Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-06-24
THE MASSACRE OF CAWNPORE
visit go the Scene Of the BIackcst
Crime ina History.

turing city of some 125, 900 inhabitants
In commercial Importance ii is only Sec
0nd to Calcutta and Bombay. 1t FUR
nishes the railways centering here with
more traffic than anv two or three interior
towns put together. Its greatest notorl-
ETY., however, is associated with its past.
Here was perpetrated what many have
called 1.-THE blacklist crime in human his
tory the horrible Cawnpore massacre.
/ shall only review the incidents OF
this massacre. which are necessary IN
connection with my visitation of the
scenes which it involved.
Early one morning after Chota Hazree,
/ rode over to the Memorial Church in
company with a citizen. The Memorial
Church, as the name implies, is an ediflee
of the State religion, erected near the
scene of the memorable resistance OF Gen.
eral Wheeler. The church is splendid
European built structure, with marble
memorial tablets, exquisite tile floors,
and all the appointments OF hgh-toned
house of worship. Indeed. the building
| is so modern and elegant, without regard
to the climate, that in summer 1t is found
/ impossible to use it. Summer services,
| by the way, commence at 6 o'clock In the
morning in this part of the country uni
versally.
Just without the church was the in
| trenchment of 1857, a miserable mud
wall about four feet high, every vestige
of which has now disappeared. Here
| 900 persons defended themselves for
| twenty-five days against the hottest kind
Of fire from thousands of bloodthirsty
pagan foes OF the number $50 were
women and children, and only 44O men.
The sufferings of these women and chill
dred are almost beyond belief. They
had no shelter except such as their dis
traught male protectors could improvise
| for them. The thermometer went up to
| 140 degrees in the shade, and the suns
rays penetrated every part OF the IN
trenchment. Many persisted from sun
stroke or disease. Their food was scarce
ly sufficient to keep them alive. When
they wanted water they had to risk their
lives by venturing out to well, which
is still to be seen here, in plain view of
the enemy Shot and shell wrough, sad
mischief until the 27th or June, when
the men ordered a semi-surrender, chief
| ly out of consideration for the dying
women and children. The Mana Sahib,
leader of the Sepoy mutineers, had prom
Used to honorably conduct the party to
the Ganges, embark them, and send them
down the river in perfect safety.
Accordingly the people who were not
sick emerged from the entrenchment and
confided themselves to the protection of
the treacherous Mana. 1t was under
stood thessick should be returned for.
The eager prisoners marched down TO
the river and embarked from the Gate
Chowra Chat. No sooner had they been
loaded upon the boats than hundreds of
unseen natives opened fire upon them.
Their boats were stranded, and although
they did their best to return the fire and
get off, they could but become easy vic
tins to this, the fohlest instance of
treachery on record in military history.
Only three men in all that company of
1000 escaped death, and but 205 women
and children were left. Among the
massacred were a few Americans.
These 206 women and children were
then dragged to a building which has
gone down into history as the House of
Massacre. They were crowdcd.into two
small rooms, twenty by ten. feet in III
mansions, and kept there until July Is,
when, by the order of this same Mana,
they were every one slaughtered. Mana
had heard of General Havelock's adj
vance, and while he boosted of the
strength TO vanquish him in battle, he
gave orders that this most shocking deed
should be carried into execution, lest by
any chance a rescue should be effected.
But even the cruel Sepoys rebelled at the
thought of such crime, and Mana had
to hire five butchers of the city TO enter
the house and professionally carry out
his will This they did, the five men
, consuming an hour and half In taking
the 206 lives They We're paid one
rupee per victim, or in American money,
obout $50 jointly, for the bloody deed.
Then BY order of Mana the mangled
bodies were dragged to well in the inn
mediate vicinity, and cast down, the
dying with the dead, into its crimson
waters fifty feet below
1t is matter of regret to every sym
pathetic traveller to know that this in
human monster Mana soon after disap-
peared, and has never since been heard
from; so that he probably escaped the
punishment he merited.
When General Havelocx, the pious
soldier, at length arrived at Cawnpore,
and repaired to this assembly room, he
found himself just thirty-six hours too
late. The floor was still nearly ankle
deep with coagulating blood, while
| shreds of flesh and tufts of hair told of
the barbarous violence that had been adj
ministered The cuts on the walls that
| had been made with the butchers knives