158 J. Waterhouse— The Survey Operations:in Afghanistin  [No. 3, 
General, who asked him to take back a reply. He was returning by the 
route he had just traversed, quite alone, and had left the breastwork where 
the rest of the 72nd were sheltering about 48 yards in rear, when he saw 
some 30 men occupying the crest within a few yards of him, and in the 
grey light he mistook them from their dress for some of the men of the 
Force going up in support of the advance, and, on the other hand, the enemy 
did not recognise him till he was within 6 yards of them and then fired upon 
him. A bullet struck him on the left side, completely carrying away the 
whole of the wood of his pistol stock, tearing his clothes, singeing his side 
and driving a piece of his clothes into the middle of the note-book in his 
breast pocket and spoiling several sketches. 
He fortunately succeeded in regaining the breastwork amidst a storm 
of bullets, notwithstanding that he tripped and fell heavily down-hill about 
half-way. 
After the battle he made a reconnaissance of the scene of action. He 
then went on with the Force into the Haridb Valley, marching and plane- 
tabling through Ali Kheyl and Rokidn, and was able to well delineate all 
the valley and as far as Rokidn. From Rokian he was only able to carry 
on a route survey to the Shuturgardan, the valley being too narrow to 
admit of plane-tabling, and visits to places on either side were impossible. 
He was able to fix the Shuturgardan with sufficient accuracy and found it to 
be a good deal south-east of the position assigned to it on sheet No. 4 of the 
Atlas of India. The river a few miles above Rokidn runs north-east from the 
Surkai Kotal instead of rather south-east, asin the map. Capt. Woodthorpe 
says that the old map is exceedingly accurate as far as the Peiwar, on the north 
bank of the river, but he has been able to improve it a little. On return- 
ing to Ali Kheyl, he visited the Matungeh Hill, a peak about 43 miles 
north of Ali Kheyl, about 12,900 feet above the sea, Ali Kheyl being 7,300. 
From Ali Kheyl he returned with the Force, marching and plane-tabling 
through Chapri and Karaia in the Mangal country, to Kuram. On pass- 
ing through the Mangior defile between Chapri and Kuraia-on the 18th 
December, the baggage and rear-guard were attacked by Mangals. 
Shortly after the return of the Force to Kuram, Capt. Woodthorpe 
and Lieut. Smith visited the Safed Koh, riding out from Kuram to some 
villages called Zeran, where they picked up a Turi guard, having also some 
Girkhas with them, and also had to change their mules for coolies, as they 
were told the mules could not go very far. They had, however, to take 
on the mules belonging to the Guard, as sufficient coolies were not procur- 
able, and these mules got up within 2000 feet of the pass and would have 
gone right up, but there was no camping-place further on till the ridge 
was crossed and the road had descended again some distance towards the 
