The Bokhara victims

Front matter

THE BOKHARA VICTIMS. LONDON : PRINTED BY MOYES AND BARCLAY, CASTLE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE. the BOKHARA VICTIMS. BY CAPTAIN GROVER, Unatt., F.R.S. 11 Quid verum atque decens euro et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum." — Hor. SECOND EDITION. LONDON : CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186 STRAND. MECCCXLV. TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, THE QUEEN. May it please your Majesty ! My object in presuming; to dedicate the following Narrative to your Majesty, is the hope of directing; your Majesty's attention to the cruel sufferings and alleged murder of two British officers, who were sent on an im portant diplomatic mission, on your Majesty's service, and who appear to have been abandoned in an unaccountable manner, by your Majesty's Government. I consider it my duty to state to your Majesty, that the circumstances attending DEDICATION.

VI this extraordinary case are degrading to the British nation, and are of a nature to dim the lustre of your Majesty's crown. I consider it my duty also to add, that Lieutenant -Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly are not the only officers who have been sent on diplomatic missions to Central Asia, and then abandoned. Trusting the peculiar circumstances of this cruel case will be deemed a sufficient apology for my boldness in presuming to dedicate this narrative to your Majesty, I have the honour to subscribe myself, Your Majesty's faithful, And devoted Subject, JOHN GROVER, Captain Unattached. London, April, 1845.

Preface

TO THE FIRST EDITION. In the month of July, 1843, I published an " Appeal to the British Nation " on behalf of my friend Lieutenant - Colonel Stoddart, and Captain Conolly, British Officers, who were imprisoned by the Ameer of Bokhara while employed in the service of their country on a diplomatic mission. I then stated that these officers had been abandoned to their wretched fate by the British Government, " which had not even taken the trouble to ascertain the simple fact of their existence." Now, after a lapse of nearly two years, and having collected information from every accessible source, I openly and publicly repeat to the world

PREFACE.

. that assertion ; and I am quite sure, that any one who will take the trouble of perusing the following narrative, will be satisfied that no other inference can be drawn from the facts which I now consider it my duty to lay before the public. The circumstances connected with Colonel Stoddart's first imprisonment in the dark well are now, for the first time, made known. In the present publication I have repeated some of the statements which I made in my " Appeal to the British Nation :" this was necessary to connect the different parts of the narrative. It would have been useless to refer to that work which I withdrew from circulation for reasons which will appear in the present publication. Whenever, in the present work, I have quoted the Parliamentary Debates, it has always been from Hansard.

I have copied the debate verbatim, marking, however, by italics, those passages to which I was desirous of directing the reader's particular attention. I must express my grateful thanks to the press,

PREFACE.

. IX not only of this country, but of the Continent of Europe, and of Asia, for the assistance afforded the Committee. That Dr. Wolff's generous self-devotion has not produced the desired effect, we can only express a regret. In this world we cannot com mand success — we can only endeavour to deserve it. Since Dr. Wolff's departure the Committee have been most anxious about him, and have had forty-six meetings. Within a few days of the publication of this trifling work Dr. Wolff will be among us ; and I hope to see that his generous self-devotion will be properly appreciated by the British Nation. I trust the critic will bear in mind that this is the plain, unvarnished statement of a mere soldier, who, at the age of fifteen, was serving his country, and was occupied in camps and garrisons during that period which most men have the good fortune to be able to devote to study.

PREFACE.

TO IHL SECOND EDITION. This edition, although it contains sixty pages of additional matter, is precisely the same as the first, with the exception of the last chapter, in which I have laid before the reader, in as brief a manner as possible, the evidence I have been able to collect concerning the fate of the Envoys, and I have given my own opinion as to the probability of these unfortunate men being still alive. I have added, in an Appendix, a report of the meetings at the Crown and Anchor, the Hanover Square Rooms, when Dr. Wolff took leave ; and of the meeting at Exeter Hall, to receive him on his

PREFACE.

. return. These I have taken from the published reports. I have also added the last report of the Committee, a corrected list of Subscribers to the Fund, and a complete Index. J. G. Army and Navy Club, June 9, 1845.

