THE HEARSEYS 
 
 Five Generations of an 
 Anglo-Indian Family 
 
 COLONEL HUGH PHAKSli 
 o.s.o. 
 
BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 FROM THE 
 
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 THE GIFT OF 
 
 Henrg W. Sage 
 
 1891 
 
 4.At/..g^^ yshrln. 
 
 5931 
 
DS 442.5?P36" """"'^''^ "-ibrary 
 ''mSS!l&,^fX?!io!!^.of an Anal 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
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 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024061735 
 
THE HEARSEYS 
 
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THE HEARSEYS 
 
 Five Generations of an 
 Anglo-Indian Family 
 
 BY 
 
 COLONEL HUGH PEARSE, D.S.O. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 'MEMOIRS OF ALEXANDER GARDNER, COLONEL 
 
 OF ARTILLERY IN THE SERVICE OP 
 
 MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH' 
 
 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS 
 
 EDINBURGH AND LONDON 
 
 MCMV 
 E.V. 
 
TO 
 
 A. M. P. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 It will be observed that there are inconsistencies 
 of spelling in the pages of this book. The 
 practice adopted has been, in the portions of 
 the book written by members of the Hearsey 
 family, to leave the proper names as written by 
 them. 
 
 When writing in my own person I adopt the 
 modern system of spelling Indian names, both 
 of persons and places, making an exception in 
 favour of the spelling of very familiar names, 
 such as Calcutta, Lucknow, Cawnpore, which by 
 common consent are written in their time- 
 honoured form. 
 
 I have to thank the following ladies and gentle- 
 men for their assistance : Mrs Carew and Mrs 
 Lionel Hearsey, the surviving daughters of Sir 
 John Hearsey ; Mr Lionel Hearsey, the grand- 
 son of Major Hyder Hearsey; Mr A. D. Brock- 
 
vm PREFACE. 
 
 man, the grandson of Colonel Paris Bradshaw; 
 Mr C. J. Hersey, who has devoted much time 
 and trouble to the elucidation of the family 
 history of the various branches of the family of 
 Hearsey, Hersey, or Hercy ; and Mr Walter 
 Madge of the Imperial Library, Calcutta: 
 
 HUGH PEARSE. 
 
 Kensington Square, 
 October 1905. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LIEUT.-COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEAESEY. 
 
 The Northern Circars — The capture of Gwalior — Hyder Ali 
 — Colonel Baillie's detachment — Colonel Thomas Deane 
 Pearse — Porto Novo — Sir Eyre Coote — Sergeant Beina- 
 dotte — Andrew Hearsey's memorial — Perquisites and 
 emoluments — Sir Eyre Coote's letter — Lord Macartney 
 — " The extraordinaries " of an army — General Stibbert's 
 opinion— The Governor-General's letter— To Madras once 
 more — The first attack on Seringapatam — Colonel Francis 
 Hall 
 
 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEAESEY. 
 
 Under Perron — Perron at his zenith — The Irish Raja — The 
 battle of Georgegarh — The escape of Thomas — Death of 
 Thomas — Hyder Hearsey joins the English — The Prin- 
 cesses of Cambay — Colonel William Gardner — The Raja 
 of Tehri — The deed of sale — The purchase of Chandee — 
 The Hearsey claim — William Moorcroft — Gholam Hyder 
 Xhan — A sacrifice of brandy — The Bishop — A shrewd 
 Tibetan — A religious community — Arrested by the 
 Gurkhas — Buffer states — Beginning of the war with 
 Nepal — A diversion — A good beginning — Capture of 
 Hyder Hearsey — The rising at Bareilly — The second 
 siege of Bhurtpore — Hyder Hearsey's family — Chinhut 
 — Captain J. B. Hearsey's narrative . . .38 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIE JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Sent to England — A cavalry cadetship — A feat of strength 
 — Mr Surgeon Phillips — Turbulent Baraset — The sword 
 of honour — The Sunderbunds — Native ingratitude — A 
 vile habit — Amateur cooks — A rest by the way — A 
 bathing adventure — ■ A visit of ceremony — A practical 
 joke — Lucknow at last — An unlucky march — The camp 
 at Sekundra ....... 119 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 An exchange — On field-service — A hot weather under canvas — 
 A hailstorm — An unpleasant episode — ^A quarrel — Both in 
 fault — A chummery — A brave defence — An old fortress — 
 A quibble — A dead shot — A duel — The mhowa — Angling 
 for monkeys — On survey duty — A raft — An airy costume 
 — In charge of Gardner's Horse — A false alarm — A night- 
 attack — A second blow — An unpleasant duty — A bad 
 beginning — The Royal Bengal Tiger — The fight at Pirazee 
 — A narrow escape — A letter to home — Arduous service 
 — A lost opportunity — The end of the war — Colonel Paris 
 Bradshaw ....... 155 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Pindaris — Appointed to the adjutancy — Captain Duns- 
 muir — The Gosains and the jackals — Do not spoil the 
 skin — A Pindari raid — Death of Captain Howorth — 
 Ordered to Nagpoor — A disturbed night — Seetabuldee — 
 Distribution of the force — The beginning of the battle — 
 A change of position — Captain Pew's detachment — A 
 dangerous duty — Loss of the small hill — A hot fire — 
 Hand to hand — A fearful wound — The turn of the tide — 
 No spikes wanted — Ladies under fire — Care for a faithful 
 servant — A quick recovery — Shelling the elephants — 
 Surrender of Appa Sahib ..... 221 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SIE JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 "Covered with glory" — The battle of Seoni — Promoted 
 captain — "The man on the spot" — The siege of Bhurt- 
 pore — Description of the town — The advance — Recon- 
 noitring — At closer quarters — More reconnaissances — 
 Siege operations — A cavalry affair — Slightly wounded — 
 Slightly anatomised — Mining operations — The assault — 
 Capture of Durjan Sal — Surrender of forts — A long peace 276 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A trip to the hills— Appointed to command Gardner's Horse 
 — Promoted major — The Indian cavalry — Instances of 
 gallant conduct— Seetabuldee — Captain Fitzgerald — Seoni 
 — Burma and Sindh — The Sikhs — The Sikhs attack British 
 India — Concentration of our army — Mudki — Ferozeshah 
 — Tej Singh's failure — ^Aliwal — Sobraon — A reserve army 
 — The Sikhs rise — Crossing the Chenab — Chillianwala — 
 Sir Hugh Wheeler — Sadoolapoor — A moving world — The 
 pursuit of the Sikhs — The Afghan contingent . . 314 
 
 CHAPTER Til. 
 
 A trivial grievance — Sir Charles Napier — In the early days 
 — A warning letter — "The usual channel" — Religious 
 freedom — Gulab Singh's letter — Mungul Pandy — " Damn 
 his musket ! " — A painful duty — Lord Canning's letters — 
 Danger at Calcutta— Appointed K.C.B. — The 2nd Lancers 
 — Sir Hugh Wheeler — A loyal family — Retirement — Sir 
 John Hearsey's daughters — Andrew Hearsey — Charles 
 Hearsey ........ 367 
 
THE HEARSEYS. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 LIEUT.-COLONEL ANDEEW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 The family of Hearsey is of undoubted antiquity, 
 and branches of it have been established from 
 very early times in various parts of England. 
 
 In the year 1745 Theophilus Hearsey, a Cumber- 
 land squire, took up arms for Prince Charles 
 Edward Stuart, and led his family, tenants, and 
 servants into the field. 
 
 Theophilus Hearsey and his eldest son, of the 
 same name, were both present at CuUoden, and 
 were consequently attainted and their estates 
 confiscated. They fled the country, joining the 
 exiled Court on the Continent, where the elder 
 Hearsey eventually died. Theophilus the younger 
 remained abroad until the rigorous proceed- 
 ings against Jacobites were relaxed, when he 
 returned to England. He had had enough of 
 war, and settled down quietly as a merchant 
 
 A 
 
2 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSBY, 
 
 in the City of London, where he became rich 
 and prosperous. 
 
 Theophilus Hearsey the elder had another son, 
 Andrew by name, who di_ed at Middelburg in 
 Holland in 1752, leaving a daughter. Christian 
 Mary, who married David Gavine, and two sons, 
 Theophilus and Andrew, who returned to England. 
 This, the third, Theophilus also became a London 
 merchant and a loyal citizen. He appears in the 
 ' London Gazette ' in 1798 on appointment to the 
 rank of Captain in the Camberwell Volunteers. 
 Andrew Hearsey the younger obtained the com- 
 mand of an East Indiaman, and the family re- 
 cently possessed a picture of his ship in hot action 
 with a French frigate which he defeated. Captain 
 Andrew Hearsey died in 1778, leaving a daughter. 
 Christian Mary, who died in 1805, and a son, 
 Andrew Wilson Hearsey, born in 1752, who be- 
 came a loyal and faithful soldier of King George, 
 entering the service of the Honourable East 
 India Company in the year 1765, when he was 
 appointed to a cadetship on the Bengal estab- 
 lishment. His first experience of active service 
 occurred in 1768, when he was still a boy of 
 sixteen years of age. The Company's forces in 
 Madras being engaged in war with Hyder Ali 
 of Mysore, and being much endangered by a 
 threatened attack from the Nizam's dominions 
 in the West, an expedition was sent by sea 
 from Bengal to attack the Nizam, and so 
 
THE NORTHERN CIRCARS. 3 
 
 relieve the anticipated pressure on the Madras 
 army. 
 
 The Bengal expedition was at first commanded 
 by Colonel William Smith, and, after his death, 
 by Lieutenant-Colonel Peach of the 1st European 
 Eegiment, and among the junior officers who 
 served those two gallant, enterprising, and for- 
 gotten worthies was Ensign Andrew Wilson 
 Hearsey, whose first experience of active service 
 lasted for two years. Colonel Smith landed at 
 Masulipatam and marched boldly through the 
 region then known as the Northern Circars, 
 penetrating the Nizam's dominions to a point 
 within eighty - six miles of Hyderabad. The 
 Nizam trembled for his capital, and concluded a 
 treaty of peace with the British, abandoning his 
 alliance with Hyder, and ceding the Northern 
 Circars to the Company. Colonels Smith and 
 Peach achieved this striking success — the result 
 of which linked together the Presidencies of Ben- 
 gal and Madras — with a force of 350 European 
 infantry, three battalions of Bengal infantry, five 
 guns, and apparently no cavalry. 
 
 The expedition returned to Bengal in the year 
 1770, about which period Andrew Hearsey was 
 gazetted to an ensigncy in England, though he 
 had held the rank for nearly five years in 
 India. In like manner he was promoted Lieu- 
 tenant in India in 1770, but the promotion was 
 not gazetted in London until three years later. 
 
4 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEAESEY. 
 
 such delays being then the rule rather than the 
 exception. 
 
 There is no record of Andrew Hearsey's doings 
 during the ten years following the return of 
 Colonel Peach's expedition from the Nizam's 
 dominions, but in the year 1780 there began a 
 period of incessant and arduous warfare in which 
 he bore no unimportant part. 
 
 Two years previously Warren Hastings had, 
 in the execution of what his opponents styled 
 his "frantic military exploits," sent a Bengal 
 column under Colonel Goddard to march across 
 India to the Bombay Presidency, and there to 
 operate against the Mahratta army of Sindhia. 
 Goddard now required reinforcements, and to this 
 end a force was despatched early in the year 
 1780, under Captain Popham, one of the boldest 
 and most enterprising officers who ever served 
 England in India. 
 
 Popham's force, with which Andrew Hearsey 
 served, consisted of 2600 native infantry, with 
 a company of European artillery, and again no 
 cavalry. With this inadequate strength Popham 
 achieved the most striking and unexpected suc- 
 cesses, for, in the hot month of April, very shortly 
 after he took the field, he captured by assault the 
 strong fort of Lahar, situated fifty miles north 
 of Gwalior, his force sustaining the trifling loss 
 of 22 killed and 103 wounded. Popham then 
 marched on Gwalior, one of the largest and 
 
THE CAPTUKE OP GWALIOR. 5 
 
 strongest fortresses of India, and believed at that 
 time to be impregnable. Gwalior stands on the 
 summit of a stupendous rock, the face of which 
 is almost entirely scarped. 
 
 Popham lay before the fortress for two long and 
 hot months, maturing his plans and straining the 
 nerves and patience of the garrison to the utmost. 
 At length, on the night of the 3rd of August, the 
 opportunity came, and the troops selected for the 
 assault proceeded to their destination, led by 
 Captain Bruce, the brother of the African traveller, 
 and an officer of well-known strength and courage. 
 
 First came two companies of sepoys led by four 
 European officers, and closely supported by twenty 
 English soldiers, gunners of the Bengal Artillery. 
 This forlorn hope was again supported by 1200 
 men. The advanced party applied scaling ladders 
 to the base of the scarped rock, 16 feet high, then 
 to a steep ascent of 40 feet, and lastly to a 30-feet 
 wall. Captain Bruce, with 20 picked sepoys, 
 climbed up the battlements unseen and secured 
 a lodgment. He was promptly followed by the 
 remainder of the stormers ; the bewildered garrison 
 made but a feeble resistance, and by break of day 
 the British -flag floated over the renowned fortress 
 of Gwalior. This surprising success was achieved 
 with no more loss than 20 slightly wounded men. 
 
 Captain Popham's care and forethought in his 
 arrangement for the assault were as noteworthy 
 as the determination with which he engaged on 
 
b LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDEBW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 SO critical an operation as the capture of a large 
 and strongly garrisoned fortress with a small force 
 far removed from its base. The stormers wore 
 woollen slippers padded with cotton, in order that 
 they might noiselessly traverse the rocky paths by 
 which they had to approach the fortress. Early 
 in the attack some of Captain Bruce's party of 20 
 men risked the failure of the enterprise by firing, 
 contrary to orders. Bruce, however, held his 
 ground, and was speedily reinforced by Popham, 
 who himself commanded the main body of stormers. 
 
 After the fall of Gwalior, Andrew Hearsey 
 was recalled from Popham's detachment, and 
 was placed on duty with a second Bengal 
 column despatched on yet another of Warren 
 Hastings' " frantic military exploits." This was 
 the force, commanded by Colonel Thomas Deane 
 Pearse of the Bengal Artillery, which was de- 
 spatched from Midnapore in Bengal in January 
 1781, to relieve Madras from the pressure of the 
 army of Hyder Ali of Mysore, the most formidable 
 foe yet encountered by the British in India. 
 
 The struggle between the British and Hyder 
 Ali of Mysore, and Tippoo Sultan, his son, was 
 comparatively a short one, for the kingdom 
 founded by Hyder lasted only during his own 
 time and that of Tippoo ; yet the contest was 
 very severe, and on several occasions brought 
 the Madras Government to the verge of ruin. 
 That Hyder, Tippoo, and their French allies 
 
HYDER ALL 7 
 
 failed to crush Madras was brought about partly 
 by the daring policy of Warren Hastings and 
 his successors, and partly by the instability of the 
 alliances between the rival native powers of 
 southern India, who could never remain true to 
 their combinations against the British for any 
 length of time. Thus a careful study of the 
 history of Hyder and Tippoo shows them at one 
 moment closely allied with the Nizam, and almost 
 immediately after fighting against him ; and so 
 it was that the weak and isolated settlement of 
 Madras survived the perils which so frequently 
 threatened its extinction. 
 
 The rise to sovereign rank of Hyder Ali of 
 Mysore is one of the most interesting episodes 
 of the disintegration of the Moghul empire, 
 illustrating how a mere soldier of fortune could, 
 in those piping times for adventurers, quickly weld 
 together a rich kingdom supported by a power- 
 ful and formidable army. 
 
 Unlike some monarchs of his period, Hyder 
 had a fairly authentic grandfather, a Persian 
 soldier named Wali Muhammad, who is said to 
 have migrated to India from Baghdad and to 
 have settled at Ajmere. Here Wali Muhammad 
 died in 1678, leaving four sons, the youngest of 
 whom, named Fatah Muhammad, became a brave 
 and capable soldier who ended an adventurous 
 career as commander-in-chief of the Mysore army. 
 Fatah Muhammad had five sons, the youngest of 
 
8 IJEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEAKSEY. 
 
 whom was Hyder Ali, one of the stoutest 
 enemies of England. Hyder first attracted notice 
 by his gallantry and daring as a soldier in 1749, 
 when serving in a subordinate capacity under his 
 elder brother, whose troops had been sent from 
 Mysore to take part in a struggle for the 
 Nizamat between rival claimants. In this cam- 
 paign Hyder not only showed his qualities as 
 a soldier, but laid the foundations of his fortune 
 by seizing a large sum of money which came in 
 his way. In the subsequent campaigns in southern 
 India, to the year 1755, Hyder took every oppor- 
 tunity — and there were many — of seizing guns 
 and treasure and of increasing the number of his 
 troops. In this year, moreover, he acquired a 
 fixed status by being appointed military governor 
 of Dindigul, a fortress in the Madura district, 
 where he established an arsenal under the super- 
 intendence of French artificers. Hyder was now 
 thirty-three years old according to some authori- 
 ties, though others state that he was five years 
 older. 
 
 In 1759 Mysore was invaded by the Mahratta 
 army of the Peshwa, and Hyder was appointed 
 commander-in-chief By his skill and activity he 
 speedily secured the retirement of the Mahrattas, 
 and received from the grateful Raja of Mysore 
 the title of Fatah Haidar Bahadur, which style he 
 subsequently used on aU grants made by him.^ 
 
 1 Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, by L. B. Bowring, C.S.I. " Rulers 
 of India " series. 
 
COLONEL BAILLIE S DETACHMENT. 9 
 
 In 1763 Hyder captured tlie state of Bednur, 
 with a spoil of twelve millions sterling, and after 
 various vicissitudes, during which he was several 
 times reduced to the verge of ruin, he, in 1767, 
 virtually declared himself ruler of Mysore. In 
 the same year Hyder allied himself with the 
 Nizam and commenced his long years of hostility 
 against the English. 
 
 The story of this warfare, which practically 
 occupied the remainder of Hyder's life, cannot 
 be adequately told here. It must suffice to say 
 that after short intervals of peace and long periods 
 of war, Hyder invaded Madras in July 1780 at 
 the head of an army of 83,000 men. The Madras 
 Government was taken completely by surprise, 
 and made no preparations for defence until 
 Hyder was at their very doors. They then in- 
 itiated a hurried concentration of their scattered 
 troops, but, on the 10th of September 1780, sus- 
 tained one of the most serious reverses which ever 
 befell British arms in India. This was the de- 
 struction of a detachment commanded by Colonel 
 Baillie numbering some 3700 men. The detach- 
 ment was moving from the north to join hands 
 with Sir Hector Munro, the Commander-in-Chief, 
 at Conjevaram. 
 
 By an error of judgment on the part of Colonel 
 Baillie, followed by deplorable inactivity on the 
 part of Sir Hector Munro, the detachment was 
 destroyed with very heavy loss, 700 Europeans 
 alone being killed. Colonel Baillie and his troops 
 
10 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 behaved with the utmost gallantry, but were 
 hopelessly outnumbered, and their gun ammuni- 
 tion ran out. 
 
 Fortunately for British India, Warren Hastings 
 was now Governor-General, and that great man 
 at once rose to the occasion. 
 
 Despatching Sir Eyre Coote, the Bengal Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, to Madras by sea, with the few 
 European troops available, and directing him to 
 assume command in the field, Hastings sent a 
 large detachment of Bengal sepoys to march down 
 the eastern coast of the peninsula of India. The 
 detachment, which was commanded by Colonel 
 Thomas Deane Pearse of the Bengal Artillery, 
 consisted of the troops mentioned presently. It 
 should be mentioned that they were sent by land 
 instead of by the much shorter sea route, in con- 
 sequence of the objection of the sepoys to travel 
 by water. 
 
 The promptitude of Warren Hastings' action 
 on hearing of the situation in Madras may best 
 be estimated by his own writings on the subject, 
 for there is little but incoherent and irrational 
 abuse in the writings of his opponents. 
 
 "On the 23rd September 1780," he writes, 
 "the Bengal Government heard of the loss of 
 Colonel Baillie's detachment and the flower of 
 the army, and of General Munro's precipitate 
 flight from the face of Hyder." In another letter, 
 written on the 28th of October 1780, Hastings 
 writes : " It was yesterday moved and resolved 
 
COLONEL THOMAS BEAKE PEARSE. 11 
 
 to put in orders a detachment of six battalions 
 of sepoys and one company of artillery, to march 
 by the way of Cuttac to the coast. Colonel 
 Pearse, the commander of artillery, commands 
 it. He is a man of bravery, and of great pro- 
 fessional knowledge." 
 
 With this detachment, and under this com- 
 manding officer, Andrew Hearsey took part in 
 the long and arduous operations of the Bengal 
 detachment in Madras. 
 
 Colonel Pearse selected Andrew Hearsey to act 
 as baggage-master to his column, and the duties 
 which thus devolved on Hearsey, who was pro- 
 moted captain on January 18, just as the ex- 
 pedition set out, were of the most onerous 
 description. Some of the troops objected to 
 travel southward by sea on account of caste 
 difficulties, and although Colonel Pearse sternly 
 suppressed an incipient mutiny, it was considered 
 advisable to despatch the Bengal infantry by 
 road. The column marched down the eastern 
 coast of India, and in spite of cholera and other 
 troubles, covered a distance of 645 miles in 64 
 days, no mean feat. The Madras army, however, 
 which was so hampered by want of transport 
 and supplies as to be often compelled to march 
 with no more than one day's food in hand, com- 
 plained bitterly of the "slow and stately move- 
 ments" of the Bengal column. 
 
 Military affairs were in no flourishing state in 
 Madras, for although the British troops and their 
 
12 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 commanders invariably fought most gallantly in 
 action, their strategical handling had been un- 
 fortunately defective, and the Madras Government 
 had shown both timidity and parsimony when 
 courage and a wise liberality of expenditure would 
 have saved them their heaviest trials. 
 
 The destruction of Colonel Baillie's force and 
 the inability of Sir Hector Munro to keep the 
 field rendered the fall of Madras imminent, and 
 it was as a forlorn hope that the veteran Sir 
 Eyre Coote was then sent by sea from Bengal, 
 with such European reinforcements as could be 
 hastily collected, to restore the situation. Coote 
 assumed the command early in November 1780, 
 but found himself in most difficult circumstances, 
 for his position with regard to Sir Hector 
 Munro, a man who had rendered conspicuous 
 services in his day, was no pleasant one, while 
 the Madras Council took every opportunity of 
 showing their jealousy and dislike of Bengal 
 and all that pertained to it. Hyder had de- 
 vastated the Madras Presidency almost to the 
 walls of Fort St George, transport and supplies 
 were almost non-existent, and for four months 
 after his arrival Sir Eyre Coote was unable to 
 leave Madras. 
 
 It now became imperative to divert the atten- 
 tion of the Mysore army from Colonel Pearse's 
 infantry column, which was coming within reach 
 of Hyder's immense force of cavalry, and Coote 
 
PORTO NOVO. 13 
 
 sallied out from Madras and attacked Hyder in 
 his fortified position at Porto Novo, some 120 
 miles south of Madras, and also on the coast. In 
 the battle, which took place on the 1st of July 1781, 
 the British won a complete victory, driving the 
 Mysore army from its position with heavy loss. 
 
 This victory of Sir Eyre Coote saved the Madras 
 Presidency for the time, but more remained to be 
 done. Sir Eyre made a rapid march of 150 miles 
 from Porto Novo and joined hands on the 2nd of 
 August with Colonel Pearse's column of some 4000 
 men. The junction took place at Pulicat. Sir 
 Eyre Coote, possibly with a view to distributing 
 the ample Bengal transport among the ill-supplied 
 Madras troops, then broke up the Bengal column, 
 distributing the units among his own brigades. 
 This action, which was in direct opposition to 
 the orders of Warren Hastings, caused great dis- 
 satisfaction in the Bengal troops, and much ill- 
 feeling arose between the officers and men of 
 the two armies. 
 
 Among those aflfected by the redistribution was 
 Captain Hearsey, who, having already the greater 
 portion of the transport under his orders, was 
 now placed by Sir Eyre Coote in the position of 
 baggage-master to the whole army. 
 
 Thanks to his junction with the Bengal column, 
 Coote now had an adequate force with which to 
 attack his enemy, and he made use of it with great 
 vigour and promptitude. 
 
14 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 Hyder, who had lost an undoubted opportunity 
 by allowing Coote to join hands with Pearse un- 
 molested, now endeavoured to prevent the march 
 of the united force to Madras, and advanced with 
 the whole Mysore army to PoUilur, the spot where, 
 a year previously, he had annihilated Colonel 
 Baillie's detachment. 
 
 Here on the 27th August 1781 he fought a 
 severe and indecisive action with Sir Eyre Coote, 
 who, however, was able to hold his ground and, 
 on the following day, to bury the remains of 
 Baillie's officers and men. 
 
 Vellore, a fortress held by a detachment of our 
 army, and situated about 60 miles south-west of 
 Madras, was now in want of provisions, and Coote 
 made a rapid march to assist it. Hyder again 
 threw himself in the way, but in the battle of 
 Sholingarh, fought on the 27th September 1781, 
 was surprised and completely defeated. 
 
 This campaign showed the remarkable qualities 
 of the commanders of both armies, for Hyder, who 
 was seventy -nine years old, showed enterprise 
 that would have done credit to a much younger 
 man, while Coote, who was not much his junior, 
 achieved great results with most inadequate means. 
 Even after the acquisition of Colonel Pearse's 
 transport his resources were very limited, and 
 the support afforded by the civil authorities of 
 Madras was of the most meagre description. 
 Coote made frequent representations of the folly 
 
SIR EYRE COOTE. 15 
 
 of attempting to carry on war without adequate 
 transport and supplies, and, after PoUilur, resigned 
 his command as the strongest protest in his power. 
 He was, however, persuaded to withdraw his res- 
 ignation, and was no doubt rewarded by his strik- 
 ing victory of Sholingarh. Sir Eyre Coote was 
 indeed a great soldier who shone in action, hand- 
 ling masses of troops with rare coolness and skill ; 
 but he was not less to be admired for the stern 
 courage with which he ventured his army against 
 a daring and numerous enemy at a time when he 
 frequently could carry with him no more than one 
 day's reserve of food. Under these circumstances 
 Andrew Hearsey's services were of great value, and 
 were handsomely recognised by Coote. At PoUi- 
 lur and Sholingarh Hearsey had no less than 
 40,000 camp-followers under his orders, and his 
 able disposition of this unwieldy command met 
 with high commendation. 
 
 The Hearsey records state that, at Pollilur, 
 Andrew Hearsey repulsed three attacks made on 
 the baggage by Tippoo's cavalry. This feat may 
 be explained by reminding the reader that the great 
 mass of transport which followed an Indian army 
 into the field was very defensible. When an 
 action took place the baggage closed up and 
 formed a solid mass, by no means an easy prey to 
 irregular cavalry. The camp-followers being all 
 armed, were able to offer a stout resistance to the 
 enemy, and in the case of the Mysore army were 
 
16 LIETTT. -COLONEL ANDKEW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 doubtless encouraged to do so by the fact that the 
 troops of Hyder and Tippoo gave no quarter. 
 
 The battles of PoUilur and Sholingarh, and par- 
 ticularly the latter, impressed the Mysoreans con- 
 siderably, but in October of the same year (1781) 
 a detached force sent by Sir Eyre Coote, under 
 command of Colonel Owen, to intercept a convoy 
 of the enemy near Vellore was surprised and 
 suffered heavy loss. Andrew Hearsey served in 
 the force sent by Sir Eyre to extricate Colonel 
 Owen's detachment, and also with the main army 
 when it subsequently threw three months' pro- 
 visions into Vellore. This task effected, the British 
 army retired in the direction of Madras and was 
 cantoned during the winter rains. 
 
 In January 1782 it again became necessary to 
 relieve Vellore, which was in want of provisions, 
 and the army advanced once more under Sir 
 Eyre Coote, and after two sharp actions threw 
 seven months' provisions into the place. 
 
 After the relief of Vellore affairs took an un- 
 favourable turn, for a force of about 2000 men 
 under Colonel Braithwaite was captured in the 
 Tanjore district, and (in March) the French Ad- 
 miral Suffrein landed a force of 3000 men at Porto 
 Novo, which force presently captured Cuddalore, a 
 fortress some thirty miles south of Pondicherry. 
 
 Sir Eyre Coote approached the Mysorean and 
 French forces, and after alternate moves in advance 
 and in retirement, fought the unsuccessful action 
 
SERaEANT BBRNADOTTE. 17 
 
 of Arni. This was the gallant veteran's last ser- 
 vice. He withdrew his army to Madras, and in 
 the following October left by sea for Calcutta, 
 handing over the command of the army to Major- 
 General James Stuart, although the latter had 
 lost a leg at PoUilur but fourteen months pre- 
 viously. Those were hardy days. In the follow- 
 ing April (1783) Sir Eyre Coote again left Cal- 
 cutta to resume command of the army in the 
 field, but died of apoplexy two days after his 
 arrival at Madras. General Stuart, who was now 
 confirmed in the command of the army in the 
 field, presently attempted to recapture Cuddalore 
 from the French. Severe fighting took place, and 
 on the 13th June 1783 an attack was made on 
 the entrenched position held by the French outside 
 the fort. 
 
 The French were driven into the fort, but on 
 the 24th June made a sortie in great strength, 
 being vigorously repulsed with the bayonet. 
 Among the French prisoners taken at Cuddalore 
 during the sortie was Sergeant Bernadotte, after- 
 wards King of Sweden, while an English ofl&cer 
 of the 24th Native Infantry, also wounded and 
 taken prisoner, was Captain David Ochterlony, 
 afterwards the conqueror of Nepal. Cuddalore 
 is a noteworthy action, for it was there that 
 Bengal sepoys met and repulsed European in- 
 fantry with the bayonet. 
 
 Andrew Hearsey, who had shared in every 
 
18 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW "WILSON HEAESEY. 
 
 action fought by the army under Sir Eyre Coote, 
 took part in all the fighting about Cuddalore, 
 which was of a critical nature, and distinguished 
 himself by recapturing a large number of bullocks 
 laden with grain for the army, which had been 
 taken by the Mysore troops. He also again " re- 
 pulsed an attack by a large number of Tippoo's 
 cavalry on the baggage, killing and wounding 
 several of the enemy." He was a man of decided 
 views and uncompromising speech, and in the 
 Hearsey records it is stated, presumably on his 
 authority, that he " captured several head of the 
 enemy's cattle laden with grain near Cuddalore, and 
 would have captured many more but for the utter 
 folly of General Stuart, commanding the army ! " 
 
 Decidedly things did not go well under General 
 Stuart, who was, however, so hampered by the 
 Madras Government that little if any blame 
 attaches to him : the English army before Cudda- 
 lore was dangerously weakened by war-losses and 
 sickness, and it was perhaps well for us that the 
 struggle with Mysore and its French allies ceased 
 presently as regards the latter, in consequence of 
 the Treaty of Versailles. Mysore also was inclined 
 to rest. Hyder Ali had died about the same time 
 as his valiant old adversary Sir Eyre Coote, and 
 Tippoo, the son and successor of Hyder, concluded 
 a treaty with England in March 1784. 
 
 The Bengal troops, restored to the command of 
 Colonel Pearse, returned in the following month to 
 
ANDEEW HEAESEY's MEMORIAL. 19 
 
 their own Presidencj^, where they were warmly 
 welcomed by Warren Hastings. 
 
 The disputes between the Governments of Madras 
 and Bengal had unfortunate results for Andrew 
 Hearsey, for the Madras Government now refused 
 to pay him the customary "perquisites and emolu- 
 ments " of his double post of " Baggage Master and 
 Grain Keeper " to the army recently in the field. 
 The following petition to the Honourable Court of 
 Directors of the East India Company tells the 
 story plainly enough, and affords an interesting 
 glimpse of the manners and customs of the 
 Company in peace and war. The petition, 
 dated February 1st, 1789, was rendered after 
 several years of unavailing efforts. It runs as 
 foUows : — 
 
 TO THE HONOUEABLE COURT OF DIRECTOES 
 
 OP THE 
 
 EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 THE MEMOEIAL op ANDEEW WILSON 
 HEARSEY, a Captain of Infantry upon the 
 Bengal Establishment. 
 
 Humbly sheweth, — 
 
 That in the year 1782, during the period in 
 which the late Lieutenant- General Sir Eyre Coote 
 commanded the Company's army in the Carnatic, 
 the Honourable Select Committee at Fort Saint 
 
20 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEAKSEY. 
 
 George were pleased to appoint Mr J. Erskine 
 to be grain keeper to the said forces, — and who 
 continued for the space of two months to execute 
 such ofl&ce, — at the expiration of which term, viz., 
 on the 20th of May, he addressed a letter, dated 
 in camp, to the General, in which he tendered his 
 resignation, assigning for reasons his inability to 
 give the satisfaction expected; and that the de- 
 partment in question required a person not only 
 well skilled in the language of the country, but 
 who was also perfectly acquainted with the customs 
 and finesse of the natives. 
 
 That, in consequence of the resignation before 
 stated, and of the desire repeatedly expressed by 
 the Select Committee to Sir JSyre Coote, to recom- 
 mend or to appoint some person to the vacant 
 office, the General thought fit to nominate your 
 Memorialist (who acted likewise as Baggage- 
 master - general) thereto. That he accordingly 
 accepted of such appointment, but under an 
 absolute promise made to him by the Commander- 
 in-Chief that he should be entitled to all per- 
 quisites and emoluments which his predecessors 
 had respectively enjoyed. 
 
 That upon entering on the duties of his office, 
 your Memorialist speedily perceived that the con- 
 siderable losses and defalcations which had been 
 experienced in that important department of the 
 public service had proceeded in a much greater 
 degree from mismanagement and neglect than 
 
PERQUISITES AND EMOLUMENTS. 21 
 
 from the misfortunes and adverse circumstances 
 incident to war ; your Memorialist, therefore, 
 made application to Sir Eyre Coote, requesting 
 his permission to issue from the monies which 
 should from time to time come into your Memor- 
 ialist's possession, to the bullock-drivers, mestries, 
 and other persons employed in that branch of ser- 
 vice, such sums as would be sufficient to keep them 
 from starving (between seven and eight months' 
 arrears being then due to them), by which measure 
 3?our Memorialist would not only be enabled to 
 prevent in future the enormous deficiency which 
 to that period had been sustained, but likewise 
 effectually to ensure the preservation of an article 
 upon which the success of our military operations, 
 and even the existence of your army, did so 
 materially depend. To this proposition the Gen- 
 eral was pleased readily to assent ; directing, at 
 the same time, your Memorialist to account, as 
 well for all disbursements which should in con- 
 sequence be made by him from, as for such surplus 
 sums as might remain in his hands, of the monies 
 received by your Memorialist for issues of rice. 
 
 That, by unremitting attention, at the risk both 
 of life and health on the part of your Memorialist, 
 aided by the support which he received from the 
 Commander-in-Chief, your Memorialist was enabled 
 to introduce such regularity and system into his 
 department, as he flattered himself would have 
 proved at once advantageous to his employers and 
 
22 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 honourable to himself: the accounts of receipts 
 and issues of rice, and likewise the army incidents, 
 were so methodically arranged and adjusted, as that 
 without delay the same might have been presented 
 to commanding officers of corps, or to principals in 
 office, for payment : the average loss and wastage 
 of grain (which, during the period in which his 
 predecessors conducted that department, amounted 
 to ten per cent), after delivery thereof to the 
 charge of your Memorialist, did not exceed three 
 per cent though the army was marching the whole 
 time, — and from which difference a saving of at 
 least ten thousand pagodas accrued to the Com- 
 pany ; and (which perhaps will be deemed of still 
 greater consequence to the public service) your 
 army was enabled to keep the field for several 
 days longer than, but for the arrangements which 
 had been so successfully introduced by your 
 Memorialist, it could possibly have done. 
 
 These arrangements, however, were speedily 
 counteracted, and, in effect, entirely superseded 
 by the appointment which was made by your 
 Government at Madras, on the 13th of January 
 1783, of Mr William Jackson, to control the 
 accounts of grain, and to collect and receive all 
 monies that were then, or which should afterwards 
 become due to the Company, on account of issues 
 of rice. This measure (which respect for the 
 administration with whom it originated forbids 
 your Memorialist from attributing to any other 
 
SIR EYRE COOTE's LETTER. 23 
 
 motive than the public welfare), unfortunately, 
 by rendering him dependent upon the will and 
 pleasure of others, deprived him of those pecuniary 
 resources which had enabled him occasionally to 
 relieve the necessities of the buUock-mestries and 
 drivers (whose pay by this time was eleven months 
 in arrear), and which seasonable advances had 
 tended to remove the temptation to alleviate 
 their distresses by stealing rice, of which article 
 the carriage could only furnish six days' consump- 
 tion for the fighting men ; thereby withholding 
 every inducement to increase their number of 
 cattle, and likewise deterring other persons from 
 undertaking a service which subjected the parties 
 engaged therein to such difficulties and distress. 
 But this check to the exertions of your Memor- 
 ialist cannot be placed in a more striking point of 
 view than by a reference to the letter addressed by 
 Lieutenant-Greneral Coote to the Governor- General 
 and Council at Fort William, dated 25th February 
 1783, viz. : " That the good consequences to the 
 movements of the army, and the real interests of 
 the Company, by Captain Hearsey's able execution 
 of his arrangements, were experienced in a degree 
 exceeding my expectations ; our marches were per- 
 formed with greater facility, whilst our losses in 
 bullocks and grain were considerably lessened : 
 and as it appears that Captain Hearsey's conduct 
 has met with General Stuart's approbation as 
 well as my own, and as his ability, or integrity 
 
24 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEAESEY, 
 
 in discharge of his trust, has in no respect been 
 questioned, but, on the contrary, that his accounts 
 have been esteemed clear and approved, I cannot 
 but regret that it should have been thought neces- 
 sary to make any change in his situation ; and the 
 more so, as being of a nature tending to an entire 
 subversion of a very beneficial effect the service 
 had derived from the former arrangement. 
 
 " It is foreign to my wish, at any time, to betray 
 even the appearance of a desire to interfere with 
 rules laid down for the internal economy of depart- 
 ments which may be considered more civil than 
 military; but the matter at present being of a 
 kind that involves the whole executive services 
 of the army, and consequently my own credit, I 
 hope I shall not be deemed unreasonable, or as 
 acting out of character, by expressing my wish 
 that it be recommended from this Board to the 
 Government of Fort Saint George to place Cap- 
 tain Hearsey in the same degree of trust and 
 authority in the office of grain-keeper as when 
 first appointed." 
 
 In consequence of the preceding representation 
 from your Commander-in-Chief, the Governor- 
 General and Council, on the 27th February 1783, 
 wrote to the Select Committee at Fort Saint 
 George as follows, viz. : — 
 
 "Sir Eyre Coote has laid before us a letter 
 addressed to him by Captain Hearsey, represent- 
 ing the difficulties which have arisen in his de- 
 
LORD MACARTNEY. 25 
 
 partment of grain-keeper to the army from your 
 appointment of Mr Jackson to be comptroller of 
 the grain accounts and collector of all monies due 
 for the rice delivered out; as it appears by the 
 enclosed extract of Sir Eyre Coote's minutes on 
 this subject, that the military operations in the 
 Carnatic had been greatly assisted, and the move- 
 ments of the army facilitated, by the management 
 and attention of Captain Hearsey, and as we doubt 
 not, in points that so materially affect this most 
 desirable object, you wish to adopt the opinion 
 and recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief, 
 which his experience enables him to give, we 
 transmit this paper to you, and beg leave to add 
 our desire that you order the arrangements pro- 
 posed by the General to be immediately carried 
 into execution." 
 
 Before he proceeds, your Memorialist cannot 
 avoid annexing to the flattering testimonies before 
 mentioned, one which cannot fail of having great 
 weight with your honourable Court, namely, the 
 opinion of Lord Macartney, your late Right Hon- 
 ourable President at Fort Saint George, who con- 
 descended personally to compliment your Memor- 
 ialist upon his exertions, and to notice the very 
 small wastage which had been incurred since your 
 Memorialist had possessed the office. 
 
 To the recommendation before stated from Ben- 
 gal, it should seem no attention was paid by your 
 Select Committee at Fort Saint George; on the 
 
26 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW "WILSON HEAESEY. 
 
 contrary, your Memorialist had the mortification 
 to receive a letter from their Secretary, stating 
 that the Gunny-hags, which had been uniformly 
 enjoyed as a perquisite by your Memorialist's pre- 
 decessors, and which were expressly promised to 
 your Memorialist by Sir Eyre Coote, were dis- 
 allowed by the Committee; and that the orders 
 of your Commander-in-Chief, upon which your 
 Memorialist's claim to the same was founded, were 
 obviously invalid, and could not authorise a charge 
 of such a nature. 
 
 Your Memorialist, in this place, would beg leave 
 to observe that he accepted the office of grain- 
 keeper at the particular solicitation of Sir Eyre 
 Coote, and under his express promise that your 
 Memorialist should receive all perquisites and 
 emoluments which had usually been attached 
 thereto ; and of which the Gunny -bags, and 
 an allowance of five per cent upon issues of 
 grain were unquestionably a part. But admit- 
 ting, for the sake of argument, that the perquisite 
 of the Gunny-bags was with propriety disallowed, 
 still such disallowance could not, upon any prin- 
 ciples of reason or of justice, have been extended 
 to the five per cent upon issues ; such percentage 
 having been allowed to your garrison storekeeper 
 for rice conveyed from the shore to the store-room 
 (a distance not exceeding 150 paces), and again 
 afterwards to the agent upon receiving the rice, 
 in order to forward the same to your Memorialist 
 
"the EXTRAOEDINARIES " OF AN ARMY. 27 
 
 for the use of the army ; and which two allow- 
 ances amounted together to an advance of no less 
 than ten per cent upon the value of the grain 
 previous to delivery thereof to your Memorialist 
 in camp. 
 
 Your Memorialist presumes further to remark 
 that although your treasury at Fort Saint George, 
 in consequence of the enormous expenses neces- 
 sarily attendant upon military operations, might 
 perhaps have been nearly exhausted, and that 
 although the extraordinaries of your army might 
 have arisen to such a height as possibly to have 
 required investigation and reform, yet, allowing 
 every weight to those circumstances, your Mem- 
 orialist cannot avoid conceiving it to have been a 
 peculiar hardship upon himself to be denied the 
 enjoyment of emoluments which his predecessors 
 (however unequal to the duties of the department) 
 had invariably received ; and that, too, after the 
 several commanders-in-chief had borne the most 
 honourable testimony to his exertions for the 
 public service, as having not only most materially 
 facilitated the operations of the campaign, but, 
 moreover, as having proved the means of saving, 
 in consequence of the great reduction in the 
 amount of wastages, nearly £30,000 sterling to 
 the Company. 
 
 That, however, instead of admitting your Mem- 
 orialist's claim to the perquisites in question, as 
 founded on the uniform custom and usage of the 
 
28 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 department, your Select Committee were pleased 
 to state a balance against your Memorialist 
 amounting to 1135 40 78 pagodas, and to de- 
 mand immediate payment of the same. Your 
 Memorialist accordingly transmitted to the acting 
 secretary a draught upon his attorney in Bengal, 
 payable, at sight, for the said balance, and then 
 joined the detachment under command of Colonel 
 Pearse upon his return to Bengal. But on the 
 second day's march he was remanded to Madras, 
 where arriving, he was given to understand that 
 his draught would not be taken, and that he must 
 discharge the amount in cash. Your Memorialist 
 being obliged to return to the detachment before 
 night, or to risk the loss of his baggage, he was 
 reduced to the necessity of borrowing money upon 
 the spot at no less than twenty per cent for the 
 loan thereof for a few days, with which, having 
 discharged the balance, he was permitted to rejoin 
 the army. 
 
 Your Memorialist must, however, in justice to the 
 Select Committee at Fort Saint George, add that 
 they admitted of an appeal to your Governor- 
 General and Council; but as they conceived the 
 subject to rest exclusively with the Presidency of 
 Madras, the honourable Board declined taking 
 cognisance of such reference; in consequence of 
 which resolution Major-General Stibhert, then Com- 
 mander-in-Chief upon your Bengal establishment, 
 addressed the Supreme Council as follows, viz. : — 
 
GENERAL STIBBBRT's OPINION. 29 
 
 " As I am well assured, and, indeed, have formerly 
 reported to the Board, that Captain Hearsey exe- 
 cuted the duties of his extensive department much 
 to the satisfaction of the Commander-in-Chief, I 
 think him entitled to every reasonable allowance 
 and perquisite enjoyed by his predecessors, and 
 therefore take the liberty of bespeaking the Board's 
 interference in this matter so far as to see that 
 justice be impartially rendered him." 
 
 The 12th January 1785, the Supreme Council 
 were pleased to direct that the following extract 
 of their minutes should be communicated to your 
 Memorialist through the Commander-in-Chief : — 
 
 " The Board have passed their decision upon 
 Captain Hearsey's claim, and see no cause from 
 any of the papers now before them to repeal or 
 alter their former determination ; yet it seems 
 to be attended with some circumstances meriting 
 their consideration, so far as that it be recom- 
 mended to the very particular attention of the 
 Court of Directors for their examination of it on 
 grounds and authorities from which we are pre- 
 cluded, Captain Hearsey having grounded his 
 claim (to the five per cent, for allowances of 
 wastage, and to the property of returned Gunny- 
 hags as his perquisites) on the usage of the service, 
 with the allowance of the Presidency of Fort St 
 George. A. reference to the grain -keepers em- 
 ployed under the appointment of the President 
 and Select Committee of Fort St George will show 
 
30 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 whether those emoluments were allowed them ; it 
 will also rest with Captain Hearsey to use other 
 means, by his own inquiries, for the verification of 
 his assertion. 
 
 " The Board therefore deem it but a just regard 
 to an ofiicer on their establishment to represent 
 this claim to the Court of Directors, with the fore- 
 going means of ascertaining the right on which it 
 is founded, and with all humility to declare that, 
 if the facts which he has asserted shall be verified 
 by the result, he has a clear and unquestionable 
 right to participate of the same advantages with 
 the servants of Fort St George holding the same 
 appointment which he held in the same service, 
 though under different authorities ; and to his 
 attention the Board are further impelled by the 
 recollection of other instances of similar dis- 
 countenance shown to other officers acting in the 
 general service in the Carnatic by the separate 
 authority of the late Commander-in-Chief." 
 
 The 22nd of February 1785, the Governor- 
 General and Council addressed your honourable 
 Court as follows, viz. : — 
 Consuita- " The consultation noted in the margin will 
 tion 12th pQ^Q^ Q^^ a strong recommendation from your 
 Commander-in-Chief in favour of a claim from 
 Captain Hearsey as grain -keeper to the grand 
 army in the Carnatic whilst under the command 
 of Sir Eyre Coote. 
 
 " Captain Hearsei/s own representation, which 
 
THE governor-general's LETTER. 31 
 
 accompanies that letter, will fully elucidate the 
 subject, and prove to you our disinclination to 
 interfere in the detail of transactions on the coast, 
 however meritorious the case. Indeed, were we 
 inclined to examine the grounds of his claims, we 
 are prevented, through want of authorities, to 
 ascertain them. 
 
 " We cannot, however, but consider it a just 
 regard to an ofl&cer of this establishment to call 
 forth your attention to this subject, — and as it is 
 within your reach to ascertain the exact advan- 
 tages which the Presidency of Fort St George 
 have permitted their own servants, acting in 
 similar situations, to derive, we recommend this 
 case to your favourable consideration ; and we 
 must beg that you will permit Captain Hearsey, 
 who was selected by your late Commander-in- 
 Chief, Sir Eyre Coote, for his merit and active 
 services, to reap the same benefits as have been 
 enjoyed by others acting in the same capacity." 
 
 Flushed, therefore, with hopes arising from the 
 very honourable and flattering recommendations 
 before mentioned, your Memorialist embarked for 
 Great Britain, where he arrived in the year 1786. 
 
 Unaided by personal influence, your Memorialist 
 rests the success of his present application upon 
 the justice and accustomed liberality of your 
 honourable Court, and begs leave to conclude with 
 earnestly requesting an investigation of the facts 
 and circumstances which, in the preceding pages. 
 
32 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW "WILSON HEARSE Y. 
 
 he has ventured to bring before you ; and that the 
 adjustment of his claims may be referred either 
 to your Right Honourable Governor-General and 
 Council in Bengal, or that such relief in any other 
 mode may be afforded to your Memorialist as the 
 merits of the case shall appear to your honourable 
 Court to deserve. 
 
 And your Memorialist shall ever pray. 
 
 George Street, Blackfriar's Eoad, 
 Feb. 1, 1789. 
 
 Andrew Hearsey went to England to support 
 his petition, but without avail. He never ob- 
 tained a farthing of his claim from the Honourable 
 Court of Directors, who apparently treated his 
 case as simply a dispute between Madras and 
 Bengal, omitting to consider whether the claim 
 in itself was valid or not. While in England 
 Captain Hearsey married Miss Charlotte Crane, 
 a lady of good family, and a beauty and 'toast' 
 of her day. The marriage took place at Walton- 
 on-Thames in 1787, and while subsequently living 
 at that place Andrew Hearsey was a frequent guest 
 at the entertainments given by H.E.H. the Duke 
 of York at Oatlands Park, an honour that was not 
 appreciated by Mrs Hearsey. Captain Hearsey 
 intended to retire, but was compelled to return 
 to India by the failure of his bankers. 
 
 Several years of peace followed the treaty of 
 March 1784, but in 1790 war was again declared 
 against Mysore. Lord Cornwallis, who was now 
 
TO MADRAS ONCE MORE. 33 
 
 Governor- General and Commander-in-Chief, re- 
 peated the operation of sending a Bengal column 
 by land to Madras, and with it marched Andrew 
 Hearsey, still a captain in spite of his twenty-five 
 years of Indian service and his many campaigns. 
 The infantry of the Bengal contingent arrived at 
 Conjeveram on the 1st of August 1790, and joined 
 the " Centre Army." On this occasion the Bengal 
 troops were left in their own brigades. Andrew 
 Hearsey appears to have been sent in advance, for 
 the family records state that he was present at the 
 occupation of Coimbatore on the 21st of July; he 
 also took part in the capture of Dindigul on the 
 22nd of August, and subsequently served at the 
 capture of the very strong fort of Palaghat. 
 
 Captain Hearsey then joined the force com- 
 manded by Colonel Hartley and stationed on the 
 Malabar Coast. This detachment was entrusted 
 with the special duty of watching the movements 
 of Hussein Ali, the Mysore general, who had 
 under him some 8000 men, in addition to a 
 large body of fanatical Moplahs. On the 8th of 
 December Hussein Ali attacked the British de- 
 tachment, which numbered only 1500 men with 
 a few guns. Hussein Ali was signally defeated 
 under the walls of Calicut, losing more than 
 1000 men killed and wounded and 2500 prisoners. 
 Colonel Hartley's loss did not exceed 52 men. 
 
 At the end of the year 1790 Lord Cornwallis 
 decided to take personal command of the army 
 
 C 
 
34 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEAKSEY. 
 
 in the field, and arrived at Madras on the 12th 
 of December of that year. His intention was to 
 invade Mysore and attack Seringapatam, and, 
 thanks to the fact that the army was now com- 
 manded by one who could control the resources 
 of the three Presidencies, there seemed to be 
 every prospect of success. 
 
 Tippoo at first made but feeble efi'orts to check 
 the advance of Lord Cornwallis's army, and 
 Bangalore capitulated on the 21st of March 1791. 
 Andrew Hearsey served at the siege of Bangalore, 
 and also at the battle of Arikera on the 13th of 
 May following, when Tippoo's whole field army 
 was entirely defeated. 
 
 Arikera was close to Seringapatam, and the 
 Bombay army, having marched through Coorgh, 
 was ready to join hands with Lord Cornwallis 
 and attack Tippoo's last stronghold, when unfor- 
 tunately the British army came to an end of its 
 supplies and was compelled to retire. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis devoted the remainder of the 
 year to preparations for renewing the campaign 
 with adequate means, and again took the field 
 in January 1792 at the head of an army, followed 
 by a supply train, the magnitude of which struck 
 terror into the heart of Tippoo. The Nizam, 
 who at this stage of the war had entered into 
 alliance with the British, sent an army of 8000 
 men, "more gaudy than serviceable," to join Lord 
 Cornwallis, whose own force amounted to 22,000 
 men, with 44 field-guns and 42 siege-guns. 
 
THE FIRST ATTACK ON SEEINGAPATAM. 35 
 
 Tippoo's position before Seringapatam was nat- 
 urally formidable, and bad been strengthened 
 by a triple line of fortifications ; but Lord Corn- 
 wallis, on coming in touch with the Mysore out- 
 posts, made a personal reconnaissance and attacked 
 without the loss of a day. 
 
 The first storming of Seringapatam took place 
 on the night of March 6, 1792, and after several 
 hours of severe fighting the Mysorean position 
 was captured, with a loss to the victors of 530 
 killed and wounded. Tippoo's casualties were 
 estimated at 4000, but four times that number 
 of men are said to have deserted his standards. 
 Tippoo was soon reduced to the last extremity, 
 and was compelled to submit to the severe terms 
 dictated by Lord Cornwallis, which included the 
 cession of half his territories and the payment of a 
 war indemnity of three crores of rupees. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis acted with great liberality to 
 his allies, giving them two-thirds of the ceded 
 territory and of the indemnity, and the mag- 
 nanimity of his public conduct was even excelled 
 by the generosity with which he gave up his own 
 share of the prize-money for the benefit of those 
 who served under him. 
 
 The Bengal detachment had now accomplished 
 its duty, and marched for its own Presidency about 
 the end of September. Andrew Hearsey, still a 
 captain, returned also, this being the fourth occa- 
 sion on which he completed this long and weary 
 march. 
 
36 LIEUT. -COLONEL ANDREW WILSON HEARSEY. 
 
 Promotion, so long delayed, came at last fairly 
 rapidly, but unfortunately too late. Hearsey 
 became a major on March 1, 1794, and was given 
 command of the 8th Native Infantry, then sta- 
 tioned at Jaunpore. On November 25, 3 797, he 
 was promoted lieutenant - colonel, and was ap- 
 pointed the first English commandant of the then 
 very important fort of Allahabad. 
 
 Andrew Hearsey, who had been accompanied 
 to India by his wife and children, died at Allaha- 
 bad on the 10th of July 1798. Shortly before 
 his death he lost a large sum of money, for 
 which he had made himself liable in order to 
 assist a relation, and as will be seen in the 
 autobiography of his son, Sir John Hearsey, he 
 consequently left his widow and children in bad 
 circumstances. Andrew Hearsey's tomb stUl ex- 
 ists in one of the old graveyards of Allahabad, 
 and bears the following inscription : — 
 
 To 
 
 tl)e iKetnorg at 
 LIEUT.-COL. A. W. HEAESEY, 
 
 WHO Departed this Life 
 
 THE 10th July 1798, 
 
 AoED 46 Years. 
 
 This Monument is Erected 
 
 IN Token of Regard 
 
 By his Affectionate Widow, 
 
 CHARLOTTE HEARSEY. 
 
COLONEL FRANCIS HALL. 37 
 
 Colonel Andrew Wilson Hearsey and Charlotte 
 his wife were the parents of a son who became 
 Lieutenant - General Sir John Bennet Hearsey, 
 K.C.B., and of three daughters, who all married 
 oiEcers in the army, viz. : — 
 
 Charlotte, who married Colonel Paris Brad- 
 
 shaw; 
 Marion, wife of General William Broome 
 
 Salmon ; and 
 Sophia, wife of Colonel Francis Hall. 
 
 William Salmon, the husband of Marion Hearsey, 
 attained the rank of General, retired, and lived in 
 England. He had two sons, both soldiers, and a 
 daughter, whose tragic death is described in Sir 
 John Hearsey's autobiography. 
 
 Some account of Colonel Paris Bradshaw, the 
 husband of Charlotte Hearsey, wiU be found at 
 the end of Chapter IH. 
 
