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THE RUSSIANS AT THE GATES OF HERAT.
During the Afghan war he acted as political officer to Sir Frederick
‘Roberts, and took part in all his military operations. At the close
of the campaign he was made Foreign Under Secretary to the Gov-
ernment of India. In this manner he was intimately acquainted
with the outer politics of India, and knew thoroughly the views of
the Government.
Captain Durand was a son of the hero Sir Henry Durand, and for
several years had been acting as political agent attached to the ex-
Ameer Yakoob Khan, the ruler who connived at Cavagnari’s murder
at Cabul. Captain Yate had been political agent at Kelat-i-ghilzai
during the Afghan war, and had been besieged there by the enemy.
Merk was a wonderful linguist, and was noted for his skill in deal-
ing with hill tribes. Scessoi was a Danish officer, who had once
served in the Shah’s army. Maitland and Talbot, Gore and Hill,
were Intelligence and Survey officers, noted for their pluck and
capacity. The whole of the officers were picked men, and there
was not one who had not participated more or less in hard fighting.
As regards the native members, they were all gentlemen of dis-
tinguished character and antecedents, and most of them were Af-
ghans. Sirdar Mahomed Aslam Khan was a brother of the British
agent at Cabul, and had charge of the local tribal levies of the
Khyber. Rissaldar Major Mahomed Hussain Khan had been em-
ployed for years on various delicate political missions.- Rissaldar
Major Baha-ud-din Khan had served in every Indian campaign for
thirty years, and was Sir Frederick Roberts’s faithful henchman at
Sherpur and Candahar. Sirdar Sher Ahmed Khan was a cousin of
the Ameer and a son of the present Afghan Governor of Candahar,
and had served as Ridgeway’s assistant at Cabul. These native
colleagues of the English ‘‘politicals” were thus not only most
of them old personal friends and fellow-workers of the latter, but
were also closely connected with the Ameer’s officials at Cabul and
Candahar, This was an immense advantage. .
But this was not all. The Afghan Governor of Herat, the Naib-
el-Hakmut Mahomed ‘Sarwar Khan, was likewise an old friend of
Ridgeway’s. The mission was thus certain of a warm reception at
Terat. Some troublesome tribes had to be passed at one section of
the road (a very small and insignificant section), but every assistance
was to be expected from the Amcer’s officials. . .
To protect it against those tribes and any troubles that might arise
on the Turcoman frontier, the mission was furnished with an escort
composed of 200 men, splendidly mounted, of the 11th Bengal
Lancers (better known as ‘‘Probyn’s Horse”) and 250 bayonets of
the 20th Punjab Infantry, than which no native regiment in the
service contains men of finer physique and bearing. Major Ironside
Bax was placed in command. .
A correspondent who accompanied the mission says of these Indian
troops, ‘‘ The infantry were almost all light-hearted, cheery Afreedecs
of the Khyber Pass.” They walk with extraordinary rapidity, and
are big men. Their march is as quick as the ordinary pace of the
cavalry; they are fine, high-spirited, free-spoken men, who cheer to
the pipes’ tunes as they march, and they come in at a swinging pace,
with pipes playing, on each camping-ground. The cavalry, Sikhs
and Rajputs, are also splendid men, possessing excellent spirits, and
are well equipped for the journey.’
As usual, there were a large number of followers, and these swelled
the total to 85 Europeans and 1300 natives, The transport consist-
ed of 1300 camels and 400 mules.
To avoid any chance of complications, the mission was ordered to
proceed to Herat, not by the direct Candahar road, but by a more
Circuitous route through country comparatively unpopulated, and
consequently free from fanatics.
Quitting Quetta on the 22d September, the party reached Herat on
November 17th, having traversed over 700 miles,* at the average
tate of eighteen miles a day, with relatively little hardship, and with-
out any unpleasantness to speak of with the natives. The march
Was attended with a very important discovery. A route which had
been hitherto treated as ‘almost impracticable was found to be avail-
able for the advance of a large army.
In other words, if the Russians penetrated to Herat by the easy
roads Lessar had discovered, and we allowed them to remain there,
they would be able with very little difficulty to advance into the
heart of Afghanistan by the route opened up by Ridgeway’s party.
Hence the discovery of the practicability of the Nushki route for a
large force rendered Herat all the more significant as the Key of
ndia.
Arrived at Herat, Ridgeway was received in the heartiest manner
by the Afghan Governor, ‘ ‘The two,” says an eye-witness, ‘‘ shook
each other warmly by the hands. The Naib was in the best of humor;
his full, jovial face, of an olive tint, had a merry look, and his large,
soft eyes beamed a genial welcome. He looked such a Governor as
he was reported to be—mild in his rule, and in his acts showing good
sense and practical justice. The good spirits of the Naib appeared
to have affected the soldiers and irregular troops. _ They performed
the exercises which we could sce they thought would please us most.
They were very anxious to win our opinion, and there was some-
thing very naire in the manner in which they tricd to gain it. After
the Naib and Colonel Ridgeway had shaken hands, the Afghan in-
fantry were put in fours and marched by companies in front of the
mission, with the cavalry in the rear; with cach movement the bugles
* {67 from Quetta to Kusan.
