Chitral

“ Speaking generally, the theatre of war was crossed transversely by ranges of high mountains and rapid rivers, each in itself a formidable obstacle, culminating in the lofty range through which a pass 10,450 feet high alone gave access to Chitral. Of the country which lies between Chilas and Chitral, by the route followed by Colonel Kelly's column, we had accurate knowledge, the route having been frequently traversed by troops and an accurate survey made. ”

“ On the left bank especially the mountain sides are very precipitous, and up against these the Chitral River runs. On first looking down the valley it appears as if, in between the mountains, there was nothing but [213] a smooth plain running down from the right-hand side, and it is not till one is actually on it that it is discovered that the seemingly open plain is cleft by a nullah between 200 and 300 feet deep, and with absolutely perpendicular sides. The nullah is the Nisa Gol, and only one path leads across it, that of the road to Chitral, and this path the enemy had now cut away. ”

“ The people of Chitral are splendid mountaineers with great powers of endurance, and have fought well on occasion. Sir George Robertson has thus described their characteristics: [82] “There are few more treacherous people than the Chitralis, and they have a wonderful capacity for cold-blooded cruelty; yet none are kinder to little children, or have stronger affection for blood or foster-relations when cupidity or jealousy do not intervene. ”

“ Two hundred Kashmir Infantry under Captains Campbell, Townshend, and Baird, and accompanied by the British Agent, Surgeon-Major Robertson, Lieutenant Gurdon, and Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch, therefore set out from the fort to reconnoitre the Chitrali dispositions. There is no regular town of Chitral, but round the fort, which is merely the residence of the Mehtars, there are scattered over the valley a number of little hamlets, and detached houses, dotted among the cultivated lands which stretch for a distance of about three miles down the valley. ”

“ The aboriginal population of the Chitral valley is probably to be recognized in the people called Kho (speaking a language called Khowar) , who form the majority of its inhabitants. Upon the Kho a people called Ronas have been superimposed. The Ronas, who form the chief caste and fighting race of the Chitral districts, originally came from the north, but they have adopted the language and fashions of the conquered Chitrali.
The town of Chitral (pop. in 1901, 8128) , is chiefly famous for a siege which it sustained in the spring of 1895. ”

“ Even if he did not meet with actual hostility, and if the people were only passively obstructive, his task of reaching Chitral would be an almost hopeless one, for both in the matter of supplies and of transport he must of necessity largely depend upon the people of the country through which he passed. ”

“ Colonel Kelly reached Chitral unopposed on April 20th, and was the first to shake hands with the brave defenders. Sir Robert Low's leading brigade, under General Gatacre, set to work to construct a mule road over the Lowaria Pass, still deep in snow, and a few troops were marched up the Chitral Valley just to show themselves without straining unnecessarily the difficult task of feeding large bodies of troops so far from their base. The campaign ended with one of those gracious messages with which Her [127] Majesty Queen Victoria never failed to acknowledge the gallantry of her Army ”

“ The Roads to Chitral There are two main routes from Chitral to India: that which has been followed in the preceding chapter, from Chitral over the Lowari Pass, through Dir and Swat, and across the Malakand to railhead at Dargai; and another from Chitral across the Shandur Pass to the Gilgit road, and thence through Kashmir and the Jhelum Valley to the rail at Rawal Pindi. Those passes leading to the north or to the west are for the most part very difficult; some are impracticable for pack animals, some are only passable at all during certain brief seasons of the year ”

“ Chitral is 220 miles from Gilgit, and the road between the two places runs through mountainous, difficult country, and crosses a pass 12,400 feet high. The valleys through which the road passes are all very narrow, in just a few places opening out to a width of a mile, but, for the greater part of the distance, only a few hundred yards broad, and in many cases mere defiles with the mountains thousands of feet high on either side and standing out in rocky precipices from the stream at the bottom. ”

