Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti

"What do you mean to get?"

"I think a brace of revolvers, and a good store of ammunition for the chief. As to the women I must, I suppose, get something in the way of dress. For the other men I shall get commoner things. Everyone has been most kind to me, and I should certainly like them to have some remembrance of my stay.

"I suppose that there is five months' pay waiting for me in the paymaster's chest."

"I should doubt it extremely," the colonel said. "You will get it in time, but you will have to wait. You have been struck off the regimental pay list, ever since you were put down as dead; and I expect the paymaster will have to get a special authorization, before you can draw your back pay."

"I was only joking, Colonel. My agent at Calcutta has my money in his hands, and I have only to draw on him."

"So much the better, Bullen. It is always a nuisance getting into debt, even when you are certain that funds will be forthcoming which will enable you to repay what you owe. But have you enough to carry you on till you hear from your agent?"

"Plenty, sir; I left all the money I did not care to carry about with me in the regimental till."

"Then I expect you will find it there still. I know that nothing has been done with it. A short time since, the paymaster was speaking to me about it, and asking me if I knew the address of any of your relations, or who was your agent at Calcutta. He said to me:

"'I shall wait a bit longer. Mr. Bullen turned up quite unexpectedly, once before and, though I fear there is not a shadow of chance that he will do so again, I will hold the money for a time. It is just possible that he is held as a hostage, in which case we shall probably hear of him, when the passes are open.'"

Lisle went to the paymaster's at once and, finding that he had not parted with the money, drew fifty pounds. He had no difficulty in buying the revolvers and cartridges; but was so completely at a loss as to the female garments, and the price he ought to pay, that he went back to the cantonment and asked two of the ladies to accompany him shopping. This they at once consented to do and, with their aid, he laid in a stock of female garments: silk for the chief's wife; and simpler, but good and useful materials–for the most part of bright colour–for the other women. These were all parcelled up in various bundles, and a looking glass inserted in each parcel. For the men he bought bright waistbands and long knives; and gave, in addition, a present in money to the men who had come down with him.

It was evening before the work was finished, and he then returned to mess with the regiment.

"I suppose you don't know yet whether you are coming back to us, Bullen?" the major said.

"No, sir, the general did not say; but for myself, I would very much rather join the regiment. Staff appointment sounds tempting, but I must say that I should greatly prefer regimental work; especially as I should be very much junior to the other officers of the staff, and should feel myself out of place among them."

"I have no doubt that you are right, in that respect; but staff appointments lead to promotion."

"I have no ambition for promotion, for the present, Major. I am already five or six up among the senior lieutenants, which is quite high enough for one of my age."

"Well, perhaps you are right. It is not a good thing for a young officer to be pushed on too fast, and another two or three years of regimental work will certainly do you no harm."

"I have not yet asked, Major, whether we are going up into the Tirah again, this spring?"

"I fancy not. Already several deputations have come in from the tribesmen, some of them bringing in the fines imposed upon them; and all seem to say that there is a general desire among the Afridis for peace, and that deputations from other tribes will shortly follow them."

"I am glad to hear it, sir," Lisle said. "I think I have had quite enough of hill fighting."

"I think we are all of the same opinion, Bullen. It is no joke fighting an enemy hidden behind rocks, armed with Lee-Metford rifles, and trained to shoot as well as a British marksman.

"The marching was even worse than the fighting. Passing a night on the snow, any number of thousand feet above the sea, is worse than either of them. No, I would rather go through a campaign against the Russians, than have anything more to do with the Tirah; though I must admit that, if we were to begin at once, we should not have snow to contend with.

"I have been through several campaigns, but the last was infinitely the hardest, and I have not the least desire to repeat it. Whether all the tribes choose to send in and accept our terms, or not, makes no very great difference; they have had such a sharp lesson that it will certainly be some time before they rise again in revolt. There may be an occasional cattle-lifting raid across the frontier, but one can put up with that; and it would be infinitely cheaper for Government to compensate the victims, than for us to get an army in motion again, to punish the thieves.

