CHAPTER VIII.

War with Holkar—Ameer Khan in Bundelcund—Disastrous retreat and disconfiture of Colonel Monson—Holkar invades Hindoostan—His siege of Delhi—His depredations in the Doab—Battle of Deeg—Rout at Furruckabad—Storming of Deeg—Siege of Bhurtpoor—The failure of four assaults—Disputes with Scindia.

Glowing as were the governor-general’s descriptions of the results of the peace, and his predictions of its permanency, there was at this very time one quarter from which disturbance must have been foreboded. Holkar had been violently expelled from Poonah, and as yet no amicable arrangement had been made with him. Any steps he had subsequently taken were hostile. He had promised to join the confederates, and with this view had made a peace with Scindia, which promised him large accessions of territory. After hostilities commenced, he waited with the usual Mahratta cunning to ascertain the probable result before committing himself. At first he is believed not to have been dissatisfied with the reverses which the confederates sustained, because by their weakness he hoped to make himself more powerful; but when he saw them threatened with annihilation his views underwent a change, and he would probably have cast in his lot with them had he not been anticipated by the rapid course of events. Before the treaties of peace were concluded, he had advanced towards Hindoostan, and kept hovering on the frontiers of the Rajah of Jeypoor, now a British ally, in a manner so suspicious that the governor-general instructed Lord Lake to enter into communication with him. His lordship accordingly, on the 29th of January, 1804, addressed a letter to him, stating the terms on which the British government were willing to leave him in the unmolested exercise of his authority, but requiring as a pledge of friendly intentions that he should withdraw into his own territory, and cease from exacting tribute from British allies.

After some delay Holkar sent vakeels to Lord Lake with the following proposals—1. That he should be permitted to collect the chout agreeably to the customs of his ancestors. 2. That the ancient possessions formerly held by his family (twelve of the finest districts in the Doab, and a district in Bundelcund) should be restored to him. 3. That the country of Hurrcanah, formerly in possession of the Holkar family, should be ceded to him. 4. That this country should be guaranteed to him, and a treaty concluded with him similar to that with Scindia. These proposals were at once rejected as extravagant, and Holkar’s real designs were manifested by attempts to shake the fidelity of the Company’s tributaries and dependants. He had also, while communicating with Lord Lake, addressed a letter to Sir Arthur Wellesley, in which he demanded the cession of several districts in the Deccan, as originally belonging to the Holkar family, and concluded thus: “Countries of many hundred coos shall be overrun and plundered. Lord Lake shall not have leisure to breathe for a moment; and calamities will fall on lacs of human beings, in continual war, by the attacks of my army, which overwhelms like the waves of the sea.” Not satisfied with these insulting menaces, Holkar openly solicited the aid of Scindia in a meditated attack on the British territories, and commenced plundering those of the Rajah of Jeypoor. War was thus virtually declared, and Holkar was the aggressor.

Lord Lake having resolved, in consequence of Holkar’s proceedings, to make a forward movement, sent the heavy part of artillery back to Agra, and marched from his encampment at Biana on the 9th February, 1804, proceeding south-west in the direction of Hindown, which was reached on the 20th. While here, occupying a position which covered the principal roads into the Company’s territories, Lord Lake received a letter from Holkar, written in the most friendly spirit, and observing that “while the flame of contention can be extinguished by the water of reconciliation, it is unfit to bring matters to the extremity of war.” So sincere was he in his friendship, that even before Lord Lake’s letter reached him he had intended, he said, to march homewards. Though aware how hollow these professions were, his lordship answered him in his own oriental style, telling him how glad he was that the purity of his mind was unsullied by the dust of enmity or revenge. At the same time he candidly told him that he was aware of his correspondence with some discontented chiefs, and would resent any aggression on the territories of an ally. Leaving Hindown on the 8th of March, Lord Lake turned north-west to Ramghur, and was there waited upon by Holkar’s vakeels, who delivered a letter from their master, in which he expressed himself as follows: “Friendship requires that, keeping in your view the long existing unanimity between me and the English Company, you act according to what my vakeels shall represent to you; and your doing so shall be fruitful of benefit, and advantage; if not, my country and property are upon the saddle of my horse; and, please God, to whatever side the reins of the horses of my brave warriors can be turned, the whole of the country in that direction shall come into my possession.” The proposals with which the vakeels were intrusted were those mentioned above. The vakeels accompanied them with a good deal of insolent bravado, to which Lord Lake briefly replied, “that it was not the custom of the English to boast of their power, but that in the event of a rupture, Holkar would probably find that he had considerably overrated his own.”

There being now no doubt as to Holkar’s hostile intentions, confirmed as they were by overt acts of aggression, a combined movement of the British troops took place, Colonel Murray, who commanded in Gujarat, being ordered to enter Malwah for the purpose of prosecuting hostilities in the direction of Indore, Holkar’s capital, and the troops stationed above the Ghauts preparing to operate against his possessions in the Deccan, while the commander-in-chief continued his march westward through the pass of Ballakeera, towards the frontiers of Jeypoor. On the 28th of April he arrived at Tonga, only fifteen miles east of the city of Jeypoor, and after a halt of a few days, turned south in the direction of Nurwahee, which was reached on the 8th of May. Offensive operations on the part of the British were now about to be commenced. On the 10th of May a detachment under Colonel Don was sent against Tonk Rainpoora, a Rajpoot fort situated sixty miles south of Jeypoor, and the only one which Holkar possessed north of the Chumbul. It was a place of some strength; but proved an easy acquisition, having been captured by a sudden and unexpected onset on the 15th of May. Immediately on this capture Holkar recrossed the Chumbul, and was closely followed, a detachment of three native battalions, whom Lord Lake had sent forward under Colonel Monson to Jeypoor, with the troops of Jeypoor and other auxiliaries, pressing him on the one side, while Colonel Murray from Gujarat was moving against him on the other. These two detachments being considered sufficient to keep Holkar in check, Lord Lake determined to march back to Agra, as the troops were suffering dreadfully from the hot winds, and the fields were so burned up that the cattle were perishing from want of forage. On arriving at the old encampment at Hindown on the 28th of May, the disagreeable intelligence was received that a party of British troops had been cut up in Bundelcund. Colonel Fawcett, who had succeeded to the command there in consequence of the death of Colonel Powell, had detached seven companies of sepoys to take a small fort about five miles distant from his position at Koonch. The killedar, on being summoned, offered to surrender next morning if the firing ceased. These terms being agreed to, the killedar employed the interval in sending notice to Ameer Khan, then in the neighbourhood with a large body of horse. About 7000 of them were immediately despatched, and falling unexpectedly on two companies of sepoys and about fifty artillerymen in the trenches, slew every man of them, officers and privates, and then carried off all the artillery, consisting of three guns, two howitzers, and the tumbrils belonging to them. The other five companies succeeded with difficulty in making their escape.

Lord Lake continued his march under very distressing circumstances, multitudes perishing under the burning winds. “Young men,” says Thorn, “who set out in the morning full of spirits, and in all the vigour of health, dropped dead immediately on reaching the encampment ground, and many were smitten on the road by the overpowering force of the sun, especially when at the meridian, the rays darting downwards like a torrent of fire.” The misery produced by the heat was much increased by its necessary consequence, a scarcity of water, and by hordes of Mewattee robbers, who kept close on the track of the army, pillaging and murdering whenever they found an opportunity. Agra was at length reached on the 5th of June, and the troops moved to occupy their allotted cantonments during the rainy season. The first campaign thus closed with no very satisfactory results.

The force which Lord Lake when he set out on his return left with Colonel Monson to keep Holkar in check, amounted to five battalions of sepoys and about 3000 irregular horse. With these, intending to co-operate with Colonel Murray from Gujarat, he entered Holkar’s territory by the Mokundra Pass, and sent forward a detachment, which took the hill-fort of Hinglaisghur by escalade. He had afterwards advanced fifty miles beyond the pass in the direction of the Chumbul, when, on the 7th of July, information reached him that Holkar, who had retired beyond that river into Malwah, had recrossed it with his whole army. Colonel Monson hastened to meet him, but soon found it expedient to desist. His force had been greatly weakened by the absence of two detachments, the one which had taken Hinglaisghur, and was not yet returned, and another which he had been obliged to send off for a supply of grain, of which he had barely enough for two days’ consumption. He was moreover greatly staggered by a report that Colonel Murray, on whose co-operation he had calculated, intended to fall back on the Mhye. Influenced by these considerations, he resolved to retrace his steps in the direction of the Mokundra Pass. On the 8th of July, at four in the morning, he began his retreat by sending off his baggage and stores to Sonara. He remained on the ground of encampment with his troops drawn up in order of battle till nine, and then, as no enemy appeared, continued his march, leaving the irregular cavalry under Lieutenant Lucan to follow in half an hour, and bring him intelligence of Holkar’s motions. He had made a march of twelve miles when he was startled by the intelligence that Holkar had come up with his whole army, completely defeated Lieutenant Lucan, and made him prisoner. Only waiting so long as to obtain full confirmation of the disaster, Colonel Monson continued his march, and reached the pass on the 9th without molestation.

