he sick-list. No wonder I was
laid up! This Ghwozhe Pass was a great deal worse than any part of the
Bolan. It was nothing but a succession of the most difficult ascents
and precipitous descents; the most trying kind of ground for the poor
camels, who fell down in great numbers, and in some parts the path lay
between two high rocks, and was only four feet wide; how the artillery
got over it I cannot imagine. A handful of determined men could, I
should think, defend it against an army. We were on the _qui vive_ the
whole time, expecting an attack on the baggage, but we only lost a few
camels. Here we caught up the 17th and artillery, which left Dadur
before us. If our toils had been great, those of the 17th and artillery
were twice as much, as it took them two days and two nights to get the
guns through, and they were obliged to bivouack in the Pass, and were
attacked once or twice by the Ghiljees; whom, however, one section or so
easily drove off. I must now tell you that on leaving the Bolan Pass the
Kaukers &c. made their bows to us, but handed us at the same time over
to the care of their intimate friends the Ghiljees. These are a kind of
half-civilized robbers, a large clan, and abound throughout the whole of
Afghanistan. Their chief is a friend of Dost Mahomed. They gave us a
little annoyance on the road, but whenever they did so they managed to
get the worst of it. They murdered a few poor camp followers. At one
place they fired on some grass-cutters belonging to the 4th Light
Dragoons, after coming among them and talking with them in a friendly
manner, as is their usual custom, in order to ascertain what might be
the chance of an attack. A troop of that corps was immediately sent out,
with nearly all the officers. Some villagers who had been bringing
things to our camp joined the robbers, but the 4th played the d--l with
them, killing or wounding about forty, and only one horse belonging to
the 4th was wounded. Major Daly, who commands the corps, killed four men
himself with a simple bamboo hunting spear, used for killing boars. Sir
J. Keane had fourteen of them shot that had been caught stealing camels
at Quittah, one march from Siriab, where we left our sick: a brigade of
the Bengal army is quartered there.

Well; in spite of Ghiljees, Kaukers, Passes, &c., we reached Candahar on
the 4th of May, having only halted two days since we left Dadur,--pretty
good work! We were very much disappointed in the country, whi