that the reports about the cartridges are lies, propagated by traitors, whose only desire is to rob and murder. These scoundrels, who profess to find cow's and pig's fat in the cartridges, no longer think them forbidden when they break into mutiny and shoot down women and children. Subahdar Gyadeen Patuck, Subahdar Roostum Singh, and Havildar Gunga Deen Chowby, you have done well. I will bring your conduct to the notice of the Governor-General of India, who will reward your loyalty. Private Ramphul Sookul, you heard the mutinous and seditious language which was spoken by the two Sepoys, and on the courtmartial you would not give evidence. You are false to your salt, and shall be punished." The following morning the Column was again on the move, for tidings of so disastrous a nature had arrived from Jullundhur that it was deemed necessary that this force should hasten on to Umritsur at least, lest that station and city, emboldened by the unhappy success of the mutineers of Jullundhur and Loodiana, should attempt to follow their example, or lest some of the rebels, who were then believed to be still north of the Sutlej, should push upwards towards Hosheyarpore, Kangra, and even Sealkote, and attempt to raise the regiments quartered there. The writer offers no apology for giving an account of the Jullundhur outbreak at so great length: it may fairly be regarded as the event of the Punjab during the month of June, and demands a prominent place accordingly. The precautionary measures already mentioned as being adopted at this station on the 12th and 13th of May,* sufficed for the security of the cantonment and the peace of the adjoining town, and all remained quiet during the rest of the month. There were, indeed, occasional alarms and misgivings in the town, the minds of the populace being swayed to and fro * See Number for February, p. 241. by each rumour that reached them; but the prompt and vigorous measures of the civil authorities, so nobly seconded by the Kuppoorthulla Rajah, soon restored confidence. Of this Sikh chieftain it is impossible to "His conduct speak too highly. throughout," says Captain Farring"has been excellent: he has ton, shown himself fully worthy of the confidence that has been reposed in him. The promptness with which he took so decided a part in aid of good order, had a good effect in the district. From the moment I called on him to aid, he came forward, and with his officials entered into the cause of Government most heartily. He and his brother, both at much personal inconvenience, remained here from the first, for several months." To their personal influence and persuasions, allaying any symptoms of alarm or disturbance directly they manifested themselves, the peace of the town and district is greatly due. In cantonments, however, the aspect of affairs was by no means so satisfactory. There was a semblance of quiet, and no open defiance of order; yet there evidently prevailed a sullen and sometimes scarcely passive spirit of disaffection among the native troops. They complained that the precautions implied a feeling of distrust, and with an air of injured innocence protested against any suspicions being entertained of their stanchness. With much tact, Colonel Hartley, temporarily commanding the brigade, addressed the regiments on their respective paradegrounds, appearing to give them credit for sincerity, and at the same time making them understand that he was prepared for them, and assured them that so long as they remained quiet, not a hair of their heads should be touched." This frankness had for a time the desired A fire at Hosheyarpore was supposed to have been the work of two Sepoys of the 61st Native Infantry, who had gone on leave professedly to visit some shrine in the neighbouring hills. In Jullundhur itself there had been several fires. The native tradesmen and others began to remove their property out of the Sudder Bazar into the city. Captain Sibley, the Commissariat officer, a very able linguist, acted as Colonel Hartley's interpreter on the occasion, and explained this promise to the troops. effect events, however, in them- native corps. The Civil Treasure, amounting at that time to about 60,000 rupees, was kept at the Kutcherry under a guard of Sepoys. Captain Farrington, having obtained instructions, applied for its removal to the quarter-guard of her Majesty's 8th Regiment. This application was refused, as being likely to wound needlessly the feelings of the native troops. As the only alternative, Captain Farrington placed a body of the Rajah's men over the treasure. Subsequently an order came from Sir John Lawrence, urging its immediate transfer to the European guard, and pointing out that "its loss would strengthen the enemy, and be really discreditable to us; which order was at once complied with. This occurred on the 16th of May. On the following day, Brigadier Johnstone, having arrived from Simla, took command. His first impulse was to disarm all the native brigade, from which he was hardly dissuaded by the representation that Colonel Hartley had pledged himself