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This article is an extract from
'''THE LUSHAI EXPEDITION '''
1871-1872
BY
R.G. WOOD..."

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This article is an extract from 

'''THE LUSHAI EXPEDITION ''' 
1871-1872 

BY 
R.G. WOODTHORPE. 
LIEUT. ROYAL ENGINEERS. 

LONDON: 
HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 
13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 

1873. 
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[[Category:India|M ]]
[[Category:Places|M ]]
=The Cachar=
The Cachar or left column of the Lushai Ex-
pedition consisted of the following troops : —
Half of the Peshawur mountain battery of
artillery under Captain Blackwood, R.A. ; one
company of Sappers and Miners under Lieu-
tenant Harvey, R.E. ; five hundred men of the
Punjaub Native Infantry under Colonel Stafford :
the same number of the 42nd Assam Light
Infantry under Colonel Rattray, C.B. ; the
same number of the 44th Assam Light Infantry
under Colonel Hicks; and one hundred police
under Mr. Daly.

Lieutenant-Colonel Davidson, who was in charge
of the Commissariat Department, had one thou-
sand two hundred coolies, and several elephants,,
placed under his orders. A coolie corps consist-
ing of eight hundred men intended for the
carriage of the Sepoys' baggage, was enrolled
under Major Moore and Captain Branson, assisted
by Captain Hedayat, native aide-de-camp to the
Commander-in-Chief.*

The conduct of the operations of the left
column was entrusted to Brigadier-General
Bourchier, C.B., commanding the North-eastern
Frontier district. On his Staff were Lieutenant-
Colonel F. Roberts, R.A., V.C, C.B., Deputy-
Assist.-Quartermaster-General, Capt. H. Thomp-
son, Brigade Major; and Captain Butler, Aide-
de-Camp. Dr. Buckle, Inspector-General of
Hospitals, was in medical charge, and Mr.Edgar
Deputy-Commissioner of Cachar, accompanied the
column as Political Officer.

A gentleman named Burland, of great ex-
perience on this frontier, who had visited the
Lushais with Mr.Edgar previously, was appointed
to act as Assistant Political Officer. His health,
however, failed, and he never got beyond No. 7
Camp, and had to relinquish his appointment
long before the return of the Expedition •
==Silchar==
Silchar, the Sudder, principal station of the
Cachar District, is a small place boasting only
of a few brick buildings, including the cutcherry
or court-house, and church.

There is a large native bazaar, the houses in
which, as well as those of most of the European
residents, are built of bamboo and mud. There
are two large European shops, which, taking ad-
vantage of the necessities of the troops that
composed the Expedition, raised their prices
enormously. They had no fixed scale, but the
price of their goods was raised when the demand
for them became much greater than usual. An
article which could be obtained on our arrival at
Cachar for one rupee, commanded four rupees
during the fortnight or so in which the place was
occupied by our troops.

It is a very quiet little station, and such an
exciting event as the passing through of so many
troops, lifted it entirely out of its normal state of
level dulness ; and ** Let us make hay while the
sun shines," was apparently the motto adopted
by all classes of shop-keepers, European as well
as native.

This being the nearest station to Tipai Mukh,
it was fixed upon as the rendezvous of the various
corps comprising the Force, and thither all their
special equipments, waterproof sheets, boots, tools,
Norton's pumps, &c., had been sent on by water.
The different corps which arrived in Silchar came
from Abbdabad, Roorkee, and Assam.

The Artillery and Sappers were conveyed from
Calcutta in a Government steamer as far as
Chattuck, on the River Soorma, picking up the
22nd P. N. on their way at Dacca.

A camp was formed at a place called Kala
Rokka a few miles above Chattuck, above which
the state of the river prevented any steamer pro-
ceeding. From this place, as soon as country
boats could be obtained, they were brought into
Cachar.

