by G. A. Henty
Chapter 8: The Dargai Pass.
There was the greatest joy among the Pioneers, when they receivedinstructions to prepare for an advance to Khusalghar. Officers andmen alike were in the highest spirits, and not the least pleasedwas Lisle, who had begun to tire of the monotony of camp life. Themention of the place at which they were to assemble put an end tothe discussion, that had long taken place, as to route to befollowed. Six days' easy march along a good road would take them toShinawari and, in three or four days more, they would get into theheart of the Tirah.
Illustration: Map illustrating the Tirah Campaign.
Much would depend on the conduct of the Orakzais, a powerful tribewhose country lay between Kenmora and that of the Zakka-Khels. Thelatter had indeed declared against us, but they were known to bevery half hearted; for they felt that, lying as they did close tothe British frontier, they would be sure to suffer most if weobtained the upper hand. It was hoped therefore that, after makinga show of resistance, they would try to come to terms with us.
The regiment was told that it would have to provide its owncarriage, and two or three days were spent in buying up all theponies and mules in the neighbourhood. All the heavy baggage waspacked up and left in store, and the regiment marched from the townin light order, with their drums and fifes playing a merry march,and the men in high spirits.
"It is worth two years in a dull cantonment, Bullen," one of thelieutenants remarked to Lisle.
"It is glorious," Lisle said, "though I expect we shall have somehard fighting; for they say that the Zakka-Khels and their alliescan place fifty thousand in the fighting line and, as our column isreported to be twenty thousand strong, we shall all have our workto do. In the open they would, of course, have no chance with usbut, as the fighting will be done in guerrilla fashion, from hillsand precipices, our task will be no easy one. The guarding of thetremendous convoy we must take with us will, in itself, beextremely difficult."
"Yes, I expect we shall get it hot. The loss is almost sure to beheavy, but that will not prevent us from turning them out of theirfastnesses."
"I wish they would let us all carry rifles, instead of swords,"Lisle said. "It will be beastly having nothing to do but wave one'ssword, while they are potting at us. I don't think I should mindthe heaviest fire, if I could reply to it; but to be compelled tostand by idly, while the men are blazing away, would be enough todrive me mad."
"I dare say when the fighting begins, Bullen, you will soon findthat there are plenty of rifles disengaged; and I don't see anyreason why an officer should not pick up one of them, and take hisshare in firing, till he has to lead the men on to an attack."
Lisle was now nearly eighteen, of medium height, with light activefigure, and likely to be able to undergo any hardships.
On their arrival at Khusalghar, they found that several regimentswere already there, with an enormous amount of stores and baggage.The officers lost no time in examining the fort, that had been sonobly held by a party of Sikhs who, having for a long time held theenemy in check, had fought to the last when they burst in. One byone the noble fellows fell. One wounded man, lying on a pallet,shot three of the enemy before he was killed; and the last survivorof the little force shut himself up in a little chamber, and killedtwenty of his assailants before he was overcome. Not a single manescaped, and their defence of the little fort is a splendid exampleof the fidelity and bravery of our Sikh soldiers.
After a few days' stay at this place, the regiment marched on toShinawari; and here remained for some little time, until the columnwas made up. It was known that the Zakka-Khels and their allies hadmarched down and taken up their position near the Dargai hill; andthat the Orakzais had, in spite of the pressure brought to bearupon them by the other tribes, determined to remain neutral. ThisDargai hill must not be confused with the hill, of the same name,at which fierce fighting took place in the expedition to Chitral,two years before.
At last the welcome news came that the advance was about to takeplace. General Lockhart, with another column, was at Fort Lockhart,some thirty miles away; but the intermediate ground was so broken,and the force of the enemy watching him so strong, that noassistance could be obtained from him. The force assembled atShinawari was a strong one. The King's Own Scottish Borderers, abattery of Royal Artillery, the 1st Battalion of Gordons, 1stDorsets with a mountain battery, the Yorkshire Regiment, the RoyalWest Surrey, and a company of the 4th Ghoorkhas were all there. The3rd Sikhs, with two guns, moved to the left in the Khuram Valley.
