Part 10 (1/2)

Heads, bodies, legs, arms, hands, spears, guns, muskets, planks, and colours, lay indiscriminately among the pile of ruin. Four thousand maunds, or three hundred and twenty thousand pounds of gunpowder, an acc.u.mulation of years, were contained in this magazine. This was buried in stone magazines, some hundreds of feet under the earth; and it was supposed that the major part of the garrison had sought refuge in those excavated vaults, from the destruction of our sh.e.l.ls, and were there entombed in this pile of ruin and desolation. The cries of men, women, and children, and the groans of wounded horses, could be distinctly heard, and drew from every eye the tear of pity. Our guns had ceased firing, no one knew why. There were no shoutings of exultation; but, on the contrary, loud were the expressions of commiseration and sorrow.

Amidst the convulsion, it was a most extraordinary fact, that the new and scarcely finished temple of the inmates of the fort still reared its superst.i.tious head, and, on the very margin of their once boasted and inexhaustible mine of powder and ball, stood uninjured amidst the general wreck, divested only of its scaffolding. This coincidence, which they, no doubt, attributed to supernatural agency, still fed their deluded hopes, and they would not bend the stubborn knee and ask for mercy, but still persisted in their resistance, led on by some h.o.a.ry-headed priest, who would not tear himself away from his ill-gotten stores. The night closed in as cold as the hearts of these obdurate creatures; the sky was serene and clear; and the moon rose in her most effulgent brightness.

The moon had now risen high above the tops of Rumnah (a place where they keep preserved game), when our guns re-opened, and more messengers of destruction were sent to complete the work of death. Every hand employed against the fort would willingly have carried these poor creatures the cup of peace and the balm of comfort, rather than send them more woe; but, notwithstanding these sympathetic feelings, there is a duty we owe ourselves and our country. We were in honour bound to push the siege; but this was our duty, not our inclination: nor is it true that soldiers, inured to scenes of war, do not possess the nicer feelings of the heart. The sh.e.l.ling again roared through their narrow streets, and tore up their little dwellings by the roots, each hurling additional victims into the gaping pile. About the hour of midnight, there seemed a bustle and clas.h.i.+ng of arms amongst the people in the fort, and I began to think that they intended to give us leg; so I kept a good look-out. I crept close to the edge of the ditch, and listened. I could hear voices, but not distinctly what they said. I was observed from the fort, and nearly paid dear for my peeping. Several shots were fired, one of which struck close to my head. I moved my quarters to a more safe place; and, from the neighing of horses, it was pretty evident to me that they were on the bit: but, as I was no reservoir of news, I took good care to keep my opinion to myself, until the thing became more certain. Five minutes after, I saw some of them outside of the fort, on horseback, waiting to a.s.semble in force, before they attempted to break through our mounted cavalry, which formed a chain of sentinels round this side. It was imagined impossible that they could make their escape. I communicated what I had seen to the commanding officer of the protecting party, who had a hundred native men under his command, which would, in all probability, have been sufficient to have stopped them; for, no doubt, they did not intend to go empty-handed away, but laden with gold mohurs.

