The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-09 00:00:00

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DESTRUCTION of the GOORKAH
REGIMENT, at CHARUKAR. •
It is with melancholy pleasure that we publish the
ibllowing statement of-one of the Goorka Sepoys be-
longing to the regiment which was cut up in Ko-
histan in November last, soon after the outbreak
of the insurrection. We believe it is the first
authentic and detailed narrative of that event which
has been obtained, and of which the only known
survivors are Major Pottinger, Lieutenant Haugh-
ton, and the Doctor, in addition to the nar-
rator. The perusal of it will excite the deepest
interest. It exhibits a spirit of exalted courage, and
a patient endurance of suffering in circumstances the
most adverse, which has scarcely a parallel in our
Indian history. And in proportion to the admira-
tion excited by the conduct of this heroic band while
struggling for more than a fortnight against an over-
whelming force, and the excruciating torture of thirst,
must be our regret at the catastrophe which has con-
signed such gallantry to an untimely, but not dis-
honourable, grave. Would that we had a dozen such
regiments now marching into Affghanistan to retrieve
our lost reputation.
The Sepoy, whose narrative we now publish, ap-
peared in the Commander-in-Chiefs camp on the
12th of the present month, and was conducted to the
tent of the Persian interpreter, who took down his
narrative, and, with the view of ascertaining the accu-
racy of his recollections, desired him to repeat his
statement the next day, when it was found substan-
tially to agree with his previous account. It is a plain
and simple tale, and is rendered remarkable by
the absence of anything like boasting or self-con-
ceit. Poor Codrington appears to have been greatly
beloved by his men. Mooteram was greatly affected
when alluding to his sufferings. While speaking of
his own distresses he was calm: mid collected, but he
became quite agitated whenever he had occasion
to refer to the ill-treatment of Lieutenant Haughton,
whom he described as a brave and noble character.
He appears to think that most of the 200 Sepoys
must have been killed, because they offered a despe-
rate resistance; he himself only made off when by
dint of fighting and struggling he found himself
clear. On being asked what he thought of the Aff-
ghans, and whether they were not cowards, the hardy
mountaineer replied, " No, no, not cowards ; they
are fine men ; but with anything like equal terms, say
two or even three of them to one of us, we would soon
make clean work of them"—saf ker was his charac-
teristic expression.
NARRATIVE OF MOOTERAM SINGH, NAICK AND AVTING
HIVILDAR IN THE 6TH COMPANY OF THE 6TH REGI-
MSNT, OR GOORKAS, IN THE SERVICE OF THE SHAH
SOO.TA-00L-MOOLK.
The regiment was stationed at Charukar, in the
11 mountainous country, to the north of Caubul, about
18 koss. It was at its full strength of 800 Sepoys.
We had 500 horse.composed of men of the country.
and three guns; one was a large, long gun, the others
six-pounders. The artillerymen were Moosulmans,
from the Punjab, and had formerly been in Dost
Mahomed's service. Charukar is a moderate sized
town • our small fort, in which we were lodged, was
at a short distance, perhaps half a koss, from the
town. There was another small fort, called Lugh-.
man-kee-Gurhee, at a koss distance from our fort,
where he had a company on thity, and where Major
Pottinger, Captain Rattray, and the Doctor, lived.
Sometime in the month of Kartick (towards the
middle or end of October), Shah Mahmood, with a
son and brother of Meer Musjeedee, the Nijrow Chief,
came to Captain Rattray, saying he had brought
some recruits for the Russalahs (the 500 horse), and
inviting Captain Rattray to go and inspect them.
Accordingly Captain Rattray went, attended by his
Moonshee, who was a Goorka, and understood Eng-
lish, named Mohun Beer. They proceeded till they '
found themselves in front of a large body of men, who 1'
forthwith surrounded them. Captain Rattray was I
shot by one of them with a pistol, and died almost
instantly. The Moonshee, an active man, ran be- 1
tween the legs of the men surrounding him, and,
getting outside of them, ran for it. Though followed
and fired at by most of them, he got back with only
n-
musket shot in his left leg belew the knee. The
enemy, several thousands in number, now invested
the fort. Our Kohistanee horseinen deserted us, go 7
ing over to the enemy. The fort had no ditch, or
any external defence. This was about noon. About I
three F.M. Lieut. and Adjutant Haughton arrived from
Charukar with two companies. Great numbers of
Kohistanees had by this time assembled from all sides,
but on our approach they left the Mydan (open plain)
and took post in some grape-orchards, between us
and the fort, firing at us from behind the walls.
