Chapter 10. Through The Mohmund Country

________________________________________________
_ For a time the firing ceased entirely but, soon after nightfall, a scattered fire opened round the camp. Lisle now made his way down fearlessly, until within four hundred yards of the camp. He was able to make out the white dresses of the Afridis, lying crouched behind rocks. No one paid any attention to him and, as soon as he had passed them, he dropped on his hands and knees and began crawling forward; keeping himself carefully behind cover for, at any moment, the pickets might open fire. When he approached the British lines, he stopped behind a rock and shouted:

"Don't fire! I am a friend."

"Come on, friend, and let us have a look at you," the officer in charge of the picket answered.

Rising, he ran forward.

"Who on earth are you?" the officer asked when he came up. "You look like one of the Afridis, but your tongue is English."

"I am Lieutenant Bullen," he said; and a burst of cheering rose from the men, who belonged to his own regiment.

"Why, we all thought you were killed, in that fight in the torrent!"

"No; I was hit, and my leg so disabled that I was washed down by the torrent; and the men were, I suppose, too much occupied in keeping the Afridis at bay to notice me. On getting to the other side of the pass I crawled ashore, and was made prisoner. No doubt the Afridis thought that, as I was an officer, they would hold me as a hostage, and so make better terms.

"I was put into the upper story of one of their houses but, after ten days, my wounds healed sufficiently to allow me to walk; and I have got here without any serious adventure."

"Well, I must congratulate you heartily. I will send two of the men into camp with you, for otherwise you would have a good chance of being shot down."

On arriving at the spot where the officers of the regiment were sitting round a campfire, his escort left him. As he came into the light of the fire, several of the officers jumped up, with their hands on their revolvers.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Lisle exclaimed, with a laugh. "I can assure you that I am perfectly harmless."

"It is Bullen's voice," one of them exclaimed, and all crowded round him, and wrung his hands and patted him on the back.

"This is the second time, Bullen, that you have come back to us from the dead; and this time, like Hamlet's father, you have come back with very questionable disguise. Now, sit down and take a cup of tea, which is all we have to offer you."

"I will," Lisle said, "and I shall be glad of some cold meat; for I have been living, for the past three days, on uncooked grain."

The meat was brought, and Lisle ate it ravenously, declining to answer any questions until he had finished.

"Now," he said, "I will tell you a plain, unvarnished tale;" and he gave them, in full detail, the adventure he had gone through.

"Upon my word, Lisle, you are as full of resources as an egg is full of meat. Your pluck, in going down to the lower story of that house while the women were chatting outside, was wonderful. It was, of course, sheer luck that you found that dead Pathan, and so got suitable clothes; but how you dyed your face that colour, I cannot understand."

Lisle explained how he had found a plant which was, as he knew, used for that purpose; and how he had extracted the colouring matter from it.

"You had wonderful luck in making your way through the Pathans, without being questioned; but, as we know, fortune favours the brave. Well, I shall have another yarn to tell General Lockhart, in the morning; but how we are to rig you out, I don't know."

Several of the officers, however, had managed to carry one or two spare garments in their kits. These were produced; and Lisle, with great satisfaction, threw off the dirt-stained Pathan garments, and arrayed himself in uniform.

Pleased as all the others were at his return, no one was so delighted as Robah, who fairly cried over his master, whom he had believed to be lost for ever.

"We shall not be uneasy about you again, Bullen," the colonel said, as they lay down for the night. "Whenever we miss you we shall know that, sooner or later, you will turn up, like a bad penny. If you hadn't got that wound in the leg--which, by the way, the surgeon had better dress and examine in the morning--I should have said that you were invulnerable to Afridi bullets. The next time there is some desperate service to be done, I shall certainly appoint you to undertake it; feeling convinced that, whatever it might be, and however great the risk, you will return unscathed. You don't carry a charm about with you, do you?"

"No," Lisle laughed, "I wish I did; but anything I carry would not be respected by a Pathan bullet."

