Length of the
line.
To Camp
No. 5.
228
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL.
bringing up everything. The force now consisted of about 2,000 men,
all told; all marched
in single file, and in the open order required by the impediments and roughness of the track.
and the density of the jungle on either hand. Allowing 4 feet from a man's rear heel to the
rear heel of the man walking in front of him, the line would be 1½ mile long; it was probably
longer, for the transport coolies with their loads would often cover - more space.
Head-quarters arrived in 3¼ hours—distance 7½ miles. By 2 P. m.—5 hours—the troops
had come up, but the rear guard did not reach till 5 P. M. Height of Huijoolie above the sea
1,548 feet.
The track was through thick high forest the whole way; first following the course of a
small stream falling into the Borpani, then passing over a low water-shed within half a mile
of camp, descended to the banks of the Hur—joolie meaning a small stream—a tributary
of the Dikrung. The post was in a forest dell directly under the steep hill up which lay
the forward route. The forest was so dense, and the dell so narrow, that the sun only ap-
peared through the trees from 10 A. M. till 2-30 P. m. The ground was dry; space confined,
and studded with large boulders.
26. To Camp No. 5.—The survey party had ascended the bill on the 15th; a small party
of the troops occupied a peak on the 16th and 17th, and were clearing it. A reconnoitring
party under the Assistant Quarter Master General had gone over the hill to the Dikrung and
seen the place for Camp No. 6.
As the country ahead was unknown, and there were rumours of opposition, three days'
rations—four for the 44th—were ordered to be taken with the force, in addition to the two days'
carried by each man. The men of the transport corps on the advance on the 18th were thus
allotted.*
To Camp
No. 6.
Condition of
the site.
The native track up the hill, starting di-
rectly from No. 4, had been improved a little;
at first there were places so steep that no laden
coolies could have ascended; the track lay up
the narrow spine of a spur, so narrow that there
was not much. room for zig-zags; but a few
had been made.
Camp No. 5 was on the summit of the
ridge, a mile or so to the eastward of peak
No. 21, 4,486 feet. Some miles further to the
eastward, the Dikrung river, in its course from
the westward on the north of this range, turned
south to where we had left it at Borpani. The
height of the camp was 4,000 feet. The ascent
from No. 4 was therefore 2,452 feet; distance
reckoned 1½ mile; time, with several halts,
2¾ hours. Head-quarters were on the ridge.
The forest was comparatively thin here. The
troops and transport dotted the south face of
the hill at respective distances below, where tolerably level space permitted hutting. Water
was carried by the men themselves. The weather was mild. Thermometer at sunrise 47°;
a cold north wind had been felt on the ridge all night, but the troops were sheltered from it.
27. To Camp No. 6.—On the 19th the force marched to the Dikrung river, down the
north face of the hill,—a descent of about 2,698 feet; the height of camp No. 6 above the sea
being 1,302 feet. The gradient was easier than on the south side, and there were some level
spaces for a few yards. The forest was thick the whole way, and the undergrowth and jungle got
thicker as we neared the river. This track was also along the crest of a narrow spur leading
almost straight down to the river; there were often very precipitous scarps on either hand.
The descent took the staff 2¼ hours.
Condition of the site. —The prospect on arriving at the right bank of the Dikrung was
not pleasing. Our side was in dense shade from the tree forest; high thick grass, reed and bush
jungle grew down to the boulders in the bed of the stream. The opposite bank was high
and in sunshine; but the river was unfordable, and there were military reasons for not
occupying the unknown country opposite.
The only available level ground on the right bank was a narrow strip of land some 5 or
6 feet above the boulder bed, at the foot of the hill we had just descended. As the troops
arrived, each regiment formed line in front of the ground it was to occupy, broke off and
entered the jungle to cut and clear. The ground was found moist or damp everywhere, swampy
in places, and the soil was the debris of the vegetation of centuries. By nightfall sufficient space
had been cleared, huts erected, and, except by the transport, raised bed places made.
The river was a fine mountain stream running swiftly over boulders, about 25 yards wide in
its boulder bed of some 70 yards. The water was good. The scenery, although confined, was
beautiful. The hills were covered to their summits with fine forest trees; on their sides were
also patches of bamboo jungle, tree ferns, wild plantains, &c., amid which wound large creepers
and canes, the latter sometimes 200 feet in length.
The force remained here ten days. The conditions of this camp were unavoidably bad.
The soil was damp, or even swampy, and composed of decayed vegetation; the clearing of the
*
For regi-
mental
carriage.
For 3 days'
rations.
Total num-
b e r o f c o o l i e s
employed.
Artillery
106
14
120
Sappers
78
20
9 8
16th N. I.
88
39
127
42nd "
92
40
132
43rd "
8 0
32
112
44th "
99
58
157
Staff "
3 7
65
102
Hospi t al
1 1
...
11
591
268
859
Total coolies available
1,099
Employed as above
859
Employed by commissariat
bringing up stores from the rear.
240