After I had stopped the sh.e.l.ling from our battery, and was thinking of my miraculous escape, I was interrupted by an inquisitive sergeant; and, as I always made it a point of attending civilly to every man who spoke to me, I permitted him to go on. He addressed me as follows:--"Pray, was your honour there when the first sh.e.l.l fell, for I was after laying that self-same mortar?"
"Yes," said I, "and you nearly laid me in the grave."
"By the powers, but I should have been mighty sorry for that, your honour."
I thanked him for his sorrow, but he continued following me towards the scene of action, and at last again broke silence.
"Is all the fight over, your honour?"
I said, I hoped so.
"I hope not," replied he.
I told him I was pretty confident of it, as the enemy were willing to give up the fort.
Hearing this, he coolly replied, "Then bad luck to them, after all the trouble we have had in building and completing that sweet eight-gun battery forenent yonder."
"Well, but my good fellow," I replied, "you cannot expect with reason more than they have to give."
"I don"t mane that, your honour; it"s only so much time thrown away for nothing, without getting any satisfaction for it; besides, your honour, it is quite tantalizing to one"s feelings; and a great big fight would have been some kind of compensation."
"Supposing that, in that great big fight, you or I should have been killed, sergeant?"
"By my conscience," said he, laughing loudly, "but that would have been rather unpleasant, certainly."
"That would have been but a poor compensation for your trouble. What do you think, sergeant?"
"Faith! your honour, I like short reckonings, and I do not like to work for nothing."
Here we rejoined the party; he mixed in the general bustle, and I lost sight of him. I afterwards saw the same man in the fort, and I pointed out to him a poor woman whose legs had been shot off, but who still carried her babe in her arms, saying, "Well, sergeant, I hope you are now compensated for your trouble in the erection of your battery." He turned his head to where I pointed, and said (I shall never forget his pathetic manner), "By my conscience, your honour, if I had thought I should ever have seen such a murderous sight, I would not have come near the place." I saw him wipe the tear of sympathy from his eye with the back of his hand, and he continued, "Shall I take the poor creature to the hospital?"--"No, sergeant," replied I, "you would only increase her pain." Almost immediately after this, the poor woman breathed her last sigh. In her last struggle she grasped her child, and, even after death, her cold eye rested on the features of her unconscious babe. We induced another woman, whose child had been killed, to take charge of this. She cheerfully consented; but whether the poor child really found in her a second mother, I had no means of knowing.
All the outer gates of the fort were barricaded with huge piles of stones, which we were obliged to remove before we could enter, and which took up a considerable time. We had prepared everything, in case of treachery, and we therefore marched in as if proceeding to storm.
As we entered, they threw open the gates; but there was a degree of expressive fear on the face of every man in the fort, for they were strangers to the principles of Europeans, and they judged them by their own. Every man was ready, with his match lighted, resolved, as we were afterwards given to understand, to sell their lives dearly, should we prove treacherous. No sooner did we enter, than the eye instinctively closed, on beholding the appalling scene before us. Terrified and decrepit old men and women were in great numbers; and agonized mothers were seen hugging their lifeless babes to their bosoms. Far and wide lay strewed bodies and parts of bodies. Some young women bared their bosoms to the pointed bayonets, calling upon our men either to kill them or return their murdered babes and husbands. One young maiden screamed bitterly for her father, who had been killed; and her last breath died upon the breeze, for she fell, and expired in the arms of her aged mother.
Having observed that we acted on the defensive only, and seemed rather to sympathize with them in their griefs, the enemy gained confidence, and left their elevated posts with apparent faith. They moved gradually and slowly out, taking with them their little property unmolested. They were pictures of the most abject misery and want. They had not received any pay from their master, the rajah of Nagpore, for the long period of two years, during which they had lived upon the produce of their exactions from the villagers of the surrounding country. I would venture to say that, out of fifteen hundred people, they had not a hundred rupees amongst them; but, had they millions, it was guaranteed to them by the word of faith which Britons had never broken in India. They quietly grounded their arms as they came out one by one, accompanied by their families. Some of them cast a last fond look at their sabres, probably some family relic, and heaved a parting sigh. The surrounding country being in a state of commotion, created by small parties of the Pindarees flying towards their long-forsaken homes, and purloining everything they came near on the road, our humane general permitted every tenth man to keep his matchlock and sword, for self-preservation.
