The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-06-22 00:00:00

INDIA.
THE MARCH INTO ROHILCUND.

CAMP AT TINCIREE, Apra 27.
Haying halted a day and some hours at Futteyghur,
says the Times correspondent, the Commander-in-
Chief's camp was ordered to make a forced march to
Tingree, and last night soon after dinner, preparations
were made for our departure, the troops under Walpole,
near Allegloir or Allugunge, on the Hamgunga, being
directed to march to the seine place, eight or nine miles
off, that Sir Colin Campbell might take the command of
the force in person. The Headquarters' thtinp was some
distance outside the fort, and on going out, about 11
o'cluek at night, to the tree under which I slept, one
of those grand spectacles which eon only be witnessed in
Indian warfare met my view. The moon shone brightly
on the (hinges anti on the white manly plains beyond its
waters—it lighted up the bridge of boats, which trem-
bled and heaved, and shrieked under the premium of a
steady line of camels, elephants, and oxen, which went
with soft tramp across it, and were lost in the distance
in a mall black streak—it brought out in sharp outline
or east into deep shade the ruined houses, the fort, the
mosques of the city, the bazaar camp, the figures of
the huge animals, which pass usaottly, like black clouds,
and it revealed the masses of baggage animals escorted
by the wild Sikh horsemen which were streaming to that
narrow point whence they were to &bunch upon kohil•
cued ;—all was life and inotion without sound' except a
hum of voices, the tumult on the bridge and an meat
sional ahrill flourished on his flexible bridge,
by an (dot
pliant who was anxiens to tell his friends he was going
to battle.
AYRII. 30.

e pich
tride,i

We encamped fur the day at Kanth. Hour after
hour Clllllo in spies and letters, or " chits," from Slut
hanpore, all agreeing in the great fact that our ener-
getic and resolute but fugaciout opponent, the Moulvie,
was there, and th it two regiments and four guns had
come in from Bareilly yesterday. They are said to have
800 air 930 cavalry, and to have placed guns to coup
mend all the roads, so it looked like • fight. Great
hope,* were expressed of witching the Moulvie, but that
holy man has a wonderful acquaintance with the first
law of nature. When, indeed, one spy brought us in-
tollhouse) that the Sowers and Mahoinatians of the plaoe
were taking many oaths to each other on the Koran to
die—l nearly wrote "game "—or conquer, the old
I udians neer use brightened up amazingly, and said it was
a good sign they were in mortal fear, and would run
away if they could. The spies were mostly Hindoos—
some of them led to inform by love of gain, others from
hatred to the Moslem. The chits were written in the
Persian character on small rolls of paper, and adapted
for ixemenlinent. It was ourious to watch these spies—
their shifting unsteady glances—their keen quick lifting
of the eye at eyery fresh sentence, to see what effect it
produced on the Sahib, while Him:leo and Malminedan
servants stood around listening also unmovedly to the
intelligence, which might be fatal to the cense of the
rebels, with whom we say they all sympathise. In
no other nation or aggregate of nations could such indif-
ferentism apparent, but covering beneath it the most
furious bigotry, be found for the sake of rupees. As the
day wore on the stories brought in to us became nearly
unanimous. The Sowers' horses were ready for a start,
the guns were limbered up tor a Hight, our numbers had
been exaggerated, the enemy believed the country was
full of our troops, and they said to each other that it
would be folly to stand in an open city to resist such
forces with sneh eusierid and guns of prodigious size.
Late at night—that is, for camp life, about 9 o'clock
a letter was brought in announciinK the flight of the
Moulvie and the evacuation of the city, but this news
Iva,. accompanied by two statements not quite no agree-
able—the tied that the Moulvie and his followers bail
taken the rood to Mohuindee, in Oude, instead of that to
Bareilly ; the second, that all the Mossulinans and
most of the Hinduos had abandoned their houses and
bidden themselves. It is evident the Moulvie intends
to double back on our flank, and pursuit at the rate of
10 miles a-day of this active person and his Sowers,
who can march 40 or 50 miles, is absurd. We have no
force to intercept him, and, unless lie comes close to
lineknow, no troops to resist him, for Sir Hope Grant's
wiluitin is now units way to Hoy Bunny, in Oude, to
sweep the oountry of the enemy who have congregated
there, and who would have been attacked before this
hue) the views of the Chief of the Staff been earned
out. The weather is now so hot that it is death, or
great risk of it, tea European to stir out after 10 o'clock
in the morning, and, as it is, our men suffer much from
the sun ill their tents, where the thermometer often
titatiiie at 119°. There is more fever and ainallpox than
one likes to think about in the force, and Sir Colin
is racked by anxiety to get the men at once under cover.
However, we are only four marolies from Handily, and
it is probable the enemy will not stand there ; a part of
the formic can then be put into shelter at once, Icynee
'Pal will house the battalion which relieves the 0011111 RP
llitY which have no long found protection in its reoesses,
and it is probable • regiment with cavalry and guns will
be stationed at Sliahjelompore.
CAMP, SMAIIJEITANPORX, April 30.
The information we reedited was indeed true. The
enemy fled from riliahjeliatipore without firing a ebot.
The column left their camp at 3.30 this morning, and
arrived outside the town at 0.30. It was found to be
only partially inhabited. The Kindel* went off yester-
day to Molitundeo with • few hundred followers and
tour guns. Nana Sahib was here, with NO cavalry, till
about eight or tun days ago. He went off to Handily,
but before he did so he gave directions that the church,
cantonments, and Government stations should be use.
troyed, its order that our troops should get no oover, and
his instruetimi" have been faithfully executed.
After a lung and very inglorious halt at NAV...,
In (Jude, the Ohoorka tures has been withdrawn wi,
out venturing to encounter the enemy, and is now
marching back to Nepatil, rid Cawnpore and the main
trunk road. The Olioorkaa at Nawabgunge mustered
kw° men, of whom, last week, there were 2,000 sick.
Their baggage, 'marled in 40,300 carts, extended over 16
anif besides elephants and camels, they had no
loss than 10,000 bullocks—in fact, their whole fore. was
a mere baggage guard. Their atom had so little
etoinach for aghting, and so little reliant* on their nice,
that they embraced with eagerness that of the four
route" homewards which gave them a certainty of no
fighting and of an undisturbed retreat, and Captain
Plowden, the officer to who* discretion their route
homewards was left, quite concurred in thinking t',e
Nepaulese troops would do well to avoid the enemy. On
the 22nd of April they turned their backs on Fysebad,
and marched for Cawnpore.

