1 64 SECRET HISTORY OF THE LAHORE DURBAR.
2 a heavy fire on the suspected points, while parties of Dogras?
3 went in and abstracted all the powder, filling- the mouths of
4 the drains with earth, &c. On the same night, by an acci-
5 dental circumstance it was discovered that a considerable part
6 of the fort was undermined on the side next the Hazooree
7 Bagh and near what is called the Goolab Khana. Beneath
8 the walls in that direction several old caves and hollow places
9 existed, and the besiegers entering these places under cover of
10 night had formed extensive mines under the fort. In car-
11 rying on these operations the miners broke into a low subter-
12 raneous room in the fort, in which a party of Sultan Mahomed's
13 artillery were ensconced ; this caused an alarm and a discovery,
14 and the besiegers were not without some trouble expelled, losing
15 forty-seven workmen and about fifty soldiers, most of whom
16 were killed by the bursting of shells thrown by hand into these
17 vaults and passages.
18 On the following morning intelligence was given to the garri-
19 son that Shere Sing in person had taken up his position in the
20 Badshahi Musjid. They thereupon formed a scheme for
21 blowing him and the building into the air, and made their pre-
22 parations accordingly. It was well known to them that the
23 Musjid contained a large magazine of powder stored in wooden
24 boxes, skins, &c. This they wished to explode, if possible, by
25 means of shells and red hot shot ; but just as they were about to
26 commence operations, they received information which induced
27 them to desist, being told that though there were at least five
28 thousand maunds of powder in the Musjid, there were certain
29 subterranean passages communicating between that edifice and
30 the fort, which were also filled with powder, and terminated
31 in other vaults or magazines of powder beneath the fort
32 itself.
33 Towards evening on the fifth day of the siege, intelligence
34 was received of the approach of Rajah Dehan Sing, who had ar-
35 rived from Jummoo. This induced Shere Sing to order that thv