[April-July: 1842.]
Affairs at Caubul—Elevation of Futteh Jung—Opposition of the
Barukzyes—Arrival of Akbar Khan—His Policy—Attack on the Balla
Hissar—Its Capture—Conduct of Akbar Khan—Barukzye Strife—Defeat of
Zemaun Khan—Situation of the Hostages and Prisoners.
On the death of Shah Soojah there commenced in Caubul a civil war.
The whole city was thrown into convulsion. Futteh Jung, the second
son of the murdered Shah, was proclaimed King. He was a man of weak
understanding and infamous character; but he was believed to be
friendly to the British Government, and he both hated and feared the
Barukzyes. In himself a mere cypher, he could have done nothing to
resist the encroachments of that powerful tribe; but Ameen-oollah Khan
threw all the weight of his influence into the scales in favour of the
Prince, and for some time they seemed equally balanced. The Naib cared
nothing for the Prince; but he scented the royal treasures, and where
the money lay the thickest, there was sure to be Ameen-oollah Khan.
In such troublous times as he had now fallen upon, the Prince had
little taste for royalty. He remembered the fate of his father; and
shrunk from the perilous excitement in which he was now about to be
plunged. Weak, too, as he was, he had sagacity enough to perceive that
British power was again on the ascendant, and that whatever might
be the result of the internecine strife which was now convulsing the
capital, the supremacy of the British would be speedily re-established.
It was expedient, therefore, he thought, to exert himself to the
utmost, to obtain the favourable consideration of his old Feringhee
allies; so he despatched earnest letters to Captain Macgregor at
Jellalabad, pleading both for himself and the memory of his murdered
father, protesting his inviolate attachment and loyalty to the English
Government, and imploring them to tell him what to do.
Futteh Jung had been proclaimed King by Ameen-oollah Khan and the
Populzyes; but the Barukzyes refused to recognise him. Again they
set up the Newab Zemaun Khan, and openly defied the Suddozye power.
Soon the two contending parties broke out into open hostilities.
Ameen-oollah Khan and his puppet were the first to draw the sword.
On the 1st of May there was fighting from house to house—the whole
city was in commotion. On the following day, success began to declare
itself on the side of the Barukzyes. Ameen-oollah Khan made a false
move, and disastrously over-reached himself. Believing that the
act would dishearten the Barukzyes, he seized the person of Meer
Hadjee, the chief Moollah. But very different was the real from the
anticipated effect of this outrage. Nearly all the townspeople, before
neutral, rose to avenge this insult offered to their High Priest.
The Kohistanees joined them. The Hadjee was released. But popular
indignation ran high against Ameen-oollah Khan. His house was burnt.
His property was plundered. His servants were seized. Compelled to seek
safety in flight, he flung himself into the Balla Hissar.
The Prince made a show of welcoming him, but secretly declared that
he would willingly surrender him and his Populzye associates to the
British, if Pollock would advance upon Caubul—that one of his main
objects, indeed, in opening the gates to them was to have the rebels
more securely in his power.[221] The Naib knew that his position was a
dangerous one, and declared that he would throw himself on the mercy
of the British and take his chance of being hanged. There was a more
unrelenting enemy beyond the walls of the Balla Hissar. The Barukzyes
were eager to destroy him.
The contest now raged furiously. The guns of the Balla Hissar were
opened upon the city. Multitudes of the townspeople fled in dismay.
There were 5000 men in the citadel; there was no lack of provisions.
The money was all in the hands of the Prince; and he disbursed it
freely to his adherents. But the Barukzyes were miserably poor. They
could only raise money by the sale of jewels and the exaction of fines;
and the Kohistanees and others who flocked to their standard envied the
fortunate followers of the more opulent Prince.[222]
It was not likely that Akbar Khan would regard with unconcern these
proceedings at the capital. He was awaiting the return of Captain
Mackenzie from Jellalabad, when intelligence of the disturbed state
of affairs at Caubul was brought to him. Determining first, however,
to learn the result of the mission to General Pollock’s camp, he
resolved to set out for the scene of strife, and to take one or two of
the English officers with him. Mackenzie returned on the 3rd of May,
and was immediately despatched by the Sirdar on a second mission to
Jellalabad, whilst Akbar Khan, taking Pottinger and Troup with him, set
out on the following day for the capital.
Arrived at Caubul, the Sirdar played his game with some address.