Chapter I

Lieutenant Stoddart — Staff Corps — Placed on Half-Pay — Secretary of the United Service Institution — Goes to Persia as Military Secretary — Siege of Herat — Obtains the Brevet Rank of Major — Sent on a Mission to Bokhara — Object of the Mission — Reception at Bokhara — Mahsum Berde Reiss — Stoddart sees the Ameer — Refuses to dismount from his Horse — First Interview with the King of Bokhara — Second Interview with the Reiss — The Reiss threatens to stab Stoddart — Stoddart's Coolness and Presence of Mind — Is taken through the Streets bound with Cords — An Interview with a Mysterious Personage — Stoddart's Mistake — Cast into the dark Well — His Companions in the Well — ■ Forced to renounce his Religion — Released from the Well — Stoddart's Letter to an American Missionary — Avows his return to Christianity — Twice again Imprisoned — Supposed Cause of these Imprisonments — The King's Chief Cook — Subjected to cruel Insults — Nearly Starved to Death — ■ Kindness of the King's Physician — Removed to the House of the Nayib — A Letter from Colonel Stoddart — Remarks on the Letter — Conduct of the British Government — Comments — Indecent Haste in striking Stoddart's Name out of the Army List — Ignorance of Geography — Bokhara not in Persia — Army List — Correspondence with the War Office — Blunder corrected in the Annual Army List. B «.<

CHAPTER I.

In the year 1833, Charles Stoddart, a lieutenant in the Staff Corps, was, by reduction, placed on half-pay, but with the rank of captain. At that time, the post of secretary to the United Service Institution was vacant, and among one hundred and fifty candidates Captain Stoddart was chosen. Being on the council, I became acquainted with him, and was fortunately the means of removing from him an imputation which affected his honour : this, Captain Stoddart often referred to with grateful feelings. In the Year 1835, the government resolved to dispatch Mr. Ellis on a mission to Persia, and it was proposed to Captain Stoddart to be attached to that mission as military secretary. He consulted me on the occasion, and, by my advice, he accepted the proposition. When Mr. Ellis left Persia, Captain Stoddart was sent to Herat, to endeavour to induce the stoddart's mission. 4 Persians to raise the siege of that place ; and for his conduct on that occasion he obtained the brevet rank of major, and local rank of lieutenant-colonel.

He, however, only received the intelligence of this promotion in June 1841, while a captive at Bok hara. Had Captain Stoddart consulted me about his mission to Bokhara, I should have dissuaded him from it. Stoddart was a mere soldier, a man of the greatest bravery and determination, with a delicate sense of a soldier's honour ; but he was a man of impulse, with no more power of self-control than an infant. To attack or defend a fortress, no better man than Captain Stoddart could have been found ; but for a diplomatic mission, requiring coolness and self-command, a man less adapted to the purpose could not readily have been met with. Having succeeded in his mission to Herat, he returned to Teheran. In the year 1838, Sir John M'Neill, Her Majesty's ambassador at the court of Persia, gave Colonel Stoddart 1000 ducats, and dispatched him on a diplomatic mission to Bokhara.

He was ordered to proceed first to Meimanah, and to en deavour to induce the chief of that place to abandon the system of pillage that was devastating the north-west frontier of Persia, and, above all things, ARRIVAL AT BOKHARA. he was instructed to endeavour to put a stop to the capture of slaves. At Bokhara he was directed to use his best efforts to obtain the liberty of any Russian prisoners he might find there, and he was to conclude a friendly treaty with the Ameer or King of that country. Such were Colonel Stod dart's official instructions. At Meimanah he had but indifferent success, and he reached Bokhara two days before the festival of Ramazan. At the gate of the city he was re ceived with great distinction by a Mihmandah, and was escorted by a troop of cavalry to a house that was assigned to him as a residence, and which was very near the one occupied by the Vizier, Mahsum Berde Reiss.

