AMONG THE AFFGHANS. 231 



made to Ameer Shere All, but without effect; and 

 Nowroz continued in power till the imprisonment of 

 Yakoob Khan, when, having refused to obey a sum- 

 mons to Cabul, the Ameer sent a body of troops to 

 Lalpoorah, and driving Nowroz out of that place, put 

 Mahmood Shah Khan in his place. As we were at 

 peace with Shere Ali, we could not well give ISTowroz 

 refuge, especially as the Ameer pretended that one of 

 the main reasons for his deposition was his refusal to 

 seize and surrender Major Macdonald's murderer. 



Kowroz fled to Gandao, and was well received by 

 the Alimzai, who seem from that time to have thrown 

 off their allegiance both to the Khan of Lalpoorah 

 and the Ameer of CabuL Nowroz remained there 

 till his death. So soon as the return of the Chamber- 

 lain Mission caused the final breach between the 

 Ameer and the British, the sons of Nowroz came in- 

 to Peshawar and tendered their submission to the 

 British authorities. They were hospitably enter- 

 tained ; and of course their rival, Mahmood Shah 

 Khan, threw in his lot with the Ameer, and sent a 

 strong contingent to aid in the defence of Ali Musjid. 

 This Mohmund contingent was placed on the Rotas 

 heights, a ridge about 5000 feet in elevation, over- 

 looking and commanding the fort of Ali Musjid and 

 the "Shadi Bagiar" entrance of the Khyber Pass, 

 along which winds the Mackeson road, up that taken 

 by the main portion of Sir Samuel Browne's column 

 in the advance to Ali Musjid on 21st November 1878. 



