Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti

  Chapter 2: The Start.

  The havildar was on the lookout for Lisle when he entered the camp;but he did not know him, in his changed attire and stained face,until the lad spoke to him.

  "You are well disguised, indeed, sahib," he said. "I had no ideathat it was you. Now, my instructions are to take you to GholamSingh's tent."

  Here Lisle found the risaldar and the other two native officers. Hesaluted as he entered. The risaldar examined him carefully, beforespeaking.

  "Good!" he said; "I did not think that a white sahib could everdisguise himself to pass as a native, though I know that it hasbeen done before now. Certainly I have no fear of any of the whiteofficers finding that you are not what you seem to be. I am moreafraid, however, of the men. Still, even if they guessed who youare, they would not, I am sure, betray you.

  "Here are your rifle and bayonet. These complete your outfit. I seethat you have brought your kit with you. It is rather more bulkythan usual, but will pass with the rest.

  "The subadar will take you down to the men's lines. I have arrangedthat you shall be on the baggage guard, at first, so that you willgradually begin to know a few men of your company. They will reportto the rest the story you tell them, and you will soon be receivedas one of themselves.

  "I will see that that sack of yours goes with the rest of the kitsin the baggage waggon. These officers of your company allunderstand that you are to be treated like the rest of the men, andnot to be shown any favour. At the same time, when in camp, ifthere is anything that you desire, or any complaint you have tomake, you can talk quietly to one of them; and he will report it tome, in which case you may be sure that I shall set the matterright, if possible."

  "I don't think there is any fear of that, risaldar. I am prettywell able to take care of myself. My father gave me many lessons inboxing; and I fancy that, although most of the men are a great dealbigger and stronger than I am, I shall be able to hold my own."

  "I hope so, Bullen," the havildar said gravely, "but I trust thatthere will be no occasion to show your skill. We Punjabis are aquiet race of men; and though, of course, quarrels occasionallyoccur among us, they generally end in abuse, and very seldom cometo blows. The greater portion of the regiment has been with us forsome years. They know each other well, and are not given toquarrelling. They will scarcely even permit their juniors to go toextremes, and I need not say that the officers of the company wouldinterfere, at once, if they saw any signs of a disturbance.

  "I have had a meal cooked, which I hope you will eat with us. It isthe last you are likely to be able to enjoy, for some time. Weshall feel honoured if you will sit down with us."

  An excellent repast was served, and Lisle did it full justice. Thenthe officers all shook him by the hand, and he started with thesubadar for the men's lines, with hearty thanks to the others. Whenthey arrived at the huts, the subadar led the way in.

  "Here is a new comrade," he said, as some of the men rousedthemselves from the ground on his entrance. "He is a cousin ofMutteh Ghar, and bears the same name. It seems that he has servedin another regiment, for a short time; but was discharged, owing tosickness. He has now perfectly recovered health, and has come tojoin his cousin; who, on his arrival, he finds to be dead. He isvery anxious to accompany the regiment and, as he understands hiswork, the risaldar has consented to let him go, instead ofremaining behind at the depot.

  "He is, of course, much affected by the loss of his cousin; andhopes that he will not be worried by questions. He will be onbaggage guard tomorrow, and so will be left alone, until herecovers somewhat from his disappointment and grief."

  "I will see to it, subadar," one of the sergeants said. "MuttehGhar was a nice young fellow, and we shall all welcome his cousinamong us, if he is at all like him."

  "Thank you, sergeant! I am sure you will all like him, when youcome to know him; for he is a well-spoken young fellow, and I hopethat he will make as good a soldier. Good night!"

  So saying, he turned and left the tent.

  Half an hour later, Lisle was on parade. There were but eightBritish officers; including the colonel, major, and adjutant, andone company officer to each two companies. The inspection was abrief one. The company officer walked along the line, paying butlittle attention to the men; but carefully scrutinizing their arms,to see that they were in perfect order. The regiment was putthrough a few simple manoeuvres; and then dismissed, as work inearnest would begin on the following morning.