19
—sweet sounds they were, too—sounded. As the troops marched by,
the buglers began to play a lively martial air with a French ring.
The little we heard of the bugle march was most effective. Many
of the men wore woolly hats, which gave them a swaggering look,
They were warmly clad and a large number had Sniders. The
cavalry were well equipped and capable of going anywhere.”
Another officer present says: ‘The artillery, consisting of
mountain guns, marched past first. The guns appeared to be in
good order. The cavalry were rather mounted infantry, and, so far
as dress and horse accoutrements, they were perfectly equipped and
were much admired by our oflicers. The irregular horse were bet-
ter mounted, having larger horses, and had a gallant appearance.
They rode by in a free, easy pace, moving as if carefully trained.
The officers were of many types, but the one who attracted our atten-
tion most was a captain, who wore a felt hat, which if not disrespect-
ful, I should call a billycock hat with a stiff rim and a gold-colored
spike on the top. The other portions of the captain’s dress were equal-
ly original and displayed much character. He had an Irish-American
look, which was exaggerated by a chin tuft, for the captain shaved his
cheeks. It was a much-disputed point whether the captain was an
Irishman or not. I think he was not; but what do ye faithful of
Hind say to this? The captain hada bulldog, and an excellent one,
that ran at his heels and followed him at the side of his Herat regi-
ment. And all this under the shade of Sheik Abdulla Ansari in the
Herat valley! It only shows in another way that’the Afghans are
not all the intolerant fanatics they are supposed to be in England.”
Between 2000 and 8000 troops mustered on the ground, and their
march past was an event of the highest political significance. For
the first time, after two generations of war, the Afghans passed in re-
view before and saluted a British oflicer.
While the Afghans and the Indian contingent were fraternizing
in sight of Herat, Sir Peter Lumsden was hastening to join them
from Sarakhs. On the 19th of November, after a journey of 1000
miles from Resht, on the Caspian, he joined Ridgeway’s party at
Kusan, 70 miles west of Herat, close to the Persian frontier, greatly
to the relief of the Afghan Governor, for already events had occurred
which had occasioned him deep anxiety. .
Without waiting for the English and Russian frontier commissions
to arrive upon the spot, General Komaroff had occupied Pul-i-
Khatun, on the Hari Rud, and Alikhanoff was advancing up the
Murghab. - The gates of Herat were in danger.
It has been said that the Afghans provoked this advance by seizing
Penjdeh, but there are one or two facts that will effectually clear the
ground of this contention. Penjdch was oceupied by the Afghans
in June or July, 1884. Lumsden left London in September. The
occupation of Penjdeh had been announced in English papers a
long time before he left, and had been officially admitted by the Eng-
lish Government. There was no secret whatever about it. Why
did not the Russian Government raise and settle the question before
Lumsden left England?) They had already selected their commis-
sioner, General Zelenoi,* and there was no reason why he should not
have arrived at Sarakhs in advance of Sir Peter Lumsden. Instead
of which they kept him back on various pretexts, and when ours
began to approach the frontier from Teheran, they pushed on their
troops to Pul-i-Khatun, and endeavored to carry Penjdeh by a
coup de main.
Why the Russians should have made this dash at the gates of Herat
is capable of simple explanation,
We have scen that for some time after their seizure of Merv their
position at Merv was unsafe. It was in March when they effected
their swoop; it was in May that Youletan submitted—the Afghans
occupied Penjdeh late in June or early in July, Writing from Merv
in May a correspondent of the Tiflis Karkaz stated that there was
still a considerable amount of discontent in the Tekke oasis. Until
this feeling subsided more, it was hardly safe to make a fresh ad-
vance.
Still, Alikhanoff was not a man to rest inactive. The moment the
Sariks of Youletan submitted, he commenced intrigues with the
Sariksof Penjdeh. As I have already stated, Youletan is geograph-
ically part of the Merv oasis. The 4000 Sarik families dwelling
there consequently had always been on good terms with the Merv
Tekkes, and the fortunes of the two consequently travelled together.
But Penjdeh is 80 miles distant from Youletan, and the interval is
an interval of desert. The fertile ground lies behind Penjdeh toward
Herat. Thus, geographically, Penjdeh is to Herat what Youletan is
to Merv, and the 8000 Sarik families dwelling there had not only
paid tribute to the Ameer for years, but were the tiercest enemies of
the Merv Tekkes.+ In this manner the submission of the Youletan
Sariks in no wise carried with.it the submission of the Sariks of
Penjdeh. fad Alikhanoff advanced at once up the Murghab, the
Afghan Sariks would have doubtless resisted his attempts to annex
them. ©
Aware of this, Alikhanoff sought to buy themover. IIe sent agents
to Penjdeh to endeavor to persuade the people to declare for Russia.
Reports of this reaching the Afghan Governor of Herat, he marched
* © It was erroneously stated, shortly after Lumsden left, that Rv
England by appointing Alikhanoff as the frontier commissioner. There was no
ground for this statement. Sir Peter Lumsden himeelf told me, before his de-
parture, that Zelenof had been chosen for the post.
+ See Petrnsevitch’s report in “ Merv, the Queen of the World,” aud Lessar’s ace
counts of his own explorations, in the “ Russians at Mery,”
sia had insulted