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The laat recorded frame on each microfiche ahall contain the aymbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichever appliea. Un dea symbolas suivants apparattra sur ia darniire image de cheque microfiche, salon la cas: la symbole — » signifie "A SUIVRE". ie symbole V signifie "FIN". ire Mapa, plataa, charta, etc., may be filmed at different reduction retioa. Thoae too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right end top to bottom, aa many frames aa required. The following diagrama illustrate land, they were playing off retreat I and it was raining very hard, and after the pipers were dismissed the pipe-major came up to me and said :— | " You must be a fool to come out in a night like this to hear the pipes." " Oh, I don't care for the rain as 1 1 like to hear them." " Would you like to be a piper?" " Yes, but how can I ?" " 1 will see your color-sergeant to- , morrow, and he will put you beside Piper Macgregor, who will teach you, and if you make any signs of becom- ing a good piper I will take you out of | the ranks." Two days afterwards I was taken { away from big Jock Fraser, who was appointed to teach me how to soldier, and put beside a real Clach boy, Pii)er Qregor Macgregor, (now pipe-major of the Caledonian Asylum, I^ndon.) Gregor was very kind bo me, and took S-eat patience with me in learning e pipes : but I was still at rdcrnit^ drill, and it was only after retreat that I could get my lessons. In three) months 1 was able to play a strath- spey, reel and four or five quickstcns. I This was just after Christmas, and all the companies were preparing to have a grand dinner on New Year's day. In my next I will tell you the best way I cap how the sons of dear auld Scotia spend the New Year in the British | army. CHAPTER III. There are none of the Highland regi- 1 ments pay any attention to Christmas day, and if quartere in return take up the dunes of I On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. take you out of | ards I was taken K Fraser, who was I me how to soldier, ! ilCiachboy, Plijer (now pipe-major j Asylum, Tendon.) nd'to me, and took h me in learning I 18 still at recruit's y after retreat that 9SSOU8. In three | to play a sti'ath- or Ave quicksttos. Christmas, and all 1 preparing to have New Year's day. '11 you the best way 1 of dear auld Scotia ear in the British the Highland regi- mtion to Christmas ired along with an ■ps the Highlanders >f their English and ^hriistmasday, and up the duties of iho Highlanders on New Year's day, so is to allow all to join in the festivities kf the day. [ In the "gallantGordons "New Year's kay is the greatest day of the year. Jt. Andrew^ day \t, not known among |he rank and tile. Waterloo day has )ng died out, except in the officers' jiess. Every company in the regiment las a grand dinner on New Year's [ay, and is given as much as one ration of beer per man, and as much Is four or five g'ASses of the best lountain dew. Consider all this with _^e be<~ . dishes that can be produced tiid > )U can realize what sort of table lat*^ s put before "the lads wi' the tilts. ' Ou Hogmanay night to go to bed is lut of tne question. Anv man soen leeping is &i once called to his feet, br all are anxious to see the old year departing and the new one coming in. \bout 11 p.m. all the pipers ere called, full dress, to the officers' mess. Lf ter ^he last strofte of twelve the bapd llayii, " Here's to the year that's tra," and afterwards "A gude new lear to ane and a'." Then the pro- Bssion is formed, headed by the band, id march right ifor the oincers' mess, lefore we make our appearance the ibles are cleared and we find our gal- knt commanders dancing to the sound 7 the pipes in the most rerfect manner. Ls we enter the vicinity the officers II come rushing out and receive us [ith a hearty cheer. Then we all lingle together, talk about the other's Ith and kin, and if he is a Macdonald a McKay, or a Cameron, he, the rivate of the same name, holds that has the same blood flowing in his Bins. This is the general talk among |e officers and men. The best ol' Dod-will prevails, and presently Jxk tcKay or some c ne ulse will shout ; [Major McKay for a Jacobite son^." rhe song is sung and five or six ludred voices join in the choras. f he sigiit of all this is, to say tho least. iperb. Just fancy six hundred Svons ' auld Scotland, armed with sixteen plendid pipers who can play like one kan, and a band of sixty first-class Itusicians playing the very best of cotch airs, and you have an idea of |ow our brave kilted warriors cele- rate New Year's day. , On the first of January, 1868, \ hile bationed in the Curragh Camp, Ire- knd, we were in the middle of aM this when an orderly uHine galloping into our lines and ordered the bugler to lound the assembly. At the last sound ' the bugle some thought It was a fa 8 alarm, but presently the orderly sergeants came rushing In saying: " Pack up every man with field kits only, for we are under orders for Cork and Limerick, the Fenians have re- volted." In twenty minutes we were all under arms ana ready to march to the station. We arrived in Cork about six a.m. on Sunday morning, and as we marched through the streets with the band playing, "Scotland the Brave," you could plainly hear them say, " Wnat a foine body o' men, " etc. The appearance of the Gordons in Cork put a stop to all the disturbaiice, and, as the v^hief Magistrate said, the moral effect of the Highlanders did a lot of good to the city. Two weeks' stay in Cork and we are ofT to India. And to see uh parting with c^ur Irish sweethearts the day we )mbaik will go to show how well liked the 92nd were in the famous city of Cork. Next week will find me far away at sea, and tell you how a soldier fares when so placed. Y'ou will be sur- prised to see how many can r^o aloft when any sign of dange? appears. CHAPTER IV. On the 26tb January, 1868, the 92nd Highlanders embarked on H. M. S. Crocodile for India. Nothing worthy of note took place during the embark- ation, only that big John Cameron dropped ^is rifle into the sea, and woulil have jumped in after it only he was prevented from doing so by the blue jackets o.i the gangway. After we were all lold ofl' in messes, we were afterwards told oif in watches. The duties of a soldier's watch alioard ship is to assist the blue jackets in setting sail or stowing sail, and keep watch all over the ship. There are alto- gether twenty-one sentries on an Indian trooper, and the most impor- tant sentry is the one in charge of the life buoy on the poop. The duty of tMs sentry is that" if any man fall overboard he is to throw the' buoy over the side. The blue jackets man the boats, and they must be in the water three minutes after the alarm Is given. If not there in that time their grog is Afcmoirs of a Hif^hland Soldier stopped and extra drill. Twice and BometimoH turoo times a day a false alarm is fciven for this practice; and it is one Of the finest sights aboard a trooper to see those British tars rally when the alarm from the bridge is given. When a regiment embarks on a troopship for India each man is served out with what they call a sea kit. The kit is made up thus : one pea kit bag, one large handkerchief, one knife, two pounds salt water soap, two cholera belts, two towels, two pounds of tobacco, one housewife, etc. Fire alarms are frequently given during the voyage of a trooper, and it is in these we see the power of true British discipline. Here are a few samples of tnem. Any man seeing any danger of fire walks (not runs) to the officer on dutv on the bridge and tells him where the fire is ; he is to tell no one else. In case of a fire alarm, all hands must stand still ; no man must move from where he is ; no mat- ter what he is doing, he must continue at it until called to reinforce and help at the pumps. This, indeed, is a very prettv sight. The sailors get the hose, etc., in order, while the soldiers wait until they are called from where they are and posted ; thus inside of a very few minutes every mau is in his place, ready to throw hundreds of gallons of water on the Are if it might show face. Smoking is not allowed below, and only at certain hours during the day on deck, and each smoker must have a pipe cover. Any man found smoking below or duiing prohibited hours is punished in various ways, such as seven days' porter stoppea, and stand- ing at attention on the quarter deck, while all the rest of his cliums are en- joying the weed. Each troopship has an excellent library for the free use of the soldiers and sailors. Our voyage was very pleasant until we got to somewhere on the skirts of the famous Bay of Biscay. For fully ten hours the storm lasted, and during the stowing of sails and other work about the ship, which was rolling and f)itching terribly, many of the High- anders ^ent aloft and aidnd the sailors, so much so that we had special thanks rendered to us by the captain of the ship after the storm. It was at night when we passed "Gib," and our countersign was quickly understood. In Malta we coaled, and arrived in Alexandria a few days afterwards. Here we took train to the Suez acrosBl the desert and there embarked aboardl H. M. S. Malabar, and proceeded upl the Red Sea on our way to Bombay, I For three or four days' sail land is inl sight on either side. It is in this seu that the famous flying flsh are seeni Not being able to fly against the windj when they leap out of the water thuy| are often thrown on the ship's deck bj the strong breeze. In shape and size they greatly resemble a herring, never knew any person to eat them. On the 20th February Private Adamd died, just when we had got into thcj Indian Ocean. Consigning his bod; to the deep was a sad sight. He rolled in his blanket with a round shoi at his feet. Private Adams was a xa\ tive of Glasgow. On the 2()th February, 1868, we ar| rived in Bombay, and from here w([ were transhipped to three transpor ships and tugged up to Karracnce We had a very rough passage, and inl stead of making the trip in forty-eigh| hours we took seven days. On our arrival at Karrachee we weH soon landed and put into a standi na camp. The following day we tool train to Koortee, and proceeded in f1«l boats up the Indus to a place callef Sher Shah, some 600 miles. From She Shah we marched to Jullendur. was some time in April when we ail rived, and we all felt happy to sci ourselves once more in barracks, foi we had had a hard time to get therd Now the scene of my life is changed| and I will begin to tell you what it i like to be a soldier in India, for I spen the best days of my life there. It nij readers will follow me they will not disappointed in my brief and truthfd statement, which will taHi one raotj chapter. After that you will find in the field of battle. CHAPTER V. Just a week in barracks gettinl ready for the hot season, and we weiT nicely settled in splendid quarterf The hot season in India commences the 15th April, and ends on the 15t| October ; during that period no man J allowed out of barracks from 8 a.m. til 5 p.m. The pankhs or fans start atj a.m., and continue till 5 a.m. the ne| day. One fan is in between two \ On Active Service, at Home and Ahroa/i. , to three transpoi i up to Karrachw, uffh paBsage, and in tie trip in forty-elgnj en dayB. itKarracheeweweri put into a atandini owing day we tW)L and proceeded In fl«l us to a place calle* 00 miles. From She ed to Jullendur. U 1 April when we ai &11 felt happy to w nore In barracks, fc rd time to get then I my life Is change- to tell you what It >r lu India, for I sneL my life there. It m; w me they will not 1 nv brief and truth! Twin taHi one mo that you will And tie. in barracks gettlnl 1 season, and we wen n Kplendid quarter! ti India commences a and ends on the loti f that period no man ir racks from 8 a.m. t« nkhs or fans start at J lue till 6 a.m. the nei is In between two ibout 14 Inches^above head wlion lying In bed. In the month of June just he- [ore the rainy season the heat in some MrtH of India is terrible, especially in fhe Funjaub. For a civilian to enier a )arrack room in India about 11 a.m., rould be a most curious sight— you ian see from one end of the barracks the other; during the day all doors ire closed, and open at night. Every lan is doing semething, very few are [sleep. Some are writing, some are eadlng and mending socks, and everv hing a person could think about, ana» Brhaps, away in a far corner of the )om some tine singer starts a song Ibout bonnle Scotland. During the |rogrer.s of the song everything is luiet. At 1 p.m. dinner is brought; ly 2 p.m. dinner is over and many try p rileep, but the bugs and the heat [revent you from doing so. At 4 ,m. the napple or barber comes round lid if you nappen^to be nsleep he laves you just tite same. These nap- ies are so clever and light-handed lat it is quite common to see them lave a man In his sleep. These nap- ies are paid by the men themselves, key give thirty-one shaves a month ^r twelve cents. Shoeblacks polish ro pair of shoes a day for the same nount. The dhobie or washerman Ives you two washings a week for renty cents a month, no matter how |any pieces you have. A coolie will p a message for you for one cent, even Ithough It be two miles, and run all )e way. (The drill season in India commences 15th October. About this time I was tclared a trained soldier. I had no ' ill liberty to stay in the ranks or join |e pipers. One n4ght at tattoo, Mac- regor told the pipe-major that I really anted to join the pipes. I told the ilor-sergeant my intentions, who at [at time seemed angry with me for linking of such a thing. Next day Iter parade I was taken in front of \ptain McKay. "I am Informed that ku are thinking of joining the pipes, re you very anxious to jwn ?" "Not Iry," I replied. "I intend to promote [u if you stay In the ranks. " A few lys after I was In orders for lance- rporal. I soon became a good shot p gave much attention to the drill- )k, attended the regimental school rularly until I obtainedboth a second [d third class certiflcate of educa- >n, thus qualifying myself for any rankinthearmy. At five years service I was full corporal, at six"^ I wus lance sergeant, and at eight years service I was full sergeant. In 1872, the 92nd took part in the Camp of Exercise at Delhi. Previous to the breaking up of the camp, where over thirty thousand troops took part, there wore games held, and in those the gay Gordons carried oil' more than two-thirds of the prizes. Jock Macgrogor,fromBraemar, carried away the pri/.e for the light and heavv stone : young Geddes, from Banfl', took the hammer and caber ; Matthew Thompson, from Glasgow, car- ried everything with sword and bay- onet, Including the Viceroy's silver watch. Sergeant-major Mays, of the Uth Hussars, who was considered the best swordsman In the army, had a poor chance against big Matthew ; Colin MacRao, from Clachnncuddin, threw the cricket ball lir),vdH. ; Johnnie Marr, of the 72nd Highlanders, coming next with 1^5 yds. In the running, McAully, fro..j Paisley, took the t:wo mile; Coulston, from- Auld Reekie, took the one mile, and McRae and David- son, from Aoerdcen, took the quarter mile. Our next station was Chakrata, 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, away up on the Himalayas. While stationed there I took to playing cricket, and, onoday, while playing at a match I received n letter from home, announcing the death of my father. This sad news was so great on mo that I burst out crying on the field. A crowd soon gathered around me to as- certain the cause of my weeping so much. As soon as it was known, as a mark of esteem and respect the match was stopped for the day. My father was a native of Kennetnmont, Aber- deenshire, and a miller to trade. After two years stay in Chakrata we went to Mooltan. It may seem strange to say that it costs the Govern- ment of India more by troops marching from one place to another, than It does sending' them by rail, and yet it is very seldom that troops go by train, cxcept,of course,in cases of emergency. We marched from Chakrata to Mool- tan, a distance of 591 miles. "Reveille" would sound at 4,30 a.m., a half an hour is allowed to strike tents, load the camels or elephants (sometimes a regiment has both these beasts of bur- den), be dre.s8ed and ready to march. As soon as the column starts, advance guards, flank and rear guards are s Memoirs of a Highland Soldier HOiit out. A lialt In mml^ ovory hour for three minuton. Half way we come to the cofTtu! Hhopti, where we get a nice WArm cup of cotTee. Fifteen min- utes are allowed here. We reached the new camping ground by 9.20 a.m. The pioneers are there Ions- before the co2umn and have everything' ready, so that each company Ivnows the spot where their tents are to rest. Inside of ten minutes every tent is up and dressed to perfec- tion. Breal(fa8t is immediately served out, for the cooks go with the quarter- master the day before. Immediately after the fall in for breakfaHt the grog bugle sounds ; each man has then to drink his dram in front of the orderly sergeant; he is not allowed to carry it to his tent. After drinking he is made to show the canteen by placing it bot- tom-upward. During the line of march there is no drill except for defaulters and marked men. No man must go one mile from uamp. There are no saloons in India except in seaport towns, and in these no soldier is allowed to enter. Any merchant selling liquor to a soldier is fined for the first time I2r)0. Soldiers in India have more pay than when serving anywhere else, and 25 cents in India will go as far as four times that amount would go in Eng- land. One pint of beer for dinner and one after tea, together with a dram of rum is all a soldier is allowed in India. But a sergeant or an officer can drink as much as he likes. Two years in Mooltan and '^eare off to Dellii again, this time to take part in proclaiming our beloved Queen Empress of India. This was done on the Ist of January, 1877, in the presence of all the native princes of India and Cashmere. This was a sight I shall never forget, espec- ially the great march past, which started at 11 a.m. and lasted till 4.30 p.m. Altogether there were about 50,000 troops and each British regi- ment had to pass the saluting point in column of double companies. The 92nd Highlanders had 72 files in each company, and went past like a wall. According to the Pioneer, the leading paper in India, " nothing could match the marching of the 6th Warwickshire Regiment and the famous Gordon Highlanders, but if we are to judge by the amount of applause given to each corps as they came up, then the gallant Gordons carried the palm." After all the troops passed then came the long massive black column of elephants, in some cases 50 abreast. Altogether 10,000 of these monsters marched past, each native prince leading hia own. { Two elephants belonged to the Gake- war of Baroda. One was said to be 400 1 years old and the other 'AIQ years old. A large silver medal was given to each! regiment present to commemorate the I event, anu this medal was to be given I to the best soldier in the regiment and to be kept in the familv and handed down from sire to son. Uolor-sergeant James Drummond, who was indeed th« finest soldier I have ever seen, received this modal, but poor Jamie Drummond did not wear it long, for he was killed | in battle a year or so after. After the proclamation the right] wing of the regiment went to Seeta- pore and the left went to Benares. W«| were not long here until the war in I Afghanistan oroke out, viz.: Novem-I ber, 1878. It was here we first received! the Martlni-Honry rifle, and sooni learned how to use it. At this time the 92nd was in splendid I condition. The average service of the I regiments was about 12 years. We had I over 400 marksmen, and this same| year I was the best shot in my com- panv. Now my very brief account of I a soldier's life in India is concluded.! We will now away to the wars and seel what the raw kilted warriors can! do when they are called to defend our| noble quebn and country. CHAPTER VI. After the taking of Ali Musjad in the! Khyber Pass, and the brilliant victory! of General Uoberta in the Khurooml Valley, the Afghan War was considered! at an end. Although the treaty oil Gundamak had been signed, stilll troops were pouring towards thej frontier, and on the 19th December,! 