“The British sent an army to siege the city of Multan. This was a city of 80,000 people. It had many riches, such as chests filled with jewels and copper canisters filled with gold coins. Stacked high were bale upon bale of silks and shawls, and huge stores of wheat and rice. Strong walls with eighty cannons surrounded the city.
“The British brought in their artillery and pounded the walls of the city until two breaches were made. Mortars were fired into the city, and one mortar exploded in the arsenal, setting off the whole of the Mulraj’s collection of rocket shells and explosives. More than 800 people were killed and most of the buildings in the center, including the temples, were destroyed. The shock knocked bottles off tables over two miles away. But the Sikhs were not disheartened,
