The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-23 00:00:00

THE INDIAN MUTINIES.

A few mournful words passed ; the trembling lip of
the heart-broken loving father, and the black.
choked-up grief of the distracted mother, soon
ended our conversation. They have fortunately
been living at Calcutta for some time, -or they
would have also fallen in the bloody massacre.
They will quit the country immediately, and pro-
ceed either home or to Australia—probably to the
latter place. A fete words on the general aspect of
affairs may not be unacceptable. This is exactly
our position at the present nionient--The whole of
the Bengal army—horse, foot, and artillery—about
100,000 men, are in arms against the S ate, ex-
cepting about 5 regiments of Sepoys, who have
been disarmed by European troops at the muzzle of
tbe cannon. Delhi is still in posteasion of the re-
bels ; so is the kingdom of Oude ; so are all the
north-west provinces of India, with the exception
of a few spots, such as the forts of Allahabad, Agra,
and a few entrenched towns along the course of t i e
Ganges. Gen. Havelock, who commands the All .
habad column, is the oily man up to this moment
who has won a battle. He fought and won at Fut-
tehpore, ditto at Pandco Nuddy, ditto at Cawn-
pore, ditto in several places in Oude, where at
length he was repulsed and obliged to rect oss the
Ganges, and is now at Cawnpore, encamped with
Gen. Neill, on the plain of the massacre, having
not more than about 1,000 or 1,500 soldiers in all
fit for work, and 500 in hospital. Gen. Havelock
lost, from all causes, at, the rate of 100 men for
every 12 miles he advanced into Oude. This could
not continue, and he was consequently obliged to
retreat gloriously, after gaining nine battles and
capturing 70 pieces of cannon. It is hoped that
by the time this is posted, the Bth, Gen. Havelock
will be reinforced by one or two more regiments,
and that he will push on again for Lucknow, in
which garrison there is a European regiment and
some hundreds of men, women, and children, closely
besieged for more than three months. Reports have
now arrived that Lucknow is lost ; that in the last
extremity their garrison, rather than undergo a re-
hearsal of Cawnpore, blew themselves up. This is
not believed, and is, I hope, untrue, but still there
is great anxiety for the people in the temporary
fort in Lucknow. Much misapprehension is likel;
to prevail at home, on account of the way in which
things are reported here by the press. For id nee,
163 names are given of those massacred at Cawu -
spore, which would lead one to believe that that was
the whole number. It is not so. These 163 are
the persons taken back from the beats and coolly
butchered in dt tail afterwards. Tire total number
killed is about 800, but no one can tell i xactly, as
many have been in from the cenntry of whom there
was no knowledge. Another batch was massacred
at Cawnpore before the final massacre. A party of
refugees, who welts c .miug down the river from
Futtetighur, 150 in all, were taken and shot on the
parade ground. Another mistake is committed, and
the Times is deluded by it. It is supposed that the
people of the country do not sympathise with the
Sepoys, nor join in their bloody deeds. This ought
to be corrected, for every hand is uplifted against
tbe man who has a wbits, face. Those villagers
who used to throw themselves at my feet in May,
came out in June with swords and guns, and all
sorts of weapons, to take away my life. I dare not
go into the quietest district without' a guard of sol-
diev, nor sleep without a sentry at my door.
The European inhabitants of India are disgusted
and sick of the old system of government in this
country. There is an infatuation over goveenna out
Allahabad, Aug. 13. which blinds it to all reas in. Even in this hour of
Although the postal communication is cut off on blood and terror they are appointing Mahomedens
every side of us, I write on chance of being able to and natives to magisterial posts, giving them power
pest this myself in Calcutta, where I hope to be in even to disarm British-born subjects, or pat them iu
two or three weeks hence. The only means we now the common gaol among native murderers for sixeer
have of sending letters is by return steamers down twelve months. In fact tile Council at Calcutta.
