History of the Sikhs - Forgotten Books

H I S T O R Y O F T H E S I K H S ;

CONTAI N I NG

TH E L IVE S OF TH E GOOROOS ; TH E H ISTORY OF TH E

INDE PE NDE NT SIRDARS , OR M ISSUL S,

AND

TH E L I FE O F TH E GR E AT FOUNDE R OF TH E S IKH MONAR CH Y,

M AH ARAJAH RUNJE E T SINGH

B Y W . L . M ‘ G R E G O R , M . D .

SURGE ON I n E . B . FUSI L I E RS, L AT] : 1 81 E . L . I NFANTRY .

VOLUME I.

L ONDON

JAM E S MADDE N ,8, L E ADE N I IAL L STRE E T .

1 8 46.

L ONDONnuswsrzn Annwzsr. rnwrzu ,

mu mcoon-r, nowoarz .

Inst itute!) by the author

H I S E XCE L L E NCY L ORD GOUGH ,G .O .B .

COM M AN D E R - I N - CH I E F,

AND

TH E OFFICE RS

T H E A R M Y O F T II E S U T L E J,

AS A SMA L L TOKE N OF E STE E M FOR .

AND ADM IRATION OF, TH E IR UNWE AR I E D AND INVINCIBL E COURAGE

DISP L AYE D ON TH E PlE L DS OF

MOODKE E , FE E ROZSH UH UR, AL L E EWAL ,

AND

S O B RAO N .

PR E FACE .

TH E author of the following pages cannot sufferhiswork to go forth without offering at least anexplanation of, if not an apology for, the manner

inwhich the second volume hasbe en prepared.

Itwill be at once apparent to the reader that

all the information contained in the two volumes

has be en prepared e itherin the country described

orin itsimmediate vicinity ; the major part of the

contents of the se cond volume be ing actually

collected in the very m idst of the battle of one of

the most memorable campaigns on re cord. It

was the purpose of the author to have given to

all his materials the condensed form pe culiar to

political history ; but the rapidity with whichstartling events succe eded each other,—the great

importance of printing the entire work, while ye tthe affairsof the Punjab possesse d a high degre e

a8

iv. PR E FACE .

of interest in E ngland, —and the heavy professional

claimsupon the author’stime , - de termined him to

send forth the work in its present comparative lycrude form. The part of the se cond volumewhichspeculatesupon possible occurrences,which e itherdid ordid not afterwardstranspire , and to whichreference is subsequently made , must be accepted

ratherasajournal of operations than as a com

prehensive digest of the entire campaign.

The author is under de ep obligations to several

of the military authorities, and to many brother

otficers for the aid he has re ce ived in the

prose cution of hisarduoustask ; andhe begsthe y

will, individually and colle ctive ly, accept his cordialacknowledgements. H isobje ct has be en to re cord

e very fact conne cted with the History of the

Sikhs, from the birth of Nanuk Shah, to the

capture of Kote Kangraby the British ; to present

a comple te history of the life of Runje et Singh,

the form er despot of the Punjab ; and to render

justice to all those enlightened men and gallant

spirits, whose skill and intrepidity combine d to

repe l the insolent invasion of a rebe llious army

and to consolidate the British power in the north

west of India.

CONTE NTS OF VOL UM E I .

INTRODUCTORY CH APTE R.

The geography of the Punjab described.—The five

rivers—L ahore .—Umritsir.

—The Ukulees.

GovindGhur.—Rambagh.

—Alexander’8March—The term Singh

’

.—The terms Bede e ’

and Sode e’

CH APTE R I .

The history of Gooroo Nsunk—H isbirth- place .

H is deistical doctrines.—Partiality to fukeers.

—H is death and character.—The Grunth

Anecdotesof Nanuk

CH APTE R II .

The livesof the e ight Gooroo successorsof Nanuk .

CH APTE R III.

The history of Gooroo Govind.—Miracles and

superstitions.—Govind assembles the Sikhs.

Destroysthe distinctionsof castes.- The brah

m ins desert him .—H is knowledge of H indoo

and Mahomedan literature .

PAG E .

1—30

31—47

48—68

69—78

ii conrsn'

rs.

CH APTE R IV.

PAGE .

Govind exhibits a contempt forwealth - A tumult,

and itsresults. - The Pathansdesert Govind.

H e buildsforts.- H issonsare murdered. 79—87

CH APTE R V.

Govind leavesMuhowal. - H isvicissitudes in flight.—The Sikhsrally roundhim at Moogutsir.

H e attacksanddefeatsthe Mussulmans.

CH APTE R VI .

Govind’a poetic description of his life—Becomestired of existence .

—UrgesaPathan to killhim.

—Dies.—H ischaracter. 95—104

CH APTE R VI I .

The history of Byragee Bunds. 105—1 12

CH APTE R VIII .

The history of the Sikhs, afterthe death of Bunda.

-The Mahomedansoverrun the Punjab.—The

Sikhs unite and expel them, and then form

themselvesinto confederacies. 1 13—1 19

CH APTE R IX.

120—127

CH APTE R X .

The history of the Fyzoolapoorea and RamghureeaMissula. 128—4 37

CONTE NTS . iii

CH APTE R XI .

PAGE .

The history of the Ghuueeya, Allowalya, and Sakkerchukea Missula.

—The birth of Runje etSingh 1 38- 150

CH APTE R XI I .

Runjeet’

sorigin.—The character of his mother and

wife —H e becomespossessed of L ahore —H iswarlike exploits—H e takes possession of L a

hore and Kussoor.—H e builds Govindghur.

Mr. Metcalfe , the British envoy, arrives atL ahore .

- The British enter into a treatywithRunjee t. 1 5 1— 163

CH APTE R XIII .

Maharajah attacks, and subdues the Goorka,Ummur Singh, in Kote Kangra.

—H isfill-thereXploits.

—Proceedsagainst Cashmere —Examsthe koh- i- noordiamond from Shah Soojah OolMoolk .

—BesiegesMooltan.-Capturesthe town,

and repairsit. 164—1 81

CH APTE R XIV .

Maharajah crosses the Attach—Movesaboutthe country, settling the re venue, and rece ivingtribute .

— Imprisons his motherin- law.—Takes

M unkheree .—Acceptsthe servicesof E uropean

officers—Warwith the Afl'

ghans.—Schem esto

obtain afamoushorse —The Maharajah hasaninterviewwiththe Governor-

general of India. 182—201

iv. conranrs.

CHAPTE R XV.

Runjeet Singh’

s knowledge of the Britishgovernment. - Accmmt of the various official visitsof

British officers, to the Maharajah’s court .

The ceremonials on the marriage of Nonehal

Singh . 202—2 14

PAGE .

CH APTE R XVI .

Runjeet’

spersonalappearance .—H isdream—Passion

Residence .—Fondnessof field sports

—Nautch

girls.—Characterasamilitary leader. 2 15—24 1

CH APTE R XVI I .

Runje et’

sfondnessforchildren .-Strange story of a

fukeer.—Runjeet

’

s religious sentiments.—The

temple at Umritsir.—The Ukalees.

—The feastof the Dusseerah Generals Court and

Avitabili—Mr. Foulkes. Adventures in the

British tm0ps. 242—266

CH APTE R XVIII .

British invasion of Afi'

ghanistan .—Runjeet

’s

sentiments thereon .—H e aids the passage of

the KhyberPass.—Anecdotesof the Maharajah .

—H e is taken ill.—Variousremediestried.

Submitsto be electrified by E uropean surgeons.

—The drink of the Sikhs—Their passion for

ardentspirits.—Deserters.—The ministerDhyan

Singh, and other members of the court.

Runje et’

s opinion on various matters.—Con

clusion . 267— 291

L I S T O F P L A T E S .

VO L ] .

Portrait of M aharajah Runjeet Singh to face Title .

VO L . 1 1 .

Dhyan Singh

Nonehal Singh

Rajah Soochet Singh

Map of the JalindhurDoab ceded to the British

Movementsof the army of the Sutlej in DecemberJanuary 1846.

H I STORY OF TH E SIKH S.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER .

BE FORE attempting the history of a nation orIntroductorychapter

pe ople , at IS ne cessary that we should become , m

some measure , acquaintedwith the ir country.The term Punjab is significant of five rivers.3;These are , the Sutlej, Beas, Ravce , Chenab, and Punish

Je lum.

But though five riversare enumerated, there isin fact asixth,which eventually re ce ives the col

lectedwatersof the otherfive . Still, asthe Sutlej

and Beas unite and form thereby but one river,named the Gharra, the term Punjab iscorre ct, asapplied to the country be lowthe confluxof thesetwo rivers.The Sutlej isthe boundary of the Punjab on theVO L . I . B

The Sutlej .

H ISTORY OF TH E S IKH S .

cast, but the Sikhs have foralong time occupied

the left bank of the river, under the prote ction of

the British. In former times the Sikhs on that

bankwere named the Illalwa Sikhs, in allusion tothe ir rich country resembling in its fertility the

province of that name in Western India. Those

inhabiting the country be twe en the Sutlej and

Beas, were named the Doab Sikhs while the

country stre tching from the Beas to the Ravce

was inhabited by ManjaSikhs, so named from the

jungly tractwhich reachesfrom the vicinity of the

former river to M ooltan. From the neighbour

hood of the Doab be twe en the Indusand Je lum,

andalso of that be twe en the latter riverand the

Chenab, to Afi'

ghanistan, the inhabitantsare chiefly

M ussulmans, and e ven at the present day severalof them are found in the formerdistrict.

All the rivers of the Punjab .rise in the Hima

layan chain of mountains,whence the GangesandJumush derive their sources, as.we ll asnumeroussmaller and tributary streams. The sources of

the Gauges and slumnah, though placed amongperpe tual snow, are comparative ly near to the

western and southern limitsof the mountain ; notsowith those of the Indusand Sutlej,which existin regionsfarin the inte riorof the Himalayas, andon the boundariesof countriestowhich the E uropean only hasaccessat great risk and danger.The Sutlej is the H esadrusof the ancients, and

re ce ivesvarious names according to the tract of

country it passes through ; such as the Sarangas,

ms'roar or TH E sums. 3

Zadarus, Zaradrus, Shatooder, Sutlooge , Se tlej ,Sutledge , &c.

The Sutlej rises on the southern side of the

lofty Kailas, and empties itswaters into the lakeM unsurawur; from thence its course is paralle lto that of the Indus, or Sin- ka- bab (lion

’

smouth,)which issuppose d to rise from the northern side of

the same mountain. The great Kialas IS consi

dered aparadise by the Hindoos, and they be lie veit to be inhabited by the ir De ities, particularlyShiva. Its he ight is estimated by some geogra

phersat fe e t above the le ve l of the sea;

while othe rs compute it at it is thereforethe loftiest mountain at present known in the

world se en e ven from an e le vation of fe e t,

the Kialas isan object ofadmiration. It often ge tsthe name of the peaked mountain.

”

The Sutlej isarapid torrent in the mountains,and is confined within a narrowchanne l throughwhich it foamswith great ve locity, rendering itunfordable where the depth is only a fewfe e t,

unless for the strong and hardy yak.

“ At Rampore in Busahir, it is crossed on inflate d skinsduring the cold season, and these are employe d asfardown as Belaspore . In the rains the riveris

crossed by meansof ajoola, orbridge constructed

of ropes. The Sutlej be comesnavigable on reach

ing the plains at Roopur, and from that placepursues its course to H urre eke e , nearwhich the

Ville Thornton’sGaze tte er.

The Beas.

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKH S .

Beasjoinsit, and the ir union obtains the name of

Gharra, forming one of the riversof the Punjnud,and re ce ivesthe Ravce , Chenab, andJe lum, before

it joins the Indus. At the present day the Sutlejflows near the fort of Phillour, which is built onitsright bank, andwasmeant asaplace of defence

in case ofan invasion.

In former times the river ran near the present

city of L oodianah ; its bed iswe ll de fined, andasmall nullah,which nowmarks its old course , islost in the sandsabout Ghauspore , while the high

ground nearBhoondre e pointsout itsle ft bank .

The Sutlej frequently changes its bed be twe enL oodianahand Fe erozpore ; andthe city of Tebara,which nowstands at some distance from the le ft

bank, issaid to have once occupied aplace on theright,while the riverat the present day flowsoveraformercity of the same name .

The water of the Sutlej isvery cold, indicatingat once itssource and itslong course . It abounds

in fish and itsbanks, in many places, are coveredwith thick jungle , the abode of the tigerand othe rwild animals.The next riveristhe Beas, the H yphasisof the

Gre eks. It isknown also by the following names,

viz Beascha, Beypasha, Bihasis or Bipasis,

Beaud, and Beah.

This river rises on the southern ridge of the

RitankaPassin Lahoul ; from thisit passes Mun

de e andNadan, e ntersthe plain of the Punjab, and

uniteswith the Sutlej . A tributary of the Beas,

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The Rave e .

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKH S.

The mountainous tractsof the Bist comprehend

the states of Kooloo, Mundee , Soochet, all tri

butariesof Lahore , but ready at any time to throwoff their allegiance whenever an opportunity oc

curs. This Doab is the shortest and narrowestin the Punjab, but at the same time the richest ;it abounds in water- courses, and is plentifullywooded ; in fertility it is compared to Cashmere ;the mangoe produced here isof asuperiorquality.

It issaid there were formerly no fewerthan thirtys

’

ixlarge and small canalsorwater- coursesin thedistrict for the purpose of irrigation. One of thesenearthe Sutlejwasnamed the White Canal; whileanother, in the vicinity of the Bass,was called the

Black. The ground near both rivers is swampyand from Kapoorthulla to Govindwal, the countryin the rains is a comple te marsh . The same is

true re garding the tract be twe en the Sutlej and

L oodianah, at the same season.

The third river is the Rave e orH ydraotes. Itisalso known by the following names, viz z—Tyrawutha, Aaris, Rhuasis, and Rave e . It is oftencalled the Lahore riverfrom the city of that name

built on its left bank. Thisriverrisesin Kooloofrom the mountain Buddurkal(Bungell), the sourceis named the tank of Mahade o . From thence it

flowsbe lowChumbec,where the Ravee is crosse dby a bridge , and here three roads branch off

name ly, one to Cashmere , another to China, andthe third to Khatah. From this the Rave e descends to Bisoule e ; and nearthe city of Shahpoor

ms'roar or m e su ms. 7

1sthe village of Madupooron the bank of the river,where aroyal canalwas commence dwhich carriedwater to Lahore . After this the Ravce reachesthe lattercity, passing in succession Puthaw, Kulaanoor, and Pursuroor.

In former years the Ravce washed the sidesofthe city of Lahore ; and the E mperorA

‘urungzebe

built abund, orbulwark, some miles in length, topre vent the river from encroaching on the city.No remains of this defence exist at the present

day, but the river probably re tainsachanne l thus

imposed on it by art ; being at the distance of

two orthre e m ilesfrom Lahore , at least the mainbranch of it, for there are often thre e divisionsofthe stream . In the rains, however, there isacomple te swamp from Lahore as far as the mmor

western branch, which flows close to Shahdurra,or the Mausoleum of the E mperor Jehange er

(Aurungzebe ). About sixte en years ago, a portion of the wall surrounding thistombwascarriedaway by the river.Be lowLahore the river passesFure edabad, then

Barsander, a place nowin ruins. The course of

the Ravce is very tortuous, until it reachesUc

boomba, fromwhence the river runs in nearly a

straight line , and With a very slowcurrent. On

the banks of the Ravce there is abundance of

pe epul and bur tre es; whose roots are Supplied

withwater from the river itse lf. The imle e (Twmarz

'

ndus indica) also abounds. The Ravce is

called at thisplace Seedunee or the straight river,

H ISTORY OF TH E BIKE S .

in order to distinguish it from the other portions'

of itscourse , which are serpentine . At the dis

tance of twe lve milesbe lowUchoomba, on the bankRam Cb“mm of the Rave e , there isaplace called Ram Chuotra,

which the Hindoos venerate . It is believed bythem that Ram and L uchman, the two sons of

Jussrut, came to Uchoombaand began to bathe

in the river; from this theywent down the Raveeto Ram Chuotra, leaving the ir clotheson the bank ;and the river be came forthwith straight, in order

that they might keep awatch on the irgarments!

The place is, therefore , one ofworship with theHindoos, who be lie ve implicitly in the miracle .

The Ravee e ventually joinsthe Chenab.

The Doab lying be twe en the Rave e and Beas

is named Baree, and like Bist is formed by twole tters taken from one of the rivers forming it,viz.

—B eas, and three from the Ravce ; in shape

it resembles a boat, be ing narrowat both ex

tremities. Irrigation iscommon in thisDoab ; butin many portionsof it, particularly near the Beas, .

the rain supplies a sufficiency of water, withoutrendering re course to thisprocessnecessary.

The existence of the two largest cities of thePunjab in this Doab, gives it an importance not

possessed by any of the others; it also excitesan

intemst asregardsthe Sikhsand the irearly se ttle

ment, in having the tract named Manjawithin itsam Tceruth. 1imlts, In this Doab lies Ram Te eruth, not far

from Umritsir, which according to early re cords

H ISTORY OF TH E SIXTH .

was the first abode of Se e ta,whenshewasbanishedto the jungle by herhusband ; the place was thenlike most otherparts of the Punjab, overrunwithjungle . It isavery picturesque spot, rendered so

by a large and beautiful tank, shaded by vast '

numbersof lofty tre es,whose long branchesbend

over the water, and in some places nearly touch

those upon the Opposite side . Both in thisDoab

and the Bist, the country is lownear the rive rs,but gradually rises towards the middle , and againdesce ndsto the next river.The fourth river of the Punjab isthe Chenab.

The Che nab

It is the Ascescines of the Ancients, and is also ~

called Chenab, Tchendarbarjar, Chunderbahka,

Jandabala, and Shantroo, in the different portions

of itscourse among the mountains.

The source of the Chenab isvery remote . Ac

cording to native report, the river Chunder rises

on the confines of China. Another river flowingfrom Thibe t, and calle d Bahka, orBhaka, joinsit

at Kishtawar, and their united streamsobtain the

name of Chunder- bhaka. In the hillsitscourse isvery rapid, and in no part isit fordable . Nearthe

mountain of Tirkatta, which is in the state of

Jummoo, it escapes from the hill, and at ornear

the city of Akanoor, divides into e ighte en branches,which again unite near the villag e of Belaulpore .

The Chenab then washes the boundary of Sodr‘

a;

and reachesWuze erabad, crossing the king’

shigh

way . From thence , having traversed the Hazara

The Jelum.


country, it runs be lowthe city of Chunceote , andthence through asmall bill. It eventually joins

the Je lum.

The Doab formed ' be tween the Ravce and Chenab is name d R echna; the le tters forming the

word be ing six, the two first taken from the Ravce ,

and the four last from the Chenab, be ing the larger

river of the two. This Doab is often writtenR eta/ma, and various opinionshave be en offere d as

to the origin of the word, some supposing the termaGre ek one . The name , like that of the other

Doabs, is simply derive d fi'

om those of the riversofwhich it iscomposed.The fifth and last river of the Punjab is the

Je lum. It is the H ydaspes of the Ancients, and

like the othershasvariousnames, such asChelum,

Je lum, Zaloom37, Jhmad, and Behut.

The Natives describe it asrising from the tank

Wamak,which iswe ll de fended by solid masonry.

The tank is small, be ing in circumference twentyfeet. Itwasbuilt by Jehange erin the yearof theH ijera 1029, or A.D. 1605. The structure issaidto be abeautiful one .

From this tank the Je lum flows to Islamabad,nearwhich it re ce ives the water of a spring, orfountain, name d M ittun, and the irunion formsthe '

river,which is said to be here navigable . Afterthis it re ce ives various tributary streams, and

reaches Se ere enuggur, the capital of Cashmereit flows through the city,where it is crossed by

H ISTOR Y OF TH E SIR IIS.

sevenbridges. Having passe d Baramoola, the Je lum

reachesM oozufi'

erabad. Passing from thence the

riverwashes the boundary of Pugle e , and then

re ce ivesthe Kishungtmge . It then passesChund

mukh andDangle e , and skirtsthe territory of Kuk

hur, in the provincc ofAme erpoor. After this, the

Je lum reachesthe plains, and there isa ferry for

crossing it calle d Rajghat,which is at the villageof Je lum, though occasionally the ford shifts, and

itspassage isattendedwith danger from the great

depth ofwaterabove and be lowit.The Je lum . e ventually joins the Chenab, and

formsone of the riversof the Punjnud.

The Doab formed by the Chenab and Je lum is

named Chunth, or Jenhut,which is derive d fromone of the names of the Je lum, B eirut, and the

Chenab, orratherfrom the thre e names.The zemindars, orlandholders, of this.Doab, are

for the most part Mussulmans. There are nume

rouswater- courses throughout for the purpose ofThe Indus.

The great river formed by the union of all the

five rivers of the Punjab, with the Sin- ka- bab, is’

called the I ndus. It isknown by the formernameat itsorigin, the be lief be ing among the Hindoos,that it issuesfrom a lion’

smouth.

”

The Indusforms the western boundary of thePunjab, asalso of Hindostan ; and the Nativesof

India have always had a horror of crossing it.

In search of conquest, howe ver, both the Sikhs


and Hindoos have re peatedly overcome this pre

judice ; and the latter have pene trated at far as

Cabul,while the former have as yet only spreadthe irconqueststo Peshawur.The course of the Indus isavery long one , and

no E uropean trave ller has yet visite d its source .

Through the exertions of M oorcroft, Trebe ck,Gerard, Vigne , and others, its mountainous course

ispre tty we ll known, while little remains to be

learne d regarding the Indusin the plains. We owemuch valuable information to Burnes,who navigatedthe Indusfrom the seaasfarasthe Punjnud ; and

that ata time when great difficultiesopposed hisprogress, forthe Ame ersof Scinde were then anything but friendly to the British, and place d e very

obstacle in hisway. They justly dreaded him as

the forerunner of invasion and conquest, as he

undoubtedlywas, both in Scinde andAfi'

ghanistan !

It isbe lieved that the Indusriseson the north

ern side of the great Kailas. In the native ac

countsof itsorigin, the mountain iscalled Kilmak,but the ideasentertained by them on thishead are

extreme ly vague .

The Indusre ce ivesin the plainsfive large rivers

united into one stream, named in conse quence the

Punjnud.

The Shy-

yak. One of the most renrarkable of itsmountain tri

butariesisthe Shy-

yok,which at itsunionwith theIndus, here named the Sin- ka- bab, is 1 50 yards

broad, while the latter is not more than e ighty.

1 4 nrsroar or run srxns.

who in crossing the Indus at thisplace , lost theboat containing his jewe ls; itwas thrown againstthe rock. On

’ witnessing the accident, the E m

perot smiled and exclaimed, That rock isas ra

pacious as Julayeea. Others derive the name

from that of a fuke er, who was buried near the

place on the bank of the river.

Afterpassing Attok, the Indusflowsthrough thecountry of the Khuttuk, a tribe of Afi

’

ghans;

emerging from this, it obtainsthe name of Neelab,

orthe blue river; it then passesthe city of Mukhur

and reaches Kalabagh, runs near the village of

Pe eples, and from thence through R eghistan, orthe

sandy country.

The Indus then passes in succession, DeraIshmae l Khan and Dera Ghaze e Khan ; and atDhak, the distance be tween it and the Je lum is

only about fourorfive miles. At ashort distance

above M ittun, the Indusuniteswith the Punjnud ;and from thence to the sea, the irunited streams

form the great river Indus.

The Doab lying be twe en the Je lum and Indusisnamed Sind Sagur. The country is often over

flowed to agreat extent in the periodical rains, resembling an inland sea, and hence the word Sagur,signifying the seaor ocean, may have been applied

to denote thistract.

The capital of the Punjab is Lahore , and fromthistown to De lhi there extendsaseriesof pillars,

A noted fre ebooterorrobber.

nrsroar or TH E suns. 15

intended in former times for measuring the dis

tance ; the interval be twe en each be ing named 3.

laps, and e qual to two E nglish miles! These pillars, orminers, exist on the Indiaside of the Sutlejat the present day, andmay be se en in many placesbe twe en L oodianahand Kurnaul. Theyare visiblefrom agreat distance , and thuse nable the travellerto take the shortest roadwithout the risk of losinghisWay. Not onlywasthe great road marked bykos- minars, but the same care was taken of the

trave llersthemse lves, by the planting of tre es and

ere ction of serais at certain distancesfor the ir ac

commodation ; andat eachserai there was a largetank for the supply ofwater. All these seraisare

nowmore or lessdilapidated, but one can form an

idea of the ir size and splendourfrom the remainsof those se en at Dawra, Kunna, and Rajpoora,be twe en L oodianahand Umballah.

During the Mussulman sway in the Punjab, andevenlong be fore it, L ahorewasavery large city. Its

palacesand mosquesat the present day, point outthe munificence of the Moslem, though Sikhinno

vation hasdone much to alter, and in some cases,destroy the beauty of these edifices; e ven the

tombs of the illustriousdead have not escaped the

ravagesof the fanatic Sikh. Witness that of Je

hange er on the right bank of the Rave e near

L ahore . This handsome edifice , like all other

The kos varies at the present day, and is divided into two kinds;name ly, the kuchaand pucka, the former be ing l ittle more than e qual toone mile .

H ISTORY OF TH E SE E S.

Mussulman buildingsof the kind, hadalofty domein the centre ,whichwasthrown down in the time

of the late Maharajah Runje e t Singh, in orderto

form thewhole terrace intoaparade ground ! The

bigoted Sikhshave otherwise partiallymutilated thebuilding, andwhat the y left undone towards itsdestruction the riVer itse lf islike ly to accomplish inthe course of time ; alreadyhasthewall surroundingthe tomb be en carried away in se veral placesby theforce of the current during the periodical rains.

The palace of The palace of Lahore has be en partially alteredu hm ’

in the interior to suit the taste of the Sikhs; andone room, which was rich in mosaic, formed of

precious stones, has« be en comple te ly divested of

the latter,which are said to have cost nine lakhs

of rupe es, or sterling. From thiscircum

stance the room obtained the name of the Neo

lakh kakumra.

The extensive ruins be twe en Lahore and the

Shalamar gardens, showthat in former times thecity extende d from the latter to its present siteandavivid idea is thereby afforded of the former

size of thiscapital of the Punjab.

The various sirdars in the service of the late

Maharajah Runje e t Singh have princely houses inthe city of Lahore among others, that of the lateJemadar Khooshyal Singh was conspicuous, andonly se cond in size and grandeur to the palaceitse lf.The Shalamar gardenswere constructed after

the mode l of the ce lebrate d onesof the same name


at De lhi, and have be en kept in tolerable orderthrough the exertions of Runje e t Singh,whowasexceedingly fond of gardens and flowers. In the

country lying be twe en Shalamarand Lahore , se veral placeswere laid out by him in flower gardens,andasmall house constructe d at each for the aocommodation of the Maharajahwhen visiting thesefavourite Spots.

Though Lahore has always be en the capitalofthe Punjab, the city of Kussoor, nowadilapidatedplace ,was coevalwith it in size and grandeur, and,at first, formed adistinct capital of this portion of

the Doab'

lying be twe en the Gharraand the Rave e .

The ruins of Kussoor point it out as a place of

great extent, and it was he ld possession of bythe present family of M umdote , and conqueredwith difficulty by Runje e t Singh after he had

made himse lf master of the other portion of the

Punjab.

The formerde ep bed of the Gharrais to be se en

nearKussoor, showing that this river,whichnowflowsabout five miles from Fe erozpore , hadat one

time pursue d itscourse close to Kussoor,and about

twe lve m ilesfrom itspresent channe l.The se cond city of the Punjab, and the first in Umritsir»

acommercial point of view, isUmritsir. It isalso

aplace of great sanctity, from the existence of a

holy tank and Gooroo temple , in the construction

and adornment ofwhich vast sumsof money havebe e n expended.

The dome isexce edingly rich, and itsgilded andVOL . 1 . c


glittering surface hasasplendid appearance whenrefle cting the raysof the se tting sun.

The temple isbuilt in the tank, surrounded bywater on all sides, except where the causewayleading to it has be en ere cted. The door of the

temple faces the north, and on the ground- floor

opposite to it sits the presiding Gooroo,with theholy book of the Grunth lying Open be fore him .

This apartment is strewed with flowers and the

presentsmade by the daily visiters.

The road leading to the door of the temple is

constantly crowded by Sikhs passing to and fromthe temple . A flight

'

of steps leads to the upper

apartm ents, from which a full viewis obtained ofthe Sacred Tank, and the numerous handsom e

buildings ere cted on its sides, be longing to the

various Sikh Sirdars in the Punjab, aswe ll asonthisside of the Sutlej .The windowshuttersof the temple are coveredwith gold, and the whole structure isofarich andbeautiful description .

The Ukale es. Opposite the great temple or the Durbar Sahib,as it is usually called by the Sikhs themse lves,stands the temple of the Ukalees,who, at the prese nt day, exhibit more of the original characterofthe Sikhs, as established by the early founderof theS ikh re ligion, than is to be metwith among the

common Sikhs. The Ukale es are extravagantfanatics; theywage warwith the followers of all

otherre ligions, agre eably to the tene tsof the irgreatre former, ofwhomwe shall Speak hereafter. The y

H ISTORY OF TH E SIR IIS .

carry destruction wherever an opportunity offers,and some tim escrossthe Gharraon plundering ex

peditions.

The Ukale e is alwaysknown by his blue turban, and the circles of chukhurs of ste e l, re

sembling quoits, which he wears over it. Theseare weapons of warfare , thrown with great precision and often deadly e ffe ct by the Ukale e .

Noweaponsbut fire - armshave any chance againstsuch missiles.

Not far fi'

om Umritsir is the city of Taruntara. Taruntara.

It ischiefly inhabited by the Ukale es, and formsaplace of some interest in the history of the Gooroos

(spiritual teachers).There are many obje ctsof interest in the ne igh Govindgurh.

bourhood of Umritsir. Nearthe city, on the roadto Lahore , is the fort of Govindgurh, so named

afterthe tenth and last Gooroo, Govind Singh . I t

is, orwas, the depository of the public treasure .

The place isstrongly built, but the situation isnota commanding one , and could not long stand asiege with gunsofalarge calibre .

Umritsir is a fortified city, but of no great

strength . Unlike the fort of Bhurtpore in British

India, it isconstructed of brick, andwhole massesof the wallwould tumble down be fore abatteringtrain ; while the ditch is insignificant, and filled

withwater from the M ote e Jhe e l. Several housesare built on the bastions at Umritsir, and on one

of them stands the house formerly occupied by

Goojur Singh, aphieftainwhowent asambassadorc 2


to Calcutta, on the part of the Lahore Govern

ment, with presentsfor the King of E ngland !The Rambagh is close to Umritsir, and consists

of a garden, as the name implies. An old fort

formerly occupied the site . The garden contains

several large and neat houses,whichwere occupiedby Sikh chieftains,when they visited Umritsir forre ligious purposes, and the celebration of the fes

tival of the Dusserah.

Thusmuch of the riversand chief townsin thePunjab. We will nowaddress ourse lves to thehistory of that interesting country.Nothing of certainty is known regarding the

Punjab or its kings, until the fourth century be

fore the Christian era,when the Punjabwassubdued by Alexanderthe Great.

It isgenerally supposed that Alexander reache d

the right bank of the Beas, or H yphasis, after

conquering the country, and re ce iving the sub

mission, successive ly, of Porus, SOphites, and Phe

ge las. The first of these isstated, by Indian historians, to have be en the sam e as Phoor, king of

H industan ; but the ir account wide ly differsfromthat of the Gre ek historians, and is no doubt inmany respe ct fabulous. According to them, the

battle be twe en Porus andAlexander took place atSirhind, so that the conqueror must have passe d

Thisunfortunate manwas addicted to the immoderate use of spirits,

and falling from the bastion while in astate of intoxication, waskilled on

the spot. In the fort, orratheron the walls, the late Rajah Dhyan Singh,Prime M inisterof Runje e t S ingh, had some of hisown gunsstationed.

22 ms'roav or rm: sums.

be en applied to the Gharra. The city whichAlexander found defended, not only by awall, butby amarsh, would indicate Lahore . There are

howe ver no means of arriving at the fact, forthe

historian confines himself to the names of the

rivers, and the re igning princes of the Punjab, in

describing the progress of the Macedonian. In

the he ight of the rains, the ground be twe en Lahoreand the Rave e , orH ydraotes, isacomple te swamp ;and in the time ofAurungzebe , the river itse lf en~

croachedso faron the city, asto require abulwarkfor the prote ction of the latter. I t is not like lythat Alexander, bent as he was on further con

quests,would have taken the circuitousroute bythe Beas and Sutlej, when he could reach theGharrain two or thre e days, asit then no doubtoccupied its bed near the city of Kussoor. The

latter city may therefore have be en that of Phe

ge las.The country be twe en the H ydaspes and H y

draotes, is described by Quintus Curtius as a

jungly tract inhabited bywild beasts. The banian ,

orbur tre e , isde lineatedwith great fide lity by thehistorian. Plen

'

que rams’

instar ingentium stipi

tum flexz'

- in humans, farsas qua se curvavemnt,

erig ebanturadeo, at species esset non rams'

resurgen

tis, sed arboris ea: sud radios g eneratw.

”

The

poisonousqualities of the snakes are also allude dto : the irbite was immediate ly followed by death,unlessaremedywasapplied by the natives.

That the pe ople of the Punjab were we ll ao

H ISTORY OF TH E SlKH S .

quaintedwith the use of arms is shown by theformidable array of war chariots drawn up to

oppose Alexanderafter he had crossed the Rave e .

These chariotswere tie d toge ther, and filledwitharme d men ; some had darts, others Spears andaxes. No mention ismade of bowsandarrows, soge nerally employed by the Sikhs of the present

day, asweapons ofwar. So unusual amode of

warfare alarmed the Mace donians, for the barbarians leaped from one chariot to anotherwhenwishing to assist the ir comrades. After losinge ighty of theirmen, the barbariansfledwithin the ircity. A noble bre ed of dogsism entioned, fourof

whichwere considere d amatch foralion, abeast ofprey then common in the Punjab, anduntil of lateyears frequently found in the H urrianah district,on this side the Sutlej . The term Singh,applied 53:13a

m

by Gooroo Govind to his followers, may have hadreference to the great numberof lionsinfesting the

Punjab, even in his time . At the present day the

tigersappearto have taken the place of the lions,andare often me twith in the jungles skirting the

banksof the rivers.

It isto be lamented, that no authentic re cords

are to be found regarding the Punjab after thetime of Alexander, until the time of the Mussul

man rulers of the country, embracing aperiod ofyears, or from the year be fore the Christian

era325, until A.D . 997, in the re ign of Subuctagi.

At this time , it is re lated in Dow’s history of

Hindostan, Je ipe lwas the Hindoo king of Lahore ,

24 H ISTORY or run sinus.

and had frequent contestswith the emperor of

Ghuzni.

H is son and successor, Anundpal,wagedwarwith the great Mamood, who defeated bothhimandhisfatherJcipnl; the latter having be en van

quished both by Suburtagi and Mamood, burned

himself on a funeral pile , according to H indoo

custom. Anundpal, on his defeat, fled to Cashmere , and soon after we find him in M ooltan,

where Mamood proce eded to punish him.

On this occasion, the Hindoo princesof H indostan were de termined to drive the Mussulmans

from India, and entere d into a confederacy withAnundpal ; the chie f of these were the princesofOojein, Gwalior, Gallinger, Kinnoge , De lhi, andAjmere . Anundpalwasalso joine d by the Gickers.

Thussupported, he surrounded the Mussulmans,whowere obliged to entrench themse lves.

Mamood commenced the action by ordering athousand archers to the front, but the y wereattacked by the Gickers, and obliged to fly to thee ntrenched camp, where a great slaughter tookplace , and of the Mussulmanswere killed inafewm inutes. The fate of the daywashowe ve rde cided in favour of Mamood, by the e lephant ofAnundpal taking flight, which struck a panicthroughout his army, and the victory was com

ple ted by the Arabian horse under the command

of Abdulla, and the Turkish, Afl'

ghan, and Chilligis

tr00ps, underArsilla.

” —Dow.

Thiswasasad blowto the Hindoos, but atreaty

H ISTOR Y or TH E srxns. 25

of peace was concluded be twe en Anundpal and

Mamood,whereby the formerkept possession of thePunjab. Anundpalmust have be en possessed of

greatwealth, sincewe findhim ofi'

ering to re imburse

Mamood the expense ofhisexpedition to Indiafor

the purpose of destroying Thannessir, besidesan

offer of fifty elephantsand jewe lsto aconsiderable

The Punjab was ultimate ly wrested from the

Hindoosby Mamood, on hisre turn from histenth

expedition to India. The last Hindoo king of

Lahore wasPutturugepal,who fledon the approachof Mamood, and the E mperorappointed one of his

omrahsto the government of Lahore , in the year

of.the Christian era1 022. (Dow.)In the re ign of Mamood, an attempt was made

by the Indian chiefs of the Punjab to regain the

country, Colle cting alarge army, they advancedto Lahore , and invested it. The siege lastedse venmonths, and the Mussulmans, se e ing no chance of

succour, sallied out, and offered battle to the

Hindoos,whowere so struckwith the irresolution,that they be took themse lves to flight, and werepursuedwith great slaughter.

In the yearA. D. 1 1 58, Chusero, son of Byram,

was crowned at Lahore , and died there after are ign of se ven years; so that this is the first ofthe emperors of Ghuzni, who, leaving his owncountry, made Lahore the seat of empire .

Chusero the Se cond re igned at Lahore , wherehe was besie ged by Mahomed, brother to the

H ISTORY OI" TH E BIKE S .

Prince of Ghor, but unable to take the place , a

treaty was forme d be tween him and Chusero.

Lahore wasasecond time besieged by Mahomed.

butwith the same result ; he therefore laidwastethe countrywith fire andsword, and built the fortof Sealcote , whichwas, in its turn, besieged byChusero, butwithout success. Mahomed for thethird time advanced against Lahore, and be camemasterof it by treachery.

Lahore was thus transferred to the house of

Ghor.

When Mahomed Gori had taken Lahore , he

bestowed it on the Governor of Mooltan, and re

tire d himse lf to Ghazni.

It isne edlessfor us, in thisplace , to followthehistory of the Punjabwhile under the Mussulman

The Sikhs, who inhabit the Punjab and holdpossession of the country, had the ir origin, like

othernations, in small beginnings; but unlike thoseof E urope , instead of making conquest theirfirst

obje ct, the Sikhsbegan by uniting themse lves into

adistinct religiousse ct, or offse t from the H indoos,having re ligioustene tsof the ir own, and obeying,asthe irhead, ateacher, orGooroo.

Some native historiansexplain the word Goorooto be derived from Giroh, a crowd or assemblage

of . pe ople of different castes. But the more

general acceptation of the word Gooroo’ is thatsignificant of teacher, and the followers of thisteacher are named Sikhs or learners.


The first Gooroo, or teacher, among the SikhswasNanuk (Be de e ,) and the lastwasGovind Singh(Sode e .) Be fore proce eding, howe ver, with the

history of Nanuk, it may be ne cessary to explain

the meaning of the terms Bede e and Sode e , as

applied to the Gooroos.It is re lated that in former times the Rajah £35

1

30 “

Ram Chunder, son of Kussruth, divorced his

wife Se e ta, and gave injunctions to his younger

brother, L uchmun, to carry her twe lve miles intothe jungle , and then desert her. L uchmun so far

obeyed this order that he carried her into the

country of the Punjab, and there le ft her at the

spot where the H indoo place of worship nowexists called Ram Te eruth, about sixmiles fromUmritsir.

See tawas here de livered of two sons, one of

whom she named Loh, and the other Kussoo.

When arrived at manhood, the se became wealthymen, and each built a city towhich he gave hisown name ; that of the e lder be ing Lahore , and Lahore andthe younger Kussoor, both of which remain at

Kussoo“

the present day ; the former be ing the capital of

the Punjab, and the latter exhibiting tracesof anextensive city, about twe lve milesfrom Fe erozpore .

The descendantsof Loh and Kussoo continued

to possessLahore and Kussoor; but after a longseriesof years, when Kulraowas king of Lahore ,and Kulputwasking of Kussoor, the latterraised alarge army, andmade war on the former, whomhe vanquished, and took possession of Lahore ,

28 msronv or rm: arm .

expe lling Kulrao from the Punjab. Kulrao, after

his de feat and flight, took refuge in the Dekhan

with Amrit, king of that country. The kingtreated the fugitive with great distinction and

kindness, bestowedhisdaughteron .him in marriage ,andat hisdeath le ft him he ir to hiskingdom. By

this princess, Kulrao had ason, named Sodae Rao,who succe eded hisfather. H e made conquests inHindostan, and be came agreat king. One day his

wuze er told Sode e Rao, that “ though king of so

many countries,hisproperkingdomwasthe Punjab,fromwhich hisfatherhadbe en expe lle d by Kulput,andwas ne ver able to re turn and regain hiskingdom,

”

Sode e Rao, on hearing this, colle cted alarge army, and se t out for Lahore . H e engaged

hisuncle in battle and defeated him, driving him

se lfandallhischildren out of the Punjab. Afterthishe ascended the throne of Lahore .