Under the dusk of the evening they moved towards their homes, and we took possession of the fort, having lost but very few men during the whole siege.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
[Ill.u.s.tration]
CHAPTER XX.
The property in the fort of Dhamoony was literally nothing. The whole consisted of some five or six small guns, princ.i.p.ally iron, and a considerable quant.i.ty of grain; the produce of which, as well as what was found in other forts taken during the campaign, was thrown into the general fund. Here, for a time, a small detachment was left; but they soon became so sickly, and died so fast, that we were obliged to dismantle the place, and leave it to the ravages of time.
The poor keeledar was alone detained and held responsible for the rebellion of his garrison. He was punished in a most exemplary manner by our government, by being placed on eight rupees per diem, as a prisoner; quite as much, I should imagine, as he got in a whole month as keeledar of the fort of Dhamoony. The unbounded liberality of the East India Company is quite unknown in England, and, indeed, in the more remote parts even of Hindostan. Their munificence is proverbial among the whole of the native powers with whom they have ever been concerned. Their extreme liberality, and their good faith in all treaties, which has never been tarnished, establish them in India on a rock which no power can shake. Whatever treaty, whether commercial or political, is entered into by them, it is as sure as that the sun will rise and the moon will shine, that its terms will be strictly fulfilled. Whatever may be the loss of such a treaty or bargain, its stipulations are adhered to to the very letter. These are principles that have established the Company"s possessions in India on the firmest basis; and, aided by Old England, she may now defy the combined power of all Europe. Her native troops are good soldiers, and loyal and faithful subjects; but they certainly require a little humouring. There are certain indulgences which must be granted to them: the free exercise of their religious rites; certain comforts, such as additional clothing, &c., during the several seasons of the year; and by no means to attempt to induce them to wear anything that is objected to by their several castes. However absurd their habits may appear to a person unacquainted with Indian affairs, they must be, to some extent, sanctioned. I am speaking, of course, of things reasonable. I do not mean to say that, if a Hindoo priest fancied himself a greater man than the bishop of Calcutta, his lordship should resign his office in his favour; but simply that they should be indulged in every way not inconsistent with prudence and justice. I am persuaded that two or three millions of native troops could, in the course of one year, be organized and fit for the field; and I do not hesitate to affirm that, when headed by brave European officers, and encouraged by the example of British gallantry, they would be found equal to any troops in the world. I speak this from my own experience in India, and from being constantly engaged on active service with these troops. The Company have ever been justly conscious of the importance of attending to the different sects of men admitted as soldiers, selecting those of the higher cla.s.s of Hindoos for their infantry, and of the Mahometan castes for their cavalry. Whenever men of inferior caste have crept in, little rebellions have been traced to that source. I do not mean to say, that men of an inferior caste are not equally brave soldiers; but I do maintain, the higher the caste or sect of the native, the more he may be trusted, and the more likely he will be to prove himself a faithful subject, as well as a good soldier.
Our division was now directed to proceed against another fort of the Nagpore rajah"s, called Gurrah Mundellah, to which we had to march some two or three hundred miles, over hill and dale, cutting down mountains and filling up rivers. Our march was, therefore, of course very tedious.
The government political agent, Major O"Brien, joined us at Jubblepore, and we proceeded slowly towards the place of our destination. In some parts of this country we were obliged to cut nearly our whole day"s march through underwood and ravines; and, in some places, such was the impossibility of ascent over many of the hills, that it took a whole day to cut a road so as to accomplish the next day"s march through this wild and desolate country; but some of the views in the openings were truly splendid and beautiful. Everything that could please the eye or delight the senses was to be found in this spot--the haunt of beasts of prey.
