On the morning of the 6th of August, the army moved through a well-irrigated and woody valley, to the foot of a small hill, on the further side of which lay the celebrated metropolis of Afghanistan.
Next morning, accompanied by some of my brother officers, I visited the city of Caubul, which lies under some steep and rugged hills at the extremity of a flat and extensive valley, whose site at the city was estimated at six thousand five hundred feet above the sea. On surmounting the eminence on its western side, Caubul appears to great advantage, lying immediately beneath, with the white tops of its various structures peering out from amongst thick groves of almond, walnut, plum, and various kinds of fruit trees which flourish in this quarter of the city.
Crossing a bridge over the Caubul river, and winding through some narrow lanes, on each side of which were houses surrounded by gardens, we entered the principal bazaar, which extends completely across the city to the gates of the Bala Hissar, or Shah's palace. At the commencement of the bazaar, we were much struck with the appearance of the fruiterers' shops, where grapes, peaches, melons, pomegranates, and other fruits, were tastefully hung amidst branches of trees, to which they were suspended. This street entered a small square, which looked much like an European market-place, the centre being occupied by stalls of vendors of vegetables, milk, and ice, while the houses in the square were occupied by tea, spice, and sherbet merchants. The sight of the latter soon brought our party to a halt to enjoy the unwonted treat of a bowl of iced sherbet. In Kandahar, the sherbet was also sold cooled with snow, but the ice was acknowledged to be a great improvement. From the further side of this market-place, an arched bazaar, occupied entirely by silk and cloth merchants, conducted us into a second square, tenanted by shawl makers and dyers. Thence we passed through another well-thronged arcade into the third square, where resided the tanners and dressers of sheepskins, for which Caubul is celebrated. These skins are very neatly dressed, the wool being worn next the body, and the exterior tastefully ornamented by embroidery in silk of different colours. During the cold season, the working classes usually wear long jackets of these skins, with short sleeves reaching to the elbow, whilst the merchants, and those unaccustomed to manual labour, adopt a warmer but less commodious mantle, which reaches to the ankles. The black lamb-skins, brought from Bokhara and Persia for the manufacture of caps, are highly prized; they are made of the skin of the lamb immediately after its birth, and are extremely soft and glossy.
Beyond this square, the bazaar becomes more narrow, and much more noisy, as you enter the quarter occupied by saddlers and armorers, who form no inconsiderable portion in the manufacture of articles so requisite and so much used in this land of violence. The saddlery is made of durable materials, though clumsily put together; and in the armorer's shop,[38] it is a rare thing to find a piece of good steel among the many fantastically shaped weapons, where the ingenuity of the workman appears to have been called in play to invent these fanciful methods of inflicting torture on his fellow-creatures.
The Bala Hissar, standing apart on a mound which overlooks the city, is surrounded by a rampart garnished with circular bastions, and parapets, similarly to most of the fortresses of the East. The wall was in somewhat bad repair on our arrival, but this was soon remedied after the Shah had taken up his residence there. The place is of no importance as a fortress, being completely commanded by the range of hills in its immediate vicinity. The palace itself conveyed little idea of grandeur to the spectator; but Shah Soojah took pains in rendering it more consistent in appearance with the notions he entertains of the dignity and state requisite for the abode of so mighty and independent a monarch.[39]
In a burying ground, near the Bala Hissar, was found a tomb, with an English inscription, to the memory of one John Hicks, who died A.D. 1666. This monument formed a plentiful subject for conjecture as to who this individual could have been, who had penetrated into a country infested from time immemorial by hordes of robbers, who consider all travellers, especially when alone and unprotected, as their legitimate property. The Afghan tradition was, that two Europeans had arrived with a Persian caravan in Caubul, and had entered the service of the Shah of Afghanistan, and that this monument had been carved and built by the survivor.[40] But what brought these adventurers into Afghanistan is likely to remain a matter of some ambiguity at this distance of time, especially as the biographer of John Hicks contented himself with inscribing the date of his death and the Christian names of the deceased's parents, leaving the object and success of his travels a mystery to puzzle and embarrass posterity.
The city was thronged, on the morning Shah Soojah entered Caubul to resume his seat on the throne of his ancestors, with the former adherents of Dost Mahomed, and many a scowl was bestowed on the Shah and his escort (consisting of a squadron of the 4th Dragoons, one of the 16th Lancers, and some Horse Artillery) as they wended their way through the streets, towards the palace, although none ventured to offer any insulting language to the conquerors of Afghanistan. The reception here was far different from that he had received at Kandahar, where he was little known. He passed in solemn silence through the bazaars, where, probably, but few spectators were present who had taken an active part in his deposition thirty years since; yet tradition had handed down many a tale of oppression, and, regretting the mild and popular rule of Dost Mahomed, the inhabitants now submitted in silence to the evil they could not remedy. Such was the general impression conveyed by the demeanour of the soldiers and citizens; but, obedient to the time-serving impulse which characterizes the venal soldiery of the two nations, both the Kuzzilbashes and Afghan cavalry flocked to tender their allegiance and services to the reinstated potentate. To the loyal and civilized inhabitants of the north this comparatively patient endurance of a change of masters may appear incredible; but a perusal of the Afghan Dynasty will abundantly show that habit in this respect, as well as in many others, becomes a second nature. In the present instance, a considerable difficulty presented itself in the number of candidates for military employ; the revenue of the country being inadequate to maintain so large a force in addition to the numerous contingent which had been levied for the Shah in Hindostan. On the other hand, to reject the offers of these troublesome volunteers was tantamount to the distribution of an equal number of malcontents and robbers throughout Afghanistan, which was already abundantly supplied with these industrious communities. For the present, a great portion of the Kuzzilbashes were retained, and bodies of Afghan troops were shortly afterwards to be seen on the Champ-de-Mars of Caubul, practising, with laudable perseverance, the rigid miseries of the goose step.
A few days after our arrival the detachment which had been sent with Captain Outram, in pursuit of Dost Mahomed, returned from their laborious and unsuccessful chase. They had come within about twenty miles of the fugitive, who was accompanied by fifteen hundred Afghans, preferring to share the flight and dangers of Dost Mahomed to becoming renegades. Hadji Khan was nearly frantic with fear when he found the party had approached so much nearer the fugitives than he wished or intended. He entreated the British officers to abandon the pursuit, urging that their party was too small, and that not an Afghan of his retinue would raise a weapon against Dost Mahomed. This appears to have been one of the few truths he was known to utter, for the greater part of his retinue had already deserted. The party, however, in spite of all obstacles, strained every nerve to reach their object, but in the snowy fastnesses of the Hindoo Koosh these hardy mountaineers were not to be overcome, and the detachment was, at last, compelled to relinquish the pursuit and return to Caubul, where Hadji Khan was put in confinement, and afterwards sent as a prisoner to Hindostan.
Many are of opinion that Hadji Khan was harshly used by the Indian government, considering his ready adherence to the Shah on his arrival, and assert that, having openly abandoned his master, it became apparently his interest to secure his person. It is somewhat singular that, amongst a nation of renegades and traitors, any partiality should have been evinced in selecting an individual traitor, and one who, being influential, might have been made useful; whereas, if all had been convicted on suspicion, it would have been difficult to find conveyances and prisons for the state prisoners.
The Cavalry had now an opportunity offered them of replacing some of the horses which had been lost, for a very small number had been collected at Kandahar and Ghuzni.