The B.A. Polo Club, which was started on the 1st of May last, is a great 
success, and all young officers are advised, when ordered to Malta, to come out 
prepared to play the game, it is now, practically speaking, within the means of all. 
Great credit is due to Lieut. D. E. Forman, It.A., the capable and energetic 
secretary, for the good work he has done in forming this club. 
A.W. Frontier, ludia. 
The following interesting notes are extracted from a letter written by a subaltern 
officer of a Native Mountain Battery; they well describe the rough work and 
long marches for the brilliant performance of which these Batteries are so 
deservedly famous :— 
We left Kohat on 20th August, for Hangu, at the foot of these hills. We spent 
the first week in inactivity and rain, since when we have been marching and 
counter-marching to our hearts’ content, chiefly forced marches, with lots of dis¬ 
comfort and without very much object. My section has been alone a good bit of the 
time, as I left Hangu on 30th August, with the 15th Sikhs. 
We came in touch with the enemy at the end of a 23 mile march, starting at 
6 a.m., but after a few rounds from dismounted cavalry and 4 rounds from my 
guns they evaporated. All the same they made some very useful practice, sniping 
at our mess table the same evening, sending 2 or 3 shots right between us. We 
marched from this place, Doaba, to Sadda (the march short of Parachinar, Kurram), 
48 miles in 46 hours and arrived in time to prevent an attack there by 3 000 of the 
enemy who cleared out on hearing of our approach. Our other two guns arrived 
2 days later and we imagined ourselves a fixture there until the advance into Tirah 
was started. However, 3 or 4 days later the 4 guns were ordered back to Thai, 
no reason being given and, after spending a day and a half there, an urgent wire 
came ordering us back to Hangu as fast as possible as an attack on the camp 
was expected. 
We left Thai at 5 p.m., leaving Hangu at 5.5 a.m., next morning, 35£ miles 
in 12 hours, which is pretty fair travelling, isn’t it? We did the whole 71 miles 
from Sadda to Hangu, in 70 hours, but of course the first part we only did in 
2 ordinary marches and halted 26 hours at Thai. We arrived without a stitch of 
kit except our great coats and I did not get out of my clotlies for 4^ days. We 
started up the hill at mid-night on the 13th and engaged the enemy on top about 
7 a.m. At our first position we had a warmish time at first, as we were fired at 
from a hill 500 yards off, but though we had bullets in plenty among us not 
a man or a mule was touched. 
We made some rather pretty practice at a tower 1000 yards off, putting 4 out 
of the first 5 shell into it and setting it on fire. The Gurkhas finished turning 
out the enemy and then we came on here, Fort Lockhart, Samana, and from a 
position a couple of hundred yards in front of the fort, we shelled the enemy 
round the “ Seragarhi” post which they had taken 2 days before. We drove 
them out of this before our infantry could get a look in. We then moved on 
and fired on the enemy retreating from round Gulistan Fort which had been 
rather hard pressed, but unfortunately it was a longish range, 3500 yards; how¬ 
ever they|ran like hares and we must have hit a certain number. 
We managed to do for 2 of our guns in the course of the day, the junction 
nut of one of mine cracked and another gun fell down the hill, from shock of 
recoil, at the last position, which was on very bad ground and got the sight 
socket knocked in. 
We got through 108 rounds during the day and really most of the show we 
had to ourselves. I went on with my 2 guns to Gulistan Fort where we stayed 
