useful to Sturt.
Capt. Warburton, Capt. Johnson, and Capt. Troup were all fortunately in cantonments; for their houses in the city were plundered and burnt. At Johnson's (the King's treasury) the guard of forty men was massacred, as also all his servants but one, who luckily was not at home. The insurgents looted a lakh and 70,000 rupees of public property, and Johnson lost above 10,000 rupees of his own property.
There were of course various reports. We first heard that, on the affair breaking out, Sir A. Burnes went over to the Wuzeer's to ascertain what could be done; and that he was safe there, excepting having been shot in the leg. The King, from the Bala Hissar, sent intelligence to the Envoy "that Burnes was all right;" but a few hours afterwards the King acknowledged that he did not know any thing of him, neither did the Envoy at seven in the evening, when Capt. Lawrence and Capt. John Conolly came to inquire after Sturt's health. Our only hopes of Burnes' safety rest on the possibility of his having obtained refuge in some harem. His brother's fate is as yet unknown. Capt. Broadfoot was shot in the breast, and killed. He was breakfasting with the two Burnes's: before he fell he had killed six men with his own hand. Capt. Drummond is protected by Osmar Khan, Kariez-i-Umeer, chief of a domain, the first stage from Cabul towards the Kohistan. Capt. Mackenzie, political assistant to Capt. Mackeson at Peshawur, came up to Cabul some time since; and when Lieut. Milne (in the Commissariat) was sent to Khelat-i-Gilzie, Mackenzie took his place in the Shah's commissariat. He was located in a fort divided into two by the range of Commissariat Godowns—one side inhabited by Brig. Anquetil, commanding the Shah's forces, the other by Mackenzie, who (the Brigadier being in cantonments) held out in both, with some sappers and miners, a few of the Shah's 6th Regt., and 130 Juzailchees: the latter are good men, and mostly Usufzyes. In this fort were stored 8000 maunds of ottah and wheat. Capt. Trevor hopes to defend his tower as long as it is not fired. Another report states that Trevor, his wife, and one child, have escaped, whilst his six other children have been murdered. Another, that he has escaped, but that his wife and seven children are all murdered.
The Kuzzilbash quarter of the city is said to be all quiet. Naïb Shureef's son has been killed in some of the scuffles in the city. Abdoollah Khan, Amenoollah Khan, and a few other Dooranee chiefs, are said to be the instigators of the insurrection.
The King (who resides in the Bala Hissar) says if the rebellion is not all over to-morrow morning, he will burn the city—by no means an easy task: the houses are all flat-roofed and mud-roofed. It is true Cabul has been burnt three times before, and therefore what has been may occur again. By throwing shells into the houses you may fire them; and the individual house fired, being ceiled with wood, blazes fiercely until the roof falls in, and the mud and dust smother the fire without danger to the adjacent buildings. The King has also declared that if the Meer Akor (who protected the man that stabbed Sturt) does not give the assassin up, he will hang the Meer Akor himself. It appears a very strange circumstance that troops were not immediately sent into the city to quell the affair in the commencement; but we seem to sit quietly with our hands folded, and look on. On the breaking out of the insurrection the King sent Campbell's Hindostanee regiment into the city, with some guns, who maintained an arduous conflict for some time against the rebels; but being wholly unsupported, were obliged eventually to give way, when the greater part of them were cut to pieces, and several of their guns were captured.
The state of supineness and fancied security of those in power in cantonments is the result of deference to the opinions of Lord Auckland, whose sovereign will and pleasure it is that tranquillity do reign in Affghanistan; in fact, it is reported at Government House, Calcutta, that the lawless Affghans are as peaceable as London citizens; and this being decided by the powers that be, why should we be on the alert?
