(dated 22/01/1903 to 27/01/1903)
But from the turn of the century onwards, her life was governed by a love of the Arab peoples, inspired, it seems, by a visit to friends in Jerusalem in 1899-1900. She learned their language, investigated their archaeological sites, and travelled deep into the desert, accompanied only by male guides. Her knowledge of the country and its tribes thereby gained made her a prime target for recruitment by British Intelligence during the First World War, later, as a Political Officer, and then as Oriental Secretary to the High Commissioner in Baghdad, she became a king-maker in the new state of Iraq, which she had helped to create. Her first love, however, was always for archaeology, and, as Honorary Director of Antiquities in Iraq, she established in Baghdad the Iraq Museum.
The Gertrude Bell papers consist of about 1,600 detailed and lively letters to her parents, of her 16 diaries, which she kept while she was travelling, and of c.40 packets of miscellaneous items. There are also about 7000 photographs, taken by her c.1900-1918. Those of Middle Eastern archaeological sites are of great value because they record structures which have since been eroded or, in some cases, have disappeared altogether, while those of the desert tribes are of considerable anthropological and ethnographical interest.
The letters and diaries, but not the miscellaneous material, were transcribed in automated form between 1982 and 1988, and a catalogue of the photographs was published in 1982, with a second edition in 1985.
Notes compiled by A Jan Source: http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk
Thurs 22. [22 January 1903] And arrived at Peshawar at 2.30, 2 hours late. Straight to the Alexandra Hotel where I found a warm room and tea and so to bed. Before breakfast Mr Paul appeared to ask about Mankyala. Grey horrid day, a duststorm and then rain. I went to see the Russells in the annex and H [Hugo] to see Mr Jelf whom he brought back with him - very pleasant. Capt. Venour also came. Mr Jelf came for us at 12.30 and drove us through Edwardes' Gate (Kabuli) to the town.
23/01/1903
Friday 23rd [23 January 1903] Still raining. We drove off and breakfasted with Captain and Mrs Venour at Barj Hari Singh. It is a miniature fort 5 miles out (we passed huge Sangars half way and lots of Afridis and donkeys carrying wood in and out) with loopholed mud walls and a garrison of a havildar and 50 men. Inside, an ordinary little Indian bungalow and garden. He told us tales: An Afridi tribe were the first natives to offer us help in the mutiny. There had been a little accident, one of our men had been killed by that tribe, but as soon as they heard of Delhi, they marched down and said "It was a mistake, we hope you will forget it, and here we are to offer help." (Old Nabha's father was the first Sikh to come in.) Before we took over the Pass, the Caravans had to fight their way through or pay the Afridis bribes. We pay them a yearly subsidy in lieu of this. It used to pay us amply because we put a small tax on the caravans, but the old Amir, in want of money, put on such enormous duties that very small caravans go through now and we are out of pocket. The Afridi chiefs come in to Jirgah to settle things. They sit one end of a room before a screen, Capt V. the other and below and behind him a mob of Afridis talking and presenting petitions while the chiefs do business. He had a great business arranging for the Duke of C [Connaught]'s visit. 3 months ago very serious fears were entertained, but quite recently an obstreperous Mullah died and things became easier. It was arranged that the Khyber Rifles should hold the road (they are Afridis too) and the independent chiefs guard the approaches to it. "But" said A "here is B who is my blood enemy and he has heard the arrangement. He will rise up in the night and lay an ambush for me." "I will set him at the end of the pass." "No, no!" said B "for C also is my blood enemy and he will set an ambush for me." "Will you?" said Capt. V. "Without doubt" said C gravely. Thereupon written agreements were drawn up "I on my side and he on his side agree to forego all feuds on the day of the 13th etc" and signed with a thumb mark. This done, the Duke altered his date! but Capt V. begged the authorities to keep the Khyber date unchanged and they did. While the men serve in the Rifles the feuds are suspended; when the service is over they begin again de plus bel. They are strict Muslims as regards the fast, but they eat with you and anyone and outside the town the women are barely veiled. Violets roses nasturtiums and Cannas in the garden. Russell stories through Mr Grant: When Lord Curzon came up he asked the Governor whether he had had to make any special arrangements - "Special arrangements! there are 2000 men lying by the by in gaol. We took up any suspicious person - fanatics, opium smokers, hashshish eaters. They'll be let out tomorrow." "Isn't it rather illegal" said the Protector of the Native. A British regiment was pestered by a sniper. They asked a Khyber Rifle man to see what he cd do. He returned in a surprisingly short time with a head. They congratulated him. "Oh yes, I knew his ways. He was my Father." Capt V said he thought the present Amir must be a strongish man because he promised an advance to his soldiers on his accession, and didn't give it! Only a rupee extra to certain old service men. He told me to look out for Buddhist remains on the Pass. There are several ruined topes. Lady A. [Arthur] said (through Mr Grant) that recently the Amir enlisted a body of Afridis (to oppose our rifles) promising them 25 rupees pay - ours being 10. But when they got to Kabul they got no pay at all, 600 deserted in one day and 2 were stripped and beaten together with the enlisters. This has tended to increase the value of our service. Went to the Tahsilda to arrange tongas for tomorrow. Mud indescribable; we waded through it and had it up to our necks. After lunch soon out to photograph - brassworkers beating metal pots and bowls, under a big tree fruit sellers with split open pomegranates, rope makers, harness makers, a man embroidering a gold cup, one twisting tinsel into camels tassels. I asked a man the way, he said: Mujko ma'lum nahi; maii[?] Kabuli. Lots of them. Tea with the Russells who had just come back from the Khyber. Rain stopped. The Poshtin man came. Wrote letters and diary.