On the 10th of July the Mahratta cavalry appeared, and next morning, when their numbers had greatly increased, Holkar sent to demand the surrender of the guns and small arms. This was of course refused; and both parties prepared for the encounter. Holkar, dividing his horse into three bodies, charged the detachment vigorously on the front and flanks; but the advantageous position and valour of the defenders enabled them to repel all his attacks. On being thus foiled, he drew off about four miles, and was joined by his infantry and artillery. Colonel Monson, having no doubt of a renewed attack, and believing his post not to be tenable, resolved to retire upon Kottah. After two marches, though harassed by the enemy, and suffering still more from the excessive rains, he succeeded in reaching it—but it was only to meet a great disappointment. He expected both shelter and provisions. The Rajah of Kottah refused to give either, and the retreat was continued towards the Gaumuch ford on the Chumbul. The distance from Kottah was only seven miles, and yet, from the incessant rain and the softness of the soil, a whole day was spent in accomplishing it. The ford was then impassable, but was crossed on the following day. A halt had become necessary in order to procure some grain, and on the 15th, when the march was resumed, the guns sunk so deep in the mud that they could not be extricated, and there was no alternative but to spike and abandon them. The Rajah of Boondee, one of the chiefs with whom the British had recently entered into alliance, was requested to secure them. This he could not do; but it ought to be mentioned, to his honour, that he proved a faithful ally in the face of Holkar’s whole army.

On the 17th of July the troops reached the Chumbelee, usually a mere rivulet, but then so swollen that it was not fordable. The artillerymen, however, were sent across on elephants, and proceeded to the fort of Rampoorah. Nearly ten days were spent in conveying the rest of the troops across, partly on elephants and partly on rafts. Great privations were suffered during this delay; many men too were drowned in crossing; and what was even more distressing, many of the wives and children of the sepoys, who had, perhaps necessarily, but certainly not humanely, been left to the last on the opposite side, were barbarously murdered by the Wheels under the very eyes of their husbands and fathers, who were unable to give them any protection. On the 20th of July the whole corps reached Rampoorah, where a reinforcement of two battalions of sepoys, with four six-pounders and two howitzers, a body of cavalry, and a supply of grain forwarded by Lord Lake from Agra, was waiting for them. Notwithstanding this relief, Colonel Monson judged it prudent to continue his retreat to Kooshalghur, where he expected to be joined by six of Scindia’s battalions and twenty-one guns, under Sedasheo Bhow Bhaskur, the officer whom Holkar defeated at Poonah, and to obtain a stock of provisions that would enable him to keep the field. His force, now consisting of five battalions and six companies of sepoys, reached the Bunass on the 22d of August. The river was so swollen that it could not be forded; but advantage was taken of those boats which were found to send the treasure across, and six companies of the 21st regiment, with orders to proceed to Kooshalghur.

Early on the morning of the 23rd of August, large bodies of Holkar’s cavalry appeared, and encamped at the distance of about four miles. The river was next day fordable, and most of the baggage, and four battalions, with a howitzer, were sent across. The enemy’s cavalry also crossed in great numbers to the right and left of the British position. At four in the afternoon their infantry and artillery arrived, and began to cannonade the battalion and pickets still left on the south bank to protect the remainder of the baggage and camp followers. By a spirited charge the enemy were driven back, and even some of their guns momentarily captured; but they soon rallied, and led by Holkar in person, charged in such overpowering numbers, that the handful of troops opposed to them were nearly annihilated. In consequence of this disaster, Colonel Monson was obliged to abandon the baggage, in order to facilitate his retreat to Kooshalghur, which he reached on the night of the 25th. He had expected to find a powerful auxiliary in Sedasheo Bhow, and was surprised to find that he had already declared himself an enemy, by attempting to levy a contribution on the town, which belonged to the Rajah of Jeypoor, and demanding the surrender of the elephants, treasure, and baggage of the British detachment, which had been deposited in the fort. When this demand was refused, he had actually cannonaded the place, but without effect.

On the morning of the 26th of August, the whole of the enemy’s cavalry encamped in separate bodies around the detachment, whose difficulties were greatly increased by the detection of a treacherous correspondence of some of the native officers with Holkar. Though the most energetic measures were taken to check the meditated mischief, two companies of sepoys and a large proportion of the native cavalry deserted. At seven the same evening, Colonel Monson again moved with his troops formed into an oblong, which the enemy attempted in vain to penetrate, and on the night of the 27th reached the ruined fort of Hindown. After resting a few hours he resumed his retreat at one in the morning, but had no sooner cleared the ravines in the vicinity than the enemy’s cavalry made a desperate charge in three divisions. It was repulsed with great bravery and coolness, the sepoys reserving their fire till their assailants were within reach of the bayonet. This was but a short-lived success. About sunset of the 28th, the troops, exhausted with fatigue and hunger, arrived at the Biana Pass, where it was Colonel Monson’s intention to halt during the night. The enemy coming up with their guns did not permit it, and the retreat was continued to the town of Biana. The confusion which had been rapidly increasing now became inextricable, the troops fairly broke, and fled to make the best of their way to Agra, pursued by straggling parties of the enemy as far as Futtehpoor.

In consequence of this disastrous retreat, it became absolutely necessary that Lord Lake should take the field without delay, though the rain was still pouring down in torrents, and large tracts of the country were under water. The troops were accordingly ordered out of cantonments, and the assembled army encamped on the right bank of the Jumma, between Agra and Secundra, on the 27th of September. Not a moment was to be lost. Holkar, at the head of an army which, according to Sir John Malcolm, ¹ “amounted to 92,000 men, of whom 66,000 were cavalry, 7000 artillery, and 19,000 infantry, and 192 pieces of ordnance,” had triumphantly advanced to Muttra, which was abandoned at his approach, and spread consternation over the country. On the 1st of October, 1804, the British army marched northward, and encamped on the 3rd within a mile of Muttra, which, having been abandoned by Holkar, was again in British possession. Flying parties of the enemy scouring the country, had in the meantime fallen in with a party of convalescent sepoys, coming with a convoy of a hundred camels laden with grain for the army, and captured the whole. Holkar’s camp was at Aurung, to the west of Muttra, on the road to Deeg, and General Lake proceeded in that direction on the 7th with the view of attacking it. A surprise was intended, but though the troops sent for the purpose arrived in the neighbourhood of the camp before daylight, the enemy were already mounted, and kept at such a distance that it was impossible to make an effectual charge. The attack was therefore abandoned, and the enemy returned to occupy their camp as before. Another attempt to bring them to action having failed, the army marched from Muttra on the 12th, no longer to the west, but northward in the direction of Delhi. While Lord Lake had been making fruitless attempts at Aurung, Holkar had moved with his brigades and artillery on the Mogul capital, and well nigh succeeded in gaining possession of Shah Alum’s person. The plan was well conceived, and only frustrated by the precaution and gallantry of Colonel Ochterlony, the resident, who, on the first news of the enemy’s approach, had assembled as many troops as possible from the neighbourhood.

