advanced, the 92nd under Major White and the Guides' Infantry rose from the shelter of the karez, and all three regiments went up at the hills from which the enemy had annoyed Colonel Jenkins for nearly seven hours. The whole movement was carried out to perfection; our force swept onward in the shape of a fan, and cleared orchards, hills, and open country of every armed man. A plucky charge was made by the Ghoorkas: General Macpherson sent word that he wished a hill cleared of the enemy without further firing, and Captain Hill telling his men what was expected of them, the brave little fellows fixed bayonets, gave a cheer and carried the hill. The Guides' Cavalry were sent out into the open over the low Childukhteran Kotal on the Kushi Road, and succeeded in killing some thirty stragglers. The main body kept to the near ranges of hills, or sought refuge in nullahs and ravines intersecting them. The mountain guns got into action, and made good practice wherever any small groups of fugitives collected, and by two o'clock the tribesmen were scattered and were making their way as best they could along the hills out of reach of our cavalry and artillery. Their loss must have been very heavy, as over 100 bodies were counted on the ground, and they had carried off many others during the morning. In the ditches where the ghazis had planted their standards, within 200 yards of our men, more than twenty bodies were found, lying just as they had fallen. These were nearly all men shot through the head, showing the good practice made by our advanced skirmishers. Our expenditure of Martini and Snider ammunition was over 70,000 rounds, while the two guns of F-A battery each fired forty-eight rounds. Our loss in men was severe for such a skirmish: 92nd Highlanders, one killed, seven wounded (one mortally); F-A, Royal Horse Artillery, one wounded; Corps of Guides, four killed, twenty-one wounded; 45th Sikhs, two wounded: total, five killed, thirty-one wounded. Of the Guides nearly all the casualties were among the cavalry. When the enemy had been thoroughly cleared off the ground-the cavalry pursued them four miles-orders were given for the whole force to return to Sherpur, and the march back was accomplished without incident, except that the Ghoorkas made prisoners of twelve or fifteen villagers who had fired upon The Hostile Leaders. 387 our troops. General Roberts met General Macpherson at Beni Hissar and rode back with him to cantonments. The Kohistanis had remained quiet and undemonstrative during the day; but it was not thought fit to allow the force to remain out at Charasia for the night, though our retirement after a successful action is sure to be misconstrued by the Afghans. To-day it has been ascertained that the enemy's losses were 400 or 500, of whom at least half were killed. The Chardeh villages alone are said to contain 200 dead. The leaders were Sirdar Mahomed Hasan Khan, ex-Governor of Jellalabad; General Mahomed Karim Khan; Padshah Khan, Ghilzai ; Mahomed Shah Khan, of Kalunga; and minor maliks of Baraki Rajan and Charkh. The body of men they commanded was 5,000 strong, and included Logaris, men of Chardeh, Safis from Tagao, Kohistanis, and Ghilzais from Padshah Khan's villages. It seems a pity that a faithless scoundrel like Padshah Khan cannot meet with his deserts. He was forgiven for fighting against us in December, and now he coolly breaks his word with us again, and collects his men and attacks our troops as if he had never received any subsidy from us. Hasan Khan's followers were well armed, many with Sniders and Enfields, and a few with Martini rifles, bullets from the latter being picked up by some of our officers. To-day (Monday) all is quiet again, but our picquets are still stationed on Asmai and the Bemaru Heights. CHAPTER XXVII. General Ross at Sydabad-Skirmishes with the Enemy-Junction of the Cabul and Candahar Forces-Sir Donald Stewart assumes Command in Northern AfghanistanMr. Lepel Griffin and the Kohistani Chiefs-A British Mission sent to Abdur Rahman Khan at Kunduz-Sir Donald Stewart's March from Candahar to Ghazni -Attitude of the Tribes en route-The Hazara Contingent-Scarcity of SuppliesThe Battle of Ahmed Khel-General Stewart's Formation of Attack-Strength of the Afghan Force-Attack by Ghazis-Defeat and Dispersion of the EnemyThe Afghan Loss-The March to Nani-Capture of Ghazni-Action of Urzoo-A Second Victory-Mushk-i-Alam's Plans. May 2nd, 1880. GENERAL ROSS had to clear the hills about his camp at Sydabad on two occasions prior to General Sir Donald Stewart's force arriving from Ghazni, but there were scarcely any casualties on our side. It would seem that 1,500 or 2,000 men gathered on the hills to the west of the camp at Sydabad on the 25th, and built sungars on several ridges, as if with the intention of holding their position to the last. To clear these hills a strong body of our troops, made up from the 9th Foot, 2nd Ghoorkas, and 24th Punjabees, with some of the mountain guns, were sent out, and they soon drove the enemy from the ridges. The sungars were first shelled, and then a rush made up the hills. The Afghans had a few ghazis among their number, as is usually the case, and these stood to their post and were shot down; but the main body fled in confusion. The Ghoorkas killed sixteen men in a nullah, and altogether forty bodies were counted on the ridges. Our loss was one Ghoorka killed and two wounded. On the following day, Monday the 26th, the enemy again showed on the hills, and again our men had to chase them away, two companies of the 23rd Pioneers sharing this time in the climbing. Again the enemy fled in confusion from ridge to ridge, losing ten or twelve killed. Much to the disgust of our men, the Afghans would not wait to come under the fire of our Martinis and Sniders at 200 or 300 yards; the shells from the mountain guns being Sir D. Stewart Commands at Cabul. 