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For two nights I kept the watch with my Punjaubees. They were tall, fierce-looking chaps, Mahomet Singh and Abdullah Khan by name, both old fighting-men who had borne arms against us at Chilian-wallah. They could talk English pretty well, but I could get little out of them. They preferred to stand together and jabber all night in their queer Sikh lingo.
These brave, but now lawless people, rendered desperate by the internal commotion of petty factions under different leaders, each seeking his own personal aggrandizement, endeavored to throw the onus of the coming struggle on the shoulders of the British Government, though it was patent to all nations, European and Asiatic, that it had been brought about by the Punjaubees themselves.
These, however, pressed gallantly forward, and did not give way until the Punjaubees, advancing to the edge of the plateau, took them in flank, and, pouring volley after volley among them, drove them up the hillside with a loss of more than 500 killed. This body was estimated at 2000 strong, and it is questionable whether any of them returned to Magdala.
It consisted of the 4th Regiment, a regiment of Punjaubees, one of Beloochees, and the Naval Brigade. The march commenced at daybreak. The road was extremely difficult, and the men suffered greatly from want of water.
A rush was made on him; he was overpowered and slaughtered after a desperate resistance, and the Afghan charge swept up the hill-side. In momentary panic the defenders gave ground, carrying downhill with them the reinforcement of Punjaubees which Captain Hall was bringing up.
The attack was made from the right of the causeway, the English on the right near the river, the French along the road. Two hundred Rifles, commanded by Major Rigaud, advanced in skirmishing order, to support the batteries of Armstrong guns and some 9-pounders. The Royals and 31st followed, and then the Queen's 60th Rifles and 15th Punjaubees.
Here in this little enclosure, not half the size of the garden of Bedford Square, 2000 Sepoys died the death at the hands of the 93rd, the 53rd, and the 4th Punjaubees. Their common grave is under the low mound on the other side of the road.
It was strange to me to be standing there with those two wild Punjaubees waiting for the man who was coming to his death. "Suddenly my eye caught the glint of a shaded lantern at the other side of the moat. It vanished among the mound-heaps, and then appeared again coming slowly in our direction. "'Here they are! I exclaimed. "'You will challenge him, Sahib, as usual, whispered Abdullah.
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