JOURNEY TO SIRTNAGUR. 319 



lire from the sepoys, as well as exposing* themselves 

 to the fire of their guns, they drew off, and by about 

 three o'clock in the afternoon, all was again quiet. 



At this time, the cause of such an attack, or the 

 future intentions of this body oi' Seeks, was all a mys- 

 tery to us ; and popular report favoured the conjec- 

 ture, that they intended to profit from the present 

 occasion, and by crossing the river, at a few miles 

 lower down, return, and plunder the myriads of 

 travellers who crowded the roads through Rohilcund. 

 However, the next morning discovered they had no 

 such intentions ; as, from the adjacent heights, we 

 saw them take their departure, in three divisions, 

 bending their march in a westerly course, or directly 

 from us. The number which had crowded to the 

 river side, opposite to our tents, was too great to be 

 ferried over in the course of the night, and conse- 

 quently remained in that situation : fearful of the 

 approach of day, and in dreadful alarm from the ex- 

 pectation of another visit from the Seeks, but by 

 eight o'clock, their minds were more at ease, and 

 they oflered up their prayers for the Engiisli gentle- 

 men, whose presence, they universally believed, had 

 been ihe means of dispersing the enemy. 



From the various information we had now collected, 

 we concluded this hostile conduct of the Seeks "svas 

 purely in revenge against the tribes of Fakeers : 

 many of the wounded came to our camp to solicit 

 chirurgical assistance and they all seemed very sensi- 

 ble, that they only were the objects of the enemy's 

 fury. 



Accounts agree that the Fakeers lost about five 

 hundred men killed, among whom was one of their 

 Mehimts, or priests named Maunpoorfi: ; and they 

 had many ■wounded : of tlie Seeks about twenty were 

 killed, but the number of wounded not known. 