389 effective in scattering any groups which for a few moments held together. After this the overt resistance on the part of the moollah, Abdul Gaffur, was at an end, and Mahomed Jan and Hasan Khan were no longer heard of. A force visited Lungar, and destroyed the moollah's forts, obtaining some small amount of loot in the shape of books and china. Sir Donald Stewart's force left Ghazni on April 25th, having had a second action with the enemy at Urzoo, seven miles from Ghazni. On the 29th of April General Ross started for Maidan with his force, which had been joined by the heavy battery of 40-pounders belonging to the Candahar column. Sir Donald Stewart, with Colonel Chapman, Chief of his Staff, accompanied General Ross. Yesterday (May 1st) the force marched to Kila Gholam Hyder, on the Cabul side of Argandeh. The Candahar column turned off from Sheikhabad into Logar, where it will probably stay, collecting revenue and supplies for the next few weeks. As it is over 6,000 strong, it is not likely to meet with much opposition; and, indeed, it is stated that the chief Logari maliks have already made their submission. To-day General Ross marched to Sherpur; the elephant battery is located in Sherpur, while General Gough's Brigade is again encamped on Siah Sung. General Sir Donald Stewart arrived at about ten o'clock. Sir F. Roberts and Staff and Mr. Lepel Griffin rode out a few miles to meet him, and he was received at the head-quarters gate by a guard of honour of the 92nd Highlanders. A salute of fifteen guns is to be fired in his honour to-morrow morning. To-day he has taken over the command from Sir F. Roberts, a divisional order announcing that he commands the whole of the troops in Northern Afghanistan. In regard to political matters here, we seem to have come to the end of our negotiations with tribesmen pure and simple, for the hundred Kohistani maliks who have been staying in Cabul were dismissed to their homes on Saturday by Mr. Lepel Griffin. The text of his speech in Durbar was as follows: : "Your paper of requests has been carefully considered, and until some decision is given by the Government it is your duty, and it will be to your advantage, to remain quiet in your villages. Do not vainly imagine you will obtain anything by clamour and opposition. You have seen that the people of Ghazni, Logar, Maidan and Wardak have not been able to withstand for a moment the British arms, and have been punished for their hostility. The only fruit of their opposition is that they have to pay every penny; their revenue would otherwise have been remitted. You will tell those of your leaders Two maliks, Mir Agha Sahibzada and Mir Gholam Hyder, were especially mentioned as having done good service during their stay, and three other minor chiefs were singled out as deserving credit for aiding the British Government in the current negotiations. The most important feature in the Durbar was the announcement that the chiefs had guaranteed the safe-conduct of two Sirdars on Mr. Griffin's staff through Kohistan. These are Ibrahim Khan, Khan Bahadur, of the Punjab Police, and Wazirzada Afzul Khan, Ressaldar of the Bengal Cavalry: and their mission is to visit Abdur Rahman at Kunduz. What their instructions are, I cannot say; but if the Kohistani chiefs, Surwar Khan and Mir Butcha, have promised to ensure their personal safety, it seems probable that we are at last on the eve of direct negotiation with Abdur Rahman, who has unquestionably won the goodwill of the Kohistanis. We can punish any breach of faith easily with the force now in Cabul; and this being known to the chiefs at Baba Kuch Kar, the dispersion of bands of men such as are now scattered about Koh-Daman is probably only a question of a few days. 5th May. There is, of course, great difficulty in describing an action from hearsay, and in making at all vivid an account of severe fighting one has not seen; but it is the privilege of even the humblest historians to deal with important events almost as confidently as the coolest eye-witness, and I meekly claim that privilege in regard to the late action south of Ghazni. There will, almost of necessity, be errors in the story of the fight, but they are only such as will arise from causes beyond my own control. I can only write upon the lines laid down for me by my informants, and defects of omission are more likely to occur than would |