Page:The Indian Mutiny of 1857.djvu/411

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Sir Colin occupies Barélí.
375

42d; bayonet them as they come on!' when the Gházís were upon them. But vain was their rush against that wall of old soldiers! They killed some indeed, but not a single man of the Gházís survived. Some of them, however, had got round the 42d, and inflicted some damage. But they, too, met the fate of their comrades. The first line then advanced, and for about a mile and a half swept all before it. Just then the information reached Sir Colin that the rebel cavalry had attacked his baggage, but had been repulsed. He halted to enable the second line, with the baggage and heavy guns to close up, sending only the 79th and 93d to seize the suburbs in their front. This attempt led to fresh fighting with the Gházís, which, however, ended as had the previous attacks. In a very important particular the halt made by Sir Colin, desirable as it was in many respects, was unfortunate, as it enabled the rebel chief to withdraw, with his troops, from the town. It would even have been better had the attack been delayed for a single day; for on the following morning, as Sir Colin entered the evacuated town on the one side, the division commanded by Jones and Coke entered it on the other. Khán Báhádar Khán eventually escaped into Nipál.

Meanwhile, the Maulaví, who had evacuated Sháhjahánpur on the approach of Sir Colin, had no sooner learnt that the British general was approaching Barélí, than he turned back from Muhamdí, and resolved to surprise Hale at Sháhjahánpur. It is more than probable that, had he marched without a halt, he would have succeeded. But when within four miles of the place he stopped to rest his men. This halt gave to a loyal villager the opportunity to hasten to apprise Hale of his approach, and that officer had time to take measures to meet his enemy. Giving up the town, he fell back on the gaol. The Maulaví,