&'*'-"/.—, *-> . % / \f ^^■%. \-r^:^: %%Ja>ttp://yvww.archive,org/delailsytvvelveyearsofsol02libds' ,^^^ V .V, ^ AfN^fi^/V, •#' vis >' .^-' '^-^ ,0 o. •-/' aX- .^' -^<2 <^, ^.. ';^^^'^ <'. 4' -^OQ^ ^ .^' -.0 .0' - v^ % ^ - - - n'^ % -, <\ ^ a-- '-'-.. ■'■■ . -' '^ -V J" ^^^ '■"' * ^0°., ^^^. V^ 9 I "V .0^ /* J"^^. K o'^ ^-r^^. TWELYE YEARS SOLDIER'S LIFE IN INDIA. If a soldier. Choose brave employments with a naked sword, Thronghout the woi'ld. Geoegb Hbrbbrt. TWELVE YEARS SOLDIER'S LIFE IN INDIA: BEING EXTRACTS EROM THE LETTERS OE MAJOR W. S. E. HODSON, B.A. TEINITX COlIiEGE, CAMBBIDGB; riKST BEIfGAIi EUEOPEAN FtJSILIEES, COMMANDAHT OF HODSOK'S HOBSE. INCLUDING A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF THE SIEGE OF DELHI AND CAPTURE OF THE KING AND PRINCES. EDITED BY HIS BROTHEK, TKE KEY. GEORGE H. HODSON, M.A. TELLOyr OF TRINITY COLIiEGE, CAMBRIDGE. LONDON: JOHN W. PARKER AND SON, WEST STRAND. 1859. [The Author reserves the right of Translation.^ 21^0 tfie JKematg SIR HENRY LAWRENCE, K.C.B. THE TRUE CHRISTIAN, THE BEAVE SOLDIER, THE FAITHFUL FRIEND, THESE EXTRACTS FROM THE LETTERS OF ONE WHOM HE TRAINED TO FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, AND WHO NOW RESTS NEAR HIM AT LUCKNOW, BY THE EDITOR They were lovely and pleasant in their lives. And in their deaths they were not divided. PREFACE. TT can scarcely be needful to make any apology for offering to the public this record of one who has attracted to himself so large a measure of attention and admira- tion. Many, both in this country and in India, have expressed, and I doubt not many others have felt, a desire to know more of the commander of Hodson's Horse, and captor of the King of Delhi and his sons. My original intention was to have compiled from my brother's letters merely an account of the part he bore in the late unhappy war. I very soon, however, determined to extend the work, so as to embrace the whole of his life in India. I felt that the public would naturally in- quire by what previous process of training he had acquired, not merely his consummate skill in the great game of war, but his experience of Asiatics and marvellous influence over their minds. VI 11 PREFACE. The earlier portions of this book will serve to answer such inquiries ; they will show the gradual development of my brother's character and powers, and that those exploits which asto- nished the world by their skill and daring, were but the natural results of the high idea of the sol- dier's profession which he proposed to himself, honestly and consistently worked out during ten years of training, in perhaps the finest school that ever existed for soldiers and administrators. They will explain how it was that, in the midst of a struggle for the very existence of our empire, he was able to call into being and bring into the field around Delhi an ' invincible and all but ubiquitous' body of cavalry. The dragon's teeth which came up armed men, had been sown by him long before in his earlier career in the Punjab. There, by many a deed of daring and activity, by many a suc- cessful stratagem and midnight surprise, by many a desperate contest, he had taught the Sikhs first to dread him as an enemy, and then to idolize him as a leader. Already in 1849 the Grovernor-Greneral had had ' frequent occa- ' sions of noticing not only his personal gal- * lantry, but the activity, energy, and inteUi- PREFACE. IX ' gence with wliicli he discharged whatever ' duties were entrusted to him.' Even then the name of Hodson, although unknown in England, except to the few who watched his course with the eyes of affection, was a sound of terror to the Sikhs, and a bugbear to their children. In 1853 he earned this high praise from one best qualified to judge : ' Lieutenant ' Hodson, marvellously attaching the Gruides * to himself by the ties of mutual honour, * mutual daring, and mutual devotion, has on ' every opportunity proved that the discipline ' of a public school and subsequent University ' training are no disqualification for hazardous ' warfare, or for the dif&cult task of keeping ' wild tribes in check.' The title given to this book will sufficiently indicate the principle on which, particularly in the first part, I have made selections from my brother's letters. My object has been to show what a soldier's life in India may be, and what in his case it was ; how wide and varied is the field which it opens for the exercise of the highest and noblest qualities, intellectual and moral, of our nature; and how magnificently he realized and grasped the conception. X PREFACE. His letters, written in all the freedom of unreserved intercourse, will give a truer notion of his character than the most laboured de- scription; they exhibit the undercurrent of deep feelings that ran through even his most playful moods, the yearning after home that mingled with the dreams of ambition and the thirst for the excitement of war, the almost womanly tenderness that co-existed with the stern determination of the soldier. They show that though his lot was cast in camps, he was not a mere soldier ; though a hanger-on on the outskirts of civilization amidst wild tribes, he had a keen appreciation of the refinement and elegancies of civilized life ; that though in India, he remembered that he was an English- man ; that though living amongst the heathen, he did not forget that he was a Christian. I have not attempted to write a biography, but have allowed my brother to speak for himself, merely supplying such connecting links as seemed absolutely necessary. Indeed, I could do no otherwise ; for un- happily, during the twelve years of his soldier's life — those years in which his character received its mature development — I knew him PREFACE. XI only by his letters, or by the reports of others : when we parted on board the ship that carried him from England, in 1845, we parted to meet no more in this world. My recollec- tions of him, vivid as they are, are not of the leader of men in council and the battle-field, but of the bright and joyous boy, the life of the home circle, the tender and affectionate son, the loving brother, the valued friend, the popular companion. Of what he became afterwards my readers will have the same means of judging as myself. He seems to me to have been one of whom not only his family, but his country may well be proud — a worthy representative of the English name and nation amongst the tribes of India, an impersonation of manly straight- forwardness, and unhesitating daring, and irre- sistible power. I cannot doubt but that the verdict of his countrymen will confirm my judgment. Many too, I beheve, will agree with me in thinking that these pages prove that the poetry and romance of war are not yet extinct, that even the Enfield rifle has not reduced all men to a dead level, but that there is still a Xll PREFACE. place to be found for individual prowess, for the lion-heart, and the eagle eye, and the iron will. One seems transported back from the prosaic nineteenth century to the ages of romance and chivalry, and to catch a glimpse, now of a Paladin of old, now of a knightly hero sans peur et sans rejproche ; now of a northern chieftain, 'riding on border foray,' now of a captain of free-lances ; yet all dis- solving into a Christian soldier of our own day. Most striking of all, it has appeared to me, is the resemblance to the romantic career of that hero of the Spanish ballads, who, by his many deeds of heroic daring, gained for him- self the distinguished title of ' El de las Hazanas,' — ' He of the exploits.' Those who are acquainted with the chronicles of the Con- quest of Grranada, will almost fancy in reading, these pages that they are hearing again the story of Pernando Perez del Pulgar ; how at one time by a bold dash he rode with a hand- ful of followers across a country swarming with the enemy, and managed to force his way into a beleaguered fortress ; how at another he galloped alone up the streets of Grranada, then PREFACE. XUl in possession of the enemy, to the gates of the principal mosque, and nailed a paper to the door with his dagger ; how again he turned the tide of battle by the mere charm of his eagle eye and thrilling voice, inspiring the most timid with a courage equal to his own ; how he made the enemy lay down their arms at his word of command ; how the Moorish mothers frightened their children with the sound of his name; how he was not only the hair- brained adventurer, delighting in peril and thirsting for the excitement of the fight, but also the courteous gentleman, the accomplished scholar ; as profound and sagacious in the council as he was reckless in the field, and frequently selected by the wily Ferdinand to conduct affairs requiring the greatest prudence and judgment.* It may be, however, that affection has biassed my judgment, and that I shall be thought to have formed an exaggerated estimate of the grandeur and nobleness of the subject of this memoir. Even if this be so, I shall not take much to heart the charge See Washington Irving, &g. XIV PREEACE. of having loved such a brother too well, and I shall console myseK with the thought that I have endeavoured to do something to perpe- tuate his memory. If, however, any young soldier be in- duced, by reading these pages, to take a higher view of his profession, to think of it as one of the noblest fields in which he can serve his Grod and his country, and enter on it in a spirit of self-sacrifice, with ' duty ' as his guiding principle, and a determination never to forget that he is a Christian soldier and an Englishman, I shall be abundantly rewarded ; my main object will be attained. COOKHAM DeANE, December, 1858. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART I. CHAPTER I. EARLY LIFE — RUGBY TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE GUERNSEY MILITIA pp. I — 5 CHAPTER II. ARRIVAL IN INDIA CAMPAIGN ON THE SUTLEJ, BATTLES OF MOODKEE, PEROZESHAH, SOBRAON OCCUPATION OF LAHORE 1845-6 6 26 CHAPTER III. FIRST BENGAL EUROPEAN FUSILIERS CASHMERE WITH SIKH ARMY LAWRENCE ASYLUM APPOINTMENT TO GUIDE CORPS — June 1846 — Oct. 1847 • • 27 — 47 CHAPTER IV. EMPLOYMENT IN THE PUNJAB AS SECOND IN COMMAND OF THE CORPS OP GUIDES, AND ALSO AS ASSISTANT TO THE RESIDENT AT LAHORE ROAD-MAKING AND SURVEYING CAMPAIGN OP 1848-9 — CAPTURE OF FORTS BATTLE OF GUJERAT ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB Oct. 1 847 March 1849 48—88 CHAPTER V. ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB INCREASE OF CORPS OF GUIDES AT PESHAWUR TRANSFER TO CIVIL DEPARTMENT AS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER — A'pril 1 849 — A'pril 1850, 89 104 CHAPTER VI. TOUR IN CASHMERE AND THIBET WITH SIR HENRY LAW- RENCE TRANSFER TO CIS-SUTLEJ PROVINCES Jvme 1851 — Oct. 1851 105 — 126 XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER Vir. MARRIAGE COMMAND OF THK GUIDES PESHAWUR EUZUFZAI FRONTIER WARFARE MURDAN Jan. 1852 — Nov. 1S54 pp. 127 — 154 CHAPTER VIII. REVERSES UNJUST TREATMENT — OFFICIAL ENMITY — LOSS OF COMMAND — SUPPRESSION OF RE! OUT RETURN TO REGIMENTAL DUTIES BETTER PROSPECTS — MAJOR Taylor's report — testimony of sir r. NAPiEFi — mr. MONTGOMERY — Nov. 1854 — May 1857 . 155 — 178 PART II. NARRATIVE OF THE DELHI CAMPAIGN, 1857, 1858. CHAPTER I. OUTBREAK OF REBELLION — MARCH DOWN TO DELHI FROM DUGSHAI WITH FIRST EUROPEAN BENGAL FUSILIERS APPOINTMENT TO INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT RIDE FROM KURNAL TO MEERUT TO OPEN COMMUNICATION ORDER TO RAISE REGIMENT DEATH OF GENERAL ANSON — May \oth — June 8th .... 179 — 198 CHAPTER II. SIEGE OF DELHI — June — August ..... 199 — 264 CHAPTER III. SIEGE OF DELHI, CONTINUED ROHTUCK EXPEDITION — ASSAULT DELHI TAKEN — CAPTURE OF KING CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF SHAHZADAHS August I'jth — Sept. 2^th 265 — 320 CHAPTER IV. SHOWERS'S COLUMN SEATON's COLUMN ACTIONS AT GUN- GEREE, PUTIALEE, MYNPOREE RIDE TO COMMANDER- IN-CHIEF's camp JUNCTION OF FORCES SHUMSHABAD — Oct. — Jan 321 — 347 CHAPTER V. LUCKNOW THE BEGUm'S PALACE BANKS' HOUSE — THE soldier's DEATH — Feb. — March 12th . . 348 — 365 TWELVE YEAES SOLDIER'S LIFE IN INDIA. PART I. CHAPTEE I. EARLY LIPE. RUGBY. CAMBRIDGE. — GUERNSEY. William Stephen Eaikes Hodson, tliird son of Eev. George Hodson, afterwards ArcMeacon of Stafford and Canon of Lichfield, was born at Maisemore Court, near Grloucester, on 19th Marcli, 1 83 1. As a boy, bis affectionate disposition and bright and joyous character endeared him greatly to his family, and made him a general favourite with all around him, old and young, rich and poor. That which characterized him most was his quickness of observation and his interest in everything going on about him. By living with his eyes and ears open, and never suffering anything to escape his notice, he acquired a stock of practical knowledge which he turned to good account in his after- life. With the exception of a short time spent B I Z RUGBY. with, a private tutor, the Eev. E. Harland, he was educated at home till he went to Eugby, in his fifteenth year. Home life, however, had not prevented him from growing up an ac- tive, high-spirited boy, full of life and energy. His feats of activity at Rugby still live in the remembrance of his cotemporaries and the traditions of the school. The following is an extract from a paper in the Book of ^ugby School, published in 1856: — Who does not remember the fair-haired_, light- complexioned active man whose running feats^ whether in the open fields or on the gravel walks of the Close, created such marvel among his cotemporaries. He has carried his hare and hounds into his country's service, and as commandant of the gallant corps of Guides, has displayed an activity and courage on the wild frontier of the Punjab, the natural development of his early prowess at Crick and Brownsover. A very similar notice appeared in a periodical during the recent campaign : — The Rugboeans have had their Crick run. Six miles over heavy country, there and back, to the school gates by the road, is no mean distance to be done in one hour twenty-nine minutes. There was a day when the gallant leader of Hodson's Horse always led in this run. We think we see ' larky Pritchard,' as he was familiarly designated, in his blue cloth jacket, white trousers, his well- known belt, and his ' golden hair,' going in front with RUGBY. 6 his nice easy stride (for he never had any very great pace, though he could last for ever), and getting back coolly and comfortably to ' Eons' when the rear hounds were toiling a mile behind. There never was such a boy to run over, after second lesson, to Dun- church to see the North Warwickshire, or to give himself a ' pipe-opener' to Lutterworth and back between callings over, till the doctor vowed he would injure his heart. How true it is that men who have distinguished themselves most in school sports come out the best at last. It was not, however, only in active sports that he showed ability. As head of a house, during the later portion of his Bugby life, he gave equal indications of ' administrative capacity.' His tutor (the present Bishop of Calcutta), speaking of his having been transferred to his house, in which there were then no praepostors, * because, from his energetic character and natural ability, he seemed to Dr. Arnold likely to give me efficient help,' continues : — ' He gave abundant proof that Arnold's choice had been a wise one. Though lie immediately re-established the shattered prestige of prse- positorial power, he contrived to make himself very popular with various classes of boys. The younger ones found in him an efficient pro- tector against bullying. Those of a more literary turn found in him an agreeable and B 2 4 CAMBRIDGE. intelligent companion, and were fond of being admitted to sit in his study and talk on matters of intellectual interest. The democrats had got their master, and submitted with a good grace to power which they could not resist, and which was judiciously and moderately exercised. The regime was wise, firm, and kind, and the house was happy and pros- perous. 'From all that I knew of him, both at Bugby and afterwards, I was not surprised at the courage and coolness which the Times compared ' to the spirit of a Paladin of old.' I cannot say how much I regret that I shall not be welcomed in India by the first head of my dear old house at Eugby.' From Rugby my brother went, in October, 1840, to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here, as might have been expected from his previous habits, he took an active interest in boating and other athletic amusements, while at the same time he by no means neglected the more serious and intellectual pursuits of the Uni- versity. He had a very considerable acquain- tance with, and taste for, both classical and general literature, but a constitutional ten- dency to headache very much stood in the way of any close application to books ; and, after he had taken his degree in 1844, was GUERNSEY MILITIA. one strong reason for liis deciding on an active ratlier tlian a studious life. The Indian army seemed to offer the best opening, but while waiting for a cadetship, in order to prevent superannuation he obtained a commission in the Guernsey Militia through the kindness of Lord de Saumarez, and there commenced his military life. From the first he felt that the profession of a soldier was one that required to be studied, and took every opportunity of mastering its principles. On his leaving Gruernsey to enter the Hon. East India Company's service, Major-Gleneral W. Napier, Lieutenant-Grovernor, bore this tes- timony to his character : — ' I think he will be an acquisition to any service. His education, his ability, his zeal to make himself acquainted with military matters, gave me the greatest satisfaction during his service with the militia.' CHAPTEE II. ARRIVAL IN INDIA. CAMPAIGN ON THE SUTLEJ, 1845 — 46. lyrY brother landed at Calcutta on the 13th of September, 1845, ^^^ with as little delay as possible proceeded up the country to Agra, where he found a hearty welcome beneath the hospitable roof of the Hon. James Thomason, Lieutenant-Governor of the North- West Provinces, an old family friend and con- nexion, who from that time to his death treated him with as much affection, and took as deep an interest in his career, as if he had been his own son. He was appointed to do duty with the 2nd Grenadiers, then forming a part of the Governor-General's escort, and accordingly left Agra on November 2nd. In the following letter he describes his first impressions of camp life in an Indian army. After mentioning a delay caused by an attack of fever and dysentery on liis way to the camp, he proceeds : — I was able^ however, to join the Grenadiers at four o'clock on the morning of the 7th, and share CAMP. 7 their dusty march of ten miles to the village near which the Governor-General's camp was pitched. Since that day we have been denizens of a canvas city of a really astonishing extent, seeing that it is the creation of a few hours, and shifts, with its enormous population, some ten or fifteen miles a day. I wonder more every day at the ease and magnitude of the arrangements, and the varied and interesting pictures continually before our eyes. Soon after four A.M., a bugle sounds the reveille, and the whole mass is astir at once. Q^'he smoke of the evening tires has by this time blown away, and everything stands out clear and defined in the bright moonlight. The Sepoys, too, bring the straw from their tents, and make fires to warm their black faces on all sides, and the groups of swarthy redcoats stooping over the blaze, with a white background of canvas, and the dark clear sky behind all, produce a most picturesque effect as one turns out into the cold. Then the multitudes of camels, horses, and elephants, in all imaginable groups and positions — the groans and cries of the former as they stoop and kneel for their burdens, the neighing of hundreds of horses mingling with the shouts of the innumerable servants and their masters^ calls, the bleating of sheep and goats, and louder than all, the shrill screams of the Hindoo women, almost bewilder one's senses as one treads one's way through the canvas streets and squares to the place where the regiment assembles outside the camp. A second bugle sounds ' the assembly.' There is a blaze of torches from the Governor's tents ; his palan- quin carriage, drawn by four mules, and escorted by jingling troopers, trots to the front. The artillery 8 CAMP. thunder forth the morning gun^ as a signal that the great man is gone — the guns rattle by — the cavalry- push on after them — and then at length our band strikes up. ' Forward ' is the word^ and the red (and black) column moves along^ by this time as com- pletely obscured by the dense clouds of dust as though they were in London during a November fog. We are not expected to remain with our men^ but mount at onee^ and ride in a cluster before the band^ or ride on a quarter of a mile or so^ in twos and threes^ com- plaining of the laziness of the great man^s people^ and of the dust and cold, as if we were the most ill-used of her Majesty's subjects. As soon as we're oflF the ground, and the road pretty clear, I dismount, and walk the first eight miles or so, this being the time to recover one's powers of locomotion. The cold is really very great, especially in the hour before sunrise — generally about one and a half or two hours after we start. It soon gets warm enough to make one glad to ride again, and by the time the march is over, and the white city is in sight, the heat is very great, though now diminishing daily. It is a sudden change of temperature, truly — from near freezing at starting, to 90° or 100° at arriving ; and it is this, I think, which makes us feel the heat so much in this climate. In the daytime we get on very well ; the heat seldom exceeding 86°, and often not more than 84° and 83° in tents. It sounds hot, but a house or tent at 84° is tolerably endurable, especially if there is a breeze. My tent is twelve feet square inside, and contains a low pallet bed, a table, chair, two camel trunks, and a brass basin for washing. I will get a sketch of the camp to send you. CAMP. 9 Nov. iSl/i. — This nomad life is agreeable in many- respects^ and very liealthy_, and one sees a great deal of the country, but it destroys time rather, as the march is not over generally till half-past nine or ten, and then breakfast, a most eagerly desired com- position, and dressing afterwards, do not leave much of the day before the cool evening comes for exercise, or sight-seeing and dining, and by nine most of us are in bed, or near it. Dec. 2. — Umbala. — We had a short march of six miles into Umbala this morning, and I got leave from our colonel to ride on and see the troops assemble to greet the Governor-General. I never saw so splendid a sight : 1 3,000 of the finest troops were drawn up in one line, and as I rode slowly along the whole front, I had an excellent opportunity of examining the varied materials of an Indian army. First were the English Horse Artillery ; then the dashing dragoons of the 3rd Queen^s, most splendidly mounted and appointed ; then, came the stern, determined-looking British footmen, side by side with their tall and swarthy brethren from the Ganges and Jumna — the Hindoo, the Mussulman, and the white man, all obeying the same word, and acknowledging the same common tie ; next to these a large brigade of guns, with a mixture of all colours and creeds ; then more regiments of foot, the whole closed up by the regi- ments of native cavalry: thequiet-looking and English - dressed Hindoo troopers strangely contrasted with the wild Irregulars in all the fanciful ?«zuniforraity of their native costume : yet these last are the men / fancy for service. Altogether, it was a most inte- resting sight, either to the historian or soldier, espe- 10 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. cially as one remembered that these were no men of parade, but assembled here to be poured across the Sutlej at a word. The 'pomp and circumstance' of war were soon to be exchanged for its stern realities, as will be seen in the following letter to his father, dated Christmas Day, 1845 : — Camp, Sultanpoor. I take the first day of rest we have had to write a few hurried lines to relieve you from any anxiety you may have felt at not hearing from me by the last mails, or from newspaper accounts, which will, I fear, reach you before this letter can. I am most thankful to be able to sit down once more to write to you all but unharmed. Since I wrote, I have been in four general engagements of the most formidable kind ever known in India. For the first time we had to contend with a brave and unconquered people, disciplined, and led on like our own troops by European skill ; and the result, though successful to our arms, has been fearful indeed as to carnage. You will see accounts in the papers giving details more accurate than I can possibly furnish, both of our wonderfully rapid and fatiguing marches, and of the obstinate and bloody resistance we met with. On the tenth of this month, on our usual quiet march to Sirhind with the Grovernor-G^eneral's camp, we were surprised by being joined by an additional regiment, and by an order for all non-soldiers to return to Umbala. From that day we have had the fatigues and exertions of actual warfare in their broadest forms — marching day and night unprecedented dis- SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 11 tances, scarcity of sleep and food, and all tlie varieties of cold and heat. I enjoyed all, and entered into it with great zest, till we came to actual blows, or rather, I am [now) half ashamed to say, till the blows were over, and I saw the horrible scenes which ensue on war. I have had quite enough of such sights now, and hope it may not be my lot to be exposed to them again. Our loss has been most severe, especially in officers. Our Sepoys could not be got to face the tremendous fire of the Sikh artillery, and as usual, the more they quailed the more the English officers exposed themselves in vain efforts to bring them on. The greatest destruction was, however, among the Governor-GeneraFs staff — only two (his own son and Colonel Benson) escaped death or severe wounds. They seemed marked for destruction, and certainly met it most gallantly. On the 15th we joined the Commander-in-Chief, with his troops from Umbala, were put off escort duty, and joined General Gilbert's division. On the 17th we had a march of thirty miles (in the daytime, too), with scanty food; on the i8th, after a fasting march of twenty-five miles, we were summoned, at half-past four in the afternoon, to battle, which lasted till long after dark. Almost the first shot which greeted our regiment killed the man standing by my side, and instantly afterwards I was staggered by a ball from a frightened Sepoy behind me grazing my cheek and blackening my face with the powder — so close was it to my head ! We were within twenty, and at times ten, yards of three guns blazing grape into us, and worse than all, the bushes with which the whole ground was covered were filled with marksmen who, 12 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. unseen by us^ could pick us off at pleasure. No efforts could bring the Sepoys forward, or half the loss might have been spared, had' they rushed on with the bayonet. We had three officers wounded out of our small party, and lost many of the men. We were bivouacked on the cold ground that night, and remained under arms the whole of the following day- Just as we were going into action, I stumbled upon poor Carey, whom you may remember to have heard of at Price^s, at Rugby. On going over the field on the 30th, I found the body actually cut to pieces by the keen swords of the Sikhs, and but for his clothes could not have recognised him. I had him carried into camp for burial, poor fellow, extremely shocked at the sudden termination of our renewed acquain- tance. On Sunday, the 21st, we marched before day- break in force to attack the enemy, who had entrenched themselves behind their formidable artillery. The action began in the afternoon, lasted the whole night, and was renewed with daybreak. They returned again to the charge as often as we gained any advantage, and it was evening before they were finally disposed of by a charge of our dragoons, and our aimnunition loas exhausted I — so near are we in our most triumphant successes to a destruction as com- plete ! The results are, I suppose, in a political point of view, immense indeed. We took from them nearly one hundred large guns, and routed their vast army, prepared, had they succeeded in beating us, to overrun Hindoostan ; and it must be owned they had nearly succeeded ! It will scarcely be believed, but they had actually purchased and prepared supplies as far into the interior of our country as Delhi, and unknown to SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 13 our authorities ; and the whole of Northern India was, as usual, ready to rise upon us at an hour's notice. On the evening of the 31st, as we rushed towards the guns, in the most dense dust and smoke, and under an unprecedented fire of grape, our Sepoys again gave way and broke. It was a fearful crisis, but the bravery of the English regiments, saved us. The Colonel (Hamilton), the greater part of my brother officers, and myself, were left with the colours and about thirty men immediately in front of the bat- teries ! Our escape was most providential, and is, I trust, thankfully acknowledged by us. A ball (from a shell, I fancy) struck my leg below the knee, but happily spared the bone, and only inflicted a flesh wound. I was also knocked down twice — once by a shell bursting so close to me as to kill the men behind me, and once by the explosion of a magazine or mine. I am most thankful indeed for my escape from deatli or maiming. The wound in my leg is nothing, as you may judge when I tell you that I was on foot or horseback the whole of the two following days. Last night we moved on here about five miles from the scene of action, and got some food, and into our beds, after four days and nights on the ground, alternately tried with heat and cold (now most severe at night), and nothing but an occasional mouthful of black native bread. I think, during the four days, all I had to eat would not compose half a home breakfast- loaf, and for a day and night we had not even water ; when we did get water, after driving the enemy from their camp, it was found to have been spoiled with gunpowder ! It was like eating Leamington water, but our thirst was too great to stick at trifles. 