Part 9

In the evening there was a great crowd of Affghans; some hundreds of them, all armed to the teeth, round the cantonments. They came in the most friendly manner, saying all was settled, _jung-i-kalūs_. The men of the 44th went out of cantonments amongst them unarmed, were shaking hands with them, and receiving cabbages from them, unchecked by Lieut. Cadett, the officer on duty on that face, who seemed to think this friendly meeting a very fine affair: however, the circumstance got reported, and the adjutant got the men in.

This appears very like a ruse on the part of the enemy, to throw us off our guard, and surprise us. It was suggested to the adjutant to examine the cabbages; as it was possible that outer leaves might cover bladders of spirits; and that, having intoxicated the men, they would when they were drugged make an attack on us: however, nothing suspicious was discovered.

We saw a fire on the hill this evening, supposed to be a party watching our movements, towards the Bala Hissar.

There can be no doubt that the enemy have spies in cantonments; and there are so many Affghan servants, that it is perhaps difficult to prevent their passing in and out.

Two men of suspicious appearance were prowling about the Envoy's tent, and Lawrence desired a chuprassy not to molest them, but quietly to dodge them, and to report progress. This he did, and stated that the men walked all over the cantonment, looked at every thing, and then walked out at the gate! So much for surveillance.

It is now said that Abdoollah Khan was wounded by a grape shot on the 23d, and that there is no truth in the report of Amenoollah Khan, of Logur, having been stabbed in a dispute in the council regarding terms to the Feringhees.

Poor Walker was buried to-day. He died of his wound last night. He is greatly regretted from his amiability; and, as a right gallant soldier, his loss is doubly felt in the present crisis.

The Shah Razee (Moyen oo deen's father) commanded the troops in Behmaru. He says, had we taken possession of the village in the outset, the day would have been ours on the 23d. We have also heard that so great was the alarm in Cabul, when the Affghans fled on Abdoollah Khan's being wounded, that the women were sent away out of the city in great numbers; and many in such haste, that they did not even wait to mount them on yaboos, but sent them away on foot, expecting to see our troops in the city immediately.

Great care is taken of the firewood in store in cantonments, and much discontent prevails because fires are not allowed. The Hindostanees feel the severity of the weather, to which they are exposed night and day; and the want of fuel adds much misery to their privations in being put on short allowance of food. There is at this time a complete winter stock of firing laid in; added to which, on emergency, the trees of the orchard might be cut down.

Capt. Sturt was urgent, both with Gen. Elphinstone and Brig. Shelton, that the men might have fires at night to enable them to warm themselves and dry their frosted clothes when coming off duty: but no order was given in consequence of his suggestions.

_26th._--Negotiations with the enemy broken off.

Accounts received from Sale up to the 21st; from Macgregor to the 23d. The Khyberries up. Capt. Fenis and his family had fled, and got safe to Peshawer. Lieut. Mackeson was still in Alimusjid in rather a critical position. To-day the Affghans lined the hills; some thousands of them, with many horsemen. They afterwards came down to the plain, and we expected an attack upon the cantonments. On their nearer approach, they were found to be mostly unarmed; some had sticks, some sticks with a knife tied on the end of them: they were merely the shopkeepers, come out to look at us. The Affghan knife is a very formidable weapon, about two feet long, and thicker, stronger, and broader than a sword, and as sharp as possible.

Some of these men went up to the breach of the captured fort, and asked, as the _jung_ was over, if they might not return, and live there. And on being told, "No," they said, "Very well; we will go away to-day, and come again to-morrow, and see if we may come then."

One well-dressed man inquired if the volunteer regiment (37th) was there; and being replied to in the affirmative, said, "I want my horse back that I lost the other day; have I any chance of getting it?"

All this coming close to our works, and spying, ought to have been stopped.

Sturt called out to them in Persian, and warned them off, or he would open the guns upon them. Some respectable people begged, for God's sake, he would not do so; for they were not warriors, but had come out to see sights and amuse themselves.

