Life of the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan, of Kabul V2: With His Political Proceedings Towards the English, Russian, and Persian Gover
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ( 183 ) CHAPTER XV. Affairs of Afghanistan?The British army crosses the Indus? Sir Alexander Burnes and Mohan Lai remain in the rear?' They rejoin the army?Passage of the Bolan pass?Sir Alexander and his suite arrive at Kalat?Conduct of the Khan and his ministers?Treaty with him?His intrigues and bad faith?Progress of the Shah Shuja?Part of the Bombay army, under Major-Gen. Wilshire, sent against Mir Mehrab Khan?Storming of Kalat and death of the Khan?Shah Navaz Khan installed?Captain Loveday appointed resident? His conduct in that capacity ? Unjust remarks of Mr. Masson. I Shall now resume again my narrative of the army of the Indus. On the 6th of February, 1839, the troops on the road to Haidarabad, under the Commander-in-Chief and Sir Willoughby Cotton, were ordered to return, and by the 18th the whole baggage and the ordnance had crossed the Indus. In Shikarpur we every day received numerous letters from the various chiefs of Bilochistan and of Afghanistan, all professing their joy at our approach, and all entertaining hopes of the reward that might be 184 SIR A. BURNES AT SlllKARPUR. promised for co-operating with us in furtherance of the object of the expedition. Sir Alexander Burnes, feeling not inclined to enter Afghanistan subordinate to another political head, the envoy and minister, Sir William Macnaghten, suggested the propriety of his remaining at Shikarpur, in the rear of the army; and this was agreed to by his superior. It was evident, and a topic of conversation in the camp, that the two rival politicians do not wish to act jointly in one field of honour and fame. At the same time Sir Alexander Burnes requested the envoy to leave me with him for the purpose of settling the Commissariat and the Shikarpuri bankers' accounts, which, as I was desirous to...