14 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. Dec. 26fJi. — "We are resting liere comfortably again in our tents^ and had a turkey for our Christmas dinner last night. The rest is most grateful. We had only nine hours in bed out of five nights, and then the next four were on the ground. So you see I have come in for the realities of a soldiei^^s life pretty early in my career ; and since I am spared, it is doubtless a great thing for me in every way. There never has been anything like it in India, and it is not often that an action anyiohere has lasted thirty-six hours, as ours did. It is called a succession of three engagements, but the firing never ceased for a quarter of an hour. Infantry attacking guns was the order of the day, and the loss occasioned by such a desperate resort was fearful. How different your Christmas week will have been from mine ! This time last year I was quietly staying at Bisham, and now sleeping on the banks of the Sutlej, with a sea of tents around me for miles and miles ! The last few days seem a year, and I can scarcely believe that I have only been four months in India, and only two with my regiment. To tJie Hon. James Thomason, Lieutenant-Governor of North- West l?rovinces,. Camp, Bootawallah, January 22nd, 1846. There is very much in the state of things in this army both discouraging and deeply disappointing to one who like myself comes into the service with a strong predilection for the profession, and a wish to enter into its duties thoroughly and earnestly. I do not like to enter into particulars, for I hold it very SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 15 unmilitaiy, especially in so young a soldier^ to attempt to criticise the acts and motives of one^s superior, but I may in private again express my extreme dis- appointment at the state in which the Sepoys are at present, and as far as I can judge from what is said in conversation, there are but few officers in the army who do not deplore it. In discipline and subordi- nation they seem to be lamentably deficient, espe- cially towards the native commissioned and non-com- missioned officers. On the march, I have found these last give me more trouble than the men even. My brother officers say that I see an unfavourable specimen in the and, as regards discipline, owing to their frequent service of late, and the number of recruits ; but I fear the evil is very wide-spread. It may no doubt be traced mainly to the want of European officers. This, however, is an evil not likely to be removed on any large scale. Meantime, unless some vigorous and radical improvements take place, I think our position will be very uncertain and even alarming in the event of extended hostilities. You must really forgive my speaking so plainly, and writing my own opinions so freely. You encouraged me to do so when I was at Agra, if you remember, and I - value the privilege too highly as connected with the greater one of receiving advice and counsel from you, not to exercise it, even at the risk of your thinking me presumptuous and hasty in my opinions. I imagine (in my own defence, be it said) that three mouths of marching and of service give you more insight into the real efficiency or evils of an army, than a much longer time spent in cantonments. It is, of course, a deeply interesting subject to me, and 16 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. one of deep and anxious reflection. I think the period of ' doing duty ' which I shall have passed ere joining my future regiment, of the greatest consequence and benefit, as enabling me to form a judgment, to the best of my abilities, of the course to be steered in the difficult voyage. It seems to me that the great problem to be solved is how ' to do your own business^' at the same time that 'you study to he quiet,' i.e., how unostentatiously to do your appointed duty thoroughly, without being deterred by the fear of being thought over-zealous or osten- tatious. At a later period, when it was proposed to erect a monument in Lichfield Cathedral to the 8oth Queen's, he wrote with reference to their conduct in this action : — It is, you know, a Staffordshire regiment, having been raised originally by the Marquis of Anglesey, and has still a great number of Staffordshire men in its ranks. . It is a splendid corps, well-behaved in cantonments, and first-rate in action. I lay between them and my present regiment (ist E. B. Fusiliers) on the night of the 21st of December, at Ferozeshah, when Lord Hardinge called out ' 80th ! that gun must be silenced.^ They jumped up, formed into line, and advanced through the black darkness silently and firmly : gradually we lost the sound of their tread, and anxiously listened for the slightest intimation of their progress — all was still for five minutes, while they gradually gained the front of the battery whose fire had caused us so much loss. Suddenly we heard a dropping fire — a blaze of the Sikh cannon followed. SOBRAON. 17 tlien a thrilling cheer from the 8oth, accompanied by a rattling and murderous volley as they sprang upon the battery and spiked the monster giin. In a few- more minutes they moved back quietly^ and lay down as before in the cold sand ; but they had left forty-five of their number and two captains to mark the scene of their exploit by their graves. Camp, Army of the Sutlej, Feb. 12th, 1846. The fortune of war has again interfered between me and my good intentions of answering all my cor- respondence by this mail. We have been knocked about for some days so incessantly that there has been no chance of writing anything ; and even this scrawl, I fear, will hardly reach you. You will hear publicly of our great victory of the loth,^ and of the total and final rout of the Sikh force. But first, I must tell you that the iind Grenadiers were sent back about a week ago to the villages and posts in our rear, to keep open the communication. Not liking the notion of returning to the rear while an enemy was in front, I applied immediately to do duty with another regi- ment; my petition was granted; and I joined the 1 6th Grenadiers on the evening of the 9th inst. About three in the morning we advanced towards the Sikh intrenchments along the river's bank. Our guns and ammunition had all come up a day or two before, and during the night were placed in position to shell their camp. At daybreak, seventeen heavy mortars and howitzers, rockets, and heavy guns, commenced a * At Sobraon. 18 SOBRAON. magnificent fire on their position ; at half-past eight the infantry advanced — Sir E,. Dick's division on the right, and ours (Gilbert's) in front — covered by our fij-e from the batteries. On we went as usual in the teeth of a dreadful fire of guns and musketry, and after a desperate struggle we got within their triple and quadruple intrenchments ; and then their day of reckoning cam'e indeed. Driven from trench to trench, and surrounded on all sides, they retired, fighting most bravely, to the river, into which they were driven pell-mell, a tremendous fire of musketry pouring on them from our bank, and the Horse Artillery finishing their destruction with grape. The river is literally choked with corpses, and their camp full of dead and dying. An intercepted letter of theirs shows that they have lost 20,000 in killed, wounded, and missing ; all their guns remaining in our hands. I had the pleasure myself of spiking two guns which were turned on us. Once more I have escaped, I am thankful to say, unhurt, except that a bullet took a fancy to my little finger and cut the skin ofi" the top of it — a mere pin scratch, though it spoiled a buckskin glove. I am perfectly well : we cross in a day or two, but I fancy have done with fighting. To his Sister. Lahore, Feb. 2'jth, 1846, In honour of your birthday, I suppose, we crossed the Sutlej on the 17th, and are now encamped close to old E-unjeet Singh's capital without a shot having been fired on this side the river ! The war is over — sixty days have seen the overthrow of the Sikh army. SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 19 wliiclij when that period commenced, marched from the spot on which the victors are now encamped^ with no fewer than ioo_,ooo fighting men_, noio A broken and a routed host, Their standards gone, their leaders lost. So ends the tale of the mightiest army, and the best organized, which India has seen. I hope you will have got a scrap I wrote after the fight at Sobraon in hopes it would reach you before the newspapers, as I have no doubt you were all anxious enough on my account, and indeed you well might be, for I can hardly imagine (humanly speaking) how it was possible to go through that storm of bullets and shot unhurt. I have indeed much to be thankl'ul for, and I hope I shall not forget the lesson. A campaign is a wonderful dispeller of false notions and young imaginations, and seems too stern a hint to be soon forgotten. About tHs time Mr. Tliomason says, in a letter to my father : — ' I biear of William constantly from friends ' in camp, and am glad to find that he is a * great favourite in his regiment. I had some * little fear that his great superiority in age and ' attainments to those of his ov^n standing in ' the army might make him the object of envy ' and disparagement. I felt that he had no ' easy task before him, and that it would be ' diflScult to conduct himself with discretion ' and becoming humility in such a position. c % 20 LAHORE. * 'He was quite aware of the difficulty when we ' talked the matter over at Agra, and I am * much pleased to see the success which has ' attended his prudent exertions.' Lahore, March ^th^ 1846. The army breaks up now very soon, but I shall be posted before that. I am trying to get into the 1st European Regiment, now stationed at Umbala, who have just been styled Fusiliers for their distin- guished service. It is the finest regiment in India, with white faces, too, and a very nice set of ofiicers. I have been brigaded with them all along. It seems an age since the campaign opened. One day of fighting such as we have had fastens itself on the memory more than a year of peaceful life. We must really have a natural taste for fighting highly developed, for I catch myself wishing and '^ asking for more,^ and grumbling at the speedy settlement of things, and the prospect of cantonments instead of field service. Is it not marvellous, as if one had not had a surfeit of killing ? But the truth is, that is not the motive, but a sort of undefined ambition. .... I remember bursting into tears in sheer rage in the midst of the fight at Sobraon at seeing our soldiers lying killed and wounded. Don't let any of my friends forget me yet. I have found a new one, I think, in Major Lawrence,* the new President at this Court, thanks to the unwearying kindness of Mr. Thomason. * Sir H. Lawrence, K.C.B, SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 31 In a letter of tlie same date to Hon. J. Thomason the following sentence occurs : — I must thank you very much for making me known to Major Lawrence^ from whom I have re- ceived every sort of attention and kindness. I have heen very much struck with his superiority _, and freedom from diplomatic solemnity and mystery, which is rather affected by the politicals and officials. Camp, Nuggur Ghat, on the Sutlej, March 2'jtli, 1846. The last returning regiment of the army of the Sutlej crossed that river yesterday morning, and by to-morrow every man will have left its banks, on their way to their stations. It was a most interesting and picturesque sight to see the army filing across the splendid bridge of boats constructed by our engineers at this place. So many of the native corps have been required for the new province and for the Lahore garrison, that we had hardly any but Europeans homeward-bound, which gave an additional and home interest to the passage of the river. Dusty, travel- stained, and tired, but with that cool, firm air of determination which is the most marked characteristic of English soldiers, regiment after regiment passed on, cavalry, artillery, and infantry in succession, their bands playing quick steps and national tunes, as each stepped upon the bridge. To yoit, the sight would have been only interesting; but to those of us who had seen the same corps three months ago, their reduced numbers and fearfully- thinned ranks told a 22 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. sadder tale. Regiments cut down to a thirds Indi- vidual companies to a fourth or fifth of their former strength_, gave a silent but eloquent reply to the boastful strains of martial musiCj a,nd to the stirring influence of the pageant. As each regiment moved up on this side the river, our fine old chief addressed a few words of congratulation and praise to each ; they pushed on to their tents^ and a genuine English cheer^ caught up and repeated from corps to corps, and a thundering salute from the artillery, proclaimed the final dispersion, and bid an appropriate farewell to the army of the Sutlej. Thus ends my first campaign ! To-morrow I march with the 36th Native Infantry to Umbala, where I hope to be transferred to the ist Europeans. I was posted to the 36th a few days ago, but have not joined yet, as I applied at once for an exchange. Marching and living in tents is becoming unplea- santly hot now, and in another fortnight will be very bad. Yesterday we had a regular storm of wind and dust, filling everything with sand, and darkening the air most efiectually; one's mouth, eyes, ears, and pockets get filled with dust ; you sit down to breakfast, and your plate is ready loaded with sand, your cofiee is excellently thickened, and your milk would pass for clotted cream — but for the colour. Then you get a sheet of paper, and vainly imagine you're writing, but the sand conceals the last word you write ere the ink can dry, and your pens split of themselves with the dryness of the air. In truth, it is next to impossible to do anything while the storm lasts, for one's eyes smart and cry with the plenitude of grit ; and if you talk, you are set coughing with XJMBALA. 23 eating small stones ! Yet all this is far better than tlie damp-exhaling heat of Bengal. Here the ground and air are as dry- by night as by day, and no exhala- tion poisons the freshness of any wind that may be stirring. UmbIla, April I'^th, 1846. Here I am once more. I am writing in a com- fortable house, and actually slept in one last night — the first time I have eaten or slept under a roof since the 3rd of November; and on the loth I saw a lady again ! I find General Napier has written to his brother about me. Scindh has been given over to the Bombay army, so that Sir Charles can't do anything for me, but still the kindness is all the same. Unfortunately, the note reached me three days after Sir Charles left the army to return to Scindh, or I might have had the pleasure of seeing him and speaking to him. Camp, Mokadabad, Rohilcund, April 2gth, 1846. It is time indeed to be getting under cover, for we have been in the thick of the ' hot winds.' This sounds a very mild word, but you should only just try it ! Do you remember ever holding your face over a stove when it was full of fire ? and the rush of hot air which choked you? Well, something of that sort, of vast volume and momentum, blowing what they call at sea ' half a gale of wind,' comes quietly up, at first behind a wall of dust, and then with a roar bursts upon you, scorching you, and shrivelling you 24 CAMP LIFE. up as if you were 'a, rose that was plucked/ It feels as if an invisible^ colourless flame was playing over your face and limbs, scorching without burning you, and making your skin and hair crackle and stiffen until you are covered with ' crackling' like a hot roast pig. This goes on day after day, from about eight or nine o'clock in the morning till sunset; and, accom- panied with the full power of the blazing sun of India, produces an amount of heat and dryness almost inconceivable. The only resource is to get behind a tattee (or wet grass mat) hung up at one of the doors of the tent, and to lie on the ground with as little motion as possible, and endeavour to sleep or read it out. N^imc vetentm lihris, nunc somno et inertibus lions — I cannot go on, for the ^ sweet forgetfulness^ of the past is too much to expect ! To-day we have a new nuisance in the shape of a plague of wood-lice; our camp is pitched in an old grove of mango-trees, and is literally swarming with huge pale lice, in numbers numberless. You cannot make a step with- out slaying them, and they have already (noon) covered the whole sides of the tents, chairs, beds, tables, and everything. But one is really getting used to everything, and I hardly expect to be proud again. Our rest has been terribly destroyed by this last month's marching, the usual hour for the reveille being two a.m., and this morning a quarter to one ! ! and no power of quizzing can move om' worthy major to let us take it easily, though I don't scruple to tell him that he has sold his shadow or his soul to the €vil powers, and forfeited the power of sleep, he is such a restless animal ! We breakfast at seven, or even a quarter past six, constantly, and dine at seven HILL SCENERY. 25 P.M. ; so one lias a fair opportunity of practising abstinence^ as I rigidly abstain from eating in the meantime, or drinking. After all, it is very healthy weather, and. I imagine there is less harm done to the health in the hot winds than even in the cold weather. I have never been so well in India. Nynee Tal, May 14th, 1846. I am writing from the last new Hill Station, dis- covered about three years ago by an adventurous traveller, and now containing forty houses and a bazaar. It is a ' taP or lake, of about a mile in length, lying in a basin of the mountains, about 6300 feet above the sea; the hills rising about 1800 feet on all sides of it, and beautifully wooded from their very summits down to the water's brink. How I got here remains to be told. You will remember that I had applied some time ago to be transferred to the Tst Bengal European Fusiliers. Well, after keeping me in suspense some seven weeks, and send- ing me the whole way from Lahore to Bareilly in April and May, I received notice that my application was granted, and a civil request to go back again. I had had enough of marching in the plains, and travelling dak would have been madness for me, so I determined on going up into the hills, and making my way across the mountain ranges to Subathoo, where my regiment is stationed. A good-natured civilian at Bareilly oflPered to take me mth him to this place, from whence I could make a good start. We started on the morning of the i ith, and drove to Hampoor, stayed there till midnight, and then set off 26 HILL SCENERY. for tlie liills. By dayliglit we got to the edge of the ^ Terai/ the far-famed hot-bed of fever and tigers, swamps and timber, along the whole ridge of the Himalayas, stretching along the plains at their feet in a belt of about twenty miles from the Indus to the Burhampooter. Here we found horses awaiting us, and mounting at once, started for a ride of twenty- seven miles before breakfast. The first part of the ' Tera? is merely a genuine Irish bog, and the oily, watery ditches and starved looking cows shout out ^ Fever' on all sides of you. The last ten miles to the foot of the hills is through a dense mass of ragged trees in all stages of growth and decay, ' horrida, inculta, hirsuta,^ — moist, unpleasant, and ugly. At length we reached the first low woody ranges of the hills, and following the dry bed of a mountain stream, by noon we doubled the last ridge, and descended upon our lake. None of these hills are to be compared in beauty with Scotland and Wales, though very fine, and inexpressibly refreshing, almost affecting, after the dead flat we have lived in so long. As soon as my servants arrive, I start hence by myself, through an unfrequented sea of vast mountains, by way of Landour, for Mussoorie, to Simla and Subathoo. It is about 340 miles, and will take me thirty-two or thirty-four days to accomplish. I mean to take no pony, but trust that my old powers of walking and endurance will revive in the mountain air. CHAPTEE III. FIRST BENGAL EUROPEAN EUSILIERS. LAWRENCE ASYLUM. APPOINTMENT TO GUIDE CORPS. SuBATHOO, June i6th, 1846- TTTHEN I wrote to you last from Sireenuggur, I * * hoped to have been able to reach this place by way of the hills and Simla • but before I got to Mussoorie, the early setting in of the rains made it so difficult and unpleasant (and likely to be dangerous) to get on, that after spending two days there;, I rode down to Deyra Dhoon, and came dak through Saliarunpoor and Umbala to Kalka, at the foot of these hills, where I found my beast awaiting my arrival, and mounted the seventeen miles of hill at once. Here I am at last with my own regiment, and with the prospect of being quiet for four months. I am eighth Second Lieutenant ; a distinguished position (is it not?) at the age of five-and-twenty. The campaign, I am sorry to say, did me no good in the way of promotion, owing to my not having been ' posted^ permanently before it commenced. SuBAteoo, July '^rd, 1846. I hope you will congratulate me on getting into my present splendid corps, the. 1st Fusiliei's, now, alas, a mere shadow of what it was six months ago. We could only muster 256 men under arms when we were inspected by Sir R. Grilbert on the 1st ; but then 28 FIRST FUSILIERS. there was a most picturesque body of convalescents present with their empty sleeves^ pale faces^ and crutches^ but looking proudly conscious of their good conduct,, and ready ' to do it again/ We are under much stricter discipline in this corps^ both officers and meUj and obliged to be orderly and submissive. No bad thing for us either. I hold there is more real liberty in being under a decent restraint than in abso- lute freedom from any check. I have been much more reconciled to India since I joined this regiment. It is pleasant to have white faces about one, and hear one^s own tongue spoken; and then, besides, there is a home-loving feeling in this corps which I have never met with in India. I believe we would each and all migrate to England, if we had our own way. To Ills FatJier. Simla, Sept. 2nd, 1846. I came here on the 31st for a week, to stay with Major Lawrence (now a Colonel and C.B.), who dined and slept with me at Subathoo last week, and pressed me to come here. I am nothing loth, as I like him amazingly, and value his friendship very much, and pick up a great deal of information as to India, and Indians black and white. He has kindly oflFered to take me with him for a tour through JuUunder Doab, and up to Jummoo, Rajah Gholab Singh's camp and court. He says he can give or get me leave to accompany him. My colonel says he wont give any one leave after the 14th of this month. Which is right remains to be seen, but I think you may calculate that the ' Agent to the VISIT TO SIMLA. 29 Governor-General' will prevail^ and I shall see Jummoo. I am now writing in his room with the incessant entrances and exits of natives — rajahs^ princes, vakeels, &c. &c._, and officers civil and military; and the buzz of business and confusion of tongues, black and white, learned and unlearned, on all subjects, political, religious (at this minute they are disputing what Hhe Church means'), and military, so that I am tolerably puzzled. I have been taking a tremendously long walk this morning about the hills and valleys, with Mr. and Mrs. Currie, and enjoying the beauties of Simla. Simla, Sept. 14th, 1846. My original week at Simla has grown into a month, thanks to Colonel Lawrence's pressing, and Colonel Orchard's (m^ colonel's) kindness. I should hardly like staying so long with Colonel Lawrence (especially as I live day and night in the same room with him and his papers, regularly camp fashion), but that he wishes it, and I manage to give him a slight helping hand by making precis of his letters, and copying confidential papers. He is amazingly kind, and tells me all that is going on, initiating me into the mysteries of Apolitical' business, and thus giving me more knowledge of things and persons Indian than I should learn in a year of ordinary life, aye ! or in three years either. This is a great advantage to my ultimate prospects, of course inde- pendently of the power he possesses of giving me a lift in the world when I am of sufficient standing to hold any appointment. 30 COLONEL LAWRENCE. He makes me work at Hindustanee^ and has given me a lesson or two in the use of the theodoHtej and other surveying instruments^ to the end that I may- get employed in the Surveying Department, after two years of which he says ' I shall be fit for a Political/ I have been very fortunate in many ways, more so than I had any right to expect. If I were only nearer to you all^ and had any old friends about me^ I should have nothing to regret or wish for. It is there that the shoe especially pinches. All minor annoyances are easily got rid of, but one does find a wonderful lack of one's old friends and old associa- tions. Society is very different here from ours at home, and different as it is I have seen very little of it. Nor am I, with my previous habits, age, and education, the person to feel this an indifferent matter; but on the contrary, all the drawbacks of Indian existence come with redoubled force from the greatness of the contrast. Still, I do not let these things annoy me, or weigh down my spirits, but strive, by keeping up English habits, tastes, and feelings, and looking forward to a run home (thus having a motive always in view), to make the best of everything as it occurs, and to act upon the principle, that mere outward circumstances don't make a man's happiness. If I have one feeling stronger than another, it is contempt for a ' regular Indian,' a man who thinks it fine to adopt a totally difierent set of habits and morals and fashions, until, in forgetting that he is an Englishman, he usually forgets also that he is a Christian and a gentleman. Such characters are happily rare now, but there are many fragments of it on a small scale, and always must be so, so long COLONEL LAWRENCE. 31 as the men who are to support the name and power of England in Asia are sent out here at an age when neither by education nor reflection can they have learnt all or even a fraction of what those words imply. It would be a happy thing for India and for themselves if all came out here at a more advanced age than now^ but one alone breaking through the custom in that respect made and provided, must not expect to escape the usual fate, or at least the usual annoyances, of innovators. I have enjoyed my visit here very much, and though I have not sought them, have made one or two very pleasant acquaintances, or improved them. I have been very little out, and passed my time almost entirely with Colonel Lawrence and his family, i.e., his brother and the two sisters-in-law. Things are not looking well on the frontier. Cashmere and the hill country wont submit to Ghoolab Singh, to whom we gave them over, and have been thrashing his troops and killing his ministers ; and I expect October will see an army assembled to frighten them into submission, or interfere with a strong arm, as the case may be. We seem bound to see him established on the throne we carved out for him, and it is our only chance of keeping peace and order; though at the best he is such a villain, and so detested, that I imagine it will be but a sorry state of quietness : — The torrent's smoothness ere it dash below. In a letter to Ms wife, written during this visit, Sir H. Lawrence says : — Sejpt. ist. — 'I brought up with me from 32 COLONEL LAWRENCE. Subatlioo a fine young fellow, by name Hodson, son of tlie Archdeacon of Stafford. He is now (lo p.m.) sleeping in my little office-room, where I am writing. Thomason recommended him to me, and I have seldom met so promising a young fellow. He left the native branch of the army at the expense of some steps, because he did not like the conduct of the Sepoys. He was for four years with Dr. Arnold, and two in the sixth form under his eye. He speaks most affec- tionately of him. I will try to get leave for him for a month to accompany me to Lahore and Jummoo in October I get a good deal of help from Hodson, who works willingly and sensibly. Perhaps you may meet the family at Lichfield.' Lahore, October i^th, 1846. As I hoped when I wrote last^ I am again writing from the capital of the 'Singhs/ but, alas for the Hions/ their tails are very much down in the world since this time last year, when the ' fierce and formidable army^ assembled to invade our tempting provinces. Nearly half the garrison has marched across the Ravee, and not more than 5000 or 6000 British troops now hold the far-famed capital of Eunjeet Singh. You must not be alarmed by the accounts you will see in the papers by this mail of the advance of two forces from Lahore and Jullunder towards Jummoo. JOURNEY TO CASHMERE. 