A history of the Sikhs, from the origin of the nation to the battles of the Sutlej.

212

HISTORY OF THE SIKHS

CHAP. VII

1837. The death of Hari Singh and the defeat of his army
Ranjit caused some anxiety in Lahore; but the Maharaja promptly
Singh's roused his people to exertion, and all readily responded to
efforts to his call. It is stated that field guns were dragged from
retrieve his
affairs at Ramnagar, on the Chenab, to Peshawar in six days, a
Peshawar. distance by road of more than two hundred miles.1 Ranjit
Singh advanced in person to Rohtas, and the active Dhian
Singh hastened to the frontier, and set an example of
devotion and labour by working with his own hands on the
His nego- foundations of a regular fort at Jamrfd.2 Dost Muhammad
tiations
with Dost was buoyed up by his fruitless victory, and he became
Muham- more than ever desirous of recovering a province so wholly
mad and
ShahShuja. Afghan; but Ranjit Singh contrived to amuse him, and the
Maharaja was found to be again in treaty with the Amir,
and again in treaty with Shah Shuja, and with both at the
TheEnglish same time.3 But the commercial envoy of the English
eolvi on had gradually sailed high up the Indus of their imaginary
between the commerce, and to his Government the time seemed to have
Sikhs and come when political interference would no longer be em1837; barrassing, but, on the contrary, highly advantageous to
schemes of peaceful trade and beneficial intercourse. It was
made known that the British rulers would be glad to be the
means of negotiating a peace honourable to both parties,
yet the scale was turned in favour of the Afghan, by the
simultaneous admission that Peshawar was a place to which
Dost Muhammad could scarcely be expected to resign all
claim.4 Nevertheless, it was said, the wishes of Ranjit Singh
could be ascertained by Capt. Wade, and Capt. Burnes
could similarly inquire about the views of the Amir. The
the more latter officer was formally invested with diplomatic powers,5
especially and the idle designs, or restless intrigues, of Persians and
as they are Russians, soon caused the disputes of Sikhs and Afghans to
apprehensive of
Russia, 1 Lieut.-Col. Steinbach (Punjab, pp. 64, 68) mentions that he had
himself marched with his Sikh regiment 300 miles in twelve days, and
that the distance had been performed by others in eleven.
2 Mr. Clerk's Memorandum of 1842, regarding the Sikh chiefs,
drawn up for Lord Ellenborough.
3 Cf. Capt. Wade to Government, 3rd June 1837, and Government
to Capt. Wade, 7th Aug. 1837.
4 Government to Capt. Wade, 31st July 1837.
5 Government to Capt. Wade, 11th Sept. 1837.