"A more loyally devoted assistant I could not have found, active, untiring, and self-sacrificing; the public service and the interests of others were always before him. His gallantry and forwardness on service were acknowledged by all, but it was late in life that he so distinguished himself. I recall chiefly the straight-forwardness and honesty of his help and advice, and remember his never-failing and cheery support whenever we had a difficulty to face."
Owing to the illness of the Quarter-Master-General, Gatacre accompanied the Commander-in-Chief on two long tours in the spring of 1886. On the first he saw many places of great historical interest, such as Cawnpore, Futtehghur, Lucknow; and in the second he was taken to Peshawur and Lundi Kotal, where many interesting problems of frontier defence were discussed on the ground. For two months in 1886 he officiated as Quarter-Master-General, pending the arrival of Sir William Lockhart, who was to act for General Chapman while away on long leave.
1887
Christmas was spent at Calcutta, and early in 1887 Gatacre was again on the move. During this year he was twice entrusted with an independent mission; in March he accompanied the Chief on his official visit to Peshawur, Kohat, Rawulpindi, and Quetta, and was afterwards sent to survey and report upon the proposed line for a military road from Loralai in Beluchistan to Dera Ghazi Khan on the Indus. His abstract of daily work shows that he was out all day exploring and surveying. His report shows that he thoroughly investigated all questions relating to the water supply and the area of the camping-grounds on the road, and deals with many questions as to the safety and comfort of the working parties and their guards. Although the country to be explored covered 183 miles, he worked with such celerity that the work was completed in thirteen days.
On tour
Writing from Bannu a week or two later he finds time to send a comprehensive account of his doings:
"I think I wrote you last from Loralai, beyond Quetta to the east: well, from there I explored a new road which is to run through Mekhtar, Kingri, Rukni, to Dera Ghazi Khan on the Indus. It has been approved, and is to be carried out at once; as in the event of troops moving up towards Kandahar, it would be the route along which all our regiments and stores from the Punjab would move. The country is a wild one at present, savage, with no cultivation or inhabitants, except a few robbers: but the lie of the road is good, and the gradients are easy. Of course a made road will draw the large Kafilas of camels with merchandise from one end to the other, and as the roads will be under our protection the native merchants will gladly use it, and this will gradually people the various halting-places, and so settle the country by degrees. There was much game along the route; markhor, a large goat with splendid horns; gud, a large sheep with very large curly horns, wolves and small game, hares, partridges, wood-pigeons, etc. I had very little time for shooting, but shot one markhor and much small game here and there as I came across it; but as I had a lot of surveying to do all day, I had no time to make excursions after game alone, though I should much have liked to have had a turn with Stephen in some of the hills through which I passed. You would have been delighted with the country in some places, something like Scotland with fewer trees and more sun, but comparatively cool for India. The only disagreeable thing about it is the general want of water and the number of poisonous snakes. Water is found only in certain streams and in single springs, and is very valuable. Of course, any good road which is required has to follow the line of water, but the rivers commence to flow at any point in the river-bed, and after becoming a rushing torrent, disappear as suddenly as they arose, into the ground and are seen no more; where they go to no one knows, but you may seek in vain further down the bed of the river and not find water. In some cases the water reappears in the stream ten miles lower down, and disappears again as before. The snakes are everywhere, and it was a few days before I left Khur that a young engineer named Hackman was bitten. I saw his death in yesterday's paper. I killed several cobras while marching, I am glad to say."
In November of the same year he was sent on a similar mission to Sikkim. It was discovered that a private treaty had been signed by which the Rajah had declared that Sikkim was subject only to China and Tibet, thus repudiating the British suzerainty. By way of preparation for an expedition to settle this question Gatacre was sent up to report upon the road over the Jelap-La along which troops would move on to Lingtu, the capital of Sikkim. Though it was at that time held by a hostile force of Tibetans, he approached near enough to sketch the fort at Lingtu. His report and his sketches were afterwards incorporated with other matter in a blue-book dealing with the affairs of Sikkim. Sir Thomas Graham asserts that the information set down was of great value to him when in the following spring he led a force into Lingtu and brought the incident to a satisfactory conclusion.