This little incident was never forgotten in the regiment so long as Hera Lall remained the commissariat _gomashta_ of the Ninety-Third. He was then a young man, certainly not more than twenty. Although thirty-five more years of rough-and-tumble life have now considerably grizzled his appearance, he must often look back with pride to that stormy April evening in 1858, when he risked his life in the Ramgunga to carry a tin-pot of tea to the British soldiers.
Among the enemy killed that day were several wearing the uniforms stripped from the dead of the Forty-Second in the ditch of Rooyah; so, of course, we concluded that this was Nirput Singh"s force, and the defeat and capture of its guns in some measure, I have no doubt, re-established General Walpole in the good opinion of the authorities, but not much in that of the force under his command.
Nothing else of consequence occurred till about the 27th of April, when our force rejoined the Commander-in-Chief"s column, which had advanced _via_ Futtehghur, and we heard that Sir William Peel had died of smallpox at Cawnpore on his way to Calcutta. The news went through the camp from regiment to regiment, and caused almost as much sorrow in the Ninety-Third as the death of poor Adrian Hope.
FOOTNOTES:
[43] See Appendix B.
[44] Native a.s.sistant in charge of stores.
[45] A wrapper worn by Bengalee men and up-country women.
CHAPTER XV
BATTLE OF BAREILLY--GHaZIS--A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT--HALT AT BAREILLY --ACTIONS OF POSGAON, RUSSOOLPORE, AND NOWRUNGABAD--REST AT LAST!
The heat was now very oppressive, and we had many men struck down by the sun every day. We reached Shahjehanpore on the 30th of April, and found that every building in the cantonments fit for sheltering European troops had been destroyed by order of the Nana Sahib, who, however, did not himself wait for our arrival. Strange to say, the bridge of boats across the Ramgunga was not destroyed, and some of the buildings in the jail, and the wall round it, were still standing. Colonel Hale and a wing of the Eighty-Second were left here with some guns, to make the best of their position in the jail, which partly dominated the city. The Shahjehanpore distillery was mostly destroyed, but the native distillers had been working it, and there was a large quant.i.ty of rum still in the vats, which was found to be good and was consequently annexed by the commissariat.
On the 2nd of May we left Shahjehanpore _en route_ for Bareilly, and on the next day reached Futtehgunge Every village was totally deserted, but no plundering was allowed, and any camp-followers found marauding were soon tied up by the provost-marshal"s staff. Proclamations were sent everywhere for the people to remain in their villages, but without any effect. Two days later we reached Furreedpore, which we also found deserted, but with evident signs that the enemy were near; and our bazaars were full of reports of the great strength of the army of Khan Bahadoor Khan and Feroze Shah. The usual estimate was thirty thousand infantry, twenty-five thousand cavalry, and about three hundred guns, among which was said to be a famous black battery that had beaten the European artillery at ball-practice a few months before they mutinied at Meerut. The left wing of the Ninety-Third was thrown out, with a squadron of the Lancers and Tombs" battery, as the advance piquet. As darkness set in we could see the fires of the enemy"s outposts, their patrol advancing quite close to our sentries during the night, but making no attack.
About 2 A.M. on the 5th of May, according to Sir Colin"s usual plan, three days" rations were served out, and the whole force was under arms and slowly advancing before daylight. By sunrise we could see the enemy drawn up on the plain some five miles from Bareilly, in front of what had been the native lines; but as we advanced, they retired. By noon we had crossed the nullah in front of the old cantonments, and, except by sending round-shot among us at long distances, which did not do much harm, the enemy did not dispute our advance. We were halted in the middle of a bare, sandy plain, and we of the rank and file then got to understand why the enemy were apparently in some confusion; we could hear the guns of Brigadier Jones ("Jones the Avenger" as he was called) hammering at them on the other side. The Ninety-Third formed the extreme right of the front line of infantry with a squadron of the Lancers and Tombs" battery of horse-artillery. The heat was intense, and when about two o"clock a movement in the mango _topes_ in our front caused the order to stand to our arms, it attained such a pitch that the barrels of our rifles could not be touched by our bare hands!
