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LIFE AND CAREER

MAJOE SIB LOUIS CAYAGNAKI, c.s.i.,K.c,B.r

BRITISH ENVOY AT CABUL,

TOGETHER WITH A JSRIEF OUTLINE-

OF THE

SECOND AFGHAN WAR.

eOMPILED BY

KALLY PROSONO DEY.

PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY J. N. GHOSE & CO., PRESIDENCY PRESS,
8, CHITPORE ROAD, CORNER OF LALL BAZAR.

i 88 i.

T>S

MORSZ STEPHEMt

THE FOLLOWING PAGES

A&E

Respectfully Dedicated to His Excellency

SIR SALAR JUNG, BAHADOOR, a. c, s. L

IS WELL-KNOWN TO THE PEOPLE OF INDIA ;

AND

W80SE PATRIOTISM TO INDIA,

AND

PEVOTIOIS^TO THE ^NGLISH

Have on many Occasions been Exhibited.

512241

PREFACE.

'I I 7 HEN the terrible news of the massacre of the British Em-
bassy at Cabul was flashed through the country, there
was a feeling of universal grief throughout India. Whatever may
have been the differences of opinion in men's minds about the
policy of the Afghan war, those differences were forgotten in the
general lamentation for the loss of the lives of those gallant
British officers, who, in the performance of their duty, fell victims
to the treachery of a fanatical nation, destitute of all sense of
truth and honor. Of the three brave officers who, together with
their small escort of fifty men, were so treacherously and ruth-
lessly butchered by the Afghans, SIR Louis CAVAGNARI was the
Chief, and it is my purpose to give in these pages a brief sketch
of the life and career of that distinguished officer. In placing
this book before the public, I need scarcely say, I claim no higher
title than that of a compiler, as almost all my materials have
been collected from the public prints of the day.

RALLY PROSONO DEY.
Uth July, 1880.

a : -a

NOTE TO PREFACE.

I REGRET very much, that this short Biography has been so
long delayed, by circumstances over which I had no control.
Domestic bereavement, and other causes, have conspired to pre-
vent its appearance at as early a period as I could have wished.

My best thanks are due to Lady Cavagnari, who has kindly
supplied me with information which, otherwise, I could not easily,
if at all, have obtained, and who has taken a deep interest in this
little volume.

The following letter, in answer to enquiries made of Madame
Cavagnari will interest the reader : —

THE PRECINCTS,

ROCHESTER,

Kent England, Dec. llth 1879.
•SIR,

I received your letter by last mail enclosing one addressed to
Madame Cavagnari, which I forwarded to her. She has returned it to me,
and begs me to answer the questions you ask in it, which being of a similar
character to those you ask of me, my letter will be sufficient.

Major Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari, K.C.B.,C.s.l., was born at
Stenay, Department of the Meuse, France, on the 4th of July, 1841. His
Father the Count, Major Adolph Cavagnari served in the French Army
under the Emperor Napoleon, and afterwards became equerry to Prince
Lucien Bonaparte. He was descended from the ancient Kalian family of
Panea, and married Caroline, third daughter of Mr. Hugh Lyons Montgo-
mery of Laurenstown Co Down, Ireland.

In 1851, Major Sir Louis Cavagaari entered Christs' Hospital, where he
was educated; and after studying there for six years, he passed the necessary
examinations at Addiscombe; and passed direct as a Cadet into the service
of the Honorable East Indian Company, in April 1858, and joined the 1st
Bengal Fusiliers (now 101 Bengal Fusiliers) served with that Regiment
through the OadeCampagni of 1858 (Indian Mutiny Medal) appointed to
the Staff Corps in July 1861, and gazetted an Assistant Commissioner in the
Punjab, He held political charge of the Kohat District from April 1866 to

6th May 1877, when he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar;
and served as Chief Political Officer in the following Hill expeditions.

1. Bizote expedition and capture of Gara, February, 1869.

2. Expedition against Kabul Khel Waziris, April, 1869.

3. Blockade of Kohat Pass, Afridis, 1875-1877.

4. Jawaki Expedition, 1877-78.

5. Sapri Expedition, February, 1878.

6. Shakote Epedition, March, 1878.

7. Utonaukhel Expedition, March, 1878.

In September, 1878, he was appointed to accompany Sir Neville Chamber-
lain's Mission to Kohat, &c., &c.

I hope these details may be of use to you ; and that your work may be a
success. Sir L. Cavagnari married in November, 1871, Mercy Emma,
second daughter of Henry Graves, Esq., M. B,, p. B. s., of Cookstown Co.,
Tyrone, Ireland.

Your faithfully,

MERCY EMMA CAVAGNARI.

I take the present opportunity of thanking the Government of
India, and the following gentlemen : —

The late lamented Sir George Pomeroy Colley, K.C.B., Captain
Sawyer, Assistant Secretary in the Military Department, Nawab
Abdul Luttif Khan, Bahadoor, Baboo A. T. Banerjee, Baboo
Debendra Dutt, and others I might name, without whose en-
couragement and assistance, this brief record of a very noble life,
would not have been undertaken and completed.

KALLY PROSONO DEY.

NO. 32, KALLY DASS SINGHEE's LANE,

Calcutta, 18th August, 1881.

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K,C,B,,C,S,I,

Major Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari, K.C.B,
c.s.i, was born at Stenay, Department of the Meuse,
France, on the 4th of July, 1841. His grand-father
was Private Secretary to Napoleon the First, his
grand-mother was a French lady. His father, General
Adolphe Cavagnari served in the French Army under
the Emperor Napoleon, and afterwards became equerry
to Prince Luciene Bonaparte. General Adolphe
Cavagnari married Caroline, the third daughter of
Mr. Hugh Lyons Montgomery, of Laurenstown,
county Down, Ireland, and Louis Cavagnari was
the issue of this match. In 1851, at the age of ten,
Louis Cavagnari entered Christ's Hospital, London,
and, after studying there for six years, he passed the
necessary examinations at Addiscombe and became a
direct cadet of the Honorable East India Company
in April 1858. He arrived in India on 12th July
1858, and joined the 1st Bengal Fusiliers.

It was a terrible time for India then. The great
sepoy mutiny was raging in all its fury, and the British
Empire in the East was shaken to its foundations.
Thus before he was out of his teens, Louis Cavagnari
had to experience all the untold hardship of a soldier's

LIFE OF

life, and had had the opportunity of winning laurels
on the field of battle or falling a martyr to the cause
of his country. He served with his regiment through-
out the Oudh campaign of 1858-59 ; and, like the
other memorable heroes of that period whose com-
bined efforts prevented the overthrow of the British
Empire in India, Louis Cavagnari, boy as he was?
had also his share of the great work. He was present
with a detachment of his regiment, under the com-
mand of Major T. Wheeler on the 30th of October
1858, when five guns were captured from the Nussira-
bad Brigade, and the intrepidity he had shown
throughout, did not go unrewarded, for, when the
distribution of honors came, the breast of the boy
Cavagnari was emblazoned with the Indian Mutiny
Medal.

In July 1861, Cavagnari was appointed to the Staff
Corps, and gazetted an Assistant Commissioner in
the Punjab. Possessed of remarkable energy, indo-
mitable courage, and a genial character, he soon
acquired distinction in the Frontier service, and was
ultimately appointed Deputy Commissioner of Kohat,
in which capacity he had to conduct numerous nego-
tiations between the British Government and the
Frontier tribes ; a duty which he discharged with
great ability and tact. He held political charge of
the Kohat District from April 1866 to May 1877
when he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNART, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 5

Peshawar. He served as Chief Political Officer in
the following Hill Expeditions : —

1. Bizole Expedition and Capture of Gara, February, 1869.

2. Expedition against Cabal Khel Waziris, April, 1869.

3. Afridi Expedition, 1875-77, (Blockade of Kohat Pass).

4. Jawaki Expedition, 1877-78.

5. Sapri Expedition, February, 1878.

6. Shahkote Expedition, March, 1878.

7. Utmankhel Expedition, March, 1878.

When the despatch of a British mission to the
Amir Shere AH under Sir Neville Chamberlain, the
Commander-in-chief of the Madras army, was decided
upon, Major Cavagnari was attached to the staff, and
he was, from first to last, the most prominent figure
in the Afghan negotiations, from the time when he

knocked at the gate of Ali Musjid, in September

to the date of his massacre on the 3rd September
1879. Here it will not be amiss to quote a passage
from the letter of the Times correspondent with the
Khyber Force. " It is difficult," wrote the Times
correspondent," to do full justice to the way the nego-
tiations have been conducted by Major Cavagnari,
and the mingled firmness and conciliation which he
has displayed. The Government has, indeed, been
excellently served by him in this difficult and deli-
cate affair. The Amir shows unmistakable feelings
of attachment to Major Cavagnari." But the most
interesting sketch of Sir Louis Cavagnari is supplied
by the special correspondent of the Times of India,

LIFE OF

in the course of an account of an adventurous ride
they took together through the Khyber Pass just
before the war was declared. " Let me," said the
correspondent, " describe to you Major Cavagnari,
who has already played a prominent part, and will
play a still more prominent part in our Frontier
policy. He is about five feet nine inches in height,
and slimly but powerfully built. Broad shoulders,
set on a powerful chest, small and well-knit limbs,
and an elastic, buoyant step betoken the utmost
strength united with intense activity and powers
of enduran3e. At first sight Major Cavagnari might
be thought to be a learned professor ; his countenance
wears a thoughtful and abstracted expression, which
is intensified by the use of spectacles. But the
placidity of expression on a closer scrutiny is lost in
the resolute firmness of the lower face. He has a
singularly pleasing and mild tone of address and
conversation, and is a most agreeable host. Major
Cavagnari is one of that school of frontier warriors
and administrators of whom Nicholson and Edwards
were the grand representatives in a past generation.
We have had few more heroic arid wiser chiefs than
the custodian of our Khyber Frontier, who, by the
influence of his character and strength of will keeps
in awe, and quells the fierce turbulence of these
savage mountaineers." Of the personal courage of
Major Cavagnari, the following is an exemplary

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 7

instance. " Cavagnari," wrote a correspondent,
u although he never loses his temper, can on occasion
hit wonderfully straight from the shoulder, — I re-
member once riding with him to an appointment he
had with some Afridis to settle some vexed land
question. I remained on the road, while he alone,
in the centre of about a dozen stalwart ruffians,
armed to the eyebrows, walked round the field.
Presently the loud angry accents of a dispute reached
my ears. The Afridis were surrounding Cavagnari,
gesticulating with passionate vehemence, some with
hands on their daggers. Cavagnari stood quiet, per-
fectly fearless, utterly impassive. Suddenly I saw
the biggest of the Afridis go down like a bullock, and
Cavagnari, with unruffled composure, returning his
hand into his pocket. He had knocked the ruffian
down, and the swift thoroughness of the act cowed
the fierce hillmen. About halfway on the return
journey, Cavagnari remarked apologetically, ' It was
absolutely necessary. Please don't think I lost my
temper. I was perfectly cool, but I was forced to
maintain my ascendency,' and then he added medi-
tatively, ' and I wanted also to save my life.' '

The courage with which Major Cavagnari faced
the dangers that surrounded him on all sides in an
enemy's country, immersed in barbarism, marks. him
out as no mean hero, while the tact and judgment
he displayed in carrying on the negotiations with

LIFE OF

the savage tribes inhabiting the mountainous tracts
of Afghanistan, make him conspicuous as a diplo-
matist of the highest order. The Mission which Sir
Louis Cavagnari led to Cabul, constitutes the last
chapter of that eminent man's life. And as this last
chapter of his life is also the brightest, and at the
same time the most important one, it is my purpose
to record the details of it, collected from the ephe-
meral writings of the day, in this permanent shape.

Since the time of Peter the Great projects for
establishing commercial relations with India at the
expense of England, for replacing the English rulers
of India, and finally for destroying the power of
England by depriving her of her possessions in Asia,
have been unquestionably entertained by the Rus-
sians. The Emperor Paul devised various projects
for invading India. It was he who first formed the
idea of attacking India by two different routes — one
by way of Persia, Herat, and Candahar, the other
by way of Khiva, Bokhara, and Balk. Every suc-
cessive Emperor since the days of Paul has devised
or considered plans for invading India. Alexander I,
when allied to Napoleon in 1807 ; Nicholas, when
the British Government sent the first mission to
Cabul under Burnes, in 1837, and again at the time of
the Crimean war, and lastly Alexandar II. at a recent
period ; all these Emperors have had plans sub-
mitted to them for the invasion of India. Moreover,

a—

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 9

as an English journal pointed out sometime ago, on
the authority of a well-known Russian journal,
" every General, every staff Commander, who has
gone into the steppes from Khruleff to Tchernaief,
has sent home to the war office some plan for the
invasion of India ;" and though many of these pro-
jects may have been mere fantastic schemes elabo-
rated for the sake of wiling away the time, the pro-
gress of the Russians in Central Asia, must itself be
looked upon as little else than an advance against
India.

Khiva is regarded as an important station on
the road to India. The first expedition that Russia
sent against this place was in 1 707. The object of this
expedition was to proceed still farther than Khiva.
After occupying Khiva, Prince Bakovitch-Cher-
kasski, the chief of the expedition was instructed to
"send a merchant on thence to Amou-Daryer
(Oxus) : ordering the same to ascend the river as
far as vessels can go, and from thence to proceed to
India, remarking the rivers and the lakes and des-
cribing the way by land and water, but particularly
the water way to India by lake or river, returning
from India the same way ; or, should the merchant
hear in India of a still better road to the Caspian
Sea, to come back by that and to describe it in
writing." Besides the real merchant, a naval officer,
Lieutenant Kojar, with five or more " navigators

—a

10 LIFE OF

were to be sent to India in merchants' s attire.
The expedition had been announced to the Khan as
an embassy of a friendly character. But neverthe-
less, the Prince and nearly the whole of his troops
were cruelly murdered. This expedition, the Russian
historian tells us, " threatened Khiva with final ex-
tinction, and accidental circumstances alone pre-
vented this result."

It was Peter's desire to send out a second expedi-
tion, and preparations were made with that end in
view, but events in Europe compelled him to change
his mind.

In 1800, Emperor Paul sent out a hastily and
somewhat " wildly organized" force against Khiva
with instructions to continue the march to India.

Paul entertained the idea of invading India from
Astrabad, by the road through Herat and Candahar.
In a communication to Napoleon on the subject he
proposed that, with a combined army of 70,000 men,
France and Russia should "chase the English from
India, liberate that rich and beautiful country from
the English yoke, and open new roads to England's
commercial rivals, and especially to France." "The
country," said Paul in answer to some objections by
Napoleon, " is not savage ; it is not barren. The
soil is not like that of Arabia and Libya, covered
with dry sand ; rivers water it at almost every step.
There is no want of grass for fodder. Rice grows in

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C,B.,C.S.I. 11

abundance, and forms the principal food of the
inhabitants."

The Russo-French alliance, however, broke up,
and the project of a Russo-French expedition to
India came to the ground. But Paul did not lose
heart nor did he abandon his long cherished idea,
and in 1801 he sent General Orloff with an army
composed of Cossacks and horse artillery, from the
Don to Orenburg, and from Orenburg towards
Khiva, on arrival in which place he was to have
arranged for himself an expedition to India. The
General, in less than a month, traversed upwards of
450 miles, but when he had just reached the
heights of the Irgiz, to the north of the Aral Lake,
Paul's life came to an untimely end, and Alexander I.
having ascended the throne, commanded him to
abandon the enterprise.

From the reign of Peter the Great down to the
present day, throughout her career of conquest in
Central Asia, the eye of Russia has been resolutely
fixed upon India. Thus for nearly two centuries the
Russian Frontier in Asia is advancing towards India,
slowly but surely. At the beginning of the eighteenth
century it was 2,500 miles from the English. In the
hundred years following the distance was reduced by
500 miles, and in the early years of the present cen-
tury it was shortened 1,000 miles. Since the Crimean
war the inter vening territory has been narrowed about

12 LfFE OF

400 miles. It is, then, evident that England and
Russia must come into direct contact in Central Asia
sooner or later. The two nations are entering into
a long course of rivalry like that which existed for up-
wards of a century between England and France, and
which finally came to an end in the field of Waterloo.
It is the gradual advance of Russia towards India
that has induced the British Government to endea-
vour to consolidate the Western Frontier of India.
Whether or not Cabul is really to be the Waterloo
that shall put an end to the long-existing rivalry
"between Russia and England, is yet to be seen.
It is plain, however, that circumstances are gradually
driving the two rival nations towards that end.

The circumstances under which the fatal Mission
to Cabul was sent are fully explained in the Secre-
tary of State for India's Despatch to the Govern-
ment of India. It is as follows : —

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA'S DESPATCH

TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ON THE

AFGHAN QUESTION.

" India Office, London, Nov. 1878.
" Secret, No. 49.

To His EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HON'BLE THE GOVERNOR-
GENERAL OF INDIA IN COUNCIL.

"My Lord, — 1. The letters* and telegraphic despatches
which your Government has transmitted to -me, reporting

"* No. 53 secret, August 5, 1878; No. 61, secret, August 19, 1878;
No. 67, secret August 27, 1878 ; No. 79, secret, September 9, 1S78 ; No. 86,

— a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.O.B.,C.S.I. 13

the circumstances connected with the reception of a Russian
mission to Cabul in July last and the subsequent rejection by
the Amir Shere Ali Khan of the special Embassy accredited to
his Court by your Excellency, have been considered by Her
Majesty's Government with the care due to their importance.

" 2. The various communications which have from time to time
passed between the Government at home and that of India,
ending with Lord Salisbury's despatch of the 4th of October last
year, contain a complete exposition of the general policy of the
British Government towards Afghanistan, and set forth, more-
over, the considerations which lately induced Her Majesty's
Government to endeavour to place their relations with the Amir
on a more satisfactory footing. In order, however, that no mis-
apprehension may exist on this subject, I deem it advisable to
recapitulate some of the leading features of that policy, and to
trace the course of events which have led to the present condi-
tion of affairs on the Frontier.

" 3. Although much difference of opinion has existed, and
still exists among eminent authorities on the subject of the
Frontier policy to be pursued by the Indian Government, that
difference has reference rather to the methods to be followed
than to the objects in view. The consistent aim of the British
Government during a series of years had been to establish on its
north-western border a strong, friendly, and independent State*
with interests in unison with those of the Indian Government,
and ready to act in certain eventualities as an auxiliary in the
protection of the Frontier from foreign intrigue or aggression.
The Treaty of 1855t negotiated by Lord Dalhousie, with the

secret, September 16, 1878 ; No. 93, secret, September 26, 1878 ; No. 95,
secret, October 3, 1878.

"f Article 1. — Between the Honorable East India Company and His
Highness Amir Dost Mahomed Khan Wallee of Cabul and of those
countries now in his possession, and the heirs of the said Amir, there shall
be perpetual peace and friendship. Article II. — The Hon'ble East Indian

U LIFE OF

approval of Lord Aberdeen's Government, and still in force*
bears witness to the importance then attached to friendly relations
with Afghanistan : It was described by the Governor-General (J)
in words which fully explain its intended effect : — >The treaty
gives to the Government of India on its Western Frontier as
complete security against a foreign and distant enemy as it is
possible for us in the nature of things to compass.

" 4. The question, however, has assumed special prominence
since the period of the transfer to the Crown of the direct ad-
ministration of India. The growing interest in the subject has
been the result partly of the increased responsibilities assumed by
the Government of Her Majesty in maintaining her Indian Em-
pire, and partly of the intestine disorders to which Afghanistan
became a prey after the accession of the present Amir to the
throne in 1863. Upon Lord Lawrence devolved the direction of
the policy to be adopted in the new state of affairs, and that
statesman considered that the objects of the British Government
would be best obtained by abstaining from active interference in
the internal affairs of Afghanistan, and by the friendly recogni-
tion of the de facto rulers of that country, or of portions of it,
without undertaking inconvenient liabilities on behalf. On this
basis Lord Lawrence thought that the British Government
would have the greatest chance of gaining the permanent friend-
ship alliance of the Afghan people. The outposts of Russia
were then distant from the borders of Afghanistan, and His
Lordship's Government attached no special importance to the

Company engages to respect those territories of Afghanistan now in His
Highuess' possession, and never to interfere therein. Article III. His
Highness Amir Dost Mahomed Khan, Wallee of Cabul and of those
countries of Afghanistan now in his possession, engages on his part and on
the part of his heirs to respect the territories of the Honorable East
India Company and never to interfere therein, and to be the friend of the
friends and enemy of the enemies of Honorable East India Company.

" J Minute, 30th April, 1855, in Secret Letter, No. 3, of the 10th
May 1855."

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 15

probability and danger of the growth of the former Power in
the direction of India, which, they considered, would in any case
best be restrained or rendered innocuous by a friendly understand-
ing on the subject between the English and Russian Cabinets.

"5. The views of Her Majesty's Government of that day on
the subject of their relations with Afghanistan were in com-
plete harmony with those of Lord Lawrence. They did not
desire to exercise active influence at Cabul, not to interfere in
the conflicts then rife between contending parties in Afghanistan
long as those conflicts did not jeopardise the peace of the Frontier.
This policy was, therefore, adhered to, although not without some
inconvenient results, duiing the civil war which raged for so
many years after Shere All's accession, and might not unreason-
ably be thought suited to the circumstances of the time. But
the final and unaided success of the Amir in regaining his throne
in the autumn of 1868 in some measure changed the position of
affairs, and in the opinion both of Lord Lawrence and of Her
Majesty's Government, justified some intervention in Highness
favor and the grant to him of such assistance in money and arms
as appeared conductive to the maintenance of his authority.

" 6. The policy followed by Lord Mayo's administration in its
dealings with Afghanistan was to a considerable extent in accord
with the course of action thus finally adopted in the autum of
1868 by his predecessor. While, however, Lord Mayo did not
deviate in any material degree from the attitude of non-interference
in the internal affairs of Afghanistan which had been so long
maintained, he recognised Shere Ali as the de jure as well as the
de facto ruler of that country, and, in a letter addressed to that
prince, engaged to view with severe displeasure any attempt on
the part of his rivals to disturb his position. This step, added
to the marked personal influence obtained by Lord Mayo over
the Amir, was sufficient at the moment to remove a certain
feeling of resentment which had been generated in his mind

< a

16 LIFE OF

by the apparent indifference shown by the Bribish Government
to the result of his struggle for power, and at the same time,
rendered His Highness' position at Cabul more assured than that
of any previous ruler.

" 7. The advances of Russia in Central Asia had not up to
this period assumed dimensions such as to cause uneasiness to
the Indian Government. Lord Mayo agreed, therefore, in the
views of his predecessor that the best means of averting inter-
ference on the part of the Turkistan authorities in the affairs of
Afghanistan would be by a frank interchange of views on that
subject between the Government of Her Majesty and that of the
Czar. Her Majesty's Government had independently arrived at
the same conclusion, and early in 1869 initiated friendly negotia-
tions at St, Petersburg, which terminated in a very distinct
understanding on the subject, and in the recognition by a Czar's
Government of the limits of the Amir's territories in complete
accord with the wishes of Shere AH and of the British Govern-
ment.

" 8. The policy of his predecessors was that substantially fol-
lowed by Lord Northbrook, although the rapid development of
events in Central Asia was gradually increasing the difficulty
of abstaining from closer relations with the ruler of Cabul. The
Capture of Khiva by the forces of the Czar in the spring of
1873 and the total subordination of the khanate to Russia,
caused Shere All considerable alarm, and led him to question
the value of the pledges with reference to Afghanistan which
had been given by His Imperial Majesty to England, and which
had been communicated to His Highness by the British Govern-
ment. Actuated by his fears on this score His Highness sent a
special Envoy to Simla in the summer of that year charged with
the duty of expressing them to the Government of India.

" 9. Finding that the objection of the Amir was to ascertain
definitely how far he might rely on the help of the British Gov-

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 17

eminent if his territories were threatened by Russia, Lord
Northbrook's Government was prepared* to assure him that
under certain conditions the Government of India would assist
him to repel unprovoked aggression. But Her Majesty's Govern-
ment at home did not sharef His Highness' apprehension, and
the Viceroy ultimately informed the Amir that the discussion of
the question would be best postponed to a more convenient
season.}; The effect of this announcement on His Highness,
although conveyed in conciliatory language, was not favorable ; the
policy which dictated it was unintelligible to his mind, and he
received it with feelings of chagrin and disappointment. His
reply to Lord Northbrook's communication was couched in terms
of ill-disguised sarcasm ; he took no notice of the Viceroy's
proposal to depute a British officer to examine the northern fron-
tier of Afghanistan ; he subsequently refused permission to Sir
Douglas Forsyth to return from Kashgar to India through Cabul ;
he left untouched a gift of money lodged to his credit by the
Indian Government, and generally assumed towards it an attitude
of sullen reserve.

" 10. Such was the position of affairs when Her Majesty's
present advisers assumed office in 1874. The maintenance of
Afghanistan as strong and friendly Power had at all times been
the object of British policy. The method adopted in attaining
that object had not met with the success that was desirable. Its
accomplishment was nevertheless a matter of grave importance,
and it had now to be considered with reference to the rapid
march of events in Turkestan. Her Majesty's Government
could not view with indifference the probable influence of these
events upon the character of an Asiatic Prince whose dominions

" * Telegram from Viceroy, July 24, 1873.
" t Telegram to Viceroy, July 26, 1873.

" J Letters from Viceroy, 6th September, 1873, in Secret Letter, No. 75
dated 15th September, 1863.

18 LIFE OF

were thereby brought within a steadily narrowing circle between
two great military empires, and although no immediate danger
appeared to threaten British interests on the Frontier of Afghan-
istan, the situation in Central Asia had become sufficiently grave
to suggest the necessity of timely precaution. Her Majesty's
Government considered that the first step necessary was the im-
provement of their relations with the Amir himself. With this
object in view they deemed it expedient that His Highness
should be invited to receive a temporary mission at Cabul, in order
that an accredited British Envoy might confer with him per-
sonally upon what was taking place, might assure him of the
desire of the Queen's Government, that his territories should
remain safe from external attack, and at the same time might
point out to him the extreme difficulty of attaining this object,
unless it were permitted by him to place its own officers on
his Frontier to watch the course of events beyond it. It was
true that the Amir's relations with the Russian Governor-General
of Turkestan had of late become more intimate, and that a cor-
respondence which that official had commenced with the Cabul
Durbar in 1871, and which at one time had caused serious disquiet
to the Amir was being carried on with increased activity,
while His Highness* original practice of consulting the Indian
Government as to the replies to be sent to General Kaufmann's com-
munications had been discontinued. Nevertheless, Her Majesty's
Government were willing to believe that Shere Ali, if his intentions
were friendly, would be ready to join them in measures advan-
tageous to himself, and essential for the protection of common
interests.

" 11. In view of these interests and of the responsibilities
which had morally devolved upon the British Government on
behalf of Afghanistan j looking also to the imperfect information
available in regard to the country in respect to which those res-
ponsibilities had been incurred, Lord Northbrook's Government

a—

MAJOR SIB LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.l. 19

had in 1 873 expressed the opinion that the temporary presence in
Afghanistan of a British officer, as then proposed by them, might
do much to allay any feelings of mistrust lingering in the minds
of the Afghan people, and might at the same time prepare the
way for eventually placing permanent British representatives at
Cabul, Herat, and elsewhere. Encouraged by this opinion, Her
Majesty's Government came to the conclusion that, although
Lord Northbrook's efforts to attain the desired object had not
met with success, the time had come when the measure, thus
indicated could no longer with safety be postponed. Your pre-
decessor in council had, indeed, while appreciating all the advan-
tages to be anticipated from it, frankly represented to Her Ma-
jesty's present advisers the difficulties attending the initiation of
it ; he believed the time and circumstances of the moment to
be inopportune for placing British agents on the Afghan
borders, and was of opinion that such a step should be deferred
till the progress of events justified more specific assurances to
Shere Ali, which might then be given in the shape of a treaty,
followed by the establishment of agencies at Herat and other
suitable places. Her Majesty's Government, however, were
unable to agree in this view ; they deemed it probable that if
events were thus allowed to march without measures of precau-
tion on the part of the British Government, the time would have
passed when representations to the Amir could be made with any
probability of a favorable result ; and they considered it impor-
tant that the actual sentiments of His Highness in reference to
which different opinions were held by different authorities, should
be tested in good time.

" 12. Accordingly, on your Excellency's departure from
England to assume the Viceroy alty, Her Majesty's Government
instructed you to offer to Shere Ali that some active countenance
and protection which he had previously solicited at the hands of
the Indian Government. It was clearly impossible, however, to

20 LIFE OF

enter into any formal engagement in this sense without requiring
from the Amir some substantial proof of his unity of interests
with the British Government. While Her Majesty's Government,
therefore, authorised your Excellency to concede to His Highness
substantial pecuniary aid, a formal recognition of his dynasty, so
far as it would not involve active interference in the internal
affairs of Afghanistan, and an explicit pledge of material support
in case of unprovoked foreign aggression, you were directed not to
incur these heavy responsibilities unless Shere Ali, on his part,
were prepared to allow a British agent or agents access to posi-
tions in his territories (other than at Cabul itself) where,
without prejudicing the personal authority of the ruler, they would
acquire trustworthy information of events likely to threaten the
tranquility or independence of Afghanistan.

'* 13. The measures which your Excellency adopted on your
arrival in India to give effect to the instruction of Her Majesty's
Government were framed with discretion and in a spirit of con-
sideration towards Shere Ali. You sent your Native Aide-de-
Camp, E-essaldar-Major Khanan Khan, to that Prince, charged
with the duty of informing him of your desire to depute tempo-
rarily to his capital, or to any other point in Afghan territory
agreeable to His Highness, a special Envoy, whose mission was
not merely to be one of compliment, but one for the discussion
of matters of common interest to the two Governments ; and
you took care to convey to His Highness verbal assurances of the
friendly character of your advances to him, but Shere Ali rejected
your overtures and declined to receive your Envoy.

" 14. Your Excellency exhorted the Amir to consider serious-
ly the consequence of an attitude which might end in compelling
the British Government to look upon him thenceforth as a
Prince who voluntarily desired to isolate his interests from
those of the British Government. In a conciliatory spirit you
abstained from pressing upon him the reception of your Envoy,

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 21

and you acceded to a suggestion of His Highness that your Vakil
at Cabul should make personal representations to you on the
Amir's behalf. These representations proved to be a recapitulation
of grievances, dating from 1872, and were briefly as follows : —

" 1. The communication which he had received from the
late Viceroy in 1874 on behalf of his rebellious son, Yakub Khan,
whom he had imprisoned.

" 2. The decision on the question of the Seistan boundary.

" 3. The gifts sent by the late Viceroy direct to the chief of
Wakhan, who is a tributary to the Amir.

" 4. The repeated rejection of his previous requests for an
alliance and a formal recognition of the order of succession as
established by him in the person of his son, Abdullah Jan.

" 16. These grievances appear to weigh heavily on His High-
ness' mind, and you, therefore, lost no time in assuring Shere Ali,
through the Vakil, of the friendly feeling of the British Govern-
ment towards him, of your desire to remove, by a frank
exchange of views, all causes of irritation on his mind, and of your
willingness to accede to his proposal that, in lieu of Sir L. Pelly
proceeding to Cabul, an Afghan Envoy should be deputed to
meet one from your Fxcellency at Peshawur.

"16. Your Vakil thereupon returned to Cabul charged with
the duty of explaining to the Amir, with the assistance of a
clearly-worded aide memoire the favorable treaty which the
British Government was prepared upon certain conditions to
negotiate with him and its desire to clear up past misunder-
standing. His Highness evinced no cordiality in his reception of
him ; but after some delay he deputed to Peshawur his minister
Syud Nur Mahomed Shah there to carry on with Sir Lewis Pelly
the negotiations which Her Majesty's Government had consi-
dered of sufficient importance to have taken place on Afghan soil
with the Amir himself. Although the Amir had been informed
in writing both of the concessions which the British Government

22 LIFE OF

was ready to grant to him and the conditions attached to them,
and although, at the same time, it was signified to him that it
would be of no avail for him to send his Envoy to Peshawur
unless His Highness were prepared to agree to those conditions
as the bases of the proposed treaty, it became apparent in the
course of the conference that the Minister rhad received no spe-
cific authority to accept them. As, moreover, the language and
conduct of Shere Ali, which had so long been dubious, became
openly inimical, you judiciously took advantage of the sudden
death of His Highness' Envoy to discontinue negotiations, the
bases of which had been practically rejected.

"17. This step in your part, as well as all proceedings
throughout the year preceding the conference, met with the
entire approval of Her Majesty's Government. As observed by
my predecessor in his despatch of October 4, 1877, Her Majesty's
Government had felt justified in hoping that the advantages
which they were ready to tender to the Amir, would have been
accepted in the spirit in which they were offered. At the same
time the attitude of His Highness for some years past had been
so ambiguous as to prepare them for a different result. Far,
however, from regarding" the possibility of failure as affording
sufficient grounds for total inaction and continued acquiescence
in the existing state of relations with the Amir, they had
arrived at the conclusion that while the prevailing uncertainty as
to His Highness' disposition rendered caution necessary in their
advances, it was in itself a reason for adopting steps which
would elicit the truth. From this point of view Her Majesty's
Government cjuld not regard the result of the Peshawur Con-
ference as altogether unsatisfactory in as much as they were no
longer left in doubt as to the reality of the Amir's alienation
which has previously been a matter of speculation. On the other
hand, the proceedings at the Conference and the previous negotia-
tions had placed before the Amir in a clear light the views of Her

fl —

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.O.B,,C.S.I. 23

Majesty's Government as to their existing obligations towards
him, and had at the same time informed him of the terms so
favorable to his interests, on which they were willing to draw
closer the bonds of union between the two countries, and to place
their mutual relations on a footing more advantageous to both.