1878, Captain MacGregor received al firivate telegram from Simla, from a I riend of his on the Commander-in-l Chief's stafT, that the "Gordons"! were in orders to proceed to the froiitj and would likely join General Robert.^l in the Khuroom Valley. The news! soon spread all over the regiment,! and that night there was great re- 1 joicing, so much so that the nativeBl thought that the " Gagara Pultan"! (Petticoat Regiment) had gone mad.l On the 20th December the news fori Oh Activt Servici, at Home and Abroad, of Ali Musjad in thel the brilliant victory! b» in the Khuroornl War was considered! \VLgh the treaty of! been signed, still! iring towards thej he 19th December, Gregor received a I from Simla, from a| the Commander-in- .t the "Gordons "I roceed to the frontj )in General Roberf.^l Valley. The news! )ver the regiment,! [lere was great re- 1 90 that the natives! "Gagara Pultan"! nt) had gone mad.l smber the news fori active a«rvice in the field was con- firmed, for that light we were in diviilon erden. iit This time the oand were in iplendid condition, the aver- age Mfvioe of each roan being about 11 yean, and numbered 800 bayonets, with about 460 marksmen. Altogether the eiBeieney of the corps was superb, and, M Brigadier Wilkinson told us when we left his command, we were St to ffo anywhere and do any- thing. On the morning of the 21st Decem- ber, 1878, we left Benares in two special trains for Jhleum ; from Jhleum we marched by forced marches to Khoat. Khoat is on the frontier of Beloochistan. Here we were soon joined by other regiments. We re- mained Dere till April, and during that time we were kept busy learning the arts of war. such as adiusting the sights of our Martinis to hit an ooject at 1,600 Mid 1,600 yards, and how to apply a bandage and to carry wound- ed, etc. About the 8rd April, 1878, General Roberts came down from the front and reviewed the 92nd Highlanders in drill order, viz.:— White jackets and kilts. After inspecting the ranks, he ordi rod the Colonel to do some movements, this we did to perfectiop and ended up our inspection by advancing in line, which was admirably done. We were immediately formed into square. General Rooerts gave us great praise, not only for our smartness on parade and our grand martial bearing, but what struck him most was the stalwart appearance of the regiment. He said, 'Tn a few days you will be in the enemy's country. Your gallant countrymen, the TSnd Highlanders, more than distinguished tnemselves in the late engagement, and I feel sure yon will also add much glory to the British arms. I never saw a finer body of men under arms, and I feel proud to have such a famous regiment under my command. " After shaking hands with the Colonel and the rest m the officers. General Roberts returned to the front that night under a strong escort of the Bengal Cavalry. About the 17th .April, orders were received from headquarters that the 92nd Highlanders proceed with all haste to join General Roberts at Ali Khyle, (the house of God). After some hara marching we arrived at this plaoe about the 25th April, and receiv- ed a grand reception from our countrymen, thegallant Seventy -Twa. We remained in Ali Khyle till the latter end of September, out during that time we were continually survey* ing the country for miles round, and our camp was strongly entrenched. Although no fighting of any kind took place here, still we were much bother- ed at night by the Hillmen firing into our camp. At night we had a cordon of sentries round our camp with outlying picquetsand inlying picquits. All sentries were loaded, and were doubled at night. The orders of each sentry were : to keep a sharp look out in front : challenge all persons twice ; should the second challenge be dis- regarded, to fire. While sentry No. 1 was challenging, sentry No. 2 was covering the object. This is a sample of how a sentry challenges in front of an enemy : *' Halt ! Who comes there?" •• Halt, or I'll fire I " If it be rounds, he would say, "Visiting rounds." Sentry would then say, "Standi visiting rounds, advance one and give the countersign." Rounds would then advance slowly and whisper "Edinburgh," or what- ever it was. On outpost duty, rain or snow, every sentry is sharp on the alert, and night sentries never fix bayonets, or move about. The double sentries are ten yards apart, so that a chain goes right round the whole camp. This being the case every man that is not on autv knows when he lays down at nignt he is well guarded and he can sleep sound. Some time in July Major Cavagnari and his staff passed An Khyle on his way to Kabul. It was agreed in the treaty of Gundamak that Major Cavagnari, with throe other officers and 75 troopers of the guides, as an escort, should remain In Kabul and bo under the protection of the Ameer, Yakhob Khan, the new king. After a few weeks' stay in Kabul, the whole city, together with six Afghan regi- ments, neaded by the new kinfr, at- tacked Major Cavagnari and all his train and murdered everyone of them. Three days after this cruel affair the news reached our camp ; then the cry for vengeance came from all quarters, and in less than twenty-four hours after the sad news reached us, we were marching in hot haste to Kabul. On the 5th October, 1879, we sighted the enemy for the first time* and after th* 10 Memoirs of a Highland Soldtet cuvalry scouts came back that nif(ht they reported them as heing Htrongly entrenclied on the hills and valleys near the village of Charasia, with about twenty guns. That night I was on the main guard and we could plainly see the camp fires, etc., of the enemy. I thought to myself of the glory that was now before us, for we were all burning for vengeance, and the "Gordons" were exceedingly happy to learn, on the morning of the 6th October, that they were to lead the advance. All the crack shots were picked for the long ranges, and I was one of them. It was on this day, the 6th October, 1879, that I fired the first shot against the enemies of my country, but whether I struck object I aimed at I cannot tell, now the war begins, and our battle is goiug to copjmence, in my next I will tell you result. the So first and the CHAPTER VII. By five a.m. the whole of Qeneral Roberts' little army was on the move ; by five-t?'irty a.m. we were within range of the enemy, and although the Afgnans were pelting at us as hard as they could, we seldom fired, but kept a steady advance. The nature of the ground war in our favor so far, for it was so soft tnat when a bullet or shell struck the ground it stuck there. The Afghans had Snider rifies and twenty- eight field guns, and were estimated on this occasion at 20,000 men. Gen- eral Roberts' force did not number more than 5,000 men. A £ and F companies of the " Gordons " w«re the first to engage with the enemy under the comTriand of Major George Stewart White (now Sir George 8. White, V. C, K. C. B.), I was In command here of No. 3 section of " P "company. We had 100 rounds apiece when we started, but although I had some ten rounds lefc, I cannot for the life of me tell you what took place on the right or left during the advance across the plains. By this time the whole Af- ghan army was holding the hilis of Charasia; wehadxlriven in their out- posts. We were now at the bottom of the hills, with plenty of cover, and our six guns pelted at them as we ad- vanced. On our left Were the gallant *' wee " Saventy-Twa Ghourkas and the When we got within 300 or 400 yards of their first entrenchments the whole line was ordered to lie down. The supports and reserves were now push- ing iiard v to reinforce the fighting line; and u^st of the enemv's fire now was directed against them. As soon as General Roberts noticed this, he asked Major White of the 92nd, to try and take those guns. Major White told the aide camp to tell General Roberts that he shall have every one of them before the supports came up. Major White immediately put him- self in front of the line, and, shouting with all his might, " Follow me, Hi;rh- landers, and make dear auld Scothind ring with cheers this day ! Follow tn(; ! Come on !" These words we cheered to the echo, and all were most anxious to see the top of the hills. During the advance up the hillside we had very good cover, but the Afghans met us half way, and for a while made several gaps in our ranks. However, we soon got the distance, and made terrible havoc among them. We never lost an inch of ground, though the Afghans fought very bravely. Meantime Major White spied a weak E)inL, and no sooner did he see young urness fall than he took his rifle and ammunition, tyid, still away in front of us all, took a shot now and then with telling effect. About two p.m., having fought our way almost tc the mouth of the guns, with one ringing cheer we made a dash on them, and in a few minutes they were ours. Only one man stood to receive us, an old man about eighty years of age. who threw stones at us, and struck Major White on the arm. This lan, who was commanding 'the arti >ry of the Afghan army, was deprived of his sword and sent about his business. We took several prisoners, but let them all go, because we could not spare men to guard them, and our supplies were small. Three different poHitions were taken in the same manner, Major White displaying the greatest acts of bravery, ana showing a grand example to ail. It was on this occasion that Color- Serjeant Hector Macdonald. of the 92nd, took two guns with his naif com- {)any, and was promoted to lieutenant or nis gallant conduct. Before six p.m. wenadthe whole Afghan Army in full retreat, having been engagM for fully twelve hours. That night we bivoaaoed oa th* wounded ; th On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. 11 eiB, butlettham f ground we had taken ; on the follow- ng morning the dead were buried I The 99nd had two killed and six wounded ; the 72nd had seven killed and thirty wounded; the Gouikhas and 23rd Pioneers lost some forty men ; altogether about 148 were killed or I wounded of our force. The Afghans ss wag said to be 1500. They had la great number of horses killed. On the morning of the seventh we con- tinued the pursuit, marching round from one hill to another. On the afternoon of the eighth we found them, strongly posted, in front of the Bala Hassar (King's Palace.) They had several guns, and commenced 'firing as soon as they saw us. It was now too late to give them battle, so we took up a position, and kept them in check till the morning, when a general ad- vance was to be made. But during the night they bolted and left the city to our mu*cy, which we took without hardly firing a shot. From the morn- ing of the sixth till the morning of the ninth we did not receive any food, and when we got the flour to make our bread many of us ate the dough, not having the patience to wait till it was baked on the griddles. We had plenty of water, however, but for all that I never knew what hunger was till then. [After the aiiy surrendered and the British Hag hoisted, we were soon into lour bell tents, and had a good round meal of Afghan mutton, and talked loud and long of our first battle. ironao«d oa Um •OIIAPTEK VIII. After the surrender of the city, the Ameer, YakoobKhan,wa8immediatoly arrested and sent down to India under a strong escort. All the treasure and everything of any value was seizod and put apart as prize money for General Roberts and his army. The estimated value was put down at a little over a million pounds, but as yet not a cent of this money has been given to those who took part part in the taking of the City of Cabul. On the 12th of October, six days after the battle of Cbaraaia, the whole army marched through the city with fixed bayonets, bands playing and colors J flying ; afterwards a proclamation I was read to the Afghans to the effect I that any person found with arms was I liable to be shot. On the 13th of October over one hundred were arrested and accused of taking part in the massacre of Major Cavagnari <'' I his escort, including Lieut. Eairi .(>n. Surgeons Jenkins and Kelly, i'he first men found gui Ity were the "khut walla" or mayor, and his secretary ; they were both hung. From this time up to the end of November three and four and some- times as many as twenty were hung every day ; they were all hung with silk ropes. In all eighty-three men suffered death. After all this, the city people came to feel the strong arm of the invader, and came to otir camp with their goods, which always had a ready sale, and sure of their money. They thought for a long time that if they came with goods to our camp that the soldiers would kill them and steal their goods ; that is the way the Afghan does if he is the conqueror; and they were aston- ished at our generosity and civility towards them. Durinjt the trial of the political prisoners there was a colonel of the Afghan Army held to give evidence against them. This officer was badly wounded on the right foot at the battle Cbarasia. He was kept prisoner in the 92nd quarter guard tent; at night he had to be handcuffed to the tent pole. In this manner the poM- fellow could not sleep. I was the sergeant in command of this guard one cold night; and as the sentries were relieved they had to see that he was secure to the tent pole ; about 10:30 p.m. rounds had come and gone, and from the time I tied him up he never closed an eye, he could only lay on one side, and sometimes his wound was tramped on by some of the guard moving about in the dark ; I felt very much for him, and 1 took the risk of untying him so a.s he could have a chance to sleep. As soon as I did so he caressed me in the most affectionate manner. Shortly afterwards he was set at liberty, and one day while fishing in the Oabul River this same colonel with about forty followers saw me taking in a large fish which drew their attention. As soon as this Afghan officer recog- nized me he at oncd dismounted his horse and shook hands and introduced me. as I thought, to his followers. I did not understand what he said to me or those with him, but there was soon a person on the spot to act as interpreter ; he wished to present me 12 Memoirs of a Highland Soldier witk a splendid chargfer, with an in- vitation to visit his residence in Ghiznee. This I could not accept and when told the reason, he said he would go and see General Roberts about it, ^'But if you do that," said I to the interpreter, "he would ask why you are treating the sergeant and if he came to know it nas for what jrou tell me, the sergeant would be punished." He seemed much disappointed at not having his wish, so after much caress- ing and shaking of hands he parted from me and I saw him no more. A few weeks after this I was in charge of the commissariat guard in the Afghan barracks of Shapore ; here all grain, feed, etc., were stored for the use of the army. I was not long on guard, when a prisoner was given in my charge ; the prisoner was a "Hazarra," a race of people in Afghanistan so like each other that a European or any stranger to them, can hardly tell the one from the other. During my stay in Cabul these people did all the work about the grain : and thi i man while working around stole Sergeant Hunt's boots. He caught hin in the act ; so he was put in charge of theguard, and I put him close by the sentry and as it was cold I covered him over with sheepskins, that were for the use of the guard in very cold weather. At 5 a.m. next day I posted the sentries, and the first question the new sentry asked of the old one was "Is your prisoner there ? " " Of course he is?" " I want to see him before I take over this post." I imme- diately went over and liftc:! skins but there was no prisoner? Private Lamond, the old sentry, on seeing how matters were, said, ''Give us a chance, sergeant, I know the man and I'll catch him coming to work at six o'clock. ' I gave him a chance and kept him on sentry, for they had all to pass by our gate. As soon as they com- menced to come, Lamond made a rush in among the crowd, like a shepherd after a sneep, and as he caught him shouted, "I nave him, sergeant, here he is I " and none of us could say that he was mistaken. On being arrested the poor fellow could not understand what he had done, and we soon found out that Lamond bad the " wrang soo by the lug. " CHAPTER IX. In the early part of December the whole of General Robert's army was in the Cantonments of Sherpore : and here all preparations wer<) made in the way of defence and providing supplies for the winter. Every day convoys were sent out, and in some quarters the Afghan farmers would notMll; and in the valley of Maidan, about 18 milei from the city of Kabul, they refused to sell anything in the way of food. Not that they would be short themselves, but that we were infidels ; this was one of their reasons, but we soon found out to our cost that such was not al- together the case, for our spies brought in word that a large army was to mus- ter here and make an attack, and re- take the city from us if we made any more demand for provisions, but Gen- eral Roberts and l.is splendid staff knew what that threat meant. So on the 9th December he sent otn the 92nd Highlanders with three mountain guns and four companies of the 23rd Pio- neers, but kept the main body of his army in Sherpore, which held full com- mand of the city. Our force which went to Maiden numbered about 1,000. Instead of going right into the valley we took them m flank. This was on the morning of the 10th, and about 8 K.ra. we gave them battle, and in a few hours routed them. The first village we entered we captured a lot of horses, camels, etc., but we witnessed a very sad sight. It was a young girl about 18 years of age lying in the centre of the room with arms and legs cut oiT. She was still living when we entered, and Captain McCallum ordered Ser- Seant McFadyen, (now Lieutenant, ovan Police) toput her out of pain by the bayonent. This the sergeant re- fused to do, saying that he had not got the heart to do it, although death would certainly be welcome to her. but before many minutes after she expired, after partaking of some brandy out of Sergeant Nichol's flask. Her own peo- ple did this to her because she would not go with them. On the following day we were completely surrounded, and it was signaled at Kabul that they were hard pressed, and that two of our guns were taken. The Afghans had us now in & trap ; and the news of two of our guns being taken looked 1)retty bad. But we had the bravest of eaders, and that if we had to die w« were wan On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. 