Brig. Shelton, perhaps not considering the lateness of the hour, deferred his return to cantonments until the shades of evening had closed over the troops; and it being impossible to distinguish friend from foe, we could not assist with our guns from cantonments, which in daylight would have swept the plain, and have prevented the enemy from following up our return to cantonments.
The enemy cut in between cantonments and our men, and their horsemen came up close to Sale's bastion. Our anxiety was very great, for all this time our front was attacked (it is said by 400 men); the firing was sharp and long-continued. The Brigadier did not get back till 8 o'clock; and it was some time after that before all was quiet. When the men of the 37th were upbraided for turning, they replied, "We only retreated when we saw the Europeans run, and knew we should not be supported."
We moved into Sturt's house this evening, as Brig. Shelton was grumbling about the cold in a tent.
The enemy saluted our house with six-pound shot, which rattled about and passed us, and several struck the house; one was imbedded in the wall under Mrs. Sturt's window. At night we threw shell as usual into Mahmood Khan's fort, and could plainly distinguish the sound of "Ullah ul Alla" as they burst.
Major Thain and Capt. Paton were wounded: the latter had to suffer amputation of the arm; the former had a deep flesh wound in the shoulder, twelve inches long, and one deep.
Sturt, going his rounds at night, narrowly escaped being shot in the back.
14th.—We had a quiet night; which was a great blessing, as Sturt was suffering very much from the wound in his face.
The chiefs complained that we broke faith with them yesterday in attacking them when they had expressed a wish to treat: however, we were not the aggressors, for we did not do so till they had fired at us. To-day they have requested we will not fire on the hill, which has been agreed to: they are (they say) busy searching for their dead. They had lights on the hill all night, burying their slain, and they are now searching for swords and any thing they can find, also picking up balls of all kinds.
A number of swords have been taken.
The two sons of Abdoollah Khan are said to be wounded. We could hear Abdoollah Khan's nagura beating on the hill quite distinctly.