ngals intended to defend a defile and hill pass,
two miles farther on. The 23rd Pioneers were therefore pushed on,
to occupy the pass and bivouac there. The remainder of the troops
camped in the village.

No signs of the enemy were seen, either by the 23rd Pioneers or in
the vicinity of the camp. The troops were to march at three in the
morning, and the tents were struck an hour after midnight. The
track up the pass was excessively steep, and very difficult for the
camels. The cold was bitter and, in places where water had crossed
the road, there were slippery surfaces of ice--which hindered the
camels considerably--and it was past eight o'clock before the rear
guard arrived at the top of the pass. From a commanding position,
overlooking the defile and surrounding waste of rugged and barren
mountains, not an enemy could be seen; and it was hoped that the
report of the intended attack was a false one.

The troops now began to descend the defile, which was known as the
Manjiar Pass. Troublesome as the ascent had been, the descent was
infinitely more so; and it was with difficulty that the camels
could be made to go down the deep and slippery roads. The gorge was
five miles in length. The track, for the first part, ran through a
deep ravine of perpendicular walls; which narrowed in places to a
few yards, overhanging the path until they seemed to meet, and form
a tunnel, through which it ran. Had an attack been made on the
column, as it struggled with its difficulties through this portion
of the pass, the result would have been disastrous; for it would
have been impossible to place troops on the heights, to cover the
advance. Here and there side ravines broke into the road, in any of
which ambushes might have been laid.

It was not, however, until the difficult part of the road had been
passed, and a comparatively open valley reached, that any of the
natives were seen. Then a few men were observed on the heights but,
as they were supposed to be shepherds, no notice was taken of them.
Believing that all danger of attack was now over, the general
ordered all the troops--with the exception of the baggage guard,
which was composed of the 3rd Ghoorkas, and a few of the 72nd
Highlanders and Norfolk Rangers--to march forward to the camp;
which was to be pitched at a village called Keraiah, in the open
valley.

This, as the result proved, was a very rash move. Before the head
of the column had extricated itself from the ravin