futile. Hall, awakened by the noise, managed
to escape by a back door with his family into the
schoolhouse, which had been fortified as a place of
refuge. Leaving his family there, he took with
him a small guard of four men of the 83rd, and,
charging the assailants, drove them off. He was
speedily joined by the remaining men of the 83rd,
and the mutineers were driven from the hill.
The state of the weather rendered pursuit im-
possible.
* Prichard.
558
TBE MUTINEERS AT IRINPUliAH.
Book XII.
Chapter V.
1857.
Aug. 21-22.
but wound
Mr. Law-
rence.
The muti-
neers set out
for I'rin-
purah.
The Jodhpiir
legion muti-
nies at that
place.
Trying
position of
Lieutenant
Conolly.
He appeals to
the Bhils,
Only one European was wounded, and that was
Mr. Alexander Lawrence, son of the General.
Hearing the firing, he bad started for Captain
Hall's house, when the sepoys noted and shot him
— in the thigh. The wound was severe, but he
recovered.
The mutineers, baffled first by their own clum-
siness, and secondly by the spirit of the men they
had tried to murder, made at once for the head-
quarters of the regiment — the station of Irinpii-
rah. The only Europeans at this station at the
time were the adjutant, Lieutenant Conolly, two
sergeants and their families. Early on the morn-
ing of the 22nd, a letter from one of the baffled
mutineers was brought to Conolly by his orderly,
Makdiin Bakhsh by name. This letter, addressed
to the men at headquarters, called upon them to
revolt and join their comrades " who had been to
Abu, fought with the Europeans, and taken all
precautions." Conolly immediately mounted his
horse and rode down to the parade ground. A
glance showed him that the spirit of mutiny had
infected the troops. The gunners were running
to their guns, shouting to Conolly, as they ran, to
keep off. Conolly then determined to appeal to
the Bhils, who had no sympathies of caste, of
kindred, or even of a common origin, with the
men of the other branches of the legion. But to
reach the Bhils he was forced to pass the lines of
the cavalry. These, too, he saw were mutinying,
and though he stopped to order them to turn out
under arms, but not to stir from their lines, his
orders were not attended to. At last he reached
COOL DARING OF CONOLLY. 559
the Bkils. He found them loyal and ready to book xn.
i • /^i Chapter V.
obey mm, except so tar as to march against the
loaded guns and muskets of their more numerous Aug? 22.
comrades. As a last resource, Conolly rode back
to make an appeal to the infantry. He found then to the
them mad with excitement, and refusing to hear a
word. He then tried the gunners. But, as he then to the
? 1 1 â– 1 gunners,
neared the guns, the men shouted to him to keep
off; as he persisted in advancing, they wheeled
their guns round, and pointed the muzzles at him,
holding the portfires ready. Conolly then turned
his horse's head, and changiug his direction, rode
again at the guns, taking them in flank. Upon
this several troopers rode at him, between him and
the guns, and pointing their carbines at him, ex-
claimed, "Go back, or we will fire." Conolly and fails with
then called out with a loud voice that those on his
side should join him. A few troopers rode over.
Meanwhile the sepoys had begun the work of The small
r " / . , , . English
plunder. The two English sergeants with their colony is in
wives and families, two men, two women, and five grea
children, unable to stem the tide, had abandoned
their houses, and were seeking refuge in vain
flight. Conolly sent for them to join him in the
cavalry lines. They came. " Here, then," writes
the chronicler of the story of the mutinies in Raj-
putana,* " the little band of English men and
* Lieutenant Hindus Tho- after 1858, and devoted him-
maa Prichard, of the l. r >th self to literature, in which he
Regiment Native [nfantry, a played, in India, a conspicuous
soldier and a scholar of n<> and honourable part. His
mean capacity. The mutinj work on the mutiny ia styled
of his regiment disgusted The Mutinies in h'uj/ii'ifi'ni'i :
Mr. Prichard with military a Personal Narrative,
service. Ee left the army
560
A PEW MEN RALLY ROUND HIM.
Book XII.
Chapter V.
1857.
Au°\ 22.
soon to
become still
greater,
when a slight
reaction
occurs.
The "loyal"
rebels are
willing to
spare Conolly
and the
children,
but not the
sergeants and
their wives.
women were collected, utterly helpless, surrounded
by blood-thirsty villains, every instant plunging-
deeper and deeper into their career of crime, from
which there was no drawing back, and becoming-
more and more intoxicated with the unbridled in-
dulgence of their passion for plunder, lust, and
rapine."
