The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-03 00:00:00

FORTH

IUZNu:E,

We extract from the Oriental Herald the fol-
lowing striking description of the captute of the
fortress of Ghuznee, drawn up by Captain Thom-
son, the chief engineer. Too great praise cannot be
given to the engineers, officers, and men, who got
possession of a fort hitherto eonsidered by the na-
tives all but impregnable, and, from the statement
of Captain Thomson, in reality one of great strength.
It cannot be denied, however, that good fortune
must come in for a share of the praise. Had
the Caubu gate been properly secured, like
tie others, or the engineer failed in disco-
vering its defenceless state, what could the
army have done without the battering train f
We might have had to record a protracted seige,
an epidemic, or•a defeat. With such a handful' of
!men the result is astonishing. The letter describ-
ing the present state of Caubul is copied from the
same useful publication, and will be read with
twerest.

1 MEMORANDUM Of TAR ENGINEER OPERATION AT THE
TAKING OF GIIVENEZ IN JOLT, 1839.
The accounts of the fortress of Ghuzne-e, received from
those who bad seen it, were such es to induce his Excel-
IcncY the Commander-in-Chief to leave in Candabar the
very 'mall battering train then with the army, there being
a serarcity of transport cattle. The place was described
as ...ery weak, and completely commanded from a range
of hills to the north.
_ When we eame before it on the morning of the 21st of
..fuly, we were very much surprised to find a high rampart
in good repair, built on a scarped mound about thirty five
feet high, flanked by numerous towers, and surrounded by
a faussebraye and a wet ditch. The irregular figure of
f the encitute gave a good flanking fire, whilst the height of
the eiteda'i covered the interior from the commanding fire
of the ieills to the north, rendering it nug +tory. In addi-
tion '.O this, the towers at the angles had been enlarged,
screen walls had been built before the gates, the ditch
:feared out and filed with water (stated to be unfordable),
and an outwork built on the right bank of the river, so as
to command the bed of it. The garrison was variously
stated from three to four thousand strong, including SOO
revelry From subsequent information we found that it
had been over-rated.
Or, the approach of the army a fire of artillery was
opened from the body of the place, and of musketry from
the neighbouring gardens. A detachment of infantry
I cleared the latter, and the former was silenced for a short
time by shrepnells from the horse-artillery. But the tire
from the new outwork on the bank cf the river was in no
Way checked. A nearer view of the works was, however,
obtained from the gardens, which had been cleared.
This was not at aP satisfactory—the works were evidently
much stronger than we had been led to anticipate, and
such as our army could not venture to attack in a regular
ttnenner with the means, at our disposal. We had no bat-
tering train. and toattack Gbuznee in form, a much larger
train would be required thau the army ever possessed.
The greet height of the parapet above the plain (60 or 70
feet), with the wet ditch, were insurmountable obstacles
to an attack merely by mining or escalading. I
It, therefore, became requisite to examine closely the
Whole contour of the place, to dissever if any other mode
of attack could be adopted. The engineers, with an
"curt, went round the works, approaching as near as they
o'neld find cover ; the garrison were on the alert, and kept
up a hot and welt-directed fire on the officers whenever
1 they were obliged to show themselves. However, by
keeping the infantry beyond musket range, and the ca
valry at a still greater distance, only one man was killed
and one wounded, and the former was hit. by men sent
out of the glace to (hive of the reconeoitering party
The fortifications were found equally strong all round,
the only tangible point oho rued was the Caubul Gateway,
which offered the folloaing advantage for a coop-de-main
--the road up to the gate was clear, the bridge over the
ditch was unbrel•en, there were good positions for the
artillery within 310 yards of the walls on both sides of the
road, and we had information that the gateway was rot
built up, a reinforcement from Caubul being expected.
The result of this reconooisance was a Report to his
Excellency the Commander-in- Chief, that if he decided on
the immediate attack of Ghuznee, the only feasible mode
of attack, and the only one which held out a prospect ef
success, was a dash at the Caubul Gateway, blowing the
gate open by bags of powder
His Excellericy decided on the attempt, the camp was
