier," and the possible establish- 
 ment of a stable Government in Afghanistan, is apparently 
 within a measurable distance. At the north-east extremity 
 of a hill near our camp at Tutuchi stood the four walls and 
 bastions of the old fort of that name, a fort said to have been 
 occupied by Persian settlers during the reign in Afghanistan 
 of Mahmud Shah, son of the great Ahmed Shah Abdali.
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 181 
 
 Between Tutuchi and Aftu, some of us, instead of following 
 the route taken by the escort and bag-gage, made a circuit 
 southwards towards the Paropamisus, visiting the Ziarat-i- 
 Kliwaja Sasposh, a lonely tomb in a rocky ravine. The en- 
 thusiastic picture drawn by our guide of the verdant beauty 
 of this spot proved a marked contrast to the reality. Pre- 
 sumably he had last visited the place in spring or in summer, 
 when the stream, lately swollen by melting snows, and aided 
 by the rainfall, had encouraged the grass and vegetation to 
 peer above the soil, and when the trees (locally called tak- 
 hun) around the tomb were covered with leaves and blos- 
 soms. But at the end of November neither leaf nor blade of 
 grass was visible. Over the grave, covered with loose stones 
 and girt around by high walls of the same material, stretched 
 the sombre naked boughs of the taMun, while above all 
 lowered dark rugged cliffs. So infested with ckikore were 
 these rocks that one could only suppose that the departed 
 Khwaja Sasposh was as keen a supporter of the game-laws as 
 any J.P. and D.L. of an English county. Possibly he kept 
 up a cliikore farm, and annually invited the neighbouring- 
 Shaikhs and Khwajas to a battue. If he could but have seen 
 us poaching on his preserves ! We made a very respectable 
 bag, and then wended our way north-eastwards past the old 
 fort of Siyah-Kumruk and tbejagir of Aziz Sardar, at Kush- 
 auri (where the only signs of life were a small tower and a 
 few gizlulis or blanket-tents), and another ancient fort, name- 
 less, with an extensive cemetery hard by, to our camp at 
 Aftu. Here we found ourselves in a small valley of unusual 
 breadth for this country a valley down which flowed a stream 
 of some size, and in which could be traced the lines of several 
 old karezes. North of Aftu the valley widens still more, and 
 is dignified by the name of Dasht-i-Faizabad. One of our 
 Jamshidi guides gave us a vivid account of a fight that took 
 place at this very spot about three years ago between a body 
 of Turkoman raiders and a party of Afghan and Jamshidi horse 
 sent out from Herat to repel them. The Turkomans (Tekkes) 
 are said to have numbered 400 horse and 500 footmen. It is 
 not generally supposed that the Turkomans raid on foot :
 
 182 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 however, I repeat what I was told. The Herat! force, num- 
 bering some 300 horsemen, charged as soon as they sighted 
 the enemy. The Turkoman infantry promptly sought refuge 
 on the top of a neighbouring, and, to cavalry, inaccessible 
 height. The Turkoman horsemen appear to have likewise 
 sought safety in flight. In the pursuit, however, some 40 of 
 them were captured, brought back to Aftu, and there put to 
 death in cold blood. A passive critic may be disposed to 
 condemn such an act as a brutal murder only worthy of the 
 "Reign of Terror." If he does, let him go at once to his 
 bookseller's, or a circulating library, and procure a copy of 
 some oriental traveller, say " Haji Baba " or Ferrier, and read 
 in his pages an account of the merciless brutality of the Tur- 
 komans. Ten to ' one he will then pronounce the verdict 
 "serve them right." After this feat the Herati horse re- 
 turned to their houses, leaving the Tekke footmen on the top 
 of their hill. One wonders, perhaps, that they did not extend 
 a cordon of sentries round the hill, and send a messenger to 
 Herat for reinforcements. The fact is that, owing to the 
 nature of the ground, such a measure would have been com- 
 paratively useless, and attended with considerable danger to 
 the besiegers. The Turkomans, perhaps with the loss of two 
 or three men, and having inflicted greater loss on their foes, 
 would, aided by the darkness and the intricate nature of the 
 country, have escaped into the waterless wilds farther north 
 wilds in which they alone, it is said, know where to find 
 water. 
 
 On the 1st December we marched from Aftu to Ali-Kusa. 
 The road taken by the baggage and escort ran close past the 
 old fort of Du-ab, which is situated on the banks of the same 
 streamlet, near which, four or five miles to the south, stand 
 the remains of the old fort and settlement of Eabat-i-sangi. 
 Although the steepness of the gradients renders most of the 
 innumerable bypaths of this rugged country which, viewed 
 from a commanding height, looks like nothing more than a 
 sea of gigantic earthen billows impassable for laden camels, 
 a man on horseback or on foot can find his way anywhere. 
 For those who wished to break the monotony of the march by
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 183 
 
 visiting some of the landmarks of the history of Badkis, or 
 trying his luck after the antelope, this was a decided con- 
 venience. For those who preferred shikar, our Jamshidi 
 escort provided experienced shikaris, and for those of his- 
 torical or antiquarian bent the same corps furnished guides. 
 Some four or five miles south-east of Aftu may he seen the 
 ruined fort and the ziarat of Khwaja Kasim. The fort is said 
 to have been built and occupied by a settlement of Kurds, 
 whose mortal remains lie interred round the tomb of the 
 sainted personage by whose name this spot is known. The 
 peak of the Paropamisus overhanging it is also called " Kuh- 
 i-Khwaja Kasim." Between Herat and Gulran the course of 
 this route is marked by the ruined caravanserais of Chughur- 
 rabat, Kush-rabat, Eabat-i-Mirza (near the summit of the pass 
 over the hills, just west of the Ardawan Pass), Ilabat-i-sangi, 
 and Gulran. The principal sections of the mountain-range 
 that separates the Hari Hud valley from Badkis are known 
 locally, from east to west, as Band-i-Zarmast, Band-i-Baba, 
 Band-i- Ardawan, Band-i-Afzal, and Band-i-Kaitu. Some four 
 miles east of Eabat-i-sangi lies the Ziarat-i-Khwaja Mallal, 
 a picturesque little spot, with its clear rippling stream full 
 of small fish, fringed by grassy banks, and overshadowed by 
 enormous storm-battered willows, whose huge trunks lie, bent 
 seemingly by some mighty wind that rages here, across the 
 bed of the stream, damming its current. In the stream grew 
 a profusion of water-weeds, at a distance the facsimile of 
 water-cress, but on closer inspection found to be not the 
 genuine article. A dozen tiny springs bubble up out of the 
 soil here, transforming the arid soil into grassy meadow. 
 Many of the willows had two, or even three trunks, one of 
 which maybe Nature had permitted to grow upright, while 
 the other or others lay prone, but not void of vitality, on the 
 ground. The tomb on a mound hard by was the least inter- 
 esting feature of the scene. Some four miles east of this 
 ziarat we entered the road which connects Herat and Khushk 
 vid the Ardawan Pass. By this road, it is said, some two 
 years ago two batteries of artillery on wheeled carriages 
 marched to Khushk, and thence either through or close by
 
 184 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Kalah-i-nau to Bala Murghab and Maimeiia. These batteries 
 are now at Bala Murghab. Our camp at Ali-Kusa lay about 
 half a mile off this road to the north, in a narrow stony valley, 
 down which flowed the largest stream we had seen since we 
 left the banks of the Hari Eud. As I have before remarked, 
 the traces of old karezes and irrigation channels may be seen 
 in almost every valley of any size, and running along the 
 slopes of the hill parallel to every stream, proving that the 
 old inhabitants did not rely entirely on the rainfall. At this 
 season of the year the tops and slopes of these spurs are 
 covered with but a scant coat of dried yellow grass, affording 
 but poor grazing. "We not unfrequently observed dense 
 columns of smoke rising in the distance, indicating that the 
 shepherds were firing the grass. In spring, when rain and 
 melting snows have fertilised the soil and transformed this 
 now yellow undulating expanse into a wavy carpet of green, 
 the panorama presented thereby will be such as the eye 
 seldom, in Central Asia at least, surveys. Doubtless we shall 
 be here to see this transformation-scene. Leaving Ali-Kusa 
 on the 2d December, we crossed for some four miles or more 
 a succession of spurs presenting unusually steep gradients 
 and break-neck slopes. Steep ascents and descents are usually 
 attended by no graver evil than the readjusting of loads ; but 
 when 1300 camels have to wind in single file round the 
 almost precipitous side of a hill along a narrow footpath, 
 where a slip would send camel and load rolling to the bottom, 
 it becomes rather ticklish work, especially when a lot of im- 
 patient and somewhat quarrelsome sarwans (camel-drivers) 
 have to be dealt with. Any accident causing a halt all along 
 the line is apt to produce a mishap. No mishap, however, 
 occurred ; and once free of these wearisome ups and downs, 
 our road led us down a broadish valley by the side of a 
 stream rippling away to meet the Khushk Eud. About four 
 miles down this valley, just above the junction of this stream 
 with another, stands the ziarat and ruined fort of Lag-lag- 
 Khana. The site of the fort, commanded as it was from a 
 higher point of the very spur on which it was constructed, is 
 not such as usually finds favour with the turbulent Oriental,
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 185 
 
 be lie Turk or Afghan, Persian or Hindu. The ziarat, thanks 
 no doubt to its proximity to Khushk, was in a fair state of re- 
 pair, and thousands of graves covered the surrounding slopes. 
 In the ziarat itself, which was enclosed by a wall of large 
 square burnt bricks, were, in addition to the principal tomb, 
 which was overshadowed by pistachio- trees, and decorated 
 with some very fine uriyal horns and a pair of barasinga 
 antlers, several minor tombs, each with its white marble 
 headstone bearing inscriptions in Arabic and Persian. Mo- 
 hammedan monumental inscriptions are not characterised by 
 that simplicity which marks those of Christian tombs ; but 
 seemingly in this case the mantle of poverty and piety had 
 descended from father to son through three or four genera- 
 tions. On the banks of the stream below the ziarat stood a 
 forlorn, uncared-for masjid, built, so said an inscription on its 
 walls, in the year of the Hijra 1240, by Abu Bakr, son of 
 Abd-ul-Aziz, one of those buried in the ziarat above. None 
 of these monuments dated further back than the year 1200 of 
 the Hijra. Following the stream above mentioned to within 
 a mile of its point of junction with the Khushk, the road turns 
 abruptly eastward over a high spur and descends into the 
 Khushk valley. After eight days of sojourn in an. uninhabited 
 land, it is a surprise (I cannot say an agreeable surprise ; for 
 mud-pigsties and uncouth khirgahs, or felt-covered shanties, 
 are not attractive to the eye) to come suddenly on all the 
 activity of settled though not civilised human life. 
 
 BALA MURGHAB, llth December. 
 
 Here we are, and here we winter. Long marches in an 
 intricate country, short winter days and cold nights, have of 
 late proved adverse to writing. My next letter will describe 
 Khushk and our march thence to this place. 
 
 BALA MURGHAB, 15th December. 
 
 I can confidently say that when, on the 12th instant, we 
 arrived on the banks of the Murghab, and heard that there 
 we were to winter, there was not one of us, from the highest 
 to the lowest, that did not confess, whether to himself or to
 
 186 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 his neighbour, his complete satisfaction. Till then our future 
 had been uncertain, and that very uncertainty enhanced the 
 gladness with which we received the tidings of a well-earned 
 rest. Some said Chahar Shamba, some said Bala Murghab 
 would be the site of our winter camp. There was even a 
 vague rumour that we should continue our wanderings until 
 the inclemency of the weather necessitated a stationary ex- 
 istence. The last report however, originated, I have little 
 doubt, in a misapprehension. It is true that the Survey and 
 Intelligence parties will continue on the move as long as pos- 
 sible : I even heard Major Holdich offer to bet that his parties 
 would not suspend their labour for more than a fortnight 
 throughout the winter; and from what we have as yet ex- 
 perienced of the weather, I am disposed to think he would 
 have won his bet had any bold man taken it up. But any 
 intention of keeping the whole Commission on the march all 
 the winter was long ago abandoned, certainly as soon as it 
 was found that the Russian Commission had failed to put in 
 an appearance. The mail news of the 24th ultimo states 
 that " the Russian Government is not disposed to show itself 
 accommodating about the Afghan frontier question. They 
 insist that the line fixed in 1872 should be taken as the basis 
 of the new delimitation. If they do not succeed in obtaining 
 this, they are anxious that the arrangement should not have a 
 final character." This is altogether a somewhat curious and 
 contradictory announcement. In the first place, what should 
 be the basis of the new delimitation if not the line fixed, or 
 rather, it would appear, not fixed, in 1872 ? Considering 
 that the Russian Government has been generally understood 
 of late to claim very much more than what was conceded to 
 it in 1872, most people will admit that its now professed 
 willingness to recognise the validity of the 1872 settlement 
 is a signal proof of an accommodating tendency. It might be 
 supposed that the quotation which I make above from the mail 
 news refers to the more easterly portion of the Afghan fron- 
 tier viz., Badakhshan, Wakhan, and Shignan. I have, how- 
 ever, good authority for stating that as yet the frontier east 
 of Khqja Saleh has not been brought on the tapis, and that
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MUIIGHAB. 187 
 
 the British and Eussian Cabinets are at present only con- 
 cerned with the frontier from Sarakhs to Khoja Saleh. 
 Eecent indications of Eussian policy, however, by no means 
 lead me to suppose that the aims of that Government are by 
 any means so modest as the statement of the St Petersburg 
 correspondent would imply. There is little doubt that the 
 Eussian bear is already stretching forth its avaricious paws 
 towards Panjdeh, and already savouring the sweetness of 
 hugging that home of the Saruks in a tenacious and fatal 
 embrace fatal, indeed, for the British policy in Central 
 Asia. I may here add that the Afghans are now busily en- 
 gaged in repairing the ruined defences of Ak-tapa, six miles 
 north-west of Panjdeh and of Maruchak. 
 
 General Lumsden's party arrived here the same day as we 
 did viz., the 12th. They had taken it very easily between 
 Panjdeh and this, halting at Maruchak for two days' pheasant- 
 shooting. The banks of the Murghab simply swarm with the 
 bird of lovely plumage (differing, however, somewhat from 
 the English pheasant), called by the Turkoman karkawal, 
 and by the Persian muryli-i-dasliti (heath-cock). As in the 
 English pheasant, the plumage of the hen is vastly infe- 
 rior to that of the cock-bird. In a few days some three or 
 four guns bagged 300 birds, and they estimated that they 
 lost a number very little inferior in the thick jungle. Sir 
 Peter Lumsden's arrival here was heralded by a salute of 
 seventeen guns, fired from the four guns in the fort. The 
 river here winds about very much so much so that, although 
 both the fort and our camp are on the right bank, the stream 
 twice cuts the bee-line between us. The fort is about three- 
 quarters of a mile south of our camp, while half a mile to the 
 east of us lies the camp of the Afghan Commissioner. The 
 Governor of Herat and General Ghaus-ud-din are located in 
 the fort. The latter returns to Panjdeh shortly. The plan 
 of our camp, worked out, I believe, with much care and toil 
 at Simla, has of late undergone a complete transformation 
 why or wherefore I know not, nor need we discuss the re- 
 spective advantages of the past and present arrangements. 
 Looking south from our camp we see, distant some seven or
 
 188 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 eight miles, a narrow gorge through which flows the Murghab. 
 This gorge pierces the western extremity of the Tirband-i- 
 Turkistan. 
 
 The Commissioner's party, after diverging from our route 
 at Tutuchi, struck the Khushk at Kara-tapa. In the valley of 
 that river they had some exciting pig-sticking, killing four 
 huge boars. The day we marched in from Mangan here, we 
 saw a sounder making off up the hills west of the river. The 
 pigs of the Khushk valley seem also to have generally made 
 for the hills when in danger. A similar habit characterises 
 the pigs of Beluchistan, and, in fact, any locality where rugged 
 hills afford a safer refuge than scant jungle. Between Au- 
 shara and Tur-i-Shaikh, on the 10th instant, in a valley 
 occupied by settlements of nomad Afghans (Tokhis and 
 Utaks from near Kandahar) we were shown a large boar 
 killed that morning by the inhabitants. He had killed a 
 camel, and ere he departed this life very seriously gored a 
 man. He was measured, and found to stand 37 inches at 
 the shoulder, and to be 67 inches from nose to root of tail. 
 However, let us retrace our steps and rejoin General Lumsden 
 in the Khushk valley. Twice between Kara-tapa and Pul- 
 i-khishti the waters of the river disappear (viz., between 
 Chaman-i-bed and Hauz-i-Khan and a few miles above Pul-i- 
 khishti) for a space, reappearing farther down. This seems 
 to be a characteristic feature of the rivers and streams of 
 Afghanistan and Beluchistan, and doubtless also of other 
 countries of similar geological formation. Witness the Hari 
 Eud near Sarakhs, the Farah Eud at Lash Juwain, the streams 
 in the Bolan and Hurnai valleys, and many more. The 
 general aspect of the country through which General Lums- 
 den's party marched appears to have closely resembled that 
 of the route which we followed, with this exception, that the 
 everlasting undulations were less varied by rugged denies and 
 hill-ranges, and that the willow, juniper, and pistachio trees 
 were conspicuous by their absence. And this is precisely the 
 character which any man viewing the land from the top of 
 the Kuh-i-Kaitu would have attributed to it. The bridge 
 near the junction of the Khushk and Murghab rivers, known
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 189 
 
 as Pul-i-khisliti, proves to be an aqueduct by which the 
 copious stream of water drawn off from the Murghab at 
 Band-i-Nadiri, about half-way between Maruchak and Panj- 
 deh, is carried across the bed of the Khushk to irrigate lands 
 farther north on the left bank of the Murghab. Pul-i- 
 khishti consists of three arches. Like the bridges at Pul- 
 i-Khatun, Maruchak, and Tirpul, it is constructed mainly of 
 large, square, kiln-dried bricks, the material apparently inva- 
 riably used for building in olden days in these parts, where 
 building-stone is unprocurable. It is still utilised as a via- 
 duct, whereas that of Maruchak has little left but the piers. 
 
 Sir Peter Lumsdeii reached Ak-tapa on the 2d December, 
 and halted there on the 3d. Ak-tapa is a vast mound, said to 
 be some 300 yards long by 150 broad and 100 feet high ; in fact, 
 I should think, not unlike the citadel of old Kandahar. Such 
 mounds, relics of this country's former populousness and pros- 
 perity, are to be seen at several places on the banks of the 
 Khushk ; and yet now one or two small isolated settlements 
 of Saruk Turkomans, and those but recently detached from 
 Panjdeh, are alone to be seen there. Ak-tapa itself is garri- 
 soned and being fortified by the Afghan troops under General 
 Ghaus-ud-din. It is surrounded by extensive ruins. 
 
 On the 4th General Lumsden moved to Panjdeh, halted 
 there on the 5th and 6th, reached Maruchak in two marches 
 on the 8th, halted there on the 9th and 10th, and on the 12th 
 encamped at Bala Murghab. The marches and distances are 
 as under : 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Ak-tapa to Panjdeh, 5.65 
 
 Panjdeh to Band-i-Nadiri, 11.75 
 
 Band-i-Nadiri to Maruchak, .... 10.95 
 
 Maruchak to Karawulkhana, .... 12.55 
 Karawulkhana to Bala Murghab, . . . 10.75 
 
 Total, .... 51.65 
 
 The survey of the route from Kuhsan to Panjdeh and 
 thence to Bala Murghab, executed under the supervision of 
 Major Holdich, was made by traversing the position of 
 certain important points being fixed by astronomical obser-
 
 190 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 vations. The following figures show the correct position of 
 three important points, and illustrate the errors of the posi- 
 tions assigned to them on previous maps : 
 
 As now on As fixed by niffVrpnftp 
 
 map. Major Holdich. 
 
 Old Panjdeh, ( Lat. 36 4' 30" 35 58' 48" - 5' 42" 
 
 old Fort, | Long. E. 62 38 62 5030 +12 30 
 
 Maruchak ( Lat. 35 47 30 35 49 39 +29 
 
 Fort, ( Long. E. 62 44 63 9 30 +25 30 
 
 Bala Mur- ( Lat. 35 31 35 35 29 +4 29 
 
 ghab Fort, ( Long. E. 63 8 63 21 30 + 13 30 
 
 The real distance of Maruchak from Karawulkhana is 
 doubled in our present maps. These are merely instances 
 of the great inaccuracy of the geographical knowledge of 
 Badkis, and of the importance of the survey now being 
 executed from a scientific point of view. The strategical 
 results of this survey, as illustrating the relative positions of 
 the Russian forces in Turkistan and the British forces in India 
 towards Herat, will be of greater practical moment. There 
 is no town of Panjdeh, the Saruks being scattered up and 
 down the valley in settlements of varying size. They reside 
 in tents of coarse felt and blanketing, known locally as kkirgah, 
 and more universally by the name of kibitka. They are both 
 cultivators of the soil and owners of large flocks and herds. 
 Their carpets (kalins), saddle-bags (khurjins), and other 
 articles of similar manufacture, are known all over Asia, 
 and in Europe also, for their excellence of workmanship 
 and tastefulness of design. They are mostly made of sheep's 
 wool, but occasionally patches of silk-work are inserted. 
 
 The silver-work of the Saruks, both for horse-trappings and 
 for the fairer sex, is said to vie with their carpet-work for 
 beauty of design and workmanship. I have as yet seen none 
 except the horse-trappings which are used by all men of any 
 rank among the Jamshidis and Hazaras, and which did not 
 strike me as remarkable. Part of the work is silver-gilt. 
 The only stone used is cornelian apparently. The artisans 
 are the women of the tribe. The male Saruk being happily 
 free of that bigotry and jealousy which induces most Moham-
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 191 
 
 medans to keep their women in the strictest seclusion, the 
 curious Briton was permitted to enter their wigwams and 
 witness the process of manufacture of the carpets. In a few 
 days, probably, we shall see a large consignment of these wares 
 brought into our camp for sale. 
 
 The Afghan garrison in the neighbourhood of Panjdeh is 
 roughly estimated at 1000 men, with two guns. It has been 
 increased lately, owing to apprehensions arising from recent 
 Russian movements. Some 30 miles north of Ak-tapa is 
 an Afghan outpost. The settlements of the Saruks extend 
 to Karawulkhana, 13 miles this side of Maruehak, which, 
 with the exception of a small Afghan garrison busied in 
 repairing the old citadel, is but sparsely inhabited. The old 
 town of Maruehak was of some size and importance, as shown 
 by its ruined walls, which enclose an area of nearly half a 
 mile, and the dimensions of its citadel. The bridge, whose 
 arches once spanned the Murghab there, is now a complete 
 ruin. Above its centre pier may still be seen the ruins of a 
 watch-tower or fortified gateway. From 1'anjdeh General 
 Lumsden marched up the left bank of the river to Maru- 
 ehak, crossed it by a ford near the bridge, and thence followed 
 the right bank to Bala Murghab. Just this side of Kara- 
 wulkhana the settlements of the Saruks and the Jamshidis 
 almost meet. The whole valley is eminently fertile, and cap- 
 able of being highly cultivated. The average breadth of the 
 valley of the Murghab from here to Panjdeh, between the 
 undulating hills that bound it east and west, is three or four 
 miles. There is one feature about the Murghab river which 
 eminently distinguishes it from almost all other rivers that I 
 have seen in Asia, and that is, that the volume of the water, 
 whether in flood, or, as at this season, when it is at its lowest 
 ebb, fills the same breadth of channel. As a rule, an Asiatic 
 river-bed presents at the close of the dry season a wide extent 
 of mud, stone, or gravel, which is submerged during and after 
 rainfall or snow melting. The Murghab alters only in the 
 depth of its waters, not in the breadth as a rule, because it 
 flows in a confined channel, with perpendicular sides, that has 
 been excavated by the action of the river itself. It is scarcely
 
 192 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 necessary to add that the valley of the Murghab affords every 
 facility for the march of troops. 
 
 I must now revert to Khushk, and follow our own march 
 thence to Bala Murghab. One is apt, when one sees on a map 
 a little circular mark with a name attached, to imagine that 
 there exists a more or less compact town or village. Anything 
 less compact than Khushk cannot be conceived, unless it be 
 Panjdeh and Bala Murghab. Kalah-i-nau, on the other hand, 
 is a good big village of mud-houses, with a respectable fort. 
 Anything less respectable than the hereditary stronghold of 
 the Jamshidi chiefs I have seldom seen. Do not suppose I 
 have sat down to malign that tribe. The very reverse. My 
 intercourse with them has left none but the pleasantest im- 
 pressions. I like their geniality and pleasant friendly manner 
 such a constrast to the generality of Afghans. The Haza- 
 ras of Kalah-i-nau showed themselves equally cordial and 
 agreeable. Emerging from the abodes of these two tribes, we 
 fell among Tokhis and Utaks (offshoots of the Ghilzais, ac- 
 cording to their own statements), and marked was the difference 
 of behaviour. Of the latter, even those who came near us 
 with an object to gain could not cloak their innate uncouth- 
 ness and discourtesy ; and as for those whom we approached, 
 certainly with friendly intentions from them we met with 
 nothing but surliness, rudeness, and even demonstrations of 
 hostility. I afterwards heard that those nomads, whom 1 was 
 certainly surprised to see up here, had taken refuge from the 
 wrath of the Amir in this remote corner of the Afghan 
 dominions. If so, it is perhaps not wonderful that they 
 should regard us, the avowed friends and allies of the Amir, 
 as suspicious parties. Whether, however, they be secure or 
 not in Badkis from the Amir's resentment, they are not 
 exempt from his taxes. The numbers and size of the flocks 
 of sheep belonging to them which I saw grazing in the valleys 
 near Tur-i-Shaikh, certainly surprised me. We passed some 
 six or seven settlements of these Ghilzais, numbering in all 
 perhaps not much under 1000 families, and their sheep were 
 estimated roughly at 20,000. Moreover, they owned a num- 
 ber of cattle and camels. They evinced no taste for the
 
 KUHSAX TO BALA MURGHAB. 193 
 
 husbandman's labours. About the amount and method of 
 payment of their revenue, there is some doubt. Some said 
 they render to the Amir annually a camel for every flock of 
 500 sheep. Others again stated that one sheep in forty per 
 annum was the assessed revenue. It comes to much the 
 same thing, as the value of a good baggage-camel and of 20 
 sheep may both be put down roughly at about Es. 60, or 
 perhaps rather more. 
 
 However, I must hie back to Khushk. Our road joined 
 the stream of that name near the point where its course, 
 hitherto westerly, bends northward. This same point, 
 where it passes through a precipitous defile in an offshoot 
 of the Baba range, is also the boundary between the popu- 
 lated and depopulated portion of its course. Northward, 
 as it flows to join the Murghab, ruins and a few tents of 
 Saruks, as I before mentioned, are the sole signs of human 
 life. Eastward its banks are a very beehive, or rather a 
 swarm of beehives for I know no structure that in shape, if 
 not in colour, more closely resembles the kliirgali or kiMtka. 
 Not that all the dwellings are of this type. The majority are 
 low flat-roofed mud-hovels, so low that no human being of 
 ordinary stature could stand up in them. On the roof of each 
 was stacked a goodly pile of dried lucerne grass (bcdci) for 
 the winter-fodder of the householder's nag. However, humble 
 as is his dwelling, the Jamshidi is as a rule a good sort of 
 fellow, and invariably a good horseman. Like the Turko- 
 man, he is trained to ride from infancy, as are all the 
 Chahar Aimaks. It were indeed a pity that we should place 
 at the disposal of the Russians this fine body of irregular 
 cavalry. Bather let us retain them in our own service as 
 a counterpoise to the Turkomans, whom the Russians are 
 already utilising. 
 
 From our camp at Aukamari some of us rode over to 
 Kalah-i-nau. In the bazaar there we lost our guide, and on 
 the way back we lost our road. A cold night under the fir- 
 mament stared us in the face. A Hazara, one of the ugliest 
 men I ever saw he had a face closely resembling the fiendish 
 Fenian dynamitard with whom ' Punch's ' cartoons have made 
 
 N
 
 194 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 us all familiar came across our path. Nolens volens we im- 
 pressed him into our service, and insisted on his showing us 
 the way to our camp. As we rode along I conversed with 
 him. He told me he was a poor herdsman, without house, 
 wife, or family one who dwelt with the flock intrusted to 
 him under the canopy of heaven. Yet he had a steed such a 
 steed! almost uglier than its rider, yet still distinctly re- 
 cognisable as a scion, however fallen, of the equine race. 
 Every Jamshidi who can possibly afford it keeps a steed of 
 sorts. All those in the Amir's service are horsemen, and good 
 horsemen to boot. 
 
 The Saruks of Panjdeh are said to be exceedingly well to 
 do. What is the source of their wealth ? Their carpets, 
 numdahs, and silver-work, their flocks, herds, and crops ? So 
 it would seem, for one does not hear their name coupled with 
 that of the Tekkes as inveterate robbers. Indeed their 
 position at Panjdeh, easy of approach and attack as it is, 
 would scarcely warrant their adopting a life of indiscriminate 
 plunder. The Jamshidi again, while leading a life of industry, 
 has from force of necessity been trained from childhood to 
 live face to face with danger. On one side the Turkoman 
 raider ; on the other the Afghan, to whom the Chahar Aimak 
 have not always been the most docile subjects ; and on the 
 third, neighbouring tribes not precisely of a peaceable tem- 
 perament : who would not like to live in the middle ? 
 
 The Khushk valley, from the capital town to Khwaja Kal- 
 andar, where our road diverged to the north towards Kalah-i- 
 nau, is, following its windings, some 14 miles in length, with 
 an average breadth of about half a mile. Throughout this 
 distance both its banks are studded more or less thickly with 
 villages of the type I have already described. We had some 
 good fishing in the Khushk. Our only rod took 50 in an hour. 
 The string and crooked pin with a lump of dough was also an 
 eminent success. The bazaar, such as it is, is in Khushk itself 
 near the tumble-down fort, where reside the chief's family. 
 Haidar Kuli Khan, the eldest son of Khan Aga, came in from 
 Herat during our halt of two days, and paid Colonel Eidgeway 
 a visit. Our second day there was a fair-day, and we all
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 195 
 
 patrolled the bazaar in the hopes that we should witness a 
 grand display of the products and wares of the country. We 
 were all egregiously disappointed, and only tempted into 
 expending our hardly earned rupees on articles many of which 
 we could buy cheaper in the bazaars of Shikarpur and Pesh- 
 awar. The sheepskin hat of the country was the most original 
 object I saw and even those we were induced to buy off 
 the heads of the owners, who made at least cent per cent on 
 the bargain. I may as well add that these hats were care- 
 fully steamed and fumigated before they were used, or even 
 allowed admittance into a tent. They are splendid things to 
 keep the head warm on a cold day. It is curious how 
 Orientals feel cold affecting their heads. Not long ago, in the 
 chill of the early morn, before marching I saw a native attach^ 
 looking unquestionably cold and miserable. I expressed a 
 fear that he was suffering from the cold. " No," lie replied, " I 
 am not ; but my head is." Now with the European it is the 
 hands and feet that suffer most. 
 
 The valley of the Khushk is all either under cultivation or 
 lying fallow ; and the tops and slopes, and dips and hollows, of 
 the hills bordering on it, are by no means neglected. Indeed 
 the natives say that the soil of the latter, which is irrigated 
 by rain only, and known as daima, is far more productive in 
 a good year than the former. Wheat, barley, and melons 
 seem to be most generally grown here, although cotton, and 
 I hear opium, are also cultivated, especially near Kalah-i-nau. 
 The manufactures seem barely worthy of mention. Sheepskin 
 hats are the only things I can think of. At Kalah-i-nau, 
 however, very good kurk and barak are made. 1 Almost 
 everything is imported : piece-goods from Russia, and a 
 variety of articles made of silk, cotton, wool, and felt from 
 Mashhad, Panjdeh, and Bokhara. Other things, such as 
 metal utensils of all kinds, and articles of food, are probably 
 
 1 Kurk and barak are materials of a thick warm substance, made from the 
 hair of goats and camels. Each web is about 9 yards long by 2 feet broad. 
 The price varies, according to quality, from one to two or three rupees a yard. 
 It makes excellent warm clothing. The escort of the Boundary Commission 
 was provided with clothing of this material for the winter of 1884-85.
 
 196 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 obtained from Herat. English wares would certainly appear 
 to be almost unknown in these markets. 1 What I say of 
 Khushk applies equally to Kalah-i-nau. It seems radically 
 wrong that in Northern Afghanistan, as well as in Central 
 Asia, Russian wares should be supplanting English. Within 
 Russian territory the prohibitive duties imposed leave not a 
 chance to British or Indian competition ; but it is time we 
 reciprocated by beating them out of the Afghan market. One 
 web of tweed or cheviot or some such cloth, and some Man- 
 chester cotton goods stamped Ralli Brothers, were the only 
 wares I saw that must have reached Khushk and Kalah-i-nau 
 through India. Sugar comes from Russia, tea probably from. 
 Bokhara. Russian leather (bulghar) and Russian-made boots 
 I saw, also Turkoman boots. Carpets, numdahs, and silver- 
 work come from Panjdeh. The Turkoman namads (felt rugs) 
 are very good, but the best are those of Mashhad. The 
 carpets of Birjand and Ghain, however, cannot hold a candle 
 to those of Panjdeh. Aniline dyes, which played such havoc 
 among Persian carpets that the Shah had to issue a firman 
 forbidding their use under pain of heavy penalty, are happily 
 little known as yet to the Turkomans. I regret to hear that 
 they are just creeping into use among them. 
 
 Among the curiosities of Khushk are its saline and cha- 
 lybeate springs. One, which I did not visit personally, is said 
 to produce a chalybeate fluid with the sparkle and fizz of soda- 
 water. Two others, however, I saw ; and from the appearance 
 of the sediment deposited by them and the taste of the water, 
 I concluded that they contained both iron and salt. These 
 springs had in the course of ages deposited, or rather thrown 
 up, two small mounds some 15 or 20 feet high, composed 
 apparently of a composition of salt and iron. 2 One lay 
 just below the town of Khushk on the left bank of the river, 
 
 1 Recent statistical reports show that since 1863 the value of Russian ex- 
 ports to Persia, Turkistan, and Afghanistan has increased '1,000,000 ; while 
 since 1880-81 the value of exports from the Panjab to Central Asia has de- 
 creased six laks of rupees (50,000). 
 
 2 Yavorski, in his account of Stolietoff s Mission to Kabul in 1878-79, men- 
 tions a similar spring and formation at Gardan-diwal, about 50 miles west of 
 Kabul.
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 197 
 
 and the other just opposite to it on the right bank. While 
 the former was left out in the cold and invested with no halo 
 of sanctity, the latter was reputed to be the place of martyr- 
 dom of a descendant of the Imam lieza, by name Imamzada 
 Sher Mohammed. Hard by was his tomb, named Ziarat-i- 
 shir-i-surkh, or the shrine of the red milk, planted as usual 
 with pistachios and adorned with the horns of the mountain 
 sheep. On a rocky eminence overhanging both spring and 
 tomb, stood a little dome of mud-bricks of a very strikingly 
 red hue. This was termed the holy man's " Kadam-gah," or 
 standing-place ; but it appeared that he had not left his foot- 
 print embedded in the rock, as saints, and devils also I am 
 told, are wont to do. The red soil of which this dome was 
 constructed is not, as may be supposed, coloured with iron. 
 It is not to be seen anywhere near the chalybeate springs, 
 although I remarked its existence in several parts of the 
 Khushk valley. I may here incidentally mention that one 
 of the strata of the hills bordering the river was composed 
 mainly of fossilised marine shells. How Slier Mohammed 
 Imamzada came by his martyrdom I could not ascertain. 
 However, the water of the spring, which, albeit white enough 
 to look at, leaves a red deposit not unlike dry clotted blood, 
 is said to be his blood, and is revered accordingly. An ill- 
 timed question whether the water contained iron was received 
 by the mujawir (resident fakir in charge) with contemptuous 
 silence. We were instructed to apply our ears to a small 
 orifice ; and doing so, could hear the water bubbling beneath 
 the crust of the curious brittle hollow-sounding dome that the 
 spring has constructed over itself. Some day Khushk will be 
 a fashionable spa frequented by enervated persons in search 
 of a tonic, and then the guardians of the Red-milk fountain 
 will have a rise in the world. And for those whose ailments 
 demand a warm sulphur-bath, hydropathic establishments 
 will be instituted at Mangan and Tur-i-Shaikh, between 
 Kalah-i-nau and this place. The great half-subterraneous 
 brick dome or domed tank near the source of the sulphur- 
 springs at Tur-i-Shaikh, is thought by some to have been used 
 in olden days for hydropathic treatment. That it once con-
 
 198 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 tained water is evident from the stains on the brick sides ; 
 and considering that a copious stream of fresh water flows 
 within a quarter of a mile of it, it is impossible to believe that 
 this warm sulphur- water was stored for drinking. These sul- 
 phur-springs were tenanted by some small fish, and also by 
 curious black water -beetles with wonderful powers of diving, 
 and whose frequent bolts to the surface of the water seemed to 
 imply that a periodical draught of air was essential to their 
 existence. 
 
 The following is a list of our marches from Khushk to Bala 
 Murghab Fort : 
 
 Dat, Stage. *- 
 
 Dec. 5. Khushk to Khwaja Kalandar, . . . 12 
 
 6. Khwaja Kalandar to Kokchail, . . 13 
 
 7. Kokchail to Padda-i-Kach, ... 6 
 
 8. Padda-i-Kach to Aukamari, . . . 11 
 
 9. Aukamari to Au-shara, . . . . 16 
 
 10. Au-shara to Tur-i-Shaikh, ... 20 
 
 11. Tur-i-Shaikh to Mangan, . . . . 15 
 
 12. Mangan to bank of Murghab, . . . 15 
 
 13. Bank of Murghab to Bala Murghab Fort, . 3 
 
 Total, . . . .111 
 
 We followed the Khushk valley eastward to Khwaja Kalan- 
 dar, and there leaving it, turned northward over the Kotal-i- 
 Zinda-hashani, a pass that sorely tried our camels, into the 
 Hazara country. From the top of the pass we had a mag- 
 nificent view of all the country round to Kalah-i-nau, the 
 valley of the Murghab, Kuh-i-Xaraitu, Band-i-Baba, &c. 
 Northward, below us, stretched the tract known as " Pistalik," 
 miles of undulating hills thickly covered with pistachios. 
 There were hundreds of thousands of them, no-man's property 
 (mal-i-Khuda, God's property, said the guide). No revenue is 
 paid for them, and he who likes gathers them. They yield 
 fruit every second year, I understand, each tree producing, to 
 use my informant's expression, a small saddle-bag full. If 
 such be the case, the total yield must be enormous. A yellow 
 dye is also obtained from it. I noticed these trees in gradu- 
 ally diminishing numbers as far as and beyond Kalah-i-nau.
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 199 
 
 Their disappearance or rarity in the more populous parts must 
 be attributed to their being cut for firewood, an article that is 
 unpleasantly scarce hereabouts. On the Kotal-i-Zinda-hasham 
 were a number of rather fine junipers. Immediately below 
 the Kotal, which is the boundary between the Jamshidi and 
 Hazara territory, lay ensconced in snug little vales two or 
 three Hazara villages, composed mostly of khiryahs. The 
 only tree I noticed in the Jamshidi and Hazara villages was 
 the poplar (jmdda). It appears to be cultivated, not indi- 
 genous. In a more open valley some eight or nine miles 
 distant, a few tents, just recognisable through a field-glass, 
 indicated our camping-ground at Kokchail. Eain fell in the 
 afternoon. A number of Mushwani Pathans, who lead a com- 
 bined pastoral and manufacturing existence among these hills, 
 came into our camp with coarse carpets, klmrjins, and num- 
 dahs for sale. 
 
 The next two marches, between Kokchail and Aukamari, 
 were full of difficulties. For roads we had the choice of 
 rugged rocky defiles and very steep gradients. From Padda- 
 i-Kach to Aukamari we followed three roads : one through a 
 defile along the bed of a torrent, taken by the infantry and 
 cavalry ; the second over the hills to the right of the defile, 
 allotted to the camels as presenting the easiest gradients ; and 
 the third, over the hills to the left, was assigned to the mule 
 transport. We passed a number of Hazara villages and acres 
 of daima, and the hills were covered with pistachios. The 
 people here store their grain and winter-fodder for their cattle 
 in pits in the ground. Perhaps they could give us a wrinkle 
 or two about ensilage. Our camp was pitched on a grassy 
 sward known as Sar-i-chashma-i- Aukamari (Aukamari spring), 
 the village, or rather villages, being situated three or four 
 miles lower down the valley. The water is unpleasantly 
 tainted with some mineral property. Here Mohammed Khan, 
 Nizam-ud-daulah, chief of the Hazaras, attended by several 
 hundred horse, met Colonel Ridgeway and escorted him to 
 Kalah-i-nau, where he spent the night in one of the kibitkas 
 furnished by the Hazaras for our winter-camp. We saw 50 
 standing there ready to be conveyed to Bala Murghab. Not
 
 200 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 a few of us rode over to Kalah-i-nau on the afternoon of the 
 8th, and others of us on the following day. The distance is 
 about eight miles through a very undulating bit of country. 
 From the top of a kotal about half-way we had a splendid 
 view of the Kotal-i-zarmast, and the mountains of the same 
 range east and west. The upper slopes of this range on the 
 northern side were clad in a thick belt of juniper (archa). 
 The standard which accompanied the Nizam-ud-daulah was 
 some five or six feet square, and made of magenta silk, with a 
 green border of the same material, and magenta and green 
 fringe. It is known by the name of Karabash or Black-head, 
 from the black tassel at its peak. The fringe of the ghajari, 
 or saddle-cloth, used by the Khan and his retinue, was also 
 invariably of the same hues. Some seven or eight years ago, 
 when Grodekoff rode from Balkh to Herat fid Kalah-i-nau, 
 the present Khan was at Kabul with Amir Sher Ali Mahmud 
 Khan, now at Kabul with Amir Abdur Eahman, being the 
 head of the tribe. The present Khan is a man of from forty 
 to fifty years of age, and of pleasing appearance, address, and 
 manners. His town lies in the centre of a good-sized valley, 
 and is constructed mainly of sun-dried brick. At the head 
 of the valley is a large village of Jcibitkas. The entire pop- 
 ulation of the valley is roughly estimated at 1000 families. 
 The tops of the hills commanding the town are defended by 
 sangars (breastworks). In a cliff on the east side of the val- 
 ley are a number of curious artificial caves, raised so far above 
 the plain as to be inaccessible without a ladder or some aid 
 to climbing. They are supposed to be ancient human dwell- 
 ings, and were compared by one of the native attaches to 
 some cave-dwellings near Jalalabad, known by the Pushtu 
 name of Samuch. 
 
 From Kalah-i-nau to our camp at Au-shara was a distance 
 of about nine miles. The road ran down a continuation of the 
 Kalah-i-nau valley, and parallel to the stream that flows under 
 the walls of the town. In fact we followed the windings of 
 this stream for two marches, encamping on its banks both at 
 Au-shara and Tur-i- Shaikh. As far as I could see, it is only 
 from this the northern side that Kalah-i-nau could be attacked
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 201 
 
 with advantage. On every other side it is hemmed in by a 
 broad belt of intricate undulations, amid which the various 
 pathways converging on the town wind. The gradients are 
 stiff, and the defiles many and narrow. A small determined 
 force could hold them against superior numbers, and an 
 enemy ignorant of the locality who sustained a defeat in such 
 a country would be simply annihilated. From Au-shara we 
 wended our way down a broadish valley, tenanted by Tokhis 
 and Utaks, for 12 or 13 miles ; then turned sharp across 
 a high spur into a parallel valley, and marched five miles 
 along it to Tur-i- Shaikh. I have already alluded to the 
 sulphur-spring and domed reservoir there. The latter meas- 
 ured about 55 feet in diameter, 70 feet in height, and is built 
 of kiln-dried bricks. On our march thence to Mangan we had 
 several times to cross the stream, and the consequent delay 
 to the baggage would have been very great had not Major 
 Meiklejohn detached small fatigue-parties of his regiment 
 with pickaxes, spades, and bill-hooks to construct a temporary 
 bridge. Fortunately an abundance of tamarisk-wood was 
 available on the banks of the stream itself, and so in less than 
 half an hour two rough bridges of tamarisk-boughs strewn 
 with earth and grass were put together, and the baggage- 
 animals filed over gaily in a double line. At Khushk, I may 
 mention, we again had to change a large portion of our trans- 
 port. It is extraordinary how unpopular our transport ser- 
 vice is with these people, notwithstanding the enormous hire 
 they obtain. The Jarnshidis and the Hazaras were, however, 
 obliged to provide camels to replace those which we brought 
 from Anardara and Sabzawar, some 450 in all. There is, 
 however, one very good reason why the camel-owners here 
 dislike being called on to fit us out with transport. They are 
 not owners of baggage but of breeding camels. They own 
 for the most part females, who are all, as we have found to 
 our annoyance, far advanced in pregnancy at this season. 
 Such camels are quite unfit for work, and many of them have 
 dropped their young prematurely. A female camel that is 
 once prematurely delivered is ever afterwards useless for 
 breeding. All these things considered, it is not difficult to
 
 202 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 understand why our service is unpopular with them. Every 
 owner whose camels are now with us, is continually petition- 
 ing for his discharge. But they are all wanted for fetching 
 supplies. Some 600 are already under orders to go off sharp 
 and bring in wood, bhoosa, grain, and other articles of food- 
 supply urgently needed. We are very hard up for wood. 
 Writing six weeks ago I expressed my doubts of the truth 
 of the report that the Murghab valley was woodless. It is, 
 however, a fact. There is not a stick, or a bit of scrub even 
 nothing but long grass, in which the pheasants lie. The 
 Tirband-i-Turkistan appears in the distance to be sparsely 
 overgrown with trees. 
 
 Mangan is merely an open space among the hills whence a 
 warm sulphur-spring issues. We drank its water faute de 
 mieux. On a hill hard by are the indistinct traces of an old 
 fort, as well as a ziarat and cemetery. It is evidently a great 
 place for shepherds and their flocks. From Mangan to the 
 banks of the Murghab we had a plain easy-going road to 
 follow. Sardar Sher Ahmed Khan had been sent on the 
 previous day to select and mark out the ford, a duty which 
 he admirably carried out. The water was fully three feet 
 deep, and though the channel was not 50 yards in breadth, the 
 current was very rapid. Consequently several camels, carry- 
 ing, as they did, across the stream a native follower or sepoy 
 as well as a load, fell down, and only the praiseworthy exer- 
 tions of the Jamshidi and Hazara sowars, who led and guided 
 across the strings of camels, guarded the lower side of the ford, 
 and rescued the immersed loads, prevented further accidents. 
 The first camels began to cross about mid-day, and when the 
 shades of night fell, a portion of the reserve baggage was still 
 on the left bank. It crossed early the following morning, as 
 soon as the genial rays of the sun had somewhat dissipated 
 the chills of night. Early on the 13th, Captain Yate and 
 Lieutenant Wright started for the General's camp near the 
 fort, and by the time the main body arrived, our new camp 
 was marked out and ready to be occupied. It is truly quite 
 a model camp, the streets are so beautifully smooth and well 
 kept, and the lines of tent-pegs are simply without a flaw.
 
 KUHSAN TO BALA MURGHAB. 203 
 
 Euclid himself could not have worked the whole thing out 
 with greater mathematical precision. I cannot say that the 
 combination of TcibitTcas and canvas is an improvement. I 
 prefer pure canvas if our earth-begrimed tents (I beg to 
 except the noble mansions of Sir Peter Lumsden and all the 
 senior officers of the Mission, which have, except at Kuhsan, 
 been now pitched for the first time) merit the term " pure." 
 Captain Cotton, 20th Panjab Infantry, has been appointed 
 provost -marshal, and he has his work cut out for him. 
 However, having conducted the Commission into its winter- 
 quarters safe and sound, it is time to stop. Time enough 
 before me to describe our life in winter-quarters, since we 
 shall be here six weeks or even longer.
 
 204 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 
 
 BALA MURGHAB, 26th Dec. 
 
 IT is but too seldom that the Englishman's ideal Christmas is 
 realised : the Christmas by the ruddy blazing home-fireside, 
 among those that are nearest and dearest, unmarred by the 
 suspicion of a sorrow or care, and unclouded by the shade of 
 envy, hate, or distrust ; the Christmas of pure glistening snow 
 and dark transparent ice on a frosty but sunlit day, of beauti- 
 ful holly with its cheery red berries and exquisite variegated 
 leaves the warm cosy breakfast-room, with its interchange of 
 friendly presents and kindly greetings and wishes the church 
 and the old familiar pew with snug discreet crimson curtains, 
 the ivy and holly girt pillars and arches, the altar ensconced 
 in a framework of multicoloured texts embosomed in ever- 
 greens and everlastings (I pass over the pleasant hours of 
 light toil and congenial labour, pervaded by such mild odour 
 of flirtation as becomes the place and the people of whose 
 handiwork these decorations are the fruit) ; and last not least, 
 the Christmas dinner in a snug dining-room, well lit and 
 with curtains drawn, and a big log-fire the turkey, the sirloin, 
 the mince-pies and the fiery plum-pudding, and a glass or two 
 of good port " to keep a' down," and all this enjoyed with 
 the appetite begotten of a good afternoon's skating or walking 
 and a fine frosty air. 
 
 We too, on the Murghab, have, however, been trying to 
 enjoy life and Christmas in our own way individually and
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 205 
 
 collectively. With individual modes of enjoyment it is not 
 my province to deal, but of the collective I may be allowed 
 to say a word. This is the first time, I ween, that Christmas 
 greetings have been interchanged and the health of our Queen 
 and of absent friends has been drunk within sound of the 
 rushing Murghab waters. Ivy and holly we had none, but 
 thanks to the thoughtfulness of General Lumsden, we had 
 juniper from the Tirband-i-Turkistan. Xor can a tent with 
 a temporary fireplace that obstinately refuses to emit its 
 smoke via the chimney, be held to be a satisfactory substitute 
 for walls of brick and stone and a snug genial fireside. Divine 
 service under the floral and artificial designs of a Jubbulpore 
 single-poled tent, instead of the grand architecture, half veiled 
 in a dress if not natural at least borrowed from Nature, of 
 our old English churches, bereft of the grand, elevating, almost 
 awe-inspiring tones of a fine organ, and the blended notes of a 
 perfect choir singing through the aisles and re-echoing from 
 the groined roof, performed not in the dim soft light shed from 
 windows of old stained glass, but in a dull glare filtering 
 through Indian chics such a service is but a bare reality 
 robbed of all its charms. Snow and ice we had none, though 
 we had all looked forward to a very severe winter. Indeed 
 we have every reason to thank the elements for their con- 
 siderate treatment of us. The natives generally agree that 
 this is so far an exceptionally mild winter. Although we 
 have had from ten to fifteen degrees of frost at night, and 
 some days have been cloudy, chilly, and lowering, hitherto no 
 snow has fallen in the valleys, and rain only in slight showers. 
 Indeed for the last week the clays have been bright and sunny 
 and the atmosphere clear, while at nights the stars have been 
 seen twinkling with a vivacity characteristic of a frosty night 
 in England. It would seem as if Nature had vowed that, 
 whatever the general disadvantages of a Christmas spent in 
 Badkis might be, the weather at least should not help to aggra- 
 vate them. So the sun shone out right merrily on Christmas 
 morn ; and in the afternoon, in default of ice to skate or slide 
 on, some of us went out shooting and brought in a miscella- 
 neous bag of pheasant, duck, teal, snipe, quail, and an owl
 
 206 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 for the advancement of natural history. And at dinner, 
 if the turkey was conspicuous by its absence and the sir- 
 loin was tough and tasteless, we had an excellent haunch of 
 venison and pheasant galore for the trouble of shooting, and 
 no expenses for preserving (a luxury not often obtainable at 
 home) ; and as for the plum-pudding, which had come all the 
 way from Teheran, and for size and quality equalled any I 
 ever saw, it was quite irreproachable. Nor was the port wine 
 (not, it is true, of the " old crusty," but of the " well-shaken- 
 before-taken " type) wanting in which to drink to our Queen 
 and our far-away friends, who, we doubt not, a few hours 
 later, when our heads were reposing unconsciously on our 
 pillows, returned us_the compliment. And let me not forget 
 to mention the delicious sugar-crusted cakes, compounded, 
 baked, and turned out by the Commissariat, that department 
 which from the day we first met together at Eindli up till 
 now has been the " Whitely " of the Commission. And may 
 it and its chief continue to be so to the end ! 
 
 We could not but regret that our party on Christmas-day 
 was not quite complete, as Captains Maitland and Gore and 
 Lieutenant the Honourable M. G-. Talbot were obliged by the 
 exigencies of duty to be absent. However, Christmas cheer 
 comes every year (more or less), whereas it is not every day 
 that one can serve up to the world of strategy and science a 
 neat little slice of the earth's face trimmed and dressed and 
 neatly dished, with a long and learned report by way of sauce. 
 Consequently they have kept their own little Christmas some- 
 where about Kalah-i-nau. Captain Griesbach rejoined us on 
 the 21st, and Captain Peacocke on the 23d. Of their wander- 
 ings I will speak more in detail hereafter. When I have 
 dealt with the head-centre of the Commission it will be time 
 enough to follow up the radii. Our camp occupies a fairly 
 central position in that section of the Murghab valley visible 
 therefrom. The length of this section is about sixteen miles, 
 and the width from three to four. Down the centre winds 
 the Murghab, a rapid stream forty or fifty yards in breadth, at 
 the fords not shallower than three feet, and in many places 
 forming deep pools which one can well imagine to be the
 
 IX OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 207 
 
 haunt of that prey for which the angler yearns. As yet, 
 strange to say, those among us who are keen votaries of the 
 piscatorial art have not deemed it worth while to cast a fly or 
 bait a hook, and yet it is said that the monsters of the Mur- 
 ghab are a foe not lightly to be tackled. Occasionally some 
 Izaak Walton of the Afghan garrison in the fort may be seen 
 intently watching a stick and line. Close to the right bank 
 of this river is situated our camp. Follow this bank (it makes 
 a wide bend to the east between the fort and our camp) for 
 half a mile, and you will find yourself at what was once the 
 main gate of the fort. But now both the gate and stout wall 
 through which it was once the only legitimate means of ingress 
 and egress, are fallen from their once high estate, and not 
 Kemus leapt more easily over the nascent walls of Rome than 
 any enemy might skip over the effete outer defences of Bala 
 Murghab. This outer wall and ditch formerly stretched right 
 across the neck of the peninsula on which the town and cita- 
 del were, or rather are, situated. This peninsula is formed by 
 a westward bend of the river, which with its precipitous banks 
 protects the place to the south, west, and north. Only to the 
 east were strong defensive works necessary. At the southern 
 extremity of the eastern wall the river was once bridged. Of 
 that bridge the traces are now but faint. The citadel has been 
 entirely rebuilt within the last two years. It stands on a 
 highish mound, whether natural or artificial, and its northern 
 face, in which is the gate, rests on the river. Around it are 
 scattered hovels of mud in which are quartered the garrison. 
 This consists at present (most of the troops being at Panjdeh) 
 of four guns of a battery and a portion of a Kabuli regiment 
 of infantry. There is also accommodation for troops inside the 
 citadel, where the Governor of Herat, Kazi Saad-ud-din, and 
 General Ghaus-ud-din are, or recently were, residing. I doubt 
 if the walls would long stand artillery-fire. The lie of the 
 valley here is approximately from south-east to north-west. 
 Some seven miles south-east of Bala Murghab Fort the river 
 emerges from a narrow defile, ten or twelve miles in length, 
 cutting the Tirband-i-Turkistan range ; and some eight miles 
 north-west of the same fort, the valley, bending westward, places
 
 208 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 a limit on the range of vision in that direction. This valley 
 is bounded on either side by high and steep undulating hills 
 covered with grass. A month or six weeks later, it is said, 
 these hills will be a lovely carpet of crocuses. The bulbs cer- 
 tainly abound, and already some of us, w r ho have strong horti- 
 cultural proclivities, have begun to plant them out in empty 
 wine-cases, regardless of the probability that ere they can bud 
 and bloom the Commission may have struck camp and be 
 scattered along the frontier of the future. However, human 
 nature even with old maids and bachelors has a craving 
 for something to fondle and tend. Old maids have their cats ; 
 and old bachelors well, they have their crocuses. The gently 
 sloping ground between the hills and river on either side, 
 varying from one and a half to two miles in breadth, is almost 
 entirely under cultivation, past or present, and studded with 
 villages of kibitkas. East of the river the settlements are 
 mostly, if not entirely, those of the Firuzkuhis ; while west of 
 it are the Jamshidis, with a sprinkling of Hazaras. 
 
 There is little or nothing here to tempt us to leave camp- 
 limits except for big or small game shooting. The party, con- 
 sisting of General Lumsden, Major Holdich, Captains Durand, 
 Yate, Borrow, and Heath, and Mr Merk, who went out on the 
 22d to shoot big game on the Tirband-i-Turkistan, returned on 
 the 24th with twenty-four head of ibex and uriyal. To use 
 the pithy and expressive words of a participator in the hunt, 
 these animals were "running about like rabbits." The 
 sportsmen were ranged along the top of a high cliff, up which 
 the game was driven by a long line of beaters. The amusing 
 part of the thing was that the beaters, who all had guns, 
 blazed away at the game to their hearts' content. How many 
 head of game were killed in all it is impossible to say. Among 
 the twenty-four above mentioned were several fine heads, 
 some of which will go to enrich the treasures of natural history. 
 The great place for pheasants is near Karawulkhana, some 
 ten miles down the river. A very hot corner, however, was 
 discovered within five miles of camp, where, in addition to 
 pheasant, snipe, and a few geese, duck and teal, and even an 
 odd quail, may be bagged. It is, however, pretty well played
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 209 
 
 out by this time. The same place is a favourite resort for 
 pig, arid in a few days we hope to make up a party and get a 
 good run out of the bristly denizens of its reed-beds. Another 
 game-bird occasionally seen about here is the obara or telur (a 
 species of bustard). Among the rocky cliffs of the Tirband-i- 
 Turkistan chikore simply swarm, but to shoot them is another 
 thing. Riding here is no pleasure, the country is so cut up 
 by ditches, canals, inundated patches, ploughed fields ; and then 
 there is nothing whatever to make riding attractive, no beauty 
 of scenery, indeed nothing to see at all. A cluster of kibitkas 
 once seen is seen for ever ; the Jamshidi peasant is not the 
 sort of fellow one cannot see too much of, and his wife and 
 daughter have neither that beauty of feature and form, nor 
 that coquettish elegance of attire, which finds favour in the eyes 
 of the stronger sex. I have before remarked that the Turko- 
 man and Chahar Aimak women are not veiled, although on the 
 near approach of so strange a phenomenon as a Britisher they 
 apparently deem it discreet and wise to half screen their loveli- 
 ness behind a corner of their head-gear, in a manner sugges- 
 tive of " hide and seek " or " peep-oh." Then there is not a 
 tree or shrub anywhere, and the crops are still in embryo ; so 
 you will easily understand that we seek our amusements more 
 in camp than out of it. It is only the officers of the Survey 
 and Intelligence departments whom duty calls out of camp. 
 The rest of us are detained in camp by duty, except our 
 zealous and energetic provost-marshal, who hovers on the 
 outskirts. 
 
 Now to see what sort of camp it is in which we can amuse 
 ourselves. Let us take a bird's-eye view of it. You see the 
 flag-staff and the British ensign in the centre, whence four 
 roads radiate north, south, east, and west. The tents that 
 line both sides of the road running north and south are 
 those of the officers of the Commission. West of this road 
 you see a mixture of tents and kibitkas, and rows of horses 
 and ponies. Those are the cavalry lines, and on their left 
 flank are our two lawn-tennis courts, not exactly as flat as 
 a billiard-table. The road running east and west bisects the 
 cavalry lines, and severs the infantry from the commissariat 
 

 
 210 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 and hospitals ; in short, the infantry occupy the north-east 
 quarter, and the commissariat and hospitals the south-east. 
 These are the general features. Do you see that big single- 
 poled tent south-east of the flag-staff? That is the Com- 
 missioner's tent, and, as it should be, the biggest. In fact 
 you may very well gauge the rank and importance of each of 
 us by the size of our tents, except in one or two cases where 
 a love of simplicity or a sense of snugness has outweighed 
 the claims of pride and dignity. Next look at the big 
 doubled -poled tent, linked to a single -poled; that is the 
 mess the former the dining, the latter the ante-room. We 
 breakfast at 9, and dine at 6.30 ; and some fellows with 
 enviable digestions lunch in between. Till very recently 
 we had, to all intents and purposes, no English papers or 
 periodicals. The fact is, they were sent vid Bushire, Teheran, 
 and Mashhad, and took three months in reaching us. It is 
 only the last two mails that have brought us the English 
 papers up to 17th and 22d November. In the meantime 
 weeks and weeks of the products of the English daily, 
 weekly, and monthly press are careering along the high- 
 roads of Persia, and will reach us about the time we leave 
 this and need waste-paper for packing. So they'll come in 
 iiseful after all, if rather dear at the price. It is pleasant 
 once more to look on the familiar covers of ' Blackwood ' and 
 the 'Nineteenth Century,' the 'Fortnightly' and the 'Con- 
 temporary.' You see we only patronise the higher flights of 
 literary effort. None of your Society monthlies for those 
 who are about to say unto Russia, " Thus far, and no farther," 
 and who are to mark an era an important era in the 
 history of the Central Asian question. Our mess-tables 
 groan not beneath the weight of the scandal or gossip loving 
 pages of ' Truth,' the ' World,' and ' Vanity Fair.' And as for 
 our chairs, they would, I verily believe, collapse at the very 
 sight of such rubbish. You never saw such chairs. I hear 
 they are the outcome of jail-labour. Verily, if they are, the 
 Government need have no fear that jail-industries will in- 
 terfere with independent enterprise. No one would ever 
 twice trouble the jail that made such chairs. One officer of
 
 IX OUR WINTER- QUARTERS, 211 
 
 rather portly dimensions has brought to ruin no less than 
 five of these delusive seats ; and the writer, who may be 
 classed as a middle-weight, has twice measured his length 
 on the floor. These chairs have but one good feature 
 viz., that they are admirable promoters of merriment ; they 
 collapse so suddenly, and yet so harmlessly ; they are the 
 most perfect of practical jokers they produce unfailing 
 merriment, and inflict neither bodily nor mental hurt. We 
 have one or two other jokers, equally incorrigible, in our 
 mess ; not practical, however, but verbal. In fact, so free at 
 times is the flow of puns and jokes, that it has been often 
 suggested that a collection of them should be made and 
 styled the "A. B. C. book of jokes." However, the most 
 prolific perpetrator of these jeux d' esprit and marvellous 
 indeed are some of them declines firmly to assist in per- 
 petuating them. See now how good cometh of evil. A 
 treacherous chair and a terrible pun are distinctly evils, are 
 they not ? And yet supposing you are a bit down in your 
 luck, and you are sitting silent over your repast with an 
 expression that recalls to your neighbours that line of 
 Horace 
 
 " Post equitem sedet atra cura," 
 
 suddenly crash, and opposite you above the convivial board 
 peers the visage, half vexed, half amused, of the latest victim 
 of our jail-born-and-bred chairs, while peals of laughter from 
 the convince shake the very tent-sides. Or suddenly A's or 
 B's latest atrocity bursts on the astonished ears of the 
 assembled audience, and elicits rounds of good-natured, if 
 somewhat ironical, merriment and applause. And of course 
 you join in and laugh too, and at the sound of a hearty 
 guffaw away flies dull care to seek refuge on some other 
 shoulders. So springeth good out of evil. And yet what 
 sapient tongue is it that hath said, " Thou shalt not do evil 
 that good may come thereof " ? Fortunately, perhaps jail- 
 birds and punsters think otherwise. 
 
 It is a pleasant life here, because it is a life of work a life 
 in which there is no occasion, as in cantonment at times, to
 
 212 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 murmur, " How the deuce am I to get through this infernal 
 long day ? " "We are not early birds. We have had enough 
 of cockcrow-rising since 1st September. Few of us now hear 
 rfoeiltt played by the drums and suronais of the 20th Panjab 
 Infantry. If one does happen to awake in time and hear the 
 strange enlivening strains breaking in upon the darkness of 
 night, one wonders at first, what is this ? Can any frivolous 
 native dare to so infringe the solemn dignity of this camp 
 as to dance and make merry in the small hours of the morn ? 
 And then you remember what it is, and happy in the know- 
 ledge that you can sleep several hours more, you drink in the 
 melodious sounds, and as the last note of the pipe and tap 
 of the drum dies away, you sink once more into somnolent 
 oblivion, until your servant enters to announce that " the hot 
 water is ready, and the breakfast-bugle will sound very soon." 
 During the day each individual is occupied with his own 
 duties and diversions. But at dinner all meet; and after 
 dinner there is whist and foartt, &c., for those who like 
 games of combined skill and chance, and a wide field of 
 current literature for those who, after a good square meal, 
 prefer to stock their brains with extra knowledge rather 
 than exercise the knowledge previously stocked. 
 
 CAMP BALA MCRGHAB, 2d January. 
 
 We have passed through Christmas week, and there is no 
 marked increase of the numbers on the sick-list : I mean, of 
 course, among the British, or as I should rather say, with due 
 regard to precision, the European members of the Commis- 
 sion. But even in using that term I fail to be sufficiently 
 comprehensive, seeing that one of our number, who showed a 
 very just appreciation for the traditional sirloin and plum- 
 pudding, comes of oriental lineage. Indeed we are all a 
 singularly, I might almost say a determinedly, healthy lot ; 
 and what is said of the officers is equally true of the men. 
 When I look back on the Afghan campaign, and the almost 
 appalling mortality that decimated some, especially British 
 regiments, and then compare it with the almost unbreached 
 vitality of this Commission, the natural sequence is to trace
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 213 
 
 the effect back to the cause. And what is the cause ? It is 
 not the climate nor the absence of toil and hardship ; on the 
 contrary, the thermometric and barometric variations were 
 exceptional, and the strain be it mental or physical- on the 
 capacities of all, no light one. To attribute it to " luck," 
 were to take refuge in a subterfuge worthy of oriental 
 fatalism, but unworthy of the scientifically practical spirit 
 of the age. Good health is an edifice erected by care on the 
 foundations of a good constitution. Care is of two kinds, 
 personal and professional. That the Commission as a body 
 is blessed with a good constitution, might be safely premised 
 from the searching medical inspection to which all were sub- 
 mitted before starting, and has now been proved by practical 
 test. Let it be conceded as a point of little or no moment 
 that, as stated some five or six months back by a critic in the 
 public press (it seems not unreasonable to conclude that the 
 critic in question is one of the fairer sex, for men, with all 
 their faults, do not indulge in invidious comparisons of male 
 personal appearance), " there is not a single fine specimen of 
 the British race in the Commission." What is of infinitely 
 higher importance viz., that it is made of good grit has 
 been satisfactorily demonstrated. The critic, whoever it be, 
 did not stop to consider that the Kussian Commission is 
 composed of men, not women. Had we been dealing with 
 a nation of Amazons for chaste and impervious to male 
 blandishments as they were, yet a weak point was found in 
 Penthesilea's armour then it were indeed not unworthy of 
 the diplomatic foresight of our late Viceroy and his Foreign 
 Secretary to allow manly beauty to score heavily in the 
 competition for appointments to the Afghan Boundary Com- 
 mission. Seeing, however, that men were about to enter the 
 lists against mm, we think that stress was rightly laid on more 
 solid qualities. 
 
 It is now time to say something of recent events. Cap- 
 tain Griesbach's little trip was productive of two results 
 a sketch of Herat, and a suspicion of coal. He crossed the 
 Band-i-Baba from Khushk, and camped near Gazar-gah, three 
 miles north of Herat. Arrived there, he found himself at
 
 214 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 once under the surveillance of the Herat authorities, and his 
 escort assumed the functions of a guard. He received a visit 
 from the brother of General Ferainurz Khan, but was not 
 invited to return that visit in Herat. When he commenced 
 preparations for taking a photo, his escort, or rather guard, 
 walked off with the black cloth; nor was he permitted to 
 mount to the top of one of the minars in the Musalla. He 
 was allowed, however, to make a pencil-sketch of the north 
 and east faces of the city from a point about 1^ mile north- 
 east of it. The Afghan officials, though obstructive, appear 
 to have been polite enough. The people were everywhere 
 civil and attentive, except at Kalah-i-nau. That the Nizam- 
 ud-daulah was neglectful, there is no doubt ; but that he was 
 so, surprises me. My experience of him would have led me 
 to augur the very reverse. After a stay of two days, Captain 
 Griesbach returned by the Band-i-Zarmast to Kalah-i-nau, 
 and thence to Bala Murghab. In the mountain-range north 
 of Herat (Band-i-Baba and Zarmast) he found traces of the 
 talchirs of India, the lowest of the Indian coal-measures, and 
 which in Bengal and the Central Provinces always underlie 
 the productive coal-beds (gondivanas). This discovery leads 
 him to believe that coal-seams would probably be met with 
 in the ranges east of the Band-i-Zarmast, and perhaps in the 
 Davandar range. 
 
 Captain Peacocke's wanderings in Southern and Central 
 Badkis have greatly increased our knowledge of that tract, 
 and, combined with the operations of Major Holdich, Captains 
 Gore and Maitland, Lieutenant Talbot, and Surveyor Imam 
 Sharif, have furnished a fairly complete survey of and report 
 on the roads, water, and supplies of the country bounded by 
 the Hari Eud on the west and south, the road from Herat vid 
 Kalah-i-nau to Bala Murghab on the east, and on the north by 
 a line drawn along the Murghab valley to its junction with 
 the Khushk, then up the Khushk to Chaman-i-bed, and thence 
 through Ak-rabat and Kungruali to the Hari Eud. I may 
 mention here that it is not unlikely that Sir Peter Lumsden 
 will follow this route to Pul-i-Khatun and Sarakhs. 
 
 About the 28th ultimo, Captains Maitland and Gore and
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 215 
 
 Lieutenant Talbot arrived. Having moved from Kuhsan vid 
 Kafir Kalah and Toman Aka, and thence through the Chash- 
 ma-i-sabz Pass in Colonel Eidgeway's track to Khushk and 
 Kalah-i-nau, they separated, Captain Maitland following in 
 the steps of the surveyor, Imam Sharif, and the other two in 
 those of Colonel Eidgeway's party. The results of the sur- 
 vey made are entirely satisfactory. On the 1st instant 
 Captain Peacocke and Mr Merk started on a trip to Andkhui. 
 On the 5th instant, weather permitting, a party consisting of 
 Colonel Eidgeway, Majors Bax and Meiklejohn, Dr Owen, 
 Captain Maitland, and myself, go to Panjdeh, returning about 
 the 14th. Colonel Eidgeway and Captain Maitland are com- 
 bining duty with pleasure at least I trust so. Anyhow, I 
 can answer for the duty. We ought to get good pheasant- 
 shooting en route. A party of six of us went to Karawul- 
 khana a week ago and bagged seventy-one pheasants, besides 
 duck, snipe, teal, and quail. 
 
 Dr Owen will extend to the Saruks the boon of that medical 
 skill and devotion to his profession which should have made 
 his memory dear to many a human creature between the Hel- 
 mund and the Murghab. The rest of us are going to see and 
 to be seen, and to buy the fruits of Turkoman industry, quan- 
 tities of which, however, in daily increasing proportions, are 
 brought into camp here. The Turkomans almost invariably 
 employ Jews for this purpose. And yet, curiously enough, the 
 Turkomans, who trade on their own hook, are less amenable to 
 a bargain and less willing to abate their original price than 
 the Jew. I cannot say I am much taken with their jewellery 
 (silver or silver-gilt inlaid with cornelian, a stone that here 
 fetches a comparatively high price), but their carpet-work is 
 very handsome and lasts for an indefinite time, the colours 
 seeming to soften and lose none of their distinctness by age 
 and wear and tear. Their aghari, a very expensive kind of 
 fine cloth woven the brown of the fine under-down on a two- 
 year old camel, and the white of the finest sheep's-wool is a 
 product much in demand among the higher and wealthier 
 classes. In reality there is aghari of all prices from Es. 6 
 or 7 a yard down to as many annas. Its great fault is, that
 
 216 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 to the European eye it does not look its value. Of their 
 silver ornaments none are prettier than the little caps, over- 
 laid with thin small plates of silver, and decorated often with 
 little silver bells, &c., worn by the women. Some decent 
 Turkoman horses have been bought here for sums very small 
 in comparison with what is paid in India for Arabs, waters, 
 or country-breds. 
 
 The officers of the Survey department are at present very 
 busy connecting the various surveys taken, and working out 
 their calculations. To-day the weather has taken a decided 
 turn for the worse ; the higher hills are covered with snow, 
 and down here it rains and drizzles, and altogether looks 
 very unpropitious either for our trip to Panjdeh or for future 
 survey operations. As soon as it clears, one or two expedi- 
 tions will have to be made to the top of the Tirband-i-Turkis- 
 tan, and one or two to the nearer hills. Both the Survey and 
 Intelligence want a man to go into the Firuzkuhi country ; 
 but no one is available, so short-handed are they. It is un- 
 fortunate that three officers of the Intelligence branch were 
 not sent, as was, I believe, the desire of the Government of 
 India. The officers of the Survey have long foreseen the 
 difficulty they would experience in carrying out all the work 
 expected of them. Even as it is, Captain Peacocke has for 
 the last six weeks been combining the duties of an officer of 
 the Survey and the Intelligence departments. 
 
 3d January. 
 
 It looks as if foul weather had set in in earnest. This 
 morning a fall of snow succeeded to the heavy rain of the 
 previous evening and night. Our gymkhana on the 1st 
 instant was a complete success. Among the spectators, in 
 addition to Sir Peter Lurnsden, was Kazi Saad-ud-din, General 
 Ghaus-ud-din, and their suites. We had offered prizes for a 
 race open to all horses the property of Afghan subjects, be 
 they Turkoman, Jamshidi, Hazara, Afghan, or of any other 
 race. The first day not a single entry was made. But when 
 they had seen our sports they were fired with a spirit of 
 rivalry, and at an early hour yesterday morning a lot of them
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 217 
 
 were to be seen galloping over the course the steeds they 
 proposed racing in the afternoon. Luckily for those steeds 
 it soon began to rain, and all idea of a second day of the 
 gymkhana was abandoned. On the first day, in addition to 
 such laughter-moving events as the races for Persian and 
 Indian mules (the Indian mule is much swifter though less 
 of a weight-carrier than the Persian), syces' ponies, a camel- 
 race and a doolie-ra.ee, we had a very good race (the A. B. C. 
 Derby) for all horses, won by Captain Durand's Arab Mero- 
 dach, ridden by Mr Drummond ; The Chicken, a walcr be- 
 longing to the same owner, ridden by Mr Kawlins, being a 
 good second. Distance one mile. The half-mile flat race for 
 ponies was won easily by Dr Owen's The Shovel, ridden by 
 Mr Wright. The Badkis and Bala Murghab Chases for 
 Galloways and ponies fell through owing to the subsequent 
 bad weather. The tugs-of-war between Sikhs and Moham- 
 medans of the llth Bengal Lancers and the right and left 
 wings of the 20th Native Infantry were hard-fought con- 
 tests, that aroused great enthusiasm and excitement among 
 partisans and spectators alike. Tent-pegging and lime-cut- 
 ting, though interesting as feats of skill evincing good 
 horsemanship and a true hand and eye, are less attractive 
 to the general public. On the evening of Xew Year's 
 Day, after dinner, by the kind permission of Major Meikle- 
 john, the Kattaks of his regiment performed several of 
 their native dances for our amusement. They danced 
 in a circle round a huge bonfire, sometimes with swords, 
 sometimes without. Each dance began with a slow measure, 
 which gradually quickened and quickened until it culmi- 
 nated in a movement to the tune of the drums and suronais, 
 of such rapidity that the few who had strength to join in it at 
 all very soon collapsed. The enthusiasm and endurance of 
 the pipers and drummers was even more surprising than that 
 of the dancers. Finally, two or three of the most expert 
 handlers of the sword went through several exercises with it 
 in time to the music. The sight of all this proved too much 
 for a Ghilzai camel-driver, who, seizing a sword, joined in and 
 certainly eclipsed the others. The performance concluded
 
 218 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 with a mock Hindu Yogi dance performed by a Mohammedan 
 of the 20th Native Infantry. If rather ghastly, it was also 
 amusing, and a very good piece of acting. 
 
 Robberies are no uncommon occurrence in our camp usually, 
 however, of the nature of petty thefts; but last night one 
 of our number was robbed of English gold and notes to the 
 value of about 50. There is little doubt that the robbery could 
 only have been effected by or with the connivance of one of 
 the owner's servants, or some one familiar with his habits. I 
 myself was so unfortunate as to be robbed at Kuhsan by a 
 Hazara servant of money and other articles to the value of 
 Us. 600. I ascertained afterwards that the rascal had even 
 at Quetta openly avowed that his only object in accompanying 
 the Mission was to get his expenses paid to Mashhad-i-Muk- 
 addas, and there ask forgiveness for all his sins at the shrine 
 of Imam Reza. Evidently the burden of his sins did not 
 weigh heavily on him, since he did not scruple to add to them 
 a theft of Es. 600. Indeed I do not feel sure that he did not 
 regard such a deed as something in his favour, to be weighed 
 in the balance against his more peculiarly Mohammedan sins. 
 It is with reluctance that I would appear to accuse an Imam, 
 far less the Prophet himself, of connivance at crime; but 
 really, where the injured is a Kafir and the injurer a true 
 believer especially if he bestowed a portion of his ill-gotten 
 gains in khairat and zakat (alms) it is hard to say in what 
 light the Leader of the Faithful might regard such an act. 
 And supposing he did deem such a sin pardonable, would he 
 not be acting up to the self-same spirit which animated the 
 Catholics and Eeformers of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seven- 
 teenth centuries ? What more noble aim for a true Catholic 
 than to compass the death of a follower of Huss or Wicklif, a 
 Lutheran or Calvinist, a Protestant or Huguenot ? And did 
 they, in their turn, ever spare the Catholic ? 
 
 BALA MUBGHAB, 9th January. 
 
 Everywhere snow, as far as the eye can see. Not very far, 
 it is true : 10 or 15 miles north to south, two or three only 
 east and west. The most distant and most striking features
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 219 
 
 of the snowy landscape are the comparatively high (9000 to 
 10,000 feet ahove sea-level) peaks of the Tirband-i-Turkistan, 
 against the snowy slopes of which stand out in dark relief a 
 few scattered junipers with their sombre evergreen foliage. 
 Looking from camp southward to the Darband or gorge 
 which gives passage to the Murghab through the mountain- 
 range above mentioned, the eye rests on one broad sheet of 
 snow cast into folds and furrows by the undulations and 
 inequalities of the mountainous surface on which it rests. 
 This is the northern aspect. But ride out to the mouth of 
 the Darband, turn round and look northward ; the southerly 
 slopes are brown and bereft of snow. Cold as it is (the 
 thermometer registered zero last night, and stood at 8 at 
 10 A.M. this morning), the sun's rays have their power, and 
 glad indeed are we all to catch a glimpse of the sun after its 
 week's imprisonment amid clouds, rain, and snow, and to 
 congratulate it on its restoration to its old established rights 
 and privileges. Since the 1st instant, when it kindly beamed 
 upon and encouraged our gymkhana, it has been unable to 
 hold its own against the combined forces of the other meteor- 
 ological powers. On that clay too, with a genial, but I fear 
 rather deceptive smile, it wished Mr Merk and Captain 
 Peacocke God-speed on their journey to Andkhui and Khwaja 
 Salih. Its intentions were doubtless of the best, but have 
 proved quite unequal to conciliating and pacifying the notori- 
 ously acrid and uncertain temper of old Father Christmas. 
 By the agency of some good fairy who sat on his knee and 
 chucked him under the chin, stroked his snowy beard, and 
 saw that the thorns of his holly wreath did not irritate his 
 venerable brows, and of some benign genius who plied him 
 steadily with beef, plum-pudding, and port wine, and amused 
 him with snap-dragon and Christmas-boxes, Christmas week 
 on the Murghab was peacefully tided over. But when the 
 old gentleman woke on the morning of the 2d January with 
 a faint suspicion of having lived, not wisely, but too well, for 
 eight days, and with possibly just a touch of gout in one toe, 
 then burst forth the vials of his pent-up wrath. " No more 
 gymkhana meets for you, my fine fellow," said he to the
 
 220 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 honorary secretary of the A. B. C. Gymkhana ; " no more God- 
 speeds and pleasant journeys for you, sirs," shouted he after 
 the wayfarers. And at his bidding the clouds massed in 
 martial array, and wind and rain, snow and sleet, mist and 
 cold, donned their murky armour and bared their cruel cut- 
 ting blades for action. Then the sun, thinking discretion the 
 better part of valour, withdrew into his own shell, and left 
 the denizens of Badkis to fight their own battles with the 
 hostile elements as best they could. 
 