  Four men in each company were then told off to pack the baggage inthe carts. Lisle was one of those furnished by his company. Therewas little talk while they were at work. In two hours the cartswere packed. Then, as they returned to the lines, his threecomrades entered into conversation with him.

  "You are lucky to be taken," one said, "being only a recruit. Isuppose it was done so that you might fill the place of yourcousin?"

  "Yes, that was it. They said that I had a claim; so that, if Ichose, I could send money home to his family."

  "They are good men, the white officers," another said. "They arelike fathers to us, and we will follow them anywhere. We latelylost one of them, and miss him sorely. However, they are all good.

  "We are all glad to be going on service. It is dull work incantonments."

  On arriving at the lines of the company, one of them said:

  "The risaldar said that you will take your cousin's place. He sleptin the same hut as I. You will soon find yourself at home with us."

  He introduced Lisle to the other occupants of the hut, eighteen innumber. Lisle then proceeded to follow the example of the others,by taking off his uniform and stripping to the loincloth, and alittle calico jacket. He felt very strange at first, accustomedthough he was to see the soldiers return to their native costume.

  "Your rations are there, and those of our new comrade," one of theparty said.

  Several fires were burning, and Lisle followed the example of hiscomrade, and took the lota which formed part of his equipment,filled it with water, and put it in the ashes; adding, as soon asit boiled, the handful of rice, some ghee, and a tiny portion ofmeat. In an hour the meal was cooked and, taking it from the fire,he sat down in a place apart; as is usual among the native troops,who generally have an objection to eat before others.

  "Those who have money," his comrade said, "can buy herbs andcondiments of the little traders, and greatly improve their mess."

  This Lisle knew well.

  "I have a few pice," he said, "but must be careful till I get mypay."

  As soon as night fell all turned in, as they were to start atdaylight.

  "Here is room for you at my side, comrade," the sergeant said. "Youhad better get to sleep, as soon as you can. Of course, you haveyour blanket with you?"

  "Yes, sergeant."

  Lisle rolled himself in his blanket and lay down, covering hisface, as is the habit of all natives of India. It was some timebefore he went to sleep. The events of the day had been exciting,and he was overjoyed at finding that his plan had so far succeeded.He was now one of the regiment and, unless something altogetherunexpected happened, he was certain to take part in a stirringcampaign.

  While it was still dark, he was aroused by the sound of a bugle.

  "The men told off to the baggage guard will at once proceed to packthe waggons," the sergeant said.

  Lisle at once got up and put on his uniform, as did three other menin the tent. The kits and baggage had already been packed, thenight before; and the men of the guard, consisting of a halfcompany, proceeded to the waggons. Half an hour afterwards, anotherbugle roused the remainder of the regiment, and they soon fell in.

  It was broad daylight when they started, the baggage followed alittle later. The havildar who was in charge of them was,fortunately, one of those of Lisle's company. There was but littletalk at the hurried start. Two men accompanied each of the twelvecompany waggons. Half the remainder marched in front, and theothers behind. Lisle had been told off to the first waggon.

  It was a long mar
ch, two ordinary stages being done in one. As theanimals were fresh, the transport arrived at the camping groundwithin an hour of the main column. Accustomed though he was toexercise, Lisle found the weight of his rifle, pouches, andammunition tell terribly upon him. He was not used to the bootsand, before half the journey was completed, began to limp. Thehavildar, noticing this, ordered him to take his place on the topof the baggage on his waggon.

  "It is natural that you should feel it, at first, Mutteh Ghar," hesaid. "You will find it easy enough to keep up with them, after afew days' rest."

  Lisle was thankful, indeed, for he had begun to feel that he shouldnever be able to hold on to the end of the march. He remained onthe baggage for a couple of hours, and then again took his place bythe side of the waggon; receiving an approving nod from thehavildar, as he did so.

