IN THE SERVICE
"I am glad to see you, Mr. Campbell," Sir Alexander Burnes said as the
lad entered his tent. "Colonel Pottinger was asking me only three or
four days ago to keep a look-out for you. He had received a letter from
his nephew saying that you were going to travel down _via_ Candahar,
and that he was afraid that you would not manage to get through. I
myself received a letter from Lieutenant Pottinger speaking very highly
of services that you had rendered, and I understand that both he and
Mr. M'Neill, our minister in Persia, spoke very favourably of you in
their despatches to the Governor-general. How have you got through?"
"I had very little difficulty, sir, except that I was detained at
Candahar, and had to effect my escape secretly." And he gave a short
account of his journey, and the manner in which he had escaped from
Candahar and avoided recapture.
"You managed it very cleverly, Mr. Campbell. I will take you in at
once to Macnaghten, who is supreme here, for Shah Soojah is at present
little more than a puppet. I have no doubt that he will be very glad
to learn what is the feeling throughout the country as to Shah Soojah.
I may tell you in confidence that I am convinced that a terrible
blunder has been made in taking up his cause. I was, as you no doubt
know, several months at Cabul, and I am convinced that Dost Mahomed
was sincere in his desire for our friendship, and that he can support
himself against his brothers at Candahar, who have, as we know, been
intriguing with Persia and Russia. I have all along urged the Indian
Government to give him warm support and to enter into a firm alliance
with him. However, the Governor-general and his advisers have taken the
other view, and I have only to do my best to carry out their orders,
although I have strongly represented my own opinion.
"I do not think that Government has any idea of the difficulties to be
encountered. So far as fighting goes there is no doubt whatever that
the Afghans cannot stand against us, but the operation of feeding the
troops and animals will be a troublesome one indeed. The heat will
increase every day, and even the march up to Quettah will present
enormous difficulties, as you who have just descended the pass will
readily understand; but the great problem will not be how to place
Shah Soojah on the throne but how to maintain him there. I tell you
this because Macnaghten, who really knows nothing of the matter, is
extremely sanguine. I warn you that it will be as well that you should
not express any strong opinion against the enterprise. It is determined
upon, and will be carried out, and without in any way shaking his
opinion you would only set him against you and might seriously injure
your own prospects. As it is, he has much to irritate him. There have
already been serious troubles with the Ameers of Scinde, who have been
treated in a very high-handed manner instead of being conciliated in
every possible way. This alone has vastly added to the difficulty, by
rendering it almost impossible to obtain carriage or provisions.
"Then he differs greatly from General Cotton, who, since his arrival
here two days ago, has shown himself an officer who has an immense
opinion of his own dignity. As general in command he declines to take
any orders, or indeed to listen to any advice, from Macnaghten. This
is certainly not Macnaghten's fault, who, although, as I consider,
mistaken in his opinions, is very conciliating in his manner, and would
willingly avoid all friction, which can but be disadvantageous to the
enterprise on which he has set his heart. Cotton's transport is really
insufficient for his own army; Shah Soojah has hardly any transport at
all. Cotton cares not in the slightest about the Shah or the Shah's
army, and, to say the truth, they are of no great value.
"Macnaghten, however, attaches, and reasonably from his point of
view, great importance to the fact that Shah Soojah should appear as
arriving to claim his throne as an independent prince with his own
army, supported by his allies the British, and not as a mere puppet
forced upon the Afghans by British bayonets; and he is therefore most
anxious that he and his force should occupy as prominent a position
as possible. It is as well for me to give you these hints as to the
situation before you see Macnaghten, and to warn you against speaking
to him strongly of any hostile opinions as to Shah Soojah's chances
that you may have gathered on your journey. When a man has an open mind
it is well to give him both sides of the case, but when he has pledged
his reputation and thrown himself heart and soul into one side of the
case it is worse than useless to endeavour to turn him, especially
when the die is cast and the day for drawing back is past. If my
opinion, gathered from nine months' residence in Cabul and almost daily
interviews with Dost Mahomed, has been altogether unheeded, certainly
yours, gathered in a passing trip through the country, would have no
effect whatever beyond setting him against you."
