The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-06-01 00:00:00

A PEEP AT OUR SEPOY TROOPS.

In crossing from Calcutta to Bombay I stopped for
a day's rest at Jubbulpore, and found that there was
a rest-camp established there for troops who are
coming down from up-country to embark at Bombay
for Malta or elsewhere. The regiment which hap.
petted to be occupying it at the time was the 31st
Punjaubees. In the afternoon I went to see one wing
of the regiment march off to the station. They were
as fine a body of men as one could wish to see, and
their uniform seemed to me to be the perfection of a
soldier's dress for real service. It consisted of coat,
trousers, and turban, all of a sort of mud-coloured
drill of native manufacture, called "Tharkee," I
believe, with white pipe-clayed belts, and almost in-
visible at a short distance. Men dressed like this
would have an enormous advantage in these days
of arms of precision over ones in scarlet or that
still greater absurdity, rifle green. I think that I
never saw such a serviceable-looking uniform, which
It the same time looked extremely smart and
soldierlike. One of their English offigers came
up to me and began talking about his men. He
told me that they came from all sorts of tribes—Sikhs,
Afghans, Mahomedans and Hindoos, Afreedis, men
from the Kyber Pass, Cabul and Cashmere, and others
that I forget. They averaged sft. Bin. in height, and
were all fine, well seasoned men—some of them verit-
able " vieux moustaches," tall, wiry, clean in the
aanks, looking fit to go anywhere and do anything.
He said that they were all of them keen alto: eager to
fight. Some of them, not British subjects, were on
furlough, far away in the hills, when orders came for
the regiment to embark. They at once set out to
rejoin, some of them making long forced marches to
do so. One man he pointed out to me who was going
towards his home, and was not far from it, when the
news reached him, but he instantly turned back, and
walking thirty or forty miles a day he rot back to
the regiment just in time to go with them. There
were only threescahappy men among them—men who
had been found unsound by the doctor, and who were
ordered to stay behind. One of them came up to the
officer to whom I was talking and implored to be al-
lowed to go on, and when it was pointed out to him
that it was impossible he burst into tears and walked
slowly away, crying like a child. lab was a fine,
powerful man, and a noted wrestler, but had some
strain or rupture which would tell on him in a long
hard day's work. Walking towards the camp of the
wing that was to start in the evening, we were soon'
surrounded by the men, and their various peculiarities
of race were pointed out to me. Most of them had
dark hair and eyes and aquiline noses, but some were
comparatively fair, with light blue eyes and reddish
hair, who might easily be mistaken for Englishmen.
Some were big, broad-shouldered, and muscular, very
different from those natives of India I had seen. One
man belonged to a tribe which lets its hair grow as
long as it will, and showed me his, of which be was
evidently extremely proud. It reached down to his
knee, though he said that it was shorter than
it used to be, for it ,once c4mae down to
hl ankle. They formed circle round us, an 4
chatted and chaffed familiarly with itheir officer,
asking questions about me and my business, and being
greatly interested with my binocular, which I lent
them. I was told that this familiarity was necessm
In dealing with them, as they are proud and high-

spirited, and are many of them of the highest birth.
In order to be able to exact strict discipline when on
duty, it is essential to be free and easy when off. Of
course they have their little peculiarities like every-
body else. They are utterly careless of human life,
and have rather vague notions of the difference be-
tween mine and thine. But for all that, they are a
magnificent set of fellows, brave and hardy, proud of
being soldiers, burning for a fight, and quite capable
of giving a very good account of any foe they may be
called upon to meet. Many of them are not British
subjects at all, but they are quite as eager to fight the
Russians as those who are, and throughout the north
of India there are thousands upon thousands of men
quite equal to those I have seen under arms and
anxious to be allowed to enlist.—G. M., in Land and
Water.