Kulput, afterhis de feat, be came awanderer onthe face of the earth, and at length reached the

holy city of Kassir, known in modern timesby thename of Benares. Itwasthen, asnow, the greatresort of learned Hindoos, and here Kulput beganto study the books of the Hindoo re ligion, calle d

Béds. While thusemployed, he found apassagewhich stated that tyranny was a great sin, andso long as aman exercised it he had no right toexpe ct mercy.

”

Refle cting on this sentence , andconsidering that he himse lfhad behavedasatyrantto hisbrotherin making war on, and de throninghim, he resolved on going to Lahore , and asking

30 H ISTORY or TH E sums.

cult to explain the circumstance of Nanuk be ing a

descendant of Kulput Bede e , unlesswe suppose

that the dynasty descended from the family of

Kulput to the time of Putturugepal, the last Hindoo

king of the Punjab. The re cords of Jeipal, Annudpal, and Putturugepalare so scanty, exceptingasregardsthe ir contentionswith the Mussulmans,thatwe knownothing of the ir private history, andforwant ofabe tter explanation of the termsBede eand Sode e , we must suppose that Nanukwas alineal descendant of Kulput, and Ram Dassequally

so of Sode e Rao.


CHAPTE R I .

TH E H ISTORY or GOOROO NANUK (sauna)

NANUKwasborn in the year of the H ij era 892, girth

]?anucorresponding to the year of the Christian era

1 468" and to 1 525 of Bikermaje e t, in the 32nd

y earof the re ign of Beloli (Lodi) . Nanuk’

sfather,whose name wasKulloo of the Chuttre e caste ,wasa native of the village of Tilwundy, but Nanukwasnot born there , though stated to be so by bothF orster and Malcolm . Tilwundy is about sixtym iles from Lahore , [Forster. ] and twenty south of

W uze erabah, on the route from thence to Umritsir,

in latitude 32° In the time of

Forster (1 782) the village wasknown by the name

I n Malcolm’sske tchof the Sikhs, the year 1469isgiven ; but the year

in the text isthe correct one , since the calculation ismade withboththe eraof the H ij era, and that of Bikermaj e e t. Malcolm most likely followedF orste r,who also assumed 1469as the year of Nanuk’e birth. In Dow’shistory of H indostan, Bikermaj e e t issaid to have died in the e ighty- ninthy e ar of the Christian era. The Mussulman authors of the H istory of theS ikhs preserve invariably, aperiod of fifty

- seven yearsbe twe e n the Christian e raand that of Bikermaje e t, orSamvat.

H ISTORY OF TII E BIKE S.

of Rhaypore . In the account of the birth of

Nanuk it is called Tilwundy- rae - malar, meaningwisdom andwealth,” and the change to Raeporewas probably given to indicate the city of

wisdom, from the circumstance of Nanuk havingbe en supposed to have be en born there , orat leastof hisfatherbe ing an inhabitant of the village .

Foralong time after his marriage , Kulloo hadno children, and be came a fake er, or re ligiousmendicant. It so happened that one day anotherfuke er came to Kulloo’

sbut, and partook of some

food. Kulloo no doubt told hisstory to hisguest,forno soonerhad the latterfinishedhismeal, than

he ordered the fragments to be carried to Kulloo’

s

wife ,who, he said,would conce ive , and her son beagreat man. After she had ate of the food, the

fuke er’

s prophe cywas fulfilled, and on herfather

hearing the glad tidings,he sent forhisdaughterto

the village of Mare e ,which isnear Kot Kutchwa,and here Nanukwasborn.

Tilwundy cannot there fore claim the honourofbe ing the birthplace of Nanuk. Asto the miracu

lous part of the story, it deservesbut little notice ,and was probably compose d at some afterperiod,to impart adegre e of sanctity to the Gooroo.

After the fulfilment of the fuke er’

s prophe cy,Kulloo re turned to Tilwunde e , and resumed hisoccupation asamerchant, though hiswife probablyremained with her father, and had a daughter

named Nanuke e ,who marriedaHindoo in the se r

H ISTORY OF TH E SI KH St

vice of Dawbut Khan L odi, are lation of the re igning emperorofDelhi, BeloliLodi. —MalcolmNanuk

’

s intellect was precocious. At the early H isbe lie f inage of four, he wassent to the village school, the

Dew"

masterwhereofwasaDe ist, andwished to inculcatethe same principle in hisyouthful scholar, but the

boy, to hisgreat astonishment, instead of yie ldingimplicit cre dence , enquired of his teacher, What

proofshe could give him of the existence of aGod ?

Such a question naturally inspired the manwith awish to knowmore of his scholar, and on makinginquiry, he wastold that Nanukwasthe gift of a

fnke er! On hearing this, the schoolmaster re‘

-s

nounced the world and became a fuke er himse lf.As Nanuk advanced in years, he be came partial

to fuke ers, dividing his property amongst them ;

and though he wante d proof of the existence of a

De ity in his boyhood, he soon be came a firm

believerin one .

H ispartiality to the fuke ers led him often into Partiality to

scriousscrapeswithhis father: one is re lated bymkem ’

Malcolm . Nanuk having re ce ived asum ofmoney

from his father to purchase salt at one‘village ,

in order to se ll it at another, happened on the

road to fall inwith some fuke ers,with whom he

wished to commence aconversation, but theyweresoweak from Want of victuals,which they hadnottasted for thre e days, that they could only reply to

the observationsof Nanuk by bending the irheads,and othercivil signsofacquiescence .

von. 1 . D


Nanuk, affe cted by their situation, said to his

companion, M y fatherhassent me to deal in salt

with a. viewto profit ; but the gain of thisworldis unstable and profitless; my wish is to re lie vethese poor men, and to obtain that gainwhich ispermanent and e ternal.” H is companion (Bala

Sandhu) replied, Thy resolution isgood : do not

de lay its exe cution.

” Nanuk immediate ly distri

buted hismoney to the hungry fuke ers,who, afterthey had gained strength from the re freshment

which it obtained for them, entered into a longdiscourse with him on the unity of God, withwhich he was much de lighted. H is father did

not at all approve of this mode of laying out his

money, and though his sister, Nanuke e , interceded, Nanuk, no doubt, was punished. H is

fatherused hisutmost endeavours to turn the attention of his son to worldly matters, andwiththis viewbuilt a sh0p for him at Sultanpore , in

the Bist Jalindhur, and furnished it with variousarticles of merchandise ; but, instead of turningthem to any account, he bestowed the whole on

fuke ers. Failing in his object, by thismeans, hisfather insisted onhismarrying ; thinking, no doubt,that this step would cause him to renounce hiswandering life . H e was accordingly married atWittala; but he spe edily left his home andwentto the jungle in search of fuke ers; and where verhe heard of them, there he proce eded. Nanukhad nowpublicly be come one of them ; and his

natural talents, though still aboy, soonwon for


him a high place among them . H e be came ateacherat the early age of e le ven years, and hadfollowers; among the rest, M urdana, amusician,

who afterwards attende d him in his trave ls, andfrom be ing aMussulman, be came aconvert to thetene tsof Nanuk. Two othersof hisfollowersarece le brated : the one named Boodha, and the other

Lehna. To these Nanuk taught his doctrines,whichwere those of pure De ism .

Nanuk endeavoured_to conciliate , or re concile ,

both Hindoos and M ussulmans, by forbidding the

formertoworship imagesand idols while he deprecated the intolerance of the Mussulmans to the

Hindoos; andabove all, forbade the slaughter of

the cow, an offence which is to thisday visited bythe severest punishment among the Sikhs—the lossof life be ing often the penalty incurred for killingthe animal.The pre cepts of Nanuk were those of peace H ispeace fulwith all mankind ; and he inculcated an abhor “ new

rence of war among people be lie ving in God, on

whom hisfirm re liance wasplaced for e very thing ;and acting on this principle , he was regardless ofwordly matters, and divide d e very thing he had

with hisfe llow- creatures.

On the whole , Nanuk’

s tene ts e vince azealousdesire to remove all the abuses and idolatriesof

the Hindoos, and the intolerance of the Mussul

mans.

Nanuk’

s tim e was spent in offering praises to

God in poe tical e ffusions; and he made no dis

D 2


tinction be twe en Hindoosand Mussulmans. The

poems of Nanuk are ce lebrate d. H e traversed

Hindostan and Scinde ; and, according to some

authors, visite d M e cca. H e appears to have be en

amatch for the Moollahs, as the following anecAnswer to the dote , re lated by Malcolm, will show H ow"mm

darest thou, infide l,”said the offended Mahomedan

priest, turn thy fe e t towardsthe House of God?”Turn them , if you can,

”

said the pious but in

dignant Nanuk, “ in adirectionwhere the Houseof God isnot.”

Nanuk did not deny the mission of Mahomed,though he reprobated his oppressive crue lty and

intolerance to the Hindoos, and, above all, the

slaughterof the cow; for these crimeshe be lie vedthe prophe t had justly died. Nanuk consideredhimself asuccessorto Mahomed .and that he wasdestined to restore , by his example , precepts, and

writings, the whole of mankind to the worship ofGod. H e urge d the Hindoos and Mussulmans

to read the ir Scriptures. and obey the doctrines

taught there . Butwhile inculcating faith in one

Supreme De ity, and offering the ir praises to H imalone , he did not forge t that good works’weree qually incumbent ; and that to these tene tsof faith

andworksthey should look for mercy, and it mattared little towhat caste they be longed.

33211

331

1

1

11

3} The following extract from Malcolm’

sworkwillthe De ity. give asublime ideaof Nanuk

’

snotion of the De ity,and of the worthlessness of men A hundredthousand of Mahomeds,

”said Nanuk, amillion of

38 ms'ronr on TH E sums.

Ades!Ades! and the salutation of the Mahomedans

is, Salam Alikam ; and that of the Hindoos, Ram !

Ram l; but the word of thy se ct shall be Guru, andI will forgive the crimes of thy disciples. The

place ofworship of the Bairagisiscalled Ram Séla;that of the Yogis, Asan ; that of the Sanyasis, Mat ;but that of thy tribe shall be De ermaSala. Thou

must teach unto thy followersthre e lessons: the first,toworship my name ; the se cond, charity ; the third,ablution. They must not abandon the world, andthey must do ill to no be ing ; for into every be inghave I infuse d breath ; andwhate ver I am, thou

art, forbe twe en usthere isno difference . It isa

blessing that thou art sent into the Kali- yug.

’

Afterthis, WaI Guru,’

or Well done Teacherl,’

waspronounced from the mouth of the M ost High

Guru, or teacher, (Gcd,) andNanuk came to givelight and fre edom to the universe .

”

(Malcolm )The above passage , asMalcolm justly observed,

gives a sufficient viewof the ideaswhich theSikhsentertain of the divine origin of the ir faith.

”

Nanuk be lieved in me tempsychosis, and that

really good menwould enjoy paradise ; while thosewho had no claim to the name of good, but ye t

were not bad, would undergo another probation,by revisiting the world in the human form ; and

that the badwould animate the bodies of animals,particularly dogsand cats: but it appearsfrom the

Punjabe e authors, that Nanukwasacquainte dwiththe Mahomedan doctrine regarding the fall of man

andafuture state , and that he represented it to


hisfollowersasasystem inwhich God, by shewingaheaven andhell, had in his goodness, he ld out

future reward and punishment to man, whose willhe had le ft fle e , to invite him to good actionsandde terhim from bad.

” —Malcolm.

The peace ful tene ts inculated by Nanuk forma pleasing contrast to the present warlike and

quarre lsome habits of the Sikhs; but the causeof thischange will be manifested in the sequel.Towardsthe latterpart of his life , Nanuk dweltfirmlfim

on the banks of the Rave e , and established hisof the Rave e

family there . H e had two sons: the one named

L uchme e Doss, and the other Sre e Chund ; the

formerbe came aman of the world. H e had twosons, .whose decendantsremain at the present day.

Sre e Chund was a fukee r, and from him are

descended the Codasse fuke ers.Some say that Nanuk had an uncle named

L alloo, whose son was called L uchme e Doss.L alloo had agreat este em for Nanuk, callinghim his son, and L uchme e Nanuk

’

s servant.

Nanuk formed a. very strong attachment to

L uchme e , saying they had the same body and

soul, and there was no difference be twixt them .

On this account the descendants of L uchme e

Doss were considered the same as those of

Nanuk, and it is said that Nanuk had in reality,no descendants. Those of Sre e Chund are

named Nanuk Pootras, or children of Nanuk.

Boodha, one of Nanuk’

sfollowers, lived toagreatage : hisstory iscurious.

Boodha,


One day BahaNanak was sitting at the village

of Toonga, and be ing thirsty he called on Boodha,whowasfe eding his cows near the place , to bringhim some water in avesse l (lotah) : Boodha re

plied, that the waterwasat agreat distancebut added, if youwill look aftermy cows, I willbring you some ,

”

Nanuk said, There isatank

bringwaterfrom thence .

”

Boodhareplied, There

iscertainly atank nearat hand, but it isdrie d up.

”

Nanuk, rejoined Go and see .

”

Boodhawenttowardsthe tank, and to his surprise found it filledwithwater, though he had se en it dry in the

morning ! H e fille d the vesse l and brought it to

Nanuk ; and from witnessing the miracle , Boodha

be came a follower or disciple of Nanuk, whobestowed his blessing on him . Thisman live d in

the time of the GooroosUrjun and H urGovind.

The former re quested him to point out the tankfromwhich he had taken the water, in order thathe m ight construct anewone ; which he did, andcalle d it Umritsir, or the water of immortality.

Boodha had two sons, and lived at the village ofRam Dass.

Another follower of Nanuk, and his successor,was named Lehna, of the Chuttre e caste . ThisLehnawason hisway to JuwalaMookhe e , agreat

place of worship among the Hindoos. near KoteKangra. On the road he me t Nanuk, and fromhispreaching be came aconvert and followerof theGooroos.

Nanuk died at the age of 7 1 , in the year963 of


the H ij era, and A.D . 1 539, in the first yearof thegarlic:

re ign of Akhbar. H e re igned as Gooroo sixty

yam , five months, and seven days. H is tomb “ is“ m"

(summe d) ison the bank of the Ravee , five milesfrom Kulanoor. Vast crowds colle ct annually toperform certain ceremonies in commemoration of

the day of his de cease .—Forster. The place is

name d Ke ertipore ; and according to Malcolm, a

small pie ce of Nanuk’

s garment is exhibited to

pilgrims, as asacred re lic, at his Dhurmasala, or

temple .

”

Nanuk, as the founder of the Sikhs, is greatlyvenerated by that nation, though they appear to

have entire ly forgotte n histene tsof peace . In the

time of Nanuk, his followerswere probably fewinnumber, and leading quie t and peaceable lives; nonotice wastaken of them by the Mussulman rulersof the Punjab, and there is no mention made ofthem in the history, of the latter. It isstated byFoster, that “ in one of Baber’s expeditions into

India, Nanuk having be en apprehended by some ofhis soldiers,was brought be fore that prince ,whoinformed of the sanctity of his character, treatedhimwith respe ct and indulgence .

”

Malcohn says,that Baberwas please dwith him, and ordere d anample maintenance to be bestowed on him,whichthe Sikh priest refused, observing that he truste d

in H imwho provide d forall men, and that amanof virtue and re ligionwould consent to re ce ive nofavourorreward from men.

’

Nanuk must have commence d his ministry at “ iscl‘m cter

42 ms'ronr or run sums.

e leven years of age , and thus spent along life in

propagating his doctrines. By the side of awe ll,andunderthe shade of the pe epul tre e , did Nanukdiscourse to his followers; be required no costly

building for this purpose , and the word deyralz, ortent, is often allude d

,

to as the place where hepreached ; with no other prote ction than thatafforded by atent, he trave lled over thewhole ofH indostan, and visite d Persiaand Arabia. After

comple ting these trave ls, he put off the fuke er’

s

dress, though he continued to instructhisfollowers.Thischange in hisdressdrewupon him the violent

apposition of the Hindoos, and according to Mal

colm, he enrage d the yogiswaras’ so much, thatthe y tried all theirpowers of enchantment to ter

rify him. Some assume d the shape of lions andtigers, others hissed like snakes, one fell in a

showerof fire , andanother tore the starsfrom the

firmament.”

On Nanuk be ing require d to astonish them bysome miracle , he replied, I have nothing to ex

hibit worthy of your regard. A holy teacherhasno de fence but the purity of his doctrine . The

world may change, but the Creator isunchangeable .

”

Nanuk is described by all authorsasaman of

great moral courage , and possesse d of powers of

e loquence which never failed to produce a greate ffe ct on hishearers. H is obje ctwasto prove , by

Recluse pe nitents,who by meansof me ntal and corporeal mortification, have acquired command over the powersof nature—Malcolm.

H ISTORY or TH E sums. 43

hispre cepts, example , andwritings, that hewasaninspire d teacher. H e harangued the pe ople ,whocolle cted about himwhereverhewent ; andhe employe d his le isure hours in composition. As an

example of his unbending character it may bementioned, that he was invited by aRajah to renounce hismode of life and austere habits, and toaccept the enjoyment of all human luxuries. But

allsuch offerswere made in vain. By hispowerfule loquence and arguments he even converted thisRajah, and resided with him during aconsiderablelength of time

,in the course ofwhich he wasem

ployed in composing the Pran Suncule e ,”

asort oftext book forthe guidance of his followers. Thiswasan early production itwasfinishe d soon afterhe had assumed the life and habitsof afuke er, andwasafterwardsincorporate d in the first part of theGrunth. M iraclesare attribute d to Nanuk by hisfollowers, but he ne ver pre tende d to any himse lf.

Filling the tank with water may be considered asone , andwas the cause of Boodha be coming hisfollower. Malcolm relates, that when Nanukwasquite ayouth, and employed to tend cattle in

the fie lds, he happened to repose himse lfunder the

shade of a tre e , and as the sun de clined towardsthe west, its rays fe ll on his face ,when a largeblack snake advancing to the Spotwhere he lay,raised itse lf from the ground and interposed its

Spread hood be twe en Nanuk and the sun’

sray s.

Thiswasobserved by the chie f of the district, andfrom the great veneration in which the snake is


he ld by the Hindoos,was no doubt rece ived asa

sure proof of the future greatnessofNanuk.

crumb,Nanuk

’

spreceptsfor the guidance of his followersare contained in the Grunth,

”

orHoly Book

of the Sikhs; itwasbegun, and the first part of itwritten, by Nanuk and his immediate successors.

This part is named Adi- Grunth, to distinguish itfrom the se cond portion, compose d exclusive ly by

the great re former Gooroo Govind, Nanuk’

s suc

cessor. This second part is accordingly named

the DesumaPadshah kaGrunth,”or Book of

the tenth king.

”

The re ligioustene tsof Nanuk, ascontained in the Adi- Grunth, continued in force ,with slight modifications, until the time of GoorooGovind,who e ffe cte d atotal reform in the re ligion,manners, and habits of the Sikhs; and it is nowinvain to look for the observance ofany ofhispeace

ful doctrines, excepting among the descendants of

Sre e Chund, or the Nanuk Footras. Before the

time of Govind, howe ver, some of the Goorooshadarmed the irfollowers, but thiswaschiefly done for

the purpose of defence ; with this exception, all

the tene ts of Nanuk were re ligiously preserveduntil Govind Singh gave an entire ly newcharacterto the Sikhs,who from be ing quie t and peaceable ,became at once awar- like tribe , spreading terrorand desolationwherever theywent.The Grunth iswritten in the Goomoocki cha

racte r, amodified spe cies of the Nagari.”

I t is

placed in the holy temple of Umritsir, and con

stantly re ferred to in all matters by the Sikhs.


that all space wasfilledwith H im. The most ih

significant animal that crawled ou the earth, the

least complicated flower that de cked the face of

the desert,were alikeo

the work of the same Divinehand that formed the e le phant andwide - spreadingbanian tre e ! Trusting to this bountiful Be ing,Nanuk despised allworldly riches, unless in so faras they serve d to relieve his fe llow- creatures; and

charity to all mankind was one of the pre cepts

which hewas induce d to preach to hisfollowers,next to de votion to the De ity. The life ofafe llowcreature wassacre d in hiseyes, forthe same breathwas breathe d into them all by the Almighty, and

wasonly to be taken away by H im . Murder,war,and discord,whe reby the lives of men were sacrificed, he depre cated ; and crue lty and intolerance

were he ld inabom ination by him, ashe inoussins.The doctrine of the fallof man, by afirst act of

disobedience to the will of hisCreator, was not.

admitted by Nanuk : he he ld that nothing wasne eded but apure and holy life to insure happiness; grounded, assuch must be , in abe lie f of theDe ity ever present towatch man’

s actions. After

all, Nanuk’

swasan imperfe ct code of re ligion, and

finite in its application ; but such as itwas, thereare many professing Christians whose cre ed is

equally limited .

That the Sikhs, as originally constituted by

Nanak,were a singular pe ople , there can be no

doubt ; but since the reformation of the tribe by

Govind, the tenth and last Gooroo, they have lost

H ISTORY or TH E sums. 47

all distinctiveness, and are now, like otherPaganand barbarous nations, victims to the ir e vil pro

pensities, the irmorality is e ven be lowthat of theblood- thirsty M oslems, for they are guilty of crimesre volting in the sight of God and man.

We have nowbrought toaconclusion thisske tchof the history of Nanuk ; itwill be se en thatwehave availed ourse lves of the writings of others,but for the comple tion of such awork, the materialsare fewand scanty. Were we to followthePunjabe e authorsin re lating the life of Nanuk, the

incidents re corded would enable us to lay the

ground-work of a romance , but itwould certainlynot deserve the name of history.

in tracing the livesof Nanuk’

se ight successors,itwill not be ne cessary to enter into such minute

particularsasare given above , as theywere strict

followers of Nanuk, inculcating his doctrine , andmaking prose lytestohistene ts. The ninth Gooroo

in descent from Nanuk deservesamore lengthenedconsideration, as under him the simplicity of theSikhswaslost, and the nation, asalready observed,be came apowerful andwarlike pe ople .


CHAPTE R I I.

LIVE S or e oonoo UNGUT, UMMUR Doss, RAM was,URJUN, H UR GOVIND , H UB. RAO, H UB KISH E N,

AND TE JE BUH ADUR .

Nanuk’asuc IrNanuk really had two sons, he did not concem r’

sider e itherof them afit successor to the office hehad create d. Be fore his death, the Gooroo hadchosen hisfaithful followerLehnato succe ed him,

and name d him Ungut, from the following circumstancc.

’

One daywhile Baha'

iNanukwaswandering inthe jungles, attende d by Boodha and Lehna, at a

certain place they found acoffinwith acorpse in it.Nanuk desired Boodha to eat the corpse , but the

latterin disgust refused. H e gave the same order

Malcolm givesAug—body, and Khud—own, as the explanation of the

word, but without alluding to the circumstance in the text which gave riseto Nanuk calling Lehnahisown body.

1' Bahaisaword often applied to fuke ers; both thisand Shah were frequently employed by the Sikh historianswhen speaking of the irfounder.They e ve n sty le himNanak Narinlmr, orNanak the Omnipresent.—Malcolm .


to Lehna,who,without any hesitation, complied,re questing to knowwithwhat part of the body heshould commence . Nanuk replied, With thefe e t.” Lehna having opened the coffin, began to

eat,when the corpse suddenly disappeared. On

se e ingwithwhat readinessLehnahad obeyed hiscommand, Nanuk embraced him, and from that

time calle d him Ungut, or own body. Thisis

considered amiracle by the Sikhs,who be lie ve thatthe body of Nanuk passed into that of Lehna. H e H ischoice

fallsonwas thenceforth appointed by Nanuk to succe ed Lehna.

him.

On Ungut be ing appointed successor to Nanuk,the two sons of the latter, L uchme e Doss andSree Chund, be came his dire enemies, and saidthe ir fatherhadbe en guilty of tyranny in thusde

priving them of the Goorooship, and conferring iton aservant. They loaded Ungut,whowasat thetime in a very sickly condition,with abuse . On

hearing of the conduct of his sonsto hisfaithfulfollower, Nanuk was annoyed, and vowed that

ne ither of them should eversucce ed him, so longasUngut orany of hisdescendantsremained. H e

sent forUngut, and passed hishandsoverhisbody,which was immediate ly restore d to health, withthe exception of hisfe et,which Nanuk, of course ,did not touch. Ungut

’

s fe e t remaine d therefore Afflicted withafflicted with a se vere complaint, and day and

“

13553351;nightwere ashot asfire . On account of thissore died’

affliction, Ungut separated himse lf from the sonsof

Nanuk, and took up hisabode at Kudoor, on the

VOL . I . E


banks of the Beas, living there asafukeer. H e

had only one attendant, name d Ummur Doss,whoon Ungut

’

sdeath be came Gooroo. Ungut had twosons, but both of them be came men of the world.

At length afi ergreat suffering, Ungut fe ll avictim

to hisdisease in the thirte enth yearof the reign of

Akhbar, and in the 976th yearof the H ijera, cor

responding to A.D. 1552, and Bik. 1609. H is

death took place on the dtb of March at Kudoon,where histombwaserected. H e reigned asGooroo

for a period of twe lve years, sixmonths, and nine

days. The successorto Ungutwasnamed UmmurDoss; he was of the Chuttre e caste , and se ct of

Phulla, andanative of Govindwal.When Ungut took up his abode at Kudoor,

people visite d him from every quarter, and amongthe rest, Ummur Doss,who formed agreat attachment for the Gooroo, and be came hisdisciple and

follower. E very day he brought avessel ofwaterforthe purpose ofwashing and cooling hismaster’sfe e t. One dark and stormy night,while thusemaployed, he stumble d, fe ll, andhurt himse lf, breakingat the same time the jar containing the water.Some of the by

- standers enquired who he was,othersremarked H e isafuke erwithout house orhome ,andservant to GoorooUngut.

”

On the tidingsof the misfortune reaching the latter, he hastened tothe spot, and laying his hands on Ummur Dossembrace d him, and begged him not tobe distresse d,I am your supporter,

”

added Ungut, andall I

possessisyours. At the same time he"

appointedhim hissuccessor.

H ISTORY OF TH E SIR IIS.

On the death ofUngut, Ummur Dosssucce eded Succeed.him. H e wasawise and just Gooroo, and resided

Um “

at hisnative village of Govindwal, and there builtabaoulee , or largewe llwith ashelterfortrave llers.On thishe spent large sumsofmoney, asthewaterwasat agreat depth. H e had numerousdisciples,and from amongst them he chose twenty- two,whom he sent to different parts of the country.Malcolm in hisske tch of the Sikhs, mentions, thatUmmur Doss built Kujdraws], and separated theOodase e se ct from the regularSikhs: thisse ctwasfounded by Sre e Chund, the son of Nanuk.

This Gooroo had a son name d Mohun, and adaughter named Mohune e , more commonly calledBhaine e . Afterre igning as Gooroo forthe Space

of twenty- two years, five months, and e leven days,Ummur Dossdie d at the village of Govindwal onthe 1 4th May, in the yearof the H ijera999, an) .

1 575, and Bik. 1632. H is tomb was erected at

Govindwal, but hassince be enwashed away by theriver. Ram Dass, who succe eded Ummur Doss,wasthe first of the Sode e Gooroos. When UmmurDosswasbuilding hisbaoulee , a great number of

masons and otherworkmenwere employed, and

vast crowdsuse d to colle ct towitness the progressof the work ; amongst the rest Ram Dass, of the H istory of«Chuttree caste and Sode e family, alineal descend

ant of Sode e Rao,who abdicated the throne of

Lahore in favour of his Uncle Kulput (Béde e .)The boy had comewith hismotherfrom Lahore tothe Beas, and employed himse lf in se lling various

E 2


little art icles required by the workpe ople .

'

One

day Ummur Dosswas sitting by the masons, andobserving Ram Dass, he told him to give some thingto hislittle daughterBhaine e . Ram Dasswent insearch of her; and she see ing that he wasahandsome youth, be came attached to him, and for her

sake Ram Dass became afollowerof her father. .

H e succe eds H e e ventually married Bhaine e , and thus united“ mm“ Dm ’

the two families of Béde es and Sode es; he wasappointe d successor to UmmurDoss.

It happened that the E mperorAkhbar,whowasthen at Lahore , heard of the fame of Ram Bassand

wished to se e him . H e threwoff the trammelsof

re ligion, andafter conversingwith the Gooroowasmuch pleasedwith him, and asamark of este em

and regard, the E mperor issued an order, that a

certain portion of ground should be granted to

Ram Dass, which was accordingly done , and theground, thus bestowed, be ing of a circular form,

wasnamed Clan/clearRam Doss. In thisenclosure

the Gooroo built Umritsir, andwent occasionallyfrom Govindwal to reside there , and his disciplwand followersse ttled at that place . In the yearofthe H ijera 1005

’ Akhbarwent from the Punjab tothe Dekhan, and on arriving at Govindwal he en

camped there , and sent forRam Dass; he re ceivedthe Gooroowith great distinction and kindness, andrequested him to ask afavour. Ram Dassreplie dthat he wanted nothing, but he had one remark to

In Dow, the year 1008 isstated.


splendour'

unknown to his prede cessors. H e k ept

fine horses, andwasclothe d in costly raiments.Before the time of Urjun, the Goorooswereclothed like fuke ers, orbeggars.Towardsthe latterpart ofhisre ign he removed

to Umritsirfrom Govindwal, and dwe lt there . At

Umritsirhe constructed alarge tank, and fixed onitashisplace ofresidence ; itwasnamedH armumder,orGod’shouse . The Grunth, orHoly Book,whichhad be en begun and continued by hispre de cessors,wasplaced in the temple ere cte d in the tank, and

crowds frequented it for the purpose of bathingand hearing the Grunthread. The ChukkurRam

Dasswasthusenlarged, andwhen the wealth of

Urjun began to increase in horses, e lephants, &c.,

hisbrothersbegan to envy him.

On thisoccasion, Urjnu built another tank, atthe distance of seven miles from Umritsir, nam

ing it Tumntara, .which means cleansingwater.”Be tweenUrjunandhisbrotherstherewasperpe tualen

Urjnu remained long without issue , and on thisaccountwasmuch troubledand distressed in mind.

H e lamented hishard fate day and night. At last,the pe ople advise d him to go and consult Boodha,who was still alive , though a contemporary of

Nanuk. It was at the suggestion and by the

advice of thisoldman, that Urjun had constructedthe tank at Umritsir. Urjun, therefore , resolved

to visit Boodha, taking all his e ffe cts along withVisitsBoodha. him . Boodhawasthen in hisdotage , oralmostan

I. childless.


idiot, andse e ing acrowd ofmen, e lephants, camels,and cartscoming towardshim, enquiredwhat the ymeant, andwhither the ywere going ? The pe oplereplie d. That is Gooroo Urjun.

”

Boodhasaid,‘ 5What ? Are the Gooroosrunning mad2

” The y

answered, No, Urjun iscoming to se e you, and

requeststhe intercession of yourprayersforason.

”

On hearing this, Boodhabegan to dance and clap

hishands, re citing orsinging the following linesBe tahoga, be taho,Jiske jucsahooane R0 ,

Sub Bhayon kako sutajRuhegawoohsub ke e ilaj.“

When Urjun heard these words,hewasde lighted,”Hut Govindandre turned to hishome . Afteratime H urGovind

on

wasborn. As a youth, he was full of wisdom,

and eminently beautiful in appearance and form .

At thistime , Chundooshahwas prime minister atLahore , and there was enmity be tween him and

Urjun, on the following account.Chundooshah had a beautiful daughter, whom Feud with

his fatherwished to bestowin marriage on hisChundm m'h'

successorin office ; thisresolutionhe communicatedto hisfriends, but they advise d him to give her inmarriage to Urjun

’sson, ashe wasavery come ly

youth. Chundooshah Spurned the advice , and

adde d Though Urjun is awealthy man and aH indoo Gooroo, stillhe isafuke er. I am like the

M eaning that therewould be asonwhere none existed, and that allthe Goorooswould exert themselves in procuring aremedy for Urjun'

s

affliction.

H IST ORY OF TH E SIKH S.

upper story of a house ; he is like the drain for

rece iving thewater.” Be ing pressed, however, onthe subject, Chundooshahconsented to the match,and the marriage - presentswere sent to the houseof Urjun. One of the bystanders related the

spee ch of Chundooshah to the Gooroo, and the

comparison he had drawn betwe en them. On

hearing this, Urjunwasveryangry,andsaid That

Hindoo isafool comparedwith me , and Iwill notallowmy son to marry his daughter.” When the

H e re fusesto presentswere brought, the Gooroo re fuse d his

consent tothe proposed union, adding, H e is a

iiiutitiooshah. nobleman, I am a fukeer; he must be mad in

wishing hisdaughtertowedmy son.

”

Chundooshah entreated Urjun’

s forgiveness for

thewordshe hadused, andwent himse lf to visit

the Gooroo, taking with him nearly 9. lakh of

rupe es. On coming before Urjun, Chundooshah

joined hishandsand asked permission to addresshim ; but the lattersaid itwasuse less, adding “ Oh!

Chundooshah, my words are engraved on stone ,and cannot be washed out ; I will never gainsaythem ; andwere you to give thewholeworld asadowrywith yourdaughter, she shall neverwedmyson : this is fixe d and irrevocable . On hearingthese words, Chundooshah remained silent, butfrom that time meditated revenge against Urjun.

Thisman must have the blood of kings in his

ve insto refuse my offer,” were Urjun’

s emphatic

.Wordson leaving the Gooroo.


About thistime , the emperorShahjehanwishing The latterto visit Cashmere , had arrive d at Lahore ; andChundooshah having obtained an audience , told

Shahieham

the emperor, that aHindoo fuke erhad sprung up

in the Punjabwho assumed astate of royalty, andhad crowdsof people as his followers, who raisedtumultsand disturbances. Shahjehan expressed a

wish to se e Urjun, and a horseman was sent to

Resolvesto. Urjun was brought before Shahj ehan, who on

murderUrjun.

se e ing him exclaimed, H e hasafuke er'

s face ; I

will befiiend him.

”H e was then dismissed, but

Chundooshah de termined he should not depart, and

resolve d to murderhim. Addressing the Gooroo,he said, Iwill again bring you before the emperortomorrow,when you must e itherdefend your owncause , orbe punished.

”

On hearing these words,Urjun knewwe ll that he would not escapewith hislife . When the night had passed and the sun rose

in the heavens, Urjun requested leave to go to the

ravce forthe purpose of bathing, promising that he

would afterwards re turn and do whatever wasrequired of him. H is request was granted. On

The Goorooreaching the river, the Gooroo plunged into it,sank

and disappeared ! It isre lated that Uij'

un’

scorpse

wasre covered from the waterand burned by hisdisciples. There appearsto be truth in this, asthe

tomb of Urjun exists near the gate of the musjid,or temple , within the city of Lahore . The tomb

wase legantly built,withadome covere dwith gold.

H ut Govindsucce edshim.

Ke epsarmedfollowers.

H ISTORY OF TH E BIKE S.

Gooroo Urjun was drowne d about the end of

the re ign of Shahjehan, in the year of the H ijera

1031 , A.D. 1607, and Bik. 1664, after a reign of

twenty- fouryears, nine monthsandaday.

When the news of Urjun’

s death reache d H ur

Govind, he wasfilled with grief. When the timeof mourningwas over, he ascended the throne ofthe Gooroos.

From e very quarter disciples flocked around

H ur Govind, bringing money and other presents.

This Gooroo was a great warrior, and the firstthat took up arms. Be fore his time none of the

Gooroos entertained armed followers, but H urGovind made them buckle on the swordandprepare forwar.In the re ign of Shahjehan, his son DaraShiko

governe d the Punjab. H e wasamild prince , andgave no trouble to re ligiousse cts,whatever the ircree d might be , andhe wasparticularly friendly toH indoo fuke ers. Under his government, H ur

Govind be came agreatman,andoccasionally visite dDara, at Lahore . It isre lated, that aservant offollowerof HurGovind purchase d abeautiful horsefor his master. Some of the king

’

s attendantsse ized the horse and carried him to Lahore ; but

the animal be coming lame , he was given to thecaze e , orjudge , and from the latterwaspurchase dby H urGovind forthe sum of rupe es; theprice howeverwas not paid to the eaze e

,and on

the se cond day H urGovind departedwith the horsefrom Lahore and reache d Umritsir.


i n re turn for the se izure of the horse , one of

Hur Govind’

s servants carried off awhite hawkbe longing to the king. For these offences the An

ifixiifimking gave MookhlusKhan ordersto proce edwith m

an army of horse , to se ize H urGovind. Ou'

hearing of the approach of M ookhlusKhan, H ur

Govind armed hisfollowersto the numberofmen, and prepare d to me e t him in battle . This

appearsto be the first time that the Sikhsassumed

a really military character. In addition to his

army, H urGovindwaspossessed ofawarlike spirit,and it will not therefore be surprising, that he

de feated the royal troops; many of the latter"rhe my“troopsde

were slain in the battle which ensued, and the rest fem “

fledwith the irleadersto Lahore .

Though successful in this first struggle , HurGovindhad the sagacity to perce ive , that the angerof the king would only be appeased by his ownoverthrowand death ; and he there fore wise lyresolved to avoid a

.

se cond encounter by conceal £33312;ing himse lf foratime ,which he did in the jungle selfof Battinda, in the province of Hissar,where theground was dry from a scarcity ofwater. The

place where H urGovind lay concealed, isnam ed

Gooroo- ka- kote , orthe abode of the Gooroo, and isdistant about fifte en miles from Kudoor. While

in this jungle , great crowds became his followersand disciples, and among the rest Boodha, anoto

rions thief and fre ebooter. Thisman stole twohorses from the k ing

’

s stables at L ahore , andbrought them to H ur Govind. The act incensed


The my“ the king stillmore against the Gooroo, andalargetroops van

2223?3m armywassent against him, underthe command of

Kunmer Beg and L a] Beg. They crossed the

Sutlej in search of H ur Govind, but the want ofwater so distressed the royal tr00ps that they

were unable to fight ; and be ing easily de feated by

the Gooroo, they fled to Lahore , leaving the irtwocommandersslain on the fie ld of battle .

This se cond successful trial of hisstrengthwiththe king

‘

stroopsrendere d H urGovindmore daringthan e ver, and he resolved to re cross the Sutlej .H e arrived at Kurtarpoor, in the Bist Jalindhur,which had be en built by Urjun, and here he collectedalarge army of horse and foot.

33313339. One of HarGovind’s followerswasa Pathan,

troops. named Paende e Khan, but he had quarre lle dwiththe Gooroo and escape d to De lhi, and requestedtroopsfrom the emperor, forthe purpose of se izingH urGovind. These were readily granted, and on

reaching the Punjab abattle was fought be twe enthe king

’

stroopsunder this Pathan, and the Sikhsled by H urGovind.

The conflict was a desperate one , and great

valourwasdisplayed on both sides, forthe Massulmans have always evinced a de ep- rooted hatred

forthe Sikhs. Victory at length de cided in favourof H urGovind,who performed prodigiesof valour,slaying many of the Mussulmanswith his ownhand, andamong the rest Paende e Khan.

On the death of the ir leader, the king’

s troops

fled in confusion, great numbersbe ing slain .


At this time the E mperorAurungzebe wasatwarwith hisbrotherDara. The lattercame to Lahore ,

H urao assistswhere he raised an army, and H urao joine d himp m " with histroops; but on the de feat of the prince ,

andhisflight to Mooltan, his allies the Sikhsre

turned to the ir homes, and Hutaowent to H e erutpoor. When Aurungzebe slewDara and impri

soned his father, he ascended the throne of the

Aur

pngz

t

ebe Moguls, and re igne d happily. R ecolle cting t he

$3Puaidwhich Hutao had given to Dara, he resolved topunish him, and despatched the following messageto the Gooroo. If you have the powerofraisingyourse lf and be coming king, it is necessary that

Sendshisson you answer my challenge .

”

B urao, after medi1

33t3° to

tating on these words,wasconvinced that he couldnot me et the emperorwith any chance of success,and resolved to send his son back with the messenger to De lhi. To Ram Rao, hise ldest son, heentrusted the following humble epistle in reply to

the royal challenge I am afuke er, and have noother employment save that of praying for yourmajesty. I send my son as the bearerof this, asI cannot go myse lf, be ing at present engagedwithbusinessof importance . I hope yourmajestywillforgive me , and treat my son kindly.

