The Express.
London, England, 1857-08-08 00:00:00

THE MUTINY AT BENARES.

TO THE EDITOR OF TWO EX

Stn,—The following are extracts of a letter from
my brother, the Itev. James Kennedy, of Dente., and contain
a more detailed account of what has occurred in that city
than I have seen. They are at your disposal for pub-
lication, if you consider them worthy of it —1 em. &c.,
4, Stepney-green, August 7. JOHN KENNEDY.

"The events of the Lott few daps have been ea remarkable
that we are only now beginning to realise them. A dreadful
dream seems to have been oppressing us. and we are only now
beginning to believe it to be a reality. In my letter ut 3rd
maw., I told you there had been a Are in cantonmenla on the
night of tho lot. On investigation, it was found that this
Are had been canoed hymen of the 37th Native Infantry, with
the view of drawing away the low English soldiers Mon the
guns, and then Noising them.
"'I he ruse was uneuecessfol. The men were immediately
under arms, and kept close by the guns; the men of the 3711 t
being ordered to put out the lire, which they did very re-
luctantly.
. .

•• On 'dila diecovery it was resolved to disarm the regiment,
but to du it very suddenly, so 144 to prevent bloidshed and
secure AtIMAM. The morning of the stb was fixed by the
military authorities for the disarming. During the Ith, news
arrived that a native infantry regauent Aeimgurh, some
sixty miles from this, had mutinied, and aired wine
170,0001. of treasury. The news somehow retuled the
sepoya at won as it did the authorities, and greatly excited
thou. Thu new brigadier rreolved to disarm the 37th at
OflCe. A parade woo hastily ordered. The bells of arm, ea
they are called (the little howee in which the anon are kept)
were suddenly bodied. No woner did the wpoye we this
and alto that the European aoldiera were under twine, than
they rushed to the belle of arm., burst open the doom, and
wie,sl their weapons. Betides this regiment there wee here
Sikh regiment, which WWI catch trusted, and likewise an
Irregular Cavalry Regiment, so well thought of that at the
beginning of thew trouble. it was called in from Sultanpore,
teelve miles dieting, to defend us. Many xpoke highly of
the loyalty of lbw. regiiiimitt, and auiong othens their own
officers; but other& doubted them, and the doubters have
turned out correct. All the troops were near at the time. No
sooner did the 17th twin, their arms than the Sikhs tired at
their own olli.•ere, who bed ken opeaking in such high terms
of then,. Before the emoiguitent woe well begun the com-
mander of the Irregular Cavalry fell. Captain Dedgton, the
brigade tnajur, rode up to ,he cavalry and called out, • Your
commander is dead, follow me.' Immediately one of the
troopers tired on him, and the boll grated his arm.
" Another trooper, a loyal one, immediately turned on the
rebel and cut hint down, thus easing Captain Dedgeon's life,
sa the rebel wan rushing on him with his sword, and Captain
Dodgem wax fur the moment dieibled. It wan evident that,
while the :171h wee thoroughly mutinous, there were 'nyel men
among the Sikh. and the cavalry, but in the strite it was
impossible to dietinguith them, as they were mingled to-
gether.
" The rebel fire was, of wens, returned by the European
soldier*, and then the minx opened, mowing demo numbers
of the mutineers. The Europeana were n mere handful com-
pared with the native force arrayed &pima them ; but they
had the advantage of having three guns, while the others
had only nmakete. In ouch circumstances the mutineers
could rush at once on the guns and capture there, but this
is not the native fashion. On the opening of the guns ell
the rebel. ran for shelter behind tr., and hut., from which
they tried to keep up the eantevt, but soon their only concern
was to get manly beyond the reach of the feared and hated
white aoldiers. The heavy firing continued for newly two
hours, but okirniishing continued for several hours longer.
lice many of the mutineers writhed it is impossible to say,
but it is certain that many have fallen. On our side there
were four killed and 21 wounded, of whom several are awe •
to die.

