1 348 LIEUT. MACKESON JOINS THE CAMP.
2 Our ground was very rugged and uneven, the
3 crops having been only just cut down; and it
4 was divided by several aqueducts and mounds,
5 which took some time before they were cleared
6 off by our party of bildars or pioneers. Small
7 wooden bridges were also made by them over
8 these canals, to cause a free communication in
9 ‘the whole camp; and as we were now in front
10 of the pass, and likely to remain here a long
11 time, some heights and an old tower near our
12 camp were fortified, and parties of jazaelchis
13 placed in them.
14 On the day we reached the last ground we
15 were joined by Lieutenant Mackeson, who
16 arrived alone, leaving his levies and camp at
17 Kohat; but he was afterwards directed to send
18 for them, and was retained with us to supply
19 the place of Mr. Lord, who, on account of ill
20 health, had been allowed to return to Peshawr.-
21 by a single patch of cultivation, extends to the base of the
22 Khaibar range, whilst directly before us the white citadel
23 of the Sikh fortress of Fatehgarh is occasionally to be
24 seen through the thick haze, and marks the entrance to the
25 celebrated pass.” —Barr’s Journal, pp. 298, 294.