Finding that our ammunition was getting low, five
out of six bundles of cartridges being expended, we
made a rush and closed with the enemy. When we
got amongst them they lost heart, fought badly, and
even crept under the vines and bushes. We bayoneted
some, and killed many with our Kookrees. The
sahibs said, we had done for a thousand of them,
though we lost only some five or six killed, and as
many wounded. After this the Adjutant returned to
Charukar with the companies. That evening the
enemy again• surrounded the Lughman-kee-Gurhee,
keeping the people in it at work all night. Next
day about eight a.m., Adjutant Haughton, with
Quarter Master Sainsbury, three companies and a
six pounder, again went to the assigtance of Lugh-
man-kee-Gurhee. The enemy had assembled in
great force, more that? 20,000, but they hid them-
selves in various ways, and many lay down covering
themselves over with their chogah (sort of grey
cloak), and were not discernible at any distance. As
we neared the fort they came out from their conceal-
ment, and got all round us. 'We kept them off till
our ammunition ran short, when we retreated fight-,
ing and brought back the six-pOunder, as also the
body of Ensign Sainsbury, who was killed. We had
100 men killed and 50 wounded, and two artillery-
men killed• and three wounded. As we neared the
fort the rest of the battalion came out. There was
fighting all day. In the evening the enemy retired,
and cut off our water. It came by a water-course from
the hills. That night they summoned the people in.
Lughman-kee-Gurhee to surrender, threatening in
case of refusal to destroy all hands. They then went
o the foot of the walls, and commenced undermining
them. Finding the place untenable, Major Pottinger
the Doctor, and a Kranee, and all hands left it during
the night by a postern (Chordurwaza), and reached
Charukar by a circuituus track about eight the fol-
lowing evening ; but many did not come in till
several (lays afterwards. 'three men, sentries, two
over the gateway, and the other over some Nijrow
prisoners, were left standing, forgotten in the hurry,
and have not been heard of. We continued to make
good our ground outside our fort, having the guns
also with us, for 12 days. We had a small quantity
of water in a hole, near the fort, formed by excavating
when building up the mud walls of the fort. Each
man had a seer of it the firstday, less and less daily till
it was all consumed. Captain Codrington had his left
arm shattered by a musket ball on the 3d day,
but continued with the corps, using a sling till
the Bth day, when a ball entered his left breast and
passed out through his back. He died two days af-
terwards. Major Pottinger was also shot on the Bth
day, through the left thigh with a musket ball. We
suffered much from thirst, some men quite mad from
it. On the 12th day the enemy came down in great
numbers, shouting and beating drums, threatening to
exterminate us, vowing to say their Namaz (Mahome-
dan prayer) inside the fort that day. We fought hard.
Our gun ammunition was expended, and we-rammed
down handfulls of our musket practice ammunition
balls. We killed and badly wounded 1,500 of them,
(so the sahibs said, and so we thought too) and beat
them back ; but more came on, and it was like taking
a lota of water out of the Ganges. On the 13th day
they gave us little trouble, seeing our desperate state,
and knowing that we should perish of thirst. We
had been five days without water. This day the Ar-
tillery men deserted. Captain Haughton, our Ad-
jutant, while trying to prevent them, had his fore arm
chopped off and his neck badly cut, with a sabre. We
got the guns inside the fort, placing the six pounders
on a bastion and the large gun in the gateway. We
had no gate or door, none having been put up, nor
any means of closing the entrance. On the night of
the 13th day some of the men stole out, found water
in the vicinity, and brought some wet clothes, from
which they wrung out the water into the mouths of
their relatives and friends. Mr. Rose, seeing this,
-poke cheerfully to us, saying that he would soon get
plenty of water for us. Accordingly, about twelve at
night of the 14th day, he took 100 men (I was one),
every man carrying a water vessel of some sort, the
Bheesites of the Regiment, and others, and went out
in the direction of the town. We came to a sort of
,•ut or trench, into which they bring water from the
forhilly irrigating the fields. It was breast deep. We
all drank our bellies full. The -water was so sweet,
filled our vessels and began cur return ; but missed
the way, and stumbled on the enemy's camp. They
ere'all asleep. We happened to collie upon Shan
Mahood's own teat. He was shot, and a bayonet

was thrust through his head, going in at the right
eye. We had a good hard fight. The darkness
favoured us. We captured one out of three large
broad--eloth green flags, and gut off into the fort with
the water, losing 12 men killed and 15 wounded.