One of these little valleys reminded me of a scene in the "Arabian Nights" Entertainments;" it was indeed a fairy land, to describe which I am quite incompetent.
In this valley I arose about the hour of midnight, to view the enchanting scene. The moon was of unclouded brightness, and far on its western journey. Close beneath my tent was a clear and sweetly murmuring stream, in which the moon dipped its silver wings, and its brilliant rays shed so clear a light through the trees that I could see every white tent around. Their inmates were all slumbering, lulled by the gentle moaning of the lofty pine. Hushed was every tongue, calm was every bosom, save those of one solitary mendicant priest at his midnight prostrations. His little tinkling bell disturbed the serenity of the night, and grated on my ear with discordance.
In three days more, after most tedious marches, we began to inhale the same atmosphere as our enemy, and we were obliged to approach the several ghauts with caution. The country that surrounded the large town and fort against which we were advancing was terrifically wild; and, in some parts, deep-sunk dells and excavations in the earth told us that caution alone would insure success. In this fort, we had been given to understand, a considerable body of the flying Pindarees had been enlisted, to a.s.sist in defending the fort against the English, their hated enemies. These we were resolved to make an example of; consequently, a strict investment of the fort was our primary object, to prevent their escape. For this purpose, Brigadier-General Watson, C.B., was dispatched with the cavalry and some few infantry. I accompanied this party, and we commenced our march in the afternoon, working our way through rivers, jungles, and over immense hills. A little after dark, on pa.s.sing a small hill a little on our left flank, two shots were fired at us. The general dispatched a company of infantry to reconnoitre the spot from whence the shots had proceeded. On examination, it proved to be a small look-out of the enemy. We found several small cots or bedsteads here, and their fires were still burning; but, after firing their two shots, they must have immediately fled; and we were extremely obliged to them for their hint, which reminded us of the necessity for caution.
We had gained information from our spies, that our road lay over a high ghaut, on which the enemy had a strong piquet; that, when we had surmounted that ghaut, the road to the fort of Gurrah Mundellah was over lowlands interspersed with water; and that we should have to cross the Nerbuddah, where we might expect to be opposed, as that river was wide, deep, and stony. Acting upon this information, our brave brigadier accompanied a small party, for the purpose of dislodging this piquet, without giving them a shot at the whole division. We were a long time ascending; so that, by the time we got up, the residue of the army were at the bottom. The enemy heard them by the neighing of the horses and the confounded clatter of our dragoons" swords, which may be heard for miles. It would be much more musical if they would tie bells round the horses" necks, than to tolerate this abominable noise. The moment the piquet heard them, they fired, their long ginjalls, which kill a mile off. The first shot wounded a poor gra.s.s-cutter of the 8th Native Cavalry through the leg. At this time our detachment, which was stealing up the side of the hill, was so close upon the enemy, that they had not time to fire many more shots. They then ran off, leaving eight or ten of their ginjalls suspended from branches of trees. At this place were ten or twelve fires, and about twenty cots. Some of their rice was cooking; but, for fear they might have poisoned it, we broke the utensils. The ginjalls we also broke, not being able to carry them with us. We then descended the hill; when the moon rose, and diffused her bright rays over the distant plain. The sight was enchanting, in comparison with prowling about in the pitchy darkness of the night, not knowing the moment we might be saluted with a pound ball from one of their long ginjalls. The corn-fields, the crops of which were then in a state of maturity, looked silvery bright, and it was a great relief to the eye that had been intensely watching in dreary darkness. Lighted torches, or fires, could be seen on the distant hills, and those in the intermediate s.p.a.ce were, no doubt, indications to the fort, of our approach.
