Lister Expedition
The Lister Expedition was a punitive expedition in 1850 against Lushai chiefs such as Mora who raided Cachar. It is referred to as the Lister Expedition, which was headed by Colonel Frederick George Lister.
Background
In November 1849, the Magistrate of Sylhet reported a series of raids on the Simla River within British territory. A party of wood-cutters had been attacked. Another attack had followed up on a village of Halams, which had been cut up and destroyed. Reports from Cachar stated that the Lushais, under Chief Lalianvunga and his son Mora, had attacked a Kuki settlement ten miles south of Silchar belonging to Seyahpow. The raid saw 29 people killed and 42 captives taken. Lallianvunga and Mora would subsequently attack the village of Chief Leelong and burn it down before withdrawing back.Lister's Expedition
The government resolved on a strong response. The King of Hill Tipperah, Ishan Chandra Manikya, was ordered to summon the guilty chiefs and their warriors to release the captives. The British warned him that if he was unable to fulfil the demand, the British would march a force into his territory to enforce justice.Colonel Lister, the commandant of the Sylhet Infantry and Agent for the Khasi Hills was made responsible for the expedition. Lister was instructed to not heed to any land disputes or claims by the King of Tripura in regards to British holdings. Inquiries showed that the Sylhet raid was far within British territory along with the Cachar raid. Friendly Kuki scouts reported that the attacking party belonged to Khojawal or the Kachak tribe. The settlement was established two days march southeast of Chutterchoora. The Kuki scouts offered to join the expedition to the settlements of the tribe.
On 13 January 1850, the expedition was preparing for departure when another raid occurred. In Sylhet, a boundary point in dispute of the King of Tripura known as Thannah Latoo was raided. Originally the responsibility was assigned to the targeted tribe of the expedition before it was realized that Tripuri subjects had done it. The enquiry was not followed up afterwards.
Colonel Lister's force marched from Silchar on 4 January 1850. The expedition consisted of 200 men. Mules and elephants limited the party's ability to penetrate the Lushai Hills. The road was dangerous due to small rivulets and dense jungles. He was helped by Chief Salpoe who supplied coolies. Salpoe also contributed to the force with food and ryots.
On 14 January, Lister arrived at a village belonging to a chief called Mora. Mora built his capital settlement at the top of a high mountain. The expedition sounded their bugles which echoed across the hills but no shots were fired. It was assumed that the warriors had undertaken a hunting party trip or another raid while the expedition had reached the village. The expedition was also considered to be a surprise as most Lushai chiefs didn't expect the British to be able to locate their settlements. Salpoe's coolies and auxiliaries in Lister's force provided the information required to achieve this. The settlement possessed 800-1000 houses full of grain, cotton and other resources. On 16 January, Lister entered the village with no resistance as Mora had retreated to his settlement at the top of the hill. The force managed to free 429 captives. Lister was cautious on account of Salpoe's kukis' advice and didn't ascend the mountain with his smaller force. Lister had observed the capital settlement with a telescope and observed a well fortified position on an uphill incline to reach it. On 16 January, Mora's settlement was burnt down, and Lister retreated after its destruction. Lister would return on 23 January. When questioned on cutting the expedition short, he reasoned that severe damage would have occurred to the force if he had delayed.