 However, to make a long story short, we have survived it, 
 and, barring an abnormal increase of rheums and catarrhs, 
 red-tipped noses and chilblains, are none the worse for it. 
 True, we were fain to don our best armour, and quaint 
 indeed was some of our war-paint. Wide would have opened 
 the eyes of medieval chivalry could they have seen us : for 
 visored helmets, Balaclava caps ; for cuirasses, breast-plates, 
 coats-of-mail, and thigh-pieces, voluminous silk embroidered 
 poshtins, effectually shielding the wearer from neck to ankle 
 from the onslaughts of cold (alas ! not the Amir's " specially 
 selected " poshtins I begin to fear they are but a myth) ; and 
 then the understandings so varied were they in material, 
 hue, size, fit, and shape, that I give up in despair any 
 attempt to describe them. That they have their attractions 
 is certain, be it from a picturesque or ridiculous point of 
 view so much so, indeed, that a proposal to have our 
 "understandings" photoed was received with general ap- 
 plause. I shall hope to send you a copy of that photo, and 
 then the public will be able to decide which of twenty-nine 
 pairs of felt or fur boots best combines the attributes of 
 warmth, beauty, and elegance, and can award the palm 
 accordingly. Personally I am inclined to give the palm to 
 the Kussian boots, lined with I know not what, and bordered 
 with some dark, soft, delicious fur, with which the Commis- 
 sioner and those who accompanied him from England have 
 come provided. At least when I contrast them with the 
 slipshod fox-skin concerns soled with thick felt which pro- 
 tect my poor feet, I confess to a spasm of envy, especially 
 when my friends compare me to a low-comedy brigand on a
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 221 
 
 fifth-rate provincial stage. Beauty, however, apart, life here 
 now would he intolerable without them. One's own tent 
 is all very \vell : some favoured mortals have been able to 
 construct fireplaces and chimneys, and less favoured ones 
 toast their toes over pans of charcoal. Alas for chilblains ! 
 But the mess-tent is like a damp cellar it gives you the cold 
 shivers to go into it. Where are those stoves of which I 
 have heard talk ? Why, even the earthen utensils filled 
 with live charcoal, which we vise in our own tents, would be 
 better than nothing ! Some fellows say they cannot stand 
 sitting over charcoal, it gives them a headache. I am no 
 lover of charcoal-fumes myself; but with the thermometer 
 at zero, one will put up with a trifle to ensure warmth. The 
 night before last the water froze in our glasses at dinner, and 
 the ink in our inkstands and in our pens as we wrote after 
 dinner. There was only one place of refuge, and that under 
 the blankets ; and yet even there some poor fellows said next 
 morning they could not sleep for the cold. Be thankful for 
 mercies great or small. I slept like a top. 
 
 The advent of this intense cold was most sudden. Up to the 
 6th it was raining in the valley, while snow fell on the higher 
 elevations. At the same time it froze slightly every night. 
 On the 6th and 7th snowballing was all the go. I shall 
 not forget in a hurry the pelting I got from some twenty or 
 thirty of the 20th Panjab Infantry, headed by that indefatiga- 
 ble old warrior, Subadar-Major Mowla Dad. Eawlins and I 
 in a thoughtless moment challenged them, and a hot half-hour 
 we had of it. I don't mind confessing now, that when Major 
 Meiklejohn called " Hold ! Enough ! " I was pretty nearly 
 reduced to crying peccavi. Indeed, had it not been for the 
 timely assistance of our stalwart camel-contractor, Abdullah 
 Khan, the same who lost four teeth in a scrimmage with the 
 Afghan Commissioner's following at Khwaja Ali, we must 
 have called pax sooner. On the 8th the cold commenced 
 without the slightest warning. During the day the sun 
 shone out pleasantly, but as the shades of night drew in the 
 cold made itself felt. Even then so blinded had we become 
 to the possibility of cold by the previous mildness of the
 
 222 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 weather we required not only the evidence of our senses 
 of touch and feeling, but the testimony of our eyes, in the 
 form of a thermometer high at zero and water visibly freez- 
 ing, to convince us that the rumoured cold of the Central 
 Asian steppes was not a myth. This morning our first 
 thought was of skating. We soon found a small partially 
 flooded field ; it was hard frozen, but the water had been too 
 shallow to produce thick solid ice fit to bear. We at once 
 let more water in, and to-morrow we hope i.e., those who 
 have skates to skate, and those who have no skates to slide. 
 I hear wonderful stories of the marvellous skill of the Kabulis 
 in sliding. No doubt some of the sowars of the llth Bengal 
 Lancers and the sepoys of the 20th Panjab Infantry will 
 be able to teach us a thing or two. These men are now 
 all snugly clad in coats and trousers of the warmest 
 barak, provided by Government and made up at Herat. 
 In fact, on the score of warm clothing, both the troops 
 and followers of the Commission are admirably fitted out. 
 The men of the 20th Panjab Infantry, too, now sport 
 the sheepskin hat, the national head-dress of the Chahar 
 Aimak and the Turkoman. It is a splendid head-cover, 
 this sheepskin hat, in the cold weather, but intolerable, I 
 should say, in a hot climate. It has, moreover, a decidedly 
 martial air. To it, I believe, the favourable effect produced 
 by the irregular cavalry of the Chahar Aimak, reviewed by 
 Colonel Ridgeway near Ghorian, owed not a little. Not, be 
 it understood, that I seek to detract from the personal quali- 
 ties of these fine irregulars. Far from it. I both like them 
 and think they are made of real good stuff. They are at 
 present, I believe, favourably disposed to the British Gov- 
 ernment, and trustworthy partisans of Abdur Rahman Khan, 
 the ally and prottyt of that Government. It was mainly by 
 their assistance that Sardar Abdul-Kudus took Herat some 
 three years ago. It is just as well that Ayub Khan, by his 
 assassination of Khan Aga, chief of the Jamshidis, should 
 have alienated that tribe from himself. If Ayub Khan is 
 to become a Russian tool and it is more than probable that 
 he will enmity to him may nip in the bud any growth of
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 223 
 
 Eussian proclivities among the Chaliar Aimak, or at least 
 among the Jamshldis. 1 
 
 IQth January. 
 
 Our skating schemes have not met with, or rather perhaps 
 have met with, the success they merited. The water, after 
 being allowed to run in all day, was shut off at nightfall. In 
 the night all the water ran off mysteriously, so that the ice, 
 although strong enough to bear one or two skaters, was, 
 being unsupported by water beneath, quite unable to bear 
 the weight of any number. Last night we had only 24 
 of frost, but it is cloudy to-day and freezing hard. Again 
 we have flooded our skating-rink, and this time we intend 
 to let a slight flow continue all night. May success attend 
 our efforts ! 
 
 I spent the sunshine hours of yesterday in riding out with 
 a political officer to visit a Firuzkuhi chief, Mohammed 
 Azam Khan, head of the Firuzkuhi settlers of the Bala Mur- 
 ghab district. It was very cold work riding ; and when all 
 was done, I came to the conclusion that I might just as well 
 have stayed in camp. Our visit, I fear, put its recipient to 
 sad inconvenience. He had, we found, but a very small 
 house, occupied entirely by his wife or wives and family. 
 ISTow it is well known that a Mohammedan is not in the habit 
 of admitting strangers into the bosom of his family. Fortu- 
 nately the native attack^ with us had ridden ahead. The 
 flabbergastered Khan in his dilemma first suggested enter- 
 taining us sub Jove, and as a happy afterthought recollected an 
 empty stable. Happily it was clean. There rugs were spread 
 and a welcome fire lit. Presently the Khan came forth (he 
 had been titivating for ten minutes, and now appeared resplen- 
 dent in the cast-off tunic of an infantry staff-sergeant, chev- 
 rons and all), and greeting us, ushered us into the stable. In 
 course of conversation it transpired, what I had not before 
 
 1 It seems now almost certain that on the withdrawal of the British Com- 
 mission, the Chahar Aimak will ere long succumb to Russian influence. At 
 any rate, it is contrary to reason to expect that they will in any way aid the 
 Afghans in the defence of Herat. As early as May 1885, the Russians com- 
 menced intriguing with the Jamshidis through Ewaz Khan, a Saruk of 
 Yulatan.
 
 224 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 realised, that the political officer, myself, and the native 
 attach^ had come out in quest of shikar, and failing to find 
 any, had sought solace in the pleasure of paying the Khan 
 a visit. The Khan, of course, bowed his acknowledgments, 
 and while inwardly cursing us for disturbing him from his 
 domestic fireside, and obliging him to don his best toggery, 
 expressed himself gratified by the attention. Insensibly the 
 conversation wandered away from shikar, and I remarked that 
 the political officer and the native attacM appeared to feel 
 a most astounding interest in the Khan's tribe, relations, 
 father, uncles, brothers, nephews I might add his sisters 
 and his cousins and his aunts, were it not that Mohammedan 
 etiquette ignores the existence of female relatives. Curiously 
 enough, the more personal the questions became, the more 
 vague and general became the answers. Nothing more defi- 
 nite than the terms "great," "small," "very great," "very 
 many," " very small," " very few," " God knows," &c., could be 
 elicited. When our host thought fit to abandon generalities, 
 he launched forth into exaggerations. For instance, when 
 asked the strength of the Firuzkuhi tribe, he boldly hazarded 
 " 40,000 families." Now it is probable that the strength of 
 this tribe does not exceed 10,000 families. The Khan, more- 
 over, seemed by no means flattered by these tender inquiries 
 after those nearest and dearest to him. Was it modesty or 
 reticence that made him try to turn the conversation ? By 
 his side sat a sort of Fidus Achates, to whom he made a point 
 of referring every second question at length. Fidus Achates, 
 however, was even more stupid and worse informed than his 
 master. Both were agreed on one point, that none but one of 
 the greybeards (Rishsafidan) of the tribe could satisfactorily 
 answer such strange and searching questions as his interlocu- 
 tors put. Altogether the Khan seemed to score, for he said 
 a great deal without imparting the least information of any 
 value. In fact he beat the political officer on his own ground. 
 I believe myself, and others say the same thing, that to obtain 
 sound information recourse must be had to the humbler 
 classes, who have neither wit nor object for lying. The peas- 
 ant's knowledge is limited, but the little he knows he is more
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 225 
 
 likely to relate truthfully, than a personage of some rank who 
 sees a snare in every question. The only chance of ascertain- 
 ing approximate truth is to interrogate many, and to base the 
 result on the preponderance of evidence and the general pro- 
 babilities of the case. In fact, obtaining statistical informa- 
 tion from the Biluch, the Afghan, or any other Oriental, is 
 very much like taking an altitude by an aneroid. Both the 
 results are so influenced by extraneous circumstances as to be 
 but dubiously reliable. 
 
 Captain Peacocke on his way from Panjdeh here, was 
 directed to prepare and submit plans for the temporary re- 
 pairs of the Maruchak bridge. It was then discovered that 
 no timber large enough for constructing bridges across the 
 two broken arches could be obtained this side of Kadis, 
 one of the head settlements of the Eiruzkuhis, distant 50 or 
 60 miles south-east. It was accordingly determined to send 
 Captain Yate up into the mountains beyond Kadis with a party 
 to cut the firs or pines reputed to grow there. The juniper of 
 the Tirband is too small. However, no sooner had this order 
 been issued, than down came the snow ; and now they say 
 i.e., the Afghan Commissioner says that not only are the 
 passes blocked with snow, but that neither man nor beast 
 could endure the severe cold of the altitude at which these 
 firs or pines grow. Had this project been carried out, the 
 logs were to have been either dragged to Maruchak by camels, 
 or floated down the Murghab. Having procured the timber, 
 Captain Yate was then to have gone to Maruchak and repaired 
 the broken bridge in accordance with Captain Peacocke's 
 plans. This bridge was intended for the passage of the Gen- 
 eral's party on its way to Sarakhs. The Murghab is liable to 
 floods later on, after rain and snow, especially in the early 
 spring. Had Captain Yate gone to Kadis, I should have ac- 
 companied him, as would also a native surveyor. It is to be 
 regretted that we could not go, as the Firuzkuhi country has 
 never been visited by a European, and both the Foreign Office 
 and the Intelligence branch, as well as the Survey depart- 
 ment, are desirous of obtaining some information about this 
 tribe and their country. 
 
 p
 
 226 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Similarly, the Panjdeh party, consisting of Colonel Bidge- 
 way, Majors Bax and Meiklejohn, Captain Maitland, Dr 
 Owen, and myself (i.e., before I elected to go to Kadis in pre- 
 ference), which should have started on the 5th instant, having 
 been delayed a few days by the unpropitious state of the wea- 
 ther, will probably now not go at all. As far as buying 
 carpets, jewellery, and other Turkoman products goes, we are 
 all by this time pretty well fitted out with them. Every day 
 a number of Turkomans enter camp with a carpet or several 
 other articles for which the Briton is known to have a 
 hankering, strapped on behind their saddles. This or that 
 they sell, and off they go back to Panjdeh again. They travel 
 light apparently, with nothing but the clothes they wear, a 
 saddle and bridle, and a trifle of food for themselves and their 
 horses. I was much edified the other day by the account 
 given me by one of my syces of a Turkoman horse brought 
 into camp for sale. After several laudatory comments on the 
 height, shape, and action of the animal, he added " and from 
 the day of its birth it has been fed on nothing but dumbas' 
 tails." x I believe that the Turkomans were in the habit of 
 giving their horses dumba fat when in training for or on a 
 raid. I have also heard that kurtit (dried and condensed 
 mast, a kind of sour curds much consumed by the people of 
 Persia, Afghanistan, and Central Asia) is given by the Turko- 
 mans to their horses when they have extra hard work before 
 them. Certain it is that kunit is almost if not the only 
 thing that will render imperceptible the unpleasant taste of 
 salt or brackish water. Stay ! There is one other thing, and 
 that is a great thirst. 
 
 It is a wonderfully neat camp, this of ours. Leaving out 
 of the question the cavalry and infantry lines and the officers' 
 quarters, which ought to be, if they are not (and I do not 
 hesitate to say that they are), models of neatness and order, 
 let us pass on to the transport lines and the commissariat 
 "godown." Look at the mules arranged in lines of perfect 
 regularity, a model in point of cleanliness to any private 
 stable in camp. For each animal a mud feeding-trough has 
 
 1 Dumba = fat-tailed sheep.
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 227 
 
 been constructed, and the pack-saddles and gear of each two 
 or quartet of mules carefully wrapped up in a stout tarpaulin 
 that defies rain and snow, stand each in front of the string to 
 which they belong. Then cross the road and look at the 
 commissariat stores piled on platforms surrounded by a ditch, 
 and covered with tarpaulins. Rain and snow will affect them 
 little. Round the platforms are arranged in symmetrical 
 rows the tents and Jcibitkas of the warrant officers, sergeants, 
 babus, artisans, and coolies, the whole being girt with a wall 
 and ditch. By the by, our long-expected caravans from 
 Mashhad have arrived. Khan Baba Khan, one of the native 
 attaches, was sent there from Kuhsan on the 24th November 
 last. Apparently he finds life in Mashhad-i-Mukaddas the 
 scene of martyrdom and burial-place of Imam Reza, the pro- 
 vincial capital of North-Eastern Persia, and an important social 
 and commercial centre more seductive than the rigid routine 
 of camp-life. On the 8th some 200 mules arrived, and yester- 
 day about 100 camels. Tea, potatoes, charcoal, and warm 
 clothing are the principal contents. Of the two last, if we are 
 to have more than 32 of frost, we, or rather our followers, 
 cannot have too much. As for the potatoes, long depriva- 
 tion of that luxury has made us all Irishmen on that point ; 
 and as for those who are genuine natives of the Emerald Isle, 
 not the name of shamrock or poteen could sound sweeter in 
 their ears than does now the word " pratie." I hear also a 
 rumour current that the first consignment of the poslitins pre- 
 pared at Kabul, and sent by the Amir as a gift to the Com- 
 mission, has arrived. Anyhow, I see the guards of the 20th 
 Panjab Infantry attired in poslitins, the softness of the skin 
 of which, and the silkiness and length of the hair, attest to 
 their excellent quality. 
 
 Passing from the commissariat, we enter the precincts of 
 the hospitals, civil and military. Nothing could be snugger 
 than the kibitkas of the sick. It is easy to regulate the tem- 
 perature in them. I have, indeed, heard one or two officers 
 domiciled in these nomad dwellings complain of leakage from 
 the roof. Such is not, however, the case witli the hospital 
 kibitkas, whose numdahs are too solid and carefully arranged
 
 228 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 to admit a drop of water. But what are those two kibitkas 
 over there, isolated and surrounded by a four-feet wall ? 
 They constitute the "female ward" of the Bala Murghab 
 civil hospital. The civil surgeon tells me he has a great 
 number of female patients, and very grateful they seem to be 
 for his attention to them. I have not, however, yet heard 
 that he has found any occupants for the " female ward." 
 Supposing the lady herself to be willing, her relatives would 
 demur. It will take time to initiate, habituate, and reconcile 
 the trammelled mind of the Turkoman and Chahar Aimak to 
 such an unwonted display of confidence in their womankind, 
 and to accord to them such an unheard-of degree of freedom. 
 The idea of one of their ladies leaving the family circle and 
 going to live under the tutelage and care of the hakim sahib ! 
 a great and wise physician no doubt, a very magician for 
 skill, but young, too young, and too good-looking. Moreover, 
 what would they do without the women of their households ? 
 It is the women who do all the drudgery who make bread, 
 and carry wood and water, who spin and weave, and, with the 
 aid of their big ferocious sheep-dogs, protect the village while 
 the men are ploughing, sowing, and tending their herds. In 
 the first ten days of January, Dr Owen has had about 500 
 patients, mostly outdoor, but a good many of the men have re- 
 mained as indoor patients. The British Commissioner has, I 
 hear, wired to London for a supply of a newly discovered anaes- 
 thetic called " cocaine." This drug being rubbed or painted 
 over any part produces insensibility to pain without any of 
 the unpleasant after-effects of other anaesthetics or soporifics. 
 With such an instrument at his command, the fame of our 
 hakim sahib will assuredly be without rival in the Orient. 
 
 There seems to be little or no difference in the habits and 
 manner of living of the Turkomans and the Chahar Aimak. 
 Their houses are the same, and their style of dress identical. 
 We have already seen something of the Jamshidis and Hazaras 
 when we passed through Khushk and Kalah-i-nau. Moreover, 
 not a few travellers have already visited and written of them. 
 With regard however, to the death of Khan Aga, the late 
 chief of the former, there seems to be several reports current.
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 229 
 
 I have, for instance, heard it stated that he, in conjunction 
 with other chiefs of the Herat province, some of Afghan and 
 others of Persian race, conspired to overthrow Ayub Khan. 
 The latter at the head of his own troops met the conspirators 
 near Ghorian, close to the ground on which the Afghan escort 
 was reviewed by Colonel Ridgeway, and defeating them, took 
 Khan Aga prisoner, and subsequently put him to death at 
 Herat. The true story of his murder, however, would appear 
 to be this : In 1880, Khan Aga was at Kabul, and accom- 
 panied General Roberts on his march to Kandahar in August 
 of that year. Ayub Khan, defeated by Roberts, tied to Herat. 
 Khan Aga repaired to his own tribe (Jamshidi), and then 
 commenced intriguing against Ayub Khan among the other 
 tribes of the Chahar Aimak. While thus occupied, he was 
 seized by Faiz Mohammed Khan and Mohammed Sadik 
 Khan, chiefs of the Tulak and Tagao Ishlan. sections of the 
 Taimani tribe, taken to Herat, and handed over to Ayub 
 Khan, by whose order he was put to death. 
 
 Of the Taimanis less is known than of the other three tribes 
 of the Chahar Aimak. They are settled at and around the 
 head-waters of the Farah Rud, and their boundaries may be 
 roughly laid down as, on the north, the Hari Rud ; on the 
 east, the Hazarajat and Zamindawar ; on the south and west, 
 the road from Girishk through Farah to Herat. According 
 to such information as could be gathered, the country of the 
 Taimanis is inhabited by about 10,000 families of Taimanis, 
 and 4000 to 5000 families of Tajiks and Mughals. The 
 names of the ruling chiefs and the estimated numbers of their 
 adherents are as follows : (1.) Sardar Ambiya Khan, chief 
 of the Ghorat, about 8000 families, of whom nearly half are 
 Tajiks and Mughals. (2.) Aga Rahmdal, chief of Shahrak, 
 about 2000 families of Taimanis. (3.) Sultan Mohammed 
 Khan, chief of the districts of Farsi and Chadrud, about 2000 
 Taimani families. (4.) Faiz Mohammed Khan, chief of Tulak, 
 about 1500 Taimani families. (5.) Mohammed Sadik Khan, 
 chief of Tagao Ishlan, about 1000 families (Taimanis). It is 
 estimated that the Taimani chiefs could, if they combined 
 their forces, put about 10,000 horsemen in the field. In esti-
 
 230 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 mating the fighting power of all these tribes, it is customary 
 to reckon only the horsemen, inasmuch as they alone are 
 available for service out of their own country. No doubt 
 every able-bodied man would aid in defence of his own vil- 
 lage ; and if ever the British Government were to desire to 
 drill and discipline levies from the Aimak tribes, they would 
 probably find them excellent material. The Firuzkuhis have 
 the reputation of being the bravest of the Aimaks. By the 
 word Aimak is held to be expressed semi-pastoral, semi-agri- 
 cultural tribes, generally of Persian origin, and speaking Per- 
 sian, and of the Sunni faith. The term Aimak is never 
 applied to Turkomans, though I have heard it applied to 
 nomad Afghans. And yet it by no means necessarily im- 
 plies nomad, though commonly applied to nomads. Neither 
 the Chahar Aimak of the Herat province (Jamshidis, Haz- 
 aras, Firuzkuhis, and Taimanis), nor the Taimuris of Khaf in 
 Persia, are nomads, though they change their dwelling-place 
 from time to time. Although the bitterest enmity and con- 
 tinual feuds exist between the several Aimak tribes and sec- 
 tions, there is a certain brotherhood binding them together 
 against their common foes, the Afghan and the Turkoman. 
 
 But to return to the Taimanis. Their country is a melange 
 of arid mountain, barren steppe, and here and there green 
 cultivated valleys and patches of soil. Water is fairly abun- 
 dant. The valleys are narrow, and consequently not very 
 productive. The climate is in some parts sultry in summer 
 and mild in winter, and in others cool in summer and bitterly 
 cold in winter. In many parts of the country ruins of stone 
 and brick buildings, traces of an earlier and higher civili- 
 sation, are to be seen. Considering/ however, that the dyn- 
 asty of Ghor, which succeeded the Ghaznavide dynasty as 
 conquerors of India, emanated from these parts, that is not 
 surprising. 
 
 The Firuzkuhi territory is bounded on the north by the 
 Tirband-i-Turkistan, on the east by the Hazarajat, on the 
 south by the Hari Eud and Safid Kuh, and on the west by 
 the Hazaras of Kalah-i-nau. This tribe is divided into three 
 principal sections under three different chiefs, and occupies
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 231 
 
 three separate districts. One faction, numbering some 2500 
 families, under Sayad Mohammed Khan, is settled at and 
 near Khwaja Chisht on the Hari liiul. The second, under 
 Bahrain Khan, estimated at 1500 to 2000 families, occupies 
 the western districts, Kadis, Bala Murghab, &c. The third, 
 under Fathullah Beg (an Achakzai by descent, whose abilities 
 have raised him to his present influential position), comprises 
 those Firuzkuhis who dwell in the eastern part of the Firuz- 
 kuhi territory, about Tagao-i-kucha and Chahar-tak, and in 
 the tayaos, or valleys, on the right bank of the Murghab be- 
 tween Kara Jangal and the Darra-i-Sarwan. Fathullah Beg 
 is now at Kabul. Some say the Amir has conferred on him 
 the title of Nizam-ud-daulah. Anyhow he appears to be in 
 favour in high quarters now, as he was also with Ayub Khan 
 in 1880-81. His son, Niyaz Khan, officiates as chief of the 
 eastern Firuzkuhis in his absence. Two hundred and fifty 
 families x have lately, by the Amir's order, moved from Tagao- 
 i-kucha to Gulran, 20 miles north of the Band-i-chashma-i-sabz, 
 by which we crossed the Paropamisus on our march from Kuh- 
 san to Khushk. Gulran is reported to be a most fertile spot, 
 with abundance of good water and excellent soil. It is also 
 a central and important point, in that there converge almost 
 all the roads of Badkis, whether from the north, south, east, 
 or west. It is a place possibly with a future. The Firuz- 
 kuhis take their name from a mountain named Firuzkuh, 
 north-east of Teheran near Damavaud, whence they were re- 
 moved, it is said by Taimur Lang, to their present abodes, 
 towards the close of the fourteenth century. They claim to 
 be Kurds and descendants of Zuhak. Xadir took them back 
 to Firuzkuh; but on his death they returned in increased 
 numbers to the country they now occupy. They are now 
 estimated at over 10,000 families, and they can put 3000 
 horsemen in the field. 
 
 In addition to the three main divisions which I have speci- 
 fied above, there are said to be Firuzkuhis settled in Maimena, 
 and at Bandar, 50 miles south of Maimena, and some also 
 
 1 When the Commission was encamped at Gulran in March 1885, nothing 
 was to be seen or heard of these 250 families.
 
 232 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 away at Balkh with Sardar Mohammed Isa Khan. The fol- 
 lowers of Fathullah Beg are generally known as the Zai- 
 hakim ; but this is really only the name of one of the largest 
 of the many sections of the Firuzkuhis. A similar remark 
 applies to the name Zai-murad given to Bahram Khan's ad- 
 herents. At Chahar-tak, on the Murghab, some 80 miles 
 east of Bala Murghab, 500 or 600 families of Tajiks are 
 settled, and are adherents of Fathullah Beg ; while in Darra- 
 i-Bam are settled many Ghilzai nomads (Musazais), who ac- 
 knowledge the rule of Bahram Khan. During the last ten 
 or twelve years, if not more, Fathullah Beg and Bahram 
 Khan have been at enmity ; and the latter, from his position 
 on the Hazara border, has found it politic to be on friendly 
 terms with the Hazaras. Consequently, in the not unfre- 
 quent frays between the Hazaras and Firuzkuhis, Bahrain 
 Khan has sided with the former. Nevertheless, Fathullah Beg 
 has generally managed to hold his own. There is another 
 small faction of some 250 families who follow the fortunes 
 of one Mirza Mahmud, whose brother Fathullah Beg killed a 
 good many years ago. The latter endeavoured to wipe out 
 the blood- feud by giving Mirza Mahmud his daughter in 
 marriage. Even this, however, has failed to entirely obliter- 
 ate the memory of the original crime ; and of late Mirza 
 Mahmud, instead of assisting Fathullah Beg, has adopted a 
 neutral attitude. Some four to five years ago Fathullah Beg 
 and Bahram Khan, backed by the Hazaras, were on the point 
 of commencing hostilities. Ayub Khan, who was then just 
 about to start on the expedition which resulted in the miser- 
 able disaster of Maiwand and the siege of Kandahar, felt that 
 it was unadvisable to leave the tribes in his rear in a state of 
 active warfare. He accordingly sent Yalantush Khan, the 
 present chief of the Jamshidis (Ayub had not yet alienated 
 the Jamshidis by the murder of Khan Aga), to Moghur to 
 mediate between the two tribes, and so succeeded in averting 
 an open outbreak between them. The primary cause of en- 
 mity between Bahram Khan and Fathullah is said to have 
 been the reciprocal abduction of each other's wives. It is to 
 be hoped that in the interest of morality these two ladies have
 
 IX OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 233 
 
 obtained a formal divorce from their first husbands. It is to 
 be feared, however, that this mutual exchange did not please 
 all parties. It cannot have been a fair exchange. One or 
 the other got the best of the bargain, depend upon it. For 
 they have ever since been at enmity, and on several occasions 
 this passive enmity has broken out into active warfare. Now, 
 had these two modern Helens been equally lovely and attrac- 
 tive, it is not improbable that these two followers in the steps 
 of Paris would either have agreed that " exchange is no rob- 
 bery " or have settled the feud by changing back again. !STo : 
 my imagination pictures one of these ladies as fair to see and 
 in the heyday of youth and beauty ; and the other in the 
 autumn, perhaps in the winter, of life. Think of the incon- 
 solable grief of the husband bereaved of his beauteous bride, 
 and saddled with an old harridan ; and conceive the fiendish 
 joy of the other, unburdened of wrinkled old age and the 
 proud captor of his foe's favourite wife ! What a theme for a 
 dramatic poem ! Will no one arise and write a Firuzkuhiad ? 
 
 Some fifteen miles from camp is a spot called the Darband- 
 i-kilrikhta. Here the spurs, on both sides steep and rocky, 
 run down to the edge of the Murghab. The ruins of a solid 
 stone wall carried on either side along these spurs and into 
 the river, may still be seen. It may have been built as a 
 defence against Turkomans. But legend says that the lovely 
 daughter of the chief of some neighbouring tribe promised her 
 hand in marriage to that one of her wooers who could dam 
 the Murghab. One of them, Mohammad Hanifa, more de- 
 termined or more madly in love than the rest, essayed and 
 succeeded. The fickle fair one, incited by an aversion for 
 matrimony, not usual with beautiful women, having fulfilled 
 her promise so far as to go through with the marriage cere- 
 mony, straightway sought the shelter, not of her husband's, 
 but her father's house. The unfortunate husband in despair 
 drowned his sorrows not in drink but in the waters of the 
 Murghab. 
 
 The possession of the Bala Murghab valley seems within 
 the last thirty or forty years never to have rested long 
 with the same tribe. In turn the Hazaras, Jamshidis, and
 
 234 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Firuzkuhis have all occupied it. It seems surprising that a 
 locality so exposed to the raids of the Saruk Turkomans 
 should have been so keenly contested. Its soil, however, is 
 wonderfully productive. Now all three tribes have settle- 
 ments at Bala Murghab, and the Jamshidis march with their 
 old foes the Saruks near Karawulkhana, whose settlements 
 extend thence to Yulatan and Kalah Wali, and in small num- 
 bers up the Khushk valley, and for pastoral purposes over 
 Badkis. They number some 7000 families (exclusive of 
 about 4000 under Eussian rule at Yulatan), and are thus 
 subdivided : 
 
 Tribes. Sections. 
 
 Sub- 
 sections. 
 
 rErdan, .... 2 
 
 1. Sukhti, . . 1 Chamcheh, ... 2 
 
 I Dadeh Quli, ... 7 
 
 2. Harzegi, . 6, 
 
 3. Khorasanli, . . 7, 
 
 4. Bairaj, . 6, 
 
 5. Aleshah, . . 6, 
 
 The Saruks, as a body, owe allegiance to no one man ; each 
 tribe, however, and each section or subsection, acknowledges 
 the leadership of some member of the tribe, section, or sub- 
 section, whether his influence be due to hereditary claim or 
 personal influence acquired by ability and bravery. They 
 also recognise the influence of certain religious leaders known 
 by the title of Ishan and Khalifa. The following are some 
 of the most influential of their tribal, sectional, and religious 
 chiefs : Khalifa Rahman Verdi, Taj Nazar Ishan, Kazi Aman 
 Galdi, Ak Mohammed Khan, Mohammed Usman Khan Mim- 
 bashi, Soi Khan, Karaja Khan. 
 
 In time of any great emergency, such as a war, in which 
 the whole of the Saruks are involved, the supreme power is 
 by universal or general consent vested in one or more persons 
 whose reputation for military skill, valour, and sagacity stands 
 highest. The above named are among the number of those 
 who on the 9th instant arrived here from Panjdeh and else- 
 where, and paid their respects to the British Commissioner. 
 There were about 120 in all. Opportunity was taken of this
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 235 
 
 visit to present each of them with some small token of the 
 value which the British Government placed on their goodwill 
 and friendliness. There is every reason to believe that, at 
 present at least, the Saruks are favourably disposed to the 
 British Government. Of their aversion to Russian rule there 
 is no doubt: the fact that, when the Tekkes submitted to 
 Russia, the Saruks promptly sent deputies to Herat to tender 
 their allegiance to the Amir, is sufficient proof of that. I 
 doubt not that they viewed such a course as merely the choice 
 of two evils. Still, as they naturally chose what was in their 
 eyes the least of the two, it is not difficult to surmise in what 
 light they regarded the greater one. 
 
 IQth January. 
 
 Life here is getting a little monotonous. We are tired of 
 rain, snow, fog, frost, chills, and sitting still. "We actually 
 begin to miss the early rising and the marching, the toil and 
 turmoil, bustle and worry. We wanted an excitement. We 
 have just had one. A tiger, a real no, not a live, a dead 
 tiger ! The news of its advent spread like wildfire, and in a 
 few minutes loafers of all sorts including, I must needs con- 
 fess, many of my compatriots had collected round the door 
 of the Commissioner's tent to see the Central Asian tiger. 
 Wonderful, what a lot of idlers there are in camp ! Signs of 
 the times ! quite time that we w-ere off from here. It is 
 lovely weather, a bright clear sun and a genial southerly 
 breeze. Why stay here 1 ? Khuda jane! which meaneth, 
 God knows ! Some say the Cabinets in London and St Peters- 
 burg cannot agree about the zone within which the boundary 
 is to be fixed, and that the Russian Government is not dis- 
 posed to be accommodating anent the question of withdrawal 
 of their outposts from that zone. Other spreaders of rumour 
 say that General Zelenoy is still at Tifiis maybe sleighing, to- 
 bogganing, and otherwise disporting himself as Eussians are 
 wont to do in winter, anything but thinking of boundary 
 settlements ; and that M. Lessar is at St Petersburg deliver- 
 ing lectures. What on ? I should not wonder if he is taking 
 as his text M. Vambery's essays on the A. B. C. in the 
 ' National Review,' which, it cannot be denied, are excellent
 
 236 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 text-books for beginners in the subject and verily, only be- 
 ginners would accept them as gospel. But about that tiger, 
 or rather tigress : it was measured and found to be 8 feet 
 3 inches from the nose to the tip of the tail not a bad size 
 for a female ; but the tail was an uncommonly long one. 
 Other measurements find the length from tip of nose to root 
 of tail to be 4 feet 9 inches, and of the tail 36 inches. Height 
 at shoulders, 44 inches. These long tails are, I am told, 
 characteristic of the hill-tigers. Well, one can get tired even 
 of looking at the first Murghab tiger ; and finally, Dr Aitchi- 
 son carried it off, and his myrmidons will preserve it. But 
 whether its stuffed effigy will in years to come keep watch and 
 ward in General Lumsden's hall, or whether it will be posted 
 in a museum to enlighten the British public, I cannot say ; 
 probably the latter. There is little doubt that Dr Aitchisoii 
 will take or send back from Northern Afghanistan a valuable 
 collection of birds and some beasts. There are lots of guns 
 in camp, and lots of men who lose no opportunity of contribut- 
 ing to the advancement of the science of natural history. So 
 the collection waxes apace so much so, indeed, that it is now 
 a matter of doubt what birds are wanted and what not. I 
 think a daily bulletin of " Wanted the under-mentioned speci- 
 mens, &c., &c.," posted in the ante-room, might simplify matters 
 unless, indeed, our learned naturalist persisted in using jaw- 
 breaking Latin terms : is there anything more jaw-breaking 
 than medical and scientific Latin ? What a jargon it sounds 
 beside the writings of the Julian and Augustan ages ! I am 
 surprised to find that no one in camp has a copy of the second 
 volume of Sir Frederick Goldsmid's ' Eastern Persia/ con- 
 taining Mr Blandford's report on the birds and beasts, and I 
 think plants, of the country traversed by the Seistan and Perso- 
 Beluch Boundary Commissions. If there is a copy in camp, 
 it is not where one would most naturally expect to find it. 
 
 It is said that both Colonel Stewart and Mr Herbert are 
 on their way to join the Commission. But no one seems to 
 know whether they will come here or await General Lums- 
 den's arrival at Sarakhs. However, no one seems to know 
 anything. Both individuals and Governments often deem it
 
 IN OUE WINTER-QUARTERS. 237 
 
 advisable to veil their actions in mystery ; but in this case it 
 is inaction that is mystified. If Russia is temporising, would 
 it not be as well to employ our leisure moments in visiting 
 the Perso-Afghan frontier ? The boundary between Persia on 
 one side, and Beluchistan and Afghanistan on the other, from 
 the Persian Gulf a little west of Gwadur northward to the 
 Bandan range, was surveyed and more or less definitely fixed 
 in 1871-72 ; but thence northward to Sarakhs, what is the 
 boundary ? From Bandan to Kafir Kalah the boundary is 
 problematical, being formed by an uninhabited desert called 
 in its southern part the Dasht-i-N"aumid. The Hari Rud is 
 usually accepted as the boundary between Persia and Afghani- 
 stan from Sarakhs to Kafir Kalah. But there are indications 
 that this is not the case. 1 However, those \vlio take an interest 
 in this question may form a very fair idea of how the land lies 
 from Marvin's ' Merv ' and Vambery's recent article on the 
 Afghan Boundary Commission in the ' National Review.' Any 
 Russian pretensions in this direction have as little, if not less, 
 foundation than their claims on Panjdeh and Badkis. The 
 voluntary submission of the Saruks of Panjdeh to the Amir ; 
 the occupation of Ak-tapa, Maruchak, and Bala Murghab by 
 Afghan garrisons ; the colonisation of the Murghab valley by 
 Hazaras, Jamshidis, and Firuzkuhis that of the Khushk by 
 the Saruks, and of Gulran by a strong section of the Firuz- 
 kuhis, are indications unfavourable to Russian ambitions. I 
 see a rumour in the papers that the Russian Government 
 have thought fit to represent to the British Cabinet that the 
 presence of our large escort is producing a disturbing effect 
 among the Turkomans and Uzbeks under their rule. This is 
 really an extraordinary farce. And what does Russia suppose 
 is the influence on Turkomans and Uzbeks under Afghan rule 
 of the presence of a garrison of 600 men at Sarakhs, of out- 
 
 1 In 1884 and 1885 a Russo-Persian Boundary Commission was employed in 
 demarcating the northern frontier of Persia from the Caspian at Hasan Kuli 
 Bay to Sarakhs. When travelling in Khorasan in July 1885, I was given to 
 understand that the demarcation was almost completed. But lately a letter 
 in one of the leading Russian journals stated that the frontier between Ashka- 
 bad and Sarakhs was still undefined. It is exactly in that quarter that Russia 
 is interested in keeping the question open.
 
 238 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 posts at Yulatan and Pul-i-Khatun, and spies in disguise all 
 over the place ? However, it would appear that these efforts 
 of the Russians, both open and underhand, have failed to pro- 
 duce among the Saruks and Chahar Aimak even a tithe of the 
 uneasiness that the silent presence of a small British escort 
 produces at Merv, and perhaps, too, beyond Merv. It is 
 evident that the former at first by no means clearly under- 
 stood the peaceful character of this Commission, and it is prob- 
 able that they still entertain the idea that, sooner or later, 
 there will be an appeal to arms. Such being their belief, the 
 attitude of these tribes towards the British Commission is 
 decidedly satisfactory. They have virtually received and 
 welcomed British troops as their allies and friends. What 
 more do we want ? 
 
 Life for the past week has been uneventful. Nothing on 
 hand by way of amusement but the occasional pursuit of the 
 rapidly thinning pheasants and the wary duck. The pheas- 
 ants here are seemingly of an amphibious species. They 
 live amidst water deep water and roost on reeds or tufts of 
 grass. There is not a tree anywhere for them to roost on. 
 Moreover, they can swim. A cock-pheasant, shot by one of 
 General Lumsden's party at Maruchak, fell into the middle 
 of the Murghab (which is 40 to 50 yards broad, deep, and 
 swift), swam to the far side, got out, and running up the 
 bank, disappeared. I saw a hen do precisely the same thing. 
 It swam with considerable strength (although it had at least 
 a broken wing, if no severer injury), and on reaching the 
 bank, ran up it into the jungle without showing the slightest 
 sign of fatigue. 
 
 To-morrow three or four of us are off for a three days' trip 
 to a spot 16 miles down the river, \vhere, it is said, the 
 very best pheasant-shooting between here and Panjdeh is 
 to be got. It is near there that the tigress was shot. No 
 such luck, I fear, as our coming across another. And even if 
 we did, our rifles might not be handy ; and then we might 
 be under the painful necessity of giving it a wide berth 
 in other words, of beating a judicious, and, let it be hoped, 
 masterly retreat, the pace to be regulated by circumstances
 
 IN OUR \VJXTER-QU AIITEES. 239 
 
 over which we would of course have no control. Besides 
 shikar, we have still one other hut rather one-sided (the fun 
 is all with the seller) diversion namely, being fleeced by the 
 Turkoman and his middlemen. Carpets both from Merv and 
 Panjdeh, jewellery, and indifferent horses and ponies, have 
 just about had their day. But the Turkoman is like Mi- 
 Bolt in ' Put Yourself in his Place ' viz., " bad to beat." One 
 never knows when he has shot his last holt. One of them 
 turned up the other day with an enormous donkey. Never 
 did I see a bigger and such ears ! 2 feet 3-1 inches from tip 
 to tip; I measured them. The fellow positively asked Us. 
 80 for this donkey and charged extra for the ears ! It 
 would not improbably have won the donkey-race in our 
 gymkhana ; but Us. 80 is a long price for a quadruped, when 
 the added money is nil and there are no lotteries. If this 
 fine weather continues, our second gymkhana day will come 
 off after all. The other day we had a camel sham-fight. I 
 say sham-fight, because their mouths were securely tied up. 
 I think it is well they were tied up ; for they showed a most 
 determined intention to spoil each other's beauty and pros- 
 pects for life. 
 
 There is not a sign of any crops springing up yet in this 
 valley. The snow, however, which as it lies and melts seems 
 to act like a hothouse to the vegetation below it, has 
 brought out hundreds of yellow crocuses. These rain-lands 
 only produce one crop every year. Much of their fertility, 
 it would seem, is caused by the snow, which, unlike rain 
 which falls and flows away, lies and melts slowly, at once 
 fertilising the soil and turning it with its warm covering into 
 a veritable hotbed. This being so, why do not the cultivators 
 here plant their seed in the early winter, so that it may 
 spring up after the snowfall ? Possibly they fear that a 
 casual spell of very sharp frost, such as we had ten days 
 ago, might ruin the whole crop. We have, I hear, had a 
 threatening of mange among our horses. This, however, is 
 not to be attributed to the quality of the food given to them, 
 but to the fact that the barley and Ihoosa which they con- 
 sume has been brought into camp by mangy camels. Lots
 
 240 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 of the camels are, or were, mangy. Close on 300 of these 
 have now been turned off, having been replaced by sound 
 camels that have just arrived from Mashhad. It was hoped 
 that camels would be obtained here for a less rate than Rs. 35 
 a-month ; but it would seem that the native attachA deputed 
 to Mashhad has either found the market very high, or has 
 not exercised on behalf of Government that astuteness which 
 most Orientals display in striking a bargain. 
 
 Blst January. 
 
 The last few days rumours of a move have been vaguely 
 floating about camp. But yesterday, when the transport 
 officer sent round a circular memo, calling for indents for 
 carriages required in view of a possible move, the on dits, 
 which before had been of a flimsy, airy texture, began to 
 assume a tangible shape. The general consensus of public 
 opinion in camp fixes as the probable date of this momentous 
 event the 8th or 10th proximo, and our destination as the 
 banks of the Hari Rud, to reach which we shall march 
 straight across Badkis by the route explored by Captain 
 Peacocke in December. Marching from here to Maruchak, 
 we cross the river there (the once projected bridge is no 
 longer necessary, as we shall cross the river before the melt- 
 ing of the mountain snows swells it to flood - level : if a 
 good ford can be found near Karawulkhana half the Mis- 
 sion will cross there : Captain Yate starts to-morrow to 
 examine and report on all the fords between here and Maru- 
 chak), and following the left bank of the Murghab to the 
 neighbourhood of Band-i-Nadiri, thence turn westward into 
 the Khushk valley. I see that the latest maps show the road 
 from Bala Murghab to Panjdeh as following the left bank 
 of the river all the way. Now it is true that formerly this 
 road did exist ; but of late, some few miles below Bala Mur- 
 ghab, the action of the river has washed away the soil up to 
 the very foot of the steep hills bounding the valley on the 
 west. There is, I hear, a track, steep and difficult, crossing 
 the hills at the point where this breach in the level road 
 exists. But such a track is not suited to the passage of the 
 Commission with its train of 1200 camels. Following the
 
 IX OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 241 
 
 Khushk valley southward to Chamaii-i-bed. we then turn 
 westward, or rather south-westward, to Gulran (three marches). 
 It will be time enough for us to move forward thence to 
 Sarakhs when it is known that the Kussian Commission is 
 there and prepared to set to work. All our heavy camp- 
 equipage will, it is said, be sent to Herat, until our summer- 
 quarters are fixed upon. It is to be hoped we do not summer 
 in the neighbourhood. The heat ought to be excessive. We 
 march from here as light as possible. A caravan leaves here 
 in a few days, by which all superfluous baggage and stores 
 will be sent back to India. It will take us ten days to march 
 from here to Gulran. As only one day's supplies will be 
 laid in probably at each stage, it is to be hoped that no heavy 
 fall of rain or snow, or excessive cold, will hamper our move- 
 ments. The supplies for our march as far as the Hari Rud will 
 be laid out by the Afghan authorities from Khushk, Herat, 
 and probably in part from Ghorian and Kuhsan, from which 
 latter place Gulran is only distant two longish inarches viz., 
 Kuhsan to Chashma-i-sabz, 25 miles, and thence over the 
 Au-safid Pass to Gulran, 22 miles. Gulran is an important 
 central point in Badkis, on which most of the roads in that 
 district converge. Captain Peacocke found Saruk nomads 
 with large flocks settled there. 
 
 This march across Badkis lays at rest the question 
 whether or not that tract in its present state could be crossed 
 by a considerable force hampered with a long transport-train. 
 It is known that the roads are passable for all arms, and 
 that water, though often more brackish than sweet, is procur- 
 able from wells and springs. In olden times there was a 
 good caravan - route from Pul-i-Khatun and Nauruzabad 
 through Kungruali and Gulran to the Hari Paid valley near 
 Ghorian. In fact the whole of Badkis is seamed with 
 practicable tracks, except that part lying between Ak-rabat 
 and Gumbazli, about 50 miles west of Pan] deli. When 
 Alikhanoff last November came down 011 Panjdeh, he prob- 
 ably crossed from Sarakhs to Yulatan, and then came up the 
 Murghab. There seems little doubt that but for the prompt 
 action of the Afghan authorities Panjdeh or Ak-tapa would 
 
 Q
 
 242 AFGHAN FKONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 now be, as Pul-i-Khatun is, the site of a Eussian outpost. 
 It is indeed said that when the British Commissioner reached 
 Mashhad at the end of October last, a report was there 
 current of a projected Eussian visit to Panjdeh. It is 
 perhaps due to this accidental information that Colonel 
 Alikhanoff, when he was so polite as to call on the Afghan 
 general at Panjdeh, had the good fortune to find him at 
 home, and to meet with a warm though not a cordial recep- 
 tion. At present, of course, supplies are procurable nowhere 
 in Badkis ; consequently a force crossing it must either have 
 supplies laid out beforehand for it, or carry them with it. 
 
 As far as the road is concerned, this route is preferable to 
 that which was followed by General Lumsden on his march 
 from Sarakhs to Kuhsan. Su'ch obstacles as the Paskumnur 
 and Stoi Passes are avoided. The fact is, that to march 
 a considerable body of cavalry across Badkis demands the 
 closest possible reduction of kit and food-supplies, good mule 
 or pony transport, and the precaution of carrying cooked 
 rations ; and to these any well-organised Indian cavalry regi- 
 ment is equal. At the same time, it must be remembered that 
 in the winter months the severity of the weather necessitates 
 tents and a heavy weight of warm clothing for man and 
 horse ; that the roads are muddy, heavy, slippery, and apt 
 to be blocked by snowdrifts ; and that fodder is then at its 
 scarcest, and sometimes buried under the snow. Experience 
 and local report go to prove that from the 15th December to 
 the 15th March one cannot be sure of fine weather for two days 
 together in Badkis, and consequently a march across it at that 
 season would involve both great hardships and great difficulties. 
 It is obvious that to get over a march anyhow is one thing, and 
 to arrive at the end of a march in a well-organised and effi- 
 cient state is another. If at the end of such a inarch half the 
 horses of a regiment were Iwrs de combat from exposure and 
 starvation, where is the gain ? What is said of cavalry applies 
 equally to a body of mounted infantry. Indeed, now that it 
 has been ascertained that there is throughout Badkis an ade- 
 quate water-supply available or easily capable of development 
 at intervals within the compass of a reasonable march, there
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 243 
 
 is no reason why a body of infantry, carrying its own supplies, 
 should not traverse it in fair weather. An infantry regiment, 
 equipped on the same scale as those with which General Phayre 
 proposed (unfortunately for his force, General Roberts dis- 
 posed otherwise) to relieve Kandahar, would answer the re- 
 quirements of the case. One of General Phayre's native 
 regiments (the 5th Bombay Native Infantry) on that occasion, 
 notwithstanding the very great heat, inarched from Thul 
 Chotiali to Kandahar without tents ; nor was such exposure 
 attended by any unusual amount of sickness. 
 
 These remarks have, of course, been made solely with refer- 
 ence to the mobile power and physique of Indian native 
 cavalry and infantry. The march of European cavalry and 
 infantry across Badkis would be attended by many more 
 difficulties. The march of this Commission must not be com- 
 pared with that of troops marching under the conditions I 
 have specified above. We shall find all our supplies stored 
 in readiness for our use, and have neither to carry nor collect 
 them. It may be that before Badkis becomes the scene of war- 
 like operations, settlements of the Amir's subjects in it will. 
 in many places, change its now depopulated wilds into culti- 
 vated fields. Pastures green there always have been, and 
 always will be. The sword of the dreaded Turkoman has 
 been turned into a ploughshare ; and now the ancient pros- 
 perity of Badkis and the valleys of the Hari Paid and the 
 Murghab of which the ruins of towns and forts, bridges and 
 caravanserais, canals and aqueducts, are the infallible proofs 
 will be revived. It appears that, owing to scarcity of water, 
 central Badkis has never been permanently settled and 
 cultivated, but merely temporarily occupied by pastoral no- 
 mads. The wells used by the latter are said to be from 100 
 to 150 feet deep. 
 
 The slaughter of the duck and pheasant has been going on 
 much as usual. Several shooting-parties have been out either 
 down the Murghab towards Maruchak, or through the hills to 
 the valley of a stream which runs past Chahar Shamba and 
 Kalah Wali, and falls into the Murghab at Karawulkhana. 
 In the latter valley, about 20 miles from here, we, while beat-
 
 244 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 ing up the nullah for pheasant, came across the fresh traces 
 of a large tiger so fresh, that it would appear that he had 
 only just retreated before the sound of our guns. A few 
 days previously, three of us shooting near Maruchak came 
 across a similar but much smaller pug. One of the Afghan 
 officers here informed rne that at the end of last November, 
 when the Governor of Herat was marching to join Sir P. 
 Lumsden at Panjdeh, some of the sowars of his escort killed 
 a tiger at Kara-tapa in the Khuskh valley. The only marplot 
 of shooting-trips is the weather. It insists on raining or 
 snowing every second or third day. The last time I was out 
 (the party consisted of Sir Peter Lumsden and four others), 
 up the Kalah Wali valley, it began to rain about mid-day just 
 as we reached our covers. Well, we laughed at the rain, and 
 shot on till dusk, returning to our tents tolerably drenched. 
 An hour later it was freezing hard and heavy snow falling. 
 That went on all night, and became so heavy by 10 A.M. the 
 next day that we decided to pack up our traps and make 
 tracks for camp before we were snowed up without provisions. 
 Besides, the poor servants were miserable. We had to camp 
 on wet ground, and the cold was bitter. The wretched Persian 
 mule-drivers, fools that they are, came out without tents. We 
 could not let them sleep out in snow and frost, so they, 
 eighteen in number, huddled in a mass in our small mess-tent. 
 Packing up was a tough job. The tents having first been 
 well soaked with rain, were frozen hard and stiff in the night. 
 They weighed at least 50 per cent heavier than when dry. 
 However, all arrived back at Bala Murghab safe and sound, 
 except one of my servants, who, with the characteristic idiocy 
 of a Hindu, dressed himself on a cold snowy day in the light- 
 est garb he could find, and rode in eighteen miles on a mule. 
 On arrival he was powerless, in fact his feet and hands were 
 frost-bitten. There I found him lying close to the fire in the 
 servants' kibitka, a helpless semi-paralysed mass. He was 
 carried to hospital, and kahars set on to rub him warm. In 
 four days he was able to move about, thanks to proper 
 remedies being used in time. 
 
 The variety of water-birds shot here is considerable. We
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 245 
 
 have the mallard, gadwall, teal, red-headed pochard, tufted 
 pochard, red-crested pochard, white-eyed and golden-eyed 
 pochard, shoveller, smew, and merganser, besides one or two 
 species not identified. I have heard that the Brahmini duck 
 has been seen here. Obara (tdur) are plentiful, and one very 
 fine bustard was shot by Mr Eawlins. It may or may not be 
 generally known that the bustard, in common with the skunk 
 and other animals, if not birds, has the power of emitting, 
 when attacked, a fluid of a most offensive odour. As in duty 
 bound, a bird so rare (it differs from the great Indian bustard) 
 was offered up at the shrine of natural history, and laid at 
 the feet of our naturalist in his tent. The bird had been dead 
 some time. Who can tell how it came about ? Suddenly, as 
 a group of admiring Englishmen were gazing intently on this 
 truly magnificent bird, an odour, a horrible odour, far worse 
 than that of the sulphur-waters of Harrogate, pervaded the 
 air. The Englishmen all turned tail and ran out, defeated by 
 a stench, gasping for fresh air. I have never seen nor smelt 
 a Chinese stinkpot ; but if those weapons of Celestial warfare 
 can rival the secretions of a bustard, then the lords of the pig- 
 tail should possess the best-armed and most invincible army 
 in the world. A day or two later we ate that bustard for 
 breakfast ; but it proved somewhat coarse and tasteless. There 
 is no game-bird up here, or indeed anywhere, I think, that 
 surpasses in tenderness and flavour the siyaJisina, or black- 
 breasted sand-grouse. 
 
 This morning we had a great hunt after a wild cat which 
 Dr Weir's greyhounds ran to earth. I rode sharp back to 
 camp and brought back one of Captain Yate's fox-terriers, as 
 well as a bobbery nondescript pack of dogs who seemed to 
 smell a cat in the distance and would follow. By the time I 
 got back, Dr Aitchison had arrived on the scene, and with the 
 aid of his scientific tools the hole was opened up and every- 
 thing ripe for the fox-terrier. It proved a very shallow hole, 
 and very soon cat and terrier were at it tooth and nail and 
 did not the latter get it hot ! At last, in a momentary lull, 
 the cat bolted out like a flash of lightning, and but for a smart 
 greyhound, which nailed it by the back, would have found
 
 246 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 refuge in some other hole. With some difficulty we beat off 
 all the dogs, some of whom, in the intensity of the excitement, 
 forgot the cat and went for each other, and left Captain Yate's 
 little fox-terrier Tuppy to fight it out fairly ; and it was not 
 long before eight of pussy's nine lives were extinct. I do not 
 think the ninth ever dies, it only transmigrates. 
 
 While on the subject of game and sport, I may mention 
 that the pheasants here, on the first sound of a gun, if feeding 
 in the fields, make off straight for their covers. I was much 
 amused one day, after firing a couple of barrels into a flock of 
 duck on the river, to see pheasant after pheasant come flying 
 in from every side and settle in a patch of reeds and grass 
 within from 50 to 100 yards of me. Poor simple birds ! if 
 they had only stayed in the fields they would have been 
 much safer. And yet it was with a fiendish joy that we 
 watched them flying into their destruction. They have a 
 great tenacity of life these pheasants, and such a power of 
 hiding that when they seem barely able to crawl they some- 
 times succeed in escaping from under the sportsman's very 
 nose nay, more, from under a dog's nose. Talking of wounded 
 birds escaping, I heard the following story the other day from 
 one of our party who was shooting in the Kalah Wali valley. 
 He had shot a duck, and left it on the ground seemingly dead 
 some yards from the water, while he went off to stalk another 
 flock. Coming back after an interval of about half an hour, 
 to his surprise not a sign of the duck. Hunting about for 
 it, a slight rustle in the reeds caught his ear. Going to the 
 river-bank, what should he see but his duck gaily swimming 
 away across the stream ! Having no dog, he refrained from 
 wasting a cartridge on it. This little anecdote fired another 
 of our party with emulation, and elicited the following : He 
 was out snipe-shooting, and after several hours the party 
 rested for rest's sake or for refreshments. They began count- 
 ing the birds, and one of them seeing a bird move, shouted out, 
 " Chuck that bird here and I'll put him out of his misery." 
 The bird was chucked, and his neck duly wrung, and then 
 chucked back towards the counter. I say towards, for the 
 bird, so the story goes, never reached him, but spreading its
 
 IX OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 247 
 
 wings flew gaily away ! As no one felt equal to beating that, 
 we got no more sporting yarns on that occasion. 
 
 This is bad weather for camels. They are helpless in mud 
 and slush. If we have bad weather, as is most probable, on 
 our march to the Hari Hud, our camels will give no end of 
 trouble. Riding in from Maruchak some days ago, I saw one 
 that, having slipped and rolled down from the path, lay on its 
 back on the very verge of a straight drop of 30 feet or so into 
 the river-bed. The sensible brute apparently knew \vhat a 
 ticklish position he was in, and lay quite still till his owner 
 could get help and extricate him. A few hundred yards 
 farther on I found another camel in distress. He was 
 hobbled (the two fore-legs tied close together), and with tiny 
 steps was working his way all alone across a ford. Xo doubt 
 he had often done this before. Somehow, however, he got out 
 of his reckoning, and instead of finding himself opposite the 
 landing-place, he was borne by the strength of the current 
 into a deepish rapid opposite a precipitous part of the 
 bank 20 yards lower down. There he stood for some time, 
 meditating on the situation. Presently two or three Turkoman 
 horsemen came along, and seeing his difficulty, called to him 
 as only camel-owners can call. That decided him. He turned 
 round, and slowly came back the way he went. Perhaps he 
 made a second essay. If so, let us hope he succeeded. 
 
 We have all been expressing some sympathy for Captain 
 Peacocke and Mr Merk on their trip to Andkhui and the 
 Oxus. The latest news from them is dated 23d instant at 
 the last-named place. They appear to have met with con- 
 siderable hardship, cold winds, snow, and severe frost, much 
 the same as we had here, only rather worse. Captain Pea- 
 cocke, I regret to hear, was affected with snow-blindness for 
 some days. Loss of sight, even temporary, is a serious thing 
 at all times ; but when the person affected is engaged in 
 surveying a new country, and collecting information for a 
 reliable report thereon, it is still more inopportune. However, 
 I understand that Captain Peacocke and Mr Merk have 
 thoroughly succeeded in carrying out the object for which 
 they were sent, despite drawbacks and obstacles. Presumably
 
 248 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 they are on their way back by this time. It is about fifteen 
 marches from Kilif via Maimena to Bala Murghab. "We may 
 probably look for their arrival here about 12th February 
 that is, if we are still here then. 
 
 Since the arrival of the Amir's poshtins ten days ago, our 
 mess-table on a cold night has been quite gay, at least in 
 point of colouring. Passing over those presented to the chief 
 and assistant Commissioners, which were certainly very hand- 
 some, in fact defy criticism, let us glance at those designed 
 for humbler mortals. It turned out that there were not 
 quite enough for all of us, so we decided to have a lottery. 
 That increased the fun, especially for those who did not draw 
 blanks, and for the subalterns who would have been out of it 
 if claims had been based on seniority. For my part I quite 
 agreed with the subaltern who suggested that here was an 
 admirable opening for generosity and self-denial. What more 
 becoming than that the seniors, in the plenitude of their 
 wealth, should waive their claim in favour of their juniors of 
 more straitened means ? But they did not seem to see it. 
 So we had a lottery, and some went away therefrom arrayed 
 in fine raiment, and others went away sorrowing to don their 
 old poshtins. They just came in time for our last spell of cold, 
 when the thermometer registered about 30 of frost on the 
 night of the 27th. That night our mess-table was surrounded 
 with some twenty or more oriental figures surmounted by 
 faces English and Scotch, Irish and Teutonic. The robes 
 were all colours, from the mixed tints of Cashmere shawl and 
 the gorgeous hues of Bokhara silk, to simple broadcloths' of 
 black, slate, light blue, dark green, and plum colour. The 
 furs were equally varied ; but not being a furrier, I am at a 
 loss to give a name to most of them. Some of them were cer- 
 tainly very handsome. 
 
 9th February. 
 
 And why are we off westward ? Why, at least, is the Com- 
 mission bound for Gulran ? Till recently it was generally 
 believed that when her Majesty's chief and assistant Com- 
 missioners with a small escort moved to Sarakhs, the bulk of 
 the Commission would remain here until such time as the
 
 IN OCR WINTER- QUARTERS. 249 
 
 plan of operations had been arranged with the Russian Com- 
 missioner. But of late M. de Blowitz's telegrams and the 
 frequent rumours of the disfavour with which this Commis- 
 sion is regarded by the Russian Government, or at least by a 
 very strong party in it, have led those of us who depend for 
 our information almost entirely on the reports of the press, to 
 conclude that the end may not be far off. It is doubtless 
 owing to the prevalence of this belief that the topic of our 
 probable return-route to India has frequently of late been 
 brought on the tapis. Such discussions appear to be quite 
 premature, so a repetition of them now would be useless. 
 We are, however, all unanimous in one thing, and that is, 
 in the hope that we may not be directed to return the way 
 we came. 1 The unknown is ever enveloped in a halo of 
 attraction and excitement. To traverse a desert and make 
 a forced march through a semi -hostile country once is all 
 well enough ; but to do it again, when the charms of novelty 
 and uncertainty, and the curiosity born therefrom, no longer 
 mitigate the monotony of toil and hardship, is a very different 
 thing. We started from Nushki animated with the sense of 
 an arduous task to perform, and the determination to do it 
 well ; and although, if we were ordered to return the same 
 way, there is not one of us but would do his duty manfully, 
 the keenness and elasticity of spirit would be wanting. It 
 would be just the difference between doing a duty for duty's 
 sake and making a pleasure of a duty. However, why dwell 
 on this dreary prospect ? What could any one gain by a bad 
 rtchaufft of our march from Quetta to Herat, important as 
 were its results in the first instance ? Are not Balkh and 
 Bamian, the Hindu Kush and the upper waters of the Oxus, 
 awaiting our surveyors ? Would it be impossible or impolitic 
 to try and open up one or more of the routes from Badakhshan 
 and Wakhan into Kashmir ? Should we not, after our many 
 
 1 Nevertheless the "return party," in December 1885 and January 1886, 
 followed this same route, except that they marched from the Helmund to 
 Nushki via Chagai, and not, as in October 1884, vid Kani and Shah Ismail. 
 Some think the Chagai route preferable, but I think it probable that each 
 route has special advantages at certain seasons. The water-supply is, of course, 
 at all times the chief consideration.
 
 250 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 wanderings, deem the Happy Valley a perfect Paradise ? Or 
 mayhap the Amir, if we map out a satisfactory frontier for 
 him, might wish to see us in Kabul, and thank us personally 
 for our efforts in his behalf especially if the British Govern- 
 ment will assure him clearly and emphatically that it will 
 defend that frontier from the machinations of Eussia and 
 Eussia's cat's-paws. 1 
 
 In the meantime our way lies westward. It will be obvi- 
 ous to all that Bala Murghab is, as regards telegraphic com- 
 munication with London vid Mashhad, a most out-of-the- 
 way place. It positively takes a month to get an answer 
 from the Foreign Office. This is the ostensible reason why 
 the Commissioner is bent on getting to Gulran without delay. 
 We expect to halt there some weeks. Our supplies at Gulraii 
 will be obtained from the Herat valley, Ghorian, &c. During 
 the last three days the weather has changed so much for the 
 better, that we can only regret that we are not already on 
 the move. That, however, is out of the question, for several 
 reasons. First of all, the Afghan authorities cannot lay out 
 supplies for us without due notice. Secondly, the transport, 
 which during the past two months has been busily employed 
 bringing in supplies for our use, has to be collected. Some 
 of the camels are still away at Kadis, in the Firuzkuhi 
 country, and their long absence would point to the supposi- 
 tion that they are snowed up. Yesterday, the 16th instant, 
 was mentioned as the probable date of our departure from 
 here. To-day it is thought that all will be ready by the 
 12th. A caravan of baggage and stores for despatch to India 
 has first to be got rid of, and then, in conformity with the 
 plan adopted on our march hither, some 300 to 400 camels, 
 with all the heavy, tents and stores, will be sent on one day 
 before the main body, in charge of Eessaldar-Major Baha- 
 ud-din. 
 
 Colonel Eidgeway, accompanied by Captains Maitland, 
 
 1 The Hazarajat, Balkh, and Bamian have been thoroughly explored by Cap- 
 tains Maitland and Talbot during the past winter. Till recently it has been 
 reported that the A. B. C. would return to India, part via Kabul and part vid 
 Badakhshan and Kashmir. It is now said that the whole party will return by 
 the latter route.
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 251 
 
 Yate, and De Laessoe, started for Panjdeh on the 6tli as 
 luck would have it, just at the commencement of the fine 
 weather. A day or two previously, Sir Peter Lunisden re- 
 ceived from the Government of India a copy of a telegram 
 from the Secretary of State for India, congratulating Colonel 
 Bidgeway and all who accompanied him on their successful 
 march to Herat. The message also contained some words 
 of commendation from Lord Dufferm. Those who took 
 part in this march are perhaps apt now to underrate its 
 difficulties and risks. Everything passed off so smoothly 
 that it is difficult now to realise that we crossed 225 miles 
 of desert naturally devoid of water, food, and forage, and 
 some 450 miles of country in which we were liable to attack 
 at any moment. That 110 catastrophe occurred is the best 
 proof of the high merit of the performance ; and yet, para- 
 doxical as it may seem, it is that very absence of catastrophe 
 that tends to depreciate it, not only in the eyes of the actors 
 themselves, but also in those of the onlookers. People are 
 prone to argue that absence of mishap implies absence of 
 difficulty and danger. It must not, at the same time, be 
 overlooked that much is due to the Amir and his officials. 
 One of the native attaches, a Kabuli by birth, gave it me as 
 his opinion that the Amir, in selecting Kazi Saad-ud-din as 
 his representative with us on our march, had chosen a man 
 who, more than almost any other, was calculated to exercise 
 influence and control over the Afghan tribes through whose 
 territories we had to pass. He is the son of the Khan-i-Mulla 
 Khan, the highest religious official in Afghanistan. He is, 
 however, by no means a favourite with those British officers 
 who see and know most of him. 
 
 To-day has been the first really fine day we have had for 
 about a fortnight. The sky was clear, and the sun shone 
 merrily. The cloudless starry sky we saw last night was a 
 harbinger of to-day's fineness. Four or five days without 
 rain or snow had permitted the soil to dry. I got out my 
 horse and had a most enjoyable ride to the mouth of the 
 Darband (gorge), some nine miles south of camp. The 
 ground was firm and yet springy perfect for a gallop. A
 
 252 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 green tinge pervaded everything. Spring must be at hand. 
 On the hill tops and slopes was seen many a peasant busy 
 with the plough. What magnificent soil this is ! Hill and 
 dale, all alike fertile, brown, friable mould. And what a 
 curious method these Aimaks have of ploughing ! They 
 first design a succession of prolonged serpentine windings 
 as a framework, and then they proceed to fill in the inter- 
 stices. On all sides tiny yellow crocuses were peeping up 
 above the soil. On reaching the Darband I noticed a mud 
 or stone tower overhanging the right bank of the river. This 
 is one of those watch-towers from which, but a year or two 
 ago, a vigilant look-out for Turkomans was kept. Few dis- 
 tricts have suffered more from them than the valley of the 
 Murghab. Nor was the road from here through Maimena 
 and Andkhui to the Oxus by any means safe from them. 
 See Vambe'ry's Travels and Grodekoff s Eide to Herat. Nay 
 more, even now the Kara Turkomans raid round Andkhui. 
 Several raids have been made during the past winter. These 
 Karas are said to be a branch of the Ersaris. As for the 
 Alieli Turkomans, they only exist in imagination. 1 We shall 
 find the Andkhuiese soliciting the protection of Russian 
 troops from these freebooters, unless the Liberal Ministry 
 makes up its mind sharp that something more than British 
 gold ought to be seen on the north frontier of Afghanistan. 
 If these Kara Turkomans are not checked, they will produce 
 mischief hereafter. They appear to reside in "No -man's 
 land," somewhere in or about the Dasht-i-Chul that Dasht- 
 i-Chul which ought to make an excellent frontier between 
 Afghan and Eussian territories in Central Asia. In Persia 
 i.e., that part of it exposed to Turkoman raids a complete 
 series of watch-towers, or rather beacon-towers, used to be 
 kept up, so complete that within an hour of sighting an 
 alaman, information thereof could be sent from the most 
 distant watch-tower over miles of country to the garrison 
 town. They also appear to have had some method of signal- 
 ling the strength of the alaman. 
 
 1 The Alieli section was formerly located hereabouts, but is now settled in 
 the north of Khorasan.
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 253 
 
 Towards evening Mr Merk and Captain Peacocke arrived. 
 They have been absent since the 1st January. They and 
 their following had to put up with much discomfort and 
 hardship, owing to the inclemency of the weather. Captain 
 Peacocke was for some days affected with snow-blindness ; 
 but nevertheless, despite foul weather and bodily ailments, 
 he has effected an excellent survey of the country traversed. 
 It was Mr Merk's duty to collect such evidence as would bear 
 upon the question of the delimitation of the Paisso-Afghan 
 frontier ; and that, I understand, has been satisfactorily done. 
 Owing to the intense cold, several of their servants were 
 frost-bitten. During this intense cold all the servants got 
 double rations of ghee, meat, tea, and sugar. One of them, it 
 is feared, may lose his toes. Another servant has returned 
 completely paralysed a condition attributed to a fall from 
 a horse, but more probably traceable to the great cold. 1 
 Captain Peacocke's thermometer only registered as low as 
 zero; consequently the actual degree of cold could not be 
 ascertained. That it was considerably below zero, however, 
 is certain. While inarching in the daytime, handkerchiefs 
 were found to freeze in the breast-pocket. On the 26th and 
 27th ultimo, the same days that General Lumsden and party 
 were out shooting in the Kalali Wall valley, and experienced 
 such unpleasant weather, Merk and Peacocke also had a 
 very rough time of it on the banks of the Oxus. Towards 
 midnight on the 26th their kibitkas were blown down, and 
 they had to seek refuge in an Uzbek or Turkoman hut. 
 Fortunately the elements were their only enemies. Every- 
 where the Afghan officials and inhabitants received them 
 courteously and hospitably, and in the towns they were, as 
 a rule, accommodated in houses. The coldest weather they 
 experienced was from 7th to 9th January, just at the time 
 when the thermometer here went clown to zero. During the 
 heavy fall of snow from the 4th to the 7th, they were in 
 some danger, and had thoughts of turning back, as their 
 guides and escort declined to proceed. Fortunately the snow 
 ceased on the 7th, and they were able to go on. About this 
 
 1 He died subsequently.
 
 254 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 time they came across the dead body of a Turkoman lying 
 in the snow, who had evidently died of cold a day or two 
 previously. Another dead body they found, had evidently 
 fallen a victim to heat and thirst some months before. De- 
 spite the trying weather that we have experienced since the 
 2d of January, intense cold and continued rain and snow, 
 there has been very little sickness. It is a great thing to be 
 well housed and warmly clothed. And yet the Hindu never 
 fails to show his superlative contempt for the warm clothing 
 lavished upon him, by persistently refusing to wear it. He 
 has a poshtin, but leaves it in his JcibitJca when he walks 
 abroad. He has stout ammunition-boots and poshtin socks, 
 but he prefers running about in the snow and slush in his 
 stocking-soles or with bare feet. But they don't die some- 
 how. The only death that has occurred in camp is that of 
 a sepoy of the 20th Panjab Infantry. 
 
 IQth February. 
 
 Sir Peter Lumsden this morning reviewed his escort, cavalry 
 and infantry. Did he wish to assure himself that they would 
 compare favourably with the Eussian troops ? I do not think 
 he need have any doubts on that score, whether for dress, 
 bearing, drill, or discipline. Unfortunately it would seem 
 that but a small portion of this escort is likely to come in 
 contact with the Kussians, if indeed we do ever see them. 
 It is surely an extraordinary admission on their part that, 
 as reported in the London telegrams of 9th January, they are 
 apprehensive of the consequences of the presence of two large 
 Commissions on the northern frontier of Afghanistan. What 
 do they fear ? The only apparent ground for their fears lies 
 in the unsettled temper of their own Central Asian subjects. 
 It is no secret that the Turkomans are no lovers of the new 
 regime. Does the Russian Government fear that the presence 
 of 500 British soldiers on the borders of their trans-Caspian 
 annexations might cause the storm of discontent and dis- 
 affection to burst ? And yet we find Grodekoff asserting, in 
 his account of his ride from Samarcand to Herat, that the 
 inhabitants of the khanates, from Balkh to Maimena, were 
 all most desirous of emancipation from Afghan rule, and
 
 IX OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 255 
 
 prayed for the day when Russia would fulfil their desires 
 and take them under the a\gis of its imperial might and 
 justice. How does this assertion tally with the fact that 
 the Saruks sought Afghan protection as soon as the occu- 
 pation of Merv gave them cause to apprehend that Pan j deli 
 would not long evade Russian territorial greed ? There is 
 another opinion to which Grodekoif gives vent that is 
 equally erroneous. He says that Merv is not the key of 
 Herat ; and alleges, as his ground for holding this opinion, 
 that the roads between the Murghab valley and the passes 
 over the Baba and Kaitu range (I mean the range north of 
 Herat, styled by some geographers Paropamisus, and of which 
 the several peaks are known locally as Band-i-Baba, Kara- 
 Kaitu, and Siyahbubak) are quite impracticable for troops. 
 Now our recent march alone is sufficient to prove the fallacy 
 of this statement. It is also known that two batteries of 
 Afghan artillery, mounted on carriages, have within the last 
 two years marched from Herat to Maimena by some route 
 passing through or close to Kalah-i-nau. But perhaps 
 Colonel Grodekoff is not aware that the best road from 
 Merv to Herat leaves the Murghab near Pul-i-khishti, 
 follows the Klmskh valley up to Ivara-tapa, and thence 
 crosses into the Herat valley by the Ardewan Pass. Every 
 one who has seen the Ardewan Pass agrees that the road 
 through it is comparatively easy. On this route there is 
 no scarcity of water. Supplies are at present unprocurable 
 anywhere, except fuel, and grazing for camels, and to a cer- 
 tain extent for horses. This means that food and grain 
 must be carried no great obstacle surely. One feels dis- 
 posed to doubt the sincerity of this published opinion of 
 Grodekoffs. Were it only true, it would be no small gain 
 to Afghan and British interests. 
 
 So far indeed is the British press from adopting an exag- 
 gerative tone, that it could be wished that both press and 
 public would evince a stronger feeling and deeper interest 
 in this subject. There seems every reason to fear that the 
 Gladstonian Ministry will not even now oppose with requisite 
 firmness the immoderate demands of Russia. If that be so,
 
 256 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the sooner the British people disavow the policy of their 
 present Ministry the better. Eussia has not the faintest 
 suspicion of a right to any of the "debatable" territory 
 which she now claims. What prescriptive right has she to 
 rule the Turkomans ? For many years they have owned 
 allegiance to no potentate ; therefore the Russians cannot 
 even plead that they are, or were, the subjects of their feu- 
 datories, the Khan of Khiva or the Amir of Bokhara cer- 
 tainly not as regards the Saruks. Such of these indepen- 
 dent Turkomans as the Russians have subdued, let them 
 rule. But they have no right to claim sovereignty over 
 Turkomans who are Afghan subjects. It is commonly main- 
 tained by them that the Hindu Kush, and not the Oxus, is 
 both historically, ethnographically, and geographically the 
 natural boundary between Afghanistan and Prussia's Central 
 Asian possessions. Such an assertion is utterly unfounded. 
 Since the days of Dost Mohammed, if not before, the Oxus 
 has, except during certain periods of internal disturbance, 
 been the northern boundary of Afghanistan. All the petty 
 khanates forming Afghan Turkistan viz., Kunduz, Khulm, 
 Balkh, Akcha, Andkhui, Shibargan, Sar-i-pul, and Maimena 
 have as a rule acknowledged and paid tribute to the Amirs, 
 except when the latter have been obliged to devote all their 
 energies to the defence of their throne from internal assaults, 
 and consequently to relax their grip on their outlying prov- 
 inces. Afghan Turkistan was tributary to Ahmed Shah, 
 but under the laxer rule of Taimur Shah some of the khan- 
 ates became virtually independent. In or about 1850, Dost 
 Mohammed re-established Afghan rule there and in Badakh- 
 shan. There is no doubt that the petty potentates of these 
 khanates have amused themselves by coquetting with the 
 courts of Kabul and Bokhara, and tried to play the one off 
 against the other. From the death of Dost Mohammed to 
 the accession of Abdur Rahman i.e., from 1863 to 1882 the 
 peace and unity of Afghanistan have been repeatedly disturbed 
 by struggles between brother and brother, uncle and nephew, 
 cousin and cousin ; and the khanates north of the Hindu 
 Kush became in consequence at times practically indepen-
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 257 
 
 dent. It is true that the Amir of Bokhara in 1869 made a 
 military demonstration on the Oxus with a view to enforcing 
 his claim to several of these petty khanates ; but ultimately 
 his army was withdrawn, and the Oxus recognised as the 
 boundary between Bokhara and Afghanistan. No sooner, 
 however, had Abdur Rahman driven Ayub from Kandahar 
 and Herat and consolidated his power at Kabul, than he not 
 only reasserted his sway in Afghan Turkistan and Badakhshan, 
 but also annexed Sliignan and Wakhan. It would appear, 
 therefore, that from a historical point of view Russia has 
 not the faintest claim to the territory between the Oxus and 
 Hindu Kush. Geographically a river is just as good a boun- 
 dary as a chain of mountains. As for ethnographical claims, 
 they are mainly a matter of sentiment, and unless supported 
 by force of arms, deserve to be ignored. Doubtless Slavonic 
 Russia is burning to unite in one great empire all the Slav 
 States of Europe ; but until Germany and Austria become 
 effete, the fire of Panslavism will have to burn in secret. 
 The dream of one vast Slavonic and Mongolian empire is, 
 it must be allowed, a splendid aspiration ; but while England, 
 Germany, and Austria possess the will and power to dispel 
 its illusions, it must fain feed itself on its own sweetness. 
 
 11 th February. 
 
 To-morrow morning we start for Gulran. To-day the con- 
 voy for Quetta and the heavy baggage were despatched. We 
 cross the Murghab at Maruchak. Some ten days ago, Cap- 
 tain Yate was sent down the river to report on the fords. 
 After examining them all, he decided that that of Maruchak 
 alone was adapted to the passage of a force such as ours. In 
 reality, however, it is not so much the ford itself as the nature 
 of the land across which the ford must be approached that 
 presents difficulties. The approaches even of the Maruchak 
 ford are bad enough, but have been materially improved by 
 ramping the banks. We leave the Murghab valley some- 
 where near Band-i-Nadiri, some 10 miles north of Maruchak, 
 and strike across to the Khushk valley. Our party is not so 
 complete as I at first imagined it would be. Colonel Ridge- 
 
 E
 
 258 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 way's party has lessened our number by four ; while Captain 
 Peacocke, who seems to regard rest as a superfluous luxury, 
 is off alone to Khushk and the Kaitu or Band-i-Baba range. 
 It is well for us to make the most of our time and see all we 
 can, for who knows what may lie in the future ? Yester- 
 day Captain Gore and Mr Talbot rejoined, having been away 
 nearly a week encamped in the Darband waiting for a fine 
 clear day. On the 9th they were rewarded for their patience, 
 and ascending the snowy heights (said to be about 3000 feet 
 higher than our camp) west of the Darband, succeeded in 
 completing the task they had in view viz., to connect their 
 survey with that of Major Holdich. The Tirband has been 
 capped with snow for six weeks past. It is a fine sight. 
 Some of the peaks are over 9000 feet high. Surveyor Imam 
 Sharif will march straight from here across to the Khushk 
 river at Hauz-i-Khan. following some comparatively unfre- 
 quented route. 
 
