From the Black Mountain to Waziristan / Being an account of the border countries and the more turbulent of the tribes controlled by the north-west frontier province, and of our military relations with them in the past

by H. C. Wylly

Two guns, 1/8th Royal Artillery. 250, 85th King’s Own Light Infantry. 250, 18th Bengal Cavalry. 250, 20th Punjab Infantry.

The object of the expedition was to seize men and cattle of the Malik Shahi section as security for their share of the fine. These people are almost entirely nomadic, spending the summer on the slopes of the Siah Koh Mountains, and wintering on both banks of the Kurram River between the ninth and sixteenth milestones on the Thal-Bannu road. In order to reach them it was necessary to traverse the whole of the Kabul Khel settlements; and the difficulty, therefore, of the enterprise lay in moving through Kabul Khel country without warning reaching the Malik Shahi section, and so giving them time to escape from the comparatively open country watered by the Kurram River, into the more intricate hill country to the west in the direction of the Siah Koh.

The force left Thal at 9.30 p.m.; the advance party surrounded the Malik Shahi encampment at the south-west of the valley, another party, detached to the left, surrounded other settlements on the Charkhanai plateau; while a third small party went to the right to try and capture some noted Wazir thieves; the supports remained at Drozanda on the Thal-Bannu road. The surprise was complete, 2000 head of cattle and 109 prisoners were taken, and the force returned to Thal on the 28th, where, two days later, the jirgahs came in, and within a few weeks the whole of the fines due had been realised from the Malik Shahi and Kabul Khels; their conduct did not, however, materially improve, despite the punishment they had received and the knowledge they had acquired of our ability to exact reparation from them whenever it should suit us to do so.

Our later dealings with the Darwesh Khel Wazirs will be described further on in this chapter.

The Mahsud Wazirs

Mahsud Wazirs.—The reputation of the Mahsuds has never been good; they have from the earliest days been notorious robbers, and their raids upon British territory have been frequent and serious. The Powindah caravans of the warrior traders, mostly Ghilzais, which pass to and fro by the Gomal Pass between Afghanistan and India, bringing Central Asian merchandise as far as the markets of Benares and Patna, have ever been the objects of constant attack and harassment by the Mahsuds, whose country commands the Gomal; and both in 1855 and 1857 John Lawrence, the Chief Commissioner, urged the Government to undertake retributive measures against them. Again, in 1859 and 1860, Brigadier-General Chamberlain, Commanding the Punjab Frontier Force, made similar appeals, but Lord Canning, to whom the matter was then referred, decided against an expedition as not being actually urgent at the moment.

In March 1860, however, the Mahsuds committed a most serious and unprovoked act of aggression. This was nothing less than the arrival before Tank of some 3000 Wazirs, under one Jangi Khan, with the intention of sacking the town, which stands on the plains some five miles from the foot of the hills. Warning of the intended attack had, however, been received, and Ressaldar Saadat Khan, of the 5th Punjab Cavalry, commanding the post, had taken the necessary steps to oppose the tribesmen. He had called in mounted men from other posts in the neighbourhood, and had collected levies and horsemen in the service of the Nawab of Tank, and on the 13th March he moved out towards the hills at the head of 158 sabres of his regiment and thirty-seven mounted levies. He found the Wazir lashkar drawn up near the mouth of the Tank Pass, and, feigning retreat, he drew the enemy after him into the plains. The cavalry then turned and, having cut off the enemy’s retreat, Saadat Khan charged in the most dashing manner. The Wazirs were cut down, ridden over and put to flight, leaving 300 dead on the ground, including six leading maliks, and having many more wounded. The Ressaldar’s force had only one man killed and sixteen wounded.[^[137]]

Expedition of 1860

Expedition against the Mahsud Wazirs, 1860.—It was now felt that operations must be undertaken against the Mahsuds, and Brigadier-General Chamberlain was accordingly ordered to take a force into their hills. The general decided to advance by way of Tank; this line was better known than that via Bannu, and it led more directly to the country of the tribesmen concerned in the recent outrage; he intended, moreover, should the Mahsuds not early come to terms, to advance to their chief places, Kaniguram and Makin, returning to British territory by the Khaisora defile debouching near Bannu. It was expected that the Mahsuds would probably make a stand, either at an advanced position at Hinis Tangi or at the more retired Shingi Kot, protecting the actual entrance to their country. As a matter of fact, however, they did not seriously defend either position, and as this was the first occasion upon which operations in the Mahsud country had been undertaken, there was no precedent to guide the commander and troops as to the amount of resistance which was to be expected, or where it would most probably be met.

A large number of levies—about 1600,—chiefly drawn from the hereditary enemies of the Mahsuds, were called up to take part in the expedition, while the regular portion of the force, assembled on the 16th April at Tank, was composed as under: