IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) .V^ 1.0 I.I 1^ us 1^ 1^ 1^ 12.2 H: i;£ 112.0 18 l-?5 1.4 111.6 -■■ ^== nil ^^ ^ 6" ► Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ,^ ^ {/. i CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notat tachniq jaa at bibiiographiquaa That to th Tha inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avaiiabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographicaily uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantiy changa tha uauai mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. 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I tii- m- i -.ji ' .I 'l ua-i-j Lj BH>^BWeg^^Be'«i^B»wg^aBgM!^ ■ . . .. n . ■ . .. .xu... i i ■ —tm^'^f I I I I I I I I I I ' I I I 1 1 I I I I I I I I . I I I I I ) I I 1 1 I 1 I I 1 I I I I ' I I I I I I I I I I I III 1 I I I J I I I 1 I I I V i. J. D. COUL n g-'Sl |°SEptJBLISHlHSi TORoNtO, ^f I 71 I THE O^WEN Electric. Belt Uppkce Co. HEAD OFFICE, CHICAGO. ' Incorporated June 17th. 1887, with a Cash Capital of $50,000. (PfttentcJ In Canada Dev. 1877.) 71 KING ST. WEST, TORONTO, ONT. Q. a PATTERSON, MGR. FOR CAN. ELBCTRICrnr as applied by the OWEN ELECTRIC BELT AND APPUANCB8. Is now rttcognized ai the Kreatest boon offered to sufferinir humanity. It has, does and will effect cures in seemingly hopeleMH cases, where evcy other known means has failed. Rheuma- tism cannot exist where it is properly applied. By its bteady, soothliiK current, that is easily felt, it will cure Sciatica Neuralgia SpermatorrhOBa Female Complaints Kidney Disettse Epilepsy, or Fits. Lame Back. Rheumatism General Debility Nervous Complaints Liver Complamt Constipation SemiGU Complaints Spinal Diseases Lumbagro Dyspepsia Impotency Varicocele Urinary Disases It is not pleasant to be compelled to refer to the indisputable fact that medical science has utterly failed to afford re)i-)f in rheumatic cases. We venture the assertion that although elec- tricity has only been in use as a remelial asrent for a few years, It hatt riir<*fl mnre CMSes •r Rheamatlsiu than all other means combliied. Some of our leading physicians, recognizing this fact, are avail-n^; themselves of this most potent of Nature's forces in supplyinfy, detects and correcting irreg'jlarities. TO RESTORE MANHOOD AND WOMANHOOD. As a man has not y t discovered all of Nolure's laws for tight living, it follows that everyone has committed more or less errors which have left visibla blemishes. To erase these '^vidences of past errors, there is nothing to equal Electricity, as applied by the Owen Fleet ic Body Bat- tery. Rest assured that >>>.y doctor who would try to accomplish this by any kind of drugs is pract'sing a ndost dangerous kind of charlatanism. Use the Electric cure and shun the drug stores. WE CHALLENGE THE WORLD to show an Electric Be't where th? current is under t^e control of the patient as entirely as in this. We can use the same Belt on an infant that we would on a giant uy simp'y reduc ng the number of eel s. Ordinary b^ Its are not so. Other Lelts have been in the market forfive or ten > ears longer, but to-day there are more Owen Belts manufactured and sold than any other makers combined. ELECTRIC INSOLES*— I)'^- Owen's Electric Insoles will prevent Rheumatism, and oure Chiliolains and Cramps iu the feet and legs. Price $1 00. Sent by mall. BEWARE OF IMITATIOPfS AND CHEAP BELTa Our attention having been attracted to base imitation!^ of the "Owen Electric Belt," we de- sire to warn the pub ic against purchasing worthies-* imitations of the Genu ne Owen Electric Belt that has stood the test of years, and has a continental reputation. OiirTniue Mark is the portrait < f Dr. a. Cwen. embossed in Gold upon every Belt and Appliiiioe manufactured by the Owen Electric Belt, ard Appiiance Co. Th • cheap so-called Electric Belts advertised by some concerns are perfectly worthless as a curative power, and dear at any price. Sttnd for illustrated catalogue of information, testlmontalc, eta. The Owen Electric Belt Co., 71 King St. West. Torol». »*; ^>f^^ M an Line Royal Mail Steamships. Under eoninujt with the Oovemmenta of Oanadft Mid NewfoundlMwl for the oonvflyanca of Midls. THIS CompMiy'ii Lines " « ^• MONTREAL O. W.Robinson.lS6^ St. James St., opp. St. Lawrence Hall. LIVERPOOL Allan Bros, ft Co., James St. LONDUNDERRY.AIlan Bros, ft Co., Foyle St. GLASGOW J. ft A. Allan, 70 Great Clyds St. OALWAY J. ft A. AUan. / Allan Bros, ft Co., 108 Ltad- rxiKDON J enhall St. uunin^n -JMontgomerie ft Workman, I 86 Oracecburoh St 8UERNST0WN . .James Scott ft Co. UBLIN John Pollen, 10 Eden Quay. WESTERN FREIGHT AGENTS, J. D. HUNTER, S. FRANCIS, • Comer King and Yonge Streets, TORONTO. 112 LaSaUe Street, .... CHICAGO. H. f.S NOW A1'I'U()ACHIN(J THK LIMIT OF HIS KAKTHI.Y KXISTKNt'K, LOOKS HACK WITH KKEI,IN(iS (»K i'lUDK, ON TlIK HI MIU.K I'AKT HK TOOK, AS ONE OK THE OLD 10th QUEEN'S LANCERS, IN ALL THK MEMOUAHLE ENCASEMENTS IN WHICH THEY PAUTKII'ATKU IN INDIA., AND NOT THK LEAST OF ALL DOES HE PERL THE HONOUR CONFERIIED IN THUS GRANTING LEAVE TO LSSUE THE WORK UNDER SUCH DISTINGUISHED PATRONAGE. Toronto, Oiitari-i, 1^0. ■M fr til pv( nil tn I 1 PEEFACE. -•-♦-♦- 'HE most pleasant memories of my boyhood are clustered around the old family fire- place, in our home in Brighton, England, when my father, gathering us all around him, with occasionally a few intimate friends, recounted such tales of war as often made mo desire I was a man at once, in order that I might there and then enrol myself as one of my country's defenders. He had served, I believe, with distinc- tion, in the Tenth Royal Hussars, as an officer, both under Sir John Moore, and the Iron Duke. He was present at the retreat on Corunna, and, as the old man touchingly gave that narrative, I well remember the l)ig tears course down his cheeks, losing all con- trol of himself, his utterances almost ceasino- when 1 • • 1 Vlll PREFACE. he pictured the hour when his heart-broken com- rades, " Buried him darkly, at dead of night." Tliis was not all, however. Rising to a pitch of tlie greatest excitement, his Umguage grew bolder and more fierce as he progressed, bringing us all through Salamanca, Talavera, Duoro, Orthes, with the Iron Duke, down to the " King-making Victory," — Waterloo. He may have been too fond of dwell- ing on his own exploits — the fierce charge on squares — thehandto hand encounters — sabreing this one and and then that one — for, as the night's entertainment closed, for such it was considered, his old arm chair would be many yards away from its original posi- tion, driven by force of arms and legs, depicting this cut at a trooper's head, that point at a breast, this guard from an intended cleaver, as he called it, and I have often since thought, how wise my mother was in her forethought to hide away his sword at such times, for I verily believe, so forgetful was he on those occasions, somo damage would be done to arms or legs, in his enthusiasm of description. It is not to be wondered at, this early training tho ml PREFACE. IX thou^'h unintended on his part, had its effect on his son in after life. Intended for the profession of a Land Surveyor, I could brook nothing short of following in his footsteps. The scenes plainly set forth in this narrative occui-red mostly in India, during the first Afghan war, in 1839, the Maharatta war, and the subsequent war in the Punjaub, from 1843 to 184(1, trying times to the army in India. That country is so full of study, in its ancient buildings, mosques, temples, shrines, and manners and customs, that, I have only cursorily glanced at them, and only when positions and incidents are necessary for the full un- derstanding of my movements, I have no doubt, however, that, by a careful perusal of the whole much interest will be created, and more sympathy excited for the men, who, careless of all else, ven- tured life to uphold the honour of <-.ear old England. In some cases, war is too often employed to further ambition, or in adding some coveted spot to an al- ready overgrown empire. With this, the soldier has nothing to do. The English soldier has been often pitted against great odds, and as there is no retreat- ing in our army, but " to do or die," much more in- X PKEFAOE. tercet centres around liin. than a soldier of any other country. Kind reader, may I ask you to fol- low ,ne through, while I endeavour to picture to yon «nch battles as Ohuznee and Cabnl, Maharajpoor and Buddewal. Ali^val and Sobraon ; and I am sure you will be convinced, as was the old King of Delhi, that men who carried tlie red cross banner through' such actions as these, were really, as he dubbed my oW corps, the Sixteenth Queen's Royal Lancers, afterwards, "Thepri.e of England, and the terror of India." , i loKONTo, Out,, 1880. of any I to fol- ' to you I'ajpoor m sure 'Delhi, irougli ed my meers, rror of CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Sixteenth Queen's Lancers Regiment in India -Gravesend— Scenes cii rmtte—'Einhtirk on board Lord Exmouth—^prunii a Leak— Ply- mouth Soimd -Passage— Passing the line- Father Neptune— Cape de Verde Islands- Becalmed— Fishing— Cape of Good Hope- Alliatrosses- Pass St. Pauljand Amsterdam. -Storm— Isle of Fraun — Sandhead-Ilooghly-Fort William— View of Calcutta — Dia- emhark - Chinasura Garden reach— Dutch Fort— Cholera— Orders for ('awnpore— Up Ganges in Boats— Typhoon -Swamped- Loss of a Lady— Scenery along the River Benares, the holy city— Alla- habad— Cawnpore- Night marching Camp Description of large Banyan Tree Meerut- Regiment- Captain Havelock- War Ru- mours' 17 CHAPTER II. Dost Mahomet usurps the throne of Affghanistan— Meerut (livislon ordered to assendde five miles from Delhi — The King inspects our army— Pass through Maharajah Rimjut Sing's country— The Pun - jaub-Sir II. Vane— Hindoo Koosh— General John Keene— Cross the attack Sufferings on the Sandy Plain— Valley of Shaul— En- trance to Bdlam Puss--JJeut. Imvariety-Candahar— Crowning 1 XI 1 COKTENTS. Shah-Soojah— Throu^'h the Pass First 8ij,'ht of Dost's Army- Battle of Ghuznee— Storming— Col. Sale— Citadel sacked— Feelings after Battle -Natives -Orders received for Cabul March -Cabul C!ami> opposite city Pinter —Stipposed some of the Lost Tribes of Israel Proof— Affecting scene at the Death of Colonel Arnold — finding of two old tombstones with date 1062 -Russian ambitioTi — Elphinstone left to jirotect Shah-Soojah— Back to India through the Kyber, swarming with Kyberees— Dost and his commanders prisoners with us— Greneral Avetavela escorts us through Peshwa- Punishment of Robbers—Crossing the Boundary —Meeruf— Mem- orial "'O CHAPTER III. Native sobriety and European drunkenness— Hindoo Mahoram feuat Ceremony— Native habits— Shooting Sandgeese, Ducks, Parrots, Monkeys— Report of death of Shah Soojah— Akbar Khan assumes the government— General Elphinstone retires— Mr. McNaughton killed —Massacre in Cuddulock Pass by Akbar Khan — 44th foot cut to pieces— A few escape to Jellelabad — Colonel Denny -Major Ha velock— Colonel Sale attacks Akbar — Denny killed — Havelock in commflnd — General Pollock pushes on from Bengal— Doctor Brydon--His miraculous escape through the Pass— General Nott ordered to Ghuznee— Pollock reinforces Sale -Lord Auckland suc- ceeded by Lord Ellenborough— The Gates of the Temple of Som- nuth — The Maharajah of Lahore pays his respects to Lord Ellen- borough — Durbar at Delhi—Review before the King and Indian Princes— Meerut again— My comrade Jaco- The Spaniel and Jaco ^ 4y ()l( CHAPTEE lY. Rio Scinde having died, his throne usurped by the Rannie or Queen of Gwalior— Ordered to join Lord Gough's Army at Agra— The Palace of Agra— The ancient seat of the Mog\ils of Dellii—Lord I I 41 CONTENTS. XIU « Army- -Feelings li-Cal)ul Tribes of 1 Arnold ambition t throuj^h imanders 'eahwa — — Mem- ;{0 tn feaat ?arrot,s, issumes ■ughton th foot -Major velock Doctor 1 Nott id sue- Som- Ellen- ndian and .. 4y ueen -The [(ord Ellenborough rewarding Pollock and Nott- The Targ or Marble Tomb of Akbar'a favourite daughter — March through the country of the Ryots— -Grain-fields— Religious superstition — The white bull — Women -The Chumble river croPsed—Xo enemy in sight - Na- ture of ground before Maharaj poor- Christmas morning- General Grey and his Division to arrive at Gwalior—Disposition of Troops --March to Battle -Wheat-shooks filled with Sharpshooters — Bat- tle—Push on to within fifteen milen of Gwalior — The Raunii comes out to meet us -Unconditional sun-ender— Gwalior a formidable Place — The (^uten and her army surrenders- Grey joins us 3rd January - Reinstatement of the young King -Grand Review — Incideut on a Shooting Excursion — "Bob, don't go, Bob, don't go " — Break up Camp, 3rd February — Ordered back to Meerut— Passage of the Chumble -Frightened Game ~ A Chase with a Stag - -Through Agra and Delhi to Meerut 61 CHAPTP]R V. Old compani river— Destruction -Wounded to village— March to join Lord Govijjh - Two hundred cannon belching together— Sobraon 10th Februaxy — Description of battle - British flag planted — Tho bridge blown up — Charge the entrenchments — Victory and end of Sikh War— Loss-. <— Labour— (^hiefs bring out the young Maha- rajah— lieception in liord Hardinge's marquee— Terms —Crowning the young King— Proud Sikhs— Retort on our Sepoys 90 CHAPTER VII. Th Dt Sir H. Lawrence Orders for hrevious engagement— !Meerut— Leave for Calcutta- Down (Janges— Col. Cureton's farewell- Dum Dum— Calcutta, city, grand Ball— Sights— Embark for home— Bay of Bengal — As- cension — St. Helena — Doru Cliffs --Boats coming off— Relatives — March to Canterbury— Furlough— London— iMeet Sisters and Mo- ther—Deal — Battle — Anniversary-Buckingham Palace- Review- i CONTENTS. XV loranco afc t'dgc-Sad 78 ,'our Sing led fire— : to fi^rht 3— Treat- a—Nows Harem- Order of pe cut in qiiare of his hand ladron— arch to Sobraon !d-Tho I end of Malia- •owning ... 90 oslia— utta — Icutta, 1-As- ives — dMo- ivicw- ed by Ilor Majo.sty-Claini Discharge— Causes -Take Ship for South Africa 108 (CHAPTER VIII. The religion of tlie Hindoos— Castes— Brahmins— Kshatriyas-VaiH- yas-Su(h'as— Sub-division by mixed marriages— The Triune God- head : liralima tJie centre, Vishnu the preserver v "ustainer, and Siva, the destroyer -The Hindoo Pantheon— Brahmin place of worship -The Sacred Cow— Transmigration of souls— Degrees of punishment for various sins -The fate of the murderer, the adul- tero)-, the unmerciful 121 CHAPTER IX. Delhi the ancient capital of the Mogul Empire— General description, r)opulation, &c.— The king's palace— Embattled walls and guns— !Martello towers— Jumna-Musjeed, or chief mosriue— The tombs of the Humayoon, and of Sef jar Jung— The Shelima gardens -The an- cient Patons, or Afghan conquerors of India— The celebrated Cat- tab Minar- The tomb of Humayoon— The aqueduct of Alikhan - College for Orientals and Europeans 13;> CHAPTER X. Cape of Good Hope--First sight of— Inhabitants- Descent and other particulars— Sir Harry again— Sandicea in rebellion— War rumours —Join a Volunteer Corps— Otr for fnmtier— East London— Army at Fort William— Join them -Gazetted Lieutenant— The Jungle— Kaffir women- 73rd Ivegiment— Arrangements— Enter the Gaika tribe country— The huts— The kraal— 43rd, 60th and 12th Lancers- General Somerset— Fort Beaufort— Colonel Fordyce shot— Buifalo Post- Capt (ire cattle- Pursuit of KafHrs- Sardillas' horse shot — Bridle neck bush— Time-expired men— Back to recruit —The Hot- tentot— East London again llo i XVI CONTESTS. CHAPTER XI. Transferred to Fin^w S«>rvicc— Fiiigoi' character OnlfrtMl to Kye river- -Cliicf Krielle- Colnnol Kjre- ThrotiKh the hush- -The Chiffn i>oHitioii- Jiattered by bi^,' f,Miiis Cattle cai)t\ued— On re- turn march- Haransed by enemy— One month on march bring in TiOO head- Sir Harry called home -Sir George Cathcart-^ Sandilla Hurrendered— Chief \[oHhu8ha- Attack liia stron^'h(dd Surrenders — Back to Fort \>'Illiam- Disbanded— Off on elephant hunt— Pro- visiouH for— Plan to capture Kill foisr Trading with Chiefa and their wives -Precautions against lions— Elephant's spoor — Excur- sion often fatal I'ack to (irahamstovvn Stiles' Hotel 159 CHAPTER XIT. West to Clanwilliam--Mr, Shaw Pro(bictions of farm -Back to the Cape -Open an hotel Pleasures of Cape life — Ships put in for Australia - Imimrts Market day - Arrangements — Waggons — Fish- -Lobsters Off to Port Elizabeth -Whale fishing— Sea ele- l)hants— Manner of killing - The Penguin — Habits of the bird — Back to the Cape — English ( 'hurch at Newlands- Tlie Bay — Wreck of a Baltimore vessel— Loss of two children, captain's wife, and the mate • Habits of Hottentots Manner of living— A marriage - A present and its return — I^oss in business by partner absconding - Ijeave the (^ape-East India docks -Buckinghamshire- -Rela- tives at home Station master - Accident detailed- -Near Rugby — Exonerated and ])ronioted--Liverpool - Brighton— To Canada — Farewell address I75 '<\ to Kye lUHh-Tho J— On re- i bring in Sar.dilla iirrenders nt— Pro- aiefs and -Excur- .... 159 k to the It in for ggons- 3ea ele- J bird- Wreck fe, and riage- sonding -Rela- ugby— nada — .. 175 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. CHAPTER I. Sixteenth Queen's Lancers- Regiment in India— Gravesend— Scenes en roM^e— Embark on board Lord Exmouth— Sprung a Leak— Ply- mouth Sound- - Passage—Passing the line— Father Neptune— Cape de Verde Islands— Becalmed— Fishing— Cape of Good Hope- Albatrosses— Pass St. Paul and Amsterdam— Storm— Isle of Fraun — Sandhead— Hooghly— Fort William— View of Calcutta — Dis- embark — Chinaaura Garden reach— Dutch Fort — Cholera — Orders for Cawnpore — Up Ganges in Boats — Typhoon— Swamped- Loss . of a Lady —Scenery along the River — Benares, the holy city— Alla- habad— Cawnpore— Night marching— Camp— Description of large Banyan Tree— Meerut- -Regiment -Captain Havelock— War Ru- morst HOUGH now fast approaching the valley 'l we all must enter, I feel a certain degree of pride when I remember the Saturday in November, eighteeen hundred and :'*vs*-> thirty-seven, which made me one of Her B IH TEN VEARS IN INDIA. ] Majesty's Sixteenth Queen's Lancers. The Regi- ment was then in India, and, as Maidstone in Kent was at that time the centre for all depots whose corps were abroad, I was sent thither, i am not j'oinfj to trouble the reader with all the minutiae of drill, horse and foot, always necessary to make a man periect for his ])rofession, suffice, it was long and arduous, boi*ne with pleasure, so as to get as (juickly as possible ready for service abroad. For this purpose 1 joined, and for this I done my utmost to prepare. In February, the following year, I, with members of my own and other corps, left Maidstone for Grave- send en route for Calcutta. I need hardly detail any scenes which may have occurred in our pro- gress to the port of embarkation. They are often witnessed in England, and once seen can never be forgotten. Preceded by a band playing patriotic airs, brings to the windows and doors all the inhabi- tants on the line. The soldiers answer cheer with cheer, for their spirits must have vent, and they can read goodwill and Godspeed on the faces of all the people they meet. At this time there was a rumour i I e Regi- in Kent i whosL* am not lutiae of make a ^as long get as d. For utmost lembers Grave- detail ir pro- e often ver be triotic nhabi- r with By can 11 the imour i^ i KM HA UK oN i;(»AIU» " \A)\l\* KXMOUTH. 10 in K!i«T^IaiHl of uiJproac.hiii^ trouble in Afghanistan. The people us they looked on ns, seemed to under- stand this, and some may have been thinking, " Poor fellows, how many of you will come back, l)ut no matter, they are glad to go, and tight too." British soldiers alwavs are; and in this, a draft for active service ditfers from those that are sent off in times of peace, when a man woidd be glad to skulk if he could get the chance. Arrived at (iravesend, we go aboard the Lord h'xmouth transport, and as the ship's bell announces the hour for weighing anchor, cheer after cheer bursts forth again from the men all along the docks, caught up by the sailors on the yards, and again by the crowd of spectators ashore, and the ship carries us out of port, away from the land which has seen thousands and thousands of heroes go forth to make Britain what she is. The confusion for the while is very great, but with willing hands all soon get righted — the golden rule on board a troop ship is rigidly adhered to, " A place for everything, and everything in its place." A.ll now settle down to life aboard. On the fifth day I ! 20 TF.N YEARS IN INDIA. out, our ship in a fog struck a rock, sprung a leak, and we were obliged to put into Plymouth Sound ; in three days all was again righted, and we started on oui- voyage. Nearing the Cape de Verde Islands, we pass the line, and as it may be interesting I will here give a description of the customary honours paid to old Father Neptune while passing the equator. All who had not crossed this imaginary line before, which, of course, in our case were few, had to be shaved, or pay a fine to Father Neptune. The boatswain acted as the redoubtable father ; over the side under the bowsprit ; he first challenges, then comes on board attended by his sea-nymphs, riding on a gun rigged for him ; a board is placed over a large tub of sea- water ; the men who have not paid their respects before — crossed the line — are ranged along the board, lathered with a tar brush, and shaved with an old iron hoop, then soused into the tub of salt water, amid roars of laughter. Passing Cape de Verde Islands, the first land we saw for six weeks, we were becalmed—not a breath of wind, the heat in the tropics intens«\ We spent some of (ur time in fishing; we caught several be| nc HI I • APt; OP GOOD HOPE — STOUM. 21 §: a leak, •■ Sound ; 5 started Islands, g I will honours ing the aginary sre few, eptune. r; over Js, then riding over a ot paid ranged b, and ito the nd we breath spent ever.'i I beneta- a beautiful tish — and some dolphins. We now got a good breeze, rounded the Cape of Good Hope far to the west, and entered the Pacific Ocean. Here we encountered some rough weathei", when calmed we caught many albatrosses with pork ; this is a splendid bird, measuring eighteen feet from tip to tip of wing, all white, and strange to say, when they are brought on deck, they get giddy, and can- not fly, though free to do so. Passing the barren, rocky islands of Saint Pauls and Amsterdam, we approach the Indian Ocean. Just before entering th<^se waters, the sky had every appearance of a storm, and sure enough the day aftei- we noticed the indication, we encountered a perfect hurricane, carrying away fore-mast, main and mizzen, long boat, our good cow and sheep, and seven pigs, leav- ing us a perfect wreck. This lasted two days and nights. We were drifted about one thousand miles away fi'om land, but Captain Warren rigged jury masts, and the day after we sighted a French ship. After passing signals the Captain promised to keep by us till we got to the Mauritus. In five days we siu;liu>d the Isle of France, here our vessel was I 22 TEN YEAKS IN INDIA. overhauled, everything made right to enable us to continue our voyage. All went well until our arrival at the Sandheads off the mouth of the Hooghly river. Here we signalled foi- a pilot, and soon made the Hooghly, one of the many branches of the Ganges. Passing Tiger island, many of the natives came off in dingies, almost naked, to see us. At first we supposed they were women, from having their hair tied up and fastened with a comb on the top of the head. Diamond harbor was also passed, until we made b'ort William, where we anchored. Just five months' sail from England. When viewed from on board ship, Calcutta, in the bright morning sun, presents a beautiful picture ; the city rises high from the edge of the grand old river with imposing majesty. The marvellous line of ar- chitecture in every possible variety of form — count- less numbers of temples, small and great, and over- topping these, fortress-looking stone and marble pal- aces — certainly nothing cculd be more unique than such a first glimpse under a bright sun, and blue sky, of forms so fantastic — brightest lights and shadows numberless ; of balconies, verandahs, towers, cu])o- I I UlSEMBAKK — DUTCH FORT. 2a ►le us to r arrival Hooghly on made of the natives At first ig their e top of I, until . Just , in the re ; the d river of ar- eount- l over- le pal- 3 than le sky, adows CU])0- las, projections, recesses, galleries endless and unde- scribable ; and again, the costume of the natives who came to see us, merchants, nabobs, Chinese, Parsees, people from Bengal, Bombay, Madras, in fact from every place under the sun one would imagine. On the following day we disembarked, and pro- ceeded to Chinsura, about twelve miles alon^*- the river. This is a large fortress, built by the Dutch. As we proceeded we saw the Governor (General's palace, built of white marble. Garden Reach must be a most beautiful place to reside, with its villas on the banks, and delightful palaces, and cocoanut trees sloping to the water's edge. It is here generally the European merchants reside. We found the Dutcli fortress or barracks a mo^t spacious building, with lofty rooms, each capable of holding one hundred men. The Twenty-sixth Cameronians, and part of the Forty -ninth Foot were here awaiting orders for (Jhina, and detachmenta of the Third Light Dra- goons, Thirteenth and Forty-fourth Infantry, wait- ing Oivlers, as we ourselves were also, to proceed up the country to join their respective regiments. Wliile waiting at the fort, before proceeding- to 24 TEN YEA«S IN INDIA. join the Regiment, the cholera broke out among the troops, and for the time it lasted we suffered severely — as many as twenty falling victims in one day. In July we received orders to proceed up the Ganges to Cawnpore, embarking on the fifteenth in large boats with thatched roofs, looking like floating houses ; each boat's crew consisting of seven sailors in charge of a Jemida, or Captain. I learned after these men were pressed from the surrounding villages, as many of them ran away, and, indeed, no wonder, for the work must have been very laborious, pulling by ropes along the bank, and at this season the cun-ent was all against them, as the river had lately ovei'flowed its banks. Nearing Ghazapoor, we encountered one of those severe typhoons, so common, and which come on so suddenly in India. This one broke with terrific force, capsizing the boat I was in, and giving all hands a baptising in the raging river. The ser- geant-major, his wife, and myself were washed to a sand bank. One young lady, going up the country to join her father, a captain in one of the Regiments, was lost — we suppose, as the river was full of ali- gators, she was captured by one of them. The I I ah( I S(!ENERY ALONG THK (iANGES. ong the everely ly. In nges to e boats ouses ; charge se men J many ^or the r ropew it was iowed id one which J with jiving e ser- i to a untry [lents, f aJi- The Jamida and his crew we never could find ; but sup- pose they ran away. The other boats had gone ahead, and as soon as I found my way clear — being a good swimmer, I shot out for the bank, ran along for more than a mile, until I reached the rest. They sent back aid and lescued the man and his wife. If this was to be my experience of the Ganges, give me before it half a dozen ocean voyages. The beauty of the scenery along the Ganges is hard to describe — fertile valleys innumerable, indigo plantations — here and there flocks of beautiful par- rots ; monkeys by the hundreds, capering about, par- ticularly in the Tarmarand trees, pulling and throw- ing cocoa-nuts about, and as we moored at night the trees would be swarmed, grimacing and yelling, such an unearthly noise — add to this, all around seemed spotted with fire from the innumerable fire- flies, while the chorus the monkeys made, and the noise from the flocks of flying foxes, almost scares a stranger. As the face of the country alters, so the extent of the overflow can be best seen. In some places, where the land is low, five or six miles in breadth is covered with water ; in otheis between ^r 2(5 TKN YEARS LN INDIA. high rocky banks, confine its course, and here the flow of water is \ery great, trying enough on the boats, and the unfortunate men pulling them. At Benares we stayed one day. This is the holy city of the Hin- doos, as Jerusalem to the Jews, or as Mecca to the Mahommedan. This city contains from nine hundred to one thousand temples, and thousands of images of the many gods worshipped by its people. The highest ambition of the Hindoo devotee is, although he may be tottering with age or sickness, and almost crawling on the earth through deformity, to visit the shrines at Benares, and walk for fifty miles around its sacred territory. Here tliey come from all parts of India, as it is considered a suie passport to glory to die within it. The temples have all their gods ; some of them ugly looking monsters. The people prostrate them- selves and strike a bell, which is in every one of them, and then depart. At certain great festivals, thousands assemble from the city on the banks of the river — a great bell is struck — horns are l)lowed by the priests, then these fanatics, thousands of them, men, women and children, rush heaolong into the deep water, and hundreds are drowned. From Benares we went to Al i the flow e boats, Benares he Hin- i to the lundred ages of highest le may awlintr !}hiines sacred idia, as within them them- them, isands er — a nests, omen r, and nt to ALLAHAHAD — CAWNI'ORK. 27 i Allahabad. Here the waters of the Jumna unite with the Ganges. This is also considered a very sa- cred place ; the water from here is taken to all parts of Hindostan in bottles, as holy water. It was hero Lord Olive gained such a decisive victory ovei* the Great Moirid of Delhi, as secured Beni^al to the East India Company. From Allahabad, we pi'oceeded to (^awnpore, wheie we ari'ived on the fifteenth of Oc- tober. ])isembarkint>-, v/e went into tents, and soon after joined the camp waiting foi- us. I merely ram- bled through this city to get some things at the baz- aai's. The goods were all exposed to view without shop-windows, as at home. The merchant sitting, tailor-fashion, on the boards. Of money changers there was plenty ; heaps of gold and silver coin on small tables. The sugar dealers, or rather ccmfec- tioners, had large coppers boiling, making jillavies, a mixture of butter and sugar. There is also a goodly number of bungalos and gardens, residences of rich merchants. Early in the morning, generally at three o'clock, when the march of troops commences, one is surprised at the number of animals »e(|uired for the several conveyances. Elephants and camels for tents 1 2S TEN YEARS IN IWDIA. and baggage; bullock Hackerys for women and chil- dren. Married soldiers are well provided for in India, a fund provided by Lord Clive allows every woman live, and evcny f cav- e part jh the ii their their tlacin*! hatterics ho as tu (•oniniand the gate ; at the same time Colonel Thompson, of the Engineers, was laying a chain cable to throw a bridge across the Moat. When this was accomplished, a mine was laid under the stone l)uttresses, and at a quarter to six o clock the mine was opening, and up went the gates with a terrific crasli. The storming party, consist- ing of the loth Light infantry, under Colonel Robert Sale ; the *^nd or C^ueen's, under Sir Thomas Wilt- shire; when the bugle sounded, commenced their attack under a heavy fire — the 13th had the honour of leading. The enemy every where made a terrific 1 esistance. Cjolonel Sale was knocked ofi" his horse and trampled upon, still he ordered the bugler to sound a retreat, instead of which, whether intention- al or not, the advance was sounded. Nothing could daunt the ardour and bravery of the men.. They soon gained a footing inside, where hand to hand encounters was carried on in its most relentless form, and in half an hour, both regiments were firm- ly established inside the walls. By day light the British flag was mounted on the Citadel, many of tlie enemy having thrown themselves therefrom, m 38 TKN YEARS [N INDIA. rather than surrender, to the Moat helow,a distance of 150 feet. We were ordered to enter and seize the horses, which were running wildly without riders, which we did after some hard work, and brought them to the prize agent outside. We were annoyed, however, very much, through having to encounter the worst of firing, as many of the AfFghans popped at us from loop-holes and windows in every street of the city. When the sun rose on the hills the Infantry could plainly be seen ascend- ing the greatest heights of the Citadel, far above the city; here they got into the bank, and loaded themselves with money. Many of