Having made my report that the whole of the stores, baggage, &c, had
been safely got up the ghaut, I was still at the general's, when a
messenger came from Rajah Buckeet Bellee, the rajah of Hadjepore, whom I
have before alluded to; and the general requested I would escort him
into camp. I therefore rode towards the top of the ghaut, where I found
the rajah in waiting. The purpose of his visit was to make his peace
with the general, who was much displeased at his not having complied
with his requisition to furnish five hundred workmen to assist us to get
up the baggage. The rajah had with him five elephants, and twenty
horsemen, with spears, guns, &c. He was inclined to be affable and
jocular with me; but I could see through his dark eyebrows the more
inward workings of his heart. He broke silence by asking me if the
general was displeased with him. Knowing the character of the fellow, I
could hardly make up my mind to be civil to him, so I replied, "You had
better put that question to him who can best answer it. If the general
is not offended, he has good reason to be so." He then asked me what was
the object of our campaign, and I told him that he had better reserve
all these questions for the ear of the general himself, who, no doubt,
would be able to satisfy his nawabship. Finding that I was not quite so
elated with the honour of sitting on the same elephant with him, as he
had expected I should be, and that he could get no information out of
me, the rajah next admired my dress, and took a mighty fancy to my
watch, but I would not let it out of my hand. He winked to a man on
another elephant, and muttered something in the Mahratta language, which
I did not thoroughly comprehend, but which sounded something like, "it
won't do," or "he won't do." He then took a fancy to my whip, which I
permitted him to look at. Some person happening to speak to me just as
we arrived in the precincts of the camp, my whip was passed from one to
another, and all protested they knew nothing about it; so that I had but
little hope of ever seeing it again. On the rajah's, return from the
general, from whom he had met but a cool reception, he remounted his
elephant, with indignation in his eye, and vowing vengeance, if ever in
his power, against all Europeans. I had to see him out of the camp,
when, having proceeded to the extent of my orders, I demanded my whip,
protesting that he should be detained in camp until it was restored.
Every search was made, but no whip was to be found. I was not to be
hoaxed in this manner, so I persisted in having either my emblem of
office returned, or its full value paid to me. The nawab asked what it
cost. I said five gold mohurs; and, after some demur, and a good deal of
parleying, I pocketed that sum, and we parted, to my perfect
satisfaction.
We marched the following day. Our journey lay through a wild country, in
which scarcely a human being was to be seen, though the soil seemed good
and fertile. The fact was, that we were now entering those districts
which had been recently the haunts of the Pindarees. The next day our
march lay through a famous diamond country, belonging to the Punnah
rajah. Having passed a small deserted stone fort, I was much astonished
that, after the enormous ascent of nearly a mile, the whole country
continued flat for a considerable distance. From the country having been
deserted in consequence of the ravages of the Pindarees, all appeared
desolate and dreary, except in the district in which the diamond
speculation was carried on. Here were seen, in little groups,
adventurers digging for these precious stones. In this venture, as in
all others, some won and others lost; but the number of the latter
greatly predominated. The adventurers purchase a certain extent of
ground, say ten or twelve feet square, for which they pay from a hundred
to a thousand rupees, which depends entirely on the situation. Terms
having been agreed upon, they then dig, sift, and wash, and if they find
any diamonds under a certain value, they are their own; if above (I
think ten thousand rupees is the amount stipulated), they are the
property of the rajah. Few of very high value are found; but,
notwithstanding this, the speculators are well watched during the whole
of their sifting and washing. A good deal of gold, silver, copper, and
iron is also found in this part of the country, and there can be no
doubt that the rajah is a rich man; though, notwithstanding his
treasures, he must be devoid of happiness, as the following incident of
his life will prove.
