Chapter 20: Candahar.
"Thank God that is over," Captain Fletcher said, as he lifted hiscap and wiped the perspiration from his forehead; "but the regimentis almost annihilated."
"I fear the worst is yet to come," Will said. "We are fifty milesfrom Candahar; and when we came out we had to carry water with us,for there was none to be found, on the way. We have a fearful marchbefore us.
"What on earth has become of the cavalry? They have done nothing tocover the retreat."
"They have ridden on ahead," the captain said, bitterly, "withouthaving drawn a sword in this day's fight; and will ride intoCandahar tomorrow morning, without losing a man, save the few whowere knocked over by the artillery."
Presently an officer rode up.
"Ah! Gale," he exclaimed, "thank God you are safe. I rode back tosee."
And Colonel Ripon shook hands warmly with the young officer.
"I am glad to see that you are safe, sir," Will answered. "This hasbeen a terrible day."
"It has, indeed," the colonel said, mournfully, "terrible! Therehas been nothing like it, since the retreat from Cabul in 1848. Andhow many of these poor fellows will reach Candahar, God only knows!The water bottles wore emptied, hours ago. The men are alreadyexhausted with the long day's work, and parched with thirst; and wehave fifty miles' tramp before us. Have you any wounded men herewith you?"
"Several, sir, some of them badly hurt."
"Put one of the worst on my horse," Colonel Ripon said,dismounting; "and push on briskly, lads. There are some cartsahead. We will turn out the stores, and put the wounded in.
"You had better let the men throw away their knapsacks, and alluseless encumbrances," he said to Captain Fletcher. "You will haveto march--and perhaps fight--all night; and must husband yourstrength."
Steadily, the rear guard followed the broken column. It consistedof men of the 60th and Grenadiers, mingled together; and well didthey carry out their arduous duties. A portion were thrown out oneach flat, while the rest kept to the road. This was strewn witharms and accouterments of all kinds. The men's hearts were wrung tothe core, by the sight of the number of wounded who had dropped bythe roadside; and who implored them, as they passed, not to leavethem to be murdered by the enemy. Many of them were lifted andplaced in carts--everything else being turned out, to make way forthem--but many had to be left behind; for it would be impossible tocarry them, on such a march.
Slowly the long night passed. All along the line ahead, a scatteredfire of musketry could be heard; as the villagers shot down thefugitives who, in hopes of finding water, straggled from the road.Sometimes sharp volleys rang out, as the troops stood at bay, anddrove back the natives, when they pressed upon them. Several timesthe rear guard were hotly engaged as the Afghans--furious at seeingtheir prey slipping from their fingers--mustered and fell uponthem; but each time they were repulsed, and the column held on itsway.
Will was in command of a mixed band, of some forty men, which movedto the right of the road. Colonel Ripon kept by his side, but fewwords were spoken, through the long night. The men were half madwith thirst and, had there been water near, nothing could haverestrained them from rushing to it; but they knew that none couldbe obtained, until they reached Candahar. Many, in utter despair atthe distance before them, threw themselves down on the ground todie. But the others kept on--stumbling and staggering as theymarched, stupid and half blind--rallying only when the order cameto turn, and repulse the enemy.
Two or three times in the night the rear guard halted, for a fewminutes; and the men threw themselves down on the sand, where theypicked the scattered herbage within their reach, and chewed it toquench their burning thirst.
Daylight was a welcome relief. They knew indeed that, with therising of the sun, their torments would grow still greater; but thechange from the long dreary darkness cheered them; and they couldnow see, from the nature of the country, that they were withinfifteen miles of Candahar. They marched on for two more hours, andthen the officer in command of the little body saw that they coulddo no more.
He therefore led them to a village on rising ground, a short distancefrom the road, and halted them there. The exhausted men threw themselvesdown in the shade of the houses. They had the long day yet to pass, andtheir thirst seemed unendurable; still, the halt was welcome, for therewas not a man but felt that his strength was at an end, and that itwould have been an impossibility to reach the city.
Captain Fletcher picked out a few of the least exhausted men, andplaced them in the outskirts of the village to call the rest toarms in case the Afghans--numbers of whom were hoveringround--should venture upon an attack. For the first hour afterreaching the village, not a man moved from the spot where he hadthrown himself down. The officers had searched the houses, andfound some jars of water. These they carried round, and doled out afew mouthfuls to each man. Small though the amount was, the reliefafforded was immense and, as soon as their first exhaustion hadsubsided, the men scattered through the gardens; plucking the vineleaves and chewing them and, fortunately, discovering a few gourds,which were cut up into small fragments, and divided.
