1941-02-24 — Page 7

To Kabul

fell

protect the pass, are collectively patch here and there where the, the right. The temperature

and a keen wind responsible for the safety of the show had melted end laid bare considerably, Pass itself, and fifty yards on the mountain side.

sprang up, which penetrated the each side of it. The frequen**

Seven miles from Torkham is fur coat I wore, blood-feuds between the various hill tribes, are not allowed to be Dacca, a small village in a wide fought out is this area.

Round and round the mountain Violence valley, surrounded by a mud wall,

become from winch the children scamper-paths the car zigzagged, and at and sniping have now

forth and shouted their moments it seemed as if we must extremely rare, and the Khybered

Rt may

the

present time be sulaams

ear sped as the

past. be shot over the

precipice into traversed with greater security What was particularly noticeable than some of the London or Paris were the features of the young the gorge below. Thick ice was Detraming at Peshawar, the

of by day, for the girls, which strikingly resembled lying on some thoroughfares ----

the slopes, North Western

man who would venture in the the biblical types of the

of the old while a blinding dust, driven by at night, would Israelites, lending. colour to the the most Khyber Pass Indian Railway, and

ecurt almost certain death. After claim of the Afghans to be one the wind, considerably impeded progress, as it was difficult to see northerly British military canton-nightfall, even the Afridis them- of the ten lost tribes of Israel.

in advance either many steps in the North-West | selves, when belated, avoid the

man or beast. Frontier Province of India. I pro-Pass, and reach their villages by

We frequently ran into the tail end of a caravan be- devious side paths.

The caravan stations 01 Busa- fore either was aware of the pre- When there wal. ten miles from Dacca, and sence of the other. of Baltient, ten miles further on, would be a shouting and a scam- were successively passed, an: pering, the camels in their fright Jelluabad, ten miles from the last; dushing now to one side of the path, seemed for A stage, was reached at 4 p.m. where narrow a halt was

to be made for the moment to hang perilously over then in terror night at the Bagh-i-Shahi (Ger- | the ledge, und den of the King).

srampered to the other side, where their drivers would try to hold their heads towards the mountain slope as we motored by, in im- minent risk of the camels back- ing and pushing us over the pre-

ment station

croded by motor cur enwards at two o'clock in the afternoon,

and entering

Hitler has set his own goal, and the time is near

For Jainrud, which guards the when he must deliver Indian side of the Khyber Pass, This fast-approaching ten miles distant from Peshawar. crisis is not only a deadly was soon reached, stress, one of the most ap- the Pass, folk wed a narrow, zij- palling that men and track, Junning between blenkt women have been called orks and overhanging, craps. to bear in all history, but

Ou all sides there were signs of

J

it brings with it a flaming the ceaseless watch kejt in this hope. If Britain holds key to Todi, beth to motect the

the Bercea him off, Hitler will have Pass, and to prevent

Lathan tribes that dwell in the suffered disaster on the

adjoining mountains, from sweep- most bitter and undeni-

a marauding ng down t able scale.

pudition 23110 the fertile plaits

ex-

There was lut bitle movement. dotted cach idge was

Progreding on the journey, Fort Al Majkl was reached at 4.50 Isolated, on a small ridge p.m. above the fort. overlooked by grim and rugged mountains, was

By W. Rees Harriss,

M. I. J. Lond

small British remetery where few young

officers and men, who were killed in action against the Afridis i 1919, are buried.

Panorama Of Wild Scenery

Terrific Heat

The last stage was over a com- paratively wide valley, deminated by the Safed Koh on the left, and the Lighman Ridge on the right, Heavy stretches ef sand here and | cipice. there considerably impeded pro- gress. It is said that in July. World's Weirdest Place

under the influence of the terrine heat which prevails, this sand in places becomes so hot that it is possible to cook an egg in it.

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Jelalabad, famou for the de- fence by Sir George Sale in 1838, is situated on the Kabul river, I almost midway hetween The route from Ali Masjid lay Peshawar valley and Kabul, It through a narrow gorge, hemmed

has a permanent population of on all sides by overhanging 3,000 souls, which is largely in- Yocks. The road was one tor- creused in the winter by an in- positions could ·

tuous, winding course, changing

flux of tribesmen from the sur- blockhouses its direction with kaleidoscopic sounding hulls, who come down

rapidity, and presenting an to enjoy the inilder climate.

Although Berlin was below. aflutter last summer with gay speculations whether; though England would fall in with picquets of soldiers, and on July or August, Hitler all commanding

be seen forts and himself was too cagey to commit himself to a time-cutting into the skyline.

Pass

怎

table. In June, right after Guardians Of Khybered one with a feeling of awe. Dunkirk, he merely promised destruction,' without dates. of enemy in London Paris.