The Sikhs and our light company advanced in skirmishing order, when some seven to eight hundred matchlock-men opened fire on them, and all at once a most furious charge was made by a body of about three hundred and sixty Rohilla Ghazis, who rushed out, shouting "_Bismillah! Allah!
Allah! Deen! Deen!_" Sir Colin was close by, and called out, "Ghazis, Ghazis! Close up the ranks! Bayonet them as they come on." However, they inclined to our left, and only a few came on to the Ninety-Third, and these were mostly bayoneted by the light company which was extended in front of the line. The main body rushed on the centre of the Forty-Second; but as soon as he saw them change their direction Sir Colin galloped on, shouting out, "Close up, Forty-Second! Bayonet them as they come on!" But that was not so easily done; the Ghazis charged in blind fury, with their round shields on their left arms, their bodies bent low, waving their _tulwars_ over their heads, throwing themselves under the bayonets, and cutting at the men"s legs. Colonel Cameron, of the Forty-Second, was pulled from his horse by a Ghazi, who leaped up and seized him by the collar while he was engaged with another on the opposite side; but his life was saved by Colour-Sergeant Gardener, who seized one of the enemy"s _tulwars_, and rushing to the colonel"s a.s.sistance cut off the Ghazi"s head. General Walpole was also pulled off his horse and received two sword-cuts, but was rescued by the bayonets of the Forty-Second. The struggle was short, but every one of the Ghazis was killed. None attempted to escape; they had evidently come on to kill or be killed, and a hundred and thirty-three lay in one circle right in front of the colours of the Forty-Second.
The Commander-in-Chief himself saw one of the Ghazis, who had broken through the line, lying down, shamming dead. Sir Colin caught the glance of his eye, saw through the ruse, and called to one of the Forty-Second, "Bayonet that man!" But the Ghazi was enveloped in a thick quilted tunic of green silk, through which the blunt Enfield bayonet would not pa.s.s, and the Highlander was in danger of being cut down, when a Sikh _sirdar_[46] of the Fourth Punjabis rushed to his a.s.sistance, and took the Ghazi"s head clean off with one sweep of his keen _tulwar_. These Ghazis, with a very few exceptions, were gray-bearded men of the Rohilla race, clad in green, with green turbans and _k.u.mmerbunds_,[47] round shields on the left arm, and curved _tulwars_ that would split a hair.
They only succeeded in wounding about twenty men--they threw themselves so wildly on the bayonets of the Forty-Second! One of them, an exception to the majority, was quite a youth, and having got separated from the rest challenged the whole of the line to come out and fight him. He then rushed at Mr. Joiner, the quartermaster of the Ninety-Third, firing his carbine, but missing. Mr. Joiner returned the fire with his revolver, and the Ghazi then threw away his carbine and rushed at Joiner with his _tulwar_. Some of the light company tried to take the youngster prisoner, but it was no use; he cut at every one so madly, that they had to bayonet him.
The commotion caused by this attack was barely over, when word was pa.s.sed that the enemy were concentrating in front for another rush, and the order was given for the spare ammunition to be brought to the front.
I was detached with about a dozen men of No. 7 company to find the ammunition-guard, and bring our ammunition in rear of the line. Just as I reached the ammunition-camels, a large force of the rebel cavalry, led by Feroze Shah in person, swept round the flank and among the baggage, cutting down camels, camel-drivers, and camp-followers in all directions. My detachment united with the ammunition-guard and defended ourselves, shooting down a number of the enemy"s _sowars_. I remember the Rev. Mr. Ross, chaplain of the Forty-Second, running for his life, dodging round camels and bullocks with a rebel _sowar_ after him, till, seeing our detachment, he rushed to us for protection, calling out, "Ninety-Third, shoot that impertinent fellow!" Bob Johnston, of my company, shot the _sowar_ down. Mr. Ross had no sword nor revolver, and not even a stick with which to defend himself. Moral--When in the field, _padres_, carry a good revolver! About the same time as Mr. Ross gained our protection, we saw Mr. Russell, of _The Times_, who was ill and unable to walk from the kick of a horse, trying to escape on horseback.