Immediately on his arrival, Colonel Stoddart thought it his duty to wait upon the Vizier, to deliver' the letters he had brought from Sir John M'Neill, which, unfortunately, were addressed to the Goosh Begee, the late Vizier, the news of whose disgrace and imprisonment had not reached Persia when Colonel Stoddart left that country. The Reiss appeared to be excessively mortified that the letters should have been addressed to his predecessor, and treated Colonel Stoddart with great rudeness. The next day he sent for the REFUSES TO DISMOUNT. colonel, but, as the Vizier had not returned his visit, he sent for answer that he should not attend. The moment this message was communicated to Mahsum Berde, he hastened to Colonel Stoddart's residence, and now his manner was most violent. His first words were, " Do you know that I have destroyed all the Ameer's enemies ?

" meaning to insinuate that the same fate might await Colonel Stoddart should he become suspected. Colonel Stoddart replied, that he was extremely glad to hear that the Ameer had no longer any enemies. The following day, that is the first day of Ramazan, the Mihmandah informed Colonel Stod dart that the Ameer* was desirous of seeing him, and that he was to proceed on foot to the public square, Registan, there to await the Ameer's mes sage. This, Colonel Stoddart positively refused to do, stating that he never rendered such a mark of respect to his own sovereign, and that if he happened to go on horseback to the Registan, nothing but force should make him dismount. This being reported * The Ameer of Bokhara is named Nasr-Ullah-Bahadur Khan Melik-el-Mumenin. He was the second son of the Ameer Seid, and reached the throne by a series of crimes which it is foreign to my purpose to relate, but which the reader will find related in Baron de Bode's translation of a Russian work just published.

AMEER SEES STODDART. 7 to the Reiss, permission was sent for Colonel Stod dart to go on horseback. He therefore went to the public square, dressed in full uniform, accompanied by a few attendants, and the whole population were astonished at seeing him enter the Registan on horseback, and at his extreme audacity in not dismounting. The Ameer, on his return from the Grand Mesjid, traversed the public square, and perceived Colonel Stoddart, who remained on horseback, and gave a military salute. The Ameer looked at him fixedly for some time, and then passed on without saying a word. On his return to the palace, he sent a maharam (chamberlain) to the Colonel, to ask why he had not dismounted. Colonel Stoddart answered, that it was not the custom in England, and that he could not do otherwise. The Ameer then sent to him to say, that he was perfectly satisfied with his conduct ; and invited him immedi ately to come to the palace.

On his arrival, they conducted him to the corridor which leads to the court where the Ameer receives petitions, named Arezahnah. While he was waiting to be intro duced, a mahram approached, and asked if he was desirous that he should take his servile supplica tions (arzee bendaghanee) to the Ameer. Colonel Stoddart, offended by that expression, replied, OOZBEG ETIQUETTE. " That he was no man's slave, and that his servile supplications could be addressed to God alone ; and, that what he had to communicate to the Ameer, he would say to him when admitted to his presence, and not till then." Shortly afterwards, the master of the ceremonies came to present him. Now the Oozbeg etiquette requires, that a person on being presented, should be supported by two attendants on entering the presence-chamber, who place their hands under his armpits.

They were proceeding in the usual manner, when Colonel Stoddart, ignorant of the customs of the country, imagined that they were about to adopt the method formerly em ployed on similar occasions at Constantinople ; i. e., to make him advance rapidly forward, and then suddenly to prostrate him at the sovereign's feet. Not being disposed to submit to this humiliating ceremony, he shook off these attendants. The mas ter of the ceremonies now approached ; and fearing that Colonel Stoddart's violence might indicate some hostile intention toward the Ameer, he thought it his duty to feel the Colonel's clothes, to discover if he had any concealed arms, but his zeal was re warded by a blow, which laid him prostrate ; and Colonel Stoddart entered alone into the royal pre sence-chamber. Here his ignorance of Oozbeocus toms produced another blunder.

A crier is placed INTERVIEW WITH THE AMEER. at the door of the Ameer's hall of audience ; and when any one is introduced, he calls out with a loud voice, that all present should pray for the hap piness of the king. The Colonel, thinking that this request was addressed to him personally, gravely placed his two hands before him, and com menced in the most solemn manner an extempore prayer in Persian. This scene must have appeared most extraordinary to the Ameer, he, however, kept his countenance ; and, having patiently listened to the end, he pronounced the usual Allahoo Akber, and stroked his beard. He then received from Colonel Stoddart the letter of which he was the bearer, and asked if he had any verbal com munication to make. The Colonel replied that he had ; and, that when requested he would com municate it.