12

the and

endless panorama of wild scenery, whose ruggedness. and grimness

Pround stillness reigned, only haken by the movement of the rushed over Overhead, along the line of the; automobile, which

the narrow, ledge-like road, how tinck, ran the tireless aerial rope- | taking a sharp turn to the right. then an abruut turn to the lett. transporting ma- way, used for terial for the Khyber Railway,

food also to

convoy and tres to the troops watching is

Beautiful Gardens

Passed

Begh-i-Shali Wäs

entered of

through a beautiful avenue

which led into a cypress trees, spacious garden, in the centre of now ascending, then descending, which were the palace buildings while the track left in the rear and guest-houses. an i

seemed to resemble narrow streaks, one above the other, on the rocky slopes.

the

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Jagdallak, Afty miles from Jelalabad, was reached at 6 o'clock in the evening. Of all weird places in the world, it is difficult to imagine one more weird then this. A single, solitary hill rose up from a narrow valley, on one side if which was the bed of a river, almost dry, except for a few rills coursing erratically over little the plain, which uniting a forther on, disappeared into a rourd this gorge. All plain rose up bleak and grim hills, devoid of all vegetation, some of them of the most grotesque shapes, cutting off all view of the country beyond. A place of sin- ister memory, for it was at Jag- dallak that the fierce tribes that on the inhabit this district fell disorganised and demoralised Bri- tish force that had retreated from Kabul in the winter of 1839, and literally exterminated them, only one man out of twelve thousand excaping to tell the news of the that ever most tragic disaster befell British arms.

These grounds, enclosed by a mud wail about twelve feet high, were beautifully

with laid out Landi Kotal, ten miles from flowers arranged in ornamental

Nightfall was already approach- All Majid, was reached at 6 pm. beds, and plots of fruit trees, in-

ing, and the dark gray clouds This is a fort situated 11

paths tastefully looked heavy with snow, as the the terspersed with

ferns. paims and middle of the Pass in a large cir-adorned with

car zigzagged round the steep cular plain, shut in on all sides Orange trees were conspicuous, ascent and finally reached the by lofty bills, at present garrison- and many had fruit ripening on summit of the hill, which formed cd by English and Gurkä troups.

a small, quadrangular plateau, flanked by a low balustrade of London Street In ..

stone, in the centre of which was a rest-house of the Amir. Here; Wilderness

at an altitude of 7,000 feet, the night was passed, and notwith standing the huge log fires that burned on the open hearth of my room, the cold and pitiless winds that prevail at this time of the year made rest impossible.

On September 4 he re- assured his people:

the farther outposts. "When the British say: 'He doesn't come,' my an-

The present guardians of swer is: 'Keep your shirts Khyber Pass, called Khassadars, consist of an irregular force 1 on he is coming.'

the tribal sys- His New Year's greet-Afridis, raised on

(chiefs) of each tem, the maliks ings to the army promis-į

tribe furnishing reliable quotas of ed: "The year 1941 will

men for this purpose. bring consummation of the greatest victory in our history."

His anniversary speech

vans passing through

tish month predicted: petive sections. "The year 1941 will be a ach five miles of the Pass -

preventing a kind of independent I diers historic year for the new kingdom, with fiscal autonomy.

this

Order."

Before the British

perupation:

of the Khyber, the several tribes that occupieri this region levied

tolls on all passengers and cart-

blow. These gentlemen body of will realise in this historic

their res- 11 an average

As I motored into the precincts of the fortress, where I was to spend the night, a team of Bry- soldiers was seen playing football on the plain. The sol-

them. There are said to be flve hundred trees in the

grounds, which were planted in a single day, ten each by fly of the courtiers of the then Amir, at his order. Marble channels irrigated the grounds, drawing their water

artificial tanks, from several which fountains played.

Fiercert Tribe In Afghanistan

Resuming

next

pro-

Captivating. Scene

In this far-lung outposi seemed to know how to make themselves ut home. Another

the journey evidence of this was forthcoming European

He

Leaving Jagdullak the next Pass Now Quite Safe

when a little

later on

the morning at 10 o'clock, we 111 spoke of "definite bases,"

over the moun- Finally, these tribes were given evening I took a stroll along the ceeded through a narrow valley,morning at 9.30 am, we followed and "when the time comes an anual subsidy equal to the military lines. Looking at a sign over a metalled road, pass the winding path

was in walled villages of Bowali, Sultan-tains, on all the slopes and surn

mits of which lay deep snow. In- and Fatehabad; each we will launch a decisive amount of their yearly revenue post, I observed that I

