Through the Sikh War: A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjaub

by G. A. Henty

"That is a consolation certainly, Hunt; but I don't care how soon the fun begins, for I own that I am getting sick of bargaining for bullocks and working like a horse eight or ten hours a day. It is all very well for you aides-de-camp, whose work consists in writing a few letters for the chief and cantering across with some message; but for us hard-worked quarter-masters it is no holiday here. I do hope most heartily that the Sikhs will not be long before they begin their raids, and give us a decent excuse for fighting them."

"How strong do you think they are likely to turn out, Groves? They tell us a hundred thousand."

"I should say a good deal more than that," Percy replied. "There will be over a hundred thousand troops, for all who have passed through the ranks will be certain to rejoin them. Then the great sirdars can put almost as many fighting men into the field."

"That sounds serious, and I suppose there is no doubt they will fight bravely."

"That they are sure to do," Percy said. "What force do you think we shall be able to put in the field?"

"There are over ten thousand men at Ferozepore, with twenty-four guns. Here we have, by the field state to-day, seven thousand two hundred and thirty-five, and twelve guns. At Umballa there are about thirteen thousand men, with thirty-two guns. You see, ever since Hardinge came out he has seen this thing brewing, and has been quietly preparing for it. When he landed in India last year there were at these three stations only between thirteen and fourteen thousand men and forty-eight guns, and in the last eighteen months he has increased the force by seventeen thousand men and twenty guns.

"At Meerut there are about ten thousand men and twenty-six guns, but as that place is two hundred and fifty miles away, we can't count upon any assistance from there at first, if the Sikhs should take it into their head to cross the Sutlej. Of course if we invade we shall wait until the Meerut force is brought up before we advance. Sir Henry arrived at Umballa on the second, and was to leave yesterday. Ostensibly he is not here for any warlike purpose whatever, but is occupied in making an inspection of the protected district, interviewing the chiefs, and ascertaining what their feeling is towards us. These states voluntarily put themselves under our protection some five-and-thirty years ago, having no desire to fall under the sway of Lahore; and they have greatly benefited, for Runjeet Singh would assuredly have annexed the whole territory between the Sutlej and the Jumna, if he had not been warned that if he attacked these petty princes he would bring us into the field against him. It has always been a sore point with the Sikhs beyond the Sutlej that we prevented them from obtaining what they considered their natural boundaries. The protected states are indeed to a great extent Sikh, and even now, although they owe the continuance of their existence as separate states to our protection, and the chiefs are all with us, the sympathies of the great body of the people are entirely with the Sikhs across the Sutlej.

"Runjeet Singh was wise enough to know that he would have risked losing all he had were he to try to wrest them from us. Had he thought himself strong enough he would have risked a war for it, for the country south of the Sutlej is far more fertile than it is to the north, and it would largely increase the revenues of the Punjaub did it form part of it. This is the real cause of their hostility to us, and of their present threatening attitude. Sir Henry is going, as I said, among the chiefs here. Some of these are really friendly, others only pretend to be so. But there is one thing certain, if any misfortune happened to our arms the whole country would be up against us; and in any case we shall have to take every possible precaution to guard our depots and communications, for directly fighting begins it would be unsafe for small parties to travel about the country."

Percy's stay in camp was of very short duration, for on the following evening Major Clissold sent for him.

"The general has just received a despatch from head-quarters, Groves; the news from the north is to the effect that the Sikhs are making great preparations there, and Major Broadfoot, the chief political agent at head-quarters, requests that you will at once proceed there to join him, as he wishes to question you as to your own personal observations of the state of feeling as you came down. I think it probable he will keep you with him for the present; and as you may have more important work to do there than buying bullocks and so on, I hope for your sake he will do so, though I shall be sorry to lose you, for I have already found by your work to-day that you would be a very valuable assistant. Still there is nothing like being at head-quarters and having the eye of the chief of your department upon you. You had better start this evening late."