33 They are not to take any active part in the operations of Gholab Singh for the recovery of Cashmere from the rebellious Sheikh Imaumoodeen — our troops are to hold the Maharaja's country for him while he advances with his whole disposable force, augmented by a Sikh auxiliary army. It is probable that the Sheikh will give in without fighting as soon as he hears the preparations made by both Powers for his coercion. Indeed, a letter has arrived from Cashmere to say he has given in J but he is a wily fellow, and I mightily distrust him. I only know if / was in Cashmere with my army at my back, / would not give in as long as a man was left to pull a trigger ! The Agent (Colonel Lawrence) and I start to-morrow evening, going seventy miles the first day, and hope to reach Bhimbur, at the foot of the hills, on the 17th, thence to go up and join the Maharaja, and accom- pany his army to Cashmere. If he fights we shall see the fun; if not, we are to accompany him and keep him from excesses and injustice in the valley, and return here, I fancy, in about a month or six weeks. Of course, in event of the two armies coming to blows, it will probably be some time longer ere we return. I am delighted at the thoughts of seeing Cashmere, and am gaining great advantage from being with these ' politicals ' in the way of learning the languages, and method of governing the natives. I have been hard at work day and night for some time now, writing for Colonel Lawrence. I left Subathoo on the ist, and after a ride of some twenty miles through the hills, joined Colonel Lawrence and Mr. Christian, and after a shake-down in a little D 34 CASHMERE. mud bungalow, and an amusing- dinner (served up in two brass basins, standing on a bed), and a breakfast to matcb, we rode down to Roopur, on the Sutlej. Here we took boat, and floated down the river to Ferozepore, and came across to Lahore during the night in a capital barouche belonging to the Ranee, with relays of horses and an escort of cavalry. Thanna, at the foot of the Pass tnto Cashmere, Oct. 26th, 1846. Our tent is pitched on the top of a little spur from the mountain side, and beneath us lie, in quaint picturesque confusion, scattered over the valley and the little staircase-like rice fields, the mingled hosts of Lahore and Jummoo. The spare stalwart Sikh, with his grizzled beard and blue turban of the scantest dimensions, side by side with the huge-limbed Aff- ghan, with voluminous head-gear and many-coloured garments. The proud Brahmin in the same ranks with the fierce « Children of the Faithful f the little active Hillman; the diminutive, sturdy, platter-faced Ghoorka, and the slight-made Hindoostanee, collected in the same tents, and all alike clothed in a caricature of the British uniform. I have been very much in- terested and amused by this march with a native army, so difierent from our own proceedings and our own military power — albeit the British army will soon be as varied in its composition. I have seen a great deal of the native Sirdars or chiefs, especially Tej Singh who commanded the Sikh forces in the war, and of the Maharaja. The former a small, spare little man, marked with the small-pox. CASHMERE. 35 and with a thin and scanty beard^ but sharp and intelligent^ and by his own account a hero. The Maharaja is a fine^ tall^ portly man, with a splendid expressive face, and most gentlemanly, pleasing man- ner, and fine-toned voice — altogether the most pleas- ing Asiatic I have seen — to all appearance the gentlest of the gentle, and the most sincere and truth- ful character in the world j and in his habits he is certainly exemplary : but he is the cleverest hypocrite in the world ; as sharp and acute as possible, devoured by avarice and ambition, and when roused, horribly cruel. This latter accusation he rebuts, by alleging the necessity of the ease and the ferocity of those he has to deal with. To us, however, his fondness for flaying men alive, cutting off their noses and ears and hands, &c., savours rather of the inexcusable. He was accused of having flayed 12,000 men, which he indignantly asserted was a monstrous calumny, as he only skinned three ; afterwards he confessed to three hundred ! Yet he is not a bit worse, and in many ways infinitely better, than most native princes. Lawrence doubts whether one could be found with fewer faults, if placed in similar circumstances. Avit- abile, to the disgrace of his European blood, was far more cruel. The stories current in the Punjab of his abominations are horrible. The costumes of these chiefs would delight you. They never make a mistake in colours, and the eflect is always good, however bright they may be. This force is (as I told you) moving up to turn the Sheikh Imaumoodeen, the rebellious vassal of the Lahore Government, out of Cashmere, in virtue of the treaty ceding it to Gholab Singh. Up to yesterday, I expected it would be a D 2 36 CASHMERE. fight, but yesterday the Sheikh sent letters to say he was sorry and repentful, and was on his way to tender his submission. So we wait here to receive him. This will not, however, prevent my visit to the valley, as Colonel Lawrence intends to accompany the Maharaja to pacify and take possession. It is very cold here, though not much above 5000 feet above the sea. To Us Father. Shupyen, in Cashmere, Nov. 6th, 1846. I write a hurried line to announce my safe arrival in the valley. On the 1st instant we got hold of the rebellious Sheikh, and sent him down to the plains ; and yesterday, Colonel Lawrence, Captain Browne, and myself, rode into the valley, amid the acclamations of an admiring population — of beggars ! I am writing at sunrise in a little tent, and in spite of two coats and waistcoats, I am nearly ' friz.^ We crossed the Pir Punjal Pass on the 4th, 13,000 feet above the sea, with snow all around us, and slept on this side in an old serai ; I say sle^t, because we went to bed ; but sleeping was out of the question, from the cold, and uproar of all our followers and their horses, crowded into a courtyard thirty feet square, horses and men quarrelling and yelling all night long. The view from the top of the Pass was very fine, but the wind far too high to take more than a peep of it without losing one's eyes ; but the road from Thanna to the summit was most lovely the whole way, winding up a glen wooded magnificently, and the rocks towering above us on all sides ; the CASHMERE. 37 trees were all in their varied autumn dress^ sur- mounted by forests of pine : altogether, I never saw so grand a scene. As the Sheikh's submission has cut the Gordian knot of politics here, we shall only stay a few days to see the valley, and. instal the Maharaja (who is following us with his force by slow stages), and then rush back to Lahore and Subathoo. This is said to be the largest town but three in the valley. It is a poverty-stricken scattered hamlet of mud-houses with wooden roofs, the upper half being generally rough open lattice-work or railing, with alternate supports of unbaked bricks ; low mud enclosures, and open waste spaces between, dedicated to dogs and dunghills. The whole is thickly grown over with fine apple and walnut trees, the staple fruits (with the grape) of the valley, and the food of the people. They are a poor wretched set, only good for beasts of burden — and certainly they can carry a vast load — their dress, both men and women, being a loose wide-sleeved smock-frock of dirty sackcloth- looking woollen. The men wear a dirty skull-cap on their shaven ' nobs,^ and the women a crimson machine, like a flowerpot saucer inverted, from which depends a veil or cloth of the same texture as the frock ; legs and feet clothed in their native dirt. The women are atrociously ugly, and screech like the witches in Macbeth — so much so, that when the Agent asked me to give them a rupee or two, I felt it my duty to refuse, firmly but respectfully, on the ground that it would be encouraging ugliness ! I fancy the climate and the soil are unrivalled, but years of poverty and oppression have reduced to a nation of beggars what ought to be a Paradise. AVe go hence after breakfast 38 CASHMERE. to Islumabad, at the eastern end of the valley; and spend a day or two in looking about us, and floating down the river to Cashmere itself, by which time our ' prince' will have arrived. I am the luckiest dog unhung to have actually got into Cashmere. I fancy I am the first officer of our army who has been here^ save the few who have come officially. These delight- ful breezes are most invigorating. I only wish you could all enjoy these travels with me. I expect to be back at Subathoo by the ist of December. In a letter to my father about tliis time, Mr. Thomason says : — ' I am. very glad to observe that sucli an ' intimacy has sprung up between Colonel ' Lawrence and your William. He could not ' be under better direction. ' Colonel Lawrence has evidently taken him ' entirely into his confidence, which cannot but ' be of the greatest use to him in his future ' career. He will have opportunities of obser- ' vation and instruction now, which very few ' possess after a long period of service. To be ' selected, too, as his confidant by a man of ' Colonel Lawrence's stamp, is no small feather ' in the cap of any young man. He stands ' deservedly high also in the esteem of all who ' know him ; and if it please God to spare his ' life and give him health, his prospects are ' as good as any man's can be in this country.' Colonel Lawrence having discovered that LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 39 my brother could worh, was by no means disposed to let him remain without full occu- pation, as his next letter will show : — SuBATHoo, April 1st, 1847. I am wonderfully well and flourishing-^ and have lots to do. Lawrence has made me undertake the secretaryship of the new Asylum for European Chil- dren, building some ten miles hence, which will give me volumes of correspondence, and leagues, nay lati- tudes, of riding. Nevertheless, it is well, and it is a good work. The responsibility will be great, as a committee of management, on an average three hun- dred miles apart, are rather nominal in their super- vision of things. SuBATHOO, April 1st, 1847. If my locomotive instinct has been brought into play in India, as you suggest, my constructive organs are likely to have their share of exercise. I have the entire direction and arrangement of the new Hill Asylum on my hands just now. It is seven miles hence, of mountain roads, and what with going and coming, planning, instructing, and supervising, my time is pretty well occupied, to say nothing of my regiment, and private affairs. Building a house in India is a different affair from one's previous expe- riences. You begin from the forest and the quarry, have to get lime burnt, trees cut down, bricks made, planks sawn up, the ground got ready, and then watch the work foot by foot — showing this 'nigger' how to lay his bricks, another the proper proportions of a beam, another the construction of a door, and to the several artisans the mysteries of a 40 LAWRENCE ASYLUM. screw_, a nail, and a hinge. You cannot say to a man, ' Make me a wall or a door/ but you must with your own hands measure out his work, teach him to saw away here, to plane there, or drive such a nail, or insinuate such another suspicion of glue. And when it comes to be considered that this is altogether new work to me, and has to be excuded by cogitation on the spot, so as to give an answer to every inquirer, you may understand the amount of personal exertion and attention required for the work. I have the sole direction and control of nearly four hundred and fifty workmen, including paying them, keeping accounts, drawing plans, and everything. I have to get earth dug for bricks, see the moulds made, and watch the progress of them till the kiln is full, get wood for the kiln, and direct the lighting of the same, and finally provide a goat to sacrifice to the demon who is supposed to turn the bricks red ! Then I must get bamboos and grass cut for thatching, and string made for the purpose; send about the hills for sand for mortar, and limestone to burn, see it mixed and prepared, and then show the niggers how to use it. Then the whole of the woodwork must be set out and made under one^s own eye, and a lump of iron brought from the mine to be wrought (also under one's direction) into nails and screws, before a single door can be set up ; and when to all this is added the difiiculty of getting hands (I mean in the hills), and the bother of watching the idlest and most cunning race on earth, you may suppose my ^unpaid magistracy' is no sinecure. I am not exaggerating or indeed telling half the difficulty, for fear you should think the whole a romance. You will LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 41 naturally ask how I learnt all these trades. I can only say that you can't be more astonished than I am myself, and can only satisfy you by the theory that ' necessity is the mother of invention.' I am seldom able to sit down from sunrise to sunset, when I get a hasty dinner, and am then only too glad to sleep off the effects of the day. How I have escaped fever during the last month I cannot think, as it has been terribly hot in the sun, even in the hills, and I have lived in the blaze of it pretty constantly. Colonel Lawrence seems determined I shall have nothing to stop me, for his invariable reply to every question is, 'Act ori your own judgment;' ''Do what you think right ;' ' I give you carie hlanche to act in my name> and draw on my funds,' and so forth. Are you aware of the nature of the institution ? It was started in idea by Colonel Lawrence some two or three years ago, and a sufficient sum of money for a commencement having been raised, he charged me with the erection of the necessary buildings, and the organization and setting in motion of the great machine which is to regenerate and save from moral and physical degradation, sickness, and death, the children of the British soldiers serving in India. The object is to teach them all things useful, while you give them the advantage of a healthy climate, removed from the evil influence of a barrack-room. The children are to remain in the Asylum until their parents return to England, or till old enough to join the ranks, or be otherwise provided for. Another drag upon my hands is the care of a small European boy who was lately found up in Cabul, and is supposed to be the son of some soldier of the 42 LAWRENCE ASYLUM. destroyed army. He has been brought up as a Mussul- man^ and made to believe his father was such^ and is a very bigot. Colonel Lawrence sent him to me from Lahore^ but forgot to write about him^ so I know no more of him than I have seen in the newspapers^ and have no idea what to do with him, or where he is to go. He is rather a nuisance, and I shall be glad when he goes, as there is little but his odd fate to interest one in him ; and I have considerable doubts as to his genuine origin. He is more like a half- caste than an ' European.' Our communication is brief, as he speaks but little Hindoostanee and I less Persian. The Asylum is a much more interesting occupation, as independently of its object, there is a pleasure in covering a fine mountain with buildings of one's own designing. A fev^ days later lie writes : — My last few days at the Asylum were enlivened by the arrival of Mrs. George Lawrence, whose tent was pitched close to mine on the hill-top. She is a great acquisition in a forest life, and a very nice person — the wife of the Captain Lawrence who was one of the Cabul prisoners. She is to be superintendress until the arrival of the future man from England. I have fourteen little girls to take care of, by the same token, and listen to the grumblings of their nurses. In short, I don't know myself, and that is the long and short of it. I am going to Simla for a day or two, to see Mr. Thomasou. And again, to his brother : — The state of things is so provokingly quiet and placid, that there seems but small chance of our being LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 43 called upon for another rusli across country (called a ' forced march') _, like the one of December^ ^845 ; and one is obliged to take to anything that offers to avoid the '^taedium vitse' which the want of employment engenders in this ' lovely country/ in those^ at leasts who have not learnt to exist in the philosophical medium of brandy and cheroots. Did I tell you, by the bye_, that I abjured tobacco when I left England^ and that I have never been tempted by even a night 'al fresco' to resume the delusive habit ? Nor have I told you (because I despaired of your believing it) that I have declined from the paths of virtue in respect to beer also, this two years past, seldom or never even tasting that once idolized stimulant ! ! It has not been caused alone by a love of eccentricity, but by the very sensitive state of my inner man (achieved in India), which obliges me to live by rule. This is all very edifying, no doubt, to you ; to me it is especially so, for I believe if I get on well in India, it will be owing, physically speaking, to my digestion. SuBATHOO, June i8th, 1847. I am getting on famously at the Asylum just now, and have succeeded in getting the children under cover before the rains. I have narrowly escaped a bad fever through over -work in the sun, but by taking it in time I got right again. The weather has since taken a turn, and become much cooler, besides which my principal anxiety is over for the season. I have certainly had a benefit of work, both civil and literary, for the Institution, and since Colonel Lawrence put an advertisement in the 44 LAWRENCE ASYLUlff. papers^ desiring all anxious persons to apply to me, I have had enough on my hands. It is all very well, but interferes with my reading no little ; and I am sure to get more kicks than thanks for my pains from an ungrateful and undiscerning public. How- ever, as long as Colonel Lawrence leaves everything so completely in my hands, and trusts so implicitly to my skill and honesty, it would be a shame not to work ' un-Y\k.e a nigger.' It is intended that the children should remain in the Institution until they are eighteen years of age, if their fathers be alive, and until somehow or other provided for, should they be orphans. The majority of the boys will, of course, become soldiers ; but my belief is, that having been brought up in the delight- ful climate of the Himalaya, • they will, after ten or fifteen years, settle down in the various stations and slightly elevated valleys in these hills, as traders and cultivators, and form the nucleus of the first British colony in India. My object is to give them English habits from the first, which they have in most cases to learn, from being brought up by native nurses from infancy. Part of the scheme is to make the Institution support itself, and I am very shortly going to start a farm-yard. I have already got a fine large garden in full swing | and here you may see French beans, cabbages, strawberry plants, and fine potatoes (free from disease). I steadfastly refuse the slightest dash of colour in admitting children. People may call this illiberal if they please ; the answer is obvious. Half-castes stand the climate of the plains too well to need a hill sanitorium, and by mixing them with English children you corrupt those whom you wish NEW APPOINTMENT. • 45 to benefit. The little boy who was lately redeemed from Cabul^ and whom Colonel Lawrence consigned to my care, is the plague of my existence. He has the thoroughly lying, deceitful habits, and all the dirt, of the Affghan races, and not a single point of interest to counterbalance them. SuBATHoo, August, 1847. I have some hopes, though but faint ones, of being relieved from the necessity of a move to Cawnpore (whither his regiment had been ordered), by obtain- ing a berth under Colonel Lawrence. I know that he has asked for me, and, I believe, for an appoint- ment which would please me more than any other he could find, as being one of the most confidential nature, and involving constant locomotion, and plenty of work both for head, nerve, and body. But I must not be sanguine, as we have already a large pro- portion of officers away from the regiment, and I am a young soldier, though, alas ! growing grie- vously old in years. The appointment alluded to was to the ' Corps of Gruides,' then recently organized by Colonel Lawrence for service in the Punjab. While this question, however, was still pending, there seemed a prospect of Lieut, Hodson's succeeding to the adjutancy of his regiment, and Colonel Lawrence, as will be seen from the subjoined letter, recommended his accept- ing it, if offered : — 46 LETTER FROM COL. LAWRENCE. ' Simla, Sept. nth. ' My dear HodsoNj — I have spoken to the Governor- ' General about you, who at once replied,, " Let him ' take the adjutancy." He wishes you well, but is ' puzzled by the absentee question. We are all, more- ' over, agreed on the usefulness to yourself of being ' employed for a time as adjutant to a regiment. ' There are always slips, but I know of no man of ' double or treble your standing who has so good a ' prospect before him. Favour and partiality do occa- ^ sionally give a man a lift, but depend upon it that his ' is the best chance in the long run who helps himself. ' So far you have done this manfully, and you have ^ reason to be proud of being selected at one time for ' three different appointments by three different men.* ' Don't, however, be too proud. Learn your duties ' thoroughly. Continue to study two or three hours ' a day ; not to pass in a hurry, but that you may do ' so two or three years hence with eclat. Take advan- ' tage of Becher's being at Kussowlee to learn some- ' thing of surveying. All knowledge is useful ; but to ' a soldier, or official of any sort in India, I know ' no branch of knowledge which so well repays the ' student. ' In Oriental phrase, pray consider that much is said ' in this hurried scrawl, and believe that I shall watch ' your career with warm interest. ' I am, very sincerely yours, ' H. M. Lawrence.^ The expected vacancy, how^ever, did not * At this very juncture, the Adjutant-General of the army had also applied for Lievit. Hodson. GUIDE CORPS. 47 occur, and Colonel Lawrence accordingly re- newed his application for my brother's services in tlie Punjab, and, as will be seen, with success. In the beginning of October he writes : — I have every reason to expect that before many days I shall be gazetted as attached to the Guide Corps. The immediate result of my appointment will be a speedy departure to Lahore with Colonel Lawrence, who returns there to arrange matters before going home. And on the 1 6th : — You willj I am sure^ rejoice with me at my un- precedented good fortune in being appointed to a responsible and honourable post, almost before, by the rules of the service, I am entitled to take charge of a company of Sepoys. I shall even be better off than I thought ; instead of merely ' doing duty ' with the Guide Corps, I am to be the second in command. The next chapter will show how well Lieut. Hodson justified Colonel Lawrence's selection of him for so responsible a command, one which the course of events made far more important than could then have been foreseen. It was in this that he laid the foundations of his reputation as an ' unequalled partisan leader,' and acquired his experience of the Sikhs, and extraordinary influence over them. CHAPTEE IV. EMPLOYMENT IN THE PUNJAB AS SECOND IN COMMAND QE THE CORPS OF GUIDES, AND ALSO AS ASSISTANT TO THE RESIDENT AT LAHORE. From October, 1847, during the Campaign of 1848—9, to the Annexatio7i of the Punjab in March, 1849. Camp, Kussoor, Nov. i^th, 1847. T ALMOST forget the many events that have -*- happened since I wrote last : I believe I was ' at home ' in my snug little cottage in Subathoo, and now I am in a high queer-looking native house among the ruins of this old stronghold of the Pathans ; with orders ' to make a good road from Lahore to the Sutlej, distance forty miles/ in as brief a space as possible. On the willing-to-be-generally-useful prin- ciple this is all very well, and one gets used to turning one^s hand to everything, but certainly (but for ' circumstances over which I had no control ') I always laboured under the impression that I knew nothing at all about the matter. However, Colonel Lawrence walked into my room promiscuously one morning, and said, ^ Oh, Hodson, we have agreed that you must take in hand the road to Perozepoor — ^you can start in a day or two ; ' and Aere I am. Well, I have galloped across the country hither and thither, and peered into distances with telescopes, and inquired curiously into abstruse (and obtuse) angles, rattled Gunter's chains, and consulted compasses and ROAD -MAKING. 49 theodolites, till I have an. idea of a road that will astonish the natives not a little. Last night I was up half the night, looking out for fires which I had ordered to be lighted in sundry places along the line of the Sutlej at a fixed hour that I might find the nearest point. This morning, I had a grand assembly of village ^punches/ to discuss with them the propriety of furnishing able-bodied men for the work. By a little artful persuasion, I succeeded in raising 700 from a small district, and am going onwards to hold another such ^county meeting' to-morrow. The mode and fashion that has always obtained in public works under native governments, has been to give an order to seize all the inhabitants, and make them work — and not jiay them, then. These gentry, therefore, have been so bullied by their Sikh masters, that they hardly believe my offers of ready-money payments. My predecessor, an artillery officer, who came here on the same errand, was turned ofi" for resorting to violent measures in his anxiety to get hold of work- men, having hung some of the head men up by the heels to trees till they were convinced. He got no good (nor hands either), by his dodge. So I was sent here on the other persuasion, and you will be glad to hear, for the credit of the family, that I am gam- moning the dear old punches most deliciously. They'd give me anything, bless their innocent hearts ! when I get under the village tree with them, or by the village well, and discourse eloquently on the blessing to society of having destroyed the Sikhs, and on the lightness of their, land tax. I hope to be relieved in a month, and go up to Peshawur to join ' the E 50 PUNJAB. Guides/ for this is cruelly hard work^ and I have had enough for one year of native workpeople. Besides^ I am not strong yet^ and have a horrid cold, I would give anything to be able to sit down and read a book quietly, a luxury I have not enjoyed for many a long day. Colonel Lawrence starts for England on the 30th for two years. I hope you will contrive to see him, and make his acquaintance. Sir F. Currie is to be his successor during his absence. Dec. I St. I have been at Lahore to receive Colonel Lawrence's parting instructions, and say good bye to him, poor fellow. He is a genuinely kind-hearted mortal, and has been a brother to me ever since I knew him. I hope to see him back in two years, invigorated and renewed, to carry out the good work which he has so nobly begun. To Ms Sister. Camp Kussoor, Dec. i^th, 1847. Your letter met me on my road two days ago, and emerged from the folds of a Sikh horseman's turban, to my great delight. I got off my horse, and walked along, driving him before me till I had read the packet. You must not conclude, because I am writing to you a second time from this place, that I have been here ever since I first commenced operations in these parts. I have been twice to Lahore, and several times to various intermediate and more distant places, since then. In short, you may give up all idea of bfeing able to imagine where I may be at any given time. My work has progressed considerably. In ROAD-MAKING. 51 three weeks I have collected and got into working order upwards of a thousand most unwilling labourers, surveyed and marked out some twenty miles of road through a desert and forest, and made a very large piece of it. I am happy to say I am to be relieved in a day or two, and sent to survey another district. I have had one or two visitors the last few days, and therefore not been so lonely as usual; but my time has been even more than ever occupied. My duties are nearly as various as there are hours in the day ; at one time digging a trench, at another time inves- tigating breaches of the peace. I am a sort of justice of the peace for general purposes, and have to listen to and inquire into complaints, and send cases which I think worthy of it for trial to Lahore. I caught as neat a case of robbing and murder the other day as ever graced Stafford Assizes ; to say nothing of end- less modes of theft, more or less open, according to the wealth or power of the stealer. This is the most remarkable scene of ruin I have met with for many a long day ; erst, a nest of the abodes of wealthy Pathan nobles, and now a desert tract, of many miles in ex- tent, covered with ruins, with here and there a dome, or cupola, or minaret, to mark what has once been. I am happy to say that I have succeeded in obtain- ing a respite on Sundays. Hitherto, all the works I have had in hand have gone on the same every day, and consequently one^s annoyance and responsibility continued equally on Sundays. This is happily put an end to, and I shall have one day's rest a week at least, to say nothing of higher considerations. An order on the subject was issued six months ago, but great difficulties were in the way of its execution. 