TRAVELLING ON THE GANGES.From a Drawing byW. 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 passed 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 shines 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 Hattrass 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 Hattrass. The rajah, awarethat he had fallen under the displeasure of the government, had the precaution to send his principal treasures away, as also the greater part of his family. This treasure passed through the city of Agra, the rajah having solicited the civil authorities to permit the female part of his family to pass 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, passed through Agra, to a place of safety.
The station now began to be gay, and nothing but parties, dinners, balls, 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 noble 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 lordship 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 noble marquis was as hospitable as majestic: dinners and drawing-rooms were now all the go at Cawnpore, and quite astonished the natives. His lordship'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 passed the time till the August following, when his lordship's grand scheme for the annihilation of the Pindarees waspublished, 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 passed 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 lordship seemed highly amused with these performances, and was pleased to pass some eulogiums on my Lord Duberley. When the play had concluded, a gentleman came into the dressing-room, and addressed me thus: "Shipp, if you act your part as baggage-master, as you have that of Lord Duberley, you will do well."
"Baggage-master!" I replied, "I don't understand you."—"Why," said he, "you are appointed baggage-master to the left division of the grand army."
"My dear Sir," said I, "you must be mistaken; for I have not heard a syllable of the matter." He replied, "You may depend upon it as a fact; and, to be candid with you, I went to Lord Hastings and asked him for the appointment, when he himself told me you were already appointed, at the especial request and wish of Major-General Marshall, in consideration of your conduct at Hattrass, and of your being the only officer wounded during that siege."
Had I known this good news before, I would have thrown all the life and soul of a baggage-master into the character of Lord Duberley. As it was, no intelligence could be more welcome to me. On the following morning I wrote to the brigade-major to know if the information was true. He replied by note that it was, and apologized for having, through multiplicity of business, forgotten to mention to me that I must join the left division of the grand army forthwith. They had left Cawnpore two days before. Being now sure of this good news, I communicated it to my wife, and fixed thefollowing day for my departure. I then waited on the noble marquis, to thank him for my preferment. His lordship received me with great kindness. "Mr. Shipp," said he, "you have no occasion to thank me, but your own merit, and the kindness of Major-General Marshall, who requested the appointment of me as a favour conferred on him." His lordship concluded, "I will not ask you to dine to-day, as you would in all probability prefer spending the short time you have to spare with your family." I expressed my grateful sense of his lordship's kindness, and returned home and spent the day with her whom I loved best on earth. In the evening I took leave of my brother officers, and on the following morning, ere the cock crew, I had taken an early breakfast, and by the time the sun left his slumbering couch I was some miles on my road, to join the left division of the grand army.
There is a kind of pensiveness by which the human mind is assailed on separating, though for a short time only, from pleasant acquaintances; but, when we part from objects bound to us by the dearest ties of love or consanguinity, an indescribable weight oppresses the heart. I felt this in parting from the most affectionate of women, to enter on a new series of wars, perhaps never to behold her again. These thoughts will intrude, in spite of all one's efforts to repress them, where the heart feels assured of reciprocal love. If I do not deceive myself, or my recollection fail me not, I was weak enough to weep on this occasion; for who could see the wife of his bosom writhing with anguish and clinging round his neck, whispering sweet words of love and constancy, and refrain from tears? She had two little sisters, too, who hung about my knees, crying, "Dear brother, do not go; see how sister cries. Pray do not go; sister will be ill." I tore myself from the endearing embraces which restrained me, and rushed out of the house.
FOOTNOTES:[15]Travelling by dawk is a very speedy mode of conveyance, well known in India. The traveller is carried in a palanquin by eight bearers, who are relieved every ten miles; and by this arrangement a hundred miles are so certainly performed in twenty-four hours, that from Cawnpore to Calcutta, a distance of eight hundred miles, is reckoned an eight days' journey.
[15]Travelling by dawk is a very speedy mode of conveyance, well known in India. The traveller is carried in a palanquin by eight bearers, who are relieved every ten miles; and by this arrangement a hundred miles are so certainly performed in twenty-four hours, that from Cawnpore to Calcutta, a distance of eight hundred miles, is reckoned an eight days' journey.
