MILITARY SERVICE
AND
ADVENTURES IN THE FAR EAST:
INCLUDING
SKETCHES OF THE CAMPAIGNS
AGAINST THE AFGHANS IN 1839,
AND THE SIKHS IN 1845-6.
BY A CAVALRY OFFICER.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
CHARLES OLLIER,
SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND.
1847.
[Illustration:
MAP
of the
Late Field of Operations
on the
SUTLEJ.]
TO
SIR HENRY LUSHINGTON, BART.
I INSCRIBE THESE VOLUMES,
BY HIS PERMISSION,
AS A TRIBUTE OF AFFECTIONATE RESPECT.
I shall not venture, in accordance with modern usage, to compose
an elaborate panegyric and exhaust the epithets of flattery in my
Dedication.
Such an essay would be out of my power, and far beneath Sir Henry's
acceptance.
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
CHAPTER I.
Arrival in India, and march to the north-western provinces p. 1
CHAPTER II.
Visit to the Himalayah mountains 33
CHAPTER III.
Matters relating to the Afghans--March through Delhi to
Ferozepore--Runjeet's interview--March towards Buhawulpore 49
CHAPTER IV.
Arrival at Buhawulpore--Sir Henry Fane's interview with
the Khan--Progress to Scinde across the Indus 78
CHAPTER V.
Advance from Shikarpore--Passage through the Bolan Pass
into Afghanistan--Advance from Quetta 98
CHAPTER VI.
Kandahar--Murder of Lieut. Inverarity--The army concentrated--Advance
by the valley of the Turnuk upon Ghuzni 130
CHAPTER VII.
Storm and capture of Ghuzni--Advance to meet Dost Mahomed--His
army desert him, and he flies towards the Hindoo Koosh 159
CHAPTER VIII.
Arrival at Caubul--Death of Colonel Arnold--Return of the
expedition in pursuit of Dost Mahomed--The Russian
bugbear--Fall of Khelat 184
CHAPTER IX.
The army at Caubul broken up--March of Sir John Keane's
escort by Jellalabad, and through the Khyber Pass, to
Peshawur 211
CHAPTER X.
Peshawur--Skirmishes with the Khyberees across the
Indus--Manikyala--The passage of the Jhelum 244
CHAPTER XI.
Cross the Chenab and Ravee--Arrive at Lahore--Lahore--Ceremonial
visits--Review of the Sikh army--Recross
the Sutlej--March to cantonments 272
MILITARY SERVICE
IN THE FAR EAST.
CHAPTER I.
ARRIVAL IN INDIA, AND MARCH TO THE NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES.
Any one who has coasted the Andamans will bear witness to the beauty
of those Islands, of which, at the time I visited them, marvellous
tales were related. The predilection of the inhabitants of those
realms for their white brethren, when shipwrecked on these shores, was
said to have been evinced in a manner singularly contrasted to other
philanthropists, for they actually devoured them. It has moreover been
stated, that the biped islanders were not the only philanthropists
dwelling in these alluring scenes, but that the woods swarmed with a
variety of wild beasts, who were also epicures in human flesh. It is,
indeed, wonderful that man, being so great a luxury, should continue to
exist in such regions. Unfortunately, we were unable to put any reports
to the test, not having set foot ashore.
The sun, which had been shining brilliantly all the morning over these
green isles, became obscured in the afternoon, when a breeze springing
up soon caused a musical ripple of the waters, and wafted us in four
days to the Sandheads; where, receiving our pilot on board, we coasted
the low sandy ridge of Saugar, and anchored off Kedgeree, there to
await the steamer which was to tow us up the Hoogly to the capital.
No sooner was our anchor dropped, than the river suddenly swarmed
with boats full of the wildest-looking savages, in a perfect state of
nature, saving a dingy clout bound about their waists. The hair hung
like horses' tails over the shoulders of some; others had gathered up
and twisted the sable mass into a knot on the top of their heads, which
led us into considerable doubt as to the gender of the individuals,
this being the generally approved method of arranging the hair amongst
the ladies of our northern climes. But we did injustice, in this
instance, to the more gentle and better sex, who in this region are
as superior in shape and feature to the males, as an English woman
is to every other on the face of the earth! Nevertheless, these dusky
anatomies possessed singularly Stentorian lungs, as we experienced when
they came whooping and jabbering alongside.
