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'Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Edward Stewart, Bengal Staff Corps, on Special Duty on the Perso-Afghan Frontier.' [‎137v] (30/80)

The record is made up of 1 file (40 folios). It was created in 8 Feb 1883. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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?■} B... ,4m JIU.lf
'T 3 TT 52 SW
■Bfrawm'
MMJIU! .l-ilin
30
TH, k ,,„, . — - Yaaduii, i. . «-» - - — “
i Tt%.... Y»a :; T
they had cleared out the b ^ st ‘ 00 1 g enough, but they did their best to
on the floor. The room was very low and poor ^.JS, oi f y> near the cent re
accommodate me. There is as q V’ splendid view, and was able to take
From the top or tms Keep, x a ^ in
of the place,
the bearings
of several hills in
Afghanistan. Ghurian is
58 miles, Sabzawar, in
When I arrived, the
Afghanistan, 68 miles, and He , ^ ^ ^ at Kabuda, about four miles off,
Naib who was in command o ^ ^ . of fields. At Yazdun itself there is
where he was superintending t , , . |j b t at Kabuda the water, though
not much cultivation, the ^ Yazdun must he dreadfully dull.
risk ofVeing carried off by Turkomans.
Though nmtters are far better than they were, within the nme months prevmus to my
visit Turkomans had twice raided in the neighbourhood of Yazdun. On the fust
occasion they killed an Afghan from a caravan on its way from Herat to Birjand, and
thf 1 second time they carried off a man from Kabuda. aria
After a short time the Naib returned. He was a most intelligent man, and I had a
good deal of conversation with him. He complained of the terrib y dull life he led in
this out of the way little fort, and said he never could stir out unless well armed and
mounted He said he sometimes went to Sabzawar, but not often, as he seems to
have had a feud with the Afghan nomads encamped at Peshinjan, about 30 miles on
the road to Sabzawar. The Amir of Kaian claims as Persian territory up to a ruined
village called Nuzzur Babi, 19 miles from Yazdun, but really the country between
Yazdun and Peshinjan is neutral territory, and it would be very difficult to say to
whom it belongs. Constant difficulties and quarrels arise in consequence of the
frontier not being clearly defined. The Afghans have no right, I believe, to anything
beyond Peshinjan. . , .
On the 20th April I returned to Charaks. The water in the salt swamp or lake
had risen very much since the previous day, and was rising fast. I saw the tracks
that we had made in our struggles through the mud immersed in the clear water, and
we had to make a detour a little to the northward to avoid the rising flood. There
had been rain in the hills, and all the streams which fall into the dak System of postal communication used in Moghul India and later by the East India Company. were pouring a
considerable body of water into it from the Kuh Ahinguran. After crossing the lake
we went rapidly back to Charaks. In the low range of hills to the north of the lake,
called Kuh Humayun, I was told that a copper mine was formerly worked, but was
now abandoned, and that only two men in Charaks knew the exact spot where it was
situated. The Government are so shortsighted that they discourage the working of
all mines. The people of Charaks are terribly crowded in their fort, but are too
much afraid of Turkomans to build in the cultivation outside, though a few ruins show
that formerly the inhabitants had not been confined to the fort. From Charaks there
are three roads to Birjand, the nearest is by Bamrud, whence I came, and then through
the Meruk pass and by Duruksh to Sar-i-Cha and Birjand, but I preferred to go by the
Ahinguran pass, which, though longer and through a less cultivated country, is said to
be the easiest pass, and I wanted to explore this road. It would have been far easier
for me to have gone direct from Yazdun to Gazik, but as Sir Charles Macgregor had
travelled by that road, I wanted to try one of the unexplored roads through the
Ahinguran range of mountains.
I left Charaks on the 22nd April, and marched to a village called Disg, distant
22 miles. The road led for about 11 miles over a plain, when some steep sand hills
were crossed. Beyond the sand hills was the Ahinguran range of mountains which is
the same range as that known farther north as Kwaja Shahz, from one of its
nghest peaks which bears that name. At the foot of the range, about 13 miles
mi es from Charaks, stands the small village of Ahinguran, which gives its name
to this part of the range. Soon after leaving the village of Ahinguran a pass in thf*
“Innh Tw 18 e " tere '|- th 0 roa< l "P the pass the ruins of a fine stone fort are
died, known as kala Dokhtur. At 22 miles from our starting point the villaire of
D,sg ,s reached. It is a poor little place. On the road abandoned furr acd fof th!
smelting of ,ron ore were seen, and the hills were very rich in iron h<5
no Ji
mger smelted, it being found cheaper to import Enirlish
ore is
. but the
or Russian iron from the Casnian ''ThWnVi7iw ir0l \ { ^ Bandar Abbas,
•nerly smelted the iron ore here. From Di^a ^sthe
hills and joins

About this item

Content

This file consists of a report written by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Edward Stewart, Bengal Staff Corps, in which he describes his journeys to and around Mashad, Herat and Merv in the vicinity of the Perso-Afghan frontier, and provides detailed intelligence regarding topography, settlements, communications, vegetation and agriculture. He also describes local populations, tribes and chiefs, and their present and historical actions and allegiances.

The author records his opinion that due to a general fear of Torcoman raids, and a positive attitude towards Russia, the region of Khurasan [Khorāsān] could willingly fall under Russian sway; he therefore urges the instalment of an English officer on the Perso-Afghan frontier to maintain a British influence there.

The report is written in twelve chapters, and is followed by five appendices giving detailed descriptions of routes travelled, with mileages.

Extent and format
1 file (40 folios)
Arrangement

This file begins with a table of contents (f 123) followed by a report (ff 123-158), with five appendices at the end (ff 159-162).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 123 and terminates at the last folio with 162, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 123-162; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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'Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Edward Stewart, Bengal Staff Corps, on Special Duty on the Perso-Afghan Frontier.' [‎137v] (30/80), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/C42, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100032562303.0x00001f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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