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1857. ABERDEEN-DINAPORE - OUTBREAK OF SEPOY MUTINY
Mutiny and disaster—Major
Eyre at Arrah—Outbreak at Patna—A dastardly proceeding—Progress of
events—Further reports—The regimental hospital—Soldiers' wives to be
armed—Madras regiments—English reinforcements—Meean Meer— Shannon
Brigade—Victims of mutiny— Women and children—Details of Cawnpore—A lady
refugee—Mortality in 5th—Extension of mutiny—Current events— Action and
contrast—Delhi and Lucknow—Successes—Bankers—Reinforcements —English
opinion—Active proceedings—Ghastly evidences—Sir Colin Campbell -"
Clemency "—Active work—Blown from a gun—More active work.
THE force stationed at
Dinapore consisted of two troops of European Artillery, 10th Foot, a
portion of the 37th British, the 7th, 8th, and 40th Native Regiments.
Among the three last named signs of disaffection had for some time past
been apparent to their officers, though unhappily ignored by the
general,' an old, infirm, and irresolute man. On the 25th of July he was
so far moved to action as to direct that percussion caps should be taken
away from their magazines of arms, and from the men themselves. A parade
for the latter purpose was ordered; thereupon the sepoys became openly
mutinous, fired upon and otherwise threatened their officers; they
finally broke away, taking their arms with them. Meanwhile, the white
troops were not permitted by the general to open fire upon or pursue the
mutineers, who, taking the direction of Arrab, soon placed themselves
under the leadership of the powerful chief Koer Singh. Arrived at that
place, they laid siege to the house of Mr. Boyle, in which the few
residents of the small station had collected, and, to some extent,
fortified the building. On the 27th a party consisting of men of the
10th and 37th proceeded by steamer, in view to relief of those besieged;
but the vessel ran aground, and so their object was frustrated. On the
29th a second steamer having been procured, the combined party proceeded
in her; in due time arrived at Beharee Ghat on the river Sone; there
landed, and began their march towards Arrah. Unhappily, a night advance
was determined upon. After much toil, not acquainted with the ground,
not knowing their way, having to cross a deep ravine or nullah, and to
surmount other difficulties, they entered the town about midnight, and
after the moon had set. A heavy fire was thereupon opened on them. Men
and officers were unable to see each other. Captain Dunbar, the officer
in command, fell dead; confusion was the immediate result. A certain
number found their way back to the open country; but so heavy were the
losses, so great the disorganization of the whole, that the expedition
not only failed in its intended object, but met with serious disaster.
The remnants were brought back to Dinapore, where they arrived on 3oth
of July; it was then found that out of 415 officers and men who had
started on that service, 110 were killed and 120 wounded, making a total
of 290. The wounded who were rescued were more in number than could be
accommodated in hospital; supplemeitary buildings had accordingly to be
utilised for them. Throughout the regiment chagrin and disappointment
were general; stories circulated that acts of atrocity had been
perpetrated on some of the wounded. Soldiers were loud in their
imprecations against the rebels, declaring their determination "to pay
them off for it."
Major Eyre, hearing of
the disaster that had befallen the troops under Captain Dunbar, advanced
by forced marches from Buxar; on August 2 he attacked and dispersed the
besieging rebels at Arrah, who thereupon fled towards Jugdispore. On the
8th a party of the 10th under Captain Patterson, together with some
other troops, arrived at Arrah from Dinapore. On the 11th, in
conjunction with those of Major Eyre, it started in pursuit of the
sepoys; they had taken up a position at a village named Jota Narainpore.
There they were attacked by the men of the 10th, who rushed upon them
with a shout, killing numbers and dispersing those who escaped their
bayonets.