Sturt saw a man meanly dressed on foot stealing up close to the walls, and called out "_Pēsh Burrō;_" on which he raised his hand, telescope fashion, to his eye, and showed the end of a note. He was passed on to the gate, and admitted into cantonments; and was said to be the bearer of a letter from Mahommed Akbar Khan. However, this is denied, or even that any letter came.

Whenever the political horizon clears a little, mystery becomes the order of the day. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh;" and when overwhelmed with perplexity, the directors of events here are not so close. However, events do transpire, and we know that treaties are on foot with the Ghilzye chiefs; though that too is denied to-day.

Meer Musjudee is dead. Some say he has been poisoned; others that he died in consequence of the wounds he received last year in the Kohistan. A number of this chief's followers have gone off with the body to the Kohistan, there to attend his funeral obsequies.

A report has come to us through the enemy, that three regiments, from Kandahar, have got beyond Ghuznee, somewhere about Shecoabad; that there has been an engagement; and that though the Affghans could not conquer them, they still have been able to prevent their progress.

Sleet in the morning; and in the afternoon snow, which soon froze.

_27th._--We had a quiet night; and it continued tranquil till the middle of this day; when the horsemen again took post on the hills, and escorted infantry to the right, and down into the village of Behmaru, into which we threw some shells.

The negotiations are now come quite to a close. The enemy's demands were modest, considering that they were the first to treat, it is said. They require, in addition to giving up the King and his family into their hands, all our guns and ammunition, muskets, bayonets, pistols, and swords. The married men, women, and children, to be given as hostages; and then--we are to trust to their generosity! To this the Envoy sent a chivalrous reply,--That death was preferable to dishonour,--that we put our trust in the God of battles, and in His name bade them come on.

The King is in an awful state of alarm; for he has been told that we have been making terms for our free exit out of the country, paying for the same five lakhs of rupees; and leaving him to his fate, poor man! He is certainly to be pitied (if not at the bottom of it all), fallen from his high estate, and believing us to have abandoned him.

Jan Fishan Khan is the only chief who stands by him; and he has had his forts and property destroyed: his wives and children, he hopes, may have been saved by some of his neighbours; but, as yet, he only knows the fate of one young boy, who was burnt alive. He had one wife with him in Cabul when the insurrection broke out, and urged her to fly to Pughman for safety; the old chief told me, her reply was worth a lakh of rupees, "I will not leave you; if you fall, we die together; and if you are victorious, we will rejoice together!"

Some say that Mahommed Akbar Khan is now King, and Zeman Shah Khan his Wuzeer: others state that the latter refuses to give up his lately acquired power.

Ishmatoolah (the Akhoonzada or old moollah from Kandahar, who was to have gone with Sir William to Bombay), has taken himself off, leaving a message for the Envoy to say that he was gone to the city. A messenger was sent to his son, Khojeh Meer, in Behmaru; who stated that two respectable persons came to fetch the moollah, reporting that they did so by order of Mahomed Akbar Khan, who required his immediate attendance, as Lawrence and Trevor were both with him, and the Envoy coming. Whether the father and son are in league or not, remains to be proved; but this man's secession (who was much in Sir William's confidence) has caused us all to be on the alert, expecting an attack, or mischief of some kind.

There was an absurd report to-day, that the enemy had sent us back the gun they captured on the 23d, with the horses; and the gullibility of John Bull was proved by many persons leaving an auction of some of the deceased officers' property, to go to the Kohistan gate, and find it was all nonsense.

_28th._--Shelled the village of Behmaru, whence the enemy annoyed us by firing on our yaboos sent out to endeavour to procure grain.

This day we had both rain and snow. Mahommed Shah Khan Ghilzye is come into Cabul, and therefore we think there must have been a fight below, in which he has had the worst.

A Hindu merchant has offered to bring grain, and lay it at the gate of Mahommed Shureef's fort in the night. We are not to speak to his people; and are eventually to pay him at the rate of one Cabul seer for the rupee, and we are bound to take 200 kurwars. Also on every hundred maunds being delivered, we are to lay down a bag of 1500 rupees as a present. He says many would assist us, but are afraid; that as he is the first in the market, he expects to make his fortune.

