Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-06-02

| patton
| 81 was, as YOU can imagine, pretty
down on my luck at this time, for
was useless cripple, though not yet
in my twentieth year. However, my
misfortune soon proved to be bless
ing in disguise. A man named Abel
white, who had come out there as an
indigo-planter, wanted an overscer to
look after his coolies and keep them up
to their work. He happened to be a
friend of our colonels, who had taken
an interest in me since the accident.
To make long story short. th> 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
oilers. The pay was fair, had com
Portable quarters and altogether | was
content to spend the remainder of my
life in indigo-planting Mr.. Abclwhitc
was a kind man, and he would often
| drop into my little shantv and smoke a
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 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
drcd 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 a 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. Abclwhite 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 ard 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 boollworh and the
managing. Well, one fine day the
crash came. | had been away on a
distant plantation, and was riding
slowly home in the evening, when my
eye fell upon something all huddlcd
together at the bottom Of steep
nullah. | rode down to see what
it WAS, and the cold struck
through my heart when | found
it was Dawsous 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
Scpoys lying across each other in front
OF him. refined up my horse, wonder
ing which way | should turn but at
that moment / saw thick smoke curl
ing up from Ahclwhitc's bungalow and
the flames beginning to burst through
the roof. knew then that | could do
my employer no good. bat would only
throw my own life away if mcddlcd
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