WITH THE INTERNATIONAL FIELD FORCE IN CRETE, 1897. 523 
The strength of the Turkish force in the island at the commence¬ 
ment of the occupation was about 10,000 and consisted of 14 battalions 
of infantry, 3 Mountain Batteries, 1 troop of cavalry and some Fortress 
Artillery, who manned the one or two 6-inch B.L. guns and some 
obsolete muzzle-loaders, about 24-prs., mounted on the sea fronts and 
in the International Redoubts of the principal towns. Nearly every 
male member of the population carried a rifle, and at Candia, where 
the Arsenal had been looted shortly before our arrival, by the Moslem 
mob, every Bashi-Bazouk (Cretan Irregular) was armed with a Mar¬ 
tini-Henry carbine. The British troops were mostly encamped in 
“European Privates” pattern tents, the officers, 2 in a “Staff-sergeants” 
tent, except O.C’s who had a tent to themselves. The other Inter¬ 
national troops and the Turkish troops not on outpost duty, were 
quartered in barracks or other public buildings. Except at Candia, 
where it was thought advisable for political reasons to garrison them 
with Turkish troops, the outposts were principally manned by the Inter¬ 
national troops. One of the most important of these outside Canea, 
was under the command of Captain Egerton, Seaforth Highlanders, 
who had a lively time of it for the first month of the occupation with 
his mixed garrison of British, Austrians, Italians and Russians. The 
Christian Insurgent bands were mostly under the command of agitators 
from Greece, who were of all professions, chiefly lawyers and doctors, 
and constant attacks were made on important posts The principal 
leader in the Candia Province was a certain Captain Korakos, a Greek 
military engineer, from whom we received many insulting letters at 
first, but his tone considerably altered on the departure of the Greek 
troops, until he ultimately disappeared from the island, with not quite 
the same eclat as he had entered it. 
We spent the first month of our occupation in carrying out field-days 
by way of demonstration towards the out-posts. These displays were 
a source of much conjecture to the Moslem inhabitants, who imagined 
that on each occasion that we marched out of the town, we were en route 
to attack the Christian insurgents, and attributed our return without 
firing a shot, to fear of our Christian Brothers. The Bashis, however 
made up for our apparent want of enterprise, and passing through the 
outposts, they used to attempt to cut off small parties in charge of the 
cattle of the Insurgents. Though sometimes successful, they on the 
other hand, as often received more than they gave, and it was no un¬ 
usual circumstance to meet on our march, some seven or eight dead 
Bashi-Bazouks slung over ponies, being brought in from the outposts 
to be buried in the cemetery just outside the principal gate of the town 
near our camp. The Christian cemetery had been violated before our 
arrival, coffins broken open, and it presented a horrible sight. 
Officers were permitted to enter the town of Candia, or proceed as 
far as the outposts, provided they went in parties of not less than two 
in number and armed. The town, with its dirty Moslem bazaar, possess¬ 
ed far less attraction than a third-rate Indian city, and the curiosities im¬ 
ported from Constantinople by enterprising dealers soon lost their 
charm* Visits to the outposts generally involved being fired on by 