The possibility of defending Delhi was very doubtful. The walls were in a shattered state, the ramparts in many places fallen, and the bastions so weak and narrow, that little use could be made of them. When Holkar’s horse made their appearance on the morning of the 7th, the infantry were ordered within the walls. It was intended to employ the irregular cavalry outside, but when they came within sight of the enemy, and might, from the small number which had yet arrived, have charged with success, they positively refused, and finally dispersed. On the morning of the 8th the enemy’s infantry and artillery appeared in sight, and a detachment being pushed forward, opened a heavy cannonade against the south east angle of the city wall. During the cannonade nearly forty feet of the parapet gave way, and by means of batteries erected during the night, the whole parapet was demolished, and partial breaches were even made in the wall. The defenders, urged to exert themselves to the utmost by the inspiring influence of Colonel Ochterlony, repaired the damage, and were even emboldened to make a sortie. It took place on the 10th, and was so successful as to spike the guns of a battery and inflict a considerable loss on the besiegers. Having now little hope of succeeding in this direction, the enemy employed their utmost efforts against the southern face. They were enabled to approach it under cover of gardens and ruins, and soon made a breach in the curtain between the Turcoman and the Ajmere gates. They were unable, however, to avail themselves of this success, as the defenders were able by the 12th effectually to cut off any communication through the breach with the town. During the whole of the 13th an unusual silence prevailed. As the defenders had conjectured, it proved the prelude to a serious attack which was made next morning at daybreak. Under cover of a cannonade which opened from the enemy’s guns in every direction, a large body of infantry, preceded by ladders, made an assault on the Lahore gate. So warm was the reception given them, that they retired in confusion, leaving the ladders behind. Another attack was anticipated, but this was a final effort. News had arrived of the near approach of Lord Lake, and by the morning of the 15th, Holkar and his army were seen in the distance in full retreat.

On the same day when the siege of Delhi was raised, Lord Lake passed the town of Khoosee, where, shortly before, Holkar was said to have had a grand nautch. During the festivity the head of an European soldier who had been caught straggling was brought him. He rewarded the bearer with twelve rupees, and placing the head upon a spear, made the nautch girls dance round it. This anecdote, whether authentic or not, accords well with the other atrocities committed by Holkar and his followers. Fugitives from Colonel Monson’s unfortunate detachment were daily arriving horribly mutilated. Lord Lake, continuing his advance, arrived at Delhi on the 18th, and encamped in two lines between the city and the Jumma. Holkar had in the meantime moved secretly and rapidly to the northward, crossed the Jumma opposite to Paniput, and began to waste the Doab with fire and sword. Lord Lake determined on an immediate pursuit with the cavalry, and with a reserve brigade of infantry under Colonel Don, Major Fraser being in the meantime left in command of the remainder of the army. On the 31st of October, his lordship crossed the Jumma at a ford about three miles from Delhi, and advanced as lightly as possible, no wheel-carriages being allowed, and every fighting man and servant receiving a gratuitous supply of 6 lbs. of flour, which was to last for six days, and be carried by the men themselves. The force, thus equipped, moved rapidly, and arrived on the 3d of November at Shamlee, where Colonel Burn, who had taken a distinguished part as commandant in the defence, had been shut up by a body of Sikhs in Holkar’s service, as he was returning to his former station at Seharunpoor. His detachment was in the greatest distress, many of the Hindoos from refusing to eat beef having remained without food for many days. Much of this suffering having been caused by the inhumanity and violence of the inhabitants, Shamlee was given up to plunder.

After relieving Colonel Burn, and issuing general orders passing a high encomium on him and the officers and men of his detachment for fortitude, patience, and perseverance, Lord Lake marched on the 5th of November in an easterly direction to Mahomedabad, and then south-east to Sherdanah or Suldanah, the residence of the Begum Sumroo, whither Holkar was suspected to have moved, in the hope of inducing her to join him with her force, which consisted of five battalions of well-disciplined sepoys, and about forty pieces of artillery, commanded by European officers. The army now continued south in pursuit of Holkar, part of whose horse were shortly after seen, and continued hovering about the line of march, though he himself was far in advance carrying on his work of devastation. On the 15th of November he was at Furruckabad, thirty-six miles ahead, when Lord Lake, following close in pursuit without tent or baggage, received the agreeable news of a victory gained in the vicinity of Deeg. Deferring the details for the present, we must accompany Lord Lake in his pursuit of Holkar and his cavalry. At daylight of the 17th, the head of the British column reached the skirts of the enemy’s camp, and gave the first intimation of their arrival by sending several rounds of grape into the very heart of it. Immediately thereafter, the cavalry dashed in as fast as they could gallop up, charging and cutting down in all directions. The surprise was most complete, and in a few minutes the whole plain was covered with dead. Holkar himself was one of the first to flee with what troops he had about him, and never stopped till he had crossed the Caline, eighteen miles distant, and taken the road to Mainpoor. The rest of the troops, left to shift for themselves, were cut up or dispersed. The pursuit was continued upwards of ten miles, and as the march during the preceding day and night was fifty-eight miles, the whole ground passed over in the twenty-four hours before new encampment ground was taken up was about seventy miles—“an effort,” says Thorn, “probably unparalleled in the annals of military history, especially when it is considered that it was made after a long and harassing march of 350 miles in the space of a fortnight.” While performing this brilliant exploit, the British loss was only two killed and about twenty wounded. Holkar’s loss was estimated at 3000 killed on the field, and his whole cavalry, which, when he entered Hindoostan, were 60,000, were now reduced to half that number. On this day the army fired three royal salutes, for as many victories—the one, this victory of Furruckabad; the second, the capture by Colonel Wallace of Chandore, the only stronghold of the Holkar family in the Deccan; and the third, the victory of Deeg, of which an account must now be given.

A few days after Lord Lake left Delhi in pursuit of Holkar’s horse, General Fraser set out in pursuit of his brigades and guns, which were known to be within the territories of the Rajah of Bhurtpoor. On the 12th of November he arrived in the neighbourhood of Deeg, and from the surrounding heights discovered the enemy encamped between a deep tank and an extensive morass, their left resting on the fort of Deeg, and their right covered by a fortified village, while their whole position was defended by ranges of batteries which they deemed impregnable. It was determined to attack them on the following morning. Two battalions of sepoys and the irregular cavalry having been left in charge of the baggage, the remaining British force consisted of his majesty’s 76th regiment, the Company’s European regiment, and four sepoy battalions. The right having been selected as the point of attack, the British column, after making a considerable detour southward in order to avoid the morass, arrived about daybreak at the fortified village, and immediately wheeled into line, the 76th regiment and two battalions forming the first, and the other troops the second line. The 76th carried the fortified village with their bayonets, and then running down the hill, charged the first range of guns under a tremendous shower of round, grape, and chain shot. The guns were instantly abandoned by their defenders, who retired to fresh batteries. The Company’s European regiment on arriving at the village, and seeing the 76th so far ahead among the thickest of the enemy, rushed forward to their support, followed by the sepoys. When the second range of guns was about to be attacked, General Fraser fell mortally wounded by a cannon-shot, which carried off his leg, and the command devolved on Colonel Monson. The second range yielded to a charge of bayonets like the first, and battery after battery yielded, till the gallant assailants were carried under the guns of the fort, and suffered some loss. During these exploits a body of the enemy’s horse gained possession of the first range of guns, and turned them on the British rear, till they were gallantly recaptured by only 28 men of the 76th under Captain Norford, though unfortunately at the expense of his own life. The enemy now seeking safety in flight, numbers of them precipitated themselves into the morass and perished, while the rest found protection under the guns of the fort. The British loss was 643 killed and wounded, of whom twenty-three were European officers; the loss of the enemy must have been very great, as no less than 2000 are supposed to have been killed or drowned in attempting to escape. According to the most accurate accounts the enemy’s force consisted of twenty-four battalions, a considerable body of cavalry, and 160 pieces of cannon. Of the last eighty-seven were taken, and among them, much to Colonel Monson’s satisfaction, fourteen of those which he had been obliged to sacrifice during his retreat. Holkar after his rout at Furruckabad had hastened off to Deeg, where the remnants of his defeated infantry and cavalry were now assembled. Lord Lake lost no time in following upon his track, and having on the 28th of November crossed the Jumma by the bridge of boats at Muttra, rejoined the infantry, which were then encamped about three miles to the west. During the month’s separation the cavalry had marched upwards of 500 miles.

While Holkar’s fortunes were thus at the lowest, he obtained an important auxiliary in Runjeet Sing, Rajah of Bhurtpoor, who had already abandoned the alliance which the British formed with him at his own earnest request, and was now openly leagued with their declared enemy. At the battle of Deeg his cavalry fought on the side of Holkar, and the guns of the fort of Deeg, though it belonged to the rajah, not only protected the fugitives of Holkar’s army, but were turned with deadly effect on the British when they attempted to pursue them. From this time his interests and those of Holkar were completely identified, and the British could only regard them as common and inveterate enemies. As the rajah is about to occupy a prominent place in our narrative, some account of him, and of the tribe of Jats to which he belonged, will be necessary.