Next morning the colonel reported Lisle's return, and Sir William Lockhart sent for him and obtained, from his lips, the story of the adventure.

"You managed excellently, sir," the general said, when he had finished. "Of course, I cannot report your adventure in full, but can merely say that Lieutenant Bullen, whom I had reported killed, was wounded and taken prisoner by the Pathans; and has managed, with great resource, to make his escape and rejoin the force. Your last adventure, sir, showed remarkable courage; and this time you have proved that you possess an equal amount of calmness and judgment. If you go on as you have begun, sir, you will make a very distinguished officer."

During the day Lisle had to repeat his story, again and again, to the officers of other regiments; who came in to congratulate him on making his escape, and to learn the particulars.

"I shall have," he said, laughing, "to get the printing officer to strike off a number of copies of my statement, and to issue one to each regiment. There, I think I would rather go through the adventure again, than have to keep on repeating it."

He had received a hearty cheer, from the regiment, when he appeared upon parade that morning; a reception that showed that he was a general favourite, and that sincere pleasure was felt at his return.

Lisle had been known among the men as 'the boy' when he first joined, but he was a boy no longer. He was now eighteen; and had, from the experiences he had gone through, a much older appearance. He learned, on the evening of his return, that he was now a full lieutenant; for there had been several changes in the regiment. When in cantonments other officers had joined, junior to himself; and four or five had been killed during the fighting.

"If this goes on much longer, Mr. Bullen, you will be a captain before we get back to India," one of the officers said.

"I am sure I hope not," he replied. "I don't wish to gain steps by the death of my friends. However, I hope that there is no chance of it coming to that."

After the visit of the commander to the Mohmund hill force, the troops under General Lockhart learned the history of the operations of that force, of which they had hitherto been in complete ignorance. On the 28th of August the force was concentrated. It consisted of the troops which, under Sir Bindon Blood, had just pacified the Upper Swat Valley; with a brigade, under Brigadier General Jeffreys and General Wodehouse, mobilized near Malakand. On the 6th of September orders were issued to march to Banjour, through the Mohmund country to Shabkadr, near Peshawar, and operate with a force under Major General Ellis. A force had already been despatched, under General Wodehouse, to seize the bridge over the Panjkora. This was successfully accomplished, the force arriving just in time, as a large body of the enemy came up only a few hours later.

General Meiklejohn was in command of the line of communication, and the 2nd and 3rd Brigades crossed the Panjkora without opposition. On the 13th of September the Rambuck Pass was reconnoitred, and the two brigades arrived at Nawagai. General Jeffreys encamped near the foot of the Ramjak Pass; and part of his force was detached, to prepare the road for the passage of the expedition, and to bivouac there for the night. The road was partially made, and the brigade would have passed over but, about eight o'clock in the evening, the camp at the foot of the pass was suddenly attacked. All lights were at once extinguished, and the men fell in rapidly; the trenches opening fire on the unseen enemy, who moved gradually round to the other side of the camp. It was pitch dark, for the moon had not yet risen; and the enemy poured in a murderous fire, but did not attempt to rush the camp. The troops were firing almost at random for, in spite of star shells being fired, very few of the enemy could be made out.

The fire was hottest from the side occupied by the 38th Dogras, who determined to make a sortie, for the purpose of clearing the enemy away from that flank. In spite of the fact that the ground was swept by bullets, several volunteered for the sortie. The fire, however, was too hot. Captain Tomkins and Lieutenant Bailey fell, almost the instant they rose to their feet. Lieutenant Harrington received a mortal wound, and several men were also killed and wounded, and the sortie was given up.

All night a heavy fire was kept up by the enemy, but they moved off in the morning. The camp presented a sad sight, when day broke; dead horses and mules were lying about among the tents and shelters, which had been hurriedly thrown down at the first attack. When it was learned that the assailants belonged to the Banjour tribes, living in the Mohmund Valley, a squadron of Bengal Lancers were sent off in pursuit and, overtaking them in a village at the entrance of their valley, killed many, pursuing them for four or five miles. When they returned to the village, they were joined by the Guides Infantry and a mountain battery. This was too small a force to follow the enemy into their hills, but they destroyed the fortifications of several small villages and, before night, General Jeffreys, with the rest of the brigade, arrived.