The whole combined powers of the three Presidencies of India were now in motion, to effect the dispersion or annihilation of the Pindarees, a set of despotic marauders and savage barbarians, who were prowling about the country in immense hordes. Their numbers might be estimated at two hundred thousand, all horsemen, the remains of the old Mahratta sect of warriors, who had been driven from their homes by the civil wars of the several native powers of Hindostan. These marauders levied their exactions from the poor peasantry of the more remote districts of Hindostan, whom they robbed and plundered year after year; and murder is a common incident of the day. The horses on which they ride, and also their equipments, whether stolen or not, are the rider's own property, and respected by the rest as such. The craftiest and most daring among them are the greatest men, and call themselves, according to their several degrees of superiority, names of high office, such as those of our native officers of cavalry. Their weapons generally consist of a long spear, a sabre, a shield, and a matchlock; but many of them have pistols also, and some few I have seen with huge blunderbusses. Their families generally accompany them, and they are mounted on the best and fleetest horses. Should any of their women die or run away, they can easily be replaced at the next village. If any resistance is made, either on the part of the female herself, or of her father, mother, orhusband, coercive means are unhesitatingly resorted to, and the poor creature is carried off in the same manner as any other commodity of which they may stand in need. As soon as they have drained one town or village, they take up their quarters in another, living entirely upon rapine and plunder.
In this manner these marauders had long prowled about uncontrolled, laying whole districts waste, and bringing with them, wherever they went, desolation and ruin. These desperadoes, who set the laws of the land at defiance, and the laws of humanity at naught, the Marquis of Hastings was now determined to destroy; for which purpose, every soldier that could be spared was now in the field, the noble marquis commanding in person the centre division of the army, and superintending and directing the whole plan of the war.
In four days I reached the division, then lying under the fort of Callenger, and reported myself to Major-General Marshall, commanding the division, with whom I breakfasted. His extremely kind manner of receiving me was truly flattering. I cannot say that I was very bashful, but I always endeavoured to be respectful to my superiors. I took the earliest opportunity of expressing my acknowledgments for his kind recommendation of me to his excellency the commander-in-chief. The general replied, "Shipp, you deserve what you have been appointed to. I have not forgotten your gallantry at Hattrass, although I was so extremely ill before that place; but I must confess that plaguy gout almost made me overlook your merit. I heartily wish you joy. There will be a knife and fork always laid at my table for you. Make my board your home." Thus saying, he shook me cordially by the hand.
I had now been told in person, both by the Marquis of Hastings and by the general in command of the division of the army in which I was now to act, that I had hitherto performed my duty like a brave and loyal soldier. Theseattestations to my military character and conduct caused my heart to glow with pride and satisfaction; and, indeed, nothing can be more gratifying to the feelings of a soldier than the consciousness that the approbation with which his superiors are pleased to regard him has been really deserved by him, on account of his ardent attachment to his profession, and his faithful performance of its perilous duties. It was with heartfelt pleasure that I heard I had earned the good opinion of men of high rank and command; and I felt highly gratified in the contemplation that, when retired from scenes of war, I could add to the enjoyments of the domestic circle the comfort of being able to look on my former life with satisfaction, and of fighting my battles over again and again with delight. Glory had been my motto; laurels were my crown!
I then paid my respects to Brigadier-General Watson, C.B., colonel of his Majesty's 14th regiment, second in command of this division, whose cordiality and hospitality, for nearly a year that I was a constant guest at his table, I can never forget. After wishing me joy of my appointment, he said, "Shipp, as you are the only king's officer in this camp besides myself and staff, I hope you will take a seat at my table during the campaign." This hospitality I could not accept, the commanding officer having previously given me the same invitation; but the brigadier-general would take no excuse, but said he would settle that with General Marshall. I lived with him till the month of May following, in a most friendly manner, faring at his board in a very sumptuous style. In his private character, General Watson was generous, kind, and affable, and ever ready to do a good act; and in his public capacity a brave, active, and zealous officer, who seldom contented himself with directing things to be done, but actually saw them executed. From the extreme indisposition of the major-general, he undertook the more active parts of the several storms and sieges in which the left division was engaged, as the continuation of my narrative will show.
On the following day I visited the strong hill fort of Callenger. It is situated on an immense hill, on the ascent of which the greater part of the town stands. At the extremity of this ascent, the rocks are almost perpendicular. In some places they are fifty and sixty feet high. On these are built prodigious bastions and stone walls, with embrasures and loop-holes, so that any approach by assault or escalade was impossible. On its summit is a beautiful tank of clear water, nourished by a crystal spring. There are also fields, gardens, and woods, and two or three temples or mosques. The view from this elevation embraced an expanse of some miles of country. In its front, or more prominent part, lay the lowlands of the station of Banda, on the most beautiful and clear stream in Hindostan, the river Cane. This beautiful stream empties itself into the Jumna, about sixteen or twenty miles from this station. Between us and Banda stood some enormous hills; and temples were built on their very pinnacles, which are reached by winding steps, cut out of the rock by manual labour. These buildings, viewed from the base of the hills, look like little white spots in the sky.