 Francis Hall, the husband of Sophia Hearsey, 
 had an adventurous but short career. At the 
 time of his marriage he was an officer of the 
 14th Light Dragoons, but having a Byronic 
 aspiration to succour oppressed nationalities he 
 and a brother officer named Devereux joined 
 the Chilian revolutionary army as volunteers. 
 Francis Hall received the rank of Colonel, and 
 met his death in a tragic manner. He had 
 made overtures to a discontented faction in a 
 town garrisoned by Eoyalist troops, and had 
 arranged a night surprise during a festival. The 
 
38 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HBAESBY. 
 
 town guard was bribed, and Hall with a party 
 of about a hundred men presented himself at 
 the gate, which was thrown open to him and 
 his party. After entering they found to their 
 dismay the street lined by troops, and they were 
 taken prisoners to a man. Colonel Hall's head 
 was cut off and placed over the gate. Colonel 
 and Mrs Hall had an only son, John Francis 
 Williams Devereux Hall, who was a Colonel in 
 the Indian army and a famous shikari, who on 
 one occasion shot three tigers single-handed and 
 on foot. 
 
 MAJOE HYDEE YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey, a near relation of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Andrew Hearsey, was born in India in 
 the year 1782, and, by a strange fancy, was 
 given the name of Hyder of Mysore, the arch- 
 enemy of England. His second name is believed 
 to have originally been "Jung," which, combined 
 with Hyder, was a truly warlike designation, but 
 he subsequently anglicised it into Young. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey, in spite of his name, lived, 
 however, to be a loyal and devoted servant of 
 King G-eorge and his successors, and to perform 
 notable service for them. 
 
 After being educated at Woolwich, Hyder 
 
UNDER PERRON. 39 
 
 Hearsey, through the influence of his guardian, 
 Colonel Andrew Hearsey, then recently appointed 
 Commandant of Allahabad, was in 1798 appointed 
 aide-de-camp to Saadut Ali Khan, the last Nawab 
 Wazir of Oudh, and father of Ghazi-ud-din Hyder, 
 the first ruler of that province who bore the title 
 of king. 
 
 When Hyder Hearsey, a boy of sixteen years 
 of age, entered Saadut Ali Khan's service, the 
 latter was in exile at Benares, his succession to 
 the office of Nawab Wazir of Oudh having 
 been interfered with. His rights were, however, 
 shortly afterwards recognised by the Governor- 
 General, Sir John Shore, and he was installed 
 at Lucknow. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey did not find life at this capital 
 to his fancy, and in 1799 he entered the Mahratta 
 service and was appointed as a cadet to one of 
 General Perron's regular infantry regiments. He 
 had a good knowledge of the French language, 
 and Perron made him his aide-de-camp, and for 
 a time treated him fairly and even generously. 
 Young Hearsey had not long to wait for active 
 service, for he joined Perron's staff shortly after 
 the latter was ordered by Sindhia to take charge 
 of the fortresses of Delhi and Agra. It may be 
 mentioned parenthetically that the custody of 
 the unfortunate Shah Alam, the Mogul emperor, 
 was, so to speak, thrown in with the command 
 of Delhi. 
 
40 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 Perron had been obliged, from motives of policy, 
 to obtain possession of Delhi by means of bribery, 
 for though he had ample military resources it was 
 not considered expedient to bombard the city, and 
 so to offend the blind emperor. There was, how- 
 ever, no such motive for a gentle course of action 
 in the case of Agra, and Perron marched suddenly 
 from his headquarters at Aligarh and arrived before 
 Agra on the 17th of February 1799. 
 
 The town was taken by surprise and fell at once, 
 but the fort held out during a siege of fifty-eight 
 days. At the end of this time the north-east 
 bastion was mined and blown up, and the garrison 
 surrendered on condition of being allowed to march 
 out with the honours of war. 
 
 Perron's casualties amounted to 600, and the 
 capture of Agra at this small cost was no mean 
 feat, for the fortress was in those days of immense 
 strength, and was defended by 4000 men. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey pleased General Perron by his 
 services during the siege of Agra, and was pro- 
 moted to the rank of ensign. A few months later 
 he received further promotion to the rank of lieu- 
 tenant, and was appointed Deputy- Commandant 
 of the fort of Agra, — a strong mark of the con- 
 fidence felt by the French General in the young 
 Anglo-Indian, who was, it should be remembered, 
 still a boy of seventeen. 
 
 General Perron subsequently made Hyder 
 Hearsey Deputy -Quartermaster -General of the 
 
PEEEON AT HIS ZENITH. 41 
 
 Mahratta army, and for a time treated him and 
 his other English officers impartially. Early in 
 1801, however, a change came over Perron's con- 
 duct. He was now in a position of great power, 
 and, perhaps naturally, began to dream of a re- 
 establishment of French power in India and the 
 expulsion of the English, 
 
 In his admirable book, ' The European Military 
 Adventurers of Hindustan,' Mr Herbert Compton 
 thus summarises the short-lived greatness of the 
 French Commander - in - Chief of the Mahratta 
 army ; " Perron was now at the zenith of his 
 career. He had brought all Hindustan into sub- 
 jection, and was supreme within the boundaries 
 of Sindhia's northern possessions. From Kotah 
 in the south to Saharanpur in the north, from 
 Jodhpur in the west to Koil in the east, his power 
 was paramount. An enumeration of the terri- 
 tories Perron governed at this time, and the 
 countries and states he dictated to, will give an 
 idea of the enormous extent of his influence. In 
 the vast Jaidad^ he held, which included the 
 richest districts of the Doab, he enjoyed the rights 
 and privileges, and lived in the state and dignity, 
 of an actual sovereign. The Subahs, or Governor- 
 ships of Saharanpur, Panipat, Delhi, Karnol, Agra, 
 and Ajmir, were directly under his control ; he 
 drew their revenues and ordered their government. 
 
 ^ Jaidad — a feudal grant of land, the revenues of which furnish 
 the pay and maintenance of an army or any lesser body of troops. 
 
42 MAJOR HYDEB, YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 He directed the politics of, and received tribute 
 from, the Kajahs of Jaipur and Jodhpur, and 
 many lesser Eajput chiefs. . . . Within Hindustan 
 proper he owned the monopoly of the salt and 
 customs duties, the two most valuable sources of 
 revenue that existed, and enjoyed the exclusive 
 privilege of coining money, and his annual revenue 
 was estimated at £1,632,000 sterling." 
 
 Perron, who had entered India as a sailor before 
 the mast, was intoxicated by his astonishing suc- 
 cess. He was, in all but the name, an independent 
 sovereign ; and, as in India there were at this time 
 no limits to the ambition of a brave and capable 
 soldier, he now took the step which seemed to him 
 best calculated to crown the edifice of his career. 
 
 Perron summoned to him French officers from 
 all parts of India, particularly those who had been 
 thrown out of employment by the success of Lord 
 Wellesley's policy at Hyderabad, and bestowed on 
 them all the higher commands of his army. This 
 step naturally disgusted the English and Anglo- 
 Indian oflBcers who had faithfully served De Boigne 
 and Perron himself, and had proved their quality 
 as fighting men in innumerable battles and sieges. 
 
 Among those who took their discharge from 
 Perron's army at this juncture were Captain Hyder 
 Hearsey and Captain Hopkins, the latter being a 
 most gallant and experienced soldier, the son of a 
 colonel in the Company's service. 
 
 Hearsey and Hopkins at once entered the service 
 
THE IRISH KAJA. 43 
 
 of George Thomas, the Irish adventurer who, as is 
 well known, had succeeded like Perron in carving 
 for himself a kingdom from the ruins of the Mogul 
 empire. Thomas, like Perron, arrived in India as 
 a sailor. This was in the year 1781 or 1782, about 
 a year after Perron's arrival. Unlike Perron, 
 Thomas had no powerful fellow-countryman to 
 give him a start on the upward path ; but, after 
 a series of marvellous adventures which cannot 
 be detailed here, he conquered in 1797-1798 the 
 district of Hariana, the capital of which was the 
 town of Hansi. Hariana covered an area of nearly 
 three thousand square miles of country, and at 
 Hansi, in Thomas's own words, " I established a 
 mint and coined my own rupees, which I made 
 current in my army and country. 
 
 " As from the commencement of my career . . . 
 I had resolved to establish an independency, I 
 employed workmen and artificers of all kinds, and 
 I now judged that nothing but force of arms could 
 maintain me in my authority. I therefore in- 
 creased their numbers, cast my own artillery, 
 commenced making muskets, matchlocks, and 
 powder, and, in short, made the best preparations 
 for carrying on an offensive and defensive war, 
 till at length having gained a capital and a country 
 bordering on the Sikh territories, I wished to put 
 myself in a capacity, when a favourable oppor- 
 tunity should offer, of attempting the conquest 
 of the Punjab, and aspired to the honour of 
 
44 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 planting the Britisli standard on the banks of the 
 Attock." 
 
 The ambitions of Thomas and Perron were in 
 fact similar. Each desired to be a king, or at 
 least the viceroy of great dominions added by 
 them to the possessions of their sovereign. Thomas 
 aspired to conquer the Punjab, and he might 
 well have done so, for the Sikhs had not yet been 
 welded into a nation by Eanjit Singh, and were 
 but a weak and disunited race, established in in- 
 dependent communities among a hostile Moham- 
 medan population. Perron went further. He 
 aspired to the mastery of the whole of India, and 
 to carry out his design the destruction of Thomas 
 soon became necessary to him ; for such was the 
 daring and ambition of Thomas, that it seemed 
 quite possible that he might at any moment divert 
 his aim from the Punjab to Delhi, and attempt to 
 seize the person of the Emperor and with it the 
 control of the empire from Perron, and Perron's 
 nominal master, Sindhia. 
 
 Sindhia had contemplated disposing of Thomas 
 by gentler means, and had proposed to him to 
 enter the Mahratta service. Thomas, however, 
 after the English fashion of his day, hated the 
 very name of Frenchman, and refused to serve 
 with Perron, and it was no doubt partly on 
 account of this antipathy of his that Hyder 
 Hearsey and Hopkins joined Thomas when they 
 found themselves no longer wanted in Perron's 
 
THE BATTLE OP GEOEGEGAEH. 45 
 
 service. Unfortunately, they entered the English 
 (or Irish) Raja's army very shortly before his 
 downfall. 
 
 After a final attempt to secure the junction of 
 Thomas's troops with his own, Perron declared 
 war against Thomas at the end of August 1801, 
 and deputed Bourguien, one of his principal 
 oflScers, to conduct the operations. 
 
 Bourguien was strengthened with 60 guns 
 and 6000 Sikh cavalry, as the chiefs of this 
 race looked upon Thomas as their most dangerous 
 enemy, and cheerfully joined in the combination 
 against him. A fierce campaign now took place, 
 in which Thomas showed great activity and 
 gallantry. On the 27th of September 1801, 
 Thomas, with whom were Captains Hearsey, 
 Hopkins, and Birch, defeated Captain Louis 
 Ferdinand Smith, an English officer who had 
 remained in Perron's service, at Georgegarh, and 
 two days later he fought at the same place a most 
 bloody but indecisive battle with Bourguien him- 
 self. Hearsey was absent from Thomas's army on 
 this occasion, having probably been sent to Hansi 
 for reinforcements. 
 
 Captain Hopkins, who showed great gallantry 
 and skill, was unfortunately mortally wounded at 
 the moment when victory was in the hands of 
 Thomas. Bourguien's troops then rallied, but 
 neither side was able to make a decisive advance, 
 and both held their ground until sunset. 
 
46 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEAKSBY. 
 
 It is estimated that Bourguien had 8000 men 
 in action and Thomas 5000. The casualties were 
 extraordinarily heavy, those of Bourguien being at 
 least 2000, while Thomas probably lost nearly as 
 many. Out of seven European officers engaged in 
 the attack under Bourguien, two were killed and 
 two wounded ; while Thomas, who had only two 
 officers with him, lost one of them. 
 
 Bourguien's troops were now dispirited and 
 exhausted, and had Thomas attacked on the 
 following day all might have gone well and the 
 history of India might have been changed ; but 
 this was not to be. At the critical moment the 
 fatal weakness of the great adventurer asserted 
 itself, and Thomas gave way to drunkenness. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey rejoined a day or two after the 
 battle, and found himself left to decide what was 
 to be done — a grave responsibility for so young a 
 man, for he was still but nineteen years old. He 
 decided to make a stand where he was, and with 
 that object set about fortifying Thomas's camp. 
 This was a fatal decision, but the writers who 
 have condemned it appear to have been ignorant 
 of, or to have forgotten, Hyder Hearsey's extreme 
 youth. 
 
 Reinforcements at once began to join Bour- 
 guien's army. Colonel Pedron, one of Perron's 
 French officers, came up with four battalions ; the 
 Begum Sumroo sent two battalions, and five more 
 were sent by Perron from Hessing's brigade at 
 
THE ESCAPE OP THOMAS. 47 
 
 Agra. Five thousand horse also came up, and in a 
 short time Thomas was completely surrounded. 
 
 Georgegarh, the scene of the battle and now the 
 locality of Thomas's entrenchment, was some sixty 
 miles, as the crow flies, from his headquarters at 
 Hansi, and when Thomas recovered his wits the 
 situation was desperate. He held out doggedly 
 for six weeks, but no help came. Supplies 
 and forage were exhausted, and by the 10 th of 
 November it became clear that Thomas's only 
 chance of re-establishing his fortunes was to break 
 through with his mounted men and authorise the 
 remainder of his force to make the best terms for 
 themselves that they could. 
 
 This was done. At about nine that night 
 Thomas, accompanied by Hyder Hearsey, Captain 
 Birch, and two European sergeants, headed 300 
 brave horsemen and successfully charged through 
 Colonel Hessing's five battalions. Bourguien 
 quickly launched the whole of his cavalry in 
 pursuit, and after some confused night -fighting, 
 Thomas's escort was dispersed. Hearsey, Birch, 
 and the sergeants, however, stuck to him, and 
 after covering 120 miles in their circuitous route, 
 the little party of white men safely reached Hansi. 
 
 Thomas lost all his guns and camp, and his 
 soldiers, having laid down their arms, were ofi"ered 
 service by Perron, but refused it with contempt. 
 Several of Thomas's native officers, who had been a 
 long time in his service, "rent their clothes and 
 
48 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 turned beggars, swearing that they would never 
 serve as soldiers again." 
 
 Bourguien now proceeded to follow Thomas to 
 Hansi and to attack his town and fort there. 
 Thomas divided the defences of the town into 
 three sections, one of which was commanded by 
 Hyder Hearsey, one by Captain Birch, and the 
 third by Elias Beg, a native officer. The attack- 
 ing force was likewise divided into three columns, 
 and the very interesting narrative of the siege 
 given in the memoirs of Colonel James Skinner 
 shows that, to a considerable extent, the fighting 
 resolved itself into personal encounters between 
 the leaders of the two sides and their followers. 
 
 Bourguien's first column, commanded by a 
 Lieutenant Mackenzie, attacked Hyder Hearsey, 
 James Skinner's party attacked Captain Birch, 
 and Robert Skinner (the younger brother of 
 James) attacked Elias Beg. Such was Indian 
 war in the heroic days of the European 
 adventurers. Bourguien himself, who was by 
 no means heroic, is said to have occupied a 
 strategic position in the background. 
 
 On the 10th of December the town of Hansi 
 was stormed and captured after a gallant defence, 
 Thomas losing 500 men out of 1200, whUe Bour- 
 guien's losses were probably double that number. 
 
 Thomas was now driven into his fort, which 
 was bombarded for ten days. His situation then 
 becoming untenable, Thomas was compelled to 
 
DEATH OF THOMAS. 49 
 
 capitulate, and on the 20th of December 1801 his 
 extraordinary career came to an end. 
 
 The sad story of Thomas's disgrace after his 
 dignified and impressive conduct at his first meet- 
 ing with his conqueror is melancholy reading. 
 The banquet to which Thomas and his officers 
 were invited by Bourguien degenerated into an 
 orgie, and ended by Thomas drawing his sword 
 on a sentry who barred his path. The faithful 
 Hearsey prevented a further catastrophe, and thus 
 ended his brief and ill-starred connection with 
 George Thomas. 
 
 After the surrender of Hansi and the collapse of 
 his power Thomas carried the wreck of his fortune 
 to Benares. He died at Barhampur on the 22nd 
 of August 1802, while on his way to England. 
 Thirteen months later his enemy Perron, " with a 
 lie on his lips, and his trembling hands squander- 
 ing gold to bribe the soldiery he dared not trust, 
 fled from his kingdom, followed by the execrations 
 of his troops and the exultant denunciation of his 
 fellow-countrymen." ^ 
 
 The fall of Thomas left Hyder Hearsey in an 
 awkward situation. He endeavoured first to 
 obtain employment in the armies of Jaipur and 
 Jodhpur, but Perron or Sindhia prevented this. 
 Hearsey therefore determined to take a leaf out 
 of Thomas's book and to set up his own standard 
 as an independent chief. He had made a rep- 
 
 ' Compton's ' European Military Adventurers of Hindustan.' 
 
 B 
 
50 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 utation for courage and enterprise, and having 
 selected the district then known as Mewat as 
 suitable to his requirements, he soon collected 
 a force of five thousand men, which he held 
 ready to use in favour of the first power which 
 might make a satisfactory bid for his alliance. 
 
 Mewat was a tract of country which, during 
 the Mogul period, formed part of the Subah or 
 Government of Agra. It lies south of Delhi, 
 and includes part of the existing British districts 
 of Muttra and Gurgaon, and a considerable portion 
 of Ulwar and some of Bhurtpore. 
 
 Hearsey found the inhabitants of Mewat, and 
 those who joined his standard there, amenable to 
 his rule, and was gradually consolidating his con- 
 trol over the country when an event occurred 
 which altered the whole political character of 
 India. Lord Wellesley, who had long seen that 
 tranquillity and safety were impossible for the 
 British power in India while the Mahratta power 
 was the dominant factor in the decaying Mogul 
 empire, decided on the destruction of the power 
 of Perron. In the Governor-General's instructions 
 to General Lake, the Commander - in - Chief, the 
 following objects (among others) of the operations 
 were laid down : — 
 
 1. The seizure of Perron's Jaidad. 
 
 2. The taking of the person of the Emperor, 
 
 Shah Alam, under British protection. 
 
 3. The reduction of Perron's army. 
 
HYDER HEAESEY JOINS THE ENGLISH. 51 
 
 Perron was, in fact, the object of tlie operations 
 of Lake's army, and there was indeed no other 
 organised hostile army in what was then Hin- 
 dustan. Perron's Jaidad was an independent 
 French State in which he "dictated with the 
 authority of a sovereign," and his army con- 
 stituted a menace to the British dominion in 
 India. 
 
 This menace might, it was anticipated, be at 
 any moment accentuated by the influence of 
 Napoleon. Clearly Perron had to go. A pro- 
 clamation was now issued calling on all officers 
 of English or Anglo-Indian birth who might be 
 serving in the armies of Perron and the Indian 
 States to abandon their employment and join the 
 British service. Among those who threw in their 
 lot with their own countrymen was Hyder Hear- 
 sey, and in token of the high though irregular 
 position which he held, it is noteworthy that the 
 pension of eight hundred rupees a month allotted 
 to him by Lord Wellesley was one of the largest 
 given to the British-born officers of native states. 
 This is the more remarkable, as Hearsey belonged 
 to no state at this moment, but his services 
 were evidently worth having. He was still only 
 twenty-one years of age, but in the East men 
 mature rapidly. 
 
 Lord Lake's advance towards Aligarh, Perron's 
 headquarters, began in August 1803, and about 
 the same time Hearsey began operations on his 
 
52 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEAESEY. 
 
 own account by attacking a Mahratta fort. 
 With his customary ill-luck he was dangerously 
 wounded in the head in this operation. 
 
 In accordance with the terms of Lord Welles- 
 ley's proclamation, Hearsey shortly afterwards 
 disbanded his force of five thousand men, with 
 the exception of one regiment of cavalry, which 
 he was permitted to bring in to General Lake's 
 army. The command of this regiment was left 
 in his hands, and with it he served at the capture 
 of Agra, the relief of Delhi, and the battle of Deig, 
 seeing much hard fighting. 
 
 Towards the end of the Mahratta war Hearsey 
 was sent with his regiment to Bareilly to subdue 
 certain zemindars in that district who were in- 
 clined to give trouble. By the end of the year 
 1805 Hearsey had completed this task, fighting 
 a decisive action against the rebels in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Kareli, an estate which subsequently 
 became his own property, and is in the possession 
 of his family to this day. 
 
 During the early days of the British dominion 
 in India it was most difficult for persons of 
 European birth or descent to acquire landed 
 property. The East India Company set its face 
 consistently against the practice, desiring that its 
 servants should have no permanent interests in 
 the territories which they administered. It was 
 not, in fact, till the year 1835 that it was legal 
 for British subjects to acquire landed property 
 
THE PRINCESSES OP CAMBAY. 53 
 
 in the Company's dominions proper j and, at all 
 times, the acquisition by Europeans of property 
 in native states was strongly objected to. 
 
 The position, however, of Hyder Hearsay was 
 in this respect peculiar, for about the period of 
 which we now write he had married Khanum 
 (princess) Zuhur-ul-Nissa, a daughter of one of 
 the deposed princes of Cambay. This lady, to- 
 gether with her sister, had been adopted as his 
 daughters by the Emperor Akbar II., the successor 
 of Shah Alam. The princes of Cambay had been 
 driven from their dominions, which are situated 
 in the province of Guzerat, north of Bombay, and 
 had sought the protection of their suzerain, the 
 Emperor of Delhi. Owing to his military weak- 
 ness the Emperor was unable to reinstate the 
 Nawab and his brothers in their dominions, but 
 gave them an asylum at the faded court of Delhi, 
 and, as has been said, adopted the Nawab's daugh- 
 ters. The elder of these ladies became, under very 
 romantic circumstances, the wife of Colonel Wil- 
 liam Linnaeus Gardner, while the younger married 
 Hyder Hearsey. The marriages of the princesses 
 of Cambay to Gardner and Hyder Hearsey were 
 in all respects most formal and binding cere- 
 monies, and the honourable position of these 
 ladies was fully recognised in the Mohammedan 
 world. 
 
 In consequence of their marriages, Colonel 
 Gardner and Hyder Hearsey acquired consider- 
 
54 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 able estates under firman from the Emperor, 
 G-ardner settling down at Khasgunj, a place sixty 
 mUes distant from Agra, while Hearsey made his 
 home at Kareli near Bareilly, in Kohilkhand. 
 
 Gardner, who, like his brother-in-law, was a 
 chivalrous and romantic character, was naturally 
 sensitive to any comment on his marriage, and on 
 one occasion published the following statement in 
 an Indian newspaper : — 
 
 " A Moslem lady's marriage with a Christian by 
 a Kazi is as legal in this country as if the cere- 
 mony had been performed by the Bishop of Cal- 
 cutta, a point lately settled by my son's marriage 
 with the niece of the Emperor, the Nawab Mulka 
 Humanee Begam. The respectability of the 
 females of my family amongst the natives of 
 Hindustan has been settled by the Emperor 
 many years ago, he having adopted my wife as 
 his daughter ; a ceremony satisfactorily repeated 
 by the Queen on a visit to my own house at 
 Delhi." 
 
 Gardner married his princess at Cambay, whither 
 he had been sent, early in his career, by Holkar on 
 a diplomatic mission. Their marriage was a very 
 happy one, and they both lived to a ripe old age, 
 the Begam only surviving her husband a few days. 
 They were buried in one tomb. Their son, James 
 Gardner, made an equally romantic marriage with 
 Nawab Mulka Humanee Begam, one of the fifty- 
 two children of Mirza Suliman Sheko, brother of 
 
COLONEL WILLIAM GARDNER. 55 
 
 the Emperor Akbar II. This lady had already 
 been married to a prince of the royal house, 
 but " love found out the way," The princess 
 was released from her chains and permitted to 
 marry the man of her choice. 
 
 Colonel William Linnseus Gardner was a nephew 
 of the first Lord Gardner, and one of the descend- 
 ants of his marriage with the Princess of Cambay 
 married a cousin of the Gardner family, who was 
 in the line of succession to the peerage. The issue 
 of this marriage were the almost entirely native 
 claimants to the title of Lord Gardner. 
 
 This digression may be excused on account of 
 the relationship by marriage between Colonel 
 Gardner and Hyder Hearsey, whose marriage was 
 also a happy one. 
 
 The brothers of Hearsey's Begam followed his 
 fortunes, and are believed to have served with him 
 in Mewat ; and they subsequently took part in 
 his Kumaon expedition in 1815, which will be 
 described in its place. 
 
 The next public service of Hyder Hearsey after 
 the subjection of Eohilkhand was of a pacific 
 nature. During the years 1807-1808 the Indian 
 Government sent out various expeditions to exe- 
 cute surveys of their newly-acquired territory, and, 
 among others, a party composed of Captain F. V. 
 Raper, Lieutenant W. S. Webb, and Captain Hyder 
 Hearsey was despatched to survey the upper 
 waters of the river Ganges. It was at this time 
 
56 MAJOR HYDER YOUN& HEARSE Y. 
 
 uncertain where the sacred river rose, some stat- 
 ing, correctly, that it had its source at Gangotri 
 in Garhwal, while others believed, on native in- 
 formation, that the apparent source at Gangotri 
 was but the mouth of a tunnel which pierced 
 the Himalayas and conducted the waters of 
 Mother Ganges from the holy lake of Mansarowar 
 in Tibet. 
 
 Hearsey, Kaper, and Webb set out from Bareilly 
 in April 1808, and made an accurate survey of the 
 Ganges and of the mountain region through which 
 it flowed, and definitely settled the fact that the 
 main source of the river was at Gangotri. 
 
 In the course of their three months' journey 
 they visited Hard war, Deo Prayag, Srinagar, 
 Kama Prayag, Nanda Prayag, Joshimath, Badri- 
 nath, in fact all the sacred places on the main 
 stream of the Ganges that the time at their dis- 
 posal permitted them to reach. The " Prayags " 
 or confluences of the Ganges and its tributaries 
 are all sacred, the most holy of all being the 
 Prayag at Allahabad, where the Ganges receives 
 the Jumna. 
 
 The travellers made their way through Garhwal 
 without much trouble, though that province was 
 at the time of their visit suff'ering under the very 
 harsh rule of the Gurkhas, who had conquered it 
 five years previously. Hearsey and his companions 
 encountered in Garhwal the Gurkha Governor, 
 Hasti Dal Chautariya by name, and it is a family 
 
THE RAJA OF TEHRI. 57 
 
 tradition among the Hearseys that Hyder Hearsey 
 saved Hasti Dai's life when he had been attacked 
 and nearly killed by a bear. He then cured Hasti 
 Dai's wounds. As will be seen, this incident had a 
 curious sequel. 
 
 In 1809 the Gurkhas advanced yet further 
 from their mountains and invaded many tracts 
 of country which either belonged to the East 
 India Company or were under British protection. 
 Among other regions so occupied was a portion 
 of the Terai bordering on Oudh, and Hyder Hear- 
 sey was now commissioned to raise a force and 
 clear this country of the invaders. Hearsey per- 
 formed this service with complete success, fighting 
 three actions with the Gurkhas at a place called 
 Barrum Deo. The district which he had recon- 
 quered from the Gurkhas was sold to Oudh for the 
 sum of £1,000,000 sterling and the small province 
 of Handia near Cawnpore. 
 
 About this time Hyder Hearsey became ac- 
 quainted with the exiled Eaja of Tehri or Garhwal, 
 who was living in very straitened circumstances 
 at Bareilly. The Eaja, who was the representative 
 of the Chand family who had reigned for many 
 centuries over Garhwal, was the heir of Raja Prad- 
 human Sah, who was driven from his dominions 
 by the Gurkhas of Nepal in 1803. Pradhuman 
 Sah had made a valiant attempt to reconquer his 
 dominions, but was defeated and slain near Dehra 
 in January 1804. His successor, Sudarsan Sah, 
 
58 MAJOB HYDER YOUNG HEAKSEY. 
 
 entirely despaired of ever regaining Ms lost 
 country, and one day offered to sell part of it 
 to Hyder Hearsey for a sum of money, of which 
 he was urgently in need. 
 
 The speculation seemed a rash one, as every 
 indication pointed to the desire of the British 
 Government to avoid war with the Gurkhas, 
 Hearsey, however, was, as we have seen, of an 
 enterprising character and absolutely fearless, and 
 was seized with the idea that sooner or later he 
 might find a means to reconquer Garhwal for the 
 Eaja and himself He concluded a bargain with 
 the Eaja in a deed of which the following is 
 a true translation. Certain eccentricities and 
 varieties of spelHng remain uncorrected. 
 
 Translation of the DEED of SALE of the Per- 
 gunnas Doon and Chandee executed by Eaja 
 SooDEESUN Sah in favour of Major Hyder 
 Young Hearsey. 
 
 I, Eaja Soodersun Sah, son of Eaja Hurdut 
 Sah, grandson of Eaja Aleep Sah, great-grandson 
 of Eaja Hurdut Sah, do hereby solemnly declare 
 that whereas Pergunnas Doon and Chandee were 
 settled on my ancestors (without there being any 
 co-parcenery rights with any other person) by the 
 Firmans of His Majesty Emperor Aurungzeb (may 
 God shed heavenly lustre on his grave), at this 
 present time being in a sound and healthy state 
 
THE DEED OF SALE. 59 
 
 of mind, and not being swayed by the false per- 
 suasions of others, but of my own free-will and 
 accord, do hereby sell the above Pergunnas, with 
 all the rights accruing therefrom, such as Revenue, 
 Sayer, Firewood, and all other Zemindari rights, 
 together with the Imperial Firmans, to Captain 
 Hearsey in consideration of rupees 3005 (three 
 thousand and five), the half of which will amount 
 to one thousand five hundred and two rupees eight 
 annas only (1 500-2-8). 
 
 I hereby acknowledge to have received the whole 
 of the aforesaid sum in full from Captain Hearsey ; 
 the whole sum has been paid by him, and I have 
 received and made use of it. I also acknowledge 
 to have put Captain Hearsey in possession of the 
 above Pergunnas, together with the Imperial Fir- 
 mans relating to them. Nothing is due to me 
 from him (not a dam,^ not even a diram). If I 
 or any of my successors or heirs should set up a 
 claim for any balance of the above-mentioned sum, 
 it should be rejected as false, and no cognisance 
 whatsoever should be taken of it ; I myself alone 
 am responsible for this act. 
 
 With this view I have executed this deed in 
 order that it may serve both as deed of sale and 
 a receipt for the above-mentioned sum of money ; 
 
 * Here will be recognised the "tuppenny dam" introduced into 
 the English language by Field- Marshal the Duke of Wellington, 
 who no doubt picked up the phrase during his Indian service. The 
 harmless " dam " is now, by false analogy, usually written with a 
 final n, thereby sadly changing character. 
 
60 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 also that it may be made use of as documentary- 
 evidence in case of any litigation. 
 
 Written this day, the 22nd June 1811, corre- 
 sponding to 30th Jumadul sanl 1226 a.h. and l7th 
 Asadh Fusli and Bikramajeet Sumwut 1818 
 
 {Signed and Sealed) 
 
 Raja Soodersun Sah. 
 Witnessed by 
 
 {Signed) 
 
 Chunee Lall, Moonshee, son of Diara Sahaie. 
 Thakoor Dass, in charge of Ofl&ce Eecords. 
 
 To conclude the strange but true story of Hyder 
 Hearsey's purchase of Dehra Dun and Chandee, 
 it will be convenient to anticipate the course of 
 events, and record here that after the Gurkha war 
 of 1815 the British Government reinstated the 
 Eaja of Tehri in part of his dominions, where his 
 descendants still dwell. The Raja was put in pos- 
 session of Tehri proper, that part of his dominions 
 that lay west of the Alaknanda river. The lands 
 to the east of that river, comprising Dehra Dun, 
 Chandee, and the present district of Garhwal, were 
 retained by the British Government. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey, whose services in the war were 
 fully recognised, brought his purchase formally to 
 the notice of the Government, and, as appears from 
 the following deed, sold his Purgunna of Chandee 
 to the East India Company, and promised to sell 
 
THE PURCHASE OF CHANDEE. 61 
 
 the Dun Purgunna to the Company whenever the 
 region in which it lay came into its possession. 
 This it did within a few months of the sale. 
 
 Translatiok of the DEED of SALE of the Per- 
 gunna Chandee executed by Major Hyder 
 Young Hearsay in favour of the Eight 
 Honourable the East India Company. 
 
 I, Hyder Young Hearsay, Major, a resident of 
 the town of Bareilly, do hereby solemnly declare 
 that whereas all the villages detailed below be- 
 longing to Pergunna Chandee, Zillah Moradabad, 
 province Shajahanabad, which under the Imperial 
 Firmans of their most Magnificent Majesties, 
 Mohomed Shah, Aurungzeb, and Alumgeer Shah 
 (may God illuminate their graves) were settled on 
 and held for generations by the ancestors of Soo- 
 dursun Sah, and which have been sold to me by 
 the aforesaid Eaja, I now at this present time 
 being in a sound and healthy state of mind, and 
 not being swayed by persuasion or force, but of 
 my own free will and accord do agree to sell all 
 the said villages detailed below to the Eight Hon- 
 ourable the East India Company (may their glory 
 rise) in consideration of the annual sum of rupees 
 1200 (one thousand two hundred), half of which 
 equal 600 rupees current coin. This sum to be 
 made payable to me and my heirs and successors 
 from generation to generation in perpetuity com- 
 
62 MAJOR HYDER YODNG HEARSEY. 
 
 mencing from the first day of January 1812 a.d., 
 corresponding with the 3rd Margh 1219 Fusl., and 
 15th Ziulhujj 1226 Hejera. And from that date 
 all the rights and interests thereof, Dhakillee as 
 well as Khariji, small as well as great, all the pro- 
 duce of fruit-bearing and other trees, also Julkur 
 and Bunker lands Jheels and jhaburs, all revenue 
 accruing from grazing contracts, bamboos, timber, 
 Kutha, lime, wax, honey, lac Kundas and buns- 
 lochun and all other rights, with the exception of 
 mosques, graves, public roads, bye-paths, and all 
 such like public properties. 
 
 The Honourable East India Company have pur- 
 chased the villages mentioned in this deed in a 
 fair and honourable manner, and they have been 
 made over to them and are now in their pos- 
 session. 
 
 After the execution of this deed nothing is 
 owing to me from the said East India Company. 
 I have made over to the Government officials the 
 Imperial Firmans together with the deed of sale 
 executed in my favour by Raja Soodursun Sah. 
 Although the Imperial Firmans are for both the 
 Pergunnas Dhoon and Chandee, yet I have only 
 sold the Zemindarrie and the rights and interests 
 a,ccruing thereon of the Pergunna of Chandee. 
 But I here promise that when the Pergunna 
 Dhoon shall come within the possessions of the 
 Honourable East India Company I will sell the 
 villages belonging to it to the aforesaid Company. 
 
THE HEARSEY CLAIM. 63 
 
 With this view I have written this deed to serve 
 as documentary evidence in times of need. 
 
 Below is a detail of the villages of Pergunna 
 Chandee and their boundaries. 
 
 (Signed) Major Hyder Young He arse y. 
 
 Witnessed by 
 
 {Signed) Major Eogers, Adjt. 42nd N.I. 
 Capt. Bullock. 
 Capt. Boder. 
 Goolam Ali, Moonshee. 
 Lieut. Hamilton. 
 Chunie Lall. 
 
 The above-mentioned deed was executed on the 
 28th day of October, a.d., 1815, corresponding 
 with 1223 Fuslee in the month Kartik equivalent 
 to 1233 Hezeria on a Saturday. 
 
 (True copy of translation.) 
 
 A. W. Hearsey, Captain, 
 Retd. List. 
 
 N.B} — The original authenticated copy of above 
 is in possession of L. D. Hearsey, Kheri, Oudh. 
 
 There is no satisfactory explanation of the failure 
 of the East India Company to complete the pur- 
 
 1 Note by Mr L. D. Hearsey of Kheri, the present representa- 
 tive of Major Hyder Young Hearsey. 
 
64 MAJOR HYDEB, YOUNG- HEARSEY. 
 
 chase of the Dun, for which Hyder Hearsay would 
 have evidently accepted a moderate sum. Dehra 
 Dun is now very valuable, and Hyder Hearsey's 
 descendants have for many years endeavoured 
 vainly to obtain a consideration of their claim for 
 a completion of the purchase. 
 
 The contention of the Hearsey family is, that 
 by buying Chandee from Hyder Hearsey, whose 
 title to it was the same as that to the ownership 
 of Dehra Dun, the East India Company recognised 
 the validity of his ownership to both properties. 
 
 The Hearseys state also, and the fact can easily 
 be ascertained, that the Company did not retain 
 the Dun by right of conquest from the Gurkhas, 
 but in virtue of Hyder Hearsey's purchase from 
 the Eaja. In support of this contention they 
 assert that, in the treaty of Segowlie, dated the 
 2nd of December 1815, all the actual conquests 
 made by the British Government in the contest 
 with the Gurkhas, and retained by them at the 
 close of that war, are distinctly mentioned and 
 enumerated, and that Dehra Dun is not amongst 
 them. They therefore maintain that the Govern- 
 ment of India did not obtain the Dun by conquest, 
 but by the agreement which the said Government 
 entered into with Major Hyder Hearsey on the 
 28th of October 1815, which agreement the Gov- 
 ernment has to the present moment failed to carry 
 into execution. 
 
 The Indian Government has uniformly declined 
 
THE HEAESEY CLAIM. 65 
 
 to discuss the ownership of Dehra Dun with the 
 representatives of the Hearsey family, but the 
 official view of the matter appears to be repre- 
 sented by the following statement, which appears 
 on p. 680, vol. xi., of the ' Gazetteer of the North- 
 West Provinces ' :•— 
 
 "In the year 1811 Sudarsan Sah had promised 
 Major Hearsey to grant to him the Dehra Dun 
 and taluka Chandi, should he procure the restor- 
 ation of the country then occupied by the Gork- 
 halis. Major Hearsey now (1816) brought forward 
 this claim, but it was rightly held by both the Eaja 
 and the Government that, as the conditions pre- 
 cedent to the grant had not been fulfilled. Major 
 Hearsey had no claim, legal or moral." 
 
 Sudarsan Sah is, later on in this portion of the 
 ' Gazetteer,' clearly indicated as having been Eaja 
 of Garhwal in 1811 and 1816, and as the person 
 who was reinstated in a portion of his dominions 
 at the conclusion of the Gurkha war. 
 
 The whole narrative in the ' Gazetteer ' reads 
 like a lame official apology for the treatment 
 of Hyder Hearsey. It may be pointed out, 
 moreover, that Hyder Hearsey's claim on Dehra 
 Dun was not supported by a conditional grant 
 from the Eaja, as asserted in the ' Gazetteer,' but 
 by a deed of sale, the validity of which had 
 most surely been recognised by the Government 
 when they purchased Chandee from Hyder Hearsey 
 (not from the Eaja) on the 28th October 1815. 
 
66 MAJOR HYDER YOTJNG HEAESEY. 
 
 We must now revert to the story of Hyder 
 Hearsey, whom we left in the year 1811 living 
 on his property near Bareilly. He was now a 
 rich and prosperous man, irrespective of his 
 speculative purchases of Chandee and Dehra Dun. 
 It is clear from his correspondence with the 
 Government of India that he took every oppor- 
 tunity of urging on them the necessity of driv- 
 ing the Gurkhas back to their mountains, and 
 while waiting for that event to come about 
 Hearsey made another very bold expedition through 
 the provinces of the lower Himalayas, from which 
 the Gurkhas had expelled the legitimate owners. 
 
 Early in 1812 Hearsey undertook to accompany 
 William Moorcroft in a journey through Kumaon 
 and Garhwal to Western Tibet, with the special 
 object of visiting Lake Mansarowar, formerly be- 
 lieved to be the source of all the sacred rivers 
 of India. Moorcroft was a native of Lancashire 
 who had been educated as a surgeon. Finding 
 that veterinary surgery was much neglected in 
 England, Moorcroft turned his attention to that 
 science, being thereto encouraged by John Hunter. 
 
 Moorcroft carried out his veterinary studies in 
 France, and, after making a considerable fortune 
 by the practice of his profession in London, most 
 of which he lost by an unfortunate investment, 
 he accepted an oflfer from the Court of Directors 
 of the. East India Company to go out to Bengal 
 as superintendent of their military stud. He 
 
WILLIAM MOORCROFT. 67 
 
 went to India early in the year 1808, and soon 
 formed the conviction that the native breed of 
 horses in India, then of poor quality, could best 
 be improved by an infusion of the blood and 
 bone of the Turkoman horse of Central Asia. 
 Moorcroft, who was a man of many interests, 
 also desired to be instrumental in promoting 
 commerce between India and the neighbouring 
 countries, and he was also desirous of serving 
 his country as a geographer. 
 
 To a man with these aspirations, the friendship 
 of Hyder Hearsey was no mean acquisition, and 
 it was undoubtedly thanks to Hearsey's tact, 
 knowledge of native manners and customs, and 
 widespread influence that the two travellers 
 achieved their remarkable exploration of Western 
 Tibet and returned safely to India. 
 
 A summary of Mr Moorcroft's account of his 
 journey, in company with Hyder Hearsey, to 
 the sacred Lake Mansarowar is to be found in 
 vol. xii. of that rare publication, ' Asiatick Ee- 
 searches,' published at the ' Calcutta Gazette ' 
 Offices in the year 1816. The summary was 
 made by Mr H. .T- Colebrooke, the President of 
 the Asiatic Society (to use the modern spelling), 
 and certain details of general interest, omitted 
 by Mr Colebrooke from considerations of space, 
 are still extant in Hyder Hearsey's notes on 
 his journey, and will be found in the following 
 pages. 
 
68 MAJOR HYDEK YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 Mr Colebrooke, an acknowledged authority of 
 the period on Indian exploration, states in his 
 introductory remarks that the journey to Tibet 
 was "undertaken from motives of public zeal, 
 to open to Great Britain means of obtaining the 
 materials of the finest woollen fabric. The ar- 
 duous and perilous enterprise in which Mr Moor- 
 croft, accompanied by Captain Hearsey, engaged, 
 and which was prosecuted by them with inde- 
 fatigable perseverance and admirable intrepidity, 
 undismayed by the difficulties of the way and 
 the dangers with which the jealousy of the 
 Nepalese beset them on their return, and un- 
 deterred by hardships and privations, and in Mr 
 Moorcroft's instance by frequent illness, has in 
 the result not only accomplished the primary 
 object which was in view, but has brought an 
 interesting accession of knowledge of a never 
 before explored region ; and has ascertained the 
 existence, and approximately determined the 
 situation of Manasarovara, verifying at the same 
 time the fact that it gives origin neither to the 
 Ganges nor to any other of the rivers reputed 
 to flow from it. Mr Moorcroft . . . found reason 
 to believe that the lake has no outlet.^ His stay, 
 however, was too short to allow of his making 
 a complete circuit of it ; and adverting to the 
 difficulty of conceiving the evaporation of the 
 lake's surface in so cold a climate to be equiva- 
 
 • This was, however, a mistake. 
 
GHOLAM HYDER KHAN. 69 
 
 lent to the influx of water in the season of thaw 
 from the surrounding mountains, it may be con- 
 jectured that, although no river ran from it, nor 
 any outlet appear at the level at which it was 
 seen by Mr Moorcroft, it may have some drain 
 of its superfluous waters, when more swollen and 
 at its greatest elevation, and may then, perhaps, 
 communicate with Eawan Lake, in which the 
 Sutlej takes its source, conformable with the 
 oral information received by our travellers." 
 
 Eeturning to Hyder Hearsey's notes of the 
 journey, we find that the travellers crossed the 
 British frontier of Rohilkhand and entered 
 Kumaon, then occupied by the Gurkhas, on May 
 9, 1812, disguised as Gosains, or Hindu pilgrims. 
 They were accompanied by no less than fifty-two 
 natives — mostly hill coolies, no doubt, but includ- 
 ing an Afghan soldier of fortune named Gholam 
 Hyder Khan,^ who had long been attached to 
 Hyder Hearsey, and two pundits, or educated 
 natives, who had been engaged as surveyors. 
 
 Moorcroft states that Hearsey undertook the 
 survey of the entire route traversed, and Harkh 
 Dev, one of the pundits, paced the road, two 
 of his ordinary steps measuring exactly 4 feet. 
 
 From May 9th to 24th the travellers went over 
 ground that had been explored two years pre- 
 
 1 Gholam Hyder Khan afterwards accompanied Moorcroft on 
 his ill-fated expedition to Bokhara, and was the only member of 
 it who returned to India. 
 
70 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 viously by Colonel Colebrooke, brother of the 
 editor of the 'Asiatick Eesearches,' but on the 
 latter date they left the Badrinath road at Joshi- 
 math in Garhwal, and thence travelled over un- 
 explored ground to the village of Niti, which 
 they reached on June 4. At this point the 
 Tibetan authorities began to make difficulties 
 about further progress, pointing out " that this 
 was a road by which pilgrims to Mansarowar 
 seldom came ; that we were armed ; that we had 
 many people ; that report said that we were either 
 Gorkhalis or Firingis come with designs inimical 
 to the Undes ; and that measures had been taken 
 accordingly." (Undes, or Hundes, was the name 
 applied to Tibet by the travellers.) The dis- 
 guise as Gosains had, then, not been altogether 
 successful, as might have been anticipated, and 
 nothing but the great tact, patience, and courage 
 shown by the travellers enabled them to com- 
 plete their journey to the sacred lake. The 
 Tibetans have from time immemorial shown the 
 greatest aversion to any visits by Europeans from 
 India, while the hill states of Kumaon and Garh- 
 wal were at this time in the hands of the 
 Nepalese, whose policy was most hostile to the 
 English. The Gurkha war, which broke out two 
 years later, was in fact already brewing. Moor- 
 croft and Hearsey explained to the headman of 
 Niti that " for pious and humane reasons we 
 wished to visit the Lake of Mansarowar ; that 
 
A SACRIFICE OF BRANDY. 71 
 
 for defraying our expenses we had brought cer- 
 tain articles from our country for sale ; that we 
 had for our own defence certain arms which we 
 were willing to leave in his keeping during our 
 stay in the Undes." 
 
 This declaration seemed to give satisfaction, but 
 the travellers were requested to await for a period 
 of fifteen days until the reply of the Tibetan 
 rulers of that province could be received. 
 
 After many days of fruitless and wearisome 
 negotiations, it at length became clear that the 
 delay was entirely caused by the headmen of the 
 Niti villages themselves, the authorities on the 
 Tibetan side of the pass having no means of 
 stopping the travellers if the Niti headmen chose 
 to introduce them to their northern neighbours. 
 The sacrifice of a bottle of brandy, " made into 
 punch and well sweetened," was not without 
 effect in a heated debate which took place on 
 June 23, but the ascent of the pass did not finally 
 take place until the last day of the month. 
 
 Travelling slowly and gradually, establishing 
 friendly relations with the chiefs and priests of 
 the province, Moorcroft and Hearsey reached the 
 town of Daba (some twenty miles over the border) 
 on July 3. They had experienced considerable 
 difiiculty in traversing the Niti Pass, the road 
 being of the roughest description. 
 
 They describe Daba as "perched upon the top 
 of a rock which juts out towards the river with 
 
72 MAJOR HYDEE YOUNG HEAESBY. 
 
 an irregular declivity, and surmounted by the 
 highest eminence in the whole line which defends 
 it from the north-west." They add that at Daba 
 they found a few cultivated fields, which were 
 the first that they had found in Tibet. The river 
 referred to is the Tiltil, a tributary of the Sutlej. 
 
 There were three persons of importance at Daba 
 — styled by Moorcroft the Lama, the Wazir, and 
 the Deba, or head zemindar.^ The wazir was 
 absent on business towards Mansarowar, and his 
 son represented him. Hyder Hearsey's notes, 
 which are more plain-spoken than Mr Moorcroft's 
 narrative, run as follows : — 
 
 "After breakfast this day (July 4) Umar Singh 
 sent word to us to come and pay our respects 
 to the wazir's son, in council assembled with the 
 lama and the son of the deba. We proceeded 
 about nine o'clock, attended by the pundit and 
 three or four other servants, carrying the presents 
 for these people. The presents consisted of three 
 yards of superfine scarlet broadcloth, some sugar 
 and spice, all arranged on a brass plate. We first 
 entered a gate over against which was fastened 
 a very large and handsome dog — something of 
 the Newfoundland breed. The entrance stunk 
 very much of him. 
 
 ^ It appears that the terms " wazir " and " deba " were incorrectly 
 used, the former not being a Tibetan word, while deba is merely 
 a respectful suffix. 
 
THE BISHOP. V3 
 
 " We then had to stoop to enter another door — 
 filthy enough, stench abominable. We then pro- 
 ceeded up a few steps of earth and stones, all 
 broken. We turned to the right and entered a 
 small ante -chamber, to the right of which was 
 the women's room. A greasy, filthy purdah was 
 then lifted up and we entered the parlour. Here 
 ■we found a clean mirzai or poor woollen carpet 
 spread for us in the centre of the room. In front 
 was a vacant seat, opposite to which our presents 
 were placed. On the right sat the lama on a 
 cushion ; before him was placed a kind of tea-poy 
 (three-legged table), on which were two wooden 
 varnished plates painted and gilt. There was also 
 a fire-pan. The old gentleman appeared about 
 seventy years old, had a shrewd countenance, 
 said very little, and eyed us all the time. He 
 was dressed in a coarse woollen red garment — 
 the manufacture of the country — greasy and dirty 
 in the extreme. This was the bishop of this see. 
 
 " He had another priest sitting to his right, 
 more black, more filthy, and more ugly than 
 himself. Opposite to me sat the son of the deba, 
 a dark but sensible, though rather heavy-looking 
 person, aged about twenty -nine or thirty. He 
 had a paper in his hand at our entrance, as if 
 in the act of writing. He was seated on a leather 
 cushion stuffed with wool, over which was a 
 carpet ; before him was a sort of small table on 
 which were two of the wooden plates before 
 
74 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 mentioned, a china cup, an inkstand, a wooden 
 pen, and a knife. To his right lay a long silver 
 pipe. He was dressed in a red-, blue-, green-, and 
 yellow-striped woollen gown." 
 
 It appeared that the paper was a letter to the 
 commander of Gortope (or Gartok),i a neighbour- 
 ing seat of government, explaining that Moorcroft 
 and Hearsey really were harmless pilgrims, and 
 not the dreaded Firingis, and requesting that they 
 might be permitted to proceed to Lake Mansar- 
 owar. Suspicions were again aroused on the fol- 
 lowing day by the discovery that Hearsey wore 
 half-boots of an English pattern — a curious slip 
 on his part, which his fellow-traveller records with 
 obvious relish, adding that he himself had taken 
 the precaution of having turned-up toes added to 
 his own shoes. 
 
 On July 8 an answer to the deba's letter was 
 received from Gortope, which was conveyed to 
 the travellers on the following day. It was to 
 the effect that the governor had been informed 
 three years previously that some Europeans were 
 about to come into the country. He therefore 
 desired to see the travellers. 
 
 Moorcroft and Hearsey accordingly set out from 
 Daba on July 12, and after a six days' march 
 reached Gortope, which they found to be a large 
 
 1 Gartok has quite recently been visited by Captain Ryder, R.E., 
 a member of Sir Francis Younghusband's Tibet Mission. 
 
A SHREWD TIBETAN. 75 
 
 encampment of blanket tents in clusters. The 
 deba, however, had a small house, surrounded by 
 a fence about four feet high, and to this residence 
 the travellers were at once summoned. The inter- 
 view was a long one, and the council, similarly- 
 composed to that at Daba, was at first distrustful, 
 but the travellers were at length enabled to allay 
 all suspicion as to their being Europeans. 
 
 On the following day, July 18, trade relations 
 were established, and the Kashmirian vakil, or 
 agent, of the Eaja of Ladak, who was at Gortope, 
 expressed a desire to open a commerce with 
 Hindustan. 
 
 By July 22 Mr Moorcroft was on friendly terms 
 with the deba, who, when asked what articles he 
 would like brought up for him from India, said 
 that " a sword and a necklace of large pearls of a 
 rose colour, pear- shape, and free from flaws or 
 irregularities, would be most acceptable." Evid- 
 ently an enlightened man, the deba, and a shrewd 
 man of business too, for Mr Moorcroft adds that 
 he gave a sketch of the necklace which he desired, 
 which in Moorcroft's opinion would cost about two 
 thousand rupees, but the price of which the deba 
 estimated at three or four hundred. The deba 
 then gave the travellers leave to visit Mansarowar, 
 but ordered them to confine themselves strictly 
 to the usual pilgrim road, and to return by the 
 Niti Pass. 
 
 It is worth mentioning that Hearsey was in- 
 
76 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEAESEY. 
 
 formed by the vakil of tlie Raja of Ladak that 
 the Ooroos, or Kussians, had long been in the 
 habit of trading with that country, and had, in 
 the last three years, pushed a lively trade into 
 Kashmir by means of agents. The Ooroos had 
 not yet visited Ladak in person, but the deba of 
 Daba asserted that caravans of five or six hundred 
 of them, on horseback, had come to the fair of 
 Gortope. In a later conversation the Ladak vakil 
 said that a few Russians had been in Kashmir, 
 and the statement regarding the numbers who had 
 visited Ladak is hardly credible. 
 
 The travellers left Gortope on July 23, and on 
 August 2 arrived at " the Lake of Rawanhrad, a 
 large sheet of remarkably blue water, said ... to 
 communicate by a river with the lake Mansar- 
 owar." On August 5 they came in view of the 
 latter holy lake, and on the following day halted 
 on its banks. The travellers remained for two 
 days exploring the shores of the lake. Mr Moor- 
 croft describes Mansarowar in the following terms : 
 " In form it appeared to be oblong, the sides of 
 the east, west, and south nearly straight ; that 
 of the north, and especially to the north-east, 
 where there is a plain at the foot of elevated 
 land, indented and irregularly tending to the east. 
 The angles were not sharp, or its figure would 
 have approached nearer to a square than to any 
 other ; but it may be considered as an irregular 
 oval. Its breadth from south to north I estimate 
 
A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY. 77 
 
 at about 11 miles, its length about 15. The 
 water, except where disturbed by the wind near 
 the beach, where it is sandy, is clear and well 
 tasted. No weeds are observable on its surface, 
 but grass is thrown upon its banks from the 
 bottom. The middle and sides farthest from the 
 spectator reflect green, and, taken altogether, it 
 has a noble appearance, whether in an agitated or 
 a quiet state." Mr Moorcroft discovered a number 
 of caves, inhabited by religious recluses, and men- 
 tions that one of the nuns, struck by pity, no 
 doubt, at his haggard and worn appearance, offered 
 him hospitality, but "with the most cordial 
 salutation and expression of thanks by dumb 
 show " he took his leave and went on with his 
 survey. Mr Hearsey, meanwhile, cut Moorcroft's 
 name and his own on a stone, and left it in 
 a secure place — an excusable act under the cir- 
 cumstances. The religious community mentioned 
 by Moorcroft still inhabits the shores of 
 Mansarowar. 
 
 The return journey was begun on August 8, and 
 on the 22nd the party again reached Daba, where 
 the children received them as old friends. The 
 travellers had some difficulty in obtaining trans- 
 port to carry them back over the mountains, but 
 eventually left Daba on August 26, and by 
 September 3, after an arduous journey, were de- 
 lighted to see trees once again. Their worst 
 troubles were, however, to come, for after an 
 
78 MAJOR HYDEE YOUNG HEARSBY. 
 
 interesting march through the hill country, during 
 which they resumed their European dress, the 
 travellers were arrested by the Gurkha rulers of 
 Kumaon. 
 
