XL. 1839. CHAP. The army consisted of 9500 fighting men, 38,000 campfollowers, and 30,000 camels; and it was with the utmost difficulty, and only by the most strenuous efforts on the part of the commissariat officers, that provisions could be got for the enormous multitude in their march over the plains which lay between Ferozepore and the Indus. But the army was, generally speaking, still in high spirits. The weather was clear, bright, and invigorating. Supplies were, by herculean efforts, obtained in abundance; and at length the long-wished-for waters of the Indus appeared, and the fortress of Bukhur, which commanded the passage, having been seized, partly by persuasion, partly by violence, the army was crossed over on a bridge of boats. But when they quitted the banks of the Indus the difficulties of the march appeared in appalling magnitude. In the vast expanse of sandy desert, not a spot of green pasture met the eye, not a sound of rushing water saluted the ear. The hard, salt-mixed sand crackled under their horses' feet as the cavaliers galloped over the wilderness in search of the promised land. But it was long of appearing. The march from Shikarpoor to Dadur, at the mouth of the Bolan Pass, is a hundred and forty-six miles, which was traversed in sixteen painful marches. Water and forage there were none to be had in that howling wilderness. The camels, parched with thirst, fell down dead by scores on the road-side; and the fainting troops threw themselves on the yet quivering remains in quest of the little store of water they carried in their intestines. At length, to their unspeakable joy, they reached Dadur; but as there were no provisions 140, 160; there, and only a month's supply remained on their beasts 404-407; of burden, it was deemed indispensable to push on, and vi. 166-169. in the middle of March the Bengal army entered the formidable Bolan Pass.1 1 Havelock, Kaye, i. Thornton, Fortunately negotiation and gold, preceding the army, had there disarmed the hostility of the Beloochee tribes who held the pass, and no difficulties were to be appre XL. 1839. the Bolan hended but such as arose from the obstacles and impedi- CHAP. ments of nature. But they were so great as to occasion a very great loss to the army, and such as, if combined 62. with any serious resistance from man, would have ren- Passage of dered the passage impracticable. The pass is nearly Pass sixty miles in length, of continued and often very rapid ascent, shut in with stupendous precipices or wooded cliffs on either side. The joyful sound of rushing waters was here to be heard; but it little availed the thirsty troops, for the torrent which roared by their side was polluted by the multitude of dead camels which had fallen or been thrown into it by the advanced columns. The road was composed of sharp flint stones, which lamed the cattle, and such as fell behind were immediately seized by the marauding tribes which infested the flanks and rear of the army. The road was strewed with baggage, abandoned tents, and stores; and luxuries which a few weeks before or after would have fetched their weight in gold, were cast aside, or left to be trampled down by the cattle in the rear. At length the wornout troops emerged from the pass, and beheld with unspeakable joy an open mountain-valley spread out before them. "The clear crisp climate," says an eyewitness, "braced the European frame; and over the wide plain, bounded by noble mountain-ranges, intersected by many sparkling streams, and dotted with orchards and vine-Havelock, yards, the eye ranged with delight; while the well-known Kaye, i. carol of the lark, mounting up in the fresh morning air, Thornton, broke with many home associations charmingly on the 170. English ear." 1 187, 194; 407-409; vi. 169, On the 26th March the Bengal column reached 63. Quettah, a miserable town, presenting no supplies what- Increased sufferings ever to the troops; and then the difficulties of his posi- of the tion began painfully to present themselves to the com- troops. manding officer. Here Sir Willoughby Cotton had orders to wait for further instructions; but this had become impossible, for the supplies of the army were XL. 1839. CHAP. becoming very low, and although they were doled out in the scantiest measure to the unfortunate soldiers and camp-followers, yet they could not, even by the most rigid economy, be made to last much longer. The loaf of the European soldier was diminished in weight; the native troops received only a pound, the camp-followers half a pound, of flour a-day. Starvation stared them all in the face. In this extremity Captain Burnes repaired to Khelat, and by the promise of ample subsidies obtained from the khan of that place some trifling supplies of grain and camels, but adequate only to the wants of a few days. Supplies could not be found in the country. The inhabitants were subsisting on herbs and grasses gathered in the jungle. It was only by bringing down sheep from the higher mountains that any addition to the food of the army could be obtained. To push on as rapidly as possible, and reach a more fruitful region, was the only course which could be followed; but though Cotton acted with promptitude and decision, he was forced to wait till Sir J. Keane