When the sun arose on the following morning, I was invited to go up and witness the splendour of the scene; and I had no cause to regret such an invitation. The morning clouds seemed to slumber on the tops of those barren hills; but the rising sun's glittering beams roused them from their lethargy, and drove them from their thrones of night. Even at mid-day, I have seen the buildings on these hills entombed in the murky clouds, and their inmates, when visible, seemed beings of another world. They were Brahmin mendicants, who descended in the morning, and solicited alms all day in the name of Alla, re-ascending at eve to their aerial abodes, there to mumble forth their witchcrafts, and to contaminate the salubrious breeze of night with their invocations to blocks and stones. The breeze in these valleys is pure, renovating, andsalubrious. Pea-fowls are seen in great abundance on these hills. They are both fed and worshipped by the mendicant priests, who are much annoyed if you disturb or shoot them, which, notwithstanding that, Europeans take the liberty of doing, wherever they can find them. These birds are, while young, as delicious as a young turkey. In former days, even during my time in India, shooting peacocks was strictly prohibited by the government, as interfering with the religious rites of the natives; but those orders or prohibitions have been long since rescinded, and they are now considered fair game. They are found in almost all the districts of Hindostan. Their plumage is splendid and beautiful, and, when parading before the sons of idolatry, who worship them, they seem as proud of their tails as the priests themselves do of their pretended and presumptuous knowledge of futurity.
By their ridiculous predictions of futurity these wretches live, and impose on the deluded villagers, whom they buoy up with the most felicitous prospects to come, feeding their fancies with the hope of future aggrandizement and wealth. Such is the confidence of the uninformed villagers in these promises of future bliss, that they will part with their all to insure a favourable prediction; but, when the auspicious and long-watched-for period arrives at which their hopes are to be realized, then they see how they have been deceived and robbed. But the miscreant priest has always a loophole to creep out at, either by asserting that his dupes have not dedicated a sufficient portion of their property to the priesthood; that it is necessary for them to do penance so many days; or give so much money, so much corn, and so many pieces of cloth to the priesthood, to enable them to invoke their gods for the promised mercies. This is frequently complied with, and the delusion goes on from one imposition and infatuation to another.
This is the description of the people inhabiting those beautiful mountains, on which the eye could dwell, and always find something new to feast on. This very fort of Callenger had, but a short time before, been stained with the purple stream flowing from Christian bosoms. It was in the storming of this fort, that his Majesty's 53rd regiment of Foot suffered so severely before they succeeded in planting Old England's banner on its proud top. On the summit of the edifice is a monument, which was erected to the memory of the brave fellows who fell in the assault of this place.
We remained here three or four days, visiting this fort; and the oftener we went up, the more we were astonished how it was possible our troops could have got in on the occasion alluded to. To us who merely journeyed for amusement up its stupendous sides, the ascent was most difficult, and by the time we had gained its summit we were exhausted. That a fort like that of Callenger, often attempted by legions of native armies, should have been taken as it was, was matter of amazement to all who beheld it. It had once, we understood, been taken by stratagem in the following manner. A native rajah, who was going to war, solicited the governor's permission to lodge his treasures and family there as a place of security during the war. The governor, no doubt actuated by the hope of the ultimate possession of the treasures, readily granted the required asylum, for which purpose a hundred doolies, or covered palanquins, were to be sent up on the following morning. The infatuated and blinded governor, his soul burning with the prospect of gain, slumbered on his couch of supposed safety. Each of these palanquins was to be permitted to carry one female belonging to the rajah's family; but, instead, each in reality contained a soldier dressed in the habiliments of the female sex, and veiled to hide his huge moustaches. To each of those doolies were eight bearers; in the palanquins were their arms, hidden from view. Those hundred doolies went up without the slightest suspicion, and they were ranged around the governor's house. The sequelmay be readily guessed: no sooner were the supposed bearers relieved of their loads than they flew to arms, and thus got possession of the fort of Callenger.