"There were only 200 European altogether, while the
number against them, including the mutinous andry, was
about 2,000. As the rebels first tired, and they were near,
if they had taken deliberate aim, namely one of the Eu-
ropean, would have escaped- How the residents all meaped
4 • matter of wonder to many, and ought certainly to be a
matter of heartfelt thankegivang. These men, maddened by
defeat, and thirsting for blood, as they retreated, streamed
through many of the compounds in cantonments, and Iced
as they ponied, but happily tired so much at random that no
person WWI hurt. neared of the English took refuge in
stabled and out-homes. Oben', like the commissioner and
his family, who were exposed to the most imminent peril, got
to the roof of their homer, and hid thetuselves behind the
parapets. My Melee is out of cantonment.; and,
therefore, in the first place, we were less expend than
other.. We had just finished dinner, about 5 p.m., when our
watchman rushed into the house, and exclaimed, " Flee,
Sahib, the; the regiment,' have mutinied." How he had
known so soon I do nut know, for by that time a shot had not
been tired. I temps° be hail hoard of the ateliers gathering,
thought there am to be mischief, and ran to tell us. He
had just opeken when we heard the tharp rattle of the
musketry, and then the boons of the cannon. We thought
it WM full time for to to move with our four children. The
gen wee ordered, and, according to a plan formerly arranged,
in the event of • disturbance, we hastened as fat es our
horn could take us to the hour* of a Mr. Gordon. on the
bank. of the Ganges, close to the principal ferry at 13enaree.
"A. that is • great thoroughfare, and it we', ponible
enough a party of meth:mere might come that way, it wee
deemed prudent to engage a boat and ferry ourselves out into
the middle of the river till new, should reach us. Conse-
quently the Dupre, Ballentynes, ourselves, and some others
got out on the over, and awaited tidings with intense anxiety.
By this time the heavy firing had ceased, end the rattle
of the musketry was 00 irregular that it was
evident the battle was well nigh over, but on what
side the victory woo we did not know. The whole I
i
city wee covered with meek... which led ue to fear there was
an mmense conflagration, but it turned out there had been
only a part of the cantonments on fire. At length we heard
the authorities were victorious. We returned to Mr. Gor-
don's home, intending to remain there for the night, when
Captain Hodgson, notwithstanding hie wound, accompanied
by severed others, galloped into the compound, and told us
that although the mutineer," were routed they were about in
great numbers, and that it wee absolutely necessary for
safety to proceed to a large building called the Mint, in the
middle of cantonment'', which was put into a state of
defence. Meet providentially et that very time a party of
English soldiers, seventy in number, were reported as having
arrived at the Ghat (ferry), and so escorted by
them, and re small portion of the irregular cavalry
who had remained faithful, we proceeded to the
Mint, where we arrived at midnight. What • seem
of confusion and tumult wee there ! All in front hands
of English soldier., ready to act at a moment'', notice men,
women, and children, high and low, huddled together, won-
dering at meeting together at such a time, at such • plsee,
not knowing where they were to throw themselvee down for
the night, and altogether looking quite bewildered. Ais to
sleep, that wee out of the question. I felt drowsy for • few
minutes between three and four, when I heard one say to
another, 'The magistrate has just been cent for; the city
is rising. In answer to the demand for aid; all the reply
given to the head native magi:kerne in the city waft, Do your
best, we cannot imam a man. Rioting did break out in the
city, but it was suppressed, and the city has since remained
astonishingly quiet.
" The sth (Friday) was so you may support' • day of interne,
excitement. No person ventured beyond the compound of
the Mint, except he were heavily armed or strongly meorted.
It wen believed that the mutineers were near, in numbers, and
might venture again on the combat. Our etrength was
divided between three places the Troteery, a full half-mlls
distant—the barracks, in another direction, nearly a gunner
of a mile—and the Mint, the most central place of the three.
The trimmer, however, was renewed to the barrack. under a
strong escort without • blow being struck, showing that our
enemies are for the moment cowed. A strange thing happened
in reference to this treasure on the evening of the 4th. While
the battle was raging the treasure wee defended by about
70 Sikhs. Their regiment wee in open mutiny, and yet
lime remained Mtn. They fired on mutterer, who ap-
pmached them, and delivered up the treasure safe—shout
60,0001., of which 1,000/. was immediately medo over to them
as a present. Them men are still with on, bat after the ex-
traordinary things which have happened, so unexpected by
all, even they are so little trusted that they are Dent to do
duty where their unfaithfulness would do little harm
" The whole of the sth wee spent by roe in the panted
confuvion and discomfort imaginable. We had ken emn-
pkiniug of the heat in our hewn., and wo thought with
morn; but after our experience of the Mint heat we hare
bad • longing for our homes. The Mint had a moat warlike
Zawee. The pi w bristling with arms—all round
rool place wee
uen there were rifle", sword', and other 'ravens. Some
of the meet peaceable men here, who had never been men
before I ammo with a weapon in their handy or at their
sides, went ithoutwith ;Conde in their belts and ewer& ol,neet
trailing the 'nand. At night I ventured to go from the
Mint to the barracks with two friends', one of whom had a
revolver and another a rifle. My principal object in going
was to roe • young man, a son of Dr. Tweedie of Edinburgh,
who bad been wounded in the engagement ofi the precasting
day. I found him in a wretched place, but not
so ill as I had been led to expect. He had an
extraordinary escape; three balls pawed through his cap and
one through bin trousers, without touching him. One ball
went through his shoulder, and yet there is every proepeni of
a ',needy cure, se no bone has been broken and no grey
artery cut. The doctor attending him says that if the ball
had deviated in the 'lighten degree from the course it took,
or bad been propelled with lees forte, it must have been fatal.
I shall news forget the sans at the hospital that night. The
men lying on littlebedateadeolearenough junto allows perenn
to :pass balsam them, with the moot frightful wounds, Pomo
evident/7 Isdhrleg excruciating pain, and others nearly in-
sensible, wt' • sickening sight. Then, again, all over the
plain win basis of soldier', looking at the bodies of the shin,
of white may had till that time remained anreruoved.
The mategion now was bow we were to manage for the
night. Sons had slight native bedeteade, and more bad
only shakedowns. A number dept in tho awfully-heated
room, and Whin betook themselves to the roof of the build-
ing, in tits open sir. The latter was our choice. None, of
worm, bolt ad their day-clothing, for we were to sleep in
public, as To bad been hvbs in public. Rank was for it
Mos obliged to damn toslf bubly. Our conuoisicwor
dent with bis lbssillaarem sm shakedowns, with Mks
Maw dent[ al mead thee; sad thin tram algid to
II&less cacanclir dew. wept as iskemblr well di
the "Web a dm w•sa a arc-sionc com ca. •
minter thawsst la; lot the hod wee so eea
llwelleg
_bide
Oa we reariad eta IS the mini& ewl Ora Whattea
awl we looked lie dimeretreeiw.
" Oa the ea (Smiarder) we were teldmheks hod • kb
neared ; and so we watered to Or. Steatellows, oppositc
the 114 tiben we spot the oq; Ink At k woos kW*

