138 W. Irvine —Guru Gobind Siggli and BandaTi. [No. 3, 
then glancing off grazed slightly the neck of the horse ridden by one 
of the party, and passed on 'without doing further damage, beyond 
having thrown the group into some disorder. Shortly after this 
happened, some plunderers who had made their way into the fort, passed 
carrying on their backs an Af gh an, who had been hurt by a gunpowder 
explosion. From these men Kamwar Khan learnt that the imperialists 
had reached the hill-top and had begun to slay and plunder, but the 
enemy still continued to defend several other of the small hills, and 
some of them had taken refuge in a fort that they had named Satarah- 
garli, or the Star fort. 1 
Kamwar Khan went on to the entrenched post of the Sikhs and 
found it in the hands of the plunderers, Rohilla Af gh ans, Biloch, and 
others, who had taken crowds of women and children prisoners. The 
heavy goods and baggage they had set fire to, taking only cash and 
articles of value. Through the carelessness of these men several maga¬ 
zines of powder took fire, by which many of them were blown up. 
One heart-rending spectacle was the dead body of Saj Anand’s son, and 
those of many Muhammadan men and women, slain by the Sikhs before 
they had taken to flight. The bodies lay half-hidden by a few stones 
hastily thrown over them. 3 
One Mirza Rukn now arrived from the front, and informed them 
that the struggle still continued in the passes of the hills. Rustam 
Dil Khan, he said, had gained the foot of a small hill, on which stood 
a white building. It was believed that the Guru, in person, was in that 
house. The Mirza added that, so far as he had ascertained, the Sikh 
leader was seated under a particular awning on a particular hill, look¬ 
ing on at the action, and that all way of escape from that hill was cut 
off. This conversation had hardly ended, when Raja Udait Siggli, 
stung by the taunts of his fellow countryman, Cattarsal, Bundela, 
rode off towards that hill, and his matchlock-men, quickly occupying 
an eminence which commanded it, poured their fire upon it. It seems 
that the Guru, who with several of his chief men was in that tent, 
was disconcerted by this firing, and moving down to the other side of 
the hill made good his escape. His departure caused the evacuation of 
several of the other hill-tops. The Raja and other commanders of 
Mun lm Khan’s force cleared the other eminences of their defenders, and 
by the time of evening-prayer none of their Sikh opponents were left, 
except those in the white building. Many women and children, horses 
and camels, were captured. Mun’im Khan was now recalled and he re¬ 
turned to the imperial camp, leaving Rustam Dil Khan and his troops 
1 Kamwar ghan, 81. 
2 Kamwar Khan, 80. 