 It may perhaps be worth while to state here what infor- 
 mation I have been able to collect about the country be- 
 tween the Murghab and the Oxus. The area, of which 
 I have some knowledge (based mainly on information ob- 
 tained from Captain Peacocke and Mr Merk), embraces the 
 petty states of Maimena, Andkhui, Akcha, and Shibargan, 
 the Oxus from Kilif through Khwaja Salar (not Khwaja 
 Salih, as it has hitherto been styled) to Khani-i-ab, and the 
 tract situated between the main road from Bala Murghab 
 to Mairnena on the south to the edge of the Dasht-i-Chul 
 on the north. By the by, it appears that the name of chul 
 is not applied in local parlance to sandy desert, but to the 
 expanse of light, clayey, undulating hills and downs that 
 extend from the foot of the northern spurs of the Tirband- 
 i-Turkistan to the edge of the sandy tract that lies between 
 Merv and the Oxus at Karki. The settlements on the 
 Murghab viz., Maruchak, Panjdeh, and Yulatan are con- 
 nected with those of Afghan Turkistan viz., Maimena, Daul- 
 atabad, and Andkhui by direct routes across this chul. Not 
 that these routes are, at least now, such as would be readily
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 259 
 
 selected by a large caravan, or l>e suitable for the march of 
 even a small body of troops. It appears that there are wells 
 to be found at intervals, greater or less, all over this chul. 
 These wells are said to be, as a rule, from 50 to 60 feet in 
 depth, and lined with brick. As they are unprovided with 
 drinking-troughs, or even the traces of their former existence, 
 it may be concluded that they are intended, not for watering 
 flocks, but for the use of casual travellers. The water in 
 them is brackish naturally, and from stagnating in the wells, 
 which are rarely used, becomes very foul. There is no doubt 
 that these routes have been made use of even in recent 
 years by caravans seeking to avoid the main road through 
 Andkhui and Maimena, and so escape the heavy dues exacted 
 by the rulers of those petty states. How exorbitant those 
 dues were, any one who has read Vambery's Travels knows. 
 The risks attendant on travelling by these routes are suffi- 
 ciently attested by the fact that travellers often perish in the 
 midst of this inhospitable waste. Nor are these risks confined 
 to any one season. In summer and winter alike the traveller 
 is exposed to them. He may die of thirst under a broiling- 
 sun, and he may perish of cold in the snow's embrace fatal 
 and yet so seductive to the lost weary wayfarer. For the 
 Turkoman, the Uzbek, and the Aimak, who thinks a change 
 of wearing apparel a superfluous luxury, and carries his bed- 
 ding strapped on the saddle behind him, water in a niussuk, 
 and food for himself and grain for his steed in a saddle-bag, 
 such a journey presents perhaps but small difficulties. This, 
 however, is calculating without the chapter of accidents. Let 
 him but lose the track, and how shall he find it again in that 
 intricate waste of undulations ? He may have water enough 
 for himself for two or three days, but his horse cannot work 
 without water, and must ere long fall down exhausted. And 
 then he must leave it, and struggle along burdened with his 
 own water and food. And even if he be so fortunate as to 
 come across a well, suppose it be dry, or that he has aban- 
 doned his 60 feet of rope necessary for reaching the water ! 
 Or even, given him the water, his stock of food \yill inevitably 
 fail him ere he can reach the habitations of man ; for the road
 
 260 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 is long, and he may be nearly 100 miles from all human aid 
 when his evil fate overtakes him. And in the winter, when 
 the snow is deep on the ground, and obscures the track and 
 obstructs the vision, blocks the road in drifts, and with its 
 pitiless glare produces snow-blindness ; when the cold is in- 
 tense and fuel is nowhere to be found ; when the grass and 
 scrub that should afford nutriment to the horse is buried deep 
 in the snow, then, indeed, may the creeping chill of despair 
 combine with the benumbing cold of the elements and bid the 
 traveller cease to hope. What avails it then that snow lies 
 around for miles ? snow for which the parched traveller in 
 summer would give a fortune. It is not snow he wants to 
 slake his thirst, but fuel to restore vitality to his numbed 
 limbs. Such are some of the dangers to be encountered 
 traversing this chul. Naturally the inhabitants of the dis- 
 tricts bordering on it are, as a rule, careful so to time their 
 journeyings across it as to reduce these risks to a minimum. 
 Still, year by year not a few travellers gasp out their last 
 breath on its parched steppes, or sink wearily to die amid its 
 trackless snows. The people divide the winter here into two 
 periods of forty days each, called respectively chilla-i-kalan 
 and chilla-i-kkurd, or the great and lesser forty-days. The 
 former lasts from 20th December (approximately) to the 31st 
 January, and the latter from 1st February to about 10th 
 March. During these periods they consider it unsafe to cross 
 the chul (steppe). 
 
 In journeying across such a country the stages naturally 
 depend on the position of the wells and of the localities where 
 fuel and fodder are procurable ; and it is seemingly to such 
 places alone that names are attached. Starting from Maru- 
 chak, we reach the first wells at Gala-Chashma, some 20 
 miles north-east of the starting-point. From Gala-Chashma 
 to Karabil, the next well, is about 27 miles. Karabil is 
 situated on a broad level plateau, 20 to 25 miles in width, and 
 some 2500 feet above sea-level, which stretches from the foot 
 of the Tirband-i-Turkistan into the desert, and forms the 
 watershed between the Murghab and the Oxus. Here fuel is 
 to be found in the form of scrub and low bushes. The drain-
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 261 
 
 age from this plateau and its outlying spurs collects in a 
 valley named Aghzking, and a few miles above Karawul- 
 khana joins the valley which carries to the Murghab the 
 drainage from Chahar Shamba and Kalah Wali. The river 
 Kizar, that we see in the maps disappearing to the northward 
 in the desert, is purely mythical. What a godsend it would 
 be if it did but exist ! From Karabil there are two routes 
 one to Andkhui and the other to Daulatabad, an Ersari settle- 
 ment on the Shirin Tagao, some 35 miles south by west of 
 Andkhui. The whole country is of an undulating nature. 
 From Karabil to Daulatabad is a distance of some 90 miles, 
 and wells are found at intervals of from 15 to 20 miles. The 
 names given to some of these wells are Yarghan Chakli, Ki- 
 yamat-i-Shur, and Yarghan Kui. At Kiyaniat-i-Shur scrub and 
 bushes suitable for fuel grow. The fodder-supply depends on 
 the season of the year : it is most plentiful in spring, after the 
 winter rains and snows. This route was taken recently by 
 the party under Captain Peacocke and Mr Merk, consisting 
 of about 100 men, 90 horses and ponies, and 95 camels. 
 They started from Maruchak, carrying with them three days' 
 water in mussuks and three days' fuel. After that they de- 
 pended for water on the snow, and for fuel on the resources 
 of the cliul. Fortunately neither failed them. This was in 
 January, when the cold was most intense, and snow and rain 
 fell every second or third day. The entire distance by this 
 route from Maruchak to Daulatabad is about 135 miles. Just 
 below Daulatabad the waters of the Ab-i-Maimena (which has 
 been joined higher up by its affluents, the Narin, and the 
 streams from the Almar and Kaisar valleys) and the Shirin 
 Tagao meet, and flow thence towards Andkhui under the 
 name of Ab-i- Andkhui. At Daulatabad is a strong well-built 
 fort belonging to the Ersaris, who both cultivate a large area 
 of land in the valley of the Shirin Tagao, and graze their 
 flocks on the chul to a distance of some 25 miles from their 
 settlement. A radius of about the same length represents 
 roughly the distance up to which the inhabitants of Andkhui, 
 Maimena, and all the Uzbek settlements on the highroad from 
 Maimena to Bala Murghab, use the chul for pastoral purposes.
 
 262 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 From Daulatabad to Andkhui it is two marches following 
 the banks of the Ab-i- Andkhui, which is said to be in breadth 
 about 25 feet, and in depth about five. The first stage is to 
 Chap Gudar, 14 miles, and thence to Andkhui, 20 more. The 
 valley throughout is level, and the soil excellent ; and yet it is 
 completely deserted. To enter into a separate description of 
 Andkhui, Akcha, Shibargan, and Maimena would be useless, 
 seeing that they are all said to be of the same type: the 
 same encircling walls, more or less in ruins ; the same citadel, 
 not quite so ruined as the walls ; the same mud-houses and 
 narrow streets ; and the same bazaar, with the same style of 
 shops, and the same kinds of wares and goods in greater or 
 less profusion. The bulk of their inhabitants are Uzbeks, 
 with a sprinkling of Turkomans, and probably some Jews and 
 Hindus. The population of Maimena itself is estimated at 
 3000 families, and of the Maimena state at 20,000. Those of 
 the other three states are much less. It is curious that while 
 the three latter are surrounded with trees and walled gardens, 
 the country around the former should be destitute of both. 
 Between Maimena and Bokhara, by the route of Andkhui and 
 Karki, there is an extensive carrying trade. From Andkhui 
 to Maimena the road presents no difficulties as regards the 
 configuration of the country, fuel, grazing, water, and supplies. 
 From Karki to Andkhui the road is by no means so easy. 
 The oasis around the latter town extends some 13 miles to 
 the north of it, where the river- water becomes completely ex- 
 hausted by being drawn off for irrigation. To reach from 
 Karki the edge of this oasis, first some 30 miles of sandy 
 desert covered with saxaul (a species of tamarisk which is 
 found all over the Central Asian deserts, and which the 
 Russians found most valuable as fuel, not only for troops 
 and domestic purposes, but also for their steamboats on 
 the Aral and the Oxus, until naphtha-burning engines were 
 introduced, and petroleum-dregs brought from the shores of 
 the Caspian), and then about 20 miles of undulating chul, have 
 to be traversed. Vambe'ry, if I remember rightly, came by 
 this road, and describes it, though not perhaps in detail. 
 There are, of course, wells along it near which caravans
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 263 
 
 bivouac. The 20 miles of clnd is simply desert from want of 
 water to irrigate it. The latitude where the northern edge of 
 this vast undulating steppe (chul) merges into the drift-sand 
 of the desert, may be roughly represented by a line drawn from 
 a point a little north of Balkh, and thence passing some 10 or 
 15 miles north of Akcha and Andklmi to Sari Yazi on the Mur- 
 ghab. North of this line, to the Oxus, stretches the desert of 
 drift-sand, which, between Kilif and Akcha only some 18 miles 
 broad, increases steadily in breadth as it extends westward. 
 There is also another caravan-road from Andklmi to Kham-i- 
 ab on the Oxus, a distance of about 60 miles, divided into 
 three stages viz., Bulut-kak, 2-4 miles ; Jar-kuduk, 18 miles ; 
 and Kham-i-ab, 18 miles. The word kak, a component of 
 Bulut-kak, is the name given to tanks constructed along these 
 caravan-routes for the purpose of collecting snow-water. The 
 water of the wells is invariably brackish. At Jar-kuduk there 
 is an Afghan frontier outpost located in a small fort, the land 
 around which is now being brought under cultivation. This 
 fort, it is said, was formerly used as an Afghan convict-prison. 
 The distance from Karki to Kilif, passing through Kham-i-ab, 
 Dali, and Khwaja Salar, is about 70 miles. The trough of the 
 river Oxus here is of great breadth, and in its centre lie at 
 this season great mud-flats, which, during the Hoods which 
 commence in April and subside in September, are entirely or 
 mostly submerged. On either bank of the river, between the 
 flood-level and the desert, is a strip of very fertile soil varying 
 from two to three miles in breadth. On both banks are 
 settled the Ersari Turkomans, who live, some in kilitkas, some 
 in mud-houses, and cultivate the fertile strip above mentioned. 
 The spring crops (wheat and barley) depend mainly on the 
 rainfall for arriving at maturity, while for the autumn crops 
 (jowar) the land is irrigated from flood-water canals. Silk- 
 worm farming is an important branch of the Ersari industry. 
 The mulberry-trees for the nutriment of the caterpillars are 
 grown along the banks of the canal and round every field. 
 The raw silk is exported to Bokhara, and there manufactured 
 into those shawls, handkerchiefs, and webs of silk which are 
 well known throughout the East. The Ersaris are said to be
 
 264 AFGHAN FEONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 prosperous and wealthy. Farther to the north-east, near 
 Charjui, dwell the Kara Turkomans, a section of the Ersari. 
 They are the only Turkomans who still raid. We have heard 
 of several of their raids round Andkhui this winter. As for 
 the Alieli, whom our maps consign vaguely to the broad 
 bosom of the desert, they are found to be an absolute fiction. 
 Like the Tekkes and Saruks, the Ersaris are great manufac- 
 turers of carpeting ; but to my mind the articles they turn out 
 are decidedly inferior to those produced by the two former. 
 Both for taste in colour and for soft velvetiness of texture, the 
 Saruks, I think, easily bear away the palm. The Tekke col- 
 ouring is too vivid ; but it must be admitted that the texture 
 of their best productions is wonderfully close and beautifully 
 soft. They seem, however, to produce a large quantity of in- 
 ferior articles ; and this may be attributed to the fact that 
 the Eussian annexation of Merv has opened the markets of 
 Europe to the Tekke industries. Almost every carpet from 
 a Saruk loom that I have seen has been good of its kind. 
 
 In the meantime the Commission is making very creditable 
 progress towards spoiling the markets. I believe I am not 
 exaggerating if I state that for the purchase of horses, carpets, 
 and jewellery not less than Es. 10,000 have flowed from the 
 pockets of the Commission into the coffers of the Saruks of 
 Panjdeh. In this sum I do not include the ordinary everyday 
 trifles of every description, food, dress, &c., that are purchased 
 in the camp bazaar by all ranks and classes. It would indeed 
 be strange if the Commission were not popular here. Whether 
 it be the Government or a private individual who has busi- 
 ness transactions with these people, the latter are sure of 
 making a good bargain. When we march from here we leave 
 behind us some 250 kibitkas, purchased by Government for 
 about Es. 16,000. These, after seven weeks' use, are about to 
 be handed over to the Amir's officials here, to be disposed of 
 as they think fit. 
 
 The golden key has seemingly become the emblem of a 
 settled and traditional British policy. Will it keep the gates of 
 Herat locked ? If it were permissible to lay a wager on a sub- 
 ject of such vital interest to India, I would be disposed to stake
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 265 
 
 my money on the Russian pick-lock, composed of two instru- 
 ments diplomacy and military force. It would appear more 
 than probable, from the attitude of the Russian Government, 
 the delay in withdrawing the outpost from Pul-i-Khatun, the 
 efforts made to gain a hold on Panjdeh, and the un courteous 
 dilatoriness of the Russian Commissioner, that the present is 
 deemed a favourable opportunity for forcing the hand of the 
 British Government in this quarter. Russia sees England in 
 difficulties in Egypt, and on bad terms with France and Ger- 
 many, and very naturally proposes to take advantage of her 
 embarrassments. From her behaviour now, it is perhaps not 
 difficult to detect the game that she has from the first had in 
 view. Unable, or deeming it unadvisable, to refuse point- 
 blank to send a Commission and define a frontier, she con- 
 sented to England's proposal, trusting to time and circum- 
 stances to aid her in evading the consummation of the under- 
 taking. It would appear that time and circumstances have 
 answered only too well to her hopes. At the very time when 
 the frontier should be fixed, she sees England involved in 
 difficulties on all hands. Now is her time to put on the 
 screw, and she consequently raises objections to all England's 
 proposals and demands ; and as the work of the two Commis- 
 sions cannot proceed until these preliminary negotiations are 
 concluded, it becomes a matter of indefinite uncertainty when 
 that work will begin. 
 
 But to return to Afghan Turkistan. The population of the 
 oasis of Andkhui is estimated at 3000 families, almost all 
 Uzbeks. The garrison and governor (by name Abdul Hamid 
 Khan) are Afghan. The semi-ruined town- walls enclose large 
 unoccupied spaces, a proof that it was once more populous 
 than it is now. There are no villages round the city, but 
 numerous walled gardens in which the well-to-do Uzbeks live 
 in summer. Agriculture, silk-worm farming, and the carry- 
 ing trade between Maimena and Bokhara, are the principal 
 occupations of the inhabitants. The fields round the town 
 are still dotted with towers of refuge, mementos of the now 
 almost bygone age of the Turkoman raids. Kilif, on the 
 Oxus, is described as a miniature Attock. On the Afghan
 
 266 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 side cliffs overhang the stream, and reappear on the Bokhara 
 side in a rock on which is perched the small fort in which 
 resides the Bokhara Governor of Kilif, an old man named 
 Toktamish Beg. The river, which lower down at Khwaja 
 Salar and Kham-i-ab flows in several channels in a flat bed 
 and is flanked by marshy ground flooded in the hot weather, 
 is here gathered into a single stream a fine volume of water 
 some 350 yards wide. Kilif is on the main caravan-route 
 between Bokhara and Balkh, Mazar-i-sharif, Akcha, Sar-i-pul, 
 and Shibargan, and is consequently an important ferry. 
 
 The establishment consists of six boats (flat-bottomed punts) 
 about 45 feet long and 15 wide, with pointed stem and 
 stern : these ply between two small natural harbours formed 
 by spurs of the cliffs projecting into the stream, and are towed 
 across by a single horse, attached to the prow by a rope 
 fastened to a collar which is firmly fixed to a girth passing 
 round the horse's body behind the shoulder. By this contriv- 
 ance the horse when in the water is suspended, and being 
 relieved of his own weight, has nothing to do but kick out. 
 He is guided by a bridle from the boat ; when the river is in 
 flood two horses are harnessed to the boat. Akcha is distant 
 from Kilif about 30 miles. The road, crossing a strip of 
 desert some 18 miles in width, strikes the northern edge of 
 the Akcha oasis. Here, too, is an Afghan garrison and 
 governor, Abdul Ghain Khan, brother of the Governor of 
 Andkhui. The water-supply of this town is said to be 
 brought in two large canals from the Band-i-Barbar on the 
 Balkh river north of Balkh. Pheasants are found here. 
 Shibargan is distant about 35 miles from Akcha, and is 
 reached in two marches of about 20 and 15 miles respec- 
 tively. The edge of the Shibargan cultivation is touched 
 at the end of the first march at a place named Chichki. 
 Shibargan is also occupied by an Afghan garrison. Here, as 
 around Maimena, much of the cultivation depends solely on 
 the rainfall, whereas at Andkhui and Akcha the rainfall is 
 insufficient for that purpose. The road hence to Maimena 
 crosses the chul for 45 miles (two marches of 25 and 20 miles 
 respectively) to Khairabad, a settlement situated on the
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 267 
 
 Shirin Tagao, seven miles south of Daulatabad ; then for 
 some 25 miles follows the banks of the Shirin Tagao, 
 and finally turns off in a south-west direction to Mai- 
 mena, which is distant about 10 miles from the river. 
 The valley of the Shirin from Khairabad upwards is well 
 cultivated and comparatively thickly populated. It will be 
 seen that our present maps are far from correct here. For 
 instance, the positions of Khairabad and Daulatabad are 
 reversed, and the distance of Muimena from the Shirin Tagao 
 is more than doubled. Maimena is ruled by a hereditary 
 Uzbek chief with the title of AYali, but is now held by a 
 strong Afghan garrison composed of two regiments of infantry, 
 a regiment of cavalry, and a battery of artillery. It is the 
 largest and most important of the petty states west of Balkh, 
 where resides Sardar Mohammed Isa Khan, Governor of 
 Afghan Turkistan, a cousin of the Amir. Maimena has on 
 more than one occasion defied the power of the Amirs and 
 sustained protracted sieges by Afghan troops. A brief sum- 
 mary of the recent annals of Maimena may be of interest. 
 The present Wall, Mir Husain Khan, having put to death his 
 brother, succeeded to the chiefship some twenty years ago. In 
 1868, Maimena was unsuccessfully besieged by Abdur Rahman 
 Khan, the present Amir. At that time Slier Ali was holding 
 Herat, and Abdur Eahinan, who was advancing from Balkh to 
 attack him there, was obliged to take Maimena before he 
 could advance farther. Meanwhile the successes gained by 
 Sher Ali and his son, Mohammed Yakub, had placed the 
 former on the throne of Kabul; so Abdur Rahman with- 
 drew from before Maimena to Balkh. Before he departed he 
 is said to have exchanged Korans with Mir Husain Khan, 
 and the two swore to stand by one another in the hour of 
 need : a curious compact as between two men who just 
 before had been engaged in active warfare the one against 
 the other. After his visit to Umballa in 1869, Slier Ali 
 proceeded to consolidate his power in Afghanistan. Sardar 
 Mohammed Alam Khan was sent to take Maimena ; but it 
 was only after a six months' siege that he succeeded in 
 capturing it. A breach having been effected, the place was
 
 268 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 stormed by the Afghan force, and an indiscriminate massacre 
 and loot seems to have followed. Mir Husain Khan was sent 
 a prisoner to Kabul, and replaced by his relative, Dilawar 
 Khan. When Abd-ul-Kudus took Herat for the present 
 Amir in 1882, he marched thither through the Hazarajat, 
 thus avoiding Maimena. It was only last spring that a 
 force was sent to reduce it. What Sardar Abdur Kahman 
 failed to do by force in 1868, and Sher Ali with great difficulty 
 effected a year or two later, Amir Abdur Kahman brought 
 about by intrigue in a few weeks. The strong party within 
 the town adverse to Dilawar Khan, taking advantage of his 
 unpopularity with the mass of the people, intrigued against 
 him, and soon compelled him to surrender. Mir Husain Khan 
 was then reappointed to the chiefship, and Dilawar removed 
 to Kabul. The Wali, however, is at present a mere nominal 
 ruler. There is an Afghan Resident there, and in his hands 
 is vested the real authority. The distance from Maimena to 
 Bala Murghab is slightly under 100 miles. The marches are 
 Almar 17, Kaisar 18, Chahar Shamba 18, Kalah Wali 20, 
 Bala Murghab 24. The watershed between the Oxus and the 
 Murghab is just east of Chichaktu, from which place to Kalah 
 Wali there is continuous cultivation, the land being irrigated 
 from the stream, which becomes exhausted about six miles 
 west of Kalah Wali. From these districts a great part of the 
 supplies used by us at Bala Murghab were brought. There is 
 a settlement of Saruks at Kalah Wali. The other settlements 
 are mostly of Uzbeks. Although their lands are now all 
 irrigated artificially, there is no reason why rain-crops, as at 
 Maimena, Bala Murghab, Kalah-i-nau, Khushk, and elsewhere, 
 should not be produced. The soil is wonderfully fertile. The 
 valley from Kalah Wali to Karawulkhana, some 20 to 25 
 miles in length and a mile in width, is admirably adapted for 
 cultivation even by rain. There are also some small springs 
 in it. The traces of a former town of some extent may be 
 seen in it, some eight miles west of Kalah Wali. 
 
 Maimena is an important trade-centre, with an extensive 
 bazaar, in which English goods are said to predominate over 
 Eussian. The green tea sold there is mostly imported
 
 IN OUR WINTER-QUARTERS. 269 
 
 through. Bombay, and the white cottons and broadcloths are 
 all of English manufacture, imported through India. The 
 coloured cottons are mostly Eussian. Silks are from Bokhara. 
 Eussian leather is much used for shoes and boots. Many of 
 the cloths in use, such as barak, Jcurk, and agliari, are woven 
 locally or by the surrounding Turkoman and Aimak tribes. 
 Many varieties of furs, too, are procurable, from common 
 sheep and fox skins, to the finer otter, squirrel, marten, and 
 Astrakan. Sheep-skins and Astrakan are used both for hats 
 and caps, and for lining poslitins. Both otter and Astrakan 
 (the best and true Astrakan is the skin of an unborn lamb) 
 are much in vogue as trimmings, while the others are gener- 
 ally used for lining poshtins. One of the peculiar institutions 
 of the country of the Uzbek, the Turkoman, and the Aimak, 
 is the kibitka (RussicS), locally termed khirgali. Of these, 
 two have recently been despatched to England by Sir Peter 
 Lumsden one to the Foreign Office, the other for the Indian 
 and Colonial Exhibition of, I think, 1886, of which he is 
 one of the directors. The latter is a particularly handsome 
 one, circular (as they all are), with a diameter of 16 feet. 
 The framework is made of willow. The walls, which are 
 eight or nine feet in height, consist of a sort of trellis-work, 
 folding up into a small compass for packing, and expanding 
 when the kibitka is erected. The roof is supported by a 
 number of curved willow-staves, the upper ends of which 
 fit into slots in a wooden ring some two feet in diameter, 
 forming the centre-piece of the roof, while the lower are 
 attached to the top of the trellis-work wall. The whole is 
 covered from crown to foot with namad, a species of thick 
 pliable felt. There is of course namad and namad. That of 
 the khirgah in question is remarkably good. Over the wooden 
 ring in the centre of the roof fits a conical cap of namad, so 
 arranged as to allow smoke to escape and yet prevent rain 
 or snow dripping in. The interior is lined with bright- 
 coloured cloth of native manufacture, and the trellis-work 
 girded round by a broad band of Turkoman webbing some 
 40 feet long. Some of these bits of webbing are of admirable 
 texture, design, and workmanship.
 
 270 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AT GULRAN. 
 
 KARAWULKHANA, 15th February. 
 
 WE left Bala Murghab this morning. To-morrow we cross 
 the ford at Maruchak, and the next day march straight across 
 from there to Chaman-i-bed on the Khushk, a distance of 
 41 miles. 
 
 GULRAN, 24<A February. 
 
 We arrived yesterday at this our second winter-quarters in 
 Badkis, and possibly the scene of the last act of the Boundary 
 Commission drama of 1884-85. Before, however, dealing with 
 the recent events that have contributed to bring about thus 
 prematurely a crisis in the affairs of this Commission, it is 
 desirable to give an account of its movements during the 
 current month. On the 6th instant Colonel Eidgeway, 
 accompanied by Captains Maitland, Yate, and De Laessoe, 
 Kazi Mahomed Aslam, and a native surveyor, started (from 
 Bala Murghab) for Panjdeh. Of the political object of this 
 move little or nothing was at that time known. It was 
 understood that Colonel Eidgeway and Captain de Laessoe 
 would rejoin us at Panjdeh, or at some point on our march 
 to Gulran, of which the route was not then definitely fixed. 
 Captains Maitland and Yate, with the native surveyor, were, 
 on the other hand, to march westward from Panjdeh through 
 Gumbazli towards the Hari Eud, and thence working south- 
 ward through Badkis, to rejoin us at Gulran, or as the 
 Turkomans pronounce it, Gurlan. Up to the 6th instant 
 the weather had been the reverse of favourable to any
 
 AT GULRAX. 271 
 
 movement ; but from that date to the 10th, fortune showed 
 itself to be at times the kind friend of those who must march 
 in foul weather or fair. Unfortunately it cannot be said 
 that Mr Merk and Captain Peacocke, who rejoined us on 
 the 7th or 8th instant at the termination of their some- 
 what arduous trip to the Oxus and back, of which I have 
 given some account in my last letter, met with similar 
 considerate treatment at the hands of the fickle goddess. 
 The departure of the main body of the Commission had 
 been fixed for the 10th ; and in anticipation thereof, at 
 Major Holdich's request Surveyor Imam Sharif had been 
 despatched by a more southerly route than that taken by 
 us, with instructions to meet us at Chaman-i-bed on the 
 Khushk. This he did on the 20th instant, having made the 
 following marches : 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Bala Murgliab to Munglian, . . . . . 18 
 Munghan to Rabat-i-Kaslian, . . . . . 16 
 Rabat-i-Kashan to Chali-i-Xakkasli, . . . 17J 
 Cliah-i-Xiakkash to Hauz-i-Khan, . . . . 15 
 Hauz-i-Khan to Chaman-i-bed, . . . . 12 
 
 Munghan (alias Mangan) is the place where the portion of 
 the Commission which marched from Kuhsan under Colonel 
 Eidgeway's command halted the night before it reached Bala 
 Murghab. Eabat-i-Kashan is an old caravanserai in the 
 Kashan valley (along which flows the same stream which we 
 before camped on at Kalah-i-nau, Au-shara, and Tur-i-Shaikh), 
 some 14 miles south of the point where it debouches into 
 the valley of the Murghab near Band-i-Nadiri. At Chah-i- 
 Nakkash there is a single well of drinkable water. Turko- 
 mans graze their flocks in its neighbourhood. The supplies 
 laid in for us at Chaman-i-bed from Fanjdeh were con- 
 veyed thither in three stages by this route, the intermediate 
 halting - places being Rabat-i-Kashaii and Chah-i-Nakkash. 
 Hauz-i-Khan is the name of a ruined edifice be it covered 
 tank, as the name implies, or caravanserai, as some think 
 on the right bank of the Khushk, half-way between Kalah-i- 
 maur and Chaman-i-bed. 
 
 Thus by the above route the Khushk can be reached in four
 
 272 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 easy stages from Bala Murghab. The road is good, with 
 easy gradients for the most part, following broad open valleys, 
 The only obstacle is the scanty supply of water at Chah-i- 
 Nakkash. It is, however, difficult to understand why the 
 Commission did not adopt this route, which is shorter and 
 easier than that selected. As for water at Chah-i-Nakkash, 
 it could have been easily carried in mussuks and puckals 
 from Eabat-i-Kashan, just as we actually did carry it from 
 Ab-i-Kashan for 29 miles to Kalah-i-maur. Permission was 
 furthermore accorded to Captain Peacocke to return through 
 Khushk to the Paroparnisus, he being desirous of making a 
 more thorough examination of it, and report on the passes 
 over that range from Badkis into the Hari Eud valley. This 
 permission was withdrawn at the last moment. On the 
 evening of the 9th we all turned in, fully expecting to be up 
 and off at daybreak. As a matter of fact, we were mostly 
 up, but not off; for no sooner had rtveillt sounded than 
 an order rapidly circulated countermanding the march. Few 
 of us, I think, were loath to take " a little more sleep and a 
 little more slumber." It had been known, or perhaps rather 
 felt, in camp the previous night, that there was, as they say, 
 something in the wind. The Mashhad mail had come in 
 bringing despatches from London, and a sowar had arrived 
 with letters from Colonel Eidgeway. But from which quarter 
 came the motive for excitement but few could say, and those 
 who could kept it to themselves. Since then a fortnight has 
 elapsed, and no efforts at concealment have succeeded in 
 defrauding the glib tongue of Madam Eumour of its rights. 
 A portion of what she revealed I have incorporated in my 
 telegram of yesterday's date. There is, however, little to be 
 gained by doing things by halves. Better to wait till the 
 interests of the State no longer conflict with those of the 
 press, and then deal fully with the momentous occurrences of 
 the past fortnight. 1 Suffice it to say now, that if the ' Saturday 
 
 1 It was not till the 10th May that I found myself at liberty to relate what 
 occurred at Panjdeh between the 9th February and 20th March 1885. Zulfi- 
 kar and Ak-rabat were occupied by Russian outposts, composed mostly of Tur- 
 koman levies, on or about 8th February. Kizil-tapa, about 1^ mile north of
 
 AT GULRAX. 273 
 
 Eeview ' and the ' Times ' were both agreed six weeks or more 
 ago that Eussia's attitude towards this Boundary Commission 
 was an affront to the British nation, they and the entire 
 press will probably feel justified in using still stronger 
 language when all that has occurred since is made public. 
 It can only be feared that the timidity of a Ministry whose 
 foreign policy has been censured almost as severely by its 
 own organs as by those of the Opposition, and has drawn even 
 from the ' Times ' the most unfavourable comments, has en- 
 couraged Russia to venture on a forward and aggressive policy. 
 It is of course well known from previous experiences that 
 the Eussian Government never hesitates to disavow, and at 
 least to outward appearance disgrace, its agents, should such 
 a course be deemed advisable. But unless sufficient pressure 
 be brought to bear on it, it will not disavow them. Will this 
 Liberal Ministry if indeed the fall of Khartoum and Gor- 
 don's death have not been the signal for its downfall and re- 
 placement by one that more adequately represents the feel- 
 ings and wishes of the people impose the required amount 
 of pressure ? The Commission which has been despatched 
 to Central Asia for the purpose of settling in peaceable 
 communication with the Eussian representatives the Eusso- 
 Afghan frontier, is first subjected to the insult of being kept 
 waiting indefinitely for the arrival of those representatives, 
 and, in the second place, finds itself opposed, not, as it had 
 reason to anticipate, by the arguments of diplomacy and by 
 claims based on historical, geographical, or ethnological 
 grounds, but by a number of armed parties. 
 
 The unexpected postponement of our march on the 10th 
 instant seemed almost providential ; for ere the day was over 
 it was raining hard, and so continued till the 13th. It then 
 brightened up a bit, and on the 15th we got under way. 
 Our first day's march was to Karawulkhana, a distance of 
 about 11 miles. Two roads were at our disposal one 
 running along close under the foot of the hills on the east 
 side, the other down the centre of the valley : we utilised 
 
 Pul-i-khishti, was occupied by an outpost of Yulatani Saruks on the 20th 
 February. 
 
 S
 
 274 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 both more or less. Considering the recent heavy rains, the 
 ground was surprisingly firm. As we rode along we bade 
 adieu to the reed-beds, whose denizens, pheasant, duck, and 
 snipe, had given us many a good hour's sport. The name 
 Karawulkhana is but a relic of a past existence. The word 
 means an outpost, and it is said that in former years there 
 was a small fort and Afghan outpost here. There are 
 evident traces of the former existence of some edifice or 
 edifices here in the shape of scores of bricks strewn hither 
 and thither, and mounds of debris, and a group of pistachios 
 shading the tomb of some holy Mohammedan. The very 
 position itself is, however, internal evidence in support of the 
 previous existence of this outpost. Here the valley, which 
 carries into the Murghab all the drainage from the Chahar 
 Shamba and Kalah Wali districts, and from the cliul as far 
 as the Band-i-Karabil, and up which runs an easy level road 
 to Kalah Wali, and thence to Chichaktu on the Maimena 
 road, meets the valley of the Murghab. An outpost stationed 
 here would command the road up either valley, and in par- 
 ticular act as a check on the Turkoman raiders who were the 
 terror of caravans and travellers on the road from Maimena 
 to the Murghab. Apropos of Turkoman raiders, I will repeat 
 a story told to me the other day by an Afghan officer, which 
 shows the wonderful mobility of the Afghan irregular cav- 
 alry (Khawani Sowar). I overtook my informant towards 
 the close of our march into Gulran. He was evidently un- 
 favourably impressed by our complete dependence on finding 
 water and supplies at regular and not too long intervals, and 
 his anecdote was intended to illustrate the superior mobility 
 of his own service. Some years ago, he said, he was one of a 
 body of Khawani Sowar, 700 strong, quartered at Tutuchi, 
 some 20 miles east of Gulran, at which latter place was a 
 small outpost. One evening some sowars of the outpost came 
 across the fresh tracks of a considerable party of mounted 
 men, whom they presumed, or indeed knew, must be Turkoman 
 raiders. Information was at once sent to Tutuchi, and by 
 dawn next day the whole of the 700 horse were en route for 
 Gulran. There, picking up the tracks of the Turkomans,
 
 AT GULRAX. 275 
 
 they followed them up to Chaman-i-bed 011 the Khuskh, 
 where they arrived towards evening. There they overtook 
 and captured several Turkomans, having in the space of from 
 twelve to fourteen hours covered not less than 70 miles. The 
 pace that they adopted was no doubt that of five or six miles 
 an hour, an amble which their horses can keep up for very 
 long distances. And yet these horses, witli all their powers 
 of endurance, would be considered neither in size nor weight- 
 carrying powers suited to the requirements of a native cavalry 
 regiment. In a recent issue of ' The Tioneer,' it was re- 
 marked that of the horses of the detachment of the llth 
 Bengal Lancers with this Commission, the u-alcrs have best 
 stood the test of hard work. One of the officers of the detach- 
 ment told me, with reference to the subject, that this fact was 
 to be attributed, not to the natural superiority of u'alcrs over 
 country and stud breds, but to the youth of the former. It 
 appears that all the icalcrs of this detachment are about six 
 years old, whereas the horses of other classes are of all ages. 
 No one will deny that, ccctcris paribus, any animal, be he man, 
 horse, dog, or anything else, will in the prime of life stand 
 more hard work than one verging towards old age. However, 
 to revert to the story of my Afghan. I pointed out to him 
 that to compare the movements of a body of cavalry minus 
 all impedimenta, with a mixed force cumbered with an abnormal 
 quantity of baggage and stores, was quite out of place, and 
 that though a horse could cover 70 miles in one day, he could 
 not keep up that pace for more than two or three days at 
 most, the truth of which strictures he was pleased to admit. 
 On our march from Karawulkhana to Maruchak (to the 
 fort about 11 miles), we had to face from daybreak to past 
 mid-day a moderate snowstorm. Some half-dozen of us deter- 
 mined to have our last day with the pheasants ; so four guns 
 crossed the river and shot down the left bank, while two guns 
 followed the right. The former made a very good bag, while 
 the latter hardly saw a bird. On several previous occasions 
 when the right bank from Karawulkhana to Maruchak had 
 been shot, birds were abundant. It seems impossible to 
 conceive any reasonable explanation of this sudden emigra-
 
 276 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 tion, except caprice or accident. One might suppose that the 
 pheasants, remarking that the sportsmen were invariably on 
 the right bank, and that flight to the left invariably brought 
 security, determined to remain on the left bank. But, on the 
 other hand, when shooting in a bit of cover on the right bank, 
 I have seen the pheasants at the first sound of the gun come 
 flying across from the fields on the left bank where they were 
 feeding, and seek refuge in the very cover where I was shooting. 
 About half a mile east of the ford at Maruchak we passed 
 to the south of the old fort and town. The outer walls of the 
 latter enclose an area in size about half a mile square, and in 
 shape seemingly an irregular quadrilateral. The walls are in 
 a state of disrepair, and the moat is choked with long grass 
 and debris. One might not impossibly get some good pheasant- 
 shooting by beating it up. The main gate faces west i.e., 
 towards the river and was defended by the usual bastion on 
 either side and a lunette in front, while all round the city, 
 along the exterior slope of the earthwork on which the walls 
 are raised, runs a shelter-trench. This latter feature, doubled, 
 is a characteristic of the Herat defences. Within is an 
 absolute wilderness, barely the trace of a building left. From 
 the southern wall juts out the second line of defence, and in 
 the south-west corner of the space it encloses, and abutting on 
 the south wall, stands the citadel, which towers high above the 
 rest. This citadel has been completely and neatly repaired 
 by the Afghans, the materials used being the old bricks strewn 
 around ; and of the same materials they have constructed 
 a long line of neat barracks within the inner line of walls. 
 The defences of the citadel, though a good enough bit of work, 
 are not calculated to resist artillery-fire. About half a mile 
 west of the old fort is the old bridge three old arches, the 
 centre one crowned by a tower which aspires to be a humble 
 rival of the leaning tower of Pisa. Just below the bridge is 
 the ford, three feet deep, a swift current and none too broad, 
 as sundry camels found out that allowed themselves to be 
 borne away a little by the force of the stream. More than 
 half-a-dozen camels got entangled in a treacherous little hole 
 just below the ford ; and once there, they found themselves
 
 AT GULEAX. 277 
 
 subjected to a merciless pelting of clods and stones, incentives 
 to extrication. The few mounted Turkomans, however, who 
 lined the ford and guided the camels across it, did more to 
 extricate these camels in distress than all the stones and 
 clods. They proved themselves just as handy at this work as 
 the Jamshidis did at Bala Murghab. As ill-luck would have 
 it, one of the camels fated to come to grief was laden with a 
 portmanteau holding all my best and most gorgeous apparel, 
 my peacock's feathers. They came out of the Murghab sadly 
 draggled, and have not even yet quite recovered themselves. 
 But indeed I have every reason to be thankful that I did not 
 lose them altogether. I had been engaged for several hours 
 in superintending the safe transit of the baggage ; and at last, 
 seeing that nearly all had passed over and the rear-guard had 
 arrived, I rode across myself and went on to camp. Among 
 the camels left behind were those carrying my own kit. 
 One of them was carried into the deep water below the ford, 
 and only the exertions of a Turkoman lad saved its load. It 
 was a very chilly day, I can assure you ; and to get w r et 
 through to save a stranger's kit was no small sacrifice. When 
 the circumstances of the accident w r ere related to me after- 
 wards, I recollected having seen a \vretched, wet, shivering 
 boy sitting near my tent trying to light a fire. Although not 
 then aware of the deep obligation I was under to him for, 
 strange to say, he did not even allude to what he had done, 
 far less ask for reward I, from mere commiseration for any 
 poor beggar in such a plight, gave him some wood and lent 
 him an old poslitin and blanket. It was not till a week later 
 that I again came across him on the line of march, and was 
 enabled to present him with a more substantial token of 
 recognition. I must, however, admit that similar specimens 
 of his race appear to be exceedingly rare. Those with whom 
 I have had pecuniary transactions have evinced a most in- 
 ordinate greed for filthy lucre. Even the very Jews who live 
 among them and under their protection are moderate in com- 
 parison. The fact is, these Turkomans are very wealthy that 
 is, for peasantry. Irrespective of the profits on agriculture, 
 flocks, and manufactures, they did a very good business
 
 278 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 formerly in a commodity akin to that which the old French 
 slave-traders used to term ~bois d'dbtne, not to mention the 
 other proceeds of their cliapaos. Very many of their articles 
 of domestic use being of home manufacture, the houses or 
 kibitkas of even the poorer classes are garnished with carpets 
 and ornaments that elsewhere would be regarded as accessible 
 to the well-to-do classes only. The value and weight of a com- 
 plete set of jewellery, such as a Turkoman woman bedecks her- 
 self with, of solid silver, or silver inlaid with cornelian and 
 overlaid with gold, is very considerable. A young native 
 draughtsman from the Jaipur School of Art, in Dr Owen's 
 employ, has made a series of drawings of these ornaments, 
 which, if published, would be an interesting contribution 
 to the history of the goldsmith's art. Not that Turkoman 
 jewellery can boast of the exquisite workmanship that char- 
 acterises the Indian: far from it. But it is, to the best of 
 my knowledge, unique of its kind. They use no stone but 
 cornelian, and more rarely the turquoise, and these too of 
 inferior quality. Their passion for cornelian is truly un- 
 accountable. What beauty can they see in its dull red 
 colouring ? However, every man to his taste. Any man with 
 a good stock of cornelian on hand could not do better than 
 bring it to the Turkoman market, now that they have been 
 taught to respect the life and property of aliens. It is but a 
 few years ago that the Tekkes and Saruks used to bring to 
 the Mashhad market caravans laden with the products of 
 their agricultural and manufacturing labour. Having disposed 
 of these, they amused themselves on the return journey by 
 "lifting," to use the technical Border term, anything that 
 came handy man, woman, child, beast, or other portable 
 property. So intolerable did their depredations become, that 
 a governor of Khorasan forbade the admission of Turkoman 
 caravans into Persian territory ; but the Persians found they 
 could not get on without them, so the restrictions against 
 them were relaxed. 
 
 We encamped on the night of the 16th on the left bank of 
 the Murghab. Near our camp was a good-sized Saruk village, 
 the dwellings being, not kibitkas, but hovels with circular
 
 AT GULP, AX. 279 
 
 mud-walls and thatched roofs. I cannot say that the interior 
 of them, as far as I could see, exhibited signs of comfort, far 
 less of affluence. Presumably the wealth is all accumulated 
 at Panjdeh. The area of land under present cultivation did 
 not appear to be extensive, although the signs of a former 
 period of great agricultural activity were on all sides appa- 
 rent. The flat bread-cakes baked by the Turkoman women in 
 underground ovens are, when fresh and still hot, very palat- 
 able food. These ovens are nothing but holes 2 or 2|- feet 
 deep dug in the soil, and coated with clay mixed or smeared 
 over with a solution of salt. A fire is then lighted in the 
 hole and the lining baked hard, and it is then fit for use. In 
 the process of baking which is done by heating the oven with 
 a strong fire to the required degree of heat, and that done, re- 
 moving the fuel and inserting the loaves the saline properties 
 contained in the lining impart a flavour to the bread. 
 
 Leaving our camp at Maruchak on the morning of the 17th, 
 we made straight for the hills bounding the valley on the west, 
 and after meandering among them for six or seven miles, 
 emerged into the Kashan valley, on the far or west side of 
 which we encamped near a copious stream, the muddy colour 
 of which suggested its origin from surface-drainage. In fact 
 in December last, before the late snows and rains, its chan- 
 nel was perfectly dry. And yet at Piabat-i-Kashan, some 
 11 miles to the south, this same channel contains, it is said, 
 running water all the year round. Doubtless, as is so often 
 the case, the water disappears underground. We encamped 
 some three or four miles south of Band-i-Nadiri on the Mur- 
 ghab. It is a fine fertile valley that of Kashan, fully two 
 miles broad, and covered at this season with a rich young 
 coat of fine grass admirably adapted for a cricket-ground ; 
 and barring the innumerable rat-holes, a finer site for a polo- 
 ground could nowhere be found. They are most dangerous 
 those rat-holes, in fact a perfect curse. Every few yards in 
 went the horse's feet over the fetlocks. To trot or canter 
 over such ground not only involved risk to life and limb of 
 the rider, but also the probability of seriously straining the 
 horse, the latter indeed even at a walk. One serious accident
 
 280 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 occurred on the 18th, resulting in the instant death of the 
 horse and very severe injury to the rider. After crossing a 
 steep narrow kotal, always productive of increased intervals 
 between files, the detachment of the llth Bengal Lancers 
 closed up at a trot. One of the horses, putting his foot in a 
 rat-hole, fell straight on his head and broke his neck. The 
 rider the impetus being insufficient to throw him clear fell 
 under him, the result being a compound fracture of the lower 
 jaw and a broken collar-bone. Indeed it was feared at first 
 that he would not survive so severe a shock to the system. 
 There now, however, seems every hope of his recovery. 
 
 Although we saw no signs of existing dwellings in the 
 Kashan valley, the Turkomans were everywhere busily engaged 
 in ploughing up the soil, preparatory to dropping the seed of 
 the summer crops. The soil, whether of the valley or the sur- 
 rounding undulating country, is excellent, and needs no arti- 
 ficial irrigation. It is hard to look at this land of promise 
 and think that it may be heedlessly allowed to pass into the 
 hands of Eussia, and when once populated and brought under 
 cultivation, become a basis for the future aggressive efforts 
 of that Power. And every acre of it that is spared by the 
 plough is so much good pasture-land. Near our camp, on 
 the edge of a precipitous bluff overhanging the stream, stood 
 an old fort, a relic of the former Uzbek population. When 
 did those Uzbeks vacate this country ? An appeal on this 
 point to a fairly intelligent Afghan evoked the response that 
 they were here, he thought, in Nadir's time. But his con- 
 ception of the era of Nadir must have been vague; for he 
 added, " Nadir, you know, came after Taimur Lang." I 
 thought it barely worth the while to inform him that an in- 
 terval of three centuries had elapsed between the death of 
 the one and the birth of the other. Others say that the Uz- 
 beks vacated Badkis in the reign of Shah Ismail Safavi. The 
 very ruins that are visible are, at any rate, a distinct proof 
 that none but transitory settlers have occupied the undulating 
 steppe north of the Paropamisus for 200 years or more. 
 There is not a vestige of any ruin of very recent date. To- 
 wards the close of the last and beginning of the present cen-
 
 AT GULRAX. 281 
 
 tury, the Hazaras and Jamsliidis, or a portion at least of those 
 tribes, successively settled here. 
 
 The more marked and prominent features of the country 
 between the Murghab and Khushk contrast strikingly with 
 the gently undulating downs (which bear a close resemblance 
 to the South Downs of Sussex) west of the latter river. The 
 soil of the first-named tract is lighter and more sandy than 
 that of the Murghab valley, a quality that has no doubt en- 
 deared it to the heart of the marmot. It may be noticed that 
 here none but white crocuses grow, whereas only those of saf- 
 fron hues patronise the banks of the Murghab. The valley 
 of the Khushk, from the point where we entered it to Chamaii- 
 i-bed (24 miles), has an average breadth of little more than 
 one-third of a mile, except opposite Kalah-i-maur, where the 
 downs recede westward and form a broad deep bay. The 
 water of the river is very salt at and below Kalah-i-maur, but 
 becomes less so higher up. In the dry season the stream 
 entirely disappears for a space below Chamaii-i-bed. 
 
 About mid-day on the 19th February it began to rain heav- 
 ily. As night came on rain became snow, and frost setting 
 in, the tents were frozen stiff ere morn. Many retired to rest 
 with the confident hope of a Europe morning. At 7 A.M. on 
 the 20th the inexorable rdvcilti sounded, and amid a heavy 
 snowstorm our luckless servants unpitched our tents, stamped 
 the frozen masses into portable shapes, and finally succeeded 
 in securing them on the backs of our much-enduring beasts 
 of burden. It was 10.30 ere all was off and the rear-guard 
 under way for Chaman-i-bed, distant 20| miles. And what 
 a road ! Fetlock-deep, and more than fetlock-deep, in snow 
 and slush and mud, crossing the river continuously, and, 
 what is most fatal to camels, slippery. Seven or eight miles 
 from camp a deep ditch created a block. There, as usual, the 
 20th Panjab Infantry came to the front, and first levelled the 
 banks, and by throwing in brushwood, furnished a firm foot- 
 hold for the camels. Then, as luck would have it, up came a 
 camel laden with a dozen or so of stout bullies, appertaining to 
 the Commissariat bakery, if I mistake not. However, whatever 
 their proper sphere, they were very soon taught to accommo-
 
 282 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 date themselves to the exigencies of the moment, and speedily 
 laid across that ditch as the supports of an impromptu bridge ; 
 added some brushwood and earth, and all was done and the 
 camels filing over no, not gaily, but wearily and ploddingly. 
 We are not all Mark Tapleys. How many camels measured 
 their length in the treacherous mud of that ditch ? Not a 
 few among others, one laden with a big tent hard-frozen, 
 abnormally weighty. Five of us set to work to tug the 
 tent out of the water. In vain we pulled; it moved not. 
 The camel-driver said mournfully but admiringly, " What a 
 camel is this that could carry such a load even so far ! " We 
 rewarded the enduring beast by dividing its load. All day 
 we toiled in the face of driving snow and sleet, and it was 
 not till long after dark that most of us got our tents pitched, 
 and after a scratch meal, retired to rest. Eations could not 
 be issued, and so not a few of the servants and followers went 
 to bed supperless, and passed the night in the open air, 
 crouched round a cheerless fire of saturated wood, or huddled 
 up in their drenched clothes and bedding. So much misery 
 was too much for one poor fellow, a baker. He was buried 
 before we marched next day for Islirn. For we had to march. 
 Affairs of State admit of no delay, nor can the lives of its 
 servants be weighed in the balance against them. 
 
 Captain Peacocke, riding out on the 22d to inspect the 
 road to Gulran, suddenly found himself within 50 yards of a 
 small herd of wild asses, the first seen by any of us. So far 
 from taking to their heels with the speed of wind, they are 
 said to have trotted off with (to a man without a rifle) ex- 
 asperating coolness. 
 
 Mr Simpson, the special artist of the ' Illustrated London 
 News,' left the Boundary Commission at Gulran on the 25th 
 February, to return through Persia to Europe. The fact is, 
 that such distinctive features worthy of record by the pencil 
 of the artist as this country possesses are soon exhausted. 
 And now that nearly four months have elapsed since Sir 
 Peter Lumsden reached Sarakhs, and the advent of the Rus- 
 sian Commission seems more than ever a vague uncertainty, 
 the artist's occupation is gone. I hear that Colonel Alikhan-
 
 AT GULRAX. 283 
 
 off, when Mr Simpson visited him at Old Sarakhs about the 9th 
 November last, courteously expressed a hope that he would 
 visit him later on at Merv. Circumstances have prevented 
 Mr Simpson from taking advantage of this offer ; but en 
 revanche, Colonel Alikhanoff has done us the honour of paying 
 one or more visits to our Afghan prot6ye"s near Panjdeh with- 
 out any formal invitation. Mr Simpson took the opportunity 
 of accompanying the mules going to Mashhad for treasure. 
 Captain Griesbach also went with him ; but leaving him at 
 Turbat-i-Shaikh Jam, purposes to go south across the Bak- 
 harz and Karat Kuh ranges to Khaf, and after that return 
 northward and examine the Jam range. 
 
 At Islim on the 21st we were met by Colonel Stewart, 
 Assistant Commissioner. At the time of Sir Peter Limisden's 
 departure from London he was, owing to ill health, unable to 
 accompany him. Leaving England in Xovember, he came 
 out vid Tiflis, Teheran, and Mashhad to Kuhsan. Thence he 
 went to Shikiwan, some 30 miles west of Herat on the Hari 
 Eud, and after interviewing the Governor of Herat there, 
 crossed the Paropamisus and joined us. 
 
 It has been found by experience that even natives them- 
 selves pronounce the names of places with slight variations, 
 and when it comes to foreign travellers hardly any two of 
 them will agree. If w r e consider that Badkis and its en- 
 virons are tenanted by Afghans, Persians, Uzbeks, Hazaras, 
 and Turkomans, is it surprising that we should hear names 
 variously pronounced ? Take, for instance, the name of our 
 present camp, Gulran, as the Afghans, Persians, and the 
 Chahar Aimaks pronounce it. Look for it on the latest map, 
 and you at once recognise it in Gurlin. You doubtless 
 tacitly credit the authority for that spelling, with ignorance 
 of Persian or an uncommon bad ear. But go to a Turkoman, 
 and you will find that he invariably says, if not Gurlin, Gur- 
 lan. In the southern half of Badkis the names are all, or 
 almost all, of Persian origin, as also along the banks of the 
 Hari Eud as far as Sarakhs, and of the Khushk and Murghab 
 as far as Pul-i-khishti. North of the points mentioned on 
 the rivers, and of a line drawn across Badkis from the Zul-
 
 284 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 fikar Pass through Ak-rabat to the Khushk, they are almost 
 all Turki. Between the Murghab and the Oxus Turki 
 names prevail. 1 
 
 llth March. 
 
 We have had a good deal of snow and rain during the past 
 ten days, intermitting with spells of sunshine ; and as a con- 
 sequence, the broad plain of Gulran is one vast expanse of 
 sprouting grass, and will ere long be a magnificent meadow. 
 What can those 300 families of Firuzkuhis be doing who as 
 long ago as December last were said to be on their way to 
 settle here ? Why does all this fertile soil lie untilled, and 
 where are the flocks and herds to crop this rich pasture ? Our 
 horses and our transport have the monopoly of it. What a 
 contrast to the past ! Half a mile east of our camp stand the 
 ruins of what must once have been a strong fort, the strong- 
 hold of successive settlements whose habitations and handi- 
 work may be traced to some distance on all sides. It is 
 probable that this has been the abode and refuge of man from 
 a very remote period. Eeport, however, says that it was last 
 repaired and occupied by Bunyad Khan Hazara at the com- 
 mencement of this century. There is also a fort named 
 Kalah-i-Bunyad Khan, four miles north-east of Toman Aka. 
 Hazaras, Jamshidis, and Taimuris have successively squatted 
 here, and successively withdrawn before the terror of Turko- 
 man raids. The Taimuris are now located around Khaf, and 
 while the greater part of the Jamshidis and Hazaras have for 
 many years been permanently settled around Khushk and 
 Kalah-i-nau, some few families of either tribe are still to be 
 found near Muhsinabad and Turbat-i- Shaikh Jam in Persia. 
 The most extensive traces of prior occupation of this valley 
 are to be seen four miles farther south. In the centre of the 
 Gulran plain rises a long low ridge running north and south. 
 On its southern extremity may be now seen the distinct out- 
 lines of a small fort (there was once a well inside it ; it is now 
 filled up and almost obliterated) and other structures ; while 
 for a mile to the east and south-east may be seen not only the 
 
 1 Consult VambeYy in ' Proceedings of Geographical Society ' for September 
 1885 on this subject.
 
 AT GULRAX. 285 
 
 most distinct indications of tlie existence of a large town con- 
 taining many good-sized edifices, but also the fainter traces of 
 the walls and irrigation-channels of the outlying gardens. 
 The most marked feature is the strongly fortified citadel, 
 situated about the centre of the town. The hand of time and 
 the working of the elements have cloaked this site in a garb 
 of soil and vegetation similar to that of the surrounding plain. 
 But beneath this cloak the outlines of its salient features 
 the citadel, the mosque, the caravanserai are recognisable. 
 The surface reveals nothing more, unless it be an occasional 
 brick and scraps of pottery. Who built and populated, and 
 who laid it waste ? To the first half of this question we may 
 with some probability reply, the ancient Persians, and after 
 them the proselytising soldiers of the early Caliphates ; and 
 to the second, the devastating hordes of Jhengiz Khan and 
 his descendants. At the eastern extremity of the town are 
 the ruins of the caravanserai, close to which still passes, as it 
 did in former times, the caravan-route from Herat to Pul-i- 
 Khatun. Underlying the vegetation that has now overgrown 
 this little-used track, may be detected the indications of a 
 once much-frequented trade-route. That the caravanserai 
 should appear youthful by the side of the other effaced remains 
 is in no way surprising. For in the interest of commerce the 
 final decay of this essential convenience of Asiatic trade and 
 travel must have been staved off by periodical repairs, long- 
 after Gulrana antiqua had become the home of the fox and 
 the coney. The bridge at Pul-i-Khatim was built by a grand- 
 daughter of Taimur Lang some 450 years ago. This serai 
 was undoubtedly habitable then, if not later. The ruined 
 serais which we now see on the road from Herat to Mashhad 
 date, I believe, from the reign of Shah Abbas. They are but 
 crumbling ruins now, whereas the one here has not one brick 
 left standing on another. Near it is a ziarat and an extensive 
 cemetery, which has evidently, even in recent years, been used 
 as a resting-place for the dead. From here the road runs 
 south over the Au-safid and Chashma-i-sabz Passes of the 
 Paropainisus into the valley of the Hari Eud. 
 
 It would appear from reports that have of late been current,
 
 286 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 that the attitude of the Persian officials towards the British 
 Commission is by no means so friendly as it was last October 
 or November. Whether the Shah is a party to this covert 
 hostility or not is unknown ; not unnaturally it is attributed 
 to Russian influence. If report be true, the present Governor 
 of Khorasan, entitled Asaf-ud-daulah, makes no secret of his 
 anti-British proclivities. 1 Another report, however, says that 
 he is likely to be ere long recalled to Teheran and removed 
 from his government, but whether for injustice or extor- 
 tion, incapacity or too palpable Eussophilism, is unknown. 
 Physically the Persians are by no means contemptible ; and 
 pusillanimous as they have of late appeared in war with us 
 and with the Afghans and Turkomans, they would, if fed, 
 clothed, paid, and drilled, and officered by men in whose 
 honour and courage they could trust, show that they are not 
 wanting in sterling qualities. If on the demise of the ruling 
 monarch the Zill -us- Sultan should be powerful enough to win 
 the throne from the Wali-ahd as we should sincerely hope 
 he may then we might look for the inauguration of an abler 
 and perhaps juster rule, and also for the revival of the pre- 
 dominance of British over Eussian influence. Both the Zill- 
 us-Sultan and the Naib-us-Sultanah, the Shah's eldest and 
 third sons, are abler men than the heir-apparent, who is too 
 much in the hands of the Mullas to be a likely advocate of 
 enlightened and advanced ideas. The former is in fact, like 
 most educated Persians, a decided freethinker, although he 
 maintains an outward show of respect for the religion of 
 his forefathers. Unfortunately the Shah has been so little 
 favourably impressed by his own visit to Europe, that he 
 declines to allow any of his sons following his example. In 
 
 1 The period during which Abdul -Wahhab Khan, Asaf-ud-daulah, held the 
 governor - generalship of Khorasan, was marked by a succession of revolts 
 against his authority. His very appointment is said to have evoked remon- 
 strances ; and certainly within a few months of his appointment, in the latter 
 part of 1884, the inhabitants of Mashhad petitioned the Shah to remove him. 
 For an account of the outbreak in Mashhad in July 1885, see letters dated from 
 that city on the 8th and 17th July, republished in this volume. Early in 1886 
 a fresh disturbance broke out again, caused by the extortionate measures of 
 the Asaf-ud-daulah. Early in March he was replaced by Mahmud Khan Nasr- 
 ul-mulk, then Minister for Foreign Affairs.
 
 AT GULEAN. 287 
 
 1881, when I was in Ispahan and had the honour of an inter- 
 view with the Zill-us-Sultan, lie expressed a very strong 
 desire to visit Europe. He is a man who would in his 
 younger years have profited considerably by a prolonged 
 travel and residence in Europe, and have utilised his enlarged 
 experience for the benefit of his subjects. Now, perhaps he 
 must be nigh forty he is too old to imbibe and adapt him- 
 self to new impressions. He is generally reputed to be the 
 ablest governor in Persia, although he is known to be des- 
 potic, unscrupulous, and an advocate of inhuman modes of 
 execution as the best preventive of crime. It is impossible 
 that any change for the better in the system of government 
 can take place in the lifetime of the present Shah ; and per- 
 haps, ere that conies to pass, should events precipitate the 
 delivery of that which is surely borne in the womb of the 
 future, Persia may have ceased to be an independent kingdom 
 and be merged in the British and Russian empires. But 
 presuming that Nasir-ud-din dies Shah of Persia, what will 
 he do with all his hoarded, and, I think I may add, ill-gotten 
 gain ? It lies, they say, buried in the precincts of his palace 
 or palaces. If he were a wise man and had aught of the gift 
 of foresight or prophecy, he would have invested it in consols 
 long ago. Better to be a free man with an independent in- 
 come, than either a Eussian or British pensioner. But we 
 can easily understand his belief in honesty as a pretty theory, 
 but never a reality only at least in Utopia, It is exceedingly 
 questionable if he has ever come across an honest man in his 
 own country, and his relations with Europeans have perhaps 
 never been such as to permit of his accurately gauging the 
 extent of their virtues. The following anecdotes illustrate the 
 Shah's character and Persian justice. The Turkomans came 
 down and carried off all the cattle of a village near ISTishapur. 
 This village paid a yearly tax of fifty cows to the Shah. So 
 they represented that, as all their cows had been " lifted," they 
 could not pay. The Shah, after due consideration, issued the 
 following remarkable edict : " It having been proved to my 
 satisfaction that all the cattle of - - have been stolen by 
 Turkomans, I hereby remit the tax on that village of fifty
 
 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 cows, and in future will only demand forty." An ill-fated 
 Persian shepherd who had been carried off with his flock by 
 Turkomans, was set free after five years' captivity. On his 
 return to his native place he was called upon by the local 
 tax-gatherer to pay up the tax on his flock for the past five 
 years. One of the Shah's courtiers, more prescient and en- 
 lightened than his Majesty, deposited all his savings in the 
 Bank of England. The Shah becoming cognisant of it, 
 burned with desire to finger this wealth. As a preliminary 
 step he was graciously pleased to give him one of his daughters 
 in marriage. Having thus, as he considered, bound him to 
 himself and placed him under a deep obligation, he began to 
 throw out strongish hints about the snug little nest-egg in the 
 Bank of England. The honoured courtier, seeing how the 
 land lay, consulted his royal bride. That lady, with true 
 conjugal affection, said, " Fly from this unjust realm, and I 
 will fly with thee." So they fled, and lived, I trust, happy 
 ever afterwards. The Shah confiscated all they left ; but to 
 that they must have made up their minds before they started. 
 I heard a story the other day which, if quite correct on 
 matters of fact, illustrates in a remarkable way how accident 
 at times comes to the aid of charlatanism. My informant is 
 a most reliable authority could not be more so though 
 not an eyewitness of the events he relates. In addition to 
 undoubted veracity, he possesses at least one of the quali- 
 fications which Archdeacon Paley deemed essential to trust- 
 worthy testimony viz., absolute freedom from all bias. As 
 the tale I am about to repeat contains some features that 
 verge not only on the miraculous, but also on the improb- 
 able, and as I am not one who believes in miraculous inter- 
 vention on behalf of any of the numerous army of latter-day 
 saints, I premise the above remarks. The event I am about 
 to relate occurred in 1842, and it was some years before that 
 that a native of Shiraz saw reason to believe that the Deity 
 had endowed him with gifts and powers above his fellow-men, 
 and in particular ordained him to be one of those select few 
 destined to reveal the divine will on earth. This person, 
 whatever name his parents or guardians gave him, decided,
 
 AT GULRAX. 289 
 
 when he felt the divine afflatus stirring within him, to 
 abandon it for the more suggestive cognomen of El-bab, 
 which is, in the Arab tongue, " The Door." El-bab founded 
 the sect of Babis, who at a later date (1849-50) suffered 
 much persecution, and of whom there are still large numbers 
 in Persia. The Mohammedans, as at least some people 
 know, consider Mohammed to be the last of a series of 
 prophets ordained by the Deity to reveal and preach the 
 divine faith on earth. Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Christ 
 were his forerunners, but none were to come after him. 
 El-bab arose and taught otherwise. Poor fellow ! he ran 
 his allotted course very quickly. He was finally made a 
 prisoner at Zinjan, between Kazvin and Tabriz, and sen- 
 tenced to be shot. Of his followers, two were captured 
 with him. They were told to spit in his face and renounce 
 him, or die. One chose the former, the other the latter 
 alternative. El-bab and his faithful disciple were led out 
 to execution. A company of Persian infantry fell in, and 
 at a given word fired. When the smoke cleared, the disciple 
 lay dead, and El-bab was nowhere to be seen. The con- 
 sternation of the bigoted soldiery was indescribable. Firmly 
 convinced that no human intervention could have saved him, 
 they could only see in this a signal manifestation of the 
 divine power. For a time they were incapable of any 
 rational action. The report of a miracle spread like wild- 
 fire, and crowds collected. Some of the spectators, more 
 incredulous than the majority, suggested that at least a 
 search should be made for him. They searched, but found 
 him not, and returned to the guard-room whence he had 
 been led out to die but an hour or two before. There, 
 cowering in a dark corner, was found El-bab. The story 
 says that the bullets of the volley left him unscathed, one 
 only cutting the cord that bound him. Freed, he fled to 
 the nearest refuge, the guard-room. Ee-found, he was again 
 led out to be shot. The soldiers, still under the spell of 
 superstition, absolutely refused to level their guns at him. 
 A Persian officer hacked him to death with his sword. 1 
 
 1 See Watson's History of Persia, pp. 385-392. 
 T
 
 290 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 But now let us pass from the scene of a horrible martyrdom 
 to lighter themes. A little anecdote from the Zulfikar Pass 
 has just come in, which might dispel grim thoughts. And 
 yet, now I think of it, this tale ends in an attempted suicide. 
 But to my story. You know there is a Russian post at the 
 Zulfikar Pass. It was placed there by a Russian officer 
 about the 8th February, and a few days later a body of 
 Afghans appeared and encamped in the vicinity of the 
 Russians. I am a little afraid of hazarding an estimate 
 of the strength of each party, because, according to the 
 statements of credible persons, the Russian post may con- 
 sist of anything from 10 to 60, and the Afghan from 100 
 to 200. Suffice it to know that the Afghans are much the 
 stronger. When they arrived they found the Russians 
 ensconced in a strong defensible position in the pass. After 
 some days a bright idea struck the Afghan commander, and 
 he went off and paid a visit of courtesy to the Russian officer. 
 He pointed out that he had not come there to attack him 
 in fact he had special orders to abstain from hostilities and 
 he thought, therefore, that the two parties might as well 
 be on as friendly terms as circumstances would permit. It 
 would be a convenience to both of them to camp near the 
 river -bank and benefit by the proximity of good water. 
 The Russian officer, mirabile dictu, consented; and so both 
 parties transferred their camps to the banks of the Hari Rud. 
 When daylight broke on the scene next morning, it was found 
 that the Afghans had occupied the very position just vacated 
 by the Russians. 1 To remonstrate was futile, to fight was 
 in vain, for the Afghans were at least three to one ; so the 
 Russian officer in the bitterness of his heart tried to find con- 
 solation and oblivion in a rope adjusted to the ridge-pole of 
 his tent. His men, however, insisted on preserving his life. 
 You may feel surprised that a man should think life not worth 
 living because he had been caught in the trap of a wily 
 Afghan ; but the fact is, the poor fellow knew he had to 
 
 1 This appears to be the Afghan version. Subsequently the Russians 
 charged the Afghans with having ousted the Russian picket by force. Kettle 
 calling the pot black !
 
 AT GULRAN. 291 
 
 choose between death and almost certain professional dis- 
 grace or degradation. The Russian military service is a 
 hard and stern task-master. Not long ago, when General 
 Lumsden was at Sarakhs, an Afghan escort, sent to conduct 
 him to Kuhsan, passed the Russian post at Pul-i-Khatun. 
 Whether the Russian officer in command there was unaware 
 that the Afghans had passed his post, or whether he did 
 not feel himself authorised to forbid their passage, I am 
 unable to say. All I know is, that General Komaroff at 
 once removed him from his post. 
 
 Here we are encamped in southern Badkis, a country 
 that for a century past has been lying almost waste owing 
 to the terror of the very name of Turkoman. But the days 
 of the alaman are over. Most of the Turkoman tribes are 
 now Russian subjects, and those who are not are either 
 located along the northern and north-eastern frontier of 
 Persia, or the north-western frontier of Afghanistan. The 
 tribes that most concern us now are the Tekke, Saruk, Salor, 
 and Ersari. Let us say a word or two of each in turn. 
 
 The Tekke Turkomans at the beginning of this century 
 were settled in the Balkan near Krasnovodsk, on the east 
 shore of the Caspian. About 140 years ago they appeared 
 in the Daman -i-koh or Akhal country; and when Nadir 
 Shah died, in 1747, they took advantage of the troubled state 
 of Persia, and drove the inhabitants out of the villages on 
 the northern border and occupied Akhal. Later on a portion 
 of them settled near Karaband, on the lower Tejend, where 
 the Russians now have a military post. After the taking of 
 Old Sarakhs in 1834 by Abbas Mirza (when he carried the 
 Salors captive to Mashhad and sold them), a large body of 
 Tekkes came from Akhal, built the first fort called Kalah-i- 
 Kaushid Khan, a few miles north of Old Sarakhs, and settled 
 around it. Kaushid Khan was the name of one of their most 
 influential headmen. There they remained till 1855, when 
 they got into serious hot-water with the Persian Government, 
 and fearing the Shah's resentment and revenge, went off to 
 Merv, drove the Saruks thence after several years' desultory 
 fighting, in which the Akhal Tekkes aided them, to Yulatan
 
 292 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 and Panjdeh, and constructed Kalah-i-Kaushid Khan Xo. II. 
 The Tekkes have henceforth been divided into two sections, 
 the Akhal and the Merv. The Saruks, after a prolonged 
 struggle, characterised by a want of united action, finally 
 abandoned Merv. The fact is, that all the wealthy Saruks, 
 and in particular the Sukhti section, perceiving the hopeless- 
 ness of resistance, and fearing the loss of all their flocks 
 and other property, abandoned Merv at an early stage of 
 the conflict. The other sections, however, or the greater 
 part of them viz., Bairaj, Harzegi, Aleshah, and Khorasanli 
 kept up a desultory fight for three or four years, and then 
 gradually withdrew to Panjdeh and Charjui. Those who 
 elected to settle in the latter place did not stay there long, 
 but migrated to Panjdeh, some by the direct route across 
 the chid vid Jilangir and Karabil (Mr Merk and Captain 
 Peacocke followed this route for several stages on their way 
 from Maruchak to Andkhui), and others by the more circuit- 
 ous route of Maimena and Kalah "VVali. It appears that at 
 that time, as perhaps also now, Charjui was thickly popu- 
 lated by Ersari and Kara Turkomans so much so, that land, 
 which as a rule, among Turkomans, can be had for the taking, 
 had to be purchased. Hence this re-migration to Panjdeh 
 where land was more plentiful. At first the Sukhtis, having 
 migrated en masse, had it all their own way ; but as family 
 after family of the other sections arrived and swelled their 
 numbers, the former found themselves constrained to accord 
 them equal privileges with themselves as landholders. The 
 land was then apportioned thus : 
 
 To the Sukhtis, the left bank of the Murghab from Old 
 Panjdeh to Sari Yazi it will thus be seen that from the 
 first the valley of the Murghab as far as Sari Yazi has 
 belonged to the Saruks of Panjdeh; to the Harzegis, the 
 left bank of the river south of Panjdeh; to the Bairaj 
 and Aleshah, the right bank of the river north and south 
 of Panjdeh ; to the Khorasanli, the land in the vicinity of 
 Panjdeh. 
 
 At the time when this subdivision of the land was made, 
 some 300 families of Ersaris were settled on the left bank
 
 AT GULIIAN. 293 
 
 between Band-i-Xadiri and Marucliak. Encroached on by 
 the Harzegis, they withdrew to Daulatabad near Andkhui. 
 The settlements of the Harzegi now extend to Karawul- 
 khana and Kalah Wall. 
 
 In 1857 the Persians made their first attack on the Tekkes 
 of Merv. Though productive of no decisive results, it did not 
 terminate in a disaster. The second attack was made in 1860, 
 under the command of the Governor of Khorasan, Hashmat- 
 ud-daulah, who, however, left everything to his Wazir, Kawam- 
 ud-daulah. The Persian army left Mashhad in May than 
 which no more unfavourable time of the year could have 
 been selected crossed the Tejend a month later in June, 
 and reached the Murghab in the vicinity of Merv in July. 
 Arrived there they commenced operations against the Tekkes, 
 but with such a marked w r ant of skill and energy that no 
 decisive success w r as obtained. They also detached a large 
 force against the Salors at Yulatan, and obliged them to 
 retreat up the Murghab. The Saruks, animated by enmity 
 against the Tekkes, sent a small contingent to aid the Persians, 
 and also furnished them with supplies of food, grain, and 
 fodder. At last the Tekkes, emboldened by the inactivity 
 and incapacity of the Persian generals, mustered in strength, 
 and assuming the offensive, attacked the invading force and 
 routed it with terrible slaughter. Indeed the Persians, 
 though vastly superior in numbers, would seem to have offered 
 only the feeblest resistance. Defeated by the Tekkes, they 
 fell back to Yulatan. Up to that time the Saruks had been 
 the allies of the Persians. But at Yulatan, in a quarrel a 
 Persian killed a Saruk, and was in turn killed by his victim's 
 brother. A fight ensued between the Saruk contingent and 
 the Persians. As soon as the Governor of Khorasan heard of 
 this, he ordered his horse, and leaving his army to take care 
 of itself, made tracks for Persia. His departure was the 
 signal for a general flight, and the flight was a signal for a 
 general attack and pursuit by Tekkes, Saruks, and Salors. 
 Camp, stores, guns (some thirty or more they now ornament 
 Kalah - i - Kaushid Khan), everything was abandoned and 
 plundered. It was simply sauve qui pent. The Persians are
 
 294 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 said to have fled up the Murghab and Khushk to Kalah-i-maur, 
 and thence across Badkis into Persia. Indeed, what other 
 road had they ? For them to have taken to the waterless 
 chul between Yulatan and Sarakhs was certain death. Never 
 was an army caught in such a trap ; the Tekkes in front, and 
 the Saruks and Salors in rear, and flight to right and left im- 
 possible : no chance but to rush into the jaws of death and 
 slavery. Of 40,000 men who left Mashhad in May, only 
 8000 returned to Persia in October. It happened (so at least 
 I have heard) that at this time Sir Lewis Pelly was in or near 
 Herat. He had been first Secretary of Legation at Teheran, 
 until in 1860 that Legation was transferred from the Indian 
 to the Home Foreign Office. Sir Henry Eawlinson, who was 
 then Minister, resigned, and all the Secretaries but one re- 
 turned to duty in India. Sir Lewis Pelly resolved to travel 
 vid Herat and Kandahar. Hence his presence near the former 
 city in October 1860. Directly he heard the news of the 
 Persian disaster, he started for the scene of action. First he 
 met Hashmat-ud-daulah, and offered to take command of a 
 rear-guard and cover the retreat, if the Governor would place 
 some reliable troops at his disposal. He was referred to 
 Kawam-ud-daulah. Him Pelly found so the story goes 
 in the act of drawing on his boots, preparatory to continuing 
 his flight towards his native land. He received Pelly's pro- 
 posal with the profoundest indifference, and informed him 
 that now a few lives lost more or less was of no moment. His 
 game now was to shield himself from the Shah's sovereign 
 rage and displeasure ; and with that object in view, his only 
 care was to reach Mashhad without delay, and ensure that the 
 first version of the affair that reached the Shah should be his. 
 A worthy despatch of a worthy minister ! It is said that not 
 only the Turkoman men, but also their womankind, joined in 
 the congenial task of plunder and pursuit. Among those 
 captured was a French photographer who had accompanied 
 the Persian force. Such was the glut of slaves in the markets 
 of Merv and Panjdeh after this windfall, that the French- 
 man, who was perhaps neither young nor good-looking, nor 
 stalwart nor strong, was put up for sale at the price of nine
 
 AT GULRAX. 295 
 
 tomans, or 3, 12s. However, as soon as the Turkomans 
 found that a fuss was being made about his ransom, they 
 raised the price to 8000 Bokhara tilas, or Es. 60,000, and got 
 it. The province of Khorasan was specially taxed to raise 
 this sum ; and what is more edifying still, I hear that this 
 tax has been raised annually ever since. How little are we 
 Englishmen, with our Mansion House and other Eelief Funds, 
 aware of the charitable institutions of our neighbours ! Here 
 we find the people of Khorasan annually contributing Es. 60,000 
 for the noble purpose of ransoming an ill-starred being who 
 has fallen into the hands of the Turkomans. Furthermore, 
 with a display of confidence in their monarch that is really 
 touching, they have begged him to graciously consent to re- 
 ceive and dispose of these funds to the best advantage of 
 the State. There seems to be no doubt about his receiving 
 them, though he does not acknowledge them in the ' Teheran 
 Gazette.' Nor has he ever been known to publish any details 
 of the expenditure. The Frenchman having been set at liberty, 
 returned to his native country and published his experiences 
 in a French magazine. In that article he not unnaturally 
 omitted to mention that he had been taken captive by a Tekke 
 woman. "We must therefore conclude that some one let the 
 cat out of the bag for him, seeing that a report to that effect 
 is current. 
 
 After the flight of the Persian army the Salors did not 
 return to Yulatan, but settled near Maruchak for a time, 
 and then moved towards Maimena. The Saruks, taking ad- 
 vantage of the evacuation of Yulatan by the Salors, occupied 
 it. It is at any rate known that not long after their settle- 
 ment at Panjdeh some 4000 families migrated to Yulatan. 
 The reason the Saruks now give for this move is, that the area 
 of cultivable land between Sari Yazi and Maruchak by no 
 means sufficed for the requirements of the whole tribe. It is 
 too sandy for rain-crops, and they are consequently dependent 
 solely on irrigated land. Even in the valleys of the Khushk 
 and Kalah-i-nau waters and at Kalah Wali, a heavy rainfall 
 flooding the streams is requisite to ensure good crops. The 
 grain produced at Panjdeh is not sufficient for their local
 
 296 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 wants, and they therefore import largely from Maimena. I 
 would remark that this estimate of the productiveness of the 
 daima or rain-lands in no way agrees with what I was told 
 everywhere on our march through Khushk and Kalah-i-nau to 
 Bala Murghab. The fact is, that at the present time land is of 
 so little value in Badkis and the adjacent valleys, that the 
 Turkomans consider it not worth their while to cultivate 
 precarious rain-crops. That the soil of Badkis is singularly 
 porous and mixed with sand, there is no doubt. Heavy as the 
 rain and snow fall is here, nowhere on these rolling downs can 
 be detected the vestige of a water-course. The rain falls and 
 soaks straight into the ground. The snow lies and does ditto. 
 None flows away above the surface of the soil. How deep 
 below the surface lies the impervious stratum in which this 
 water collects, is a question for Captain Griesbach to decide. 
 Judging by the depths of the old wells in this country, it 
 varies greatly. For instance, on the road from Ak-tapa to 
 Sarakhs, the wells at Gumbazli Saruk are about 100 feet deep, 
 and at Kirish 140. At a place called Alli-bir, some 20 miles 
 south of Kaiun-Kuyusi, the wells are said to be 51 kuluch or 
 fathoms (306 feet) in depth. Alli-bir in Turkish means 51. 
 Kuluch is the length of the arms outstretched from finger-tip 
 to finger-tip. Again, at Adam Yulan and Kungruali, on the 
 western side of Badkis, the water-bearing stratum is very 
 much nearer the surface, the wells being only about 40 feet 
 deep. Furthermore, in the spring at any rate, water could be 
 obtained in many of the hollows by digging down a few feet. 
 In fact, during the winter and spring the sources of water- 
 supply for travellers in this chul are very varied. Irrespective 
 of the occasional wells and springs, there is the snow, which 
 lies on the northern slopes of the higher spurs, and in sheltered 
 hollows long after it has disappeared from the more exposed 
 parts. Here and there the rain-water collects in hollows 
 where the ground chances to be not of the porous nature above 
 described. In many of the valleys, nullahs that are dry in the 
 latter half of the year are filled after rain by underground 
 drainage from the neighbouring downs. I remarked that the 
 beds of these nullahs were often composed of fine gravel, and
 
 AT GULRAX. 297 
 
 that after the flood-water ran off, much remained collected in 
 pools. Unfortunately it was often too salt to be drinkable, 
 horses and dogs even refusing to touch it. There is yet one 
 other provision of nature here for the relief of thirst, and that 
 is an umbelliferous plant called in Turkish Ejik-okharasi, and in 
 Persian Tama. In its general appearance it closely resembles 
 asafoetida, with this difference, that from each node on the 
 stem grows a large circular cup-shaped leaf in one solid piece. 
 When rain falls it collects in this cup, and as each cup shelters 
 the other from the sun's rays, some time elapses before the 
 water evaporates. Nor is this the only use of this plant, 
 which is now springing up in countless myriads all over the 
 chul. The camels browse on the young leaves, and the tender 
 shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable by the natives of 
 the country. The roots are in the autumn dug up and stored 
 as winter-fodder for beasts. Of another umbelliferous plant 
 that grows here in abundance, both the root and stalk are used 
 for human food. The thick coating of strong fibres that pro- 
 tects the roots would make rope and matting. It is very like 
 cocoa-nut fibre. An edible bulbous plant also grows here. 
 But to return to the Saruks. Those of Yulataii devote them- 
 selves almost exclusively to agriculture, the area of cultivable 
 land being ample for all, and the facilities for irrigation 
 excellent. Water is drawn off for Yulatan at Band-i-Kazakli, 
 some 60 miles north of Panjdeh. This luncl is constructed of 
 fascines of tamarisk-boughs bound together by twisted reed- 
 switches. These are first staked down in the bed of the river, 
 and then earth is piled between and against them. It is built 
 out from either bank, and the open interval in the centre of 
 the stream is bridged over. This is said to be the only place 
 between Panjdeh and Yulatan where the river can be crossed, 
 there being no fords. 
 
 11 th March. 
 