that they should be untouched "during good conduct," and they had as yet done nothing to forfeit that pledge: to break faith with them would have proved as impolitic as it would have been unworthy of the governing power. Having given way on this point, the Brigadier then could see nothing short of restoring full confidence to the native corps; and as a first step, influenced by the commanding officers of the native infantry regiments, ordered on the 18th that the civil treasure, which two days before had been rescued from the Sepoy guard, should be removed from the quarter-guard of her Majesty's 8th Foot, and given entirely into the charge (half to each) of the Nor was even this enough to soothe the wounded feelings of the Sepoys. They could scarcely credit the reality of such an act, and pretended that some deception was being practised upon them, and that false treasure-chests had been substituted for the real ones; and therefore insisted on having all the treasure counted over to them. This was actually complied with! General Reid, commanding the Punjab Force, on hearing of this fatal step, sent a telegraphic message, remonstrating strongly, and ordering that the treasure should be immediately restored to the European guard; but he afterwards consented to cancel the order, on the representation that, after what had passed, such a step might hasten an outbreak. So the money remained with them; but by the judicious arrangement of Captain Farrington, who required that all payments should be made from this money, by the time the outbreak did take place, the amount in their hands had been so much reduced that the loss sustained was inconsiderable.‡ ; This difference, however, and other matters of even less importance in themselves, changed the aspect of affairs. Fires were revived; secret meetings were being held nightly spies reported that the great body of the native regiments were mutinous, and that " very soon blood would flow;" in fact, everything tended to show that the Sepoys felt themselves to be masters, and, in conscious strength, had only to wait their own time and convenience to enter on the work of carnage and plunder. In the prompt disarming of the troops lay the only security against loss of life; yet they were not disarmed: the Brigadier, at first so eager for this step, now shrank from it. In vain did the Punjab authorities urge it. The officers commanding the native * Soon after the Delhi outbreak, one of the Native Infantry officers reported to the Brigadier that the Sepoys would mutiny if the cartridges were not destroyed. To remove all ground for complaint, all the cartridges suspected were destroyed before the men, under instructions from the Umballa authorities. + Until the arrival of Sir H. Barnard at Calcutta, he had been acting as General of the Sirhind division; he then resumed command of the Jullundhur brigade, and having taken charge, proceeded to Simla. Not equal to the arrears of pay. infantry regiments prevailed, and the Sepoys remained armed. Shall we altogether condemn of ficers who, having passed so many years among Sepoys, and inheriting the faith in their devoted loyalty and affection handed down in their regiments from the days of Lake, Ochterlony, Hastings, and such generals, not to speak of the more recent testimony of men like Pollock and Nott -still insisted on the unshaken faithfulness of their men? The feeling was natural, under ordinary circumstances; but, it may be asked, was there nothing in the present attitude of the Bengal army to furnish more than sufficient reason for wavering in such a belief- for fearing that their own men, evidently disaffected, might be no less mutinous than others? Every day brought tidings of defection in other regiments-not only at Meerut and Delhi, but Hurrianah the scenes of scarcely less atrocious cold-blooded murders. Ferozepore too, close to their own doors, then Moradabad, Bareilly, the whole of Rohilcund, and other stations, had borne witness to the general disaffection of native regiments. And when so many had shown themselves to be false, who could say that his were true? The officers persisted, however, in professing to trust in their men, and won over the Brigadier to their view. Both they and he soon had cause to lament such a misplaced "confidence." Is it too much to say, that if Brigadier Johnstone had acted with as much decision and promptness as the other Punjab Generals, Jullund hur might have been as Lahore and Peshawur? Had he received the remonstrances of officers commanding the native corps with the firmness of Brigadier Corbett at Lahore, or with the same disregard as General Nicholson, or had he adopted the bold plan of General Cotton at Peshawur, who required the officers to prove their faith in their regiments, whose stanchness they were so loud in advocating, by sleeping in the Sepoy lines, thus involving their own personal safety in the good conduct of their men,--may it not be said that the catastrophe which at length befell Jullundhur, might in all human probability have been averted? Thus matters continued, getting