  When the halt was called, the men at once crowded round thewaggons. The kits were distributed and, in a few minutes, theregiment had the appearance of a concourse of peaceable peasants.No tents had been taken with them. Waterproof sheets had beenprovided and, with these, little shelters had been erected, eachaccommodating three men. The sergeant told Lisle off to share oneof these shelters with two other men. A party meanwhile had gone tocollect firewood and, in half an hour, the men were cooking theirrice.

  "Well, how did you like the march?" one of them said to Lisle.

  "I found it very hard work," Lisle said, "but the havildar let meride on the top of one of the waggons for a couple of hours and,after that, I was able to march in with the rest."

  "It was a rough march for a recruit," the other said, "but you willsoon get used to that. Grease your feet well before you put on yourbandages. You will find that that will ease them very much, andthat you will not get sore feet, as you would if you marchedwithout preparation."

  Lisle took the advice, and devoted a portion of his rations for thepurpose, the last thing at night; and found that it abated the heatin his feet, and he was able to get about in comfort.

  Each soldier carried a little cooking pot. Although the regimentwas composed principally of Punjabis, many of the men were ofdifferent nationalities and, although the Punjabis are much lessparticular about caste than the people of Southern India, every manprepared his meal separately. The rations consisted of rice, ghee,a little curry powder, and a portion of mutton. From these Lislemanaged to concoct a savoury mess, as he had often watched the mencooking their meals.

  The sergeant had evidently chosen two good men to share the tentwith Lisle. They were both old soldiers, not given to much talking;and were kind to their young comrade, giving him hints aboutcooking and making himself comfortable, and abstaining from askingmany questions. They were easily satisfied with his answers and,after the meal was eaten, sat down with him and talked of thecoming campaign. Neither of them had ever been to Chitral, but theyknew by hearsay the nature of the road, and discussed theprobability of the point at which serious opposition would begin;both agreeing that the difficulties of crossing the passes, nowthat these would be covered with snow, would be far greater thanany stand the tribesmen might make.

  "They are tough fighters, no doubt," one of them said; "and weshall have more difficulty, with them, than we have ever hadbefore; for they say that a great many of them are armed with goodrifles, and will therefore be able to annoy us at a distance, whentheir old matchlocks would have been useless."

  "And they are good shots, too."

  "There is no doubt about that; quite as good as we are, I shouldsay. There will be a tremendous lot of flanking work to keep themat a distance but, when it comes to anything like regular fighting,we shall sweep them before us.

  "From what I hear, however, we shall only have three or four gunswith us. That is a pity for, though the tribesmen can stand againsta heavy rifle fire, they have a profound respect for guns. Iexpect, therefore, that we shall have some stiff fighting.

  "How do you like the prospect, Mutteh Ghar?"

  "I don't suppose I shall mind it when I get accustomed to it,"Lisle said. "It was because I heard that the regiment was about toadvance that I hurried up to join. I don't think I should haveenlisted, had it been going to stay in the cantonment."

  "That is the right spirit," the other said approvingly. "It is thesame with all of us. There is no difficulty in getting recruits,when there is fighting to be done. It is the dull life in camp thatprevents men from joining. We have enlisted twice as many men, inthe past three months, as in three years before."

  So they talked till night fell and then turned in; putting Lislebetween them, that being the warmest position.

  In the morning the march was resumed in the same order, Lisle againtaking his place with the baggage guard. The march this time wasonly a single one; but it was long, nevertheless. Lisle was able tokeep his place till the end, feeling great benefit from the gheewhich he had rubbed on his feet. The havildar, at starting, said afew cheering words to him; and told him that, when he felt tired,he could put his rifle and pouch in the waggon, as there was nopossibility of their being wanted.

  His two comrades, when they heard that he had accomplished themarch without falling out, praised him highly.

  "You have showed good courage in holding on," one of them said."The march was nothing to us seasoned men, but it must have beentrying to you, especially as your feet cannot have recovered fromyesterday. I see that you will make a good soldier, and one whowill not shirk his work. Another week, and you will march as wellas the best of us."

