Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-07-18


peans passing through our estate witk
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 a
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 a
distant plantation, and wa riding
slowly home 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 I found
it 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
Sepoys lying across each other in front
| of him. 1 refined up my horse, wonder
ing which way I should turn, but at
that moment I saw thick smoke curl
ing up from Abelwhite's bungalow and
| the flames beginning to burst through
the roof. I knew then that l could do
my employer no good, but would only
| throw my own life away if meddled
in the matter. From where 1 stood
I could see hundreds of the black
fends, with their red coats still on
| I'd
round the burning house. Some of
| them pointed at me, and couple of
bullets sang past my head; SO 1
broke away across the paddy-felds, 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. It was a fight of the millions
against the hundreds; and the crue1est
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
Sil1hs, two troops of horse and a battery
of artillery. A volunteer corps of
clerks and merchants had been formed,
and this I joined, wooden leg and all.
We went out to meet the rebels at
Shahgunge early in July, and we
beat them back for a 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 if
you look at the map you will 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.
1.-The city of Agra is 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 o.
Agra. 1 don't know if any of you gen
tlemen have ever read or heard any
thing of that old fort. It is a very
queer place-the Queercst that ever
was in, and have been in some run
corners, too. First of all, it is enormous
in size. should think that the inc1Os
ure must be acres and acres. There i
a modern part, which took all our gar
rison, women, children, stores aut
everything else, with plenty of room
over. But the modern part is nothing
like the size of the old quarter, wher'
nobody goes, and which is given over t.
the scorpions and the centipedes- It i
all full of great deserted halls, ant
winding passages, and long corridor
twisting in and out, so that it is cas-,
for folks to get lost in it. For this rea
son it was seldom that anyone wen
into it, though now and again part.
with torches might go exploring.
THE river washes along the front o
. the old fort, and so protects it, but o.
] the sides and behind there are man
t doors, and these had to be guarded, O
e course, in the old quarter as well as i
o that which was actually held by on
e troops. We were short-handed, wit
). hardly men enough to man the angle
e of the building and to serve the guns
q 1t was impossible for MS, therefore, t
e station strong guard at everyone G
l. the innumerable gates What we di
S was to organize q central guardhous
Y in the middle of the fort, and to 1eav
e each gate under the charge of on
n white man and two or three natives