18 made up our miuds that even al- though thev were ten to one we would die hard. Our Brigadier at once decided to first cut our way through them, and retire to Kabul. We were twelve miles from the city. We attacked them in extended order in echelon, and so rapid was our attack that we were on them before they knew, and killed about 300 of them, capturing many standards. At this affair Jock Sharp from Glasgow was severely wounded on the snoulder. The Rev. Mr. Manson, our minister, seeing Jock fall ran to his assistance. Jock looked up at Mr. Manson's face and as soon as he saw who was beside him he shouted out, " Dinna pray the noo, sir, bring me a dhooley, bring me a dhooley (a stretcher)." After forcing our way through thom, they were rallying quickly, but we had now a clear road to Kabul, and in a few moments we were in full retreat. But we no sooner started than they were at our heels. This wa^i about 11 a.m., and a hard battle commenced. As they were twenty to one our Brigadier ordered the "Gordon's " to cover the retreat for we were not strong enough to give them battle. Meantime they were pelting away at us on both flanks, and in our rear. We were all in extended order and commenced to retire by alternate half companies, firing volleys, this we continued for ten consecutive hours, doing them terrible harm, holding them at bay whenever they made any rush. This retreat was the ad- miration of the war correspon- dent. The "Gordons," although performing the hardest task in this affair, lost very few men. It was late when we arrived in Kabul, and our comrades were glad to see us, for they had had very hard fighting, also, and our er&llAQt countryman, , General MacPnerson with the * Seventy-twa had re-captured our two guns. I should have said that dark- ness brought our fighting to an end. I think it was aboiit 10 p.m. when we reached Kabul, and then the whole of General Roberts' army retired into tSherpore for the night. Tired and footsore, few were off duty that night, for it took nearly th» whole of our force for out-post duty, picquets, etc. On the morning of the 13th December, the sound of the pibroch once more told us that the lads wi' the kilts were wanted. Twenty minutes after the pipers had played "Johnny Cope,"* the 9Snd were well on their way to meet the foe with our gallant band of pipers playing the "Cock o' the North." We had not gone one mile when a halt was made. General Roberts after taking a good look at us, ordered that we should take off our rolled greatcoats. This was at once done, and as we moved along we saw our brave gunners getting their field guns into action. Now we could see the whole Afghan army holding all the hills round the city. At this time the 92nd was in quarter column. In looking at the mass of men in our front whom we were to attack, made many of us feel like that few of us would have a chance to come back, but as we advanced to the attack with our splendid gunners making every shell tell, firing over our heads into them, all such thoughts turned the other way. Gallant White led the advance as usual. So now the great battle of Takht-i-shah begins where the " Gordons " won two Victoria Crosses and two distinguished medals. CHAPTER X. After the command was given for the attack, G and H company of the 92nd were ordered to cover the guns. All the others of the " Gordons " under Major White led the advance across the plains under a terrible fire ; but luck was with the Highlanders again, for the ground was so soft that no ball or bullet could ricochet. The first hit, however, was one of our dogs, which was barking and running far away in front of the fighting line. It was most comical to see the poor brute limping on three legs and in full re- treat. He was soon in the hands of the ambulance corps, who dressed the wound. Our advance was most rapid, and we (the infantry) did not fire a shot until we got about GOO yards from the enemy. But during this time our splendid gunners were making every shell tell a tale. On we went, only stopping now and then to fire and take up our dressing. When we got to the Dottom of the hill we lay down for a few minutes to have a breath. Major White now dismounted and drew his claymore and revolver. Placing himself in front of the whole line h'l 14 Memoirs of a Highland Soldief tried out, "Highlanders, fix bayonets ; forward ; be steady, keep your Iress- ing!" Just betiiud us were Colonel Vaughan, of the London Times ; Mr. Cameron of the Standard, and Milton Prior of the lUmtrated London Newn, and others. Steadily along we went up the steep hillside. Wo had not gone 200 yards when we were met by the enerny who seemed anxious to 'close with us. They had not long to wait, however, for we were soon in among them. They fought like tigers, some throwing down their rifles and flght- ing with their swords, when too close. This hand to hand struggle lasted about ten minutes, and as I pen this m.y Highland blood leaps in my veins with prido, when I think of the acts of bravery performed by our gal- lant countrymen on this occasion. In this our first bayonet encounter about twenty of the " Gordons " fell. .Still the advance continued up the hih. and we knew by the amount of shot and shell passing over our heads that there were thousands of the enemy waiting to give us a warm reception. ColT-Sorgeant James Drummond and Lieut. Forbesof th(',f)2nd wereihefirstto mount the hill-top. They were almost cut to pieces, but not before they had slain quite a number. Meantime the whole line was pressing forward under a terrible lire ; on the extreme right of the kilted line was Lieut. Cunningham pressing the Afghans out of every corner, but just as he srt to the top ni the hill, he was met by thousands, who caused the Higiiland- ers to waver. As soon as Lieutenant Cunningham saw some of his men give way, he rushed in front of his company and cried out, " For God's sake, HigH- landers, remember your country; stand with me and fight to the last." Down (in the knee, Scots, and give them snuff." Our brave lieutenant had hardly finished his encouraging words when all were down on the knee, pour- ing volley after volley into them. I*r»!sently'the voice of gallant White was heard to say. " The bayonent, Highlanders ! the bayonent ! " By this time the Afghans were waveriiig on evory side. The pipers were soon in their ))laceB, and with one terrible yell we wore over the rocks and at thetn. Inthisengagementwhich lasted about five hours, forty-five of the 92nd were woun(ied and three killed. Lieutenant i Grant, from Speyside, had the top brais I of his sporran knocked out of shape with a rifie bullet ; Coporal McLennan from Dingwall, was hit on his tunic button, tne bullet went round liis back, made the button as flat as a six- pence, and a black mark round his body like a horse whip ; Jock Young and Johnnie Boyd, both from Hawick, had their helmets riddled with bullets ; Donald Williamson, from Clachnacud- din, had his kilt and haversack cut in niany places ; Drummer Middleton, from"^ Aberdeen, aad his claymore broken, but captured a revolver and sword from the enemy ; in fact nearly every man in the regiment had some narrow shave ; the writer was slight- Iv cut on the left hand while defending Private McLeod. After putting them to rout, our cavalry were after them, but on account of the nature of the ground they were unable to do them any harm. Many standards and other trophies were taken, and on our way home to camp all these were carried in front of the regiment while our splendid band of pipers struck up " The lads wi' the kilts." As General Roberts and his staff met us, he ordered us to halt. He then addressed us in the most enthusiastic manner, saying he was glad to see so many gentlemen repre- senting the London press, who have seen with their own eyes the kind of stuff of which we are made. General Roberts and his staff saw the whole affair, and he asked for the names of ofiicers, non-commissioned officers and men who had specially distinguished themselves on this occasion. Major White said that all had done their duty, and if he recommended one he would do the same to all. Neverthe- less Colonel Brown low of the 72ud Highlanders reported the conduct of Sei-geatit Jno. McLaren and Corporal McKay of the 92nd, and each received . the distinguished conduct medal. Major White and Lieut. Cunningham both won the Victoria Cross for re- Eeated acts of bravery, and Sergeants ox and Macdonald, of the 72na2 were each awarded the distinguished con- duct medal and clasp for the gallant way they saved the life of Captain Cook, of the Gotfrkha8,who was severe- ly wounded. Captain Cook was a native of Koss-shire. He died, poor fellow, the day after, and, as our brave general said', a finer soldier never drew a sword. On Active Service, at Hqine and Abroad. 16 About 7 p. m. our camp iires were in full blast, and after supper and par- taking of our grog, we sang round our fires such songs as liad a long chorus, sucli as "Ancient Stirling," and others, and felt as happy as could be. We were always in the best of spirits, no matter what hardships or flgnting. On Sunday, the 14th December, the 72nd with some Oourkhas and two companies of the 92nd were told oif to clear the Asmi heights where the remnants of the army of the 13th were said to be gathering. About two hours after they had gone, they signalled for reinforcements, saying that they were hard pressed ' and that Capt. Gordon of the 92nd was badly wounded. In a short timt>. the pibroch sounded once more to arms, and putting some bread in uur haversacks and water in our bottles we were off to meet the>foe. CHAPTER XI. By the time we were outside camp some of the 9th Lancers came gallop- ing past us, and one of their otlicers torn us that the enemy had received and the We and in large reinforcements from Herat other places, and that two of mule battery guns were taken, were soon in extended order could plainly see the enemy swarms all over the Asmi Heights, and our men pelting at them. Aoout two o'clock a general retreat was ordered, and the 9§nd Highlanders were order- ed to cover it. After all our men got safely off the hill, nil made for the can- tonments of Sherpore, which we had strongly entrenched. This retreat was the finest sight I ever saw. Away on the extreme left were the gallant "Seventy-twa," retiring in splendid order, as were also the famous Gour- khas, firing into them by alternate companies. On each flank were our cavalry ready and anxious for a dive at them should they threaten to flank us. In the centre of the whole were the 92nd retiring slowly and firing by sections, and over all our heads were our artillery firing shell into them. Here and there you could see two or three men carry- ing a wounded comrade and mules carrying the dead, mounted officers rushing here and there giving orders and encouraging words to the men. The retreat was kept up till we came within a few hundred yards of our trenches. Here a stand was made, and as soon as the enemy saw this they retired and took possession of the city. On this Sabbath morning about twenty of the 72nd were killed and some forty wounded. Capt. Gordon of the 92ud was shot through the left lung. Corporal Sellar of the 72nd won the Victoria Cross, and the Rev. Mr. Adams also won the Victoria Cross for saving the life of a boy of the 9th Lancers. In the retreat the boy's horse was shot under him, and as the horse fell the trumpeter was badly hurt, and could not follow up. In a few moments the Afghans would be at him, and the brave minister, knowing this, galloped back to where the poor boy lay, at once dismounted, put the lad on his horse, then mounted beside him and made his way through a storm of bullets safe to'^the main body. On all sides the cry was, " Bravo, Mr. Adams! " The Rev. Mr. Adams was the English Church minis- ter of the array. I believe ho is the first and only minister who wears this great honor.' Corporal Sellar, a native of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, won his Victoria Cross for one of the most dar- ing acts in the whole campaign. Wnen moving up the slopes of the Asmi Heights, the enemy were i)Osted in small forts or " sunghas," with as many as ten to twenty men in each. Into one of these Corporal Sellar rushed single-handed and bayoneted them right and left ; and Corporal Calder of the 92nd, and some others, were just in time to save him from a terrible death, for he was cut in all directions. As Corporal Calder entered, he had no room to use the bayonet; he threw his rifle to one side and let the first fellow have it with the bare fists, in true British style, but had his hands cut badly while parrying the blows of the Afghan knives"; and Sergeant John McLaren, a powerful Highland- er from the braes o' Balquhidder, also of the 92nd, had his sword bayonet almost bent in two while pitching an Afghan out of the sungha where Cor- poral Sellar was. Drummer Girvan of the 72nd, a fine soldier from Ayr shire, was killed with a stone by an Afghan when trying to retake' the guns. About six p.m., firing on both sides ceased, and before we nad time 16 Memoirs of, a HigtUand Soldier to think of anything, each regiment had to send in returns showing the number of men fit for duty, and by eighto'clock same night it was known that there were only 4,276 men all told; and that the Afghan army, which was now in possession of the city had, according to the Times cor- respondent, some 70,000 men. Every- thing was now pushed with the great- est haste for our defence, and by nine o'clock same eight every regiment knew their place. The cantonments of Sherpore are about two miles in cir- cumference; nearly the half consists of a mud wall about twenty feet hi man stood still and their silence meant, as the Pioneer has it, " Let us do or die." All men in the hospital who were able to sit on a chair and pull a trigger were placed behind the ram- parts with the three miv^icters in com- mand. Father Brown, a fine old gentlemen, of whom I will have more to say later, Mr. Adams, the English minister, and Mr. Mason, the Scotch, were doing their utmost to keep up the spirits of our wounded and sick com- rades. Now and then the priest would shout, " We are sure to win, bovs, for it is Jesus Christ against Mahomet; give it to them hot. " Exactly at 5 a.m. the fire was seen on the Asmi Heights, and no sooner did it appear than a rocket went right over our heads. This was the signal for the attack on us. V/hat an anxious moment that was ! Here we were, down low in our trenches, like cats waiting to dash at their prey ; not even a whisper, until they were about eighty yards from ns. Meantime the long black mass of men came steadily along beating their drums, and shouting •' Allah ! Allah ! " (God ! God !) •'Now, Highlanders," cried Col. Macgregor, chief of the staff, "give them it hot." We were just at the " present," when this fine officer spoke these words. The first volley was not a good one, but the next was, to say the leaot, superb, in short, it made a gate ri^ht through them. After firing foui splendid volleys, the order came along the line, '•independent firing." The sound of our musketry then was terrible, and we mowed them down as soon as thev came up. Not even the sound of the pipers could be heard, the noise was so great. This great roll of musketry continued for alraut twenty minutes, or more. Meantime our cavalry were ready to make the dash on thom, as soon as we got them on the run. But many had taken up cover, and lay firing into us. As soon as this was noticed the whole line was ordered to charge, and with Highland- ers yelling and the others cheering, we were over the trenches and at them. They were taken so suddenly that they bolted in wild confusion. We now stood resting on our arms, watch- ing our cavalry cutting at them right andleft.andputtingthefinishing stroke to the investment of Sherpore. The most remarkable thing of this engage- ment, which lasted about one hour, was the few killed and wounded— there was not forty men of the whole force. Colonel Gough was thrown off bis horse by a rifie bullet, but as he had a coat of mail on, he was not killed. Major White's horse was shot through the ear. A seapoy of the 28th Punjaub Infantry had his left ear blown off by his rear-rank man. Our cavalry were back by eleven a. m., and what a sight ! They were covered with blood and mud ; a great number without helmets and lances ; some without horses, thus showing that they bad done some terrible destruction. The city again fell into our hands, and We were once more the conquerors. What a hajipy crowd we were now, All communications were now open and in a few days our convoys would he up with our provisions. 