Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XIV

  SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY

  The announcement that land was in sight produced some excitement, and thespeaker good-naturedly paused to enable the company to see whatever was tobe seen. They looked to the eastward, but they could see nothing. Theystood upon the promenade, and strained their eyes to the utmost; but itrequired a nautical eye to make land out of the dim haze in the distance,for that was all there was of it.

  "I can readily understand your desire to obtain the first view of India,"said Lord Tremlyn.

  "But they will not obtain it yet a while," added the commander.

  Louis and Felix had ascended the fore-rigging, and discovered what mighthave been the land or a bank of clouds. There were a great number of boatsand small craft in sight, but none of them were near enough to be seendistinctly. They observed that the Guardian-Mother had reduced her speed.

  "We shall not be where you can see anything for an hour or more," continuedCaptain Ringgold. "We have to pass some rather dangerous rocks in thisvicinity, and we shall proceed cautiously till we take a pilot."

  "A number of large vessels have been wrecked in this locality," said theviscount; "and in a little while you will get in among the multitude offishing-craft that swarm off the islands."

  When the company were satisfied that there was nothing to be seen, theyresumed their seats, and the "live boys" in the fore-rigging returned totheir places. All were greatly interested in the viscount's account of themutiny; and he had suspended his narrative just where cunning writers ofexciting stories place the "To be continued."

  "I had hardly finished what I had to say, or at least what I intended tosay; for there are still a great many points upon which I have not touched,leaving them to be brought up as you proceed on your travels through thisinteresting country," said Lord Tremlyn.

  "Go on! Go on!" said quite a majority of the party.

  "I have been here before, and perhaps you will excuse me if I have occasionto leave before your lordship has finished; and with this understanding, Ithink you had better proceed," added the commander.

  "I will do so with the greatest pleasure," replied the speaker, as he tookhis place on the rostrum again. "I have described the terrible situation towhich the English in India had been reduced, with nearly a hundred thousandSepoys in rebellion, and the troops outnumbered a hundred to one, shut upin camps and forts. The fanatical and blood-thirsty mob, far greater thanthe body of native soldiers, were eager to fall upon and slaughter allEuropeans.

  "At this time there were 40,000 British troops scattered over the country;several thousand men on their way from England to China were diverted tothis country. Forty thousand from home were on their voyage of 12,000 milesaround the Cape of Good Hope to relieve the besieged garrisons. But in themidst of the gloom of this miserable summer there was a gleam of sunshine,and the sad disasters at Cawnpore and elsewhere were partially retrieved.This came on the appearance of Henry Havelock, whose noble example of atrue life I commend to my young friends here who are just entering upontheir careers.

  "Havelock was born in 1795. His father was a merchant, and he was welleducated. He was at first intended for the law; but he followed the exampleof his brother, and entered the army a month after the battle of Waterloo.In 1823 he was sent to India; and on the voyage he became a Christian inthe truest sense of the word, and this event influenced his life. He wasemployed in the Afghan and Sikh wars; but he had learned 'to labor and towait,' and he was still a lieutenant after twenty-three years' service.

  "He was in command of a division of the army that invaded Persia in 1856.The news of the Indian mutiny called him hastily to Calcutta. Following theGanges to Allahabad," continued the speaker, pointing out the river and thecity on the map, "he organized, at this point, a force of two thousand men,and pushed on for Cawnpore, driving the enemy before him. At Fatehpur therebels made a stand; but they broke before his little band, and he hastenedon to his destination.

  "Nana Sahib, the native leader of the mutiny, was the adopted son of theformer peshwa, or ruler, of the Mahrattas, as certain states in the westand middle of India are called. His foster-father had been deprived of hisdominion, and lived on a pension paid by the British. The son had beenbrought up as a nobleman, with expensive habits. When the father died in1851, the pension was not continued to the son. He was bitterlydisappointed that his income was cut off, and it stirred up all the badblood in his nature, and there was a good deal of it. He did his best tofoment discontent, and succeeded too well; for the mutiny was his work.

  "As Havelock and his puny force approached Cawnpore, this miscreant incitedthe cold-blooded massacre of all the women and children the rebels hadcaptured on the day before the place was taken. The intrepid general foundthe Sepoys strongly intrenched at a village; but he turned their left, andcarried the works by a splendid charge of the 78th Highlanders. EnteringCawnpore, he saw the results of the atrocious massacre in the mutilatedbodies of the women and children with his own eyes.

  "The sight inspired the little band of heroes with renewed courage, andHavelock began his march upon Lucknow.

  "After fighting eight victorious battles, his little force was so reducedby sickness and fatigue that he was forced to retire to Cawnpore. InSeptember General Outram arrived there with additional troops, andoperations against Lucknow were renewed. The general in command of thisforce outranked Havelock, and the command belonged to him; but with a noblegenerosity he waived his claim, and served in the expedition under hisvictorious subordinate as a volunteer.

  "Havelock's army now numbered 2,500 men, with seventeen guns. Heencountered the enemy, and scattered them several times. They reached thethickly settled town where each house was a fortress, and with valor equalto anything on record, fought their way to the Residency, where they wererapturously received by the beleaguered garrison.