 On October 9th, Banda Thapa, a chief who had 
 communicated by letter with the travellers four 
 days previously, met them by appointment at 
 Chandpur. Banda Thapa, " a stout old man of 
 seventy, and altogether not superior in his ap- 
 pearance to one of the zemindars of Ghazipur," ^ 
 inquired why Messrs Moorcroft and Hearsey were 
 travelling through Gurkha territory, and particu- 
 larly why they had disguised themselves. The 
 travellers replied that it was the custom for 
 travellers to disguise themselves, and that by no 
 other means could they have entered Tibet. They 
 asked if any complaint had been made as to their 
 conduct, and on receiving satisfactory assurance 
 on that head, pointed out that hundreds of 
 Nepalese were allowed to travel at their pleasure 
 through the Company's territories. 
 
 Banda Thapa took his leave, apparently satisfied, 
 but on October 15th the travellers were finally 
 arrested and placed under a military guard. They 
 were informed that the local authorities were in 
 consultation as to what should be done with them, 
 and it transpired later that their arrest was in fact 
 ordered by letter from Khatmandu, the Nepalese 
 capital. Moorcroft, who was armed at the moment 
 
 1 Moorcroft's residence in India. 
 
ARRESTED BY THE GURKHAS. 79 
 
 of arrest, was treated with great violence, and his 
 arms were pinioned. Hearsay was held by several 
 men, but not bound. The pundits and other 
 followers of the party were shackled to wooden 
 blocks. Moorcroft acted with great courage and 
 firmness, and after a time secured his own release 
 and that of his servants. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey writes with great indignation of 
 the manner in which he and Moorcroft were treated, 
 but as the Gurkhas had been ordered by their 
 rulers to arrest the party, who obviously declined 
 to stop when requested to do so, it is hard to 
 see how violence could have been altogether 
 avoided. After various communications with 
 Bam Sah, the Gurkha governor of the Almora 
 district, and Amar Singh, the commander-in-chief 
 of the Gurkha army, Moorcroft and Hearsey were 
 released on November 1st. The pundits, however, 
 still remained in irons until November 5th, when 
 a letter arrived from the Maharaja of Nepal, 
 directing that the whole party should be set at 
 liberty and escorted into British territory. 
 
 So ended this adventurous journey, the first 
 occasion on which English travellers from India 
 traversed the Himalaya mountains into Western 
 Tibet, and visited the sacred lake of Mansarowar, 
 the great plain between the Himalayas and the 
 Kuen-lun mountains, and the upper waters of the 
 river Sutlej. 
 
 Gholam Hyder Khan, the faithful attendant 
 
80 MAJOR HYDER YOTJNG HEARSEY. 
 
 wlio shared the dangerous journey of Moorcroft 
 and Hyder Hearsey to Lake Mansarowar, also ac- 
 companied Moorcroft in his last journey to Balkh 
 and Bokhara in the years 1819-1825. It will be 
 remembered that this journey ended in the death 
 of Moorcroft and his European companions, Tre- 
 beck and Guthrie, together with nearly all their 
 Indian servants. Gholam Hyder Khan, however, 
 escaped and returned to India, bearing with him 
 a journal of his route. From this journal and 
 from Gholam Hyder Khan's accurate memory of 
 what befell the travellers. Major Hearsey compiled 
 an interesting account of Moorcroft's last journey, 
 which appeared in the 18 th volume of the ' London 
 Asiatic Journal.' 
 
 In his notes to Gholam Hyder Khan's journal, 
 which are very voluminous, Hyder Hearsey states 
 that Mr Moorcroft had wished Hearsey to accom- 
 pany him in his second journey, but that the project 
 fell through on account of a difference of opinion 
 as to the best route to follow. Major Hearsey 
 wished to go first to Bombay, and thence vid 
 Bushire in the Persian Gulf, through Yezd and 
 Meshed to Bokhara. This was to be the starting- 
 place for various trading parties, which were to 
 proceed to India by different routes in order to 
 test the facilities and advantages of each. Hearsey 
 himself was to remain as agent with the Amir of 
 Bokhara, and Mr Trebeck as commercial agent in 
 Persia. Major Hearsey states that his plan would 
 
BUFFER STATES. 81 
 
 have been adopted by the Indian Government, 
 but that Moorcroft unfortunately rejected it. He 
 writes : " This was the most feasible plan, and 
 would have been sanctioned by the Government, 
 and a new channel opened by which an immense 
 trade for goods of English and Indian manufacture 
 would have found their way into the heart of 
 Tartary, and India would have been furnished 
 with a strong breed of horses for their cavalry 
 and horse artillery at about half the value they 
 are now obliged to pay for a poor set of brutes. 
 
 "Meer Ameer Hyder, the King of Bokhara, 
 through my assistance and that of a few officers, 
 could have put his artillery and army upon a 
 better footing, so as to enable it to oppose those 
 hordes of Usbecks and Calmucks who might be 
 impelled by Eussia to attack him whenever she 
 had an intention of invading India ; and by 
 entering into terms of amity with him, a vast 
 trade in European articles would have been 
 carried on, to the benefit of Persia and Bokhara, 
 and the military establishments of those nations 
 put upon a footing to encounter any inroads of 
 their northern neighbour." 
 
 Most of these ambitious designs of forming 
 buffer states between Russia and India have fallen 
 to the ground. Bokhara has long formed part 
 of the Russian Empire, Persia and Afghanistan 
 alone remain, and the problem of maintaining 
 their independent existence is perhaps the most 
 
82 MAJOR HYDEK YOUNG HEAKSEY. 
 
 pressing of the many hard tasks which time has 
 imposed on our statesmen. Students of history 
 may amuse themselves by imaginings as to what 
 might have been, had our undecided policy in 
 Central Asia been converted from an early period 
 into determined efforts to establish friendly 
 political and commercial relations with Persia, 
 Afghanistan, Bokhara, and the other independent 
 Mohammedan principalities which formerly en- 
 circled the northern borders of India. As it was, 
 Hyder Hearsey remained in India, and Moorcroft, 
 with his young and inexperienced companions, 
 died obscure deaths, victims to "the great game 
 of Central Asia." 
 
 During the year 1813 the constantly increasing 
 aggressions of the Gurkhas became unendurable, 
 and in May 1814 it was seen that war was inevit- 
 able, and an army was ordered to take the field 
 in the autumn. Lord Moira, afterwards Marquess 
 of Hastings, the Governor - General, decided to 
 make use of an adequate force, and over 30,000 
 men were collected near the frontier, and formed 
 into four divisions. The First Division, under 
 Major - General David Ochterlony, was intended 
 to attack the western extremity of the Nepal 
 frontier. The Second Division, commanded by 
 Major - General Eobert EoUo Gillespie, was to 
 occupy Dehra Dun and besiege the fortified Gur- 
 kha post of Jaithak. The Third Division, under 
 Major-General John Sulivan Wood, was ordered 
 
BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH NEPAL. 83 
 
 to march from Gorakhpur through Bhutwal and 
 Sheoraj to Palpa ; and the Fourth Division, which 
 was the strongest, and was commanded by Major- 
 General Bennet Marley, was to march through 
 Makwanpur to Khatmandu, the Gurkha capital. 
 
 To cut a long and humiliating story short, it 
 may suffice to say that the Second Division was 
 the first to move, and met with a succession of 
 disasters. General Gillespie himself, a gallant 
 and impetuous soldier, who had highly distin- 
 guished himself at Vellore and in Java, was kUled 
 in an assault on the small post at Kalanga, five 
 miles from Dehra, at the very outset of the cam- 
 paign. Gillespie was succeeded in command of 
 his division by Major-General Martindell, who was 
 defeated at Jaithak in December 1814, and brought 
 to a standstill. 
 
 General Ochterlony, with the First Division, 
 showed more caution than Gillespie, but his 
 progress was unexpectedly slow. Eventually 
 Ochterlony, after six months of arduous fighting 
 in the mountain region where Simla now stands, 
 reached a position whence he could so efiiectually 
 co-operate with the motionless Second Division 
 as to compel Amar Singh Thapa, the Gurkha 
 Commander-in-Chief in the western districts, to 
 capitulate. 
 
 Amar Singh had made a most gallant defence 
 against a force of more than double his own 
 strength, but it must be remembered that the 
 
84 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEAESEY. 
 
 country was extremely favourable to the force 
 acting on the defensive, and that this was the 
 Indian army's first experience of mountain war- 
 fare. Ochterlony's success in some degree made 
 good Gillespie's failure. But worse was to come. 
 The Third Division assembled at Gorakhpur in 
 November 1814, but did not advance for two 
 months. After making a very short advance, 
 and suffering very slight losses, General J. S. 
 Wood declared his force to be inadequate to the 
 task assigned to it, and, early in May 1815, with- 
 drew into cantonments at Gorakhpur. Seldom 
 has a British force attempted and achieved so 
 little. 
 
 The Fourth Division was scarcely more success- 
 ful, although General Marley found the way pre- 
 pared for him by the vigorous action of Major 
 Bradshaw, the officer commanding on the Saran 
 border. 
 
 As will be seen in the autobiography of Sir John 
 Hearsay, who shared in Bradshaw's exploits, the 
 latter had cleared the frontier of the Terai, and 
 had established a chain of defensive posts. Gen- 
 eral Marley neglected to strengthen these posts, 
 which were consequently surprised by the Gurkhas. 
 Marley, who had previously prepared to advance 
 into the hills, now lost heart, and finally (on the 
 10th of February 1815) took the deplorable step 
 of abandoning his division. 
 
 Major- General George Wood was sent up from 
 
A DIVERSION. 85 
 
 Calcutta to assume command of the Fourth Divi- 
 sion, but contented himself with making a futile 
 demonstration along the frontier. " Thus, of the 
 four operations included in the plan of campaign, 
 three had proved lamentable failures, which not 
 only frustrated the intentions of the Government 
 but also to a considerable extent lowered the 
 English name and prestige throughout India." ^ 
 
 Finding that his four divisions were making but 
 little progress towards Khatmandu, and that it 
 would be necessary to recast his plans, Lord Moira 
 decided in December 1814 to make a diversion 
 by attacking the province of Kumaon, which was 
 believed to be weakly held by the Gurkhas. This 
 diversion was to be attempted ,by two small bodies 
 of irregulars, commanded by Hyder Hearsey and 
 his brother - in - law, Lieutenant - Colonel William 
 Gardner. Both Gardner and Hearsey were placed 
 under the political control of a cousin of the 
 former, the Honourable Edward Gardner, an Indian 
 civilian who was now appointed Commissioner of 
 Kumaon. Having regard to the generous char- 
 acter of the Governor-General, it may fairly be 
 assumed that this rash, indeed desperate, enter- 
 prise was suggested by Gardner and Hearsey 
 themselves. They were both absolutely fearless 
 men, and Hearsey had been led by his observa- 
 tions in Kumaon and Garhwal during his journeys 
 
 * Cardew's Sketch of the Services of the Bengal Native Army. 
 Calcutta : 1903. 
 
86 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 in 1808 and 1812 to form an unduly low estimate 
 of the fighting powers of the Gurkhas. For this 
 error of judgment he was now to suffer. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Gardner at this time com- 
 manded a body of mounted Frontier Police, which 
 to-day form a regiment of Indian cavalry, and 
 preserve the name of Gardner in their title, " 2nd 
 Lancers (Gardner's Horse)." Gardner was directed 
 to raise 3000 men at Kashipur in the Moradabad 
 district, and Hearsey to raise 1500 Kohillas at 
 Bareilly and Philibhit, in which region he had 
 much property and influence. 
 
 The plan of. campaign was for Gardner to ad- 
 vance into Kumaon by way of the Kosi Valley, 
 while Hearsey was to move from Philibhit up the 
 Kali river and to enter the district of Kali Kumaon 
 by the Timla Pass, and Lord Moira thus proposed 
 to divide the two theatres of war, that on the 
 Sutlej and that near the Gandak rivers. The 
 projected invasion of Kumaon, if successful, would 
 cut off Amar Singh, who was fighting Ochterlony 
 on the Sutlej, from his only line of retreat. 
 
 Hearsey speedily raised his 1500 men, but the 
 Bareilly Eohillas bore no very high reputation, and 
 the time allotted for preparing the small force for 
 the field was all too short. The raising of Hearsey's 
 contingent took one month ; less than a month 
 was given to training ; in the third month of its 
 existence the contingent was actively engaged 
 with the Gurkhas ; and on the last day of that 
 
A GOOD BEGINNING. 87 
 
 month its career came to an abrupt end. The 
 course of events was as follows : In the middle 
 of February 1815 Hyder Hearsey advanced from 
 Philibhit, thus entering Kumaon from the east, 
 and on the 18th February he captured two forts 
 which blocked his road to the Timla Pass. He 
 continued his advance successfully, and on the 
 last day of the month he occupied Champawat, 
 the ancient capital of Kali Kumaon, and drove 
 the Gurkhas across the Kali and so cleared them 
 out of that province. His next intention was 
 to advance on Almora in order to combine with 
 Colonel Gardner, who was making for that place, 
 then the Gurkha capital of Kumaon. 
 
 Now, however, the inadequacy of Hearsey's force 
 made itself felt. He had no guns and no more 
 ammunition for his infantry than his men had 
 been able to carry, in addition to seven days' 
 rations and their baggage. Worst of all, he was 
 compelled to divide his force, for it was necessary 
 for him to guard his flank by holding the line of 
 the Kali river. 
 
 Hearsey detached 500 men under Lieutenant 
 Martindell, his only European ofl&cer, to surround 
 the fort of Kutulgarh, which was held by 400 
 Gurkhas; with 300 men he formed a chain of 
 small posts to guard his line of supplies from 
 Philibhit; 300 men held the line of the Kali 
 river ; and deducting sick and wounded there 
 only remained about 300 effective men with 
 
88 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 Hearsay at Champawat, at which place he was 
 forming a depot of supplies for a further advance. 
 So passed the month of March. 
 
 Gardner, it may here be stated, had advanced 
 by way of Eanikhet, moving over very difficult 
 ground, but avoiding the positions fortified by 
 the Gurkhas in his direct line to Almora. At 
 Eanikhet he was reinforced by 850 men on the 
 22nd March, and then advanced on Almora and 
 took up a position facing that stronghold. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey was now all anxiety to join 
 Gardner, but on the 31st March he received in- 
 telligence that 500 Gurkhas had forced the Kali 
 at a point some fourteen miles from Champawat. 
 He at once made a night march, with only 270 
 men, and attacked the Gurkhas in the early morn- 
 ing of the 1st of April. At first Hearsey and his 
 small party held their own, and he lost no time 
 in sending orders to Martindell at Kutulgarh to 
 come to his assistance. 
 
 Before Martindell could come up, however, at 
 about three in the afternoon, 1500 more Gurkhas, 
 under Hasti Dal Chautariya and a Sirdar named 
 Jeyroka, crossed the river and attacked Hearsey. 
 
 Early in the fight which followed Hearsey was 
 severely wounded in the thigh ; one of the Cambay 
 princes (his brother-in-law) was killed, and Gholam 
 Hyder Khan, his old follower from Mewat, was 
 also wounded. The Eohillas, seeing their officers 
 fall and fearing annihilation, now broke and fled. 
 
CAPTURE OF HYDER HEARSEY. 89 
 
 The Gurkhas then advanced, and, according to 
 their custom, beheaded the dead and wounded. 
 When, however, they were about to kill Hyder 
 Hearsey, he was fortunately recognised by Hasti 
 Dal, who saved his life and took him as a prisoner 
 to Almora, and there treated him like a brother 
 in gratitude for what Hearsey had done for him 
 previously. 
 
 The second Cambay nawab escaped, it is said, 
 by sitting on his shield and sliding down a 
 precipitous slope ; and Gholam Hyder Khan, who 
 was wounded by an arrow through both thighs, 
 also got away. 
 
 Hyder Hearsey remained a prisoner in Almora 
 until the 27th of April 1815, when that fortress 
 surrendered. Colonel Gardner had been unable to 
 capture it, but had been reinforced by a consider- 
 able body of troops under Colonel NicoUs, who 
 assumed command of the whole force and brought 
 about the fall of Almora. In these operations the 
 services of Colonel Gardner were conspicuous, and 
 Hearsey also was employed by Hasti Dal as a 
 negotiator and did useful service. 
 
 After the surrender of Almora and the termina- 
 tion of operations in Kumaon, Hyder Hearsey 
 returned to Bareilly, when he was joined by the 
 faithful Gholam Hyder, who soon recovered from 
 Ms wounds. Hearsey was less fortunate. His 
 wound was very severe, and owing to unskilful 
 treatment and his captivity at Almora he never 
 
90 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSE Y. 
 
 thorouglily recovered from its eflfects, though he 
 lived fifteen years after receiving it. 
 
 Early in 1816 there was a general spirit of 
 discontent in the Bareilly district, the Rohillas 
 resenting the irksome tranquillity to which they 
 found themselves condemned by British rule. The 
 magistrate of Bareilly, also, was very unpopular, 
 owing to a reserved disposition and discourteous 
 manners. A riot occurred on the 16th of April, 
 and two days later 5000 Mohammedans from the 
 neighbouring towns had flocked in and were in 
 open rebellion. 
 
 The magistrate's available force consisted of 270 
 men of the 27th Native Infantry, 150 of the pro- 
 vincial battalion, and two guns, for which there 
 was no officer. Hyder Hearsey at once volun- 
 teered to take charge of the guns and did good 
 work with them. 
 
 On the 19th of April a regiment of irregular 
 cavalry arrived, and reinforcements of infantry 
 were also on the way to Bareilly. On the 21st 
 the insurgents suddenly attacked the troops, hop- 
 ing to overwhelm them before the infantry could 
 arrive. The small party of the 27th Native In- 
 fantry was surrounded, but held out doggedly, 
 and the cavalry, gallantly handled and led by 
 Captain Cunningham, made a most effective 
 charge. This charge, together with the fire of 
 the infantry and of Hearsey's guns, dispersed the 
 insurgents, who left between 300 and 400 dead 
 
THE EISING AT BAREILLY. 91 
 
 on the ground, witli a large number of wounded 
 and prisoners. 
 
 For this service Hyder Hearsay was thanked 
 in " Governor - General's Orders," and was pre- 
 sented with a sword by the Government of India. 
 He was also promoted to the rank of major in 
 the Company's service. 
 
 Gholam Hyder Khan, who as usual was close 
 to his master, was severely wounded in the head 
 by a musket ball, which was never extracted. 
 In spite of this dangerous wound he, at Hyder 
 Hearsey's request, attended Mr Moorcroft in his 
 last journey, remaining away from his family for 
 a period of seven years and nine months, and 
 undergoing great hardships. 
 
 After the death of Moorcroft and his European 
 companions, Gholam Hyder found his way back 
 to India, where he finally rejoined Hyder Hearsey, 
 and passed the remainder of his life under Hear- 
 sey's protection. 
 
 In the year 1820 Hyder Hearsey, together with 
 his kinsman John Bennet Hearsey, witnessed a 
 dreadful accident which occurred at Hurdwar on 
 the Ganges during the great annual fair and 
 pilgrimage. He describes the occurrence in the 
 following words : — 
 
 " The stone steps leading down to the bathing- 
 place being very precipitous, broad at top and 
 narrow below, the multitude, striving who should 
 get first to bathe at the propitious moment, made 
 
92 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSE Y. 
 
 a sudden rush and swept down tlie Gurkha guard ; 
 and above three hundred and seventy men and 
 women, beside the guard, were jammed together, 
 quite entangled in a most extraordinary manner, 
 and died a most horrible lingering death. Being 
 dark, the multitude still went over the heads and 
 bodies of those who had first fallen, impelled by 
 the crowds following them. At break of day I 
 was present, and beheld a shocking sight. I 
 strove to drag out many that were alive and 
 below, and their bodies nearly immersed in water ; 
 but it was impossible, and the dead bodies had 
 first to be dragged away from the top. By 9 
 or 10 A.M. the fermentation from the heat and 
 moisture was so very great that those few who 
 were extracted alive were covered with blisters, 
 and but few of them lived. The greatest number 
 who perished were Bairagis and Gossains, who, 
 wearing long hair, were seized by others below 
 them, and this extraordinary entanglement took 
 place. There were also a few very fair Sikh 
 women amongst the killed." 
 
 Major Hearsey represented the cause of the 
 accident, and the Marquis of Hastings at once 
 ordered a broad and safe bathing - place to be 
 made, since which there have been no more 
 accidents. 
 
 After the disturbances at Bareilly a period of 
 nearly unbroken peace commenced in Upper India. 
 The Burmese War of 1824, however, proved a 
 
THE SECOND SIEGE OF BHUfiTPOEE. 93 
 
 somewhat difficult task for the Indian army; and 
 an incipient mutiny which took place during the 
 same year at Barrackpore created an impression 
 among some of the Indian princes that British 
 power was on the wane. 
 
 Unfortunately for himself Durjan Sal, a cousin 
 of the young Raja of Bhurtpore, acted on this 
 belief and raised the standard of revolt, deposing 
 his youthful chief and seizing the throne. Sir 
 David Ochterlony, now Resident at Delhi, pre- 
 pared, on his own initiative, to deal with this 
 rising, but was harshly checked by Lord Amherst, 
 the Governor - General. This humiliation caused 
 the death of Sir David, whose honourable career 
 ended within two months of the public reversal 
 of his action. Ochterlony's intended policy was 
 however immediately justified, for Sir Charles 
 Metcalfe, his successor, so strongly urged on Lord 
 Amherst the necessity of crushing the rebellion of 
 Durjan Sal, that the Governor-General presently 
 assembled an army of 21,000 men under Lord 
 Combermere, the Commander-in-Chief in India. 
 
 Bhurtpore, which had successfully defied the 
 assaults of Lord Lake in 1805, quickly fell before 
 this overwhelming force. The garrison are said 
 to have lost no less than 8000 men in the assault, 
 which took place on the 18th of January 1826, 
 while the British casualties amounted to about 
 1500 killed and wounded during the siege and 
 assault. 
 
94 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 Bhurtpore was Hyder Hearsey's last campaign. 
 The old warrior promptly emerged from his re- 
 tirement, forgetting his wounds and any griev- 
 ance which he might justifiably have entertained 
 towards the Indian Government. Enough for him 
 that an English army was in the field. After 
 the fall of Bhurtpore Hearsey was elected by the 
 officers of the army to represent their interests 
 as Assistant Prize Agent, and they could have 
 paid him no higher compliment. 
 
 This duty accomplished, Hyder Hearsey re- 
 turned to his home at Kareli, where he lived in 
 great state and happiness until his death in the 
 year 1840. 
 
 By his wife, the Prinfiess of Cambay, who sur- 
 vived him about ten years, Hyder Hearsey left 
 two sons, whose services will be mentioned else- 
 where, and a daughter, who married her kinsman, 
 General Sir John Hearsey. 
 
 After Hyder Hearsey's death the Princess man- 
 aged his estates, and was much loved by the 
 people. She was buried in a walled enclosure 
 in the garden of Kareli, and the enclosure is still 
 tended by the villagers, who on certain days 
 place flowers upon her tomb and lights in the 
 niches of the surrounding walls. In the vicinity 
 of her father's house in Phuleilganj, near the gate 
 of the Taj at Agra, she had a well dug, over 
 which there is a tablet, but the house itself is 
 now in ruins. 
 
HYDER HEAESEY's FAMILY. 95 
 
 Hyder Hearsey had three sisters, who, after the 
 custom of their family, all married soldiers, their 
 husbands being respectively General Sir William 
 Eichards, K.C.B. ; Major J. 0. Clarkson, 21st 
 Bengal Infantry; and Major Arthur Owen, 26th 
 Bengal Infantry.^ 
 
 THE FAMILY OP MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 The eldest son of Major Hyder Hearsey and 
 Princess Zuhur - ul - Nissa was named William 
 Moorcroft, in honour of the unfortunate ex- 
 plorer who accompanied Hyder Hearsey to Lake 
 Mansarowar in the year 1812. 
 
 William Moorcroft Hearsey entered the King 
 of Oudh's service in 1836, and was constantly 
 employed in field service against various Eajas 
 and Zemindars who declined to pay their con- 
 tributions to the Lucknow treasury. It was by 
 means of these punitive expeditions that the 
 revenues of Oudh were collected ; and the re- 
 sult of such a system on the unhappy popula- 
 tion may advantageously be studied in the pages 
 of Sir William Sleeman's ' Tour through Oudh ' by 
 those who believe that native states are better 
 off under their own rulers than under the British 
 Government. 
 
 1 Anglo-Indian Worthies. By Herbert A. Stark and E. Walter 
 Madge. 
 
96 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSE Y. 
 
 The European officers wlio served the kings of 
 Oudh were, as a rule, of a very low class ; but it 
 is acknowledged that Captain Hearsey and his 
 brothers were men of high character, who held 
 aloof from the foreign adventurers who brought 
 so much discredit on the Oudh service. During 
 one of the many miniature campaigns in the 
 Sultanpur district, Captain Hearsey was wounded 
 at the reduction of the Fort of Kamghur. This 
 incident occurred in the year 1845. 
 
 After the annexation of Oudh, Hearsey was em- 
 ployed in the suppression of Thuggee and other 
 forms of highway robbery and murder in the 
 Oudh Terai, a district where his family influence 
 was very strong; and in the year 1852 he was 
 appointed to raise and command the Oudh 
 Frontier Police. With this force Captain Hearsey 
 did excellent service against the organised bands 
 of robbers who infested the Terai in common with 
 other parts of Oudh. The Terai was a region 
 peculiarly suitable to these marauders, who could 
 find secure shelter from any ordinary pursuer in 
 its recesses ; but in Hearsey they had an enemy 
 whose knowledge of the jungle was as intimate as 
 their own, and who had sources of information 
 that were denied to any ordinary English officer. 
 Thanks to these advantages, Hearsey hunted down 
 evil-doers with great success, among the robber 
 chiefs captured by him being Makram Singh and 
 Abdul Singh, two of the principal Dakoit leaders. 
 
CHINHUT. 97 
 
 It is stated that Captain Hearsey was offered 
 Makram Singh's weight in gold if he would wink 
 at his escape. 
 
 On the commencement of the Mutiny in Oudh 
 Captain William Hearsey was appointed to the 
 Intelligence Department by Sir Henry Lawrence, 
 and was one of those who were opposed to the 
 unfortunate expedition to Chinhut which Sir 
 Henry is generally believed to have sanctioned 
 contrary to his own better judgment. William 
 Hearsey was present in this disastrous affair, and 
 served throughout the subsequent defence of the 
 Eesidence at Lucknow as commander of No. 2 
 Sikh Square. Captain Hearsey was again wounded 
 towards the end of the siege while endeavouring 
 to reach Sir Colin Campbell's force in disguise in 
 order to lead them to the Eesidency. This task, 
 as is well known, was then successfully undertaken 
 by Mr William Kavanagh, a civilian, who received 
 the Victoria Cross for his courage and devotion. 
 
 During Sir Colin Campbell's later operations at 
 Lucknow Captain Hearsey served as Intelligence 
 Officer to Sir James Outram, with whom he had 
 remained during Sir James's occupation of the 
 Alam Bagh position. Captain Hearsey subse- 
 quently served with General Colin Troup's column 
 in the pursuit of Ferozeshah, and in the sup- 
 pression of the rebellion in the Sitapur and 
 Lakhimpur districts. 
 
 Captain William Hearsey was the father of 
 
 G 
 
98 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 Mr Lionel D. Hearsey, the present owner of the 
 estates of Major Hyder Hearsey. 
 
 The second son of Major Hyder Hearsey was 
 named John Bennet, after his brother-in-law the 
 General. Like his elder brother, John Hearsey 
 entered the King of Oudh's service in the year 
 1836, and served, prior to the annexation, in 
 the local service, which, as has been explained, 
 amounted practically to the forcible collection of 
 revenue. 
 
 On the outbreak of the Mutiny, Captain John 
 Hearsey was stationed at Sitapur — a station in 
 Oudh where almost all the Europeans were mur- 
 dered. The narrative of Captain Hearsey's ex- 
 periences, compiled by him for the information 
 of the Government, is given in full. It need 
 hardly be pointed out that Hearsey owed his 
 escape partly to his indomitable courage and 
 partly to his local knowledge and influence, 
 and his power of successfully assuming native 
 disguises. 
 
 From CAPTAIN J. B. HEAESEY, 
 
 Oudh Military Police, 
 To CAPTAIN G. HUTCHISON, 
 
 Military Secretary to Chief 
 Commissioner op Oudh. 
 
 LucKNow, 22nd Jime 1858. 
 
 Sir, — I beg leave to submit, for the information 
 of the Chief Commissioner, a brief narrative of the 
 events which transpired at Seetapore, and came 
 
CAPTAIN J, B. HBARSEY's NARRATIVE. 99 
 
 under my immediate notice, during the late out- 
 break of the troops on the 4th June 1857, par- 
 ticulars of which I had forwarded to the late 
 Major-General Sir Henry Lawrence, K.C.B., some 
 days after the occurrence ; but I am not aware if 
 the document ever reached its destination. Before 
 proceeding with the detail, I must not fail to pre- 
 mise that, having lost my diary and other valuable 
 papers in the attack made on our party by the 
 followers of the Dhouraira Eanee on the banks of 
 the Mohan river, I am unable to conform to exact 
 dates, consequently this statement has been written 
 entirely from memory. To account for my absence 
 from the headquarters of my regiment for such a 
 lengthened period, I am obliged to revert to the 
 12th of December 1856, when I received instruc- 
 tions from Mr Jackson, the Chief Commissioner, to 
 join him at MuUaon, in order to accompany him in 
 his tour through the Oudh provinces. I remained 
 with him till his return to Byramghat, en route to 
 Lucknow. This was about the 11th of February 
 1857. 
 
 Information having been received that Fazul 
 Ali, a noted dacoit, under the administration of 
 the late Oudh Government, and who had taken 
 refuge since the annexation on the frontiers of the 
 Nepaul Turraee, had attacked and cut up two of 
 our outposts near the borders of the forests, I was 
 directed by the Chief Commissioner to proceed 
 forthwith and join Major Daly, C.B., and the 
 
100 MAJOR HYDEE YOUNG HEAESEY. 
 
 late Mr C. Boileau, Deputy Commissioner of 
 Gonda, and in concert with these officers to 
 adopt measures for the apprehension of this 
 noted outlaw. Some time after this Major Daly, 
 C.B., having obtained command of the Guides, 
 left Oudh, and was succeeded by Captain G. W. 
 Boileau, of the 2nd Oudh Local Infantry, in com- 
 mand of the troops employed on the frontiers. 
 
 About the beginning of May, Fazul Ali, his 
 brother Cassim Ali, and two other leaders being 
 killed in an attack made on the outlaws in the 
 Deaokhur Valley in Nepaul, I received permission 
 to return and join the headquarters of my regi- 
 ment at Seetapore, but, previous to doing so, I 
 was directed by the late Major- General Sir H. 
 Lawrence, K.C.B., through Captain Boileau, to 
 explore the first range of the Nepaul hills, opposite 
 the Pudnaha district, in the Oudh Turraee, and 
 find out some suitable place for a sanitarium. 
 Full particulars of the locality and observations 
 on the climate and temperature made during my 
 stay at Dhooleekote and Eajkanra hills I for- 
 warded to the Chief Commissioner from Nanpara, 
 copies of which, I regret to say, were lost with 
 my diary. 
 
 After an absence of upwards of five months, I 
 returned to Seetapore on the 30th of May 1857, 
 where I was informed by the late Mr Christian, 
 Commissioner of that division, of the unsound 
 state of the 41st N.I. In the evening of the 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HEARSBY's NAEEATIVE. 101 
 
 same day I met several ofl&cers belonging to that 
 regiment, amongst the number the late Colonel 
 Birch, commanding. I mentioned the circumstance 
 to him, and he appeared much vexed at the asper- 
 sion cast on the corps. 
 
 The 10th Oudh Irregular Infantry being sup- 
 posed to be perfectly loyal, had been removed 
 from their lines and encamped close to the late 
 Mr Christian's compound ditch. The 9th Oudh 
 Irregular Infantry, 41st Eegiment N.I., and the 
 wing of the 15th Irregular Cavalry remained 
 occupying their quarters. My detachment of 
 about 250 Military Police, including those on 
 duty, two days after my return were placed in 
 Captain Barlow's house and compound, previous 
 to which they were in a tope of mangoe trees 
 close to the treasury. 
 
 Three or four anonymous letters written in the 
 Hindee character were brought by some men of 
 the 10th Oudh Irregular Infantry, stating it was 
 the intention of the 41st N.I. and- the 9th Oudh 
 Irregular Infantry to make a simultaneous rise and 
 murder all the European and Christian community 
 in the station, but no date was fixed for the in- 
 tended massacre. One sepoy, I believe, was pro- 
 moted to havildar for his exemplary conduct in 
 apprising his commanding officer of the existence 
 of these machinations. 
 
 About the 2nd of June 1857 I received pay for 
 the month of May, and which I disbursed to all 
 
102 MAJOR HYDER YOUNa HEARSEY. 
 
 those that were present at Seetapore, depositing 
 the remainder in the quarter guard, as the late Mr 
 Christian had informed me that he had directed 
 the detachments of the 2nd Military Police from 
 Mohumdee, MuUaon, and the neighbouring dis- 
 tricts to join the headquarters of their regiment. 
 I am particular in mentioning these circumstances, 
 as all communications had ceased to exist, conse- 
 quently I was unable to forward the muster-rolls 
 and pay - abstracts to the civil auditor for that 
 month. 
 
 On the morning of the 4th of June, memorable 
 for the fearful tragedy, I met the late Mr Christian 
 at Captain Lester's quarters ; he had come in to 
 say that Major Apthorp of the 41st N.I. had just 
 informed him his regiment was on the point of 
 breaking out into open mutiny, but that he, the 
 late Mr Christian, was going to see the officer 
 commanding, who had that morning returned from 
 Peernugur with the right wing, and ascertain the 
 facts. On his return he told us that the colonel 
 still thought his corps perfectly loyal, and had 
 assured him there was no danger ; however, to 
 guard against surprise, he directed the late Cap- 
 tains Lester and Dorin, as also myself, to take 
 every precautionary measure. He directed me to 
 increase the strength of the guard at his house, 
 where all the ladies and children had taken re- 
 fuge. I accordingly sent a strong party of the 
 military police, and some twenty najeebe soldiers, 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HBARSEY's NARRATIVE. 103 
 
 men from the new levies that I was raising in 
 conformity to orders received from the Chief Com- 
 missioner on my arrival at Seetapore. An hour 
 had scarcely elapsed when a man came in to in- 
 form us that four companies of the 41st N.I. had 
 left their lines, and were on their way to plunder 
 the treasury and release the prisoners from the 
 jail. I instantly went back to the house where 
 my men were quartered. Dividing them in two 
 parties, I posted them in such positions as to 
 command the two roads leading into the civil 
 lines, and with a Soobadar and about forty men 
 took up an advanced post near a tree some dis- 
 tance from the house. Shortly after I saw the 
 late Mr Christian and Mr Thornhill ride up to- 
 wards the treasury. They had not been away 
 more than a minute when firing was heard in that 
 direction. They cantered back to the place where 
 I was standing and informed me that Colonel 
 Birch and Lieutenant and Adjutant Graves had 
 been shot by the mutineers of their regiment, 
 and that we might presently expect an attack 
 from them. Eeports of musketry were heard in 
 the Knes of the 9th Oudh Irregular Infantry, and 
 a sepoy of the military police came running 
 breathless from there saying Captain Cowan and 
 Dr Hill had been killed. This appears to have 
 been a signal for a general rise of all the irregulars, 
 inclusive of the wing of the 15th Cavalry and 
 the military police, for I saw some men of the 
 
104 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 latter going away to join the 9th Oudh Irregular 
 Infantry, on which I begged of the late Mr 
 Christian and Mr Thornhill to hurry home and 
 get the ladies and children away, as now our 
 only chance of safety was in flight across the 
 river towards the belt of jungle which is inter- 
 sected by ravines. 
 
 They immediately went to the house, but could 
 scarce have had time to make any arrangements 
 when I saw the 10th Oudh Irregular Infantry 
 give a shout and charge into the compound. I 
 left my post and was hastening towards the spot 
 when Euganath Singh Soobadar and six men 
 seized and forcibly carried me away to the tree. 
 Here I was detained ; Serjeant-Major Eogers, his 
 wife and son, arriving at this crisis, were also 
 placed in custody. By this time some twenty- 
 five other men came up and surrounded us. Al- 
 most all these, I beg to say, including the Sooba- 
 dar, had belonged to my former regiment, the late 
 8th Oudh Irregular Infantry, but had been trans- 
 ferred to the military police after annexation. 
 
 The cruel work of carnage in the civil part of 
 the station had been commenced by the 10th 
 Oudh Irregular Infantry, but all others as they 
 arrived in succession joined in the ruthless 
 slaughter without exception or distinction. The 
 din created by continued discharge of musketry 
 for some time, the shouting of men, and general 
 conflagration of the houses and buildings, bajffles 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HBAESEY's NAKRATIVB. 105 
 
 all description; in fact the whole place appeared 
 like pandemonium. 
 
 About 2 P.M. we were removed from under the 
 tree to the late Captain Barlow's house, which 
 had not been burnt till that time. Whilst there 
 my kidmutgar came in and informed me that he 
 had seen poor Miss Jackson and another lady- 
 concealed in a bush on the other side of the 
 river. I instantly started up, but Soobadar 
 Euganath Singh and the men would not allow 
 me to leave the house. However I earnestly 
 begged, since their intentions appeared friendly, 
 and to save my life, either to enable me to effect 
 the rescue of these ladies or perish in the at- 
 tempt, on which some men ran out in the direction 
 pointed and in a very short time brought in Miss 
 Jackson and Mrs Greene, the latter wife of Lieu- 
 tenant Greene, second in command of the 9 th 
 Oudh Irregular Infantry. 
 
 Towards evening I obtained a covered cart 
 called a Bhylee belonging to one of my servants ; 
 in this I put the two ladies, Serjeant - Major 
 Eogers, his son and wife, and assuming a native 
 disguise, accompanied by some of the men, I 
 marched towards the camp of the mutinous troops, 
 which was pitched on the parade ground and topes 
 adjoining. Owing to the confusion which pre- 
 vailed I succeeded in reaching the neighbourhood 
 without detection, and put up under a tree near 
 the military police. 
 
106 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 This measure I was obliged to adopt by the 
 advice of Soobadars Kuganath Singh and Madhoo 
 Misser, who represented that any attempt on my 
 part to escape at that critical moment would be 
 fraught with imminent danger, as numberless 
 parties of marauders from the regiments were out 
 in pursuit of fugitives and plunder, and that I 
 should wait till it was dark and that they would 
 arrange about my departure. 
 
 The native officers of the 41st Native Infantry 
 and the other regiments, notwithstanding the pre- 
 caution above related, having by some means re- 
 ceived information that my life had been spared, 
 sent a deputation saying that " as they had 
 murdered all their officers, it was imperatively 
 necessary that the military police must either 
 follow their example or deliver me up a prisoner 
 to them." On this being refused, the mutineers, 
 apprehensive of causing dissension at so early a 
 period, directed that the point in dispute should 
 be settled by punchait or arbitration of a certain 
 number of native officers from each regiment 
 at 9 P.M. 
 
 Soobadars Euganath Singh and Madhoo Misser 
 came and informed me of this circumstance, re- 
 commending an immediate departure, it being 
 very near the time and the night perfectly dark. 
 Before the assembling of the council I was enabled 
 to leave. Placing the two ladies, Mrs Eogers, 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HBAESEY'S NAKRATIVE. 107 
 
 and her son on my elephant, the serjeant-major 
 and myself mounted on horseback. We left for 
 the north about 9 p.m. Madhoo Misser, Soobadar, 
 and fifteen men accompanied us as an escort. 
 My arms, which had been taken away at the 
 commencement of the massacre by Soobadar 
 Euganath and six men, were restored, but the 
 rest of my property to a very considerable 
 amount fell into the hands of the mutineers. 
 
 We travelled all night, and by sunrise arrived 
 at the village of Oael. I was refused admittance 
 into the fort by Eaja Unrood Singh's people, but 
 as the ladies were suffering much from fatigue and 
 want of sleep I sent a man begging permission to 
 be allowed to rest ourselves for a couple of hours 
 only; even this request, though trifling enough, 
 was also denied. With much difficulty I obtained 
 two of his followers in order to secure us a safe 
 passage through his district. Accompanied by 
 these (the Soobadar and men having left us here) 
 we pushed on towards the north and reached a 
 small fort near the Chowka river late in the 
 evening. After a night's rest we crossed over 
 and marched to Baragawn. During the night 
 the elephant broke loose and disappeared, in con- 
 sequence of which accident I was obliged to halt 
 for two or three days. Whilst at this place I re- 
 ceived a letter from the late Mr H. Gonne, who 
 had been informed of my flight, mentioning that 
 
108 MAJOR HYDBR YOUNG HBARSEY. 
 
 himself and Captain Hastings had been joined by- 
 Messrs Brand and Carew from Shajehanpore, and 
 that they were going down to Calcutta, He 
 wished me to meet him at Mullapore without delay, 
 as he had boats in readiness for the trip. 
 
 A day previous to this I had written to Eaj 
 Annunt Singh, uncle to the Dhouraira Eaj a, who 
 sent down his elephant, a native Palkee, and two 
 Tats. These were found awaiting our arrival across 
 the Oorra river, and we continued our march to 
 Mutteeara village, the place of residence belonging 
 to the Rajah. We remained here about ten hours, 
 and in the evening, accompanied by Eaj Annunt 
 Singh, went down by the river Kowreeally and 
 reached Mullapore next day, where we met the 
 late Mr H. Gonne. 
 
 The party now consisted of eleven persons, as 
 follows : Miss Jackson, Mrs Greene, Mrs Sogers, 
 Mr H. Gonne, Captain Hastings, Mr Brand of 
 Shajehanpore, Mr Carew of Shajehanpore, Serjeant- 
 Major Eogers, 2nd Military Police ; Mr Brown, 
 writer in Mr Gonne's office ; J. Sullivan, step-son 
 of Serjeant -Major Eogers; and myself Boats 
 having been kept in readiness, we got on board 
 during the night on our way to Calcutta. Arriv- 
 ing at Eampore on the second day we were kindly 
 received by Thakoor Gooman Singh, who, after 
 giving rest and refreshments in his place, informed 
 us that a passage down by the river would be 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HEARSEY's NAERATIVE. 109 
 
 very unsafe owing to the Ghats being narrowly 
 watched by the mutineers. Mr Cunliffe and some 
 others who were going on to Lucknow from 
 Baraich had been murdered whilst crossing at 
 Byramghat only the day previous. This disheart- 
 ening news made us retrace our steps by land 
 towards Mutteeara. On arrival Fuckerooddeen 
 Khan, the Government agent, received us, and in 
 the name of the Eanee and the young Eajah gave 
 every assurance of safety and protection, telling 
 the late Mr Gonne that on the approach of any 
 danger we should have timely notice, and boats 
 would be kept in readiness to send the party across 
 into the jungles, where we would be perfectly safe 
 from pursuit. 
 
 We remained at this place for nearly two 
 months. At the end of that period, in the early 
 part of August, about 300 men of Girdhara Singh's 
 regiment arrived from Lucknow, sent by the rebels 
 then surrounding the garrison in the Baily Guard ^ 
 to take us in. For two days we remained armed 
 and kept watch the whole night, refusing to go ; 
 but finding that Fuckerooddeen Khan and the 
 Ranee would neither assist nor allow us to escape, 
 we began to suspect treachery. At last, seeing 
 no other alternative, and as a last resource, a sort 
 of compromise was made with the leader of these 
 mutineers. Bunda Hassan, of Tumbour, and the 
 
 * The Residency. 
 
110 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEAESEY. 
 
 party, after nearly a week's delay, marched to- 
 wards Lucknow. Fuckerooddeen Khan, with 400 
 men of the Eanee's, was also sent. On our second 
 march from Mutteeara, Thakoor Dabee Singh, a 
 respectable zemindar in the Dhouraira Kajah's 
 service, came in the evening and confirmed our 
 former suspicions, saying the Eanee and the Gov- 
 ernment agent had formed a collusion with Bunda 
 Hassan and deliberately sold us to the rebels, and 
 that the agreement signed by the latter allowing 
 us to retain our arms would be violated on arrival 
 at Esanuggur. 
 
 This alarming piece of intelligence put the party 
 •on their guard. We held a consultation, and 
 flight was decided upon. Next evening, finding 
 an opportunity, a few valuables were secured; 
 amongst the number I carried my diary and some 
 other papers. We placed the two ladies and the 
 serjeant-major's wife on the late Mr Gonne's 
 elephant, and mounting our horses, fled towards 
 Khyreegurh, en route to Eajah Koolra' Singh's 
 place, KuUooapore. Travelling all night, and till 
 2 P.M., the party reached Bunbeerpore, a village 
 in Eajah Eundhooj Saha's district. Here we dis- 
 mounted to have refreshments and give our jaded 
 animals some rest. Whilst at meals several 
 villagers came running in to give notice that 
 about 300 men of Dhouraira sent in our pursuit 
 by the Eanee were within a short distance. In- 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HBAESEY's NAKRATIVE. HI 
 
 stantly leaving the village and proceeding farther 
 to the north we arrived on the banks of the 
 Mohan river about an hour before sunset, but 
 could not get the ferry-boat. The late Mr Gonne 
 proposed going up the stream two miles to the 
 west, where, he said, the Kowa Khairaghat might 
 be found fordable. This also proved a failure 
 owing to the river having risen much. In the 
 midst of a dense high grass and tree jungle, 
 drenched to the skin from the pouring rain since 
 leaving Bunbeerpore, the position of the party, 
 especially that of the poor ladies, was uncomfort- 
 able to an extreme degree. Whilst deliberating 
 how to get across, suddenly a shout was raised. 
 Our pursuers, under cover of the brushwood, had 
 gained upon us. Fastening the horses in a neigh- 
 bouring hollow we took up positions behind trees ; 
 presently the enemy opened a fire of matchlocks 
 and commenced advancing, but very cautiously, 
 as they knew we were all armed with good double- 
 barrelled rifles. When within fifty yards I obtained 
 a glimpse of the leader and fired ; the shot took 
 effect, which checked their further proceeding. 
 Meanwhile the ladies who had continued mounted 
 on the elephant, and Mr Carew with them, went 
 off towards the west when the firing commenced. 
 The rest of the party also retired ; the late Captain 
 Hastings and myself remained back to bring up 
 the rear. We followed the tracks of the elephant 
 
112 MAJOR HYDEE YOUNG HEAKSEY. 
 
 for a considerable distance, but from the nature 
 of the ground and the approaching darkness the 
 traces became more and more indistinct every 
 moment, and the late Captain Hastings suggested : 
 "It is more than probable that Mr Carew has 
 taken the ladies to Eajah Eundhoodh Sahaee's 
 place, for he always used to speak of him as a 
 very great friend; therefore it was useless our 
 following, as, owing to the cause above mentioned, 
 we should never be able to overtake them, but 
 very likely fall a prey to tigers or wild elephants." 
 This made us decide upon taking shelter in a patch 
 of grass on the banks of the river. 
 
 The horses and property left in the hollow were 
 of course plundered when the enemy came up to 
 the spot, as for safety's sake we were obliged to 
 abandon all. 
 
 The late Captain Hastings and myself not being 
 able to overtake either the elephant or the other 
 members of the party, swam across the river about 
 8 P.M. and remained under a tree during the 
 night. Next morning we pushed on towards the 
 direction of KuUooapore. Barefooted, and with 
 scarcely any clothing, we reached the village of 
 Sonapatha about 4 p.m. in the afternoon. This 
 place belongs to Kaja Koolraj Singh of Pudnaha. 
 His karenda or headman supplied us with food 
 and gave the loan of two tats,^ which enabled us 
 
 ^ Ponies. * 
 
CAPTAIN J. B, HEAESBY's NARRATIVE. 113 
 
 to prosecute our journey. Here we met Mr Brand 
 and Serjeant-Major Rogers ; these also had swam 
 the river in company with Mr Brown, the writer, 
 but unfortunately before the latter could gain the 
 shore an alligator pulled him in. Exhausted and 
 footsore we reached KuUooapore late in the even- 
 ing, where the late Mr Gonne joined us on the 
 day following. 
 
 Having learnt from Serjeant-Major Eogers that 
 the two ladies, Mr Carew, Mrs Eogers, and her 
 son were still in the forest, we got Eaja Koolraj 
 Singh's uncle to send out parties in that direction. 
 In the evening they came back after a fruitless 
 search. Although disappointed in the first in- 
 stance we halted for two days, sending out men 
 well acquainted with every part of the jungle ; 
 but these also, I regret to observe, returned with- 
 out gaining any satisfactory information. The 
 Dhouraira Eanee's followers meanwhile, having 
 learnt of our being at KuUooapore, came across 
 the river and were within a mile of the place 
 when intelligence was brought during the night. 
 We fled towards the forest of Seeshapanee and 
 remained concealed there for a couple of days. 
 On the third a jemadar of Eaja Koolraj Singh's 
 took us to Bulchaura, and from thence to 
 Dhooleekote in the Nepaul hills. From the efiects 
 of the deadly climate and recent suff'erings the 
 whole of the party, now reduced to five persons, 
 
 H 
 
114 MAJOR HYDEE YOUNG HBAESEY. 
 
 were laid up with jungle fever. The Eaja showed 
 every kindness and attention ; he furnished us with 
 clothes, food, and shelter ; the latter, though merely 
 a grass hut, was prized as the greatest comfort, 
 for during the past week our only canopy had 
 been the heavens, and this during the most in- 
 clement part of the season. 
 
 Some days after our arrival at Dhooleekote we 
 heard a report about the ladies and the others 
 that had got separated on the banks of the 
 Mohan from the party, having fallen into the 
 hands of the Dhouraira people and been taken 
 back to Mutteeara, from whence they had been 
 forwarded on to Lucknow. Further particulars 
 regarding the facts of their fate we did not hear, 
 nor had we the means to ascertain. The late 
 Mr H. Gonne, after twelve days' sickness, died 
 of the jungle fever at this place. For upwards 
 of three months our party, now diminished to 
 four, continued to reside on these hills, after 
 which we came down to Bulchaura with the 
 Eaja and his family and lived in the Turraee. 
 To avoid observation or inquisitive inquiries of 
 the people belonging to the plains, our reed hut 
 was constructed in a very remote part of the 
 forest, far from any habitation. It is needless 
 to mention our sufferings, both mental and 
 physical, notwithstanding the Eaja's kind atten- 
 tion during our stay in this unhealthy place. 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HEARSBY's NARRATIVE, 115 
 
 where the late Captain Hastings died on the 
 28th of December 1857. About the latter end 
 of this month the Eaja received an order, signed 
 by Shurood Doulah, saying that the durbar had 
 received authentic information from the Kanee of 
 Toolsheepore that he still gave protection to five 
 Europeans in his district, and that he must either 
 send them in or their heads without delay. More- 
 over, a letter which I had received from Mr Wing- 
 field, Commissioner of Goorakpore, sent through 
 the Eaja of Bubampore, made us decide upon 
 leaving our retreat for that place, the road being 
 now practicable through the Nepaul hills. Mr 
 Brand and Sergeant -Major Eogers, being stiU 
 weak from continued illness, were sent by the 
 Eaja to the nearest military post in Nepaul, called 
 Dyluck, and from thence to be forwarded on by 
 the authorities to Bootvul. 
 
 Being anxious to reach in time to accompany 
 Jung Bahadoor's force into Lucknow, I made a 
 short cut. Travelling along by the bed of the 
 Bubbye, I managed to make to Seerreegoant, 
 which is three marches from SuUeeana. On 
 arrival a party of hill men just arrived informed 
 me that the pass of Bootvul was blockaded by 
 20,000 rebels led by Gooroopershad of Nepaul, 
 and that several relations of Jung Bahadoor, 
 who were in command at Palpa and Peuthana, 
 had been put in confinement by the Goorkha 
 
116 MAJOR HYDER YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 regiments. This startling news was confirmed by 
 the karenda of the Kanee of Seerreegoant, which 
 induced me to return to Bulchoura. 
 
 Oudh and Rohilkund being still in possession 
 of the rebels, I was unable to make my way 
 direct to Lucknow; therefore, assuming the dis- 
 guise of a native trooper in want of service, I 
 marched towards Burrumbeao. Passing through 
 a great portion of the Oudh Turraee, and under- 
 going many hardships, I ultimately reached the 
 place in twelve days, where I met General 
 Krishndooj of Nepaul. He received me most 
 kindly and enabled me to proceed. On the 29th 
 of January 1858 I arrived at Loohooghat, and 
 from thence after a tedious journey across the 
 hills, vid Nynee Tal, Mussoory, Meerut, I reached 
 Lucknow. 
 
 On the 12th of April 1858 I received in- 
 structions from the Chief Commissioner of Oudh 
 to place myself immediately under the orders of 
 Captain Bruce, Chief of Police, and on the day 
 following, in conformity to further orders, was 
 directed to accompany his Excellency the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief to Eohilkund. As head of the 
 Intelligence Department I remained with him 
 throughout the campaign. Accompanying is the 
 copy of a letter, No. 1027, which I have the 
 honour to append. 
 
 In conclusion, I beg leave to state I have re- 
 
CAPTAIN J. B. HEARSEY's NAEEATIVE. 117 
 
 ceived three advances — viz., one at Loohooghat, 
 one at Nynee Tal, and one at Lucknow, since 
 leaving Seetapore, but have received neither com- 
 pensation for the losses I have sustained nor my 
 pay accounts settled from the 1st of June 1857. 
 The pay abstracts and muster-rolls for the issue 
 of the month of May 1857, as mentioned before, 
 were all destroyed, together with the other regi- 
 mental papers, by the mutineers on the day of 
 the outbreak, 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 J. B. Hearsey, Captain, 
 
 Commanding Qth Regiment Oudh Military Police. 
 
 On reaching Sir Colin Campbell's army, then 
 attacking the city of Lucknow, John Hearsey 
 was appointed to the Intelligence Department. 
 He subsequently was appointed extra aide-de- 
 camp to Sir Colin, and in that capacity was 
 present at the capture of Shahjehanpur and 
 Bareilly, 
 
 Major Hyder Hearsey had a third son, named 
 Hyder, who also served the King of Oudh. 
 Hyder Hearsey, the younger, was employed with 
 his brothers until the annexation of Oudh, but 
 he did not then take service with the Honour- 
 
118 MAJOR HYDEE YOUNG HEARSEY. 
 
 able East India Company, being at the time in 
 bad bealtb. He died before the Mutiny. 
 
 Major Hyder Young Hearsey had one daughter, 
 Harriet, who married her kinsman, Lieutenant- 
 General Sir John Hearsey, then Captain Hearsey, 
 in the year 1832. Mrs Hearsey died in London 
 in 1848, and is buried at Kensal Green. 
 
119 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 I WAS born at Midnapore, an infantry station in 
 the Province of Orissa in Bengal, on the 21st 
 of September 1793. My birth took place during 
 night time under the following circumstances. At 
 that time my father had a large Newfoundland 
 dog, whose name was Ocean. He had round his 
 neck a large and heavy collar with my father's 
 name inscribed on it. This faithful creature used 
 to sleep on a raised terrace on the eastern side 
 of the house. The shade of the house in the 
 afternoon made this terrace a pleasant place on 
 which the family could enjoy the cool air of the 
 evening, chairs being arranged for people to sit 
 on and a carpet spread for the children to play 
 upon. The terrace had a light wooden railing 
 fixed round its edge. On the night and at the 
 hour of my birth a fearful noise was heard from 
 this terrace. My father, on proceeding to the 
 verandah opposite, found that the Sepoy sentry 
 had quitted his post and had sought shelter within 
 
120 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 the east entrance - hall of the house, cringing 
 behind the door. My father asked him what was 
 the matter and what had caused the noise. The 
 man replied that a tiger had sprung on the dog 
 Ocean and was tearing him to pieces. My father 
 seized the man's musket and rushed to the spot, 
 where he saw the animals rolling on the ground 
 and fighting with each other. There was light 
 enough to distinguish them, and my father soon 
 put an end to the contest by thrusting his bayonet 
 through the heart of the supposed tiger, which 
 proved on examination to be a large and powerful 
 panther. This animal had attempted to seize the 
 dog by the throat, but the strong collar had pre- 
 vented its fangs meeting. The faithful dog had 
 seized the panther, and in struggling with each 
 other they came against the light railing round 
 the terrace, which giving way, they both fell to 
 the ground. In this position my father found 
 them, and, as described above, put an end to the 
 contest. Our poor dog Ocean was so torn by the 
 panther's claws and fangs that he only survived 
 a few days. Thus I came into the world during 
 a scene of contention, predicting, I suppose, a 
 life of danger and adventure. 
 