Night passed without interruption and, in the morning, the force marched in three columns; the centre keeping straight up the valley, while the other two were to destroy the villages on each side. When the centre column had advanced six miles up the valley, they saw the enemy in a village on the hill; and a detachment of the Buffs went out to dislodge them. The remainder of the column pushed on.

Two companies of the 35th Sikhs, who were in advance, went too far; and were suddenly attacked by a great number of the enemy. Fighting sturdily they fell back but, being hampered by their wounded, many of the men were unable to return the fire of the tribesmen; who formed round them, keeping up a heavy fire at close quarters. The Ghazis, seeing their opportunity, came closer and closer; their swordsmen charging in and cutting down the Sikhs in the ranks. Seventeen were thus killed or wounded. Presently, however, the Buffs arrived in support, and a squadron of the 11th Bengal Lancers charged the Ghazis, and speared many of them before they could reach the shelter of the hills; and the Buffs soon drove them away, with heavy loss.

While this was going on the third detachment, which had destroyed many of the numerous villages, was called in to join the main body. The guns had been doing good work among the flying tribesmen. A company and a half of the 35th Sikhs were told to take post, on a high hill, to cover the guns. This force, when the troops returned, diverged somewhat from the line of march which the main body were following. It was hard pressed by the tribesmen, hampered by the wounded, and was running short of ammunition; and was obliged to send for help. The general ordered the Guides to go to their assistance but, fortunately, a half company of that regiment with some ammunition had already reached them, and the party could be seen fighting their way up a steep rocky spur.

The tribesmen, confident that they could cut off the small band from the main force, rushed at them with their swords. Both the officers were severely wounded. When, however, the rest of the Guides arrived on the hill, they poured several volleys into the enemy, and so checked their advance. A Havildar then volunteered to mount the hill with ammunition. He reached the party with seventy cartridges, and carried back a wounded native officer. Other Guides followed his example, and all reached the valley as evening was closing in.

The Ghazis crept up the ravine, and maintained a hot fire upon them. It soon became pitch dark, and the difficulty of the march was increased by a heavy storm. The force lost the line of retreat and, but for the vivid lightning, would have found it impossible to make their way across the deep ravine. At ten o'clock they reached the camp.

Here they found that General Jeffreys, with part of his brigade, had not yet returned. At dawn, however, the general appeared, with his mountain battery and a small escort. They had become separated from the remainder of the brigade, and the general decided to bivouac in a village. Defences were at once formed. The trenching tools were with the main body, but the sappers used their bayonets to make a hasty shelter.

The enemy took possession of the unoccupied part of the village, and opened fire on the trenches. This grew so hot that it became absolutely necessary to clear the village. Three attempts were made, but failed; the handful of available men being altogether insufficient for the purpose.

The enemy now tried to rush the troops, and a continuous fire was poured into a small enclosure, packed with men and mules. The casualties were frequent, but the men now threw up a fresh defensive work, with mule saddles and ammunition boxes. The fury of the storm, which came on at nine o'clock, somewhat checked the ardour of the assailants; and the water was invaluable to the wounded.

At midnight four companies, who had gone out in search of the general, arrived and cleared the enemy out of the village. The casualties had been heavy, two officers and thirty-six men having been killed, and five officers and a hundred and two men wounded.

Next day the force started on their way up the valley. Their object was to attack a strongly-fortified village on the eastern side of the valley, about six miles distant from the camp. When they were within two thousand yards of the enemy's position, the tribesmen could be seen, making their disposition for the attack.

The Sikhs, Dogras, and Buffs stormed the heights on either side; but the enemy made no attempt to stand. The Guides advanced straight on the village, which was destroyed without loss. The grain found there was carried into camp. Several other villages were captured and, though the enemy were several times gathered in force, the appearance of a squadron of Bengal Lancers, in every case, put them to flight.