Altogether, something like fifty thousand transport animalsaccompanied them, with sixty thousand camp followers. The transportpresented an extraordinary appearance. It included every class ofbullock vehicle, lines of ill-fed camels, mules, ponies, and eventiny donkeys.
On October 17th orders were received, from General Lockhart, thatthe division at Shinawari was to make a reconnaissance in forcetowards the Khanki Valley, as the enemy had been seen moving abouton the hills. A force consisting of the 3rd and 4th Brigades movedforward. The object of the reconnaissance was the summit of thehill, directly overlooking Shinawari, and over two thousand feethigh. From the plain the ascent appeared to be simple but, whenthey started to climb, they found that it was rugged and almostimpassable. There was no semblance of road, and the men had to toilup the goat paths and sheep tracks.
The Dargai ridge was from a thousand to fifteen hundred feet abovethe spot from which they started. On the near side it was almost asheer precipice, and the only means of access to the top was upthree steep waterways, which converged to the left of the position.It was only two hundred and fifty yards' range from the summit but,as soon as it was crossed, the steepness of the cliff afforded theassailants shelter from the enemy's fire. From this point the pathzigzags up, until men in single file can reach the summit. Theridge then dips into the hollow plateau where the village lies, andthen runs up two hundred feet to the cliff, making a descent of thebetter part of a mile. On the far side the hill slopes away to theKhanki Valley.
"We are going to begin with a sharpish climb," Lisle said toanother officer. "If those fellows on the top of the cliff stick totheir work, we shall have a very hot time of it."
"I expect the guns will clear them off," the other said.
"They may do that for a moment but, as we get up to the top, theywill rush forward again; if they have the same pluck as the fellowsI fought against, before."
As soon as the advance began, the enemy came into action; but thetwo batteries opened upon them, and their fire slackened somewhat.The climb was a severe one, indeed; the road became worse and worseas they advanced and, at one place, a ridge between two spurs hadto be crossed with barely a foot of purchase way, and a sheer dropon both sides. When they were within two hundred yards from thesummit, they had to cross an open space. The Borderers andGhoorkhas were in front; and the latter were ordered to carry theposition, while the Borderers covered their advance.
The Ghoorkhas advanced in a couple of rushes and, as they nearedthe summit, the enemy bolted. The Goorkhas pursued; but they didnot go far, as the general, who had been with the advance guardthroughout, recalled them. It was found that a village lay in thehollow of the plateau, and that sangars had been built all alongthe summit, and high up on the hill which covered the crest.
General Westmacott waited for two hours on the summit and,supposing that General Kempster could not make his way up, wasabout to withdraw his men; as large bodies of the enemy were seen,moving in a direction which threatened the left rear. As they didso, General Kempster arrived. He had experienced considerableresistance, and had lost two officers.
"That has been hard work, Lisle," his companion said, as theyreturned to camp.
"Yes, but the hardness consisted more in the climbing than in thefighting. I wonder we are brought back again. We shall probablyhave a great deal harder work, next time; for all the enemy in theKhanki Valley will no doubt be up there, waiting for us."
That evening, there was much discussion at the mess upon thee
xpediency of evacuating the pass, when it had once been occupied.The general opinion, however, was that it was necessary.
General Lockhart was at the fort bearing his name, with a regimentof the 4th Brigade. The 2nd Battalion had remained in camp atShinawari, and the 1st Division was still on the march to thatplace. It was General Lockhart's intention to divide the greatforce known to be in the Khanki Valley. The reconnaissance had beenordered to ascertain if a road really existed, and if it waspassable for baggage. The reasons for the retirement were that acomplete brigade would have been required to take the place, thatthe picketing of the road would have taken half a brigade, and thatno commissariat arrangements had been made for the supply of aforce on the plateau. Further, not a drop of water was available;and lastly, if Dargai had been held, the enemy would have massedtheir whole force against it; whereas, when the force withdrew, thetribesmen would be compelled to divide their force in order towatch the other road.