Our worthy mate, being thoroughly versed in savage intercourse, loudly
exclaimed, "Ho! you d--d Dinghee Wallahs! nickal jao there, will you?
Quartermaster, hand up a bit of pork, heave it into that boat astern,
and shove off those shoals at the gangway."
The sovereign remedy, a bit of pork, was carefully distributed among
the boats, and relieved us of their presence; for when the savoury
morsel alighted, they cast off, eyeing us with as much sorrowful
disgust as the bit of unclean animal, which was taken up by one of the
boatmen between two sticks, thrown overboard, and the polluted spot
well scoured with the mud and water of the brown Hoogly.
In the afternoon, I went ashore, at Kedgeree, with a party of officers,
to shoot. We wandered in various directions over the marshy rice
fields, and through the low jungle, in quest of game: most of us loaded
one barrel with small shot, and the other with ball, being uncertain as
to the probability of meeting with a tiger or a snipe in those unknown
regions; but fortune having conceded neither, we returned at nightfall
to the appointed rendezvous for re-embarking, and found the ship's
boats had returned on board: our two linguists had gone with them. As
it was getting pitch dark, our prospects of a comfortable night's rest
were becoming correspondingly gloomy. In these straits, we wandered
along the banks to a village, where, endeavouring to make the natives
aware of our wants by signs, they immediately brought us some fruits,
making countersigns for money; that and food being pretty nearly the
sum total of their worldly concernments. At this juncture, one of our
party returned from a successful forage, having found a tent occupied
by a European.
We hastened readily to the canvas abode, and our deliverer having
treated us to a few tumblers of cold water, and explained our wishes to
the natives, in a few minutes we each mounted our savage, and rode him
over the mud and water to a canoe moored near the bank.
An hour's hard rowing, enlivened, at times, by the wild and discordant
singing, or rather yelling, of our swarthy boatmen, brought us once
more alongside the ship, anything but pleased with our first excursion
on the shores of Hindostan.
I am persuaded that the phosphorescent appearance which we often
observe on the ocean, must hold some invisible and fiery influence
over the minds of those whose business for a time is on the great
waters. To this cause I venture to attribute the strong matrimonial
epidemic which broke out on board our trusty ship, many marriages being
meditated, and some celebrated by certain of my fellow-passengers.
The gaiety which ought to be consequent on weddings was not, at
first, very perceptible; but this, I take it, was mainly attributable
to the nautical stomach-pump, which took severe effect during the
first fortnight, principally, (I lament to say,) on the fair sex. The
operations of this fearful tormentor at length ceased. Had the immortal
Lawrence Sterne but enjoyed the advantages of a voyage to India, what
a mighty field would have been thrown open for the indulgence of his
favourite reflections to the edification of his readers and advancement
of natural philosophy. But he and his class have long passed from among
us, and I must leave to such as deem themselves competent to the task,
the elucidation of a theory, (holding doubtless the most absolute
influence over the intricate human system,) a subject far too abstruse
for this feeble pen.
Having spent two days at anchor off Kedgeree, on the third morning we
joyfully descried a dark little steamer, which, though more resembling
a demon than a saint, proved our deliverer from the shoals of the muddy
Hoogly.
The slimy banks of the river, fringed at a short distance from the
water with stunted jungle, gradually gave place to a more civilized
appearance as we advanced up the stream; and on rounding Garden Reach,
the view was eminently beautiful. The neat villas of the Calcutta
merchants, now partially hidden amongst their gardens and shrubberies,
and now bursting full upon the view--the river, with the ceaseless stir
of business skimming across its waters, and the distant prospect of the
city of palaces, flanked by a forest of bare and taper masts, presented
altogether a picture of exciting interest, especially to one about to
set foot for the first time in a new country, and, to him, almost a new
world.
We came to anchor, on the third morning after quitting Kedgeree,
under the walls of Fort William, and found H.M.'s third Dragoons
encamped on the glacis. About four in the afternoon, the heat having
considerably abated, we disembarked, and marched into the Fort, where
quarters had been provided for our men, though none for the officers,
as the brigade-major informed us, at the same time stating, that as
a difference of opinion existed on that subject between himself and
the fort-major, we must wait until he (of the Queen's) had craftily
overcome him (of the Company's), and induced the latter individual to
house us.
