Read Ebook: To Herat and Cabul: A Story of the First Afghan War by Henty G A George Alfred Sheldon Charles Mills Illustrator

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Ebook has 1233 lines and 121721 words, and 25 pages

"That I cannot say," Angus replied. "At first, no doubt, the government of England would say, 'Herat is very far off; it will fall before we can do anything.' But if they find that it holds out bravely, they will say, 'We must help these people who are fighting so well.' There is another thing. It is said that there are already some Russian officers with the Shah's army. The English are very jealous of the Russians, and when they come to understand that it is Russia who has sent the Shah to capture Herat their anger will speedily be roused, and they will bid their minister say to the Shah, 'If you continue to fight against Herat, we shall send our ships and our army against you.' The Shah knows that we have conquered in India people far more warlike than the Persians, and he will say to himself, 'Why should I run the risk of losing my kingdom merely to please the Russians, who are really much more dangerous neighbours than the English?'"

"The words of your excellency are wise," the wuzeer said. "You will see that we shall hold out for months, or even for years if necessary. I can understand now why the British minister has confidence in you though you look so young. How many years has your excellency?"

"I am not yet thirty," Angus said calmly.

The wuzeer looked surprised.

"It is because your face is smooth that you look so young. We Afghans wear our beards; I see that you do not, for even this brave officer, who has come to fight for us, has no hair on his face. He has told me that you will stay here, and assist with your advice."

"So far as I am able to do so, I will; but I am not greatly skilled in such matters. Still, I will assist him so far as I can."

"It is good," the Afghan said.

"It would be better, your highness, that it should not be known that I am an agent of the British minister; though of course you can, if you find it necessary, cheer your soldiers by telling them if they fight bravely and well the British minister will try and mediate between you and the Shah, and to persuade him to draw off his army. But were the Shah to know that the British minister has an agent here, he would be wroth with him, and might not listen so willingly to his representations. Let it then, I beg you, be supposed that, like Mr. Pottinger, I am but an English traveller, who, chancing to be here, is willing to do all that he can to aid in the defence of the town against the Persians."

"Your words are good; so let it be. Where are you dwelling now?"

"At the house of the Armenian carpet-weaver Kajar. The times being bad, his looms are at a stand-still, and he was glad to let me an apartment."

"He is a good man," the wuzeer said, "a good man and honest, but not rich."

Angus felt that the last words were rather a question than an assertion, and he said:

"Surely no. His rooms are very simple, but they are clean, and if a traveller can but find a clean lodging, he cares not how poor it is."

"Shall you be sending a message to the minister?"

"I shall endeavour to do so by a servant lad I have brought with me. I will tell him that his mind may be at ease, for Herat can hold out."

"The Persians are cowards!" the wuzeer said angrily. "My horsemen have been round them for many days, but they give them no chance. They keep together like a flock of sheep, with their guns and their infantry, instead of riding out bravely to bring in plunder and fight with their enemies when they meet them."

Then turning to Pottinger he went on:

"I have sent out, as you advised me, to cut down all the trees within half a mile of the town, so that the Persians will have no shelter from our guns; and as all the granaries are emptied for miles round, they will have a long way to go to get food. A number of men are also at work at the place where, as you showed me, the wall was rotten; and others are clearing out the ditch, and making the bank steeper where it has slipped down, so that if they should be so mad as to rush forward and try to cross the moat, they will not be able to climb up."

"That is important, Wuzeer, and still more so is it that the little wall at the foot of the mount of earth that surrounds the city wall should be repaired. That is of the greatest importance. They may manage to fill up the moat and cross it, but as long as the lower wall stands they cannot climb up, even if a breach was made in the main wall."

"I will go round now with you," the wuzeer said, "and we will see where the worst places are."

Angus accompanied them, and found that Pottinger's statement as to the weakness of the fortifications was well founded. From a distance the wall had looked imposing, for it was of considerable height and great thickness, but it was entirely constructed of dried mud, and heavy guns could effect a breach anywhere in the course of a day or two. It was evident that if the place was to hold out, it must depend upon the bravery of its troops and not upon the strength of its walls.

For the next week the work went on incessantly. Every able-bodied man in the town was employed in the repairs of the wall and in cutting down trees, while the work of destroying grain and all kinds of necessaries which could not be brought into the town was performed by the troops. These were all Afghans, were in regular pay, and formed the fighting army of the ruler of Herat. Their discipline was at all times very lax, and the permission to destroy and burn, which naturally included looting everything of value for their own benefit, rendered them even less amenable to discipline than before.

Eldred Pottinger, as far as he could venture, tried to induce the wuzeer to have the work executed in a more regular manner and under strict supervision by officers told off for the purpose, but Yar Mahomed viewed the matter with indifference.

