Leaving on the first of Rebiul-Evvel we came, after a ten days'
journey, to Parker,[106] a town of the Rajputs. Here we were surprised
by the infidels, but thanks to the letter of protection and a few
presents, we were let free; quite anticipating further dangers,
however, we were on our guard when next day a band of hostile Rajputs
commenced a free fight with us. Immediately I ordered all the camels to
be let down on their knees so as to form a ring round us, and then the
firing began on all sides. The infidels, not prepared for this, sent us
word that "they had not come to fight, but to exact the passage money,"
to which I made reply: "We are not merchants and carry nothing but
medicines and _Mohurs_[107] on which we have already paid duty; but if
there be anything further to pay we are quite prepared to do so." This
had the desired effect; they let us pass, and for about ten days we
wandered through deserts and sandy places, until we reached Wanga,[108]
the frontier town of Sind. Here we hired fresh camels, and in five days
we came to Djoona[109] and Baghi-Feth. The throne of Sind was then
occupied by Shah Husein Mirza. He had reigned for 40 years, but during
the last 5 years he had become invalided and unable to mount his horse,
so now he only went about on board his ship in the river Sihun.[110]
At that time Isa Terkhan, the commander of the capital of Sind, called
Tata,[111] had put to death a number of able officers belonging to
Shah Husein, after which he had captured the treasure, stored in
the fortress of Nasrabad, and divided it amongst his men, and then
proclaimed himself as Humayun Shah. (It says literally that he had this
title inserted in the Friday-prayers and ordered the _Nakara_[112] to
be played.) Thereupon Shah Husein had nominated his adopted brother
Sultan Mahmud as commander of the land troops, and he himself with
400 ships had set out against the rebels. Hearing of my arrival he
received me with great honor. It was then the beginning of the month of
Rabia-al-Sani. He gave me festive apparel[113] and conferred upon us
the title of a God-sent army;[114] he offered me, besides all this, the
governorship of Bender-Lahuri or Duyuli-Sindi. Of course I refused this
offer, but when I requested permission to continue my journey I was
given to understand that I should not be allowed to do so until after
the successful termination of the campaign. He also wrote a letter to
our glorious Padishah, explaining matters; in a word he did not rest
until he had quite cleared us from being mixed up in this war with Isa
Khan. The Mohammedans pleaded in vain that our arms could bring no evil
upon them,[115] for, said they, "Are we not all of one nation, and are
not many of our sons and brethren in the rebel army?" And this was
perfectly true. I had an interview with Sheik Abdul Vahab and received
his blessing; I also visited the graves of the Sheiks Djemali and Miri.
The campaign lasted a month, earthworks were thrown up and cannon
raised thereon, but as Tata lies on an island and their shot did not
reach so far, the fortress could not be taken. Nevertheless there was
great loss of life on both sides. At last a compromise was decided
upon. Mir Isa relinquished his adherence to Humayun Padishah, returned
to his allegiance to Husein Mirza, and sent his son Mir Salih with
presents of submission. On the other hand, Husein Mirza gave the
remainder of the treasure, which Mir Isa had divided amongst his
troops, to Mir Salih. Isa was reinstated in his former rank, and Mirza
sent him a formal acceptance of his allegiance by the hand of the
Vizier Molla Yari. He also sent him a Nakara by Tugbeghi, the chief
standard-bearer, and released from prison the ten rebels from the
tribes of Argun and Tarkhan,[116] which had sided with Mir Isa, from
his side, had sent back the wife of Husein Shah, called Hadji Begum,
and in the first days of Djemadi-ul-evvel, Sultan Mahmud returned by
land, and Shah Husein by water, to the city of Bakar. On the tenth day
after his wife had rejoined him, Shah Husein died, and it was supposed
that she had poisoned him.
Directly after his father's death, Sultan Mahmud divided the property
in three parts. One part was for the wife of the deceased, and another
part he sent to Mir Isa by a Khodja. The body was taken to Tata; he
lent me one of his own ships, and providing himself with horses,
camels, and other necessaries, returned by land to Bakar. While the
body of Mirza, with his wife and an escort of 50 ships, was on its way
to Tata, the soldiers attacked the remaining vessels and plundered
them. The sailors took flight, and we, the passengers, were compelled
to take command of the ships. Beset on all sides by the Djagatais
(Central Asians), we relinquished our firearms, and barely escaped with
our lives. At last, after struggling for ten days against the stream,
we made our way to Nasirpur.[117] This town had been plundered by the
Rajah, _i.e._, the Bey of the Rajputs.