from bad to worse: fires were more frequent; the bearing of the Sepoys more defiant; occasionally, indeed, they gave up men to the officers on the charge of using mutinous language, but never their own comrades. Major Lake, the Commissioner of the Trans-Sutlej States (the Jullundhur Division), who had been absent in the District at the time of the Meerut and Delhi massacres, had now returned to Jullundhur. Having with his wonted energy and promptness provided for the safety of Kangra and Hosheyarpore, and the rest of his division, he added the weight of his arguments and influence in favour of disarming the native regiments. At length the Brigadier consented; a regular plan of operations was agreed upon. The time was most opportune, for in addition to the European force in cantonments, consisting of the 8th (King's) regi One effort was made, apparently by a Sepoy, to put the authorities on their guard, by posting a Hindee letter on the door of the Deputy Paymaster, Major Hill, of which the following is a translation : "Bikharee Singh, Subahdar, son of Kabab Kâs Chund; Xingan Khan, Subahdar; Munoo Singh, Havildar Major,—regard these three men as devisers of evil counsel. The Government is unshaken-but there are not enough men-rest assured of this." No notice appears to have been taken of this warning. In one instance, a man was brought up for going into the lines of the 36th and alarming the men (in a similar way another man had gone into the 61st lines); it was discovered that these men had both been sent by a Pundit brother to a man who read the "Bhagurut" to the men of the 61st. This Pundit was tried, and sentenced to transportation for life, but his sentence was afterwards commuted to one year's imprisonment. Instead of being made over to a European guard, the man was placed in the quarter-guard of the 61st Native Infantry, with which regiment he was connected What wonder that in the outbreak he was quickly released, and escaped? 2 Y VOL. LXXXIII.-NO. DXII. 3 ment and one troop of European artillery, with a troop of native horseartillery which had just arrived from Hosheyarpore, the 4th Sikhs under Captain Rothney, passing through station, were halted there to aid in the disarming, while a small body of the 2d Punjab Cavalry, under Lieutenant Nicholson, were close at hand on their way from Lahore, where the whole of the Movable Column under Brigadier Chamberlain had already arrived. With such a force in and around Jullundhur, resistance would have been fatal to the Sepoys. Everything was thus settled for the morning of June 6th (Saturday); when, the afternoon before, the Brigadier again gave way, and the only course which could have saved Jullundhur from bloodshed was abandoned. The 4th Sikhs marched on, and left Jullundhur encircled and enveloped in deeper danger than ever. Again the disarming was decided on, to take place on the Sunday morning (June 7th); but Major Lake, the Commissioner, suggested that so unusual a parade might arouse suspicion, and it was again put off. It was scarcely possible that, amid so much vacillation, the secret should not ooze out and reach the ears of the Sepoys. It evidently had done so, and driven them to anticipate the intended degradation. About 11 o'clock on Sunday night, the too common alarm of "fire" was raised Colonel Hartley's house was in flames. But the report of musketshots in the direction of the native lines told of something more serious than the destruction of some luckless bungalow; an occurrence with which the residents of Jullundhur had by this time become tolerably familiarised. There was no doubt that at last the Sepoys were "up." A general call to arms was now sounded; officers hastened to their respective parades; ladies with their families flocked to the artillery and European infantry barracks; her Majesty's 8th soon turned out, and 200 extra men were brought down by Colonel Hartley to the artillery lines; the artillery officers and men were at their guns, and all was ready for the impending crisis. As far as can be gathered from the various and conflicting reports, the outbreak occurred in the following order. The cavalry, here, as elsewhere, headed the onslaught; some few of them passed down to the rear of the 36th Native Infantry parade, towards the infantry barracks, where they suddenly fired off their carbines and pistols, and then rushed into the lines of the 36th Native Infantry, declaring that the "Gora log" (the European soldiers) were coming down upon them. This feint was evidently preconcerted by the leading mutineers to raise the 36th en masse.