moved that evening to the Caubul road, and next min ning
(the 22d) Sir John Keane in p,rson reconnoitered the pro-
posed point of attack ; he rpitrnved of the plan, and gave
9r.liera for its execution. Preparations were made accord-
Mgly, positions for the artillery were carefully examined,
which excited the jealousy of the garrison, who opened a
smart fire on the party.
It was arranged that an explosion party, consisting of
three officers of engineers (Capt. Peat, Lieuts. Durand
and Macleod), three sergeants, and eighteen men of the
sappers, in working dresses, carrying 300 lbs. of powder in
twelve sand-bags, with a hose seventy-two feet long,
should be ready to move down to the gateway at day-
break. At midnight the first battery left camp, followed
II t'ne other four at intervals of half an hour. Those to
tae right of the road were conducted to their positions by
Lieutenant Sturt of the engineers, those to the left by
Lieutenant Anderson : the ground for the guns was pre-
pared by the sappers and pioneers, taking advantage of
the inequality of the ground on the right, and some old
garden walls on the left. The artillery were all in posi-
tion, and ready by three a.m. of the 23d, and shortly after,
at the first dawn, the party under Captain Peat moved
down to the gateway, accompanied by six men of his Ma-
jesty's 13th Light Infantry, without their belts, and sup-
liorte-d by a detachment of the same regiment, which ex-
tended to the right and left of the road when they arrived
at the ditch, taking advantage of what cover they could
find, and endeavouring to keep down the fire from the
ramparts, which became heavy on the approach of the
party, though it had been remarkably stack during the
previous operations. Blue lights were shown, which
rendered the surrounding objects distinctly visible ; but
luckily they were burned from the top of the parapet, in-
stead of being thrown into the passage below.
The explosion party marched steadily on, headed by
Lieutenant Durand; the powder was placed, the hose
laid, the train fired ; and the carrying party ret red to a
tolerable cover in less than two minutes. The artillery
opened when the blue lights appeared, and the musketry
from the covering party at the same time : so quickly
was the operation performed, and so little were the enemy
aware of the nature of it, that not a man of the part)
was hit.
As soon as the explosion took place, Captain Peat,
though hurt, his anxiety preventing his keeping suffi-
ciently under cover, ran up to the gate (accompanied by a
small party of her Majesty's 13th Light Infantry), and
ascertained that it wa completely deAioyed. There wt.s
some delay in getting a bugler to sound the advance, the
signal agreed on fur the assaulting column to push on,
and this was the only mistake in the operation.
The assaulting column consisted of four European re-
giments, by Brigadier Sale. The advance, under Lieute-
nant-Colonel Dennie, accompanied by Lieutenant Sturt,
Engineer ; the gateway, through a passage inside the
gate ending in a domed building, with the opening on one
side, made everything very obscure, and rendered it din
cult to find the outlet into the town. They met with little
opposition, but part of the enemy, seeing a break in the
column, owing to the difficulty in scrambling over the
rubbish in the gateway, made a rush, ,word in hand, and
Cut down a good many men, vvouneltd the brigadier and
several other officers. These swordsmen were repulsed
and there was no other regular opposition ; the sui prise
and alarm of the governor and sliders being so great,
When they saw the column occupying the open space inside
the gate and firing on them, that they fled, accompanied by
the'r men ; even the garrison of the citadel following their
example. Parties of the Affghans took refuge in houses,
firing on the column as it made its way through the sue ::ti;,
and a good deal of desultory fighting took place in conse-
quence, by which some loss wee sustained. The citadel
Was occupied as soon as daylight showed that it had been
evacuated by the enemy, and the whole of the works were'
in our possession before five o'clock.
We lost 17 men (6 European and 11 natives) killed;
28 ufficera, 117 European, and 30 natives, wounded; total,
182. Of the Affghans more than 514 were killed in the
town, that number of bodies having been buried, and about
WO outside by the cavalry; 1,600 prisoners were taken,
but I have no means of estimating the number of wounded
There were nice guns of differ eat calibres found iii
the place, a large quantity of good powder, considerable
stores of slot, lead, &c., and a large supply of otta and
. other provisions.