The army being now formed and complete, with every requisite for a long campaign, I put the implements of my office in lashing order. My post of baggage-master being a situation which is, I believe, peculiar to India, it may not be improper to state its duties, &c. He is a staff-officer, and, when not employed in his particular department, is attached to the suite ofthe commander of the division, as much as the commissary-general, quartermaster-general, or any other staff-officer of the division. On the line of march, he is held entirely responsible that neither men nor baggage precede the column of march, and that they are on their proper flank, which is regulated by the general orders of the day. If the reader recollect what I before stated, that he may safely calculate ten followers in a Bengal army to every fighting man, and when he is informed that, according to calculations made in our camp, including the several native contingents we had with us, our followers were not less in number than eighty thousand, men, women, and children, some thirty thousand of whom followed the army for what they could pick up, by fair means or otherwise, my situation cannot be supposed to have been a sinecure. It was truly one of great labour and activity. I had twenty men belonging to a corps of local horse. These men were provided with long whips, and placed at my disposal. To attempt to talk the numberless camp-followers into obedience was quite out of the question; and, therefore, these whips were for the purpose of lashing them into something like discipline. To the great number of human beings I have spoken of must be added fifty elephants, six hundred camels, five thousand bullocks, five thousand horses, one thousand ponies, two hundred goats, two hundred sheep, fifty ruts, one hundred palanquins, one hundred dogs, and one hundred hackeries, or carts: presenting the following total:—
Fighting men8,000Camp-followers80,000Elephants50Camels600Bullocks, horses, and tattoos11,000Goats, sheep, and dogs500Palanquins, hackeries, and ruts250______Total.100,400
One hundred thousand four hundred were thus under my command, for the movements of the whole of whom, men, animals, and vehicles (except fighting men), I was responsible; and I am sure the reader will not class me amongst cruel men if I was obliged to use the whip, where obduracy and contempt of orders were frequent.
On the following morning we commenced our march; and I began the functions of my new situation by impressing upon the minds of some of the followers, that my arm was strong as well as the lash of my whip. I found I was soon obliged to take other measures besides merely bellowing to them; and in three days I had whipped the whole body into perfect obedience, which saved me a tremendous deal of labour afterwards, and some hundred yards of whip-cord. Sometimes some mischievous fellows would, to annoy me, get the whole baggage on the wrong flank; but I had influence enough to find them out, when they paid dearly for their trick. After a short time they found it would not do; so, my situation, instead of a task, was at last a pleasure to me; and the sight of my whip was sufficient to deter the most desperate from exceeding his limits. My commanding officer frequently said that, if he lived and commanded twenty armies, I should be his baggage-master.
In two days we arrived under the town and fort of Hedjeeghur, a strong hill fort, that had been recently taken by the Honourable Company's army. The refractory rajah, driven from his strong and proud walled fort, lived in the town below,where no doubt he panted for vengeance on his foes. He was a designing and crafty fellow, capable of the blackest crimes; but he was so pressed under the thumb of the government whom he had offended, that he dared not show himself in his true colours. What must have been his heart's writhings, when he saw that proud fort, which had been the residence and glory of his forefathers, forfeited by the most diabolical breach of treaty! It must have filled his cup of bitterness to the brim. In his disposition this conquered rajah was cunning, cruel, and despotic; but, from fear, he was the most cringing sycophant that ever lived.
The next march brought us to the foot of the ghaut we were to ascend. On its projecting bosom could be seen a kind of winding path or road, which, in some parts, seemed suspended from the clouds; and, how any mortal power could get up our twenty-four pounders, and all their gigantic appendages, seemed beyond human foresight to imagine. The pioneers went to work with the view of enlarging the road; in which occupation we will leave them, while I endeavour to describe the scene below. I imagined that no spot on this wide earth could equal in beauty the scene I beheld in Nepaul; but the one in which our encampment now lay appeared to me almost to surpass it in magnificence. The hill, from its base to its summit, was, I should think, a good English mile. Similar hills surrounded the encampment, and rippling and creeping streams wound through the camp in every direction. Here the trees, closely embraced by the fragrant woodbine, were of an enormous size; and, when in full leaf, their lofty tops vied with the encircling mountains. Every kind of wild flower was here in great profusion, and the grass under our feet was like the finest green carpet. The eye could wander far through beautiful trees, and through their verdure could be seen little huts of peace, standing by the brookside, which bespoke domestic bliss. But here, as at Nepaul, stalked idolatry in all its deformity, bidding defiance and evincing the most obdurateingratitude to the sole Author of such blessings. Oh! that in God's good time the pure word of truth may flourish among this unenlightened race! May their seed bloom in the blossom of faith, and may sweet anthems of praise resound through their fertile valleys, and not only ascend to their mountain-top, but to the throne of heaven!
