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Updated: June 17, 2025
He crossed the Indus by a bridge of boats near Taxila, the present ATTOCK, where the river is about 1000 feet broad, and very deep. Taxiles, the sovereign of the district, at once surrendered Taxila, his capital and joined the Macedonian force with 5000 men. On the opposite bank, Porus, a powerful Indian king, prepared to dispute his progress with a numerous and well-appointed force.
Learning there that affairs at Kábul were likely to take a direction favourable to his interests, he marched to his new fort of Attock, despatched thence one force under Bhagwán Dás to conquer Kashmír, another to chastise the Balúchís, and a third to move against Swát. Of these three expeditions, the last met with disaster.
All they knew was that they were plodding along the Nowshera road on a very hot evening in August. When well on their way, like a man-of-war at sea they opened their sealed orders, and learnt that in the vicinity of Nowshera they would find a fleet of boats on the Kabul River. Embarking on these they were to drop down that river, now in flood, to its confluence with the Indus at Attock.
The king's situation at this time was far from pleasant. His brother, whom he had dethroned after a popular insurrection, had now taken arms and just seized Cabul. A longer stay was impossible for the embassy. They had to return to India by way of Attock and the valley of Hussoun Abdoul, which is celebrated for its beauty.
The bridge at Attock, which is a high structure built across the narrow bed of the Indus, which here foams down with swirling swiftness, is considered a masterpiece of engineering. It is built in two tiers, the upper of which carries the railway, while the lower forms a road for carriages, beasts of burden, and foot-passengers. On either side of the river is a fortified gate.
Elphinstone, on the contrary, thinking they should be resumed on death without heirs. October 29. Read a work just published by Colonel de Lacy Evans, on the practicability of a Russian invasion of India. The route would be first to China, across a desert from the shores of the Caspian from China by water up the Oxus, to within 550 miles of Attock.
"Sooch," said Captain Cranstoun, with a sneer of much bitterness, and pointing to the blunted and useless implements, "are the peetiful theengs on which hong the lives of our brave fallows. Nae doot the next dispotches will say a great deal aboot the eexcellent arrangements for attock; but if ye do not fall, Geerald, a hope ye'll make a proper repreesentation of the affair.
The commander at Attock refused to surrender the fortress, and trained his guns upon the Russian columns; but, in consequence of the fog, the batteries did not inflict much damage upon the Russians, who being now in possession of the bridge continued their advance to the south.
Far away to the north the snowcapped Himalayas gleamed in the sunshine; to the south the broad Indus washed the base of Fort Attock, and wound through the salt hills and plains of the Derajat; whilst to the west, almost immediately below the wilderness of rocks in which the invaders had halted, lay, in deep shadow, the yawning chasm of the Khyber a magnificent prospect; but a spring of cool fresh water which was soon discovered had more attractions for the hot and thirsty troops, and Tytler's whole attention was absorbed in scanning the country for a possible enemy and trying to trace the course of the three paths which branched off from this commanding point.
But before arriving at Peshawar one must not forget to mention the magnificent view obtained from the car windows of the glorious range of Cashmere Snowy Mountains, showing peaks of 20,000 to 25,000 feet elevation; nor the crossing by a fortified railway bridge of the historic Indus River, near Attock, at the very spot where the Greek Alexander entered India on his campaign of conquest A mile above this point the Kabul River joins the Indus.
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