Five men had died of thirst. We poured some water
down the throats of many who had lost all conscious-
! ness, and revived them. The water lasted three days.
The officers themselves served it out in small quan-
tities to those most requiring it ; the men, at times,
almost taking it by force through the frenzy of thirst.
The enemy during all this time continued to annoy
us with their fire; they made low calls for water,
fired at us with their jezails, doing great mischief,
while our muskets would not carry so far. On the
17th day the water was all gone.- We got some
Doombah sheep's flesh to eat for four days. The
fit, and eating the meat nearly raw, in a manner took
off . the extremity of our sufferings from thirst. Our
Adjutant now prohibited us from going out, saying
that so many of us had been killed. Iwo Affglians
came in with fruit, and offered to supply us with water
if paid for doing so. The sahib gave them some ru-
pees ; I dont know how much, hut a good large sum.
They told us that they would let off the water so that
it should flow again towards us, and told us what hour
of the night it would come down. We went out to
meet the water, but they had dealt treacherously, and
we were surprised by the enemy, and lost five men.
The next day, early, supposing us helpless, the enemy
attempted to storm the fort; the shot came in like
a hail storm ; a Bengal Baboo was among the killed, a
shot going into his mouth. By order of the Adjutant
we .cut up our tents and those of the officers, with the
suleetahs, and made into bags, filling them with earth
and placing them as R sort of' a parapet, and firing
from behind them. In this way four or five days passed.
Men sometimes stole out for water at night, and seve-
ral were killed or wounded in doing so. Our suffer-
iings from thirst were very great. .The enemy several
times brought up scaling ladders; but we shot them
down, so that they relinquished the attempt. We
buried the sergeant-major, and between forty or
fifty men, in a pit dug inside the Fort. The smell
inside had become very bad, from so many sick and
wounded. The enemy constructed' a mine,
commencing it in a Faqueer's Takinjah (a
Faqueer's residence, generally walled round),
about a musket-shot north of the Fort; this
I heard afterwards, for their operations were
not perceptible ; and about eight o'clock at
night of the 24th or 25th day they sprung it under
a bastion. A great many, I (lon't know how many,
of our people were destroyed. The enemy came
rushing in, but we beat them back, and kept them
out for two hours. The great gun here did good
service ; the Doctor served the • vent and Mr. Rose
rammed down. Finding there was nothing to be
done, we sallied out about eleven at night. We had
Major Pottinger and Adjutant Haughton in doolies ;
and there Were some Bunniahs, camp followers, 9.5
women of the Regiment and a few children, and
about .50 wounded sepoys ; there were about 200 men
left fit'for duty, but weak and parched with thirst.
We as far as Rara Bagh, 4 koss towards Caubul,
the enemy -following us. There the road was deep
and narrow between walls. Here they were, waiting
for us ; we were surrounded. All became noise and
confusion ; the enemy fired into us, and broke in
among us fifty to one ; I can give no account. of
others. We fought as well and as long as we could.