There is an old proverb about a man between two stools being likely to
come to the ground, which was fully illustrated in our case, for, both
of our supports for a night's rest in Fort William having given way, we
came to the earth, though fortunately in the tents of the 3rd Dragoons,
immediately under the walls of the fort, where our fall was kindly
broken by cloaks spread on the ground to receive us.
I was composing myself to sleep as comfortably as circumstances would
permit, when suddenly a volley of screams, as though proceeding from
the lungs of ten thousand demons, caused me to start on my feet,
supposing the camp to have been invaded by the infernal regions. My
host, lying in the opposite recess of the tent, being a man of some
days' experience, begged me not to disturb myself, as it was only the
jackals. "Only the jackals!" but they are pretty nearly enough to
murder sleep, I thought, as I laid myself down to await the cessation
of their intolerable howls.
Silence at length ensued, and I was just falling asleep, when a
low gurgling noise arose close to my ears, and continued with the
most monotonous regularity: "Good Heaven!" I cried, after listening
intently for a few minutes, "that must come from the diabolical
bandicoots, of which I have often heard from old Indians." I drew my
sword, and awaited their advance in a violent perspiration, for I have
an insuperable abhorrence to the whole rat tribe; but they had no
intention of coming to close quarters. No, their cursed pipes sounded
the advance, unheeded by the main body. My enemies, nevertheless,
seemed to be mustering; for the gurgle was taken up by a reinforcement
from the opposite side of the tent, interrupted occasionally by a low,
muttering sound:
"Jam jam efficaci do manus scientiæ.
"I submit; it is impossible to sleep through this interminable
persecution, and a man's days in this climate must be necessarily
short without rest!" Thus I exclaimed, as, jumping up, I threw my
cloak aside, and paced the tent in a fever, saluted incessantly by the
unearthly gurgle.
My friend lay on the opposite side, sleeping as calmly as if there were
no such things in the world to torture us as jackals or bandicoots.
The morning was just breaking, and I stepped out of the tent, in hope
of being taken for a ghost by the jackals, and thus retaliating by
fright on a portion of my enemies--when, lo! the veil of mystery was
withdrawn, and there sat two Hindoos smoking the pipe of the country,
commonly known by the name of hubble-bubble, which noisy instrument I
had mistaken all night for the bandicoots.
This was too absurd. I burst into a fit of laughter, which awakened
my friend, who hastily joined me, when I related my grievance. Having
silenced the smokers, I soon enjoyed the rest I had almost despaired of
attaining.
The following day, having stated our houseless condition to Sir
Willoughby Cotton, commanding the division, we were, by his order,
allotted quarters in the Fort, where the bugs and mosquitoes were as
unwelcome visitants as the jackals and hubble-bubbles of the preceding
night.
Having procured some native servants, deposited our baggage in the
barracks, and bought large cane bedsteads with mosquito curtains,
we began to consider ourselves in clover, though our ignorance of
Hindustani left us completely at the mercy of the natives, my sirdar
(valet) being not of the most intelligent order. At night, when he had
succeeded in clearing my bed of mosquitoes, and carefully arranged the
curtains, I signed to him to take away the light. He immediately left
the room, but took not the candle. "Sirdar!" He immediately re-entered.
I telegraphed him with much energy, pointing to the candle and thence
to the door. He shook his head and looked bewildered. This was not to
be endured; I darted out of bed to extinguish the light; and a colony
of mosquitoes, who had been awaiting this opportunity, immediately
established themselves inside, and conversed with me during the night.
Notwithstanding our numerous tormentors, the season of the year at
which we landed was the coolest and most salubrious of any--that
is, the mornings were coldest, and the mid-day heat was also at its
minimum; but even a December sun, at noon, was not to be encountered
with impunity.
I sallied forth in one of those coffin-like conveyances termed
palanquins, to visit the city, which is about a mile distant from the
fort, and extends along the banks of the river. Enormous store-houses
and merchants' offices skirt the river; but the interior of the city,
and especially that portion adjacent to the plain around Fort William
contains several fine public buildings and extensive private mansions.