"What does it matter," he said, "whether the soldiers take things or not? It would be all the same to the owners whether they have them, or whether they are destroyed, or fall into the hands of the Persians. In a few days the enemy will be here, and it would be foolish to cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers over a matter of no consequence whatever."

The country, indeed, was now deserted by all its inhabitants. Immense stores of food had been brought into the city, every unoccupied piece of ground between the city walls was crowded with cattle, sheep, and horses, and there was no fear that famine would for a very long period be a serious trouble to the besieged. Eldred Pottinger's time was principally occupied in seeing to the repair of the guns and their carriages. Without any definite rank having been given to him, it was understood that all his orders had the support of the wuzeer, and were to be obeyed as if they came directly from him, and that the young man with him was also an Englishman of some importance, and possessed similar powers.

While Pottinger looked chiefly after the military work performed by the Afghans who had come into the town, Angus superintended that upon which the Sheeahs were engaged. These Persian-speaking people carried out his instructions cheerfully, because they were given in their own language, and were not accompanied by the contemptuous haughtiness and animosity which would have characterized the orders of an Afghan, the hostility between the two great religious sects of Islam being even greater than that entertained by both against the infidel.

Pottinger had now taken up his abode at the house of Kajar, where there were several apartments unoccupied. As he did not speak Armenian, and knew but little Persian, Angus and he arranged to have a mess of their own, engaging a man recommended to them by the Armenian as a good cook. This had been rendered the more necessary, as the trader with whom Angus had first spoken had also moved with his wife to his brother's house.

He had taken this step because he foresaw that as the siege went on the position of the Sheeahs would become more and more unbearable, and that the protection the presence of the two Englishmen could afford would be most valuable. Indeed Kajar, as soon as he saw that Angus had been favourably received by the wuzeer, had himself suggested that Pottinger might also be offered accommodation at his house.

"There need be no further talk of payment, effendi, between us. Your presence here will be of vastly greater importance than any money you could give us. No one can say what will happen here. It is not only our property, but our lives which will be at stake; but with you as inmates here, no one would dare interfere with us, and we all regard the fact that you should almost accidentally have been brought here as a special blessing that has been sent from heaven to us."

The young Englishmen thus strangely thrown together soon became fast friends, and it was pleasant indeed to them to enjoy their evenings together, after each had been engaged during the whole day at the duties they had undertaken. A couple of hours, however, were always spent by them, each in his own room. Pottinger engaged the services of a mollah, or priest of the Sheeah sect, to give him lessons in Persian, while Angus worked at Pushtoo with Kajar, who spoke the Afghan language perfectly.

THE SIEGE OF HERAT

On 22nd of November, a fortnight after Angus arrived at Herat, the Persian army took up its position on the plain to the north-west of the city. The inhabitants crowded the walls to watch the advancing host--the Afghan portion of the population with scowling faces and muttered imprecations, the Sheeahs prudently abstaining from all demonstrations of their feelings, but filled with hopes of deliverance from their tyrants. Pottinger learned that the Afghan horse were going to make a sortie, and he and Angus went together to the north-west angle of the wall.

"A good deal will depend upon this first fight," Pottinger said. "If the Persians easily repulse the assault, it will cause a deep depression among the Afghans. If, on the other hand, the Heratees obtain a fair amount of success, it will so encourage them that they will not fear another time to encounter the enemy, and will fight strongly when the walls are attacked."

In a short time the Afghan horse were seen pouring out of the western gate. There was but small attempt at anything like military order. It was a mob of horsemen; individually splendid riders, and for skirmishing purposes unsurpassed, but, as Pottinger remarked to his companion, quite unfit to stand against a charge of regular cavalry equally endowed with courage. Keeping near the city wall until facing the Persian position, where a regiment of cavalry were hastily mounting, they wheeled round and rode against the enemy with loud shouts. The Persians rode to meet them, but were unable to withstand the impetuosity of the charge, and, amidst the exulting shouts of the Afghans on the wall, wheeled round and fled in disorder. The Afghans then turning, flung themselves upon a strong body of infantry that was advancing against them in good order. These, however, stood firm, emptying many saddles by a heavy volley they poured in when the Afghans were close, and presenting so steady a line of bayonets that the horsemen recoiled.