"Thank you, sir, I will be careful; and indeed my opinion would in any
case be of little value. I certainly conversed a good deal with the
natives on my way from Herat to Candahar, but at that city I spoke only
to Persian merchants, and had no intercourse whatever on my way down,
except with my guides in the Bolan passes."
"Well we will call on him now," Sir Alexander Burnes said, taking his
cap.
Mr. Macnaghten's tent was next to his own, and he at once took Angus in
with him.
"I have come, Mr. Macnaghten, to introduce to you Mr. Angus Campbell,
who has just come down through Candahar from Herat. His name was, I
know, very favourably mentioned both by Lieutenant Pottinger and Mr.
M'Neill. He has brought down letters of introduction to me and Colonel
Pottinger."
"I know your name well, sir," Macnaghten said. "Mr. M'Neill told us
that you had been in his service, and had gone to Herat on a mission
to induce Shah Kamran to hold out to the last, and that when the siege
was raised you had started from there with the intention of journeying
down through Afghanistan into Scinde, in hopes of obtaining employment
in some capacity where your knowledge of Persian and Arabic would be of
service. I also understand, by Lieutenant Pottinger's last despatch,
that you have learned Pushtoo. The Governor-general was very favourably
impressed with these reports, and authorized me to employ you at once
as one of the junior assistants. I should think, Sir Alexander, that
you can employ Mr. Campbell to greater advantage than I can, as the
work of making the arrangements for the advance of the army is in your
hands."
"I shall be very glad of an addition to my staff, for as we get on I
foresee that the three officers who now assist me will be altogether
insufficient; and the high terms in which Mr. M'Neill and Lieutenant
Pottinger have written about him, and the fact that he has been able to
travel about the country unsuspected, shows his fitness for such work."
"You must understand, Mr. Campbell," Macnaghten said, "I cannot
guarantee that the position will be a permanent one, as all such
appointments in the service must be confirmed by the Court of
Directors; but I shall at once acquaint Lord Auckland of your arrival
here and of your nomination, and I have no doubt that he will himself
confirm it so far as this expedition continues, and will strongly
recommend the Court of Directors that your appointment to the service
shall be a permanent one, in view of your exceptional knowledge of
Persian and Pushtoo."
"I thank you very much indeed, sir, and will do my best to merit your
good opinion."
As Angus left the tent with Sir Alexander Burnes he said: "I am indeed
obliged to you, sir. I had hoped that I might obtain an appointment of
some sort, but I never hoped for one like this. It is the work, too, of
all others that I should like, and you may rely on me to carry out your
orders to the full extent of my power."
"I have no doubt you will, Mr. Campbell. I am glad to have one of my
officers speak Pushtoo, for although both in Scinde and Afghanistan
Persian is the language most spoken by the upper classes, it is of no
use with the peasants. In the work of digging wells, bargaining for
fodder for the horses, and so forth, Pushtoo will be very useful, for
although it differs from the language of the Belooches, it is near
enough for them to understand it; and, of course, when we are once
through the Bolan it is the language of all the countrymen."
"May I ask what dress it will be proper for me to wear?"
"As it is a civil appointment you will not wear uniform, but either
the ordinary civilian dress, or, if you like, a dress of oriental
character. I generally dress so, and it certainly has its advantages,
and favourably predisposes chiefs you may have to visit. A British
uniform they understand, but a purely civilian dress is too simple for
them, and does not convey any sense of importance."
"Very well, sir; I am glad that you have decided so. I have no civilian
clothes with me, and should find it very difficult, if not impossible,
to get them here."
"Your appointment will be a thousand rupees a month, so long as the
campaign lasts; after that it would, of course, depend upon the future
employment you might have. If you would like to draw a month's pay in
advance you can do so."
"No, thank you, sir; I am fairly provided with money."
"I have four officers employed on similar duty, Mr. Campbell, I will
introduce you to them at once; and you will, of course, mess with our
party."