When I first communicated this intelligence to the officer on duty, he politely said it was only fancy--they were no flinchers. I told him that I could see them coming out; but he replied, sarcastically, ”Then why don't you go and stop them? I will tell you what, s.h.i.+pp--you are never easy unless your head is in the cannon's mouth.” At the first part of this reproof I got terribly nettled, and warmly replied, ”Had I your means, Captain Brewer (alluding to the men under his command), I would stop them; but, as my men have only their pickaxes and shovels, it would be an act of pure madness to attempt such a thing; though it is by no means clear to me that I could not even stay their flight with these poor means.” At this he instantly flew into a rage, and said, ”Pray, Sir, what do you mean to insinuate by what you have this moment given utterance to?”--”My dear Brewer,” said I, ”you know I am as poor as the inside of a sentry-box, and it is really a pity to see these fellows under our very noses, walking off with the coin.” He smilingly replied, ”That's true; and I will prevent it if possible.” So on we marched at double-quick; and, all I could do and say, I could not prevent my men, armed, as they were, with pickaxes and shovels, from following me. I threatened to cut the first man down who dared attempt to leave his post; but no sooner was I gone than my men were close at my heels; and one fellow came running up to me, and said, pointing to a small village, close by the entrance of the bridge, ”By the powers, your honour, but there is a whole generation of cavalry, all mounted on horses. See, your honour, some of them that are halted are coming this way.” I replied, ”What the devil has brought you here?”--”Does your honour think I would lave you in this bl.u.s.teration?” said Paddy. On getting pretty close to these ”cavalry on horseback,” my attention was drawn off from the soldier, who, on turning round, I found was close at my elbow, with a pickaxe on his shoulder. Here the enemy, observing us, rode off to the left at full speed. One I endeavoured to stop, and he rode at me. I gathered myself up in an att.i.tude of defence, resolved, if possible, to dismount him; but, unfortunately, his horse's foot struck the inside of my thigh, and down I went, and he had the politeness to fire his matchlock at me, but it did not touch me. He rode on, and I jumped up, and again recovered my station at the head of the party. We now arrived at the end of the bridge, where there was a kind of half-moon battery or breastwork--at least there had been, but now nothing but the parapet and embrasures remained. Behind these my men, many of whom had followed me, took refuge, till we had again driven the enemy into the fort. We pushed on, and on the bridge the struggle was dreadful. The enemy wanted to come out, and we wanted to go in. They would not permit us to go in; and we, equally unaccommodating, would not let them out. This was the dispute; and, after a good deal of fighting, we not only stopped their intended journey, but put an end to many of their lives. They, for a time, disputed every inch of ground with us; but Jack Sepoy was not to be done; and we, after a hard struggle, gained possession not only of the bridge, but of the inner gate. Here they had the advantage for a time, for they had fastened the inner gate, which, however, yielded to force. At this moment I received a tremendous blow from a large piece of wood that was thrown from the ramparts, and hit me on the head; I fell to the ground, stunned for a moment, but soon got up again. When I was knocked down by the log of wood, a sergeant halloed out, ”By the powers, but he is kilt at last outright!”--”Not quite, sergeant,” said I; ”but it was a devil of a blow.”--”Och! never mind that, your honour,” said the sergeant, ”it's all in the army.” ”No, sergeant,” I replied, ”it is all on my head.” A few seconds after this, the same sergeant received a similar salute, which made him hug the ground, when a soldier who was near him sang out, ”Are you kilt, sergeant, dear?”--”Upon my conscience,” groaned the sergeant, ”I don't know; but I feel mighty queer, so I do.”

I had not been on my legs again above a second, and had scarcely time to scratch my head, when there was a dreadful explosion of powder. The shock caused by this explosion nearly threw me down again. On looking behind, I found it necessary to give some orders, and I pointed to the object of my instructions. Some ill-natured fellow from the ramparts thought I was pointing the finger of derision at him, so he let fly his matchlock at me, and shot me through the very finger I was pointing with--the forefinger of the left hand. The shot pa.s.sed through the finger, and, carrying away nearly the whole of the bone of the two first joints, grazed the palm of my hand, and pa.s.sed through the lapel of my coat. At last the inner gate yielded to force, and we rushed into the body of the fort. On our first entrance, we could see women and children flying across the narrow streets; some mothers bearing their offspring in their bleeding arms; some dropping them in their flight; and others meeting death from the b.a.l.l.s of our men, who were firing at random. Many poor childless mothers threw themselves on the points of our men's bayonets, and some begged for mercy. Putrid bodies, both of men and beasts, lay about in all directions--some of them three or four deep; and the smell was absolutely suffocating. The fighting soon ceased; and, though many attempted to escape by another bridge, they were taken prisoners.

The fort being now completely in our possession, as soon as the prisoners had been secured, I examined my wound. An hour having elapsed since I received it, my whole arm had begun to ache most dreadfully.

Finding, therefore, that I could do no further good to the service, I was resolved I would do no harm to myself, so I bent my way towards camp, to get my wound dressed. To be candid, I may as well confess that I did not walk home, but rode one of the finest Persian horses I ever beheld. I found him loose, running about the fort. I caught him, and rode him with a piece of rope in his mouth. The good-natured prize-agents did not request me to give him up; nor, perhaps, were they aware that I had such an animal in my possession. Be that as it may, however, I sold him at Lucknow, to the king of Oude, for two thousand rupees--about two hundred pounds sterling. Having reported the capture of the fort to the major-general, who was, of course, much pleased with the information, and immediately made his arrangements accordingly, I got my wound dressed. My good-natured doctor was pleased to announce to me, that if I escaped with the loss of my finger, I might consider myself fortunate; but he feared that the dreadful manner in which the finger had been torn, would render amputation of the hand necessary. The wound was evidently from an iron and rugged ball. Iron ball-wounds immediately turn a rusty, or more of a yellow colour, and are bad healing wounds. In the morning my wound was again dressed by another medical friend; and it was so much better in the forenoon of the following day, that I got into my palanquin and rode down to the fort. I must beg to be excused from entering into a minute narration of the scene inside. Let it suffice, that it far exceeded anything that man could write, were he to sit down to draw a picture of the most abject misery and woe. The most depraved wretch could not have looked on the work of death which presented itself to our eyes, without being melted into sorrow. I soon turned from such a sight, and stood towards home.