  "I hope so," Lisle said. "I have always been considered a goodwalker. As soon as I get accustomed to the weight of the rifle andpouch, I have no doubt that I shall get on well enough."

  "I am sure you will," the other said cordially, "and I think we areas good marchers as any in India. We certainly have that reputationand, no doubt, it was for that reason we were chosen for theexpedition, although there are several other regiments nearer tothe spot.

  "From what I hear, Colonel Kelly will be the commanding officer ofthe column, and we could not wish for a better. I hear that thereis another column, and a much stronger one, going from Peshawar.That will put us all on our mettle, and I will warrant that weshall be the first to arrive there; not only because we are goodmarchers, but because the larger the column, the more trouble ithas with its baggage.

  "Baggage is the curse of these expeditions. What has to beconsidered is not how far the troops can go, but how far thebaggage animals can keep up with them. Some of the animals are nodoubt good, but many of them are altogether unfitted for the work.When these break down they block a whole line; and often, even ifthe march is a short one, it is very late at night before the lastof the baggage comes in; which means that we get neither kit,blankets, nor food, and think ourselves lucky if we get them thenext morning.

  "The government is, we all think, much to blame in these matters.Instead of procuring strong animals, and paying a fair price forthem; they buy animals that are not fit to do one good day's march.Of course, in the end this stinginess costs them more in money, andlives, than if they had provided suitable animals at the outset."

  Lisle had had a great deal of practice with the rifle, and hadcarried away several prizes shot for by the officers; but he wasunaccustomed to carry one for so many hours, and he felt grateful,indeed, when a halt was sounded. Fires were lighted, and foodcooked; and then all lay down, or sat in groups in the shade of agrove. The sense of the strangeness of his condition had begun towear off, and he laughed and talked with the others, withoutrestraint.

  Up to the time when he joined the regiment, Lisle had heard a gooddeal of the state of affairs at Chitral; and his impression of thenatives was that they were as savage and treacherous a race as wasto be found in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Beyond that, he had notinterested himself in the matter; but now, from the talk of hiscompanions, he gained a pretty clear idea of the situation.

  Illustration: Map illustrating the Chitral Campaign.

  Old Aman-ul-mulk had died in August, 1892. He had reigned long; andhad, b
y various conquests and judicious marriages, raised Chitralto a position of importance. The Chitralis are an Aryan race, andnot Pathans; and have a deep-rooted hatred of the Afghans.

  In 1878 Aman placed Chitral under the nominal suzerainty of theMaharajah of Kashmir and, Kashmir being one of the tributary statesof the Indian Empire, this brought them into direct communicationwith the government of India; and Aman received with greatcordiality two missions sent to him. When he died, his eldest sonNizam was away from Chitral; and the government was seized by hissecond son, Afzul; who, however, was murdered by his uncle, SherAfzul. Nizam at once hurried to Chitral; and Sher Afzul fled toCabul, Nizam becoming the head of the state or, as it was called,Mehtar. Being weak, he asked for a political officer to reside inhis territory; and Captain Younghusband, with an escort of Sikhs,was accordingly sent to Mastuj, a fort in Upper Chitral.

  However, in November Nizam was also murdered, by a younger brother,Amir. Amir hurried to Chitral, and demanded recognition fromLieutenant Gurdon; who was, at the time, acting as assistantBritish agent. He replied that he had no power to grantrecognition, until he was instructed by the government in India.Amir thereupon stopped his letters, and for a long time he was inimminent danger, as he had only an escort of eight Sikhs.

  On the 8th of January, fifty men of the 14th Sikhs marched downfrom Mastuj and, on the 1st of February, Mr. Robertson, the Britishagent, arrived from Gilgit. He had with him an escort of twohundred and eighty men of the 4th Kashmir Rifles, and thirty-threeSikhs; and was accompanied by three European officers. When hearrived he heard that Umra Khan had, at the invitation of Amir,marched into Chitral; but that his progress had been barred by thestrong fort of Drosh. As the Chitralis hate the Pathans, they werenot inclined to yield to the orders of Amir to surrender the fort,and were consequently attacked. The place, however, was surrenderedby the treachery of the governor. Amir then advanced, and wasjoined by Sher Afzul.