_29th._--The enemy are not showing any cavalry to-day; and there is a rumour that they have gone to meet the corps coming in from Ghuznee--there was only infantry on the hillside; however, some alarmists fancied that they were coming down, which they never do without horsemen: the bugles sounded, there was a great bustle, and all ended in nothing.

We shelled Behmaru and the hill above it; and also the two shops close to the village, one on either side of the road, where there is a little bridge, and the trees form an archway.

Ammunition was sent to the Bala Hissar.

The horses are hard up for grain: those for the artillery have not been much looked after since Lieut. Waller was wounded; and one of them is averred to have eaten his comrade's tail! That he bit it off there is no doubt.

_30th._--Abdoolah Khan's death has, it is said, created some confusion in the city. Whilst still living a report was spread of his decease; and, like Alexander, he mounted his horse, and showed himself to his followers; but the exertion was too great for him, and he shortly after expired.

Amongst other political barometers, the manner in which persons are spoken of indicates whether affairs are going on well or ill: just now, things are looking up again. A few days ago people spoke of "The Macnaghtens;" then they became again "Sir William and my Lady;" and to-day they have left their refuge in a tent in cantonments, and are gone into the great house again, which they think will have a good effect, and tend to quiet people's minds.

The politicals are again very mysterious, and deny that any negotiations are going on, &c.; but letters come in constantly; and we know they are treating with the Ghilzyes.

A new arrangement is made with Khojeh Meer regarding grain: formerly he received fifty rupees daily as bukshees, whether grain was procured or not; now he is to have 500 rupees given him on delivery of every hundred khurwars.

Sturt proposes to hut the men on the ramparts, and give them plenty of firewood. As yet they are not allowed any fires, except for cooking their food. He also wishes to have the city shelled, both from the Bala Hissar and the cantonments, particularly to annoy the quarter where the gunpowder-makers reside.

Early this morning a party of horsemen left the city in the direction of Bhoodkhak, and another towards the Kohistan.

Treaty is certainly going on; and we think that the confederacy may be breaking up. Humza Khan of Tezeen is said to be sending his women away from Cabul, and many have been seen mounted on yaboos going away on the road leading to Bhoodkhak.

_1st December._--Mohun Lull writes that the enemy will show in force to-day, and attack us to-morrow. The firing we heard in the night was an attack on the patrol, who got in safe.

A cossid reported yesterday that he had been with his letter to Kelat-i-Ghilzye, but he brought no letter back. He said that the force had left the place; and as he could not give any account of, or letters from Ghuznee, we suspect that he never went at all.

A report to-day that the Hindu merchant had commenced his supplies of grain is contradicted: but a small quantity was got in to-day.

We sent to get some barley for our horses; but the enemy were hovering about the villages, and prevented us.

It is reported that the garrison at Ghuznee have blown up the bastions, and joined General Nott's force.

More treaty going on. Firing at night, said to be an attempt to blow up the Bala Hissar gate, which was repulsed. A good deal of firing during the night, and also shelling into the town.

_2nd._--Last night's firing was an unsuccessful attempt of the enemy on the Bourj above the Bala Hissar.

I counted this morning 49 horsemen on the Siah Sung Hill, who were reported to the General at 300! We did not fire at them, as they were seen to come from Mahmood Khan's Fort, where the Ghilzyes reside who are now treating with us.

Mohun Lull's information was incorrect; the enemy did not show in force yesterday, neither have they to-day made their intended attack on the captured fort and that of the magazine. The person who succeeds in taking the latter is promised 40,000 rupees, and the rents of the adjacent lands.

The enemy's confederacy is said to be breaking up: they are now quarrelling regarding the partition of power which as yet they have not. One says he will be chief of Cabul, another of Jellalabad, &c. The plan proposed for the capture of cantonments by the enemy is, to send 200 bildars in front to cut down the ramparts; next come the infantry, and then the horse. I suppose we are to stand still and look on.

