_1857. EARLY MONTHS 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,[165] 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 Arrah, 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 30th of July; it was then found that out of 415 officers and
men who had started on that service, 170 were killed and 120 wounded,
making a total of 290.[166] The wounded who were rescued were more in
number than could be accommodated in hospital; supplementary 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 Colin 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. Lyell 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,[167] 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
loopholed; 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[168] of that presidency, and in at least two
of infantry[169] 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[170] 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,[171] 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, 150 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,[172] 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, 1; Jounpore, 1; Jhelum, 1; Allahabad,
15; 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, 3;
Saugur, 1; Neemuch, 4; Indore, 2; Patna, 1; Moradabad, 4; Darjeeling,
1; Futtehpore, 1; Lucknow, 22; Benares, 5; Agra, 16; Jhansi, 43;
Jullundhur, 4; Ferozepore, 3; Raneegunge, 3; Indore, 15; 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_;[173] 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;[174] 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[175] with reference to the same sad episode.
According to them the list of persons whose lives were sacrificed
there, whether in the entrenchments between June 5 to 27, in the boats
on the latter date, or on July 15, 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.[176] 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 650 men killed and wounded. From Nagpore,
that the mutinous 50th N.I. 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.I. had been executed by order of Sir John Lawrence. In contrast
with these energetic measures were Proclamations by Government, full
of sympathetic 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.[177]
The forces under Havelock and Outram had effected[178] 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.I. was broken up by the
Madras column; near Sherghotty the Ramghur Battalion annihilated; in
the vicinity of Mirzapore a body of mutineers defeated by a small force
comprising the 5th Fusiliers and 17th Madras N.I. At this time the
“Pearl” Brigade, under command of Captain Sotheby, arrived at Dinapore;
two companies of the 10th, under Major Longden, started towards
Benares, there to be ready for emergencies. At intervals disaffection
occurred in portions of the 32nd N.I., 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 for 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.[179] 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 Lucknow
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 Colin 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 _Koladyne_.[180]
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_:[181]--
“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 hath 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
10th from Benares came in contact with and routed a body of the Oude
rebels at Atrowlea. Meanwhile the forces under Sir Colin 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 nahin
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 Colin 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.