"18. Their overtures having been thus treated, Her Majesty's
Government were of opinion that no course was open to them
but to maintain an attitude of vigilant reserve until such time as
the Amir might better realise his own position and interests.
This view has been anticipated by you in the final assurances
conveyed to the Afghan envoy by Sir Lewis Felly, and your
policy since the close of the Peshawur Conference has been in
accordance with it. While carefully watching the course of
affairs in Afghanistan, so far as the imperfect means of obtaining
information has admitted, you abstained from all interference in
them, in the hope that time would enable His Highness to realise
the dangers accruing to himself by the rejection of the friendly
advances of the British Government. That hope, however, has
not been realised. The Amir has persisted in his unfriendly iso-
lation and ultimately having two years ago declined to receive a
British Envoy, even temporarily, within his territory, on the
ground that he could not guarantee his safety, nor thereafter be
left with any excuse for declining to receive a Russian Mission,
he welcomed with every appearance of ostentation an Embassy
from the Czar, despatched to his Court at a time when there
were indications that an interruption of friendly relations between
this country and Russia might be imminent,

" 19. In these circumstances your Excellency represented to
Her Majesty's Government I/hat a policy of inaction could no
longer be persisted in, and that the Amir's reception of the
Russian mission at such a time and under such circumstances left
him no further excuse for declining to receive at his capital an
Envoy from the British Government. Your Excellency proposed,

24 LIFE OF

therefore, to demand the reception of a mission to Cabul, headed
by an officer of rank, in the person of Sir Neville Chamberlain,
whose name and family were held in high esteem by the Amir.

"20. This proposal was approved by Her Majesty's Govern-
ment. It was evident that a potentate who willingly admitted
to his capital, at a critical period, Envoys of a Power which at
the moment might be regardifl as making its advances with
object not friendly to the British Government, could not rea-
sonably refuse to receive a mission from a Power with which he
had continuously been in alliance. Your Excellency in Council
did not anticipate any such refusal, and Her Majesty's Govern-
ment saw no reason to question the soundness of your opinion on
this point, based as it must have been, on the best information at
your command.

" 21. The anticipations both of your Excellency and of Her
Majesty's Government were, however, disappointed by the event.
In a friendly letter carried to Cabul by the Nawab Golam Hussein
Khan, you informed the Amir of the date on which Sir Neville
Chamberlain was to leave Peshawur, and you give His Highness
adequate time in which to issue orders to his local officials for the
reception of the mission. You caused it, moreover, to be intima-
ted to His Highness and his officials that a refusal of free passage
to the mission would be regarded by you as an act of hostility. The
orders sent to the Afghan officers at Ali Musjid were nevertheless
the reverse of what you had a right to expect, and Major Cavag-
nari who went in advance of your Envoy was distinctly informed
that any attempt to enter Afghan territory would be resisted by
force, of which an ostentatious display was at once made.

" 22. This conduct on the part of the Amir was wholly without
justifications. He was aware from various communications address-
ed to him by your Excellency's predecessors that the Russian
Government had given assurances to the Government of Her
Majesty to regard his territories as completely beyond its sphere

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 25

of action ; he was equally aware that the whole policy^ of the
British Government since his accession to the throne had been
to strengthen his power and authority and to protect him from
foreign aggression, although the methods adopted for doing so
may not have at all times accorded with His Highness' own views :
he had received from the British Government evidence of goodwill
manifested by large gifts of money and arms, as well as by its
successful efforts in obtaining from the Czar's Government its
formal recognition of a fixed boundary agreeable to himself,
between his Kingdom and the neighbouring khanates ; his subjects
had been allowed to pass freely throughout India to the great
benefit of the trade and commerce of his country, and in no single
instance has the Amir himself or any of his people been treated
unjustly or inhospitably within British jurisdiction. By every
bond of international courtesy as well as by the treaty engage-
ment of 1855, existing between the two countries binding him to
be the friend of our friends and the enemy of our enemies, the
Amir was bound to a line of conduct the reverse of that which
he adopted.

" 23. In reporting to Her Majesty's Government the forcible
rejection of your friendly mission, your Excellency expressed the
conviction of the Government of India that this act deprived the
Anair of all further claim upon the forbearance of the British
Government, and necessitated instant action. Her Majesty's
Government were, however, unwilling to accept the evasive letter
brought from Cabul by the Nawab Gholam Hussein Khan as
Shere Ali's final^answer to your Government, and determined to
give him a short time for reconsideration. While, therefore, Her
Majesty's Government acknowledged fully as binding on them
the pledges given by Sir N. Chamberlain to the friendly Chiefs
and people who undertook the safe conduct of his mission, they
decided to make an effort to avert the calamities of war, and with
this object instructed your Excellency to address to His Highness

26 LIFE OP

a demand, in temperate language, requiring a full and suitable
apology within a given time for the affront which he had offered
to the British Government, the reception of a permanent British
Mission within his territories, and reparation for any injury inflict-
ed by him on the tribes who attended Sir N. Chamberlain and
Major Cavagnari, as well as an undertaking not to molest them
hereafter. These instructions were promptly carried into effect
by your Excellency's Government, and the Amir has been inform-
ed that unless a clear and satisfactory reply be received from him
by Nov. 20, you will be compelled to consider his intentions as
hostile, and to treat him as a declared enemy.

"24. It only remains for me to assure your Excellency of
the cordial support of Her Majesty's Government in the onerous
circumstances in which you are placed, and to state that I have
received the commands of Her Majesty to publish this despatch
for the general information of the public, in anticipation of the
papers connected with the important question with which it deals.
Those papers are in course of preparation, but as they cover a
period of not less than fifteen years they must necessarily be
voluminous.

" I have the honor to be, my Lord, your lordship's most obe-
dient humble servant."

" CRANBROOK."

It will not be out of place to insert here the letters
which Lord Lytton wrote to the Amir Shere Ali
immediately before the despatch of the British
Mission to Cabul. I should mention here that the
tone of the Viceroy's first letter was considered
objectionable by many when the correspondence with
the Amir was published, and Lord Lytton was found
fault with. It has been remarked that the letter

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 27

was not so courteous as it ought to have been. One
gentleman, writing from the Traveller's Club, London,
went the length of characterising the letter in
question as u one of the most bullying, discourteous
letters ever addressed to an independent Eastern
Chief from our Indian Foreign Office." But I may
mention here, upon the authority of a well-informed
English journal that the letter was not Lord Lytton's
composition. It bore his signature, but had none of
the marks of his literary composition. The follow-
ing are the letters alluded to : —

No. I.

From His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India,

to His Highness Amir Shere Ali Khan, Wali of Cdbul

and its Dependencies, Dated Simla,

Uth August, 1878.

The authentic intelligence which I have lately received of
the course of recent events at Cabul and in the countries border-
ing on Afghanistan, has rendered it necessary that I should com-
municate fully and without reserve with Your Highnesss upon
matters of importance which concern the interest of India and
of Afghanistan. For this reason, I have considered it expedient
to depute a special and confidential British Envoy of high rank,
who is known to Your Highness, His Excellency General Sir
Neville Bowles Chamberlain, Knight Grand Cross of the Most
Honorable Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Commander of the
Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Commander-in-Chief of
the Madras Army, to visit Your Highness immediately at Cabul,
in order that he may converse personally with Your Highness
regarding these urgent affairs. It appears certain that they can

LIFE OP

be best arranged for the welfare and tranquillity of both States,
and for the preservation of friendship between the two Govern-
ments by a full and frank statement of the present position.
This letter is therefore sent in advance to Your Highness, by the
hand of Navvab Gholam Hussein Khan, o. s. i., a faithful and
honored Sirdar of my Government, who will explain all necessary
details as to the time and manner of the Envoy's visit. It is
asked that Your Highness may be pleased to issue commands to
your Sirdars and to all other authorities in Afghanistan upon the
route between Peshawur and Cabul, that they shall make, without
any delay, whatever arrangements are necessary and proper for
effectively securing to my Envoy, the representative of a friendly
Power, due safe conduct and suitable accommodation according
to his dignity, while passing with his retinue through the domi-
nions of Your Highness.

I beg to express the high consideration I entertain for Your
Highness.

No. II.

Letter to His Highness the Amir of Cabul, dated Simla, 23rd
August, 1878.

After the despatch from Simla of my letter, dated 14th
August, 1878, which Nawab Gholam Hussien Khan will deliver
with this letter to Your Highness, I received from Peshawur the
melancholy news, that Your Highness has suffered a great affliction
in the untimely death of Sirdar Abdullah, Khan, the Heir-Aopa-
rent to Cabul, and its dependencies. I desire to express to Your
Highness personally the sincere regret which this intelligence has
caused to me ; but life and death are in the hands of God, and
resignation to His will is unavoidable. In consequence of this
calamity, I have directed my Envoy to postpone for a short time
his departure, in order that Your Highness may not be troubled

—as

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B..C.S.I. 29

by any public business, however important and urgent, until the
usual period of mourning shall have elapsed.

Nawab Gholam Hossein Khan was the bearer of
the Viceroy's letters to the Amir. This gentleman
was the British Envoy in Cabul for many years
before Ata Mahomed Khan's appointment, and was
thoroughly well liked and appreciated by most of
the Afghan Sirdars. He arrived at Cabul with the
Viceroy's letters on the 10th September 1878, and
was received with marked honor and hospitality
at the Court of the Amir. He had a private inter-
view with the Amir on the 12th, when he delivered
the letters of which he was the bearer. In the mean-
time preparations were in progress at Peshawur for
the despatch of the mission to Cabul. Suitable
tents, stores, and horses were being purchased,
servants hired, and other details arranged by Major
Waterfield, the energetic Commissioner of the
Peshawur Division. Sir Neville Chamberlain left
Simla on the 8th September 1878, and reached
Peshawuro n the 12th. Immediately on his arrival
at Peshawur, Sir Neville placed himself in commu-
nication with Major Waterfield, and also with Major
Cavagnari, who was then specially charged with the
conduct of the British intercourse with Cabul and
the Afridi tribes.

The position of affairs, as described by Sir Neville
Chamberlain himself, was as follows : —

30: LIFE OF

The Mission was directed to leave Peshawur on
the 16th September, or as soon after as possible, so
as to reach Cabul about the end of the month, by
which time the fall period of mourning and of the
Past (Ramzan) would have ended. This was also
the time named by the Amir's Minister as the period
when His Highness the Amir would be able to
attend to state affairs. Major Cavagnari, in obe-
dience to instructions, previously communicated to
him by His Excellency the Viceroy, was then in
course of arranging with the independent Khyberi
tribes for the safe conduct of the mission through
the pass as far as Ali Musjid, at which place it
would come into contact with, and under the
protection of, the officers of the Amir. All the
necessary arrangements with the independent tribes
were going on satisfactorily, when, all of a sudden,
on the morning of the 14th, information was brought
to Major Cavagnari that Faiz Mahomed Khan, the
Commandant of the Amir's troops, stationed at Ali
Musjid, had sent in to Peshawur to call back to the
Pass all the Khyberi inaliks, or head men, who were
then carrying on negotiations with Major Cavagnari.
The maliks applied to Major Cavagnari to know what
course they should adopt, as they felt that if they
disobeyed, the allowance they were in receipt from
the Amir might be stopped. This action on the
part of the Amir's officials was considered discour-

a— —a

MA JOE SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.c.B.,c.8.i. 31

teous, if not hostile ; for the occupation of Ali
Musjid by the Amir's troops had been of no long
duration, whilst, indeed, it could at no time have
been carried out had the measure been objected to
by the Government of India. It was, however,
thought to be impossible that such occupation could,
under any circumstances, be accepted by the British
Government as being allowed to interfere with, or
to become a bar to the right of the British Govern-
ment to hold independent relations with these tribes,
or to interfere in any manner with the previously
existing relations with them.

Deeming it unreasonable to accept the position
assumed by Faiz Mahomed, and at the same time being
unwilling to give the Amir any plausible ground of
complaint, Sir Neville Chamberlain addressed the
following courteous and friendly letter to Faiz Maho-
med, explaining to him the object of the Mission and
the motive of the British Government for arranging
with the Pass men for its safe conduct as far as the
Ali Musjid : —

No. 1.

From His Excellency Sir Neville Chamberlain, G. c. B. G. c. s. i.
To Faiz Mahomed Khan, Commandant of H. H., the Amir's
Troops at Ali Musjid —Dated, Peshawur, 15th September 1S7S.

A. C. — I write to inform you that, by command of His Excel-
lency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India a friendly
Mission of British officers, with a suitable escort is about to

32 LIFE OF

proceed to Cabul through the Khyber Pass, and intimation of
the despatch of this Mission has been duly communicated to His
Highness the Amir by the hand of the Nawab Gholam Hossein
Khan.

I hear that an official from Cabul has recently visited you
at Ali Musjid, and he has doubtless instructed you in accord-
ance with His Highness the Amir's commands. As, however,
information has now been received that you have summoned from
Peshawur the Khybari headman with whom we were making
arrangements for the safe conduct of the British Mission through
the Khyber Pass, I therefore write to enquire from you whether,
in accordance with the instructions you have received, you are
prepared to guarantee the safety of the British mission to
Dhakka or not, and I request that a clear reply to this enquiry
may be speedily communicated by the hand of the bearer of
this letter, as I cannot delay my departure from Peshawur. It
is well known that the Khyber tribes are in receipt of allowances
from the Cabul Government, and also, like other independent
tribes on this Frontier, have relations with the British Government.
It may be well to let you know that, when the present nego-
tiations were opened with the Khyber tribes, it was solely with the
object of arranging with them for the safe conduct of the British
Mission through the Khyber Pass, in the same manner as was
done in regard to despatch of our Agent, the Nawab Gholam
Hossein Khan ; and the tribes were given clearly to understand
that these negotiations were in no way intended to prejudice their
relations with His Highness the Amir, as it was well-known that
the object of the British mission was altogether of a friendly
character to His Highness the Amir and the people of Afgha-
nistan.

I trust, that in accordance with the instructions you have
received from His Highness the Amir, your reply to this letter
will be satisfactory, and that it will contain the required assurances

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 33

that the Mission will be safely conducted to Dhakka. I shall
expect to receive your reply to this letter not later than the 18th
instant, so please understand that the matter is most urgent.
But at the same time, it is my duty to inform you, in a frank and
friendly manner, that if your answer is not what I trust it will be,
or if you delay to send an early reply, I shall have no alter-
native but to make whatever arrangement may seem to me best
for carrying out the instructions I have received from my own
Government.

The purport of the above letter was explained
by Major Cavagnari to the maliks, who fully under-
stood and approved of its conciliatory nature, and
expressed themselves willing to abide by the
result. They were further told that up to that time
it was considered that their previous arrangements
with the Amir were held to be in force ; that
nothing had occurred to put an end to them ; but
that if the Amir, because of their relations with the
British, stopped their allowance, it would then be
continued to them by the British Government. At
this period, Sir Neville Chamberlain wrote to His
Excellency the Viceroy that he was not sanguine of
receiving a satisfactory answer, for he felt that a
man in a subordinate position like that held by
Faiz Mahomed Khan, would never dare assume the
responsibility of acting as he had done without orders,
ancl that, therefore, he had most probably carried
out the instructions he had received from Cabul.
But, so far from Faiz Mahomed feeling any embar-

LIFE OF

rassment in replying to Sir Neville Chamberlain's
letter, he did so at once, and his answer was received
on the afternoon of the 16th. The following is the
reply in question : —

No. 2.

Translation of a letter from Faiz Mahomed Khan, to His Ex-
cellency Sir Neville Chamberlain (letter not dated.)

A. C. — Your friendly letter which you sent me by the hands
of Arbab Fateh Mahomed Khan has reached me to-day, the 1 7th
Ramzan (16th September). I was gratified by the perusal
thereof and feel obliged.

Kind (Sir), you mention therein that you have been ordered
to proceed on a friendly Mission to Oabul, and that you are
negotiating with the Afridis for an escort to Dhakka. But the
Afridis are a faithless (literally, " fearless") and covetous race.
No confidence can be reposed in their engagements. Their head-
men and chiefs are all with us, and in receipt of allowances from
His Highness the Amir. The letter which my kind friend Major
Waterfield, Commissioner of Peshawur, wrote on the subject of
the advance of a friendly Mission to Cabul, I have forwarded by
the hands of my servant to the Mir Akhor, our superior and
chief at Jellalabad ; but as yet we have received no orders from
Cabul or Jellalabad which we might communicate to you,
whether to let the British Mission proceed or to stop it. "When
we hear that the Amir has no objection (to your going), we shall
do you good service and escort you to Dhakka, whether there
be any Afridis or not ; for the friendship between you and the
late Amir Sahib is clearer than the sun. When we receive orders
from the Capital (Cabul) to invite you, we shall be bound to
serve you well. But as yet we have received no orders to let you
go. We are servants to carry out the orders of (our master ).

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 35

Should you come without His Highness' permission or orders, it
will lead to a collision between us and the Afridis on one side
and you on the other ; all hopes of friendship will be lost.

While I was writing this letter, a man arrived from Dhakka
with news that the Mir Akhor would shortly be here with two
sowars. As he is a great man, he may have brought some orders
which he, by way of friendship, will communicate to you. He
will also learn your views, (" jawab-o-sowal"). What I have
stated above is all that I have to communicate. Further, you
are at liberty to do what you like. Whether you stop at
Peshawur until the Mir Akhor arrives, and has a friendly com-
munication with you, or you proceed at once by force ; you can
do what you choose.

There could be no room for misunderstanding
Faiz Mahomed's meaning. He was a soldier in
command of an out-post ; had no orders to allow
the Mission to pass, and would stop it by force of
arms if need be. The position thus assumed was in
fact to imply that the relations then existing
between the Amir and the British Government were
tantamount to a state of war : and thus all doubt
was removed as to the nature of the orders given to
Faiz Mahomed, or the source from which they ema-
nated. Just one ray of hope might, however, be
extracted from his last paragraph. The Mir Akhor
was, he said, just about to arrive at Ali Musjid
from Dhakka : he might be the bearer of fresh
instructions from Cabul; and he recommended Sir
Neville to delay the advance of the Mission.

News of the Mir Akhor's arrival duly reached

36 LIFE OF

Sir Neville Chamberlain. This official has been very
aptly described as the " sourest old fanatic in
Afghanistan and the bitterest enemy of the Kafir,
English or Russ." It was reported that the Mir
Akhor's object, far from being of a friendly character,
was to see that Faiz Mahomed did not flinch from the
execution of his orders. It soon became apparent
that both Faiz Mahomed and the Mir Akhor were
endeavouring their utmost to make the Afridis close
the Pass to the advance of the Mission. All reserve
was thrown aside now, and, with the sanction of the
Viceroy, the Afridi Maliks were told (on the 19th) that
British Government was ready to deal with them
independently of all other considerations, and the
promise of indemnifying them for any loss they
might sustain from the Amir withdrawing his
allowance, was repeated to them.

On the 20th September, the Maliks announced the
willingness of their clansmen to escort the Mission
to Ali Musjid, or to any nearer point until the Mission
should come into contact with the Amir's officials ;
and that they would, if necessary, give it safe con-
duct back to Jamrud. They asked for one day's
time to enable them to make the necessary arrange-
ments for the security of the Pass.

On the 21st September, the Mission moved to
Jamrud. For the first three or four miles, the road
from Peshawur to Jamrud lies due west through rich

a— —a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 37

cultivation and groves of young sisoo trees to
JBurj-i-Hari Singh, a tower where a picket under
ordinary circumstances warns peaceful travellers
that if they venture further west, it is at the risk of
their lives. Beyond Burj-i-Hari Singh a bare
gravelly desert stretches to the foot of the Khyber
Hills, some seven or eight miles off. Three miles
from the mouth of the Pass lies the half-ruined
Eort of Jamrud, a somewhat picturesque structure,
lying just inside British territory, and held for the
British by the chief of a village in the neighbouring
plain. Just to the east of its crumbling towers,
the British camp was pitched.

The Mission was composed as follows : Envoy,
General Sir Neville Chamberlain, a. c. B., G. c. s. i. ;
second in command Major Cavagnari, c.s.i. ; attached
—-Surgeon Major Belle w, c.s.i. ; Major St. John,
Royal Engineers ; Maharaj Pertab Singh Bahadur
of Jodhpore ; Nawab Obaidullah Khan, Shahibzadah
of Tonk ; personal staff of the Envoy — Military
Secretary, Captain Hamick ; Aides-de-camp, captain
Onslow, Madras Cavalry ; Lieutenant Chamberlain,
Central India Horse ; Rassuldar- Major Mahomed
Aslam Khan, 5th Bengal Cavalry ; Interpreter, Kazi
Seyud Ahmad, Foreign Office Attache. With the
escort were Colonel Jenkins, the Guides, command-
ing; Major Prinsep, llth Bengal Lancers ; Major
Stewart and captain Battye, the Guides, with a total

38 LIFE OF

of 234 fighting men, Natives of the escort. The
rest were camp-followers, including over 200 people,
camel-drivers and others, belonging to the Commis-
sariat, which carried nine days' rations for man and
beast. The carriage consisted of 315 camels, about
250 mules, and 40 horses. The whole would have
formed a cortege considerably over a mile in length.
Major Cavagnari was ordered by His Excel-
lency Sir Neville Chamberlain to ride on towards
Ali Musjid as soon as possible after the arrival of
the camp at Jamrud, taking with him only a small
escort of the Guides, and the headmen of the British
Frontier villages and of the friendly Khyberis, to
demand from the Amir's officials permission for the
advance of the Mission. The tact and temper dis-
played by Major Cavagnari on this very delicate
and perilous errand have been j ustly considered on
all hands as " admirable. " The following report
of his interview with Faiz Mahomed Khan will be
read with interest : —

From — Major N. Cavagnari, C. S. I., on Special Duty, Cabul
Mission — To His Excellency General Sir Neville Chamber-
lain, G. C. B., G. C. S. /., Envoy Extraordinary, Cabul
Mission— Dated 22nd September 1878.

In obedience to your Excellency's instructions, I left Peshawur
early yesterday morning, with the view of proceeding to the fort
of Ali Musjid in the Khyber Pass, in order to ascertain from the
Amir's officials in charge of this post, whether they would permit

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,c.s.I. 39

the British Mission to pass through the Khyber, and be respon-
sible for its safety and proper treatment during its journey to
Cabul or not.

2. On arrival at Jamrud, where the camp of the Mission was
pitched, I communicated with Colonel Jenkins, Commanding the
escort, and it was arranged that he and Captain W. Battye, with
a small escort of cavalry, should accompany me on my mission.

3. Negotiations had been concluded on the previous day with
the Khyber headmen present at Peshawur to escort the British
Mission from Jumrud to Ali Musjid, or to any other point
within the Khyber at which the Amir's officials might be
stationed, and back to the British Frontier, if it was necessary to
return. I, therefore, sent off the Khyberis, who had preceded me
to the camp at Jumrud, to make arrangements through the Pass ;
and I deputed messengers to Ali Musjid to inform the Mir
Akhor and Faiz Mahomed Khan, the Commandant of the fort,
that I with two other British Officers, were leaving Jumrud for
Ali Musjid, in order to have a personal interview with them.

4. After waiting a sufficient time at Jamrud to enable the
Khyberis and my messengers to get well ahead, I left camp and
entered the Pass. On reaching Mackeson's bridge, I was met by
one of my messengers, who was returning from Ali Musjid, and
who informed me that Faiz Mahomed Khan had desired him to
return and request the officers to halt at whatever place the
messenger should meet them, and that he would come to inter-
view them. As this was palpably an attempt to gain time —
a line of conduct the Amir's officials are specially proficient in
— and as it was my object to get as near Ali Musjid as possible,
so that there should be no question as to the responsibility of
the Amir's officials for any obstruction I might meet with, I
directed the messenger to return and inform the Khan that I
intended to proceed onward until I met him.

5. When we reached the heights above Lala China, which

LIFE OF

are about a mile from All Musjid, and within sight of the fort,
some of the Khyber headmen met us, and informed me that the
ridges in front of us, which completely commanded the remainder
of the road to AH Musjid, were held by the Amir's levies
fKhasadar,) who would not let our party pass. We also
observed large numbers of men descending from AH Musjid to
strengthen these positions, indicating beyond doubt that there
was every intention to oppose us if we attempted to proceed.
As these pickets were within the limits of that portion of the
Pass the Khyberis who accompanied me were responsible for,
I sent a party of them to parley with the levies ; but the latter
threatened to fire if any one approached. I, therefore, sent
another messenger to Faiz Mahomed Khan, inviting him to come
and meet me, or to arrange for my safe passage to Ali Musjid,
as his men held command of the road and refused to allow my
party to advance. As some time passed and no definite answer
was received, I sent one of the Kalil Khans who had accompanied
me, to ascertain the position of affairs ; but shortly afterwards
I received a report that the Khan had been stopped, and was not
permitted to advance.

6. I then prepared to write a letter to the address of the
Mir Akhor and Faiz Mahomed Khan, informing them that I
had been stopped by the advance pickets of the AH Musjid post
under their command, but that I intended to proceed until fired
upon, and that, if this occurred, the responsibility would be theirs,
and that the act would be held to indicate that as the Amir of
Cabal's representatives absolutely declined to allow the British
Mission to advance. I intended to let a reasonable interval pass,
and then, if no satisfactory reply was received, Colonel Jenkins
and I, with a few men were to advance towards Ali Musjid until
fired upon, when we would have retired under cover of the
remainder of the escort which was to be left with Captain Battye
on the heights where we had halted.

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 41

7. Before this letter was ready for despatch, a message was
brought me from Faiz Mahomed Khan to the effect that he was
about to come to a ruined tower in the bed of the stream just
below where we halted, and that, on his arrival there he would
send for myself and three others and would hear anything we
had to communicate.

8. As it appeared to me that it would have been an indignity
to have remained and waited until Faiz Mahomed Khan should
send for me, as well as to be dictated to as to the number of
men that should accompany me ( it would have been different had I
been permitted to proceed with my escort to the fort of AH Musjid,
when, of course, I would only have entered the post with as
many men as the officers in command chose to admit), I deter-
mined to advance at once with as many men as I thought fit
to take, and endeavour to meet Faiz Mahomed Khan before
he should reach the spot named by him.

9. Accordingly, Colonel Jenkins, myself, and one or two of
the Guide Cavalry, with some of the Khyber headmen and the
Native gentlemen, (Nawab Bahadur Shere Khan, Arbab Sarfaraz
Khan, Arbab Fateh Mahomed Khan, Afridi Khan, Munshi
Bakhtiar Khan, Abbas Khan, and several others) descended
without delay into the bed of the stream, and advanced to meet
Faiz Mahomed Khan. A party of Afridis, headed by Abdulla
Nur, a Kuki Khel Afridi Malik in receipt of special allowances
from the Amir, attempted to stop me, saying that only four per-
sons should advance. I rode past him, telling him that my
Mission concerned the Cabul officials, and that I desired to have
no discussion with the Afridis. The Malik made no further
opposition — in fact, he knew that most of his tribe were with me,
and he himself was only acting a part to save his allowances.

10. After meeting Faiz Mahomed Khan and exchanging salu-
tations, I pointed to what I considered a suitable place for an
interview — it was a water-mill with some trees close by it, and

a— a

42 LIFE OF

on the opposite side of the stream to the spot originally named
for the place of meeting. Faiz Mahomed Khan was accompanied
by the Naib, or Deputy of the Mir Akhor, a considerable num-
ber of the AH Musjid levies, and some of the Afridi headmen
of the upper villages of the Khyber, and their respective
followers.

11. When we had seated ourselves, I commenced the inter-
view by pointing out to Faiz Mahomed Khan that he and myself
were servants of our respective Governments, and had met to
carry out whatever orders we had received ; so that, whatever
the result of our meeting might be, there need be nothing per-
sonal between him and myself. After the Khan had fully
reciprocated this friendly sentiment, I proceeded to state that
he was well aware that the British Government had decided on
sending a friendly Mission of European British officers, accompanied
by a suitable escort, to His Highness the Amir of Cabul ; that
the Mission was encamped at Jumrud, and intended to proceed
through the Khyber on the following day ; that, in consequence
of various reports received, I had been deputed by my Govern-
ment to ascertain from the Amir's officials at Ali Musjid whether
they had received instructions, or were prepared to guarantee the
safe passage and proper treatment of the Mission during its
journey to Cabul, or not ; and I hoped that, if there was any
latitude for independent action in the orders he had received from
Cabul, he would do all he could towards an amicable adjustment
of affairs between the two Governments. Faiz Mahomed Khan
replied that he had every desire to act in a friendly manner, and
that actuated by such motives, he had allowed Nawab Gholam
Hussein Khan to proceed without any detention, but that his action
in this respect had met with disapproval from the Cabul Durbar ;
that if he had not been friendly disposed, he would not have con-
sented to the present interview, or have restrained his levies from
firing on my party ; that he had received no orders from the Amir

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 43

to let the Mission pass his post ; and that, without such orders, he
could not let it proceed ; but that, if the Mission would only wait
for a fe ,v days, he would communicate with Cabul and ask for
orders. I replied that my orders were distinct, and that I was
instructed to say that the Mission would advance on the next
day, unless I received a reply from the Amir's officials that its
advance would be opposed ; and I begged the Khan not to take
upon himself such a heavy responsibility as to say he would
oppose the advance of the British Mission, unless his orders were
clear and distinct in the matter ; for whatever his reply was, it
would be considered as that of the Amir of Cabul. Faiz Mahomed
Khan replied that he was only a sentry, and had no regular
troops, but only a few levies ; but that such as his orders were,
he would carry out to the best of his ability, and that unless he
received orders from Cabul, he could not let the Mission pass his
post. I rejoined, to this, that it did not signify what the actual
strength of his post was, as the Mission was a friendly one and
bent on peaceful objects, and again urged him not to take such a
grave responsibility if he had any option in the matter. He
replied that it was a very heavy matter for him to decide upon ;
as on the one hand, he could not act without orders from Cabul,
while, on the other hand, he was told that his reply would be
considered as that of the Amir of Cabul. He then began with
much warmth to question the friendly intention of- the
British Government by stating that it was not a sign of friend-
ship for the British authorities to negotiate direct with the
Khyber tribes, who were subjects of the Amir of Cabul, and in
receipt of allowances from that ruler, and induce them to
escort Nawab Gholam Hussein, and also some British officers
(meaning my party) without the Amir's permission. I replied
that there vras no cause for dissatisfaction in what had been done
in the matter. It was never anticipated that a friendly Mission
would have met with any opposition, as such Missions are never

a— —a

44 LIFE OF

opposed in any civilized country ; and that the arrangements
made with the Afridis were merely to induce them to undertake
the safe conduct (" badragga") of a peaceably-disposed Mission,
which every independent Pathan tribe has a right to undertake
in its own country. Faiz Mahomed Khan continued with
increasing warmth to allude to the subject, and there was an
uneasy sort of murmuring commencing amongst the people
around, which appeared to me (and, as I afterwards ascertained,
the same idea occurred to Colonel Jenkins and to some of the
Native gentlemen with me) to indicate that, if the discussion
was any longer prolonged, the movement alluded to might
assume a more decided form, which might possibly be one which
our small party could not deal within a suitable manner. I, there-
fore, interrupted the Khan by saying that the subject was one
which it did not behove subordinates to discuss, and that, if the
Amir considered what had been done as a grievance, I had no
doubt that the British Government would give him a suitable
answer. I then asked the Khan for the last time if I correctly
understood him to say that, if the British Mission advanced as
intended on the following day, he would oppose it by force \ and
he replied that such would be the case. I then got up and
shook Faiz Mahomed Khan by the hand and assured him that I
had no unfriendly feelings against him personally, and that I
hoped to meet him again on some future occasion. I then turned
to the Native gentlemen who were with me, and asked them if
they did not consider a clear and decisive answer had been given ;
and they replied that it was so.

12. In fact, there was scarcely any necessity for an interview
to settle this point, as the hostile preparations made by the Ali
Musjid garrison on seeing my party approach, notwithstanding
that my object in coming, and the small strength of my escort, had
been communicated to, and received by, the Commandant of the
fort, and the Amir's representative, the Mir Akhor, would ordi-

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 45

narily have been quite sufficient to indicate pre-determined affront,
and insult ; and I believe that, with any other of the Amir's
officials, but Faiz Mahomed Khan, who, from first to last, has
behaved in a most courteous manner, and very favorably impressed
both Colonel Jenkins and myself, a collision of some kind would
have taken place. The general belief is that Faiz Mahomed
Khan was acting under the direct orders of the Mir Akhor, who
had been purposely deputed by the Amir to supervise Faiz
Mahomed Khan's management of Khyber affairs, and to see that,
without orders to the contrary, he checked the advance of the
British Mission. I have no doubt that Faiz Mahomed Khan
softened down a great deal of the insult that was intended,
though, short of actual collision, it is possible to imagine what
more could be done to effect the Amir's object.

13. The Khyberis, as far as their conduct was tested, acted
faithfully to their engagements, and but for their assistance, we
should not have been able to bring matters to a definite issue
with the Amir's officials without a great deal of trouble, expense,
and delay.

14. The interview with Faiz Mahomed Khan being concluded,
we returned to Jumrud, and I returned to Peshawur and per-
sonally reported to your Excellency all that had taken place.

15. In conclusion, I would desire to bring to your Excellency's
favorable notice the ready and courteous assistance I received
from Colonel Jenkins.

The Khyber arrangements were managed by Arbab Fateh
Mahomed Khan, and I purpose bringing his services to notice
in due course,

The conduct of Major Cavagnari on this occasion
cannot be too highly praised. He had thoroughly
studied the oriental character, and it was his perfect
knowledge of the peculiarities of that character,

a—

46 LIFE OF

added to his own natural courage, great presence of
mind, and sound common sense that helped him
to perform so admirably the difficult task with
which he was entrusted. In allusion to this inter-
view, Sir Neville Chamberlain records it as his
opinion that, " but for the tact displayed by Major
Cavagnari at one period of the interview, even the
lives of the British officers and of their small escort
were endangered. " The following letter from Lieut-
tenant Colonel Jenkins, who was with Major
Cavagnari, and was present at the interview, will give
a better idea of what transpired on the occasion.

From Lieutenant-Colonel F. G. Jenkins, Commandant, Corps

of Guides (Q. 0.,) to Captain St. V. Hammick, Military

Secretary to Sir Neville Chamberlain — Dated, Camp

Peshawur, 22nd September 1878.

I have the honor to make the following report for the informa-
tion of His Excellency General Sir Neville Chamberlain, G. c. B.