Mahommed Akbar Khan is said to be very ill.

There is a report that a man has come in from Gen. Nott's camp at Urghundee, eighteen miles off; that the enemy had attacked him, placing two guns in position, both of which we are said to have captured. We fear this news is too good to be true. These reports are disseminated by the enemy; and the only motive to which I can attribute them is a wish to lull us into security by reports of aid coming to us, until starvation prompts acquiescence in their demands, be they what they may.

A man of the Ghoorka corps has come in. He says the men are wandering up and down the country, and that some have taken refuge in forts; that poor Rose, in a fit of despair, put an end to his existence by shooting himself; and that Dr. Grant, when he last saw him, was wounded in the leg.

Ishmatoolah is said to be imprisoned in the city.

The Parsee merchant is also in prison until he pays a ransom of 10,000 rupees: his property has all been taken away.

The people of the city are said to be discontented. They have no firewood; the people who used to bring it in are afraid to do so lest they should be plundered.

_3rd._--The attack intended for yesterday has been postponed to to-day, we hear; but there seems to be little likelihood of one.

Khojeh Meer says that he has no more grain: we only got 50 maunds in to-day. He also says that the moollahs have been to all the villages, and laid the people under ban not to assist the English, and that consequently the Mussulman population are as one man against us. He says he expects himself to have to run for his life to Peshawer whenever we go away. Khojeh Meer has a difficult part, to play: his pecuniary gain in siding with us is great; but being the father-in-law of Meer Musjudee, who married the Khojeh's daughter, he of course lets the enemy occupy the village whenever they please. As far as we are individually concerned, Khojeh Meer has been very civil to us: he sells us grain whenever we can manage to send an Affghan servant on a yaboo to purchase it. Sturt has been kind to the man; and he evinces his gratitude by writing to say that he will get us what supplies he can. Much more grain might have been procured, had we not foolishly tried to drive hard bargains with Khojeh Meer. It has been intimated to the Envoy that the enemy's troops, who lately got one rupee daily for each horseman, and eight anas for each foot soldier, have not had any pay for four days, and that they are grumbling at it.

We saw a party leaving Cabul towards Bhoodkhak with two women on one horse riding with them.

A cossid came in from Jellalabad; no letter for me. He had been detained five days in the city, and his intelligence only reached to the 21st. Khojeh Meer says that the villages to our rear (from whence the grain was brought to Behmaru) are occupied; and that the only place which could have given us grain, and where we might have obtained six months' supply, was Khojeh Rewash, which is at present occupied by Sekundu Khan with 500 men.

In the evening about seven o'clock there was firing on the southern face, and towards the Magazine fort, which continued until past ten o'clock. The enemy appear to be trying to mine that fort, and Sturt saw about ten men close up under the walls of it.

The enemy seem to be on the alert; however there was no firing at night of any consequence: we shelled the city from the Bala Hissar as usual.

Orders were this day issued, that the arms and accoutrements, discipline, &c. of the various corps, should be attended to! Consequent on this order the 5th have been very busy cleaning their musket barrels,--a most unusual exertion. The arms used to be placed against the rampart, and of course the barrels were rusty and the powder damp.

A committee is ordered to assemble to-morrow to value all useless horses in the Bazaar, which are to be destroyed; so there will be plenty of cheap meat, as tattoos and camels have for some time past been eaten: even some of the gentlemen ate camel's flesh, particularly the heart, which was esteemed equal to that of the bullock. I never was tempted by these choice viands; so cannot offer an opinion regarding them.

Brig. Shelton sent to tell Sturt that one of the bastions of the captured fort was on fire, and to request he would send bildars to dig the place and lay on fresh earth. He went accordingly to see what was the matter, and came back very angry, as the guard had been burning the defences he had put up.

