This was a small, but extremely warlike and hardy tribe.

A short time before, they had raided a thousand head of cattle from across our border, and got clear away with them.
A portion of the force was told off, to work its way into the valley by the river gorge, while the main body ascended the path over the Kotal.

They reached this at a quarter-past ten and, while they were waiting for the head of the column that had gone up the gorge to appear, fire was opened upon them.

This, however, was kept down by the guns.

It was an hour before the column appeared, but the whole force was not through the defile until it was too late to carry out the destruction of the villages.