1 Further hostilities
2 ceased,
3 Savage conduct of
4 the soldiers.
5 Peace negotiations.
6 The terms of peace.
7 Mahatrant Chand
8 Kour abdicates the
9 thione.
10 Wealth carried away
11 506 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
12 to accept any overtures until his brother Dhidn Singh should act as the
13 mediator. Shér Singh sent 500 ghorchards, or cavalry, wit hseveral of his
14 chiefs and sardars, to receive R4j4 Dhidn Singh with due honour, and bring
15 him to Léhore. Escorted by these troops and 500 of his own followers,
16 who had accompanied him from Jammi, the rdjd made his entry into the
17 city on the sixth day of the siege, accompanied by his brother, Suchet Singh.
18 He was met near the walls of the city by Shér Singh, who came out to
19 receive him with a strong escort and a numerous retinue.
20 At the Tak-sdlf gate of the city, thousands of people assembled to receive
21 the raja, and, as he made his appearance before the city walls, the soldiery
22 greeted his arrival with long and continued cheers, Amidst these acclama-
23 tions Raja Dhidu Singh entered the city, and, by his command, all further
24 hostilities ceased. The Sikhs now began to burn or bury the dead, and the
25 Haztri Bagh was cleared of the dead bodies of men and the carcases of
26 cattle and horses with which it was filled. This work of clearing was carried
27 ‘on during the seventh and eighth days of the siege, and the returns showed
28 that, on the side of the besiegers, the number of killed was 4,786 men, 610
29 horses and 320 bullocks, while the number of men killed on the side of the
30 besieged garrison did not in all exceed 130. A sum of between four and five
31 lakhs of rupees was expended by Shér Singh in rewards and presents to the
32 Khdlsé troops in the six days during which the siege lasted, while the
33 Dogrds of the garrison each received from Guldb Singh sums amounting in
34 the aggrcgate to Rs, 100, as bounty, exclusive of the rewards to officers, which
35 were still larger in amount. Nearly half the houses of the city were dis-
36 mantled by the Sikh soldiery, on the plea of procuring wood for the purpose
37 of erecting their batteries and works for the protection of their guns; and
38 they committed other atrocities as indescribable as they were horrible.
39 The dead were collected in large heaps and burnt like fuel. The flames
40 of the piles mounted high, and the air was filled with the stench of burning
41 flesh and bones, The savage troops were seen throwing wounded men on the
42 piles. The cries of these unfortunate beings, as they were thrown, still
43 living, into the flames, were intensely heart-rending. In vain did they cry
44 for mercy ; their entreaties merely elicited derisive laughter, it being asked if
45 they were afraid to goto Heaven: “ Char Jéo, Bhai! char Jéo; khauf kas
46 galda.”—“* Mount, brother, mount! what are you afraid of?” The ob-
47 ject of committing atrocities so horrible was to secure the little
48 property which the barbarous Sikh soldiers had found on the persons
49 of their comrades. Negotiations for peace were now set on foot, and Raja
50 Hira Singh was deputed by Rdjdé Guldb Singh, on behalf of the Maharani
51 Chand Kour, to arrange the terms of peace according to directions given.
52 Hira Singh came out of the Summan Burj, with the Sindhianwéla sardars,
53 on the seventh day of the siege, and peace was agreed to on the following
54 terms :—The Mahardni Chand Kour to surrender the fort of Lthore to Shér
55 ‘Singh, and to give upall her claims to the throne of Lahore. In return
56 for this, Shér Singh was to give the ex-queen a jégir of nine lakhs of rupees,
57 adjoining the Jammu hills, which should be managed by Guléb Singh, as
58 her regent, or mukhtdr ; secondly, that Shér Singh was to refrain from his
59 wish to marry the Maharanf by the ceremony “chadar-dalné ;” thirdly,
60 that the Dogré troops should be permitted to leave the fort and capital
61 unmolested ; and, fourthly, that security should be furnished for the due
62 fulfilment of the treaty. :
63 by Raja Gulab Singh to Rajé Gulab Singh carried away all the money and valuables belonging
64 Jammi,
65 Sri Satguru J ag}
66 to the Maharani Chand Kour under pretence of keeping it safely for her.
67 The night after the treaty was sig the. Dosrd for ; Hea ee
68 it Singh Jiebtrary SneW amananebratyegmarcon '° *