the enemy were trying to escape to the valley away on our left ; these, and the force on the mountains, kept our troops in that direction busy. By 2 o'clock, p. m., all was over, and Ghuznee was in possession of the British. When all opposition ceased, and one went through the city, now filled with sounds of wailings, he cannot but be struck with the dreadful havoc war brings with it. This was my first general ac- tion, and although when in the heat of it, I felt no FKKLINas AFTKR RATTI.E. 39 distance nd seize without rk, and ^e were ving to of the indows •ose on iscend- ove the loaded y were r left ; pt our p. m., of the went ilings, havoc al ac- elt no ■^ pity for any one, at least 1 cannot remember feeling so, still, when the desolation is complete, and you are met everywhere with its sad effects, property- destroyed, mutilation of brutes, horses, camels, &c., dead, and writhing in pain from wounds ; wounded men and women every where begging for mercy or succour, the dead piled all round, the most hardened must give way to sadness. Shah Soojah, our newly crovvned king, was busy on our right, hanging and shooting traitors, some of them leading Chiefs who had fallen into his hands. The whole of the 24th was occupied in burying the dead, and on the fol- lowing day Hadjee Kan came in, and gave up his sword, a beautiful one, the hilt studded with costly gems ; for its possession the officers had a race, which was won by the 4th Light Dragoons. The horses captured, all of chem valuable Arab or Turcoman were sold by auction, the proceeds appropriated as prize money. We halted here three weeks, sending out detach- ments to scour the country for Dost Mahomet's troops. During this time the inhabitants began to be much familiarized to us, and brought on all the 40 TEN YEAPwS IN INDIA. supplies WO required. We had much troul)lc, how- ever, in striking bargains, as ihey do not speak Hindoostanee ; but this we did experience, their great Hking for us, ovor the regular Indian troops, our Sepoys. On the 2nd February we received orders to pre- pare for an advance on Cabul. Colonel Cureton was to proceed with two troops of the 16 th Lancers and three troops ol' heavy artillery as an advance, my troop was one of these. On the 3rd, our way lay through high rocky passes, these we had to as- cend, not -without great difficulty, and on the second day's advance, we came upon four guns planted so as to command a lead in the road. They were loaded, but abandoned. The artillery unloaded them, blowing up the timbrels, one of the men through accident having his arm blown off. Our march through the gorges and passes was very tedious till we arrived at Cabul, the capital. As we approached, the inhabitants gathered to greet us, and a right hearty welcome we got, as we were the Yrxly guard of the King, and the first Brit- ish soldiers they ever saw. Encamping opposite the r.vr.ur — cA>ri> opposite citv — entkh. U Ic, how- b speak J, their troops, to pre- ^ureton jancers Ivance, ir way [ to as- second dsoas oaded, them, irough march us till ed to as we Brit- e the fly main ;^ate, we were su})pli left Cabul on our march towards India, via the Gud- dulek and Kyber Passes, taking Dost Mahomet and his commander-in-chief as prisoners of war. The 16th Lancers acting as body-guard, had also the care of the prisoners. The force now consisted of my regiment, two troops Horse Artillery, one regiment if 44 TK\ YKAllS IN' IXDFA. native infantry, with Skinner's Irreo-ular Horse. Oin- route lav towards tin; Gilluni river ; this our horses had to swim. (JoJ()n(!l Ourston, now comniandino- the IGth, nearly lost his life. As his horse rolled over in the cunent, one of his men ran along the bank, and, althoui(h ln^avily booted and spurred, jumped in, caurjht him by the hair, anc' thus pulled him out. The first week in October we entered the Kyber Pass, and although the mountains on both sides swarmed with Kyberees anrl Ghy sal tees, they made no hostile demonstration, and allowed us to pass. Had there been any attempt at a rescue, we had previous orders to shoot the king, now captive, and his com- mander-in-chief. After a tedious march throuofli the rugged pass, we reached the fort of Jumrood, which stands at the mouth of the Plains of Peshwa, and the French General Avetavela was governor of that district for the king of the Panjaub. He came to meet us and pay his respects to Sir John Keene, and escort us through the Province of Peshwa. Here we halted five days, during which time I saw thirty })0(lies hanging in trees, and was informed that was th '<• ha th 1 rU(>hSlN(J Till': lUiL'NDAUV- MKKHIT 1.") lorse. Our our horses rmiianfJino- )rse rolled along the spurred, lus pulled he Kyber oth sides r made no -ss. Had previous his com- "ougli the d, which iwa, and r of that came to ene, and L. Here w thirty liat Avas the punishment incted out b} the Kreiieli (Jeneral to robbers, mostly hill tribe men. The Panjaub is a very fertile country, abounding;- in i^'nme, wild boar, deer and p*'a fowl. We iIA. possible, looking round .seeing each our way clear for a good run — let go, and souse he fell into the water. Splutter, splutter, occasionally as we ran, a fierce yell and a curse. We were in bed in five minutes, in fact before he had time to properly shake himself, and although enquiry and enquiry was made, and a reward for the miscreants ffered by himself, no one ever learned who did it for years after. We were not to remain long at peace, war broke out again on the death of Shah Soojah. Akbar Khan had seized the reins of government of Afghanistan, shot Mr. McNaughton, the agent, had prevailed on General Elphinstone to retire, who was w 3ak enough to do so, instead of holding his position until aid ar- rived ; and as soon as Akbar got him into the Gud- dulock Pass, conmienced an indiscriminate massacre. The 44th Regiment was almost cut to pieces ; some were taken prisoners with the officers' wives, including Lady Sale; some few escaped to Jellalabad, at the entrance of the Kyber Pass, where General Sale, Colonel Denny, and Major Havelock were with the 18th Light Infantry. When the winter was far enough advanced to march, Akbar wanted to attack lear for water, rce yell ates, in limself, , and a no one broke ' Khan nistan, led on nough lid ar- >Gud- ssacre. )ieces ; wives, labad, eneral 5 with as far ittack I)(M TOR MilYDOX — HIS MIRACULOUS KSCAPr::. 53 Sale, but he, not wishing to be caught, marched out and met him in battle^ and fully routed him and his army. Poor Colonel Denny being killed, Havelock then assumed the command. In the early spring General Pollock was pushed on with a force from Bengal. Before I proceed farther J will here give the fol- lowing incident which occurred at the time of the massacre in the Guddulock Pass, in 1842 : — Wlien the slaughter was nearly complete, a Doctor brydon endeavoured to escape ; among the survivors was a native assistant, who, seeing Brydon sorely pressed, called to him, saying, " Doctor Saib, I can- not possibly escape, I am dying of cold and hunger, take my pony and do the best you can for yourself." Brydon tried to encourage him, but no, he was dying, Brydou mountcMl, and through the confusion, forced his way to the Uvnt. Reaching all» safe, he found a gi'oup of mounted officers, who knowing they were just at the end of the Pass where it opens on the plain whej'e Jellelabad stands, determined to make a bold push Ibi" life. fSeeing Brydon on a wretched pony, they ^leclared they could not wait for him. 1 54 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. mounted as he was, and any delay would be sure to eouse their immediate destruction. On they went, leaving Brydon slowly toiling after them. The Af- ghans saw the group advancing at full swing, met them and slew them every man, and thinking no one else was coming, went back to the hills ; just then Brydon Jogged past unobserved. News of Elphin- stone's force was anxiously waited for at Jellalabad. Towards evening one man slowly riding a worn-out pony was descried at the entrance of the Pass, — cavalry were immediately sent to bring hira in — it was Brydon. As he entered the gate he fell sense- less from fatigue. When restoratives were applied, at least such as were at hand, he revived, and the first question he asked was about hisponj^ the pony that had saved his life — it was dead. Brydon was Avith General Sale during the gallant defence of Jel- lelabad, and liv^d to take part in the defence of Lucknow. Pollack pushed through the Kyber Pass to the relief of Sale. Another force under General Nott marched from Bombay towards Ghuznee, to the re- lief of our troops hemmed in there — the two divis- i UATKS OF THE TEMPLE OF SOMNUTll. O.) sure to r went, he Af-. ig, met no one -J then Elphin- alabad. orn-out e Pass, im in — 1 sense- applied, and the he pony Ion was : of Jel- fence of to the il Nott the re- o divis- ions were to meet at Cahul as an avenging army. Both pushed on as i-apidly as possible, and after long and arduous marches, reached Cabul, rescued tho prisoners, and burnt the capibil to the ground, (reneral Elphinstone having died, completely broken down through this sad disastei-. Lord Auckland was called home, and Lord Ellenborough replaced him as Uovernor-General of India. In January, 1843, an army of observation was formed on the banks of the Sutledge, to meet (ieno rals Nott and Pollock on their return through tlu; Khyber Pass, bringing with them the gates of the temple of Somnuth, fronl in front the Mahomedan mosque, at Ghuznee, — carried off eight hundred years before, on the ctmquest of India and subjuga- tion of the Hindoos — and now restored after that lapse of time by British valour, and thereby concili- a,ting the original possessors of Hindostan. These gates were made of sandal-wood, each one drawn on a waggon by twelve bullocks ; they were also covered with crimson curtains friuj/cd with gold. 'i'he Maharajah of Lahore <*am(' down with siy;. 56 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. thousand cavalry as an escort to pay his respects to Lord Ellenboroiigh. We marched towards Delhi on the first of February, through the protected Sikh states. Arriving at Delhi we encamped on the race course. Lord EUenboi'ough had summoned all the Ri>jalis and petty princes to meet him and the king at a Durbai ; along v/ith the King of Delhi was the Kajah of Burtpoor, the Rajah of Jypoor, the Rajah of Puttealea All the Indian nobility ga /e a grand dinner to the Governor-General, Lord Gough, and all the British officers. A large place was built of wicker-work, covered with flags, banners, streamers, and variegated lamps ; and tables were laid for five hundred guests ; the service was of silver and gold. The Governor-General and staff went down in three carriages, escorted by two troops IGth Lancers — my troop happened to be one of them — when the cavalcade arrived, a royal salute wait- fired, and salvo after salvo almost shook the air; the crowd was S3 dense we could almost ride over turbaned heads. After dinner there was a grand presentation to Lord Fllonborough,— a gold salver full of jewels, two ele- phants, richly caparisoned, and four Arab horses — M MKKUIJT AGAIN. 57 respects rds Delhi ted Sikh the race d all the the king was the le Rajah a grand igh, and built of [•earners, for five Qd gold, in three ncers — hen the id salvo was SD heads, bo Lord wo ele- 3rses — then came sucli a display of fireworks as never has been equalled since. It was twelve p.m. before we started for camp. The day following all this display a grand field-day was held, in order to show these native princes the power of Britain, and what good soldiers she boasted of. In all the movements, the troops sustained their traditional name; the liith made a dashing charge, covering th(i infantry, who had fallen into square ; we astonished tlm king and the several princes by the quickness of our movements, they calling us the Lall Goral Wallas, or Bullani Wallas. We broke up in a few days afterwards, each regiment march- ing to their respective stations, the lOth back to Meerut, where we arrived on the 4th of March. i might have introduced to the reader before this an inseparable companion I had while in canton- ments, and one who not only shared my bed and board, but one who, dm-ing many hours of serious tliought and fretfulness about all at home, mother and sisters, made me laugh and forget what 1 had lieeu thinking about a few moiuents before; this creature was Jaco, my monkey ; whe tired, and lying down getting a littlo rest, Jaco would jump on the table, make faces at himself in the glass, then, to annoy me, or get me up, as he knew he was disturbing me, get pen and ink, as he had seen me do, and destroy any paper that lay about with his scrawling ; if f took no notiee. and he found it was no use teasing m(^ that way, he usually licked t}w. pen, s])itting out several times, make ugly faces, all the time looking at me, I pietending to slee^). 1 don't know that he had one bad habit, but thieving and this he was expert at; if I had received a paper, i)V was sending one houK^ and Ic^ft it on the table, nothing pleased poor Jaco better than to make away with it. His usual plan was to leap on my table, watch me well foi' a time, to make sure I was asleep, he gently canie on the Ix^d, above my head, put his finger softly U> my ey(^s and try (o open them ; this was done, I suppose, to see if I would stir, then with a boun, ii()i\, don't (JO," 7fl I I it iuto his head to l»iith«'. I icmoiistratrd with liin), urgini^ J. obably tli(> ]in\soiiC(' of vciioinoiis snakes or serpents, very numiaons in tlu; li«'n«rul Presi- dency. He v/ould <^<),and ufo he did. My last wf^rds were: " Bol), don't you oo." As he started, imme- diately there came the same words — " Bob, don't you go " — " Bob, don't you ^o," a^^ain came more rapidly. Bob did turn back rather afraid, still lu; persuS-ded himself he wtis no coward, away lie went ai^ain, and again the same words came thick and fast, '' Bob, don't you go," " Bob, don't you go. " On looking up we discovered a nunjber of brown birds, similar in appearance to thrushes, in the trees, and as we rose to leave the cry went on, " Bol), don't you go," " B0I3, don't you go," but Bob did bathe, and was bitten by a venomous snake, and died that evening. I havt Dreviously stated that the Hindoos are very supe. 'itious, and do not kill anything — not even the poisonous snake. This part of India is not much travelled over by Europeans, and all sorts of dangerous reptiles and wild beasts live on undis- turbed to kill man. The IGth Lancers had bv this time completed 1. TF,N VKAHS \S INDIA. twc'Ul y-tvvo ynnrs' service in India, .'ind naturally en(>n<,di, many lookcrl forward fur tlio order to bring theiri back to En^dand. It was not to be yet, liow- over, altliough we all thought tliat the 9th liadconio out to ]-elieve us. On the third of February we broke upcan\p, and coninienced and marched back to our several can- tonments. On our way the time passed pleasantly enough. After camp-pitching for the day, if a vil- lage was within easy distance, 1 generally went thi- ther, accompanied l^y some companion. Generally the villagers will shy av/ay when they get a glimpse of a soldier, they aie afraid of being plundered, but the most reasonable excuse is, I think, to be found in their religion being insulted, at least here, for al- most eveiything is sacred. Their former rulers, rhe Rajahs, plundeied unmercifully, and allowed their men to commit the vilest of crimes. So full is this country of game as we neared the river (Jhumble, where f had on my way up got such a severe wetting in crossing, as to fasten a severe cold on me for some days. One morning at sunrise, geese, duck, and other water-fowl rose off the water i I VUirSHTKXKD (*5AMK. 75 in such a lar^«^ dctisc cloud jis to djirkcn tlir air, as if a thundor-stonii woro eomiii;;- on. No ono witli us over saw such a multitude. Like everv other liv- ing thing, they are never disturhcd, Init live on and multiply. No matter what our position In life — either high or low — or whatever our tastes for a variety of food, no men feel the loss of satisfying this desire more than soldiers on a campaign, always confined to the same diet. T have heard old soldiers say they re- membered they had such an abhorrence ibi* hard bis- cuit, and such an appetite for fresli bread, impossible to get at the time, that if a year's pay could get one fresh loaf, they would give it. We felt now some- thing of this feeling, and all ranks longed for a change of some sort, either in bread or meat. Here was a fine opportunity, and it was availed of to the full extent, as far as the nnimal food could do it. Three of our officers, Captain Meek, Lieutenant Pat- terson, and the Veterinary Surgeon, respectively nicknamed — Meek, The Hair Trunk ; Patterson, Black Jack ; and the veterinar}^ Hot-water Jack were sitting together engaged in mending tlieir 7(i TEN VKAHS IN INHIA, jackets an^ us now in cantonment the Fortieth Foot, ti tor[)s that hud served in times gone by witli the Ibth in the Peninsular wars i;Kx\ERAL AlUiUTllNOT AND Till] 1(5X11. 