The streets and squares are wide and handsome; but the bazaars and
the portion of the town tenanted by natives are wretchedly narrow and
confined, and usually thronged nearly to suffocation; for the natives
love to huddle together in contradistinction to the whites, who seem
even on this broiling and dreary side of the world to preserve that
cold and forbidding demeanour which distinguishes the English in
particular from other nations of the globe.
I believe the case was materially different a few years ago; but we
found cause to remark, during our fortnight's sojourn in Calcutta,
that we had experienced less hospitality and more incivility than in
any other city of the world, not excepting even New York. The then
revolution in the social system of the East has been attributed to the
recent establishment of hotels in the city, but this appears more of a
subterfuge than a palliation. The absence of the governor-general and
commander-in-chief, who were at that time in the upper provinces, had
drained Calcutta of the best of its population, as we were informed
and afterwards experienced; and we therefore saw the place under
unfavourable circumstances.
After a comfortless delay of a fortnight, in this city of contrasted
luxury and indigence, we gladly received the route to march for our
destination in the north-western provinces.
Having provided ourselves with tents, and bullock hackeries for the
conveyance of them and our baggage, we left Calcutta about sunrise on
the 4th January, and marched along the banks of the river, through
avenues of cocoa-nut and palm trees, to our first encampment, a
distance of about ten miles.
Our party mustered nearly five hundred strong, and included detachments
for all of her Majesty's regiments in the upper provinces. Both
officers and privates were, almost to a man, commencing their first
march in India, or, to use an Indian expression, "griffins;" and
in consequence many forebodings had been uttered, in Calcutta, of
depredations, blunders, and miseries we were to encounter: "mais il est
plus facile d'être sage pour les autres, que de l'être pour soi-même,"
saith Rochefoucauld, and with truth, in the present instance, for we
encountered few of the ills presaged by the Indian prophets, who had
probably drawn their conclusions from sad experience.
The second morning we marched in the dark, and reached the river Hoogly
about daylight. The transit occupied the greater portion of the day,
having to unload the beasts of burden and convey the men and baggage
in boats. The most interesting and novel sight to us was that of the
huge elephants swimming across this broad and rapid river, with the
mahout, or driver, standing or sitting on their necks. Immediately the
elephant gets beyond his depth, his whole body and head disappear, and
nothing is seen to mark his locale, save the head and shoulders of the
mahout. The obedient monster performs the submarine passage with an
occasional jerk of the head and trunk out of water, to take breath and
see where he is going, although in the latter instance he is generally
subservient to his driver.
Some accidents were nearly occurring from the elephants having been
swept down by the current among the boats in which the troops were
crossing, but the mahouts piloted their charges dexterously through the
fleet, without a single collision.
After crossing the Hoogly, we marched, for the first few days, through
a well cultivated country, but afterwards struck into a newly made
road, lying amid thick low jungle, until we reached the Rajmahal
hills, which in some places are thickly and prettily wooded, whilst
the intervening plains and valleys diversify the scene with their
irregular patches of Indian corn, sugar cane, and barley fields. The
Rajmahal hills abound with bears, tigers, wild hog, and elephants; but
all chance of sport in wild beast hunting was denied us; we had no
shikar wallahs, or sporting elephants among our party; for in India
it is quite as necessary--nay, more so--that the elephant should be
a sporting character as the rider, for the uninitiated usually dread
the sight of a wild beast, and at the critical moment of encounter
the unhappy sportsman often finds himself involuntarily taking to an
ignominious flight. It is impossible to beat the heavy coverts of this
part of India, with a moderate chance of success, except on elephants.
Our principal amusement during the whole march consisted in partridge
and snipe shooting, and even these were exceedingly scarce in the
neighbourhood of our camp; but this was on account of the distance we
generally kept from the Ganges, the banks of which are well supplied
with game. In fact, throughout India, game is rarely found anywhere
save in the vicinity of rivers, theels, or inundated ground.
Our friends, the jackals, continued their nightly lamentations,
varied occasionally by the deep bass of a bear, or hyæna's eccentric
cry; but I heard of only one actual encounter between man and beast
in the Rajmahals, which was between an infantry soldier and a bear,
beside the stump of an old tree, which both approached, unconscious
of each other's presence, to use as a seat. Having eyed one another
with feelings of mutual aversion, they executed a chassée-croisée,
and parted. When a bear is desirous of being on intimate terms with
a man, he rears himself on his hind legs, and advances to embrace,
but the cruel sportsman marks, with his keen eye, a white mark on the
affectionate creature's breast, and repays the advance by a bullet
sent through this vital spot--that is, if his hand be steady enough to
execute the act of ingratitude.