"Moreover, having once taught them that we are stronger than they, it would be a pity to weaken them still further for, if a Russian army were to try and force its way into India, these fellows would make it very hot for them. They are full of fight and, although they are independent of Afghanistan, and have no particular patriotic feeling, the thirst for plunder would bring them like bees round an invading army.

"No, the thing has been well done, but the expense has been enormous and the losses serious; and I trust that, at any rate as long as we are stationed in Northern India, things will be quiet."

Next morning Lisle went, early, to headquarters. He had to wait a little time before he could see the general. When he went in, General Lockhart said:

"Now about yourself, Mr. Bullen. Your place has, of course, been filled up; but I shall be glad to appoint you as extra aide-de-camp, if you wish. Would you rather be on staff duty, or rejoin your regiment?"

"If you give me the choice, sir, I would rather rejoin the regiment. Staff duty in war time is extremely interesting; but in peace time, I would rather be at work with the regiment.

"You see, sir, I am very young, and much younger than any of the staff; and I am sure that I should feel very much out of place."

"I agree with you," the general said, with a smile. "I think that you are wise to prefer regimental duty. I have written home, giving my account of your gallant action; telling how you were not, as reported, killed; and recommending you, in the strongest possible terms, for the V.C."

"I am greatly indebted to you, sir. I do not feel that I have done anything at all out of the way, and acted only on the impulse of the moment."

"You could not have done better, had you thought of it for an hour," the general said; "but as I also reported your defence of that hut, I have little doubt that you will get the well-earned V.C."

There was great satisfaction among the officers and the regiment, when Lisle told them of his interview with the general.

It was soon evident, from the sale of the transport animals, that the war was over; and the regiment shortly afterwards returned to their old quarters, at Rawal Pindi, and fell into the old routine of drill.

In the middle of the following summer Lisle, while fielding at cricket in a match with another regiment, suddenly staggered and fell. The surgeon, running up from the pavilion, pronounced it as a case of sunstroke. It was some time before he was conscious again.

"What has happened?" he asked.

"You have had a bad sunstroke," the surgeon said, "and I am going to send you home, as soon as you are able to travel. I shall apply for at least a year's leave for you, and I hope that, by the end of that time, you will be perfectly fit for work again; but certainly a period of rest, and the return to a temperate climate, is absolutely necessary for you."

Long before this, a despatch had been received from England bestowing the Victoria Cross upon Lisle. General Lockhart himself came down from Peshawar and fixed it to his breast, in presence of the whole regiment, drawn up in parade order. The outburst of cheering from the men told unmistakably how popular he was with them, and how they approved of the honour bestowed upon him.

The general dined at mess, and was pleased to see how popular the young officer was with his men. He himself proposed Lisle's health, and the latter was obliged to return thanks.

When he sat down, the general said:

"It is clear, Mr. Bullen, that you have more presence of mind, when engaged with the enemy, than you have when surrounded with friends. It can hardly be said that eloquence is your forte."

"No, sir," Lisle said, wiping the perspiration from his face, "I would rather go through eleven battles, than have to make another speech."

The application for sick leave was granted at once and, a fortnight later, Lisle took his place in the train for Calcutta. All the officers and their wives assembled to see him off.

"I hope," said the colonel, "you will come back in the course of a year, thoroughly restored to health. It is all in your favour that you have not been a drinking man; and the surgeon told me that he is convinced that the brain has suffered no serious injury, and that you will be on your feet again, and fit for any work, after the twelve months' leave. But, moderate as you always are, I should advise you to eschew altogether alcoholic liquids. Men who have never had a touch of sunstroke can drink them with impunity but, to a man who has had sunstroke, they are worse than poison."

"All right, Colonel! Nothing stronger than lemonade shall pass my lips."

