nt Jones,
and requested him to make a double march into Mastuj. This Captain
Ross did and, on the evening of the 4th of March, started to
reinforce the little body of men that was blocked at Buni.

On the same day a party of sappers and miners, under Lieutenants
Fowler and Edwards, also marched forward to Mastuj. When Captain
Ross arrived at Buni he found that all was quiet, and he therefore
returned to Mastuj, with news to that effect. The party of sappers
were to march, the next morning, with the ammunition escort.

On the evening of that day a note was received from Lieutenant
Edwards, dated from a small village two miles beyond Buni, saying
that he heard that he was to be attacked in a defile, a short
distance away. He started with a force of ninety-six men, in all.
They carried with them nine days' rations, and one hundred and
forty rounds of ammunition.

Captain Ross at once marched for Buni, and arrived there the same
evening. Here he left a young native officer and thirty-three rank
and file while, with Lieutenant Jones and the rest of his little
force, he marched for Reshun, where Lieutenant Edwards' party were
detained. They halted in the middle of the day; and arrived, at one
o'clock, at a hamlet halfway to Reshun.

Shortly after starting, they were attacked. Lieutenant Jones, one
of the few survivors of the party, handed in the following report
of this bad business.

"Half a mile after leaving Koragh the road enters a narrow defile.
The hills on the left bank consist of a succession of large stone
shoots, with precipitous spurs in between. The road at the entrance
to the defile, for about one hundred yards, runs quite close to the
river; after that it lies along a narrow maidan, some thirty or
forty yards in width, and is on the top of the river bank, which is
here a cliff. This continues for about half a mile, then it ascends
a steep spur.

"When the advanced party reached about halfway up this spur, it was
fired on from a sangar which had been built across the road and, at
the same time, men appeared on all the mountain tops and ridges,
and stones were rolled down all the shoots. Captain Ross, who was
with the advanced guard, fell back on the main body. All the
coolies dropped their loads and bolted, as soon as the first shot
was fired. Captain Ross, after looking at the enemy's position,
decided to fall back upon Koragh; as it would have been useless to
go on to Reshun, leaving an enemy in such a