Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-04-25


HOW HE LOST HIS LEG.
To make long story short, the colonel
recommended me strongly for the post
and, as the work was mostly to be
done on horseback, my leg was no
great obstacle, for | had enough knee
left to keep good grip on the saddle.
What had to do was to ride over the
plantation, to keep an eye on the men
as they worked, and to report the
idlers. The pay was fair, had com
Portable quarters, and altogether was
content to spend the remainder of my
life in indigo-planting. Mr. Abelwhite
was a kind man, and he would often
drop into my little shanty and smoke
pipe with me, for white folk out there
feel their hearts warm to each other as
they never do here at home.
well, | was never in luck's way
long. Suddenly, without a note of
warning, the great mutiny broke upon
us. One month India lay as still and
peaceful, to all appearance, as Surrey
or Kent; the next there were two hun
dred thousand black devils let loose,
and the country was perfect hell OF
course you know all about it, gentle
men-a deal more than do, very like
ly, since reading is not in my line. |
only know what | saw with my own
eyes. Our plantation was at place
called Muttra, near the border of the
northwest provinces. Night after
night the whole sky was alight with
the burning bungalows, and day after
day we had small companies of Euro
peans passing through our estate with
their wives and children, on their way to
Agra, where were the nearest troops.
Mr. Abelwhite was an obstinate man.
he had it in his head that the affair
had been exaggerated, and that it would
blow over as suddenly as it had sprung
up. There he sat on his veranda,
drinking whisky pegs and smoking
cheroots. while the country was in
blaze about him OF course we stuck
by him. | and Dawson, who, with his
wife. used to do the bookwork and the
managing Well, one fine day the
crash came ! had been away on
distant plantation, and was riding
slowly nome in the evening, when my
eye fell upon something all huddled
together at the bottom of a steep
nullah | rode down to see what
It was, and the cold struck
through my heart when | found
IL was Dawson's wife, all cut
into ribbons, and half-eaten by jackals
and native dogs A little further up
the road Dawson himself was lying
on his face, quite dead, with an
empty revolver In his hand and four
of him. | reined up my horse, wonder
ing which way | should turn, but at
that moment | saw thick smoke curl
ing up from Abelwhite's bungalow and
the flames beginning to burst through
the roof. | knew then that could do
my employer no good, but would only
throw my own life away if l meddled
in the matter. From where ! stood
| could see hundreds of the black
fends, with their red coats still on
their backs, dancing and bowling
round the burning house. Some OF
them pointed at me, and couple of
bullets sang past my headi SO
broke away across the paddy fields, and
found myself late at night safe within
the walls at Agra.
''As it proved, however, there was no
great safety there, either. The whole
country was up like swarm of bees.
Wherever the English could collect in
little bands they held just the ground
that their guns commanded. Every
where else they were helpless fugi-
tives. 1t was a fight of the millions
against the hundreds; and the cruelest
part of it was that these men that we
fought against, foot, horse and gun
ners, were our own picked troops,
whom we had taught and trained,
handling our own weapons, and blow
ing our own bugle calls. At Agra there
were the Third Bengal Fusiliers, some
Sikhs, two troops of horse and a battery
of artillery. A volunteer corps OF
clerks and merchants had been formed,
and this ! joined, wooden leg and all
We went out to meet the rebels at
ShahRungc early in July, and we
beat them back for time, but our
powder gave out and we had to fall
back upon the city. Nothing but the
worst news came to us from every side
which is not to be wondered at, for II
you look at the map you viii see that
we were right in the heart Of it. Luck
now Is rather better than hundred
miles to the east, and Cawnpore about
as far to the south. From every point
on the compass there was nothing but
torture and murder and outrage.
THE city of Agra is a great place,
swarming with fanatics and fierce
devil-worshipers of all sorts. Our hand
full of men were lost among the mar
row, winding streets. Our leader
moved across the river, therefore, and
took up his position in the old fort Of
Agra. don't know II any of you gen.
tlemen have ever read or heard any
thing Of that old fort. 1t is a very
queer place-the queerest that ever
was in, and / have been in some rum
corners, too. First of all, it Is enormous
In size. should think that the inclos-
ure must be acres and acres. There Is
q modern part, which took all our gar
rison, women, children, stores and
everything else, with plenty Of room
over. But the modern part Is nothing
like the size of the old quarter, where
nobody goes, and which is given over to
the scorpions and the centipedes. 1t Is
all full Of great deserted halls, and
winding passages, and long corridors
twisting in and out, so that IL Is easy
for folks TO get lost in it. For this rea-
son II was seldom that anyone went
into 1t, though now and again party
with torches might go exploring.
The river washes along the front OF
the old fort, and 50 protects It, but on
the sides and behind there are many
doors, and these had TO be guarded, Of
course, In the old quarter as well as In
that which was actually held by our
troops. We were short-handed, with
hardly men enough to man the angles
of the building and. To serve the GUNS,