The conclusion arrived at, by the members of the mess, was that theretirement was probably necessary; but that the next advance wouldassuredly meet with much greater opposition than the first.
Three days passed; and then, at half-past four in the morning, theadvance guard of General Yeatman-Biggs' column left the camp, underGeneral Kempster, and proceeded up the Chagru Pass. It was a long,weary pull up the hill. The sappers had been working hard on theroad, for the past ten days; but it was still very narrow for awhole division, and three mountain batteries. At half-past eightthe force reached the summit, and the advance guard sent back newsthat the crest of the Dargai was held, by the enemy, in force. Theenemy could be plainly made out. They had with them a black banner,which showed that they were Kambar Khels. On the far side of theopposite range could be seen great masses of tribesmen, with adozen standards.
The 1st and 2nd Ghoorkhas, the Dorsets, and the Derbys were senton; while the Gordons took up a position to cover the advance, withlong-range volleys. As the regiments climbed up, three mountainguns massed on the Chagru Kotal; and another one, which had come inwith the Northampton from Fort Lockhart, opened fire. The enemyreplied, at long range, upon the advance guard of the Ghoorkhas, asthey went up the centre nullah. The little Ghoorkhas came steadilyon and, at six hundred yards, opened fire in volleys. This and thefire of the guns was too much for the tribesmen, who ceased to showthemselves. The Dorsets had now joined the Ghoorkhas and, after ahalt, again made a rush across the open to reach the cover, theDerbys firing heavily to assist them.
Until our men showed in the open, they had no knowledge in whatforce the position was held. Three companies of Ghoorkhas managedto reach cover beneath the cliff, but the path was strewn with thedead and dying. Captain Robinson, after getting across with hismen, tried to rejoin the main body, but fell. Then the Dorsetsendeavoured to join the three gallant companies of Ghoorkhas. Rushafter rush was made, but the head of each melted away, as soon asthe fatal spot was reached. At last, after three fruitlessattempts, the helio flashed back to the general that the positionwas impregnable, and that further attempts would be but a uselesswaste of life.
Matters were looking serious. It was twelve o'clock, and the enemystill held their position. General Yeatman-Biggs realized that acheck would seriously alter the course of the campaign, and he toldGeneral Kempster that the summit must be taken, at any cost. Thelatter started at once, taking with him the Gordons and 3rd Sikhs.It took the fresh troops the best part of an hour to climb up; andwhen the five regiments of infantry, the Highlanders, English,Sikhs, and Ghoorkhas, stood massed in the nullah, General Kempsterhelioed to the guns, asking three minutes' concentrated fire on thesummit.
There were two ways to reach the cover where the company ofGhoorkhas had been lying, for three hours. The top ridge had beenproved to be absolutely a death passage, but there was anotherpath, by which General Westmacott had forced his way up, three daysbefore, and which was shorter across the open zone of fire. A freshregiment was to take the lead.
The colonel collected his men at the edge of the nullah, and said:
"Gordons, the general says that the position must be taken, at allcosts. The Gordons are to do it!"
The signal was given, the batteries at once opened fire, and thecliff was crowned with a circle of bursting shrapnel. Then theofficers of the Gordons dashed over the nullah, the pipes rolledout the charge and, with clenched teeth, the Highlanders burst intothe open. The length of the exposed zone was swept with the leadenstream. The head of the upper column melted away; but a fewstruggled on, and others took the places of the fallen. The Sikhs,Derbys, and Ghoorkhas followed in rushes, as the firing slackened,and the cover halfway was won. A moment was allowed for breath, andthen the men were up again; another terrible rush, another terribleslaughter, and the three companies of Ghoorkhas were reached.
When the enemy saw that the space was crossed, they left theirsangars and streamed down the reverse slope of the hill. They couldnot face the men who had passed that terrible passage. Forming atthe bend of the perpendicular rock, they waited till they hadrecovered their breath, and then proceeded up the zigzag pathleading to the summit of the hill.