1 must not forr ^t to tell you that from the tOth of November to the 25th of December, we were without any tobacco, and to the soldier on duty this is a great want. During- these trying times, we smokel anything that could make "r«e/t," such as old rags, leaves of trees, straw mixed with tea ; and matches, too, were worth their weight 18 Memoirs of a Hiiihlnmi Sol die* in gold ; but we mado matoh-paper out of powder, and fell l)!ii*k on the steel and tliut. We hud nlonty of food, however, and clothing', for the ladies in India sent us plenty of warm socks, etc., etc. After this ^rand victory the Afghans commenced to see that there was no hope or chance fighting against us. Their armies wore completely Itroken ; all their guns were taken, and thousands of rities wore destroyed and buried— iu short, they were sub- dued. Such was the opinion express- ed in the Indian press, but they were all sadly mistaken. For, as the people of the city told us, as soon as they got their crops in, they would muster again ; but not in this quartet ■ and as I go along with my story we /'ill see how true this comes out. Snow ii< still on the ground, and all the Kghting is over, so far as we know. The two Highland regiments nut their heads together, and send a cnallenge to our English and Irish comrades for a snow battU. Major Douglas and Captain Napier oi the 92nd, are to command the Scottish army ; Captains Murray and Munro, of the 72nd, also taking a leading part. Forts are built and trenches, etc., on the Bah- mara Heights At 9 a.m. sharp the pibroch sounded for the Hons of Cale- donia to rally and fight the battle of Bannockburn over again ; and in 'ny next I will tell you how many were slain. CHAPTER XIII. I should have mentioned in the last chapter that Capt., the Hon. John Scott Napier, and his gallant band, which composed the forlorn hope, were sadly disappointed for they never had to fire a shot. But why ? Because the Afghan leader knew that night that fifty determined Feringie Gazios (foreign warriors) swore to die before they would let their cavalry pass the gate. " Feringie Gazie '^ was the name the Afghans gave the kilted Highlanders, and it may be interesting to note that the Gordon Highlanders were the only regiment who bad not a man murdered on the streets of Cabul or Kandahar. The Afghans were very fond of the Highland dress, and in the field of battle they shunned us as much as they could, especially when they could see the glitter of our sporrans in thesuMshine as we advanced on them to the attack. But why were the Afghans so fond of the Highland dress? In 1859, when Ameer Shor All, kingof Afghanistan, came down to India, the 92nd Highlanders were reviewed in front of him, and he was so much amazed at the fine appearance of the regiment that he wanted to buy it there and then. When the Viceroy told him that such a thing was im- Cossible he was much disappointed ; ut before he left India he gave orders to have 10,000 kilts and Highlaud tur ics made for his army with 92nd buttons on them. On his return to Afghanistan he composed ten kilted regiments, and they were tha pick ot the Afghan army. After the takingof Cabul more than a thousana of these kilts and tunics fell into our hands, and it seemed so odd to see our own buttons on them. These tunics and kilts were given to ourcampfollowers, and they did grand service to ihem during the winter ; but what a sight they were ! Fancy a black man with a kilt trailing down to his heels and the tunic outside in and minus the buttons. And should this catch the eye of any one who were there to see, it will bring back manv a he&rty laugh. So much for Sher All's kilted men. But wha* about the forlorn hope ! Well, Capt. Napier was promoted major, but nothing was done for the gallant fellows who had sworn to die with their gallant captain. However there was no room for complairt ap their services were not put to the test ; but as every Briton knows they do funny things in the army. After all the fighting and worry we had a good rest ; and the challenge to fight our English and Irish comrades in a snow battle was at once accepted. None of the Sepoys or Ghoorkas would join, but a great number of the otiicera of these corps took part, the Scotch officerscomingtooursideand the others to the English side. The pipes of the Scottish army sorided the gathering of the clans about J.30 a.m., each man armed with two haversacks to carry the snowballs. Nearly all the officers were mounted. After the corps, viz. : 72nd and 92nd, were told off in half companies and sections, Major Doug- ^^S,.®^*'^® ^''^"*^ ?*^« tlie command. "The brigade will form for attack." The English a; my was posted in a of Snerpore, ai On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. 19 Iranze of low hillfl in the Cantonmentft ofSberpore, and had forts built of snow dotted all over the hill side. ' . e, the Scottish a-tny, had all kinds of flags I that we had captured, hut we bad the Royal Standard of Scotland with I another behind it, with an awful size of a thistle on it and the following I words : McNeil of the islands, And Moy of the lake, For honoi, for freedom, For vengeance awake ! Of course all this was just a kind of I bui'le8<]ue. At 10 a.m. we were advan- ing in splendid order to the attack, and the shouts, cheering, etc., was something awful. Just fancy about two thousand sons of auld Scotia out for a day's fun! No harm could be done to the enemy until we csrr.e just to throwing distance, but as soon as 1 we c»-no iboui to embrace our Sassen- i ach friends, the shower of snowballs I came on us like hailstones, but on we went reserving our ammtiiition till we I closed with them. Then \ Oh then ! the yells a.id shouts. Down went the forts in rapid succosHion, and it was here we could see after clooing with them where thci power cf the High- landers was. After gaining the the top of the hill where they had g'athered to make the last stand, our SnsHonach fnsens became somewhat angi-y. Here Lieuts. McBain, Grant and Stewart, of the 92nd, seeing Capts. Stewart. McKenzie and Chisholm of the 9ch Lancers fighting hard against us, rushed at them, shouting " Down with the traitors ! Down with them !" The struggle continued for nearly two hours, and it was admitted on all sides that the Highlanders had it all their own way. General Roberts and his staff witiiessed the wh.,ie affair, and enjoyed themselves so much that they remarked that they felt proud of the Highland brigade. I have seen many a snow battle in my Highland home but never such a one as this. Just think of it, nearly 2,000 a side, all under ofHcers, where no man could oi would dare to disobey an order, fighting with snow- balls. By 12.30 p.m. the battle of Baunockburn was fought and won, but there was not one killed of either army, but there were hundredswound- ed and the worst of all was Lieutt Mc- Blain, who had two blue eyes, Capt. Douglas, Lieut. Bethune and Color- sergt. W. Fraser were cut in several ?iarts of the face. Capt. Murray, of the 2nd, and Lieut. Druinmund were cut badly also; this was caused by our foes throwing ice and stones at us, but in fairness to all, one was as bad as the other on that score. Nevertheless Scotland won the day, and just as the first bugle had sounded for dinner we were on the march back to camp with our splendid band playing that fine march "Scotland the Brave." In con- cluding this chapter it may be inter- esting to note the corps composing the Er,'lish army, viz.: Artillery about '(iv> niei., 9th Lancers about 2u0 men, 9th Regt. (or better known as the 9th Holy Boys) about 500 men, 67th Hampshire Rogt. about 600 men, ofiicers of the Indian army about 20, making a total of nearly ' 1,500. The Gordons Were fully 600 strong, the 72nd Highlanders were about the same, and the other Scots of thearmy brought up our total to about l,i]00mon. During the battle the Afghans thoiij>ht we were fighting and quarreling among ourselves and as I go on with my story it will be seen how sadly they were disappointed. CHAPTER XIV. After the snow had cleared away all the villages or houses sur- rounding the cantonments of Sher- porc .vere pulled down and levelled to the ground. The reason of this was that during the investment those who lived in them gave shelter and assist- ed the Afghan army in doing all the harm they could to us. It may be interesting to note that there are no sing^le houses in Afghanistan except in cities. The reason they are called villages is because there are so many families in them. These villages are built of clay and all walled in, there being only" one gate on each, with a turret at each corner. The oldest men who are unable to work keep watch all night, and that is all they do. In the city of Cabul there are three gates, and all must be in at a c'(u-tain hour, and it is ju.st the same in the villages. It is a petty sight to see the Afghans marching liiome in groups to their respective homes as their tattoo draws nigh. During the investment these villages were nlled 20 Memoirs of a Highland Soldier I with marksinon who kept un a con- tinual fire from daylight till dark ; and as our artillery ammunition wan runniuff short, we only tired into them when there was a good chance. After the destruction of the villages we built splendid forts and roads. Kach fort bad a name and the tinost of them all was called Fort Abraham, situated on the banks of the Cabul river. When we entered Cabul first it was full of dirt and filth ; so dirty indeed that it would make you sick. Early in March General Roberts made the people of the city form a scavenger corps, just like what we have in our towns in Scotland. Sanitary officers from our army were appointed to teach them and to see the work done. The Afghans did not like this at first, but they soon began to see the good it did them. They were much astonish- ed at the fine roads we made, a thing hardly known in that country. All the roads that ever I saw in the country were camel tracks. It is now April, and the Afghans are busy preparing their farms and gardens. And we are moHtly engaged surveying all the coun- try tor miles around. Frosh rumors come from the city every day that armies are coming to destroy us like they did our forefathers in 1B42. Perhaps it may not be out of my story to here mention in a brief manner the sad affair of 1842, and thus give my readers an idea of what kind of peopfe the Afghans are. The Afghans have sadly deteriorated in character within the present century. Take, for ex- ample, their atrocious conduct in the P«Msian war. On that occasion the Afghan ruler invited 300 of the Persian nobles to a grand feast, and then, when they were in the midst of enjoyment, happy in the thought that they were now at peace, and on friendly terms with a powerful neighbor, they were, in the most treacherous and cowardly manner, all cruelly massa- cred. But this was not all. As if the monster's tigerish taste for blood had been only whetted, he gave orders for the slaughter of some 3,000 of the Persian guards, who had also been invited to a friendly meeting with his own adherents . When Elphin- Ktones army began that sad retreat from Cabul, which should never have taken place, and which could only end in disaster, many noble oxamnles oil heroic suf/ering and undaunted cour-r age v-(3ro given ; but when met by thel c^-' ' dod, perfidious cunning of thcl .^, they were of little Avail.l ^.tu.vialarly was this the case withi four officers who were fellow-com-l panions in this retreat. After manyl a weary mile, they had halted to reHtl within a few miles of Jellalabad. Tol their surprise a partv of Afghans ap[ proachod them making signs that! they were friends, and carrying them I supplies of food, which thev appeared! anxious to give them. To tne famish-l ing young officers this appeared like a I miraculouB intervention to save their I lives. Was it any wonder if they I found themselves taking blame fori thinking that there was no good left in an Afghan, and that they would think I better of them in future ? Alas I fori them, poor fellows, there was to be no I future ; for scarcelv had they began to satisfy their craving hunger, wnen they were set upon by these veritable wolves in sheep's clothing and liter- ally cut to pieces. Can we be blamed then for taking every precaution? Every one of us, Gael and Saxon, swore in our hearts, that rather than I fall into the hands of such a foe wt| would die at our posts first. CHAPTER XV. Ending up in my last chapter about I the treacherous nature of the Afghan, it will be interesting to include here one incident that came under my own observation. A sergeant of the 12th Suffolk Regiment, while out with some others for a day's sport among the hills { near Gundamuk, lost his chums, and on his way to camp called into a vil- lage for a drink of water. When in the act of drinking the water, a swarm of Afghans rushed at him and bound him hand and foot. After doing this with ropes, they took all his teeth out, then the nails off his hands and feet, and after that they cut him open and allowed the poor fellow to die in the greatest agony. I could give many such incidents of their cruel nature, some indeed not fit for publication. However, to pass over these sad things, let me give a picture of the Afghans at home. Amongst the bet- ter classes great pride is taken in their origin and descent, their natirt hii- On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. 21 ItnriAiiH claimiiifc that thoy come from [the JewH, who were tnkca captive by ltii« KabyloniAiiH and broufrht to the IriiiiK'e of country between Herat and Icdbul. The male population are {(^en- Ittrally of Hwarthy color, and poHHesned lof Htiiewy, lithe, and active bodioH. IThe females are ^{'enerally of fair com- Ijilexion, handHome, and attractive. iTheir costume consiBtH, when at home, {of a loose skirt like those worn by the men, but lonffor, and made of Hner material. When thoy appear in pub- lic they are completely covered oy a ionic veil, havinff holes for the eyes ana mouth. The unmarried women wear their hair hant^ing loose and are trenerally dressed in white trousers. Women occupy a low position in the social Hcale, and are bartered and pur- chased like common merchandise. A plurality of wives is the custom among the Afghans, the number for one hus- band generally being four. The men are fond of smoking, particularly a mixture called gunjah, which brings on a kind of intoxication. The great- est honor an Afghan can pay to a white man is to bring him to his house and there unveil his ladies in front of him. It is now April and the weather is lovely, just cold enoui?h to sleep well at night and we have all the nec(>s»aries of this life at hand. I'eace reigns on all sides ; each regiment has scjuads of men here and there with picks and shovels making roads, and the Ciovern- mont of India is considering who they will m^ke King of Afghanistan, when one fine morning we were informed that a great battle was fought about twenty miles from us, by General Sir Donald Martin Stewart, who was march- ing from Candahar to join General Sir F. Roberts at Cabul, with an army of 7,000 men. This armv was composed of 2nd 60th Rifles, 59th Regiment and a 40 pound elephant battery, together with abattery of Royal Horse Artillery, and the other portion of Sepoys and Gourkhas. At place called Ahmed Khel they were attacked by some 20,- 000 Afghans, and after one hour's hard fighting the Afghans were defeated with great slaughter. The day after this battle, some three companies of the 92nd, 23rd Pioneers and Gourkhas were sent out to the valley of Charasia, to watch the movements of the Afghan army, which Sir Donald Martin Stew- art defeated a few days before. This small force, some !iuO men in all, was under command of Colonel Jenkins of the Guides Cavalry. On Sunday morning. 2rHh April, 1K80, just as we were falling in for divine service, an A.D.C. came galloping up to our Colonel, and cried out so loud that every man could hear him, vi/..: "Colo- nel Jenkins is completely surrounded and General Roberts wants you to be ready to march with all haste in fifteen minutes from now. On hearing these words every man of uh wasotVlike a shot to our tents, got our 100 rounds of ammunition and a small |)iec<)of Itread and meat in our haversacks. Inside of ten minutes we were off to join the rest of the brigade, which was to muster at the head-quarters tent, and which was now com|)OHed of the 72nd and 9?nd HighlauderH together with the yrd Gourkhas, 2Hth Sepoys and two mountain guns. A great mistake was made here, and it was not noticed till we were some seven iiiles on our way, where we had the first halt. The , which told us that we could not be tftere too soon. And sure enough we see the fla3V from the helio^-raph, which our signil-men are hurrying to reply. "Whf.t's the news, Mac?" a voice from the ranks would say, to which Corporal Macpherson answered, "Seventeen horses of the Guides killed; Highlanders and Pioneers doing splen- did, but running short of ammunition. Cannot hold out long. " Anotner flash, and Mac. comes running up to the col- umn again. " How is it now, Mac. ? " '* Hemmed in on all sides ; enemy in '22 Memoirs of a Hij;/iltinii SoUiicr full poMHOHHion of the orchards. Ah you come up attack them on left flank." .Such newH mado uh fuel anxious to g'et there; and while we Iliichlanderfl were pacing over the ground aH hard aH wo could the poor wuu (lourkhan had to double to keep up. Hrijfadler H. T. Mcl'herson, V.C, of Lucknow fame. wn« in command of our biii^ade, and aH we advanced into the vblley of Chilductean and formed for attack, General McTherHOH came galloping up to the i)'2nd Highlanders and naid, •• NoWjCountrvraen, Hhow those Oourk- haH the way, for It is the Hrnt time they have been under Are." I should say here that there are Hve regiments of Gourkhag,the reaiment referred to here being the iird Gourkhas, one of the regiments that came to reinforce us during the investment of Sherpore. The battle is now in full swing and .so far as I am concerned I feel exceeding- ly proud, for the sight is a grand one, a full description of which I will give to you in my next. CHAPTKIt XVI. I think it was about 2 p.m. when we reached Colonel Jenkins' i ce, thus covering a distance of fully fourteen miles in two hours and a-half, under a hot April sun, and only one halt. As soon as General Macpherson saw how matters were he did not attack on the left flank, out made right for their centre. The ground was favorable for manoeuvering until we got to the f gardens. The whole of our force was n position and on the move long be- fore our comrades were aware of the fact. "Wee Mac," (as we Highland- ers affectionately called the General) put us into the finest formation I ever saw. Meantime the 72nd Highlanders formed the line of communication be- tween us and Cabul. TheSrd Gourkhas were in extended order in the centre, the 92nd Hi^'-hlanders on the extreme right, and the Sepoys and Pioneers away on the left. As we advanced to the attack, and according to the posi- tion the enemy held, we were able to show three fronts, that is to say, right, left, and centre fronts. We moved on likethiH till we came near the orchards, which were swaiming with the enemy, and hundreds of them up on the apple and other trees. These or- chards are all surrounded by mud walls, with one or two gates. The l)2nd Highlanders were the Arst to enter. Lieutenant Hector Macdonald, of the 'J2nd, I think, waa the first oflicer inside \, and it waa here where the writer saw the flrst man fall before his rifle. 