unattentive. His subordinate officers may complain that they have had no
fighting. But in the consciousness of duty skillfully performed and of
human life preserved he will find a high reward.

A general review of the frontier war will, I think, show the great
disadvantages to which regular troops are exposed in fighting an active
enterprising enemy that can move faster and shoot better, who knows the
country and who knows the ranges. The terrible losses inflicted on the
tribesmen in the Swat Valley show how easily disciplined troops can
brush away the bravest savages in the open. But on the hillside all is
changed, and the observer will be struck by the weakness rather than the
strength of modern weapons. Daring riflemen, individually superior to
the soldiers, and able to support the greatest fatigues, can always
inflict loss, although they cannot bar their path.

The military problem with which the Spaniards are confronted in Cuba
is in many points similar to that presented in the Afghan valleys; a
roadless, broken and undeveloped country; an absence of any strategic
points; a well-armed enemy with great mobility and modern rifles, who
adopts guerilla tactics. The results in either case are, that the troops
can march anywhere, and do anything, except catch the enemy; and that
all their movements must be attended with loss.

If the question of subduing the tribes be regarded from a purely
military standpoint, if time were no object, and there was no danger of
a lengthy operation being interrupted by a change of policy at home,
it would appear that the efforts of commanders should be, to induce the
tribesmen to assume the offensive. On this point I must limit my remarks
to the flat-bottomed valleys of Swat and Bajaur. To coerce a tribe like
the Mamunds, a mixed brigade might camp at the entrance to the valley,
and as at Inayat Kila, entrench itself very strongly. The squadron
of cavalry could patrol the valley daily in complete security, as the
tribesmen would not dare to leave the hills. All sowing of crops and
agricultural work would be stopped. The natives would retaliate by
firing into the camp at night. This would cause loss; but if every one
were to dig a good hole to sleep in, and if the officers were made to
have dinner before sundown, and forbidden to walk about except on duty
after dark, there is no reason why the loss should be severe. At length
the tribesmen, infuriated by the occupation of their valley, a