Private Journal of Henry Francis Brooke

Friday, 23rd April.– Being, for the present, the next senior officer to General Primrose, I exercise the command of all the troops at Kandahar, and all local arrangements and details are in my hands, as General Primrose commands the whole force, the senior officer at each place having the local command. When General Burrows arrives the command here devolves, by virtue of his seniority, on him, and I fall back on my brigade command, which I hold now in conjunction with the large command. The troops here form a nice little force, and consist of —

And though the command entails plenty of work and responsibility, I like it, and wish I could keep it while I am here. The first thing, of course, was to ascertain the positions held by various regiments, their weak points, &c., and so I spent the afternoon in riding round and making myself acquainted with everything as far as I could, so that in case of a row at night, I should be ready to decide on what might be necessary to do. I moved into my quarters in the cantonments, and obtained permission for Capt. Law, of the artillery, to act as my Brigade-Major, as the officer who is to hold the appointment permanently has not yet arrived. Capt. Law is a smart good officer, and I am very glad to have him as my staff officer.

Force ordered into the Arghesan valley

Saturday, 24th April.– This afternoon I was greatly delighted to receive orders to hold in readiness a small force to proceed into the Arghesan valley, to disperse a considerable gathering of the enemy who were reported to be there. I was to go in command, so I had a double interest in the matter, and lost no time in seeing that everything was prepared, and that we should be fully supplied with all the necessary appliances for entrenching, road and bridge making, blowing up the enemy's forts, &c. We were not to start till Monday, and then only if the enemy did not agree to disperse and submit to the Governor of Kandahar, which they had been called on to do. I am sorry to say that hearing of our preparations they gave in at once, and eventually my little expedition was countermanded, which was a great disappointment to everyone. During the evening we had a little excitement, as an Afghan tried to steal and run away with the rifle of one of the native soldiers, which he had put down on the ground for a minute. The soldier gave the alarm, and 4 men of the nearest guard turned out and, after an exciting chase of about 3 miles, they came up within 400 yards of the thief, who immediately fired at them, but they returned his fire with good effect, and killed him at the 2nd shot, recovering the rifle and the remainder of the ammunition.

Sunday, 25th April.– We had (as we have each Sunday) service for the troops in the open. The men are formed up on 3 sides of a square, and a pile of drums on the fourth side acts as reading desk and pulpit. Of course the men come with their rifles, and everyone is fully armed, ready for business at a moment's notice. There is a room in one of the barracks where evening service is held, but it is too small for the whole of the men in the morning, and there is also a temporary church in the citadel, where there is service morning and evening performed by a missionary.

Inspected quarters of various regiments

April 26th to 30th.– I was engaged morning and afternoon visiting all the regiments, camps and hospitals, and making myself thoroughly acquainted with the various positions, and carrying out such changes and alterations as seemed to me necessary, first, for the safety of the place, and next for the comfort of the men. I also managed to take a few gallops out along the main roads which lead to Herat and Ghuzni, so as to have some idea of the country, in case of necessity. I hope shortly to know every inch of the country for 10 or 15 miles round, but this will take a little time. I am required by General Primrose never to move about with less than 2 native cavalry soldiers, and of course if I go more than 4 or 5 miles from camp I would take 4. Sometimes I take my Brigade-Major or Orderly Officer, or both, but I like best wandering about alone, as then I feel more independent (that is without any other officer). Frequently, however, parties of 6 or 7 officers are got up, and we have a scamper across country, earnestly hoping we may meet some one who would like to try conclusions with us.

Saturday, May 1.– Received letters from home, dated 1st April, a most welcome arrival and a great pleasure. People who get letters every day in the week cannot understand what the pleasure of getting letters is when you can only hear once a week, and then only provided the Afghans have been behaving themselves along the road.