He had got out of his _dooly_, undressed and bareheaded as he was, and leaped into the saddle, as the _syce_ had been leading his horse near him. Several of the enemy"s _sowars_ were dodging through the camels to get at him. We turned our rifles on them, and I shot down the one nearest to Mr. Russell, just as he had cut down an intervening camel-driver and was making for "Our Special"; in fact, his _tulwar_ was actually lifted to swoop down on Mr. Russell"s bare head when my bullet put a stop to his proceedings. I saw Mr. Russell tumble from his saddle at the same instant as the _sowar_ fell, and I got a rare fright, for I thought my bullet must have struck both. However, I rushed to where Mr.
Russell had fallen, and I then saw from the position of the slain _sowar_ that my bullet had found its proper billet, and that Mr. Russell was down with sunstroke, the blood flowing freely from his nose. There was no time to lose. Our Mooltanee Irregulars were after the enemy, and I had to hasten to the line with the spare ammunition; but before I left Mr. Russell to his fate, I called some of the Forty-Second baggage-guards to put him into his _dooly_ and take him to their doctor, while I hastened back to the line and reported the occurrence to Captain Dawson. Next morning I was glad to hear that Mr. Russell was still alive, and likely to get over his stroke.
After this charge of the rebel cavalry we were advanced; but the thunder of Jones" attack on the other side of the city evidently disconcerted the enemy, and they made off to the right of our line, while large numbers of Ghazis concentrated themselves in the main buildings of the city. We suffered more from the sun than from the enemy; and after we advanced into the shelter of a large mango _tope_ we were nearly eaten alive by swarms of small green insects, which invaded our bare legs in thousands, till we were glad to leave the shelter of the mango trees and take to the open plain again. As night drew on the cantonments were secured, the baggage was collected, and we bivouacked on the plain, strong piquets being thrown out. My company was posted in a small field of onions near a _pucca_[48] well with a Persian wheel for lifting the water. We supped off the biscuits in our haversacks, raw onions, and the cool water drawn from well, and then went off to sleep. I wish I might always sleep as soundly as I did that night after my supper of raw onions and dry biscuits!
On the 6th of May the troops were under arms, and advanced on the city of Bareilly. But little opposition was offered, except from one large house on the outskirts of the town, in which a body of about fifty Rohilla Ghazis had barricaded themselves, and a company (I think it was No. 6 of the Ninety-Third) was sent to storm the house, after several sh.e.l.ls had been pitched into it. This was done without much loss, except that of one man; I now forget his name, but think it was William MacDonald. He rushed into a room full of Ghazis, who, before his comrades could get to his a.s.sistance, had cut him into sixteen pieces with their sharp _tulwars_! As the natives said, he was cut into annas.[49] But the house was taken, and the whole of the Ghazis slain, with only the loss of this one man killed and about half a dozen wounded.
While this house was being stormed the townspeople sent a deputation of submission to the Commander-in-Chief, and by ten o"clock we had pitched our camp near the ruins of the church which had been destroyed twelve months before. Khan Bahadoor Khan and the Nana Sahib were reported to have fled in the direction of the Nepal Terai, while Feroze Shah, with a force of cavalry and guns, had gone back to attack Shahjehanpore.