The Jats—whom Tod, in his History of Rajasthan, has with more ingenuity than success endeavoured to identify with the ancient Gete, and with the Jutes, through whom they might claim a place among our Danish ancestors—had, during the various revolutions in Hindoostan which followed the reign of Aurungzebe, established themselves on the banks of the Jumna. At first they were known chiefly as laborious agriculturists, but in course of time the necessity of self-defence and the temptations of ambition converted them into soldiers. A succession of warlike chieftains turned this change in their character to account. Chooraman, their first leader of note, took a prominent part in the civil contests during the reign of the emperor Mahomed Shah, in the early part of the eighteenth century. His grandson Sooraj Mal was still more distinguished, and claiming both the title of rajah and the rights of an independent sovereign, built the forts of Deeg and Koombher, improved the fortifications of Bhurtpoor, which he made his capital, and raised an army of 30,000 men, with which he joined the Mahratta league against Ahmed Shah Dooranee. A fortunate quarrel with Sedasheo Bhow, the Mahratta chief, made him withdraw from the league, and thus saved him from the carnage at Paniput. During the carnage which followed he managed to obtain possession of Agra, and brought his tribe to the highest pitch of prosperity which it ever attained. At his death, the Jats possessed a territory about 100 miles long by 50 broad, extending along both sides of the Jumna, from the vicinity of Gwalior to that of Delhi. Under his son Nawal Sing this prosperity rapidly declined.

In 1774 Agra was wrested from them by Nujeef Khan, the emperor’s commander-in-chief by name, but really independent, and they possessed little more than Bhurtpoor and the district around it, when Runjeet Sing, the grandson of Sooraj Mal, succeeded. Under him the former prosperity was partially revived, and his revenue, though far short of that of his grandfather, was estimated at from twelve to fifteen lacs. He had a force of about 6000 horse and foot in constant pay, and was reputed to be able on emergencies to raise the number to 50,000. As he was the first chief who applied for alliance with the British in Hindoostan during the war with Scindia, he was liberally treated, and received a free grant of territory adding nearly a third to his former revenue. How ungratefully he requited the favour has been partly seen by his conduct at the battle of Deeg, and will now more fully appear.

On the 1st of December Lord Lake moved in the direction of Deeg, and the following day encamped within sight of it. The reserve under Colonel Don, with the battering train from Agra, did not arrive till the 11th. An interval of nine days was thus spent, partly in reconnoitring and partly in skirmishing with Holkar’s horse, who hovered round in large bodies without being allowed any opportunity of meditated mischief. On the arrival of Colonel Don, the whole army moved in an oblong square, protected on all sides so as to be secure from any attack. The necessity of moving thus cautiously arose from the immense area covered by the line of march. The followers, says Thorn, “were not less than 60,000; and our cattle might at a very moderate rate be estimated at 200 elephants, 2000 camels, and 100,000 bullocks for carrying grain, equipage, and baggage, both public and private.” On the 14th, the army which had encamped near the fortified village which formed the point of attack in the recent battle, moved round the hill on which it stands, and took up a final position a little to the south-west of the fort.

Deeg, situated about forty-four miles W.N.W. from Agra, is so completely surrounded by marshes, and by jheels or small lakes, fed by a stream called the Manus Nye, as to be inaccessible to an enemy during most part of the year. The town, which is of considerable size, is enclosed by a strong mud wall with bastions and a deep ditch, which is carried all round except at one point in the south-west, which terminates in a rocky eminence called the Shah Bourj. This eminence, though it had an area of not more than fifty yards square on the inside, was surrounded by a wall with four commanding bastions, on one of which a large seventy-four pounder was mounted. The fort stood within the town wall, about a mile north-east from the Shah Bourj. It was nearly in the form of a square, strongly built, inclosed by high and thick ramparts furnished with bastions, and a deep ditch faced with masonry. Its massive gateways were flanked with lofty towers, on one of which a sixty-pounder was placed. Immediately west of the fort stood the palace, a noble structure in which the rajah resided when Deeg was the capital.

The siege immediately commenced by breaking ground on the night of the 13th, in a tope to the south-west of the Shah Bourj or King’s Redoubt, which was selected as the point of attack. Before sunrise a trench 300 yards long, a mortar battery, and one for two six-pounders were completed. Towards evening of the same day, a breaching battery was commenced in the same locality, within 750 yards of the Shah Bourj. During these operations considerable annoyance was given by the enemy’s matchlock-men, who were stationed in the old mud fort of Gopaul Ghur, forming a kind of outwork. The breaching battery was, notwithstanding, completed on the night of the 16th, and opened on the following morning from six eighteen-pounders, four twelves, and four mortars. It continued firing for several days with very little effect. The distance was too great, but the blunder being at length repaired by the erection of a new battery nearer the enemy’s works, more rapid progress was made, the enemy’s guns were mostly silenced, and the breach was pronounced practicable. Up to this time the enemy had never been shut up within the walls, but on the contrary had brought a number of guns into the plain, and placed them so judiciously under the cover of natural embankments, as to enfilade the batteries of the besiegers, at the same time that they were sheltered from them. It was hence necessary, when the assault was made on the 23rd of December, to form the storming party into three columns, one of which was to make the main attack on the Shah Bourj, while the other two were to attack the batteries on the plain under the walls. All three succeeded, though only after an obstinate resistance, the enemy not only standing firmly to their guns, and, when no longer able to fire them, using their swords till most of them were bayoneted. After the Shah Bourj was carried, the work seemed only half accomplished, as the fort was still entire, but the enemy were too much dispirited to risk a second assault, and on the night of the 24th evacuated the fort, to make the best of their way to Bhurtpoor. Hence, on Christmas Day, 1804, the British were in complete possession of Deeg, both town and fort, together with all the guns within and without, amounting to 100, and including the greater part of Holkar’s remaining artillery. A large quantity of grain was also captured, besides two lacs of rupees found in the public treasury.

The next object, and one of a much more formidable nature, was the siege of Bhurtpoor, situated about twenty miles S.S.E. of Deeg, and thirty-four miles W.N.W. of Agra, on a plain amidst jungles and lakes. Its condition at the time when the siege commenced is thus described by Lord Lake himself, in a despatch to the governor-general. “A mud wall of great height and thickness, and a very wide and deep ditch everywhere surround it. The fort is situated at its eastern extremity, and is of a square figure. One side of that square overlooks the country; the remaining three sides are within the town. It occupies a situation that appears more elevated than the town, and its walls are said to be higher, and its ditch of greater width and deepness. The circumference of both town and fort is upwards of eight miles, and their walls in all that extent are flanked with bastions at short distances, on which are mounted a very numerous artillery.” Before this place Lord Lake arrived with his army on the 2d of January, 1805, and immediately commenced the siege. The camp was on the south-west of the town, and operations began with seizing a grove considerably in advance of it, for the purpose of facilitating the approaches. This was done without difficulty on the evening of the 4th, and on the following evening a breaching battery for six eighteen-pounders was erected. This battery opened its fire on the morning of the seventh, and in the course of the same day another battery of four eight-inch and four of five and a half inch mortars, began throwing shells into the town. This cannonade, well responded to by the garrison, was continued with little interruption till the morning of the 9th, when a practicable breach in the western curtain, not far from the south-west angle, was reported. Previous breaches had been made, but the enemy had succeeded in stockading them. To prevent this from being done in the present instance, it was determined at once to assault.