Sedulously giving currency to the intelligence that he had been
in treaty with General Pollock, who was said to have recognised
his authority, he enhanced his own importance in the eyes of his
countrymen, and sowed disaffection among the adherents of the royal
party. Many who had before been neutral, now, believing that the
British were on amicable terms with the Sirdar, openly espoused his
cause. Khan Shereen Khan and the Kuzzilbashes had hitherto remained
inactive; but feeling the importance of their coadjutancy, Akbar Khan
made strenuous efforts to obtain it, and gained at last a promise of
support.[223] From day to day there was continual strife and much
fighting. The advantage was for the most part on the side of the
Barukzyes. The Prince had thrown up some outworks round the Balla
Hissar; but partly owing to the weakness and partly to the treachery
of the guards, they had been carried by the enemy.[224] Pottinger
witnessed some of these engagements, and wrote of them as most
contemptible affairs.
It soon became only too probable that the Balla Hissar itself would
fall before the Barukzyes. The energy and vigour of Akbar Khan and his
confederates greatly exceeded that of the wretched Prince and his few
interested supporters. Fearful of this, Futteh Jung continued to write
pressing letters to the British authorities at Jellalabad, urging them
to push on to his relief, and Mohun Lal gave cogency to the request
by setting forth the probability of the Balla Hissar falling into the
hands of the Barukzyes, and the strength which that party would derive,
not only from the occupation of such a commanding position, but from
the possession of the royal treasures. Like his father, however, the
Prince continued to declare that his money was failing, and to request
the British to supply him with funds to carry on the war. But more than
all he clamoured for the advance of the British army. On the 11th of
May he wrote to Captain Macgregor:
The reason of the present contest is this. I wished to excite a
dispute between the Barukzyes and the other wicked men, with a view
that they should have no leisure even to touch their own heads, and
thus the English army may reach here unmolested. To effect this cause,
whatever gold and silver I had has been paid to the people, with the
object of securing the interests of the British.[225] Now I have very
little cash remaining in the treasury—enough only to support me for
some ten or fifteen days more. After that period, without assistance
from the British, I shall be reduced to the greatest difficulty. The
men of the world are the disciples and worshippers of money. If you
will not raise the victorious standard of the British troops quickly,
or do not send me reinforcements within a few days, all the people
will desert me on account of not having money, and the Barukzyes will
then have the upper-hand over me.
If the Barukzyes establish their power, serious evil is to be
apprehended; and the household of the British ally (Shah Soojah) will
be destroyed. After this there will be nothing in store for us but
repentance and disgrace. It is as clear to all the people as the sun,
that I am soliciting the assistance of the friends and nations of my
late father. In delaying this object many dangers may arise, and much
harm may befall the needy. In such a crisis as this, all objects may
be easily gained; and the affairs which are now reduced to a state of
disorder will, without much difficulty, be brought into order again.
If you are delaying your march on account of supplies of grain, you
need not care for this. If it pleases God that I should recover my
authority, there will be thousands of “Khurwars” (measures of ten
maunds) of grain, as well as plenty of fodder for the horses.
I have heard that the Bombay forces have reached Candahar, and also
marched thence to this quarter. It would be highly desirable, if the
victorious army of Calcutta should possess this country before the
arrival of the Bombay forces, that it should show the world that
your arms alone have gained the victory. Although the army of both
sides belongs to the same government, I write thus because I wish you
well.[226]
On the day after this letter was written, three holy men presented
themselves before the Prince, with overtures of peace from the
Sirdar. They set forth that whatever oaths Futteh Jung might desire
the Barukzye chief to swear to him, would be solemnly sworn on the
Koran. “Of what avail are oaths,” asked the Prince; and sending for
several Korans from another apartment, showed the _Syuds_ how they were
covered with the seals of the Barukzye, the Douranee, the Caubulee,
the Persian, and the Kohistanee chiefs. “This,” added the Prince, “is
God’s holy book, in which all the faithful believe. Look at these seals
and the oaths of fidelity written upon the margin, declaring that the
enemies of the royal family are the enemies of Mahomed—and yet the
Barukzyes have murdered the King, my father. If there be any other
Koran sent from Heaven, let the Barukzyes swear solemnly upon it—this
has been tried too often, and too often found wanting.” The Syuds were
then dismissed. Nothing was done towards a satisfactory arrangement.
So Mahomed Shah Khan was sent to conduct the negotiations with the
Suddozye Prince.