2. According to his orders, I marched from Peshawur early on
the 21st September, with the camp of the Cabul Mission, and
reached Jumrud soon after 7 o'clock.

3. About 8 o'clock, Major Cavagnari arrived in camp, and told
me that he was going up to Ali Musjid to get an answer from
the Officer Commanding, regarding the passage of the Mission
through Ali Musjid, and its safe conduct to Cabul.

4. After a short delay, to allow the headmen of the Kuki
Khel Afridis to send some of their people ahead of us up the
Khyber Pass, to tell Faiz Mahomed Khan that Major Cavagnari
was coming to talk to him, and that he had only a small escort
with him, Major Cavagnari and I started from Jumrud, having

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 47

with us Captain Wigram Battye and twenty-four men of the
Cavalry of the Corps of Guides.

5. We marched by the gun-road made by Colonel Mackeson
in 1840, which we found in very good order, and, before noon,
reached a hill, from which we could plainly see AH Musjid, about
three-quarters of a mile distant from the fort.

6. When the people in Ali Musjid saw our uniform on the
hill, they immediately made preparations to resist us. Some
manned the walls of the fort, and some occupied a ridge, along
the foot of which the road between us and Ali Musjid ran. At
the same time, one or two signal shots were fired.

7. If we had advanced then I am sure that we should have
been at once engaged with 300 or 400 hundred men under
circumstances of great disadvantage, for we should have been
fighting on the lower ground with the enemy strongly posted on
our front and right flank. Besides this I am persuaded that the
Amir's officers would have excused themselves from all blame for
what might have happened by saying that we had rashly come
into collision with their troops without giving time for explanation.

8. Under these circumstances, Major Cavagnari wisely, I think,
decided to remain on the hill, where we were for a short time ;
but it was agreed that if Faiz Mahomed could not be induced to
come and meet us, Major Cavagnari and I with a couple of men
were to go towards the fort and get an answer to the question he
had come to ask.

9. After waiting on the hill for about two hours, during
which more than one message was sent to Faiz Mahomed Khan,
Afridi Khan, Arbab of Malazai, came back to say that the Sirdar
was coming to meet us in the valley below where we were standing.
Shortly after this, we saw Faiz Mahomed coming with fifty or
sixty followers, aud Major Cavagnari and 1, with two men of the
Guides, went down and met him. Major Cavagnari had also
with him Fateh Mahomed Khan, Arbab Afridi Khan, and a few

•ff

f}-. ;

48 LIFE OF

of the Kuki Khel Afridis who held come with us up the Pass ;
also Bahadur Shere Khan, the Bangash Chief.

10. After shaking hands with the Sirdar, we crossed the
stream, and sat down under a tree close to the village of Lala
China. Directly we sat down, several more of the Sirdars 's
followers turned up, and we had 150 or 200 of them close round
us while we sat and talked.

11. Major Cavagnari began by saying that the British
Government was sending a peaceful Mission to the Amir Shere
Ali Khan, of which due notice had been given to the Amir, that
the camp of the Mission was at Jumrud, and that he came to
ask for a passage through Ali Musjid, and a safe conduct to
Cabul.

12. The Sirdar replied that he had already written more than
once to say that the Mission could not pass Ali Musjid without
the Amir's sanction, which had not been received, and that- we
must wait, and that he would again, refer to the Amir for orders
on the subject.

13. Major Cavagnari said that the Sirdar's letters had been
received, but that the British Government would not believe that
a peaceful Mission going to the Amir on business of importance
would be refused a passage, and had, therefore, sent one of its
own officers to ascertain how matters stood. Major Cavagnari
added that, as the Amir knew that the Mission was on its way
to him, if it was stopped at AU Musjid the British Government
would consider that the Amir had himself stopped it.

1 4. The Sirdar owned that this was true.

15. Major Cavagnari then asked whether, under these cir-
cumstances, the Sirdar would oppose the passage of the Mission ;
and the Sirdar said that he would most certainly do so. In fact,
the Sirdar never flinched from fiist to last, but gave us distinctly
to understand that he would oppose the passage of the Mission
by force, and that it was waste of time to argue with him.

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 49

16. Major Cavagnari then said to the Sirdar —

" You are a servant of the Amir, and you take upon yourself
to stop a Mission going to him from the British Government,
with which he has long been on friendly terms. How do you
know that the Amir himself will not be very angry with you for
doing this ?"

17. The Sirdar replied — " What friendship is there in what
you are doing now ? If the Amir had given me orders, I would have
gone down to Jumrud to meet you, and bring you up the Pass ;
but now you have come here on your own account and bribed
the Amir's servants to give you a passage. You are setting
Afridis against Afridis and will cause strife and bloodshed in this
country and call yourself friends !"

18. The Afridis who were standing round us applauded this
speech ; and it would nob have been prudent to have continued
to converse in this tone. Therefore Major Cavagnari said to the
Sirdar — "We are both servants — you of the Amir of Cabul, I
of the British Government. It is no use for us to discuss these
matters. I only came to get a straight answer from you. Will
you oppose the passage of the Mission by force ?"

19. The Sirdar said—" Yes, I will ; and you may take it as
kindness, and because I remember friendship, that I do not fire
upon you for what you have done already." After this we shook
hands and mounted our horses : and the Sirdar said again: — " You
have had a straight answer."

20. We returned to Jumrud by the road we came, and reached
camp about 5 o'clock in the evening.

21. I was very much struck with the behaviour of the Kuki
Khel Afridis who went with us up the Pass. Their conduct was
excellent throughout the day.

22. I enclose a slight sketch of the ground about Ali Musjid
to explain this report.

Thus the Mission failed. The result of Major

60 LIFE OF

Cavagnari's interview with Faiz Mahomed Khan
having been telegraphed to the Viceroy, Sir Neville
Chamberlain received His Excellency's order to
return with the Mission to Peshawur. Before
doing so, Sir Neville Chamberlain addressed the
following letter to Faiz Mahomed Khan : —

From — HisExcellency Sir Neville Chamberlain, G.O.B., G.C.B.I.,

To — Faiz Mahomed Khan, Commanding H. H. the Amir's

Troops at A li Musjid. — Dated Camp Jumrud,

22nd /September, 1878.

A.C. — You are aware that the camp of the British Mission
arrived at Jumrud yesterday, with the object of proceeding to-day
through the Khyber Pass on a friendly Mission to His Highness
the Amir of Cabul. Major Cavagnari and two other British officers
were deputed yesterday afternoon, under my orders, to hold an
interview with you, in order to obtain from you, as His Highness'
Commandant at Ali Musjid, the necessary assurances of safe
conduct to enable the Mission to proceed on its journey.

The said officers were prevented from approaching the fort of
Ali Musjid, as your pickets were posted commanding the road,
and refused to allow them (the officers) to advance. After these
British officers had sought and obtained an interview with you at
a place (Lala China) some short distance this side of Ali Musjid,
and after you l;ad been warned by them that your reply would
be regarded as that of His Highness the Amir of Cabul, you
declared that you had received no instructions to permit the
British Mission to pass your post, and stated that you would
certainly oppose it by force if it advanced. I am, thei-efore,
commanded by His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General
of India to inform you that your reply is considered as being
that of His Highness the Amir of Cabul, and the British Mission

•fe--

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 51

is now returning from Jumrud to Peshawur. I again assure you
that the British Government entertains nothing but friendly
feelings and intentions towards the Chiefs and people of
Afghanistan.

Sir Neville Chamberlain also wrote a letter to
Nawab Gholam Khan, under the orders of the
Viceroy, directing him to immediately take leave of
the Amir, and to return forthwith to Pesliawur.
As the concluding portion of Sir Neville Chamber-
lain's report to the Government of India, is of deep
interest, I need not make any apology for inserting
it here. It runs thus :

The Mission had failed— it had been turned back at the
threshold of the Amir's dominions with an affront delivered
before all the world. It failed because of the Amir's indifference
to any indignity imposed by him on the British Government ;
whilst he himself would not tolerate anything which could be
strained to bear the appearance of even a slight to his kingly
privileges.

It seems to me that a reasonable way of judging of our
position is to suppose the conditions inverted. Let it be supposed
that the Amir had considered that his interests and his honor
called for the immediate despatch of an Envoy to the Government
of India to discuss pressing differences in a friendly manner j
that he had deputed a confidential Agent of rank to the Viceroy
to announce the approaching departure and early arrival of a
Mission ; that the Government of India thereupon had sent no
direct answer to the Amir, but had endeavoured to bar the pas-
sage of the Mission through neighbouring friendly tribes ; and
that, on its succeeding in reaching our most distant oufcposfc, it
had been met and turned back by the threat of a resort to force

52 LIFE OF

if it ventured to continue on its errand. There can, I think, be
no room for two opinions, unless the relations between neigh-
bouring States are to relapse into the worst form of barbarism,
and to be controlled only by brute instincts and by brute force.

It may be said with certainty that a Mission despatched
under such conditions would have met with no success had it been
allowed to advance, and that it was better to fail at starting
through a direct insult, than to reach Cabul to arrive at no
result.

Before concluding this report, I desire to correct a misap-
prehension which has prevailed as to the strength of the military
escort attached to the Mission. It consisted of 150 cavalry and 50
infantry, or a total of 200 men ; and, considering the description
of country to be traversed, and the habits of the tribes to be
passed through, this number was not in excess of requirements.

My Mission was not of the nature of a surprise, and to
be conducted secretly and expeditiously : it had therefore, according
to custom, to be accompanied by a proportionate amount of camp-
equipage, baggage, and transport animals ; whilst in addition to
our own requirements was added the charge of valuable gifts to
be presented to the Amir. I had, in fact, to go in the most open
and formal manner, to represent the dignity of my Sovereign and
the claims of my country ; and to do this suitably, a certain
amount of outward state was customary and necessary.

No exception is ever taken by this Government to the
amount of escort which accompanies any foreign Prince visiting
India ; and whenever the Amir of Cabul, or one of the Princess
of that house, has come to India, he has invariably been accom-
panied by an escort far in excess of that which I was to take ;
although, be it added, any individual of any nationality may
traverse the length and breadth of India, unarmed, with perfect
security and without let or hindrance.

Finally, I would observe that so great was my desire to

-•ff

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 63

prevent, if possible, any false rumours of armed preparations pre-
ceding me to Cabul, that I even requested the Brigadier-General
commanding the Peshawur garrison to suspend the movement of
troops ordinarily carried out at that period for the preservation of
the men's health, consequent upon the setting-in of the sickly
season.

Sir Neville Chamberlain ordered back the Mission
to Peshawur on the morning of the 22nd. Before
leaving he summoned the headmen of the friendly
Khyber tribes, and thanked them for their assistance.
One of them said, " What are we to do, if the Amir
attacks us ? . "Sir Neville replied, " I promise you
this, not from myself only, but from the Government,
which, as you know, always keeps its promises, that
as long a soldier remains in the ranks, and a rupee
in the Treasury, you shall suffer no harm for the
good service you have done."

The Mission reached Peshawur long before noon,
and the next morning orders were received to dis-
solve it. Thus ended the first act of the drama.

THE CAMPAIGN.

THE ill-fated Amir Shere Ali had no chance of
escape from the consequences which his wrong-
headedness had brought about. He had not only
declined the proffered friendship of the British
Government, but had openly offered insult to that

a- —

64 LIFE OP

Government by obstructing the passage of the
British Mission, while he had honored a Russian
Mission with a pompous reception at his capital.
The repulse which Sir Neville Chamberlain's
embassy had met with at All Musjid, must be
avenged now. But with that considerateness and
sense of justice which characterise the British
Government in all its dealings with the allied States,
the Viceroy before declaring the Amir an enemy of
the British Government, addressed a friendly letter to
him, demanding an apology and reparation within a
prescribed time. The Viceroy's letter runs thus : —

From — His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor- General of India,

To His Highness Amir Shere Ali Khan, of Cdbul —

Dated 29^ October 1878.

A. C. — I have received and read the letters which your High-
ness has sent to me by the handa of my Sirdar Gholam Hossein
Khan.

2. It will be in the recollection of Your Highness that imme-
diately on my arrival in India, I proposed to send you a friendly
mission for the purpose of assuring you of the goodwill of the
British Government, and of removing those past misunder-
standings, to which Your Highness has frequently alluded.

After leaving this proposal long unanswered, Your Highness
rejected it on the ground that you could not answer for the safety
of any European Envoy in your country, and that the reception
of a British Mission might afford Russia a pretext for farcing
you to receive a Russian Mission.

3. Although such refusal to receive a friendly mission was con-

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 65

trary to the practice of allied States, yet the British Government,
unwilling to embarrass your Highness, accepted your excuses.

4. Nevertheless, your Highness has now received a Russian
Envoy at your capital at a time when a war was believed to be
imminent in which England and Russia would be arrayed on
opposite sides ; thereby not only acting in contradiction to the
reasons asserted by your Highness for not receiving a British
mission but giving to your conduct the appearance of being
actuated by motives inimical to the British Government.

5. In these circumstances the British Government, remem-
bering its former friendship with the father of your Highness and
still desiring to maintain with you amicable relations, determined
to send, after such delay as the domestic affliction you had
suffered rendered fit, a Mission to your Highness in charge of Sir
Neville Chamberlain, a trusted and distinguished officer of the
Government, who is personally known to you. The escort
attached to his Mission, not exceeding 200 men, was much less
numerous than that which accompanied your Highness into
British territory, and not more than necessary for the dignity of
my Envoy. Such Missions are customary between friendly
neighbouring States ; and are never refused except when hostility
is intended. I despatched by a trusted messenger a letter
informing your Highness that the Mission accredited to your
Highness was of a friendly character, that the business was
urgent and that it must proceed without delay.

6. Nevertheless, your Highness having received my letter, did
not hesitate to instruct your authorities on the frontier to repel
the Mission by force. For this act of enmity and indignity to
the Empress of India in the person of her Envoy, the letter
from your Highness affords no explanation or apology, nor con-
tains any answer to my proposal for a full and frank under-
standing between our two Governments j nor even an acknow-
ledgment of my letter of condolence.

•a

56 LIFE OF

7. In consequence of this hostile action, I have assembled Her
Majesty's forces on your frontier. But I desire to give your
Highness a last opportunity of averting the calamities of war.
For this it is necessary that a full and suitable apology be offered
by you in writing, and tendered in British territory by an officer
of sufficient rank.

8. Furthermore, as it has been found impossible to maintain
satisfactory relations between the two States unless the British
Government is adequately represented in Afghanistan, it will be
necessary that your Highness should consent to receive a perma-
nent British Mission within your territory. It is further essen-
tial that your Highness should undertake that no injury shall
be done by you to the tribes who acted as guides to my Mission,
and that reparation shall be made for any damage they have
suffered from you, and if any injury be done by your Highness to
them, the British Government will at once take steps to protect
them. Unless these conditions are accepted fully and plainly by
your Highness and your acceptance received by me not later than
the 20th November, I shall be compelled to consider your inten-
tions as hostile, and treat you as a declared enemy of the British
Government.

I beg to express the high consideration I entertain for your
Highness.

When no answer was received within the period
prescribed, the Amir was declared an enemy of the
British Government, and the British forces entered
his kingdom on the 21st of November, 1878.

When military operations against Amir Shere
Ali were necessitated by the circumstances already
mentioned, our Government determined to direct
them, not only to the punishment of an unprovoked

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 67

affront, but also to the prompt and complete attain-
ment of the following objects : —

Firstly — The exclusion of all foreign influence
from Afghanistan ; and secondly, such a rectification
of the Afghan Frontier as would suffice to render
impossible for the future the exclusion of British
influence from that State. These, at least, were the
results, which it was the object of the British Govern-
ment to secure.

The known strength of the Amir's army was
about 60,000 men. Its artillery was believed to be
good. With this army, it was anticipated, the
Amir would have to garrison all his outlying pro-
vinces, protect his Persian flank, defend his capital
and central districts, and at the same time resist the
British advance. It was therefore not difficult to
calculate approximately the maximum force he could
oppose to the British at any given point. Our
Government consequently determined to attack him
on three different lines, thus obliging him to dis-
tribute his force, or else to leave one or other of
these lines undisputed.

The three lines selected were those of the Khojak,
the Khyber Pass, and the Kurrum Valley. Special
importance was attached, to the Kurrum Valley force
the command of which was entrusted to General
Roberts. The force operating on the Khyber
line was commanded by General Sir Samuel Browne,

58 LIFE OF

whose instructions were to capture Ali Musjid.
expel the Amir's garrison from the Khyber, and
occupy Lundi Kotal, Dhakka, or such other point
as might be found most convenient at the head of
the pass, thus threatening Jellalabad, but not
advancing further.

The longest line of operations lay in the direction
of Candahar. The command of the Candahar
force was entrusted to General Stewart.

The Generals commanding the forces employed on
the above-mentioned lines of advance were invested
with the chief political authority beyond the
frontier.

The campaign was opened on the 21st November
1878. On that date General Sir Samuel Browne
entered the Khyber Pass and attacked the Fort of Ali
Musjid. " The fire of the fort was well sustained and
directed, and the defence made by the garrison of
Ali Musjid for several hours was creditable to its
spirit. But the position having been turned during
the night, was precipitately abandoned by the enemy
with the loss of all his guns, stores and camp
equipage." After the capture of Ali Musjid Sir
Samuel Browne marched to Dhakka without meeting
with any resistance. In the month of December the
General was ordered to advance beyond Dhakka and
to occupy Jellalabad, which he did without resist-
ance.

-Hi

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 59

On the same day General Roberts entered the
Lower Kurrum Valley, and soon after occupied the
head-quarters of the district, without opposition.
Continuing his advance into the Upper Kurrum
Valley, General Roberts encountered a large Afghan
force on the ridge of the Peiwar Kotal. This force
he immediately attacked. " The attack resulted in
the sharpest and most important engagement that
has occurred during the whole campaign. The
strategic strength of the enemy's position was very
great ; but it was quickly turned by our troops who,
under the skilful command of General Roberts, com-
pletely defeated and routed those of the Amir."

On the 26th of November General Biddulph
entered Pishin, and found it already evacuated by
the Amir's Troops. The small but unimportant dis-
trict of Sibi, lying upon the British line of commu-
nication close to the Beluch border, had in the
meantime been occupied by a British detachment on
the 23rd of the same month.

General Stewart reached Pishin in December and
assuming command of the Candahar Expeditionary
Force, crossed the Khojak Range. On the 29th of
January, after a skirmish with the Amir's out-posts
he entered Candahar. The occupation of Candahar
was effected without much resistance.

" Thus," to quote the Viceroy's despatch (dated
Simla, 7th July 1879) to the Secretary of State,

e—

60 LIFE OF

<c within two days after the declaration of hostilities,
the affront received by Sir Neville Chamberlain's
Mission at Ali Musjid was appropriately avenged
on the post where it had been offered. Within
two weeks after the same date, the passes of the
Khyber and the Kurrum were completely in our
hands, and the Amir's troops swept clean beyond
the range of our operations. Not long afterwards,
Jellalabad and Candahar were occupied without
resistance ; and, before the end of January (that is
to say, in less than three months from the com-
mencement of the campaign) the greater part of
Southern Afghanistan, from the Helmund to Khelati-
Ghilzai, had passed into the possession of the British
Government. The rapid success of our military
operations completely confirmed the calculations on
which they had been based. The Amir's standing
army was defeated and dispersed beyond all possi-
bility of recovery ; yet his Sirdars had not risen to
the rescue of his power. His towns opened their
gates without remonstrance to our summons ; their
authorities readily responded to our requirements ;
and their inhabitants evinced no disposition to
forfeit the pecuniary advantages they derived from
the presence of our troops."

The victory of General Roberts at the Peiwar,
Kotal, on the 2nd December, following so shortly
after the capture of Ali Musjid and the expulsion of

— — -a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.c.B.,c.g.l. 61

the Afghan garrisons from the Khyber Pass, com-
pleted the destruction of Shere Ali's power. The
Amir's troops were seized with a panic ; their
discomfiture was contagious ; it infected the garri-
sions at the capital ; and wholesale desertions
followed. The Amir's standing army ceased to
exist, and with it disappeared his authority which
had no other support. On the 19th December the
Viceroy received from Major Cavagnari, by tele-
graph, authentic intelligence that the Amir Shere
AH Khan had fled from Cabul, accompanied in his
flight by the remaining officers of the Russian
mission ; and that in the last moment of his hurried
departure, he had released from prison, and invested
with the regency his long incarcerated son, Yakub
Khan. The Amir announced his departure by a
letter addressed to the British authorities. In this
letter His Highness informed the British Govern-
ment that he had abandoned ] his dominions, with
the intention of proceeding to St. Petersburg for
the purpose of there laying his case before the
European powers.

THE DURBAR AT JELLALAB AD—MAJOR
CAVAGNARI'S SPEECH.

IN the afternoon of the 1st January, a Durbarat
which Sir Samuel Browne received a number of chiefs

—a

62 LIFE OF

of the district who had come in and tendered offers
of services, was held in the tent of Major Cavagnari,
the Political Officer with the Division. The majority
of the European and Native officers were present,
and one end of the tent being thrown open, a mixed
crowd of Natives assembled to see their Chiefs do
due homage to the Sircar's representatives. The
chief object in view was that the intentions of the
British Government as conveyed to the Natives of
Afghanistan in the Viceroy's Proclamation, might
be explained in simple terms, and Major Cavagnari
had prepared an address based on these lines. On
Sir Samuel Browne taking his seat the various chiefs
came forward in turn ; their names and generally their
relations to the British Government or their standing
in the country being explained by the Political Officer.
They presented nuzzurs in the shape of rupees, tied
in handkerchiefs, which the General just touched
and then returned their salutation. About thirty-
six Chiefs were thus received, and Major Cavagnari
then said that, with Sir Samuel Browne's permission
he would address the Durbar. He accordingly spoke
in English as follows :

SIRDARS AND CHIEFS — This Durbar has been assembled in
honor of the anniversary of the assumption of the title of
Empress of India by Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria.
We have received the melancholy intelligence of the death of
Her Imperial Majesty's daughter, H. E. H. Princess Alice of
Hesse, and I feel assured that this announcement will be received

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 63

with profound sorrow by Her Imperial Majesty's well-wishers
amongst whom I number the members of this Durbar. His Excel-
lency the Viceroy of India's proclamation announcing the com-
mencement of hostilities with the Amir Shere AH Khan has been
circulated throughout India and Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the
present occasion affords a fitting opportunity for explaining to
you the intention of the British Government. You have all
heard of the favors conferred on the Amir Shere Ali Khan by
the British Government, owing to which he was enabled to con-
solidate his authority and unite into one kingdom several
provinces which previously had never recognized the Government
of the ruler of Cabul. Lacs of rupees of treasure, thousands of
stands of arms were granted by the British Government to the
Amir Shere Ali Khan.

You are aware that about two years ago endeavours were made
at the Peshawur Conference to effect a satisfactory understand-
ing with the Amir ; the terms proposed by the Government were
rejected and the Amir lapsed into a sullen state of unfriendliness,
even if it might not rightly be termed one of direct hostility.
Attempts were made to incite the independent tribes along the
British Frontier to a religious war, but these failed, because of the
friendly relations existing between the Government and those
tribes, and also because the principles enunciated were directly
opposed to those of Mahomedanism. The late Akhund of Swat
replied to the Amir that there were no grounds for a holy war
against the English, as the Amir's object was a worldly and
not a religious one. Every orthodox Mahomedan is aware that
one of the principal conditions necessary to justify a holy war
is intolerance against the Mahomedan religion, whereas you
all know that the tolerance of the English nation in this respect
is universally admitted, and that the learned men of Mecca
(Ulama), when applied to for a "fativa" (decision) on this point,
declared that India was " Darul Islam" and not "Darul Harb."

64 - LIFE OF

It is only uneducated mullahs and Talib-ul-ilm (religious stu-
dents) that work upon the feelings of the ignorant, and lead
them to suppose that such attempts at sedition are right. It is
for you to correct such erroneous impression.

The Amir further indicated the state of his feelings towards
the British Government by putting to death, mutilating, im-
prisoning, or fining all parties suspected of being news-agents
and several persons, peaceful British traders, were so treated.
The Government forebore to mark its resentment of this con-
duct, until the ostentatious reception by the Amir of a Russian
Mission at Cabul, after he had refused to receive a British one,
rendered it necessary that some step should be taken by the
British Government to assert the position it has hitherto main-
tained towards Afghanistan. Of the manner in which the
British Mission was turned back by the Amir's authorities at
Ali Musjid, it is unnecessary for me to dilate further than
to remark, that although some of you may not be aware of the
customs prevailing amongst European States, still you all know
that the most petty Pathan tribe would consider it an irfsult for
its " Jirga," or deputation, to be turned back without its being
accorded an interview, and even during a state of hostility,
it is not usual to refuse " Jirga" permission to pass.

Regarding the collapse of the Amir's army at Ali Musjid and
the Piewar, you have heard full particulars, and have doubtless
perceived that it is utterly hopeless for such troops to stand against
the British forces ; and by his flight from Cabul, the Amir has
shown his recognition of this fact. A portion of the arms granted
to the Amir by the British Government has been recovered, and I
need only remark that the use made of them was scarcely to be
expected from the Amir Shere Ali Khan's speech at the
Umballa Durbar, when he stated that the sword then presented
to him should be used against the enemies of the British Govern-
ment. You have heard the assurances of the Viceroy of India

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K,C.B.,c.s.l. 65

that the quarrel of the British Government is entirely with
Shere Ali Khan and not with the people of Afghanistan. During
the past six weeks the British forces have been marching through
Afghanistan, and such is the high discipline of these troops that
not a single complaint has been received from any of you as to
any injuries or even annoyances committed by them. This will
contrast favorably with your late experience of other troops.

It has been necessary in some few instances to inflict punish-
ment upon evil-doers, but the Government is satisfied that the
acts were committed by only a small proportion of the tribes we
have come into contact with, and were repudiated by the majority
who desire to live in peace with the British Government.

I further draw your attention to the concluding portion of
the Viceroy's proclamation, in which it is stated that interference,
by other Powers in the affairs of Afghanistan will not be
tolerated by the British Government, and I have already informed
most of you that the Uussian Government has recently repeated
its former assurances that it has no desire to interfere in
Afghanistan, nor will it assist the Amir either wiijh troops or
money during his hostility with the British Government.

It has been my pleasing task to report to the Viceroy of
India the hearty manner in which the leading Sirdars and Chiefs
of this district came forward to tender services to the British
Government, and it is hoped that others will speedily follow the
good example you have set them. I should have been glad to
have taken the opportunity of this Durbar to have presented to
some of you with dresses of honor (khilats), bub the light march-
ing order necessary for campaigning prevented it being possible
to carry about such presents. I hope ou a future occasion to be
able to mark in a suitable manner the appreciation of the
Government of the services you have rendered.

A Persian translation of the address was then
read by Mr. Jenkins, Assistant Commissioner, and

Et1

66 LIFE OF

was attentively listened to by the Chiefs present.
At its conclusion the principal Chief present, Sirdar
Abdul Khalik, Khan of Besul, stepped forward and
spoke as follows : —

On behalf of myself and the other Chiefs present, I wish to
express our gratification at the arrival of the British troops iu
Jellalabad. We have been oppressed and ground clown but
now look forward to the prospect of even-handed justice and
kindness at the hands of the British Government. We all
know that the British Government scrupulously respects the
religion and the honor of its subjects, where as the Russian
Government, from all we hear, does not always do so. We are
glad that the British Government has now taken Afghanistan
under its protection. We beg to offer our services to the
British Government and again to express our great thankfulness
at your arrival in the district.

THE GUNDAMUCK TREATY,

EARLY in February 1879, Major Cavagnari received
a communication from Sirdar Yakub Khan, which
contained overtures for a reconciliation with the
British Government, and an offer of his good offices,
as an intermediary between the British Government
and his father, the Amir, for the removal of differ-
ences which he regarded as susceptible of adjust-
ment. A few days later Major Cavagnari received
another letter from the Sirdar, communicating the
death of the Amir, and his own accession to the

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNAPJ, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 67

throne. The Viceroy authorised Major Cavagnari
to respond the second letter by a suitable expression
of His Excellency's condolences, and to the first by
a plain statement of the terms on which His Excel-
lency in Council was prepared to entertain negotia-
tions for peace. Soon after this Major Cavagnari was
deputed to have a personal intercourse with the
Amir Yakub Khan, and the reasons which induced
the Government of India to take this step are clearly
set forth in the following extract from the Viceroy's
despatch : — <c So many and such mischievous misre-
presentations of our Afghan policy, more especially
in reference to territorial questions, had been propa-
gated after the rupture of our relations with Shere
Ali, that the Amir's reluctance to entertain any
territorial basis of negotiations appeared to us very
probably attributable to exaggerated and erroneous
apprehensions as to the real character of the arrange-
ments we deemed essential to the future security of
our Frontier. We felt, however, that their modera-
tion must be admitted, if they were compared with
the conditions of a similar character' hitherto dic-
tated, at the close of victorious wars by conquering
to conquered Powers ; and we believed that, if the
object and scope of them were thoroughly under-
stood by the Amir, the last obstacle would be re-
moved from the conclusion of a mutually honorable
and advantageous treaty of peace between His

68 LIFE OF

Highness and the British Government. For this it
was necessary that there should be between us a
frank interchange of views and wishes on the subject
of our relative positions. Such interchange of
views could not be satisfactorily carried on by formal
correspondence, or without personal intercourse ; but
long and varied experience had convinced us that
the policy of a European Government cannot be
adequately interpreted, or represented by Asiatic
Agents, however loyal and intelligent they may be.
Many of our minor troubles on the Frontier have
been caused by the employment of Asiatics as medi-
ums of communication between the British authori-
ties and the border tribes ; and whatever improve-
ments have been effected during the last three years
in our relations with those tribes and the neighbour-
ing tribal States, such as, Beluchistan, are due to the
personal influence of British officers. Warned by
this knowledge, we felt that to entrust the detailed
explanation and discussion of our views to any
Native agent, would insure misconception and resist-
ance on the part of the Amir. On the other hand,
we reposed complete confidence in the discretion and
ability of Major Cavagnari ; and for all these reasons,
we were anxious to bring about, if possible, early
and unreserved personal intercourse between him
and the Amir of Cabul. Having regard to the
Amir's position at that time, we did not feel justified

MAJt)R SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 69

in proposing that His Highness should leave his
capital for this purpose ; and, having regard to our
own position, we were fully conscious that our motives
in proposing to Yakub Khan a personal conference
with Major Cavagnari at Cabul, would, probably,
be misconstrued by the public, and possibly misre-
presented to the Amir. We considered, however,
that we ought not to be deterred by this considera^
tion from taking the course which we had good reason
to regard as most conducive to the early re-establish-
ment of peaceful relations with His Highness upon
a thoroughly sound and honorable footing. We,
therefore, authorised Major Cavagnari to address to
the Amir proposals for a personal conference at Cabul
on the subject of our territorial conditions. These
proposals having been accepted, the Native bearer of
them was instructed to arrange with Yakub Khan
for the proper reception of Major Cavagnari at the
Court of His Highness."

In the meanwhile the inactivity of the British
Troops on the Khyber line encouraged the people of
Cabul and the intervening tribes to attribute their
freedom from molestation on the part of the British
their concealed inability to advance any further.
The Amir assumed towards the British Government
a more reserved and ambiguous attitude. The sur-
rounding tribes, at the instigation of the fanatical
mollahs, renewed their vexatious and harassing

70 LIFE OF

attacks. " These attacks gave rise to two actions, in
which severe loss was inflicted on the Shenwari tribe
by Brigadier General Tytler and at Deh Sarrak, and
on the Khugianis by Brigadier-General Gough, at
Futtebad. The complete discomfiture of these tribes
contributed to the encouragement of pacific influence
in the councils of the Amir. At the same time, owing
to the increasing heat of the weather, and the defect-
ive sanitary conditions of Jellalabad, General Sir
Samuel Browne was authorised to advance a portion
of his force as far as Gund amuck."

Within a few days after the occupation, of Gunda-
muck, a letter from the Amir, announced his inten-
tion of proceeding to that place, for the purpose of
their entering into personal conference with Major
CavagnarL This was, clearly, a more satisfactory
arrangement than the deputation of a British Envoy
to CabuL Major Cavagnari was, therefore, instructed
to arrange with General Sir Samuel Browne for the
honorable reception of His Highness, and was
invested with full powers to represent the British
Government in negotiations respecting which he had
previously been furnished with detailed oral instruc-
tions by the Viceroy at Lahore. The Amir reached
Gundamuck on the 8th of May, and was received there
by the British authorities with all possible honor and
hospitality. After the formal ceremonies of his re-
ception, negotiations were opened by His Highness,

a— •

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 71

and continued without interruption till the 26th of
May, when the Treaty of that date was signed in the
British camp by the Amir on behalf of Afghanistan,
and by Major Cavagnari on behalf of the British
Government.

THE TREATY WITH THE AMIR YAKUB KHAN,
DATED THE 26TH, MAY 1879.

FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.
NOTIFICATION,

POLITICAL.

No. 1497 E.— P.

Simla, the 30th May 1879.

His HIGHNESS Muhammad Yakub Khan, Amir of Afgha-
nistan, and its Dependencies, having proceeded in person to
Gundamuck to confer with the British Authorities for the cessa-
tion of hostilities in Afghanistan, and having there signed a
Treaty of Peace with the British Government, the Treaty, as
ratified this day by His Excellency the Yiceroy and Governor-
General, is hereby published for general information, together
with the telegrams subjoined: —

Treaty between the British Government and His Highness
Muhammad Yakub Khan, Amir of Afghanistan, and its Depen-
dencies concluded at Gundamuck on the 26th, May 1879, by His
Highness the Amir Mahammad Yakub Khan on his own part, and
the part of the British Government by Major P. L. N. Cavagnari
C. S. I., Political Officer, on Special Duty in virtue of full powers
vested in him by the Eight Honorable Edward Robert Lytton,

a— —a

72 LIFE OF

Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton of Knebworth, and a Baronet,
Grand Master of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India,
Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath,
Grand Master of the Order of the Indian Empress, Viceroy and
Governor- General of India.

