36 
MOUNTAIN GUNS FOR INDIAN FRONTIER SERVICE. 
siderable— viz., 345 rounds, or nearly 84 rounds per gun; but though 
this may at first sight seem a little extravagant, it must be remembered 
that our supply was practically inexhaustible—namely, the first reserve, 
which lay ready packed in our second line of wagons, and the whole 
stock in the Peshawar Arsenal to fall back upon if necessary. 
After a very hard day^s work, the troops returned to c, on the Sher- 
gadra Ridge, and bivouacked that night undisturbed by a single shot 
from the enemy. 
The operations of the 7th December were very similar to those of 
the 6th, except that the guns were moved to d, about two miles east¬ 
ward along the crest of the Shergadra Ridge. 
This was an admirable position, commanding the whole of the eastern 
end of the valley, and before the arrival of the guns, a company of 
sappers, under the direction of an officer of the battery, had prepared 
excellent “ emplacements 33 for them—a very necessary precaution, as 
the rough work to which they had been subjected on the 4th and 6th 
had strained the carriages a good deal. Indeed, one axletree was con¬ 
siderably bent, and its wooden bed completely smashed. 
The Jawakis fought well, but were obliged to retire, as usual, and our 
troops, after blowing up five or six towers, returned to bivouac at d. 
On the 8th December the guns remained at d, and all the remaining 
towers were destroyed with very little opposition. 
Up to this time we had enjoyed splendid weather, and though it 
froze pretty hard at night, we were comfortable enough in the open; 
but on the afternoon of the 8th a drizzling rain set in, which gradually 
changed to a steady downpour. 
There was no shelter of any sort, and the troops had a wretched 
night of it. However, they bore their misery very cheerfully, most 
of them marking time on the rocks all night to keep up their circula¬ 
tion, and others, too tired for this exercise, lying in the mud with 
their clothes wet through. 
The prospect was not much brighter next morning (9th December), 
and as nothing was to be gained by remaining in this inhospitable 
region, it was determined to withdraw most of the troops to the lower 
camp, leaving* a strong picquet to hold the position at c, commanding 
the two roads leading from the Peshawar to the Bori Valley. The 
gunners had rather a rough time of it, as they had to take off their 
cloaks in the pouring rain and set to work packing the guns, carriages, 
and ammunition on the elephants. 
All this was soon done, though the men were faint with hunger and 
want of sleep, and numbed with cold; everything, moreover, including 
the skids and parbuckle-ropes, was wet and slippery, which made great 
care necessary to avoid accidents. Then commenced the dreariest 
march imaginable. The elephants, with characteristic caution, felt 
every inch of the ground as they crawled along. They did not like the 
slippery mud, and objected strongly to the sharp rocks which cropped 
up on all sides. The four guns were placed in their old position at c, 
and a strong picquet (detailed in Appendix C) being left to hold the 
Shergadra Ridge, the rest of the troops were withdrawn to the lower 
camp. 