 At the time of my birth my father, Lieut.- 
 Colonel Andrew Wilson Hearsey, commanded the 
 " GuUasir Ka Pulton," or the 9th Native Infantry, 
 stationed at Midnapore, He was ordered in 1795 
 to Chunar, and in 1797 again marched from that 
 
SENT TO ENGLAND. 121 
 
 place to Allahabad, where, as Lieut.-Colonel, he 
 commanded the fort and station. At the age 
 of three years I was sent to England with my 
 youngest sister, who was two years older than 
 myself. My father saw us on board ship, and 
 then returned to Allahabad. We were consigned 
 to the care of his mother and sister. My father 
 died on the 10th of July 1798, at the age of 
 forty-six, from the effects of an accident whilst 
 riding an unbroken horse. 
 
 My sister and I had a long voyage to England, 
 and on our arrival took up our residence with my 
 grandmother and aunt at their house opposite the 
 Old Manor House School for Boys in Kennington 
 
 Lane, under the management of a Mr K . 
 
 When sent to that school I was not five years 
 old. The year after my father's death my mother, 
 his widow, embarked for England. My father left 
 no money, having paid heavy sums to release a 
 relation from the debtors' jail in Calcutta. This 
 person had been ruined by his partner (an Ameri- 
 can), who absconded with all the property belong- 
 ing to my father's relation. The consequence was 
 that my mother was left with merely the money 
 from the sale of his effects and from Lord Olive's 
 Fund, her income amounting only to £80 a-year. 
 His children, three daughters and myself, had the 
 benefit of the Orphan Fund to educate us. My 
 mother was nearly eight months on the voyage 
 from Calcutta to England, the ship meeting with 
 
122 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY, 
 
 very bad weather and being nearly lost. She 
 soon settled in a house in the suburbs of London. 
 She had all her children for a short period with 
 her, and when the holidays were over we were 
 again sent to school. 
 
 During the interval between my arrival in 
 England and that of my mother I had been 
 
 very harshly treated at Mr K 's school, and had 
 
 been made into a regular household drudge ; nor 
 had I received any kindness or protection from 
 my grandmother and aunt. My mother's advent, 
 however, put an end to all this, and I was then 
 treated like the other boys. Such hard treatment 
 is often the fate of children consigned to the 
 care of relations, who only take charge of them 
 for the sake of the money paid for their board 
 and education ! Perhaps the hardships I under- 
 went did me a good turn, for I undeniably became 
 very hardy. 
 
 Early in the year 1803 a Colonel Despard was 
 tried for high treason, and, being found guilty, 
 was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered 
 at Horsemonger Lane Jail. I had a great wish, 
 as most boys would have, to witness this execu- 
 tion, and stole away from the school for that 
 purpose. I was there early, but was soon sur- 
 rounded by a crowd, knocked and pushed about. 
 I lost my cap, my clothes were all torn, and, 
 with many bruises, I was thankful to find my 
 way back to school. 
 
A CAVALRY CADBTSHIP. 123 
 
 In the course of this year my mother removed 
 to Portman Place, Edgware Eoad, residing at No. 
 9 during the remainder of the time that I was 
 in England. My education had been sadly 
 
 neglected at Mr K 's school, and, at the age of 
 
 thirteen, I was taken home by my mother and 
 was educated by private tutors. With these 
 gentlemen I made great progress. In 1806 or 
 1807 my brother-in-law, my eldest sister's hus- 
 band, became connected with one of the East 
 
 India Directors, Mr C. C , and procured for me 
 
 a civil appointment in the Bengal Presidency. 
 But as my mother could not afford to send me 
 to be educated at the Civil College at Haileybury, 
 
 she was obliged to decline the offer. Mr C. C 
 
 then presented me with a cavalry cadetship, which 
 was accepted; and in 1807 I embarked in the 
 Honourable East India Company's ship Sovereign, 
 and sailed with a fleet of seven vessels from 
 Portsmouth to Calcutta on the 14th of April of 
 that year. Our small fleet was convoyed by 
 
 H.M. Frigate Thetis, commanded by Captain M . 
 
 We sighted the island of Madeira towards even- 
 ing, I think on the eighth or ninth day after our 
 departure from England. I had on board a chest 
 containing books, clothes, &c., for my cousin, 
 Ensign Bradshaw, H.M. 77th Eegiment, The 77th 
 formed part of the garrison of that island, which 
 had been taken under the protection of the British 
 to prevent its falling into the hands of the French. 
 
124 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 As we passed the small rocky island it fell dark. 
 Our captain wishing to get a few pipes of Madeira 
 wine, our ship stood close to the Bay of Funchal, 
 and I took this opportunity of sending the chest 
 to my young cousin. The captain of the Thetis 
 frigate had observed the near approach of our 
 ship to the shore. He did not intend that any 
 of us should touch at the island; and, as the 
 Sovereign at that time was lying to, he fired a 
 blank shot to warn us to rejoin the fleet. A 
 lantern signal was made for the boat to return 
 immediately. A delay was thus caused, and the 
 Thetis sent a cannon ball across our bows. This 
 proceeding carried with it a fine of £5 to the 
 captain of the ship. The boat returned with the 
 pipes of wine, and, as our ship was the fastest 
 in the fleet, we soon rejoined it. I had sufi"ered 
 from sea-sickness from Spithead to this island, but 
 some oranges and other fruit being brought on 
 board, I was permitted to partake of them, and 
 the sickness left me. The fleet stood over in 
 the direction of South America, towards Cape 
 Frio, for the purpose of getting the trade-winds, 
 which we attained, and soon made our way to 
 the equator. Here, as usual, we had baflling 
 winds, calms, and squalls. 
 
 On regaining the trade - winds beyond the 
 equator, H.M.S. Thetis signalled that the senior 
 naval officer of the East India Company was to 
 take command of the fleet; and, wishing us by 
 
A FEAT OF STRENGTH. 125 
 
 signal a speedy voyage, left us. Captain Graham, 
 commanding the Honourable East India Company's 
 ship, William Pitt, assumed command of our small 
 fleet of seven vessels. After rounding the Cape 
 we took the Mozambique Channel and sighted 
 the island of Johanna, but had no communication 
 with it. Light winds, squalls, and rain were 
 experienced, and we made slow progress. On 
 clearing the Mozambique Channel we pursued our 
 way towards the Bay of Bengal. One day the 
 passengers were amusing themselves with feats of 
 strength and agility, and a bet was laid with Cap- 
 tain W of H.M. 59th Regiment that he could 
 
 not go by a single rope, hand over hand, from 
 the quarter-deck to the main-top. His feet were 
 not to touch the rope. He managed to go three- 
 parts up it when, his strength failing him, he 
 came down the rope with a run so quickly that 
 the palms of his hands were much lacerated. I 
 had accustomed myself, with the midshipmen of 
 the vessel, to climb about the masts, yards, and 
 ropes of the ship, so that the muscles of my 
 arms were very much developed. In fact. Captain 
 Campbell, who commanded our vessel, had directed 
 the sailors to tie me to the yards to frighten 
 me and deter me from going aloft. But it was 
 of no avail, for one day afterwards he observed 
 
 me capping the main-royal. When Captain W 
 
 had failed in his attempt, I ran forward to the 
 rope and said I'd do it, and making a leap as 
 
126 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 high as I could, I caught the rope and was, a 
 few minutes after, safe on the mizzen-top, cheered 
 by the passengers on deck. One of the young 
 lady passengers, my cousin, Mary d'Auvergne,^ 
 swooned for fear I should fall. This and other 
 feats caused the passengers to apprehend that I 
 should one day fall overboard and be drowned, 
 or otherwise lose my life. A bet was laid be- 
 tween two of them that I would never see the 
 shores of India. The ship sped merrily along, 
 and we sighted the coast below Pondicherry. As 
 we neared it, the word was passed for me to 
 come on -to the quarter-deck. I was called to 
 the gangway and asked if I could see anything 
 on that side at a distance. I replied in the 
 affirmative, and said that I supposed it was the 
 eastern shore of the Peninsula of India, when 
 the person who interrogated me turned to a 
 fellow- passenger saying, " I have won the bet, 
 and you owe me £5." We anchored in the roads 
 of Madras, and I amused myself by going in the 
 MassuUa boats through the surf on errands for 
 the young ladies, to fetch them fruit, parrots, 
 fans, and other Indian articles. We had cargo 
 for Madras and discharged it ; then, after a stay 
 of four or five days, up anchor, and we pursued 
 our way towards Calcutta. This was in the first 
 week of September, and on the 12th of that 
 
 1 Miss Mary d'Auvergne and Sir John Hearsey were first 
 cousins, their mothers being sisters. 
 
MR SURGEON PHILLIPS. 127 
 
 month a pilot brig was observed, and we laid to 
 for the pilot to come on board. On approaching 
 the estuary of the Ganges we saw a wall of at 
 least ten feet high of discoloured water rolling 
 towards us, and it appeared to me as if the ship 
 would be driven on a sandbank or into shoal 
 water ; but I found that it was merely the excess 
 water of the Ganges pursuing its way to the 
 ocean. We made a pleasant voyage up the 
 Hooghly River. In those days there were no 
 steamers, so all hands were employed in tacking 
 to avoid dangerous sandbanks as we sailed along 
 from reach to reach of that noble river. We 
 anchored off an avenue of trees then called Re- 
 spondentia, stretching from Chandpal Ghat to Fort 
 William. We had not been there an hour before 
 my cousin. Miss Mary d'Auvergne, and I perceived 
 three palanquins coming towards the place where 
 the ship was moored ; and a friend of my 
 father's, a Mr Surgeon Phillips, came on board 
 and asked for us. He took us on shore, and we 
 jogged along in these, to ns, strange conveyances 
 to his quarters in Fort William. We arrived there 
 just before tiffin, and having eaten that meal, Miss. 
 d'Auvergne and I went to the large windows over- 
 looking the square, where the troops of the garrison 
 assembled to drill. We were astonished to see: 
 large cranes with enormous bills and a pouch 
 under them stalking about the roads of the Fort,, 
 and expressed our surprise at their tameness. They 
 
128 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAESEY, 
 
 are called by the European soldiers "Adjutants" 
 from their mode of walking about. They are ex- 
 ceedingly ravenous, and are the scavengers of 
 Calcutta, devouring all sorts of putrid substances, 
 and dead bandicoots, rats, kittens, puppies, and 
 reptiles of all kinds. To give my cousin and my- 
 self a surprise, Dr Phillips threw out of the 
 window to one of these large birds the remains 
 of a small leg of mutton. The bird, with its 
 wings wide open, ran and took it up in its 
 large bill ; but, having caught the bone crosswise, 
 he could not get it down his throat, and kept 
 throwing it up into the air so as to catch it 
 lengthwise. The crows, which are most abundant, 
 and very bold and intrusive, flew round about his 
 head and attempted to get the leg of mutton 
 as the "Adjutant" tried to put it into a proper 
 position for swallowing it ; and, enraged at these 
 pests, he kept snapping at them with his huge 
 bill, and at last caught one, and in a minute 
 feathers and all vanished down his throat. After 
 this he pouched the leg of mutton. This was 
 indeed a wondrous sight for new-comers, and gave 
 us an inkling of what strange things we might 
 see in India. 
 
 I remained with my father's friend until the 
 1st of October (1807), when I joined the Cadet 
 ■College at Baraset, near Calcutta, to study the 
 native languages. Fortunately I had an end room 
 with four windows, on the ground-floor, allotted 
 
TURBULENT BARASET. 129 
 
 to me, SO that I could get plenty of air and light. 
 These windows had Venetian doors that opened 
 outwards, which I could close at night, yet still 
 get the air while retaining my privacy. The door 
 opened on to a corridor or central passage ex- 
 tending the whole length of the barracks, and 
 giving entrance to all the other rooms. It being 
 the end of the rainy season, on cloudy days the 
 temperature was cool ; and, having bought an old 
 single - barrelled fowling-piece, I used to amuse 
 myself in going along the edge of the paddy fields 
 shooting snipe. I had to walk four or five miles 
 out into the country to be successful, for all birds 
 in the vicinity of the barracks had been driven 
 away. 
 
 As there were more than four hundred youths 
 and young men at Baraset just liberated from 
 school, and considering themselves independent 
 officers and gentlemen, it may easily be imagined 
 that many fracas took place among them, fre- 
 quently ending in duels. On one occasion a 
 young subaltern from a regiment at Barrackpore 
 was shot dead ; and in another duel a young man 
 was wounded near the ankle, which caused lame- 
 ness for a long time. I must mention that eight 
 months was the period allowed for the cadets to 
 pass in the Oordoo, or Court language of Hin- 
 dostan, a melange of Hindee, Persian, and Arabic, 
 This was the dialect used by the nobles and 
 princes of Hindostan. I usually studied by 
 
130 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIE. JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 candle-light, as my days were passed in sport, 
 and I was often disturbed by the young men 
 who saw me thus employed. They threw clods 
 into my room, which frequently hit me or my 
 moonshi, or broke the shade of my lamp and 
 put out the light. I had to go and shout that 
 to do this was cowardly, and that if I recognised 
 the offender I would most assuredly call him to 
 account for it. One close night, being disturbed 
 in this manner, I ran hastily to the open Venetian 
 window and caught a glimpse of one of the cadets 
 endeavouring to hide himself near the wall of the 
 barrack. I said, "I know who you are, and you 
 shall hear from me to-morrow morning " ; and thus 
 saying, shut the Venetian window. About two 
 minutes afterwards the door leading into the cor- 
 ridor of the barracks opened, and a young man 
 came smiling in, saying, " So, as usual, you are 
 studying at night." In him I recognised the 
 offender, and seizing the thick quarto volume of 
 W. Gilchrist's Dictionary, I rose from my chair 
 and struck him down with it, telling him to quit 
 my room, and that I should be ready to give 
 him the satisfaction due from one gentleman to 
 another on the morrow. He never called upon 
 me, for he must have known that he was in 
 the wrong and had brought the blow upon him- 
 self. I must say that in such a place, crowded 
 with all kinds of tempers and dispositions, it 
 was necessary for a young man to show that 
 
THE SWORD OF HONOUR. 131 
 
 he was not devoid of spirit to prevent himself 
 from being insulted. 
 
 I got on well with my studies after this, and 
 an examiner coming from the college at Fort 
 William to test such students as came forward 
 to be examined, I sent in my name, and was so 
 fortunate as to be second on the list of those of 
 my class who passed. To reward the cadets who 
 behaved well at Baraset, and who passed their 
 examination in the language at the end of eight 
 months, Grovernment presented the successful 
 candidates with 120 rupees, and a sword with 
 an inscription upon it. My friend Dr Phillips 
 and his wife were highly pleased at my success, 
 for they had always shown me great kindness 
 during the period of my stay at college. They 
 wrote flattering letters to my mother and other 
 relations in England, and I received by return 
 of post blessings from those I loved the most. 
 The money helped me to buy my outfit as a cornet 
 of cavalry, and to pay the hire of a " budgerow," 
 a kind of boat used for voyaging up the river 
 Ganges from Calcutta to Cawnpore. The journey 
 by this route usually took from three to four 
 months. 
 
 The college at Baraset was a most riotous 
 place, and I was not sorry to leave it. In 
 fact, the congregation of such a number of 
 devil-may-care young men at a place only sixteen 
 miles from Calcutta, whither they used to gallop 
 
132 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 at early night after roll-call, creating disturbances 
 at the different beer - shops and inns, was con- 
 sidered a pest to that city; so much so that the 
 Chief Justice at that time at Calcutta said that 
 if any of them were caught by the police and were 
 found guilty, he would hang or transport them. 
 One cadet actually was sentenced to be trans- 
 ported for setting fire to a small hut, his own 
 property, in order to drive away a party of ser- 
 vants who were in it, and who were beating their 
 tom - toms and making a noise which prevented 
 his sleeping. 
 
 I stayed with Dr Phillips until I had hired a 
 budgerow for myself, and a boat for my servants 
 and for cooking. The latter was not large, and 
 had a thatched roof. It also served to put extra 
 baggage in. Just before I left Calcutta Dr Phil- 
 lips asked me if I had any objection to have a 
 companion with me, a young man of the name 
 
 of P , a Scotchman. He had been at Baraset 
 
 eighteen months, and could not pass the examina- 
 tion during that period. The rules of the in- 
 stitution did not allow students to remain longer, 
 so he had been sent away with what we used to 
 call a "stupid certificate." I could not say nay 
 to my friend Dr Phillips, though I disliked the 
 person thus forced on me. He was of a morose 
 disposition, and of an unhappy temper. After his 
 luggage and servants joined mine in the boats, 
 then moored at Chandpalghat, we embarked about 
 
THE SUNDEEBUNDS. 133 
 
 the 12tli of April 1809 and set out on our voyage 
 up the Ganges to Cawnpore, en route for Muttra, 
 where I was ordered to join the 8th Native Light 
 Cavalry. 
 
 P was to go no farther than Benares, where 
 
 the corps he had been posted to was stationed. 
 
 My having P as a companion was the most 
 
 unfortunate thing that as yet had happened to me, 
 as the sequel will show. The Hooghly, I must 
 mention, has two streams joining it to the main 
 streams of the Ganges, and a passage up one of 
 them was the shortest cut to the Ganges ; but, the 
 dry season having set in, they had not depth of 
 water in them to carry our boats through, so we 
 were perforce obliged to go the roundabout way 
 through the Sunderbunds (which in English means 
 " The Beautiful Forests "). The navigation is very 
 tortuous ; there are no villages ; the bushes come 
 down to the very edge of the channels, and in 
 those days were the haunts of tigers and other 
 wild animals. We were therefore obliged to anchor 
 in midstream at night to avoid being attacked by 
 those ferocious beasts. 
 
 One afternoon, just before dark, a violent storm 
 occurred. We cast anchor, took in sail, and made 
 the boat snug. A large country trading-boat was 
 sailing a hundred yards immediately in advance of 
 us under a very large sail. The rope got knotted 
 or entangled, and the boatmen could not lower 
 the sail. The wind blew with such force that it 
 
134 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAKSEY. 
 
 sent the bows of the boat under water, so that 
 the boat filled and began to sink. The crew of 
 seven men climbed up upon the mast, and the 
 stream or tide running down presently brought 
 the sinking vessel near to our budgerow. As it 
 approached I shouted to the crew to quit the mast 
 and swim to our boat. They did so, and we got 
 on board the manjee or headman of the boat and 
 three of the crew. The other three got ashore. 
 One of these men who came on board had a serious 
 jagged wound on the calf of his leg. This I 
 washed, and with sticking-plaster joined the lips 
 of the wound, and then bandaged it. I desired 
 my crew to give them dry waist-cloths, which is 
 all these people wear, and to give them food and 
 make them comfortable. Their boat gradually dis- 
 appeared under the water. The next morning I 
 sent the small canoe or dingy to fetch the other 
 three men from the shore. We then set sail and 
 proceeded on our voyage. The rescued men told 
 me that they had friends and relatives at a market- 
 town on the banks of the main stream named 
 Bughwan-Jallah, and as we were to pass it, they 
 remained with us ; and in the course of a week 
 we entered the main stream of the Ganges. The 
 wound in the man's leg had healed. I assembled 
 the rescued men on the deck of my boat, and told 
 them that now they had come to the village of 
 their relatives and friends I would put them on 
 shore, and they could write to the owner of the 
 
NATIVE INGRATITUDE. 135 
 
 vessel they had been navigating and inform him of 
 its loss. At the same time, taking from my small 
 store of money £1, I gave it to their headman, 
 telling him that it was all I could spare. He 
 counted it, and then with indignation and con- 
 tempt cast it on the deck, saying, " Is this all you 
 can give me as the value of our boat and cargo and 
 goods and chattels ! " He had fully expected that 
 because I had saved their lives I should remunerate 
 them for their whole loss. I said not a word, but, 
 collecting the money, put it into my pocket, direct- 
 ing my crew to land them at the market-town and 
 leave them there. No doubt this conduct arose 
 from ignorance, but to a youth of less than sixteen 
 years of age such ingratitude was very shocking 
 and disheartening. Our servants had gone to the 
 market to bring us fruits and other things that we 
 required, and the wind being fair, we hoisted sail 
 and continued our voyage. 
 
 From time to time my companion P showed 
 
 his bad temper, and frightened and disgusted our 
 servants by abusing and cuffing them. One day, 
 the wind not being aft, which is the quarter 
 whence these cockle - bottomed boats sailed best, 
 we were slowly making way on a slant of wind, 
 the boat being kept near the bank by the crew 
 working at the tow-ropes. Otherwise she would 
 have been carried across to the other side of the 
 broad river and would have stuck upon a sand- 
 bank, whence it would have been difficult to have 
 
136 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 got her off. P , apparently not aware of this, 
 
 insisted that the men with the towing-rope should 
 come on board, thinking that, as the wind was 
 strong, the budgerow would make more progress 
 with the sail alone. The manjee or headman of 
 the crew, who was at the rudder, remonstrated, 
 but it was of no avail — he was forced to obey the 
 order he received. No sooner were the crew on 
 board and the sail hoisted than the boat was 
 carried away from the bank towards midstream. 
 The vessel heeled over fearfully. I was below in 
 the cabin, and finding the water was coming in at 
 the Venetians, and that we should be swamped if 
 it continued to do so, I rushed up on deck and let 
 go the rope of the sail. The boat righted im- 
 mediately. P had in the meantime been very 
 
 angry with the steersman, and in a moment of 
 uncontrollable passion seized hold of a billet of 
 firewood and struck the man over the head with 
 it. The man fell prostrate and senseless near the 
 
 rudder. When I got to them I found P ■ in a 
 
 state of extreme apprehension. I told him to 
 throw water over the head and face of the man, 
 and I ran down to get some vinegar and brown 
 paper. With the former we rubbed his forehead, 
 and the latter I lit and put to his nostrils, and 
 after a few minutes there were signs of returning 
 
 animation. I spoke seriously to P upon this 
 
 incident, and the fright he had received restrained 
 him in some measure from such passionate excite- 
 
A VILE HABIT. 137 
 
 ment. That day our cooking-boat did not reach 
 us, and we went minus our dinner. This caused 
 very great ire in my companion. The next day 
 the boat with our servants and cooking apparatus 
 
 joined us. Unfortunately P got on board a 
 
 short time before I did, and with a cane beat the 
 manjee and some of the crew. They had heard of 
 his having stunned the headman of the budgerow, 
 and the consequence was that they became alarmed, 
 and at the next large village or market-town that we 
 came to they all deserted the little boat. Luckily 
 I had given a small present to the manjee of the 
 budgerow, and promised a small gift to each of its 
 crew, and had told them that I would not allow Mr 
 
 P to beat them. This kept them steadfast in 
 
 our service. We now had to take the cook-boat 
 in tow, there being no crew to manage it. This 
 caused double work to the budgerow men, for I 
 was obliged to put some on board the small boat. 
 
 I again spoke to P seriously about his beating 
 
 the crew of the vessel. However, this did not put 
 an end to the vile habit he had got into. On 
 quitting Calcutta he could get no servants to go 
 with him. I got some of the relatives of my own 
 servants to take service with him. These he used 
 frequently to shake and cuff. My servants spoke 
 to me about it, but his passionate temper used to 
 carry him beyond bounds. One day he punished 
 them rather severely. The consequence was that 
 the kitmutgars, bearers, and such people took an 
 
138 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIB, JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 opportunity of robbing us and absconded. I had 
 not many valuables, but my father's gold watch, 
 chain, and seals, and some little jewellery given 
 to me by my sisters, a bag of 100 rupees, and a 
 portion of my uniform were stolen. A short time 
 after my other Mohammedan servants, cooks, and 
 table attendants went off, and we were left without 
 a single domestic. 
 
 I had stored on board the cook-boat and budge- 
 row a quantity of biscuits, and I had also bamboo 
 cages in which poultry were kept, and one or two 
 hutches of rabbits. We removed all our baggage 
 from the cook-boat to the budgerow, and left the 
 former at a town called Kulna in charge of the 
 police. 
 
 I had about me a few rupees, with which we 
 managed to buy water-melons and large jack-fruit, 
 some of these being as large round as my body. 
 These latter were good eating when ripe. 
 
 At the first place from which a letter could be 
 sent I wrote to Dr Phillips, telling him of our 
 misfortunes, and that my sirdar and khansama 
 had left us and had robbed me. I grieved much at 
 the loss of the watch and chain belonging to my 
 father. I sent Dr Phillips a minute description of 
 the watch and the chain and seals, as the doctor's 
 sirdar bearer had got these servants for me, and 
 had given security for their honesty and good 
 behaviour. 
 
 We proceeded on our voyage, and getting tired 
 
AMATEUR COOKS. 139 
 
 of eternally eating water-melons and biscuits, we 
 determined to cook something as a change for our 
 dinner. I must remind you that we were now in 
 the hot month of May. I had brought with me an 
 iron stand on legs, on which we placed charcoal or 
 little pieces of wood, and putting a kettle or cook- 
 ing-vessel upon it, we could manage to cook a stew 
 or roast a fowl or duck. I said I would kill a fat 
 rabbit and prepare it to make a stew or curry. 
 This I could do without exposing myself to the 
 rays of the burning sun, for I could place the 
 above cooking apparatus in the verandah of the 
 cabin and make the stew in a saucepan in it. 
 
 P could not do this with a duck which he was 
 
 going to roast, the spit being too long and the iron 
 receiver too large, so he was obliged to sit upon 
 the deck in the shade of the sail to take his part in 
 our culinary operations. I got on splendidly with 
 
 my stewed rabbit, but P , sitting on deck, was 
 
 every now and then exposed to the sun as the 
 vessel changed its course in following the bends 
 of the river. I watched him mopping his fore- 
 head, and every now and then asked him how his 
 roast duck was getting on ; when all of a sudden 
 I saw him stand up, spit and duck in hand, and 
 swearing an oath that he would not be a slave to 
 his guts any longer, he swept the spit and duck 
 round his head and threw them into the river. I 
 shouted with laughter, and said that as he had 
 failed in his contract he should not partake of my 
 
140 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 stew. He rushed down into his cabin, threw him- 
 self upon the couch, and recovered his temper in 
 the cool shade of the cabin. Of course I was not 
 so cruel as not to let him have a portion of my 
 dish, which he declared was most delicious. 
 
 In this manner we proceeded but slowly to 
 Monghyr. Here, luckily, I had a relation, a 
 Captain Nugent, at Fort Ader, to whom I wrote a 
 note, telling him of our utter want of servants, 
 comfort, and money. He came to us and took us 
 to his house, where we stayed with him for four 
 or five days. He hired another small boat and 
 
 servants for us, and made P promise, upon his 
 
 word of honour, that he would not lift his hand or 
 abuse any servant. He then advanced me 100 
 rupees as a loan, and we resumed our voyage once 
 again comfortably. 
 
 The stream of the Ganges runs very swiftly 
 by the rocky fortress of Monghyr, and as you 
 approach Colgong you pass a rocky islet more 
 than 100 feet above the river, on which some 
 Mohammedan religious mendicants or fakirs have 
 made their abode. In the rainy season it is 
 difficult for boats to approach it, but in the months 
 of April and May it is high out of water. We 
 sped on our way to Baghulpore. Here, at that 
 time of year, a long sandy island is divided by a 
 rapid and deep channel from the town and its 
 vicinity. At that time a Dr Glass resided on 
 the main shore in a large, substantially built, 
 
A REST BY THE WAY. 141 
 
 brick, flat-roofed house. He was a retired medical 
 officer of our army. His sons had estates and 
 indigo plantations in the neighbourhood. 
 
 I stopped at this place, and Dr Glass kindly 
 invited me to stay with him for a short time. I 
 had an eruption on my feet, caused by the 
 brackish water of the Sunderbunds, which I was 
 told frequently caused that sort of skin disease. 
 This was soon cured by some kind of caustic wash, 
 and I amused myself during the week we stayed 
 with Dr Glass in admiring the flowers and 
 partaking of the delicious fruits in his orchard. I 
 also visited his sons, and bathed in the large tank 
 or lake near their bungalow. You may feel 
 surprised when I tell you that when I came out 
 of the tank I was covered with leeches — I could 
 not get rid of them until I applied salt to the 
 spots to which they adhered. Their bites caused 
 intolerable itching, and when I scratched them 
 became troublesome sores. However, they soon 
 healed, and I amused myself by going out with 
 the young men sporting, our game being wild 
 duck, jungle fowl, and snipe. I made the 
 acquaintance of a young man of about my own 
 age, named Blood, who was intended to be an 
 indigo planter. 
 
 One hot day Blood proposed that we should 
 swim across the canal or streamlet to the sandy 
 island mentioned above. We did so, the rapid 
 stream carrying us down. We swam abreast 
 
142 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIB JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 about twenty yards from each other, and when 
 we had got into the centre of the stream an 
 enormous alligator came up between us, showing 
 his horrible head and teeth and the rough skin 
 on his neck. Blood shrieked and swam down 
 stream. I steadily went on my way, splashing 
 water on the alligator and shouting. This may 
 have saved us from being seized, or perhaps the 
 animal was only a fish-eating alligator. We both 
 got safe to the sandy island, but the question was 
 how should we get back again, for neither of us 
 felt inclined to run the risk of being devoured by 
 a crocodile ; but our dinner-hour was approaching, 
 and we both felt very hungry. This gave us 
 resolution, and determining to keep close together, 
 we plunged in and got safe back. My chum 
 
 P , finding himself in excellent quarters, made 
 
 himself as agreeable as he could, and after spend- 
 ing a week at this hospitable mansion, we again 
 proceeded on our journey. 
 
 Our voyage up the Ganges was slow ; the wind 
 was contrary and very hot, and we suffered great 
 inconvenience from it. It was tedious work tack- 
 ing all the way to Patna and Dinapore. At this 
 latter station I paid my respects to General Toone, 
 who was commanding the Dinapore Division. He 
 asked me to dine with him, and told me that he 
 had known my father during the earlier period of 
 his service. General Toone was a cavalry ofiicer. 
 Amongst other matters, he advised me strongly, 
 
A BATHING ADVENTURE. 143 
 
 on my arrival at Benares, to pay my respects to 
 General M 'Donald, who was then commanding the 
 Benares Division of the army. Next morning we 
 continued our progress. 
 
 One afternoon, the wind being against us and 
 the heat almost unbearable, the men tacking the 
 boat were knocked up, so we fastened the budge- 
 row to the large stakes driven into the sand for 
 that purpose just within the entrance of a bayou 
 (a strip of water running for some distance up a 
 channel in the sand). I felt a great inclination to 
 have a swim and bathe, and just about sunset I 
 put on my bathing drawers and went to the bow of 
 the boat, and taking a header, swam up the centre 
 in a deep channel to the shallow water. There 
 my servant met me, and I had a good wash. My 
 companion, witnessing my enjoyment, determined 
 to foUow my example. 
 
 I had just returned to our budgerow with my 
 dressing-gown on when I saw him preparing to go 
 into the water. I warned him that the channel 
 was deep in the centre, and advised him, if he 
 could not swim, to go up on shore and enter the 
 stream on the shallow side, untU he got as deep as 
 he wished. He replied, "The channel is very 
 narrow, and I can swim well enough to cross it 
 anywhere." I went along the plank put out from 
 the budgerow for landing, but had scarcely got 
 into the cabin when I heard a distressing shriek 
 and my companion's servant calling out that his 
 
144 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 master was drowning. He had gone into the 
 water a little distance in front of our budgerow. I 
 came on deck, and the servant pointed to the 
 channel where he had seen his master disappear. 
 I ran along the short deck and took a header from 
 the bow and dived to a place where I had seen the 
 water disturbed. Fortunately, the impetus carried 
 me to the spot where he had sunk, and luckily in 
 rear of him. I caught him by the loins and pushed 
 him into shallow water, where the servants and 
 some of the crew had assembled to help in taking 
 him out. He was much confused, but not quite 
 insensible, and in a few minutes began to breathe 
 regularly. We rubbed him with towels till he was 
 restored to consciousness. I then asked him why 
 he had deceived me by telling me he could swim : 
 he replied that, finding the water much deeper 
 than he imagined, he lost confidence and sank. I 
 left him to the care of his servants and went and 
 dressed myself, and he made no more attempts to 
 enter deep water again after this. 
 
 In due course we reached Benares, where the 
 
 infantry corps to which P had been posted 
 
 was stationed. The morning after our arrival 
 he was up early, as the cantonments were a con- 
 siderable distance from the river, and he had to 
 walk to the adjutant's bungalow to report himself, 
 and to ask the adjutant to take him to his com- 
 manding officer to pay his respects. This he did, 
 and the colonel invited him to reside with him till 
 
A VISIT OF CEREMONY. 145 
 
 he could accommodate himself with quarters, 
 saying that in a few days, no doubt, he could get 
 a share of a bungalow with some of his brother 
 ofiScers. At about 10 A.M. he sent to the budge- 
 row for his servant, with orders to make up a 
 bundle of clean linen and take it to him. I took 
 this opportunity of writing a note begging him to 
 send for the small quantity of baggage belonging 
 to him, so that I might leave the unsavoury and 
 crowded ghat (or wharf) as early as possible. His 
 reply was, " There was no hurry, and he would do 
 so at his convenience." Considering that he was 
 in a nice cool house, and that I was fully exposed 
 in my budgerow to the hot winds, moreover that I 
 had paid for his passage and board up to Benares, 
 I thought this reply showed the deepest ingrati- 
 tude. I wrote to him that I would stay there till 
 the next day, as I wished to visit the General 
 commanding, and that if he did not send for his 
 trunks by the next afternoon I would leave them 
 on the bank under the care of the Ghat police. 
 
 The next morning I was up early, and took 
 great pains in putting on my full cavalry uniform 
 — viz., long boots, heavy laced jacket, cross belt, 
 sash, leathers, and spurs ; and with my large 
 cavalry sword (a present from Government, with 
 an inscription on it), I left my boat in the full 
 pride of my uniform to walk through the town 
 of Benares. I was quite a sight to the population 
 of that place, who streamed out of the bye-lanes 
 
 K 
 
146 AUTOBIOGRAPHY Of SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 to have a peep at me. I constantly asked the 
 straight road to the cantonments, and when I had 
 gone a little more than half-way I found the heat 
 of the morning in the month of May — dressed as 
 I was in such heavy clothing — quite exhausting. 
 However, I struggled along, hoping to come to 
 the end of my journey. On quitting the suburbs 
 of the town I was directed to the bridge built 
 across the Berna River, from which Benares takes 
 its name. Here I was told that the house the 
 General dwelt in was still one mile farther, the 
 whole of the houses of the civilians being situated 
 between the bridge and the cantonments. The 
 iron cavalry helmet with the bear -skin and feather 
 made my head ache, so I carried it in my hand 
 and continued my way bareheaded. This being 
 in the month of May, the heat was dangerous, 
 but mopping my forehead I hastened towards 
 what was pointed out to me as the General's 
 quarters. 
 
 When I arrived there I was completely saturated 
 with perspiration : my fine lace jacket was even 
 wet through. On entering the gate of the com- 
 pound I walked up to the verandah and sent in 
 my card. An officer with one arm (whose name I 
 do not now recollect) came to receive me, and I 
 told him I was in progress by river-route to join 
 my corps, and had come to pay my respects to 
 General MacDonald, having been informed by 
 General Toone that it was my duty to do so. 
 
A PRACTICAL JOKE. 147 
 
 The officer appeared surprised at my state of 
 exhaustion from the heat, and asked me to go 
 into a dressing-room and wash the dust off my 
 face and hands. I did so, and taking off my dress 
 jacket and silk stock, I spread them on a chair 
 to dry. My shirt was dripping with perspiration. 
 Whilst doing this the officer who had taken my 
 card said that General MacDonald would be pleased 
 to see me and have my company at breakfast, 
 which was being put upon the table. " But," said 
 he, seeing the state I was in, " have you brought 
 no change of linen with you ? " I replied in the 
 negative, as' I had no idea that the cantonments 
 were such a distance from where my boat was 
 moored. " Oh," he said, " I think we can get you 
 a change of clothing, which will make you more 
 comfortable." So by the time I had washed my- 
 self the sirdar bearer came in with some clean 
 linen clothes. I was at that time a little under 
 sixteen years of age, exceedingly thin, lithe, and 
 tall. I had with some difficulty removed my long 
 boots and leather continuations, and wiping myself 
 down with a towel, I commenced dressing. When 
 I pulled on the linen trousers I found them a foot 
 too short for me. I looked up at the servant and 
 then at the trousers : the fellow's face was in a 
 broad grin. I must tell you that this room was 
 separated from the reception-room by Venetian 
 doors. I heard a noise — I looked in that direction, 
 when I saw three or four faces of officers, and 
 
148 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEAESBY, 
 
 amongst them that of the General, laughing at 
 my distress; in fact, they were making what is 
 called a " griff" of me. I saw through it at once, 
 and pulling off the clothes sent me I again put on 
 my own, wet and unpleasant as they were, and 
 taking my sabre under my arm and with my helmet 
 on my head, I stalked most indignantly out of the 
 house. I had not gone far on my return journey 
 when I was overtaken by the General's staff-ofl&cer 
 in a "palanquin," with an empty one following 
 him. It was with some difficulty that he induced 
 me to go back, and I decidedly objected to return 
 to the General's house ; so he took me to his own 
 house and did all he could to make me comfortable. 
 I had breakfast with him, and asked him to let me 
 have materials to make my report officially through 
 the staff-officer to the General. After I had rested 
 awhile I returned to my boat in a " palky." The 
 weather was cruelly hot, and I am only surprised 
 that I was not laid up with fever from the way 
 
 I was exposed to it. In the evening P sent 
 
 a small native bullock - cart for his luggage, and 
 next morning I was only too happy to unmoor and 
 set sail on my up-country journey. Nothing of 
 any material consequence occurred during the re- 
 mainder of my passage to Cawnpore, which I reached 
 at the beginning of July. 
 
 I had a cousin, a Captain Williams, in his 
 Majesty's 3rd Dragoons. I wrote a note to him, and 
 he immediately came and drove me to his house 
 
LUOKNOW AT LAST. 
 
 149 
 
 in his buggy. My property was then removed 
 from the boats, and the remainder of the hire paid 
 to the manjees. I was very glad to be once more 
 in a house and free from the intense heat of the 
 sun. I stayed with my cousin for about a week, 
 and wrote to my brother-in-law at Lucknow, who 
 was Assistant to Colonel Collins, the Eesident at 
 that place. I frequently dined at the mess of 
 the 3rd Dragoons, and was introduced to Colonel 
 Gillespie, famed for his intrepidity in attacking 
 the mutineers at Vellore with a small body of 
 dragoons. He had escaladed that fortress and 
 carried it in spite of a stout resistance, inflicting 
 heavy punishment on the mutineers. In due time 
 I received an answer to my letter from Lucknow, 
 my brother-in-law Bradshaw informing me that I 
 must lay a dak of bearers from Cawnpore to Luck- 
 now, and that the journey would take fourteen 
 hours. He told me to start from Cawnpore, and 
 to cross the river Ganges at sunset, when I should 
 be with him at breakfast-time the next morning. 
 A servant or hurkara would be waiting to show me 
 the nearest way to his house and the Eesidency. 
 After a short delay the postmaster informed me 
 that the dak was laid by " palky " at the diff'erent 
 stages on the road, and that all would be ready 
 that evening. I arrived safely in Lucknow, and 
 was indeed happy to be welcomed by my loved 
 eldest sister, who introduced me to her husband. 
 She had two children : a son named Paris, about 
 
150 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 four years old, and a daughter, Mary Ann. I found 
 her husband a gentleman of the old school; he 
 must have been about fifteen or twenty years 
 senior to my sister, and was exceedingly prosaic. 
 In those days he wore powder and a pigtail. He 
 received me very affectionately, and a spare room 
 in the house near the Eesidency gateway was 
 allotted to me. Little Paris was my constant 
 companion during my stay to the middle of Sept- 
 ember, for which I was granted leave in General 
 Orders. I was not idle. A moonshi was hired, 
 and I studied the Persian language with him six 
 hours a-day, and got well grounded in it. The 
 time passed very happily, and when September 
 arrived I began to prepare for my journey to join 
 the 8th Regular Native Light Cavalry, then at 
 Muttra under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel 
 Eichard Frith ; and about the middle of the month 
 I bade adieu to my relatives. 
 
 My camp consisted of a single pole tent for 
 myself and a small one for my servants. These 
 were loaded on an elephant that Bradshaw had 
 borrowed for me. I had a large Toorkee horse 
 to ride on, and with a " palky " and bearers I com- 
 menced my journey. Of course the usual table 
 servants, bhistie, khalasi, bearer, and grooms 
 had been hired as my attendants. 
 
 My route lay from Lucknow by Baryer Mhouw, 
 crossing the Ganges near Meezanka Serai. My 
 first two marches to the bank of the river were 
 
AN UNLUCKY MARCH. 151 
 
 performed without any incident worth noting, ex- 
 cepting that I found the elephant was very slow. 
 He appeared to be an old animal. He had to 
 swim the Ganges, which was rather wide and 
 rapid at the end of the rains. The consequence 
 was that my tent barely arrived in time for me 
 to sleep in. The day was passed mostly in 
 my "palky," which was placed under the shade 
 of a grove of mango trees. I amused myself 
 with my pellet - bow, shooting at the squirrels 
 and parrots, also knocking down a ripe mango 
 now and then, for I was a "dab" in its use. 
 During the night the mahout reported to me 
 that his animal was ill. I ordered him to give 
 the usual medicines for the ailment that had at- 
 tacked it, and determined to halt the next day 
 to allow the creature to recover. But it was fated 
 that I should be put to much inconvenience. The 
 elephant died during that night. I immediately 
 wrote a note and sent it off by a messenger to 
 Bradshaw, telling him of my misfortune, also that 
 I had sent to the town for a bullock-hackery. 
 This was indeed a sad event : made roads there 
 were none in those days, and the cart-tracks were 
 in a fearful state just after the rains. My marches 
 were usually from twelve to fifteen miles a day. 
 The " palky " preceded me by a few miles, so that 
 if rain fell I could canter on and overtake it, but 
 this rarely occurred. My tent I lost sight of, and 
 it was scarcely ever pitched again during the 
 
152 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HBARSEY, 
 
 remainder of tlie marcli. Camels were not to 
 be had for hire, and my dwelling night and day- 
 was my palanquin placed under the shade of 
 the trees. Thus I continued on my journey 
 to Agra. At Shekohabad I passed a small en- 
 campment, and on inquiring I found an officer 
 of the name and rank of Major Gardner^ employed 
 in raising a regiment of police horse for the 
 purpose of putting down dacoitie or brigandage 
 in the Agra district. I did not see him ; but in 
 crossing the Jumna at Agra in a large ferry-boat 
 a native bullock -carriage crossed with me, and 
 a native lady with a fair and handsome face and 
 with beautiful eyes peeped through a small open- 
 ing in the curtains to ask my servants the name 
 of the gentleman who was crossing over at the 
 same time. When they told the lady my name 
 it elicited a slight exclamation of surprise from 
 her, for she was the wife of Major Hyder Hearsey, 
 my cousin. She knew that I was in India, but 
 was not aware that I was travelling up to Muttra. 
 She was on her way to her relatives, who resided at 
 Taj Gunj, a village close to the celebrated Taj-Bibi- 
 ka-Kosa or the tomb of Nur Mehal. We chatted 
 during the passage across. She went on to her 
 destination and I proceeded to Sekundra, in which 
 place is situated the tomb of the great Akbar. 
 
 The palace had been partly destroyed, but the 
 large gateway and corridors gave shelter to his 
 
 1 William Linnseus Gardner. See page 190. 
 
THE CAMP AT SEKUNDRA. 153 
 
 Majesty's 24th Dragoons, then commanded by- 
 Colonel Neil: they had occupied them as a 
 temporary shelter from the rainy season just 
 passed. A great many old ruined Mohammedan 
 buildings were scattered about the place, mostly 
 tombs. These had been taken possession of by 
 the officers as dwelling-houses, and by adding 
 a small room on either side and a thatched 
 verandah they were not uncomfortable dwellings. 
 I had my "palky" placed in a tomb in a very 
 tumble -down state, and had disposed myself to 
 stay in the shelter of it for the remainder of the 
 day. Having taken a hasty breakfast, curiosity 
 prompted me to go over the building. 
 
 I had scarce entered it when I was met by a 
 trooper in his undress, who asked me if I wanted 
 his master. I told him my name and rank, and 
 that I was on my journey to Muttra, adding that 
 I had taken shelter in the shade of what I sup- 
 posed to be a deserted building, and was sorry 
 for the intrusion and would seek some other place 
 where I could be protected from the burning rays 
 of the sun. I then ordered my servants to move 
 my " palky " to the shade of a few trees about fifty 
 yards off. I had not been long there before a 
 servant came with a note, written by Captain 
 Battye of the 24th, inviting me to go over to 
 the messhouse and take luncheon with the officers. 
 I replied that having just come off my march my 
 clothes must be very dirty, and that I would not 
 
154 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 like to make my appearance at their mess without 
 putting on proper apparel. In reply to this a short 
 note came to say they did not expect any ladies, 
 and told me to come over as I was. I went, and 
 was received very kindly, and the captain asked 
 me to come over in the evening and dine there 
 as his guest. The country at this time was a 
 perfect nest of gangs of robbers and thieves, and 
 1 heard many anecdotes of the daring acts of 
 these people. The officers were obliged to sleep 
 with loaded pistols under their pillows. On one 
 occasion an officer was disturbed at midnight, and 
 seizing both his pistols went out of the door of 
 his house, when, perceiving two men get out of 
 his windows and run towards where he was stand- 
 ing, he shot them both dead. Of course a legal in- 
 quiry took place, and the verdict returned was 
 justifiable homicide. I was invited to take posses- 
 sion of a room in one of these curious buildings, 
 where I was able to put on my uniform comfort- 
 ably and attend at the 24th Dragoons' mess- 
 house, and I passed a very pleasant evening. 
 Next morning I continued my journey, and in 
 three days' stages reached Muttra. 
 
155 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 On arrival at Muttra I went to the adjutant 
 of the 8th Cavalry, whose name was Stearn Eeid, 
 and he accompanied me to the commanding officer, 
 Colonel E. Frith, to whom my brother-in-law had 
 written a letter of introduction asking him to be 
 kind to me, they being old friends. Colonel Frith 
 invited me to occupy a room in his house. I did 
 so, and became his guest. The building he lived 
 in was apparently an old tomb or mosque like 
 those of Sekundra, roofed with cupolas, and with 
 rooms added all round it : these additions were 
 roofed with grass thatch. It was built on a sandy 
 ridge, and below the ridge for 500 yards was a 
 swamp or jheel which was a favourite haunt of 
 wild - fowl and snipe ; and being close to the 
 colonel's house, it was left unmolested. I was 
 not then rich enough to buy a fowling-piece, and 
 used to walk along the edge of the rushes with 
 a pellet-bow and a bag of pellets, the latter carried 
 by a servant, and I have often struck down cranes 
 and other water-birds, rather to the astonishment 
 of the domestic, for I must tell you that I was 
 
156 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 expert in the use of that bow, having had great 
 practice with it on my way up the river. Of 
 course, I had to attend both riding-school and 
 drills on foot whenever they were ordered. During 
 the day I continued my studies in Persian, and 
 Colonel Frith engaged an old man as my preceptor 
 or munshi, to whom I paid thirty rupees a month. 
 I had not been long there before General Orders 
 were issued for the 8th Light Cavalry to march 
 from Muttra to Cawnpore, on the triennial relief 
 of the regiments. I had therefore to prepare for 
 this move, and hired camels to carry my tent, 
 camel-trunk, and couch. We left Muttra on the 
 15 th October, and went by the regular marches 
 down the Doab. The journey took us one month. 
 I had not been long at Cawnpore before I found 
 my name in General Orders as posted to the 6th 
 Light Cavalry as cornet. That regiment had been 
 ordered down from Meerut, where it had been 
 cantoned, to Kalpee on the Jumna, and thence to 
 Chattapore, to form a portion of the force as- 
 sembling there to be employed under General 
 Martindale. This force was to act against the 
 freebooter or Pindaree chief. Amir Khan, who 
 had made a demonstration from Eajputana to 
 plunder the Nagpoor territory which then belonged 
 to the Bhonsla, one of the great Mahratta chiefs. 
 Lord Minto, who was then the Governor-General, 
 wished to conciliate the Bhonsla, and to show him 
 that the British could be of great service in pro- 
 
AN EXCHANGE. 157 
 
 tecting his country. He had therefore directed the 
 assembly of a considerable force under General 
 Martindale, and another from the Madras Presi- 
 dency under General Sir Barry Close, which was 
 to move towards Kimlasa so as to cut off the 
 retreat of this notorious depredator, who would 
 thus be hampered in front by the Bhonsla's troops 
 and harried in his rear by the two forces that had 
 been concentrated for this purpose. I prepared 
 immediately to march from Cawnpore to Kalpee, 
 and got rid of all articles that were not necessary 
 for a campaign. Amongst these was a new cocked 
 hat with feather, in a tin case (for such in those 
 days was the head-dress for full uniform of the 
 8th Light Cavalry), and Cornet Nicholson having 
 a new folio Persian dictionary by Eichardson 
 which I was anxious to get, made an exchange 
 with me — the book for the cocked hat. I made 
 room for this volume, large and heavy as it was, 
 and it was of great use to me in my studies of 
 the Persian language. At a village called Chick- 
 randa, on a rainy night, I was disturbed by thieves. 
 I awoke my servants and the rascals fled ; luckily 
 I was not robbed. I had to cross the Jumna on 
 a ferry-boat with my baggage to get to Kalpee, 
 a small fort on a very high bank overlooking the 
 river on that side and commanding the town of 
 Kalpee. This fort I found was filled with native 
 houses, but from the top of the gateway you had 
 a good view of the town and its vicinity. The 
 
158 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 next day a young officer arrived there and had 
 a tent pitched not far from mine. He also had 
 been posted to the 6th Light Cavalry, and was 
 the next senior to me. We of course became 
 acquainted ; his name was E. B. He was 
 several years senior to me in age ; he had enjoyed 
 a good classical education, but he was fond of a 
 good bottle of port after dinner. I had brought 
 with me twelve bottles of port wine, half of which 
 he did me the honour to imbibe the first evening 
 he dined with me, yet it seemed to produce no 
 inebriating effects, for he was up and on his pony 
 by the early dawn. Three days after our arrival 
 the 6th Light Cavalry marched into camp on the 
 opposite side of the Jumna, and the next day it 
 crossed over. It was under the command of 
 Major K. Houstane, who afterwards became 
 General Sir R. Houstane, K.C.B., and was for 
 many years commandant of the college at Addis- 
 combe. Of course Brown and I reported our 
 presence to the adjutant, and we then joined 
 the corps (December 1809). 
 
 We received a ceremonious reception from our 
 commanding officer, and I found myself posted 
 in orders to the 4th troop, commanded by Captain 
 Humphrey Ho worth, to whom I paid my respects. 
 I was then taken by the adjutant to the different 
 officers' tents and introduced to them, and joined 
 the mess of the corps. Long before daylight 
 the next morning the first trumpet summoned 
 
ON FIELD-SERVICE. 159 
 
 me up. I had to tell off the troop the moment 
 it was mounted and had fallen in, and to march 
 it to its place in the column of the regiment, 
 reporting to Captain Howorth the number of men 
 and horses present, then taking my post in the 
 centre of the squadron. The native regular cav- 
 alry regiments had only six troops, eighty horses 
 to each troop. We made the regular marches to 
 Chattapore, where General Martindale's force was 
 being assembled. Here we halted for a week or 
 ten days, and I was ordered to attend riding-school 
 and all parades and drills. 
 
 The army that had assembled consisted of two 
 light field - batteries of 9- and 6-pounder guns 
 drawn by bullocks, three regular regiments of 
 native cavalry— the 1st, 5th, and 6th— formed 
 into a brigade under the command of Colonel 
 Fawcett. Each regiment of cavalry had with it 
 two light 6-pounder guns, which served for flpng 
 artillery. These guns were commanded by the 
 senior lieutenant or cornet without a command. 
 The names and rank of the ofl&cers of the 6th 
 Light Cavalry Regiment were as follows: Major 
 R. Houstane, commanding ; Captain Fry, Captain 
 Howorth, Captain-Lieutenant Western, Lieutenant 
 Craigie, Lieutenant Arnold (this officer was acting 
 as paymaster at Muttra, and not present ; he was 
 the son of the famous General Arnold of the 
 American War), Lieutenant H. Thompson, adju- 
 tant; Lieutenant Cock; Cornets Ryves, Ward, 
 
160 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Eoxborough, E. W. Smith, Brown, and Hearsey. 
 The infantry of the force consisted of H.M.'s 53rd 
 Eegiment, under the command of Colonel Maberly, 
 and six regiments of native infantry. These 
 corps were formed into three brigades. We had 
 also a corps of Pioneers. When all was settled, 
 and every person appointed to the army had 
 joined, the order was received to advance, and 
 we moved up the Hirapur Ghat on the highest 
 steppes of Central India. I suppose it must be 
 at least 500 feet higher than the plain on which 
 Chattapore stands. The ascent was very heavy, 
 the ground being cumbered with boulders com- 
 posed of iron ore — the whole ascent covered with 
 brushwood and trees. We saw a number of very 
 primitive crucibles and kilns for extracting the 
 iron ore, which is then beaten up into irregular 
 pigs of iron and is sent to the town of Mirzapore 
 (a large town and mart on the Ganges) for sale. 
 The army progressed daily till we came to a small 
 town called Kirwee, not very far from Kimlasa, 
 which is a large walled town. Here the army 
 halted, and communication was opened with the 
 force from the Madras Presidency commanded by 
 General Sir Barry Close. We were expecting 
 every day that the forces would unite and move 
 on for the purpose of cutting off the famous Pin- 
 daree chieftain. Amir Khan. 
 
 This freebooter had advanced with a horde of 
 horsemen for the purpose of marauding in the 
 
A HOT WEATHER UNDEE CANVAS, 161 
 
 country of the Bhonsla. It appeared that Lord 
 Minto, the Governor- General, was anxious to form 
 a treaty with that chieftain, so as to induce him 
 to consent that a subsidiary British force should 
 be stationed at his capital and be paid for by him 
 for its defence. In order to show him that the 
 British protection would be effectual, the armies 
 of Close and Martindale had been sent to cover 
 his country from depredation. Amir Khan Pin- 
 daree had seized a large town in Central India 
 called Sironghi, intending to make it his capital, 
 and thence to threaten the states all round with 
 hostility. He was encouraged and supported in 
 these plundering expeditions by the Mahratta 
 states of Holkar and Scindia. Amir Khan, now 
 finding himself and forces likely to be cut off, beat 
 a retreat by rapid marches towards Eajputana. 
 
 General Barry Close took possession of Sironghi : 
 as there was no intention of following Amir Khan 
 into Eajputana, the armies retired towards their 
 own presidencies, and ours, the Bengal force, 
 formed a standing camp in Bundelkhund, at a 
 place called Tehree, — a territory belonging to a 
 small independent rajah, — a very pretty spot. 
 Here we remained all the hot season of 1810 in 
 camp, and it was hot. It was the first hot 
 weather I had ever spent under canvas. In the 
 middle of May 1811 the army was broken up, 
 and the 6th Light Cavalry was ordered to Muttra, 
 and we had a very hot march to that place, where 
 
 L 
 
162 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 we arrived just as the rains commenced. Thus 
 ended my first campaign without my seeing a shot 
 fired in earnest. 
 
