To Herat and Cabul: A Story of the First Afghan War

by G. A. Henty

"Well, we are going to dig more wells," Mr. Macnaghten said rather impatiently. "If the water will run into three or four wells it would run into fifty. Now, about forage?"

"There were small patches of cultivation round each of the villages; at Bhag more than elsewhere, as it lies nearer to the foot of the hills; but at Meerpoor, Burshoree, and Rojhan I should not say there were more than twenty or thirty acres of cultivated land. At Bhag I was strongly advised to take the road at the foot of the hills to Dundeaver down to Larkhanna, and from there to follow the Indus up to Sukkar; but the guides said that I should be more likely to be troubled by the Beloochees along that route, and as it was also twice as far I took the straight way here."

"Thank you. We will not detain you any longer, Mr. Campbell, and we are obliged for the information that you have given us."

Angus bowed and retired. He felt that Mr. Macnaghten was vexed that he could not report better upon the chances of obtaining sufficient supplies of forage and water. But he felt that it was clearly better that he should give, in the plainest terms, the true state of affairs, for when, as he was sure would be the case, there was immense suffering of men and animals, the blame would fall upon him if he had given a more hopeful account than the facts warranted.

Sir A. Burnes sent for him on leaving the general's tent.

"You did quite right in not giving a rose-coloured description of the state of things along the line of march, Mr. Campbell. Of course neither Mr. Macnaghten nor General Cotton liked it. Neither of them, in fact, has the slightest idea of the troubles ahead of them, and both were inclined to view me as a pessimist. However, it will not matter to you very greatly whether Macnaghten is pleased with you or not, because your reports will be sent in to me. This sort of work will not last very long. I have only undertaken it because Major Garden, General Cotton's quarter-master-general, has been taken ill. Major Craikie, the adjutant-general, will go forward with me the day after to-morrow to superintend matters generally. I hope by that time to have a thousand more men for well-digging. Major Leech has gone to Sebee to cut a dam there on the river Naree, which it is hoped will fill the small water-courses and greatly assist us. I have more fear about forage than water. You can dig wells and cut dams, but you can't get a crop to grow at a day's notice. However, we must hope for the best."

The next morning at three o'clock Angus and Lieutenant Macgregor started with the labourers and an escort of fifty native cavalry.

"I am very glad to be off, Campbell," Macgregor said. "It has been disheartening work for some time. Somehow or other nothing has gone smoothly since we started. Of course I am only a sub, but certainly it seems to me that so far there has been an enormous amount of unnecessary friction, and that the chiefs have not gone the right way to work. I don't believe myself in this Shah whom we are going to force upon the Afghans. Dost Mahomed is worth a dozen of him, and no one who knows anything of the affairs of Afghanistan is able to understand why Lord Auckland and Macnaghten and the rest of them should ever have conceived the idea of supplanting a man who has shown himself really desirous of our alliance and friendship, and who undoubtedly possesses the support of a majority of his countrymen, by one who has never shown any talent, who has no party whatever in Afghanistan, and is a member of a discredited and fallen family.

"Still, that is their affair; but matters have been complicated by the manner in which the Emirs of Scinde have been treated. Instead of regarding them, as they have always shown themselves, as friendly to us, we have gone out of our way to render them hostile, by the manner in which we have, in absolute contradiction of the terms of their treaty with us, compelled them to furnish carriage, provisions, and money. Had they been a conquered country we could not have carried matters with a higher hand. It will be sure to lead to trouble some day, and certainly adds immensely to our difficulties. Now, the very fact that, in the days when he was for a short time ruler in Afghanistan, Soojah advanced all sorts of preposterous claims of suzerainty over a large portion of Scinde, was in itself a reason why, if we took the absurd step of placing him on the throne of Cabul, we should have advanced from Peshawur through Jellalabad direct, instead of taking this roundabout journey through Scinde. Of course there would have been great difficulties in the Khyber, and we should have had to encounter fierce opposition from the hill-tribesmen, but that will have to be met in any case. And after installing Soojah at Cabul, we could have gradually extended his power—or ours, for of course he would be but a puppet in our hands—through Ghuznee to Candahar. Of course you won't hear any talk like this among the officers of the Bombay or Bengal army. They know and care nothing about the matter. It is just among the men who have been employed here in the north, and who know something about it, that there is any doubt as to the wisdom of the affair. I know Burnes considers that the whole thing is a mistake. Colonel Pottinger, who, as our resident in Scinde, knows a great deal about the Afghans, says little, but I know that he disapproves of it; and so, I think, do all of us juniors, who have worked either under him, or with Burnes, or up in the Punjaub, and have, of course, always taken an interest in the affairs of Afghanistan, especially since Russian influence has become so preponderant in Persia. Well, we can only hope for the best, and do our best in our own little way. Thank goodness, whatever comes of it, we have no responsibility in the affair."

"I really know very little about it," Angus said; "but I do know that it will be a terrible business getting the army to Quettah, and that directly it was determined to come this way arrangements should have been made to dig sufficient wells to ensure a supply of water at every watering-place, and to collect stores of forage and grain. I really don't see how it is to be done now. From all that I could hear as I came down, there will be a lot of trouble with the Beloochees."