GEO. THOMSON,
Chief Engineer, Army of the Indus
Camp Ghuanee, July 25, 1839.

CAUBUL CABUL.
, Ave. 16, 1839.—1 promised in my last to pre
you some account of the
the
to an impossibility, for of Caubul, but find that next
children, horses, camels, de and
crowds of men, women,
streets, render it almost 41s, and cats, which throng the
place : such as I can, however, to get a sight of the
town is situated in a kind of fu'r:fisealt your service. The
and irregular hills. On the easternm'eswti,:.f
formed by two high
these two stands
the Bala Hissar Bala, a fortification
This latter
overlooks the
h. is a co he
Hissar, or Palace of the King.
pletely separate fortification from the town
, and
tell lies in
front of it, surrounded by a wall and ditch of its
extending across the valley to the westernmost of the
hills above named, which are separated by a narrowe two
carried
massive atone
rocky pass. From the Bala Hissar Bala, a
wall extends up the steepest part of the hill, is
down into and across the gorge above-mentioned, and over
the hill to the westward. On entering the gates of the
town, the narrowness of the streets, the excessive filth of
the people, and the density of the population, naturally
attract attention. But when the eye and nose have be-
come somewhat accustomed to these, the fruit shops come
in for their share of admiration; you have read of the won-
derful assortment of fruits displayed at some of the feasts,
mentioned in the Arabian Nights,—so have I, but I never
law the reality of it till I came here. Fruits of every cli-
mate under heaven, as various in hue as the colours of the
rainbow, as beautiful in appearance as the calm brow of
youth or the downy cheek of beauty, as rich in perfume as
the box of attar, or Rowland's shop, and as delightful to
the taste as the first apple stolen in the days of our infancy,
here lie piled in endless profusion on the counters before
you, and strange to say I the sellers do not grudge the
infidels a taste of their fruits, even though they should
have forgot to bring the magic metal, whose touch would
have sealed the eyes of even the Dragon of the Hesperides.
1 Hut we must not loiter all day in front of the fruitshops;
so (lions! The din and clatter arising from those low
I brewed domiciles announce the abodes of the tin and cop-
persmiths, in front of each of which stands, in the street,
1 )not suspe!ided over the window as was the custom of old in
tEnglish metropolis, a huge copper vessel, capable of
containing an ocean of grape-juice. A little farther on
!re the, a Jdl,,rs and shoemakers; rich and inviting are
to e. Lr saJ v, p; ita all the gaad)-col,..ur‘d leathery and gay

stitching, a herewith the Affghans delight to ornam,nt
their horses; good, too, are they as gay, and the leather the
best produce of Russia, Herat, and Cauhul. Advancing
further we arrive at a square open space, round which are
confectioners, fruiterers, farriers, blacksmiths, and butch-
ers' shops ; and a few paces more and we are in a lofty,
covered bazaar. Many of the shops herein are closed still,
and those which are occupied are chiefly those of tailors
and clothiers or haberdashers. Between this and the next
covered market the Atarees or apothecaries' shops invite
the eye. But a description, or even enumeration of all,
would be tedious. One feature, and not a pleas'ng one,
though common to all Mahommedan cities, is the absence
of females. Very few are seen ; and ahese so enshrouded
in the envious bowrka, with its narrow-barred or finely
eyelet-holed screen for the face, that they have very little
of feminine appearance about them. I wonder that the
taste of the ladies of Islam, does not lead them to adopt
some more becoming disguise, if concealment be still
deemed necessary. You are aware, however, I dare say,
that some of the Turkish ladies, as well as one or two of
very high Indian Mahommedan families, have discarded it
entirely ; deeming it far bettor to cherish that modesty of
eyes and deportment, which renders a veil unnecessary.
Their example. might, with great advantage, be followed
by the fair dames of this city, whose charms require not
the aid of imagination to heighten them ; and their kindness
of manners, render all solicitous for their welfare.
The Bala Hisser is a town of itself. Besides numerous