On emerging from the hills, we marched over an almost uninterrupted
plain, which preserves the same smooth features almost to the very foot
of the Himalayahs.
After an uninteresting and monotonous march of four hundred miles,
which occupied about six weeks, always halting on Sundays, the first
military station we reached was the sacred city of Benares. Here we
crossed the Ganges, above whose muddy waters we descried the minarets
of the holy places towering in the cloudless sky, and, from their
lofty relief, rendering more apparent the insignificance of the low mud
and brick dwelling-places clustered around their bases.
The cantonments lie about four miles from the city, laid out with
strict military precision: most of the officers' bungalows thatched
with dry grass, standing in the midst of their square compounds,
enclosed by a high mud wall.
Even the native soldiers are different looking beings from their
unenlisted brethren, and stalk along with the conscious importance of
improved condition.
The roads, which are made of concha,[1] are broad and excellent, and
everything wears an air of starch discipline.
Near the cantonment lived a Madras rajah, who, having been deprived of
his power and estates in that presidency, had been transplanted here
and pensioned by government. With the customary adulation of the East,
he readily licks the hands of his oppressors, apes English manners, and
courts English society.
I accompanied a brother officer, who had been previously acquainted
with him, to the rajah's mansion, which was a comfortable residence,
without any attempt at magnificence. The room into which we were
ushered was adorned with pictures representing the victories of
Wellington, Nelson, and Napoleon. After keeping us some time
waiting, his highness at length made his appearance. He was a tall,
sallow-complexioned man, attired in a white frock coat, black silk
handkerchief, brown silk pajamas,[2] and red morocco slippers.
Supposing the principal means of entertaining Englishmen to be the
satisfying of their appetites, he lost not a minute in introducing
us to the supper-table, where he begged us to be seated, setting the
example himself--at least, if his might be termed an example, for he
perched himself most uncomfortably on the extreme edge of a large
arm-chair, and with the assistance of its arms and his own, managed to
preserve a very precarious equilibrium.
As it is very difficult for a person to feel at ease when he perceives
that his companion is not, I hoped every instant to see him glide from
the chair, and squat on the floor, in the position natural to his
countrymen, but he did not, in this instance, gratify us or himself.
Supper being over, we adjourned to an inner room, where, to my
surprise, we were presented to his wife and daughters. The former
was about thirty years of age, glittering with jewels, and retaining
visible proofs of having been a beauty in her day. Her eldest daughter,
about thirteen years of age, (advanced womanhood in India,) was the
most perfect dark beauty I have ever seen: her figure was slight, yet
round and elegant--as are those of most Indian women of high caste; an
invidious veil covered the greater portion of her glossy hair, but her
clear olive complexion, and lustrous black eyes--too dazzling to be
looked on with impunity--were a _chef-d'oeuvre_ of Nature. Never, till
that night, did I bitterly repent my neglect of the Hindustani tongue.
The rajah told us that he fully intended to pass the evening of his
days in England, where his beautiful daughter, with her ample dowry,
will probably become the victim of some expert adventurer.
Having halted two days at Benares, we proceeded through as
uninteresting a country as before, passing, occasionally, a mud town
or village, with the usual appendages of a small grove of trees and a
few square patches of cultivation round the wells, whilst two or three
hundred natives, huddled together, and squatted like so many vultures
on the walls and by the road-side, watched our onward progress, and
chattered their rapid jargon.
Ten marches from Benares we again crossed the Ganges where it unites
its polluting waters with those of the rocky and clear Jumna, and
entered the cantonments of Allahabad. The fort commands a view of the
two rivers as they flow onwards to their junction, immediately under
its walls; but excepting these waters, the eye wanders over a continued
parched and arid plain, save where a small grove of trees presents
occasionally a relieving object.