It was indeed a terrible and a trying position.
It was soon to become worse. Gradually the men
who had responded to Conolly' s call began to
show a disposition to desert him. There were a
few noble and loyal spirits, however, who in this
dark hour dared to show that they preferred
honour to life. A rasaldar,* Abbas Ali by name,
came forward, and taking off his turban in a
solemn manner before the more infuriated of the
rebels, declared to them that before they should
offer violence to the English, they would have to
pass over his body. His example was followed by
another native officer, Abdul Ali. The orderly,
too, Makdiin Bakhsh, exerted himself to save his
officer. Ultimately forty-five troopers swore to
stand by Conolly or to die in his defence.
With a strange inconsistency, however, they
would not ride off with Conolly and the sergeants
and sergeants' families : they would not allow
them to depart alone. They offered to allow
Conolly to ride away, and to take charge of the
children — but as for the parents, it was impossible,
they said, to save them. With a spirit becoming
a British officer, Conolly under those circumstances
* A native cavalry officer — a squadron commander.
continues.
HE IS CARRIED OFF BY THE REBELS. 56 L
declined to leave. He resolved to save his com- book xii.
rades with himself, or to share their fate. Chapter v.
Meanwhile the rebels had brought their guns A u 857 2 ' 2
to bear upon the cavalry lines. To prevent the The crisis
escape of the Europeans and the loyal troopers,
they then insisted that all the cavalry horses
should be picketed close to the guns, and that
the Europeans, now their captives, should be sent
to occupy a small tent on the parade ground, care-
fully guarded.
So that long night passed. The next morning The Anadra
the Anadra mutineers, fresh from their baffled arrive. 66 â„¢
attempt on Abu, marched into the station with Aug. 23.
a swagger scarcely consistent with their actual
performances. However much minded they
may have been to avenge their defeat on the
prisoners, they were unable to do so without a
fight with their own brethren. For the faithful
"forty-five" still kept jealous guard. They
contented themselves, then, with an outpouring
of abuse.
The ways of the mutineers throughout the Th e rebels
mutiny were inscrutable. They were so specially sergeant! La
on this occasion. We have seen that on the day ^ [ irfainmea .
of the revolt of Irinpiirah, the revolters were awayConoiiy.
willing to allow Conolly to go, but not the ser-
geants and their wives. On the evening of the
second day they came to a resolution to permit
the two sergeants, their wives and children, to
depart, bul to retain Conolly. In consequence of
this resolve, the sergeants and their families were
sent away. The mutineers then marched from
the station in the direction of Ajmir, taking
«. 30
562
CONOLLY LS AT LAST RELEASED.
Book XII.
Chapter V.
1857.
Aug. 23-24.
The rebels
allow Conolly
to depart.
The " loyal "
rebels offer
to submit on
promise of
a pardon,
which the
political
agent has no
power to
grant.
Conolly with them, a prisoner, mounted but care-
fully guarded.
Conolly bad given up all hope of life. But
never was he in outward appearance more cheery.
He has left in a letter to a friend a vivid account
of the occurrences of that and the following day.
On the third day he was allowed to depart, and
he rode into Irinpiirah, followed by three faithful
troopers.* The rasaldar who had first proved
his loyalty, then wrote to Captain Monck-Mason,
the political agent at Jodhptir, offering to desert
with a large body of the cavalry, and the guns,
provided he and his comrades should be pardoned
and reinstated in the service of the Government.
It may be convenient to state here that Monck-
Mason was anxious to accept the offer, but his
hands were tied by the order of Government,
which prohibited all officers from making terms
with rebels while they had arms in their hands.
Monck-Mason therefore replied that though he was
precluded by recent orders from accepting the
terms offered, yet that if Abbas Ali would act
as a faithful soldier and servant of the British
Government, and weaken the cause of the rebels
by deserting in the manner he proposed, there was
no doubt but that his case would be leniently
dealt with by the Government, and he would pro-
bably receive an unconditional pardon and a
suitable reward. Abbas Ali, regarding this reply
as a refusal, became an active leader of the rebel
force. The results were serious to the British
* Vide Appendix C.
JODHPUR SENDS AN AIJMV AGAINST THE REBELS. 563
cause, and especially serious to Captain Monck- book xii.
lf , . ,, Chapter V.
Mason nirnselt.
