WITH THE INTERNATIONAL FIELD FORCE IN CRETE, 1897. S 2 7 
streets. They were sent over after this attack, and the parapet was 
then put into a state of defence. 
The Turkish fleet proceeded, one division to the Dardanelles, the 
other to Smyrna, but no farther. The Bashi-Bazouks thought better 
of the attack at that time, and deferred it, as we know, for 13 months. 
About this period, (August 1897) two parties of officers from Candia, 
including one of my subalterns, were sent into the interior to report on 
the state of the houses and olive groves of the Moslems, who, at the 
commencement of the occupation, had been brought into the principal 
coast towns. They found the buildings in ruins, but the olive groves 
in fairly good condition, except in a few cases, where the Christians 
had cut them down for fuel. 
A sanatorium was also established at Roggia, a hill village belonging 
to the Insurgents above the little cove of Pelio Kastron and about 8 
miles west from Candia. Its position near the sea obviated troops and 
stores having to pass through the out-posts, the boats of the fleet con¬ 
veying the necessary details to and fro as required. It was here, also, 
that the reinforcements landed, after the attack in September last. 
We had a standing camp for some time there, and it afforded an 
agreeable change to the men, and much amusement to the unsophisti¬ 
cated inhabitants — light-hearted brigands — to whom no domestic 
details of the daily life of a soldier however private, seemed devoid of 
interest. The costume of both Christian and Moslem Cretan was 
loose, baggy knickerbocker, dirty white shirt, red cummerbund with 
a coloured handerchief or fez, (the former the distinguishing head-gear 
of the Christian the latter the Moslem), and long soft leather boots. 
They cultivate the olive and the vine, from which they make ex¬ 
cellent malmsey. Every man carried a fire-arm and slung his body 
with numerous bandoleers of cartridges, of which they seemed to have 
an unlimited supply. As peace was signed between Turkey and 
Greece in September, it was with no surprise that on the 29th October 
orders were received in Crete that wooden huts were being despatched 
from home sufficient for the accommodation of one battalion of infantry 
but that the remaining battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders and the 
Mountain Battery, were to be withdrawn to Malta in reserve. On the 
21st November the head-quarters of the Battery with guns, epuipment, 
and harness, together with the Seaforth Highlanders were embarked 
in the S.S. Jelunga. A subaltern officer’s detachment with the mules 
of the battery were left behind for a month, and used as mounted es¬ 
corts to the British Commissioner in his visits to the Insurgents’ out¬ 
posts. On one of these occasions the whole party were for some time 
under the heavy fire of the Insurgents, who until our party had arrived 
within 400 yards of them, pretended they had mistaken them for Bashi- 
Bazouks, in spite of the union flag carried in front of the escort. The 
fire was so hot that the party had to dismount with their carbines, and 
though advancing as much as possible under cover, it was only the bad 
shooting of the Insurgents which prevented many casualties. To 
atone for their error they feasted our men on roast lamb and red wine, 
and presented some woodcock, of which there are plenty, to the officers. 
