towards the

Scinde.

engagements. Whatever may be the real facts of the case, the question is one A.D. 1838. which concerns the contracting parties." He afterwards gives it as his opinion "that it is not incumbent on the British government to enter into any formal Injustice investigation of the plea adduced by the Ameers." In other words, while pro- Ameers of fessing to act as umpire between two parties, he does all he can to enforce the claim of the one, and refuses to look at the documents produced by the other to show that the claim was groundless. The whole proceeding is in fact disgraceful. Runjeet Sing has been bribed into a treaty by the promise of a large sum of money; Shah Shujah, besides having engaged to furnish the sum, needs in addition to it a large sum for his own purposes; and the governorgeneral allows himself to become the instrument of extorting both sums from a third party, who is under no obligations to pay it, and whom the British government was specially pledged to protect against all injustice. Such being the manner in which advantage was taken of the supposed weakness of the Ameers to extort money from them, it is easy to understand how suspicious they were of every proposal made to them, and how they had recourse to all possible forms of finesse and tergiversation, in order to evade the conclusion of a treaty which they regarded as equivalent to a renunciation of their independence. Ultimately, however, after their capital was threatened by the advance of Sir John Keane from the south, and Sir Willoughby Cotton from the north, they saw the necessity of yielding with as good a grace as possible, and signed a treaty conceding everything that had been asked of them.

them.

The terms and the advantages secured by the treaty are thus summed up Treaty with by the governor-general in a letter to the secret committee:-"I may be permitted to offer my congratulations to you upon this timely settlement of our relations with Scinde, by which our political and military ascendency in that province is now finally declared and confirmed. The main provisions of the proposed engagements are that the confederacy of the Ameers is virtually dissolved, each chief being upheld in his own possessions, and bound to refer his differences with the other chiefs to our arbitration; that Scinde is placed formally under British protection, and brought within the circle of our Indian relations; that a British force is to be fixed in Lower Scinde at Tattah, or such other point westward of the Indus as the British government may determine-a sum of three lacs of rupees per annum, in aid of the cost of this force, being paid in equal proportions by the three Ameers, Meer Noor Mahomed Khan, Meer Nusseer Mahomed Khan, and Mea Meer Mahomed Khan; and that the navigation of the Indus, from the sea to the most northern part of the Scinde territory, is rendered free of all toll. These are objects of high undoubted value, and especially so when acquired without bloodshed, as the first advance towards that consolidation of our influence, and extension of the general benefits of commerce throughout Afghanistan, which form the great end of our designs. It cannot be doubted that the complete submission of the Ameers will go far towards

Ameers of
Scinde.

A.D. 1839. diffusing in all quarters an impression of the futility of resistance to our arms. The command of the navigation of the Indus, up to the neighbourhood of the Treaty with junction of the five rivers, will, by means of steam vessels, add incalculably to the value of our frontier; and the free transit of its waters, at a time when a considerable demand for merchandise of many kinds will be created by the mere onward movement of our forces, will give a spur to enterprise by this route, from which it may be hoped that permanent advantages will be derived" These are undoubtedly great advantages, but it is deeply to be regretted that when the governor-general congratulated the secret committee that they had been acquired "without bloodshed," he was not able to add that they had been acquired honourably, without fraud, extortion, and intimidation.

Advance of

the British army towards Af

experienced.