The following Articles of a Treaty for the restoration of
peace and amicable relations have been agreed upon between the
British Government and His Highness Muhammad Yakub Khan,
Amir of Afghanistan, and its Dependencies : —

ABTICLE 1.

From the day of the exchange of the ratifications of the
present Treaty, there shall be perpetual peace and friendship be-
tween the British Government on the one part, and His Highness
the Amir of Afghanistan, and its Dependencies, and his successors,
on the other.

ARTICLE 2.

His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan, and its Dependen-
cies, engages, on the exchange of the ratifications of this Treaty,
to publish a full and complete amnesty, absolving all his subjects
from any responsibility for intercourse with the British Forces
during the war, and to guarantee and protect all persons of
whatever degree from any punishment, or molestation on that
account.

ARTICLE 3.

His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan, and its Dependencies,
agrees to conduct his relations with Foreign States in accordance
with the advice and wishes of the British Government. His
Highness the Amir will enter into no engagements with Foreign
States, and will not take up arms against any Foreign State, ex-
cept with the concurrence of the British Government. On these
conditions, the British Government will support the Amir against

— a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 73

any foreign aggression with money, arms, or troops, to be
employed in whatsoever manner the British Government may
judge best for this purpose. Should British troops at any time
enter Afghanistan for the purpose of repelling foreign aggression,
they will return to their stations in British territory as soon as
the object for which they entered has been accomplished.

ARTICLE 4.

With a view to the maintenance of the direct and intimate
relations now established between the British Government and
His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan, and for the better protec-
tion of the frontiers of His Highness' dominions, it is agreed that
a British Representative shall reside at Cabul, with a suitable
escort, in a place of residence appropriate to his rank and dignity.
It is also agreed that the British Government shall have the right
to depute British Agents with suitable escorts to the Afghan
frontiers, whensoever this may be considered necessary by the
British Government in the interests of both States on the occur-
rence of any important external fact. His Highness the Amir of
Afghanistan may on his part, depute an Agent to reside at the
Court of His Excellency the Viceroy and Govern or- General of
India, and at such other places in British India as may be similarly
agreed upon.

ARTICLE 5.

His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan, and its Dependencies,
guarantees the personal safety and honorable treatment of British
Agents within his jurisdiction ; and the British Government, on
its part, undertakes that its Agents shall never, in any way, inter-
fere with the internal administration of His Highness' dominions.

ARTICLE 6.

His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan, and its Dependencies
undertakes, on behalf of himself and his successors, to offer no
impediment to British subjects peacefully trading within his

74 LIFE OF

dominions, so long as they do so with the permission of the British
Government, and in accordance with sueh arrangements as may
be mutually agreed upon from time to time between the two
Governments.

ARTICLE 7.

In order that the passage of trade between the territories
of the British Government and of His Highness the Amir of Af-
ghanistan may be open and uninterrupted, His Highness the Amir
©f Afghanistan agrees to use his best endeavours to ensure the
protection of traders and to facilitate the transit of goods along
the well-known customary Toads of Afghanistan. These roads
shall be improved and maintained in such manner as the two
Governments may decide to be most expedient for the general
convenience of traffic, and under such financial arrangements as
may be mutually determined upon between them. The arrange-
ments made for the maintenance and security of the aforesaid
roads, for the settlement of the duties to be levied upon merchan-
dize carried over these roads, and for the general protection and
development of trade with, and through, the dominions of His
Highness, will be stated in a separate Commercial Treaty, to be
concluded within one year, due regard being given to the state of
the country.

ARTICLE 8.

With a view to facilitate communications between the allied
Governments, and to aid and develope intercourse and commer-
cial relations between the two countries, it is hereby agreed that
a line of telegraph from Kurrum to Cabul shall be constructed
by, at the cost of, the British Government : and the Amir of
Afghanistan hereby undertakes to provide for the proper protection
of this telegraph line.

ARTICLE 9.

In consideration of the renewal of a friendly alliance between
the two States, which has been attested and secured by the fore-

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 7-5

going Articles, the British Government restores to His Highness
the Amir of Afghanistan, and its Dependencies, the towns of
Candahar and Jellalabad, with all the territory now in possession
of the British armies,, excepting the districts of Kurrum, Pishin,
and Sibi. His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan, and its De-
pendencies, agrees on his part that the districts of Kurrum and
and Pishin and Sibi, according to the limits denned in the sche-
dule annexed, shall remain under the protection and administra-
tive control of the British Government : that is to say, the afore-
said districts shall be treated as assigned districts, and shall not
be considered as permanently severed from the limits of the
Afghan kingdom. The revenues of these districts, after deduct-
ing the charges of civil administration, shall be paid to His
Highness the Amir.

The British Government wiU retain in its own hands the con-
trol of the Khyber and Miohni Passes, which lie between the
Peshawur and Jellalabad districts, and of all relations with the
independent tribes of the territory directly connected with these
Passes.

ARTICLE 10.

For the furthur support of His Highness the Amir, in the
recovery and maintenance of his legitimate authority, and in con-
sideration of the efficient fulfilment in their entirety of the en-
gagements stipulated by the foregoing Articles, the British
Government agrees to pay to His Highness the Amir, and to his
successors, an annual subsidy of six lacs of rupees.

Done at Gundamuck this 26th day of May 1879, corres-
ponding with the 4>th day of the month of JamacTi-us-sani,
1196, A. H.

(Sd.) AMIR MUHAMMAD YAKUB KHAN.

(Seal) (Sd.) N. CAVAGNARI, MAJOR,

Political Officer on Special Duty.

(Sd.) LYTTON. (Seal.)

76 LIFE OF

This Treaty was ratified by His Excellency the Viceroy and
Governor-General of India, at Simla, on Friday, this 30th day of
May 1879.

(Sd.) A. C. LYALL,
Secy to the Govt. of India, Foreign Dept.

TELEGRAM, Dated 26^ May 1873.

From — Muhammad Yakub Khan, Amir of Afghanistan,
To — VICEROY OF INDIA, SIMLA.

Now that the Treaty of Peace has been concluded, it only
remains for me to express to your Excellency as the Representa-
tive of Her Imperial Majesty my sincere hope that the friendly
relations now established between the two States may day by
day increase.

TELEGRAM, Dated 27th May 1879,
From — VICEROY OF INDIA, SIMLA.

To — His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan.
I have received with sincere pleasure the news of the conclu-
sion of peace between our two Governments, and your Highness'
friendly telegram. I feel confident that the Treaty now signed
will conduce to the mutual advantage of the two States, and to
the consolidation of your Highness' authority; and I shall
always earnestly co-operate towards the fulfilment of the good
wishes expressed by your Highness, which I cordially reciprocate.

By Order of His Excellency tlie Viceroy and Governor- General
of India in Council

A. C. LYALL,

Secy, to tlie Govt. India, Foreign Dept.

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 77

In his despatch to the Secretary of State, Lord
Lytton makes the following remarks on the several
articles of the foregoing Treaty : —

" The several articles of this Treaty were framed
in the belief, that they fully secure all the objects
of the war, which have already been explained.
The 3rd Article establishes our paramount posi-
tion in Afganistan, and our adequate control over
the Amir's external relations. Our obligation to
assist His Highness against foreign agression is the
legitimate consequence of this condition ; and it is
required of us not less imparatively for the security
of India than for the independence of Afghanistan.
But the British Government could not have under-
taken such an obligation, if the means of fulfilling
it had not been secured by the 4th Article of the
Treaty, which provides for the residence at Cabul of a
a British representative, and for the right to depute
British Agents, as occasion may require, to all parts
of the Afghan Frontier. The Amir himself had re-
quested that our permanent representative should
reside at his capital ; and, from the opening of the
negotiations, he has evinced no disinclination to the
admission of British officers within his dominions.
Such disinclination would, indeed, have been incom-
patible with any sincere desire for the advantages
of British friendship and support ; and the Amir's
appreciation of these advantages has been manifested,

T8 LIFE OP

not only by his conduct during the negotiations^ but
still more effectually by the alacrity and loyalty
with which he is already carrying out his treaty obli-
gations in reference to the Amnesty clause, ancl other
minor matters,

. "Under the 6th and 7th Articles of the Treaty,
His Highness engages to take measures for the pro-
tection and encouragement of commerce between
India and Afghanistan. This engagement will re-
ceive practical development in a special Commercial
Convention to be concluded within twelve months
from the ratification of the Treaty of Gundamuck.
Some such interval was required for the arrangement
of details connected with the selection and improve-
ment of roads, and for the examination of the nature
and circumstances of the trade between the two
countries, as well as for the reciprocal adjustment of
duties. It is premature to forecast the ultimate re-
sults of arrangements, now for the first time possible,
in reference to the security and expansion of the
overland commerce of India with other Asiatic coun-
tries. But on our western Frontier access to and
from India, although far from easy, is not impeded
by such great natural barriers as elsewhere interpose
almost insuperable obstacles to regular and frequent
intercourse, by land, with the rest of Asia. On this
part of our border the main hindrances to commerce
have always been political ; and of late years such

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 79

hindrances were increased both by the chronic mis-
rule and jealous isolation of the Afghan Govern-
ment, and also by the inadequacy of internal res-
traints upon the marauding tribes who hold the
Passes. When these impediments disappear, we may
look for a considerable expansion of the landborne
commerce of Northern India. Afghanistan itself is
a country of no great productive resources ; but it
commands the routes which penetrate into Central
and Western Asia, and the commercial classes, not
only of the country, but also of those immediately
beyond the Upper Oxus, are largely Indian, or of
Indian descent. The trade of Afghanistan is princi-
pally in Indian hands ; and the Russian Governor
at Taskhend recently promulgated a severe edict
against the Hindu bankers of Turkestan, who are
mostly emigrants from the western districts of India.
The route by Herat and Candahar runs through the
more open and fertile parts of Afghanistan, connect-
ing the important towns of Herat and Candahar.
The Treaty signed with His Highness the Khan of
Khelat towards the close of the year 1876, effected
the pacification of Biluchistan, and re-opened the
great trade route through the Bolan Pass, which has
not since been interrupted. By that arrangement
the commerce of Central Asia, after reaching Can-
dahar, is placed in safe connection with the railway
system of India, and the rising seaport of Kurrachi.

—a

80 LIFE OF

There is already a noticeable tendency to increase in
the number of caravans now annually passing the
Bolan ; and the merchants of Sind have always been
among the most industrious and enterprising of our
foreign traders. With proper management, there-
fore, and under a judicious system of transit duties,
considerable expansion may be reasonably expected
in the external commerce of India upon this impor-
tant line. All such considerations will receive our
careful attention in the negotiation of the Commer-
cial Convention which remains to be concluded with
the Amir of Cabul.

(i It may be here mentioned that our political
officers, who accompanied the columns withdrawn
from Candahar in the spring of this year, have ex-
plored much of the country, hitherto almost unknown,
which lies on the direct lines between Pishin and
the Indian Frontier below Dera Ghazi Khan. They
have ascertained that the routes through this country
traverse elevated valleys and high plateaux, where
the climate is at no season of the year very unfavor-
able, and where supplies and water are comparatively
abundant. The tribes who inhabit this region are
less unfriendly to strangers than the northern Pathans ;
and the construction and maintenance of good fair-
weather roads present no serious difficulties. There
is little doubt that this was the direction taken by
the earlier trade routes into India from Persia and

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNAUI, K.C.B.,c.g.l. 81

Southern Afghanistan ; and on commercial, as well
as on military, grounds the possibility of restoring
those channels of communication deserves further
examination.

" The Treaty of Gundamuck provides for the
immediate commencement of telegraphic communi-
cation between Cabul and India. The advantages
of such communication are obvious ; and the esta-
blishment of it will both illustrate and confirm the
character of the change now effected in our relations
with Afghanistan.

" The territorial concessions imposed upon the
Amir, are light, and involve no permanent alienation
of any part of the dominions claimed by his Govern-
ment. The Khyber Pass has never formed part of
those dominions ; while the districts of Pishin, Sibi,
and Kurrum are obtained by the British Government
under an assignment. For the better protection and
security for our Frontier and for the proper mainte-
nance of communication with our advanced garrisons
which will observe and command the three principal
Passes into India, it was essential that these three
districts should remain in our hands. But we have
entertained no projects for establishing ourselves
permanently in the interior of the country, or for
occupying any posts not absolutely required for the
defensive purposes explained in the llth paragraph
of this despatch. Accordingly, the towns of Can-

82 LIFE OF

dahar and Jellalabad are restored by the Treaty of
Gundamuck to the Amir of Cabul. The Passes of
the Kojak Mountains will be carefully kept under our
own control ; and it is probable that the hill skirts
of the Pishiri country, like the upper districts of the
Kurr um Valley, will provide fresh and valuable sani-
taria for our troops. But the local experience recently
acquired by our expedition into Western Afghanistan,
has fully confirmed our previous impression that the
strategic value of Candahar exists only in connection
with a system of Frontier defence much more exten-
sive than any we now require, or have ever contem-
plated. Candahar is now easily accessible from our
advanced position in Pishin, and can, at any time,
be occupied without difficulty ; but the permanent
occupation of it ( involving the maintenance of long
lines of communication) would have considerably
increased our military expenditure, without strength-
ening our military position. It is, however, mainly
on political grounds that the retention of Candahar
was excluded from the conditions of the Treaty of
Gundamuck. Such a condition would have been
extremely painful to the Amir, and detrimental to
the strength and credit of his Government. With-
out Candahar it would be difficult for the central
authority at Cabul to maintain any effective hold
upon Herat ; and the foreign occupation of so im-
portant a city, in the interior of his dominions, would

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C,S.I. 83

have been inconsistent with those relations of friend-
ship and mutual confidence which the Treaty was
designed to establish between the British Govern-
ment and the Amir of Afghanistan.

" Similar objections applied to the retention of
Jellalabad. As a military position that town offers
no advantages not better secured by a garrison on
the Luitdi Kotal ridge. It can, at any moment, be
seized by a rapid advance from the Khyber ; and to
hold it as a permanent frontier garrison would require
the prolongation, as far as Gundamuck, of a trouble-
some line of military communications. Such an
extension of our Frontier, though necessarily increas-
ing our permanent military expenditure, would also,
no doubt, increase our permanent political influence
over the adjacent tribes and pretty Chiefships to the
north-east of the Frontier thus extended. But the
only political advantage thereby acquired would be
the means of utilising those tribes and chiefships as
a barrier, in case of need, against the action of any
hostile power at Cabul ; and for the control or
punishment of such action material guarantees, far
more effectual, are provided by the Treaty, which
secures to us the permanent military command of
Cabul from the crest of the Chutar Gurdan. In
short, we have framed this Treaty with an earnest
desire to render all the conditions of it, not only
consistent with, but also conducive to, the mainte-

a— —a

84 LIFE OF

nance of that friendly and mutual advantageous
footing, on which it re-establishes our relations with
Afghanistan : and from those relations we have
labored to eliminate every appreciate cause of irri-
tation and disunion."

"The engagements thus concluded, at Gunda-
muck, with the Amir Yakub Khan, represent and
attest an important change in the whole condition
of Central Asian affairs. The magnitude of this
change will be best appreciated when our present
position and influence beyond the frontier are com-
posed with what they were during the greater portion
of the preceding period between the Umballa differ-
ences and the recent Afghan War. We do not,
however, profess to ascribe any talismanic virtue to
written engagements on the part of Afghan Princes.
The late Amir Shere Ali throughout the whole period
of his reign, was under a formal Treaty obligation
to be the friend of the friends, and the enemy of the
enemies, of the British Government ; but that en-
gagement in no wise prevented his adoption of a
course which led him into inevitable rupture and
open hostility with this Government. We regard
the present Treaty rather as the commencement,
than as the confirmation, of a new and better era in
our relations with Afghanistan. It provides for, and
facilitates, the attainment of results incalculably
beneficial to the two countries concerned. The

-Hi

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 86

character of those results, however, will, to a great
extent, be determined by the steadiness with which
the British Government maintains, and the intelli-
gence with which its local agents carry out, the policy
that has dictated this Treaty : a policy which has
for its object to substitute co-operation for isolation,
and to replace mutual mistrust by mutual confidence.
Nor do we disguise from ourselves that the practical
value of the Treaty mainly depends upon the cha-
racter and disposition of the Amir and his successors.
Relations established with Afghanistan under the
most favorable conditions, and with the most promis-
ing prospects, may, of course, be again impaired
either by the disloyalty of Afghan Princes, or by
the alienation of their unrequited confidence. In
either case, complications may arise, against which
no present precautions on our part can completely
guarantee our successors in the Government of India.
But, though anxious to deal considerately with the
Amir's susceptibilities, and to take into the fullest
account all the reasonable requirements and legiti-
mate interests of his Government, we deem it abso-
lutely requisite that, in countries like Afghanistan,
the power of the British Government to punish its
enemies and protect its friends should be so generally
recognised as to render unnecessary the frequent
assertion of it. We have, therefore, been careful to
secure, for British interests and influence in Afghan-

86 LIFE OF

istan, a position substantially independent of the
personal caprices of any Afghan ruler ; and for the
effectual maintenance of that position the Treaty
provides strong material guarantees, by the territo-
rial conditions which place the British Power in
permanent command of the main avenues from India
to Cabul.

" Your Lordship will, of course, understand that,
in thus speaking of British interests and influence
in Afghanistan, we mean the interests, only of
our alliance with that State in reference to external
affairs ; and the influence, only, which is necessary
to maintain and direct a common policy on behalf
of those interests. We, in no wise, contemplate
any system of interference in the internal affairs of
Afghanistan ; and the British Envoy at Cabul will
be strictly required to abstain from such interference.
The small subsidy which we grant to the Amir will,
we hope, strengthen his hands in maintaining his
authority.

" Notwithstanding the conditions it imposes, the
Treaty of Gundamuck, so far as we can judge,
is regarded with satisfaction by the Amir, to whose
possession it restores important tracts of territory
which His Highness could not have recovered by
the sword and to the peaceful consolidation of whose
authority it will, we trust, powerfully contribute.
We desire to record our high appreciation of the

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 87

signal ability with which Major Cavagnari conducted
the negotiations to this successful conclusion ; and
it is, we think, difficult to overestimate the value of
his political services throughout the campaign. The
political officers, generally, had difficult duties to
perform, and they discharged them with great tact
and efficiency,

" We have also much pleasure in mentioning to
your Lordship that not only the justice of the
war, and the humanity with which it has been waged
by the British Government, but also the fair and
generous terms on which we have concluded it, are
now recriving unreserved recognition in numerous
communications spontaneously addressed to the
Viceroy by Her Majesty's feudatories and Native
subject in all parts of India.

" By the Khan of Khelat (with whom our rela-
tion, four years ago, had been very unsatisfactory)
the cause of the British Government throughout
this war, has been well supported beyond the Fron-
tiers of India. It cannot be doubted that the
conditions of the Treaty signed with the Amir of
Cabul it Gundamuck in 1879, have been greatly
facilitated by the results of. the Treaty, signed with
the Khan of Khelat at Jacobabad in 1876. Certain
it is, that the military difficulties of the war, and
the political impediments to the peace, now happily
concluded, would have been seriously aggravated by

88 LIFE OF

hostile, or untrustworthy conduct on that part of
the Sovereign and Sirdars of Khelat. For the fide-
lity with which the Khan has observed his treaty
obligations, and for the uninterrupted sympathy
and good-will of the Biluch tribes and Sirdars, we
are largely indebted to the personal influence of
Major Sandeman, and to the ability with which he
has discharged his important duties as the Governor-
General's Agent in Khelat. We shall take an early
opportunity of submitting your Lordship the mea-
sures whereby we propose to mark our appreciation
of the friendly and l^yal attitude maintained by His
Highness Khodadad Khan, of Khelat, throughout
the progress and settlement of our disputes with
that late Amir of Cabul.

" It now only remains to notice those condi-
tions of the Treaty which have reference to the in-
dependent tribes of the Khyber and Michni Passes.
We do not, of course, anticipate the immediate or
habitual good behaviour of all these wild hill men,
whose tribal organisation is infinitely various, and
whose management will doubtless require much skill
and patience on the part of the political officers
intrusted with that task. But it is a task which
presents no difficulties insurmountable by the steady
exercise of such qualities. At no time since the
annexation of the Punjab has the mountain border
of that province been wholly free from depredation

— a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,c.s.l. 89

and insult on the part of the surrounding tribes ;
nor can it be reasonably expected that what succes-
sive Governments of India have failed to accomplish
in the course of thirty years will now be accom-
plished all at once. We must be prepared for occas-
sional misconduct (especially during the first two or
three years of the new arrangements) requiring from
us recourse to punitive measures. But, apart from
the indirect advantage of such increased respect as
our authority has acquired from our military suc-
cesses during the war, our practical power of con-
trolling the border tribes has been greatly strength-
ened by the Treaty. The Amir of Cabul has now
neither the motive, nor the means to incite these
tribes to acts of hostility against us. The policy
applied during the last three years to the past tribes
of Biluchistan has already effected the complete
pacification of even their most turbulent section ;
and the Bolan Pass, though unguarded by British
troops, has been remarkably safe and quiet. These
facts justify us in anticipating the most satisfactory
results from the judicious and patient application of
a similar system to the management of the Khyber
and Michni Passes.

" We cannot close this narrative of the second
Afghan war without bringing prominently to your
Lordship's notice the high character maintained by
Her Majesty's troops both English and Native, and

90 LIFE OP

their admirable conduct throughout the campaign.
The enemy's positions in the Khyber and Kurrum
Passes were of great natural strength ; but, though
powerfully armed and vigorously defended, they
were rapidly captured. His forces, dislodged from
these positions with the loss of their guns and stores,
were not merely defeated, but dispersed. In the
advance to Candahar, the superiority of the British
cavalry was established as soon as tested at the out-
set of the campaign. Against the valour and
steadiness of the British soldier the fiercest assaults
of the most warlike mountain tribes were as inffec-
tual as the organized resistance of the Amir's regular
troops. Under conditions more trying than those of
actual combat, the strictest discipline has been
maintained throughout all ranks of the field forces,
and the life and property of non-combatants effec-
tually protected. It would be out of place in this
report to specify particular services of particular
regiments ; but the Viceroy desires to record his
high appreciation , in which we cordially concur, of
the good service performed by the Native, as well as
the European, regiments of the Army of India in
Afghanistan ; where their discipline and courage
were attested, not only by the uniform success
of their arms, but also by the steadiness of their
conduct under those trials and privations which
are incidental to periods of inaction on the part

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 91

of an invading army in a wild and inhospitable
country.

" We have also to acknowledge with sincere satis-
faction the thoroughly creditable efficency and patrio-
tic spirit with which the contingents of the Native
States have sustained their honorable part in labors
of the late campaign.

We have the honor to be,

My Lord,

Your most obedient and humble servants,
(Signed) LYTTON.
„ F. P. HAINES.

„ A. J. ARBUTHNOT.

„ A. CL/RKE.

„ J. STBACHEY.

„ E. B. JOHNSON.

„ W. STOKES.

„ A. R. THOMPSON."

THE CABUL EMBASSY.

THE Treaty of Gundamuck was signed towards
the end of May 1879, and the Amir Yakub Khan
and the Viceroy exchanged congratulatory telegrams
the following day. By the middle of July, Sir
Louis Cavagnari as British resident at Cabul, accom-

92 LIFE OF

panied by a small escort, was on Ms way to take up
his residence and duties at that city, and the Times of
India s Correspondent thus writes from the Kurum
Field force on the 22nd July : —

The Mission left Alikhyel and halted on the
18th at Karatiga, where to spend the night. I
have just heard that .Major Cavagnari has been
made a K. C. B. — a title well earned, and which
will give its holder a fitting position as our Envoy.
Mr. Jenkins, Major Cavagnari's assistant, Lieut.
Hamilton, V. C.,, and Dr. Kelly, were the only
Europeans, and an escort of the Guides is the
only force that accompanies the mission. I believe
it was thought wise to excite as little jealousy as may
be by restricting the numbers of the party as much
as possible. About 8 A. M. on the 19th, Khushyal
Khan, accompanied by a squadron of dragoons, came
to the embassy camp ; and after the necessay diplo-
matic delays, was admitted to an audience. When
Major Cavagnari was ready to start, a guard of
honor of one hundred men of the 67th Regiment
was drawn up to grace his departure, and a salute
of fifteen guns was fired by the Mountain battery.
Matters were so arranged that there could be no doubt
that the honor was intended for our Envoy.
Khushyal Khan is a fine looking man, of a determined
appearance, and his moustachios, which are of an
unusual size, given him an appearance of fierceness.

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 93 , ,

He has with him as escort a regiment of Hirati horse.
They are very fairly mounted, and are dressed in
imitation of English dragoons-red tunics, blue
breeches, jack boots, pipe clayed cross-belts, &c.
The head-piece is a brownish felt helmet, which is
so large that it falls over the eyes, and the chin
straps, which are of brass chain, are so long that
they reach almost to the breast. They are armed
with carbine pistols and sword, the latter of Russian
pattern with brass hilts. The men are small but
wiry, and when galloping look as if they gathered
themselves into a bundle, and yet they ride well, and
go over the roughest ground at full speed with
apparent ease and safety. Under European leader-
ship they should make good irregular cavalry. At
present, their want of discipline is painfully manifest.
They keep together or not just as the fit takes them.
The dress of the officers forms a marked contrast to
that of their men : it consisted of a dark frock-coat
and plants and Astrakan lambskin caps. Both
officers and men answered questions clearly ; and, on
the whole, received the mission as well as could be
expected. The inhabitants of Karatiga were rather
more inclined to stand off, and refused to hold the
officers' horses. We are building a fortified post
here, which it is proposed to place in charge of the
head man of one of the neighbouring tribes, present-
ly in our pay.

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94 LIFE OP

The Mission after starting proceeded over the
Turki Kotal, or red hill, so called from the color of
the soil : about fifty officers who had permission to
accompany it to the summit of the Shutae Gurdan,
were of the party. On reaching the Afghan Durbar
tent, which was pitched the other side of the kotal,
the whole party entered to partake of tea, and that
the usual formal compliments might be exchanged.
The tent was a fine one, of English manufacture,
with spacious verandahs. In one of these a tank
had been cut, and a rill of sparkling water had been
introduced so as to run through it. The floor of the
tent was covered with handsome Persian carpets.
There were but a few chairs, and these were occu-
pied by General Roberts, Major Cavagnari, Khusyal
Khan, &c. The remainder squatted on the floor,
with what grace they might, none succeeding in look-
ing comfortable, or at home. Two armed attendants,
carrying trays covered with cloths of red and blue
satin, fringed with gold, and richly embroidered with
silk, entered the tent, and placed the trays on the
floor ; another, supposed to be a person of some
importance, his belt full of knives and pistols and a
handsome gun slung over his back, followed and knelt
down near the trays. In a remarkable solemn
manner he removed the cloth from one of the trays
and folded it. We beheld about ten Russian cups
on a tray, they were of a blue and red color, and were

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MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S,I. 95

ornamented with raised medallions on which were
painted various flowers. There was also a sugar
bowl of the same pattern, but of a peculiar shape.
Next he removed the cover from the other tray ; on
it were four teapots ensuite with the cups, the tea
( Eussian) they contained was highly aromatic, and
is supposed to have been prepared with cardamoms.
The cups were next filled ; but, to the horror of all
the dispenser of the tea in the most innocent manner
used his fingers in placing the sugar in the cups.
The oriental grace and solemnity was disturbed by
whispers and growls, " the best using his dirty claws
of all work. I won't touch the stuff, &c." How-
ever, all had drunk, and as the number of cups were
limited, they had to be filled several times before all
were served. The cups were not washed between
either; some did not like this. We are becoming
rather fastidious since peace has been declared. The
trays were then removed, but soon reappeared. This
time we were helped to warm milk and sugar. Tea
d la Afghan is decidedly novel, and the idea of ad-
ministering the milk afterwards did not meet with
much approval.

A move was now made ; and, after a short ride,
we reached the summit of the Shutar Gurdan. Away
beneath us stretched the Logar Vally, the streams
running through it seeming like bands of silver, and
the dark patches of cultivation and foliage standing

96 LIFE OP

out in marked relief to the general plain surface. A
softened aspect was thrown over everything by the
summer haze which shimmered around. Behind a
bend in the mountain, and within view but for it, lay
Cabul. Major Cavagnari says that next year officers
will be able to visit it in safety. Of the present
party, most would have given a good deal to go there
now, as they may never have an opportunity of
seeing it again. Wishing the Mission every success,
our last adieux were made, and we turn our horses'
head homewards. At the foots of the mountain
there is a halt, and halsters and havresacks overhau-
led to obtain the wherewithal to refresh the inner
man The announcement that the Amir had dinner
prepared for the party was joyfully received, and all
again proceeded to the Durbar tent, and seated them-
selves in a circle. Attendants entered, and laid down
a splendid Duster khana (table-cloth) of Russian
leather. This was covered by a white cloth. A
procession now appeared, coming from the boberchee-
kana, about a dozen men carrying on their heads
huge trays, about six feet long by three feet wide,
made of papier mache, and tastefully ornamented.
The contents of the trays were hidden by new white
cloths. The trays were placed on the table cloth
and the cloths removed. Then the domeshaped
leaden colored covers with which each dish was
covered were removed, and a most varied array of

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B ,c.s.I. 97

viands met liis eye. Kabobs, curries, game, fish,
pillaus, fowls, kids roasted whole, and a number of
Native dishes, whose names were unknown, but
whose toothsome properties were admitted. Forks,
spoons, or knives, were waited for in vain. At last
it was made known that these articles de luxe were
not the fashion in Afghanistan, chupattis serving as
plates. The attempts made to do the correct thing
was really ridiculous. Some poured the contents of
a dish on to their chupatti, and raising the whole
thing to the mouth tried to eat ; others, shielding
their fingers with pieces of chupatti, tried to fish out
some dainty morsel ; others boldly plunged their
hands into a pillau ; and manfully gnawed at the
treasure in their greasy fingers, some one or two put
their fingers in the dishes, arid sucked them. It was
a thing to be remembered this dinner, a le main, in
contrast. The imperturbable gravity of our Afghan
host was a contrast with laughter and gaucherie:
not a muscle showed their appreciation of the situa-
tion and whether indifference, amusement, or
contempt were their feelings. One might pretty
safely assert that they gave vent to a fine volley of
maledictions on our departure. Water in peculiar
looking vessels was bought and poured over our hands
and the wash was very decidedly needed. Tea was
again served, and the usual compliments having been
got through the party, were soon in the saddle, and

98 LIFE OF

en route for Waykula, which we reached safely. On
the arrival of the Mission at Cabul, Yakub, who is
only waiting for it, will start north to try and estab-
lish his authority in the rebellious districts. Should
he fail in this, the Oandahar force may have a chance
of seeing some service : still in any case, they are
not likely to be removed till matters are more settled
than they are at present. The Mullahs, it appears,
are preaching against the English, and the hatred
which Shere AH so assiduously fostered is now re-
bounding on his son. However, we are in for it now,
and will have to stick to our bargain.

General Roberts in temporarily leaving the force,
addressed an order complimentary to its discipline
and efficiency ; and expressed his desire, that should
occasion again require, he might be so fortunate as
to command such a fine body of men.

The force fully reciprocates the compliment, and
if their services were called for, all would long to be
under their old chief. In addition to personal popu-
larity, General Roberts had obtained the confidence
of the men, who would have followed him to any
place. No one in the force worked harder than the
General, and his care for the well-being of the men
was incessant, and extended to every detail affecting
their health and comfort.

General Massy commands in his absence. A
court-martial on the men of the 8th implicated in the

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNA1U, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 99

Kotal Dadel is to take place in a few days. The
general health of the force is fair, but the 72nd
Highlanders have a big sick list : they went through
a good deal of exposure last cold weather. The
heat in the single fly tents at midday is very trying.
The men have to wear their helmets in the tents — a
fact which needs no comment, and the results of
which will appear sooner, or later. Some ripe fruit
is now being brought in for sale to tke men this
should be found to benefit their health very much.
Is it not funny all telegrams for the Press, of what-
ever nature arc refused, unless they bear the signa-
ture of the General commanding. Why ? one may
well ask the question. Postal communication with
Major Cavagnari is kept up by means of runners to
the Shutar Gurdan, thence to Cabul by sowars.