71) e 16th - ncers for DeHcrii> )ensioner tlajah to aclaiined nt to our ry by tlie from the ling — Or- mch otii- model — Bengal — he Queen al Sing— Ikee — Sir it Meerut dences cr. never . beside ,h Foot, ^'one by Li* wars and at Waterloo, They had now been four years in Afghanistan, were present at Kilat, GiJzie and Candahar, Having plenty of money on hand, after our late campaign, we often fraternized with them, and indeed were boon companions as far as we could in the pleasures and enjoyments of camp life at Meerut. Dinners and parties, at which I am sorry to add much intoxication pnivailed, was an every -day occurrence. So much was revelling carried on that on General Arbuthnot coming to the station to assume command, and when at din- ner with the Colonel, the state of the regiment was the subject of discussion. This was the ques- tion, " What would you do, Colonel, if your regi- ment was required to-morrow morning for inune- diate service ; they are all drunk and wandering about anywhere." This matter was soon settled by a heavy wager — I suppose merely in name — by the Colonel, who stated the regiment would be out at daylight in the morning — it was then ten o'clock — and if any man was absent, or sliould fall off his hoi'se, the bet. s\'a,s Forft'iteyed in the mango grove (jf the palace. On Sunday, the thirteenth November 1845, as we were marchino; from church news soon spread that war had again broken nut, and the Meerut division were to make forced marciaes to join Lord Gough, who had pushed on from -^mballa, as the Sikhs had crossed into our territory in large force near Feroze- poor. The C-awnpor(> and Delhi divisions were also to move up in haste. This was astounding news to men so lonir in India as most of the 16th had been, but nevertheless all felt glad — in fact rejoiced — at the pi-ospects of another good campaign, so eager were our men for it that the sick in hospital, such as were convalescent, w^ould persuade the surgeon they were well enough, and Viegged to be let go with the regiment, SKETCH OF VHE SIN> .^"^4 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (-,'16) 872-4503 ^' '^' 88 TEN YKAHS IN INDIA. cavalry, seeing them through a cloud of sand, imag- ined their retreat was being cut off, panic-stricken, they bolted, when the 3rd Light Dragoons and 4th Native Cavalry charged under a heavy fusilade from the infantry — 50th and 62nd — completely routed them from their position. In this charge, Colonel Somerset, aide to Lord Gough, was killed. The Meerut division knew nothing of all this until we arrived at Muddkeo on the 1st January, when the sights "we met confirmed our suspicion. At first we came across dead ciuiiels, then, on approaching the village, several of our native regiment soldiers came out to greet us. A sad sight indeed — some bandaged almost from head to foot ; arms and legs off. All left behind in the hurry to keep up with the enemy. On laying out our picket guard with the Quarter- Master General, as I was in the advanced guard, we came upon a heap of sand, out of which part of a man's hand projected ; also, a little further on, part of a hand and wrist, with so much of the cuff of a coat as showed a 50th button. We, of course, performed the duty of burying all such, as the pursuing army had no time. Making a reconnaisance with my cap^ SAD EVIDENCES OF LATE HAVOC. 89 tain, we entered a kind of park-like enclosure, and here we found traces of the fearful work of Gough's engagement. Men, horses, and camels lay in heaps unburied, vultures in hundreds fcastin^j^ on them ; none had been touched, all lay as they fell. The Sikhs lay in heaps under their guns, the Light Dragoons as they fell from their horses, the tents of the blind half-hundred still standing, knapsacks around in all directions. The guns we secured, and fatigue parties performed the sickeninr; duty of burying the dead. CHAPTER VI. Hureka Gaut— Sir Harry Smith ordered to intercept Rungour Sing —Joined by 77th foot— March— View of Buddural— Opened fire— 16th to hold ground while infantry push on — Too weak to fight yet—Baggage cut off — Some of 3l8t foot made prisoners — Treat- ment of their sergeant by the enemy— Push into Loodianna — News of their retreat— Ordered to intercept— Arrival at fort — Harem- Finding two bags of rupees— Reinforced and advance — Order of troops— Battle of Aliwal commenced— Sir Harry's telescope cut in two -" Lancers, three cheers for o\ir Queen " -Charge— A square of guards— Corporal Ne.v.sora— Bravery- -Killed— Green flag in his hand "Immortalized IGth " — Fearful loss — Join another squadron- Pursuit to river — Destruction- -Wounded to village — March to join Lord Gough Two hundred cannon belching together— Sobraon 10th February — Description of battle— British flag planted — The bridge blown up— Charge the entrenchments — Victory and end of Sikh War— Losses— labour— Chiefs bring out the young Maha- rajah— Recei)tion in liord Hardinge's marquee - Terms —Crowning the young King- Proud Shieks — Retort on our Sepoys. FTER this melancholy duty was perfoiined, we pushed on to the Sutledge river, to overtake Lord Gough, and on the 5th January reached Hureka Gaut, encamp- ing on the right of his Lordship's divi- ion. We la,> here till the L5th, when General Sir .1 )iNEi) UY Tin-: 77th foot, fH Harry Smith was ordered to intercept Rungour Sing, he having crossed the liver higher up. and burnt Loodianna, one of our stations. On the third day's march Sir Harry sent back for rtiiiforcoments, and the 16th Lancers, with a troop of artillery, was sent to him. We made forced marches in order to overtake him, which we did at Juirram ; liere we were joined by the 77tli, having l)een pushed up from Calcutta. On the evening of tlie 20th we received orders to leave all our tents and baggagt^ ; subse- quently the order to take all was given, and we mounted at 3 o'clock next morning, stopping at eight to roll our cloaks. As we were doing so, some of the look-out descried the enemy's cavalry. We re- mounted, and, as usual, 1 was sent on the advance picket. A large body of cavalry-men vvcn^ moving in front, parallel with us. Soon we made a sand-hill, and on going up it saw the Fort heavily mounted with cannon, thousands of bayonets glitterinj;: in the morning sun. This was Buddiwal, a village; lying between us and it. We halted till the body of the regiment came up, when a batt<'ry opened on us, TEN V'EAIiS IN INDIA. The 3]st foot behind could scarcely Uavel up— -the sand was so deep. Sir Harry rode to our colonel, telling him to keep ground with the artillery till all the infantry had passed on, as he did not intend to light them that day, but would pass on to Loodianna, They were 20,000 strong, we only about 4,000. Here was evidently some error, or some order neglected, for the baggage was too far in rear instead of being well up behind the column. As soon as these flying columns of cavalry saw the unprotected state of the baggage, they who had been seen moving parallel with UK, dashed like a thick cloud, cut off our camels with' the tents, bedding, money-chests, capturing also the guard of the 31st regiment, a sergeant and twelve men. That night was one of debauch over the spoils. They cruelly treated their prisoners. The Sikh soldiers run a red-hot iron through the sergeant's Ixxiy. This treatment they would all have received, but it came to the ears of their General who stopped it. We, pushing on, got to Loodianna, and found great havoc had been committed. The barracks and mess-house had been burned, after the ."iOth left to join the army. What few troops ARRIVAT- AT FORT. 0:i up — the colonel, •y till all ntend to odianna, )0. Here eglected, of being se flying te of the parallel r cameliB ring also ant and iich over risoners. mgh the ould all General odianna, d. The ifter the troops we found there were our native soldiers, and they were shut up in the fort. Here we remained till the 23rd, until some of our elephants with tents and baggage, who had escaped from the raid ann seeing two white soldiers, they ran to us. By persuasion, and at times by threats, thev showed ub where some money was hid. Taking us into the Seraglio, they pointed out a black stone near a fire stove. The floor of this apartnieTit was made of marble, che- quered black and white. On lifting the stone pointed out, we discovered two bags containing rupees. Counting them in camp, one had three hundred, the other four hundred and fiftv. The I'irls were beauti- ful Circassian slaves, and could not have cost less tha*i ^ne thousand rupees each. They were much obliged to us. saying, " Company Dewoy, thank you, thank you."' We had great fun that night in camp, appropriating anything found of use. We killed cows and sheep, made cakes, had plenty of milk, and, besides, the two young Circassians attended on us. Reinforcements of infantry constantly arriving from Lord Gough, on the 26th we numbered 10,000 fighting men, and on the '28th we were to march to meet the enemy, who had re-crossed the Sutledge, and added to their number 4,000 men, making them 24,000 in all. We marched in solid 15ATTLK OF AIJWAI. ing two )n, and e some c, they !. The e, che- lointed rupees, red, the beauti- ost less B much nk you, 1 camp, killed Ik, and, onui. rriving mbered i^ere to ;ed the ) men, in solid square; cavahy in front, ihvu infantiy, artillery in centre, anil cavalry in rear. Tliu enemy were in sight, as reported hy uiir advance picket, at eiijht o'clock. As wo got near, tliey moved out of camp, and deployed into line. The Kith Lancers, with the 5th native cavalry and two troops of horse artillery, were ordered to the left. Two rey four regiments of native infantry. Theeneniy commenced the action at half- past eight, opening a heavy cannonade from the village of Aliwal, their centre — their line reaching three miles from right to left. Very soon the 31st and 50th stormed the viliaire. Colonel Cureton, of the 16th, Brigadier of Cavalry, tuined the enemy's left by a rapid movement of cavalry and artillery. On the right a large body of choice Sikh troops were coming down through a wood to outflank us. On this being apparent, our left wing — the 16th Lan- cers and the 5th Native Cavalry — charged, putting them to the route. 1 was acting as orderly to Sir Harry, and just where we stood a shell from the enemy, as it flew above us, burst overhead, a piece DG TKN YRAHS IN it^fDIA falling and* cutting his telescope in two, as he took it from his eye. This seemingly vexed Sir Harry, for he immediattjly despatdK'd me to Major Smyth, commandinir the ril)ing a Sepoy or one of our own, who may have been near tliem. However, all of oui-s were collected ; when we got back the army was preparing to bivouac for the night on the field. The following day was spent in preparing lists of wounded and killeil. and seeing the former as comfortal)le as possible under cover of tents. On the '3()th the wounded and th(? guns cap- tured were sent to Loodianna. During the charge of the l(5th Lancers through the squares of the tlu; Imperial Guards, a sergeant of my troop received a musket .shot in the left side, and his horse also was shot dead. Then he was attacked 100 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. v;S»f|'*-2 by four Sikhs ; he defended himself bravely with his sword, having cut down three. The fourth was about to finish him when a little Ghoorka at a dis- tance levelled his rifle and shot the foe, thus saving the sergeant. Yet he died a few days after. These Ghoorkas are small hill-tribe men. Under the Company there are three battalions, officered by British officers, and good soldiers they are, loyal and brave. They carry three formidable knives in the shape of a sickle, and they have been known to kill a bear or tiger single-handed. They are recruited from the tribes in the Himalaya Mountains beyond Simla and NinaTal. The officers and merchants, who reside on the hills during the hot season,keep a num- ber of these small hill men as servants to carry the jom.pam,or fetch wood and water, each family dressing them in Highland costume. They are very honest and industrious. Numbers of them come in from the valleys with walnuts and other fruits for sale. The scenery at the stations on the hills north of Bengal is grand. Simla and Missuri, 14,000 feet above the sea level. The air is pure and bracing, far above the mountains tower to 27,000 feet. When MARCH TO JOIN LORD GOUGH. 101 y with bh was , a dis' saving These jr the :ed by ^al and in the to kill bruited Deyond ts, who anum- ny the ressing honest n fro)n or sale, orth of )0 feet racing, When the sun is setting in tlie west the view is splendid, as you see the glaciers reflecting a thousand different colours. Then to look down into the valleys below, far below, the roads are cut around the sides of the hills, and you journey up from hill to hill, like going- round so many sugar loaves. Rose trees grow here to the size of oaks. Tlic birds are of gorgeous plum- age, such as the Argus pheasant, the Mango bird. The bantam fowl arc numerous in the woods. Straw- berries and nectarines are in abundance, growing on the sides of the hills. The natives bring in numbers of leopard and bear skins, also bears' grease. But- terflies are beautiful also ; beetles of a large size, such as the elephant and stag beetle. I have made up cases of each that went at 16 rupees or 32 shil-- lings. The mule is the only carrying animal who can travel round these roads witli any safety. The ladies are conveyed in jampanns, by four natives, a sort of palanquin, which swings on a pole. All being arranged, the following day we marched to join Lord Gough, who with the main body are at Hureka Gaut. As we marched along the villagers generally welcomed us with salaams. 102 ..** TEN YEARS IN INDIA. ^M Loni Ellenborough had been succeeded as Gover- nor-General by Lord Htirdinge. He, with General Gough, come out to meet Sir Harry and his division. We halted, and both rode along our front, giving us great praise for our victory at Alivi^al on the 28th. We marched into camp, and occupied a position on the right of the Army. Here we waited five days, worried with picket and guard duty, waiting for the siege guns being bi'ought tVom Delhi by elephants. The enemy, we learned, were in a strong position, well fortified, a sort of half-moon, each horn resting on the Sutledge, with a bridge of boats in their rear, either to bring up supplies with, or to retreat by — under the command of Lall Siig, the Queen's favourite general. On the morning of the tenth of February we formed, an hour before daybreak, not a sound of trumpet or drum being heard. All was done silently. At daybreak our mortars opened the ball by sending shell into the enemy's position. At six we were answered, and over two hundred pieces of ordnance roared away on both sides, A thirty-two pound ball, spent, struck one of our elephants, and as it was the first '* e saw wounded, vvt^ could not help I, HATTLE OF SOBRAOX. 