What were the proposals made to the Prince, and in what light he
regarded them, may be gathered from the letter which, on the following
day, he addressed to Captain Macgregor:
The circumstances of this quarter are as follows. Since the arrival
of Mahomed Akbar Khan, the Barukzyes at the head of the Ghilzyes,
Caubulees, and the Kohistanees, attacked the trenches I had built out
at a distance. Some of them were taken by the enemy on account of the
weakness of my guards, and others in consequence of the treachery of
my people. All the trenches round the Balla Hissar have fallen into
the hands of the enemy, and we are now in a perfect siege. Yesterday,
Mahomed Shah Khan, Ghilzye, came to treat with Ameen-oollah Khan into
the Balla Hissar, and the result of their negotiation, after solemn
oaths, was as follows:—That I should be acknowledged as King—Mahomed
Akbar Khan as Minister of State—and that Ameen-oollah Khan should
hold the situation of Deputy (“Naib”) under the minister. After this,
Mahomed Shah Khan was brought to my presence, and I was obliged to
give him a “Khelat;” but agreeably to the advice of my well-wishers, I
deferred giving my acquiescence to the result of their negotiation for
two or three days to come.
They have made four proposals to me,—Firstly, that I should allow
Mahomed Akbar Khan to be my minister, and Ameen-oollah Khan his
deputy. They are then both to raise an army and to go and fight with
the English forces coming up to Caubul. Secondly, they will stand
neutral, if I like; but I must prepare to go and oppose the British
troops. Thirdly, if I am powerful, I must get ready to wage war with
the Barukzyes. Fourthly, that I should take the whole family of the
late King, and go wherever I like to go with them.
It appears that Ameen-oollah Khan, on account of our weakness, has
consented to their proposals, and has therefore gone out of the Balla
Hissar to have a conference with Mahomed Akbar Khan. These proposals
have perplexed me greatly, and I am lost in speculation. If I were
to appoint Mahomed Akbar Khan my minister, he would raise a force to
oppose the English, and I should be forced to give up my artillery to
him, which will be a dangerous business. In case of my refusal, the
family of the late martyr (King) will be outraged.
My anxiety for your departure from Jellalabad for Caubul appears
thoroughly useless. It is now forty days since your victorious army
has passed up through Khybur, and you have not yet left Jellalabad.
I endeavoured to excite a dispute among the rebels, with the view
that the English army should reach here without opposition. Although
I have successively sent letters through Mohun Lai, asking you to
advance immediately to this side, but no symptoms of the kind have yet
appeared. In such delay dangerous evils are to be apprehended.
It is a long time that I have deputed and entrusted Meerza
Ameen-oollah with my verbal messages to you; but no answer has yet
reached me about it. You should quickly reply to my letters, as well
as the messages I have sent you by him, and also let me know the day
of your march, as I am now in much perplexity. If there be any hope
of your immediate advance, I will undergo every hardship to defend
the Balla Hissar, and engage the rebels in fight. In case of any
more delay the object will be lost, and an easy end will be obtained
with the utmost difficulty hereafter. What can I write you more than
this?[227]
Feeling himself utterly powerless to resist the demands of the
Barukzyes, for all his principal supporters were deserting him, the
Prince now placed himself in the hands of Ameen-oollah Khan, who went
out to a conference with Mahomed Shah Khan, which mutual distrust
nearly strangled in the womb, and consented to the first of these
propositions.[228] Futteh Jung was to be the nominal occupant of the
throne. Akbar Khan was to be minister; and Ameen-oollah Khan, his Naib,
or deputy. It was the object of the Sirdar to arrest the internal
dissensions which were so weakening the great national and religious
cause, to obtain possession of all the available money and munitions,
and then to carry on the war with new vigour against the infidels.
But Mahomed Zemaun Khan was the recognised chief of the Barukzye
party; and he now asked on what authority the Sirdar ventured without
his sanction to make peace with the Suddozyes. There appeared to be
every chance of an open rupture between them; and scarcely had Akbar
Khan concluded his negotiations with the Prince, then the Newab made a
hostile demonstration, attacked the Balla Hissar, but was beaten back
with much slaughter. It was, however, currently reported that a secret
understanding existed between the two Barukzye chiefs, whose common
object it was to obtain possession of the Balla Hissar. Two or three
days afterwards they were, outwardly, again united. An attempt had
been made to lure the Prince to an interview with Akbar Khan beyond
the walls of the Balla Hissar. The Arabs in the garrison, who remained
true to the royal family, dissuaded the Prince from exposing himself to
the treachery of the Sirdar; mutual distrust soon engendered a rupture
between them; and it was plain, that if some arrangement could not be
promptly made between the Prince and the Barukzyes, through the agency
of the Kuzzilbash chief, the Balla Hissar, the treasure, and the guns,
would speedily fall into the hands of Akbar Khan and his confederates.