In the meantime, the 3rd Brigade were encamped at Nawagai. The news of the attack on General Jeffreys' column had upset the arrangements. It was of the utmost importance to hold Nawagai, which separated the country of the Hadda Mullah and the Mamunds. As the whole country was hostile, and would rise at the first opportunity, the force was not strong enough to march against the Hadda Mullah, and leave a sufficient body to guard the camp. It was therefore decided to wait, until they were joined by General Ellis' force.

Skirmishing went on daily. On the 17th, heliographic communication was opened with General Ellis. On the following day an order was flashed to them, to join General Jeffreys in the Mamund valley. This was impracticable, however, until General Ellis should arrive.

Next night a couple of hundred swordsmen crept up to a ravine, within fifty yards of the camp, and suddenly fell upon the West Surrey regiment. They were met by such a hail of bullets that most of them dropped, and of the remainder not a man reached Hallal.

On the following day a messenger arrived, from General Ellis, asking Sir Bindon Blood to meet him ten miles away. That afternoon a reconnaissance was made, as news had been received that large reinforcements had been received by Hadda Mullah. The enemy showed themselves in great force, but kept out of range of the guns though, during the return march, they followed the troops and, when darkness set in, were but two miles from camp.

At nine in the evening the enemy, who had crept silently up, attempted to rush the camp on three sides. The troops were well prepared, and maintained a steady fire; although the enemy's swordsmen hurled themselves against our entrenchments in great numbers. The star shells were fired by the mountain battery, and their reflection enabled the infantry to pour deadly volleys into the midst of the enemy, who were but a few yards distant. The tribesmen, however, completely surrounded the camp, their riflemen keeping up a heavy fire, and their swordsmen making repeated rushes.

The tents had all been struck, and the troops lay flat on the ground while the enemy's bullets swept the camp. This was kept up till two o'clock in the morning, the fire never slackening for a minute; and the monotony of the struggle was only broken by an occasional mad, fanatical rush of the Ghazis. The entrenchments were so well made that only thirty-two casualties occurred, but a hundred and fifteen horses and transport animals were killed.

The effect of this decisive repulse, of an attack which the enemy thought would certainly be successful, was shown by the complete dispersal of the enemy. Their losses had been terrible. It was ascertained that, in the surrounding villages alone, three hundred and thirty had been killed; while a great number of dead and wounded had been carried away over the passes.

On the following day General Ellis arrived. It was arranged that the 3rd Brigade should join his command. Thus reinforced, he could deal with the Hadda Mullah, and General Blood would be at liberty to join the 2nd Brigade in the Mamund Valley.

General Ellis took up a position, with the two brigades at his disposal, at the mouth of the Bedmanai Pass; and sniping went on all night. Next morning the troops moved forward to the attack. Covered by the rest of the force, the 20th Punjabis, with the 3rd Ghoorkhas in support, were ordered to make the assault, and to secure the hills commanding the pass. The enemy fought stubbornly, but were gradually driven back; their numbers being greatly reduced by deserters, after the attack on the camp. The Hadda Mullah had fled, directly the fight began; but the Suffi Mullah was seen constantly rallying his followers.

On the following morning, General Westmacott's brigade marched to a village situated at the mouth of the Jarobi gorge--a terrible defile, with precipitous cliffs on either side, the crests of which were well wooded. The resistance, however, was slight, and the force pushed through and burned the houses, towers, and forts of the Hadda Mullah. They were harassed, however, on their return to camp.

In the meantime, Sir Bindon Blood had joined General Jeffreys' brigade, which was still engaged in operations against the Mamunds. Several villages were burned, and large supplies of game and fodder carried off. The Mamunds at last sent in a party to negotiate; but it soon appeared that they had no intention of surrendering, for they had been joined by a considerable number of Afghans, and were ready for a fresh campaign. The Afghan borderers were in a good position, and were able to bring their forces to the assistance of the Mamunds with the assurance that, if they were repulsed, they could return to their homes.