At Dinapore, Sir James
Outram inspected the 10th, and having issued orders with regard to
further proceedings continued his journey southwards, taking with him
some officers belonging to the mutinous native corps. The arrival of Sir
Cohn Campbell at Calcutta to assume supreme command was followed by the
departure of Sir Patrick Grant to resume his own proper command at
Madras. At Patna a partial outbreak by the Mahomedans had recently taken
place, Dr. LyelI being killed during it. A recurrence of that
disturbance being threatened, a detachment of the 10th was sent to
Bankipore as a personal guard to the Commissioner of Behar, whose
residence was at that place.
When the great body of
the sepoys at Dinapore mutinied and fled, certain of their number were
employed on various duties within the barrack ranges occupied by the
British troops. Unable like their brethren to effect their escape, they
laid down their arms, declaring themselves to be loyal, or "staunch,"
according to the phrase of the day; tents were issued for their use, and
a neat little encampment established on a space of open ground between
the barracks and adjoining river bank. In the course of the following
night screams issued from that encampment; in due time some soldiers,
with their officers, proceeded with lights to the tents, to find several
of the sepoys dead, others more or less severely wounded by bayonet
thrusts, but without any clue to their assailants. Whether or not, as
asserted at the time, the men of the 10th were implicated in this
dastardly outrage, remained uncleared up by the official inquiry which
followed in due course.
In rapid succession news
reached us of events at different places within the sphere of mutiny.
The investment of Delhi more closely pressed by the combined British and
Sikh besieging forces. From Agra that the rebels had withdrawn therefrom.
From Oude that Havelock had resumed his advance towards Lucknow,
inflicting en route severe defeat upon the opposing rebels. From
Calcutta that reinforcements were being daily dispatched inland by
bullock trains; but as the rate of progress of those animals did not
exceed two and a half miles per hour, considerable time must elapse
before the troops so sent can be brought into actual use. Other items of
intelligence were, that a body of Ghoorkas sent by Jung Bahadur as an
auxiliary force had been attacked by the rebels, upon whom they
inflicted defeat with heavy loss. The river steamer Jumna in its
progress upwards beyond Allahabad was so heavily fired upon by the
mutineers, at the same time the water of the Ganges becoming so shallow,
that it had to abandon further attempts to proceed; there was therefore
no alternative but to withdraw.
In the city of Patna the
condition of things, already unsatisfactory, became still more so, the
intention of the Mahomedans therein declared to be an attack on the
"Kaffirs" on their great festival day of the Mohurrum, falling this year
on 31st of August. As a precautionary measure, therefore, a line of
defences was rapidly thrown up between the city and cantonments. Next
came a report that the 9th Irregular Cavalry, after doing good service
at Delhi, had fraternised with the rebels; with them made a dash at a
besieging battery protected by Sikhs, their attempt defeated by the 75th
Regiment. Then sad accounts of sickness and mortality by disease in
addition to casualties in battle among the besiegers; for example, the
1st Battalion 60th Rifles, 400 strong when it first took up its
position, had not in its ranks now 200 effectives. From Allahabad the
statement came that some of the "staunch" gun lascars were detected in
an attempt to load their guns with bricks and mortar.
The state of things in
our regimental hospital, characteristic of the time, was this :—In the
months of July and August deaths included two officers and seventy men.
The long corridor-like wards of the building, together with its verandah,
were filled partly with wounded men, remnants of the unfortunate Arrah
expedition, partly by those affected with diseases special to the season
of the year. The requirements of the wounded demanded much manual
attention. What, therefore, between handling wounded tissues and their
dressings, finger-tips became sodden like those of a washerwoman, and
tender to the touch; the stooping attitude necessary while performing
dressings and operations so fatigued the muscles of the back as to make
it painful to be in, or again to change that attitude; at the same time
the moist heat prevailing made such exertions particularly exhausting.
The hospital had already been fortified, arms issued, and so arranged
that in case of necessity they could be made use of by some of the
patients; sandbags were arranged for purposes of defence on the roof,
the walls loop- holed; indeed, the only shots at the escaping sepoys of
the 40th N.I. were from it.
