THE INDIAN MUTINY
The Mutiny was at its height. Regiments bound to China had been stopped
at the Cape or at Singapore, and sent on to India. The _Shannon_, a
51-gun frigate, was told off for duties similar to our own; and we
started together next day.
If I recollect aright, I was not very keen on this change of scene.
How little a boy foresees! I was, most probably, weary, and sorry not
to have a few days more at the charming bungalow. (My letters rather
implied this.) Then, I had no idea of what was in store. I thought
only of my ship being turned into a trooper to go to Calcutta, little
knowing that there was a possibility of a Naval Brigade being landed.
In fact, I thought that following my luck in China under Keppel would
have been more to the point.
Of the voyage to Singapore, occupying twelve days against the
south-west monsoon, I have nothing to relate. We met the _Shannon_
going into the harbour as we approached: so we made a good race of it.
Next day was spent in coaling and taking aboard a few troops; then on
we went to Calcutta, making a good passage, averaging our 200 miles a
day.
On arriving off the mouth of the Ganges we unfortunately lost four
days in searching for a pilot. The weather was very thick, and, as
may be imagined, this was very trying to all on board. We arrived at
Calcutta on the 12th of August, and moored our vessel to the shore off
the Maidan. The _Shannon_ got in three days earlier, having picked up
her pilot shortly after reaching the mouths. These pilots were very
important gentlemen. They were dressed in uniform, and each brought his
own leadsman with him. They would not trust to the blue-jacket. The
shoals in the river were constantly changing, especially during the
rainy season, when great volumes of water came down; and, I believe,
there was a shoal called the James and Mary: if by chance it was
touched you would capsize instanter.
[Illustration: H.M.S. ‘Pearl,’ 21-gun corvette.]
What a scene it was on our arrival! Thousands of people were watching
us. We astonished the natives by firing a Royal Salute. I was amused
by watching Parsees in their buggies flying, horses taking fright, and
the natives generally fancying we were bombarding the city. Sir Colin
Campbell, who was still at Calcutta, told Lord Canning we were as
good as the right wing of an army in the position in which we were--so
as to cover the town. An outbreak even at Calcutta was daily expected:
in fact, the whole place was in a state of turmoil.
Dreadful stories came down-country. The massacre of Cawnpore was in
everybody’s mind. In fact, these outrages, accompanied by feelings
of revenge, were on every white man’s lips, and we soon caught the
infection.
Within a few days of our arrival, Captain Peel of the _Shannon_ formed
his Naval Brigade and went up-country. We of the poor _Pearl_ felt
terribly the order to remain behind. We were wanted at Calcutta. Our
two ships there had had a great effect on the natives, and had possibly
saved an outbreak in the town, which we could rake with our heavy
ordnance.
We placed howitzers in our tops, and for some days kept men aloft on
the watch. The Hoogly (as the river is called at Calcutta) was alive
with merchant ships--huge East Indiamen, and a considerable number of
large American trading ships.
At night the songs were sometimes very entertaining, and what amused
me most was listening to their anchor-weighing choruses. There were
ships constantly unmooring and weighing their anchors close to us. At
every heave of the old-fashioned windlass they would almost stop for
a whole verse, and then go on again and just get in two links. The men
generally were a rough-looking lot, and there was plenty of liquor
floating about.
The first detachment of our Naval Brigade was formed in September, and
in a few days left for up-country. Sotheby was in command, taking all
the marines and about 100 blue-jackets and half the combatant officers.
I myself was left behind, which was a great trial; but I knew it would
not be for long.
Our turn came about the middle of October. The six weeks of my stay I
passed pleasantly. The civilians and the Government officials were most
hospitable. I was surprised at seeing so many Europeans. My idea of
India was the dark man and nothing else.
Lord and Lady Canning were kindness itself. In one of my letters to
my parents I describe the dread of going up to write my name down at
Government House on being ordered to do so by my Captain: I considered
that “a poor mid was not half swell enough for that.” I put off what
appeared to be the evil day as long as I could: until one morning I got
a note from Lord Dunkellin inviting me, by Lady Canning’s wishes, to
come to tiffin. Though careworn and anxious, she still preserved her
charming looks: the grace and dignity of her bearing struck me, young
as I was.
She conversed with me a good deal about common relations and friends at
home, and soon won my heart by her very kind ways and charm of manner.
His Lordship was just as I remembered him in England, though he was not
well, with the weight of cares depressing him.
I was offered ponies to ride, buggies to drive, anything I wanted; and
I heard him give the order that I was to have _carte blanche_ use of
his stables.
Great state was observed in those days. I have seen sixty to seventy
attendants, all dressed in very handsome native garb, waiting at
dinner; and we dined in a beautiful marble hall, kept cool by
innumerable punkahs.
They took me, on one occasion, to the country-seat at Barrackpur; and
how I did enjoy the gardens, flowers, fruit! At Calcutta in those days
there were two celebrated tiffin restaurants, where we mids consumed
English mutton chops, beer, and the celebrated chutnee. One was called
“Bodrie’s,” and was famous in its day. Maybe it is going on now;
though, I suppose, there are many more of such places on a much larger
scale.
