The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-03-28
THE INDIAN MUTINY.
Brave Defense of Three Americans
During the Outbreak.
They Knew of the Threatened Trouble
and Built Miniature Fort of Great
Strength-Raising the Siege
A Native Generals Views.

/ was at Sultanpoor, in the presiden-
cy of Bengal, when the terrible Indian
mutiny delivered its first blow. There
were uprisings and mutinies at various
other places before any one at Sultan
poor became seriously alarmed. The
faith which the British had in the ma
tive soldiery would have been sublime
had it not been blind. The English
were in India as invaders and despOts.
They had given people cause to hate
them and hunger for their lives. The
natives were a hundred to one. Princes
had been dethroned, religion bur-
lesqued, social customs overturned, and
every Englishman was regarded as
standing between the natives and their
Heaven. The English knew all this,
and yet they had that blind faith which
entails destruction. Because no rebel
ion had taken place. because the ma
tives were Servile and cringing, all
argued that the outbreaks were caused
by few malcontentS and would amount
to naught.
DThere were three Americans of us at
Sultanpoor. We had been hunting in
the Dude territory, and had been in Sui
tanpoor for about three weeks to rest
and plan another trip. We occupied a
bungalow together and had several
native servants. Some of these were
related to some of the native police and
to members of the Thirteenth Bengal
Cavalry who garrisoned the place.
There were not over fifty white persons
ol+ or onI tbrnn-
fourths of these were women and chill
dren. On Sunday, the 18th of June of
that memorable year. / was lying in my
hammock in the shade of the bungalow.
My head was toward and within two
feet of thick hedge running along the
west side of the house. | had been
resting for an hour, when three or four
natives crept upon the other side of the
hedge and entered into a conversation.
every word of which | caught 1t was
announced that the rank and file were
to mutiny within day or two, and the
programme was so carefully laid that
certain men had been detailed to shoot
certain officers and certain plumber was
to go to certain individuals.
The talk continued for a full hour,
and when the conspirators withdrew no
sane man could doubt W hat was to fol-
low. The tax collector of the district
was civil officer named StrOgan, and
he occupied bungalow not over twenty
yards away. After waiting for a couple
of hours | strolled over there, and when
opportunity presented itself | told him
what had heard. He had a wife and
two children, and he was as pale as
death when l had finished my story. He
went at once to see Colonel Fisher, who
was in command of the post, but that
individual not only treated his cOmmu-
nicatiOn with contempt, but sent an in
sulting message to me. 1t was to the
effect that he wanted no interference in
military affairs by any Yankees. He
intimated to Strogan that | was prob
ably half drunk, and declared that he
was ready to stake his life on the loyal
ty of his men. This did not quiet the
collector, however. When he returned
he began packing up his valuables, and
that night he made an excuse to get his
family nearer the barracks.
On Sunday evening our native servants
were as servile as dogs. On Monday
morning their bearing was full of i'm
pudence.- All noticed it, and all were
satisfied that the mutiny was close at
hand. We had canvassed the matter
over to see what we should do. If the
garrison rebeled the odds were fifty to
one in their favor. If they elected to
slaughter every white person nothing
could prevent them. While they knew
us to be Americans, we were ''ferring-
hees," and that was enough. They
would kill us even for the sake of plum
der. We decided that we stood no show
at the station, and that we must take
care of ourselves. Had we started off
on the highway for Ayoda or Bella we
should have been ambushed or followed.
1t was finally concluded that we should
retreat to an old ruin about five miles
away-a spot we had visited the week
before and there wait for the cloud to
blow over or the worst to come. Early
Monday morning, On the pretense that
we were going to make surveys and ex
cavations for the benefit of history, we
secured cart, loaded it with provisions
arms and ammunition, and started off,
each of us mounted on horseback
We closed up the bungalow and
took our servants with us. They
seemed very willing to go, but
we soon discovered the cause. On Mon
day night all deserted taking our three
horses along. They wanted us out of
the way when the mutiny opened, that
the garrison might be weakened by just
so much. When through with those at
the station, they would come and finish
us. We had not unpacked the cart
before they left US, and they were, there
fore, in ignorance of its contents.
Our first move on Tuesday morning
was to select place for defense The
ruins were those of large temple and
outbuildings, covering about four acres
of ground. About the center of this
space was a thicket, with fine spring
of water. From this thicket was open
ground in every direction for half mus
ket shot. Most of the blocks of stone
were OF a uniform size, and the three of
us could handle them. BY noon we had
inclosed a circular space of thirty feet
oSi'oS anu i've lcco III Ii. anu udu pldCcu
all our stuff within it. The afternoon
we spent in filling the in.erstices in the
wall to make it bullet proof, and in COW
ering in portion of it. Before night
we had a fort which we believed we
could defend against hundred natives.
There was no doorway to it, and we
should have only the top of the wall to