At the head of the advance, which consisted of my thousand splendid
horsemen, I was the first to cross the river, now fordable, and we
encamped on its further bank, in the same spot we had occupied scarcely
five months before, almost doubled in numbers, and with the prospect
of a brilliant foray before us. I shall not speak of how we traversed
the Rajah of Nagpoor's territories, or penetrated through jungles
and forests which till now had hardly ever been traversed by armies.
We suffered often sad straits for the want of water, but all bore up
nobly; and at last our horde rushed upon the fertile plains of the
northern Circars, and everything fell before it. Mercy was shown to
none. Our army spread itself over a tract of country many miles in
breadth, and every village in its route was sacked and reduced to ashes.
On we rushed, at the rate of ten and fifteen coss daily; neither
mountains nor rivers impeded us: in the language of hyperbole, we
devoured the former and drank up the latter. Troops there were none to
oppose us, and if there had been any, they would have been trampled
under the feet of our victorious squadrons. Yet we had no disposition
to fight; it was no part of our plan. If we heard of resistance likely
to be offered, we diverged from the spot, for what would have been
the use of exposing ourselves to encounters, in which, though sure of
victory, we should have lost many of our men and crippled our future
operations?
After some days we reached Guntoor, where we knew there was a large
treasure collected, the revenue of the province we had desolated. To
gain this was an object on which Cheetoo had set his heart, as he had
heard it amounted to many lakhs of rupees, and it belonged to the
detested Europeans. My men rushed with yells more like those of demons
than men upon the devoted town. To restrain them would have been vain,
and I did not attempt it. It was thoroughly sacked in the presence of
the British officers, who confined themselves to a building in which
was the treasure; and I must say they defended their charge nobly. No
Pindharee could show himself near the spot without being a target for
a volley of musquetry; and though I importuned Cheetoo to allow me to
storm the building at the head of my Risala, he would not hear of it.
He had been deceived, he said, about there being troops to defend it;
and though I always thought there were but few, yet he exaggerated
their numbers, and relinquished his determination.
In revenge, however, for our disappointment, we plundered the houses of
the officers, broke all their furniture, and set fire to many of them
afterwards, in the hope that this would draw them from their post, and
expose them to the charge of the horse. They were too wise, however,
to venture forth, and reluctantly we left the place from which we had
promised ourselves so large a booty; not, however, that what we did get
was inconsiderable, though many were disappointed.
I was not so. I had, with my own Thugs, seized upon a
respectable-looking house, which we defended against the Pindharees
who attempted to enter, and we despoiled its inmates, a large family
of rich Hindoos, of all their wealth and ornaments, to the amount of
nearly thirty thousand rupees. We did it too without torture, for I
never permitted it, though we were obliged to use threats in abundance.
Laden with our spoil, we left the town in the afternoon, and by night
the straggling army was again encamped at a distance of nearly ten
coss from it, secure against any pursuit. We crossed the Krishna, and
penetrated nearly as far as Kurpah, where he heard there was more
treasure belonging to the English government. But we were disappointed
in this also. The officers who guarded it were on the alert, and the
station was guarded by troops; we therefore avoided any collision with
them, and directed our course towards Kurnool. Here also we were beaten
off; but we crossed the river, and again entered the Nizam's territory,
closely pursued by a body of English cavalry, who, however, did not
cross after us. A consultation was now held, and it was determined
that our Lubhur should separate into three bodies, both for the sake
of destroying and ravaging a larger tract of country than we could do
united, and of more easily evading the troops which now watched our
movements in every direction. One body therefore took a western course
along the banks of the river, another an eastern one, and a third a
middle course.
That which took the eastern road was the one with which Cheetoo
remained, and with it were Ghuffoor Khan and myself. We were to pass
through the country to the eastward of Hyderabad, and regain the
Nagpoor territories by the great north road through Nirmul. I was now
the sole companion of Ghuffoor Khan; so long as the other leaders
remained, he was mostly in their company, but now their absence drew us
together, and I may almost say that we lived in the same tent, if tent
it could be called, which served to shelter us from the excessive heat
of the weather. Need I mention that I was a constant witness to his
cruelties? They were of every-day occurrence, and to show you the man's
nature, I shall relate one, as a specimen of thousands of a similar
kind that he committed.
