Attempt to Assassinate the Shah.--Court Martial on an Affghan
Chief.--Visit to the Hospital at Ghuznee.--Hatred of the Affghans
towards the Native Troops.--Departure from Ghuznee.--Capture of a
Battery and Fatal Accident.--Summary Punishment.--Arrival at
Cabul.--Pursuit of Dost Mahommed and Treachery of a Native
Chief.--Description of Cabul.--The Balar Hissar.--Mosque of the Emperor
Baber.--The Bazaar.
A few days after the taking of Ghuznee a tragical scene occurred, which
pretty clearly indicated how the tide of popular feeling ran with regard
to the restored monarch. There is a poetical superstition that
approaching events are often foreshadowed, and the circumstance to
which I allude seemed to impress every man's mind at the time with the
result that has since happened.
The majority of the prisoners who fell into our hands were released on
condition of their serving in the Shah's army, but there remained about
thirty who refused to accept of their liberty on such terms. They
consisted for the most part of the immediate followers of Dost
Mahommed's father-in-law, and were devotedly attached to that prince.
The Shah, on learning the circumstance ordered them to be brought before
him, and expostulated with them on the folly of their conduct. A Chief
of haughty bearing stepped from amongst the prisoners, and after
overwhelming his Majesty with reproaches, told him that nothing should
induce him to enter the service of a man who had brought the horrors of
foreign invasion on his country. Then suddenly snatching a dagger from
one of the attendants, he rushed with uplifted arm towards the Shah, and
would have pierced him to the heart had not one of his Majesty's
servants interposed his person, and received the blow intended for his
master. The faithful domestic fell dead at the feet of the Shah, and the
officers and attendants instantly rushed towards the assassin with drawn
swords; but he had already anticipated their intention by plunging the
poniard in his breast. The Shah, alarmed and exasperated, ordered the
whole of the prisoners to be immediately executed, and in a few minutes
their heads were rolling in the dust. This terrible scene created great
alarm in the camp, it being at first reported that his Majesty had been
assassinated, but the apprehensions to which it gave rise were soon
dispelled, by his publicly making his appearance amongst us.
A Chief, named Walla Mahommed, who had persisted in firing on the troops
several hours after the taking of the fort, and in spite of repeated
summonses to surrender, was brought to a court martial by order of the
Commander-in-Chief, and sentenced to be shot within the walls of the
fortress. He had killed three or four of our men, and wounded one of the
Native officers by his obstinate folly. He met his fate with the most
perfect indifference, for the fear of death cannot be said to be one of
the weaknesses of the Affghan character.
I one day paid a visit, with some of my comrades, to the hospital where
the wounded Affghans had been carried by their friends. It was situated
in the old town, and consisted of a mud hut, whose thatched roof was
broken in several places, and afforded little or no shelter against the
heat of the sun. The interior was as filthy and disgusting as it is
possible to conceive. Into a space of about thirty feet by twelve, were
crowded from seventy to a hundred patients, who were disabled by wounds
of every description, their sufferings being aggravated tenfold, by the
intolerable heat and stench of the place. They were attended by two
elderly men and a youth about fifteen years of age, who were busily
engaged dressing their wounds, whilst a Faquir was performing certain
charms, by which he pretended he could restore them to health. Pitiable
and disgusting as the scene was I could not help laughing at the
mummeries of the fellow. He first placed some cow dung in the hand of
the sufferer, and holding it in his, saturated it with water and
compelled the patient to smell it. He then wound up the ceremony by
repeating some prayers over the fumes of a charcoal pan, the patient
repeating after him certain responses which he directed him to make.
This done, he covered him up with an old blanket, and ordered him to lay
quiet for several hours, when the cure would be complete. Having of
course received a consideration for all this trouble, he left his
patients to the progress of the charm, and the discovery, when too late,
that they had been grossly duped.
Happening to have a quantity of apples with me which I had just plucked
from one of the orchards in the vicinity, I offered them to the
sufferers in the hope that they would in some degree refresh them. They
accepted them with eagerness which induced some sepoys who were with me
to follow my example. The Affghans indignantly refused to receive
anything at their hands, and so great was their hatred of the native
troops, that they actually spat upon the men who showed them this
kindness.
Early in August we resumed our march towards Cabul, leaving the whole of
our sick and wounded in garrison at Ghuznee. It was reported that Dost
Mahommed intended to dispute every inch of ground to the capital, but
these valiant resolutions were abandoned as soon as formed. The only
indication of a preconcerted plan of defence which we met with on the
route, was a battery of sixteen field pieces which we found planted on
an eminence commanding the entrance to a formidable pass about midway
between Ghuznee and Cabul, but which had been deserted by the enemy as
soon as our advanced columns made their appearance. A party of the Horse
Artillery having been sent to secure the guns and ammunition, an
accident took place which was attended with fatal consequences. One of
the men having approached a tumbrel with a lighted pipe a spark fell
into it and the whole blew up with a tremendous explosion, killing two
of the party and severely injuring another.