the Ganges. With one of these steamers, now in seems to run upon a precipice, and the sooner it
the river, I intend to proceed in a day or two. As tumblesdown, everyone says, the better. Ihavesud-
the vessel carries two pieces of cannon and some denly and unconsciously run int o politics, but 1 call-
swivel guns there is little fear of her capture by the not help telling you of the general feeling as well as
rebels, who can at most give us a volley from their of the state of this unfortunate coun ry. IT ird
muskets as we glide down the rapid current (tun- Ellenborough is the only man who thinks of saving
ning at 801110 six or eight miles an hour). ' The car- us from utter annihilation. May he succeed in his
non of the rebels commands the river above us, but efforts to rouse the dormant club at Leadenhall-
at present the stream is free below, so that I hope street. A letter has come in ft orn the borders of Oude
just now. It says the garrisou has provisions suffi-
to add • postscript to this after my arrival in the
" City of Palaces." Igo there for change of scene clout for some time, but they are so decimated by
and for a new outfit for the "cold weather"campaign, sickness and death that they have offered terms to
to which I look forward with impatience. I hope to the rebel besiegers, which the latter refused
be here again about the middle of Oct., but the namely, to save the women, and deliver up all the
chances of life in India have become so much dimi- men in garrison as hostages or prisoners. The
nished it is hard to say what may happen before the bloody rebels have refused these terms—they must
present letter comes to an end. He who was yester- have all or none to glut their vengeance on. 1
day stalwart and full of life I have but an hour ago will take up a third sheet before the mail leaves, and
laid in his grave. Every day has its victims ; those give you all the particulars that maycome till then.
who escaped the massacre at Allahabad on June 6 Sept. 6.—Since writing the foregoing I received
have quickly followed one another to the grave, Tom's letter of the 14th July, and my brother's of
either by cholera, fever, or excitement. Deprived the 17th, but not the newspapers yet. lam happy
of houses or shelter, the Christian population took to hear that all friends are well, and that the coun-
refuge in the fort, but the pestilential atmosphere try sympathises with us in the ordeal through which
of the fort (situate in the IoW swampy ground at we are pasting. I will send a lot of newspapers home
the junction of the Ganges and Jumna) killed more by this mail, from which much may be learned, but
in one night than the united murders of the sepoys still, for want of a connected narrative, and whole
and the 3,000 prisoners whom they liberated from lists of the massacres, they will give only a faint idea
our gaol. I must say something about the terrible of the rerlstate of things. Nothing new has trans-
night of June 6. We took refuge in the fort—that is pired from the besieged garrison of Lucknow. The
to say, all that were not murdered; and it is worth government cannot communicate with that uu-
remark, that in the lists of names which daily ap happy place, nor can the poor fellows inside send
pear from ,every part of the scone of rebellion, the out any authentic intelligence. Their condition
list is not headed killed and wounded, but " the fol- must be frightful, in the heart of a native city,
compas,ed for miles around by fanaticalwolves,
i-Is
lowing have escaped." Then we took refuge in the
fort, where animal food was not procurable. For mortality from sick-.
thirsting for their blood. The
three days we lived on biscuits and some tea. After ness alone, especially among the women and cell-
this our cannon opened fire on the city, and we
dren, must be great, and I fear th ,t, even if Gone-
made a few sallies under cover of the guns. After rel Havelosles reinforced column can force its way,
six days Gen. Neil took command of the garrison. it will find but a small fraction of the girt ison alive.
He infused some of his own bold spirit into the The few paragraphs of intelligence rtgirding Luck-
handful 'of soldiers and volunteers who held the now, rece. tly givep to the pulite, cannot, I fear,
fort. We advanced into the city, but without the be much depended upon, fur many of the reports
general, and were repulsed with some loss—only are supplied by natives, and turn out fl,). such,
seven men and two officers killed and wounded, for instance, was the repot t two monde ago ot the
Next day we mounted mortars and howitzers on fall of Delhi, for which salutes were feed from the
the ramparts, and pitched shells into the heart of ramparts of our forts, exposing us to the ridicule
the city close to the headquarters of the rebel chief, of the natives. If Delhi fall shortly, it may give
Finding our fire too hot he shifted his position, a turn to affairs, but recent accounts are not more
abandoning the cannon taken from us on the 6th, encouraging than those received several, weeks ago.
which we then captured and brought back to the You wilt, in all probability, hear from Delhi been e
I can, for the news from that city muse travel far
fort. This was providential, for the cholera broke
forth inside with such violence that one week would and twist in many a direction before it teaches us.