The storming party moved off at seven o’clock in the evening, in three columns—one to attempt a gateway on the left of the breaching battery, and another to carry the enemy’s advanced guns on the right, while the third or centre column, consisting of 500 Europeans and a battalion of sepoys, was to enter by the breach. At eight o’clock the three columns marched out of the trenches, and immediately encountered a tremendous fire of cannon and small arms. It had been hoped that the centre column might take the enemy by surprise, but in this it failed, owing partly to the irregularity of the ground broken up with pools and swamps, and partly to the darkness of the night. From these causes the advance of the column was greatly impeded, and many of the men belonging to it lost their way, some following the left column and some the right. The flanked companies of the 22d, however, crossed the ditch breast-high in water, and mounted the breach, but being only twenty-three in number, could not attempt to storm the guns on the bastions to the right and left. In this predicament Lieutenant Manser made the men sit down in the breach, while he went in search of the rest of the column. The object of the left column in attacking the gateway had been to endeavour to enter it along with the fugitives. To this a deep drain presented an insurmountable impediment, and it returned, as did also the right column which had driven the enemy from their guns, to support the centre column. They arrived too late. The few flankers of the 22d, left in the breach exposed to an enfilading fire of grape from three guns of the right bastion, and seeing no prospect of support, were drawn off. The assault, in fact, had failed, and nothing remained for the assailants but to make the best of their way back to the trenches. In so doing they were exposed to the full fire of the enemy’s guns and musketry, and suffered dreadfully. The British loss in this lamentable affair was 85 killed and 371 wounded.

Siege operations were immediately resumed, but as the previous breach had been repaired, it was resolved to effect another a little more to the right. For this purpose a breaching battery was erected adjoining the former, and mounting two twenty-four and four eighteen pounders, and also several twelve-pounder batteries, to take off the defences. The guns and mortars of the whole batteries again opened on the 16th with a very heavy fire, and with so much effect that a new breach was formed, and though on the following morning the garrison had stockaded it, still by continuing the fire the piles gave way, and left a hole quite through the work. The batteries continued playing incessantly for five days, when a large and practicable breach was effected. It seemed necessary, however, after the severe lesson taught by the former repulse, to use greater caution. Under an idea that the ditch was not fordable, three broad ladders covered with laths, and easily raised or depressed by means of levers, had been provided. That there might be no mistake, the exact dimensions of the ditch opposite to the breach behaved to be ascertained. This was no easy task; but three British troopers and three native horsemen, one of them a havildar or sergeant, tempted by the reward of £50 each and immediate promotion, undertook the task. Their mode of accomplishing it was singular. Having put on the dress of the country, they were seen about three in the afternoon, riding furiously toward the fort, and pursued as deserters by a party of sepoys, who were firing at them. On arriving at the brink of the ditch, two of the troopers’ horses fell, and while the men were extricating themselves the havildar called to the soldiers on the wall, to save them from the accursed Feringhees, and show them the nearest entrance to the city. Not suspecting any stratagem, the soldiers pointed to a gate in the very direction required, and the havildar as soon as the men were again mounted, rode with them along the ditch till he had passed the bridge and made the necessary observations. The difficulty now was to return. This they could only do by putting spurs to their horses, and galloping back at full speed amid showers of balls, which the garrison sent after them the moment the trick was discovered. They all escaped unhurt, and reported that the ditch was not very broad and apparently not deep, and that the breach itself might be easily mounted.

In consequence of this information, though evidently too loose to be acted upon in a matter of so much importance, the assault was fixed for the following day (the 21st). The storming party consisted of 150 men of the 76th, 120 of the 75th, 100 of the Company’s 1st European regiment, and the 50 survivors of the 22d flankers, the last headed by Captain Lindsay, who, still suffering from former wounds, threw away his crutch and moved with his arm in a sling. The portable bridges were carried by picked men, who had been previously exercised in the mode of throwing them over. The advance was to be supported by the remainder of the above regiments, and the second battalion of the 9th, 15th, and 22d native infantry. The command of the attack was intrusted to Colonel Macrae. At three in the afternoon the storming party moved out, covered by the fire of the batteries, but no sooner reached the ditch than they encountered an unexpected and insurmountable obstacle. The garrison by damming up the ditch below the bridge, and sending in a large quantity of water from above, had added greatly and almost instantaneously both to its depth and width. The portable bridges were consequently too short, and only a few men, who were bold enough and able to swim across, succeeded in mounting the breach. As there were no means of supporting them it seemed madness to persevere. Colonel Macrae therefore recalled those who had crossed, and the second storming party was obliged like the first to run the gauntlet of a most destructive fire before the trenches could be regained. The loss on this occasion was still more serious than before, amounting in killed and wounded to 591.

While making full allowance for contingencies which it was impossible to force, one cannot help suspecting that there was at least as much mismanagement as misfortune in these two repulses, and that Lord Lake, however able as a field officer, did not possess either the skill or the patience necessary to insure success in regular sieges. He had hitherto succeeded with minor places by sudden onsets, and he seems to have thought that regular approaches were fit for nothing but causing unnecessary delay. An able writer, adverting to Lord Lake’s feelings in this respect, and to the blunders committed by the engineers, says:—“Even if an officer of the requisite ability and experience had been present, it is doubtful whether he would have been attended to, for so confident was the general in the resistless bravery of his troops, and so impatient withal, that he could hardly brook the delay that was necessary to enable his guns to make a breach in the ramparts.” We have already seen him pay dear for this ignorant rashness, and before this unhappy siege terminates we shall be called to witness new disasters.

One of the original blunders of the siege was the excessive distance at which the batteries were placed. They were rather more than 700 yards from the wall; and made a proportionably feeble impression. Another equally serious blunder was the omission of regular approaches. While thus kept far off from the works, little knowledge could be obtained of their true character and of the obstacles necessary to be removed in order to insure success, and hence the necessity of precautions which ought to have been used was not discovered until it was too late to employ them. After the two signal failures new plans were adopted, and the character of the siege was changed. All that had previously been done was abandoned as useless; and the camp shifting round to the north and east of the town, the whole operations were commenced anew by carrying on regular approaches and erecting the batteries within the distance of 400 yards. On the 11th of February two batteries, one of them consisting of six eighteen-pounders and another of eight mortars, opened their fire at this distance, and another still nearer, to take off the defences on the right bastion, was in course of erection. On the 20th the approaches had been carried to the brink of the ditch, and a mine was intended to be made for the purpose of blowing up the counterscarp and giving a sloping access.

All things were now in such a state of forwardness that the storming party was ordered to the trenches at an early hour, so as to be ready for the attack as soon as the repairs made by the garrison on the breach during the night should be destroyed. So bold, however, had the enemy become that, on the very night when the above orders were given to prepare for the assault, they made a sally, crept into the approach at daybreak unperceived, as the men at work there always left a little earlier, and remained for some time, demolishing the preparations that had been made for the mine and carrying off the implements. The storming party had just reached the trenches when another sally, composed partly of those who were concealed in the approach and partly of a reinforcement from the town, rushed out, and was not repulsed without considerable loss to the besiegers. The enemy still keeping possession of a trench in advance of the lines, it was proposed to dislodge them and follow them closely into the breach. The men, however, were not in a condition to give prompt obedience to these orders. The boldness shown by the enemy in their sally had dispirited, and the effort made in repulsing it had to some degree exhausted them, while an idea prevailed that the party who had for some time lain concealed in the approach might have filled the chamber, and made every necessary preparation for exploding it. Under the influence of this fear the soldiers of his majesty’s 75th and 76th regiments, who were at the head of the column, refused to advance. The few men remaining of the 22d flankers stepped boldly forward, but as they could effect nothing by themselves were recalled. Two native regiments, the 12th and 15th, when called to the front, took the place of honour, of which his majesty’s troops had proved unworthy. Unfortunately the ditch near the breach again proved impassable; but a bastion to the right had so rugged an aspect that several men succeeded in climbing it, and actually planted there the colours of the 12th native regiment. The climbing, however, being practicable only for one at a time, was too slow a process to secure the bastion, and the advantage gained was consequently lost. This third repulse was the most disastrous of all, the loss in killed and wounded amounting to 894.

Amid the general despondency caused by these repeated disasters, the general discovered a gleam of hope in the very partial success which had attended the climbing of the bastion. More battering would, it was supposed, make it easy of ascent, and it was therefore resolved to make it the point of a new assault on the following day. On the parade the commander-in-chief went up to the troops whose refusal to advance had been followed by such disastrous results, and “addressed them,” says Thorn, “in terms of affectionate regret rather than stern severity,” expressing “his sorrow that by not obeying their officers yesterday they had lost the laurels which they had gained on so many occasions.” He was “yet willing to give them an opportunity of retrieving their reputation,” and therefore called upon such as chose to volunteer in another effort to step out. They all volunteered to a man. The batteries in the meantime had opened their fire on the bastion and made such a gap in it that it was expected to tumble down by its own weight. This expectation was not realized; but if the assault was to be persevered in, further delay was impossible, as the ammunition was nearly exhausted and the army were suffering greatly from the want of supplies of every description. An assault under such circumstances was not so much a deliberate act as an effort of despair.