Most dutifully do we appear to shut our eyes on our probable fate. The Shah is, however, to be protected, whatever may be the fate of the English in the city; and Brig. Shelton is sent with the Shah's 6th, some of the 44th Queen's, and three horse artillery guns under Capt. Nicholl, to the Bala Hissar. The King, as he well may be, is in great consternation. At about 9 A.M. Capt. Sturt arrived at Siah Sung from the cantonments, bearing orders from Major-Gen. Elphinstone for the 54th N. I., Capt. Nicholl's three horse artillery guns, and a company of the 44th, accompanied by the Shah's 6th regiment, to hold themselves in readiness to march at a moment's notice to the Bala Hissar. As they had all been on the qui vive since daybreak, they were ready in an instant, and eagerly expecting orders to march, when a note came from Capt. Lawrence (the Envoy's military and private secretary), dated Bala Hissar, 10 A.M., telling them, "Stay where you are—all is quiet; you need not come." This caused great surprise, as the firing was brisk in the city. After waiting another hour under arms, the Brigadier ordered Sturt to go in and see what was going on: this he gladly did, and, accompanied by eight suwars of the Shah's 2d cavalry, went to the Bala Hissar. In half an hour a suwar returned, saying he had been badly wounded entering the palace gates, and bearing an order for an immediate advance of the troops. "Forward" was the word; and, anticipating an attack on the city, the troops gladly set out, and arrived unopposed in presence of the King, when, to their sorrow, instead of receiving hookm to enter the city, the Shah almost rudely inquired why they had come! After standing under arms another hour, firing being heard towards the Shôr Bazaar, the Brigadier sent Lieut. Melville of the 54th to inquire what was going on. On going down to the gate towards the city, he found the fugitives from Campbell's regiment flying in, and reporting that their regiment was entirely cut up: this he reported to the Brigadier, who ordered him to take the light company down to the city gate, and whilst taking charge of that position to protect as best he could the retreating regiment. On arriving there, Lieut. Melville placed a section as a guard, and took the remaining three to the entrance of the Shôr Bazaar, and formed them up facing the street: he had not been there more than five minutes, when he observed a disorderly rabble retreating at a quick pace towards him, pursued by a large body of Affghans, whilst others from the tops and windows of the houses kept up a brisk fire upon them.
Immediately after the colours had gained the rear of his detachment, Lieut. Melville retreated slowly, facing the enemy, towards the gate, pouring in volley on volley; but, owing to the protection afforded the rebels by the walls, it is to be feared with but little effect. On reaching the fosse he formed his men up again, to allow the two guns to pass to his rear; but the Affghans made a rush, and the golundaz of the Shah took to a disorderly flight. As the idea of rescuing them with three sections was entirely out of the question, and the fire was becoming very hot, Melville sent Lieut. Macartney (of the Shah's service), who in the meantime had come to his assistance with one company of the Shah's 6th to man the walls over where the guns were left, and prevent the enemy carrying them off; this being done, Melville got a few of the golundaz to go back and spike one of the guns, after which he retired inside, having lost one subadar and three men wounded, and one man killed. On arriving inside he placed the men on the ramparts; and being accidentally bayoneted in the thigh, he was released from duty, making over charge of the men to Macartney.
It being found impracticable to bring in the guns, from the carriages being broken, the European horse artillery, who had been sent out for that purpose, came back; and some guns having in the meantime been mounted on the wall and brought to bear on them, they were so broken by the shot as to be perfectly useless: and it may here be remarked, that to the day the troops left the Bala Hissar, notwithstanding frequent attempts were made by the enemy, they never succeeded in gaining possession of them.
The King, who had been in a great state of excitement during the day, on hearing of the loss of his guns, and that 200 of Campbell's regiment had been killed or wounded, was excessively agitated; the more so that, immediately on the rebellion breaking out, almost all the Pesh Khedmuts and Shah Guzees had deserted him. He ordered a dinner for the officers in the evening; as, to their extreme disgust, they were obliged to stay the night in the fort, neither men or officers having an article of any sort or kind besides what they wore. The 5th cavalry, who had accompanied the detachment to the Bala Hissar, had, after taking all the baggage from Siah Sung to cantonments, remained in the latter place.
The King, sitting with the British officers around him, was anxious to obtain their advice in the present crisis, and particularly asked that of——; whose conduct was represented on the emergency as pitiful and childish in the extreme, not having a word to say, nor an opinion to offer.
In