Through Three Campaigns

Through Three Campaigns, by G.
A. Henty

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Title: Through Three Campaigns A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti
Author: G. A. Henty
Illustrator: Wal Paget
Release Date: February 21, 2007 [EBook #20641]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH
THREE CAMPAIGNS ***

Produced by Martin Robb

Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti by G.
A. Henty. Illustrated by Wal Paget.

Contents
Preface.
Chapter 1
: An Expedition.
Chapter 2
: The Start.
Chapter 3
: The First Fight.
Chapter 4
: In The Passes
Chapter 5
: Promoted.
Chapter 6
: Unfair Play.
Chapter 7
: Tales Of War.
Chapter 8
: The Dargai Pass.
Chapter 9

: Captured.
Chapter 10
: Through The Mohmund Country.
Chapter 11
: An Arduous March.
Chapter 12
: A Tribal Fight.
Chapter 13
: The V.C.
Chapter 14
: Forest Fighting.
Chapter 15
: A Narrow Escape.
Chapter 16
: The Relief Of Coomassie.
Chapter 17
: Stockades And War Camps.
Chapter 18
: A Night Surprise.

Chapter 19
: Lost In The Forest.
Chapter 20
: At Home.
Illustrations
Map illustrating the Chitral Campaign. Lisle gives the alarm. He
carefully aimed and fired. They charged the attacking force from end to
end. Map illustrating the Tirah Campaign. A party of Afridis rushed
down upon him. It was the dead body of an Afridi. "My horse must
carry two, sir," Lisle replied. Map illustrating the Ashanti Campaign.
Two of them fell before Lisle's revolver. They saw a strong party of the
enemy crossing the road.

Preface.
Our little wars attract far less attention among the people of this
country than they deserve. They are frequently carried out in
circumstances of the most adverse kind. Our enemies, although
ignorant of military discipline are, as a rule, extremely brave; and are
thoroughly capable of using the natural advantages of their country.
Our men are called upon to bear enormous fatigue, and endure
extremes in climate. The fighting is incessant, the peril constant.
Nevertheless, they show a magnificent contempt for danger and
difficulty; and fight with a valour and determination worthy of the
highest praise.
I have chosen, as an illustration of this, three campaigns; namely, the
relief of Chitral, the Tirah campaign, and the relief of Coomassie. The
first two were conducted in a mountainous country, affording every
advantage to the enemy; where passes had to be scaled, torrents to be
forded, and deep snow to be crossed. In the other, the country was a

combination of morass and thick forest, frequently intersected by wide
and deep rivers. The work, moreover, had to be done in a tropical
climate, during the rainy season. The conditions, therefore, were much
more trying than in the case of former expeditions which had crossed
the same ground and, in addition, the enemy were vastly more
numerous and more determined; and had, in recent years, mastered the
art of building extremely formidable stockades.
The country has a right to be proud, indeed, of the prowess both of our
own troops and of our native regiments. Boys who wish to obtain fuller
details of these campaigns I would refer to Sir George Robertson's
Chitral; H. C. Thomson's Chitral Campaign; Lieutenant Beynon's With
Kelly to Chitral; Colonel Hutchison's Campaign in Tirah; Viscount
Fincastle and P. C. Eliott Lockhart's A Frontier Campaign; and Captain
Harold C. J. Biss's The Relief of Kumasi, from which I have principally
drawn the historical portion of my story.
G. A. Henty.
Chapter 1
: An Expedition.
"Well, Lisle, my boy, the time is drawing very near when you will have
to go home. My brother John will look after you, and choose some
good crammer to push you on. You are nearly sixteen, now, and it is
high time you buckled to."
"But you have always taught me, father!"
"Yes, that is all very well, but I could not devote three hours a day to
you. I think I may say that you are thoroughly well grounded--I hope as
well as most public-school boys of your own age--but I can go no
further with you. You have no idea what cramming is necessary, now,
for a young fellow to pass into the army. Still I think that, by hard work
with some man who prepares students for the army, you may be able to
rub through. I have always saved up money for this, for my brother is
by no