 The Saruks of Panjdeh are rather a pastoral than an agri- 
 cultural people. They have always paid taxes to the Herat 
 Government, either through the Hazara or Jamshidi chief, or 
 to a resident Afghan Naib. They also furnished an out- 
 post at Aimakjar, 25 miles north of Ak-tapa. They own
 
 298 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 large flocks, and graze them on the chul both east and 
 west of the Murghab. A flock usually consists of from 1200 
 to 1500 sheep, and is tended by two men, the shepherd 
 (cliupan) and his assistant. The former is paid about 25 
 Bokhara tilas (Rs. 135) per annum, and the latter (styled 
 shalaJc) from six to eight tilas. Besides this they get clothes 
 and food, and the chupan has a right to all the maimed and 
 wounded sheep, which in a year amount to a very large 
 number ; for not only do the wolves carry them off for food, 
 but also deliberately attack and wantonly maim large num- 
 bers. Consequently every flock is provided with at least 
 three or four powerful sheep-dogs ; but even they can only 
 partially avert the attacks of the wolves, which, though rarely 
 seen by us, are evidently very numerous, their tracks being 
 found all over the country. They very often get caught in 
 the traps set for foxes (in whose skins the Saruks do a great 
 trade, trapping them in the autumn and early winter, and 
 sending the skins to Bokhara), and are then followed up and 
 shot, or beaten to death with sticks. In winter the sheep re- 
 quire little or no water (snow is generally available), and are 
 then grazed around the Mmaksar, of which more anon. The 
 lambing season is in March, and when that is over, the flocks 
 are taken northward along the Murghab to Aimakjar and 
 Sari Yazi. In the hot weather they never graze very far 
 from the river or a set of wells, as they must be watered 
 every second or third day. The watering-places on the Mur- 
 ghab are termed guzar, a word usually meaning ford ; but, as 
 I have said above, there are believed to be no fords north of 
 Panjdeh. The Saruks are said to export annually at least 
 25,000 sheep to Bokhara alone. They also export them vid 
 Sarakhs to Mashhad, and probably to Herat. Although the 
 sheep in winter do not require to be watered, the wells at 
 Kaiun-Kuyusi and Ak-rabat are absolutely indispensable 
 for the shepherds. When the Tekkes were at Sarakhs, at 
 which time the Saruks were at Merv, and only a small settle- 
 ment of Ersaris at Panjdeh, they monopolised most of the 
 grazing country in northern Badkis. But when the changes 
 which I have recounted above took place in 1855, this pas-
 
 AT GULRAX. 299 
 
 ture-lancl passed into the hands of the Saruks. Exposed 
 as this tract was to the Tekke raids indeed one of their 
 most frequented raiding -routes into Persia, and the salt- 
 road from Merv to the western salt-lake, both pass through 
 it the Saruks have been somewhat chary of venturing to 
 Gumbazli, Sarakhs, Kirish, and Kaiun-Kuyusi with their 
 flocks. However, if they have grazed on it but little, the 
 Tekkes of Merv and the Salors of Sarakhs have never at- 
 tempted to graze on it at all, and have not the slightest claim 
 to it. Only in the event of Panjdeh being ceded to Kussia 
 could that Power claim any portion of Badkis lying south of 
 a line drawn from Nauruzabad on the Hari Paul to Sari Yazi 
 on the Murghab. North of this line the uninhabited and 
 seemingly uninhabitable desert forms a natural boundary, 
 just as it does east of the Murghab north of a line drawn 
 from Sari Yazi along the border of the chul to Khwaja Salar. 
 The surveys and investigations of Mr Merk and Captain Pea- 
 cocke east, and of Captains Maitland and Yate west of the 
 Murghab, have furnished a mass of weighty and conclusive 
 evidence, showing clearly enough that the frontier, as under- 
 stood to have been defined by the agreement of 1872, repre- 
 sents approximately the northern frontier of Afghanistan. 
 That Russia has no sound evidence to adduce on her side, 
 may be fairly concluded from the attempt that she has lately 
 made to seize by force what she could not gain by argument. 
 We may take the positions of the Russian outposts at Zulfikar, 
 Ak-rabat, and Kizil-tapa as demarcating approximately the 
 limits of Russia's claims. As shown above, the possession of 
 the greater part of Badkis goes along with the possession of 
 Panjdeh. The Hari Rud is fordable just opposite the Zulfikar 
 Pass, and a straight road (leaving the pass to the left or east) 
 leads thence southward to the Nihalsheni Pass and Kuhsan. 
 This latter is an infinitely easier route than that over the Stoi 
 Pass, on the left bank of the Hari Rud. It is difficult to con- 
 ceive by what error or oversight Afghan outposts were not 
 placed months ago all along the frontier claimed by the Amir. 
 Colonel Stewart, I hear, warned the Afghan Government fully 
 a year ago to do this. The Amir, however, or the Governor
 
 300 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 of Herat, neglected to follow his advice. Whatever the 
 neglect of the Afghans, it would at least have been supposed 
 that the British Commission would, when on arrival here it 
 found Pul-i-Khatun occupied by Russian troops, have at once 
 caused Afghan posts to be planted near the Garmab and Pas- 
 kumnur Passes opposite Pul-i-Khatun, at Adam Yulan and 
 Kaiun-Kuyusi, and near the Zulfikar Pass. It is true that, 
 judging by the action of the Russians on the Murghab, even 
 the presence of these posts would not have checked their 
 advance. Still it is just as well that the onus of aggression 
 should rest with them, as indeed it has. 
 
 The relations between the Saruks of Panjdeh and those 
 of Yulatan have always been of the closest description. In- 
 deed, how could it be otherwise ? Of course they inter- 
 married, and almost every family at the one place had near 
 relations at the other. Those of Yulatan have naturally been 
 much exposed to the raids and attacks of the Tekkes, between 
 whom and the Saruks no love is lost. The only point on 
 which they appear to have tacitly agreed was, that the parties 
 sent annually by both to the Nimaksar for salt should keep 
 clear of each other, and so avoid the chance of a broil. Not- 
 withstanding, however, their hostility to the Tekkes and their 
 intimate associations with Panjdeh, the Yulatanis found them- 
 selves obliged to tender their submission to Russia when Merv 
 was annexed. Vague and unreliable as have hitherto been 
 all our maps of this country, it is clear that Yulatan is nearer 
 to Merv than Panjdeh. It can hardly be less than 80 miles 
 north of the latter place. This fact sufficiently explains why 
 the Yulatanis found themselves compelled to attach them- 
 selves to Russia, while the Panjdehis sought to avert that fate 
 by soliciting the protection of the Amir. The Governor of 
 Merv nominated Saruk Khan Bairach to the chiefship of 
 Yulatan after its annexation. The above remarks will ex- 
 plain sufficiently why the Russians placed an outpost of 
 Yulatanis at Kizil - tapa. Had the Afghans attacked them 
 there, their Panjdeh brethren would in all probability have 
 risen against the Afghans. 
 
 There is no doubt that the Saruks often took advantage of
 
 AT GULRAX. 301 
 
 the intestine troubles of Afghanistan to intrigue with the 
 Court of Bokhara. But though they sent deputations to the 
 Amir, and accepted titles and khilluts from him, they never 
 paid him taxes, as they did to the Afghan Government. In 
 fact they had doubtless no other object but to get out of him 
 what they could by an affectation of friendliness that they cer- 
 tainly did not feel, and professions of attachment that they 
 were ready to forswear at a moment's notice. In 1868 they 
 sent a contingent to assist the Amir of Bokhara against the 
 Russians. Never, however, was Afghanistan more deeply 
 involved in internal warfare and troubles than in this year. 
 Had there then been a stable Government at Herat, the 
 Saruks would not have been allowed to have any dealings 
 with Bokhara. 
 
 I purpose to give a short account of the Salors, one of the 
 Turkoman tribes now under Russian rule, and residing around 
 Old Sarakhs. In 1834, Abbas Mirza, exasperated by their 
 persistent raids and outrages on Persian subjects, fell upon 
 them and carried them off en masse men, women, and chil- 
 dren to Mashhad. There he offered them for sale. A branch 
 of the Salors at Yulatan and Panjdeh sent over deputies and 
 bought their liberty at ten tomans (Es. 40) per head. In 
 1860 this tribe was settled at Yulatan. When the Persians 
 in that year made their disastrous attempt to subdue the 
 Tekkes of Merv, they detached a force against the Salors of 
 Yulatan. The latter fled, with their families, household goods, 
 and flocks, to Maruchak. The Saruks, whom the Tekkes had 
 expelled from Merv about 1855, had settled at Panjdeh. 
 They refrained from molesting, if they did not absolutely 
 befriend, the Salors. But the Salors, who, for thieving and 
 every other kind of villany, are facile princeps among the 
 Turkomans, repaid them by stealing their sheep ; and a few 
 years later, fearing reprisals, went off towards Maimena, and 
 settled at Sar-i-chashma-i-Chichakli, a few miles east of Cha- 
 har Shamba. Thence they commenced raiding in earnest on 
 the Saruks, and in 1870 or 1871 came down on Maruchak 
 and swept off all the flocks belonging to the Herzegi section 
 of that tribe. The Herzegis, however, made a vigorous pur-
 
 302 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 suit, overtook and attacked them, killed many, and returned 
 triumphant to Maruchak with their recaptured flocks and a 
 number of captured Salors. After this catastrophe, the latter 
 divided into two sections, one of which, numbering some 2000 
 families, went and settled at Daulatabad and Kalah-i-Bad- 
 khat. The other, consisting of about 3000 families, having first 
 made a raid on and captured many of the flocks and herds 
 belonging to the people of Maimena, crossed the Murghab to 
 Kara-tapa on the Khushk. This happened about eleven years 
 ago. While settled at Kara-tapa, they were continually em- 
 broiled with the Saruks of Panjdeh, who finally forced them 
 to migrate to Zohrabad on the left bank of the Hari Eud in 
 Persian territory, beween Zulfikar and Pul-i-Khatun. Last 
 year they migrated to Old Sarakhs, where a portion of their 
 tribe had already settled ; and they are all now Eussian sub- 
 jects. Their flocks graze as far south as Pul-i-Khatun, and 
 south-eastward to Khum-gazar. They also occasionally come 
 down to Agar-chashma to gather pistachios. The three sec- 
 tions of the Salors are named Yalawach, Gichara, and Kara- 
 wan. They have an evil reputation even among Turkomans, 
 and are said to be generally hated. So it would seem the 
 Eussians have made rather an acquisition. Twelve years 
 ago, during the great Persian famine, the Tekkes came down 
 and carried them all (about 5000 families) off to Merv, because 
 they assisted the Persians in repelling Tekke raids. Three 
 years ago, when the shadow of Eussian annexation was over- 
 hanging Merv, the Salors were permitted to return to Persia, 
 and are now mostly settled at Old Sarakhs. 
 
 24A March. 
 
 Ever since we arrived here, rumours of disaffection among 
 the Turkomans and Uzbeks enthralled by Eussia have been 
 rife, and of late these rumours appear to have taken a 
 tangible shape. On ground thus ripe for the seed of rebel- 
 lion it only remains to set at work the revolutionary plough 
 and harrow. The Tekkes and Salors cannot have learned 
 to love the Muscovite in a year. Indeed it does not appear 
 that the latter lays himself out to find favour in their 
 sight. It is true that but a month ago it was anticipated the
 
 AT GULRAN. 303 
 
 Saruks might rise in revolt any day against their Afghan 
 rulers. They are now said to be quiet and contented. Their 
 hatred for the Tekkes is known. They contested with them 
 the possession of Merv for seven years, and were ultimately 
 worsted. They cannot wish to live under the same rule with 
 them. Nor can the reputation that the Eussians have earned 
 for themselves in Central Asia be an inducement to others to 
 seek their protection. Even the very acts of humanity that 
 Russia has done among the Uzbeks and Turkomans have only 
 increased her unpopularity. She has stopped raiding and 
 abolished slavery, thereby robbing the Turkoman of a source of 
 wealth, and the Uzbek of an aid to domestic comfort and to 
 vice. No wonder they are both ripe for revolution. Woe to 
 the Muscovite if he sustain defeat before Herat ! It may 
 have been with reference to this eventuality (promoting re- 
 bellion in Turkistan) that Lord Hartington said during the 
 Kandahar debate in 1881 : " Eussia knows that we hold our- 
 selves justified in resisting her interference in Afghanistan by 
 any means in our power by any means that may be most 
 convenient and most suitable at the time. It is not neces- 
 sary to say beforehand whether those means would be war in 
 Europe or Asia war by our own troops, or war by Afghan 
 levies." We now know that we have another weapon at our 
 command, and that is the seditious spirit prevalent through- 
 out the Eussian possessions in Central Asia, It would be 
 easy enough to utilise such an arm ; nor need we scruple to 
 do so after Eussia's repeated intriguing in Afghanistan. We 
 have every reason to suppose that Eussian agents are busy in 
 India ; and we have evidence to show that they would tamper 
 with the Indian escort and followers of the Commission if 
 they could. A native officer who recently went to Mashhad 
 was accosted by a Persian, who, in course of conversation, 
 began to compare Eussian with British rule, very much to 
 the advantage of the former. " Under the one," he said, " you 
 can only become a Subadar, under the other you may rise to 
 be an Alikhanoff." l The native officer told him bluntly that 
 
 1 It is not generally known that Alikhanoff enjoys the handsome salary of 
 about 300 a-year less, in short, than a subaltern in the Indian army receives.
 
 304 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 he would rather be a plain sepoy under Queen Victoria than 
 a general under the Czar. In no point was General Skoboleff 
 more egregiously exaggerative than when he wrote : " If we 
 invaded India, promising to liberate that country from the 
 English yoke, would we not have millions of Indians on our 
 side ? " Firstly, the Indians know well that a Russian in- 
 vasion means an attempt to substitute the rule of the Czar 
 for that of the present Empress and in that they see no 
 gain ; secondly, it is notable that, in this the hour of success 
 of the Mahdi and of a possible Russian invasion, the signs of 
 loyalty among the native princes and people are redoubled. 
 
 In the present crisis the Persians appear to identify their 
 interests with those of Russia. The shadow of Russian dom- 
 ination overhangs their very door, while the evidences of 
 British power are more remote and indistinct. No wonder 
 that the Persian officials now take no pains to conceal their 
 Russophilism, and that Anglophilism is at a discount. We 
 have seen more than one instance of this here of late. It is 
 easy to see Russia's hand in this. Mashhad is easily within 
 the sphere of influence from Ashkabad and Old Sarakhs. 
 There is a Russian agent there, not to mention Sardars 
 Hashim Khan and Tahir Khan, and other influential Afghan 
 adherents of Sardar Mohammed Ayub Khan. That these lat- 
 ter are intriguing at this moment is a moral certainty. For 
 this reason, and for watching Russian movements in trans- 
 Caspiana, as well as for more facility of telegraphic commu- 
 nication, may Mr Condie Stephen's presence there have 
 been deemed necessary. 
 
 Although it cannot be doubted that Russian influence is 
 dominant in Persia, it would be wrong to suppose that there 
 is no Anglophile party. On the contrary, the Shah's eldest 
 son, Zill-us-Sultan, is the acknowledged head of it, and among 
 both upper and lower classes many are the well-wishers of 
 England. It is but natural that Russian domination, which 
 is in plain terms bullying, should be cordially detested by a 
 nation so brimming over with hyperbolical self-appreciation 
 and a sort of hybrid patriotism as the Persian. Depend upon 
 it, if they saw a loophole for escape they would take advan-
 
 AT GULRAX. 305 
 
 tage of it promptly. To attempt to foretell the future move- 
 ments of the Commission now would be futile. Everything 
 is at a standstill, pending the conclusion of the negotiations 
 now being carried on between London and St Petersburg. It 
 is, however, generally believed that by the time the knotty 
 points under discussion are decided, the weather will be too 
 warm to admit of so delicately constituted a man as General 
 Zelenoy exposing himself to the risk of sunstroke or heat- 
 apoplexy. So the work of the Commission will be relegated 
 to the autumn. What shall we do, and where shall we go ? 
 Shall we stay here or shall we return to India ? ISTo one 
 knows. The officers of the Survey and Intelligence depart- 
 ments are as busy as ever those, at least, who are not engaged 
 in drawing up a plan for the defence of Herat. But as a 
 matter of fact, most of the surveys and investigations that 
 bear on the question of the settlement of the Eusso-Afghan 
 frontier have been completed. 1 If the liussians are equally 
 ready with theirs, it would appear unnecessary for the Com- 
 mission to stay here longer. With the maps and the evidence 
 pro and con before them, the two Cabinets should be able to 
 fix the frontier. The survey operations now being carried on 
 on either bank of the Hari Eud will be of assistance in settling 
 the Perso-Afghan frontier, which assuredly should be settled 
 before we return to India. It will certainly be a great ad- 
 vantage to the public to have good maps of this region. At 
 present it is very evident that the vaguest notions of its 
 geography exist. Indeed, how could it be otherwise, when 
 the current maps are faulty and unreliable ? The whereabouts 
 of Sari Yazi, Pul-i-khishti, Ak-rabat, and the Zulfikar Pass 
 names that have of late attracted some attention is evidently 
 an enigma. The first named is a point on the Murghab, some 
 30 miles north of Panjdeh, where five or six weeks ago was 
 
 1 When the Russian Commission did at last arrive and work was commenced 
 in November 1885, its topographical survey was so strongly represented that 
 it could put seven separate parties in the field at once. It was then that 
 the British Survey officers realised how fortunate it was that they had made 
 good use of the previous time at their disposal. Had both surveys started 
 even, the Russian, owing to numerical superiority, must have outstripped 
 the British. 
 
 U
 
 306 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 stationed an Afghan outpost. About the 18th of last month 
 the Eussians came down, and either marched round or drove 
 in the Afghan outposts at Sari Yazi and Urush Doshan, 18 
 miles north of Panjdeh, and occupied Kizil-tapa, an eminence 
 one mile and a half north of Pul-i-khishti, which is a bridge 
 over the Khushk river just above its junction with the Mur- 
 ghab i.e., about six miles north or north-west of Panjdeh, 
 and only two or three miles from Ak-tapa, the position held 
 by the Afghan garrison. Since then this garrison has been 
 strongly reinforced by troops from Herat. Simultaneously 
 with the Eussian advance on the Murghab, a Eussian outpost 
 was pushed forward to the Zulfikar Pass on the right or 
 Afghan bank of the Hari Eud, about 35 miles south of Pul-i- 
 Khatun. A small post was also sent to Ak-rabat, some 35 
 miles west by south of Zulfikar, and 25 miles north of Gulran. 
 Gulran is not on the Khushk river, but about 50 miles due 
 west of the town of Khushk, and 30 miles east of Toman Aka 
 on the Hari Eud, and north of the Paropamisus. It is a broad 
 plain covered with the ruins and traces of ancient habitations. 
 Eoughly speaking, these movements were all carried out be- 
 tween the 8th and 20th of February. Since then the Eussians 
 have neither advanced nor retreated. In the face of these 
 determined acts of aggression, General Lumsden, who had at 
 first advised the Afghans to avoid hostilities, was obliged to 
 counsel them to resist any further attempt to advance by 
 armed force. The Eussian posts were only composed of a few 
 Turkoman horsemen armed with the Berdan rifle. Afghan 
 outposts, greatly outnumbering them, were set down face to 
 face with them. 
 
 I have already told you how the Afghan commander at 
 Zulfikar scored off the Eussian. The weakness of the Afghan 
 outposts consists in their want of system and discipline. They 
 are supposed to be relieved every ten days, and are accord- 
 ingly provisioned only for that time. If the relief conies late, 
 as it generally does, the old outpost quietly marches off home 
 when their food is exhausted. The entire fault lies with the 
 Afghan officers who permit such laxity and unpunctuality. 
 Although the British Government demanded a fortnight ago
 
 AT GULRAN. 307 
 
 the withdrawal of the Russian posts, there is no sign of their 
 moving. Indeed one of the latest of Mr Gladstone's state- 
 ments in the House would imply that they will remain 
 stationary until England and Eussia have come to some 
 decision or agreement. Mr Gladstone stated that there would 
 be no further advances on either side. Presumably he meant 
 there would be no further advances from the Russian side. 
 The Afghans have certainly not advanced. It is irritating to 
 watch the manner in which the Government have avoided 
 giving either the House or the nation any reliable information 
 about events here. It is really astonishing how calmly Min- 
 isters can sit in their chairs at home while they sacrifice 
 brave men's lives all over the world. As for the inadmissible 
 pretensions of the Amir, the Russian Government know full 
 well that they are based on the grounds that Badkis and 
 Panjdeh, Maimena and Andkhui, have acknowledged the rule 
 of the Amirs of Afghanistan since the days of Ahmed Shah 
 Abdali. Badkis may have been abandoned, but no one else 
 has dared to occupy it. Ersaris, Salors, and Saruks may have 
 settled in turn at Panjdeh, but all alike paid tribute to Afghan- 
 istan. The khanates of Afghan Turkistan have for brief 
 periods, when Afghanistan was torn with internal war and 
 sedition, thrown off the Afghan yoke ; but no sooner was an 
 Amir seated firmly on the throne of Kabul than they returned 
 to their old allegiance. These are the Afghan grounds of 
 rightful claim. Now let us glance at the Russian pretensions, 
 which are (1) the Uzbeks of the khanates and the Turkomans 
 of Panjdeh have now and again coquetted with the Bokhara 
 potentate (indeed the Saruks of Panjdeh sent a contingent in 
 1868 to help him to repulse the Muscovite invader) ; and (2), 
 that most Uzbeks and Turkomans are Russian subjects, and 
 therefore all ought to be. This is what the Russians call the 
 " ethnographical claim." 
 
 The following extract from a letter from Panjdeh well il- 
 lustrates the means by which the turbulent Saruk has been 
 kept quiet and in good-humour : " I went to see the Afghan 
 generals yesterday. They were very civil, but I have not 
 yet inspected their position. We gave the Saruk headmen a
 
 308 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 great dinner last night, at which I presided, eating out of the 
 same dish with the most holy Khalifas, Mullas, and Kazis in 
 the place. When we returned from the Afghan camp we 
 found that, in the place of the 50 guests invited, some 
 100 to 150 were all sitting expectant. Each tribe filled a 
 khirgah (kibitka). The Sukhtis were in one, the Harzegis in 
 another, the Bairach and Aleshahs filled a third, and the Khor- 
 asanlis the fourth. We had not dishes for so many, so they 
 all dined one after the other. I went in to dinner with the 
 Sukhtis first, and at my ' Bismillah ' all fell to. Mutton 
 pilau and rice-and-milk sweets were the only courses. The 
 Sukhtis being the more refined, ate them one after the other ; 
 but the rice and milk being very thin, they could only dip 
 their fingers in and suck them. Others less particular 
 mixed the sweets with the pilau, and so ate all the quicker. 
 Some took a mouthful of each, turn and turn about. As soon 
 as all were satisfied, the dishes were removed and filled again 
 for the next lot. Tea was then brought in, at which I left 
 the Sukhtis, and went and ate a second dinner with the Har- 
 zegis ; and so on all through the four parties. The only thing 
 I bargained for was a napkin and a spoon. At the end of the 
 feast the head Mulla or Khalifa called for a blessing from on 
 high on all present, and then another blessing for me, in the 
 most affecting manner such a stroking of beards ! The din- 
 ner was followed by music, during which we were all present ; 
 though the others had not felt equal to swallowing four suc- 
 cessive meals with barely a ten-minutes' interval, such as is 
 invariably allowed at all public performances of a trying 
 nature. On the Nauroz (New Year's Day of the Mohammed- 
 ans, and especially a Persian festival, falls annually on the 
 vernal equinox), the 21st instant, we have a race-meeting for 
 all the Saruks, which will be rather fun. De Laessoe's horse 
 is in hard training ; but as his late owner does nothing but 
 walk him about from morning to night, I am doubtful of the 
 success of his so-called training. Owen is doing grand work 
 here. One day he is away among the Saruks, and another 
 day at Ak-tapa, doctoring all the Afghan soldiers. He is 
 alone, with no establishment to help him, and has to make
 
 AT GULRAN. 309 
 
 up all his medicines and do everything himself. We are all 
 living in khirgalis, pitched in a capital position on the crest 
 of the plateau near the Sukliti hamlets." 
 
 At the time when the Prussians first threatened an advance 
 on Panjdeh, the Saruks openly informed the British Commis- 
 sioner that unless a British officer was left among them they 
 would be constrained to make their submission to the Pais- 
 sians. These Saruks were in fact in a difficult position, and 
 what they desired was to remain aloof from a dispute between 
 the Prussian and the Afghan, and to give no excuse to either 
 the one or the other to loot them. It is said that all the 
 Panjdeh flocks that were grazing between Sari Yazi and Pul- 
 i-khishti have fallen into the hands of the Russians. It is, 
 however, most improbable that the latter will injure the pro- 
 perty of a tribe whose country they desire to annex. Ali- 
 khanoff has told them that he means to make them subjects 
 of the Great White Czar, and they are consequently ready, if 
 advisable, to cry, " Le roi est mort ; vive le roi ! " Four thou- 
 sand families of Saruks settled at Yulatan had already sub- 
 mitted to the Czar ; and those of Panjdeh were, as a matter 
 of course, strongly influenced thereby to follow their example. 
 Yet up to the present time they have firmly adhered to their 
 old allegiance to the Amir. But when they saw the Paissiaii 
 forces at their very doors, they felt that Afghan protection 
 was insufficient. They perceived that their choice must lie 
 between Russia and England. The former, it would seem, 
 would be only their last resource, the resort of despair. So 
 they begged that a British officer might be left with them as 
 a token that they were British subjects. Therefore Colonel 
 Ridgeway, Captain de Laessoe, and Kazi Mahomed Aslam 
 stayed with them; whilst Captains Maitland and Yate ex- 
 plored the chul between the Hari Rud and the Murghab, and 
 completed such surveys and inquiries in that quarter as were 
 essential to the demarcation of the frontier. On the 20th 
 February, when the main body of the Commission marched 
 from Kalah-i-maur, Mr Merk and Dr Owen, with 50 lances 
 under Captain Heath, were left there to support Colonel 
 Ridgeway. Dr Owen shortly afterwards moved to Panjdeh,
 
 310 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 and as has been shown above, has been of great service there. 
 In the latter part of February the weakness of the Afghan gar- 
 rison, the uneasy spirit prevalent among the Saruks, and the 
 imminence of a Eussian attack, gave just grounds for appre- 
 hension for the safety of the Panjdeh party. However, as the 
 Eussians remained quiet and advanced no farther, while 
 strong Afghan reinforcements were moved to Panjdeh from 
 Herat, the restlessness of the Saruks subsided. Colonel 
 Eidgeway, who arrived here yesterday evening, states that 
 they are now giving no trouble or cause for anxiety. Cap- 
 tains Yate and De Laessoe, Dr Owen, and Kazi Mahomed 
 Aslam are still at Panjdeh, with Mr Merk, Captain Heath, 
 and the 50 lances in reserve at Kalah-i-maur.
 
 11 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PANJDEH CRISIS, AND THE EETEEAT TO TIRPUL. 
 
 25th March. 
 
 I VENTURED yesterday to predict peace for Panjdeh. I was 
 premature. This morning a letter arrived from Captain Yate 
 announcing that on the 22d General Komaroff and Colonel 
 Alikhanoff had advanced from Aimakjar (25 miles north of 
 Ak-tapa) to Urush Doshan (18 miles north of Ak-tapa) with 
 a large force and several guns. He stated at the same time 
 that the Saruks were quiet and contented, and would, he 
 trusted, remain so. He had fully expected to see the Eus- 
 sian troops in front of Ak-tapa (the Afghan fort and position 
 in the angle formed by the Khushk and Murghab rivers, and 
 about six miles north-west of Panjdeh) on the 23d, but they 
 had apparently halted. Colonel Eidgeway left Panjdeh on 
 the 21st. It would almost seem as if his departure had 
 been the signal for this advance. This readoption of offensive 
 tactics by the Eussians suggests that the brief burst of energy 
 and patriotism exhibited by the Government three weeks ago 
 has exhausted itself. They are relapsing, or have relapsed, 
 into the old groove of lukewarmness and indecision. What 
 becomes of Mr Gladstone's announcement to the House of 
 Commons on the 6th March, that " the policy of the Govern- 
 ment is a national policy, and one approved by the nation " ? 
 On the 13th March, too, he stated that " England and Eussia 
 had agreed that no further advance of troops should take 
 place on either side." Another telegram has informed us 
 that the British Government has formally demanded the
 
 312 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 withdrawal of Eussian troops from Afghan territory. What, 
 then, is the meaning of this fresh advance ? Is it the old 
 story of the feeble remonstrances about Pul-i-Khatun over 
 again ? Yes : if the British Government had put its foot 
 down firmly then, and given Eussia to understand that she 
 might choose between the evacuation of Pul-i-Khatun and 
 war, the Commission would not now be in the critical position 
 in which it finds itself. During the winter months the move- 
 ment of Eussian troops across the Turkoman steppes, or any 
 part of Central Asia, would, owing to the intense cold and 
 heavy snow, have been very difficult, if not impossible. On 
 the contrary, the advance of a British army from India to Herat 
 in winter is perfectly feasible. It is said that the Government 
 of India was warned fully a month ago to be in readiness to 
 despatch a force thither. It does not, however, appear that 
 this suggestion has been acted on ; at least if it has, the news 
 has not reached us. For all we know, the Quetta garrison 
 is at this moment our nearest succour. If we had 10,000 
 Sniders and a million rounds of Snider ball - cartridges, it 
 would be something. The great weakness of the Afghan 
 army is firearms. The jazail was a very good weapon when 
 pitted against the brown-Bess in the earlier Afghan cam- 
 paigns ; but it did not count for much against the Martini- 
 Henry and Snider in more recent ones. Nor will it contrast 
 favourably with the Berdan, with which even the Turkomans 
 in the service of Eussia are armed. 
 
 26th March. 
 
 The latest reports (dated evening, 23d) received from Cap- 
 tain Yate at Panjdeh, state that as yet no further advance has 
 been made by the Eussians. Additional troops and ammuni- 
 tion are, it is rumoured, being brought up from Merv. The 
 Eussians have given out that the English will only fight them 
 at Herat, and that therefore they mean to take Panjdeh and 
 Maimena. Colonel Alikhanoff is said to have visited the 
 Afghan camp at or near Ak-tapa in disguise. A rumour is 
 also current that the Saruks of Panjdeh will, if the Eussians 
 attack the Afghans, fall on the camp of the British officers 
 there. Such a statement, however, appears to deserve but
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 313 
 
 little credit. Proverbial as Asiatic treachery may be, it would 
 seem to be both the interest and desire of the Saruks to re- 
 main aloof and neutral in any contest that may arise. It is 
 possible that the Russians might egg them 011 to make pris- 
 oners of the British officers who have, by encamping in their 
 midst, evinced the highest proof of confidence in their friend- 
 liness. They would scarcely urge them to further violence. 
 That these Saruks would, if supported by British troops, resist 
 the Russians, I have little doubt. But in the event of a Rus- 
 sian advance now, I believe they will remain passive. Still, 
 in a moment of excitement, and perhaps of indignation, an 
 outbreak might occur. I have just received an interesting 
 description of the gymkhana, meeting held at ran] deli for the 
 Saruks on the Nauroz festival. 1 I must postpone its publica- 
 tion ; but the closing remarks I will quote now as illustrating 
 the cordiality and sans-fapons intimacy existing between them 
 and the British representatives : " Xo sooner were the races 
 over than all the headmen returned to camp to visit and drink 
 tea with the political officers ; and as a matter of fact, the first 
 night they all remained and slept there, their hamlets being 
 too distant to admit of their returning home and being back 
 in time for the next day's sport. They all turn up at our 
 camp, knowing full well that they are sure to find entertain- 
 ment there. A kibitka fitted up as a guest-house is always 
 ready for their reception. Even when asked to dinner, the 
 guests will often insist on staying the night, and refuse to go 
 home till morning." (Note. This speaks well for the quality 
 of the wines.) 
 
 " At a dinner-party given the other evening to all the holy 
 men in Panjdeh, a festive night \vas spent, with music and 
 singing. The revered old Khalifa sang his song, and refusing 
 to go home, spent the night in my poshtin. There are no 
 caste or food prejudices among the Turkomans. The humblest 
 man will ask the British officer to share his meal, and give 
 him of his best ; and the same with the Mullas and Saiyads. 
 At a big dinner the other night, they all ate of the same dish 
 
 1 See Appendix I. The account there given is from Captain C. E. Yate's 
 pen.
 
 314 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 with me with the greatest gusto. The British camp is 
 thronged with headmen all day long each one only anxious 
 to sit and talk and drink tea with the Sahibs. Dr Owen's 
 hospital kibitka is crowded every morning ; and no sooner is 
 breakfast over than the Hakim Sahib, or Tabib as he is gener- 
 ally called, is off with his instruments, medicine-chests, operat- 
 ing-table, and Geneva flag, on a couple of mules, to one or 
 other of the hamlets around, where he spends the rest of the 
 day attending to the ailments of the many who throng to 
 him. At Ak-tapa, in the Afghan lines, he is most cordially 
 welcomed. The Hakims with the troops have neither medi- 
 cines nor implements, but are always ready to help and learn, 
 and the soldiers only too glad to attend. Often is the ques- 
 tion asked if he will stay with them if fighting occurs ; and 
 much satisfaction is expressed at the thought that he will at 
 least be near." 
 
 There seems only too much reason to fear that the Russians 
 knew too well what they were saying when they boasted that 
 England would only fight for Herat, and that Panjdeh and 
 Maimena were to belong to them. Now let us contrast with 
 the movement of a regiment or two to Quetta, 550 miles from 
 Herat, the warlike preparations that are being made by the 
 Russians. Information received from authoritative or trust- 
 worthy sources states that 20,000 Russian troops have crossed 
 the Caspian from the Caucasus into trans- Caspiana. Of these 
 some portion has already reached Ashkabad, to which point 
 the railway and telegraph are being completed with all ex- 
 pedition. About 50 miles are said to be still uncompleted. 
 Large quantities of supplies are being collected at Ashkabad, 
 Sarakhs, and Chacha (40 miles from Sarakhs on the Ashka- 
 bad road), from the Akhal and Tejend oases, from Merv and 
 Sarakhs, and by Turkoman agents in Persia. Ashkabad is 
 about 380 miles from Herat. At Sarakhs, which is just about 
 200 miles from Herat, the garrison is said to number only 300 
 Cossacks and 500 Russian infantry. Merv is about 300 miles 
 from Herat. Its normal garrison is said to be one or one and 
 a half battalion of infantry and two guns ; but according to 
 information received, six battalions of infantry and four guns
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIEPUL. 315 
 
 are said to have recently arrived there from Turkistan. It is 
 not, therefore, unreasonable to believe the reports that Kom- 
 "aroff has 3000 or 4000 men with him either at Urush Doshan, 
 one inarch from Panjdeh, or between that place and Hazrat 
 Imam, 25 miles nearer Merv. It is also said that the fort of 
 Kaushid Khan is being strengthened by the Russians doubt- 
 less as a safeguard against a Tekke insurrection. It would 
 therefore appear that if any immediate advance in force is 
 made by the Russians, it will be made from the Merv direc- 
 tion. Five weeks must elapse before a force from Ashkabad 
 could reach the neighbourhood of Herat. Moreover, the 
 flooded condition of the Hari Rud at this season would oblige 
 that force to take the route vid Adam Yulan and Kungruli 
 (on which water is none too plentiful), instead of following the 
 river as far as the Zulfikar Pass, or rather 10 miles south of 
 it, and then striking south-east to the ISTihalsheni, Khumbau, 
 or Rabat-i-Surkh Passes. The Adam Yulan and Kungruali 
 route mentioned above runs about 15 miles east of and 
 parallel to the Hari Rud. It may be mentioned that two 
 forces advancing from Sarakhs and Panjdeh can only be said 
 to be on a connected front when they reach respectively the 
 Zulfikar Pass on the Hari Rud (if the Adam Yulan route be 
 taken, Ak-rabat or Karez Elias would be the points), and 
 Chaman-i-bed on the Khushk. The latter is, as the crow flies, 
 about 80 miles east of the former. North of these points the 
 impassable waterless chid separates the two forces. 
 
 Before closing this, I may mention that I have no news of the 
 recent movements or present whereabouts of Captain Griesbach 
 or Captain the Honourable M. G. Talbot, both of whom are 
 pursuing their avocations on the left bank of the Hari Rud in 
 Persian territory. It is, I hear, intended to move the bulky 
 portion of the Commission shortly to Tirpul. General Lurns- 
 den and staff and the cavalry will stay here. Captain Pea- 
 cocke, who has been absent for a month, returned to camp 
 yesterday. During the course of his journeyings, which ter- 
 minated at Persian Sarakhs, he should have collected at least 
 some information of Russian movements which may prove 
 useful. It was originally intended that he should be one of
 
 316 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the trio selected to draw up and submit a plan for defending 
 Herat, or perhaps I should rather say, to decide on and initi- 
 ate the measures necessary to be taken for its defence. His 
 absence prevented this. His travels, however, procured him 
 the pleasure of the acquaintance of the Russian officer com- 
 manding at Pul-i-Khatun, who came to visit him, not of 
 course from motives of suspicion or curiosity. Let us hope 
 he cultivated it to some purpose. Captain Yate met at Ak- 
 rabat, towards the end of February, 1 a young Eussian officer 
 named Lieutenant Lopatinski, who gravely assured him that 
 General Zelenoy was even then at Ashkabad, if not at Sarakhs. 
 Seemingly that young officer was misinformed. He had, how- 
 ever, a skinful (please understand that I do not refer to his 
 own cuticle) of red Caucasian wine, and he invited Captain 
 Yate to partake thereof. The latter in return invited him to 
 dinner, and introduced him to " old Glenlivet." Their sole 
 medium of communication, in addition to signs, was a Russo- 
 English or Anglo-Eussian Pocket Dictionary and Vocabulary, 
 
 1 At the time when Captains Maitland and Yate explored northern Badkis, 
 no allusion was allowed to be made to their travels. On 14th February 1885, 
 they started from Ak-tapa towards Sarakhs. On the third day they passed an 
 old intrenched camp called Ori Muhammad Amin, a relic of the raid made 
 by Muhammad Amin Khan of Khiva some thirty-five years ago against 
 Sarakhs, Merv, and Panjdeh. His force is said to have consisted of 10,000 
 horsemen, and each man had a camel for his water, grain, and food. Between 
 the Khushk valley, near Ak-tapa, and Russian Sarakhs, water is found at one 
 place only viz., at Kaiun-Kuyusi, where there are three wells affording an 
 abundant supply of good water. All the other old wells on this road are dry 
 or choked up. But to revert to Muhammad Amin Khan. Like the Romans, 
 his force seemingly intrenched itself every night. At that time the Jamshidis 
 were refugees at Khiva. The force was made up of Yamuts, Goklans, Chau- 
 dars, Alehlis, Uzbeks, Jamshidis, &c. The father of Khan Aga, late chief of 
 the Jamshidis, is said to have been at that time the Khan of Khiva's corn- 
 man der-in-chief . Having swept off all the Tekke (the Tekkes were then settled 
 at Sarakhs) flocks in the chid, Muhammad Amin marched on to the Mur- 
 ghab, defeated the Saruks near Merv, and captured their flocks. He then 
 attacked the Tekkes at Sarakhs, was utterly routed, and killed. The camp at 
 Ori Muhammad Amin is about 250 yards square. Captains Maitland and 
 Yate separated at Kaiun-Kuyusi on 21st February. The former went to Pul- 
 i-Khatun, and thence via Kungruali and Zulfikar to Gulran. The latter struck 
 south to the Nimaksar, then east towards the Khushk, and finally to Gulran. 
 The chvl between Merv, Yulatan, and Panjdeh on the east, and the Hari Rud 
 on the west, is traversed by some half-dozen routes used by Turkomans. They 
 are mostly waterless.
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIIIPUL. 317 
 
 assisted by a slight acquaintance with French. They certainly 
 seem to have made the most of the linguistic resources at 
 their command. Among other things Lieutenant Lopatinski 
 succeeded in imparting was, that General Komaroffhad formed 
 at Ashkabad a fine collection of antiquities from the sites of 
 ancient towns and cities in the trans-Caspian province. He 
 mentioned, as one of the most curious discoveries of anti- 
 quarian research in these parts, a mound or barrow at Yula- 
 tan in which three tiers of tombs were found. In the 
 uppermost tier was found the skeleton of a human being in 
 a sitting posture, the brass image of a dog, some Greek coins, 
 and the skeleton of a rat or some similar animal. The Pocket 
 Dictionary and Vocabulary seemingly contained no words or 
 phrases competent to describe the nature and contents of the 
 lower tiers. If, however, as one may suppose, the upper tier 
 dates from the era of the Greek monarchies that arose after 
 the death of Alexander the Great, the lower ones must belong 
 presumably to an earlier period. This Lieutenant Lopatinski 
 is the Russian officer alluded to by M. Vambery in his recent 
 article in the ' Nineteenth Century ' as organising a squadron of 
 Turkoman cavalry. Talking of antique remains, I was riding 
 a few days ago among the extensive remains of the old tow T n 
 near here, when I remarked several huge solid blocks of 
 roughly hewn stone. One, I found on inspection, was hol- 
 lowed out, and closely resembled a font. Though not an anti- 
 quary, I would venture, adopting as my guide the lucid and 
 sound method of reasoning followed by the heralds who con- 
 cocted Sir John Ridd's 1 coat-of-arms, thus to account for the 
 presence of a font here. We know, I think from Marco Polo, 
 that in the middle ages Merv was a metropolitan see of the 
 Eastern Church. It is obvious that a diocese must be consti- 
 tuted of a number of parishes. What more natural than that 
 Gulran was a parish in the diocese of Merv ? Consequently 
 Gulran had a church ; a church must have a font ; and here 
 lies the font. Quod erat demonstrandum. I also found 
 another interesting relic of bygone ages there. It was a tall 
 rough-hewn slab of stone, on which were engraved the words : 
 
 1 See Mr Blackmore's romance ' Lorua Doone.'
 
 318 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 
 
 " Wafat yaft Shaikh Adam "i.e., " Here died Shaikh Adam." 
 What a simple epitaph ! It involuntarily carried my thoughts 
 away to that glorious monument of the antiquarian research 
 of the illustrious Mr Pickwick, that unique treasure the mys- 
 terious characters on which were transliterated by the sac- 
 rilegious Blotton into the words "Bill Stumps his mark." 
 Alas that the only product of my antiquarian research in 
 Gulran should have borne an inscription that cannot possibly 
 be made susceptible of a double or mystic signification ! I 
 fear I cannot hope to aspire to the renown of " that immortal 
 man." 
 
 By the by, Colonel Ridgeway reviewed the Afghan garrison 
 at Ak-tapa before he left Panjdeh. I hope to describe this 
 review as soon as any detailed information of the Afghan 
 forces ceases to be valuable to the Russians. 
 
 27<A March. 
 
 I reopen this to inform you that the latest reports from 
 Panjdeh state that the Russians are now encamped in force 
 before Ak-tapa. It is not apprehended that they will attack 
 the Afghan troops. Their hope is, that their proximity will 
 incite the Saruks to rise and either attack the Afghans or cut 
 off their supplies. It is now no longer a secret that about 
 the 20th February the Saruks had actually fixed a night on 
 which to surround and open fire on the Afghans, who were 
 then very weak in numbers, and actually had no ammunition 
 but what they carried in their pouches. The Saruks can 
 turn out 5000 fighting men, many of whom are armed with 
 breech-loaders. There is not much doubt that had Ali- 
 khanoff, when he first came down to Pul-i-khishti (on 20th 
 February), known the numerical weakness of the Afghans 
 and their small stock of ammunition, he would not then have 
 retired. He approached within sight of Pul-i-khishti, and 
 was then warned that if he persisted in advancing he would 
 be fired on ; he withdrew. It is not too much to say that to 
 Colonel Ridgeway is due the credit of having kept the Saruks 
 quiet, and for five weeks delayed the appearance of the Rus- 
 sians in front of Panjdeh. It must be encouraging to him, as
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 319 
 
 to all of us, to see how those five weeks have been utilised by 
 the Government. 
 
 We have still to consider the part that Persia will take in 
 this struggle, if it comes to pass. In 1854, Persia offered to 
 join the alliance against Eussia, provided the Allies, and more 
 especially England, would guarantee to her the restoration of 
 the territories taken away from her by Russia in the reign of 
 Fath Ali Shah, and the subsequent preservation thereof from 
 renewed Eussian aggression. Xot unnaturally England de- 
 clined so much responsibility. It is most probable that Persia 
 will now renew this offer, should England accept it or not. 
 It is no small undertaking to guarantee the frontier from 
 Tibet to the Black Sea ; and that is really what England would 
 be undertaking on behalf of its allies and proUgts, Afghan- 
 istan, Persia, and Turkey. And yet what an opportunity is 
 this for breaking the power of Russia, for annihilating at one 
 blow all the fruits of forty or fifty years of conquest and 
 annexation ! Persia will surely see that in this instance she 
 has all to gain by joining the Anglo-Turkish confederacy. If 
 she does not, she will find herself threatened by three hostile 
 Powers on the east, south, and west, and on the north sup- 
 ported by a Power who values her as a tool, but not as a 
 friend or ally, and whose semblance of friendship even means 
 naught but the fleecing of its object. Were the Shah to de- 
 part this life at this juncture, and the Zill-us-Sultan to succeed, 
 as he undoubtedly would in a time of turmoil and trouble, in 
 seizing the throne from the Wali-ahd, there is not a shadow 
 of doubt that he, and at least the majority of the Persians, 
 would unite their fortunes with those of England. It is very 
 clear that the only thing that would induce Persia to join 
 England and Turkey now, would be a guarantee by the former 
 Power that it would not only restore to it the tracts on its 
 northern frontier appropriated by Russia, but would also give 
 it the same assurances of assistance against foreign aggression 
 as have been given to the Amir of Afghanistan. Now it seems 
 to me that there is but one step which would enable us both 
 to give this guarantee and to show conclusively that we meant 
 to fulfil it, and that is the occupation of Herat by a strong
 
 320 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 force of British troops. It has occurred to me that if England 
 intends to let Khorasan pass into the hands of Eussia, the 
 defence of Herat against that Power loses in a great measure 
 its raison d'etre. If there be any truth in this view of the 
 matter, then the present is the moment for extending to 
 Persia our protection on precisely the same terms as we have 
 accorded it to Afghanistan. If we mean to hold Herat, we 
 ought to exclude Eussia from Khorasan. We ought now to 
 decide which of two possible southern frontiers we shall accord 
 to the Eussian possessions in Central Asia. These two pos- 
 sible frontiers are : first, the Turkoman steppes from the 
 Caspian to the Oxus, and then the Oxus from Khwaja Salar 
 to its source; second, the great Kavir, south of Khorasan, 
 and the Hindu Kush. Most people will agree that the first- 
 named or northernmost is most in unison with British in- 
 terests. But only the occupation of Herat by British troops, 
 and the safeguarding of Khorasan from Eussia, can secure 
 to us this frontier. It is needless to point out how greatly 
 Persia might aid us by threatening the flank and communica- 
 tions of a Eussian army advancing on Herat, and withholding 
 from it all supplies. Although M. Valentine Chirol has as- 
 sured us recently in the ' Fortnightly Eeview ' that Persia is 
 in extremis,! venture to hope that she has a kick left in her 
 still. 
 
 CAMP CHASHMA-I-SABZ, 2d April. 
 
 On the 31st of March a mounted messenger came galloping 
 into our camp and reported that there had been fighting at 
 Panjdeh on the previous day. His arrival was at once fol- 
 lowed by that of Kazi Saad-ud-din, who had also received 
 similar news. The general tenor of the rumour was that the 
 Afghans had gained a victory. It did not, however, appear 
 that either of the messengers had been eyewitnesses of the 
 engagement. One was sent from Kalah-i-maur by Mr Merk, 
 with a letter stating that heavy firing had been heard towards 
 Panjdeh on the 30th. Information from Afghan sources not 
 unnaturally claimed an Afghan victory. Many were the sur- 
 mises as to the accuracy or inaccuracy of the report. Some 
 said that Captain Yate was to have held a rifle-meeting that
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 321 
 
 day for the Saruks, as it was known that prizes for rifle- 
 shooting had been promised some time before. Others sug- 
 gested that the guns heard were fired in honour of the 
 arrival of Komaroff or Alikhanoff. As the wind was blowing 
 hard from the north that day, it is possible that rifle-reports 
 might be heard at Kalah-i-rnaur. However, now that the 
 truth or approximate truth is known, it is no good discuss- 
 ing the theory of probabilities. Before giving such brief 
 details of the fight as are known, it will be as well to recount 
 the events that preceded it. 
 
 On the 25th March information reached Gulran that on 
 the 22d of that month the Prussians had advanced in con- 
 siderable force from Aimakjar (about 30 miles north of Ak- 
 tapa) to Urush Doshan, 18 miles north of Ak-tapa, where 
 (i.e., at Ak-tapa) the Afghan force was posted. The report 
 stated that both Komaroff and Alikhanoff were with them. 
 It is needless to say that the British officers had no easy time 
 of it during this crisis, their orders being to avoid a collision 
 with the Russians, if possible. Had their orders been to fight, 
 it would have been shorter if not easier work. As it was, 
 they had, in accordance with their instructions, to do their 
 utmost to prevent a collision between the Afghans and Eus- 
 sians, and to reassure and quiet the Saruks. It was expected 
 that the Eussian force would appear before Ak-tapa on the 
 23d. They did not arrive there till the afternoon of the 25th. 
 It is perfectly evident from the behaviour of the Saruks that 
 they were from the first actuated solely by fear of and not 
 partiality towards the Eussians. While the British Commis- 
 sion has been allowed by Mr Gladstone's Government to 
 remain five months in Badkis as a signal monument of Eus- 
 sian insolence and governmental apathy, while such restric- 
 tions have been placed on the press that the voice of truth 
 has been unable to reach the ears of the British public, during 
 that time General Komaroff and Colonel Alikhanoff have 
 spared no endeavour to intimidate and seduce from their 
 Afghan allegiance the Saruks of Panjdeh. That similar in- 
 fluences have been at work among the Chahar Aimaks and 
 the khanates of Afghan Turkistan is highly probable. In 
 
 x
 
 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 short, while the British Commission has been amassing infor- 
 mation and evidence, and executing surveys, for the pur- 
 pose of honourably and justly demarcating the frontier, the 
 Eussians have been pursuing a course of duplicity and low 
 treacherous intrigue that none but a semi -oriental Power 
 would stoop to employ. Grattez le Russe et vous trouverez le 
 Tartare. Never has the Kussian evinced more clearly than in 
 the affair of this Commission the touch of the Tartar. And 
 yet one cannot refrain from a confession of admiration, 
 reluctantly as it may be elicited, for the combination of 
 boldness and diplomatic skill by which they have duped and 
 led by the nose the Gladstonian Cabinet. They have so dis- 
 graced and insulted this Commission, that not only must it 
 have lost all the prestige it had once gained in the eyes of 
 the Turkomans and Chahar Aimaks, but the very Afghans 
 doubt our friendship and will to aid them. I met a party of 
 Afghan sowars to-day going to Ak-rabat. They wanted to 
 know why we were going the opposite way. Que repondre ? 
 Didble ! If only they knew how every man, at least every 
 military man of the Commission, has longed to be allowed to 
 fight side by side with them, and has pitied them when they 
 were left to fight alone, with the Eussians assailing them in 
 front and the Saruks threatening their rear ! There were 500 
 good bayonets and lances within 100 miles of them, and some 
 30 British officers ; and if they had been marched to Panjdeh, 
 and the Saruks given encouragement to array their 5000 
 fighting men by our side, then either the Eussians dare not 
 have attacked us, or they would have run imminent risk of 
 defeat. The highest computation of the Eussian force at 
 Merv is 4000. It should be noted that the Tekkes of Merv 
 can turn out 15,000 fighting men on an emergency, if they 
 can turn out a man. The Saruks of Yulatan could probably 
 muster from 2000 to 3000 men. It is obvious that this 
 formidable body of ill-disposed subjects have not only to be 
 kept under control pending success at Panjdeh, but have to 
 be dreaded as open and ruthless enemies in the event of a 
 repulse. But what is the use of crying over spilt milk ? All 
 these advantages have been thrown away.
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 323 
 
 Between the 22d and 25th March i.e., between the date 
 of the Eussian advance to Urush Doshan and their appear- 
 ance before Ak-tapa the} 7 appear to have been busy in 
 bringing up ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements from 
 Merv. A rumour got abroad that Alikhanoff had visited the 
 Afghan camp by night in disguise. Probably a figment ; but 
 if true, we can only regret that the Afghans did not catch 
 him. During those few days, too, the Eussians industriously 
 disseminated a report that the English would not contest with 
 them the possession of Eanjdeh and Maimena, and that there- 
 fore they meant to occupy both. The Eussians, of course, 
 had not the slightest difficulty about their emissaries, as the 
 Yulatan Saruks could come and go freely between Yulatan 
 and Panjdeh ; moreover, the Saruk headmen, in the intervals 
 of their visits to Colonel Eidgeway and Captain Yate, used to 
 repair to Aimakjar and hear Colonel Alikhanoff s view of the 
 case. During this period it is said that Alikhanoff' sent 
 threatening messages daily into Panjdeh ; his object, of course, 
 being so to alarm them that they would break out and per- 
 petrate some deed that would, in their opinion, propitiate the 
 Eussians. What form such an outbreak would take no one 
 could foretell. The Saruks had already once threatened the 
 safety of the Afghan garrison, and might at any time do so 
 again. Hitherto the influence of the British officers sent 
 there had prevented any outbreak. But as the Eussians drew 
 nearer and nearer, the difficulty of controlling them increased. 
 It was in vain to assure them that the Eussian Government 
 had promised the British that no further advance would be 
 made on their side, and that their troops had orders to avoid 
 a collision with the Afghans. The Saruks, with a sapience 
 and insight into Eussian character that our most veteran 
 statesman might envy, were not to be caught in any such 
 snare. That they valued these assurances at their proper 
 worth, events have shown. Between 4 and 5 P.M. on the 
 25th, the Eussian troops came in sight of Ak-tapa, and en- 
 camped between Kizil-tapa and the river. A little before 
 4 P.M., about 100 Yulatani Saruks in the Eussian service had 
 ridden up to the Afghan position, and only retired when they
 
 324 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 were told that if they advanced farther they would be fired 
 upon. When the Eussian force arrived, a colonel came for- 
 ward and asked to see the Naib Salar, who commands the 
 Afghan force at Ak-tapa. The latter informed him that 
 anything he had to say should be said to Captain Yate, the 
 representative of the British Government, and declined to 
 meet him alone. The colonel then withdrew, remarking that 
 he expected to see them both in the morning a remark that 
 might mean anything. 
 
 As soon as the Russians came in sight, the Afghan troops 
 got under arms and occupied the position they had prepared. 
 They are described as looking cheerful, and by no means 
 apprehensive of the result of an engagement. It is worth 
 noting that the demeanour of the Afghan troops towards the 
 British officers at Panjdeh was invariably pleasant, cordial, 
 and respectful. They were determined to open fire on the 
 Russians on the first signs of an advance. On the left bank 
 of the Khushk, close to Pul-i-khishti, were posted the Herati 
 cavalry, two guns, and several companies of infantry in an 
 intrenched position. Some canals on the same side of the 
 bridge, and trenches on some rising ground half-way between 
 the bridge and Ak-tapa, are also said to have been occupied 
 by infantry. Ak-tapa itself was held by the Khassadars, or 
 irregular infantry of the Chahar Aimak. Some doubts of the 
 reliability of these latter were entertained, apparently with 
 justice. A few hundred yards north of Pul-i-khishti and on 
 the left bank of the Khushk, a small mound was held by two 
 companies of Afghan infantry intrenched. The Afghans re- 
 mained in their trenches during the whole of the night of the 
 25th. It was a miserable, cold, rainy night, so they must 
 have suffered considerably. Captain Yate rode down from 
 Panjdeh to Ak-tapa on the evening of the 25th and visited 
 the Afghan position. In the evening, on his return from Ak- 
 tapa, he visited Juma Ishan, the chief Mulla, and his brother 
 the Khalifa, the most influential men in Panjdeh, and sons of 
 the former Khalifa of Merv. They promised to persuade the 
 Saruks to remain quiet and interfere neither with the Russians 
 nor Afghans. However, it seemed more than probable that
 
 PAXJDEH CRISIS, AND EETREAT TO TIRPUL. 325 
 
 any efforts at persuasion on their part would prove utterly 
 ineffectual. Notwithstanding the polite assurances of the 
 Juma Ishan that " while the British flag is flying over us we 
 
 O i/O 
 
 are happy and content," it might be safely surmised that the 
 sight of the British flag would not long counterbalance the 
 presence of a Russian army. The Afghan estimate of that 
 army was 900 infantry and 300 cavalry. Later reports say 
 that before the attack on the 20th further reinforcements 
 came up. A Tekke contingent was also present ; the number 
 of guns was not specified. The strength of the Afghan force 
 can be best estimated from the following account of a review 
 held by the Naib Salar in honour of Colonel Ridgeway before 
 his departure from Panjdeh : 
 
 " Panjdeh, IQth March. The Nail) Salar held a review of 
 the Afghan troops at Panjdeh to-day for inspection by Colonel 
 Ridgeway. The latter, accompanied by Captains Yate and 
 De Laessoe, Kazi Mohammed Aslam, and Sardar Slier Ahmed 
 Khan, were received by the ISTaib Salar and Yalantush Khan 
 Jamshidi, Governor of Panjdeh, at the Xaib Salar's tent at 
 10.30 A.M., where tea and refreshments were served; while 
 the troops, under the command of General Ghaus-ud-din 
 Khan, were being drawn up in line immediately behind their 
 present position on the northern crest of the plateau between 
 the valleys of the Khushk and the Murghab. 
 
 " General Ghaus-ud-din received the Naib Salar and 
 Colonel Ridgeway with a general salute, standing and saluting 
 himself in front of the line. He remained on foot after the 
 salute was over, until requested to mount by the Xaib Salar. 
 
 " The line was formed from right to left as follows : (1) A 
 mule-battery of 4 brass 3-pounder mountain-guns ; (2) a field- 
 battery of 4 brass 6-pounder smooth-bore guns ; (3) the Kabul 
 Regiment of Infantry ; (4) the Kandahar Regiment of In- 
 fantry ; (5) four companies of Khassadars (Irregulars) ; (6) the 
 Kabul Regiment of Cavalry ; (7) the Herati Irregular Horse ; 
 (8) the Chahar Aimak Irregular Horse, consisting of one 
 squadron Hazaras, one squadron Jamshidis, and one troop 
 Firuzkuhis. 1 
 
 1 Of the corps here enumerated, Nos. 1 , 2,3, 4, and 6 alone are said to have
 
 326 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 " After riding down the line, the Naib Salar and Colonel 
 Eidgeway took up a position in front, and the force marched 
 past on their way to quarters. The march-past was a rough 
 one, but creditable considering that half of the troops present 
 had never done such a thing in their lives before. The mule- 
 battery led the way, and went past well, one division on 
 mules, the other on ponies ; the latter was especially good. 
 The field-battery was capitally horsed and looked serviceable, 
 keeping distance well as they went past. They had no line 
 of ammunition-waggons. The Kabuli regiment, almost en- 
 tirely composed of Logar men, went past as well as could be 
 expected ; but the men had no uniform, and are only armed 
 with Enfield rifles. The Kandahari regiment had likewise no 
 uniform, and is only half armed with Enfields, the remainder 
 with smooth-bores. Both these regiments went past in six 
 companies, each of some 38 files, a total of about 900 men. 
 The regular cavalry regiment known as the Shahriyari (King's 
 Own) Eegiment, enlisted at Kabul, but from no particular 
 locality, followed the infantry. They are well horsed and 
 accoutred, but their carbines are only Kabul-made smooth- 
 bores. The men appeared to be good material. They went 
 past in four squadrons of about 30 files each. After them 
 followed the Khassadars, four companies of some 30 files 
 each, armed with old flint-locks and weapons of all shapes 
 and makes. Then came the Herati and Chahar Aimak Horse, 
 bringing up the rear, all fairly mounted, but utterly undrilled 
 and badly armed." 
 
 TiRPt/L, 4th April. 
 
 From the above description the strength of the Afghan 
 force at Panjdeh may be put down at about 1200 infantry, 
 800 cavalry, and eight guns. In fact they but little exceeded 
 the Eussian force ; and when the contrast of arms, drill, and 
 discipline is taken into consideration, it is obvious that a suc- 
 
 fought well in the action on the 30th March. The irregular horse and foot 
 were either not engaged or broke at the first encounter. The prevalent idea 
 that the Afghans far exceeded the Russians in numbers is absolutely erroneous. 
 I have reason to believe that the Russians had a decided superiority in 
 numbers over the Afghan troops actually engaged.
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 327 
 
 cessful resistance to a Russian attack was not to be hoped for. 
 It appears, moreover, from the Afghan version of the engage- 
 ment, that a body of Tekke levies, armed with Berdan rifles, 
 took part in the attack on the Russian side. 
 
 On the 26th March, Captain Yate went down to Ak-tapa 
 and had a meeting in the afternoon with Colonel Zakrchew- 
 ski, Komaroff s Chief of the Staff. Previous to this meeting 
 both Afghans and Saruks were much excited and anxious to 
 attack the Russians. The fact of this interview appears to 
 have exercised temporarily a quieting and reassuring influ- 
 ence on the Afghans and Saruks. But Russian action itself 
 speedily dispelled that short-lived illusion. With Captain 
 Yate were Captain de Laessoe, I)r Owen, Kazi Mohammed 
 Aslam, and Sardar Sher Ahmed Khan. Colonel Zakrchewski 
 was attended by a large number of junior officers. The 
 British officers were courteously received, and invited to 
 lunch. Meanwhile the Cossacks on one side, and the sowars 
 of the llth Bengal Lancers on the other, had shaken hands 
 (not on the Oxus but on the Murghab) and taken stock 
 of each other. The Russian officers, it is said, were much 
 struck by the bearing, ^/w/s^we, and soldierly appear- 
 ance of the llth Bengal Lancers escort. And well they 
 might be. However, it is well known that good judges 
 have pronounced our finest Indian cavalry to be ecpiial to 
 that of most Continental Powers. It does not appear that 
 any practically satisfactory result came of this interview. 
 The Russian " pretensions " put forward are described as 
 " extravagant," and such as could not for a moment be en- 
 tertained. At parting on the 26th, Captain Yate invited 
 Colonel Zakrchewski and the other Russian officers to a cold 
 collation on the following day. The offer was accepted. The 
 site selected for this friendly interchange of civilities was 
 " in front of the Afghan vedettes, who are only a few yards 
 from the Cossack outposts." Sufficiently suggestive this. 
 Whether this collation was ever partaken of by the Russian 
 officers, and whether the political discussion of which it was 
 but the medium ever took place, has not yet transpired. On 
 the 1st April the whole of the Commission, except General
 
 328 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Lumsden, Colonel Ridgeway, and the cavalry, who were all 
 provided with mule transport, started for the bridge over 
 the Hari Bud at Tirpul, where it arrived on the 3d April. 
 The first march was to the top of the Au-safid Pass (eight 
 miles the Au-safid is a very easy pass), the second to Chasli- 
 ma-i-sabz (11 miles), and the third to Tirpul (24 miles). The 
 weather was for the last thirty -six hours a succession of 
 thunderstorms, heavy rain, and hail. It is pouring hard 
 now. The Panjdeh and Kalah-i-maur parties were to have 
 reached Gulran yesterday, and then the whole were to march 
 from Gulran to-day. We expect them here to morrow. 
 
 Since we left Gulran the following information about the 
 fight that took place on the 30th has dribbled out. The Rus- 
 sians are said to have demanded the withdrawal of the Afghan 
 troops from the position west of Pul-i-khishti. The Afghans 
 refused to withdraw. The Russians then attacked. Accord- 
 ing to an Afghan report, the attack was commenced by the 
 Tekke levies. These fell back under the Afghan fire, and 
 then the Russian infantry opened fire and advanced. The 
 Afghan resistance, according to reports based on other than 
 Afghan statements, was very stubborn. General Ghaus-ud- 
 din Khan was wounded. Two companies of the Afghans 
 were killed to a man in the trenches. Evidently the thick of 
 the fighting took place on the left bank of the Khushk at 
 Pul-i-khishti. Finally the Afghans were completely routed, 
 and retreated towards Maruchak. The British officers, who, 
 of course, were ordered to keep aloof from the fighting, re- 
 mained to see the issue thereof, and some hours after the 
 Afghans were defeated, withdrew by the Khushk valley to join 
 Captain Heath and his escort of 50 sabres at Kalah-i-maur. 
 It is more than surprising that the Saruks appear to have 
 kept aloof from the fighting, to have neither molested nor 
 pursued the retreating Afghans, nor interfered in any way 
 with the British officers. The Panjdeh party is said to have 
 left the scene of action about mid-day, and so doubtless had to 
 spend a very agreeable cold rainy night on the bleak chul. 
 They took only 3 days to reach Gulran.
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 329 
 
 In the meantime we may trace some of the results, of an at 
 least temporary if not permanent effect of a backward policy. 
 In the first place, we have at least temporarily lost Panjdeh 
 and the Saruks. As it is well known that the Chahar Aimaks 
 were intently watching the progress of affairs at Panjdeh, and 
 intended to be guided in their conduct entirely by the issue 
 of events there, we may conclude that they, too, are lost to 
 British influence. I hear, however, that Yalantush Khan, 
 chief of the Jamshidis and Governor of Panjdeh, has done 
 excellent service in the late crisis. I am therefore hopeful 
 that his influence may keep the Jamshidis true to their 
 Afghan allegiance, and that their example may influence the 
 Hazaras and Firuzkuhis. I may add that the Afghans placed 
 little reliance on the hearty co-operation of the Chahar Aimak 
 levies at Ak-tapa. We have placed at the disposal of Russia 
 all the supplies, grain, flocks, camels, and horses of Panjdeh, 
 and those of the Chahar Aimak. "We might, had we been 
 determined and energetic, have, even if we could not effectu- 
 ally oppose the Russians at Panjdeh, at least removed out of 
 her way or destroyed there the sinews of war. 
 
 A day or two ago I was informed that the Russians had 
 collected at Ak-rabat a quantity of supplies. Ak-rabat is 
 25 or 30 miles north of Gulran, 30 miles east of the Zulfikar 
 Pass, and has nothing whatever to do with the Rabat-i-Surkh 
 Pass, commonly known as the Robat Pass. AYhat can sup- 
 plies there be intended for but an advance on Herat ? It is 
 also reported on good authority that the Russian outposts 
 at Zulfikar and Ak-rabat have been augmented to a strength 
 of 300, part Cossacks and part Turkoman levies. But with 
 all the Afghan cavalry, regular and irregular, might we not 
 have swooped down on Ak-rabat, surprised and driven out 
 the outpost, and destroyed the supplies ? Might we not also 
 have choked up the wells at Kungruali, Ak-rabat, Kizil Bulak, 
 and perhaps even at Adam Yulan ? In the present swollen 
 condition of the Hari Rud, a Russian force must advance from 
 Old Sarakhs by this route. But nothing of this has been done. 
 I see the papers declaring that the Commission at Gulran is
 
 330 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 in a position to defend the Ak-rabat Pass. I may state once 
 for all that there are so many easy passes over the Paropa- 
 misus that to defend any one is impossible. Many people 
 seem to believe that we have 1400 or 1500 fighting men here ; 
 we have not 500. Nor have we any guns ; nor, if we had, 
 have we any position for them. Herat itself is considered 
 untenable; and thanks to the Amir, who will not allow a 
 British officer within eight farsakJis of that city, no intrenched 
 position has been prepared. By the by, I understand that the 
 Amir's visit to India has been kept a profound secret in 
 Herat. The Naib-ul-hukumat alone is said to be aware of 
 it. This, however, may be regarded as doubtful. 
 
 The last, but not the least, thing that we have lost by our 
 inaction, is the confidence of the Afghans. They say now 
 that we are about to desert them, as the Russians deserted 
 them in 1878. They are angry with us and suspicious. 
 Kazi Saad-ud-din is said to have openly declared that we 
 had no right to egg them on to fight the Russians, and then 
 neither join in the fight nor give the Afghan troops good 
 rifles to fight with. Would that we had them to give ! We 
 are probably in more danger now from their resentment than 
 we have been at any time since we crossed the Helmund near 
 Rudbar. Even the Herati troops look askance at us, and 
 ask why we are making tracks the wrong way. How then 
 about the Kabulis ? Are they likely now to welcome us as 
 their fellow-defenders of Herat ? The fact is, that a defence 
 of Herat seems now hopeless. The reports say that the 
 Russians have 4000 men and 60 guns at Sarakhs, and 2700 
 men and some guns at Merv. It appears that a portion of 
 the reinforcements from Turkistan have been sent on from 
 Merv to Sarakhs. Now what have we or the Afghans to 
 oppose to these ? Had the Government acted with prompti- 
 tude, we might even now have had 5000 men in Herat and 
 20,000 more on the road up. But for all we know here, as 
 yet not one man has left Quetta. In three weeks at the 
 latest the Russians can enter Herat. If England declares 
 war, they will assuredly do so. Nothing is easier for them
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 331 
 
 than to pour troops into Afghan Turkistan, and then advance 
 on Kabul via Bamian. This is a contingency for which 
 we must be prepared. It will not do to commit a large force 
 in the Herat direction, and then find out that the Eussians 
 are advancing in force vid Kabul. 
 
 Here we are at Tirpul, 011 the left bank of the Hari Bud. 
 We could defend this bridge, I think, against heavy odds as 
 long as our ammunition lasts. We have only 200 rounds per 
 man for infantry, and 100 for cavalry. But unfortunately 
 our position here is no defence to Herat, which is on the 
 right bank, and 60 miles distant. The liussians have only to 
 leave us squatted here, and march straight on that city. In 
 fact we are in a very insecure position. We can scarcely 
 hope to hold out against a Eussian attack in any locality 
 near Herat, or even in Herat itself. The Afghans are filled 
 with resentment ; so if we withdraw towards Farah, we may 
 meet with a warm reception. If we withdraw into Persia we 
 are neutralised. I am informed on good authority that the 
 Herat garrison can boast of 50 or 60 guns, mostly, if not all, 
 muzzle-loading smooth-bores, and 400 or 500 breech-loading 
 rifles, together with a large and extensive assortment of flint- 
 locks, matchlocks, brown-Besses, and percussion-muskets that 
 would be an acquisition to any museum of antiquities. Yes ; 
 I think if we intrenched ourselves in company with a few 
 thousand aborigines and their primitive weapons (reputed to 
 be of the iron age, though some are suggestive of the ages of 
 flint and bronze), we should find no difficulty in emulating 
 Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at Thermopyla3. 
 
 It is said that incontestable proofs have been obtained that 
 Colonel Alikhanoff offered rewards for the heads of the British 
 officers at Panjdeh. He only valued them at Es. 400 each. 
 The audacity and love of bravado that have throughout char- 
 acterised him, as well as his oriental origin, and the per- 
 sistency with which he has declined to show any respect 
 for the peaceable character of the British Commission, all lead 
 me to believe that such an act is in every way worthy and 
 characteristic of him. Moreover, Komaroff must have felt
 
 332 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the necessity of forcing the British representative and his 
 party to quit Panjdeh. But Captain Yate showed intentions 
 of holding his own there, if possible. We can therefore 
 understand why General Komaroff delayed sending the escort 
 for which Captain Yate asked, and in the meantime urged 
 the Saruks to use threats to induce him to take his de- 
 parture. Captain Yate ultimately found himself obliged to 
 withdraw. 
 
 On arrival at Tirpul we found Colonel Stewart, Major 
 Holdich, and Captain Gore there. It was generally believed 
 that they were going to select and intrench a position near 
 Herat. Their engineering genius has been limited to the re- 
 pairing of the Tirpul bridge. Captain Griesbach is here, 
 having returned from his geological trip in the Persian hills. 
 Captain Talbot is still in Persia. 
 
 I should like to have told you something of the greenness 
 and freshness of the country we have traversed from Gulran 
 to Tirpul of the crimson, yellow, and other coloured tulips, 
 the sprouting asafoetida, the leek or garlic, the excellent vege- 
 table called in Persian zirislik, the wild rhubarb, the mush- 
 room, and many other wonders of the land that we sought 
 out ; and of the many old Jcarezes and irrigation channels of 
 the Gulran plain, mementos of its ancient prosperity. The 
 fact is, this country is a natural vegetable-garden. However, 
 the political position here, to my mind, quite dwarfs all 
 botanical interests, which I may safely leave in the hands 
 of our botanist, who does not hesitate to admit that in his 
 eyes the Central Asian question, Panjdeh, Herat, and Mai- 
 mena, and the supremacy of England or Eussia in Asia, are 
 matters of to him but fleeting interest and importance. Tor 
 him there is one vital interest the furtherance of the noble 
 science of botany. So he prays for a fine dry day, with the 
 valley of the Hari Eud as a field for botanical research. 
 
 5th April. 
 
 If the 3d instant was a very unpleasant day, with its thun- 
 derstorms, rain, hail, and boisterous blasts, the 4th was infi- 
 nitely worse. It rained all the night of the 3d, and the wind
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 333 
 
 grew chillier and chillier, and last night the rain became 
 snow. We thought often of the party we had left behind at 
 Gulran, and of the still more hardly used refugees from Panj- 
 deh. But we little thought what they really were suffering. 
 
 O i/ i/ O 
 
 Surely we had better have been at Panjdeh and fought the 
 Russians. We might have lost more heavily, but in a better 
 cause. It is deplorable that such a disaster should happen at 
 this moment. We all feel that it has been hard enough to 
 retreat at all, but to have to emulate the retreat from Mos- 
 cow is adding injury to insult. It is difficult to say where 
 our list of obligations to the Gladstonian Cabinet will stop. 
 When the Gulran party reached the mouth of the Au-safid 
 Pass, they found it a swollen running stream, with a bed of 
 soft mud into which horses, mules, and ponies sank deep and 
 floundered. The horses of the cavalry could with difficulty 
 struggle through it, so you may imagine how it affected the 
 mules. The water was bitterly cold, the wind piercing; the 
 laden animals kept floundering and falling the drivers had 
 to paddle about in the water, and soon became half paralysed 
 with cold. When the top of the Au-safid Pass was reached 
 by General Lumsden, the main body of the cavalry, and others, 
 the wind, irrespective of its bitterness, and the snow and 
 sleet that accompanied it, was so powerful that it blew Gen- 
 eral Lumsden and his horse off the path down a steep bank. 
 Fortunately neither was much the worse for it. It was, in 
 fact, just all that man and horse could do to struggle against 
 the violence of the wind. It was then proposed to halt and 
 camp in the first sheltered spot come to. For some inexpli- 
 cable reason it was decided to go on to Chashma-i-sabz. Had 
 they camped in the Au - safid Pass many lives would have 
 been saved. Starting from Gulran at 7.30, the cavalry reached 
 Chashma-i-sabz early in the afternoon. Arrived there, they 
 and all the officers, the native attaches, and others with them, 
 found themselves without servants, without food, without 
 tents, and nothing to drink but muddy water. Captain Heath 
 and Lieutenant Wright started back with some sowars and 
 ponies to bring in helpless stragglers. They went back three 
 or four miles, and having then picked up as many men, utterly
 
 334 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 powerless and some dying, as the ponies could carry, they re- 
 turned to camp. The men of the llth Bengal Lancers behaved 
 admirably throughout. A number of them came into camp 
 almost paralysed with cold, and were tended and cared for by 
 their comrades with the greatest kindness. Many men were 
 seen to deprive themselves of the warm clothing they so much 
 needed, to give it to their suffering fellow-soldiers. They had 
 but one tent among them, and throughout the night, it is 
 said, they took it turn about by tens at a time to sit in this 
 tent. Sleep there was none, neither for officer nor man, ex- 
 cept the sleep of death, and that was only vouchsafed to a 
 few. That many natives prayed for it, I have little doubt. 
 Britons are not so fond of death as all that. Such servants 
 and syces as had come in were either prostrate and numbed 
 in fact " crumpled up " with cold, or, as it was graphically 
 expressed, shivering and chattering idiots. After some search 
 it was found that a few mules with tents had struggled in. Two 
 or three of them were given to the sowars and Persian mule- 
 drivers and farr 'ashes, and in two small mountain-battery tents a 
 dozen officers huddled. For food they had half-a-dozen bis- 
 cuits, a quarter-loaf of bread, and a small piece of tinned beef. 
 That is all the food they tasted from 8 A.M. yesterday to 2 P.M. 
 to-day. Any small quantity of wine and spirits that was avail- 
 able was reserved exclusively for the use of the exhausted 
 and benumbed natives. The cold was intense, the floors of 
 the tents were puddles, and the violent wind repeatedly drew 
 the pegs. Almost every dog in camp died that night. Nine, 
 it is said, took refuge in one of the officers' tents, thereby pre- 
 serving their own lives and keeping their owners warm. As 
 for those poor fellows who had no tents, they lay down any- 
 where in a poshtin blanket or a numdah, or in their ordinary 
 clothing, and passed the night as best they could. The 
 animals stood starving and shivering, saddled as they came 
 in and without jhools, some wandering away in the night in 
 search of food and getting lost. Those that were securely 
 picketed turned their tails to the snow and biting blast ; next 
 morning their tails were a bunch of icicles. In the morning 
 those poor fellows who had to pass the night in the open air
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 335 
 
 were found covered with snow. General Lumsden was out 
 at 5 A.M. on the 5th to see what could be done, both to aid and 
 rescue stragglers, and succour those who had lain out all night 
 in the cold. As one of the officers said, when they first went 
 round in the early morning among the figures lying motionless 
 on the ground, some silent, some moaning, they shuddered to 
 think that half of them might be dead. General Lumsden 
 did all in his power to assist and relieve the miserable natives. 
 Subadar Mahomed Husain Khan managed to collect wood, 
 light a fire, and make some tea. Here all in distress were 
 welcome, and having had a warm and a cup of tea, retired in 
 favour of the next batch. Three men were found dead in the 
 morning, and many others were, it is feared, frost-bitten. Large 
 numbers were missing, including some sowars. Many horses 
 were found dead. It is hoped (but almost against hope), how- 
 ever, that most of those missing will turn up again all right. 
 It was decided this morning that some of the officers should 
 remain behind and collect baggage and stragglers, while the 
 remainder should come on here and send off some food, wood, 
 blankets, wine, spirits, &c., &c., for those left at Chashma-i- 
 sabz. Captain Yate, Dr Owen, and Lieutenant Wright 
 stopped behind. Sir Peter Lumsden, Colonel Pidgeway, 
 Captain Barrow, Major Bax, Captain Heath, Lieutenant 
 Drummond, and a portion of the cavalry and Mr Merk, came 
 on here. On their arrival, some Afghan sowars with wine, 
 spirits, and tinned stores were sent off; and Major liind 
 soon after despatched fuel and rations. But the latter cannot 
 arrive till to-morrow. I very much fear we have not heard 
 the worst of this disaster yet. If the exposure has told 
 severely on the British and native officers, and cavalry and 
 others, who were well clad and mounted, what must have 
 been the effect of it on the followers ? Such a disaster is 
 particularly sad at this moment, and has naturally exercised 
 a deeply depressing influence on all of us. We who had 
 marched up here with the loss of but two men, who through- 
 out the severe winter at Bala Murghab and the trying march 
 thence to G-ulran had lost two or three men at most, have 
 now at one fell swoop lost perhaps five or six times that num-
 
 336 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 her not to mention kit, office-records, tents, &c., &c., which 
 may or may not be recovered. Captain de Laessoe went to 
 Kuhsan direct to request the Afghan officials to send out a 
 party to assist in recovering baggage and stragglers. Our own 
 transport has also gone out. It is a most lamentable mishap, 
 and at this moment we can ill afford to lose either men or 
 arms. Fortunately the ammunition was saved. It is the 
 more lamentable, as it might have been avoided by camping 
 either at the foot or near the top of the Au-safid Pass. 
 
 As none of the officers who were at Panjdeh during the 
 engagement of the 30th ultimo have yet arrived, but little 
 fresh news has transpired. On the 29th, Captain Yate had an 
 interview with the Russians, and during that, nothing, it 
 seems, was said to imply that an attack would be made next 
 day. The key of the Afghan position was the trenches on 
 the left bank of the Khushk. Not only for tactical, but also 
 for political reasons, it could not be evacuated as the Russians 
 requested. Not only would such an act have been viewed by 
 the Saruks as a distinct proof that the Afghans were about to 
 retire before the Russians, but it is also said that the Afghan 
 commander himself stated that his own men in their present 
 temper would not stand it; so there they remained. The 
 attack commenced early on the morning of the 30th, and 
 lasted barely half an hour. The Afghans had been out all 
 night in the trenches, and were wet and cold. Their rifles and 
 ammunition, at no times of the best, were not improved by 
 exposure to the rain. It is said that the Afghan fire was in 
 consequence quite ineffective. It could be easily distinguished 
 from that of the Russians, who fired rapid volleys, while that 
 of the Afghans was likened to the fire of a section firing inde- 
 pendently. The Tekke cavalry led the Russian attack, and 
 when near the Afghan trenches wheeled outwards right and 
 left, revealing the Russian infantry advancing. The latter 
 immediately opened fire, advancing all the time, and finally 
 carried the trenches with the bayonet. Two companies of 
 Afghans under a colonel, on the left of their position, were 
 killed to a man. The remainder retreated with some loss 
 across the bridge at Pul-i-khishti. There appears to have been
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 337 
 
 little or no effort made to hold any of the positions near Ak- 
 tapa. In fact, doubtful as they were as to the behaviour of the 
 Saruks, it was scarcely to be expected that the Afghans could 
 fight with confidence. Indeed it was from the first a fore- 
 gone conclusion in favour of the Eussians. General Lumsden 
 advised the Afghans to resist a further Russian advance, and 
 Lord Granville expressed his approval of that advice. Pre- 
 sumably the latter was not aware that to oppose the Afghan 
 troops unaided to Russians was a mere sacrifice of life. Pre- 
 sumably he did not consider that the defeated Afghans would 
 turn upon and upbraid us for telling them to fight, and then 
 leaving them in the lurch. What do Afghans know of diplo- 
 matic procrastination, or rather of supineness and indecision 
 cloaked under the garb of diplomacy ? The Saruks on the 
 whole behaved well ; and for this we have to thank the in- 
 fluence exercised, first by Colonel Ridgeway, and during the 
 critical period preceding the finale, by Captain Yate. The 
 Russians did not attempt to pursue the Afghans, nor did the 
 Saruks molest them in any way. The British officers with- 
 drew about mid-day, some five hours after the fight, when 
 Captain Yate found his position no longer tenable, carrying 
 with them all their kit, only to lose the greater part of it a 
 few days later on the Au-safid Pass. They marched from 
 Panjdeh to Gulran in less than four days ; the distance is over 
 100 miles. Captain Heath and his escort waited for the 
 Panjdeh party, and then retired with them. Mr Merk, who 
 had been to Panjdeh on the 29th, left on the morning of the 
 30th, as soon as the fighting began, to give Captain Heath 
 warning. As it rained and blew hard on the 30th and 31st 
 March, and also on the 2d April, on which latter date they 
 reached Gulran, they must have had a very unpleasant time 
 of it. But what they had to endure then was nothing to the 
 experiences of the 4th April.
 