1 was in command of No. 2 section as soon as Color-Sergeant Fraser was wounded, and as I rushed in, I ordered Private Abercromby to Are at a man who was just covering us. He flred and missed ; the Afghan rushed at us, sword in hand, and as he touched the point of my sword- bayonet my bullet went through his body and he fell at my feet. "Bravo, .Sergeant Martin ! " cried the men of my section. Meantime our attention was called to the trees, where, as we advanced, they mostly all went to hide, and we brought them down in dozens, and the sight reminded me of shouting young crowsin Culloden wood or at Dun's near Clachnaharry, Yes ! it was a sight indeed— fools tnat they were— trying to And cover up on a tree, where we picked them off as we E leased. In less than two hours we ad them in full retreat, and as they ran across the plain many of them would have bitten the dust only for one of their number having on a red coat. He was so conspicuous among the others that all the Are was directed at him. He ran a distance of about (iOU yards before he was able to get under cover. It would not be too much to say that fully six thousand rounds was Ared at this one man, and he never was touched. This will give my readers an idea of the chances a soldier has in war. This engagement was called the Bat- tle of Chilductean, and one of the most brilliant of the whole campaign, to say nothing of the marching out and marching back to camp. It was about 9 p.m. when the combined bands of the 72ud and 92nd met us. Just before they joined us we were hardly able to draw one foot after the other, for be i t remembered we covered about forty miles that day, but at the Arst tap of the big drum, and the Arst note of the " Blue Bonnets Over the Border," sore feet and hunger were foru^otten. A ringing cheer went up from front to roar, and many joined in the chorus of this well-known tune, and our Scot- tish hearts burned with joy wheu we thought of showering another honor ou dear auld 8( On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. 28 dear auld 8coti«, and that we too wuru adding frlory to the already iioblu recora of Hiflfnland soldiera. The Ould«H' Cavalry lost heavily in this eagagemeflt In men and horaes, for they had to stand under a terrible Are for fully three hours. They could not obtain cover of any kiiid, and could not do any harm to the enemy, for they were all in the gardens, be- hind tne mud walls ; but the fire of Captain Macgregor's company of the 92nd Highlandern was splendid, which saved the Guides a great deal, and when we buried their dead and our own the next day this was plainly to be seen, for more than two-thirds of them were shot through the head. The 92nd Highlanders had three killed and thirteen wounded ; 3rd Oourkhas, one killed and |eur wounded ; 23rd Pioneers, three wounded ; Guides' Cav- alry, eignt men killed and nineteen wounded, and about twenty-four horses killed ana wounded. Sergeant Lawson. of the 92nd. while taking a drink of waterout of niscantoen, hadthecanteen thrown out of his hand, and a small Siece of the bullet lodged in his neck, amie, who hails frae Aberdeen, re- marked, as the canteen went spinning out of his hand, " Ye might hae waited till I was dun. Tommie Jardine, one of our drummers frae the Borders, was hit while blowing the right wheel on the bugle. Poor Tommie lost the right hand, but he is now a missionary to a mininff district in Cornwall, England. Color-Sergeant Tam Smith, frae the kingdom of Fife, one of the finest solglers in the regiment, was mortally wounded while leading his half com- pany through the gardens. The Gordons captured many trophies of war, including many splendid stan- dards, some which can be seen in the officers' and 8'>r<;'eant8' mess to-day Such was the battle of Chilductean, acknowledged to be the finest piece of generalship in any of our former battles, and yet I feel sorry to say that no clasp was given for it, thus putting the 3rd Gourkhas out of the campaign witkA barefooted me Jal. Why there was no clasp given for ihia brilliant victory stiir remains a mystery, but I have heard since I left the army that the clasp given for Cabul iTicluded this engagement, and that the 3rd Gourkhas had received three months pay k stead. The army lii CHhul at the bt^ginnlng of May was fully 30,000 men, with about 1,200 horses and twenty-four guns. Sir Donald M. Stewart was In command. In the month of June the 92nd Highlanders built a kind of a theatre, and produced our own national drama '•Rob Hoy," and a kind of burlesque compoHed by one of the offlcersof General Roberts' staff entitled "Robinson Crusoe." In "Rob" Roy the writer took the part of Francis Osbai- distan. This was got up for the widows of the regiment and the whole affair was a grand success. Before the curtain fell in the burlenque we all sangto the air of the Military Guards— Tliare it % jovitl IriNhman Vf'ho8« name I iieod not tvll ; He is iust the man for a brilliant ilash And that we know right wmII. A better we uoulil not have liere, No matter how thoy blame ; Old England trusts him, so do we, And Roberts is Iijh name ! " CHAPTER XVII. Home flue acts of heroism were done by the "Gordons" at the battle of Chilductean, and yet none of these were brought to the notice of the Gen- eral. The reason of this was that, when everything had been arranged to send the names of those who had displayed such acts of bravery on the field, the cry from Kandahar came for help. At this time General Sir D. M. Stewart was still in command at Cabul. But before going any further, I must state that on the 28th July, 1880, Gen- eral Burrows was completely defeated by Avob Khan, at a place called May- wana ; General Burrows was in com- mand of an army of some 3,000 men, couHiuting of the 66th Regiment, R. H. Artillery (six guns), and some Sepoy Regiments. In this battle the 66tn Regiment lost their colors but not be> fore some three hundred gallant fellows died around them. The remnants of General Burrows' army retired to the city of Kandahar ; and with General Primrose's force they were able to hold Ayob Khan at bay. But their provi- sions were small and consequently they could not hold out long. Like all cities in Asia Kandahar is walled all round with mud. After this defeat of General Burrows the greatest fears were appM> 24 Memoirs of a Highland Soldier bended for the army then in the coun- try, which numbered about 55,000 men, divided as follows: about 20,000 in Ca- bul ; 7,000 between Quetta and Kanda- har ; about 11,000 between Cabul and the Khyber Pas? ; about 7,000 between the Shutar^ardan and Khurm Valley, and the other portion doinjr convoy duty and signalling all over the coun- try. As soon as the news reached us, Sir Donald Stewart at once decided to send an army to the rescue of the gar- rison at Kandahar. He ordered Gen- eral Roberts to select his own regi- ments, which was to consist of twelve infantry regiments, three cavalry regiments and eighteen mountain guns. The 72nd and 92nd Highlanders were the first on the list, then came the 2nd-60th Rifles nd 9th Lancera, this was the European portion of the army, together with one mountain screw gun battery, the rest were composed of Sepoys. General Ross was in command of the infantry brigade. Colonel Jen- kins was in command of the cavalry and Colonel Sweeney the artillery. The selection was well received in all quarters, and the Civil and AfilHary Gazette Of the Punjab said that General Roberts had certainly picked the best regiments; looking back at the bravery displayed by these two dashing regi- ments of Highlanders around Cabul was sufficient proof of this. On the 9th August, 1880, everything was ready for the now celebrated march to Kandahar. All of the officers made themselves as light as possible, for four or five of them slept in one tent. To move an army of 10,000 men in a country like Afghanistan means that nearly 10,000 camels, mules and elephants are required to carry them on. When we left Cabul we had fully 10,000 beasts of burden and nearly as many camp followers. All our trophies of war had to be left behind, those of the officers' were shipped to India, as were also those of the sergeants' mess; but those of the men had to be left, and some fine things they were. At the battle of Charasia, Private Colin Mc- Rae, a fine soldier, from Clachnacud- din, captured a pure silk banner, kil- ling his man bef'^re he could get pos- session of it ; Jock McLeod, another fine fellow, had some fine swords and pistols ; and the writer had some fine trophies also All there were put into the hands of the 9th Holy Boys, a regi- ment that never fired a shot in the country. Nearly every man both in the 72nd and 93nd Highlanders had to sacrifice all their hard won things, which we intended tto bring to Aula Scotland, but fate decreed otherwise. On the morning of the 10th August, 1880, the brave army of General Roberts turned the back of their hands to Cabul, the gallant Gordons leading the way, with the bands of the 9th regi- ment and 59th playing " Will you No Come Back Again." The army that was left with Sir Donald Stewart turned out to a man, mounted the walls of Bala Hissar and cheered us to the echo. The sight was grand, and as we Highlanders responded to the cheer I felt awfully proud, and as I pen those happy scenes I feel the very hairs df my head standing on end, for this was one of the many nappy moments of my life in that long and tedious campaign. The nifht before we left Cabul, one of our sentries on outpost duty, shot a horse which had strayed from the in- side line; he challenged ef course, and. as there was no answer, he fired ana hit him en the hip ; the night was very dark. About this time also. Private John Muir of "B" company, 92nd Highlanders, caused quite a commo- tion ; Muir was a great man for walk- ing in his sleep, and on this night, when all were fast asleep, he was at his old game, and as soon as he got in- to No. 3 tent, "C" company, he caught hold of Jock Wilson by the throat. Jock who was fast asleep at the time, at once was on his feet, shouting munler, and Muir joining in chorus. Every man was up out of bed long before the alarm sounded. In case of a night attack each regiment forms a cordon round their tents; no firing is allowed the bayonet only to be useid. In this manner we formed on hearing the noise ef Private Muir, and many the fine laugh we had when a few minutes after we were informed of Johnnie Muir at his old tricks again. We are now fourteen miles ffom Cabul, cut away from all communica- tion, and Sir Donald M. Stewart and his staff shake hands with General Roberts and his array and wish us all God speed. A full description ef the celebrated march will be given im my next. On Active Set-in'ce, at Home and Abroad . 25 CHAPTER XVIH. It was not till the 10th Aujirust that General Roberts and his brave band got properly started for Kandahar. Forced or any other marching' in India is gone over in stages ; that is to say, before you start, it is published in regimental orders the number of miles you have to march each day, and you know exactly the number of days it will take to arrive at your destination. But in this march such was far from being the case. 1/eveille sounded every day at 12.30 am., and the whole army was on the move by 2 a.m. The advance guard was on the move by 1.20 a.m., out it was sometimes 4 a.m. before the rear guard or fHnk guards could move on. The reason of this, of course, was according to the nature of the ground, and in the manner the army had to march, so that the marching was continued till man and beast could march no farther that day. I should say here, however, that on a rapid march like thi8,camel8 die in hundreds, and from the dav we left Cubul till the day we sightecf Kandahar, hundreds were left dead at the road side. The rear guard, which consisted of one in- fantry regiment, had spare animals to take the burdens of the fallen ones, but some days they had not enough, and the result was that some of the men had to do without tents and other things. It was seldom we ever pitched tents: we spread them on the ground and laid close to each other lilce sar- dines in a box. Some days we were 2000 feet abote the level of the sea, and other days down to sea level. We crossed Ave rivers, and it was here again that General Roberts and his staff saw the superiority of the High- land garb, In every case the High- landers were over first. If the river was, say, two or three feet deep it was a general walk across, re-forming at the other side ; but if it were breast high we crossed six and eight abreast, locking each other arm in arm. with rifles slung over the shoulder. Big heavy men carried the band and drum- mer boys on their backs. Before cross- ing any river, we Highlanders, took off shoes, hose and gaite'rs, then undone our waist belts, pulled our kilts just far enough to cover our nakedness, tight- ened up our belts again to hold up our kilts, and then stepped in. As soon as we got to the other side all we had to do was dry our Ihjth, dress them ajrain and wore in a few minutes ready for the road. But how did it fare witl'i our Saxon friends wi' the breeks ? Well, very badly indeed, especially if we were going through a sandy part of the country, their wet trousers taking up the sand, thus making it most diili- cult and painful to march. During this long and trying march any man who fell out was deprived of his grog for that day, and, as every old soldier knows, this is a great punish- ment. No man was allowed to fall out for a drink of water, for when we came to water, every man drank as much as he wanted, then filled his water bot- tle ; still there were thoughtless men among us who took no heed to the doc- tors on this, who were guided by the officers commanding on anvthing we drank and eat. When about ten days' march from Kandahar, a young soldier of the 72nd Highlanders asked leave to fall out for a drink of water ; if a man wants to fallout sick, he is accompan- ied to the rear by a non-commissioned officer, but, as already stated, no man can do so for a drink of water. It seemed to all accounts that this man neither iilled his bottle or took a drink at the last place we had water. After asking the sergeant of his section sev- eral times to fall out for a drink, he rushed in among a lot of bushes and shot himself, where the rear guard found him some hours after. The daily average of sleep we had was about three hours. General Roberts during the march had a guard composed of twenty-four picked men of the "Gordons," and the Highlanders who composed that guard were much inspired to hear their gallant General every night before going to sleep pray- ing with the greatest sincerity to the Almighty for the safety of his army and the success of his mission. It was sometimes 10 p,m. before we halted for the day but seldom later than 7 p.m. As soon as it was known where the army was to rest, one hun- dred men from each regiment, armed with picks and rifles marched to the nearest village for firewood and other provisions; a lieutenant in charge of each. As soon as we got to the village, the officer halted his men, and spoke to the people thus:—" We are here not to make war wilt you; we want wood, 2fi Memoirs of a Highland Soldier i ' potatoes, etc., and will pay you a fair price for anything you are able to spare us. If you do not give us these things we will take them by force and pay you according to the destruction we make. ' In every case that I have seen, the Afghans refused us with the utmost contempt. In these fatigue parties, as they were called, fifty men were armed with rifles and fifty men with picks and axes. The officer in command would order all the men armed to mount the walls and to keep a strict watch on the natives during the work- ing of the men with picks and axes. The houses were ransacked at once, and anything in the shape of wood was ftulled down and cut up in a way that t could be loaded on camels and mules which were ready at the gate to carry it to camp. As soon as the officer in commaua thought we had enough, he called on the chief or mayor of the vil- lage, made him look at what we had taken, and then paid him in silver whatever it was worth. In many cases like this a whole village would be de- { ►rived of every piece of wood-work in t. But why 8"hould the army of Gen- eral Roberts do things like this r> Be- cause two days after we left Ghiznee there was no wood of any kind to be had, the fuel used by the natives being cow and camel dung; and if we came to any place where straw, hay or such like could be had v;e could cook our food with it. 80 it was altogether a necessity for taking anything bv force. And be it remembered' that anything we took in such a way, the people were paid more than double its value. The day we entered Ghiznee the 92iid Highlanders were the advance guard, and as we marched through the streets with our fine band of pipers playing the "Lads wi'the Kilts we noticed a very painful and curious s'ght. It was that of a white man mounted on a camel amongst a crowd of Afghans staring at us Highlanders as we passed along in grand array, with fixed bayonets. "The man is greeting us," said a voice from the ranks. And sure enough he was. " He is an Afghan with the leprosy; he is no European," said another. At any rate we were interected to know why he wept so bitterly at kilted Highlanders, at once gave the the sight of the Our Colonel order to bring him to his presence and ihere explain who he was. It was soon discovered that he was the son of a Private Daw- son of the famous Black Watch, who was stolen from his parents by the Afghans some eighteen years before. All the English he could mutter was Johnny Dawson. He was a well-to-do camel driver, was circumcised, had five wives, and had all the nature and habits of the Afghan about him We took him to Kandahar, and shortly after found his father and mother in Australia ; but when within a few miles from India he bolted back to Afghan- istan and we never heard any more about him. At this same place we Eicked up a fine dog, which atterwards ecame a great hero in the regiment. After distinguishing himself at several engagemen is he was named ' 'G ha i!e«v " He much resembled a West Highland collie, and woe to those who would come too close to the pipers, for he did not care a button for the band. As soon as the band started to play he would fall to the rear, pass the time among the rear companies till he heard the pipes start up again, then he would start away to the front like u shot, cock his lugs and tail and seemed to feel as proud as any of us. Much could be said of this curious dog, but as I have said his name was "GbaKee," which means warrior, he certainly did not make a fool of his name, and before concluding his brief history I must tell my readers that he had no less than nine wounds on his body, which brought him down to half "his size. When we came home to Scotland after the war, Ghazee took very sick, and the officers put him into the veterinary hospital in Edinburgh, under no lens a person than Professor Williams, who took several bullets out of his body. So much for Ghazee, of whom more anon. As soon as we halted for the night and had our grog and other good things necessary to keep us alive and cheer our hearts for the trials we nad, and those before us, we had three meals all in a lump, viz., breakfast, dinner and supper, all these inside of one hour. Food for the animals sometimes could not bo had at all, and even our own food was something awful, still we took it without a grumble, for we all well knew that it was the best we could get. During the march we halted two days to give the animals a rest, for On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. 