The Barukzyes now laid siege, with redoubled vigour, to the Balla
Hissar. The Prince was well-nigh deserted.[229] He called upon Oosman
Khan, Shah Soojah’s old minister, to aid him, but upon some frivolous
pretext, the Wuzeer declined to league himself with so perilous a
cause. It was assiduously given out that the Prince was holding the
Balla Hissar only for the Feringhees; and, as the national feeling
became stronger and stronger against him, if it had not been for the
strength of the place itself, he would hardly have been able to hold it
for a day against the Barukzyes. But the fortress held out, in spite
of the weakness of the Prince and the garrison; and so at last the
Barukzyes began to undermine the works. “Last night,” wrote Futteh
Jung to General Pollock, at the beginning of June, “they made an
assault; now they have made mines in every direction. My affairs are in
a very critical state.... If you do not come quickly, the Balla Hissar
and the throne will be lost, and you will be a sufferer. At this time
I am at my last gasp. Moreover, there is nothing in the magazine.[230]
Now is the crisis.”[231]
On the 6th of June, after an ineffectual attempt at negotiation,
Akbar Khan issued orders for the springing of the mine. But it was
not carried sufficiently far to damage the works.[232] The explosion
killed a large number of the besiegers; whilst the storming party was
driven back by the garrison with considerable loss. The troops of the
Shah-zadah are said to have “behaved very nobly, and like heroes,
to have defeated the assault.” Mohun Lal reported, but with some
exaggeration, that not less than 1000 of the followers of Akbar Khan
fell upon this day.
But the elation of the garrison was but short-lived. On the following
day the Barukzyes brought up some heavy ordnance and began to
cannonade the Balla Hissar. The defenders then lost heart. The
Hindostanee and Arab fighting men, who composed the bulk of the
Prince’s followers, began to tremble for the safety of their families,
and to call upon Futteh Jung to enter into some accommodation with
their assailants. Thus deserted by his garrison, who declared that they
would open the gates to the enemy if the Prince did not submit, he had
nothing to do but to abandon the defence, and to suffer the Barukzyes
to enter the Balla Hissar.
With many professions of fidelity and demonstrations of respect, Akbar
Khan presented himself before the Prince, declared that he had the
prosperity of the royal family at heart, and that he himself was merely
the servant of the Suddozyes. Futteh Jung offered him money; but he
declined it—offered him a dress of honour, but he meekly refused to
wear it. He wanted nothing, he said, but the prosperity of the Prince,
and he could not wear the dress of honour until he had adjusted all his
differences with Mahomed Zemaun Khan. But these differences were not
very easily to be adjusted. The Newab was unwilling to recognise the
sovereignty of Futteh Jung; and was jealous of the rising power of the
Sirdar. Meeting after meeting was held, and many attempts were made to
reconcile the conflicting interests of the two Barukzye leaders. It was
urged, on the one side, that if Futteh Jung were acknowledged as the
nominal ruler of Afghanistan, all his wealth would be in the power of
the chiefs, and that the war might then be waged against the infidels
with every chance of success. But, on the other hand, it was asked by
the friends of Zemaun Khan—and Meer Hadjee, the High Priest, adopted
the same views—since during the lifetime of Shah Soojah the Newab had
been chosen King by the chiefs and accepted by the nation, why should
they now revert to the old Suddozye sovereignty, which the country had
so emphatically repudiated?[233]
As time advanced, the difficulties in the way of a reconciliation
between the two parties seemed to thicken. The Newab declared that he
was King—that Akbar Khan might hold the office of Commander-in-Chief
of the Afghan army, but that Oosman Khan was to be the Wuzeer.[234] In
the meanwhile, the Sirdar was gaining over the Kohistanee chiefs, and
preparing himself for the inevitable conflict. But the Kuzzilbashes
now refused to league themselves with Akbar Khan, and talked of joining
the British on their advance. There was no prospect of a reconciliation
of the differences between the two Barukzye chiefs. The old Newab
bitterly deplored the strife which seemed likely soon to plunge the
city again into the miseries of war, and openly prayed that God might
send General Pollock quickly, so that he and Akbar might fly from
Caubul before they had caused bloodshed among the people by the violent
arbitrement of their disputes.
Equally did Akbar Khan claim credit for his forbearance. On the 21st
of June, after many fruitless attempts at an amicable adjustment of
affairs, the two factions came into open collision. A battle was
fought; and “after an insignificant fight of two or three hours’
duration,” the Newab was defeated. He and his sons were taken. His
house was plundered. The leading chiefs of his party were seized
and subjected to every conceivable insult. The victory, indeed, was
complete; but it was mainly achieved by the money which had been
pillaged from the treasury of the Prince. Some of the most influential
men of the Newab’s party were bribed over to desert him; and he found,
when it was too late, that he was betrayed.
