General Chamberlain now took steps to clear himself of encumbrances, and to prepare for hard fighting. The sick, the baggage, and spare transport animals were sent back to the plains, and the road was improved. A breastwork was thrown across the front of the camp and flanked with guns; the steep slopes on either side were occupied by strong pickets, stockaded and entrenched. Still the position was weak. Far above on the extreme left our troops held a post called the 'Eagle's Nest;' and opposite, on the right, another named the 'Crag Picket,' a commanding pinnacle of rocks scantily clothed with pines and towering up into the sky. Both were vital points to hold, for they entirely overlooked the lower defences. But high as they both were, there were other ridges and dominant points still far above, and our troops were thus exposed to sudden overwhelming attacks, from enemies who could collect unseen at their leisure and choose their time for an assault. The men of the tribes were brave and worthy foes. These bold mountaineers, ignorant of what is termed discipline, or of any regular art of war, armed only with old matchlocks and short swords, nevertheless, by a kind of rude instinct, discovered at once our weak points; and by feints at the centre, combined with furious assaults on the isolated flanks, not only inflicted heavy loss upon us, but succeeded occasionally in endangering the whole position. The Crag Picket alone fell three times into their hands by direct assault in open daylight, at different periods of the campaign, although in each case we drove them out again. The despatches received day after day, though hastily written, gave a vivid reality to the scenes depicted, and extracts from them will perhaps convey the best idea of the fierce nature of the contest and of its vicissitudes. On October 24 large bodies of men, with numerous standards, appeared in the Chumla Valley, and were ascertained to be arrivals from some of the minor hill tribes, and a portion of the fanatics under Mobarik Shah. At daylight the next morning they appeared above our right defences on the Mahabun, but were driven off by Major Keyes,[57] who chased them along the ridges and forced them back precipitately into the valley.