Rumours circulated that a
combined line of action by the disaffected in Patna and mutinous sepoys
under Koer Singh, one of the Nana's lieutenants, was contemplated
against Dinapore, garrisoned as the station by only a portion of the
10th Foot. To meet such a contingency, it was proposed to arm the women
belonging to the regiment; nor had those of us who had some knowledge of
their general style and prowess any doubt as to the result, should they
come in conflict with such adversaries. Indeed, there was every reason
to believe that already a mutineer had lost his life by the hand of one
of our Amazons armed with a bayonet.
The arrival of a Madras
infantry regiment, in the ranks of which were some Hindostanees, gave
rise to some little speculation as to possible events, should they be
brought against their rebel countrymen. At the same time news circulated
that a mutinous spirit had been shown in one of the cavalry regiments I
of that presidency, and in at least two of infantry in that of Bombay.
Under the circumstances
of the time, welcome was intelligence by English mail that a powerful
force was in progress of dispatch to India; its numerical strength
25,000 men, including Royal Artillery, then to be employed in Hindostan
for the first time. Now also came the first faint rumour that the
transfer of Indian administration directly to the Government of Her
Majesty was intended.
From Meean Meer came news
of successful action against intended "rising" on the part of native
troops at that station, the attending circumstances of that action being
in some respects like those of the historical ball at Brussels on the
eve of Quatre Bras. Among the regiments disarmed, as an outcome of that
action, was the 26th N.I. For some time thereafter the sepoys belonging
to it remained "loyal" and "contrite." Suddenly, under the shelter of
night,2 they fled, having first murdered one of their officers. At break
of day troops were sent in pursuit; the fugitives overtaken on the left
bank of the Ravee. Of their number fully 100 were shot down, 10 or so
drowned in their endeavour to swim across that river, the remaining 200
ultimately captured, brought back to their station, and executed. It was
of the concluding act of the drama that news now reached us.
In the afternoon of
September 4, the River Bird arrived from Calcutta, having on board the
"Shannon Naval Brigade," under Captain—soon to become Sir William Peel.
No sooner were they disembarked than all paraded for drill. Lookers-on
rapidly collected to witness the novel proceedings, the wild rollicking
manner in which the bluejackets pulled about and worked their ship's
guns of large calibre. That evening the officers were our guests at the
regimental mess. Our next meeting was to be under circumstances even
more stirring than those now taking place.
From time to time the
papers of the day gave what statistics were available in regard to lives
sacrificed, directly and indirectly, by the present outbreak of the
sepoys. According to one paper, those numbers were as follows, soldiers,
officers, women, and children being included in the totals; namely,
Meerut, 29; Loodianah, 3; Sealkote, 8; Fyzabad, 7; Gwalior, 15 ; Rohnee,
i; Jounpore, 1; Jhelum, 1; Allahabad, 1; Mehidpore, 7; Mosuffernuggar,
1; Bareilly, 70; Delhi—on the outbreak of the mutiny, 82,—killed or died
by exposure subsequently, 40; Hissar, 9; Shahjehanpore, 1; Cawnpore, 19
(exclusive of those to be subsequently enumerated); Meean Meer, 2; Mhow,
34; Sooltanpore,; Saugur, 1; Neemuch, 4; Indore, 2; Patna, 1; Moradabad,
4; Darjeeling, 1; Futtehpore, 1; Lucknow, 22; Benares, 5 ; Agra, 16 ;
Jhansi, 43 Jullundhur, ; Ferozepore, 3; Raneegunge, 3; Indore, 1; making
in all a total of 494. These numbers do not include the many instances
in which lives were sacrificed by exposure and hardship, nor the
numerous young soldiers who succumbed while being conveyed along the
Grand Trunk Road.