The conduct of the inhabitants of the different villages along this
route, whether influenced by good will or fear, I cannot take upon
myself to say, was friendly and well disposed towards us. This did not
however prevent some excesses on the part of the native troops, which
Sir John Keane sought to repress by issuing an order forbidding the men
from robbing the villagers on pain of death. At Chesgow, about two days
march from Ghuznee, a soldier belonging to the 2nd Bengal Light Cavalry
was observed thieving in the immediate vicinity of the staff lines, and
one of Sir John's aides de camps who watched his proceedings took a gun
from his tent and deliberately lodged its contents in his side. The
unfortunate man died of the wound, after lingering a few days. The
extreme severity of the punishment and its informal nature, were
bitterly canvassed amongst the native troops, but it nevertheless had
the effect of preventing a repetition of the offence.
Early on the morning of the 7th of August, we encamped without
opposition under the walls of Cabul, Dost Mahommed and his forces having
fled to the hills at the first news of our approach. The
Commander-in-Chief being desirous of securing the person of the usurper,
immediately despatched Captain Outram, and Hadji Khan, a chief supposed
to be well affected towards Shah Soojah, with a thousand Affghans and a
hundred native cavalry in pursuit. They had not proceeded far from the
camp when it became evident to Captain Outram that treachery was
secretly at work, the Affghans deserting daily, until their number was
diminished to about five hundred. Hadji Khan, to whose guidance the
force was entrusted, led it by long and circuitous routes, under
pretence that they would thereby more easily intercept the fugitives,
and turned a deaf ear to the Captain's entreaties that they should
proceed directly across the hills. Wherever a rapid movement became
necessary, the Affghan managed so that his followers should be delayed
on the route, and there was no sort of impediment that craft or
ingenuity could suggest that he did not employ to retard the progress of
the troops. Captain Outram having no authority to act without the aid of
the Khan was obliged to shut his eyes to these manoeuvres, and succeeded
after the most urgent persuasion in inducing the Affghan Chief to
proceed at once to the hills, with a small detachment.
After traversing the highest parts of the Hindoo Kosh, a chain of
mountains, fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, and
extending as far as Bamean, Captain Outram found that Dost Mahommed had
taken refuge in the territories of an independent Uzbeck Chieftain then
at enmity with the Shah. Whilst crossing the heights several blue lights
were thrown up by the orders of Hadji Khan, which the British had reason
to believe were intended to give warning to the enemy. Further pursuit
through a difficult and hostile territory became of course out of the
question, and the horses being worn out from want of forage and rest,
orders were given for the return of the party to Cabul. During the march
homeward Hadji Khan contrived to give the British the slip, and made off
to the hills, rightly calculating that his equivocal conduct would be
severely punished by the Shah. He was, however, captured before the
British left Cabul, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. It was said
that the Commander-in-Chief was dissatisfied with the conduct of Captain
Outram in this affair, and that he pointedly passed over his name in
the official despatches to mark his displeasure.
As several descriptions of Cabul have been published it will only be
necessary for me to give such of its leading features as are essential
to the completeness of my narrative. The city lies almost in the centre
of a semicircular chain of hills, the valley in which it is situated
being watered by a noble river which pursues a serpentine and
picturesque route through it, and divides the town in nearly equal
parts. The bazaar stands at the base of a lofty mountain, up whose
rugged sides straggle rude and irregular fortifications of no great
strength or importance. The town itself covers a considerable extent of
ground, and the streets are in general regular and well built as
compared with the other cities of Asia. Towering high above the other
buildings may be observed the mosque and Balar Hissar or palace of the
sovereign. The latter is surrounded by beautiful gardens and is entered
by a large flagged court-way leading to the principal portal of the
edifice. The proportions of the building are on a scale commensurate
with royalty, the centre being surmounted by a lofty dome, and the wings
of vast extent. The right wing contains the stabling of the Shah and
chambers of the household, and the left is appropriated to the
sovereign's own use. The general effect of this building is heavy, and
it conveys the idea of a prison rather than a palace.
About half a mile to the right of the palace stands the mosque which
contains the remains of the Emperor Baber. This temple is one of the
finest I have seen in this part of Asia, being of great architectural
beauty and noble proportions. It is entirely composed of richly carved
stone-work, and is crowned by a number of graceful spires and minarets.
The interior is magnificently ornamented with gilding and sculpture, and
the pavement is composed of rich Mosaics of various coloured marbles.
The tomb containing the remains of the Emperor occupies the centre of
the mosque, and is less elaborately ornamented than any other part of
it, being composed of plain slabs of white marble on which some extracts
from the Koran are inscribed.
The bazaar is of circular form, the streets composing it radiating from
an open space in its centre, and presenting a thronged and busy aspect.
The principal articles of merchandize which attracted our notice were
cashmere shawls of the richest and most expensive patterns, and costly
silks of every description. A considerable trade is also carried on in
preserved fruits, which find their way from here to the most distant
parts of Hindostan. In the fruit market we observed grapes which
measured nearly two inches in circumference; peaches, whose rich bloom
and luscious quality gratified at once the eye and the palate; and
strawberries, such as the hot houses of Europe, and all the inventions
of horticultural science could not force into existence. As to apples
and pears, fruits prized in the western hemisphere, they were in such
abundance and of such low price, that they were only deemed worthy of
furnishing food for cattle. Almost all the necessaries of life were in
equal profusion, beef fetching only a penny, and mutton twopence the
pound. It may be readily imagined that to the tired and half-starved
soldier, Cabul appeared almost a second land of promise.