Sunday, May 2.– I had just settled myself down to a quiet day after service and breakfast when a report was brought to me that there had been a row in the city between the Afghans and some soldiers of the Artillery, and that 2 soldiers had been shot and one wounded. There was a good deal of excitement, as every one at once made up their minds that it was the beginning of an organized attack. The accounts which I succeeded in getting out of the soldiers who had rushed up out of the city were most conflicting, excepting in one remarkable point on which all agreed, and that was that only one shot had been heard, although it was acknowledged that one of our men fired off his carbine down the street. This was curious, and made me doubtful about the whole affair, so I sent the Brigade-Major off to the city at once to discover the facts for me, and went over to General Primrose, who sent the Political Officer also into the city to make enquiries, and eventually we ascertained, almost without a doubt, that the men had been killed by the accidental discharge of a carbine by one of their comrades who had been fiddling with his loaded carbine, which had gone off, and the bullet passing through 2 men killed them instantaneously. Since then the man has confessed and explained the whole matter, and there is now no doubt that there was no shot fired by the Afghans at all. The affair caused some excitement, and might have led to very serious results.

Inspections – Ride into Argandab River valley

May 3rd, 4th, & 5th.– More inspections and visits to the troops morning and evening which fully occupied my time.

May 6.– A party of officers, among whom was William French, accompanied me to visit the valley of the Argandab River, which lies N.E. and N.W., and about 4 miles from Kandahar. To get to this valley a range of hills rising to 4,500 feet (that is 1,000 feet higher than our camp) has to be crossed, there being only 2 practicable passes, and these very rough, steep, and bad. The change from the dusty stone plain round Kandahar to the valley, which lies on the other side of these hills, is extraordinary, as nothing can be more wretched than the one and nothing more charming than the other. The whole valley is a series of fields of the most magnificent crops of wheat and barley, meadows full of clover, and orchards of every imaginable description of fruit. (To be continued).

May 6th.– It would not be possible to give an idea of the luxuriance of the crops and the extraordinary abundance and variety of the fruits in the Argandab valley. Every field has rows of mulberry trees round, which were covered with fruit, of which the passers by (we among them) eat apparently as much as they like without payment. The other fruits were not ripe, but the apricots were just beginning to get soft, as were the plums, especially one very like the greengage in appearance and taste. Besides these there were vines everywhere, climbing over the walls and up the mulberry and other trees, all covered with a magnificent promise of grapes. There were also in abundance – peaches, nectarines, figs, pears, apples, quinces, and pomegranates, the latter being only in flower, but in that way adding greatly to the general appearance of the orchards, as they bear a very dark red flower which is most effective among the dark green of their leaves. Each field or orchard has a rapidly flowing stream of clear cool water running through it, which is the cause of the extreme luxuriance of everything, and very grateful to us who have been so long in a very "dry and thirsty land." (The remarkable fitness of these Bible descriptions are very clearly seen in these eastern lands). After halting in a mulberry grove resting our horses and having a good feed of mulberries, we struck out across country to get home, and had a delicious ride along the banks of a big canal shaded with trees, and felt very sorry when we emerged once again into the dust and glare of Kandahar. The apricots are now (May 12th) just being brought into the market, and we buy them (paying, no doubt, an extravagant price) for 1½d. for 2lbs.!! The difficulty is to avoid eating too many. Peaches, plums, and figs, will follow, and we shall, I believe, have grapes in June. The people are now cutting their corn which is rapidly ripening, which we are sorry for, as we shall miss the beautiful green they now are, and have only fields of yellow stubble. The primitive reaping hook, almost exactly similar to that used at home, is in use here, and the Afghan spade is almost similar to our shovel in shape, with the exception that on the handle of the shovel a cross piece of wood is fixed as a foot piece for the digger. I am told, but this I can hardly believe, that from the same root of wheat, barley, and oats (that is from one sowing), they get in this country 2 distinct crops, and certainly they appear systematically to cut down the first crop when it is green, but after it has eared, and in a few weeks afterwards a second crop is in ear without any fresh sowing.