- -
heaven after the crowding and the confusien of the twee i• us
day. At Dr. Butler'e we remained till the evening, when
we returned to the Mint, end took our plum on the top for
the night. It was • beautiful night, with the onion aleging
brightly, and a little wind breathing, which, though not
over cool, fanned us somewhat. Wo slept on the w bile
well. We had one alarm in the course of the night. Some
of the outside pickets had tern several auspicious charts tore
armed, SO far as they could ore them in the distance, and on
this being reported our men got under :IMO. Nothing• how-
ever, occurred, and happily few know that any alarm had
been given.
" On Sabbath, the 7th, there wa% service at the barracks,
conducted by a church missionary-the only one who baa
remained here, the other,. having ltd to the Fon of Chunar.
In the evening I pre:oohed at the Mint. Saltbath evening
waa again spent on the top of the Mint.
am now writing on Wodueeday, the 10th. We hare been
spending the cotter day at Dr. slather el, and sleeping en the
Mint at night, till but night, when, uecording to Dr. B.'s
&dente, we slept there. Yesterday morning I went to our
house for a short time. This tam •ting toy wife and children
went with me, and we gn immorrow fur the entire day; but
us our house is a considerable dietaies beyond the stations of
the European pickets, some of our trends strongly advise as
against the !measure. In the imamliote neighbourhood of
the city all eoutinuee an very iptiet that I do not myself anti-
cipate the meanest danger. The news from the out-stations
are, however. very distressing. Aziangurh, Juanptre, and
Goruckpore are in the hands of the !chefs. Several of the
officieda have been killed, and etliera have seen ton happy to
be able to flee with their fsuithes. The niwltt before last
word wan brought in that two °Mends, one a military lII=
and another a civilian, been killed at Jaattpore, that the
teatof the few European inhabitants had lied, and were in
hiding $OlllO twenty riles distant. Ittnimiiotely a early
was formed for their rescue, and the whole were brought
in last night in a pitiable ents l'ltcy had nothing
but the clothes on their backs. Their Louse. had teen tint
plundered and then burnt. They thennolveo had a wood, rful
ewspe. They laid down on the lloor of the court-home,
with the balls whistling over their h. ails, and they einf-
coeded in getting away ea lost simply leen.e the moiinrvra
were so buoy with the tremore that they had trips! that they
had not time to attend to them. Amng the fogitives were
our very worthy friend., Mr. and Mm. !blether, of the
Church Mission, with their family. Their children ore now
arraynl in the garments of or,. The whole party had been
five days concealed by a native, send fed by him-- though, of
course, not with dainty fare. He declared he would rather
give up his life than betray them.
" In large districts around us goveennient is for a amen
suspended, and there is, of course, a threatening of frightful
anarchy. The rising has Leen entirety a military one, but
' where it has had temporary RUCLYWI the gaols have been
opened; the villains confined in them bays been let loose on
society, Mitch& have been either killed or scattered, no ac-
knowledged authority has remained, and you may well
suppose what would be the result of such a state of things
in our own land in any of its e ',ado! diatricts, not-
withstanding our botattli imperiority to other.. The people
generally are t'eritliitilY ant against us—at least in this part of
India—and I believe the majority are at pre,ent trembling
lest our days here be numbered, as they anticipate nothing
bat misery if wo go.
Thursday, June 11th. We have to-day ventured to our
home, and there we are in peace awl I believe in safety. We
are so thankful and happy to be in our own LOW* again, but
we must not remain here. For wane time to tome we expect
to be required to sleep within the buy of the English pickets.
This day week we were obliged to make our hasty flight.
What a memorable week it has been. We thought ourselves
as safe here as wo could be in our native land, and on suddenly
find ourselves expand to the greatest d wiser. A white face be-
fore was•positive advantage. Since that outbreak has corn-
tnenced it has been a mink fur the assassin. The sepoye were
our sworn and paid &louden; whose, r might fail as it was
thought they would stand by tie to the loot, and the result of
the...Adel:ice reposed in their is that they have nearly
overthrown British rule in Northern ludic. They have been
all along mercenaries, but it was thought they were iusepa-
rably bound to eta by the ties of interest. Nuts they look as
if maddened against us. The londhoblero, merchants, shop-
keeper., artisans, and indeed all the well-doing chase,, are to
a man against the movement. What the result may he is
known only to God :"