‘wabgunp,
-• with-

INDIAN SILEVANTS.—IS is quite true that the natives
are frequently most insolent and provoking, and it may
be true that " • good licking" is the only discipline for
them, but it is certain also that the beating of servaute,
for which we blame Russians and others, is degrading
to him who resorts to it, and that it is unbecoming and
unmanly to strike with a stick or kick a miserable
wretch who darer not for his life defend himself. I
have been often told "oh ! wait till you are another
month in India, and you'll think nothing of licking •
nigger ;" but as yet, although I have had more to endure
than you would core to hear about, I have not been
able to enjoy this oriental luxury.
TAKING A PHISONER.—AN wo returned through the
deserted streets of Jellalabad we inch an English soldier
with a sword and shield on his arm, behind whom WAS
walking a tall gaunt Mussulinan, with his elbows fas-
tened behind his bock, by the folds of his turban.
"I took him. Sir, becaum he had this sword and shield,
and he's • suspicious looking fellow," said the soldier,
"and I'd like to know what Pin to do with him."
There was something very piquant in the notion of this
good fellow, who was quite unarmed, having taken a
much larger man who had a sword and shield, and the
manner in which he asked us what to do with his pri-
soner, swaying as he spoke a captive goose by the neck,
wasi
very ludcroue. We recommended the Provost-
Marshal.

ELEPHANT RIDING.—As the soil was very sandy and
heavy at the other side of the river for several miles, the
march had to be made on the backs of these grand old
creatures, elephants, three of which were waiting in the
fort for the Chief, General Mansfield, and the Aides-dc-
Camp; and others wore detailed for the use of the
Head-quarters Camp Staff. I had not been long asleep
under my tree when I was awoke by Colonel Pakenham
calling out " Where is my elephant?' very much in the
Caine tone of voice as • man in a club would ask the
waiter for his hat. The elephants were punctual. At
the word of the mahout the ancient pachyderm who was
to carry the Quartermaster-General, Colonel M'Plierson,
Major Stewart, Deputy-Assistant-Adjutant-General, Dr.
; Mackinnon, Surgeon to the Head-quarters, and myself,
knelt down with infinite condescension, and permitted a
ladder to he placed against his side, by which we
mounted to a contrivance just like the body of an Irish
jaunting car, strapped over his back. We preferred
that mode of inounting to the more usual way of putting
one's foot on the animal's proboscis, and holding on by
the lower flap of his huge indikrubber-looking ear, while
he, by a gentle curl upwards of him omnificent snout,
raises the rider to his back--or to the equally popular
mode of seising his tail and putting our foot against his
hind leg, which the animal elevates at the word of
command till the biped is high enough to scramble to his
seat in the howdah. We sat back to back, too at each
side, nicely balanced. I cannot say, notwithstanding the
honour and glory of the thing, that the elephant is an
animal which makes a favourable impression as a means
of locomotion. The only thing to which I can compare
the pitching fore and aft, as he rises and falls in his
stride, is the riding of alight collier brig in a tideway.
One of our party was soon sickened, and the others were
engaged, with great severity of aspect, in holding on to
the rails of the vessel, " like grim death to • backstay."
So we went on till dawn, very sleepy, and very tight.
ropy and noddy. We roused up to an attitude of atten-
tion at the sight of a broad and deep-looking river, which
looked anything but inviting under the combined rays
of the setting moon and the lilting sun. This was the
Rampino, and the bridges of boats stew yards above us
were those which had been secured by the victory at
Allenunge, after the sad affair at Ithadatnow. The
Lord Sahib's elephants were just crossing the bridge,
and so MIN were driven to the ford, and at once plunged
into the stream. As these sagacious and highly intel-
lectual beings are horribly fond of practical jokes, we
watched The depth of the water with some anxiety, lest
our elephant should avoid the trouble of swimming by
the simple expedient of letting his feet drop and walk-
ing on the bottom, while the top of his proboscis, held
above water, supplied him with air; but the stream was
not more than 6 or 7 feet deep, and we crossed without
an involuntary ablution. We were still in a sandy plain ;
but a few miles more brought us to the sight of the
enemy's camp, and of Walpole's, and soon we came on
traces of the fight, hideous bodies, bloated and dis-
coloured, lying all over the plain, with flocks of vultures
pulling out their entrails and dogs crunching their
bones.