27 >n discovered Private Daw- Watch, who rents by the years before, mutter was .8 a well-to-do lumcised, had |he nature and •ut hi in We . and shortly nd mother in in a few mileK ck to Afghau- |ard any more ume place we ich afterwardH the regiment, isolf at several ned*'Ghazei\" V^est Highland le who would ters, for he did he band. As :ed to play he pass the time estill he heard srain, then he he front like ii ail and seemed ' of us. Muih irious dog, but was^Ghazee," le certainly did ime, and before toiy F must tell li no less than boily, which half his size. Scotland after very sick, and the veterinary under no lens Williams, who It of his body. )f whom more for the night ler good things ive and cheer s we nad, and three meals all St, dinner and H of o\w, hour, metimes could oven our own li, still we took or we all well t we could get. i^e halted two als a rest, for they were dying in buiidrudK every day, not only for want of food, but from the long marches they had to undergo, and should it rain during the progress of a day's march, the tents, etc., on their backs would much increase in weight, so it is evident in such cases the poor brutes had to suffer. It was sometimes 10 p.m. before we got our last meal, but it did not matter, we all had to be up at the first sound of the pibroch, at 12.30 a.m. The worst of all these were the hardships of out- post duty. For example: here is a corps on rear guard, coming in about three hours after the main body; some 200 men of these are told c4f for outpost duty, they are marched to their posts before they have a bite to eat or enything to drink, or a chance for a few minutes rest, and it may be some time before the orderly men can bring anything to them. 1 have seen cases where men in this march could not eat when their meals were brought to them, being so fatigued with hunger ; but 1 feel proud to say that such cases were very rare among the ranks of the sons of dear old Scotia, vide Gen. Robert's speech at the Mansion House, Lcridon, a few months afterwards. Some days, although sixteen hours on the toad, we did not go over four- teen miles, the nature ot the country preventing us, and the number of ani- mals falling dead with their loads. Other days we went rapidly along, covering as many as thirty miles. When going to rest we hardly ever took off our clothes ; our kilts for a mattress, and a stone for a pillow. Such is only a very brief account of this piece of British pluck and endur- ance, and as Von Moltke said, " every man that went to Kandahar with Gen. Itoberts was a hero," it is here for my readers to judge. On the 31st August we sighted Kan- dahar, And as the scouts of the 9th Lancers came rolling in, Gen. Roberts ordered a halt. Every mounted officer of the staff was galloping here and there to ascertain where the best place would be to have a spy at the city and how our people were liolding out. We had not halted ten minutes when a res- ponse was given to our signals. The li rst thing that was asked by our com- mander was, " Where is your Union Jack, Gen. Primrose 1*" 'Gen. Prim- rose at once replied that to have such a thing only drew the fire of the euemv on his quarters. Gen. Roberts at once gave the order to hoist the Britisli flag and should it be shot down, replace it at once with another ; this was about 7 a.m. on the 31st August, and as it was now a level plain for miles round, our army formed up in column of bri- gades with our fine regiments of caval- ry feeling and clearing the way before us. As soon as the command was given to move forward, the Highland- ers gave three terrible cheers whicli were at once taken up by the other regiments, so off we went in battU-, array to rescue our comrades, who were almost mad with pleasure at the glitter of our bayonets in the morning sunshine, as we advance to save them from the hands of such a cruel foe. W«( had not advanced five miles whcMi Ayob Khan and his army of heroes of May whan retired about two miles from the walls of Kandahar. Here thuy strongly entrenched themselves. About 12 o'clock, noon, on the 3lHt August, the great march was com- pleted, and as we piled arms riitside the walls of Kandahar, many a soldier said: "I hope Ayob Khan will wait till the morrow, and give us a breath, so that we will be able to show him how to fight." He did wait. So now, on the morrow, one of the finest battles in the whole campaign takes place,an'l I shall try, in the best way I can, o describe how we won the day, aim what the British can do when put fair- ly to the test. CHAPTER XIX. After partaking of some coffee and bread, the order to advance was given, whore to, we did not know ; but as soon as we heard the firing of the 2nd Bri- gade we understood that it was for a reconnaissance, and sure enough this was wl: It it was. Goneral Roberts was anxious to feel his strength, and as soon as he did so, he ordered the whole army to retire and make Ayob Khan believe that we were beaten, Thus, as we retired, the whole of Ayob Khan's force was at our heels. As soon as we had a good look at them, the outposts were ordered to hold their ground, and were soon reinforced by the Ist and 3rd Brigades. After a few volleys the Afghans retired b.ick itito their trenches. S8 Meinoirs of a Highland Soldier The only thing now that General Roberts and his army feared was that Ayob would bolt during the nijfht. The object of our march front Cabul was not only to relieve the garrison, but to retake the two guns that Ayob Khan took from General Burrows on the 38th July, 1880, at Maywan, and also to rescue Lieutenant Hector Mc- r.jean, of the U. H. Artillery, who was taKen prisoner at May wan. This gal- lant voung officer, who belonged to Aberdeenshire, displayed some line nets of heroism during that unfortu- nate battle, and when it became known to the Highlanders that a countryman of theirs was a prisoner in the hands of the enemy, our hearts beat with the wildest anxiety as to how we could rescue him. About 11.30 a.m. the Highlanders and Gourkhas sent the flower of Ayob Khan's warriors flying before them. Lieutenant McLean was at that time a prisoner in Ayob's tent. As soon as Ayob saw the pride of his army give way, he gave orders to his guard to shoot Lieutenant McLean, and then bolted with his train just in time to escape capture, for when our cavalr got to Helmund, Ayob Khan was not more than one mile ahead. Here is what the London Punch said of this gallant officer after the news of the battle reached London :— Come gatlier around and I'll tell you a .story, Strange it may seem ip martial days ; War is the theme and its i-ssue is glory. Silly old Troubadours jingled such lays, What is the name of my hero ? Write iilain. Soldier and Scotsman, it's Hector McLean. Hector sounds well in a .story of liattle. Homer had .some .such old hero in Troy ; School boys may doubt, but the roar and the rattle ; Cannon and smoke, that's the school of the boy. Woolwich cadet, oh ! .so cruelly slain, Why did they leave you, young Hector Me- Lean. Leaye you, my lad, when your pals all around yo", Was there one comrade refused you his life? War is full dear, but wo could not alford yon. You, who rejoiced in the drum and the fife. Ours is the loss, but to fame is the gain ; Why did they kill you, young Hector Mc- Lian ? Killed ^ou, a prisoner left there and lonely, Waiting in hope for the grasp of ou* hand » .Straining your ears for our cheering and only Living to leap at the hilt of the brand. Cursed be the nnuderers, children of Cain ; Thosn who betraye'iment, pulling off his helmet to show his bald head. At the signal we were off and at them, like tigers. in a few seconds we were in among them, and oh ! what slaughter is now going on. Looking around me I see the wee Gourkhas, cutting right and left with their deadly knives ; here again I feel myself parrying a blow, or making a lunge at some one— I do not know who. I am like the rest so full of excitement. This dashing charge of the Highlanders made the rest of the battle easy, for we had swept away the pride of Ayob Khan's army. But it was in doing this that we ' suifered so severely. Among the "Gordons, "Color-Sergeant Fraser, fell, as also did Private Strachan, to- gether with many other*). In this (lash the 72nd lost their Colonel and Captain Frome, together with Ser- jeant Cameron, ,whom General lioberts mentioned as being a fine specimen of a Highland soldier. Ser- geant Cameron, who was better known as "Curly Cameron," was a native of Deeuide, and was a dear and affec- tionate friend of the writer. After turning the tide of the day, we waited a few minutes to get a drink of water. Private MacLachlan, of my own com- pany, when in the act of taking a drink of water, was attacked in the most dar- ing manner by an Afghan who was lying down among the dead. He made straight for Mac's head ; Mac parried off the sword with his left arm, and struck the Afghan right in the teeth with his left. CorporalMacPhail, I think it was, despatched the Afghan with the bayonet. MacLachlan was, of course, badly cut on the forearm and top of his head. Many sights like this were seen during the battle, and the most lamentable of the whole was that of Captain Stratton, commanding the signalling corps under General Roberts. The battle was all over, and Captain Stratton, along with a lance- corporal of the 72nd, were going up Picket Hill to silence the forty pounders, when a wounded Afghan shot our gallant captain through the back, who fell dead at the corporal's feet. You may be sure the corporal put an end to this coward After partaking of a drink of water, we once more advanced to the attack. So on we went in the usual way, forc- ing everything before us by rushes, and in these encounters some Hue acts of bravery were performed ; particu- larly was this the case when we reached within 200 yards of the guns, which were pelting shell into us all day. Major White's bald head still held good for the signal to charge. We are now about 100 yards from the guns. Major White rushes in front of the lines, off goes the helmet, and the glossy bald skin of our brave leader glitters in the sunshine. With one terrible bound the Highlanders are in among the gunners before they have time to reload, th ir infantry and cavalrv having bolted at the tirstsound ofthe Highland war pipe. Thegunners are cut down without mercy. A cheer goes up, and a shout, "The guns, the guns are ours ! " Still we keep rush- ing on, leaving a few men to guard the guns we took. Away to our left are our own cavalry getting ready to make the dash on the now broken army of the once great Ayob Khan. Just as we turn the corner of the valley giving the Afghans chase, the whole of their camp appears in view and a wild rush was now made to rescue our country- man, Hector McLean. At this time, be it remembered, we thought we had him safe, and it was in our wild search that the great tent of Ayoh Khan fell into the hands of the 92nd Highlanders. The writer was among the nrst to find Lieutenant MacLeaniB body lyUiff at 80 Memoirs of a Highland Soidier P! i ! the main entrauce of Ayob's tent. When we found hiin ho was quitu warm, ho was lying on nis back, with a pleasant smile on his face. He was in his shirt sleeves with a book, with a green cover beside him ; lie had twelve bullets through his body. This is all ! remember of the poor but brave Hector McLean, for his bodv was soon carried away by the oand to head- quarters hospital. More than 2,000 tents fell into our hands, together with every gun they had. This fine piece of work, com- mencing with our march and ending with the battle, was the admiration of all Europe. It put an end to a most tedious and hard campaign which lasted from the 14th November, 1H78, to the 1st September, 1880, and cost the Indian and home governments nine- teen million pounds 8terling. In this battle of Kandahar the!)2nd. Highlanders had twenty killed and sixty-three wounded ; the 72nd, seven killed and thirty-seven wounded. This was the European portion of the fight- ing line during the battle, for the other portion formed the reserve and was never called to the front, so they had none killed or wounded. The Pioneers and Oourkhas, however, who formed the other portion of the fighting line lost heavily also. Thus ended the Afghan war, where the 92nd High- landers won two Victoria Crosses and nine distinguished conduct medals. CHAPTER XX. On the morning of the 2ud of Sep- tember the whole of our dead were buried, and the funeral was attended by General Roberts and his staff. All our dead, except Colonel Brownlow and Captain Frome, (both of the 72nd Highlanders) were rolled in blankets, and the two combined bands of the Highlanders led the way to the spot selected for the interment of our dead comrades. The dead march, which was "Scots wha hae," you may be sure, was played to perfection ; nothing in- deed in my estimation could surpass the solemnity of the sad picture, .just think of it, readers ! Here we are almost 10,000 soldiers who had marched 336 miles in twenty days under very trying circumstances and Avhich ha.s been admitted to be one of the greatest f«;itH in military history, gathered to- gether to pay the last respects to the bravest of the brave. The finest leaders the British army ever knew are there; and it would be safe to say the flower of the British army also. Steadilv along came the firing party, in full Hfghlaua garb, with our pipers on the reverse Hank, making for their place in line We are now at the head ot the graves. The bodies are put into the graves here and there. The command is given " Fire three volleys in the air, with blank catridge ! Ready ! " The volleys are fired. The pioneers are just getting ready to cover them up. The Presby- terian minister holds up his hands and in a moment the pioneers fall back into their places. But why should thts minit?ter do this after the service ? Be- cause he knew almost every man tha^ was put in their graves, and he wanted to say something about them. And so he did ; and before he finished there was not one dry eye among us from General Roberts to the smallest drum- mer boy. The sight was sad in the extreme, and the writer will never for- get it, nor will any man who was there. But what about the Afghans who were laving in hundreds all over the field of battle, where the vultui;es and other beasts were tearing their bodies to pieces. Well, General Roberts gave orders to the garrison of Kandahar to have them buried, and a bad job they made of it, too. It took 600 men three days to do it, and in many cases the bodies were not more than one foot from the surface. The result of this was that cholera came to Kandahar, which played ter..ble havoc in the city and sur- rounding country not many weeks after. Attiii' twenty-seven days rest in Kandahar, the Gordons started for India by way of the Bolan Pass. During our stay in Kandahar we pulled up to our old standard of strength and vigor ; and the march down to India was a pleasure to us. After crossing the frontier we took train to Meen Meer, a very important station in the Punjab ; here we were reviewed by Lord Ripon, then viceroy of India. The whole of General Robert's army was present, together with the Lahore and Meen Meer divi- sions, and many regiments too from different parts of India. The review was a grand success especially the march past when the On Active Service, at Iloiite and Abroad. 31 ti fioest leaders new are there ; say the flower Steadily alontr I full Hfghlaua on the reverse Ir place in liua 01 the graves. ;he graves here and is given the air, with " The volleys larejustgetting The Presby- , his hands and rs fall back into by should the e service? B«- every man tha^ and he wanted them. And bo finished there among us from smalleHt drum- vaM sad in the r will never for- 1 who was there. b Afghans who [eds all over the he vultui;es and Ing their bodies Bneral Roberts 3 garrison of them buried, ie of it, too. It yrstodo it, and odies were not >m the surface. as that cholerH which played city and sur- I; many weeks days rest in us started foi' I Bolan Pass. Kandahar we d standard of iiid the march 3lea8ure to us. >ntier we took i^ery important here we were ti, then viceroy I of General esent, together len Meer divi- lents too from grand succesH )a8t when the Highlanders and Gourkhas were going past the saluting poiut at the grand stand, where Lord Kipon Rtood, surrounded oy all the glory of India, the cheering and throwing of flowers, etc., was, to say the least, enough to drive us Highlanders mad with joy and enthusiasm. Going past in column of double companies with seventy file per company, like a wall, brought forth the warmest admiration from our countrymen who had come from all parts of India to look at the heroes oi Kaudahar. A day or so after the review Colonel Macdonald, editor of the Civi\ and Mili- tary Gaxetu, suggested in the columns of his fine paper, that the Scotchmen of the Panjab. should go shouMer to shoulder and do something to show their appreciation towards the High- landers who had showered so many honors on their native land in the late campaign in Afghanistan. The response to this hint was most wonderful, for in the inside of twenty- four hours, sixteen thousand rupees were thrown to the editor's door. Day after day money came pouring in, in the most liberal manner ; a committee was soon formed which at ouce decided what should be done. All money re- ceived from those who were not Scotch was returned with thanks, so the whole affair was confined to the Scotchmen of the Panjab. Not many days after however, the two Highlanci Regiments viz : 72nd and 92ud High- lanaers were invited to attend a ban- quet to be gi^^'^ ^^ their honor at Meen Meer. The two regiments were ordered to parade early and by 11 a.m. all were there ready for a';tion. Tables were set for 1,200 men, but not inside any building, but in a most beautiful spot among trees. At noon the pipers sounded the fall in, and in a few minutes we were seated and enjoy- ing ourselves to our hearts' content on the best things this world could give, and waited on, not by men, but by tlie highest ladies in the land, all dressed, it you please, in short dresses with ' nerent tartans, ready to give us anything that we called for. And how these ladies did laugh waiting on us wild " hieland 80dgers,"and such a happy time it was for us ? After dinner Colonel Macdonald, of the O'nV and Military- Gazette, read an address to us. The officers of the two regiments ropli.dand thanked our countrymen and ladies for such a glorious feast. We then took part in all kinds of games which are so dear to Scotsmen wherever they may be. The prizes for throwing the hammer and putting the shot, was over :$100 for the first prize : the same was given for dancing and the singing of Gaelic songs. There were three lady judges in the Gaelic song competition and in this Private John McLeod of the 92nd Highlanders carried away the prize. But in the Scotch singing competi- tion the competitors were so numerous that the ladies could not decide who was who. No sooner was the stage empty than five or six men were ready to give a song. " Put doon my name, Tnom," "I can sing a fine Jacobite song" a voice would say. The ladies were bothered like this all day but they enjoyed the fun immensely. Nothing but Scotch songs could be accepted, so it is easy to understand the happy time we had, and every man who sung a song, no matter how short it was re- ceived ten rupees (five dollars) and there were over 400 men, who received that amount each. The closing point of the dav was the tug-of-war between the Highlanders and Lowlanders, twenty- four men a-side. Mr. D. Ross of the Panjab and Delhi Railway, (an old school mate of the writer's) took command of the Highland team, y .id Major Scott of the 2nd Gourkhas uok command of the lowland team, and after a very hard struggle the High- landers won, this putting an end to one of the most happy days of my life. To give the names of those present on this occasion would include the most prominent men in India, so in concluding this chapter it might suffice to say that the reception given by India to her soldiers will go to show how highly they appreciate anything w liich binJls our great empire together, thus knowing full well that in a great measure depends greatly on the deeds and daring of her army in that great and wonderful country. After a rest of nearly three months, the 92nd Highlanders are called again to arms, this time in South Africa, so on the (Jth January 1881, we were on our way to Bombay, to embark for Durban", in the colony of Natal. 