  "But with all that could be mustered they were only a handful of mencompared with the hosts that surrounded them, and in turn they were at oncebesieged by the rebels. They were not the men to yield to any odds; andthey held their own till November, when Sir Colin Campbell, with 4,700regulars, forced his way through the enemy, and relieved the place. He wasone of the bravest and most distinguished generals of modern times. Hefought in the United States in 1814, and in many other parts of the world.He was in the Crimea, and Alma and Balaklava are called his battles; for hedid the most to win them.

  "In India he completed the work which Havelock had begun, and the followingyear announced to the viceroy that the rebellion was ended. Just before hehad been created Lord Clyde. On his return to England he was made afield-marshal, and received a pension of L2,000.

  "To return to Havelock, great honors were bestowed upon him. He was made abaronet, created a Knight Commander of the Bath, and a pension of L1,000was awarded to him. But he did not live to enjoy his rewards and honors, oreven to see the end of the mutiny at which he struck the first heavy blows.In that very month of November when Sir Colin came to the rescue, Havelockwas taken with dysentery, died on the twenty-second, and was buried in theAlum-Bagh, the fort containing a palace and a fortress, which he hadcarried in his last battle.

  "Havelock was very strict in his religious principles, and a rigiddisciplinarian in the army. He was like the grave and fearless Puritansoldier, somewhat after the type of 'Stonewall Jackson' of your Civil War,though not as fanatical. In his last moments he said: 'For more than fortyyears I have so ruled my life that when death came I might face it withoutfear.' This he did; and England will never cease to remember the Christianhero, Sir Henry Havelock. In Trafalgar Square, in London, you may see thestatue erected to him by the people of his native country.

  "Aside from the mischief done by Nana Sahib, which seems to have had only alimited effect, what were the causes of this mutiny, Lord Tremlyn?" askedDr. Hawkes.

  "There were many causes that produced independent rebellions, such as thegreased cartridges served out to the
Sepoys, though this was onlyinsignificant. There were too many Bramins in the ranks, and they werefanatics; and biting off the cartridge brought their lips in contact withthe grease, which was religious pollution to them. A score of provocativesmight be mentioned, but all of them would not explain it. The natives hadbeen transformed into trained soldiers, and they felt the power that was inthem.

  "Before the mutiny, one British soldier to six Sepoys was about theproportion between them in numbers. The small discontents clustered aroundthis grand error, and broke out in the mutiny. After its suppression, oneof the first reforms of the government was to change the proportion of thesoldiers; and now they are as one European to two natives. The governmentis liberal in the introduction of improvements. Now all the strategeticpoints are under the control of our own soldiers; and at present theyconstitute nearly the whole of the artillery force of the country. Peaceand order have reigned since 1858, and it is not now believed that arebellion is possible. I expect and hope to be with you for some time tocome, and my companions and myself will do our best to inform you in regardto everything in which you may feel an interest."

  The viscount bowed very politely to his audience, and was hailed with allthe enthusiasm which could be gathered up by a baker's dozen Americans. Allof them testified that they had been exceedingly interested in his address,especially that part relating to the mutiny.

  "We shall be exceedingly happy in your company, my Lord, as long as you arepleased to remain with us," added the commander. "I have done somethingtowards preparing a route through India; and I should be glad to have theadvice of such counsellors as we were so fortunate as to pick up in themidst of the rage of the stormy ocean."

  "The time of our party is at your disposal for as long a period as we canbe of service to you. We do not wish to force ourselves upon you. We oweour lives to you, and we believe we may contribute to your pleasure andinstruction; for we are at home here."

  "We did only our duty when we found you on the wreck; and anything in thenature of a recompense for the service which every sailor owes to hisfellow-men, or to those who sail on the seas, would be repugnant to me, asit would be to my officers," replied Captain Ringgold.

  "I beg you will not regard my proposition as anything in the shape of arecompense; for all our fortunes and all our time for years to come wouldnot be an adequate return for the immeasurable service you have rendered tous," protested the viscount. "We have all been delighted with the manner inwhich we have been entertained on board of the Guardian-Mother; and withoutregard to our rescue from the very jaws of death, I declare, upon my honoras a gentleman, that you have won our hearts,--you, Mr. Commander, and allconnected with you on board."

  "Amen!" shouted Dr. Ferrolan in a burst of enthusiasm.

  "So say we all of us!" cried Sir Modava.

  "Now permit me to say in all sincerity, that if our acquaintance had begunwhen we set foot on the deck of your ship, and the noble conduct of theship's company were entirely obliterated from our memories, we should feelas we do now," said Lord Tremlyn.

  "So say we all of us," sang the doctor with Sir Modava.

  "I may say that if I had gone on board of the Guardian-Mother for the firsttime in the harbor of Bombay, I should have felt the same, and had just asstrong a desire to assist you in seeing India. When gentlemen of educationand character come here from England, the officials give them a warmwelcome, and do their best to enable them to see the country, its mannersand customs, and its institutions, to the best advantage. We should do thesame with Americans; and I account myself fortunate in being the first togreet you, and welcome you to India."

  The other two heartily responded to the sentiments of the speaker, and thecommander could say no more. By this time the steamer was in the midst ofthe fishing-boats and other craft. Louis called for three cheers for theguests, and they were given with vigor and sincerity. The party separated,and its members gave themselves up to an examination of the surroundings.