y despatched Sir Charles Napier to India to supersede Lord Gough.
There was still time for that commander to retrieve himself. General Whish
captured the town of Multan, and by terrible bombardment of the citadel
brought Mulraj to surrender. General Whish then joined forces with Lord
Gough in his final struggle with Sher Singh. At Guzerat, on February 22,
Lord Gough achieved the crowning victory known as "the battle of the guns."
For two hours a terrific artillery duel was maintained, the Sikhs firing
with all their sixty pieces. Finally the British stormed their batteries in
a combined charge of bayonets and cavalry. The Sikh forces were scattered,
and their camp, with most of their standards and guns, were captured by the
British. Dost Muhammad Khan and his Afghans were driven out of Peshawar and
narrowly escaped to Kabul. Mulraj was imprisoned for life. The whole of the
Punjab was annexed to British India. A successful administration of this
hostile province was Lord Dalhousie's first great triumph.

[Sidenote: President Taylor inaugurated]

[Sidenote: Development of Western America]

[Sidenote: The "Forty-Niners"]

About the same time, General Taylor, the conqueror of Buena Vista, was
inaugurated as President of the United States. One sentence in his
inaugural address provoked derision: "We are at peace with all the world
and the rest of mankind." The old Spanish missions in the conquered
territory were deprived of their wealth and influence. The name of San
Francisco was adopted in place of Yerba Buena. Besides California, the new
territory included the subsequently admitted States of Nevada, Arizona,
Utah, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas. The Apache and
Navajo Indians in those regions gave immediate trouble. The gold seekers
tracking across the plains were the first to suffer from the Indians. Still
the stream of immigrants poured into California. Their halfway stations on
the Missouri River developed into the two thriving towns of Omaha and
Council Bluffs. The Bay of San Francisco was soon surrounded by a
settlement of tents and sheds. A Vigilance Committee took affairs into its
own hands, and administered justice without fear or favor. Six times the
new city was destroyed by fire. Within two months all traces of the
disaster would be lost. California soon had a population entitling it to
Statehood. President Taylor eagerly seconded the wishes of the people for a
government of their own. T