We were greeted with the news that Mir Isa, with 10,000 valiant
soldiers, was pursuing Sultan Mahmud, and that his son, Mir Salih, with
80 ships, was close behind us. This was very perplexing but I decided
at once to turn back. We prayed long together, and then started on
our return to Tata. Three days later we passed Mir Salih in the river.
I went on board his ship with a few small presents, and he asked me
where we were going. I said, "We are going to your father," whereupon
he told me to go back with him. I said, "We have no sailors on board,"
so he gave me fifteen of his crew; and thus compelled to turn back, we
had another weary ten days to get through. One day I chanced upon Mir
Isa in a small town of Sind. Here I also found the former partizans
of the late Mirza, who were tired of fighting and desired peace. Isa
received me with great honor, forgave me the past, and allowed me to
remain a few days, saying that he intended shortly to send his son Mir
Salih to Humayun Padishah, and that I might as well travel under his
escort, for, he added, "Sultan Mahmud will never allow thee to pass
Bakar; he is a son of Ferrukh Mirza and wants to become Padishah." This
proposal, however, did not suit me, and I insisted upon continuing my
journey forthwith, suggesting that he should give us back the ships
lately taken from us, and also to send a messenger in advance, for with
God's help he, Sultan Mahmud, would probably have to submit to the
Padishah (Humayun), and thus peace be restored. Isa agreed to this, and
gave me seven ships with their complement of sailors. He wrote to the
Padishah to assure him of his unalterable loyalty, and so we went on
our way. We were struck with the enormous size of the fish (alligators)
sporting in the river, as also with the numbers of tigers on the banks.
It was necessary to keep up a perpetual warfare with the people of
Semtche and Matchi, through whose territory our course lay, and thus
we reached Siyawan,[118] and shortly after we came to Bukkur by the
way of Patri[119] and Dible. Here I fell in with Sultan Mahmud and his
Vizier Molla Yari. I offered a small gift to the former, who thereupon
expressed his willingness to submit himself to Humayun, and also to
make peace with Mir Isa.
I composed a chronogram on the death of Husein Mirza and presented
Sultan Mahmud with two gazels,[120] after which I requested permission
to continue my journey. This was granted, but as the route past
Kandahar was made unsafe by the inroads[121] of Sultan Bahadur, a son
of Sultan Haidar, the Ozbeg, and as the season of the Semum (hot winds)
had now commenced, the Sultan offered to give me an escort by the way
of Lahore, warning me to be on my guard against the Djats, a hostile
tribe which had its abode there. But whichever route I chose I should
have to wait a while yet, and as a matter of fact I waited for a whole
month. One night in my dream I saw my mother, who told me that she had
seen her highness Fatima in a dream, and had learned from her the glad
news, that I should soon be coming home, safe and sound.
When next morning I told this dream to my companions they were full of
good courage. Sultan Mahmud, when he heard of it, at once consented to
my departure. He gave me a beautiful horse, a team of camels, a large
and a small tent,[122] and money for the journey. He also provided
me with a letter of recommendation to Humayun, and an escort of 250
mounted camel-drivers, from Sind. Thus we departed about the middle of
Shaaban, and reached the fortress of May in five days, traveling by
the way of Sultanpoor.[123] As the Djats were very troublesome, we did
not take the route of Djenghelistan (the forest), but preferred to go
through the steppe. On the second day we came to the spring, but found
no water, and many of my companions nearly succumbed with heat and
thirst. I gave them some _Teriak_ (opium), of the very best quality,
and on the second day they were recovered. After this experience we
deemed it advisable to leave the desert and to return to Mav, for the
proverb says truly, "A stranger is an ignorant man." In the steppe we
saw ants as large as sparrows.
Our escort from Sind was afraid of the wood, and I had to inspire my
own people with fresh courage. I placed 10 gunners in front, 10 in the
center, and 10 in the rear of our caravan, and thus, trusting in God's
protection, we commenced the journey. The people from Sind also took
courage after this, and went with us.
Thus, after manifold dangers, we came after ten days to Utchi,[124] or
Autchi, where I visited Sheik Ibrahim and received his blessing. I also
made a pilgrimage to the graves of the Sheiks Djemali and Djelali. In
the beginning of Ramazan we resumed our journey and came to the river
Kara, or Kere,[125] which we crossed by means of a raft. The people of
Sind gave us permission to proceed as far as the Machvara,[126] and
this river was crossed by boats. On the other side we found 500 Djats
awaiting us, but our firearms frightened them and they did not attack.
We advanced unmolested, and reached the town of Multan on the fifteenth
of Ramazan.