About mid-day on the 6th a frightful accident happened, by which a large number of camp-followers and cattle belonging to the ordnance-park were killed. Whether for concealment or by design (it was never known which) the enemy had left a very large quant.i.ty of gunpowder and loaded sh.e.l.ls in a dry well under a huge tree in the centre of the old cantonment. The well had been filled to the very mouth with powder and sh.e.l.ls, and then covered with a thin layer of dry sand. A large number of ordnance _khalasies_,[50] bullock-drivers, and _dooly_-bearers had congregated under the tree to cook their mid-day meal, lighting their fires right on the top of this powder-magazine, when it suddenly exploded with a most terrific report, shaking the ground for miles, making the tent-pegs fly out of the hard earth, and throwing down tents more than a mile from the spot. I was lying down in a tent at the time, and the concussion was so great that I felt as if lifted clear off the ground. The tent-pegs flew out all round, and down came the tents, before the men, many of whom were asleep, had time to get clear of the canvas. By the time we got our arms free of the tents, bugles were sounding the a.s.sembly in all directions, and staff-officers galloping over the plain to ascertain what had happened. The spot where the accident had occurred was easily found. The powder having been in a deep well, it acted like a huge mortar, fired perpendicularly; an immense cloud of black smoke was sent up in a vertical column at least a thousand yards high, and thousands of sh.e.l.ls were bursting in it, the fragments flying all round in a circle of several hundred yards. As the place was not far from the ammunition-park, the first idea was that the enemy had succeeded in blowing up the ammunition; but those who had ever witnessed a similar accident could see that, whatever had happened, the concussion was too great to be caused by only one or two waggon-loads of powder. From the appearance of the column of smoke and the sh.e.l.ls bursting in it, as if shot out of a huge mortar, it was evident that the accident was confined to one small spot, and the belief became general that the enemy had exploded an enormous mine. But after some time the truth became known, the troops were dispersed, and the tents repitched. This explosion was followed in the afternoon by a most terrific thunderstorm and heavy rain, which nearly washed away the camp. The storm came on as the non-commissioned officers of the Ninety-Third and No. 2 company were falling in to bury Colour-Sergeant Mackie, who had been knocked down by the sun the day before and had died that forenoon. Just when we were lowering the body into the grave, there was a crash of thunder almost as loud as the explosion of the powder-mine. The ground becoming soaked with rain, the tent-pegs drew and many tents were again thrown down by the force of the hurricane; and as everything we had became soaked, we pa.s.sed a most uncomfortable night.
On the morning of the 7th of May we heard that Colonel Hale and the wing of the Eighty-Second left in the jail at Shahjehanpore had been attacked by Feroze Shah and the Nana Sahib, and were sore pushed to defend themselves. A brigade, consisting of the Sixtieth Rifles, Seventy-Ninth Highlanders, several native regiments, the Ninth Lancers, and some batteries of artillery, under Brigadier John Jones ("the Avenger") was at once started back for the relief of Shahjehanpore--rather a gloomy outlook for the hot weather of 1858! While this brigade was starting, the remainder of the force which was to hold Bareilly for the hot season, consisting of the Forty-Second, Seventy-Eighth, and Ninety-Third, shifted camp to the sandy plain near where Bareilly railway station now stands, hard by the little fort in the centre of the plain. There we remained in tents during the whole of May, large working parties being formed every morning to a.s.sist the engineers to get what shelter was possible ready for the hottest months. The district jail was arranged as barracks for the Ninety-Third, and we moved into them on the 1st of June. The Forty-Second got the old _cutchery_[51] buildings with a new thatch roof; and the Seventy-Eighth had the Bareilly College.
There we remained till October, 1858.
I omitted to mention in its proper place that on the death of Adrian Hope, Colonel A. S. Leith-Hay, of the Ninety-Third, succeeded to the command of the brigade, and Major W. G. A. Middleton got command of the regiment till we rejoined the Commander-in-Chief, when it was found that Lieutenant-Colonel Ross, who had exchanged with Lieutenant-Colonel C.
Gordon, had arrived from England and taken command before we retook Bareilly.
We remained in Bareilly from May till October in comparative peace. We had one or two false alarms, and a wing of the Forty-Second, with some cavalry and artillery, went out about the beginning of June to disperse a body of rebels who were threatening an attack on Moradabad.
