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