We halted on the banks of a sweet crystal brook, and drank of its renovating stream. In about an hour we resumed our march on a tolerably good road, but crossed by little rippling rills almost every half-mile, which kept our feet continually damp and cold. We pa.s.sed through many rice-fields, and the country seemed fertile and cheerful, but not a man, or even a solitary hut, could we discover. We at last saw a light, apparently about a mile ahead of us. As we advanced, the light still appeared in the same situation. Sometimes we imagined that it was borne by some of the flying enemy, who had good reasons for keeping that distance ahead of us; but we soon discovered the fallacious light to be nothing more than the _ignis fatuus_ on its midnight rambles. Shortly afterwards we came to a small village, consisting of about twenty huts; but nothing was to be found here except a few Pariah dogs, and some wandering cattle. Here we halted for the night, and handed round biscuits and grog to those who had not had the precaution to provide themselves with some refreshment. On similar occasions I had formerly been negligent, and had often suffered the pangs of hunger through my own neglect; but this evening, foreseeing, from the nature of the country, that our supplies could not reach us, I had provided myself with a whole bottle of brandy and a considerable quant.i.ty of biscuit, which went freely round. The morning was very chilly, and we had no covering; but, notwithstanding this, the weary bodies of the men soon sank to sleep. My favourite mare had a blanket, which I would not deprive her of, as she would not drink brandy. Her portion of biscuit she had. When I awoke, what was my astonishment to see my groom wrapped up in my mare"s blanket, and snoring like a pig, while the poor mare stood shrivelled up, and looking almost frozen to death. At this piece of consummate impudence on the part of the groom, I lost my temper, which nothing could restore but the satisfaction of giving the fellow a good horsewhipping. Besides this, I made him forfeit one rupee of his pay to purchase sweetmeats for the mare, to which she was exceedingly partial. I made the groom feed her himself with this remunerative luxury, and, to give the poor fellow his due, he did it good-naturedly enough.
Soon after daybreak we again got on our way, but found that we were a much greater distance from the fort than we had been led by our spies to suppose. We now marched in full preparation to meet the enemy, a.s.sured that they would not lose the fair opportunity of stopping our progress, which was now afforded them. On our arrival at the spot where we expected to meet with resistance, to view the wide roaring river, the Nerbuddah, majestically rolling over its rocky bed, would alone have been sufficient to stop the progress of soldiers less inured to difficulties than we were. Had that river been defended, the forcing of the pa.s.sage would have cost us dearly in lives. The banks on the opposite side were bold and abrupt; and the only accessible part for wheel-carriages was a roadway that had been excavated from the sides of the river. Had this ford been defended, or the road stopped, our pa.s.sage would have been attended with immense difficulty and danger; but we did not see a single man, and we could form no other conclusion from such apparent indifference to so advantageous a position, than that they had occupied, and were resolved to defend, some place which they deemed more suitable to their purpose. About a mile farther, we saw some unarmed stragglers on the edge or margin of a wood, peeping at us. I rode after one of this party, whom, when I came up, I found to be a woman. She immediately threw herself on her knees, and begged for mercy, saying she was a poor villager. When she saw that I had not the remotest intention of injuring her, she afforded me every information I required; stating that all the soldiers were in the fort and town, and that, until we got there, we should fall in with none but poor and inoffensive people, who were leaving the fort for their native homes. With a large party of this kind we fell in, almost immediately afterwards. They were armed, and drawn up in battle array; and nothing but the appearance of women and children among them would have prevented our advance from firing on them. From the fortunate circ.u.mstance that the poor woman with whom I had fallen in, had informed me that some of the people that did not wish to serve the rebel rajah had left the fort, the whole of this party was permitted to pa.s.s without molestation, with commendations on their faith to the British government. They departed, and we proceeded towards the fort.