”

Isre tainedat When Ram Rao reache d the imperial city,and appeared before the emperorasthe bearer of

his father’s le tter, Aurungzebe appeared pleased

with its contents; and also with the ready ah

swers given to all his questions by Ram Rao.


H e therefore relente d, observing, There is no

doubt of Burao be ing a mere fuke er.”

Ram

Ranwas presentedwith arich dress, and re tained

at court.

Shortlyafter this, in the yearof the H ij era1097, 33221

;of

Ad) . 1663, and Bik. 1 720, after a re ign of thirtythre e years, sixmonths, and fourte en days, H uraodied at H e erutpooron the 9th of October.

On the death of Hurao, his youngest son, H ur Succe eded by

kishen, succe ede d him in the Goorooship. Noummhen'

sooner had this news reache d Ram Rao at De lhi,than he was greatly ea perated, observing, “ I amthe e ldest son and rightful he ir: howisit that H urkishen usurps my place H e addressed the em

peroron the subje ct, remarking, I left my father’

s

house in orderto appease youranger. I am nowyourservant, and h0pe your majestywill issue anorderforH urkishen toappear be fore you,when Iwill sustain my claims in your presence .

”

The Issummoned

emperor compliedwith his re quest, and issued ato Dem"

mandate for H urkishen to repair to De lhiwithoutde lay. On re ce iving this order, the Gooroo wassore afraid, and exclaimed, Unhappy man that Iam,would to God that the small- poxmight againafflict me , and cause my death !

” Afterwanderingto and fro, H urkishen, at length, resolved to obey

the order. When he reache d De lhi, he alighted

at the Serai,where the small- poxwasthen raging.

The Gooroo was se ized with the complaint, and Diesof smalldie d inafewdays. H is death took place on the P

ox'


1 4th of March, after are ign of two years, fivemonths, and nine days. H ewas burie d at De lhi,where histombwasere cted.When H urkishenwason hisdeath - bedat De lhi,

he was askedwho should be his successor; andhis reply was, After me , BabaBukala shall be

Gooroo.

Bukala is the name of a village near Govind

wal on the bank of the Beas; andwhen H ur

Govindwason hisway to the hills, he left se veralof his followersat that place , where they remainedand flourished. Teghbuhadur

’

s mother likewiselived there .

When H urkishen’

sdeathwasmade known, andalso hislastwords,all the Sodeesof Bukalaclaimedthe Goorooship ! Teghbuhadurconcealed himse lf,and never appeared in public. One of the fol

lowers of H ur Govind, named Mukhun Shah, re

sided at this time in De lhi ; which he le ft, andarrived at Govindwalwith presents for the Gooroo.All the Sode escolle cted around him, each claimingthe presents! Mukhun Shah inquired,what H urkishen had said regarding hissuccessor. They re

M ukhm, Shah plied, that he had appointed BabaBukala. Mukdecidesthe

pomt.hun Shah observed, You do not understand his

meaning : the ruler of Bukala is Teghbuhadur.”

H e then carried hispresents to the latter; but he ,be ing afuke er,would not rece ive them, answering,Give them to some one e lse who is the king.

”

Mukhun Shah, howe ver, placed him on the throneof the Gooroos; and all the arms le ft with hismotherby H urGovindwere de livered to her son.

H ISTORY OF TH E S IKH S.

’

Teghbuhadur, on observing this, said, Take awaythese : do you forge t that I am not Teghbuhadur

the warrior of the sword,’ but Deghbuhadur theknight of the cooking-

pot l" Youmust have mis

taken me forsome one e lse . Thissally ofwit, nodoubt, operated in his favour, for he not onlymounted the throne , but had spe edily numerousfollowers, and be come a greater Gooroo than hisTeghbuhadurbecomesafatherHurGovind. H e quarre lledwith the Sade es, great Goorooandwanted to drive them out ofBukala, ormurderfifl

a

éflflzefth

them. At this juncture , Mukhun Shah again arrived from De lhi, and hearing the resolution of the

Gooroo, he visited him and endeavoured to reasonwith him, and convince him of the dangersure tofollowsuch an act. The Gooroo state d that theSode eswere all hisenemies, and if he could

'

not rid

himse lf of them, itwould be be tter that he shouldat once leave the place and accompany M akhun G0“ toDelhi

Shah to De lhi. The latter agre ed to hisproposal,and they se t out for that place .

Ram Rao, the son of H urao,wasthen at De lhi,and hearing of the arrival of hisgrand uncle Teghbuhadur, he informed the emperorof the circumstance , who ordered the Gooroo to be broughtb e fore him. Some of the courtierswho werefavourable toTeghbuhadur, remarked, H e isonlyafuke er: what ne ed isthere tosend forhim ‘

l”

On

hearing these words, Alumge er forbade ‘his be ingse nt for. When Teghbuhadur heard this, he leftDe lhi andwentwith his family to Pe tna. AfteraG0“ t° Pct“

Teghmeanssword, and Deghacooking-

pot.

VOL . I . F


time the Gooroo re turned to De lhi ; and no sooner‘

had Ram Rao heard of hisarrivalfthan he went tothe emperor, and re quested that Teghbuhadur

should be summoned before him. The Gooroo

was alarme d when he re ce ived the order, for he

knewwe ll that he .would not escape Ram Rao ; hegrapes to the therefore again left De lhi, and took re fuge with the

Rajah of Kuhloor, in the hill states. In this

rajah’sterritory there wasaplace named Debe eM ukho,

”

and Teghbuhadur purchased it for 500M uk rupe es. On it he built the town ofMukhowal, and

dwe lt there . By hiswife Goojure e , Teghbuhadurhadason named Govind Rao,whowas nowfourte en yearsofage . Ram Rao hearing ofhisuncle

’

s

escape to the hills,wasgreatly enraged, and againIssummoned besought the emperor to send forhim . A horseto De llu.

manwas accordingly despatche d for thispurpose .

Teghbuhadurguessed the import of his message ,

and the intention of Ram Rao of taking away hislife ; be complied, howe ver,with the order. He lp

less and broken - hearte d, the Gooroo prepare d todepart, first sending for his youthful son Gooroo

Rao,whom he addressed, after embracing him, in

to these words, M y son, they have se nt forme for

the purpose of taking away my life , but thoughthe y killme , do not lamentmy death ; youwill bemy successor, and do not forge t to avenge myblood.

” Having thus spoken he appointe d GovindRao hissuccessor, and gave him the arms of his

1

32Iii“ for father H ur Govind. H e then departedwith the

horseman towards De lhi. When he reached that

H I STORY OF TH E S IKH S.

city, he was thrown into prison by order of RamRao. Some daysafte rwards, he wassent forto theemperor’s presence who had no intention, howe ver, of injuring him . Ram Rao,whowaspresentat the interview, and at whose solicitation, it hadtaken place , addressed Teghbuhadur thus, Oh! R equiled to

Teghbuhadur, you did wrong in ascending themm

throne of the Gooroos: shewnowsome cause foryour doing so, or abide by the consequences.”

Teghbuhadur remained silent for some time , butat length spoke asfollows The king requiresno

explanation from fuke ers, and I am only one to

offerup my prayersforhismajesty ; besides this I

have nothing e lse to say, but offerup my prayers

in adversity.

”

Ram Rao on hearing this wasgreatly enraged, and told Teghbuhadur, that nu

lesshe gave some explanation of his conduct, heshould not be liberated . At length the Gooroo

gave this answer, Since you wish it, Iwillgivethe explanation re quired. I will put awrittenpaperround my ne ck,which you cannot cutwithasword .

” Having said this, andwritten on apieceof paper, he tie d it round his ne ck, and the n re

quested the emperor to order some one to cut it !

The blowwasmade , and the head of the Gooroo “ 8M "

rolled onthe floor! The paperwasthen read andcontained these words:

Sirdyaaur Sirrnadya.

”

Ingeniousde vice .

Literally , I gave my head, but not my se cre t The word Sir sig~

nifying head, and with an additional r, asecre t. The inge nuity of the

remark is lost in the translation


When the courtierssawwhat occurred, theywereastonished and confounded ; the emperor himse lf

was displease d, and disperse d the crowd. The

corpse was interre d, and the head given to Muk

s’

fid

m b hun Shah,who kept it in his own house . ThisSh “ catastrophe happened in the year of the H ijera

1 104, corresponding to that of the Christian era

1680, and in the 35th year of the re ign ofAlum

ge er. Teghbuhadur re igned as Gooroo thirte en

years, se ven months, and twenty- one days.

A tomb erected at De lhi,andat Mukhowal.

Govind procuresaBrah‘

mm from

Benares.


ashes be ing colle cted, a tomb was ere cte d over

themat De lhi, near that of H urkeshesis.When Teghbuhadur

’

s head arrived at Mukho

wal, Govind Rao shed tears over it, and havingburned it,he ere cted atomb over the ashes. After

performing the funeral rites to the memory of hisfather, Govind Rao de termined on reforming there ligion andmannersof the Sikhs.One day Govind inquired of a Brahmin we ll

versed in history and otherbranchesof knowledge ,what the meaning of the sayingwas, that One

arrowmight be come many, and one man might killa hundred.

”The Brahmin replied, In such

cases the Godsare present. ” Govind asked howhe could se cure the ir aid. The Brahmin replied,that besides Benares, he could obtain thisknowledge from no other place . On hearing this,Govind se le cte d a care ful, steady man, whom be

despatched to Kashi (Benares.) When he reache d

that place , he made enquiriesregarding the Brah

minswho could give the knowledge his master

wanted ; and after obtaining the properperson, hebrought him with him to Govind Rao. Govind

promised the Brahmin muchwealth and richesforthe knowledge he required, and the latteragre e d tothe terms, whichwere ratified by the burning of

ghe e .ill Govind built a house for the Brahmin,

near Mukhowal, and everything require d by himwas placed in it. These preparations occupied a

Buttermade from the hulk of the buffalo.

‘

ms'ronr or TH E sums. 71

twe lvemonth, at the end ofwhich time , the Brahmin brought Govind Rao to se e the preparations.A lightwasburned night and day in the house , andthe Brahm in began to read munters (prayers)Whenanotheryearhad passed, Debe e , the goddesswith e ight fe e t and e ight hands, was present !Then the Brahmin said, I have nowfulfilled myengagement, and you must supplymy place so long Govind takesas Debe e is here . Do not be alarm ed orafraid atwhat you may se e . Govind having armed himse lftook the Brahmin’

splace , andwaite d for the appearance of Debe e . H e continued to read the

munters and make vows. At le ngth Debe e ap The goddess

appears, andpeared. The goddesshadafrightful aspe ct, andse izes the

Govind on se e ing her became so alarmed and

frightened, that he fainted, but soon re covering, he

putthimself in an attitude for defence , though he

Was unable to utter aword. Debe e se ized his

sword by the handle , and left hermark on it ; afterthis she disappeared. Govind at length re covered

hissensesand came forth . H e re late d what had'

occurre d to the Brahmin, and shewed him the

mark ; the lattersaid itwas a good sign or token,adding, From thistime forth both you andyourdescendantswill be come conquerors with the

sword, and make many prose lytes. You will begovernorof the country, and yourpunth, or tribe ,will be ce lebrated among the Hindoos. Now, putout your fire and begin your preaching, for your

vowiscomple te . Govind askedwhat doctrine heshould . inculcate . The Brahmin replied, ,Now

One ofhisfol

lowers sacrificed.


yourfire isout, cast yourhead here .

”Govind re

plied, IfI do so,what shall I gain The Brahmin

said, Yourson’

s headwill answer equallywelNowGovind had four sons, named Z oojar Singh,Aje e t Singh, Futteh Singh, and Zorawur Singh.

Govind on hearing the Brahmin’

swords sent a

messengerto hismother Goojure e , requesting that

she would send one of his sons, in order that he

might sacrifice him as an offering to the gods.

Goojure e replied, My son Govind is mad : am I

afool to murderhischild T Iwill ne ver consent tothis. ” She immediate ly concealed herse lf and the

fourboysin the fort of Mukhowal. Govind hearing that his mother disobeyed his orders, sworethat if she did not comply he would murder thefour children before her eyes; so that he should

have no descendants. Finding that Goojure e wasobstinate , and that there wasno hOpe of obtainingone of his sons, he addressed hisfollowerswith aviewof inducing some one to offer himse lf asasacrifice . H isappealwasfor a long time fruitless,and Govind was so exasperated that he cursed

them all.

At length his entreatiesand impre cationsweree ffectual, and five and twenty men offered theirheads. Govind cut off one , and threwit into thefire ; and after loading the Brahminwith presentsbe dismissedhim .

answer or run sums. 73

of Nanuk, and all the succe eding Gooroosto the

time of Teghbuhadurwho were scattered in the '

Punjab. They were to search e very town andvillage , so as to leave none behind. In a short.

time vast crowds from all parts of the Punjab'

flocked around Govind, and when theywere assembled, he stood up in the midst of them and

addressed the people M y father TeghbuhadurH isaddress.

ordered me to avenge hisblood, andwith thisviewI have colle cted a large army, but money is re

quire d foritsmaintenance . Now, my friends, e veryone of you must prepare to obey my ordersand

contribute money.

In the next place you must be all of one mind,andadopt the same manners, and have the same t e

ligiousbe lief. There mustbe no castesamong you,Camry

as exist among the Hindoos. You must be all

equal, and no man greater than another. You

must place no be lief in the shasters, or religious

books of the Hindoos. You must abstain from

visiting any of the placesof re ligiousworship, suchasthe Ganges, Buddrenath, and pay no respe ct to

any of the irgods: pay respe ct to Gooroo Nanuk,and to none e lse . The fourcastesof the Hindoosare to be dissolved from hence forth.

”

A reformation of this characterwas eminentlycalculate d to please the lowercastesof the Hindoos,whowould thus be at once raised to a le ve lwiththe Brahmins,whom the y had been taught fromtheir earliest infancy to respe ct asthe irsuperiorsin

every thing ; moreover, the meannessof the irorigin


would be concealed : mixing withthe Chutre es, orwarriorcaste , theywould nowfight side by sidewith men who formerly despise d them . These

were powerful inducements; and Govind had no

doubt learned from the Brahmin that these werethe true meansof gaining prose lytesfrom the lowerordersof the Hindoos. On the otherhand, itwasnaturally to be expe cted, that the Brahmins and

Chutre eswould refuse such aproposal, and pre ferre taining the broad distinction of caste , to mixingwith menwhom they had be en taught to viewwithcontempt.

When the assembled crowd heard the wordsofGovind, many of the Brahmins and Chutre es cc

cordingly rose , and said theywould not obey theorders of Nanuk or the Gooroos. They were ,therefore , allowed to depart to the ir homes; afewonly of the Chutrec and Veisyacastesbe came proselytes, and the great body of Govind

’

s followersconsiste d of the lowest, or Soodurs. The number,howe ver, amounted to twenty thousand.

Next day, Govind colle cted his followers, andordered them to bring him a large earthern vessel

fille dwithwater.

H iswife brought him five kindsof swe e ts, viztreacle , re d sugar,white sugar, candie d sugar, andhoney ; which were put into the water. Govindwas please dwith the present, and said the gifl:wasacceptable as coming from awoman of whom all

are born . My followers, the Khalsa,” added he ,will, therefore , be numerousand sweet


Having mixed the sherbe t, he‘

se le cted . ten men The parce l

from among his followers, and performed the pad“ .

hoolde e .

‘ H e first mixed the sherbe t with hissword, then blewor breathed on the latter. H e

put alittle of the sherbe t five times on the head,and sprinkle d it on the eyes. E achof the ten men

the n drank five handfullsof the sherbe t, and calle d

out in aloud voice , Wah Gooroo j ee Ire Fultelz

The oath was then administered, and the men

agre ed to renounce the following tene tszI . The Brahminical String.

II . Karmacs, orabe lief in the transmigration of

souls.

III . Keelnas, ordistinction of castes.

IV. Kelnas, ordivision into trades.The first of these wasthe most important point

to be gained. Unless thiswas agre ed to, Govindknewthat hisfollowerswould soon be re claimed by

the Brahmins.

The se cond, orKarmacs, is adoctrine inwhichNanuk bad faith ; but Govindwished to remove it

from the minds of hisfollowers, as a be lief in itwould tend to make them less sanguinary than he

considere d desirable .

The third, or Ke elnas, enjoins a strict alliance

with one ’sfamily andfriendsof the same caste . By

renouncing this, the Sikhsthrewoff all distinction

of caste , and le ft home and re lations.

The Kelnas enjoine d the division of the pe0p1e °

An oathoragre eme nt.


into trades. This, as militating against a strictly

military life ,was inconsistentwith Govind’splan.

Having agreed to renounce all these , it wasagre ed by the Sikhsthat any infringement of them

should be punished by aheavy fine .

Govind next bestowed on five of his followersthe name of Khalsa; and the namesof these in

dividuals, aswe ll as the irformer occupations, havebe en preserved. One was named Dhya Singh, a

Chutre e and native of Lahore . The se condwascalled Sabit Singh, by trade a barber. The third,H immut Singh,wasof the Bearercaste , from Juggemath. The fourth, Dhurrum Singh,was aJat,from H ustempoor; and the fifth, M okhum Singh,was a cloth - dyer, andanative of the holy city ofDwarakh, built, asthe Hindoosbe lie ve , in the spaceof anight for the reception of Sre e Keishenwhenabout to leave M uttra!The otherfive Govind namedM oogute e : name ly,

Dewan Singh, Ram Singh, Shah Singh, Tebul Singh,and Futteh Singh.

Having thusse le cted and named histen disciples,Govind taught them the tene tsofhisreformed religion, and thus addresse d them, As I gave the

pahoolde e to you, so do you bestowit on all therest ofmy followers.”

Govind Singh.From this time Govind tied up his hair in a

knot,‘ and taking the oath himself, changed his

name to Singh; and he waseverafterwardscalled

Named Kesby the S ikhs.

78 ms'ronv or run sums.

the murder of hisfather, concealing foratime theobje ct he had in view, be ing no lessthan athoroughre form in the re ligion and manners of the Sikhs.

The ceremony of pahoolde e is represented differently by different historians. Some describe theceremony as consisting in the fe e t be ing washed,and the water employed for this purpose be ingdrunk ; but in none of the worksof the Mussulman authors is the slightest ground for such apractice to be found ; they all agre e that the cere

mony described was the one employed by Govind

Singh.

Since the time of this great re former, se veral

additional usageshave be en added to the customs

of the Sikhs. Itwill be se en in the seque l, that

to a disguise in blue cloth, Govind was indebtedfor his escape ; and that colour is there fore es

te eme d by Ukale es,whowearturbansof blue .

Next to the worship of the De ity, ablutionwasre commende d by Nanuk, and the Sikhswere aocustomed towash the body daily ; the head, arms,and thighswere the parts towhichwaterwasapplied, and the ablution was, there fore , name d

punjnanish. The thighswere covered, but thelegs be lowthe kne e were left bare . These pecu

liaritieswere observed by the followers of Nanuk,and still more rigidly enforced by Govind,whowithgreat judgment adhered to the leading principlesof

Nanuk, thoughmaking many additionsof hisown ;butwhat distinguishesGovind Singh from the first

Gooroo, isthewarlike characterwhich he conferre don the Sikhs.


CHAPTE R IV.

TH E WARLIKE E XPLO ITS OF GOVIND SINGH .

AFTE R initiating hisfollowersintofl the pahoolde e ,

Govind de termined on a re ligiouswarfare ; and inorder to excite them to action, he threwthe

greaterpart ofhiswealth into the Sutlej .One day, a Sikh arrived from Scinde , bringing Govind

’s

with him acouple of handsome brace le ts, worthfor

rupe es, or sterling, for the Gooroo,and requested permission to faste n them on his

wrists. Govind Singh, at first, re fused ; but the

man continuing to urge his re quest, be at length

complie d . The Gooroo thenwent immediate ly tothe river, and threwone of the brace lets into the

water : the Sikh inquiredwhat had be come of it ;and Govind said it had fallen into the river. On

hearing this, the man procured adiver, and offered

him 500rupe esif he would bring it up ; the diveragre ed, provide d the place could be pointe d out.

On re ferring to Govind on this point, the Gooroo

took off the other brace le t and threwit into the


water, adding, That isthe place .

”The Sikhwas

astonished and gave up the search.

On another Occasion, a Sikh arrived from the

Dekhan, bringingwith him the following articlesforthe Gooroo, name ly —asword,an e lephant, awhitehawk, arich tent with gilded poles, and an Arabhorse ,The hill rajahshearing of these costly presents,

came to visit Govind Singh forthe purpose ofse e ingthem.

Govind Singh ordered the tent to be pitched, andthe howdah placed on the e lephant,while the horsewassaddled and bridled.

On se e ing these , the rajahswished much topossessthem.

The e lephant and tentwere coveted by BheemChund, the Rajah ofPhulore ; while H urre e Chund,the Rajahof H indour,wished forthe horse , sword,and hawk. The latterrajah se ized the sword, butGovind remarked, My followerhasbrought thesethingsforme , and you can easily have them on my

terms;which are that ] first sit in the howdahwiththe hawk in my hand, the sword girded on my side ,and the horse led before me . I shall afterwards sit

in the tent.”

Govind in proposing these termsknewwe ll, thatthe rajahswould e itherforego the articlesaltoge ther,orbe annoye d at the conditions; in e ither case ,he wasprepared to act, and added, If you wantthe tent, e lephant, horse , sword and hawk, youarewe lcome to them after I have thus used them.

”


Ashe hadanticipated, the rajahs began to abuse

him, and threatened to punish him forhisinsolencein not de livering to them the articleswithout anyterms, saying that in imposing such,he had insulte d

them.

The followers of Govind were already preparedto avenge the insult offered to their leader, andspe e dily flewto the irarms. The noise and tumultwere increasing e very moment, and there is little

doubt that the livesof the rajahswould have be enforfe ited by the ir indiscre e t behaviour, but awordfrom the Gooroowassufficient to allay the uproar.Theywere already crying Gooroo- je e - ke - fiitteh.

Unfortunate ly for themse lves, the rajahshad comewithonly afewfollowers, notknowing the strengthof Govind, ordespising them asarabble .

At length the patience of the Sikhswasexhausted,and the ywere rushing on the rajahs,when Govind325231. bywavedhishand and ordered them to desist. They

obeyed the order/ though very unwillingly andas

they couldne t/ use the ir arms, they vented the ir

abuse with unsparing tongues ameansof re venge

still preserve d among the Sikhs, particularly the

Ukalees, the only Sikhswho at the present day,adhere strictly to the tene tsof Govind.

By those who have witnesse d aband of drunken Abuse of the

Ukale es, almost m a state of nudity, brandishingUkale es

the ir naked swords, and at the same time bawlingout in abusive and obscene language , the scene

nowenacted by Govind’s followersmay be easily

conce ived .

VOL . I .


As the crowd continued noisy and tumultuous,loading the rajahswith every term of abuse whichanewly organise d gang of re ligious fanaticscouldinvent, Govind Singh addressed hisfollowers, andsaid, That though he was pleased to se e the ir

zeal in defending his honour, and avenging any

insult offered to him, still the use of such language

Was not proper, and contrary to hiswishes; nay,that in future theywere not

.to behave in such a

disorderly manner, since in mixing up the sherbe t,at the pahoolde e , he had prophesied That theSinghswould be aswe e t- tongue d nation.

On restoring peace , the rajahs speedily removed

to adistance , and next day took the ir departure

altoge ther.

On reaching his own country, Dhe em Chund

threatened to extirpate Govind Singh and the

whole race of the Sikhs.Govind Singh wassoon made acquainted with

his hostile intentions, and not be ing ye t preparedto oppose him, he prudently resolved to takeshe lterwith Mundune e Purgas, towhom he im

mediate ly despatched aletter, expressing awish toPure“ . reside in his country, and in case of Mundune e

Purgasgoing towarwith the Rajah of H indour, he .

would assist himwith fighting men.

Purgas re turned a polite answer, inviting the

Gooroo to visit him, and promising him"

aid and

prote ction against hisenemies.On re ce iving thisfavourable reply, Govind Singh

le ft Mukhowaland resided ataghaut on the Sutlej ,where he built the strong fort of Ghurpunote .

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKH S. ’

The hill rajahs lost no time in carrying the irthreatsagainst Govind into exe cution, and for thispurpose colle ctedalarge army.

They soon reache d the fort and dug coveredwaysaround it. At this time Govind Singh had

five pathans in his service , each holding a com.

mand of 100 horsemen. These men resolved todesert him and join the enemy, in orderto partici desert Govind

pate in the spoils of the fort. They thereforewrote to the rajahs, offering the services of them.

se lves and the ir followers, provided the y shouldshare in the pillage of the fort. The rajahsreadily agre e d to the ir terms, and next day the

five pathans,whose nameswere Kali Khan, BhoomKhan, Nujabut Khan, Dhyad Khan, and Cboot

'

Khan, went to Gooroo Govind and requestedthe ir discharge . The Gooroo wasastonishe d atthe demand, and that at a time when he mostwanted their services; he therefore replied, Is

this the reward I re ce ive for all my kindnessto

you-and is it nowwhen I require your services

that youwish to leave me i”

I t may be here stated, that thoughGovind had

as pre viously notice d, followers, who he :

came in one day Sikhs or Singhs, ye t among such

a crowd of low- caste m en, there were compara- t

tively fewwho knewanything of the art of war.Under such circumstances, he was obliged toengage the services of the Mussulmans,whowerethen, asnow, the best soldiers in Hindostan, particularly ascavalry. Itwasnot difficult to se cure

G 2


for this purpose great numbers of pathans, whowere in general faithful servants. Govind on the

present occasionwaswe ll aware of the irvalue , and

he offered them any sum of money, if theywouldremainwith him ; they, however, refused to listento any terms, andwere , in consequence , discharged.

When Govind’

s followers sawthe 500 horsemen

leaving the fort, they be came alarmed, as they

knewwe ll that in the mounted branch they hadno chance with the horsemen, e ven of the hill

Govind sawthat the desertion of the pathans

had produced abad e ffe ct, and he lost no time in

addressing his pe ople , advising them to be at ease

so far as regarded the pathans, since theywere avile ungrateful set of rascals,whose absence wasratherto be wished for, as the ir presence could beof no use to him .

Afterquitting the fort, the pathans repented of

the ir. act, and wished to re turn ; but the y werepursuedand cut to pie ces, and only afewof the irnumbersreached the rajahs.Next day, afierce attack was made on the fort,whichwas defended by Govind Singh with greatbravery ; vast numberswere killed on both sides,and among the rest Burre e Chund, the Rajah of

H indour. H is followers, on se e ing the ir leaderfall, fled in great disorder, and otherssoon followe dthe irexample . Govind Singh pursuedt he fugiti ves,and

-

slaughtered great numbers.

After thisde cisive victory, the .Gooroo proceeded


the end of thistime , Govind Singhre treate d to hisstrongest fort, and shut the gateson the be siegers.Afterashort time , however, his provisionswereexhausted, and the followersof the Gooroo de termine d to desert him. At this same time , themotherof Govind Singh,whowas in the fortwithhis two sons, Futteh Singh and Zorawur Singh,wrote to the rajahsreque sting permission to leavethe fortwith her two grandsons; and the request

fizyli

‘

r

ét

‘

l’

feavesbe ing grante d, Goojure e departed With the two

{11

3532332boys during the night. Several of the Sikhs ao

companie d her, and she fled to Sirhind. When

the Gooroo heard of his mother’s flight, he wasvery angry, exclaiming, She hasle ft me , but howcan she escape —1ny two boys will be killed.

She reaches When Goojure e reached Sirhind, she concealedS irhind, whe reGovind

’

s two herself andhergrandsonsin the house ofaH indoo.50 11 8 are murdered, end But the colle ctorof Sirhind, named Kulgus Rao,

d'“on hearmg the intelligence that Govind Singh

’

sof r1 t f.g

motherand sonswere in the city, ordered the twoboys to be buried alive under the city wall !Goojure e died of grief at the sad fate of hergrand

sons.‘ Govind Singh be ing nowre duce d to the

212521

12;e last extremity, hisfollowers proposed leaving him .

For thishe abused them ascowards, and throwingopen the gates, ordered them to make one more

( The crue l murder of Futteh Singh and Zorawur Singh, the sonsofGooroo Govmd, hasneverbe en forgotte n by the Sikhs, and no Sikh passesS 1rhind without taking away abrick and

.

throwing it into the Sutlej and

the late Maharajah Runj e e t Singh issaid to have carriedaway two Thisisdone to mark theirde testation of the crue l and cold- bloodedmurderofthe. two sonsof the irgreat Goorooand re former.

ms'roar or TH E sums. 87

e ffort and try the fortune of war. If we die ,adde d the warlike Gooroo, I shall be este emed awarrior, and your memorywill be re vered ; ifweconquer, then the countrywill be ours. To diecowardsisbase , to diewarriorsisglorious. No one

listened to this address, and at length, theywrotea le tter to Govind, stating that theywould obeyhim no longer. Afterthisthe y le ft the fort.

H isTOBY OF TH E SIKH S.

CHAPTE R V.

THE ADVE NTURE S OF GOVIND SING] ! AFTE R L E AVING

MUKBOWAL .

TH E S ikhs on leaving Mukhowal, were sur

rounde d by the enemy, and the greater part of

them killed ; those that escaped fled to the Punjab.

Forty of his With Govind Singh, only fortymen remained ; and

: ii

fiwsxiih

n '

enraged ashe thenwas, he ordered them to departGwmd'

likewise ; but they refused, andreplied, that they

would gain nothing by going away, and they therefore resolved to stand by the ir Gooroo, and lose

the irheadsin his defence .

” They implored him at

the same time , to forgive the Sikhswhohadabandoued him, and tear up the letterwhich they hadaddressed to him. Admiring the irfidelity, Govind,at length, yie lded to the ir request, and destroyedthe le tterin the irpresence .

Taking his forty followerswith him, Govind

Singhmade hisescape to the fort of Chum Kowsh,be lowRoopur, and there conceale d himse lf andshut the gates. H e was spe edily pursue d by hisenemies,who surrounded the fort. Govindwasin


Itwould se em that considerable attention had

be en paid by Teghbuhadur to the education of his

son, and not only was the latterwe ll Verse d iaevery thing connecte dwith Hindoo literature , butlikewise with the Persian language , and theworksof Mussulmanwrite rs. H ispre ceptorin the latter

had be en aman named Kaze e M eer Mahomed,who, at thisjuucture, was residing at Belalpone,andwho, me e ting Govind and hisfollowers. imtne v

31

5522324“ diately recognised the former. M eer Mahomed

who aide him waspleased at again se e ing hisformer pupil, and

informed the Gooroo, that the royal army wasthen encamped at the place , and that Without dis

guising himse lf he would most assuredly be cap~

turad. At the suggestion of hisfriend the Kat ee ,Govind changed his garments, and both he and

hisfollowersclothed themse lvesin blue and untiedH e and his their hair When GOViIld had thus dnUiSQdfollowersdisguise them” lm ' we ll of the Kaze e , they proce ede d toward Muchea

warrah. The ywere nearly surprise d by an ameer,but the ir dressand long hair dece ived the latterinto the belief that theywere Mussulmans.On reaching Muche ewarrah, Govindwent to the

house of a Chuttree , named Goolaba; near thisstoodamosque , the M oolah of which re cognised

The circumstance of undoing the hair,whichwasre ligiously kept tiedin aknot by the S ikhs, was the most likely me thod to preve nt the ir beingrecognised. They ne verhave recourse to this measure , unlessin casesof

most immine nt danger. E verything connectedwithG ovind Singhduringhisdisastrousflight, isre ligiously treasured in the memory p f the Sikhs.


the Gooroo, and began toabuse him asakaflirand

an unbe lie ver. To pre vent discovery, Goolahoffered money to the Mussulman to preserve silence ,but the deeprooted hatred of the Mussulmans to

the Sikhswas manifested in the present instance .

Asthe M oolahhad thusan opportunity of insulting Insulted by a

the headand chief of the Sikhs, he wasresolved to M °°lak '

make hisvictim comm it the greatest infringement

possible of the re ligioustene tsof the Sikhs.

It is we ll known with what reverence the

Hindoostreat the . cow, and this is shared in an

e qual ore ven greaterdegre e by the Sikhs andthe

M oolah resolved that Govind should eat cow’sflesh.

H e accordingly orderedone to be slaughtere d in

hispresence , and hadsome of the flesh cooke d ; it cow’sflesh.

(wasthen place d before the Gooroo, andthe M oolahswore if he did not partake of it, he would killhim ; adding, I shall nowhave my re venge in

e ither case , since your compliance will convince.people that your pre tensions to be a H indoo or

Sikh are false , and you will forfe it all claim to the

title ofaGooroo.Itwasatrying situation for Govind, who after

turning overthe m eat with his iron knife , cut it

into pie cesandate it.’

Thisoccurrence isamemorable one among the S ikhs, andnone ofthem will e ver eat his victualswithout first turning them overwithaknife ,in imitation of the great Gooroo. There is another version of Govind’aadventure at Muche ewarrah, whichisbe lie ved to be the true one . I t is

said that Govind Singhremained there in adyud’e house , andgave him an

axe forhiskindness. Thisarticle remained in the dyud’

sfamily formany


On the following morning Govind departed fromthis hateful place , and arrive d at Kunue ejah, a

village about thre e miles from L oodianah. There

lived at thisplace afollower of Govind, and from

him the Gooroo begged ahorse ; thiswas, however,refused, and Govindupbraided him asan ungrateful

coward.Proce e ding from thence ,he reached the village of

Jalpoorah, about ten milesdistant from Rhae ekote .

Here he stayed e ight days, andassuming hisproper

attire , he went into the jungles. In this part of

the country, there were numerous followers of

Teghbuhadur and H urGovind ; who no sooner

heard of Govind’sarrival, than they flocke d around

him to pay the irrespectsand congratulate him on

hissafe ty, asthe report ofhisdeath had, no doubt,reached them, for he was supposed to have be enslain at Chumkawah.

Aftersome days, Govind reachedKote Kapoorah,

and remaine d there ashort time , to re cruit his

health and strength ; both of which had suffere d

during hisdisastrousre treat, attended, as this hadbe en, by great privation andfatigue .

years, andwas at lengthgiven to the q ahof Putteala, who, in re turn,paid to ByndMahomed, and Alle e Shah, the sum of 500 rupe es, as we llasbestowed on them and the irdesce ndants,agrant of land in perpe tuity.

I t isalso mentioned that Govind bestowed on the person furnishing himwith the blue clothat Belalpore , hisdagger (khubar), whichwasobtaine dsome yearsago by B urre e Singh, Nulwa, and presented by .

him to L ord

Combermere . Thisgallant Sikhafterwards fe ll, while gallantly de fendingthe fort of Jumrood in 1 837.


In the meantime the battlesfought by Govind. Singh in the hills and plainswere well known tothe E mperor Alumge er) who was then in the

Dekhan. The news of Govind’a late successes

disturbed the E mperor, and he issued amandate

forthe Gooroo to repairto the Dekhan, andgive anaccount of hisdoings.

Aurungzebe .


CHAPTE R VI .

TH E DE ATH AND CH ARACTE R OF GOVIND SINGH .

WH E N the messenger reached Govind and de fifiifii

fififihe

livere d the royal firman,”the Gooroo kissed it great respect

and placed it on hishead ; he treated the bearer

of it with great distinction, and provided ahousefor him. After reading the firman, Govindaddressed the messenger as follows -

“ I am the

E mperor’sdependent in noway do I disobey him,

and I have only one request to make , name lythat he will allowme tomake out a statement ofmy numerouswrongs forhisperusal, and if, afterthis, it be the royalwish, I am ready toaccompany

you. It hasbe en alreadymentioned, that Govindhadaknowledge of the Persian language , and he

was besides a poe t. H e , therefore , composed aGovindwritespoem in that language , occupying fourte en hundred tailiiig

n

hige

stanzas. In this, he gave a full and glowing grievance"

account of the perse cutionswhich he had suffered,not only in hisown person, but those of hisfather

and grandfather.

96 msroav or run SIKH S .

This poem was finished in afewdays, and the

substance of it may be shortly re capitulated. H e

stated that the E mperorAkhbar had given hisan

cestor, Ram Dass, acertain grant of land, and that

at that time , no cause of quarre l existe d be twe en theGooroo and the E mperor,who, on e very occasion,befriended the poor fuke ers. H is prede cessor

Nanuk be lie ved in one God, and never swerve dfrom that be lie f. At le ngth,aHindoo named Chan

dooshah, quarrelled with Gooroo Urjun, and theroyal army afterwards attacked H ur Govind, andthere were se veral battles fought be twe en them .

The Gooroowasoblige d to fle e to the hills; bute ven there he was perse cuted. The poem

[

goes

on

At the instigati on of Ram Rao, my father,Teghbuhadur,was sent forby yourmajesty and,

through the de ce it of Ram Rao,was crue lly murdered in yourpresence . H e had gone to Patnafor

the purpose of worship ; and, on his re turn to

De lhi, was again oppressed, and obliged to takeshe lterwith ahill rajah. There he remained sometime unmolested ; but at the instigation of his

crue l and unre lenting brother, he was once moreordered to proce ed to De lhi. From long suffering ,

oppression, and tyranny, my father had be c‘ome

tire d of life , and longe d for death ; which he , atlength, obtained by an ingenious contrivance , andhisheadwas severed from hisbody in your royalpresence .

Iwas then amere youth, and nearly died of


The governor of Sirhind again pursued me ,and I me t him in battle , where his tl'OOpswerebeaten and fled, astherewasnowaterin the desertwhich I inhabited.Se eing that I have nowlost allmy family and

relations, aswe ll as my dearest friends,who havebe en torn from me , I am tire d of the world, andwilling to quit it. BesidesGod, I have now‘

no

supporte r. I fear no human be ing, andif I die I

knowthat my deathwill be aveng ed.What I have told your majesty is the truth,

andif you still require my presence ,‘Iwill obey the

orderafter you have read thisle tter.Despatch” hi' Having finished the account of hism ongsandle tterto theemperor,along withfive Sikhs.

sufferings, Govind Singh sealed the le tterand dis,

missed the messengerwith it, loading himwithpreserrts; he also sentalong

‘withhim five Sikhs.

When Alumge er presente d the le tter, he sawthat he had be en de ceived in the accountsgivenhim ofthe G ooroo, andwas~convince d that GovindSinghwas no other than he represented himse lf;name ly, 3aharmlessfake er.The emperor sent for the fire .Sikhsanducou

versedwith them. H e was -

pleasedfwith the ircap

‘

pearance and address, and bestowing dresses o f

honouron .them,'he dismissed themwith a le tter

and‘ valuable presents for

- IGOvind S ingh. The

le tterwas - to :the e ffect, that if the Gooroowouldcome

'

to 5the Dekhan, the emperorwould rece ive

him+kindly.

Heron or gas s;KH S .

The five Sikhs, on their return to Govind,wereloud in (the ir ,p1alse of the ampere} . After .thisGovind Singh dwe lt in .peace but, at length, re han

solve d to visnltAlumge er. H e accordingly se t out,but on the road heard of the .deathof the empeser

When Govind Sihgh reache d the Dekhan, hefgund that Buhadoor Shah,whohadmadewaranhi? A219? fihah:

apd qop gupred himny as

When Buhadoor Shah has made acquaintedwith all the sufferings of the Gooroo, and thetyranny exercisedtowardshimby the governorsofLame and Sighin‘d, he heetowed presents on

figvigd, ,eqnsisting ofsigh tents, ( elephants, horfes,andthe like andam iss-34341110 t? the command offive thousandhprsenienaandzgevind thusremained

for sale toGovind; the .

priee ”of ( the animalwas

7,000rupees,whichthe :Georeo promieed to pay ,

but de layed doing so from day to day . At

the IPathanse eingrthat smeothwordshad11began touse ,intemperate andabusive language toGovind, and drawing his swgrd, attaeked the

I tnssaid, that one day gaPethan brought ahorse

The latterrciur’n1’n

’

toGovind,who departsfor the De k

latter; figvind, however, defe nded himse lf, and Km“arresting gthe Pathan

’

sswegd out of hishand, he

severe d hishead from hisbody.

.GQvindrspe edilyrepentedof this‘act, andsending

-for the fish of the annrderedf aghan he hesmedmoney andpresentson him.

H {2

than.


tired Having lost all hisfamily, and be ing separated

from hispe ople , the Gooroo became tired of life .

One day he addressed the young Pathan thus,I am the murdererof yourfather, and if you do

not avenge hisdeath, youare arascaland coward.

”

The lad, howe ver, respected Govind, and resolvedto make hisescape .

lsstabbed It happened that Govind and the young Pathan

were one day playing chess toge ther, and the

Gooroc began taunting his adversary as usual,

until at length the lad grewenraged, anddrawingadagger, plunged it into Govind Singh.