The treaty having been signed by the Ameers on the 5th of February, 1839, there was no longer any occasion for the downward movement on Hyderabad, ghanistan. nor any obstruction to the advance of the Bombay force. The Bengal army accordingly having crossed the Indus at Bukkur, reached Shikarpoor on the 20th of February, and on the same day, the Bombay force continuing its march along the right bank of the Indus, arrived at Sehwan, situated on the Arrul, about four miles above its junction with the Indus. On the following day Sir Henry Fane, who had now quitted the army and was hastening down the river to embark for England, arrived, with his fleet of boats, at the point of junction, and after an interview with Sir John Keane, continued his voyage. At Shikarpoor the plan of giving the lead to Shah Shujah's force was abandoned, and Sir Willoughby Cotton, leaving the 2d brigade behind, started at the head of the other two, on the 23d, after a halt of only three days, in the direction of Dadur, situated N.N.W., at the entrance to the celebrated Bolan Pass. The Difficulties real difficulties of the march had now commenced. The route lay through a country which was almost desert, and the effect of excessive fatigue and deleterious forage on the carriage cattle became daily more and more manifest. Even the road between the Indus and Shikarpoor had been literally strewn with dead and dying camels. What might now be expected when, in addition to other physical difficulties, a want of water began to be experienced? The roads which had been previously cut were tolerably good, but nothing could be more desolate than the tracts through which they led. The soil, if such it could be called, was merely a hard sand impregnated with salt, which crackled beneath the horses' feet, and where a few stunted thorny shrubs were almost the only signs of vegetable life. "From Rojhan," says Havelock, "to the town and mud-forts of Burshoree, extends an unbroken level of twenty-seven miles of sandy desert, in which there is not only neither well, spring, stream, nor puddle, but not a tree, and scarcely a bush, an herb, or a blade of grass.' Over this dead monotonous flat, where delay was impossible, the army hastened as rapidly as it could, and at Burshoree, where numerous wells had been previously dug, obtained some refreshment, though the water still scantily supplied

was of very indifferent quality. Head-quarters were fixed at Bhaj on the 6th of A.D. 1839. March. Here, water being found in abundance, and grain in sufficient quantities to supply immediate wants, the remainder of the march to Dadur, where the Cutch Gundava desert terminates, was accomplished with comparatively little difficulty, though with every step in advance the number, boldness, and dexterity of the marauders seemed to increase. Exactly three months had elapsed since the army moved from Ferozepoor. While the Bengal army had been thus advancing, Sir John. Keane was toiling up the right bank of the Indus, much obstructed by the nature of the ground, but suffering little from insufficient supplies, as a fleet of boats was accompanying him. On the 4th of March he reached Lackhana, while his boats advanced as far as Roree. As part of the Bengal force was still stationed here, Sir John Keane proceeded formally to assume the command of the army of the Indus. Some new arrangements were at the same time made. The infantry formed two divisions-a Bengal and a Bombay, the former consisting of three brigades, denominated 1st, 2d, and 4th, commanded by Sir Willoughby Cotton; Military arand the latter, consisting of two brigades, a 1st and 2d, commanded by Majorgeneral Wellshire. The cavalry, formed into two brigades, designated by their presidencies, were commanded by Brigadiers Arnot and Scott. The command of the whole artillery was given to Brigadier Stevenson.

rangements.

Pass.

On the 14th of March, the leading column, consisting of the horse artillery, the 2d light cavalry, H.M. 13th light infantry, and the 48th native infantry, started from Dadur, and passed onwards to penetrate into the Bolan Pass, which gives The Bolan the only practicable entrance into Afghanistan from the south-east. It is a deep continuous ravine about fifty-five miles in length, intersecting the Brahuick Mountains, part of the range which, breaking off nearly at right angles from the Hindoo Koh, stretches, under different names, from north to south with little interruption, through nearly ten degrees of latitude. The pass is traversed by a river of the same name, the channel of which, covered with boulders and rounded pebbles, is the only road. On both sides, the mountains, which at their greatest elevation are nearly 5700 feet above the level of the