About a mile further on, from an eminence we could distinctly see the town, with its thick and high walls, inside of which was a strong-built stone fort. With a gla.s.s we could see people on the walls and bastions in great numbers, and guns peeping from the embrasures, of enormous size. When we were in complete view, they indulged us with a few sixty-four pounders; so that we were obliged to give them a much wider field. One of our guides stated that he had been in the fort, as a mendicant priest, and we had no reason to question his veracity. He produced a long sketch of the fortifications, strength, number of troops, &c., that induced some timid ones to make their last wills, and even impressed the more resolute with the idea that they had not a light job before them. Guns were new-flinted, pistols reloaded, swords fresh-pointed, and preparations were busily making on all sides, while searching for a place called the Home Doongra, which was an eminence that looked into the fort, at a distance of about two miles from their centre bastion, and near which we intended to encamp. Whenever the enemy saw our men collected on this height, they saluted us with long shots from a gun of enormous size. Several smaller ones were also thrown, and some of them were well directed. This is easily accounted for. I have frequently found that, wherever there was good cannonading, the golundauze gunners had been taught in the Company"s army. I have no doubt that many of our native gunners enter the Company"s service in those situations, as a preparatory step to entering the service of a native prince or rajah in the same capacity. The gunners are the only cla.s.s of men in the service of these rajahs that are regularly paid. In the Company"s army, a sepoy, or other servant, can always leave, by expressing his disinclination to continue in the service; and this great indulgence is very often taken advantage of by well-drilled men, who have been taught all the minutiae of military evolutions, and are probably proficients in gunnery. It is not an uncommon thing in native armies, for persons of this description to get fifty or sixty rupees per month, when other soldiers are glad to get four. In this fort were three or four men, who had, in the manner I have described, acquired a complete knowledge of gunnery, and were good shots. These men are so highly extolled among their caste, that they will madly throw themselves upon the bayonet, rather than desert the gun which they command. Two of the golundauze in this fort were killed during the siege; the other returned to his home, which was Allahabad.
This fort of the Nagpore rajah had rebelled. The rajah himself had violated his treaty, and broken off his alliance with the Company. The inhabitants of this fortress, a short period before we encamped before it, had been summoned to evince their loyalty to the Company, to which they readily consented. For this purpose, a small force consisting of one regiment of Native Infantry, and some part of the 8th regiment of Bengal Native Cavalry, under the command of Major O"Brien, of the latter corps (then political agent for the arrangement of the country belonging to the rebel and treacherous rajah of Nagpore), marched to occupy the fort of Mundellah, which the governor had consented to give up. As soon, however, as the garrison saw the detachment (a mere handful of men) under the major, within gunshot of the fort, they fired on the party, who were, of course, obliged to make a precipitate retreat.
Before this affair of Major O"Brien"s, the moment the treacherous intentions of the rajah had been detected, the British resident of Nagpore ordered his person to be seized. For this purpose, Captain Brown, of the Bengal Native Infantry, was dispatched, with troops, to seize him. On the approach of this force, the rajah flew to his zenanah, and sought protection amongst his concubines. At any other time, and under any other circ.u.mstances, respect would have been shown to this _sanctum_ of illicit pleasure; but, under the present circ.u.mstances of the case, delicacy was quite out of the question, and the party rushed in and seized him. The women in the zenanah, in their impotent rage, flew at Captain Brown, who came off minus a considerable quant.i.ty of skin from his face, of some hair from his head and whiskers, and of one wing of his military full-dress coat; but he succeeded in securing his man, and dragging him from his screaming women. The rajah, being now a prisoner, was, a short time after this, sent under a strong escort towards the frontiers of our provinces, under the special charge of Captain Brown; but he escaped from him in the following extraordinary manner. I believe he was not disgraced by having his person fettered, or divested of its treasures; but he was permitted to be at large in his tent. His seemingly placid and penitential manner lulled his captors into the belief that he bitterly lamented his former treachery; but, had their vigilance been ever so exemplary, his escape would have been accomplished, for a conspiracy was formed--no doubt with a view to gain--by some sepoys of his guard, and of those forming his escort, to