The storming party, placed under the command of Colonel Monson, was large, consisting of the whole European force, two battalions of the Bengal native infantry, the greater part of the 65th and 86th regiments, the grenadier battalion, and the flank companies of the first battalion of the third regiment of the Bombay army. It is difficult to say what the plan of the attack was, for the men appear to have been sent at hap-hazard to work their way as they best could up the face of a bastion still standing, though apparently tottering to its fall, and it says much for their dauntless courage that, in moving out to the attack at three in the afternoon, they cheered as they passed the commander-in-chief, in token of their determination to carry the place and avenge their comrades or perish in the attempt. The result was only too soon ascertained. The monstrous task which had been assigned them is thus described by Thorn:—“The bastion to be attacked was extremely steep; and though the gap that had been made in it below sheltered those who could avail themselves of its protection, there was no possibility of getting from thence to the summit. Several soldiers drove their bayonets into the wall, one over another, and endeavoured by these steps to reach the top, but were knocked down by logs of wood, large shot, and various missiles from above. Others attempted to get up by the shot-holes which our guns had here and there made; but, as only two at the most could advance in this dangerous way, they who thus ventured were easily killed, and when one man fell he brought down with him those who were immediately beneath. All this time the enemy on the next bastion kept up a sweeping and most destructive fire.” During this fearful struggle efforts were made on the curtain and other places which offered the least chance of success.

It was all in vain. The assailants were met at every point by showers of grape and missiles of every kind, flaming packs of cotton previously dipped in oil, and pots filled with gunpowder and other combustibles, which, in exploding, spread death around them. Hopeless as it was throughout, the conflict was maintained for two hours before the men were drawn off. They had done their duty. Can it be said that the commander-in-chief did his when he sent them on such an errand? The loss in killed and wounded was 987. These, added to those sacrificed in the previous assaults, give an aggregate of 3203 men. The numbers who had in the meantime died in the camp would furnish another heavy item. All idea of active operations was now abandoned, and the siege was converted into a blockade. There was in fact no alternative. Most of the guns employed had become unserviceable, and large detachments behaved to be sent off for supplies. The position of the army was indeed critical. The successes of the enemy had given them new courage, and when Lord Lake selected a new encampment to the north-east of Bhurtpoor he had some difficulty in reaching it in consequence of the interruptions given by the enemy’s horse. What, the reader naturally asks, had become of the British cavalry? This must now be explained.

When the siege commenced the Rajah of Bhurtpoor endeavoured to strengthen himself by calling in the aid of Ameer Khan, who was then carrying on his predatory warfare in Bundeleund. That celebrated marauder, anticipating a more abundant harvest of plunder, soon made his appearance; and, when united with Holkar and the rajah, formed so powerful a body of confederate horse that, at the very time when the second assault was made, the British cavalry stood drawn up in two lines for the purpose of opposing it. Ameer Khan shortly after attempted to cut off a convoy of 12,000 bullocks, and had very nearly succeeded by attacking the escort, which amounted only to 1400, with 8000, when a reinforcement from the camp fortunately arrived, and assisted in driving him off the field with the loss of 600 men and forty stands of colours. So complete was the defeat that he only escaped by changing his dress and mingling with the rabble of fugitives. During the contest, however, a great many bullocks of the convoy laden with grain went astray and were never recovered. On the 27th of January an attempt was made on another convoy coming from Agra. The convoy consisted of 50,000 bullocks carrying grain, and about 800 hackeries laden with stores and ammunition, 8000 rounds of eighteen-pound shot for battering guns, and six lacs of rupees. The escort consisted of the 29th light dragoons, two corps of native cavalry, and three battalions of sepoys. The rajah, and his auxiliaries Holkar, Ameer Khan, and Bapoojee Scindia, united their whole strength, in the hope of making a prize of this valuable convoy about half-way between Agra and the camp. They were again frustrated by a powerful reinforcement, and suffered still more severely than before, and the convoy arrived safely without the loss of a single bullock.

These defeats so disconcerted the confederates that they began to quarrel among themselves as to the share of the blame. The rajah in particular, on whom the expense more immediately fell, began to regard his allies as an encumbrance, and Ameer Khan, who saw that his golden hopes had vanished, began to look out for a new field of plunder. Rohilcund, of which he was a native, obtained the preference, and he therefore set out with his whole force, and a large body of Pindarees, a noted robber tribe, of which more will be heard hereafter. The position of the British army before Bhurtpoor convinced him that he could not be followed unless the siege were raised, and he therefore crossed the Jumma on the 7th of February, expecting to have ample time to levy a rich booty. In this he had deceived himself. The very day after his departure the British cavalry, consisting of the 8th, 27th, and 29th light dragoons, and three regiments of native horse with horse artillery, the whole commanded by General Smith, were following close upon his track. Having crossed the Jumna by the bridge of boats at Muttra, they encamped about three miles beyond. After marching and countermarching in pursuit of the fleeing enemy, whose movements were very imperfectly known, they arrived at Alighur on the 11th, and were joined by a strong detachment under Colonel Grueber, who had abandoned the siege of the rebel fort of Komona on hearing of Ameer Khan’s arrival in the Doab. The pursuit was now continued northward as far as Commandanaghaut on the Ganges, when it was learned that Ameer Khan had only the day before crossed over into Rohilcund. The British cavalry, having ascertained that the water was there only about breast-high, plunged in, and reached the other bank in safety. Continuing east on Ameer Khan’s track, they passed Moradabad, and on the 20th reached Rampoor, the capital of the jaghire which the celebrated Rohilla chief Fyzoola Khan secured by his valour when his countrymen were barbarously warred upon by Mr. Hastings and the Nabob of Oude. From Rampoor the cavalry proceeded in a south-east direction, within view of the magnificent ranges of the Himalayas, till they arrived at Sheergur. Here learning that Ameer Khan was still further north among the hills, where he could not easily be followed, further pursuit was for the present abandoned, and the cavalry retraced their steps first to Rampoor and then Moradabad.

On the 1st of March, while proceeding north-west to Badalle, the smoking ruins of the surrounding villages gave evidence that Ameer Khan could not be distant, and on the following morning, when passing north-east by Sheeroot, it became known that he and all his force were only about nine miles off. On this welcome intelligence General Smith, leaving the baggage in charge of the rearguard and the 3d regiment of native cavalry, hastened forward with the remaining troops, consisting of 1400 regular cavalry, and Skinner’s horse. At two in the afternoon, after a very long march, the enemy were found near Afzulghur, close under the Kumaon Hills, drawn up as if prepared for an attack. Indeed, so courageous were they, that they assumed the offensive, and by rushing upon the dragoons before these had orders to charge, created some confusion. Two bodies of horse also, the one headed by Ameer Khan and the other by his brother, attempted to penetrate the British flanks, but met a reception which compelled them to precipitate retreat with great slaughter. Ameer Khan’s infantry, consisting mainly of new levies of Patans, fought boldly, and perished almost to a man; the cavalry generally escaped, the previous long march of the British cavalry making it impossible to follow them with any hopes of success.

General Smith in returning southward first learned, after reaching Moradabad on the 5th, that Ameer Khan, taking a circuitous route after his defeat, had passed this place only the day before. As his object was supposed to be Bareilly and the southern parts of Rohilcund, it was resolved, if possible, to anticipate his arrival. The effect of this movement was to make him double once more, and turn westward towards Sumbul. Here an incident not unworthy of notice had about this time occurred. The younger Skinner, commanding a party of about 500 horse, had been detached to cross the Ganges at Anopshere and return into the Doab. When near Sumbul the detachment was attacked by a large body, headed by Ameer Khan, and completely surrounded. It took shelter in a caravansary, which was gallantly defended for several days, though from the vast superiority of the enemy’s numbers, and still more from a want of provisions, an early surrender seemed inevitable. Captain Skinner, made aware of his brother’s position, and of the impossibility of relieving him, had recourse to the following stratagem:—Having written a letter to his brother desiring him to hold out, as the main body of the British cavalry would be with him in a few hours, he despatched it by a messenger with instructions to throw himself in Ameer Khan’s way, and give up the letter to him. The moment it was read Ameer Khan took flight and decamped, leaving young Skinner and his detachment overjoyed at a deliverance for which, till the matter was explained, they were wholly unable to account.