Seeing all was up, I fled towards the hills on our
right, westward, with six others, and passed the re-
mainder of the night as, I best could. The ground
was• covered with snow. 'We remained concealed all
the next day. We had a seer of Atta and a seer of Dal
among us, brought from the Fort. When it grew
dark we started for Caubul, for we had heard nothing
of the rising there, and reached Hajee Khanke-
killa early in the morning. Some 10. or 12 horse-
men and 20 footmen came upon us, and stripped
us and robbed us of everything. I had 60 rs. and
two gold mahurs. They were going to cut us down,
or shoot us, but they spared us when we declared
ourselves Moosulmans and repeated the Kulmah. One
of my companions ran away, and Ido not know
what became of him. 1 and the five others were
shut up five days in a sort of fort, but. the owner of
it, Bowadeon, on my declaring myself a Syad,
libera-
ted us, and went with us about a Loss towards Jellala-
bad. Proceeding alittle way on, We were taken by the
1 followers of a great Sinter, whose name I cannot
recollect (he and Captain Burnes had been intimate
friends, and he had a telescope .and other gifts pre-
sented to hint by Captain .B.), and brought to a house
land a sort of fort, about four koss off. .We were kept
there '2O days. They made us do all sorts of work, •
and fed us on the refuse of their. meals, I never saw
the chief. He was with his men at .Caubul. His son
only was at home, a fine handsome Man. Finding
us awkward at our work, he turned us' out to go
wherever we might choose. There was a trader there
from Gurbund with camels. He employed us two
days in tending his camels, and turned us off be-
cause one of them died. We found our way naked
and hungry to Caubul, where we remained wander-
ing about, kicked and buffeted, ill-treated and
abused, suffering from cold, hunger, and misery, many
days. I cannot say how long, for I was so wretched
that I heeded not the lapse of time. We joined the
1 31oam Sahibas when they left the Balla Ilissar, and
accompanied them to Jugdulluck. Thence, at the
dispersion of the troops, I fled alone across the
mountains northward ; at the end of a day and night
I came to a place called Char Bagh, where I found
some Khetre Bunniahs. There is a small fortification
there, and a Dhurumsalah (Serai.) They befriended
me and gave me food three days. There was a
large kafilah of camels there, bringing goods of
various kinds towards India. The Bunniahs took me
with them, secreting me at times in the Suleetahs, and
dressing me as a Faqueer. We crossed the Caubul
river and the Koonur, and came into the country
of Baoo jan Padshah. The Bundialts were plundered
by the Moosulmans at the seventh day's journey.
frOm Char Bagh. There were two Faqueers travel-
ling_ with us : I staid with them, taking a road
through a mountainous country, and coming out by
Attock ; thence I crossed the river and came to Loo-
dianah via Rawul Pindee, Lahore, and Umrutsir, on
10th March, 1842.

My home is about five koss from Lohooghat. east,
in the Goorkhalia. I was wounded slightly in the
left knee at Bameean ; I served throughout the war,
going with the army under Sir John Keane. My
prayer is, that I may be appointed to the Kamaoon
Local Battalion, in which I have relatives.—Friend
(f India (Calcutta. Paper).

PESTILENTIAL EFFLUVIA IN THE TE-
ZEEN AND K ITOORD CAUBUL PASSES.
A Medical Correspondent has pointed out to us a
source of obstruction to the advance of our armies
on Caubul by the line ofJellalabad and Khoord Cattbul,
to which we have not hitherto adverted. It is not
only fearful in its magnitude, but sad and mise-
rable indeed in its nature ; and even were it
not too likely to prove the source of disease
and death to our troops, is sufficiently terrible to fill
the hearts of the stoutest with dismay. Betwixt
the entrance of Khoord Caubul and the frightful
gorge at Jugdulluck is a distance of thirty miles :
over this melancholy space are at this moment
strewed the bodies of 15,000 unburied dead, with
beasts of burthen probably to the extent of about
4 or 5,000 more. The bulk of them will, in all
likelihood, be found in the Khoord Caubul and Tezeen
passes themselves, about 9 miles in length : how long,
alas, must these remain vast receptacles of unsepulchred
bones! Preserved for several months from putrefac-
tion as these sad relics must have been by the snow ;
from the present date, till the setting in of winter
again freeze them, and from the ensuing spring once
more to the following winter, they must form reser-
voirs of effluvia as intolerable in its stench as fatal in
its malarious effects on the constitution. The mias-
mata inhaled at Ali Musjid seems to have at one time
sent nearly one half of General Pollock's army to the
hospital. `'To account for the existence of a putrid
atmosphere in the Kyber pass is most difficult : it
would be far more so to explain how it was possible
tbr any other to exist in Tezeen and Khoord Caubul
for years to come.