Near a small village, a beautiful young woman, about sixteen years of age, had been seen, and ultimately seized. Her husband, to whom she had only been wedded about three months, was one of those who were entombed when the magazine blew up. From that period nothing could soothe her or appease her grief; no power could restrain her; and at last she escaped into the adjoining wood, or rumnah. When I saw her, she was running wildly; but, at times, she would pause, hold up her finger, and tell you to listen; when she would exclaim, with the most heart-rending shriek, ”That was him! It was he that did speak! Yet, now he is gone.” Then the poor bewildered maniac would tear her sloe-black hair, which was hanging in ringlets down her back and bosom, and, at length, sink exhausted to the ground. She was taken to camp, and committed to the care of some of her relations, who had been taken prisoners.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER XVI.

Amongst the prisoners captured in the fort of Hattra.s.s, search was made by us for the keeledar, and his friend the negotiator, who had been so many times in camp; but neither of these gentlemen could be found; and we naturally concluded they must have escaped on the evening of the storm; for, strange to say, a great body of cavalry had cut their way through some of our cavalry piquets. The Europeans saddled the native corps of Hindostanee horse with this; and they in return threw the blame on the European cavalry. Some part of this flying enemy, however, pa.s.sed the piquet of the 8th Light Dragoons, and several of the brave fellows of that regiment were wounded in endeavouring to stop them; but I have no doubt that the main body pa.s.sed between the right of the 8th Dragoons and the left of the corps of Captain Badley's horse, between which flanks there was a wide s.p.a.ce and a high-road. This road was watched by a regiment of native infantry. From the beautiful horses left in the fort, and the immense number of suits of chain armour we found strewed about the stables of the cavalry, the whole of the enemy's horse must have been in mail; so that our cavalry could have made but little impression, even if they had fallen in with them. By this escape one of our grand objects was defeated, by the loss of the person of the rebel governor, who was wanted to answer his rebellion to an offended government. How it was possible that a single individual could have escaped such a bombardment, was to us a mystery; for large houses were literally torn up by the roots. They had thrown a great number of their dead into a well, and many lay in the ditch, a melancholy and revolting sight, for the sun had swollen them to an enormous size.

It seems that, the moment any of their children were killed in houses remote from the well, they were thrown into the street. I counted five limbless babes in one street.

The day I left camp the maniac widow died; and it is with infinite pleasure I now bid farewell, for a time, to such distressing scenes.

Deputies from the other forts and dependencies of this rajah had witnessed the siege _incog._, and were no doubt in camp when the explosion took place. Not being inclined to risk the same aerial ascent, or to be entombed, as many hundreds of the poor creatures in Hattra.s.s had been, they readily surrendered to the wishes of the government. What had become of Diaram--for that was the rajah's name--we could not discover; but he was a dangerous man loose in a country like India, and might do much mischief if he joined the Pindarees, who were then in full force prowling about the country, not immediately in our provinces, but lingering on the borders. After some search, this rajah was found with Nawab Ameer-Khan, an independent chief; and, no sooner had the Company discovered the place of his residence, than, instead of punis.h.i.+ng the rebel as he deserved, they munificently offered him a pension for himself and family, if he would reside in our provinces. With these terms the veteran rajah readily complied, and he is now residing in affluence, peace, and happiness, under the Company's banner of protection and s.h.i.+eld of faith. I have heard from those who have since seen him, that his loss in lives at Hattra.s.s was upwards of fifteen hundred in the fort, besides those in the town. Two of his nephews were amongst the dead; and he himself encouraged his men in person during the whole of the siege, and was scarcely ever from the ramparts.

My wound at this time a.s.sumed a dangerous appearance. It had been much irritated by the extraction of several pieces of shattered bone; and, as the weather at this period grew intensely hot, my doctor advised me not to travel with the regiment, as he apprehended that the extreme heat, and the constant shaking of the palanquin, might bring on inflammation.

I therefore the next afternoon left my corps for Cawnpore, some hundred miles, by dawk,[15] and arrived there about the same time on the afternoon of the following day. From having been more than four-and-twenty hours without proper dressing, the whole of my arm, and indeed all my left side, became much inflamed, and were extremely painful; but the fond attentions of an affectionate wife, and the kindness of her good family, soon made me forget my pains and aches.

I had such a home as few were blessed with; and, in the bosom of my family, I forgot the toils of terrific war. By good nursing and good medical advice, my wound began to mend apace; but there were still pieces of bone protruding through the wound, which, however, were in time extracted by the hand of skill.

