The morning news., 1891-12-19
ANOTHER HEROINE OF MANIPUR
What a Woman Suffered That a Be-
sieged City Night be Relieved.
FToUa fhe London Oilsan

What a Woman Suffered That Be-
sieGed City Night be Relieved.
From the London Queen.
The allusion in the Queen Of Nov. z.
writes a correspondent, TO tho relief of the
starving and besisgsd city OF Kohima by
| Col. Sir James Johnstone recalls the MEM
ory of another heroine OF Manipur, his
deceased wife, though probably from re-
spect for the still mournful feelings of her
| husband and relatives her name has not
been brought prominently forward in all
that has hitherto been written on the sub
ject. l venture to say that many an En-
glishwoman would have prevented her hus-
band from going forth on such an errand Of
mercy not especially within his official
duties, aud would have shrunk from re-
| naming at the resideucy at HanipuF for
seven weeks with no other European but
her sister, aud only native servants. Yot
these were the facts In October, 1879, Col.
Johnstone received a message, conveyed on
piece OF parchment and concealed in a
Naga womsn's ear, to the effect that the
b eadQusrlers station was besieged by 5000
or 1900 Nagas, and II not relieved at once
must surrender for lack of water. Surren-
der to whoTn7 To savages, who would not
have left man, woman or child alive. Col.
Johnstone at once sent g messenger with the
information to the nearest British mill
tary station; but lest, as indeed was the
case, the general Of the district could not
march force TO Kohima In time 20 save
it, be at once and in a single day collected
force of Manipuris and marched at the
head Of them himself. He took with him
the Toagal major lately executeiy and two
sons of the rajah probably as hostages for
the safety of his wife. sister-in-law and in
fant children. In forced march Of four
days over the same rosd traversed by Mrs.
Grlmwood and her companions he accom-
plished 100 miles and relieved Kohima the
very day it had undertaken to surrender
before nightfall, and three days before the
general of the district with British mill
tarY force could arrive.
Miss Mary D. Lloyd, sister to Mrs. John
stone, had some time before arrived at
Manipur from England. and the two sisters
remained with the four children, native
servants and native escort, sometimes look
ing about for safe means OF escape, OF
planning the best way Of standing siege, in
case of treachery on the part of the rajah,
whose pslace was only sixty yards away, or
OF an tnroad of Nagas from the hills to re-
venge the defeat Of their countrymen by
Col. Johnstone. But they were soon
distracted from any personal fear by tie
fatal illness of the youngest son, Arthur,
who died after two or three days illness
from bronchitis It is under such circum-
stances that the penalty of banishment
from civilized life shows itself. The childs
father, who, with natural fondness for
relieving suffering, had shown himself a
true medicine man" among the Manipuris,
was still away projecting Kohima till
the military force arrived, and after
that assisting in punitive expedi-
tion into the hills; there we're none
but native doctors-no kindly Euro
pean or clergyman to aid the two sisters
in the residenoy in the last sad office that
could be performed for the child. Its
mother three years afterward died in Eng
land, her last illness being probably aoceler-
ated by all that she underwent at this time.
The Afghan war then going on swamped
this small border war, and the dispatches
concerning 1t appeared even in the minis
terial paper under the head of The War in
Afgheuistan'