_4th._--Two chiefs have been treating with the King: they propose that he throws off the Feringhees, on which they will render their allegiance to him. His Majesty, however, thinks it unsafe to break with us. Gen. Nott's brigade is now supposed to be at Shekoabad, about six marches from Cabul. The enemy assembled in numbers on the heights, and planted two guns in the gorge; from which they discharged 144 shot at us (said to have been scored on the wall of the Mission Compound). They had three other guns out, which were placed on the road behind a trench they had dug, and a kind of breastwork they had thrown up across the road, near the Shah Bagh.

In front of this they had another for their men to fire from behind it. Another party took post in the Nullah, near the bridge going to Siah Sung. A man mounted on a grey horse came down apparently to see if they were properly posted: he had a _foot_ man with him. A shot was taken at the latter, who, being beyond its range, ran a few yards backwards and forwards, dancing, jumping, and cutting capers in derision.

Just as it was getting dark the fight commenced in earnest: the enemy made a rush at the captured fort. They had placed a bag of powder at the wicket, and must have been greatly astonished at finding it produced no effect in consequence of Sturt having filled the place up.

They were received with a sharp fire, which was kept up for a long time, both of musketry and guns. Lieut. Cumberland, of the 44th, was on duty there with 100 men. He sent for a reinforcement, and Sturt took fifty men to him under a very heavy fire. (Observe the wisdom of unnecessarily risking the life of our only engineer officer.)

Notwithstanding that the enemy opened five guns on us, our loss was very trifling: as yet I have heard only of one man, an artilleryman, killed; and a sergeant of Sturt's (Williams) was wounded whilst digging with the sappers. A few horses and camels were killed, as also one or two camp followers in the Mission Compound.

Some of the cannon shot went clean over the cantonments (those fired from the gorge): one fell between the legs of Mr. Mein's mule in Sturt's compound, near the rear gate, without doing any damage.

To-day Sturt came home with his clothes singed, having been nearly blown up by an explosion of powder in one of the batteries, when a man got his pouch ignited by the port-fire; he was much hurt: at 10 o'clock the shots were dropping quickly.

I can scarcely believe that this is the grand attempt at capturing cantonments; and therefore am expecting another, and wish it may occur by daylight.

The enemy's idea of blowing open a gate is excellent. They filled the bag with powder, applied and lighted a slow match, and then threw it at the gate! so that, when it exploded, of course it did no harm.

_5th._--The enemy assembled in small parties on the Siah Sung Hill; also, but not in great force, on the other hills.

In the morning they attacked a foraging party sent by the cavalry, and surrounded them in a fort. At length they took an oath on the Koran not to hurt them; and a trooper, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the rest, came out: he talked with them, shook hands with them, and they seemed very friendly. They then desired the camp followers to come out; but they distrusted them, and called to the trooper to return to them: as he was doing so they shot him. The grasscutters had amongst them one old musket, with which they shot two of the enemy: further operations were suspended by the arrival of a reinforcement, when the enemy disappeared _instanter_.

Some ottah has been said to have been dropped at the Musjed; but this has been contradicted, and I believe no grain has been brought in to-day.

The chief of Khojeh Rewash says that we must send a force, to make it appear that we force it from him; and then he will sell us grain.

The proprietor of Kella Bolund offers 1000 kurwars of grain if we will send for it, and has given the Envoy an order for its delivery; but the difficulty lies in getting at it.

Major Kershaw has sent to announce that the enemy are coming out of the city gate with their guns.

There has been firing all day, but I believe only a bheestee of Mr. Eyre's killed, just behind our compound.

In the evening, about five o'clock, there was very quick firing about the Bazar village.

The enemy have burnt the bridge, and commenced mining one of the bastions of the captured fort.

A strong reinforcement has been sent there; and Sturt is gone down again, at nine at night, to look to its defences.

Sturt has again to-day narrowly escaped being shot. The enemy seem to know and to lie in wait for him, and he never shows his head above the rampart without a ball whistling close to it. The Affghans are good shots when they fire from their rests; and as the ammunition is the property of each individual, they do not throw it away as we do ours. Their gunners appear to be inferior, as they fired at the captured fort at a distance of 300 yards, yet did not hit it.