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ON THE ŚIKHS.
of his mother-in-law, and by the Sikh Sirdár of Aluwálá, who became in early life and continued to be for many years his personal friend. These proceedings were confined to the east of the Ravi; but in 1804 Ranjit was emboldened by the distracted state of the Afghán monarchy to invade the dependencies of Kabul, lying between the Ravi and the Indus, and, although he did not permanently establish his supremacy, he succeeded in enforcing its acknowledgment in the shape of gifts and tribute from the Mohammedan chiefs who had hitherto held the Afghán kingdom. In 1805 he first became known to the British Government by the advance of Lord Lake's army into the Panjab. No great opinion was then entertained of his power or prospects. Sir J. Malcolm observes, his force did not amount to 8000 horse, and part of that was under chiefs who had been subdued from a state of independence, and whose turbulent minds ill brooked an usurpation which they deemed subversive of the constitution of the commonwealth.
The principal efforts of Ranjit for the next few years were directed to the extension of his authority to the eastward, and several of the possessions of the original Misals were either wholly or in part incorporated with his own territories. He repeatedly crossed the Setlej, appropriated lands on its left bank, and interfered in the quarrels of the Sikh chiefs so obviously for his own advantage alone, that they became alarmed and had recourse to the British Government for protection as having succeeded to the power of