10 laughing — indeed, the entire army burst into laugh- ter — though to laugh in such a scene seems almost incredible. He had been hit on the rump, and to see him cantering and galloping over that field, upsetting everything almost he came across was indeed a sight. On the same field a fox started between the two armies, and as the soldier's dog always follows him, one followed the fox, but from the confusion at the time I lost sight of them, though the fox stood some time confined, not knowing what way to get clear. At nine the infantry began their work by firing all along the line — the 31st ordered to charge at a break made by our guns, They did, and were repulsed by a heavy discharge of grape and canister. The 10th were then ordered to advance and take part, and in a short time both regiments, vieing with each other, made an entrance at the point of the bayonet, one of the 31st mounted on the breastwork with the British flag. It was completely perforated with shot, yet the man was charmed, for he was not touched. He afterwards got a commission. The 16th Lancers with a battery of Artillery, were ordered up to com- mand the bridge. The battery put in red-hot shot 104 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. and destroyed the bridge. The centre boat forming the bridge was filled with combustibles. It was their intention, had they to retreat, to draw us away after them, and then blow us up. Now commenced hot work. We and the Infantry got into their intrenched position. ' All fought like tigers, the Sikhs disputed every inch of ground down to the river bank, and into it while they could stand. They fought till about two o'clock, when the battle was ours. The river was all bloody and choked with bodies now added to those that had by this time floated down from AUiwal ; and, strange, the water had risen two feet through thejamming caused by this obstruction. Thus ended the battle of Sobraon, and with it the Sikh war of 1845'46. Our loss was one hundred and fifty ofiicers and eight hundred rank and file. General Dick was killed. The enemy left 16,000 dead and wounded on the field. Our Engineers, on the 12th of February, con- structed a bridge. We crossed over and marched to- wards their capital, Lahore. The country was in a deplorable state through the previous civil war. The cil il RECEPTtOX IN LOUD HARDIN(JE's MARQUEE. lO.' agricultural and mercantile classes wore ruinc«i. As we neared the city, after a seven days' march, not knowing how we would bo received, the principal chiefs and ministers made their appearance, bringing the young heir, Dulep, a boy, with them, and to make terms with the Governor-Goneral thoy were received in his Lordship's marquee, witli a troop of the 9th and one of the IGth around inside the tent. They begged hard that the British flag should not float on the walls of Lahore, when his Lordship asked what compensation was to bo had for the blood of his countrymen shed, when they, without provoca- tion, invaded the Company's territory, "Yes," he added, without reply, " the flag of England shall float over your w^alls," he would crown the young Maharajah and take the Doab, the territory on the banks of the Sutledge up to Loodianna, as compensa- tion for the expense such acts had entailed. On the 21st we marched on to the plain in front of the city, and encamped opposite the gate called Delhi gate. The city is surrounded by high walls flanked by towers mounting one hundred guns of large lOG TKN YEARS IN INDIA. calibre, the whole surroundeu by a deep moat. The river Ravie flows through the city. The most beau- tif il building was the Seraglio, the residence of the Rungoets, six hundred concubines. Many a fair woman was in there at that time, mostly from Cir- cassia, captured by the Turcoman horse, in their raids among the Circassian villages, and brought to the fairs held m India every seven years for that purpose near the source of the Ganges. On the 26th of Februaiy the young Maharajah was crowned in the presence of the British Army and an immense thrcmg of nativ^es. The day fol- lowing, Lall Sing came in with 10,000 of his troops and surrendered. They laid down their arms as they marched past us, our Sepoys boasting they had de- feated them. They retorted, saying, " No, you black pigs, but it was the Europeans who had. The Eng- lish were brave, and they had fought them well." The Sikhs are a fine body of men — tall, good I looking, and very proud. They had mostly been organized and drilled by French officers in Rungeit Sing's time, but after his death and the civil war ■Departure of tifk french officers. lOT The beau- 3f the I fair 1 Cir- r raids to the irpose commenced, the Fi-enchmen left, crossing to the Company's territories, some going home to France. It is certain Avitavoolie took his wife, who was the daughter of the Rungeit, and his (hiughter to Paris, to have them educated. arajah Army ly fol- troops IS they ad de- 1 black e Eng- well." [, good y been lungeit vil war i; (aiAPTER VII. Sh" H. Lawrence- Orders for home Re-cross^ Sutledge — Jeroaha — ■ Scenes of previous enf,'at,'ement -Meerut — Leave for Calcutta — Down (Jangea -Col. ('ureton's farewell- Dum Dum — Calcutta, city, grand Ball— Sights- -Embark for home — Bay of Bengal — As- cension — St. Helena— Doru Cliffs -Boats coming off Relatives — March to Canterbury Furlough— London — Meet Sisters and Mo- ther — Deal— Battle — Aimiversary— Buckingham Palace— Review- ed by Her Majesty- -('laim Discharge— Causes— Take Ship for South Africa. EACE was proclaimed on the 4th March, and Sir Henry Lawrence was appointed to remain as Resident, with a few of our ti'oops, to protect the young king. On the following day Sir Harry Smith told us the Commander-in-Chief would now send us home, and volunteering would be opened for two regiments, the 3rd Light Dragoons and 9th Lancers. Any of us who chose might remain, however. Un- der the influence of arrick, a mad drink, the 9th got one, and tlie 'ird got ninety, of our men. Tlie i OJinEllS Foil lloMK. 100 Tlift remnant, with the :Ust Foot, loft on the »Sth of March for Calcutta. Before^ leaving, we were highly complimented l>y Lords Hardingf and Gough, and wished a safe voyage. Our bands struck uj) " Home, Sweet Homo," and I remeinl>o 'low sweet the very sound of that air seemed so far away from homo, — ■ when one thought of the dear old land, and those dearer still who were uncertain as to whether most of us were living or dead. Pushing on now, on a ditforent errand, we re- crossed the well-known Sutledge River, came to Fero- sha, where we fought on the 22nd and 23rd Decem- ber, 1845; and, after pitching tents, rambled over the iield, one we had left in hot pursuit of the enemy. Words cannot be found to desci'ibe our horror on finding all around was still as death ; not a living soul to be seen, the village completely deserted, lieaps of men, horses and camels lyi^g there for three months unburied; the infantry, just as they fell, clothed complete ; the dragoons the same way accou- tred and spurred ; the horses and camels in the ditch just as they fell. We did as much as wo could, and went on towards Meerut, where we airived on the IK) TKN YKAUS IN INDIA. ( I 2nd May, being mot hy the band of the 14th Light Dragoons, who played us to the station. We were seven weeks from Lahore. Giving up our horses, we made all preparations for home by Calcutta, 900 miles from Meerut. We now sold our library, dis- tributing tlie pi'oceeds, together with the benevo- Itmt and canteen fund, among the men. This, with our prize money, after being st^parately awarded, was sent to our army agents in London, to be drawn when we reached home. On the 8th of May we started on foot for Gurmatesa Gaut, on the Ganges* just three days' march, where we were to take boats for Calcutta. Before embarking on the Ganges, a despatch was received from Lord Gough appointing our Colonel, Cureton, Adjutant- General of the Army in Bengal. He bade us a sorrowful good-bye, say- ing he came out with the regiment in 1822, hoped to go home with them, but this promotion frug+.rated that. "All the honours I have," said he, "and all the promotions I have received, I attribute to the brave men of the IGth." All shook hands with him, some went so far as to embrace him, and tears were shed, for he was a father to his men. We had a strange L'AL. UTTA. GRAN I > MALI,, 111 voyajg'e down the GangoH, the water l)eing low at. this time of the year, and our men did ahiiost as they pleased, so joyful were they at the prospect of going home. Few otlicers accompanied us, as many went over land to Kn<(land. Sailing: at ni'dit was dangerous, our boats were therefore moored ; sand- bars, stumps of immense trees, and an accumulation of rubbish met us eveiywhere. Our time was gen- erally passed shooting flying-foxes, monkeys, alliga- tors. We as often shot dead bodies a.-; living, the Hindoos consigning all the dead to the waters of their goddess, Ganga. We reached Dum Dum, twelve miles from Calcutta, on 21)th July, 1846, and as the ship at Calcul a was not ready, while she was getting so we took up quarters in the Artillery barracks at this station. Here we had a grand ball given by the citizens, and at which our newly-ap- pointed Colonel and a sergeant's wife made the only couple who came out with the regiment. We had all the grandees of Calcutta up at it. Every tree for miles was illuminated ; dancing w';.s kept up all night. At this ball I met a young friend, who had been a comrade of mine, when he was one of us, but 112 TEN YKAUS IN INDIA. who, fortunately, had «;ot married to a wealthy hoir- csfi, and was now settled near (^alcutta, in a most heautiful mansion. 1 have introduced the reader before to (Calcutta, but it was only a bird's-eye view from on board ship; now, however, as I had leisure to visit it and walk through its streets, I may give a more detailed description of it. Most of the wealthy people live outside, in the suburbs, such as the Dnm Dum or Barrack poor road. The city it- self covers an area of sixteen square miles, and has some fine streets ; the principal ones, at each corner have stands, where yo\i can hire a pallankeen for a I'upee, or two shillings, a day, to go shopping or visit- ing ; four waiters carry it, two in front and two be- hind. They an; beautifully get up, lined with silk cushions and generally have a crimson blind. The old city is of bamboo structure, thatched roofs, mostly inhabited by the lower order of natives. In the city proper the buildings are large and hand- some, built mostly of brick, some of stone and mar- ble. The brick houses seem very old, as if they had been built at a very early period. It is quite com- mon to see elephants, mostly })earing some wealthy n mir ■ij^^] •^k' '■<:.;;.^<^^k . '*'i*iiW!W«ii^ V, J "" £sm -*^ fully competent in every respect, but merely to please the whim of some depot officer. I was very much stung to think I was the only serjeant left alive at Aliwal. had brought my men home, and that one who had never crossed the English Channel should be promoted over me. From Canterbury we went to Deal, as a riot was feared at the election. Hei'e we met our old com- rades, the 31st Foot, just home from India. In May, 1847, we wei'e ordered to Brighton, in Sussex. Our route lay through Battle, near Hastings, where Wil- liam the Conqueror defeated Harold, paying a visit to the Abbey. Here the King (Harold) was buried ; his tomb is over-grown with ivy. An ancient paint- ing of the battle may be seen in the great hall, with two statues of Saxon warriors on each side. We reached Brighton on the seventh of May. In this fashionable watering-place we commemorated the second anniversary of Aliwal with a grand ball, at * which were the Duke of Wellington, Prince Albert, the officers of all the Guards regiments, and the fashionables from the Metropolis ; the pavilion was KEVIEWEI) BY HER MA.IESTY. 121 , as I ;ly to very b left ithat annel t was corn- May, Our Wil- , visit tried ; mint" with We this i the Etll, at * Ibert, i the 1 was filled on the occasion — twenty of our troopers, medal- men, lining the grand stairway. One entire regiment went to the theatre, where Jenny Lind sang. Fearing a Chartist riot in London, at a great meet- ing to be held on Kensington Common, we were ordered up on the 10th April. We stopped two days, and then proceeded, three troops to Ipswich, five to Norwich. Here we remained till the spring cf 1849, breaking young horses, and getting ready for a grand review by Her Majesty. In May we got the route for Hoimslow, one troop to Kensing- ton, to do Royal Escort duty. I had the honour of being one of the escort of Her Majesty on the 24th May, from Nine-Elms station to Buckingham Palace. On the 26th following, before the Iron Duke, Prince Albert, Her Majesty, and a host of the aristocracy, we paraded and went through a tield-day, charging as we did at Aliwal, and only stopped with the horses' heads over the carriage of Her Majesty. Here, after the review, she pinned ^n our breasts the Medals for the Punjaub. Not feeling exactly pleased as to the way I was 122 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. treated, after many days' serious consideration, I de- termined to leave the regiment, as I could now claim a free discharge, having completed twelve years' service. I might have remained till my time of double service had expired, when I would be entitled to a pension. Stung by seeing a man my serjeant- major who should not be, and knowing I had earned the step well, I applied for my discharge at once. The Colonel met me with apologies and excuses, promising to recommend me for a Commission, and so on, but feeling the position, if I did get it, would be more than 1 could manage, on the pay which I would have to support my rank on, I declined, and in time got what I asked for, leaving the corps al- most heart-broken. In July following I got the appointment of Stew- ard, East India United Service Club, in London, and entered upon those duties immediately. In June, 1850, a gentleman whom I saw at the Club was going to settle in South Africa. He intended to breed horses, and had selected a large tract of land at Georgetown, on the Nysena river, for that pur- pose. With him I made an engagement, sailing on TAKE SHIP FOR SOUTH AFRICA. 123 the good ship Devonshire, on the 15th Ju.lv, and as I was fortunate in India to arrive on the hreakin*^ out of hostilities, so the reader will fiid I was equally fortunate on reaching the Cape, though a civilian, to find men were wanted to stem the insur- rection and rebellious spirit of the Kaffirs, which is portrayed in the next chapter. CHAPTER VIII. The religion of the Hindoos -Castes- Brahmins— Kshatriyas— Vais- yas—Sudras— Sub-division by mixed marriiiges — The Triune God- head|: Brahma the centre, Vishnu the preserver or sustainer, and Siva, the destroyer -The Hindoo Pantheon— Brahmin place of worship — The Sacred Cow — Transmigration oi souls— Degrees of punishment for various sins— The fate of the murderer, the adul- terer, the immercifiil. EFORE proceeding further in this work, it will be interesting to the reader to un- derstand something of the religion, what it springs from, and the certain peculiar- ities in the intermixture of the several Hindoo families, giving rise to the several castes and ranks to which each is born to, and in which they must continue, or progress by marriage in the higher scale when allowed by their code of laws. I have been to a great deal of trouble in procuring this information, as it is not found in many writings of that country, and will, therefore, be new to a great many. Division of the Hindoo races. I2n From the earliest period of whicli any records are extant, the Hindoo races have been divided as a people into four distinct classes or castes, dosi,«,mated Brahmins, Kshatiiyas, V^aisyas and Siidras, originat- ing with the creation of the world. Brahmins, ac- cording to their mythological creed, proceed ing from the mouth of Brahma, the creator, the chief person of their theological belief — his mission was ta rule and instruct. He formed the caste distinguished by the name Kshatriyas, which means spi'ung from the arms — of Brahma : and this deity's duty was to pro- tect. Vaisyas, from his thighs ; and the province allotted to this emanation of the deity was to trade, and cultivate the earth. Sudra, the most abject, as produced from the feet of Brahma, was doomed to be the servant or slave of the superior caste ; the four forming the yet existing classes or castes of priests — soldiers, husbandmen oi* tradeivs, and la- bourers. The division of these four classes are, however, extended ; and in the foui-teenth century B. C. the number of mixed classes recognized by their laws of Menu had become very considerable. Of these we 12G TEN YEAIIS IN INDIA. «i may mention the clasvses which have sprung from the marriage of a man oi Uw upper caste with a woman of an inferior class. 1st, Munlhabhisliicta, hy a Brahmin with a wo- man of the Kshatriya class : his duty is to teach military exercises. 2nd, Andmstha, by a Brahnun from a woman of the V^aisya class or caste : lie is a medicine man. 