 At this station I bought my first bungalow. The 
 ground, or compound as it is called, had two 
 bungalows upon it : one consisted of one room and 
 an open verandah round it, the other was of an 
 oblong shape, with three small rooms, and three 
 servants' houses at the end of it. The former I 
 made into a reception-room, and the other into 
 a sitting-room, reading- and writing-room, and 
 bedroom. The houses for my servants stood 
 about twenty -five yards distant, and formed a 
 square with mud walls in which were my stables, 
 with two stalls for my charger and pony. The 
 latter was a smart Galloway, which I used for my 
 morning rides and shooting excursions. I had 
 to attend every morning at the riding-school and 
 other drills, and at the end of two months I was 
 dismissed as "au fait" with both. My greatest 
 delight was in cultivating a garden in the grounds, 
 for from boyhood I was always fond of horti- 
 culture and floriculture. Time passed happily, 
 my leisure being employed in reading, writing, 
 and studying. In the evening I went to mess, 
 for we had a very good one. My pony took me to 
 and from there, as it was three-quarters of a mile 
 from my house. 
 
 During the latter end of the hot winds, or the 
 beginning of June, the second squadron of the 
 
A HAIL-STOEM. 163 
 
 corps under the command of Captain H. Howorth 
 was sent to Agra for the purpose of putting down 
 a system of brigandage carried on by a body of 
 mounted depredators called Cossacks (or Kazzaks). 
 These people had strong, mud-walled forts on the 
 bank of the Chambal Eiver, at no great distance 
 from Agra. One of them was called Munsteala and 
 the other Manora. A party of infantry and artil- 
 lery, with one troop of ours under Lieutenant Cock, 
 was ordered to march to these places and reduce 
 them. The other troop was left at the canton- 
 ment of Nowela, where we were so fortunate as to 
 occupy the Government bungalows, which had been 
 erected for the riding-master and sergeant-major 
 of artillery. This was a great comfort, for the 
 weather was extremely hot. In our march from 
 Muttra we were one morning exposed to a most 
 violent hail -storm. The hail was as large as 
 marbles, and it was driven so forcibly by the wind 
 against the horses and ourselves that the animals 
 would not face it, but turned their tails towards 
 it and remained with their heads down till the 
 storm had passed. The hailstones smote us with 
 great force, making us smart even through our 
 clothes. On the walls of the fort at Agra vast 
 flocks of pigeons made their nests : hundreds were 
 killed by the hailstones and fell into the ditch; 
 they were taken out by the lower caste of natives 
 and eaten. Even the hedges round the officers' 
 compounds, and the soft bark of the trees, were 
 
164 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 scored by the hailstones, and many of the tender 
 branches were cut off. We remained at Agra 
 until the two forts on the banks of the Chambal 
 had been taken possession of, the garrison of both 
 having fled when the artillery had almost made 
 practicable breaches. The squadron was subse- 
 quently ordered to Muttra, where we arrived after 
 three days' hot and disagreeable marches. Nothing 
 of interest occurred excepting in connection with 
 the Brahminee bulls of Muttra, which I must tell 
 you are let loose on the community as calves 
 when a Brahmin or Hindu of high caste dies, and 
 which are permitted to roam about as they will 
 — nay, they are even allowed to devour the grain 
 or vegetables brought to the market for sale, the 
 vendors not being allowed to strike them, and can 
 only drive them away by shouts. They also roam 
 into the fields and browse over them, and when 
 they grow up to bulls of full size they become 
 very dangerous to the population, running at and 
 goring them if they are not quick enough in 
 getting out of their way. The cantonment is but 
 a short distance from the town of Muttra, which 
 is thought to be a very holy place. Here the 
 bodies of high caste Hindus are sent to be burnt 
 and the ashes thrown into the Jumna. Complaints 
 were made of the danger that natives and Europ- 
 eans suffered of being attacked by these animals. 
 They belonged to nobody, and proclamation was 
 made through the towns of Muttra and Goverd- 
 
AN UNPLEASANT EPISODE. 165 
 
 han, and other sacred places in the vicinity, that 
 if the bulls were not driven away or sent across 
 the Jumna they would be destroyed, the safety 
 of the community being endangered by their being 
 permitted to roam at large. No heed was given 
 to this notification, and to prevent our servants 
 and ourselves being longer molested by the buUs, 
 the officers formed themselves into squads, with 
 guns and spears, to drive them to a distance from 
 the cantonments across the river. This was fine 
 sport, as they repeatedly charged the horsemen, 
 and there were several narrow escapes. However, 
 this had the desired effect, for the natives, not 
 wishing the animals to be killed, had them driven 
 off to a long distance, from whence they were not 
 likely to return. 
 
 In the year 1812, during the rains, an unpleas- 
 ant circumstance occurred between myself and 
 another cornet of the 6th Light Cavalry somewhat 
 senior to myself, a young man with an exceedingly 
 disagreeable temper, well educated, but of an un- 
 happy sneering disposition. His house was next 
 to mine, and he frequently came over to my place 
 asking me to go out with him on different excur- 
 sions. On one of these occasions we were joined 
 by an Ensign Cayley. We had taken our guns 
 with us with the intention of going down by the 
 sands of the Jumna for the purpose of getting 
 shots at wild geese, ducks, and kulan (these are 
 delicious eating). We spied the small boat that 
 
166 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 belonged to the post-office and was used for the 
 purpose of carrying the letters and mail-bags that 
 came to and fro between the town and canton- 
 ments. On this boat we all got and paddled 
 down stream, but the birds were too wary to let 
 us come near them. My companions inclined to 
 be sportive, and began to amuse themselves by 
 rocking the boat, which was little better than a 
 canoe, from side to side, the water every now and 
 then coming over the side of the boat. "We were 
 in deep water about twenty yards from a sand- 
 bank. I begged of them to desist, as a little more 
 water and the boat would sink, and we should 
 have to swim to shore. They thought that I was 
 alarmed and began to do it all the more, upon 
 which I quietly took off my shoes, coat, and neck- 
 cloth. They asked me what I did that for. I re- 
 plied, to enable me to swim more easily when 
 the boat sank, especially as the current at that 
 place was strong. I quietly said, " I hope, young 
 gentlemen, that you can both swim, as I cannot 
 help you if the boat goes down." They looked 
 at each other astonished and somewhat alarmed, 
 and acknowledged to each other that neither could 
 swim. They then began hastily to bail the water 
 out of the boat with their hats, and asked me to 
 assist them, as the boat was evidently in a sinking 
 state. I quietly declined to do so, and said that 
 as they had filled the boat for their pleasure they 
 might take their time in emptying it, for I was 
 
A QUARREL. 167 
 
 quite ready at any time for a swim. In the course 
 of half an hour the boat was bailed out and dry 
 again. When they put ashore I said I would 
 walk home, and they had to pull the boat up 
 stream to where they found it, and I quickly made 
 my best way home. This little affair created an ill- 
 feeling on the part of B towards me, which he 
 
 showed at times in sneering remarks, which, if not 
 addressed to me, were aimed at me. Of these I 
 took no notice. One evening during the rainy 
 season I was detained at the mess longer than I 
 wished in consequence of a heavy fall of rain, 
 having only my pony on which to return to my 
 bungalow : the senior officers had mostly buggies 
 or palanquins, and could go back to their houses 
 
 without getting wet. Unfortunately only B 
 
 and myself were left in the mess-room, both of us 
 young men, I very passionate and he very vindic- 
 tive. I must tell you for the elucidation of what 
 follows that certain regulations had formerly 
 been in force in our mess, which a majority of 
 officers, at a mess meeting, had abrogated. The 
 regulations were most liberal at all times. The 
 wines, sherry, and pale ale were paid for by all 
 officers whether they partook of them or not, so 
 that the juniors on small allowances could always 
 partake of them at a small expense. B com- 
 menced speaking on this subject, and said that he 
 thought it illiberal on the part of the senior officers 
 to cancel that rule. I made no reply to him, as I 
 
168 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 did not wish to have any argument on the subject, 
 when he put the question to me direct, " Are you 
 not of the same opinion ? " I said no, I was not, for 
 I did not wish the seniors to pay any portion of 
 my expenses at the mess, as I could not afford to 
 drink either wine or beer, and if I felt fatigued by 
 over-exercise I found a little weak brandy and 
 water restored me. He answered, evidently en- 
 raged, "Then, sir, you insinuate that I am mean 
 enough to do the contrary ? " I made no reply, 
 and he added, " You're no gentleman for making 
 such an observation, and I consider it most im- 
 pertinent on your part to have done so." On this 
 I rose from my chair and went towards him ; he 
 also stood up and said to me, " You're an im- 
 pertinent ." The last words were scarce out 
 
 of his mouth when I struck him, and he fell prone 
 on the ground. He rose and seized a chair, appar- 
 ently with the intention of felling me with it. I 
 again knocked him down and left him on the 
 ground. Quitting the mess-house, I mounted my 
 pony and rode home. This proceeding on my 
 part was exceedingly wrong, but, as I before said, 
 I was very passionate, and I could not put up with 
 his insolent language. Early the next morning I 
 was awakened by being shaken by the shoulder, 
 
 and on rising up found Cornet B standing by 
 
 my bed. He addressed me, saying, " Did you not 
 push me down in the mess last night ? " I replied, 
 "No, sir; I knocked you down twice for being 
 
BOTH IN FAULT. 169 
 
 very impertinent to me." He said, "Oh, very- 
 well, I know what I am to do." I immediately 
 dressed and had my pony got ready, and went oflf to 
 an elderly person in our corps, Dr Impey, an Irish- 
 man, and detailed the whole circumstances to him, 
 
 saying that I didn't think that B could have 
 
 been sober, he having asked me if I had not pushed 
 him down. I added that if Dr Impey would kindly 
 act as my friend I would leave the matter entirely 
 in his hands. I soon after received a note from 
 
 Lieutenant FitzGerald, as B 's friend, demanding 
 
 an explanation of what had occurred the preceding 
 night. I referred him to Dr Impey, who had 
 undertaken to act as my friend on this occasion. 
 The two gentlemen talked the matter over and 
 agreed that we should both be sent for and reas- 
 oned with on our conduct, as we were but boys. 
 Impey wrote me a note to meet him at the mess- 
 room as soon as possible. I immediately went to 
 
 him. FitzGerald and B were both waiting for 
 
 me. Our friends had decided that we were both in 
 
 fault ; that B should not have used insulting 
 
 language to me, and that I ought not to have 
 struck him. Impey asked if I was willing to 
 apologise for having done so. I replied, certainly, 
 provided Cornet B expressed his regret for hav- 
 ing insulted me. On these terms the matter was 
 arranged. B first expressed his regret at hav- 
 ing used improper language, and I said I was very 
 sorry that I had lifted my hand to strike him. 
 
170 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 This quarrel thus was adjusted. It was never to 
 be spoken of or mentioned to anybody. So ended 
 our first disagreement, but it bore a blossom which 
 fruited afterwards. 
 
 Time passed on with the usual routine of mili- 
 tary life. At the latter end of the year 1812, in 
 consequence of a body of Pindarees having made 
 a demonstration to invade and overrun the dis- 
 trict of Mirzapur (a very rich tract on the right 
 bank of the river Ganges), the regiment was sud- 
 denly ordered down from Muttra to the city of 
 Mirzapur, and we went by forced marches down 
 the Doab and crossed the Ganges at that town. 
 Thence we proceeded onwards to Hilliah, a large 
 village some ten or twelve miles on, leading up 
 by the Katra Pass to the province of Eewa. We 
 encamped at Hilliah, and had with us two corps of 
 Light Infantry. Here we remained watching the 
 passes on the frontier. A. body of Pindarees had 
 actually come down that pass before our arrival, 
 intending to make a dash and plunder the rich 
 town before mentioned. These marauders were 
 not aware that a regiment of Light Infantry was 
 stationed at a small cantonment named Tara, and 
 it so happened that when some distance from this 
 cantonment they heard firing of musketry early 
 in the morning, the regiment of infantry being at 
 practice with blank cartridge, the officer com- 
 manding (Colonel Tetley) being as ignorant that 
 these marauders were so close to his post as they 
 
A CHUMMERY. l7l 
 
 themselves were, until they heard the firing, that 
 a force of infantry was posted there. We re- 
 mained at Hilliah till the month of June 1813, and 
 had our spies in the province of Eewa and along 
 the range of the Vindhya mountains to give us 
 quick intelligence of any attempts by the Pin- 
 darees to invade the Mirzapur district. The Eewa 
 Eaja was called upon to give the reason why he 
 had not sent information that these plunderers 
 had passed through his territory to invade British 
 territory, as by treaty he ought to have done. 
 During the rainy season of that year (1813) the 
 regiment was ordered to the cantonments of Sul- 
 tanpur-Benares, situated about four miles from the 
 fortress of Chunar, but on the opposite side of the 
 river, and about fourteen miles from the town of 
 Benares and on the same side of the river. At 
 this place I hired a house, and I and two other 
 brother- officers chummed together. They were 
 E. Wood Smith and Thomas Wilkinson, the latter 
 of whom joined the corps soon after our arrival. 
 The rains were not quite over when the squadron 
 to which I was attached, under Captain Howorth, 
 was ordered again to Hilliah to take post there 
 and watch the passes. I must tell you that there 
 was a river with a very rocky bed in that place, 
 and in many parts of it were pools. We had to 
 cross this river at a point where it was eighty 
 yards broad, and it was full and running rather 
 rapidly. The only mode of crossing was by a 
 
1*72 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 couple of canoes made out of hollowed trunks of 
 trees. It was fordable at all seasons except dur- 
 ing the rains or monsoon. On our arrival there 
 we found it unfordable, and we had to swim the 
 squadron over, horses with bare backs and men 
 without their uniforms, attended by canoes to 
 assist any of them who might be in difficulties. 
 This was effected without any loss, the saddles 
 and arms being brought over during the remainder 
 of the day. We learned when we got to Hilliah 
 that the reply from the Raja of Rewa had not 
 been thought satisfactory by Lord Minto's Gov- 
 ernment, and a force had been ordered to assemble 
 in Bundelkhund to enter that territory, not only 
 to overawe the Eaja, but also to prevent any 
 Pindaree depredators from going through it. It 
 appeared that a small portion of the guard of the 
 10th Native Infantry in charge of spare arms and 
 other military stores, when proceeding in carts 
 through a portion of Rewa, were attacked by a 
 large armed force of Baghela Rajputs, and were 
 overpowered and put to death. The arms and 
 ammunition were taken off to Fort Entowrah, 
 occupied by these people. The force from Bundel- 
 khund having exacted retribution, made a more 
 stringent treaty with the Raja of Rewa, who de- 
 clared that he could not restrain his almost inde- 
 pendent subjects from their lawless proceedings. 
 It was determined that the force from Bundelkhund 
 should advance against this force and destroy it. 
 
A BRAVE DEFENCE. 173 
 
 We remained at Hilliah to assist in conveying 
 what might be required to the force employed. 
 On the troops arriving at the fort it was sum- 
 moned to surrender. The summons was treated 
 with defiance. On reconnoitring the place closely 
 we were astonished to find that there was no gate- 
 way or doorway into it, moreover it was sur- 
 rounded by a deep and wide ditch, and the only 
 way of entrance was by a window in the wall, 
 half-way up its height, which could only be 
 reached by a rope ladder pulled up when not re- 
 quired by the garrison. Eegular siege works were 
 thrown up within half musket shot, and two 
 18-pounder guns were placed as battery field-guns 
 to enfilade the walls, and four mortars to shell the 
 place. Not being a very extensive fort it was 
 completely surrounded, so that no escape could 
 be made by the garrison. The hole in the wall 
 was soon widened so as to form a practicable 
 breach. The debris filled the ditch, and Colonel 
 Adams, who commanded the force, ordered the 
 assault. The place was carried by our troops, and 
 the Killahdar or fort commandant, a determined 
 man, when he found that our troops had managed 
 to enter the place, seated himself on a large bag of 
 gunpowder and blew himself up. Nearly the 
 whole garrison were put to death. This severe 
 example had a most wholesome effect, for all the 
 small strongholds of the Eewa Raja's insurgent 
 subjects surrendered when surrounded by our 
 
174 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HBARSEY. 
 
 forces. The Pindaree depredators, finding their 
 attempts to get through the Eewa country to our 
 rich towns on the banks of the Ganges fruitless, 
 determined to find their way more to the eastward 
 vid Maunbhoona, or Sinbhoon, and crossing the 
 river round the Ootaree Pass in the province of 
 Palamow, attacked Gaya, the famous rendezvous 
 for pilgrims of the Hindu religion, and from 
 thence threatened Oomeh and other rich towns on 
 the Ganges. Of this the British Government had 
 timely notice, and a considerable force of Euro- 
 pean artillery, cavalry, and infantry was sent vid 
 Jusseram. Leaving the old ruinous fort of Bot- 
 tasgarh on our right, we crossed the broad sandy 
 bed of the Eiver Soone, nearly four miles in width, 
 ^nd approaching the hills of Palamow formed a 
 standing camp at a large town called Eamnagar. 
 Parties of infantry were sent to explore passes in 
 the hills, and the Intelligence Department sent 
 spies and fast runners into the wild country be- 
 yond the hills to bring us due notice of the pres- 
 ence of any of these plunderers. 
 
 Close to the standing camp there was thick 
 And almost impenetrable jungle, which afi'orded 
 great sport to the officers, as it contained all 
 .sorts of game from the tiger to the hare, and 
 from the peacock to the quail. Vast numbers 
 ■of jungle fowl, like the domestic fowl but 
 more slender and elegant in shape, were found 
 in these places, especially at the foot of the 
 
AN OLD FOETEESS. 175 
 
 ascent to the old fortress of Kotagarh, which 
 frowned down upon us from the opposite side 
 of the river. To visit the fortress we had to 
 cross the river, which was full of quick- 
 sands, and go through the village of Akbarpur, 
 which led us by the only road through the 
 dilapidated gateway of Kotagarh to the summit. 
 The great danger was crossing the river, as in 
 doing so we had to avoid those treacherous 
 quicksands, even when the water was flowing 
 over them, and there were many tales of the 
 narrow escapes that sportsmen had had in cross- 
 ing there. On one occasion I had to pass my 
 pony through a water quicksand, the animal 
 sinking in it till it covered the cantle of its 
 saddle, but the sand being watery and loose I 
 managed to force him through it. My com- 
 panion B was not so fortunate, and had to turn 
 
 back and was for some time in danger. 
 
 I went up to the top of the hill fortress and 
 wandered all over it. The top was a table-land, 
 and at least five or six miles in circumference. 
 Many old ruins and buildings were on it, and 
 some of them, it was declared, had treasure 
 buried within them. Many large and deep 
 tanks of stone riveted with iron, and filled with 
 water and weeds, were sunk in the flat table- 
 land, mostly surrounded by huge climbing-plants 
 and clumps of bamboo and jungle. I had taken 
 a guide from Akbarpur to show me the place, 
 
176 AUTOBIOUEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 and had four servants with me to carry my 
 guns and ammunition, and also to beat the 
 jungle with their long poles to start the game. 
 On approaching one of these large tanks I saw 
 wild duck and teal on it, and creeping under 
 the shelter of the bamboos got a near pot-shot 
 at them and killed two. But finding the water 
 deep and covered with weeds, I forbade my 
 servants to bring them to me. The guide, how- 
 ever, hoping to get a reward, stripped himself 
 to fetch them out. He swam to where they 
 were, and taking the dead ducks, one in each 
 hand, managed to get to within fifteen yards of 
 me, but he there got entangled in the weeds 
 and was obliged to let go the ducks, and not 
 being able to extricate himself, there was every 
 chance of his being drowned. Fortunately for him, 
 some people had been cutting the bamboos, and 
 several very long ones were lying on the ground. 
 I ran and picked up one, and entering the water 
 as far as I dared, held it towards him, and 
 luckily it was long enough to reach the guide. 
 He snatched at it and held it tight, and with 
 the assistance of one of my servants I pulled him 
 to shore. In these exertions the dead wild-fowl 
 had been drawn near the bank, and we managed 
 to get them both out with the bamboo. I re- 
 warded the fellow with one rupee, and he would 
 willingly have risked his life again for another 
 bird. In the evening the guide showed me a 
 
A QUIBBLE. 177 
 
 place where I could ford the river without any 
 risk. I also killed some wild cocks and hens, and 
 did not return empty-handed to camp. 
 
 We were not disturbed in our standing camp 
 by any attempt of marauding Pindarees making 
 raids into Palamow or the old Hindu place, Gaya. 
 Our brigade parades were diversified by hunting, 
 shooting, and cricket, and thus time passed on. 
 A favourite pastime was quoits, and the mention 
 of this game brings to mind a circumstance which 
 might have had serious consequences. One night 
 at our mess Cornet P. Eeid, who was doing duty 
 with a wing of the 8th Light Cavalry, was con- 
 versing about this game. He was sitting next 
 
 to me and was talking to Cornet B , who sat 
 
 at table nearly opposite to him. He said that 
 he thought it was very difficult to place two 
 quoits one upon the other in one hand, and to 
 pitch them so as to go the whole length of the 
 cast together ; and that it was impossible to 
 cast three in one hand any distance, for the 
 
 centre one was sure to slip out. Cornet B ', 
 
 whom he was addressing, said that he was not 
 of that opinion, and that the quoits could be 
 thrown with one hand together. Eeid replied 
 that he considered it exceedingly difficult, if not 
 impossible, for if any person attempted it over 
 the fly of a double poled tent the centre quoit 
 
 would slip out and hit the fly. B said that he 
 
 would take a bet that he could do it. A small 
 
 M 
 
178 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 bet was laid, when B said, " I will tie the 
 
 three quoits with a string and throw them over." 
 Keid replied that that was not the question ; he 
 meant the quoits should be loose in the hand 
 and merely grasped. He turned round to me and 
 asked me if I had heard what had passed, and 
 if I did not understand it so. I replied that I 
 did, and that tying them together would make 
 it a very easy thing to perform, and added sotto 
 
 voce that the fastening was a mere quibble. B 
 
 unfortunately heard the expression, and said, loud 
 enough for the officers near us to hear, " I do 
 not know, sir, what you mean by using the word 
 quibble. No gentleman quibbles, sir, and I 
 cannot deem you a gentleman for having made 
 use of such an expression." I replied, " You 
 are an impertinent fellow for addressing me in 
 that way." Now I must mention that from the 
 
 time of my former disagreement with Cornet B 
 
 he had been practising, I may say daily, with his 
 duelling pistols at a mark, and had become al- 
 most a dead shot with them. The officers were 
 aware of this, and were under no inclination to 
 be on companionable terms with him, as any 
 little disagreement that might arise would tend 
 to a fatal encounter. A quarrel had occurred be- 
 tween Cornet B and Cornet A at the mess 
 
 of the 8th Dragoons, to which corps the latter 
 officer belonged, and the misunderstanding had 
 been settled in consequence of Cornet B 's noted 
 
A DEAD SHOT. l79 
 
 skill in the use of the duelling pistols. Nay, a 
 few days previous to this occurrence with me, 
 after breakfast one morning at the mess tent, 
 he asked Cornet Wilkinson to let him look at 
 his duelling pistols, and produced his own. The 
 natural consequence was that they went out to 
 the grove of mango trees where the tent was 
 pitched and commenced practising at a card nailed 
 
 to the tree. B with his own pistol struck the 
 
 card at 18 paces. He then tried Wilkinson's 
 pistols, and was almost as successful with them 
 as with his own. I happened to be in the tent 
 and went to see the practice, and Wilkinson said, 
 "By the bye, Hearsey, you have a splendid pair 
 of duelling pistols ; send for them and we'll try 
 them." I did so, and they were taken out of 
 their case, admired, and loaded. I was asked to 
 take the first shot. I did so, was careless in 
 taking aim, and missed striking the tree al- 
 together. B then said, " There would be no 
 
 great danger in being your opponent in a duel." 
 I replied that I was not in the habit of practising 
 
 with duelling pistols. Whether B bore this in 
 
 mind or not I cannot tell, but after I had re- 
 turned from the mess in the evening on which 
 the discussion concerning quoits took place, and 
 in which the unpleasant words had arisen be- 
 tween us, he sent his friend, Cornet Wilkinson, 
 to me, calling on me to apologise for the ex- 
 pressions I had used, or to appoint a friend to 
 
180 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 settle a place of meeting at seven o'clock next 
 morning. I told Wilkinson I would send a friend 
 to make arrangements, as I would not make any 
 apology. I asked Cornet Anstruther to be my 
 friend on this occasion. He agreed to be so, and 
 all matters were arranged that the affair should 
 come off. At the time appointed Anstruther and 
 I arrived on the ground with my duelling pistols 
 a few minutes before the other parties made their 
 appearance. Anstruther had been talking to me 
 about the cause of the quarrel, and said that the 
 
 matter appeared to him so trivial, and that B 
 
 was such a noted marksman, that a slight con- 
 cession on my part would not derogate from my 
 honour. I answered, pointing to a grave that 
 happened to be near the place that we were 
 standing on, " I would rather, Anstruther, be six 
 feet underground than make any concession to 
 a man whom I consider a bully." Wilkinson and 
 Anstruther talked for some time, trying to avoid 
 and prevent the last extremity, but finding it 
 of no avail the distance of twelve paces was 
 stepped off and the pistols loaded and placed in 
 our hands, cocked, and hair - triggers adjusted. 
 The signal to fire was the dropping of a hand- 
 kerchief (to the end of which a weight was 
 attached), and we were to fire the moment it 
 was released by the finger and thumb. We had 
 both to look at the person giving the signal, and 
 could not take dead aim at each other, but fired 
 
A DUEL. 181 
 
 the same instant the handkerchief dropped. The 
 ball of my adversary grazed my clothes at the 
 upper part of my thigh, and the bullet of my 
 pistol went through my adversary's thigh about 
 six inches above the knee, and grazed the other 
 leg a little lower down. I saw him turn pale, 
 stagger, and fall, and I placed my pistol on the 
 ground and ran towards him, undoing my black 
 silk handkerchief which was round my throat. 
 I knelt down to make use of the scarf as a 
 tourniquet to stop the bleeding. By this time 
 he had recovered himself a little, and said to me 
 angrily, "Unhand me, sir; how dare you touch 
 me." I immediately left him to the care of his 
 friend Wilkinson, who at once fastened my hand- 
 kerchief round and above the wound, and asked 
 Anstruther to hand me my other pistol, as the 
 business was to go further. However, Anstruther 
 said "No, no, the affair is at an end," and he 
 
 went to where Wilkinson and B were. B 
 
 was very anxious to have another shot at me on 
 his knees, as he could not stand, but they insisted 
 upon the matter ending there, and then called 
 to me and made us shake hands, and said that 
 both of us had behaved honourably. There the 
 matter ended between us, and we went back to 
 
 camp, Wilkinson and Anstruther assisting B 
 
 there. The intelligence of this occurrence soon 
 spread through the camp, and many officers of 
 different regiments called upon me, congratu- 
 
182 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSBY. 
 
 lating me on my escape and on having punished 
 so dangerous a man, who was always causing 
 trouble. Next day I was summoned to the 
 quarters of my commanding officer, Major 
 Houstane, and in the presence of all the officers 
 and attendants received a severe reprimand for 
 duelling, the adjutant and senior captain being 
 
 deputed to go to Cornet B 's tent and read to 
 
 him a similar diatribe. 
 
 Soon after this occurrence we moved our camp 
 to Hoshungabad, which was much nearer to the 
 jungle, among uncultivated lands at the foot of 
 the Palamow hills. Parties on elephants were 
 the order of the day, intelligence being frequently 
 brought in of tigers being found in sugar-cane 
 fields, patches of high grass, or jungle. One day 
 I had gone out in search of snipe along the edge 
 of a small running stream, which afforded cover 
 for those birds, and whilst carefully proceeding 
 on my sport I heard shouts from a sugar-cane 
 field a short distance off that a large tiger had 
 been disturbed in it, and finding the line of 
 elephants too formidable for him to contend 
 against, he bolted from the field and came in 
 my direction. The servant carrying powder and 
 shot had just time to say " Sahib ! " when the 
 royal beast made a spring over a grass cutter 
 who was scraping grass close to me, lit with a 
 splash in the centre of the stream, and made up 
 the sloping bank into the scrubby brushwood 
 
THE MHOWA. 183 
 
 on the other side. The line of elephants and 
 sportsmen were soon with me, and pushed on 
 after him, but the jungle being very extensive 
 the animal got clear away. 
 
 As the hot weather was now coming on apace 
 the European troops were ordered back to can- 
 tonments, and the native troops formed a stand- 
 ing camp at a place called Poussa, close to the 
 banks of the small river Coyle. The 6th Light 
 Cavalry were so fortunate as to have their tents 
 pitched in a grove of mhowa and other trees. 
 The mhowas came into flower during the hot 
 season of April and May. Their flowers are of 
 an oval shape, larger than a common marble, of 
 a thick substance and of a whitish-yellow colour. 
 These fall off" during the night and cover the 
 ground, and the natives collect them in baskets, 
 and after fermentation they extract a strong liquor 
 from them : this is mixed with the arrack extracted 
 from rice, and gives it a peculiar flavour. This 
 grove was frequented by large white - and - grey 
 monkeys, with black faces and paws and very 
 long tails. They were very shy at first in coming 
 to our end of the grove, but some water that 
 was brought from a distance and poured into a 
 large prepared hide of a bullock placed over a 
 hollow scraped out and filled early every morning 
 by the bhistis, attracted them to slake their thirst : 
 they also fed on the pulse used for the draught 
 animals, which was scattered here and there upon 
 
184 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HE ARSE Y. 
 
 the ground, and of which they were very fond. 
 These attractions made them bold enough to come 
 among the tents. It was proposed amongst us to 
 try to catch them if possible without doing them 
 any serious injury, and then to tame them. I 
 managed to do so in the following manner : I 
 dug a hole in the ground perpendicularly, the 
 length being that of the monkeys, and coated 
 the opening with a little surface of clay ; then 
 making a running noose placed it on the clay 
 circle, taking the other end of the rope into my 
 tent through a little opening among the roots of 
 the grass that formed our tattis or water-screens. 
 A little grain was scattered from the trees to the 
 hole and on the clay circle. The monkeys coming 
 down from the trees followed the grain to the hole, 
 and then looking down, seeing such a store below, 
 put in their paws to obtain it, and this was the 
 time for the person watching to pull the strong 
 cord which he held within the tent. The cord 
 closed above the elbow of the monkey, and when 
 he was secured three or four servants were ready 
 with horse blankets to throw over the struggling 
 animal, and then getting hold of his head and 
 body they held him tight while another servant 
 attached a light chain and collar to his neck. 
 The monkey was then fastened to a long string 
 and a peg driven into the ground, and the blankets 
 removed. Here my friend was secured, but mon- 
 strously savage at first, but hunger and thirst soon 
 
ANGLING FOR MONKEYS. 185 
 
 made him tame, and when a pan of cool water was 
 placed within his reach, and grain thrown to him, 
 the animal was only too happy to eat and drink. 
 In the course of a few days the monkey used to 
 look forward to the time when his food would be 
 brought to him, and then eat it in the presence 
 of the person feeding him. Sometimes the neck 
 would become sore, but whe^ji he had become 
 sufficiently tame that trouble was attended to 
 and cured. In this way some jfifteen to twenty 
 monkeys were caught and tamed. We used to 
 call it angling for monkeys. The jungles about 
 this place gave cover to great numbers of jungle 
 fowl, smaller than the domestic poultry ; they 
 were very wild and ran very fast, and got away 
 from the sportsmen who wished to secure them 
 by getting amongst thorny and leafy scrub. The 
 cocks are very pugnacious, and our plan of getting 
 them was to take a small tame cock and fasten it 
 to a peg in an open place among the jungle. Then 
 we lay perdu to the windward side and remained 
 quite quiet whilst the tame bird sat crowing and 
 answering the wild ones. After a time these latter 
 would come into an open space and attack the 
 tame bird. This was the time for the sportsmen 
 to succeed in killing them. On one occasion with 
 a brother officer I had pegged and fastened our 
 tame cocks, hoping to get a shot at some of the 
 wild ones. My companion being tired of waiting, 
 fell into a doze, and being awakened by a flutter- 
 
186 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 ing and struggling felt assured that he would 
 obtain a wild bird. He snatched up his gun and 
 fired in the direction of the noise. He ran to find 
 his own bird dead, and the other, if wounded, had 
 made its escape. However, the tame bird made a 
 very good curry for lunch that day. What with 
 our parades and sporting, time passed, and the 
 rainy season approached, and in the month of 
 June 1813 the force was broken up and the regi- 
 ments sent back to their respective cantonments. 
 
 We arrived after the usual daily marches, and I 
 went for a month's leave to Gorakhpur to visit my 
 brother-in-law. Major Bradshaw, who was residing 
 there, having been appointed by the Government 
 of India political agent to settle the disputed 
 boundary between the Terai and that province 
 about Bhostwal Ithauqua. This Terai is con- 
 sidered very unhealthy during the rainy seasons 
 from the 1st April to the 1st October. Malaria 
 and marsh miasma prevail, and the people neither 
 of the hills nor of the plains can reside in the 
 Terai district without sufi"ering from what the 
 natives call "Aul," and Europeans "jungle fever." 
 Very few retain their health who have once been 
 attacked by it. Bradshaw employed me whilst 
 with him in sketching from information maps of 
 this country and the passes into the hills, but 
 not being satisfied with the natives whom he had 
 employed on that work he asked Lieutenant 
 Pickersgill and myself to proceed to the frontier 
 
ON SURVEY DUTY. 187 
 
 and make a map of it. Lieutenant Pickersgill 
 commanded Bradshaw's escort of infantry, con- 
 sisting of one company of sepoys. We started 
 with our tents and made three marches, going by 
 Comyngarh, named after Colonel Comyn, who had 
 built a small fort there several years before. We 
 proceeded to the village of Lotan, situated on the 
 bank of the small river Temida. Here we selected 
 a mound or rising ground on which to pitch our 
 camp, and made daily excursions and mapped out 
 the different roads and paths leading to the passes. 
 I sketched the maps and Pickersgill wrote the 
 descriptions. Thus we were employed, when from 
 very heavy rain the river flooded and we found 
 ourselves surrounded by water for miles. I could 
 only amuse myself by shooting the whistling teal 
 and wild-fowl that resorted to the flooded fields. 
 The tufted grass that grew over them became the 
 resort of thousands of different kinds of insects, 
 which I found climbed on to the leaves above the 
 water, together with hundreds of scorpions, centi- 
 pedes, spiders, beetles, and other curious creeping 
 insects. Not finding any wild-fowl I determined 
 to collect these insects, and sent a servant to the 
 village of Lotan to get a ghara or earthen pot 
 such as natives use to hold water. These have a 
 narrow neck and a small shallow saucer to close 
 the mouth. On getting this vessel I shook with 
 my ramrod the tufts of grass so that the insects 
 feU in it, and covering the mouth with the saucer 
 
188 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 I carefully brought it home in order to show my 
 companion what numbers of noxious insects 
 abounded in this vicinity. When he saw the 
 vessel as he entered his tent he asked me what 
 I had got in it. I said, " A most curious animal 
 with a nice soft velvety skin, and it appears to 
 be quite harmless." Of course he wished to see 
 it. I said, " If I open the vessel it will escape ; 
 put your hand in and feel." As he lifted the 
 cover I struck it away from him, and, being 
 round, it rolled along the carpet of the tent, and 
 several of the scorpions and centipedes made their 
 escape from it. I placed the gha/ra upright and 
 put the cover on, and we called some servants in 
 and destroyed the insects that were crawling about 
 the carpet. My companion was rather an elderly 
 man, and had commenced his career in his Majesty's 
 22nd Regiment, but had left it for the Company's 
 service, which he entered as a cadet. He looked 
 on me with surprise, and seemed angry that I 
 should have played him such a trick. I took 
 the pot and carried it outside to his tent, near 
 which a hole had been dug some four feet in 
 depth, for the purpose of observing how deep 
 the floods of rain had saturated the earth ; it 
 was three feet in diameter, and had a foot and 
 a-half of water in it. The insects were all emptied 
 into this hole out of the pot, and to my astonish- 
 ment some large frogs that were hidden under the 
 water made their appearance and quickly devoured 
 
A EAFT. 189 
 
 large numbers of scorpions, centipedes, and other 
 insects, not seeming to care for their bites or 
 stings. We remained here for another week, 
 hoping that the flood would subside, but our 
 patience became exhausted, and we determined 
 to return as soon as possible to Gorakhpur. To 
 load our tents on camels with any hope of getting 
 them from this place we found impracticable. We 
 both had palanquins, and getting four canoes, 
 each hollowed out from a single tree, and mak- 
 ing a raft of strong thick bamboos tied tightly 
 together, we put our raft on the canoes and our 
 "palkys" on them, each canoe being two feet 
 apart. The raft was well fastened with ropes to 
 the canoes, and our " palkys," with bedding in 
 them, were lashed upon it ; also our baskets of 
 provisions and our iron stove for burning char- 
 coal. We embarked in our "palkys," and they 
 sheltered us from the heat of the sun and from 
 the rain, and with all our servants we pushed off 
 on our way down the river and across fields and 
 through forests, and so on to the Chota-Rapti Eiver, 
 and onwards to the great Rapti, which took us to 
 the cantonments of Gorakhpur. Our horses and 
 camels had been left at Lotan to wait the sub- 
 sidence of the floods and to go by regular marches 
 back to the cantonments. Colonel Bradshaw was 
 much pleased with the information and sketches of 
 the country we had brought him. The officers of 
 the 14th Native Infantry posted there were sur- 
 
190 AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 prised to see us again, being assured in their own 
 minds that the jungle fever would have carried us 
 off. Our tents, horses, &c., did not return till a 
 fortnight afterwards, and many of the party were 
 ill with the fever. Pickersgill, who was rather 
 stout, also got seriously ill. I, too, had a slight 
 attack, and it was considered very fortunate that 
 we had escaped more dangerous illness. 
 
 At the end of the month I returned by " palky " 
 dak to Sultanpur-Benares. In the rainy season of 
 1814, in the month of August, Major Bradshaw 
 established himself at a frontier village called 
 Gora-Saran. He had with him one regiment of 
 Native Infantry, one company of the 14th Infantry 
 under Lieutenant Stubbs, and 150 men of Colonel 
 Gardner's ^ Police Force,^ who formed his escort or 
 guard. The country being very unhealthy, he 
 applied to Government to allow me to join him in 
 case of his being taken ill, and this was permitted. 
 So I left Sultanpur and marched to join him vid 
 Ghazipur. On this march I used to send my only 
 tent and table servants on at night, and slept in 
 my cot under a tree. I had not proceeded four 
 marches when some thieves from a neighbouring 
 village stole my clothes and other articles which 
 my sirdar (bearer) had placed close to my bed, 
 and by the side of which, on the ground, he slept. 
 During the night he woke up in alarm, and I found 
 
 1 Colonel William Linnaeus Gardner. 
 
 2 Now 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse). 
 
AN AIRY COSTUME. 191 
 
 that the thieves had walked oflF with my bundle of 
 clothes, my sword, and other things. I immedi- 
 ately sent the bearer to the village, to the civil 
 native authority, with a list of the things stolen, 
 and said that as they had supplied the watchman 
 they would be responsible for the value of the 
 things stolen, and that I should report the matter 
 to the magistrate at Ghazipur. As soon as day- 
 light appeared we searched the high hajra fields, 
 as the thieves had been traced into them : here we 
 found my sword and belt, but my clothes were 
 gone, luckily not my uniform. I had, therefore, 
 to ride that stage in my night-dress. It so hap- 
 pened that an indigo planter had established him- 
 self near the village I had encamped at, and as I 
 approached the tent I saw a buggy with a lady 
 and gentleman in it, driving on the road that I 
 was taking, and, not being exactly in the dress 
 that I wished a lady to see me in, I leapt a bank 
 and ditch and took a wide circle round the adjoin- 
 ing fields to avoid them, my loose dress floating in 
 the air. I managed to get to my tent and put on 
 a dressing-gown before the party, who wished to 
 meet me, made their appearance. The gentleman 
 dismounted and came^ into my tent. I mentioned 
 my misfortune to him, and the reason why I 
 wished to avoid meeting him on the road. He 
 asked me to come up to his bungalow and pass the 
 day with him, for I must say these indigo planters 
 were the most hospitable people that ever lived. 
 
192 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 He told me that the young lady with him was his 
 daughter. I was soon dressed, and told my table 
 attendant to leave off preparing my breakfast and 
 to go to his house and wait upon me there, this 
 being the custom. I passed a very pleasant day, 
 and next morning continued my journey. At a 
 stage or two farther on I had to cross the wide 
 and deep river Gogra. This was rather a ticklish 
 affair, with my groom, horse, and self on a small 
 rickety boat, with the wind high and rain pelting. 
 In the middle of the stream my horse became 
 alarmed, and the frail vessel rocked so much that 
 I was afraid she would fill and go down. I laid 
 hold of a thick and long bamboo to help in sup- 
 porting me in case such an accident occurred ; but, 
 however, after a long pull 1 got over safe. My 
 baggage did not arrive till after dark, so that I 
 was obliged to give my animals time to rest and 
 feed before I pursued my journey. I went by the 
 town of Bettia, when the Eaja, learning that I was 
 a relative of Major Bradshaw, sent me a dali 
 (present) of fruit and vegetables, also a kid, 
 poultry, and some eggs. This was to me a great 
 treat. I pushed on next day another stage. It 
 rained hard, and the country was much under 
 water. This, unfortunately, caused me to quit the 
 road, and my horse fell with me into a sunken pit 
 or well. We scrambled out again, but I was very 
 much hurt, and the pain was so great that I could 
 .scarcely keep my seat. The next day I had to 
 
IN CHARGE OF GARDNER'S HORSE. 193 
 
 cross a small river; this I did in a canoe, into 
 whicli I put my saddle, the horse swimming be- 
 hind. The current carried us amongst the branches 
 of a tree which had been swept into the stream, 
 and my poor horse was much torn and hurt, and 
 in this state we arrived next day at Gora-Saran. 
 My brother-in-law was happy to see me, and I was 
 only too glad to get to bed and be attended by a 
 medical man. My bruises kept me to my bed for 
 a fortnight, and my horse had to be surgically 
 treated. However, we both got over our mis- 
 fortunes. Major Bradshaw desired me to take 
 over command of the Police Force and drill them. 
 This I did, and got them into tolerable order and 
 discipline, and able to perform ordinary movements 
 with some regularity. Thus passed the time till 
 the month of October, in the early part of which 
 the Nepalese outposts near Gorakhpur attacked 
 one of our outposts or stations, seized the officer 
 in command of it, killed and wounded some of the 
 men, and carried the others off. This put an end 
 to aU the negotiations. A demand was made by 
 the British Government to the Nepal authorities 
 to give up the prisoners they had made, and to 
 punish the officer who had dared to commit this 
 outrage. The Nepalese would not do so, and the 
 Governor -General, Lord Moira, and his Council 
 declared war against the Nepalese. Armies were 
 assembled at the large stations of the north- 
 western provinces and on the banks of the 
 
 N 
 
194 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY, 
 
 Ganges, which were directed to march and attack 
 the passes of the Nepalese hills from the vicinity 
 of Bettia to the north-west, and to seize the valley 
 of the Doon and subdue the hill -country from 
 Almora to Simla. A large force was sent under 
 General Sullivan Wood to Lotan — the place Pick- 
 ersgill and I had surveyed last rains — in order to 
 attack the passes in front of that place. An army 
 was also sent to Dinapur on the Ganges, under the 
 command of General Marley, to attack the pass in 
 front of Bettia, named the Chiria - Ghatti Pass, 
 leading by Makwanpur to Khatmandu, the capital 
 of Nepal. Whilst all this preparation was going 
 on I recovered from the bruises and hurts I had 
 suflfered on my journey to Gora-Saran. Bradshaw 
 had heard of a large and ancient fortress at the 
 junction of the Jumna and Bhukkia rivers, and 
 was desirous that a party should go out and sur- 
 vey it. Lieutenant Boileau, Lieutenant Thomson, 
 and myself, with two or three of the younger 
 officers who had volunteered (and among whom 
 was Lieutenant Ingle), proceeded to visit the fort- 
 ress. We found it was very extensive and had 
 double wails and ditches, one a furlong within the 
 other, with large ponds or tanks in the interior. 
 The steps down to the water were made of bricks 
 nearly a yard square and six inches thick. The 
 old Hindu temples near the tanks were built of 
 the same material and were very massive. All 
 were falling into decay. The old walls mentioned 
 
A FALSE ALARM. 195 
 
 above enclosed a space of nearly a hundred acres, 
 now overgrown with grass, bamboos, and trees, in 
 which all the wild beasts of the forest found 
 shelter. The survey took us some time to com- 
 plete, and we disturbed in our progress a herd of 
 wild elephants, who rushed away trumpeting along 
 the dry ditches covered with dense jungle, which 
 had also covered the sloping mounds that had 
 formerly been walls. Lieutenant Boileau carried 
 his note-book and had a perambulator wheeled 
 along close to him. Lieutenant Thomson had the 
 measuring-chain carried next to him and a good 
 stout pole with yards and feet measured upon it. 
 Young Ingle and myself preceded the party with 
 our fowling-pieces loaded with ball. Mine was a 
 single barrel, made by Mortimer. Our khalasi 
 carried our ammunition close behind us. Young 
 Ingle had gone a little way on a'head, when all of 
 a sudden he came running back calling out that a 
 tiger was pursuing him. He passed me and went 
 to the rear of the party. I said to him, "I'll not 
 run until I see the animal," and putting my gun 
 to my shoulder, I awaited its approach. The 
 surveying party also took up an attitude of de- 
 fence — Lieutenant Thomson holding up the pole. 
 Presently the scrub and high grass began to shake, 
 and a very large and formidable wild boar rushed 
 at me. I was steady with my gun and placed a 
 bullet between his neck and shoulder. This did 
 not stop him, but it saved me from being ripped, 
 
196 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIE JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 for, in dashing past me, he knocked me oflf my 
 legs. My khalasi was standing in the same 
 manner, and we both rolled over into the ditch, 
 Thomson shouted aloud and made a blow at the 
 boar with his pole, the perambulator was dropped, 
 and the party took to its heels. My khalasi and 
 I were soon on our legs, and I reloaded my gun 
 with ball. The wild boar dashed down near us 
 while we were on the ground, and pursued his 
 course through the scrub and jungle. Thinking 
 I should find the animal dead, I traced his course 
 a considerable way through the jungle by the 
 spots of blood on the leaves and grass, but, after 
 going a long distance without finding him, I re- 
 turned. This was the only incident that occurred, 
 and after the survey was completed we returned to 
 Gora-Saran. 
 
 On the 15th October 1814 Major Bradshaw 
 issued orders that the detatchment of the 15th 
 Native Infantry, the Police Horse under my own 
 command, and his escort of one company under 
 Lieutenant BoUeau, were to move out of our 
 cantonments at midnight to surprise a body of 
 Goorkhas at a place called Barharwa, situated on 
 the left bank of the Baramatti Eiver. We pro- 
 ceeded silently, and arrived at our destination 
 before daylight. There was a very thick fog over 
 the surface of the country. It was not very high, 
 for we could see the tops of the mango trees in the 
 grove in which the enemy were posted, but the 
 
A NIGHT- ATTACK. 197 
 
 surface of the ground was hidden from us. I was 
 directed to make a dash with my small cavalry 
 force between their cantonment or post and the 
 bank of the river, and to get hold of their boats 
 there and sink them in order to prevent the 
 enemy escaping across the river. In doing this 
 I was almost foiled by a broad and deep ravine, 
 into which my horse, as I was leading, leapt some 
 fifteen feet sheer down. He came down on his 
 head and nose, and his knees touched the opposite 
 bank ; but, being a powerful animal, he recovered 
 his feet, and I rode up the ravine and managed to 
 get my party round at the head of it, where, again 
 forming, I dashed into the enemy's post and 
 succeeded in sinking the boats. While I was 
 doing this the infantry had attacked on the outer 
 or front side of the post, and eflFected a complete 
 surprise. The enemy had not time to form or make 
 any serious opposition. The chief Goorkha com- 
 mander, by name Parsaram Tapa, was killed while 
 personally fighting sword-in-hand with Lieutenant 
 Boileau, whom he wounded ; but he immediately 
 received his death from a sepoy who cut through 
 his skull. The party of Goorkhas lost almost all 
 their ofl&cers, and rushed to get their boats to cross 
 the river. But their boats had been sunk, and they 
 collected under the high bank, not knowing what 
 to do, as the firing of our infantry was very heavy. 
 I was obliged to withdraw my horsemen, as I had 
 already some 18 horses and men killed by the 
 
198 ACJT0BI06RAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAKSEY. 
 
 firing of our own infantry. Soon my men began 
 plundering, and a DaiFadar, by name Ahmed Khan 
 (Bhangash), got a small elephant about six feet 
 high, and was actually disputing possession of it 
 with a havildar of infantry. It was with the 
 greatest difficulty I could get him away, and not 
 before a musket bullet had struck his waistband 
 and had inflicted a wound on the fleshy part of 
 his person. But he did not seem to mind much 
 about that, for, on mounting his horse, he took 
 with him on to his saddle a fine -looking fair 
 Goorkha child, holding it on to the saddle. I 
 asked him what he had got there. He patted 
 him on the head and said, " A little Hindu prize 
 of war," adding that he should adopt him and call 
 him Fateh Mahommed, which means Mahommed 
 the victorious. I told him to take care of the 
 child, for I should certainly require it of him when 
 the affair was over. I got my men at last in line 
 near the same ravine that had stopped me in the 
 morning, and dismounting a body of men I posted 
 them in it with loaded matchlocks and drawn 
 swords. It was well I did so, for the enemy, foiled 
 in crossing the river by boat, came up under the 
 bank so as to be sheltered from the fire of our 
 infantry with the intention of making their way 
 northward toward the jungles and hills. As they 
 approached in a confused mass, carrying two of 
 their standards, my men, in parties of ten or twelve, 
 rushed out at the mouth of the ravine towards the 
 
A SECOND BLOW. 199 
 
 stream of the river and poured volley after volley 
 amongst them. Observing a company of our 
 infantry at a short distance, I rode towards it 
 and told the officer commanding, who proved to 
 be Lieutenant Thomson, to bring his men along 
 with him, and we went at the double towards the 
 edge of the bank. The enemy having been stopped 
 by my men at the end of the ravine, some of them 
 climbed up the bank and fired at us. On the 
 infantry nearing the edge the enemy there threw 
 down their standards and arms and plunged into 
 the deep river to swim across, the company firing 
 volleys at them. But few got to the other bank, 
 and most of the wounded were drowned. 
 
 This was scarce over when Major Bradshaw 
 ordered me to take my Police Force to a small 
 square brick fort called Crotsar-Bhonga, situated 
 on the right bank of the Baramatti Eiver, and 
 about ten miles from Barharwa. I was soon on the 
 move, and he informed me that five companies 
 of the 15th Native Infantry and two guns would 
 follow me. On arriving at the place I found it 
 to be a strong square brick fort — not large — with 
 bastions at the corners, and a deep and wide ditch. 
 There was only one entrance, and a dam or bank 
 had been thrown across the ditch to the gateway. 
 On another side of the bank a small erection had 
 been constructed, I directed the horsemen to 
 place themselves in small squads all round the 
 place. But I could not see any of the garrison ; 
 
200 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 SO with two orderlies I rode up towards the gate- 
 way, and as no matchlocks were fired at me I went 
 straight to it and found the door wide open. I 
 soon ascertained that the garrison, which had con- 
 sisted of only forty men and their Goorkha ofl&cers, 
 had evacuated it and had gone off to cross the Bara- 
 matti River and make their way into the jungle, 
 and by the nearest pass into the hills. I followed 
 them with a party of thirty men, led by a nishan- 
 burdar or standard - bearer named Dilower Khan, 
 and soon got upon their track, and putting our 
 horses at the gallop we presently arrived at the 
 bank of the river, where we saw a party of the 
 enemy crossing it at a ford. We dashed into the 
 stream and had some difficulty in crossing, for 
 we had ridden into quicksands. The enemy 
 arrived at the firm ground on the other side 
 before us. Their matchlocks had got wet, but 
 they massed together and showed front to our 
 party. No sooner had we got free of the river 
 than we formed line and charged down upon 
 them. They threw down their arms and sur- 
 rendered. The arms were collected by my horse- 
 men, and a party was told off to guard and escort 
 the prisoners to my camp. We recrossed the 
 river, and I sent word to a native officer who 
 had been left at the fort to make it over to the 
 infantry when it arrived. I then hastened back 
 to Barharwa, where the action had been fought 
 in the morning, to inform Major Bradshaw of our 
 
AN UNPLEASANT DUTY. 201 
 
 success. I directed my horsemen to give their 
 horses food and to rub them down — half of them 
 at a time — so that we might be always prepared 
 to mount at a moment's notice if required. I 
 then got some food for myself and broke my 
 fast. While so doing I got an order from Major 
 Bradshaw to collect the bodies of the enemy who 
 had been slain, to send the wounded to the hospital, 
 and to buiy the dead. This last was the most 
 unpleasant duty that I had as yet performed as 
 an officer or soldier. The bodies had to be dragged 
 to a pit that had been dug at the head of the 
 ravine, and were promiscuously thrown into it and 
 earth thrown over them. We remained here but 
 a short time and then marched to a broken-down 
 old fort called Goor-Pershad, where we watched 
 the pass in front of us, and patrolled towards it 
 night and day to prevent a surprise, as we knew 
 that a body of the enemy were in the forest at 
 the foot of the pass leading into the mountains. 
 Another party of the 22nd Native Infantry was 
 sent to watch the passes some five or six marches 
 off, and encamped at a village called Lachmanpore 
 (or Summundpore). This party was under the 
 command of Captain Blackney. Major Bradshaw 
 left at Barharwa five companies of the 15th Native 
 Infantry, two 6-pounder guns drawn by bullocks, 
 with ammunition, &c., under Lieutenant Mathison, 
 and thirty of the Police Horse, under the com- 
 mand of a jemadar, to patrol. A corps named the 
 
202 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHJST HEARSEY. 
 
 Champarun Light Infantry was also sent to take 
 possession of a place called Bara-Ghari. This corps 
 was commanded by Major Hay. 
 