The day wore on; and at one o'clock there was a shout of joy, for abody of cavalry were seen approaching, at a rapid trot, from thetown. Soon they rode up, and proved to be a regiment which had beendespatched, from the town, for the relief of the stragglers. Atdaybreak the cavalry, riding in many miles ahead of the infantry,brought the news to the city of the defeat; and something very likea panic at first ensued. It was some time before anything was doneto succor the exhausted fugitives, who were pressing forward to thecity. But at last a force was sent out with wagons, and bullockswith water-skins; and thus hundreds of lives, which would otherwisehave been sacrificed, were saved. The cavalry had come out withfull water bottles, and relief was soon afforded to the worn-outrear guard, who at once fell into rank, and resumed their marchtowards Candahar; the cavalry, who had brought a few light cartswith them, pursuing their journey for some distance further, tosuccor and collect those who had fallen on the road.
The sun was just setting as the rear guard of General Burrows'brigade reached Candahar; after having marched, since the previousmorning, sixty miles without food, and with only a few mouthfuls ofwater; and having fought for nearly twenty-four hours of that time.
Every preparation was made, in the city, for the expected attack.The defenses were strengthened; the lower portion of thepopulace--who would be likely to declare against them--were turnedout of the town; and provisions were collected from the countryround. Fortunately, ample time was afforded them for thesepreparations. Ayoub's army had been, to a great extent, demoralizedby the tremendous losses which it had sustained, in the defeat ofthis handful of British troops; and some days elapsed before itmoved forward from Maiwand. Then, by easy marches, it approachedCandahar; and took up its position in the plain, to the north ofthe city.
Just as the rear guard of General Burrows' force were starting fromtheir halting place, for their last march into the city, Will Galewas delighted at seeing Yossouf approaching. He had not seen himsince the regiment marched out from Khusk-I-Nakhud. The youngAfghan had remained, with the other followers, in the villagebehind Maiwand during the battle when, while the resistance of theBritish was still continuing, the Afghans had worked round by theravines and entered the village.
Yossouf had been obliged to join in the retreat, which was at oncecommenced by the baggage train. Full of anxiety for the fate of hismaster, he had hurried forward at his best speed to Candahar;reaching the city only an hour or two after the arrival of thecavalry. In spite of the distance he had already performed, he didnot delay for an instant; but set out again with some provisions,and a bottle of wine, and one of water hidden away in his dress. Hehad resolved to push forward, at all hazards, until he had eitherjoined his master--whether on his retreat, or as a prisoner inAyoub's army--or had discovered his body on the field of battle,and given him burial.
Passing through the throng of fugitives, and question
ing any of themen of the 66th he met, he made his way forward. He had learnedthat Will's company had withdrawn, in a body, from the battlefieldto the village but, further than this, none of the fugitives couldtell him; and his delight was exuberant, when he saw Will marchingalong with his company. The little supply which he had brought wasat once served out, among the men who most needed it; and Will--whohad been in a state of great uneasiness concerning the safety ofhis faithful follower--was greatly cheered by finding him alive,and unhurt.
The news of the defeat of Maiwand produced an immense sensation, inIndia; and measures were at once taken for the relief of Candahar.A strong division was ordered to march from Cabul, through Ghuzni;while General Phayre, who commanded the force at Quettah, was alsoordered to advance to the assistance of the garrison.
General Phayre, however--although comparatively close toCandahar--was unable to advance, for some time. The same miserableeconomy which had dispersed the transport train, after thesignature of the Treaty of Gundamuk; and had so delayed the advanceof General Roberts towards Cabul, after the massacre of themission, again paralyzed the action of the British troops--thewhole of the transport train, collected at so much cost anddifficulty, having been dismissed to their homes, as soon as thenegotiations with Abdul-Rahman held out a prospect of peace. Manyweeks elapsed before a sufficient number of baggage animals couldbe collected to enable General Phayre to advance, with hisrelieving column.
In Candahar, things passed quietly. The enemy, from time to time,fired shot and shell into the city from distant positions but,believing that no relief could reach the garrison before thesupplies of food were exhausted, and that it must therefore yieldto hunger, Ayoub's army contented themselves by watching the cityfrom a distance; and by keeping a cordon of troops round its walls,to prevent the country people from bringing in provisions.
Detached bodies, indeed, often crept up near the walls; and kept upa musketry fire at any troops showing themselves, there. But noattempts were made to batter down the walls, or to make anythinglike a resolute assault. Ayoub's army had, indeed, greatly lostheart. If 1500 British soldiers, attacked under circumstances ofthe greatest disadvantage, had killed 6000 or 7000 of theirassailants; what might not be the slaughter which a greatlysuperior force would inflict, when sheltered behind stone walls?
From one village, situate half a mile from the eastern gate of thecity, so constant and harassing a fire was maintained, by theenemy, that General Primrose resolved to make a sortie, to captureit. The affair was, however, badly planned, and resulted infailure. The Afghans--sheltered in the strongly-built houses--keptup so severe a fire upon the assailants that these were obliged tofall back, with a considerable loss. After that, no further sortieswere attempted; and the city remained in quiet, until the relievingcolumns were close at hand.