Sat 24. [24 January 1903] Went in to say goodbye to the Russells and photographed the armed guard houses on the Circular Road. Off at about 10, cloudy weather but pleasant, to Kohat. We drove through the Peshawar oasis which is all set with trees and cornfields and out into the plain. We were in a tonga and changed horses 4 times during the 40 miles. It was about 20 to the foot of the hills. After the oasis we crosed a wide flat open country very sparsely cultivated, with a few trees, very few, and thorny bushes and a blue green spurge like thing. Occasional mud forts and one or two villages walled round and with watch towers and here and there a detached house or guardhouse, pyramidal with the top cut off, the door some ten ft from the ground, approached by a ladder. All sorts of people on the road; we saw some little Mongolian Central Asiatics, 2 men in white shirts, dark blue coats and snow leopard skins over their shoulders, trains of transport mules, caravans of camels and bullocks and buffaloes carrying packs. The clouds lifted and a beautiful light came over the wide circle of hills, the highest of which were snow capped. After about 18 miles we came to our frontier post garrisoned by Afridi rifles. We had already left the entirely flat country and got into a series of huge furrows which looked like moraines but I doubt if the hills behind are high enough. Another mile took us to the gates of the pass. The road now led by a twisting valley between extremely steep barren rocky hills. The bottom of the valley was all cultivated and thick set with mud villages, each one walled and surmounted by watchtowers loopholed for rifles. Every separate house, outside a village, was defended in the same fashion. Occasionally we came to big graveyards, the mounds being protected by small stones laid together and 2 upright stones set at the head and foot on top of the mound. Some had long poles at the head hung with coloured rags. They don't last long; the earth washes away between the stones and the mounds soon become shapeless. We saw a wild raven. The road was full of traffic, amongst which were a number of our transport. The women are scarcely veiled. They wear trousers, a black tunic edged with scarlet embroidery and a black and white thing over their heads. Some have silver ornaments across the breast or coins sewn onto the cap and falling on the forehead. The men wear mostly white cotton, mud colour with dirt. Most of them have the Afghan sidelocks. Round a corner the valley opened out and stretched up to the foot of snow hills; it was all full of walled villages. But we turned to the W and climbed up 500 ft or so to the top of a ridge on which was our frontier fort. From here we had a fine view over the plain and the oasis of Kohat ringed round on 3 sides by hills. We crossed about 10 or 12 miles of Afridi country. The water parting is higher on this side, 1000 ft or so above the plain. A splendid road took us down and even the Afridi road isn't at all bad, and we got into Kohat about 4. Most excellent DB where we established ourselves and had a good tea. Walked out to the town. Kohat is a most charming place; the cantonments delightful, trees and flowers and even running water, and cornfields. We walked all through the native town - stocked with all sorts of people - Sikhs and Gurkhas of our regiments stationed here. The change from Peshawar is most curious. The menace of the frontier is gone - Kohat is off the line. Lovely hills round; the clouds had blown up but the sunset light was very fine. A charming Sikh boy walked round after us - I hope he found us entertaining. Many of the Afridis are quite fair - I saw one redbearded man (not henna!) and several fairskinned and very like us. Capt. Venour said he had some men in the Khyber Rifles not to be distinguished from Englishmen
25/01/1903
Sunday 25 [25 January 1903] Delicious morning, cold and not quite clear but the weather improving. H. [Hugo] made a vain attempt at church and came back and we went out together to the town to get a photograph. Breakfasted at 9.30 and off at 10.15. A native gentleman of distinction shared our tonga - I had perceived him breakfasting in the pantry. We believe it was he who asked us for papers last night and sent us in The Field and Truth. He was a merchant from Bombay - he exchanged cards with H - his was a circular printed envelope. We had no adventures except that we locked wheels with a bullock wagon, were near run over by a Bactrian camel and that our 4th relay ran away before we got in and afterwards one of the horses broke its bit and they went off hell for leather for a mile. Fortunately an impassible barrier of bullocks, and an Afridi, stopped them. Got in at 3.30 and went down to the town to photograph. Saw the Kabuli Manzil where all the Afghan Caravans come in - full of Bactrian camels. There is a little platform in the middle arranged for prayers - an open air mosque with a washing place at the edge of it. H went to church and I washed my hair - the first time since Bombay! .....
