APPENDICES.

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FATE OF MR. DAVIS.

Mr. Davis has been previously mentioned. The fuller particulars connected with him are as follows. He was the head of the English Department of the Commissioners and Agents Office. When the Sepoys entered the city through the Rajghaut road, they were close to the house where Mr. Davis lived, to( : ether with his brother Tommy and his sisters. The Sepoys attacked the house. Both the brothers armed themselves with guns, arid closing the door of the house, mounted on the roof.

My servant, whom 1 had sent to gather news cf what was going on, found the house surrounded by soldiers, foot and horse. He saw eleven of them fall, shot from the roof of the house, and he saw one of the defenders fall backwards, wounded, while several of the soldiers were taken away wounded. The soldiers then retired. Subsequently Mr. Davis, together with many of his neighhours, took refuge in the house of a friendly native, and from there escaped to the underground apartments (Tai Khana) of the Maharajah of Kishengarh. Solieni, my servant, then communicated with them, proposing that they should accompany him to my house that they should reach my house safely. He proposed instead that I should send for the King's Vakil, and through him communicate with the King, and point out that as I had charge of the account of the King's estate of Kot Kasim, His Majesty should be asked to claim Mr. Davis as his servant, and thus secure the safety at least of himself and his sisters. I immediately sent for the King's Vakil, and begged of him to do this. The Vakil laid the matter before the King, who sent an order for Mr. Davis to be brought to him; but before this could be carried out, Mr. Davis, together with the ladies of his family, and other ladies (amongst whom was Mrs. Thompson, the wife of Mr. Thompson, for many years a missionary at Delhi, much respected and beloved), were induced, with false promises from the soldiers who had surrounded the house, to come out of their place of concealment. Some were then killed, and others taken to the Palace. Two days and two nights the refugees were concealed in the underground apartments of the Maharajah's house, without food or water. On the third day, maddened by thirst, and seeing a water carrier passing by with a skin of water, one of the men begged of him in the name of God to give him a drink. The man was carrying the water to the house of the Rajah of Bulubgarh. He came, and they opened the door and admitted him. The man gave them water, but when he got outside again he told some of the rebels, who were encamped in a garden, where the English were concealed. The house was immediately surrounded by a crowd of mutinous soldiers and scoundrels, who only became more their bloodthirsty when they discorvered it was impossible either to obtain access to the place, or from its situation to bring any effective fire to bear on its unfortunate inmates. They on their side saw every avenue of escape completely barred.

Such being the situation, the mutineers, finding force of no avail, resorted to craft, and made treacherous promises and solemn protestations to the refugees that if they would only come out, not a hair of their heads should be hurt, but they might confidently rely on being safely conducted to the Palace of the King, where they would be well treated. They succeeded in their object and induced the refugees to give themselves up.

There are two accounts of what happened after this. One is that the captives were told to sit down, and then and there were butchered in cold blood. The other, that the women and children were spared, but only to be taken to the Palace, where they subsequently met the same fate. Was there no God in heaven to forbid such revolting cruelties ? The day smiled and nature remained unmoved at the horrible massacre.

The fate of ¹ (¹N. B. The above names are given as found in the Diary. ) Mr. Davis, Mr. Tommy Davis, Mr. Nixon, Mr. Sendly, and Mr. Nickball was one. The pen grows dry and refuses to write. How impossible it is to fight against the hand of destiny ! It is more than probable if the request of Mr. Davis had reached the King's ears sooner, he would have saved him, but the pen of the Omnipotent had already written his fate, and such a request was mere vain words. Each man's life is a history, and when the inevitable has been written of each, the ink becomes dry; for the purposes of God are immutable.

 

INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH THE MOVEMENTS

CAPTAIN DOUGLAS.

Scene at the Quarters of the Commandant of the Palace Guara.

Very early in the morning of the 11^th of May, the attention of Captain Douglas was called to the burning bungalow across the river. Information of the arrival of troopers from Meerut had reached the Commandant, as also of the disturbances in the city.  Boorun " Chobdar " (a silver stick in waiting) Bukliar Sing, Kishen Sing, messengers, reported that the residence of the Toll Collector had been fired, and the officer in charge killed, and that the mutineers were making for the city, killing people here and there. At this moment one of the Sowars presented himself at the foot of the stairs, and told the sentry he wished to speak to Captain Douglas.

