THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 203, 26 August 1880, Page 4

THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN.

THE CITY OF CANDAHAR. Tn v'wv: of lbe military operations now going on in Afghanistan, and tbe fact tbat a Brifisb force is now being attacked in this city, we reprint the following description taken from a recent work : — Candabar, the second city of the empire, wa* its capital lill Timu removed tbe spat ot Government to Cabul, distant abont 200 miles. The Afghans claim for it lbe honor of foundation by Alexander tbe Great, and some modern geographers consider that its name supports the tradition. 'Ibo more probable derivation, however, is from Knnd, a fortress, as during tbe Mogul Empire, Candabar was tbe frontier fortress towards Persia. According to Kirkpafrick, its original name was Balius. Twice destroyed by earthquakes, it bas been thrice re-built. The present, aud fourth city, standing abont 3500 feet above the sea-level, was founded by Ahmed Shah, first of the Durian dynasty, and called by bim Ashr< j ff-ul-Beland, "Nobles* of -cities," a name still used in tbe public papers and in tbe language of tbe court. Tbe people, however, clung to the old name Candabar, although it soon lost its rhyming addition Darul-Kurrar, or " The abode of the quiet." Ahmed Shah was buried in his favorite capital, and bis tomb became an object of veneration, and a sanctuary from which not eveu tbe Ameer dare expel an enemy. Its bandsome cupola is still one of tbe chief ornaments of tbe city. Candabar is in form a perfect parallelogram, with four large bazaars in tbe centre, where the principal streets meet under a domed space, 50 yards in diameter, called tbe dliawsu ', the bazaars are lined with shops having a verandah in front, which extends the whole length, and each bazaar has a gate leading into the country, except tbe northern one, where tbe royal palace fronts tbe dhaursu. Tbe TJrgundab, a tributary of the Helnnind, bisects Candahar, and several streams, crossed by stove bridges, run through the city, wbich is divided by walls into inoullalis, or quarters, each occupied by a different tribe. The houses are chiefly of red brick, with, owing to tbe scarcity of wood, roofs domed, instaed of flat, as in most Moslem countries. For the 'same reason tbe doors and the windows bave omega arches. Occasionally, however, those dwellings are varied by mud buildings, whose flat roofs are surmounted by tents. The view frora tbe ramparts, which extend for four miles, is lively and picturesque. Candabar stands on a cultivated plain, with tbe usual mountain girdle, and its neighborhood abounds with the romance of the East, in tbe shape of magic grottoes, hermit's caves, and the spots where tradition says miracles were wrought by love.

The sight of the original town. ; supposed to have been built by the Macedonians, is to the north-west of the present city, from which its ruins are sedarafed by an arm of tbe Urgondah. lbe population of Candahar is estimated at 100,000. The Bolan Pass is tbe'great road by wbieb Afghanistan is entered from tbe south. It is 65 miles in length, winding, rugged, and flanked by higb rocks, its width gradually narrowing from 3 miles at the southern end to abont 150 feet at ibe northern. The road, which runs from east to west, is generally good, and sufficient for troops of all arms to proceed by it, with artillery, stores, &c. At the southern entrance of the pass is Dadur ; at the northern end, 96 mile? distant, Quettab, our most advanced post. From Jacobabad, en tbe Scinde frontier, through Bolan to Quettab, is about 150 miles, while on to Candabar the distance is nearly 200. The nearest railway station is at BukIcut, on tbe Indus Valley line, about 25 miles from Bnkkur to Candabar, by tbe Bolan aud Quettah, about 370 miles or tbirty.nine marches. To reach Candabar from Quettab an army must traverse the Pishon Valley, with its flower-clad Flur ford, an arm of the Lora, and cross the Kotul mountains, through the Khojuk Pass, between which and Candahar water is sometimes scarce, though the road crosses three streams. Sir John Keaue's army in 1839 took twenty-three days covering tbe distance between Quettah and Candahar, and tlio further march to Ghuznee occupied twenty-four more dayß.