 338 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 The, Retreat of the Five Hundred. 
 
 12th April. 
 
 We are only 500, not 1500 plus artillery, as the English 
 press maintains. A retreat of 500 is but a small affair ; so 
 we can hardly expect a Xenophon to arise and write it. In 
 default of a Xenophon we must make the best of the substi- 
 tute. At the beginning of last February it was a question 
 whether we should move from Bala Murghab to Panjdeh, or 
 whether we should march to Gulran. The former presented 
 the better chance of putting a check on the Russian spirit of 
 aggression ; the latter accorded with the timid policy of the 
 Government. Decision was finally given in favour of the 
 latter. So we came to Gulran and spent some pleasant weeks 
 on its green plains those plains that, as M. Lessar and M. 
 Kropensky calmly informed a British audience at the Cen- 
 tury Club in Westminster, Russia requires as pasturage for 
 her subjects the Salors. And do those gentlemen conceive 
 that the Amir may not want the same for his subjects ? And 
 are not salt-lakes as much a desideratum to an Amir as to 
 a Czar ? It is certainly entertaining to peruse the methods 
 by which Russian diplomatists endeavour to hoodwink British 
 audiences. It is delightful to see the ' Moscow Gazette ' as- 
 suring the world that their subjects the Salors are a quiet 
 harmless tribe, of peaceful, pastoral, and agricultural pursuits ; 
 whereas every one here knows that a more rascally collection 
 of unscrupulous, murdering thieves never existed. Even the 
 Tekkes and Saruks look askance at them. About 1860 the Sa- 
 ruks drove them from the neighbourhood of Panjdeh because 
 their thieving habits were intolerable. Then they went to 
 Maimena, and seizing every ox, horse, or sheep they could lay 
 hands on, made off into Persian territory. There they settled 
 and lived until the Tekkes, whom they had also exasperated, 
 carried them off bodily to Merv. At an earlier period the 
 Persians had once taken them all prisoners to Mashhad 
 men, women, and children and sold every mother's son of 
 them as slaves, simply because they were an unbearable public 
 nuisance. Their own fellow-tribesmen bought them at three
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND EETEEAT TO TIRPUL. 339 
 
 tomans per head. The Prussians, when they occupied Merv, 
 settled the Salors at Old Sarakhs. It is for such preservers of 
 the public peace as these that Eussia claims Badkis. 
 
 The article published in the ' Moscow Gazette ' of the 
 25th February last, illustrates only too plainly the extreme 
 negligence with which the Afghan frontier from the Oxus to 
 the Hari Eud was defined in the agreement of 1873. It 
 is worthy of notice that Maimena, to which the Russians 
 here have of late advanced claims, is therein admitted to be 
 Afghan territory, " the desert beyond belonging to independ- 
 ent tribes of Turkomans." The mere designation of the 
 country west of Maimena to the Hari Eud as desert is sufficient 
 proof of the then utter ignorance of the geography of this 
 tract. It is indeed doubtful if Amir Slier All was then asked 
 to define the frontier he claimed for Afghanistan from the 
 western boundary of Afghan Turkistan to the Hari Eud. Yet 
 it has since been repeatedly demonstrated that the Turkomans 
 settled at Panjdeh have for years paid tribute to the Amir, 
 and that an Afghan governor has frequently resided in Panj- 
 deh. The ' Moscow Gazette,' however, asserts that the very 
 vagueness of the agreement of 1873 gives Eussia a right to 
 annex all the territory now occupied by Turkoman tribes. 
 At the very best of times the presence of a nomad tribe in 
 any one locality furnishes but the shadow of a claim. The 
 Amir of Afghanistan does not base his claims to Panjdeh on 
 the grounds that any particular tribe of Turkomans occupies 
 it. He asserts that the land is Afghan territory, and that 
 whoever has settled there has paid him tribute. If the 
 Eussian Government persists in its theory of an ethnograph- 
 ical frontier, the Amir will have no choice but to order the 
 Saruks to evacuate Afghan territory. If they prefer Eussian 
 rule, they can move northward ; but I will give presently some 
 reasons for concluding that the Saruks have of late evinced 
 no wish for Eussian rule. But where rights are vague, the 
 preponderance of one over the other is not of much im- 
 portance. The question is one of might, not right. It is a 
 question whether the British or the Eussian Government is 
 the stronger. The Eussian wants to get hold of the produc-
 
 340 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 tive salt-lakes of Yar-Yulan and the rich pastures of Badkis, 
 and to obtain a good strategical frontier south of the waterless 
 cliul, which effectually prevents any lateral communication 
 between troops on the Khushk and on the Hari End. The 
 'Moscow Gazette' openly claims the Paropamisus as the 
 future frontier ; in other words, it would advance the Russian 
 boundary to the mouths of the Baba, Ardawan, Sangi-Kotal, 
 Eabat-i-Surkh, and other easy passes connecting Badkis with 
 the valley of the Hari Rud. The Amir, on the other hand, 
 claims all Badkis as far north as Naurozabad on the Hari Rud 
 and Sari Yazi on the Murghab. 1 It is of course obvious to 
 any one that the sandy uncultivable desert north of Badkis 
 and the khanates is the natural frontier. If Russia, not 
 content with that, seeks for one drawn farther south, it is 
 simply with the view of ultimate further aggressions. Any 
 State really desirous, as she hypocritically pretends to be, 
 of peace, would at once recognise a pathless desert frontier 
 as the best guarantee of future abstention from conflict and 
 dispute. But Russia is not animated at heart by any such 
 wish. She is instigated solely by territorial greed and the 
 hope of acquiring a good basis for a further advance as oppor- 
 tunity offers. I have indeed heard a civilian of the English 
 Foreign Office maintain that the Paropamisus was as good a 
 strategical frontier as the desert 100 miles north of it. Cer- 
 tainly for Russia it is an infinitely superior frontier strategi- 
 cally, but for the Amir and for Herat nothing could be worse. 
 Consequently it is England's duty to insist on the desert being 
 made the Russo-Afghan boundary. It is for this reason that 
 Mr Gladstone has shown most culpable weakness in admitting 
 for one moment that any portion of Badkis was " debatable " 
 land. It is Afghan territory, and should have been firmly 
 maintained to be such by the British Government. However, 
 as Mr Gladstone has not blushed to admit in the House that 
 Russia last November refused point-blank to withdraw from 
 Pul-i-Khatun, and that the Liberal Government collapsed 
 under such a refusal, we may anticipate any admission. 
 
 1 At the Rawal-pindi Conference the Amir had limited his claim to Zulfikar, 
 Gulran, and Maruchak.
 
 PAXJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 341 
 
 The latter part of the article in the 'Moscow Gazette' 
 is a good specimen of special pleading. It has but a weak 
 case, and makes the most of it, not hesitating, of course, to 
 misrepresent facts, to advance false statements and reasons, 
 and to ignore contradictory circumstances. It concludes 
 thus: "It is difficult to see how 30 or 50 versts (20 or 33 
 miles) more or less can contribute to the security of Herat. 
 It would no doubt be possible, if both parties wish to give a 
 proof of impartiality, to withdraw the Russian frontier some- 
 what to the north." On the contrary, in such a country as 
 that between Merv and Herat, a few miles one way or the 
 other is of the highest importance. 
 
 We left the Commission at Gulran. Let us rejoin it. 
 Towards the close of March a further retreat to Tirpul was 
 mooted. The news of fighting at Panjdeh, which reached us 
 on the 31st, decided the question. On the 1st April (some of 
 us, I think, felt as if the Russians were making April fools of 
 us) the infantry and heavy baggage moved. The remainder 
 followed on the 4th. Ever since the 20th of March we had 
 had most unpleasant weather. On the 4th April it reached 
 the climax of unpleasantness. I have given in my last letter 
 some account of the disastrous consequences of the terrible 
 storm that raged that day. On the 6th April I rode out to 
 Chashma-i-sabz, where the wreckage of one-half of the Com- 
 mission was being collected. The camp itself was a symptom 
 of the demoralisation that follows on such accidents. It had 
 all the appearance of an Afghan camp in ordinary times. 
 There was no attempt at order. A few dirty tents were 
 standing here and there. Men, kit, and horses were here, 
 there, and everywhere. In a small 80-pounder five British 
 officers were chumming together with that bonhomie and that 
 sense of self-pride which will not permit a man to live in 
 luxury himself while his fellow-men are in want and misery. 
 The first claim of tentage was of course conceded to the 
 hospital, in which already were lying many men frost-bitten 
 and prostrated by cold and exposure. Nine dead bodies only 
 had, at the time I reached Chashma-i-sabz, been brought in. 
 Of course the first efforts had been directed to saving life.
 
 342 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 On the morning of the 5th, when it was decided that the 
 majority of the officers, with all the cavalry and followers 
 able to march, should move on to Tirpul, Captain Yate, Mr 
 Wright, and Dr Owen volunteered, or were selected, to stay 
 behind. Mirza Hasan Ali Khan also, overcome by the sense 
 of responsibility resting upon him on account of all the 
 Persian mules and mule-drivers under his charge, requested 
 to be allowed to stay behind to reorganise his mule-train. 
 Despite these praiseworthy motives, it is with regret that 
 I must relate that the mules and mule-drivers obstinately 
 refused to be reorganised. The former strayed wilfully all 
 over the country (it was told me in confidence that the drivers 
 let them loose), and the latter used shocking language to their 
 superiors. If some one had paraded a small portion of their 
 persons before a good stout withy, it would have served them 
 right. A more good-for-nothing set of scoundrels than these 
 Persian muleteers were never created. Not only would they 
 do no work, but they looted the kit that was strewn all over 
 the country. No sooner did I reach Chashma-i-sabz than an 
 Afghan officer came over and lodged a charge against the 
 Persian muleteers and cam el -drivers of rifling corpses and 
 looting baggage. I had previously heard that the inhabitants 
 of all the country round had promptly swarmed to the scene 
 of the disaster and looted all they could lay hands on. As 
 a matter of fact, both had a hand in it. The kettle was but 
 calling the pot black. Indeed so great is the temptation 
 afforded by such an opportunity, that I have little doubt that 
 a very large number of the natives present and capable of 
 movement, be they Persian, Afghan, or Indian, all had a 
 finger in the pie. Probably the shepherds pasturing their 
 flocks on the plains below and the people of Kuhsan carried 
 off most of the booty. It is said that these storms, called 
 Tfulak or buran, are of not uncommon occurrence here and 
 in the Elburz range. No one ventures out in them. If a 
 caravan is so unlucky as to be caught in one of these terrific 
 storms while crossing the Paropamisus, it is invariably looted 
 by the people of the Kuhsan district. The Governor of Herat 
 says he will recover the lost property. I take leave to doubt
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 343 
 
 it. A good deal of it will be found in our own camp if a 
 search be made. The pack-saddles of the mules will, I feel con- 
 fident, prove a sure find for hard cash. 
 
 When I arrived on the afternoon of the 6th, I found Dr 
 Owen in canip ready to attend to the sick as they came in. 
 It must be noted that although the Hari End is only distant 25 
 miles from the Paropamisus, still the climate of the latter is 
 infinitely colder and severer than the former. Eain on the 
 Hari Eud is snow and sleet on the Paropamisus ; a boisterous 
 wind on the one is a violent cyclone on the other. Hence it 
 was that we at Tirpul had no suspicion of the scene of misery 
 and disaster that was being enacted within 30 miles of us. It 
 is said that the torrent that poured down the north side of 
 the Au-safid Pass on the 4th instant, increased in volume and 
 vehemence after the Chief Commissioner, the cavalry, and 
 most of the officers had reached the top of the pass. So 
 strong indeed was the current, that mules and ponies were 
 swept off their legs ; so deep the mud, that pack - animals 
 of every description floundered and sank in it, never to rise 
 again. On the morning of the 5th it was found that 23 
 sowars, a very large number of followers of all sorts and 
 conditions, and nearly all the baggage, were missing. The 
 weather on the 5th was almost as severe on the Paropamisus 
 as it had been on the 4th. However, Captain Yate and 
 Lieutenant Wright set off manfully in the face of wind and 
 sleet, and toiling all day (they had had nothing to eat for 
 thirty hours), brought in by nightfall eighteen men who could 
 never have survived another night in the cold. The last three 
 men they brought in from the top of the pass on their own 
 horses, they themselves walking. It must be recollected that 
 scarcely a sowar, follower, or animal in camp was fit for duty 
 that day. Neither man nor beast had had any food since 
 the morning of the 4th. All were pinched and semi-paralysed 
 with cold and starvation. Of course the first object was to 
 save human life. No attempt was made that day to bring 
 in the dead or the baggage. The Au-safid Pass must have 
 presented a strange heartrending sight. Imagine the ground 
 deep-strewn with snow, wafted here and there into great
 
 344 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 drifts, a wind bitterly cold and of terrific force careering 
 along, and hurling sleet and snow in the face of the wayfarer 
 with stinging, blinding velocity ! What is that dark silent 
 object half hidden in the snow ? Is it alive or dead ? 
 Perhaps, as the numdah, or poshtin, or other article of warm 
 clothing under which he has sought shelter is raised, a 
 movement, a shiver, a groan, or even a curse, and a prayer 
 to be left alone to die, indicates life. Many of the poor 
 fellows' naturally dusky feet were enormously swollen and 
 perfectly white with frost-bite. They are lifted up, placed 
 on a mule or pony, made as warm as possible, and then sent 
 sharp to camp. Sometimes the groans, cries, almost shrieks 
 of the sufferers penetrate to the ear through the mist of sleet 
 and snow before the eye can detect aught. In one case a 
 pitiable band was found insulated on a hillock surrounded on 
 every side by snowdrifts, and shouting for aid in tones of 
 despair that is, five of the number were, two were already 
 dead. Add to this the bodies of the dead, lying literally 
 crumpled up with cold, and the stiffened bodies of horses, 
 mules, and camels. I understand that 70 mules and 25 or 
 30 camels are now missing, of which a considerable number 
 are dead. Add to this the losses of the llth Bengal Lancers 
 in horses and ponies. It is a fortunate thing that no sowars 
 of the llth perished; two were missing for some days, but 
 ultimately reached Tirpul in safety after considerable wander- 
 ings. Of the followers, 24 died, including Indian camp- 
 followers, Persian muleteers, camel-men, and Afghans. Kazi 
 Saad-ud-din appears to have crossed the pass with General 
 Lumsden, and to have suffered accordingly; but Nasrullah 
 Khan, a Persian who, with his suite, has for private reasons l 
 made our camp his home for a month past, thought discretion 
 the better part of valour, and encamped in or on the north 
 side of the pass. I met him marching into Chashma-i-sabz 
 
 1 He was governor of the Jam district. Unable to tolerate the exactions 
 of the Wall of Khorasan, he took refuge in the Commission camp. Subse- 
 quently the Shah objected, and in deference to his representations Xasrullah 
 Khan was directed to leave the camp. He then went to Mashhad. where, 
 for a time at least, he lived in a sort of open arrest.
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND EETIIEAT TO TIRPUL. 345 
 
 on the 7th. He probably knew by experience what a kulak 
 is, and the folly of marching in defiance of it. 
 
 On the 6th, which was happily a sunny day, Captain Yate 
 and Lieutenant Wright continued their researches on the north 
 side of the pass, and not only sent in more sick, but also col- 
 lected the dead and some of the baggage together, preparatory 
 to conveyance to Chashma-i-sabz. On the evening of that day 
 they were also joined by Lieutenants Drumuiond and Bawlins, 
 who on the following day went up the pass and lived there 
 until the 10th, when everything that had not been looted 
 was recovered and brought to Chashma-i-sabz. On the even- 
 ing of the 7th, too, 50 men of the 20th Panjab Infantry 
 arrived. They were sorely needed, as the sowars of the llth, 
 weakened by exposure, and with feet and hands swollen and 
 stiffened with cold, were hardly fit for the arduous duties 
 entailed upon them. Meantime rations, medical comforts, 
 mule and samel transport, had been sent out, and, with four 
 officers and 50 hearty sepoys, the work progressed apace. 
 On the 8th, over 30 sick men were sent in on mules to 
 Tirpul, and the remainder followed on the 9th. Among 
 them were tw T o Afghans shot through the right fore-arm 
 with Berdans during the fight of the 30th ultimo. On the 
 10th and llth, the baggage, troops, and followers who had 
 not gone before, came in. The dead were mostly buried out 
 there. It must be remembered that the baggage was lying 
 strewn all over the country for some miles around. The 
 animals, when deserted by their drivers, wandered whither 
 they listed. Both alike had to be recovered, if not looted 
 or dead as the case might be. The two most important 
 things that were not looted were probably the cipher codes. 
 Imagine the nutter in governmental pigeon-holes if they had 
 been lost ! Not a few rifles were stolen, and many a poor 
 follower's little hoard. The medals of the sowars of the llth 
 were in many cases cut off their tunics. An Afghan camel- 
 driver told me that on the 5th seven Turkomans, armed with 
 good rifles like English rifles (Berdans), appeared in the pass 
 and looted. Could these be Tekkes from the liussian out- 
 posts ? The Afghan authorities were so good as to place
 
 346 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 at the disposal of General Lumsden, for the recovery of the 
 baggage, a body of Herat! sowars. It is generally believed 
 that these men did more looting than any one else. If they 
 ever did condescend to bring in anything for us, it was 
 invariably accompanied by a minute list as long as your arm, 
 which some one was expected to tally and receipt. The kit 
 on the north side of the pass was in many cases found almost 
 entirely buried in mud, after the torrent had subsided. The 
 existence of one load was made known by the protruding 
 head of a polo-stick. Up to the 8th, much was hidden 
 under the snow. On the evening of the 7th, I came across 
 a mule and a donkey lying dead side by side in a deep drift 
 of snow which twenty-four hours before had probably con- 
 cealed them altogether. No portion of the baggage was 
 plundered more freely than Dr Owen's hospital. His surgical, 
 meteorological, and eye instruments were all taken, as well as 
 many other valuable articles impossible to be replaced here. 
 His medicines were found strewn on the ground, but the 
 bottles were not broken. These freebooters had a certain 
 method in their looting. If they had time, they invariably 
 re-closed a box or package, and arranged the kit so as to 
 dissimulate, at first sight, the abstraction of any portion of 
 the contents. Sometimes they were unexpectedly disturbed. 
 One robber had evidently been surprised in the act of cutting 
 off a finger to get a ring. The knife was found lying on the 
 dead man's breast, and the finger half severed. 
 
 The account which I gave in my last letter of what occurred 
 at Panjdeh between the 22d and 30th of March was based 
 on hearsay evidence. I purpose now to give a narrative of 
 those events as told by eyewitnesses. The report of the 
 Eussian advance to Urush Doshan on the 22d was somewhat 
 premature. However, it appears to have been generally 
 known that the Eussians were about to advance. Messen- 
 gers continually arrived at Panjdeh reporting the assemblage 
 of troops at Aimakjar (1000 infantry, 500 cavalry, and 6 
 guns was the strength as first reported; later reports say 
 that not less than 3000 men encamped at Kizil-tapa), and 
 the forwarding of great quantities of ammunition from Merv
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 347 
 
 to the front. One report stated that no troops of any sort 
 had been left at Merv and Yulatan. These rumours of com- 
 ing wars naturally unsettled the minds of the Saruks of 
 Panjdeh. The exertions and assurances, however, of Captain 
 Yate kept them quiet, although Russian emissaries were not 
 wanting to counteract their efforts. It was indeed given out 
 by the Russians that they intended to occupy not only 
 Panjdeh, but Maimena also. To counteract the effect of these 
 disquieting reports, the British emissaries could only assemble 
 the headmen, assure them that the Russian Government had 
 promised the British not to advance or provoke a collision, 
 and that therefore there was no reason to fear a Russian 
 attack. Under any circumstances, whether the Russians 
 and Afghans fought or not, they (the Saruks) should remain 
 perfectly quiet and neutral. This they promised to do ; 
 and, what is more surprising, they fulfilled their promise. 
 The Russians are said to have left Aimakjar 011 the 24th, 
 and about 4 P.M. on the 25th arrived in sight of Ak-tapa. 
 About 100 of their Turkoman horse rode forward beyond 
 Kizil-tapa towards the Afghan position w r est of Pul-i-khishti. 
 When threatened they withdrew. A Russian colonel then 
 came forward and asked to see the Naib Salar. He was 
 referred to Captain Yate. He then withdrew, remarking, 
 "To-morrow morning I will meet the Naib Salar and the 
 British captain at this picket." As soon as the news of the 
 arrival of the Russians reached Panjdeh, Captain Yate paid 
 a visit to Juma Ishan, the spiritual head of the Saruks, and 
 urged him to keep all quiet. He promised to do so, and did. 
 Captain Yate then went down to the Afghan lines, and found 
 the men occupying the strong intrenchments on the left 
 bank of the Khushk, their artillery being drawn up upon the 
 right bank. Both commanders and soldiers were cheery and 
 cordial in their manner. They remained in the trenches or 
 near them during the night. Captain de Laessoe, who was 
 residing among the Harzegi section of the Saruks, returned 
 to Panjdeh to act as interpreter, in the event of an interview 
 with the Russians. This was asked for by letter on the 
 morning of the 26th, and was at once accorded, although the
 
 348 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 writer (Colonel Zakrchewski, chief of the staff) carefully 
 denied any idea of having suggested such a thing. Mean- 
 time all the Turkoman headmen had come flocking into the 
 British camp, some with assurances of loyalty to the British 
 flag and promises not to move a hand's-turn without orders, 
 while others offered to raise the whole of their sections and 
 drive the Eussians out of Panjdeh. At the same time, the 
 Afghan troops were becoming impatient, and eager to settle 
 matters at once by an attack on the Russians so much so, 
 that the Naib Salar had to send for Juma Ishan and his 
 Kuran to pacify them. In the afternoon two Russians and 
 eight Turkomans had the insolence to enter one of the Afghan 
 trenches on the right bank of the Murghab, insult the men, 
 and pull the Afghan officer's beard. This officer seems cer- 
 tainly to have shown much forbearance, and finally taking 
 the two Russians, placed them on his own horse and conveyed 
 them back to their own lines. This was the first of a series of 
 gross insults perpetrated by the Russians on the Afghans, with 
 the sole object of inciting the Afghans to fire the first shot. 
 
 Colonel Zakrchewski had named 5 P.M. as the hour for the 
 interview. At that hour, accordingly, Captain Yate, accom- 
 panied by Captain de Laessoe, Dr Owen, Kazi Mohammed 
 Aslam, and Sardar Sher Ahmed Khan, rode past the Afghan 
 vedettes towards the Russian pickets. They were met by two 
 Russian officers and conducted to Colonel Zakrchewski, who 
 invited them to dismount, sit down on numdahs that had 
 been spread, and partake of refreshments. The interview 
 lasted about an hour. Colonel Zakrchewski disclaimed all 
 knowledge of the Russian insult above mentioned. He 
 denied any intention of attacking the Afghans, and recognised 
 the peaceable character of the British Commission and of the 
 officers of it present in Panjdeh. At the same time, he would 
 not admit their right to interfere between Russians and Af- 
 ghans, and made no effort to conceal the little regard he had 
 for the rights of the latter. He said that for military reasons 
 he could not promise to forewarn the British officers of an 
 intended attack. He said that it was his desire to avoid a 
 conflict, but that would depend upon the Afghans. More-
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 349 
 
 over, it was his duty to secure as far as possible the interests 
 of the Yulatan Saruks, who were Russian subjects. When 
 informed of the assurances given to Lord Granville by the 
 Russian Government that its troops would not advance or 
 provoke a conflict, he inferred that no such information had 
 yet reached General Komaroff. 
 
 This visit furnished an opportunity for noticing that the 
 Russian pickets extended from Kizil - tapa to Yarim - tapa, 
 with a line of vedettes in front and close to the Afghan 
 vedettes. No idea of the Russian strength could be formed, 
 nor could it be ascertained if they had artillery. Subse- 
 quently it was reported they had only a few machine-guns. 
 
 The effect of this interview upon the Saruks was salutary. 
 The report that the Russians had disavowed any intention 
 of attacking the Afghans spread abroad and dispelled ap- 
 prehension. On the morning of the 27th, the Saruk head- 
 men again repeated their offers of calling out their men for 
 an attack on the Russians. It must have gone hard against 
 the grain to refuse such an offer. Had the Commission 
 been authorised to assume the character of a belligerent, very 
 effectual use might have been made of this corps of Saruk 
 volunteers. Unfortunately, men who were willing enough 
 to fight under the British flag and for British pay, were not 
 so keen about enlisting in the Amir's service. The Afghans, 
 too, were not very eager for their co-operation. They feared, 
 indeed, that they might turn round upon them if defeated. 
 Any temporary feeling of confidence established by the late 
 interview was doomed to be speedily dispelled. On the 
 morning of the 27th, Colonel Alikhanoff, accompanied by 
 some 100 Turkoman sowars, rode through the left of the Af- 
 ghan position and up the Khushk valley. General Ghaus-ud- 
 din at once turned out the Kabuli regiment of cavalry and 
 gave chase. He overtook Alikhanoff and desired him to 
 withdraw at once. It will be remembered that these two 
 officers interchanged some letters last November, remarkable 
 for their parliamentary diction. What they omitted to say by 
 letter then, they took this opportunity of saying now face to 
 face. Among other courteous remarks, it may be recollected
 
 350 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 that Alikhanoff informed Ghaus-ud-din (last November) that 
 the next time he came to pay him a visit he would not ask 
 him to tea, but would come and pour it boiling hot down his 
 throat. It is a curious fact that the first thing that he said 
 to Ghaus-ud-din on their meeting was that he was just going 
 to have some tea, and would he join him. The Afghan de- 
 clined with more curtness than courtesy, and the Kussian 
 seemingly thought it not a favourable opportunity for making 
 him swallow it willy-nilly. It must be admitted that, accord- 
 ing to reports received, the Afghan general gave vent to his 
 feelings very freely on this occasion. Some of his remarks, 
 which were directed against Colonel Alikhanoff (late Ali 
 Khan) as a renegade Mussulman, and intended to work on 
 Mussulman sympathies, drew, it is said, murmurs of applause 
 from the Turkoman sowars. This in itself is no small proof 
 of the limited affection the Tekkes and Saruks of Yulatan 
 feel for their Kussian conquerors. That same day too, so 
 report says, Sarik Khan, the chief of Yulatan, sent a message 
 to the headmen of the Saruks of Panjdeh and urged them to 
 fight against and bring disgrace on the Russians. Every 
 Turkoman here, he added, longs to see them defeated and dis- 
 graced. It is noteworthy that on the 28th all the Russian 
 vedettes were composed of Cossacks, in place of Turkomans as 
 before. Alikhanoff finally withdrew from behind the Afghan 
 lines, with renewed blessings from the lips of Ghaus-ud-din. 
 The former is spoken of by those who have seen him as a 
 man of singularly fine presence, and of impressive manner 
 and mode of speech. 
 
 In the meantime some 200 Russian infantry had crossed 
 the Murghab in a boat and ascended the right bank towards 
 a post of Afghan Khassadars. The Naib Salar, seeing this 
 manoeuvre, passed 200 of his infantry over in a boat and 
 advanced to meet them. Posting his men on an eminence, 
 he rode ahead and informed the Russian officer in command 
 that unless he retired he must direct his men to open fire. 
 The Russians then withdrew, followed for some 500 yards by 
 the Afghans shouting and cheering. 
 
 When informed of this the second Russian effort to pro-
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 351 
 
 voke the Afghans into firing the first shot, Captain Yate 
 at once wrote to Colonel Zakrchewski and pointed out that 
 such acts were in distinct contravention of the assurances of 
 the Russian Government that its troops would do nothing 
 to precipitate a conflict with the Afghans. He also pointed 
 out that the Amir's orders to Ids generals were to resist any 
 Russian advance, and that they must sooner or later take 
 steps to stop these acts of aggression. In his reply to this, 
 Colonel Zakrchewski deprecated any intention on the part 
 of his Excellency General Komaroff to bring about a 
 collision, and complained of the advance of the Afghan 
 troops and outposts. The only ground, apparently, that he 
 had for this allegation, was that the Afghans had been 
 strengthening their intrenchments west of Pul-i-khishti, and 
 had pushed forward a small outpost on the right bank of 
 the Murghab in order to give early information of any 
 advance of Russian troops. 
 
 These acts of aggression on the part of the Russians at 
 first produced a restless spirit among the Saruks. The 
 headmen came flocking into the British camp with renewed 
 offers of assistance to drive out the Russians. These of 
 course had to be refused. On the 28th March, Captain 
 Yate went to Ak-tapa and examined the Afghan position, 
 with a view to ascertain if Colonel Zakrchewski had 
 any solid ground for his assertion that the Afghans had 
 advanced. He found there was none. So he wrote and 
 asked for another interview. On the morning of the 29th, 
 he got a note from the Naib Salar asking him to come down 
 to Ak-tapa. On arrival the Xaib handed him two letters, 
 the one in Russian and Persian from Komaroff', directing 
 him to evacuate the left bank of the Khushk altogether, and 
 the right bank of the Murghab above the junction of the two 
 rivers, before 4 P.M. The other was a letter from Colonel 
 Zakrchewski accepting the invitation to an interview for 3 
 P.M. that day, and requesting that the Afghan generals and 
 governor might also be present. The Xaib then gave him 
 a third letter, written in Persian and in the same hand- 
 writing as the first, requesting an interview with the Naib
 
 352 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 witlwut the knoviledge of the British officers. It will be seen 
 from this how well it was that no direct communication what- 
 ever had passed between the Afghans and the Russians. It 
 was the only way to prevent effectually even a suspicion of 
 treachery spreading among the Afghan soldiery. Having 
 advised the Naib to have his troops in position before 4 P.M. 
 and to remain at their head, Captain Yate, accompanied by 
 Mr Merk, Captain de Laessoe, Dr Owen, and Sardar Sher 
 Ahmed, proceeded towards the Afghan pickets, outside which 
 they met Colonel Zakrchewski with the other colonels and 
 several junior officers and 25 Cossacks. After lunch, the 
 champagne and cheroots of which appeared to meet with 
 decided appreciation from the Eussian officers, business com- 
 menced. Colonel Zakrchewski inquired why no Afghans 
 were present ; and when informed that they now considered 
 their proper place to be at the head of their troops, he looked 
 rather nonplussed. He then stated, in formal words which had 
 evidently been prepared for the occasion, that his Excellency 
 General Komaroff could not rescind his ultimatum, and that 
 the insolence of the Afghans could not be tolerated any 
 longer. When asked to give instances of the Afghan inso- 
 lence, he said they had detained for twenty-four hours a Turko- 
 man who was a Russian subject, that three of their vedettes 
 had come close up to the Russian vedettes and used objection- 
 able language, and that they had advanced beyond the posi- 
 tion occupied by them when the Russians arrived on the 25th. 
 He further added that General Komaroff had reported to the 
 Russian Government that Pul-i-khishti was in the hands of 
 the Russians, and that such being the case, he must make 
 good his word. Captain Yate drew their attention to the 
 fact that the trifling charges of violence brought by them 
 against the Afghans were a mere farce in comparison with 
 the advance of two large bodies of Russian troops on the 27th. 
 To this Zakrchewski had of course no reply. He then pointed 
 out that the Russians had never been at Pul-i-khishti. 
 When they first came down about 20th February, the 
 Afghans had stopped them at Kizil-tapa. Finally, he in- 
 formed them that their intention of attacking the Afghans
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 353 
 
 was in distinct contravention of the assurances given to Lord 
 Granville by M. de Giers, and that, although a trifling ques- 
 tion of withdrawing vedettes and pickets to a little distance 
 might be attended to, no abandonment of the left bank of 
 the Khushk by the Afghans was possible. He further re- 
 quested that the matter might be again submitted to Gen- 
 eral Komaroff, and that he might be favoured with a reply. 
 Here the interview ended, and both parties having shaken 
 hands, withdrew. In the consultation that followed with the 
 Afghan officials, the ISTaib Salar said that if he abandoned 
 the left bank of the Khushk, his troops would suspect him of 
 treachery and melt away. Yalantush Khan said that the 
 withdrawal of the Afghan troops would be the signal for a 
 rising among the Saruks. It was therefore decided to fight 
 if the Russians attacked. I may add that the opinion prev- 
 alent among the British officers was that the Russians would 
 not attack. The event, however, proved that their surmise 
 was wrong. It is worthy of remark that as the British 
 officers rode down the Afghan lines that evening, almost all 
 the men stood up, salaamed, and welcomed them. This is 
 perhaps the first time in the annals of history that an Afghan 
 lias exhibited such a display of good feeling towards Britons. 
 Let us hope it is not the last. The Russians and Afghans 
 having been disposed of, there still remained the Turkomans 
 to be soothed and put to bed in peace. It was consequently 
 3 A.M. on the 30th before one or more of the British officers 
 laid their heads on their pillows. About 6.30 they were 
 aroused from their slumbers by the sound of firing. Mr 
 Merk (who had only come in from Kalah-i-maur the previous 
 day, and was just starting to return to his post) rode straight 
 off to warn Captain Heath at Kalah-i-maur. The others 
 awaited the issue of events. Soon the Saruk headmen, in- 
 cluding Juma Ishan, Khalifa Rahman Verdi, Aka Mohammed, 
 Mehtar Bai, and others of the most influential men, arrived. 
 The Saruk populace was seen swarming on horse and foot 
 towards the scene of the conflict. It was a misty, drizzly 
 morn, so but little could be seen. 
 
 For the details of the Russian attack, none but Afghan 
 
 Z
 
 354: AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 evidence is forthcoming. About 7.30 the sounds of firing 
 became weaker, and it was at first thought that the Afghans 
 had repulsed the Russians. It was not so, however. The 
 distant sounds of firing heard were away on the right bank of 
 the Murghab, up which a body of Russian infantry had ad- 
 vanced to dislodge the Khassadars there posted. Both the 
 Russian flank attacks being successful, the Afghans commenced 
 to retire across the Khushk by the Pul-i-khishti (brick bridge). 
 The Afghans made a fatal error in not strengthening their left 
 flank. They trusted to the cavalry, which was simply mown 
 down by the Russian infantry fire. Authentic reports say that 
 the Russian force at Yarim-tapa was 3000 strong. If so, they 
 doubtless attacked in overwhelming force. It is uncertain 
 if the Khushk was fordable, or if the Afghans attempted 
 to retire across it on horse or foot. If, however, reports be 
 true, they were terribly decimated before they got across and 
 out of range of the Russian fire. I have heard the loss esti- 
 mated at from 500 to 900 killed and wounded. I can hardly 
 believe that even the lesser figure is not too high. As for 
 the Russian loss, nothing is known of it. But as the com- 
 batants came to hand-to-hand fighting, it is probable that 
 they lost not a few. The poor Afghans, with their Enfields 
 and smooth-bores, their caps and the powder in the nipples 
 damped by a night spent in the rain, could do but little 
 against the Russian volleys. The roll of the Berdans was 
 clearly distinguishable from the pop-pop of the Afghan inde- 
 pendent firing. With this mingled the roar of the Afghan 
 guns. It is not yet known whether these guns were with- 
 drawn or abandoned. It was all over in less than an hour. 
 
 TIRPUL, 12th April. 
 
 To continue my account of the events of the 30th. As 
 soon as the firing began, two sowars of the small escort of the 
 llth Bengal Lancers (11 men) were posted as sentries on the 
 two approaches to the British camp. Some Turkoman guides 
 were then sent out to ascertain the result of the engagement. 
 Between 8 and 9 A.M. a guide returned and reported that 
 the Russians had driven the Afghans across the Khushk. By
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AXD RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 355 
 
 this time all the leading Saruks were assembled in the 
 British camp. They were told to keep quiet. That they 
 refrained from harassing the Afghans is a signal proof of 
 their confidence in British protection. They did not even 
 touch the wounded and stragglers. Some few wounded came 
 into the British camp, and were tended by Dr Owen. They, 
 as well as several stragglers, accompanied the British camp to 
 Gulran. About nine o'clock the Afghan troops were seen 
 dimly through the mist retreating in perfect order along the 
 road to Maruchak. The Nail) Salar sent in a messenger to 
 ask whether he should retreat by the Murghab or the Khushk 
 valley. He was advised to retreat by the latter, but never- 
 theless chose the former. There would probably have been 
 a difficulty about supplies on the Khushk, whereas at Bala 
 Murghab they were obtainable in abundance. It is said that 
 all the Firuzkuhi and Hazara settlers on the left bank of the 
 river at Bala Murghab, as soon as they heard of the Afghan 
 defeat, packed up their goods and chattels and made off to 
 their own country. They probably dreaded the defeated 
 Afghan more than the victorious Russ. Tho Jamshidis on 
 the right bank stayed where they were. Why ? Because the 
 river was swollen and unfordable. Latest reports say the 
 Afghan army is now encamped at Kalah-i-nau and Khushk. 
 
 Shortly after the Afghan force hove in sight, Yalantush 
 Khan, with a body of Jamshidi horse, rode up to the British 
 camp. Captain Yate informed him, as well as the Turkoman 
 elders present, that it was his intention to remain with them, 
 and have an interview with the Prussians as soon as circum- 
 stances permitted. Yalantush expressed his willingness to 
 remain, and sat down among the Turkomans in Captain Yate's 
 khirgah. A letter was then written to Zakrchewski offering 
 Dr Owen's services for the wounded. This was intrusted to 
 Aka Mohammed, chief of the Sukhtis, and one of the most 
 influential men in Panjdeh, and to Mehtar Bai, head of the 
 Dadakuli Sukhtis, for conveyance to its destination. On their 
 return they reported that Alikhanoff had met them, taken the 
 letter and passed it on, but had vouchsafed no reply, except 
 to order them to collect their men and attack the British
 
 356 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 camp at once. Truly an action worthy of a civilised Power ! 
 On hearing this the Turkoman elders all said that there was 
 sure to be a disturbance, and that the British officers should 
 withdraw at once. At the same time, some threatening lan- 
 guage was used towards Yalautush Khan, who thereupon 
 became decidedly alarmed, and was for being off at once. 
 Captain Yate, however, requested him to remain beside him, 
 and he did so. A second letter was then written to Zakr- 
 chewski, demanding an interview, and a guard to protect the 
 camp. To this likewise no reply was given, and affairs grew 
 momentarily more critical. Turkoman after Turkoman came 
 in to Aka Mohammed reporting that the Eussians had ordered 
 the Saruks to attack the British camp. Finally, a man rode 
 in and said that Alikhanoff had offered 1000 karans (400 
 rupees) for the head of each British officer. Others say that 
 this noble offer was first made to Aka Mohammed and Mehtar 
 Bai in person, and reported by them accordingly. Just at this 
 moment, too, the son of Saruk Khan, chief of the Yulatani 
 Saruks, rode up clad in a coat said to have belonged to Shah 
 Murad Khan, the slain colonel of the Logar regiment, and 
 bearing in his hand a pair of boots recognised as belonging to 
 General Ghaus-ud-din. These latter, he said, General Kom- 
 aroff had sent as a present to Captain Yate. A gross act of 
 dastardly insolence such as this showed that neither courtesy 
 nor generosity was to be expected from so ignoble a foe. 
 
 The order for packing and marching was therefore issued. 
 As the loading progressed the general excitement momentarily 
 increased. Many Saruks were now hanging round the camp, 
 and the chance of a good loot must have sorely tempted them. 
 But the headmen remained stanch. Yalantush Khan's men 
 were the first to move off; and their chief mounted to fol- 
 low them, but dismounted again at Captain Yate's request. 
 It was important to avoid any appearance of undue hurry 
 or panic. Shortly afterwards Yalantush succeeded in get- 
 ting quietly away, and proceeding with his men through 
 the Sukhti hamlets, took up a position on an eminence 
 beyond. At last the loading was completed; and then 
 Oaptain Yate, who, with Kazi Mohammed Aslam and Sarclar
 
 PANJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIRPUL. 357 
 
 Sher Ahmed Khan, stayed to the very last, having seen the 
 mules across the bridge over the broad deep canal hard by. 
 rode out through the Saruk hamlets, escorted by Juma Ishan 
 and Aka Mohammed. Only a few commissariat stores and 
 one or two tents were left behind. However, it was very 
 little use saving kit at the risk of life, only to lose it in a 
 miserable hurricane a few days later. It is said that a body 
 of Tekke horse rode into the British camp a few minutes after 
 it was evacuated. A native who went back for something was 
 hustled out by Mehtar Bai with the words, " J)o not you see the 
 Tekkes coming?" Captain de Laessoe's cook also was left 
 behind, and rescued by a Turkoman. He subsequently de- 
 scribed vividly how the Tekkes and Cossacks came in and 
 stripped him, and would have killed him had the Saruks not 
 interceded. How much of this is invention is hard to say. 
 The Saruks themselves undoubtedly took a prominent share 
 in looting what little was left, but touched nothing till after 
 Captain Yate's departure. 
 
 It was afternoon when the British camp got under way. 
 The guides gave out that they were going to Maruchak. As 
 soon as the party was clear of the Saruk hamlets, leave was 
 taken of the headmen who had adhered to them so stanchly 
 through thick and thin : soon after, Yalantush Khan, leaving 
 ten of his men, also took leave and rode on to join the Afghan 
 troops. About seven miles from Panjdeh the British party 
 left the road and rode straight across the hills towards Kalah- 
 i-maur. At sunset a halt was made to adjust loads, and short 
 halts from time to time to let the rear mules close up. It 
 rained incessantly. At midnight the Khushk was reached, and 
 as it was difficult to descend into the river-bed and impossible 
 to cross the flooded river in the night, all lay in the rain on 
 the bare hillside till dawn. The mules stood laden and the 
 horses saddled, and everybody huddled close together to keep 
 out the cold. At daylight they descended into the valley of 
 the Khushk. There they were met by a Turkoman sent out 
 by Mr Merk. On his (Mr Merk's) arrival at Kalah-i-maur, 
 Captain Heath had packed up and moved a few miles up the 
 river.
 
 358 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 It appears that two different reports as to the route taken 
 by the Panjdeh party were brought in to Captain Heath. 
 Hence, no doubt, he was unable to send out his sowars to meet 
 and escort them to Kalah-i-maur. The river was so deep that 
 mules could not cross it, so the Turkoman led them up the 
 right bank of the river for several miles, until they met Suba- 
 dar Mahomed Husain Khan with some camels. The loads 
 were then transferred, and all crossed over about 9 A.M. Cap- 
 tain Heath's party was found loaded and ready to start ; so 
 after resting and feeding the horses and mules, the march was 
 continued to Chaman-i-bed along the left bank of the Khushk. 
 The mules floundered and fell in the mud and mire, and it 
 was long after dark when the camping-place was reached. 
 Then it was found that all the supplies which had been sent 
 on the previous day, were on the right bank, and could not 
 cross the swollen stream. So man and beast had to go more 
 or less supperless to bed. Here Eessaldar Major Mahomed 
 Husain met them, and reported that though the Jamshidi 
 guard were still taking care of the supplies at Islim, they were 
 in hourly dread of being attacked by the Cossacks and Akhal 
 Tekkes at Ak-rabat, whose numbers had been increased to 
 400 (others say 300). On the morrow (1st April), after a 
 night's rest, which the Panjdeh party, having marched 60 
 miles in thirty hours and had no sleep for forty, certainly 
 needed, they marched 25 miles, camping 10 miles beyond 
 Islim. The river being in flood, the water was not, as 
 usual, undrinkably salt. Near Islim three Tekkes were met 
 by the llth Bengal Lancers. These were recognised by Cap- 
 tain Yate and his orderlies as belonging to the party they 
 found at Ak-rabat at the end of February. Lieutenant 
 Lopatinski, they said, was at Zulfikar. As some of the Afghan 
 fugitives betrayed an uncommon itching to make daylight 
 through the captives, they were kept under Captain Yate's 
 protection until the Afghans had passed, and then quietly let 
 go with a polite note to Lopatinski. It appears to me that 
 throughout this business the British officer has scored a decisive 
 victory in point of generosity and display of soldierly and 
 gentlemanly feeling over the Paissian.
 
 PAXJDEH CRISIS, AND RETREAT TO TIEPUL. 359 
 
 Captain de Laessoe and Subadar Mahomed Husain Khan 
 remained behind at Chaman-i-bed on the morning of the 1st, 
 to get the camels with the supplies and office-records across 
 the river. The river was still very high, and the camel-men 
 refused to cross. At last some stray Turkomans appeared on 
 the scene and betrayed an intention of looting. However, 
 Subadar Mahomed Husain Khan pulled out his revolver, 
 and at the sight of that they hesitated. Shortly after, two 
 or three sowars of the llth Bengal Lancers hove in sight, 
 and then the chicken-hearted thieves bolted. The camels 
 then crossed without loss ; but Captain de Laessoe and the 
 rear-guard did not get in till 2 A.M. on the 2d, on which 
 day the inarch was continued to the Commissioners' camp 
 at Gulran (30 miles), which was reached about dusk. On 
 the 3d there was a halt. The remainder of the story I 
 have already narrated. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to expatiate on the conduct of the 
 Eussians. The facts speak for themselves. The treatment 
 accorded by them to the British officers is only an exaggera- 
 tion of that which the Russian Government has accorded to 
 the Commission. It should, however, be noted that Komarof'f 
 did all in his power to provoke a collision, and then attacked 
 the Afghans, either in wanton disregard for the assurances 
 given by M. de Giers to Lord Granville, or acting upon some 
 secret understanding. If reliance can be placed in the reports 
 of the Turkomans, the Eussian troops afterwards retired across 
 the Khushk. Colonel Alikhanoff entered the deserted Afghan 
 camp, sent for the Saruk headmen, informed them that they 
 must now look to him for orders, and directed them to select 
 from among their number a chief who would be responsible 
 to him for the maintenance of order. This, it is said, the 
 Saruks of Panjdeh refused to do, asserting that they were 
 British subjects, and meant to remain so. These, of course, 
 are the reports brought in here, and not by any means re- 
 liable. Still, viewed with the evidences I have brought for- 
 ward above of the disaffection of the Tekkes and Yulatan 
 Saruks towards the Czar, and the keenness of the Saruks to 
 attack the Russians, they are not unworthy of credence. It
 
 360 AFGHAN FROSTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 is also reported that Alikhanoff has left Panjdeh, and that 
 Komaroff has not returned thither from Merv, as he said 
 he would. 1 Notwithstanding the rickety condition of the 
 Mashhad-Teheran wire, which has been much shattered by 
 late storms, the news of the Panjdeh engagement has been 
 transmitted to London. No one knows what the future of 
 the Commission may be. The Governor of Herat and Kazi 
 Saad-ud-din are encamped on the right bank of the river 
 (we are on the left) near the bridge. Mr Herbert from 
 Mashhad and Mr Finn from Turbat-i- Shaikh Jam arrived 
 last night, and Captain Talbot this morning. Amid the 
 stirring incidents of the past month and more, there has 
 been little leisure to deal with the movements of survey 
 and other parties. However, if we are to spend some time 
 here in inaction, as seems possible, there will be 'ample 
 leisure for that. After three weeks of almost incessant 
 rain, we are now luxuriating in a spell of genial sunshine. 
 It is neither hot nor cold, but a perfect happy medium. 
 Mr Merk is about to start for a trip along the Perso-Afghan 
 frontier, and I purpose to pay a rapid visit to Mashhad. 
 
 1 Shortly after the fight at Panjdeh, General Komaroff appears to have 
 withdrawn his troops to Ki/il-tapa, leaving only an outpost at Ak-tapa. 
 Ewaz Khan, a Saruk of Yulatan, was appointed Russian agent or governor in 
 Panjdeh.
 
 361 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A VISIT TO MASIIIIAD. 
 
 MASHHAD, 22d April. 
 
 SOME ten days ago Mr Herbert and Mr Finn joined our camp 
 at Tirpul. The former lias for the past six weeks been at 
 Mashhad acting as secretary to Mr (Jondie Stephen. The 
 latter resides at Turbat-i-Shaikh Jam, some 60 miles north- 
 west of Kuhsan, and holds temporarily Colonel Stewart's 
 former appointment. As Mr Herbert was about to return to 
 Mashhad, carrying the despatches that Mr Condie Stephen is 
 to bear to London (he started this morning from Mashhad for 
 Astrabad), and as there seemed little prospect of the occur- 
 rence of any event of importance for some time, I determined 
 to accompany him. After several days' fine weather, we for- 
 tunately found the roads and rivers in a condition much more 
 conducive to easy travelling than that which Mr Herbert had 
 experienced on his journey from Mashhad. The rivers were 
 then abnormally swollen, and fordable with difficulty, and 
 the roads knee-deep in mud. Indeed, between Kafir-Kalah 
 and Karez on the 18th instant, on which day we left Tirpul. 
 the roads were still in places mere broad running streams, 
 and the soil a great quagmire, in which our horses frequently 
 sank above their hocks, and could not extricate themselves 
 until the rider dismounted. At Karez we found all the 
 people living in one of Shah Abbas's old brick caravanserais. 
 Their houses, they said, were all in ruins. In fact it is im- 
 possible to estimate the immense amount of damage that has 
 been done in Khorasan and around Herat by the abnormally
 
 362 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 severe weather that prevailed from the 20th March to the 
 8th April. In Mashhad the falling walls rendered it danger- 
 ous to walk in the streets. In the orchards the blossom of 
 the apricot-trees was blasted by the bitter cold. The other 
 fruit-trees, blossoming later, have escaped. All the verdure 
 and vegetation have this year been much retarded by this 
 untimely demonstration of winter's power. However, it does 
 not appear that it anywhere caused any such loss of life as 
 attended the disastrous march of the Commission across the 
 Au-safid Pass on the 4th instant. On the 18th we slept at 
 Turbat-i-Shaikh Jam, on the 19th at Faraiman, and reached 
 Mashhad at mid-day on the 20th. The stages were roughly 
 as follows : 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Tirpul to Karez, 27 
 
 Karez to Turbat-i- Shaikh Jam, .... 35 
 
 Turbat-i- Shaikh Jam to Khairabad, ... 28 
 
 Khairabad to Fajaiman, 32 
 
 Faraiman to Mashhad, 46 
 
 Total, . . . .168 
 
 The road traverses a broad valley, in most places cultivable, 
 but in few places cultivated. On either side i.e., north and 
 south it is bounded by high ranges of hills still capped with 
 the snow that fell a fortnight ago. Many are the streams and 
 rivulets crossed, now full of water from the melting snows, but 
 soon to become dry. Every 10 or 12 miles one of the fine old 
 brick caravanserais built by Shah Abbas is passed. Now their 
 roofs are fallen in, their walls are fissured and tottering, and 
 their chambers choked with debris. The many capacious domed 
 tanks are in a like ruinous state. Occasionally one passes a 
 village whose orchards, gardens, and cultivated fields relieve the 
 general air of desertion that pervades the country. Here and 
 there stand loopholed towers, relics of the now bygone era of 
 Turkoman depredation. At Faraiman we visited the Sarang 
 (colonel), who was good enough to house us for the night and 
 provide me with horses for the journey to Mashhad. He was 
 evidently a Eussophile. For Alikhanoff he professed the 
 sincerest admiration, while he maintained that the Indian
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 363 
 
 native troops were no good at all. I then asked him if he 
 had no recollection of the taking of Bushire and the battle of 
 Khushab. He maintained that the victory gained there was 
 solely due to the English superiority in artillery. Xo doubt 
 his estimate of Indian native troops is to be attributed solely 
 to the successes of Ayub Khan at Maiwand and Kandahar in 
 1880. Although Ayub is in Teheran, and has been recently 
 confined to the citadel there under strict surveillance, yet 
 his partisans abound in Mashhad. He was arrested on the 
 12th instant, the alleged cause being that the Russian Lega- 
 tion has of late been strenuously interceding for his liberation 
 from all surveillance or constraint. 
 
 The tone of the Sarang's conversation throughout evinced 
 his contempt for British policy and power, his disbelief in the 
 sincerity of the Amir's friendship towards England, and his 
 regard for Russia as the coming race. That such should be 
 the feeling prevalent throughout Khorasan and Afghanistan 
 at this moment is a natural consequence of recent events 
 here. 
 
 2Zd April 
 
 I am staying here with Mr Gray, the telegraph superinten- 
 dent, to whom is mainly, if not entirely, due the satisfactory 
 manner in which telegraphic communication between London 
 and Mashhad has of late been conducted. The line from 
 Mashhad to Teheran is in the hands of a Persian official 
 rejoicing in the grandiloquent title of " Mukhbir-ud-daulah," 
 or " Newsmonger of the State." It is a single line, and breaks 
 down on an average once a-week. The Persian telegraph 
 clerks at the intermediate stations between Teheran and 
 Mashhad are much given to devoting the daytime to sleep, 
 or going out to amuse themselves at their own sweet will. At 
 Shahrud is the junction of the Teheran- Astrabad and Teheran- 
 Mashhad line. The line to Teheran being single, it has to be 
 alternately connected with the Mashhad and Astrabad lines. 
 When the work with the Astrabad line is completed, the clerk 
 at times wilfully or neglectfully fails to re-connect the 
 Teheran with the Mashhad line, and retires to snooze or 
 amuse himself. It is in vain then to call from Mashhad to
 
 364 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Teheran, or vice versd. The delinquent may be reprimanded, 
 but he can always fall back on the plea that the lightning 
 was on the line, and he was therefore obliged to go to earth ; 
 or he may assert that the line was broken down near his 
 station. Such are some of the difficulties to be contended 
 with. Yesterday we heard that the Karachi-Bushire cable 
 had gone, and would not be in working order for a week. In 
 the Persian Office here, there are four telegraph clerks, who, 
 all put together, do perhaps half as much work as one 
 Englishman would do. Two of them have royal blood in their 
 veins, one being descended from Nadir Shah, and the other 
 from Fath Ali Shah, and all four are colonels in the Persian 
 army. But where their regiments may be, no one knows, nor 
 does their rank carry any pay with it. To-morrow evening 
 I purpose accompanying Mr Herbert to visit the Governor of 
 Khorasan, Asaf-ud-daulah. 
 
 This morning, returning from a ride towards the hills 
 to the south of the city, I entered by the citadel gate, and 
 passed close to the Governor's palace and gardens. Near 
 it is the Maidan-i-top, or Artillery Place, in which the 
 military reviews take place. In the citadel I took a brief 
 look at the barracks of an infantry regiment. The barracks 
 were good, but the men contemptible. One or two were 
 toothless old men. The fact is, the Persian soldier enlists for 
 life, and only resigns his general number, if he has one, on 
 the very verge of the grave. From the infantry barracks 
 I passed into an arsenal. I saw an exceedingly neatly kept 
 garden, but not much in the way of munitions of war. Thence 
 I wended my way into the artillery workshops. It struck me 
 that the workshops themselves would have to be rebuilt and 
 refitted before they could be expected to turn out or repair 
 a gun-carriage or a waggon. There is nothing striking in 
 Mashhad, except the mosque of Imam Eeza, with its gilded 
 dome and twin gilded minarets, flanked by a blue-tiled dome 
 with twin blue-tiled minarets. The rest of the town, as viewed 
 from a distance, is but a mass of mud-walls and budding 
 trees, in the midst of which the gilded dome glimmers like the 
 mirror of a heliograph. A considerable portion of the city is,
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 365 
 
 to use the Persian term, last i.e., a religious sanctuary, 
 within the limits of which no Mohammedan criminal who has 
 therein sought refuge can be arrested. This last comprises 
 the precincts of the mosque itself, and that part of the city 
 that immediately adjoins it. If any Jew, Christian, or Ar- 
 menian be found within the limits of the last it is highly 
 probable that he would not leave that sanctuary alive. 
 Recently all the Jews here have been obliged to become 
 outwardly Mohammedans, and are known as jadid l (new 
 i.e., newly converted). Yesterday, probably for the first time, 
 there were six European Christians within the walls of Mash- 
 had. Any Christian residing here must walk circumspectly, 
 otherwise he may bring down upon his offending head the 
 vials of Mohammedan wrath. The main street here is called 
 Khiyaban. It is a fairly good and broad thoroughfare, lined 
 with shops, houses, and gardens. In its centre grow two rows 
 of very fine chinar-trees. In it is situated the telegraph office. 
 The mosque of Imam lieza is in the south-east quarter. 
 The remaining streets are all mere dirty, narrow, roughly 
 paved thoroughfares lined with high mud or brick walls. 
 One old wall is noticeable for its great breadth, and the 
 strength and solidity of its build. It is now rather dilapi- 
 dated ; but in former times, when the top was still level and 
 undevoured by the elements, an aqueduct constructed along it 
 carried water to the mosque. To the west of the city stretch 
 gardens and orchards as far as the eye can reach. To the east 
 there are few or none. To the south and north the loft}' dis- 
 tant mountain-ranges are capped with vast masses of snow. 
 
 I was surprised to find in Khorasan traces of the proselyt- 
 ising efforts of the Mahcli, or as the Persians invariably style 
 him, the muta Mahdi (false Prophet). The Mahdi's name is 
 generally associated exclusively with the Soudan. And yet, 
 at the little town of Turbat-i- Shaikh Jam, half-way between 
 Herat and Mashhad, I was informed that one of his pro- 
 clamations, calling on all true believers to join his stand- 
 ard, had been received by the Kazi there. The procla- 
 mation was written in Arabic on large gilt paper, and was 
 1 The name in full is Jadid-ul-Islam.
 
 366 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 worded something as follows : " I, Muhammad the son of 
 Ahmed, to all ye who believe in the law of the Prophet, 
 give notice that I am only waging a jeJidd [holy war] for 
 the sake of God, and against his enemies. Let every one 
 who does not believe my words and acts, come and see 
 with his own eyes; or do you select some of your own 
 learned men, and let them come and converse with me. 
 Furthermore, if any man having seen this proclamation 
 fails to act in accordance with it, he shall be despised 
 and accursed both in this world and the next. But if 
 he believes and straightway comes to aid me, he shall 
 have rest and peace in this world and perfect happiness 
 in the next." The copy of this proclamation came from 
 Irak and Pars to Birjand, Kain, and Khaf, and finally to 
 Turbat-i-Shaikh Jam, whence it was sent on to Herat. It 
 never excited any feeling but one of contempt among the 
 Persian Mullas and men of education, and certainly had 
 no influence on the uneducated classes. 
 
 24th April. 
 
 This evening I visit the Governor, and then dine with 
 Mirza Abbas Khan, the British agent here. The latter is 
 a very agreeable and apparently a very able man. The 
 Commission has done very much to tone down the fanat- 
 ical aversion of the people of Mashhad for the intrusion 
 of Christians or idolaters into their "holy" city. Major 
 the Honourable G. Napier was one of the first to enter 
 Mashhad, and he was fain to take his constitutionals in 
 his courtyard or on the roof of the house. He was fol- 
 lowed by a Mr Schindler, who laid down the telegraph 
 line. Then came Mr Condie Stephen some two years ago. 
 When the Commission arrived here seven months ago they 
 were not allowed within the city. Mr Simpson, I believe, 
 went to the house of Mirza Abbas Khan, and thence 
 sketched the mosque of Imam Eeza. Mr Gray was given 
 a house near the telegraph office in the Khiyaban. Then 
 came Mr Schwabe, the agent of Ziegler & Co., and he 
 was followed in February last by Mr Condie Stephen and 
 Mr Herbert. So the ice has been broken, and now one
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 367 
 
 can walk anywhere about Mashhad, except in the bast, 
 without evoking any display of fanaticism. Some of these 
 days a Russian force will come this way, and then both 
 fanaticism and the last will disappear at one fell swoop. 
 
 MASHHAD, 30th April. 
 
 The Commission is passively encamped at Tirpul, waiting 
 until the Government may be pleased to deliver it from an 
 exceedingly unpleasant position. From the day when Sir 
 Peter Lumsden first reached Sarakhs, and Alikhanoff, with 
 a sotnia of Cossacks at his heels, galloped through the British 
 camp, to the hour when Komarof'f, elated by the ruthless mas- 
 sacre of a weak force of half-disciplined, half-armed Afghans, 
 sent a son of Saruk Khan, chief of the Yulatan Saruks, to 
 bear to Captain Yate as a present the boots of one of the 
 Afghan generals from first to last the Commission lias had an 
 irksome and unenviable part to play. At this moment the 
 prestige of England stands lower in Central Asia than ever in 
 the annals of history. Persians, Afghans, and Turkomans 
 have almost ceased to look towards British aid as a pos- 
 sible bar to Russian encroachment. Converse with whom 
 one may, there is but one thought underlying every word. 
 In short, the course of events here during the past six 
 months has invested the name of Russia with additional 
 lustre, and so dimmed the brightness of British prestige 
 that only some signal and successful effort can restore it 
 to its pristine state. This being the case, it is little 
 wonder that the position of the Commission at this pre- 
 sent moment should be both highly unsatisfactory and 
 galling to its members, and discreditable to the nation it 
 represents. It is no longer the honoured guest of the 
 Amir. On the contrary, ever since the defeat sustained 
 at Panjdeh, the dissatisfaction of the Afghans has been 
 hidden under but a flimsy veil of outward complaisance. 
 When on April 4 the Chief Commissioner and his party, 
 escorted by the llth Bengal Lancers, encountered that 
 terrible storm in crossing the Au-safid Pass over the Paro- 
 pamisus, where twenty - four camp - followers perished of
 
 368 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 cold, and the baggage was scattered broadcast over the 
 surrounding country, what aid did the Afghans give ? 
 They made a show of sending out parties to aid in col- 
 lecting the stragglers and baggage, but they brought in 
 next to nothing ; and when the inhabitants of the neigh- 
 bourhood swarmed to the spot, like vultures to a carcass, 
 and rifled both baggage and dead bodies, they showed 
 themselves neither able to protect nor quick to punish. 
 All that was done was due to the energetic efforts of 
 two or three officers, aided by a party of the llth Ben- 
 gal Lancers. Later on these were joined by two more 
 officers of the escort and 50 men of the 20th Panjab 
 Infantry. To these alone is it due that the results of 
 this disaster were not more serious. Such lukewarmness 
 on the part of the Afghan authorities subsequently de- 
 veloped itself into a mild system of boycotting. .For some 
 days no supplies whatever came into camp, although the 
 towns and agricultural districts of Kuhsan and Ghorian 
 were hard by, and the immense resources of the Herat 
 valley within four clays' march. At the same time the 
 Indian mail ceased to arrive. A plea for this was found 
 in the flooded condition of the Farah and Klmshk rivers, 
 with what degree of truth cannot be ascertained. There 
 is, however, no doubt that at this time there were ab- 
 normal floods, and the roads were very heavy. At last, 
 on April 22, eight days' mails arrived at once, of dates 
 from March 22 to April 1, from Calcutta, Allahabad, and 
 Lahore. Now it is known that these mails can be, and 
 have been, conveyed from the above-named cities to the 
 Commission near Herat in fifteen or sixteen days, instead 
 of from twenty - one to thirty - one days. How far this 
 interruption in the postal service was due to the Amir's 
 absence in India is problematical ; as also the influence 
 thereon of the Amir's return. The Afghans make 110 
 secret of their opinion that the Commission should have 
 accorded them some assistance more substantial than mere 
 moral support. It is in vain to argue that the Commis- 
 sion is a peaceful body. An Afghan does not understand
 
 A VISIT TO MASH HAD. 369 
 
 such delicate distinctions. He believes that men can fight 
 if they wish. Nor are the grave reports of language un- 
 favourable to England used by high officials in Herat to 
 be disregarded. Of the Naib Salar, who commanded at 
 Panjdeh, the following remark made to the Governor of 
 Herat is reported : " I am glad that we fought the Rus- 
 sians at Panjdeh, for now we know who are our friends 
 and who our foes. Those at least who bade us fight and 
 left us to be annihilated, who gave us advice and not 
 arms, are not our real friends." What, then, will be the 
 feeling of these, our allies, when they know that the 
 British Government has urged them to shed their blood 
 for territory that it now seems disposed to yield to Rus- 
 sian braggadocio ? 
 
 While the Afghans, then, are disappointed by recent 
 events, how have the Turkomans and the Chahar Aimak 
 tribes been moved by the palpable proofs of Russian, power 
 and British impotence that they have just witnessed ? The 
 Turkomans to a man hate Russian rule, and but a month ago 
 the Saruks of Panjdeh were ready, ay, and offered to rise 
 and attack the Russian force encamped before the Afghan 
 position at Pul-i-khishti. At the same time the Saruks of 
 Yulatan assured their brethren of Panjdeh that they longed 
 for nothing more than a Russian defeat, and that they per- 
 sonally would not fire one shot on the Russian side. The 
 Tekkes, though sworn foes of the Saruks, none the less detest 
 Russian rule. There is no reason to doubt that the genuine 
 hatred of the Russian that characterises the Turkoman and 
 the Persian is shared by the Chahar Ainiak. Indeed the 
 cordiality and friendliness that these displayed to the Com- 
 mission on its first arrival in their country is sufficient evi- 
 dence of their goodwill to the Briton. Moreover, one if not 
 more of these tribes are united by close ties with the Saruks 
 of Panjdeh. And now they have seen the British Commission, 
 that came amongst them five months ago with offers of friend- 
 ship and protection, ignominiously ousted by Russian vio- 
 lence. It was the men of these very tribes who then inquired 
 how the Commission, with so small a body of troops, pro- 
 
 2 A
 
 370 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 posed to resist the Russians if they thought fit to settle this 
 frontier question by arms instead of diplomacy. Little we 
 thought then how true was the forecast of those untutored 
 Asiatics. It was not for a month or two after that indeed 
 not until Khartoum fell that Russia openly showed her hand. 
 Why was a Commission ever sent, if it was not to be sup- 
 ported loyally and manfully ? From the very first this sup- 
 port was denied it. It is but the other day that the painful 
 admission was drawn from Mr Gladstone that the demand for 
 the withdrawal of Russian troops from Pul-i-Khatun had 
 "virtually lapsed." This was indeed the first fatal lapsus, 
 and all the subsequent evils are its fruits. Give an inch, and 
 an ell is taken. So it has been with Badkis. It has grad- 
 ually " lapsed " into Russian hands. 
 
 Since the early part of this century, when first the inhabit- 
 ants of Central Asia began to realise the impending danger of 
 Russian aggressiveness, England has been the Power to which 
 they all looked for help. In the hopes and fears of these races 
 she might have found a serviceable weapon to check Russian 
 ambition. In the days of Sir John Malcolm and Sir Harford 
 Jones, strenuous efforts were made to maintain the supremacy 
 of British influence at the Court of the Shah ; but later on, 
 Persia was left to the tender mercies and forcible embraces of 
 the Russian Bear. Forty odd years ago the missions of Ab- 
 bott and Shakespeare, Stoddart and Conolly, to Khiva and 
 Bokhara, had some political significance ; but since then there 
 has been little or no intercourse between England and the 
 Central Asian khanates. In fact, the policy upon which the 
 English Government decided appears to be this that a cer- 
 tain zone of territory beyond the Indian frontier should be 
 kept exclusively under British influence, while all beyond that 
 zone should be left to Russia. There seems to be no ground 
 for finding fault with the soundness of that policy, provided 
 it had been opportunely and firmly enforced. But it has not 
 been so enforced. The British Government has ever been 
 4t too late " and too undecided in its moves. In 1870, when 
 the Clarendon-Gortchakoff agreement came on the tapis, it 
 was " too late." Russia then steadfastly refused to recognise
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 371 
 
 any "neutral zone" north of the Oxus corresponding with 
 Afghanistan to the south. So, finally, England had to con- 
 tent itself with a recognition from Russia that Afghanistan 
 was entirely beyond the sphere of her (Russia's) influence. 
 But even then the fatal error was made of defining with heed- 
 less vagueness the northern frontier of Afghanistan. Between 
 the years 1869 and 1873 our relations with Amir Sher Ali 
 Khan were on a fairly amicable footing, and a Government of 
 foresight and discrimination should have then and there availed 
 itself of that favourable opportunity for surveying and clearly 
 demarcating that frontier. Had that been done, no Commis- 
 sion would have been necessary in 1884-85, and Russia and 
 England^ would possibly not now be at daggers-drawn. Once the 
 Russians had installed themselves at Merv, and drawn within 
 their octopodian arms the Tekkes, the Salors, and part of the 
 Saruks, they thereby established just the shadow of a specious 
 claim to the suzerainty of all the Turkomans, and of all the 
 territory inhabited or frequented by them. " Too late " again. 
 The frontier should have been fixed before the Russians got to 
 Merv. Doubtless the fanaticism and obstructiveness of the 
 Afghan have been a source of difficulty ; but the mistake made 
 was in not* riding roughshod over such obstacles. The Amirs 
 have been too much petted, and then when they have proved 
 false and obstreperous they have been chastised with great 
 severity. 
 
 It was reported here a few days ago that Prince Dondukoff- 
 Korsakoff was coming to Sarakhs ; then it was said he would 
 not come beyond Ashkabad ; and lastly, we hear that he never 
 crossed the Caspian. General Komaroff and Colonel Ali- 
 khanoff having returned from Panjdeh to Sarakhs, thence 
 went to the Zulfikar Pass. Komaroff has sent to the Asaf- 
 ud-daulah, Governor of Khorasan, two rifles, said to have 
 been taken from the Afghans at Panjdeh. The one proves to 
 be a Winchester rifle and the other a Snider. The object, no 
 doubt, of sending them, is to persuade the Persians (who love 
 the Russians only from fear) that the Afghans were all armed 
 with breech-loaders, and that consequently the Russian victory 
 was really a credit to Russian military skill and prowess.
 
 372 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 These rifles, I now hear, were part of the present given to 
 Turkoman chiefs in January last, all of which presents Gen- 
 eral Komaroff, actuated by a narrow-minded jealousy, confis- 
 cated after the occupation of Panjdeh, and subsequently, it 
 seems, distributed among his friends. I paid a visit to the 
 Governor two days ago, and I then took the opportunity of 
 informing him that the Afghans, although they might possibly 
 have had one or two good rifles, were almost exclusively armed 
 with percussion muzzle-loaders, and that these the troops 
 having spent the night of 29th March in the trenches were 
 damp and missed fire. I also made a point of bringing to his 
 notice the dastardly, ungenerous behaviour of the Russians 
 towards Captain Yate and the other British officers there after 
 the victory. 
 
 It is a bad omen that at the first rencontre between Eussia 
 and England in Asia the latter should look like going to the 
 wall. Some consider that the British Commission should 
 have remained in Panjdeh. It may be reasonably surmised 
 that the Russians would not have dared to attack and occupy 
 Panjdeh when under the segis of the British Commission ; and 
 if they had done so, they would have had to calculate, not 
 with a weak force of Afghans only, but with the'open hos- 
 tility of 3000 or 4000 Saruks of Panjdeh and the covert 
 enmity of their own subject Tekkes and Saruks. However, 
 as that place has now passed into Russian hands, we may 
 leave it and fix our attention on Herat. It may be reasonably 
 apprehended that, despite all efforts of the Amir to reassure 
 his subjects, the fall of Herat before a Russian army would 
 wound them to the very core. What would be the result of 
 the capture of Herat, when the capture of Panjdeh has stirred 
 in Afghan breasts exceeding bitterness against the English ? 
 In the event, therefore, of fresh difficulty with Russia, it 
 seems almost certain that the Commission will withdraw into 
 Persia. Not that the feelings of the Persians are by any 
 means too friendly ; but in the present instance there seems 
 reason to believe that the Shah would, in the event of war 
 between England and Russia, preserve a strict neutrality, 
 while praying fervently the while for the defeat of the latter.
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 373 
 
 No Persian really loves the Paissians, but the latter have 
 persuaded the former that by keeping on good terms with 
 them they will best consult their own interests. Hence the 
 Eussophilism now prevalent in Khorasan. The Prussian, 
 authorities in Central Asia continually send presents to the 
 Asaf-ud-daulah. This accounts for his discourtesy to the 
 Commission in February last, in neglecting, if not declining, 
 to collect supplies for its use at Zohrabad. It was not until 
 he received peremptory orders from the Shall to aid the 
 Commission in every possible way, that he saw fit to modify 
 his obstructive attitude. At the same time, several Persian 
 noblemen in Khorasan of reputed British sympathies were 
 either removed from their appointments, or, to use the term 
 commonly current in Persia, " squeezed " i.e., made to pay 
 up a considerable sum of money. The presence of an Anglo- 
 phile governor at New Sarakhs would obviously be highly 
 inconvenient to the Kussians. 
 
 A few days ago I met at the house of Mirza Abbas Khan, 
 the British Agent here, Sardar Hashim Khan, son of Sardar 
 Mohammed Sharif Khan, brother of the late Amir Sher 
 Ali. When his father took refuge in India, after the revolt 
 of Yakub Khan against the Amir, about 1872, Hashim Khan 
 accompanied him. About 1877, however, the Amir having 
 overcome his resentment towards his brother, sent for his 
 the brother's children to Kabul. There Hashim Khan was 
 treated with marked favour, and ultimately married the Amir's 
 favourite daughter. In 1878 he shared Sher Ali's flight from 
 Kabul to Turkistan ; and it is said that the Amir died witli 
 his head upon his breast. 1 On the accession of Sardar 
 Mohammed Yakub Khan, he returned to Kabul, and re- 
 mained there until the conclusion of the arrangement that 
 placed Sardar Abdur Rahman Khan on the throne. Then he 
 withdrew to Persia, and attached himself to the fortunes 
 of Sardar Mohammed Ayub Khan, who is now a prisoner, 
 with Musa Jan, Yakub Khan's son, in Teheran. Sardar 
 
 1 For a good account of Hashim Khan's conduct after Sher Ali's death, and 
 the manner in which his claim to the throne was received by the Afghan 
 people, see Yavorski's account of General Stolietoff s Mission to Kabul, 1878-79.
 
 374 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Hashim Khan (or, to give him his full name, Mohammed 
 Hashim Khan) is some thirty-two years of age, of average 
 height, rather portly, of somewhat independent and brusque 
 manners, and possessed of average mental vigour and intel- 
 ligence. Although nominally an adherent of Ayub Khan, 
 there is little doubt that he aims at attaining the throne of 
 Kabul himself. Not unnaturally he is somewhat embittered 
 against the reigning Amir, and the Government that selected 
 him as ruler of Afghanistan. But at the same time he 
 admitted him to be a ruler possessed of both military and 
 administrative talents. The features in his management of 
 Afghan affairs which he deemed worthy of censure were in 
 the main those that I have heard censured very severely by 
 the best-informed Persian authorities here viz., the indis- 
 criminating severity with which he has removed, whether 
 by the sword and the cord, or by exile, every individual 
 of rank or influence whose fidelity he suspected, replacing 
 them by creatures of his own, who are invariably, if men of 
 rank and family, incapable and void of intellect, and, if pos- 
 sessed of ability, of low origin, and exercising no influence 
 in right of birth. With such subordinates, it is argued, the 
 Amir cannot possibly unite around his own person the sym- 
 pathies and attachment of the diverse elements of Afghan 
 nationality. No Amir, in fact, since Dost Mohammed Khan, 
 has succeeded in doing so. Hence, although at the present 
 moment Abdur Rahman Khan makes his power felt and his 
 orders obeyed in the remotest corners of his kingdom, the 
 military resources of the nation would never rally round him 
 in the event of a serious danger threatening from without 
 as, for instance, a Eussian invasion. That one should fre- 
 quently hear in Mashhad openly expressed doubts of Ab- 
 dur Eahman's fidelity to England is only to be expected. 
 However, one remark made by Sardar Hashim Khan struck 
 me forcibly, because it had the air of a prophecy ; and I had 
 reason to believe, from information received, that it was not 
 far removed from the truth. He said, " I will tell you what 
 the Amir will say at the conference with the Viceroy of 
 India. He will decline the aid of British troops if they are
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 375 
 
 offered to him ; but he will ask for money, rifles, and guns." 
 I may as well add that the Sardar did not hesitate to insin- 
 uate that the money and arms would all be promptly de- 
 spatched towards Samarcand ; and that when the Amir found 
 he could get no more, he would declare himself openly as a 
 friend of Russia. This, however, is a statement that must be 
 received with very great caution. Albeit Abdur Rahman Khan 
 spent thirteen years in Russian Turkistan, any charge of 
 Russophilism against him seems to be baseless. There is no 
 doubt that he is very reluctant to admit British troops into 
 his territory, and that he makes use of the traditional fanati- 
 cism of the Afghan people as an argument against a British 
 occupation of any portion of his dominions. That such a 
 statement is aught but a diplomatic falsehood no one now 
 will believe. Since the Commission left India, the public 
 has had ample means of gauging the depths of Afghan hate. 
 Here it is invariably maintained, alike by Afghan and 
 Persian, that the people of Herat and Kandahar would, from 
 fear of Russia, welcome a British occupation, if not annexa- 
 tion. The Kabulis. on the contrary, are opposed thereto. 
 Sardar Hashim Khan expressed the self-same views ; but it is 
 extremely doubtful if he would repeat them from the throne 
 of Kabul. The fact is, that the Amirs have always felt that 
 their power and importance would surfer a serious diminution 
 as soon as the rivalry of England and Russia in Central Asia 
 came to a decisive issue. They know their own value as a 
 bulwark against Russian aggression towards India, and they 
 desire to sustain that value as long as possible. Conse- 
 quently, while they consider that the acceptance of British 
 gold and arms in no way detracts from their importance nay, 
 indeed, since it may be represented in the light of tribute and 
 not a subsidy, rather enhances it on the other hand, they 
 know that the defence of Afghan territory by British troops 
 against a Russian invasion would strike a fatal blow at their 
 independence. They could no longer pose as the allies, but 
 only as the proUgfe of Great Britain. The same motives 
 have urged them ever to oppose the establishment of British 
 agencies or residencies in the capital and other large cities of
 
 376 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Afghanistan. They regarded it as but the thin edge of the 
 wedge ; but their allegations of Afghan fanaticism have, as a 
 rule, been gross exaggerations and where, as in the case of 
 Cavagnari, a British Eesident has seemingly fallen a victim 
 to that fanaticism, the outrage has really had its origin in the 
 false impressions and apprehensions to which the Amirs 
 have given currency, and by which they have made an out- 
 ward display of regulating their conduct. Sardar Hashim 
 Khan attributed Cavagnari's murder solely to the jealousy 
 with which Yakub Khan prevented him from associating 
 either with the Afghan chiefs or the people. " Do you 
 think," said Hashim Khan, "that if he had gone abroad 
 among the people, and had had open dealings with them, 
 whether social or commercial, they would not have learnt to 
 appreciate his good qualities ; and if he had been permitted 
 to exchange social courtesies with the Afghan chiefs and 
 nobles, to entertain and be entertained by them, that a 
 mutual friendship would not have sprung up ? What the 
 Amir did was to cut him off entirely from everybody, and 
 to receive him only in strict privacy and in the presence of 
 two or three of his confidants. Consequently, when an out- 
 break of popular feeling took place, Cavagnari was of necessity 
 sacrificed." Such is the opinion of an Afghan of high rank 
 present in Kabul during the massacre of Cavagnari and his 
 comrades. But what struck me as of especial moment in the 
 present crisis was Hashim Khan's vehement insistence that 
 the Afghan blood shed at Panjdeh by English instigation 
 must be avenged by England. Otherwise, he said, let Eng- 
 land never again look to the Afghans to fight her battles. 
 And yet, when this is the state of excited Afghan feeling (an 
 eyewitness told me that when the news of the Panjdeh defeat 
 was reported to the Afghan community here many of them 
 shed silent tears over it), one sees proposals current that the 
 very land they fought for should be ceded to Russia. It is 
 impossible to read or think of such proposals with calmness. 
 In the event of a war, it is important to us not only that the 
 Afghans should be our allies, but that the Persians should be, 
 if not our allies, at least neutral. It is a matter of vital im-
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 377 
 
 portance to Eussia to be aide to draw supplies from Khorasan 
 for her forces operating in trans-Caspiana. It should therefore 
 be the endeavour of the British Government to prevent that. 
 Reliable authorities here say that " Persia will sit neutral with 
 folded hands, and pray God that Eussia may be defeated." 
 However, there is no reason to suppose that the Shah, if he 
 received sufficient guarantees of future support from England, 
 would not stand forth as her active ally. With him it is a 
 choice between hope from England and dread of Eussia. It 
 might restore affairs to see a British force occupying Kanda- 
 har by the orders of a British Ministry. This seems a step 
 sadly needed both for the safety of India and the due control 
 and reformation of Afghanistan. Erom Kandahar a salutary 
 influence and judicious control might well be established on 
 the arbitrary exercise of power of the Amirs, on the tur- 
 bulence of the tribal chiefs, and on the uncivilised condition 
 of the populace. It is quite time that this control, similar to 
 that exercised among the feudatory princes of India, should 
 be established in Afghanistan. An independent is inconsist- 
 ent w r ith a subsidised Afghanistan. A judiciously exercised 
 British control would tend both to remove Afghan prejudices 
 against foreign intrusion, to cultivate and civilise the people, 
 and to improve generally the condition of the country. It is 
 but right that England should exercise the same paramount 
 influence in Afghanistan that Eussia does over Bokhara. 
 