These reminiscences do not, as I have before remarked, profess to be a history of the Mutiny except in so far as I saw it from the ranks of the Ninety-Third. But I may correct historical mistakes when I find them, and in vol. ii., p. 500, of _The Indian Empire_, by R. Montgomery Martin, the following statement occurs: "Khan Bahadoor Khan, of Bareilly, held out in the Terai until the close of 1859; and then, hemmed in by the Goorkhas on one side and the British forces on the other, was captured by Jung Bahadoor. The Khan is described as an old man, with a long white beard, bent almost double with rheumatic fever.
His life is considered forfeited by his alleged complicity in the Bareilly murders, but his sentence is not yet p.r.o.nounced." This is not historically correct. Khan Bahadoor Khan was captured by the Bareilly police-levy early in July, 1858, and was hanged in my presence in front of the _kotwalee_ in Bareilly a few days after his capture. He was an old man with a long white beard, but not at all bent with age, and there was certainly no want of proof of his complicity in the Bareilly murders. Next to the Nana Sahib he was one of the most active instigators of murder in the rebel ranks. He was a retired judge of the Company"s service, claiming descent from the ancient rulers of Rohilcund, whom the English, in the time of Warren Hastings, had a.s.sisted the Nawab of Lucknow to put down in the Rohilla war. His capture was effected in the following manner:--Colonel W. C. M"Donald, of the Ninety-Third, was on the staff in the Crimea, and he had in his employ a man named Tahir Beg who was a sort of confidential interpreter.
Whether this man was Turkish, Armenian, or Bulgarian I don"t know, but this much I do know; among Mahommedans Tahir Beg was a strict Mussulman, among Bulgarians he was a Roman Catholic, and in the Ninety-Third he had no objections to be a Presbyterian. He was a good linguist, speaking English, French, and Turkish, as well as most of the vernaculars of Asia Minor; and when the Crimean war was over, he accompanied Major M"Donald to England in the capacity of an ordinary servant. In 1857, when the expedition under Lord Elgin was being got ready for China, Colonel M"Donald was appointed quarter-master-general, and started for Canton taking Tahir Beg with him as a servant; but, the expedition to China having been diverted for the suppression of the Mutiny, M"Donald rejoined the regiment with Tahir Beg still with him in the same capacity. From his knowledge of Turkish and Persian Tahir Beg soon made himself master of Hindoostanee, and he lived in the regimental bazaar with the Mahommedan shopkeepers, among whom he professed himself a strict follower of the Prophet. After he became pretty well conversant with the language, it was reported that he gained much valuable information for the authorities. When Bareilly was recaptured arrangements were made for the enlistment of a police-levy, and Tahir Beg got the appointment of city _kotwal_[52] and did valuable service by hunting out a great number of leading rebels. It was Tahir Beg who heard that Khan Bahadoor Khan had returned to the vicinity of Bareilly with only a small body of followers; and he arranged for his capture, and brought him in a prisoner to the guard-room of the Ninety-Third. Khan Bahadoor Khan was put through a brief form of trial by the civil power, and was found guilty of rebellion and murder upon both native and European evidence. By that time several Europeans who had managed to escape to Naini Tal on the outbreak of the Mutiny through the favour of the late Raja of Rampore, had returned; so there was no doubt of the prisoner"s guilt.
I must mention another incident that happened in Bareilly. Among the gentlemen who returned from Naini Tal, was one whose brother had been shot by his bearer, his most trusted servant. This ruffian turned out to be no other than the very man who had denounced Jamie Green as a spy. It was either early in August or at the end of July that a strange European gentleman, while pa.s.sing through the regimental bazaar of the Ninety-Third, noticed an officer"s servant, who was a most devout Christian, could speak English, and was a regular attendant at all soldiers" evening services with the regimental chaplain. The gentleman (I now forget his name) laid hold of our devout Christian brother in the bazaar, and made him over to the nearest European guard, when he was tried and found guilty of the murder of a whole family of Europeans--husband, wife, and children--in May, 1857. There was no want of evidence, both European and native, against him. Thus was the death of the unfortunate Jamie Green avenged. I may add a rather amusing incident about this man. His master evidently believed that this was a case of mistaken ident.i.ty, and went to see the brigadier, Colonel A. S.