With regard to the most
terrible of all episodes,—namely, that of June 27, at Cawnpore,—an
account by one of the very few survivors was published in the Friend of
India; namely, "Those who in the boats survived from the artillery fire
directed upon them were taken back to Cawnpore; the men secured by
cords, and with the ladies brought before the Nana, who thereupon gave
orders for their destruction. The ladies were placed on one side, the
men, bound as they were, drawn up in line, and his troops ordered to
fire upon them. Some of the ladies broke away, and rushing to their
husbands, clasped them in despair, determined to die with them. A
chaplain who was of the doomed number begged that a few minutes might be
granted them to prepare to meet their God—a favour which was granted;
others called upon their executioners to finish their bloody work. A
volley of musketry; the victims reeled and fell, some dead, others still
alive, though wounded; their murderers rush upon them with tulwars; they
deal death around, nor do they cease their work when life is extinct,
but continue to mutilate the bodies of the dead. The women and children,
numbering one hundred and fifty-nine persons, were retained till July
15, and then destroyed by butchers employed for that diabolical purpose.
Two days thereafter, but too late to avert the catastrophe the forces
led by Havelock entered Cawnpore." At a somewhat later date further
particulars appeared with reference to the same sad episode. According
to them the list of persons whose lives were sacrificed there, whether
in the entrenchments between June5 to 27, in the boats on the latter
date, or on July 1, when the last remnant was butchered, as just
related, was as follows; namely, Honourable Company's Artillery, 61;
H.M.'s 32nd Regiment, 84; 1st European Fusiliers, 15; H.M.'s 84th
Regiment, 50; officers of regiments and staff, 100; merchants, writers,
and others, 100; drummers, etc., 40; women and children of soldiers,
about 160; of writers merchants, and drummers, 120; ladies and children
of officers, 50; servants (after many had absconded early in the
outbreak), 100; sepoys and native officers sick in hospital, 20; total,
900. But there is every reason to believe that these figures are
approximate rather than actually exact.
Orders were received and
quickly carried into effect, whereby the wives and children of men and
officers of the 10th were dispatched by steamer to Berhampore, at the
time considered a place of safety. A company of our regiment marched
towards Gya, then threatened by the mutinous 5th Irregulars, and
defended only by a small body of Rattray's Sikhs. The withdrawal of the
Treasury from that station resulted in the official ruin of the civilian
concerned; but under the circumstances of the time the verdict of
opinion among those on the spot was that his action was justified.
Among the refugees
proceeding by steamer down country was Mrs. Mills, whose husband, Major
Mills, of the Bengal Artillery, had been shot by his mutinous men while
endeavouring to escape from Fyzabad, by swimming the Gogra. This
unfortunate lady had been wandering in the jungle for nearly three
months. She now was ill from hardships and starvation; one child, an
infant, had died, the remaining two were ill with cholera; she herself
nearly devoid of clothing, without servant or other help, almost
completely broken down; nor was it until a few days ago that she learned
the fate of her husband. A brother officer of Major Mills, Captain
Alexander, placed a suite of rooms in his house at her disposal. In due
time she and her children were so far restored in health, and provided
with clothing, that they continued their journey towards Calcutta.
For some time past a
detachment of the 5th Fusiliers occupied a building connected with the
Opium Stores in Patna, the rate of sickness and mortality among the men
composing it being so great as to equal 90 per cent. of deaths per 100
strength per annum. A visit to the place by Colonel Fenwick and myself
revealed the fact that the quarters assigned to them were in all
respects unsuited; while, therefore, the remaining portion of the men
were withdrawn, their place taken by men of the 10th, steps were taken,
and successfully, to avert similar casualties among the latter.
Still there came news of
mutiny from stations far apart: from Assam on the one hand, to
Ferozepore on the other; while of regiments of the Bombay Presidency, a
similar spirit had extended to at least four of their number. Indeed, so
general had mutiny become that scarcely a remark was made as the news of
some fresh outbreak circulated; but among officers and men of our
regiment the desire was loudly expressed to "get fairly at them in the
field," little if any account being taken of relative numbers.