The first casualty of the campaign Occurred
on board the Government steamer. It suddenly
grounded, and a flat attached to it, missing the
shoal, went ahead, snapping the hawsers. One
of these flying back, caught a native attached to
the battery, and broke his leg so badly that
immediate amputation was necessary.
==Posts on The Sylhet==
The 44th arrived from Shillong on the 9th
November, the Artillery and Sappers on the
18th ; and the 22nd and 42nd a few days later.

The General and Staff had arrived about the
16th, and the next few days were devoted to the
distribution of the waterproof sheets, boots, &c.,
to the troops and coolies ; and to the reduction
of the kits of officers and men to the appointed
limits of weight, twenty seers, or about forty
pounds for an officer, and twelve for a sepoy.
Each corps was also supplied with coolies and
inspected by the General.

While the General was in Silchar, he saw
reasons for coming to the conclusion that the
posts already established on the Sylhet and
Cachar frontier were not sufficiently far south,
either to protect his right flank, or to enable
him to bring any pressure upon Sukpilal and
Khalkom, should they throw in their lot with
the Howlongs, or Eastern tribes, and therefore,
ordered the officer commanding the 4th N.L,
then stationed in Cachar, to occupy a hill called
Benkong on the Noonvai range, and another point
on the Rengtipahar, near the Koloshib Hill, cutting
roads from them to the Sonai and Dullesur rivers
respectively, in order to bring these posts into
communication by water with Cachar — arrange-
ments which were most successfully carried out.

General Nuthall had been requested to move
the Rajah of Munipur to post detachments on
the Southern frontier, flanked by a force near
the Nivirang Lake. So great, however, were
the difficulties which interfered with the accom-
plishment of this design, that these posts were
never established.

Great doubt had existed as to the best route
from Silchar to Mynadhur. Two routes were
possible ; one over the Buban range vid Monier-
khal ; and the other round by Luckipur and the
banks of the Barak.

The former was the one originally intended to
be adopted. The road for three miles beyond
Monierkhal was nearly level, but from thence
the existing path led up the face of the hill, cer-
tainly at a very steep gradient, crossing the
range at nearly its highest point.
Colonel Roberts, and Colonel Nuthall of the
44tli N.I., went out to explore this route ; but,
unaccustomed as they then were to hill-climbing
and steep rough paths, the difficulties which
presented themselves seemed to them insur-
mountable. They failed, moreover, to find water
anywhere between the foot of the range on the
one side, and Mynadhur on the other, and con-
sequently all idea of adopting this route was
abandoned.

The next thing to be done was to find the path
which, though seldom used, was said to exist
between Luckipur and Mynadhur, and accord-
ingly some Cachari Kookies were sent out to
look for it.

The whole of the country on either bank of
the Barak is very difficult. Long spurs are sent
down from the Bubans on one side, and the
Noonjaibong range on the other. These run
steeply down to the very water's edge, and are
separated from each other by deep and boggy
ravines, and covered with the densest jungle.

The coolies, having either found some ele-
phants' tracks, or observed paths used by wood-
cutters, or, which is more likely, having cut
one out for themselves straight ahead, shirking
no obstacles, returned to report their success,
and the 44th were sent out to improve and widen
the path so discovered, and make it practicable
for laden elephants — a portion of the pro-
gramme which was never accomplished.

The 44th marched out of Silchar on the 21sfc
November to Luckipur, and ten Sappers left
in boats on the same day for Mynadhur. The
road, which, as far as Luckipur, is the high
road to Munipur, was very good, and from this
point to Alui tea-garden but few difficulties were
encountered. Beyond this, however, it lay
along the left bank of the river, crossing the
spurs before mentioned, rising and falling con-
tinually, often as much as seven hundred feet,
and always with a very steep gradient. Through-
out its whole length there was not a single level
portion extending to the distance of one hundred
yards. It was altogether a most fatiguing and
harassing road — the march along which reminded
one of the old King of France, of whom we are
told, that " He, with all his men, marched up
the hill, to march down again."
==Forest Scenery==
The road, or rather path — for it never aspired
to be anything more — lay though a jungle of
fine forest trees, from the branches of which huge
creepers hung in graceful festoons, with a pro-
fusion of tall bamboos and cane all around, while
tangled thorns and shrubs, with a network of
long roots, covered every inch of ground between
these. Regarded as forest scenery, the aspect
of the road was very fine; but to troops on the
march, the irritation caused by its difficulties
interfered materially with any appreciation of
the beautiful in which they could indulge.

