226 
12-PR GUN WITH ELEPHANT EQUIPMENT. 
Tentage and baggage was taken on field service scale, viz : officers, 
80 lbs. of the former and 70 lbs. of kit. N.C.O's and men 10 lbs. of 
tentage and a 40 lb. kit. Officers likewise took one charger and a 
baggage pony. 
On the afternoon of 31st Oct. orders came for a start at once. We 
quickly got entrained, and left by 8.30 p.m. 
Daylight on 1st Nov. saw us at Peshawar station, where the 
detraining took place; teams and limbers were kindly sent down by 
the 51st Field Battery R.A. to draw the guns up. 
Great was the disappointment on arriving to find that General 
Hammond, commanding the Peshawar Column, had issued orders for 
us to stay in Peshawar for the present; he didn't deem the presence 
of elephants in his camp advisable. 
On 2nd Nov. eleven elephants came in from Campbellpore, and on 
the following day the remaining four arrived from Khusalgarh, where 
they had been working on detached duty. Lieutenant Locke, of the 
heavy battery, was attached to look after the elephants ; the attendants 
consisted of 1 Jemadar mahout, 15 mahouts and 15 assistant mahouts. 
All hands were now hard at it, learning and making improvements 
in the drill : a drill was found in an old copy of the R.A. Regulations 
in India. This was of great assistance in the beginning. 
On 7th Nov. we were reinforced by a draft of 16 gunners from { H ' 
R.H.A.. This was very necessary; it is most important to have the 
12 numbers in each detachment big, tall men; up till then the few 
drivers, who had come, made up the detachments, and their shortness 
of stature was a handicap and threw the strain on to the tall numbers. 
During the first three weeks the battery was inspected by the G.O.C. 
Peshawar Column, G.O.C. Punjaub Army, and the I.G. of Artillery. 
By this time the men had learnt to work very smartly, and to get the 
gun and carriage up and down the elephants in excellent time. 
Our chargers were not of much use, as all ranks marched on foot; 
the C.O. at times found it necessary to ride during a route march to 
superintend things, for the length of the column was considerable when 
the transport was out as well as the ammunition line of animals. 
On 7th Dec. the men and transport marched out to Michni, and 
stayed the night there; the following day they marched on to 
Shabkadar Fort. On the 9th they marched back into Peshawar, a 
distance of 18 miles; this was covered in less than 5 hours; 41 miles 
were done in the 3 days' trip. 
As it was impossible for the battery to be used with the Peshawar 
Column in the Bara Valley, owing to the intricacy of the ground, we 
were all looking forward to the advance up the Khyber, where we 
hoped we should be sent—our hopes were doomed to disappointment— 
and a few days after the advance took place on 23rd Dec. orders 
came for the return of the battery to Umballa, horses and the rest of 
the equipment left behind at Rawal Pindi to be picked up on the way. 
Umballa was reached on the morniug of Jan. 5th. 
