: the
_Mulla_ opening opposite Gundana, leading to Kelat; and the _Bolan_
entering near Dadur, leading to Quetta, Kandahar, and Herat. The
Bolan is an abrupt defile--a rent in the range,--the bottom filled
with the pebbly bed of a mountain torrent. This steep ramp forms
for sixty miles the road from Dadur, elevation 750 feet, to the
Dasht-i-Bedowlat, elevation 6,225 feet. This inhospitable plateau
and the upper portion of the Bolan are subject to the most
piercingly cold winds and temperature; and the sudden change from
the heat of the Kachi to the cold above is most trying to the
strongest constitutions. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the
road, the absence of supplies and fuel, and the hostile character of
the predatory tribes around, this route has been always most in
favor as the great commercial and military communication from
Persia, Central Asia, and Khorassan to India.
The causes which led to the establishment of a British garrison at
Quetta are not unlike those which are urged as good Russian reasons
for the occupation of territory in certain parts of Central Asia.
Briefly stated, it seems that after the conquest of the Punjab, the
proximity of certain disturbed portions of Biluchistan, and the
annoyance suffered by various British military expeditions, in
1839-1874, from certain tribes of Biluchis--notably the Maris and
Bugtis,--made it desirable that more decisive measures should be
adopted.
Pages:
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104