I was delighted to find, by the orders of the day, that the army would ascend the ghaut on the following morning; but that the baggage-master, with one thousand men as a working party, would remain behind. Immediately after the division had ascended, they were to follow, permitting all private baggage to be got up in the best manner it could. The working party which had been left below, was for the purpose of getting up public stores. I was up early, and saw them off; and it was a most terrific sight to see the cavalry hanging, apparently on the craggy cliff. Strange to say, elephants ascended carrying up their usual enormous loads; but the time occupied by these animals was considerable, from their trying to step one after another, and never venturing without first being well assured of the solidity of the ground. This reference to the extraordinary sagacity of elephants reminds me of two or three other anecdotes of these huge animals, which may be interesting to the reader.
In the year 1804, when we were in pursuit of Holkar, there was, in our encampment, a very large elephant, used for the purpose of carrying tents for some of the European corps. It was the season in which they become most unmanageable, and his legs were consequently loaded with huge chains, and he was constantly watched by his keepers. By day he was pretty passive, save when he saw one of his own species, when he roared and became violent; and, during those moments of ungovernable frenzy, it was dangerous for his keepers to approach him, or to irritate his feelings by any epithets that might prove repugnant to him. On the contrary, every endearing expression was used to soothe and appease him, which, with promisesof sweetmeats, sometimes succeeded with the most turbulent to gain them to obedience, when coercive measures would have roused them to the most desperate acts of violence. By night, their extreme cunning told them that their keepers were not so watchful or vigilant. The elephant here alluded to, one dark night broke from his chains and ran wild through the encampment, driving men, women, children, camels, horses, cows, and indeed everything that could move, before him, and roaring and trumpeting with his trunk, which is, with elephants, a sure sign of displeasure, and that their usual docility has deserted them. Of course, no reasonable beings disputed the road he chose to take. Those that did soon found themselves floored. To record the mischief done by this infuriated animal in his nocturnal ramble, would fill a greater space than I can afford for such matter. Suffice it that, in his flight, followed by swordsmen and spearsmen shouting and screaming, he pulled down tents, upset everything that impeded his progress, wounded and injured many, and ultimately killed his keeper by a blow from his trunk. He was speared in some twenty places, which only infuriated him the more, and he struck away with his trunk at everything before him. His roaring was terrific, and he frequently struck the ground in indication of his rage. The instant he had struck his keeper, and found he did not rise, he suddenly stopped, seemed concerned, looked at him with the eye of pity, and stood riveted to the spot. He paused for some seconds, then ran towards the place from whence he had broken loose, and went quietly to his piquet, in front of which lay an infant, about two years old, the daughter of the keeper whom he had killed. The elephant seized the child round the waist as gently as its mother would, lifted it from the ground, and caressed and fondled it for some time, every beholder trembling for its safety, and expecting every moment it would share the fate of its unfortunate father; but the sagacious animal, having turned the child round three times, quietly laid it down again,and drew some clothing over it that had fallen off. After this it stood over the child, with its eyes fixed on it; and, if I did not see the penitential tear steal from its eye, I have never seen it in my life. He then submitted to be re-chained by some other keepers, stood motionless and dejected, and seemed sensible that he had done a wrong he could not repair. His dejection became more and more visible, as he stood and gazed on the fatherless babe, who, from constant familiarities with this elephant, seemed unintimidated, and played with its trunk. From this moment the animal became passive and quiet, and always seemed most delighted when the little orphan was within its sight. Often have I gone with others of the camp to see him fondling his little adopted; but there was a visible alteration in his health after his keeper's death, and he fell away, and died at Cawnpore, six months afterwards; people well acquainted with the history of the elephant, and who knew the story, did not scruple to say, from fretting for his before favourite keeper.
During the Nepaul war (1815) a female elephant, that had a young one some seven years old, died, leaving its young to lament its loss. I went to see it every day; and I pledge my word to the reader that the sorrow and sighing of this little animal was truly piteous and distressing. For some time it refused all kind of food. An old male elephant, that always stood near its mother, after some days seemed to take pity on it, fondled over and caressed it, and at last adopted it. It always travelled on the line of march close by its side, would feed out of its mouth, and gambolled with it as it was wont to do with its mother. Thus noticed, it grew fast, and, ere the campaign was over, its poor mother was forgotten, and all its affections seemed settled on its new friend. Its name was Pearee—love, or lovely, in English.
