abundance at every stage. Without therefore encountering any obstacle on our line of march, we reached the little town of Pusah — worthy of notice only on account of the enormous stud of horses it contained.
Meanwhile the alarming rumours relating to the mutineers — of whom mention has already been made — rendered it necessary for us to halt at Pusah, until reliable intelligence could be received in place of the numerous and exaggerated reports that were in circulation within and around the neighbouring districts. Some rumours asserted that the revolted troops were on their way to loot the Government stud; others declared that they had broken away through the adjoining country; while a few maintained, and with truth, as the sequel will show, that they were in a “fix” for want of boats on the impetuous river that barred their way to the Upper Provinces.
Our “forced halts” at Pusah afforded an opportunity for re-organising the transport train, which was found defective for forced marches. And instead of that “awful machine,” the country cart, yoked to crawling bullocks that ordinarily averaged a “motion” of two or three miles an hour, and accomplished a distance of three or four leagues a day, and that only under the influence of perpetual and tremendous shouting, barbarous castigation, and tails twisted into corkscrews until the joints cracked, elephants and those hardy animals the pack-ponies were substituted for the conveyance of the baggage.
