was made by the governor-general. But,
before leaving Cabul, General Pollock despatched General M'Caskill with
a body of troops into Kohistan, where the Affghan chiefs were still
assembled in considerable force. On the 29th of September, General
M'Caskill made himself master of the strong town of Istalif, totally
defeating the numerous bodies of Affghan troops collected for its
defence, under Ameenoollah Khan and other chiefs of Cabul and Kohistan.
This town was set on fire; and a work of plunder and savage slaughter
commenced, which brought a great stain upon the British arms. For two
days the place was given up to fire and sword; and all the bitterness of
hatred was manifested by the soldiery, both European and native. "Not a
man was spared; the Affghans were hunted down like vermin; and whenever
the dead body of an Affghan was found, the Hindoo sepoys set fire to
the clothes, that the curse of a 'burnt father' might attach to his
children." General Pollock also determined to destroy the Char Chouk,
the principal bazaar in Cabul, where the remains of the unfortunate Sir
William M'Naghten had been exposed to insult. This bazaar was destroyed
by gunpowder; and indeed the whole city, with the exception of the Bala
Hissar and the quarter of the Kuzzilbashes, was laid in ruins. About
this time General Pollock was joined by General Nott from Candahar; and
on the 12th of October the two armies left Cabul, the advanced column
being under the command of General Pollock, and that in the rear under
General Nott. No event of consequence occurred during their march, and
on arriving at the fortress of Jellalabad it was levelled with the dust,
and rendered unfit for human habitation. Along the whole line of march,
indeed, every kind of devastation was committed by the troops, who were
exasperated by the sight of the unburied skeletons of their unfortunate
companions in arms, who fell during the fatal retreat early in this
year. When the British forces at length emerged from the Bolan Pass,
which they did on the 1st of October, thereby evacuating the whole
of Affghanistan, they had left behind them a name which will long be
execrated in that country. It is true they had suffered deep wrongs; but
mercy to the vanquished is a nobler quality than unlimited revenge.
The spirit of revenge appears to have pervaded the whole of the British
community in India. Even the governor-general, Lord Ellenborough,
exhibited it in a proclamation issued