Leith-Hay, on behalf of his servant. But it turned out that the man had joined the British camp at Futtehghur in the preceding January, and Colonel Leith-Hay was the first with whom he had taken service and consequently knew the fellow. However, the brigadier listened to what the accused"s master had to urge until he mentioned that the man was a most devout Christian, and read the Bible morning and evening. On this Colonel Leith-Hay could listen to the argument no longer, but shouted out:--"He a Christian! that be d--d for a statement! He"s no more a Christian than I am! He served me for one month, and robbed me of more than ten times his pay. Let him be hanged." So he was made over to the civil commissioner, tried, found guilty, and hanged.
We rested in Bareilly till October. About the end of September the weather was comparatively cool. Many people had returned from Naini Tal to look after their wrecked property. General Colin Troup with the Sixty-Sixth Regiment of Goorkhas had come down from k.u.maon, and soldiers" sports were got up for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the troops and visitors. Among the latter was the loyal Raja of Rampore, who presented a thousand rupees for prizes for the games and five thousand for a dinner to all the troops in the garrison. At these games the Ninety-Third carried off all the first prizes for putting the shot, throwing the hammer, and tossing the caber. Our best athlete was a man named George Bell, of the grenadier company, the most powerful man in the British army. Before the regiment left England Bell had beaten all comers at all the athletic games throughout Scotland. He stood about six feet four inches, and was built in proportion, most remarkably active for his size both in running and leaping, and also renowned for feats of strength. There was a young lad of the band named Murdoch MacKay, the smallest boy in the regiment, but a splendid dancer; and the two, "the giant and the pigmy," as they were called, attended all the athletic games throughout Scotland from Edinburgh to Inverness, always returning covered with medals. I mention all this because the Bareilly sports proved the last to poor George Bell. An enormous caber having been cut, and all the leading men (among them some very powerful artillerymen) of the brigade had tried to toss it and failed. The brigadier then ordered three feet to be cut from it, expressing his opinion that there was not a man in the British army who could toss it. On this George Bell stepped into the arena, and said he would take a turn at it before it was cut; he put the huge caber on his shoulders, balanced it, and tossed it clean over. While the caber was being cut for the others, Bell ran in a hundred yards" race, which he also won; but he came in with his mouth full of blood. He had, through over-exertion, burst a blood-vessel in his lungs. He slowly bled to death and died about a fortnight after we left Bareilly, and lies buried under a large tree in the jungles of Oude between Fort Mithowlie and the banks of the Gogra. Bell was considered an ornament to, and the pride of, the regiment, and his death was mourned by every officer and man in it, and by none more than by our popular doctor, Billy Munro, who did everything that a physician could do to try and stop the bleeding; but without success. Bell gradually sank till he died.
We left Bareilly on the 10th of October, and marched to Shahjehanpore, where we were joined by a battalion of the Sixtieth Rifles, the Sixty-Sixth Goorkhas, some of the Sixth Carabineers, Tomb"s troop of horse-artillery, and a small train of heavy guns and mortars. On the 17th of October we had our first brush with the enemy at the village of Posgaon, about twenty miles from Shahjehanpore. Here they were strong in cavalry, and tried the Bareilly game of getting round the flanks and cutting up our camp-followers. But a number of them got hemmed in between the ammunition-guard and the main line, and Cureton"s Mooltanee cavalry, coming round on them from both flanks, cut down about fifty of them, capturing their horses. In the midst of this scrimmage two of the enemy, getting among the baggage-guard, were taken for two of our native cavalry, till at length they separated from the main body and got alongside of a man who was some distance away. One of them called to the poor fellow to look in another direction, when the second one cut his head clean off, leaped from his horse, and, lifting the head, sprang into his saddle and was off like the wind! Many rifle-bullets were sent after him, but he got clear away, carrying the head with him.