 Major Bradshaw, taking his escort with him, 
 marched to meet General Marley's army, which 
 was fast approaching the frontier. We met this 
 army not far from Bara-Ghari. Major Bradshaw 
 waited upon General Marley and explained to 
 him all that had been done, the position of the 
 small parties he had left to watch the river passes 
 leading from the Nepal hills, and told him that 
 these small detachments must he reinforced or 
 withdrawn. Unfortunately General Marley did 
 not heed this advice, but remained in a stand- 
 ing camp awaiting the arrival of his commis- 
 sariat, ordnance, and medical stores at Bettia, 
 where he was throwing up field entrenchments 
 in order to have a place of safety for them. In 
 the meanwhile the enemy had recovered from 
 their panic at the destruction of their outposts, 
 and determined to be revenged. They assembled 
 in large numbers, and, moving by night, man- 
 aged to surprise two posts — one at Goor- 
 Pershad^ and the other at Summundpore. They 
 did so successfully ; and though resistance was 
 offered by our troops for many hours, the de- 
 tachments, not being reinforced, were overwhelmed. 
 Captain Sibley, who commanded at Goor-Pershad, 
 was killed ; Lieutenant Mathison escaped wounded, 
 
 1 Called Pursa in the oflBcial correspondence. 
 
A BAD BEGINNING. 203 
 
 as did Lieutenant Smith of the 15th Native 
 Infantry and other oflficers ; but numbers of the 
 men were killed. The survivors of the cavalry 
 and artillery, after having fired off the last 
 round of ammunition, made their escape. Those 
 who got away crossed a deep but narrow river 
 which partly surrounded their post, and retired 
 towards the main army. This occurred on the 
 morning of the 1st January 1815, beginning the 
 new year rather badly. A regiment, with some 
 artillery, under the command of Major G., had 
 been ordered from the main army to reinforce 
 the detachment at Goor-Pershad. He was near 
 enough to it to hear the firing of the 6-pounder 
 guns ; but instead of hurrying on to support it, 
 halted until the fugitives arrived. Then, if he 
 had advanced, he would have surprised the 
 Goorkhas, recovered our prestige and our 
 guns. But no ; he thought discretion the better 
 part of valour, and hurried back to General 
 Marley's camp, leaving our wounded and dead 
 in the possession of the enemy, and those alive 
 to be taken and murdered in cold blood. At 
 Summundpore the disaster was more complete : 
 Captain Blackney and Lieutenant Duncan were 
 killed, and few of the men escaped. A young 
 assistant surgeon named Corbyn, on the alarm 
 being given, ran towards the hospital tent in his 
 night-dress, thinking that was his proper post. 
 The enemy had got into it and were destroying 
 
204 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 the sick and wounded, when a brawny grenadier 
 sepoy met Corbyn, caught him up in his arms, 
 and carried him bodily off, thus saving his life. 
 The moment I heard of these disasters I got per- 
 mission from Major Bradshaw to go myself, with 
 forty men of my Police Horse, to Goor-Pershad 
 in order to look for and rescue any of the wounded 
 or runaways who might have hidden themselves, 
 and bring them into camp. I felt my way there 
 and found the enemy had retired with our cap- 
 tured guns and such arms as they had been able 
 to collect, together with the tents and baggage. 
 I did manage to bring some severely wounded 
 men into camp, and to cover the retreat of those 
 who had escaped from the field of action. I 
 also brought in the bodies of Major Sibley and 
 others who had fallen. Another party of my 
 horsemen, under the command of Jemadar Ameer 
 Khan (who was said to have been the son of a 
 British officer, and had been brought up as a 
 Mohammedan by his mother), was sent to Sum- 
 mundpore. He brought in the bodies of Captain 
 Blackney and Lieutenant Duncan, also many 
 wounded native officers and men who had hidden 
 themselves in the jungle. Our force and General 
 Marley's large army had to ruminate over these 
 disasters and vow vengeance. General Marley 
 had not heeded the advice of Major Bradshaw 
 to reinforce these posts or withdraw them, and 
 this neglect was reflected upon Major Bradshaw 
 
THE EOYAL BENGAL TIGEE. 205 
 
 in an unjust manner. However, when the cir- 
 cumstances became fully known, he was honour- 
 ably cleared of any neglect. These unhappy 
 events, when reported to Lord Moira, the Governor- 
 General, roused his anger, and he directed General 
 Marley to be superseded, and General George 
 Wood (commonly known by the sobriquet of the 
 Eoyal Bengal Tiger) took command. The army 
 of General Marley had moved on to the Terai, 
 and we all thought that an advance would be 
 made to Chiria-Ghattee and the passes into the 
 hills in front. However, General Marley, hearing 
 that he was superseded, awaited the arrival of his 
 successor in command ; and becoming impatient, 
 and learning that General Wood had arrived in 
 Bettia and was on his way to the camp, deter- 
 mined to go and meet him. This he did without 
 handing over the army to his next senior officer 
 or informing his staff. It so happened that 
 Captain Pickersgill, who had been promoted in 
 the Quartermaster-General's Department, had gone 
 out some miles to the front with an escort of 
 twenty men of my Police Horse and as many 
 men of Light Infantry, to reconnoitre the border 
 of the forest and survey the country and its 
 vicinity. On the very day (19th February 1815) 
 that General Marley left he came upon a village 
 occupied by the enemy's infantry. The village 
 was named Pirazee. The enemy moved out and 
 attacked him. He retired to the high banks of 
 
206 AtTTOBIOaRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 a tank or pond that had been excavated about a 
 mile from the village. A small stream ran down 
 close to the tank, and during the rainy season 
 (when all these streams are swollen and running 
 violently) one of the high banks near, between 
 which it flowed, had been washed away. An 
 opening in the tank, some ten yards wide, ad- 
 mitted cattle to approach near to drink out of 
 it. We (Colonel Bradshaw and his staffs) were 
 at breakfast, when suddenly the firing of musketry 
 was heard. General Marley was sought for and 
 not found ; and the next senior officer, Colonel 
 Dick, ordered the pickets to prepare and move 
 to the front and requested Colonel Bradshaw to 
 lend his escort of Police Horse that he might send 
 them quickly to Captain Pickersgill's assistance. 
 At once the trumpet sounded "boot and saddle," 
 and soon we were mounted and off. The party 
 was led by me. We were directed by the sound 
 of firing to where Captain Pickersgill had with- 
 drawn his party. I managed to get through the 
 opening in the bank of the tank, and to draw up 
 my horsemen where Pickersgill had assembled his 
 escort. The enemy in the village had not seen 
 my arrival. Two officers of infantry — Lieutenants 
 Wilson and Patten — had galloped with me. The 
 enemy, thinking they were sufficiently strong to 
 cut off Pickersgill's party, moved out of the village 
 
 1 Major Bradshaw was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel about this time. 
 
THE FIGHT AT PIRAZEE. 207 
 
 in a tumultuous mass to attack him. The ground 
 between the village and the tank was boggy and 
 marshy. This I was not aware of; and when the 
 enemy had approached half way I led out my 
 men, formed line, and advanced to meet them. 
 The bog was deep, and my horses sank in it above 
 their knees, and I could not get them through it. 
 Whilst thus impeded, the enemy opened a fire of 
 musketry and shot flights of arrows amongst us. 
 I got my party out. This encouraged the Goorkhas, 
 who thought I was retreating. I, however, skirted 
 the swamp, and, turning the end of it, again 
 formed and charged them. They broke, and ran 
 for protection to the village. Many were cut 
 down and speared, and they were driven into the 
 village with considerable loss — my men following 
 young Patten and myself amongst the huts, where 
 we were fighting at a great disadvantage. Young 
 Patten was close to me, and had received a slight 
 wound on the head and forehead — a man having 
 made a heavy lunge and cut at him from the top 
 of a hut, the sword cutting through the visor of 
 his cap. Turning round, I saw the gleam of the 
 bayonets of the infantry pickets advancing on 
 the village. I told Patten that I should with- 
 draw my men from the village as fast as I could, 
 and form them on the small plain between the 
 Terai (wood) and the village, to cut the enemy 
 off if they bolted or were driven out by the 
 approaching infantry. This plan I immediately 
 
208 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 carried out. I sounded the kettledrum as a signal 
 for the assembly of my men, but, unfortunately for 
 me, several staff officers had galloped in advance 
 of the picquets and had joined my men. All they 
 knew was that the enemy was in the village ; and 
 when my horsemen prepared to obey my signal, 
 they hindered them from doing so, saying, "The 
 enemy are in the village." The consequence was 
 that, instead of having 120 men with me, I only 
 had thirty or forty ; and, as I had told Patten would 
 be the case, the enemy had collected in the huts 
 on the forest side of the village, and when they 
 observed the European and native infantry ad- 
 vancing to attack them, they rushed out in the 
 direction where I had got my few men together. 
 On their approaching my small party I led my 
 men to the attack. The enemy seemed to be 
 about 500 in number. As I have said, I had 
 not more than thirty or forty horsemen ; but being 
 aware that they would be followed out of the 
 village by the remainder of my force, I advanced 
 and attacked them. I and my standard-bearer, 
 Dilower Khan, dashed in amongst them. The 
 remainder of my men pulled up and went to the 
 flank of the retreating enemy, leaving us two 
 amongst them ; but we, pushing on, rode down 
 many and used our swords with some effect. In 
 parrying a bayonet-thrust the blade of my sword 
 fell out of the handle, the rivet having given way. 
 At this moment one of the enemy was in the act 
 
A NARROW ESCAPE. 209 
 
 of giving me a severe blow with his sword. I 
 threw the handle of my sword straight in his face, 
 which saved me. Another man stepped aside and 
 shot at me with an arrow : the point of it stuck 
 into the wooden knob of my silk sash and split it 
 in two, wounding me slightly in the abdomen. A 
 third man placed the muzzle of his musket close 
 to my ribs and pulled the trigger. Luckily for 
 me, in those days percussion-caps had not been 
 invented. The musket had a flint lock, the powder 
 in the pan was moist, and instead of immediately 
 exploding the musket, it burnt like wildfire. This 
 startled my horse, and it shied. The bullet and 
 powder blew the point of the arrow out of my 
 side and set fire to my sash and clothes. The 
 muzzle of the musket had been turned slightly 
 through the movement of my horse ; in this way 
 both the standard-bearer and myself forced our 
 way through the retreating mass. We each re- 
 ceived three slight wounds, and our horses were 
 also slightly wounded. I found the men from the 
 village, joined by those who had not followed me, 
 actively employed at the rear of the retreating 
 mass, doing good execution. The chief of the 
 Goorkha party — by name Bugwant Singh Thappa 
 — was slain, his skull having been cleft open. The 
 force that was sent out advanced into the forest, 
 hoping to find some post that they could attack. 
 Late in the evening we returned to camp. The 
 body of the slain chief I ordered to be laid on a 
 
 o 
 
210 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 slight charpoy, with a sheet tied over it, and taken 
 to Colonel Bradshaw's camp. I reprimanded the 
 party of horsemen for not following me when I 
 attacked the mass of Goorkhas that had retreated 
 from the village; and I promoted Dilower Khan 
 from a nishan-burdar or standard-bearer to the 
 rank of duffadar - major, directing that he should 
 remain supernumerary in that superior rank untU 
 a vacancy occurred. My wounds were trifling, and 
 I did not report myself hurt. One blow that 
 Dilower Khan had had was worse ; but we had 
 narrow escapes of our lives. My party and self 
 received the thanks of Colonel Dick in Army 
 Orders, and the affair was mentioned by the 
 Commander-in-Chief in General Orders.^ 
 
 1 In the following letter Hearsay gives a very modest account of 
 
 his exploit : — 
 
 Camp BAMNnooBE, Nepal Fbontiee, 
 12th April 1815. 
 
 Mt deabbst Mother and Sister, — I have allowed nearly three 
 months to pass away since I last wrote to you, which negligence, I 
 hope, will not have given you pain. The army we are with has 
 been on the Nepal Frontier ever since December last, and has done 
 nothing. General Marley, who commanded, was removed in Feb- 
 ruary, and General George Wood took his place : the former 
 General has been put off the staff for not having executed the duty 
 assigned to him. I was lucky enough, on the 20th of the same 
 month, to have another opportunity of distinguishing myself. My 
 little body of horse attacked 400 of the enemy and succeeded in 
 killing and taking prisoners nearly half the number, — among the 
 former was their chief, — for which I got the praise of Colonel Dick, 
 who commanded the army at that time, and have been particularly 
 noticed in orders by Lord Moira. I do not think the enemy will 
 ever give our cavalry another opportunity of acting against them — ■ 
 the lesson has been so severe. The party of Irregular Horse that 
 
A LETTER TO HOME. 211 
 
 The next day General Wood arrived in camp, 
 and Major - General Marley was sent to com- 
 mand at the Fort at Allahabad, as he was 
 thought by the Commander-in-Chief not suffi- 
 
 I commanded has been ordered to join Captain Baddeley, so that I 
 am at present a gentleman at large residing at Bradshaw's table. I 
 do not know as yet whether I shall be ordered to rejoin my corps. 
 Bradshaw has written to the Commander-in-Chief about me, so that 
 I shall soon have notice of what is to become of me. 
 
 Give my best love to Charlotte, and tell her Bradshaw is in very 
 good health, but has a great deal to do, and kiss my nephew and 
 nieces for me. I heard some time since from Salmon he was very 
 well, and had given over the idea of going home ; but I think he 
 will send the children. William is now growing a great boy, and 
 requires the bracing air of old England to make him strong and 
 stout. 
 
 Hyder has got the command of 1000 men, and is now fighting in 
 the Nepal hills. I hope it will lead to his getting some appoint- 
 ment for life. He has now only to look to himself : if he signalises 
 himself Lord Moira will most certainly make a handsome provision 
 for him. He wrote me some time since that he had sent money 
 home to Harriet, which I hope she has received ere this. 
 
 The next remittance I intend sending in July, so that it will 
 arrive in January 1816, and I hope it will be useful. I have now 
 some idea that we shall have an increase of cavalry on this Presi- 
 dency. It is said each corps will be augmented to four squadrons, 
 which will give me a lieutenancy. The next thing I shall look to 
 will be a troop, which will enable me to send home £100 a-year, 
 besides putting a little by for myself. 
 
 Colonel Charles, now General Stewart, has been with us these 
 two or three days. He appears very much broken ; but it is not 
 to be wondered at — he is such a wild man. You would suppose he 
 was only eighteen years old to hear him talk — so full of fun, &c. I 
 believe my voice reminded him of my father, for he took notice of 
 it, spoke to Bradshaw, and then laughed. 
 
 We all expect to be cantoned on this frontier by the 1st of next 
 month. I will now finish, with best remembrances to William 
 when you write to him, and believe me, my dearest mother and 
 sister, your ever affectionate son and brother, 
 
 J. B. Heaeset. 
 
212 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 ciently energetic for our active life. I must 
 mention an anecdote of the native soldiery, 
 explaining that the word " dikh " means in 
 the native language annoyance or trouble. 
 After the surprise and destruction of the two 
 parties by the Goorkhas as before mentioned, 
 General Dick, who had assumed temporary com- 
 mand of the army, determined that it should not 
 be taken by surprise by a night attack. He 
 directed that half the force should be posted, fully 
 accoutred and armed, at night, whilst the other 
 half rested. This was something new to the 
 native soldiery, who had never heard of half an 
 army keeping watch at night time, and on being 
 asked how they liked their new General they 
 replied in the native language, " Kya dikh, din 
 bhar, aur dikh rhat bhar ! " meaning in English, 
 " Trouble by day and annoyance by night." On 
 the advent of General Wood the whole army 
 fully expected to march and seize one of the 
 lower passes to the range of hills leading to 
 Khatmandu, the capital of the Nepalese, instead 
 of which a board of senior medical officers was 
 assembled to take into consideration whether it 
 was not too late in the season to attempt a 
 passage through the forests to seize and occupy 
 the Chiria-Ghattee Pass, and it was determined by 
 them that the season was too far advanced and 
 that it would be too hazardous to risk the health 
 of the 5000 Europeans with us by exposure to 
 
ARDUOUS SERVICE. 213 
 
 the malarial fever called " aul " which prevails in 
 the forest, thirty miles in breadth, which had to 
 be traversed before reaching the higher and 
 healthier parts. General Wood did not choose 
 to remain in camp idle, but determined to march 
 along the borders of the Terai to the frontier of 
 Purneah. The army accordingly broke up the en- 
 campment and moved in a south-easterly direction, 
 driving away the enemy, who had abandoned all 
 their outposts and stockades and retreated into 
 the hills. Nearly a month's march took us to 
 Janackpore, near the Teesta river. There was no 
 road, and we had to make one for our artillery 
 and carts as we went along. The small body of 
 police cavalry under my command was lent by 
 Colonel Bradshaw to General Wood, there being 
 no other mounted troops with the force. General 
 Wood directed me to prevent any baggage pre- 
 ceding the column or occupying the road cut 
 through the grass and jungle by the pioneers. 
 I scarce had a night's rest the whole way. I 
 did not know what it was to take off my clothes, 
 long boots, or sash at night, or to take any sleep. 
 I was obliged to be on horseback at 11 p.m. guard- 
 ing with my men the only road to preventtits 
 being blocked by baggage. When the force moved 
 I had to precede the column on its march, and 
 to prevent elephants, camels, bullocks, and camp- 
 followers from obstructing it. The advance of 
 the column was exceedingly slow. We had some 
 
214 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 heavy guns and field-pieces with us. The digging 
 down of the steep banks of mountain streams, and 
 filling their beds with cut branches and bundles 
 of grass to prevent the wheels of the artillery 
 sinking into the bogs, took much time, and I 
 seldom got any food, except what I carried in 
 my haversack until five o'clock in the afternoon, 
 and very frequently not then. I was sent out 
 also to scour the jungle and forest in the vicinity 
 of the line of march to search for any parties of 
 the enemy who might be in ambuscade. On re- 
 turning after dark, not knowing the parole or 
 countersign of the day, the pickets would not allow 
 me to enter into camp, though the sentries must 
 have known by my cavalry dress and that of 
 my men that I was the only officer of the 
 mounted branch of the army. Worn out with 
 fatigue, I frequently did not get to Colonel 
 Bradshaw's small camp until 12 o'clock at night. 
 In this way we proceeded to a place called 
 Eupeetaghari. Near this spot the Nepalese had 
 made a strong stockade formed of logs of timber on 
 the elevated bank of a deep square tank. I was 
 very anxious to be sent on, followed by a regiment 
 of European infantry and field-guns, to beleaguer 
 this place until the army could come up and 
 make an example of them, but General Wood 
 would not give his consent. Thus a good oppor- 
 tunity was lost to punish the Nepalese. Colonel 
 Gregory of the 12th Native Infantry, who was 
 
A LOST OPPORTUNITY. 215 
 
 on duty in Purneah, had moved out to the 
 vicinity of Rupeetaghari, and we should probably 
 have been able to make an example of the 600 
 Groorkhas who had garrisoned it : at any rate, 
 we should have done something after our long 
 march of nearly a month. The enemy, learning 
 the approach of General Wood's large force, 
 abandoned the place and retired into the forest 
 and hills. After waiting here for a week, General 
 Wood marched back again to the neighbourhood 
 of Bettia. I had all the arduous duties of 
 baggage-master to perform, and this disagreeable 
 and incapable old General would not even enter 
 my name in orders as "baggage-master" to in- 
 crease my cornet's allowance of pay, though I 
 had such responsible and arduous duties to per- 
 form. The army was then distributed to their 
 quarters for the rains at a place called Mottah- 
 ghur, where there is a large lake of pure water. 
 Mottahghur is near Bettia, where field-works had 
 been erected to protect the stores of the army. 
 Colonel Bradshaw went to a place called Segowlie, 
 where he buUt a bungalow for the rains. We 
 remained at Segowlie quietly for a month, where, 
 finding myself un de plus, as Lieutenant Boileau 
 had been made Colonel Bradshaw's assistant, I 
 applied to Colonel Bradshaw to be allowed to 
 join my regiment at Keetah^ in Bundelkhund, 
 to which station it had been ordered in course 
 
 1 Keetah or Keitha, a cantonment from 1812 to 1828. 
 
216 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 of relief. I had a fearfully hot and unpleasant 
 journey. I went to Benares, and thence pursued 
 my way vid Mirzapore on to Feroshah and Banda, 
 and thence to Keetah. 
 
 On leaving the Nepal frontier, Sir John Hear- 
 sey dismisses the subject in his diary with the 
 following brief remark : " I may as well mention 
 that General Ochterlony was ordered from the 
 north-west provinces of Nepal, where he had suc- 
 cessfully conquered the Nepalese country about 
 Simla, to take command of the main army. Gen- 
 eral Wood being superseded, Lord Hastings not 
 approving of the mode in which he had carried on 
 the service during the preceding hot weather." 
 
 A brief record of General Ochterlony's conclud- 
 ing operations near Simla, and of his subsequent 
 invasion of Nepal proper, will serve to show the 
 sequence of events up to the end of the Gurkha 
 war. 
 
 General Ochterlony continued his successful 
 operations against Amar Singh during the opera- 
 tions in Kumaon, described in the memoir of 
 Major Hyder Hearsey 
 
 On April 14, 1815, Ochterlony made a successful 
 night attack on the Gurkha position near Simla, 
 and two days later Amar Singh, driven into a 
 corner, made a desperate attack on the British 
 position and was repulsed with heavy loss. 
 
 On the 15th May Amar Singh capitulated, see- 
 
THE END OF THE WAR. 217 
 
 ing that his position at Malaun must inevitably 
 fall. For this service Ochterlony was made a 
 Baronet and a K.C.B., and granted a pension of 
 £1000 a-year. 
 
 By the convention that followed these events 
 the Gurkhas retired to the east of the Kali river, 
 but the Gurkha Government refused, in December 
 1815, to ratify the treaty of peace, and hostilities 
 were resumed early in February 1816. Sir David 
 Ochterlony was placed in command of a force of 
 20,000 men, with which he advanced straight on 
 Khatmandu, the capital of Nepal. 
 
 By a bold and skilful night march on February 
 14, Ochterlony turned the strongly fortified posi- 
 tion by which the Kourea Ghat pass was defended. 
 Four days later the baggage came up, and Ochter- 
 lony continued his advance. After two severe 
 actions at Makwampur and Hariharpur respect- 
 ively, the Gurkha Government submitted. 
 
 It should be added that the Gurkhas, who were 
 the bravest and most humane foe encountered by 
 the British in India, have since been our most 
 faithful allies. 
 
 Lieut.-Colonel Paris Bradshaw, the husband of Sir John 
 Hearsey's eldest sister, Charlotte Hearsey, was born in 
 1764. His wife, who was under seventeen at the time of 
 her marriage, was twenty-four years his junior, having 
 been born in 1788. Paris Bradshaw was consequently 
 forty years old when he married, and was already a man 
 of considerable note in the public service. He was a man 
 
218 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 of great activity of mind and body, of moderate stature, 
 and slight build. 
 
 He went to India in 1782 at the same time as two 
 other Irish lads, Charles Stuart and George Dick, who 
 both rose to high rank in the army, and whose names 
 figure in Sir John Hearsey's autobiography. The three 
 friends proposed to remain bachelors and, having made 
 their fortunes, to return before they were too old to 
 enjoy life and devote themselves to field sports in the 
 old country. 
 
 This agreement fell through on Bradshaw's marriage 
 to Charlotte Hearsey, and Bradshaw was taken roundly 
 to task by Charles Stuart for his breach of faith. After 
 Stuart, however, had met Charlotte Hearsey he wrote to 
 his friend: "My dear Paris, — I have seen your Helen, 
 and I excuse you." The children of Andrew Wilson 
 Hearsey were, in fact, all unusually handsome, and were 
 also kind-hearted and generous — qualities shared by 
 Colonel Bradshaw, who treated his young brother-in-law, 
 John Hearsey, with fatherly kindness, as is described in 
 the autobiography. 
 
 There is amusing evidence of Bradshaw's idiosyncrasies, 
 as well as of his kindness, in a letter to John Hearsey, 
 written in August 1814. The letter is marked " Private," 
 and runs thus : — 
 
 Deak John, — I have the pleasure to receive your letter 
 of the 26th ultimo. Having on the subject of it received 
 a Dispatch from Headquarters this morning, I enclose 
 you a copy of it solely for your private information. It 
 is copied on small paper so that you may send it to 
 Charlotte^ as soon as you get it, for you ought to write 
 to her once a-month, as next to hearing from me your 
 letters or your sisters' must be most valuable to her. I 
 have lately written to her and prepared her to expect the 
 
 ^ The writer's wife. 
 
COLONEL PARIS BRADSHAW. 219 
 
 event announced in the enclosed.^ Do you therefore con- 
 clude the matter by transmitting these copies to her. . . . 
 It is not my intention to make any application for you 
 to join me until after Lord Moira has seen your corps. 
 I shall answer the Adjutant- General and say so, adding 
 that this was your sentiment, and that you felt you 
 would be unworthy of the distinction if you could desire 
 to be absent on such an occasion. Prepare, therefore, for 
 the Eeview, and for God's sake look up and hold yourself 
 straight. Everything else, I am sure, you will do as 
 expected in your situation. 
 
 I have all my packets of letters from poor Charlotte 
 down to the 19th December, I think. All quite well. 
 She, of course, sends her love to you, and bids you hold 
 yourself up. She says she never will omit this conclusion 
 to her letter until I report to her that you are as straight 
 as a halbert. 
 
 I am, your affectionate Brother, 
 
 P. Beadshaw. 
 
 P.S. — Your staying for the review will be agreeable to 
 your commanding officer. 
 
 Colonel Bradshaw's grandson, Mr Brockman, in whose 
 possession is the above characteristic letter, adds the 
 comment: "No one who had seen General Hearsey in 
 his old age would have imagined that it had ever been 
 necessary to enjoin him to 'look up and hold himself 
 straight.' So the advice bore good fruit." 
 
 Colonel Bradshaw's distinguished services on the Nepal 
 frontier are sketched in Sir John Hearsey's autobiography. 
 In consideration of his achievements there, both as a 
 soldier and as a diplomatist, Bradshaw was promised 
 the reversion of the post of Eesident at Lucknow; but 
 
 ' I.e., that her husband was to be employed on the Nepal 
 frontier. 
 
220 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 the promise was subsequently forgotten by the Board of 
 Directors. Bradshaw returned to England in the year 
 1818, intending to retire if his claims were not attended 
 to. His representations, however, met with success, and 
 three years later he returned to India to take up the 
 Eesidency at Lucknow, which had again fallen vacant. 
 He did not live to reach that place, dying on August 9, 
 1821, at Patna, where he is buried. 
 
 It was believed at the time that Colonel Bradshaw was 
 poisoned with diamond dust through the intermediary of 
 a trusted servant who, found by him as an infant deserted 
 by the roadside, had been brought up in his house. The 
 murder was said to have been committed on the instiga- 
 tion of the King of Oudh, whose enmity Colonel Bradshaw 
 had incurred when First Assistant to the then Resident, 
 Colonel Collins, by the refusal, with considerable heat, 
 of a large present offered him by the king. Colonel 
 Bradshaw's son, Paris, mentioned in Sir John Hearsey's 
 autobiography, served in the 77th Eegiment, which he 
 commanded for many years. He died a General Officer 
 and a K.H. 
 
221 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 It is impossible within the limits of a few- 
 explanatory paragraphs to explain the genesis of 
 the Mahratta war of 1817-19 ; but as that war 
 was introduced by the action of Lord Moira 
 against the Pindaris, a statement concerning our 
 quarrel with this strange organisation may also 
 serve to show how the Mahratta powers one by 
 one entered into the struggle against British 
 rule in Central India. 
 
 The Pindaris were originally Hindu outlaws, 
 driven to arms by the persecution of Aurangzet, 
 who on the rise to power of Sivaji, the founder of 
 the Mahratta power, attached themselves to him to 
 a limited degree, but retained their independence. 
 
 As the Mogul empire crumbled and anarchy 
 spread in Central India, the Pindaris degenerated 
 into an organised banditti and became the terror 
 and the scourge of the country which was sub- 
 mitted to their depredations. 
 
 Owning no master, they attached themselves at 
 one time to the Peshwa's armies, and later to 
 those of Sindhia and Holkar ; in fact, they swelled 
 
222 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 the numbers of whatever leader of the Mahratta 
 confederation might appear to them most likely 
 to put plunder and rapine in their way. 
 
 In 1814 the Pindaris numbered from twenty- 
 five to thirty thousand horsemen, of whom about 
 half were well armed. Their central district was 
 in the valley of the Narbada, a region from which 
 they could conveniently attack any of the three 
 British Presidencies which seemed to be in diffi- 
 culties at any time. The Pindaris plundered the 
 northern portion of the Bombay Presidency in 
 1808, and in 1812 they devastated districts in 
 Bengal. In 1813 Lord Moira arrived in India 
 as Governor - General, and although the most 
 pressing military need at the moment was the 
 Gurkha question, he soon saw that the tranquillity 
 of India absolutely demanded the suppression of 
 the Pindaris on the first opportunity. 
 
 The home authorities pursued their usual policy 
 of urging peace at any price, with or without 
 honour, and in the year 1816 the Pindaris in- 
 vaded British territory 23,000 strong and ravaged 
 many parts of the country from Ahmadnagar in 
 the west to the Northern Circars in the east.^ 
 
 During this expedition the Pindaris perpetrated 
 their usual atrocities, but in the course of the 
 cold weather they were vigorously attacked and 
 suffered heavy losses, 
 
 1 ' The Marquess of Hastings,' by Major Eoss of Bladensburg. 
 " Eulers of India " series. 
 
THE PINDARIS. 223 
 
 The home Government, though fully aware of 
 the atrocious character of the Pindaris, now pro- 
 posed that the difficulty should be met by en- 
 gaging one portion of them to destroy the other ; 
 but this ingenious scheme fell through, and j&nally 
 the home Government agreed with the Governor- 
 General's advisers on the spot that the suppression 
 of the Pindaris had become an indispensable object 
 of public duty, whatever complications might arise 
 with the Mahratta powers. 
 
 It was not desired to commence operations be- 
 fore the autumn of 1817, and in the meanwhile 
 Lord Moira, now Marquess of Hastings, en- 
 deavoured to obtain the assistance of the native 
 princes whose territories were pillaged by the 
 Pindaris impartially with those of the Company ; 
 and as these princes could bring into the field 
 over 200,000 men with nearly 600 guns, it was 
 felt by Lord Hastings that his own preparations 
 must be on no small scale. No definite promise 
 of help could be obtained ; indeed all appearances 
 pointed to the probability of a combined attack 
 by all the Mahratta armies at any moment when 
 British arms might seem to be at a disadvantage. 
 In consequence of this danger Lord Hastings 
 decided on a great concentric movement against 
 the Pindari, each of the British armies employed 
 being sufficiently strong to hold its own, at any 
 rate for a time, against the nearest potential 
 enemy. The northern army of four divisions. 
 
224 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 under Lord Hastings himself, had the task of 
 closing on the Pindaris from the north and east, 
 while keeping in order Sindhia with his army 
 of 30,000 men ; Amir Khan, the Pathan free- 
 lance, who had 22,000 men and 200 guns ; and 
 the Raja of Nagpoor, with 34,000 men and 85 guns. 
 The southern army of six divisions in like manner 
 was to close in from the west and south, keeping 
 quiet the Peshwa and the Nizam, who had between 
 them from 80,000 to 90,000 men. 
 
 The three chief bodies of the Pindaris, being 
 well aware of the determination to crush them, 
 attempted to combine for mutual defence during 
 the hot weather of 1817, but arrived at no very 
 promising result. Lord Hastings' armies were 
 rapidly closing in upon them from all sides when 
 the Peshwa rose to arms at Poona and the Bhonsla 
 Eaja suddenly attacked two troops at Nagpoor, as 
 described in Sir John Hearsey's narrative. The 
 Nagpoor rising was easily dealt with, owing to the 
 determined stand made by the troops on the spot ; 
 but to dispose of the Peshwa was a more serious 
 matter. A less courageous commander than Lord 
 Hastings might well have permitted his campaign 
 against the Pindaris to give way to the exigencies 
 of the moment ; but nothing of the sort happened, 
 although he was further tried by Sindhia, in the 
 north of the great field of operations, also lending 
 assistance to the Pindaris. 
 
 By able disposition of his columns — sorely weak- 
 
THE PINDARIS. 225 
 
 ened as they were by an epidemic of cholera — 
 Lord Hastings cut off the Pindaris from Sindhia's 
 aid, and, by the end of 1817, drove them into 
 Holkar's territory, much reduced in numbers and 
 deprived of all their baggage and goods. 
 
 The conduct of the Peshwa at Poona closely 
 resembled that of the Bhonsla Kaja at Nagpoor, 
 and (as at Nagpoor) the Kesident's escort at Poona 
 proved equal to the occasion and repulsed the 
 attack of a body of troops about nine times its 
 own strength. 
 
 After the defeat of the Bhonsla Eaja and the 
 Peshwa things went better. 
 
 Amir Khan, seeing his neighbours rapidly col- 
 lapsing before British arms, became friendly, and 
 submitted to the transfer of most of his guns to 
 the Company, which also engaged the services of 
 a large proportion of his best troops. Holkar's 
 army, which had intended to move to the assist- 
 ance of the Peshwa, was defeated by Sir Thomas 
 Hislop at Mehidpur on the 21st of December 1817, 
 and the year thus closed in a most satisfactory 
 manner. 
 
 Holkar, the Peshwa, and the Nagpoor Raja had 
 all been defeated almost simultaneously ; Sindhia 
 had been rendered unable to move and Amir Khan 
 had been disarmed ; the Pindaris were indeed in a 
 desperate case. At the end of January 1818 Lord 
 Hastings judged it practicable to offer terms to 
 their scattered remnants, and many considerable 
 
 p 
 
226 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 bodies surrendered with their leaders. The fate of 
 Chitu — one of the most prominent Pindari chiefs — 
 is mentioned in Hearsey's narrative. Shortly 
 after this event the southern army was dissolved 
 — one division only, under Sir John Malcolm, 
 being kept in the field until Holkar's territory 
 had settled down. The northern army was also 
 largely reduced. The later operations of the war 
 against the fugitive Peshwa and the Bhonsla Eaja 
 lasted for a considerable time, but were of no real 
 importance in comparison with those against the 
 powerful confederations which began the war. 
 
 Eventually the Peshwa surrendered, receiving a 
 pension of £80,000 a year. He is chiefly remem- 
 bered in connection with his adopted son, the 
 Nana Sahib of the Mutiny. The fate of the 
 Bhonsla or Nagpoor Raja is mentioned by Hearsey, 
 With the fall of Asirgarh in April 1819 the 
 achievement of Lord Hastings was complete, and 
 the safety of British rule in India secured for a 
 period of twenty-six years. 
 
 ATJTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 
 I arrived at Keetah in June 1815, and had not 
 been long there ere I was directed to join 
 my squadron at Lowaragunj or Loshari. I pro- 
 ceeded vid Chekarry and Adjughur, a hill fort on 
 the top of the Bisranagunj Ghat, to Punnelia. At 
 
APPOINTED TO THE ADJUTANCY. 227 
 
 this place diamonds are dug out of the crevices 
 of the rocky soil. Four marches on I arrived at 
 my destination and bought a small bungalow. 
 Captain Barron commanded this post, which con- 
 sisted of two 6-pounder guns, a squadron of the 
 6th Bengal Light Cavalry, and four companies 
 of native infantry. It was the frontier post be- 
 tween our territory and that of the Bhonsla or 
 Eajah of Nagpoor. Lieutenant Ward was ap- 
 pointed Quartermaster of the 6th Light Cavalry, 
 and was ordered back to Keetah, and Major 
 Dickson was sent up to take command of the 
 squadron. During the rainy season, or month of 
 July, the adjutant of the 6th Bengal Light 
 Cavalry, Lieutenant Rogers, was seized with fever 
 and died raving mad in three days. He was a 
 great sportsman, and had killed a vast number 
 of tigers from his elephant. He was a large and 
 powerful man, but exposed himself too much to 
 the heat of the sun, which was the cause of his 
 death. The officer who commanded the 6th Ben- 
 gal Light Cavalry was Captain Howorth. He 
 applied to Lord Moira to appoint me to the 
 situation vacated by Rogers' death, and the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, the Marquis of Hastings, formerly 
 Earl of Moira, was pleased to appoint me to that 
 staff appointment " in consideration of my recent 
 and gallant services on the Nepal frontier." On 
 proceeding to take up the adjutancy, I had my 
 own horses and borrowed some from my friends, 
 
228 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 and rode to Keetah from Loshari, more than eighty- 
 miles, in one night. The commanding officer had 
 received orders to recruit men to form a fourth 
 squadron, and I had plenty to do in drilling the 
 recruits during the remainder of the rainy season, 
 and had them all fit to join the ranks by the 
 end of September. My commanding officer. Cap- 
 tain Howorth, on inspecting the new squadron, 
 complimented me by saying they were better 
 drilled and more steady than the three other 
 squadrons of the regiment. My exposure and 
 fatigue during this hot weather brought on a 
 severe fever and ague, and I was confined to 
 my bed and became so dangerously ill that the 
 medical men thought I should die. I was sent 
 for change of air to the rocky fort of Kalhinger, 
 where in the course of a fortnight I became con- 
 valescent. The garrison of this large hill fort was 
 formed of eight companies of the 10th Bengal 
 Light Infantry commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 MacMorine. During the few hot days I was 
 there I nearly lost my life. A party of the 
 officers had gone from the mess-room (where I 
 had been having tiffin with them) in the cool 
 of the afternoon to a large and deep tank from 
 which the soil had been quarried to build the 
 walls of the fortress. A large flat terrace had 
 been formed at the edge of the tank, on which 
 people who could not swim could go into the 
 water up to their waists to bathe. One of the 
 
CAPTAIN DUNSMDIR. 229 
 
 officers, Captain Dunsmuir, who could not swim, 
 went here to bathe and paddle in the water, I, 
 not being very strong after my recent illness, did 
 not go very far into the deep water. Captain 
 Dunsmuir was paddling about on the terrace. He 
 asked me, whilst I was sitting on the edge of 
 it, to show him the depth of the tank. I got 
 up and did so, and when I approached the deep 
 part I warned him not to come farther, but in 
 a fit of nervous excitement he moved close to 
 lay hold of me, pushing me into the deep water. 
 Losing his balance he grasped me tightly, and 
 we sank together to the depth of several feet. 
 I had to struggle hard to get rid of him, and 
 could only do so by drawing up my legs be- 
 tween his body and mine, and by the joint 
 force of my legs and arms flinging him from me, 
 and in doing so at the same time diving to get 
 down a little distance from him. I rose to the 
 surface and called to the other officers to come 
 and assist me to save him. The air had escaped 
 from his lungs, and, rising in bubbles to the 
 surface, showed that he also was rising. I put 
 myself on my back, drew up my legs, and 
 fortunately for him his back and shoulders ap- 
 peared on the surface (Dunsmuir was nearly bald), 
 so I planted a forcible kick with the soles of 
 my feet on the upper part of his back, which 
 propelled him towards the terrace from which he 
 had pushed me. His companions, who now had 
 
230 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 joined me, helped in pulling Mm on to the 
 broad terrace, and then, holding up his head, we 
 took him to the shore. It was some time before 
 he got rid of the excess of water he had 
 swallowed. In the meanwhile we had procured 
 a doolie and conveyed him to the quarters of 
 the surgeon of the corps. He was all right in 
 a quarter of an hour. I found my way to my 
 quarters and rested until it was time to go to 
 mess dinner. 
 
 At the end of the month I returned by palan- 
 quin-dak to Keetah. Strange to say, the fever 
 returned though it was now the month of October, 
 and a board of surgeons deemed it necessary that 
 I should have a longer change of air. I wrote 
 to my kinsman. Major Hyder Hearsey, at Kareli, 
 near Bareilly, Kohilkhund, that I would pay him 
 a visit for two or three months. He no sooner 
 received my letter than he started for Keetah to 
 meet me and take me with him. I met him en 
 route, and we travelled together by the usual 
 stages. The change of air did me much good, 
 and I gradually became convalescent and the fever 
 quitted me. After being with him a fortnight 
 we left Kareli for Shahghur, at which place he 
 had a Zemindari of some extent from Government. 
 We stayed here in tents for another fortnight, 
 when I became strong enough to take exercise, 
 and often went out shooting. 
 
 About three miles from Shahghur was a large 
 
THE GOSAINS AND THE JACKALS. 231 
 
 plantation of bamboos nearly a mile square, in 
 the centre of which some religious Faqueers had 
 established themselves. In an open space in the 
 very centre, about one hundred yards square, they 
 had built themselves huts. They were of the 
 denomination of " Gosains." They had protected 
 large packs of jackals, and whenever they felt 
 inclined they could collect them by hundreds to 
 be fed with balls of dough. This they did by 
 going to their doors with platters, shouting " Ao ! 
 ao ! " (Come ! come ! ) These animals would col- 
 lect, poking their noses through the stems of the 
 bamboos, till the whole place seemed to be alive 
 with them. 
 
 I witnessed this with Major Hyder Hearsey. 
 We had been shooting, and had our two pointers 
 with us. The dogs were fearfully alarmed, and 
 took shelter in the huts.^ I marvelled that the 
 naked Faqueers were not eaten by the jackals. 
 
 Time passed very pleasantly, and the Major 
 
 having an elephant, and Colonel having lent 
 
 me his, and a Captain Ashford having joined us 
 with three elephants, we went towards the village 
 of Eoodurpoor near the Terai to seek for tigers. 
 At first we were not successful in getting tidings 
 of them, but we had good sport in the high grass 
 and mustard fields in shooting a beautiful bird 
 
 1 It is characteristic of the unchanging Bast that the descendants 
 of these Gosains feed the descendants of the jackals in that very 
 grove of bamboos to this day. 
 
232 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 called the florican. I have killed eighteen or 
 twenty of these birds in a day's sport. The 
 florican has an interesting peculiarity. After 
 they have brought up their young the male 
 birds leave the females and the young birds and 
 go to a distant locality. They remain apart 
 until the following pairing season, when the males 
 return to seek their mates, who answer their notes 
 as they fly over the fields towards them. They 
 then pair for the breeding season, and remain 
 constant to one another. 
 
 We at last heard of a tiger being marked down 
 in the bed of a nullah overgrown with bulrushes 
 and khaga-grass. The stems of this grass are 
 used by the natives as pens. We started on 
 our five elephants to seek for and shoot the 
 tiger, the grass being as high as the elephants' 
 howdahs. We had our batteries of two muzzle- 
 loading double-barrelled guns on each side of the 
 howdah. We moved on, the elephants in line, 
 and after several false alarms caused by boars 
 and hog-deer rushing through the reedy cover, at 
 last we caught sight of a very large tiger. We 
 all fired, and the animal was severely wounded. 
 He went on ahead of us, and lay down in the 
 grass. On approaching him I levelled my double- 
 barrelled rifle to give him his quietus, when 
 Captain Ashford declared that the tiger was dead 
 and that he had killed him. He begged me not 
 to fire again, as it would only damage the skin. 
 
"do not spoil the skin." 233 
 
 I put down my gun, when the tiger rose and 
 sprang upon Ashford's elephant, and unfortunately 
 seized it by the trunk. The elephant attempted, 
 unsuccessfully, to shake the tiger off, and his 
 movements were so violent that Ashford had to 
 put down his gun and hold on to the sides of the 
 howdah lest he should be shaken out of it. He 
 shouted out to me, "For God's sake, Hearsey, 
 shoot the beast." I laughed heartily and replied, 
 "I do not wish to spoil the skin." However, I 
 took careful aim. The tiger's large head and paw 
 were close to the pad, which he had seized with 
 his teeth. The bullet struck in the very centre 
 of his paw and lodged in the pad. This caused 
 him to drop off, and before he could get away 
 my second bullet killed him. Ashford's elephant 
 rushed out of the bed of the nullah and pursued 
 its way without a check to our camp, luckily not 
 passing through a grove of mango-trees hard by. 
 The tiger was a male, and measured nine feet; it 
 had a very short tail, and was a powerful animal. 
 Captain Ashford left us and returned to Bareilly, 
 but we continued our excursion and killed another 
 fine tiger. We then turned our faces towards 
 Major Hyder Hearsey's home at Kareli. 
 
 I every day gained health and strength, and 
 soon after my arrival there I received a letter 
 from my regiment, informing me that it was 
 ordered to the Nagpoor frontier. 
 
 The 6th Bengal Light Cavalry joined General 
 
234 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIE JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 Adams' force, whicli had been ordered to take up 
 a position on the bank of the Nerbudda. Two 
 of our troops (or one squadron) were posted at 
 Hoshungabad, where a cantonment was formed ; 
 two troops at Gurrahwarra, two at Jubbulpore, 
 and two at Bellary — in all, four squadrons, or 
 eight troops, each troop consisting of a hundred 
 men : total, eight hundred. We arrived at our 
 posts in November and December 1816. I left 
 Keetah and went by forced marches to Banda in 
 Bundelkhund, where I joined Brigadier- General 
 d'Auvergne,^ who was making a tour of his district. 
 The fatigue of marching all night long again 
 brought on fever. The General detained me with 
 him for four or five days, when he received orders 
 to send on a squadron of the 4th Light Cavalry 
 to relieve our squadron at Loovergong, that it 
 might move to a small town just beyond the 
 pass leading to the Myheer Valley, which led to 
 another small pass one march beyond, in which 
 was situated the small town of Bellary. Here 
 the squadron remained watching the passes, to 
 prevent plundering horsemen or Pindaris proceed- 
 ing in that direction for the purpose of robbing 
 the Nagpoor territory or threatening the frontier 
 of the Company's possessions. The fever gradu- 
 ally left me, but I did not regain my usual robust 
 
 1 Brigadier-General d'Auvergne was Sir John Hearsey's uncle 
 by marriage, his wife being the sister of Mrs Andrew Wilson 
 Hearsey. 
 
A PINDAM KAID. 235 
 
 health ; however, when I had time on my hands 
 I went out with my compass and perambulator 
 and mapped the roads and country all around, for 
 this part of India was then a terra incognita. 
 This eventually proved very useful to me. I never 
 went without my double-barrelled " Manton," and 
 seldom returned without a bag of game. Thus 
 passed the remainder of the cold season ; the hot 
 winds commenced at the end of March 1817, and 
 were very trying, although we had our tents 
 pitched under a grove of mango-trees. In the 
 month of April we learnt that a large body of 
 the Pindari Horse, belonging to the forces of 
 Scindia and Holkar, had taken upon themselves 
 to make a raid or foray from the country about 
 Garruspoor. In these raids the Pindaris were 
 wont to plunder, murder, and lay waste all the 
 districts that they thought were unguarded. The 
 cruelties these wretches perpetrated on the in- 
 habitants were indeed most barbarous : men were 
 tarred, had cotton wound round their fingers, and 
 the hand dipped in oil, and then set alight, to 
 make them disclose where they had hidden their 
 money or valuables. One finger was ignited at 
 a time, and if they did not confess while the first 
 finger was burning a second finger was set alight, 
 until the unfortunate Zemindars fainted from the 
 agony or showed their hidden treasures. The 
 women and girls were maltreated, and many of 
 them threw themselves down into the wells to 
 
236 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 avoid being dishonoured. A large body had 
 moved down by the town and province of Huttah 
 towards Loovergong. Colonel Gahan had received 
 instructions to send a party from the post of 
 Bellary to move in the direction of Hutter along 
 the higher steppes of that part of the district, 
 so as to act on the right flank of this horde of 
 depredators. A force from Loovergong, consist- 
 ing of a battalion of the 24th Native Infantry 
 under Colonel Aldin, with two 9-pounder field- 
 guns, and a squadron of the 4th Light Cavalry 
 under Captain Kidge, moved out from that post 
 to meet these plunderers in front. This small 
 force came into contact with the Pindaris after 
 crossing the Kayne river at a place called Powyne. 
 A severe cavalry affair took place, and though 
 the enemy's horse were five times the number of 
 the squadron of the 4th Light Cavalry, they were 
 repulsed with considerable slaughter, pursued for 
 many miles, driven across the Kayne river, and 
 dispersed. Our loss was not severe in men or 
 horses, though the weather was terribly hot. 
 Captain Howorth of the 6th Light Cavalry, who 
 had gone to Loovergong for change of air and 
 was scarce convalescent and very weak, volun- 
 teered and joined the squadron of the 4th Light 
 Cavalry. In the milee he was obliged to take 
 shelter under the shade of some trees near a 
 village. He had only his own servant with him, 
 also on horseback, when he was surrounded by a 
 
DEATH OF CAPTAIN HOWORTH. 237 
 
 party of Pindaris and murdered. He was my 
 much esteemed captain. Our small party of 
 eighty sabres from Bellary had continued our 
 march during the night, and at early daybreak 
 we descended the Powyne Ghaut to the lower 
 steppes of the country on which this action had 
 taken place. We arrived at the place where the 
 action had been fought at six o'clock in the 
 morning, and found that Colonel Aldin had re- 
 tired with his party to a town called Mahewah, 
 about sixteen miles from the village of Powyne. 
 In going over the ground I found, close to the 
 village of Tyra, a grave recently dug, with the 
 usual mound of earth denoting it. On this mound 
 the papers of some cartridges were still smoking 
 and burning. On inquiry I found it was the 
 grave of Captain Howorth. I wept for the loss 
 of my friend. He had left his wife and children 
 at Loovergong. Ah ! what sad news for them. 
 We got a feed of grain from the nearest village, 
 and gave the horses a good feed and a drink of 
 water. After resting our horses and finding the 
 enemy had gone off twenty -five miles without 
 drawing rein, we continued our march to join 
 Colonel Aldin at Mahewah, sending a small party 
 in advance with a letter informing him that he 
 might expect us in his vicinity at twelve o'clock 
 mid-day. We arrived at that hour. Our united 
 but still small force rested at Mahewah for three 
 days. Colonel Aldin had fallen back in conse- 
 
238 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 quence of hearing that a body of horse were 
 moving on the upper steppes towards Loovergong, 
 not knowing that our small body of troops had 
 been detached by Colonel Gahan from Bellary. 
 He then returned to Loovergong, and we again 
 moved back to our post, which we reached after 
 three marches. We had in this march covered 
 more than eighty miles, moving day and night, 
 at the very hottest season of the year; and, 
 passing over barren hills, we could get no water 
 for twenty-five miles. The other officers of this 
 party were Lieutenant Ward and Mr Mansell (our 
 doctor). Ward never recovered from the fatigue 
 and exposure, Mansell suflFered from severe illness, 
 and I was again attacked with fever. However, 
 the punishment the enemy had received was a 
 severe lesson to them, and they did not attempt 
 another raid in our direction. General Adams' 
 had to move with a light field force from 
 Hoshangabad and drive them away from the 
 direction of Garuspore and Bursade. Cheetoo, 
 one of the chiefs of the Pindaris, a man acting 
 on his own responsibility, was driven into the 
 jungles and forests of the province of Sitwans, 
 and was obliged to hide without any of his 
 adherents in the forest at the foot of the hills 
 bordering the Nerbudda, where he was sprung 
 upon by a tiger and torn from his horse and 
 drowned. His name was Cheetoo Singh. Thus 
 
 ' Major-General Sir John Adams, K.C.B. 
 
ORDERED TO NAGPOOR. 239 
 
 ended the life of one of the most active and 
 courageous of the Pindari chiefs. The 6th Bengal 
 Light Cavalry remained distributed, as I have 
 before mentioned, until the 15th May 1817, when 
 our small party was ordered to return from 
 Bellary to Loovergong. We had got into the 
 Myheer Valley on our return when Colonel 
 Gahan received instructions to retrace his steps 
 and to go vid the post of Jubbulpore, and, 
 crossing the Nerbudda, continue our route vid 
 Raicohorn and Luckerdurra to the Korile Ghat, 
 and thence to Nagpoor. We picked up our troop 
 of the corps at Jubbulpore to go with us, and 
 Captain Fitzgerald joined us with his troop, and 
 thus reinforced with it and two 6-pounder horse 
 artillery guns attached to the regiment, which 
 were put under my command, we proceeded 
 to Nagpoor. We there found in a temporary 
 cantonment a Madras brigade of infantry with 
 two 9-pounder field-guns manned by Europeans 
 of the Madras Artillery. They were posted on 
 a low range of rocky hills about four miles 
 from the Residency of Nagpoor called Teling- 
 keri, and we were ordered to encamp near 
 them. No arrangements had been made to 
 shelter us from the coming monsoon by Colonel 
 Scott,^ commanding the Madras troops. Our 
 detachment, thus suddenly sent from the frontier 
 
 1 Colonel Hopetoun Scott, afterwards a Major-General and a 
 K.C.B. 
 
240 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIK JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 of Bundelkhund, was miserably off, and the rainy- 
 season commenced a few days after our arrival. 
 The tents of officers and men were old, and the 
 stormy weather did not tend to make us more 
 comfortable. Intermittent fevers were prevalent. 
 I was again attacked, and with difficulty did the 
 duty I was called upon to perform. Colonel 
 Gahan and Captain Fitzgerald managed to get 
 a small thatched bungalow in the Madras lines 
 to live in. This bungalow was at least three- 
 quarters of a mile from my tent, and in spite of 
 my bad health the Colonel insisted on my calling 
 upon him every day for regimental orders. Thus 
 I was constantly exposed to be drenched by the 
 rains, besides encountering the excessive heat of 
 the sun, which did not lead to my rapid recovery. 
 In August cholera made its appearance in our 
 camp, and by the end of September we had only 
 sufficient men in health for a daily relief of guards. 
 Colonel Gahan was ordered to Hoshangabad to 
 take command of a brigade at that place in the 
 force commanded by General Adams, and Captain 
 Fitzgerald now became Commandant of our three 
 troops. Our light 6 - pounder guns, men, and 
 horses, went with Colonel Gahan, and were 
 formed into a battery with others of the same 
 kind of artillery taken from other corps. They 
 were placed under the command of artillery 
 officers. The sickness in our small detachment 
 was so prevalent and severe that Colonel Scott 
 
A DISTURBED NIGHT. 241 
 
 came and ordered us away from Telingkeri to the 
 right bank of the Korile river near Kamptee, and 
 we had to change ground and proceed four miles 
 farther, not far from some gardens belonging to 
 the Eajah of Nagpoor, where we encamped. 
 
 Whilst there under the shelter of a fine grove 
 of trees at this place we were visited on a pitch 
 dark night with a violent storm of wind, thunder, 
 lightning, and heavy falling rain. All our tents 
 were blown down, and our sick troopers were in 
 a most helpless condition under their fallen tents. 
 The horses, drawing the pegs to which they were 
 attached (the soil having been loosened by the 
 flood of rain), went tearing through the grove of 
 trees, knocking down such tents as had withstood 
 the storm, and being almost all of them stallions 
 they attacked each other furiously, and it was 
 only by dodging round the thick stems of the 
 trees that the men who were able to quit their 
 cots avoided being knocked over and killed by the 
 furious animals : many of the unfortunate men 
 were upset with their beds and seriously injured. 
 Morning broke upon as wretched an encampment 
 as was ever beheld. Our first duty was to look 
 after the unfortunate sick men, and then to send 
 out small parties of sowars and grooms to search 
 for the horses, which were by that time dispersed 
 all over the country. Six of the animals were 
 found dead, having fallen into pits or broken their 
 necks in dashing themselves against the stems of 
 
242 AT}T0B10GRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 the trees. The saddles and accoutrements were 
 safe, for each set was placed in a strong bag, 
 the mouth of which was tied. These bags were 
 heaped up upon a raised platform and covered 
 by a tarpaulin ; thus they were secured from 
 injury. All things considered, we thought we 
 had escaped cheaply from the effects of such a 
 violent storm. We immediately looked for a high 
 and dry spot, to which we moved our encamp- 
 ment. I must inform you that a brigade of 
 Hindustanis had been ordered to be recruited 
 and enrolled during the rainy season, and also 
 a light infantry regiment under the Madras 
 officers. These were to be paid by the chief of 
 the Nagpoor State, and were to be called the 
 Nagpoor Kajah's Infantry Brigade. This force 
 was to assist in defending that city when our 
 troops moved out towards the passes leading out 
 of the Nagpoor country to the territories that had 
 been seized and occupied by the Pindari chiefs. 
 At the end of October we received orders that the 
 British and native forces would move out and 
 encamp at different places on the frontier to 
 prevent the Pindaris making incursions towards 
 Nagpoor, while General Adams' force would move 
 into the country they had occupied and drive 
 them from their fastnesses and retreats. Our 
 detachment received orders to return to Teling- 
 keri. We did so. The change of air derived 
 from our move to the banks of the Kausi river 
 
SEETABULDEE. 243 
 
 had done wonders, and we came back with only- 
 five or six men in twenty in hospital, and most 
 of them nearly convalescent. We had not been 
 long back at Telingkeri before Mr Jenkins, the 
 Eesident at Nagpoor, became aware that intrigues 
 were being carried on by the Eajah of Nagpoor 
 and the Peshwa, Bajee Rao. The latter had 
 openly declared against the British, and had 
 attacked the subsidiary force at Pooua, where 
 Mr Mountstuart Elphinstone was Resident, and 
 after a sharp action had been defeated by our 
 troops. In consideration of this event it was 
 deemed necessary by Mr Jenkins that the troops 
 should march from Telingkeri and take post on 
 the hills of Seetabuldee overlooking the Nagpoor 
 Residency buildings. The new brigade that was 
 being raised and cantoned at Tackley was also 
 ordered to the same place. The force at Teling- 
 keri moved, and as we approached Seetabuldee by 
 the main road we observed some Mahratta horse- 
 men on the hills close at hand watching our 
 movements. On arriving at the Residency the 
 infantry took post on the two hills. Two guns 
 and four companies on the smaller hill, and two 
 guns and the remainder of the brigade of infantry, 
 and also the recruits from Tackley, were posted on 
 the large hill overlooking the village of Seetabul- 
 dee. The three troops of the 6th Bengal Light 
 Cavalry were posted at the gateway of the Resi- 
 dency compound, fronting towards the canton- 
 
244 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 ments of Telingkeri which we had just left. This 
 cantonment was about three miles from the Kesi- 
 dency. A small detachment was left at Teling- 
 keri, namely, four companies of light infantry 
 and thirty men of the 6th Bengal Light Cavalry, 
 to protect the houses and huts of the brigade that 
 had been stationed there from being plundered 
 and burnt. This small detachment was under the 
 command of Captain Pew of the 20th Madras 
 Native Infantry. The Mahratta Horse that had 
 been watching us from the range of hills that we 
 had skirted moved circuitously to their encamp- 
 ment near the town of Nagpoor. It was situated 
 on high ground near some walled gardens, on the 
 plain named Sukandarra. As soon as we had 
 arrived, and the three troops had been placed 
 in the position they were to occupy, I asked 
 Captain Fitzgerald, who was the senior officer 
 of cavalry, to accompany me and make a close 
 reconnaissance of the vicinity of our position. He 
 did so, and we found the ground beyond a small 
 nulla which wound round the Eesidency estate or 
 compound to be covered with fields of jowaree, 
 bajra, and maize. These extended to the Nag- 
 nuddee, a small rivulet which joins the stream in 
 front of the Nagpoor Eesidency. At the distance of 
 nearly a mile a column or cenotaph about eighty- 
 five feet high had been built. We particularly 
 examined all about this spot ; then, skirting the 
 outer border of the village of Seetabuldee, we 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE FORCE. 245 
 
 continued our way towards the garden of Sukan- 
 darra, which we viewed from a distance, and then 
 returned to our position in front of the gateway of 
 the Residency compound. Our tents were pitched 
 within the boundary-hedge of the Residency com- 
 pound, and the three troops were picketed on a 
 rather narrow piece of ground between the gate- 
 way and a small grove or copse of trees which 
 served as a burial-place for the Residency. We 
 remained undisturbed during the night of the 25 th 
 September 1817. All next day we remained quiet, 
 and the troops took up their posts in their several 
 encampments and positions. The 20th and 24th 
 Madras Light Infantry were placed in position on 
 the longer and larger hill which overlooked the 
 village of Seetabuldee ; the recruits from Tackley 
 were also posted there, under the command of 
 Major Orlando Jenkins, with two 9-pounder field- 
 guns. Four companies of the 20th were posted 
 on the two smaller hills which ran at right angles 
 with the larger one. Our field-pieces were also with 
 these four companies. These guns were manned 
 by 24 European artillerymen, being all the Euro- 
 peans we could boast of excluding the officers, 
 who might have numbered 30 more, all the rest 
 of the force being natives. With the three troops 
 of the 6th Bengal Light Cavalry we had six Euro- 
 pean officers. Their names were Captain Fitzgerald^ 
 
 1 Captain Charles Fitzgerald, who retired in 1833 as a Lieutenant- 
 Colonel and C.B. 
 
246 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HBARSEY. 
 