We reached a town, the name of which I forget, nor does it signify
now; as usual, it was entered pell-mell by the horde, and the work of
destruction commenced. Why should I conceal it? I was as busy as the
rest, and not a house or hut of any description escaped my followers
and myself. Ghuffoor Khan was busy too. I had completed my work; I had
torn ornaments from the females, terrified their husbands and fathers
into giving up their small hoards of money; and having got all I could,
I was preparing to leave the town in company with my Thugs, who never
separated from me. We were passing through the main street on our
return, when our attention was attracted to a good-looking house, from
which issued the most piercing screams of terror and agony.
I instantly dismounted, and bidding my men follow me, we rushed into
the house. Never shall I forget the scene which met my eyes, when
we reached the place from whence the screams proceeded. There was
Ghuffoor Khan, with seven or eight of his men, engaged in a horrid
work. Three dead bodies lay on the floor weltering in their blood,
which poured from the still warm corpses. Two were fine young men, the
other an elderly woman. Before Ghuffoor Khan stood a venerable man,
suffering under the torture of having a horse's nose-bag full of hot
ashes tied over his mouth, while one of the Khan's followers struck
him incessantly on the back with the hilt of his sword. The miserable
wretch was half choked, and it was beyond his power to have uttered a
word in reply to the interrogations which were thundered in his ear by
the Khan himself as to where his treasure was concealed. Three young
women of great beauty were engaged in a fruitless scuffle with the
others of Ghuffoor Khan's party; and their disordered appearance and
heart-rending shrieks too well told what had been their fate previous
to my entrance.
What could I do? I dared not openly have attacked the Khan, though I
half drew my sword from its scabbard, and would have rushed on him;
but he was my superior, and had I then put him and his men to death,
it could not have been concealed from Cheetoo--and what would have
been my fate? So checking the momentary impulse, which I had so nearly
followed, I approached him, and endeavoured to withdraw his attention
from the horrible work in which he was engaged.
"Come, Khan Sahib," I cried, "near us is a house which has resisted
my utmost efforts to enter: I want you to aid me, and, Inshalla! it
will repay the trouble, for I have heard that it is full of money
and jewels, as the family is rich." I did not tell a lie, for I had
endeavoured to break open the gate of a large house but desisted when I
was informed that it was uninhabited.
"Wait awhile," said he; "I have had rare sport here; these fools must
needs oppose our entrance with drawn weapons, and I got a scratch on
the arm from one of them myself. But what could they do--the kafirs!
against a true believer? They fell in this room, and their old mother
too, by my own sword. My men have been amusing themselves with their
wives; whilst I, you see, am trying to get what I can out of this
obstinate old villain; but he will not listen to reason, and I have
been obliged to make him taste hot ashes."
"Perhaps he has naught to give," said I; "at any rate, he cannot speak
while that bag is over his mouth; let it be removed, and we will hear
what he has to say."
"Try it," said the Khan; "but we shall make nothing of him you will
see."
"Remove the bag," cried I to the Pindharee who was behind him; "let him
speak, and bring some water; his throat is full of ashes." The bag was
removed, and a vessel full of water, which was in a corner of the room,
was brought and put to his lips; but he rejected it with loathing, for
he was a Hindoo and a Brahmin.
"Drink!" cried the infuriated Khan at beholding his gesture; "drink, or
by Alla I will force it down thy throat. Kafir, to whom the urine of a
cow is a delicacy, darest thou refuse water from the hands of a Moslem?"
"Blood-thirsty devil," said the old man in a husky voice, "water from
thy hands, or any of thy accursed race, would poison me. I would rather
drink my own son's blood, which is flowing yonder, than such pollution."
"Ha! sayest thou so? then, in the name of the blessed Prophet, thou
shalt taste it. Here, Sumund Khan, get some up from the floor; yonder
is a cup--fill it to the brim; the old man shall drink it, as he would
the wine of Paradise."
"Hold!" cried I to Ghuffoor Khan; "you would not do so inhuman an act."
"Nay, interfere not," said the Khan, setting his teeth; "you and I,
Meer Sahib, are friends--let us remain so; but we shall quarrel if I
am hindered in my purpose; and has he not said he preferred it to pure
water?"
Sumund Khan had collected the blood, and the cup was half filled with
the warm red liquid--a horrible draught, which he now presented to the
miserable father. "Drink!" said he, offering the cup with a mock polite
gesture; "think it Ganges water, and it will open thy heart to tell us
where thy treasures are."
Ghuffoor Khan laughed loudly. "By Alla! thou hast a rare wit, Sumund
Khan; the idea should be written in a book. I will tell Cheetoo of it."
But the old man turned from them with loathing, and his chest heaved as
though he were about to be sick.
"There's no use wasting time," cried Ghuffoor Khan; "open his mouth
with your dagger and pour the draught into it."
