The last few days have been remarkable for the trial and execution of no less than forty-nine prisoners, nearly all of whom were sepoys belonging to the Herat regiments which attacked the Residency. As already mentioned, General Baker captured forty-eight men in the Chardeh villages in his excursion of the 8th; and others were brought in by the headmen in fulfilment of their promise. In all, eighty-nine were tried by the Military Commission; and of these, eleven, twenty-eight, and ten were hanged on the 10th, 11th, and 12th instant. The remainder were released, as they were able to give a fairly satisfactory account of themselves, two only being retained, as they have promised to lead our search parties to villages where men are still lying hidden. These two men were to have been hanged this morning, and were only reprieved at the last moment. Every opportunity was given to these Afghan sepoys to explain their actions, and such lame stories as were invented were easy of disproof. Their maliks stated what men were absent from the villages, and whether they were with their regiments, or away at distant points during September and October. The muster-rolls in our possession showed the rank and regiment of the men, and in no case did the prisoners deny their identity. Such as were released were either poor wretches like gun-khalassies, or sepoys, who could show that they were nowhere near Cabul from September 1st to October 8th, and could not consequently have shared in the attack upon the Embassy, the battle of Charasia, or the fight on the Cabul Heights. These wholesale executions were mainly intended as a punishment to such as disregarded the Proclamation issued at Zerghun Shahr by General Roberts on October 3rd, and it is now thought an example, severe enough, has been made. The Afghan army, or such of it as exists, must see that we were thoroughly in earnest in threatening with death all who chose to appear as rebels against the then Amir, in whose name we were advancing. Of course the instant men came in and surrendered, putting themselves at our mercy, the task of hanging them became a very ungracious one—if they had only been guilty of contesting an advance. To-day, therefore, an amnesty was issued, under which all of this latter class were pardoned on condition of surrendering their arms. The following is the full text of the amnesty
Proclamation of November 12th, 1879.
“To all whom it may concern. On the 12th of October a Proclamation was issued, in which I offered a reward for the surrender of any persons who had fought against the British troops since the 3rd of September, and had thereby become rebels against the Amir Yakub Khan. I have now received information which tends to show that some at least of those who shared in the opposition encountered by the British troops during their advance on Cabul, were led to do so by a belief that the Amir was a prisoner in my camp, and had called upon the soldiery and people of Cabul to rise on his behalf. Such persons, although enemies to the British Government, were not rebels against their own sovereign, and the great British Government does not seek for vengeance against enemies who no longer resist. It may be that few only of those who took up arms were thus led away by the statement of evil-minded men, but rather than punish the innocent with the guilty, I am willing to believe that all were alike deceived. On behalf of the British Government, therefore, I proclaim a free and complete amnesty to all persons who have fought against the British troops since the 3rd of September, provided that they now give up any arms in their possession and return to their homes. The offer of reward for the surrender of such persons is now withdrawn, and they will not, for the future, be molested in any way on account of their opposition to the British advance. But it must be clearly understood that the benefit of this amnesty does not extend to any one, whether soldier or civilian, who was concerned, directly or indirectly, in the attack upon the Residency, or who may hereafter be found in possession of any property belonging to members of the Embassy. To such persons no mercy will be shown. Further, I hold out no promise of pardon to those who, well knowing the Amir’s position in the British camp, instigated the troops and people of Cabul to take up arms against the British troops. They have been guilty of wilful rebellion against the Amir’s authority, and they will be considered and treated as rebels wherever they may be found.”
It was not to be expected that clemency would be extended to such men as joined in the actual attack upon the Residency, or to the leaders, who misled the sepoys afterwards, by declaring that the Amir was an unwilling prisoner in our hands, and was calling, from his captivity, upon all true Mussulmans to resist the British, and to release him from the hands of his own and his country’s enemies. As we have had daily to watch the string of men passing along under escort to the Bala Hissar, many a keen regret has been felt that leaders like Nek Mahomed and Kushdil Khan have not been in their ranks. The demeanour of the men hanged has, in all cases, been one of stolid indifference: they accepted their fate as a matter of course, and, when surrounded by the bayonets of the Highlanders, tried to keep up a semblance of soldierly bearing, by marching in time and keeping shoulder to shoulder. But that one remembers the bitter treachery we have come to punish, and can almost look down from the foot of the scaffold into the pit in which the bodies of our brave Guides are lying, one might feel pity for the wretches whose fanaticism has put their heads into the noose. There were no extra precautions taken, even when twenty-eight men had to be hanged; a small guard of fifty men under a commissioned officer was told off from one of the British regiments, and the prisoners were marched off in the usual way. They apparently never thought of attempting to escape; and Cabul is so cowed by the military law it is now enjoying, that its rabble population has not spirit enough left to cry “a rescue.” Nothing can be quieter than the city, which has always been so notorious for bloodshed and turbulence: the shadow of the scaffold is over it, and not one among the ruffians who throng its narrow streets, and hide in its filthy purlieus, but feels its influence. They have hitherto traded upon our known weakness—the worship of the quality of mercy,—and it is only now that they understand the new principle of retribution we have introduced into our policy. Like Pollock, General Roberts might have destroyed their bazaar and left Cabul to its fate; but whether we withdraw again or not, there will be the tale of lives taken by our hangmen still to be counted over in the city and the villages; and who knows yet what powerful names may not top the list?