The woundwas asmall one , but a portion of

Govind’

sentrailsescape d through it. Pe ople ran

in all directionsin pursuit of the murderer, for the

purpose of killing him ; but thisGovind strictlyforbade , andadde d, the man was only avengingan injury ; itwasby my own advice that be com

mitted the de ed which has removed his father'sblood from my hands. Permit him, therefore , to gowhere he pleases.”Thewoundwassewed up,and to allappearance ,

healing, but Govindwas de termined to die . H e

called for astrong bow,which be bentwith allhisforce , and in doing so the stitchesofhiswound gaveway, his bowe ls again protruded, and he diedalmost imme diate ly.

Thisevent occurred in the year of the H gera

1 132, Sawun 1 765, and A.D. 1 708, at the city of

Nadshur, in the re ign of BuhadoorShah.

The tomb ofGooroo Govind Singhishalfamile

102 ms'ronr on m a sums.

A bapac'

ity'

forwarwasnecessary; not for

the pfirposé of amalgamating'

, as itwere , 1116fb‘h’fcastesof the Hindoos, but forthe malihtéhaiice

'

0’

hasnumerousfollowersof (46111111 ; asstom at tehis pe ople to aggression, he threwaw

'

fiy' all his

privatewealth; to“that b‘

e irig divested of say 111 0

pérty or the r'

flé’

ansof living, the only filte fnatiVé'

le ft fo‘

i° thé'

Sikhswas the forcible acquisitionofSpoil and

Having createdamilitary face , the 116516questionwhitlisuggested itsfilf tb Govind;wasthe art'of Overcoming a fdtce : Besieged 111 hisfort of Mukho

’

Wal; it Wasimpossible forhim to

contend, with any prospect of success, against‘

ehbmiés, supported astheywere by the discipline dtroopsofthe Mussulmans. H isonly chancelWasamissedattack on his besiegers,

land thishe atonce recommended ; buthisfollowers, intimidated;brprobably reduced in bodily sttehgthBy want(if Supplies,were disheartened anil unable to fight.Wheh 111 the junglesand in aposition chosen byHimse lf, they shewed nowant ofcourage, and théii‘vi

'

c'

tor’

y Wasrendere d complbte, by the fi11esiglit of1111111 lea

'

dé1 in se izing upon the 011131

supplies of

Waterafibrd’

ed by afewtanks. But newtheirhearts Taile d that he was 1101 ye t

prepared to compete With Alumgeer; orwi‘e‘

st fromhisgraspthe territories Lying on both sidesof theSutlej, asw

'

rell asHie difi'

erent Doabs; Govindhumbled himse lf, and even accepted employmentfrom his powerful rival. Worn out by previous

msroar or run SIKH S. 103

nfisfortuue , alone in the world, as he fe elinglydescribes himself, and forese eing, no doubt, thathis followers might again desert him in time of

ne ed, orwhen adverse fortune should renderhim‘

helpless, he resolved to desist from hiswarlikecareer, and have to his successors the task of

comple ting the conquestswhich he had begun :Satisfied that he had secured materialsforsuchapurpose in the re formation of the people .The outline of Govind'sexploits, isderivedfrom

Mussulman historians; but the Gooroo himself

relates many particulars not. contained in the irworks. It appears, from hisown account, that hewas born at Patna, when his fatherwent therefrom Delhi to avoid the continued resentment

of Ram Rao. When deserted by his followers,Govind said, The man who does this (desertshisGooroo) shall have ne ither child nor ofi

'

spring.

H isaged parentsshall die in grie f andsorrow, andhe shallperish like adog, and be thrown into H e llto lament. The twosonsofGovind leftwithhimafter the flight

‘

of hismotherwithhistwo youngerones, appearto have been brave men ; Aje et Singh,especially.

i

It is re corded of Aje e t, thatwhen aninsulting messag e was brought to hisfather, fromthe M ussulman camp, The youth se ized his ei

meter. and addressing the messenger, exclaimed,If you utter anotherWord, I willhumble yourpride sIwill smite yourheadfrom yourbody, andout you to pieces, fordaring to speak such lan

guage before ourchief.’

The bloodof the envoy

1 04 11 131 011 11 or m e sums.

boiledwith rage , and he re turne dwith thisanswerto hismaster.” The Sikh writers, in re lating the

fall of thisbrave man at Chunkowah, thusdescribehisdeath. Some fought, some fled, Aje e t Singhcovered with glory departed to Swarga(Heaven.)Indra, first of the gods, (Devatus) advancedwiththe celestial host tome e t him ; he conducted him

to Devapur, the city of the gods, and seated him

on a celestial throne ; having remained there ashort time , he proce eded to the region of the sun.

”

Thus Aje e t Singh departed in glory, and his

fame e xtends over thre e worlds, for the fame of

the warriorlivesfore ver.” - Malcolm.

Many instancesare given of the personal braveryof Govind Singh during the siege of Mukhowal.H e killed with his own hand Nahar Khan, andwounded Kivajeh Muhammud, leaders of the

Emperor’str00ps. The Gooroo describeshiswarwith Bhe em Chund in the true Oss1an1c style ,The warriorsadvanced like astream of fire con

suming the forest.”

- Malcolm.

Some re late that Govind Singh died in the

Punjab ; othersthat he went to Patna, and endedhisdaysthere but the true account appearsto bethat he died, as already re lated, in the Dekhan.

Aware that since the death of hisbrave sonstherewasnone among his adherentscapable of following up his views and conquests, be fixed upon aByrage e fuke er, named Bunda, who became his

successor, though not asGooroo. That title died

with Govind Singh, the tenth and last.


e xplain to him the cause of his honoring his poor

abode with a visit, asking at the same time'

his

name . Govind replied, You knowwho I am ”

The Byrage e rejoined, H owshould I know?Govind mere ly added, Think over this matter.

Then Bundaenquire d if he were Gooroo GovindSingh . The latterresponded, Yes.

”

Bundaagain

asked the purport ofhisvisit ; andGovindanswered,To make you aconvert.

”

Bunda immediate ly

consented, rece ived the Pahoolde e , and became a

Sikh . Govind Singh then took Bundaalong withhim . Some days after this occurrence , Govind

sent forBunda,and having seatedhim, de livered to

fig‘fifiJfiThim his dying words (wusse equt,) You are ap~

pointed my successor,”

exclaimed the Gooroo ;You must be awarrior, andavenge the blood of

my fatherand grandfather, aswell as that of mysons. Do not fear death.

” Govind then took five

11 1; dyingarrows from his quiver, and de livering them to

injunctions toBunda, added, Do not approach awoman, andBunda“

ke e p these five arrows: so long as you obey thisorder, no misfortune will happen to yen ; if youforge t my orders, or disobe y them, then you shalldie .

”

Bunda rece ived the arrows, and promisedto obe y faithfully the injunctionsof the Gooroo.When Govind Singh die d, andhisfollowerswere

leftwithout aleade r, they began to disperse them ,

se lves. Many resuming then° former occupation,

became cultivators of the earth, others learnedtrades.

This occurred in the Dekhan, and the Sikhs

1 1 191 011 1 1 or run sums.

cf the Punjab hearing of Govind’s injunctions

to Bunda, resolved to bring him to the Punjab .

011 the death of Bubadoor Shah, the second sonofAlumgeer, and the decline of the M ogul Empire , 332

4

1931132;thewhole of Hindostan Wasin an unse ttled state .

In the’

latterend of the re ign of Furoksliere , aboutthe yearof the H ijera 1 130, Bundawishing to

possessthe country of the Punjab, resorted thither,in companywith the Sikhs,who had gene to fe tch

When he reached Mulu Kotilali, Bunda foundthere hisgrandson, named Atma Ram , a Byrage e

fuke er,whom he wished toaccompany him ; but

Atmarefused, adding, I am awandering fake er,and not used to bloodshed and fighting. You

will never be a king, and will lose your life .

Bundatook no“

notice of thisWarning, and next

day departe dwith hisfollowers forSirhind, which,as the scene of the murderof Govind’s“W 80115,

he was de termined to dest roy. On reaching the BurnsSirhind.

place Bundaset fire to the city, and murdered all

the inhabitants, ne ither age nor sexwas sparede very one was slaughtered indiScriminately, to

avenge the murderof Govind’

ssons; and the c1ty

wasrazed to the ground.‘

Bunda then crossed the Silfléj afld éfi lplOyedCrossesthe

fire and sword Whereverhe went. N0 place esSutlej .

caped, and none could oppose his progress; he

pillage d every Where . The inhabitants of the

“ The carcases of the dead were even dug up and exposed to be

de voured by beastsofprey. —Malcolm.


Punjab fledat hisapproach in the utmost dismay .

a, H e next crossed the Beas, andmarched to the cityof Wittala. On hearing of the approach of this

murderousincendiary, the inhabitantswere dividedin Opinion astowhat measureswere to be adopted ;one party propose d to abandon the place wlththeirfamilies,while the other urge d a strenuous

defence .

At this time Synd Muhommed Fuzil Gilane e ,escaping alongwith some fuke ers, fledfromWittalaand reached the village of Sultanpore , in the Bist

Jalindhur. The leaderof the opposite party wasge

t?“ of the She ikh Oolhud, who was also a Synd and had

late ly arrived at Wittala. This man encouraged

the pe ople to fight and prepare forasiege .

Bundawith hisarmy arrive d at the UchurTank,two milesfrom the city, and encampe d near the

temple ormusjid.

The inhabitants, by the advice of She ikh Oolhud,shut the gatesand prepared to defend the walls,while the She ikh himse lfwent out to me e t Bunda.

1 . slain. On reaching the roadhe made a bold stand, but,wasquickly overpowere d and slain. The corpse ofthisbrave manwas carried to Wuze erabad, abouttwo milesfrom Kotilah, and there interred hisdes

cendantsremain at that place to the present day .

Bunda broke open the gates and entered thecity, towhich he se t fire, beginningwith the houseof Caze e Abdoollah. The wife of the latter hadhid all the treasure in a terrace before the house .

msroar or TH E smug.

will plunge rthis dagger into his body. jBunda

wasaccordingly tie d to thisman,and in thismangjlflfi

fmnerconveyed to Delhi,where he .was tortured todeath.

H ischaracter. Se ldom in the annals.of the most barbarous

nationsdo .we findtracesof such sewage slaughterand devastation, as marked the progress .of thisByragee . H e not only amp ly fulfilled the orderof

Govind in destroying Sirhind andmurdering all its

.inhabitants, thereby avenging the crue l death of

Govind’

s sons; but he took full re venge en the

Mussulman inhabitantsof the Punjab.

The name .of flBunda is nevermentione d, e venat the present day,withoutghearty cursesbe ing bestowed upon hismemory by e very M ussulman, nor

ishe he ld in respect by the S ikhs.

Bundawasafanatic, and so _resolvedwashe tofulfil the orders of Govind Singh, that he became

the terrorof the whole Punjab, aswe ll asthe .dis

trictson thisside the Sutlej .

The discrimination of Govind Singhinselectingsuchaman for carrying out his revenge , is con

spicuous. Had the G ooroo himse lf not be en

weigheddown by ~

yearsand emiction, noroppressed

witheases incident to hisposition ; in short, hadhe be en ayoungerman ; there is little doubt that

the pun ishment .he would have inflicted on the

Mussulmans, though differing .in kind,would havebeen equally ample with that bestowed by Bunda.

le is-difficult to conce ive the . existence of such a.

monsterasthe latter; but these fuke erswhen urged

H ISTORY OF TH E SK IN .

by powerful motives, and under certain vows,willst0p at no crime , whate ver its e normity may be .

They are great impostors; and with an e xternal

semblance of pie ty, they concealwithin the irbreaststhe blackest and most malignant spirit.

The scanty records regarding Bunda give little

information asto any good propertieshe may have

possesse d ; but he isallowed, on all hands, to havebe en aman of undoubted valourand bravery ; and

the coolnesswithwhich he m e t hisdeat‘hmay be

here quoted from Malcolm’

s“ Ske tch.

”

Bunda

wasat length produce d, hisarm :be ing seated in his«lap. H is fatherwas orde red .to cut his throat

which he did,without utteringaword. Being the n

brought nearer the magistrate stribunal, the latter

ordered hisflesh to be tornofi'with red-hotpincers, H iscrue l

and itwasin those momentshe expired ; his

soul taking itsflight by one of thosewounds, towardsthe regionsforwhich itwassowell fitted. These

are , of course , the wordsof aM ussulman, rejoicingat the end of abrave , but crue l man, who hadwreaked hisvengeance in such afearful manneronthe M oslems.

Bunda, though following the dying commandsof InclinedwGooroo Govind,washimse lf inclined tomake severalchangesin the mannersof the Sikhs, and, among.

others, to substitute for the war cry of Govind,Wah wak Gooree j ee lite futteh, futteh dlzurm

futtehdkursun — (Success to pie ty, successto the

se ct.)The dread inwhich Bundawas he ld by hisfol

1 12 ms'roar or run sums.

lowers, induced many of them to obey him contrary

to the ir inclinations and wishes. The Ukale es,

however, the true and uncompromising followersofGovind, resisted all the endeavours of Bunda tomake any change in the tene ts and precepts of

the irfavodrite Gooroo. For thisopposition to his

wishes, many of them paid the forfe it of the ir livesbut death isamatterof little considerationwith theimmortals,

”

as the name Ukale e” implies.

On the death of Bunda, all his innovations

were forgotten, and all the institutionsof Govindrestored,

”

Malcolm continues; but the blue dress,instead of be ing as at first worn by all, appearsfi'om that date to have be en the particularright ofthe Acalis whose valourin itsdefencewe ll meritedthe exclusive privilege of wearing this originaluniform ofatrue Sikh.


The activity ofhighest degre e ; and they resolved to exterminateoolSum

mp d in extgr the whole nation. The we llknown activity of

me tro

Sikhs. gt e

Ubd- ool Summud rendered the harsh measure s

adopte d for this purpose highly e fficacious; and

the Sikhswere comple te ly dispersed, and nearlyannihilated.

Diesat L a In the time of M ohummud Shah, the grandsonbore , and is

succeeded by ofBuhadourShah,Ubd- oolSummuddied at Lahore ,h

'

scu z kof; Khan.

“ er

andwas succe eded, asgovernorof the Punjab, byhisson, Zukere eaKhan. H ewasunlike hisfatherand the governme nt of the country, underhiscare ,

The ”we " became e xtrem e ly lax; the Zemindarsof the Punsion of the

$3233a jab threwoff the ir allegiance to the Mussulmans,the n ew re fused to pay the reve nues, and oppresse d the

ryots, and ill- treated them . The latter,whowerefor the most part Jats, became in the ir turn dis

gusted, and joined the Sikhs. At this time therewere several of the latterwho had complie d strictly

with Bunda’sorders, andwere named in conse quenceBundaSim“ Bunda Sikhs.” After the ir leader’sdeath, these

pe ople lived in the Bare e Doab, be twe en the Beas

and Ravce , in the Manjajungles.

302: Every sixmonths, crowdsof the Sikhsresort edsir e very six to the Holy Tank at Umritsir, and there he ldm m“

council among themse lves; they afterwards dispersed, and re turne d to the jungles. Many of theZemindarsin the Manja tract of countrywere re

late d to the Sikhs, and conceale d the latterwhe nE fl

'

ectually pursued by the Mussulmans; and in e very villagefrffzfifiin

iyof this jungly tract, there were two or thre e Sikh

d”horsemen quartered, and supported by the Zem in


dars, unlesswhen they chose to provide for themse lves by robbery and pillage . Thus protected,theirapprehension became impracticable .

On Nadir Shah’s re turn from Hindostan, hepassed through the Punjab,whichwas then overrun with jungle , the abode of plundering Sikhscollected from e very part of the hills and plains.Nadir Shah inquire d of the governor, if there wereany troublesome charactersin the Punjab ; and receivedforreply, that vast crowdsof disorderly Sikhfuke ers visited the tank at Umritsir e very six

months. Nadir Shah askedwhere the ir places of NadirShah’

s

remark reabode were ; and the governor replied that the irgarding an m.

homeswere the irsaddles,” The conquerorsmiled,and said they ought to be destroyed, and the ircountry se ized.

After the death of Khan Buhadur, Ahme d Shah

invade d the Punjab ; the Zemindars revolted, andthe Sikhs began to flourish . When Ahmed Shah The Sikhspil

re turned to Cabul, about or Sikhscollected and began to pillage Lahore , and se ttled

in several placesaround it,where the y erecte d fortsand strongholds. On Ahme d Shah’s re turn to thePunjab, the Sikhs dispersed, and again concealedthemse lvesin the jungles.

About this time , se veral of the Sikhs, such asAttack the followersof

JupaSingh, Ramghure ea, and others,were in the Ahmed Shah

service of Ade ena Beg Khan ; andwhen Ahme d ” the Rave “

Shahi

fought with the emperor, and re turne d to

Cabul, the Sikhs appeared on the bank of the

Rave e , and slewnumbers of Ahmed Shah’s fol

1 2


lowers. The Shah was alarmed at this daringattack on the part of the Sikhs; and leaving Juhan

Khan as governor of Lahore , he proce eded to

Sealkote . The Sikhs collected in great numbers

around Lahore,and ravaged the country. Juhan

Khan came out against them , but according to

the ir usual practice , they be took themse lves to

flight. Juhan Khan, on this occasion, remarke d,that e xcept the ir running away, the Sikhs hadno pre tension to the name of soldiers. Thre e

hundred Sikh horsemen separated themse lvesfrom

the rest, and stood ready to engage the Pathans.

When the latterwere within ashort distance of

them, the Sikhs fired avolley ; e very bulle t tooke ffe ct, and great numbersof the Pathans fe ll, andthe rest fled. Taking courage from this unex

pected success, the Sikhs pursue d and kept upthe irfire . The horse of Juhan Khanwaswounde dand fe ll, and the Sikhs se tting up a loud cry of

Wah! wah ! Gooroo je e ke Futteh,”

rushe d forward to kill the Khan, but he escaped on foot.Many of the Pathanswere slain ; and this is thefirst decided victory on record gained by the Sikhsover the Afl

'

ghans.

It isre late d that, at thistime , there wasafuke erat Sealkote named E tubar Shah,who,when JuhanKhanwaspreparing to attack the Sikhs,wassittingin his hut. Juhan Khan alighted, and requestedthe fuke er to pray for his success. E tubar Shah,raising hishead, cried out

“ R un away ! run away !the wolf is coming,

On hearing these words,


The Missula. The Sikhsthusbe came afriendly nation, divided

intowhatwere called M issuls.This state of thingscould not, however, last

long ; and at length the different sirdarsbegan to

quarre l among themse lvesforan extension of terri

tory . The hostilitiesconsequent on such quarre ls,consisted in carrying off cattle and otherproperty ,and the ryotsthemse lveswere often killed in the

struggleswhich ensued be twe en two ne ighbouringsirdars.

All remain in But though they quarre lle d among themse lves,all

was peace and friendship when they met at therim" holy tank of Umritsir. There each independant

sirdarhad hisfort ordwelling- house , with abazaarattached, for supplying his followers and re tainerswith food and the othernecessariesof life .

When thus collected at Umritsir, no mark of

strife ordiscordwasallowed ; allwas harmony andpeace , while sitting and listening to the Gooroo

e xpounding the Grunth in the holy temple ; for the

beautifying of which, each sirdar contribute d

liberally, according to hismeans.

51

523211

311

3“ When these sirdars orchiefsbegan first to por

t e tion out the Punjab amongst them, theywere verynumerous; but afterre peated contests, the country

became the property of afewof the most powerful,who maintained the irown independence , and gavethe iraid in de fence of thewhole against any fore ign

£3328

3}?taggressor. The sirdarat the head of each M issul

S irdars. wasparamount in peace andwar, though his dependentsreserved to themse lvesthe option of pro


longing or curtailing their services according to

circumstances.

The territory of the Punjab at thistime extended rbe Sikh ter

asfarasthe Jumnah, and even beyond that river;and one of the M issuls,—and the principal,asbear

Jumnah'

ing the standards of the Sikhs, hence name d the

Nishanwala” M issul, —include d the country aboutUmballain itspossessions.

In giving ashort outline of these M issuls, howe ver,we shall confine ourremarks to those acrossthe Sutlej, since the Missulson thisside the river

have long ago merged into the prote cted Sikh’

s

states, and the de tailsof them more properly be longto ahistory of the British powerin India, than toone de voted to the Sikhsof the Punjab .

Nishan, amark, standard, orcolour.


CHAPTER IX.

TH E H ISTORY OF TH E BH UNGE E M ISSUL .

JussaSingh TH E first Sirdarof thisMissulwas Jussa Singh,a Jat and native of the village of Punjwar, e ightmilesh'

om Umritsir. H e be came aSikh andafol

lowerof Bunda; on the death of the latter, and

when the Sikhswere dispersed and scattered over

the Punjab, JussaSingh converted thre e Jats; whowere hisown re lations. One of these wasname d

Bhe em Singh.Bhe em Singh, another Mulla Singh, and the third

Juggut Singh. This Juggut Singh was a greatsmgh'

smoker of bhung, and hence named Bhunge e , andthe lattertermwasapplied to his Missul. Whe njoined by histhre e converts, Jussa became a rob

ber. On hisdeath, Bhe em Singh succe e ded himasthe head of the M issul. After the invasion of

NadirShah, Rhe em Singh, assiste d byMullaSinghand Juggut Singh, collected a number of followers; but though strong in numbers, he had no

portion of country, andmaintained himself andhisadherentsby actsof robbery.

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKHS .

twe en the riversJumnah, Sutlej, Beas, and Rave e .

B urre e SinshBurre e Singhwas killed, and Jhunda Singh suck med°

ce eded him as head of the M issul : he live d in

peace and quie t.When Ahmed Shah bestowed the governorship

of Lahore on Kahule e Mul, the Bhunge e M issul

S inghand went against that place . Goojur Singh and Le naL enaSingh

Singh were sent a- head, and reached the city .

They shut up the governor, andwere joined bySobah Singh, a nephewof Jye Singh, and afte r

pillaging all outside the walls, the siege of Lahore

wascontinued.

Kahule e Muldefended Lahore forseveral months,and shut up all the gates of the city e xcept two,he also guarded all the passes. Be ing at length in

great straits, he made demands on the city androbbed the shroffs. When he sawno chance of

Kahule e Mul re lief, he le ft Lahore withall his followersand alle scapesfromL ahqre , which they could carry away ; and on the second daythePSl

i

l

ltlglzfi byafterhisdeparture , the Sikhs entered and pillage d

the city. The bootywasequally divide d, and each

sirdar le ft hislie ute nant.JhundaS ingh After this Jhunda Singhwent to Sealkote andbesieges Sealkote azxgtak

fsbesieged it in the year Bik. 1 834, corresponding to

0

A . D . 1 777. H e hadat that time alarge army andde termined on taking M ooltan,whitherJye Singhpre ceded him for the sake of plunder. On his

march towards M ooltan many sirdars and Sikhsjoined JhundaSingh. The Governorfled and thecountry was taken possession of. Jhunda Singhand Lena Singh divided Mooltan be twe en them ,


and appointed Dewan Singh, Killadar. H e re

maine d along time in possession ofMooltan, untildriven out of it by Timoor Shah,who gave M ool Erg

e

gig ogf

tan in charge to Jojoh Khan, Pathan Sudozye . Shah

When JhundaSinghwasre turning from the con

quest of M ooltan, he took Jhungrealah, and sub

dued the Be looche e tribes, often pillaging the ircountry . After this he went to Umritsir, and

began building abrick fort,which was nam e d the ggfldsfl"

;unge e ort,

Bhunge e fort. at Umritsir

Pre viousto this, H urre e had begun abazaar at

Umritsir, but had not finished it. After this,JhundaSingh made war on Jye Singh, Ghune eya Make ’w"

Jye Singh.

and Churruth Singh. It issaid that the latterwasJussaSlush,killed by the bursting of his gun and Jhunda

Singh by hisown soldiers, at the instigation of Jye

S ingh. Gunda Singh succe eded hisuncle Jhunda

Singh, and comple ted the Bhunge e fort, at Umrit

sir. Gunda Singh employed himse lf in enlargingadaSlag};the city of Umritsir, and for thispurpose collectedhis?

“ m

great numbersofworkmen.

Gunda Singh next proce eded to Pathan Kote , Advancesagainst Pathan

on the followmg account. A man named Naud Kote .

Singh, afriend of JhundaSingh, had left thisplace

to the latter. This Naud Singh had adaughte r,andhiswidowbestowed the latterand Pathan Koteon Tara Singh Ghune eya, brother to H uke ekut

Singh . When Gunda Singh heard of thistrans

action, he was enraged ; and collecting an army,he proce eded to the place , taking the road through

Wittala, or Battala. The Ramghure ea Missul


joined him. They halted at De enaNuggur. The

Ghune eya M issul, under Goorbuksh Singh, the

son of Jye Singh, Ghune eya, joine d TaraSingh,also Ummur Singh and H uke ekut Singh, withothersof the Ghune e ya.

The two armiesme t, andfought forse veral days,without any decisive result. Gunda Singh, at

gagi

ng.

length , became sick and died. H is son Desa

glam vic Singh be ing a boy, his nephewChurruth Singh

succe eded him . The fight continued daily. One

day Churruth Singh was killed, and the Bhunge e

force was broken up, leaving the victory in the

handsof the Ghune eyaM issul. After thisde feat ,Desa

.

Sin h Desa Singh was chosen head of the Bhunge eappmm

M issul, and his prime ministerwasGoojur Singh .

H e arrived at Umritsir, and Pathan Kote remained

in the hands of TaraSingh and his son, until thelatterwasse ized by the Maharajah Runje e t Singh .

itiiiid

éfng.

Desa Singh was succe eded by his son GoolahSingh,who remained at Umritsir, and enlarge d thecity. While this Goolah Singh was a boy, his

cousin Kurram Singh Dooloo, governed for him .

On Goolah Singh attaining the yearsof maturity,howe ver, he was dismissed. Goolah Singh had

constant warswith Maha Singh, the father of

Runje e t Singh, and son of Churruth Singh.

When Runje e t Singh took possession of Lahore ,GoolahSingh assembled thewhole Bhunge e M issulandwasjoined by NizamutDe en,Kussoorea. The ir

W k“ W8? 0" united force amounted to or men ,Runje e tSingh.

and skirmishes took place be twe en the two armies.


length the latter died, and was succe e de d by hisson Saheb Singh, who marrie d Rajkoonwur, thesister of Maha Singh ; but this alliance did not

pre vent constant quarre ls be twe en the two. At

one time , Saheb Singhwasvictorious at another

time , MahaSingh . A battle took place be twe enthese two sirdars at the village of Sadra, whenit was besieged by Maha Singh . On this occasion, Raj Koonwur the wife of Saheb Singh ,went to se e her brother Maha Singh, and en

deavoured to make peace be twe en them . Maha

Singh becoming sick returned to Goojurawala,where he die d.

An attempt When the body ofMahaSinghwasabout to hemade to se ize

igihl

zod

syifh burne d, the soldiersof Saheb Singh went for the

but fails.8 '

purpose of carrying it off ; but Kade t KhanKhidmutgar,with M e eah, commandant of artillery,Ghuonse e Khan, and others , me t them on the

road, and de feated Saheb Singh’

s tr00ps,who fled,leaving the body of Maha Singh in the hands of

his trusty servants, who burne d it with all duehonors.

Runj e e t se izes At length, Runje e t Singh destroyed the Bhunge ethe M issul.

M lSSlll, aftercapturmg the irstrongholds of Lahore ,Umritsir, Sealkote , Churniote , and Jhungdeal, andtaking possession of all the country on both sidesof the Chenab . Goojarah Wala and Jellalporewere wrested from Saheb Singh . H e rece ive da village in Jaghe er, where he spent the re stof his days. H is son Goolah Singh had also a

H ISTORY or TH E sums. 1 27

fewvillages conferred on him. Leaving no son,

there was no head of the Bhunge e M issul, whichthus m erged into the hands of Runje e t Singh,the Maharajah of the Punjab

,in the year Bik.

1 863, corresponding to the yearof the Christianera 1806.

H ISTORY OF TH E SI KH S .

CHAPTER X.

TH E H ISTORY OF TH E FYZOOL APOORE A AND

RAMGH URE EA M ISSU L S .

KapoorSingh TH E first sirdar of the FyzoolapooreaMissul

wasKapoorSingh of the Jat tribe , and anative of

the village of Fyzoolapoor, near Umritsir. H e

joined the Sikhs under Bunda. H e was a braveman, and appointed asirdar. H e took, like the

rest, to robbing, andhad no land of his own. H is

valour and judgment soon obtaine d for him the

title ofNuwab,andhe assumed the name ofNuwabKapoor Singh. H e lived in the time of KhanBuhadour, Governor of Lahore , and die d in the

re ign ofAhmed Shah Dourane e . It is re late d of

him, that he foughtwith the Shah andfellinaction .

H e had thre e followers, all brave men, name ly

Khooshyal Singh, LenaSingh, and Se e tul Singh,whowere brothers by the same mother. Thesemenwere contemporariesof H urre e Singh Bhunge e‘Vala, but independent of him, and kept up aforceof the irownwith distinct se ttlements. The irpos

H und Singh.


KhooshyalSingh,ofGugo,avillage nearUmritsir, of

the Jat tribe andafollowerof Bunda. H e likewisebecame arbbberon the death ofhisleader. When

he died, aman named Nund Singh, a Jat anda

native of the village of Sahanghe e , distant aboutfourmilesfrom Umritsir, succe ede d him. H e had

agreat numberof followers, andamong them one

named Jussa Singh, andhisbrothers, Mala Singhand TaraSingh, of the Buhrae e orcarpentercaste ,inhabitantsof the village ofAbchokul, who, givingup the ir trade , became Sikhs, and joine d Nund

Singh. Of the thre e brothers, Jussa Sing was aparticularly brave man, and ce lebrated forhisfeatsin battle . H e was appointed Commander- in- chie fof the Ramghure ea M issul. When Ade ena BegKhan fled on account of his enmity to Ahme d

Shah, he engaged several Sikhs as his re tainers,andamong the rest, these thre e brothers, and the y

were '

of the greatest use to him in managing histroops, When Ade enaBeg Khanwasde feated byAhmed Shah, and fled to the hills, the brothersleft him, re turned to the ir homes, and afterwardsjoined Jye Singh, Ghune eya, who with UmmurSingh and others made war on the Pathans andconcealed themse lvesin the jungle . In thiswarfare , the brotherswere conspicuous for the irbravery. In the yearA.D . 1 757 Ahme d Shah le ftLahore ; and Ade enaBeg Khan re turned from the

hills, and having conquered Khootub Ghat, theRohilla, be surrounded the city ofWittalaand took


it ; afterwhich all the zemindars in the Punjab

owned hisauthority.

Ade enaBeg Khan,with the viewof driving theSikhsout of the country, made the zemindars takean oath that they would attack them and drive

them away ; and thatwhere veraSikh was found,he wasto be imm ediate ly killed

,ormade prisoner.

H arshmea_

M e erzaAze e z Bukshe e was appointe d to se e the[332

3

135332533enforcement of thissom ewhat sanguinary law.

the Sikhs.

This man was attended by a great number ofhorsemen, and carpenterswith their axes,for the purpose of cutting down and clearing awaythe jungle in e very dire ction, for the discovery of

the Sikhsconcealed in it.

When the Sikhswere thusattacke d and huntedfrom e very place of abode , they fled in all direc

tions, andaportion of them, bolder than the rest,went to Umritsir, and took refuge in the mud fort

of Ram Bourec.

Nund Singh, Sanghane e ,who was then at the 232133

1323head of the Ramghure ea Missul, . Jussa Singh, Roure e .

Mala Singh, and Tara Singh, were among the

number; and Jye Singh, Ghunne e ya, and UmmarSingh, Kingra,with the ir followerswere likewisethere , remaining concealed in the fort. M e er

Aze e z hearing of this, surrounded the fort, and theSikhs, be ing desperate , foughtwith great bravery .

Jye Singh and JussaSingh made a sally from the

fort, and killed great numbers of the ir assailants

with matchlocks and arrows; they then re turned The bravery orJ e Sin h.

to the fort and shut the gates. Jye Singh on thisy 8

K 2


occasionwasmounted on a spirited horse ,whichcarried him into the midst of the enemy but

though matchlockswere aimed at him, andhe wasattacked onallsides, ye tnone dared toapproach near

him, and he escape dwithin the fort. The Sikhs,be ing reduced to great straits by M e er Aze e z,

began to throwdown the walls during the night,and at length sallied out,when manywere killed,andseveral taken prisoners. In 1758 A.D. Adecha

figizn

sifss Beg die d ; and there be ing no rulerin the Punjab ,

the Sikhsbegan to raise the irheads. Those whoescaped from Ram Bourec assumed the name of

Ramghure e ,whichisthe origin of thisMissul ; andNuad Singh, Sanghane e , became the head of it.

When Nund Singh died, Jussa Singh and his

brothers be came the sirdars, and called the ir

Missulthe Ramghure ea.

Ahme d Shah Ahmed Shah, on hearing of the death of Ade enacomes to L awm anddm Beg Khan, and the rising of the Sikhs, came to

53mm? Lahore forthe purpose of se ttling the disturbancesswim"

in the Punjab. The Sikhs, to the numberofor surrounded Sirhind. Ahmed Shah inone march crossed the Rave e , Beah, and Sutlej,and attacked them on all sides. Sevente enthousand Sikhswere killed ; and the slaughterwasname d Goolboo Ghara, orthe hand of fate . Ahm ed

Shah re turne d to Lahore . H e established the

Pattialah rajah in his own territory, and KomundalKhanwas placed over the othersirdars. The

The temple of temple of Umritsirwasblown up by gunpowder byUmritsir

blown up. KomundalKhan.


called Ramghur, and nearit erecte d alarge bazaar.

“ mm " The same Missul, also took possession of se veralpossessions of

villages in the Bist Jalindhur. Jussa Singh gave

1

1

3:Jalind Wittala to Mala Singh, with the surrounding

country ; to Tara Singh, he gave Kulanour. The

wives of the thre e brothers lived at Begowal.When JussaSingh neglecte d to divide the re venues

with Jye Singh, Ghune eya, the latterwanted todrive out the Ramghure eafrom the irpossessions.

Warwasdeclared be twe en the M issuls, and great

numbers fe ll on both sides. In the engagement,GundaSingh, Bhunge e , and Jye Singh, Ghune eya,

greatly distinguished themse lves. The Ghune eya

gimfmigesconquered ; and Goorbuksh Singh, the son of JyeWittala. Singh, came toWittala, and besieged MalaSingh in

that place ; he surrounded the fort, and the in

habitants supplied himwith money and stores, asthe y disliked Mala Singh, who wasa tyrant, andoften kille d people forhisamusement. It isre lated,that one day while - thus employed, there was agreat storm of thunderand hail. MalaSingh fire dat the clouds in contempt ; a stone fe ll from a

cloud on hishead, andhe re treate d to the fort, butthe inhabitants turned him out, and admitte d the

Ghune eya. Rajah Singh and Dewan Singh, thegovernorsof districts,with TaraChund, aBrahmin,and others, collected and opened the gates of the

city to Goorbuksh Singh,who entered, and Mala

Singh fled. From Tara Singh he took Kulanour,and thusconquered city aftercity, asfarasthe Sut

lej . From thence he went to the jungle , in the


direction of Kote Kapoorah, and le ft Soodh Singh

at L oodianah. Jye Singh became more and“

more

powerful, and enjoyed peace for the space of thre e

years. At the endof that time , all the Mis'

suldarsquarre lledwith him, andhe sent for the Ramghure ea.

In‘

the Hissar district, Jye Singh gave great

trouble andannoyance to the fuke ers, and robbed

and slaughtered in e very direction . After this,JussaSingh, Ramghure ea, re took Wittala,and re

mained in it for thre e years. Jye Singh collected3385

35“

alarge army and besieged it. After twenty daysWittalahe raised the siege andO

departed,when JussaSinghresolved to build a brick wall around the city,thirty fe e t high, and twenty- one in breadth ; helikewise established aThannah in the city ; afterthishe went towards Kulanour for the purpose ofattacking Juemul Singh, the son of

'

H uke ekut

Singh.

'

Afterhard fighting’

for the space of thre e

days, the Ramghure ea'

troops fled. The only

placesremaining to thisM issulwere ,"

R earke e , the

city of Ruhe ela, on the bank of the Beas, and

some portionsof country beyond that river. Con Contestsbe

twe en the

stant warswere carried on be twe en this M issul Ramghure eaand Ghune eya

and the Ghune eya. Night and day, bandsof them M issula.

traversed the country, carrying of? cattle, sheep,

and goats, from each others’ possessions."

On the

deathof MahaSinghand TaraSingh, JussaSingh

remained and live d at Rube ela. Suda Koonwur,

havingsucce eded Jye Singh and Goorbuksh Singh,collected all her troops, and, assisted b y Runje e t

136 am our or Tar. sinus.

Singh, attacked the fort of M esana, be longing to

the Ramghure ea Missul. The siege was carried

on forse veralmonths, but on the se tting in of the

rains, itwas raised. Dewan Singh, the son of

Tara Singh, possesse d asmall portion of countrybestowed on him by hisuncle JussaSingh,wherehe supported himse lf by robbing. Jussa Singh

left two sons behind him ; the one named Jodh

Singh, and the other Bhe er Singh . The former

succeede d his father, ashead of the Ramghureea

Missul. But he was aman of no activity, and

unfit to govern, so that his cousin Dewan Singhmade daily inroads on his possessions. At lengthBunje e t Singh took possession of thisMissul, and

JodhSingh became hisdependant, and entere d theMaharajah’

s service . Dewan Singh, leaving the

Punjab, went to Benares. Before he re turne d

Jodh Singh had die d. and for some time he andBhe er Singh governe d the country, which the

Maharajah at length resolved to se ize . In 1 808,

the Maharajahwent to Kangra, and on hisre turnDewan Singh he sent fer Bhe er Singh and Dewan Singh, andand Bhe e

Singhhas imprisoned them ; afterwhich he took possessionnsoned

linflictsSl

itytgh. of their country. From thence , the Maharajah

took the road to Ruhe ela, where he Spent thenight, and then proce eded to Umritsir,where hebesieged the fort of Ram Roure e , orRamghur,withhis artillery . The siege continued for awholeday ; and during the ensuing night, those in thefort made the ir escape and fled. It issaid thatthe Maharajah, in the space of thre e days, seized


CHAPTER XI .

TH E H I STORY OF TH E GH UNE E YA, AL L OOWAL YA, AND

SUKKE RCH UKE A M ISSUL S .

UmmurSingh, TH E first Sirdar of this M issul, was UmmurSingh, Kegra; he was, like the rest, arobber, andhad numerous followers. They resided at Khana

Kutchwa, in the Mangacountry, after they became

Sikhs.Among his re tainers, Chunda Singh, Jye Singh

said his brother, and H uke ekut Singh, were named

Ghune eya.

The ir character for bravery soon obtained for

Jye Singh and H uke ekut Singh the head of the

M issul. Jye Singh, as already stated, unitedwiththe Ramghure ea against Ahmed Shah. On one

occasion, these robber- chie fs plundered Kussoor,

and carried off alarge quantity of silver, gold and

jewe ls; besides shawls and carpe ts. Jye Singh’

s

share of this bootywasmore than fourmen could

carry. The chief place of residence of the Ghu

ne eyaM issul,while e xercising itspredatory habits,was a thick patch of dhak jungle nearBegawal.


When Khwajah Oobe idwasgovernor of Lahore ,the combine d force of the Ramghure eaand Ghu

ne eya M issuls, took possession of Wittala, and The Ghune eyaand Ramghu

divided the spoil be twe en them . The Ramghu ixh

v

l

‘

js

ftql

l

s

re ea establishe d themse lves at Begawal, and thee l a’

Ghune e yain the Bare e Doab .

Of the latter Missul, four men have be en ce le The four

brated name ly, UmmurSingh, Kegra; Jye Singh $313athe

Ummur Singh, Bhugga; and H uke ekut Singh.

mm "

When the Sikhswere assured that Ahmed Shahwould no more re turn to the Punjab, each of thesemen took possession of distinct tractsof country,orpurgunnahs.

When Jye Singh became head of the Missul, he Jye Singh the

led an army to Gurhota, at the foot of the hills.head 0m

The sirdar, orruler, of thisplacewasE sud Buksh,who had but a small force at his command, andcould not oppose Jye Singh with any chance of

success; he , therefore , submitted to him,whereby Make, com

Jye Singh’

s power and influence were greatly in m s“

creased. H e next took possession of H aje epore , in TakesMuke .

the Bist Jalindhur, and he rece ive d tribute from“ a“

the hill chie fsof Moorpoor, Datarpoor, and Saepah.