Some three years before the time that the division of the army to which
I belonged passed through this district, the rajah had married a most
beautiful woman, the daughter of a neighbouring rajah, making his third
wife. This woman, of all his wives and concubines, he most loved, if
such a tyrant can be supposed to be susceptible of such a feeling. In
his court he had promoted a young man (his barber) from an indigent
sphere to be his chief confidant. This confidant became his greatest
favourite, and, indeed, ruler. Nothing could be done but through his
interest. Thus things went on for some time, when the rajah was invited
some hundreds of miles to an annual festival, which invitation he
accepted. The times were turbulent, for the Pindarees were then roving
about in large bodies; but, notwithstanding all this, the rajah imagined
he could safely leave his confidant in charge of his family and his
people. Having made this arrangement, he started on his journey,
reposing the most implicit trust in the firmness and integrity of the
new minister--for so he was denominated. Scarcely had one week elapsed,
when the fiend, who was thus trusted, cast his sensual eye on the object
of his master's best love; but he found her virtuous as she was
beautiful. He protested his most ardent love, and that he could not
exist without her honeyed smiles; that she was everything that could
promote his happiness or destroy his life. He entreated, he conjured;
but all were as words cast upon the wintry blast: she was firm, and
threatened to expose his infamy to the rajah. Thus menaced, his crime
seemed to stagger him, and he importuned no more; all the exasperated
fury of an offended master rushed upon his mind. The rajah, as he well
knew, was of a most violent and ungovernable temper--one of those
unhappy mortals who act first and think afterwards; and such a report
against his favourite would have wrought his jealous heart to a pitch of
utter frenzy. The villain, seeing his danger, immediately turned his own
dastardly crime upon her who had resisted his corrupt proposals, and,
seeking an interview with the rajah on his return, he represented to
him, clothed with the most infamous and plausible falsehoods, that his
favourite wife had been unfaithful in his absence. Had the infuriated
and jealous-hearted rajah but given this report one instant of
consideration, he must have detected the wretch in his infamous
falsehood; but the artful favourite knew and relied on his master's
fury. The moment he whispered the poisonous words into his ears, the
rajah grasped his sabre, flew like a madman into the zenanah, and
without speaking one word, he cut his favourite mistress into pieces;
then, gazing on the murdered beauty who lay lifeless at his feet, he
sought refuge in the bosom of him who had destroyed his peace of mind,
and the object of his most ardent attachment. Her lacerated body was
committed to the pile, and burnt, after the usual lamentations. He was
an independent rajah, and, consequently, beyond the reach of British
justice. In his own country there was no law to punish such offences. In
a short time, therefore, the circumstance passed away, and was
forgotten; and not even did the relatives of the poor woman inquire the
cause of the foul act, for murder was a common incident of the day.
At length, one of the other wives of the rajah lay on her death-bed. In
this state, she expressed a wish that her whole court might be
assembled, for she had something of the greatest importance to disclose,
before she closed her earthly career. This was communicated to the
confidant, who immediately imagined that the murdered victim had
communicated to her the whole affair. He however took the necessary
measures to summon the court into the chamber of death; but, when they
had assembled, the favourite alone was missing, and, on search being
made, it was found he had fled on horseback. The council having
assembled, a full and clear disclosure of his infamous designs was made.
The rajah, in bitterest anguish, tore his hair, beat his breast, and ran
raving like a madman round the palace. Nothing could soothe or pacify
him. Every horseman was dispatched in pursuit of the delinquent, but he
was never found; and all the infuriated murderer could do, was to build
a temple to the memory of his favourite mistress. This he did, and a
most splendid edifice it is.
The unfortunate rajah, when I last saw him, which was in the year 1819,
was a perfect madman. After looking on his blood-stained hands, he would
wash them a hundred times a day; but neither water nor time can wash
away the guilt of murder. In the temple before alluded to is her effigy,
and two valuable diamonds occupy the place of her once smiling eyes.
