ABSTRACT

January 9th. – In my notes on the retreat of the British force from Cabul, I have already mentioned the departure, from Gen. Elphinstone’s camp at Khoord-Cabul, of the ladies, with their husbands and other officers, to the proffered protection of Mahomed Akber Khan; but it may be expedient briefly to remind the reader of the mode in which this event was brought about. I have been assured by Major Pottinger that, on the night of the 8th, the Sirdar, having spontaneously entered on the subject, expressed to that officer his serious apprehensions of the peril to which the ladies and children would be exposed by remaining in camp (it being impossible to restrain the Giljyes from a continuance of hostilities), and that, with a view to prevent further misery and suffering to the individuals in question, he should lose no time in proposing to the General that all the ladies and married families might be made over to his care, for safe escort to Jellalabad, keeping one march in rear of the army. Major Pottinger having declared his entire approval of the Sirdar’s humane intentions, advantage was taken of Capt. Skinner’s return to camp on the following morning, to make known the proposal to Gen. Elphinstone; and a small party of Affghan horse was sent with him, to escort all such as might be able to avail themselves of the offer. The General, hoping that so signal a mark of confidence in Mahomed Akber’s good faith, might be attended with beneficial results to the army, and anxious at all events to save the ladies from a prolongation of the hardships they had already endured, readily consented to the arrangement; and, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, deemed it incumbent on him to send their husbands also, more especially as some were helpless from severe wounds. The whole 1 were accordingly ordered to depart immediately with the Affghan escort, by whom we were impatiently hurried off, before the majority had been made clearly to comprehend the reason of their being so suddenly separated from their companions in trouble. At that time so little confidence was placed by any of us in Mahomed Akber’s plausible professions, that it seemed as though we were but too probably rushing from a state of comparative safety into the very jaws of destruction; but, placing our dependence on a watchful Providence, we bade a hasty, and as it proved to many, an eternal, farewell to our friends, and mournfully followed our conductors to the place allotted for our reception, about two miles distant from camp. The road lay through ravines and wilds of the most savage description, one universal garb of snow clothing the dreary and uninviting scene. On the way we passed several hundred Giljye horse drawn up in line, as if in readiness for an attack on the camp. Half an hour’s ride brought us to a small fort perched on the edge of a precipitous bank, which we ascended by a slanting slippery path, and entered the gate with a mistrust by no means diminished by the ferocious looks of the garrison, amidst a circle of whom some of us were kept standing for several minutes, during which our sensations were far from agreeable. At last, however, we were shown into a small inner court, where, to our great relief, we found our three countrymen, Major Pottinger, and Capts. Mackenzie and Lawrence, who had been made over as hostages at Bootkhak, and in the midst of whom sat, to the inexpressible joy of his parents, the youngest boy of Capt. and Mrs. Boyd, who, having been picked up in the Khoord-Cabul pass on the previous day by one of Mahomed Akber’s followers, had been committed by that chief to Major Pottinger’s protection. The accommodation provided for us, though the best the place afforded, was of the most humble description, consisting of three small dark hovels, into which ladies and gentlemen were promiscuously crowded together, the bachelors being, however, separate from the married families. But even this state of things was heaven itself compared with the cold and misery we had been suffering in camp on the bare snow, and we felt most thankful for the change. The courtyard was all day crowded with the friends and relations of Mahomed Akber, whose bearing towards us was exceedingly kind and courteous; but their presence obliged the ladies to remain closely immured in their dark cells. In the course of the afternoon the chief himself made his appearance, and, having requested an interview with Lady Macnaghten, expressed to that lady his sorrow at having been instrumental to her present misfortunes, and his desire to contribute to her comfort as long as she remained his guest. But an Affghan nobleman’s ideas of comfort fall very far short of an English peasant’s; and we soon learned to consider spoons, forks, and other table gear as effeminate luxuries, and plunged our fingers unhesitatingly into the depths of a greasy pilao, for which several of us scrambled out of one common dish. The warmth of a wood 2 fire, though essential to protect us from the severe extremes of cold, could only be enjoyed at the expense of being blinded and half stifled by the smoke; the bare ground was our only bed, and postheens (or sheepskin cloaks) our only covering; but these and various other inconveniences were indeed of small moment, when weighed in the balance against the combination of horrors we had escaped, and which still encompassed our unhappy countrymen and fellow soldiers in camp.