The Afghan War of 1879-80: Being a Complete Narrative of the Capture of Cabul, the Siege of Sherpur, the Battle of Ahmed Khel, the Brilliant March to Candahar, and the Defeat of Ayub Khan, with the Operations on the Helmund, and the Settlement with Abdur Rahman KhanHensman, Howard
History
The Afghan War of 1879-80: Being a Complete Narrative of the Capture of Cabul, the Siege of Sherpur, the Battle of Ahmed Khel, the Brilliant March to Candahar, and the Defeat of Ayub Khan, with the Operations on the Helmund, and the Settlement with Abdur Rahman Khan
Among our other visitors are the Hazaras: the hewers of wood and drawers
of water, as they have been called, of all Afghanistan. Their Mongol
type of face, beardless and with the true slanting eyes of their race,
is noticeable at once among the Jewish-looking Afghans whom they serve
so well. Sunburnt, and with many coats of dirt upon them, they look the
real labourers of the land; and as their stalwart backs are generally
bent under heavy loads of firewood or huge sacks of forage, it can be
seen they are no drones. They are always very intent upon their work,
never loitering or wonder-struck; and in this respect they resemble the
Ghoorkas. They are good-humoured and happy enough, and any stray
salutation cast to them is always answered by a smile and a nod of their
felt-crowned heads, as if kindness were too rare not to be acknowledged.
Sometimes their burdens are very different from those just mentioned,
for they come staggering in with a score of matchlocks or Enfield rifles
on their backs which their village _maliks_ have sent in to be bought up
and destroyed by the Sirkar. This bringing in of arms has been quite a
feature of camp life, it being by no means unusual to meet a file of
these men, each laden with the guns that are to be given up. They are
thrown down, and counted by soldiers told off for the duty, and the
idlers from the city gather round to stare at our contemptuous
examination of the weapons. As most of the guns are loaded and even
doubled-loaded, it is somewhat risky to meddle with them; but curiosity
prompts us to look down muzzles and cock triggers in a most reckless
way. The Sniders are safe enough to handle, as the breech can be opened
and any cartridge withdrawn; but with the others it is different.
Tower-marked Enfields rest side by side with the old two-grooved
Brunswick rifle; while Cabul-made smooth-bores and imitation Enfields
are mixed with jhezails and the “Brown Besses” the Indian Government
gave away so lavishly in the days of their foolishness. We are
destroying these arms—locks, stock, and barrel—except in the case of
such Sniders as seem really serviceable. The Afghan Snider is by no
means a badly-made weapon, and the cartridges from the Bala Hissar
Arsenal are equally good. The latter are of a kind known as solid-drawn,
with strong bases, and if recapped can be used several times with
perfect safety. Where machinery and skilled mechanics are scarce, this
is, of course, a great consideration. We do not find many cartridges
delivered up, and it seems a pity that a small price was not fixed upon
powder and lead so as to make disarmament more complete. There are
thousands of good rifles still scattered over the country, in the hands
of the Amir’s soldiers; and, in the future, ammunition will be greatly
in request, now that the Bala Hissar has fallen into our hands. A few
swords, bayonets, and knives, have come in, but they are of no account.
We have received over 3,000 rifles and guns of the different kinds
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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