At Mukeriah, there dwe lt a sect of Mussulmans

name d Awan : Jye Singhwent against the place ,and subdue d it after a desperate fight. Great

numbers of Sikhs and Mussulmans fe ll on both

sides. The place was pillaged, and many of the

inhabitants murdered. At Umritsir, a Spacious

bazaar, or kutra,was built by the four sirdarsofthisM issul.


fixation of On the death of Ahmed Shah, a coalitionwasformed among the Missuldars for pillaging, and

becoming mastersof the Punjab ; the chie f of these

were Jye Singh, Ghune eya; Jussa Singh, Ramghure ea; Jussa Singh , Alloowalya; Tara Singh,

Ghueba; and Khooshyal Singh, Fyzoolapoore ea.

Thei

zegorce All these joined the irforces,andproce ede d towards

proc 3

against Km Kussoor. On learning these tidings, the Pathans” on

entrenched themse lves in the ir houses, and in the

fort. At this time , Ulif Khan,whowas the chie fsirdar,without consulting the others, ledhismen out

The place pil of the fort,andattacked the Sikhs; hewasspe edilyhat ” the

put to flight, and fled towardsthe city, followed bythe Sikhs,who pillaged it of the articles alreadyalluded to . Several dayswere Spent in pillagingand destroying the city. At length, thewhole fortwas taken and divided among the Missuldars.

The latter Nizamut De en Khan afterwards expelled the S ikhs32531 from Kussoor, and re took the fortand city. WhenKb ”

Nizamut De en Khan died, and his brotherKootuThe Place boode en Khanwas sirdar, the Maharajah Runje e tafterwardstake n by Singh, after conquering Lahore , made two succesR unj e e tSingh.

snve attackson Kussoorand took it ; and Kootaboode en Khan be came adependant of the Maharajah, and rece ived Mumdhote , on the le ft bank ofthe Ghana, be lowFe erozpore , in jaghe er; wherethe family still reside .

"l

Aworthy tbllowerof thisfamily isnowagent forthe navigation of the

Indusat Mittunkhote : I allude to Pe er I brahim ,who was, at one time ,

killadar of Fe erozpore , and deserve dly much este emed by the BritishAuthoritieson the north- west frontier.


e ffected his escape , and fled to Mooltanwith the

gezznsgrs

h intention of proce eding to Cabul . H e wasadvisedGhoolam by Maha Singh to re turn with him to Wittala,Ghoul where he promised to re - establish Ghoolam Ghous.

MahaSingh soon found outapre te xt forquarre llingwith Jye Singh, and se veral contests took place

be twe en them outside the walls of Umritsir.

ziita

lia

b

at-

h

During the absence of Jye Singh, JussaSingh sure t e o

nfmghufe e e , rounded Wittala, then governed by hlS son Goor

iflhfihi'

gt buksh Singh . The Ramghure eawere successful atkille d’

e very point. During ase vere fight be twe en JussaSingh and Goorbuksh, the latterwas killed, and

(

g

i

ggio

jti

tfihis tr00ps imme diate ly fled. On learning the

lossofhisson. death of his son, Jye Singh dismounted from his

horse , and emptying his quiver of itsarrows, ex

posed himse lf to the fire of the enemy. The Ram

ghure ea, though thus victorious, respected the

grief of the sirdar for the death of hisbrave son,and drewthe irforces03 the fie ld with a viewof

se izing on R e earke e .

Jye Singh, re turning to Wittala, erected atomb

on the north of the city, near anullah, over the

SodaKoon remains of his son. Be ing pressed by the Ram

ghure ea, Jye Singh leftWittalaandwent to PathanKote , taking Jnomul Singh and TaraSingh alongwith him . H is daughter- in- law, Suda Koonwur,the widowof Goorbuksh Singh, remained behindat Wittala; but becoming alarmed at the ap

proach of Jussa Singh, she collected her followers,andmade her escape bare - footed to Sae ean. Hearing that the city had be en thus deserted, Jussa


Singh sent an army forward to se ize it. WhenBagh Singh and H ookoomut Singh, the leadersof

this force , approached Wittala, Dhurrum Singh,whowasThamahdur under Jye Singh, made hisescape over the wall. The citywas taken posses

Sifffliflff"

sion of by the Ramghure ea, and Scaeanwas the ghure eaonly place remaining in the hands of Jye Singh .

JussaSingh then began to plunder the possessions

of the Ghune eya on the bank of the Beah . At

thistimesJye Singhwas threatened from another

quarter. SunsarChund, the hill chie f of Kutoch, Sunsarchundmakeswaron

bore enmity to Jye Singh, on account of the latterJye ste gh.

having taking Kote Kangraout of his hands: he

came as far as H aje epore , se izing upon all the

country be twe en that place and the hills, amongotherMukeriah; Atulghur,which isafort outsidethe city, remained in the possessionsof Jye Singh.

A slave girl, named Dasser, de fended the place Atulghurdefended by a

for four months against Sumsar Chund,whowasslave girl .obliged to raise the siege . The fort of Kangrawas likewise in the possession of Jye Singh. War

was carried on be twe en Sunsar Chund and JyeSingh for thre e years; at the end of which, SudaS udaKoomKoonwur, the widowof Goorbuksh, resolve d to WI" resolves

to marry herbring about an alliance be twe en the Sookurchukeadaughterand Ghune eya M issuls, by giving her daughter, £3323

0

M ehtab Koonwur, in marriage to Runje e t Singh,nigh

the son of the MahaSingh, the head of the formerM issul. Having thusconcerted her plan, she pro

ce ededwith herdaughter to JuwalaM ockbe e , andthere visited Raj Koonwur, thewife of MahaSingh,


and the twowere spe edily on friendly terms. Thereis reason to suppose that M ehtab Koonwurwasnot the real daughter of SudaKoonwur by Goorbuksh Singh, but acounterfe it substituted by her,for certain political purposes. Jye Singh wasanxious to make peace with Sunsar Chund,whoinsiste d on ge tting Kangra. Vake elswere employed

SonsarChund on both sides. Afteragreat deal of negotiation,insistson ohmining Kote itwas at length agre ed upon that SunsarChund£3533

“should rece ive Kote Kangra, giving up, in lieu of

it, H aje epore and Mukeriah ; and in the e vent

of war be twe en the Ghune eya and Ramghure ea

Missuls, SunsarChundwasto assist the former.

SunsarChund having agre ed to these terms, de

livered up the countries mentioned in the treaty.

Jys Singh Having finished this important matter, Jye Singh,marchesagain“ Wit. on be ing joine d by the rajahs of Moorpoore andma’

Chunnbeah, aswe ll as Sunse t Chund and MahaSingh, marched against Wittala. JussaSinghwasin the city and prepared for the siege ,which, aflaerbe ing carried on for twenty- two days,was raisedand JussaS ingh, as already mentione d, resolve d tosurround Wittalawith avery high wall of brick,but only finished one side of it.

MahaSingh’s In 1 788, the newsofMahaSingh’sdeath , at the

death, and them m ,” of village of Dhare ewal, reached Jye Singh ; who lal

fiififfbm

mented him and went to Wittala. The son of

MahaSingh, (Runje et Singh) be ing thenaboy, hisDewan governed for him. In 1 792, Jye Singhsent for Runje e t Singh to Wittala, and there married him to M ehtab Koonwur hisgrandaughter,


three milesfromWittalain jaghe er, H e next dis

possessed Jye Singh’

swidowof Haje epore . Nid

han'

Singh and Bagh Singh, the sons of Jye Singh,soon afterwards died ; and thus terminate d the

Ghune eyaM issul ; but‘

Boodh Singh, the son of

UmmurSingh, remained at Dhurumkote , the sole

Handset surviving he ir of the M issul. Runje e t Singh reS

‘

h Ives

£ 58,153;n solved to destroy the Ramghure eaM lSSlll; and m

:fifififif‘

1 81 1 he arrived atWittala, and encamped at Shum

Shere Khan’

stank,where he remained'

foramonth,and sent for Uhm ed Shah to consult him on the

Foregoes the subject. H e ultimate ly gave up his original ininte ntion.

,mprism.tentio‘

n ; and in 1 823, during‘

the M ohurrum, he

3s sent for SudaKoonwur to Lahore , and put her inconfinement. H e thenwent to Mulkeriah, andappointed DesaSingh to .the charge of the Ghune eya

Missul. After taking possession of M ulkeriah,

Runje e t Singh re turned to Lahore , and summonedall the zemindars of Suda Koonwur to hispresence . H e bestowed degre esof honourupon them ;

and Shade en, the son of Aze e zoode en, was appointed governorofWittala.The first man of note in the Alloowalya M issul,wasJussaSingh,who lived at the village ofMulmaSadhoo, in the Manja country, by trade a kulal,ordistiller, of the Toolse tribe . This Jussa Singhsupported hisfatherand mother, at the village of

Alloo, near M ulma Sadhoo ; and he , his uncle ,and otherre latives, became Sikhs and servants of

the Fyzoolapoorea. Kapoor Singh, the head of

thisM issul, occasionally visited the village of Alloo,


and remained in it during the night, and JussaSingh

’

smotherplaced herson under the charge of

the sirdar. Some th e after this e vent, JussaJussaSingh

Singhcollecte d followersofhisown, and became aEl

i?” m

sirdar. On the death ofKapoorSingh, hisfollowersseparated, and Jussa

'

Singh became a famousrobber, and se ized on different portions of land.

At first, he took the villagesofAlloo andSe ere eala,the latteralarge place . Afterwards be se ized on Makesexten

Futtehiahad, Lilliana, Govindwal, Sille eala, and

BhOpala, asfarasTuruntara. After this, he posorthe Slide”

sessed himse lf of Gograwal, and crossing the Beas

he se ized on Sultanpore and Tilwunde e . H e thenattacke d Race Ibrahim, of Kapoorthullah,whogaveup his country to him. Crossing the Sutlej, hebecame masterof E esaKhan and Jagraon. Thus;JussaSingh, Allowalya, became the greatest sirdarin the Bist Jalindhur, and was called Badshah

”

by his dependents and followers. H e was of aOf aliberal

liberal disposition and neverwere asuit of clothesdwposmon’

twice , giving them away to his dependents. H e

wasfi'iendly to the Mussulmans, many of whomwere employed in hisservice . Jossa Singh joine d

Jye Singh against the Ramghure eaM issul. At hisdeath he le ft no he ir, and his brother Bagh Singh

succe e ded him as the head of the Missul, but died

soon afterwards, and was succe eded by his son Futteh Singh.

Futteh Singh. This sirdar forme d a friendship

.with Runje e t Singh. The chowdie ofFuttehSinghwas named Kadir Buksh ; he was a Rajpoot by Km“, Bum ,

birth, and a native of Tilwunde e ; he had. the

L 2


management of allhisaffairs, and was also vake elat Lahore . When Kadir Buksh became a rich

man, he was entertained by the Maharajah Runje etSingh, having quarre lle dwithhisown master. An

armywassent, athissuggestion, to the Bist Jalindhur, in order to seize it, and place Futteh Singh in

confinement. Onre ceiving tidingsof thisintention,FuttehSingh Futteh Singh fledacrossthe Sutlej, and concealed

the

himse lf in hisvillage ofJagraon. When the Maharajahheard of the flight of Futteh Singh, he ex

presse d hisastonishment, and sent Aze ezoodeen tose ttle the Bist Jalindhur. Anund Ram, Pindare e ,wasemployed in razing Futteh Singh’s forts, andall the zemindarsof the Doab paid tribute to theMaharajah . Kadir Buksh remainedwith Bunje e tS ingh at Umritsir; and died there , it is said, by aviolent death. Runje e t bestowed Tilwunde e on

hisson in jaghe er.

FuttehS ingh When Futteh Singh found that the Britishwould52333133flit only guarante e to him his possessions on the left

rifgofifi bank of the Sutlej, be resolve d to re turn to the BistJalindhur and ask forgiveness of the Maharajahwho sent Nonehal Singh and Desa Singh to re instate Futteh Singh in his possessions. The wholeof these were restored to him in the Bare e and

Bist. Futteh Singh imprisoned the sons of KadirBuksh, and levied fineson them.

Nehal Singh Whe n Futteh Singh died, his son Nehal Singhsucce eded him ; but he and his brother Ummur

Singh quarre lled, and the latterwent to . representhiscase to the Maharajah Shere Singh. One day


m m salt mines; at lengthhe. forme d an independent0 mar

Sukker.

Chm Missul, named the SukkerChuke ea.

ke en Mm ul.

Sookkur,‘

orSakkur,wasavillage m the Manjacountry, which is nowin ruins; but from his

residing there , Churruth Singh named hisM issul

afterit,Killed by the

,Churruth Singhwaskille d in the year 1 767, bybursting ofhis

the bursting of his gun,when Maha Singh wasonly seven years old. The M ootusudde e and

Dewan managed the affairs of the M issul forthe

young sirdar ; butwhe n be attained the yearsof

maturity, he took the management into his ownhands. Maha Singh be came a great sirdar, and

had horseme n. At the age of twenty, andwhile atwarwith the zemindars, his son Runje e tSingh was born. At thistime he took the fort of

Rusoolghur, and the name Runj ee twas bestowe don his son, signifying the fie ld of battle this

occurred in 1 780, or thirte en yearsafterthe death

of Churruth Singh . Maha Singh manage d the

affairs of his Missul satisfactorily, and at length

demanded the daughterof Goorbuksh Singh, Ghune eya, in marriage for his son . When Runje e tSingh was e ight years of age , or in 1 788, MahaSingh died of dysentery.


CH APTER XII .

TH E L IFE OF TH E MAH ARAJAH RUNJE E T SINGH ,

FOUNDE R OF TH E SIKH MONARCH Y.

IT has be en stated in the foregoing chapter,that Churruth Singh, the grandfatherof the Maharajah,wasthe founder of the SookurChukeea, orSukker Chuke ea Missul, re ckoned one of the

smallest in the Punjab. This man wasazem indar, and be came , like many other Jats, a Sikh,which se emed to be the first step to the favorite

trade of robbery andpillage . The quie t and indus

triousJat, so longashe remaine d acultivatorof the

fie ld, ne ver concerned himselfwith hisne ighbour’saffairs, orprospects; but when he sawa lawlessse t of Sikh robbers,with numerous followers, andapparently in the enjoyment of every luxury of

life ,which he found it impossible , with e very exertion of himse lf and hisfamily , to procure , it isno

wonder that he was often tempte d to renounce

his life of toil and trouble , for the less irksomepursuits of a robber. Churruth Singh did not

The age of

MahaS ingh.


require the chastisement of afake er to induce him

to se ek his livelihood by lessarduous labourthan

cultivating the fie lds; and the we llknown tene tsofGovind Singh,whereby the use of the swordwasenforced, hadaready attaction forhim and others.

The story of the fuke eris, no doubt, one of those

invented to give a romantic colouring to the

history of Runjeet’

s ancestor, and to supply some

excuse for Churruth Singh’

s adoption of the dis

reputable calling of arobber. The e xact date of

Churruth Singh’

s death, by the bursting of his

matchlock, isdifferently stated by formerhistoriansof the Punjab. According to one , it occurred in

1 774, while another gives 1 771 ; adifference of

thre e years. Nowin the Mussulman recordsre

garding thise vent, the death of Churruth Singh isstated to have occurredwhen his son MahaSinghwas only se ven years of age ; and further, thatRunje e t Singh, the son of the latter, was bornwhen he had attained the age of twenty. All are ,more over, agre ed, that the Maharajahwas bornin the year of the Christian era1 780 so that hisfather being then twenty years old, he must havebe en born in 1 760, and se ven years adde d to thiswill give the correct year of Churruth

‘ Singh’

s

death , 1 767.

Runje e t Singhwasborn, at Goojurawala, on the2nd November, 1 780.

H ismotherwasof the Jhe end family ; the fatherwasMaha Singh, aman of great military skill andbravery. H e died young ; thusleaving hisson, a

H ISTORY OF THE SIKH S‘

.

Missul yie lding to him ; the only remaining powerin the Punjab, see ing that she herse lf was at thehead of the Ghune e ya.

L ahore.

inms In 1 799, Lahorewasin the possessionof Runje e tTowrest it from him, apowerful coalition

was entered into be twe en Jussa Singh, Ramghure ea, GoolahSingh, Saheb Singh, Jodh Singh, andNizamut De en Khan of Kussoor. Opposed tothese ,were the combined forces of Runje et Singhand SudaKoonwur. Failing in the space of four

months to make any impression on the place , the

{3332331siege was raised. NearWittala, howe ver, abattlewas fought be twe en Suda Koonwur, and JodhSingh son of Jussa Singh, Ramghure ea; Suda

Sudak oonwurKoonwurwasalso aided by Runje e t Singh . SudaVICIOI

'

I OIIS overJussaSingh. Koonwurwasvictorious. Afterthis, Runje e t Singh

$3331iifii' proce e ding to Jummoo, first se ized on M e eroowal.

Jussurwal. The sirdarof M e eroowal brought atribute of

rupe es. H e next subjecte d the fort of Jussurwal.When he hadadvanced towithin fourmilesof Jummoo, he encampe d, and the rajah visited him, bringing presents. On his return from Jummoo, the

Sefll Maharajahtook Sealkote , andimprisoned DulSingh,hisIfather

’

s maternal uncle ; and Dewan M okum

Chundwasalso imprisoned by Saheb Singh. H e

Raisesthe beseigedAtulghur,whichwasde fende d by the wife3551351 5 of Dul Singh . She wasaided by Saheb Singh and

others,and Runje et gave up the siege andproce ede d

against Dilawurghur. The hostile arm ieswere separated from each otherabout e ight miles. Se ve

ral skirmishestook place , and Kesre e Singh, Sode e ,


delivere d up Dilawurghur, andreceived for jaghe er, Dil

lo

awurghur

Shah Durrah. The Maharajah re turne d to L a

hore . About thistime E nsuf Ulle e Khan arrivedA vake e l ar

asvake e l from the British, bringing presentsto the from the

Maharajah. In the year A.D . 1 800’ Khurruk gr

fifffpgkSinghwasborn.

smgh bm ’

Again, Saheb Singh, Bhunge ea, raise d atumult531

32: fi

g-

h

at Goojurawala, and Runje e t Singh went against mult.him but peace wasconcluded through the inter

vention of SudaKoonwur, and Runje e t re turne d toLahore . The M aharajah next proce eded against

Nizamut Oode en Khan, of Kussoor, but he did not

succe ed in taking that strong fort ; be , howe ver,znic

t

e

flixl

burne d and pillaged the suburbs. Kussoor.

Saheb Singh, Bhunge ea, andothersof thisMissul, swab Singhagain raised the standard of revolt at Goojurawala;

“gainm m"

and Runje e t, leaving Futteh Singh, Kalawala, tocommand at Kussoor, proce ede d against Saheb

Singh. An engagement took place , and a peacewas again concluded. The Maharajah nowproce eded towardsthe .hills, to assist Suda Koonwur, Runje e t pro

ce eds toassistwhowasfighting“

unsuccessfully against the Rajah SadaKoonof Noorpoorand SunsarChund, of Kuloch. The

w"

latterfled to his own country, on the approach of

the Maharajah, and be having taken the fort ofNW h h

Nnoshuhur from the Noorpoorrajah, bestowed it takers

n

u I"

with allitsrevenueson SudaKoonwur. Re turningfrom thence , the Maharajah took the fort of Pin pinde eput

de eputte ean, across the Chenab, and bestowed the“ can take “

The year 1802 is generally given for thise ve nt ; but it happened inBik. 1857.whichcorrespondsto the yearin the text.


governorship of it on Futteh Khan, Alloowalya.Port of Bond From thishe came to the fort of Bund,which he“ km

besieged fortwomonths; when it surrendered . H e

15

; : iiifinnext exacte d tribute from the zemindars of the

m tubdued~ Dhunne e country, famous for its bre e d of horses,andre turned to Lahore .

The Maharajah nowresolved on subduing Kussoor ; andwith thisviewcollectedallthe sirdarsin

the Bist, .while .he , himse lf went against M ooltan.

When he arrived near the city, the governorsent

himatribute which be ing accepted, the Maharajahre traced hisstepsto Lahore .

Bagh Singh, Bhunge e ,whowasnowat the headof the Ghune eyaMissul, died ; andhisson,who succe eded him, made war on Suda Koonwur. She

£33553“ asked forassistance from her son- ih - law,who pro

against ce eded to join her. H e ravaged the country about

Wittala, and besieged Soojaupore . H e , at length,efl

'

e cted peace b e tween Suda Koonwur and her

opponent, and re turned to Lahore . In the same

Rm ie e tbathesyear, the Maharajah wishing to bathe in the

iii Ganges, crosse d the Sutlej and Juninah, andafter

he had bathed, re turne d to Lahore . Shortly

szkrmfzgg after this, he se ized on Fugwarrah, in the Bist

q wam h. Jalindhur, and gave it to Futteh Singh, Alloo

walya. The villages also of H ooshe earpore , and

the fort of Bujwarrah in the same Doab,whichpaid tribute to Sunsar Chund, were taken pos

Juswunt Rao In 1805, ilusmunt Rao, the Mahratta, and'

arrivesin thePunjab. AmeerKhan, flymg from the E nglish, arrived in

158 ntsronr or run BIKE S .

this view, the Maharajah crossed the river, and

333333? took the fort of L oodianah;which he bestowed onhis maternal uncle Bagh

' Singh, of Jhe end, dis

placing Noorsoor M isr, the widowof Rao Ilias.The MahawalaH e re ceived anuzurana from . the Mahawala Jasffrii

f "m

munt Singh; and from thence hewent to Pattialah,where he made peace be twe e n the rajah and his

fifize

ze

zuzmwife , rece iving forhis good officesalakh of rupe es

from the Pat in money and property. In going and re turning“am rajah.

he exacted tribute and allegiance from the sirdarsGoesagainst of the MalwaDoab. In the year 1 807, the MahaKussoor.

rajah se t out for Kussoor, collecting his army at

Umritsir. The fort of Kussoorwasoccupie d anddefended by Kootuboode en Khan, the son of Nizamut Oode en Khan, andhe offeredafierce resistance

to his assailant, who had formerly failed against

assign his father. But where force of arms could not

pre vail, the stratagemsandwilesof awoman did ;for SudaKoonwur, by bribing some of the Khan’

s

pe ople , pre vaile d on them to open the gates; and

thisstrong fortwas at length taken possession of

by Runje e t Singh.

gig?“ 818° The Pathan fort of Dehalpore also yie lded, so

that the whole ofKussoorcame into the possessionof the Maharajah .

Goesagainst Runje e t Singh had de termined on the subjection

of M ooltan, and proce eded in the direction of that

strong fort, exacting tribute from the zemindarsPillagesiwnd of the country through which he passed. H ere ce ivesanuzurana. plundered the city of M ooltan ; but the governor

.of the fort, M oozuflfurKhan, by paying anuzurana

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKH S'

.

of rupe es, induced the Maharajah to re turnto Lahore

In the month of October, 1 808, Runjee t proce eded through the Bist, and crossed the Sutlej .

H e se ized the citiesof Jagraon and Rhaee—ka- kote ,3331312551?rece iving aransom of rupe es, from Futtehkote .

S ingh, for the former. From thence , the Maharajah went to Naba, and rece ived asecond huzu E xacts tribute

from all the

m afrom Jusmunt Singh also from Saheb Singh, sirdarsof the

of Pattialah the Mulherwala and Kotilawala;Doab'

likewise from the Ke onthulrajah , Kurm S ingh of

S hahabad ; Bugwun Singh, Bhoore ea; GoorbukshSingh, Umballawala; andall the sirdarsand zem in

dars, in that part of the country. H e then re

turned to Lahore , taking the fort of NarrainghurTakesNa"

where Futteh S ingh Kalawala, and se veral othermmghm

sirdars‘were killed. This fort was given to his

friend Futteh Singh Alloowalyaby the Maharajah,and from ‘Whom he received anuzurana of

rupe es. From Goptah Singh, of Maneemajirah,the Maharajah exacted rupe es; and from

the sirdarsof:Roopur, half that sum .

f M okhum Chund having escape d from the con M okhum

finement in which he had been placed by SahebS ingh , Goojurawala;, arrived at

”

Lahore , and wasrece ived ' into the service of the Maharajah. H e

obtained Raon and the ne ighbouring country injaghe er. This district had lately ‘ be en wrestedfrom the widowof TaraSingh, by Runje et Singh.

‘In the month of Magh, (January) Runje e t se t outforPathan Kote , taking Suda

'

Koonwu‘ralongwith


him. H e reachedWittala, and from thence wentto Jusrota, and levied contributions. H e next

proce ede d to Bissoule e , and exacted rupe es

from the rajah as an annual tribute , besides a

nuzurana; the latter amounte d to rupees.

The wuze er of Sunsar Chund, Kutoch, visited

the Maharajah, with a request from his master,that he would assist him against UmmaSingh, theGoorkhachie f ; but the Maharajahwould notagre e .

Departing from the hills, Runje e t Singh arrived at

{taske Seal Sealkote which he besieged for se ven days, and

took it ; the charge of this strong fortresswasmade over to Gunda Singh, Sofi. Leaving Seal

kote , the Maharajah proce eded to the Chenab,where Saheb Singh, Bhunge e , me t him,with apresent in money, and a horse . H e despatched DulS ingh,whohad succe eded Futteh Singh, Kalowala,with aforce to subdue the zemindarsin the Doabs

Chinth and Sindh- sagur, lying betwe en the Che -a

nab, Je lum and Indus, and lay them undercontri

butions. The Maharajah himse lf went to JuemulSingh

’

s (Ghune eya) country, and obtained muchspoil and riches; afterwhich he re turned to

Lahore . From thence he despatched M okum

Chund, Jodh Singh, and other sirdars across the

Gharra, at H urre eke e , towardsM umdhote . Theyse ized on Zoraand Kotekapoorah, and laid siegeto Fure edkote ; but from want ofwater, and on

rece iving rupe esand two horses, they raisedthe siege . Contributionswere then laid on all thezemindarsof Sirhind. In January 1808, Runje e t

. H ISTORY OF TH E SIKH S.

asambassador, or envoy, from the British. H e'

remained nearly two months at Umritsir, settlingboundaries. During the Mohurrum, the soldiers

be longing to Mr. M e tcalfe’

sescort. had constructedThe Ukale es“ the ir taze eas.’ Se e ing these , the Ukale es asgreat numbersattack his sembled to the numberof or with theescort, are

de feategand intention of destroying them and preventing the

Fum e

celebration of the festival. At first Mr. M e tcalfe

took no notice of them, from hiswish to give noofl

'

ence to the Maharajah, and endeavoure d to

persuade them to desist ; but finding fairwordsthrown away upon these fanatics, he collected his

escort, amounting to about 500 or less, andpre

pared to de fend himself. The Sepahees boldlyattacked the rabble , and slewandwounded severalof them : the rest fled, pursued by the British

3: troopstowardsthe city. The Maharajah,whowasthen at Goovindghur, observing the tumult, came

outside , and shaking his kummurbund,1~ as a

sig nal forpeace , proce eded towardsMr. M e tcalfe ’stent, towhich the British soldiersre turned. Run

je e t Singh complimente d the envoy on the bravery

of his soldiers, and de termined thenceforth to

dismpline and adopt the armsand discipline of the British, se e ing“ m"

that afewhundred of the latter put to flight asmany thousandsofhisfiercest troops.

A fewdays after this occurrence , akhillut, or

dressof honour,waspresented to Mr. M e tcalfe ,and

E legant structures of tinse l - work, intended to cele brate the festival.1 A white cloth tied round the loins.

answer or run SIKH S. 163

he took his departure , after comple ting a short

treaty with Runject Singh, whereby the latterTreaty forme dagre ed to preserve peace and amity with themidis.British not to ke ep more troopson the left bankof the Sutlej thanwere necessary forpreserving histerritories; and to abstain from making any further

inroads, orlevying contributionson the Sikh chiefs

on the le ft bank of the Sutlej,who thus placedthemse lves under British protection, andwere infuture denominated the prote cted Sikh chie fs.

Thistreatywasconcluded at Umritsir, on the 25thof April 1 809, andwasre ligiously kept by Runje e tSingh until the day of his death, or a period of

nearly thirty years. Afte r this, aBritish force cc

cupied L oodianah during the year 1809, underthe A British

force occupiescommand of Sir David Ochterlony . Opposite to L oodianah.

L oodianah, and near the right bank of the Sutlej,the Maharajah built the fort of Phillour, forthe pro fifmgfifiufld'tection of the ghat. The Dewan M okum Chundwasappointed killadar, orcommandant of the fort ;and Nund Singh Bukshe e was sent as vake e l, orambassador, to Sir David Ochterlony he wasthefather of Govind Juss, and Kishen Chund, whoafterwards occupied the same important appoint

ment,when CaptainsMurray andWade were political agents.


CHAPTE R XII I .

CONTINUATION on TH E L IFE or nUNJE E T

AFTE R TH E TR E ATY or 1809 WITH TH E BRITISH .

IN 1 809the Maharajahwent against Kote Kangra, on account of the Goorkha chief, Ummar

Singh, having attacked SunsarChund. The latter

had made an able defence for the space of four

years; but at length,he de termined to give up thisstrong fort to Runje e t Singh,andsentavake e l to the

Maharajahwith the oflbrof it, provided the Maharajahwould drive the Goorkhasout ofhiscountry .

The Maharajah took a large arr‘

nywith him, and

wasaccompanie d by SudaKoonwur. H e took theroad by Wittalaand JuwalaM ockbe e ; andat thelatterplace collecte d allhissirdars, andmade themtake an oath that theywould support him in the

warwhich hewasabout towage against the Goorkhas.A fierce engagement took place be twe en the

SikhsandUmmurSingh’

stroops and itwascomputed, that at least fe ll on each side . Afterthis, Ummur Singh raised the siege of Kangra.

Subdues


late ly deceased. At the feast of the Dewale e , hearrived at Umritsir, and in the month of Maghs

(January) 1810, learned that Jodh Singh, of Wu~

ze erabad, had died. The Maharajah proce eded,forthwith, in that direction, and rece ived a nuzu

ranafrom the son of the late sirdar,whowasestablished in . his father's place . The Maharajah

then crossed the Chenab ; and Saheb S ingh, Bhun

ge e , hearing of hisapproach, fled to the hills; so,that hiscity of Goojrat fe ll an easy prey, andwithcut opposition, to Runje e t Singh. Nooroode en,

brother to Aze ezoode en,was left in charge of it.

From thence , the Maharajahwent to Sae ewal, andthe zemindars of the district, after a fewdays’fightingwere brought undersubjection. H e the n

went to Khooshab, and foughtwith the sirdarsofthat place ;who became tributariestohim, andcon

cludedapeace afterafewdays.About this time , Shah SoojahOol Moolk,who

had be en king of Cabul, arrived at Khooshab, andvisited the Maharajah on friendly terms. The y

discusse d the subject of Mooltan,which the Shah

advised Runjee t to se ize , and make over to him.

The Maharajahappeared to agree to the proposal,and departed forMooltan. For the Space of twomonths, he besieged the place , and plundere d thesuburbs. During this siege , UtturSingh, Dhare e ,waskilled. When Moozufl

'

urKhan, the governor,sawno chance of assistance , he agre ed to pay a

nuzurana of a lakh and rupe es, at the

same time offering to pay allegiance to the Maha


rajah, and throwoff that of Cabal. The Maharajah accepted the nuzurana, and departed for

L ahore .

At this time H immut Singh, of Jille ewal,whowas vake e l of Juswunt Singh, of Naba, deserted

from hismasterand took service with the Maha

rajah. H e became Wuze er, orprime minister, and

rece ived Alawalpore purgunnah, in jaghe er. In

.the course of the year1809, BhyaKhooshyalS ingh,a native . of Hindostan, be came asoldier in the

service of the Maharajab, andmade himse lfagreat

favourite with the latter. H e was appointe dchamberlain, ordecre e ; andwithout his order, no

one could se e the ‘

Maharajah. This office wasaKhm hyal

lucrative one and be came the means of enrichingSingh

its possessor, who often ‘

rece ive d large sums for

obtainingan interviewwith soce lebrate dapersonageasRunje et Singh had nowbecome . In the month M ehtab Koon

wurdies.of Katukh (Octobe r) 1809, M ehtab Koonwur, thedaughterof SudaKoonwur, and wife of Runje e t

Singh, die d. During the latter part of this year,Wuze erabadwastaken from the son of JodhSingh .

The purgunnahofHallowal,which isin the Doab H allows]Rechne ,wasalso taken from Bagh Singh ; andthe

“ hem

Dewan M okhum Chund wassent against Sooltan‘Khan, the rajah of Bhember. The latter fought

gallantly, butat length lost hisfort, and became aBhember

tributary of the L ahore government, agre eing to“ em

pay rupe esannually.The Maharajah in the winter season went to

Find Dadun Khan, making all the zemindars

168 H ISTORY or TH E S IKH S.

tributaries to him. At the Hooly festival he

re turned to L ahore .

m sBik. In Mokhum Chund wassent against theiifiefi

'

dded Nuke e country, lying be twe en Mooltan andManja;izjziypfii

'

and itwasadded to the possessions of the Maha- v

" mm"

rajah, several villages be ing given in jaghe er. In

the month ofAsih (September) the city ofJalindhurwasbesieged by M okumChund and taken, and thefort of Philour fully garrisoned bv the Dewan.

Nidhan Singh, son of Jye Singh, aman of veryintemperate habits, and incapable of managing his

513

3332112281! affairs, be ing imprisoned, H aje epore and Sae en in

the Jalindhurwere taken from him, and se veralethervillagesbestowed injaghe er; hewasafterwardsre lease d and livedwith his mother Raj Koonwur,the widowof the great Jye Singh, Ghune eya.In the course ofthisyear, the marriage ofKhurruk

Singh, with Chund Koonwur, the daughter of

JuemulSingh, Ghune e ya,wasce lebratedwith greatSplendour, and SirDavid Ochterlony honoure d the

nuptialswith his presence . Two lakhs of rupe es

were expended on thisoccasion by the Maharajah.1 869Bik In the month of Bysakh(April) 1 812, the Maha1 81 2 Ad).

rajah sent Mokhum Chund to take possession of

M undhe e.

Koolloo and Sookhe t. Both the rajahsofKoolloo,gri

me mbu'

Mundhe e and Sookhe t,with several others in the

hill provinces became tributaries of Lahore , and

presente d a nuzurana of one lakh and nine tythousand rupe es. During this year, Bhaee Ram

Singh, whowas the Pesh- kar of Khurruk S ingh,rece ived Jummooin jaghe er; andhewassentagainst

1 70 e rs-roar or run sums;

Mohummud heard of the capture of Cashmere , he

wrote a le tter to the Maharajah requesting the

province ofAttock in jaghe er. On re ce iving this

request, Aze ezoode en was despatched to Attock,where he received AttaMohummud

’

sbrotherwithgreat kindnessanddistinction.andputhim in posses

sion ofWuze erabad. When Shah Soojah and his

Begum reache d L ahore , the Maharajah demanded

the Kob i-marfrom the latter, but she re fused to

fulfil herpromise , and the Maharajah imprisone d

the Ex- King, andat length obtained it.In the course of the year, 1 81 2, Shah Soojah

OolMoolk escape d from Lahore to Rajoure e in the

hills, and from thence to L oodianah, after suffer

ing great privations.’

In 1813, there wasafamine in the Punjab, andFutteh Khan, collecting a large army, made an

attempt on Attock. On hearing this, the Maha

rajah lost no time in going to me e t him. Whenthe two armieswere se parate d about e ight miles,they be gan to skirm ish,without coming to any decided engagement. In the month of Asar (June ),when theweatherhad be come Oppressive ly hot, theS ikh army advanced underMokhum Chund ; and

The Pathans on the second day agreat battle took place . ThebyPathanswere taken by surprise and complete ly

Chund.

Another account states, that the Ext - King made hisescape dirtct toL oodianah by meansof an accomplice ,who e ffecte d his re lease from the

house in which hewasconfined, and place d horsesforhim on the road to

L oodianah. Otherssay that he wasobliged to escape throughasewerordrain.


routed and dispersed, fighting with each other inthe confusion that ensued. A party of Ghaze eas,

however,whowere be ttermounted than the rest,attacked the Sikh guns, and drove the gunners

from them ; but the ywere speedily overpowered,the gunsre taken, and thewhole party cut to pieces.FuttehKhan made his escape , and recrossed theAttock. All his camp fe ll into the handsof theS ikhs. In the month of Sawun (July), the Mahnerajah re turned to Lahore .

Afterthisfirst decided andgreat victory overthe The Pathans

Pathans, the latter became afraid of the Sikhs. giiiitbe

On reaching Lahore , the Maharajah caused the

city to be illuminated, aswe ll as Umritsir, andother large cities such asWittala. Two monthsI llumination

at Lahore andwere spent in rejoicingsat the successof the . Sikhsotherplaces.

against the Pathans. In the month of Asun (Sept ember), the Maharajahwished to visit Attock,with a Viewof still further intimidating the

The Maharajah took the road by Kote Kangra, The Maha

sending his army direct to the Je lum . H e 5332131

1301.offered presents at JuwalaM ockbe e , andwor

he e '

shipped there , exacting tribute from the rajah.

H e then proce eded by the foot of the bills to Je

lum. Here he mustere d histroops,’ andmarched

to Attock.Having examine d all the buildings in the fort, Examinesthe

fort ofAttock .

the Maharajahwasvery much pleasedwith them.

Named Muojudat in the language of the natives.

1 72 ms'ronr or TH E sums.

H e remained for some time at the place , and then

returned to Lahore , leaving Mokhum Chund to

se ttle the country about Attock ; afterwhich the

Dewan alsowent to Lahore .

De termineson In thé year, Bik. 187 1 , or A.D . 181 4, the Mahathe conquest

of Cashmere . rajah determmed on making a comple te conquest

of Cashmere ; andwith this view, summoned allthe hill sirdars, aswe ll asthose of the plains, andassembled the whole at Sealkote . Thither the

Maharajah proce eded in person, and inspected his

force . H e sent Mokhum Chund back to Lahore

to govern in hisabsence ; andhe himse lf,with hiswhole force , proce eded towards Cashm ere . On

reaching Rajoure e he encammd in the Shah bagh,’

and summoned the Rajah Aghe erKhan to hispre

sence . By the advice of thisman, Ghuose e Khan,commandant of artillery, M e th Singh, Dyal Singh,nephewto M okhum Chund, and se veral othersir

aforce sentb

dars,were sent forward by the route of Byram

ii'

yixaacfixei. Oulieh . The Maharajah took the road by Poonch,

and the hill soldiersaccompanied him . The sirdarscrossed the Pe er Pinjal, and reache d Cashmere ,where Azeem Khan proposed to me e t them. A

battle ensued, and Jewun Mul, commandant of

Khurruk Singb’

s troops, led the van, and boldly

3.awstorm, engage d the Khan. At this juncture , a storm of

hiring. snowtook place ; and the Sikhs beingwholly unaccustomed to such an occurrence , and the ir fe e t

and hands becoming cold, they could make no

1 King’sgarden.

" TORY 0! TH E m as.

ribly harassed, andmany of them disabled; forthe

Wuze erRoohoola, governorofPoonch, hadblockedAze em Khan up the road, and cut off many of the Sikhs. OnsurroundsR

i

m Dyil’d

the second day, Aze em Khan pursued Ram Dyal

: piac

fe'

fc

and surrounded him. The latter, hearing of the

departure of the Maharajah, made but aslight resistance , and conclude d apeace, and thusescaped:Crossing the Pe er Pinjal, be e ffected a junctionwith Bhae e Ram Singh, and their united forcesatlength reached Lahore . The Maharajah, thoughsore ly vexed at the unsuccessful attempt,wasyetrejoiced at their re turn, and made presentsto the

gentl

e:iii;21

531: brahmin

'

sand fuke ers. In the same year, (1814)Mokhum Chund died at Phillour on the Sutlej,andhistombwasere cte d in agarden at that place .The Dewan was a man of the greatest militarytact, and hadalwaysbe en successful in the variousimportant commands bestowe d on him by the

H issonM ote e Maharajah . H is son Motoc Ram succeeded himRam succe edshim. asDewan, and held possession of allhisexte nsive

mm “ Singh, lands. An army was nowsent to se ize Phoola

2323? Singh, Ukalee . This man had be en joined by

Nebal Singh, Attare ewala, and raised a great disturbane e ; butwasat length captured,and broughta prisoner to L ahore . In the month of Magh

’

(January), Ram Dyalwas sent to exact tribute at

ThismonthanswerstoourJanuary but isnot, like it, the first monthof the H indoo year; and thiscausesconfusion in dates, forthough the timehere mentione d isdesignated by January, 1815, ye t it is, in fact, the ninthmonthof the year 1 781 , Bikermaj e e t, corre sponding to A.D. 1814.

me 'rcar as TH E sixe s: 1 75

KhanaKatobwa. H e arrive d in the Bhawalporeterritory, where he was me t by a vake el from

BhahawulKhan. At this time , FuttehKhan and FuttehKhanand Mohum

Mohummud Shahwere in Scinde ; but on recelvrngmagi? re

anuzuranaof thre e lakhsof rupees, the y agreed to Scinde .

re turn. The Maharajah dispatched Mote e Ram

and Aze ezoode enwith foot towardsBhawalpore ; thisforce wasaccompanied by a portion of

artillery. The y joined an army under Bhae e Ram

Singh . About the same time , the commandant of

Attock, collectinganarmy, attacked and plundere d23111

23221311

?Peshawur; but the governorsending a.force againstthe Sikhs, the latter fled, and many of themwerekilled.

