The King wrote to say that John Conolly and Jan Fishan Khan, who came into cantonments, must not return to the Bala Hissar last night, as there were Juzailchees out for the purpose of cutting them off. They therefore went in at five this morning. They got in safe, though their escort was fired upon.
We had Sturt's yaboo paraded this morning, who did not seem to feel the smallest inconvenience, notwithstanding that he had been knocked down by a nine-pounder shot yesterday. The ball struck the rampart and rebounded on to his neck, which was protected by such a mane as would not be believed on description, being of the very shaggiest of those in this country.
At one this morning Sturt was roused up to examine a wall that Brig. Shelton wished to have pulled down, and was kept out, with Capt. Hawtrey and fifty men, for an hour. It proved to be a mare's nest, and the party were sent on a harassing duty for no purpose!
The 44th have asked for a court of inquiry, and it is to sit to-morrow: but there is but too much evidence to prove that the Europeans were the first to run away from the Captured fort. The artillerymen in the bastions all assert that they were so, and also the first into cantonments; and the rest of the regiment have cut that company; and men are generally good judges of their comrades' conduct.
Capt. Trevor was sent by Sir William to meet several Ghilzye chiefs who had volunteered to enter into terms with him, on payment of two lakhs of rupees, which sum was taken by Trevor that night, but only one person met him, who said that the others had seceded from the engagement, and they would not receive the money. They had declared that, although connected by marriage with Mahommed Akbar Khan, they had no regard for him, and would, if Sir William wished it, bring his head; but he replied, assassination was not our custom.
The alarm was sounded, and at the same time there was a signal flying from the Bala Hissar, of the enemy being in force in the Shah's garden. They were making a place to fire behind; from which we drove them. We had the usual firing all day, and dismounted one of their guns.
Early this morning I was awakened by firing, proceeding from a party under a Duffodar, in charge of twenty yaboos, with 100 sacks to be filled with grain at the Bala Hissar. They were fired on by the enemy; and came scampering back without their bags, and having lost six ponies.
Capt. Hay was this day sent with a message of consequence to the King, attended by an escort of fifty horse. He went out of cantonments at a brisk trot, and forded the river. The enemy kept an excellent look-out; they were immediately in pursuit, but our party got safe into the Bala Hissar. It was a beautiful sight to see Hay with his cap pulled down on his brows, his teeth set, neither looking right nor left, but leading his men with the air of a man ready and expecting to encounter the worst, and fully determined to do his devoir. We were all very anxious about him, and were delighted to hear that he had got back safe, for they were fired on in returning, and ten horses without riders were the heralds of their return. One man only is missing, and we hope he may yet find his way in, as it is very dark, and the enemy may miss him.
To avoid the enemy, they had to make a détour out of the road some miles, and the men got dismounted by their horses stumbling and falling into ditches, &c . There was much anxiety relative to the purport of the message. It was supposed to be an urgent entreaty from the Envoy to the King, that the latter would come into cantonments for the purpose of retreating with the army to India: whatever it was, it produced an order for the immediate evacuation of the Bala Hissar by our troops.
The enemy have been busy to-day making a platform (said to be 12 feet by 4) behind the commissariat fort.