The next encounter we had was at Russoolpore, and then at Nowrungabad, where the Queen"s proclamation, transferring the government from the Company to the Crown, was read. After this all our tents were sent into Mahomdee, and we took to the jungles without tents or baggage, merely a greatcoat and a blanket; and thus we remained till after the taking of Mithowlie. We then returned to Sitapore, where we got our tents again the day before Christmas, 1858; and by the new year we were on the banks of the Gogra, miles from any village. The river swarmed with alligators of enormous size, and the jungles with wild pig and every variety of game, and scarcely a day pa.s.sed without our seeing tigers, wolves, and hyaenas. But by this time fighting was over. We remained in those jungles across the Gogra, in sight of the Nepaul hills, till about the end of February, by which time thousands of the rebels had tendered their submission and returned to their homes. The Ninety-Third then got the route for Subathoo, in the Himalayas near Simla. Leaving the jungles of Oude, we marched _via_ Shahjehanpore, Bareilly, Moradabad, and thence by the foot of the hills till we came into civilised regions at Saharunpore; thence to Umballa, reaching Subathoo about the middle of April with our clothes completely in rags. We had received no new clothing since we had arrived in India, and our kilts were torn into ribbons. But the men were in splendid condition, and could have marched thirty miles a day without feeling fatigued, if our baggage-animals could have kept up with us. On our march out from Kalka, the Commander-in-Chief pa.s.sed us on his way to Simla.
This ended the work of the old Ninety-Third Sutherland Highlanders in the Mutiny, and here, for the present, I will end my reminiscences.
FOOTNOTES:
[46] Native officer.
[47] Sashes.
[48] In this instance this word of many meanings implies "masonry."
[49] Is it necessary to explain that sixteen annas go to the rupee?
[50] Tent-pitchers.
[51] Court-house.
[52] Magistrate.
APPENDIX A
THE HISTORY OF THE MURDER OF MAJOR NEILL AT AUGUR IN 1887
I will relate an incident of an unusual kind, told to me by a man whom I met in Jhansi, which has reference to the executions ordered by General Neill at Cawnpore in July and August, 1857. But before I do so I may mention that in Cawnpore, Jhansi, and Lucknow I found the natives very unwilling to enter into conversation or to give any information about the events of that year. In this statement I don"t include the natives of the cla.s.s who acted as guides, etc., or those who were in the service of Government at the time. _They_ were ready enough to talk; but as a rule I knew as much myself as they could tell me. Those whom I found suspicious of my motives and unwilling to talk, were men who must have been on the side of the rebels against us. I looked out for such, and met many who had evidently served as soldiers, and who admitted that they had been in the army before 1857; but when I tried to get them to speak about the Mutiny, as a rule they pretended to have been so young that they had forgotten all about it,--generally a palpable falsehood, judging from their personal appearance,--or they professed to have been absent in their villages and to know nothing about the events happening in the great centres of the rebellion. The impression left on my mind was that they were either afraid or ashamed to talk about the Mutiny.
In the second chapter of these reminiscences it may be remembered I asked if any reader could let me know whether Major A. H. S. Neill, commanding the Second Regiment Central India Horse, who was shot on parade by Sowar Mazar Ali at Augur, Central India, on the 14th March, 1887, was a son of General Neill of Cawnpore fame. The information has not been forthcoming[53]; and for want of it I cannot corroborate the following statement in a very strange story.
In 1892 I pa.s.sed two days at Jhansi, having been obliged to wait because the gentleman whom I had gone to see on business was absent from the station; and I went all over the city to try and pick up information regarding the Mutiny. I eventually came across a man who, by his military salute, I could see had served in the army, and I entered into conversation with him.