facilitate his escape under cover of the night. The conspirators so managed, as to get on sentry at the same time, or relieve each other; but the officer on the night-duty had positive orders to see the rajah, and did see him, every relief, which I believed was hourly. He had, in the course of the day, feigned ill, and wrapped himself up in his bed-covering; and the officer was naturally satisfied on seeing him, as he supposed, as usual, enveloped in his bed-clothes; but the cunning rajah, instead of being penitent for his crimes, had, under the garb of sickness, actually planned and made his escape: and several of our native soldiers (the conspirators) had flown with him. Some time after he was gone, they discovered that the object whom the officer of the night supposed to be the sick rajah wrapped up in his bed-clothes, was nothing more than a large pillow. When the last officer went his rounds, he was satisfied, from appearances, that his charge was secure. This hint ought to be a warning to young soldiers, not to trust to others what they ought to do themselves. The neglect of the inferior officer fell upon the commanding officer in charge, and he was brought to general court martial, but acquitted, on the ground of the conspiracy of his detachment. There could have been no necessity for such a trial, had the visiting officer detected the escape at the prescribed time of his visiting, and not been satisfied with the appearance instead of the reality. What could be expected from such a character--from one who had planned the destruction of those very people who so basely aided and abetted his escape? Of the sepoys who thus broke their allegiance to the government, all who were taken suffered the heavy penalty of their crime--death. This should ever be the result of conspiracy. There can be no question that the rajah had bribed them with some valuable jewels at the time, or held out to these infatuated and mercenary traitors golden promises of future aggrandizement. His escape was in the very heart of his own country; but who would admit a traitor? He could not procure an asylum, even in the midst of his own territory. He was hunted from fort to fort, and literally from door to door, execrated and despised; and he was, at last, found dead somewhere in Scindia"s country--the just reward of his unprovoked, treasonable, and treacherous conduct. He justly forfeited his throne, and merited his fall.
We took up our quarters for the night in a small tope of trees, near the Home Doongra, the eminence which I have before spoken of. The night being sultry and hot, I slept on the outside of my tent. Close to my feet ran a little rippling stream, the banks of which were thick and bushy. I had not reclined long on my couch, before I heard a rustling noise among the bushes, and the cries of so many animals, that I began to think I was in rather a dangerous neighbourhood, and got my pistols ready, in case a tiger or other beast of prey should have taken a fancy to the body of the baggage-master, in preference to that of some more comely person. I listened attentively for a considerable time, when I heard imitations of the sounds of birds. I then knew I was in the vicinity of thieves, and kept my pistol on the c.o.c.k. At last, I distinctly heard a low voice say, "He wakes--squat down." I instantly jumped off my cot, and ran towards the place; but they were off, and, from the darkness of the night, I could not see them, or they were so close it was quite impossible they could have escaped. From the noise they made in scampering off, there must have been some five or six of them. I should have changed my quarters after this, but the moon at this time stole from behind a cloud, and illumined all around, and I slept peaceably till the morning dawned. We then commenced our reconnoitring, during which we were frequently saluted with a sixty-four pounder, but escaped unhurt.
The remainder of the division arrived this morning, and in the course of the day we completely invested the town and fort. We took up our position on the east side of the fort, having the river Nerbuddah, with a large village and tope of trees, in our front, which completely screened us from view. The information brought into camp by the spy spoken of, with his plans and drawings of the fort, were found, on a minute examination, to be utterly false. It turned out that he had never been near the fort, but loitered about in the woods and villages in its vicinity, and there gained the information from which he drew his plans.
The integrity and faith of this native had been such, that his master would have trusted his life on his veracity. For the long period of more than twenty years had this spy borne the toils and risks of his perilous occupation, without once having been detected in a falsehood; but his grey hairs were now, at a late period of his life, disgraced. For his long services, however, he was pensioned off, and placed in a solitary hut in his old age, to repent of this one act of deception. He confessed that his old tottering frame had refused to bear him as heretofore, and that fear had caused him to commit this his first transgression.