The force selected to march from Cabul to the relief of Candahar,under the command of General Roberts, consisted of the 92ndHighlanders, 23rd Pioneers, 24th and 25th Punjaub Infantry; the2nd, 4th, and 5th Ghoorkas; the 72nd Highlanders, 2nd battalion ofthe 60th, the Norfolk Rangers; the 2rd, 3rd, and 15th Sikhs. Therewere three batteries of artillery, and four cavalry regiments: the9th Lancers, the 3rd Bengal Cavalry, the 3rd Punjaub Cavalry, andthe Central India Horse. This gave a total of about 10,000 fightingmen. There were, in addition, 8000 followers to feed, 7000 horses,and some 8000 transport and artillery mules, and ponies.
The Ameer did his best to assist the force; which was, indeed,going to fight his battle, as well as their own. The question waswhether so large a force would be able to subsist on the road and,in order to assist them to do so, he sent orders to all the tribesalong the line of march to aid the column, in every way. Inconsequence, no difficulties were met with; and scarce a shot wasfired on the way down.
In seven days after starting Ghuzni was reached, and in fifteenKhelat-I-Ghilzai--where Colonel Tanner, with a small garrison, hadbeen besieged by the local tribes since the advance of Ayoub.Khelat-I-Ghilzai stood near the lower end of the valley down whichthe column was advancing, and was but three days' march fromCandahar. From the day of their leaving Cabul, to their arrival atKhelat-I-Ghilzai, the troops had marched a distance of fifteenmiles a day--not an extraordinary distance for a single regiment toperform, but a wonderful feat for a force containing some 18,000persons and 9000 baggage animals, marching through mountains andvalleys.
As the relieving force approached Candahar, Ayoub drew off histroops from around the city; and took up a strong position on somehills, a few miles to the north. On the 27th of August Roberts'cavalry were near enough to establish heliographic communicationwith the town and, on the 31st, the column entered Candahar.
During the siege, the duties of the garrison had been heavy. Astrong force was always held ready to get under arms, instantly, incase of an attack by the enemy. The number of sentries on thewalls, magazines, and lower important points was large. The townhad to be kept in order, and the inhabitants strictly watched.House-to-house requisitions were made for provisions; and thegreatest economy was used in the distribution of these, as thegarrison had no means of knowing how long a time might elapsebefore any could arrive.
The death of ten officers of the 66th--all of senior standing tohimself--had placed Will Gale at the top of the list of lieutenantsand, as several officers were disabled by wounds, he was nowperforming captain's duty, and was in charge of a company. Therewere, indeed, but three companies now in the 66th Regiment; sogreat having been the loss, that the whole of the survivors nowmade up but this number.
Among the other duties of the troops was that of protecting themany houses which had been left vacant, by the hasty retirement ofmany of the native merchants and traders, at the approach ofAyoub's force. Colonel Primrose--anxious to lessen the number ofmouths to be fed--encouraged the exodus; promising to take chargeof all property left behind. This duty proved a troublesome one, asthe lower class--which still remained in the city--were constantlyendeavoring to break into, and loot, the houses thus left vacant bytheir proprietors. In order to protect these as much as possible,many of the officers were directed to move from their quarters inthe barracks, and take up their residence in them; an order whichwas gladly obeyed, as the exchange, from hot confined quarters tothe roomy dwellings of the merchants, was a very pleasant one.
Will Gale was one of those who so moved and, with Yossouf and twonative followers, had been quartered in the house of a wealthy silkmerchant. One night, he was aroused from sleep by Yossouf.
"Sahib!" the latter whispered, "I hear people moving below. I thinkthere are thieves in the house."
Will rose noiselessly, slipped on his trousers and shoes and--takingup a revolver in one hand, and a sword in another--stole downstairs;followed by Yossouf, with his long Afghan knife in his hand. The doorof the warehouse was open; and within it Will saw, by the faint lightof a lamp which one of them carried, four Afghan ruffians engaged inmaking up silks into large bundles, in readiness to carry off. Hisapproach was unnoticed; and on reaching the door he leveled his pistol,and shouted to the Afghans to surrender, as his prisoners.
In reply, they dropped the lamp, and made a sudden rush at him. Hefired his pistol hastily in the darkness but, in an instant, theAfghans were upon him. The first man he cut down, but he wasknocked over by the rush of the others. Two fell upon him; butYossouf bounded upon them like a tiger, and buried his knife to thehilt in their backs, in quick succession. The last of theparty--without staying to see what was the fate of his friends--atonce took to his heels and, rushing to the door leading to thestreet, made his escape.
Yossouf raised Will to his feet,
"Are you hurt?" he asked, anxiously.