As they did so, the Persian artillery opened upon the Afghans, who retired until near the wall, and then dismounted and opened fire with their long matchlocks upon the Persian gunners. Pottinger ran at once to a couple of guns close to where they were standing, and under his directions the Afghans in charge of them at once replied to the Persian guns. A number of the Afghan footmen ran out from the gate on that side, and, joining the dismounted men, kept up a hot fire, while those on the wall also joined in the conflict. As the Persian guns could effect little against the infantry lying in shelter, they were now directed against the wall, causing a rapid dispersal of the peaceable portion of the spectators. The effect of their fire showed at once the rottenness of the fortifications. Although but light guns, they knocked down portions of the parapet, which crumbled as if it had been made of rotten timber. Pottinger shook his head as he and Angus walked along to watch the effect of the fire. "If a six-pound shot can effect such damage as this, it is clear that when they get their siege guns to work a few hours will effect a breach in the wall itself."

On their side the Persians also sent out skirmishers. These pushed forward to a point where they could take the Afghans in flank, and cause them to retire nearer to the walls. The fighting was continued until dark, when the Persians drew off, and the Afghans retired into the city. No material advantage had been gained by either side, but the Heratees were well content with the result. They had shown themselves superior to the Persian cavalry, and had maintained themselves against the infantry.

The Persians lost no time, and during the night pushed forward and occupied all the gardens and enclosures on the west of the city, and placed a strong force among the ruins of a village there. In the morning they began to advance against the wall. The Afghans sallied out horse and foot; the cavalry, unable to act in such broken ground, moved round, and hanging on the flanks of the Persian camp, continually threatened an attack. The infantry, taking advantage of every wall and bush, maintained a heavy fire upon the enemy. The artillery on both sides opened fire, but at the end of the day neither party had gained any advantage.

The Afghans brought in the heads of several whom they had killed, and a few prisoners. The heads were placed on pikes and exhibited on the walls. The prisoners were bartered as slaves in exchange for horses to the Turkomans, of whom a considerable party were encamped at a short distance from the walls.

"It is horrible and disgusting," Pottinger said to his companion that evening as they sat together, "this custom of cutting off heads, but as it is, I believe, universal in the East, it would be worse than useless to protest against it. It is the custom always to reward a soldier for bringing in a head as a proof of his valour, though, in fact, it is no proof, as he may simply, as he advances, cut it from the body of a man shot by someone else. Putting aside the brutality, it operates badly, for instead of following up an advantage hotly, the men stop to collect these miserable trophies, and so give time to an enemy to escape or rally. I have read in the accounts of the campaigns of the Turkish conquerors that the heads were always brought in to the general and piled before his tent, and that each soldier was rewarded according to the number he brought in, and I fancy it was the same thing with Mohammedan conquerors in India. Well, I am afraid that we shall see a number of things that will disgust us before the siege is over. If I were fighting solely for the Heratees, I should certainly retire if they continue these barbarities. But I have no interest whatever in them; in fact, I see that the greater portion of the population would be benefited by living under the Persian rule. I go into this matter solely because it is one I consider of vital interest to England, and therefore, as an Englishman I am willing to do my utmost to keep, not the Persians, but the Russians from seizing this place."

Angus had now completely caught the enthusiasm of the young artilleryman. He was perhaps less horrified than his companion, for he had seen so much of Eastern modes of punishment, that he had learned to regard them with less horror than that felt by Europeans unaccustomed to Oriental methods.

"I have been accustomed to look on at acts of brutality," he said, "for from the time when I first came out, my father always impressed upon me that we were strangers in this part of the world, and must be very cautious not to show any aversion to its customs. It would lead us into endless trouble if we were to show in any way that what to them seems only natural, was to us revolting; and though I have often been tempted to interfere when I have seen some act of brutality, I have always followed my father's instructions, and walked away without showing any anger or disgust. I agree with you that it is horrid, but it is not like seeing living men tortured; at least, when one is dead it can make no great difference if one is buried with a head or without one."

Pottinger laughed. "That is certainly one way of looking at it, and I can understand that as the custom has prevailed among these peoples for centuries they can scarcely understand our feelings of abhorrence and indignation. However, I am determined that, whatever I do or feel, I will keep my mouth shut, and not say a word that would anger the wuzeer and shake my influence with him. At present he is well disposed towards me, and I have been of real assistance to him. When things become critical I may be of vital service. From what Kajar says there is a strong suspicion that he is not personally brave, which I can quite believe, as very few thorough-paced brutes are. Now old Shah Kamran is, I must own, an exception; an absolutely greater scoundrel than he has proved himself to be probably never existed, but he is known to have been in his earlier days as brave as a lion. If he had been some twenty years younger I should have stronger hopes of eventual success than I have now. Personal bravery in a general is of no extraordinary advantage in a European army, where he is not expected to lead men into battle, but with irregular troops like these Heratees it is of vital importance. They will follow their leader anywhere, but if he sends them into danger while he himself remains at a distance, they lose their enthusiasm directly, and are half thrashed before the battle begins."

