The gardens between us and the town are occupied by the enemy, but the village of Zenrot on the ridge, is not. Large numbers of cavalry are seen on the other boundary range of the valley, opposite our encampment, certainly 2,000; this is probably the other son of Dost Mahommud, who left the fort with the Gilzee cavalry on the night of our march to Ghuznee, for the purpose of attacking our baggage; they were easily driven from the ridge, which is now occupied by our horse.
23rd.—Ghuznee was taken this morning by a coup-de-main, the whole affair was over in half an hour from the time the gate was blown open; there was, however, a good deal of firing afterwards, and some of the inhabitants even held out throughout the day, and caused almost as much loss as that which occurred in the storm. The affair took place as follows: the guns moved into position between 12½ and 2½ P.M., and about 3 P.M. commenced firing at the defences over the gate: under cover of this fire the bags of powder, to the amount of 800 lbs. were placed against the gate by Captain Peat, the hose being fired by Lieut. Durand. In the mean time the road to the gate was occupied by the storming party, the advance of which was composed of the flank companies of all the European Regiments. The head of the advance was once driven back by a resolute party of Affghans, who fought desperately hand to hand, but a jam taking place, the check was only momentary. After clearing the gate, the enemy must have become paralysed, and both town and citadel were gained with an unprecedentedly trifling loss. None of the engineers, or of the party who placed the bags, were touched, although from the enemy burning blue lights they must have been seen distinctly: two, of a few Europeans who accompanied Capt. Peat were shot; one killed. During the day a great number of prisoners were taken, among whom was Dost Mahommud’s son; a great number of horses also fell into our hands.
24th.—Ghuznee: by this morning at 9 o’clock every thing was quiet, and the last holders-out have been taken; strict watch is kept at the gate to prevent plunder, dead horses are now dragged out, and dead men buried: the place looks desolate, but the inhabitants are beginning to return. It appears to me a very strong, though very irregular place, the stronger for being so: the streets are very narrow, and dirty enough, houses poor, some said to be good inside, it is a place of considerable size, perhaps one-third less than Candahar. It is surrounded by a wet ditch, of no great width, the walls are tall and strong, weakest on the north-east angle immediately under the citadel; parapets, etc. are in good repair. The loop holes are however absurd, and even when large are carefully screened. The ditch is crossed at the Cabul gate by a stone bridge. The Zuburjur is a very large gun, but almost useless to Affghans, who are no soldiers. Every side of the town might have been stoutly defended.
The view from the citadel is extensive and fine, the mountains to the north and north-west extremely so, and seem crowded in the view, while the river and its cultivation add novelty to an Affghan landscape; many villages are visible in every direction, surrounded with gardens and orchards.
There is a good deal of cultivation all round the town, which is situated on a sloping mound, separated by the ditch from the ridge forming the northern boundary of the valley, up which the Cabul road runs; there is a small mosque on this ridge, and below it, within 400 yards of the ramparts, a small village, from which the attack was best seen. The gardens are as usual walled, and are all capable of irrigation, the plots being covered with fine grass or clover. Apples, apricots, pears, and plums much like the Orlean’s plum, a sort of half greengage, bullace, Elæagnus, and mulberries, are the principal fruit trees; of these the pear is the best, it is small but well flavoured; the others are indifferent. There are many vineyards dug into shallow trenches: the plum is allied to the egg-plum, but altogether there are four kinds.
The chief vegetation of the uncultivated ground is a small Salsola, Salsola luteola, this is mixed with Peganum, Santalaceæ, Senecionoides glaucescens, Umbelliferoid bicornigera, Composita, having the decurrent part of the leaves dislocated and hanging down. Centaurea spinescens, Linaria, Joussa, and one or two Astragali.
The vegetation, with the exception of an Artemisia indicæ similis, a Malvacea, and an Orobanche growing on Cucumis sp., is precisely the same as that met with from Mookhloor hither, Cichorium, Polygonum graminifolium natans, and two others, Rumex, Mentha, Epilobium micranthum, Dandelion, Plantago major, Panicum.
There are two kinds of willow trees; Thermopsis is not uncommon, Centaurea magnispina and Zygophyllum of Candahar are very common, Sisymbrium, Lophia, Hyoscyamus, Centaurea cyanea, Tauschia. Magpies, Hoopoes, Pastor roseus. Corvus corax, etc., along the water-cuts.
Some fine Poplars occur at a village, or rather a Fuqeer’s residence; about one and a half mile to the south-west of the town on the road to Candahar, and about it, one or two Carduaceæ, one a fine one, to be called C. zamufolia, Pomacea acerifolia, also in gardens: among the cultivated plants are maize, fennel, aniseed? Solarium, Bangun! Madder, the beautiful clover of Mookhloor, lucerne, melons, watermelons, cresses, L. sativum, radishes, onions, beetroot.
There are no ruins indicating a very extensive old city. About our camp are the remains of bunds and old mud walls; near us, and between us and the city, are two minars, with square tall pedestals, of burnt brick, about 100 feet high, and 600 paces apart: there is nothing striking about them, although they bear evidences of greater architectural skill than any thing I have seen in the country, excepting the interior of Ahmed Shah’s tomb. The base is angular, fluted, and equals the capital, which is but little thicker towards its base. They are brick, and derive their beauty from the diversity in the situation of the bricks. The one nearest the city is the smaller, and appears perfect, it is likewise provided with a staircase: the larger one is broken at the top of the capital.