A reinforcement of sixty sepoys came in that day from Ghizr.  The next two days were spent in trying to collect coolies for transport, and on the 16th, in spite of the non-arrival of any coolies, he set out to Buni with a hundred and fifty sepoys, each man carrying a sheepskin coat, two blankets, a hundred and twenty rounds of ammunition, and three days’ cooked rations.

He halted that night at Sanoghar, where he collected some fifty coolies, and learned by signal from Mastuj that Bretherton was sending some fifty Yarkhun coolies the next day—­fifty Punyal Levies also joined him that evening.  Starting the next morning, he reached Buni by 5 P.M., when he found Jones and the remains of the Sikhs.  The return journey was begun two hours later, at 7 P.M., and carried on steadily all night, a small body of the enemy following, but not daring to attack.  Mastuj was reached between 10 and 11 A.M. the next day, 18th March.

By the 22nd March the enemy had surrounded the fort, and the siege began.  Nothing of any event happened, the enemy contenting themselves with long-range firing, only one man being slightly wounded and two ponies killed.  On the 9th of April “up we came with our little lot,” and the siege was raised.

Early the next morning we were up and going through the state of the supplies and available amount of transport.

Transport and supplies were an everlasting source of worry, as it generally is with every army, great or small.

We soon got a return of the supplies in Mastuj.  I forget how many days it was, but none too much for our force and the Mastuj garrison.  Bretherton was sent back to bring up supplies from the rear, and messengers were sent to order in the villagers.  We wanted their grain to eat, and men to carry it.  The villagers began to come in after a bit, and brought a small amount of grain with them.

Stewart was hard at work getting ponies for his guns in place of the mules left behind; the gun wheel and carriage saddles were sent for, and shortly arrived.

The Levies were billeted in the houses which had lately been occupied by the enemy, and we soon had pickets out round the fort.  In showing the Levies the houses they were to occupy, I examined the enemy’s system of loopholes and sangars, and found they were very well made indeed.  In the house which had lately been occupied by Mahomed Issar, their commander-in-chief we found the trunk of a tree which the enemy were converting into a cannon.  It didn’t require cannon to bring the walls of Mastuj down,—­a good strong kick would have been quite sufficient.  Shortly after we had reached Chitral, Moberly reported that part of the wall had fallen on a sleeping sepoy, who was luckily saved by some beams catching and protecting him from being crushed by the debris.  There was no apparent cause for the collapse, but the man is supposed to have sneezed.

The next day a fatigue party was sent out to Chokalwat to destroy the enemy’s sangars, and bury any dead bodies that might be lying about.  This party would also act as a covering party to Peterson, who was expected to arrive that day.  With Peterson came Bethune and Luard, all very sick at having missed a fight.  This detachment brought the strength of the Pioneers up to four hundred rifles.