e found the passage blocked by some 2,000 Afghans, and as
we approached a volley was fired from a party concealed by some rocks
on our left. I was told afterwards that it was intended for me, but I
remained unscathed, and the principal medical officer, Dr. Townsend,
who was riding on my right, and to whom I was talking at the moment,
was severely wounded. The Highlanders, supported by some dismounted
Cavalry, cleared away the enemy to the north, but as they clung to the
precipitous hills on the south, we had to wait till the main body of
the escort came up, when they were speedily dispersed.

Meanwhile, a sharp little engagement had taken place further up the
gorge, and as we advanced we could see the enemy retiring before a
detachment of the 92nd Highlanders, under Colour-Sergeant Hector
Macdonald, and of the 3rd Sikhs, under Jemadar Sher Mahomed, a Native
of Kabul. The manner in which the Colour-Sergeant and the Native
officer handled their men gave me a high opinion of them both.[1]

On the top of the Shutargardan Pass that evening I received the Amir's
reply[2] to my last letter, in which he expressed his gratitude for
the sympathy and support afforded him by the British Government, and
informed me that he had given orders to the Governor of Jalalabad that
the Khyber column should not meet with any opposition. I was also
given a letter from Sirdar Wali Mahomed Khan, and several other
Sirdars, professing loyalty to the British Government, and expressing
pleasure at my approach. And at the same time the rather embarrassing
information reached me that the Amir, desiring personal communication
with me, had already arrived in Baker's camp at Kushi, attended by his
son Musa Khan, a lad about seven years old, his father-in-law, and the
Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan army (Daud Shah), with a suite of 45
members and an escort of 200 men.

Although I had met with but slight opposition hitherto, it was evident
from the secret information I received that the Ghilzais were inclined
to be hostile, and intended to oppose us, and as it was important to
keep open communication with Alikhel through their country, I arranged
for the Shutargardan to be held by a Mountain battery, the 3rd Sikhs,
and the 21st Punjab Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel
G.N. Money, an officer on whose judgment and coolness I knew I could
rely.

The next morning I rode to Kushi, where my first interview with the
Amir of Afghanistan took