VOYAGE UP THE GANGES
Return to Calcutta—Much illness in regiment—Boat journey of three months
to Cawnpore—Incidents of the voyage—Death of Daniel Shean
I CANNOT at this moment recollect how we left Moulmein, and here, for
the first time since I commenced this narrative, my memory fails me, but
I think it was in sailing ships, for I remember that on our arrival off
Fort William we were transhipped into country boats next day, and
proceeded with the tide up the Hooghly and landed at Chinsurah. There we
found Colonel Woodhouse, from Sydney, and a large detachment of recruits
and young officers from England under Captain Fothergill, and, what was
far more acceptable to me, letters from my dear wife with cheering
accounts of herself and my dear children.
I now as a matter of course gave over the command of the regiment to
Colonel Woodhouse, and for a time I was, comparatively speaking, an idle
man. He, being a full colonel and of so many years’ standing, was
entitled by the orders of the army in India to the local rank of
major-general, and to a separate command. Therefore I felt sure of
getting the regiment again before long. We now got into the month of
April, and the heat was great and most cruelly trying. We spoke much of
the delightful climate of Moulmein, and of the dear friends whom we had
left behind us there. The heat and the change of climate soon produced
much sickness amongst our officers and men. Fever and cholera prevailed,
and we lost many men and Assistant-Surgeon McBean from the latter
fearful malady. He was quite well and dined at the mess the night of his
death. He sat opposite to me and was in high spirits, and I observed he
ate heartily and stayed at table for an hour or two afterwards. On
retiring to his room he was suddenly seized with cholera at about two
o’clock in the morning, and died in agony soon afterwards. He was buried
the same day.
In June we had a fearful storm, or rather a hurricane, lasting two days
and nights. Much damage was done, and many ships and river craft driven
on shore and totally lost, but it cleared and purified the air, and
sickness and cholera disappeared for a time.
Early in July orders were received to hold the regiment in readiness to
proceed in country boats to Cawnpore, and about the middle of the month
all the arrangements were completed by the commissariat, and a fleet of
about 80 or more boats had arrived at Chinsurah for our embarkation. The
officers were granted (according to rank) a liberal money allowance to
provide their own boat, and they generally got first-rate budgerows,
with accommodation for two or three officers, for less than the money
allowed by Government, so that the officers of each company might go
together or hire a budgerow for each individually, as they liked. These
boats were very comfortable, and had each two good cabins and a
bath-room; and the officers’ personal furniture of tables and chairs,
beds, and chests of drawers left nothing wanting. All the boats were
covered with canvas awnings. Each budgerow was attended by two small
boats—one fitted with a clay oven and fireplace for cooking, and the
other carried the luggage and servants, who kept close to their masters,
and came on board without delay or difficulty whenever they were wanted.
The men’s boats were large, clumsy craft, with matting awnings, and
calculated to accommodate from twenty to thirty soldiers, with their
arms, accoutrements, and knapsacks. These had each a cooking boat
attached, with cooks and assistants. There were also at least a dozen
commissariat boats, with live stock and bullocks, sheep and poultry, as
well as spirits and wine for the voyage, and there were hospital-boats,
where none but the ailing and sick were admitted. The commissariat had
also bakers’ boats, so that we had fresh bread daily. Before we started
each company was furnished with distinguishing flags; mine was distinct,
a St. Andrew’s Cross on a red ground; and in addition to the
commissariat provisions, the officers had their own private stock of
poultry, hams, and wines.
With all these means, good accommodation, and creature comforts one
might hope for a pleasant change and merry trip on the rivers Hooghly
and Ganges, but in course of this voyage we were disappointed.
Notwithstanding much variety and fun, we had occasionally to encounter
great difficulties. At last we got under way from Chinsurah about the
end of July, with strict orders to the boats of each company to keep as
much as possible together, and to be guided by their respective
distinguishing flags. Any neglect of this arrangement was at once
visible and checked. We had our advance and rear guards—the first an
officer’s budgerow, to point out any difficulties in the river to the
advancing fleet, and the rear guard consisting of the captain and
subaltern of the day, and one of the men’s boats from each company in
succession daily. Their duty was to assist any of the boats of the fleet
which got into distress from accident or bad management. When the winds
favoured the whole fleet made sail, and when they were against us the
boats were towed along the banks of the river, or from the shallow
sandbanks by the whole of the crews, by means of ropes tied to the top
of the mast. This was very slow and fatiguing work against the strong
currents. In this way we some days made fifteen to twenty miles, but
generally not more than six.