Colonel James Price, now major-general in the Company's army, knew, perhaps, more of the history of elephants than any man in India, having been one of the Company's breeders,at Chittygong, for many years. I have heard him recount the most affecting stories about these animals. He generally kept two or three himself. I was tiffing one day with him, when the subject turned on the sagacity of elephants, and he said he thought he had a young one as cunning as any one he had ever seen; and he offered to lay a bet, that if any one played this animal a trick, he would return it, if it was a month afterwards. The company seemed to doubt this, and the consequence was a small wager, taken by me. I cut the elephant some bread, of which these animals are extremely fond, but between the pieces I introduced a considerable quantity of cayenne pepper. Thus highly seasoned, I gave this bread to the elephant; but he soon discovered the trick, and I was obliged to run for it. I afterwards gave him some bread without any pepper, which he ate and seemed grateful for, and we parted. About a month or six weeks afterwards, I went to dine with the same colonel, and, prior to dinner being served, we took our usual walk to look at his stud. I had forgotten all about the elephant and the bet I had made respecting him, and accordingly played with and fondled him, without any suspicion. With this he seemed much pleased at the time; but, on my going away, he drenched me from head to foot with dirty water, in return for my cayenne pepper trick.
About mid-day, the whole of the private baggage was up, and some small guns had been drawn up by the working party. By six o'clock, no one but myself and the working party were remaining below. When I made my report to the commandant of the division that everything was up, he could scarcely credit my assertion; but when I assured him of its reality, he thanked me in the most cordial manner, and said he had given the following day for the completion of that job. The large guns took four hundred men, with double and treble drag-ropes, to pull up; and some of them were, in some of the most abrupt turnings in the ascent, actually hanging by the ropes, in a very dangerous state. One gun broke from itsdrag-ropes, but it was, fortunately, not far from a turning, which brought it up without any accident. Indeed, scarcely an accident happened worth the relation, save one, which I pledge my word was an absolute fact. A small hackery, or cart, belonging to some of the followers of the camp, fell down a precipice upwards of eighty yards deep, the sides of which were studded with trees of an enormous size. The two bullocks who drew this cart were dashed to pieces, and the driver so dreadfully injured that he had scarcely a feature left that could be recognized as human. Some ten feet from the cart lay a child about two years of age, perfectly uninjured, with the exception of one slight bruise on its little knee. It was supposed that the cart did not upset till at the bottom of the declivity, and that not until then did the child fall out; but it was certainly one of those extraordinary circumstances which sometimes happen, for which it would be difficult satisfactorily to account.
Having made my report that the whole of the stores, baggage, &c., had been safely got up the ghaut, I was still at the general's, when a messenger came from Rajah Buckeet Bellee, the rajah of Hadjepore, whom I have before alluded to; and the general requested I would escort him into camp. I therefore rode towards the top of the ghaut, where I found the rajah in waiting. The purpose of his visit was to make his peace with the general, who was much displeased at his not having complied with his requisition to furnish five hundred workmen to assist us to get up the baggage. The rajah had with him five elephants, and twenty horsemen, with spears, guns, &c. He was inclined to be affable and jocular with me; but I could see through his dark eyebrows the more inward workings of his heart. He broke silence by asking me if the general was displeased with him. Knowing the character of the fellow, I could hardly make up my mind to be civil to him, so I replied, "You had better put that question to him who can best answer it. If the general is not offended, he has good reason to be so." He then asked me what was the object of our campaign, and I told him that he had better reserve all these questions for the ear of the general himself, who, no doubt, would be able to satisfy his nawabship. Finding that I was not quite so elated with the honour of sitting on the same elephant with him, as he had expected I should be, and that he could get no information out of me, the rajah next admiredmy dress, and took a mighty fancy to my watch, but I would not let it out of my hand. He winked to a man on another elephant, and muttered something in the Mahratta language, which I did not thoroughly comprehend, but which sounded something like, "it won't do," or "he won't do." He then took a fancy to my whip, which I permitted him to look at. Some person happening to speak to me just as we arrived in the precincts of the camp, my whip was passed from one to another, and all protested they knew nothing about it; so that I had but little hope of ever seeing it again. On the rajah's, return from the general, from whom he had met but a cool reception, he remounted his elephant, with indignation in his eye, and vowing vengeance, if ever in his power, against all Europeans. I had to see him out of the camp, when, having proceeded to the extent of my orders, I demanded my whip, protesting that he should be detained in camp until it was restored. Every search was made, but no whip was to be found. I was not to be hoaxed in this manner, so I persisted in having either my emblem of office returned, or its full value paid to me. The nawab asked what it cost. I said five gold mohurs; and, after some demur, and a good deal of parleying, I pocketed that sum, and we parted, to my perfect satisfaction.
