818 MANIPUR AND THOBAL.

bullets. We left the Residency at 2 a.m., and marched all the next day and the next night.

We had to go through the jungles, as they were lying in wait for us all over the place, and we marched at least thirty miles with no food. That was the25th. On the morning of the 26th we struck the Cachar road, hoping to meet 200 men who, we knew, were on their way up to relieve the guard. Wehad eaten nothing since themorningof the 24th,excepta fewmouthfuls of so-calleddinner snatched asbest wecould thatday. We had to eat grass and leaves,but Iwas too border of Burma for the recapture of Manipur and the rescue of the prisoners. It was commanded by General Graham, and made up of four companies of the King's Royal Rifles, a Goorkhabattalion,a battalion ofMadrasInfantry, and a British mountain battery.

But before this force was ready to start, a splendid attempt at rescue had been made on his own responsibility by* a young officer, Lieutenant C. W. Grant, of the 12th Burma Infantry, who was in garrison at Tamu, about fifty-five miles from Manipur. On the evening done up to care much. My feet were cut to bits, and my arm wouldn't stopbleeding, andIwasperishedwith cold, having got so wet in crossing the river. We went on down the road and came upon a stockade, where there were crowds of the enemy. This we had to rush, andIsprained myankle and gave myself up for lost, but Igot over somehow, and then we saw some men running up the hill below us.

Some said they were Manipuris, and some said Goorkhas, and for some time we did not know ;but for the first time fate favoured us. They turned out to be of March 27th a report reachedhimthat Manipur was in revolt, and that the Commissioner, the civil and military officers, and all their escort had been killed. Itoccurred to him tnat there might be some survivors hiding in or near the city. He had with him only about eighty* men, and could not hope to retake Manipur ; but he thought that if he could establish himself at some point near it he might be able to hold out a hand to some survivor of the massacre. So at dawn on the 28thhe marched off onhis heroicerrand.

He had with hima nativeofficer and thirty LIEUT.-COLONEL C. M. D. SKENE {Photo: A. Heath, Leamington.)

the men from Cachar, and we were saved, but not a minute too soon. Ithink that was the worst moment of all,andIfelt as ifImust break down utterly;but food and some brandybrought me to my senses, andIwas all right.

We hadstill eight days' march before us to get to British territory, but, though we have been fired on all the way, it has been an easy time comparedwith all wewent through before ; and yesterday we reached British territory, and I tookoff my clothes for the first time for ten days lastnight. Iforgot to say that before we had been out of the Residency an hour, we looked back to seeitin flames, andIknew that everything wehad waslost,and my life was the only thing left."

A force was atonce assembledon the northern menof the 43rd Goorkhas. They were armed withMartinis and had sixty cartridges per man. There was no reserve ammunition. He had also an officer (nathe), twenty old soldiers, and thirty raw recruits of the 12th Burma Infantry. These carried the old Snider. They had sixty rounds in their pouches and a reserve of 100 rounds a manon mules. Therecruits hadonly fired a few rounds each at a target.

On the 28th he marched till 5 in the evening, but the country was so difficult that he only covered thirteen miles. He rested till 2 a.m., and then didanother ten miles, partlyby moonlight. After the sun rose he wasoccasionally fired on by parties of Manipuris. The littlecolumn restedthrough the heat of theafternoon, and begananother moonlight march at 11 p.m.