Visit to old city of Kandahar

May 7th.– Rode out to visit the old city of Kandahar, which has been in ruins since 1737 when it was besieged by the Persian King, Nadir Shah, and after a long siege taken and destroyed. It is a curious sight to see it now, as the walls of the city and many of the fortifications, which must have been for those days very strong, still remain in wonderful preservation, as do the walls of the houses covering a considerable extent of ground, but not a living soul is to be seen, and the whole place is a picture of desolation and loneliness. After Nadir Shah had destroyed this city, he caused another one, also fortified, to be built about four miles off, but this also has been deserted, and is even more ruined than the older city. The present city of Kandahar is the third which has been built within the last 150 years.

May 8th.– I made an excursion to one of the Passes over the hills near this, but the distance was longer than I had calculated on, and as it was getting dark I had to turn home without accomplishing my object.

May 9th.– I started for a ride at half-past 5 p.m., accompanied by my usual escort of 2 native cavalry soldiers, and proposed to myself to ride to a place called Kokeran, about 7 miles off. When I got out about two miles on the road I saw that there were threatenings of a dust-storm from that direction, and, not caring to ride for pleasure into a cloud of dust, I turned off to the left and took a canter for 3 or 4 miles through the fields, coming out eventually on the Kokeran road, about 4 miles from our camp. The weather had cleared then, and I thought I might still have time to explore a little way along this road, but on looking at my watch I found it was 7 o'clock, and that (as there is no twilight here) it would be quite dark before I could get home, so I turned round and cantered back to camp. Just as I got close to the camp of the 19th Native Infantry, I saw a party of officers and 2 cavalry soldiers going along very slowly in front of me, and on riding up to them and enquiring what was the matter, I found that they, while returning along the Kokeran road from |Officers fired at by Afghans near Kokeran.| a ride, had been fired on by a party of Afghans concealed behind a wall, and that one officer (Captain Garrett) and one Sowar were badly wounded. Captain Garrett was nearly fainting and falling off his horse, as he had to ride about 5 miles after being wounded, so I got him off on to the ground, and supported him till a doctor and a litter to carry him in was brought, and at the same time sent off one of the officers to report the occurrence to General Primrose. The attack had taken place about a mile nearer to Kokeran than the spot at which I had come out on the road, so, had I been half an hour or even less earlier arriving there, I should certainly have gone down the road, and had a chance of a scrimmage on my own account, and had I carried out my original intention I should have got to the spot where the ambuscade was before the other party, or possibly just about the same time, which would have been more convenient altogether. My first inclination when I heard the account was to gallop back to the place with my own 2 Sowars and the one unwounded man of the party which had been attacked, but on reflection for an instant I felt this would not be correct, first, because I was bound to take General Primrose's orders, next because the chances were, that long before I could get back the 5 miles the attacking party would have run away, and lastly that it would certainly be considered not the place of a General to be scampering with 3 men over the country, like a cavalry subaltern, and so I galloped off to General Primrose in the hopes he would give me the cavalry Brigade and let me go off to scour the whole country. At first he was very well inclined to do this, but eventually less forward councils prevailed and a hundred good? reasons were discovered for doing nothing till morning. On further enquiring from the officers who were fired at, we found that they had been out to Kokeran, and were riding quietly back, the three officers abreast and the 2 Sowars behind, when suddenly a volley was fired at them, and thinking there was a large body of men concealed, they galloped off. As it turned out there were only 10 or 12 men, and after seeing the ground as I did next morning, I had no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that they might, with good effect, have halted some 2 or 300 yards off, and returned the fire with good success.

May 10.– I went out very early with some cavalry and the Political Officer, and scoured the country round, but of course found no traces of the party who had fired on the officers, and all the surrounding villages absolutely denied any complicity in the affair, so we had to return to camp, having been unable to accomplish anything. In the afternoon I went out again with an escort of cavalry, and accompanied by 5 or 6 officers, and we went to Kokeran and hunted the hills all round, but saw no one. No doubt we threw away our only chance in deferring till to-day what ought to have been done yesterday.

