_Expedition against the Black Mountain Tribes, 1868._—An expedition was now sanctioned, but in view of the generally disturbed state of this portion of the frontier, it was decided to draw the required troops from cantonments further down country, leaving the garrisons of Peshawar and of other border posts as far as possible intact. Considering that some regiments had come from as far south as Cawnpore, the concentration by the 24th September of the following force at Agror, Darband and Abbottabad, may be considered a very satisfactory piece of work: At Agror: D. F. Royal Horse Artillery. E. 19th Royal Artillery. 2. 24th Royal Artillery. Peshawar Mountain Battery. Hazara Mountain Battery. 1st Battalion 6th Foot. 1st Battalion 19th Foot. Guides Cavalry. 16th Bengal Cavalry.[10] Det. Telegraph Sappers. 1st Gurkhas. 2nd Gurkhas. 3rd Sikhs.[11] 2nd Punjab Infantry.[12] 4th Gurkhas. 20th Punjab Native Infantry.[13] 24th Punjab Native Infantry.[14] 5th Gurkhas. At Abbottabad: 2nd and 7th Companies Sappers and Miners. At Darband, in support of the Nawab of Amb: 38th Foot. 9th Bengal Cavalry.[15] 31st Punjab Native Infantry.[16] [Sidenote: Composition of Force] This force was divided into two brigades, under Colonels Bright and Vaughan, the whole under command of Brigadier-General Wilde, C.B., C.S.I., and numbered some 9500 of all ranks. In addition, a contingent of 1200 troops was furnished by the Maharaja of Kashmir, but these, though present on the border, did not take any active part in the operations. The overawing effect of the assembly of so large a force was immediately apparent in the petitions to be permitted to treat which now began to come in from the Swatis, the Hassanzais and the men of Tikari and Nandihar, and these were granted in the case of those clans which had not been specially hostile, or which it was considered particularly desirable to detach from the general coalition. The force which had been concentrated in Hazara had still, however, a sufficiently formidable task before it, having to deal with the Chagarzai and Akazai clans, with the Swatis of Deshi and Thakot, with the Pariari Saiyids, and not improbably with the Hindustani fanatics (of whom more will be said hereafter), and large bodies of trans-Indus Pathans.