At this time my own
physical state gave way under the weight of arduous duties; several
brother officers also were rendered temporarily incapable of work; but
at the earliest possible date we returned to our respective spheres,
determined to "put the shoulder to the wheel." The good news reached us
that a further defeat had been inflicted upon the Arrah mutineers by
Major Eyre. The arrival of reinforcements by ship from England had begun
to cause wonder and some consternation among the rebels. For reasons the
nature of which did not transpire, certain newspapers were temporarily
suppressed. The immediate result of that measure was that private
letters took the place of the journals so dealt with; groups of men
assembled at the post office on the occasion of morning delivery, news
was interchanged, and thus a tolerable knowledge maintained of events in
progress at different stations.
From Azimghur came
information that there the rebels had been attacked and defeated by the
Ghoorka troops of Jung Bahadur.' It was said that a force consisting of
3,000 Cashmere troops, sent by Goolab Singh, was approaching Delhi, in
aid of the British, by whom the siege of that city was being vigorously
pressed on. Then came news that on September 16 an entrance had been
effected by the Cashmere Gate; 125 guns captured, though with a loss to
our troops engaged of between forty and fifty officers and 60 men killed
and wounded. From Nagpore, that the mutinous 5oth N.J. had been
attacked, and to a great extent destroyed by the column advancing from
Madras. From the Punjab, that some fifty men of the 10th Cavalry and a
number of mutineers of the 55th N.J. had been executed by order of Sir
John Lawrence. In contrast with these energetic measures were
Proclamations by Government, full of sympathic expressions with regard
to "the poor misguided men," as applied to the perpetrators of deeds
already alluded to.
A few days passed, and
then came information that very stirring events were in progress; that
Delhi was completely in the hands of our troops, the king a prisoner,
two royal princes shot by the hand of Hodson. The forces under Havelock
and Outram had effected an entrance into the Residency of Lucknow, and
so "relieved" the besieged garrison of that city. The story of that
"relief" was everywhere related with pride. But the fact was deplored
that the "relieving" force, as a result of the losses sustained, had
itself to add its numbers to the besieged. Among the latter, casualties
by shot and disease had, up to the date of "relief" included fifty-seven
women and children. On the following Sunday, collections were made in
cantonment churches, for the purposes of a fund being raised wherewith
to aid sufferers by the present rebellion.
Thereafter news of
successes at different points against the rebels came in rapidly. Thus
from Delhi a force had gone in pursuit of one party of them; in Central
India the 52nd N.J. was broken up by the Madras column; near Sherghotty
the Rarnghur Battalion annihilated; in the vicinity of Mirzapore a body
of mutineers defeated by a small force comprising the 5th Fusiliers and
17th Madras N.J. At this time the "Pearl" Brigade, under command of
Captain Sotheby, arrived at Dinapore; two companies of the ioth, under
Major Longden, started towards Benares, there to be ready for
emergencies. At intervals disaffection occurred in portions of the 32nd
N.J., occupying various positions in neighbouring districts. Now came
news that the last fragment of that corps had broken into mutiny and
fled; their object to unite with the rebel force beyond the Soane,
commanded by Koer Singh.
Information was received
that a body of mutineers 4,000 strong, with twelve guns, was in progress
from Oude to make an attack on the Treasury at Chupra, and afterwards to
threaten our small body of effectives at Dinapore. Then we learned that
Rajah Maun Singh, of Gorruckpore, hitherto believed to be "loyal,"—he
having given protection to some ladies whose husbands had been murdered
by the sepoys, —had joined the rebels with a force of 9,000 men. As a
counterpoise to such items, the troops under Colonel Greathead,
descending by the Grand Trunk Road, had defeated the sepoys, inflicting
heavy loss upon them, subsequently possessing himself of Alighur,
together with its guns and stores. A significant indication of the
tendency now being assumed by bazaar opinion was that native bankers,
who in the first outbreak of the mutiny sent their treasure to Calcutta,
are having it brought back to their places of business.
