The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-11-19
THE SEPOY REBELLION.
How England Dealt With Famous
Uprising of Nations.

ties, or cakes, and ordered the per-
son who 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 fax, the
mysterious craze spread. Few knew
what it portended, the Europeans
least of all, but most people were
agreed that it was 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 command
ed, could ever prove untrue to their
salt"
How utterly they were mistaken
first became apparent at Meerut,
where on Sunday, May 5, the troop
ers of the Third Bengal cavalry
broke into open revolt. shot down
their officers on the parade ground,
and afterwards rode amuck through
the cantonments and the bazaar, pill
Laying, burning and numbering all
the Europeans they came across. The
sepoys, after a few minutes heslta-
ton, Joined in the orgy of slaughter,
sparing neither age nor sex in their
blind fury. Delicate English women
we're 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 I'M
paled on bayonets, or had their
brains dashed out on the stone pave
ments. Then, when there were no
more Europeans left at large to kill,
the mutineers marched off to Delhi,
nearly 40 miles away to the south
west.
When the Third cavalry galloped
into the city, shrieking, "Deen.
Deem" (kill. killD brandishing
their blood-stained sabres and slay-
ing in a casual way every English
man or Englishwoman they came
across, Lieutenant George Willough-
by, of the Bengal artillery, quick to
grasp the situation, hurriedly gather
ed together eight European non-com-
missioned officers and men, and hur-
ried with them to the magazine.
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 a. bay the Sc
poys who, following hard on their
heels. were by now clamoring at the
gate. he and man named Scully
broke open some barrels of powder.
laid a train, and blew up the entire
magazine. All Delhi rocked with the
shock of the explosion, and hun
dreds of sepoys were killed. But
four of the nine heroes inside the
building escaped death by miracle.
The remaining five were blown to
pieces.
Next to the blowing up of the
Delhi magazine, as an instance of
individual heroism, comes the blow
ing up of the Cashmere gate. This
formed the main entrance into the
capital, and was defended by deep
ditch. across which stretched SIN
gle charred beam. Over this frall
support darted an English officer,
Lieutenant Home, followed in single
file by two sergeants and ten sappers,
each CARRYING bag containing 20
pounds of gunpowder. These they
threw hurriedly in heap before the
gate, then set fire to them. Every
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 a 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 mis- two sons AMI
one grandson. But the four had fled.
Hodson, with handful of men,
tracked them to a 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