The rebels, after dismissing Conolly, pushed on ^lat,
towards Ajmir with the intention of taking it. The Raja of
Their line of march lay through the Jodhpur Jends an
country. To stop them, and, if possible, to annihi- a l m ? against
late them, the Raja, acting in conformity with
the advice of Monck-Mason, despatched his own
army, commanded by his favourite officer, a very
daring and a very gallant man, who had given
several instances of his courage — Anar Singh —
to Pali, a place on the high road to his capital.
To aid Anar Singh with his counsels, a British
officer, Lieutenant Heathcote, was, by order of
General Lawrence, despatched from the Rajpu-
tana field force, of which he was Deputy Assistant
Quartermaster-General. The Jodhpur troops in-
trenched themselves at Pali.
Meanwhile the rebels, advancing towards that The Thakur
place, had arrived at Awah. The Thakur or baron
of this stronghold was in rebellion against his liege
lord, the Raja of Jodhpur. The Thakur, a man
of a long and proud lineage, of great repute
throughout the country, was unwilling to enter
into any bond of alliance with men whom he re-
garded as the revolted hirelings of the European.
But revenge is sweet. And he, probably the
second man in importance in Marwar, believed
that his WTongs cried out for vengeance. A rebel
against his Raja, he was likewise to that extent
a rebel against the British suzerain of that Raja.
Before, however, lie would consent to the terms
which the rebel sepoys, in their anxiety to gain
3G *
564
THE THAKUR OP AWAH REBELS.
Book XII.
Chapter V.
1857.
Aug. -Sept.
makes offers
of submission
to Monck-
Mason,
which that
officer has no
power to
accept.
He therefore
coalesces
with the
rebels.
The rebels
march on
Pali.
him, pressed upon him with urgency, he de-
spatched a messenger to the British agent, Monck-
Mason, to tell him that if the British Govern-
ment would accord him certain conditions, which
he named, he would return to his allegiance,
would keep the gates of his fort closed against
the mutineers, and, if co-operated with either by
a British force or by the troops of the Raja,
would open fire upon their camp, which was
within gunshot of his walls.
Again was Monck-Mason tempted. Sound
policy would have induced him to accept the
Thakur's offer. The conditions named were of
no great practical importance, relating as they
did more to sentimental than to real grievances.
But his hands were tied. He had no authority
to treat with rebels still in arms. He had no
authority at all to treat with this Thakur, whose
first complaint lay against the Raja. He was
obliged to send a reply to this effect by the mes-
senger ; to inform him in addition that the Thakur's
quarrel was with his own Raja, and that the Raja
had frequently expressed his determination to hold
no communication with him unless he should
confess his error, throw himself upon his mercy,
and pay up his arrears of revenue. The result of
this reply was that the Thakur and the rebel
sepoys came to terms, and together marched
towards Pali.
They marched towards Pali ; but when they
saw the intrenched position of the Jodhpiir troops,
they did not care to attack it. The delay which
ensued, trying as it was to men situated as were
THE REBELS DEFEAT THE JODHPUR TROOPS. 565
the Jodhpiir troops, might have been endured bookXH.
but for the evil effect it was sure to produce on '
the native courts and the native troops of Rajpii- Se pt 8 e mber.
tana. These could not understand the utility of Considera-
a Torres Vedras. Royal troops who would not ^j 1 ^
advance were half beaten. The moment was troops not to
remain quiet.
especially full of anxiety for the officer responsible
for the security of this important part of India,
and General Lawrence was justified in the desire
he expressed to the Raja that some more active
measures should be taken by his troops than
those involved " in dancing attendance on the
rebels, like orderlies."
But before General Lawrence's letter reached The rebels
t -it / .1 i p.li i attack and
Jodhpur, the commander ot the royal troops, defeat the
Anar Singh, had left his strong position and en- Jjj£Jjj ur
camped in close proximity to the rebels. Here,
on the early morning of September 8th, his camp
was surprised by the enemy, his men gave way,
and though he, with a few, a very few, kindred
spirits, fought bravely to the last, giving their
lives for their Raja, he could not redeem the
day. His camp, his guns, his military stores,
fell into the hands of the rebels. Heathcote,
after using every effort to induce the men to
stand, had mounted his horse and galloped from
the field.
General Lawrence was at Ajmir when the General
events I have recorded occurred. From the 21st
to the 26th August he received no intelligence from
JLbii, but on the 22nd a letter bad reached him
from Conolly at Irinpiirah, telling him of the an-
ticipations lie entertained of an outbreak at that
566 LAWRENCE MARCHES ON AWAH,
Book xii. station. Five days later he received the bare
ap outline of the mutinies at both stations.