The fighting was over, but the loss had been great. Four officershad been killed and ten wounded, one of them mortally. The totalcasualties were a hundred and ninety-four killed and wounded. Ofthese thirty were Gordons, and the majority of the remainder wereDorsets and Ghoorkhas. Few of those who fell wounded escaped withtheir lives. Their comrades made desperate efforts to carry themoff; but the storm of bullets, fired at so short a range, renderedit impossible; while the wounded who attempted to rise and returnwere riddled with bullets, as soon as they moved. When the fightwas over, the whole force encamped on the Chagru Kotal.
The assailants were unable to make out why the enemy did not defendthe zigzag path. Only two men could climb it abreast, and theadvancing files could have been destroyed by a dozen marksmen withbreech loaders. The only reasonable supposition was that, havingbeen engaged for five hours, their ammunition was practicallyexhausted.
Several acts of heroism were performed in the battle. One of thepipers, Lance Corporal Milne, was shot through both legs; but stillcontinued to play his pipes, in a sitting position. Four otherpipers played right across the fatal passage, three of them beingwounded. Lieutenant Tillard was the first man across. He was a fastrunner, but he stopped to encourage his men, midway.
By the 25th, the whole of the two divisions were encamped on thetwo low hills at the mouth of the Kapagh Pass; while the stream oftransport came gradually up. By that day six thousand four hundredBritish troops, eleven thousand two hundred and eighty nativetroops, seventeen thousand followers, and two thousand four hundredcamels were gathered there.
In the morning a foraging party went out and, when they werereturning to camp with supplies, and also with a hundred head ofcattle, the enemy lined the neighbouring heights. The mountainbattery came into action, and the rearmost regiment covered theretreat by volleys; but the tribesmen had all the advantage ofposition and, with the utmost determination, they followed. Theyeven opened fire on the camp, causing several casualties, the totallosses being over thirty.
By this time the troops were all convinced that the campaign wouldbe a most serious one. Before them lay a country of which they wereabsolutely ignorant, into which no Englishman had ever penetrated;and defended by an enemy who were, for the most part, armed withfirst-class rifles, and were marvellous skirmishers. If thetribesmen kept to guerrilla warfare, there was no saying how longthe campaign would last.
Lisle had passed through the fight unhurt. He had been almostbewildered as he crossed the fatal path, running at top speed, withmen falling thickly around him. Halfway across Lieutenant Blunt,who was one of his great chums, and had joined just before him,fell. Lisle sheathed his sword and threw himself down beside him,pressing him to the ground to prevent him from moving; while hehimself remained perfectly still. When the next rush of men camealong, he lifted his wounded friend with great effort on to hisback, and then ran on.
Blunt was again twice hit; but Lisleescaped, almost by a miracle, and arrived at the foot of theprecipice a minute after the last man got in. He was loudlycheered, by the men, as he did so.
He had the satisfaction of knowing that Blunt's wounds, althoughserious, were not considered mortal. When the regiment halted onthe plateau, Lisle was warmly congratulated by the colonel andofficers on the feat he had performed; but he disclaimed anyparticular merit.
"When Blunt fell," he said, "it was the most natural thing in theworld that I should go and pick him up; and I did so almostmechanically. Luckily he was a light man but, even if he had been aheavy one, I don't think I should have felt his weight. I wasscarcely conscious of the bullets whistling round me. When he fell,I knew that the tribesmen would shoot any wounded man who tried torise, and that the only chance was to lie perfectly still, untilanother batch of men came along."
"You showed no end of coolness," the colonel said, "and the idea ofpressing him down, and yourself lying quietly beside him showedthat, in spite of confusion, your brain was clear, and that you hadall your senses about you. It was a gallant action, which I shallnot forget to mention when I send in my report. You deserve theV.C., but I don't suppose you will get it; so many gallant deedswere done that only a few can get the cross."
The two divisions marched on the morning of the 28th. TheNorthamptons and 36th Sikhs had been detached to an extremely highhill, to cover the advance. It had already been found that,although the Afridis could fight well, so long as they had theadvantage of position, they were nevertheless extremely careful oftheir skins. After the heavy firing into camp, on the night of thereturn of the reconnaissance, the place had been greatlystrengthened; and the positions were changed every night, a factwhich so entirely surprised the enemy that, for a time, nightattacks ceased altogether.