“ Access to Chitral from the north is therefore but a matter of practicable tracks, or passes, in two or three directions, and the measure of practicability under any given conditions can best be reckoned from Chitral itself. By most authorities the possibility of an advance in force from the north, even under the most favourable conditions, is considered to be exceedingly small; but the tracks and passes of the Hindu Kush are only impracticable so long as they are left as nature has made them. ”

“ We could now, of course, cut down our baggage by leaving behind warm clothes and poshteens, as the weather would be getting hotter every day as we descended to lower latitudes; but this only meant that the men would have to carry less themselves, and, try as we would, it seemed as if we could only raise enough transport for seven days' supplies, five on coolies and two days in the men's haversacks. It was seven days' march to Chitral by the direct route, and though our intelligence pointed to the fact that supplies in the Chitral fort were probably plentiful, it was yet only summer. ”

“ First, we tried the man who had escaped from Killa Drasan, but he refused; then Shah Mirza volunteered to go himself, but he was too useful to be spared. Just as we were wondering who we could get to go, Humayun and Akbar Khan turned up, evidently excited, and escorting a man who was bearing letters from Chitral. He handed over a letter addressed to "The officer commanding troops advancing from Gilgit." Inside was a letter from Surgeon-Major Robertson, saying that Sher Afzul had fled on the night of the 18th April, and the siege of Chitral was raised. ”

“ They were escorting ammunition and engineering stores for the troops at Chitral, and their party consisted of twenty Bengal Sappers and Miners, forty-two Kashmir Infantry, an orderly, three officers' servants, and two followers. On the 6th they reached Reshun, a large, but straggling village situated [38] on a sloping plain between the left bank of the Chitral river and the steep mountain sides which rose behind. The houses are detached and dotted over the plain, each surrounded by an orchard. ”

“ They are for ever raiding upon one another, attacking each other's villages, and besieging and defending the forts scattered over their country nearly as thickly as public-houses in England. They therefore showed every ingenuity in the siege of Chitral. To make the most of their ammunition they never fired a shot without clearly making out an object to aim at, and usually with the rifle resting on a stone so as to enable them to aim correctly. The skill which they displayed in the construction of trenches and breastworks to approach the walls ”

“ Meanwhile Umra Khan, chief of the Jandul State, immediately bordering Chitral on the south, had taken the opportunity which the troubles which were occurring in Chitral afforded to invade the country, ostensibly with the object of supporting Amir-ul-Mulk, but with the real intention of annexing it to his own dominions. This enterprising chief was the son of the ruler of the little Pathan State of Jandul, who, on the death of his father in 1879, had made an attempt [18] to seize the throne from his eldest brother, but not being successful had prudently retired on a pilgrimage to Mecca. ”

“ Robertson that on the night of January 22nd Umra Khan had crossed the Lowari Pass into Chitral territory with 3,000 or 4,000 followers, demanding that Amir-ul-Mulk should join him. Then Robertson made up his mind to reach Chitral, and occupy the fort in the valley, as speedily as possible. The little force pressed on, many an unfortunate man getting frost-bitten during the terribly cold nights. An ultimatum was then sent to Umra Khan, indicating that he must at once leave Chitralis territory. ”

“ Chitral is situated on a branch of the Cabool river, and is subject to the chief of Koondooz, who has at times entered the country; and new demands a yearly tribute of slaves, who are sent to Bokhara for sale. The chief has the title of Shah Kuttore, and boasts of his Macedonian lineage. The dialect of Chitral differs again from that of the neighbouring states; and I fortunately met a native who was acquainted with it: he gave me these specimens:—
The next district is Gilgit, or Gilgitty, where the dialect also differs from Chitral: it is a strong country, and independent of Koondooz. ”

“ They had advanced so far now, however, that even if he were discovered, they could hardly send him back before he got to Chitral. He might, of course, be detained at Reshun, which would be a horrible nuisance.
One night his camp mate said to him:
"You ought to be with the officers, Bullen sahib. It is not right for you to be working as we do." ”