52 PUNJAB. Camp, Deenanuggur, Jan. ^'^th, 1848. Here I am, off again like a steam-engine, calling at a series of stations, puffing and panting, hither and thither, never resting, ever starting ; now in a cut- ting, now in a tunnel ; first in a field, next on a hill : thus passes day after day, week after week, a great deal of work going through one's hands, and yet one can give very little account of oneself at the end of it. At present I am moving rapidly along the banks of a small canal which traverses the Doab, between the Havee and Beas Rivers, for purposes of irrigation ; accompanying Major Napier,* to whom the prosecution of all public improvements throughout the Land of the Five Rivers belongs. We (the ' Woods and Forests' of the day) have nearly reached the point where the river debouches from the hills, and have put up for the day in a little garden-house of Eurtjeet Singh's, in the midst of a lovely grove of great extent, through whose dark-green boughs we have a splendid panorama of the snowy range to back our horizon. We have great projects of extending the canal by various branches to feed and fertilize the whole extent of the Doab, which wants nothing but water to make it a garden, so fertile is the soil. We have come along a strip of beautiful country, richly cultivated, lying along the banks of this life-giving little watercourse, and the weather is perfect, so I am as happy as mere externals can make one. Certainly we whose lot has fallen on this side of India, are much to be envied. Here, all day long one rides about, clothed as warmly, and even more so, than in England at this season. Now Sir Eobert Naj)ier, K.C.B. SURVEYING. 53 enjoying the bright clear sunshine, and never troubled with thinking of the snn ; whilst at Calcutta they are running into their houses at nine o'clock to avoid the heat of the day ! I imagine two years iu Calcutta would be more wearing than ten up here; by the same token, I have achieved the respectable weight of eleven stone ten pounds, being an increase of seventeen pounds since July. May my shadow never be less ! I live from the arrival of one mail in expectation. of the next. I had meant to have written a long series of despatches for this opportunity, and have asked you to do some commissions for me, but I must postpone it now to another time, as Major Napier has lots of work for me. I want a pair of thick blankets ; mine were plundered at Eerozeshah, and I have always mourned over them since, when cold nights- and long marches come together. In these far countries it is next to impossible to get anything decent. Camp, Raja Ke Bagh, Jan. 2gih, 1848. For some days I was staying in, and intend return- ing again to, a fine picturesque old castle or fort built by the Emperor Shahjehan. Its lofty walls, with their turrets and battlements, enclose a quadrangle of the size of the great court of Trinity, while from the centre rises a dark mass of buildings three stories high, forming tha keep ; presenting externally four blank walls pierced with loopholes, but within, arches and pillars and galleries, with an open space in the centre, in which they all face. The summit rises sixty-four feet, which, in addition to the great elevation of the mound 54 PUNJAB. on which the castle stands, gives a noble view of mountain, river, and plain, covered with the finest timber and green with young corn ; the whole backed by range on range, peak after peak, of dazzling snow. Another, nearly similar, lies about ten miles to the north, and I am now 'pitched^ at the foot of a third to the west ; all monuments of the taste and grandeur of the Mogul Emperors. That Goth, Runjeet Singh and his followers have as much to answer for in their way, as Cromwell and his crop-eared scoundrels in England and Ireland. They seem only to have conquered to destroy — every public work, every castle, road, serai or avenue, has been destroyed ; the finest mosques turned into powder magazines and stables, the gardens into cantonments, and the fields into deserts. I had a pretty specimen the other day of the way in which things have been managed here. I was desired to examine into, and report on, the accounts of revenue collected hitherto in i8o villages along the 'Shah Nahr,^ or Royal Canal. By a convenient mixture of coaxing and threats, compliment and invective, a return was at last efifected, by which it appeared that in ordinary cases about one-half the revenue reached the treasury, in some one-third, and in one district nothing I To my great amusement when I came to this point, the gallant collector (a long-bearded old Sikh) quietly remarked — ' Yes, Sahib, this was in- deed a great place for us entirely.' I said, ^ yes, you villain, you gentry grew fat on robbing your master.' ' Don't call it robbing,' he said ; /I assure you, I wouldn't be dishonest for the world. I never took more than my predecessors did before me.' About the SURVEYING. 55 most naive definition of honesty I have had the luck to meet with. I fancy our visit to these nooks and corners of the Punjab has added some 50,000^. a year to the revenue. My present role is to survey a part of the country lying along the lefj^ bank of the Ravee and below the hills, and I am daily and all day at work with compasses and chain, pen and pencil, following streams, diving into valleys, burrowing into hills, to complete my work. I need hardly remark, that having never attempted anything of the kind hitherto, it is bothering at first. But one is compelled to be patient under this sort of insult, and I should not be surprised any day to be told to build a ship, compose a code of laws, or hold assizes, — in fact, ^tis the way in India; every one has to teach himself his work, and do it at the same time ; if I go on learning new trades as fast during the remainder of my career as I have done at its commencement, I shall have to retire as a Jacksonian professor at least, when ' my dog has had his day.^ "Well ! I have fairly beaten the cold this time — I turned back one side of the tent, and had a big fire lighted outside, protected from draughts by a canvas screen, and the whole tent is now in a jolly glow; a gipsy light reflected on the trees around, and on the two tall picturesque Afighans who, seated cross-legged on each side of the fire, either replenish it with sticks, fan it into a flame, or watch my pen with the large, black, inquisitive eye of a dog looking out for a crust. They make much better servants for wandering folks like myself than the Hindoostanee servant-tribe, have fewer or no prejudices (save against clean 56 PUNJAB. water) ^ and trudge along the live-long day as merrily as if life was a joke to them, instead of the dull heavy reality it is.* Feb. 2>jth, 1848. I really have very little to tell you of my new Guide Corps duties, from the somewhat strange fact that I have never yet actually entered upon them; this will soon come to an end, however, as I have directions to proceed to Peshawur as soon as the survey I have been at work on is completed. The grand object of the corps is to train a body of men in peace to be efficient in war ; to be not only acquainted with localities, roads, rivers, hills, ferries, and passes, but have a good idea of the produce and supplies available in any part of the country ; to give accurate information, not running open-mouthed to say that * Lieutenant (now Col.) Herbert Edwardes wrote as follows to his family in England : — ' Young Hodson has been appointed to do duty with ' our Punjab Guide Corps, commanded by Lieutenant ' Lumsden. The duties of a Commandant or Adjutant ' of Guides are at once important and delightful. It is ' his duty in time of peace to fit himself for leading ' armies during war. This necessitates his being con- ' stantly on the move, and making himself and his ' men acquainted with the country in every quarter, * In short, it is a roving commission, and to a man of ' spirit and ability, one of the finest appointments ' imaginable. ' I think Hodson will do it justice. He is one of the ' finest young fellows I know, and a thorough soldier ' in his heart.' GUIDE CORPS. 57 lo^ooo horsemen and a thousand guns are coming (in true native style) , but to stop to see whether it may not really be only a common cart and a few wild horsemen who are kicking up all the dust : to call twenty-five by its right name, and not say jifty for short, as most natives do. This of course wants a great deal of careful instruction and attention. Beyond this, the officers should give a tolerably correct sketch and report of any country through which they may pass, be au fait at routes and means of feeding troops, and above all (and here you come close upon political duties), keep an eye on the doings ' of the neighbours' and the state of the country, so as to be able to give such information as may lead to any out- break being nipped in the bud. This is the theory, what the practice may be I'll tell you some day or other when I know. Hitherto I have been making myself generally useful under the chief engineer, and learning to survey. One has to turn one's hand to everything if one wishes to get on. Meanwhile, I am busily collecting every species of information about the people and the land they live in. Hard work and fatigue, of course, but a splendid opening and opportunity for making oneself known and necessary. Deenanugguk, March 14th, 1848. The night your letter reached me, Napier (our chief engineer) and I were encamped on a spur of grass land separating two streams of the river * Chukkir,' and had been so for some days. That evening it began to rain (if a sluice of water, appa- rently struch down from the heavens by a flood of the 58 TLOOD. fiercest lightnings can be called so), and for thirty- six hours the torrent descended without intermission, as only Asiatic storms can descend. At length a pause ensued, and the sky was visible, and we emerged from our sodden tents only to be threatened with water inaworseform. The hills, valleys, and mountains began to send down to us w^hat they had so plentifully received from above, and the hitherto quiet stream, whose wide stony channel surrounded us, was in a single hour a powerful torrent, tearing over the country as if to prove what it could do. By one of the singular freaks common to all tropical rivers, it dammed up one of its own widest outlets by the quantity of stones which it brought along with it, and came tearing down the one nearest to us. Across this, not a hundred yards from our tents, we had just built a powerful breakwater some sixteen feet wide, but the water quietly walked over, under, and round it; roared, groaned, stormed, and swelled angrily for two hours, and our breakwater was a Hhing of history :' meantime, we were gradually getting more and more surrounded with water, it rose and rose until only four inches were wanting to set us well afloat. The pegs of my tent-ropes were undermined, and a notice to quit was as plainly written on the face of the water as ever on a legal process. There was but one way of escape, so mustering the whole of a neighbouring village, we loaded all our valuables and moveables on their backs, and made a dash at the hamlet. Once having suc- ceeded in turning us out, the valiant Chukkir was content, and we slept in our tents as usual, but not without, as it turned out, considerable risk of finding ourselves landed in some unknown field on waking. ROBBER HUNT. 59 Wlien this flood subsided, it appeared that the scene of our unfortunate dam had become the deepest part of the channel^ and the old course choked with stones and boulders which jou and I couldn^t lift in a week of Sundays. Is not this an incident. Since I wrote last, in. consequence of represen- tations I sent to head quarters as to the amount of plundering going on, a large party of horse, with one of the principal chiefs, was sent out here, with direc- tions to act on the information I gave them. We have accordingly had a robber-hunt on a large and tolerably successful scale. Numbers have been caught. One shot pour encourager les autres, and we have traces of others, so that my quiet practice (originall}^ for my own amusement and information) has been very useful to the State. I found out the greatest part of it by sending clever fellows disguised as ' faqueers ' (you know what they are, I think ; — religious beggars) to the diflerent villages to talk to the people and learn their doings* Same of the stories of Sikh violence^ cruelty, and treachery which I have picked up are almost beyond belief. The indifference of these people to human life is something appalling. I could hardly get them to give a thought or attempt an inquiry as to the identity of a man whom I found dead, evidently by violence, by the road-side yesterday morning y and they were horrified at the thought of tying up or confining a sacred ox, who had gored his thirteenth man the evening before last ! They told me plainly that no one had a right to complain of being hurt by so venerable a beast. In such pursuits, combined with surveying, my time passes away tolerably well. I am alone again, 60 PUNJAB. Napier having gone to Lahore ; hut this is a sweet place^ and I am staying in a pleasant summer house of Runjeet Singh's^ in the midst of a fine garden or grove of mango and orange trees. Camp on Eaveb, March 2gth, 1848. Just as I had completed my somewhat lengthy reply to your question, I was interrupted by a camel- rider, who had come in hot haste with a letter from Sir F. Currie at Lahore, with the most agreeable in- telligence in the world — voila, 'My dear Me,. Hodson, — Pray knock off your ' present work, and come into Lahore as quickly as you ' can. ' I want to send you with Mr. Agnew to Mooltan. ' Mr. Agnew starts immediately with your acquaint- ' ance, Sirdah Sumshere Singh, to assume the govern- ' ment of that province, Moolraj having sent in his ' resignation of the Nizamut. Lieutenant Becher is ' to be Agnew's permanent assistant, but he cannot ' join just now, and I wish you to go with Agnew. It ' is an important mission, and one that, I think, you ' will like to be employed in. When relieved by ' Becher, you will join the Guides at Lahore, and be ' employed also as assistant to the Resident. The ' sooner you come the better. ' Yours sincerely, ' F. Ctjerie.' The last line of Sir Frederick's letter was not lost on me, and to keep up my character for locomotion, I started at daybreak for Deenanuggur, finishing off my work en route, remained there the rest of the day to MOOLTAN. 61 wind up matters and add my surveying sketcli to the large plan I had commenced beforehand, and hurried onwards this morning. You will perceive that I have crossed the Doab, and am now writing on the banks of the Ravee, some sixty miles above Lahore. I marched twenty-four and a half miles with tent and baggage this morning, and hope to continue at that pace, with the difference of marching by night, the weather having suddenly become very hot indeed. I am much interested in the thought of going to so new a place as Mooltan — new, that is to say, to Europeans, yet so important from position and com- merce. The only drawback is the heat, which is notorious throughout Western India. I am not aware, however, that it is otherwise unhealthy. As you may suppose, I am much gratified by the appointment, both for its own sake and also as evincing so very favourable and kindly a disposition toward myself on the part of the new potentate. To Ms Sister. Camp, March zgth, 1848. Of incidents to amuse you I have not many to narrate, save the usual ' moving ' ones by ' flood and field.^ On the iSth I was very nearly becoming a damp unpleasant corpse to celebrate my birthday. In attempting a ford, my horse sank up to the girths in a quicksand. I managed to extricate myself and, dry land being near, he got up without damage. Sending a man ahead, I tried again in another place. Here it was fair to the eye but false to the foot. 62 PUNJAB, Down lie went again, this time in deeper water, and got me under him by struggling. However, I realized the old proverb, and escaped with a good ducking and a mouthful of my native element, rather gritty. Next I tried a camel, but the brute went down at the first stride. So giving it up in despair, I put on dry clothes, and then waded through the river. Not content with one attempt on my existence, the horse gave me a violent kick the same evening when I went up to him to ask ' How d^e do.' So I completed my year, in spite of myself, as it were. Lahore, April 2nd. Since the above was written, I have succeeded in reaching the metropolis, as you see, at a greater ex- penditure of animal heat and fatigue than I have gone through for some time. I was very friendlily and pleasantly greeted by Sir F. and Lady Currie, and tumbled at once again into the tide of civilization — ^loaf bread, arm-chairs, hats, and ladies — as philosophically as if I had been for months in the calm and unrestrained enjoyment of such luxuries. On my arrival, I found that the arrangement pro- posed in Sir F. Currie's note had already become matter of history, not of fact. The new one is still better for me. I am to remain at Lahore, and be an assistant to the Resident, having my Guide duties to discharge also, when Lumsden arrives from Peshawur with the Corps. He is expected in twenty days. Nothing could possibly have been better for me. I shall have the advantage of learning in the best school, head-quarters, and have many more oppor- tunities of making myself ' generally usefaU' I am LAHORE. 63 most rejoiced at the plan^ and Sir F. Currie's con- siderate kindness in devising it. We wont say anything of the regularity or consistency of making a man of two and a half years^ service^ and who has passed no examination^ a political officer^ nor will we be ungrateful enough to say that he is unfit for the appointment^ but that he should do his utmost to show that the rule is more honoured '^in the breach than in the observance.^ Eesidency, Lahoke, April i6th, 1848. I shall not have the same variety to chronicle now that I seem to be fixed here^ but more interest and a higher style of work. Since I wrote last I have been six hours a day employed in court^ hearing petitions and appeals in all manner of cases^ civil and criminal^ and in matters of revenue^ as there are but two officers so employed. You^ perhaps, will com- prehend that the duty is no sinecure. It is of vast importance, and I -sometimes feel a half sensation of modesty coming over me at being set down to administer justice in such matters so early, and with- out previous training. A little practice, patience, and reflection settle most cases to one's satisfaction, howeter j and one must be content with substantial justice as distinguished from technical law. In any point of difficulty one has always an older head to refer to, and meantime, one has the satisfaction of knowing that one is independent and untrammelled save by a very simple code. Some things, such as sentencing a man to imprisonment for seven years for killing a cow^ are rather startling to one's ideas of 64 MOOLTAN. right and wrong ; but then to kill a cow is to break a law, and to disturb the public peace — perhaps cause bloodshed ; so the law is vindicated, and one's con- science saved. I have many other duties, such as finishing my map, for which I was surveying at Deenanuggur; occasionally translating an official document ; going to Durbars, &c. ; and when the Guides arrive (on the 20th) I shall have to assist in drilling and instructing them; to say nothing of seeing that their quarters are prepared, and every- thing ready for them. I am not, therefore, idle, and only wish I had time to read. On the 35tli lie writes from Lahore : — I mentioned to you that Sir F. Currie's plan of sending me to assist Agnew at Mooltan had been altered, and that Anderson had gone with him in my stead. At the time I was disposed to be disappointed ; but we never know what is for our good. In this case I should doubtless have incurred the horrible fate of poor Anderson and Agnew^ Both these poor fellows have been barbarously murdered by the Mooltan troops. He then gives a detailed account of their tragical fate, and the treachery of the villain Moolraj, and adds : — The Sikh Durbar profess their inability to coerce their rebel subject, who is rapidly collecting a large array, and strengthening himself in the proverbially strong fort of Mooltan. One cannot say how it will end. The necessary delay of five months, till after the rains, will give GUIDE COUPS. 65 time for all the disaffected to gather together, and no one can say how far the infection may extend. The Sikhs were right in saying, ' We shall have one more fight for it yet.' Lahore, May >jth. I expect to be busy in catching a party of rascals who have been trying to pervert our Sepoys by bribes and promises. We have a clue to them, and hope to take them in the act. We are surrounded here with treachery. No man can say who is implicated, or how far the treason has spread. The life of no British officer, away from Lahore, is worth a week's purchase. It is a pleasant sort of government to prop up, when their headmen conspire against you, and their troops desert you on the slightest temp- tation. Lumsden, the commandant of the Guides, and I want something sensible for the protection of our heads from sun and blows, from coiqjs cle soleil equally with coups cVepee. There is a kind of leathern helmet in the Prussian service which is light, serviceable, and neat. Will you try what you can do in the man- millinery line, and send me a brace of good helmets ? We don't want ornament ; in fact, the plainer the better, as we should always wear a turban over them, but strong, and light as a hat. I have no doubt your taste will be approved. I hope this wont be a bore to you, but one's head wants protecting in these stormy days. The helmets on their arrival were pro- nounced 'maddening.' This was the first of a 66 GUIDE UNirOUM. series of commissions connected witli the clothing and arming of the Guide Corps, which was left mainly, if not entirely, in my brother's hands, and was a matter of much interest to him. The colour selected for their uniform was ' drab,' as most likel}/ to make them invisible in a land of dust. Even a member of the Society of Friends could scarcely have objected to send out drab clothing for 900 men, but to this succeeded directions to select the pattern of, and send out, 300 rifled carbines, which seemed scarcely a clerical business. The result, however, was satisfactory, and in the following year my brother wrote : — Many thanks for the trouble you have taken about the clothing for the Guides. Sir C. Napier says they are the only properly dressed light troops he has seen in India. Camp, Deenanugger, June ^th, 1848. You will hardly have been prepared to hear that I am once more on the move, rushing about the country, despite climate, heat, and rumours (the most alarming). I wrote last the day after our successful capture of the conspirators, whom I had the satisfaction of see- ing hung three days later. I then tried a slight fever as a variety for two days; and on the 14th started to ' bag' the Ranee in her abode beyond the THE UANEE. 67 Ravee^ she having been convicted of comphcity in the designs of the conspirators. Lumsden and myself were deputed by the Resident to call on her^ and inti- mate that her presence was urgently required. A detachment was ordered out to support us, in case any resistance should be offered. Fortunately it was not required, as the Ranee complied at once with our ' polite' request to come along with us. Instead of being taken to Lahore, as she expected, we carried her off to Kana Kutch, on the Ferozepoor road, where a party of Wheeler's Irregulars had been sent to receive her. It was very hard work — a long night march to the fort, and a fourteen hours' ride across to Kana Kutch, whence I had two hours' gallop into Lahore to report progress, making sixteen hours in the saddle, in May, when the nights are hot. On the next Sunday night I was off again, to try and seize or disperse a party of horse and foot collected by a would-be holy man, Maharaja Singh, said to amount to four or five hundred. I made a tremendous march round by Umritsur, Byrowal-Ghat on the Beas, and up that river's bank to Mokeria, in the Jullundur Doab, whence I was prepared to cross during the night with a party of cavahy, and attack the rascals unawares. Everything succeeded admirably up tr the last, when I found that he had received notice from a rogue of a native magistrate that there would be attempts made to seize him, when he fairly bolted across the Ravee, and is now infesting the Doab between that river and the Chenab. I have scoured this part of the country (which my late surveys enabled me to traverse with perfect ease), got posses- sion of every boat on the Ravee from Lahore to the r 2 bo SIKH CONSPIRACY. Hills^ placed horsemen at every ferry^ and been bullying the people who supplied the Saint with provisions and arms. I have a regiment of Irregular Horse (Skinner's) with me^ and full powers to sum- mon more, if necessary, from the Jullundur Doab. Meantime, a party from Lahore are sweeping round to intercept the fellow, who is getting strong by degrees; and I am going to dash across at midnight with a handful of. cavalry, and see if I cannot beat up the country between this and Wuzeerabad. I am very well, hard at work, and enjoying the thing very much. I imagine this will be the sort of life we shall lead about once a week till the Punjab is annexed. Every native official has fraternized with the rebels he was ordered to catch. Lahore, July ^th, 1848. I wrote last from Deenanuggur, on the eve of crossing the Ravee to look after the Gooroo, Maharaja Singh. I remained in the Rechnab Doab some days, hunting up evidence and punishing transgressors. I was very fairly successful in obtaining informa- tion of the extent of the conspiracy which has been keeping the whole country in a ferment these two months past. All that has occurred is clearly traceable to the E-anee (now happily deported) and her friends, and has been carried out with a fearful amount of the blackest treachery and baseness. There have been stirring events since I wrote last. Twice within a fortnight has Herbert Edwardes fought and defeated the Mooltan rebels in pitched battles, and has succeeded, despite of treacherous foes and doubtful NIGHT MARCHES. 69 friendsj in driving them into the fort of Mooltan. His success has been only less splendid than the energy and courage which he has shown throughout^ especially that high moral courage which defies re- sponsibility, risks, self-interest, and all else, for the good of the State, and which, if well directed, seems to command fortune and ensure success. I have been longing to be with him, though after my wonder- fully narrow escape of being murdered with poor Agnew at Mooltan, I may well be content to leave my movements in other hands. I was summoned into Lahore suddenly (as usual !) to take command of the Guides and charge of Lumsden^s duties for him, as she had been sent down the river towards Bhawulpoor. I came in the whole distance (one hundred miles), with bag and baggage, in sixty hours, which considering that one can't travel at all by day, and not more than four miles an hour by night, required a great amount of exertion and perseverance. It is strange that the natives always knock up sooner than we do on a march like this. The cavalry were nine days on the road, and grumbled then ! I know few things more fatiguing than when exhausted by the heat of the day, to have to mount at nightfall, and ride slowly throughout the night, and for the two most disagreeable hours of a tropical day, viz., those after sunrise. One night, on which I was making a longer march than usual, had a fearful effect on a European regiment moving upon Feroze- poor, the same hot night-wind, which had completely prostrated me for the time, fell upon the men as they halted at a well to drink; they were fairly beaten, and lay down for a few minutes to pant. 70 PUNJAB. When tliey arose to continue their marcli^ a captain and nine or ten men were left dead on the ground ! It was the simoom of Africa in miniature. I have happily escaped fever or sickness of any kind, and have nothing to complain of but excessive weakness. Quinine will, I trust, soon set me up again. Lahore, Sei^t. ^rd, 1848. "We have had stirring times lately, though I personally have had little share in them. Mooltan is at last invested, and we expect daily to hear of its fall. Meanwhile, a new outbreak has occurred in Huzkra, a wild hilly region on the left bank of the Indus, above Attok, where one of the powerful Sirdars has raised the standard of revolt. I suppose I may say to you at so great a distance, what I must not breathe here, that it is now morally certain that we have only escaped, by what men call chance and accidents, the effects of a general and well-organized conspiracy against British supre- macy in Upper India. Our ' ally ' Ghoolab Singh, the creature of the treaty of 1848, the hill tribes, the whole Punjab, the chiefs of Rajpootana, and the states round Umbala and Kurnal, and even the King of Cabul, I believe, have been for months and months securely plotting, without our having more than the merest hints of local disturbances, against the supre- macy of the British Government. They were to unite for one vast effort, and drive us back upon the Jumna. This was to be again the boundary of British India. The risinor in Mooltan was to be the signal. SIKH CONSPIRACY. 