It would be vain to follow Ameer Khan through all his subsequent windings. His incursion into Rohilcund, though it had caused great misery to the inhabitants, had disappointed his expectations. Comparatively few had joined his standard, and even by these, after his defeat at Afzulghur, he was abandoned. On the 13th of March, when he recrossed the Ganges into the Doab, his force had been reduced to less than half its original strength. Continuing his course westward he again crossed the Jumma, and hastened back to his old quarters in the vicinity of Bhurtpoor, where the rajah was not disposed to give him a hearty welcome. General Smith, taking the same direction, reached the British camp on the 23rd of March, after a month’s absence and a tedious chase of more than 700 miles. The absence of the cavalry during this chase had added greatly to the difficulties of the besiegers, as well as the confidence of the besieged, and hence the annoyance which Lord Lake experienced in shifting the camp after his final repulse to the north and east side of the fort.

Though the siege had been converted into a blockade, preparations for resuming it were carried on with the greatest activity. Convoys with supplies of all kinds, battering guns, and ammunition daily arrived in the camp. The old guns also were again rendered fit for service, and everything indicated that ere long Bhurtpoor would be subjected to a more formidable attack than it had yet experienced. The rajah could not behold these preparations without gloomy forebodings. The repulses sustained had not in the least diminished the resources of the besiegers, whose spirit and perseverance seemed to rise with the difficulties which they encountered; his resources on the contrary were nearly exhausted, and he knew of no way in which he could replenish them. The allies in whom he trusted were insufficient for their own protection, and he must prepare for being left ere long to maintain the unequal contest single-handed. Prudence, therefore, dictated that the best use which he could make of the advantages he had gained was to employ them as means of terminating hostilities. Influenced by such considerations, he sent a letter to Lord Lake intimating a desire of peace. The overture was favourably received, and his vakeels having arrived in the British camp, the negotiation was commenced. From various causes it did not proceed very rapidly, and during the time which elapsed some important operations took place.

As soon as the cavalry had rested from the fatigues of their pursuit of Ameer Khan, Lord Lake determined to beat up the quarters of Holkar, who with the residue of his force was encamped about eight miles to the west. Accordingly, at one in the morning of the 29th March, they moved out silently, in hope to come upon him by surprise. They found him, however, on the alert, and were able to do nothing more than engage in an ineffectual pursuit, in which only two elephants, a hundred horses, and fifty camels were captured. Holkar, to avoid a similar risk, removed considerably to the south-west. Here he thought himself secure, till a bitter experience taught him the contrary. On the 2d of April the cavalry, with the reserve and horse artillery, again moved off silently about midnight, and at daybreak came upon the enemy before they had time to mount their horses. They were at once charged in front and on both flanks, and were slain in great numbers, some on the spot, and still more during the pursuit, which was vigorously continued for nearly eight miles. The whole of the bazaars were captured, and whole bodies of troops, considering Holkar’s case hopeless, left him to his fate. He was not now possessed of a single place of strength. Indore, his capital, was taken by Colonel Murray shortly after Colonel Monson, misled by false information, commenced his disastrous retreat; Chandore and Gaulnah, his only strongholds in the Deccan, had also fallen; and now, in consequence of a new disaster, he was literally destitute of a place of refuge. In the attack on his camp, the British loss was only two killed and a few wounded. He, on the contrary, left more than 1000 dead on the field, and was so much weakened by desertion, that when in his flight he crossed the Chumbul, the whole force he could muster was about 8000 horse, 5000 infantry, and thirty guns.

On the 8th of April the army before Bhurtpoor moved round to the south-east. This indication of a design to commence active operations induced the rajah to break off all delays. On the 10th the preliminaries were signed, and next evening his third son arrived in the camp as an hostage for the arrangement of definitive terms. The treaty was shortly afterwards concluded. The rajah agreed to pay twenty lacs of rupees, of which three lacs were to be immediately advanced, and became bound not to hold any connection with the enemies of Great Britain, nor entertain any European without the sanction of the British government. The territories formerly granted to him were resumed, and in security for the fulfilment of the treaty his son was to remain as an hostage, and the fortress of Deeg was not to be given up. The conclusion of a treaty with the rajah was a deviation from the course of policy which Marquis Wellesley had been accustomed to pursue. The repulses at Bhurtpoor had undoubtedly lowered the reputation of the British arms among the natives of India, and it might therefore have been expected, that until the stain was wiped off by the capture or voluntary surrender of the place, no overtures of any kind would have been listened to. Among the causes which may have led to the adoption of a more moderate course, was the threatening aspect which some disputes with Scindia was beginning to assume, and the consequent danger that another formidable Mahratta war might arise.

Scindia’s sympathies had all along been with Holkar, and nothing but doubt as to the final issue had made him hesitate as to throwing in his lot with him. Every new phase in the contest was accordingly followed by a corresponding change in his feelings, and he continued fluctuating between opposite tendencies, unable to come to any final decision. When Holkar prospered, Scindia was warlike, and talked openly of a rupture with the British; when reverses befell him, Scindia was pacific, and full of friendly professions for the British. It would seem that about the time when Holkar commenced his campaign so triumphantly by the destruction of Monson’s detachment, and was threatening to make himself master both of Agra and Delhi, Scindia in one of his warlike moods caused a letter to be written for the purpose of being delivered to the governor. It was somewhat in the form of a manifesto, and breathed throughout a spirit of defiance. This letter was dated 18th October, 1804, but the delivery of it seems to have been made dependent on the course of events, and the vakeel to whom it was intrusted moved along by slow stages from Benares to Calcutta, so that it might have been possible to recall him, or give him new instructions at any intervening period before he actually arrived. Shortly after the date of the letter Holkar’s prospects darkened. He was chased from Delhi, surprised at Furruckabad, and signally defeated in a pitched battle at Deeg. Had this state of matters continued, the letter would in all probability never have been heard of. The signal failures of the British before Bhurtpoor, however, gave new courage to their enemies, and Scindia’s letter was at last put into the hands of the governor-general on the 18th of February, 1805, exactly four months subsequent to its date. It revived a claim to the fort of Gwalior and the territory of Gohud, though his own minister had authorized the British resident to assure the governor-general that “the claim had been entirely relinquished by his master;” and included in a general list of complaints, two in particular—the one, that the British government had not given him the protection they had promised, and the other, that by not furnishing him with money, they had not only left him unable to co-operate in the subjugation of Holkar, but even compelled two of his generals to enter into a feigned league with Holkar, because they could not otherwise obtain subsistence for their troops. In both complaints Scindia only showed that there is no limit to Mahratta effrontery. In complaining of the want of protection he referred to Colonel Murray, who, when at Ooein, then Scindia’s capital, had allowed Holkar and Ameer Khan to devastate the surrounding country. The fact in this case was, that Colonel Murray’s movements were paralyzed by the failure of Scindia to co-operate with him as he had engaged to do, and the opposition he encountered from Scindia’s own officers. The second complaint was, if possible, still more shameless. The officers who, according to Scindia, were compelled from want of subsistence to feign a league with Holkar, were Bapoojee Scindia and Sedasheo Bhow. So far from merely feigning a league, both of them were guilty of unequivocal treachery, by deserting to Holkar at a most critical moment, and deserting as was notorious with their master’s consent. Scindia’s complaints were therefore mere pretexts, on which to found a quarrel which he had long been meditating.

At the date of Scindia’s letter, he had consented, on the urgent remonstrance of the resident, to leave Burhanpoor, and proceed N.N.W. to Oojein; but instead of this, proceeded north-east in the direction of Bundelcund, where Ameer Khan was waging war as the ally of Holkar. On his march he made aggressions in violation of his treaty with the British, first on the Nabob of Bhopal, and next on the peishwa himself. These were overt acts of hostility, but as they were not sufficient to disclose his designs, he entered into open communication with Ameer Khan and other allies of Holkar, and did not hesitate both by himself and his ministers, to give decided proofs of sympathy with his cause. So unequivocal, indeed, was his conduct, that Mr. Jenkins, who had become acting resident in Scindia’s camp in consequence of the death of Mr. Webbe, determined to leave, and applied for his passports. As this would have been almost equivalent to a declaration of war, for which Scindia had not yet finally decided, he interposed various delays, till Mr. Jenkins, seeing on every side indications of hostility, quitted the camp with his suite and baggage on the 23rd of January, 1805. At the end of his first march he was overtaken by a messenger from Scindia, who induced him to return by promising entire compliance with his wishes. Mr. Jenkins in returning left his baggage behind in a grove in the vicinity of Scindia’s regular brigade, and while retained at the durbar till evening, received intelligence that his escort had been attacked by a large body of Pindarees, who had carried off the whole baggage, besides wounding the officer in command, the surgeon, and several of the sepoys. Scindia professed great indignation at the outrage, but as he made no effort to punish it, the probability is that it was done with his knowledge, for the purpose of preventing Mr. Jenkins’ departure.

