Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-04-02

He was redeemed without resorting to
the chloride Of gold cure and In his case
az least ! was quite as successful prac-
ttioner az any Doctor Kelley could have
been. John Dc COmposteila, etc.. was
dead sober man during my subsequent
experiences Of him, at least till close on
the time we parted.
JOHN IN THE BLOODY PASSES.
And. once cured Of fuddling. he turned
out a most worthy and efficient fellow
He lacked dash. but was as true as steel
In the attack on Ali Musiio IN the throat
Of the lNhyber Pass, tie native groom
who was leading my horse behind me,
became demoralized by the rather heavy
fire Of big cannon balls from the Tort,
and skuked to the rear with the horse.
John Lad no call TO come under fire since
the groom was specially paid for doing so;
but abusing the latter for a coward IN
the expressive vernacular Of India, he
laid hold Of the reins and was up right
nc my back just as the close musketry
fighting began. He took his chances
through Il manfully, Lad my pack pony
up within half an hour after the fighting
was over, and before the darkness fell
had cooked capital little dinner for my
self and c0mrado whose commissariat
had gone astray.
Next morning the fort was found evac-
uated. / determined 80 ride back down
the pass to tie iield-teleUaph post at its
mouth. The General wrote In my note
book telegram announcing the good
news 10 the misunderstanding aud
poor Cavignari, the political officer who
was Afterwards massacred at Cabul,
wrote another message TO the same eff
feet 10 the viceroy. / expected TO have
70 walk some distance back to our
bivouac Of the night; but lol as l turned
10 60 there was John with my horse,
close up.
In one Of the hill expeditions the adj.
vanced section of the force ] accompanied
had to penetrate a narrow and gloomy
pass whicls was beset on either side 10y
swarms Of Afghans. who slated us se-
verely with their long range ieZails. With
this leading detachment there somehow
was no surgeon, and as men were going
down and something had 10 be done. IL
deyOlved upon me as having some eX-
perience in ills kind of work In previous
campaigns, TO undertake spell Of anna
teur surgery.
John behaved magnfcently as my as
sistant. With his light touch and long,
lissOm hands, the fellow seemed 10 have
natural instinct for successful bnndag-
ing; l was glad that we could do no more
than bandage and that we Lad no in
struments. else / believe that John would
not have hesitated TO undertake IA CAPT
tai operation. As for the Afghan bull
lets, he did not shrink AZ they splashed
on the stones around him: Ee did not treat
them with disdain; he simply ignored
them.
The soldiers swore that he ought to
have the war medal for the good and
pluchy work he was doing, and major
protested that II his full titles. which
John always gave Ia full when his name
was asked, had not been so confoundedly
long, he would have asked the general 20
mention the Goa man In The dispatches
ILL IL l.
OF the rapid changes of temperature
upon the roof of the world" in Af-
ghanist0n. During Que twenty-four hours
at JellalabRd. we had one man killed 10y
n sunstroke and another frozen 60 death
on sentry duty In the night. One Christ
mas morning when l arose at sunrise,
the thermometer was far below freeZ-
Ing point; the water in the brass bu-
sin in my tent was frozen solid. and /
was glad 70 wrap myself In furs At
noon the thermometer was over n hum
dred in the shade and we were all
so hot as TO wish with Sydney Smith
that we could take of our flesh and sit
in our bones John was delighted when
as there seemed no Immediate pros
pect Of further hostilltles in Afghan
istan, | departed therefrom TO pay a
visit 10 King Thebaw of Burmah, who
has since been disestablshed.
JOHN AND l START FOR ZULU
LAND.
When in the capital Of Mandalay
there came 20 me h telegram from
England, informing me of tile massacre
by the Zulus Of a thousand British sol
diers az Isandlawana In South Africa;
and instructing me TO hurry thither with
all possible speed, John had none Of
the Hindoo dislike 10 cross the dark
water, and he accompanied me 10 Aden
whore we made connection with pot
~ little steamer which called into ev-
cry paltry and fever-smclling Portu-
guese port all along the east coast Of
Africa and ut length dropped US at
Durham, the seaport of the British col
ony of Natal in South Africa, and the
base Of the warlike operations against
the Zulus.
There are many Hindoos engaged on
the Natal sugar plantations, and In
that particularly one-horse colony ev-
cry native Of India is known indiscrimi-