  Mr. Robertson wrote to Amir Khan, saying that he must leave theChitral territory. Amir paid no attention to the order, and Mr.Robertson reported this to the government of India. They issued, inMarch, 1895, a proclamation warning the Chitralis to abstain fromgiving assistance to Amir Khan, and intimating that a forcesufficient to overcome all resistance was being assembled; but thatas soon as it had attained its object, it would be withdrawn.

  The Chitralis, who now preferred Sher Afzul to Amir, made commoncause with the former. Mr. Robertson learned that men were alreadyat work, breaking up the road between Chitral and Mastuj; andaccordingly moved from the house he had occupied to the fort, whichwas large enough to receive the force with him.

  On the 1st of March, all communications between Mr. Robertson andMastuj had ceased; and troops were at once ordered to assemble, tomarch to his relief. It was clearly impossible for our agent toretire as, in order to do so, he would have to negotiate severalterrible passes, where a mere handful of men could destroy aregiment. Thus it was that the Pioneers had been ordered to breakup their cantonment, and advance with all speed to Gilgit.

  Hostilities had already begun. A native officer had started, withforty men and sixty boxes of ammunition, for Chitral; and hadreached Buni, when he received information that his advance waslikely to be opposed. He accordingly halted and wrote to LieutenantMoberley, special duty officer with the Kashmir troops in Mastuj.The local men reported to Moberley that no hostile attack upon thetroops was at all likely but, as there was a spirit of unrest inthe air, he wrote to Captain Ross, who was with Lieutenant Jones,and requested him to make a double march into Mastuj. This CaptainRoss did and, on the evening of the 4th of March, started toreinforce the little body of men that was blocked at Buni.

  On the same day a party of sappers and miners, under LieutenantsFowler and Edwards, also marched forward to Mastuj. When CaptainRoss arrived at Buni he found that all was quiet, and he thereforereturned to Mastuj, with news to that effect. The party of sapperswere to march, the next morning, with the ammunition escort.

  On the evening of that day a note was received from LieutenantEdwards, dated from a small village two miles beyond Buni, sayingthat he heard that he was to be attacked in a defile, a shortdistance away. He started with a force of ninety-six men, in all.They carried with them nine days' rations, and one hundred andforty rounds of ammunition.

  Captain Ross at once marched for Buni, and arrived there the sameevening. Here he left a young native officer and thirty-three rankand file while, with Lieutenant Jones and the rest of his littleforce, he marched for Reshun, where Lieutenant Edwards' party weredetained. They halted in the middle of the day; and arrived, at oneo'clock, at a hamlet halfway to Reshun.

  Shortly after starting, they were attacked. Lieutenant Jones, oneof the few survivors of the party, handed in the following reportof this bad business.

  "Half a mile after leaving Koragh the road enters a narrow defile.The hills on the left bank consist of a succession of large stoneshoots, with precipitous spurs in between. The road at the entranceto the defile, for about one hundred yards, runs quite close to theriver; after that it lies along a narrow maidan, some thirty orforty yards in width, and is on the top of the river bank, which ishere a cliff. This continues for about half a mile, then it ascendsa steep spur.

  "When the advanced party reached about halfway up this spur, it wasfired on from a sangar which had been built across the road and, atthe same time, men appeared on all the mountain tops and ridges,and stones were rolled down all the shoots. Captain Ross, who waswith the advanced guard, fell back on the main body. All thecoolies dropped their loads and bolted, as soon as the first shotwas fired. Captain Ross, after looking at the enemy's position,decided to fall back upon Koragh; as it would have been useless togo on to Reshun, leaving an enemy in such a position behind us."

  Captain Ross ordered Lieutenant Jones to fall back with ten men,seize the lower end of the defile, and cover the retreat. No fewerthan eight of his men were wounded, as he fell back. Captain Ross,on hearing this, ordered him to return, and the whole party tookrefuge in two caves, it being the intention of their commander towait there until the moon rose, and then try to force his way out.