'kd, Nishadhu, by a Brahmin from a woman of the Sudra class : his occupation is to catch fish. 4th, Mahishya, by a Kshatriya from a woman of the Vaisya class : his profession is music, astronomy and attendance on cattle. 5th, Ugra, by a Kshatriya from a woman of the Sudra class : his duty, according to Menu, is to kJ! or confine such animals as live in holes : he is also a bard or poet. 6th, Carana, by a Vaisya from a woman of the Su- dra class : he is an attendant on princes, or secretary. The classes which have sprung from a marriage of a woman of the upper caste with a man of infe- rior caste is again sub-divided, and the offspring of such is considered inferior than the other, and also illegitimate. 1st, we will say Sota, by a Kshatriya from a woman of Brahmin rank : his occupation is suij-DivisioN OF tub: iiixdoo racks. 127 iimna<,nn}.li()r.sc,s ari.l driving carts. 2n(l, Vaidscha, by a Vaisya fVoin a woman of llio IJiahniin class: his occupation is a waiter un women. r\vd, Clian.lola, by a Sudra fVoni a woman of tlie JJralimin class ; he is rc<;arde(l th(> most impure of tlie whole lace, and his business is to handle dead bodies, execute ani- mals, and to officiate in the most abject employment. 4th, Mahada, by a Vaisya fi-om a Kshatriya woman : his profession is, accordiui,^ to Menu, travelling-- with merchandise; he is also an economist or })ard. 5th, Asygara, by a Su(ba from a woman of tlie Vaisya class ; he is a carpt;nter. And there is another class, Kohatti, ])y a Sudra from a Kshatb'iya woman : Ids occupation is killing or confining animals who live in trees. There are also other classes descending in the scale of impurity from mixed marriages. One of those most known is that of Pariahs ; they are subject to labour of agriculture and to the filthiest duty of scavengers. Witli these there is no inter- course allowed, nor can one show the least sympathy for them, no matter how low or depressed they may be. The faith of these several castes centres in a tri- 128 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. une godhead, Brahma the centre, Vishnu the preser- ver or sustainer, and Siva the destroyer. Brahma, the superior, always remains in holy solitude in the distance of the caste profound of measureless space, and is beyond the reach of superstition to pr(3- fane by even ideal similitude ; Vishnu and Siva are supposed to have been many times incarnate, and hence the imagination of the Hindoo has clothed them with a variety of visible forms, and each has become a distinct deity, to whom worship is daily addressed. The Hindoo Pantheon also includes a host of inferior deities or divinities. Nothing can be done without supernatural intervention, in conse- quence of which the element^, and every variety of animated nature, an^ placed under the immediate guardianship of one of the crowd of deities that throng the Brahmanical heaven. The goodly com- pany is furtliei- augmented by myriads of demi-gods, many of whom are of the most wretched description. Thus, a little red paint smeared over a block of wood, a shapeless stone, or a lump of clay, makes it a deity, and a number of such monstrocities collected together indicate a Brahmin place of worship, and HINDOO DEITIES. 129 i preser- Brahma, tude in ,.sureless I to pro- ^iva are ate, and clothed 3ach has i,s daily eludes a Ling can n conse- iriety of mediate ied that lly com- mi-gods, cription. block of nakes it :?ollected hip, and invite to some act of wcn.ship as debasing in its na- ture as its object is monstrous in concej)tion. Amo ig the animals which ai'e the objects of Hindoo worship or adoration, and onu that I shall have to refer to often, is the cow. This is the most sacred in most parts of India. The cow is fre([uently termed the " Mother of the gods," and many are kept by the well-to-do Hindoo for tlie sole purpose of worship. Circumstances are, however, at timas eveii stronger than superstition itself, and then the poor, who de- rive their chief suppoi't from the labour of this use- ful animal so venerated, do not hesitate to work it hard and to feed it very sparingly. Besides the peculiar notions entertained by the Hindoo relative to superior l.)eings and the worship to be paid them, those that refer to a future state form a prominent part of their theological systeru] Here the doctrine of transmigration of souls is a distinguisi:ing feature. No people appear to have formed loftier ideas of its nature independently of its connection with matter. They cany tlie idea to so extravagant a height as to svppose the souls of both men and brute animals to have been originally I uo TEN YEARS IN INDIA. portions of the Supreme mind, and consequently as participating in its eternity. The highest destiny to whicli a mortal can aspire is therefore reabsorbed into the divine essence, where the Hindoo's idea of supreme felicity receives its perfection, and the mind reposes on an unrutiied sea of l)h*ss. But to such a state only the most rigid ascetics who havt^ spent a life of self-infiicted toiture can aspire, the best deeds of an ordinary life cannot excite a hope of raising their author higher than one of the various heavens over which their multiplied divinities separately preside. But few are allowed to cherish the ex- pectation (}': ascending to even the lowest of these, and the great body of believers have only to antici- pate the consolations that flow from the transmigra- tion of souls. As regards punishment, a series have V)een devised to suit the capabilities of the people and the irregu- lar propensities of life. The institutes of Menu af- firm that he Avho steals grain in the husk l)ecomes a rat — should he take water, he is to be a diver — if honey, a large gnat, and if flesh, he is transformed into a vulture. The next bath of one who steals a rUNISHMENTS FOR SINS. i;u Qtly as destiny bsorV)ed idea of le mind such a spent a st deeds raising heavens parately the ex- )f these, J antici- isinigra- devised 5 irregu- ^lenu af- Dcomes a liver — if isformed steals a deer or elephant is into a wolf, and if a carriage, the thief is sure to become a cauiel. When once sunk from the human to the }>rute creation, the Parana's assert that he must p'r),ss through many millions of baths before ho regains -ho human iorm. I'heir system of punishment is not however confined to these terrestrial transgressions. The aH-nuiltiplying system of the Hindoo theology lias cieated a hun- dred thousand hells for those vvhoui inferioi- evils could not deter from the commission of more hein- ous crimes. Wlien the fatal moment arriv<'s which changes their present position, they arc? iiurried away through the space of ()88,00() miles among the faith- ful rocks and eternal snows of the Himalaya moun- tains to the judgment seat of Yoma, where thf god messengers await to convoy them to their respective places of punishment, and here, too, the state of re- tribution is adapted to the nature of the crime. The murderer is fed on ilesh and blood ; the adul- terer is to be embraced by an image of red-hot iron, and the unmerciful to be unceasingly bitten by snakes. Having endured this state of " penal servi- tude" for a period proportionate to the magnitude of 182 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. their crimes, the first step to restoration is to pass a loniT series of aires in the form of some degraded animal, wlience tliey ascend to the scale of being ah-eady described. CHAPTER IX. Delhi the ancient capital of the Mijgnl Empire— General de.scription, population, &c.- The king's palace -Knibatth-d walls ami guns— Martello towers -Junina-Musjcefl, or chief mosque- -The tombs of the Humayoon, and of Sefjar Jun^' - The Sheliraa gardens- The an- cient Patons, or Afghan conquerors of India -The celebrated Cat- tab Minar— The tomb of Humayoon— The a^iueduct of Alikhan — (/ollege for Orientals and Europeans. J. EL II I being the ancient capital of the Mo- gul Enij^ire, I will here give a description of it, as, having a few days leave from cantonment, 1 found it in my visit. It is situated on the eastern hank of the Jumna, and some 950 miles from Calcutta. It is walled and foi- tified, and has a population of somewhere near 200,- 000. It is between seven and eight miles round it, and may be about two miles across. The [»alace in- habited by the King stands in a very commanding position. The entire city is built on a rocky range of hills, and, as said, is surroundetl by embattled walls and guns, with intervening Martello towers 134 TEN YEABS IN INDIA. Tttcing alonnr the whole extent with good masonry, moats and glacis. Its chief houses are built of brick, the streets narrow; the principal avenues all wide and handsome, and for an Asiatic city, very clean. The bazaars along the avenues look remarkably pretty; for- merly the city had some noble wide streets, but these have been divided by buildings all along the centre, and now spoil their appearance. The next princi- pal buildings to the Palace is the Jumna Musjeed, or chief mosque. The tondis of the Emperor Huma- yoon, and of Sefjar Jung, and Cuttub Menir ; and within the new city are the remains of many pala- ces. These structures are nearly all of red granite inlaid and ornamented with white marble ; the gen- eral style is elegant, yet simple. The Palace, as seen from a distance, is very high, with gothic tow- ers and battlements i-ising above any other building. It was built by Shah Jelian, and seems some sixty feet high, with two noble gateways. It is allowed by travellers to far surpass the Kremlin, in Moscow, in magnificence, or any other kingly residence. I thought, on looking at it, of our old Windsor Castle, and asked did any of them making the comparison THE SHELIMA GARDENS. 13/ onry, rick, e and The ;for- these entre, )rinci- ed, or luma- ; and pala- rranite ever see it. To my mind old Windsor surpasses it, except in its material. The gardens known as the Shelima, and men- tioned in Lalla Rookh, were formed by the same po- tentate, and are said to have cost tlie immense sum of 1,000,000 pounds ; but they are now wild and al- lowed to o'o in ruins. The Mosque- Musjeey an arched collonade with pavilions at convenient dis- tances. In the centre stands a large marble cistei-n supplied by machinery witli water from the canal. On the west side of thf Mos(jue proper, of an ob- long form, say 2G0 feet in length, its entire IVont is coated with larue slabs of white marble, and com- partments in the corner ai-e inlaid with Ai-abic in- scriptions in black. The mosque is aj^proaehed by 136 TKN YEARS IN INDIA. another flight, and siiitouikUmI by a marble dome at the flanks, as at all mosques, are minarets about 150 feet liigh, each having three projecting galleries of black rnaj'ble and i-ed stone alternately, their sum- mits crowned with light pavilions of white marble. The ascent is by winding stairs of 180 steps of red stone. It is truly a noble structure, well worth this unequal description— for it must be seen to realize it« beauty. It is said this mosque is maintained by a grant fiom oui' Government. Not far from the King's palace is anothei' of red stone, used I suppose by that ])ei'sonage and his piinces for intermediate times of worship. This one is surmounted with three gilt domes. Altogether there is some fifty mosques in this city, of more or less grandeur, some bear marks of great antiquity. One other, however, deserves a note in passing, and that one was erected in 1710 by the daughter of the great and mighty Arungzebee, and in which she is buried. Perhaps the oldest is the one erected by the ancient Patons or Affghan conquerors of India. It is of dark coloured granite, and of a difFevent design, but exactly like the Arab mosques. CATTAH MiNAK— TTIE PAToN. 187 le at 150 es of sum- lai'ble. f red 1 this ize \tn 1 by a king's y that incs of Tlie prospect .south of tin- Slmliiia gnrihMis.as far as the eye can reach, is covered with tlie remains «»f extennive <^ardens, ])a\ i lions, sepnlcln-es, all connect- ing the town of TattMh with tlic caj/ital, and through tlieir neglected aj»pearance, exhibiting one of the most sti'iking scenes of (desolation to l)c witnessed. The cele])rated C^attab JM inar is a very handsome round tower )'ising from a j^olygon of twenty-sev«'n sides, in five difierent stages, gradnally diminisliing in circunifeience to the lieight of 250 feet, its sum- mit Clowned with a majestic cupola rising fiom four ai'cades of red granite is leaclied l)y a sf)iral stair- case of 384 steps, and between each stage a balcony runs round the pillar. Tlie Paton, erected by the old conquerors is almost in ruins, it was once a solid fortress, its architecture not sinking, but there re- mains a high black pillar of metai of Hindoo con- struction, oiiginally co\ered with inscriptions. I have before alluded to the tomb of Humayoon the conqueror, wliich was erected ly his daughter. It is of gothie architecture, and stands in an immense garden with teriaces and numerous fountains: every- thing about it bears marks of decay. The garden is 158 TEN YEARS IN INDrA. surrounded by an einljattlccl wall and cloister, and in its centre, on a platform ascended by a tli^lit of granite steps, is the tojnb itself, a square Imildin^ with circular apartments, surrounded by a dome of white marble. From the top of this building the ruins all round can best be seen — where Indrapai once stood — extending almost over a range of hills seven or eight miles distant. The soil in the neighbourhood of Delhi seems singularly devoid of vegetation. The Jumna annu- ally overflows its banks during the rainy season, but its waters, in this part of its course, are so nuich em- pregnated with natron fliat the gro\ind is almost barren. In ordei- to supply water to the; royal gai-- dens, the acqueduct of Ali-Khan was constructed through the chief a\enue, l)y which the pui-e and wholesome water w^as brought fron) the mountains, over one hundred and twenty miles off. This chan- nel, during the troubles that followed the decline of the Mogul Empire w^as stopped by rubbish, but when the English got possession they cleared it, and it is now the sole source of supply of Delhi. This was done in 1820, and is still remembered by the MANUFACTURES OF DELHr. 139 and it of ding 1(3 of the L-apat hills jnha])itants with, \ tiust, some doirnv of rrratitud*'. It was, p,t K'ast, on tliu opcnin*^' of the channel, for the inhabitants then turned out, with (^ngal. in con.se- quencc of this attack, a])pai'ently a surprise, the factory was deserted by tht^ goveinor, the connuand- ant and many of the European fiinctioiuiries and residents. A memorable catastroplie of a most la- mentable nature ensued. Such of tlie Englisli as had remained for its defence were seized and thi-usi into a small uninhabited dunijeon called the Black- hole, and of one hundred and forty-six individuals who were thus shut up at night, one; hundred and and twenty three perished under the most frightful sufferings ere the arrival of morning. The black- hole was afterwards converted into a warehouse, and 142 TEN YEARS IN INDIA. upon an obelisk, fifty feet high at its entrance, were inscribed the names of the unhappy victims. Early in the following year a squadron of five ships brought 2,400 troops under Lord Clive up the Hooghly from Madras, they retook the town of Calcutta, from which the garrison of the Subidhar retired after an attack of only two hours duration. The population now amounts to some 600,000. THE ASCENT TO TllK TKNQ'LF OF TAKBL TTEE, NEAilTrOONA. CHAPTEK X. Cape of Good Hope -First si^fht of— Inhiiljitants- Descent and other particulars— Sir Harry again Haudicea in rel)ellion--\Varnunoura — Join a Volunteer Corps — OtT for frontier -East London — Army at Fort William -Join them -Gazetted Lieutenant- The Jungle — Kaffir women 73rd Regiment -xVrrangements -Enter the Gaika tribe country—The huts— The kraal 4;Jrd, <30th and 12thljancers— General Somerset — Fort Beaufort -Colonel Fordyceshot — Buffalo Poat — Capture cattle - Pursuit of Kaffirs- Sardilhis' horse shot - Bridle neck bush — Time-expired men Back to recruit — The Hot- tentot—East London again. AVOURED with l»eautiful weather, and nothing having occurred to mar our passage, we sighted the Cape on the twentieth of Octob(jr. As the high land comes tii'st to view, it has all the appear- ance of a lion couchant — the Hag-statf rising from the lion's tail, creeping round the point to a narrow entrance, the whale rock and Robin Island come in view, then Cape Town stretches before you, in a sort of basin. Table Mountain at the back, the town J 146 THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFfirCA. .sloping up from the ba^', with the Blue Berg Moun- tains away to the east. At this time of year sum- mer commences in the Cape. We had, therefore, a sunmier Christmas before us. Landing on the twenty- sixth, we took up quarters in the Pier hotel. Steamers did not venture on such h)ng voyages in those days, and the influx of visitoi's was not so great as now. Living we found very cheap ; a bottle of wine, and very good at that, cost foin-pence ; British brandy, sixpence, it Avas called "Cape-smoke;" meat was twopence per pound ; j)eaches, pomegranateF and grapes, one shilling per basket — bushel. The villa residences on the outskirts are very pretty — the fences surrounding them are either rose or geranium bushes, standing as high as six feet; or cactus, or prickly pear. The inhabitants of the Colony are mostly of Dutch descent, or Malays. Originally it was a slave settlement. Hither they were brought from Batavia — but on the British Government as- suming control, slavery was abolished. The descend- ants of these are now the most industrious, as they are the wealthiest inhabitants. Their principal oc- cupation is or was then, whaling and seal-fishing, SrR HARRY S.MITH AGAIN. 