Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎36v] (73/312)

|THE PASSES" OP THE SULEI
MAN AND HINDOO KOOSH.
Through the mountain ranges that at present
form the north-west frontier Region of British India bordering Afghanistan. of India there exist
innumerable passes of various degrees of practica
bility. The smaller of these mountain ranges,
| known as the Brahuik Mountains, lies just beyond
i the borders of Scinde, and divides the Belooch
district of Kachhi from the metropolitan State of
i Khelat.' Kachhi was conquered from the Nawabs
of Scinde by Abdullah Khan, of Khelat, in 1730,
and ever since that year has formed part of the
State of Beloochistan. Through this range are
several passes, »notably the Bholan and Mula, but
there are nine others which the natives make use of
in passing trom Kachhi to Sarawan and Jhalawan,
and the crossing of which occupies seven days.
The Nagau and Bhore Passes lead to the city
of Khelat direct, and are, if feasible for
camel traffic, the most advantageously situated of
all the Brahuik Passes. The Mula and Bholan are
formed by the action of the rivers, or rather
torrents, of those names, and mark respectively
the southern and northern limits of this mountain
range. The Mula (Muloh), or Gandava Pass,
begins at a place called Pir Chatta, nine miles
distant from the town of Kotri, which is ten miles
south west o^ Gandava. Between Pir Chatta and
the next stage, Kuhan, the Mula river has to be
crossed nine times. During the later stages of the
journey the same stream has to be passed
repeatedly, so tortuous is its course. The pass
continues in a southerly direction as far as Narr,
which is a cultivated spot where supplies could be
obtained. At Narr a cross-road leads through the
village of Gaz, to the Belooch town of Khozdar,
but the Mula Pass turns north-west in the
direction o Khelat. The top of the pass
is reached at the village of Ang ra, where
the altitude is 5250 feet, but it is only for
a short d:stance that the height exceeds
j 4000 feet. The great ob ection to the Mula Pass
lis its length—iO^ miles—and the fact that it only
leads to Khelat, 10J miles south of Quettah; for
otherwise it is preferable, in a military sense, to the
Bholan, The average rise or the whole distance is
45 feet in the mile. General Willshire returned by
this pass after the capture of Khelat, and Mr.
Masson had also travelled by it. At the present
moment this pass is open, and continues so
throughout the year ; it is only in .Tuly and August
dangerous from the floods that come during the
wet season.
The Bholan Pass, of which we practically
hold possession by our garrison at Quettah, and
its support at Dadar, begins five miles to the ;
north-west of tiie latter place. Its great advantage j
over tiie Mula is that it is only 60 miles'
in length, and that it leads straight to
Quettah on the Afghan frontier. Its crest is 5800 t
feet above the sea, and its average ascent gives
90 ieet to the mile. The great obstacle used to be
from the Sir-i-Bholan torrent, but that was only
active during a few weeks in the wet season. In
the old days this pass used to be invested by the
Marris and Khakas, Belooch tribes, but since our
occupation of Quettah there has been complete
tranqudlity. In 1889 the army of Sir John Keane
took six days to traverse it, and this must be held
to have been capital marching when we consider
the vast multitude of camp followers and the difli-
culties of transporting a siege train. A light
column could periorm the distance in three days.
It is necessary to remember in computing these
distances that these passes take one far into the
Afghan territory, and not, like the northern passes,
only into its outskirts. Quettah is very nearly in
: the same longitude as Khelat in the Ghiljie country,
and considerably westward both of Cabul and
Ghizni.