And so, with the good wishes of his friends, Lisle started for Calcutta. Here he drew from his agents a sum which, he calculated, would last him for a year at home. To his great pleasure, on entering the train he met his friend Colonel Houghton.

"I have been thinking for some time, lad," he said, "of applying for a year's leave; which I have earned by twelve years' service out here. I was with the general when your application for leave arrived, and made up my mind to go home with you. I therefore telegraphed to Simla, and got leave at once; so I shall be able to look after you, on the voyage."

"It is very kind of you," Lisle said. "It will be a comfort, indeed, having a friend on board. My brain seems to be all right now, but my memory is very shaky. However, I hope that will be all right, too, by the time we arrive in England."

The presence of the colonel was indeed a great comfort to Lisle. The latter looked after him as a father might have done, placed his chair in the coolest spot to be found and, by relating to the other passengers the service by which Lisle had won the V.C., ensured their sympathy and kindness.

By the time the voyage was over, Lisle felt himself again. His brain had gradually cleared, and he could again remember the events of his life. He stayed three or four days at the hotel in London where the colonel put up; and then went down into the country, in response to an invitation from his aunt, which had been sent off as soon as she received a letter from him, announcing his arrival in England. His uncle's place was a quiet parsonage in Somersetshire, and the rest and quiet did him an immense deal of good.

At the end of three months' stay there, he left to see something of London and England, and travelled about for some months.

When the year was nearly up, and he was making his preparations to return to India, he received a summons to attend at the War Office. Wondering greatly what its purport could be, he called upon the adjutant general.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Bullen?" the latter asked.

"Perfectly well, sir, as well as I ever felt in my life."

"We are sending a few officers to aid Colonel Willcocks in effecting the relief of the party now besieged in Coomassie. Your record is an excellent one and, if you are willing and able to go, we shall be glad to include you in the number."

"I should like it very much. There is no chance, whatever, of active service in India; and I should be glad, indeed, to be at the front again, in different circumstances."

"Very well, Mr. Bullen, then you will sail on Tuesday next, in the steamer that leaves Liverpool on that day. You will have the local rank of captain, and will be in command of a company of Hausas."

Lisle had but a few preparations to make. He ordered, at once, a khaki uniform and pith helmet, and a supply of light shirts and underclothing. Then he ran down to Somersetshire to say goodbye to his uncle and aunt, and arrived in Liverpool on the Monday evening. Sleeping at the hotel at the station, he went on board the next morning.

Here he found half a dozen other officers, also bound for the west coast of Africa, and soon got on friendly terms with them. He was, of course, obliged to tell how he had won the Victoria Cross; a recital which greatly raised him in their estimation.

They had fine weather throughout the voyage; and were glad, indeed, when the steamer anchored off Cape Coast. Although looking forward to their arrival at Cape Coast, the officers were not in their highest spirits. All of them had applied for service in South Africa, where the war was now raging but, to their disappointment, had been sent on this minor expedition. At any other time, they would have been delighted at the opportunity of taking part in it; but now, with a great war going on, it seemed to them a very petty affair, indeed.

They cheered themselves, however, by the assumption that there was sure to be hard fighting; and opportunities for distinguishing themselves at least as great as they would meet with at the Cape, where so vast a number of men were engaged that it would be difficult for one officer to distinguish himself beyond others.

Until he started, Lisle had scarcely more than heard the name of Ashanti; though he knew, of course, that two expeditions, those under Sir Garnet Wolseley and Sir Francis Scott, had reached the capital, the latter dethroning the king and carrying him away into captivity. Now, however, he gathered full details of the situation, from two officers belonging to the native troops, who had been hurriedly ordered to cut short their leave, and go back to take their places with the corps to which they were attached.

