last appeal to arms. Akbar had intended to bar the passage of the Khurd Kábul; but Pollock's halt at Tazín lured him on to meet his fate on ground less formidable to resolute troops. On the 13th the two armies clashed together near the mouth of the Tazín Pass. Many thousands of Akbar's best marksmen held the lofty hills which surrounded the valley, while large bodies of Afghán horse swept down towards Pollock's rear. Contrary to their wont, the Afghans on the heights advanced to meet their assailants. Our muskets were, as usual, no match for the Afghán jazail. But nothing could long withstand the determined rush of our soldiers, who scaled the heights like born mountaineers, and charged the enemy with fixed bayonets and loud hurrahs. Englishmen and Sepoys, horse, foot, and gunners, all fought their best that day. Unett's dragoons, backed up by the Native cavalry, charged with murderous effect into the masses of Afghán horse. The enemy held out bravely with unwonted stubbornness, retiring sullenly from crag to crag, and losing heavily before they broke and fled. They made their last stand upon the highest peak of the Haft Kotal, whence they were finally driven in swift rout by the sturdy little Gúrkhas of Broadfoot's corps[1].
That evening Muhammad Akbar was far on his way towards the Hindu Kush, while the victors had marched on to Khurd Kábul. Two guns and three standards were the main trophies of an achievement
- ↑ Afghan Papers; Kaye; Marshman; Broadfoot.
