to open communication with Mastuj.

We had a political tea that afternoon: all the leaders of the Levies,
old Raja Akbar Khan, Humayun, Taifu, the Nagar Wazir, Shah Mirza, and
one or two princelings who had come up to see some fighting, all
squatted round our little room on the straw, swigging sweet tea and
munching biscuits, quite a friendly gathering; in fact, so much tea was
consumed that the mess president swore he would send in a bill.

We always got our earliest and most reliable information from the
Levies, as most of them had blood relations among the Chitralis. They
also knew just where to look for hidden grain and supplies of all sorts.
As a rule there was generally a cache under or near the fireplace in the
main room, but I have also seen the Levies find them in the most
unlikely places, and very queer odds and ends they sometimes pulled out
of these under-ground storerooms.

On the morning of April 8th the column was formed up and ready to start
by 9 A.M. Poor Gough was being left behind at Laspur in command of the
garrison, which consisted of some twenty-five Kashmir troops, and the
Nagar and Punyal Levies, in all about a hundred. The Levies were to come
on as soon as the second party arrived. Our force, therefore, consisted
of two hundred Pioneers, two guns, forty Kashmir Sappers, and fifty
Hunza Levies. Our order of march was as follows: first of all went the
Levies; then, with an interval of some five hundred yards, came the
advance guard of a half company of Pioneers; the main body consisted of
Kashmir Sappers, guns, one company of Pioneers, ammunition, hospital
baggage, and rearguard of half company Pioneers. Both advance and
rear-guards were commanded by British officers. It was a lovely, fine
morning, and we were all in the best of spirits, and looking forward to