We marched the following day. Our journey lay through a wild country, in which scarcely a human being was to be seen, though the soil seemed good and fertile. The fact was, that we were now entering those districts which had been recently the haunts of the Pindarees. The next day our march lay through a famous diamond country, belonging to the Punnah rajah. Having passed a small deserted stone fort, I was much astonished that, after the enormous ascent of nearly a mile, the whole country continued flat for a considerable distance. From the country having been deserted in consequence of the ravages of the Pindarees, all appeared desolate and dreary, except in the district in which the diamond speculation wascarried on. Here were seen, in little groups, adventurers digging for these precious stones. In this venture, as in all others, some won and others lost; but the number of the latter greatly predominated. The adventurers purchase a certain extent of ground, say ten or twelve feet square, for which they pay from a hundred to a thousand rupees, which depends entirely on the situation. Terms having been agreed upon, they then dig, sift, and wash, and if they find any diamonds under a certain value, they are their own; if above (I think ten thousand rupees is the amount stipulated), they are the property of the rajah. Few of very high value are found; but, notwithstanding this, the speculators are well watched during the whole of their sifting and washing. A good deal of gold, silver, copper, and iron is also found in this part of the country, and there can be no doubt that the rajah is a rich man; though, notwithstanding his treasures, he must be devoid of happiness, as the following incident of his life will prove.
Some three years before the time that the division of the army to which I belonged passed through this district, the rajah had married a most beautiful woman, the daughter of a neighbouring rajah, making his third wife. This woman, of all his wives and concubines, he most loved, if such a tyrant can be supposed to be susceptible of such a feeling. In his court he had promoted a young man (his barber) from an indigent sphere to be his chief confidant. This confidant became his greatest favourite, and, indeed, ruler. Nothing could be done but through his interest. Thus things went on for some time, when the rajah was invited some hundreds of miles to an annual festival, which invitation he accepted. The times were turbulent, for the Pindarees were then roving about in large bodies; but, notwithstanding all this, the rajah imagined he could safely leave his confidant in charge of his family and his people. Having made this arrangement, he started on his journey, reposing the most implicit trust in the firmness and integrity of the new minister—for so he was denominated.Scarcely had one week elapsed, when the fiend, who was thus trusted, cast his sensual eye on the object of his master's best love; but he found her virtuous as she was beautiful. He protested his most ardent love, and that he could not exist without her honeyed smiles; that she was everything that could promote his happiness or destroy his life. He entreated, he conjured; but all were as words cast upon the wintry blast: she was firm, and threatened to expose his infamy to the rajah. Thus menaced, his crime seemed to stagger him, and he importuned no more; all the exasperated fury of an offended master rushed upon his mind. The rajah, as he well knew, was of a most violent and ungovernable temper—one of those unhappy mortals who act first and think afterwards; and such a report against his favourite would have wrought his jealous heart to a pitch of utter frenzy. The villain, seeing his danger, immediately turned his own dastardly crime upon her who had resisted his corrupt proposals, and, seeking an interview with the rajah on his return, he represented to him, clothed with the most infamous and plausible falsehoods, that his favourite wife had been unfaithful in his absence. Had the infuriated and jealous-hearted rajah but given this report one instant of consideration, he must have detected the wretch in his infamous falsehood; but the artful favourite knew and relied on his master's fury. The moment he whispered the poisonous words into his ears, the rajah grasped his sabre, flew like a madman into the zenanah, and without speaking one word, he cut his favourite mistress into pieces; then, gazing on the murdered beauty who lay lifeless at his feet, he sought refuge in the bosom of him who had destroyed his peace of mind, and the object of his most ardent attachment. Her lacerated body was committed to the pile, and burnt, after the usual lamentations. He was an independent rajah, and, consequently, beyond the reach of British justice. In his own country there was no law to punish such offences. In a short time, therefore, the circumstance passed away, and was forgotten; and not evendid the relatives of the poor woman inquire the cause of the foul act, for murder was a common incident of the day.
At length, one of the other wives of the rajah lay on her death-bed. In this state, she expressed a wish that her whole court might be assembled, for she had something of the greatest importance to disclose, before she closed her earthly career. This was communicated to the confidant, who immediately imagined that the murdered victim had communicated to her the whole affair. He however took the necessary measures to summon the court into the chamber of death; but, when they had assembled, the favourite alone was missing, and, on search being made, it was found he had fled on horseback. The council having assembled, a full and clear disclosure of his infamous designs was made. The rajah, in bitterest anguish, tore his hair, beat his breast, and ran raving like a madman round the palace. Nothing could soothe or pacify him. Every horseman was dispatched in pursuit of the delinquent, but he was never found; and all the infuriated murderer could do, was to build a temple to the memory of his favourite mistress. This he did, and a most splendid edifice it is.