Major Leech, the chief assistant, was away on duty, but the other three
officers were at once sent for. "Captain Jones, Captain Arbuthnot,
and Lieutenant Macgregor, I wish to introduce to you Mr. Campbell,
whom I have just appointed as one of my political assistants. He has
distinguished himself greatly under Lieutenant Pottinger throughout
the siege of Herat, and was previously an assistant to Mr. M'Neill,
our ambassador at the court of Persia. He speaks Persian, Arabic, and
Pushtoo, and has been specially recommended to the Governor-general by
Mr. M'Neill and Pottinger. He has now made his way from Herat through
Candahar, and the fact that he has done so safely shows that he knows
how to use these languages to advantage."
As Lieutenant Pottinger's gallant defence of Herat was the theme of
general admiration throughout India, Angus could not have had a better
introduction, and he was warmly received by the three officers, who at
once took him away with them.
"You will share my tent with me," Lieutenant Macgregor said. "I am
alone at present. You have a horse, of course, and a servant, I
suppose?"
"I have a very fair horse, and an excellent servant, who is a young
fellow, a Persian, the son of a door-keeper at the embassy. He was
with me through the siege, and I found him invaluable. He is a strong
fellow, and has plenty of courage and shrewdness; I should never have
got away out of Candahar had it not been for his assistance.
"Sir Alexander has advised me to get an Eastern dress, as I cannot wear
uniform; and I must see about that at once, for this Persian dress
would in any case have been out of place, and my journey down the Bolan
has ruined it altogether. But in the first place, I shall be obliged if
you will tell me where my two horses are to be put up."
"Your horse will be picketed with ours in our tents; our servants'
horses are in the line behind them. Is that your man over there with
the two horses? I will send an orderly to tell him to take them over
and picket them. Now, I suppose you want something to eat? We had
tiffin an hour ago, but the servants can get something for you."
"Thank you; I will go down into the town. I had something before
mounting this morning, and I own I should not care about going into the
mess-tent till I have got something to wear a little more respectable
than these clothes."
"Oh, that is nonsense. Besides, you need not go into the mess-tent.
I will order them to warm something up at once, and to bring it into
my tent. We are all wanting to hear more about Herat. The official
despatches only give us bare facts."
For the next two hours Angus was fully occupied in relating his
experiences of the siege to the three officers; after that he went down
with Azim to the town. There he bought for himself a dress such as
would be worn by a native of some rank--a white turban, a blue tunic
opening at the breast and showing a white cambric shirt, several white
robes, and loose white linen trousers tightened in at the ankle. He
bought a good supply of under-linen and a couple of pairs of native
riding-boots. For Azim he bought clothes appropriate to a retainer
of a Mohammedan gentleman. As he was unable to procure a camp bed of
European make, he bought a native charpoy, which could be taken to
pieces and conveniently carried. He had found that his fellow-officers
had each three native servants--a butler or body servant, a syce for
their riding horses, and a man who looked after and led on the line of
march two baggage animals. He had no difficulty in engaging a syce, and
let the question of the baggage animals stand over until next day.
Azim would, of course, act as his personal servant. The lad, who had
during the past year become imbued with the spirit of adventure, was
delighted to hear that his master was to accompany the army. He had,
during his stay in Herat, picked up the language, and could converse in
it as fluently as Angus himself was able to do; and although he had no
pleasant recollections of the journey from Candahar, he felt sure that
it would be a very different affair when accompanying a British army.
He expressed as much to his master, who said:
"I should not make so sure of that, Azim. We had no great difficulty
in obtaining provisions for ourselves, but it will be a very different
thing with an army of thousands of men, with an even larger number of
camp followers and five or six thousand camels. Except just round one
of those little villages, we did not see a blade of grass from the time
we left the Shawl valley, and how the animals will exist till we get up
to Quettah I have no idea. Once there no doubt we shall do fairly well,
but we shall have a very bad time on the journey, unless I am mistaken.
If I had the management of affairs, I should send off at once the whole
of the camels with a sufficient escort as far as Dadur. There they
should leave the provisions and forage they took up, and return here
to accompany the army with a further supply. No doubt it would cause a
month's delay, but it would be better to do that than to lose half our
baggage animals and to risk famine for the troops."