“ I told him to fall in with the company, and he came down with us to Chitral. The remainder of the flour was distributed among the sepoys, and we took as much grain as we could find carriage for, but it was very little.
A small convoy of Punyal Levies joined us that day; they had been foraging up the Yarkhun valley, and had been sent after us by Moberly. Our road led along the valley through cornfields and orchards, which, in spite of the rain, looked very pretty and green. ”

“ The skill of the enemy was, too, a subject on which the officers specially dwelt. The Chitralis had not previously been considered of much account as a fighting race; but even they, once their blood was up, fought hard and well, and their Pathan allies were as skilful and brave as [229] troops of a regularly-trained army. Umra Khan's men were born warriors; unlike the Chitralis, who by nature prefer polo and sport and dancing to fighting, the Pathans from their childhood upwards think of little else than warfare. ”

“ At the time of the old Mehtar's death, the second son happened to be in Chitral, while his elder brother was away in Yasin, 160 miles distant, carrying out his duties as Governor of that outlying province. Afzul-ul-Mulk immediately seized the arms and treasure in the fort, attached a large following to himself, for he was decidedly the more popular of the two brothers, and then proceeded to murder all those of his [5] other brothers who, in spite of their lower birth, might certainly be expected to make a bid for the throne. ”

“ Nizam-ul-Mulk on crossing the frontier, was joined by a large number of men from the upper valleys of Chitral, with whom he had been brought up as a youth, and who were always much attached to him, A force of 1,200 men, which Sher Afzul sent to oppose him, also went over to him, and he immediately marched on Mastuj, which he occupied without difficulty. Drasan fell into his hands on the 1st of December, and Sher Afzul, seeing the game was up, fled as rapidly as he had appeared, back into Afghan territory ”

“ On the morning of the 13th a white flag was shown by the enemy, and a Pathan shouted out "Cease firing!" The defenders also hoisted a white flag, and sent out Jemadar Lal Khan to parley with the Pathan while every man stood to his post. After some talk, the Jemadar returned with the report that Mohamed Isa, Sher Afzul's right-hand man, had just arrived from Chitral with a following to stop the fighting and speak with the British officers. ”

“ The British Government thus agrees to his Highness the Amir retaining Asmar and the valley above it, as far as Chanak. His Highness agrees, on the other hand, that he will at no time exercise interference in Swat, Bajaur, or Chitral, including Arnawai or Bashgal valley." Under this agreement, the Indian Government prepared itself to be watchful of Chitral affairs. The little state was notoriously a nest of turbulence and intrigue. Its rulers, who bore the Persian title of Mehtar, signifying "Greater," can never have expected to live out their days. ”

“ When the murder of Nizam took place, Lieutenant Gurdon was in political charge at Chitral, accompanied by no more than eight men of the 14th Sikhs, drawn from a detachment of 103 posted at Mastuj under Lieutenant Harley. There were no other troops of any kind in Chitral, and the nearest garrison was at Gupis, far on the eastern side of the Shandur Pass. The nearest regular troops were ninety-nine men of the 14th Sikhs at Gilgit, while the 32nd Pioneers, rather over 800 strong, were employed on the Bunji-Chilas road. ”

“ Such are the Baraul and Upper Dir Valleys, with no room for cultivation on any scale, and barely capable of supporting a miserably poor and backward race. Running transversely across the north corner of Dir territory we come to the mighty range of mountains, from 10,000 feet to 20,000 feet in height, over which the Lowarai Pass alone gives military access to the Chitral Valley. ”

“ They issued, in March, 1895, a proclamation warning the Chitralis to abstain from giving assistance to Amir Khan, and intimating that a force sufficient to overcome all resistance was being assembled; but that as soon as it had attained its object, it would be withdrawn.
The Chitralis, who now preferred Sher Afzul to Amir, made common cause with the former. Mr. Robertson learned that men were already at work, breaking up the road between Chitral and Mastuj; and accordingly moved from the house he had occupied to the fort, which was large enough to receive the force with him. ”