1 m
2 dered to Sheer Sing, Utter Sing took to flight, and solicited
3 protection from the English. It was natural that Heera Sing
4 and his counsellor, Jellah Pundit, should endeavour to catch
5 him, at any price whatever ; so they managed to bring him over
6 to the Baba Beer Sing, in order to implicate the holy man in the
7 affair. I related before, that Jellah Pundit, through religious
8 fanaticism, hated the Baba for having given an asylum to the
9 two unfortunate princes, Cashmere Sing and Peshora Sing, after
10 having been driven, by Heera, from the fortress of Seealkote,
11 which had been allotted to them as their property. Utter Sing
12 permitted himself to be deluded by false promises, and repaired
13 to the appointed place, where directions were afterwards given to
14 capture him alive. The plot miscarried, it is true. Utter Sing
15 was overwhelmed by a superior force, but he shot at and killed
16 the general who was about to capture him, which caused the
17 ensuing battle.
18 The Sikh army having passed the Sutlej, the soldiers became
19 aware that their leaders were playing the part of traitors, not doing
20 anything they ought to have done. In the before-mentioned
21 history of Smyth, we And the following passage: —
22 44 They gave vent to their alarm and indignation in fierce
23 reproaches on the treachery of their leaders ; but that was all
24 they could do. ‘We knew,’ they said to their leaders, 4 that you
25 had leagued with the court to send us against the British, and to
26 pen us up here like sheep, for them to come and slaughter us at
27 their convenience ; but remember, that in thus acting, you play
28 the part, not only of traitors to your country, but of ruthless
29 butchers and murderers. You destroy a whole army, which,
30 whatever its faults and crimes may have been, has always been
31 ready to obey the orders of the state and its officers. We might
32 even now punish you as you deserve ; but we will leave you to
33 answer to your gooroo and your God ; while we, deserted and
34 betrayed as we are, will do what we can to preserve the inde-
35 pendence of our country,’” &c., &c.
36 During this war of the Sikhs against the English, the Rajah
37 Gliolab Sing remained neutral at Jummoo, in the mountains.