The moment I got my hand dressed on the night I was wounded, I took the precaution of sitting down to communicate the true particulars of the affair to my family by letter, knowing well what erroneous reports are often sent to the wives of soldiers, and communicated in the most blunt and abrupt manner.

In a few days the regiment arrived in cantonments; and in a month or six weeks I was again on parade with my company, little the worse, except that I had an ugly and troublesome finger, which was always in the way.

I have since turned it to some use as a true register of the weather; but, beyond this, I do not think I could even now make it so far useful as efficiently to pull a man's nose with it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TRAVELLING ON THE GANGES.

From a Drawing by W. DANIELL, R.A.]

I forgot to mention that, when I went down to visit the fort on the morning after its fall, the prize-agents were busy on the look-out for prize property, and to keep our lads from picking and stealing; but, had there been a thousand of them, all with the eyes of lynxes, this would have been impossible. I heard that a private of the Company's Foot Artillery pa.s.sed the very noses of the prize-agents, with five hundred gold mohurs (sterling 1,000) in his hat or cap. Several of the men, when the troops got beyond the power of the prize-committee, boasted of their plunder; and, indeed, it is not much to be wondered at that men should make so free as to help themselves, when the dreadful metamorphosis that prize-money always goes through before it reaches the pockets of the captors, and the length of time before it is paid, are considered. All prize property is liable to many diseases and changes, incidental perhaps to the climate of India. When first taken, it s.h.i.+nes in the full vigour of habit--is of good solid substance--of solidity of body--current, pure and clear; but in bulk rather protuberant and gross, and therefore, perhaps, somewhat inclined to be dropsical. Change of situation is in general resorted to; but the disease has taken fatal root, and nothing can eradicate the distemper but reduction of the system. Having been severely drained, and much inflammatory matter having been expressed, symptoms of decline but too often follow, and the poor sufferer is left but a shadow, if it escape total extinction. In this manner the solid substance extracted from the fort of Hattra.s.s dwindled away, leaving, however, a residue of some 20,000, of which I pocketed eighty-six rupees; but as I had sold my share for two hundred, I may be said to have come off tolerably well. We afterwards learned, from undoubted authority, that immense treasures had been conveyed from Hattra.s.s. The rajah, aware that he had fallen under the displeasure of the government, had the precaution to send his princ.i.p.al treasures away, as also the greater part of his family. This treasure pa.s.sed through the city of Agra, the rajah having solicited the civil authorities to permit the female part of his family to pa.s.s through that district to some distant festival. As the rajah was an ally, this request could not be refused; and, accordingly, from twenty to twenty-four ruts, containing the treasures of that potentate, as well as his family, pa.s.sed through Agra, to a place of safety.

The station now began to be gay, and nothing but parties, dinners, b.a.l.l.s, suppers, &c., were the order of the day. This routine of gaiety and festivity was kept up for a considerable time, until the more active minds began to tire of it. In addition to this, our purses began to exhibit symptoms of an attack of their old complaints. Mine, in particular, had had such a regular and confirmed shaking-fit, that the disease threatened to be vital, unless some immediate remedy was applied.

The most n.o.ble the Marquis of Hastings was on his way up the river to this station. The object of his voyage up the country was quite secret.

Strange were the surmises, and many of them as ridiculous as they were strange. Some said Scindia was to be attacked--others, Bhurtpore. His lords.h.i.+p was very particular and minute in the inspection of the troops of the upper provinces. The 87th regiment were in excellent order for service, and I longed to see them as a body again in the field. The n.o.ble marquis was as hospitable as majestic: dinners and drawing-rooms were now all the go at Cawnpore, and quite astonished the natives. His lords.h.i.+p's manners were truly winning and devoid of pride. At his parties he generally selected the greatest strangers to sit next him at dinner, and was to all extremely affable and condescending. Thus pa.s.sed the time till the August following, when his lords.h.i.+p's grand scheme for the annihilation of the Pindarees was published, and set us all on the stir. Every one was as busy as trunk-makers, preparing. On every face was the smile of joy, except on those of affectionate wives, whose anxieties foreboded numberless ills that were never realized, and sorrows that never came. Farewell dinners pa.s.sed in all directions; and, to wind up the farewell to each other, a station amateur play concluded the festivities. I played Lord Duberley in the ”Heir-at-Law,” and Lord Minikin in ”Bon Ton.” His lords.h.i.+p seemed highly amused with these performances, and was pleased to pa.s.s some eulogiums on my Lord Duberley. When the play had concluded, a gentleman came into the dressing-room, and addressed me thus: ”s.h.i.+pp, if you act your part as baggage-master, as you have that of Lord Duberley, you will do well.”