Installation of Shere Ali Khan as Wāli

May 11th.– I attended a great durbar (or court) at the palace of the Governor, in the city, at which the letter appointing Shere Ali Khan, Governor of the Province of Kandahar, on behalf of the Queen, was to be read. Although it was very like what all such affairs in India are, it was quite worth seeing, and I should have enjoyed it very much if I had not been obliged to eat and drink so many nasty things as Persian etiquette on such occasions absolutely requires one to swallow. The proceedings commenced with small cups of tea, without milk or cream, being handed round, then there were speeches and the presentation of the Viceroy's letter, and of the presents sent by the Queen, and the affair wound up by trays of Afghan sweet-meats and iced sherbet being brought in, of which all, even the soldiers on the guard of honor, were required to partake. Iced sherbet sounds nice, but when it is flavoured with musk, it is apt (at least as far as I am concerned) to act very like an emetic. The sweet-meats I dare say I should have appreciated better about 30 or 40 years ago, and my Orderly Officer certainly seemed to find them very much to his taste. I send a capital account of the whole affair which appeared in the Kandahar News, and which can be read by those curious in such matters at this point…

On the 13th of Maythe new Governor, or as he is called here, the Wāli, which is the Persian word for Governor of a province, announced his intention of coming to pay a return visit of ceremony to General Primrose, and as Government wished us to show him all possible honor we had the whole garrison out (about 5,000 men) and lined the streets of the town and the roads between his palace and General Primrose's house. The troops turned out wonderfully well and smartly, and we hear the Governor and his people were much impressed by their appearance. After seeing all right along the line of the procession I returned to General Primrose's house, where all the staff were collected to assist General Primrose in receiving his guest. The Wāli (or Governor) arrived about ¼ to 6 o'clock, accompanied by a very ragged looking lot of followers. He sat between General Primrose and me, and we had to carry on the usual uninteresting exchange of compliments through an interpreter, as none of us could speak Persian, and none of the Afghans could speak Hindustani. After a short time tea was handed round, and to our relief the visit, which was necessarily a very stupid affair, ended. According to Eastern etiquette, the Governor ought to have brought return presents with him, and each of us who were there should have had some present, but our Government do not allow us to accept anything of value, so nothing was offered. Since then, however, the Governor has sent us each, as a memento of the occasion, one of the new gold coins which he has struck for general issue. It is rather a pretty coin, of quite pure gold, and will do very well as an ornament for a watch chain.