The unfortunate rajah, when I last saw him, which was in the year 1819, was a perfect madman. After looking on his blood-stained hands, he would wash them a hundred times a day; but neither water nor time can wash away the guilt of murder. In the temple before alluded to is her effigy, and two valuable diamonds occupy the place of her once smiling eyes.
We remained at Punnah some four or five days, waiting for instructions from head-quarters. The left division was originally intended as an army of observation, to watch the several ghauts on the frontiers of our provinces, and to prevent the Pindarees from getting into our districts; but they having taken another direction towards Candish, we received orders to move on in the combined and general pursuit, and we stood towards Serronge Bopaul and BurrowahSaugar, through a most wild and desolate country, where tyrannic sway had driven far from their homes the poor villagers. At one time, having lost sight of the Pindarees, we began to be seriously alarmed about our families at the different stations. At one of the principal stations (Cawnpore) there was scarcely a soldier to be seen, and reports having reached them that the Pindarees had descended the ghauts, the alarm of the women and their families became dreadful. Their doors were barricaded with stones, bricks, tables, chairs, drawers, beds, and so forth, and not one dared to venture abroad. All was fear and consternation. Servants were dispatched for information, who brought back the most unfounded reports, which greatly increased their alarm. My wife's letters were filled with fears and forebodings. Many ladies had hired boats for the purpose of going down the river to a more secure place, when an event happened that, for a time, confirmed all their alarms, and almost frightened them out of their wits. A lady of the station, riding out early in her chair, ortonjon, saw, on the race-course, an immense dust, raised by a number of bullocks which were coming to the cantonment for grain, escorted by a party of local horse. She inquired who these were, when the person of whom she asked this question said "Brinjarree," meaning a small cattle that carry commissariat stores; but the lady understood him Pindaree, and the name was quite sufficient. She jumped out of her palanquin and ran towards home, screaming, "Pindarees, Pindarees!" and all she could answer to the questions put to her was, that the Pindarees were come, and were already in the cantonment. Servants were dispatched, who, seeing everybody running, vociferating "Pindarees," the alarm, as may well be supposed, spread like wildfire. Some took to their boats; some got under their beds; others into their cellars and go-downs; and the consternation was unbounded. My wife, fortunately, had a small guard of sepoys at her house, there being some commissariat stores there. Onthe news reaching her, her doors were locked and bolted, and a confidential servant was dispatched to ascertain the nature and the extent of the truth of the report. He returned, saying, that they were then plundering the great bazaar. The screaming of ladies and children which ensued, and the alarm of servants, beggars description; and it was not before evening that confidence and peace were restored, by the kindness and judicious interference of Captain Sissmore, the acting paymaster of the station.
We pushed on towards Bersiah, where we found Major Logie, of the Bengal Infantry, who had thought it advisable to stockade himself, for he had with him a considerable quantity of treasure for Colonel Adam's division. As the Pindarees were hovering about in large numbers, and a large body of Scindia's horse seemed to eye the treasure with delight, the major having only a few men, we found him on a small hill, well and securely fortified. The day before our arrival, this enormous body of Scindia's horse encamped close to the stockade, and in their manners were extremely insolent to Major Logie; so much so, that he told them in plain terms, if they did not move their quarters, he would fire on them; and I do not know any man in the Company's army more likely to put his threat in execution. It is true they were the troops of an ally, but they were not to be trusted; and nothing but fear prevented them from seizing the treasure under Major Logie's care. At this place we received hourly information that the Pindarees were in the neighbourhood; but as they were in tens and twenties, it would have been folly for us to have gone in pursuit of them. Indeed, we might as well have attempted to catch the falling stars. Such a pursuit could not have redounded to the credit of the service, and it might probably have frightened and dispersed them, which was not our object. We rather encouraged their combining in large parties, that we might surprise and cut them up. With this view we remained here some time, watching their movements. Here, again, the munificence of the government of the East India Company was evinced. Proclamations were published through every village, calling on these marauders to become good subjects, offering to purchase their horses and arms at a fair valuation, and to give them land and a free pardon for all their former transgressions. Not one of these kind and liberal proposals had they a right to expect; but their obdurate hearts would not accept the proffered mercy, nor their indolent habits permit them to think of cultivating the earth. It is supposed that during the more inactive seasons of their lives, they will sleep from twelve to fifteen hours out of the twenty-four; and the few hours that they are awake are spent in rapine and sensual pleasures. There is no race of people on God's earth more depraved and debauched than a Mussulman Pindaree.