came up and assumed the command. Then the army advanced rapidly, and at length, on the 25th April, Shah Soojah, accompanied by the British officers, reached Candahar, the second city in his dominions, and the wearied troops found rest and food in a fruitful country. The losses in the march, though wholly unopposed, had been enormous: 20,000 beasts of burden had perished, whose remains had for long furnished the chief food to the troops, whose ordinary rations had been reduced to a fourth part of their usual amount. The sufferings of the men, and still more of the animals, during the latter part of the march, were indescribable; and never before had been seen how dependent is man on the vital element of water. Horses, already half starved for want of grain and grass, were throughout the day panting in all the agonies of thirst; and in the evening a few drops of water could not be obtained even to mix the medicines of the sick in the hospitals. Anxious looks were cast to every green XL. 1839. mound in the arid waste, and its base searched by panting CHAP. crowds in search of the limpid stream. If a stream was seen glittering through the trees on the side of the road, men, horses, and camels rushed with unbridled impetuosity to the side, and plunged their heads in the refreshing wave, drinking till they nearly burst. Often, when water was to be had only in small quantities, officers even of the highest rank voluntarily shared the much-coveted fluid with the humblest privates, proving that the Euro- 1 Havelock, pean had not degenerated from the time when, in the i. 323, 324; same desert, Alexander the Great, pouring away the hel- vi. 173-175; met filled with water offered to him, quenched the thirst 418-421. of a whole army.1 Thornton, Kaye, i. of Shah Candahar. April 25. The reception given to Shah Soojah in Candahar was 64. very flattering, and such as to justify in a great degree Reception the assurances held out by Captain Burnes and Mr Soojah in Macnaghten as to the disposition of the people to hail Car with joy the restoration of a prince of the ancient lineage. An immense crowd assembled to greet his approach; there were shouts, and the sound of music, and the noise of firing, and the countenances of the people evinced at least momentary pleasure. In the evening Mr Macnaghten wrote to Lord Auckland-"The Shah made a grand public entry into the city this morning, and was received with feelings amounting nearly to adoration." But the pleasing anticipations formed from this reception were much dispelled by what appeared at a grand review of the army, held a few days after, when the restored monarch first ascended the "musnud," or throne of state. The pageant was magnificent, and the troops, now recovered from their fatigues, made a brilliant appearance. But there was no enthusiasm in the crowd; "no one said God bless him." The English officers surrounded the king in their splendid uniforms of scarlet and gold; but few Affghans approached him.2 Murmurs 426-428; were openly heard against the Feringhees (infidels), who vi. 176-178. were come to exterminate the true believers; and it was 2 Kaye, i. Thornton, XL. 1839. 65. the Kyber Wade's force. July 25. CHAP. already evident that the Affghan throne, in the person of Shah Soojah, could be maintained only by British bayonets. Soon after these operations were concluded by the Passage of army of Sir John Keane in western Affghanistan, the by Colonel eastern force, nominally under Prince Timour, but really under Colonel Wade, was engaged in the arduous task of surmounting the Khyber Pass. This was a service of very great difficulty, for not only was the defile of great length and terrific strength, but to force it Wade had only a motley crowd of 6000 Hindoos, Sikhs, and Affghans, upon the fidelity of whom it was impossible to rely. The operation, however, was conducted with more facility than, in the circumstances, could have been expected. The Afredis who held the pass had had ample time to mature their defences during the long time that the British auxiliary forces lay at Peshawur; but such was the vigour of Wade's operations when he did advance, and such his diplomatic skill, that, partly by force, partly by address, all resistance was overcome. Prince Timour proved a weak, incapable man, who could never, unaided, have led his troops through the Khyber; but his deficiencies were amply supplied by the energy and ability of the British officers in command of the expedition. The pass was surmounted with but a desultory resistance, in overcoming which, however, the troops, regular and irregular, evinced the greatest spirit, and the Sikhs in particular gave token of those martial qualities which were destined ere long to try to the uttermost the prowess of the British soldier in the field. On the 25th July the fortress of Ali-Musjid, which commands the entrance of the defile, was invested, and on the following day it yielded to the well-directed fire of the guns under Lieut. Barr, of the Bengal artillery.1 This success, and the imposing aspect of the army which swept through the pass, broke up the confederacy of the tribes who were inclined to dispute the passage: some drew off their July 26. 1 Kaye, i. 468-470; Barr's Nar rative, 89, 94. |