 (commanding ofl&cer), Lieutenant K. Wood, Lieu- 
 tenant J. B. Hearsey (adjutant), Cornet R. W. 
 Smith, Dr Mansell, and Quartermaster - Sergeant 
 Young, wlio was acting as our riding - master. 
 A company of Native Infantry, which had been 
 raised as escort for Mr Jenkins (the Resident), 
 was under the command of Captain Lloyd. 
 This company was also posted on the larger hill 
 looking towards the smaller ones. During this 
 day the enemy showed their intention of attack- 
 ing us : they took possession of the village of 
 Seetabuldee, immediately under the outer face of 
 the longer hill. We observed them taking their 
 guns into it and constructing batteries threatening 
 the brow of the hill, also sending large bodies of 
 their Arab troops to occupy the payat or market 
 situated below and near the outer ascent of the 
 smaller hill. As evening and darkness approached 
 their numbers increased until the total was esti- 
 mated at 40,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 
 60 guns which ranged from 20- to 6-pounders. 
 To oppose this immense force we had four 9- 
 pounder field - pieces, three weakly troops of 
 cavalry, and 2500 infantry. In the evening 
 Colonel Scott, who commanded, determined to 
 post sentries to watch the approach of any parties 
 who might attack the large hill of Seetabuldee. 
 The enemy, perceiving this, sent up parties of 
 marksmen, who told our ofl&cers not to post their 
 sentries, which was, of course, not attended to. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE. 247 
 
 They then commenced firing at our sentries : this 
 was returned, and thus commenced the action. 
 The sentries were withdrawn, and parties of 
 marksmen, covered by the irregularities on the 
 brow of the hill and commanding a good view of 
 the ascent of the crest, were placed so as to prevent 
 the enemy attempting to assault without sustain- 
 ing great loss. Two 9-pounder guns were placed 
 on the top of the high hill at the point where the 
 pathway led down to the Eesidency enclosure or 
 compound. The other two guns were placed on 
 the smaller and lower hill, the crest of which was 
 surrounded by the commissariat bags of grain and 
 flour, making a wall round it which protected the 
 men posted there from the marksmen or riflemen 
 of the enemy. It was not long before the enemy's 
 artillery in the village of Seetabuldee, and also in 
 the village market-place of Maina Bail Ka Payat, 
 commenced firing upon our position : the larger 
 guns of the enemy that were posted in a village 
 under the left bank or dam of the lake also opened 
 upon us. They were replied to by our 9-pounders, 
 but with little effect. Some grass roofs of sheds 
 on the higher hill were set on fire and burnt : this 
 caused some slight confusion, and the enemy tried 
 to carry the crest of the larger hill, but were re- 
 pulsed with loss. Meanwhile our three troops of 
 cavalry were drawn up in line, front and rear rank, 
 opposite the gateway leading into the Eesidency 
 compound. In front of us was a small grove of 
 
248 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 mango trees, which had been used as a cemetery, 
 and in which some tombs of the officers of the 
 Eesidency could be distinguished : between the 
 trees on the outer side of this grove a water- 
 course or nulla some 15 yards broad took its 
 way towards the Nag-nuddee, which it joined at 
 three-quarters of a mile distant. Between this 
 nulla and the hedge surrounding the Residency 
 compound was the position occupied by our three 
 troops. 
 
 The tents of the officers and men had been 
 pitched in rear of the hedge within the estate 
 of the Residency. Many of the cannon balls of 
 the enemy fired at the large hill passed over it 
 and fell on the spot on which we were drawn up 
 in line. Some men and horses were struck, but 
 not many. A sergeant, in the act of mounting his 
 horse, was struck by one on the left chest : it was 
 a 4-pounder ball, and lodged behind the shoulder- 
 blade, bulging out on the right side. It was cut 
 out by the surgeon, and, notwithstanding this 
 dreadful wound, the man lived for two days. 
 This cannonading continued all the night of Sep- 
 tember 26, and the enemy sent parties of horse 
 and foot to reconnoitre our position on that side 
 of the Residency estate. Captain Fitzgerald re- 
 ceived orders to proceed with the three troops to 
 the Nag-nuddee, following the watercourse that ran 
 in front of our position, which, as I have said, joins 
 it at three-quarters of a mile distant. It was now 
 
A CHANGE OF POSITION. 249 
 
 quite dark, and Fitzgerald asked me if I knew the 
 spot that he was directed to go to. I replied that 
 I had only reconnoitred it three hours ago, and 
 that I could lead him to the spot indicated if he 
 would not interfere with me on the way there. 
 The country, as I have mentioned before, was 
 covered with Indian corn eight and nine feet high ; 
 giving us shelter, it would also have concealed any 
 parties of the enemy. As I was threading my way 
 quietly at the head of our party, Fitzgerald rode 
 up to me and told me that I had lost the way. I 
 assured him I had not, when he again repeated, 
 " You have." I then said that I would go to my 
 post in the rear to prevent stragglers, and he must 
 get some one else to guide him. Finding that no 
 person in the whole detachment was aware of the 
 locality, he sent for me. I said, " If you interfere 
 with me I shall lose my way, but if you let me 
 alone I will take you to the place you want to go 
 to." I again undertook the duty of guiding, and 
 in a quarter of an hour the three troops were 
 drawn up in line near the obelisk. Here we re- 
 mained for more than an hour, clear of the drop- 
 ping cannon-balls which had annoyed us at the 
 gate of the Eesidency estate. We had a full view 
 of the thatched sheds that had been set fire to at 
 the end of the long hill. The firing of musketry 
 and artillery on both sides continued to roar, and 
 Fitzgerald expressed a wish to know what the 
 enemy were doing in their camp at Sukandarra. 
 
250 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 At this place there was a large walled garden, and 
 in the vicinity the enemy had a very large en- 
 campment, consisting of artillery, cavalry, the 
 Eaja's bodyguard of Hindustanis, and their Arab 
 infantry. From this place the parties had been 
 sent down to attack our position on the Seeta- 
 buldee hills. They had to go partly through the 
 suburbs and city of Nagpoor and proceed along the 
 dam and border of the lake towards the village of 
 Seetabuldee. I detailed four men to go with me 
 whose horses would not neigh, and went towards 
 the encampment. I obtained a close view, and 
 saw large parties leave the camp for the city to 
 assist in attacking the British position. Having 
 satisfied myself on this subject, I returned and 
 reported what I had seen to Captain Fitzgerald. 
 Soon after the moon rose and shed its light over 
 the adjacent country. It appeared that a small 
 party of horse had been sent from the camp of 
 Gunput Eao, who was encamped on the road to- 
 wards the village of Kamptee, to find out what 
 measures had been taken by the British to prevent 
 any attempt made from that quarter on the bunga- 
 lows and houses of the British Eesidency. Those 
 parties caused an alarm, and no troops having been 
 posted on that side, our detachment was recalled 
 from the position that we had taken up on the 
 Nag-nuddee, and we again occupied our first 
 position. Small parties were now sent out as 
 pickets to watch in that direction and to send 
 
CAPTAIN pew's detachment. 251 
 
 scouts towards Gunput Rao's camp. We were 
 not long kept in suspense, for considerable bodies 
 of horse and artillery were sent to harass that 
 portion of our position. Our small pickets were 
 reinforced, and these parties were charged success- 
 fully and driven away. Whilst all this was going 
 on we suddenly perceived that our old cantonment 
 of Telingkeri had been entered by Gunput Rao's 
 troops, and the bungalows and lines had been set 
 on fire. Whatever had remained in them had 
 been plundered. A very small body of the 20th 
 Infantry, about four companies, and 30 of our 
 troopers under a Jemadar (or native lieutenant), 
 had been left there as some kind of protection to 
 the place, but as it was more than a mile in extent, 
 this small body was totally incapable of preventing 
 the enemy setting fire to the cantonment. Orders 
 were sent to recall the small detachment by six 
 of our troopers, going by two men together by 
 different paths, to Captain Pew, who commanded 
 there. One of these parties managed to deliver 
 the order to Captain Pew; the other two parties 
 were forced to return, not being able to pass 
 through the enemy. On receiving the orders 
 Captain Pew commenced his movement from 
 Telingkeri towards Seetabuldee. Captain Fitz- 
 gerald had received orders from Brigadier Scott 
 that if he heard musketry towards the plain of 
 Telingkeri he was immediately to send off a portion 
 of the three troops of the 6th Light Cavalry to 
 
252 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Captain Pew's assistance. All of a sudden we were 
 startled by the firing of volleys of musketry, and 
 afterwards we heard file firing some distance away 
 on the plain. Captain Fitzgerald ordered me to 
 take 30 troopers and proceed in the direction from 
 which the sound of musketry came. T did so, and 
 meeting bodies of horsemen on the plain, I had to 
 charge them, but of course did not pursue them 
 far, but made my way as quickly as I could to- 
 wards Captain Pew's detachment. As I approached 
 I perceived he had placed his four companies in 
 square, with the 30 troopers belonging to our corps 
 inside the square, and was defending himself against 
 bodies of horse that approached him. I attacked 
 these horsemen, and they, not knowing what force 
 I had with me, gave way. I then halted my party 
 on some rising ground, where they were pretty 
 free from being shot down by Captain Pew's in- 
 fantry, and taking advantage of a pause in the 
 firing I rode towards Pew's detachment, shouting 
 at the loudest pitch of my voice, " Pew ! friends ! 
 cease firing ! " It was with some difiiculty that 
 he could make his men obey him. On approaching 
 his party I told him to let his detachment of 
 cavalry join me, and having thrown out skir- 
 mishers to cover his infantry, we hastened to our 
 position at Seetabuldee, where we arrived all safely. 
 The troopers took their places in our ranks, and 
 Pew with his four companies joined the head- 
 quarters of his regiment, which was in position on 
 
A DANGEROUS DUTY. 253 
 
 the large hill of Seetabuldee. The whole canton- 
 ment of Telingkeri was now in full blaze, and the 
 small cantonment of Tackley was also now on fire. 
 This place was the headquarters of the brigade of 
 Hindustanis that was being raised for the service 
 of the Rajah of Nagpoor. It was under the com- 
 mand of Captain Orlando Jenkins, an artillery 
 officer, and brother of the Resident. These recruits 
 had joined us at our position at the Residency. 
 The heavy firing of the artillery continued all 
 night. At times abortive attempts were made by 
 the enemy to attack our position, but they were 
 all repulsed. About midnight the enemy sent 
 parties around with rockets into the high Indian 
 corn-fields, from the borders of which they sent 
 their rockets into the Residency compound in 
 hopes of setting fire to the thatched bungalows 
 that were in it. On requisition a small party of 
 good marksmen were sent to us to check this 
 attempt of the enemy. I had to post the marks- 
 men in the broken ground so as to command the 
 borders of the fields, and my horse and self had 
 some very narrow escapes of being killed. How- 
 ever this measure was eff"ectual, for several of the 
 rocketeers were shot, which made the remainder 
 unsteady in directing the flight of their rockets. 
 I must mention that these rockets had what I 
 consider an improvement in this arm when used 
 against cavalry. To the iron tube of the rocket 
 was attached a long, sharp, double-edged sword 
 
254 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 blade about four feet long, which going amongst 
 horses caused grievous wounds in their legs. A 
 magazine pretty well stored with these instruments 
 was captured by us ; it was situated on the rise of 
 the smaller hill on the position of Seetabuldee. 
 We all longed for daybreak. As for myself I was 
 almost useless, as this was the third night I had 
 not slept, and I told my commanding officer that 
 if I could not get one or two hours' sleep I should 
 not be fit for anything in the morning. He con- 
 sented to my dismounting and throwing myself on 
 some bundles of cut Indian corn in front of our 
 men, that I might rest. I did so, as there seemed 
 to be a lull, and was soon oblivious to all recollec- 
 tions of danger or anything else. I had hardly 
 slept an hour when I was rolled suddenly off from 
 the bundles of Indian corn stalks on to the ground, 
 and of course awakened. I started up exceedingly 
 angry, thinking somebody had pulled the bundles 
 from under me, and vowing I would punish the 
 man within an inch of his life if I could find out 
 who had done it. Our native officers and men 
 could not help laughing, and my anger increased 
 their merriment. They told me a 12-pounder shot 
 had taken off the lower part of my temporary 
 bedding. I heard Captain Fitzgerald direct Lieu- 
 tenant E. W. Smith to take thirty men to ascertain 
 where the guns were, and then to charge and 
 capture them. He moved out as directed. The 
 clattering of our steel sabre-sheaths, and also the 
 
LOSS OF THE SMALL HILL. 255 
 
 ring of hoofs on the metalled road, caused the 
 enemy to believe that a large body of horse were 
 attacking them. They attempted to carry off the 
 guns, but in their confusion upset them into a deep 
 and wide ditch, where they remained unperceived 
 during the remainder of the night. The moon had 
 set and it was now dark. In this manner we were 
 kept on the alert till morning dawned. On day 
 breaking we could perceive that the plain near the 
 Nag-nuddee was covered with countless horsemen. 
 This body seemed to be increasing hourly. About 
 ten o'clock a body of infantry joined them and also 
 about twenty camels with swivel-guns on saddles, 
 and furthermore a battery of 12 -pounder guns. 
 These soon took up a position on our left flank 
 and front so as partly to enfilade us. Captain 
 Fitzgerald, finding that our men and horses would 
 be mown down without our having a chance of 
 doing anything, sent me to point out to Brigadier 
 Scott the position we were in, and to take any 
 orders he might choose to send us. Brigadier 
 Scott told me to direct Captain Fitzgerald to take 
 the first opportunity of charging. General Scott 
 bade me dismount from my horse and wait. I did 
 so. In the meantime a body of three thousand 
 Arab infantry made a most determined attempt to 
 carry the small hill, which was then occupied by 
 six companies of the 20th Madras Native Infantry 
 with two guns, 9-pounders, and tumbrils containing 
 ammunition. There were also on the hill many 
 
256 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 small barrels of cartridges for infantry, and some 
 loose powder used for priming the guns. This 
 ammunition was placed as securely as circumstances 
 would permit, for magazines could not be dug, the 
 hill being rocky, and as I have before said, bags of 
 sand and grain had been piled up round the crest 
 of the hill as a temporary defence against musketry 
 and grape shot. The charge of the Arab infantry 
 was successful. They drove the 20th Native In- 
 fantry from the hill and took possession of the 
 two guns, tumbrils, and ammunition. They also 
 pulled up two pieces of their own artillery, 
 6 - pounders, and opened all four guns on the 
 larger hill, which was commanded by the higher 
 ground of the smaller one. All this occurred 
 whilst I was awaiting Colonel Scott's orders, so I 
 witnessed this disaster. There were four of us 
 officers present, namely. Captain Elliot (this officer 
 was an A.D.C. to Sir John Malcolm, and had been 
 left at Nagpoor sick when Sir John had passed 
 the Residency there on his way to Indore) ; 
 Lieutenant Clark of the 24th Madras Native In- 
 fantry, Dr Nixon of the same corps, and myself. 
 We were standing opposite to each other talking 
 when the very first cannon shot from the small 
 hill from one of our own 9 -pounders struck off 
 the heads of Clark and Nixon, splashing Elliot 
 and myself with their brains. I told Elliot that 
 we had better step back one or two paces to get 
 out of the immediate line of fire. I heard Brigadier 
 
A HOT FIRE. 257 
 
 Scott speaking very angrily, demanding of Brigade- 
 Major Taylor of his staff how he dared to snatch 
 his, the General's, telescope out of his hand. He 
 had been sweeping the plain with it, looking at 
 the enemy's horsemen upon it, and endeavouring 
 to ascertain the number of Arab infantry that had 
 assembled to attack the smaller hill. The fact was 
 a cannon shot had struck the telescope while it was 
 on his hand, and had smashed it to pieces. He 
 was not aware that this had occurred. Brigadier 
 Scott then called to me to order Captain Fitzgerald 
 to take the first favourable opportunity that might 
 occur to charge the enemy. Fitzgerald on re- 
 ceiving the order said that to charge such an 
 innumerable body of all arms with three troops 
 of cavalry, with any chance of success, would not 
 be feasible ; however, the sooner we got out of the 
 position we were in the better. He would therefore 
 cross the dry watercourse in front of our position, 
 and then our party could be drawn up so as to 
 avoid being enfiladed, and should an opportunity 
 occur a charge could be delivered without that 
 obstruction being in front of us. At this time 
 he said the only chance of saving our lives was to 
 cut our way through the enemy and endeavour to 
 join a force that was hastening from Hoshangabad 
 under the command of Colonel Gahan to assist 
 Brigadier Scott in the defence of Seetabuldee. 
 The shot from the batteries and camel swivel-guns 
 were falling fast and thick amongst us. I told 
 
 R 
 
258 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Captain Fitzgerald that I would not agree to desert 
 the infantry, that we must do or die, pointing to 
 the enemy on the plain. The native officers near, 
 hearing us converse together, and partly under- 
 standing that a charge upon the battery and enemy 
 was intended, gave a cheer, the Mohammedans 
 calling out " Deen ! Deen ! " meaning " Our 
 faith ! Our faith ! " and the Hindoos getting dust 
 and throwing it on their heads, thus expressing 
 that they were ready to be sacrificed. This showed 
 that our material was good, and that our men were 
 determined to do their best or die. The word of 
 command was given to our small line, "Threes 
 right shoulders," that we might cross over the dry 
 watercourse in our front and form line beyond 
 it. The enemy were watching us closely, within 
 shouting distance, and when we had formed a 
 column of threes our rear was towards the flank 
 which was being enfiladed by them. The enemy 
 thought that we were about to break and quit the 
 field. I was leading the column when a select body 
 of their horse under a chieftain, well dressed, charged 
 down to dispute our passage through the water- 
 course. The leading men of the column of threes 
 and myself met them ; those of the enemy who had 
 entered the watercourse were immediately ridden 
 over and destroyed. The chief, handsomely 
 dressed, and with a long spear in his hand, was 
 on the opposite bank. I had been skirmishing 
 with my double-barrelled "Joe Manton" all the 
 
HAND TO HAND, 259 
 
 morning, and had not had time to reload it after 
 the last discharge. I had it in my bridle hand, 
 grasping it just above the locks, and I had my 
 little sabre hanging to my wrist by the leather 
 strap. Knowing that the enemy were much more 
 alarmed at firearms than naked sabres, I dashed 
 at the chief pistol in hand : he, seeing my double- 
 barrelled Manton in my left hand and my pistol 
 in my right, took alarm, and turned to get away. 
 Too late — I was close to him : a large shield covered 
 the greater portion of his back and shoulders, — I 
 pushed it aside with the muzzle of my pistol and 
 shot him dead. One of his men at this moment 
 was in the act of cutting me down. I struck the 
 butt of my gun with my right hand, which drove 
 the muzzle close to his face : he urged his horse on 
 to avoid what he thought was certain death, and 
 thus I escaped the blow which would have left 
 me headless. Lieutenant R. W. Smith got the 
 sword that the chief wore. All this happened 
 within the space of a very few minutes. The 
 head of our column of threes, with Fitzgerald and 
 Smith, were soon among the enemy, who turned 
 and fled. I had wheeled my horse to return to 
 my position and secure my sword, and during 
 this time the greater part of the men had passed 
 by me. About thirty or forty of the column still 
 remained, when Subadar - Major Bugwant Singh 
 (a Brahmin) shouted out, " Adjutant Sahib, there 
 is a battery of ] 2-pounder guns on our left ! " I 
 
260 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 allowed Fitzgerald and the other officers to push 
 on after the enemy's flying troops, and calling 
 "Halt!" I fronted the thirty or forty men at 
 the tail of the column, and with Bugwant Singh 
 charged the flying horsemen and got among the 
 swivel-gun camels, capturing many of them, and 
 still pursuing the horsemen, we drove them upon 
 their own battery. The artillerymen hesitated to 
 flre upon their own horsemen, by which means 
 I got close to their guns, and they could only 
 fire one round before I found myself between 
 the muzzle and wheel of a 12 -pounder gun, and 
 my men destroying the artillerymen as well as 
 they were able. The flying horsemen could not 
 be stopped ; they dashed into their own battalion 
 of infantry, putting them into great confusion. I 
 was not long in following them. It fortunately 
 happened that the troopers that were with me 
 were mostly trained as horse artillerymen, who 
 had recently rejoined us, having returned from the 
 capture of the island of Java, where they had 
 acted as such. The tumbrils, ammunition, and guns 
 were ours. There was an outcry that the port-flres 
 could not be found. I told my men to prime their 
 flint pistols and put the pans on the touch-holes 
 and they would act as well as port-fires : this was 
 done, and the guns turned round on the enemy. 
 Their infantry was already demoralised by their 
 own cavalry having dashed through them, and two 
 rounds from the guns cleared the place of them. 
 
A FEARFUL WOUND. 261 
 
 They threw away their muskets, arms, and every- 
 thing, and took shelter under the banks of the 
 Nag-nuddee, down the bed of which they fled 
 towards the city of Nagpoor. I then again turned 
 the guns upon the large bodies of horse, amongst 
 which Fitzgerald and his party were fighting. I 
 told my horse artillerymen to secure their horses, 
 and they were fastened as well as we could manage 
 it. Whilst they were so employed the commandant 
 of the enemy's artillery, who was loath to turn 
 and fly, stopped near the banks of the Nag-nuddee. 
 I charged at him, sword in hand ; he stood boldly 
 to receive me. He was armed with a long double- 
 edged sword pointed at the handle, and so formed 
 that both hands could be used in wielding it. The 
 blade was at least four feet long. This weapon is 
 called by the natives a " syfe," and it is a most 
 formidable weapon. I made a sad mistake in 
 attempting to ride by him and cut him down, 
 whereas a horseman attacking a bold and resolute 
 man on foot should always attempt to ride over 
 him. The consequence was that he escaped the 
 blow, and I had made such a swoop, leaning over 
 to my right side, that the point of my sword was 
 partly buried in the ground, and ere I had time to 
 regain my saddle he had given me a fearful wound 
 over my head and neck. My orderly trooper, a 
 young Kajpoot, before he had time to recover the 
 blow or defend himself, struck him over his head 
 with his sabre and felled him to the earth ; but. 
 
262 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIE JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 like all the Mahratta chiefs, his head was doubly- 
 shielded from harm. His turban was worn twined 
 in the usual manner round the temples and back of 
 the head, and was in many folds of cloth. Beside 
 this, he had another turban going over his head 
 and under his chin, making some thirty plies of 
 folded cloth to be cut through. The orderly found 
 that the blow had not been effectual, and I heard 
 him say, "You have killed my master, my com- 
 mander, my officer, my father, and I'll put you to 
 death." Saying this he drew a pistol from his holster 
 and shot the man through the body, setting fire to 
 his cotton jacket, which, communicating with his 
 powder horn, blew his body to atoms. Our charge 
 amongst the enemy's horse on the plain, and the 
 discomfiture of the infantry and capture of their 
 battery, had been witnessed by the officers and 
 troops on the large hill. This gave them great 
 encouragement, and a column of infantry in 
 companies, headed by the Eesident's escort of 
 Hindustanis, and led by Captain Lloyd, who 
 commanded the escort, was now sent from the 
 larger hill to recapture our lost position on the 
 smaller but higher one. Mr Jenkins, the Eesident, 
 addressed his escort, and told them that he ex- 
 pected success from them. The column dashed 
 across the space between the two hills, and soon 
 reached the crest of the smaller hill and drove 
 off the Arabs with slaughter and great confusion, 
 recapturing not only our own guns but in addition 
 
THE TURN OF THE TIDE, 263 
 
 the two the Arabs had brought up there. They 
 pursued their advantage into the bazaar at the 
 other side and foot of the small hill, driving the 
 Arabs with considerable loss out of it. Lloyd, in 
 this affair, received four bullet wounds. Both his 
 shoulders were grazed where the epaulets were 
 placed ; while waving his sword and cheering on 
 his men a bullet struck him on the elbow, running 
 along the arm and coming out of the shoulder; 
 the fourth bullet had struck him at the waistband 
 of his trousers, had glanced over a button, and 
 entering the skin, ran round the abdomen and out 
 at the opposite button. Lloyd had on doeskin 
 leathers. His last wound was thought to be a 
 fatal one, as it was supposed that the bullet had 
 entered the abdomen, but it proved otherwise, a 
 mere skin wound. Our infantry now, after this 
 success, were ready to be ledJIto any daring attack. 
 A party of the enemy's infantry with guns were 
 attempting to take possession of the space between 
 the two hills : this party was attacked in force 
 and overwhelmed, and their guns captured. The 
 enemy, finding that all their efforts had failed, 
 now showed their intention of drawing off from 
 the attack altogether. They were confirmed in 
 their intention on seeing that we were able and 
 ready to attack them from the position we had 
 taken up in the village and vicinity of Seetabuldee. 
 In the meantime, finding that I could get no 
 assistance from the surgeon belonging to the 
 
264 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 cavalry either to bandage or in any way to stop 
 tlie eflfusion of blood from my head and neck, I 
 asked my own servant, who rode with me on a 
 spare horse, to bandage me, and gave him my 
 pocket - handkerchief, folded pleat - wise, for the 
 purpose. We both dismounted, holding our 
 horses by the bridle as best we could. My 
 servant, by name Mirza Omaran Ali Beg, had his 
 arm over my head, in the act of performing what 
 I asked him to do, when one of the enemy's rifle- 
 men from the banks of the Nag-nuddee, at no 
 great distance, aimed at me. The bullet went 
 through the wadded cotton jacket of my servant 
 and struck him in the forearm, which was im- 
 mediately over my head, breaking the bone and 
 lodging there. The man looked at me and said, 
 " Sir, I can do no more." He had already received 
 two slight spear wounds, which I was not then 
 aware of. Fitzgerald and the remainder of his 
 party having now rejoined me, I made over the 
 captured guns, tumbrils, &c., to him, saying, 
 " Don't part with the artillery on any considera- 
 tion whatever, and if the Pindari horsemen assemble 
 in crowds or masses, yoke your bullocks and ad- 
 vance boldly to open your guns upon them : you 
 have now men sufficient to defend them, and the 
 enemy are evidently astonished at our being 
 able to move and serve the guns. They seem to 
 suspect treachery, thinking that we have the aid 
 of their own artillerymen, who have joined and 
 
NO SPIKES WANTED. 265 
 
 are assisting us." Finding that I was fainting 
 from loss of blood, I remounted my horse and 
 with my orderly galloped up to the Eesidency 
 compound, and up the large hill, when I got there 
 reporting to Brigadier Scott that we had made a 
 charge and were successful. The reply from the 
 Brigadier and Mr Jenkins was, "We have 
 witnessed it, and most nobly have you behaved." 
 Brigadier Scott then sent for spikes and asked if 
 there was any officer ready to take them to Captain 
 Fitzgerald. I told him that we had horse 
 artillerymen and could manage the guns well, 
 that spikes were not required, and that Captain 
 Fitzgerald could use the guns with great effect, 
 and would, when the ammunition was expended, 
 bring them safely to the Residency hill. He 
 replied to me, "I have no officer to take my 
 orders." I answered that I would do so. He then 
 looked up at me and saw that I was pallid from 
 loss of blood ; it was streaming down me over my 
 horse and on to the ground. He said, " You are 
 seriously wounded ; dismount and let the medical 
 men attend to you." I told him that my orderly 
 would take the spikes. He did so, but, as I antici- 
 pated, they were not used. My jacket was taken 
 off and my neck bared. Dr Gordon had made one 
 stitch through the muscles of my neck and scalp, 
 at the lower part of my head, and knotted it, when 
 an alarm was given, that the enemy were charging 
 up the space between the two hills, an incident 
 
266 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 which I have preyiously mentioned. Gordon left 
 me in that state and joined the party ordered to 
 repel them. This was done effectually. Feeling 
 that I was fainting I asked for a cup of water, and 
 a wounded officer heard me, and approaching me 
 on his hands and knees gave me a pewter goblet 
 with water in it. His head and face were bandaged 
 so that I could not recognise him. I took the cup 
 and drank. Thinking that he might be a Euro- 
 pean sergeant or other non-commissioned officer, t 
 asked him to what corps he belonged. He pointed 
 to a button on his sleeve with 24 upon it, denot- 
 ing that he belonged to the Madras Native 
 Infantry. I could just recognise him as my friend 
 Captain Charlesworth, who, having heard me, had 
 crawled towards me with the goblet of water in 
 his hand. This was at the risk of his own life, for 
 he had been shot through the neck, his jaw broken, 
 and his tongue lacerated. The surgeon had told 
 him to remain perfectly quiet, — that any exertion 
 might rupture the carotid artery and cause im- 
 mediate death. Soon afterwards I fainted from 
 loss of blood and became unconscious of all around 
 me. In this state I was removed to a small native 
 tent, such as are used by native officers in camp. 
 It was oblong and bell-shaped, with a slit for an 
 entrance and a deep flounce round the bottom of 
 it. In this had been placed the bodies of the 
 officers who had been killed during the action, and 
 the people who had put me there must have 
 
LADIES UNDER EIRE. 267 
 
 thought that I was dead. I heard afterwards that 
 Captain Fitzgerald had done what I advised him to 
 do — namely, to use the guns against the enemy as 
 long as the ammunition lasted, threatening large 
 bodies of the enemy's horse wherever they 
 collected, and firing upon them. They eventually 
 quitted the field, and he brought the captured 
 guns to the Eesidency. They were taken up and 
 placed in battery on the end of the large hill 
 covering and overlooking the road from the end 
 portion of the city of Nagpoor near the lake. The 
 action gradually subsided, and all firing of 
 musketry and cannon ceased. Our force held its 
 vantage - ground, which protected the Eesidency 
 and houses in it. The ladies, whose curiosity had 
 induced them to take a view of the fighting from 
 the top of the Residency house, had actually, with- 
 out their knowledge, had their garments perforated 
 by bullets. Two had become widows, for Major 
 Saddler and Lieutenant Clarke had been killed 
 during the action. I must have recovered some 
 time in the evening in the native tent where my 
 body had been placed. The blood flowing from my 
 wound had accumulated on the lower part of my 
 head and neck and there had coagulated, and then 
 my wound had ceased to bleed. In the evening, 
 as darkness had commenced, I felt sufficiently- 
 strong to sit up and look about me. I saw the 
 bodies of many of my friends, fearfully torn by 
 cannon balls, lying on the ground (they were to be 
 
268 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 buried early the next morning). I stood up and 
 got to the entrance of the tent, and went outside it 
 and looked about me. Mr Jenkins and Colonel 
 Scott were walking to and fro in the vicinity in 
 earnest conversation. Colonel Scott saw me and 
 said, "Hearsey, is that you?" for being covered 
 with blood and besmirched with dirt it was not 
 easy to recognise me. I answered in the affirma- 
 tive. He said, "How do you feel?" I said, 
 "Pretty well, sir, but very, very hungry," for I 
 had touched no food for the last two days. He 
 said, " Come here, lad." I went tottering towards 
 him. He brought from a small native tent that 
 had been pitched for him at hand, a small bowl 
 and some pressed meat, or what appeared to me a 
 large Bologna sausage. He took the outer skin off 
 the end of it, and cut it into very thin slices into 
 the bowl, then taking a kettle filled with boiling 
 water, which was close at hand, he poured it upon 
 the contents of the bowl, and stirring it up with a 
 spoon, bade me partake of it. I did so, and felt 
 much refreshed. The meat had all dissolved in the 
 water, and it made a strong and good soup. He 
 then said, " Well, lad, how do you feel now ? " I 
 replied, "Much refreshed, but still hungry." He 
 made me a second mess of it, and that satisfied me. 
 He then told me to go down where the tents of our 
 detachment were pitched, and to send for a surgeon 
 to look at me. I went, and with some difficulty 
 found the doctor, who gently removed the coagu- 
 
CARE FOR A FAITHFUL SERVANT. 269 
 
 lated blood and washed my scalp and neck, shaving 
 oflF the hair of the former. He then said he must 
 put two more stitches into the wound. Unfortu- 
 nately for me, he attempted to do this work with a 
 broken-pointed needle, and this put me into ex- 
 cruciating pain. A broad piece of lint was placed 
 over the surface of the wound, and strips of 
 sticking-plaster over that to draw the lips of the 
 wound together. My head and neck were then 
 bandaged, and I was left to sleep. When the pain 
 I was suflfering under had abated, I learned that 
 Lieutenant E. W. Smith had received a very severe 
 sabre wound at the edge of the left shoulder-blade, 
 and through two or three of his ribs, nearly one 
 foot in length. This proved a severe and 
 dangerous wound, but eventually he recovered. 
 Our acting riding-master, Quartermaster-Sergeant 
 Young, had been killed in the action, charging 
 with Fitzgerald, and we had lost many men and 
 horses. On inquiring after my servant, Mirza 
 Omaran Ali Beg, I could get no tidings of him. I 
 immediately ordered a small party with a litter or 
 dooley to go out and seek for him where we had 
 captured the battery, and to bring him in dead or 
 alive. I then told them also to search for Sergeant 
 Young's head, and if they found it to bring it to 
 me. In about an hour Mirza was brought in in the 
 dooley. He had remained on the spot where he 
 had been wounded in a state of insensibility. The 
 head of Lieutenant Young was also brought in; 
 
270 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Ms helmet was missing. His coat, I was told, was 
 shown to the Mahratta chieftain as a proof that 
 one officer of cavalry had been killed. I sent 
 Mirza to the hospital to be attended to ; he soon re- 
 covered consciousness. The bullet that had struck 
 his arm between the elbow and shoulder had 
 splintered and shattered the bone, and had actually 
 flattened and mixed with the splintered bone so 
 that it could not be extracted. The arm was set ; 
 many splinters came away, and the wound eventu- 
 ally healed with the bullet adhering to the bone. 
 It is most astonishing what serious wounds the 
 natives recover from. We had with us a sick 
 European sergeant, an Irishman of the name of 
 Murphy. He had been left behind at Nagpoor 
 when our 6-pounder galloper guns had been sent 
 to Hoshangabad, on the river, to form a portion of 
 a native troop of horse artillery that had been 
 directed to be embodied there. I sent for Murphy 
 and bade him wash the remains of Quartermaster- 
 Sergeant Young, placing the decapitated head on 
 the neck, and had the corpse securely wrapped up 
 in winding-sheets ready for burial. The next 
 morning it was taken in a dooley to a spot selected 
 as a graveyard for all the officers killed in the 
 action, and with them it received an honourable 
 sepulture. Feeling myself pretty strong after 
 having taken some food in the morning, I managed 
 to find my way to the top of the larger hUl and 
 assisted in placing the guns we had captured in 
 
A QUICK KECOVERY. 271 
 
 position in case of another attack. I returned to 
 my tent much fatigued, and was attacked by 
 fever. In this state I remained for a week, and 
 then gradually it left me. The wound in my head 
 and neck suppurated and granulations formed, and 
 it gradually filled up and healed. The enemy left 
 us unmolested. On the third day after the fight 
 Colonel Gahan arrived from Hoshangabad with a 
 detachment of troops belonging to the Bengal 
 army. This reinforcement consisted of some 
 Native Horse Artillery, with the remainder of the 
 6th Light Cavalry and the 19th and 22nd Bengal 
 Native Infantry. The Indian corn which covered 
 the plain was cut down and we now felt somewhat 
 more secure, though every precaution was taken 
 by day and night to prevent a surprise. I had my 
 tent pitched with the remainder of my corps, and 
 of course remained in it. We had intelligence 
 that General Hardyman, with a force of Europeans 
 and natives, had relieved our force at Jubbulpore, 
 and had fought an action near that station, defeat- 
 ing the enemy with considerable loss amongst 
 some rocky hillocks at a place called Adhagaon. 
 In this afiair Lieutenant Pope was severely 
 wounded in a charge made on a battery of guns 
 which he captured. We also learnt that Major- 
 General Doveton, of the Madras Presidency, with a 
 considerable force of all arms, was hastening to 
 join us. This he did in the course of a week, and 
 now we felt strong enough to ofi"er Appa Rajah 
 
272 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF SIR JOHN HBARSEY. 
 
 terms for submission or immediate attack. He 
 preferred the latter. General Doveton told off the 
 troops to attack the Mahratta camp at Sukan 
 Durrah, detaching a column under Brigadier Scott 
 to drive the enemy near the suburbs of Seetabuldee 
 into the town. The action took place. I was not 
 allowed to go with the regiment, as my wound 
 was too open and dangerous to permit me to do so. 
 In fact, I was told if I attempted to mount my 
 horse I should be put under arrest. However, 
 I went on the top of the larger hill and witnessed 
 the battle on the plain about a mile and a half 
 below me. Brigadier Scott's column was perfectly 
 successful, and managed to seize a park of artillery, 
 consisting of guns of all sizes that had been 
 collected in the suburbs of the city. The enemy, 
 when our troops were moving down, sent word 
 that they would surrender. Our troops, however, 
 moved steadily down in columns to attack them, 
 ■covered by skirmishers. They had no sooner got 
 within distance of cannon shot than the enemy's 
 batteries opened upon us. The cavalry, consisting 
 of the 6th Bengal Light Cavalry and Pedler's 
 Mysore Horse, formed line and charged. Two 
 'batteries of six guns each were carried at the point 
 of the sword. The Mahratta Horse were driven off 
 that portion of the field, and took shelter amongst 
 a body of sixty elephants with howdas on their 
 .backs filled with matchlock men, who fired volleys 
 
SHELLING THE ELEPHANTS. 273 
 
 into the ranks of the cavalry. Our horses could 
 not be brought to charge amongst the elephants, 
 and a check took place for a short time. 
 
 Brigadier Gahan, who commanded the cavalry 
 on this occasion, had not come on with them to 
 the front, and had detained Captain Poggenpohl's 
 Horse Artillery with him, nearly a mile to the 
 rear. Officers were sent to bring them on. When 
 they arrived they opened fire with shrapnel upon 
 the mass of elephants, and soon dispersed the 
 herd, which took to flight in confusion. They 
 were soon overtaken by the cavalry and all 
 captured, the matchlock men meeting with no 
 mercy. The cavalry then re-formed, sending with 
 an escort the captured artillery and elephants to 
 General Doveton's camp near the hill of Seeta- 
 buldee. They then continued the pursuit of the 
 Mahratta cavalry, which attempted to assemble 
 once more. However, they would not meet the 
 onset of our troops, and fled off the field. They 
 were pursued for nine or ten miles across the 
 Kanaw river towards the hill Kaniteek, and they 
 eventually dispersed. In the meantime the in- 
 fantry portion of General Doveton's force steadily 
 advanced towards the Mahratta camp and the 
 gardens of Sukan Durrah. The enemy fled in 
 all directions, and the redoubted Arabs went ofi" 
 and sought shelter in the town and palace of 
 Nagpoor. Thus ended the battle which is called 
 
 s 
 
274 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 in history the battle of Nagpoor. The loss of the 
 British was trifling; the enemy did not suffer 
 very much. Sixty pieces of artillery, from 6- to 
 4-pounders, were brought in and parked with 
 their tumbrils in the Kesidency compound. On 
 the night after the battle a position was taken 
 up along the Tal, and some pieces of artUlery, 
 half a regiment of European infantry, and half 
 a regiment of Native infantry, besides two 
 Engineer officers and a company of Sappers, 
 were sent towards the end of the lake, and by 
 the morning sufficient breastworks had been 
 thrown up to protect this party from the fire 
 of the matchlock men. The enemy (the Arabs) 
 had taken up their position at this point, and 
 opposed our advance to the unfinished walls 
 and gateway of the city, and to the walls and 
 gateways surrounding the palace of the Eajah 
 of Nagpoor. Batteries were thrown up on the 
 dam at the end of the lake and armed with 
 guns, and shelling was commenced on the palace. 
 During the day communication was had with 
 the Raja, Appa Rajah, the Bhonsla, who off'ered 
 to come in and deliver himself up to Mr Jenkins, 
 the Resident, if he were assured that he would 
 be well received. He had the assurance given 
 him that no harm should be done to him or 
 his people. In the early darkness of the night, 
 under pretence of examining our approaches to- 
 
SURRENDER OF APPA SAHIB. 275 
 
 wards the palace, he gave his escort the slip 
 and came to the Residency. He was received 
 honourably, but of course was held under sur- 
 veillance. It was hoped that this measure on 
 his part would cause the surrender of the Arabs 
 and Hindustanis who had possession of the city 
 and palace. 
 
 END OF THE AUTOBIOGEAPHY. 
 
276 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Sir John Heaesey's narrative of the Mahratta 
 War of 1817 is continued for several more pages, 
 but the story is diflSeult to follow. It appears 
 that the General, who dictated his autobiography 
 to his daughter when approaching the end of 
 his life, and when in indifferent health, suffered 
 from the excitement of recalling the events of 
 his warlike youth. As will have been seen, his 
 memory was extremely vivid, and it is deeply 
 to be regretted that he did not begin dictating 
 his autobiography sooner, in which case an in- 
 valuable record of Indian military history would 
 undoubtedly have been produced. 
 
 To return to events at Nagpoor. After the 
 surrender of Appa Sahib, his Arab soldiers threw 
 themselves into the citadel and defended them- 
 selves for five days. At the end of that period 
 General Doveton delivered a general assault on 
 the place, but owing to the misconduct of some of 
 the troops^engaged the assault was repulsed with a 
 loss of over 300 killed and wounded. The Arabs 
 then obtained favourable terms and surrendered. 
 
277 
 
 Sir John Hearsey was thanked in " Governor- 
 General's Orders " for his conduct at Seetabuldee, 
 and Subadar-Major Bhagwan Singh received as 
 a reward for his conspicuous gallantry a gold 
 medal, 300 highas of land, and a pension of one 
 hundred rupees a-month. It is, however, strange 
 but true that Hearsey received no pension or 
 gratuity for his terrible, almost mortal wound, 
 from the effects of which he suffered during the 
 remainder of his life. The three troops of Bengal 
 Cavalry at Seetabuldee had twenty- three killed and 
 twenty- five wounded, but they were amply re- 
 warded by the Governor - General's declaration 
 that they had " covered themselves with glory." 
 After the fall of Nagpoor the Mahratta Confedera- 
 tion was much weakened, and the Bengal troops 
 were able to turn their attention to the num- 
 erous marauding bands of Pindaris, who were 
 also in arms. The destruction of the Pindaris 
 was as essential to the policy of Lord Hastings 
 as the overthrow of the Mahratta Confederation, 
 and throughout the month of January 1818 the 
 Pindaris were hunted down without mercy and 
 with much success. In the following month it 
 was considered that a large reduction of the Grand 
 Army might be safely made, and the greater 
 part of the Bengal forces returned to their 
 stations. A considerable Bengal force, however, 
 remained in the Nagpoor district under Major- 
 General Marshall, and Hearsey was attached to 
 
278 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 this column. Operations were found necessary 
 against the towns of Dhamoni and Mandala, 
 the former of which surrendered. Mandala was 
 taken by storm, Hearsey being present. Shortly 
 afterwards he served at the battle of Seoni in 
 Berar, where the Peshwa's army was completely 
 defeated on the 16th April 1818, and in the 
 month of May of that year Hearsey was pres- 
 ent at the capture of the strong fortress of 
 Chanda. In a statement of his services written 
 by him at Barrackpore in April 1861, Sir John 
 Hearsey writes as follows concerning Seoni and 
 Chanda : — 
 
 " After the capture of Mandala we made forced 
 marches after Gunput Rao, the Nagpoor Mahratta 
 Chief of Horse. I was sent with a light field 
 force tinder Colonel Hopetoun Scott to prevent 
 Bajee Eao Peshwa from taking possession of the 
 large and important fortified town of Chanda. 
 It was an affair of horse and horse artillery. 
 We attacked the advanced body of the Peshwa's 
 force at Warora and drove them back. The 
 garrison of Chanda opposed our force. My regi- 
 ment volunteered to act dismounted, and escalade 
 the walls. Ladders had been prepared when 
 orders were received from General Adams, com- 
 manding the troops on the Nerbudda, to join his 
 force at Hungeni Ghat on the Wurda river. We 
 did so, and moved the next evening, and march- 
 ing all night, met the advanced guard of the 
 
THE BATTLE OF SEONI, 279 
 
 Peshwa's army on the hilly ground near the 
 village of Seoni. The force engaged consisted 
 of a troop of Madras European Artillery, two 
 galloper guns Native Horse Artillery, the 5 th 
 and 6th Bengal Light Cavalry and a squadron 
 of the 8 th ditto, and a regiment of Bengal 
 Light Infantry, — the whole commanded by Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Doveton. The remainder of the 
 infantry and the guns drawn by bullocks had 
 been left at the foot of the pass leading to the 
 hilly ground, and had been ordered to follow up 
 under Colonel Scott. 
 
 " Our artillery opened on the advancing enemy, 
 the cavalry charged and drove the horse from 
 one small hill to another, until the whole of the 
 Peshwa's army was in complete deroute. His 
 six guns and materiel were captured. We were 
 on horseback from the afternoon of one day 
 until 4 P.M. on the next day, the hot wind blowing 
 like a fiery furnace blast in the middle of April. 
 The regiment received the thanks of General 
 Adams, and in General Orders by the Marquis 
 of Hastings it was thanked together with the 
 rest of the force engaged. The force then moved 
 to the fortified town of Chanda and laid siege 
 to it. A breach was made and was carried by 
 storm in the month of May. The thermometer 
 stood at 140°, attached to the bole of a tree 
 near the battery that day. I was on horseback 
 from 4 A.M. to 10 p.m. Several officers and men, 
 
280 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 Europeans and natives, were killed by strokes of 
 tlie sun. 
 
 " The force then returned to Nagpoor, and was 
 encamped there during the rains." 
 
 Hearsey resumed active service of the most 
 arduous description after the rains of 1818, taking 
 part in the marches and actions against Appa 
 Sahib's forces, which occupied the remainder of 
 that year and the early months of 1819. 
 
 Appa Sahib, it should be stated, escaped from 
 his captivity in the month of May of that year, 
 and was for a long time able to maintain himself 
 in the Mahadeo Hills, where the Gonds rose in 
 his support. A prolonged campaign followed, 
 carried on in the most trying climatic conditions 
 and in the difficult country of the Vindhya and 
 Sathpura mountains. 
 
 At last, early in 1819, Appa Sahib came to 
 an end of his resources. A combined movement 
 against his headquarters broke up his remaining 
 strength, and although given temporary refuge 
 in the fortress of Asirgarh, he was compelled to 
 fly, disguised as a mendicant, to the Punjab, 
 where he was afforded a refuge by Ranjit Singh. 
 
 In March 1819 Hearsey took part in the last 
 operation of the Mahratta-Pindari War, the capture 
 of the fortress of Asirgarh ; and on the 31st of 
 August of the same year he was promoted to the 
 rank of captain. It may encourage young officers 
 of the present day to observe that after nearly five 
 
PROMOTED CAPTAIN, 281 
 
 years of continuous service in the field, during 
 which he had twice highly distinguished himself 
 and had been dangerously wounded, Hearsey re- 
 ceived no reward beyond two mentions in 
 Governor - General's Orders, and an adjutancy 
 which he would probably have received in peace 
 time. 
 
 The campaign being at an end, the 6th Light 
 Cavalry, apparently as a final trial of their endur- 
 ance, were marched across India to Karnaul in 
 the months of May and June 1819, 
 
 Several years of peace followed the destruction 
 of the Mahratta Confederacy, 
 
 In April 1820 Captain Hearsey was employed 
 as "Major of Brigade" with the troops sent to 
 keep order at the great festival, celebrated every 
 twelve years, at Hurdwar on the Ganges, He 
 was consequently an eye-witness, together with 
 his kinsman, Hyder Hearsey, of the catastrophe, 
 a description of which will be found on an earlier 
 page of this book. 
 
 In October 1820 the 6th Light Cavalry were 
 moved to Mhow and remained over two years 
 at that station. At the end of the year 1822 
 the 6th marched on relief to Keetah in Bundel- 
 khund. Captain Hearsey 's squadron was, however, 
 sent to relieve a squadron of the 2nd Light Cavalry 
 at Lohargaon, and he found himself in command 
 of that small station and post. There he remained 
 until the year 1824, when he fell into temporary 
 
282 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 command of his regiment. During this year, in 
 consequence of checks received by our armies in 
 Burma, there were disturbances in various parts 
 of India, culminating in the rebellion of the State 
 of Bhurtpore. In Bundelkhund, the Mahratta 
 chief of Parapur, a fort on the bank of the Betwa 
 river, treacherously attacked Kalpi, a small fort 
 on the right bank of the Jumna river. The chief 
 attempted to surprise Kalpi in the early morning, 
 just before daylight, hoping to secure the treasure 
 secured there. The garrison, a company of native 
 infantry under the command of Captain Eamsay, 
 was on the alert and the surprise failed, the assail- 
 ants being repulsed from the gateway and walls of 
 the fort. 
 
 News of the attack soon reached Keetah, and 
 Captain Hearsey promptly despatched a squadron 
 of the 6th Light Cavalry, under the command of 
 Lieutenant Lucius Smith. This officer reached 
 Kalpi in one march of fifty miles, and followed 
 up the assailants in a second march of the same 
 length to Jaloun. The remainder of the regiment 
 marched under Captain Hearsey's command to 
 surround the fort of Parapur, in the ravines on 
 the right bank of the Betwa river. Captain 
 Hearsey was, however, halted at Jalalpur by order 
 of Brigadier de Burgh, who was sent with heavy 
 artillery to reduce Parapur. This fort was evacu- 
 ated by the marauders and destroyed. Lieutenant 
 L. Smith's squadron then drove the rebel chief into 
 
"THE MAN ON THE SPOT." 283 
 
 Sindhia's territory, where he and his followers 
 were given up by orders of the Gwalior Durbar 
 and marched as prisoners by the squadron of the 
 6th Light Cavalry to the hill fortress of Kalingarh, 
 where they were confined. The 6th Light Cavalry 
 then returned to Keetah, and soon afterwards 
 proceeded by forced inarches to Muttra in order 
 to join a force assembling there by order of 
 Sir David Ochterlony, now Resident of Delhi, 
 for the purpose of laying siege to the fortress 
 of Bhurtpore. On arrival at Muttra the 6th 
 Light Cavalry was brigaded with the 11th Light 
 Dragoons and the 3rd Native Light Cavalry, 
 under the command of Colonel Sleigh of the 
 former regiment. 
 
 Bhurtpore had been seized by a usurper, who 
 had imprisoned the heir, a boy of five years of 
 age, and had established himself on the throne 
 in defiance of the British Government. 
 
 Prompt action was evidently desirable, having 
 regard to the disturbed state of public opinion in 
 India, but Lord Amherst's Government preferred 
 to put ofi" the evil day, and refused sanction to 
 the vigorous action proposed by " the man on the 
 spot." 
 
 On the abandonment of Sir David Ochterlony's 
 projected attack on Bhurtpore, the 6th Light 
 Cavalry went into cantonments at Muttra. Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel George Becher was posted to the 
 regiment, and on his joining Captain Hearsey 
 
284 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 lost Ms command. "During the hot winds of 
 1825," Hearsey writes, "I was ordered on com- 
 mand of a treasure party, consisting of three 
 troops of the 6th Light Cavalry and four com- 
 panies of native infantry, from Muttra to Delhi. 
 The Bhurtpore territory approached the road on 
 its left a greater portion of the distance. This 
 country, being occupied by large bodies of horse 
 and foot, required great caution and unceasing 
 watchfulness, the treasure, laden on hackeries 
 (bullock carts) with poor bullocks, creeping along 
 at two miles the hour. On account of the great 
 heat in the day we travelled all night, and even 
 then could not accomplish a march of fourteen mUes 
 until eight or nine the next morning. I delivered 
 the treasure safe and returned with my party to 
 Muttra." 
 
 Sir David Ochterlony had been so mortified by 
 the harsh manner in which his proposed action 
 against the Bhurtpore usurper was reversed by 
 Lord Amherst's Government, that his death oc- 
 curred shortly afterwards — a sad ending to a 
 most distinguished and valuable career. Had Sir 
 David lived a very few months more he would, 
 however, have seen his policy fully justified. He 
 died at Meerut on the 14th of July 1825, and 
 early in the following December a force of some 
 21,000 men, headed by Lord Combermere, the 
 Commander - in - Chief, in person, advanced from 
 Agra against Bhurtpore, where no less than 25,000 
 
THE SIEGE OF BHUETPOEE. 285 
 
 Jats and men of other fighting races had joined 
 the standard of Durjan Sal, the usurper. 
 
 Bhurtpore was a virgin fortress which had 
 acquired great fame from the repulses of the 
 assaults of Lord Lake's army in 1805. Durjan 
 Sal's defiance was open, and his fall and that of 
 Bhurtpore were imperatively necessary. 
 
 Lord Combermere's army was provided with a 
 large force of artillery (including 110 siege pieces), 
 a cavalry division of eight regiments, and two divi- 
 sions of infantry, each composed of three brigades, 
 with three battalions to a brigade. The army in fact 
 was adequate to the task before it, but some doubt 
 was felt as to the capacity of the commander. 
 