 I purpose in a day or two to return to the camp at Tirpul. 
 I have had a very pleasant and interesting visit here. Not 
 that there is anything very striking in the place itself, al- 
 though the fact that it has been seldom visited by Europeans, 
 and that until recently such visitors have either not been 
 allowed to enter the city at all, or have been obliged to avoid 
 frequenting the public thoroughfares, invests it with a certain 
 halo of mystery and novelty. Taking a bird's-eye view of 
 the city, one sees nothing but mud-walls and trees, with per- 
 haps a tall badgir (wind-tower) standing out conspicuously 
 here and there. These badgirs are a great godsend in the 
 summer. Some days ago I was taking a look at a handsome 
 mansion (in the garden opposite the telegraph office) which
 
 378 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 was being prepared for the reception of the Commander-in- 
 Chief here. I found that the wind from the badgirs was 
 carried down into cellars below the ground-floor, and then 
 disseminated through the house by gratings in the floor of 
 each room and passage. The advantage of this arrangement 
 is, that the air, which when it enters the badgir is in summer 
 warm, becomes cooled in its passage through the cellars, and 
 is distributed cool through the house. One of the most admir- 
 able arrangements in a Persian house is the central tank. 
 This is generally situated in a lofty dark chamber, and is 
 often five or six feet below the level of the surrounding 
 rooms. Its floor is of cool stone, or in the houses of the 
 wealthy and noble of white marble. Around this in the hot 
 weather the sybaritic Persian sits (when he does not feel dis- 
 posed for the society of the inmates of his andarun Anglic^, 
 harem), drinks wine, arrack, or sherbet, tea or coffee, as the 
 spirit moveth him, and smokes the ever-circling kalian. 
 
 Mashhad is full of temptations to spend money. In the 
 first place, association with any of the great men of the place 
 is an expensive luxury. When Mr Condie Stephen was here, 
 the Governor used to send him once or twice a-week a trifling 
 present, such as fruit, vegetables, sweetmeats, a lamb or a 
 duck. For each of these attentions a douceur of 1 was paid 
 to the servants of the Governor. When Mr Herbert paid his 
 farewell visit to the Governor, I accompanied him. On our 
 return, we were escorted home by a half-a-dozen of farrashes, 
 who received a parting tip of 2. They had the insolence to 
 say that it was not sufficient. So much for Persian gratitude. 
 I am thankful to say that as a humble subaltern, and one 
 residing here in no official capacity, I have been able to 
 escape these irregular sources of expenditure. However, I 
 have been let in for an accidental one that promises to cost 
 me a pretty penny. It may be remembered that I mentioned 
 that a chuprassi in my service robbed me at Kuhsan of pro- 
 perty to the value of about Rs. 600. I always suspected he had 
 gone to Mashhad. A few days ago a revolver was brought to 
 me, with a request from Mirza Abbas Khan, the British Agent, 
 that I would let him know the value of it. I looked at it,
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 379 
 
 named its worth it was one of Webley's latest and best but 
 never dreamed for a moment it was the very revolver that 
 had been stolen from me at Kuhsan. Two days ago a private 
 servant, who had come from Tirpul on a pilgrimage to the 
 shrine of Imam Reza, came to me and said he had just seen, 
 outside the limits of " bast," the man who had robbed me at 
 Kuhsan. Had he been in bast, no one could have touched 
 him. I at once went off to the British Agent, and sent three 
 of his men with the informer to seize the thief. Within half 
 an hour I had the satisfaction of seeing him in custody. 
 Albeit he has since then persistently averred that he has 
 disposed of all the property he stole, my revolver, with pouch 
 and belt, were found in his dwelling, and my watch in a 
 shopkeeper's abode. The latter I had to repurchase, and by 
 the time I have remunerated everybody who has had a finger 
 in this pie, I shall probably be fervently wishing I had never 
 caught the delinquent. However, Inshallah, he will have his 
 toes tickled a la Perse. Indeed the merciless minions of the 
 Karguzar suggested the curtailment of one of his ears this 
 morning. But I deprecated mutilation. I was desirous of 
 taking the man to camp and there dealing with him either as 
 a British or Afghan subject. However, I was informed that 
 his removal from Persian territory might be resented by the 
 Persian officials, and being reported to Teheran, be made a 
 subject of complaint, and so cause some unpleasantness. I 
 shall therefore leave him in the hands of Mirza Abbas Khan, 
 who promises to see that he gets his due. 
 
 A third and purely voluntary source of getting rid of 
 spare cash is the treasures of the bazaar. They are of end- 
 less number and variety, and uncommonly seductive. Let 
 us divide them into two classes, hard and soft. Under the 
 first we may class damascened swords, daggers (khanjar or 
 2nslikdbz) and knives, coats of chain-mail and steel helmets, 
 and a great variety of utensils carved from a sort of soap- 
 stone, and what is much more valuable, from a pink-hued 
 alabaster. Of old pottery and tiles (kashi) I have seen 
 nothing here worth buying, and not one specimen of that 
 old glass with the reflet metalliquc which fetches such high
 
 380 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 prices in the European market. The fact is, it has almost 
 all been bought up by Messrs Ziegler & Co., and other 
 firms in Persia, not to mention private purchasers, who 
 supply the great marts of Europe with these articles of 
 vertu. It is much the same with kashi. Only in out-of-the- 
 way places may specimens now be picked up by the chance 
 traveller. Some good MS. copies of the Persian classics may 
 be obtained here at moderate prices. The introduction 
 of printing into the East has materially lessened the value 
 of MSS. For two or three guineas, a year's labour of some 
 accomplished scribe can be bought, Under the head of soft 
 fabrics come the manufactures of the Tekke and Samk Tur- 
 komans (which are much cheaper here than at Panjdeh or 
 Bala Murghab), the carpets of Kain, Mashhad, and Birjand, 
 the silk embroideries of Bokhara, the silks and shawls of 
 Bokhara or local manufacture, and a score of other things. 
 As, however, aniline dyes are now largely used in Persia (it 
 is only a year or two ago that I read in a Persian weekly that 
 the Shah had forbidden the use of aniline dyes under pain of 
 severe penalty), the carpets now made there cannot compare 
 with the older class of article. Some of the old Kain carpets 
 are of beautiful patterns and texture. However, at the pres- 
 ent moment, when one has collected a quantity of the articles 
 specified above, it becomes a matter for grave consideration 
 how to get them to England or India. With war impending 
 with Eussia, it is scarcely advisable to augment impedimenta. 
 One of not the least interesting features of a visit at this 
 juncture to Mashhad is the opportunity it offers for learning 
 the opinions of well-informed Persians and Afghans of high 
 position on the Central Asian question. It is, of course, not 
 to be supposed that they would give expression without re- 
 serve to their real views ; but at the same time, it may not 
 without reason be presumed that they are not entirely false. 
 The present Governor of Khorasan has the reputation of 
 being most amicably disposed towards Russia. Indeed his 
 unfriendly attitude towards the British Commission in Feb- 
 ruary last, when reported to Teheran, drew down upon him 
 the censure of the Shah. Naturally his Russian predilections
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 381 
 
 are not paraded before an Englishman. He was formerly 
 Karguzar (the official in each province with whom the agents 
 of foreign Powers transact their business) at Tabriz, and then 
 Governor of Resht. The Russians seemingly maintain inti- 
 mate relations with him. They now keep up a native agent 
 at Mashhad, by name Mirza Karim Khan, on a reputed (his 
 own statement, I believe ergo divide by four) salary of 800 
 per annum. The British Agent gets, it is said, about 450 a- 
 year. The Russian emissary who brought the rifles from Panj- 
 deh is one Yahya Beg, and is said to be engaged in purchasing 
 supplies in Khorasan for the Russian troops in the trans- 
 Caspian territory. 1 It is scarcely to be hoped that the Shah 
 will have the courage to declare himself at the outset actively 
 hostile to Russia. He fears too much the after-consequences 
 of her resentment, if victorious. Like a true Oriental, he will 
 probably await the progress of events ; and then, if he sees his 
 way to profiting thereby, unite his fortunes to those of the 
 apparently winning side. Whether England can or will hold 
 forth to him inducements sufficient to secure his co-operation 
 against Russia, is a point for the Ministry to decide. Rotten 
 as Persia is to the very core, and void as the Persian army is 
 of organisation, and even of courage, she might still become 
 an unpleasant thorn in the Russian side. Her hostility would 
 necessitate the maintenance of a Russian force on the frontiers 
 of Azerbaijan, and the strengthening of the line of communica- 
 tions in trans-Caspiana, supposing always that Russia elected 
 or was able to make Herat one of the theatres of war. At all 
 events, the hostility of Persia would detain a large body of 
 Russian troops on her northern frontier, and effectually prevent 
 their operating actively elsewhere. It is just possible that the 
 presence of a powerful British army at Herat might turn the 
 scale of the Shah's wavering mind in favour of a British 
 alliance. With a victorious British army it is more than 
 probable he would evince cordial sympathy, and sympathy 
 would doubtless develop into co-operation. It would appear, 
 however, that the despatch of an army to Herat is not at 
 present part of the English plan of campaign. Still an Anglo- 
 
 1 I saw him at Kuhsan in July.
 
 382 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Turkish array in Armenia would be no less persuasive. What 
 he would fear, if he sided against Eussia, is, that he would find 
 the Cossacks in Teheran before British aid could arrive. With 
 his capital secured, and possessed of satisfactory guarantees of 
 future protection, he would doubtless consider it conducive to 
 his own advantage to become the active ally of England. 
 
 That the Russians are but biding their time to encroach 
 farther on the northern frontier of Persia, there is little 
 doubt. That they have fixed their covetous eye on Kalat- 
 i-Nadiri is well known. The entire water-supply of the 
 Atak is at present in the control of the Kurdish and Turkish 
 tribes dwelling in the mountainous tract from Daragez to 
 Kalat-i-Nadiri. The Russians are bound in self-interest to 
 lose no time in getting the sources of this water-supply into 
 their own hands. 
 
 Itt May. 
 
 I start for Tirpul to-morrow. I have confined my walks 
 and rides since I arrived very much to the southern side of 
 the city, and consequently know little of the other quarters. 
 It is unpleasant frequenting the more crowded parts and 
 the bazaars unless attended by an imposing retinue. Al- 
 though the Governor is reported to have recently boasted 
 that the walls of Mashhad would hold in check a Russian 
 army, I may as well remark that weaker defences I never set 
 eyes on. Instead of the massive thickness of the defences of 
 Herat and Kandahar, there is nothing but a weak structure of 
 mud some 20 feet high. The citadel is on the south side of 
 the city, and is no citadel at all. The Governor's palace, 
 which is of considerable extent, adjoins it. East of the 
 citadel gate is the Idgah gate, and west the Sarab and Bala- 
 Khiyaban gates. Entering by the latter, which faces west- 
 ward, one traverses the Khiyaban or main street of Mashhad, 
 which runs east to the precincts of the mosque of Imam 
 Reza, and past that to the eastern gate of the city. It is a 
 fine wide street, with a broad canal full of running water 
 in the centre, both sides of which are lined with fine chinars, 
 poplars, mulberries, willows, &c. Of the bazaars I saw little 
 or nothing, as they are mostly within the limits of last.
 
 A VISIT TO MASHHAD. 383 
 
 Of the buildings and innumerable by-streets nothing need 
 be said, except in execration of the corn-teasing cobbles, 
 or rather boulders, with which they are paved. Occasion- 
 ally one gets a glimpse of a garden, refreshing with its 
 budding and blooming trees and shrubs. The great mosque 
 of course I have only seen at a distance. The decorations 
 of the interior are described as very fine, and the throng- 
 ing crowds of devotees within the precincts of the mosque 
 as a marvellous sight. I paid a farewell visit to the Asaf- 
 ud-daulah yesterday. He was very affable and confidential, 
 and gave me in mysterious tones a history of Russian pro- 
 gress in Central Asia. I could have administered to him a 
 still more edifying lecture. His information, he added, was 
 obtained from a Russian book which had been translated 
 into Persian by the Shah's orders, and with a copy of 
 which the Shah had presented him. His palace is entered 
 by a broad gateway passing under the quarters occupied by 
 the officer of the guard. The arms of the guard are piled in 
 front of the gateway, under the eye of the sentry. Between 
 the bayonets of the piled arms are laid the colours, or rather 
 colour (I saw only one), of the regiment. Hard by the palace 
 is Artillery Square. On the north side of it are a number 
 of gun-sheds (a dozen or more), each said to hold two or three 
 guns. In front stand two antique brass muzzle-loaders. 
 Hard by, new artillery barracks are being constructed. 
 
 A few nights ago one of the Persian telegraph officials 
 here entertained us at dinner. He is a descendant of Path 
 Ali Shah, a colonel in the Persian service, and enjoys a salary 
 of 48 rupees (12 tomans) a -month. But none the less 
 he lives like a prince, as he is. He has many silver- 
 headed kalians, spoons of silver filigree-work, and a beauti- 
 fully inlaid backgammon-board over which he loses a sov- 
 ereign in five minutes with the utmost calmness, which I 
 could not help admiring. He played with another prince, Baud 
 Mirza, scion of the house of Nadir Shah, and though he lost 
 heavily, remained quite unruffled. The game is played almost 
 exactly as we play it. A stake of halt-a,-toman (two rupees) 
 was commenced with ; and then, as each player thought his
 
 384 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 chances of success improving, he staked an extra karan or 
 two, so that frequently in an exciting game the stakes amount 
 to from two to three tomans. Before we retired our host had 
 lost seven tomans, or more than half his month's salary. The 
 winner became very lively (he drank freely of raw arrack), 
 and invoked repeatedly the name of her Majesty the Queen 
 and the British Government, and as freely cursed the Eussians. 
 The Persians do not actually dine till a late hour of the even- 
 ing, 10 or 11 P.M. ; the earlier hours they while away with 
 tea, wine, arrack, and light refreshments, such as bread and 
 cheese, sweetmeats, pickles, lettuce, spring onions, &c. The 
 kalian and cigarettes are smoked, and probably chess or 
 backgammon played. Finally, they squat down to the 
 serious meal, and having partaken freely of that, retire to 
 rest. Persian cookery is worthy of all praise. I have tasted 
 some excellent dishes since I came here. Faisanjan is a 
 delicious dish, consisting of chicken or mutton, with a sauce 
 of walnuts and pomegranate-juice. Khurisht-i-alu is meat 
 cooked with dried plums. Persian meat is always tender. 
 Can we say that for our British cookery ? We might learn 
 much from the Persian cuisine. Some of the Persian sweet- 
 meats are delicious. The Asaf-ud-daulah has just sent me a 
 trayful. It is an honour doubtless, but I had hoped to 
 have been spared that honour. It is too dear at the price. 
 Opinions about the Asaf-ud-daulah differ. His long resi- 
 dence at Resht and Tabriz has brought him much in con- 
 tact with Russians, and hence his opinions about them 
 should carry some weight. Of his ability, I think there is 
 no doubt ; but, unless report much maligns him, he is a 
 tyrant of the deepest dye.
 
 385 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 
 
 TIRPUL, 10th May. 
 
 THE third, and I believe we all hope the last phase of 
 the Commission has commenced. The first phase was the 
 march from India to Herat, the signal success attending 
 which seemed to augur well for the future. The second 
 phase, while, to say the least, adding nothing to the repu- 
 tation of the Gladstonian Ministry, has shed additional 
 lustre on the Commission itself. Europe has seen a hand- 
 ful of British officers, receiving from their Government a 
 wavering support more embarrassing than no support at all, 
 resolutely and steadfastly opposing, at times at the risk of 
 their lives, a strong Russian force backed by the whole 
 strength of its Government and the influence of a powerful 
 military party. Under such circumstances the Commission, 
 albeit unsuccessful, will retire from the scene of its labours 
 strong in the conviction that it has manfully done its duty 
 to its country. If an explanation of the true causes of its 
 non-success be required, let it be sought at the hands of those 
 who still, mirabile dictu, control the destinies of the British 
 empire. 
 
 The order from the Home Government directing Sir Peter 
 Lumsden, Colonel Stewart, and Captain Barrow to return to 
 England without delay, reached Tirpul on the morning of the 
 8th. Colonel Stewart being absent he left on the 4th with 
 Major Holdich and Captain Peacocke for the neighbourhood 
 of Herat had to be recalled, and is expected here in a day 
 
 2 B
 
 386 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 or two. The Commissioner and his private secretary started 
 for England at daybreak on the 9th. The previous evening 
 they dined with us at the Big Mess, and the cordial manner 
 in which Colonel Eidgeway's proposal of General Lumsden's 
 health and safe journey was received by all, proved that while 
 amongst us he had secured the sympathy and goodwill of all. 
 In his reply the General struck a sympathetic chord in the 
 hearts of all his listeners when he said, " I trust to God we 
 have all done our duty to our country." It is a great solace 
 to any man to feel that, despite governmental stumbling- 
 blocks, he has walked straight in the path of duty to his 
 country. 
 
 On the 6th of February, Colonel Eidgeway left Bala Mur- 
 ghab. On the 8th or 9th, when nearing Panjdeh, he heard 
 that the Eussians had driven in the Afghan outpost at Aimak- 
 jar. He hastened on to Panjdeh, reporting at the same time 
 to General Lumsden. After some correspondence, it was de- 
 cided that Colonel Eidgeway should place himself in com- 
 munication with the Eussians, and endeavour to fix a limit 
 beyond which neither Afghan nor Eussian should pass. With 
 this view he addressed a letter to the Eussian officer in com- 
 mand on the line from Merv to Hazrat Imam, and on the 
 evening of the 12th February started from Panjdeh down the 
 Murghab. Advancing as far as Sanduk Kushan, some 30 or 
 35 miles north of Panjdeh, he was met by no Eussian officer. 
 They declined the proposed interview, as it would manifestly 
 interfere with their hostile projects. On the 16th February, 
 Colonel Eidgeway returned to Panjdeh, and found that Eus- 
 sian intrigue had so alarmed the Saruks that an outbreak was 
 imminent. This outbreak, it was feared, would take the form 
 of an attack on the weak miserably weak Afghan garrison. 
 Nor would the Saruk headmen visit Colonel Eidgeway. This 
 was entirely due to the injudicious conduct, prompted partly 
 loy jealousy and partly by a desire to magnify his own im- 
 portance, of Kazi Saad-ud-din, the Amir's agent. He from 
 first to last, by threats and almost by violence, had stood in 
 the way of free intercourse between the Saruks and the 
 representatives of Great Britain. Colonel Eidgeway saw but
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 3 8 7 
 
 one remedy for this evil, and that was to constrain the Amir's 
 agent to rescind his veto. The main body of the Commission 
 reached Kalah-i-maur on the 18th February. Colonel Ridge- 
 way rode there (30 miles), obtained from the Amir's agent, 
 in black and white, permission for the Saruk elders to visit 
 him, and returned to Paiijdeh on the 19th. I may add that 
 what put the finishing-touch to Saruk fear and indignation 
 was the discovery that the Commission, instead of remaining, 
 as they hoped, amongst them, was bound for Gulran. They 
 conceived that the British Government meant to leave them 
 to the tender mercies of the Russians. But the British Com- 
 mission did not mean to forsake them altogether. Colonel 
 Ridgeway remained in Panjdeh with a small escort of some 
 10 sowars ; while Mr Merk and Dr Owen, with 50 sabres, 
 under Captain Heath, remained in support at Kalah-i-maur. 
 Dr Owen shortly afterwards went to Panjdeh. 
 
 When Colonel Ridgeway returned to Panjdeh on the 19th, 
 and made it known that, with the concurrence of the Amir's 
 agent, his doors were open to every Saruk, all the headmen 
 nocked to him. They stated plainly and fairly that, unless 
 the British Government could assure them of its protection, 
 they must in self-defence make overtures to the Russians. 
 They were asked and advised, under the circumstances, simply 
 to remain neutral to side actively neither with Afghan nor 
 Russian. The result of this interview was to allay somewhat 
 the apprehensions of the Saruks, and that, too, only just in 
 time. On the 20th February, Colonel Alikhanoff, with a body 
 of Cossack and Turkoman horse (perhaps from 300 to 400 
 strong), surrounded the Afghan outpost at Urush Doshan, 
 some 16 miles north of Ak-tapa, and then pressing on, made, 
 at about 4 P.M. the same day, a hostile demonstration against 
 the Afghan position, which extended from Ak-tapa on the 
 right to Pul-i-khishti on the left. This demonstration was 
 so made as to produce an impression that a strong attacking 
 force was at hand. The Afghans were few in number, pos- 
 sessed only the ammunition in their pouches, and held a very 
 extended position. However, they stood firm, and an Afghan 
 officer riding forward, warned the Russian officer in command
 
 388 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 that if he advanced farther the Afghans would at once open 
 fire. After some parleying, during which references had to 
 be made on the one side to Colonel Alikhanoff, and on the 
 other to General Ghaus-ud-din, it was arranged that a Eus- 
 sian officer under Afghan escort should be allowed to advance 
 as far as Pul-i-khishti to count the arches, and that then the 
 Russians should withdraw. It is impossible to conjecture 
 why this imbecile concession was made by the Afghan gen- 
 eral. Suffice it to say that the Eussian officer counted the 
 arches with great care (possibly the corner of his eye took in 
 a general survey of the Afghan position), and the Eussian 
 squadrons then retired. Had Alikhanoff but known the 
 weakness of the defending force ! But he could not afford to 
 risk a disaster. As it was, both Saruk and Afghan looked 
 upon his retirement as a repulse, and the British cause pro- 
 fited thereby. I must mention that prior to this demonstra- 
 tion some correspondence had passed between Colonels Eidge- 
 way and Alikhanoff. The tone adopted by the former was 
 pacific, as coming from a member of a peaceable Commission ; 
 the reply of the latter was openly hostile, and apparently 
 sought to invest the British Commission with the character 
 of a belligerent. On the morning of the 21st February it 
 was found that a picket of Yulatan Saruks (Eussian subjects) 
 had been posted on a mound about a mile north of Pul-i- 
 khishti, known as Kizil-tapa. I specify this because it 
 should be clearly understood that the Eussians never occu- 
 pied Pul-i-khishti. The fact is, that in speaking about occur- 
 rences in a country of which the world knows next to nothing, 
 it is necessary to make use of names of places that have 
 attained some notoriety. Who has heard of Kizil-tapa ? 
 Doubtless it will become more familiar in the future. The 
 justification of General Komaroff s attack on Pul-i-khishti on 
 the 30th March hinges in part upon this distinction between 
 Kizil-tapa and Pul-i-khishti. As a matter of fact, the at- 
 tack, unprovoked as it was, admits of no excuse. It was a 
 deliberate breach of the agreement of the 16th March made 
 between the two Governments. Had the Eussians ever held 
 Pul-i-khishti, they might contend that the terms of that agree-
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 389 
 
 ment admitted of their advancing in force up to that point. 
 But as they had never held it, such a pretext cannot hold 
 water for a minute. Nor can it be contended that the 
 Afghans advanced after the agreement was made. On the 
 20th of February, if not before, their troops held Pul-i- 
 khishti. Moreover, had it been otherwise, the occupation of 
 that position by a force holding Ak-tapa is not an advance 
 but a lateral extension. It was not until Alikhanoff openly 
 menaced the Afghan position on the 20th February that 
 Afghan reinforcements were summoned from Herat. More- 
 over, it was then well known that Russian infantry and 
 artillery were being massed at Hazrat Imam. Had the 
 Afghans under these circumstances neglected to bring up 
 reinforcements, they would have evinced a most culpable 
 apathy. From first to last the action of the Russians was 
 aggressive and provocative of conflict. The Afghans acted 
 solely on the defensive, and showed a wonderful self-control 
 under insulting provocation. 
 
 The crisis of the 20th February was tided over. The Saruks 
 realised that British protection was not a dead-letter. Colonel 
 Ridgeway continued to do all in his power to conciliate and 
 gain the confidence of the Saruks. But Alikhanoff was not 
 idle. At night his secret emissaries played on the fears and 
 hopes of the headmen. Threatening letters from him poured 
 in. He seized their flocks grazing north of Kizil-tapa ; still 
 they adhered in their allegiance to the British flag. They 
 offered to turn out the picket of Yulatan Saruks at Kizil-tapa, 
 It was, however, decided to give Alikhanoff no handle for 
 bringing matters to a hostile issue. The Saruks were again 
 counselled to remain neutral. But the reports of Russian 
 warlike preparations became more and more frequent, and to 
 the Saruks more and more alarming. The Russian star was 
 in the ascendant, and on the 1st March the Saruk headmen 
 were conspicuous by their absence from the British camp. 
 They were worshipping the rising sun. Fortunately, just then 
 no further advances of Russian troops were reported, and the 
 telegrams from London stated that the Russian Government 
 had promised to instruct its officers in the trans-Caspian
 
 390 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 territory to avoid a collision. A day or two later Afghan 
 reinforcements arrived from Herat. And thus a second crisis 
 was tided over. On the llth March, Captain Yate arrived. 
 Colonel Eidgeway's duties required his presence at Gulran ; 
 so on the 20th March, the outlook being then seemingly 
 peaceful, he left Panjdeh. What happened afterwards I have 
 already recorded. I may safely say, that but for Colonel 
 Eidgeway's efforts the Eussians would have been in Panjdeh 
 six weeks sooner than they actually were. The task of 
 holding them in check was no light one, or unfraught with 
 danger, and it was ably and manfully executed. It may 
 reasonably be supposed that, with the exception of the editor 
 of the ' Pall Mall Gazette ' and Mr Labouchere, every Briton 
 is convinced that from first to last Eussia alone of all the three 
 parties concerned in the settlement of the Eusso- Afghan 
 frontier has been the aggressor. It is obvious that such 
 aggression, carried out as it was, treacherously and in defiance 
 of all agreements and obligations, must have some motive, 
 and that that motive must be some prospective gain. If 
 Eussia really desired an equitable and a strong frontier, she 
 would recognise at once that a line drawn from the reputed 
 Khwaja Salar on the Oxus, through Hazrat Imam on the 
 Murghab, to Sher-tapa on the Hari Eud, would present such 
 a frontier. Commence from the east. The Akcha oasis is 
 separated from the Oxus by a strip of waterless desert 30 
 miles broad. Westward to the Murghab, this strip grows 
 broader and broader, and it may be safely said that Merv and 
 Charjui are connected with Maimena by no possible direct 
 routes across this almost pathless desert. Arrived at the 
 Murghab, it is seen that the Yulatan oasis is separated from 
 the Panjdeh oasis by a tract about 90 miles in length, which 
 is almost entirely uncultivable desert. The sandhills border 
 on the very banks of the Murghab, which flows between 
 high precipitous banks, whence water can either not at all, or 
 only with great difficulty, be drawn for irrigation. There is 
 one spot that serves as a connecting-link between Panjdeh 
 and Yulatan, and that is the broad bay of fertile soil among 
 the sandhills at Sari Yazi. The 60 miles that intervene
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 391 
 
 between that bay and Yulatan is a desert that could not be 
 crossed by a large body of troops without special and tedious 
 preparations, and that means so much valuable time. Conse- 
 quently the Eussian, who has his weather-eye open for future 
 eventualities, has decided that a foothold south of that desert 
 would be a most desirable acquisition. Looking a little farther 
 forward he sees Panjdeh at the junction of the valleys of the 
 Khushk and the Murghab. He sees that it is fertile, and 
 that its people own many flocks and some wealth ; that it is 
 a good, defensive position against an attack from Merv ; and 
 that it commands on the one hand the directest road to Herat 
 via the Khushk valley and Ardawan Pass, and on the other 
 into Afghan Turkistan vid Maruchak and Kalah "Wali. He 
 decides that it is more advantageous for him to hold a point 
 whence he can menace Herat and Maimena, whence he can at 
 any moment, if he so pleases, sever communications between 
 Herat and Balkh, and which, if held by a hostile Power, would 
 be a hard nut to crack. Yet another point or two unveil 
 themselves before his penetrating and prescient glance. The 
 possession of Panjdeh carries with it a claim to all territory as 
 far as Maruchak (if not to Kalah Wali, which is also a Saruk 
 settlement) on the Murghab, to Chaman-i-bed on the Khushk, 
 and westward to the wells of Kaiun-Kuyusi and Ak-rabat, 
 used by the Panjdeh shepherds and salt-parties, within 35 
 miles of the Hari End. The strip thus left on the right bank 
 of the last-named river, the Eussian will claim as the appan- 
 age of his pet model of virtue (vide the ' Moscow Gazette '), 
 the Salor Turkomans, who, I have been told, occasionally 
 come and gather the pistachios from the Pistalik around 
 Agar-chashma. Similarly, the fact that the Tekkes of Merv 
 and the Saruks of Yulatan annually remove a few camel-loads 
 of salt from the Nimaksar, will be alleged as a conclusive proof 
 that that promising source of revenue should swell the coffers 
 of the Czar and not the Amir. The Eussian will also have 
 foreseen that two at least of the tribes of the Chahar Aimak, 
 the Hazaras and the Jamshidis, being separated from Herat 
 by somewhat difficult passes, will, as a matter of course, sooner 
 or later come under the influence of the stronger and bolder
 
 392 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 northern Power. 1 Indeed the ties between the Hazaras and 
 Jamshidis on the one side, and the Saruks on the other, have 
 been of so friendly a nature that the Amir has often found it 
 convenient to collect his revenue at Panjdeh through the 
 medium of the chiefs of the two former. Having won over 
 these two tribes, the Eussian schemer extends his rule to the 
 northern outlets of the Baba, Ardawan, and Zarmast Passes, 
 and thereby closes effectually the only roads between Herat 
 and Balkh. Thus the flank of Afghan Turkistan is turned, 
 and it is severed from one of its bases. For several months 
 in the year that province is cut off from Kabul and the 
 Hazarajat by the snow that blocks the passes of the Hindu 
 Kush. As a natural result, the Uzbek population, no longer 
 adequately controlled by Afghan domination, and not un- 
 naturally drawn towards people of kindred race, will seek a 
 rapprochement with Bokhara, instigated by Eussia, or direct 
 with the Governor of Eussian Turkistan himself. During 
 winter the Amir would have to maintain in Balkh and the 
 other khanates garrisons strong enough to nip in the bud or 
 crush any revolt, however serious. Can he spare the troops 
 for this purpose ? Can he afford increased military expendi- 
 ture ? Is it probable or improbable, judging by the past, that 
 Eussian intrigue would be busy alike with Uzbek subject and 
 Afghan ruler? Even now the relations between the Amir 
 and Sardar Mohammed Isa Khan are strained. There is a mal- 
 content party in Maimena, if not in other khanates, ripe for 
 intrigue and revolt. All these things considered, if any one 
 ventures to assert that the Eussians, once masters of Panjdeh, 
 will, within a few years at the most, have extended their 
 frontier to the Paropamisus, the Tirband-i-Turkistan, and the 
 Hindu Kush, he will scarcely be accused of undue temerity. 
 It is also worthy of remark that the cession to that Power of 
 all territory north of a line drawn from Chaman-i-bed to 
 Zulfikar will confer on it an important strategical advantage. 
 
 1 Not long after the Afghan defeat at Panjdeh it was rumoured that the 
 Firuzkuhis had thrown off their allegiance to the Amir. There appears to 
 have been much truth in that rumour. Indeed it is doubtful whether the 
 Firuzkuhis have yet (April 1886) been brought to a sense of their allegiance.
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 393 
 
 Xorth of that line the Khushk and Hari Rud are separated by 
 about 100 miles of waterless cliul. Two forces advancing 
 from Merv and Sarakhs respectively are absolutely severed 
 the one from the other by this chul. They are exposed to 
 the danger of being defeated in detail. But from Chaman-i- 
 bed the required lateral communication with Zulfikar is 
 established through Islim, Suniba Karez, and Ak - rabat. 
 This line affords a connected front as a basis for further 
 operations. 
 
 Such I believe to be some of the evils that will attend 
 concession to Russian demands in this frontier question. 
 When I said at the beginning of this letter that it appeared 
 unnecessary to retain the Commission here, I did not intend 
 to imply that a summer spent in this neighbourhood could 
 not be well employed. Every department, scientific or other- 
 wise, will find ample occupation. To-day Dr Aitchison has 
 started for the downs, rich in vegetation, of southern Badkis. 
 Captain Griesbach will, I hear, shortly be off on a geological 
 tour. Of the officers of the Survey and Intelligence depart- 
 ments only Captains Maitland and Talbot are at present in 
 camp. Mr Merk started to-day for Mashhad to impart an 
 increased vitality to the postal arrangements. Captain Du- 
 rand makes a tour of inspection round the Afghan outposts 
 at Zulfikar, Kizil-bulak, Gulran, &c., &c. So the grass is not 
 growing under the feet of the Commission. I believe I have 
 not mentioned what, however, is a matter of course that 
 with the departure of Sir Peter Lumsden the charge of the 
 Commission reverted to Colonel Eidgeway. If pleasant 
 summer-quarters and a new sphere for scientific activity are 
 to be sought, the Commission could scarcely do better than 
 move camp to the upper waters of the Hari End towards 
 Obeh, or to the vicinity of the Band-i-Zarmast. But this 
 is a matter that requires the concurrence of the Afghan 
 officials. Much work yet remains to be done in connection 
 with the survey of Persian territory from Sarakhs on the 
 north to the Dasht-i-Naumid on the south. Recently a dis- 
 pute about a place called Hashtadun, some 40 or 50 miles 
 west of Ghorian, has arisen. The Persians are building a fort
 
 394 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 there ; whereas the Afghans claim the place as their own, on 
 the ground that some twelve years ago, at a conference be- 
 tween Persians and Afghans, with a view to placing some 
 check on Turkoman raids, the Shorab valley, in which Hash- 
 tadun is situated, was handed over to the Afghans to protect. 
 Furthermore, it is argued that as the centre of the valley into 
 which all the karezes discharge their water belongs to Afghan- 
 istan, therefore the whole must belong to it. Some 10 miles 
 south-west of Kafir-Kalah there is a pass called Darband-i- 
 Shorab, in the hills, through which all, or almost all, the 
 alamans bound for Khaf, Ghorian, Kai'n, Birjand, Anardara, 
 Sabzawar, and Seistan used to pass. Once through this dar- 
 band, they shaped their course east, west, or south, according 
 to their destination. It is not surprising that the subjugation 
 of the Turkomans should have gained for Eussia fame through- 
 out Asia. The mere liberation of thousands of Persian and 
 Afghan captives is no small claim to gratitude. Even to the 
 Turkomans, once subdued, she seems to have behaved with 
 conciliatory moderation. I travelled from Mashhad recently 
 with a Jamshidi guide. The old fellow told me he had been 
 thrice taken captive by the Turkomans. The first time he 
 was taken to Khiva, and sold as a slave there. Before General 
 Kaufmann subdued the Khan of Khiva in 1873, he had pur- 
 chased his freedom, but continued to reside there till 1874, 
 when he returned to his home at or near Turbat-i- Shaikh 
 Jam. Since then he had been twice taken prisoner by the 
 Tekkes and carried to Merv. On one occasion two of his 
 daughters were captured with' him, and as he could not 
 ransom them (his own ransoms, he said, cost him 2000 
 tomans 666), he gave one in marriage to a Tekke and the 
 other to a Salor. The latter, he said, was a particularly good 
 sort of fellow, and had just presented him with two horses, 
 one of which he was riding, and was willing to sell for a con- 
 sideration, and the other he had already sold in the camp of 
 the Boundary Commission ; and at the recollection of all 
 this he again repeated, " He is a most excellent son-in-law." 
 
 The Eussians have remitted, I hear, to all their Turkoman 
 subjects all taxes for seven years from date of annexation,
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 395 
 
 and after that a tithe of the produce of the soil, and one per 
 cent of the flocks and herds, will be taken. One cannot find 
 fault with them for seeking to conciliate their own subjects. 
 It is the right policy. It is when we see them endeavouring, 
 with base underhand intrigue, to undermine the loyalty of 
 their neighbour's subjects, that we have good grounds for re- 
 sentment. Such intrigue is perfectly inseparable from the 
 Muscovite nature and principles, and, if I mistake not, is 
 already at work among the Chahar Aimak. I have heard 
 more than one Turk, taken prisoner during the war of 1876- 
 77, laud Eussian kindness. This is part of a prescient policy. 
 Even the Afghans wounded at Panjdeh have, I hear, received 
 every care and attention in the Eussian hospitals. There 
 are no Eussian troops now actually in Panjdeh proper. The 
 Panjdeh hamlets extend continuously from Maruchak to Ak- 
 tapa, but Panjdeh cultivation extends to Kurban Myaz, 12 
 miles north of Ak-tapa. A Yulatani Saruk named Ewaz 
 Khan has been appointed Eussian representative there. A 
 strong Eussian force is said to be encamped near Kizil-tapa 
 in the midst of the Panjdeh fields, with a weak picket at Ak- 
 tapa. 
 
 PARWANA, near HERAT, 20th May. 
 
 When it became known some eight or nine days ago that 
 the Indian section of the Commission would in all probability 
 spend the summer in this neighbourhood, our summer-quarters 
 became the burning question of the moment. On the 14th, 
 a party, composed of Captains Maitland and Griesbach and 
 Lieutenant Wright, was leaving Tirpul for the neighbourhood 
 of the Ardawan Pass, where it is proposed to camp during 
 the summer. I obtained permission to accompany them. On 
 the evening of the 13th, Colonel Stewart came in. He was to 
 leave for London on the 15th. Our marches to Khush-rabat, 
 at the southern entrance to the Dahana-i- Ardawan, were : 
 
 Miles. 
 
 May 14. Eauzanak, 19 
 
 15. Sliaikhiwan, . . . . 19 
 16. Kalali-i-Sinjau, .... 18 
 17. Khusli-rabat, . . .12
 
 396 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 On the 15th we met Major Holdich and Captain Peacocke 
 returning from Herat. The former continued on his way back 
 to Tirpul ; the latter, with Captain Maitland, we left encamped 
 at Rabat-i-Charkha (one of the many rahats built by Shah 
 Abbas on the highroad between Mashhad and Herat), half-way 
 between Rauzanak and Shaikhiwan, at the latter of which 
 places we (Griesbach, Wright, and self) encamped. The Gho- 
 rian valley, with its villages, orchards, and extensive area of 
 fields under cultivation, spoke well for the productiveness of 
 the district. From Shaikhiwan we turned due north for four 
 miles to the foot of the low hills skirting the Hari Rud valley 
 to the north. Striking the channel of the stream that issues 
 from the Ardawan Pass, and flowing past Sinjau falls into the 
 Hari Rud above Shaikhiwan, we wended our way up its bed 
 for three or four miles, until the frequent recurrence of quick- 
 sands, and finally an impenetrable barrier of boulders, obliged 
 us to scramble up to the regular road on the plateau above. 
 We were rewarded, however, for any slight extra difficulties 
 of the road, by the sight of a curious phenomenon of nature, 
 which Captain Griesbach photographed. This was a solid 
 clay pillar, some 40 feet high and 12 to 15 feet in diam- 
 eter, surmounted by a capital of conglomerate. The crust of 
 the surrounding plain is similarly composed of clay and sand- 
 stone overlaid with a thin layer of conglomerate. The action 
 of water, partly that of the stream itself, partly that of rain, 
 had washed away all the looser formations around the more 
 solid pillar of clay, and left it with its conglomerate capital 
 standing. About half a mile above this the stream descends 
 rapidly in a succession of cascades from the level of the plains 
 to that of the channel or trough that had served us as a road. 
 For Afghanistan it was a pretty bit of scenery the clear, 
 sparkling water bubbling and boiling over the rocks, the 
 rugged banks overgrown with trees, shrubs, and grass. Here 
 we breakfasted, and then, in defiance of all medical advice, 
 bathed in the limpid waters of a huge bath hollowed in the 
 natural rock. Such a contrast to the murky fluid of the 
 Hari Rud ! We could not enjoy it too much, whether applied 
 internally or externally. As we approached Sinjau the low
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 397 
 
 range crossed by the Ardawan Pass lay straight ahead, while 
 east of it towered the Kuh-i-Baba, and east of that in the 
 dim distance loomed the conical peak of the Band-i-Zarmast. 
 To our right the Dawendar and Safid-Kuh ranges, between 
 which flows the Hari End, with their summits and slopes still 
 garbed in snow, were clearly discernible. We camped two 
 miles south of the ruined mud-fort of Sinjau, at a spot where 
 the soil, owing to the proximity of the water to the surface, 
 was clothed with luxuriant grass and other vegetation, on 
 which our horses and transport-animals feasted royally. Our 
 mules, however, w r ere not destined to an undisturbed enjoy- 
 ment of so much luxury. In the night a couple of (probably) 
 Firuzkuhi thieves walked off with six of them. The theft 
 was not discovered till daybreak, and then the search insti- 
 tuted by the mule-driver and some sowars of our Afghan 
 escort resulted in the discovery of their tracks. They also 
 knew, by evidence that would be caviare to the general, that 
 t\vo or three of the mules were mounted. The mule-driver 
 and a Hazara sowar started off in pursuit, overtook the thieves 
 (who proved to be two in number, though the Hazara, see- 
 ing them through the double lens of love of a good yarn and 
 desire to enhance his own prowess, magnified them into six) 
 some distance north of the Sang-Kotal Pass, recaptured the 
 mules, and brought them safe to Khush-rabat. On the morn- 
 ing of the 18th, the Hazara graphically described how, when 
 he sighted the thieves and mules, he raised a valiant shout 
 and discharged his musket harmlessly. Luckily he did not 
 shoot a mule. The thieves showed them a clean pair of heels. 
 No attempt was made to pursue or capture them. The mule- 
 teer was only too happy to see his mules once more. As for 
 the gallant Hazara, if the enemy would persist in bolting 
 ignominiously, and so deprive him of the satisfaction of slay- 
 ing them, as he undoubtedly would have done, albeit two to 
 one, blame cannot justly be laid at his door. 
 
 From Sinjau to Khush-rabat the road follows the course 
 of the stream. There are no signs of human habitation 
 except an occasional camp of maldars (graziers), with their 
 flocks of sheep and goats, herds of kine, and occasionally a
 
 398 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION 
 
 few ponies. The grazing in the valleys on the south slopes of 
 the Paropamisus is very good, although it is nothing in com- 
 parison with the miles and miles of grass-grown downs to the 
 north of that range. It is sufficiently well known by this 
 time that Badkis is as fertile a country as any in Asia. No 
 one could wish for a more lovely climate or more fertile soil 
 than the downs stretching northward from the Paropamisus 
 to Khushk, Chaman-i-bed, Ak-rabat, and Karez Elias. So 
 copious is the rainfall that no artificial irrigation is required 
 to mature the crops grown on these lands. The waving 
 grasses would furnish sustenance to countless thousands of 
 domesticated animals. To inhale the fresh bracing breezes 
 that blow across these downs in May is like imbibing a new 
 lease of life. No spring -day in England could be more 
 delicious and reinvigorating. There is but one want trees, 
 and they can be planted. Why not have an English colony 
 here ? That would be a better barrier to Russian intrigue 
 than the Turkoman and Chahar Aimak. It would also be 
 a practical demonstration of England's intent to yield not 
 another ell to Eussia. 
 
 On the 17th instant I walked for some four or five miles 
 along the Rabat-i-sangi Pass, and on the 18th rode through 
 the Ardawan Pass to Ziarat-i-Khwaja Mallal, a spot that I 
 visited in November last on our march from Kuhsan to 
 Khushk. The entrance to the Ardawan Pass is about half a 
 mile north of Khush-rabat. Two miles from the entrance 
 the route to Rabat-i-sangi branches off to the westward. It 
 is a steep but not rough road, leading up to Rabat-i-Mirza, 
 five miles farther ahead, on the crest of the pass. Rabat-i- 
 sangi is eight or ten miles beyond that. The crest of the 
 Ardawan Kotal is seven or eight miles north of Khush-rabat, 
 while Khwaja Mallal is four miles farther. The road follows 
 the stream to the foot of the kotal, leaves it there, and picks 
 up a new streamlet on the other side. The Ardawan Pass is 
 not so easy as it has been reported to be. As I said before, 
 nothing could be more delightful (out of Europe) than the 
 climate of the country. Every little vale opening into it was 
 green with luxuriant vegetation, and contributed its little rill
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 399 
 
 to swell the bigger stream, that seemingly rises near the 
 Band-i-Kara-Kaitu. It is not everywhere in Asia that we 
 can gladden our eyes with the sight of May blossoms. It 
 appears that the highroad from Herat to Merv and Sarakhs 
 ran vid Parwana, Khush-rabat, and Rabat-i-sangi, for on this 
 route only are found caravanserais and water-tanks at regular 
 intervals. At Khush-rabat are the ruins of a town of some 
 size, perhaps destroyed by fare, and of a brick bridge of eight 
 arches across the Ardawan stream. Fording the stream near 
 this bridge, we marched to-day to Parwana (12 miles), passing 
 on the way Chughur-rabat, with its broken-down old bridge 
 of nine arches thrown across the stream hard by. With 
 regard to all or most of the ruined brick structures in this 
 neighbourhood, it may be noticed that the foundations are 
 composed of large unhewn stones cemented together. Ap- 
 parently these foundations are not buried in the soil, but 
 erected on its surface. At all events, they are not of a nature 
 to resist atmospheric action, since they invariably show more 
 signs of decay than the brick edifice resting on them. Fre- 
 quently the base of a building has completely mouldered 
 away. Both the bricks and cement used are of first-rate 
 quality, and yet the walls evince a determined tendency to 
 lean away from the body of any edifice. This may be due to 
 the decay of the foundations, or to the action of frost and a 
 very dry atmosphere. Parwana is a large village surrounded 
 for several miles by cultivated fields. The people were civil, 
 and seemed well to do. They own large flocks of kine, sheep, 
 and goats, the milk of which is all sent to Herat for sale. 
 The towers of refuge still standing in the fields are monu- 
 ments of the former Turkoman raids. 
 
 22rZ May. 
 
 We halted at Parwana yesterday. Captain Griesbach 
 having a letter of introduction to the Naib, was in hopes 
 of being allowed to take photographs of some of the most 
 interesting features of the neighbourhood. However, appa- 
 rently the Naib (governor) is not an ardent votary of scientific 
 progress. He is probably busy superintending the repairs of
 
 400 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the Herat defences that are now being pushed forward. 1 It 
 is no longer necessary to withhold the information that Colonel 
 Stewart, Major Holdich, and Captain Peacocke visited Herat 
 on the 10th and llth instant. During their stay they were 
 the guests of the Naib, and resided in a house close to the 
 gubernatorial palace of Chahar-Bagh. From the house of the 
 Sipah-Salar in the citadel, they looked on at a parade of the 
 garrison. They were received formally in durbar by the Naib, 
 attended by the Sipah-Salar, Naib-Salar, and several generals 
 of division and brigade. General Ghaus-ud-din was absent. 
 I am informed that the manner of all classes, priests, soldiery, 
 and population in general, was friendly and agreeable. It is 
 a curious thing that I can meet no one to corroborate the 
 Amir's reports of the bitter fanaticism of the bloodthirsty 
 Kabuli. On the afternoon of the llth the three officers 
 above named left Herat. It goes without saying that thirty 
 hours were not spent in Herat for nothing. It is satisfactory 
 to hear that Afghan reinforcements have already reached 
 Herat, and that more are en route, and that the guns, rifles, 
 and ammunition presented to the Amir by the Viceroy are, at 
 least a great portion of them, on their way thither. This 
 looks like business ; but it is to be feared that no amount of 
 exertion on the part of the Afghans alone can long keep the 
 Russians out of Herat. It is satisfactory to find the' priestly 
 classes fostering and not discouraging favourable feelings to- 
 wards the Anglo-Afghan alliance. It is reported that the 
 Mullas have publicly heralded the arrival of British officers 
 in Herat as an auspicious omen, and invoked the divine bless- 
 ing on the British alliance, which by the Amir's orders has 
 been proclaimed throughout Afghanistan. 
 
 The Commission marched from Tirpul on the 18th, and is 
 
 1 But although we failed in obtaining an invitation to visit Herat, we en- 
 camped for the day near the Musalla (which has now been destroyed, as afford- 
 ing cover to assailants), and took the opportunity of going over the ground to 
 the north and west of the city. The defences of Herat are naturally very 
 strong, and much has since been done to strengthen weak points. That the 
 city is commanded from the high ground to the north is well known. It is, 
 however, the opinion of those best qualified to judge, that Herat is capable of 
 a prolonged resistance, provided there be no internal treachery. This last is the 
 foe that the Amir has most reason to fear.
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 401 
 
 now halting at Shaikhiwan. It is proposed to camp some- 
 where about the Ardawan Pass whether north or south of it 
 depends on the facility of obtaining fuel and supplies. The 
 climate to the north is undoubtedly the most salubrious, not 
 to mention the delightful waving fields of grass and flowers. 
 Delicious water can be procured on either side. On the night 
 of the 16th, almost all the Persian mule-drivers bolted from 
 the camp at Tirpul, carrying off a few mules. It is somewhat 
 curious that our six mules should also disappear on the night 
 of the 16th. Had we known of what had occurred that night 
 at Tirpul, we should have regarded the yarn about thieves as 
 a mere cock-and-bull story, and equally so if the mules had 
 not been recovered. The runaways from Tirpul were promptly 
 pursued and most of them brought back. They probably took 
 alarm at the idea of going farther away from their own fron- 
 tier, or possibly some evil-disposed persons have been intimi- 
 dating them. It was rumoured the other day that the Rus- 
 sians were hiring mule-transport around Mashhad, and offer- 
 ing a higher rate than that given by the Commission, exorbi- 
 tant as it is. This possibly may have tempted our muleteers 
 to desert. Many of the Persian servants, too, are resigning 
 their berths in camp. 
 
 25th May. 
 
 I camped at Deh-i-Shaikh, two miles east of Parwana, on 
 the 23d, marched to Khush-rabat yesterday, and to-day re- 
 joined the Commission, which I found encamped on the banks 
 of the Ab-i-Sinjau, some eight miles north of Shaikhiwan. 
 Our latest news hints at a new rupture in the negotiations. 
 As Mr Condie Stephen has reached London with Captain 
 Yate's Eeport of the Panjdeh affair, it is now to be hoped that 
 the statements of the Russian Government and of General 
 Komaroff will be emphatically refuted. Lord Granville has 
 telegraphed to Colonel Ridgeway, requesting him to thank 
 Captain Yate for his report. Captain Durand is expected to 
 return in a few days, having completed his tour of inspection 
 round the Afghan outposts : Dr Aitchison is with him botan- 
 ising. 1 Mr Merk having completed his duties at Mashhad, is 
 
 1 Dr Aitchison's valuable collection of the fauna and flora of Central Asia 
 
 2 c
 
 402 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 returning. Captains Maitland and Peacocke are away trying 
 to add to the number of the practicable passes over the Paro- 
 pamisus, the names of which are already legion. Captain Gore 
 and Dr Weir are still at or near Mashhad. I left Captain 
 Griesbach breaking stones near Khush-rabat. Every one 
 else is here. Surveyor Mahomed Sharif has just completed 
 a satisfactory survey from Herat to Obeh. There is no doubt 
 that nothing has irritated the Eussians more than the good 
 use the Commission has made of its time here. Miles and 
 miles of new country have been surveyed and explored, and 
 most valuable political and strategical information gained. 
 It cannot be denied that the non-advent of the Eussian 
 Commissioner and the conduct of General Komaroff and 
 Colonel Alikhanoff have damaged British prestige and dis- 
 credited the British Commission. But after all, the laugh 
 has not been all on their side. 
 
 With regard to the conception, which I see is gaining cur- 
 rency, that Sarakhs " gives Eussia a practical command of the 
 open country between the Murghab and the Hari Eud, and 
 that the only scientific frontier then possible for the Amir's 
 dominions was the line of the Paropamisus," I can only trust 
 that some of my recent letters may tend to dispel that illu- 
 sion, which owes its origin solely to want of acquaintance 
 with the geographical features of the territory in question. I 
 deem it sufficient now to repeat emphatically that Sarakhs does 
 not command Badkis, that a frontier drawn from Sher Tapa 
 to Hazrat Imam is a scientific frontier, and that the " line of 
 the Paropamisus " is a scientific frontier unworthy even of 
 the science of the dark ages. It merits notice that reports 
 are already current that the Firuzkuhis, taking advantage of 
 the effacement, temporary if not permanent, of the Afghan 
 before Eussian rule in Badkis, have proclaimed themselves 
 independent of Herat. The report is denied, it is true, but 
 none the less is a harbinger of the inevitable results of a 
 Eussian occupation of Panjdeh. 
 
 Eeport says the Eussians have warned the Afghans at Bala 
 
 has long ere this reached Kew, where he is now employed in arranging and 
 classifying them.
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 403 
 
 Murghab not to send an outpost to Karawulkhana. Such 
 interference is more unwarrantable than an open occupation 
 of Maruchak. The Afghans should place their outpost at 
 Karawulkhana, and leave to the Eussiaiis the onus of oust- 
 ing it. 
 
 CAMP SIKJAU, 31si May. 
 
 Whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the best 
 method of utilising Afghanistan for the defence of India, it 
 has been long unanimously agreed that it must, if possible, be 
 used as a safeguard to it. The foreign policy of India has 
 been guided by that settled principle ever since Russia, using 
 Persia as a cat's-paw, besieged Herat and tampered with the 
 Amir in 1838. The result of this policy is that at the present 
 moment the Amir and the Afghan race stand forth professedly 
 the allies of Great Britain. In the event of war between 
 Eussia and England, the value of Afghanistan as the first line 
 of Indian defences obviously depends mainly on the attitude 
 of the Amir and his subjects. Even at this moment, when 
 the Amir and the Viceroy of India have just met in confer- 
 ence, and when the investiture of the former with one o-f the 
 most prized of British Orders, and the presentation to him of 
 materials of war, constituting a most important accession to 
 his military strength, the public entertains grave doubts of the 
 Amir's fidelity, and is apprehensive that that very material of 
 war may be employed in the attack and not in the defence of 
 India. Nay, more ; Lord Kimberley stated in the House of 
 Lords on the 12th May, " our frontier should be defensible in 
 case of Afghanistan being assailed or hostile." Even the 
 Secretary of State for India admits that Afghanistan may be 
 hostile. However, at this moment Afghanistan is professedly 
 friendly, and in discussing its value as a defence to India, we 
 will assume that it is entirely friendly. There is one other 
 important point affecting the defensibility of Afghanistan, and 
 that is the attitude of Persia. That country may be neutral, 
 the ally of England, or the ally of Eussia. In the present 
 case, presuming that the circumstantial and reiterated reports 
 of the Shah's friendly leaning towards, and of his offer of an 
 alliance with England, were not unfounded, we will assume
 
 404 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 that Persia throws in her lot with us. I have therefore 
 assumed the conditions most favourable to England and India, 
 viz., the active alliance of the Persians and Afghans those 
 most favourable conditions of which the present Ministry has 
 thought fit not to avail itself. Another factor that is not 
 without importance is the behaviour of the Hazaras and 
 Heratis ; and as that is a matter of uncertainty, we had best 
 represent them as passive. It has been generally agreed that 
 the decision arrived at by the Viceroy and Amir was that, in 
 event of war with Russia, the Afghans should as long as 
 possible maintain unaided the defence of their own father- 
 land, and that only when the stability of the Amir's rule was 
 endangered should British troops enter Afghanistan, and there 
 oppose further Russian progress. With these premises it is 
 not hard to foresee that, within a few months at the most, 
 after the commencement of warlike operations, the capital of 
 the Amir will be in danger of falling into Russian hands. It 
 is customary to look to Herat as the objective of a Russian 
 attack on India through Afghanistan. Why so ? If Afghan- 
 istan is the bulwark of India, then the bulwark must be sur- 
 mounted before the storming-party can gain a footing on the 
 deck. Kabul is the stronghold of Afghan independence, and 
 until Kabul is in the hands of Russia, the bulwark of India is 
 still unsurmounted. Herat and Balkh and all Afghan Tur- 
 kistan may be overrun by Russian legions : the rule of the 
 Amir will not thereby be overthrown, though it may be 
 shaken. If, therefore, the Government of India is under an 
 engagement to support the Amir on his throne, it must be 
 prepared to interpose a British army between Kabul and a 
 victorious Russian army advancing thereon. But at the pre- 
 sent moment the Government of India is showing signs 
 of activity solely in the direction of the Pishin. That is 
 the destination of the two corps d'armde warned for active 
 service. Thither tons upon tons of stores are being hurried. 
 There transport is being collected for 25,000 fighting men and 
 25,000 followers (a follower for every fighting man far too 
 many). Thither two railways are being constructed the one 
 via Hurnai, the other up the Bolan. The new Indian loan of
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 405 
 
 10,000,000 is to be devoted to the Hurnai and Bolan rail- 
 ways, to the construction of a military road from Dera Ghazi 
 Khan to the Pishin, and of railways to the east of the Indus. 
 This latter system of railways will have no other object than 
 to facilitate the massing of troops at Mooltan, Bahawalpur, 
 Sukkur, or Ruk, thence to be conveyed to the Pishin. The 
 Sukkur bridge is part of the scheme. Not that the perfection 
 of this scheme is a subject for cavil or criticism. On the con- 
 trary, what is remarkable is, that while such strenuous efforts 
 are being made for the defence of India on the side of the 
 Pishin, nothing is being done for the defence of Kabul, the 
 seat of government of " our own Amir." And yet it is essen- 
 tial that the Russians should not occupy Kabul, because the 
 worst results may be apprehended from such an occurrence 
 viz., the defection of the Amir, and with him of all the 
 Afghans. To see Herat with its Iranian, and Balkh with 
 its Turanian population, occupied by Russians, would but 
 make the Afghan breast burn to reconquer them. But the 
 Russians in Kabul, the Amir a refugee in India or a renegade 
 in the Russian camp, the Afghans defeated, demoralised, and 
 leaderless that is a different matter. It were strange then 
 if they did not listen to the voice of the tempter luring them 
 to the loot of Hindustan, and to the revival of the glorious 
 days of Mahmud and Taimur, Nadir, and Ahmed Shah, and to 
 the promptings of their own judgment, bidding them forsake 
 the cause of the effete Briton and espouse that of the all-con- 
 quering Russian. Nay, more ; who can say that the Russians 
 may not render the arm of the Afghan powerless by the 
 threats of such vengeance as they wrought on the Yamuds 
 in 1873, and the Akhal Tekkes in 1880 ? Under such cir- 
 cumstances fear and self-interest would overrule patriotism 
 in the Afghan breast, and the actual evidence of Muscovite 
 victory would outweigh the vague possibility of an ultimate 
 British triumph. Therefore an Indian army must oppose the 
 advance of a Russian army on Kabul ; and therefore the com- 
 munications between Kabul and India must be such as to 
 admit of a British corps d'armde preoccupying a good defen- 
 sive position on the Balkh-Kabul road. What that position
 
 406 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 should be is for those who know the country to decide ; 
 and the more distant it is from Kabul towards Balkh, the 
 more perfect must be the arrangements and means for the 
 transport thither of British troops. Viewing the extensive 
 preparations in progress for massing troops in the Pishin, and 
 also those possibly for an occupation of Kandahar, the idea not 
 unnaturally arises that it is intended to meet a Eussian 
 advance from Balkh by a British advance from Kandahar 
 vid Ghazni. But on reference to the maps, we find that 
 Kabul is about 360 miles from Kandahar and 340 from 
 Balkh. Therefore, cceteris paribus (without considering that 
 the British troops would not move till news of the Afghan 
 defeat and retreat towards Kabul arrived), the Eussians would 
 reach Kabul first. The Balkh-Kabul road may be an exceed- 
 ingly difficult one, but the Kandahar-Kabul is none of the 
 easiest. The passes of the Hindu Kush are said to be usually 
 blocked with snow for several months in the year. 1 But the 
 Eussians being well aware of that, would so time their inva- 
 sion of Afghan Turkistan as to cross those passes just as the 
 snow had left them ; and during the seven or eight following 
 months, the passes being open, they could retreat at any time, 
 if disaster befell them. It is clear, then, that an army at Kan- 
 dahar is too remote to be of any certain defence to Kabul. 
 The same objection would not exist if the Afghans would lay 
 in supplies for 20,000 men at every stage from Kandahar to 
 Kabul, and if a force of 20,000 men, with mule and pony trans- 
 port, was maintained at the former place, ready to move at a 
 day's notice. That force could reach Kabul within twenty 
 days ; whereas the Eussians, opposed and harassed by the 
 Afghans, who would of course destroy all the supplies they 
 could as they retreated, would do well if they covered ten 
 miles a-day. Why, however, look to Kandahar for succour, 
 
 i Yavorski, in his account of General StolietofFs Mission to Kabul in 1878-79, 
 says that the Irak, Kalu, and Haji Khak Passes " are entirely covered with 
 snow only in the months of December, January, February, and sometimes 
 March." In December 1878 the Kalu, Unai, and Ak-rabat Passes had scarcely 
 any snow on them ; but it was an exceptionally mild winter. A topographer 
 accompanying the Mission roughly surveyed the road from the Oxus to Kabul. 
 The Afghan escort prevented any thorough survey being undertaken.
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 40 7 
 
 when Peshawar, Thai, and Bannu are so much nearer ? But 
 it is not sufficient that the Khaibar and Kurruin roads are 
 available. When a corps d'armte, with its vast quantities of 
 commissariat, ordnance, and field-equipment stores has to be 
 moved rapidly, nothing but a railway supplies the require- 
 ments of the case. But the railway termini are now at 
 Peshawar and Kushalgarh, and there is not a whisper of 
 an extension. It can be easily understood that the Amir 
 would look askance at the idea of connecting his capital by 
 railway with Peshawar. Nevertheless, both in his own in- 
 terest and that of India, it would be very desirable. Moreover, 
 irrespective of the defence of Kabul, there is another import- 
 ant strategical reason for constructing a railway to it. Sup- 
 posing that the Eussians occupy Herat and Afghan Turkistan, 
 and there await an attack from the combined Afghan and 
 British forces, where would it be best to attack them ? 
 Supposing we defeated them in Herat, we should in no way 
 endanger the security of their position at Maimena and Balkh. 
 But if we drove them from these last-named places across the 
 Oxus, we should directly threaten their line of communication 
 from Herat through Panjdeh to Merv. Nor must we overlook 
 the importance of the road from Kabul through the Hazarajat 
 to Daulat-yar, and thence vid Obeli to Herat. It is known to 
 be practicable. Should the Eussians at Herat answer the 
 British advance on Balkh by a counter-advance on Kandahar, 
 the detachment of a British division via Daulat-yar on Herat 
 would probably necessitate their abandoning such an enter- 
 prise. In pushing a railway to Kabul, as compared with 
 Kandahar there is one objection viz., that the prospective 
 commercial advantages accruing thereto are unimportant. 
 From Kandahar a railway could be constructed to Farah or 
 Lash Juwain, and thence across central Persia to Baghdad 
 and Alexandretta. If England desires direct, or approxi- 
 mately direct, connection by rail with India, that line of 
 railway must be secure from the possibility of Russian in- 
 terference. What are we to gain by linking our Indian 
 system with that of Russia in Central Asia ? At present 
 the commercial dealings of India with the few millions that
 
 408 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 inhabit Turkistan and trans- Caspiana are not of such mag- 
 nitude as to induce the belief that a railway from Kandahar 
 to Merv, or from Kabul to Samarcand, would even pay its own 
 expenses. If Russia is particularly keen about extending 
 her railway system to the confines of Afghanistan, solely of 
 course for commercial purposes, let her in the ardour of her 
 ambition swell still more the measure of her financial embar- 
 rassments, and run her railways finally into a cut de sac at 
 Sarakhs, Panjdeh, or Kilif. Meanwhile, let India content 
 itself with the construction of such strategical railways as 
 are necessary to the defence of its north-west frontier ; and 
 if further extension be thought necessary, let it be carried 
 out through that territory which, in the coming partition of 
 Asia, is England's natural heritage viz., southern Persia and 
 Turkish Arabia. 
 
 A party of us crossing yesterday a pass some eight miles 
 east of camp into the Herat valley, obtained a fine view both 
 of city and valley. Below, or to the south, at our feet, lay 
 Sangbast, where it has been proposed to construct a defen- 
 sive position. Beyond that stretched the Pahra valley and 
 Du-shakh range. The Herat valley itself is of course one vast 
 carpet of fields studded with forts, villages, orchards, and 
 gardens. Away to the south-east towered the snow-capped 
 peaks of the Siyah-Kuh. Captain Durand and Dr Aitchison 
 returned to camp on the 27th after a tour in southern 
 Badkis the former to inspect the Afghan outposts, the latter 
 to botanise. Opposite Kaman-i-bihisht, which is 40 miles 
 south of Zulfikar, some sowars, suspected to belong to a Pais- 
 sian surveying or exploring party, were seen on the Persian 
 bank. These sowars stated they had brought the mails from 
 Turbat, but could not get across the river. This, however, 
 was a patent falsehood, and the sole object they had in view in 
 opening a conversation was to ascertain to whom the little 
 camp on the Afghan bank belonged. This incident merits 
 attention, because it is well known that Eussia intends, as 
 soon as opportunity offers, to annex a large strip of territory 
 on the left bank of the Hari End, southward to Karez and 
 Turbat-i- Shaikh Jam, and westward to Faraiman.
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 409 
 
 Much has been spoken of late about fighting for a little 
 strip of desert. The opinion here prevails that the honour of 
 England is the real casus belli. But leaving that out of the 
 question, the subject of dispute does no doubt resolve itself 
 into "a little strip of desert." I have already stated why that 
 " little strip " is so valuable. I now propose to describe some 
 portions of it, especially the Nirnaksar. As ere long it is to 
 be Bussian, it will in future be for Prussians to describe it. 
 
 The Mmaksar or Yar-yulan (sunken ground) is a valley 
 some 30 miles in length from east to west, and its greatest 
 breadth from north to south is 11 miles. Its western edge 
 rests on the road from Kungruali to Ak-rabat, and its eastern 
 on the Band-i-Duzan (salt-range). The meaning of Nimak- 
 sar is " salt country " or " salt district." The plateau that 
 encircles this extensive valley or depression is composed of 
 undulating downs, similar to those of the rest of the cliul. 
 Chid, I may explain, is the term applied to the undulating- 
 downs, often of fertile soil which after the rains afford 
 magnificent grazing, but are absolutely devoid of springs or 
 streams of water constituting the greater part of northern 
 Badkis and of the country that stretches east from Panjdeh 
 and Maruchak, and thence skirting the north-eastern edge of 
 the oases of Maimena, Andkhui, and Akcha to the Oxus. 
 The plateau around the Nimaksar is about 2200 feet above 
 the sea-level, whereas the western salt -lake is fully 1000 
 feet lower. There are two lakes, western and eastern, separ- 
 ated from each other by a ridge some 1800 feet above the 
 level of the sea. The most recent important alteration in 
 the localisation of the several Turkoman tribes was caused 
 by the invasion of Merv by the Tekkes. These Tekkes have 
 gradually worked their way eastward from the east shore of 
 the Caspian, and after occupying Akhal and Old Sarakhs, 
 attacked the Saruks at Merv in overwhelming numbers about 
 the year 1855. The Saruks, after a stubborn and prolonged 
 resistance, finally abandoned the Merv oasis, and settled at 
 Panjdeh. The Saruks in their turn displaced the Salors. 
 Since the year 1860, or thereabouts, the Tekkes of Merv have 
 had a monopoly of the salt of the western lake, and the
 
 410 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Saruks of Yulatan and Panjdeh of the eastern lake. It was, 
 of course, a monopoly of terror. The same reasons that made 
 it impossible to colonise Badkis made it impossible to frequent 
 the Mmaksar. The Salors at Sarakhs obtained salt from the 
 western lake. This latter lies in a depression some eight 
 miles in length by five in breadth, surrounded by perpen- 
 dicular cliffs about 900 feet in height. The only means of 
 descent to it is by a road, apparently artificial, at the north- 
 east corner. The actual area of the salt-lake is about three 
 by two miles. The banks of the salt -lakes are soft and 
 muddy, and abound in fossil shells. The bed is a mass of 
 salt, covered (at least when visited in February) with an inch 
 or two of water. A thin earthy sediment lay over the salt. 
 The eastern lake is situated in a valley some 15 by 10 miles 
 in size, bordered to the north and west by precipitous cliffs, 
 which slope gradually downwards in successive undulations 
 to the east and south-east. The conditions of the eastern lake 
 are the same as those of the western, except that it is twice 
 the size, and lies several hundred feet lower. Its salt, too, is 
 not so pure. The possession of these salt-lakes is of great 
 importance as a source of revenue. As soon as the country is 
 tranquillised, salt would be supplied hence not only to the 
 Turkomans, but to Khorasan, the Herat province, Afghan 
 Turkistan, and perhaps even as far as Ashkabad and Eussian 
 Turkistan. It is dug out in flakes about four inches thick, 
 loaded on camels, and taken off for sale just as it is. It is 
 said that the supply is inexhaustible ; but of late years there 
 has not been a severe drain on it. There being no tax, 40 Ib. 
 of salt now sells in Panjdeh at about eightpence. The three 
 autumn months are the time for carrying on the salt-trade 
 from Panjdeh. In early spring the lands are ploughed and 
 crops sown ; then follows the lambing season. In the sum- 
 mer, owing to the prevalence of a noxious and troublesome gad- 
 fly, it is inadvisable to take camels across the cliul. In fact 
 they have to be kept in Panjdeh, and grazed during the cool 
 hours. But as soon as the crops have been gathered in, the 
 salt-traders set off from Panjdeh for the eastern salt-lake, and 
 the salt-caravans continue to pass to and fro till winter sets in.
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 411 
 
 The Turkomans of Merv, Yulatan, Panjdeh, and Sarakhs 
 each had their own road to and from the Nimaksar. The salt- 
 caravans of each came invariably escorted by a numerous and 
 well-armed party of men, but, by mutual consent, avoided 
 contact. The Merv route crossed the desert for five or six 
 waterless stages to Kuyun-Goisi ( sheep-wells), on the 
 Sarakhs-Panjdeh road, where there is a plentiful supply of 
 water. Thence they marched about 20 miles to Alli-bir 
 (= fifty-one), a name given to two sets of wells five miles 
 apart. These wells are now dry. They are said to be 51 
 fathoms in depth. Hence their name. From Alli-bir to the 
 top of the ridge dividing the two salt-lakes is a distance of 10 
 miles. Thence the road winds for seven or eight miles down 
 the western side of the ridge to the lake. The Yulatan salt- 
 road follows the Murghab for three marches to Aigri-yapi 
 (near Hazrat Imam), and thence crosses the desert in four 
 marches to Gumbazli, whence it joins the Merv-Mmaksar road 
 at Alli-bir, and following it onwards to the top of the dividing 
 ridge, there diverges and descends to the bed of the eastern 
 lake. The Panjdeh road runs straight across the chul in a 
 south-westerly direction for six waterless marches to the 
 camping-ground at the south-east corner of the lake. On 
 each of the above-named routes the salt-parties have to carry 
 with them most of the water they require. Arrived at the 
 lakes, the Tekkes obtain their water probably from Agar- 
 chashma or Kungruali ; while the Saruks either bring it with 
 them or obtain it from Ak-rabat, 14 miles to the south of 
 the eastern lake. It can therefore be understood why the 
 Russians occupied that place with one of those outposts with 
 which they forcibly demarcated in February last the frontier 
 as it should be according to their ideas. But the possession 
 of Ak-rabat, irrespective of its important bearing on the 
 working of the salt-lakes, gives the Russians that foothold on 
 the fertile plains and clowns of southern Badkis which will 
 infallibly constitute a serious menace to the security of Afghan 
 rule there. The Russians will, of course, be more than re- 
 luctant to loose their grip on Ak-rabat. It will be a great 
 error to allow them to retain it.
 
 412 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 Besides the three main routes mentioned above, there is 
 also a direct route from Maruchak through Kalah-i-maur, on 
 the Khushk, joining the Panjdeh route at Duzan-yapiti, two 
 stages from the eastern lake. Another route runs direct from 
 the south-east corner of the same lake through Islim to 
 Chaman-i-bed, on the Khushk, by which the Jamshidis of 
 Khushk and the Hazaras of Kalah-i-nau obtain their supply of 
 salt through the agency of the Saruks. A third route is that 
 used by the Salors of Sarakhs. 
 
 Northern Badkis and the Nimaksar were explored and 
 surveyed by Captains Maitland and Yate in February 
 last, but at that time the interests of the Government were 
 deemed to demand that no information that was obtained 
 should be made public. For this reason, much that was 
 done, or happened, in February and March, the critical era in 
 the annals of the Commission, will probably never be pub- 
 lished ; and perhaps the feelings and opinions then prevalent 
 throughout the Commission will never find true or adequate 
 expression. Among the many reports current at that time 
 there now seems to be one to which a certain comical char- 
 acter attaches. It is said that towards the middle of Febru- 
 ary a Eussian officer a colonel, it was said attended by a 
 standard-bearer, a trumpeter, and a small Turkoman escort, 
 might have been seen making their way across the desert 
 downs between the Zulfikar Pass and Chaman-i-bed. At 
 intervals this party would halt on the top of some elevated 
 undulation, and then this officer, with the aid of the standard- 
 bearer and the trumpeter, would proclaim to the desolate wilds 
 that the Czar of all the Eussias had been graciously pleased 
 to extend over them the aegis of his suzerainty. Thus, it is 
 said, at Ak-rabat, Islim, &c., the ceremony of annexation was 
 carried out with no other witnesses than the heavens above 
 and the earth below. Did the Turkoman escort cap each 
 proclamation with cheers three times three ? History does 
 not relate. Possibly this pioneer of Eussian aggression found 
 an audience in the shape of some gaping Cymon in the garb 
 of a Saruk shepherd and his stolid flock. About the same 
 time, it is said, a Eussian party came down to Islim, where
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 413 
 
 supplies had been collected for the British Commission on its 
 inarch to Gulran, and expressed a desire to purchase those 
 supplies. The precise terms of the answer given by the 
 Afghan guard is not recorded, but it was a decided negative. 
 
 Of news from the Russian frontier w r e have but little now. 
 When at Mashhad six weeks ago, I recollect hearing that the 
 Russian general at Ashkabad was in the habit of marching a 
 portion of his garrison out of the cantonment one day, and in 
 again in a different uniform a few days later. I hear that 
 this edifying farce is still being kept up. Is it to impress the 
 Central Asiatic, or to delude British sources of information ? 
 There are some 800 Russians still encamped between Kizil- 
 tapa and Pul-i-khishti. 
 
 CAMP SINJAU, 9th June. 
 
 Here everything seems at a standstill. It is true the 
 Survey and Intelligence departments show some signs of 
 life ; but while they are burning to be off to Obeh or Daulat- 
 yar, and thence to explore the routes over the Hindu Kush 
 to Bamian and Balkh (now that Russia threatens to close at 
 any time the roads from Herat to Maiinena passing north of 
 the Tirband-i-Turkistan, these routes become of the highest 
 importance), some combination of untoward circumstances 
 retains them in enforced inaction. One of the Survey sub- 
 ordinates has been straight to Obeh from Herat, and another 
 is working his way thither from Ghorian by the south side 
 of Herat. Captains Maitland, Talbot, and Griesbach have 
 started for the Davendar, a lofty range north of the Hari 
 Rud between Herat and Obeh. Dr Aitchison has transferred 
 the sphere of his labours to Turbat-i-Shaikh Jam. Captain 
 Peacocke starts in a day or two for the Du-shakh range, and 
 is hopeful that he may be permitted to proceed thence south 
 of Herat to Taiwarra in the upper waters of the Farah Rud. 
 This country, inhabited by the Taimuris, is absolutely un- 
 known. Captains Maitland and Talbot are not without hopes 
 that their travels may be extended from the Davendar to 
 Daulat-yar, and even farther. The exploration of the routes 
 from the latter place to Kabul is 110 less important than that 
 of the routes to Balkh. We have been expecting to move
 
 414 AFGHAN FKONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 camp for some days past ; two or three days ago it was 
 intended to move towards Ghorian. I believe the Hari Rud 
 is as yet scarcely fordable for baggage-animals. The cavalry, 
 as the supply of grass was running short, marched 11 miles 
 up-stream towards the Ardawan Pass five days ago. We 
 shall probably follow them directly. Our prolonged stay 
 here, and the limited sphere now open for the operations 
 of the Survey and other departments, are in the main due 
 to the uncertainty still felt as to the pacific issue of the 
 negotiations between England and Russia. Captain Gore is 
 still at Mashhad, intent upon fixing with scientific accuracy 
 its position on the earth's surface. He has also surveyed the 
 neighbourhood of Mashhad. Dr "Weir has started from that 
 town with Mr Finn, British Consul at Resht, to visit the 
 northern frontier of Persia. 
 
 The Musalla is doomed. It is a magnificent edifice of the 
 architectural style in vogue in Persia four centuries ago. It 
 was built towards the close of the fifteenth century by Sultan 
 Hussain Mirza, a great-great-grandson of Taimur Lang. The 
 founder lies buried in it. It is now about to be sacrificed to 
 the need of rendering Herat defensible. 
 
 A duffadar of the Intelligence branch who accompanied 
 the party of officers that recently inspected the Herat fortifi- 
 cations, recognised in that city an Arab horse as having been 
 in the possession of the late Sir Louis Cavagnari at the time 
 of his assassination at Kabul. The owner himself also ad- 
 mitted that it had belonged to Cavagnari. 
 
 CAMP near KHUSH-EABAT, 18th June. 
 
 An Indian paper has gravely informed the public that 
 Captain Jennings, R.E., has recently discovered a strip of 
 neutral territory between Persia and Afghanistan, by which 
 an army-corps could march from the Persian Gulf littoral to 
 Herat without entering either of the above-named countries. 
 When we were in Seistan last October, Colonel Ridgeway had 
 occasion to make some inquiries into the boundary fixed by 
 Sir F. Goldsmid's arbitration. Most people are under the 
 impression that there at least the frontiers of Persia and
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 415 
 
 Afghanistan conjoin ; and certainly, from all I saw and heard 
 in Seistan, such would seem to be the case. Captain Jennings, 
 it seems, has found it to be otherwise. With regard to the 
 Perso-Beluch frontier, I was under the impression that it had 
 been surveyed and approximately fixed by Sir F. Goldsmid's 
 assistants, Captains Lovett and St John. From Seistan north- 
 ward I am aware that the frontier is but vaguely defined. 
 The fact is, that the " debatable zone " is, like that which has 
 of late all but caused a war between England and Russia, 
 a mere "strip of desert." I shall be glad to know how 
 Captain Jennings proposes to march an army-corps through 
 a desert 200 miles long. There neither water nor supplies 
 are to be found. If he transgresses the limits of that desert 
 track, he will find himself either in Afghan or Persian terri- 
 tory, and so fails to fulfil the reputed conditions of his route. 
 Most people would have been disposed to doubt whether it 
 were possible to find any route, even in the vicinity of the 
 Perso-Afghan frontier, by which an army-corps could march 
 from the Persian Gulf to Herat. The journals above quoted 
 further state that Captain Jennings arrived within five 
 marches of Herat. Curious we never heard even a rumour 
 of his propinquity ! 
 
 For us the chief interest of the last English mail just 
 arrived centres in General Komaroff s further and detailed 
 report on the affair of 30th March. This, we are told, has 
 been published in extenso, filling seven columns of the ' Official 
 Messenger ' of 12th May. As all the British officers who had 
 a personal share in the events of that period are now in camp, 
 it may be as well, seeing that the Government has not pub- 
 lished the report by Captain Yate which Mr Condie Stephen 
 carried home with such meritorious expedition, to state how 
 far their version of the affair agrees with that of General 
 Komaroff, and what comments they have to make thereon. 
 
 General Komaroff states at the outset that he advanced to 
 occupy Dash Kepri "pursuant to instructions." It would 
 therefore appear that the Eussian Government had instructed 
 him to occupy that place in force, taking advantage of the 
 erroneous report credited by the British Government that
 
 416 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 the Eussian outposts already held Dash Kepri. In connec- 
 tion with this fact, however, some words of Komaroff s report 
 merit attention. He says : " All this while, up to the 30th 
 [March], not one of our outposts extended beyond the points 
 already occupied by our militia in front of Kizil-tapa on the 
 1 7th." In this sentence we have a distinct recognition by 
 Komaroff of the existence of the agreement of 17th, or rather 
 16th March, and an acknowledgment that the Russian out- 
 posts at that date did not extend beyond Kizil-tapa. And 
 yet he had instructions from his Government, in defiance of 
 the agreement of 16th March, to occupy Dash Kepri. But 
 it did not suit the Eussian book to take it by a coup de main. 
 So he had to delay from the 25th to the 29th March, until, 
 in short, he felt that he could so strain and adapt actual facts 
 as to make out a specious case in his own favour. It will 
 naturally strike any reader that, for a general advancing with 
 purely pacific intentions, Komaroff was very particular in 
 reconnoitring and ascertaining the weakest point of the 
 Afghan position. He states plainly that the Afghan left 
 flank was " rather weak." And yet he would argue that the 
 Afghans were not justified in strengthening the weak point 
 of their position when the Russians threatened it with over- 
 whelming numbers. If Komaroff had kept his 3000 Eussians 
 at Imam Baba, then the Afghans would have been contented 
 to hold the left bank of the Khushk as heretofore. But when 
 an attack was clearly imminent, they would have neglected 
 their duty if they had not taken every step calculated to 
 make their resistance as effectual as possible. 
 
 1. Komaroff, in his account of Captain Yate's first interview 
 with Colonel Zakrchewski, says : " The English referred to the 
 arrangement between the two Governments, and their difficult 
 position in trying to preserve the status quo among the Saruks 
 of Panjdeh in view of the danger of a Eusso-Afghan collision." 
 On the British side the conversation is thus reported : Captain 
 Yate told Colonel Zakrchewski that there was danger of con- 
 flict if the Eussian troops were allowed to come in direct con- 
 tact with the Afghans, and he asked the Eussians to assist him 
 in preserving the status quo pending the result of the negoti-
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 417 
 
 ations, by preventing direct contact. Colonel Zakrchewski 
 declined to promise any assistance of the sort. 
 
