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All assaults were however beaten off. The tribesmen suffered
terrible losses. The casualties among the Sikhs were also severe. In the
morning Colonel McRae advanced from his defences, and, covered by the
fire of his two guns, cleared the ground in his front of the enemy.
The centre was again the scene of severe fighting. The tribesmen poured
into the bazaar and attacked the serai on all sides. This post was a
mud-walled enclosure about fifty yards square. It was loopholed for
musketry, but had no flank defences. The enemy made determined efforts
to capture the place for several hours. Meanwhile, so tremendous was the
fire of the troops in the main enclosure, that the attack upon the serai
was hardly noticed. For six hours the picket there held out against all
assaults, but the absence of flank defences enabled the enemy to come
close up to the walls. They then began to make holes through them, and
to burrow underneath. The little garrison rushed from place to place
repelling these attacks.


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