It was reported that the man was waiting below. Captain Douglas then came to the top of the stairs and inquired what he wanted. The man replied: "We have come from Meerut, where we have killed our officers, because they insisted on our using cartridges smeared with the fat of cows and pigs, and an attempt has been made to destroy our caste. Hindus and Mahommedans conjointly have created a mutiny (bulwa). There has been a fight ; both Europeans and natives have fallen, and we have come here as complainants, seeking justice from the King. Advise us what we shall do, otherwise as we have been ordered, so we must do."

Captain Douglas' orderly states that the man spoke as if he were in a fury, and the gleam of bloodshed was in his eyes. Captain Douglas replied : " You have committed a great crime in killing your officers, and unless you at once cease from bloodshed in the city, you will be severely punished, as I have four companies of Gurkhas." As the Commandant ceased speaking the Sowar mounted his horse, and rode off to join his companions. Immediately after this a " Chobdar " (an attendant bearing a silver handled chourie to keep off flies) came running with a message from the King, requiring the attendance of Captain Douglas, who went to the Dewan-I-Khas, where the King awaited him. On the way he met Ahsanullah Khan and the King's Vakil. From them he learned that a large force of mutineers had arrived in front of the city walls and were gathered on the city sands, raising loud cries. They urged the Commandant at once to take steps to restore order, as in the very presence of the King they were threatening, and dangerous. Captain Douglas found the King in the Dewan-I-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), and in reply to the King's questions as to what all this meant, he narrated what he had heard that morning that a few of the troops at Meerut had mutinied and had fled to Delhi. He begged the King not to be anxious, as European troops from Meerut would assuredly be pursuing the mutineers, and must shortly arrive, and there were the regiments at Rajpur besides. His Majesty might rest assured that the authorities had already taken steps to dispose of these men. From time to time during the interview, the loud cries of the mutineers penetrated the Audience Chamber. Captain Douglas asked permission to open the Water Gate leading to the river, with a view to calling some of the men into the presence of the King. The Vakil and Ahsanullah Khan advised that this should not be done, and that Captain Douglas should not expose himself to the fury of the soldiery, who were already inflamed with bloodshed, and moreover, if they once obtained admission, they might plunder the Palace.

It was agreed that Captain Douglas should speak to the men from the river wall of the Palace. He did so, and called towards him two of the officers from among the mutineers.¹ (The native officers were called " Subehdars " and " Jamadars ") They saluted the Commandant, and said: "The English tried to make Christians of us, and gave us these cartridges with that object; for this reason we have come to the King for protection, as we have been attacked, and some of us killed, by the English soldiers." Captain Douglas replied : " This place is under the private apartments (zenana) of the King; it is not the place for you to make a disturbance. Encamp somewhere on the riverbed, and the King will afterwards listen to your complaints. " The men moved off towards the Rajghaut Gates of the city. As Captain Douglas was about to leave, after giving assurances to His Majesty, the King expressed great anxiety for the safety of himself and his family, and claimed the protection of the British Government. Captain Douglas again assured him he had no grounds of apprehension, and hurried to his house. There he learned that the Commissioner, Mr. Simon Fraser, was waiting for him at the bastion of the Calcutta Gate of the city. Stopping the buggy of Captain Dildar Khan, which was passing at the time, he drove on in it to the river side bastion, where he found Mr. Simon Fraser, Mr. Hutchinson, and Mr. Charles Le Bas, the judge, with other gentlemen. Having joined them, he produced a letter which he had in his pocket. He gave it to Mr. Fraser to read, who returned it. Captain Douglas again read it. They then all conversed in EngIlish. While so doing a chaprassie of the Camel Department delivered a letter from the wife of the Toll Collector, who had been murdered, asking for some arrangements to be made for the burial of her husband. Captain Douglas replied : " Under the circumstances of this mutiny 1 can now make no arrangements." At this moment five troopers came galloping up and fired a volley from their carbines. One shot, striking Captain Douglas on the foot, quite disabled him. He then slipped down into the fort ditch, where some of the budmashes (scoundrels) attempted to attack him, but they were deterred by the presence of Kishen Sing, Kurmi Jat, and others attached to the office of the Fort Commandant, who carried him safely to the door of the Fort on a roughly improvised litter of sticks. After reaching the Gate, Mukhun Sing and Kishen Sing and others who were present carried him upstairs. He asked for some water, which he drank. He addressed the soldiers at the Gate, and said "If you will shut the gates and exclude the mutineers, and will stand by the Europeans, I will promote one of your number to be a subahdar." The chaprassie then carried him upstairs to his room, where there were Mr. Jennings, the chaplain, and two ladies Miss Jennings and Miss Clifford who helped to bandage the foot. Captain Douglas fainted several times. On regaining consciousness he called out: "I left my sword on the open plain." Mukhun Sing, under the orders of Captain Douglas and of the other gentlemen, then closed the doors. A noisy set of ruffians, chiefly sweetmeat sellers and Mogul residents of the Fort, with other seditious and murderous persons, crying, "Ya Allah! Ya Allah!" rushed up the stairs and called to Mukhun Sing to open the doors, else they would kill him as well. Mr. Jennings ordered the door to be opened, when the murderers rushed in, and with their swords released the life of each. The ladies had taken refuge in a mahogany wardrobe, and were dragged out. Mr. Jennings charged the men, and fell outside on the landing. The only one spared was Munshi Ram Lal, who was wounded. He was an officer of the King's household. It is believed he was knocked down with the butt end of a gun out of malice by one of the shopkeepers, who then escaped.

