it takes at least four men, and very often more,
to carry away a body. Observe the result. Every man hit, means five
rifles withdrawn from the firing line. Ten men hit, puts a company out
of action, as far as fighting power is concerned. The watchful enemy
press. The groups of men bearing the injured are excellent targets.
Presently the rear-guard is encumbered with wounded. Then a vigorous
charge with swords is pushed home. Thus, a disaster occurs.

Watching the progress of events, sometimes from one regiment, sometimes
from another, I observed several ways by which these difficulties could
be avoided. The Guides, long skilled in frontier war, were the most
valuable instructors. As the enemy seize every point as soon as it
is left, all retirements should be masked by leaving two or three men
behind from each company. These keep up a brisk fire, and after the
whole company have taken up a new position, or have nearly done so,
they run back and join them. Besides this, the fire of one company in
retiring should always be arranged to cover another, and at no moment in
a withdrawal should the firing ever cease. The covering company should
be actually in position before the rear company begins to move, and
should open fire at once. I was particularly struck on 18th September by
the retirement of the Guides Infantry. These principles were carried
out with such skill and thoroughness that, though the enemy pressed
severely, only one man was wounded. The way in which Major Campbell, the
commanding officer, availed himself of the advantages of retiring down
two spurs and bringing a cross fire to bear to cover the alternate
retirements, resembled some intricate chess problem, rather than a
military evolution.

The power of the new Lee-Metford rifle with the new Dum-Dum bullet--it
is now called, though not officially, the "ek-dum" [Hindustani for "at
once."] bullet--is tremendous. The soldiers who have used it have
the utmost confidence in their weapon. Up to 500 yards there is no
difficulty about judging the range, as it shoots quite straight, or,
technically speaking, has a flat trajectory. This is of the greatest
value. Of the bullet it may be said, that its stopping power is all
that could be desired. The Dum-Dum bullet, though not explosive, is
expansive. The original Lee-Metford bullet was a pellet of lead covered
by a nickel case with an opening at the base. In the improved bullet
this outer case has been drawn backward,