General Westmacott's brigade advanced up the Khanki nullah to thefoot of the Sampagha Pass. General Gazelee's division moved alongthe hills, and halted at the village of Ghandaki. In the afternoona reconnaissance pushed forward, and returned with the news thatthe pass appeared to be simple, and the road a good one. Tribesmenwere seen upon nearly every crest. They were apparently buildingsangars upon the roadway.
General Gazelee was to make his attack next morning. GeneralWestmacott, General Kempster, and General Hart, with the batteriesof both divisions, were to occupy a knoll at the foot of the pass,to support the advance. The troops moved forward in the followingorder: the Queens, the 2nd and 4th Ghoorkhas, Yorks, and 3rd Sikhswere first; and they were followed by the 30th Sikhs, the ScottishBorderers, and the Northamptons.
In the dim light of the early morning, the distant crests weremarked by the fires of the enemy. Some delay was caused by thebatteries missing the tracks, but by daybreak they advanced. Athalf-past six the enemy fired the first shot, and then fell rapidlyback. The regiments in the first line moved steadily on and, athalf-past seven, the guns opened. A few shells were sufficient forthe enemy's advance party, and they scuttled back. When theGhoorkhas and Queens reached the first ridge in the pass, the enemyopened fire; but they could not stand the accurate fire of the sixbatteries.
A mountain battery pushed up the pass, and came into action on theenemy's first position. The pass widened out from this point, andthe two leading regiments moved forward to the sloping crest of thethird position. The Queens had advanced on the right, with theGhoorkhas on their flank. The pathway was covered by the fire ofthe enemy, hidden behind rocks; and this was so accurate that mencould hardly show themselves on the path, without being immediatelyshot down. The Sikhs and Borderers, however, pushed up the hill anddrove the enemy out.
The defence of the pass was not so determined as had been expected,after the stand shown at Dargai. The reason, no doubt, was thatthough they were good skirmishers, the enemy did not care to exposethemselves, either to artillery fire or close-quarter fighting.When the last crest had been gained, the force proceeded down intothe Mastura Valley. The tribesmen had deserted, and set fire to,their homesteads. The villages were only a few hundred yards apart,and were well built. The valley contained many beautiful groves.There was little food in the camp, and the Ghoorkhas set to work tomake chupatties, with coarse flour found in the villages.
There had been very few casualties during the day, and the menbegan to hope that, after the lesson taught the enemy at Dargai, noother resolute stand would be made. After a day of rest in thevalley, orders were issued for the 3rd and 4th Brigades to move, atdaybreak. The 2nd Brigade was to follow, the 1st being left togarrison the camp. The path was across a low ridge connectinghigher ones, and offered no great facilities for resistance, andwas overcome with the exchange of a few shots, only.
From the top of the Karanghur Pass was seen the valley of Maidan,the spot which the Afridis were wont to boast no infidel had evergazed upon. The view was magnificent. From the foot of the slopestretched a valley, broken here and there by ravines and nullahs.Every inch of it seemed to be cultivated; and it was one wideexpanse of terraced fields, sprinkled with groves and dotted withcountless habitations. There was scarce an acre which had not afortified block house, as each family built a homestead for itself,and fortified itself against all comers.
As the column entered the valley, they found that their arrival hadnot been expected. The livestock had been removed, but every housein the valley was stocked with supplies. Indian corn, wheat,barley, and other grain were found in abundance; and there was anample stock of honey, potatoes, walnuts, and onions.
Bagh was the tribal centre, the Afridi parliament ground. Itsmosque was situated about four miles farther up the valley. It wasat this spot that orders were issued to make war upon the British.It was an insignificant building, with a mud roof supported bytwenty-one pillars. The mosque was not interfered with.