There was no doubt that the Ashantis were one of the most formidable tribes in Africa. Their territory extended from the river Prah to sixty miles north of Cape Coast. They were feared by all their neighbours, with whom they were frequently at war–not so much for the sake of extending their territory, as for the purpose of obtaining great numbers of men and women for their hideous sacrifices, at Coomassie. They were in close alliance with the tribes at Elmina, which place we had taken over from the Portuguese, some years before Sir Garnet Wolseley's expedition. This occupation was bitterly opposed by the Ashantis, who felt that it cut them off from free trade with the coast. In return, they intercepted all trade with the coast from the tribes behind them; and finally seized some white missionaries at their capital, and sent a defiant message down to Cape Coast.

The result was that Sir Garnet Wolseley was sent out to take command of an expedition and, with three white regiments, a small Naval Brigade, and the West African Regiment, completely defeated the Ashantis in two pitched battles, reached the capital, and burnt it. Unfortunately, owing to the want of carriers, and the small amount of supplies that were sent up, he was obliged to fall back again to the coast, after occupying the capital for only three days.

Had it been possible to leave a sufficient force there, the spirit of the Ashantis would have been broken. This, however, could not be done; and they gradually regained their arrogant spirit, carried out none of their obligations and, twenty-two years later, having quite forgotten their reverses, they resumed their raids across the Prah.

Sir Francis Scott's expedition was therefore organized, and marched to the capital. This time the former mistake was not committed. A small garrison was left to overawe its inhabitants, and the king was carried away a prisoner. The expedition had encountered no opposition. The reason for this was never satisfactorily ascertained, but it is probable that the Ashantis were taken by surprise, and thought it better to wait until they had obtained better arms. In this they were successful, for there are always rascally traders, ready to supply the enemies of their country with arms, on terms of immense profit.

The Ashantis were evidently kept well informed, by some of their tribesmen settled in the coast towns, of the state of affairs in Europe and, in the belief that England was fully occupied at the Cape, and that no white soldiers would be sent, they again rose in rebellion. They were ready to admit that the white soldiers were superior to themselves, but they entertained a profound contempt for our black troops, whom they were convinced they could defeat without difficulty.

Certainly, the force available at Cape Coast was altogether insufficient for the purpose; for it consisted only of a battalion of Hausa Constabulary, and two seven-pounder guns. Sierra Leone had a permanent garrison of one battalion of the West Indian Regiment, and a West African Regiment recruited on the spot; but few of these could be spared, for Sierra Leone had its own native troubles. The garrison of Lagos was similar to that of Cape Coast; but here, also, troubles were dreaded with their neighbours at Abeokuta. Southern Nigeria had their own regiment; while Northern Nigeria had the constabulary of the Royal Niger Company, and they had, at the time, just raised two battalions and three batteries. Fortunately, the recent dispute between the people and ourselves as to their respective boundaries had been temporarily arranged, and a portion of these troops could be utilized.

The two regiments were both numerically strong, each company amounting to a hundred and fifty men. They were armed with Martini-Metford carbines, and each company had a Vickers-Maxim gun. The batteries were provided with powerful guns, capable of throwing twelve-pound shells. The men were all Hausas and Yorubas, with the exception of one company of Neupas. This contingent were supplied with khaki, before starting; and the rest were in blue uniform, similar to that worn by the West Indian Regiments. There was, in addition, a small battalion of the Central African Regiment; with a detachment of Sikhs, who also supplied non-commissioned officers.

That the men would fight well, all believed; but the forces had been but recently organized, and it was questionable how they would behave without a backbone of white troops. The experiment was quite a novel one, as never before had a war been carried on, by us, with purely native troops.

The collection of the troops was a difficult matter, and cost no small time; especially from Northern Nigeria, which was to supply a much larger contingent than the others. These troops were scattered in small bodies over a large extent of country, for the most part hundreds of miles from the coast. There was a great paucity of officers, too; and of these, many were about to take their year's leave home, worn out and weakened by the unhealthy climate. By prodigious exertions, however, all were at last collected, and in readiness to proceed to the scene of operations.

