Sven Hedin, the Swedish explorer, during his stay in Leh, on his way to Tibet (1900-1901), wrote that he had found five graves in the little graveyard – at the back of the Residency- two were directly linked to the Central Asian Trade Route. One belonged to the trader Andrew Dalgleish, who was murdered on the Karakorum pass, and another was the geologist, Ferdinand Stoliczka, who had travelled with the second Forsythe Expedition from Kashmir to Kashgar (1874), and had died of altitude sickness.
Although many of the deceased, especially the Moravian missionaries and Ferdinand Stoliczka, paleontologist have interesting stories, I felt that one should have special attention, namely the one dedicated to Andrew Dalgleish. This charismatic character was not only a Central Asian trader; he was also an adventurer, an explorer, a trader, and a spy for the British. His place in history deserves to be recorded.
Andrew Dalgleish, born 1853 in Edinburgh, was employed by Robert Shaw as an agent for the newly formed Central Asian Trading Company. In the summer of 1874, Dalgleish took his first consignment of goods for the company through the Karakorum pass from Leh to Yarkand in Chinese Turkestan. It was known as the worst travel route in the world and not for the faint hearted. When the venture failed, Dalgleish decided to continue trading on his own because he had married a local Muslim girl and had established his home in Yarkand. Being the only Englishman there, he was useful to the British, in keeping a watchful eye on the Russian Consul, Nicolai Petrovsky, who dominated the political scene in Kashgar.
Dalgleish was an avid explorer and he had accompanied Mr Casey of the Indian Civil Service, on an expedition from Kokonor to Tasidan in North Tibet. He was able to disguise himself as a local and spoke fluent Turki and Tibetan. When the Chinese armies advanced on Yarkand in1877, he was asked by the Muslims to act as their leader against the invaders. He refused, because he felt that showing partiality to either side would be ruinous for his business. The Moslems distrusted his reasons and suspected him of collusion with the Chinese.
Dalgleish appeared to be unaware of any possible danger when in April 1888, he made what was to be his last and fatal journey from Leh to Yarkand, Camping for the night on the night of the 8th, on the Karakorum pass, he was joined by an Afghan trader from Leh, named Daud Mohammad, whom he recognized. Desperate for money, the trader asked Dalgleish for a substantial loan which was refused. The Afghan was furious, grabbing his gun, aimed it at Dalgleish’s tent and fired. Dalgleish staggered outside, blood pouring from his shoulder but he was no match for his assailant. Weakened by this loss of blood, only slightly built and unarmed, he did not stand a chance. The Afghan raised his knife and Dalgleish died.
Robbery was the popular theory for the murder but it could have been a contract killing, as Dalgleish had many enemies both Chinese and Russian. Daud Mohammad escaped and fled through Central Asia, pursued by Lieutenant Hamilton Bower of the Indian Army, who cornered him in a Tashkent market, where he was arrested by the Russians. Before he could be extradited and brought to trial, the Afghan hanged himself in his cell and the motive for Dalgleish’s murder went with him to the grave. The remains of Dalgleish were rescued before they suffered the fate of the others who had died on the Karakorum pass and whose bones were left to bleach in the snow. He was interred in the Explorers’ Cemetery at Leh. His death was also commemorated on the pass by a small marble pillar with an inscription.
Years later, I visited Kashgar – Yarkand was off limits to foreigners – I found that the old British Embassy was now a flop house for migrant Pakistanis, and the former Russian Embassy had been converted into a hotel that had seen better days. Making an excuse – I wanted to use the bathroom – I gained access to the hotel. With its heavy furnishings of dark wood and deep red velvet curtain and cut glass chandeliers it was redolent of the Romanoffs. I could feel the Russian presence.
Of Dalgleish, there was no sign.
No, I wasn’t allowed to go along the old trade route over the Karakorum pass, no such luck. Instead, I travelled through Pakistan along the Karakorum–Kashgar highway over the Khunjerab pass, one of the hairiest and most dangerous roads in the world. 810 Pakistanis and 82 Chinese workers died during the construction mainly due to avalanches.
The graveyard has been renamed the Moravian Memorial Park.