"Nothing to speak of," Will replied. "I am a bit shaken, andbruised by the fall. Those fellows, in the darkness, were upon mebefore I could see them.
"Thanks to you, I have escaped without hurt, Yossouf; and had itnot been for your aid, they would assuredly have made an end of me.My pistol had fallen from my hand as they knocked me down and, onthe grou
nd, I could not have defended myself with my sword, for aninstant. Once more, Yossouf, I owe my life to you."
So many attempts, similar to that made upon the house occupied byWill Gale, took place that sentries were posted, at ten o'clock atnight, at the entrances to the various streets in which the housesleft deserted by the native traders were situated; and orders weregiven that no natives should be out of their houses, after thathour, unless provided with a pass signed by the commandant of thecity.
Several messengers were from time to time sent out, to endeavor toget through the enemy's, lines and to carry to General Phayre thenews of what was going on in the city. A few of these succeeded ingetting through, but none returned; so that, until the signallights were seen flashing from the distant hills, in the directionof Khelat-I-Ghilzai, the garrison were unaware of the steps whichwere being taken for their rescue. Even had unforeseen obstaclesprevented the advent of either of the relieving columns, it isprobable that the garrison of Candahar would finally have freeditself. Colonel Primrose had, at his disposal, a force more thandouble that which had fought at Maiwand; and had the Britishadvanced into the plain, and offered battle to Ayoub on a fairfighting ground they should, without difficulty, have defeated hisarmy; whose long delays and hesitation showed how immensely theirmorale had been affected by the previous battle.
Thus it was that Sale--after sustaining a long siege inJellalabad--finally sallied out, and completely defeated thebesieging army, before the arrival of the force marching to hisrelief. The Candahar force was not commanded by a Sale but, had itbeen given a chance to retrieve Maiwand, there can be little doubtof what the issue would have been. Over and over again, the subjectwas discussed at the messes of the various regiments; and immenseindignation was felt at the force being kept cooped up in Candahar,when the history of India recorded scores of examples of victorieswon, by British troops, against greater odds than those now opposedto them.
It must be said, however, that the native portion of the army, inCandahar, was of very inferior fighting quality to that whichoperated in Eastern Afghanistan. Those regiments were, for the mostpart, either Ghoorkas, Sikhs, or Punjaubees--than whom no bravermen exist. The Ghoorkas are small, active men; mountaineers bybirth, and to whom war is a passion. The Sikhs and Punjaubees, uponthe contrary, are tall, stately men; proud of the historicalfighting powers of their race. They had fought with extreme braveryagainst the English but, once conquered, they became true andfaithful subjects of the English crown; and it was their fidelityand bravery which saved England, in the dark days of the mutiny.
The Bombay troops, upon the other hand, were drawn from races whichhad long ceased to be warlike. They possessed none of the dash andfire of the hardier troops; their organization was--and stillis--defective; and the system of officering them was radically bad.The contrast between the two was strongly shown, in the conduct ofthe Sikh and Ghoorka regiments with General Stewart, when attackedby the sudden rush of the Ghazis, at Ahmed Khil; and that of theBombay Grenadiers and Jacob's Foot, under precisely similarcircumstances at Maiwand.
There is no doubt, however, that the main reason why GeneralPrimrose did not sally out and give battle on the plain of Candaharwas that, in case of defeat, the populace of the city wouldassuredly have closed their gates against the army; and thatnothing would have remained but a disastrous retreat across theKojak Pass--a retreat of which very few would ever have survived totell.
Their enforced idleness, in Candahar, made the time pass slowly andheavily; and it was with the greatest joy that the garrison hailedthe entry of the columns of General Roberts.
Upon his arrival the general lost no time in reconnoitering theposition of the enemy. It was well chosen for defense His army wasencamped behind the range of hills known as the Baba-Wali Hills. Aroad ran direct over these hills; and here a strong force wasstationed, supported by artillery in position. The last hill of therange, on the southwest, was known as the Pir-Paimal Hill; and byturning this the camp of Ayoub's army would be taken in flank, andthe defenses in front rendered useless. The reconnaissance whichwas made by the cavalry; supported by the 15th Sikhs, advancedclose to the central hill. The enemy unmasked five guns and openedupon them, and the Afghans poured down to the attack. There was,however, no intention on the part of the British commander ofbringing on a battle; and the troops accordingly fell back, in goodorder, to the main body.
A mile and a half from the city stood a low ridge of rock--calledthe Picket Hill--in the line by which the column would have tomove, to turn the Pir-Paimal Hill; and this was at once seized. Anumber of Ghazis stationed here fought, as usual, desperately; butthe 4th Ghoorkas repulsed their charge, and cleared the ridge ofthe enemy. The general determined to attack the enemy's positionwith his whole force, on the following day.