When the Maharajah heard the news, he wasH ookmaSinghsore ly vexed andannoyed, and replaced the com pimped to

mandant of Attock by H ookma Singh, Chumne e ,whowassentwith2000horsemen to take posses~sion of the fort, andassume command of it. Save .

ralsirdarsfe ll in the disastrous attempt on Peshawur,which took place in the yearAJ) . 1 815.

In the same year, the Maharajahwent to Noonpoor, andsent Dewan Bhowane e Bass and DesaSingh, Majee the ea, to e xtort tribute from the rajahs

of Koolloo andMundhe e . In the monthofBhadun

(August) Johd Singh Ramghureea died, and his

sonwasmade to pay anuzuranaof rupe es.

The rajah of Noorpoorwas imprisoned, and hisfiggogfl

ggf'

gg'

country taken possession of by Runje et Singh.

“ m e “

Aftersome months, the rajah made his escape to

Chumpal. In Koowar, (September) the Maha


Runje e t pro rajah,withaviewofpunishingAgheerKhan, arrivedce eds topunishAghe erat Bhember; and frbm thence despatche d alargeKhan.

army,underRamDyal andDulSingh,againstRajour.lineartaken After marching for ten days, and pillaging as itby the Sikhs.

Ge ts1000came ls inthe Bhur

country.

went, thisforce reached Bajour, and besieged thecity. Afterde fending it for thre e orfourdays, the

’

rajah escape d to the fastnesses of the hills, andconcealed himse lf there . On finding the city

deserted, the Sikhspillaged, andafterwardsburnedit. The rajah’shouse wasthrown down, andalsothe wallsof the city. H iswhole country was laidwaste , afterwhich the Maharajah leaving it, andtaking the road by the foot of the hills, arrive d at

the Je lum. H e ordered Dul Singh, Ram Dyal,

and Dewan Singh, Ramghurre ea, to proce edagainstBhotes, andhe himse lf re turned to Lahore .

In the course of this year, (1 816) Futteh Khan

having crossed the Attock, proce e ded by the route

of Pukle e andDumdour to Cashmere ; and there

de feating his brother Azim Khan, assumed the

government of the country, rece iving the re venues

from his,

vanquished brother. In the month of

Bhadun (August) the Maharajah se t out forM ool

tan. Leaving Umritsir, he took the road through

the Manjacountry, whichwas infested by robbers.These he forbid carrying on the irnefariouspratices,while he imposed fineson some , and enlisted great

numbersin hisservice . From thence ,he proce eded

to the Bhurcountry, and there rece ive d one thou

sand came lsasanuzurana. Having arrive d at the

distance of fifte en milesfrom M ooltan, he e ncamped

at the riverTommin, or thre e streams. Though

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKBSJ

In the month of Koowar (September) the Maharajahwent to Kote Kangraand JawalaM oodhe e ;

where he remaine d for two months, rece ivingtribute from the rajahs of Koolloo, Numdhe e , and

Sookhe t.

Hearing that the successorsof JodhSingh, Ram

ghure ea, were quarre lling among themse lves, he

sent for, and imprisone d them, and on his re turn

from the hills destroyed all the ir forts. H e he

sieged the Ramghure eafort at Umritsir, which hetook in two days, and then went to Lahore ; andforthe purpose of se ttling the Ramghure eaM issul,he appointed Mooroode en, the brother ofAze ezoo

de en, to this important charge . Nooroode en wentto Rahe la’ on the bank of the Beas. The lands

of the M issul were divided into thre e portions.One be longed to the government of L ahore , thesewere the crown lands; anotherwas bestowed injaghe er while the thirdwasgiven to fuke ers. The

authorl towhom we are indebted for these partioulararegarding the life of Runje e t Singh,went,at this time , from Wittala to Lahore , where he

remaine d fortwo months.In the coldweather, Bhowane e Dass,Peshawure e ,

H urre e Singh, Nalwa, and other sirdars, with alarge army,were sent againstMooltan,while DewanChund, commandant ofartillery, followe d,andjoine dthemwith alarge numberofguns. Afterrece iving

Thisfortwasbui lt by Gooroo H ur Govind, and issome times name dSire e H urgovind Poore ea.1 Synd Uhmud Shah.


tribute and anuzuranafrom the governorofMumkhe re e , thewhole force proce e de d towardsM ooltan,

and besieged that strong fort ; but the governorUnsuccessful ,M oozuffurKhan made a gallant defence , and the

Sikhswere obliged to raise the siege . On thisarmy reaching Lahore , the Maharajah imprisoned

Bass?afterfining him rupe es.

In the month Bysakh} (April) Bik, 1 874, orThe Maha,

mi) . 1 81 7, the Maharajah went to De enanuggur.1' 53932233253“at the hills, and remained there two months. H e

exacted tribute from the rajah; and be ing in bad

health, he went through acourse of me dicine , and

afterwards embarked on the Rave e forLahore . At

the end of the year, Bhae e Khooshyal Singh gave

up hisappointment of Chambe rlain, (Deore e ) and

Dhyan Singh of Jummoo succe eded him . In the my, “ Singh

month of Magh, (January) the Maharajah deter

mined on taking M ooltan.

Singh

H e

'

colle cted all his sirdars and soldiers, andsent them to that country. The fort of Moozuf

furghurwasbesieged and taken ; from thence theforce proce eded to M ooltan . Khurruk Singh and

Dewan M ote e Ram, bringing fresh troops, joined

the army, and the siege of Mooltan was begun. Runj e e t is

The Dewan M otee Chund commanded the whole flfiiz'g‘

fie

fofi“

force . On the lst of Phagnn, (February) thetan‘

siege wascarried onwith great vigour, and M oo

Zufi'

ur Khan defende d himse lfwith great bravery.

Breacheswere made in the walls of the city, of

Thisisthe first monthof the H indoo year.I

1» Thiswasthe favourite abode of R unj e e t Singh during the hot months.N 2

B ISTORY OF TH E SIKH S .

which the Sikhs took possession after a se vere

fight ; but the siege of the fort lasted for thre e

month8,when the Maharajah de termined to pro

ce edin person ; andwith thisview, encampe d at theShalamargardens. H e sent daily expresses, urgingthe siege to be continued. Thewe llknown hatredexisting be twe en the Sikhsand Mussulmans renédered the engagement of the fiercest kind on both

sides. The Sikhs entrenched themse lves outside

the ditch, andapproached close to the latter; the

Mussulmansmade sorties, and frequent desperate

fights took place . The number and size of the"

Sikh guns, at length, e ffe cte d practicable breaches

in the wallsof the fort, and on the 18th of Je th,

(May) adesperate attackwasmade on the fort by

the Sikhs. M oozufl'

ur Khan and his two sonsfought in the most gallant mannerin defending the

breaches, andmanywere kille d on both sides. Atlength, the Sikhs made

‘

good the ir entrance ; but

still the struggle inside ,was desperate . The Pa

thansfought hand to hand,with the Khalsatroops.{geg

l

l

‘

ig‘by The latterwere at last victorious, and pillaged the

fort,where they found great quantities of money,clothes, and other valuable articles. Asalaste ffort, M oozufi

'

ur Khan, arming himse lf and his

followers, rushed out of the citade l on the assail

ants, cut hisway through them, and reache d thetomb of Bhawul H uk, and prepare d for battleafresh . M oozufl

’

ur Khan fought desperate ly ; butwas slain, after rece iving repeatedwounds. Se ve

ral of his sons likewise fe ll, and one ofhis daugh


CHAPTER XIV.

TH E MAH ARAJAH CROSSE S TH E ATTOCKs

H AVING made himself master of M ooltan, the

Maharajahwas desirous of seizing on Peshawur,Rurtiee t Singhmore particularly asthe Sikhshadme twith aBig.me ditates the

nal reverse at that place . At this juncture , the

wuze er, Futteh Khan, who, by his bravery andtalents had supporte d Mahmood on the throne

of Cabul, and made the Scindianspay tribute , as

we ll asconquere d Cashmere ,wasmade prisonerbyCrue l beha Kamran,who put out hiseyes. Thiscrue lactwasiii

u

ioo

i‘iiifil

f said to have be en perpetrated by Prince Kamranmm without his father’sknowledge ; and there appears

to be reason forbe lieving that jealousy alone wasthe motive that urged the son to remove amanwho had, no doubt, great influence ; but the latterwas e xerted in maintaining Mahmood on the

throne ,which he otherwise had not the ability tofill.

When the brothersof FuttehKhan heard of thecrue lty practised on him, and his death, which

A.D. 1818.


spe edily followed the inhuman act of blinding him ,

they one and all raise d the standard of re volt

against Mahmood. H e wasdisplaced ; andAyoob, £31323?the son of Timoor Shah,wasput on the throne offidiil

‘

dfl‘iing

Cabul.

On learning the tumult and confusion caused bythis e vent, Runje e t Singh conce ived that the op

portunitywas a fitting one for putting his designThe Maha

ou Peshawur lnto e xe cution. H e acc01 dlngly left rajahpmLahore , and crosse d the Attock, butwasopposed fijglsafirf

n“

by Fe eroz Khan, H aje ehoolah Khan, and other

zemindars. The Maharajah overcame these , and

reached Peshawur. H e did not pillage the city,but destroye d the village of Chumkune e , the resi

dence of She ikh Oonur. Having taken possessionTake “ W m "

sion of it.

of the city, andafterremaining in it for the spaceof two days, the Maharajah le ft Juhan Dod Khan,

the brother of Attar Mohummud, in charge of

Peshawur, and de parted for Lahore . H e crossedthe river, and reache d Attock,with fourte en guns,which he had captured at Peshawur. From thence

he proce e ded to L ahore ; but he had only aecom

plished thre e or four marches across the river,when the tidingswere brought him, that Yarmo

hummud had re turned to Peshawur, and e xpe lled a?”Juhan Dod Khan,who joined the Maharajah in the "em " “P“

pointed bymonthof P005, orDecember. Afterbathing in the323231

? e"

spring of Katas, the Maharajah at length reached

Lahore .

At this time , Shah Soojah Oolmoolk, the ex

king of Cabul, had proce eded as far as Dhera


Ghazee Khan ; and collecting some troops there ,Sh “ aided by Sadik Khan of Bhawulpore , advanced asn

far as Peshawur, and took that place . The bro-v

thersof FuttehKhan, amounting to twenty-two,“wrote to Aze em Khan, the governorof Cashmere ,forhisaid, and se nt Jubbar Khan to that country .

Aze em Khan, taking all his treasure with him,

reache d Peshawur, andabattle took place be tweenhim and Shah Sojah; in which the latterwasde feated, and fled to L oodianah, where he hadrece ive d a safe asylum, since his escape from

Lahore in 181 2. Aze em Khan took possession of

the city.

When the Maharajah heard of the departure ofAze em Khan from Cashmere , and his arrival atPeshawur, he de termined on the comple te con

quest of the former. H e sent Dewan Chundahead,with the army and artillery, andhe himse lf“

followed. H e reache d Wuze erabadand encamped?

there , and assembled hiswhole troops,which hedespatche d towards the hills, under the command?

of Dewan Chund. The latterhaving passe d E bemiDew“ Chm"berandUlle ekote , reached the city of Bajour; andreaches Ra

at?“ Aghe erKhan, the rajah of that place , fled on his

j oinshim. approach ; and his brother Ruhe em Aolah Khanjoine d the Sikhs, andwassent by Dewan Chund tothe Maharajah, at Wuzeerabad, bywhom he wasmade arajah.

Runje et Singh knewfromexperience the dis

Prinlep statesthem at fifty.


that he could offer no resistance to the Sikhs

under Ram Dyal, be despatche d his son to the

Maharajah ; andall the zemindarsin the dire ction

of Cashmere , likewise prese nte d themse lves. On

this occasion, the Maharajah rece ived fifty - thre e

lakhs of rupe es from these hill provinces, beside s

ten lakhsbrought him by JuwabirNoul Pundit.M isir Dewan Chund having settled the country ,

left M oteo Ram in charge of Cashme re ; andreaching Lahore , in Koowar, (September) he received great honoursand richesfrom hismaster.

In the same month he celebrate d, asusual, theThe Mm fl feast of the Dumerah; afterwhich he collected ajail collects l l

army forP eshawar.

Derbund

se ize d.

large army intende d for Peshawar, and encamped

on the right bank of the Rave e . Here Misr

Dewan Chund re presented to the Maharajah, that

the troopsafter their fatigue and privationsin the

hills,were , as ye t, unable to proce ed on such an

important campaign, and recommended that theyshould be allowed to remain at L ahore until themonth of Magh (January). To thisproposal theMaharajahreadily agre ed and re turne d to L ahone .

In the month of January, 1 819, H urre e S ingh,

Nulma, and Dewan Bhowane e Dass were sent

against the fort of Derbund and took it, seizingthe Khan, and placing the ir own thannah in the

On the 25th of the same month the Maharajahlefi; L ahore , and in ten days reached Chume eote ,

and there encamped. From th'

m he despached

Shere Singh, Ram Dyal, Sham S ingh, Attareewala.

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKH -S.

Goomlukh Singh, LamaFutteh Singh,Alloowalya,and SudaKoonwur, to Pakle e , Dhnmdour, Clinchnuzara, Turbela, and other places, forthe purposeof settling the re venue and rece iving tribute ;while Misr Dewan Chund was sent with the

artillery to Munkhere e , to exact a nuzuranafrom

the governorof that place . The Maharajah,withhis cavalry, took the road to M ooltan, for the '

purpose of se izing it ; and he there celebrate d the

Hooly festival. H e se ttled the revenues of the

country, anddisplacing Sham Singh, Peshawuree ,Sawun Mulwas appointed governor of Mooltan.

The vake e l of Sadik Khan of Bhawulpore arrived " m “ of

Mooltan.

andagre ed to give up the re venue of DheraGha

ze e Khan. Bhae e Khooshyal Singhwassentwithan army in that dired ion. H e took the fortandgmgafi ‘x“receive d tire and a- half lakhs of re venue . The

turned to Lahore ; and M isr Dewan Chund, afterexacting alakh and rupe esfrom the gover

nor of Munkhere e , also reache d L ahore Ram

Dyal,whowe nt against Chuchbazara, was killed ;and other sirdars fe ll. The force was broke n up,

after re ce iving a small tribute from Mohummud

Khan.

In the year 1877 Bik. orAd ) . 1820, Shere Singh

and the other sirdars re turne d to Lahore . In the

month of Koowar (September) the Maharajah

went toWittala, and remained there amonth.

H e nowresolved to take SudaKoonwur’s coun

try, but did not se ttle the matter. After the


Dusserah, he departe d and reached Sealkote ; and

taking the pergunnah of Kulanoor from Khurruk

S ingh, he bestowed it on NuzarHusse in. H urre e

Singh, Nulwa, having be e n appointed governor of

Cashmere , in the room of M ote e Ram, the latter

arrived at Sealkote . Leaving this, the Maharajahcrossed the Che nab ; andskirting the foot of the hills,he punishe d the Ohiband Bhaoo,whowere thie vesand robbers, andhe burned Dewawittala, the irchie fcity. From th ence he reached the Je lum,

and

crosse d it. H e here mustere d his troops. H e

sent Nanuk Chund, Dufture e ‘ to se ttle the re

venuesof Pukle e and Dhundour; and Bhowane eDasswassent on the same errand to Kooloo and

Mundhe e .

Goolab Singh and Juggut Singh, Attare ewala,were sent to se ttle disturbancesraised at Jummooby Be edoo, Rajpoot. In the engagement, the twosonsof the latterwere killed, and the third wasse ized and sent to the Maharajah.

After this, Goolah Singh and Juggut Singhweresent in search of Aghe er Khan, of Rajoure e , whohad fled and concealed himself in the hills. H e

was, at length, captured and brought to Lahore ,where he died.

M isrDewan Chund, Moteo Ram, and the Attare ewalyasirdarwere sent to punish the zemindarsofPoonch, Khooke e ,andBhember; those of the twolatterplacesinhabiting opposite banksof the Je lum ,

A clerk orsecre tary.

TakesMunkheron.

The irsalary .


rajahwould have come to adecisionwhichhe hadoften revolved in hisown mind.

In the month of Magh (January) 1 822, theMaharajahde termined to proce ed to Munkhere e

for the purpose of taking it. H e laid siege to

that place ; but, there being ascarcity ofwater,the Maharajah caused twenty we lls to be dug inone day, from which he supplied his troops. In

the space of fifte en days the fortwashard pressed,and the governor capitulated fora jaghe er. To

thisthe Maharajah agre e d ; and bestowe d on him

DheraIsmae l Kan, in jaghe er, allowing him at the

the governordeparted, leaving Munkhere e in the

Mahajarah’

s possessions. Leaving some sirdars to

govern the place , the Maharajah departe d for

Lahore , where he arrive d, and again appointe d

M ote e Ram, governorof Cashmere . H urree Singh,Nulwa, on resigning his appointmentwas orderedto se ttle Pukle e and Dhundour, and rece ive both

places in jaghe er. Dewan Chund was sent toassist him ; but when they could not efl

'

ect the ir

purpose , they both re turned to Lahore .

In the course of the year 1 879Bik. orA.D . 1822,

two European gentlemen arrived in the Punjab,andwere rece ived into the service of the Maharajah .

These were M . M . Allard and Ventura. The for

mer rece ived a command in the cavalry, whileVentura. was appointed to the infantry. The irannual salarywas fixe d at rupe es. The y

were both e Xpert soldiers, and very submissive and

H ISTORY OF TH E S KH So

obedient tothe Maharajah. They erected a largehouse outside the city of L ahore , near Wuze er

Khan’sgarden, and constructed abazaar. In thus

obtaining the services of two European: militaryme n, Runje e t Singh.wasenable d to followout hisplan of disciplining hissoldiersafter the European

system ; aproject which he had be en . obliged to

postpone , but had ne verabandone d since the time

when M e tcalfe ’s escort had beaten; the rabble of

Ukale esat Umritsirin 1 809. Runjee t Singhcauld E filinent ser

not have chosen two men be tter adapted for fulmm

filling hiswishesor two who e vinced more zeal in

the discharge of the ir duties than M . M . Allard

and Ventura. It is to the exertions of these

gentlemen, and to M onsieurCourt,who afterwardsjoined him, that the Sikh army owed itshighstateof discipline . The servicesof M . M . Ventura and

Courtwere of longerduration than those of M on

sieurAllard : and the consequence has be en, that

while the Sikh cavalry have de teriorated, andforgotten the lessons of the ir able instructor; theartillery and infantry, particularly the former, have

given sufficient proof of the value of the servicesof Court and Ventura.

”

In the course of this year, it was resolve d to

build awall round Lahore ; but in the month of

Now, that the disciplined force of the Sikhsis broken, and the irgunscaptured , it isa prude nt clause in the treaty be twe en the British government and that of Lahore , that “

no E uropean or American shall heallowed to enter the service of the latterwithout the permission of the

British.


Koowur, (September) the Maharajah went to“ m

Rawul Pinde e , and there the governorof Pesha

wor’e vake e l, presented him with a nuzurana;

afterthisthe Maharajahre turned to Lahore .

At thistime , newswas brought the Maharajah,that Dost M ohummud Khan, of Oahu], possesse d

abeautiful horse ; and the Maharajah be ing doat

ingly fond of horses, de termined to secure the

animal at any price . Shere Singh,wasaccordingly1. determined despatchedwith cavalry,with ordersto cross255333022 the Attock, and bring the horse at allrisks.L yle e On reaching Attock, by the advice of Uttur

Singh, H urre e Singh, and KerpaRam, he crosse d

the river, and laid siege to the fort of Jehanje erka.A battle ensued, and the Pathans having no lead

tested. ers, became alarmed, and fled during the fight,deserting the fort,whichwastaken possession of bythe Sikhs.

Aze em Khanwas at Cabal, and hearing of the

Azeem “ anadvance of the Sikhs se t out for Peshawur, and

$30

55:w there collected an army. The Sikhs se e ing that

S ikhs. they could not Oppose Aze em Khan, halted ; andwrote to the Maharajah for assistance , withoutwhich they could not advance . The Maharajah,

The Mahafa'

in Phagoon, (February) left Lahore , andarrived atjahse tsout toassist Shere Wuze erabad. From thence , he sent forwardSingh.

Khurruk Singh and D ewan Chund. H e , himselffollowed, and reached the fort of Rhotas. Here hespent the Hooly Festival ; and then by regular

marchesreached the Attock. Having constructe d

bridgesof boats, he crossed the river.


A m “ , cm . treatywith Aze em Khan,who presented anuzura‘

Efifin,na, andanumberof horses. The Maharajah then

departed forLahore .

Aze em Khan ashamed of not having supporte d

the Ghaze eas, died of grief.

In Je th, (May) Bik. 1 880, or A.D . 1823, the

Maharajah came to Umritsir, andfrom thencewentby Wittalato De enanuggur,where he remaine d fortwo months, and re turned to Lahore in July, on

the se tting in of the rains.

In Koowar, (September) after the Dusserah, hele ft Lahore , and took the road to Wuze erabad and

Goojrat. H e crossed the rivernearDheraGhaze e

Khan, and exacted thre e lakhsof rupe es from theTribute e xacted from the

zem indars. Kerpa Ram was sent against Uzzul

gggd

ggagie Khan, while the Maharajah re turned to Lahore ;Khm and Kerpa Ram having subdued the country, and

se ized Uzzul Khan and his son, proce eded withthem to Lahore .

At this juncture , the vake e l of Saduk Khan of

Bhawalpore arrived, and requested the restoration

of his conquered districts, agre e ing to pay anuzuranaof one lakh and rupe es. Thispropo

salwasagre ed to.

In the course of thisyear, Ramanund, awealthyshroff, died at Umritsir; and leaving no he ir, the

Am l, smog», Maharajah se ized e ight lakhsof hisrupe es, name ly,weal thse ize dby the Ma“ four from hiswidow, and four from Poldmul ofrajah,wubwho}, he Fugwarrah, the brotherof Dune e Rao of L oodia

1331

18 .

nah. Having obtained thismoney, the Maharajahresolved to build awall around Lahore . There


were an inner and outerwall,with a ditch, andtwe lve doors or gates. The extent of the outerwallwas 5100 paces, its height seventy- five fe e t,and breadth twenty- one fe e t.In the month of Bysakh, (April) Bik . 1881 , or

Sunsar ChundA.D . 1824, Sonsar Chund of Kutoch died. The dlcs.

Maharajah hearing of the event, left Umritsir, andtaking the road by Wittala, arrived at De enanuggur, and sent for the son of the decease d Rajah, by

who, afterpaying anuzurana,washonouredwith 3.khillut, andappointed successor to hisfather.

In the course of this year, Mote e Ram, and hisMote e Ram

son Kerpa Ram, incurred the displeasure of the iiiinlixigithe

Maharajah on the following account. Govind (igfifi lfgf

Chund, the uncle of the Se epre ewala, gave hisdaughter in marriage to Dhyan Singh ; and thelatter rece iving the fort of Seepre e , expe lled

Kerpa Ram, who was greatly enraged, and ab

sented himse lf from the Dusserah, refusing to serve

the Maharajah . Soon after this, the Maharajah

marched towardsthe Attock, and remained se veraldayson the bank of the river; at length, he crossed The Maha

rajah crosses

on an e lephant, and many sirdars and others, try the Attock oning to followhim,were drowned, both horse anda

n elephant'

foot. Among the rest, M oolve e MusurH ussem.

Kerpa. Ram, at this time leaving Phillourwith I , joined bytwenty- five horsemen, reached the Attock, and

KerpaRam'

crossing it, joined the Maharajah,whowasgreatlye nraged, and .ordere d him from hispresence , send

ing a purwannahat the same time to deprive his

father, Mcte e Ram, of the governorship of Cash0 2


mere ; towhich Chounce L al], Pathan, and NehalSingh, commandant,were appointed. Mote e Ram ,

taking the son of Sooltan Ulle e with him, pro

ce eded by the Baramoolah pass, to join the Maha

rajah . On reaching SolaKaSerai, he rece ive d a

purwannah to remain there until the Maharajah ’s

re turn. After laying waste the Yoosoofzye coun

try , E unuco, and rece iving a nuzurana from the

governorof the latter, the Maharajah re turned to

Lahore ,where he arrived in the month of Magh

(January) . Karpa Ram was imprisoned, and afine of one lakh and rupe es enforced upon

him, while all his forts and other chargesweremade over to Aze ezoode en. After a year, howe ver, Kerpa Ramwas restore d to favour, and he

wasappointed governorof Cashmere .

In the early part of A.D . 1 827, a syud name d

Ahmed Shah raised a disturbance in the Punjab .

H e se t himse lf up forareformer; and though a

Mussulman, he wasas inve terate against the followers of Mahomed, as he wasagainst the Sikhs;but his ire was more especially e xcited against

those Mussulmanswho owned the Sikh supremacyacross the Indus, or entered the ir service . Syud

Ahmedwasafanatic ; and, like othersof thisstamp,wasadangerousandseditiouscharacter. H e pro

ce eded towardsPeshawur,where be concealed himse lf among the hillsin the vicinity, and numerousfollowersflocked around hisstandard. The Maharajah sent alarge force against this fanatic, who,at the head of an immense rabble , attacked the


hummud resolved to give him battle ; butwasdefeated, and Peshawurseized by Ahmed Shah.

The Maha Such daring on the part of a fanatic, and theht k sthe

232, want of successm Opposmghim , induced the MahaM ” “d‘

rajah to take the fie ld, forhischastisement. When

the Maharajah crossed the Attock, andapproache d

Peshawar, the rabble force ,which occupied it, fledin all directions; and on reaching that place , the

Maharajah found no foe to Oppose him.

H e , there fore , re turned to Lahore , leaving troops,however, for the purpose Of assisting Sooltan M O

hummud in his endeavours to regain and ke e p

Peshawur. The syud spe edily made adescent on

the place ; andSooltanMohummud, unable to con

tendwith him in the fie ld,wasobliged to enter intoterms of peace with him . H e adhered for some

time to the agre ementwith the syud, and paid hima nuzurana; but when Ahme d Shah departed, a

Ahmed Shah re volution took place , and the Yoosoofzyestaking3113

«3

1

1

2338230 part against the syud, expe lled the latterandhis”ye" followers from the ir mountains. The syud fled

across the Indus, and concealed himse lf in the

1 , min,mountains of Fukle e and Dhundour. H e wase ventually slain, in 1831 , by aforce under ShereSingh .

Peace restored The disturbance caused by Syud Ahmedwasthe“ dW m "

last inwhich the Maharajahwas obliged to takethe fie ld in person. All the provincesof the Pun

jab, aswe ll asthose acrossthe Indus,were reduce dto a state of order by the Maharajah. H e wasfriendly to the British, and sent vake e lsand pre


seatsto both Lord Amherst andLord Combermerein 1827 and 1828. Butinthe time ofLordWilliam L ord William

Be ntinckBentinck’s administration, that nobleman waswishesame e tanxious to have an interviewwith the Maharajah ;and thiswas left to the management of Captain,nowSirClaude Martin Wade , then assistant political agent at L oodiana.

The taskwasone Of considerable difliculty, for, D ifficul ty ofthough the Maharajah from his intercourse witharranging om "

Captain Wade , had every dependence on the goodfaith and fe e ling of the British towards him, ye t

he had ne verse en enough of them to enable him

to understand theircharacter fully ; and be con Causesof thie

cluded, that thoughWade ,orthe CaptainSahib, ashe

usually calle dhim,might be agood, honestmanwithwhom he might safe ly trust himse lf, ye t, others

might be incline d to take advantage of hiscrossingthe boundary. Besides, his sirdars and followerswere averse to the ste p, and dreaded still more

than the Maharajah himse lf, the operation of

disguised and se lfish motives.

At all e vents, the Maharajah, when yie lding to The Mahathe request of the Govem or-

general to {me e t him

at Roopur,wasde termine d to be prepare d for anylarge rwe ‘

sudden emergency ; and he there fore assemble d a

large force , including the flower of his army, by

way of escort. The three brothers of Jummoo

were at the time great favoriteswith the Maharajah,and accompanied him, as did all his principal

sirdarsand the faithful fuke erAze e zoode en.

R eachestheThe Maharajah encamped on the right bank ofright bank of

the Sutlej .


the Sutlej in October 1 831 , and about the same

Lord William time Lord William Bentinck arrived at R oopur,mitt. from Simlah. The visits of ceremony were exR oopur'

change d be twe en the Maharajahand the Governorgeneral attende d with great pomp and state on

both sides. Se veral field- daystook place , and the

Maharajah admired in a particular manner H er

Majesty’

s Slst regiment’ and when the l6th

lancerswere pointed out to his notice , be mere ly

Observe d They are all gentlemen. Iwant tose e the European foot-soldiers.” There was are viewofhisown troopsacrossthe river, and the yperformed the ir manoeuvreswith tolerable e xact

numerousitude . During this visit, the Maharajah put

2328

513223? incessant questionsto the Governorgeneral regard

ing the equipment andmanagement of the British

army ; the pay Of each grade ; the we ight of me tal

in ourshot ; the charge of guns; and subjects of

a similar nature . H e was in great spirits, and

joined in the feats Of horsemanship and sword~exercise ,with hisOwn andColone l Skinner’shorse .

At the conclusion of all the ceremonies, re views,nautches, and the like , the parting took place , and

A treaty. at thisa treatywassigned be twe en the Maharajahand the Governor-

general of India. This wasmere ly a renewal Of that of 1 809, with some

additional clausesregarding the navigation of the

Destine d toout suchagallant figure in the Sikh campaign fourte en

years afterwards. The regimentwas present in all the four engagementsOfM oodke e , Fe erozshuhur, Alle ewal, and Sobraon, andgreatly distinguishe ditse lfat Istahfl' and the KhyberPassin the second Afl'

ghan campaign.

OF TH E SIKH S.

CHAPTER XV.

TH E FR IE NDL Y TE RMS SUBS ISTING BE TWE E N R UNJE E T

SINGH AND TH E BR ITISH GOVE RNM E NT IN INDIA .

IN 1 838, we drewup apaper on the court of

Runjee t Singh ; which,with afewpre liminary re

marks, was presente d to the Governor-

general,

(Lord Auckland) and its introduction in this

historywill serve to e lucidate the character Of the

Maharajah, and the friendly fe e lingswhich at alltimes existe d be twe en him and the British .

As already mentioned, the country Of the

Punjab had been portioned out among variousindependent sirdars, constantly quarre llingwith each

other for e xtended dominion . In the midst of

such confusion, itwas reserve d for Runje e t Singhto grasp the whole , by vanquishing, in their turn,the different chiefswho formerly ruled the Punjab .

The history of hiswarlike care erwill point outthe stepsbywhich he e ffected the irreduction

, and

the apparent meanshe employed ; the true cause ,


howe ver, of his ultimate success, appears to have

be en his superior energy of character, and great

powerof discrim ination ; bywhich he wasenabledto se ize on every favourable opportunity of ex

te nding and retaining his power undiminished, for

aseries of years. H is friendship for the British

government in Indiaissincere and be ing founde d

on atrue political basis, there is little risk Of any

change during his life time , howe ver anxioussomeof hisadvisersmay be to quarre lwith his friends,in orderto extend his dominions. H e knowswe llthe sort of advantage he would gain by arupturewith the British e xperience has taught him thisand the downfall of e very Indian power,which hasmeasured armswith us, is a constant reflectionwith him, and serves to convince his injudicio

'

us

counse llorsof the futility Of risking hiskingdom in

makingwarupon hispowerful allies. Ourgovern‘he

ment, on the other hand, is e qually convince d e ffigfii‘

fflém

the value Of his friendly alliance , and would no

doubt make great concessions, in orde r to preserveit . In the e ve nt ofwarwith Russia, the Persians,aswe ll as the tribes Of Affghanistan,would in allprobability join itsstandard ; and the Russian army

thus strengthened, would find little difficulty inreaching the confines of the Punjab . The only

barrierOffered to the ir entering Hindostan,wouldbe

‘

our ally Runje e t Singh,who iswe ll aware of

hisconsequence , in the e vent of such an invasion.

Should such acrisis e ver occur, the ruler Of the

Punjab could not possibly withstand the united

Captain WadevisitsLahore ,and the MaharajahvisitstheGovernorgeneral.


forces of Russia, Persia, and Cabul but it is

easy to se e , howadvantage oushise ffortsmight bein re tarding theirprogress, and thusaffording timeforcollecting our armies from every part of H indostan. The warmight, probably, be confine d to

the Punjab, instead of being carried into the centre

of our dominions, where there are many discontented powers,whowould gladly embrace the Op

portunity of throwing Off the British yoke ; moreespecially among the Mussulmans,whose motivesfor so doingwould be two- fold, name ly, awish toassist theirbre thren in the north, and the desire of

punishing the infide l Sikhs. Fromwhat hasbe enstated, itwill appearplain, that it isprudent in our

government to preserve a friendly alliance withRunje e t ; while hisdoing so with us, insures the

stability, oreven the e xistence of his kingdom, in

case of an invasion . In order to cement this

friendship as firmly as possible , Lord William

Bentinck proposed a meeting with Runje e t atR oopur in 1831 , and ambassadorswere sent toSimlah,where the Govemor- general then resided,for the purpose of arranging pre liminaries,whileCaptain Wade visite d the court of Lahore forthe

same purpose . The influence of Captain°

Wadewith Runje e t waswe ll known ; and through hisadvice and representations, Bunjce t was induce dto grant the me e ting. Lord William Bentinck

le ft Simlahin Octoberof the same year, andreached

This is rather a doubtful point, since our late experience with the

S ikhs.

206 H ISTORY OF TH E srxns.

commanded an extensive view, including the ghaut,at which Sir Henry, and his escort were be ingferrie d over; the sight was an imposing one ,

particularly that of the European lancers. After

sitting ashort time in Shere Singh’

s Durbar tent,the newswasbrought to Captain Wade , that theCommander- in- chiefhad reached the right bank of

the river; and before the former could me e t him,

Sir Henry had disembarked, andwas proce edingtowardshiscamp. CaptainWade and Shere Singh

immediate ly joine d him , and the whole cavalcade

proce eded to camp. The Sikhsattached to Shere

Singhwere handsome ly dresse d in gre en, ye llow,and red silks, and som e of them were very handsome , tallmen ; one in particular, waspointe d outasaperfect Roostum

”

forsize and strength ; andif his large bulk could be taken asawarrant of hisprowess, he might certainly lay claim to the title .

The Sikh soldiersappeared rather nervous at thesight Of so many armed Europeans; but the utmost

harmony prevailed on both sides. It was agree dthat the campsshould reach Umritsirin two days;the distance be ing computed at twenty- e ight or

thirty miles. On the morning of the 4th the

Commander- ih - chief and Shere Singh proce eded

towards the first stage , passing a fort named

Suruole e , formerly the residence of a note d fre e

booter; and e ncampe d beyond the village of

Sheron, about sixte en miles from H urre eke e ; on

the 5th theywere at Chubah, four miles on thisside Of Umritsir, the original intention Of reaching

H ISTORY OF TH E sums. 207

the latter place on the second day having be enabandone d, on account of the pre viousmarches on

the otherside Of the river having be en long andfatiguing ones. Itwasnowreported, that NonehalSinghwould be despatched from Umritsir for the

purpose Of conducting the Commander- in- chie f tohisgrandfather

’

s camp on the following morning ;and Runje e twasdescribe d asbe ing quite de lighte dat the prospect of so soon me e ting his illustrious

guest. About halfway be twe en Chubah and thelast encampment, lies the city of Tarumtarah,

inhabited chiefly by Ukale es it is of considerable

size , andalofty domewith gilde d minarsrisesfromatemple in the centre of the city. To pre vent

any collision be twe en the Ukale esand the soldiers

of the escort, orderswere sent by SirHenry Fane ,forthe latter to pass outside the town ; thiswasprudent, asthe Ukale eshave a great antipathy to

Europeans, and inde e d to any strangers. On the

morning Of the 6th March, the Commander- in

chiefwasme t by Khurruk Singh, he irapparent tothe throne of Lahore , and the rajah Dhyan Singh,Runje e t

’

sprime minister. Nonehal Singh did not

come ashad be en anticipated. On approachingthe fort Of Govind Ghur, its guns fired a royal

salute , and thewallswere soon enve loped in smoke .

At ashort distance beyond the fort, the Comman

der- in- chief’scampwasformed, and near it, that ofthe Maharajah ; opposite towhich, the horse artilleryattached to SirHenry’s escort, fired aroyal salute ,and Sir Henry having sent an aide - de - camp to


present hiscomplimentsto the Maharajah, he andhisstaff re tired to the irown camp. Shere Singh

’

s

camp was pitched at a short distance from the

Commander- in- chie f’s. Afterbreakfast, the Mahae

rajah proce eded towardshise xce llency’scamp, andwasme t by the Commander- in- chief,who re turned

xfihgffjfizmwith Bunjee t on the same e lephant, towards theFm

Maharajah’sdurbar; the me eting of the two chiefs

wasthe signal forthe firing Ofcannon,andmuske try,whichwas kept up by aline of soldiers, e xtending,it issaid, to the distance of five miles; the sound

Of the cannon and muske try resemble d that of a

continued peal of thunder. Twenty- one be ds of

state were sent to the Commander- ia- chie f’

s camp,and several marriage dresses; the one for Sir

Henry consisting of twenty- nine pieces of silk,shawls, &c., two horseswere likewise presented tohisexce llency, and richly mounted e lephants,withgilded and silverhowdahs, were sent for his use ,

and that Of hisstaff ; in short, nothingwasomitted,which could give éclat to the reception of Sir

Henry Fane by the Lion Of the Punjab. Pro

ce eding fi'

om Umritsir, Runje e t and the Commem

der- in—chief reached Attare e , where the principal

bride ’s father resided : ‘

and here the marriagefestivitieswere ce lebrated. On the day appointed,SirHenry and hisstaff, aswe ll as the Officers of

hisescort, le ft the ir camp on e lephants, and werejoine d by Runje e t Singh and his principal sirdars.

The whole cavalcade then proce eded, at a slowpace , towards the fort Of Attarea. The distance

21 0 marrowor run sums.

"

right hand, andhisgrandson, H ouchal Singh, onhis

left. Captain Wade was in attendance , and on

this, andallother occasions, acted as the medium

of communication betwe en Sir H enry and the

Maharajah. The space before Runje e t, andbe tweenthe canauts, was occupied by dancing girls andmusicians. The cupbearerquickly introduced the

green bottle filledwith the favorite spirituous liquorof the Sikhs. The two chiefspledged each otherinabumper, and the glasswas then handed round toeach of the guests, in turn. The sightwashighlyamusing ; Runje e t was in exce llent spirits, and,though he could not indulge so fre e ly asin former

days, he still took his small allowance , which hemeasured out in a golden cup. While the glassthus circulated, the dancing girls and musicians

were not idle , and did the irbest to amuse Runje etandhisguests. In thismanner, the hourspasse d

quickly ; while an animated conversation waskept up be twe en Sir Henry Fane and Runje et.

M ention having been made of the battle of.

Waterloo, particular notice was taken by the

Maharajah of Colonel Torrens, who had be en

present in that great engagement, andwore on his

breast the distinguishing medal ; thiswasexamine dminute ly by Runjee t, who se emed to approve of

such amode of rewarding bravery in the fie ld ofbattle . Afterthe gre en bottle had done its duty,and the dancing girls performe d all the ir favor-e

ite movements, and exhausted all their store of

choice songs, SirHe nry andhisstaff re tired about

H ISTORY OF TH E SlKH S .

nine o’clock ; though Runje e t and his chiefs keptup the re ve lry to alate hour. On the e vening of

the following day, the fireworkswere repeated

andRunje e tandSirHenry,attende d byhisprincipalsirdars, and the ofiicers of the staff and escort,

proce e de d on e lephants along the stre e t of fireworks: the e xhibitionwason amagnificent scale ,and Runje e t and hisparty se emed to enjoy it very

much ; the same could hardly be said of the younge lephants, for itwaswith difficulty that some of

them could be induced to advance through the

line of fire . On the third day of the marriage

festivities, alarge sum ofmoneywasdistributed incharity by Runje e t, to the poor people , who hadcome from e very part of the Punjab towitness themarriage ceremonies, and rece ive the ir reward.

