At the Malakand there were many anxious moments, for
the position was an extended one, and, by the nature of the ground,
difficult for a small garrison to preserve from penetration. It was a
night of individual heroism, a soldier's battle, where little knots of
men under their officers fought independently, and with undiminished
courage, though often cut off from all communication. No less brave was
the enemy, and it was not until dawn that he reluctantly withdrew. This
was the first of five nights and days through which the British garrison
had to stand this stern ordeal.
The first thing to be done when daylight made concerted movements
possible, was to contract the perimeter of defence, so as to make it
more tenable by the number of troops available. The original garrison
was now augmented by the arrival of the Guides, horse and foot. It was
with considerable reluctance that Colonel Meiklejohn, who had himself
been wounded by a sword-cut, decided on abandoning what was known as
the North Camp, a position some distance below and isolated from the
Malakand. This camp had been established both to allow the cavalry and
pack-animals to be near water, of which there was scarcity on the
Malakand itself; and also for sanitary reasons, so as to keep so large a
number of animals out of a restricted area. The abandonment of this
camp, necessary though it was, undoubtedly had an extraordinarily
heartening effect on the enemy.
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