"I believe," Captain Arbuthnot said when Angus joined the others,
"that ten days' supply are ready at Dadur, and twenty days' supply at
Quettah."
"Certainly there were no supplies at Dadur when I came through, but I
know nothing about Quettah," Angus said; "still I think that if any
supplies of consequence had been collected there I should have heard
about it from the men who guided us through the pass."
"There were no troops there, then?"
"No, not the slightest sign of them, nor did we pass any on the march
down from Candahar; but of course the Khan of Khelat may have collected
a great force of Belooches, and if he did so, he would naturally keep
them at Khelat until he heard that the army was approaching, as it
would be an immense deal of trouble to victual them in the pass."
"I know that Mr. Macnaghten received news which induced him to believe
that a large force would be likely to march down from Candahar, and
that the attitude of the princes was altogether hostile. It is on
account of that news that we are going to advance in two or three
days' time, instead of waiting for another three weeks for a larger
stock of supplies to be collected. It was but ten days ago that the
commissary-general sent off four thousand camels to bring up supplies
from the rear. However, they will be useful for the Bombay column which
is coming up, as it is arranged that we shall collect transport and
supplies for them.
"Therefore the decision has been taken to march at once, so that we
can ascend the pass before the enemy send a sufficient force to hold
it against us. No doubt the report that we were not going to leave
here for another three weeks has been sent up to Candahar. The Prince
is sure to have agents and spies here. We ought to be at the foot of
the Bolan before it is known in Candahar that we have started. As to
Khelat, the Khan has sent in assurances of his friendship, and I expect
he will make himself safe by assuming neutrality; but the Belooches
are a warlike people, and born plunderers, and his authority is very
slight, except in Khelat and the district near it. We are sure to have
trouble with the mountaineers, but beyond having to protect the convoy
strongly, I do not suppose we shall have serious fighting with them. I
expect that we shall be sent off to-morrow or next day to Khelat and
Quettah, perhaps one of us may even go to Candahar. I know that Mr.
Macnaghten thinks that possibly the princes may not take an active part
on Dost Mahomed's side. Everyone knows that they have no great love for
their brother; which is not surprising, for he, who is the youngest
of the family, has managed to secure the sovereignty. Besides, they
would see that if they took up arms in his favour the whole brunt of
the fighting would fall upon them, for Cabul could render them no real
assistance. They are very shifty gentlemen, and though they may make a
show of force at first, it would probably be only for the purpose of
securing advantageous terms for themselves."
"I saw them when I was at Candahar," Angus said, "and they, or at least
one of them, questioned me closely; but supposing me to be a Persian
just arrived from Herat, he naturally said nothing about a British
invasion. His great anxiety was to know what the intentions and power
of Russia and Persia were. No doubt the plans that were formed were
entirely disconcerted by the Shah's retreat from before Herat. I saw no
signs whatever of any gatherings of the Afghans, nor was the subject
ever alluded to in the conversations I had with traders at the place
where I lodged."
At this moment a native officer came in and said that Sir Alexander
desired to see Captains Arbuthnot and Jones. As they buckled on their
swords the latter said: "You have told us about Herat, Mr. Campbell,
and this evening I hope you will tell us about your journey down."
When the officers returned Angus found that Arbuthnot was not mistaken
as to the probable work they would have to perform, for he was to
accompany Major Todd the next morning with an escort of cavalry for
Khelat. They were to see the Khan and arrange with him for supplies to
be sent to Dadur. Captain Jones was to remain there to see that his
promises were carried out, and Arbuthnot, unless he learned that a
force from Candahar had arrived at Quettah, was to go on there and see
to the collection of grain and cattle.
"A squadron of cavalry is going forward to-morrow morning, Campbell.
