According to the prevalent opinion, Jellalabad lays claim to considerable antiquity, as it has been supposed to represent the site of ancient Nysa. Numerous copper coins, as well as some curious antiques, have been from time to time collected in the vicinity of this place by the natives. Unfortunately, nearly all the gold and silver coins and reliques have been melted down, as the natives themselves admitted, and converted into bangles, nose-and-ear rings, or other ornaments, for the dusky beauties of Jellalabad. Several copper coins, bearing the name of Hermæus, king of Nysa, distinctly legible, were bought amongst the country people. The inscription was in Greek letters, and as follows:
ΒΑΣΙΑΕΟΣ ἙΡΜΑΙΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ.
Those of the Bactrian monarchs found in different parts of the country are also in Greek; and the figures and hieroglyphics on the coins have been converted, by erudite conjectures, into an endless variety of meanings. Heaven, earth, and sea have been ransacked to discover the symbolical allusions on a piece of grangrened copper; and the half-effaced toes of a Bactrian savage were successively mistaken for the signs of the Zodiac, the trident of Neptune, and a Barbarian coronet.[52] By dint of much cleansing, the toes became apparent, then appeared the legs; and over them, the body and intellectual countenance of the tiresome Hermæus shone conspicuous, with a well-flattened nose, and a pair of monstrous eyes, one of which seemed to leer with a knowing expression of cunning on his indefatigable polishers.
Near Jellalabad, we found encamped some of Runjeet's Mussulman troops, which had accompanied Colonel Wade through the Khyber Pass, about three months previously, when that distinguished officer advanced upon Ali Musjid, and opened his batteries on that remarkable fortress. The siege was conducted with such vigour, and so severe was the effect of the cannonade, that the loss on the part of the besieged must have been very serious, although the exact number of the sufferers could not be ascertained. Colonel Wade's losses, in killed and wounded, during the investment, amounted to something less than two hundred, which was about the strength of half the garrison.
In the course of the first night after the investment of Ali Musjid, intelligence reached the garrison of the fall of Ghuzni, and of the return of Mahomed Akbar with his forces from the mouth of the Khyber towards Caubul. This news, it is supposed, coupled with the incalculable losses of the previous day, induced the Khyberees to evacuate Ali Musjid during the night. Next day, the fortress was joyfully taken possession of by Col. Wade; and that celebrated despatch was penned which informed Lord Auckland and the people of India that, in consequence of "The capture of Ali Musjid, and the successful advance of the British forces into Afghanistan, there remained no doubt of the speedy dethronement of Dost Mahomed, and the favourable issue of the Afghan campaign."
Having quitted Jellalabad, we proceeded along the banks of the Caubul river, which is here skirted for some distance by a stony plain, over which the deadly simoom is said to be an occasional traveller during the hot season. Five marches from Jellalabad brought us to the gorge of the formidable Khyber Pass, the position occupied by Mahomed Akbar at the opening of the campaign. The mountains through which this defile runs are inhabited by the Khyberees, a tribe who have from time immemorial exacted tribute of all passengers through their gloomy mountains, and Dost Mahomed himself considered it politic to pay them annually a large sum to keep open the pass for traffic, as well as to secure so formidable a barrier against any sudden freak of his hereditary enemies in the Punjaub. These troublesome mountaineers also succeeded in exacting contributions from the inhabitants of the Peshawur district, in payment for a stream of water which issued from the Khyber mountains, and supplied the frontier position of the Sikhs at Futtehghur.
Colonel Wade, in his passage through this defile, endeavoured to treat with the chiefs of the Khyberees; and even bribed some of them, by a considerable bonus, to ensure a free passage; but, subsequently, so many presented themselves to demand bribes, that the negotiation bade fair to become expensive, and it was evident that this hydra was more amenable to steel than gold.
Many of the chiefs had expected payment, for the use of their productive mountains, on the return of the army through the Khyber pass, but part of Colonel Wade's force had returned, and no bribes for the chieftains had accompanied them. The Khyberees, therefore, were much exasperated at the prospect of a failure of revenue; and, fearing that if once the precedent of passing freely through their mountains were established by the British, their black mail might henceforth be reduced to a cipher, they vowed vengeance on the first intruders, and had now an opportunity of trying the experiment.
The entrance of the Khyber much resembles that of the Bolan pass, except that the footing was the same as on a beach of shingles in the former, and in the latter a platform of rock. On our flanks rose abrupt rocks, during the first day's march, untenanted by animal or vegetable; barrenness held undisputed rule.