A History of Assam c14.57

c14.57

On the withdrawal of the troops sent against them, the Moāmariās returned to the neighbourhood of the Dikhu river and, emboldened by their immunity from attack, actually plundered some granaries within the environs of Rangpur. A second raid of the same kind was prevented by a timely alarm. In the face of this renewed activity of the insurgents, and of the danger to which, not only the king's followers, but the expedition itself, would be exposed unless something were done, Welsh determined to make a final effort to disperse them before starting on his journey back to Bengal. Accordingly, at 2 A.M. on the morning of May 5th he marched out against the rebels and drove them from their encampment. They retreated so rapidly that they escaped without much loss, and, taking up a fresh position on the right bank of the Darikā river, continued their guerilla tactics. Welsh, therefore, on the 12th May, crossed the Dikhu with all his available troops and marched against their new position. On this occasion, either because his advance was expected or because, having now a force of four thousand men, they felt more confident of success, they advanced boldly to the attack, and greeted the oncoming sepoys with a storm of bullets and arrows. But their new-found courage soon oozed away; and, when they saw the troops continuing to advance, they broke and fled. They were hotly pursued and, in the end, were entirely dispersed with heavy loss. Their camp was burned, and the troops returned to Rangpur with only two casualties.