Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1886-05-06
A TRUST WELL KEPT.

The torrent Of mutiny in India that
had been gathering volume and foTcs
in secret for months had burst its bar
riers at last, and was sweeping along as
though past all CONTROL. The gallant
old Colonel Pratt had paraded his regi-
ment in front of his bungalow, and,
with his gray hair rippled by the warm
breeze, had expressed to them his i'll
founded confidence that, though all the
other Sepoys rose in rebellion, they
would never rise. HIS men, whom lie
always spoke of as "his children, "
greeted his speech with ringing cheers
Two hours after they had murdered
the veteran, and under their own chos.
en- leaders, were marching to Delhi,
their band playing, with the curious
inconsistency for which the mutineers
from first to last were famous, the
English national anthem, "God Save
the Queen" Allahabad had faien
Every officer at the mess table, with
one exception, had been butchered by
the servant who stood behind him, and
struck with his knife when the signal
was given. The one who escaped the
general doom land who was called, when
the story was told, the "Martyr of AL
lahabad," sprang through window of
the mess room, and reaching the banks
of the Ganges plunged In and swan
for many miles hiding in the jungle
during the day, and drifting with the
current at night /; suffering incredible
hardships, to die of native fever induc-
ed BY the exposure when friends and
apparent safety were reached at last.
Other officers belonging to that i'll
fated mess escaped. Not many, and
those only because they were not at the
table when the murdelous signal was
given. One of them, having been de
tained by regimeutal business, was hur-
rying to join his comrades when a wo-
man stopped him by coming with a
startling suddenness from The shadow
of clump of bamboos beside the road.
"Sahib, don't 60 on!" she said speak
ing in her own language. "They are
all dead by this time. Bonden Singh
was behind your chair, his knife ready,
and had you been in it you would have
been with Allah now. Boden Singh
was mad with rage, and waiting. He
had waited so long thathe said he could
wait no longer. He wanted to murder
you last night when you were asleep on
the charpoy, but told him if he did so
it would not be easy to get the officers
all together at the mess tonight. So
he agreed to wait a little longer and
stab you in the back, as the others
were stabbed, while lie stood behind at
dinner. He has killed somebody else
by this time, to make up for having
missed you. Yes, it is terrible, but
why did you put the grease Oh the
cartridges ? Ah, here they come ~
The butchery was over, and u troop
of soldiers, accompanied by the servants
who had slain their masters. were
marching down the road, headed by a
band playing "Rule Britannia. The
woman who had spokeD was Pooniah,
the wife or the villain Bonden Singh.
Bonden Singh was the bearer" or
body servant of the officer who had
been warned. was the officer.
"Quick, Sahib ~ she exclaimed, has
tily, as 1 stood irresolute in the middle
of the road.
"They will see us in minute. Hide
in the clump of bamboos ~ And in a
moment we were crouching there, side
by side, while the mutlneers came on,
marching with that steady military
step that they had learned so we'll fro %
their English masters. They had learn
ed some other things, too, from the
same teachers, and in the next few
months they showed all too plainly that
the seed of instruction had not been
cast upon barren soil.
"Why did you put grease on the cart
ridges?" at that moment, with life
and death hanging about evenly in the
balance, those words and their evil in
terfere:ce were ringing in my brain.
Assuredly the pork grease on the car
tridges had in some degree fastened
the mutiny. The cartridges of that
day had TO be bitten before they were
| used. and both Hindo0 and Mussulman
abhor the flesh oi the pig, though the
| higher classes eat imported hams and
| bacon, aud protest that they are not
the same meat at all. The Sepoys had
gone on biting the cartridges content
edly, and with no idea that they were
putting the urclean thing into their
mouths, until the rebelllous lajAhs,
watching for such an opportunity, will
ly pointed out the grievance. Several
of the regiments protested and asked
/ 10 rf 1rrn0 1Nn