At the end of September orders were sent from the Governor-General
that we were to be ready to start, with the remainder of our crew (as
many as could possibly be spared), to reinforce Captain Sotheby’s
detachment, and we were to endeavour to raise 100 volunteers from the
merchant ships lying in the river. So pressed were we for the white
man, as long as any one could be found to carry a musket he had to go
up-country.
I devoted a good deal of my time to going on board the merchant ships
to induce the men to come. Of course, this was hard on the unfortunate
captains: it meant their lying there unmanned, and consequently unable
to sail away with their cargoes; and many were the altercations I had
with the skippers.
Still, I collected 100 men in less than four days, and sent them on
board the _Pearl_ to be fitted out in clothes, and to be taught the use
of the firearm. Curiously enough, they turned out some of the best men
in the Brigade. To get more, we sent to the jail, thinking that there
might be men whose times were about to expire.
To get up-country, we had to be taken by steamer right down the river
to the Sunderbunds, and so, _viâ_ the main river, to Benares. Our
steamer was very comfortable. She towed a flat laden with baggage,
ammunition, and so forth. Our remaining brass gun (12-pounder),
howitzers, and two brass field-pieces had gone up before. The
12-pounder threw a shot at no greater range than 1200 yards; the range
of the howitzers was about 800. Such were the guns that formed our
batteries on war service.
Going up-country in this steamer was a matter of great interest to me.
Passing through the innumerable creeks in the Sunderbunds at the mouths
of the river was most exciting. Every one was shooting at something
all day. Sometimes deer appeared, drinking; and no end of birds were
shot--not that we ever stopped to pick them up. Tigers we were always
on the look-out for, though we never saw one. Farther up, as we came
across cultivated land and villages, we gave the Pariah dog no peace.
The signalman on the steamer had strict orders to let us know if a dog
appeared in sight on the banks. A volley was immediately discharged,
and all consequences were ignored. It was war time!
I shall never forget a native galloping along for hours on a road that
ran parallel to the river, waving and gesticulating frantically to stop
our vessel. The poor man came on board that evening, when we made fast
for the night, and told us that his daughter had been shot in a field
by a spent bullet. Whether it was true or not (he was much doubted
by our native crew) we never knew; but 20 rupees was all he got--and
seemingly all he wanted, for he went ashore in great glee.
We were a considerable time steaming up the Ganges, owing to the
strength of the current. Every evening we had to make fast for the
night, and at daylight we started off again. A good deal of organising
went on daily, and all preparations were made for landing the Royal
tar, and turning him into a soldier. What a novelty to us, all trained
to the sea as we were, to be suddenly turned into soldiers! Such we
were for twenty months, as we remained up-country until the whole neck
of the Mutiny was broken and peace restored.
We had our horsed battery and companies of infantry; and it was really
astonishing how soon the sailors learned to ride and gallop their
horses and guns about, very often like horse artillery.
We picked out the most horsey blue-jackets for our battery: some that
had had in their boyhood to deal with horses, or, at any rate, who
knew something about them. The men were all armed with the Brown Bess.
Rifles were not to be had at Calcutta, and in those days only our
marines had been supplied with the Minié rifle. Brown Bess was good
only up to 300 yards in reality. Not until the Mutiny was far advanced
were we supplied with rifles, and, even then, there were not enough for
the whole Brigade.
Our 4-gun battery was, later, increased by two 9-pounder brass guns.
These ranged some 1700 yards or more, and that made all the difference
in the world to our effectiveness. Often we longed for the rifle
instead of the old Brown Bess.
Luckily, the Sepoy mutineers were little better off. Still, they had
better artillery on the whole. Anyhow, they always found our range
before we got theirs; though in our part of India very few shells
were used by the Sepoys, and that only at the beginning, for they ran
shorter and shorter of ammunition as time wore on, and latterly even
had often to use bullets made of clay.
We arrived at our destination on the 2nd of November, having left
Calcutta on the 12th of October. There were no railways, and thus our
journey up-country took an endless time. We landed not many miles
above Patna, on the opposite bank of the river; marched four miles
inland, and bivouacked in an old schoolhouse for the night. At 4.30
A.M. the reveille was sounded, and we marched on ten miles. Then we
remained two days, waiting for baggage, collecting bullocks, hackeries,
and elephants; and two days later we joined Sotheby and the first
detachment, who were awaiting our arrival before proceeding up-country.
It was a great lark. One of the first things I did was to buy a
pony. I got one for £3 : 10s., which was a pound more than the usual
price. What a delight to a boy--possessing his pony and syce, and a
grass-cutter between two of us! We remained in this encampment for
several days. The tents were pitched in a large mango tope, shady
and pleasant; the monkeys affording us much amusement. We set to
work, formed our force in fighting order, and drilled like the devil,
morning, noon, and night; marched out to practise the men, and got them
into the ways of battalion drill: in fact, turned the British tar into
a soldier.