1 In return for i lie seizure of the horse, one of
2 Mur Govind’s servants carried off a white hawk
3 belonging to the king. For these offences the An army sent
4 * tr -r •, i , against him.
5 king gave Mookhlus Khan orders to proceed with
6 an army of 7,000 horse, to seize Hur Govind. On
7 hearing of the approach of Mookhlus Khan, Hur
8 Govind armed his followers to the number of 5,000
9 men, and prepared to meet him in battle. This
10 appears to be the first time that the Sikhs assumed
11 a really military character. In addition to his
12 army, Hur Govind was possessed of a warlike spirit,
13 and it will not therefore be surprising, that he
14 defeated the royal troops *, many of the latter
15 were slain in the battle which ensued, and the rest fcatcd *
16 fled with their leaders to Lahore.
17 Though successful in 1 this first struggle, Hur
18 Govind had the .sagacity to perceive, that the anger
19 of the king would only be appeased by his own
20 overthrow and death; and he therefore wisely
21 resolved to avoid a second encounter by conceal- few Govind
22 * . ,,, 0 , . . _ _ , conceals him-
23 mg himself for a time, which he did m the jungle
24 of Battinda, in the province of Hissar, where the
25 ground was dry from a scarcity of water. The
26 place where Hur Govind lay concealed, is named
27 Gooroo-ka-kote, or the abode of the Gooroo, and is
28 distant about fifteen miles from Kudoor. While
29 in this jungle, great crowds became his followers
30 and disciples, and among the rest Boodha, a noto¬
31 rious thief and freebooter. This man stole two
32 hdrses from the king’s stables at Lahore, and
33 brought them to Hur Govind. The act incensed