Mr. Jenkins, now virtually a prisoner in Scindia’s camp, thus describes his position in a letter dated 10th February, 1805:—“Under the operation of the late events, the British residency is become a degraded spectacle to a camp by which it was formerly held in the utmost veneration and respect. Our equipage is reduced to a single tent which occupies a small corner of Scindia’s encampment; and in this situation we are exposed to the derision of the plunderers, who triumph in the protection of a nefarious government, under the countenance of which they presume to insult us with the proffer for sale of our plundered effects.” In these humiliating circumstances, Mr. Jenkins was paraded on the march as Scindia proceeded northwards from Saugur, with designs which were almost transparent, though it did not yet suit him to avow them. Meanwhile Scindia’s letter, which took four months to travel to its destination, had been delivered. Its conclusion was as follows:—“Having maturely weighed and considered all these points, let your excellency be pleased to favour me with a speedy and favourable answer. If by the time of my arrival at Malwah a full and detailed answer to all that I have written arrives, it will be extremely proper and advisable.” This style of address obviously savours of arrogance, and must have been felt by the governor-general to be offensive in the extreme; but, contrary to his usual practice, he restrained his indignation, and, as if for the purpose of allowing it to cool, delayed his answer till the 14th of April. It was long and elaborate, much more so, indeed, than could be necessary, as nothing could be gained by arguing with one who was evidently meditating an appeal to the sword. Scindia’s charges were retorted upon himself, and enumerated under thirteen distinct heads. As specimens we give only the first and the last. “1. After your highness’s repeated and solemn assurances to the resident of your intention to return to your capital for the purpose of co-operating with the British government in the prosecution of the war, your highness, without affording an explanation to the resident, directed your march towards the territory of Bhopal, in positive violation of your personal promise, repeatedly made to the resident. . . . 13. The general conduct of your highness’s government, and especially the augmentation of your highness’s force and your march to Narwa, have encouraged the enemy to expect your highness’s support, of which expectation the enemy has made a public boast; and a general opinion exists in Hindoostan and the Deccan, that your highness has determined to unite your forces with the remnant of the enemy’s power in a contest against the British government, your friend and ally.” The charges thus retorted might have justified the commencement of hostilities, but the governor-general had at this time many reasons for not proceeding to extreme measures, and he therefore concluded with expressing his desire to maintain peace so long as Scindia would allow it to be possible.

Scindia was actuated by a different spirit, and conformably to an usual Mahratta interpretation, considered the desire of peace manifested by the governor-general as a sign of conscious weakness. Accordingly, on the 23rd of March he intimated by his minister to Mr. Jenkins, that he was about to march to Bhurtpoor, for the purpose of mediating a peace between the British government and its enemies. His object in making this intimation was to request the acting resident to write to the British officers in charge of the different detachments on his route to receive him as a friend. On this preposterous proceeding the governor-general justly remarks: “To proceed at the head of an army to the seat of hostilities for the purpose of interposing his unsolicited mediation, was an act not only inconsistent with the nature of his engagement, but insulting to the honour, and highly dangerous to the interests of the British government.” A few days before the intimation to Mr. Jenkins, one of Scindia’s servants of high rank, but without credentials, waited on Colonel Close at Nagpore, and admitted to him that Scindia was moving to the north because he was offended with the English. Combining the information derived from these different sources, the governor-general could no longer have any doubt as to Scindia’s designs, and proceeded with his usual decision and energy to adopt means to frustrate them. Colonel Close was vested with powers similar to those formerly held by Sir Arthur Wellesley, who was now about to quit India for ever, and prosecute the glorious career to which his Indian victories were only a prelude, and Lord Lake was instructed not to allow Scindia to violate the treaty in a single iota. His attempt to march upon Bhurtpoor, should he make it, was to be treated as “not only a declaration of war, but a violent act of hostility.” What the result might have been it is difficult to conjecture, as Lord Lake’s army, weakened and dispirited, would have found it difficult to cope with a new and powerful confederacy, which might have attacked it at once on opposite sides, and with overwhelming numbers. Fortunately Scindia had miscalculated. Neither he nor Holkar was aware that the Rajah of Bhurtpoor had concluded a peace, nor was the rajah himself disposed suddenly to recede from it.

In consequence of the altered circumstances, Scindia’s tone once more became pacific, and an offer which he made to atone for the outrage committed on the resident’s escort was accepted by the governor-general as sufficient. Meanwhile his intercourse with Holkar was still kept up, and at last both Holkar and Ameer Khan arriving with their forces, the whole formed virtually one united camp. The closeness of the union was afterwards evinced by a characteristic proceeding. Ambajee Inglia, now in the service of Scindia, was in possession of a large amount of treasure, while both his master and Holkar were very much in want of it. The two chiefs combined to enrich themselves by robbing the servant of one of them. Ameer Khan, who was employed by Holkar to do the robbery, states that the suggestion proceeded from Scindia, who observed, “Ambajee Inglia, who professes to be my servant, and has lacs of rupees in ready money, will give no aid. If you can contrive any way of extorting the money from him, you have my permission, but the half must be given to me.” Such was the compact, and it was immediately executed by seizing Ambajee and torturing him till he purchased his deliverance by giving up thirty-eight, or, according to some, fifty lacs. This was in some respects a fortunate robbery for the Company, as it made Ambajee the irreconcilable enemy of Holkar, and thus disposed him to use all his influence in preventing the new Mahratta confederacy, which was on the point of being formed, from acquiring any degree of stability.

On the 21st of April, Lord Lake quitted the vicinity of Bhurtpoor and proceeded south towards the Chumbul, on the banks of which Scindia and Holkar were now encamped. On the 27th, when the resident, who, by his lordship’s directions, had requested an audience of Scindia, went to have the appointed interview, he found the camp in confusion. A rumour of Lord Lake’s approach was current, and neither Holkar nor Scindia had any idea of risking the consequences of his arrival: both were therefore preparing for a precipitate flight. They started on the 28th, and hastened up the right bank of the Chumbul, taking the direction of Sheopoor. The difficulty of the road, the excessive heat, and the precipitation, made the march very disastrous, and great numbers of men perished. Sheopoor, when they reached it, did not seem distant enough, and after a halt of some days they started again southward for Kottah, a distance of about fifty miles. Mr. Jenkins was obliged to accompany them. Lord Lake had not only expressly ordered him to quit the Mahratta camp, but had distinctly intimated to Scindia that the British government would hold him responsible in his own person, his ministers, and servants for the safe conveyance of the resident, with his attendants and property, to the nearest British camp. Notwithstanding this intimation, Mr. Jenkins was still detained under various pretexts, which had ceased to have even the semblance of plausibility. Week after week having thus passed away without any prospect of release, at last, on the 17th of June, a kind of ultimatum was sent by Lord Lake to Scindia, declaring that if in ten days the resident were not allowed to quit the camp, it would be held equivalent to a dissolution of all friendly relations between the two governments. Evasions and professions of friendship, however, were once more received as substitutes for performance, and the resident was still virtually a prisoner in Scindia’s camp, when, on the 30th of July, 1805, Marquis Wellesley ceased to be Governor-general of India.

Great as had been the achievements of Marquis Wellesley’s administration, it had lost favour both with the directors and the ministry. Conquests, however brilliant, failed to defray the expense which had been incurred in making them, and the debt of the Company had rapidly increased. This fact was to many, who still regarded the Company as merely a commercial body, sufficient to condemn any system of policy which failed to produce favourable financial results, and on this ground alone, without looking further, they were loud in their condemnation. Others, again, while admitting that in conducting the Indian government, mere pecuniary interests ought to be held subordinate