September. We nave seen tnat tne European forces at the
disposal of Lawrence were all required for the
maintenance of order at the great military centres
in Rajpiitana, and that few, if any, could really be
spared for service in the field. No one can wonder,
then, at the anxiety expressed by the Governor-
General's agent for the prompt and energetic
assembles a action on the part of the Jodhpur troops. But,
rercVthe 6 10 after tlie defeat of those troops at Pali, Lawrence
rebels. considering, and rightly considering, that the
effect on the country would be very injurious if
the course of the rebels were not promptly checked,
assembled as soon as possible a small force at
Biaor for the purpose of co-operating with the
Jodhpur troops. This force was composed of
one hundred and fifty men of the 83rd, a portion
of the Mairwara battalion, the 1st Bombay
Lancers, two 12-pounders, three 6-pounders, and
two mortars.
The rebels The rebels, after their victory over the Raja's
AVah!* 011 troops, had fallen back on Awah, the fortifica-
tions of which they proceeded to strengthen.
Awah is surrounded by a high wall, and is only
approachable through a dense jungle. Being well
supplied with guns, it could claim to be defensible
against the small force which Lawrence was
marching against it.
General He arrived before it on the 18th, and pro-
Lawrence i -. . , n
arrives before ceeded at once to make a reconnaisance m torce.
Awah. This had the effect of causing the enemy to bring
a strong fire to bear upon his men from every
BUT SUBSEQUENTLY RETIRES ON AJMIR. 567
gun on their walls. It was seen that the place Bo °s xn.
was strong and could scarcely be carried by an ' - —
assault. Lawrence, then, hoping that the enemy s e p t 8 e mber
would come out and attack him, fell back on the
village of Chulawass, about three and a half
miles distant. Here he was to have been joined
by Monck-Mason, but that officer, on arriving
within three hundred yards of the place where
the General was standing, was decoyed by the
enemy's bugle- sound — similar to those of the
British — and was shot dead. His death was a Monok-
loss to the State, for he was a man of many and killed! ia
varied accomplishments, with a noble heart and
a lofty mind — one of the old school of soldier-
politicians who constituted one of the glories of
the Company's rule.
Lawrence remained three days at Awah. The Lawrence
i_ -i -i P., -i • • i •! • j • falls back on
rebels left him in peace, busily occupied in a'ji
imir.
strengthening their position. Unable with his
actual force to take the place, and having to a
certain extent impressed the people of the country
through which he marched, Lawrence then fell
back leisurely on Ajmir and Nasirabad. Awah
bade him defiance, but with the exception of
Kota, the remainder of Riijpiitanii remained for
the three months that followed loyal and sub-
missive. It may be convenient to add a word
here regarding the proceedings at Awah. Not
many days elapsed before the proud Thakur
and his rebel allies quarrelled. Instead of coming Ultimate fate
to blows, however, they sensibly agreed to sepa- pur i eg ion. *
rate. The Thakur remained at Awah; the sepoys
took their way towards Dehli. They were en-
568
KOTA.
Book XII.
Chapter V.
1857.
October.
Kota.
Troops from
Kota tempo-
rarily occupy
Nimach.
Major Burton
and his sons
return to
Kota.
countered, completely defeated, and many of them
cut up by a British force under Gerrard at Nar-
niil on the 16th October following.*
Kota, an offshoot from the more ancient prin-
cipality of Biindi, is a native State bordering on
the south-west frontier of Sindia's dominions,
having an area of five thousand square miles,
and a population of four hundred and thirty-
three thousand souls. In 1857 the ruling chief
was Maharao Ram Singh. An auxiliary force of
the three arms, commanded by European officers,
had been maintained in the State since 1838.
The entire cost of this force was maintained by the
Maharao. The political agent, representing the
British Government, was Major Burton.
The reader is aware that, when the troops of
the regular army revolted at Nimach, Lawrence
had caused that station to be reoccupied by de-
tachments from the contingents of Mewar, Koti,
and Biindi, until such time as the Europeans he
had sent for from Disa should arrive. f Major
Burton had accompanied the Kota troops on that
expedition. He did not, however, return with
them, General Lawrence having requested him to
remain at Nimach for some three weeks, as "in
those unsettled times he could not have confidence
in his troops."