At eight every morning the halt for breakfast was sounded, and the
officers on duty selected the next favourable bank of the river for
securing the boats during breakfast. To that spot all the fleet pushed
on, and made fast with ropes and pegs. The Hindoo bearers and servants,
on account of their religion, would not eat their food in the boats, but
landed and made their sacred circle for cooking and eating on shore.
Half an hour was allowed for breakfast, and the same time for dinner. At
one o’clock the halt for dinner was heard, and the officers again
selected a safe place. Frequent interruptions were occasioned by stress
of weather, and the loss or absence of one or more boats, and we had
many severe and sudden gales, which caused not only the upsetting but
the total loss of several boats, and in two instances the drowning of a
few unfortunate soldiers and women. At Dinapore we halted and dined with
the officers of the 21st Fusiliers, and a most happy evening we had with
them. We also had opportunities of visiting the principal towns on the
banks of the Hooghly and Ganges, viz., Barrackpore, Dinapore, Monghyr,
Patna, Benares, Ghazipore, Mirzapore, Allahabad, and several other
places. At Benares we were most hospitably received and feasted by the
rajah at his splendid country residence, after the English fashion.
There we had also a severe gale at noonday, which carried my budgerow
away from its mooring down the stream, but I managed to jump out of one
of the windows up to my shoulders in the river, and fortunately got safe
on shore, but of course with a good ducking. For some hours before this
we dreaded a storm; the clouds were dark and heavy all the morning, and
so visible was its approach that we got alarmed and landed our tents and
all our baggage on the banks of the river for safety. These precautions
were not long completed before the gale burst upon us with sudden fury,
carrying away my budgerow and many other boats.
About this time cholera again broke out amongst our men, and we lost
several, but the greater number of those attacked recovered, owing, no
doubt, to our constant change of air. One supposed reason for these
attacks was that in most of the confined parts of the river the floating
dead and decomposed bodies of Hindoos of all ages were so numerous that
they were actually massed together in hundreds where the stream drove
them, and where the current was not sufficiently strong to disperse and
carry them away. The Hindoos generally disposed of their dead in the
holy Ganges, and consequently they were to be seen in all parts of the
river and in all stages of decomposition, with vultures everywhere
feeding upon them. In halting and securing our boats for the night we
always selected good and firm “lagowing” ground and smooth water, and as
our large fleet was packed all together, we were sure to find in the
mornings dozens of these floating bodies brought up by the current, and
jammed between and all round our boats in the most disgusting manner,
and we could not get rid of them, nor clear of them until we were again
under way and in the open running stream.
During our voyage we saw many alligators daily sunning themselves on the
various sandbanks which appear in the middle and other parts of the
river. They were very wild, but sometimes our sportsmen got a shot at
them before they plunged into the water. Some may have been wounded, but
we never knew that any had been killed. Our men were strictly forbidden
to bathe, for fear of the strong currents, and of our friends the
alligators, but, notwithstanding these orders, some ventured on the sly
to indulge in this recreation. It was on one of these occasions that
Daniel Shean,[1] a soldier of the light company, who was an excellent
swimmer, ventured into the river, and was seen by his comrades soon
after to sink, and never to rise again. The firm belief of every one was
that he was seized and pulled under by an alligator and carried bodily
away. I omitted to mention that the officers had tiffin (lunch) at the
men’s dinner-hour, one o’clock, and dined after the halt of the day,
generally about sunset, and enjoyed themselves afterwards till bedtime
either visiting, or resting with every comfort round them, in their
budgerows. At last we reached Cawnpore, in the middle of October, having
been about three months on our voyage.
Footnote 1:
See above, p. 167.
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