Four hundred labourers are going with it, and you are to be in special
charge of half of them. Of course, they will have eight or ten headmen,
but they will want looking after all the same. They are to dig wells
at Burshoree; the other half, under you, Macgregor, are to do the same
thing at Meerpoor. It is a thousand pities it was not done before, for
the army is to begin its advance the day after to-morrow. However, you
will gain a couple of days on them, and that is something. If you meet
Major Leech, who is at work improving the roads, you will, of course,
report yourself to him, and he will doubtless be able to advise you as
to the best place for the wells."
Angus heard the news with much satisfaction. In the first place it
meant active work, and in the second it would save him from the
slow and toilsome march of the army, which would, he felt sure, be
accompanied with enormous hardship. The four officers dined together.
Sir A. Burnes was not present, as he was dining with General Cotton and
Mr. Macnaghten. After dinner Angus related his adventure at Candahar;
how he evaded pursuit, and his passage through the pass. He had hardly
finished when he was sent for to the general's tent.
"I have just been telling General Cotton, Mr. Campbell," said Mr.
Macnaghten, "that you arrived this morning from Candahar. He wishes to
learn as much as you can tell him of the state of the pass at present,
and of the country between Dadur and this place. I told him that I had
not been able to find time to question you on these points."
"In the first place," the general said, "what is the state of the
Bolan?"
"As I only travelled during the night I cannot tell you very much about
it. The river is not high, and there is no difficulty whatever on that
score. The ground is generally extremely rough, and covered not only
with rounded boulders, but by rocks that will prove very trying to the
feet of the animals. We bandaged very thickly the hoofs of our horses
to deaden the sound, and so saved them from being lamed, which they
otherwise would certainly have been. The bandages were of felt, and
these were completely cut to pieces the first night. After that we cut
up one of the water-skins I had with me, and we covered the felt with
the leather, but even this was cut to pieces, and had to be renewed
the next night. Although this is the general character of the pass,
there are places at which, by skirting the foot of the hills at points
where the pass opens out--and the hills are not precipitous, although
everywhere steep--it is possible for mounted men to go along at a fast
walk, the stones being much smaller, and like, I should think, what I
have heard of a sea-beach, though I never saw one, at least that I can
remember."
"Still, there were no insurmountable difficulties, Mr. Campbell?"
"No, sir, though there were places where certainly not more than two
laden camels could pass abreast."
"Well, next as to the country between this place and Dadur. We know
about it as far as the edge of Beloochee Desert; what is it beyond
that? Did you suffer from want of water?"
"No, sir, at the villages where we stopped there was always water; but
there were, as far as I saw, but a few small wells, which would seem to
me very insufficient for the supply of an army and its train."
"Well, we are going to dig more wells," Mr. Macnaghten said rather
impatiently. "If the water will run into three or four wells it would
run into fifty. Now, about forage?"
"There were small patches of cultivation round each of the villages; at
Bhag more than elsewhere, as it lies nearer to the foot of the hills;
but at Meerpoor, Burshoree, and Rojhan I should not say there were more
than twenty or thirty acres of cultivated land. At Bhag I was strongly
advised to take the road at the foot of the hills to Dundeaver down
to Larkhanna, and from there to follow the Indus up to Sukkar; but
the guides said that I should be more likely to be troubled by the
Beloochees along that route, and as it was also twice as far I took the
straight way here."
"Thank you. We will not detain you any longer, Mr. Campbell, and we are
obliged for the information that you have given us."
Angus bowed and retired. He felt that Mr. Macnaghten was vexed that
he could not report better upon the chances of obtaining sufficient
supplies of forage and water. But he felt that it was clearly better
that he should give, in the plainest terms, the true state of affairs,
for when, as he was sure would be the case, there was immense suffering
of men and animals, the blame would fall upon him if he had given a
more hopeful account than the facts warranted.
Sir A. Burnes sent for him on leaving the general's tent.
