Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1858-06-01
sTAUNTON, VIRGINIA, TUESDAY, JUNE l. 1858.
Fall of Lucknow.

Fall of Lucknow.
Mr.. Russell, the correspondent of the Londol
Times, who is now in India, under date of Marci
goth, gives the following account OF occurrence
at the capture of Lucknow by the British troop
under Sir Colin Campbell:
Our men were in high delight with the gay
dresses of the eunuchs which they found II
some of the rooms, and it was with dfnculty
they were induced to take off the crowns OF lace
and peacock's plumes, and bird of paradise feath
ers, and the swordbelts they stuck over theii
heads and shoulders. Here, as in every other
building, there were quantities of kites, the fly.
ing ofwhich seems a favorite-amusement of these
childish but ferocious races. Goats, horses, the
stately Cyrus cranes, tame monkeys, apes, on.
telopes, numbers of paroquets in cages, were al
so appropriated by the men,. But 1t was scarce
Col. johnson, of Wilson's staff, his brother, Capt
johnson, the Deputy Quartermaster General,
head quarters camp, Lord Seymour, Lieutenant
Stewart, Bengal Engineers, and myself, were
looking at one of our men who had dressed him
self out in a fantastic eunuch's attire, when a
shot,ey1ently from one of the rooms of the court,
passed between US, and, as they had been fired
at before from the same, they moved off to an
other spot Very soon afterwards man of the
9th was shot through the body, and Lieutenant
Colonel Kelley, to whom had been speaking a
moment before, was struck by spent ball on
the head. moved off out of such an unpleas-
ant neighborhood, but as I passed out of the
court the rascal, who appeared to be secreted
| in one of the upper rooms, sent a bullet within
an inch of my cap and precipitated my retreat.
| ln this siege there is no such pleasant vantage
ground as Cathcart's hill or well protected par
alel, from which one can get view of what
is going on without any risk except that from o
long range shot or stray shell, and more officers
have been killed and wounded here after our ac-
lions are over By the enemy hidden in unknown
holes and corners than in the actual service of
the field
In the next court, which was sheltered from
fire by the walls around it, our men had made a
great seizure of rich plunder. They had burst
into some of the state apartments, and were en-
gagged in dividing the spoils of shawls and lace
and embroidery OF gold and silver and pearls
In nook off this court, where there was lit.
tie shade, we retired to rest ourselves, as there
were no means of approaching the front, part of
the buildings being on fire, and explosions of
mines feared every moment. Two men of the
Goth were IN before u.s. and, assisted later by
some of the 3Sth, we saw them appropriate mon
ey's worth to make them independent fer lie.-
The rooms of this nook had been used a, stores
by the King or some wealthy member of his
household. and each moment these men went IN
only to emerge with richer trophy. In one
box they found diamond bracelets, emeralds, ru-
bies, pearls and opals, all of which were SO large
and bright and badly set, that we believed at
the time they were glass. In another was
pair of gold mounted and jewelled duelling pis-
tolls, of English make, and the bill, stating that
his Majesty the King of Dude owed the maker
92S0; then out they came with bundles OF
swords, gold mounted and jewelled, which they
at once Knocked to pieces for the sake of the
mountings, leaving the blades behind them.
Next came out huge chemical laboratory,
then gold saddle cloth, studded with pearls;
then gold handled riding canes; then cups of ag-
ate and jade, gold mounted and jeweed; then
but must really stop this brokers' inventory.
The happy possessors of these ..clies were quite
mad with excitement. us this gold, sir!" as
that a diamond2" "Is your honor shure that's
raa gold?" us this string of little white stone'
(pearls) worth anything, ginleInen?" Close TO
US We're large boxes of japanned work containing
literally thousands of cups and vessels ofjade, of
crystal, and of china, which the soldiers were
lstlessly throwing on the ground and breaking
into atoms. Had the enemy made strong at
tack on US at that moment not one half of our
troops could have been collected to repel it.
And such were the scenes through every court
of the many mansions of the Kaiserbagh.
Meantime intelligence reached the Chief of the
Staff that the women OF the Zenana was secre-
ted in one of the strongest parts of the Kaiser
bagh Some engineer officers whose names did
not know Capt. Hope Johnstone,of Gen. Mans
fields staff; Lieut. Col. Johnstone, B. A., with
two companies of the 3Sth, Immediately pro-
ceeded to the spot, into which some of our SOL
diers had already forced an entrance. In doing
so the son of the Beguma, q deaf and dumb
youth of twenty years OF age, and two or three
of the ladies of the Zenana were unfortunately
killed by discharge of musketry when the
doors were burst in, before the soldiers saw that
they were women. 1t may be imagined what a
state of terror the Begums and their attendants
were in when our men entered They expected
death every instant, and their agonies of fear
were increased by the knowledge of the fact
that some armed Sepoys were shut up in room
close at hand, and one shot might seal their fate.
Hnddled together amid the smoke they could
hardly be Gained by the assurances of the Off
GERS, who at once took measures to remove them
to place of safety AS they were going out
one of the ladies pointed out to Captain Hope
Johnstone box which he had just taken from
the floor and laid upon the table. She told him
it contained Jewels to the value of ten lacs of
rupees, or 100000. He at once placed sentries
at the doors, and gave orders that no one should
enter Having, with the aid of his brother Off
GERS, taken the ladies out of danger, he retired
to the Zenana. 1t was blazing from end to end.
The sentrles only escaped by clambering up the
roof, from which they were with difficulty saved.
The jewels were gone. Had Capt. Johnstone
taken them they would have been his, for the
Kaserbagh on this day was given up to punder,
and what each man could get became his prop
erty.
Those stately buildings, which had never be-.
fore been entered by any European foot except
by Commissioner of Dude on O State day,
were now opened to the common soldier and to
the poorest camp follower OF our army How
their splendors vanished like snow in sunshine
The destruction around one, the shouting, the
smashing noises, the yells OF the Sikhs and ma
tves, were oppressive was glad to get away
| Just as our mortars began to thunder away at
the enemy's works again. There were burning
stockades, and thousands of pounds of powder
near at hand. 1t was late in the evening when
we returned to camp, through roads thronged
with at least 10000 camp followers, all stagger-
ing under loads of plunder-the most extraordi.
nary and indescribable spectacle ever beheld
= Coolies, syces, kitmutgurs, dhooly- bearers,
Sikhs, grass cutters, flood of men covered with
clothing not their own, carrying on heads and
shoulders, looking glasses mirrors s,pctures, brass.
pots, swords, irelocks, rich shawls, scarfs, en-
broidered dresses, all the loot" of ransacked
palaces. The noise the dust, the shouting, the
excitement, were almost beyond endurance
Lucknow was borne away piecemea to camp,
and the wild Ghoorkas and Sikhs, with open
mouths and glarng eyes, burning with haste to
get rich, were contending fiercely against the
current as they sought to get to the sources Of