Mon 26. [26 January 1903] Pouring rain, but it cleared about 11 and we drove down to see the Afghan Mission. Went into the schools which were empty owing to the rain, but saw Mr Hoare teaching a college class English. They teach Sanscrit and Arabic here. The other languages of the place are Urdu, Pushtu, Punjabi, Persian and Cashmiri! On to the hospital where we introduced ourselves to Mr Waldegrave and then to Dr Lankester the younger of 2 Dr brothers - an earnest religious enthusiast whose real purpose is conversion. He says it's uphill work and pointed out a Pathan boy "who is an Inquirer. He is quite ready to relinquish Islam." He said "I wdn't have left home only for the medical work. I came to spread the name of the Master." He had a gentle and noble face, we discussed conversion a little. We went onto the roof and I saw the mud and filth of the great caravanserais washed up against the walls of the tidy hospital courts. He said the city was indescribably wicked. One is given pause at these things for after all in what other faith do you find men of this kind? The fairy story is a necessity I believe. The hospital admirable, like a clean caravanserai; they don't try to make it too European. The people come in whole families at a time and are lodged in separate rooms. Some women even. They come from the depths of Afghanistan. The Hindus feed themselves. So on to the Duchess of Connaught's hospital, a nice clean place, where I did not, unfortunately, see the ladies. An Armenian girl (from Kabul) showed me over. Went in to the big mosque on my way back. The Grants came to see us after lunch. At 4.30 to the Waldegraves. She is a charming woman. There was also a very nice sister of his who is in the Soldiers' Home, and Lady Carbery, dullish. On to the Grants - charming. He told tales. The Afridi country is more under us than under the Amir, the tribes being subsedised [sic] by us and we practically are responsible for their quiet. Kohat road is therefore Afridi. There are 2 factories in that valley, one of guns, good in all but the sights, and one of false rupees! If they raided Afghanistan the Amir wd appeal to us to stop them. Mrs G. is Mrs Hanmer's sister. Dined with the Waldegraves. She said the Anglo Indian society is awful. All the women deteriorate - they go every afternoon and gossip at the Club. He told these tales: Dr Penner [i.e. Pennell] of Bann has a wonderful hold on the Waziri people. A man came in with a bullet in his leg, placed there by an uncle, and asked to have it extracted: "I suppose" he said "I shall have your uncle in next, with your bullet in his leg?" "No, no! Sahib. I am a better shot than my uncle." In our last frontier fight (Terah [Tirah]?) one tribe absolutely refused to come in when all the others had made terms. What brought them in was the threat that they wd not be allowed to inlist [sic] in the Khyber Rifles! A man from Kabul arrived here went to the hospital and said he had 55 rupees inside him which he had swallowed in order not to pay dues or to be robbed and would they cut them out as he wanted the money to get to Calcutta. They said he wd probably die, but he insisted. The operation was done and 55 rupees extracted an hour after which he drank at one gulp a glass of milk which ought to have been given in sips, and then recovered. At the end he accused the Dr of having subtracted 3 rupees, saying he had certainly swallowed 58. As to knifing tales: the Col. of the Hampshire was shot 2 years ago on the polo ground by one who came out to shoot the Governor - or whatever he was then. The Hampshires determined to go into the town at night and kill every soul there but were fortunately stopped in time - there wd have been a most unholy row. They caught and hanged a man, but not the right one. Two Englishmen were stabbed at the station some 3 years ago. Mr Grant says the weekly butcher's bill on the Khyber - amongst Afridis - has been known to reach 40 well known men. He says things are much easier since the establishment of the Frontier Province. The Punjab were quite unbiassed, but quite ignorant of frontier matters and with the best will in the world couldn't decide. Now all decisions, practically, are taken by Col. Deane, who is the greatest Frontier expert. Much agitated by finding that Muni has stolen 50 rupees.