It was done; by Alla! Sahib, the two did it before my eyes--fiends that
they were! Not only did they pour the blood down the old man's throat,
but in forcing open his mouth they cut his lips in a ghastly manner,
and his cheek was laid open.
"Now tell us where the gold is!" cried Ghuffoor Khan. "Of what use is
this obstinacy? Knowest thou not that thy life is in my power, and that
one blow of my sword will send thee to Jehanum, where those fools are
gone before thee?"--and he pointed to the dead.
"Strike!" cried the sufferer, "strike! your blow will be welcome; I am
old and fit for death. Why do ye delay?"
"But the gold, the treasures!" roared the Khan, stamping on the ground.
"Why, are you a fool?"
"Gold, I have told ye, I have none," he replied; "I told you so at
first, but ye would not listen. We gave you all we had, and ye were not
satisfied. Ye have murdered my sons and my wife, and dishonoured my
daughters. Kill us all, and we will be thankful."
"Hear him!" cried the Khan, savagely; "he mocks us. Oh the wilful
wickedness of age--is it not proverbial! One of you bring some oil and
a light; we will see whether this humour can stand my final test, which
has never yet failed."
By this time the house was full of Pindharees, and, if I had wished it,
I had not dared to interfere further. I stood looking on, determined
to let him have his course; he was only hastening his own fate, and why
should I prevent it? The oil was brought, and a quantity of rags were
torn from the dhotees, or waist-cloths, of the murdered men. They were
dipped in the oil, and wound round the fingers of the old man to as
great a thickness as was possible.
"Now bring a light," cried the Khan, "and hold him fast."
A light was kindled, and the man held it in his hand. "I give you a
last chance," said the Khan, speaking from between his closed teeth;
"you know I dare say, the use your fingers will be put to; be quick and
answer, or I will make torches of them, and they shall light me to your
treasures, which I warrant are hidden in some dark hole."
"Do your worst," answered the old man, in a desperate tone. "Ye will
not kill me; and if my sufferings will in any way gratify you, even let
it be so; for Narayun has given me into your power, and it is his will
and not yours which does this. You will not hear me cry out, though my
arms were burnt off to the sockets. I spit at you!"
"Light the rags!" roared Ghuffoor Khan; "this is not to be endured."
They were lit--one by one they blazed up, while his hands were forcibly
held down to his sides to accelerate the effect of the fire. Alla,
Alla! it was a sickening sight. The warm flesh of the fingers hissed
under the blaze of the oiled rags, which were fed from time to time
with fresh oil, as men pour it upon a torch. The old man had overrated
his strength. What nerves could bear such exquisite torture? His
shrieks were piteous, and would have melted a heart of stone; but
Ghuffoor Khan heeded them not: he stood glutting his savage soul with
the sufferings of the wretched creature before him, and asking him from
time to time, with the grin of a devil, whether he would disclose his
treasures. But the person he addressed was speechless, and after nature
was fairly exhausted, he sank down in utter insensibility.
"You have killed him," I exclaimed. "For the love of Alla, let him
alone, and let us depart; what more would you have? Either he has no
money, or he will not give it up."
"Where be those daughters of a defiled mother?" cried he to his
followers, not heeding what I said to him. "Where are they? Bring them
forward, that I may ask them about the money, for money there must be."
But they, too, were dead! ay, they had been murdered also; by whom I
know not, but their bodies were found in the next room weltering in
their blood. The news was brought to the Khan, and he was more savage
than ever; he gnashed his teeth like a wild beast--he was fearful to
look on.
The old man had revived, for water had been poured on his face and on
his fingers: he raised himself up, looked wildly about him, and then
gazed piteously on his mutilated hands. Were they men or devils by whom
he was surrounded? By Alla! Sahib, they were not men, for they laughed
at him and his almost unconscious actions.
"Speak!" cried the Khan, striking him with his sword, "speak, kafir!
or more tortures are in store for thee." But he spoke not--he was more
than half-dead: misery and torture had done their utmost.
The Khan drew his sword. Again he cried "Speak!" as he raised the
weapon above his head. I fancied I saw the old man's lips smile, and
move as though he would have spoken; he cast his eyes upwards, but no
word escaped him. The sword was quivering above his head in the nervous
grasp of the Khan; and seeing he got no answer, it descended with its
full force on the old man's forehead, almost dividing the head in two.
Need I say he was instantly dead! I was satisfied; Ghuffoor Khan's cup
too was full; for my own determination was made on that spot,--I swore
it to myself as I looked at the dead, and rushed from the house.