It was thought that, as such little opposition was offered in thelast pass, the enemy had lost all heart; but a foraging party, thenext day, found the tribesmen in great force at the other end ofthe valley, and were compelled to retire. Another party of theenemy attempted to rush a picket of the 36th Sikhs; and a strongforce pounced upon the baggage train, and killed several of thedrivers; then, retiring till the main guard had passed, dashed outagain and killed three of the guards, and wounded several others.
For the present, no damage was done to the homesteads; as it washoped that the Afridis would come in and surrender. Next day aforaging party was hotly attacked and, at night, there was severefighting round the camp. A party of elders came in, to ask whatterms would be given; and were told that the tribesmen would haveto deliver up their rifles, and pay a heavy fine. It was evident,from their manner, that although they would be ready to pay a fine,they would certainly not deliver up their rifles.
The troops had now settled down comfortably. They had ten days'rations in camp, and the camel convoys were coming in daily. Theweather was delightful, and the nightly firing into the camp,alone, disturbed them.
A small party of foragers was, a few days later, fiercely attacked.Captain Rowcroft, who was in command, had with him only a subadarand half a dozen sepoys, when a heavy fire was opened upon him. Theparty could have retired, but one of the men was shot through thethigh, and it took three others to carry him. He was presently leftbehind, and Rowcroft went back to the body, to assure himself thatthe man was dead. This pause gave the enemy time to close up, andthe subadar was shot, as well as the man tending him.
A mule was luckily found, and the subadar was sent to the rear.After this two men were hit, one for the second time and, as it wasimpossible for the four sound men to carry off their wounded, andface the enemy as well, Rowcroft chose the best spot, anddetermined to halt and wait for help. The Afridis could not bringthemselves to rush the little party, but confined themselves tokeeping up a heavy fire. Another Sikh was wounded; and the dustcaused by the bullets almost blinded the others, who could scarcelysee to reply. At last, just in the nick of time, a relieving partyarrived and carried them off.
On the 8th General Westmacott started,
with his brigade, to punishthe Zakka-Khels for the continued night firing which, our commanderhad learned from prisoners, was kept up by that tribe. The brigadedid its work thoroughly and, by evening, the whole of the easternvalley was in flames. That same evening, however, Captain Watson, acommissariat officer, was shot dead, as he stood at his own door. Acurious fatality seemed to accompany this night firing. Out of themany thousands in camp, four officers only had been hit. CaptainSullivan, of the 36th Sikhs, was shot ten minutes after he hadarrived in camp, having travelled post haste from England.
On the 9th a reconnaissance was ordered to Saransur, a lofty peakto the east of the Maidan valley. Across this is a pass, on one ofthe roads to Peshawar. General Westmacott, who was in command, tookwith him four regiments--two British and two Sikhs--two batteries,and a company of Madras Sappers. The foot of the hill to be scaledwas less than three miles from camp, but the intervening ground wasextraordinarily broken. It was, in fact, a series of hummocks fromseventy to a hundred feet high; which were covered with boulders,and intersected by a river. This main nullah was also broken, onboth sides, by smaller nullahs almost every hundred yards. Beyondthis rugged ground there was a severe ascent. The hill had twospurs; one wooded, especially towards the summit, the other bare.The path wound up the latter, then crossed a ridge beyond, and yetanother ridge behind that, with a sheer summit very like the Dargaicliff.
The force left camp at half-past seven. When they had gone about amile, desultory shots were fired at them, from a series ofwell-built sangars facing the termination of the nullah. Onreaching the foot of the hillside, General Westmacott was muchconcerned about the Dorsets on the left; who were engaged indesultory firing, and were making little progress up the nullah.Staff officer after staff officer was despatched, to direct theDorsets to the intended line.
A little before ten the Northamptons, and Sikhs covering them inthe rear, began the ascent. It was a stiff climb of a thousandfeet. When the first brow was reached General Westmacott called ahalt, in order that the men might get their breath and fixbayonets. Then they climbed to the next top cover, and rushedforward. The enemy evidently knew its range, and advance companiesfound themselves under magazine fire. Nevertheless they pushed on.An open kotal had to be passed. The men crossed it at the doubleand, although a heavy fire was kept up again, there was nocasualty.