 

 

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NARRATIVE OF THE

ESCAPE OF SIR THEOPHILUS METCALFE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’n khana tamam aftab ast ;

I’s silsila jumla zarbab ast.

 

 

A Persian couplet which the literal translation is as follows : --

This house (or family) is altogether as the sun ;

This family, (or descent) is altogether as splendid as gold.

 

Early in the morning of the 11^th May, Sir Theophilus had driven to the Court House, and it was then reported to him that mutinous soldiers were attempting to enter the city. To prevent this he at once got into a buggy, and putting the horse into a gallop, drove to the Kotwali and sent off men to guard and prevent the opening of the Rajghaut Gate, and to ensure the shutting of the other gates. He then drove towards the Calcutta Gate, where he found the whole place in an uproar. The mutineers had been reinforced by a considerable body of troops from the garrison in cantonments, and the riffraff of the city were every moment adding fresh recruits to the turbulent mob.

After hairbreadth escapes, in which Sir Theophilus had to abandon his buggy, and make his way partly on foot and afterwards on a horse whose rider he seized, and summarily flung to the ground, he succeeded in finding temporary refuge in the Paharganj Thana. Here he was courteously received by Main-u-din Hassan Khan, who faithfully promised, without any hesitation, to do all in his power to assist him, and as a preliminary measure, put his wardrobe at the disposal of Sir Theophilus, who thereupon proceeded to adopt a native disguise. Deeming it too risky, both on the Thanadar’s account and his own, to remain any time in such close proximity to the city, where the mutineers had already commenced a wholesale massacre of all the Europeans on whom they could lay their hands, Sir Theophilus, on the earnest advice of the Thanadir, was dissuaded from making an attempt to return to cantonments, as it would inevitably lead to nothing but a useless sacrifice of his life. Instead he accepted the safe custody of Mainu-din to the Kullali Bagh, where he found shelter in the house of a Lambadar, by name Bura Khan, who at once recognized Sir Theophilus, notwithstanding his disguise. Sir Theophilus' first anxiety was to learn the fate of the Europeans in the city, and he directed the Thanadar to ascertain all he could on the subject, and let him know the result as speedily as possible ; and he begged him to spare no effort to save any lives he could. But the time for saving lives had already passed.

Suspected of assisting in the escape of Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, the Thanadar, as it was, ran no small risk of losing his own life, and it was only by using many subterfuges, and by the exercise of the most careful precautions, that he succeeded in keeping secret the whereabouts of the refugee, and preventing the bloodhounds of the city getting on the trail. Meanwhile Bura Khan left nothing undone to secure Sir Theophilus' safety, and to minister to his wants.

 

By way of an additional safeguard a second place of refuge was provided in a neighbouring thicket. Thither the refugee could betake himself at night, should any sudden hue and cry be raised by those who were known to be seeking his life. Bura Khan, moreover, had arranged with a few trusty adherents for assistance, should matters reach a crisis. Amongst these were two Rajputs, Boran Sing and Himat Sing. As Sir Theophilus felt he was only exposing himself and his friends to needless risk by prolonging his stay in the vicinity of Delhi, he prevailed on Bura Khan to pass him on to Jajjar, the chief of which state was not only a personal friend, but indebted for many kindnesses both to Sir Theophilus Metcalfe himself and to his father before him. Here, therefore, he had reason to expect, if not a warm welcome, at any rate, safety and shelter. Thanks to the arrangements made by Bura Khan, and the fidelity displayed by him and the Rajputs, Boran Sing, Himat Sing, and others, Sir Theophilus was safely escorted to Jajjar. (The writer of this narrative here pauses to remark that these men who in this dire time of need had stood so staunchly and faithfully by Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, subsequently, when better times had come, and the British Government had reasserted its authority, were not forgotten, but received the rewards they so richly deserved.) just at the time of Sir Theophilus’ arrival at jajjar, the first flame of the Mutiny, which was spreading through the country, had reached Jajjar. The town was in a condition of great excitement. A number of Hindus serving in the Nawab's contingent at once deserted, while the Mahommedan soldiers anxiously awaited the moment when they, too, might join in the rebellion. From time to time they raised loud cries of "" Din ! Din ! " ( "The Faith! The Faith! ") Great excitement consequently prevailed in the town. It was on the 16^th May that it was reported to the Nawab that a European dressed in native clothes demanded his hospitality.