have annihilated us all had we been obliged to re- Sept. 9.—The Government delayed tae mail two
main. After coming out one of my first visits was days in hopes of better news, but none has come,
to the burnt ruins of my late residence. Piciure to except a message from Gen. Neill, fromatwripore,
yourself how I drooped forward on the pommel of to the effect that in the neighbourhood Df Del hi We
my saddle to peep into the long room where I loft had a hard attack from the rob, ls, whom ve repulsed
behind so many friends, iu photograph, on the at the point of thebay .net, and took 12 gni.. Twee,
evening of the 6th. Could I only see, even on paper, good, but has little to do with the rebel garrison itself
the countenances of my old friends. I would feel at i n side the walls, where they are in great numbers, and
home again ; but no, the walls were naked, and my holding their ground. We are simply on the defensive
friends shared in the common ruin and were lost in at Delhi, for all the sorties are made by
eee rebels
the heaps of 'ashes which occupied the place of my , against us, and in one of these they
household goods. I could not help thinking of Job neatly 12 hours. I hope we shall shortly hear of an
when he said, "Naked was I born," for I had no assault on the rebels, and that they shall as lougth
clothing left except the small kit I took in my flight yield to the force !of the pointed etvel. Nothing
to the fort. You will, no doubt, read long ac- else seems to daunt them. Their tactics are inl-
counts of the terrors of this, the greatest and most proving and their numbers extending, so that you
need not wonder that our troops have been so long
sanguinary rebellion ever known. You will read
of the hardships and sufferings of poor fugitives, kept at bay. The Government has lose given up
men, women, and children, who are hunted like some of our finest districts within the past fort-
wolves or foxes from one cover to another ; lAA I night, and no sooner did our people vacate than
defy any production of pen or pencil ever to give the standard of the rebels was hoisted: and the
an idea of the actual sufferings of those who escaped Prophet proclaimed. But we are all in good spirits,
by flight. Some, finding refuge in the tops of large the day of retribution will come, when our army,
trees, were shot down like rooks ; others, who lay if not decimated by climate or crippled by the old
in boles and caverns, were drawn forth and put to government of India, will strike terror into the na-
a slow death by lopping off first a leg, then an arm, five heart. lam here corrected by a cavalry colonel,
then the nose, then bursting out the eyes ; after who sits near me, that my estimate of the number
which the further operations of the brutal mur- of the rebels is too low. He says that the Bengal
derers cannot be described. Some persons have army of all sorts is about 200,000, instead of
escaped altogether, but so worn out by starvation 100,000, as stated above.
and fatigue that death must shortly terminate You will read of the Bombay mutiny—the 27th
their lingering existence. The Cawnpore tragedy, N.l.—also of the mutiuy or sulk of the Madras
adverted to in a former letter to some of my friends Cavalry, who refused to come here, unless on their
has been verified. There were in that bloody camp own terms and 'dictation. Government did not
between 700 and 1,000 persons, including soldiers, take the men, but sent us the horses, which, of the
civilians, and women. The daily fire of the enemy's two, are the best set of animals. There they p 3
cannon had so demolished the breastworks and now, about 500 of them, mounted by men of Vie
weakened the garrison, that further resistance was Land Transport Corps—a good substitute for Week
in vain. The cries of the women prevailed against brutes. I leave here by steamer on the 12th for
the brave general—Sir H. Wheeler—who com- Allahabad, which is now the head-quarters and
manded. He capitulated with the enemy, on con- grand basis for the operations of the army. 'hope
dition of being allowed to come down here to Alla- , to go up with the troops to Cawnpore, or near
habad in safety by the river boats. The deceitful thereto, shortly. I felt rather dull here SlllOO my
Hindoo, Nana Sahib, gave a guarantee, but having arrival ; but like an old hunter to the music of the
found his prey in frail boats, under his masked can- pack, I hope to pick up again when lam within
non, he opened fire, and destroyed all except 163 hearing, but out of the range, of the cannon.
persons, principally ladies and children, whom he Poor Byrne I—seeking life by flight from Allaha-
took back again, but, alas 1 only to massacre in a bad, he fell into the jaws of death, opened wide
more bloody manner. Two persons who escap-d by the privations and sufferings he endured on his
from the boats are yet alive, so that authentic ac- passage. I paid a sorrowful visit to his grave,
counts of the whole affair will be published, and but was disgusted to find that I could not erect
saves me any further reference to so melancholy a even a tablet to mark the place in which he lies with-
subject, in which so many of my personal friends out puling the clergyman 901. for leave to do soin thel
and companions are leading characters. burial ground. My own health is good, although
P.S.—Calcutta, Sept. 4.—Here lam to add the have endured something during the months of June,
postscript to my first sheet, written at Allahabad July, and August. The thermometer in the fort at
on the 13th ult. Since then I have passed over Allahabad was 118 degrees in the shade from the
1,000 miles of the Ganges, arriving here on the 10th to the 30th ot June. Put your foot in war
26th. The steamer met no opposition, nor did her at that, and think what it is to breathe into you,
passengers fire a shot, except at the dead bodies of lungs a fluid of the same degree. Pie t ail kin July,
the Hindoos (capital sport) while floating by dozens i and up to this. has cooled the ; 1.,
—e air, mut troops in
down the holy stream. Our sport was, however, i camp have suffered unparalleled hardships. I ac-
turned into grief by recognising some of the bodies companied General Havelock's column in his first
of our countrymen floating among the blacks. At march from Allahabad to Cawnpores,uaffneriduthwie.n only
e
Mirzapore the mangled body of a poor white child did I estimate rightly asoldier's
was stopped in the eddy formed by the steamer I rain fell in torrents, and the troops, wet to the
while at anchor. I cannot here omit to mention,
, skin, were obliged to encamp in a swamp without
for my brother's information, to whom I hope you I bedsteads, lying down on a piece of oiled canvas.