The festival of the Mohurrem was about to take place as we quitted
Allahabad. The scenes of riot and debauchery annually consequent on
this as well as other festivals, have entailed a lasting disgrace
on the government of India, which not only tolerates, but actually
encourages them. Nor has it scrupled to convert the superstition of
the deluded natives into a substantial accession to the revenues of
the country. Those who may be affected with any scruples on this
subject, possibly reconcile the matter to their conscience by the
disbursement of a few rupees annually for the maintenance of a handful
of missionaries to convert the people of India to Christianity; but
it will require something more than the present feeble efforts to
accomplish that object, and possibly a little more sincerity in the
authors of such an endeavour. In these modern days of toleration, it
will hardly answer to follow the policy of the Emperor Julian towards
the early Christians, and apply it to the Mussulman or Hindoo--as, when
the emperor says, "I show myself the true friend of the Galileans.
Their admirable law has promised the kingdom of heaven to the poor,
and they will advance with more diligence and virtue in the paths of
salvation when they are relieved, by my assistance, from the load of
temporal possessions."[3]
The dust on the road between Allahabad and Cawnpore passeth all
understanding. The head of our column got along tolerably well, not
sinking much above their knees in the impalpable soil; but the centre
and rear staggered blindly onward, and not unfrequently downward,
through the clouds raised by their predecessors, till they reached more
substantial ground; others jostled against mud walls and trees, trod
on their neighbour's toes, or, wandering from their comrades, groped
their way out of the dense atmosphere, and only discovered the locality
of the column by the glimpse of a few miller-like objects preceding the
cloud.
Ten marches from Allahabad, over roads of the above description, and
through a country which, being hid by a dusty screen, I seldom saw, and
cannot therefore describe, brought us into the cantonments of Cawnpore,
which appear to rise like a city in the desert. Not a tree was to be
seen, and scarce a vestige of animal or vegetable life was presented
to our view, as the morning broke upon us crossing the arid and almost
trackless plain near Cawnpore. At length, when the sun arose, a dim
line of conical objects was descried through the lurid atmosphere, and,
at the same time, the roar of some half-dozen pieces of cannon, at
practice on the plain, announced the vicinity of cantonments.
Here the men of the detachments were placed in barracks, and the
officers' tents pitched in a compound, where the sun blazed fiercely
enough to roast a live lobster in his shell, though, from our species
of that animal, nothing was elicited beyond moisture and murmuring.
Three days having been passed in this eligible situation, I was
despatched up the country with my own detachment and sundry others for
regiments in the north-western provinces, an escort of a havildar[4]
and twelve Sepoys having been provided to _take charge_ of us, which
trust they faithfully performed.
At this time, a dreadful famine was prevalent in the districts through
which we passed, which was fearfully evidenced by the appalling sights
we daily witnessed on the march. Living skeletons crowded round us
in thousands, stretching forth their meagre hands and supplicating
relief with countenances which beggared description. Scarcely a mile of
ground was passed without seeing some wretched creature breathing his
last by the road-side, or some, whose sufferings ended, were affording
a scanty meal to the famished Pariah dogs. All caste and heathenish
scruples were overcome by the craving for food, and the poor creatures
tore each other in the avidity with which they scrambled for bones or
offal thrown to them by the soldiers. The myriads which thronged our
camp became a crying nuisance; and the dictates of humanity were so far
repressed by the calls of duty and necessity, that I was compelled to
encircle our small encampment with a chain of sentries to exclude them,
and prevent their diseases from spreading amongst our own camp.
No permanent relief could be afforded by our people, and the bestowal
of a morsel here and there was merely a protraction of suffering.
About fifty miles from Cawnpore, and on the banks of the former bed
of the Ganges, are the ruins of Kanoge, formerly one of the principal
cities of India, and by some supposed to have been the limit of
Alexander the Great, in his Eastern campaign.[5]
Above the congregated heaps of mud and brick are seen the white domes
of monuments and temples of later construction, like the ghosts of
decayed Eastern grandeur peering out on the surrounding desolation. The
vicinity of an ancient ruin incites most of us to a contemplative mood.
We reflect on the scenes that have been enacted there when the building
was tenanted, and its inmates were playing their part on the stage
of life. It is true, that the events of those days we have wandered
back upon, may not have been a whit more interesting than those at
present before us; yet Time generally hallows the past with a certain
veneration, especially when connected with associations of classical
antiquity such as may be conjured up in Kanoge; and the faintest
evidence may lead us to walk on the track of the mighty Macedonian, and
think--
"Hic illius arma--
Hic currus fuit."