"Do you not think that Kamran will be able at any important moment to come forward and show himself among the defenders of the breach? I hear that only a month or so ago he returned from a campaign."

"I am afraid not. I have seen him twice, and although it cannot be said that he is an imbecile, he is next door to it. He understands what is going on, but his nerves are utterly shattered by drink; he is in what may be termed the lachrymose condition of drunkenness. He works himself into a state of childish passion; sometimes he raves, then he whimpers. Certainly his appearance would have no inspiring effect upon these rough Afghan soldiers. They want a man who would rush sword in hand at their head, call upon them to follow him, and then dash into the middle of the foe, and the miserable old man could scarcely hold a sword in his shaking hand."

"Well, at any rate, the Afghans have fought bravely yesterday and to-day."

"Excellently; but it is the work they are accustomed to. An Afghan battle consists of two sets of men snugly hidden away among the rocks, firing away at each other until one side loses a few men and then retires. So they were quite at home at their skirmishing work, and certainly more than a match for the same number of Persians. What they will do when an attack on a breach is made by a column remains to be seen."

Night and day the Heratees worked at their defences, while the Persians raised batteries and fortified their camp against sudden attacks. After four or five days of comparative quiet a heavy cannonade broke out. Artillery played upon the walls, mortars threw shell into the town, and rockets whizzed overhead. For a time the consternation in the city was prodigious; the rockets especially, which were altogether new to them, appalled the inhabitants, who, as night came on, gathered on the roofs of their houses and watched with affright the sharp trains of light, and shuddered at the sound of the fiery missiles. The sound of lamentation, the cries of fear, and the prayers to Allah resounded over the city; but the panic abated somewhat when it was found that comparatively little injury was effected. But while the peaceful inhabitants wailed and prayed, the troops and the men who had come in from the Afghan villages laboured steadily and silently at the work of repairing the damages effected by the fire of the Persian batteries.

But little could be done to the face of the wall, but the crumbling parapets and earth dug up from open spaces were used to construct a fresh wall behind the old one at points against which the Persian guns played most fiercely, so that when a breach was formed the assailants would find an unlooked-for obstacle to their entrance into the town. This work was directed by Pottinger, who took but little rest, remaining constantly at his post, and only snatching an hour's sleep now and then. Angus assisted to the best of his power, always taking his place when his comrade could no longer battle against sleep, and seeing that everything went on well. The Afghans yielded a willing obedience to the orders of these young strangers. They saw the utility of the work upon which they were engaged, and laboured well and steadily. The Persian artillery were, fortunately for the besieged, badly commanded. Instead of concentrating their fire upon one spot, in which case a breach would have been effected in a few hours, each gunner directed his aim as he thought best, and the shot which, if poured upon a single point, would have brought down the crumbling wall, effected no material damage, scattered as it was over a face a mile in length.

It was all the less effective, inasmuch as the artillerymen generally aimed at the parapet of the wall instead of the solid portion below it. It was a delight to them to see a portion of the parapet knocked down by their shot, whereas when the wall itself was hit comparatively small show was made. Many of the shot flew high and passed over the town into the fields beyond it, and at the end of four days' almost continuous firing, Herat was stronger and more capable of resistance than it was when the Persians first appeared before the walls. The absence of any tangible result evidently lowered the spirits of the besiegers, while it proportionately raised those of the defenders. Moreover, the immense expenditure of projectiles by the Persians showed the Shah and his generals that, large as was the store of ammunition they had brought with them, it might prove insufficient, and the labour and time which would be entailed in renewing the supply from the magazines at the capital would be enormous. Consequently the fire became irregular, sometimes for an hour or two all the batteries would play, while at other times only a few guns would be discharged in the course of an hour.

The shells that were thrown into the city did much more damage than the round shot of the batteries. Many houses were almost destroyed by them, and whole families killed. These, however, were for the most part peaceable Sheeahs, and the matter in no way affected the defenders of the wall, whose spirits rose daily as they perceived that the Persian artillery was by no means so formidable as they had anticipated. The Persians made no attempt to blockade the city, evidently fearing the sorties the defenders made, and confined their operations to that side of the city before which they were encamped. This was a great advantage to the besieged. Three out of the five gates of the city stood open, communications were maintained with the surrounding country, the cattle and other animals went out to graze, and firewood and other commodities passed freely into the town.

Throughout December the Persians were harassed by nightly attacks. The working parties in their entrenchments were driven out, tools carried off, the workmen killed, and the work performed during the day destroyed, the assailants retiring before heavy masses of infantry could be brought up to repel them. Upon many days scarce a shot was fired, then for a few hours there would be a lively cannonade, but of the same scattered and wasteful fashion as before.

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