Among Shere Ali’s other improvements in his “War Department” was the establishment of a Clothing Department, which had for its object the equipment of his soldiers in proper uniforms. The tunics, trousers, kilts, gaiters, helmets, &c., are all neatly made; and as each soldier received a new uniform every two years, the regular regiments ought to have been smart and well set-up. That they were not so was chiefly due to the laxity of discipline and the incompetence of their officers. Pouch-belts and bayonet frogs on the English pattern were served out, and the cavalry were all furnished with new swords, slightly curved like those used by our own sowars. The steel is generally very soft, but the blade is well-tempered, and takes an edge so keen, that even a slight blow leaves a deep gash. Shere Ali’s ambition, while thus perfecting his armament, was to build a fortress of huge dimensions, and Sherpur was accordingly begun. The subsidy paid yearly by the Indian Government gave him money to lavish in this direction, and the cantonments our troops are now occupying were laid out on a scale that even to European ideas seems enormous. The fortress was to have been in the shape of a huge square with walls 3,000 yards long; and on the Bemaru Heights, in the middle, a strong citadel was to have risen—“the New Bala Hissar.” At the foot of the southern slope, below the citadel, a splendid palace was mapped out, the strong foundations of which even now show how imposing the building would have been. Shere Ali’s quarrel with the British put an end to his ambitious schemes, and Sherpur remains to this day incomplete; while away in the Hazara Darukht defile, thousands of logs are lying, ready squared, which the Gajis had got ready for the barracks which will now never be built.
Lieutenant Chamberlain, in summarizing the result of his interesting inquiries into Afghan armaments, makes out the following tabular statement:—
NUMBER OF GUNS PREVIOUS TO WAR OF 1878-79.
English Siege Train (Elephant) 6 Cabuli ” ” ” 10 ” ” ” (Bullock) 18 Horsed Guns ⎛ (Breech-loaders, 89) ⎞⎟ 145 ⎝ (Brass Guns, 56) ⎠ Mountain Guns ⎛ (Breech-loaders, 6) ⎞ ⎜ (Muzzle-loaders, 48) ⎟ 150 ⎝ (Brass, 96) ⎠ Various small guns of Position 50 —— Total 379 Deduct Guns captured, 1879-80 256 —— Guns remaining in Country 123 ——