82 Memoirs of a Hii^hlond Soldier chai'Tb:r XXI. Ii AfUir u pluasaiit voyag'e wo arrived at Durl)aH on tho 2Hth January, 1K81. On landing the Kuv. T. 1'. Riarlin, Presbyterian mirlstcr, road «n address of welcome to us, and tliousands crowded I'ound us to sliake hands. It rained all day and .ilinost continu- ally for three months after, for it WiS now the rainy sea.son which niaketi camp life most miscral)lo. After two hourH stay in Durban wo took train for Petermaritzburjf, tho capital of Natal. Before leaving Durban tho townspt'ople came with loads of pinoafiples to us and had a carload attucht d to our train. Wo jj^ot a g-rand reception in Poter- maritzbur^, but did not wait for any time but at once procoodod with all haste to the front. ^Ve were joined here by the 75th Blue Jackets bolon}?- in{f to tho warships in Durban. Those had several j^uns and one gatlin;? fjun, which thoy wore takinjf up to tho neat of war at Lang's Nock. It seem- ed most comical to us Highlanders to see these " Tars " marching bare- footed and carrying their shoos on their back but, that is the way Jack marches. Tho march up to Moutit Prospect where the head quarters of General CoUey was, was not only miserable l)Ut most" ditHcuIt. We could not have landed in a worse time, and from the day we started from Imburg our clothing and everything belonging to us was wringing wet, tho|road8 were terrible, we never could go more than two miles an hour. So, after a hard struggle we reached General Colley's force on the 'J3rd February, 1881, and wondered very much when we got there to see things so quiet. General Colley's force consisted at this time of the 30th Rifle Brigade, Mth Itogiment,- six guns and a few of the ;5rd Dragoon Guards. This small foixe had suffered three defeats before we joined them, and had Io,st many men. The majority of them wore bare-faced laddies as we High- landers called them. After arriving at Newcastle we were inspected by General Colley and his staff, and he was very much struck by our martial appearance. Nothing of any note took place till Saturdav nig'ht Oil the »»th Februarv, 1881, at about 8 p.m., a secret parade was order- ed whicli (oiiKihtcHl of about 5r>1 men of all corps, V z. : Urd Sixtieth MO men, r)8th Uom throe different corps, and the members of which were exhausted by their harassing night march. The necessity for extending the men so much was due to the impossibility of observing an enemy's approach, or de- termining at what point his attack might be delivered. The defence was distributed as follows :■— The Highland- ers being placed by Major Mac^reg&r, who was on the General's sf&ff, to the 92nd wore given the western brow and part of the northern. One company was extended and the other formed a support, not a reserve. Behind the rocky ridge in the centre of the plat- eau, the r)8th held the eastern and part of the northern brow, Iheir second company being in support, along with the company of the 92nd. The sailors held the southern corner of the plateau: sixteen men were po,st('.d at eleven, and a few at five. Lieut. Hector Macdonald held a knoll on the south face with eighteen men, and Lieutenants Wright and Hamilton were in command of the second line of Highlanders who held the western brow. CHAPTER XXIIl. Instead of ordering the men to form such entrenchments as might have been possible in the time at his dis- posal before daylight, and before any Boer attack cuuld be made upon him, General Colley ordered them to reat in their positions. He walked round th« posts, saying to the troops : " All I awk you is to hold this hill three days." Later on, when the hill was swept with the enemy's tire, and where no work- ing party could live, he thought of en- trenching, and, accompanied by Com mander l{omilly, went in search of a site, but it was too late then, and poor Uomilly was shot dead by the general's side. The precious time had been wasted, and an unsheltered handful of men had to meet tho concentrated fire of 2,000 marksmen, firing from perfect cover, and from every point of vantage. .Shortly after tJ a.m., when just light, says Captain Wright, in his statement, a patrol of Hoers went round the base of the hill unsuspectinglv, when a shot was fired from the 3rd (lOth against orders, which were not to bring on an engagement If It could be avoided. However, that shot told a tale, and the Boers galloped back to their camps with it Immediately. All the camps were like wasps's nests dis- turbed, and it really was an imposing sight to see that Sunday morning all turn out, fires lighted for breakfast, and then a morning hymn sung, after which all the jraggons were In- spanned, and the Boers turned out for batthv A storming party of about 200 men immediately rode under the second ridge. By crossing round under the naval brigade's position t'ley could do It without being seen. There they left their horsus (all the Boer army were mounted), and climbed right under the hill, where we could not .-^ee them wl ,hout going to the very edge of the hill and exposing our- selves entirely to the fire from the two ridges. In this position we remained till about noon, the Boers climbing to- wards us step by step, and I may al- most say unsuspected bv any but Hamilton and myself. Twice I went to the general and told him we couldn't hold our position with so few men (about seven to one), if any serious at- tack were made. All he said wae: ' ' Hold the place three days. " General Schmidt, who commanded the Boers' attacking party that day, told Major Douglas and Capt. Dick Cunyngham, of the 92nd, that he had 2,000 rifles employed in the attack. It thus be- came a question of time when the Boors would concentrate the fire of their coverln their attack oi which occupl Kssesslon of t I down In th and search ou tire. At abou having quletl jiaratlons lire< rect on the fe^ lug the brow lKe( half of them ing ridii e (on the lion). "By th been greatly ( reinforcement keep down t the Boers, wl surrounded tl In support, € men, were no western face, the position f been driven. not shoot over drawn, and fc centre of plat( led by a tew fo:ce into the em face, and north face ii rendered It u dlatelyaftert the northeast is the highest men now fo ridge, fixed 1 equal Are c doubtful, LI to Sir Geo. C be ordered t( piled : >' Not the open, an volley and were not Ilk tages of thel superiority cross the o\ with an ene lighting, an from the we the knoll an idly. By t was gettlni the men we those of ov the line bro Colley sal( way you c steep for ai the fast pos On Active Srri'itr, nt Ifoim- tuui Ahiotui 37 them to rost in lk«d round th« Ph: "All lank II threo dayN. ' waH Hwupt with rhure no work- tiiouffhtof on- taniedby Com in B0»4rch of a then, and poor by the general 'h me had been Iterod handful 10 concentrated u, tiring from "very point of (i a.m., when Wright, in hi8 >erB went round insuspectinglv, 1 from the Uid lich were not to nt if it could bo hat shot told a al loped back to mediately. All asps's nests dis- aH an impoHing ay morning all for breakfast, hymn sung, iggons were in- H turned out for irty of about 200 )de under the :ro8sing round gade'H position )ut hoing seen. horhMS (all the 9d), and climbed wrhere we could oingtothe very exposing our- re from tne two n we remained irs climbing to- and I may al- 1 by any but Twice I went him we couldn't h 80 few men any serious at- he said was: ays." General ded the Boers' lay, told Major k Cunyngham, liad 2,000 rifles k. It thus be- Ime when the ate the fire of their covering partins, and deliver their attack on 8om» point in the lino which occupied the brow. Once in possession of the brow they had but to lie down in the cover which ItatVordod, and search out the interior with their lire. At about 12.:iO o'clock the enemy having (|uietly completed all his pre> parations Hrea a very heavy volley di- rect on the few men who were occupy- ing the brow immediately opposite the riuge (on the western /ace), putting half of them )u>r* tie eombat (out of ac- tion). 'By this time the support had been greatly decreased by the call for reinforcements from dItVereiit points, to keep down the tire and approach of the Boers, whose parties now nearly surrounded the hill. The few men left In support, chietly sailors and r>Mth men, were now brought up towards the western face, but were halted short of the position from which our men had been driven. Finding that they could not shoot over the brow they were with- drawn, and form*!d behind the ridge In centre of plateau. The Boers then, led led by a tew Kaffirs, puHhed in great force into the gap thus left in the west- ern face, and there established took the north face in tiank and reverse, and rendered it untenable. Almost imme- diately after the Boers showed i n force on the northeast angle on a koppie, which is thehighestpointon Majaba top. Our men now formed behind the central rUlge, fixed bayonets, and as the un- equal fire contest could not be long doubtful, Lieut. Hamilton suggested to Sir Geo. Colley, that the men should he ordered to charge. Sir George re- plied : *' Not yet ; wait till thoy cross the open, and then we will give them a volley and charge." But the Boers were not likely to give up the advan- tages of their better positions, and the superiority of their many rifles, to i-ross the open and risk shock tactics with an enemy trained to close order fighting, and our men taken in front from the west, in tiank, and rear, from the knoll and from the hollow, fell rap- idly. By this time our ammunition was getting low, and the pouches of the men were being replenished from those of our dead comrades. At last the line broke, biit not before General Colley said : 4' lietire, men, the best way you can, for the ground is too steep for an orderly retreat !" Before the last position was yielded, the num- ber was reducetl to (!0 or 70 men, and there wan a llneof killed and wounded, chiefly U'Jnd, to murk the ground. Alnrnt 1 p.m. we saw some heads ap- pearing over the top. The 5)2nd rush- ed forward in a body and drove them for the moment back. We lost about fk) kill( d and wounded. Then, strange to sav, the word to cease tire came dis- tinctly to where Hay and I were, and immediately after retire. We all ran back to the'ridge in the middle of the hill, which allowed the Boers to g.iin the hill. Then came the murder ! In the meantime more Boers came up round where the sailors were, and be- gan to tire into the hospital, and no took UH in rear. Hamilton and I both went to the (ieneral, and asked to be allowed to charge. "Walt," he said, "send a volley or two first ; Twill give the order." Hamilton then said to me. " Let us call on the Highlanders, and charge on our own account ; are you reaoy, Harry !" 1 answered yes ; drew my claymore and laid it beside me. I had no sooner done so, when Hamilton fell wounded at my side. Macgregor came up then and said, "We've got to die now." Just then I heard the General say, " Retire in as orderly a manner as you can," when they all jumped up and ran to the rear. Hay and I and two men of ours remained where we were, all using rifles and firing our best ; Macdonald still held his position and would not budge, neither would wo. About a quarter of an hour after the retirement no tiring had been going on from the rest of our troops, which neither Hay nor I could under- stand ; as we thought by retiring It was meant to hold the brow on the east side where the 58th were posted. We were now being sorely pressed, hiding our bodies behind stones, and for ano- ther five minutes the unequal combat went on. Then Hay said, "The bat- tle's over, we can't fight a multitude; let us try and get away." So off we four started In the direction which the others had previously taken, under a most awful volley from the Boers on the Navy side, and the ridge where we had been latterly firing at the enemy only twenty yards distant. Both the men were killed. Hay was shot on the leg and arm, and I was hit on the foot and turned head over heelii. 88 Memoirs oj a HigJihiud Soldier I had to urawl ou ray stomach, a yard or two back to get my rifie and ho lost Hay, who got under cover somewhere. I will now close Lieutenant Wright's statement and leave the account to another stage. Meantime, let me turn to the narrative of Major (now Major General) Hay, who was in command of the two companies of the 92nd. He says the objectionable sentences in the "Bacchante" account of the battle, which he declares to be erroneous from beginning to end, and he refutes them on one point. He points out that what is called in official documents a re- serve, was no reserve, but merely a support, which although originally con- sisting of three companies, had. sent forward so many reinforcements to the fighting line ; that when the final at- tack was made there were only twenty- four men left. He describes as rubbish the "Bacchante" statement that the or- der to fix bayonets and charge down on the advancing Boers was not ex- ecuted. Bayonets, he says, were fixed, but he supports the records and Lieutenant Wright in declaring that no order wasgiventocharge. Hamilton he says asked Sir G. Colley to allow the men to charge, but Sir George refused to do so, and in my opinion was right in refusing. There was nothing to charge. There was not a Boer to be seen. From the position we then occu- pied the ground went down in a gentle slope for a short distance and then came a steep descent. The Boers had collected just where the steep descent b(tgan and without being seen them- selves their fire swept tfe glacis-like slope which would have had to be crossed before they could be reached, and besides the slopes were under a heavy fire from a ridge only four hundred yards off. A charge under such circumstances would in my opinion have been madness and could havedonenogood at any rate. Without entering into the merits of this point of tactic*! we emphasise the conclusion that iho request of these ofhcers to be allowed to charge and the willingness of the men to follow, show how eager they were to grapple at close quarters witn tiie foe. The line, he continues, remained firing in the direction of the lioers till it received the order to re- tire. He. (General Colley) I suppose considered there was nothing to be gained by hnldingonany longer, firing at an invisible enemy. His men were being shot down without being able to inflict any loss upon the enemy. It was a mere matter of time how long the unequal contest could last— simply depended on how long it would take to finish off the survivors. As soon as the ridge was left, and not till then the Boers came on firing as fast as they could. There was nothing the men could do. They stood until they were ordered to retire. There were no reserves and the supports did not bolt. We did certainly go before the Boers reached reached us, for the simple reason that the Boers did not leave their ai^* ^ er till we had retired. I have mot pi^O[^io who thought that the Boers had char;;'ed and driven us off the hill. Had they done so the tale would be quite different to relate. It was the crushing fire that compelled us to re- tire, and until we had retired not a Boer was to be seen. General Colley, continues Major, seeing the small number of men remaining and these few were being mowed down without in any way being able to silence the enemy's fire, gave the order for them to retire as best they could. This they did on the eastern slope of the plateau but part of the iiHth, who held that position, and who had also had their ranks ter- ribly thinned, were unable any longer to hold it. So it was with tfie few men left there, as well as those who had re- tired, from what I may call the second , position behind the low central ridge. The men under Lieutenant Hector Macdonald on the hillock, (with the ex- ception of one or two only being either killed or wounded) were there sur- rounded and either killed or shot down. It is imagined by many that the Boers actually gained the plateau and drove the defenders of!" it, sending them back from each position. The Boers never showed themselves at all if they could help it, and never to such an extent as to allow a single effective volley to bo delivered at them. The defenders lost each position from the few remaining men left to hold it, l)eing the whole time under a well directed fire, which they were unable to return with any effect. It was like men in the open exposed to the fireof an entrench" ed enemy ; it was only a matter of time when they had so shot down the men in the open that they could leave their eutreucbir ants without any chance of o] olhcers of th one came bac of his wouE wounded or Sergeant Fri company's p« kilt. But under a flag take anythin Boers were t Tulloch, the who escaped him by a g years after heroism that the sergeant person Know It appears, v Transvaal a lot of Boers the Majaba, latiug a stc prisoner ont short, Serge hand over h he broke it his sword ar or four of tl precipice la fe6t below; all night ; camp. Se powerful 1 was badly 1 jump, so n liear the kn him Prevos was the or that got a buried just night tiie all watclie Macdonald oners had over his c the officei months be returned the Comm At the Cohey hac than ^,000 known th nothing c< the \'}ener wroitg pli general I going ou force that all. This who went On Active Service, at Home and Abroad. 