Ride to an old gold mine – now deserted

May 14th to 19th.– Nothing of any interest occurred, except that I daily take long rides and increase my knowledge of the country, nearly every yard of which, for 10 or 12 miles round, I have now ridden over. To the north and east of Kandahar there are very pleasant rides indeed, through green fields and shady lanes, along watercourses, but on the other two sides it is all sandy and stony deserts, with high rocky hills, which only a sense of duty has induced me to visit at all. Among other places I have been to is a gold mine which has been worked for centuries, and is situated about 5 miles from Kandahar. It is now, however, deserted, as the upper earth fell in two or three years ago, and has choked up the place where they say the vein of gold was. The new Governor of Kandahar is most anxious to re-open the works, but despite the wonderful stories of the richness of the mine which the natives tell, he has not been able to get much encouragement out of our professional Geologist, who, after a careful examination, has come to the conclusion that the mine will never again pay its working expenses. The morning I rode over to see the place I found the Wāli (governor) down in the bottom of the mine, with half a dozen natives, carefully examining the place and collecting specimens, &c. He had evidently come out to have a quiet look at his new property, and did not seem particularly pleased at being caught, although he was very friendly and civil, of course. In my wanderings through the country I never fail to investigate the quality of the fruit, and have made a discovery, in two places, of a very superior kind of mulberry, of which there appears to be only half a dozen trees in the whole valley. They are so different from the common kinds that the natives call them Shah-toot, which means, the King mulberry, and the trees they grow on are considered quite curiosities. It certainly is a very delicious fruit, and I have only revealed my discoveries to a chosen few. I am a much earlier riser than most of my friends, and therefore seldom or never have any companion in my morning rides, except the two native cavalry soldiers who are my escort. I generally start when I have no parades or inspections, about half-past five in the morning, when the air is deliciously cool, and seldom get home till 9 o'clock, by which time the sun is very hot. The country is intersected with water channels for irrigation purposes, and mud walls divide the fields of corn and wheat, so there is lots of jumping, and some of the obstacles are very awkward. The orchards and vineyards are surrounded with very high walls, but there is also lots of fruit of all kinds growing along the paths which anyone may eat. In this country, from one end of it to another, there is no such thing as what we would call a road, as there being not a single wheeled vehicle in the whole length and breadth of the land, roads are not at all necessary. Everything is carried on camels, ponies, bullocks and donkeys, a regular stream of which flow into Kandahar every morning, loaded with fruit, grain and grass. The people here must be making fortunes, and certainly ought to like us, as we pay anything they ask for everything, and the prices, though not very exorbitant, are at least double what |Dust-storms of almost daily occurrence.| they used to be. It is getting very hot now in the day-time, and we have constant dust-storms, which are, of all things, the most horrid and the greatest trial to one's temper. Imagine the delights of an immense cloud of dust a mile square, or more, driven along by a red hot wind, and forcing its way into every hole and corner. While it is passing it is quite dark, even in mid-day, and when it is gone everything one possesses, every table, chair and book is covered with an inch of dust, and one's hair and beard turned into a whitey brown color, and stiff with dirt. Here we sometimes have a dust-storm which is continuous for an hour, but generally they come up in regular succession, each lasting 3 or 4 minutes, and a shorter or longer interval between each. Towards 8 o'clock in the evening the wind goes down and it becomes quite cool, and we generally have our dinner table placed outside our quarters, and so brilliant has the moon been, that for the last four days we have dined quite comfortably by the light of it without any candles or lamps at all. Our mess now consists of General Burrows and his Brigade-Major, Captain Heath; General Brooke, his Brigade-Major, Captain Leckie, and his Orderly Officer, Lieut. Fox; Colonel Beville, Deputy Judge Advocate, who manages the mess for us, Captain Harris, the Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General, and Mr. Cane, the Chaplain. The mess is managed on what is called the "camp fashion" principles – that is, every one has to provide their own plates, cups, knives, forks, and spoons, and chair; then wine, beer, and tea at breakfast are supplied by each person for himself, according to his own taste, the mess merely providing the eatables. It is a very good plan, as then no large supplies of crockery, glass, stores, or wine are necessary, and each one is able at a moment's notice to go off on a march, with all his things complete, without interfering with the comfort of the remainder of the party.

Cases of Ghaziism – Ghazis killed

May 20th.– A Ghazi attempted to kill a soldier of the 66th Foot to-day, but only succeeded in wounding him, and was himself instantly killed by the soldiers who happened to be near, who bayonetted him promptly. It seems that the man who was wounded was walking with a comrade down one of the streets of Kandahar, looking at the things in the shops, when an Afghan armed with a bayonet rushed out of a side street, shouted out he was a Ghazi, and made straight at the two men, and succeeded in inflicting two wounds (not serious) on the man nearest to him before his comrade fully realized what was happening, when he immediately bayonetted the Ghazi. When I first arrived here the men used to go into the city with loose ammunition, and often, I make no doubt, with loaded rifles, and when attacked by Ghazis used to fire wildly and, as a rule, missed the Ghazi, and killed unoffending passers by. I took the loose ammunition from them (leaving them, of course, ammunition in the usual bundles in their pouches), and told them in such cases to use their bayonets first, and then, if pressed, they might open ammunition and use it. The change was not altogether liked, but this affair (the first in which a Ghazi has had prompt justice meted to him) has satisfactorily proved the propriety of the arrangement.