TUB Civil and Military Gazette s own correspon-
dent of July 21st, gives the following graphic pic-
ture of Major Cavagnari on the Afghan Frontier : —
Major Cavagnari, with Mr. Jenkyns and an escort of
the Guides, have passed through AH Kheyl. On the
18th they started for Karatiga, which is on the
frontier line, as it is propos d to be marked out, but
the actual delimitation of frontier has not yet been
laid down. We are building a fortified post here,
which will be held for us by one of the headmen of
a neighbouring tribe for a consideration. The Mis-
sion rested at Karartiga on the 18th about 8 A, M. On

100 LIFE OF

the 19th Khusyal Khan, who has been deputed to
escort the Mission to Cabul, arrived to pay a visit
to Major Cavagnari, he was accompanied by a troop
of cavalry ; after some diplomatic delays by which
he was made to dance attendance for a little, he was
admitted to an audience when the usual eastern con-
venances were strictly observed. When Major
Cavagnari was ready to make a start, a guard of
honor of one hundred men of the 67 the was drawn
up, and a salute of fifteen guns was fired. Matters
were very cleverly arranged, so that Khusyal Khan
should see that it was our Envoy, and not him for
whom these arrangements were made, and our politi-
cals are quite satisfied at the result. The escort to
accompany the Mission to Cubul consists of a regi-
ment of Cavalry which met it at Karatiga, and some
Artillery and Infantry which will join it at Kushi.
The Cavalry, a Herati regiment and mounted on
Herat horses, were brought up at the close of the
war, but were too late to join in it. They were
dressed in red tunics, blue pants and jack boots, and
were armed with carbine, pistol and sword, the latter,
of a Russian pattern with brass hilts. They had
white cross belts, and were got up in imitation of an
English Dragoon regiment. Their heads were
adorned with brown felt helmets some sizes too large,
with brass chin straps, several inches too long, the
men were small and wiry, and when galloping had a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 101

huddled up appearance ; this taken with tlieir inde-
pendent and irregular movements, their grinning and
chattering, caused them to strongly resemble a lot of
mounted monkeys in a circus. With training and
under European leaders, doubtless they could be made
into serviceable irregular cavalry. They fell out to
water their horses, to have a look round, or a smoke,
as the humour took them, and then rejoined the main
body, at a breakneck pace over very rough ground.
The officers were a great contrast to the men, they
were dressed in dark semi-frock coats, dark pants,
and lambskin caps, and did not look the soldier at all.
Khusyal Khan was similary dressed. He is a striking
looking man of a rather determined appearance, and
rejoices in a most ferocious suit of moustachios, as
the Yankis would say. The Mission, its ranks
swollen by about fifty officers, who had obtained
leave to accompany it as far as the Shuter Gurdan,
soon passed the limits to our territory, and crossing
the Turki Kotal, red hill, so called from the color of
the soil, reached the Durbar tent. This was a very
fine English built tent with specious verandahs, in
one of which a tank had been made, and a rill of
crystal clear water ran through it, which had a pleas-
ing effect. The floor of the tent was covered with
rich carpets, and there were a few chairs and which
were occupied by General Roberts, Major Cavagnari,
Khusyal Khan, &c. The remainder of the party

ifl—

102 LIFE OF

squatted on the carpets, with as near an approach to
Oriental ease as they could assume. Tea was now
served, it was brought in on two trays by armed
attendants. The trays were covered with red and
blue satin, cloths fringed with gold and richly worked
in silk, with red and yellow patterns, they were
deposited on the ground in the middle, and a man
very much armed, his belt full of knives and pistols,
and a gun on his back entered, and solemnly knelt
near the trays, then he reverently raised the cover
from one, and exposed to our curious gaze about ten
Russian tea cups. They were about the size and
shape of ordinary cotfee cups, and were half of a blue,
half of a red pattern and with raised medallions on
which were painted roses and other flowers ; this
tray also contained peculiar looking bowls of similar
pattern to the cups which contained sugar. The
knight of the tea tray then removed the cloth from
the other tray, on it were four tea-pots of the same
design as the cups, he then filled the cups with a
very highly flavoured tea. I believe that the tea
used is Russian, flavoured with cardamoms. The
above proceedings were conducted and observed in
solemn silence, but when the operator proceeded to
pick up a lump of sugar with his fingers and drop it
into each oup, the feelings, not quite blunted by a
campaign, got vent. " The fellow, with his dirty
fingures" and similar expressions of a very decided

— * fl-

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,c.s.i. 103

character were whispered about ; " I won't drink the
stuff," &c. However, all had to take it, and as there
were over fifty the cups had to be used several times
(without being washed). The trays were now
removed, but soon appeared again, this time we were
all treated to warm milk and sugar. The partakers
of afternoon tea at home should give it a la Afghan,
if they want a new sensation. After the usual salu-
tations, &c., the party proceeded en route ; and, after
a short ride up the slope of the mountain, reached
the summit. To those who had not previously been
here, the scene must have been very interesting ;
below and away into the far distance stretched the
Logar valley, its surface of mottled green and brown
relieved here and there by silver streaks of water,
the distant objects softened, and their outline
deadened, by the summer haze that hung over every-
thing. Behind a mountain and clearly discemable,
was Cabul, the promised land which many of
us, like the old Isrealites, are destined only to see
from a distance. Major Cavagnari says that officers
will be able to visit it in safety next year, but by
that time, the present party will be pretty well scat-
tered. All wished the Mission a hearty God-speed,
and after another round of tea, which was served
to us here, the party turned and retraced their steps
down the mountain ; at the bottom there was a halt
and a general emptying of holsters to find comforts

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104 LIFE OP

for the inner man. These were speedily discarded,
on the welcome intelligence that the Amir had pre-
pared a dinner which all were expected to partake ;
very cheerfully the invitation was accepted, and soon
all were squatted in a circle in the Darbar tent. An
attendant now entered, and placed a splendid Duster
Khana table-cloth on the floor. It was of very fine
Russian leather, this was covered with a white cloth.
Then there appeared a procession of ten or twelve
huge trays each about six feet long by three feet
wide, they were of papier mache, and were very taste-
fully ornamented ; each was carried on a man's head,
and the contents were hidden by a white cloth. At
the door of the tent two attendants removed them
from the heads of the bearers, and placed them on
the Duster Khana. When all were arranged, the
cloths were taken off, and the dome-shaped covers,
with which all the dishes were covered, were removed.
To our hungry gaze was exposed a goodly array of
kabobs, pillaus, curries, fowls, fish, dried fish, sweet-
meat and game. Kids roasted whole, Native dishes
of unknown names and mountains of huge chupatties,
but knives, forks, or spoons, there were none. There
was a pause, no one knew how to commence, at last
some one said use the chupatties for plates, accor-
dingly some made use of a whole chupattie, and
poured some of the contents of a dish on to it, others
covering their hands with chupattie essayed to scoop

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B..C.S.I. H)5

out of the dishes what they wanted, others would
introduce a finger carefully into a dish, and then
suck it meditatively. The cooking was unanimous-
ly voted good, and the food far superior in quality
to what most of us have been enjoying for some time
past. Our host sat stolidly gazing at the scene, and
shewed not a sign a& to whether he was indifferent,
amused, or disgusted, at our behaviour, which must
have appeared to him very gauche indeed. Doubtless,
he, and his grim attendant of the double barrelled
rifle were bottling up any amount of curses of the
Kaffir, of which they relieved themselves on our
departure. Tea was again served, the youngest of
the party relaxed to the extent of slyly pelting each
other with sweetmeats when unobserved ; and young
and old enjoyed the affair as much as schoolboys out
for a treat. We now, after the usual greetings,
mounted our gallant steeds, and made tracks for
Dray Kula, where our escort was waiting, and the
next day returned to Alikhey. The whole affair
went off very smoothly, and every body appeared to
be pleased. On the whole, the Mission was received
with as much cordiality as could be expected. The
officers and men of the Afghan escort were cheerful
in their replies; but the Natives about Karatiga rather
reserved in their manner, would not hold officers'
horses, &c. Yakub is said to be anxiously awaiting
the arrival of Mission as he is then to start on a

106 LIFE OP

tour to endeavour to restore obedience to his autho-
rity in the northern portions of Afghanistan. Should
Herat offer a successful resistance, very likely the
Candahar force will be given a chance of seeing
some fighting ; in any case they are not likely to be
removed from there till Yakub feels himself more
secure thin he is at present. The Mullahs are preach-
ing a crusade against the English, and the hatred
of us which Shere Ali fostered is now rebounding on
his son on account of his alliance. General Roberts,
who is temporarily leaving the force, has issued a
farewell order in which he hoped that if called on
again to fight for the Empress, he hoped to have as
fine a force as the one he at present commands. The
members of the column will only wish to have him
as a commander, if they are again actively engaged.
He had gained the affection arid confidence of the
troops, and they would have cheerfully followed him
to any place ; no one in the force worked harder than
General Roberts ; and his efforts for the well-being
of the men were untiring. A court-martial on the
men engaged in the races at the Kotal will take place
in a few days. Major Cavagnari has communications
established with us by means of runners as far as
the Shurter Gurdan, and from thence to Cabul by
means of sowars. Can any one explain why Press
telegrams of whatever nature will not be despatched
without countersignature ; it sounds funny that, in

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 107

time of peace a telegram will not be received for
the Press without the Major-General's countersig-
nature. The general health of the force is fair, and
the sale of fruit which has now commenced, should be
found to benefit the men. The heat at midday is
still very great ; the men have to wear their helmets
within their tents. I don't think that this will benefit
them much. Double fly tents are needed here.

The Embassy entered Cabul on the morning of
24th July, and received a brilliant reception.
The Arnir's demeanour was most friendly and
the British resident and his escort took up their
residence in the Bala Hissar, the citadel and the
residence of the Amirs. There has been consider-
able discussion regarding the wisdom or unwisdom
of sending a British Resident to Cabul, and it may
not be unappropriate to state that Sir Louis Cavagnari
was the third British envoy to Cabul. Before des-
cribing these missions, it may be stated that our duty
to our Envoys renders it incumbent upon us to take
as many precautions as possible to keep them out of
unnecessary danger, and for that reason alone the
condition of Cabul must undergo a very considerable
change, before it would be prudent for us to risk the
life of another Envoy among its fanatical people.
It is this consideration which gives a practical value
to the suggestion made in the columns of the Times
that the capital of the State should be transferred

108 LIFE OF

back to the old Durani city of Candahar. Not only
are the Oandaharis much less turbulent and with
fewer antipathies towards foreigners than the Cabulese,
but they have lately given unquestionable demons-
tration of their friendly feeling towards England.
The welcome which the troops returning from Pishin,
received the other day proves conclusively that the
sentiment of the Candaharis is a friendly one. This
has more or less always been the case. The resi-
dence of the Lumsden Mission at this town during
the worst portion of the Indian Mutiny will be
remembered, and it may be asserted with some con-
fidence that, had it been stationed at Cabul, its fate,
despite Dost Mahomed's firmness, would have been
the same as that of Burnes and Cavagnari. The
question of principle is, that a British Envoy should
reside at the Court of the Amir ; it is a matter of
detail that must be decided by local causes where
that Court shall be.

The first British Mission to Cabul was that of
Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone in 1808 ; but as it
only proceeded to Peshawur, we can but simply refer
to it. The journey of Mr. Forster to the Court of
Timur Shah in 1783, had given Englishmen a clearer
knowledge of the Durani Monarchy, and when it
appeared probable that the influence of France was
obtaining the upper hand in the Councils of Teheran,
it suggested itself to Lord Minto that it would be

--a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 109

well to repair the check received in Persia by a great
success at Cabul. Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone
was, accordingly, despatched to Cabul to negotiate
a treaty with the King against France and Persia.
That the British Government " would not hesitate
to adopt any plan of hostillity against Persia conso-
nant to the views of the King of Cabul" formed the
chief part of Mr. Elphinstone's instructions. These
were, however, altered in consequence of the pro-
gress of events in Europe and the failure of the
French schemes in Persia. The reception given to
our representative at Peshawur, then in the hands
of the Afghans, was magnificent. The King's
" hospitality was profuse." Shuja-ul-Mulk, who, for
a brief space, had established his authority, was most
gracious. The least fanciful of his expressions was
that " the Creator had designed England and Cabul
to be united by bonds of everlasting friendship."
On the other hand, it is necessary to remember that
much of this friendship was due to the fact that this
Embassy was conducted on a grand scale. The pre-
sents it brought were most costly. The expense was
characterized by Lord Minto some time afterwards
in an official minute as "enormous." But it had
come at an unfortunate moment. Afghanistan was
on the eve of a civil war which was to cost Shuja
his crown ; and the best advice the Shah could
give Mr. Elphinstone, after the signature of a

--ff

110 LIFE OF

treaty of friendship, was to leave Peshawur without
delay.

We have to pass on for nearly 30 years before we
come to the second British Mission to the Afghan
Court, and the first to reach the city of Cabul.
This time, instead of being a move of high politics,
it was ostensibly one produced by trade considera-
tions alone. Its very title proclaimed its character.
It was the Commercial Mission to Cabul. Towards
the close of the year 1835, Lord Auckland became
Governor-General of India, and in the spring of the
following year he received a letter of congratulation
from Dost Mahomed, at that time the predominant
chief in Cabul, Jellalabad, and Ghuzni. The Dost
was hard pressed by the Sikhs in one quarter, and
the rivalry of the members of his house was a cons-
tant source of trouble to him. Moreover, there hung
over him the great cloud of the pretensions of the
Sudosyes, the pensioners of Ludiana. He was eager
to participate in the security afforded by British
protection. He asked Lord Auckland for suggestions
as to the settlement of his affairs, and, in truly
Oriental language, told him to consider him and his
country "as your own." The result of that letter
was that the Governor-General resolved to " depute
some gentlemen" to Cabul to discuss commercial and
other kindred questions. There was a darker cloud
on the horizon beyond the border-lands of India, and

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. Ill

the rumours of Russian intrigues at Teheran and Rus-
sian activity against the Khirgiz beyond the steppe had
served to give additional interest, and importance to a
scheme, that had suggested itself some years before to
Lord William Bentinck and Sir John Malcolm, and
which had given rise to the second Mission into Afgha-
nistan. The gentleman Lord Auckland selected for
the delicate mission was Alexander Burnes, who, by
his proficiency in Native languages and his skill as
a draftsman, had distanced all his contemporaries in
the service. In 1830, when he was 25 years of age,
he had visited in an official capacity Runjit Singh at
Lahore, and had seen Shuja-ul-Mulk at Ludiana. It
was this journey that brought Burnes under the
immediate notice of Lord William Bentinck, who
saw in this traveller full of enthusiasm and eager
to explore the countries of Central Asia, the very
man for " opening up fresh fields of geographical
and commercial inquiry." In December 183 1, Burnes
left British territory, ostensibly as a private traveller,
but with special passports from the Government.
Travelling with three companions through the Punjab,
he entered Afghanistan by the Khyber, and met with
a most flattering reception at the hands of Dost
Mahomed. He arrived at Cabul on the 1st of May
1832,* and remained there until the 18th of the
month, when he resumed his journey, and travelling
over the Hindu Kush, reached Bokhara, where he

112 LIFE OF

resided two months. Returning by way of the Kara
Kum desert and Meshed to Bushire, he was back in
India early in 1833, having accomplished what was
certainly the most remarkable journey that had at
that time been achieved by an Englishman. During
his residence at Cabul he had ingratiated himself
with Dost Mahomed and many of his principal
Sirdars, and was made the most welcome of guests.
He had succeeded, because he had acted with the
most remarkable tact, and the same quality which
carried him safely through the dangers of fanatical
Cabul helped him among the still more fanatical
people of Bokhara.

No man then appeared to Lord Auckland to be
better fitted for the task he had in hand than Burnes,
who was spoken of as " the friend of Dost Mahomed."
A mission of amity to Cabul would have an aspect
of sincerity, if it were intrusted to that ruler's old
guest. While performing a delicate task at the
Court of the Amirs of Sind, Burnes received orders,
therefore, to hold himself in readiness to undertake
the charge of the Embassy to Afghanistan. On the
26th November 1836, he set out on his second
mission to Cabul. Travelling through Sind and
Bhawulpore, he, with four companions, reached
Peshwur shortly after the battle of Jumrud between
the Sikhs and the Afghans ; and pushing on from
that place they traversed the Khyber without accident,

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 113

although the deputation of the pass tribes to conduct
them had not arrived. On the 20th of September
1837, they entered Cabul. They were received
a with great pomp and splendour." Akbar Khan
came out in person at the head of a fine body of
Afghan cavalry, and Burnes entered the capital
seated on an elephant beside the heir to the throne.
Special quarters were provided within the Bala
Hissar, and the Mission lived as " the guests of the
King." On the following day, Dost Mahomed re-
ceived Burnes in state, and expressed to him ; " his
high sense of the great honor conferred upon him/'
but the real interview was held on the 4th of the
following month, when other schemes than the ex-
tension of trade by an improvement in the naviga-
tion of the Indus were discussed. Dost Mahomed's
great grievance was the loss of Peshawur. For the
recovery of that he would do anything. Burnes
could hold out very small hope that Runjit Singh
would relax his hold on that possession. The month
of October was passed in repeated negotiations on
this and similar topics, and while the Candahar
Sirdars were gravitating more and more towards the
Shah and his Russian advisers, the Cabul ruler's
alliance with the English was becoming firmer and
more patent in the eyes of the neighbouring peoples.
The problem became more invovled with the arrival
of the Russian Envoy, Vickovitch, who reached

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114 LIFE OP

Cabul in December. At that conjuncture Cabul had as
its guests at the same moment, for the first and per-
haps the last time an ambassador from Calcutta and
another from St. Petersburg. For two months
Vickovitch received but cool treatment ; but then, it
having become known that the English Government
would not concern itself in the question of Peshawur,
a change occurred, and the Russian officer was placed
on a better footing Numerous other abortive "inter-
views were held, and at last Burnes took his depar-
ture from Cabul on the 26th of April, seven months
after his entry into the city. So far as the objects of
the Mission went,it had been a failure. Neither com-
merce nor policy was benefited by Burnes' long resi-
dence at Cabul,and when he set out, on his return jour-
ney ,he left Vickovitch apparently master of the field.
History shows us, therefore, that there have been
three English Missions to Afghanistan, two of which
have resided at Cabul. They were successful in that
respect which persons would now assume it was im-
possible for them to be. They returned in safety.
Several English travellers, both before and about the
same time, performed the same feat without any un-
pleasant consequences, and, on the principle that
what has been should occur again, it may be asserted
that there is nothing insuperable in the way of de-
puting resident British officers even to Cabul. Tact
and judgment on the part of the Envoy would avoid

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 115

petty annoyances, and it cannot be doubted that our
measures on the present occasion will have the effect
of impressing upon the Afghans that the murder of
British Envoys is too dangerous an amusement to be
indulged in.

The TIMES OF INDIA'S correspondent writing from
Ali Kheyl on the 31st August, thus describes the
state of affairs during this month : — I find that the
disturbed state of affairs in Cabul noted in my last
letter, has not improved. According to the latest
accounts they are even more formidable than was
supposed. In Badakshan Yakub's authority is set
at naught. In Herat, it is almost nominal. Some
Herati regiments that had come to Cabul, suffered
from a severe attack of cholera of a very malignant
type. A great number died. Of the remainder, the
principal part bolted for their homes, and the few
who did not desert, received permission from the
Amir to visit their homes. This is an unfortunate
occurrence, as every effort was being made to get
together as large a force as possible, so as to overawe
resistance when the Amir goes to pay his recalcitrant
subjects in the north a visit. New regiments are
being raised for the Amir's service ; but time is now
pressing, and if Yakub means to do anything this
year, it is time he were moving. The winter season
sets in early, and might very seriously interfere with
his operations.

116 LIFE OF

On the Khyber route, there has been considerable
disturbance, several caravans have been plundered,
and Ayoub Khan appears quite unable to maintain
order. On the Shutar Gurdan Road, nearly all the
fruit-traders, who have passed, have been, more or
less looted. Not satisfied with robbing them of any
valuables, a considerable portion of their fruit was
seized ( levying duty in kind.) Padisha Khan could
make the road perfectly safe by a mere expression
of his will, but he is playing a waiting game. By
no overt act will he offend the Amir, but assist him
he will ; not, till he receives a quid pro quo.

Religious fanaticism, which has always played
such an important part in the politics of Afghanis-
tan, is being excited to the highest pitch by the
preaching of the Mullahs, and Yakub must use some
means to win them to his side, or he may find him-
self deserted by his troops upon the first emergency.
Loyalty to the Amir does not exist in Afghan-
istan. The power of the Amirs and obedience
to their rule has been established, and must be
maintained by force. Any clannish feeling of the
Afghan is merged in his more immediate chief. The
chiefs are so inflated with pride that they would
acknowledge no superior, had they the power to
maintain their independence. The English are more
disliked and dreaded than the Russians, or any other
"infidel." It was to appease this feeling that Yakub

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 117

begged so hard for an immediate withdrawal of the
troops on the Khyber side. Our complacency has
cost us the lives of hundreds of brave soldiers. This
feeling of aversion towards us and the blind bigotry
of religious intolerance are being used by Yakub's
enemies as levers to upset his rule. The chiefs with-
in his reach have many of them assumed a passive
attitude, which is more embarrassing than actual
resistance. But the conflict cannot be long deferred
which will decide the establishment, or destruction
of the present ruling power. Indirect help we will
afford Yakub as far as we can. Should we eventu-
ally have to assist him with men, the assumption of
the actual rule of the country will be forced upon us.
Foreseeing this, we are now endeavouring to with-
draw all our troops from the territories of the Amir.
The course that events will take during next winter,
will be a guide as to what may be expected from
Yakub's reign. Already attempts are being made
to shake his determination to adhere the English
alliance. He is unable to fulfil the conditions for
the protection of traders ; but a Ghilzai merchant
can travel through any part of Afghanistan. One
of the tribe, who came from Cabul the other day,
was unmolested on the way ; and, when asked, if he
did not fear being robbed, or murdered, said, " Oh
no, if I were killed, four men would be killed for
me." This fact is so well understood by the other

118 LIFE OP

tribes, that they allow the Ghilzais to travel unmo-
lested. An injury to one of them would be resented
by whole tribe. Robbery of them is, therefore, too
dangerous a business for most tribes to indulge in.
The man I speak of, had, in addition to some coun-
try manufactured cloth, &c., a large bag of Cabul
rupees with which he did a good trade by exchang-
ing them for English ones. The Cabul rupee is
roughly manufactured. It is made of very pure
silver, and is equal in value to about fourteen annas
of our money. Would that we took a lesson from
the Ghilzais, and taught the tribes that molestation
of any one under our protection would entail on
them far more terrible consequences than they would
expect to suffer from injuring a Ghilzai. We reward
the tribes that plunder us, and murder our followers
and soldiers. The lungi and a lecture are adminis-
tered, and they are dismissed with a request not to
do it again. I do hope that a rumour which has
reached here, and, apparently, has some foundation
in fact, is not true. It is that the Zaimukhts have
been squared by a money payment. If it be a fact,
we shall undoubtedly receive compound interest in
lead.

On our main line of communications, murders and
robberies have been sufficiently numerous. The
Duffedar at the Kotal must have met with a pretty
painless death. The wound which nearly severed

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 119

the head from the body must have been the first re-
ceived, as though there were several other wounds
on the body, the ground did not show any traces of
a struggle. There is a mystery about this murder,
which has yet to be explained. Then, there was the
murderous affray on the road to Chinack, ending in
the death of two of our men, and the wounding of
two so severely that they are not expected to recover.
Of the enemy, one killed (body bagged), and some
wounded, but uncaptured was the result. The 67th,
you will remember, had been moved to a new camp-
ing-ground, owing to an attack of typhoid, from which
they were suffering. There were several small camps
established. This .breaking up of them into small
parties, together with the very broken nature of the
ground, on which they were encamped, favored the
operations of thieves. Four mules were stolen, and
have not been recovered ; a lot of cloth, ditto ditto.
Next a fine mare, the property of Major Cardew, was
stolen. The loss was known almost immediately the
theft had taken place, and pursuit was made by several
parties of men ; but as it was night-time, without
success. A sergeant returning at daybreak came on
the tracks of the animal, and after tracing them very
cleverly for over three miles, ran her to earth in a
village. The Mullick of the village and the Pathan
orderly did not want him to enter ; but the sergeant
would not be denied ; and, after a search, found the

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120 LIFE OP

animal in the country-yard of one of the houses.
He returned to camp with the mare, and the two
Mullicks of tho village as prisoners. Three camels
have been stolen from the 92nd, and a detachment
of the 72nd had some of their cooking things stolen.
Captain Connolly, our political, appears to under-
stand these people. He has a number of them now
in prison, and he succeeded in recovering the value ot
some of the things stolen. I expect that he will not
be allowed to inflict any severe punishment, and for
mere fines they do not appear to care much.

The telegrams sent by Cavagnari to the Viceroy,
by him to the English ministers in London, give no
hint of the dangers which ultimately overwhelmed
the British Envoy this gallant companions. Here
are the closing telegrams : —

30th July, 1879.—" Cavagnari telegraphs :— < Cabul, 27th July.
— All well, Had interview with Amir and delivered presents.' "

6th August, 1879.— "All continues well at Cabul, Envoy and
Staff rode through city bazar on 30th July. People orderly.
Officers of Embassy more freely about city environs. Amir very
friendly, and shows every disposition to act up to treaty. Has
sent horses and specimens of country produce to Embassy."

13th August, 1879.—" Reports from Cabul state that turbu-
lence of some regiments recently arrived from Herat had caused
some excitement ; now subsiding."

21st August, 1879.—" Cabul reports all well."
28th August, 1879.— "All well with Cabul Embassy."
3rd September, 1879. — " All well in the Cabul Embassy,
outbreak of cholera reported."

..[ji

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B ,c.s.i. 121

Dr. Kelley bad opened a dispensary and daily
treated patients who came to it. It is quite apparent
now, that Cavagnari and the gallant Lieutenant
Hamilton, as well as Dr. Kelley realised the danger of
their position; and met their oath like true men.
On the morning of Sunday the 7th September all
England and India were startled, and moved pro-
foundly by the following telegrams : —

FROM THE PRESS COMMISSIONER.

AN OUTBREAK AT CABUL— THE BRITISH RESIDENCY
ATTACKED— BRITISH TROOPS ORDERED TO ADVANCE
ON CABUL.

SIMLA, 6TH SEPTEMBER 1879*

Late at night, on 4th September, a Ghilzai messenger reached
Alikheyl, having come at full speed from Cabul, and reported to
Captain Conolly, the Political Officer at Alikheyl, that the British
Residency at Cabul had been attacked by several Afghan Regi-
ments, who had mutinied for their pay. He said that the Em-
bassy and Escort were defending themselves. The intelligence
reached the Government at Simla, early on the morning of 5th
September, when orders were at once issued to General Massey at
Alikheyl, for an immediate movement upon Shutur Gurdan, while
General Roberts was instructed to start for Peshawur, to take
command of troops for immediate advance on Cabul. General
Stewart was ordered by telegram to hold Candahar. All troops
on that line, now under orders for return to India, have been
directed to concentrate again on Candahar. The British forces
in the Khyber to prepare for operations, by Jellalabad when re.
inforced. On the night of the 5th, Captain Conolly telegraphed
the substance of letters received at Alikheyl, from the Amir him-
self. These letters state that certain Afghan Regiments, which

122 LIFE OP

had already shown strong symptoms of mutiny against the Amir,
had been assembled in the Bala Hissar to receive arrears of pay
which they had demanded. They suddenly broke out into violent
mutiny and stoned their officers. They next made an attack on
the British Residency which is inside the Bala Hissar ; but were
received by a heavy and effective fire from the British Escort.
The city mob then poured into the Bala Hisssar, plundered and
destroyed the Amir's Arsenal, Magazine and stores and joined the
mutiniers, in attacking the Residency in overwhelming numbers.
The Amir was taken entirely by surprise ; but appears to have
used every endeavour to control the tumult. He sent to the
Envoy's assistance General Daud Shah, who, on approaching the
Residency, was attacked and unhorsed ; and is said by the Amir to
be dying of his injuries. The Amir next sent his son and the
Governor-General of Cabal, and also some influential personages
of the Town; but the mob was completely beyond control. The
attack and defence appear to have continued all Wednesday until
evening, when the Residency took fire. On Thursday morning
the Amir, writing in a tone of the greatest distress and anxiety,
said that he was himself beseiged, and had no certain news of the
fate of the British Officers of the Mission, nor is it yet known
what has become of them. General Roberts leaves Simla this
afternoon to assume command of the force, which will be imme-
diately directed on Cabul, and which will be speedily reinforced
and supported.

The following is from the Pioneer : — -A sudden
and most lamentable misfortune has again befallen
the English nation. On Wednesday last, our Resi-
dency in the Bala Hissar of Cabul was attacked by
Afghan Mutineers ; and messengers from the Amir
Yakub, himself besieged in his place hard by, have
come in haste to the English outposts to say that,

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 123

having tried in vain to send help to our officers, he
knows nothing for certain of their fate. But there
is little room for uncertainty. The dwelling given
over to the Embassy, was a large building on the
south-east wall of the Bala Hissar, enclosing a spa-
cious courtyard on two sides of which were the
houses our officers lived in — one of two stories, the
other of four. Here were the four Englishmen, Sir
Louis Cavagnari, Mr. William Jenkyns, Lieute-
nant W. P. Hamilton, V. C., and Surgeon A. H.
Kelley, with their little escort of 50 infantry and
25th cavalry of the Guides. On the morning of
Wednesday last, several Herati regiments of the
Amir's army, in which signs of disaffection had, for
some little while past, been visible, broke out into a
sudden mutiny, stoned their officers, and attacked
both the English in the Residency, it would seem,
and the Amir in his palace. The infuriated soldiery
were soon joined by a mob, swarming out from
every street and bye way in the city. The regular
population of Cabul, it should be noted, numbers
very few Afghans. Nearly half the people are Persian
Kizzil Bash ; there is also a large Usbeg section : and
allowing for Jews, Armenians, Hindus, &c., there
would remain but few Afghans proper in the city,
apart from the regiments quartered there. But the
mixed mob was animated, no doubt, by the same
cruel thirst for blood. The Rainzan, the Mahome-

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124 LIFE OF

dan fast, had begun on the 20th of August, and re-
ligious hatred may have added to the general fury
and excitement. The mutineers and rioters burst
into the Amir's arsenal ; they surged round the
walls of the Residency. Our men, as we might
know, even without the assurance given in the tele-
gram, fought bravely. Less than a hundred fight-
ing men, they kept up a heavy fire all day. The
Amir tried to send help : he sent Daud Shah, his
Commander-in- Chief, who was driven back wound-
ed, and barely escaped with his life. Yakub then
sent his own son, together with the Governor of
Cabul and other chief men ; but the infuriated mob
ceased not from the attack till Wednesday evening,
when they fired the Residency. Writing the next
day " in the greatest distress and anxiety" Yakub
could give no news of the fate of the British oifi-
cers. It is too early to inquire now, why the Amir
never went himself to the help of his friends ; the
sad question to be asked is about the probable fate
of our countrymen. And the answer, as we have
said, seems unfortunately too certain. Their house
was fired, and there is but a very slight chance that
one or two of the party might have escaped in the
confusion, to some refuge in the city. There is no-
thing to show that the attack was organized, or that
the mutineers obeyed any leaders. Their own offi-
cers they had stoned. Otherwise, there might be

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 125

some faint hope that the members of the mission
had been taken prisoners ; though even this would
seem too improbable — as we write, telegrams come
which say unmistakably, that the Embassy has pe~
rished. The accursed knives of the Afghan have
once more done us irreparable harm. Once more
have Englishmen, distinguished for wisdom and
courage, fallen fighting at their posts ; and our only
consolation for this great and national disaster is
that the duty they were engaged in was noble, that
their end was valiant and true. There is no after
thought here, that the livesso valuable to us were
lost in a fight which may have been unjust. The
British Embassy to Cabul was sent on no mission of
intrigue ; its objects were neither to enlarge our
boundaries, nor to spread discontent amongst the
lawful subjects of a neighbouring nation. Its errand
was of peace ; the outcome of a policy conspicuous
alike for the justice of its aims and the success, till
now, of its operations. That this sudden misfor-
tune should dim — for a moment, and indeed, for ever
— the history of those operations, is, of course, in-
evitable ; and it may, perhaps, seem that the Go-
vernment ran too great a risk of an accident. The
escort, even at first, was thought small ; and that
Sir Louis Cavagnari had so few men to defend him
will now be most deeply regretted. But there were
risks of many kinds, which no escort could have re-

126 LIFE OF

moved. Candahar was occupied by an army, yet
Major St. John escaped assassination almost by a
miracle. Again, it was at one time far more likely
that the Embassy would be attacked by cholera than
by rebel Afghans. This is not the time, however,
to wonder, if an escort of two or three hundred men
would have saved our Envoy ; it will be well for us
to look forward. It is vain, also, to call up memo-
ries of an even larger disaster — the massacre of an
English army in Cabul. The attack on the Resi-
dency last week bears no relation to the outbreak of
November 1841. Our misfortunes then, werethe di-
rect result of our own negligence, and of a reckless-
ness in every direction which to-day seems incre-
dible. This time we shall mete out punishment for
an outrage utterly unprovoked, and only imagined
as possible in idle, or morbid fancy. It is retribu-
tion and a vindication of the national honor that we
must think of now ; stimulated by the deepest sor-
row for the fate of Cavagnari and of those who, we
fear, have perished with him. The telegraph shows
how swiftly will this outrage be avenged ; fools
were the Afghans to lay hand on our Envoy when
armies able to avenge were still so near. The orders
have gone forth, and Candahar is as much ours as
Lahore. The place was to be evacuated by to-day,
but the telegram from Candahar and a letter just
received and published elsewhere show how strongly

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 127

it will be re-occupied. Whilst General Stewart
at Candahar keeps Southern Afghanistan quiet, si-
multaneously movements on the capital will be made
from Kurrum and by Jellalabad. There will be no
political reasons for delay this time. General
Roberts should be in Cabul soon enough almost to
rescue the Amir, though whether Yakub can ever
again be Amir of Cabul seems very doubtful. But
the political aspect of affairs will be plainer when
further information is received. There is only one
point that will be suggested to nearly every one.
India has been condemned to spend vast sums on a
long and wearisome war ; to lose many valuable
lives in battle and by disease ; and lastly, the Mis-
sion, representing in itself, the highest qualities of
which Englishmen are capable, is brought to an end
by treachery and bloodshed. To whom do we owe
such constant and at last such grievous trouble ?
There seems no reason, as yet to suspect Russian
intrigue in combination once more with the villainy
of the Afghans ; but this is certain, that, as being
the accident of our Afghan policy, the outrage on
the Embassy may be traced, by no means indirectly,
to the unceasing ambition, and the unscrupulous
dishonor which forced that policy on our rulers —
to the only nation which will be base enough
not to deplore our misfortune. The debt we owe
Russia is growing still larger, but big though it

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128 LIFE OF

is a time will surely come when England will
pay it

The following appeared in the Times : — Our special
correspondent with the force under General Roberts
sends us the following description of the attack
upon the Residency at Cabul, and the events pre-
ceding it, written by a Native who had formerly
served in a high position in the army of India : —

" Some two or three days after the arrival of Sir
L. Cavagnari and the Mission, six regiments of
infantry arrived at Cabul from Herat. They en-
camped for three days at Debori, about one kos
distant from Cabul. On the morning of the fourth
day they marched in order through the streets of
Cabul, headed by their officers and with bands
playing. While marching along they shouted out,
abusing the Envoy by name, asking why he had
come there, &c. They also abused all the Kzil-
Bashis, saying that they were not men and that
they (the Herati soldiers) would show them how
to act ; that they would soon put an end to Cavag-
nari. They then marched out of the city to their
camp at Shirpore. The residents of the city said
nothing to them ; they appeared neither pleased
at what was going forward nor the reverse. I was
present when this took place, and at once took the
news to the Envoy, who said, ' Never fear, keep up
your heart ; dogs that bark don't bite !' I said,

a— —a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B,,C.S.I. 129

c These dogs do bite, and there is real danger/
The Envoy said, ' They can only kill the three or
four of us here, and our deaths will be well
avenged/ I then went to Mr. Jenkyns and told
him what I had heard and seen. He asked me
if I had been to the Envoy, and, if so, what he had
said about it. I told him what had passed, and
Mr. Jenkyns said, ' what the Envoy says is very
true ; the British Government will not suffer from
losing the three or four of us here/ A day or two
after this, these Herat regiments were all paid up
most of their arrears of pay ; and were given
40 days' leave to revisit their homes. At this time
cholera was raging violently. About 150 men out
of their number died in one day; and the men
dispersed to their homes in a fright. Placing* their
arms in the Bala Hissar, they did not even wait
for their leave certificates. Up till date none of
these troops have returned. In my opinion, the
greater part of them will not rejoin, though some
of them may do so. The Commander-in- Chief
(Sipah Salar), Daoud Shah, was present when the
troops marched through the city as above men-
tioned, and was also abused by them. He did not
reply at all. Some of my own countrymen were
serving in these regiments ; on my asking them
what the meaning of all this was, they answered,
' Do you think soldiers would have acted thus

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130 LIFE OP

without orders. We were ordered to act as we did by
our officers, and to shout out as we marched alone."
" I called upon a well-to-do Hindu, whose son is
a servant of Sirdar Ibrahim Khan (the elder brother
of Yakub Khan). He knows the ins and outs, of
what goes on in the house of the great men. He
had been to see the Envoy twice before. I called
him up and sent him to report to the Envoy ; he
went towards the Residency for that purpose ; he
came back to me and told me that the Amir's sentry
would not let him pass, and stoned him. I report-
ed this to the Envoy, who said, ' it is untrue, the
man lies.' The next morning another man endea-
voured to get speech of the Envoy ; this man was
also stopped by the sentry. I don't know who this
man was, but I reported this also to the Envoy and
asked him, l What is the use of being kept like a
prisoner, and no one allowed to come near you V
He answered, < I will have that sentry removed.'
A day or two after this the sentry was removed by
the Envoy's order. Lieutenant Hamilton was sent
to order the sentry's removal, which was according-
ly done. I heard that the Amir was very angry at
the removal of this sentry. A day or two after
this the Envoy asked me whether I knew what the
Amir's intention was — to travel with him to the
frontier as he had engaged to do at Gundamuk, or
whether he intended not to go.