We were at this time in a
position to estimate the strength of reinforcements already sent, and in
process of being dispatched from England, to re-establish authority in
India. These comprised eleven regiments of Light Cavalry; fifty-five
battalions of Infantry; four troops of Horse Artillery; eleven companies
of Foot Artillery; seven Field Batteries; four companies of Engineers,
equal to a total of 87,000 men. With these there were fourteen medical
officers, over and above those pertaining to regiments and other bodies.
As each successive body
of troops arrived, officers belonging to them were invited to our mess;
thus we gathered something in regard to the tenor of opinion in England
in reference to events in progress around us. Very different was the
impression so conveyed, of views entertained at home, from what under
the actual circumstances of the time was to be expected. From the long
distance, the sepoy was looked upon as mild and harmless in disposition,
but driven to revolt by acts of oppression to which he had been long
subjected,—those acts, however, not definitely stated; Sir John Lawrence
and General Neil were said to be cruel and otherwise objectionable
persons; the policy of "clemency" all that was estimable, and to be
desired. The contrast between the views so expressed, and actual
occurrences such as have been already mentioned, taking place almost
before our very eyes, gave rise to comments, some of them more
expressive than sympathetic.
Meanwhile the progress of
events went on. A body of mutinous sepoys had found their way from Delhi
to Bithoor, the residence of the Nana. There they were attacked by a
force sent ifor the purpose from Cawnpore, under the command of Colonel
Wilson, their stronghold destroyed, guns, ammunition, and other stores
contained in it captured. At Raneegunge the Headquarter portion of the
32nd N.I.' was disarmed by Colonel Burney, their commanding officer, to
whom was given up also the treasonable correspondence being carried on
by the sepoys belonging to it. At Agra the camp was attacked by a body
of rebel cavalry, estimated at 1,500 strong. The picquet of the 9th
Lancers, comprising not more than twenty-four troopers, under command of
Captain French and Lieutenant Jones, charged and cut its way through
them; but in so doing the first-named officer was killed, the second
wounded. The station of Chupra in our near vicinity being threatened,
the "Pearl" Brigade, under Captain Sotheby, R.N., was ordered by the
Civil Commissioner of Patna to proceed for its protection—a new
experience for a naval officer to be ordered by a civilian. At our own
station reinforcements, comprising a portion of the 82nd Regiment, were
a welcome addition to our weak garrison. Particulars were published of
the cost in casualties at which the troops under Havelock attained the
relief of the Lucknov garrison; namely, sixteen officers killed and
forty-five wounded; of soldiers, 400 killed and 700 wounded, equal to
nearly one-third of the force engaged. No wonder that in their turn the
remnants became part of the besieged garrison.
The party of the 10th
already at Benares was held in readiness to enter Oude, and there act as
occasion might require against assemblages of mutineers. At Jounpore, a
body of rebels were attacked by the Ghoorkas, who severely defeated
them, killing or disabling some 250 out of 1,200 of their strength. Some
ghastly indications of events in progress were furnished by floating
bodies in the Ganges, these being seen during several successive days,
as with vultures or other foul birds perched upon and tearing their
flesh they were carried past our station. Among them were six white
bodies, lashed together by ropes, suggesting the means by which the
victims had been destroyed.
By the end of October,
Sir Cohn Campbell started from Calcutta to assume direct command of the
troops actively engaged against the enemy. Travelling by "dâk," and
having with him an escort of inconsiderable strength, he narrowly
escaped capture by the mutineers of the 32nd N.I., who lay in wait in
the vicinity of the Soane, his escape being due to the fleetness of his
"gharry" horses. After that incident the same party of mutineers doubled
back and endeavoured to enter Oude by crossing the Ganges near Patna,
but were defeated in their attempt by the armed river steamer Koiadyne.