71 All was prepared, when a quarrel between Moolraj and the treacherous khan, Singh Man, who was sent to commence the war, spoilt their whole scheme. The proud Rajpoot, Ghoolab Singh, refused to follow in the wake of a Mooltan merchant, and the merchant would not yield to the soldier. We have seen the mere ebullitions of the storm, the bubbles which float at the surface. I believe that now we are safe from a general rising, and that the fall of Mooltan will put a stop to mischief. If, however, our rulers resort again to half measures, if a mutinous army is retained in existence, the evil day will return again. Absolute supremacy has been, I think, long demon- strated to be our only safety among wild and treache- rous races. Moderation, in the modern sense, is the greatest of all weakness. Sept. iSt/i, 1848. You will have seen that our troops have been hard at it in Mooltan, and now I have to tell you that it has all been in vain; Rajah Shere Singh, and the whole of our worthy Sikh allies, have joined the rebel Moolraj, and General Whish has been compelled to raise the siege and retire. I have just despatched every available Guide to try and get quietly into the far-famed fort of Govindghur, and hope in a few hours to hear of their success. They have forty friends inside, and only a few score wavering enemies. I have not a moment which I can call my own, and have put oft' this (which is merely an assurance that I am alive and very well) to the last moment, so as to give you 73 GOVINDGHUR. the latest tidings. I am all agog at the prospect of stirring times^ and the only single drawback is the fear that you all will be very anxious. I shall not^ however^ run my head unnecessarily into a scrape, and see no cause for your frightening yourselves. One comfort is^ that the farce of native govern- ment has been played out. It was an experiment honestly tried, and as honestly a failure. A few days later he says : — My Guides have covered themselves with glory (and dust) by the way in which they got into, and got possession of, the famed fort of Govindghur. A hundred of my men, under a native officer — a fine lad of about twenty, whom I have petted a good deal — went up quietly to the gates, on pretence of escorting four State prisoners (whom 1 bad put in irons for the occasion), were allowed to get in, and then threw up their caps, and took possession of the gateway, despite the scowls, and threats, and all but open resistance of the Sikh garrison. A day after- wards a regiment marched from Lahore, and went into garrison there, and so Runjeet Singh^s treasure- fort is fairly in our hands. Kov. ist, 1848. I left Lahore — but stay, I must get there first. Well, I wrote from Ramniiggur, on the Chenab, last ; whence, after a fruitless sejoitr of six days, in the vain hope of meeting Mrs. George Lawrence, I returned suddenly to Lahore by an order which reached me the evening of the 5th. I started at sunset, and pushing my way on various borrowed steeds across UUNGUR NUGGTJL. 73 that dreary region during the night, accompanied by a single camel-rider, I reached Lahore, a distance of seventy miles, by nine the following morning. On the 8th I was off again at daybreak on a longer journey still, having to cross the country to Brigadier Wheeler's camp in the Jullundur Doab, to convey orders to him relative to the reduction of two re- bellious forts in the Doab, between the Ravee and Beas. A ' grind ' of some twenty-six hours on camel- iacJc, with the necessary stoppages, took me to the camp, whence (because I had not had enough) I re- crossed the Beas the same night, after examining and reporting on the state of the ferries by M^hich the troops were to follow me. This time I was escorted by a troop of Irregular Horse, and being thereby, according to mi/ estimation of Sikh prowess, rendered tolerably independent, I marched the next morning for the fort of E-ungur Nuggul, some fourteen miles from the right bank of the Beas. On approaching it, and the village which covered one side of it, I was welcomed by a discharge of matchlocks, &c., as a sort of bravado, which served to point out exactly the range of my friends' pieces. I lost no time in getting the horsemen into a secure position (which means, one equally good for fighting or running away), and advanced under shelter of the trees and sugar-canes to within easy distance of the fort. Hence I despatched a message to the rebels, to say that if they did not come to reason within an hour, they should have no choice but that between cold steel or the gallows. The hour elapsed without result, so mentally consigning the garrison to annihilation, I set to work to reconnoitre the ground round the fort. 74 CAPTURE or FORTS. This accomplished — with no further interruption than a shower of unpleasant bullets when 1 ventured too near — I sat down_, and drew a little pencil plan of the ground and fort^ despatched a trooper with it to the Brigadier^ and then retired to a little village about a mile off for the night. Another day and night passed in this precarious fashion, without (as is my usual fate) servants, clothes, or traps, until at leugth my own men (Guides) arrived from Lahore with my baggage and horses. I could now muster a hundred rifles, and eighty horsemen, so we set to work to invest the place, being the only way to render the escape of the rebels difficult or impossible. The fort, though very small, was immensely strong, and well garrisoned with desperadoes, and we had sharp work of it during the two nights and day which elapsed before the Bi-igadier* appeared with his troops. By keeping my men scattered about in parties, under cover, the superiority of their weapons enabled them to gall the defenders of the fort whenever they showed their heads, day or night, and whenever they made a sally they got driven back with the loss of one or two of their companions. At last the Brigadier appeared, pounded the place with his guns during the * Extract from Despatch o/" Brigadier Wheeler to the Adjutant-General. Camp, E-ungur Nuggul, Oct. i^th, 1848. ' Lieut, W. S. Hodson, with his detachment of Corps ' of Guides, has done most excellent service, and by his ' daring boldness, and that of his men, gained the admi- ' ration of all.' MORARA. 75 day, and let the garrison escape at night. Then came the bore of destroying the empty fort^ a work which consumed a week of incessant labour, and forty-one mines loaded with an aggregate of 8000 pounds of powder. Having destroyed house, fort, stables, and everything, and removed the grain and property, we at length moved on to a second fort, called ' Morara,^ about a mile from the left bank of the Ravee, near this place. I cannot now go into details of the second failure of the Brigadier in attempting to punish the rebels, for they bolted before he fired a shot, nor of my attempts to prevent their escape. I have had loads of work, what with soldiering, providing supplies for the force, and all the multifarious duties which come on the shoulders of a ' political ' out here. I am quite well, and the weather is lovely, so work is easy comparatively, and an active life like this is, as you know, my particular weakness. I hope to cross the E-avee in a few days with the troops col- lecting to punish the rebel (or patriot) Sikh army. We want Sir C. Napier sadly. What with the incapacity shown at Mooltan, and the dilatory pro- ceedings at head-quarters, our reputation is suffering cruelly, and every one knows that that is a stain only to be dyed out in blood. Every week's delay adds thousands to our present foes and future victims. To Ms Sister. Deenakuggur, Dec. 4th, 1848. You must not suppose that because I have written twice from this place that therefore I have been here all the time. On the contrary, I have been inces- 76 ' POLITICALS.' sautly on the move. So mucli so as to have pretty nearly established a claim to the medal for discovering perpetual motion. I have been moving- in an orbit whose gyrations have been confined to a space bounded by the Chenab and the Beas^ and a line drawn E. and W. through Umritsur and Lahore. Nearly the whole^ of this vast ' trach^ of country has been under my sole charge. I have had also to feed an army daily of 3000 odd fighting men, 3000 odd horses, and 14,000 to 15,000 camp followers. Also to take care of and work my Guides ; to point out the haunts and obtain information of the strength of ' the enemy/ and give hitn over to the tender mercies of fire and sword ; item, to fight him personally ; item, to destroy six forts, and sell by auction the property therein found ; item, to be civil to all comers ; item, to report all the said doings daily to Government; item, to march ten to twenty miles a day at a slow pace ; item, to eat, drink, dress, and sleep, to rest one- self from all these labours. In the above com- pendious epitome of the work of that much-abused and ill-used class called ^politicals' in India, you will, I trust, observe no vacant places or ' hiati'" in which you would expect to see inscribed, ' item, to write to one's friends.' No; one is a white slave, and no mistake ; day and night, early or late, week day or Sunday, one is the slave of the public, or rather of the Government, to a degree which cannot be credited iintil it is experienced. The departure of Brigadier Wheeler across the Beas, and therefore out of my beat, has made a slight break in the work, but there is still more than I can get through in the day. I am grinding my teeth all the time at being kept INSURGENTS. 77 away from the scene of what must he the grand struggle hetween the cow-killers and cow-worship- pers on the banks of the Chenab. On the 8th of last month I marched hence to overtake Brigadier Wheeler and his troops^ and accompany them across the Ravee. On reaching the river^ I represented to the Brigadier (who of course does not know friend from foe until he is told) the urgent necessity of attacking a party of insurgents who were within fourteen miles of us, but could not persuade him to do so. The old gentleman was intent on pushing on to the main army, flatter- ing himself he was going to command a division of it. When within twenty-five or thirty miles of the head- quarter camp at E-amnuggur, I rode over to Lahore, and talked to Sir F. Currie, who was just despatching an express to me about these very people we had left unattached two days before. He sent me oif there and then to see the Commander-in- Chief, who was very polite ; asked my opinion (and acted on it too !) ; told me all his plans for carrying on the war ; and on my telling him the facts of the case, sent an order to the Brigadier to retrace his steps, and attack the party he had passed by at once, with something very like a rap over the knuckles. After a delay of some days, caused by a sudden counter summons to move to reinforce Campbell,* who was vainly expecting that the Singhs would fight, we at length turned back for Kulall- wala, the name of the fort occupied by my friends. We got within twenty-five miles of it on the aoth, * Sir Colin. 78 CAPTURE OF rORTS. and I urged the Brigadier to move on like ligLtning, and crush them. He would not^ and began to make short marches^ so I was compelled to out-manoeuvre him loj a bold stroke. On the morning of the 31st I left his camp^ and pushed on some ten miles to a place on the straight road for Kulallwala. Here was a fort belonging to a doubtful Sirdar^ and I determined to get possession of it if possible. I had with me only 100 men^ and the enemy was only eight miles off with 4000 — rabble^ to be sure, and fellows who have no heart for fighting ; but the odds were great, and it was necessary to put a bold face on matters. I therefore ^ boned' the Chiefs two confidential servants, who were in his dwelling- house outside the fort, and taking one on each side of me, walked up to the gateway, and demanded admis- sion ; they hesitated, and made excuses. I signi- ficantly hinted that my two companions should be responsible if a shot was fired; the stout Sikh heart failed, and I was admitted. My proceeding was justified, and rendered most opportune by the dis- covery that the garrison were preparing munitions of war, mounting guns, and looking saucy. I turned them out by the same means as I had gained ad- mittance, viz., by hinting that if any resistance was made the headmen by my side were doomed. Putting in sixteen of my Guides to hold it until further orders, I took up my quarters outside for the night, and pre- pared to attack another small mud fort near at hand in the morning. However, my friends ran away in the night in a fright, and thus I had opened the road to Kulallwala without firing a shot. In the morning I marched KULALLWALA. 79 with my little party towards the enemy, sending back a messenger to the Brigadier to say that I M^as close to the place, and that if he did not come on sharp they would run away or overwhelm me. He was dreadfully angry, but came on like a good boy ! When within a mile or so of the fort, I halted my party to allow his column to get up nearer, and as soon as I could see it, moved on quietly. The mse told to perfection ; thinking they had only loo men and myself to deal with, the Sikhs advanced in strength, thirty to one, to meet me, \vith colours flying and drums beating. Just then a breeze sprung up, the dust blew aside, and the long line of horsemen coming on rapidly behind my party burst upon their senses. They turned instantly, and made for the fort, so leaving my men to advance quietly after them, I galloped up to the Bri- gadier, pointed out the flying Sikhs, explained their position, and begged him to charge them. He melted from his wrath, and told two regiments of Irregulars to follow my guidance. On we went at the gallop, cut in amongst the fugitives, and punished them fearfully. The unfortunate wretches had cause to rue the day they turned rebels, for we left them thickly on the ground as we swept along. I had never charged with cavalry before, or come so directly into hand to hand conflict with the Sikh, save of course in the trenches at Sobraon. About 300 to 400 escaped into the fort, while the remainder threw down their arms and dispersed over the country. The garrison ran away during the night, unfor- tunately, and we had only to take peaceful possession in the morning. We had killed some 350 to 300 80 KULALLWALA. ofthem^ whicli will be a lesson to them^ I hope. My men got into the village contiguous to the fort early, while we pitched into those of the enemy who re- mained behind, to a great extent. Since then we have been pursuing other parties, but only came into collision with them to a very trifling extent once. They had learnt how to run away beautifully. The Brigadier has grown quite active, and very fond of me since that day at Kulallwala, though he had the wit to see how very ' brown I had done him ^ by making him march two marches in one.* Jan. 1849. I have just completed the first series of my duties in this Doab, by driving the last party of the insur- gents across the Chenab. As soon as I had settled matters a little at Deena- nuggur, and made some arrangements to prevent further troubles if possible,-! crossed the Ravee again, and got upon the track of the rebel party who had * Extract from an Order issued hy Beigadier-General Wheeler. 'Camp, Kulallwala, Nov. 2^rd, 1848. ' The detacliment of the Corps of Guides moved in the ' morning direct on the village, whilst the other troops ' were moving on the fort. It was occupied in force by ' the enemy, who were dislodged in a most spirited manner, ' and the place afterwards retained as commanding the ' works of the fort, the men keeping up a sharp fire on all ' who showed themselves. The thanks cf che Brigadier- ' General are due to Lieut. Hodson, not only for his * services in the field, but for the information with which * he furnished him, and he offers them to him and to his * men.' GUMROLAH. 81 given us so much trouble. On the i5th^ I heard that a large party had collected at a village called Gumrolah (near Dufferwal)^ but they had so many spies in my eamp^ that it was difficult to avoid their ken ; at the same time their tendency to run away made a surprise the only feasible mode of reaching them. We there- fore turned in as usual at night, but soon after mid- night I aroused my men, and got them under arms and off before any one was aware of our move. I had with me one hundred of my Guides and fifteen sowars. We marched quietly but swiftly all night, and came upon the insurgents just at daybreak. I had ridden forward about half-a-mile, with a couple of sowars, to reconnoitre, and got unobserved within 350 yards of the insurgents, numbering at least 150 horse and foot. They looked at me, and hesitated whether to come at me or not, apparently, while I beckoned to the remaining sowars to come up. I was in great hopes that they would have waited for ten minutes, by which time my men would have been up, with their rifles, and we should have given a good account of them. However, before five minutes had elapsed, they moved off sulkily like a herd of frightened deer, half alarmed, half in doubt. I saw at once that there was but one chance left, and determined to go at them as I was — though 15 to 150 is an imprudent attempt. The instant we were in motion they fled, and had gone half-a-mile before we could overtake them ; the mounted men got off, but a party of Akhalees"^ on foot stopped and fought us, in some instances very fiercely. * Fanatics. 82 DESPERATE FIGHT. One fine bold ^Nihung' beat off four sowars one after another^ and kept them all at bay. I then went at him myself, fearing that he would kill one of them. He instantly rushed to meet me like' a tiger, closed with me, yelling, 'Wah Gooroo ji,^ and accompany- ing each ^hout with a terrific blow of his tulwar. I guarded the three or four first, but he pressed so closely to my horse's rein that I could not get a fair cut in return. At length I pressed in my turn upon him so sharply that he missed his blow, and I caught his tulwar backhanded with my bridle hand, wrenched it from him, and cut him down with the right, having received no further injury than a severe cut across the fingers ; I never beheld such desperation and fury in my life. It was not human scarcely. By this time the rest of the party had gone a long way, and as we had already pursued further than was prudent, where the spectators even were armed, and awaiting the result, I was obliged to halt, not without a growl at General Wheeler for having left me without any men. We had killed one more than our own number, how- ever, and five more were so severely wounded that they were removed on ' charpoys/ I insert here a portion of Sir F. Currie's despatch to the Governor- General with refe- rence to this affair, with the Governor- General's reply. They will show the high opinion enter- tained at the time of my brother's services by his superiors. 'Lahoee Presidency, Jan. 6, 1849. ' The affair at Buddee Pind was a most THANKS OF GOVERNMENT. 83 ' gallant one — far more so than Lieutenant 'Hodson's modest statement in his letter ' would lead me to suppose. I have accounts ' from parties who were eyewitnesses to the ' personal gallantry and energy of Lieutenant ' Hodson, by whose hand, in single conflict, the * Akhalee, mentioned in paragraph 5, fell, after * he had beaten off four horsemen of the 15th ' Native Cavalry, and to whose bold activity * and indefatigable exertions, and the admirable * arrangements made by him, with the small ' means at his disposal, the successful issue of ' this expedition is to be attributed.' To this his Lordship replied as follows, through his secretary. From the, Secretary to Government to Sir F. CuRRiE, Bart. 'Jan. 4th, 1849. * I am directed to request that you will ' convey to Lieutenant Hodson the strong ' expression of the Grovernor-Greneral's satis- ' faction with his conduct, and with the mode * in which he discharges whatever duty is en- * trusted to him. The Governor-Greneral has ' had frequent occasions of noticing the activity, ' energy, and intelligence of his proceedings, ' and he has added to the exercise of the same ' qualities on this occasion an exhibition of ' personal gallantry which the Governor- G 2, 84 HUNTING RAM SINGH. ' Greneral has mucli pleasure in recording and ' applauding, although Lieutenant Hodson has ' modestly refrained from bringing it to notice ' himself. The Governor-General offers to ' Lieutenant Hodson his best thanks for these ' services. (Signed) ' H. M. Elliott, ' Secretary to the Government of India ' with the Governor-General.'' Camp under the Hills on the Ravee, Jan. iSth, 1849. . . . A few days afterwardSjLumsden having joined me with our mounted men^ we surprised and cut to pieces another party of rebels, for which we have again been thanked by Government. Since then^ I have been with Brigadier-General Wheeler's force again^ employed in hunting after one Ram Singh and his followers^ and have been day and night at work — examining the hills and rivers, trying fords, leading columns, and doing all the multifarious duties thrust on that unhappy combination of hard work, a ' Guide ' and ^ PoHtical ' in one. Ram Singh's position was stormed on the i6th, and I had been chosen to lead one of the principal columns of attack; but we had to march by a cir- cuitous route across the hills, darkness came on, accompanied by dreadful rain, the rivers rose and were impassable, and after twenty-four hours of the most trying work I ever experienced, in which cold, hunger, and wet were our enemies, we succeeded in reach- ing our ground just in time to be too late ; however, I had done all that human nature could effect under HEIGHTS or DULLAH. 85 the circumstances^ and one cannot always be success- ful. Two poor fellowsj one a neiDliew of Sir R. Peel's, were killed; otherwise the loss was trifling on our side.* We have just received intelligence of another great fight between the army under Lord Gough and the Sikhs^t in which the latter, though beaten, seem to have had every advantage given away to them. Our loss has been severe, andthemismanagement very dis- graceful, yet it will be called a victory and lauded accordingly. Oh for one month of Sir Charles Napier. Deenanuggur, Feb. 4th, 1849. I had one of my narrowest escapes two days ago ; I went into Lahore for a few days to see Sir H. Lawrence (who is again the Resident), and laid relays of horses along the road to this place, so as to ride in at once. I left Lahore on the morning of the 31st, and stopping at Umritsur to breakfast, reached my camp at nightfall, having ridden one hundred miles in ten hours and a half. A party of Sikhs had col- * Extract from an Order issued by Brigadiek-Genekal Wheeler, C.B., dated 'Camp below Dullah, Jan. i^th, 1849. ' This order cannot be closed without the expression of ' the Brigadier-General's high opinion of the services of ' Lieuts. Lumsden and Hodson, who have spared no ' labour to obtain for him an accurate knowledge of the ' mountain of Dullah and its approaches ; and Lieut. ' Hodson has entitled himself to the sincere thanks of the ' Brigadier-General for his endeavours to lead a column ' to turn the enemy's position, which failed only from * causes which rendered success impracticable.' t Chillian walla, Jan. 13th, 1849. 86 NAUROW ESCAPE. lected at a \'illage by the roadside to attack me and ' polish' me off, but not calculating upon the rapidity of my movements^ did not expect me until the morn- ing. I am sorry to say that they surrounded my horses which were coming on quietly in the morning, asked for me, and finding I had escaped, stole my best horse (a valuable Arab, who had carried me in three fights), and bolted, not, however, without resistance, for two horsemen (Guides) of mine who were with the horse tried to save it. One got four wounds and the other escaped unhurt. Had I ridden like any other Christian instead of like a spectre horseman, and been the usual time on the road, I should have been ' a body.' We gave chase from hence as soon as we heard, and rode for eleven hours and a half in pursuit ! which was pretty well after a hundred miles' ride the day before. But my horse it is another's. And it never can be mine ! Camp, Wuzeerabad, Feb. igth, 1849. I have at length reached the ' army of the Punjab,' almost by accident, as it were, though I was most anxious to be present at the final grand struggle between the Khalsa and the British armies. I am at present with my men, attached to a brigade encamped on this (the left) bank of the Chenab, to prevent the enemy crossing until Lord Gough is ready to attack them on the right bank, where he is now encamped with his whole force minus our brigade. The Sikhs quietly walked away from him the other day, and instead of BATTLE OF GOOJERAT. 87 having their backs to the Jhelum^ passed round his flank, and made steadily for this place^ intending^ boldly enough, to march upon Lahore. I came across the Doab with a handful of men, and reached this place just as they took up a position on the opposite bank of the river. At the same moment a brigade arrived by a forced night march from Ramnuggur, and for the present the Sikhs have been sold. Yet I should not be surprised at their evading us again, and going off to a higher ford. The game is getting very exciting, and I am quite enjoying the stir and bustle of two large armies in the field. The grand finale must, one would think, come off" in a day or two. It is possible however that, as I say, the Sikhs may out-manoeuvre us and prolong the campaign. The Afighans have joined the Sikhs, contrary to the ex- pectations of every one (but myself), and there is now no saying where the struggle will end. The Afighans are contemptible in the plains, generally speaking ; but numbers become formidable, even if armed with broomsticks. This was written two days before tlie decisive engagement of Groojerat, at which he was pre- sent, attached to the personal staff of the Commander-in-Chief. His letter giving an account of the action was nnfortunately lost, but I subjoin a despatch from the Commander- in-Chief to the Grovernor- General : — 'Camp, Kullala, March i^th, 1849. ' On the re-perusal of my despatch relative to * the operations of February 21st at Goojerat, 88 LOED gough's despatch. ' I regret to find that I omitted to mention the ' names of Lieutenants Lumsden and Hodson of * tlie corps of Guides, and Lieutenant Lake of 'the Engineers, attached to the PoHtical ' Department. These ofB.cers were most active 'in conveying orders throughout the action, ' and I now heg to bring their names to the ' favourable notice of your Lordship.' CHAPTEE V. ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB. — INCREASE OF CORPS OF GUIDES AT PESHAWUR. TRANSFER TO CIVIL DEPART- MENT AS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER. April I'jtJl, 1849. YOU will have heard of the great events of the last month ; how on the36thMarch,the Punjab became ' for ever ' a British Province, governed by a Trium- virate ; and how the Koh-i-noor was appropriated as a present to the Queen — and all the rest of it : you may imagine the turmoil and unrest of this eventful time j but I defy you to imagine the confusion of the process which converts a wild native kingdom into a police-ridden and civilian-governed country, I had anticipated and wished for this measure. I did not, however, expect that it would be carried out so suddenly and so sweepingly as it has been, I have been annexed as well as the Punjab ! my ' occupation's gone,' and although efforts have been and are making for my restoration to ^ the department,' yet at present I am shelved, I shall knovv more next month. Meanwhile, I am off with the new Commissioner to instruct him in the details of his province, which I had governed and won from the rebels during the last six months, but in which I am not now accounted worthy to be a humble assistant. There's fame ! Well, something will turn up, I sup- pose, I hope to remain here, however, under the Commissioner, for a time, that I may get acquainted 90 ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB. with this wonderful civil system. It is as well to know how the mill works. I quite got fond of Lord Gough. I was his guest at Lahore for a month^ and his noble character and fire made one condone his mistakes. We are now on the ' qui vive ' for his successor. I long for Sir C. Napier^ but the Court of Directors seem determined to hold out. The Guides are at Peshawur, where I shall probably join them. Lieutenant Hodson's descent inposition upon the annexation of the Punjab was perhaps un- avoidable, though it was very natural that he should feel it. So soon as the country was placed under the government of the East India Company, the regulations of the service with regard to seniority of course took effect, and it was not to be expected that a subaltern of less than fiveyears' standing should be continued in so important a charge, however well qualified he might have proved himself for it in the most trying times. His position altogether had been a peculiar and exceptional one. We shall see, however, that his disappoint- ment did not prevent his throwing himself with his usual energy into whatever duties were assigned to him. PESHAWUR. 