147 with somo tradesmen amoiio' thorn. The ahorij^inrfH of the Oape, or Hottentots, arc a low, degraded, idle class. Our old East Indian friend and General, Sir Harry Smith, I found hei-e as Governor-Genei-al and Com- mander-in-Chief of the Colony of South Africa — and it was here, and at such a time, too, such an experi- enced soldier was rei^uired. Sandilla, aGaika chief, had commenced hostilities on the frontier, and his Kaffirs liad l)urnt over twenty farms, butchered the farmers and their families, and carried off all their cattle. Though now free from the service, it was but natural, after my previous service, I should feel interested in anything concerning military move- ments or threaten ings of war, and 1 sooji made my- self acquainted witli all the particulars. The entire British foi'ce in the Colony consisted of thiee infan- try battalions. These were scattered in detachments all over the country, only the head -quarters of the 73rd were at Cape Town. The Governor and his staff, taking these, left for the scene of disturbance, and levies were ordered all over. Besides the attro- cities mentioned, the Kaffirs had murdered all the 148 THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. men in the throe military villages of Auckland, Wo- bown and Joani.sburgh. I could not be expected to remain long unknown, as, having seen service in the Sixteenth Larcers in India, was surprised by a re- quest from the Colonial Secretary to assist in raising levies, who offered me a command as lieutenant in the Second Corps of Europeans. A draft of two hundred men, with seventy-eight horses, was ordered up to East London, and having given my consent, I was sent in charge. On the first of February I went on board the war steamer Hermies, with that num- ber, and left for the frontier. On reaching East Lon- don, we found we could get no nearer than about two miles. Anchoring, surf-boats were brought along- side, and in^these, after immense trouble, all were safely landed. Well, I had seen many towns and forts, and I have been in towns since called after our beautiful capital, but such a place as this aspiring to the great name, surprised me. The whole place con- sisted of one building, called a hotel ; four huts ; four commissariat houses ; and a small fort, with a dozen or so Kaffirs, apparently friendly, standing round-about naked, fine, manly-looking fellows, cop- GAZETTED IJEUTENANT. 149 per coloured, and all six feet high or thereabouts. We found the army was encamped at Fort William, eighteen miles frmi East London. I mareluHl in charge of my detachment of men and horses, to which was added a consoy of tliiity-six waggons loaded with provisions. We halted at Fort Murry, half-way. Captain McLean, of the Cth Foot, was in charge here with one company. W^e were now in a friendly chief's country ; his name was Patto. Having been detained longei- than was expected by the slow travel of the bid lock waggons, it was late next after- noon when we leached the cauip at King William Fort. The next day being Sunday, I was ordei'ed to parade my men before General Sir Harry Sndth — after which, and being quite satisfied with his in- spection, and some conversation about old times, he ordered my rank to be confirmed as lieutenant, 2nd Corps Cape Town Levies. Having had some time to rest, I was enabled to scan about me, and see a little of the place and people. Here I had an opportunity of seeing that dreadful bush so much spoken of— Kaffir land—and it is a bush— so dense, and thick, and so full of the Momossa ti-ee, with its k»ng thorns, it is 150 THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. I almost impossi])le to penetrate. As one moved any distance round, plenty of women and girls might be seen ; they come up the valleys with immense pump- kins, corn, or milk, to exchange for beads, buttons, or, in fact, anything strange As tliey don't know the use of money, an eld biass ring would buy all one wanted for a day. They were (piite as oblivious of dress as the men we had first s^'3n, only a small apron of deerskin around their waste. Some had blankets. They looked horrible, so full of red clay for paint, and they weru disgustingly dirty. The Hottentots or Aborigines' worth is all in cattle. The women feed them, build their own houses, sow the corn, and do all th :^ drudgery. The me»^ do nothing but hunt, and in war time fight. The boys are not allowed to as- socib^i/e with men until aftci" circumcision, which takes place at eighteen; then they may sit round the coun- cil fire witli the nien. I found our army composed of volunteers from Cape Town district, Mossel Bi^y and Gi'aliair «tovvn — in all some 20 000 Europeans, Hottentots and Fin- goes, besides the British Gth and 73rd regiments. The Cape mounted riflemen had, a few days previous * \ cd any ight be I pump- tons, or, ow the all one ious of II apron lankets. r paint, ttentots icn feed and do int, and I to as- ih takes le conn- rs from itoivn — nd Fin- jiments. )revioiis ENTER THE GATKA TRIP.E ("OUNTRY. l;-)! to ouranival, most of tlujiii at luast, gone over to the enemy, taking their huist's and arms. They had in- tended to massacio all tlie 7lh-d i-emiuciit tlio ninht previous, while tluy were asleep ; tliis was frustrated through a friendly chief giving information to Sir Harry Smith, and it was thought strange that all the Hottentots of Wesleyan mission stations re- mained loyal, when those situated east, under mis- sionaries of other denominations, joined the insur- gents ; these proved our worst foes, being such good marksmen. All arrangements being completed, we broke camp and marched towards the river Kiskama, then crossed into the fiaiku territory to hunt up SandjUa. Here wc remainelaci', on the sides of hills or mountains. We \vei<' now on the territory of tl)(3 most powerful cliiof, Sandilla, head of tlie Gaikus. lloiuforcoments joined us here from En'htinf^, hut succeeded in driviji"" them into Water-kloof. The intricacies of tliis place, and the dense hush, it is almost impossible to describe. Here we remained some six weeks, and were joined by the 74th from Grahamstown, under Colonel Forn('nil sent for inc, niid onlnvd a start nt twelve tluit iii^'lit Avilli KM) mcn--KiuLC()es — and fifty of AnjistroDo's liorse, to enptnre 5 brin*;- Lack as many nioimtcd iiu'ii an I could got, at a bounty of twcnty-thn'o pounds and free rations, iindino- tlioir own liorses, and rations wore to be given them. It was eliietly expected Uiv contingent would consist of farmers' suns, and sueli like, who, for their own interests, would j(jin the ai-my f«)rme(l for the protection of their own homes. After seeing the discharged men paid, I started on my recruiting errand, and soon got togetlier sixty UK.'n from Woostcr, Swellingdam and (Hanwilliam, mostly sons of Europeans. 'I'he Aifrieandas, as they are called, are good liders and fine shots. When at Clanwilliani, 1 stayed witli Mr. Shaw, and while out with him om; day, we came aer(jss the gi'eatest herd of deer T ever saw. We came on tin; opening of an immense ])lain, and for miles one could see swarms of gnu, elands, heart-beasts, rye-buck, bonti-buck, ])lue-lmck, and other common deer. It was explained to me wlien thtjre is a drought and scarcity of provisions in the Karou tht^y are driven down to seek water and the Salt licks. They are as bad as locusts to the farmer, not leaving a blade of grass whei-e they visit ; consequently, they turn out 156 THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. and destroy them as best they can, take their skins off, removu the best of the beef to dry it for home use, leaving the carcase for the wild dogs and lions. The farmers in South Africa generally hold from ten to twenty thousand acres of land, with large flocks of sheep, and numbers of brood-mares ; in the eastern part, and in the western, they mostly cultivate the grape for wine. There being no hotels in the country parts, and the farm-houses con- seqent on their large holdings, very far apart, during the long rides the screeching of the guinea fowl, to- gether with the cooing of the turtle-dove, constantly salute the ear. When you stop under the shade of some trees to make coffee, it is easy to have a dainty bit of some wild bird to satisfy hunger, by going a few yards and killing one. In my travels going east, I have met dozens of waggons at a time going to Cape Town with wool, hides, horns, bitter aloes, and gums. The Hottentots employed as shepherds by these farmers seem fit for nothing else, an idle, lazy, indolent race. Some are squatted on every farm for that purpose, acting as shepherds. On my journey I came across packs of wild dogs. These animals EAST LONDOxN AGAIN. 157 prove a great enemy to the farmer — worrying his sheep. It may not seem truth, but there are in this part of the country people of very small stature, wild, almost savage, at least bordering on the brute called Bosjesmen, living in holes in the rocks, who are adepts with bow and arrow, the latter of which they poihon when at war. They live chiefly on the wild dog ; snakes do not come even amiss to them. Europeans class them between the ape and the man. Darwin may have founded his theory on them — evolution. We will leave it v^dth him, as beyond our solution. As soon as I procured all the recruits I could, I started for Cape Town, and embarked on board the war steamer Styx, Captain Hall, for East 'London. On arriving we were soon joint'd by one hundred horses and men from Port Elizabeth, and again left for headquarters with one hundred and twenty waggons of stores and ammunition. While en route we learned of the lo'^s of the steamer Birkenhead, as she was coming out of Simon's Bay with troops, drafts mostly for our army. Very few escaped that fearful wreck. Arriving at the headquarters of the 158 THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. army, the corps was named the " Montagi.io Horno," in compliment to the Colonial Secretary, Sir John Montague. Many of these men were independent farmers. m CHAPTER XI. TrariHfeircd to Fingoe Service- Finf,Mie oharaoler— Ordered to Kye river -Chief Krielle- Colonel Eyre- Through the bush- -The Chief's position— Battered by big guns Cattle captured -On re- turn march— Harassed by enemy— One month on march bring in 500 head -Sir Harry calhid home — Sir George Cathcart - Sar.dilla surrendered— Chief Moshuaha-- Attack his ntronghold— Surrenders — Back to F jrt William- Disbanded— Off on elephant hunt -Pro- visions for — Plan to capture -Kill four- Trading with Chiefs and their wives— Precautions against lions— Elephant's spoor — Excur- sion often fatal— Back to Grahamstown— Stiles' Hotel. N Fc})niaiy, 1852, I was rransferrcd to the Fort PecMin Finci,oo Levy, under Captain Fainton. The Finc^oes are a tribe for- • merly con(jiiere(l and k-<'pt in bondage by the Araagahekas, but released by the British, and located at the Fort o!' that name, near Graharnstown. They are very loyal, industrious, and make fine farm servants to the Scotch settlers on the frontier. 80 trusrworthy are they, many are employed as police. Understanding the traits 160 THllEE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. IV't ' of the Kaffir character, they are very useful, par- ticularly as they hold a grudge against their old oppressors. Sir Harry Smith, having learned the enemy had sent all their cattle across the Kyo river to Chief Krielle, Colonel Eyre, of the 73rd, was ordered, in conjunction with a squadron the 12th Lancers, under Major Tottenham, two troops Montague horse, with all the infantry, consisting of 78rd, 43rd, and 60th Rifles, and my company of Fingoes, to capture them, punishing the Chief Krielle for his deception as he had given his adhesion to the British. The Montague horse, knowing the country so well, were advanced as guides and picket, and hot work we had of it When we got to the Kye, our passage was strongly opposed, even without any opposition. It looked a ' fearful place. The river flowed rapidly down a deep gully, between two rugged, jagged mountains, a dense bush to the water's edge. One thousand good men could keep twenty thousand from crossing if so dis- posed ; but as nothing ever stopped the progress of British troops, if forward was the word, we forced the passage, after some fighting, and the mounted CATTLE CAPTURED. 161 ited force, under Tottenham, pushed on to intercept the cattle before they drove them to Zuhiland, where Pandee was chief. After seven days' hard marching, we reached tlie Unizuvoola river in front of them, and now, as we had the river behind, and the cattle in front coming up, we exr^ected some severe bush fighting. This we accomplishe;!, seizing 30,000 head, besides sheep and goats. Many of these cattle had been stolen from our settlers, comprising their entire wealth, and by capturing these we were injuring our enemy as much as in actual war, as the less they had the sooner would tliuy make peace. On return- ing, they were separated into three droves, with infantry on the flanks, cavalry in rear, Fingoes driving. One drove a day behind the other, one to the left, one to the extreme right on account of the grass, and when halting at night, we lighted fires all around to prevent a stampede, the enemy following Us, firing all night, to get a run. In approaching the river Kye, we had great trouble in keeping them together. They had no water two days, and natur- ally enough, the brutes were running over each other to get at it. Then the rush atilt'd, goes for each separately, till tired, he crushes through the jungle or dense bush on his way, and is easily shot (h)wn, falling with an awful thnd. Marking the spot whei'e Ik; lays, the he)'d is followeib now some miles away, and the same phmning is gone through till tljc hunters have all tlx-y leijuire This is not done without a great deal of danger ; coolness is indespensable, also a good horse and guitles. When we had tlius killed our fourth we returned to each in succession, cut out the tusks, loaded tliem on our wao-gon, and left the carcase for the lions. Our lar- der, while out, was sup[»lied with plenty of antelope 108 THRKK YEARS IN SOUTFI AFRICA. and birds, which swarm in the African junf];lcs. On our return we again visit our trihes, gathering skins, horns, or anything tliey have for }»arter, and made tracks for Grahanistown. Th(^ Hottentot hoMs tliat the lion never kills a man at once when he has struck him down, unless he is irritated. This would- appear to be true, in general, as the following incidents may prove. I may add, there is nothing absolute injhistory on the subject. My comrade had one day wouniin missed iti hoth barrels as he spi'nn^njn me. l^eavin^- his Fallen victim h(5 was despatched l)y a sp(;ar in the handn of a Ivatlir, one of our attendants. A fainier told me that whih; unyoking his oxen, a lion made a [)hnii;e and killed two outright l)y lucaking their spine. Now it seems hy this the lion takes quite a dittVu- ent course in despatching tlie larger ainmals, and 1 have tliought what can bo the reason. Man inspires him with fear, and the lii>n's natural prU(U'nce caiises him to suspect some andiuscade, even when man is in his power. Even the Africans allow themselvesi the lion's knowledge between the (lifieient colour of Europeans and themselves, they arc very cautious of the whites. These excursions often prove fatal to many- Num- bers have never been heard of. Whether th< v fell a 170 THREE YKAllS IN SOUTH AFRICA. prey to the numerous wild animals, whether they were prostrated by fevers so prevalent, or their oxen got the tongue sick from the tyse Hies or other in- sects so numerous, X could never learn, but many leaving on this sport have never returned. Travelling in the wilds of Africa during the day the scenery all around is grand in the extreme, and so wild ; the ditFereiii-coloui'cd foliage in the sun- beams, the wild craggy hills covered with thick bush, the roar of the lion occasionally as he scents some antelope or zebra near a river or stream, birds of every colour, monkeys innumerable, while the dense gloom that scotles on all at night in the great solitude is indescribable. On arriving at Grahamstown, our merchant re- ceived all our articles, and we retired to Stile's hotel to talk of our adventures and enjoy ourselves as Christians should, making some arrangements as to our future movements. While here Ave came across many who lived in this way ; the}^ are called Wink- lere ; some, by continuing and bein'., lucky, have real- ized a considerable amount of money, while others, as 1 have before stated, g* , but have never returned. DUTCH BOERS of SOUTl! AFRICA. 