  But when they started, they were assailed from above with such atorrent of rocks that they again retired to the caves. They thenmade an attempt to get to the top of the mountain, but their waywas barred by a precipice; and they once more went back to thecave, where they remained all the next day.

  It was then decided to make an attempt to cut their way out. Theystarted at two in the morning. The enemy at once opened fire, andmany were killed, among them Captain Ross himself. Lieutenant Joneswith seventeen men reached the little maidan, and there remainedfor some minutes, keeping up a heavy fire on the enemy on bothbanks of the river, in order to help more men to get through.

  Twice the enemy attempted to charge, but each time retired withheavy loss. Lieutenant Jones then again fell back, two of his partyhaving been killed and one mortally wounded, and the lieutenant andnine sepoys wounded. When they reached Buni they prepared a housefor defence, and remained there for seven days until reinforcementscame up.

  In the meantime the 20th Bengal Sappers and Miners, and the 42ndKashmir Infantry had gone on, beyond the point where Captain Ross'sdetachment had been all but annihilated, and reached Reshun; andLieutenants Edwards and Fowler, with the Bengal Sappers and tenKashmir Infantry, went on to repair a break in the road, a fewmiles beyond that place. They took every precaution to guardagainst surprise. Lieutenant Fowler was sent to scale the heightson the left bank, so as to be able to look down into some sangarson the opposite side. With some difficulty, he found a way up thehillside. When he was examining the opposite cliff a shot wasfired, and about two hundred men rushed out from the village andentered the sangars.

  As Fowler was well above them, he kept up a heavy fire, and didgreat execution. The enemy, however, began to ascend the hills, andsome appeared above him and began rolling down stones and firinginto his party. Fowler himself was wounded in the back, a corporalwas k
illed, and two other men wounded. He managed, however, toeffect his retreat, and joined the main body.

  As the enemy were now swarming on the hills, the party began tofall back to Reshun, which was two miles distant. They had an openplain to cross and a spur, a thousand feet high, to climb. Duringthis part of the retreat an officer and several men were woundedbut, on reaching the crest, the party halted and opened a steadyfire upon the enemy; whom they thus managed to keep at a distancetill they reached Reshun, which they did without further loss.

  The force here were occupying a sangar they had formed, but soheavy a fire was opened, from the surrounding hills, that it wasfound impossible to hold the position. They therefore retired tosome houses, where firewood and other supplies were found. The onlydrawback to this place was that it was more than a hundred yardsfrom the river, and there was consequently great danger of theirbeing cut off from the water.

  As soon as they reached the houses they began to fortify them. Theroofs were flat and, by piling stones along the edges, theyconverted them into sangars. The walls were loopholed, theentrances blocked up, and passages of communication opened betweenthe houses. A party of Kashmir volunteers then went down to theother sangar and brought the wounded in, under a heavy fire.

  At sunset the enemy's fire ceased, as it was the month of Ramzam,during which Mahomedans have to fast all day between sunrise andsunset. As night came on the little party took their places on theroofs, and remained there till daylight. By this time all weregreatly exhausted for, during their terrible experiences of theprevious day, they had had no food and little water.

  When day dawned half the men were withdrawn from their posts, and ameal was cooked from the flour that had been found in the houses. Asmall ration of meat was also served out. During the day the enemykept up a continuous fire but, as they showed no intention ofattacking, the men were allowed to sleep by turns.

  After dark Lieutenant Fowler and some volunteers started for theriver, to bring in water. They made two trips, and filled up allthe storage vessels at the disposal of the garrison. The nightpassed quietly but, just before dawn, the enemy charged downthrough the surrounding houses. Lieutenant Edwards and his party atonce opened fire, at about twenty yards' range. Tom-toms werebeaten furiously, to encourage the assailants; but the tribesmencould not pluck up courage to make a charge and, at nine o'clock,they all retired. During the attack four of the sepoys were killed,and six wounded.

