'The views and opinions of Brigadier General John Jacob, CB. Aide-decamp to the Queen; Aide-de-camp to the Governor General of India, &c. &c. &c.; late commanding in chief the British forces in Persia; at present commanding the Sind Irregular Horse, and Political Superintendent of the North-West frontier of Sind.' [‎326] (356/481)

326
poor, and the other posts, were shut up within walls and
entrenchments, completely isolated from the country-folk.
The troops were fed, both man and horse, as if on ship
board, by the commissariat department. Provisions, even
to forage for the cavalry horses, were stored at the various
fortified posts for their use. So completely were the troops
without fresh supplies, that, to remedy the effects of stale
provisions, it was thought necessary regularly to issue with
each man's daily rations a quantity of lime-juice, and large
stores of this article were found at Khanghur, &:c. when
the Sind Irregular Horse took charge of the posts.
Everything was as in a state of siege in an enemy's
country. Even the outpost of Shahpoor was, until the
arrival of the Sind Irregular Horse, supplied with every
article of food from Shikarpoor, a distance of sixty miles,
at enormous cost to the State.
The troops, both officers and men, were necessarilv
totally ignorant of the country and of the people; and their
sole and most anxious and most natural wish was to get
away as speedily as possible from such an unpleasant abode.
On taking charge of the frontier, and finding matters as
above mentioned, I earnestly considered what would be the
best means of remedying this deplorable state of affairs.
It appeared to me that the thing of the first importance
to this end was to make it apparent to every one that it
was intended to make this country habitable, and to make
it our permanent residence. So long as the Government
officers and the troops were in a wild, unsettled state, and
demeaned themselves as if in a hostile country, it could
not reasonably be expected that the poor people could feel
secure or tranquil.
I therefore proceeded to build a large house as a resi
dence for myself and lieutenants, to plant a garden in the