We had gained unquestionable information that a large body of our old friends, the Pindarees, had found an asylum in this fort, to the number of five hundred men, to a.s.sist in its defence. The place was so closely invested by us, that a man could not possibly escape; and we, one and all, were determined to chastise the garrison for their base treachery, and the Pindarees for their impudence. Although this town and fort occupied more than three miles in circ.u.mference, yet, at night, such was our care of their precious inmates, we formed a complete and close chain of sentinels around the whole of the s.p.a.ce; and every quarter of a mile we had posted strong mounted and dismounted piquets, whose horses were constantly on the bit. The primary object of our brave general was to avoid any unnecessary effusion of blood; and, consequently, mercy was tendered to the occupants of the fort, provided they would give it up.
Every base stratagem was resorted to, as usual, to gain time to reinforce and strengthen the fort, under the plea of taking time to think of the proffered terms of reconciliation. All this while we could see every hand employed in building new fortifications, under the delusion that our guns were only intended to intimidate them into compliance. They were confirmed in this opinion, not only by the predictions of their priests, but from the supposed impossibility of getting any guns of a large size over the gigantic mountains we had traversed; and, indeed, to view the lofty mountains, to use the words of the natives, "It was difficult for the sharp-eyed hawk to find his way over such precipices, for they were as stupendous as the midnight moon, or the morning light peeping from the newly-lighted chambers of the East." This delusion lulled them into fancied security, and their hardened hearts became steeled to the advice of reason, and our offers of compa.s.sion in favour of their mothers, wives, and babes. We soon convinced them that our guns were not so much to be despised as they imagined; but, before we opened our batteries on them, one effort more was made by us to prevent the destruction of life, by another offer of mercy, accompanied by the most earnest entreaties that, if their own hearts still continued hardened and obdurate, and they were resolved to resist the dictates of reason, they would, at least, not imbrue their hands in the blood of their families. These messages of mercy were treated with contempt, and spurned with indignation. Every effort that the feeling mind could suggest, or humanity dictate, was resorted to, to induce these deluded people to listen to our proposals; and every kind of forbearance was shown to them, up to the last moment. On the following morning our guns opened, which drove their priests early to the temple, to solicit protection and aid from the dumb objects of their idolatrous worship. The warrior was now seen putting on his coat of mail; all was bustle, consternation, and confusion. When our cannonading commenced, the birds, scared, soon got on the rapid wing, and sought shelter in the distant woods, and the deer fled with the quickness of lightning across the plain, bending their way towards the dreary forest.
The enemy returned our fire, and hoisted their colours as a proof of earnest and total defiance of our power. We had not as yet completed our sh.e.l.ling-batteries, and therefore, before these magazines of death were finished, we once more called upon the inmates of the fort to send their families out, with an a.s.surance that we would guarantee their protection and safety; that they should have a safeguard to whatever part of the country they wished to proceed; and that they should not be deprived of any of their private property. We could not make up our minds to fight against women and children. Our humane general begged most earnestly, that this, his last entreaty, might be attended to, as he should, on their refusal, commence his sh.e.l.ling, which would bereave them of many of those dear objects whom he now, for the last time, gave them an opportunity to save. A certain time was given for an answer. They knew that the guarantee proffered for the safety of their families was inviolable. On this point they were fully satisfied, and our continued solicitations at length melted their hearts. They consented; and the following morning, at ten o"clock, was fixed for their coming out. At this prospect we all felt much delighted, for it deadens the heart of a brave man to hear the cries and wailings of inoffensive women and innocent children. Every bosom panted at the happy event, as some great calamity removed from our own hearts.