He returned home perfectly satisfied with his reception. In the evening of the second day of Ramazan, i. e., on the fourth day after his arrival, his Meh mandah came to invite him to attend the Reiss, to receive some orders from the Ameer. He wished to put on his uniform, but the Mehmandah told him such ceremony was quite unnecessary ; that he might present himself exactly as he was ; that the least delay would irritate the Reiss, who was on the point of starting to a frontier town, named THE REISS. Kagathan, to inspect a caravan just arrived from Russia ; and that, in fact, not a moment was to be lost. Colonel Stoddart, therefore, proceeded at once, dressed as he was ; and on entering the court which precedes the reception-room, he was startled at seeing twelve suspicious-looking persons.

His sur prise soon gave way to other feelings, when he was suddenly seized behind, thrown to the ground ; and his body was so bound with cords, that he was de prived of all motion. Shortly afterwards, the door of the saloon opened, and the Reiss himself appeared, armed with a long knife. Colonel Stoddart now thinking his last hour was come, said in Persian, "May God forgive you your sins!" and patiently waited the result. The Reiss approached him with a furious countenance, placed the point of the knife to his breast, and looked at him fixedly for some time ; perceiving that he did not move, he began to revile him, calling him spy, a man who had come from the English to buy Bokhara, as they had Caubul, with other abusive expressions. He again threatened to kill him ; and having several times raised his knife as if to destroy him, he sud denly ordered the people to take him away, and departed.

Colonel Stoddart was now carried out into the street. The rain fell in torrents : the silence of his bearers, their horrid countenances, as MYSTERIOUS PERSONAGE. 11 seen by the light of the torches they carried, so completely struck him with terror, that he en treated these people to destroy him at once, rather than prolong his sufferings by thus dragging him about from place to place. He was then placed upon the ground ; and one of his attendants said to him, laughing, that " he certainly must be a sor cerer, and aware that he was not to be put to death ; for that it was impossible that any human being could face death with such calm indifference." This remark consoled him a little, and gave him courage. He was taken up again, and carried a short distance ; and now his terror was redoubled, for he was led into a dark room, the door of which was immediately bolted, and he was laid upon a damp plank or board, still bound with cords, so that he could not move his limbs.

In this horrid state of anxiety and suspense, he remained, as he imao-ines, about two hours, when he heard the door unbolted. A man entered, preceded by attendants, who carried candles. This person was so completely muffled up, that nothing but his eyes could be seen, which seemed to flash fire. He took a seat on a raised part of the room, and the candles were placed before him. Colonel Stoddart observed him narrowly, and thought it might possibly be the Ameer himself, who had assumed this disguise : the very respectful demeanour of the attendants confirmed this idea ; and he, therefore, thought it his duty to address him : told him he prayed the Almighty would forgive him ; that he had done wrong to imprison an innocent man, who had come to his state on a mission from the British Government, with friendly intentions ; that had he not been disposed to receive him, he should have notified his pleasure to the Vizier before he was allowed to enter the city ; that if he disliked his prolonged residence in his capital, he had only to order him to leave.

The unknown listened with silent attention to Colonel Stoddart's speech, and then arose, saying, he would communicate all he had said to the Ameer. Colonel Stoddart then discovered that this man was the chief of the police. That night he was carried to a subterraneous dungeon, which, in fact, was nothing but a well, twenty-one feet deep, the only means of descent to which was by a rope, by which, also, food was con veyed to the prisoners. Here he found three men, companions of his misery, two thieves and a mur derer. He was confined two months in that well. He soon made friends with his wretched companions, one of whom had been several years in that dreadful place ; and having contrived to get some tobacco, they passed their time smoking. The second day of his imprisonment, the executioner descended the well with an order from the Ameer instantly to kill him if he did not embrace Islamism.

