information that is amply sufficient to entitle Mr. McNair to being
placed in the front rank of geographers, in respect, as a contemporary
remarks, of that "borderland which separates India from Turkestan," It
is said of Mr. McNair, that in the course of the Afghan campaign in
1879, he added more to the sum of our knowledge of Afghanistan than all
the geographers of the "old" Afghan war put together, while some of his
exploits in surmounting what appeared to be absolutely insuperable
difficulties, make him take rank with the great geographers of his day.
His work in the Kohat district was especially valuable, although it
never, we believe, received the official recognition it deserved.
Thanks to his excursions and observations, we have, as the _Pioneer_
justly observes, a complete map of the border, a map which it will be
hard to supersede. His journey to Kaffirstan resulted in some valuable
contributions to our knowledge of that region, but the conditions of
Government service unfortunately prevented his receiving the reward,
which he would have secured as a matter of course, had he been the
servant of a power more quick and more liberal in its recognition of
merit. As the _Pioneer_ happily remarks, "Mr. McNair belonged to a
department which is not great in distinctions and decorations, and is
connected with no celestial brotherhood. Indeed, it has no dealings
with stars, but such as are of God's own making--and he belonged to
what by grace of official courtesy is called the 'subordinate' branch.
Out of it he never rose, though had he lived on the Russian side of the
border, his career might well have brought him high military rank, and
decorations in strings across his uniform." By his death, India loses a
valuable public servant, and that loss, we venture to say, will be more
deeply felt should complications arise on the frontier, when the
knowledge, experience, and ability of men like Mr. McNair will be the
primary condition of success in any operations in that quarter. We do
not know whether we should regret of any man that he did hot receive