In the morning, the sun rose in all his majesty, and his bright beams seemed to shine with approbation on our act of mercy. We had selected a large mango tope as the place of rendezvous. The appointed hour arrived, and we were delighted to see an immense number of people issuing from the fort, and bending their slow and gloomy steps towards the tope. It seemed like some funeral procession following some dear relative to the tomb. Some wept aloud and some in silence; some pressed their little offspring to their anguished bosoms; and others cast a lingering eye on the distant tower, where stood the objects of their love. Yet there seemed a confidence of safety beaming from every eye. A few men accompanied them, but without arms; and the bastion and walls were lined with soldiers, to witness the scene. There came grey-headed mothers, young wives, and numbers of children, from ten and twelve years old, to the fondling at the mother"s breast. What a group of mortal creatures rescued from the tomb of destruction! The total number was about one thousand. Some of the women were truly beautiful, and very elegantly attired. Having made known their places of abode, they were dispatched under a safeguard. The procession moved slowly on. At about four hundred yards from the fort, the eyes of most of the party were turned towards the objects of their love, whom they were about to leave in danger; and many did bid farewell, and for the last time--for many of their husbands fell victims to their infatuated and blindfold zeal. When they had proceeded about a mile from the fort, we gave the enemy three cheers, testifying that we had strictly fulfilled the duties of the trust confided to us. The garrison returned our cheers; and, having now performed the duties of humanity, our next duty was due to our country.
In mercy to their families we did not commence sh.e.l.ling till the doleful sounds could not reach their ears. We opened them about noon, and our first sh.e.l.l fell about midway, which created a shout on the part of the enemy; but the next started them from their hiding-places, and they could be seen running in all directions.
Having thrown about a dozen, the rajah mounted the shawbroodge (king"s bastion) attended in state, to see the fun. We could recognise him by his glittering chattah (state umbrella). In the bastion I suppose there could not be less than twenty or thirty persons, nor could the distance be less than a mile and a half. The captain of the artillery, determined to regain his credit for his first bad shot, laid on a special one for the bastion, and, wonderful to say, it lodged on its very top. In an instant, even before the smoke cleared, the state chattah and every soul disappeared, and the shouting in our batteries was terrific. Not a word was returned from the fort; all seemed gloom and despair; and self-preservation seemed to be thought of most by them, from the general movement of the garrison. When the effect of the sh.e.l.l was seen, an Irish sergeant of the artillery bellowed out, "By my conscience, captain, but that was after picking some of their teeth for them, for I saw one of the spalpeens scratching his head," The captain replied, "You must have capital eyes, sergeant, to see a man scratch his head at this distance."
"By the powers, your honour, I did see it, because I happened to be looking at the very time, or I should not perhaps have seen him."
"Well, sergeant, I have no reason to doubt your word; will you try a sh.e.l.l?"
"I should have no objection, but I have no chance of driving them away, because they are all gone; but I should like to try one, and see if I could hit something."
He fired, and immediately cried out, "By St. Patrick, but that"s amongst them, if they should happen to be there." This blunder caused a general laugh at poor Paddy"s expense, who seemed a little nettled, and peevishly replied, "Fait! you may laugh, but that"s more than those will who were kilt by that sh.e.l.l just now."
We could distinctly hear the moanings of the wounded; and sad must have been the fate of those poor fellows whose gaping wounds were left bleeding, the shattered bones protruding through the lacerated flesh.
The very idea makes the sympathetic mind shudder; but the hearts of these unfortunate creatures were as impenetrable as the stubborn rock on which their fort was erected. Yet, this very fact serves but to increase our sorrow for their benighted souls, influenced and guided by some hypocritical priest or mendicant impostor, who leads them blindfold to destruction.
The firing from the fort was good and steady, and some of their long shots would have been no disgrace to a European gunner. I was, during this siege, as before, baggage-master and acting aid-de-camp to Brigadier-General Watson, C.B., who invested this fort in person, and saw hourly the operations carried on under his own eye, being constantly riding round the chain of posts, or in the breaching and other batteries, always seeing things done, and strictly watching the progress of the siege.