Colonel Stoddart, his body and mind weakened by the horrid sufferings to which they had been submitted, to save himself from certain destruction, made the required profession of faith. This, however, did not ameliorate his position although it saved his life.* " Ahi dura terra, perche non t'apristi? This horrid dungeon, in which he was confined, * My friend, Colonel Stoddart, was a really sincere and devout Christian. A work has recently been published in the United States, entitled "A Residence of Eight Years in Persia among the Nestorian Christians," by the Rev. Justin Perkins, which will bear out my assertion. In this interesting work I find two notices of my friend. The first, at page 402, is as follows : — " The following note was brought to me to-day, January 1st, by a Koordish chief, who received it under the walls of Herat about fifteen months ago.

To make it as secure as possible, the Koord ripped open the skirt of his garment, placed it between the folds, and again stitched them together. On reaching his home, about a thousand miles from Herat, he remembered that he had taken a note in charge for me, but had forgotten what disposal he made of it. A year afterwards, it occurred to him that he had enclosed it within the skirt of his garment, and he lost no time in coming a day's journey from the mountains back of Oroomiah on purpose to bring it. This was swarmed with iunumerable ticks, and every disgust ing species of vermin, which are especially reared faithful for a Koord. The note was almost worn out, in common with the garment itself, but the writing was still legible. It was as follows : — "'My dear friend, — By Ismael Aga, a worthy Koordish friend of mine, I send a few lines to express the interest I take in your undertaking at Oroomiah, in planting the principles of the Gospel.

May the Almighty bless you in this His special service! I received here a very interesting account of your proceedings, and of the respect with which you are held, to the glory of Christ's name, and your own eternal profit, from Ibrahim Khaleel Khan AfFshar, also one of your well-wishers. Remember me kindly to your circle, and ever believe me, not only for the sake of your work and yourself, but for the sake of the friends I have in your land, " ' Yours sincerely, "'Charles Stoddart. " ' Royal Camp, near Herat, "'8th Sept. 1838. " ' P.S. To-morrow, the Shah leaves this with his forces, at British recommendation ; and peace is restored to this unhappy neighbourhood and city. Thanks to God. C. S.' " The writer of the above is Lieut.-Colonel Stoddart, the officer sent by the ambassador to announce to the king the de mand of the English government, that his Persian Majesty should raise the siege of Herat."

At page 507, I find the following : — " It is a most interesting circumstance, that among the Eng lish who are scattered through the East, there is a large number to annoy the wretched prisoners ; and should this prison, by any extraordinary chance, be without an inmate, that the vermin might not perish, they are supplied with rations of raw meat. Many of the indignities my unfortunate friend was subjected to in this wretched prison were of of devotedly pious men ; and among them, many military and civil officers of high standing, who are not ashamed to be known as the humble servants of God, as well as the faithful servants of their country. A late British envoy to the court of Herat, in East Persia, was Colonel Todd, who was previously some time in Persia. He is a devout Christian, and has repeatedly cheered us with his counsels and letters.

Colonel Stoddart, another pious officer, was envoy to the yet more distant court of Bokhara, which is one of the strongest holds of the religion of the false prophet, and one of the most inaccessible points, and least known to Europeans, in all Central Asia. Mahom medan bigotry, on his first anival there, cast him into prison ; and, as it is reported, submitted to him the fearful alternative of conversion to that bloody faith or a violent death. He, how ever, who shut the lions' mouths, that they should not harm Daniel in their den, preserved this His servant, also, unharmed amid the perils of his distant and gloomy confinement ; and, under the pressure of his own trials, Colonel Stoddart forgot not us and our labours in Persia, but still cheered us with fraternal epistles. "Need I say, that such English officers — and scores of them — yes, many scores there are, scattered over the wild re gions, and posted on the high places of benighted Asia, are missionary pioneers, rapidly preparing the way for the spread of the gospel !

" CAUSE OF HIS IMPRISONMENT. such a horrid nature, that I have not ventured to publish them. Surely the contemplation of the sufferings I have already related of a noble-minded British officer, suffering in his country's cause, whose government has left him to his fate, is enough to make "an angel weep ; " and if thou, gentle reader, art not thus affected, I would ask "Se non piangi, di che pianger suoli ?" For my part, the blood tingles at my fingers' ends whilst I write these horrors. After having been above two months in this noisome dungeon he was removed to the house of the chief of the police, he then openly announced his return to Christianity, and that his avowal of Islamism was forced from him. The chief of the police (Meeree Schab) informed him that all his property had been seized by the Ameer, his papers burnt, and his instruments sold by auction ;* that the Reiss had been the cause of his imprisonment, * Colonel Stoddart's sextant was brought to Orenbuig, and General Peroffsky kindly purchased it, with the intention of restoring it to Colonel Stoddart's family ; it was, however, lost.

