162] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817, 



CHAITER XV. 



East India Affairs . 



IN the close of December, 1816, 

 a di»j)atcli was sent from Ma- 

 jor Luslunijton, commantler of the 

 4th regimei'it of Madras light ca- 

 valry, to the hon. ]\Ir. Elphinstone, 

 British resident at Poonah, giving 

 an account of his expedition against 

 the Pindarces. Tiicse peojjle had 

 made their appearance at Sogaum 

 early on the 25th, on which ac- 

 count the INIajor had advanced his 

 regiment towards that place on 

 tlie 26th. He reached Sogaum at 

 seven in the morning, where he 

 learned that a body of Pindarees, 

 consisting of between two and 

 three thousand, had attacked So- 

 gaum on the morning of the 25th, 

 and being beat off, had taken the 

 road toKame. Major Lushington, 

 after making the necessary ar- 

 rangements for the protection of 

 his gvm-troops and rear-guard, 

 proceeded with 530 rank and file 

 to Kame, where he arrived at 

 noon, being a march of twenty 

 miles. He halted for a short time 

 to refresh his men and horses, and 

 then pushed on to Pepree, where 

 lie was informed that the Pindarees 

 were at Covvah, taking their meal. 

 INIoving on at a brisk pace, the 

 INIajor surpiised the enemy when 

 within a thousand yards of them; 

 and though they were on horse- 

 back, within two minutes, they 

 were instantly living in all direc- 

 tions. Tlie jnusuit \\as conducted 

 with so much ardour during a 



space of ten miles, that their loss 

 in killed and wounded was com- 

 puted at not less than 7 or 800 

 men, besides a grcnt number ren- 

 dered incapable ot follow ing their 

 plundering e.vcursions for want of 

 lioiscs. The only casualty left for 

 the Major to report was^ that of 

 Captain Drake, a gallant officer, 

 wlio fell by a thrust of a spear. 



A Calcutta Government Gazette 

 of the 10th of April states, that 

 accounts' fiom the banks of the 

 Nerbudda of the middle of March 

 mention tliat the intrepid Captain 

 Caulficld had again distinguished 

 himself in a successful attack on 

 the Pindarees. Having received 

 accurate information of the en- 

 cam]nnent of their leader, Shoikh 

 Doleah, at the head of a large 

 body of horse, he marched to the 

 sjiot with two comjjanies of the 

 tenth infantry, and a s(iuadron of 

 cavaliy, and came upon them un- 

 perceived near Ilcndia. The Pin- 

 darees immediately rushed into 

 the Nerbudda with the hope of 

 fording that river ; but in tlie at- 

 tempt a very considerable number 

 were cut to pieces or drowned, 

 and the chief was supposed to have 

 fallen on this occasion. 



The immediate cause of these 

 disturbances appears to have been 

 the irruption of a ])arty of ma- 

 rauders, supposed to have been 

 from the Mahratta frontier, w hich 

 had entered the Cuttack district 



thicug:h 