Major Burton, consequently, remained at Ni-
mach. But, after the occurrences at A'wah to
which I have adverted, deeming his presence at
* Page 112. I may add that the rasaldar, Abbas A'li,
was ultimately pardoned by Lord Canning.
t Vol. i. page 256.
burton's interview with THE RAO. 569
the capital of the State to which he was accre- BookXii.
dited necessary for the assurance of the policy J
of the Maharao, he set out to return to Kota, o^ber.
accompanied by two of his sons, the one aged
twenty-one, the other sixteen, but leaving behind
him, under the safeguard of the British troops
at Nimach, his wife and four remaining children.
He reached Kota on the 12th October, was visited
by the Maharao in state the following morning,
and returned the visit on the 14th. The Maha-
rao subsequently stated that at the return visit
Barton gave him the names of some of his
officers whom he knew to be disaffected, and
impressed upon him the advisability of punish-
ing or at least dismissing them. "Whether Burton The Maharao
gave this advice can never be certainly known; Burton 8 to the
but this is certain, that that same day the Maha- J^f 0111
rao caused the officers and men of the contin- denounced,
gent to be informed that he had given it !
Officers and men were, in very truth, alike
disaffected, and, being so, the communication
made to them by order of the Maharao deter-
mined them to take the law into their own hands.
Accordingly they assembled the following morn- who attack
n -it^-T tne R eS1 '
ing, and killing Mr. Salder, the Residency surgeon, dency,
and Mr. Saviell, the doctor of the dispensary in
the city, who resided in houses in the Residency
grounds, attacked the Residency itself. The
guards and servants tied from the premises and
hid themselves in the ravines close by. Major
Burton and his two sons, left with a single
Bervant, a camel-driver, took refuge in a room
on the roof of the house. The revolters then
570
MURDER OF MAJOR BURTON.
Book XII.
Chapter V.
1857.
October.
and murder
Burton, his
sons, and
other Euro-
peans.
The Maharao
excuses him-
self.
fired round shot into the Residency. " For
four hours," writes General Lawrence in his
graphic account of the mournful transaction,*
" these four brave men defended themselves, till
at length the Residency was set on fire, and Major
Burton, feeling the case desperate, proposed to
surrender on condition of the mob sparing his
son's lives. The young men at once rejected the
offer, saying they would all die together. They
knelt down and prayed for the last time, and
then calmly and heroically met their fate. The
mob had by this time procured scaling-ladders,
and thus gaining the roof, rushed in and despatched
their victims, the servant alone escaping. Major
Burton's head was cut off and paraded through
the town, and then fired from a gun, but the three
bodies were by the Maharaja's order interred that
evening."
The Maharao at once communicated the occur-
rence to General Lawrence, accompanying the
communication with the expression of his regret
and with the excuse that the troops had taken
the law into their own hands and that he was
powerless. He may have been powerless, but he
had, perhaps unwittingly, set the troops on. The
Government of India subsequently signified their
opinion, that though innocent of fore-knowledge,
the Maharao had not wholly performed his duty,
by reducing his salute from seventeen to thirteen
guns.
* Reminiscences of Forty-
three Years' Service in India,
by Lieut. -General Sir George
Lawrence, K.C.S.I., C.B.
DISTURBANCES NEAR MMACH. 571
The tragedy at Kota was not the only outrage Book xii.
,.,.,. 7 , , <• i 7 a • Chapter V.
which disturbed the peace or the country during
the month of October. About the same time that October.
Burton was being besieged in the Residency of Disturbances
the former place, a party of rebels from Mandisiir, near N{mach '
led by a chief who pretended relationship to the
royal house of Dehli, marched on and seized Jiran,
a fortified town with a very strong defence, within
ten miles of the cantonment of Niniach. It was
impossible to allow such an outrage to pass un-
noticed. On the 23rd October there was sent
from Nimach to attack them a force of four hun-
dred men, with two guns and a mortar. The
men were chiefly Bombay native troops, cavalry
and infantry, but they were headed by fifty men
of the 83rd, the whole commanded by Captain
Tucker. They found the enemy still at Jiran. The repulse
Tucker at once opened fire with his guns, and
when they had played some time upon the de-
fences, he sent his infantry to attack the town.
The rebels then sallied out in overwhelming
numbers, drove back the infantry, and, pushing
on, captured the mortar. Upon this the cavalry
charged, recovered the mortar, compelled the
enemy to re-enter the town, and silenced their
fire. But the place itself was too strong for the
efforts of a force so small and so lightly pro-
vided ; the loss already incurred had been heavy,
two officers, Tucker and Read, having been killed,
and three wounded; a retreat was therefore
ordered. Strange to say, the enemy evacuated