DEPOSITION OF BOWH SINGH.
Sir Alexander Burnes was duly informed by his
Affghan servants the day previous to his murder, that
there was a stir in the city, and that, if he remained in
it, his life would be in danger ; they told him he had
better go to the cantonments. This lie declined doing,
givirg, as his reason, that the Afighans never received
any injury from him, but, on the contrary, he had done
much for them, and that he was quite sure they would
never injure him.
-On the day of the murder, as early as three o'clock
in the morning, a co lid (IVolley Mahomed) came to Inc..
I was on duty outside; he said, " Go and inform your
master immediately. that there is a tumult in the city,
and that the merchants are removing- their goods and
valuables from the shops." I knew what my master had
said on this subject the day Wore, so did not like
awakening him, but, put on my chupras and went into
the char. chouk. Here I met the Wnzeer l'%.Temsmut
Dowlah ge-,ing towards my master's house. ~ t imme-
diately returned with him, and, on our arrival,stwoke him,
when my master dressed quickly, and went to the Way:eel
and talked with him sometime ; the Wuzcer endeavoured
to induce him to go immediately into cantonments, as-
suring him it was not safe to remain in the city ; lie
however persisted in remaining, saying. " if I go, the Af-
ghans will say I was afraid, and ran away ;" he however
sent a note to Sir W. AVNaglitri- -by Wutlee MS,
homed. A. Chobdar came from the King to call tits
Wuzeer, who asked and obtained permission to go .;
•at the door the Wuzeer said to Sir Alexander
Burnes, " Why, you see already that some of Ameer
Oolah Khan's people have colleeted to attack
you if you will allow me, I shall disperse them ;" he
(Sir A. Barnes) said, "No. the king has sent for you, go'
to him without delay." The W weer aceordingly mounted
his horse, and went away. The house gates were then
eloseal, and were in a little while surrounded by Amen--
lith Ehan and his people. Hyder Khali, the late Kotwat,
of the city, whom Sir Alexander Barnes had turned out.
of office, brought fuel from the humion on the opposite
side of the street, end set fire to the.. gates. The Wilmer
shortly returned from the Batt HisSar with one Of
the King's pultunS ; on seeing the gates 041 fire, and
the immense crowd about, he took • it' apparently for
granted that Sir A. Burnes had either escaped, or been
destroyed, and withdrew the regiment. At this time
the whole mob of . the city was collected and than
house in flames. The demidah of chuprassees told
Sir Alexander Burnes that there was a report of a-
regiment having come to assist hies ; he was going
up to the top of the house to look, and had g-et, halt'
way when .he met- an Affghan, who said be heal
been lOoking about, and that there was not the least
sign of a regiment ; my master then turned back,
and remarked there was no chance of assistabee
coming
,either from cantonments or the King. A
Mussultnan, a Cashmeeree, came forward and said,
if Our brother and chuprassees cease firing on the
mob, I swear by the Koran that I will take you
safe through the kirkee of the garden to the chan-
doul, the fort of the Kuzzilbashes ; the firing ceased,
and Sir A. Burnes agreed to . accompany him,
and for sake of disguise put on a choga and loon-
gee. The moment he came out of the door a aew
paces with the Cashmeeree, this wretch called out
this is Sikundur Burnes I He was rushed on by hun-
dreds, and cut to pieces with their knives. Hia
brother, Captain Burnes, went out with him, and
was killed before -Sir Alexander. Captain Broad-
foot was shot sometime before in the house, and expired in
half an hour. There was a guard of one Ilavildar, one Naik
and 12 Sepahis: they were all killed early in the affair; all
the Hindoostanees except myself were killed; his Sirdar
Bearer, who is now with me, escaped, as he was at
home ; I got away by having an Affghan dress ; all the
Affghan servants deserted ; I got into cantonments after
being hid two days in a shop. Sir Alexander forbid the
sepoys and others to fire on the people until they set fire
to the gates.