At present theBond Stree." Sumewhat fur- pore from the tolls.

on were "Whitehall," the situated ten miles from one an- mediately in front was the Late- Khassadars enrolled to ther

"Embankment," and to crown all other, to Nimlah, where these is hand Range, which dominated the rest-house of the Amir.

out against the scene, and stood "L'avenue de la Grande Armee," a

horizon us a huge barrier. As we was made here. which was given to one of the short halt

wus quite an idyllic spot. The approached nearer, the Half Kotni Pass opened up. Soon a captivat- Gurka lines.

rest-house was situated in the

ing panorama

came into midst of a charming old garden of the Moghul, type, said to have All around was one vast expanse heen planted in 1610 by

of white, from which snowclad Jehan, father of Aurangzeb, the undulating series of

summits sprang up, forming -an white pin- last Moghul emperor of India, and nicles, which stretched out row. contains some fine specimens of

upon row until they merged in Higher and

year that

The journey was continued next morning to the frontier over the Nichni Kandao summit, and then 2:000 of some feet, a precipitous drop down the

down a descent

into valleys which alternately broadened and contracted, and so

A It

Shah

time we used

Hitler must win, well." He saw 1941 as the cess. year in which his armies and if the assault fails, he No has been defeated. "will wrest victory."

Time, after Seizure of England and excuses!

war are that, runs swiftly against ending of the Hitler's pledges under the him, and the spirit of his side of a steep mountain slope, the chenar tree; several of which the horizon beyond. contract, to be delivered followers may drop to 1918 this year.

His victory levels. cannot be deferred. Not It is a desperate chance to occupy and destroy the on which the world's free- power of England, even to dom depends- this deci- the eyes of the propagan- sion whether Britain now her island da-saturated Nazi zealots, can defend would be a failure beside against the gamble of which Italy's debacle 1941's Genghis Khan, who would look almost like must sweep onward winning.

perish.

And so Hitler must! It is inescapable. throw into this boasted it is not hopeless.

curious to

view.

are over a hundred years old. higher we ascended, until we to Landi Khana, the last British Nimiah is situeled in the Khug- seemed to have reached the level outpost, and the Afghan bound-gani's country, whose inhabitants of the summits around. We were ary at Torkham, which was reach- are reputed to be the wildest and now on the highest point of the ed at noon. A line of white nercest in the Amir's dominions. Pass, Balutok. 8,250 feet above sea- descent stones separated British and When the journey was resumed level. From here the

commenced, and zigzagging down Afghan territory, and a few yards at 12.30 p.m., I was in front of where my motor car get a glimpse of the people, but through the narrow, precipitous dead standstill, as Beyond a few children who cam-paths, from where the snow had and piled against Afghan sentries barred further bolled and shouted sulaams, and been cleared progress, was a large signboard a few women who took a coy looit against the mountain side

into the Kabul on which was written in bold at the motor from beneath their finally emerged characters in English: "It is ab- burklas, no one was to be seen. Forge. solutely forbidden to cross the The men folk seemed to be all or border into Afghan territory." absent.

came to a

After inspection of passports, And the journey was resumed.

The

very

we

Leaving the gorge we entered a wide plain between low-lying hills, and came to Buthak, where became The road soon much obstructed by camel car- there is a small rest-house, After ayans, which seemed to form con-making a brief halt at this place, I was now in the Independent tinuous streams moving. In op- the journey was continued over a cffort all the strength he hope of the world is back-Kingdom of Afghanistan. There posite directions, and the car had broad plain for about six miles to sudden change in the continually to slow up, as the Baghrami, a shooting-lodge of the has. His 'planes must ed by a courage which has was no

the left banic landscape. To the right tha camels reared and jumped about Amir, situated on

of the Logar river, five miles blacken the sky, all of accomplished miracles al- Mohmand Hills stood out share in evident distress.

from Kabul City, which had been: and majestic, with their snow- them. Millions of his sol ready. Grant survival to clad renks glistening in the mid- Neuring Jagdallak, the nex: appointed by the Afghan Govern

perment as the temporary residence diers must push into the Britain in the months just day sun, while to the left was the stop, the road narrowed

Safed Koh (White Mountains); coptibly, and steadily ascended a of the British Legation, and which moat of the channel, ahead, and the long lane overtowering all the hills in the winding track. Range upon range was duly reached at six o'clock spending lives without of Hitler's conquest has foreground, and forming as for us of hills rose up before us, bound in the evening as the setting sur the eye could see one long, unel çd by the Sated Koli on the leat, dropped behind the snowy pask count in order to buy suc reached its turning.

broken line of white, save for a mid the majestic Hindu Kush in 1 of the mighty Hisdu Kush,

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