 2. Komaroff says : " The English begged for a warning in 
 case a collision became inevitable." The truth is, that Colonel 
 Zakrchewski was asked whether lie recognised the peaceable 
 character of the British Commission, and whether he intended 
 to give the officers warning prior to attacking the Afghans. 
 Colonel Zakrchewski in his reply denied any intention of 
 attacking the Afghans ; but while acknowledging the position 
 of the British officers as representatives of a friendly Power, 
 said that for military reasons warning of an intended attack 
 could not be given to them. He affected to regard the Af- 
 ghans as savages with whom negotiation was out of the ques- 
 tion. Nor would he admit the right of the British officers 
 to negotiate on their behalf. 
 
 3. Komaroff says : " The Afghans continued to move their 
 posts forward and on the Russian flank on the left bank 
 of the Khushk, sending out daily numbers of cavalry and 
 making fortifications." This is absolutely untrue, unless the 
 posting of Afghan vedettes vis-a-vis to the Russian vedettes 
 and pickets, which had been pushed forward unnecessarily 
 near to the Afghan position, and the construction of some 
 shelter-trenches by the Afghans close to Pul-i-khishti (Dash 
 Kepri, Russick}, can be interpreted into acts worthy of such 
 exaggerated terms. As the Afghan vedettes were posted on 
 the 25th, the date of arrival of the Russian force, so they re- 
 mained. They never advanced beyond the line then taken up. 
 
 4. Komaroff says he made " a reconnaissance on the 
 26th with five jigits under Captain Prassloff." The Af- 
 ghans state that some Russians and Turkomans entered the 
 Afghan trenches on the right bank of the Murghab, and 
 that one of the Russians pulled the beard of the Afghan 
 officer in command. On this, as on other occasions of similar 
 provocation, the Afghans showed great forbearance. They 
 escorted the aggressors unharmed back to the neighbourhood 
 of the Russian camp. 
 
 5. General Komaroff calls his insulting and provoking des- 
 patch of troops along the left bank of the Khushk and right 
 
 2 D
 
 418 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 bank of the Murghab on the 27th, a "reconnaissance" and 
 a " precaution." He adds : " The Afghans, in answer to this 
 precaution, reinforced their posts on the right bank of the 
 Murghab by two companies, which advanced to within 800 
 yards of our company and ordered our immediate with- 
 drawal." This is a distinct misrepresentation. When the 
 Naib Salar saw the Russians (one Russian company 200 
 to 250 men) advancing along the right bank of the Murghab, 
 he sent three companies across the river to reinforce the de- 
 tachment intrenched there. When the Russians came near 
 the Afghan intrenchments, the Naib Salar himself rode for- 
 ward and threatened to open fire on them if they did not 
 withdraw. The Russians withdrew, and not unnaturally the 
 Afghans exulted over their bloodless victory. 
 
 6. As for capturing a Russian interpreter and detaining 
 one of Komaroff s messengers, nothing is known about it, and 
 such trumped-up charges are unworthy of attention. They 
 are probably misrepresentations. If Komaroffs Turkoman 
 interpreter had not been nearer the Afghan lines than he 
 should have been, he would not have given the Afghans a 
 chance of arresting him. He was probably hanging about the 
 Afghan lines for no honest purpose. 
 
 7. Komaroff says : " Alikhanoff entered into friendly con- 
 versation with the commander of the Afghan left flank," &c. 
 When General Ghaus-ud-din Khan, the Afghan commander 
 referred to, heard that Colonel Alikhanoff, with a body of 
 Turkoman horse, had ridden through the Afghan line of 
 vedettes and gone away up the valley of the Khushk, he at 
 once ordered out one or two squadrons of Kabuli horse and 
 went in pursuit of him. When he overtook him, he found 
 him preparing to drink tea. General Ghaus-ud-din used no 
 violence, but he declined his invitation to drink tea, and the 
 tone of his conversation was from all accounts the very re- 
 verse of friendly. In fact, as General Komaroff for once in a 
 way accurately states, "he requested Colonel Alikhanoff to 
 withdraw under threat of using arms." Considering that 
 Alikhanoff had grossly insulted Ghaus-ud-din on the occa- 
 sion of his first visit to Pul-i-khishti last November, it was
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 419 
 
 most improbable that the latter would engage in "friendly 
 conversation" with him, far less let him ride with him 
 "nearly to Dash Kepri " i.e., to the left of the Afghan 
 position. There is barely one grain of truth in the whole 
 of this statement, to which General Komaroff has appended 
 his name. 
 
 8. Komaroff states that the Afghans turned both flanks of 
 the Eussian position. This is a mere exaggerative perversion 
 of the truth. After the hostile demonstrations made by 
 the Russians on the 27th, the Afghans placed a post of 
 observation of some 15 men on the high ground on the 
 right bank of the Murghab, to give timely warning of any 
 repetition of such manoeuvres. Does Komaroff call this 
 outflanking his bivouac ? As for his right flank, no Afghan 
 ever went near it or in any way threatened it. There was 
 no question of outflanking, nor indeed had the Afghans 
 the faintest notion of attacking the Russians, as Komaroff 
 says or implies they had. They knew they \vould have 
 quite enough to do to hold their own when attacked. In- 
 deed on this point Komaroff can be confuted out of his 
 own words. He quotes and thereby gives his sanction to 
 Colonel Zakrchewski's alleged statement to Captain Yate 
 that, " if necessary, the Russians could annihilate the Afghans 
 in a quarter of an hour." With regard to the position of 
 the Afghan troops on and after the 26th there can be no 
 doubt, as all the British officers are witnesses to the fact that 
 they in no way threatened the security of the Russian posi- 
 tion. As for any interchange of courtesies that may have 
 passed between the Russian and Afghan vedettes and out- 
 posts, which were but a few yards apart, of these the British 
 officers cannot be cognisant. Nor can they be regarded as a 
 sufficient reason for precipitating a collision. If the Russians 
 had pushed their vedettes less far forward, an interchange 
 of compliments would have been impossible. Komaroff has 
 exaggerated these chance remarks into " insulting messages." 
 
 9. We now come to what appears to have been the real 
 motive that finally decided General Komaroff to bring matters 
 to a crisis. He says : " Observing the ferment and even
 
 420 AFGHAN" FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 diminution of respect among the Turkoman khans, elders, 
 and militia, I determined that it was necessary to put an end 
 to this state of affairs." This admission entirely corroborates 
 the reports received from the British officers at Panjdeh 
 about the disaffection rife at this time among the Tekkes of 
 Merv and the Saruks of Yulatan. It is believed that Kom- 
 aroff, when he advanced on Panjdeh, left scarcely a Russian 
 soldier in Merv and Yulatan. Seemingly he did not dare to 
 split up his force. In fact the enterprise that he was en- 
 gaged upon was a most hazardous one. It was a question of 
 victory or a very serious disaster. For if mere seeming hesi- 
 tation on the part of the Russian general sufficed to incite the 
 Tekkes and Saruks to diminution of respect, what would have 
 been the result of a repulse, or even of a retreat without 
 fighting ? It may have been that Komaroff at first did not 
 intend to resort to arms, trusting to a rising among the 
 Saruks of Panjdeh to give him a pretext for direct interfer- 
 ence, or to oblige the Afghans and the British officers to 
 retire. But when he found the latter firm and unyielding, 
 and the Saruks, so far from sympathising with him, actually 
 begging the British officers to be allowed to take the field 
 against the Russians, and to crown all that, the Czar's Turko- 
 man subjects were becoming openly disaffected and disre- 
 spectful, he was obliged to resort at once to extreme measures. 
 It is impossible not to admire the promptitude and resolution 
 with which General Komaroff acted in a position of consider- 
 able danger. There is no doubt that, situated as he was, he 
 had no choice but to go ahead without delay and regardless 
 of that preservation of decent appearances which the Russian 
 Government would have preferred. The blame, however, lies 
 with himself and with the Government that instructed him 
 to advance. Had he respected the agreement of 16th March, 
 and remained encamped at Merv or even at Imam Baba, he 
 would not have found himself obliged to force on a collision. 
 The responsibility rests with the man who, after the conclu- 
 sion of the agreement in question, made the first forward 
 move. General Komaroff deliberately and seemingly of 
 malice prepense brought his troops face to face with the
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 421 
 
 Afghans. After such a move as that, any subsequent move- 
 ments, whether on the Afghan or Russian side, fade into 
 insignificance. 
 
 10. Komaroff says : " I still hoped for a peaceful] agree- 
 ment, and sent Colonel Zakrchewski to make an appoint- 
 ment with the English officers, advising the Afghan chiefs 
 to be present." This second meeting took place solely at 
 the instance and request of Captain Yate, who, after the un- 
 accountable behaviour of the Russians on the 27th, wrote 
 on the 28th and proposed an interview. The Russian ulti- 
 matum to the Naib Salar was received early on the morning 
 of the 29th, whereas Colonel Zakrchewski's letter accepting 
 the proposal for an interview was not received till later. It 
 is now clear that General Komaroff had no desire or intention 
 of trying to arrange matters otherwise than by force of arms. 
 During the first interview of the 26th March the Russian 
 officers are said to have advanced claims that could not for 
 an instant be entertained, and during the second interview 
 of the 29th they adopted a tone that left little opening for 
 peaceful arrangement. 
 
 11. As for Komaroffs assertion that the Russian pickets 
 had patrolled down to the Dash Kepri bridge on the 17th 
 March, even if it were true, it furnishes no pretext for 
 turning out the Afghans, who had previously occupied 
 the left bank of the Khushk with a detachment. But 
 Komaroff previously stated : " Up to the 30th not one of our 
 outposts extended beyond the points already occupied by 
 our militia in front of Kizil-tapa on the 17th." His state- 
 ments contradict each other. Komaroff might also have 
 pleaded that on the 20th February a Russian officer under 
 Afghan escort had advanced as far as the Dash Kepri bridge 
 and counted the arches. 
 
 12. Komaroff says : " Still wishing to arrange matters 
 peaceably, I wrote a private note to Naib Salar." To the 
 best of my knowledge i.e., not having seen the letter my- 
 self General Komaroffs "private note" was couched in 
 threatening and peremptory language. It offered no conces- 
 sions on the Russian side, and demanded concessions such as
 
 422 AFGHAN FRONTIER COMMISSION. 
 
 neither the British nor Afghan officers, consistently with the 
 agreement of 17th March, could for a moment consent to. 
 
 13. Komaroff estimates the Afghans at 4000 strong. The 
 Afghan force all told, regulars and irregulars, did not number 
 3000 men, and of these barely 1200 (all Afghans) were en- 
 gaged. The irregulars, numbering some 1200, were not relied 
 on for resisting a Eussian attack. 
 
 14. There seems no ground for Komaroff s assertion that the 
 Afghans expected to be attacked in rear by the Saruks. The 
 latter, at any rate, although they flocked to the scene of the 
 conflict, never attempted to molest the retreating Afghans. 
 Most of the headmen of the Saruks remained in the British 
 camp during the fight. 
 
 15. Komaroff says : " I was resolved not to begin the at- 
 tack." Who begins an attack ? Is it he who advances his 
 troops to within 500 yards of an enemy's position, and there 
 awaits the completion of his arrangements for the attack prior 
 to a further advance ; or is it the enemy who remains quietly 
 in his position, and opens fire only when the intention to push 
 the attack home is no longer doubtful ? 
 
 16. In acknowledging the receipt of two letters from Captain 
 Yate, General Komaroff not unnaturally omits to mention 
 that Colonel Alikhanoff, as soon as the fight was over, entered 
 the Afghan camp and assumed the functions of Governor of 
 Panjdeh, issued repeated orders to his newly acquired subjects 
 to attack the British camp, and even went so far as to offer 
 rewards for their heads. Nor does General Komaroff allude 
 to his own generous courtesy in sending Captain Yate a pair 
 of General Ghaus-ud-din's boots with his compliments. As 
 for any assistance sent to Captain Yate by Komaroff, its 
 arrival was too tardy to be of the slightest use; and the 
 Saruks, had they been minded to break at the instigation of 
 Alikhanoff the ties of honour and hospitality, might have 
 murdered the British officers fifty times over. The latter 
 left Panjdeh, not, as Komaroff asserts, surrounded by Bengal 
 cavalry and Afghan fugitives, but escorted by the two most 
 influential headmen of Panjdeh, 10 sowars of the llth Bengal 
 Lancers, and accompanied by two wounded Afghans. The
 
 INACTION AND UNCERTAINTY. 423 
 
 only sign of General Komaroffs assistance was the appear- 
 ance of a strange Turkoman or two in the vicinity of the 
 camp just after it was evacuated. 
 
 17. Komaroff then goes on to state that the British offi- 
 cers directed the Saruks to furnish 1000 men, &c. This 
 information he obtained from wounded Afghans. Now the 
 Afghan camp was five miles from Panjdeh, and the inter- 
 course between the Afghan troops and the Saruks was very 
 limited ; therefore Afghan evidence is untrustworthy. The 
 truth is, that the Saruks repeatedly made the British officers 
 offers of assistance, but all such offers were systematically 
 declined. The Saruks were invariably directed to remain 
 strictly neutral. 
 
 18. " On April 7th, General Komaroff wrote to Naib Salar 
 that he had no further animosity against the Afghans." We 
 must strive to value at its proper worth this proof of a for- 
 giving spirit on the part of the victorious Kussian. Victory 
 makes us wondrous kind. I regret to say that the Afghans 
 in no way reciprocate General Komaroffs amiable sentiments. 
 
 The most noticeable point in General Komaroffs report is 
 his admission of the disaffection rife among the Turkomans 
 under Kussian rule. It proves how very true were the re- 
 ports that reached the Commission in February and March 
 about the anti-Kussiaii feeling prevalent in Central Asia. I 
 have heard that this feeling found expression not merely in 
 words and rumours, but in black and white. We understand 
 now why the Kussian Government were apprehensive of the 
 size of the British Commission. If 30 British officers and 500 
 native soldiers can light the spark of revolution, what would 
 the presence of an army corps not do ? An insurrection in 
 Central Asia would be a strong weapon in the hands of the 
 British Government. It is a weapon that the present Gov- 
 ernment has seen fit not to use. It could not act in unison 
 with a policy that is bent on defending India on its own fron- 
 tier. Nothing short of a British occupation of Herat could 
 ensure to England the co-operation of Persia and Central 
 Asia, and perhaps, too, of Afghanistan.
 
 424 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 
 
 To follow the Commission further on its march to the Russo- 
 Afghan frontier, or to recapitulate its doings up to the 19th 
 June, on which date I left it to return to India, is unneces- 
 sary. Nor do I intend to recount its history after that date. 
 I leave that for the pens of eyewitnesses. I will first sum up 
 briefly what the labours of the Commission have added to the 
 scientific and military knowledge of the tracts it has visited, 
 and then I will endeavour to show how the events in which 
 the Commission has borne such a prominent part have in- 
 fluenced the Central Asian question. 
 
 Science, as represented with the Afghan Boundary Com- 
 mission, may be divided into two branches the military and 
 the purely scientific ; and each of its sections had a bearing 
 on both these branches in a greater or less degree. For in- 
 stance, in the Intelligence department the military branch 
 exclusively predominated. The labours of the Survey are of 
 the highest importance, both for military purposes and for 
 the advancement of geographical knowledge. Geology and 
 botany may seem at the first glance to have a solely scientific 
 intere'st ; but in so far as they deal with the mineral and agri- 
 cultural resources of a country, and ergo with the industrial 
 products not to mention that the geological formation of a 
 country has an important bearing on the conduct of military 
 operations, especially engineering operations, therein so 
 geology and botany also have their value for military ends. 
 Natural history and archaeology are two additional branches
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 425 
 
 of science that were not uncultivated by certain members of 
 the Commission. 
 
 To begin with the Intelligence department, it was repre- 
 sented by Captain Maitland, of the Bombay Staff Corps, and 
 Captain Peacocke, R.E. Their first work was to explore the 
 routes between Nushki and the Helmund. These routes are 
 of great strategical importance insomuch as a branch railway 
 can be run, without any great difficulty, from the Kandahar 
 line across the Beluch desert to the Helmund and Seistan. 
 Throughout the march of the Commission to Kuhsan, both 
 officers were diligently engaged in collecting all information 
 possible of military import about the country traversed. 
 During the winter of 1884-85 they explored most of the routes 
 in Badkis, and the country from Maruchak on the Murghab, 
 to Kilif on the Oxus, including the khanates of Maimena. 
 Andkhui, Akcha, and Shibargan. When, in the summer and 
 autumn of 1885, explorations were recommenced, Captain 
 Maitland travelled from Herat through Obeli and Daulat-yar 
 to Bamian, thence through the difficult passes of the Hindu 
 Kush to Balkh, and back vid Maimena to rejoin the Commission 
 at Chahar Shamba in January. He was accompanied through- 
 out by Captain Hon. M. G. Talbot. An accurate survey 
 and knowledge of these routes cannot be valued too highly. 
 Captain Peacocke, in the meantime, was busily engaged in 
 superintending the improvement of the defences of Herat ; 
 and on the completion of that duty, was employed through- 
 out the winter of 1885-86, and spring of 1886, in assisting to 
 make the surveys necessary for the demarcation of the fron- 
 tier from the Hari Rud to the Oxus. To give a brief estimate 
 of the work that has been done by the officers of the Intelli- 
 gence branch with the Commission, we may say that they 
 have acquired an intimate knowledge on all points of military 
 interest of the greater part of western and northern Afghan- 
 istan. It is anticipated that the Commission will complete 
 its demarcation labours during the course of the current sum- 
 mer, and will then return to India, part vid Kabul and the 
 Khaibar Pass, and part vid the Oxus and Kashmir. An officer 
 of the Intelligence branch will doubtless accompany each
 
 426 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 party, and an important extension of our military know- 
 ledge of Afghanistan will be the result. We should also bear 
 in mind the travels of Mr Ney Elias from Yarkand across 
 the Pamir to join the Commission at Chahar Shamba, and 
 the expedition of Colonel Lockhart to Chitral, Kafiristan, 
 Dardistan, and Badakshan both of which are intimately 
 connected with the movements of the Afghan Boundary 
 Commission. 
 
 The work of the Survey department included almost all 
 western and northern Afghanistan. But in addition to that, 
 Captains Gore and Talbot surveyed Khorasan east and south- 
 east of Mashhad. All the three officers of the Survey de- 
 partment Major Holdich, Captain Gore, and Captain Hon. 
 M. G. Talbot being Royal Engineer officers, were members 
 of the committee that reported on the defences of Herat and 
 the measures necessary to place them in a satisfactory con- 
 dition. Captains Maitland and Peacocke also formed part of 
 this committee. The surveys required for the frontier de- 
 marcation were all executed by the three officers above men- 
 tioned and their subordinates, assisted by Captain Peacocke ; 
 and very hard work it was. For while the Russians could 
 put seven complete survey parties into the field at once, 
 Major Holdich was so short-handed that he could put two 
 or three at most. Fortunately the British surveyors had 
 made the most of their year's start ; otherwise they could 
 not possibly, during the past winter (1885-86), have kept 
 pace with the Russian topographers. Major Holdich and his 
 assistants have still important work before them on the 
 return march to India. 
 
 Dr Aitchison, the naturalist and botanist of the expedition, 
 has taken to Kew a very valuable collection of botanical 
 specimens amassed in western and northern Afghanistan 
 and Persia. Of birds, beasts, and reptiles, too, he had col- 
 lected many specimens, but their destination I do not know. 
 I believe that he will publish later on an instructive work 
 on the products and manufactures of Persia and Afghanistan, 
 similar to a work previously published by him, termed ' La- 
 dakh Products.'
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 427 
 
 Captain Griesbach's geological surveys of western and 
 northern Afghanistan and eastern Khorasan are of great 
 importance, as being an important contribution towards the 
 completion of the geological survey of the terrestrial globe. 
 
 Archaeology found its most energetic representative in Cap- 
 tain de Laessoe, who, among other discoveries, opened up an 
 extensive series of ancient cave-dwellings in the valley of 
 the Murghab near Panjdeh. I saw near Kalah-i-nau similar 
 cave-dwellings, and others of less extent and less easily ac- 
 cessible were to be seen in various parts of the valley of the 
 Murghab. There is no doubt that Badkis, and the chul 
 between the Murghab and the Oxus, would yield valuable 
 results to the excavator. Both at Gulran and Kalah-i-maur 
 were seen the distinct traces of large towns, and I am told 
 similar traces are to be seen east of the Murghab. 1 
 
 After this brief rfeumA of the work of the scientific 
 branches, I think I should say a few words of the labours 
 of the officers of the Political department. On the march 
 from Eindli to Kuhsan, they seemed to put their hands to 
 any job that turned up. When the Commission settled down 
 at Chahar Shamba, Mr Merk was sent off with Captain Pea- 
 cocke to the Oxus ; while early in February, Captain Yate 
 accompanied Colonel Kidgeway to Panjdeh, and subsequently 
 surveyed and reported on a considerable portion of Badkis, 
 including the Nimaksar (salt-lakes). He then returned to 
 Panjdeh, and was present there as the British representative 
 when Komaroff forced on an engagement on the 30th March 
 1885. Meanwhile, Captain (now Major) Durand, during 
 Colonel Eidgeway's absence, took charge of the political 
 office. Among other duties allotted to the political officers 
 was the preparation of reports on the Hazaras, Jamshidis, 
 Taimuris, Firuzkuhis, Taimanis, and other tribes in the 
 Herat district. During the slack period that followed the 
 30th March, the political officers were detached on various 
 trips. Later on i.e., from July to October when the 
 
 1 Captains Durand and Talbot, Dr Owen, and others, interested themselves 
 in collecting old coins and other antiques that were from time to time brought 
 for sale.
 
 428 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 strengthening of the fortifications of Herat was the burning 
 question of the moment, a political officer was detailed to 
 accompany the Engineer officers on their visits to Herat, and 
 to furnish such reports and information as came within his 
 province. This duty was generally allotted to Captain Yate. 
 About the same time, Mr Merk visited the country of the 
 Taimanis with Captain Talbot a country that perhaps till 
 then no European, unless it be M. Terrier, had traversed. 
 When the Zulfikar difficulty was finally settled and the Rus- 
 sian Commission ordered to assemble at Zulfikar, Major Dur- 
 and was nominated Assistant Commissioner. Since then, both 
 Sir Joseph Ridgeway and he have had enough to do to resist 
 Russian schemes of encroachment and inadmissible demands. 
 
 At the very time when the Commission was leaving India, 
 M. Vambery thought fit to publish in the ' National Review ' 
 a series of articles intended to demonstrate the futility of an 
 attempt to demarcate a Russo- Afghan frontier. In a letter 
 from Bala Murghab, dated 19th January 1885 (chap, vii.), I 
 endeavoured to expose the fallacy of his arguments ; but the 
 strongest proof of their unsoundness is the fact that a frontier 
 has been demarcated from the Hari Rud to the Murghab, and 
 is in process of being settled between the Murghab and the 
 Oxus. 
 
 Before I pass on to a consideration of the present posi- 
 tion of England and Russia in Central Asia, I must say a 
 few words of the political conduct of the affairs of the Com- 
 mission while Sir Peter Lumsden was at its head. There is 
 no doubt that at the outset the recommendations made by 
 Sir Peter Lumsden to Lord Granville were sound, and entirely 
 in keeping with the Clarendon- Gortchakoff agreement of 
 1872. That agreement drew the line of frontier roughly 
 from Sarakhs to Khwaja Salar on the Oxus. Consequently 
 the occupation of Pul-i-Khatun by the Russians was a delib- 
 erate infringement of that agreement, and Sir P. Lumsden 
 was perfectly right in advising the Government to demand 
 the withdrawal of the Russian outpost at Pul-i-Khatun. If 
 the remonstrance of the British Government was couched in 
 such feeble terms as to encourage a curt refusal from the
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 429 
 
 Russian Government, no blame can accrue to her Majesty's 
 Commissioner. In fact, at a later period Mr Gladstone stated 
 in the House of Commons that the demand for the withdrawal 
 of Russian troops from Pul-i-Khatun had " virtually lapsed," 
 which is seemingly a diplomatic euphemism for utter failure. 
 It seems probable that Sir Peter Lumsden, when at Sarakhs, 
 got some clue to Colonel Alikhanoff s projected attempt on 
 Panjdeh made in November 1884. Sir Peter Lumsden left 
 Sarakhs on llth November, reached Kuhsan on 19th, and on 
 24th started for Panjdeh. News of Alikhanoff' s attempted 
 visit to Panjdeh reached me through native sources at the 
 end of November, and was then, to the best of my knowledge, 
 a fortnight old. The credit of thwarting Alikhanoff 's attempt 
 was attributed (see chap, vi., letter dated 6th December) to the 
 Afghan General Ghaus - ud - din. In view, however, of the 
 actual occurrence of such a barefaced attempt, which was but 
 the forerunner of subsequent acts of aggression, to gain pos- 
 session of another important point south of the line that had 
 been recognised as the basis for negotiations, General Lums- 
 den's prompt visit to Panjdeh was a judicious step. But 
 unfortunately the extreme jealousy of the Afghan officials, 
 which unwisely incited them to interpose barriers between 
 the British Commissioners and the Saruks of Panjdeh, mate- 
 rially diminished the beneficial results of this visit. It had 
 from the first been the ambition of the Amir's agent, Kazi 
 Saad-ud-din, to endeavour to demonstrate to the Amir's sub- 
 jects of every race that the representatives of the British 
 Government were mere puppets in his hands. The desire of 
 the British Government to refrain from wounding the Amir's 
 susceptibilities, to a certain extent furthered this aim but 
 only to a certain extent ; for when affairs became critical, 
 pressure was brought to bear on the Kazi to oblige him to 
 suspend his obstructive policy. For instance, when Colonel 
 Ridgeway found that the elders of Panjdeh would not visit 
 him (solely from fear of the Kazi, who, throughout the sojourn 
 of the Commission at Bala Murghab, had done his utmost to 
 check intercourse between the Commissioner and the Saruks), 
 he rode on the 18th February 30 miles to Kalah-i-maur, and
 
 430 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 obtained from the Kazi a written permit for all Saruks to 
 visit the British camp at Panjdeh ad libitum. 
 
 All evidence goes to prove that the attitude of the British 
 Government in connection with the demarcation of the Afghan 
 frontier was from the first weak and indecisive. The Russian 
 Government asserted that it had advocated the preliminary 
 settlement of the main features of the frontier by the two 
 Cabinets, and the incorrectness of this assertion has never 
 been proved. If it was correct, then the despatch of the 
 British Commission, before a clear understanding was arrived 
 at, was a palpable error, and gave the Eussian Government a 
 handle which they have manipulated only too ably for their 
 own advantage. 
 
 It now remains to give a brief review of the alterations 
 that have taken place in the relations of England and Russia 
 in Central Asia since November 1884, when the British Com- 
 mission reached Herat. I am not going to discuss the ques- 
 tion whether or not Russia had any solid grounds for disput- 
 ing the Afghan claim to Badkis and Panjdeh. I am myself 
 firmly convinced that the Afghan claim was a perfectly legiti- 
 mate one, and that the success of Russia is due to the more 
 determined policy and ab]e diplomacy of the Czar and his 
 ministers. The grounds for the Afghan claim are fully de- 
 tailed in the letters now republished. Had the British Gov- 
 ernment accepted in 1882 the proposal of the Russian Govern- 
 ment to assemble a joint Commission for the demarcation of 
 the Russo- Afghan frontier, it seems highly probable that then, 
 when Merv had not yet fallen into the hands of the Russians, 
 a more advantageous frontier would have been secured for the 
 territories of our ally the Amir. It is understood that diplo- 
 matic agents deputed by the British and Indian Governments 
 to study the state of affairs in Central Asia, advocated an early 
 settlement of the frontier question ; but the Cabinet in Down- 
 ing Street appears to have turned a deaf ear to their advice. 
 However, what we have now to reckon with is the actual state 
 of affairs. To Russia has been conceded the line of frontier 
 between the Hari Rud and the Murghab which I have already 
 defined, and it seems perfectly certain that the frontier from
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 431 
 
 the Murghab to the Oxus will, when settled, border on, if it 
 does not actually encroach upon, the pasture -lands of the 
 khanates of Maimena and Andkhui, and the fertile tract on 
 the left bank of the Oxus, between Khwaja Salar and Kilif. 
 
 Considering that the aim and end of British diplomacy has 
 always, of course, with a view to safeguarding India been 
 the security of Herat from Russian and Persian aggression, 
 I cannot do better than say a few words about the present 
 condition of the capital of the western Afghan province. At 
 the conference between the Viceroy and the Amir at Rawal- 
 pindi in March -April 1885, it was decided that the military 
 protection of Herat should be left entirely in the hands of 
 the Afghans, British assistance being limited for the time to 
 a grant of money for the improvement of the fortifications 
 and the supply of war material, consisting of breech-loading 
 rifles, guns, ammunition, &c. The Engineer officers with the 
 Boundary Commission were able to give the Afghans valu- 
 able advice as to the measures necessary to render Herat 
 capable of holding out for some time against modern siege- 
 operations, and they also supervised the execution of the 
 measures they recommended. I do not intend here to enter 
 into any details about the fortifications of Herat. Suffice it 
 to say that enough has been done to secure it from being 
 carried by a coup de main. The duration of a siege of Herat 
 will depend on many contingencies the unity of the defend- 
 ers and the energy and ability of their generals, the activity 
 of the besiegers, the attitude of the surrounding tribes (i.e., 
 whether actively hostile to the besiegers or passively neutral), 
 and lastly, on the policy of Persia. In their present condition 
 Herat and its valley are not of the value usually accredited 
 to them. The neighbourhood of Herat is now to a great 
 extent denuded of inhabitants, and a great part of the soil of 
 its fertile valley lies uncultivated. It has been estimated 
 lately that the population of Herat city does not now exceed 
 12,000 ; and of the entire valley, which is some 40 miles long 
 by 20 broad, 50,000. To suppose that the Herat valley could, 
 in its present condition, support a Russian army powerful 
 enough to advance to attack with a certainty of success (for
 
 432 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 Eussia could not afford to risk defeat), the army that India 
 would mass on the Helmund, or some other point in advance 
 of Kandahar, is a mistake. Possibly 20,000 or 30,000 men 
 could now be supported on the produce of the Herat and 
 Ghorian valleys, with the assistance of the supplies that 
 would be brought up by the trans-Caspian Eailway. To 
 render Herat a really valuable base, whence an advance 
 can be made on India, it must be carefully administered by 
 Eussia for a good many years. The population must be 
 increased by immigration, the whole valley must be irrigated 
 and tilled, and the trade and manufactures developed. It 
 must be restored to something approaching its pristine splen- 
 dour ; and possibly, under the altered conditions of modern 
 Asia (the steamer, not the caravan, is now the medium of com- 
 merce), this may prove impossible. As far as the prospect of 
 a Eussian invasion of India is concerned, the shortcomings of 
 Herat, or any other base of military operations in Central 
 Asia, will be more or less compensated by the completion of 
 the trans-Caspian and Turkistan Eailway. Any one who 
 has studied the geographical conformation of northern Af- 
 ghanistan must clearly perceive that the easiest avenue to 
 India is vid Herat and Kandahar. North of Herat, and west 
 of it to the Hari Eud, stretches a low range of mountains 
 pierced by a succession of easy passes. The concentration of 
 an army on Herat from the north and west, especially with a 
 railway behind to facilitate the conveyance of troops and sup- 
 plies to the theatre of war, is a matter of no difficulty for a 
 nation that commands all its main avenues of approach viz., 
 from Mashhad on the west, and vid the Hari Eud and the 
 Khushk valleys on the north. But eastward from Herat to 
 the frontiers of Kashmir, there extends an almost impene- 
 trable barrier of mountains. Certainly there are passes over 
 them ; but all travellers (Yavorski is the latest, and apparently 
 the most accurate and reliable) agree as to their great difficulty. 
 In winter these passes are, according to Yavorski, blocked 
 by snow, usually from December to March, although in mild 
 years they are sometimes open for a few days during those 
 months. Such an intricate country should be capable of
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 433 
 
 effective defence against an invader. It follows from this, 
 that the route most likely to be adopted by an invader of 
 India would be that via Herat and Kandahar, and it is doubt- 
 less this consideration that has led the Government of India 
 to concentrate most of its energies and resources on the defence 
 of the Kandahar line. 1 As is known, two lines of railway are 
 now being constructed from the plains of Upper Sind to the 
 Pishin valley. The one via the Bolan to Quetta is practically 
 completed. In its present state it is liable at any time to be 
 swept away in parts by a flood ; but adequate provision has 
 been made on the spot for the rapid repairs of any such 
 damage. It is the portion of the line below Mach that is 
 liable to be swept away ; and recently a much more eligible 
 route for a railway from Sibi to Quetta has been discovered 
 and surveyed through the hills to the east of the Bolan Pass. 
 As soon as the Government of India is pecuniarily less em- 
 barrassed than it appears to be at this moment, we may hope 
 to see the railway line transferred from the bed of the Bolan 
 stream to the more eligible route above mentioned. Of the 
 value of railway communication between the Sind plain and 
 the Pishin plateau, the difficulty experienced in sending up 
 reinforcements to Quetta in August 1880, and the sad results 
 of the prevalence of cholera on the Bolan and Hurnai routes 
 in the summer of 1885, are conclusive evidence, not to mention 
 the insuperable difficulties attending the provision of sufficient 
 transport for the conveyance of the baggage and supplies of a 
 large army advancing from India to Kandahar. 
 
 It would appear that the future role intended to be played 
 by Herat is simply to delay the advance of a Ptussian force 
 long enough to give an Anglo-Indian army time to assemble 
 on the line considered most suitable for the defence of India. 
 Unsupported, Herat must fall ; but in the meantime, thanks 
 to the guns and rifles lately presented to the Amir, and a few 
 lakhs of rupees expended on the fortifications, the army, to 
 which the security of India is intrusted, will have been placed 
 
 1 The same reason, no doubt, has led Russia to construct a line of railway by 
 which troops can be concentrated at Merv and Sarakhs both from the Caucasus. 
 and Turkistan. 
 
 2 E
 
 434 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 in the field. The strengthening of Herat is not the only 
 measure that the Amir has taken. He has seen the necessity 
 of linking Kabul to Balkh and Herat by good roads, and for 
 a year past impressed labour has been employed to improve 
 the road from Kabul to Herat through the Hazarajat. The 
 garrisons of Afghan Turkistan have also been strengthened. 
 The next concession we require from the Amir is his consent 
 to the continuation of the railways from Peshawar to Kabul, 
 and from Pishin to Kandahar, and the construction of tele- 
 graph lines between the Indian frontier and Kabul and Kan- 
 dahar, and between Kabul and Kandahar via Ghazni. The 
 means of rapid communication thus afforded to Anglo-Indian 
 armies operating on far-distant portions of the frontier, would 
 be invaluable. It is not enough for India that it is quite as 
 much prepared to resist as Russia is to attack. What is 
 wanted are facilities for defence far superior to those for the 
 attack. In adopting measures of defence it is difficult to 
 err on the side of excess. India cannot be too secure. It is 
 very unfortunate that financial difficulties are putting a stop 
 to the increase of the Sikh and Goorkha regiments, and also 
 probably to other items of the programme of defence. True 
 that a loan of six millions is now being negotiated by the 
 Government of India, and it may be far worse spent than on 
 the completion of the army of India and its armament. It 
 could be wished that the Volunteer service in India was more 
 efficient, but the difficulties of remedying its defects are many. 
 It is now proposed to form a Railway Service Corps on the 
 North-Western Railway i.e., the railway that runs from 
 Delhi to Lahore, and thence branches to Peshawar, Karachi, 
 and the Pishin. Such a corps will probably be composed not 
 only of railway officials, but also of selected men from the 
 native army reserves. The changes that have been actually in- 
 troduced into the army of India during the past twelve months 
 consist chiefly of augmentations of the establishment. It has 
 been decided to increase the British garrison of India by 
 10,000 men in all, by sending out several additional battalions 
 of infantry and batteries of artillery, and adding a squadron to 
 each regiment of cavalry. In the native army five additional
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 435 
 
 battalions of Goorkhas and several Sikh regiments were to 
 have been raised. So far, however, only three battalions of 
 Goorkhas have been raised, while an additional squadron has 
 been added to each native cavalry regiment. Most of the 
 cavalry regiments that were disbanded in 1882 have again 
 been raised viz., two in Bengal and one in Bombay. The 
 strength of Goorkha battalions has been raised to 1000 rank 
 and file. 
 
 Most of the above alterations and reforms both those 
 projected and those carried into effect are the outcome of the 
 Anglo-Eussian disagreement of the spring of 1885. The then 
 imminence of war gave a stimulus to military preparations 
 such as years of comparative peace and immunity from danger 
 had failed to awaken. It is true that in 1875 the Russians 
 threatened India through Afghanistan ; but Geok-tepe, Ashka- 
 bad, and Merv had not then fallen into Russia's hands, and 
 no trans-Caspian railway existed. 
 
 And now, having glanced at what is being done in India, 
 let us see what the Russians are about in Central Asia, To 
 obtain any reliable statistics of the strength of the Russian 
 forces in trans-Caspiana and Turkistan is difficult ; but from a 
 comparison of the most recent reports that have come to my 
 notice, I should say that 15,000 for trans-Caspiana (including 
 about 1000 local levies), and 30,000 for Turkistan (of whom 
 3000 are local levies), would be not far off the mark. The 
 component parts of these totals may be roughly estimated as 
 follows : In Turkistan, 23,000 regular infantry, four or five 
 batteries of artillery (about 30 guns), 3500 Cossacks, and 
 3000 local levies ; in trans-Caspiana, 10,000 regular infantry 
 (including two railway battalions working on the trans- 
 Caspian railway), 3000 Cossacks, two or three batteries 
 artillery (12 to 20 guns), about 600 infantry and 400 cavalry 
 local levies (Turkomans). Apropos of these trans - Caspian 
 local levies, it may be mentioned that fully a year ago M. 
 Vambery gave to the world a very exaggerated statement of 
 the progress made by the Russians in organising the Turko- 
 man Irregular Horse, whereas up to the present moment 
 they have barely succeeded in raising two squadrons. But
 
 436 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 after all, M. Vainbery's travels were but limited in extent, and 
 twenty-two years have elapsed since he wandered in the garb 
 of a dervish to Khiva, Bokhara, and Herat. But to revert 
 to the Eussian garrison of the trans-Caspian province. The 
 headquarters is located at Ashkabad, a place that fell into 
 the hands of Russia at the close of General Skoboleff s cam- 
 paign against the Akhal Tekkes in the winter of 1880-81. 
 Under Russian rule it has developed from a Turkoman vil- 
 lage into an administrative and military centre. Here 
 resides General Komaroff, the governor and commander- 
 in-chief of the forces in trans-Caspiana. The next most im- 
 portant place in the province is Merv, which is governed by 
 Colonel Alikhanoff. In this district is included Panjdeh, and 
 all or most of the territory that Afghanistan has recently 
 ceded to Russia. The largest garrisons are located at Ashka- 
 bad, Sarakhs, and Merv : and bodies of troops are quartered 
 at Krasnovodsk, Mikhailovsk, and Chikishlar, on the east shore 
 of the Caspian ; at Kahka, Du-shakh, Chacha, and Karaband, 
 on the main road from Ashkabad to Sarakhs and Merv ; 
 and at Pul-i-Khatun, Ak-rabat, Chaman-i-bed, and Panjdeh, 
 near the recently demarcated frontier. The telegraph line 
 was completed to Merv and Sarakhs last year, and if it has 
 not already been constructed to and beyond the Oxus, will 
 certainly be laid as the railway advances. The enlistment of 
 local levies (Turkomans) does not seem to have been attended 
 so far with much success. Still, we have no proof that the 
 Russians desire to enrol more than they have at present viz., 
 about 400 horse and 600 infantry. 
 
 But it is not so much the present strength of the Russian 
 garrisons in Central Asia that concerns us, as the means that 
 Power possesses of massing troops on the northern frontier of 
 Afghanistan to menace and invade India. Those means at the 
 present moment consist, firstly, of a single line of railway, 
 which is now (May 1886) completed from the harbour of Mik- 
 hailovsk on the east shore of the Caspian, to Kahka, a village 
 about half-way along the main road from Ashkabad to Sarakhs. 
 A year ago the terminus was at Kizil-Arvat, 145 miles from 
 Mikhailovsk. On Christmas-day 1885, the first passenger
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 437 
 
 train ran to Ashkabad, 136 miles farther; and by this time 
 (for five months have elapsed since it reached Ashkabad) 
 Kahka, 375 miles from Mikhailovsk, is not improbably the 
 terminus. At the same time, work is being carried on on the 
 Kahka-Merv and Merv-Charjui sections. It is anticipated 
 that the line will be completed to Merv before the end of this 
 year, and by June 1887 we may expect it to be completed 
 to Charjui on the Oxus. It is true that a sanguine Kussian 
 paper has stated that the line w r ould be open to Merv in April 
 and to Charjui in June 1886 ; but that statement is not worth 
 the paper it is printed on. From Ashkabad to Charjui is 
 about 380 miles, and to lay a mile of line a-day is uncommon 
 good work on the most favourable ground (the Kuk-Sibi line 
 was laid at the rate of a mile a-day, but the work was rough 
 and of a temporary nature). In trans-Caspiana the scarcity 
 of water is a most serious hindrance ; and moreover, a good 
 deal of bridging is required. The progress of the Turkistan 
 section of the line depends on whether work is at once begun 
 independently at that end, or whether its commencement is 
 postponed until the completion of the line from the Caspian 
 to the Oxus. It is proposed to convey the train across the 
 Oxus on a steam-ferry. The distance from Charjui via Bok- 
 hara to Samarcand is about 230 miles. The line once com- 
 pleted to Samarcand, we may look upon its extension to 
 Tashkend, the seat of government in Turkistan, as a mere 
 question of time. Certain writers in the Russian press have 
 of late maintained that the extension of the railway beyond 
 Merv is for strategical purposes useless, and that commercial 
 prospects are not sufficiently promising to warrant the con- 
 struction of a railway to Bokhara, Samarcand, and Tashkend. 
 Nevertheless it is authoritatively reported that General 
 Annenkoff has obtained the sanction of his Government to 
 this extension, and recent articles in the 'Journal de St 
 Petersbourg ' seem to imply that the commercial advantages 
 resulting from it will be considerable. As far as the strategical 
 part of the question is concerned, this opinion appears to be not 
 without foundation. The garrison of Turkistan is, as stated 
 above, about 30,000 strong ; and of this number, at least half,
 
 438 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 I should say, are indispensable for controlling the inhabitants. 
 In the event of an invasion of Afghanistan, we may take it for 
 granted that a Eussian army will occupy Balkh and all the 
 khanates of Afghan Turkistan. It seems most natural that 
 this task should be allotted to the army of Turkistan. It is of 
 course quite possible to detach a force from the trans- Caspian 
 army vid Bala-Murghab and Maimena or Balkh. It is per- 
 haps still more probable that two forces one advancing from 
 Bokhara or Samarcand, and the other from Merv through 
 Panjdeh will co-operate in the reduction of the Afghan 
 khanates, and the expulsion of the Afghan army beyond the 
 Hindu Kush. At all events, it would seem that Turkistan 
 will have few or no troops to spare for operations against 
 Herat ; nor is there any need for the trans-Caspian army, with 
 all the resources of the Caucasus and Eussia at its back, to 
 look to Turkistan for aid. At the same time, in the event 
 of an emergency, it will be a great advantage to be able to 
 reinforce Turkistan from trans-Caspiana, or vice versd, as cir- 
 cumstances may require, not to mention the convenience of 
 rapid communication with Tashkend and the stimulus it 
 should lend to commercial advancement. Anyhow, the Eus- 
 sian Government has, it is reported, decided to prolong the 
 line beyond the Oxus. We may any day hear that branch 
 lines are about to be run to Sarakhs and Panjdeh, or even to 
 Kara-tapa on the Khushk, some 60 miles north of Herat. 
 
 The next point to be considered in connection with the 
 Eussian advance in Central Asia, is the harbour accommoda- 
 tion of the east coast of the Caspian. I travelled along this 
 coast towards the end of last July in the Eussian mail-boat. 
 We called in at Chikishlar, which is nothing but a shelterless 
 roadstead ; and Krasnovodsk, a well-sheltered and commodious 
 harbour. Steamers can be moored alongside the pier quite 
 close to the shore, so deep is the water. But in the ap- 
 proaches to Mikhailovsk, on the other hand, so shallow is the 
 water that no steamers of any draught can navigate them. 
 The cargo has to be transferred to flats, and so transported 
 up the shallow channels that lead to the site of the railway 
 terminus. This is a very serious drawback, and several plans
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 439 
 
 for rectifying it have been proposed, one being the wholesale 
 transfer of the railway terminus to Krasnovodsk, which, 
 however, would be a very expensive undertaking, owing to 
 engineering difficulties ; and the other, the deepening of 
 the approaches to Mikhailovsk. But this latter proposal is 
 hardly likely to be a success, because the approaches would 
 again very soon be choked by the drift-sand from the desert. 
 At any rate, incessant dredging would be obligatory. There 
 is, however, a third project, and one that promises more satis- 
 factory results than either of the two first-named. When 
 in the Caucasus last August, I was informed that an eligible 
 harbour of sufficient depth to admit any of the Caspian 
 steamers had been discovered on the south shore of the 
 Balkan Bay, vis-a-vis to Krasnovodsk, and within 20 or 
 30 miles of Mikhailovsk. It is said that the railway ter- 
 minus can easily be removed from Mikhailovsk to the site 
 of this newly discovered harbour. 
 
 Communications between Eussia and its trans - Caspian 
 province are at present by no means perfect. The line to 
 Charjui will probably not be completed till June 1887, and 
 the line from Vladikavkas cannot be completed till the end 
 of 1888 at the earliest. Now the Bolaii railway is already 
 completed, and the Sind-Pishin line is timed to be finished 
 in the summer of 1887. Once the Khwaja Amran range is 
 passed (it is reported that a tunnel will be constructed 
 through that range), the railway can be pushed on to Kan- 
 dahar in at most six months, and probably much less. If, 
 therefore, the Indian line of defence is to be, as seems prob- 
 able, on or near the Helmund, it is evident that, as far as 
 railways are concerned, India is better prepared for defence 
 than Eussia for invasion. If, however, it be a question of 
 preoccupying Herat, then, to the best of my judgment, the 
 advantage rests entirely with Eussia. But as I have said 
 before, I very much doubt if, in the event of war with Eussia, 
 any Anglo-Indian force will be sent to Herat. There are 
 other means of forcing Eussia to evacuate Herat, if she suc- 
 ceeds in obtaining possession of it, besides a direct attack 
 from India.
 
 440 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 If adequate measures are taken for the defence of India, its 
 Government and people have little or nothing to fear from a 
 Russian invasion. Russia is separated from India by 1500 
 miles of bleak mountain-ranges and barren steppes, studded 
 here and there with oases, and sparsely populated. From such 
 a country she cannot draw the supplies and transport neces- 
 sary for the support and movement of a force large enough to 
 invade India with a reasonable chance of success. It should 
 be our policy so to win the friendship of Afghanistan and 
 Persia as to render their alliance sure and prevent Russia 
 from obtaining the smallest assistance from them, either in 
 troops, supplies, or transport. At the lowest computation 
 Russia will require an army of 200,000 men to invade India, 
 and for this force all the supplies and transport that cannot 
 be raised locally must be brought from Russia. In a few 
 years, no doubt, we shall see the trans-Caspian railway com- 
 pleted to Sarakhs and Panjdeh, if not to Ak-rabat and 
 Chaman-i-bed. But that still leaves them 400 odd miles to 
 march to the Helmund. If we have played our cards well, 
 they will be confronted at the outset by the fortress of Herat, 
 which they must either capture or mask. I must admit that 
 I see only too good grounds for apprehending that the Afghan 
 garrison of Herat, knowing that the Amir's army is power- 
 less to aid them and raise a siege, and that the army of India 
 will not advance beyond the Helmund, and surrounded by 
 disaffected tribes of Persian origin, will make but a half- 
 hearted defence. If, however, an Anglo-Indian army advances 
 to the Helmund, that will set free the garrison of Kandahar ; 
 and that, combined with the Afghan garrisons of Girishk, 
 Farah, and Sabzawar, and supplemented by large bodies of irreg- 
 ular levies drawn from every Afghan tribe between Herat and 
 the Khwaja Amran range, might do much to delay the progress 
 of the siege operations, though I fear they could not prevent 
 their ultimate success. At the same time, if we have secured 
 the alliance of Persia, the troops, and especially the irregular 
 cavalry of that nation, might be very useful in creating diver- 
 sions along the lengthy line of Russian communications from 
 Herat to the Caspian. Supposing, however, that Herat falls,
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 441 
 
 and a Russian army 100,000 strong advances on Kandahar, 
 the most arduous portion of its task is but just beginning. 
 It remains to be proved if they can collect transport for the 
 movement of a force of 100,000 men, and if they can feed 
 such a large force. In the Afghan campaigns from 1878-80, 
 the largest British force in the field was about 60,000 men ; 
 and with all the resources of India, with its 250 millions of 
 inhabitants, at Government's disposal, it was no easy matter 
 to provide an army even of that size with transport. How 
 then is Russia, with nothing but semi-sterile steppes, with 
 some half-dozen millions of settlers to draw upon, to trans- 
 port 100,000 men from Herat to the Helmund ? And even if 
 they obtain transport, will not the Afghans destroy or remove 
 all the supplies as they fall back on the British army on the 
 Helmund ? If they do not, they ought to. Moreover, as the 
 Russian force advances, the dangers of a defeat multiply. I 
 believe that a Russian force repulsed from before Herat would 
 have a very troublous time of it. The first Russian reverse 
 would encourage Afghan, Persian, and Turkoman alike ; there 
 might even be a general revolt throughout Turkistan and 
 trans-Caspiana. And the nearer the Russian army was to 
 the Helmund when defeated, the greater the probability of its 
 total destruction. Pressed on during its retreat by the British 
 army, harassed by thousands of Afghan guerillas, and its rear 
 threatened by Persians and rebel Turkomans, its position 
 would be a most unenviable one. Of course Herat-Kan- 
 dahar is not the only line by which Russia can invade India, 
 There is also the Balkh-Bamian route, and that from Herat 
 through the Hazarajat on Kabul. But both of these routes 
 are difficult, are blocked by snow for at least four months 
 every year, and are unfitted for the secure retreat of a defeated 
 army. 
 
 In concluding this review of the work of the Afghan 
 Boundary Commission, and of the consequent relative posi- 
 tions of Russia and England in Asia, a few words should be 
 said on the Central Asian policy of the Government from which 
 the Commission originated. There is a motto, " better late 
 than never," and I consider that the despatch of this Com-
 
 442 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 mission was a step in the right direction. But unfortunately, 
 events have proved that, prior to its despatch, no satisfactory 
 understanding with the Russian Government was arrived at ; 
 and at a later period, when the Russian Government saw and 
 seized its chance of profiting thereby, the British Government 
 was so embarrassed by its unsuccessful policy in Egypt, and 
 its inharmonious relations with the great Powers of Europe, 
 that it was compelled, despite the employment of a variety 
 of ruses prompted rather by party spirit than patriotic 
 earnestness, to submit to a complete diplomatic defeat. It 
 transpired during the negotiations that took place between 
 the British and Russian Governments in the spring of 1885, 
 that the Russian Cabinet had in 1884 urged that a general 
 line of frontier should be determined by the two Govern- 
 ments, leaving only to the Commissioners the settlement of 
 details. This being so, the summary despatch of the British 
 Commission can only be regarded as premature and ill-con- 
 sidered. At any rate, the Government that thought fit to de- 
 spatch a Commission in defiance of Russian stipulations, should 
 have seen its way to uphold that Commission through thick 
 and thin. And that it most undeniably failed to do. The 
 basis of the settlement of the Russo-Afghan frontier was 
 the Clarendon-Gortchakoff agreement of 1872, which fixed 
 Sarakhs and Khwaja Salar as the terminal points respectively 
 on the Hari Rud and the Oxus. And yet, when Sir Peter 
 Lumsden arrived at Sarakhs in November 1884, he found 
 that a Russian outpost had occupied Pul-i-Khatun. He urged 
 the Government to demand the withdrawal of that outpost. 
 But so weak were the remonstrances of the British Govern- 
 ment, that not only was that outpost not withdrawn (Mr 
 Gladstone subsequently stated in the House of Commons 
 that the demand had " virtually lapsed "), but the Russian 
 troops seized in February Zulfikar, Ak-rabat, and Kizil-tapa. 
 The well-known agreement of 16th March must be still fresh 
 within the memory of all who take any interest in the Cen- 
 tral Asian question. Facts have proved that it was a mere 
 farce, and that it was utilised by the party then in power 
 in England, not as a real check on Russian aggression in Cen-
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 443 
 
 tral Asia, but as a means of maintaining 1 party prestige. It 
 subsequently transpired that the Eussian Cabinet had added 
 to the agreement a proviso that practically left its hands free 
 for any sort of aggressive action. That provisional paragraph 
 was kept in the background. As a natural consequence, the 
 British Commissioner, and in particular the British officer 
 deputed to maintain British interests at Panjdeh, was entirely 
 in the dark as to the real policy of the Government then in 
 power. The agreement, as made public, distinctly stipulated 
 that neither the Eussian nor Afghan troops should advance. 
 In defiance of that, General Komaroff advanced with a force 
 3000 strong and forced a combat on the Afghans. In conse- 
 quence of the governmental attitude, blame has been at- 
 tached to the British officer at Panjdeh, who, cognisant only 
 of the agreement of the 16th March, considered that it was 
 his duty and that of the Afghan troops to resist Eussian 
 aggression. The truth is, that blame attaches solely to the 
 Liberal Government then in power, for its tortuous and 
 unstraightforward policy. As a matter of fact, there is every 
 reason to believe that the collision of Panjdeh on 30th March 
 1885 was the best thing that, under the circumstances, could 
 happen. It brought matters to a crisis, and placed an effec- 
 tual check on Eussian aggressive projects. It roused British 
 feeling to a pitch that warned Eussia to go no further. I 
 have been informed by Eussian officers that General Kom- 
 aroff made a mistake in not pressing on straight from Panj- 
 deh on Herat. Such remarks, however, can only be re- 
 garded as ill-considered. An advance on Herat must have 
 necessitated war ; and as Russia was then unprepared for an 
 advance on India, Komaroff did well to halt at Panjdeh. 
 The Afghan feeling was very bitter against Eussia. The 
 memory of the Stolietoff Mission of 1878, and the complete 
 failure of the Eussians to give to the Amir Slier Ali Khan that 
 assistance against the British Power that General Kaufmann 
 had led him to expect, has not yet faded from the minds 
 of the Afghan people. There is little doubt that had war 
 broken out between Eussia and England in the spring of 
 1885, a Eussian invasion of Afghanistan would have met
 
 444 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 with a strenuous resistance. The trans-Caspian railway was 
 then only completed to Kizil-Arvat ; and any one who knows 
 the country between Kizil-Arvat and Herat, knows that 
 without a railway the concentration of a sufficiently powerful 
 Eussian force at Herat for the conquest of Afghanistan and 
 the invasion of India is impossible. Knowing this, we can^ 
 only feel surprise that more vigorous support was not ac- 
 corded to the British Commission by the Government that 
 sent it to Central Asia to guard the interests of Afghanistan 
 and of our Indian empire. But not only did the Gladstonian 
 Cabinet not support its Commission against Eussian aggres- 
 sion, but it did not even make any effort to vindicate its 
 conduct in the eyes of the British nation. The fact is, that 
 no vindication of the deeds of the Commission could possibly 
 have redounded to the credit of the Government, and there- 
 fore recourse was had to silence a silence that could not be 
 but unfavourably interpreted. While the Czar and all Eussia 
 were patting Komaroff on the back, the Government that 
 then ruled England never uttered one word of praise or en- 
 couragement on behalf of the Commission that it had planted 
 in Central Asia. Fortunately, in June 1885 a Conservative 
 Ministry came into power, and promptly gave the Commission 
 that active and resolute support which Mr Gladstone and 
 Lord Granville had denied it. The new Ministry was of 
 course obliged to continue the negotiations on the basis al- 
 ready laid down by the old one. It was too late to save 
 Panjdeh and to push back the Eussian outposts from the 
 fertile border of southern Badkis into the waterless chul. 
 The only thing possible to do was to concede to Eussia as 
 little as possible. The Zulfikar Pass was preserved to the 
 Amir ; and a study of the map attached to this book will 
 show that Eussia has obtained very much less than she 
 claimed, albeit she has most undeniably obtained by far the 
 best of it. 
 
 While regarding Eussian progress in Asia as antagonistic 
 and dangerous to British interests, we should at the same 
 time not altogether ignore its civilising effects. And while 
 considering the work of civilisation that England and Eussia
 
 RESULTS OF THE COMMISSION. 445 
 
 are carrying out in Asia, let us look back for a moment and 
 recall the fact that those races that are now teaching to 
 the Mongol and Aryan of Asia the arts and customs of Europe, 
 were not many centuries ago even greater barbarians than the 
 peoples they are now regenerating. The Russians, in particu- 
 lar, have only emerged from barbarism for the last two cen- 
 turies, since the accession of Peter the Great, or at the 
 earliest since the regency of Sophia, his elder sister. Much 
 of the modern civilisation of Europe is due to the invasions 
 of the Asiastic hordes, and to the influence of the Turks 
 and Arabs. We now see the current of migration reversed, 
 and tending eastward. We see Russia and England each 
 arming the Asiatic races under their rule with the best 
 firearms of modern times. Both alike seek to turn those 
 conquered races into useful mercenaries, and to utilise them 
 either for offence or defence. It becomes, however, a question 
 whether in the long-run the subject-races may not turn 
 the tables on the conquerors, and turn against them with 
 fatal effect the very firearms they presented to them. The 
 British nation has not yet forgotten the Mutiny of 1857-58 ; 
 and in the late Afghan war the Afghan troops used against 
 us the very rifles that the Viceroys of India had presented 
 to Amir Sher Ali. Many signs indicate the growth and ex- 
 tension of native influence and power in India ; and although 
 the concessions that have been made to the natives of India 
 are confined entirely to civil privileges, the daily increasing 
 share in the government of the country that is being accorded 
 to them must necessarily lessen the thoroughness of British 
 domination. The policy of admitting the natives of India to 
 a participation in the government is one of uncertain result. 
 It may be, as some say, that it gives them a direct interest 
 in the stability of the British rule ; but on the other hand, 
 it places them in a position to exercise their power and influ- 
 ence for the subversion of that rule. As for Russian rule 
 over the Tartars, Uzbeks, and Turkomans, it is but of short 
 duration, and the very nature of the country renders any 
 combination against the Muscovite domination difficult. At 
 the same time, both Briton and Russian may remember
 
 446 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 that the history of the past teaches us that the tide of human 
 civilisation and progress ebbs and flows, and that no one can 
 foretell when it may take a westward turn. 
 
 I am personally quite convinced that the Russian Govern- 
 ment will overstep the demarcated frontier at the first op- 
 portunity. Every care has been taken by the British Com- 
 mission, by conceding to Russia the heads of water-supply, and 
 indeed making any reasonable concessions, to avoid disputes 
 hereafter. But to leave no loophole for a watchful foe ever on 
 the qui mm to seize any opening, is obviously impossible. Dis- 
 putes must arise, and the nature of their settlement will mainly 
 depend on the policy of the British Government. If the weak 
 spirit of concession that has been evinced for the past two 
 years is adhered to, then of course Russia will have its own 
 way, and little by little filch from the Amir the little territory 
 that is still left to him north of the Hindu Kush. It is indeed 
 strange that the Government of England, the power of which 
 in Southern Asia is firmly established, should find itself 
 unable to present a resolute front to the unstable and pre- 
 carious position held by Russia in Central Asia. Yet so it is. 
 Indeed from past events the world and the nationalities of 
 Central Asia must conclude that Russia has the stronger 
 position of the two in Asia. And yet such is not the case. 
 It is most clearly a false policy to send a Commission to the 
 north of Afghanistan for the purpose of conceding Afghan 
 territory to Russia. It was the fiat of the Seistan Boundary 
 Commission that decided the wavering mind of Sher AM to 
 seek a Russian alliance, and it can scarcely be expected that 
 the Amir Abdur Rahman will conceive increased respect and 
 regard for us if our Commission curtails the limits of his 
 dominions. The latest report says that a frontier has been 
 settled as far as the Andkhui territory, but it seems more 
 than doubtful if the settlement will satisfy the Amir. He 
 may dissemble his dissatisfaction. It were almost better for 
 us to have left to Russia the onus of robbing Afghanistan 
 of its territory, than take on ourselves the onus of conceding 
 it to Russia.
 
 447 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MILITARY STRENGTH OF PERSIA AND AFGHANISTAN. 
 
 WHILE treating of the respective positions of England and 
 Russia in Asia from a military point of view, it is scarcely 
 possible to overlook the military strength of Persia and 
 Afghanistan, two countries which must of necessity be in- 
 timately connected with the impending struggle. I can 
 find no later or more authoritative information on this 
 point than that contained in a series of articles entitled 
 "La Russie et 1'Angleterre en Asie Centrale," based on or 
 translated from an article written by M. Lessar, and pub- 
 lished in the ' Journal des Sciences Militaires.' The follow- 
 ing is a rfeumA from the article (Part V.) in the number for 
 March 1886 : 
 
 " The Persian army, according to the official documents to 
 which we have had access, shows an effective total of 105,000 
 men, mainly composed as under : artillery, 5000 ; infantry, 
 53,000 ; cavalry, regular and irregular, 31,000 ; militia, 7200. 
 These numbers, however, in reality exist only on paper. Accord- 
 ing to a firman issued by the Shah in July 1875, the Persian 
 army was to be recruited according to a regular system, and to 
 be maintained at a fixed peace-strength. Service for life was to 
 be replaced by a period of obligatory service of twelve years' 
 duration. This firman has never been carried into effect. Chris- 
 tians, Jews, and Guebres are excused from military service. 
 
 " Abbas Mirza first, in 1823, endeavoured to introduce into the 
 Persian army some system of organisation ; but it was the pre- 
 sent Shah, Nasr-ud-din, who formed the idea of organising his 
 army on the European system, and employing German and Aus-
 
 448 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 trian instructors. The task of carrying into effect this idea was 
 intrusted to his Prime Minister, Mirza Takki Khan, and subse- 
 quently to half-a-dozen other successive Ministers of War. The 
 chief difficulties with which these ministers have had to contend 
 are the poverty of the treasury, the peculations of the officers 
 charged with the payment of the troops, and the consequent im- 
 possibility of ensuring to the troops the receipt of the pay due to 
 them. Within the last few years the Shah has placed the entire 
 control and management of the army in the hands of his third 
 son, entitled Naib-us-sultana, but with no very satisfactory results. 
 The native officers are incapable, and ignorant of the duties of 
 their profession, while the European instructors have never yet 
 succeeded in exercising any real authority over either officers or 
 men. And yet the Persian foot-soldier, if well drilled and dis- 
 ciplined, and led by good officers, has all the qualities that go to 
 make a first-rate soldier. Badly fed and cared for as he is, his 
 powers of enduring fatigue are astounding." 
 
 The writer then mentions the several grades of officers and 
 non-commissioned officers in the Persian army, and main- 
 tains that the higher the grade the lower the standard of 
 morality. I have reason, however, to believe that there are 
 not a few honourable exceptions to this general rule. The 
 writer omits to remark that there are two distinct classes of 
 Persian officers one composed of the nobility, who early rise 
 to comparatively high rank, and the other of men of lowly 
 origin, who by interest or ability attain to the commissioned 
 grade, and rarely rise above the rank of captain (sultan) or 
 major (yawar). Whatever the moral character of the lower 
 class of officers, I can from personal experience say that some at 
 least of the officers of good family are far from neglectful of 
 the efficiency of the corps under their command corps which 
 are often recruited and officered from their own tribes and 
 families. 
 
 After stating that the establishment of a Persian infantry 
 regiment consists of 33 officers, 40 non-commissioned officers, 
 and 700 rank and file, the writer continues : 
 
 " Although the Persian Government has of late years bought 
 up a large number of modern guns and firearms, and has estab- 
 lished at Teheran a gun and small-arm factory, its armaments 
 cannot be regarded as in a satisfactory condition.
 
 STRENGTH OF PERSIA AND AFGHANISTAN. 449 
 
 " The regular cavalry consists only of the Shah's body-guard 
 and three squadrons. The remaining 79 regiments of cavalry are 
 all irregular, and composed of nomads 1 commanded by their own 
 chiefs. This irregular cavalry is the most efficient portion of 
 the Persian army, and the only one capable of doing really good 
 service in time of war. 
 
 " The artillery is supposed to consist of 20 regiments of three 
 or four batteries each, and each battery of from four to eight 
 guns. 
 
 " There is one battalion of engineers 500 strong, and a police 
 force of 24 battalions, with an effective of from 250 to 500 men 
 per battalion." 
 
 The writer then makes mention of the tufanycliis, whom he 
 terms militia, mounted and dismounted. From my own 
 personal experience, I may say that the tufanycliis are quite 
 useless for military purposes, as they are only armed with 
 superannuated muskets, and have no discipline or organisa- 
 tion. As internal police they may be of some little use ; but 
 from all I heard and saw during my travels in Persia in 1881 
 and 1885, I came to the conclusion that they seldom received 
 any pay, and that they were consequently obliged to eke out 
 their livelihood by begging or extorting contributions from 
 travellers and that not unfrequently they had a distinct 
 understanding, conducing to their own pecuniary advantage, 
 with the gangs of highway robbers from whom they are 
 supposed to protect wayfarers. 
 
 I am able from personal knowledge to endorse two of the 
 writer's statements viz., that the Persian infantry possesses 
 sterling soldiering qualities, and that the Persian irregular 
 cavalry is capable of doing excellent service. In the days of 
 Abbas Mirza, British officers held those posts in the Persian 
 army which of late years have been filled by officers of the 
 Austrian, Russian, German, and other European armies. 
 Since the peace of Turkomanchai in 1828, no British officers 
 have, to the best of my knowledge, served in the Shah's army. 
 Whether, with a view to the existing state of Central Asian 
 affairs, the interests of the British empire have gained any- 
 
 1 The writer is quite wrong in using the word " nomad." Most of the 
 tribes which furnish the Persian irregular cavalry have settled habitations. 
 
 2 F
 
 450 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 thing by this elimination of British influence from Persia 
 and the Persian army, is matter for grave doubt. It is but 
 natural that the presence and influence of British officers 
 should strengthen the strong leaning towards a British 
 alliance, as a safeguard against Eussian aggression, that 
 undoubtedly animates very many Persians of all ranks, from 
 the highest to the lowest. 
 
 Having recourse to a quite independent, and I think more 
 reliable, though less recent authority than the ' Journal des 
 Sciences Militaires,' we gather the following facts relative to 
 the strength and condition of the Persian army. Its nominal 
 strength is put down as 64,500 infantry, 4500 drilled cavalry, 
 20,000 undrilled cavalry, 5300 artillery, 90 camel artillery, 100 
 engineers, and 6550 militia, giving a total of 101,040. The 
 actual strength is said to be : 35,400 infantry, 3300 drilled 
 cavalry, 12,130 undrilled cavalry, 2500 artillery 7 , 90 camel 
 artillery, 100 engineers, and 1310 militia, giving a total of 
 54,830. Of this last-named number, only 24,500 men are 
 said to be present with the colours, the remainder being on 
 furlough at their own homes. 
 
 The Persian army, as it now is, has been organised so far 
 as it is organised the infantry, artillery, and engineers by 
 Austrian and Italian officers, and the cavalry by Cossack 
 officers from Russia. "Without entering into details about 
 the organisation, pay, clothing, barracks, arms, &c., of the 
 Persian army, I will confine myself to this one quotation, 
 which gives in a few words the best qualities of the Persian 
 soldiery : " The horsemen are good riders, and generally have 
 good hardy horses. The infantry and artillery soldiers are 
 strong, and capable of enduring great fatigue. A march of 
 300 or 400 miles, at an average rate of 20 miles a-day, would 
 be thought no extraordinary feat." Such men should be the 
 making of a very fine army. What they want is a set of 
 competent and upright officers, and just treatment by the 
 Government they serve. 
 
 With regard to the Afghan military forces, the writer 
 admits that he bases his figures entirely on information 
 obtained from English sources. He says, " I am only treat-
 
 STRENGTH OF PERSIA AND AFGHANISTAN. 451 
 
 ing here of the regular troops, trained and organised on the 
 European system, and comparatively well armed. These 
 troops are divided into three armies, thus distributed over 
 Afghanistan: In the Kabul province, 17,600 infantry, 7300 
 cavalry, 106 guns ; in the Herat province, 7300 infantry, 
 2800 cavalry, 50 guns ; in Afghan Turkistan, 20,500 in- 
 fantry, 6000 cavalry, 66 guns: total, 45,400 infantry, 10,100 
 cavalry, 222 guns." 
 
 To Englishmen, who are in the habit of regarding Herat 
 as the key of India, it will be a surprise to learn that its 
 garrison is less than two-thirds of that of Takht-i-pul, a 
 fortress close to Balkh, regarded by the Afghans as almost 
 impregnable. Yavorski, in his Memoirs of General Stolie- 
 toff s Mission to Kabul in 1878, gives an interesting descrip- 
 tion of the fortress of Takht-i-pul. Although the interest 
 of the British public centres in Herat, and that city com- 
 mands the route by which India is most easily accessible, 
 the strength of the Afghan garrison north of the Hindu 
 Kush and Band-i-Turkistan ranges proves that the Afghans 
 are equally apprehensive of danger in that quarter. There 
 are, in fact, four palpable motives for the strength of the 
 garrison in Afghan Turkistan : firstly, that the line of frontier 
 to be defended from Maimena on the west to Faizabad on 
 the east, is very extended, and open to invasion not only by 
 the ferries across the Oxus on the north, but from the Mur- 
 ghab valley to the west; secondly, that these khanates are 
 mostly inhabited by Uzbeks, an alien and warlike race who 
 require to be kept under control by a tight hand ; thirdly, 
 that the passes of the Hindu Kush being closed by snow 
 during at least four months in the year, the permanent 
 garrison must be, if possible, competent both to quell in- 
 ternal rebellion and resist foreign invasion ; fourthly, that 
 the direct line of advance from the north on Kabul is not 
 vid Herat, but vid Balkh and Bamian. The last motive is 
 one that must also influence the disposition and movements 
 of the army of India. 
 
 In his enumeration of the strength of the armed forces of 
 Afghanistan, the writer in the ' Journal des Sciences Mili-
 
 452 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 taires' has made no mention of the irregular levies, albeit 
 the Indian Government in its Afghan campaigns has ever 
 found these to be its most formidable foes. In the event, 
 however, of a Eussian invasion of India through Afghan- 
 istan, the Russian generals will find provided, of course, the 
 Amir and Ms subjects prove faithful allies to England that 
 the Afghan guerillas are not an enemy that they can afford 
 to ignore or despise.
 
 453 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 THE PANJDEH RACE MEETING, 
 21sT AND 22D MARCH 1885. 
 
 IT was decided some days ago to get up some sports amongst 
 the Turkomans (Saruks), and to leave them to manage it. in their 
 own fashion. Accordingly, all the headmen of the different sec- 
 tions were invited to the British camp on the 19th, and they 
 were asked to draw up a programme of their own. 1000 karans 
 ( about 33, 6s. 8d.) was the sum placed at their disposal for 
 prizes. It was agreed that this was too much to spend in one 
 day, so it was unanimously decided to have a two days' meeting. 
 The following programme was then drawn up. I should men- 
 tion that Turkomans in ageing their horses do not count the first 
 year ; consequently what they call a two-year-old is in reality 
 three. 
 
 For Horses. Three Races. 
 
 1. Distance, 
 
 2. ,, 
 
 3. 
 
 3000 paces. 
 2000 M 
 1000 .. 
 
 Prize, 
 
 50 karans. 1 
 40 
 30 
 
 For Colts three years old. Three Races. 
 
 1. Distance, 1000 paces. 
 
 2. 800 n 
 
 3. 500 i, 
 
 Prize, 
 
 30 karans. 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 For Colts two years old. Three Races. 
 1. Distance, 800 paces. Prize, 20 karans. 
 
 800 
 500 
 
 15 
 10 
 
 For Colts one year old. 
 1. Distance, 500 paces. Prize, 10 karans. 
 
 1 One karan = 8d. at present rate of exchange.
 
 454 APPENDIX. 
 
 Wrestling. 
 
 1. For men. Prize, 10 karans. 
 
 2. ii youths. ii 4 n 
 
 3. ii boys. it 2 ii 
 
 Shooting. 
 Prize, Rs. 20. Distance to be fixed by the competitors. 
 
 Total for prizes, 276 karans. In addition to this, 50 karans 
 was to be expended each day in the purchase of cloth and other 
 trifles for casual prizes, leaving a balance of 176 karans for extras. 
 How essential this reserve of funds was will be shown in the 
 sequel. 
 
 At an early hour on the morning of the Nauroz (the New Year's 
 Day of the Persians, Turkomans, and other Central Asian races, 
 falling on the 21st March), the Saruk headmen began to assemble 
 at the British camp, and before 9 o'clock all rode down with 
 Captain Yate (Colonel Eidgeway left Panjdeh for Gulran on 20th 
 March) to the ground, where the various distances had been 
 marked out in a straight line from the winning-post by little 
 heaps of sand. The first race brought four horses to the post, 
 and the second and third three each. The jockeys were all boys, 
 showing that the Turkoman fully understands the advantage of 
 putting up a light weight. Some thousand odd Turkomans were 
 assembled, sitting and standing in double or treble rows close to 
 the winning-post, or rather heap, opposite to which were seated 
 in state all the katkhudas or headmen, with the khalifa, the 
 kazi, and a number of saiyads and mullas, all of whom rank high 
 in the order of precedence by virtue of their religious calling. 
 The money for prizes was intrusted to the headman of the 
 Sukhtis (the largest, richest, and most powerful section of the 
 Saruks), Ak Muhammad by name, but always addressed by the 
 people by his title of Gul Bator. The giving of the prizes was 
 by no means the least arduous of the duties. The horse and 
 colt races, indeed the whole meeting, presented a scene of intense 
 excitement, enthusiasm, and it must be admitted confusion, 
 that would shock the proprieties of British frequenters of the 
 turf. The starting-point of the longest race being 3000 yards 
 distant in a straight line from the winning-point was of course 
 out of sight. The details of the start must therefore rest a mys- 
 tery. Presently the four horses came in sight, excitement grew 
 apace, and the spectators (the clerks of the course and the police 
 were conspicuous by their absence, nor do I think that even 
 superhuman efforts would have curbed the eager throng) began 
 to press forward all along the line. The four juvenile jocks were
 
 THE PANJDEH RACE MEETING. 455 
 
 seen riding all they knew (i.e., a la Turkoman, but not exactly d 
 la Fred Archer), their legs flying in all directions, and flogging 
 away with all their might. Their whips are not straight and 
 cutting like ours, but short-handled, with a long plaited leather 
 lash, with which they cut behind them, striking the horse on the 
 flanks. When not flogging, they whirled the whip round and 
 round in the air. They had no idea of going straight, and many 
 a race was lost by the horse running wide. There is no doubt 
 that the Turkoman jockey might learn a thing or two by the 
 study of Captain Horace Haye's essays on race-riding. Their 
 translation into Turki is a desideratum. One race being just 
 like another, no need to describe each in detail. The owners of 
 the horses or colts running, invariably waited for and met them 
 about a couple of hundred yards from home, and then rode in 
 alongside of them, shouting and yelling with all their might. 
 The winner at once turned his horse and galloped up to Gul 
 Bator, who handed to him the prize-money, knotted in a bit of 
 cloth. Waving this over his head, he then cantered his horse 
 out to the end of the line of spectators, and then turning, galloped 
 back again at full speed to the winning-heap, accompanied by 
 the owner and a number of his friends or backers, all shouting 
 and yelling like fiends. Such were the fixed races ; but these 
 constituted only half the fun. The time that elapsed between 
 each race, while the horses were going out, was occupied by 
 match after match. Couple after couple went out to race in for 
 a couple of hundred yards or so, and every winner expected a 
 prize a Jcaran or a piece of cloth, or some such trille. If no two 
 horses were forthcoming, one went out and raced himself in, 
 equally demanding some recognition of his exertions in behalf of 
 the general amusement. At odd times too, when no one else 
 appeared on the arena, the public crier would have a run in all 
 to himself, shouting and tossing his hat in the air, and not forget- 
 ting, you may rest assured, to come up for his douceur. Such a 
 character, too, as he was ! a little, wizened, toothless, old man, 
 with a comical face, and eyes that looked as if they were hermet- 
 ically sealed. One might almost have thought lie had a peep- 
 hole in the eyelids. Originally a slave, or the son of a slave 
 captured in some foray, he had become, like many others, a Turko- 
 man by adoption. In Panjdeh there are many such. Gul Bator's 
 naib or deputy was originally a Persian slave captured in a raid. 
 Now he is married and settled, and one of the leading men in 
 Panjdeh. But to return to our races, or rather now our shooting- 
 matches. These were commenced early in the day, indepen- 
 dently of the horse-races. All the mirgans, as every footman (not 
 a flunkey, but a man on foot) with a gun is called in this part of
 
 456 APPENDIX. 
 
 the world, were collected at one spot, and very soon the shooting 
 commenced. No idea of targets, much less of butts, ever entered 
 their minds. In about two minutes the knuckle-end of an old bit 
 of bone was stuck up on a bit of stick about 4 inches above the 
 ground and some 120 yards from the firing-point. Then forth- 
 with all the mirgans commenced firing indiscriminately ; no roll, 
 no calling out of names, no naming the man to fire. Every man 
 just lies down on the ground, plants the two-pronged iron rest 
 attached to his gun in the ground, and the moment the smoke 
 clears sufficiently to let him see the object, takes aim and fires. 
 The first man hitting the bone was to get the prize. How the men 
 setting up the mark were not shot is a mystery. Hardly were 
 their hands off the bone, than bang went a gun and a bullet 
 whizzed within a few feet of them, not to mention all the small 
 boys waiting to run in and hunt for old bullets. Bang ! bang ! 
 goes on the fusilade, only a cessation at times for loading. At 
 last a man hits the bone, up he jumps with a shout, tosses his 
 cap in the air, and rushes off for the prize. I shall not easily 
 forget my dilemma (I was looking on at one of those shooting- 
 matches) when three men, each, claiming to have hit the mark, 
 and each backed up by a crowd of friends, rushed at me and 
 thronged around me, each clamouring in louder and shriller Turki 
 than the other. With some difficulty I induced the three claim- 
 ants to divide the 20 karans between them. 
 
 When the horse-racing was over the wrestling commenced. 
 At first only the most noted champions entered the arena, but 
 ere long a score of couples were seen joining in the fray. Every 
 one who threw his man promptly claimed a prize. 
 
 Then followed the camel-race, which was productive of any 
 amount of fun and merriment, the camels rushing hither and 
 thither through the crowd of onlookers, who surged forward on 
 to the course, urging on the beasts with shouts and blows. The 
 astonishing part of the business was that no one was trampled 
 under foot by the excited animals. 
 
 After the meeting the Turkoman headmen all returned to the 
 British camp to drink tea, and many of them spent the night 
 there, their homes being at a considerable distance. 
 
 It seems doubtful if the second day of the Panjdeh gymkhana 
 meeting ever came off. On the 23d March, authentic news of 
 Komaroff's advance reached Panjdeh, and perhaps the rumours 
 of it current on the 22d were so disquieting as to put a stop to 
 all festive pastimes. 
 
 Turkoman horee-racing naturally leads to a few remarks on 
 Turkoman horses. Ever since General Valentine Baker travelled 
 in Northern Persia, some ten or twelve years ago, that portion of
 
 CAPTAIN YATE AT PAXJDEH. 45*7 
 
 the British, and especially of the Anglo-Indian public that takes 
 any interest in horses, has been impressed with a firm belief that 
 the Turkoman horse is a marvel. He states that in the races at 
 Teheran, the Turkoman horse almost invariably beats the Arab. 
 His evidence on this point directly controverts that of Mr East- 
 wick, for some time charge d'affaires at the Shah's Court. The 
 latter, in his book entitled ' A Diplomat's Residence in Persia,' 
 gives a detailed account of a race meeting at Teheran, in which, 
 to the best of my memory, five events were won by Arabs (dis- 
 tances varying from 2 to 12 miles), while one only a race of 
 medium length was won by a Turkoman. As for the opinions 
 about the Turkoman horse held by the members of the Afghan 
 Boundary Commission, the strongest indication of their general 
 tenor is the fact that scarce one of them cared to invest his 
 money in them. 1 A few were bought at such low prices as 20, 
 or 25 at the highest. Colonel Ridgeway was authorised by the 
 Indian Government to give up to 300 for first-class Turkoman 
 stallions for breeding purposes. Not a single stallion has been, 
 to the best of my knowledge, bought, although they could have 
 been readily obtained at much lower sums. The fact is, the Turko- 
 man is not a well-shaped horse, at any rate to the British eye. 
 Few of them have good shoulders, and they are all too long in 
 the fore-leg. Experienced judges also say that they have too 
 much length below the hocks. It may be that the Commission 
 never saw a really fine Turkoman horse. However, as far as I 
 arn concerned, I like the look of the Karabagh horse, bred some- 
 where on the western frontier of Persia, and with an Arab strain 
 in it, far better than that of the Turkoman. 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 CAPTAIN YATE AT PANJDEH. 
 
 TO THE EDITOR OF THE 'PIOXEER,' AwjUSt 1, 1885. 
 