The amount of money expended on this occasion,

wassaid to equal ten or e le ven lakhs of rupe es,equivalent to one hundred thousand pounds ster

ling ! Every living creature rece ived arupee , and

e ven the dogsand otherdomestic animalsshared in

the bounty ! Magnificent presentswere made byRunje e t to the newly married couple . LeavingAttare e , and the young bridegroom to marry hisother two wives, the camps proce eded towardsLahore . On the irreaching the ce lebrated Shala R each the

Shalamarmargardens, a halt of one day was ordered, forgarden,the purpose ofwitnessing agrand fete . Thewholeof these extensive gardens were illum inated byvarious sorts of fireworks ; and the profusion of

light -_emitted by these , and numerouswaxen tapers,P 2


produced adazzling e ffect, while lighting Up the

thick foliage of the garden tre es and shrubs.

Runje e t, on this occasion, was seated with his

guests ou'

the terrace of a lofty building whichcommanded a viewover the whole e xhibition ;andhere the gre en bottle was introduced, and theglassquickly circulated. The band of H erMajesty

’

s

13th light infantry, aswe ll asRunje e t’

sown,werem attendance , and played alternate ly. The

E uropean soldiers of the escort were , likewise ,admitted, andappeared de lightedwith thismark ofattention on the part of the ir superiors; e ven the

ladies, on thisoccasion, managed to ge taviewfromaterrace above the one inwhich Runje e t and hispartywere seated.

From the Shalamargardensto Lahore , the dis

tance is about fiVe miles; and during aportion of

thistract, the fie lds are we ll cultivated, and occasionally diversifie d by pre tty flower-

gardens; thelatterwere greatly admired by Sir Henry and as

the flowerswere just assuming the irsummergarbs,the ir appearance was exce edingly beautiful. Runjce t isfond of flowers, and iscare ful that all thesegardens are kept in proper order. On reaching

Arrival at L a. Lahore , the Commander- in- chie f’s camp washm ‘

pitched near the Rave e , opposite the fort of L ahore . The ground had be en under cultivation ,

but the crops Spe edily disappeared, so that theplace , in the course of a day or two, exhibite d noremains of vege tation. While at Lahore , the differe nt troops be longing to Runje e twere inspecte d

21 4 msronr on TH E sums.

artillery officerswho had be en so fortunate asto

hit the mark. On re turning to camp, Sir Henry

caused ahowitzer, loadedwith grape , to be fire dover the surface of a she e t of water, in order toshewthe Maharajah, the probable e ffect of this

destructive fire . During the stay at Lahore , a

grand fete was given in the Soormun- boorj in the

palace , to which the ladies of Sir Henry’s staff

and escort,were invited ; and nothing could exce e d

the polite attention paid to them by Runje e t andhis sirdars. It is ne edless to give any further

account of thisvisit, than to add, that Runje e t, inorder to commemorate it, instituted an order of

knighthood ; the decorationsofwhich, have alreadybe en bestowed upon the two Adjutant- generals,and Quarter-master-

generals of the army : the

ceremony was performed in September last,’ at

Simlahat the quartersof Sir Henry Fane , in the

presence of all the military and civil officersresiv

ding there at the time .

”

1 837.

H ISTORY OF THE SIR IIS .

CHAPTER XV I .

A SKE TCH OF TH E COUR T OF LAH ORE .

IN giving aske tch of the court of Lahore , the

first place is due to the Maharajah. To look at23°

25; ethe man, little of the hero can be discovere d ; he m e

issmall in stature ; and hisface , disfiguredwith thesmall- pox, and deprive d of the le ft eye fi

'

om the

same cause , isnot much indebted to nature foritsexternal beauty. H isremaining eye isvery large ;andthere isafire and brilliancy about it,whe n hebecomes animated, which at once discover the

energe ticmind and discriminating character of its

owner. H is smile is pleasing, and his mannerof

addresseasy and unembarrassed on all occasions

he neverappearsat a lossforwordsto exPresshisideas, which are quickly formed on any subject.When discoursing, he appearsat once to grasp the

whole bearings of the subject, and his reasoningpowers and discriminating acumen are of the

highest order. In hisyouth, Runje etwasremarkeably active , an exce llent horseman, andwe ll skilled

H i. bn 'cr’o

H ISTORY OF TH E 81101 8.

in e very thing connecte d with military feats. H e

was e ver the foremost in battle , and the last inre treat ; there isno instance of hisbe ing e ven em

harrassed, ore vincing anything like fear, on record.

H iswhole life has be en spent inwarfare , andhee ven nowpre fers a tent, or any temporary resi

1 1 1 fondue “ deuce , to the gilded palace . H e is doatingly fondforhorses.

B isdrcu .

of horses; and it isno uncommon thing forhim, to

have acouple of them saddled and bridled in his

durbar; this I remarked at Umritsir,where one of

the horseswas standing close to him, while the

other, he said,was mere ly concealed by acurtain.

In the article of dress, he isnowexce e dingly plain,

except on great occasions,when he dresseswithtaste and e legance , displaying a magnificent

diamond, called the Icoh- i- noor, or mountain of

light ; thispreciousstone wasonce the property ofShah SoojahOol Moolk, the unfortunate ex- king of

Cabul . A visitor to the court of Runje e t, is as.

tonished at the rich and costly dresses of his

courtiers; in fact, an ill- dresse d person is not

allowed to approach himwhile in durbar; andhisis, I be lie ve , the only native courtwhere the mostrigid attention is paid to this piece of e tique tte .

H e generally converses in Punjabe e with his ownpeople , and only employsthe H indostane e in talking with his European visitors; though in thisinstance , be forthe most part pre fersan interpre terwho knowsboth languages;whichare the only oneswithwhich he himse lf isacquainted,ashistime has

be en too much occupiedwith military mattersto

2 18 1 1 131 0“ on m a sums.

andwith great sirnplicity asked, whe ther“

he or

Colone l F. who then commanded at L oodianah,

would have the best of it in a single combat

adding, that he supposed, there were fewsahibswho could vanquish Colone l F. I did not Oppose

this conclusion ; and mere ly remarked, that I

thought the younger of the two, if equally skilled

in the use of hisweapons,would most like ly provethe conqueror. H e hadsome time previousmade

apresent of atoorke e horse to Dr. M . , andamongotherquestions, enquiredwhat had become of the

animal. I replied, that most probably it had beensold alongwith the doctor’sotherproperty on his

departure for Europe ; What !” said he , did

Doctor Sahib se ll that horse ,which he assure d mehe would ne ver part with?” I e xplaine d to himthat the expense of conveying a horse to E u mpe ,Would in most instances, excee d itsprice ; he ohserved It may be so, but I paid rupe esfor

the home . On my first visit to Bunjee t, I made

enquiriesregarding hishealth, fe lt his pulse and soforth when these pre liminary steps:were concluded,he asked,why I did not use awatch to mark thenumberof hispulsations, andathermome ter to ascertain the heat of hisbody, asDr. M . hadalwaysdone . I made answer, that experience had taughtme the knowledge of these pointswithout the aidof instruments. H e put numerous questions re

garding the use of various medicines and the ire ffects on the human system ; he showed me the

water he usually drank,with some pounde d pearls


at the bottom of the vesse l containing it, asking atthe same time my Opinion as to the ir efficacy inpurifying water, adding, that he some times used

quicksilverfor the same purpose . I could not givehim much encouragement for the use of e ither; thepearlsmight inde ed be of some service in neutra

lining any fre e acids, but the mercury when not

purifie d by distillation might have an oppositee ffect to that anticipated, from itscontaining cc

sionally sulphur, and e ven arsenic he assured me

the quicksilverwasalwayspurified pre vious to itsbe ing employed by him . H e said, that hiswaterfordrinkingwaskept cool during the hotweather,by aprocess first pointe d out to him by GeneralVentura. Thisconsisted in gradually filling awe llduring the cold months, from any convenient

stream or rivule t in itsvicinity, the mouth of the

we ll be ing close ly shut up during this period.

About the month of May, the we ll isopened, andthe water is said to continue cold throughout thehot months; these particulars I learne d from the

general himse lf, and the plan certainly deserved a

trial, where no ice is procurable during the hot

weather.

Pre vious to Sir Henry Fane ’svisit, the Maharajah wished to knowif he was a tallman, andhowmuchwine he could consume at a meal 2these be ing apparently the standards bywhich hemeasured the personal strength of European

ofi‘icers. Not be ing acquainte dwith Sir Henry’s

social habits, I could give him no satisfactory

habits.

H ISTORY OF TH E

answerregarding hispotations; but asto he ight, Iassure d him he would not be disappointed. On

the occasion of Runje e t’

svisiting Sir H enry Farm,

at Lahore , among numerous other questions on

military subje cts, the Maharajah enquired, whatwere the qualifications (I be lie ve he limited themto thre e ) of agood soldier; and from SirHenry

’

s

we ll known qualities asamilitary leader, and a.

companion in arms of the great We llington, thequestion was very apropos. I did not hear the

exact answer, though I be lieve , that perfect obedience was particularly insisted on ; and se veral

military ofi cerson the spot were of Opinion, thatthisalone wassufficient,with the requisite portionof health and strength. Runjee t isan early riser;on ge tting out of bed, he takesaride on horse

back, and re turns about an hourortwo aftersunrise , when he enters his durbar, and transects

hisbusiness until noon, taking his morning mealabout e ight o

’

clock ; he is very regularwith re

gard to his breakfast- hour; andat Roopur,whilesittingwith Lord William Bentinck re viewing histroops, on the approach of the hourfor thismeal,he re tired ; and after finishing it, re turned andtook his seat by the side of the Governor- general.About noon, the Maharajah re tiresto hisbedroomin the Soomunboorj, and takesafewhoursrepose ;afterwhich he dresses and takeshisOpium for.a

short time after this, he amuses himselfwith hisflowergarden, and some of his domestic pe tsare

H isfondnessforfie ld sports


of marble and red stone ; on the ground-door, in a

capaciousand lofty hall, repose the earthly remainsof the emperor.Runje e t is fond Of fie ld sports, and make s

short excursions e very year through the countrylying be twe en the Sutlej and He ve e , and across

the latter river, in search of game . On these

occasionshe isattende d by allhisprincipal sirdars,and anumerous re tinue of followers,with afewhorse and foot soldiersasan escort. While thusemployed, the Maharajahmakesvery shortmarchesand generally leaves one encamping ground foranotherabout 3 o’clock The dogs employe d

in the chase are large northern, orPersian grey

hounds,which to great strength, unite considerablespe e d, though in the latter respect, they are much

inferior to e ither the English, or Italian greyhounds. Whenever a hare is started, the dogs

and hawksare le t loose ; andassoon as the animalhasbe en injured by the birds, so asto diminish its

‘

spe e d, it then becomes an easy prey to the dogs.

There isnot much of sport or e xcitement in thismode of coursing, and as the bare isquickly despatched, fewof the horsemen pursue it. Tigersare me twith in the dense jungleswhich skirt thebanksof the Sutlej and Ravce . When atigerhasbe en discovered, a body of soldiersare ordered toattack the animal on foot with sword and shie ld,no matchlock be ing allowed ; in thismanner thetigerisdespatched, though it se ldom failsto inflictseriouswounds on the assailants, and some times

ms'ronr on TH E sums; 223

e venfatal accidents occur. During these enc’

ou’

n

ters, instances of personal courage are not un

common ; and several of Runject’

s followers owethe irrise to the valour displayed in killing atigersingle handed . When aman has be en woundedby atiger, he is not allowed to sle ep for several

daysand nights, fi'

om an idea that he would se e atiger in his dreams, and thus become alarme d

and die Of fright ! The hunting Of the wild hog,is.afavourite amusementwith the Sikhs they donot use the spear aswe do, but kill the animale itherwith the sword ormatchlock. The flesh of

the wild hog isin great este em among them ; and

I recollect the Rajah Dhyan Singh,who isakeensportsman, be ing very anxious to knowby whatprocesshe might preserve it. Runje e twasamuse dat ourmode of hog hunting,which he disapprovedOf, from the difficulty Of riding down the animal ;and the remarkwasperhaps just, so farasregardsthe thick jungleswhich the wild hog inhabitsinthe Punjab. Some Of the Sikh sirdarsare good

marksmen, and exce llent riders; the irsaddlesare

of apeculiarshape , having ahigh circular peak infront ; these , aswe ll asthe bridles, are often richlyornamente dwith gold and preciousstones. Run

je e t’

s own horse - equipments are very gorge ous,the holster pipes being covered with gold tinse l,and studded with precious stones, particularlyemeraldsand topazes; while the bridle re ins areforme d of pie ces of gold or silver, connected to

ge theroverthe leatherwhich isthusconcealed.


Like other oriental princes, Runje et is'

fond” of

nautching, ordancing girls; he ke eps up a large

establishment of these , and lavishes vast sums of

mone y on them . These females are sometimes

attired in military costume , and armed with bowsandarrows; when thus equipped, he stylesthem

hisbody-

guard They do not, however, like theamazonsof old, take part in the battle strife ; though

the ir domestic quarre ls are by no means unfi e

quent, and require all the addressof the L ion Of

the Punja to suppressthem ! H e confessesthat

hisbody-

guard are the most troublesome , and leastmanageable portion of his troops! ! When em

ployed in dancing and singing, Runje e t, it issaid,some timesamuseshimselfby giving them spirituous

liquors (ofwhich these girls are as fond as anybearded

.Sik'

h)until they have drank to excess,whe nthey commence quarrelling, and tear each other’s

hair, much tohisde light ! H e encouragesthe sport

by e very meansin hispower, and showers rupe eswithout numberamong the combatants! TheseBacchanalian scenes are , however, confined to

himse lf and his favorites, b'

eing rare ly or e verexhibited to strangers. Whe n in the enjoymentof good health, the Maharajah and hissirdarsused

to indulge in spirituous liquorsto an immoderateextent ; on such occasions, his European guestsfound considerable difficulty in avoiding the forceof regal example , as may be se en in Burnes

’

amusing account of a drinking scene at Lahore .

On this, and similar occasions, the Maharajah is

H ISTORY OF TH E BIKE S

the eastern orwesternworld. It would be unfair

to compare him with those military leadersandconquerors of the latter, who enjoying all the

advantages of education and hereditary wealth,have pushed the ir conquests over the greater

portion of the globe . Bunject’stalentsare entirelynatural, and unassiste d by education, they havteenabled him to triumph over e very powerwhoopposed his victorious care er to the throne of

Lahore . Ifwe compare his conquestswith thoseof NadirShah, the Persian conquerorofHindostan ,

We may discovermore brilliant displays of daringadventure in the latter, but the tragical end of

NadirShah’sreign and life , are circumstanceswellknown in the page of history, ashaving sprung

fromwant of caution and discernment, qualities socharacteristic of the present ruler of the Punjab.

The mannerinwhich Runject re tainshisconquestsentire , displaysthe energy of the man in even a

stronger light than allhisvictories in the field of

battle , andwithout knowing the habitsand endless

resourcesof thisextraordinary individual, itappearsdifficult to

'

conceive howhe manages to preservesuch orderin hiswide - e xtended dominions; butwe cease towonder, asmy fi'iend Fuke erAze ezoo

de en' has Often remarked, on witnessing the

minute attention which he bestows on the most.trifling subject, from the shoe ing of a horse , tothe organization ofan army. H e ne ver losessight

The late memorable secre tary and physician of the Maharajah.


of the difi cultieshe has tocontendwith, and his

discernment and judgment enable him to makechoice of advisersfromwhom he rece ivesthe ablestassistance . The Maharajah is fond of children ; H isre haneu

forchildren.

and many of hls sirdars’ sons are bred up underhis eye , and instructe d in riding, and the use of

arms; by thismeansthey become attached to him,

andwhen able to assume commands, they never

fail of succe e ding to important ones. With his

usualdiscrimination, Runje et se ldom makeschoice

of a subject unworthy of it, and he has ample

opportunity of judging of the capacities of those

individuals,who are ultimate ly appointed to the

duties best calculate d for drawing forth the ir

talents. It has be en already hinted that the

Maharajah isfond of flowers; andaround Lahorethere are variousgardens, to each of which thereisahouse attached, in which he spends some of

hisle isure hours. A nove l scene occurred at one ofthese garden housesin February A fuke er,32

°magiwho arrive d at Lahore , engaged to bury himselfforany length of time , shut up in a box, withouteither food or drink ! Runje e t disbe lie ved his

assertions, and was de termined to put them toproof for thispurpose , the manwasshut up in awooden box,whichwasplaced in asmallapartmentbe lowthe le ve l of the ground ; there wasafoldingdoor to thisbox, whichwas secured by lock andkey . Surrounding this apartment, there was the

Copied into Osborne ’s Camp and Court of Runje e t Singh.

O 2

228 ms'ronr or run sumo.

garden house , the door of whichwas likewiselocked ; and outside of this a high wall, havingthe doorway built upwith bricksandmud. Out

side the whole there wasplaced aline of sentries,so that no one could approach the building. The

strictestwatchwaskept, forthe space of forty daysand forty nights: at the expiration of thisperiod,the Maharajah, attended by his grandson and

se veral of hissirdars, aswe ll as General Ventura,Captain Wade , and myse lf, proce ede d to disinter

the fuke er. The bricks and mud were quicklyremoved from the doorway of the outerwall ; thedoorof the house was next unlocked, and lastly,that of the box containing the fuke er; the latter

wasfound coveredwithawhite she e t, on removingwhich, the figure of the man presented itself in a

sitting posture . H ishandsandarmswere presse dto hissides; andthe legsand thighscrosse d. The

first part of the Operation of resuscitation consiste d

in pouring overhishead aquantity ofwarmwater ;afterthis,ahot cake ofAttawasplaced on the crownof hishead : aplugwasnext remove d from one of

hisnostrils, on thisbe ing done , the man breathedstrongly through it. The mouthwasnowopened,and the tongue ,which had be en close ly applied tothe roof of hismouth, brought forward, and bothit and the lipsanointedwithghe e orme lted butter;during thispart of the process, I could not fe e l thepulsation of the wrist, though the temperature of

the bodywasmuch above the natural standard ofhealth . The legsand arms be ing extended, and

230 msrosr or TH E sums.

assimilation hadapparently proce eded in the usual

manner, but this of course he'

likewise denied, andfinally asserted, that during the whole period hehad be en in amost delightful trance . It iswellknown, that the Nativesof Hindostan, by constantpractice ,will bring themse lves to exist on almostno food forse veral days, and it isequally true , that

by long training, they are able to retain the air in

the lungsforsome minutes, but howthe two functionsof digestion and respiration could be arrestedfor such alength of time , appearsunaccountable .

The concealment of the fuke erduring the perform

ance of his feat, so far from rendering it morewonderful, serves to hide the meanshe employedforaccomplishing it ; and until he can be persuadedto undergo the confinement in a place where hecan be observed, it isne edlessto form any conje eturesregarding them .

‘ It iswe ll known to physiologists, that the heart beats, and the function of

the lungsis performed, e ven afteran animal’

sheadhas be en cut off ; but to suppose for an instant,that the functions of the body can be performedforany length of time without a fresh supply ofarterial blood,which necessarily implies the actionof respiration, (unless in the case of the child inutero) isabsurd ; and though in cases of asphyxiafrom drowning and hanging, or the inhalation of

hurtful gases, both circulation and respiration cease

An attemptwasmade by the H on. W. Osborne , to induce the man to

shuthimse lf up in abox, giving him charge of the key ; he at first agre ed

to the proposal, but afterwardsre fused.

nxs'ronr orwe srxns. 231

foratime , still there isalimit to this, be yondwhichlife is extinct, and no powerwithwhichwe areacquainted can recall it. Some thing approachingthisstate isthe phenome non of sle ep, but here the

circulation andrespiration continue , aswell as thesecre tory functions; the sensorium alone ,with themuscles of voluntary motion, be ing at rest. My

mm‘

opinion is, that the man enjoyed the functionsof respiration, circulation, and assimilation in adegre e compatible with the existence of life , andthat by training, he hadacquired the means of t e

taining the air in the lungs for some minutes,during the period of hisbe ing shut up, andwhenhewasagain exposed. H owhe managed to get asupply of food and drink, I by no meanswishto hazard aguess; these affairswere no doubt managed by hisaccomplices, ofwhom he appeared tohave a considerable number. It issaid, that previons to hisundergoing the confinement, thisman

gradually overcomes the power of digestion and

assimilation, so that milk taken into the stomach

passed out without the least change ! H e next

forcesall the breath in hisbody to the brain,whichisdescribed asgiving the crown of the head the

fe e ling of a hot coal. The lungs then collapse ,and the heart, deprived of itsusual stimulus, to use

ahome ly phrase , shuts up shop. Having thus

disposed of digestion, assimilation, respiration, and

circulation, all the passagesof the body are closed ;hislegsand thighscrossed, andhisarmspressed to

hissides; in short, he presents the same appear6

232 marcar orwe sixes.

ance he didwhen his boxwas opened. Howe v erchildish all thismay appear, the explanationwasquite satisfactory to the good people of labors,

and evento some who pretended to greaterdepthof reasoning powers. The same individual has, I

behave , exhibitedwith success at Jesselmere , an

account ofwhichisgiven in Lieutenant Bailout swork late ly published. The fukeerisaman about.

forty yearsof age , mild and intelligent in his d‘

es

portment, and ready to answerallquestionsput tohim on the subject. H e describes his trance asa

most delightfulone , and does not scruple to say,

that he enjoys it much ; the onlywonderis, that.he doesnot prolong it. On asking him the place

ofhisbirth, he said he believed itwas Kunkul, aVillage close to Hmdwar, andfamousforfuke ersofalldenominations. H e considershisbeing able to

perform the feat, asagift from God, and he is not

sure that it can he taught. It.was observed bytome of the bystanders, that his beard exhibited

the same appearance afterdisintem cnt, as on the

day he had be en shut up ; thmg h I do not attachmuchweight to this circumstance , as the man

’

s

bearddid not se em to be of the bushy kind, nor

even to growat all ; the latter is the case with

to. induce a be lie f, (except the difi culty of findingout the deception) in the man

’

sassertions, the. cir~

cumstance might deserve the consideration of the

learned asit is, there islittle chance of itsem iting

JU ISTORY OF TH E S IKH S.

cow, andin this particular, the Sikhs have no

mercy forsuch an enormous offence : e ven in the

protected Sikhstates on thisside the Sutlej, it is

rigidly forbidden ; while across the river, andthroughout the Punjab, the killing Of a cowisvisited by capital punishment. The Sikhs areforbid the use of tobacco by the tene ts of theirre ligion, but they find a ready substitute for it inopium, which is consumed in great quantitiesthroughout the whole of the Punjab, aswe ll asamong the protecte d Sikh states. While under

the e ffectsof thisdrug, the Sikhisavery difiam t

person to the same individual before he has taken

it. In the former. instance , he isactive and talkative ; in the latter, lazy and stupid. When the

habit of eating opium hasbe en once induced, it iswell known howdifi cult it is to throwit Off, andOf this fact Bunje e t iswe ll aware , forthoughhehasbe en told repeatedly howpernicious the e ffects

of Opium must be to his complaint, still he cannotresist the daily use of it, norwould it perhapsbeprudent forhim to do so suddenly.

Forthe purpose of be ing nearthe principal Sikhtemple of the Punjab, aswe llasforchange of air,the Maharajah isaccustomed to spend aportion of

m. residence each yearat Umritsir; he arrives about the comummsm

mencement of the periodical rains, and takeshisdeparture on the irbreaking up, orafter the festivalOf the Dusserah. While at Umritsir, Runje etresidesin the Rambagh, ashort distance from the

city ; thisisagarden, as the name implies, and it


contains some handsome buildings: the whole issurrounded by awall and ditch . H istime isspenthere in amore retire d manner than at Lahore , andhe de votes more of it to re ligious ceremonies.The DurbarSahib, as it is called, or great Sikh

temple , iserecte d in the centre of abeautiful she etofwater, above the surface of which it israised bymeans Of aterrace . The building isahandsome

one , and itslofty gilded dome and minarsproducea rich and dazzling e ffect. Surrounding this

temple , and skirting the edge of the water, maybe se en the state ly mansions of the different Sikhchie fs, on both sidesof the Sutlej ; one of the most

conspicuous among these buildingsisthat be longing to the Alloowalafamily, the late chief ofwhich,Futteh Singh, was among the last of Runj e e t

’

s

early companions in arms. The entrance to the

temple isby a flight of steps,which descend fromone of the public stre e ts, oravenues; be fore enter

ing on these , every person isobliged to take offhis

shoes, even Runje e t himse lf isnot exempte d. On

reaching the bottom of these steps, there is a

causeway leading towardsthe temple ; the doorofthe latter faces the north, and the avenue im

mediate ly in front of it is constantly crowded,during the daytime , with pe ople passing to andfrom the temple . On the ground- floor, opposite

the door, sits the presiding Gooroo, or priest,clothe d in white robes; and before him isplaced

the Grunth, or Sacred Book,which isopen ; thisbook is constantly fanned by the priest, by means


ofachourie , or yak’

s tail,’ which he ke epswavingbackwards and forwardsin his right hand. The

Grunth isplace d underasmall arch Of gold tinsel,inlaid with precious stones, and presented a fewyears ago by the Maharajah, at an expense of

rupe es; the rest of this apartment is

coveredwith rich carpe tsandstrewedwith flowers,particularly those of the jessamine , orchumbele e .

The doors and walls are gilded and ornamented ;while the light descending from the lofty dome has

apleasing e ffect on the whole . Above thisthere

are other apartments, with verandahs running

round the whole circuit of the building. From

the top Of the building itself, the viewis e xtensive ;and here you obtain anearer viewof the gildeddome andminers, on which vast, and almost incredible sums Of money have be en expended byRunjee t and his sirdars. Facing this temple , onthe north side , but not in the water, standsthe

Ukale es umple of the Ukale es these are arace of religious

fimatics,who inhabit variousportionsof the Punjab, but found in greatest numbersabout Umritsirand the Manja country lying be twe en Lahore andthe river Gharra in this district, as already

noticed, isTaruntara., the irchie f city. The Ukale e

isawild- looking character, displaying in his coun

tenance amixture of cunning and crue lty ; thesetwo propensities are accordingly the leadingpulses of his life . The Ukale es are ostensibly

Bo grunnicnsof the H imalayas.

238 amour or run sums.

rivers, laying waste the country with fire andsword ; on such forays Kunje et is obliged to bringthem back by meansof his regular cavalry ,whomthey se ldom or e ver dare to encounter; for the yseem to be guided more by the blind impulse of the

moment, than by any preconcerte d measures, and

are alike care lessof their own livesand of those o f

others. On visiting the temple of the Ukale es at

Umritsir, the strangerpresentsafewrupe es, andinreturn rece ivessome sugar, while a small mirror

ishe ld be fore hisface , so as to reflect his im ge .

What\the exact meaning of this ceremony is, - I

have not be en able to learn, though it is probablymeant to convey some moral, as Knowthyself.After this it is advisable to re treat, otherwisecrowds of these fanaticscollect around the visitor,andcommence theirabuse ,which ise qually lavishedon friend and foe . The ir chief priest ismost fan

tastically dressed in clothes of difl'

erent colours,

abovewhich, hewearsthe warlike insignia of his

race . During Sir Henry Fane’

sstay at Lahore , abattalion of Ukale eswasmarched past in re View,and made to salute the commander- in- chie f; .in

the front and rear therewere some regular troops,in order to pre vent the ir doing some mischief, onwhich the Ukale esappear always bent. On one

occasion some yearsago, an Ukale e attempted the

life of Runje e t, and made his escape across theSutlej. I once encountered abody of these peopleunderthe wallsof the fort of Lahore ; I had passedtheir encampment early in the morning, in com


punywith Captain Wade and Lieutenant Mackeson, on ourway to join the Maharajah’

s camp onahunting excursion having astrong escortwithus, they took no further notice than to raise ashout. I had occasion to re turn to Lahore in theevening, andhad ten horsemen asan escort. On

approaching Lahore , I me t a solitary Ukale e

horseman at some distance from the ir encampment,which I had purpose ly avoided. H e Spoke

awfewwords to my escort and then galloped ofl'

shortly after this, on turning round, I observedabout twenty Ukale esmounted on horseback, andcoming at full spe ed, shouting and flourishingthe irswords. Astheywere evidently intoxicated,Iwasde termined not to risk aquarre lwith them ;

and on theircoming up, I aske dwhat theywanted?The y said theywere starving, andwanted money ;I replied, that I had no rupe es about me . Not

being satisfie dwith this, they endeavoured to comenearer, and nearer,while my escort advised me to

ride ofl'

. I did not, however, followthis sugges

tion, and took no furthernotice of them. When

they found that I Was not like ly to comply withtheirdemands, they se t off at full gallop, shoutingand uttering allmanner of abuse . Next morning,on my re turn to camp, Runje e t made enquiries

regarding the adventure ofwhich he had heard,assuring me that theywere hisservants, and that Ihad no cause of alarm. Be this as it may, I

should not have much trust in the irforbearance in

aretired spot, andwithout any escort ; the latter

H ISTORY OF THE BIKE S.

isat all times advisable in marching through the.

Punjab, particularly beyond the riverBeas, fewof

the Ukale es being me t with be twe en the Sutlejand the latter river, and hardly any in the pro

33mg “

The feast of the Dusserah isce lebratedat Um

ritsir, about the latterend of September, or earlyin October, it being amoveable one . I had an

opportunity of witnessing it in 1835, and shall

introduce ashort notice here on the subject. On

the day appointed Iwassent forby the Maharajahabout 3 o

’

clock m the afternoon. I found him

seated on the top ofahouse which he had erected

forthe occasion. In the aperturent underneath, I

observed the venoussirdars, the most conspicuous

among them being RajahDhyan Singh, the primeminister, andhisre lation, SirdarKesre e Singh : the

formerwasdresse d in chainarmour. The approach

towhere the Maharajahwasseated wasby meansofaladder,witha'

trap orlilting- doorat the tap of

it. A chairwasplace d for me close to Runj ee t,the only otherpersonallowed one being the youngRajah H eeraSingh. From this e le vated position,

I hada full viewof the troops drawn up on the

adjoining plain in the form ofan open square , eachside consisting of four thousand rank and file,

making atotal of sixte en thousandmen, exclusiveof the artillery,which numbe red one hundre d guns.

The whole commenced firing at one and the same

time ; so that the continued noise of cannon and

muske trywasquite deafening ; and even Bunje e t’s


CHAPTER XVII.

TH E SAME SUBJE CT CONTINUE D.

my" , Singh.

AMONGRunje e t’

spersonal staff, the Rajah Dhyan

Singh deservesthe first place : he isbrother to the

rajahs Goolab Singh and Sooche t Singh, and

performsthe office of prime m inisterat the court

of Lahore . The thre e brothers are Rajpoots by

descent, and all of them strictly adhere to the ir

Hindoo formsofre ligion. Dhyan Singh’

sinfluence

is great, and he useshispowerwith a moderationand judgmentwhich ne ver fail to e licit the admiration of all who knowhim . H isown personalfollowersare numerous, and in the e vent of awarof succession, the thre e brotherswould be formidable rivalsto the adverse party. The rajah,

”

ashe

is called by Runje e t, is a remarkably handsome

man, andwe ll skilled in horsemanship, and in theuse of the sword, spear, andmatchlock ; he ismildin hisdeportme nt ; affable to strangers; andat alltimes ready to listen to complaints, and redress

grie vances. H is son, the young Rajah H e era


S ingh, isagreat favouritewith the Maharajah, be ingconstantlvwith him, and honore d with a chair in

hispresence , amark Of respect denied e ven to his

father. The degre e of familiarity existing be twe e nthisyoung man and Runje e t isof achildish nature ,andwould amuse an European unacquaintedwiththe domestic habitsof the Sikhs. Though quite a

youth, B e eraSingh is already a rajah, and holdsH e eraSingh

the command of'

se veralregimentsin theMaharajah’sservice . H is appearance is e ffeminate ; and his

character for energy and inte llect inferior to thatof hisfather, Dhyan Singh. Next in power andinfluence is the fuke er Aze e zoode en, who is, at Azeezoode enonce , chie f secre tary and physician to Runje e t.The fuke er isan age d man, though ofa hale con

stitution ; simple in his manners, and dress; Zof amild disposition ; but possessed of great e nergy,talentsand address. H e is thoroughly versed inthe native science of medicine ; both asregardsitstheory and practice . H ismemory isextraordinary,and he brings forward on e very occasion, appro

priate versesfrom his favorite Persian andArabicpoe ts to illustrate and enforce hisargum ents. All

the confidential correspondence of Runje e t’

s court

is conducted by the fuke er, and he is alwaysemployed to treatwith European officers, civil andmilitary,who visit Lahore . On the occasion of

Runje e t’

sattack ofparalysisin 1 835, the fuke er,as

we ll asall the courtiers,wasin great alarm . The

Maharajah was for some hours spe echless, and

during this e ventful period, the fuke er’

s attentions

R 2


were unremitting ; had Runje e t be en hisfather, hecould not have e vinced greater solicitude . This

worthy man ne verceases to watch over the interests and we lfare of his master, who in re turn ,

treats him with the most marked kindness and

respect. The fuke ergenerally trave lsin apalke e ,

without the least ostentation and he often spends

whole daysand nights near the Maharajah, withno othercomfort than his simple food, and plain

waterasadrink. The fuke er isofamost humanedisposition ; and he de ems it crue l to deprive e ven

the insect of life : though obliged to witness thedeath of animalswhile on hunting e xcursionswithhismaster, he confesses, that he ne verse esabare

start be fore the dogs without offering up his

prayers foritsescape ! These traitswill shewthe

m ild and gentle disposition Of thisworthy man it

must not, howe ver, be suppose d that he is lesse nerge tic oruse ful for these peculiarities; on the

contrary, hisunpre tending and simple habits givehim an advantage over his more ambitious con

temporaries, and enable him to gain information inquarters to which they have no access. H is

Nooroode e n. brotherNooroode en isstyled Khalifa, an hon

orary title among Mussulmans, be is likewise a

physician, and may be justly called Runje e t’

s

apothecary general,”

for he prepares all his

m edicines, as we ll as the favorite spirituousliquorwhich the Maharajah, e ven now, usesmorefre e ly than isadvisable orbeneficial for an invalid.

Thisliquorismanufactured or distilled from nu

H ISTORY OF T H E SIKH S .

that character. H e is e qually celebrated as a

soldier, and holds an important command in the

cavalry, or household troops; besides hav ingnumerousfollowersof his own in this

“

branch Of

Goolab Singh. the service . The e lder brother, Goolab Singh, is

KhooshyalS ingh.

for the most part on detache d duty in the hillprovinces, where the fam ily have e xtensive pos

sessions. Goolab Singh appearsto be athorough

bred soldier, and less pleasing in his manner and

address than e ither of his brothers; he is eve n

accuse d of crue lty and tyranny. H is son is a

promising youth ; at R oopurin 1 832, he was quiteaboy ; but, he ” is nowa fine young man, and

already ageneral officerin Runje e t’

sservice . One

of the principal men about the court of Lahore isthe Jemadar Khooshyal Singh,who hasrisen fromthe rank of aprivate soldier, to the responsiblecommand ofagreat portion Of the artillery . H e

is an active , bustling man ; possessed of greatwealth, and considerable influence in the Punjab.

H is house at Lahore is a magnificent building,and only inferior to the "palace . H is numerouse lephants, horses, &c. proclaim him to be aman of

substance . The Jemadarwasoriginally aHindooof the Brahmin caste , but out of complim ent toRunje e t, he hasbe come aSikh, while hiswife andfamily still adhere to the irHindoo formsofreligion ;and in consequence , he hasadopted a son of Sikhorigin, or at least a convert to it, on whom he

Killedat the same time asNonehal Singh in 1 840.


bestows e very mark of parental indulgence . Thisson isnamed Bishen Singh, and hasbe en forsome Bishe n

yearsstudying English at the L oodianah school,establishe d through the exertionsof the politicalagent (Captain Wade ) and the American missionariesstationed there . It is surprising to witnessthe progresswhich some of the boyshave made inEnglish literature ; and Bishen Singh, though not

the first of hisclass, is still a promising scholar,and speaksandwritesEnglishwith great fluency.

H e looksforward to alucrative appointment aboutthe court of Lahore ; and his perse verance , andproficiencywill, no doubt, be rewardedwithsuccess.The rise of the Jemadar is said to be rather of

a romantic nature . During some of Runje e t’

s

adversities, thismanwasplace d assentry over thetent in which the Maharajah was sle eping ; the

rest of the latterwas disturbed, and troubled, sothat he awoke se veral timesduring the night, and

enquiredwhowaske eping watch over him . The

answer to these repeated enquiries was always“ Khooshyal Singh .

” This circumstance , if wemay credit native report, had the e ffect of endear

ing him to Runje e t,who had e versince shewn himgreat favor, andadvanced him to the post he nowholds. The Jemadar is an uneducated man, but

possessing great shrewdness, and natural talent ; he ,like hismaster, doesnot appear to suffer from the

want of a liberal education . H e is accused of

cruelty and oppression ; but these are failings so

common to upstarts/ in every country, as to be


hardlyworth noticing ; and in the present instance ,have little or no influence in re tarding his pros

pects, allbe ing laid to hiszeal for the good of the

state . The Jemadar’s e ldest son, name d RamSingh,

’ hasbe en instructed in the science of war,by General Ventura, and is already a general

officer, though not more than se vente en or eighte en yearsOfage . H e isnot Ofavery mild temper,and has late ly displayed hiscrue lty, by the murd

of Bishe n Singh, not his adopte d brother, but a

brother- ih- lawof Chat Singh, a commandant in

Runje e t’

sservice . The Maharajah has taken but

little notice of this bloody affair; the deceased,Bishen Singh,wasafine young man, and in favorat the court of Lahore ; he wasparticularly civil tostrangers, and there are fewof the British Officers

who accompanied Sir Henry Fane but must

recollect the pleasing manners of poor Bishen

Singh .

The champion. One of Runje e t’

sbest Oflicers, Hure e Singh,Nulwa, was late ly slain at Pe shawurwhile gallantlyfighting against the Affg hans. Runje e t, like other

princes, hashis champion , orat least apersonwhomay be calle d such. The present one is Sirdar

Uttur S ingh, Maje e thia, brother to Sirdar LenaSingh, commandant of Umritsir; the latteris a

great astronomer, though not ye t aconvert to the

Copernicun system ; for he be lie ves as firmly in

the earth’simmobility as he doesin his own exis

Since dead.

250 answer or run sums.

wasjudiciouson the part of Runje et. It required

all the caution and matured judgment of Govind

J1183 to pre vent hisvolatile companion from com

mitting serious indiscre tions, among others, that of

marrying aEuropeanwomanwithwhom the sirdar

fe ll desperate ly in love ; the newsof thisadventurecoming to the Maharajah

’

sears caused him much

uneasiness, and he was very much displeased atthe conduct of hisambassador,who, on hisre turn

to Lahore ,was excluded the court for some time

itwasonly through hisbrother’s influence with theMaharajah, that the latteragain admitted him into

favour. The sirdarisnowaconstant attendant atthe durbar, and it ishighly amusing towitness hisconduct while there . H e is dresse d after the

English fashion, except the turban, which is anindispensable article ofaSikh’s dress. When anyconversation is going on be twe e n the Maharajah

and his courtiers or visiters, Goojur Singh takes

out hispenciland pen - knifewith hisnote - book,and

placing the latteron hiskne e , he proce e dsto adjustthe point of hispencilwith the knife , andslowly andostentatiously re turns the latter into hiswaistcoatpocke t, lookingroundhim allthe time ,with an airofsuperiority, which he no doubt imaginesthisim itation of English mannersconfers upon him ! I t is

doubtfulwhe ther orno he commits anything to

paper, but he sitsin the attitude ofape rson busilye ngaged in taking notes, andwhen Runje e t on anyoccasion requires information regarding the Sahiblog,

”

as he terms the English gentlemen, GoojurSingh is at all times ready to afford it. H is


observations, and commentson the state of socie ty,asbe witnesse d it in Calcutta, are often the theme

of conversation in the Durbar, and se ldom fail to

amuse the old sirdars, and even e xtortasmile from

Runje e t.Govind Jass, orRace Govind Jussashe ismore Govind Juss.

frequently called, the term Race” be ing an

honourable title among Hindoos, is quite of a dif

ferent stamp from Goojur Singh, be ing a quie t,steady, cautiousman. H e never intrudes himse lf

on strangers unless questioned on any subject,when he shewsconsiderable talent and tact, mixedwith that lowcunningwhich isso inseparable fromthe characterof aHindoo . Govind Juss is e lder

brother to Kishen Chund, the vake e l on the part Kishe nChund.

of Runje e t at L oodianah the latter is an able po

litician, and superior in thisrespect to the Race ,be ing possesse d of extraordinary tact and cunning,with great presence of mind ; there islittle doubt,that thisman issome timesmore than amatch for

some Of ourBritish diplomatists, though he , on all

occasions asumes a mild, and yie lding manner,

having learned, no doubt, that thiswas the mostsuccessful meansof gaining overhisBritish adversariesin the fie ld ofpolitics. Govind Jussappearstohave be en much pleasedwith hisvisit to Calcutta,which he allows to be a city of palaces: nothinge xcite d hiswonderandastonishment so much as

the beautiful houses and rich e quipages of the

wealthier inhabitants; he evidently looks uponthese thingsas luxuries, and not at all necessary

to the real comfortsof life . Govind Jussisagreat

H ISTORY OF TH E SIKH Ss

friend of the fuke erAze ezoode en, and to these twomen Runje e t entrusts the officesof. secre tarie s of

state ; the fuke er, howe ver, holds the first place ,and deservedly, as he is a much superiorman in

e very respe ct to the Race ; it is, perhaps,wise policy on the part of Runje e t, thus to divide the

duties betwe en two men of different re ligions, as

hisintercourse with the various tribes of Hindoos

and Mussulmansisthereby facilitate d.