Tues 27. [27 January 1903] Gorgeous day. Up at 7.30. H. [Hugo] went off at 8 to interview people about Muni and set the police on. We started about 9 in a tum tum with a pair, one in the shafts and one hitched on at the side - driven by Nur Muhammad, best of men. Cold, frost on the ground, but wonderful light. The hills capped with new snow. Out to the right the snow hills of Kaffiristan [Kafiristan] which is Afghan. Spanked along. Passed some Khyber Rifles on the way, with (though we didn't realize it) Cap. Venour and Mr Musprat. Whom accordingly we didn't find at {Ali Masjed} Jamrud. The fort and barracks and a big serai stand out in the plain in the midst of a desolate tract of stony desert. One sees walled and watchtowered Afridi villages on the rolling ground at the foot of the hills. This we soon entered and drove along a dry watercourse on the edge of which were whole villages burrowed into the earth. All you saw of them were the small cave like openings. The gate of the pass is defended by a fort standing high up on a hill blocking the opening of the valley. The road rose gradually in splendid zigzags. We passed the enormous caravan going to Kabul. 2 caravans, one each way, pass 2 days a week, Friday and Tuesday when the Khyber Rifles guard the Pass. Our Rifles take then as far as Lundi Kand (?) 5 miles beyond Lundi Kotal [Landi Kotal] (which is ten miles beyond Ali Musjed) there they hand them over to a Kabuli guard. It takes 8 days from Peshawar to Kabul. They carry all sorts of merchandize to Kabul - we saw bales of muslin for instance. They bring back varied things. We saw chiefly raisins but later they bring grapes. We got to the top of the Pass and looked out to the left (south) over a big stretch of rolling country backed by snow hills (which are Terah [Tirah].) The road now dipped (we were about on a level with the Fort of Ali Musjed) We passed a single village by a stream with a few green corn fields round it. Bitter cold with a very strong wind. Got to Ali Musjed about 12. The Fort stands high up at the entrance of a gorge and the hill is fortified down to the gorge. A stream flows through, still coming into India, so that we were not really at the top though the road had run down. Found 2 French people having luncheon. Presently the Miss Ramsays (2 absurd old sisters dressed just alike) came up with the elder Dr Lankester and he got us all permission to go up to the Fort; we ought to have provided ourselves with a pass from the Fort and a sowar from Jumrud. However, we saw all we wanted to see. There seem to be 2 valleys leading down here. The Pass is to the left. Bitter cold. Came down and sat under a wall in the sun and lunched. Several ravens came quite close to us and we fed them. They were perfectly tame. Just about 1 the Kabuli caravan began to pass and I stood photographing. The big Bactrians came by in groups. The foremost one generally a great maned beast, led by a man and often foaming at the mouth. Nur Muhammad said they were very Shaitan. This caravan sleeps at the Jumrud serai where it will arrive about 5.30. So we turned home about 1 and plunged through the 2 caravans which met and crossed here and got down to Jumrud about 2.15. There we found Capt. Venour and Mr Musprat and went with them into the Fort where we had an excellent tea and a merry talk mostly about globe trotters and the best chocolate toffee in the world. There is a great view over the plains of India bounded on either side by snow capped hills - you first catch sight of it as you reach the top of the entrance of the Pass and begin to go down the zigzags. So home leaving at 3.15 and getting in at 4.30 - 10 miles. We found that the theft had practically been traced home to Muni but we cd not convict him of it. Dined at 6 with the Aunt and Niece and 4 Americans (who came up to Peshawar for one day to do the Pass) and off at 7. Very sorry to leave. The Khyber Rifles look very smart in their khaki with dark green kamarbands and green ........ to their khaki turbans - ......... they call them here. For the first time in India we were thrown out of speech - the Rifles talked only Pukhtu. Mr Waldegrave told us more knifing tales: the house opposite them belongs to the man who is in charge of the sanitary arrangements of the city and therefore unpopular. It was 3 times raided, the 3rd time several men were killed and an Afridi wounded. He got off to a village near and came next day to the hospital saying he had been wounded in a village row. Fortunately he was known and promptly siezed. Bands of Afridis break into the town and attack the houses of rich Hindus. The police stand by and watch: they daren't lift a finger for they wd be knifed within 24 hours. Capt. Venour told me that Dr Pennell is a wonderful master of Pukhtu; he can almost pass as an Afridi. One of the native officers in the Rifles came across him once when he was diguised and passing as an Afridi and took him for one till he began to preach against Islam. That gave him away. They all approve of the education the missionaries give; they say Dr P's boys always rise in the world, become Malehs or enter our service. But they don't like the proselytising and they say no one is ever converted by conviction but only for gain. Capt V. told me a tale of the Lankesters. An Afridi girl came into hospital for an eye complaint, they cured her, converted her and kept her on as a help in the hospital till her father claimed her saying that he had sold her in marriage for 500 rupees and must fulfil his contract. They had to let her go. She was married and the money paid up and she lived with her husband for a year or two. Then the Lankesters got hold of her induced her to leave him and took her back to the hospital, the husband protested but said he was quite willing to sell her for 500 rupees. But the missionaries said No, they cdn't divert hospital funds nor take up a subscription and finally they smuggled her off to their hospital at Amritsar and cheated the husband of her. There's a special breed of Khyber dog - we saw him, halfway between a colley [sic] and a St Bernard. NB the silence of the caravans today. Only one bell and hardly any voices and the pad pad of the camels. *end*