91 To Ids Brother. Peshawur, May 14th, 1849. My stay here is very uncertain. I merely came to settle affairs with Lumsden relative to the increase of the Guides. Meantime, I have been much interested with my first visit to this Affghan province and to the Indus. You will see at once that though it gives us a very strong military frontier, only passable to armies in half a dozen points, and therefore infinitely less difiicult to hold than a long line of river, which is ever ' a silent highway for nations,' yet at the same time we have once more established a footing in Affghauistan from which there is no receding, as we did when we went as allies to the puppet Shah Soojah. Our next stride must be to Herat, I fancy ; «£^^ the / ;< c , day will come no man can say, but ' the uncontrollable principle,' which, according to Sir E,. Peel, took us there before, will not be the less active in its operation now that we have no longer the court and camp of Runjeet Singh between us and these wild tribes. It is to be hoped that ^the uncontrollable principle' will not appear so ver^ like an ^^controllable want of it as it did in days gone by ! However, go we must, and shall some day — so hurrah for Cabul ! I wish you would hit upon some plan for keeping me more ' au fait ' with the events of your home world. My time has been occupied so constantly since I came to India, that though I may have made some progress in the knowledge of men, I have made but little in that of books. We are sadly ofi" for military works in English, and few sciences require more study than the art of war. You might get me a list of good works from the 'United Service Institution' at 92 DRILLING GUIDES, Charing Cross. I want the best edition of Casar pro- curable; also Xenophon and Arrian. I fancy the last has been very well edited. Peshawur, June Wi, 1849. This is the first time I have written to you from Afighanistan. Who shall say whence my letters may be directed within a few months. Are we to advance on Cabul and Candahar^ and plant the Union Jack once more on the towers of Ghuznee ? or are we to lie peacefully slumbering on the banks of the Indus ? Are our conquests at an end ? or will it be said of Lord Dalhousie — Ultra et Garamantas efc Indos Proferet imperium. % , My own belief is, that I shall live to see both the places I have mentioned, and Herat, occupied by British troops; at least, I hope so. I think I told you how it had pleased the Governor- General to reward ' my distinguished services,^ toils, troubles, and dangers, by kicking me out of the coach altogether. Did I not ? Well, after that close to my civil duties, after having 'initiated'' the new Commissioner into his duties, I was sent up hither to augment recruits and train the Guides. And now daily, morning and evening, I may be seen standing on one leg to convince their AfFghan mind of the plausibility and elegance of the goose step. I am quite a serjeant-major just now, and you will well believe that your wandering brother is sufiiciently cosmopolized to drop with a certain ' aplomb ^ into any line of life which may turn up in the course of DEARTH or BOOKS. 93 his career. I was always fond of ''soldiering/ and there is a sj)ecies of absurdity in dropping from the minister of a province into a drill- Serjeant^ which is enlivening. By the next mail I may have to report my transformation into some new animal. So ' vive la gloire.^ Peshawuk, Jtdy igth, 1849. I hope that you got my letter about sending me books. There is a remarkable dearth of them here just now. You know it was a flying column which came on here after Goojeratj composed of regiments hurried up to the field from Bombay^ Scinde, and Hindoostan. They came in light marching order. Books are not a part of that style of equipment. Suddenly a Government order consigned them to Peshawur, for seven months at least — lo^ooo men^ with an un- usually large number of Europeans and officers^ and no hooJcs ! Pleasant during the confinement caused by the hot season. I was better ofi", because^ being a nomad by profession, I carry a few books as a part even of the lightest equipment, but I have read them all till I am tired, except Shakspeare. Mi/ time is pretty fully occupied, but there are dozens of regi- mental officers who have not an hour's woi'k in two days, and I do pity them from my heart. Then of course there are no ladies here, and consequently no society, or reunions (as they are called when people live together), and people are pitched headlong on to their own resources, and find them very hard falling indeed! I have nothing personal to tell you, except that when the last mail went out I was in bed with a sharp attack of fever, which left me without 94 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS. strengtli^ flesh, or appetite — a regular blazing" eastern feverj the sort of thing which burns so fast^ that if it don't stop quickly, it burns you well down into the socket, and leaves you there without strength to splutter or flicker, and you go out without the satis- faction of a last flare-up at expiring. I am thankful to say I am well again now, and picking up strength fast. They are increasing our corps of Guides to looo men, so that I shall have enough on my hands, especially as our Commandant leaves almost everything to me. Sir H. Lawrence writes from Simla that I am to be appointed an Assistant Commissioner under the new Board of Administration. I was the only one of the late Assistants to the Resident who was not included at first in the new regime. Lahore, Sept. grd, 1849. On my arrival here I found your note of iSth June. You may imagine how wild I was with pleasure at seeing your handwriting again, as I had been deeply anxious since the arrival of my father's and George's letters of the 4th June. These brought me the first tidings of our darling's death. Happily I saw no newspaper by that mail, and the black edges first startled me from the belief that you were all well and happy. The blow was a bitter one indeed, and its utter suddenness was appalling. Indeed, the pre- vailing impression on my mind for days was simple unbelief of the reality of that sweet child's actual death. I have been so long alone — home has been for so long a time more a pleasant dream than a reality — I have been for so many a weary day, as it NEWS OF sister's DEATH. 95 were, dead to you all, and the sense of separation has grown so completely into one's being, that I find it difficult to separate that which it is possible to see again from that which is impossible. Thus it seems to me incredible that any greater barrier can sever me from this darling child than that ever-present one which divides me from all of you. Can you under- stand this ? I know it to be a delusion, and yet I cannot shake it off. Yet 'tis a good delusion in one way. It deadens the sense of the grief which the full realization of her death would overwhelm me with. I have been unfortunate again, and had a second sharp attack of fever since my arrival. I am about again, but not able to work. Sir H. Lawrence is very unwell : I fear that his constitution is utterly broken down, and that he will either have to go away from India for two years or more, or that another hot season will kill him. He is ten years older in every respect than he was during our Cashmere trip in 1846. This is a hard, wearing, dry climate, which, though pre- ferable to Hindoostan, is destructive to the weak and" sickly. It is quite sad to feel how, little by little, one's strength and muscle and energy fade, and how one can perceive age creeping in upon one so early. Lahore, Sept. 24th, 1849. You know that I have left the Guides (alas !) and have been transformed into a complete civilian, doomed to pass the rest of my career in the ad- ministrative and executive duties of the Government of this last acquisition of the ^English in India.' To tell the truth, I had much rather have remained 96 commissioner's duties. with the Guides ; a more independent, and very far pleasanter life, and I think one that will in the end be more distinguished. However, I was guided by Mr. Thomason's and Sir H. Lawrence's advice, and must take the consequences. It would be difficult to define or explain the exact nature of my new calling, but in brief, yoa will comprehend that in their respective districts the Deputy-Assistant Com- missioners perform the whole of the judicial, fiscal, and magisterial duties which devolve upon the Government of a country in Europe, with the addition of collecting from the cultivators and land- holders the rent of all lands under cultivation and pasture, and the duties which in Europe devolve on an owner of landed property. Police, gaols, quarter sessions, committals to prison, jury, judge, excise, stamps, taxes, roads, bridges, ferries, woods and forests, and finally rent ! think what these imply, and you will form some idea of the employ- ment of an official in the Punjab under the ' Board of Administration.' I have not yet dipped very deep into this turbid stream of ever-recurring work, since the great amount of arrears consequent on the break-up of one Government, and the establishment of another, including the paying-up and discharge of vast civil and military establishments, have ren- dered it necessary to employ any available head and pair of hands for some months at head-quarters. The army has fallen to my share, and I have to examine into the claims of innumerable fine old hangers-on of the Lahore State to grants or pensions, to record their rights, and report on them for the decision of Government. Then there are upwards of PUNJAB BOARD. 97 2000 old women^ wives and mothers of soldiers killed in war, whom I have to see and pay the pit- tance decreed by their masters. Lord Dalhousie and his secretaries and officials are stern and hard task- masters, and are not unworthily represented by the new Board, the only merciful member of which (Sir H. Lawrence) is left in a minority, and is, moreover, too ill to do much. . / Camp, Patankote, Jan. 21st, 1850. I at length got away from Lahore on the 7th. I had been ordered merely to seek change of air, but Sir H. Lawrence was starting on a long tour of inspection, and offered me the option of accompanying him, and doing a little work by the way, which I very much preferred ; so here we are, after visiting the sacred city of Umritsur, and the scenes of my last year's adventures in Butala, Deenanuggur, and Shahpoor, all between the E,avee and Beas ; and are now on our way to the mountain stations of Kangra, &c. We then go to the westward again, and I hope to see. Our coursers graze at ease. Beyond the blue Borysthenes, as I have dubbed the Indus, ere we again return to civil life, which does not suit my temperament or taste half as well as this more nomad life. I am able to ride again, though not quite with the same firmness in the saddle as of yore. I have no doubt, however, that ere we do see the 'Borysthenes,' I shall be as ' game ' for a gallop of one hundred miles on end, as I was last year at this season. H 98 TJMRITSUR. Umritsue, March 4th, 1850. I am at last in a fair way of being stationary for a time at Umi'itsur, the sacred city of the Sikhs^ and a creation entirely of their genius. Lahore^ as of course you know^ was the old Mussulman capital^ and was not built by the Sikhs^ though used by them as the seat of government and head quarters of the army. Umritsur is larger than Lahore by a third or more of people, and half as much again of space. It is five miles in circumference, very strongly fortified, and covered by the fortress of Govindghur on the west, and by a large fortified garden on the north. I am Assistant-Commissioner under the Deputy- Commisioner in charge of the district, Mr. Saunders, a civilian, a very nice sort of fellow,' with au exceed- ingly pretty and nice wife. Mr. Montgomery is our Commissioner. I like all I have seen of him very much indeed. He is a very able man, and at the head of his service in many respects. Lahore is only about thirty-five mUes hence — quite within visiting distance in India. You must not talk of getting 'acclimatized.' There is no way of becoming so but by avoiding the climate as much as possible. I have had a bad time of it since I left Peshawur, three and a-half months almost entirely on my back, which reduced me terribly. Then just as I was getting well, the other day I had a fit of jaundice, which has only just left me : altogether, in health and in prospects I have come ' down in my lucV to a considerable extent ; not that, per se, I ought, as a subaltern of not quite five years' service, to grumble at my present position, if I was now starting in the line for the first time; but I can't SERVICES IN PUNJAB. 99 forget that I came into the Punjab two years and a half ago, and have had no little of the ' burden and heat of the day^ to bear, when to do so required utter disregard of comfort and personal safety and of rest. It is now two years since I was made an assistant to the Resident, and within a few months of that time I took absolute charge of a tract of country (in a state of war, too) comprising three modern districts, in one of which I am now playing third fiddle. Surely annexation was a ' heavy blow and a great discourage- ment' to me, at least. In the military line, too, I have been .equally unlucky, from the fact of my services having been with detachments instead of with the main army. I held my ground (and cleared it of the enemy, too) for weeks, with only 130 men at my back, and when every officer, from General Wheeler downwards, entreated me to withdraw and give it up ; I fed 5000 men and horses for six months by personal and unremitting exertion ; collected the revenues of the disturbed districts, and paid 15,000^. over and above, into the treasury, from the proceeds of property taken from the rebels. Besides this, I worked for General Wheeler so satisfactorily, that he has declared publicly that he could have done nothing without me. So much were the Sikhs enraged* at my proceedings, that party after party were sent to 'polish' me ofi", * Such an impression had my brother's daring and activity pi'oduced upon the minds of the Sikhs, that several years afterwards it was found that the Sikh mothers still used his name as a threat of terror to their children, reminding one of the border ballad — Hark ye, hark ye, do not fret ye, The black Douglas shall not get ye. H 2, 100 SYSTEM OF PROMOTION. and at one time I couldn't stir about the country without having bullets sent at my head from every bush and wall. However^ I need not go on with the catalogue, I have been egotistical enough as it is. The ^ reward' for these services was losing my civil appointment, and being reduced to half pay or little more for three months, and the distinction of being the only subaltern mentioned in despatches for whom nothing has been done either 'in presenti' or 'in prospectu.' ' Had your name been Hay or Ramsay/ said General "Wheeler to me the other day, ' no honours, no appointments, no distinctions would have been considered too great to mark the services you have rendered to Government.' Well, we shall live to see more wars, or I am sadly mistaken, and then — I leave you to finish the sentence. Speaking of tlie system of tlie Indian army : — March i8th, 1850. At the age at which officers become colonels and majors, not one in fifty is able to stand the wear and tear of Indian service. They become still more worn in mind than in body. All elasticity is gone; all energy and enterprise worn out; they become, after a fortnight's campaign, a burden to themselves, an annoyance to those under them, and a terror to every one but the enemy ! The officer who commanded the cavalry brigade which so disgraced the service at Chillianwalla, was not able to mount a horse without the assistance of two men. A brigadier of infantry, under whom I served during the three most critical days of the late war, could not see his regiment when I led his horse by the bridle until its nose SYSTEM OF PROMOTION. 101 touclied the bayonets ; and even then he said faintly, ' Pray which way are the men faciog, Mr. Hodson ?' This is no exaggeration, I assure you. Can you wonder that our troops have to recover by desperate fig'htiug, and with heavy loss, the advantages thrown away by the want of heads and eyes to lead them ? A seniority service, like that of the Company, is all very well for poor men ; better still for fools, for they must rise equally with wise men ; but for main- taining the discipline and efficiency of the army in time of peace, and hurling it on the enemy in war, there never was a system which carried so many evils on its front and face. I speak strongly, you will say, for I feel acutely; though I am so young a soldier, yet the whole of my brief career has been spent in camps, and a year such as the last, spent in almost constant strife, and a great part of it on detached and independent com- mand, teaches one lessons which thirty years of peaceful life, of parades and cantonments, would never impart. There are men of iron, like Napier and Radetzky, aged men, whom nothing affects ; but they are just in sufficient numbers to prove the rule by establish- ing exceptions. Depend upon it, that for the rougb work of war, especially in India, your leaders must be young to be effective. If you could but see my beautiful rough and ready boys, with their dirt coloured clothes and swarthy faces, lying in wait for a Sikh, I think it would amuse you not a little. I must try and send you a picture of them. Alas ! I am no longer a ' Guide,^ but only a big- wig, administering justice, deciding disputes. 102 DR. ARNOLD. imprisoning tMeves^ and assisting to hang highway- men, hke any other poor oldj fat, respectable, hum- drum justice of the peace in Old England IJmritsur, April ^th, 1850. I quite agree with all you say about Arnold. His loss was a national misfortune. Had he lived he would have produced an impression on men's minds whose effects would have been felt for ages. As it is, the influence which he did produce has been most lasting and striking in its effects. It is felt even in India; I cannot say more than t/iaf. You should come and live in India for five years if you wished to feel (supposing you ever doubted it) the benefit of our ' established' forms of Christianity. Even the outward signs and tokens of its profession — cathedrals, churches, colleges, tombs, hospitals, alms-houses — have, I am now more than ever convinced, an influence on men's minds and principles and actions which none but those who have been removed from their influence for years can feel or appreciate thoroughly. The more I think of this the more strongly I feel the effect of mere external sights and sounds on the inner and better man. Our Gothic buildings, our religious- looking churches, have, I am sure, a more restraining and pacifying influence than is generally believed by those who are habituated to them, and have never felt the want of them. A few cathedrals and vener- able-looking edifices would do wonders in our colonies. Here we have nothing physical to remind us of any creed but Islamism and Hindooism. The compara- tive purity of the Moslem's creed is shown admirably INFLUENCE OF OUTWARD FORMS. 103 in tlie superiority in taste and form of their places of prayer. Christianity alone is thrust out of sight ! A barrack-room, a ball-room, a dining-room, per- haps a court of justice, serve the purpose for which the ' wisdom and piety of our ancestors ^ constructed such noble and stately temples ; feeling, justly, that the human mind in its weakness required . to be called to the exercise of devotion by the senses as well as by reason and will ; that separation from the ordinary scenes of everyday life, its cares, its toils, its amusements, is necessary to train the feelings and thoughts to that state in which religious impressions are conveyed. I have not seen a church for three years and more, nor heard the service of the Church read, save at intervals, in a room in which, perhaps, the night before, I had been crushed by a great dinner party, or worn out by the bustle and turmoil of suitors. The building in which one toils becomes intimately associated with the toil itself. That in which one prays should at least have some attribute to remind one of prayer. Human nature shrinks for long from, the thought of being buried in any but consecrated ground; the certainty of lying dead some day or other on a field of battle, or by a roadside, has, I have remarked, the most strange eSect on the soldier's mind. Depend upon it the same feeling holds good with regard to consecrated places of worship. You may think this fanciful, but I am sure you would feel it more strongly than I do, were you to live for a time in a country where everything lut religion has its living and existent memorials and evidences. But to return to reality : I have just spent three days in Sir Charles Napier's camp, it being my 104 SIR C, NAPIER. duty to accompany him through such parts of the civil district as he may have occasion to visit. He was most kind and cordial; vastly amusing and interesting, and gave me even a higher opinion of him than before. To be sure, his language and mode of expressing himself savour more of the last than of this century — of the camp than of the court ; but barring these eccentricities, he is a wonderful man ; his heart is as thoroughly in his work, and he takes as high a tone in all that concerns it, as Arnold did in his ; that is to say, the highest the subject is capable of. I only trust he will remain with us as long as his health lasts, and endeavour to rouse the army from the state of slack discipline into which it has fallen. On my parting with him he said^ ' Now, remember, Hodson, if there is any way in which I can be of use to you, pray don't scruple to write to me.' I didn't show him his brother's* letter — that he might judge for himself first, and know me ^per se,' or rather ' per me ;' I will, however, if ever I see him again. * Sir W. Napier. CHAPTEE VT. toue in cashmeee and thibet with sie henry lawrence. — pkomotion and transfer to cis sutlej provinces. Camp, en route to Cashmere, June loth, 1850. TT'OUE, letter from Paris reached me just as I was -■- preparing to start from Umritsur to join Sir Henry Lawrence and accompany him to Cashmere. I fought against the necessity of leave as long as pos- sible, but I was getting worse and worse daily, and so much weakened from the effects of heat and hard- work acting on a frame already reduced by sickness, that I was compelled to be off ere worse came. We yesterday arrived at the summit of the first high ridge southward of the snowy range, and have now only some sixty miles to traverse before entering the valley. To me, travelling is life, and in a country where one has no home, no local attractions, and no special sympathies, it is the greatest comfort in the world. I get terribly enmiye if I am in one place for three months at a time ; yet I think I should be just as tame as ever in England, quite domestic again. Cashmere, July Sth, 1850. You would enjoy this lovely valley extremely. I did not know it was so beautiful, having only seen it before in its winter dress. Nothius: can exceed the 106 CASHMERE. luxuriant beauty of the vegetation, the plane trees and walnuts especially, except the squalor, dirt, and poverty of the wretched Cashmerians. The King is avaricious, and is old. The disease grows on him, and he wont look beyond his money bags. There is a capitation tax on every individual practising any labour, trade, profession, or employment, collected daily. Fancy the Londoners having to go and pay a fourpenny and a sixpenny bit each, per diem, for the pleasure of living in the town. Then the tax on all shawls, goods, and fabrics, is about seventy-five per cent, including custom duty j and this the one solitary staple of the valley. The chief crops are rice, and of this, what with one half taken at a slap as ^ revenue,^ or rent, and sundry other pulls for dues, taxes, and offerings, so little remains to the farmer, that in practise he pays all or within a few bushels of all, his produce to the King, and secures in return his food, and that not of the best. Thus the farmer class or ^ Zemindars^ are reduced pretty well to the state of day-labourers ; yet the people are all well clothed, and fuel is to be had for the asking. What a garden it might be made. Not an acre to which the finest water might not be conveyed without expense worth naming, and a climate where all produce comes to perfection, from wheat and barley to grapes and silk. We go northwards on the aoth, first to Ladakh and Thibet, thence to Iskardo, and then across the Indus to Gilghit, a terra incognita, to which, I believe, only one European now living has penetrated. Sir Henry Lawrence is not well, and certainly not up to this trip, but he has made up his mind to go. I do not gain strength as fast as I could wish, but I fancy THIBET. 107 when once thorough.ly unstrung, it takes a long time to recover tlie wonted tone. We shall have another frontier war in the cold weather evidently, and I fancy a more prolonged and complete affair than the last. The cause of the only loss sustained in the last scrimmage was the panic of the Sepoys. They are as children in the hands of these Affghans and hill tribes. Our new Punjab levies fought ' like bricks,^ but the Hindoostanee is not a hardy enough animal, physically or morally, to eon- tend with the sturdier races west of the Sutlej, or the active and fighting ' Pathans.^ The very name sticks in John Sepoy's throat. I must try and see the next contest, but I do not quite see my way to it at present. 2b Ms Sister. Camp, near LadIkh, August 4th, 1850. Who would have thought of my writing to you from Thibet. I am sitting in a little tent about eight feet long, which just takes a narrow cot, a table, and chair of camp dimensions, and my sac-de-nuit, gun, &c., and a tin box containing books, papers, and the materials for this present epistle. Under the same tree (a veritable chesnut) is Sir Henry Lawrence's tent, a ditto of mine, in which he is comfortably sleeping, as I ought to be ; outside are my pets — that is, a string of mules who accompany me in all my travels, and have also in the mountains the honour of carrying me as well as my baggage. The kitchen is under a neighbouring tree; and round a fire are squatting our gallant guards, a party of 108 THIBET. Maharaja Ghoolab Singh's household brigade. Some of his people accompany us^ and what with followers^ a Moonshee or two for business^ and their followers,, I dare say we are a party of two or three hundred souls, of all colours and creeds — Christians, Mussulmans, Hindoos, Buddhists, Sikhs, and varieties of each. The creeds of the party are as varied as their colours; and that's saying a good deal, when you contrast my white face and yellow hair with, Sir Henry's nut-brown, the pale white parchmenty-colour of the Kashmeree, the honest brunette tinge of the tall Sikb, the clear olive brown of the Rajpoot, down through all shades of dinginess to the deep black of the low-caste Hindoo. I am one of the whitest men in India, I fancy, as instead of burning in the sun, I get blanched, like endive or celery. How you would stare at my long beard, moustache, and whiskers. However, to return from such personalities to facts. The Indus is brawling along five hundred feet below us, as if in a hurry to get ' out of that ; ' and above, one's neck aches with trying to see to the top of the vast craggy mountains which confine the stream in its rocky channel. So wild, so heaven- forsaken a scene I never beheld ; living nature there is none. In a week's journey, I have seen three marmots, two wagtails, and three jackdaws : and we have averaged twenty miles a day. We met a lady the other day, in the most romantic way possible, in tbe midst of the very wildest of glens, and almost as wild weather. She is a young and very pretty creature, gifted with the most indomitable energy and endurance (except as regards her husband, whom she can't endure, and therefore travels alone) . STRANGE MEETING. 109 But conceive, that for the last three months she has Leen making her way on pony -back across a country which few men would like to traverse, over the most formidable passes, the deepest and rapidest rivers, and wildest deserts in Asia. For twenty days she was in the extreme wilds of Thibet, without ever seeing a human habitation; making such long day's journeys as often to be without food or bedding, traversing passes from sixteen to eighteen thousand feet above the sea where you can hardly breathe without pain, enduring pain, sickness, and every other" mortal ill, yet persevering still ! Poor creature, she is dying, I fear. It is evident that she is in a deep consumption, created by a terrible fall she had down a precipice, at the commencement of her journey. Well, one day we met her between this place and Cashmere. She was sixteen or twenty miles from her tents, and the rain and darkness were coming on apace; the thermometer down below fifty degrees. So we persuaded her to stop at our encampment. I gave her my tent and cot; acted lady's maid ; supplied her with warm stockings and shoes, water, towels, brushes, &c,, and made her comfortable, and then we sat down to dinner; and a pleasanter evening I never spent. She was as ga.y as a lark, and poured out stores of information and anecdotes, and recounted her adventures in the ' spiritedest ' manner. After an early breakfast the next morning I put her on her pony, and she went on her way, and we saw her no more. I hope she will live to reach the end of her journey, and not die in some wild mountain-side unattended and alone. 