With the Kurram Field Force, 1878-79 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1881. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V. The Action Of The Peiwar Kotal, And Events To 1st January 1879. wECEMBER 2nd.--The camp-fires were burning brightly, when, at 10 o'clock at night, the troops who had been warned formed up in the dark as quietly as possible. The secret had been well kept; so much so, that the doolies and dandies of the 29th Regiment, which were to have followed their own regiment closely, losing their way in the dark, proceeded up the valley towards the kotal. They were stopped, however, in time to rejoin their regiment, by the challenge of the outlying picket in this direction. It was very dark, though the stars showed clear till the waning moon rose about the middle of the night; but this did not much benefit the troops, who were then engaged in making their way up the Spingawi ravine, nor was its light strong enough to do more than make the darkness visible. The orders were that every regiment should be followed by its ammunition mules and by its hospital doolies and dandies, an arrangement, which, though it ensured the presence of both of these necessary adjuncts to the fighting power of the regiments, added considerably to the difficulty of a night march. The presence of baggage animals on a narrow road hinders the traffic very completely in the day-time, and at night of course the delays occasioned are much greater. It was a choice of evils; by collecting the ammunition and hospital doolies, &c. in one column, the march would have been facilitated, but at some risk. To arrive at the Spingawi nullah, the Peiwar village had to he reached, a distance of about three miles and a half across broken ground. The track, however, was a fairly good one, for an unmade road, leading through the oak jungle, and crossing several ravines and stony watercourses before th...