The march thus begun was carried out without the slightest opposition on the part of the tribesmen between Cabul and Peshawur; and it may be said that not a shot was fired after Cabul had been left. The heat was very trying in the Jellalabad Valley and the Khyber, but the men bore up bravely, and they had not this time to fight against cholera. It was believed that Gundamak or Jellalabad would be held until General Roberts reported that Candahar had been relieved, but the Indian Government were anxious to get the troops over the frontier, as the garrisons of Northern India were very weak. Lundi Kotal, therefore, once more became our outpost in North-Eastern Afghanistan, and the regiments composing General Hills’ division were sent to various stations in India, except such as were required to hold the Khyber posts.
Regarding the arrangements with the Amir: he received thirty guns (chiefly of small calibre), which we left behind us in Sherpur, and 19½ lakhs of rupees (£190,500). Of this sum ten lakhs (£100,000) were given as an earnest of British friendship, and 9½ were “restored” as merely belonging to the State. This was the sum seized in Yahiya Khan’s house in October 1879, upon our first arrival at Cabul. It was spent in purchasing supplies for the army, as our treasury was nearly empty at that time. The Prize Committee had regarded it as prize-money, but this view was not countenanced by the Government.
A concession was made which I strongly condemned in one of my former letters; the fortifications we had built about Cabul were not destroyed. The rather sophistical reason given for this course of action was that the Amir made many requests to us, all of which were at first refused with the exception of one respecting money. One request which he urged with singular pertinacity was that the forts, &c., we had built might not be destroyed. Again and again he was told his wish could not be granted, but he returned to the charge, pleading that his prestige would be lowered in the eyes of the people if we showed such open distrust of him at the commencement. The Government at last yielded to his insistance, and we left the chain of forts about the city intact: they will give our soldiers, perhaps, some amusement when we return in three or four years to annex the country. We refused to make any treaty with Abdur Rahman, and also to promise him gifts of arms and ammunition in the future, but with our rupees he should be able to equip an army pretty rapidly, and to consolidate his power.
PART II
THE MARCH UPON CANDAHAR AND DEFEAT
OF SIRDAR AYUB KHAN.
INTRODUCTION.
The following is a bare summary of the facts connected with General Burrows’ advance upon Girishk, and the defeat of his brigade at Maiwand. I have gone more into the details of the defeat in letters written after my arrival at Candahar, my informants being officers engaged in the action.