Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-11-13
aNlseellaneous Readina.
THE SEPOY REBELLION
How Eng land Dealt With Famous Up
risino of Nations.

stranger native appeared in a village
in Dude, carrying two chupatties. or
cakes. and ordered the person VINO
took them to make and bake ten
more, and distribute them by twos to
the five nearest villages.
| In a few days the whole country
side was alive with natives carrying
cakes. Like fire through flax. the
mysterious craze spread. Few knew
what it portended, the Europeans
least of all. but most people were
agreed that it was a signal of some
kind, and that mischief was brew
ing.
Very few precautions, however,
appear to have been taken. Indeed,
the majority Of the British officers
absolutely refused to believe that the
native troops whom they commanded.
could ever prove untrue to their
salt"
How utterly they were mistaken
first became apparent at Meerut,
where on Sunday, May S, the troopers
of the Third Bengal cavalry broke in
to open revolt, shot down their off,
GERS on the parade ground, and after
wards rode amuck through the can
tonments and the bazaar, pillaging.
burning and numbering all the Euro
peans they came across. The sepoys,
after a few minutes hesitation, join
ed in the orgy Of slaughter, sparing
neither age nor sex in their blind
fury. Delicate English women were
hunted like rats through the blazing
streets, and hewn in pieces with the
razor-edged tulwars carried by most
of the native soldierly at that time.
Little children were impaled on bay
onets, or had their brains dashed out
on the stone pavements. Then, when
there were no more Europeans left at
large to kill. the mutineers marched
off to Delhi, nearly 40 miles away to
the southwest.
When the Third cavalry galloped
into the city. shrieking. "Deen! Deem"
(killi killD brandishing their blood
stained sabres and Staying in a
casual way every stray Englishman or
Englishwonan they came across,
Lieutenant George Willoughby, of the
Bengal artillery, quick to grasp the
situation, hurriedly gathered together
eight European non commissioned Of
ficers and men. and hurried with them
70 ha
This was a huge building, Of i'm
mense strength, and stored with mu-
nitions of war sufficient to have arm
ed half India. Young Willoughby
realized that if these fell into the
hands of the mutineers all was lost
and neither he nor any Of those with
him hesitated for moment. While
seven of the men kept at bay the Sc
poys who, following hard on their
heels. were by now clamoring at the
gate, he and a man named Scully
broke open some barrels of powder,
laid a train, and blue up the entire
magazine. All Delhi rocked with the
shock Of the explosion, and hundreds
of sepoys were killed. But four of
the nine heroes inside the building
escaped death by a miracle. The re-
manning five were blown to pieces.
Next to the blowing up of the Delhi
magazine, as an instance of individual
heroism, comes the blowing up Of the
Cashmere gate. This formed the main
entrance into the capital, and was de-
| Tended by deep ditch, across which
stretched a single charred beam. Over
this frail support darted an English
officer, Lieutenant Home, followed in
single file by two sergeants and ten
sappers, each carrying bag contain
ing 25 pounds Of gunpowder. These
| they threw hurridly in a heap before
the gate, then set fire to them. Ev-
cry man of the little party was either
killed or wounded by the explosion.
or by bullets of the defenders, but
the gate was shattered sufficiently
to allow of storming party forcing
its way through.
The famous Hodson, Of Hodson's
Horse, was one of the first men in,
and he made straight for the royal
palace. the residence of the aged
king of Delhi, and his two sons and
one grandson. But the four had fled.
Hodson, with a handful of men.
tracked them to sacred shrine
known as Humayon's tomb, dragged
them forth, and with his own hand,
in the presence of 5000 or 1000 of
the kings own retainers, he shot the
three royal princes dead, first, as an
added degradation, compelling them
to strip naked. They had killed Eng
lishmen in cold blood, and in circum-
stances, in some cases at all events, OF
hideous cruelty. and their hands were
red with the innocent blood of Eng
lishwomen and children. Who shall
say, then, that their punishment was
excessive?
The storming of the Shah Nujeef.
an immense and solidly built mosque,
near Lucknow, was another gallant
affair. 1t was held by the mutineers
in full force. with many guns. Sir
Colin Campbell had brought up Peels
naval brigade. but even his agile
bluejackets were unable to scramble
up the 20-foot high walls of the
outer enclosure, and there were no
scaling ladders.
They got in at last, with the as
sistance of the 93rd Highlanders, and
a drummer boy named Ross, "l2
years old and small for his age"
clambered like a cat to the summit Of
the great guided dome Of the mosque,
waved his little Highland bonnet in
the air as a signal to the beleaguered
garrison in the residency, that We
were in possession, and blew shrilly
on his bugle the first few bars of THE
Cock of the North. The signals
were both seen and heard at the resi-
dency, its flag being lowered and rails
ed three times in acknowledgement.
pUNkIRK IMPREGNABLE