1 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 111
2 the Sikhs aware of the baneful effects of such pri~ The ae
3 vations on the Natives of British India, that in all advantage of
4 privation on
5 their wars, they have invariably endeavoured to apa
6 entrench themselves in a position where water is news
7 scanty; and the tact which Gooroo Govind ex-
8 hibited when fighting against the Mussulmans, at
9 Moogutsir, in the desert of the Hissar district, was
10 as strong a case in point as that furnished by the
11 Kulsa troops, in 1845, under Lal Sing and Tej
12 Singh. Though far outnumbering the army of
13 the Gooroo, the Sikhs got possession of the only
14 water then procurable, and the Mussulmans con-
15 sequently fled, and many died.
16 We must now give an account of the renewed
17 battle between the British and Sikh armies on the
18 22nd December ; but before doing so, an instance
19 “gf the bravery of the European infantry, given in
20 the Commander-in-chief’s despatch, may be here
21 introduced, more particularly as the Governor-
22 general himself makes a conspicuous figure in the
23 narration. In Sir Henry Hardinge’s offer to assume
24 the post of second in command, Sir Hugh Gough
25 could not but admire the spirit of so experienced
26 and gallant an officer as Sir Henry; but at the
27 same time, he could not be insensible to the risk
28 incurred in exposing the life of the Governor-gene-
29 ral. Politicians may blame Sir Henry’s devotion,
30 yet all must admire the intrepid spirit which thus
31 risked every thing in the wish to vanquish an
32 enemy who appeared determined to wrest from
33 Sir Henry the country which he governed. If Sir