Korth of the Brahuik range, but 150 miles to
the east of it, comes the Suleiman. That distance
is the ill-defined border between Kachhi and ihe
Afghan province of Siwistan, and is held by the
Marris, Boogtees, and other tribes. The l oosharees
and Loogarees are their neighbours, and acknow
ledge in some very vague sense their Afghan
nationality. Through the Suleiman range proper
there are numerous passes; the Vad or Pass
from Dera Ghazi Khan ; the Sari and Sounhra
Passes from Lund; the Sangarh Pass from
Tauhsa ; the Drug Pass from Jhok Bodo ; the
Burkoie and Vahowa Passes from \ ahowa;
the Shakau and Draband Passes from Dera Ismail
Khan ; the Gumal or (Jomul from Tak or Tank ;
and the Dawar from Bunnoo. Of all of these passes
we know little or nothing ; but their principal
drawback is that they are beyond the Indus,
an i out of the way of our two true points of
passage at Attock and Sukhur. Our knowledge of
the GomUl Pass is principally derived from General
Chamberlain's Expt-dition against the Muhsoods in
1800, when the force under his command operated j
against those marauders in the very heart of the hill
country. 1 he most striking part of this campaign
was the gallantry with which an original plan was
carried out. The little army, 5000 strong, left its
base of Tak, in the month of April, 1860, and
pushing its way uptha Zam stream passed on boldly
and steadily for the Muh.-ood stronghold. The force
was accompanied not only by mountain guns on
mules, but also by ordinary field guns. Their
village of Kot Shingee was occupied, and a sur
prise on our camp at Puloseen was repulsed, after
some hard fighting, with heavy loss to the assailants,
who left 130 dead upon the field. From Puloseen
we marched on their capital of Kaneeghorum,
which was occupied after a severe fight had taken
place along the banks of the Zam, The Muhsood
country surrounds the lofty pinnacle of Peerghul,
and is very inaccessible to at ack. The lesson read
them by the pretent Sir Neville Chamberlain
was a severe one, although it had cost us many
lives and no small sum of money ; and ever since
the Muhsoods have given us little trouble on a
large scale, although petty acts of marauding con- j
tinue. The Gomul Pass leads straight to Ghizni,
and was the principal one used by Mahmoud o
Ohizni in his numerous invasions of Hindostan ;
but in view of tne hostility of the Muhsoods and
other VVaziris it may be held to be at present use
less to us. _ To our mind the Draband Pass, from
Dera Ismail Khan through the Shevranee country,
is the most likely among the passes in this quarter
to be of importance to us in any campaign. There
are roads of some kind that lead due west into
Afghanistan, and that would strike the Cabul
road probably at Mukur, halt-way between Khelat-
i-Ghil ie and Ghizni.
North of the Dawar Pass and Bunnoo the Waziri
country makes an indenture into the Indian
frontier similar to that farther north by the Afree-
dee tongue of land between Kohat and Peshawur,
and 25 miles to the north of Bunnoo, with the
Waziri territory intervening, lies he small place of
Thull, on the banks of the Khurum river. Its
importance is that from it there is a pass by that
river to Cabul and Ghizni. Sir H. Lumsden's
iVjission entered Cabul by this road. So far as the
fort of Mahomed Azirn, 50 miles, the road is
direct and iairly passable. From this place to
Habib fort, and thence through the Paiwar Pass,
the linglish Mission in 1857 worked its way by a
devious route to Haidarkhel, a village on the Cabul
road > a little to the south of Shaikhabad. But
there is a shorter road to Cabul than this, which is
available during the summer months at all events,
and that is by the .^haturgardan Pass, north-west of
the Paiwar, which debouches on the (daces named
Dobandi and Zurgonsha,in the immediate vicinity of
the capital. By this road the distance from Thull to
Cabul is under 150 miles. In order to reach Ghizni,
the road followed by the Lumsden Mission must
be taken, turning off near the village of ivushi. It
is unnecessary to say much of the Khyber, which
has been often described, and which is the most
northerly of these passes. There are various small 1
passes north and south of the Khyber, which strike
that pass to the rear of Ali Musjid, and which, if
utilised, would isolate the garrison from all support.
To make these available for our forces both the
Momunds and the Afreedees must be propitiated.
The travels of the Mollah have thrown con-
siaerable light on the Bajour district north of the
Cabul river; from them it would seem to be
quite possible to secure Lalpura, by an advance
from our fort of Aba aie by the Inxan Pass,
Lalpura is at the Afghan entrance to the Khyber,
and a stronghold of the Momunds. It could
only be sei/.ed with their approbation, but
it is apropos to remember that, in 1839,
we installed at this place a new ruler, Torabaz
Khan, who remained faithful to us through good
and ill fortune. The precedent might prove to be
of practical importance.
Havingdescribedthechief passes that lead through
tne Sule.man and Safeid Kho, we may glance bri ;fiy
at those fartherwestin Cabul itself. Between Quettah
and Candahar there are two ranges of mountains,
and the country to be traversed is far from being
as easy as some would have us believe. The
English army took eighteen days in marching the
j 1£0 miles that intervene, although their advance
was unresisted. The country is admirably adapted
for purposes of defence, and at Haidarsye, Hykulsve,
and the Khojuck Pass a resolute soldier could
easily retard the advance of an invading army.
1 he Khojuck Pass through the Amran range is
over 7000 feet. It would be very unwise on our
part to attempt to minimise the difficulties of
an invasion of A glum st; n by disregarding
the natural difficulties mountain ran gga have in tpr.
posed. Once we are at Candahar the whole of
Afghanistan south of the Hindoo Koosh is at otu?
mercy, for between that city and Cabul there are
no passes worthy of the name, although the posi-'
tion on the Maidan hills is very strong. In tha
direction of Herat there are several, but thesa
need not be considered now, as Girishk and tha
Helmund are the limits of our proposed measures,
unless events become developed in Persia and tha
Turcoman country. Of the northern passes through
the Hindoo Koosh, the best known is that of
Bamian, or Sighan. The altitude of this, on the