"On either hand
Uprose the trunks with underwood entwined.
Making one thicket, thorny, dense, and blind.
Where, with our axes, labouring half the day,
We scarcely made some half a rod of way."

Compared with this route, I cannot help think-
ing that a little engineering would have made
a better one over the Buban, and certainly a
much shorter one. Afterwards, as we shall see
at Chepui, laden elephants encountered and
overcame the difficulties of a much worse path
than that over the Buban, as it existed at first;
whereas the elephants, with their loads, could
not be sent by the other road to Mynadhur,
their burdens having to be taken on in boats.

As to the difficulty about water in the Buban,
Captain Badgley, passing over with a survey
party for the first time, to join the head-quar-
ters, saw near the very highest points of the
path a ravine in which his practised eye led
him to suspect that the precious fluid might be
found, and sending some of his men down into
it, a stream was discovered within two hundred
yards of the path, which afterwards sufficed at
one time for the wants of more than four hun-
dred coolies, without any sensible decrease in
the supply. This fact renders it evident that
if a survey party, " the pioneers of civilisation,**
had been allowed to precede the column as far
as it could with safety, instead of remaining idle
in Cachar for a month, great expense, and much
loss of time, would have been saved.

In the meantime news had arrived in Cachar
that the Coolie corps, under Captain Heydayat
Ali, had been attacked by cholera at Kala Rokka ;
and Colonel Sheriff, 42nd Light Infantry, Major
Moore, with Drs. White and Gregg, were sent
down to that camp. The medical and embark-
ing authorities at Calcutta are stated to have
protested against the crowding of eight hundred
coolies into two flats, but their protest was of no
avail. The coolies were neither accompanied by
any European officer, nor had sufficient medical aid
been provided for them. The ordinary precautions
to prevent overcrowding, so strictly enforced in
the case of labourers imported to work in the
tea-gardens, seem to have been entirely disre-
garded ; and the result was what might have been
anticipated.

Dr.White, on his arrival, divided the coolies
into three camps, at diffirent points along the
river. While the hospital remained at Kala Rokka,
a convalescent camp was established some few
miles further up the stream ; but, notwithsland-
ing these and other judicious measures, with the
exertions of the medical officers, the disease was
not got entirely under control till towards the
end of December; by which time the number
of the coolie corps was reduced to three hundred
and eighty-seven.

A very serious strain was thus brought on
the Commissariat Department, who were called
on to supply carriage for the baggage of the
troops, as well as for their own stores. Fortu-
nately water-carriage was available as far as Tipai
Mukh; and the collector of Sylhet undertook,
in our emergency, to supply three hundred
coolies to fill up the vacancies caused by the
outbreak of cholera.

This incident is only one of the many examples
we have had, in almost all our expeditions, of
that inattention to details which is so conspicuous
a defect in British arrangements, and was at no
time more remarkable than in the Crimean war.
In the present instance, it well nigh perilled the
success of this Expedition at its very outset.

Mizoram, 1872: The Cachar - Revision history

Pdewan: Created page with "{| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"| This article is an extract from '''THE LUSHAI EXPEDITION ''' 1871-1872 BY R.G. WOOD..."

Pdewan: Created page with "{| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|
This article is an extract from
'''THE LUSHAI EXPEDITION '''
1871-1872
BY
R.G. WOOD..."