dwelling-houses, shops, leo., it contains two extensive pa-
laces. One, the late residence of Dost Mahomed Khan,
is occupied by its rightful owner; and the other, formerly
tenanted by Sir Alexander Burnes, during his visit to
Caubul, is now inhabited ►y Mr. Macnaghten and his
suite. The army of the Indus is in camp, at a distance of
some miles from the city, and Sir John Keane has esta-
blished his head-quarters at the Emperor Babur's tomb,
a be,autiful and romantic spot, some mile and a half from
Caubul. The Shah's force, or rather the ghost of it,
which represents the force at head quarters, is pitched on
a plain outside the gate of the Bala Hissar. This spot
promises to be unhealthy. It is intersected with small
canals, quite impassable, except by jumping, as the water
in some is deep, and the mud in all excessively tena-
eious, as the dead camels stuck in it, amply prove. We
are in hopes of soon having a " local habitation" assigned
us, as it has been resolved on to canton the Shah's force
in this neighbourhood. But there is no time to be lost;
for this is neither a country productive in wood, or
thatching materials, and a Brigade of Infantry, Regiment
of Cavalry, and the Shah's force, will require vast
additions to the buildings of Caubul, for their ac-
commodation.

Hadji Khankakur, one of the chiefs who accompanied
Captain Outram's party in pursuit of the Dost, returned
last night. He reports that the chief has escaped over
the Hiudoo Koosh ; and that Captain Outram is on his
return. Dost Mahomed's safety will probably be produc-
tive of much annoyance and trouble to us hereafter, as it
is most likely he will endeavour to preach up a crusade
against us throughout Central Asia, and will doubtless re-
ceive indirect encouragement, it is said, from Russia, in
spite of her disallowing the acts of M. Vieovitch.
A notice was yesterday circulated that the dales would in
future be sent by Peshawar. This will be a great im-
provement ; for we received papers yesterday of the 13th
July, from Calcutta, via Peshawar; while the latest, by
the Shikarpoar route, is upwards of a month older. Mark,
therefore, the date of receipt of this, which is my first de-
spatch, by the Punjab route.
Nothing can be finer than the weather is here. The
thermometer is at this moment at 80 deg., and it seldom
rises higher in my tent, which is pitched on the bank of a
ditch, through which a small stream runs, fringed with wii-
low trees. Beneath my feet is a carpet 6f lucern grass,
and beyond the ditch extends a wide field of stubble. Be-
yond it again is a green and swampy meadow, where our
cattle are feeding. A little further off appear fortified
villages and groves, while a high mountain forms the
back ground. The nights are cold ; and morning and
evening we are delighted with a view of the icy peaks of
the Soofaid Koh. What chiefly surprises us is the absence
of animal life. Game there appears to be none, except in
the high and remote hilly tracts. Birds are vrry scarce.
I have only seen, I think, one crow, and not a single
sparrow, since I arrived in Caubul. Beasts of prey seem
unknown ; but these animals may be dispensed with,
owing to the inhabitants very nearly approaching beasts,
ferm naturse, in their disposions and habits.
Marshal Wade has not yet made his appearance, but is
expected in a few days. He has had a brush at a fort ;
on which occasion Captain Ferris, of the 20th, appears
to have performed as many characters as Sylvester Dag-
gerwood himself, or the great Mr. Birch. Our arrival
here has afforded us no relief from our duties, nor any op-
portunity of forming or improving our men. We have
just the same number on duty still, as we used to have on
the march through an enemy's country. Bet this is in
some measure necessary, from the number and boldness of
the thieves about. A party of them fired upon our picquets
last night, and wounded one sentry, and one of their
bullets passed the tents of some of our officers. We
shall have to make an example of some of these chaps.
Three of the officers were the other day standing on the
top of one of their houses in the town, when some indivi-
dual took a cool shot at them, but fortunately missed his
aim. Thus, you see, however popular his Majesty may
be, there is no doubt of our unpopularity.