171 as to OSS k- al- ers, lod. The Kaffir's memory is rcmarkal»le. He will not forget a bullock lie has once seen, and two or three years afterwards he will identify it at once, and without difficulty; they will also remendjer a white man the same. During the war a man of the Maco- nios tribe was brought in a prisoner ; two yeai's after, when I was through that pajt of the country and visited Macom, that man rec(jgniz«:d me, and spoke of the good treatment he got when a piisoner. The Dutch Boers of South Africa have become so nomadic in their instincts that even when thc^y are permanently settled in villages they still sleep in their clothes. Moreover, thoy never dream of indulg- ing in the luxury of candle.^, but turn in with the setting sun, as they did in their waggons, and they detest the British since the al«olition of slavery. They are truly patriarchal, living in large families, and having larg»- Hoeks of sheep, and herds of cattle. The minister of the Lutlieraii Church trav«:l.^ from place to place, stopping a montli at each, when they have camp-meetings. Then the neigltbours assemble from all the surroundijig farms, bringing waggons, 172 THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. women and children, also Hottentot servants with them. When my memory carries me back to the battles in the north-west of India, and T think of the brav- ery displayed by my comrades in arms, what need to go back to Greek History for heroes. Where is there a nation that has produced greater men than Great Britain, on the field of battle, or in the coun- cil. (jJo back to Poictiers and Agincourt, Blenheim and Malplaqvict. Then in the Peninsula, Generals Moore, Nelson, Wellington, Picton, Ponsonby ; then again, in India: Lords Clive, Gough, Hardinge, Sir Harry Smith, Havelock, Lawrence, Sir Colin (^^amp- bell — a lonix list of heioes whose names are handed down to future; generations. Then go back to the Crimea for a (-athcart, who fell at Inkerman ; the gallant charge of the 16th Lancers through three squares of infantry, at Aliwal ; and the Sikhs were no mean foe ; they acknowledged the prowess of the British ; also the death ride of the gallant GOO at Balaclava; the Guards and Light Division, at Inker- man, against fearful odds. The British soldiers have in most critical times, been surrounded when there JmiTISII HEROES. seemed no liopo of delivefauce, yet they have cut their way out, often witli heavy loss. Let me re- mind tlic reader of the Indian nmtiny, of tlie re- bels that ha(] been pampered by tlie East India Con-4..i^y, how they massacred women and ehildren witlioiit mercy, and all hope of savino- India seemed gone. Yet that nobh^ man Lawrence wentand raised a body of Sikhs and Atlghans, oni- oM foes, and with them aided the few Europeans to crush the rebellion, and at the siege of Delhi gained the d'owning vic- tory. Yet there ai'c other heroes as brave. The pioneei's in this new country, who have had to face innumer- able difficulties, such as the lurking Indian, the wolf, bear and panther in the wild bush, opening up the country and making the wilderness blossom as the rose. I have often been surprised during my residence in Canada, at the little interest the people here take in our affairs in other parts of the globe. Very f(.'w yeem to know the extent oi' the British Empiie, oi- the geographical positions of Bengal, Australia, or the Cape Colony, and seem to forget thattlM'. settlers 174 THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. in those other parts of the Empire are brothers of the same flesh and blood, and all from the old sod.. English, Scotch and Irish, and that the sun never sets on the British dominions, and the English language is spoken in every land. Where shall we find the land that has sent forth these heroes. Look at the map of the world and you can hardly trace the little spots called the British Isles ; yet they are gems in the ocean, and how many good Christian heroes have they sent forth to every clime to battle for the Cross ; and the W< v'd of God has been printed in eveiy lan- guage. CHAPTER XU. West to Clauwilliam Mr. Sluiw- Productions of farm- Back to tin* Cape— Open an liotel— Pleasures of Cape life -Ships prt in for Australia- Imports -Market day Arrangement \Vag,t,'ouH — Fish fiohsters Off to I'rrt E.'zabeth Whale fishing Sea ele- phantH— Mann.r of killing The l»eni,Mun -Habits of the bird— Baekto the ( 'ai)e— Kii-lish Church at Xewlauds The Bay Wre(!k of a Baltimore vessel— Loss of two ehii Iren, oajjtain's wife, and the mate Habits of Hottentots Manner o.' living A marriage A present and its n turn- l^oss in business b/ partner abscomlin^ l^eave the Cape- East India d(H;its Buckinghamshire- -Rela tives at home Station master Accident detailed Xear Rugby--- Exonerated and jiromoted I^iverpool -Brighton 'i'o Canada- Farewell address. NOW left t)iL' East, after iiiatvn eonsidera tion, and went west to Clanwiiliam, where I found Mr. tShaw, wlio lia- Ijefore been intnxJnced in these jKit^es. He had been en£>'aoeachelor, and a jolly j.^ood fell(>w at that 17G THREE YEARS IN SOUTH Af^RICA. On being asked how lie could live alone, his answer immediately was, " Jolly times, jolly times." " I am monarch of all I survey." Visitors were con- stant at his place from Capo Town on shooting excursions, game being plentiful and choice on large farms. Besides the raising of cattle, his farm pro- duced fine oranges, wheat, Indian corn, and grapes. Home-made wine and brandy were in abundance. Stopping with him three weeks I started again for the Cape, stopping at night in farm houses, where they gladly receive a visitor. Most of the farms along to the Cape are wine farms, the soil mostly sandy, and the weather being very hot, un- fits it for grazing land. 1 found, on arriving, that I had been reported as killed in the Mackazana bush. Not having any fixed purpose as to my future move- m^^nts, and meeting here with a comrade officer who, like me, had nothing to do, we, after duly weighing all matters, determined to erect and open an hotel. At this time the Australian gold-fields were drawing largely on the population of Europe, and as the Cape would be the coaling and watering place for vessels on passage, we christened it " The Austialasian." iMiv.irrs— M\T{ivi:i hav 17 tpe sels In. Soon aft.T cp.-iiiiu;' tlic (hrxf Britain put into port, witli seven liuiKiiv.l passen^ei's i'nv Mcllxjinne. Of tliese we secured (»ne liundred an-^ K second : and fruit of all kinds in tlie third line. The Hottentot boys are the dri\ ers of the yoke, havin O' IT'S TllUEE VKAUS IN SOUTH AFRICA. foi an onmiiiont in their caps splciKlid ostrich fea- thers. Ostrich Qrtg^ or feathers can be had from these boys for sixpence each ; tlie}^ picking them up on the sand can afford to sell cheap. Fish at the Cape is very plentiful and ^ood, and easily caught by line. Lobsters, by dozens, can be brought up by putting a piece of liver in a basket weighted with stones, attached to a rope — lower, in five minutes j)ull u\). I have done this myself. Off Port Elizabeth a large business is done in whalf oil. Taking a trip in a boat belonging to a firm engaged in this business, named Seawright, I saw the whole process of catching and extracting the oil The Bird Islands are in the Mosambique Channel, and here the soa elephant, as it is called, is plentiful ; the animal is amphibious. The men go out at night when it is time for these animals to quit the sea for the shore ; when well up on the sand, they noiselessly creep between them and the water, then they are attacked with clubs and beaten to death ; if be escapes to water again he carries with him any- thing in his way, but only to secure a good duck- ing. Thirty or forty will thus be killed in one night I I THK PFATUJIX—HAFUTS OF TUF HIRD. 179 go Ult ley len th; ny- ick- V (-yit nr )iiH,.iurii ; tlu; Mubl.cr isl.(.il.Ml ilowii into oil, aiidsuiiL I., the ( ".ii.c Tlu-s,^ animals are the size of a n-ood land pi<,^, with tusks lii^e ele|»liaiits — ii species of wiialc, tl\oij«;-h commonly called sea elephants, Tlic Isbnid a])ounds with mhbits and J^oats, and a curious bird may \)r. found her»^ called the '' Penn-uin." 'i^icy never use their win^% hut mareli upri^-lir, in Moeks like a company of soldiers. Seeing them at a distance, as they are large, and hav- ing a red spot on the breast, tliey nnghtbe taken for a company of soldiei-s. If, in walking, you meet with a thousand they never get out of the way, you may do as you please, but they only peek at. you. I stayed at the Islands tlu*ee days wliile the ship was being freighted with oil, and on returning to the Capo I mightily enjoyed the sail on the beautiful calm sea in this southerm hemisj^liere — the whale spouting, and the golden dolphin swinmiing around the boat. As we neared the Cape, better known to me now, and as it was after foui- in tlie afteiiioon, no one could be seen on the streets, but nKiny und(.'r the stoops of their houses, in the cool, sleeping. All out- door work is over at ten in the morning; after five i 180 THREE YEARS JN SOHTll AFRICA. in tlu' ('Voniii;ii' all is iuisdc and lit'o a'^'lin— -ladies l)r(>iiiena(linjj; tho Kcsin^a'af, ur ladies' walk. The road from tlio town leading to Newlands throuj^di Rondebosch, is veiy pleasant — trees on both sides for eight or nine miles. The clergyman of the Eng- lish Church at Newlands showed me a collection of animals he hatl for the then Lord Derby, some fine specimens of eland, girafie, and gazelle, thi; smallest of tlie deer species; he had also a lion nnd a panther. The heavy rolls from the Atlantic se't in early in Avinter, and during tlu' season no vessels venture into the bay; if they got saf'dy in there they should remain until spring. The weather on land is very pleasant during this thiie — much like an Eno'lish autumn. In Novendjer, a bark from Balti- more, in tlu; Statics, bound to Bomba}', came ashore on Robbin Island a wreck; a number went off to assist the crow; on reaching the • ocks the captain and a mnnber of sailoi's had got ashore — his wife, two cliildren, and the mate were missing. The captain was nearly out of his mind through the loss, they wei'e found the next day — two beautiful girls — and T can never forget the man's looks as he saw I I IIAIWT;-. \('sst>l, and lln> iMMt(> juiir'n"(l Ic'twccu tli«' casks 'if ['ortcr in tlir liolil. It wa- a melancholy \ vvil] now it'Vtn't t-> my LraW'ls in l\allraria, to mention some tliini^s int' i-estini; wliidi 1 omiitfl llion. In connnciiclnu,, 1 m;.y say that t^-' moaniiiL;' ui." Kallii' is tliii 1", Ijy caHinL; imn ol" some trilics who know tiiis, th<'\ are vrrv in«rmiiant. Thrv n'enerallv liavc iVoin thix-e to six wi\es, wlio do nil the hihori- ous work, even to huildin-' tlie Imt for hn^elf, my lord goin^' into which h(^ pleases. Tliey d«» all the gardening, sow corn, ]tlant [tumpkinsand otlicr vege- tables, nulk cows and cook, tli(> l)o\s helping, and arc never allowed to eat with tlic men ; th* se latter attend to the cattle until eighteen, v, lien thcv are cir- cumcised and allowed to sit with the warriors and Inint with tliom. Wlien lie has ai ived at the period of manhood to niari'V, he selects a wile, the chief and councillors set a price on her accordini;' to her charms, say, two cows or three heifers, an the famous charge of the Six Hundred, had eclipsed Aliwal and Sobraon, still T had a good friend in the Manpiis of Chandos, who gave me the appointment of station-master on the London and Noith- Western Railway V)elow Rugby, wliere I remained till LS.59. In the montli of November, 1(S59, a serious acci- dent occurred on my section of this road, which might have bee:^ more serious for me, as 1 was ordy recently appointed, had I not used the caution on the moment I did, showing my training as a soldier was useful even on a railroad. About three in the IIAILWAY CATASTIIOPIIY. 185 afternoon, tlu' Mi•(>' for Ayleslany lyid just [)assed the freight train, or it would have l>een much woi'se, ls it was. I felt much worse than ever J did when charging u[) to the mouth of a hig gun at Magarajpooj-, or charging scpiare of Sikhs, at Aliwal. There were many of the {tassengers wounded, one, a lady's maid, was killed. The wounded were removed to a gentleman's residence near hy. Lord and Lady Byron were slightly injured. The Board of Directors of course 18G THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AFCICA. had an iiivestif^ation to which I wr s summoned, but completely exonerated from all blame, as it was proved the station-mjister below me had neglected his duty, in not seeing my telegraph " line blocked." I received great praise from the London papers, and was promoted by the Board to a more responsible and lucrative post. Still I never could feel happy on my post. My wife — having married again- -con- stantly fretted for fear of a repetition, and as it was a worry to my mind, I resigned as I have before stated, in 1850. I then went to Liverpool to till an appointment as Drill Instructor to the Exchange corps of Volun- teers, under Captain Bright, and in that city I re- mained, until the opening of the Great Exhibition, in 1862, when I got an appointment in the first great world's show. When it closed I went to Hampstead, where I was college drill-master until 1869, when I left for Brighton, my birthplace, as superintendent of the Grand Hotel. So many early associations connected with this place, and as I had lost all my relatives nearly, I made up my mind to remove to America along with ^n old friend of wine. F.MIEWKLL AJ)DHESS. 187 to ne, who (l(3t»'niiiin'(l, like me, to anciior at last in tho Now \Voi-l(I. Havijii,' now reached the point of the story of my lift.' vvlien 1 must hid farewell to my reader, I feel I'efrcshed — life renewed almost in havinj^ gone over the liistory of my early connection with the army, and the suhse<|uent perils, combats, and ad- ventures in which 1 was engaged. 1 can scarcely credit, on looking hack, that all such has occurred, and tliat 1 am the same who, so many years ago, toiled undiH' threat disadvantages throuij:!! the hot sands of India, })arch('d with thirst, and ill-provided with food tit for such a climate. I sometimes think if it is possible, or is a long-past dream — the charges on Sikh scjuares at Aliwal and Sobraon, the storming of huge works, the capture of citadels, the marching in triumph through many a proud eastern city , after teaching their arrogant rulers that treachery or treason could not be tolerated by the British. Did I once stand on the steps of the throne of the once powerful Mog lis of Delhi, and assist at the capture, and escort, after toilsome marches, some of the tur- bulent princes of India ; an of the Six Hun- dred, and tlic drc.'uU'u] snilerin^L;'s through the severe winter of kS.H and kSo:), will nevrr he forgotten. Then the Jn(nan Mutiny, whei-e