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 181

" I have omitted to mention one thing. Before
the arrival of the six regiments from Herat, men-
tioned above, the Envoy, agreeably to a suggestion
of mine, wished to pay Wulli Mahomed Khan a
visit, to condole with him on the death of his
mother. The Envoy said that he wished first of all
to ask permission from the Amir before going, He
did so, and the Amir answered, * Go/ The Envoy
then told me what he had done, and said that he in-
tended to visit Wulli Mahomed Khan the next day,
ordering me to go and prepare Wulli Mahomed
Khan for the visit. I went to Wulli Mahomed
Khan's house and told him this, and the Sirdar
made every preparation to receive him. The next
day, however, the Envoy told me that he had asked
Ghyas the Mehmandar whether the Amir would real-
ly like his paying this visit, and that Ghyas had an-
swered, i No, the Ameer will not like you geing/ I
then said, * I warned the Sirdar that you were com-
ing ; and every one expected that you would have
paid this visit, and all the Sirdars, hearing that you
have put it off, have begun to tremble in their hearts ;
saying u We wonder what our fate will be if the
Sahib is afraid of going, or is unable to go and visit
our chief Sirdar." ' When the Envoy asked me
about the Amir's intentions, as to his proposed
journey with him round his frontier, I replied, * He
will not go ; he has made no preparations for it at

132 LIFE OF

all ; if you wish to make further inquiries call the
Mustaufi Hubibulla Khan.' The Envoy ordered me
to call him. I went to the Mustafi, who said, * I am
not well to-day ; I will go to-morrow. Give the
Sahib my salaam.' I went to the Mustaufi the
next day at 10 A.M. to call him, as he had promis-
ed to be with the Envoy at 8 A. M. The Mus-
taufi went to the Amir and stated that the Envoy
had called him. The Amir gave him permis-
sion to go, but said, ' Don't go alone ; take Shah
Mahomed, $ie Vazir, with you.1 They both ac-
companied me to the presence of the Envoy,
who made the three of us sit down, and entered
into conversation. He then said to them that he
had heard that the Amir was not treating well the
Sirdars, who had accompanied him (the Envoy) ;
that he had stopped giving them the income they
were entitled to, and which the Amir's father had
given them regularly ; that they had nothing to
live upon, and would suffer in consequence ; that
the British Government would not let them be the
losers, and would pay their allowances, if the Amir
refused to do so ; and that the Amir would not be
pleased at this. The Mustaufi said he was unaware
that this was the case ; that he would mention it
to the Amir : and say that if this was the case it was
not proper. The Envoy then asked the Mustaufi
whether it was the Amir's intention to travel with

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 133 .

him, as promised, or not. Both the Mustaufi and
the Vazir said, 4 He cannot go this year, because
the country is unsettled ; but he will go next year/
The Envoy said, * Very well/ He then asked
them, whether the Amir intended to go to meet the
Viceroy in India. The Mustaufi said, * Yes, he
will go about December/ The Envoy said to them
* Ask the Amir again about this.' They said, 4 We
will ask him/ They Envoy then dismissed them
and asked me my opinion as to whether the Amir
intended to go to India or not. I answered, ' No,
he has thrown up the idea of going on this tour
with you, and he does not intend going to the
Durbar/ I heard shortly afterwards from a friend
of mine that he heard from a friend of his, who was
present at the time, that on the Mustaufi and Shah
Mahomed leaving the Envoy, they went straight to
the Amir and mentioned what had taken place at
the interview. The Amir was very angry. The
Mustaufi said, ' Why are you angry ? If you do not
give these men anything, and the British Govern-
ment gives nothing to them either, they will suffer
from actual want/ * The Amir then asked Daoud
Shah what he thought of it. Daoud Shah answer-
ed, ' I am a soldier ; I don't understand this sort of
thing. I think that the promise with the British
at Gundamuck ought to be carried out/ The Amir
answered, ' This country is Afghanistan ; we cannot

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134 LIFE OF

get on here without practising deceit/ On this the
Naib Lall Mahomed (Farasbanni) said, ' If this is
true, what you say, that Afghanistan cannot be
managed without practising deceits, then we may
look upon Afghanistan as on the way to ruin ; it
will go out of our hands/ The Amir made no reply.
On hearing all, I reported it to Cavagnari, who
said ' The Amir can do as he likes/ (This took
place some eight or ten days before the 3rd of
September.)

u About three days after this, the Envoy said, ' I
will go and call on the Amir to-morrow/ When I
went to the Amir's Durbar the next day I saw the
Envoy sitting alone with the Amir. When he re-
turned to the Residency, I came and spoke to him.
He told me that he had a private interview with the
Amir, that lasted two hours ; that the expression of
the Amir's face was a pleased one ; that it was the
same expression that he had seen him wearing at
Gundamuck. On the 2nd Septemper, the Envoy
told me that he had asked Shah Mahomed to secure
a house for Nawab Gholam Hassan Khan, somewhere
in the Bala Hissar, but away from the Residency,
This Shah Mahomed had refused to do. The Envoy
asked me to look out for one for him either in the
City or Kzilbash quarter, or some other place than
the Residency ground. I had selected one, and was
coming towards the Residency the next morning at

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 135

7 o'clock to report having done so. On arriving at
the gate of the Bala Hissar, I heard a report that
Daoud Shah had been killed by some men of a regi-
ment. I went on and saw three regiments, and a
few bazaar people going towards the Envoy's quar-
ters. I followed them with two of my own retain-
ers. Some of the men of one of the regiments re-
cognized me, and said, ' Kill him ; he is Cavag-
nari's father. They were unarmed as a rule ; some
of them had side arms. Two men attacked me
with sticks. One struck me on the shoulder and
another struck my horse, which reared and turned
round. I found that I could not get to .the Envoy's,
so I went up a by-street to Sirdar Wulli Mahomed
Khan's house, and leaving my horse in his stable, I
went inside the house, where I found Wulli Maho-
med, who was taking his bath (ha mam). I called
out to him to come out ; he did so, and said, ' What
is the matter T I said, ' Men have gone up to kill
Cavagnari.' He said, ' Don't stay below ; go up-
stairs,' and from there, 200 yards off, through a
window I saw all these people go up to the Envoy's
stables, and begin stoning the syces, and undoing
the horses and plundering. Some went on to where
the sowars' horses were, and began to stone them,
and began to plunder and unfasten the horses. The
sowars armed immediately, and I then heard two or
three shots evidently fired by the sowars. I cannot

136 LIFE OF

tell whether any damage was done by these shots >
but they all retired at once, and some 200 of them
went to the upper part of the Bala Hassar to fetch
their comrades, the rest of the soldiers going out by
the Shah Shahir gate of the Bala Hassar to fetch
their arms from their camp.

" I heard that when the men had gone to fetch
their arms, the Envoy wrote a letter to the Amir
and sent it to him by a Chuprassy. I heard that
this letter reached the Amir, but did not hear
whether he sent any reply or not.

"In about half an hour's time, at about 7-30 or 8
A. M., the soldiers returned with their arms, and a
regular fight began. Firing went on without inter-
mission on both sides. The Afghan soldiers had capi-
tal cover, and surrounded the Residency on all sides.
The officers of the Afghans directed their men.
They had looted the magazine of the upper Bala
Hissar, and had plenty of ammunition with them.
All the clothing stores, Treasury and other store-
houses are near the Residency. The storehouses were
looted. They attacked the Treasury, but were stop-
ped by the regiment on guard there. This regiment
was I suppose about 500 strong and remained at the
Treasury all the day. The Amir's house is about
250 yards from that of the Envoy. Besides the re-
giment on duty at the Treasury, I suppose there were
some 2,000 followers of the Amir who had come in-

-EP

— s

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 137

to the Bala Hissar early that morning who were all
round the Amir's house. They were all armed.
None of those joined the attacking party, though
some of them did so at about 2 P. M. I hear that
the Amir several times said, " Some of you
go to the Envoy's assistance," but whenever any
did go towards where the fighting was going on
they only shouted out 'kill, kill.' This is only
hearsay.

" At about 9 A. M., when the fighting was going
on, I myself saw the four European officers of the
Embassy charge out at the head of some 25 of the
garrison. They drove away a party that were hold-
ing some broken ground. When charged, the Afghan
soldiers ran like sheep before a wolf. About a quar-
ter of an hour after this, another sally was made by
a party with three officers at their head (Cavagnari
was not with them this time) with the same result.
A third sally was made with two British officers
(Jenkyns and Hamilton) leading. A fourth sally was
made with a Sikh Jamader leading. No more sal-
lies were made after this. They all appeared to go
up to the upper part of the house, and fired from
above. At about half-past 11 o'clock, part of the
building, in which the Embassy was, I noticed to be
on fire. I do not know who fired it. I think it pro-
bable that the defenders, finding themselves so few,
fired part so as to have a less space to defend. The

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138 LIFE OF

firing went on continually all day. Perhaps it was
hottest from 10 A. M. to 3 P. M., after which time
it slackened ; and the last shots were fired ahout
8-30 or 9 A. M., after which, all was quiet and every
one dispersed. The next morning I heard shots be-
ing fired. I asked an old woman, to whose house I
had been sent for safety by Sirdar Wulli Mahomed
Khan, what was going on. She sent her son to find
out. He said. They are shooting the people found
still alive in the Residency. The whole of the day
the dead bodies, stripped, remained in the Resi-
dency. On the next day, I heard that the bodies of
all Mahomedans, Hindus, and the two British officers,
Hamilton and Dr. Kelly, were all thrown together
into a place dug for the purpose. I heard that the
body of Mr. Jenkyns was taken to the Amir. I
know nothing more about it. Cavagnari's body was
not found. I am of the opinion that it must have
been burnt in the house. I heard that, on the 4th,
the soldiers found some money in the Residency.
On hearing this, the Amir posted sentries over the
house ; and on the 5th caused the bodies to be buried;
and from other money he found there, he paid each
Sepoy of the regiment, that had guarded the Trea-
sury, a present of seven rupees each man. I asked
Wulli Mahomed Khan to send me to some safe
place. He gave me three ponies. I dressed as a
grass-cutter, and with one grasscutter riding one pony

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 139

in front, and the second behind me, with the other
pony, we got safely to Aoshaho, where I remained in
hiding about nine days, when, hearing that the Bri-
tish Force was at the Shutar Gurdan, I travelled by
night and reached that place in safety and reported
myself to the Brigadier- General commanding there.
On about the 13th or 14th of September, the man
in whose house I was concealed came to his house,
and stated the ftx lowing facts. He said: — 'The
Amir called up the Sirdars of every clan — the Ghil-
zais, Khostanie, Cabulis, Kizlbashis, Taj is, <fec., — and
asked them whether they intended to join in a
"ghaza" (religious war) to fight the British, and if so,
he requested that he would send their families to
Kohistan and the Ghilzais' country or some other
place of the way. They answered, "We are not go-
being to send away our families. Let the Ghilzais
bring their families to Cabul, and we will then fight. "
The Amir at this reply was very angry, and abused
Tainullabudin, the man who had collected all the
Sirdars together, and had said that they would agree
to fight. Abdul Karim Khan Safi, the most power-
ful man ia Kohistau and a friend of the late Envoy's,
was cut into small pieces by order of the Amir
about ten days ago, the Amir fearing that he
would, probably, seize him (the Amir) and make
him over to the British, in case he wished to fly to
Balkh or Kohistan."

140 LIFE OF

Further details regarding the massacre are thus
summarized by the 'Pioneer : — The following account
of the circumstances under which the Cabul massacre
took place, is forwarded to us by a correspondent in
the Kurrum, who has collected its details from such
evidence as he has been able to procure. The story
differs in various ways from that previously told.
The final conclusions on the subject will have to be
formed by piecing together and comparing the vari-
ous narratives : —

"On the morning of Wednesday, the 3rd instant,
some of the Amir's troops were paraded — without
arms, as is usual on such occasions — to receive their
pay. They demanded two months arrears, but were
only offered one, whereupon they refused to receive
it, and said they would go and appeal to the English
Elchi (Ambassador) for justice. A number of them
crowded into the courtyard of Sir Louis Cavagnari's
residence in the Bala Hissar, clamouring for his
assistance in having their grievances redressed. He
became angry at their thus invading him, said the
the matter was not one in which he could interfere,
and ordered his escort to turn the intruders out of
his courtyard. On this being done, the rioters rush-
ed for their arms, came back, and opened fire on the
premises occupied by the Embassy. Sir Louis Ca-
vagnari, his officers and escort, went to the upper
part of the house, and returned the fire from the

a— a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 141

windows, killing and wounding a great many of the
assailants. At last it occurred to the latter, whose
numbers by this time had been swelled by portions
of twelve regiments and by a great number of bud-
mashes from the city, to set fire to the doors and
wooden verandah at one side of the house occupied
by the Embassy. This they did at about 1 P. M.,
at which time the ammunition of the inmates
is believed to have been almost, if not quite, exhaust-
ed. Under cover of the smoke the assailants rush-
ed upstairs, and entering the room where Sir Louis
Cavagnari was, they spilt his head open with a blow.
He fell back against the wall, and just about the
same time the burning roof fell in, and his body
must have been immersed in the flames. It is said
that Lieutenant Hamilton and Mr. Jenkyns had pre-
viously been either killed, or badly wounded ; and
that their bodies were also buried in the burning
ruins. Dr. Kelly is believed to have been wounded,
and to have survived till the following morning
when some of the murderers returned and cut him
to pieces, cutting and hacking at the same time the
bodies of any of the Embassy escort they could
find, and in some of which life was not then
extinct. The defence was of the most stubborn and
heroic character, and the numbers slain by Sir
Louis Cavagnari and his gallant followers (British
and Native) are estimated, by some, at over

142 LIFE OP

four hundred, and by others at less than three
hundred."

The following statement of Rassul, Sepoy 7th
Company Corps of Guides, of Mainsai, Yusafzai, was
taken at Lundi Kotal on the 16th September 1879 : —

" About 14th days before the attack on the Resi-
dency, four sowars of the Guides were attacked in
the Cabal bazaar, but escaped. On the 14th day
after this, in the early morning, some regiments — I
don't know how many — were drawn up below the
Bala Hissar, but inside the walls, to receive their pay.
I do not know the names of the regiments ; but they
were unarmed. They suddenly broke into open mutiny
with cries of, 'kill the Kaffirs.' I was then in the
Residency in a building beside the house in which
the British officers were. The troops came running
up from the north, and entering our enclosure, began
throwing stones at us, and plundered our things
which were in the yard. Mr. Hamilton came up,
and shut the gate leading from the courtyard into
the road. We ascended the roofs of the houses on
each side of the courtyard. The troops attacked us
then with stones only, and were warned. Major
Cavagnari ascended the roof of the Residency, when
a high officer of the Amir, whom I do not know,
came from the parade-ground, and entered the Ar-
senal, which is a good stone's throw to the west of
the Residency buildings. The troops threw the stones

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 143

down out of their hands, and followed the Amir's
officer into the courtyard. We had not fired upon
the troops ; they went back without our firing at
them. In fact, Mr. Hamilton told us not to act on
the offensive, but to keep quiet. The sowars of our
party also came inside the outer courtyard of the
Residency, leaving their horses in their lines, which
were between the Residency and the Arsenal Then
the troops began to fire at us from the Arsenal ; and I
heard, that at the same time, they attacked their
General ; but this I did not see. Four shots were
fired at us from the Arsenal ; and then Major Cavag-
nari, who was on the south-western cornor of the
roof of the Residency, fired, and killed a man stand-
ing at the gate of the Arsenal. We were then on
the roof of the Sikhs' quarters, Mr. Hamilton with
us. After this the firing became general from the
Arsenal. There is a parapet on the roof of the Sikhs'
quarters ; but none on that of the cavalry quarters.
The Afghans stood at, and near, the Arsenal Gate.
The Arsenal stands on higher ground than the Resi-
dency and commands its roof and that of the Sikhs'
quarters, clearing the houses of the cavalry lines.
Major Cavagnari fired four shots lying on his face on
the roof of the Residency, when Mr. Hamilton, who
was with us, said he had been wounded ; but I don't
know where he was^hit. Up to this point, none of us
except Major Cavagnari had fired ; but at this time

144 LIFE OF

we got orders to fire, and did so. Shortly after I and
a few others descended into the courtyard, and
went thence into the Residency courtyard, in order
to prevent a small door leading from it to the east
heing forced. I and four other sepoys — 2 Sikhs and
2 Mahomedans — sat there, when a Cabuli, who was
a servant of the Mission, came up and said, he had
been sent by Major Cavagnari with a letter to the
Amir. We let him out by the little door we were
guarding, Mehtab Sing, Jemadar, giving the order.
The door between the two courtyards was always
open. Then the Afghans broke through the wall
south of the door where we were, and four of them
came into the courtyard though we fired. One of
them was shot. Major Cavagnari was wounded at
about 8 A. M., when we went to the small door. Mr.
Hamilton and Dr. Kelly also came into the Resi-
dency, the roof of which, to the north of the court-
yard, is one storey higher than the roof of the part
to the south. I don't know where Major Cavagnari
was. Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Jenkyns, and Dr. Kelly
were all in the Residency with us after the wall was
broken in. Mr. Jenkyns and six or eight sepoys
went on the roof, and fired from its north-western
corner on the Afghans. The troops then placed
ladders on the roof of a house at the north-eastern
corner of the Residency, and came on to its roof.
This was about noon. Many of us were killed and

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. U5

wounded there. Mehtab Singh, Karak Singh Havil-
dar, a Duffadar, and others were dead. About this
time the Afghans brought up two guns, and planted
them to the north-west of the Residency. They had
also made holes in the thin courtyard wall. When
the Afghans had seized the roof of the Residency, we
went below into the building. Mr. Jenkyns took post
in the rooms at the west corner ; Mr. Hamilton, Dr.
Kelly, myself, and other sepoys also went to the west
of the same building. The Afghans entered after us,
and began to plunder and set fire to the Residency
from below ; then they left the building by the roof
and the ladder. At about 2 P. M., the fire began to
make the house untenable,and we leaped from its roof
on to a narrow wall, and thence on to the roof of the
Sikhs' quarters. But I was the last, and was driven
back by the flames. At that moment, I saw at the
east end of the roof a Cabuli, whom I knew. His
name is Dost Mahomed, and he was among a lot of
men who rushed up to kill me. Seeing me he call-
ed out loudly in Pushtu don't kill him ; he is my
Ustad. He then caught me in his arms, and dragged
me to one side, another Afghan snatching my rifle
from me. Dost Mahomed took me away to his house
in the Bala Hissar. We were all in plain clothes,
not having had time to put on our uniforms. I told
Dost Mahomed to run, and bring me news of what
was happening, and he went at once. His house is

146 LIFE OF

close by. He told me the Afghans had brought up
ten guns close to the gate, of the outer courtyard,
and had blown in the gate and fired the buildings.
They had killed some of our sowars' horses, and
carried off the rest. He said that when the gate
was blown open — at about 3 P. M. — Mr. Hamilton
charged out of the gate at the Afghans, and was
killed in the gateway with Dr. Kelly and Jenkyns,
who also charged out at the head of the sepoys who
remained alive. All were killed. Some others, how-
ever, have escaped. Six sowars were out on grass-
cutting guard : four were killed, and two are said to
have escaped ; so I hear. 1 did not see any corpses
of British officers, nor did I go to see for fear of my
life. Dost Mahomed told me, that next morning they
put all the bodies in one place below the wall of Bala
Hissar. It was a waste plot of ground not far from
the latrines. They dug a trench, and put all the
bodies in it— -British, Sikhs, and Mahomedans —
with a little earth over them. Next day I left
Cabul to go down to Peshawur. About four kos
from Cabul I came to a village, the name of which
I do not know : there were some troops of the
Amir's there. They beat me for being 'a Kaffir/
and were about to cut my throat, saying, ' let us kill
this Cavagnari-ite,' when a soldier whom, I told I
was a Mahomedan, begged me off, and took me away
to the village called Sarasia, when they were again

a- — — a,

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C,S.I. 147

about to kill me, when I fell at the feet of a Miah,
who protected me ; and I spent three days there
with one Shamshudin. I left on the fourth dayy
but was again arrested at a village three kos this
side of Sarasia ; the people beat me, but let me go.
Some officers of the Afghan army heard that I had
escaped, and again I was arrested, and taken back*
But after stripping me, they let me go. After that
I came along by night, and in the hills. I left
Jellalabad on the evening of the 14th. There was
no force in Jellalabad, nor in Dhakka, nor are any
coming, so far as I know, or have heard. Every-
body along the road is afraid ; but they are not pre-
paring for resistance, though I have heard that
some Mullahs are inciting the people to resist. The
regiments were paraded for their pay in the open
ground inside the Bala Hissar when they mutinied.
I have heard that Daud Shah is wounded ; that
Wali Mahomed has fled to Kurrum ; and that the
Amir is in deep distress at what has happened."

The Bala Hissar and the Residency are described
in the following terms by the Times of India. It is
somewhat difficult, from the meagre material at hand,
to from an accurate idea as to the nature of the
building behind which, Sir Louis Cavagnari and
three other English officers, with a handful of Native
troops, defended themselves so gallantly against the
oldiery and populace of Cabul. We know, how-

148 LIFE OF

ever, something about the Bala Hissar in which the
English Residency was situated. The city of Cabul
is triangular in shape, and the south-east angle is
completely filled by the Bala Hissar, the Citadel or
Acropolis, which is built on the slopes of a ridge
150 feet high, having the rest of the city hidden
away behind it, and only connected with the citadel
by a narrow neck of houses. At once the citadel
and the residence of the Amirs, the Bala Hissar is a
little town in itself, with a population of more than
thousand. It is about half a mile long and a quarter
of a mile broad. The walls are of stone, differing
from the city- walls which are only of mud ; they
are strengthened, here and there, by towers, and are
surrounded by a broad stagnant moat. But Shere
Ali, who was building another stronghold in the
midst of his large barracks, allowed the fortifications
of the Bala Hissar to fall out of repair ; and a recent
letter from Cabul says, that the general appearance
of the inside of the Bala Hissar was that of dilapi-
dation and decay. The walls, however, such as they
are, embrace an area large enough to contain the
royal palaces and gardens, and the various public
offices, which, like the narrow entrance from the city,
are supposed to be commanded by the guns in the
fort, on the highest point of the ridge. The Resi-
dency appointed for the reception of the Embassy
was a large building "on the south-east wall of the

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 149

Bala Hissar/' close to the royal palace. The Resi-
dency, according to a correspondent writing to the
Pioneer, enclosed a spacious courtyard, on two sides
of which are, he adds, u the houses in which we live
— one of two stories, the other of four." It was this
building then, a quadrangle round a court-yard, part-
ly two stories high, and partly four stories, that
Sir Louis Cavagnari with the three English officers
of his Embassy, and some sixty-six men of his escort,
defended with a heavy and effective fire all day long
on Wednesday. The Amir must have lost every
vestige of authority, before the troops ventured to
attack his guests under his very eyes. Having once
gained access to the Bala Hissar, under some pre-
tence connected with their pay, they seem to have
at once become the complete masters of the situation.
This sudden and overwhelming success may not be
unconnected with the arrival of six fresh regiments
from Herat, where, as our Military correspondent
has insisted, all along, peace has never been properly
accepted. There was, at all events, no opposition
save from the little body of our troops. The guns
in the fort, which gives its name to the whole en-
closure, never appear to have opened fire ; and the
gates were entered without resistance by the city
mob. Everything that passed within these four
walls were, probably, visible to the Amir ; and few
monarchs, even in the East, ever looked out more

150 LIFE OF

helplessly on a more terrible scene. He could do
little to assist in the gallant defence made by our
Embassy, for he had no troops to send. But if the
telegrams are accurate, he despatched his son to
reason with the mob, but only to be stoned to death ;
he sent General Daud Shah, who was unhorsed and
met a similar fate. Finally, when the Afghan troops
and the Cabul mob could not silence the English fire
otherwise, they burned the Embassy to the ground.
The city, like the citadel, seems to have been in the
hands of the insurgents, for though Cabul is built in
six mokalas or divisions, each one of which is planned
as a separate fortress against the rest, we hear no-
thing of fighting in any one of them. Cabul, it may
be as well to recollect here, contains an average po-
pulation, slightly increased in the summer, of 60,000
souls. The bulk of the population are not of
Afghan descent, the more influential section, some
12,000 in number,being Kuzzilbashes, who are Shiahs
and not Sunis like the Afghans, and are more skilled
in the art of intrigue than in war.

The following are the terms of the Viceroy's tele-
gram to Lady Cavagnari apprising her of the death
of her husband : —

" It is with much unspeakable sorrow that I con-
vey to you the intelligence of the death of your noble
husband, who has perished in heroically defending
the British Embassy at Cabul, against overwhelming

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 151

numbers. Words cannot express the depth of my
sympathy with your bereavement, nor my grief for
the loss of my beloved friend, nor my sense of the
irreparable calamity sustained by this country.
Every English heart in India feels for you."

The following extract from a letter, dated Edin-
burgh, Tuesday, the 9th ultimo, may interest our
readers. It shews how Lady Cavagnari received the
sad news of the massacre of her husband. Her Lady-
ship was paying a visit from Edinburgh to friends
in North Berwick at the time, and not in Ireland,
as has been stated : —

" On arrival of the terrible news from Cabul, spe-
cial interest has been felt therein in this neighbour-
hood, from the circumstance that Lady Cavagnari,
wife of the murdered Envoy, is, at present residing
here. She has, for a short time, been a guest at
u Parson's Green," once the property of the wealthy
family of Mitchell Innes, but now possessed by Mr.
Nicolson of the Palace Brewary. On Friday, Lady
Cavagnari had gone to North Berwick ; and while
there, the news had to be broken to her, that her
husband had fallen a victim to the Afghan people,
in whose possible assent to his residence at Cabul he
had so much faith. The preliminary news, that trou-
ble had broken out, reached the unhappy widow
shortly before the Viceroy's confirmatory telegram
addressed to her came forward. All that the sym-

162 LIFE OF

pathy of a sovereign and a nation can do has
been offered to Lady Cavagnari; but the news has,
nevertheless, come on her with great severity. Yes-
terday, by the Queen's Command, Lord Provost
Boyd, as Lord Lieutenant, called on her ladyship
on her return to Parson's Green, to make inquiries
as to her condition, and offer what sympathy words
might express. But there is reason to believe that
the Queen has not been satisfied with official and vica-
rious expressions, but has herself shown how deeply
she feels for the widowed lady.

"Her Majesty the Queen sent from Balmoral on
Sunday a gracious message to Lady Cavagnari ex-
pressing deep sympathy with her in the terrible be-
reavement she has sustained.

Lady Cavagnari came home from India about 18
months ago. It seems that a Grand Durbar was to
have been held at Cabul in February, and it was the
intention of Lady Cavagnari to leave this country,
and join her husband in time to be present at this
ceremonial."

Mr. W. Palliser writes to the Editor of the Times
from the Army and Navy Club respecting the above
lady as follows : —

I should feel obliged, if you would have the good-
ness to help me in bringing the claims of my friend
and neighbour, Madame Cavagnari before the public.
All Irishmen will join with me in a feeling of pride

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 153

at learning that the gallant Cavagnari was the
son of an Irish lady. She is the daughter of
the late Mr. Hugh Lyons Montgomery, of Launce-
town House, County Down; and her mother was
the daughter of the very Rev. Suart Blacker, Dean
of Raphoe. She married Adoph Cavagnari, a Major
in the French army, and a member of an old Pur-
mese family, who, until his death, was Secretary
and Aide-de-Cainp to Prince Louis Lucien Bona-
parte. It is only a few weeks since, that I met
Madame Cavagnari full of a mother's joy and pride,
on receiving my congratulations upon the honours
bestowed upon her son. It is only a few hours since
I met her at the very same spot, bowed down and
broken-hearted by her terrible bereavement. Her
grief, although unknown beyond the circle of her im-
mediate friends, has not escaped that vigilance, which
ever seeks to soothe the woes of those who mourn
for the death of a distinguished public servant; and
the following gracious allusion to her son in a mes-
sage from Balmoral, has afforded the greatest con-
solation to the widowed mother : — " The Queen com-
mands me to convey the expression of her deep
sympathy with you on the death of your gallant
son." It is remarkable that the very death of Sir
Louis Cavagnari has been the means of affording the
strongest proof of the great value of the public ser-
vices which he has rendered to the State. For the

164= LIFE OP

immediate and unopposed advance in Afghanistan,
converging as it does from three separate points,
demonstrates the great value of the new strategical
frontier which he had obtained for our Indian Em-
pire, and in the consolidation of which he lost his
life. Some years ago, owing to unforeseen circum-
stances, Madame Cavagnari, on the death of her
husband, lost all she possessed.

Her son since then gave her an annuity, but of
this she is now deprived by his death. It is right
that the public should know these facts, in order
that the hands may be strengthened, of those whose
duty it may be to consider the claims of the widow-
ed mother of the man, who has sacrificed his life, in
the performance of the most brilliant and valuable
services to a great and wealthy empire."

It forms no part of the purpose of this brief re-
cord of events, to detail the history of the Third
Afghan War. The insult to British Arms and
British honour has been wiped out ; and the
memory of the devoted men who gave their lives
to duty, and the honour of England will not rea-
dily die. The following may fitly close this brief
sketch.

KOHAT DISTRICT MEMORIAL — To the late Sir Louis CAVAGNARI,
K.C.B., C.S.I., Envoy and Minister, Plenipotentiary to the
Court of His Highness the Amir of Kabul.

At a meeting held at Kohat, on the 17th October, 1879, it

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 155

was resolved that a Committee, composed as below detailed, with
power to add to their numbers, should ascertain and report on
the best form of Public Memorial to be erected, by voluntary
subscriptions from the Nawabs and Chiefs, and others of the
district in the city of Kohat, to the memory of His Excellency
the late Sir Louis Cavagnari, K. c. B., c.s.i , Envoy and
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of His Highness the
Amir of Afghanistan, who had, for eleven years, administered
the District as Deputy Commissioner, and who, with his Personal
and Military Escort, fell on the 3rd September, 1879, in the
gallant, though desperate, defence of the Residency of Kabul,
against overwhelming numbers of mutinous Afghan troops.

President : Major T. C. Plowden, Deputy Commissioner.
Members: Sir Khwaja Muhammad Khan, K. C.B.I, t Nawab
of Teri, Khan Bahadar Bahadar Sher Khan, Nawab of Bangash
(since deceased) ; MuzafFar Khan, Khan of Miranzai ; Gholam
Muhammad Khan, Khan of Shakardara ; Ghulam HaldarKhan,
Kiyani ; Muhammad Amin Khan, of Upper Miranzai, (since
deceased) ; Lala Wera Mai, Shikarpuriya ; Shahzada Sultan
Ibrahim, Saddozai, Extra Assistant Commissioner (since left the
District) ; Sahib Ram Tehsildar, of Kohat ; Sayid Muhammad
Amir, Inspector of Police.

Honorary Secretary : Captain E. B. Nixon, District Super-
intendent of Police.

Major Ross Commanding 1st Sikhs, and at Kohat, together
with the British and Native Officers of his Regiment, were also
present.

The Committee subsequently decided that a clock-tower, to be
erected in the Garden of the Kohat Municipality — a spot central
for the City, Cantonments and District Courts — would be the
form for the Memorial to take ; and a design prepared by Mr.
B. C. Bonsley, Assistant Engineer, Kohat, has been approved.
The estimated cost of the Memorial, including the clock and a

a— —a

J 156 LIFE OF

peal of bells (from J. W. Benson & Co., Ludgate Hill, London,)
will be some £1,200 (Rs. 12,000), towards which the Kohat
Municipality are prepared to assist, on the terms noted in
Minute No. 9 of a Meeting held at Kohat, on the 27th Septem-
ber, 1880, and herein below given :—

" Proposed by the President, that Rs. 5,000 be voted towards
the erection of a Municipal clock tower to be erected in the
Municipal Garden (as per design submitted), in memory of the
late Sir Louis Cavagnari, Envoy at Kabul, who was for many
years Deputy Commissioner of this District, provided the balance
necessary is made up by private subscriptions. — Carried nem. con"

The following is a brief description by Mr. Bensley, Assistant
Engineer, of the proposed Memorial Tower : —

" The building will be erected on a conspicuous site in the
Municipal Garden, facing the Kohat and Thull Road. It will
stand 70 feet in height, exclusive of the platform which will
form its base.