"You did quite right in not giving a rose-coloured description of
the state of things along the line of march, Mr. Campbell. Of course
neither Mr. Macnaghten nor General Cotton liked it. Neither of them, in
fact, has the slightest idea of the troubles ahead of them, and both
were inclined to view me as a pessimist. However, it will not matter
to you very greatly whether Macnaghten is pleased with you or not,
because your reports will be sent in to me. This sort of work will not
last very long. I have only undertaken it because Major Garden, General
Cotton's quarter-master-general, has been taken ill. Major Craikie, the
adjutant-general, will go forward with me the day after to-morrow to
superintend matters generally. I hope by that time to have a thousand
more men for well-digging. Major Leech has gone to Sebee to cut a
dam there on the river Naree, which it is hoped will fill the small
water-courses and greatly assist us. I have more fear about forage than
water. You can dig wells and cut dams, but you can't get a crop to grow
at a day's notice. However, we must hope for the best."
The next morning at three o'clock Angus and Lieutenant Macgregor
started with the labourers and an escort of fifty native cavalry.
"I am very glad to be off, Campbell," Macgregor said. "It has been
disheartening work for some time. Somehow or other nothing has gone
smoothly since we started. Of course I am only a sub, but certainly
it seems to me that so far there has been an enormous amount of
unnecessary friction, and that the chiefs have not gone the right
way to work. I don't believe myself in this Shah whom we are going
to force upon the Afghans. Dost Mahomed is worth a dozen of him, and
no one who knows anything of the affairs of Afghanistan is able to
understand why Lord Auckland and Macnaghten and the rest of them should
ever have conceived the idea of supplanting a man who has shown himself
really desirous of our alliance and friendship, and who undoubtedly
possesses the support of a majority of his countrymen, by one who has
never shown any talent, who has no party whatever in Afghanistan, and
is a member of a discredited and fallen family.
"Still, that is their affair; but matters have been complicated by
the manner in which the Emirs of Scinde have been treated. Instead of
regarding them, as they have always shown themselves, as friendly to
us, we have gone out of our way to render them hostile, by the manner
in which we have, in absolute contradiction of the terms of their
treaty with us, compelled them to furnish carriage, provisions, and
money. Had they been a conquered country we could not have carried
matters with a higher hand. It will be sure to lead to trouble some
day, and certainly adds immensely to our difficulties. Now, the
very fact that, in the days when he was for a short time ruler in
Afghanistan, Soojah advanced all sorts of preposterous claims of
suzerainty over a large portion of Scinde, was in itself a reason why,
if we took the absurd step of placing him on the throne of Cabul, we
should have advanced from Peshawur through Jellalabad direct, instead
of taking this roundabout journey through Scinde. Of course there would
have been great difficulties in the Khyber, and we should have had to
encounter fierce opposition from the hill-tribesmen, but that will have
to be met in any case. And after installing Soojah at Cabul, we could
have gradually extended his power--or ours, for of course he would be
but a puppet in our hands--through Ghuznee to Candahar. Of course
you won't hear any talk like this among the officers of the Bombay or
Bengal army. They know and care nothing about the matter. It is just
among the men who have been employed here in the north, and who know
something about it, that there is any doubt as to the wisdom of the
affair. I know Burnes considers that the whole thing is a mistake.
Colonel Pottinger, who, as our resident in Scinde, knows a great
deal about the Afghans, says little, but I know that he disapproves
of it; and so, I think, do all of us juniors, who have worked either
under him, or with Burnes, or up in the Punjaub, and have, of course,
always taken an interest in the affairs of Afghanistan, especially
since Russian influence has become so preponderant in Persia. Well,
we can only hope for the best, and do our best in our own little way.
Thank goodness, whatever comes of it, we have no responsibility in the
affair."
"I really know very little about it," Angus said; "but I do know that
it will be a terrible business getting the army to Quettah, and that
directly it was determined to come this way arrangements should have
been made to dig sufficient wells to ensure a supply of water at every
watering-place, and to collect stores of forage and grain. I really
don't see how it is to be done now. From all that I could hear as I
came down, there will be a lot of trouble with the Beloochees."
The difficulties of the advance had already been felt. Great numbers
of camels had died between Sukkar and Shikarpore, and those that
accompanied the party of well-diggers were enfeebled, and looked as
if they had accomplished a long forced march instead of the strong
and fresh animals one would expect to see setting out on such an
enterprise. The first halting-place was Jagan. The next day they
started at the same early hour and proceeded to Janeedera. Here they
had passed beyond the boundary of the Scinde Ameers, and had entered
the territory over which the Khan of Khelat held nominal authority.