General Jeffreys therefore recommenced operations, by an attack upon two fortified villages. These were situated on the lower slope of a steep and ragged hill, near enough to give support to each other, and protected by rocky spurs. The inhabitants sallied out to attack, but were checked by the appearance of our cavalry. The force then pressed forward to the high jungle.

It was evident that the spurs on either side must be captured, before the village could be stormed. The Guides were ordered to clear the spur to the left, the 31st Punjab Infantry and the Dogras the centre ridge between the two hills, while the West Kents advanced straight up the hill.

The Guides dashed up the hill with a wild yell. This so intimidated the tribesmen that, after firing a volley so wild that not a single man was wounded in the attacking column, they fled in a panic.

The Punjabis, on the other hill, were stubbornly fighting their way. The ground consisted, for the most part, of terraced fields, commanded by strongly-built sangars. Colonel O'Brien was killed, while gallantly leading his men on to the assault; but the Punjabis persisted, under the covering fire of the mountain battery, and dropped shell after shell into the Mamunds; who, however, although losing heavily, stuck manfully to their rocks and boulders, and finally were only driven out at the point of the bayonet.

The 31st were now joined by the West Kent, who came down from a spur on the west, and were able to drive the enemy out of several strong positions above the other village. On their way a half company, on reaching a sangar, were suddenly charged by a body of Ghazis. From the melee which ensued, many of the West Kents were killed and wounded, among them the officer in command.

As it was now late, it was decided to return to camp for the night. This was done steadily and deliberately, although the enemy kept up a heavy fire. The casualties of the day were sixty-one, no fewer than eight British officers being killed or wounded.

Two days' rest was given the troops, and then they marched against Badelai. The attack was almost unopposed. The tribesmen imagined that we were again going to attack their former position, and they were unable to return in time to defend the village. Their loss, however, was severe, as they came down to the open ground, and were swept by the guns of the mountain battery.

A few days afterwards the campaign was brought to an end, the enemy coming in and offering a general surrender. The expedition had been very successful, twenty-six villages having been destroyed, and all the hoards of grain having been carried off.

On the 13th of October the Mamund valley was evacuated, and the force moved into Matassa. The inhabitants here were perfectly peaceable and, beyond the blowing up of the fort of a chief, who had continued hostile, there was no fighting. The force then returned to Malakand, where it remained for two months.

Two tribes yet remained to be dealt with, namely the Bulas and Chamlas. Both refused to comply with the reasonable terms imposed upon them, by the government, for their complicity in the rebellion.

The force selected for their punishment consisted of two brigades, under General Meiklejohn and General Jeffreys. These advanced to the assault on the Tangi Pass. The Guides, 31st Punjabis, three squadrons of the Bengal Lancers, and two squadrons of the Guide cavalry were sent to Rustam, a place which threatened three passes leading into Buner. The enemy, being thus compelled to watch all three routes, were prevented from assembling in any force.

Sir Bindon Blood encamped the two brigades on Thursday, the 6th of January, at the mouth of the Tangi Pass. The detached column was to protect an entrance over the Pirsai Pass. The assault was made by the column under General Meiklejohn, and so well was the force distributed--the hills on either side being captured, while three batteries opened fire on the hill with shrapnel--that the tribesmen were unable to maintain their position. The pass was captured with only one casualty, and the troops marched triumphantly down into Buner, the first British troops who had ever entered the country.

They halted at the first village. As this place was plentifully stocked with goats and chickens, they found abundance of food.

The detached column were equally successful in their attack on the Pirsai Pass, for they met with scarcely any resistance. Our success, in capturing the two passes hitherto deemed impregnable, brought about a complete collapse of the enemy. Deputations came in from all the surrounding villages, and the tribesmen complied with the terms imposed upon them. _

Read next: Chapter 11. An Arduous March

Read previous: Chapter 9. Captured

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


GO TO TOP OF SCREEN

Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book