* These Sowars (native troopers) then galloped towards the artillery, and approaching the guns of the native troop (Captain Smyth's), which were on the extreme right, called out to the Golundazees, or native gunners, to join them, and turn the guns on the officers; this appeal was promptly responded to by a volley of "grape, followed rapidly by two or three rounds more, which brought down some of the leading mutineers and a couple of horses,t besides wounding a considerable number, and sent the rest in quick retreat. At the same time another small body of cavalry and a considerable number of infantry came up near the guns along the front, and balls flew in thick among the officers and men; but Brigadier Johnstone forbade them to return the fire, lest any should be really stanch! A third party of Sowars had ridden off at the first to the civil lines and the town, hoping to surprise or win over the Kuppoorthulla Rajah's men, who were on guard there; but a challenge and threat of resistance showed them their mistake, and they returned to can * To complete the deception, it has been asserted that Sepoys in undress (white) had been sent out to move along as skirmishers across the parade from the direction of the European lines. These were found dead the following morning: the wounded they carried off with them. One of the poor wretches was brought into camp while the pursuing column were halting at Phingwarrah. tonments. The officers had quickly assembled on the cavalry paradeground: there Major Macmullen, an officer greatly respected by the men, who had only a few days before succeeded to the command of the regiment, was fearlessly endeavouring to restrain his men. Seeing a trooper in the act of mounting, he tried to pull him off, when the wretch drew his pistol and fired; the ball wounded Major Macmullen's left hand. Finding that remonstrances and reproaches alike failed to bring the men to order, he fell back on the quarter-guard, where he observed several troopers standing passive and apparently quiet. He at once ordered a "roll-call," and a few kind words of encouragement kept these men stanch for the night. On the parade-ground of the 36th Native Infantry fell the first victim, Lieutenant Bagshawe, the adjutant: he had rallied about 100 men of the regiment round him, and was apparently bringing them to reason, when a Sowar rode up and shot him. The wound was a dangerous one, but not thought likely to prove mortal: however, with a constitution on which the Sutlej and Punjab campaigns had left effects deeper than the wounds he received at Aliwal and Chillianwalla, he had not strength to rally. He lingered a few days, and died, as humble and devout a Christian as he had lived a bold and brave soldier.* In the lines of the 61st a very different scene presented itself. Here the Sepoys were knotted together in groups, some frantically calling down curses on their officers;† others, more peacefully disposed, wavering what course to take. In the midst of a group of the latter stood Major J. C. Innes, with some of the other officers, endeavouring to keep them stanch, when a body of their mutinous comrades, headed by some Sowars, were seen coming down upon them. A Havildar, and some forty Sepoys, at once perceiving the danger, surrounded the officers, and falling back towards the quarter-guard, brought them off in safety. Here they dressed them in chuddees (sheets) and turbans to disguise them; and then concealed them, by making them sit on the ground and standing in a circle round them. A party of mutineers from all the corps soon after entered the quarter-guard, and began breaking open the treasurechest, in dangerous proximity to the concealed officers; when an old Havildar, pensioned this year, saved them by a clever device. Pretending to be afraid that the Sepoys were going to hurt him as they crowded round, he warned them that, as they knew he had been invalided for rheumatism, he would curse any one that caused him pain. In superstitious dread they quickly backed out, dragging the treasure-chest with them, and the door was closed behind them. The faithful Sepoys then lifted their officers up through a trap-door to the roof of the quarter-guard; there, lying down under shelter of the parapet, they watched in safety the scene of confusion below: some wrangling over the division of the spoil, others filling pouches and havresacks with rupees, and all yelling out bloodthirsty fiendish execrations against the English. In this hiding-place Major Innes and the other officers remained undisturbed. Having intimated their safety to Lieutenant Sankey as he passed by at night with his patrolling party, they were escorted to the barracks early in the morning by the company of her Majesty's 8th which was sent round to bring off any persons who might be concealed in any of the houses. That Major Innes should thus have been rescued by the faithful few of his regiment is not to be wondered at. He had completed, within a few days, his twenty-ninth year of service among them, rising from ensign to To mark the respect in which he was held, and to secure his remains against desecration, he was buried in the Old Burial Ground, in the centre of cantonments. It had long been disused and closed, but was opened to receive his corpse, and he was followed to the grave by the whole community. Ensign Bates, of the 36th, was also wounded severely by a blunt sword, and his right arm was long disabled. Of the 61st the following officers were wounded: Captain Basden, Ensigns Hawkins and Durnford: the latter died subsequently of fever. |