The Prince was throned on the 29th of June. But he exercised no regal
power. The Sirdar, who conferred upon him the title of sovereign mainly
to conciliate the Populzyes, began rapidly to strip him of his wealth,
and to reduce him to a mere pageant and a name.[235] After possessing
himself of all the tangible property upon which he could lay his hands,
he called in all the secretaries and managers of the royal household,
and compelled them to give an account of their stewardship. He had
taken up his residence in the Balla Hissar; was digging a ditch around
the place; and laying in military stores. He then began to endeavour to
compass the possession of all the hostages and captives, and to secure
them against the chance of rescue by confining them in the Balla Hissar.
The situation of the English gentlemen at Caubul, who had resided
so securely under the protection of the good Newab, now became more
critical.[236] On the death of Shah Soojah the Caubulees had called
upon Zemaun Khan to deliver them up to Meer Hadjee, the High Priest.
The Newab had long resisted the demand. But the clamour of the people
had drowned his prayers. His tears and intercessions were fruitless.
At last he surrendered them to the Hadjee, imploring him to treat them
with kindness, and sending at the same time the ladies of his family to
the priest’s house that they might, in some sort, be a protection to
the British captives. Under the guardianship of Meer Hadjee, Conolly
and his associates remained until the beginning of July. By this time
Akbar Khan was dominant in Caubul. He had determined to gain possession
of the persons of the whole of the English hostages and prisoners in
Afghanistan, and he now began to importune Meer Hadjee to send them to
the Balla Hissar. Day after day he went, on this errand, to the High
Priest’s house; but for some time his importunities were fruitless.
At last, he tried the effect of money. The avarice of Meer Hadjee was
notorious. Akbar Khan had bought him over to his cause; and now he
bethought himself of buying the prisoners. He did not bid high for
them. It appears that Akbar Khan offered 4000 rupees for the persons
of the hostages, and that the offer was accepted.
The hostages were now conveyed to the Balla Hissar, where they
remained under the immediate custody of Akbar Khan. Mohun Lal, who
had been rendering good service to the British Government, by keeping
the authorities at Jellalabad continually supplied with information
relative to the events which were passing at Caubul, was seized by the
Sirdar and tortured. The Moonshee had been residing in the house of
the Kuzzilbash chief, Khan Shereen Khan; but now, early in July, Akbar
Khan, having first seized the person of the host, contrived to obtain
possession of the guest; and immediately began to extort money from
him by the cruel agency of physical torture. It was not until General
Pollock wrote an urgent letter to Akbar Khan, that the unhappy Moonshee
was relieved from this terrible persecution.[237]
In the mean while, the British prisoners, who had been in custody at
Budeeabad, were in a fort in the neighbourhood of Caubul. When last I
spoke of them they were halting in the valley of Zandah, where they
were detained for about the space of a month. On the 22nd of May they
received orders to march on the following day for Caubul.[238] The road
lay along the track of the slaughtered army, and the putrid corpses
sickened the captives as they went. About three miles from Caubul, on
the banks of the Loghur river, is the fort of Ali Mahomed, a chief of
Kuzzilbash connexions. Here they were lodged in the apartments recently
occupied by the ladies of the chief’s family[239]—the best and most
commodious quarters which the prisoners had yet enjoyed.
In Ali Mahomed’s fort the prisoners led a life of comparative freedom.
They had a spacious garden in which to exercise themselves at certain
times. They had the use alike of the walks and of the fruits. They were
suffered to bathe in the river. They were permitted to visit, and to
receive visits from, their friends in the Balla Hissar. Many of them
had the means of borrowing money from the Caubulees; and were able to
purchase many necessaries which they had not enjoyed at Budeeabad.
Letters and papers from Jellalabad, from the provinces of India, and
from old England, were brought to them without interruption. They had
much to think about and much to discuss. Intelligence from Jellalabad
and intelligence from Caubul came, in some shape, every day. Life was
comparatively but little wearisome; there was abundant occupation for
the mind, and abundant exercise for the body. True, indeed, it is that
many of the party fell sick, and that some died; that their guards
were sometimes insolent and extortionate; and that ever and anon there
reached them rumours of the intentions of Akbar Khan to carry them off
to Toorkistan; but they had much to be thankful for, on the other side,
and on the whole, perhaps, they enjoyed greater comfort and happiness,
than commonly fall to the lot of the prisoner and the captive in the
hands of a barbarous foe.