The advance guard was now at the foot of the sheer cliff. No newshad been received of the Dorsets, who were in a very rough country,wooded almost to the summit; and the general could only hope thatthey were working up through this. The force pushed on and, a fewminutes past eleven, the whole summit was in our possession, andthe last of the visible enemy put to flight.
The intelligence officers busied themselves sketching the country.It was evident that the Saransur was the retreat of the MaidanZakka-Khels, for all round were evidences of encampments:fire-stained walls, caves, and bags of grain. It was deserted bythe tribesmen, who had been taken by surprise, and had lefthurriedly. General Westmacott was anxious to be off, as it wasprobable that the fighting men of the enemy had merely hurried offto place their families under cover, and would return as soon asthey had done so.
At two o'clock the return march began. A company of theNorthamptons were placed within range of the wooded slope, whichshould have been covered by the Dorsets, had they come up. Theywere suddenly fired upon, and the men fell fast. Another companycame up to help them. The enemy could not be seen, but volleys werefired into the wood. The 36th Sikhs went back to reinforce them,and the whole force were withdrawn without further casualty.
As the Northamptons were retiring across the wooded zone, the firstfour companies were allowed to pass unmolested; but when the fifthreached the clear ground, they were greeted with a blaze of fire.The carriage of the wounded delayed the retirement, and it was notuntil dusk that the foot of the hill was reached.
The enemy had taken every advantage that their knowledge of thecountry gave them. They had now begun to creep up the ravines, andtheir number increased every minute. Men were falling fast. Eachman carrying a wounded comrade became a target. The Dorsets alsowere severely engaged. The Northamptons stuck to their work, andslowly withdrew their wounded; but the number of casualtiesincreased alarmingly.
Then an unfortunate occurrence took place. A party of Northamptons,under Lieutenant Macintyre and Lieutenant Sergeant Luckin, turninga corner, were cut off. It appeared that they sacrificed themselvesto their wounded comrades. One of the party was despatched forhelp, and evidently came across a small group of Dorsets. The storywas, that the party were surrounded at short range when he left;for, had they left their wounded and followed him, they might havesaved themselves. Next morning their bodies were found. In everycase they had been wounded by bullets, before the Pathans came upand gashed them; which showed that they had fought till the lastman dropped.
Lisle was not one of those who returned to camp and, in theconfusion that occurred as the result of the late arrival of thetroops, his absence was not discovered until the next morning. Onenquiries being made, it was found that he was last seen high up inthe mountains. He had been sent down, with eight men, to requestthe guns to direct their fire against the enemy, who were pressingthe regiment during the retreat; but as he had not arrived at theguns, a strong party was at once sent out, to search for his bodyand those of the men with him.
Lisle had, in fact, pushed down halfway to the spot where the gunswere placed, and had dismounted at the top of a nullah; when alarge party of the enemy opened fire upon him. One of the sepoys atonce fell dead, and another was wounded. It was impossible for himto fight his way through this force. Twilight was already fallingand, owing to the rugged nature of the ground, he was by no meanssure of his position.
While the men returned the enemy's fire, he looked round for somevantage ground. Fifty yards away there was a small blockhouse and,when he saw this, he at once determined to shelter in it. He andone of the men therefore lifted their wounded comrade, and Lisleshouted to the others:
"Use your magazines, and then make a rush for the hut, keeping welltogether."
The little party charged, meanwhile keeping up so heavy a fire,with their magazines, that the Afridis who stood between them andthe house cleared off, leaving a dozen of their dead on the ground.Before they reached the block house, two more of the men werewounded but, fortunately, not severely enough to prevent them fromkeeping up with the others. The place was untenanted, and theyrushed in and at once began to pile its contents against the door.
Lisle ordered the unwounded men to take their places at theloopholes, which served for windows in the Afridi buildings, whilehe himself attended to the wounds of the others. He warned the menwho were firing to withdraw quickly after every shot, for theAfridis were such admirable marksmen that their bullets frequentlyentered the loopholes.