[287] “The General now turned down to some forts, from which some shots were reported to have been fired. The villagers all came out with Korans and ropes round their necks, praying for quarter. The General granted quarter, but sent in the light company of the 40th to search the houses. A shot was fired from some Ghazee in the place, and orders were then given for an indiscriminate massacre. The women and children were spared, but I suppose 100 of the villagers were butchered. I do not think the men were to blame—had they supposed themselves committed, they would have fled to the hills before the troops moved out, but no doubt there were Ghazees in the place, desperate men who had no wish to save their own lives, provided they could destroy an infidel, and to the infatuation of these few men were the others sacrificed. Five Commissariat camels were found inside, so that parties in the fort had certainly been plundering; and as we approached the place, I remarked a Moollah from one of the Boorjes, evidently haranguing the people and urging them to die as Ghazees. It has been a most unsatisfactory business altogether, and a few more such affairs will compromise us seriously.”—[Major Rawlinson’s MS. Journal.]
[288] Reeves and Bury—“Reeves was shot. Bury was cut down. Mackenzie received a severe sabre-wound in the elbow joint of his right arm.... Ravenscroft had been shot before the charge; but the wound turns out not to be dangerous. Malet had a very narrow escape. His hunting-cap (round which a shawl was wound) saved him, but he was slightly wounded in the face. Christie was ridden over in the confusion and lost his horse, but was remounted by one of his Native officers and saved.”—[Major Rawlinson to Major Outram Ghuznee, September 7, 1842. MS. Records.]
[289] He declared that one of them was Nott’s.
[290] Major Rawlinson to Major Outram: September 7, 1842. MS. Correspondence.
[291] Fired, however, from a height, the balls never ricocheted, and did but little mischief.
[292] Major Rawlinson to Major Outram: September 7, 1842. MS. Records.
[293] Colonel Stacy’s Narrative.
[294] General Nott’s Official Despatch.
[295] “The extensive village or town of Roza is situated about two miles from Ghuznee, and is lovely to behold. When this city was taken by the force under my command, Roza was full of inhabitants—men, women, and children. My troops were encamped close to its walls. Its gardens and its houses were full of property; its barns and farmyards were well stored; its orchards were loaded with fruit; its vineyards bent beneath a rich and ripe vintage; the property taken from our murdered soldiers of the Ghuznee garrison were seen piled in its dwellings.... Four days the victorious Candahar army remained encamped close to this village, with all these temptations before it, and at its mercy; but not a particle of anything was taken from the Afghans. The fruit brought for sale was paid for at a rate far above its value. No man nor living thing was injured.”—[General Nott to the Adjutant-General: Lucknow, April 4, 1843.]
[296] “An active and spirited enemy might have annoyed us exceedingly during this movement; but the Afghans appeared to have lost all heart from the affair of the morning, and a little cavalry skirmishing was all that occurred.”—[Major Rawlinson’s MS. Journal.]