Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1842-04-26

host could receive aid from no one they were sur
rounded by an enemy from Is, 0O0to2 S,oQQstTong.
Their commssoriat having almost n The frs, ont.
break been destroyed, they,wCre tvNhe date the
present narrative commences, i'll CA lol cloibing
and sorely pinchtd for food
The force, b, sides, was divided. 1t conss,cd of
near 5000 men, one half in the Balla Iissa,- or
citadel, within the town, the other half in foi;.
fled camp six miles off; deep mountain stream
which they were never able to ford intervencd.-
BY the 20th much annoyance and some apprehen.
sion began to be entertained ofthe effects of the eff
fiuvia ofthc heaps of unburied dead every where
strewed around about 10000 corpses Law ftster-
ing about the city or near camp of General Elph
instone, threatening to add the horrors of pesti-
ence TO those of famine and the sword. so soon os
Il relaxing temperature should stimulate putrifac.
ton. An attempt was at this time made 10 sub
merge the camp by divertinga torrent from lis
course, and directing its waters against the en-
trenchments. Fortunately, twas prevented. a ca
nal guided the stream harmlcssly away In the
camp, provisions had become extremely scarce !;
ammunition was plentiful In the citadel, both
food and powder were nearly expended
| The particulars oftheir suffernos have reached
us in scanty measures and imperfect form The
chief part ofthe commssarat fell into the hands Of
the Ghilzies at the beginning, and the makeshiit
system Of subsistence thus meet ssarily resorted TO-
for more than four weeks TO supply force amount
ing in the outset to nearly six thousand fighting
men, irrespective of followers and attendants, must
have so pinched them with hunger that there is at
least nothing improbable in the rumor. that by the
end of Nov they were supported chiefly by the
slaughter of their beasts ofburdsn and were living
on horsefesh So extreme were their necsssi-
ties that treaties began to be discussed the issue of
which, under the most favorable circumstances
must have been no better for them that this that
they should be suffered to march out with their
baggage and arms, to seek their way IMPROVED
for the Afghans themselves were pressed for sup
port, and could have afforded them money through
an uninterrupted series of ninety miles of passes,
the most difficult perhaps in the world, to fall back
on the post Of Jellelabad, at that time but shade
better off than themselves and whose next point of
retreat was through the Khybur pass to Ptshawur
still l03 miles in their rear The terms actually
proposed by the insurgents if correctly reported to
us, indicate how conscious they were that we were
utterly at their mercy These were, in fleet that
we should surrender our arms and agree to evac.
uate the country altogether The married officers
and their wives were 10 be retained as hostages,
and returned TO us only when we had got beyond
Peshawur, and Dost Mahommend bet restored
to them. The ENJOYS answer t0fhis was, odeath
was preferable TO dishonor that We trusted TO the
Cod of battles, and that in his name we defed
them to come on" There is once more blank
ofthree weeks in our information The fighting
appears to have continued with little intermission
On the 18th of Dec severe action is said to have
occurcdn which we were more than usually sue
cessful, having not only defeated the enemy, but
managed to secure small supply ofprovisions-
On the 22d again bloody conflict took place,
when we were worsted and suffered very severely,