Picking up troops at several points, the steamer at last arrived off Cape Coast; but not yet were they to land. A strong wind was blowing, and the surf beat with such violence, on the shore, that it was impossible even for the surf boat to come out. The officers had nothing to do but to watch the shore. Even this was only done under difficult circumstances, for the steamer was rolling rail under.

The prospect, however, was not unpleasing. From a projecting point stood the old Dutch castle, a massive-looking building. On its left was the town, on rising ground, with whitewashed buildings; and behind all, and in the town itself, rose palm trees, which made a dark fringe along the coast on either hand.

"It doesn't look such a bad sort of place," one of the officers said, "and certainly it ought to be healthy, if it were properly drained down to the sea. Yet it is a home of fever; one night ashore, in the bad season, is almost certain death for a white man. I believe that not half a dozen of the white inhabitants are hardened by repeated attacks of fever, to which at least three out of four newcomers succumb before they have been here many months. If this is the case, here, what must it be in the forest and swamps behind?"

All were greatly relieved when the wind abated, on the third day, and the surf boats were seen making their way out. The landing was exciting work. The surf was still very heavy, and it seemed well-nigh impossible that any boat could live through it. The native paddlers, however, were thoroughly used to the work. They ceased paddling when they reached the edge of the breakers, until a wave larger than usual came up behind them. Then, with a yell, they struck their paddles into the water, and worked for dear life. Higher and higher rose the wave behind them, till it seemed that they must be submerged by it. For a moment the boat stood almost upright. Then, when it rose to the crest of the wave, the boatmen paddled harder than ever, and they were swept forward with the swiftness of an arrow. Another wave overtook them and, carrying them on, dashed them high up on the beach.

The paddlers at once sprang out, and prevented the boat from being carried out by the receding wave. Then the officers, mounting the men's backs, were carried out; for the most part high and dry, although in some cases they were wet to the skin.

A few yards away was the entrance to the castle. Here everything was bustle. Troops were filing out, laden with casks and cases. Others were squatting in the paved court, ready to receive their burdens. All were laughing and chatting merrily. There were even troops of young girls, of from ten to fifteen years old, who were to carry parcels of less weight than their brothers.

Two officers were moving about, seeing that all went on regularly; and a number of men were bringing the burdens out from the storehouse, and ranging them in lines, ready for the women to take up.

The district commissioner, who was in charge of the old castle, received Lisle and his companions cordially; and invited them, when the day's work was over, to dine with him. Rooms were placed at their disposal.

As soon as this was done they went down to the beach, and superintended the landing of the men and stores, which was carried on until nightfall. Then, when the last boat load was landed, they came up to dinner.

After a hearty meal, one of them said:

"We shall be glad, sir, if you will tell us what has been happening here. All we know is that the fort of Coomassie is surrounded, and that we have come up to relieve it."

"It is difficult to give you anything like an accurate account," the officer said, "for so many lying rumours have come down, that one hardly knows what to believe. One day we hear that the place has been carried by storm, and that the garrison have been massacred. Then we are told that Sir Frederick Hodgson, with the survivors of the garrison, has burst his way through.

"It is certain that most of our forces are unable to push their way up, and that their posts are practically surrounded. Further, on the 18th of April the first news that the fort was being besieged reached Cambarga, three hundred and forty miles from Coomassie. Three days later three British officers, and a hundred and seventy men, with a Maxim and seven-pounder, marched under the command of Major Morris to the station of Kintanpo. After thirteen days' marching the force was increased to seven British officers, three hundred and thirty soldiers, and eighty-three native levies.

"Near N'Quanta they met with opposition and, two hours later, had a successful engagement, with only three casualties. On the 14th they fell into an ambush, and incurred twelve casualties. For two days after this they had more or less continuous fighting and, in charging a stockade, Major Morris was severely wounded. Captain Maguire then headed the charge, and succeeded in capturing the stockade.