Saadat Khan continued very active; he busied himself in endeavouring to unite the Mohmands; on the 26th he had moved to Gandab, twenty miles north-west of Shabkadar, and here on the 30th he was joined by the Chief of Bajaur with a large following. On the 28th and 29th the Mohmands attacked two of our villages, burnt another, and finally, on the 7th December, Saadat Khan suddenly moved out of a gorge in the hills to the right front of camp, and took up a position with 4000 footmen and a small body of horse. At the same time the hills to the westward, near Dab, had been strongly occupied by the enemy, while a party of 200 came down to the left bank of the Kabul River immediately in rear of the camp. Seeing the force thus displayed, the Brigadier directed that a troop of Horse Artillery and six companies of the 53rd Regiment should at once move out from Peshawar to the bridge of boats on the Kabul River.
On the 8th December the Mohmands, to the number of 3000 or 4000, under Saadat Khan, advanced upon Matta, but were driven off, and all this day the tribesmen were reported to be collecting in great strength in Pandiali, under the Chief of Bajaur, and Sir Colin accordingly sent in to Peshawar for reinforcements; and their arrival, after a forced march, the 53rd having covered forty-two miles in thirty hours, undoubtedly prevented an attack upon the camp near Dab. The British force was now far too strong for the Mohmands, whose gathering broke up, Saadat Khan returning to Lalpura. Desultory operations continued for some few more weeks, but finally the force was recalled to Peshawar on the 14th February.
Action near Shabkadar
On the 30th March news was received at Fort Shabkadar that the Mohmands were collecting in the high ground in front to the number of between 400 and 500, and troops were moved out from the post, causing the enemy’s retreat to the hills. It was known that Saadat Khan was making great efforts to unite the various clans in view of again attempting the recovery of the lands we had annexed; and finally, on the 15th April, the Mohmands debouched from the hills, in numbers not less than 6000 matchlock men with some eighty horsemen, and moved along the foot of the hills in front of Shabkadar, taking the direction of Matta. Sir Colin Campbell had himself gone out to Shabkadar, where he had gathered some 600 troops, and he speedily issued from the fort with two Horse Artillery guns and 266 sabres of the 7th Light Cavalry[[89]] and 15th Irregular Cavalry,[[89]] and dispersed the enemy, causing them considerable loss.
In the month of July following this affair, the Michni and Panjpao Mohmands, exiled from house and lands and cut off from trade, tendered their submission and prayed for the restoration of their fiefs, which were handed back on payment of a nominal annual tribute. The Panjpao or Halimzai Mohmands gave no further cause for dissatisfaction, but the men of Michni fell into arrears in the payment of their tribute, and their Chief, when invited into Peshawar to make an explanation, fled instead to the hills. It was therefore necessary to attach the property of the tribesmen to the extent of the amount of tribute and, further, to inflict and recover a fine. To assist the civil authorities in enforcing these measures a small force of all arms proceeded to Michni, a company of infantry was sent to Mian Khel, and patrols so arranged as to seize all cattle moving off to the hills. It was proposed to transfer the Michni jaghir to some of our own subjects, but it was obvious that these could not hold the lands and be responsible for the revenue, unless they were secured from all chance of raids from the independent border villages beyond Michni. It was therefore resolved to destroy the three villages particularly concerned, and to prevent their being ever reoccupied; for such measures it was necessary to obtain the assistance of a military force strong enough to meet any resistance the Mohmands of that part of the border might make.
Operations against the Michni Mohmands in 1854.—For this purpose, while the garrisons of the forts and posts at Abazai, Shabkadar, Mian Khel and Michni were strengthened, a force as below enumerated was concentrated at Michni, under command of Colonel Cotton, 22nd Foot:
Two guns 1st Troop 3rd Brigade Horse Artillery. 2nd Company 2nd Battalion Artillery with Mountain Train Battery (4 howitzers and 4 guns). Two companies 22nd Foot. 2nd Company Sappers and Miners. One squadron 10th Light Cavalry.[[90]] One squadron 1st Irregular Cavalry.[[91]] Three companies 1st Native Infantry.[[92]] 9th Native Infantry.[[93]] 1st Sikh Infantry.
Operations in 1854
The advance commenced on the 31st August along the left bank of the Kabul River in the direction of Shahmansur Khel, which was captured after some opposition. While the destruction of the village and the removal of grain stores was in progress, the heights above had to be seized and held, and the troops engaged on this duty were exposed to an unceasing and galling fire, and suffered several casualties, but the subsequent retirement to camp was practically unmolested. On the 2nd September Colonel Cotton again moved out, and destroyed the villages of Dab and Sadin, when the troops returned to Peshawar, and the well-affected among the Michni Mohmands paid up their share of the tribute due.
After this the Mohmands continued to commit outrages, issuing in large bodies from the hills and harrying the border, and between March, 1855, and July, 1857, no fewer than thirty-six serious raids, having plunder and murder for their objects, were committed by the Mohmands of Pandiali. The Commissioner, Colonel Edwardes, had been supported by the Chief Commissioner, Sir John Lawrence, in recommending punitive operations in the Pandiali Valley, but the Government were unwilling to undertake them at the time, and when the Mutiny broke out in 1857 our attention was at once more pressingly directed to other quarters.