The Portland daily press., 1896-05-09
THE GREAT INDIAN MUTINY.
A Tourist Goes over the Ground of the
Terrible Gassacres.

(India Correspondence of the Baltimore
Sum-
There is no bloodisr chapter in the his
tory of this century than that recording
the hear trending scenes of the Indian
mutiny OF 1857. During the last week, IS
I visited the places in Cawnpore, Delhi
and Lucknow which have been made
historic by the bold uprising of the
natives of India, by the fearful suffer
ing and slaughter of English women and
children, and by the heroic bravery of
British soldiery, I have experienced
mingled feelings of horror, sadness and
appreciation. While making these studies
l have had by my side most of the time
an old soldier who was wounded three
times during the mutiny, who followed
Hayelook and Outram in their noble
charges and sieges, and whose eloquent
recital of these thrilling events added no
little to the interest ELECTED by these
localities. After much controversy on the
subject the weight of testimony seems to
support the opinion that the origin of the
outbreak can be found in both political
and religious tendencies that had been
growing in power for years before it ao-
tually burst forth.
Long before 1857 it was known that
the Mohammedans were dissatisfied with
their subordinate position, and their in
crossing idleness and immoral conduct
rendered them insolent ana fractions.
This restless feeling was famed into "A
flame when the royal family was dis
IL, e.,
tIess at Delhi by the English govern
ent, and especially when, through the
influence of Lord Hastings, the kingdom
of Dude was annexed to the British pos.
sessions. But the Mohammedans, ton &C.
count of their numerical inferiority, could
do nothing as long as the Hindu soldiers
remained true to England. The willy
Mohammedans. aided by concentration
of circumstances, weTs enabled to over
come this difficulty. 1t was sedulously
reported that the British government had
determined to force all OF it's subjects to
embrace Christianity, and in order to ac
complish this end plan had been de-
yised by which the whole of the Hindu
sepuys would become defiled and break
their caste. AS it was we'll known that
no Hindu could remain clean and touch
with their lips the grease of animals, the
Mohammedan emissaries declare that the
government had adopted the device of
! issuing AIShb9U WlUD pigs anu
bullocks' fat for the Enfield rifles, the
ends of which must be bitten off before
they could be used. When q Hindu
touched the unclean thing with his lips
and teeth Of course he would become an
outoast, and there could be no other re-
source for him except to join the religion
of his masters.
The leaders of the two great Glasses of
natives were soon united in their DUR
poses; regiment after regiment rebeled;
fort after fort was besieged; and the
spirit of the insurgents spread rapidly
throughout northern India. The king of
Delhi twas proclaimed sovereign of the
whole country: the stores of firearms and
ammunition wore siezed; English officers
were shot down by the native soldiers
while at drill; the residences Of foreigners
were broken into and plundered as quick
ly as they could be reached; neither age
nor sex was spared, and within "a hours
from the time when the first gun was
fired b frightful massacre was being per-
petrated in Is or 90 villages and cities
My old friend, Capt. Lee, who received q
terrible saber cash while fighting on the
streets of Cawnpore, pointed out the
scenes Of the struggle at this place and
wildly described the disaster THAI befell
the British arms early in the combat
Sir Hugh Wheeler intrenched himself
in the barracks with force Of about 300
soldiers, who were protecting 500 women
and children, the families of officers and
civilians. The insurgents were COM
nanded by Mana Sahib, who nurtured a
deadly hatred against the government
for declining to recognize in him the
successor of late ruler to whom he was
connected by adoption, and, wearied by
the desperate resistance of the men in
the barracks, he offered to give to all q
safe passage to Allahabad il a surrender
was made. The terms of the perRidious
L., God
with hundreds of Ahelpless women and
children, marched to the river bank ana
just as they were about to embark q
masked battery opened fire on them, the
murderous shots killing $50 cut of the
800 This apparent success seemed only
30 infame the demon Mana. The $50
prisoners wers brought into his presence.
The men were tortured and slowly nut
to death. and the others, after UNDERGO
ing the most horrible ordeal. were
butohered by savages and their bodies
cast into a well. Marochetti's beautiful
monument raised over this well is a pure
white marble figure of an angel with
folded wings and palm-laden hanas. with
its eyes sadly cast downward toward the
spot where the dead and dying were
hurled.
Although the mutiny broke out in the
early summer, Hayelook and Outrem did
not succeed in forcing their wav into
LUCKNOW unGll the @odn OF Septem Der,
when they came to the relief Of the Brit
ish residenoy. During these months a
handful of men held the place against
thousands of native soldiers. MANY with
in the walls died from wounds and er-
haustion, while several officers. a,nono
them Sir Henry Lawrence, fell hafnrs
the shot of the enemy. Women, as is NJ
ways the case under similar ciroum
stances, acted with transoenCanf borI,-
ism, and when at last succor came +eaUc
of men, women and children minole5 in
thanksgiving. This afternoon az 4 +
walked through the hushed chamhers of
the residency, Tennyson's DEFENSE Of
LuoknoT 'oe esme ,a51 mind, and in ieav-
shot-scarred walls, I recall the 49, s'il ~
the angelic chorus over the birth If one
. Urenter than TeOnVGun vi oAo