uld be placed between the guns. Artillery officers do not like this;
but, though they are very good fellows, there are some things in which
it is not well to give way to them. Every one is prone to over-estimate
the power of his arm.

In the Mamund Valley all the fighting occurred in capturing villages,
which lay in rocky and broken ground in the hollows of the mountains,
and were defended by a swarm of active riflemen. Against the quickly
moving figures of the enemy it proved almost useless to fire volleys.
The tribesmen would dart from rock to rock, exposing themselves only for
an instant, and before the attention of a section could be directed to
them and the rifles aimed, the chance and the target would have vanished
together. Better results were obtained by picking out good shots and
giving them permission to fire when they saw their opportunity, without
waiting for the word of command. But speaking generally, infantry should
push on to the attack with the bayonet without wasting much time in
firing, which can only result in their being delayed under the fire of a
well-posted enemy.

After the capture and destruction of the village, the troops had always
to return to camp, and a retirement became necessary. The difficulty of
executing such an operation in the face of an active and numerous enemy,
armed with modern rifles, was great. I had the opportunity of witnessing
six of these retirements from the rear companies. Five were fortunate
and one was disastrous, but all were attended with loss, and as
experienced officers have informed me, with danger. As long as no one is
hit everything is successful, but as soon as a few men are wounded, the
difficulties begin. No sooner has a point been left--a knoll, a patch of
corn, some rocks, or any other incident of ground--than it is seized by
the enemy. With their excellent rifles, they kill or wound two or three
of the retiring company, whose somewhat close formation makes them a
good mark. Now, in civilised war these wounded would be left on the
ground, and matters arranged next day by parley. But on the frontier,
where no quarter is asked or given, to carry away the wounded is a
sacred duty. It is also the strenuous endeavour of every regiment
to carry away their dead. The vile and horrid mutilations which the
tribesmen inflict on all bodies that fall into their hands, and the
insults to which they expose them, add, to unphilosophic minds, another
terror to death. Now,