of the Bolan

A D. 1839. sea, alternately close and recede, sometimes leaving gaps of considerable width, but more frequently approaching within 400 to 500 yards, and presenting Description abrupt precipices of conglomerate of a dull and uniform brown colour, "as Pass. repulsive in appearance," says Outram, "as they are barren in reality." In some places the river is hemmed in between perpendicular rocks, which leave it a channel of sixty to eighty feet wide. This during the rainy season it-completely fills, so that an army caught in it would inevitably perish. Nor is this the only danger to be apprehended in these narrow gorges. The mountaineers, concealing themselves within the caves on each side, lie in wait for plunder, and seizing the fit opportunity, rush forth and make an easy prey of their helpless victims in the channel below. Such was the pass through which the British army was now to penetrate. To smooth the way, money had been distributed with a liberal hand among the mountaineers, but little confidence could be placed in their pacific professions, and it was at all events to be apprehended that the Barukzye chiefs,' now threatened with extinction, would, without waiting to be attacked, hasten to meet the invaders, when the very nature of the ground would almost to a certainty secure them the victory. Strange to say, though marauders were numerous, no hostile force appeared, and the army, threaded by which had entered the pass on the 16th of March, finally emerged on the 24th into the valley of Shawl, without an encounter. Three days afterwards it encamped in the immediate vicinity of Kwettah or Quettah, the capital of the district, and one of the dependencies of Mehrab Khan, the Beloochee ruler of the province of Khelat. His alleged failure to fulfil the conditions of a treaty made with him by Sir Alexander Burnes afterwards brought down the vengeance of the British government upon him, and cost him his life; but it is difficult to believe that if he had been as treacherous and hostile as he was said to be, he would not have manifested it when he might have caught our army among the entanglements of the Bolan Pass.

It is successfully

the British

army.

Halt at
Dadur.

Sir Willoughby Cotton, now under the command of Sir John Keane, had been ordered to halt at Quettah. This seems a simple operation, but was, under the circumstances, one of serious difficulty. On leaving Dadur, his supplies were adequate to not more than a month's consumption. Half of that period had already elapsed, and the calculation now was, that were the march continuous and unopposed, only a few days' supplies would remain in store when Candahar should be reached. How much then must the threatened starvation be increased by the halt which had been ordered? Under these circumstances the only expedient that could be devised was to diminish consumption. "Accordingly," says Havelock, "from the 28th of March, the loaf of the European soldiers was diminished in weight, the native troops received only half, instead of a full seer of ottah per diem, and the camp-followers, who had

For illustration of a Barukzye, see p. 372

2 The seer weighs 2 lbs.; ottah is wheaten flour prepared in a particular way.

starvation.

hitherto found it difficult to subsist on half a seer, were of necessity reduced to A.D. 1839. the famine allowance of a quarter of a seer." Some prospect of relief was obtained from the treaty which Sir Alexander Burnes had just concluded with Threatened the Khan of Khelat, who, in return for a guarantee of his real independence by the British government, had agreed to yield a nominal allegiance to Shah Shujah, and to furnish supplies of grain and camels. These supplies were never given, and there was reason to suspect that the khan was craftily endeavouring to keep the peace with both sides, until he could see clearly which of the two was to win. At the same time he made no secret of his opinion. Shah Shujah "ought," he said, "to have trusted to the Afghans to restore him; whereas he is essaying to deluge the land with Hindoostanees, an insult which

his own people will never forgive him. This will never do. You English may keep him by main force for a time on the musnud, but as soon as you leave the kingdom, your Shah Shujah will be driven beyond its frontier. He will never be able to resist the storm of national and religious animosity which is already raised against him in the breasts of the Afghans." It is rather curious that while Mehrab Khan, who was doubtless well informed on the subject, was thus declaring the unpopularity of the sovereign who was about to be imposed on Afghanistan, he was himself giving utterance to language which proves that the hatred was mutual. Mr. Macnaghten, in a letter to the governor-general, speaking of Shah Shujah, says, "His opinion of the Afghans as a nation is, I regret to say, very low. He declares that they are a pack of dogs, one and all, and as for the Barukzyes, it is utterly impossible that he can ever place the slightest confidence in any one of that accursed race. We must try and bring him gradually round to entertain a more favourable opinion of his subjects." There was thus a double hatred to be overcome. Where, then, was the attachment so loudly boasted in the Simla manifesto, and in which even yet both the governor-general and the envoy professed to have implicit faith?

VOL. III.

241

Mutual dis

like of Shah

Shujah and

the Afghans.