While the shortest and easiest route between Peshawar and Kohat traverses the Kohat Pass, there is an alternative, though tortuous, connection between these two outposts by way of the Jamu and Bori[[107]] Passes through the country of the Jawaki division of the Adam Khel Afridis; and when the early disturbances which have been above described made communication difficult and hazardous by way of the Kohat Pass, the Jawaki Afridis offered to carry the mails by their route, which for a short time was in actual use. But the misbehaviour of the Jawakis was soon found to be at least equal to that of their fellow-tribesmen, and during 1851–53 they committed serious raids in the Kohat, Khushalgarh and Peshawar districts, the Bori villages especially becoming the refuge for every robber and murderer of that part of the Border. The amount of plunder taken by the men of Bori in 1852–53 was said to have surpassed that of any former period, and Captain Coke reported that there were half a dozen stolen cattle in every house. Every effort was made to persuade the Jawaki Afridis to see the error of their ways, to avoid the committal of crimes in British territory, to refuse passage through their lands to outlaws and criminals, and to come to terms with the Punjab Government, but they rejected all propositions and nothing therefore remained but to send a military force against them.
Jawaki Expedition of 1853
Expedition against the Jawaki Afridis, November 1853.—The Bori Valley is about twelve miles long and has an entrance at each extremity; but as they are both very narrow and very defensible defiles, it was determined to cross the outer range at the most favourable point, and the Sarghasha Pass, crossing the outer range between Kandao and Taruni and believed to be the most practicable road, was chosen. The force—a squadron 7th Irregular Cavalry, a mountain battery, two nine pounders, 22nd Foot, Corps of Guides, 20th Native Infantry,[[108]] 66th Gurkhas, and a company of Sappers and Miners—under Colonel Boileau, advanced very early on the 29th November from Bazid Khel where it had been covering the construction of Fort Mackeson. The Sarghasha Pass was found to be steep, winding, narrow and long, but fortunately it was not held, and the Bori villages were not occupied in any strength, the Afridis inhabiting them having taken to the spurs commanding them. From these they had to be dislodged by the Guides and Gurkhas, led by Lieutenant W. S. R. Hodson of the former regiment, who had a hot struggle with the enemy in holding the heights, while the villages were being destroyed, and in withdrawing when the retirement commenced. The valley was left by the Taruni exit, up to which point the rearguard was as usual hotly pressed. Camp at Bazid Khel was regained at 8 p.m., the force having suffered a loss of eight killed and twenty-nine wounded. The effect of the expedition was apparent—not in the losses of the tribesmen, which were actually rather fewer than our own—but in the fact that within a few days the men of Bori made overtures of submission, and, after somewhat protracted negotiations, they agreed to our terms and gave hostages for their future good behaviour.
After the settlement of 1853 with the Kohat Pass Afridis, the Pass remained open until 1866, when the Basl Khel and Hassan Khel divisions seemed inclined to give trouble, endeavouring to interfere with the Pass arrangements, plundering the mail, kidnapping our subjects and firing on our posts. The assembly, however, of a punitive force soon changed the aspect of affairs, the tribesmen at once submitted to our terms, gave hostages, and for another ten years free passage through the pass was assured.
In 1876 the question of the construction of a cart road through the pass was reopened; the majority of the Pass Afridis appeared to raise no objection, but the Sharaki men absolutely refused to listen to the proposal, and by placing obstructions on the road, ill-using travellers, and insulting the Government messenger sent to summon them to a meeting, they necessitated the closing of the pass to Afridi trade. Reprisals immediately commenced; raids were made in British territory, cattle were carried off, and the towers on the crest of the pass and which were in charge of the levies were burnt. In these outrages the Galai Khel alone were at first implicated, but ere long the Hassan Khel and Ashu Khel divisions were included in the blockade which had been established. By March 1877, however, all the offenders had submitted and the pass was again opened.
In this year a consideration of the re-allotment of the pass allowances was rendered necessary, as it was found that in some cases these were paid to divisions which rendered no appreciable service, while others received more than their dues. The Jawakis had hitherto been paid a sum of Rs. 2000 per annum, despite the fact that their settlements did not abut on the pass, and that they had in the past proved themselves incapable of assisting in the safeguarding of the road. It was proposed by Government to withdraw this Kohat Pass allowance from the Jawakis, but to give them an equivalent sum for guarding the Khushalgarh road and telegraph line, which, running close to the hills of independent tribes, were always liable to attack. Without, however, awaiting the decision of the Government, the Jawakis began, in July 1877, to give trouble; on the 15th they cut the Kohat-Khushalgarh telegraph line in several places; on the 24th they attacked a police escort on the Kohat road and rescued a couple of Afridi prisoners; on the 17th August they carried off a number of Government mules from near Khushalgarh; on the 19th they attacked and burnt a village; on two other occasions bodies of Jawaki Afridis attacked small armed parties moving along the road; villages in our territory were constantly raided; and finally, on the 27th August, a bridge on the Khushalgarh road was burnt. At the end of August it was decided to make a sudden dash into the Jawaki country with the object of quickly effecting as much damage as possible, and so bring them to terms, the season of the year being unfavourable for protracted operations.
Trouble with the Jawakis
Expedition against the Jawaki Afridis in August 1877.—Brigadier-General C. P. Keyes, C.B., commanding the Punjab Frontier Force, was to have had charge of the proposed operations, but in his absence through illness the command devolved upon Colonel Mocatta, commanding the 3rd Sikhs. The force employed was divided into three small columns, of which the first, consisting of a mountain battery, 45 sabres, and 625 bayonets, was to enter the Jawaki country by the Tortang defile, thence pushing forward, as rapidly as possible, until arrival at a central point at the northern end of the Gandiali ravine, so as to cut off the retreat in that direction of the enemy’s main body, which, it was anticipated, would be opposed to No. 2 Column in the Gandiali defile. The second column—621 bayonets—was to advance up the Gandiali Pass at daylight, and keep the enemy in play until the first column should be in position. The third column—201 bayonets of the Guides—advancing from Shadipur on the Indus, via Sheikh Aladad Ziarat, was to cut off the enemy’s retreat along the Tambal Hills, thereafter effecting a junction with the other two columns, the whole force retiring to British territory by the Gandiali Pass.
The operations were carried out as arranged, the junction with No. 3 Column being effected at the village of Lashkari Banda; but, owing to the difficulties of the road and the pressure of the enemy on the rear guard, the original intention of retiring by the Gandiali Pass had to be abandoned, and the whole force was withdrawn by the Kuka China Pass to the border village of Talanj, and thence to Gumbat on the Kohat-Khushalgarh road. The men had been under arms in a burning sun for twenty hours, had marched nearly thirty miles, and had sustained eleven casualties—one killed and ten wounded.
These operations did not have the quieting effect which had been anticipated, chiefly because the loss of the Jawakis in killed and wounded had been but trifling, while the actual destruction of property had fallen upon one small section of the division alone. Their hostile attitude consequently remained unchanged, and aggressions upon British territory did not cease. Outrages of all kinds continued throughout September and October, and another expedition into the Jawaki country became imperative.