CHITRAL AND THE N.W. FRONTIER CAMPAIGN. 450 At last a bullet got him through the heart, and he fell headlonga hundred yards down the cliff, and there lay stark dead, but with his drum round his neck, and his arms ready raised to strike it." No wonderthat with enemies capable of such heroic recklessness of death an Indian frontier campaign meansplenty of hardfighting andheavy losses even on the side of the victors.

party of swordsmen. He shot two with his revolver,and the rest fell back. Then his men clamberedup to his assistance, and the wave of bayonets burst over the ridge, Gordons, Borderers, and Rifles dashing at the sungars on the crest. At the same time the Guides and Sikhs won the bold summit on the right, and turned the strongest flank of the defence. The hillmen gave way, but not without a sharp struggle, rallyingamong the trees, anel behind rocks and boulders. As theybroke, the Bedfordslaires and the Dogras poured over the east side of the pass and pursued them down the hillsides tillthey found shelter behind the Swat River.

For the rest of that day and all through the following day the troopsand theirheavy baggage train werecrossing the pass. The old Buddhist road wascleared by the Engineers,andfound to afford a better passage than the moremodern hill track. During these operations the men who had held the Shahkot came moving along behind the hills to attack the expedition. They were kept in check for awhile by the mountain gunsand the 37 th Dogras,but theybeganto work round the flank of this covering force, and were just massing for a rush at the head of the main column, when they were themselves charged by fifty of theGuides' Cavalryunder Captain Adams, the only mounted troops that had yet been got over the pass. The effect was startling. The mountaineers had never before encountered cavalry, and didnot believethat any had crossed the Malakand. Charged by this mere handful of horsemen the tribesmen, who would have stoodup recklessly against artilleryand rifle fire, broke and fled headlong. Even those who were safe on the hilltops abandoned their positions. Some 250 of the mountaineerswerespeared and sabred, the loss of the Guides being only five men wounded.

The fight lasted about five hours. Our loss was eight officers and sixty-one men killed and wounded, The enemy admitted a loss of about 500 killed,and it was estimatedthat about i,oco were wounded. Very few of these latter remainedin our hands. They were mostly carried offby their friends,or walked awayunaided,for it was sound that the new Lee-Metford bullet often wounded without bringing down or disabling the man hit. One tribesman, who surrendered a few days after the battle, had had six bullets through him, and the- only wound that troubled him was one that was uncomfortably near the knee-joint. It was after these Chitral experiences that the Duna-Dum "man-stopping" bullet was invented.

The stormingof the Malakand was a splendid feat of arms, reflecting the greatest credit on the troops engaged. The hillmen, too, had faced shell-fire and magazine rifles with magnificent courage. " Of the enemy's bravery," writes Captain Younghusband, " it is difficult to speak too highly, and individual cases were conspicuous. One leader, carrying a large red and white banner, called on his men to charge the Scottish Borderers when they werehalf-way up the hill. The charge was made, but allhis followers gradually fell, till the leader alone was left. Nothing daunted,he heldsteadily on,now and again falling, heavily hit, but up and on again without a moment's delay, till at last he was shot deadclose to theline. More desperate courage than this it is difficult to imagine. Again, one of the enemy's drummers, not content with taking his fair share of risks, persisted inmounting on to the roof of a hut, where he showed upclear and conspicuous against the skyline,and thence cheered onhis comrades. Every now and againa bullet would find him out, and he would drop to dress his wounds, and then, againmounting, recommenced beatinghis drum.

The next obstacle to be passed was the Swat River. The enemy had rallied on the further side, andhad beenreinforced by a bodyof riflemen sent down from Chitral by Umra Khan, so that they were some 4,000 strong. General Waterfield's brigade was sent forward to force the fords, and the cavalry was placed under his orders. Profiting by thelesson of the successful charge made by Adams on the 4th, he made a false attack with three battalions,keeping the attention of the tribesmen thus occupied, while the Guides' Cavalry and the Bengal Lancers, supported by another battalion, made a long detour up the valley to the eastward,crossed the Swat by an undefended ford, and riding down theright bank,charged the flank of the enemy. The tribesmengave way at once,losing 400men in the fight and the pursuit. They made no attempt to defend the passes through the hills on the north side of the valley, and rallied lor their next stand behind the Panjkora River.