The atmosphere of Kanoge certainly conveys a sense of desolation
surpassing that of any other ruinous city I have visited, and mutely
explains its fallen condition unaided by native legends or speculative
historians. I have read many discussions on the present and past state
of this city; but none, I am convinced, could have visited it at a more
impressive period than I did, when a dreadful famine was testifying
itself in the faces and forms of the scanty, emaciated inhabitants.
Advancing up the country, we found during nearly every march a grove
of trees sufficiently extensive to encamp under, which sheltered
us considerably from the sun and dust, both of which were becoming
seriously disagreeable, especially the latter, which rose daily about
noon, with the wind setting in at that time, and lasted till sunset,
when it dropped, leaving everything in the tent buried an inch deep in
dust; and then came our ancient enemies the mosquitoes.
Three weeks marching carried us over two hundred miles of country,
and to a town called Koorja, within sixty miles of Merut, where we
experienced a severe typhoon, which, though of common occurrence
in Upper India, was the first I had seen, and the most destructive
that had been felt that season. It came on suddenly about four in
the afternoon, having given us no notice of its approach, for the
appearance all round had been hazy during the afternoon. In five
seconds, we were enveloped in complete darkness, caused by clouds of
sand and dust raised by the tempest, and whirled through the air. The
howling of the storm was accompanied by almost incessant peals of
thunder. As the typhoon increased in violence, the fiery appearance
of the dust, from the continued gleaming of lightning, presented a
singular effect. In the course of a quarter of an hour, two tents
were levelled and torn to pieces, and my own quivered to such a
degree, that, expecting to be carried away with it, I got clear of the
impending wreck, and, groping my way out to leeward, came immediately
in contact with a huge bullock. Any port in a storm, thought I, as I
clung to the monster's horns for an anchorage. He, like an unfeeling
brute, struggled hard to get rid of the burden; and the contest was
at the fiercest, when, coming in contact with a hackery, to which he
was attached, we both rolled on the ground together. "Taree machee!"
screamed an unhappy gharuwan,[6] against whom we fell; but his
invective was cut short by a kick in the stomach from my antagonist.
Rejoiced to find a more passive assistant in the hackery-wheels, I
let go the refractory bullock, and held on by the cart until the
storm abated. This took place in a few minutes; when, creeping from
my shelter, amid a deluge of rain, into a portion of the tent that
fortunately remained standing, I lay in comparative comfort, listening
to the retiring rattle of the thunder.
We then set about repairing the damages of the camp, and soon put it in
condition to afford shelter for the night.
At daybreak, the whole country appeared one sheet of water, through
which we marched; and, having lost our guide, soon afterwards lost our
way. Having wandered some miles in search of a road, we came at length
to a village, where, seizing upon an unwilling guide, we were by him
conducted across country, or rather across water, to our destination.
The land assumed a more green and cheerful aspect for the last five
marches into Merut, which we reached, without any further accidents, on
the 10th of April.
As the hot winds, which are not agreeable "compagnons de voyage," were
daily expected to set in, we congratulated ourselves on the conclusion
of this long and weary march of nearly nine hundred miles, which was
accomplished in ninety-six days.
Although the labours of the march were ended, I felt myself far from
comfortable in my new quarters, for the greater part of my baggage
was on the Ganges--some eight hundred miles off; I was not settled
in any habitation; and lastly, I was among strangers: the two latter
objections were soon overcome, but the former I found a serious
inconvenience.
No life of which I can form an estimate, even that on board ship, can
present fewer attractions than a residence, during the hot season, in
India. In the upper provinces, about the end of April, the hot winds
come rushing from the sandy deserts to the westward, bearing on their
fiery wings columns of burning dust, which penetrate to every room in
the house, and replenish the eyes, ears, and mouth of the sufferer who
ventures to face them faster than he can dispose of the nuisance. A
framework of bamboos, covered with long roots of grass termed cuscus,
is placed against the windows and doors to the westward, which are
continually watered outside by a native, at the expense of keeping up
his attention by an occasional "halloo." About sunset, the wind usually
drops, and the air remains impregnated with particles of fiery red
dust; and as that is the time for coming out of the heated dwelling to
swallow the hotter air outside, we may as well change the subject, for
it is not likely to prove interesting or agreeable.
