THE KHYBER PASS AND THE ALI MUSJID FORT.

Kumara Times, Issue 676, 27 November 1878, Page 2

THE KHYBER PASS AND THE ALI MUSJID FORT.

Ali Musjid,- a fort in the Hhybef Pass, which otfr cablegram yesterday' announced had been Captured by ‘British troops, is thvfs mentioned , in a. ; description of the Pass, which in the Illustrated London News of thel sth October, received yesterday. The’; paper also contains an engraving of the Fort, showing its position in the Pass. f The Ehyber’ Pass may be said, generally speaking, to coniraence at Jamrood,- ■ ten miles west of Peshawur [on the nprth- ; west frontier of India], and to extend as far ae Dhaka, a distance of about thirtythree miles. The actual entrance’ to the defile, however,- is at Kadam, a place’ ’ three miles west of Jamrood, which is a ‘ small village, surrounded, by a mud wall. Within 1000 yards of E&datti the gorge? narrows to 150, with steep.precipitous cliffs on either hand.- Between this arid' the’ Afghan frontier fort of Ali Mnsjidj l distant about ten miles, the mountains are; about 15$) ft. in height,- slaty, bare, andto all appearance inaccessible ; the width of the pass varies .from 290 to! ,40 feet., , For a distance of two miles'and.-al half--I beyond Ali Musjid the pass retaixfs its' difficult Character. It then enters the : Lila Beg Valley, about six miles in length, ; with an average breadth of a mile mid a I half. The western end of the valley finds? the road entering a still narrower defilefthere being scarcely room for two ■ cambist to pass each other.- The Lundi , Khfw^W

is distant from this point about a mile and a half,;; the ascent over it is, harrow, rugged, steep, and generally tlie 'most difficult part of the road ; guns ''could not be drawn here exfcept by men, 'and then only after an improvement of "the track., The descent, however, is along : a well-made road, and is not so difficult. On the west side of the pass the mountains gradually open out and lose mucli of thqir inaccessible nature. Dhaka is distant about eight miles, and Here the defile ‘ends. Difficult as ‘the Khyber is to force, it i’s evident that what Wade and Pollock ‘did many years ago can, if necessary, be ‘done again. Moreover, our knowledge of theSe mountain ranges has milch improved ‘of date years, and several roads are well ;kttbwn which completely turn Ali Musjid, !the most formidable obstacle between •PeShalvur hfid Jefialabad. Among these is the Tatara road, which enters the lulls iniles north of Jamrood and the 'ihain ,4'oute at Dhaka; the Kad'ajSh rOkd and one through the Bara Valley ..both kvoid Ali Musjid, are practicable for lightly-equipped columns, and doubtless would bfittude use of were we 'compiled to force the Khyber. That the Khyb&r Pass presents but flight difficulty ■ to a Well-handle.d force is, evident from the fact that in 18&9 Colonel Wade forced it at the head of an irregular contingent, penetrating from Peshawur to Jellalabad, .with a loss of but 180 men. In 1842 Gen. Pollock forced it by shellitig the heights from the ravines below, while two columns ‘of twelve companies each on either flank .'pushed the eneffiy from ridge t 6 ridge. EEs casualties were 128. On his return 'march he lost but 56 men. It must be borne in mind that the tribes 'residing in the Pass and its immediate Vicinity, though nominally owing allegiance to the Ameer of Afghanistan, are yet powerful enough to.demand and to obtain subsidies from him in return for the privilege they grant in permitting the highway Itobe made use of. It may be remembered that it was in the region of the Khyber Pass that Lord ‘Clyde first won high military distinction. It was for service in that region he received the honor of the K.C.B. and became Sir Colin Gampell,