We remained at Punnah some four or five days, waiting for instructions
from head-quarters. The left division was originally intended as an army
of observation, to watch the several ghauts on the frontiers of our
provinces, and to prevent the Pindarees from getting into our districts;
but they having taken another direction towards Candish, we received
orders to move on in the combined and general pursuit, and we stood
towards Serronge Bopaul and Burrowah Saugar, through a most wild and
desolate country, where tyrannic sway had driven far from their homes
the poor villagers. At one time, having lost sight of the Pindarees, we
began to be seriously alarmed about our families at the different
stations. At one of the principal stations (Cawnpore) there was scarcely
a soldier to be seen, and reports having reached them that the Pindarees
had descended the ghauts, the alarm of the women and their families
became dreadful. Their doors were barricaded with stones, bricks,
tables, chairs, drawers, beds, and so forth, and not one dared to
venture abroad. All was fear and consternation. Servants were dispatched
for information, who brought back the most unfounded reports, which
greatly increased their alarm. My wife's letters were filled with fears
and forebodings. Many ladies had hired boats for the purpose of going
down the river to a more secure place, when an event happened that, for
a time, confirmed all their alarms, and almost frightened them out of
their wits. A lady of the station, riding out early in her chair, or
_tonjon_, saw, on the race-course, an immense dust, raised by a number
of bullocks which were coming to the cantonment for grain, escorted by a
party of local horse. She inquired who these were, when the person of
whom she asked this question said "Brinjarree," meaning a small cattle
that carry commissariat stores; but the lady understood him Pindaree,
and the name was quite sufficient. She jumped out of her palanquin and
ran towards home, screaming, "Pindarees, Pindarees!" and all she could
answer to the questions put to her was, that the Pindarees were come,
and were already in the cantonment. Servants were dispatched, who,
seeing everybody running, vociferating "Pindarees," the alarm, as may
well be supposed, spread like wildfire. Some took to their boats; some
got under their beds; others into their cellars and go-downs; and the
consternation was unbounded. My wife, fortunately, had a small guard of
sepoys at her house, there being some commissariat stores there. On the
news reaching her, her doors were locked and bolted, and a confidential
servant was dispatched to ascertain the nature and the extent of the
truth of the report. He returned, saying, that they were then plundering
the great bazaar. The screaming of ladies and children which ensued, and
the alarm of servants, beggars description; and it was not before
evening that confidence and peace were restored, by the kindness and
judicious interference of Captain Sissmore, the acting paymaster of the
station.
We pushed on towards Bersiah, where we found Major Logie, of the Bengal
Infantry, who had thought it advisable to stockade himself, for he had
with him a considerable quantity of treasure for Colonel Adam's
division. As the Pindarees were hovering about in large numbers, and a
large body of Scindia's horse seemed to eye the treasure with delight,
the major having only a few men, we found him on a small hill, well and
securely fortified. The day before our arrival, this enormous body of
Scindia's horse encamped close to the stockade, and in their manners
were extremely insolent to Major Logie; so much so, that he told them in
plain terms, if they did not move their quarters, he would fire on them;
and I do not know any man in the Company's army more likely to put his
threat in execution. It is true they were the troops of an ally, but
they were not to be trusted; and nothing but fear prevented them from
seizing the treasure under Major Logie's care. At this place we received
hourly information that the Pindarees were in the neighbourhood; but as
they were in tens and twenties, it would have been folly for us to have
gone in pursuit of them. Indeed, we might as well have attempted to
catch the falling stars. Such a pursuit could not have redounded to the
credit of the service, and it might probably have frightened and
dispersed them, which was not our object. We rather encouraged their
combining in large parties, that we might surprise and cut them up. With
this view we remained here some time, watching their movements. Here,
again, the munificence of the government of the East India Company was
evinced. Proclamations were published through every village, calling on
these marauders to become good subjects, offering to purchase their
horses and arms at a fair valuation, and to give them land and a free
pardon for all their former transgressions. Not one of these kind and
liberal proposals had they a right to expect; but their obdurate hearts
would not accept the proffered mercy, nor their indolent habits permit
them to think of cultivating the earth. It is supposed that during the
more inactive seasons of their lives, they will sleep from twelve to
fifteen hours out of the twenty-four; and the few hours that they are
awake are spent in rapine and sensual pleasures. There is no race of
people on God's earth more depraved and debauched than a Mussulman
Pindaree.
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