Not so fared Woolee Mahomed, (a relative of Dost Mahomed, and standard-bearer of the army,) who defended himself to the last extremity in the cellar, where he had taken refuge, close to his Zenana,[31] which he protested should be entered by none, save over his dead body. He surrendered, ultimately, to two officers on political employ, who ventured to promise that his life should be spared, and was brought before the tyrant Soojah, who immediately ordered him to be executed.
It has been alleged that Woolee Mahomed had proved treacherous to the Shah in some previous intercourse; but no sophistry can prove that Shah Soojah was then a king, when Dost Mahomed sat on the throne, and, with the approbation of his subjects, exercised supreme authority.
Many causes, too numerous to dwell upon, have been assigned for this act of severity, by those desirous to defend Shah Soojah, but none apparently can justify so cold-blooded a murder, when the words of two British officers had been pledged for the safety of the unhappy victim. Surely, blood enough had been shed that day to appease the royal resentment, had it been confined to anything resembling moderate limits.
Amongst the besieged the carnage was found to be considerable. Upwards of seven hundred bodies were interred in the fort, and about two thousand were taken prisoners. It was impossible to ascertain the number of wounded, for many crawled out of their hiding-places, in the city, several days afterwards, and were taken charge of by such of the citizens as had resumed their usual avocations; and in the villages, some distance from Ghuzni, a few days afterwards, I found several, dreadfully scorched and wounded, who admitted they had escaped over the walls, on the morning of the storm, shortly before daylight.
Nearly all the prisoners were liberated, by direction of the commander-in-chief, in the course of the day; for this, there was no alternative, as we had not the means of taking charge of and supporting such a large body of men, in the present state of affairs, and this act of clemency, it was supposed, would produce a beneficial effect in the beginning of the campaign.
Amongst our own troops, the list of killed and wounded amounted to two hundred, but of this number not more than thirty were killed, or died of their wounds. In the list of wounded were nineteen officers, but none of their injuries proved fatal. Some had been wounded by a short barbed arrow or bolt, shot from a cross-bow, which implement the Afghans are tolerably expert in using; but these weapons had been in the hands of the townspeople during the defence. The garrison had been selected from the best of Dost Mahomed's troops, and were about three thousand in number, and universally well equipped and armed.
Among the prisoners were found several Golundauze or Foot Artillery, from Hindustan. One of these declared that, the day preceding the storm, he had suggested to the governor the probability of our attempting to blow in the gate of the fortress, and recommended that a palisade should be thrown across the entrance; but his advice had been disregarded, the gate being considered strong enough to resist any attack.
The place being now in our hands, guards were posted at the gate, and parties patrolled the town to prevent any more plundering, and to collect the prize property.
Eight pieces of cannon, of various calibres, and twenty two jingals, or wall pieces, were taken. Among the ordnance, was our old antagonist of the 21st instant, which was found to carry a sixty-eight pound shot, though assuredly at greater risk to the artillerymen who were rash enough to fire it than to the enemy, for the interior was curiously honeycombed.
Few things of much value were taken except horses, of which about one thousand were picketed in front of the 1st Cavalry Brigade, but owing to the insufficiency of ropes and picketing pegs, the greater part of the horses broke loose during the night, and more than half escaped or were stolen!