In giving aske tch of Runje e tandhiscourt, his

grandson Nonehal Singh must not be left out, for

though a young man, he hasalready shewn himse lfaworthy scion Of the stock fromwhich he hassprung. Nonehal Singh is the son of Khurruk

Singh, he ir apparent to the throne of Lahore .

There isastriking likenessbe twe en Khurruk S inghandhisfatherRunje e t, though the formerpossesses

but asmall portion of the talents inherite d by the

Maharajah . Nonehal Singh is not a handsome

man ; for hiscountenance , like that of hisgrand

father, is strongly marked by the small- pox, ye t,there isasteady, de termined lookabouthim ,whichpoints him out as a person like ly at some future

period to emulate the present rulerof the Punjab,and though Khurruk Singhwill, no doubt, ascendthe throne on the death of hisfather, it se emsvery

doubtful howlong he will be able to re tain it, andin the e vent of hisbe ing de throned, hisson Nonehal Singh is the most like ly person to become hissuccessor, ifassisted by the British .

“ What the aspect of the affairsof the Punjab

H ISTORY OF TH E SI KH S .

besidesagreat favouritewiththe Sikhs,whowouldrally round hisstandard in the event of hisclaim

ing the sovereignity ; and there is evidently a

jealousy existing be twe en the two brothers, each

endeavouring to ingratiate himse lf into the favour

of Runje e t, who iswe ll aware of the ambitious

viewsof Shere Singh .

It isnowtime that I should notice the fore ignofficersin Runje et

’

sservice . At the head Of these ,are GeneralsVenturaandAllard ; the formerisan

Italian by birth, the latter a Frenchman. Botharrived in the Punjab about the same time , and

they have alwaysbe en on the best termswith each

other. These gentlemen have he ld, at various

periods, important commands. General Allard has

be en more particularly attached to the cavalry

which he disciplined afterthe French manner, andbrought to ahigh degre e of proficiency previoustohisdeparture forEurope . During hisabsence , this

branch Of Runje et’

sarmy sustained agreat loss, forthe soldierswere not only much attached to the

generalastheirleader, butalso asthe irfriend,whichhe proved himse lf to be on all occasions. GeneralAllard on hisre turn to France ,wasrece ivedwithgreat honour by the French king, and on his

departure for the Punjab, he was entrusted withvaluable presents for Runje e t, accompanied by ale tterappointing him chargé d

’

affairesat the courtof Lahore . The latterappointment isnot of muchconsequence at acourt like that Of Runje e t,whothough e veryway disposed to honouraEuropean

ms'roar OF TH E sums. 255

power, isstill too fardistant to derive any immediate bene fit from such an alliance . Were the

French in possession of any considerable portion of

Hindostan, there can be little doubt that the

British might have some cause for jealousy at the

presence of aFrench chargé d’

affairesat the court

of Lahore ; but as mattersnowstand, hispresencethere is rather to be twished for than otherwise .

General Allard“ was, and isstill, I be lieve , in greateste emwith the Maharajah, and from having be enalways near hisperson, the general is more

’

of a

courtier than his friend Ventura,who has se en agood deal of hardwork, andhason e very occasion

shown himse lfworthy of the confidence reposed inhim by Runje e t. General Venturahas be en em

ployed chieflywith the infantry,who owe much tohise xertions for the ir present state of efficiency.

The General afewyears ago e Xpressed‘

awish tocross the Sutlej, in order to rece ive medical aid

foraparalytic stroke ,which he had e xperience d in

the Punjab . H is leave was at le ngth re luctantly

grante d. During his sojourn in our provinces, he

rece ived e very mark ofattention from the civil and

military authorities, aswe ll asfrom the late Begum

Soomroo, of Sirdhanah,where he resided forsometime , General Allard having rece ived the permis

sion of the Maharajah to visit Europe duringGeneral Ventura’s absence in Hindostan, Runje et

became anxious for the re turn of the latter, and

Since dead.


after a stay of some months at L oodianah, the

general once more crossed the Sutlej, and pro

ce ededwith the utmost expedition towardsPeshawur,which at that time was like ly to become the

seat ofwar. Nothing ofawarlike nature howe v e rtook place , and the general re turned to Lahore ,where he remained almost unemployed until last

year,when he took his departure forEurope . I t

islike ly that he will soon re turn, forhisunboundedhospitality and generousdisposition have preve nte d

hisaccumulating afortune sufficient to enable him

to spend his days in affluence at home . H e has

very highly lucrative appointments, in which a

man of lessscrupuloussense of honourmight haveamassed a prince ly fortune , but be ing in e very

sense of the word an honourable , upright man, he

scorned to avail himse lf of the Opportunity of

aggrandizing himse lf at the expense of the state,

thoug h there islittle doubt that Runje e t, measuring hishonesty by the standard of that Of hisownpe ople similarly situated, gave him the credit Of

doing so. Be this as it may, the ge neral found

great difficulty in recovering the arrearsOf pay dueto him . H e isstill afine - looking man, though fromexposure to the inhospitable climate of the Punjab

,

hishealth has late ly suffere d much, but, it isto behoped, his visit to Europe will comple te ly re

establish it.*—M onsieur Court,who is likewise age neral in the Sikh service , andaFrenchman by

H e did re turn, but e ventually re tired in 1 843.


not been realized, and who, disgusted with the

treatment they have e xperienced, are mere ly

waiting an Opportunity for be ttering the ir condi

tion, by adeparture from the Punjab.

Adve nturers. It issomewhat amusing to hear the treatme ntwhich some of the adventurers resorting to this

court foremployment,me e twith . A young German

made hisappearance two yearsago, andrepresente dto Runje e t, that he waswe ll versed in military

tactics; thisdidnot, howe ver, satisfy the Maharajah ,who, to put him to test, ordered afewcompaniesofsoldiersto be paraded, and requested the aspirant

to manoeuvre them. Thiswas rather more thanthe young man had bargained for, and a comple te

failure was the result. After remaining a fewwe eks at Umritsir, he at length obtained his

Rookhsut, or leave to depart, with apresent of

one hundred rupe es, and acouple of shawls. On

thisoccasion he wasasked by Runje e twhe therheintended to proce ed to Cabul to join Dost Mohum

med H e replied that he did ; onwhich, Runje e tremarked, that itwasamatter of indifference to

him if ahundred suchas he joined the standard ofhisbitterest enemy. Anothergentleman,who hadformerly be enan officerin the French service , made

hisway to Lahore in spite of the obstructions

opposed to hiscrossing the Sutlej . On hisarrival

at Lahore , he readily obtaine d employment withRunje e t, at a nominal salary of 500 rupe es permonth, and be commence d the drilling of recruits,for which he waswe ll qualified« M onsieur A .

manne r on TH E sums. 259

continuedat thiswork for afewmonths, when hedemanded hispay,andadaywasfixed onwhich theMaharajahpromisedto inspect the recruits, andpayhiswages. On the dayappointed, both M onsieurA.

andMr. F. attended the durbarwith theirrespective de tachments of recruits. Runje et e xpressed

himse lf satisfied with the ir performances, and to

M onsieurA. he offered a fewhundred rupe es inthe shape of a present ; but to this the formerobjected, remarking that he wanted no presents,but hisarrears of pay : or, ashe emphatically ex

pressed himse lf, H um tilab (tilub, orpay) mangta,kooch bukshishna. [want my pay, andnone ofyourpresents.

”Runje e twasnot in a humour to

make further disbursements, and M onsieur A.

though he accepted the money, re turned it through

the prime ministeron leaving the presence . This

was e quivalent to an insult, and the Maharajah

wasratherpuzzle d howto act, forhe did not wishto part with M onsieurA. whose serviceshe justlyestimated on the otherhand, he would fain havekept him on the cheapest possible terms, name ly, a

little in hand and more on some future day .

M onsieur A. wasresolute andwould agre e to no

termsshort ofhisfull arrears; these at length he

obtaine d, and leave to depart. M onsieur A. has

since , I be lie ve , gone to Cabul and joined Dost

Mohummud. H is loss is a serious one to the

Maharajah, ashewasan admirable drill,andwouldhave be en of infinite service , nowthat GeneralVenturahasgone away


Again, aM onsieur F. by profession a chemist,

The Germanhad been induced to re linquish a good appoint

chemist. ment in the Pacha of Egypt’

s service , in order,as he imagined, to acquire a fortune in the

Punjab,which he had be en toldwasnot a difficultmatter. Leaving hiswife and family behind him,

thisadventurousoldman made hisway to L ahorein company with the young German, formerlyalluded to, and throughwhose advice he had be enchie fly induced to undertake such a j ourney.

M onsieur F. brought all his chemical apparatus

alongwith him, and on hisarrival at Lahore or

Umritsir, he had an audience of Runje e t. H e

engaged to manufacture gunpowderforthe Maha

rajah, ofasuperiorquality thisplease d the latter,and the only thing remaining to comple te the

arrangement be twe en them was the amount of

salary but here lay the chiefdifficulty . Monsieur

F. demande d rupe es, or £ 300 sterling per

mansam Runje e t offered him 500rupe es, or £ 50

sterling to commence with . Such a difference

could notwe ll be adjusted, andafterashort stayatLahore , MonsieurF . took hisdeparture , thoroughlydisgusted with the treatment he had expe rienced,whichwas so contrary towhathe had be en led toexpect from the representationsof hisfe llow- travel

ler. I had the pleasure of se e ing M onsieur F. at

Lahore ; he appeare d to be a good practical che

mist, and from the specimensof gunpowderwhichhe exhibited, there can be little doubt but the

manufacture of this important article would have

262 marrowor run sums.

was rather amusing ; name ly, that as Dr. D. had

kept the old lady so long alive at Sirdhanah, therewas e very probability Of his performing the same

kind office to himse lf at Lahore . The analogywashardly just, forbe fore everDr. D. hadse en the

Begum, she had attained agood old age , though

there islittle doubt that toDr. D.

’

sunremitting care

and skill, she wasindebted forafewyearsof tolerable health at the close of her life ; it is, therefore ,to be regretted that the arrangement did not take

place , though I do not think the Doctorhasmuchreason to regre t the circumstance , as he wouldprobably have found the King of the Sikhsavery

different person in the article of pay and remu

neration tohis late mistress the Begum. Mr. H

an American,was several years in Runje et’s service , andwould probably have still be en, but foraquarre l regarding money matters,which hasforthemost part be en the ostensible cause of all the

Maharajah’sdisagre ementswith fore igners.Fromwhat hasbe en said regarding Runjeet and

hiscourt, it must not be supposed that allhisprincipalsirdarshave be en noticed ; thiswasnot my intention. Many errone ous reports are in circula

0 tion regarding Runje e t, and it isbut justice , on thepart of onewho has experienced some degre e of

kindnessand attention from him, to place hischa

re e ter in its true light. Itwere vain to expect asovere ignwithout some faults, and more partienlarly in the person ofan uneducate d man, such as

Runje e tis; these I have not attempte d to conceal ;

H ISTORY OF TH E su ms. 263

at the same time I have be en e qually anxious tosupport his character in those striking points inwhich thise xtraordinary man differssowide ly fromhis predecessors and contemporaries. H is intercourse with the British has e ffecte d a comple techange in hisnotionson the subject ofwar; he haslearne d from some source the importance of manyminorde tailswhich had be en formerly overlooked .

E ncroaching years and ill- health have , however,diminished the energiesof hismind, aswe ll astheactivity of hisbody, and to those who knewhim in

the prime of manhood, hispresent state conveysa

m elancholy instance of the mutability of human

life . H is very existence is nowprecarious, andmay be extinguished by a repe tition of paralysis.

When such an e vent does occur, there will beplenty of blood shed be fore the British can even

reach Lahore . To pre vent the chance of this, it

appears advisable to have a force as near that

capital aspossible . The troops nowstationed at

L oodianah,“ were they sufficie nt in numbers, are

at too great a distance ; for after crossing the

Sutlej at Phillour it would take them four days

to reach the Beas, and as many more to gain the

capital of the Punjab. On looking along the

bank of the Sutlej and Gharra, the point nearest

Lahore in ourpossession isundoubtedly Fe erozpore ,and no obstacle could exist to the formation of a

large military station at this place , which is onlyfour days march from Lahore ) “ It is said that

Thishassince be endone .

264 msroniror m s stuns.

Runje e twould not like ourtroopsso near to him ,

but this Obj e e tion might perhapsbe Overcome , onassuring him that the step was altoge ther for hisown good, and forthe purpose of securing the easysuccession of his son to the throne . The only

difficulty in the matterwould arise from the he pewhich he cherishes, that he has ye t many years tolive , and that the cantoning of troopsatFe erozpore;would appear like . anticipating his spe e dy death.

H isadvisersmight urge , howcan the Maharajahbe assured of a lasting peace be twe en himself

and the British ? Some cause for a quarre l mayarise , for the se ttlement of which he could not

make concessions consistent with his dignity as

an independent sovere ign ; the British becomingoffended,wariswaged, and the force at FeerOZporcSpe edily crossesthe Gharraand reaches the gatesof L ahore This reasoning is, howe ver, moreSpecious than just, forwere Bunje e t equal to a

contest with the British, there might be some

reason forhis objecting to an armed force beingstationed at Fe erozpore ; but however much hiscourtiersmay think of the armiesof the Maharajah,he hasdiscernment to se e at aglance the unequalnature ofastruggle with his allies, .though thereis every like lihood that if his honour or thatofhis kingdom were compromised, he would trythe issue . When Fe erozpore

'

fell into the pos

session Of the British in 1835, Runje et no doubt

anticipated that it would be occupied by our

troops, forhe erected temporary buildingsbe twe en

266 merouxor run sums.

Native infantry. Were thisarrangement adopted,the troopsat L oodianah might be reduced, or e lse

aregiment of cavalryadded to it ; forasit standsat

present, the force there is incomple te , and almost

use less, be ing composed of infantry and horse artillery . Itwould be highly prudent to put the fort ofFe erOZpore in a state Of thorough repair, and this

I be lie ve is being done by the political age nt at

L oodianah, or his assistant. Fe erozpore is particularly we ll adapted for mounte d corps, as the

immense tractsof grassjungle which skirt the bankof the riverand ne ighbouring countrywould affordample suppliesof grass,while the soil isrich, and,by propercultivation, might, in afewyears, produceabundant cropsOfallkindsof grain.


CHAPTER XVIII .

TH E M AH ARAJAH'

S vmws RE GARDING TH E BRITISH

INVASION or AFFGHANISTAN, AND OTH E R MATTE RS.

ITwas not long after the foregoing ske tchwaswritten, that the Governor- generalof Indiade emedit necessary to send an army to Affghanistan forthe re - establishment Of Shah Soojahon the throne

of Cabul. The designsof Russia, formed the os The object ofinvading

tensible reason for this measure . Dost Mohum Afghanistan.

mud, the ame er of Cabul, was supposed to be

friendly to the interests Of Russia; and it wasde emed good policy to substitute in his room, the

imbecile ex- king of Cabul. By such meansitwasanticipated, thatwe should secure afriendly powerin

O

Affghanistan, aswe ll as a peaceful ne ighbourfor our ally, Runje et Singh. The determination

on the part of Dost Mohummud to recoverthe pro

vince Of Peshawur,was, however, the chief Obstacleto arranging an amicable treaty with the ame er.

Itwas e vident that he had no particularwish tosecure the alliance of Russiaat the expense of losing


that of the British ; but he could not be persuaded

to give up hisviewsregarding Peshawur,which heconsidered an integral part of the Affghan kingdom. In 1836, our intercourse with Dost Mohum

mudwasviewe dwith a jealouseye by the Maharajah, andwhen Captain Wade visited Lahore atthe end of that year, itwassurmised that he wasabout to proce e d to Cabul, and the questionwase ven put to the author of thiswork by Runje e tSingh, as to whe ther thiswasnot the real motivewhich induce d the political agent to visit the Punjab ? At thisperiod, an ideawasentertained by theBritish authorities, that the possession of Affghan

istanwould open awide field fortraffic,while therestoration of Shah Soojahwas scarce ly contem

plated as ameasure in anyway like ly to forwardsuch an object. The chief motive for Captain

Wade ’svisit to Lahore at the period alluded to,was to induce the Maharajah to withdrawhis

troopsfrom the vicinity of Shikarpore , or, in other

words, renounce the conquest of Scinde ; andbefore this object was eventually obtained, the

Maharajah secured, what he considered of equalimportance , the safe ty of Peshawurbyan arrangementwhereby he should have to dealwith ShahSoojah instead of the Ameer Dost Mohummud,

who hadalready beaten histroopsat Jumrood.

Though Runje e t Singh had contented himself

with the capture and possession of Peshawur, hemay have contemplated at one time the e xtension

ofhisvictoriesbeyond the Khyber Pass; but later

270 answe r or run sums.

independence ; and though the irWeakened condi

tion forbidse ven achance of the ir regaining the ir

fre edom, we se e the bold and indomitable spirit

of the Poles kindle up at intervals, unhappily howeverwith no other e ffect than that ofmaking theiryoke heavier. Again, in Circassia, though Russia

hasforyearsendeavoured to deprive herof herin

de pendence , the bloody strugglesagainst herover

bearing foe have convinced the latter that the love

of fre edom isyet undiminished.

The catastrophe in Affghanistan, whereby the

British troop who had overcome the Affghans, andmarched through the different defilesof the Bolan

Pass, ascende d the Kojack he ights, and in short ,conquered the country from the Industo Cabul

’

were destroyed, shewsclearly the risk towhich in.vadersare exposed, evenwhen e verything appearsto be tranquilly se ttled. A brave pe oplewill ne versubmit quie tly to invasion, however powerful theinvading foe may be , and the result isforthe most

part disastrous to the latter. The more recent

attempt of the Sikhsto invade British Indiais, per

haps, the most daring feat on record. At the out~

se t they had vast advantages on the ir side , suffi

cient to raise the hopesOf asemi-barbarouspeople

to the highest pitch, andye t, in howshort a space

of time was the ir army almost annihilated, andthe ir very kingdom placed at the disposal Of thepe ople againstwhom they had dared to wage war!Itwasnot the least of the Sikh advantages, that thepeople of the country were already underafore ign

H ISTORY OF TH E sums. 27 1

yoke , and it was considered not impossible that in

the e vent Ofany'

rnarkedsuccesson the part of the

invaders, the Natives of India might, instead of

Opposing the ir irruption, be ready to join them in

e xpe lling the British. The Sikhs had certainlycalculated on thiskind Of support.

Fardifferentwere ourprospectsin Affghanistan,

the nativesofwhich country thirste d forthe blood ofitsinvaders, andwere de termined to lose no oppor

tunity Of revenging the injuries inflicte d by the

British, in forcing on them a king whom theydespised.

Runje e t Singh, aswe have shewn in the outlineof hiswarlike care er, e xperienced sad disastersin

his first attempt at the conquest of Cashmere ,owing to the inclemency Of the northern climate .

H e no doubt dreade d the Operation of the same

cause , in the e vent of his invading Cabul ; in fact,the conquest of Affghanistan was ne ver a great

object of his ambition, since the countrywasnotonly in itse lf difficult of access, and inhospitable in

the depth ofwinter, but, e ven if acquired, its re

sources were Of too scanty a nature to renderthe ir acquisition worth the risk ofwarfare .

Though thus himse lf convinced of the impolicy

of invadingAffghanistan, Runje e t didnot oppose theviews Of the British. They appeared feasible tothat power, and tended to secure his possessionsbeyond the Indus. Whe ther he e ver contem

plated disastrous consequences may be doubtful,

though he was Often heard to remark, that the

272 mSTORr or TH E sums.

Britishcertainlywere greatwarriors, againstwhomno enemy could stand, but in their politicalarrangements, they appeare d often to mistake thecharacterof the people they had to deal with.

This remark he illustrated by referring to the

organization and management Of ourown troops,instancing the mutiny of the 47th regiment,

Native Infantry, at Barrakpore . H owdid it

happen, he would ask, with troops rece ivingregular pay and pensions, and commanded by

British officers; while an occurrence of the kind

ne ver takes place in my army, the soldiers of

which are often sixmonthsin arrears, and receive

no pensions?”

Acting on the firm treaty Of alliance , whichexisted be twe en the two governments, Runjeet

Offered to aid the British, not only in allowingafre e passage through his dom inions to Captain

Wade and the Prince Timoor, but by furnishinga

Sikh contingent to cc- Operate with the British

troopsin forcing the KhyberPass.

W e are inclined to be lie ve , that while thuscordially aiding us in our attempts, he almost.

ridiculed the expense hisallieswere about to incurforsuch aworthless Object ; and ye t, the ideathatthe British, and not himse lf, should be the con

querors of Affghanistan, disturbed him, and he

e ven shed tearswhen he heard of the victorious

progress of ourarmy, though seem ing thereby to

e xpress his joy at our success. This apparent

inconsistency may not be very clearly understood

H ISTORY OF TH E 81 10 13.

a viewof se e ing the Maharajah and conversingwith him, than from any pecuniary consideration .

Ourse cond visit was made underpeculiarcircumstances —for the e xpress purpose of trying the

efl‘icacy Of e lectricity and galvanism in removingthe Maharajah ’

scomplaint. The formeragent had

be en recommended by Dr. H . who occupied thesomewhat anomalous position Of Physician and

Captain at the court Of Lahore . DoctorH . wasan adventurer, and started from L oodianahwiththe intention of subduing all the countriesacrossthe Sutlej ; he e ven hoiste d the American flag atL oodianah, and collected arabble to attack som e

villages across the Sutlej ; his success, as mighthave be en forese en,wasune qual to hiswishes, andhe found hisway to Lahore ,where he remaine d

forsome years, and e ventually proce e ded to Cabul.H e is nowwe be lieve in his own country. H is

plan of galvanizing the Maharajah me t with a

ready consent on the part Of the latter, but thee xorbitant sum which the doctor demande d forconstructing a galvanic battery sterling)naturally disguste d his royal patient, who threatened to wreak his vengeance on DoctorH . if he

did not speedily leave hisdominions. Dr. H . ,we llknowing the character of the man he had to dealwith , lost no time in making his escape to Loodianah ! Acting on the hint, howe verj the Maharajah de termined that the galvanism should beapplied to hisfe eble frame , and the author of thisworkwasaccordingly sent to him to perform the


Operation. We began by constructing agalvanicbattery, andwith an e lectrical apparatus, supplie dfrom the Agradepot, by order of the Governorofthe North-western Provinces, the late Lord M e t

calfe ,we accompanied the political agent to Lahorein the end of 1836. After some de lay, adaywasappointed for e lectrifying the Maharajah. The

machine was se t up and the jar charged, but adifficulty arose on the part of hisH ighness

’

s at

tendants,whowere afraid that the shock might beattended by fatal consequences. At length the

Maharajah begged of them to be quie t, and said he

would take the B igle e (e lectricity.) We purpose ly

put asmall charge in the Leyde n phial, and the

Maharajah rece ive d it without e vincing any par

ticular emotion. On witnessing the Slight e ffect

on the irmaster, all the courtiers entreated thatwewould give them a shock ; and this time We re

solve d to give them its full e ffect ! The M inister

Dhyan Singh joined handswith Jemadar Khooshyal Singh, and be with others, until achainwasformed of the whole party present in the durbar.

The jarbe ing nowcharged to the full extent, they

re ce ived a powerful shock,which made them all

jump. Not making allowance for the difference inthe charge , the Maharajah naturally rece ived the

credit of possessing astouter heart and strongernervesthan any of his suite ; and this first trialwas satisfactory to all parties. Khooshyal Singhsuggested, thatwe should teach some one the art

of e lectrifying the Maharajah ; but to thisproposalT 2


we decidedly objected, though willing to continueour own services as long as they might be re

quired.

‘

Galvanismwasnext tried, but thisthe Maharajahdid not approve of, and requested the e lectrical

shocksto be repeated at intervals,whichwasaccordingly done , and might e ventually have be en of

use , but the visit of Sir Henry Fane , on the occa

sion of the marriage of Nonehal Singh, interrupte d

the course of experiments. W e endeavoure d ,during the course Of operations, to e xplain the

wonderful rapidity of e lectricity, and in what waythe Maharajah might communicate through it, in

an instant of time ,with the most distant parts of

the kingdom, but Runje e t Singh, though curious

on the subject,wasrather sceptical on the latterpoint.

To the use of m edicine generally the Maharajahe xpresse d amarked dislike , and hardly e ver tookany, unless it was administered by his favouritephysician, Aze e zoode en. H e nowconce ived thatour remedieswere too powerful for himse lf andhispe ople ; inde ed, on one occasion,wherewewererequested to prescribe for one of his soldiers, herecommended the men to take only half the dosewe thought necessary to re commend. H e looke d

upon Englishsurge onsasskilful in Operations, andin one case where all the hake ems (native physi

The Maharajahwasmuchamused at ourcharging the jarout of him,

and discharging it through the Prime M inister.

278 H ISTORY OF TH E su ms.

to asmall portion Of the fiery liquor, he still used

the opium, so that little could be expected from

remedial means. On ourfirst visit tohim,wewereconducted by some of his soldiers through the

Rambaghat Umritsir, but on re turning, the sentry

would not allowus to pass by the same route , andwe had to make a long circuit in order to reach

General Ventura’s house . Notice Of this uncivil

conductwasgiven to the Maharajah, who begge dOfusto inform him what punishment we de eme d

necessary, and whe ther the man’

s ears or nose

should be cut Off. We objecte d to e ither, and

requested that the Maharajahwould think no moreOf the matter. H owever, the following incidentwillshowthat he didnot entire ly forge t the circumstance .

A Native doctoraccompanied us to Umritsir, and

knowing that he had only to demand anything inourname to obtain it, made frequent applications

to the court. At length Dhyan Singh became

astonished at the applications, andwrote anote to

uson the subject. Ghoolam M ohummudwasthusdiscovered, andwe threatened to punish him in a

signal manner, but the Maharajah craved his for

giveness, andasan inducement forus to grant hisrequest, brought to our recollection, that he had

at our instance Spared aman’

searsornose .

From the frequent opportunitieswe enjoyed of

conversingwith the Maharajah,he acquired friendlyfe e lingstowardsus, and on ourtaking leave Of himforafewdays, previousto the marriage ofhisgrandson, he insisted on our conducting the Comman

H ISTORY OF TH E su ms. 279

der—in- chie f to hiscourt ! Itwas in vain that wepleade d ourhumble situation of Assistant - surge onin the Honourable Company’s Service , urging thatsuch an honourmust devolve on the political agentOfthe north-west frontiers H e said thismight beall very true , but thatwewere his(the Maharajah’s)friend and medical adviser, and that he wouldprefer our undertaking the task. In short, hewould admit Of no explanation orre fusal, and histreasurerwas ordered to disburse the ne cessaryfundsforproviding a marriage dress! The affairwas ridiculous enough, though the Maharajahwasperfectly in earnest, and we were obliged to prom ise thatwe would re turnwith the Commander- in

chie f or the Jungca“ Lord, e itheras an attendantupon orin charge of that high functionary.

It may not be here out of place , to give an ex

ample Of the momentouse ffectssome timesSpringing from humble causes. In his negociationswithCaptain Wade , the political agent, the Maharajahbe came annoyed at some de lay, and de termined to

ge t rid of the political agent, not by se nding him

away from Lahore , but by taking his own departureand leaving the agent to his solitary cogitations.

One e vening, the Fuke er Aze ezoode en called upon

uswith the Maharajah’scompliments, saying, itwasthe wish of the latter, thatwe should accompany

him on the morrow, and that a tent would bepitched for our reception. Knowing nothing of

Literally, the Battle L ord.

280 H ISTORY OF TH E sums.

the cause which induced the Maharajah to leave

Lahore ,we of course promised to attend to hiswishes. Soon after the fuke erhad taken his de

parture , howe ver, we were informed of the true

nature of the case . Thiswas awkward for thepolitical agent, andappeared like ly to be followedby seriousconse quence s, for the Sikh troopswerethen on the eve of attacking Shikarpore ,with aviewto the conquest of Scinde . Whatwas to bedone ? W e suggeste d that the political agentshould accompany usin the morning to the camp

of the Maharajah,when an opportunitymight occurfor renewing the negociations. Accordingly, earlyne xt morningwe le ft Lahore , and reached the camp,where an e legant tentwasprepared forourrece ption. Runj e e t soon learned tidings Of Captain

Wade ’s arrival, and sawplainly that he had be e nout- manoeuvred. The issue was, that the negocia~tionswere renewed, and the anne xation of Scinde

pre vented. Thislittle incident ismere ly recordedas an instance of avictory in the political depart

ment over the Lion Of the Punjab,”

efl'

ecte d

through the accidental instrume ntality of an hum

ble individual.From our incidental mention of the wish of the

Maharajah to deprive the sentry Of hisearsornose

as a punishment for insolence , it may be thought

that Runje e t’

s disposition was crue l . So far

from this be ing the case , he was an exceptionto oriental monarchs in this respect, and ne verwantonly inflicted e ither capital punishment or


the imprisonmentwould at once have be en dis

closed. The unfortunate SOOltan Khan, of Bhember,wasalso one of those menwho had verymuchannoye d the Maharajah by his independent orrebellious conduct, and though his general had induced thé unfortunate man to accompany him to

Lahore under false pre tences and promises, theMaharajah inflicted no further punishment upon

him than imprisonment of atolerably long duration.

Not willing that he should die under hishands,Sooltan Khanwashanded over to GoolahSingh ofJummoo, aman onwhose vigilance the Maharajahcould place implicit re liance .

Runje et hasbe en accused Of ill- treating SooltanKhan in thismatter, but holding the post the latterdid

, hisrebe lliousconductwas like ly to have be enfatal to the Maharajah’

sre tention of the province

of Cashmere , the acquisition Ofwhich had cost him

so much labour, and so heavy asacrifice of troops.

No other e ffectual meansof pre venting furtherre

be llion on the part of Sooltan Khan occurre d to

Runje e t, than making him aprisonerforlife .

Runje et Singh, though he had become the pos

sassor of the Punjab in aratherunscrupulousman

ner,wasaverse to any disturbance bywhich e ven

private individualsmight be deprived of the ir pro

perty ; and to thieves of all descriptionshe hada

particularaversion. In the palace at Lahore , there

was an Open verandah,where he was some time s

accustomed to amuse himse lf with the bowandarrow, directing the latter against one of these

H I STORY OF TH E sums. 283

criminals, but the arrowwaspurpose ly blunted," andse ldomdidmuch injury to the individual exposed to it.It was only, however, when sickness pre ventedthe Maharajah from taking exercise , that. he thusadopted the oddwhim of using the bowandarrow.

It isnot Often that acrue l Spirit iswitnessed inamanwho could amuse hisle isure hoursin fe edingtame pige ons and dom estic fowlswith his ownhand, and whose kindness to children was so

marked. Even in casesof murder, the Maharajah

some times evinced adegre e of leniency (which according to our ideas of justice may be termed

misplaced) provided the criminal had, e itherhimse lfdone good service to the state , orwas relate d tothose who had done so. Ram Singh, the e ldest

son Of JemadarKhooshyal Singh, asalready mentioned, had killed Bishen Singh, son ofChe th Singh,commandant, and his victim being a universal

favorite , the murderous act was execrated by all,and vengeance called for, but the Jemadarwas aman in great power, and the Maharajahforgave thecrime committed by hisson, much to the surpriseof e very one .

There were many natives Of Hindostan in the

service of the Maharajah, and among others.desertersfrom the British. It so happened that a

trooperof the 3rd light cavalry killed his soobadar

at Thannessirwhile on escort duty. The man

made hisescape acrossthe Sutlej ,andwastraced to

Name d aTodaby the Natives.


Lahore ,where itwasreported he had taken servicewith the Maharajah . Two men were accordinglyse lected from the regiment for the purpose of pro

ce eding to the Punjabanddiscovering the murderer,who waswe ll known to both . They were dis

guised in plain clothes, and on reaching Lahore ,had the Maharajah’s permission to take e very

opportunity of examining his troops, in order to

discover the murderer. One of the men was aMussulman, and the otheraHindoo . The former

wasdiligent in his search and enquiries, but the

latter soon gave up both,wasoften at the Durbar,and rece ived particularattentionsfrom the Jemadar,Khooshyal Singh. One day the Mussulman oh

served the man he was in search of he was agunnerin the Jemadar

’s service . On ascertaining

thispoint, he gave notice to the Maharajah that

he hadfound out the murderer. H e wassummone dto the Durbar, andrequested to state the particularsof his discovery. The Maharajah imme diate lyre ferre d to Kooshyal Singh, ordering him to de liverup the murderer. The Jemadar asserted that nosuch individualwasin his service , and dared theinformer to point him out. The Mussulman re

marked, that he might not then be able to do so,asmeansm ight have be en taken to ge t rid Of him,

but he maintaine d thathe had se en him among theJemadar’s artillerymen . Though e very way inclined to Showthe utmost attention to the wishesof the British agent in discovering the murderer,the Maharajah sawreadily, howdifficult a task it


appeared most anxious that the murderershould be

discovered, but we knewthe characterOf Runje e tSingh toowe ll to suppose for an instant, that

'

he

did not heartily rejoice at the failure of the mission,

not that he wished to scre en a murderer, but hewas anxious to prove to the British authorities,thathe never entertained men guilty of such crimes,ordeserters, if he knewthem to be so. But if the

Maharajah possessed any scruples on the subject,none such existedwith hisfriend the Jemadar,wholooked upon such offences as venial, and Ofte nblamed hismasterforhisalliance with the British

government Of India. H e looked upon Runje e t

Singh asthe greatest monarch in the world, andfancie d that nothing could be easier than the inva

sion of the British territoriesby the Lion of the

Punjab.

” Dhyan Singh had no particular liking for

the British, but he knewthe irpowerand feared it .

At the court of Lahore ,we have se en in howfriendly amanner the nativesof othercountriesofEurope were rece ived and entertained by the

Maharajah, and ye t only one native OfBritain e ver

entered hisservice asan officer. GeneralsVentura,Alard, and Court were great favourites not only

with the Maharajah, but with Dhyan Singh,

Sooche t Singh, and other influential men about the

court of Lahore . The truth is, that the Sikh

sirdars disliked the reserved and stiff manners of

the British officers, contrasting it unfavourablywiththat of the Frenchmen, Italians, Germans, andothers,who resorted to the Punjab. To the Maha


rajah himse lf, the utmost politenesswas alwaysshown by hisBritish visitors, and he sawnothing tofind faultwith in the irconduct to him but not so

hisprime ministerand great sirdars. They expect

ed civility at least, andwhen disappointed in this,they naturally forme d adislike to the partiescon

cerne d. The late Dhyan Singh hasOften remarke d

to ourse lves, that he was disposed to like the

British, but he could not comprehend them, and

was annoyed at the ir not treating him with the

respectwhich e very gentleman e xpects from ano

the r— adding I am asgood as the y, a Rajpoot

andasoldier. Though apologizing for ourcountrymen,we fearthe reasonsassigne d by the rajah

have toomuch foundation in truth. The ignoranceof the language of the Punjabe esofte n exposed the

Officersof the Que en’

sservice ,whowent to Lahore ,to the imputation of intentional rudeness. At adinner party given by the political agent to the

late SirHenry Fane and his staff at Lahore in

1837,web appened to be sitting ne xt to Sooche t

Singh ,who was invited as a spe ctator. H e wasmuch de lighted at the sight of the guests, and

se e ing them addressing each other, he thought itdue politenessfor himse lf to speak to some of the

general staff, expecting acivil answerat the least.

But to the rajah’samazement, hisquestion, though

put in good Oordoo, only e licited a stare ! H e

made se veral ine ffe ctual e ffortsto enterinto friendlyconversation, when his temper at length becameruffled, andhe appealed to usif hislanguage were


not inte lligible H indostane e ? We assented.

“ H owthen is it, he indignantly enquired, that GeneralL. Colone l D. and others do not reply to m e

W e pleaded the ir ignorance of the language ; but

the rajah shook hishead and insiste d that it waspride on the ir part, and that they appeare d to

despise him . The sirdars are in general polite

m en, and the irmannersuch astomake afavourable

impression on strangers. The ir language , whe naddressing you in the Punjabe e issoft and pleas

ing. No gutturals, andfewdentalsfind a place inthe de livery, in short, it may be called the Doric

of the east. Still it may be difficult of attainme ntto British officers, from the want of opportunity,here tofore , of hearing it Spoke n. Our intercourse

with the Punjab of late ,will remove this Obstacle ,and the Punjabe e will no doubt become afavouritestudy . Runje e t Singh spoke it fluently, though

he knewOordoo tolerably we ll, but pre ferredconversing in the former.

The difficulty Sxperienced by the poor andne edy in presenting the irpe titionsto kings, iswe llknown in Europe , and existsin astill more markeddegre e in the East, not only among crowned heads,but the ir meanest attendants. In order to overcome thisdifficulty, and learn all the grie vancesof

hispe ople , the Maharajah hadaplace at the palaceaccessible to all, where theirpe titionswere lodge d,and rece ived into abox, the key ofwhichwaske ptin his own possession . By this means, be ac

quired information that could ne ver otherwise have


appointed if he were to adopt the plan pursue d bythe Uagree bahadur. H e wasanxiousto imitateusinwarfare and discipline , but there were someOld de ep- roote d practiceswhich he could not fore

go, and though liberal and lavish to some , he wasin his Old age e xtreme ly avaricious, and fond of

money. We have alluded to the Maharajah’

s

love for horses. Itwillsurprise ourreadersto be

told, that he had no Arab horsesin hisstud. The

e xcuse he made for this, was the high prices

demanded for the animals, which he said he

could not afford. H is favouriteswere awhitebre ed, chiefly found at Dhune e and otherplacesin

the Punjab. H e had se veral Persian horses and

Toorke esin hispossession, the latter being strong

serviceable animals, forwhich he Often paid highprices. The Maharajah was an exce llent horseman, and continued to take e xercise on horsebackto the latest period Of his life , e ven when obligedto be lifte d on the animal’s back. H e wasamusedonce at se e ing aBritish Officermounted on acame l,and did not appearto envy his rough seat, thoughhe employe d the animal in hisarmy mountedwithswive ls, and also for his sowarswhen bearingmessages. H e possessed great numbers of ele

phants, and the ir howdahs and trappings weresplendidly adornedwith gold andsilver.It has be en suppose d that Runje e t importe d

cannon from England and France , but thisse emsvery doubtful, since , under the superintendance ofM onsieurCourt, be manufactured gunsOfaserviceable kind, asfully proved in afteryears.


We have nowgiven an outline Of the greatfounderof the Sikh monarchy ; hiswarlike care eriswe llknown to English readers, through Prinsep

’

s

L ife of Runj ee t Singh, compiled from records Oh

tained by the late Captain Murray, and the pre

se nt SirC . M .Wade . We have not copied e ither.

Ourfirst source of informationwasahistory of theMaharajah kept by a M ussulman family in the

Punjab, nativesOf_Wittala, and care fully translate d

by ourse lvesfrom the work rendered into Oordoo

by ourworthy friend Abdoolashah. We at first

intended to leave out the military care er Of the

Maharajah, but wishn to form a continuoushistory, we trust our readerswill excuse us, if

the y do not find anything newin this portion of

ourwork . Our only regre t is, that we had not

the good fortune Of knowing the Maharajah at an

earlier period of his care er; but we trust the

opportunities enjoyed by uswere not altoge ther

thrown away. We have endeavoured to give the

character of the Maharajah in its true light, as

we ll ashisviews regarding his allies, the British.

Among all the princesof the East, there were nonewho e verpreserved the iralliance with greatercarethan Runje e t Singh ; and it will be se en in the

se que l, that the British government in Indiawasnot unmindful of thiswhen securing to hisson thethrone of Lahore .

E ND OF VOLUM E 1 .

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