In bitterly sarcastic
terms the policy of "clemency" towards and sympathy expressed for the
"misguided" sepoy found utterance after this manner in the Friend of
India
"Pity the sorrows of a
mild Hindoo, whose tottering steps have brought him to your door,
To murder you he did what man could do, and can you blame him that he
did no more?
Ripped from the body of your outraged wife, he tossed your unborn babe
upon his pike!
Yearns not your heart to save and sooth the life of one who thirsts
again to do the like?
You do not kill the serpent in your path, you do not crush the bug when
you have caught him;
And why bear malice 'gainst one who bath but turned on you the arms
whose use you've taught him.
Those arms at present I have flung away, finding that somehow we
miscalculated.
And that we should have picked a luckier day to glut us with the blood
we hated.
And now I stand expectant at your gate, trusting for pardon and
fraternal love:
Of serpent wisdom you have shown of late not much; show me the softness
of the dove.
And then I promise you, as time shall suit, the rich reward you'll have
deserved to share,
The untiring hate of a remorseless brute, the poison of the reptile that
you spare."
While Peel's "Shannon"
Brigade, so recently with us, was in progress from Allahabad to Cawnpore,
it became united to the 53rd and a party of the 93rd Regiments. The
combined force was seriously engaged at Futtehpore with a strong body of
mutineers, and although successful in defeating them severely, after a
conflict of two hours' duration, the victory was at the cost of many
lives, among them Colonel Powell, formerly a brother officer in the
57th. The mutineers of the 32nd N.I., unable to cross into Oude, had
again taken up a position on the Soane; there they were attacked and
defeated by Rattray's Sikhs, though not without severe proportional loss
among the latter. The party of the ioth from Benares came in contact
with and routed a body of the Oude rebels at Atrowlea. Meanwhile the
forces under Sir Cohn Campbell were fighting their way from Cawnpore
towards Lucknow.
Martial law had for some
time past existed at Dinapore. In accordance with that effective code a
Court-Martial was ordered to assemble for the trial of a sepoy of 14th
N.I., on the charge of taking part in the massacre of our men at Arrah,
as already mentioned. Before that tribunal the man was duly tried; by it
convicted and sentenced to suffer death by being blown from a gun. Early
in the day following a strong guard of the 10th took charge of the
doomed man, to whom, in the usual way, the sentence of the court was
read. He was immediately marched to the rear of the barracks, where
preparations were complete for carrying into effect the dreadful
penalty. His step was firm, though his countenance expressed despair and
terror; his hands quivered, lips moved as if in prayer. While being
secured in the fatal position, he seemed dazed; the heart-beat reduced
to a mere flutter; a bandage tied over his eyes, he faintly said, "Hummara
kussoor uahin hye"—it is not my fault. The officiating assistant stood
aside, the hand of the Provost Marshal was raised, there was a loud
report, and shreds of humanity flew in various directions. A scene to be
witnessed only under compunction of circumstances. Mutineer prisoners
brought to the station for that purpose had in all cases fair and open
trial.
Welcome was the news
that-during the night between November 22 and 23 the besieged garrison
of Lucknow had been withdrawn therefrom by the force under Sir Cohn
Campbell, and was being escorted towards Cawnpore. At the same time
accounts reached us of the attack by the Gwalior contingent on the
last-named station; of their temporary success by reason of numbers, and
of their defeat with heavy loss in men and guns by the
Commander-in-Chief. Worn out by fatigue,—for he was physically a
delicate man,—General Havelock fell a victim to cholera shortly after
reaching the outskirts of Lucknow. In the vicinity of Jounpore a small
British force came in contact with the Oude rebels. On that occasion our
Ghoorka allies were said to have expressed a wish not to fight any more,
and to have shown their reluctance accordingly. Then came information
that a large number of ladies and children from those besieged, together
with a considerable body of sick and wounded soldiers, had arrived
safely at Allahabad from Cawnpore, en route to Calcutta. |