The Nawab sent Abdul Samad Khan, his father-in-law, and Imdad Ali, the judge, to interview him. Sir Theophilus at once declared himself to them. They thereupon returned to the Nawab, who sent him a hundred rupees in cash, with a message to leave the place at once. It immediately became known to the populace that he was there, and crowds assembled to satisfy their curiosity. Later on in the day the Nawab sent a message that the fugitive might go to the garden house of Jujuk Dass. Shortly after he reached this house a trooper rode up and ordered the gardener to tell the Sahib to leave the place. He took the hint, and started at once with a heavy heart, never expecting to reach Hissar or Hansi alive. After going a short distance, and fearing lest he should be followed, he turned off the road and concealed himself in a thicket in the jungle. Nor were his anticipations wrong, for in a short time a troop of the Nawab’s cavalry went galloping in the direction in which he was going, and did not return until sunset. Under cover of darkness, and under the protection of God's providence, he reached Mr. Skinner's house.

 

Both at the time when the story reached Delhi and since the Nawab's conduct has been severely criticized in Native society, for hostility to a foe is one thing, disloyalty to a friend another thing :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            "Tura azdaha gar bawad yar-i-ghar

            Azan bih kih jahil bawad ghamn gusar."

 

"Cherish a dragon as a friend, before

You trust a fool, when fortune smiles no more."

It was said at the time, in defence of the Nawab, that Sannu Sing, the commandant of the Nawab's cavalry, sent the trooper to Sir Theophilus to order him to leave the city, with the intention that he should be killed on the road and not in Jajjar itself, and that the Nawab was not aware of his having left; and that he had intended to have sent him to Bhawalgarhi Parganah for safety, and had instructed Wazir Ali and Syud-u-din, two of his retainers, to escort him there. Nevertheless, the fact remains that he took no steps to see him, or to protect him, and allowed his troops to plan his assassination. When the tide of fortune turned the Nawab was tried, and the above plea was put forward by Nabhi Khan, who wrote his defence. I have no doubt the Nawab was afraid to implicate himself by protecting a European, although he was a personal friend. The pursuit of Sir Theophilus after he left Jajjar was, I think, most probably the doing of Sannu Sing, the Resaldar of the Rajah's contingent, regarding whom Munshi Jewan Lal has furnished me with the following note: --

" The Jajjar contingent was at this time commanded by one Sannu Sing. Feeling he was extremely unpopular with the Nawa'b's troops, and fearing in their excited state he might fall a victim to their hatred, he quietly left Jajjar, immediately after his attempt on the life of Sir Theophilus, and went off to his own village. As soon as the contingent became aware that the Resaldar had disappeared, it deserted in a body, but a number of men, who had old scores to pay off, rode hard for Sannu Sing's village, intending to kill him and plunder his house.

"Anticipating some such attempt, Sannu Sing gathered all the members of his family around him, and assisted by his brother Suji' Sing, deliberately murdered every female member of his family; then, locking the door of his house he and his brother rode away in disguise. When the troopers from Jajjar arrived and attacked the house, they found a heap of dead bodies. This brutal custom of killing the women of a family in cold blood was not uncommon among the Rajputs. In their eyes dishonour is worse than death. In the case of Sannu Sing the act was more unjustifiable, for it was quite possible for him to have concealed his women amongst his own kinsmen, but the brutal savagery of the man showed itself in the excitement of the moment. In place of dying bravely fighting his enemies, having placed his family in safety, he was guilty of a cold blooded and unnecessary act of brutality, and then added to his guilt by avoiding his enemies by flight as a coward. Of such an one the Poet has said [translation]:

 

' He dared not face a deadly strife,        

To die courageous as a man should die ;

By bloody deed he rent each holy tie,

To live accurst a few more days of life.'

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