The work of the Special Commission dealing with the Massacre and intrigues of the Ministers has so far progressed, that, in a few days, I believe, the report will be ready. Each of the members—Colonel Macgregor, Dr. Bellew, and Hyat Khan—is writing a report; and from the three will be framed a final one, to be submitted to the Government, with such recommendations as General Roberts and his advisers may deem fit to make. The chief interest, of course, attaches to the Amir, whose fate now hangs in the balance. That he will at least be deported to India seems beyond doubt. What punishment will be meted out to the Mustaufi, the Wazir, Yahiya Khan, and Zakariah Khan, cannot of course be estimated; but if the evidence against them of inciting the rebel regiments to continue in arms is at all clear, they ought certainly not to be spared. They see day by day how unyielding we are in carrying out the work we have undertaken; and, if guilty, they must uneasily count their beads while calculating the chances of ultimate escape. The amnesty is so framed that they do not at present come within its scope, and they cannot tell the exact evidence which has been forthcoming as to their intrigues. They are closely guarded, and all access to them will be forbidden until their sentence is pronounced. There is one prisoner in the row of tents where our captives are confined who is to be treated to-morrow to the smart punishment of fifty lashes, and his case is a peculiar one. When the Ghilzais and their allies were investing the Shutargardan, Colonel Money received a jirgah who proposed certain terms which I have before characterized as absurd. The tribes proposed, first, that the force then in Shutargardan should retire to Ali Kheyl, the Ghilzais finding carriage for their stores and giving hostages as a guarantee of good faith. This was declined, and they then made a similar proposition, giving Kushi as the destination of the troops instead of Ali Kheyl. On this also being rejected, the jirgah said that on promise of payment of two lakhs of rupees they would disperse the tribes. This was laughed at by Colonel Money and Dr. Bellew, and the jirgah were dismissed. One Ghilzai chief, losing his temper, said:—“Very well, to-morrow morning we will come and cut all your throats.” This part of the programme did not come off, and this man had afterwards the audacity to come into Camp here, no doubt to see how we were progressing. He was recognized and arrested, and to-morrow he will be sent back to his tribe well scored with the lash. He will, perhaps, use greater discretion in future. While on this matter of the Shutargardan investment, it is worth mentioning that one section of the tribes has been punished in a manner that may rather astonish their chiefs. When it was believed that the telegraph line would be permanently laid to Cabul from Ali Kheyl, large quantities of timber were purchased from local maliks, one section (the Ahmed Kheyls, I believe) supplying Rs. 6,000 worth. They had been paid half this sum; but as they broke faith by joining the other tribesmen during the late disturbances, General Roberts has sanctioned the confiscation of the Rs. 3,000 still due to them. This will be a heavy fine, and is a ready mode of punishing them. The cost of laying the line from Ali Kheyl westwards to within a few miles of Dobundi was over Rs. 20,000, and nearly all the wire and posts have been carried off by the hillmen—a costly experiment to us, which it is to be hoped will not be repeated.
We are now rejoicing in the probable opening of the road from here to Jugdulluck, as arrangements have been made by General Hugh Gough for the garrisoning of the posts. Our quarters in barracks are not quite ready, and such a sudden access of cold as that now experienced is difficult to withstand in the light tents our men have to live in. Yesterday there were signs from the early morning that some change was threatening, the sun being obscured by a haze which, in the eyes of the natives, meant snow. Late in the afternoon one of the local khak-bads, or small dust-storms, swept over Camp, and this was followed by light rain, just sufficient to lay the dust. A great fall of temperature occurred, which drove us to seek the warmth of poshteens and over-coats, and just before sunset sleet began to drift down. For about an hour it fell, not very heavily however, and soon the whole cantonment was whitened over. The hills about were all obscured by light clouds, which closed down upon the plain, and we began to fear heavy snow would fall. Fortunately, however, for our comfort, it cleared up soon after six o’clock; but a sharp frost set in, and the night was bitterly cold, water freezing even in our tents. To-day the sky was as blue and clear as in June, and the frozen sleet soon disappeared as the sun shone out. In sheltered places little patches of white are still seen, while the Pughman mountains are covered with snow. An early and severe winter is expected from this sudden change, although it is possible two or three weeks of bright genial sunshine may still be in store for us before the real winter snow-fall covers the country. A flying column, made up from General Baker’s brigade, was to have started for Ghazni on the 15th, General Roberts in person accompanying it; but it is probable that the expedition will now be postponed. It would involve great hardships to march troops between 80 and 90 miles exposed to sleet and snow storms; and as the chief object of the journey would be to secure food and forage, other means may, perhaps, be found to gain the end in view. The proclamation of an amnesty will give confidence to villagers at a distance, who may now be tempted to bring in supplies.
There has not been much excitement in Camp apart from the news of a skirmish at Doaba, in which the 67th had, at last, a chance of distinguishing themselves. We shall only gain particulars of this little fight, which has cost us four killed and five wounded, when General Macpherson comes in on the 14th.
CHAPTER XII.
Winter Supplies—The Forage Difficulty—Lack of Civilized Appliances and Inventions—Compressed Hay—The Sick Convoy for India—Alleged Atrocities—The Inquiry into Dr. Bourke’s Statement—An Exaggerated Description of the Charasia Battlefield—General Macpherson’s Excursion to Tagao—Attitude of the Safis—Shere Ali’s Military Road along the Northern Bank of the Cabul River—The Skirmish at Doaba—Narrow Escape of Captain Poole’s Company—Defeat of the Safis.