Towards the end of June, these messengers of the desert cease to
arrive; a calm interval (but rather a _restless_ calm) succeeds, which
is shortly broken, if the season be favourable, by the approach of
heavy columns of clouds from the east, which burst over the thirsty
plains of India like angels' visits. The sensation of renovated
existence conveyed by this first fall of rain both to animal and
vegetable may be imagined even by those who have witnessed the rare
effect of a short summer's drought in rainy England.
From the descriptions I had heard of our present quarters, I imagined
Merut to be a most picturesque little elysium; but those accounts were
generally spitefully uttered by discontented Indians, during a summer's
drizzle or a London fog. The stern reality varied little from the
character of other cantonments which I had visited during my march up
the country, either in point of climate or scenery. The barracks are
oblong, single-storied buildings, dressed with mathematical precision,
(and conveying from a distance the idea of so many petrified columns of
troops,) flanked with equally precise roads.
In rear of the men's barracks are arranged, in similar order, the
officers' bungalows, each enclosed in a small square compound, the
condition of which depends of course on the pursuits or taste of the
owner.
The massive bungalow to the right of the line, is flanked by high mud
walls, to which are appended dog-kennels on one side and extensive
stables on the other. More care and attention have evidently been
bestowed on this than on the dwelling-house. The available land,
embellished by a patch of oats and a parterre of half-demolished
lucerne, proclaims the owner an amateur of the turf and field.
The small, but neater-looking building at the further extremity of the
line, situated in the midst of a garden, fragrant with many a variety
of flower and carefully-pruned shrub, tell, beyond a doubt, that some
benign influence has dispensed these blessings on the soil, whilst the
house contains the gem itself:
"In the cup of life,
That honey drop--the virtuous wife."
Gardens overgrown with weeds, dilapidated walls and gates, testify the
indolence or indifference of other owners; and yonder drowsy-looking
building, with most of its shutters closed, and the verandah piled with
six dozen chests, beside which are reclining, in good-humoured repose,
a numerous and motley group of _marines_, who have travelled from the
generous vineyards of France and Germany to perform their last duty on
the burning soil of Hindostan,--all these afford too strong evidence to
require explanation.
The heat of the weather during June, this year, certainly exceeded
anything I had ever anticipated, and its continuance day and night
became deeply oppressive to the spirits of the uninitiated. About
the middle of the month, we had a smart shock of an earthquake, which
was felt from Calcutta to the Himalayah mountains, although it caused
little injury. The sensation was of a most singular and disagreeable
nature, the roof of the house assuming a menacing attitude, and
appearing to rock to and fro; but giddiness prevented me from being
over particular in taking observations. A small cistern of water
becoming violently agitated and overflowing its sides, was illustrative
of what happened after the shock was over.
We were, at length, relieved from the violent and sickening heat, by a
strong easterly breeze, bringing a mass of threatening clouds, which
burst like a water-spout over the plains. In twenty-four hours, the
cantonments and surrounding country were flooded, and the before arid
plains now presented the appearance of an extensive lake. When the
rains cease, and the clouds, rolling away, give place to the sun to
look upon the waters, his influence soon dries a large portion of the
soil, and the vapours which rise from the earth produce a damp heat,
less endurable than the preceding dryness, and much more insalubrious.
After this change in the weather, I paid a visit to the Himalayah
mountains, which lie about a hundred and ten miles north of Merut, and
presented a most tantalizing sight during the hot season, rearing their
snow-capped peaks at apparently so short a distance from the scorched
and glistening plains of our present quarters.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Concha is a species of siliceous clay, lying in strata at
a depth of from three to four feet beneath the surface of the whole
alluvial plain of the Ganges.]
[Footnote 2: Pajamas are loose trousers.]
[Footnote 3: Julian, Ep. xliii. Gibbon, ii. 48.]
[Footnote 4: A havildar is the serjeant of a native regiment.]
[Footnote 5: Kanoge was built about 1000 years B.C., and _was said_
to exceed 100 miles in circumference; it was besieged by Mahmoud of
Ghuzni, and surrendered about A.D. 1020.--(R. Dow's Works.)]
[Footnote 6: Gharuwan--a bullock-driver.]