During my recent visit to Russia I saw several books this unfortunate prisoner had used at Bokhara, with his annotations on the margin. ABD-OOL-HALIK. 17 having persuaded the Ameer, that the letters brought by Colonel Stoddart were forgeries ; that he had only come to Bokhara for traitorous pur poses ; and that, in fact, he was nothing but an infamous spy. During the years 1839-40 Colonel Stoddart was again twice imprisoned, but happily not in the well, and he was as often taken into favour. The Ameer never stated any reason for the first of these imprisonments. The Colonel attributed the second to the Ameer's apprehension that he might escape to, or communicate with, Sir Richmond Shakspear, who was, during that period, at Khiva. After the third imprisonment the Ameer had Colonel Stoddart removed to the palace, and placed under the surveillance of the chief cook (doster hanchi), named Abd-ool-Halik, who afterwards became, and it is believed is now, Grand Vizier of Bokhara ; he having rendered great service to the Ameer in his male harem.

Here Colonel Stod dart's life was passed in a more agreeable manner, although strictlv watched, and subject to the insults which every one was at liberty to inflict upon a Christian, who had relapsed from Islamism. These insults, anxiety, and the restraint to which he was subject, now brought on a serious attack of typhus fever. The servants of Abd-ool-Halik, thinking c ABD-OOL-SAMET. that Colonel Stoddart was too weak to complain, and caring little for the life of a Christian, left him for several davs without food ; and he would un- •_ doubtedly have perished had not the Ameer sent his physician, Mausam-e-Djooneet, an excellent man, who saved his life, by seeing that wholesome food was brought to him daily. After a long and lingering convalescence the Ameer transferred him to Naib Abd-ool-Samet Khan, one of the greatest scoundrels in Bokhara (in whose house Dr. Wolff was received on his arrival at Bokhara, by order of the Ameer).

Here he had certainly greater liberty ; and, for the first time, found means to communicate with his friends at Cabul ; this fellow having been, undoubtedly, well paid for allowing it. After Colonel Stoddart's first imprisonment reports reached England that he was murdered, and his family immediately put on mourning ; but in the year 1841, several letters were received from him, in which he entreats his friends never to believe any rumours of his death. The following remarkable letter was written by Colonel Stoddart at this time, and reached London on the 3d November, 1841 ; and in laying it before the public, I think it right to state, that when I communicated the original to the Secretary STODDART'S

LETTER. 19

of State for Foreign Affairs, I was officially informed that various communications had been received from Colonel Stoddart during the years 1839-40. "Bokhara, 26th June, 1841. 10 p.m. " A painful three years have passed away without my being able to hear and give any news, and I venture to inquire of my kind friends what they are doing, and to beg a line in reply, to be forwarded by Persia, and left at the Foreign Office. " May God have protected you, as He has me, and spared many blessings in His mercy to cheer your life ! To me, all that is left in this world of change, is to the good ; for I was gone myself for a time, and had fairly counted not what I left behind, but those I was hoping to rejoin in the mercy we rejoice in, assured that the loiterers would soon follow, and top Death's grizzly fence.

My time, however, was not yet come ; and I have again advanced ' once more into the breach' before me ; and, whenever that call may come, pray that my heart may be well strung with joy in Him who has led us, and whom we know we never should leave as our only hope and strength. " You must not. expect a detailed letter from me, as I am not free to relate all my work at Bokhara, suffice it that the obstacles which opposed me at the onset have melted like snow in the midsummer-sun, slowly and surely ; and I am now only waiting a letter from Govern ment to leave the field we have won. . . . The Oozbegs have all along been those who solitudinem faciunt , &c. ; and my appearance here, after the success at Heraut, STODDART'S