110 THIBET. Another letter of same date : — Camp, Kulsee in Ladakh, August \th, 1850. Until you cross the mountain chain which separates Cashmere from Tibet (or Thibet) ^ all is green and beautiful. Itis impossible to imagine a finer combi- nation of vast peaks and masses of mountain^ with green sloping lawns^ luxuriant foliage, and fine clustering woods, than is displayed on the sides of the great chain which we usually call the Himalaya, but which is better described as the ridge which separates the waters of the Jhelum, Chenab, Havee, and Beas from those of the Indus. When once, however, you have crossed this vast barrier, the scene changes as if by magic, and you have nothing but huge convulsive-looking masses of rock, tremendous mountains, glaciers, snow, and valleys which are more vast watercourses than anything else. On the more open and less elevated spots along these various feeders of the Indus, one comes to little patches of cultivation, rising from the banks of the rivers in tiers of carefully-prepared terraces, and irrigated by channels carried along the sides of the hill from a point higher up the stream. Here, in scattered villages ten and twenty miles apart, live the ugliest race on earth, I should imagine, whom we call Thibetians, but who style themselves ' Bhots ^ or ' Bhods,' and unite the characteristic features, or rather want of them, of both Goorkhas and Chinese. I went yesterday to see a monastery of their Llamas, the most curious sight, as well as site, I ever beheld. Perched on the summits of a mass of sandstone-grit, conglomerate pudding stone, worn by the melting snows (for there is no rain in Tibet) into miraculous LLAMA MONASTERIES. Ill Cones, steeples, and pinnacles rising abruptly from the valley to the height of 600 feet, are a collection of queer little huts, connected together by bridges, passages, and staircases. In these dwell the°woi'thies who have betaken themselves to the life of religious mendicants and priests. They seem to correspond exactly with the travelling friars of olden times. Half stay at home to perform chants and services in their convent chapel, and half go a begging about the country. They are not a distinct race like the Brahmins of India, but each Bhot peasant devotes one of two or three sons to the church, and he is thenceforward devoted to a life of celibacy, of shaven crown, of crimson apparel, of mendicancy, of idle- ness, and of comfort. They all acknowledge spiritual allegiance to the great Llama at Lhassa (some two months^ journey from Ladakh), by whom the abbot of each convent is appointed on a vacancy occurring, and to whom all their proceedings are reported. Nunneries also exist on precisely the same footing. I saw a few of the nuns, and their hideous appearance fully justified their adoption of celibacy and seclusion. From their connexion with almost every family, as I have said, they are universally looked up to and supported as a class by the people. Even Hindoos reverence them ; and their power is not only feared, but I fancy tolerably freely exercised. Their chapel (a flat-roofed square building supported on pillars) is furnished with parallel rows of low benches to receive the squatting fathers. Their services consist of chants and recitative, accompanied by the discord of musical (?) instruments and drums, while perpetual lamps burn on the altars before 112 LLAMA MONASTERIES. their idols^ and a sickly perfume fills the air. Hound the room are rude shelves containing numberless volumes of religious books; not bound^ but in sepa- rate leaves secured between two painted boards. I will try and send you one_, if I can corrupt the mind of some worthy Llama with profane silver. They are genuine hloch hooJcs, strange to say, apparently carved on wood, and then stamped on a Chinese paper. The figures of their images, and their costume and head-dress (i.e. of the images), are Chinese entirely, not at all resembling the Bhot dress, or scarcely so, and though fashioned by Thibetian hands, joxx might fancy yourself gazing on the figures in the Chinese Exhibition at Hyde Park Corner. Their language is a sealed book to me, of course, and though they all read and write well, yet they were unable to explain the meaning of the words they were repeating. The exterior appearance and sites of their conventual buildings reminded me very strongly of the drawings I saw in a copy of Curzon's Monasteries of the Levant, which fell in my way for five minutes one day. I need hardly say that, in a country composed of mountains ranging from 14,000 feet upwards, the scenery is magnificent in the extreme, though very barren and savage. Apricots and wheat are ripening in the valley whence I now write (on the right bank of the Indus, some fifty miles below the town of Ladakh), and snow is glistening on the summits above me ; the roads have been very easy indeed, and enabled us to make long day's marches, from sixteen to twentj^-five miles. This is more than you could do in two days in the ranges south of the Himalaya, with due regard for THIBET. 113 your own bones^ and the cattle or porters which carry your traps and tents, I am very seedy, and twenty miles is more than I can ride with com- fort (that I should live to say it). I have not as yet derived much, if any, benefit from change of climate. From Ladakh we go to Iskardo, some twelve marches lower down the Indus, where it has been joined by the water of Yarkund; and thence to Gilghit, a valley running up from that of the Indus, still lower down, and bordering on Budakhstan. We (Sir Henry Lawrence and I) then return to Cashmere ; I expect it will be two more months' journey. We have already been out a fortnight, and it is very fatiguing. I am not sure that I was wise in under- taking it, but he (Lawrence) is a greater invalid than I am, and two or three men fought shy of the task of accompanying him. Camp, Iskardo (in Little Thibet), August 25iA, 1850. Only think of my setting down peaceably to write to you from this outside world. Had I lived a hundred years ago, I should have been deemed a great traveller, and considered to have explored unknown countries, and unknown they are, only the principal danger of visiting them is past, seeing that they have been subdued by a power (Ghoolab Singh) with whom we have ' relations.' Yet if I were to cross the moun- tains which stare me in the face a few miles ofi", I should be carried off and sold for a slave. It were vain to try to compress the scenes of a two months' I 114 LADAKH. journey into a sheet of note-paper. We have travelled very rapidly. Few men go the pace Sir Henry Lawrence does. So we have covered a great extent of country in the past month ; and seeing that the valleys are the only inhabited parts of the country, the rest being huge masses of mountains, one really sees in these rapid flights all that is to be seen of the abodes of man. We have collected a good deal of information too, which, if 1 had time to arrange it, might be of value. We were eleven long days' journey from Cashmere to Ladakh, besides halts on the way at Ladakh itself, or, as the people call it, Leh. We remained a week, and saw all the ^foreigners' who came there to sell furs and silk. It is called the ' Great Emporium' of trade between Yarkund and Kashgar and Llassa, and Hindoostan. Fine words look well on paper, but to my unsophisticated mind the ' leading merchants' seemed pedlars, and the ' Emporium' to be a brace of hucksters' shops. How- ever, 'tis curious, that's a fact, to see (and talk to) a set of men who have got their goods from the yellow-haired Russians at the Nishni-Novogorod fair, and brought them across Asia to sell at Ladakh. It is forty days' journey of almost a continuous desert for these caravans from Yarkund to Leh : and there is no small danger to life and limb by the way. The current coin is lumps of Chinese syce silver of two pounds weight each. I bought a Persian horse for the journey, and paid for it in solid silver four pounds weight, i66 rupees, or about i6l. I shall sell it for double the money when the journey is over. Leh is a small town, of not more than 400 houses, on a projecting promontory of rock stretching out into THE BODHS. 115 the valley formed by one of the small feeders of the Indus. For the people, they are Bodhs, and wear tails, and have flat features like the Chinese, and black garments. The women, unlike other Asiatics whom 1 have seen, go about the streets openly, as in civilized countries ; but they are an ugly race, and withal dirty to an absolutely unparalleled extent. They wear no head-dress, but plait their masses of black hair into sun- dry tails halfway down their backs. Covering the divi- sion of the hair from the forehead back and down the shoulders, is a narrow leathern strap, universally adorned with rough turquoises and bits of gold or silver. The old Ranee whom we called upon had on this strap (in her ease a broader one, about three fingers wide) 156 large turquoises, worth some hundreds of pounds. Over their ears they wear flaps of fur which project forward with precisely the efiect of blinkers on a horse. The climate is delightful ; it never rains ; the sky is blue to a fault, and snow only falls sparingly in winter, though the climate is cold, being 10,000 feet (they say) above the sea. In boiling water the thermometer was only 188°. I never felt a more exhilarating air. That one week quite set me up, and I have been better ever since. The llamas or monks, with their red cardinaPs hats and crimson robes, look very imposing and monastic, quite a travestie of the regular clergy, and they blow just such trumpets as fame does on monu- ments in country churches. Jolly friars they are, and fat to a man. Erom Leh we crossed the mountain ridge which separates the two streams of the Indus, and descended the northern (or right) stream to this place, the capital of Bultistan or Little Thibet. It is a genuine humbug. In the middle of a fine valley some I 3 116 ISKAKDO. 6000 feet above the sea^ surrounded by sudden rising perpendicular mountains 6000 feet higher_, stands an isolated rock washed by the Indus^ some two miles by three-quarters : a little Gribraltar. The valley may be ten miles by three^ partially cultivated, and inha- bited by some 200 scattered houses. There^s Iskardo. There ^oas a fort on the rock, but that is gone, and all, as usual in the East, bespeaks havoc : only nature is grand here. The people are Mussulmans, and not Bodhs, and are more human-looking, but not so well clad. It is warmer by far, much more so than it ought to be. The thermometer was at 92° in our tents to-day, a thing for which I cannot pos- sibly account, since there is snow now on all sides of us. We go hence across the Steppe of Deo Sole towards Cashmere for four days' journey, and then strike westward to cross the Indus into Gil ghit, whence we return to Cashmere by the end of September. We have been making very fast marches, varying from sixteen to thirty-two miles a day — hard work in a country with such roads, and where you must take things with you. I enjoy it very much, however, and after a year's sickness, the feeling of returning health is refreshing. I shall return to work again by the 1st of December : but I propose paying a flying visit to Mr. Thomason in October, if possible ; but the dis- tances are so vast, and the means of locomotion so absent, that these things are difl&cult to achieve. I suppose I have seen more of the hill country now than ninety-nine men out of a hundred in India. Indeed, not above four Europeans have been here before. But travelling suits my restless spirit. Sir Henry and I get on famously together. INTEREST OF FORMING SOLDIERS. 117 On October 7th, 1850, he writes from Simla to his father : — I have had a long and fatiguing march from Cash- mere across the mountains and the valleys of the ^ five rivers/ nearly four hundred miles, which I accom- plished in fifteen days. I left Sir Henry Lawrence in Cashmere. I have since heard from him_, urging me to use all the influence I can muster up here to procure a brevet majority inposse [i.e., on attaining my regimen.tal captaincy), and a local majority in esse for ' my services in the late war ;' and adding, that if I did not find civil employment to suit me, he would, when I had given it a fair trial, try and get me the command of one of the regiments in the Punjab. I am going to consult Mr. Thomason on the subject, and will let you know the result. I hate the least suspicion of toadyism, and dislike asking favours, or I should have been better off ere now; but on Sir Henry Lawrence^s suggestion, I will certainly use any oppor- tunity which may offer. I thought, however, you would be gratified with the opinion which must have dictated so perfectly spontaneous an offer. I confess that I very much prefer the military line myself, al- though I like civil work much, and it is the road to competence. Nevertheless, military rank and distinc- tions have more charm for me than rupees ; and I would rather ctil my way to a name and poverty with the sword, than write it to wealth with the pen. There is something to me peculiarly interesting in the forming and training soldiers, and in acquiring that extraordinary influence over ^their minds, both 118 INFLUENCE OVEE GUIDES. by personal volition and the aid of discipline, which leads them on through danger, even to death, at your bidding. I felt the enthusiasm of this power success- fully exerted with the Guides during the late war ; and having felt it, am naturally inclined to take ad- vantage of it on future occasions. - To his Sister. Simla, Oct. 21st, 1850. It is rather too late to tell you ' all about Cashmere,' as you desire ; but I can say that I saw some beauties this time who were really so to no common extent ; and that I was much more pleased with the valley than on my first visit, which was a winter one. If you see what wonderfully out of the way places we got into, I think you will marvel that I managed to write at all. We traversed upwards of fifteen hundred miles of wild mountainous countries, innocent of roads, and often for days together of inhabitants, and carry- ing our houses on our backs. The change to the utter comfort and civilization of this house was some- thing ^stunning ;' and I have not yet become quite re- conciled to dressing three times a day, black hat, and patent leather boots. I need hardly say, how- ever, that I have very much enjoyed my visit and my ' big talks ' with Mr. Thomason. He is very grey, and looks older than when I saw him in 1847, but otherwise he is just the same, working mag- nificently, and doing wonders for his province. Al- ready the North-West Provinces are a century in advance of the Bengal Proper ones. As a Gover- nor, he has not his equal; and in honesty, high- MR. THOMASON. 119 mindedness, and indefatigable devotion to the public good, he is facile princejjs of the whole Indian service. Nor is there a household in India to match his, indeed, it is about the only ' big-wig ' house to which people go with pleasure rather than as a duty. I saw Sir Charles Napier, too, and dined with him last week. He is very kind and pleasant, and I am very sorry on public grounds that he is going away. KussowLEE, Nov. 4th, 1850. I had a most pleasant home-like visit to Mr. Thomason, and was most affectionately entertained. He will have told you of the power of civility I met with at Simla from the ' big-wigs,' and that even Lord Dalhousie waxed complimentary, and said that ' Lumsden and Hodson were about the best men he had (that I write it that shouldn't !), and that he promised to do his best to get me a brevet majority as soon as I became, in the course of time, a regi- mental captain. And Sir Charles Napier (the best abused man of his day) was anxious to get for me the Staff appointment of Brigade-Major to the Punjab Irregular Force — i.e., of the six newly raised cavalry and infantry regiments for frontier service. He did not succeed, for the berth had been pre- viously filled up, unknown to him ; but he tried to do so, and that's a compliment from such a man. I hope I need not say that this good deed of his was as spontaneous as a mushroom's birth. 120 APPOINTMENT TO CIS-SUTLEJ STATES. To his Father. KUSSOWLEE, Nov. 6th. I am to be here next year, I find, by tidings just received, whicb will be a splendid thing for my con- stitution. My connexion with Umritsur is dissolved by my having been appointed to act as personal as- sistant to the Commissioner of the Cis-Sutlej States, which is, I believe, a piece of promotion. The great advantages are, first, the capital opportunity it afiords of experience in every kind of civil work, and of being under a very able man — Mr. Edmonstone ; and secondly, that the Commissioner's head-quarters are ' peripatetic' in the cold weather, and in the hills during the remainder of the year. But I confess that I hanker after the ' Guides ' as much as ever, and would catch at a good opportunity of returning to them with honour. I fear I have been remiss in ex- planations on this subject. The matter lies in this wise — I left the Corps, and took to civil employment at the advice of Sir Henry Lawrence, Mr. Thomason, and others, though against my own feelings on the subject. The man or men who succeeded me are senior to me in army rank. When one of them re- signed six months ago, I was strongly disposed and urged to try and succeed to the vacancy. There was a hitch, however, from the cause I have mentioned, and Lumsden was anxious that his lieutenants should not be disgusted by supercession. I might have had the appointment, but withdrew to avoid annoying Lumsden. Noio, both Sir Henry Lawrence and Mr. Thomason are very sorry that I ever left the Corps, and that they advised the step. Things have LAHORE. 121 taken a different turn since then, and it is confessedly the best thing a young soldier can aspire to. I know that my present line is one which leads to more pecuniary advantages ; but the other is the finer field, and is far more independent. I shall work away, however, cheerfully in the civil line until I see a good opening in the other ; and then, I fear you will hardly persuade me that sitting at a desk with the ther- mometer at 98° is better than soldiering — i.e., than commanding soldiers made and taught by yourself! I will give you the earliest warning of the change. Umritsub, Nov. 2\th, 1850, I returned here on the 16th, and have been up to the neck in work ever since, having the whole work, civil, criminal, police, &c. &c., on my shoulders, Sanders, the Deputy Commissioner, my superior, being engaged dancing attendance on the Governor-General, who is here on his annual tour of inspection ; and Macleod, my CO -assistant, dead. Directly the Governor- General has gone onwards I shall be relieved here, and join my new appointment with Mr. Edmonstone. Lahore, Jan. 2nd, 1851. I broke up from Umritsur early in December, and came into Lahore to join my new chief. He did not arrive till the i8th, so I had a comparative holyday. I have got into harness, however, again now, and am up to the elbows in work and papers. The work is much more pleasant than that I had at Umritsur, and more free from mere routine. 122 KUSSOWLEE. Lahore, Feb. 21st. This is an interesting anniversary to many of us, and an overwhelming one to this country — that of the day on which ' the bright star of the Punjab' set for ever. It has been curiously marked by the an- nouncement that the net balance of receipts over expenditure for the past year for the newly acquired provinces has reached upwards of a million sterling. Lord Dalhousie's star is in the ascendant. His financial measures are apparently all good, when tried by the only standard admissible in the nineteenth century — their success. KussowLEE, March 22nd, 1851. I broke down again most completely as soon as the hot weather began^ but my flight to this beautiful climate has wonderfully refreshed me. Talk of Indian luxuries ! There are but two, cold water and cool air ! I get on very comfortably with my new ' Chief.' He is a first-rate man, and has a most uncommon appetite for work, of which there is plenty for both of us. We cover a good stretch of country — com- prising five British districts and nine sovereign states j and as the whole has been in grievous disorder for many years, and a peculiarly diSicult population to deal with, you may imagine that the work is not slight. My principal duty is hearing appeals from orders and decisions by the district ofiicers in these five districts. It is of course not ' per se,' but as the Commissioner's personal assistant, that I do this. I prepare a short abstract, with my opinion on each case, soldier's PROrESSION. 123 and lie issues his orders accordingly. I was at work a whole day lately over one case, which, after all, in- volved only a claim to about a quarter of an acre of land ! You will give me credit for ingenuity in discovering that the result of some half dozen quires of written evidence was to prove that neither of the contending parties had any right at all ! If that^s not 'justice to Ireland/ I don^t know what is ! I have been staying with Captain Douglas, and I hope I shall see a great deal of him. There is not a better man or more genuine soldier going. This may appear faint praise, but rightly understood, and conscientiously and boldly worked out, I doubt whether any other profession calls forth the higher qualities of our nature more strongly than does that of a soldier in times of war and tumults. Certain it is that it requires the highest order of man to be a good general, and in the lower ranks (in this country especially), even with all the frightful draw- backs and evils, I doubt whether the Saxon race is ever so pre-eminent, or its good points so strongly developed, as in the 'European^ soldier serving in India, or on service anywhere. KussowLEE, A'pril 'jth, 1851. I have the nicest house here on a level spot on the very summit of the mountain ridge, from which a most splendid view is obtainable for six months in the year. In the immediate foreground rises a round-backed ridge, on which stands the former work of my hands, the ' Lawrence Asylum ;' while to the westward, and down, down far off in the interminable south, the 124 KUSSOWLEE. wide glistening plains of the Punjab^ streaked with the faint ribbon-like lines of the Sutlej and its tribu- taries, and the wider sea-like expanse of Hindoostan, stretch away in unbroken evenness beyond the limits of vision, and almost beyond those of faith and ima- gination. On the other side, you look over a mass of mountains up to the topmost peaks of Himalaya. So narrow is the ridge, that it seems as though you could toss a pebble from one window into the Sutlej, and from the other into the valley below Simla. I like the place very much. I have seven or eight hours^ work every day, and the rest is spent (as this one) in the society of the 6oth Eifles, the very nicest and most gentlemanly regiment I ever met with. KussowLEE, May dfih, 1851. Your budget of letters reached me on the and. It is very pleasant to receive these warm greetings, and it refreshes me when bothered, or overworked, or feverish, or disgusted. I look forward to a visit to England and liome with a pleasure which nothing but six years of exile can give. The Governor-General has at last advanced me to the higher grade of ^assistants' to Commissioners. The immediate advantage is an increase of pay — the real benefit, that it brings me nearer the main step of a Deputy-Commissioner in charge of a district. It is satisfactory, not the less so that it was extorted from him by the unanimity of my official superiors in pressing the point upon him, Mr. Edmonstone having commenced attacking him in my favour before I had been under him four months. I am not in love with KUSSOWLEE. 125 the kind of employment — I long witli no common earnestness for the more military duties of my old friends the ' Guides ;' but I am not therefore in- sensible to the advantages of doing well in this line of work. Ambition alone would dictate this, for my success in this civil business (which is considered the highest and most arduous branch of the public service) almost ensures my getting on in any other hereafter. To his Father. KuSSOWIiEE, Oct. 20th, 1 85 1. I am much stronger now, and improving rapidly. By the end of next summer I hope to be as strong as I ever hope to be again. That I shall ever again be able to row from Cambridge to Ely in two hours and ten minutes, to run a mile in five minutes, or to walk from Skye (or Kyle Hatren Ferry) to Inver- ness in thirty hours, is not to be expected, or perhaps desired. But I have every hope that in the event of another war I may be able to endure fatigue and ex- posure as freely as in 1848. One is oftener called upon to ride than to walk long distances in India. In 1848, I could ride one hundred miles in ten hours, fully accoutred, and I don't care how soon (saving your presence !) the necessity arises again ! I have no doubt that matrimony will do me a power of good, and that I shall be not only better, but happier and more care-less than hitherto. I have been deeply grieved and afiected by the death, two days ago, of Colonel Bradshaw, of the 60th Bifles. He will be a sad loss, not only to his regi- 126 COLONEL BRADSHAW. ment, but to the army and the country. He was the beau ideal of an English soldier and gentleman, and would have earned himself a name as a general had he been spared. A finer and nobler spirit there was not in the army. I feel it as a deep personal loss, for he won my esteem and regard in no common degree. CHAPTEE VII. MAEEIAGE. COMMAND OP THE GUIDES. FRONTIEE WARFARE, MURDAN. f\N the 5tli of January, 1852, Lieut. Hodson ^ was married, at the Cathedral, Calcutta, to Susan, daughter of Capt. C. Henry, E.N., and widow of John Mitford, Esq., of Exbury, Hants. By the first week in March he had resumed his duties at Kussowlee as Assistant Commissioner. On the breaking out of the war with Burmah he expected to rejoin his regiment (the Eirst Bengal European Eusiliers), which had been ordered for service there, but in August he writes from Kussowlee : — My regiment is on its way down the Ganges to Calcutta, to take part in the war, but the Burmese have proved so very unformidable an enemy this time, that only half the intended force is to be sent on from Calcutta ; the rest being held in reserve. Under these circumstances, and in the expectation that the war will very speedily be brought to a close, the Governor- General has determined not to allow officers on civil employment to join their regiments in the usual manner. I am thus spared what would have been a very fatiguing and expensive trip, with very little hope of seeing any fighting. 128 KrSSOWLEE. It was not long, liowever, before an oppor- tanity of seeing actiTe service presented itself, and in a way, of all otliers, most to liis taste. His heart had all along been with his old corps, ' the Guides,' as his letters show. He had taken an active share in raising and train- ing them originally, and as second in command during the Punjab campaign of 1848—9, had contributed in no small degree to gain for the Coi'ps that reputation which it has recently so nobly sustained before Delhi. . The command was now vacant, and was offered to him ; but I must let him speak for himself: — KussowLEE, Sept. 2^rd, 1852. Ltunsden, my old commandaiit in the Guides, goes to England next month, and the Governor- General has given me the command which I have coveted so long. It is immense good fortune in every way, both as regards income and distinction. It is accounted the most honourable and arduous com- mand on the frontier, and fills the pubhc eye, as the papers say, more th an any other. This at the end of seven years^ service is a great thing, especially on such a frontier as Peshawnr, at the mouth of the Kyber Pass. Tou will agree with me in rejoicing at the opportunities for distinction thus offered to me. Mr. Thomason writes thus : ' I congratulate you ' very sincerely on the fine prospect that is open to 'you, and trust that you will have many opportu- COMMAND OF GriDE CORPS. 