  Next night another effort was made to obtain water. Two sangarswere stormed, and most of their occupants killed. The way to thewater was now opened but, at this moment, heavy firing broke out atthe fort; and Lieutenant Fowler, who was in command, recalled hismen and returned to assist the garrison.

  On the following day a white flag was hoisted, and an emissary fromSher Afzul said that all fighting had ceased. An armistice wasaccordingly arranged. All this, however, was but a snare for, a fewdays later, when the two British officers went out to witness apolo match, they were seized, bound with ropes, and carried off. Atthe same moment a fierce attack was made on a party of sepoys whohad also come out. These fought stoutly, but were overpowered, mostof them being killed.

  The garrison of the post, however, under the command of LieutenantGurdon, continued to hold the little fort; and refused allinvitation to come out to parley, after the treachery that had beenshown to their comrades. The two officers were taken to Chitral,where they were received with kindness by Amir Khan.

  The news of this disaster was carried to Peshawar by a nativeMussulman officer, who had been liberated, where it created greatexcitement. As all communication with Chitral had ceased, theassistant British agent at Gilgit called up the Pioneers; whomarched into Gilgit, four hundred strong, on the 20th of March. Onthe 21st news was received of the cutting up of Ross's party, andit was naturally supposed that that of Edwards was also destroyed.

  Colonel Kelly of the Pioneers now commanded the troops, and allcivil powers; and Major Borradale commanded the Pioneers. Theavailable force consisted of the four hundred Pioneers, and theGuides. Lieutenant Stewart joined them with two guns of the Kashmirbattery.

  Two hundred Pioneers and the Guides started on the 23rd. Thegazetteer states that it never rains in Gilgit, but it rained whenthe detachment started, and continued to pour for two days. The menhad marched without tents. Colonel Kelly, the doctor, Leward, and astaff officer followed in the afternoon, and overtook the main bodythat evening.

  The troops had made up little tents with their waterproof sheets.Colonel Kelly had a small tent, and the other officers turned in toa cow shed. The force was so small that the Pioneers asked theothers to mess with them, each man providing himself with his ownknife, fork, and spoon, and the pots being all collected for thecooking.

  The next march was long and, in some places, severe. They were wellreceived by the natives, whose chiefs always came out to greet themand, on the third day, reached Gupis, where a fort had been builtby the Kashmir troops. At this point the horses and mules were allleft behind, as the passes were said to be impassable for animals;and native coolies were hired to carry the baggage.

  Lisle had enjoyed the march, and the strange life that he wasleading. He was now quite at home with his company and, by the timethey reached Gupis, had become a general favourite. At the end ofthe day, when a meal had been cooked and eaten, he would join intheir songs round the fire and, as he had picked up several he hadheard them sing, and had a fair voice, he was often called upon fora contribution. His vivacity and good spirits surprised the sepoyswho, as a whole, were grave men, though they bore their hardshipsuncomplainingly. He had soon got over the feeling of discomfort ofgoing about with naked legs, and was as glad as the soldiers,themselves, to lay aside his uniform and get into native attire.

  The sepoys had now regular rations of meat. It was always mutton,as beef was unobtainable; but it was much relished by the men, whocut it up into slices and broiled it over a fire.

  Not for one moment did Lisle regret the step he had taken. Youngand active, he thoroughly enjoyed the life; and looked forwardeagerly to the time when they should meet the enemy, for no doubtwhatever was now felt that they would meet with a desperateresistance on their march to Chitral. Fears were entertained,however, that when they got there, they would find that thegarrison had been overpowered; for it was certain that against thisforce the chief attack of the enemy would be directed. Theoverthrow of Ross and his party showed that the enemy were sturdyfighters; and they were known to be armed with breech-loadingrifles, of as good a quality as those carried by the troops.

  In the open field all felt that, however numerous the tribesmenmight be, they would stand no chance whatever; but the passesafforded them immense advantage, and rendered drill and disciplineof little avail.