" It is proposed to construct the tower of the very finest
description of brick-work, with dressings, &c., of blue limestone
and white marble. The brick-work in cornices and other
traceries will be coated with fine and durable stucco.

" The dial of the clock will be sufficiently elevated to be
visible from the City and Cantonments. The dial of the clock
is to be four feet in diameter, and to be of opal, so that the
clock may be illuminated at night. The clock will work five
bells ( placed in the open cupola above) which will chime the
quarters and strike the hours, so as to be heard at night for a
mile round. The clock and bells will be obtained from Messrs.
Benson & Co., London. As a finish to the design round the
terraced base will be a space enclosed by iron railings, and laid
out as a garden. The building will cost probably from Rs. 7,000
to Rs. 10,000. The architecture of the building may be termed
a modified Arabesque, i,e., semi-oriental, inasmuch as it is to be

a— -

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 157

built by voluntary contributions, and a large number of the
subscribers will be natives of India and of this district."

The Political services of the late Sir Louis Cavagnari, on the
North-Western Frontier of Punjab in the Kohat and Peshawar
Districts from 1866 78, and latterly in the First Afghan war
of 1878-79, were so numerous and conspicuous, and are so well
known, that an elaborate account of them here is not called for.
His name will to the last be associated, in the history of this
war and of his country, with his heroic defence of the Residency
at Kabul : whilst the people of the Kohat District will ever feel
proud that one, for so many years their Deputy Commissioner,
.was chosen, at so early an age, for the high and important duties
in the discharge of which he gave his life for his Queen and
country.

158 LIFE OF

APPENDIX,

THE BRITISH MISSION TO CABUL.

THE following are extracts from a letter, received by his father
from Dr. Kelly, the medical officer in charge of the British Mis-
sion to Cabul : —

" British Embassy, Cabul, Aug. 16.

" Our quarters in the Bala Hissar, or upper fortress, are rather
picturesque. Tbey are built in true Oriental style, and, although
the best in the whole of Cabul, are not quite up to our ideas of
a house. To guard against earthquakes, which are of frequent
occurrence here, the walls all contain wooden supports, upon
which the roof and floors rest. Between these the walls are built
up with the ordinary sun-dried bricks. The fronts of the rooms
are altogether wooden, something like a shop front. In lieu of
glass, the windows are closed with wooden shutters. The quar-
ters all look into a central courtyard. The backs of the houses
from the outside wall, which, for defence, has no openings or
windows in it.

" We are treated with every consideration by the Amir, who
insists upon our being his guests. We, our servants, horses, and
the men of its escort are all fed at his expense. The people are
however, rather fanatical, not yet quite accustomed to our pre-
sence, so we always go about with a troop of cavalry on our rides*
The people have not shown any hostility or disrespect j but still
there might be a fanatic among them who would, if he could, do
us damage.

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 159

" Some names in Russian are written up in my dressing-room,
probably, the General's, or one of his staff j I mean the fellows
who were here this time last year.

" I have absolutely nothing to do save looking after any little
work there is to be done about our messing arrangements, which
is not much ; but in a short time, I will have a dispensary and
something to amuse me in it.

" Our movements are not at all certain. The Amir wishes
to visit Turkestan and Herat, which are not in a very settled
state. On the other hand, Sir Louis Cavagnari is anxious that
Amir should attend at a big Darbar which it is proposed the
Viceroy should hold in Agra about the middle of January. This
would prevent Yakub Khan going to Turkestan. I do not know
which I would like myself best — a six months' trip to Turkestan
and fishing in the Oxus, or the Durbar.

" The city of Cabul is a miserable place indeed, and surpasses
any I ever saw in dirt. The houses are all jumbled together ; the
best streets only allow two horsemen to ride abreast. The prin-
cipal shops are the fruit-sellers and the leather-workers.

" We always heard a great lot about the Turkestan and Herati
horses. Since our arrival here I have have seen many of them,
but none to compare in any respect to the two Whalers I have.
Hamilton, since our arrival here, brought two horses, but very
quickly get rid of them both. The ponies, or small Galloways,
are the best. Anything above 14> hands runs to legs. They are
all nasty, squealing brutes with heavy shoulders and coarse, short,
thick necks. The Amir gave us all presents of horses, but not
one of them is worth anything.

"The climate of Cabul is delightful. We arrived at the
hottest time of the year, and even then it was not warmer in the
house than you have it often during the dog-days at home. Now
it is getting much pleasanter, and the nights are fresh and nice.
In the winter, there is usually 4ft. or more of snow, and the oold

160 LIFE OP

is described as intense, but of course, dry, and none of the wet
and slop you have.

" I do not expect to get very much variety in the shooting
line. Quail and snipe, with some wild fowl, will be the only things
to be got ; but, then, I am the only one among us who cares
about this sort of sport, so I ought to have a little of it, should
we remain here during a part of the cold weather. Four miles
from this there is a big lake about three miles long by three quar-
ters broad ; along the edges of this, the long bills are sure to
abound, when the time comes for their visits from colder regions.
The Natives say that, by and by, the water will be alive with all
sorts of duck and geese,

" Cavagnari is an awfully good fellow — a nicer could not be
found. Three of us arc Irish, namely, Cavagnari, Hamilton,
and myself, The fourth is a Scotchman. Hamilton got his
V. C., I am glad to say, for the action at Futtehabad, where
Battye was killed, Hamilton is an awfully nice fellow, and only
23 years of age.

" August 25th.

" Something has gone wrong with the post this week for we
are behind with the English mail. You need not trouble your-
self to send me any newspapers, for we have a very good collec-
tion of all the English papers, besides a fair supply of the monthly
magazines.

" Nothing very striking has occurred here lately. We
generally go out for a ride in the mornings, and now are familiar
with all .the surrounding places of interest. This morning we
paid a visit to the Amir. He is always very gracious. This is
the time of the Mahomedan chief fast of the year. Between
sunrise and sunset, they neither eat nor drink ; but old Yakub
gave us tea this morning.

" By all accounts, the Russians will be obliged to cross a very
difficult country before they reach Merv. There is one desert of

tS f

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 161

12 marches, ia which there are only a few springs of saltish
water to be met here and there — nothing for a large body of
men and baggage animals.

" The mails are carried by the ordinary post up to* Alikhel,
where there are British troops ; after that by runners on here.
The latter get good pay ; and to show you there is no difficulty
about it, one tribe on the road, of whom none were employed,
petitioned that through their country the mails ought to be
carried by some of their men ; four of them were accordingly
put on the duty. On the 23rd what appeared to u« a curious
circumstance occurred by which a man was rescued from what
appeared a certain death. According to the Mahomedan law, a
man who kills another, when caught and the case is proved
against him, is made over to the deceased's relatives for them- to
do what they like with him. Some days ago a- soldier of the
Amir's artillery killed a man in a, row. It was a clear case of
homicide. He was caught, and after some investigation was
handed over to the relatives, who determined that he should be
put to death by having his throat eut. The 23rd was fixed for
it to come off; and when they were just in the act of putting
their determination into effect, the man's colonal came forward,
and ransomed him for 1,000 rupees. A similar case again
occurred this morning.

" Cavagnari has just told me, that the Viceroy has settled
upon the end of next February to hold the Durbar. We shall
probably take Yakub Khan down, a month before hand ; and shew
him Bombay, very likely taking him by sea to Madras and
Calcutta, and then up by train to Agra. It would be a very nice
trip ; and I should like it immensely. I only hope we shall be
able to carry it out, for Cabul, at present, is not in a very quiet
state; and it is just possible that Yakub may not like to be
absent from it on such a long journey."

-ff

162 LIFE OP

YAKTJB KHAN'S PALACE AT CABUL.

[FROM THE " PIONEER'S" CABUL CORRESPONDENT.]

THE dismantlement of the Bala Hissar has made such rapid
progress, that within the walls, the houses now are in ruins, all
the beams and wooden supports, as well as every scrap of timber
of every kind, being in course of removal to Sherpore. We are
looking forward to a severe winter ; and, however sung our
quarters may be, in the long ranges of barracks built here by
Shere Ali, there will be much discomfort, not to say sickness,
if firewood runs short. There are no large forests, from which
large supplies can be drawn ; the hill-sides all around being
bare rocks or shingly deposits, on which no vegetation can grow.
Some of the large houses in the Bala Hissar, though now desert-
ed and partially demolished, show signs of luxury and comfort
which speaks highly for the pains taken by rich Sirdars to enjoy
life in their own rude way. The palace in which Yakub Khan
lived was furnished luxuriously, no doubt in his estimation ; thick
Persian carpets, bright colored rugs and durries covering the
floors ; while English-made tables, side-boards, and chairs were
ranged side by side with the usual eastern pillows, cushions, and
rezais, which are the delight of indolent loungers. One small
room had the ceiling so closely hung with glass-chandeliers that
to move about was to risk a small shower of pendants falling ;
while the shades for the candles were of such brilliancy, in light-
green and pink, that the effect in the brilliant sunshine was quite
dazzling. " Pearls and babaric gold" there were none to be seen,
— they had been removed, for safekeeping, to his father-in-law's
house in the city, where the ladies of the harem were also
lodged, — but such gimcracks as usually light up the houses of
the poorest classes in England were not wanting. Cheap
pictures in common gilded frames, the kind turned out by the

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 163

thousand in Germany, all gaudy colors and painfully real were
hanging on the walls, while a few well-executed portraits of
Russian officers, in full uniform and bedecked with orders, were
found scattered about. These were all neatly framed in wood ;
and were so well got up, that most probably they had been
presents to Shere Ali from the Embassy, whose stay in Cabul
gave rise to such serious results. One small picture was come
across, which is certainly a great curiosity. It is plainly the
work of an Afghan artist, and carries us back to the disasters of
1841-42, when, for a time, our arms suffered so serious a reverse.
The subject of the drawing is an Afghan on horseback, in his
full splendour of gold-braided coat of many colors, enormous
black Astrakan hat with its characteristic cone shape, small
black boots peeping out of the white drapery of his wide^flowing
trouser, and the silver scabbard of his sword dangling at his side.
His saddle is gorgeous in red and gold, while the trappings of
his charger are bright with elaborate gilding. The horse is, in
the language of heraldry, rampant, while his rider sits proudly in
the saddle, staring out over the wide wide world, with an ex-
pression of haughty contempt, which is extremely awe-inspiring.
On the green foreground, which represents the grassy sward of
the Cabul plain, a dog, abnormally developed in some particulars,
gambols along, barking joyously (if the protrusion of a crimson
tongue as big as his head means anything), and thoroughly
enjoys his master's triumph. What that triumph is, has yet to
be told : on the flank of the horse, and so close as to be in
danger of its heels, is the figure of a British officer, clad in the
old Pandy uniform, with a musket at the trail in his hand, and
crouching in the most abject fear. Hia face, that of a boy-subal-
tern, is turned upwards ; while his eye, full of fear and respect,
is watching his Afghan conqueror with great intentness. He is
at the double to keep up with the horse, and the artist has
cleverly depicted in figure and expression the humiliation he is

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1 164 LIFE OF

undergoing. Nothing could be iiner than the contrast between
the black-bearded Afghan, with his enormous pouting lips, of a
purple tinge, aud staring eyes, and the smooth, boyish face, full
of timidity, of the unlucky Briton he is leading captive. He
can afford to laugh at the picture now, for " the wheel has come
full circle," and the subject now for an artist to draw would be
an English Lancer, beautiful in his array as a lily of the field,
leading captive at his stirrup a typical Afghan (say Yakub Khan
for example) with a halter round his neck and clad in all the
simplicity of a dhotie. The picture I have described is a stand-
ing curiosity in camp, and is to be the nucleus of a future Cabul
Picture Gallery.

A LETTER FROM MAJOR CAVAGNARI, C.S.I. TO
SIRDAR MAHOMED YAKUB KHAN.

THE following is a letter from Major Cavagnari, O.S.I., to
Sirdar Mahomed Yakub Khan, dated the 5th March, 1879, of
which the official translation is : —

After the expression of sympathy and sorrow, which is the
customary mode of racers of the straight path of this transient
world, I beg to inform you that, at this unfortunate moment, I
have received your mournful letter, intimating an event, in
recording which, the pen sheds the tears of sorrow ; and the
paper utters the sounds of pain, viz., the departure of His
Highness the Amir Sahib Bahadur from this transient world (to
which every one must bid adieu) to the everlasting one, which
is the real abode of all (human) beings. This sad news has
caused an indescribable sorrow and pain to sincere friends.

Since " every being on the face of the earth must respond to
the call of death," and quit this fleeting world, it behoves all
survivors and the lonely travellers of this world to recline
against the cushion of patience and submission to the will of

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 165

Providence, since no good can result from the opposite course,
as Urfi has said — " Were a meeting with a beloved one to be
procured by weeping, one might weep for a number of years in
the hope of obtaining the desired meeting."

I can suggest no other course than to have patience. May
the most High and Glorious God, through His mercy and grace,
assign the deceased Amir an abode in the highest heaven, and
bestow on his heirs patience and comfort.

On the 6th of March last, the following telegram was sent to
Major Cavagnari, Jellalabad : —

Your telegram to Viceroy, 26th February. Following reply
should be sent to Yakub Khan. Letter begins :—

I have received the letter, dated 20th February which your
Highness has sent me ; and it has been laid before His Ex-
cellency the Viceroy aad Governor-General in Council.

His Excellency has instructed me to reply to your Highness
that it has always been the desire of the British Government to
maintain peace and friendship with the Government, the Sirdars,
and the people of Afghanistan. The events which caused the
rupture of friendly relations between the two Governments, and
which compelled the British Government to declare war against
the late Amir Shere Ali Khan, had been publicly proclaimed,
and are well known to your Highness.

His Excellency the Viceroy has now received with satisfaction
the expression of your Highness* anxiety for the renewal of
friendship between the two Governments, and the assurance of
your desire to make every exertion for that purpose. I am con-
sequently authorized to communicate to you the preliminary con-
ditions upon which, if they are agreed to, the Viceroy is prepared
to entertain negotiations for the conclusion of peace, and for the
restoration of a friendly alliance between the two Governments.

In the first place, the following arrangements respecting the
territories now in possession of the British forces, are necessary

a —

160 LIFE OF

for the protection and permanent tranquillity of the north-west
frontier of India :

1. The Amir of Cabul must renounce all claim to authority
over the Khyber and Michni Passes leading from Jellalabad into
the Peshawur district, and over the independent tribes inhabiting
the territory directly connected with these Passes.

2. The District of Kurrum, from Thull to the crest of the
Shutar Gurden Pass, and the districts of Pishin and Sibi will
remain under the protection and control of the British Govern-
ment.

In the next place the foreign relations of the Cabul Govern-
ment, must be henceforth conducted in accordance with the
advice and wishes of the British Government ; and European
British officers accredited to the Cabul Government must be
permitted to reside with suitable personal guards, at such places
in Afghanistan as may hereafter be determined upon.

It is necessary for the conclusion of any friendly settlement of
affairs between the two countries, that the Government at Cabul
shall agree to these preliminary conditions : the Viceroy will,
thereupon, be prepared to enter into negotiations for peace, and a
cordial alliance, on a basis conducive to the common advantage
of the two countries, and to the stability and prosperity of the
Cabul ruler. The letter ends."

Bukhtiyar Khan can take this reply to Yakub, with any
subsidiary instructions.

Acknowledge receipt of this message.

THE TURKISH THEORY REGARDING THE
MASSACRE AT CABUL.

[FROM THE " TIMES' " CORRESPONDENT.]

CONSTANTINOPLE, OCT. 10.

THE Turkish public here hold a theory regarding the massacre
of our Embassy at Cabul, which will, probably, be new to the

FH 1 •

MAJOE SIR LOUIS CAVAGNAEI, K.C.B..C.S.I. 167

majority of the British public. It originated some weeks ago,
in a small Afghan colony in Stamboul, some of whom professed
to have received intelligence direct from their native country. Ife
being then physically impossible that letters from Afghanistan
could have come here so quickly, I concluded that the story was
one of those thousand and one rumours which have no value except
as harmless amusements for the longers in the cafes and bazaars.
The Turkish Press, however, have taken up the matter seriously,
and use it as a text, on which to preach a political sermon, to the
British Government. The people of Cabul, so the story runs,
noticed that large boxes were being forwarded to the unwelcome
foreign guest, and, on surreptitiously making examination, found
to their horror that the boxes contained Bibles and Korans, print-
ed by infidels on infidels' paper. At once it was assumed, that
the text of the sacred, uncreated revelation confided to the
Prophet had been tampered with ; and that the false texts, in con-
junction with the Bibles, were intended for Christian propaganda.
The discovery, and its interpretation, caused great excitement
among the fanatical Cabuls ; and the attack on the British
Embassy was the result. Accepting this stupid story as
authentic, one of the Turkish papers points out that though re-
ligious books may be safely introduced into civilized countries, it
was a grave mistake to do so, under diplomatic protection, among
a half-savage people ; and that in view of the hostile attitude of
Russia, British statemen ought to have carefully refrained from
interfering with the religion, the customs, and the liberties of
the Afghan nation. Even in Turkey, it is thought, that religi-
ous propaganda ought not to be encouraged ; and in this respect,
the organ, in question, quotes an incident which has just occurr-
ed in Constantinople. It seems that an agent of an English
missionary society had made a Turkish translation of the Book
of Common Prayer, and also of some religious tracts, and had
employed a khodja, or Mussulman schoolmaster, to correct the

168 LIFE OF

manuscript. When this was reported to the ecclesiastical
authorities, the khodja was at once arrested and placed in con-
finement by order of the Sheik-ul-Islam. The comments made
on the incident show, that even among those young Turks, who
profess to have adopted modern Liberal ideas, there is still a
considerable amount of old Mussulman fanaticism. The poor
khodja is called an abject, miserable creature, who has been in-
duced by his own wicked heart, and by the instigations of the
Evil One, to commit an act of sacrilege, for which he is condemned
by the curse of heaven to eternal torture. In reply to the
khodja's defence that he had accepted the work in order to save
himself from starvation, the writer declares that this is no excuse ;
and that the miserable creature should receive an overwhelming
punishment, so that the example may deter others from selling
their religion for a few pence. So much for religious toleration
among the educated Mussulmans of Constantinople. Those who
hold, that there is at present, a recrudescence of fanaticism
throughout the Mussulman world can point to such facts as this,
in support of their opinion. It is, however, only fair to add, that
though the Turks have always shown a certain contemptuous
tolerance towards those who have the humiliating misfortune to
be born Giaours, they have always acted with great severity
towards Mussulmans, who endeavoured to lead their fellow-
believers away from the Mahomed an fold.

OPINIONS OF THE CONTINENTAL PRESS ON THE
CABUL DISASTER.

(Za Itepublique Francaise, Paris, Sept. 9.)

WITH whom does the responsibility rest, for the murder of the
English Envoy ? In the dearth of details which we share with

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 169

the English Grove rnment, it is very hard to form an opinion.
To suspect Russian emissaries of being the instigators of this
crime as the Standard does, seems a very hazardous opinion. It
is a grave accusation to bring forward, without proofs in support
of it. To pretend that the Amir Yakub Khan has lent himself
to that atrocious violation of the law of nations is, until further
information reaches us, a flagarant injustice, The authority of
Yakub Khan was set at defiance ; it is gravely menaced ; and
the Prince who, on ascending the throne, understood that all re-
sistance to the English army had become hopeless, cannot have
madly launched into so bloody an adventure. The Afghans are
a barbarous race, fanatical, and untameable. Foreigners,
especially Christians, are hateful to them. Is it to be wondered
at that the sight of Envoys of the Anglo-Indian Government in-
stalling themselves in the capital, and loaded with honors by the
Prince and his courtiers, should have exasperated a ferocious
population ? On the other hand, regiments, or rather bands, of
proud and covetous warriors-, took the initiative of the emeute,
which has ended so deplorably. These people, no doubt, imagin-
ed that, on the arrival of the Feringhis, they would roll in gold.
They were disappointed, demanded their pay, and did not get it
at once. In those countries that i& quite enough to cause a re-
volution. The like has occurred often enough at Constantinople,
even since the commencement of this century. For the present,
then, we are bound to regard the massacre of the English Mission
as an appalling accident, but one which the known temperament
and manners of the Afghans can account for. Cabul had witness-
ed another drama of the same kind. In 1842, the English and
the Prince they had installed on the Throne were cut to pieces.
England wrought a terrible revenge for these crimes ; but her
Government had the wisdom not to occupy the country. The
same course will, probably, be pursued now. When the culprits
shall have been punished, England will, probably, keep within

170 LIFE OP

the clauses of the Treaty of Gundamuck, and will be right to do
so. Any other course would earn for the policy of the present
Government the appellation of politique de oassecou et de coup de
theatre.

(Journal das Debats, Paris, Sept. 8.)

We can well understand that England has no desire to rush
into an adventure, the perils of which are manifest, but the
advantages of which are less so. If, however, she does not
annex Afghanistan, what will she do ? It is now seen how her
agents are treated, and the Sovereigns, who are to be her more or
less disguised vassals. She cannot, therefore, continue to use
the method which, when scarcely tried, has produced such
sanguinary results. If she abondons direct action by the pre-
sence of an English Resident at Cabul, her influence will, pro-
bably, not survive what will be regarded as an enforced retreat.
Will she be content with retaining and strongly occupying the
Passes of her North- West Frontier ? It would assuredly have
been more prudent to have been satisfied with deriving this already
considerable advantage from the war. But what would have
been politic and adequate, three months ago, is no longer so.
The question is really very delicate. The necessity of inflicting
exemplary chastisement on Major Cavagnari's assassins is the
first necessity, for without signal reparation England's prestige
and influence would be for ever forfeited in those countries where
force alone commands respect ; but the real difficulties will arise
afterwards, when means will have to be found of imposing English
influence on the Afghans without the obligation of occupying
their territory. This problem, which could not be solved in
1844, and which, it is now too evident, was not solved by the
Treaty of Gundamuck, will still, doubtless, long perplex English
statesmen.

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MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNAIU, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 171

(Le Temps, Paris, Sept. 8.)

The misfortune which has overtaken England obliges her to
undertake another war, which will have to he carried on to
Cabul, and probably farther ; and when this campaign, which will
be long and difficult, shall have been happily ended, what fruits
can England expect to reap from victory ? She cannot return to
the policy formulated in the Treaty of Gurdamuck. After the
check she has received, there will only be one of three courses
to choose. Either the Amir must be reduced to a state of
vassalage, and his subjection guaranteed by a military occupation,
or Afghanistan must be annexed, or that State must be aban-
doned, and a military force concentrated on a scientific frontier
for its protection.

{Le National, Paris, Sept. 8.)

The brilliant reception of Major Cavagnari was but superficial,
and must, if anything, have still further exasperated the feelings
of the multitude, humbled in its patriotic pride and wounded in
its religious faith. Their coarse and ignorant minds were only
too prone to account for the disasters that had overtaken them by
imputing them to treachery, and the presence of the handful of
Englishmen who represented the conquering power in their
midst must have lashed their passions and religious fanaticism
into frenzy. After the Afghans are defeated, will they be
conquered ? The geographical conformation of their country,
which is favorable to revolt, and religious fanaticism as well as
wounded national pride, will make each inhabitant the personal
enemy of every invader. Wherever warfare is regular, victory
will be on the English made ; but the resistance will be made by
merillas. The Afghans would not have minded being stripped
of a scientific frontier ; but they presented a fixed sojourn of
Cavagnari at Cabul, it being too flagrant a sign of British

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172 LIFE OF

domination. This condition imposed by Lord Lytton spoiled
everything. The revolt is the ironical answer destiny gives to
the boastful speeches of Lord Beaconsfield. The English
Premier, perhaps, will have to go a great deal farther than he
intended, when he first plunged into the question of scientific
frontiers.

(Le Soir, Paris, Sept. 8.)

Yakub Khan is suspected of complicity in the tragic event at
Cabul ; but it is not improbable that he had not sufficient influ-
ence to prevent it. In this case, the Amir would be compelled to
place himself under the protection of England, if he would
preserve his throne ; but the English are not, at present, very
sure of becoming so powerful in Afghanistan that Yakub Khan
could without danger be turned into a simole British Governor,
when they have avenged themselves upon the assassins of their
Envoy. Much will remain to be done in order to prevent a
repetition of similar occurrences.

(T)ix Neuvieme Sieck, Paris, September 10.)

It becomes Russia less than any other Power to address a
remonstrance to England through her official journals. For all
that has taken place, and all that is still taking place in
Afghanistan, the Russian Chancellary is responsible. It is the
fault of Russia that England has been obliged to enter into an
adventurous expedition in Afghanistan, for, if they had not
undertaken it, they would have lost all their authority in India.
The Russian journalists, therefore, must not now assume towards
England the tone of the moralist, and say " it is a misfortune ;
but we warned you of it, and now you see what it is to wish to
establish a resident at Cabul." We leave it to our readers to
imagine what kind of sentiments such language is likely to arouse

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 173

in England. As for us, we wish our neighbours may prudently
carry out and bring to a rapid and successful issue the new
campaign which the murder of their Embassy has necessitated.

(Le Nord, Brussels, Sept. 8.)

The explanation given by the telegram as to the cause of the
rising seems on a prima facie view somewhat strange. One
cannot but feel surprise at the English Embassy being held
responsible for the arrears of pay due to a few Afghan regiments,
and if this question of pay has really been the chief cause of the
outbreak, it would seem only natural that rioters should appeal
to the Amir and his Ministers rather than to Major Cavagnari.
The eagerness with which the population of Cabul joined the
insurgent soldiery would alone lead to the belief that the move-
ment must have been due to more general causes, and we think,
we are not far wrong in attributing it to the antipathy which the
Afghans have always felt and shown against the installation of
English Resident Ministers in their country. It is known that
the refusal of Shere Ali to consent to the establishment of a
British Embassy in his capital was one of the causes of the last
war. It will also be recollected that the predecessors of Lord
Lytton in the Yiceroyalty of India, Lord Lawrence, Lord Mayo,
and Lord Northbrook, have all expressed themselves most
categorically against the establishment of permanent missions in
Afghanistan regarding them as more prejudicial than beneficial in
promoting the good relations between the two countries. In a
speech delivered as long ago as last November, Lord Lawrence
quoted on this very point an interesting letter he had received
from Mr. Seton Karr, who was Indian Secretary for Foreign
Affairs ia 1869. In this letter, the Amir said that he personally
had no great objection to an English Envoy residing permanently
at Cabul. But he urged that the Afghan chiefs and nobles would

Ifi-

1 174 LIFE OF

regard it as an insult, and on that ground he could not assent to it.
Yakub Khan had to assent to the arrangement which his father
had always rejected. The question arises whether the English
Government was wise in imposing upon him a condition so re-
pugnant to the feeling of the Afghans. This will be ascertained
when full details of the events at Cabul shall have come to hand ;
but, without any intention of prejudging the conclusions to
which fuller information must lead, it has appeared to us in-
teresting to note that the opinion of Lord Lytton's predecessors
was adverse to the design which he and Lord Beaconsfield laid
themselves out to realise. In any case the emeute at Cabul
threatens to render necessary a new campaign, which is likely to
be as long and as arduous as the last.

(Tagblatt, Vienna, Sept. 8.)

The disorder in Cabul will demand the most peremptory satis-
faction ; for both the Ambassador himself and all the members
of his Embassy are acknowledged to be inviolable by the law of
nations. At Cabul, the lives of all of them have been sacrificed.
Everybody who knows how jealously England, under her present
rulers, protects, against attack, all her subjects, even persons who
do not hold nearly such dignified positions as her Ambassadors,
must feel convinced that she will not suffer any delay to take
place in demanding, even if necessary, by the sword, that full
atonement shall be made for the consequences of this attack on
her Embassy, so recently established in Cabul. No body would,
at present, venture to contemplate what may be the final out-
come of this event, but the general disquietude which has been
caused by the events of the past week has been greatly increased
by what has since become known.

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNAEI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 175

(Golos, St. Petersburg, Sept. 8.)

All the money expended on the Afghan expedition is thrown
away. The Treaty of Gundamuck is torn into shreds, and the
conquest of Afghanistan becomes as fatal a necessity as the rout-
ing of Cetewayo's army after the disaster of Isandhlana.

The conduct of Yakub Khan during the 3rd September does
not prove that the attack on the Embassy was made against his
will and without his cognisance.

(St. Petersburg Gazette, Sept. 9.)

The massacre of the English Mission in Gabul obliterates the
scientific frontier, and necessitates the occupation of the whole of
Afghanistan by British troops ; but this is incompatible with
England's assurance to the St. Petersburg Cabinet, with whom
there must be an understanding regarding England's measures
of satisfaction, an understanding which may finally put an end to
the independence of Afghanistan. The impossibility of Eng-
land's predominating by peaceful means affords an opportunity
for a direct junction of English and Russian dominions in
Central Asia by dividing Afghanistan between the two Powers,
thus destroying, by mutual arrangement, the present intermediate
zone, the cause of continual trouble between the two countries.

MAJOR CAVAGNARI ON BRITISH AGENTS IN
AFGHANISTAN.

A correspondent writes : — " The lamented but heroic death of
our Envoy at Cabul has imparted a peculiar, if somewhat painful,
interest to the opinion expressed by him as to the appointment of
British officers in Afghanistan (see Blue Book, page 14<2). Major
Cavagnari then (April 1875) considered that the Amir 'would,
probably, declare that the unsettled state of his kingdom pre-

176 LIFE OF

vented his being able to guarantee the safety of the officer
appointed' ; and after pointing out the advantages which would
result from the presence of English Residents in Afghanistan —
advantages which must be patent to all careful observers — he
says — * But should the Amir refuse, or unwillingly assent to the
measure, it would possibly be productive of very evil results.
Everything would be done to thwart the action of the Resident ;
and not unlikely some insult would be offered, which would either
result in his having to be withdrawn or supported in his position
by force of arms.* Some light may be thrown on the primary
causes of the recent calamitous outbreak at Cabul by the follow-
ing observation of our Envoy's. " The Sirdars, who, probably,
hope to become governors in the different Afghan provinces
would, like the Amir, be adverse to the appointment of European
British officers. They, probably, fear that the appointment of
such Residents would be merely a preliminary to annexation.'
The foregoing extracts are a remarkable proof of the sagacity
and political foresight of that brave and skilful officer, whose
loss all parties must so deeply deplore."

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LATE SIR
LOUIS CAVAGNARI.

THE following account of personal recollections of the late Sir
Louis Cavagnari is from the pen of Mr. William Simpson, the
well-known Special Artist of the Illustrated London News :—

During the first part of the Afghan campaign I was attached
to the Peshawur Field Force, which acted on the line of the
Khyber, Jellalabad, and Gundamuck. It was to this force that
the late Sir Louis Cavagnari was attached in a political capacity ;
and as I saw a good deal of him during the six months, which
was about the time the campaign lasted, the Editor of the Illus-

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNAKI, K.C.B..C.S.I. 177

trated London News has asked me to relate any recollections I
have of the man, thinking that they would be of interest just now
to the public. My first introduction to him, at that time Major
Cavagnari, was at Ali Musjid on November 21, last year. The
guns of the Afghan fort had opened fire, and were continuing it
against our artillery, which had begun to reply from the Shagai
heights, and while the usual civilities which such engines send to
each other, were knocking about, Major Cavagnari, seeing that
I was sketching the ground, introduced himself to me, to point
out the village of Lala Cheena and all the spots connected with
the stoppage of Sir Neville Chamberlain's Mission, which had
occurred in the September previously, and to which Mission, it
may be remembered, he was attached. When we advanced to
Dhakka, my tent chanced to be placed next to Major Cavagaari's,
and although our stay at this place was short, it gave me some
experience of the man. It was here I made the sketch of him
holding a Jirgah, held just behind our tents, with the Shinwarries
an illustration of which appeared at the time in the Illustrated
London News. I began also at this place to see evidence of his
activity and devotion to the functions of his appointment. I
found at times in the morning that Cavagnari was gone, his tent
was empty, and he was reported to have started during the night
on some expedition, or another. It might be a raid, or an attempt
to capture the Mir Akhor, or a rush off with a small escort to
arrange with some Afghan Chief about guarding the roads.

Sir Samuel Browne's head-quarters reached Jellalabad on
December 20. On the morning of our entry I started off early
with Major Cavagnari, Major Sanford, and one or two more of
the head-quarter staff. I dropped behind before we reached the
town, so that I entered by myself a few minutes later than the
others. — Up to that time we had had no experience of Ghazis;
those who hope to reach Paradise by killing Kaffirs or Infidels ;
but their attempts a few days later upon the lives of our soldiers

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178 LIFE OP

led to the order given afterwards that no one was to enter Jellala-
bad without a sufficient escort. So I rode in that morning at
the Peshawur Gate and through the bazar, all alone, thoughtless
of danger, returning the salute of " Salaam Alaikoom" to the
Mahomedans, and saying " Ram, Ram" to the Hindus, who
seemed delighted, for to them our occupation of the place was a
gratifying event. The same day Major Cavagnari received a
letter from Shere Ali, announcing his departure from Cabul. On
my expressing a desire to see and sketch the seal of the Amir,
Major Cavagnari at once submitted the letter to me for inspection.
The document was written in Persian, on the usual brownish
Oriental paper. The seal was in the TorgJia character, and about
the^ize of a six pence.