129 ' nities of showing what the Guides can do under 'your leadership, I have never ceased to reproach ' myself for advising you to leave the Corps, but now ' that you have the coramaud, you will he all the ' better for the dose of civilianism that has been ' intermediately administered to you.' KUSSOWLEE, Oct. 1th, 1852. Here I am stillj but hoping to take wing for Peshawur in a few days. It is only 500 miles ; and as there are no railways, and only nominal roads, and five vast rivers to cross, you may suppose- that the journey is not one of a few hours' lounge. I am most gratified by the appointment to the command of the Guides, and more so by the way in which it was given me, and the manner of my selection from amidst a crowd of aspirants. It is no small thing for a subaltern to be raised to the command of a battalion of infantry and a squadron and a half of cavalry, with four English officers under him ! I am supposed to be the luckiest man of my time. I have already had an ofier from the Military Secretary to the Board of Administration to exchange appointments with him, although I should gain, and he would lose 200^. a year by the 'swop;' but I would not listen to him ; I prefer the saddle to the desk, the frontier to a respectable, wheel-going, dinner-giving, dressy life at the capital; and ambition to money ! But though, liis ' instincts were so entirel}'' military' (to use Ms own words), this did not prevent his discharging his civil duties in a 130 LETTER EROM MR. EDMONSTONE. manner that called forth, the highest eulogium from his superiors, as the subjoined letter from Mr. Edmonstone, now Secretary to Govern- ment at Calcutta, will testify : — 'KussowLEE, Oct. 12th, 1852. ' My dear Hodson^ — I am a bad hand at talking, ' and could not say what I wished, but I would not 'have you go away without thanking you heartily ' for the support and assistance which you have ' always given me in all matters, whether big or ' little, since you joined me, now twenty months and ' more ago. I have in my civil and criminal reports ' for the past year recorded my sense of your services, ' and your official merits, but our connexion has been ' peculiar, and your position has been one which few ' would have filled either so efficiently or so agreeably ' to all parties. You have afforded me the greatest ' aid in the most irksome part of my duty, and have ' always with the utmost readiness undertaken any- ' thing, no matter what, that I asked you to dispose ' of, and I owe you more on this account than a mere ' official acknowledgment can repay adequately. I ' hope that though your present appointment will ' give you more congenial duties and better pay, ' you will never have occasion to look back to ' the time you have passed here with regret ; and I ' hope too that all your anticipations of pleasure and ' pride in commanding the Corps which you had a ' chief hand in forming, may be realized. ' Believe me to be, with much regard, ' Yours very sincerely, ' Gr. F. Edmonstone.* HUZARA. 131 Camp in HuzIra, Dec. i6th, 1852. I took command of the Guides on the ist Novem- ber, and twenty-four hours afterwards marched ' on service ' to this country, which is on the eastern or left bank of the Indus, above the parallel of Attok. We are now in an elevated valley, surrounded by snowy mountains, and mighty cold it is, too, at night. We have come about 125 miles from Peshawur, and having marched up the hill, are patiently expect- ing the order to march down again. We have everything necessary for a pretty little mountain campaign but an enemy. This is usually a sine qua non in warfare, but not so now. Then we have to take a fort, only it has ceased to exist months ago ; and to reinstate an Indian ally in territories from ■which he was expelled by some neighbours, only he wont be reinstated at any price. My regiment consists of five English officers, includ- ing a surgeon. Dr. Lyell, a very clever man. Then 1 have 300 horse, including native offi.cers, and 550 foot, or 850 men in all, divided into three troops and six companies,* the latter armed as riflemen. My power is somewhat despotic, as 1 have authority to enlist or dismiss fi-om the service, flog or imprison, degrade or promote any one, from the native officers down- wards, always remembering that an abuse of power might lose me the whole. This sort of ehiefdom is * No two troops or companies were of the same race, in order to prevent the possibility of com.bination. One com- pany was composed of Sikhs, another of A.ffreedees, others of Pathans, Goorkhas, Punjabee Mahomedans, &c., with native officei's, in each case, of a different race from the men. K a 132 HUZARA. necessary witli a wild sort of gentry of various races and speecbes, gathered from the snows of the Hindoo Koosh and the Himalaya, to the plains of Scinde and Hindoostan, all of whom are more quick at blows than at words, and more careless of human life than you could possibly understand in England by any de- scription. I am likely to have civil charge as well as military command of the Euzofzai district, comprising that portion of the great Peshawur valley which lies between the Cabul river and the Indus. So you see I am not likely to eat the bread of idleness, at least. I wall tell you more of my peculiar duties when I have more experience of their scope and bent I am, I should say, the most fortunate man in the service, considering my standing. The other can- didates were all field officers of some standing. Our good friend and guest. Captain Powys, of the 6oth, who has spent the first six months of our married life under our roof, is on the way to England. He will see you very soon, and give you a better account of us than you could hope for from any one else. Notwitlistanding all appearance to tlie con- trary at its opening, the campaign lasted seven weeks, and supplied plenty of fighting. It was afterwards characterized by my brother as the hardest piece of service he had yet seen. One engagement lasted from sunrise to sunset. He had thus an opportunity of dis- playing his usual gallantry and coolness, and showing how well he could handle his ' Guides' in mountain warfare. They suffered much HUZARA. 133 from cold, as the ground was covered with, snow for a part of the time, and from want of supphes. Colonel (now Sir E.) Napier, speaking after- wards of this expedition, said : — ' Your brother's unfailing fun and spirits, ' which seemed only raised by what we had to ' go through, kept us all alive and merry, so ' that we looked back upon it afterwards as a * party of pleasure, and thought we had never ' enjoyed anything more.' In reply to congratulations on his appoint- ment my brother wrote from — Peshawur, March 13*7*, 1853. I have certainly been very fortunate indeed,, and only hope that I may be enabled to acquit myself of the trust well and honourably, both in the field and in the more political portion of my duties. It was a good thing that I had the opportunity of leading the regiment into action so soon after getting the com- mand, and that the brunt of the whole should have fallen upon us, as it placed the older men and myself once more on our old footing of confidence in one another^ and introduced me to the younger hands as their leader when they needed one. Susie says she told you all about it j I need therefore only add that it was the hardest piece of service^ while it lasted, I have yet seen with the Guides, both as regards the actual fighting, the difiiculties of the ground (a rugged mountain, 7000 feet high, and densely wooded), and the exposure. You will see little or no mention of it 134 EuzorzAi. publicly, it being the policy of Governraent to make everything' appear as quiet as possible on this frontier, and to blazon the war on the eastern side of the empire (some 2000 miles away) as much as they can. I am, as you justly imagined, to be employed both civilly and in a military capacity — at least, it is under discussion. I was asked to take charge of the wild district of ^Euzofzai^ (forming ajarge portion of the Peshawur province), where the Guides will ordinarily be stationed. I refused to do so unless I had the exclusive civil charge in all departments, magisterial, financial, and judicial, instead of in the former only, as proposed, and I fancy they will give in to my reasons. I shall then be military chief, and civil governor too, as far as that part of the valley is con- cerned, and shall have enough on my hands, as you may suppose. In the mean time, I shall have the superintendence of the building of a fort to contain us all — not such a fortress as Coblentz, or those on the Belgian frontier, but a mud structure, which answers all the purposes we require at a very, very small cost. Peshawue, April ^oth, 1853. I am sorry to say my wife is ordered to the hills, and we shall again be separated for five or six months. My own destination for the hot season is uncertain, but I expect to be either here, or on the banks of the Indus. Camp, near Peshawur, June 4th, 1853. . . . . I hope to get away from work and heat in August or September for a month, if all things remain quiet. But for this sad separation, there LIFE IN CAMP. 135 would be much charm for me in this gipsy life. To avoid the great heats of the next three months in tents, we are building huts for ourselves of thatch, and mine is assuming the dignity of mud walls. We are encamped on a lovely spot, on the banks of the swift and bright river, at the foot of the hills, on the watch for incursions or forays, and to guard the richly cultivated plain of the Peshawar valley from depredations from the hills. We are ready, of course, to boot and saddle at all hours ; our rifles and car- bines are loaded, and our swords keen and bright : and woe to the luckless chief who, trusting to his horses, descends upon the plain too near our pickets ! Meanwhile, I am civil as well as military chief, and the natural taste of the Euzofzai Pathans for broken heads, murder, and violence, as well as their litigious- ness about their lands, keeps me very hard at work from day to day. Perhaps the life may be more suited to a careless bachelor, than to a husband with such a wife as mine ; but even still it has its charms for an active mind and body. A daybreak parade or in- spection, a gallop across the plain to some outpost, a plunge in the river, and then an early breakfast, occupy your time until 9 a.m. Then come a couple of corpses whose owners (late) had their heads broken over night, and consequent investigations and exami- nations : next a batch of villagers to say their crops are destroyed by a storm, and no rents forthcoming. Then a scream of woe from a plundered farm on the frontier, and next a grain- dealer, to say his camels have been carried off to the hills. ' Is not this a dainty dish to set before — your brother.^ Then each of my nine hundred men considers me bound to listen 136 COMPETITIVE SYSTEM. to any amount of stories he may please to invent or remember of his own private griefs and troubles ; and last, not leastj there are four young gentlemen who have each his fancy, and who often give more trouble in transacting business than assistance in doing it. However, I have no right to complain, for I am about, yes, quite, the most fortunate man in the service ; and have I not the right to call myself the happiest also, with such a wife and such a home? Camp, near Peshawur, August 6th, 1853. I hear that the new system for India is to throw open Addiscombe and Haileybury to public competi- tion : that this public competition will be fair and open, and free from jobbery and patronage, I suppose no sane person in the 19th century, acquainted with public morals and public bodies, would believe for an instant. The change may, however, facilitate admis- sion into the service to well-crammed boys. There are, I doubt not, many clever and able men who would in a year put any boy with tolerable abilities into a state of intellectual coma which would enable him to write out examination papers by the dozen, and pass a tri- umphant examination in paper-military affairs, I am not called upon to state how much of it would avail in the hour of strife and danger. India is par ex- cellence the country for poor men who have hard con- stitutions and strong stomachs. I fear you will add, when you have read thus far, that it is not favourable to charity, or to the goodness which, under the pious wish to think no evil, gives every one credit for every- thing, and believes that words mean what they appear to express, and that language conveys some idea of the GEOGRAPHY OF PUNJAB. 137 tliouglits of the speaker ! ... It is very trying that I cannot be with Susie at Murree ; but with a people such as these it is not safe to be absent, lest the volcano should break out afresh. Since I began this sheet a dust-storm has covered everything on my table completely with sand. My pen is clogged and my inkstand choked, and my eyes full of dust ! What am I to do ? Oh the pleasures of the tented field in August in the valley of Peshawur ! It has been very hot indeed, lately. We have barely in our huts had the thermometer under 100°, and a very steamy, stewy heat it is, into the bargain. MuBKEE, Sept. 14th, 1853. I am enjoying a little holiday from arms and kutcherry up in the cool here with Susie. Murree is not more than 140 miles from Peshawur. You say that you do not know ' what I mean by hills in my part of India.^ This is owing to the badness of the maps. The fact is, that the whole of the upper part of the country watered by the five rivers is moun- tainous. The Himalaya extends from the eastern frontiers of India to Affghanistan, where it joins the ' Hindoo Koosh,^ or Caucasus. If you draw a line from Peshawur, through E,awul Pindee, to Simla or Subathoo, or any place marked on the maps there- abouts, you may assume that all to the north of that line is mountain country. Another chain runs from Peshawur, down the right bank of the Indus to the sea. At Attok the mountains close in upon the river, or more correctly speaking, the river emerges from the mountains, and the higher ranges end there. The Peshawur valley is a wide open plain, lying on 138 EUzorzAi. the banks of the Cabul river, about sixty miles long by forty broad, encircled by mountains, some of them covered with snow for eight or nine months of the year. Euzofzai is the north-eastern portion of this valley, embraced between the Cabul river and the Indus. Half of Euzofzai (the ' abode of the children of Joseph') is mountain, but we only hold the level or plain part of it. Nevertheless, a large part of my little province is very hilly. In the north-east corner of Euzofzai, hanging over the Indus, is a vast lump of a hill, called ' Mahabun' (or the ' great forest'), thickly peopled on its slopesj and giving shelter to some 12,000 armed men, the bitterest bigots which even Islam can produce. The hill is about 7800 feet above the level of the sea. This has been iden- tified by the wise men with the Aornos of Arrian, and Alexander is supposed to have crossed the Indus at its foot. Whether he did so or not, I am not '^at liberty to mention,' but it is certain that Nadir Shah, in one of his incursions into India, marched his host to the top of it, and encamped there. This gives colour to the story that the Macedonian did the same. As in all ages, there are dominating points which are seized on by men of genius when engaged in the great game of war. The great principles of war seem to change as little as the natural features of the country. Well, you will see how a mountain range running ^ slantingdicularly' across the Upper Punjab contains many nice mountain tops suited to Anglo- Saxon adventurers. If you can find Eawul Pindee on the maps, you may put your finger on Murree, about twenty-five miles, as the crow flies, to the north- east. You should get a map of the Punjab, Cashmere DEATH OF MR. THOMASON. 139 and Iskardoj published by Arrowsmith in 1847. George sent me two of them. They are the best published maps I have seen. As to the Euzofzai fever, that is, I am happy to say, now over. It was terrible while it lasted. Between the ist March and the 15th June, 1853, 835:2 persons died out of a population of 53,500. It was very similar to typhus, but had some symptoms of yellow fever. It was confined to natives. It appeared to be contagious or infectious, but I am so entirely sceptical as to the existence of either contagion or infection in these Indian complaints, that I cannot bring myself to believe that the appearances were real. Poor Colonel Mackison, the Commissioner at Peshawur (the chief civil and political ofiicer for the frontier), was stabbed, a few days ago, by a fanatic, while sitting in his verandah reading. The fellow was from Swat, and said he had heard that we were going to invade his country, and that he would try to stop it, and go to heaven as a martyr for the faith. Poor Mackison is still alive, but in a very precarious state, I fear. I hope this may induce Government to take strong measures with the hill tribes. He had soon to mourn the loss of a still more valued friend : — Oct. i^th, 1853. You will have been much shocked at hearing of poor dear Mr. Thomason^s death. It is an irreparable loss to his family and friends, but it will be even more felt in his public capacity. He had not been ill, but died from sheer debility and exhaustion produced by overwork and application in the trying season just over. Had he gone to the 140 BOREE CAMPAIGN. hills_, all would have been right. I cannot but think that he sacrificed himself as an example to others. You may imagine how much I have felt the loss of my earliest and best friend in India, to whom I was accustomed to detail all my proceedings, and whom I was wont to consult in every difficulty and doubt. On the 2nd November h.e wrote from Rawul Pindee to announce the birth of a daughter. He had been obliged previously to return to his duties ; but by riding hard all night, had been able to be with his wife at the time, and after greeting the little stranger, had immediately to hasten back to his Gruides on the frontier. The Grovernment, with a view to secure the Kohat Pass, were now preparing an expe- dition against the refractory tribe of the Borees, one of the bravest and wildest of the AfFghan race, in order to prove that their hills and valleys were accessible to our troops. Accordingly, a force consisting of 400 men of her Majesty's 23nd, 450 Groorkhas, 450 Gruides, and the mountain train, marched at 4 A.M. on the morningof the 29thNovember, under the command of Brigadier Boileau, to attack the villages in the Boree valley, I must supply the loss of my brother's own account by a letter from an officer with the expedition : — ' Our party, after crossing the hills between BOREE CAMPAIGN. 141 ' Knndao and the main AfFreedee range at ' two points, re-nnited in the valley at ' 10.30 A.M., and with the villages of the Borees ' before us at the foot of some precipitous crags. ' These it at once became apparent must be ' carried before the villages could be attacked * and destroyed. The service devolved on two ' detachments of the Groorkhas and Guides, ' commanded by Lieutenants Hodson and ' Turner, and the style in which these gallant ' fellows did their work, and drove the enemy ' from crag to rock and rock to crag, and finally ' kept them at bay from ii a.m. to 3 p.m., was ' the admiration of the whole force. We could ' plainly see the onslaught, especially a fierce ' struggle that lasted a whole hour, for the ' possession of a breastwork, which appeared ' inaccessible from below, but was ultimately ' carried by the Guides, in the face of the ' determined opposition of the Affreedees, who ' fought for every inch of ground. ' Depend upon it, this crowning of the Boree ' heights was one of the finest pieces of light ' infantry performance on record. It was, ' moreover, one which Avitabile, with 10,000 ' Sikhs, was unable to accomplish. During ' these operations on the hill, the villages were * burnt, and it was only the want of powder ' which prevented the succession of towers 142 BOUEE CAMPAIGN. wliicli flanked tlieni being blown into the air. The object of the exjDedition having been thus fully achieved, the skirmishers were recalled at about three, and then the difficulties of the detachment commenced; for, as is well known, the Affghans are familiar with the art of following, tliough they will rarely meet an enemy. The withdrawal of the Guides and Goorkhas from the heights was most exciting, and none but the best officers and the best men could have achieved this duty with such complete success. Lieutenant Hodson's tactics were of the most brilliant description, and the whole force having been once more re-united in the plain, they marched out of the valley by the Turoonee pass, which, though farthest from the British camp, was the shortest to the outer plains. The force did not return to camp till between ten and eleven at night, having been out nearly eighteen hours, many of the men without food, and almost all without water, the small supply which had been carried out having soon been exhausted, and none being pro- curable at Boree. ' Not an officer of the detachment was touched, and only eight men killed and twenty-four wounded. When the force first entered the valley, there were not more than EOREE CAMPAIGN. 143 * 300 Borees in arms to resist ; but before tliey ' returned, the number bad increased to some ' 3000, tens and twenties pouring in all tbe ' morning from all tbe villages and hamlets ' witbin many miles, intelligence of tbe attack ' being conveyed to tbem by tbe firing.' My brother's services on tbis occasion were tbus acknowledged by tbe Brigadier command- ing. Colonel Boileau, ber Majesty's aand Begi- ment, in a despatch dated Nov. 2jth. I HAVE been unable to write since we left Delhi, as we have been incessantly marching, and had no means of communicating with any one. Even now I am doubtful whether this will reach camp. We left Delhi during the night of the 14th- 15th, and marched to Khurkundah, a large village, in which I had heard that a great number of the rascally Irregu- lars had taken refage. We surprised and attacked the village. A number of the enemy got into a house, and fought like devils j but we mastered them and slew the whole. Yesterday we marched on here, in- tending to reconnoitre and harass ' k la Cosaque ' a large party of horsemen and foot, with two guns, who have been moving along from Delhi, plundering the wretched villagers en route, and threatening to attack Hansie. They, however, thought discretion the better part of valour, and hearing of our approach, started off at a tangent before we got near enough to stop them. We have been drenched with rain, so I am halting to dry and feed both men and horses, and then we go on to Rohtuck. I have nearly 300 men and five oflScers — Ward, Wise, the two Goughs, and Macdowell, ^ — all first-rate soldiers. I have eighty Guides, and 266 SIEGE 0¥ DELHI. the rest my own men, who do wonderfully, consider- ing how sadly untrained and undisciplined they are. We are roughing it in more ways than one, and the sun is terribly hot, but we are all well and in high spirits, for though it is a bold game to play, I am too careful to run unnecessary risks, or get into a fix. I have done a good deal already, and shall, I hope, recover Eohtuck to-day, when I do trust the authorities will consent to keep it, and not let us have the work to do twice over, as at Bhagput. To Colonel Begheb, Quartermaster-General. My dear Colonel, — We are getting on very well. I hope to take Kohtuck to-day, and I trust arrange- ments will be made for keeping it. The country will then be quiet from Hansie to Delhi. The Jheend Rajah should be told to take care of the district. I believe Greathed did make this arrangement, but Barnes put some spoke in the way, so that the Rajah is uncertain how to act. Please tell G-reathed from me that there is nothing now to prevent the re- storation of order here. I wish I had a stronger party, for though I feel quite comfortable myself, yet I should like more troops, for the sake of the men, who are not quite so easy in their minds. The road by Alipore, Boanah, and Khurkundah is the best. The canal is easily fordable at Boanah, and just below that place (at the escape) it is quite dry, the banks having given way. We polished off the Khurkundah gentry in style, though they showed fight to a great extent. ROHTUCK EXPEDITION. 267 It has had a wonderfully calming effect on the neigh- bourhood. I hope the Jheend troops^ or some troops, may be sent here. The Jheend men would more than suffice. — Yours very sincerely, W. S. R. HoDSON. Camp, Dusseeah, near Rohtuck, \()th August.— This is the first rest since Bohur ; we have had very hard work, great heat, and long exposure ; but, thank God, are all well and safe, and have done some business. I marched from Bohur on the evening of the 17th. On reaching Rohtuck, we found the Mussulman portion of the people, and a crowd of Irregulars, drawn up on the walls, while a considerable party were on a mound outside. I had ridden for- ward with Captain Ward and a few orderlies to see how the land lay, when the rascals fired, and ran towards us. I sent word for my cavalry to come up, and rode slowly back myself, in order to tempt them out, which had partly the desired effect, and as soon as my leading troop came up, we dashed at them and drove them helter-skelter into the town, killing all we overtook. We then encamped in what was the Kutcherry compound, and had a grateful rest and a quiet night. The representatives of the better disposed part of the population came out to me, and amply provided us with supplies for both man and beast. The rest were to have made their ' amende^ in the morning; but a disaffected Rangur went off early, and brought up 30G Irregular horsemen of the muti- neers — ist, 13th, 14th, and other rebels — and having 268 SIEGE OF DELHI. collected about looo armed rascals on foot^ came out to attack my little party of barely 300 sabres and six officers. The Sowars dashed at a gallop up the road, and came boldly enough up to our camp. I had a few minutes before fortunately received notice of their intentions, and as I had kept the horses ready saddled, we were out and at them in a few seconds. To drive them scattering back to the town was the work of only as many more, and I then, seeing their numbers, and the quantity of matchlocks brought against us from gardens and embrasures, determined to draw them out into the open country ; and the ' ruse' was eminently successful. I had quietly sent off our little baggage unperceived, half an hour before, so that I was, as I intended, perfectly free and unfettered by imjiedimenta of any sort. I then quietly and gradually drew off troop after troop into the open plain about a mile to the rear, covering the movement with skirmishers. My men, new as well as old, behaved coolly and admirably throughout, though the fire was very annoying, and a retreat is always discouraging, even when you have an object in view. My officers, fortunately first-rate ones, behaved like veterans, and everything went on to my complete satisfaction. Exactly what I had anticipated happened. The enemy thought we were bolting, and came on in crowds, firing and yelling, and the Sowars brandishing their swords as if we were already in their hands, when suddenly I gave the order, ^Threes about, and at them.' The men obeyed with a cheer ; the effect was elec- trical; never was such a scatter. I launched five parties at them, each under an officer, and in they went, cutting and firing into the very thick of them. ROHTUCK EXPEDITION. 269 The ground was very wet, and a ditch favoured them, but we cut down upwards of fifty in as many seconds. The remainder flew back to the town, as if, not the Guides and Hodson^s Horse, but death and the devil were at their heels. Their very numbers encumbered them, and the rout was most complete. Unfortu- nately I had no ammunition left, and therefore could not without imprudence remain so close to a town filled with matchlock men, so we marched quietly round to the north of the town, and encamped near the first friendly village we came to, which we reached in the early afternoon. Our success was so far com- plete, and I am most thankful to say with very trifling loss, only two men rather severely wounded, eight in all touched, and a few horses hit. Mac- dowell did admirably, as indeed did all. My new men, utterly untrained as they are, many unable to ride or even load their carbines properly, yet behaved beyond my most sanguine expectations for a first field, and this success, without loss, will encourage them greatly. This morning I was joined by a party of Jheend horse, whom my good friend the Rajah sent as soon as he heard I was coming E-ohtuck-wards, so I have now 400 horsemen, more or less, fresh ammunition having come in this morning, and am quite indepen- dent. I hear also that the General has at my recom- mendation sent out some troops in this direction ; if so, order will be permanently restored in this district. In three days we have frightened away and demora- lized a force of artillery, cavalry, and infantry some 3000 strong, beat those who stood or returned to fight us, twice, in spite of numbers, and got fed and furnished 270 SIEGE OF DELHI. forth by the rascally town itself.* Moreover, we have thoroughly cowed the whole neighbourhood, and given them a taste of what more they will get unless they keep quiet in future. We count eighty- five killed, and numbers wounded, since we left Delhi, which is one good result, even if there were no other. One of them was a brute of the 1 4th Irregular Cavalry, who committed such butchery at Jhansi. No letters have reached me since I left camp, and I am not sure that this will reach there safely. It is a terribly egotistical detail, and I am thoroughly ashamed of saying so much of myself, but you insisted on having a full, true, and particular account, so do not think me vainglorious. LuRSOWLiE, August 'X■ ^■J^ . " ^ " ^^ v^' -^/^^^^ 5 \ ^. ^. '' \ '> o 0^ ^^A V^^ .-J.^ f %, * D N O V v'?'^' >> < » ■^ ^ 1 ^ ^o;-r"^*\^^' A^^' ^■ ''\o.' •^^ \0o -. .,^^" A^^' ^ .00. O^ ^ ^s»* ,,^ NT ^ >*^ f « l<'^, ^< ^^^v" , ' 1 1 A o 0* -^^ v^ .->. ,