400 RELIEF OF CHITRAL FORT AND SIEGE OF CHITRAL. 
Staff Corps left Mastuj with some 60 men with a convoy of ammunition 
to open up communications. They were surrounded in a house in 
Réshan, and fought desparately for 7 days, having to make sorties for 
water; Lieutenant Fowler was wounded. The enemy then told them 
peace had been arranged, sent them provisions, and two or three days 
later invited them to see a game of polo. The officers, probably fear- 
ing to jeopardise the only chance of escape of their party, accepted. 
On a signal from Mahomed Isa, the leader of the Chitralis in Réshan, 
they were set on suddenly, taken prisoners with the escort they had 
brought, and bound. ‘The house in which their party was, was rushed, 
and all sepoys not Mahomedans murdered in cold blood. 
Harly in March Lieutenant Moberley, D.S.O., Political officer at 
Mastuj, having heard some disquieting rumours, arranged for Captain 
Ross, with Lieutenant Jones and 100 rifles 14th Sikhs, to leave Mastuj 
and reinforce Lieutenant Fowler ; he proceeded as far as Buni, some 17 
miles from Mastuj, left a party of 40 men there, intending to make a dash 
to reach Fowler and Hdwardes, and return with them. On the way he 
was set on ina defile by men rolling stones down the mountain sides 
from a height of 2,000 ft., lost many men and tried to return; his retreat 
over the river was cut by the bridge being broken, and a long line of 
stone entrenchments (sangars), opened fire on them; the survivors 
reached some caves in the hills, and remained there two nights and 
days; an attempt was made to scale the mountains, and turn out the 
enemy, but a precipice was reached and return became necessary, one man 
being killed by falling in the attempt to scale the precipice. The only 
alternative now left was forthe party to cut their way back at any cost. 
This was done, but only Lieutenant Jones and 14 men, of whom 10 were 
wounded, got through to Buni. Captain Ross was shot through the 
head, storming a sangar, after he had killed several of the enemy himself. 
Lieutenant Jones and his men rejoined their 40 men in Buni, and 
resisted successfully till Lieutenant Moberly relieved them 6 days later 
with 150 men from Mastnj. He escorted them, followed by enemy 
in large numbers to Mastuj, having done 34 miles over a mountain 
road without halting, his men carrying their kits and 120 rounds each. 
Mastuj was surrounded on March 22nd and all communication ceased 
with Gilgit and Chitral. 
On March 22nd, great alarm being felt in Gilgit at non-receipt of 
any post from Chitral, a column was collected at Gilgit under command 
of Colonel Kelly, 82nd Pioneers, consisting of 400 rifles 82nd Pioneers 
under Captain Borradaile, and 2 guns No.1 Kashmir Mountain Battery 
under Lieutenant Stewart, R.A. Colonel Kelly’s orders were to 
advance towards Chitral, and if possible relieve it and Mastuj. We 
arrived at Ghizar, about 120 miles from Gilgit on 81st March. 
Here our difficulties began, there being a hitch as to transport, and 
Ghizar being at an elevation of 10,000 feet, snow was lying about 
8 inches deep. The road from Ghizar lies for 13 miles along the 
Ghizar valley, over more or less level ground to Langar, which is at 
the Gilgit side of the Shandour Pass. ‘The road rises here gradually 
for some 4 miles to the Shandour lake, 12,500 feet, passes over the 
lake at this season of the year, and descends rapidly some 5 miles 
