The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-02
"REMINISCENCES OF INDIA
A LADY WHO SAW MILITARY SERV-
ICE DURING TWO GREAT WARS.
Gen. HaveIock and His Giant Wife
Horrors of the SepOy Mutiny-Massa-
crcs of Women and Children.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.


famine, the plague the riots in Calcutta
and Bombay, and now by the war on the
frontier. has called forth flood of remi-
niscences from different quarters con-
corning the ancient peninsula, and those
who have lived there are, at present, good
company for the public. st. Louis has at
least one resident who has seen lively serv-
ice in India-Mrs ]. Barnett who, as the
wife of a soldier. went through one great
Sikh war and saw much of the famous
Sepoy mutiny Mrs Barnett is the mother
of Mr. Charles Seymour, the well-known
local musician and teacher, and lives with
her son in South st. Louis. She is an Eng
lishwoman and came to this country about
four years ago to make her home with her
surviving relatives.
Mrs. Barnett's first voyage to India was
as the wife of a British officer, draft of
men being sent to fill up the losses in the
white regiments then in the service of the
East India Company. The voyage was made
round the Cape of Good Hope and required
about five months from England to Calcut-
ia. 1t was expeditions, however, in compar-
ison with the overland journey which lay
before the detachment ere it reached it's
destination in the northwestern districts,
for the march through India by the short
est possible route required nine months
travelling in India was then a serious mat
ter. The roads, when they existed, were
bad, being mere paths through the jungle
or tracks over the sandy desert. In many
districts there were not even paths, and
under the guidance of the natives the de-
tachment was compelled to force its way
through the jungle, Ratchet in hand cut
ting vines and bushes IN order to make a
path. All the travelling was done at night
between II o'clock and daylight, the heat
of the day being too great to permit Of
exercise, so at about II at night camp was
struck, the detachment took up it's march
and marched steadily until sunrise, when
halt was made, tents were pitched and
the force rested until II the following night
All along the line were natives carrying
torches, for in any jungle there might Turk
tiger or panther, and the blazing torches
were for the purpose of frightening off
these marauderS
In those days transportation of troops
was generally by their own foot power, but
In emergencies, as during the Sepoy mu-
tiny, when 1t was very necessary for regi-
ments to move as quickly as possible, large
numbers of mules. elephants and camels
were brought together, and the men were
transported without the danger attending
active exertion in the daylight hours. Cam
els would carry, according to their size.
two or four men; chairs made of bamboo
and a soldier took his seat in each. An
elephant would carry from six to ten men.
In emergencies a mule could be made to
carry two, but not for long distances. There
were then no railroads worth mentioning
in India, the first line being opened. from
Bombay to a town near by. in 1858 and
the lack of transportation, together with
the immense distance to be traversed, was
the cause of the temporary success OF the
Sepoy mutineers.
HAVELOCK AND HIS WIFE.
d.,
eral Havelock, who was giant in stature
exceeding six feet six inches in height, be-
ing broad in proportion His tremendous
size, however, did not prevent his possess
ing gentleness of disposition that seemed
quite incompatible with his stature and
profession. General Havelock was one of
the most perfect Christian gentleman who
ever lived and so consistent in his conduct
that even the worst scoffer at religion was
forced to admit his sincerity He was very
fond of children. and IN times of peace had
small articles in his pockets, comfits and
the like, which made him popular among
the little ones wherever he went. General
Havelock had a deep, organ-toned voice.
proportional to his size and stature, q voice
that inspired confidence as well as respect
Mrs. Barnett recollects how, while she loved
and trusted him, she never quite oVercame
a feeling of awe in his presence. Mrs. Bar
nettS mother was the lady companion Of
Lady Hayelock, and, as young girl in the
family, Mrs. Barnett had every opportunity
to become familiar with the general and
his wife. He was as regular and prompt
in his deVotions as in his appearance on
the parade grounds at the proper times
and only the most urgent duties interfered
with his private prayers. He the idol
of the troops, who trusted him implicitly
and would go wherever he sent them, even
to what seemed certain death. His loss
While the Sepoy mutiny was at his height
was justly regarded by the Indian govern
most blows IL
the cause of the English.
Lady Havelock, Mrs. Barnett remembers
as the talleSt woman she ever saw, being
very nearly seven feet in height and Of a
thinness which made her appear even taller
She was the daughter of an English mis-
siOnary, and married Havelock when he
was a captain. She was a woman of very
pleasing address, and although placed at a
disadvantage in society by her. extreme
conversation so full of charm that she was
to English society in India what her hus-
band was in the army. She was soldier S
wife in every sense of the word When able
to do so Lady Havelock accompanied her
husband in his campaigns up to the end of
his life and after his death near Lucknow,
Nov. %, 1851 she returned to England.
Mrs. Barnett recollects the horrors of the
Sikh war and how women and children
were butchered by the Sepoy mutineers In
one case a European woman, the wife of
one of the soldiers, with her two children,
was captured by the rebels. A native Of
ticer of the Sepoys seized one of the chill
repeatedly ran his sword through it's body,
then treated the other likewise and init
mated to the mother that such would be
her own fate and that of all other whites
in the country. Not even the Armenian
horrors could exceed those of India during
the mutiny. The wells of Cawnpore were
filled with the bodies of the white women
and children, soldiers wives and families
who were massacred when the mutiny
broke out After General HaVelOck retoOk
the place. defeating the Mana Sahib the
bodies were taken out of the wells and
buried, and years later, memorial gardens
were laid out on the scene of the massacre,
and the tomb, with the monument known
the we'll where the greatest number Of bod
les were found. Very few white women es-
capped the massacre, either in Cawnpore or
in other points where the mutineers had
by the intercession of a native officer, who
managed to have them imprisoned in
room where the windows and doors were
nailed up and in this prison they remained
four days without food or drink until the
English occupation took place, when they
were discovered and released.
DOMESTIC LIFE.
Domestic life in India in the fifties was
very different from home life in any other
country, nor has the style of living in India
materially changed since save for the in
PRODUCTION of greater conveniences in trav-
cling and the immense advantages gained
by the artificial manufacture of ice In IN
dia all domestic life is regulated by the
climate. At sunrise, during the hot season
the thermometer stands at from IS to 100
degrees, more frequently at the latter than
the former; at 3 o'clock it is 10 in the
shade; from noon to o clock il is often 100
and sometimes even exceeds that figure.