THE MELANCHOLY MISHAP TO THE 10TH HUSSARS IN AFGHANISTAN.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 1476, 14 June 1879, Page 3

THE MELANCHOLY MISHAP TO THE 10TH HUSSARS IN AFGHANISTAN.

(Daily Telegraph, April 3.) • News of a peculiarly painful nature comes from Afghanistan. According to a telegram sent by the "Viceroy of India, General Sir Sam Browne reports from Jellalabad, under date of yesterday, that a squadron of the 10th Hussars, following m rear of the 11th Bengal Lancers, at ten o'clock on Monday night, had missed the ford of a river m crossing, and had been carried away by the current. Of the sixty-six men composing the squadron, sixteen bodies had been already recovered, but Sub-Lieutenant Harford and fifty soldiers were still missing. Incidentally it is stated that no accident had occurred to the Sikh Cavalry, who had passed safely over the very stream where the English, troopers had been lost. The details end here, and wsare left to conjecture for the present the cause of this melancholy catastrophe. Under the circumstances it can only be supposed that the cavalry were making a night expedition with a view to reconnoitre the enemy or to facilitate a sudden descent upon some one of the troublesome tribes m the vicinity of Jellalabad ; that, misled by their guide or guides they were prevailed upon to cross the river at a different point from that chosen by the native horse ; and that, getting into deep water and a swift stream, they found themselves unable to swim against the torrent, and entangled one with another, and borne down by the weight of their accoutrements and baggage, they were quickly and helplessly drowned. Although there is no mention of other officers, it can scarcely be supposed that the squadron was under the command of so very young and necessarily inexperienced a man aa SubLieutenant Harford, seeing that he only counted three years' service, having received the rank he held at the time of his sad death on the 22nd of March, 1876. Further particulars, very shortly to be expected, will, of course, throw more light upon the event ; and, besides informing us how it came about that the Hussars adopted a different point of transit from that taken by the Bengal squadron, will show how it happened that so large b force of British cavalry was led into the river without scouts having preceded it at the point it chose for crossing. Meanwhile, it is to be noted that both of the regiments concerned m this lamentable business are crack corps, having a long roll of victories inscribed upon their colors, and each claiming his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales as its Colonel. Distinguished among its fellow regiments for eminent services both m China and m India, the 11th (Prince of Wales's Own) Bengal Lancers, formerly known as the Ist Sikh Cavalry, can boast of having nobly served the Queen at Lucknow against myriads of rebel Sepoys, at the taking of the Taku forts, and at the siege of Pekin. As they passed by the Prince of Wales, when reviewed at Delhi, their magnificent appearance attracted marked attention, and drew from all spectators present expressions of unqualified praise. Clad m a brilliant uniform of blue, laced with gold and embellished with red facings, and wearing on their heads the splendid blue and gold turban which so greatly becomes these giant horsemen,

*hey gave promise of what they would do x n the field were they ever again called upon to go into action. That they have abundantly fulfilled all the expectations formed of them the history of the present little war shows, for several gallant charges upon the enemy during the campaign which General Browne has made m Afghanistan have reflected the highest credit both on officers and men. It is, indeed, fortunate, that they have not been included m the terrible disaster which has befallen their English brethren m arms ; and their safety, m all probability, may be attributed to the fact that their natural instincts as campaigners m a strange country are keener than can be possessed by European soldiers. Still it is strange that, considering the time Jellalabad has been m British hands, the country round about has not been so surveyed as to render impossible such an accident as that which has occurred. The 10th Hussars is well known m the service as a regiment peculiarly fitted fdr the light work of reconnoitring. The difficulty into which it fell must have been one of a serious character for the result to have been so fatal, aa the horses and horsemanship of this regiment have been famed for many years, and " The Tenth," which has now been m India ever since the early part of January, 1873, and has during that period undergone a great deal of field exercise and ininstruction, is regarded as remarkably smart and soldierlike. Long ago it competed successfully against the 12th Lancers for the premier place among our light cavalry regiments, and it is, therefore, the more surprising to find such a redoubtable body of troopers so terribly entrapped. Fording a swift-running river, like the Cabul at this period of the year, is at all times a perilous task, and even where one man may pass m safety, it often happens that a number, impeding and hampering each other, may come to grief. The danger, m the opinion of those who are experienced m this class of exercise, does not bo much exist where the stream is deep enough for the horses to swim as where it is just shallow enough for the footing of the animals to be insecure, while the torrent presses heavily upon their flanks. At such a moment, even m the day time, great judgment and coolness are necessary, and often, with these qualities exhibited to the full, trouble results. But when at night the darkness obscures all that is m front, and a number of horsemen are together m an unknown stream ; when the frightened beasts are plunging and struggling, and it is impossible for one to be wholly free of its companions, the peril involved is not difficult to comprehend. If one or twohorses then go all are lost ; the weight of the first bears the next down, and instantly the whole massi is borne away. Such appears to have been the fate of the gallant men who were drowned m the Cabul river. They missed tho shallow place by which the Sikhs passed over safely, and, unable to stem the strong tide, were pushed down the river and so destroyed. Their fate is one of the hardest which can befall a soldier, and is the death which a gallant landsman would least wish to meet. To be hopelessly swept away by a rapid rush of water is, indeed, a pitiable end, and the deep sympathy of the whole country will be accorded to those who, having bravely faced the perils of sabre, shot, and shell, were doomed to so sad and inglorious a deatiny. Similar events have not been infrequent m warfare, and particularly among ill -drilled horsemen, who, m a hurry, plunge into a river without taking proper precautions to ascertain where they are going, and, missing their footing, are quickly involved m danger. Disciplined soldiers would, we should imagine, not attempt to pass a stream m any such manner as this ; they would m all probability be not more than two abreast, or possibly might be sent on m single file. Prudence would at any rate suggest that some such order should be observed, for the tendency of failuro on the part of a single animal to involve all near it m confusion and to render it impossible for any rider to extricate himself is too rrell known to need comment. It is now to be hoped that tho loss of this squadron will serve as a lesson to those who are m command of our troops m Afghanistan. Large bodies of men ought not be sent out under such circumstances until the route by which they are to march is thoroughly understood. During the Franco-German war small parties of Uhlans acting aa scouts preceeded every important movement, and bo measured aud marked every road and place of difficulty or danger that a catastrophe like that which hns befallen the 10th Hussars could never have occurred. In theory the same plan is also m vogue m the British Army, yet, somehow or other, it appears not to have been carried out. In all probability against this will be urged the fact that the Bengal Lancers leading did cross the river successfully ; but the obvious reply is that nothing should have been left to chance, and the ford which waß safe ought to have been sn clearly marked off by vedettes that a mistake m regard to the site mast have been impossible. The lives of English soldiers are much too valuable to be thus needlessly imperilled ; and coupled with the deep regret with which the news from Jallalabad is received, will be a strong feeling of disappointment that so deplorable an accident could, by any possibility, have happened to one of the best and most renowned regiments m her Majesty's service.