 SIR, I see that certain allegations are being now ventilated in 
 the press against Captain Yate's conduct of affairs at Panjdeh. 
 The most important, indeed the only important, allegation is the 
 moot point whether he did or did not advise the Afghans to resist 
 
 1 For Sir Peter Lumsden's opinion, see 'Proceedings of the Geographical 
 Society' for September 1885, p. 567.
 
 458 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Russians by force of arms at Panjdeh, and whether he was 
 right or wrong in giving them this advice. As for the far-fetched 
 vague insinuations put forward by the " well-informed correspond- 
 ent " of the ' Times of India,' based as they are on the unsubstan- 
 tial foundation of a French translation of a Russian version of 
 the correspondence that took place at that time between Captain 
 Yate and Colonel Zakrchewski,and of a garbled and incorrect state- 
 ment of the course of events, they merit little attention. Any 
 man can quote accidental passages from a series of letters and 
 base any conclusion he chooses on them. I believe that any cor- 
 respondence ever written can, if properly and skilfully dissected, 
 be made to produce any required effect. But unfortunately for 
 the ' Times of India ' dissector, he has shown himself incapable 
 of judging correctly what should be cut away and what should be 
 retained. He attempts to show that Captain Yate is a mere 
 courteous carpet-knight, and then proceeds to quote a passage 
 from one of his letters, in which he warns the Russian chief of 
 the staff that the Amir has ordered his generals to open fire 
 on the Russians if they attempt to force them to evacuate 
 their present position. And yet the " well-informed one " con- 
 tends that Captain Yate has shown himself wanting in " quali- 
 ties of the sterner sort." I maintain that the above quotation 
 proves that Captain Yate could and did, when he deemed it neces- 
 sary, employ a firm, and at the same time courteous, attitude in 
 his correspondence with Colonel Zakrchewski. It is exceedingly 
 surprising that a " well-informed correspondent " should base his 
 arguments, not on the facts of the case, but on a garbled version 
 of certain correspondence. The mere fact of doing so should 
 mark his allegations with the stamp of unreliability and worth- 
 lessness. As for his captious remarks about the offer of Dr 
 Owen's services, it has always been considered that such offers 
 are but acts of ordinary courtesy. To cavil at such an act merely 
 argues the blind determination of a warped mind to give an evil 
 aspect to the most harmless deed. It may possibly, also, have 
 not occurred to the " well-informed one " that the acceptation of 
 Dr Owen's services at that critical moment would have enabled 
 the British representative at Panjdeh to carry out still longer the 
 instructions he had received, which were to maintain his position 
 at Panjdeh as long as possible. The ' Times of India ' correspon- 
 dent further quotes a letter from Captain Yate written after the 
 fight, asking for an interview with, and an escort from, the Rus- 
 sians. If he intends to imply by this quotation for he usually 
 makes a point of not explaining the object of his quotations that 
 Captain Yate should not have done so, then let him again under- 
 stand that Captain Yate's sole object was to avoid leaving Panj-
 
 CAPTAIN YATE AT PANJDEH. 459 
 
 deli. Had he succeeded in effecting his object, then Paujdeh 
 might still be under British and Afghan influence. But the Rus- 
 sians knew that, as long as a British representative remained 
 there, the Saruks would not finally come over to them. To this 
 may be attributed Colonel Alikanoff s resort to the extreme and 
 unjustifiable measure of urging the Turkomans to attack the 
 British camp, and General Komaroffs extreme dilatoriness in 
 sending the escort asked for. I would further ask those who 
 are disposed to place any credence in the insinuations of the 
 correspondent of the ' Times of India,' that Captain Yate is 
 " wanting in virtues of a positive and active character, and in 
 qualities of the sterner sort " (what beautifully vague termin- 
 ology!), to read once more the accounts that have appeared of 
 the events at Panjdeh from 20th to 30th March, of the retreat 
 from Panjdeh to Gulran, and of the disastrous march over 
 the Au-safid Pass and its consequences. If after that any one 
 will deny to Captain Yate the possession of '' qualities of the 
 sterner sort," &c. &c., then I am willing to admit that the " well- 
 informed one " is better informed than I am. I further again 
 repeat that what that " well-informed one " calls " the story of 
 Panjdeh in outline " is at once inaccurate in points of detail, and 
 deliberately omits all those facts that would make the version a 
 true and not an absolutely one-sided one. 
 
 However, the main allegation against Captain Yate is, that he 
 did advise the Afghans to resist the Russians by force of arms, 
 and that he should not have done so. Now I desire first to ask 
 why, if there was no intention of fighting, were the Afghans 
 counselled, with the sanction of the Home Government for 
 Lord Granville in the House of Lords openly expressed his 
 approval of General Lumsden's advice to the Afghans, and we 
 know now that that advice was (at least ultimately) to oppose 
 by armed force any further Russian encroachments to send a 
 force of, including irregulars, about 3000 men to Panjdeh ? We 
 find Lord Granville and Sir Peter Lumsden openly approving of 
 armed resistance, and yet efforts are being made to impugn the 
 judgment and discretion of a junior officer. As for that well- 
 informed correspondent of the ' Times of India,' he argues that 
 Captain Yate had no right to interpret the meaning of the agree- 
 ment of the 16th March differently from General Komaroff ; in 
 fact, that he was virtually to take his instructions from the 
 Russian Government. It has come to light ere this that Mr 
 Gladstone and Lord Granville put on that agreement an inter- 
 pretation that it could not possibly bear ; but for that they, not 
 Captain Yate, are responsible. He was furnished with the copy 
 of an agreement purporting to stipulate that neither Russians
 
 460 APPENDIX. 
 
 nor Afghans should advance another step. The Afghans re- 
 mained stationary, while Komaroff with 3000 men advanced from 
 Hazrat Imam to Kizil-tapa (40 miles). Does any one still doubt 
 that the Russians were wilful aggressors? Is any one so in- 
 fatuated as to believe, after reviewing in his mind the conduct 
 of the Russians from November to April last, that they would 
 have been satisfied with anything short of an occupation of 
 Panjdeh ? Even Lord Granville, in correspondence published in 
 the last Blue-book, charges the Russians with having wilfully 
 and deliberately attacked the Afghans without provocation, and, 
 what is more, refused to recede from that charge. When the 
 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs maintains that the Afghans 
 were within their rights, and that the collision was unjustifiably 
 forced on by the Russians, is any one going to contend that 
 Captain Yate, the British representative at Panjdeh, acting under 
 Lord Granville's orders, was wrong in declining to accede to the 
 Russian demand that the Afghans should entirely evacuate the 
 left bank of the Khushk ? He did all that a desire to avoid a colli- 
 sion combined with the determination to exact from the Russians 
 the respect due to the agreement of 16th March, as communicated 
 by Lord Granville, and consistently with the Amir's orders to his 
 generals to resist by force any further Russian advance per- 
 mitted of his doing. It is well known that the Saruks made him 
 repeated offers of armed assistance against the Russians, and that 
 he steadily discouraged any interference whatever on their part, 
 strongly urging them to remain perfectly neutral. Worked upon, 
 as the Saruks then were, by the strongest feelings of fear and 
 excitement, it says not a little for the British representative that 
 he succeeded in preventing them from taking any active part in 
 the events of that time. When the Naib Salar received General 
 Komaroffs ultimatum on the 29th, he and General Ghaus-ud-din 
 had a long conversation with Captain Yate prior to his interview 
 with Colonel Zakrchewski in the afternoon. In that conversation, 
 as a matter of course, the Afghan generals told Captain Yate 
 what the Amir's orders were, and what course they intended to 
 adopt should the Russian general actually make his threatened 
 attack. Having thus acquainted himself with their views, Cap- 
 tain Yate felt himself justified in stating, during his subsequent 
 interview with Colonel Zakrchewski, that the Russian request for a 
 complete evacuation of the left bank of the Khushk could not be 
 complied with, although an arrangement might be come to about 
 drawing in the Afghan vedettes. On the evening of the 29th he 
 again conferred with the Afghan generals and Yalantush Khan, 
 the Afghan Governor of Panjdeh. They all adhered firmly to 
 their previous opinions that an evacuation of the left bank of the
 
 CAPTAIN YATE AT PANJDEH. 461 
 
 Khushk without a resort to arms was inconsistent with the Amir's 
 orders and with the maintenance of Afghan rule in Panjdeh. It 
 will thus be seen that whatever Captain Yate's own views, based 
 on the instructions he had received and on the tenor of the agree- 
 ment of 16th March as communicated by Lord Granville, were 
 about the advisability of fighting or yielding tamely to a further 
 demonstration of Eussian aggressiveness, the collision at Panjdeh 
 cannot be regarded as the outcome of his advice. On the con- 
 trary, in his communications with the Russian chief of the staff, 
 his line of conduct was guided, not only by the instructions he 
 received from his own Government, but also by the views of the 
 Afghan generals. Had they consented to meet in conference the 
 Russian officers, they would have been able to communicate per- 
 sonally their own views. But as they did not desire to do so, 
 it devolved upon Captain Yate to act as their mouthpiece. Gen- 
 eral Lumsden had advised the Afghans to use force, and Lord 
 Granville had openly approved that advice. Was Captain Yate 
 to give counsel opposed to that of his superiors? I would, 
 moreover, maintain that, in view of the agreement of 16th March, 
 Captain Yate would have failed in his duty had he counselled any 
 further tame concessions to the insolence and extravagance of 
 Russian demands. General Komaroff advanced on Panjdeh with 
 no other object than to so work on the fears of the Saruks that 
 they would render the position of both British representative and 
 Afghan troops in Panjdeh untenable. When he utterly failed 
 both in that object and in his deliberate endeavours to provoke 
 the Afghans to some act of violence, and in consequence found 
 that the Turkomans in his camp were losing their respect for the 
 Russian power, he was obliged to precipitate matters. Otherwise 
 it is probable that he would have postponed for some time longer 
 his attack, trusting to circumstances to aid him in gaining pos- 
 session of Panjdeh without committing his Government to a 
 flagrant breach of good faith. And now let us look at the results 
 of the course of action or advice for which Captain Yate is blamed. 
 Up to the 30th of March, when the Russians found themselves 
 opposed by bullets and bayonets, their steady advance had in no 
 way been checked by diplomatic remonstrances or suchlike half- 
 hearted measures. But from that date the Russians have not 
 advanced one step. The news of bloodshed and of a Russian 
 onslaught on British allies, and almost on British officers, suffi- 
 ciently roused the anger of the British nation to cause Russia to 
 pause before she went further. 
 
 If the real reason why writers, quasi well-informed or other- 
 wise, are now coming forward to censure the action of the British 
 representative at Panjdeh is sought, it is to be found in the fact
 
 462 APPENDIX. 
 
 that Mr Gladstone and the Liberal Ministry have never uttered 
 one word of commendation on the conduct of any member of the 
 Afghan Boundary Commission, while the Czar and the Russian 
 Government have, by the presentation of a diamond-hilted sword 
 to General Komaroff and a free publication of all that officer's 
 reports, shown their approval of, and belief in, the rectitude of 
 his conduct. On the other hand, the late Liberal Government 
 has suppressed all reports from General Lumsden and Captain 
 Yate, and refrained from all comments on events with a persist- 
 ency that, if it does not express dissatisfaction, implies it. It has 
 been reserved for the new Ministry to show becoming apprecia- 
 tion of the services rendered to their country by Sir Peter Lums- 
 den, G.C.B., and Sir Joseph West Ridgeway, K.C.S.I. 
 
 ONE MUCH BETTER INFORMED. 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 THE RUSSO-PERSIAN FRONTIER. 
 
 1st August, S.S. Alexander III. From Jajarm there is, I ana 
 told, a very picturesque route through Nardin and Findarask to 
 Astrabad. It is also probably shorter than the Bastam route. 
 Not all the inquiries, however, that I made about it at Jajarm, 
 succeeded in eliciting any sound information. I only found one 
 man who had actually traversed it, while scores had travelled by 
 the other ; and that I accepted as a convincing proof that there 
 was some objection to it. "With the Persians themselves, no 
 doubt its proximity to the habitations of the Yomud Turkomans 
 was the chief reason for avoiding it ; but it was also said to be 
 an exceedingly difficult road, traversing steep rocky passes over 
 the mountain-ridges and rugged torrent-beds encumbered with 
 stone and boulders. Furthermore, my muleteer would not guar- 
 antee my arrival by that route at Bandar-i-Gaz on the 30th ultimo, 
 whereas by the Bastam route he undertook to catch the mail- 
 steamer leaving on that date. So I resigned the promised beau- 
 ties of scenery around Nardin and Findarask, and decided to 
 follow the stereotyped road. Considering that the Yomuds were 
 out on the war-path just at the time that I was leaving Jajarm, 
 it is possibly as well for me that I did so. The neighbourhood 
 of Jajarm appears to have been a favourite hunting-ground of the
 
 THE RUSSO-PERSIAX FRONTIER. -463 
 
 Akhal Tekkes as well as the Yomuds. Around the few villages 
 that exist on the barren tract between Jajarrn and Bastam are 
 still seen those towers that a few years ago were the refuge of 
 the husbandman surprised in his fields. Of the raids of the 
 Gauklan tribe of Turkomans I heard nothing. That tribe is 
 much inferior in point of numbers to its neighbours on either side, 
 the Akhal Tekke to the east and the Yomud to the west. 
 
 The Bastam route to Astrabad is, however, by no means want- 
 ing in beauty of scenery. The Bastam valley itself, fertile, 
 cultivated, studded with villages and orchards, and girt around 
 by a lofty barrier of rugged mountains, is a panorama worth look- 
 ing at. From Tash (24 miles north-west of Bastam) onwards, the 
 Elburz range, with its rocky summit, steep cypress-clad slopes, 
 its valleys often green with patches of rich meadow or yellow 
 with the tints of ripening grain, and its streams and springs of 
 water icy-cold and rivalling crystal in transparency, and to the 
 thirsty traveller tasting sweeter than the best of pegs, is crossed, 
 and then the magnificent sylvan scenery of the northern slopes 
 bursts upon the view. A few miles above the little hamlet of 
 Kuzluk commences the descent into the Astrabad plain, and 
 thence a very fine view both of the vast expanse of densely 
 wooded spurs, relieved here and there by glimpses of scarp and 
 cliff, and of the naturally rich but sadly neglected plain stretching 
 towards the Gurgan river, is obtained. The descent, which is 
 steep and difficult, cannot be less than six miles in length. 
 After that the road proceeds with an even gentle fall towards 
 Astrabad. For about 35 miles the traveller rides through a con- 
 tinuous expanse of forest ; and be it in the bright sunlight of day 
 or the more subdued radiance of the moon, the beauty of the 
 effects, especially to one habituated to the aridity of the greater 
 part of Afghanistan and Persia, cannot be over-praised. The 
 forest extends to within a few miles of Astrabad, and again is 
 traversed or skirted for the greater part of the journey from 
 Astrabad to Bandar-i-Gaz, and very welcome is its shade under 
 the mid-day sun's rays. 
 
 Baku, 3d August. At Astrabad I was most hospitably enter- 
 tained by the British news-writer, Mirza Taki Aka. The Eus- 
 sian Consul was away at his country-house up among the hills at 
 Ziarat, 15 miles south of Astrabad. I should otherwise have 
 called upon him and endeavoured to learn the latest news, though 
 it is more than doubtful if he would have imparted anything 
 worth knowing. At Astrabad again I heard the same reports of 
 a recent collision between Russian and Afghan troops near Panj- 
 deh, but by this time I have come to the conclusion it is all a 
 mare's nest. On arrival at Gaz on the 30th, I went to the steam-
 
 464 APPEXDIX. 
 
 boat agent's house to make inquiries about the steamer for Baku. 
 I was scarcely prepared for being welcomed by a lady and a 
 largish family, and still less for being informed that I had been 
 expected for a fortnight or more. My hostess, I fear, is a very 
 indifferent diplomatic agent not at all the type dear to the soul 
 of the Russian intriguer. She let the cat out of the bag, firstly, 
 by blurting out that she had expected me a fortnight before, and 
 then made her thoughtless mistake worse by remarking that I 
 must not let any one know that she had said my arrival was 
 expected, as it was a secret. Anyhow, expected or not, I never 
 received a kinder welcome and more hospitable treatment in my 
 life. My host and hostess proved to be Poles, not Eussians. 
 Shortly after me a middle-aged lady arrived. In course of con- 
 versation it appeared that she had just come from the house of 
 the Russian Consul at Ziarat, that she was French by nationality, 
 that she was studying the silk industry in Persia, and that she 
 was in the habit of living alone in Persian caravanserais. A 
 woman who can do that can do anything. Towards evening my 
 hostess suddenly, taking advantage of a quiet moment, informed 
 me that her husband had been instructed by the Russian Consul 
 at Astrabad to report immediately to him my arrival at and 
 departure from Gaz, to keep a strict watch over my movements 
 while there, and if opportunity offered to examine my baggage. 
 Such dirty tricks, however, she said, were neither in her hus- 
 band's line nor hers ; and therefore, as far as they were concerned, 
 I need be under no apprehensions. But with regard to this 
 Frenchwoman in the silk trade fresh from the Russian Consul's 
 house, and the courier of the Consulate with her, she knew 
 absolutely nothing, and she could only advise me to be on my 
 guard against them. Finding that the courier's baggage was in 
 the same room as mine I had it promptly turned out, and I made 
 my servant remain near my room during my absence not that I 
 had any papers of importance, unless a diary and road report can 
 be called such. I had carefully sent all my papers to India from 
 the Commission camp, knowing the habits of the Russian author- 
 ities, and feeling that any one coming from the Commission 
 must be regarded in Russia with suspicion. I had looked for a 
 very stringent examination of my baggage ; but to my surprise 
 yesterday, I was merely asked to unlock my boxes, and then 
 informed that I might remove them. 
 
 The heat of the last five days exceeds all the heat I have experi- 
 enced since I left Rindli last September a damp, clinging heat, 
 which lasted from the time I descended from Kuzluk to the level 
 of the Astrabad plain till yesterday morning, when I found myself 
 in the centre of the Caspian, half-way between Krasnovodsk and
 
 THE RUSSO-PERSIAX FRONTIER. 465 
 
 Baku. Here again the heat is very great and the dust abomin- 
 able. We passed both Ashurada, Chikishlar, and Krasnovodsk 
 at night, so I saw nothing of them. Ashurada is described as a 
 low island covered with vegetation arid trees, and so little above 
 the surface of the water that all the houses have to be raised on 
 wooden beams above the water-level. There is a large hospital 
 and sanatorium there for the Caspian marine, and indeed seem- 
 ingly for any Kussian subjects dwelling on or near the Caspian. 
 There is also an arsenal and dockyard. Chikishlar is a military 
 station on the bare fiat shore. Vessels of any draught cannot 
 approach the land. There is no harbour. Krasnovodsk is a 
 harbour in a small bay, along the shores of which lie the town, 
 barracks, &c. Behind the town rises a range of hills. There is 
 a massive roomy wooden pier, alongside which vessels are moored 
 for loading and unloading. A branch line of rail is, it is said, 
 about to be constructed from Mikhailovsk to a point on the coast 
 where there is a good harbour, just opposite Krasnovodsk. Judg- 
 ing by the large number of officials, not to mention ladies and 
 children, who came on board the steamer on its arrival, it must 
 be a station of some size. Baku even since I was here in 1881 
 seems to have greatly increased in extent and population ; the 
 streets are more crowded, and on the north side have been com- 
 pleted and still further extended. The reputed smell of petro- 
 leum is, I must confess, absent, but it is a fearful place to live 
 in. The native inhabitants in their dirt, squalor, and depravity, 
 are repulsive. The glare and dust are alike blinding. The archi- 
 tectural remains of the old Persian town are decidedly worth 
 looking at. They completely put to shame the buildings of the 
 modern Eussian town. Of course Baku is nothing without its 
 petroleum, and any visitor who has a taste for bad smells and 
 machinery can amply gratify them here. For my part, I prefer 
 to give them a wide berth. As for the sanctuary of the Guebres 
 (Gabr), it can only be visited with much toil and suffering from 
 heat, dust, and glare. Any person who is enthusiastic about 
 Zoroastrian remains will find it better to hunt for and study them 
 in Persia, the home of the Zoroastrian religion. 
 
 When I passed Bujnurd on the 23d ultimo, Suleiman Khan, 
 the Persian Commissioner for the demarcation of the Russo- 
 Persian frontier, was there. He is, I understand, on his way 
 to Astrabad, to meet his Eussian colleague later on near the 
 mouth of the Atrek. I am informed that the frontier has been 
 settled from Sarakhs to the outskirts of the Bujnurd province. 
 Thence to the Caspian is still only partially settled i.e., the sec- 
 tion from the province of Bujnurd to Chat on the Atrek is not 
 
 2 G
 
 466 APPENDIX. 
 
 fixed, while that from Chat to Bayat Haji is fixed, the Atrek 
 forming the boundary. At the last-named place the Atrek bifur- 
 cates, or rather there is an old and new channel. The old or 
 northern channel is claimed by Persia as the boundary, while the 
 new or southern channel is stated by Russia to be the proper 
 frontier. On the space between the two channels about 1000 
 families of Yomuds dwell and graze their flocks and herds. No 
 doubt, as usual, Russia will have her own way. 1 I hear that some 
 years ago the Russians proposed to run a railway up the Gurgan 
 valley to Rabat-i-Ishk, and then across near Jajarm to Miyana- 
 bad, Sabzawar, Mashhad, and Sarakhs ; such, at least, is the 
 route specified by my Persian informant. He is right, probably, 
 about the scheme itself, but of the actual route to be followed 
 by the railway he probably had no correct conception. The 
 Shah persistently declined to allow the Russians to construct 
 any such railway. So the Kizil-Arvat and Ashkabad route was 
 resorted to. 
 
 The ' Caucase ' of Tiflis gives a report of a lecture delivered 
 recently (1886) by M. Kuzmine Karavaieff, before the Tiflis 
 branch of the Russian Geographical Society, on the new Russo- 
 Persian frontier. M. Karavaieff said : 
 
 " The conquest of Geok-tepe gave us a narrow strip of terri- 
 tory situated at the foot of the Khorasan mountains, and running 
 from Bami to Giaurs ; also two lines of communication between 
 this oasis and the Caspian Sea one by the Atrek route, and the 
 other from the Mikhailovsky Gulf to Kizil-Arvat. Thenceforward 
 it was imperatively necessary for us to watch over the intellec- 
 tual and material development of the people of this country ; 
 and with this object in view, the Imperial Government opened 
 negotiations with Persia for the establishment of a well-defined 
 line of frontier between the two States. The outcome of these 
 negotiations was the treaty of the 9th of December 1881. At 
 present the line of demarcation has been laid down in accord- 
 ance with this treaty. 
 
 " The new frontier starts from the mouth of the Atrek in the 
 Caspian Sea, and follows the coiirse of that river as far as Chat, 
 where it joins the Sumbar. From Chat the frontier lines go 
 north-easterly, via the Songou-Dagh and Sagirim mountains, 
 touching next the Chandir, an affluent of the Sumbar ; and 
 following the mountain-chain eastward, goes down to the valley 
 of the Sumbar south of the ruins of Atilanana. After repassing 
 the Sumbar and the sources of the Dainesu, the line goes to the 
 
 1 Russia has had her own way, and the Yomuds will now be under some 
 control
 
 THE RUSSO-PERSIAX FRONTIER. 467 
 
 north-east by the Kopct - Dagh chain up to the Arvaz Pass. 
 Thence it goes south, traverses the Suluku Pass and the crest of 
 the Misino mountain, and next eastward one verst from the Per- 
 sian village of Kabab to the Persian village of Kheirabad, skirt- 
 ing the Dolontcha chain. Again going north-east, the line touches 
 the gorge of the river Firuza on the north of a village of the same 
 name. Then going south-east, it runs across the summit of 
 Gulil and the Gaisch, Gunduk and Berdar mountains, through the 
 Gudan defile, to reach the crest of Kukar. After this it passes 
 by the Asselma chain and descends into the Keltechinar gorge. 
 Keltechinar village belongs to Persia, while the Annan defile, 
 with its southern exit, is Eussia's. From this point the line 
 passes above the Kizil-Dagh hills to the Persian village of Senghi 
 Sourakh, reaches the eastern spur of Ki/il-Dagh hills, and then 
 runs north over the Ziri-Ku chain until it issues into the valley 
 of the Baba Durmaz stream. It then takes a northerly direction, 
 and reaches the oasis at the road from Gavars to Luftabad, 
 leaving the fortress Baba Durmaz on the east. That portion of 
 the frontier from the Caspian Sea to the sources of the Baba 
 Durmaz is 600 versts long. 
 
 " In order to grasp the value of this addition to our trans- 
 Caspian possessions, it is well to consider the character of the 
 people and the country, as well as the geographical position of 
 the territory. The first section of this frontier is formed by the 
 course of the Atrek river, starting from the Caspian Sea to the 
 Songou-Dagh range. This section borders on the Persian pro- 
 vince of Astrabad. The second section is formed by the 
 Sumbar and Chandir valleys up to the Misino range. The 
 third section runs as far as the end of the Ziri-Ku range. 
 The country east of the Caspian Sea, as far as the Songou-Dagh 
 up to the Black river, presents the appearance of a desert cut 
 from east to west by two nearly parallel rivers the Atrek and 
 the Gurgan. The Atrek runs for some portion of its length 
 through a deep ravine with scarped sides. The actual width of 
 the bed of the river does not exceed fifteen sagines, but the 
 ravine is some quarter of a mile or so across. In flood-time the 
 Atrek can only be crossed at one or two places ; but thanks to 
 the rapidity of the current, floods never last long. 
 
 " The river at one point flows into a marsh close to the Ashka- 
 bad road. In spring and early summer the marsh is flooded ; but 
 to a slight depth only, as the actual bed of the river is 110 more 
 than three or four feet deep. The water of the Atrek is usually 
 muddy, slightly saline, and unfit for use. That portion of the 
 river between Chat and the Gudri Pass cannot be diverted for
 
 468 APPENDIX. 
 
 irrigation, as the valley through which it runs resembles a ravine. 
 Agriculture in this region then is impossible, and there is an 
 absolute lack of vegetation of all kinds by reason of the burning- 
 sun and the absence of rain between April and November. Only 
 in spring-time does a little grass appear ; and this, withered and 
 burnt up as it is, serves as pasture for the flocks of the Turko- 
 mans. In its lower reaches the Atrek, after leaving the Gudri 
 narrows, keeps its waters in one bed, but at Bend the river splits 
 into several branches. In spring-time there is water in all these 
 tributaries which can be diverted at will into the other streams 
 throughout the rest of the year ; and from this point onward the 
 Atrek flows with no sort of regularity. At the present time it is 
 keeping to its southern bed, and falls into the Caspian at the 
 Hassan Kuli Gulf. The left bank of the river is a mere salt- 
 marsh which cannot be turned to profit ; but on the right bank 
 there are places which the Turkomans plough and sow. There 
 are not many fords on the river, owing to the marshiness of the 
 lower lengths, and the steepness of its ravine - like banks by 
 Gudri. The best ones are at Sergher, Tepe, Gudri, Yagly-Oluma, 
 Tekendjik, and Chat. Generally speaking, the frequent recur- 
 rence of the ravines through which the river runs renders any 
 attempt to cross the river, except at the places I have mentioned, 
 nearly impossible. The country south of the Atrek is simply a 
 waterless desert. All the western portion of the trans-Caspian 
 province, from the Caspian to Kizil-Arvat and the Chandir river 
 eastwards, and from the Balkhan mountains to the Black river, 
 north and south, is inhabited by the Yomuds and Goklans 
 nomad Turkomans. The Yomuds live near the Caspian, and the 
 Goklans more in the heart of the country. At the mouth of 
 the Atrek, on the right bank, are a few permanently settled 
 Yomuds busied in agriculture. Further, there are some 500 
 Tcibitkas of Ak-Atabai Yomuds, a poor people, who also have 
 taken to agriculture, and are settled between the Bend dyke and 
 the Gudri defile. On the banks of the Gurgan there is yet 
 another colony of 800 kibitkas of the same race ; but with 
 these three exceptions, the rest of the population are nomads. 
 Many of the nomads, however, possess land on the Persian side 
 of the frontier, and go there to get in their crops. These men 
 spend nine months of the year in our territory, and the other 
 three in the Gurgan district, where the weather is warmer, and 
 there is more provision and pasture. 
 
 "In this section of our frontier, Persian authority does not 
 extend beyond the Black river. The farthest point of their 
 rule is the Ak-Kala fort on the Gurgan, about 70 versts from
 
 THE RUSSO-PERSIAN FRONTIER. 469 
 
 Yagly-Oluma, and 50 versts from the Guclri defile. The visible 
 sign of Persian dominion there, is the imposition of a tax upon 
 the nomad population. Tims along- the whole length of our 
 frontier, from the Caspian to Chat, we are nowhere in direct con- 
 tact with the Persian people ; for the authority of the Governor 
 of Ashkabad does not begin to make itself felt till 50 miles from 
 the frontier. The second section of our frontier includes the 
 Chandir valley from Douz Olang as far as Tchakan Kala, as well 
 as the upper course of the Surnbar river. Here again there is no 
 Persian population, though fifty years ago the country was inha- 
 bited, and served as a buffer against the incursions of Tekkes, 
 Yomuds, Goklans, and nomads. The numerous irrigation canals 
 and the many ruined forts on the Chandir river prove that it 
 must once have been a flourishing tract. We, however, found it 
 wild and desolate. The valley of the Chandir belongs to us for 
 a distance of 50 versts. The Chandir, like the Atrek, flows 
 between steep ravine-like banks, debouching finally into a plain 
 10 versts from Douz Olang. In summer the waters of the river 
 dry up, or perhaps form a subterranean stream, close to Douz 
 Olurn. Both banks of the river are under our rule, and are 
 beginning to be repeopled by Goklans, who are turning their 
 attention to agriculture. Last summer the whole valley of the 
 Chandir was cleared of its reed-beds. The road through the 
 valley between Douz Olum and Tchakan Kala is good, and could 
 be made fit for wheeled traffic. Beyond Tchakan Kala there are 
 no houses ; and the valley of the Chandir presents a wild and 
 rocky appearance. 
 
 " Of the routes which cross the Chandir, the best are in the 
 south, the one connecting Yarty Kala and Doichik by Khartut, 
 with Bujnurd and Yagin Kala with the Atrek ; and in the north, 
 the roads between Yarty Kala, Kara Kala, and the ruins of 
 Atilanana on the Sumbar. 
 
 " This latter river is formed of two affluents, the Dainesu 
 and the Kulun-Kalassi-Su, both of which start from the Kopet- 
 Dagh range. The upper portion of the valley of the Sumbar is 
 fertile throughout, but at present is not cultivated ; and there are 
 few permanent colonists in the country. The vegetation of the 
 Sumbar is finer than that of the Chandir valley. The Sumbar, 
 like the Atrek, flows, through the lower portion of its course, be- 
 tween high scarped banks. Fords are rare, and the river is im- 
 passable at flood. In summer, what little water remains is used 
 for irrigation purposes in the Kara Kala fields. The road which 
 skirts the river valley is a good one, and there are also roads 
 between from Kara Kala to Noukhur and Dourun. The rich
 
 470 APPENDIX. 
 
 valleys of the Sumbar and Chandir are important acquisitions to 
 our trans-Caspian province, as they will induce the migratory 
 Turkomans to settle down and become cultivators a thing which 
 is much to be desired in the interests of the peace and prosperity 
 of the country. From the sources of the Sumbar, the frontier line 
 scales the heights of the Kopet-Dagh ranges, and reaches in the 
 south the Misino mountains. The Kopet-Dagh range, which is 
 8000 feet high, is difficult of access. The line passes by the 
 Suluku defile and comes out at Hermab [Germab?]. The western 
 portion of the road is fairly easy to travel, which is certainly not 
 the case with the eastern portion. In the Kulun-Kalassi-Su 
 valley, 20 versts south of the Sumbar, one comes across the first 
 Persian village [Mehscedi Kulaman], a hamlet of 150 families, 
 close upon our frontier. There is another village Suluku ; but 
 this is only a few years old, and does not include more than 40 
 families. All along this line of frontier, from the Misino hills to 
 the eastern spur of the Ziri-Ku chain, we find ourselves in con- 
 tact with the first important Persian authorities, the Khans of 
 Koohan and Daraghaz. 
 
 " Here the frontier includes the larger portion of the mountain- 
 ranges which separate the Akhal basin from the sources of the 
 Kokhan. The upper portion of the Akhal, near Firuza and 
 Keltechinar, is assigned to Persia. 
 
 " From the Misino hills the frontier line passes just in front of 
 the Kurd village of Rabab, and the road which leads to Hermab 
 from the Rabab defile is only accessible to mules. The Hermab 
 and Kulkulab villages, both highly cultivated ones, belong to 
 us ; and Hermab is connected with Geok-tepe by a road fit for 
 wheeled conveyances. The Hermab and Kulkulab rivers water 
 the Tekke villages grouped round the old fort of Geok-tepe. 
 Coming from the Rabab defile, the frontier line passes just in 
 front of Kheirabad a Kurd village 5000 feet above the level of 
 the sea, where the night frosts begin as early in the year as 
 August. This village stands at the joining-point of the Hermab 
 and Firuza roads. The former, though rough and rocky, is as 
 easy as the Rabab defile ; and the latter could be turned into a 
 carriage-road. From Kheirabad there are several roads into 
 Persia. Beyond Kheirabad the frontier line goes east, then north- 
 east not far from the Firuza defile ; finally reaching the Firuza 
 river itself, which flows through a rocky gorge as far as the vil- 
 lage of Firuza one mile from our frontier. The fields on our 
 side of the line are watered by an offshoot of the Akhal river. 
 Firuza itself is connected with Ashkabad by carriage-road 30 
 versts.
 
 THE RUSSO-PERSIAN FRONTIER. 47 1 
 
 " Passing along the right bank of the Firuza, our frontier runs 
 up to the top of the Gulil hill, an elevation of 9000 feet ; then 
 follows the Gaisch and Gunduk chains up to where the latter 
 joins the Berclar hills. Thence, from the top of Nakdow, the line 
 comes down the Gudan Pass to Buzbelk. This part of our fron- 
 tier lies all the way along mountain-tops, where the only roads 
 are a few hill-paths open only in summer. The Gudan defile is 
 a plateau some three versts long by one broad, across which run 
 the Ashkabad, Durb-Adam, and Koohan roads. The first of these 
 roads is the main line of communication between Ashkabad and 
 Mashhad, and there is some talk of improving it. 
 
 " Going along the Gudan defile, the frontier line ascends to 
 the top of the Kukar mountain, and thence runs along the Aselma 
 range, to drop eventually into the valley of the Keltechinar 
 stream. For the last quarter of a century there has been a 
 village of Annaouli Turkomans by that stream. Here both of 
 the Akhal roads meet, run through the Geok-Gadyk and Durangar 
 defile, and thence go to Mohammedabad and Koohan. The fron- 
 tier touches the valley of the Durangar river, after crossing the 
 Kizil-Dagh cliffs at their eastern spur near the Senghi. Sourakh 
 Gorge ; then goes north as far as the junction of the Kizil-Dagh 
 range with the Ziri-Ku hills. 
 
 " The Ziri-Ku chain, which our frontier line cuts south-easterly, 
 is inaccessible except by the bed of the Baba-Durmaz, whence it 
 is possible to drop down into the Durangar valley. At this 
 point we find ourselves in the Atrek facing towards Khorasan. 
 Here, in 1884, the land and irrigation was divided equally be- 
 tween the inhabitants of the Atrek and the Persian inhabitants 
 of the frontier khanate of Daraghaz and Kelat." 
 
 According to the lecturer, the new frontier assures to Eussia 
 the following advantages : The Akhal Tekke oasis is prolonged 
 to the borders of the trans-Caspian province, and forms with it 
 only one administrative division. Although several of the rivers 
 in the Eussian territory have their rise in Persia, the Akhal 
 Tekke and Atrek have enough water in them to assure the de- 
 velopment of the country, while the Sumbar and Chandir rivers 
 are Eussia's. The new delimitation brings peace on the border, 
 inasmuch as it has put an end to nomad raiding ; and when the 
 local population have settled down, they will not fail to develop 
 the prosperity of the country. 
 
 Eeferring to the lecturer's work, the ' Caucase ' observes that, 
 in accepting the delimitation of the frontier, Persia, for her own 
 part, had only peace and good government in her mind. Both 
 contracting parties sought purely pacific ends, and now the two
 
 472 APPENDIX. 
 
 Governments are working in union to improve the Geok-tepe, 
 Schersan and Koohan, and the Ashkabad-Mashhad lines. 
 
 The demarcation of the Kusso-Persian frontier was effected 
 with extraordinary despatch, and without the smallest misunder- 
 standing which brilliant result may be accounted for, thinks the 
 ' Caucase,' by the fact that the work was carried out by the 
 parties directly interested, without the intervention of any third 
 person.
 
 I X D E X, 
 
 Ab-i-Kashan, 272. 
 
 Abbott Mission, the, 370. 
 
 Abdul Hamid Khan, 265. 
 
 Abdur Rahman Khan, 84, 99, 102, 
 
 151, 222, 257, 268, 466. 
 Abkhur-i-Rustam, 81. 
 Adam Yulan, 168, 296, 300, 315, 329. 
 Adraskan river, 132. 
 Afghan -Turkistan, 77, 434, 438, 451. 
 Afghanistan, Amir of, 84. 
 Afghanistan, South, 29, 31, 150, 226, 
 
 254, 256. 
 
 Afghanistan, West, 130, 137. 
 Aftu, 177, 181-183. 
 Agar-chashma, 302, 391, 411. 
 Aghzking, 261. 
 Aigri-yapi, 411. 
 
 Aimak tribes, the, 230, 252, 259, 269. 
 Aimakjar, 297, 298, 311 ct scq. 
 Aitchison, Dr, 10 ct scq., 109, 165, 236, 
 
 245, 393, 401 ct scq. 
 Ak-Kala fort, 468. 
 Ak-rabat, 175, 214 ct scq., 305 ct scq., 
 
 406 et scq. 
 Ak-rabat Pass, 330. 
 Ak-tapa, 187 et scq., 237 et scq., 306 ct 
 
 seq. 
 
 Akcha, 256 et seq., 390, 409, 425. 
 Akhal basin, 470 country, the, 291 
 
 oasis, 314, 409 road, 471. 
 Akhal Tekke oasis, 471 river, 471. 
 Akhal Tekkes, 291, 292, 358, 436, 463. 
 Alehlis, the, 316. 
 Aleshahs, the, 234, 292, 308. 
 Ali-Kusa, 177, 182, 184. 
 Alielis, the, 252, 264. 
 Alikhanoff, Colonel, 160 ct seq., 241 et 
 
 scq., 303 ct scq., 402 ct scq. 
 Aliyar Khan Raisari of Kanak, 41. 
 Alizais, the, 116, 124, 127, 131, 142. 
 Alli-bir, 296, 411. 
 Almar, 268 valley, the, 261. 
 Anardara, 98, 117 et scq., 201, 394 
 
 the inhabitants of, 129 Pass, 128. 
 
 Andkhui, 215 ct srq., 307 ct scq., 409 
 
 ct scq. Ab-i-Andkhui, 261, 262. 
 Andkhuiese, the, 252. 
 Andkhur, 151. 
 
 Anglo-Turkish confederacy, 319. 
 Anuau defile, 467. 
 Aimenkoff, General, 437. 
 Aral, 262. 
 
 Arbu, 25, 38, 40/70. 
 Ardawan Kotal, 398 Pass, 174, 183, 
 
 255, 340 etseq., 4(>1, 414. 
 Arghandab, 39, 82, 135. 
 Arghasan, 82. 
 Ark-i-kuhna, 140. 
 Armenia, 382. 
 Armenians, the, 140. 
 Arvaz Pass, 4 07, 470. 
 Aselma range, 467, 471. 
 Ashkabad, 151, 237, 304 ct scq., 410 ct 
 
 scq. Governor of, 409 line from, 
 
 to Mashhad, 472. 
 Ashkanik, 65, 82, 86. 
 Ashurada, 465. 
 Asia, Central, 150 ct scq., 210, 222, 
 
 226, 303 etscq., 407 ct scq. 
 Asiab-dev, 167 ct scq. 
 Astrabad, 361, 363, 462-465, 467. 
 Atilana.na, 466, 469. 
 Atrek river, 465-469, 471 route, 466. 
 Attock, 265. 
 
 Au-Safid Pass, 241, 285, 328 etscq., 459. 
 Au-shara, 177, 188, 198, 200, 201, 271. 
 Aukal, 122, 131, 132. 
 Aukamari, 193, 198, 199. 
 Ayub Khan, 222, 229, 231. 
 Azad Khan of Kharan, Sardar, 34, 49, 
 
 71. 
 Azerbaijan, 381. 
 
 Baba Durmaz stream, 467, 471. 
 
 Baba Pass, 174, 340, 392 range, 193, 
 
 255. 
 
 Babis, tlie, 289. 
 Budakhshan, 186, 249, 250, 257, 426. 
 
 2 II
 
 474 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Badkis, 146 et seq., 205 et scq., 307 et 
 
 seq., 402 et seq. 
 Bagat, 25. 
 Baghdar, 407. 
 Bahadur Hitu Ram, 25, 26. 
 Bahawalpur, 405. 
 Bairach, 308. 
 Bairajis, the, 234, 292. 
 Baker, General Valentine, 456 et seq. 
 Bakharz, 173, 283. 
 Bala Murghab, 166 et seq., 204 et seq., 
 
 335 et seq., 402 et seq. 
 Balkan, the, 291. 
 Balkan Bay, 439. 
 Balkh, 39, 148, 200 et seq., 391, 392, 
 
 440 et seq. 
 
 Balkh-Bamian route, 441. 
 Balkh-Kabul road, 405, 406. 
 Bam, 103. 
 Bami, 466. 
 
 Baroian, 148, 249, 250, 331, 413 et seq. 
 Band, 37 et seq., 154. 
 Band-i-Afzal, 183. 
 Band-i-Ardawan, 183. 
 Band-i-Baba, 198, 213, 214, 255, 258. 
 Band-i-Barbar, 266. 
 Band-i-chashma-i-sabz, 231. 
 Band-i-Duzan, 409. 
 Band-i-Kaitu, 183. 
 Band-i-Kara-Kaitu, 399. 
 Band-i-Karabil, 274. 
 Band-i-Kazakli, 297. 
 Band-i-Nadiri, 188, 189, 240 et seq. 
 Band-i-shamshir, 90. 
 Band-i-Turkistan range, 451. 
 Band-i-Zarmast, 214, 393, 397. 
 Bandan, 237. 
 Bandar, 231. 
 Bandar-i-Gaz, 462, 463. 
 Bannu, 407. 
 
 Barbari Hazaras, the, 173. 
 Barechis, the, 75, 88. 
 Barnes, Mr H. S., 2 et seq., 153. 
 Barrow, Capt., 157 et seq., 208, 335, 385. 
 Barukzais, 75, 136. 
 Bastam route, 462, 463. 
 Bax, Major, 3, 46, 102, 215, 226, 335. 
 Bayat Haji, 465. 
 Beatson, Lieutenant, 15, 18. 
 Bellew, Dr, 83, 98. 
 Beluch chieftains, the, 2, 49, 50. 
 Beluch desert, 425. 
 
 Beluchis, the, 5 et seq., 107 et seq., 225. 
 Beluchistan, 2 et seq., 110 et seq. 
 Bend, 468. 
 Bend dyke, 468. 
 Berdar mountains, 467, 471. 
 Bibinani, 20. 
 
 Birjand, 82, 103, 196, 366, 380, 394. 
 Black river, 467, 468. 
 
 Black Sea, 319. 
 
 Blandford, Mr, 236. 
 
 Bokhara, 151, 195, 196, 257 et seq., 
 
 301 et scq., 436-438 the Amir of, 
 
 256 257 301 
 Bolan, 2 'et seq., 188, 404, 433 the 
 
 chief of the, 5 Pass, 16, 20, 433 
 
 Railway, 439 route, 28. 
 Brahuis, 34," 41, 45, 132. 
 Bujnurd, 465, 469. 
 Bulut-kak, 263. 
 Burj-i-asp, 94. 
 Burj-i-Auzar Khan, 169. 
 Burne, Lieutenant, 13, 21. 
 Bushire, 210, 363. 
 Buzbelk, 471. 
 
 Caspian, the, 237 et seq., 314 et seq., 
 
 409 et seq. 
 
 Caspian army, trans-, 438. 
 Caspian Railway, trans-, 432 et seq. 
 Caspiana, trans-, 304 ct seq., 408 et scq. 
 Caucasus, 433, 438, 439. 
 Cavagnari, Sir Louis, 376, 414. 
 Chacha, 314, 436. 
 Chadrud, 229. 
 Chagai, 25 et seq., 249. 
 Chagai, the Sinjarani chief of, 50. 
 Chagai route, 36, 73. 
 Chah Gazak, 121 et seq. 
 Chah-i-Nakkash, 271, 272. 
 Chahar Aimaks, 131 et seq., 209 et seq., 
 
 321 et seq. 
 
 Chahar-burjak, 75 et seq., 155. 
 Chahar Shamba, 166, 186, 243 et seq., 
 
 301, 425-427. 
 Chahar-tak, 231, 232. 
 Chakansur, 84 et seq., 102. 
 Chaman-i-bed, 169, 188, 214 et seq., 
 
 315 et seq., 412 et scq. 
 Chamcheh, the, 234. 
 Chandars, the, 316. 
 Chandir, 466-471. 
 Chap Gudar, 262. 
 Charjui, 264, 292, 390, 437, 439. 
 Charles, Dr, 3, 46, 164. 
 Chashma-i-sabz, 165 et scq., 215 et scq., 
 
 320 et seq. 
 Chat, 465-469. 
 Chichaktu, 268, 274. 
 Chichki, 266. 
 Chikishlar, 436, 438, 465. 
 Chiltan range, 30. 
 Chirol, M. Valentine, 320. 
 Chitral, 426. 
 Chughur-rabat, 183, 399. 
 Clarendon-Gortchakoff agreement, 428, 
 
 442. 
 
 Conolly Mission, 370. 
 Cotton", Captain, 13, 46, 203.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Dadakuli Sukhtis, the, 355. 
 
 Dadeh Quli, the, 234. 
 
 Dainesu. 466, 469. 
 
 Dak-i-Dehl, 95. 
 
 Dali, 263. 
 
 Daman-i-koh, 291. 
 
 Damavand, 231. 
 
 Daraghaz, Khan of, 470, 471. 
 
 Darband, 219, 251, 252, 258. 
 
 Darband-i-kilrikhta, 233. 
 
 Darband-i-Shorab, 394. 
 
 Dardistan, 426. 
 
 Darra-i-Bam, 232. 
 
 Darra-i-Sarwan, 231 . 
 
 Darwaza, 23, 26. 
 
 Dash Kepri, 415-417, 419, 421. 
 
 Dasbt-i-Babus, 114, 115, 131. 
 
 Dasht-i-Chul, 252, 258. 
 
 Dasht-i-Faizabad, 181. 
 
 Dasht-i-Naumid, 237, 393. 
 
 Daulat-yar, 148, 173, 407, 413, 425. 
 
 Daulatabad, 258 ct scq., 302, 413. 
 
 Davandar range, 214, 397, 413. 
 
 De Laessoe, Captain, 19 ct scq., 108 ct 
 
 scq., 251, 270, 308 clscq., 427. 
 Deh-i-dadi, 88, 90, 155. 
 Deh-i-Kamran, 86, 88, 89, 93, 155. 
 Deh-i-Shaikh, 401. 
 Deh-kundis, 173. 
 Deh-zangis, the, 173. 
 Dilbandan, 51. 
 Doiduk, 469. 
 Dolonteha chain, 467. 
 Dondukoff-Korsakoff, Prince, 371. 
 Dourun, 469. 
 Douz Olang, 469. 
 Douz Olum, 469. 
 Drummond, Lieutenant, 3, 46, 217, 
 
 335, 345. 
 Du-ab, 161 et scq. 
 Du-shakh range, 133, 134 ctscq., 408 
 
 et scq., 436. 
 Dufferin, Lord, 251. 
 Durand, Captain, 22 ct scq., 108, 164, 
 
 208, 217, 393, 401 et scq. 
 Durangar defile, 471. 
 Durranis, the, 75. 
 Dustabad, 114. 
 Duzan-yapiti, 412. 
 
 El-bab, 289. 
 
 Elburz range, 342, 463. 
 
 Elias, Mr Ney, 426. 
 
 Enzelli, 158. 
 
 Erdans, the, 234. 
 
 Ersaris, the, 252 et scq., 307. 
 
 Euan-Smith, Captain, 90, 95, 98, 99. 
 
 Fa-kashak-i-Rustam, 81. 
 Faiz Mahommed Khan, 229. 
 
 Faizabad, 451. 
 
 Farah, 12 ct scq., 102 ct scq., 229, 331, 
 
 407, 440. 
 Farah Kud, 91, 97-99, 101 ct scq., 229, 
 
 368, 413. 
 
 Faraiman, 362, 40S. 
 Fars, 366 mountains of, 24. 
 Fatehgarh, 146. 
 Findarask, 462. 
 Finn, Mr, 161, 360, 361, 414. 
 Firuza, 467, 470, 471. 
 Firuzkuh, 231. 
 
 Firuzkuhi country, the, 21 1! ct scq. 
 Firuzkuhis, 131 ct scq., 208 ct scq., 325 
 
 ctscq., 40-2, 427. 
 Forbes, Dr, 84. 
 
 Gaisch, 467, 471. 
 
 Gala-Chashma, 260. 
 
 Galachah, 37 ct scq., 116 ct scq. 
 
 Gardan-diwal, 196'. 
 
 Garm-sc'l, 75. 
 
 Garm-sir, 24, 114. 
 
 Gannab Pass, 300. 
 
 Garmasliki, 64, 67, 68. 
 
 Gauklin tribe, 463. 
 
 Gauiar, 161, 162. 
 
 Gavars, 467. 
 
 Gaz, 463, 464. 
 
 Gazar-guh, 213. 
 
 Gazeh Cliah, 37, 54, 59, 60, 112, 154. 
 
 Geok-Gadyk, 471. 
 
 Geok-tepe, 151, 435, 466, 470, 472. 
 
 Chain, 196. 
 
 Ghaur, 150, 
 
 Ghaus-ud-din, General, 171, 187, 207 
 
 et scq., 325 ct scq., 400 ct scq. 
 Ghazni, 406, 434. 
 Ghilzais, the, 192, 217, 232. 
 Ghorian, 44 ctscq., 124 ct scq., 222 ct 
 
 scq., 368 et scq., 413 ct scq. 
 Giaurs, 466. 
 Gichara, 302. 
 Gins, 109 ct scq. 
 Gmli-Talab, 29, 30. 
 Girishk, 38 ct scq., 102, 229, 440. 
 Goklans, the, 316, 468, 469. 
 Goldsmid, Sir F., 15, 77, 236, 414, 415. 
 Gore, Captain, 13 ct scq., 124 ct scq., 
 
 206 ctscq., 332, 402 et scq. 
 Gray, Mr, 363, 366. 
 Griesbach, Capt., 18 ct scq., 102 ct scq., 
 
 206 ct scq., 315 ct scq., 402 ct scq. 
 Grodekoir, M., 77, 252, 254, 255. 
 Gudan defile, 467. 
 Gudan Pass, 471. 
 Gudri Pass, 467-469. 
 Gulil, 467, 471. 
 Gulran, 168, 183, 231 ct scq., 306 ct 
 
 scq., 412 et scq.
 
 476 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 " Gumbad-i-bana-i-yak-dast," 80. 
 Gumbazli, 241, 270, 299, 411. 
 Gumbazli Saruk, 296. 
 Gundak mountains, 467, 471. 
 Gurgan river, 463, 467, 468. 
 Gurgan valley, 466, 468. 
 Gwadur, 237. 
 
 Haidar Kali Khan, 172, 194 ct seq. 
 
 Haji Khak Pass, 406. 
 
 Hamun, 89 et seq., 104 ct seq. 
 
 Hari Rud, 39, 118 et seq., 214 et seq., 
 
 302 etseq., 402 et seq. 
 Harud, the, 115, 116. 
 Harzegis, the, 234, 292, 301 et seq. 
 Hasan Kuli Bay, 237. 
 Hasan Kuli Gulf, 468. 
 Hashim Khan, 373. 
 Hashtadun, 393, 394. 
 Hauz-i-dak, 175. 
 
 Hauz-i-Khan, 175, 188, 258, 271. 
 Hazarajat, 147 ct seq., 229 et seq., 392, 
 
 407 et seq. 
 Hazaras, the, 131 et seq., 201 et seq., 
 
 325 et seq., 404 et seq. the chief of 
 
 the, 173, 199. 
 
 Hazrat Imam, 315 et seq., 402 et seq. 
 Heath, Captain, 3, 46, 125, 164, 208, 
 
 309 et seq. 
 Helmund, the, 2 et seq., 102 ct seq., 
 
 215, 249, 330, 425 et seq. 
 Helmund Hamun, 97. 
 Herat, 16 et seq., 102 et seq., 200 et seq., 
 
 300 et seq., 400 et seq. 
 Herat, Governor of, 133 et seq., 207, 
 
 244, 283, 342, 360, 369. 
 Herat-Kandahar route, 441. 
 Herati cavalry, the, 324-326, 330, 
 
 346. 
 
 Heratis, the, 404. 
 Herbert, Mr, 158, 236, 360 et seq. 
 Hermab, 470. 
 
 Hill, Major, R.E., 10, 21, 78. 
 Hindu Kush, 39, 249, 256, 257, 320, 
 
 392, 406 et seq. 
 Holdich, Major, 78, 164 et seq., 208 ct 
 
 seq., 332, 385, 396, 400, 426. 
 Hurnai, 404, 433 route, 28 valley, 
 
 188 and Bolan railway, 405. 
 
 Ibrahimabad, 84 ct seq., 109 et seq. 
 
 Imam Baba, 416, 420. 
 
 Imam Zaid, 112. 
 
 Irak, 366. 
 
 Irak Pass, 406. 
 
 Isfiraz, 173. 
 
 Ishak-zais, the, 100. 
 
 Islirn, 283, 358, 393, 412. 
 
 Ispahan, 82, 103, 120, 142. 
 
 Istakhar, 83. 
 
 Jacobabad, 3-5. 
 
 Jagatai tribe, the, 150, 178. 
 
 Jajarm, 462, 463, 466. 
 
 Jalalabad, 200. 
 
 Jam range, 162, 176. 
 
 Jamshidi territory, 199. 
 
 Jamshidis, the, 131 ctseq., 201 etseq., 
 
 316 ctseq., 412, 427. 
 Jar-kuduk, 263. 
 Jennings, Captain, 414, 415. 
 Jilangir, 292. 
 Juwam, 99-103, 109, 111, 112, 129. 
 
 Kabul, 6 etseq., 102 et seq., 200 ct seq., 
 
 307 et seq. , 404 et seq. 
 Kabulis, the, 102, 222, 325, 330, 375, 
 
 400, 418. 
 
 Kadis, 225, 226, 231, 250. 
 Kafir-Kalah, 163, 175, 215, 237, 361, 
 
 394. 
 
 Kanristan, 426. 
 Kahka, 436, 437. 
 Kahka-Merv line, 437. 
 Kain, 105 et seq., 366, 380, 394. 
 Kaisar, 268 valley, the, 261. 
 Kaitu, 175. 
 
 Kaitu range, 255, 258. 
 Kamn-Kuyusi, 296, 298, 300 et seq. 
 Kajar tribe, the, 158. 
 Kalah-i-Badkhat, 302. 
 Kalah-i-Bimyad Khan, 284. 
 Kalah-i-fath, 75 et seq., 104 ct seq. 
 Kalah-i-kah, 114, 115, 150. 
 Kalah-i-kang, 93, 94, 96, 102. 
 Kalah-i-Kaushid Khan, 179, 291, 292. 
 Kalah-i-Madar-i-Padshah, 82. 
 Kalah-i-maur, 169, 271 et seq., 309 ct 
 
 seq., 412, 427, 429. 
 Kalah-i-nau, 84, 168 et seq., 200 et seq., 
 
 355, 412, 427. 
 Kalah-i-Sinjau, 395. 
 Kalah Wali, 234 et seq., 391. 
 Kalat-i-Nadiri, 382. 
 Kalata, 116. 
 Kalu Pass, 406. 
 Kaman-i-bihisht, 162, 408. 
 Kana-bait, 173. 
 Kana-gusha, 173. 
 Kanak, 24, 30, 31, 35, 38. 
 Kandahar, 12 ct seq., 102 ct seq., 229 ct 
 
 seq., 363 et seq., 406 et seq. 
 Kandahar-Farah route, 38. 
 Kandahar-Kabul road, 406. 
 Kandahar regiment, 325. 
 Kangruali sec Kungruali. 
 Kani, 37 et seq., 154, 249. 
 Kani-Galachah route, 36. 
 Kani-Shah-Ismail route, 44. 
 Kara Bagh, 169, 175, 178, 179. 
 Kara Jangal, 231.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 477 
 
 Kara-Kaitu, 255. 
 
 Kara Kala, 469. 
 
 Kara-tapa, 167, 169, 188, 244, 255, 
 
 302, 438. 
 
 Karaband, 291, 436. 
 Karabil, 260, 261, 292. 
 Karas, 252, 264, 292. 
 Karat Kuh, 283. 
 Karavaieff, M. Kuzmine, 466. 
 Karawan, 302. 
 
 Karawulkhana, 189-191,208 d seq., 403. 
 Karez, 361, 362, 408. 
 Karez-dasht. 122, 123, 130, 131, 155. 
 Karez Elias, 315, 398. 
 " Karez-i-khiyar-zar, " 130. 
 Kariz, 163. 
 Karki, 258, 262, 263. 
 Kashan valley, the, 271, 279, 280. 
 Kattaks, 217. 
 
 Kaufinann, General, 394, 443. 
 Kanshid Khan, 291, 315. 
 Kavir, 320. 
 Kazerun, 83. 
 Kazviu, 289. 
 Kelat, 49, 471. 
 Kelat, Khan of, 49. 
 Keltechinar, 467, 470, 471. 
 Keshef, 162. 
 
 Khaf, 230, 283, 284, 366, 394. 
 Khaibar road, 407, 425. 
 Khairabad, 266, 267, 362. 
 Khaisar, 32, 33, 42. 
 Khaisar Lora, 33, 42. 
 Khaju, 75, 79, 81, 82, 92, 155. 
 Kham-i-ab, 258, 263, 266. 
 Khan Aga, 222, 228, 316. 
 Khanikoff, 77. 
 Kharakins, 88. 
 Kharan, 7, 34, 35, 49. 
 Kliartut, 469. 
 Khasli, 84, 94. 
 Khassadars, 324-326, 354. 
 Khawani Sowars, 274. 
 Kheirabad, 467, 470. 
 Khiva, 25, 151, 316, 370, 394, 436. 
 Khiva, the Khan of, 256, 316, 394. 
 Khoja Sahm-ud-din, 161. 
 Khoja Saleh, 39, 186, 187. 
 Khorasan, 77, 151 ct seq., 237 ct seq., 
 
 320 et seq., 410 ct seq. carriers, 16 
 
 Governor of, 159, 286, 293, 364 
 
 ct seq. mountains, 466. 
 Khorasanlis, the, 234, 292, 308. 
 Khulm, 256. 
 Khum-gazar, 302. 
 Khumban Pass, 315. 
 Khush-rabat, 395, 397-399, 401 ct seq. 
 Khushab, 363. 
 Khushk, 96, 118 ct seq., 201 ctscq., 302 
 
 ct seq., 412 et seq. 
 
 Khushk Rud, 110-112, 155, 166, 184. 
 
 Klnvaja Ahmed, 95. 
 
 Khwaja All, '25 ct ncq., 101 ct seq. 
 
 Klnvaja Aniran, 4:59, 440. 
 
 Khwaja Chisht, 231. 
 
 Klnvaja Kalandar, 166, 169, 194, 198. 
 
 Klnvaja Kasim, 183. 
 
 Klnvaja Mallal, 398. 
 
 Klnvaja Salar, 258 ct seq., 320, 390, 428 
 
 Ct seq. 
 
 Klnvaja Salih, 219, 258. 
 
 Klnvaja.s, the, 181. 
 
 Kilif, 151, 248 ct seq., 408 d seq. 
 
 Kirish, 296, 299. 
 
 Kinnan, 82, 103, 120. 
 
 Kirta, 19. 
 
 Kiyainat-i-Shur, 261. 
 
 Kizar, 261. 
 
 Kizil-Arviit, 436, 444, 466, 468. 
 
 Kizil IJulak, 175, 329, 393. 
 
 Kizil-Dagh, 407, 471. 
 
 Kizil-tapa, 272, 299, 300 ft seq., 413 
 
 ct Sf.q. 
 
 Kizilbashes, 100, 101, 112, 116. 
 Kokchail, 168, 198, 199. 
 Kokhan, 470. 
 Komaroir, General, 160, 291, 311 ct 
 
 seq., 401 ct seq. 
 Koohan, 472 Khan of, 470 road, 
 
 471. 
 
 Kopet-Dagh, 466, 469, 470. 
 Kotal-i-zarmast, 200. 
 Kotal-i-Zinda-liasham, 172 ct seq. 
 Krasnovodsk, 291, 436 ct seq. 
 Krojiensky, M., 338. 
 Kufan mountain, 471. 
 Kuh-i-Arlm, 25. 
 Kuh-i-Baba, 397. 
 Kuh-i-Bandan, 99, 104. 
 Kuh-i-du-shakh, 134. 
 Kuh-i-Imam-Zaid, 99. 
 Kuh-i-Kaitu, 167, 180, 188. 
 Kuh-i-kalah-i-kali, 99, 104, 112. 
 Kuli-i-Khanishiii, 65, 70, 77, 78. 
 " Kuh-i-Khwaja Kasim," 183. 
 Kuh-i-kuftar-Khan, 134. 
 Kuh-i-Xaraitu, 198. 
 Kuhak, 89, 91. 
 Kuhsan, 39 ct seq., 114 ct seq., 203 ct 
 
 seq., 336 et seq,. 425 ct seq. 
 Kukar, 467. 
 Kulkulab, 470. 
 Kulun-Kalassi-Su, 469, 470. 
 Kundilani, 8, 10. 
 Kunduz, 256. 
 Kungruali, 168, 214, 241, 296, 315, 
 
 329, 409, 411 route, 315, 316. 
 K urban Niyaz, 395. 
 Kurds, the, 183, 231, 382. 
 Kurrum road, 407.
 
 478 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Kush-kak, 114. 
 Kush-rabat, 183. 
 Kushalgarb, 407. 
 Kushauri, 181. 
 Kuzluk, 463, 464. 
 
 Ladakh, 426. 
 
 Lag-lag-Khana, 184. 
 
 Landi Barech, 71, 73-75, 78, 155. 
 
 Langar, 114. 
 
 Langhera, 94. 
 
 Lash, 99, 100, 102, 104, 111, 130. 
 
 Lash Juwain, 65, 97, 102 ct seq., 407. 
 
 Lessar, M., 235, 338, 447. 
 
 Lockhart, Colonel, 426. 
 
 Lockwood, Captain, 9, 76, 
 
 Lopatinski, Lieutenant, 316. 317, 358. 
 
 Luftabad, 467. 
 
 Lumsden, Sir Peter, 27, 87, 118 ct seq., 
 
 203 ct seq., 306 ctscq., 428 et seq. 
 "Lut," black gravel of the, 37, 39. 
 
 Macgregor, General Sir Charles, 9, 28, 
 
 76, 77. 
 
 Mach, 9, 10, 12, 14-16, 433. 
 Mahomed Aslam, 309 et seq. 
 Mahomed Husain Khan, 335, 359, 374. 
 Mahomed Sarwar Khan, Naib-ul-huk- 
 
 uma, Governor of Herat, 144, 157. 
 Maimena, 151 et seq., 231 et seq., 301 
 
 et seq., 407 et seq. Ab-i-Maimena, 
 
 261. 
 Maitland, Captain, 2 et seq., 148 et seq., 
 
 206 et seq. , 309 et seq. , 402 et seq. 
 Maiwand, 35, 150, 232, 363. 
 Makbara-i-Abil, 97, 110, 155. 
 Malcolm, Sir John, 370. 
 Malik Do-kand, 70. 
 Mamu, 37, 47, 62, 63, 64, 155. 
 Mangan, 188, 196, 198, 201, 202. 
 Maruchak, 187 et seq., 225 et seq., 301 
 
 et seq., 403 et seq. 
 Marvin, Charles, 237. 
 Mashhad, 103 et seq., 210 et seq., 301 
 
 et seq., 401 et seq. 
 Mashhad-Teheran wire, 360. 
 Mastung, 26. 
 Mazar-i-sharif, 266. 
 Mehscedi Kulaman, 470. 
 Meiklejohn, Major, 13, 45, 125, 201 
 
 Merk, Mr, 12 et seq., 124 et seq., 208 
 et seq., 309 et seq., 401 et seq. 
 
 Merv, 151 et seq., 237 et seq., 303 ct 
 seq., 407 et seq. Governor of, 300 
 Charjui line, 437 Nimaksar road, 
 411. 
 
 Merv Tekkes, the, 292, 293. 
 
 Mikhailovsk, 436-439, 465. 
 
 Mikhailovsky Gulf, 466. 
 
 Minar-i-Musalla, 138. 
 
 Mingals, 34, 54, 58. 
 
 Misiuo mountain, 467, 470. 
 
 Miyanabad, 466. 
 
 Moghur, 232. 
 
 Mohammed Ayub Khan, 304. 
 
 Mohammed Azam Khan, 223. 
 
 Mohammed Isa Khan, 232, 267, 392. 
 
 Mohammed Khan, Nizam-ud-daulah, 
 
 199. 
 
 Mohammed Sadik Khan, 229. 
 Mohammed Yakub Khan, 373. 
 Mohammedabad, 471. 
 Mooltan, 405. 
 Mughals, the, 229. 
 Muhsinabad, 173, 284. 
 Munghan, 271. 
 Murghab, the, 12, 118 et seq., 202 et 
 
 seq., 300 ct seq., 402 et seq. 
 Musa Jan, 373. 
 Musalla, 214. 
 Musazais, the, 232. 
 Mushwani Pa than s, the, 199. 
 Muzhdan, 37, 155. 
 
 Nada Ali, 88, 94, 95. 
 
 Naib Salar, the, 324 et seq. 
 
 Naib-us-Sultanah, the, 286. 
 
 Naizar, 90, 96, 97, 110. 
 
 Nakdow, 471. 
 
 Napier, Major the Honourable G., 77, 
 
 366. 
 
 Nardin, 462. 
 Narin, 261. 
 Naruis, the, 84, 88. 
 Nasir-ud-din, 287. 
 Nasirabad, 94, 103. 
 Naurozabad, 101, 241, 299, 340, 362. 
 Neb, 103. 
 
 Nihalsheni Pass, 299, 315. 
 Nimaksar, 298, 300, 316, 409-412, 427. 
 Nishapur, 287. 
 Niyaz Khan, 231. 
 North- Western Railway, 434. 
 Noukhur, 469. 
 Nurzais, the, 114 et seq. 
 Nushki, 7 et seq., Ill ct seq., 249, 425. 
 Nushki-Rudbar route, 33. 
 
 Obeh, 148, 393, 402, 407, 413, 425. 
 
 O'Donovan, Mr, 179. 
 
 Ori Muhammad Amin, 316. 
 
 Owen, Dr, 3 ct seq., 105 ct seq., 215 ct 
 
 seq., 308 et seq., 427, 458. 
 Oxus, 12, 151, 247 et seq., 320 et seq., 
 
 406 ct acq. 
 Oxus Turki, 284. 
 
 Padda-i-Kach, 174, 198, 199. 
 Padha-i-Sultan, 79, 88, 89, 91, 155.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 479 
 
 Pahra, 124 et scq. valley, 403. 
 
 Panjdeh, 97, 98, 101 ct scq., 207 ct scq., 
 302 et scq., 401 et scq. Afglian Gov- 
 ernor of, 325, 329, 460 Race-meet- 
 ing, 453 Russian Agent at, 360 
 Russian Governor of, 422. 
 
 Panjdehis, the, 300. 
 
 Panjpai, 14, 29, 31-33, 35. 
 
 Paropamisus, the, 146 et scq., 231 ct 
 seq., 306 et seq., 402. 
 
 Parsiwans, the, 125, 129, 131, 137. 
 
 Paskumnur Pass, 300. 
 
 Pattan-reg, 35, 38, 42, 44, 46, 47. 
 
 Peacocke, Captain, R.E., 15 et seq., 
 153 ct seq., 206 ct scq., 315 et seq., 
 400 et seq. 
 
 Pelly, Sir Lewis, 294. 
 
 Persepolis, 83. 
 
 Persia, North-Eastern, 77, 227 Xor- 
 thern, 150. 
 
 Persian army, 447 frontier, 35, 77, 
 149 Gulf, 237, 415 Gulf littoral, 
 414 Seistan, 84, 89. 
 
 Persians, the, 114, 283 ct scq., 367 ct 
 seq., 404, 454 Perso- Afghan border, 
 39, 161, 237, 305, 360, 415, 428 
 Perso-Beluch Boundary Commission, 
 236 Perso-Beluch frontier, 77, 415. 
 
 Peshawar, 31, 195, 407, 434 Kabul 
 route, 39. 
 
 Peshawaran, 104. 
 
 Pir Chauki, 4. 
 
 Pishin, 44, 64, 73, 404-406, 433, 434. 
 
 Pishin Lora, 65. 
 
 "Pistalik," 198, 391. 
 
 Pollock, General, 77. 
 
 Populzais, the, 136. 
 
 Povindahs, the, 17. 
 
 Prassloff, 417. 
 
 Prejavalsky, 77. 
 
 Pul-i-Khatun, 138 et seq., 214 et scq., 
 300 et seq., 428 et scq. 
 
 Pul-i-khishti, 169 ct scq., 255 ct scq., 
 305 et seq., 413 et scq. 
 
 Pulalak, 75. 
 
 Pushtu, 110. 
 
 "Put," 3. 
 
 Quetta, 2 et seq., Ill et scq., 218 et seq., 
 
 312 et scq., 433. 
 Quetta-Herat postal route, 39. 
 
 Rabab, 467, 470. 
 Rabat-i-Charkha, 396. 
 Rabat-i-lshk, 466. 
 Rabat-i-Kashan, 271, 272, 279. 
 Rabat-i-Mirza, 183, 398. 
 Rabat-i-sangi, 179, 182, 183, 398. 
 Rabat-i-sangi Pass, 398, 399. 
 Rabat-i-Surkh Pass, 315, 329, 340. 
 
 Rabat-i-Tirpul, 149. 
 
 Ilabat Pass, 175. 
 
 Rauzanak, 133 ct scq., 395, 396. 
 
 RawKns, Lieutenant, 13, 46, 217, 221- 
 
 245, 345. 
 
 Rawlinson, Sir Henry, 294. 
 Registan, 37, 39. 
 Resht, 381, 384, 414. 
 Ridgeway, Colonel, 2 ct scq., 105 ct scq., 
 
 215 ct"scq., 309 ct scq., 401 ct scq. 
 Rind, Major, 2 ci seq., 127, 165, 335. 
 Rindli, 3 ct scq., 127, 152, 206, 427, 
 
 464 railway, 19. 
 Robat, 65. 
 Robat Pass, 329. 
 
 Roberts, Sir Frederick, 156, 243. 
 Rohri, 4. 
 
 Rudbar, 2 ct scq., 104, 109, 155, 330. 
 Ruk, 405. 
 Ruk-Sibi line, 437. 
 Russian Commission, 305. 
 Russian topographical survey, 77. 
 Russo- Afglian frontier, 17 ct scq., 105, 
 
 253, 273, 305, 340, 390, 424 ct^seq. 
 Russo-Persian Boundary Commission, 
 
 237. 
 
 Russo-Persian frontier, 462 ct seq. 
 Rustam, 81. 
 
 Saad-ud-din, 47, 157, 207 ct scq., 320 
 
 ct scq., 429. 
 Sabzawar, 64, 65, 112, 132, 158, 201, 
 
 394, 440, 466. 
 Sana, 37. 
 Safid-dak, 95, 96. 
 Sand Kuh, 230, 397. 
 Safiya, 60, 154. 
 Sagirim mountains, 466. 
 Saiyads, the, 114, 313. 
 Sakalik, 65. 
 Sakzais sec Ishak-zais. 
 Salian, 37, 47, 62, 63, 67, 104, 155. 
 Salian-Khwaja Ali route, 62. 
 Salors, the, 291 et scq., 301 ct scq., 409 
 
 et seq. 
 
 Samarkand, 151, 254, 375, 408 ct seq. 
 Samuli, 70. 
 Sanders, 139. 
 
 Sandeman, Sir Robert, 2 ct scq. 
 Sanduk Kushan, 386. 
 Sanduri, 37, 42, 53, 57, 58, 153, 154. 
 Sang-Kotal Pass, 397. 
 Sangbast, 408. 
 Sangbur, 128, 130, 131. 
 Sangbur-karez, 155. 
 Sangi-Kotal, 340. 
 Sanjaranis, the, 84, 88. 
 Sar-i-chasluna-i-Aukamari, 199. 
 Sar-i-chashma-i-Chichakli, 301. 
 Sar-i-pul, 256, 266.
 
 480 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Sar-mandal, 122, 123, 131, 155, 156. 
 
 Sar-o-tar, 85. 
 
 Sarak, 114. 
 
 Sarakh Turkomans, 172. 
 
 Sarakhs, 118 et seq., 214 et scq., 314 
 et seq., 402 et scq. 'Sew, 159-161, 
 373 Old, 160, 283, 291, 301 etseq., 
 409 Panjdeh road, 411 Persian, 
 315 Russian, 316. 
 
 Sarhadd hills, 78, 86. 
 
 Sari Yazi, 263 et scq., 305 ct seq. 
 
 Saruk Khan Bairach, 300. 
 
 Saruks, the, 167 et scq., 223 et seq., 303 
 et seq., 409 ct seq. 
 
 Schersan and Koohan line, 472. 
 
 Seistan, 7 et seq., 101 et seq., 394, 414, 
 415, 425 Boundary Commission, 
 15, 236, 446 Bund, 89, 94 fron- 
 tier, 77 Hamun, 82 settlement of 
 1872, 91. 
 
 Seistanis, the, 89. 
 
 Senghi Sourakh, 467. 
 
 Sergher, 468. 
 
 Shabash, 149, 150, 179 the inhabit- 
 ants of, 150. 
 
 Shah Ismail, 37 et seq., 153-155, 249 
 road, 70. 
 
 Shahrak, 229. 
 
 Shahristan, 95. 
 
 Shahrud, 151, 363. 
 
 Shaikhiwan, 395, 396, 401. 
 
 Shakespeare Mission, 370. 
 
 Shandu, 94. 
 
 Shapur, 83. 
 
 Sharifabad, 95. 
 
 Sher Ahmed Khan, 325, 327, 348, 356. 
 
 Sher Ali, 267, 339, 371, 443. 
 
 Sher Bakhsh, 121-124, 132, 134, 155. 
 
 Sher-tapa, 390. 
 
 Shera Tapa, 402. 
 
 Sheranzis, the, 84. 
 
 Shi'ahs, the, 101. 
 
 Shibargan, 256, 258, 262, 266, 425. 
 
 Shignan, 186, 257. 
 
 Shikarpur, 195. 
 
 Shiraz, 82, 83, 288. 
 
 Shirin Tagao, 261, 267. 
 
 Shirin valley, the, 267. 
 
 Shora Rud, 37, 179. 
 
 Shorab valley, 394. 
 
 Shorawak, 37, 39, 47. 
 
 Sibi, 4, 5, 433. 
 
 Silagh-sar, 96. 
 
 Simla, 21, 36, 59, 187. 
 
 Simungli, 35, 43, 44. 
 
 Sind, 60, 433. 
 
 Sind-Pishin line, 439. 
 
 Sind, Upper, 9, 433. 
 
 Singbur, 34. 
 
 Singbur-Chaman, 32 et scq., 111. 
 
 Sinjarani chief, the, 35. 
 
 Sinjau, 396, 397, 403, 413 Ab-i-Sin- 
 
 jau, 401. 
 
 Sir-i-Ab, 19, 21, 22, 26, 27, 36, 44. 
 Siyah-Kuh, 408. 
 Siyah-Kumrak, 181. 
 Siyahbubak, 255. 
 Skoboleff, General, 304, 436. 
 Songou-Dagh, 466, 467. 
 "Sor-reg," 69. 
 St John, Captain, 415. 
 Stephen, A. Condie, 157, 160, 164, 
 
 304, 361, 366, 378, 401, 415. 
 Stewart, Colonel, 157, 161, 236, 283, 
 
 299, 332, 361, 385, 395, 400. 
 Stewart, Sir Donald, 28. 
 Stoddart Mission, 370. 
 Stoi, 161 Pass, 161, 162, 242, 299. 
 Stolietoffs Mission to Kabul, 196, 373, 
 
 406, 443, 451. 
 Suk-zais, the, 100. 
 
 Sukhtis, the, 234, 292, 308 et scq., 454. 
 Sukkur, 4, 405. 
 Suleiman Khan, 465. 
 Suluku Pass, 467, 470. 
 Sumba Karez, 393. 
 Sumbar, 466, 467, 469-471. 
 Sunnis, the, 101. 
 Surkh-dak, 95. 
 
 Tabriz, 289, 381, 384. 
 
 Tacht-i-pul, 451. 
 
 Tagao Ishlan, the chief of, 229. 
 
 Tagao Ishlans, the, 229. 
 
 Tagao-i-kucha, 231. 
 
 Tahuris, the, 136. 
 
 Taimanis, the, 131 et scq., 229 ct seq., 
 
 427 the country of the, 229. 
 
 Taimuris, 173, 230, 413, 427. 
 
 Taiwarra, 413. 
 
 Tajiks, the, 116 et seq., 229, 232. 
 
 Takht-i-Madar-i-Suleiman, 83. 
 
 Takht-i-Rustam, 97, 110, 155. 
 
 Talbot, Captain, 3 et seq., 108 et seq., 
 
 206 et scq., 315 et seq., 413, 425-428. 
 Tanner, Sir Oriel, 22. 
 Tarnak, 82. 
 Tartars, the, 150, 445. 
 Tash, 463. 
 Tashkend, 437, 438. 
 Tchakan Kala, 469. 
 Teheran, 87, 118, 158, 161, 206 et seq., 
 
 363 ct scq., 457, 464. 
 Teheran- Astrabad wire, 363. 
 Teheran-Mashhad wire, 363. 
 Tejend, 12, 118, 291, 293. 
 Tejend oasis, 314. 
 Tekendjik, 468. 
 Tekkes, 172 et seq., 235 et scq., 303 ct 
 
 seq., 405 et seq.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 481 
 
 Tepe, 468. 
 
 Thai, 407. 
 
 Thul Chotiali, 243. 
 
 Tibit, 319. 
 
 Tiflis, 235, 283, 466. 
 
 Tirband. 225, 258. 
 
 Tirband'-i-Turkistan, 175, 188, 202 ct 
 
 scq., 392, 413. 
 
 Tirpul, 149, 189, 311 ct scq., 400, 401. 
 Todd, D'Arcy, 139. 
 Tokhis, the, 188, 192, 201. 
 Toman Aka, 161 ct scq., 215 ct scq. 
 Tulak, 229 the chief of, 229 Tulaks, 
 
 the, 229. 
 
 Tur-i-Shaikh, 188 et scq., 200 ct scq. 
 Turbat, 408. 
 Turbat-i-Shaikh Jam, 283, 284, 360 
 
 etscq., 408, 413. 
 Turkey, 319. 
 Turkish tribes, the, 382. 
 Turkistan, Afghan, 167 ct scq., 256- 
 
 258, 265, 303 ct scq., 404 ct scq. 
 Governor of, 267 railway, 
 
 432, [437 Russian, 375, 392, 410 
 
 steppes of, 24, 320. 
 Turkoman border, 48 horses, 457 
 
 steppes, 312. 
 
 Turkomanchai, peace of, 449. 
 Turkomans, the, 22, 64, 120 ct scq., 209 
 
 ct scq., 301 ct scq., 409 ct scq. 
 Tuti-darakht, 161, 162. 
 Tutuchi, 167 ct scq., 274. 
 
 Umar Shah, 37 et scq., 154. 
 Unai Pass, 406. 
 Urush Doshan, 306 ct scg. 
 Utaks, the, 188, 192, 201. 
 Uzbeks, 139 ct scq., 237 ct scq., 302 ct 
 scq., 445, 451. 
 
 Vambery, 161, 235 ct scq., 317, 428, 
 
 435, 436. 
 Vladikavkas, 439. 
 
 Wakhan, 186, 249, 257. 
 Warshut'ta, 90. 
 
 Weir, Dr, 104, 165, 245, 402, 414. 
 "Wright, Lieutenant, 15, 46, 202, 217, 
 333 et scq. 
 
 Yagin Kala, 469. 
 
 Yagly-Oluma, 468, 469. 
 
 Yalantush Khan, 353, 356. 
 
 Yalawaeh, 302. 
 
 Yamuds sec Yoimuls. 
 
 Yamnts, the, 316. 
 
 Yar Mahomed Khan, 5, 11, 16 ct scq. 
 
 Yar-Yulan, 340. 
 
 Yarghan Chakli, 261. 
 
 Yarghan Kui, 261. 
 
 Yarim-tapa, 349, 354. 
 
 Yiivkaml, 426. 
 
 Yarty Kala, 469. 
 
 Yatc, Captain, 3 ctscq., 102, 202 ctscq., 
 
 309 ct scq., 401 ct scq. 
 Yatc, Lieutenant, 46, 165. 
 Yavurski, M., 196, 373, 406, 432, 451. 
 Yezd, 82, 103, 120. 
 Yomuds, 462, 463, 466, 468, 469. 
 Yulatan, 223 ct scq,, 300 ct scq., 410, 
 
 411, 420 chief of, 350. 
 Yulatanis, the, 273, 300 ct scq. 
 
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