Buring our long stay at Jellalabad, my intercourse with Major
Cavagnari became more intimate, and when he learned that I was
desirous of making explorations in some of the Buddhist remains
on that region, he at once provided a working party for such
operations, on the condition that all sculptures -and coins were to
be the property of Government. He rode out with me one
morning, shortly after the digging had been commenced to the
Ahin Posh Tope, where the men were at work ; and on seeing
remains of architecture beginning to appear which had been
buried for at least a thousand years, he desired me to have more
men put on, and gave orders to double the number. The final
result of all this, after about two months' work, was that I
brought to light important details of the ancient Buddhist
architecture, all being quite new to students of that subject, and
I was fortunate enough to come upon a deposit of twenty gold
coins, every one dating from about the first or second centuries
of the Christian era, and a gold relic-holder, all of which I handed
over to Major Cavagnari, who sent them on to Lord Lytton at
Calcutta. The Natives hearing of these explorations came and
reported the existence of other remains, regarding which they

a— -a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 179

told their own traditionary belief, and offered to show the places
to Major Cavagnari. Instead of going himself he asked me to
do so, and I went on more than one of these inquests. One was
a cave at Hada, which, according to the Native who reported it,
went under ground to an unlimited distance. I had experience
of tales of this kind before, and consequently knew what to
expect ; but, being anxious not to allow anything which might
be important to escape notice, I went and found, as I anticipated,
that the cave had nothing remarkable about it. Another excur-
sion of this kind I made, was across the Cabul River, and up the
Kunar Valley, about fourteen miles, to see some Buddhist
remains in that quarter. At Kona-deh, there is an old tope which
the Khan said we might explore ; but I judged it useless to go
such a distance to work when we had better ground nearer at
hand in the Jellalabad Valley. This was a very pleasant visit,
for Major Cavagnari had arranged that Major Stewart, of the
Guide Corps, should go with me, and his familiarity with the
language was most useful in getting information ; and Ahmed
Khan, of Shewa, one of the chiefs, went about with us, and
treated Major Stewart and myself to a repast in the Afghan
style of hospitality, sitting under the mulberry-trees oiose to the
door of his village.

A day or so after the advance to Gimdamuck, General Gough
made a reconnoissance as far as the Surkpul, on the Surkhab.
I went out with this party, and Major Cavagnari also accom-
panied it. We had General Maunsell and a number of the
head-quarter staff with us : and Sirdar Wall Mahomed Khan
was also in the party. On our return we came by Isphan, and
visited the Ziaret of Shaik Ra'jim Dad, known as the Dabad
Ziaret, from its having the reputation that cases of rheumatism
can be cured at it. A sketch of this shrine appeared in the
Illustrated London News two weeks ago. Seeing me making a
sketch, Major Cavagaari called my attention to a chuprassi, his

180 LIFE OF

constant attendant, who was circumambulating the grave with
the most serious aspect, at the same time beating his limbs, with
a bunch of dried seeds. He said " put him in, I never saw him
before saying his prayers, but I suppose the bare possibility of a
cure for his rheumatism is too good a chance to be lost." As I
saw a good deal of this man, I have been watching the late news
from Cabul to see if it might contain any news of his fate. I am
inclined to fear that the poor fellow's rheumatism will not now
trouble him. The people in the district about Gund amuck,
hearing of our explorations at Jellalabad, brought in objects
which, they said, had been discovered in topes ; one of these was
an old brass lamp which, they affirmed, had been got in a tope
near Nickar Kheyl. From the ornament on it I was inclined to
doubt that its antiquity could possibly be so far back as the
Buddhist period. It was some time before we managed to get
any one able to make out what appeared to be letters, but, at
last, Major Lovett was able to decipher on it Allah il Allah, and
its post Buddhist character was settled. Before this had been
made out, Major Cavagnari had determined to present it to the
Royal Asiatic Society in London, and for that purpose he sent it
home to the care of Colonel Yule, and this interesting relic will
now be preserved. This lamp led to an excursion. It became
important, while the date of the object was under discussion, to
see the tope in which it was said to have been found. For this
purpose Major Cavagnari made the arrangement for me to go
and see the place, and he also made one of the party himself,
taking with him Haider Khan, one of the principal chiefs of
Gundamuk. The occasion was considered favorable for giving
the survey officers a chance of fixing some of their points ; so we
had them and Colonel Jenkyns, commanding the Corps of Guides
and one or two officers of the 10th Hussars also accompanied us.
Thus we formed a large party. We ascended the Suffaid Koh,
on the eastern side of the guoge, from which the Muikhi Khyel

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.c.B.,C.S.I. 181

steam flows out of the hills. At about 8,000 feet, I stopped to
make a sketch of the country, looking across the Isphan plain to
Jugdulluk, which gave a very fine view, with glimpses of the
Hindu Kush in the far distant beyond. The surveying officers
and most of the others went up about 1,000 feet higher, and
reached the snow ; but Major Cavagnari remained with me while
I sketched, and his faithful chuprassi kindled a fire of wood, for
it was cold at that height. We had an old man with us, named
Mullik Mir Alum, a Khugiani, belonging to Murkn Kheyl, who
remembered all about the former war ; and while Cavagnari
was sitting here, he kept up a conversation with him about the
details of the retreat from Cabul in 1842. This old fellow told
how the few stragglers made their last fight on the hill near
Gundamuck, and that they fought like devils. No one would go
near them while their ammunition lasted, but when that was
done, the attack was made. The position on Sept. 3 of the
Residency at Cabul was so similar, as a life or death contest, to
what was described to us sitting on the sides of the Suffaid Koh
on that day, I cannot help thinking that it must have come back
to the mind of Cavagnari even in the midst of the tumult and
excitement of the last dreadful struggle. When our party came
down the hill, Haider Khan led us to one of the villages, where
we all sat down to an ample feast. It was in Afghan fashion ;
we used our fingers as forks ; and a thick cJiupatie, or cake,
served as a plate, while a large thin chupatie did duty as a table
napkin, or could be eaten as bread, according to taste. On the
day that the Treaty of Gundamuck was signed, I went in the
morning to Major Cavagnari's tent, and found that he had been
up till two o'clock in the morning writing out himself the
English version on the two copies of the treaty ; and on my
entrance I found Bakhtiyar Khan busy on one of them, writing
the Persian translation, while Mirza Mahoflimed Nabi Khan, the
Private Secretary of Yakub Khan, was flat on the ground with

182 LIFE OF

the other copy beneath hin^ to which he was adding the Persian
version. Habibullah Khan, the Mastaufi, was on his knees
carefully watching that no mistakes were being made by this
writer, while Cavagnari and Mr. Jenkyns were on the other side
keeping a look out for the same purpose on Bakhtiyar Khan.
That same afternoon the Treaty of Gundamuck was signed by
Yakub Khan, on the one hand, and by Major Cavagnari, for the
Government of India, on the other ; and Mr. Jenkyns, during
the night, started with them for Simla — riding back to Peshawur
in an incredibly short space of time — for ratification by the
Viceroy. One copy would be retained by our Government,
and the other handed over to Yakub Khan. (Our Special
Artist's Sketches, engraved for this week's publication, show the
scene in Major Cavagnari' & tent, when the Secretaries were
writing out ' the Treaty, and the subsequent act of signing the
Treaty at Gundamuck, on May 26, by the Amir and Major
Cavagnari.) This ended the Second Afghan war. As I had
entertained hopes of visiting the colossal figures and city of
caverns at Bamian before I came home again, I felt anxious to
know what Major Cavagnari's movements were likely to be, and
in this I found him with his usual frankness as to giving inform-
ation. He was to return to India, and then, after a month,
or perhaps two, he was to proceed to Cabul. Had his orders
been to return to Cabul with Yakub Khan, I should have asked
to go with him, and I have no doubt but I should have accom-
panied him, my desire being strong. I also offered to go with
Yakub Khan, or with any of his people, but this could not be
arranged. What my fate might have been had I gone, who can
tell ? I can only repeat what a Native of India would say,
Ehuda Jana or " God alone knows."

These notes of my contact with Sir Louis Cavagnari will show
that he was a man with sympathies beyond his own particular
duties ; for they tell that while he was busy carrying on a com-

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MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 183

plicated and important political campaign, he found time to
interest himself in other matters. I have seen it lately stated
in one of our leading journals that he was a over-sanguine man.
From what I saw of him, I would not indorse the statement.
To be sanguine is one of the necessary conditions of success. At
least, a couple of months before the treaty of Qundamuck was
arrived at, he told me, that he would bring the whole matter to a
peaceful solution. This he accomplished. He was sanguine ;
but when a man realizes his intentions the words " over
sanguine" do not apply. If any one thinks that Sir Louis
Cavagnari went to Cabul and was unconscious of danger, I should
say he was mistaken. He went there perfectly well aware of the
risk ; but he was a brave man, and ran the risk. I always found
him quiet and collected, and never seeming as if there was any-
thing of the slightest importance going on. Always open in
giving information, when he could do so ; and if he could not
equally frank in saying that he must be silent. The campaign
became a political one ; there was no real army to fight with, so
the generals had no chance of distinguishing themselves. The
whole onus of the campaign centred at last in Major Cavagnari ;
and by the able manner in which he managed the duties cut out
for him, he won for himself the only reputation of note which
was made during the late war. The ability and judgment which
he manifested was honored at last by Knighthood, and it is
deeply to be regretted that the ability and judgment have not
been spared for the use of his country in a region where such
high qualifications are likely to be much needed in the future.

The other officers, who have nobly fallen along with Sir Louis
Cavagnari, had also become familiar friends during the late
campaign. Mr. Jenkyns was a master of the Persian language,
and interested in all the dialects of Central Asia. He caught a
nimchoi at Jellalabad, and made an effort through him to get down
some of the 8iah-Posh Kaffirs, so as to get details of their

184

LIFE OF

language. These Kaffirs were long supposed to be the descend-
ants of Alexander's Macedonians, but the study of the language
seem to be destroying this theory. This nimcha, as the name
implies, had been born a Kaffir, but had been converted to
Mahomedanism. I was indebted to Mr. Jenkyns for getting a
sketch of this man's physiognomy, which lately appeared in the
Illustrated London News. Mr. Jenkyns was a man, who, had he
lived, would have made his mark in the profession to which he
belonged. Lieutenant Hamilton might have been described, with
his fair, almost beardless face, as a mere boy, but he was a lion at
heart. He was already a V. 0., from his gallantry at Futtehabad,
and his charging the mob of assailants in Cabul three times,
carrying death with his own hand as he dashed among the enemy,
is enough to show the kind of stuff he was made of. Dr. Kelly,
of the Guides, was also well known to me. Returning evil for
good is not a happy sentence to be recorded. But it must be
written in this case. Dr. Kelly had opened a dispensary in
Cabul, and was doing all he could for the good of those who
required his services. At Gundamuck he attended to many of
the men, who had been wounded in the Futtehabad engagement j
in some cases I know he performed operations. And after all
these humane services he has been murdered as his reward.

With regard to the question which has been raised as to the
dates at which the telegrams from the Viceroy published by the
Home Government were forwarded to Lord Lytton from Cabul,
it is no doubt the fact that the telegram of September 3rd was
forwarded from the Viceroy on that day. Several previous tele-
grams bore the dates of their despatch from Cabul, and to this
fact is due the misconception under which this particular commu-
nication has been regarded as coming from Sir Louis Cavagnari
on that date. For this misconception, however, the Government

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.L 185

can, in no way, be blamed. We believe that they have given to
the public, fully and frankly, all the information which they were
in a position to make known ; and the fact that there are four
other telegrams, which bear no date from Cabul is of itself suffi-
cient proof that they have published the Viceroy's communications
as they were received.

THE INDIAN COUNCIL AND THE DISASTER.

Lord Cranbrook arrived at the India Office from Hughenden
shortly after noon on September 10, and presided over a meeting
of the Indian Council at which there were present, in addition
to His Lordship, Mr. Yule, Mr. Dalzell, Sir R. Montgomery, and
General Foster. — Another Council was held on September 11, but
the meeting was chiefly occupied with the routine business of the
department. Sir Louis Mallet, the Permanent Under-Secretary
for India, was among those present in attendance at the office
during the day. Constant communication was held by telegraph
with the Indian Government, and a lengthy message from the
Viceroy, giving full particulars of the military situation, was re-
ceived during the evening after Lord Cranbrook had left the
office. Viscount Cranbrook was to leave town on (Sept. 12) on
his return to Mr. Cunliffe Brooks1' shooting quarters in Aber-
deenshire.

SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE ON THE CABUL
MASSACRE.

In a speech at Topsham on the 8th ult., the Chancellor of the
Exchequer said : — Allusion has been made to one, and we speak
of it necessarily with pain and sorrow. No one can help feeling
the deepest sympathy and the deepest grief for the fate of the
gallant men of whose loss in Afghanistan I fear we have received

186 VLIFE OP

tidings which -cannot be doubted. -(Hear, hear.) It is a matter
which must fill every one's heart with the greatest sorrow. ( Hear,
hear.) They were men who have been sacrificed, we do not pre-
cisely know under what circumstances, to an outbreak of fanati-
cal fury, against which, as far as the accounts enable us to judge,
they contended with a courage and determination, worthy of
Englishmen, and worthy of those gallant men themselves who have
rendered such service to the Empire. ( Cheers. ) They contend-
ed, as I understand, to the last in defence of the building which
they occupied. The mutineers, though far exceeding them in
number, were unable to storm the Residency, until, at last, they
succeeded in setting fire to the door ; and even then, when they
broke in, our gallant countrymen sold their lives dearly — for £
fear we must admit that their lives have been sacrificed. It is
impossible that England can fully appreciate the very serious loss
which we 'have sustained by the death of one so eminent, so
worthy of our gratitude, as that distinguished man, Sir Louis
Cavagnari. (Cheers.) We cannot but deeply feel that loss, but
it is ^premature, at present to say anything more about it. We
know not what -the circumstances were. So far as we can judge,
it appears to have been an unpremeditated outbreak, on the part
of a certain number of mutinous regiments. So far as we can
judge, the Amir has been entirely true to us, and the last message
represents him as imploring our assistance. Of one thing we
may be quite sure — that assistance will not be withheld. (Cheers.)
We may be sure that Englishmen will be prompt to go to succour
those who have fallen on their behalf, and those who are holding
out in consequence of attacks directed against them ; and we do
not doubt that our gallant troops are far on the way to the city
of Cabul ; and that we shall soon hear of their having restored
peace to that place. (Cheers.) But we cannot, as I said, under-
take to speak as to the circumstances which have occurred, and
I am sure that you will all feel, and England will feel, that it is

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,O.S.I. 187

but right that for the moment we should abstain from mere
jeoture, or mere haaty judgment of any sort. (Hear, hear. )

THK COMMISSION SITTING AT CABIJL TO ENQUIRE
INTO THE LATE MASSACRE.

[FROM THE " PIONEER'S" CORRESPONDENT.]'

CAMP, SlAHSUNQ, 30TH OCTOBEE.

SINCE the issue of the proclamation, and the close confinement
of Yakub Khan to his tent two days ago, there has been no
further development of th& situation ; and: it seems as if we should
quietly wait here for the winter ;. in -order to allow events to
develop themselves, without further demonstration of our force.
We have Cabul city and its guilt to deal with j and though, there
are few outward signs of the investigation into the circumstances
surrounding the massacre of our Embassy, there is a steady
under-current of werk running on, the results of which have yet
to be declared. This has been done chiefly by Colonel Macgregor,
aided hitherto by Hyat Khan, Assistant Political Officer, who
has done good service in searching out persons likely to give
evidence ; and now that Dr. Bellew has arrived, still further
progress is being made in unravelling the complicated web of
falsehood, which- has been drawn about the occurrence. Sixty
witnesses have been examined privately ; and, as each one is
quite in ignorance of what has been said before, the truth of the
various stories told can be tested, by the comparisons drawn
between the testimony of the friends and enemies of Yakab
Khan. Such of his late confidential advisers and adherents, as
have come under cross-examination have generally injured his
cause by affirming too much j and plausible stories had been

188 LIFE OF

concocted, to divert attention from his shortcoming, in not aff ^rd-
ing material aid to Sir Louis Cavagnari. Much, for instance, has
been made of the little flash of energy he shewed in sending
Daud Shah and 30 men to remonstrate with the mutineers ; and
it has been asserted that the determined attitude of the rabble was
proved by Daud Shah being bayoneted, and all his escort killed.
But when this episode is looked closely into, and a little inde-
pendent evidence is taken, it becomes apparent that Daud Shah
had merely a few attendants with him, and none of these were
killed ; while he himself was by no means so maltreated as he
would have us believe. There is another incident, too, which
assumes a new complexion when carefully examined. Soon after
the massacre, Yakub Khan put to death Abdul Karim, a power-
ful Kohistani chief, whose English proclivities were very pro-
nounced. The explanation of this act, as given by Abdullah
Gyaz (a confidential adviser of the ex- Amir arrested yesterday)
is that Yakub Khan sent that chief from his palace to remonstrate
with the troops, and that, instead of carrying out his orders, he
gave direct encouragement to the mutineers, and urged them to
continue their attack upon the Residency. Upon Abdul Karim's
return to the palace, Abdullah Gyaz affirms, Yakub Khan was
informed of his treacherous disobedience, and, after the massacre
had taken place, ordered that he should be executed. This story
is so utterly improbable that it is scarcely worth consideration ;'
but its falsity has been proved very directly, as the name of every
man of importance, who went near the mutinous troops, has been
obtained from various sources, friendly and otherwise, and
Abdullah Karim has never before been mentioned in the list.
The inference that suggests itself is, that the wirepullers about
Yakub Khan, were distrustful of Abdul Karim, whose honesty
of purpose and known sympathy with the English, rendered him a
dangerous personage in their eyes, and on the principle, that dead
men tell no tales, they worked upon, the then Amir to sanction

MAJOR SIB LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.c.B.,C.S.l. 189

his execution. He probably knew too much, and was put out of
the way before he had an opportunity of using his knowledge.
In an investigation such as that now going on, it is only possible
to shape out conclusions by inference, for even such witnesses as
profess unbounded friendship towards us, lie so circumstantially
to serve their own ends, that very little reliance can be placed
on them. It is not as if a long period had elapsed since the
events took place : the occurrence must still be fresh In the
minds of everybody : but there is such a tendency to intrigue,
now that our power is established beyond a doubt in Cabul, that
distrust is bred in our minds in an increasing ratio as the evidence
accumulates. There is no bottom to the well in which Afghan
truth was sunk ages ago, and it is disheartening to sound it now.
The ex-Amir's partizans have lied honestly enough to shield their
master, while he was still protected by us ; but now that he is a
nonentity and all semblance of power has passed from him, there
may be a change in their attitude. They have a certain rude idea
of faithfulness to their salt ; but when they see that the chief
among them is arrested without a word of warning, after being
allowed to move freely among us for weeks, their fortitude may
not be equal to the emergency, and they may seek to purchase
their own safety by voluntary disclosures. For these we must

wait.

******

To-day two men were marched off to execution, and they rich-
ly deserved their fate. The one was the jemadar of the rascally
hotwal of Cabul, himself hanged on the 20th j and inasmuch as
he had carried the head of Sir Louis Cavagnari, or one of the
other British officers into the city, there was not much chance of
his escaping. Like the kotwal, he was most servile in offering
aid to us after our arrival, and, on the night of the 8th, acted as
a guide to some troops marching up the Bala Hissar ridge, in
connection with the action against the rebels on that day. The

iff

190 LIFE OF

second* prisoner was a Mahomedan resident of Cabul, in whose
house a- box, marked " Oabul Embassy," was found by a search-
party of the 28th Regiment. He could give no explanation of
hew he came by the box, except the colorless one that it had been
placed in his rooms by an enemy, Several guns and swords were
also found in his house ; and nothing in his favor being forth-
coming; he was sent to execution with very little delay. The
guilt or innocence of the confidential friends of Yakub Khan,
who- are now prisoners, is still a question of doubt ; but none are
arrested without justification, and their cases will undergo the
usual scrutiny.

DESCRIPTION OF CABUL,

" The climate is extremely delightful, and there is no such place
in tht known world, for its verdure and flowers, which render
Cabul, in spring, a heaven. Drink wine in the citadel of Cabul
and send round the cup without stopping ;. for there are at once
mountains and streams, town and desert."

It is pertinent to observe here, while talking of the climate,
that snow generally covers the hills round Cabul about the
beginning of October ; but that in the plains it seldom snows
before December. Then it remains on the ground, until middle
of February. After the cessation of the snowy season, the wet
ensues, and generally continues until April. The remaining
months of the year are dry. It may ba as well to state that
Cabul is 6,247 feet above the sea.

The founding of Cabul is lost in the mists of antiquity. It has
its traditions, and there is a common belief, that it is a most
ancient city. Its age is even given at 6,000 years ! But it is
not 100 years, since it became a capital for the first time. It is
affirmed that ten centuries ago, it, together with Ghuzni, was
tributary to Bamian, that destroyed city, the gigantic idols and

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 19-1

sculptured caves of which still exist to testify to its past magni-
ficence ; but before Bamian had fallen under the destroying
scourge of the Monguls, Cabul had been severed from it ; and in
common with most of the adjoining countries, had passed into
the hands of that far-famed conqueror Mahmud of Ghuzni, When
the Ghaznivide dynasty fell, it became a possession of the House
of Ghor. For more that two centuries after Baber's conquest,
it was an appanage of the rulers of Delhi, and then it passed into
the hands of the Persian conqueror Nadir. The Afghan Chief,
Ahmed, who established himself in the possessions of that great
ruler to the east of Persia, acquired Cabul shortly after
Candahar ; but being a, wise man as well as a skilful General, he
refused to make any other place his capital than that Candahar
which was reverenced by every Durani as the centre of their
power. In 1776, Timur Shah, not equally wise, transferred his
seat of power to Cabul. When the Siadosye dynasty fell, the
Barakzais were not astute enough to see what a favorable oppor-
tunity they had for winning over public opinion to their side by
restoring the ancient capital. Dost Mahomed perpetuated the
plunder of Timur Shah. It remains, perhaps, for some future
Afghan chief to repair the mistake past rulers have made on this
point. Apart from its historical associations, Cabul is a place
entitled to considerable attention on account of its trade. Burnes
called it a most bustling city, and told us that the noise in the
streets in the afternoon was so great that it was impossible to
make an attendant hear. The principal articles of commerce are
fruit and merchandise from India. An active trade is also carried
on with Bokhara and with Candahar. There are separate bazars
for each trade, and there was a great bazar, called " Chouchut"
or " Char Chouk," for the whole city. This had been styled an
elegant arcade, being about 200 yards long and ten yards across.
It was blown up by Pollock's orders in 1842, but Dost Mahomed
took steps for repairing the damage that was then done, The

192 LIFE OF

present edifice is said to have no claim to architectural beauty.
One of the most remarkable sights is the public cooking shops,
which are very numerous, as few people cook at home. The
kababs, or cooked meats of Cabul, are famed far and wide. To
these must be added a list of delicacies in the shape of fruits,
sweets, and cooling drinks, that have earned for Cabul an
imperishable name, as a place where good quarters and good
living can be obtained at a very moderate cost. The population
of the city is generally estimated at 60,000 people, and the
number does not appear too great. The gardens of Cabul are
well known for their beauty, arid those in particular may be
mentioned which are called the Garden of the King Timur and
that round the tomb of the Emperor Baber. The latter of these
is considered to be the favorite promenade of the townspeople.
Burnes and other travellers have discoursed of the beautiful view
that is to be obtained from the towers and hills of the city for
20 miles round, and those who have approached it from Jellalabad
have told us of the favorable impression it has made upon them
after traversing the barren and rugged country of the Khurd
Cabul and Jagdalak passes. Cabul improves, also, on acquain-
tance, for except in the wet weather, it is a clean town, and the
air is at all times salubrious. It is particularly well suited for
Europeans.

Cabul is enclosed on the south and west by rocky hills of con-
siderable altitude. There are walls round the city, but these are
in the most dilapidated condition. The defences of Cabul are
contained and summed up in the capacity of the Bala Hissar to
resist attack ; and that is very meagre indeed. The founding of
the Bala Hissar is attributed to Baber, but his successors added
greatly to what he commenced. So late as the regin of Aurang-
zebe extensive vaults were constructed under it in which that
monarch intended placing his treasure. These are to be seen.
Situated on the eastern extremity of the town, and on the summit

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 193

of a hill, the Bala Hissar, with its great walls and lofty build-
ings, is a conspicuous object enough ; and it commands the town
as completely as the castle dominates Edinburgh. The Bala
Hissar is divided into two portions, a citadel within a fortress.
The former is small, and could only hold a limited number of men.
It is probably here, that Yakub Khan has taken refuge. The
main portion of the fortress is large and commodious, and could
hold 5,000 men. Despite, however, its imposing appearance and
its elevation above the town — it stands 150ft. above the plains —
the Bala Hissar is in too dilapidated a state to be held for any
length of time against an English army. The only occasion on
which the B.ila Hissar has undergone an assault in modern time
was when Dost Mahomed besieged it 50 years ago, and captured
it, by blowing up one of the towers. In fact, the Bala Hissar has
been always held as the royal palace, because it was a place suffi-
ciently strong to resist the seditious rising on the part of the
populace ; and because it afforded place of scrutiny against any
sudden outburst of rebellion. It was also very convenient as a
prison-house for rivals or refractory vassals. But as a fortress,
against the attack of disciplined troops, the Bala Hissar is prac-
tically incapable of defence. It will, probably, surrender to us
without any attempt being made to defend it. The Afghans, as
they have always done before, both in their wars with us and
among themselves will evacuate it on the approach of an Eng-
lish army. The Cabul river is crossed by three or four bridges,
and one of these is in the heart of the Kizilbash quarter of the
city.

The Kizilbashes are of Persian descent. They are supposed to
have settled in Cabul in the time of Nadir, although some records
date their residence further back. They occupy a quarter of the
town separated from the rest of city ; and have always been con-
sidered an industrious portion of the community. We had many
friends among them during the old occupation ; and the house,

194 LIFE OP

which Sir Alexander Burnes occupied, was situated close to their
quarter. At one time they used to form the body-guard of the
Kings, but Barakzais have curtailed their privileges. There is
also a large Hindu element in the population ; but the most
numerous and the most aggressive class is that of the Afghan
nationality, who are termed Cabulese. Cabul is, after Bokhara,
probably, the city in Asia, where the fanatical zeal of the Mus-
sulmans runs highest. The Mullahs are a numerous and all-
powerful class ; and darvishes are met with in great numbers.
Cabul is, therefore, a true metropolis. In its bazars are to be
seen the numerous tribes of northern Afghanistan, as well as
travellers and merchants from Turkestan, Bokhara, Khiva, C&sh-
mere, and India. It has nourished on the trade which has been
brought to it by these numerous wayfarers. But singular as it
may appear, these cosmopolitan advantages have, by no means,
modified the natural character of its inhabitants. They are still,
as they have ever been, the turbulent Cabulese. It is a matter
for regret, that the future of a spot so favoured in every way as
this city should have been placed in danger by the fury of its
mob ; and that the barbarous act, which has just sullied for a
second time its streets, should quite possibly entail upon it the loss
of those privileges which it has only possessed for the purpose of
abusing them. The greatest punishment that could be inflicted
on the Cabulese would be to remove the capital of the State back
to the old Durani city of Candahar.

THE CALCUTTA CORRESPONDENT OF THE TIMES
ON INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN.

THE MISSION STOPPED.

CALCUTTA, SEPT. 22, 1878. 10-22 P. M.

OUR relations with the Amir have assumed a very critical

a—

MAJOR SIB LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 195

character. The Gabul ruler has at last thrown off every sem-
blance even of outward friendliness and courtesy, and has chosen
to adopt in preference, an attitude of marked and open hostility.
Our special correspondent with the Mission telegraphs, that it
left Peshawur yesterday, and proceeded as far as Jumrud, a place
on the actual Frontier, though within British territory. Thence
it was recalled by a telegram from the Viceroy, and accordingly
it marched back to Peshawur. This morning private advices
from Simla, upon which absolute reliance can be placed, state
that on the Mission being ordered to march to Jumrud, Major
Cavagnari rode forward to AH Musjid, escorted by Khyberries
in order to ask for a safe passage. The Amir's officer, however,
at Ali Musjid positively refused to the Mission to advance. He
threatened resistance, and crowned the surrounding heights com-
manding the route with armed men in order to dispute the
passage. The interview between the Chief and Major Cavagnari
lasted three hours ; and though the former was warned over and
over again, that the Amir would be deemed responsible for his
conduct, he expressed an unflinching determination to resist the
passage of the Mission by force. Not the faintest shadow of a
doubt is entertained that this officer was acting under full ins-
tructions from the Amir, inasmuch as Nufti Shah and Akhor,
two responsible officers of the Amir, have been despatched from
Cabul to Ali Musjid within the last few days. Both of these
officers have been mentioned in Cabul news-letters as favorably
disposed towards, and engaged in direct communication with the
Russian Embassy. Two important facts require to be noted —
the first that this insolent rebuff occurred in presence of the two
Indian Princes attached to the Mission, who were personal wit-
nesses of the interview between Major Cavagnari and the Amir's
officer ; the second is that the Russian Envoy is still residing at
Cabul. The Mission will be now withdrawn. In view of the
long-continued ungracious and hostile conduct of the existing

s— —a

196 LIFE OF

ruler of Afghanistan, aggravated as it is by the present con-
temptuous slight offered to our national dignity, all possibility
of renewing friendly relations with this uncompromising and
morose barbarian is utterly hopeless ; and even if the prospects
were still hopeful, their realization could only be accomplished
at the complete sacrifice of proper self-respect ; and at the grave
risk of very considerable loss of prestige in the eyes of our Indian
subjects and of our feudatory Princes. In consequence, there-
fore, of the present conduct of Russia, and the future policy for us
which this conduct now decisively indicates, and against which
fortunately for India, the Government and the English people
are most fully and completely warned, this important question of
Frontier policy will henceforward cease to be treated from a
merely Indian standpoint. It at once travels out of the domain
of provincial into that of imperial considerations, and those of
the very highest magnitude. No one is more keenly alive than
the Viceroy to this new development of the question ; and he clear-
ly discerns that it is only by the united efforts and energetic
co-operation of the English and Indian Foreign Office, that this
dangerously complex state of matter can be finally brought to a
satisfactory conclusion. The Indian Government are backed by
ample military resources to enable them promptly and severely
to punish the Amir for his insulting attitude of disrespect; but the
significant fact is fully recognized, that the Ameer is but the
puppet, while Russia stands behind as the deus ex maokina. The
measures, therefore, to be adopted in view of the Amir's conduct
cease to be a question of Indian policy, but are at once resolved
into a very serious problem of English foreign politics, which can
only be dealt with in strict accordance with the settled principles
of the English Cabinet. Meanwhile, the immediate object of
the Viceroy is to endeavour to make it clearly understand that
we have no cause of quarrel with the Afghan people, and to en-
deavour to win over and secure all the border tribes. The

—a

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.c.B.,C.S.l. 197

Khyberries have, on the present occasion, behaved well, and have
shown every disposition to remain friendly.

THE LATE LORD MAYO AND SHERE ALL

THE following conversation between Lord Mayo and the Amir
Shere All, took place at the Umballa Darbar in 1869 : —

The Governor- General. — " In the name of Her Majesty the
Queen of England and Sovereign of India I heartily welcome
your Highness."

The Amir. — " I am overpowered by this reception, and will
love the British Government all my life."

G. — " I trust that your Highness received proper attention
from all Her Majesty's officers j and that the journey was not
uncomfortable."

A. — " I have been astonished at the kindness which I have
received."

G.—" What does your Highness think of the Railway ? It
has just conveyed me from Calcutta in forty-four hours."

A. — " The Railway and all that I have seen is wonderful; but
the most wonderful thing is your Army."

G. — So renowned a soldier as yourself, will appreciate the
Army. His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief will give you
every opportunity for further inspecting the troops. I have
asked several renowned soldiers to meet you. What do yon
think of the Highlanders."

A.—" The dress of the Scotch is beautiful, and indeed terrific,
but is it decent ?"

198 LIFE OF

O. — " The people from whom these soldiers are recruited, are
divided into clans similar to these in Afghanistan 5 and each clans
is distinguished by the colors of its tartan."

A. — " In my country the same division exists, but the clans
are known by the cut, not the color, of the cloth.

G. — " Your Highness is fond of armies.'*

A — " I should think so. I was born a soldier, and have done
nothing but fight for forty -five years."

G.—." Is your Highness fond of hunting ?"

A.— " I have been too busy as a soldier. I leave hunting to
others. But my eldest son, Yakub Khan, is a good sportsman."

O. — " You are interested in guns ; you have seen the Snider
the Enfield and the Armstrong guns."

A. — " Yes, and we could make them in our country quite as
well as you ; but the cartridges are the difficulty. We could not
make them."

G. — " You do wrong to depend on England for your supply.
How are they made ?"

If Captain Grey hesitated for a moment in his Persian it was
on this occasion, when he evidently found it difficult to find in
that language words to express certain of the processes, but the
explanation was given to the Amir's satisfaction.

G. — " Your Highness is fond of horses, I have procured
some for your acceptance. They are the best I can obtain, but
they do not satisfy me."

A. — "That is not wonderful. I never saw a perfect horse.
A Turkoman c®sts from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 10,000."

G. — We breed good horses occasionally. I have paid atten-
tion to the subject."

MAJOR SIR LOUIS CAVAGNARI, K.C.B.,C.S.I. 199

The Amir replied as if he doubted the possibility of breeding
good horses at all, or out of Arabia ; -and asked why Indian
officers do not use Arabs as they used to do. The difficulties
placed in the way of exportation were explained.

G. — " I hope your boy has been amused ; he is a pretty
fellow," (translated by Captain Grew, — He has eyes out of which
the man shines.'*)

A. — " He is the true stamp of a man (Sikka murdana. He
comes of a family of men,

On this, the presents of fifty-one trays, valued at upwards of
half a lac of rupees, were brought in ; and the Earl of Mayo,
taking a sword, with jewelled scabbard, presented it to the Amir
with his own hands, remarking : " May you be victorious over
your enemies and with this defend your just rights I" The Amir
replied that he would use it also against the enemies of the
Queen of England."

JHE

14 DAY USE

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Full text of "The life and career of Major Sir Louis Cavagnari, C. S. I., K. C. B., British envoy at Cabul ... with a brief outline of the second Afghan war"

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