will forward this when read by you, that Mrs. ; The general himself was just as badly off. He is a
,
Caraltore, the daughter of Mr. Sayers, of Futteh- small
I
pore, and authoress of "Songs of the East," man) With &ley hair and lively energetic
was ; manner. What 1,0 does, be does at once ; there is
most cruelly murdered inJune, as also her husband 'no indecision no fu bli )—he forms his column
and children. The latter were, in the most fiendish intoins fumbling--he 1.%
shape second and had he out y cavalry and
manner, torn limb from limb in the sight of their purse- ,
artillery, I think he would drive his men
expiring mother. You must believe it, for it is through stone' oii-
true. I called on Mr. and Mrs. Boyers here yes- a wa'l ; but I have seen those c
founded bullocks which draw his cannon become
terday, but did not wish to introduce the subject
—with t "
ou frantic, rushing at the drivers and scattering all
of their daughter's death, until they
a around in confusion. The rebels have horses—
tear, for their tears were exhausted—spoke first. Government horses—to their
• pot and son 49

The following letter is from a Mofussil station in
Lower Bengal :

"August, 1857.
" Long ere now you will have had the heart-
rending intelligence of the massacres of Delhi and
Cawnpore, as well as the scenes of slaughter and
bloodshed throughout this side of India. You will,
I fear, have had very distressing news from Cawn-
pore, not only of the loss of friends but also of
money ; for I think your partner and his family
lived there—and although I have not heard the
name mentioned, I have heard of few or none who
escaped. You know how happy I should be to see
you again, and most sincerely do I hope any of our
disasters here may not bring you evil. I cannot
help thinking, however, that you will come, for you
do not wrap yourself up when energetic measures
are necessary. . . . I have reasons to thank God
that we are in perfect peace in this part of the world
—but at the station of —, about 25 miles from
us, a plot was discovered (fortunately in time) by
which the lives of every European in the station
would have been sacrificed. The conspirators were
promptly seized, tried by our present summary
process, and the ringleader hanged in the Bazaar
the following morning, his carcase being allowed to
swing in the wind for 24 hours, the remainder of the
follows being transported for 14 years. This is as
it should be, and were there a little more energy and
determination shown by the government officials
who are trusted with unlimited power of life and
death, we should have had less to mourn for now.
As it is, cowardly pusillanimity is shown by almost
every member of the government from Halliday
downwards, and the feeling of indignation against
the service generally runs so high that was there
an European community strong enough in Calcutta
I feel certain that the government would bo de-
posed, and a committee of public safety appointed
to look after the safety of the European inhabitants.
Surely, the fearful scenes of massacre and shedding
of innocent blood which have been enacted by these
black barbarians (and all from the impotency of our
rulers) will arouse the feelings of England iu our
behalf, and induce them to rescue us from the
chance of a repetition of such scenes.
" My blood runs cold as I think of the fearrul
atrocities ; and, however unboly vengeance is, it is
the natural cry of every unsophisticated heart.
"To-day letters give us good news from General
Havelock's force, who have routed Nana Sahib's
forces with great slaughter, taking some 30 guns,
and as ho is on his way to the relief of Lucknow we
are looking anxiously fur further advances. He is
the man to command and to despatch, and had we
a few more like him and Chamberlain in coentnand
before Delhi we should have f.red better. Forte.
'lately the Commander-in-Chief, Anson, General
Barnard, and General Wheeler have been taken
away to make room for younger and more reso-
lute men. Poor Sir Henry Lawrence is deeply
regretted by all. Had we Dalhousie at the
head of affairs, we should have no difficulties
from such red-tapists as B—, P—, are., for at
a crisis like the present we want a statesman like
the marquis, who could and did act with vigour,
regardless of forms, where they not only teemed to
defeat the ends of justice, but rendered justice im-
possible from delay.

The following interesting letter has appAred in
;he I.7eeman's Journal :