89 [being able to Tiemy. It was low long the last— simply ouid take to As soon as t till then the fast as they n^ the men "itil they were |ere were no js did not bolt, [fore the Boers the simple Idid not leave Jtired. I have Jthat the Boers en us off the the tale would te. It was the >elled us to re- retired not a General Colloy, ? the small ng and these down without I to silence the Ithe order for Bt they could, eastern slope part of the position, and lir ranks ter- ible ativ longer th the few men so who had re- :aii the second central ridgo. tenant Hector k', (with the ex- lybding either ire there sur- illed or shot any that the 10 plateau and , Minding them 1. The Boers 8 at all if they ir to such an ngle effective it them. The tion from the ) hold it. being well directed ibis to return ke men in the f an entrench" a matter of ihot down the ly could leave without any chance of opposition. . Out of eight oIKcers of the 92nd Highlanders, only one came back, Captain Sin^Hoton, died of his wounds, all the others were wounded or taken prisoners ; Color- Sergeant Fraser was buried with the company's pay which he had under his kilt. But why? because we were under a flag of truce und could not take anything from the dead, for the Boers were there watching ; Sergeant TuUoch, the only sergeant ot the 92nd who escaped, had ten pounds sent to him by a gentleman in Natal, three J ears after the battle, for a piece of eroism that was never recorded, and the sergeant was too proud to let any person Know about it. The gentleman. It appears, was travelling through the Transvaal and one night fell in with a lot of Boers who were talking about the Majaba, and three of them were re- lating a story, when trying to take prisoner one of the Highlanders. In short. Sergeant Tulloch was asked to hand over his riiie, instead of doing so, he broke it against a stone, then drew his sword and cut and wounded three or four of them, then leaped over the precipice landing on a tree some 30 tedt below ; here tne sergeant remained all night ; and at daybreak got into camp. Sergeant Tulloch, who is a powerful Highlander from Culloden, was badly hurt on the back after the jump, so' much so, that he could not bear the knapsack, so the Colonel made him Provost-Sergeant. General Colley was the only person of all the killed that got a coniii ; ali the others were buried just as they fell. Durlig the night tiiu Boers stripped the dead of camp. There is a splendid monument on the top of Majaba for those of the 92Md who fell. After Majaba about 900 men dosertcd, the majority going from the 94th Reg-iment, or 2nd Connaught Hangers. There were several Irish- men fighting against us, one of them a doctor, who Mr. Cameron of the Stand- ard called a renegade, in front of the whole Boer army. Cameron at this time was a prisoner, but was soon after re- leased by General Joubert. The doc- tor's name was an assumed one and I forget it. all watches, rings, etc. Lieutenant Mscdonald, who was among the prison- oners had the painfiil duty of handing over hrs claymore, which he got from the officers of the regiment a few months before as a present, but it was returned to him after the settlement of the Commission. At the time of the battle. General Coliey had under his command more than'!?,000 men, and yet, when it was knov/n that our men were retiring, nothing could be done. Why? Because the I'lenoral and his staff were in the wroiig place. Who ever heard of a general leaving the main body and going out with a reconnaissance, a force that is not supposed to fight at all. This was the great wonder of all who went up the Majaba, and those In CHAPTER XXIV. The Boers are a very conservative race of people ; they hate railways or anything their fathers did not use, and of course are a great hindrance to the British colonists. A few of us High- landers were invited one day (after the war, of course) to drink some gin with them and have a good time ; on enter- ing the farmyard the first thing wtt noticed was the old-fashioned gate which took two of us to open. " Sav, Boss, why don't you fix that gate of yours? Why, it takes no less than two men to open it." "Oh," re- ftliad our host, " mine fadder done with t, so can I." They are not kind to strangers; thev are sulky and stiff. Among the intelligent class, however, (and thev are very few) they are fond of British people. There are no poor among them ; they all help each other ; they do not care for money ; they bring grain, wool and other things to market ^and get all supplies in exchange. AH money used among them is English. The greatest ambi- tion of a Boer is to have a fine horse and a good rifle, ^bould you meet one on the road and ask him how many mikes it is to such a place, he takes a good look at your horse first, then at you ; he will then say about five hours' ride as the case might be. There are no milestones in that country ; but they are splendid judges of man and beast travelling. During the armis- tice at Mount Prospect, Lady Florence Dixie, who was war correspondent to the London Daily Newi, sent a ehallengt- to the Boer camp, to shoot at 200 yards. any of their force. The challenge was talcen up, and arrangements made, bottles were hung up on a tree, which were the best things to be 40 Memoirs of a Highland Sotdiet had at the time. Out of the first twenty the Boos brought down nine, but Lady Florence brousrht down no less than fifteen. Lady Florence was dressed so that the Boer thoug-ht it was a man he was firing' ag'ainst ; and it can easily be imagined how small he felt, when the best shot in all the Transvaal was beaten by a Scotch lady. All the world knows the shoot- ing propensities of this fine lady, and it was only the other day I read in the papers that she is now pining over the many beautiful stags and other game she killed in her hunting tours all over the world. When stationed at New Castle, a small town near Mount Prospect, a lot of Highlanders and blue jackets were down town for a day's fun. By this time everything was all settled, and we were commencing to forget the days gone by. I must state first that Highlanders and blue jackets were very thick, and it was seldom you could see a tar going to town witliout some of the " Jocks " with them— .Jocks was what the sailors called us Highlanders, and we, in return, called them Jacks. It was on an afternoon some time in September, I think, a lot of us had two and three days' pass. After getting into town, and making some purchases, a lot of us made for the Phoenix Hotel, where we intended to put up. As soon as we entered a rush was made for the billiard table, where we played several games. About 7 p.m. Boers and all kinds of people crowded in, and seemed to en- joy looking at the Highlanders in their bare legs playing with the sailors. The best of goodwill prevailed all round, for none of the sailors or High- landers would call a round except all joined in. About 10 p.m. the Scotch whiskey was commencing to show itself, and of course the Boers could not hold their tongue about Majaba, for their eyes were red with the gin. Their boasting continued, notwith- standing the appeals of Mr. Munro, the manager oi the hotel. At last Sergeant John Macfadyen, of the Highlanders, stood up on a chair and swore If there were any more such talk he and his comrades would clear the house. This was received with groans. Before the sound of the groans ceased the sailors were in amoag them, with the "bare 'ands" hitting hard, right and left, and the Highlanders with their belts. The numbers were about equal, and the fight was, to say the least, fought with a vengeance by us. At the first go oflF we cleared the house in fifteen min- utes, but they commenced to gather again. Meantime our men came crowding flown, all the doors were soon closed, and we continued our fun, but there was not a whole chair in the place. About an hour or so after the scuffle they (the Boers), commenced to break the windows, and crying for us to come out. After making arrange- ments al)OUt how we should give them a hiding, the back door was opened, when we all rushed out, and oefore vou could say "Jack Robinson" the Highlanders and sailors were at them again. Jack hitting right and left, and his brother Jock with his belt knocking them into fits. The battle continued about twenty minutes, and never a crowd of men got such a flogging as did these Dutchmen. That night the writer was cut badly on the face, and the mark always reminds him of the boys in the red and blue. Nearly everv man of us had a mark of some kind, while almost all our Boer friends had to be carried home, and four died over the afTair, so that we did not leave the country altogether without being avenged for our many dead comrades which we left behind us. Yes, we are now homeward bound, and what is sweeter to a soldier who has fought through shot and shell, than the news of peace and home? I am now fourteen years absent from home. I have told you manv things I have seen and done, but notning in- spires my Highland blood greater than the thought of home, and that I shall see my native hills again, where in my boyhood my happy days were spent. Oh ! such happy memories flowing through my Drain, all at thought of home. I have often wondered how it was that I loved Scotland so much which gave me and mine so little, for my father was a poor man and his fathers before him, and vet the very name of Scotland has a charm on me. I have heard it said that a Scotsman does not show any love toScotland till he leaves it, and from ray own experience I believe this to be true. At any rate I am proud of the race, and can well testify to their deeds and daring in the field of battle. Their devotion to do the theii duty lai their most co So much for n and before I must say a w front of an ei the only mue battle The: and out of fighting line blow up ^ bayonets go work indep pipers to his must be even double fifty yards, took some t this, but the do it to perf< as they lik courage of tl fail if It wer pibroch. E active serv struments ■ of the quar bandsmen i bandsmen a rear. On t they are t doctors ho^ and how to In a Highli seldom usei are gener serving out line which in the field prettysafei an examph ■en killed Sonowii life abroad and tell y bovsthat 1 years befoi street. Ob as I am abc burst with of the twel When 1 th feel stranf India, thr( in Kanda asleep on When on visited all how their thefoe. Pi who lived when ske belts. The ual, and the foufcht with e first go off fifteen min- id to ^father men came doors were lued our fun, chair in the 80 after the ommenced to Tying for us ng arrange- d give them was opened, :, and oefore obinson " the urere at them and left, and >elt knocking ;le continued md rever a flogging as lat night the the face, and 8 him of the Nearly everv f some kina. r friends haa our died over not leave the ithout being Mid comrades sward bound, I soldier who ot and shell, nd home? I absent from many things t notning in- greatur than that I shall in, where in days were nemories go a, all at the how it was much which ittle, for my id his fathers ery nam«i of me. I have nan does not till he leaves axperience I Lt any rate I dd can well iaring in the i^otion to do On Active Service , at Home and Abroad. 41 theii duty faithfully and well is one of their most coaspicuous characteristics. So much for my countrymen as soldiers; and before I conclude this chapter 1 must say a word about the pipers in front of an enemy. The bag-pipes is the only music used now in the n«ld of battle They play you into the field, and out of it. They stick with the fighting line during the struggle, and blow up whenever they see the bayonets going on the rifles. They work independently, each uiper or pipers to his own company, out they must be good pipers who can even double and play the charge say fifty yards. In Afghanistan our pipers toolc some time before they coula do this, but they soon came to be able to do it to perfection. Outsiders may say as they like but I believe that the courage of the Highlanders would often fail if It were not for the strain of the pibroch. But where is the band on active service? All the band in- struments are in large boxes in charge of the quarter guard : and the acting bandsmen in the ranks, and the fuU bandsmen are with the ambulance in rear. On the way to the seat of war they are taught by the regimental doctors how to attend wounded men and how to apply bandages, etc. etc. In a Highland regiment the bugle !3 seldom used in action. The drummers are generally helping the pioneers serving out ammunition to the fighting line which is the most dangerous post in the field. The artillery is always prettysafeinageneral engagement— as an example there were not six artillery ■en killed in the whole Afghan war. So now in concluding the story of my life abroad let me fall back for a while and tall you somothinff of the Clach boys that mustered with me fourteen years before atthe head of Tomnahurich street. Ob, how sad it is to relate, and as I am about to pen itmy heartseems to burst with grief, but I must tell it. Out of the twelve I am the only one living ! When 1 think of it even to this dav I feel strange. To be brief, two died "in India, three of them are lying far away in Kandahar, and the other six are asleep on the top of the wild Majaba. When on furlough in Invernass I visited all their mothers and told them how their boys fell with their faces to thefoe. Private John MacRae's mother, who lived in King street Inverness, when she saw me coming up the stair, fainted at the very sight of the red coat. Poor John was a fine looking soldier and he was one of the twelve. At Majaba he was mortally wounded and I buried him beside his cousin Colin MacRae. On the 18th December, 1881, the 92nd Highlanders embarked for Old England on board the transport ship Calabria. Nothing of any note took place till we were crossing the line ; and that was on New Year's day, 1882. We had a splendid dinner of course on that day, and an extra pint of porter given each man. The Calabria was not a navy boat, consequently we soldiers had more liberty. We had about ten days bad weather, and down below could be heard the chorus among us— Rolling home to bonnie Scotland, Rolling home dear land to thee, Rolling home to dear auld Scotland, Rolling home across the sea. On the 29th January, about six a.m., the look-out on the masthead shouted, "Land on the starboard bow." As everything was then still, every man awake heard the cry, all came rushing up out of our hammocks, and as soon as we saw the shores of Old Eneland the cheering knew no bounds. Snortly after passing through the Needles, several steam-boats came alongside, among them on board were the Duke of Cambridge, and many others from Pall Mall. Sailing into Portsmouth along the whole way there were thou- sands of people cheering us, and when passing the Soldier's Home in Queen street, we were nearly suffocated with flowers, and after a hard struggle through the crowd, we arrived in com- fortable barracks. After getting some- what settled down in barracks, the fur- loughs commenced, and with the first batch I took the opportunity. So under command of an oincer we were marched to the station, 240 men in all ; all, too, bound for Scotland. After a few hours' run we arrived in the big town of Lon- don ; here we had to wait some time for the Scotch express. While waiting on the. train, the station was swarming with people who came to look, and of course have a talk with us. We were soon on our way to the land o' cakes, and many of us were over the border before we knew it. My ticket was for Inverness, and I changed at Olasgow. On my way north, seeing 42 Memoirs of a Highland Soldie% the Highland heather for the first time, I suggested to jump out the first chance and nave a sprig in my bonnet, but when I iookea round the train was gone : this was at a place called Nairn, about sixteen miles from Inverness. The next train would not be for some hours, so arming myself with some F revisions, I took to the road which knew well. It was just two o'clock when I found myself walking up Petty street. I was expecting every minute that some one would know me, but no ; and I was the same ; I was trying to see some that I knew, but I could see none. I felt disappointed; but as I turned down Ingle street, met my brother, whore after a shake of the hand, we drove home. When my old mother saw me she made a rush at me, and taking me in her powerful arms nhe nearly kissed the cheek ofT me. The house was soon crowded, and my mother was jumping with joy at the return of her soldier son. A few days after my arrival in my native town I received an invitation to attend a dinner in the Caledonian Hotel. Here I was toasted in all shapes, and at the end received a purse and twenty- five pounds. After putting in six weeks of the most enjoyable days I ever had, I took train to Glasgow to visit a sister and brother. On leaving Inverness, thtare was quits a crowd to Hee me away, and my hand wab sore For sometime by the snaking of hands. After a few days' stay in Glasgow I re- 'urned to the regiment, which was stationed at Portsir outh ; here we re- mained till October, 1882. We then went to Edinburgh, "Scotia's darling city," leaving Portsmouth 'on''6ta October. On landing at Granton pier, thousands of people came to meet us. After forming up, the Colonel taking oir his bonnet shouted three cheers for auld Scotland; you may be sure we cheered. Yes, it was a cheer that I or any one in the ranks that day will not forget. Our Colonel then gave the command, Highlanders, attention ! Fours right ; to Auld Reekie, quick march! The band then struck up, " Within a Mile o' Edinbro Toon." We received a grand reception, and soon won the respect of the people. After a few months soldiering In Edinburgh my wound broke out, owing to a fall, and I was obliged to go to hospital. After passing a board ot doctors I was invalided, and discharged on March 24th, 1884, with a pension for life. This after serving my Queen and country for seventeen years and 129 days iu the famous " Gordon Highland- ers." It was like leaving home part- ing with so many old comrades, and as the band of pipers played me out, I felt terribly sad. In conclusion, I must add that now my story is finished, I have told it iu a simple and true way, which has been my aim from beginning to eud. For freen's that I lo'ed thdy are ocattcnd far and wide, Aud (lini, dim's the past's misty track, And Bome are dead and ko°«» oh, my teait they winna hide, '' For it's sad, oh, it's sad lookin' hack* [Thb End.] *. '. 182, We then iwtia'B darling puth on 6th Granton pier, ne to meet us. lolonel taking ree cheers for , be sure we cheer that I or it day will not hen gave the 8, attention ! Reekie, quick m struck up, roToon." We ion, and soon people. After In Edinburgh wing to a fall, :o to hospital. doctors I was red on March nsion for life. y Queen and years and 129 rdon Uighland- ng home part- mrades, and as Ml me out, I felt lion. I must add inished, I have rue way, which ginning to end. ' are scattered far imiaty track, me, oh, ny tesie jokin' hack.