At this place there was a small mud fort, outside of which straw had
been collected for the use of the cavalry, and to guard this a small
party of Shah Soojah's troops had been posted. These, however, had been
attacked and driven off by a Beloochee band, and the straw carried
away. However, there was sufficient water in the wells for the men and
animals.
The next day's march was a long one, but at Rojhan a certain amount
of forage had been collected, and there was a fair supply of water.
The country so far had been barren, with occasional bushes, but beyond
Rojhan they had nothing but an absolutely flat surface of sand, without
a blade of grass or a bush to break the level expanse; across this
desert the party toiled on for twenty-seven miles. A little water was
carried by the camels, but this supply was soon exhausted, and with
parched lips and throats the men plodded on, knowing that until the end
of the journey no water could be obtained. Scarce a word was spoken
during the painful journey. Passing over the ground as he came down at
a canter, Angus had thought but little of it; he had done it in less
than four hours, and there was no trouble from the dust. It was very
different now. It was fourteen hours from the time of starting before
they reached Burshoree, the mounted men having to accommodate their
pace to that of the labourers, and the dust rose in dense clouds.
A part of the cavalry rode ahead, the rest some half a mile behind
the main body of the footmen. But before half the journey was done
these began to straggle, and the dust had no time to settle before the
horsemen came along. Fully half the labourers, indeed, threw themselves
down on the sand incapable of going farther, and lay there until the
cool evening air revived them, and it was long after midnight before
many of them reached Burshoree. Here a considerable number of wells had
already been dug by the party under Major Leech. The water was muddy,
and trickled in but slowly. Still it was water, and men and horses
drank it eagerly as fast as it could be brought up in buckets and
emptied into troughs which had been erected.
Although the village--a mere collection of native huts, surrounded by
a wall as a protection against the plundering Beloochees--offered a
most uninviting prospect, Angus was well pleased that he had arrived
at the end of his journey, and had not, like Macgregor, another day's
march to perform. The latter started as usual at three o'clock, and an
hour later Angus, with some difficulty, roused his two hundred weary
men and set them to work, promising them that if they laboured hard he
would allow them to rest during the heat of the day. Cheered by the
promise, the labourers set to work under their headmen. Each of these
had charge of twenty workmen; these were divided into two gangs and
worked wells close together. Angus had nothing to do save to exercise a
sort of general superintendence. The soil became much more firm a few
feet below the surface, and as the sides stood satisfactorily it was
not necessary to make the wells of any great depth. It was found that
four men only could be employed on each, two working in the bottom and
the others bringing up the earth with buckets and ropes, consequently,
the number of the wells was largely increased. After three days of
prodigious toil, water was reached in the majority of the wells, and
by the end of the fourth day fifty had been added to those already
dug. The liquid, however, oozed in but slowly, and when a well was
emptied it was two or three hours before water could again be drawn
from it; thus although the amount that could be obtained altogether
was considerable, it was still wholly insufficient for the supply of an
army. Five-and-twenty of the native cavalry were kept constantly on the
alert, for parties of plundering Beloochees hovered round, and several
of the well-diggers who, in spite of orders, ventured to wander some
distance away were robbed and killed.
The next morning General Thackwell, with a body of cavalry, a small
force of infantry, and some irregular horse, rode into the place. He
brought with him an order from Sir A. Burnes for Angus to accompany
him. The well-diggers were to remain there and continue their work. The
general had intended to stop there for two or three days, but finding
that no forage could be procured, he started the next morning early
and rode through Meerpoor to Oostar, a distance of twenty-seven miles,
where, as had been reported by Major Leech, there was a small reservoir
of water, and a store of straw and grass had been collected. Angus
stopped for an hour at Meerpoor and had a talk with Macgregor, whose
men had also accomplished a great deal of work, and who bewailed his
fate at having to remain there instead of going forward with General
Thackwell.