 Lord Combermere, when a young man, had 
 highly distinguished himself as a cavalry com- 
 mander in Spain, and had been raised to the 
 peerage for his services. He was now only fifty- 
 two years old, and was a man of most abstemious 
 and active habits. He was, however, not credited 
 with much ability, and the Duke of Wellington 
 was popularly believed to be in the habit of speak- 
 ing of him as " that damned fool Combermere." 
 
 When Lord Combermere was sent to India as 
 Commander-in-Chief it was already known that the 
 capture of Bhurtpore would probably be his first 
 duty, and an anxious politician asked the Duke 
 if he really thought it right to send a man of 
 whom he had so low an opinion to undertake 
 such a serious task. The great Duke, who had 
 
286 SIR JOHN HEAESEY, 
 
 the courage of his opinions, replied, "Yes; he 
 is a damned fool, but he will take Bhurtpore for 
 you." The prophecy proved to be correct, and Lord 
 Combermere's conduct of the siege did not justify 
 the Duke's assertion. All the operations against 
 Bhurtpore were well thought out and well executed, 
 particular care being taken to profit by the experi- 
 ences of the previous and unsuccessful siege. 
 
 In the following letters, written during the 
 operations to his brother-in-law. Captain W. B. 
 Salmon, who at this time commanded the escort 
 of the Eesident at Lucknow, Sir John Hearsey 
 gives a tolerably connected account of the inci- 
 dents of the siege as seen by a cavalry officer. 
 His letters describe an important preliminary 
 operation — the seizure by a mounted force sent 
 in advance of the main army of the dam on the 
 great Jhil or lake lying north-west of Bhurtpore. 
 Lord Lake omitted to secure this dam, and the 
 defenders of Bhurtpore, during the earlier siege, 
 were therefore able to flood the ditches of the 
 fortress. Hearsey also describes the preliminary 
 Teconnaissances carried out by Lord Combermere 
 and General NicoUs, and gives an account of some 
 interesting events of the siege of that formidable 
 fortress, which is well described in the following 
 -extract from the memoirs of Lord Combermere : — 
 
 "Bhurtpore stands in the midst of an almost 
 level plain. The town, eight miles in circumfer- 
 ■ence, is bounded on the western side by a ridge 
 
DESCRIPTION OP THE TOWN. 287 
 
 of low, bare, flat rocks, while everywhere else 
 its limits are dotted by a few isolated eminences 
 of little height or size. The fortifications consist 
 of a citadel and a continuous enceinte of thirty- 
 five lofty mud bastions, connected by curtains, 
 and in shape generally either semicircular or like 
 the frustra of cones. On some of these bastions 
 there are cavaliers, and most of them are joined 
 to the curtains by long narrow necks. Additions 
 have been made to the enceinte since Lord Lake's 
 time, and one bastion, called the Futteh Boorj, 
 or Bastion of Victory, was vauntingly declared to 
 have been built with the blood and bones of those 
 who fell in the last siege. In many cases the 
 ramparts were strengthened by several rows of 
 trunks of trees, which were buried upright in the 
 mass of earth, and all of them were constructed 
 of clay mixed with straw and cow-dung. This 
 composition had been put on in layers, each 
 of which was allowed to harden under the 
 fierce sun before another layer was added. Such 
 a mode of construction rendered any attempt to 
 establish a practicable breach almost impossible, 
 and we have seen that from the shape of the 
 bastions enfilade was in many cases very difficult. 
 The enceinte was surrounded by a broad and deep 
 ditch. The citadel was of great strength, and 
 rising to a height above the level of the ground 
 of one hundred and fourteen feet, completely 
 commanded the body of the place. 
 
288 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 "The garrison amounted to twenty -five thou- 
 sand men, of whom a considerable number be- 
 longed to the warlike Pathan race." 
 
 Camp near the hamlet of Kimjowleb, 
 N.N.W. 2 miles of Bhurtporb. 
 It Deer. 1825. 
 
 My dear William, — 
 
 You should have heard from me earlier, but we 
 have not, since the 8th, had any time to ourselves. 
 On that day we marched from Agra to Soutah (a 
 village 2 miles beyond Kerrowley), the force under 
 Major-Genl. McoUs^ consisting of 1 troop horse 
 artillery, a light field battery of 12 pieces of 
 artillery drawn by horses, two brigades of in- 
 fantry — viz., Brigadier-General Adams's, consist- 
 ing of 33rd, 36th, and 37th Regt. N.I., and 
 Brigadier-Genl. Macgregor's, consisting of the 59th 
 King's, and I do not know the 2 other corps — and 
 a brigade of cavalry under Brigadier Murray, con- 
 sisting of H.M.'s 16th Lancers, 6th Light Cavalry, 
 and 8th Light Cavaby, also 600 of Skinner's Horse 
 under Major Fraser ^ (one of the Commissioners of 
 
 1 Afterwards General Sir Jasper NicoUs, Commander-in-Chief in 
 India during the first Afghan war. General NicoUs had previously 
 distinguished himself by the capture of Almora. the capital of 
 Kumaon, a success which concluded the operations in that prov- 
 ince described in the memoir of Hyder Hearsey. 
 
 2 Major Traser was a Bengal civilian who held the rank of major 
 while commanding the 2nd Regiment of Skinner's Horse. 
 
THE ADVANCE. 289 
 
 Delhi). The heavy train, Engineer park, &c., were 
 left at Agra to be convoyed (by another road vid 
 Chuksana and Uckneree) towards Bhurtpoor by 
 the 1st Extra Cavalry and a brigade of 3 regts. of 
 Infantry under Lieut. -Col. Edwards of the 14th 
 King's. On the 9th the force above mentioned 
 under NicoUs marched to Aghapoor, about 5 miles 
 from Bhurtpoor : the frontier villages of Sambie 
 and Chickanee were not deserted by the inhabit- 
 ants, but as we approached nearer we found all the 
 people had quitted their hamlets and fled to the 
 stronghold, excepting at Aghapoor, where half of 
 them at least had remained. The last 4 miles of 
 our march was skirting, and partly in, a thick 
 babool jungle, which reaches to within half a mile 
 of the ditch of the Shuher Punnah.^ I was on the 
 advance-guard, commanding five troops of the 6th ; 
 a few horsemen were seen, but they vanished 
 almost immediately. The 10th we halted. On 
 the 11th a force, consisting of H.M. 16th Lancers 
 and 6th Lt. Cavly. (chequered), the 8th Lt. Cavly. 
 and 1 troop of horse artillery, accompanied by 
 Skinner's Horse (500) under Major Eraser (of 
 Delhi), marched at 3 o'clock a.m. from Aghapoor 
 (which is on the S.E. face) to reconnoitre and 
 attack a large force said to be posted near and 
 at the bund (or dam) of a jheel on the N.E. face, 
 the whole under the orders of Brigadier Murray. 
 About J past 7 o'clock the head of the column, 
 
 1 Or fortified city (Bhurtpore). 
 T 
 
290 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 which consisted of 3 troops of the 6th and a 
 squadron of the Lancers, came upon their en- 
 campment. A few men who made a stout resist- 
 ance were killed there. The main body, who had 
 discovered the approach of the column, tried to 
 get into the fort, but were intercepted by Skinner's 
 Horse, who had been ordered to march on our 
 pivot flank at half a mUe distant, and even with 
 the head of the column : they killed about 70 men, 
 it is supposed, and drove the remainder into an 
 enclosure close to the bund. In the meantime 
 the Skirmishers or Flankers, about 144 picked men 
 of the three Cavalry Corps under Captain Luard 
 and Lieutenant Armstrong of the Lancers, being 
 still more on the flank and close to the walls of 
 the Shuher Punnah, again intercepted them, drove 
 them out of the enclosure, and pursued them to 
 the gates, committing good havoc. In this afiair 
 the enemy lost altogether about 140 men, includ- 
 ing the Neema Eana, or Takoor of Neema, and his 
 son, who were the chiefs of the party : our loss 
 was trifling — not one man kUled, 7 of Skinner's 
 Suwars wounded, 1 trooper of the Lancers, 1 of 
 ours (struck by spent cannon shot), and a havildar 
 of the 8th Cavly. had his whisker taken ofi" by a 
 cannon shot. One desperate Eajhpoot on foot 
 kept six Lancers at bay and wounded three of 
 their horses before he was shot by one of our 
 troopers; we had one horse speared in the neck, 
 and another went down a ravine with one of our 
 
RECONNOITRING. 291 
 
 skirmishers, got loose in consequence, and was lost 
 with all his appointments. Two horses, one of the 
 8th Lt. Cavly. and one of the Horse Artillery, 
 were also killed by cannon shot. The right of 
 the line, consisting of the right squadrons of the 
 Lancers, 6th Lt. Cavly., Horse Artillery, and 8th 
 Lt. Cavly., were under a severe cannonade from 
 the walls of the Shuher Punnah for a quarter of 
 an hour, and the hairbreadth escapes were aston- 
 ishing, fully confirming the old saying of " every 
 ball has its billet." One of my troopers had his 
 cap carried clean off and scarce knew it. The force 
 after this affair returned to Aghapoor. We after- 
 wards heard that the Commander-in-Chief with 
 the force from Muttra took up his encampment 
 on the north face of the fort of Bhurtpoor soon 
 after the above affair was over, and then recon- 
 noitred towards the jheel and bund and took 
 possession of the enclosed garden, posting two 
 battalions in and about it, and the same force 
 between it and his camp on the river side of 
 the jheel to keep up the communication. On 
 the 12th General NicoUs with all the infantry 
 excepting one Battalion, and two squadrons 8th 
 Lt. Cavly. and Skinner's Horse, moved towards 
 the S.E. end of the Shuher Punnah walls to 
 reconnoitre : the remainder of the force under 
 Brigadier Murray was ordered to skirt the jungle 
 or Tumna, which extends to the depth of two to 
 three miles along the south and eastern face on the 
 
292 SIR JOHN HEAESBY. 
 
 outside, and proceed to where the road from Agra 
 leads into Bhurtpoor near the villages of Noh and 
 Nehannee, We did so a ta slow pace, and at half- 
 past one mid-day were joined by General NicoUs 
 and his staff; the General, &c., reconnoitred the 
 eastern face of the Shuher Punnah under a very 
 heavy cannonade. The regiments of Infantry 
 were thrown well back into the jungle, through 
 which a very good road runs from the village 
 of MuUoy on the S.E. of the fort by a second 
 village to the place we halted at. The advanced 
 guard under Le Fevre, consisting of five companies 
 from the different corps, and Skinner's Horse, were 
 immediately with the General. In this service 
 three suwars of Skinner's were killed by cannon 
 shot, as also a subadar of the 36th and sepoy of 
 the 31st ; a suwar of Skinner's also lost his leg 
 below the knee. The Commander-in-Chief met 
 General NicoUs in the jungle, sent back his own 
 escort, and took the squadron of the 8th Lt. Cavly. 
 under Captain Nicholson all round the fort. We 
 all encamped at Nehannee near the direct road to 
 Agra about 3 o'clock p.m. On the 13th we were 
 again on the move — that is, the Lancers, Horse 
 Artillery, and 6th Lt. Cavly. Went through the 
 jungle by the road the battalions had come 
 yesterday to MuUoy. After passing the village 
 a squadron of the Lancers and a squadron of our 
 corps under your humble servt., the whole under 
 Major King, were ordered back to that village to 
 
AT CLOSE QUARTERS. 293 
 
 support Skinner's Horse, who were threatened with 
 an attack, a large force having sallied out for that 
 purpose from the Sikri Gate, but on our approach 
 they all bundled in again. Fraser's body of 
 Skinner's Horse, our two corps, and the Horse 
 Artillery took up our encampment this day at 
 2 o'clock P.M. with our rear resting on a range 
 of hills inaccessible to cavalry, and our front to 
 the fort on its western face opposite the bastion 
 (Futteh Boorje ^) that was attacked by Lord Lake, 
 with the village of Mooawarree on our right flank 
 and the hamlet of Kimjowlee on our left. On the 
 14th two regts. of Infantry, the 11th under Col. 
 Price and the 31st under Col. Baddely, also another 
 troop of Horse Artillery under Capt. Hyde, joined 
 us. On the 15th our whole force was mounted 
 before daybreak, and we moved down towards the 
 bund of the jheel : our regiment was drawn up 
 in line, the left resting on the bund, our right 
 behind some banks where the two troops of Horse 
 Artillery were also drawn up. Skinner's Horse 
 (400) under Fraser, and the two regts. of Infantry, 
 moved forward to a garden and village about 300 
 yards from the walls ; the Lancers were drawn up 
 in close column of squadrons in rear of another 
 village and garden to the right and rear of the 
 Infantry. All this was done without the enemy 
 knowing it, for a shot was not fired for an hour 
 after we had taken up this position. Our 4th troop 
 
 1 Tower of Victory — so called in honour of Lord Lake's repulse. 
 
294 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 was ordered in .advance to where the Infantry 
 were ; soon after they must have discovered our 
 leading party, for they pealed upon them a very 
 heavy cannonade. Some said it had been the in- 
 tention to attack an outwork, others that the 
 Bukshee of Bhurtpoor was to have had a gate 
 given up to us ; again it was reported that his 
 Lordship and General NicoUs were desirous of 
 making a close reconnaissance in that quarter, — 
 this last I believe to be the fact. When the 
 cannonade became heavy the Horse Artillery and 
 our regiment were ordered out into the plain to 
 our right, where we had been pelted on the 11th. 
 The Lancers deployed also by squadrons to their 
 right about 100 yards nearer the walls than we 
 were — notwithstanding, neither corps lost a man 
 or horse, and we were from five to eight hundred 
 yards of their walls and bastion ; the two corps 
 of Infantry lost four killed and three wounded. 
 We had left our camp standing in charge of the 
 picquets, and returned to it at 10 o'clock. During 
 this business a party of horse (Pindarras, if I may 
 so call them) attempted to carry off fifteen camels 
 belonging to our brigadier and John Company, 
 but parties being sent in pursuit they were re- 
 covered, all but two or three. A havildar and 
 twelve troopers of the 6th made a gallant dash 
 into a party of 100 of these looters, killed five 
 of them, and recovered three camels which the 
 fellows had made sure of driving off". The force 
 
MORE RECONNAISSANCES. 295 
 
 with his Lordship and NieoUs also reconnoitred 
 the northern face, and there were some narrow 
 escapes. Nicolls went into a hut near the fort 
 where there were 4 of the enemy; luckily their 
 arms were at some distance, and before they 
 could handle them he got away. On the 16th 
 the villages on the heights from the bund to 
 Mulloy, in front and on the right of our encamp- 
 ment, were ordered to be fortified. Major Whish 
 of the Artillery was desired to superintend the 
 doing of it. To-day, the 17th, as yet nothing 
 has been done, and only a very few guns have 
 been fired from the fort towards the Lord's ^ camp. 
 It is said that the Engineers have not as yet 
 reconnoitred the fort and Shuher Punnah suffi- 
 ciently, and that the point of attack is not yet 
 decided on. The ditch of the Shuher Punnah is 
 reported to be quite dry in many places ; working 
 parties have been making gabions and fascines 
 since the 13th, and vast quantities of both these 
 necessary articles have been constructed at the 
 village of Mulloy and at the bund. 
 
 Madho Sing, the brother of Doorjun Sal, it is 
 said, is desirous of making terms with us ; he is 
 with a large force at Deig. The Killadar at 
 Khombeer,^ it is also said, wishes to remain quiet. 
 No further news. Captain Smith was to leave 
 
 ' Lord Combermere. 
 
 ^ A fort twelve miles distant. Killadar means Fort Com- 
 mandant. 
 
296 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 England in October, and of course will arrive in 
 Calcutta in February or March. I send a plan 
 of the fort and country and do not believe the 
 former is quite correct, but it will give you an 
 idea of the place. 
 
 Kisses to Char, and love to dear Marion. 
 
 Ever your affectionate Brother, 
 
 J. Heaesey. 
 
 18th Dec. — Three hundred and fifty horsemen 
 in four bodies dashed past the small post of our 
 regiment (viz., one Jamadar and 20) last night 
 to the south of the fort : the Jamadar attacked 
 one of the goles ^ and beat it back with the loss of 
 two men on the part of the enemy ; we did not 
 lose a man or horse ; the other three goles got 
 safely in. Ever thine, J. H. 
 
 Camp between the Bund of the Jhebl 
 and KiMJowLEB, near Bhuetpoor. 
 30th Deer. 1825. 
 
 My dear William, — 
 
 We have been exposed as targets for practice of 
 the Fort guns twice since I wrote to you, and the 
 Horse Artillery force lost altogether 5 or 6 horses, 
 a European had his leg taken oflF, and a golundause ^ 
 
 1 Parties. 2 Artilleryman. 
 
SIEGE OPERATIONS. 297 
 
 and four or five Sepoys killed. Our enfilading 
 batteries, as also lOJ-inch mortar-batteries, opened 
 on tbe 23rd at about 800 yards from the walls on 
 the north-east angle of the Shuher Punnah : that 
 portion of the city is divided off" from the rest 
 by a straight brick wall, and the enclosure is 
 called Gopaulghur. This portion is to be taken as 
 soon as a breach is practicable, a lodgment to be 
 made in it, and batteries formed to shell the 
 citadel and remainder of the town. Our parallels 
 have been advanced and two large 24-pounder 
 batteries erected, one within 250 yards of the 
 bastion to the east of the corner, and another at 
 about 80 yards from the corner bastion and curtain 
 to the north. Besides this the Sappers are at 
 work, and I believe three of the bastions nearest 
 the breach, are to be blown up. Our Engineers 
 have been into the ditch of the Shuher Punnah 
 and examined it, in consequence of its having been 
 reported that the enemy were mining from it so 
 as to blow up our batteries, which proved not to 
 be the case. It appears, however, they have mined 
 the ground in front of the gateways all round the 
 fort, being in dread that we shall try to blow open 
 the gates. The lower works of Gopaulghur, or the 
 Shuher Punnah walls in that direction, are laid 
 completely bare by the batteries, so that even a 
 matchlock man dare not show his face. Prisoners 
 taken trying to get away state that the enemy are 
 stockading the portions of the wall in front of our 
 
298 SIR JOHN HBARSEY. 
 
 batteries, so that when one wall is knocked down 
 another will be ready built for us to destroy ; but 
 they will not be able to finish it, our shells must 
 annoy them so much. The night before last a 
 body of the enemy's Cavalry, trying to bolt for 
 Khombeer, were attacked by our picquets and 
 advanced posts and driven down towards our en- 
 campment where the regiments had turned out, 
 and there was a smart affair for a short time 
 between a party of the 9th Cavalry and them : in 
 this skirmish Captain Chambers lost the forefinger 
 of the bridle hand, and the next to it was nearly 
 cut through, and Captain Palmer was wounded by 
 a sabre in the arm near the shoulder, and in the 
 thigh. Five or six troopers were also wounded. A 
 portion of the enemy got away, and another gole 
 of them were driven back to the fort. In the 
 morning we found that about 30 of them had been 
 killed, 107 had been made prisoners (tag-rag and 
 bobtail included), and 15 wounded; since this we 
 have invested the fort on the West and N.W. 
 closer. The day before this happened a force of 
 two squadrons, one of the Lancers, and one of 
 the 6th under your humble servant, and 100 of 
 Skinner's Horse, the whole under the command of 
 Major King of the Lancers, started at 4 o'clock in 
 the morning for the purpose oi feeling (a new term 
 in general use, meaning that troops should approach 
 a fortified place near enough to draw the fire of the 
 walls on them, and when it gets very hot they are 
 
A CAVALRY AFFAIR. 299 
 
 to retire from it) Khombeer, a fortified town twelve 
 miles to the N.W. of our encampment. We did 
 so, and as we went round the N.E. face the enemy, 
 both horse and foot, came out of the gate to the 
 S.E. and followed us round, keeping close to their 
 walls, whilst 6 or 8 four-pounders opened their fire 
 upon us from the bastions. Major King having 
 reconnoitred the walls and got a good insight into 
 the force of the enemy, prepared to return. How- 
 ever, I must tell you during all the time we moved 
 round, their best horsemen used their matchlocks 
 on us, and we in return sent Skinner's people to 
 try what they could do, but they would scarcely 
 leave our column, and allowed our skirmishers with 
 their carbines to be 100 yards nearer to the enemy 
 than they would go. We could not charge, as the 
 enemy kept within a four minutes' gallop of their 
 walls ; as it was, their four-pound shot came through 
 our column. After we had retired about three- 
 quarters of a mile. Major King ordered 60 of 
 Skinner's Horse to bring up the rear, keeping 100 
 yards from us, whilst 40 of them skirmished with 
 their matchlocks. The order had not been given 
 five minutes when we came to a village about a 
 mile from Khombeer, called Burona : here our 
 column of Lancers and the 6th were hid for a 
 minute from the enemy, and the rascals gave a 
 shout and charged down on Skinner's Horse. The 
 Eussaldar, instead of facing his men to meet them, 
 turned tail, and the first thing I knew of it was 
 
300 SIR JOHN HEAKSEY. 
 
 seeing his men going bang through my squadron, 
 which was in column of threes. I ordered it im- 
 mediately to halt and front, but found the front of 
 my squadron so hampered by Skinner's people, who 
 had now pulled up and begun to fire on the enemy 
 (who had got on the other side of some bad ground 
 within fifty yards of us), that I could not charge 
 them. Whilst this confusion lasted, the Lancers 
 (their squadron not suffering from the shock of the 
 runaways) formed in line facing the enemy on a 
 plain a little distance from the village. Whilst 
 they were doing this, a party of the enemy's horse 
 went round the village and showed themselves in 
 rear of my squadron. I immediately faced the 
 left division, rear rank in front, and charged at 
 them ; the fellows fired at us and went off as hard 
 as they could pelt, and as they had kept on the 
 other side of some walled fields I could not follow 
 them. Major King now ordered me to form my 
 squadron on the right of the Lancers on the plain, 
 which I did. About this time another Eesallah of 
 Skinner's Horse, being on picquet about three 
 miles from Khombeer, hearing the firing, joined 
 us. Major King now ordered them to circle round 
 the village to the part where I had charged and 
 take the enemy in the flank and rear whUst we 
 charged them in front, but they would not wait 
 for this manoeuvre, for on our advancing they fell 
 back to the fort : we then returned to camp. Not 
 a man or horse on our part was wounded ; 4 of the 
 
SLIGHTLY WOUNDED. 301 
 
 enemy were killed and 9 wounded ; we also got one 
 of their horses. Altogether it was a very unsatis- 
 factory skirmish, for if Skinner's Horse had not 
 fell foul of my squadron I should have been able 
 to have charged them home. I had two narrow 
 escapes — one from a four-pound shot from the walls 
 which struck near my horse, and I was struck on 
 the heel by a spent matchlock ball. 
 
 Pray make my kindest wishes for the health 
 and welfare of Mr and Mrs Eicketts acceptable 
 to them, and give my love to Marion when you 
 write to her. 
 
 Ever your affectionate Brother, 
 
 J. Heaesey. 
 
 Bhurtpoor, I5th Jamimry 1826. 
 
 My dear William, — Half the month of January 
 has passed since I last wrote to you and the fort- 
 ress has not yet been stormed. The enclosed 
 sketch of the approaches, batteries, &c., will, how- 
 ever, make it evident to you that a great deal 
 has been done. Both this and the sketch of the 
 position of the army and country about Bhurt- 
 poor are copied from Garden's, of the Quarter- 
 master-General's Department, and are as correct 
 8& can possibly be had. 
 
 During all these operations our loss has been 
 in officers — Lieut. Tindal of the Engineers killed ; 
 
302 SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 Captain Smith broke his arm by his horse rush- 
 ing under the branch of a tree from fright of a 
 canon ball; Forbes and Taylor of do., wounded; 
 Lieut.-Col. Faithful, Captain Godley, and Lieuten- 
 ant Campbell, 33rd, wounded. The accident the 
 cavalry officers met with I gave you in my last. 
 The casualties among the native commissioned 
 officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates 
 have been about 30 killed and 250 wounded. 
 
 On the night of the 7th one of the enemy's balls 
 struck a tumbril at the 60th mortar battery and 
 blew it up, which exploded three more, and four 
 hackeries laden with ammunition for the 24- 
 pounders : it is supposed about 20,000 lbs. of 
 powder went off. The wheels, etc., were sent fly- 
 ing all over the trenches, and the enemy com- 
 menced a heavy fire of round, grape, and match- 
 lock, but had not the dil ^ to make a sally. The 
 earth where we are encamped, near three miles 
 from the place, was shaken. Our loss on this 
 occasion was one havildar and five privates killed, 
 and 15 or 20 men, including gareewans,^ etc., etc., 
 wounded and scorched. On the 10th a serious 
 disturbance took place in the 15th N.I., which 
 spread to the 33rd and 36th. It appears a private 
 of the former corps, who had been wounded in the 
 head (slightly, it is said), died in Field Hospital, 
 and Asst. - Surgeon Henderson (who came from 
 Coel), without further thought, ordered the body 
 1 Heart. ^ Carters. 
 
SLIGHTLY ANATOMISED. 303 
 
 to be buried after having slightly anatomised it.^ 
 The men of the corps who came to see their com- 
 panion, finding how the body had been disposed 
 of, dug it up and carried it to their lines on a 
 hurdle, calling out to the men who crowded round 
 them that their companion had been buried alive 
 by the doctor, and that it was a pretty return to 
 be served in that manner when they hazarded 
 their lives for Honble. John. Captain Kiernander 
 of the 15th, instead of checking this bad spirit in 
 the men, encouraged it, and the consequence was 
 that the three corps above mentioned refused to go 
 down to the trenches when ordered unless they 
 were promised by their commanding oflBcers that 
 the wounded men should not be sent to the Field 
 Hospital. This proposition was, I believe, assented 
 to, and they went down, but in a very discon- 
 tented and surly manner. In the meantime a 
 Court of Inquiry was ordered to assemble to in- 
 vestigate the cause of this irregular proceeding, 
 and it being apparent that Mr Henderson and 
 Captain Kiernander had misbehaved themselves, 
 they were both sent out of camp. Some of the 
 men were then punished, and the whole business 
 was settled, and is, I believe, now forgotten by all 
 parties. On the 11th a small mine in the curtain 
 near the right breach was sprung with little efi'ect, 
 
 ' It is stated in Lord Combermere's memoirs that the doctor, 
 having tried in vain to bleed the sepoy in what was then the usual 
 manner, opened the temporal artery. 
 
304 SIR JOHN HEAKSEY. 
 
 and, I think on the same day, Captain Taylor blew 
 in one of the enemy's galleries and smothered a 
 party of their miners. On the 13th it was dis- 
 covered that the enemy had made a hole through 
 the curtain between the Jungunah Gate and the 
 right breach for the purpose of getting out undis- 
 covered to mine in the counterscarp opposite our 
 mortar batteries. A party of Goorkhas were sent 
 down into the ditch to drive them away, which 
 they did very handsomely, killing some, firing the 
 cotton bags they had got into the ditch to cover 
 them, and bringing away their tools. The enemy in 
 considerable numbers sallied out of the Soorujpal 
 Gate to prevent the Goorkhas destroying their 
 mines, but our party being reinforced they were 
 driven back with loss, and the whole of our men 
 returned, not one of them being wounded. 
 
 On the night of the 13th the Engineers planned 
 a surprise on the sallyport (or hole through the 
 curtain), intending to charge the passage with 
 powder and blow it up. For this purpose Captains 
 Taylor and Irvine of the Engineers, with twelve 
 Europeans of the 14th King's and a few Sappers 
 and Miners, went into the ditch, and, after posting 
 their party within call, the two Captains went to 
 the sallyport. On approaching it they were fired 
 at by a matchlock man standing sentry, who 
 missed his aim, upon which the Captains rushed 
 towards him — Irvine mounting the bags' and 
 
 1 I.e., the sandbags blocking the sallyport. 
 
MINING OPERATIONS. 305 
 
 Taylor trying to get through a space between 
 them. Irvine received a severe blow over the leg 
 by the man's matchlock. The fellow then attacked 
 Taylor with his sword, but T. closed with him, 
 and in the struggle they both fell. At this 
 moment the party of Europeans came up, and, 
 melancholy to say, they bayoneted both Taylor 
 and the man he was struggling with : the latter 
 was kiUed, and Taylor received seven bayonet 
 wounds before the fellows would believe he was 
 their officer. None of the wounds, I am happy to 
 say, are dangerous, but two — one in the shoulder 
 and one in the thigh — are severe. In consequence 
 of the row the enemy were alarmed, and the party 
 returned without effecting their object. 
 
 On the 14th, at six o'clock in the morning, the 
 mine under the long-necked bastion near the left 
 breach was sprung, which brought down about 
 twelve yards of thick mud which had been built 
 round two small pucka bastions built thus — 
 
 ^ I Lj — and exposed to the view of our 
 
 batteries. Three guns — one a very large one, 
 which was broken in two by the second discharge 
 of our 24-prs., and two smaller ones — were 
 knocked over ; one of these was fired by three of 
 the enemy's Golundauzes several times, in spite of 
 the heavy fire of musketry and cannon poured 
 upon them from the trench below the bastion and 
 within sixty yards of them. At 10 o'clock the 
 
 u 
 
306 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 same morning, in plain day, Captain Irvine went 
 down the ditch with a small party of Europeans 
 and Sappers and Miners, carrying mantlets before 
 them, to the sallyport (or hole in the wall), drove 
 the enemy into it, and, following them a good way 
 in, stopt up the passage with a mantlet and then 
 charged it with one thousand lbs. of powder. 
 When the train was laid and all ready for an ex- 
 plosion, they found the European of the 14th who 
 had the port-fire in charge had run away. A 
 Sapper volunteered to go back to the batteries and 
 fetch another, which he succeeded in doing, and 
 the explosion was effected. It tore away a great 
 part of the wall, which fell outwards into the 
 ditch, and it is said killed and wounded about 150 
 of the enemy who had rushed towards the place 
 to prevent, as they thought, troops forcing their 
 way through. In this successful attempt a con- 
 ductor, Eichards, was wounded, and one European 
 and a Sapper killed. The enemy pitched stones 
 over the wall into the ditch as the party entered, 
 two of which struck Irvine on the arm and leg and 
 bruised him a good deal. Our battery being now 
 able to bear upon the opening made through a 
 small ravine in front of it, has, it is said, efiected 
 a breach so as the town can be seen inside. About 
 12 o'clock the enemy made a sally from the Soor- 
 ujpal Grate to drive away any people from the 
 long-necked bastion No. 14, supposing a party 
 was at work mining it. They were immediately 
 
THE ASSAULT. 307 
 
 attacked by a party of Europeans and Groorkhas, 
 and after a quarter of an hour's sharp firing on 
 both sides they were driven back with loss. We 
 suffered a loss of about ten men killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 To-day is the 15 th. There has been a good deal 
 of battering and mortar firing. The mine under 
 the angle and cavalier is said to be nearly finished, 
 and it is said will be blown up to-morrow morning, 
 when Gopalghur will be stormed. 
 
 Grod bless you, dear William, love and kisses to 
 my Marion when you write to her, kind remem- 
 brances to Mr and Mrs Eicketts, and love and kind 
 remembrances to Mrs Patton ; pray tell her from 
 me I saw Patton the other day, and he was quite 
 well and hearty. 
 
 Ever your affectionate Brother, 
 
 J. B. Heabsey. 
 
 The preliminaries sketched in Captain Hearsey's 
 letters having been concluded, and the bombard- 
 ment commenced on the 24th of December having 
 proved inadequate. Lord Combermere decided to 
 mine the walls of Gopalgarh, the walled-off portion 
 of the town of Bhurtpore nearest to the citadel. 
 By the 18th of January 1826 two breaches had 
 been made in the walls, and an assault by four 
 columns took place on that day. The garrison 
 made a gallant defence, but were driven back 
 
308 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 from point to point, until at length the citadel 
 only held out, and it also surrendered on the 
 same evening. The losses of the defenders were 
 put down at 8000 men; those of the attacking 
 force were about 1500 in killed and wounded, 
 two -thirds of which were incurred during the 
 siege and one-third in the assault. This was a 
 very moderate price to pay for so important a 
 success. Captain Hearsey's last letter to Captain 
 Salmon, and an extract from his " statement of 
 services," complete the story of the Bhurtpore 
 campaign : — 
 
 Bhuetpoor, 
 I8th Jany. 1826, 2 p.m. 
 
 My dear William, — I have merely time to 
 tell you the Shuher Punnah of Bhurtpoor was 
 stormed this morning at half-past eight o'clock, 
 and in about three-quarters of an hour the whole 
 town and every bastion of it was in our possession. 
 The citadel still holds out, but if it does not 
 surrender at discretion by this evening, 48 hours' 
 shelling will make the place too hot for them. 
 The only person (I have as yet heard) killed is 
 Capt. Pitman, 59th King's. The names of the 
 wounded officers that have come to my knowledge 
 are Lt.-Col. Edwards (a Brigadier), 14th King's, 
 severely wounded ; Capt. Campbell, 3rd Cavly. and 
 M.B. to an infantry brigade, severely wounded; 
 Lt. Pitman, 59th King's (the youngest), wounded 
 severely. 
 
CAPTURE OP BUEJAN SAL. 309 
 
 The 8 th and 3rd Cavly., with a squadron of 
 Lancers, had an opportunity of charging a body 
 of 300 Horse, and I believe destroyed the whole 
 of them. I will write to you again the moment 
 I get more particulars. We have not lost many 
 men. 
 
 God bless you. — Ever your affectionate brother, 
 
 J. B. Heabsey. 
 
 P.S. — We expect to get an order every moment 
 to mount and march to Khombeer to invest it, 
 or I should have gone down to have looked at 
 this terrible place. 
 
 Hearsey writes in his statement of services that 
 during the siege of Bhurtpore " the cavalry duties 
 in covering foraging-parties, cattle-grazing guard, 
 escorting provisions, ammunition, &c., from Agra 
 were very severe and harassing. On the day of 
 the assault I got permission to throw my squadron 
 into a belt of jungle close to the walls, and there 
 I saw a body of horsemen enter. These proved 
 to be the Eaja Durjan Sal and his youthful son, 
 Jagmohan Singh. They had hoped to lie con- 
 cealed in this extensive jungle till night set in, 
 and then escape. I drove them out, and the 
 Raja and his son, with a number of chosen 
 followers, were obliged to bolt, and were inter- 
 cepted and captured by a picquet of the 8th 
 
310 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Regiment of Native Light Cavalry, under the 
 command of Captain Barbor. Thus was my hope 
 of being the officer to seize the Raja disappointed. 
 If I had been allowed by my commanding officer 
 to proceed into the jungle with my squadron an 
 hour sooner — which I implored him to let me do 
 — the Raja and his son would have been my 
 prisoners, and their capture would have been a 
 happy thing for me.i 
 
 " I have omitted to mention that during the 
 siege of Bhurtpore I was detached in command 
 of a squadron of my regiment, along with a 
 squadron of the 16th Lancers and a Rissalah of 
 Mr Eraser's, or the 2nd Regiment of Skinner's 
 Horse, to reconnoitre the extensive fort of Khom- 
 beer. The whole party was commanded by Major 
 King of the 16th Lancers. We had a skirmish 
 with the garrison, who laid an ambush to cut us 
 off. We charged and drove them back into the 
 fort. I was struck by an iron bullet on the leg, 
 and received a painful contused wound between 
 the ankle joint and heel of my right foot. I 
 received the praise of Major King on the field 
 for the steady and gallant conduct of my 
 squadron, which covered the retirement of the 
 Rissalah of Skinner's 2nd Regiment on one occa- 
 sion. 
 
 1 " Each of the horsemen who accompanied Doorjan Sal had from 
 1200 to 2000 gold mohurs sewn up in the lining of his saddle." — 
 Lord Combermere's Memoirs. 
 
SURRENDER OF FORTS. 311 
 
 " I was next detached in command of my 
 squadron with a regiment of native infantry, the 
 whole under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Pepper, to summon the large and important fort 
 of Deig, twenty-four miles distant. We went by 
 Khombeer and found it in possession of Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Baddeley and his regiment, and we 
 arrived at Deig at eleven in the morning. I 
 was sent on ahead with my squadron to summon 
 it. I galloped in person to the gate, and the 
 commandant gave me the keys and surrendered. 
 The infantry coming up took possession, and I 
 went round the walls, a circuit of two miles, to 
 the encampment on the other side. 
 
 " Next day I summoned the large fort of 
 Kharnoa, twelve miles distant. It also surren- 
 dered. After staying at Deig for a fortnight, I 
 returned to Bhurtpore and marched with the 6th 
 Light Cavalry to Nugger." 
 
 While encamped at Deig, Captain Hearsey re- 
 ceived a communication from Major Fitzgerald, 
 the officer who commanded the three troops of 
 the 6th Light Cavalry at Seetabuldee. 
 
 This communication, the purport of which is 
 explained by the letter which follows, gave great 
 pleasure to Captain Hearsey, who had been hurt 
 by the cold terms in which Major Fitzgerald had 
 mentioned his services at Seetabuldee in his official 
 report, written after the battle. 
 
 Captain Hearsey's application, which follows, had 
 
312 SIR JOHN HEARSBY. 
 
 no result. It was presumably addressed to the 
 Military Secretary : — 
 
 Sir, — I have to beg the favour of your laying 
 this letter before his Excellency the Commander- 
 in-Chief, and though it is with diflBdence I intrude 
 myself on the notice of his Lordship, I hope the 
 liberty I take in so doing wiU not be thought 
 improper, and that my request may meet with 
 his Lordship's kind consideration. 
 
 Major Fitzgerald of the 6th Eegt. Light 
 Cavalry, and now commanding the 6th Local 
 Horse at Saugor, has informed me that it is his 
 intention to apply for furlough to Europe as soon 
 as the present war is brought to a close, and 
 that he is very desirous that I should succeed 
 him in command of that corps. This, he has 
 been pleased to say, arises from a wish to serve 
 me, as I was fortunately instrumental in gaining 
 him renown by leading a charge and capturing 
 the enemy's artillery on the plain at Seetabuldee 
 in the memorable action of the 27th November 
 1817, in doing which I received a severe sabre 
 wound in a conflict with the artillerymen. 
 
 My claims (if such I may be permitted to term 
 them) to the notice of his Excellency the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief are well known to Colonel Watson, 
 the Adjutant-General of the Army, and who for- 
 tunately for me was present on one occasion when 
 I commanded a body of 150 of Gardner's Horse 
 
A LONG PEACE. 313 
 
 in an aflfair with a party of Goorkhas, and can 
 bear witness to my conduct on that day. 
 
 Enclosed I send a list of my services for the 
 information of his Excellency, and should I be so 
 happy as to be favoured by his Lordship's patron- 
 age, I hope by my conduct to prove that it has 
 not been misplaced by being conferred on 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble Servant, 
 
 J. B. Hearsey. 
 
 Captain, Qth Regiment Lt. Cavy. 
 
 Camp Deio, 
 ZOth January 1826. 
 
 The fall of Bhurtpore and the termination of 
 the Burmese War now restored peace to India, 
 which lasted, with but trifling interruptions, for 
 thirteen years, during the whole of which period 
 Captain Hearsey's life was comparatively un- 
 eventful. 
 
314 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 In the sketch of his services from which we have 
 quoted, Sir John Hearsey writes : — 
 
 At Nugger I again got temporary command of 
 the regiment, Lieutenant -Colonel Becher having 
 gone on sick leave to Muttra. A force was now 
 collected at Nugger, under the command of Lord 
 Combermere, which moved on to the ground in 
 the vicinity of which the battle of Laswari was 
 fought by Lord Lake in 1805. This force was 
 intended to act against the Machairee Eaja, and 
 to reduce his hill fort and capital Alwar, but he 
 succumbed and assented to the terms proposed to 
 him by the British Government. 
 
 Major Hyder Hearsey, my kinsman, who had 
 been employed by the Quartermaster - General, 
 Colonel Stevenson, in the Intelligence Department, 
 now became dangerously ill, and was ordered on 
 medical certificate to the Himalaya Mountains. I 
 obtained six months' leave to accompany him. 
 "We travelled vid Bareilly to Almorah in Kumaon, 
 thence to Eamnee in Garhwal, and built tem- 
 
A TKIP TO THE HILLS. 315 
 
 porary roofs over our hill tents at that place. 
 Eamnee is situated at the foot of a spur of the 
 Snowy Himalaya. 
 
 With care and nursing Major Hyder Hearsey 
 soon shook oS the fever and recovered. We 
 journeyed on to Badrinath. The far - famed 
 temple at that place is one of the holiest Hindoo 
 places of pilgrimage. We bathed in the large 
 reservoir there, in water mixed from a boiling 
 spring and an icy cold one to the temperature 
 we liked best. I left Major Hearsey at Bad- 
 rinath, crossed the Bishen Gunga on a log 
 bridge or sangha thrown across this furious 
 snow stream, to Mana, and then on to the 
 Sursooty, crossing that aflSuent by a natural 
 bridge formed by two immense rocks being thrown 
 inwards by an earthquake. They had met and 
 jammed together, and the stream flows under the 
 rough and angular arch thus formed. I visited 
 the source of the Bishen Gunga, one of the 
 upper waters of the holy river Ganges. The 
 Bishen Gunga is reckoned one of the most sacred 
 sources by the Hindoos. It rises in seven small 
 pools called the "Sutput Khoond," and flowing 
 from thence it falls over a crest or ridge some 
 200 feet in height on to a bed of frozen snow 
 more than 100 feet in thickness, and, forming 
 arches through it, runs a course on a rocky 
 bed under this frozen mass. I went on into 
 Tartary. 
 
316 SIR JOHN HEAKSEY. 
 
 We returned in October, and I rejoined the 6tli 
 Light Infantry at Muttra. The regiment was now 
 commanded by Lieutenant -Colonel Tombs, who 
 had been posted from the 3rd Light Cavalry when 
 Lieutenant-Colonel George Becher went away on 
 sick leave. 
 
 In the rains of the year 1827 I again went to 
 the Garhwal hills of Ramnee with my sister, Mrs 
 Salmon, and her husband and daughter. Mrs and 
 Miss Salmon were Ul when we started, but soon 
 recovered. On our return journey, in crossing the 
 Nundakme river, the log bridge broke in two. 
 Marion Salmon, an interesting young girl, and 
 myself were dashed into a boiling snow torrent 
 from a considerable height. I endeavoured to 
 save her, but in vain, and was all but drowned 
 myself. 
 
 We remained on the bank of this torrent for 
 three days. The body of the young girl was re- 
 covered on the third day, fourteen miles lower 
 down the torrent than where the bridge had 
 broken : it had been stopped in its course by a 
 broken tree and was lodged in the fork of it, and 
 was partly in the water. I had a case made for 
 the body, and her mother with her own hands 
 folded around it a cerement saturated with tur- 
 pentine got from a neighbouring village. The 
 body was then laid in a mass of pounded char- 
 coal, and the case carried before us in funeral 
 procession for five days, until we arrived at 
 
APPOINTED TO COMMAND GAEDNEk's HORSE. 317 
 
 the civil station at Hawalbagh, near Almorah, 
 where it was buried in Mrs TraUl's garden there 
 and a tomb erected over it. 
 
 I accompanied the afflicted parents to Allaha- 
 bad and then rejoined my regiment, which had 
 marched from Muttra on relief to Sultanpore- 
 Benares. 
 
 I spent the year 1828 at Sultanpore-Benares. 
 
 Towards the end of the year I was ordered as a 
 member of a Board or Committee, of which Col- 
 onel ChUders Hill, 11th Dragoons, was President, 
 and Lieutenant-Colonel Tombs the senior member, 
 to examine and report on the Honourable Com- 
 pany's studs in Behar and Tirhoot. We were to 
 report on the brood mares and their produce in 
 those districts. We were constantly travelling 
 from place to place from November 1828 to March 
 1829. In the latter month I was appointed to 
 the command of the 2nd Irregular Cavalry, which 
 had formerly been a Police Corps called Gardner's 
 Horse. I had commanded 150 men of this very 
 corps in the Nepaul war. I was directed to proceed 
 to Bareilly without delay, and did so by palkee 
 dawk. I found the regiment in a state of inter- 
 nal feud, most of the native officers at deadly 
 enmity with each other, the men badly mounted 
 and worse clothed and armed. Colonel Sleigh, 
 11th Dragoons, who had been appointed Inspector- 
 General of Cavalry, had reported the regiment as 
 unfit for the service, and recommended that it 
 
318 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 should be disbanded. I had to give security for 
 large sums of money to remount, re-clothe, and 
 re-arm it. I was busy in doing so during the 
 rainy season of 1829. 
 
 In November the regiment was inspected by 
 Major-General NicoUs, commanding the Meerut 
 Division, who reported favourably on my exertions, 
 and said the regiment had been renewed. 
 
 In that month we were ordered to march on 
 relief to Neemuch, and arrived there in December. 
 By March 1830 the corps was restored to good 
 order and perfect efficiency. In that month 
 Major-General Sleigh visited Neemuch as Inspect- 
 ing Officer of Cavalry on his return from Hydra- 
 bad in the Deccan and the stations of the Bombay 
 army. I called upon him and asked him to again 
 inspect the 2nd Irregular Cavalry. He did so, and 
 I was much gratified by receiving his praises on 
 parade. The Adjutant- General, Colonel Christo- 
 pher Fagan, wrote to me that Lord Combermere 
 thanked me for restoring this regiment to perfect 
 order. 
 
 During the years 1831 and 1832 the 2nd Ir- 
 regular Cavalry was distributed in small parties 
 all over the provinces of Malwah, Kotah, and Boon- 
 dee, and also in the province of Meywar. One of 
 my posts was on the Seepee river, only three 
 marches from the station of Deesa. I had to 
 visit my detachments for inspection, and as I 
 had posts on both sides of the Mount Aboo 
 
PROMOTED MAJOR. 319 
 
 range I went all over that celebrated place and 
 its wonderful carved temple of Dailwara. At 
 this period but few Europeans had visited Aboo. 
 It was almost unknown, and no road existed even 
 for ponies or kine to go up from Anadra. 
 
 In 1833 we marched on relief to Saugor, vid 
 Nursinghur and Burseeah. We were cantoned 
 at Saugor in the years 1834 and 1835, and I 
 was promoted to Major on the 19th of November 
 1835. 
 
 In the following year we marched to Bareilly on 
 relief and remained there till the end of 1888. On 
 the 28th of December of this year I was promoted 
 to Lieutenant-Colonel, having subscribed to pur- 
 chase out our senior Lieutenant -Colonels. On 
 promotion I lost the command of the 2nd Irregular 
 Cavalry, and was posted to the J'th Eegular Light 
 Cavalry at Meerut. 
 
 I joined and took over command of the 7th at 
 that station, and was stationed at Meerut during 
 the year 1839. In the following year (1840) I 
 was transferred at my own request to the com- 
 mand of my old corps, the 6th regiment of Light 
 Cavalry. Major Stedman of the 7th Light Cav- 
 alry was the senior of his rank, and I was anxious 
 to give him the command of the regiment in which 
 he had served all his life, 
 
 I proceeded to join the 6th Light Cavalry at 
 Sultanpore-Benares, and on my voyage down the 
 Oanges I was so fortunate as to save Major Have- 
 
320 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 lock,i of his Majesty's 13th Queen's, from great 
 distress. He was on his way to Calcutta in a 
 country boat with his wife and family. The boat 
 had run upon a snag in the middle of the river 
 and had sunk. I took them off their boat in time, 
 and next morning anchored my pinnace near the 
 spot, and by my crew's exertions in diving, saved 
 all their property. This occurred above Futteh- 
 garh. Havelock and his wife and children (one of 
 them the present Major Havelock, C.B.^) were 
 our honoured guests at Allahabad. Thus com- 
 menced a friendship with that renowned officer 
 that only ended with his life. 
 
 I embarked on my first furlough to England 
 this year (22nd December), after thirty-two years' 
 active service. I reached England early in 1841, 
 and was ordered back to India in the following 
 year by the Honourable Company in consequence 
 of the disasters in Afghanistan. I rejoined my 
 regiment at Sultanpore-Benares in October 1842. 
 In 1843 I marched on relief with the 6th Eegiment 
 of Light Cavalry across the centre of India from 
 Chunar to Saugor, and thence to Neemuch in 
 Meywar, arriving there in April. 
 
 In the following year (1844) I was ordered to 
 Nusseerabad, and marched there with the 6th 
 Light Cavalry, coming under the command there 
 of Brigadier Sir J. Littler. 
 
 1 Afterwards Major-General Sir Henry Havelock, Bart. 
 
 2 The late Major-General Sir Henry Havelock Allan, Bart., V.C> 
 
THE INDIAN CAVALRY. 321 
 
 In 1845 I marched with my regiment on relief 
 to Loodianah on the Sutlej river. Our route lay- 
 along the borders of the desert by Hissar and 
 Hansi. We were much distressed at times for 
 forage and water. At Loodianah I found myself 
 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Wheeler, 
 afterwards Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler, who was 
 massacred at Cawnpore. 
 
 While at Ludhiana Lieutenant-Colonel Hearsey 
 was much oflfended by a letter which appeared in 
 a well-known Indian newspaper, ' The Delhi Gaz- 
 ette,' attacking the courage of the Indian Cavalry. 
 Colonel Hearsey consequently wrote the long and 
 interesting letter which follows, — apparently his 
 first, and almost his only, appearance in print. 
 
 THE NATIVE CAVALRY. 
 
 To THE Editor or 'The Delhi Gazette.' 
 
 "He who writes letters on subjects he does not understand is 
 apt to commit himself." — An Old Saw. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Your correspondent, Purwan Durrah, 
 in your Gazette of the 28th June last, writes 
 thus : — 
 
 " I attribute the cause of the inefficiency [of the 
 Native Regular Cavalry] not to their saddles, 
 bridles, swords, or bits, but simply to want of 
 pluck in the men." 
 
 X 
 
322" SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 Again: "But he assured that if they would 
 urge their horses and keep their saddles in a 
 charge as well as they do in a retreat, no Asiatic 
 cavalry nor infantry, unless protected by field- 
 works or diflSicult ground, could stand before them, 
 for they are superbly mounted and well officered ; 
 hut the fact is, fighting is not in thei/r depa/rtrmnt. 
 The Native Cavalry have no idea of a compact 
 charge nor stomach for hand-to-hand combat, 
 as the result has always shown whenever they 
 have been resolutely encountered. They will fol- 
 low a flying foe and cut up the runaways with 
 considerable address, hut the foe must run before 
 they will go to work." 
 
 You say, Mr Editor, in your note that Purwan 
 Durrah writes strongly, perhaps too strongly, but 
 that it cannot be denied that there are instances 
 that warrant his assertion. 
 
 I have copied the above that the unfounded 
 assertion of Purwan Durrah against the courage 
 of as gallant a body of men as ever served any 
 state may be contradicted by facts. 
 
 Let me ask. Did the Eegular Native Cavalry 
 behave with courage and attack a resisting foe 
 in the following named battles ?— 
 
 (1) Laswaree, under the personal command of 
 Lord Lake. 
 
 (2) The battle of Deeg, under the command 
 of General Fraser. 
 
 (3) In the first siege of Bhurtpoor in many 
 
INSTANCES OF GALLANT CONDUCT. 323 
 
 affairs. I will give one anecdote as an example 
 of personal gallantry during this siege. 
 
 General Lake was desirous of ascertaining the 
 depth of water in the ditch. A Non-commissioned 
 Officer and trooper of the 3rd Light Cavalry 
 volunteered to plumb it at mid-day, and did so 
 in a most daring and fearless manner— much to 
 the admiration of his Lordship and Staff, who 
 witnessed the act and highly extolled them for 
 their cool courage. Again : an order was issued 
 no notice should be taken of the Ekkas or 
 picked Horsemen, men famed for single combat 
 of the enemy. These men used to ride down 
 within matchlock shot of our videttes, taunt the 
 Native Officers and men with want of courage, 
 &c. On one occasion a horseman well mounted, 
 covered with chain armour, made his appearance 
 before the picket of the 6th Light Cavalry, then 
 commanded by Lieutenant Smith (a relation of 
 Sir G. Barlow). His taunts were so opprobrious 
 and galling that the jemadar of the picket, by 
 name Meer Selabut Ally (well known in the 6th 
 and 10th under the sobriquet of " Bowlegs "), 
 begged that he might be allowed to accept the 
 challenge. Lieutenant Smith permitted him, and 
 the gallant fellow was soon on his horse, with 
 his sword only, and rode out to do battle. I 
 have heard that the sight of the two combatants 
 trying to gain the sword hand of his adversary 
 was most beautiful and exciting. At last the 
 
324 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 jemadar succeeded, and the blow that followed 
 was so well aimed that, in spite of mail, the 
 challenger's head was struck oflf. The jemadar 
 followed his enemy's horse to the walls of the 
 fort, but did not succeed in capturing it. He 
 returned, took up the body of his opponent, and 
 brought it in. These, sir, are the kind of men 
 Purwan Durrah chooses to calumniate. 
 
 In the capture of the island of Java the Body- 
 guard, under Captain Gall, of the 8th Light 
 Cavalry did good service. 
 
 In the first affair with the Pindarrahs (when 
 their mettle was unknown to our cavalry) a 
 squadron of the 5th Light Cavalry (totally 
 unsupported by other troops), under Captain 
 Caulfield, attacked a much superior body of 
 Pindarrahs, some 2000, not far from Bellary 
 at the mouth of Myheer valley. Vide General 
 Orders by the Marquis of Hastings issued on 
 the occasion. 
 
 In the affair under Captain Ridge, when a 
 squadron of the 4th Light Cavalry, near Powyne 
 on the bank of the Kan6 river, was engaged 
 with four goles of Pindarrahs of 1000 each, they 
 attacked them in succession, cutting their way 
 through, and drove them with loss into the 
 Bearmeh river near to Ambghat. In this affair 
 Captain Kennedy and Captain Howorth, the 
 former of the 5th Light Cavalry (now our much 
 esteemed Major-General), the latter in the 6th, 
 
SEETABULDEB. 325 
 
 and a senior ofi&cer to Captain Eidge, were 
 volunteers : the latter perished in this action. 
 I must refer Purwan Durrah to the detachment 
 orders of Lieut. -Col. Aldin, who commanded the 
 troops on this occasion, and to the General Orders 
 of the Marquis of Hastings. 
 
 The action of Seetabuldee I beg leave to recom- 
 mend Purwan Durrah to make himself acquainted 
 with. I enclose you a printed narrative of this 
 affair, published under the supervision of Sir 
 Eichard Jenkins, the then Eesident of Nagpoor, 
 which you may republish if you think proper. 
 The General Orders of the Marquis of Hastings 
 on this occasion, I believe, made known to the 
 army that the three troops of the 6th Light 
 Cavalry had covered themselves with glory ; and I 
 had the pleasure to hear Colonel Hopetoun Scott, 
 who commanded on that occasion, and also the 
 Eesident, say that "it was beautiful to see the 
 small speck of French grey open a way for itself 
 amongst the thousands of the enemy's horse 
 surrounding it, putting to flight a battalion 
 of regular infantry, and capturing the two 12- 
 pounders attached to it, and, furthermore, slowly 
 retiring with their prize and using the guns 
 effectually against the enemy, although orders 
 had been sent to spike and abandon them." 
 
 After this brush on the plain one troop charged 
 into the town, setting fire to the thatched huts, 
 thus driving the Arabs out of their cover, and 
 
326 SIR JOHK HBAKSEY. 
 
 then sabring them. Colonel Hopetoun Scott in 
 his orders says, "Thus terminating an action 
 that had lasted some 16 hours." 
 
 In the action near Jubbulpoor, where Major- 
 General Hardyman attacked the Nagpoor troops, 
 Captain Pope of the 8 th Light Cavalry with his 
 troop made a splendid charge on a body of 
 matchlock-men, rocketeers, and two guns, cutting 
 through them and capturing the artillery : the 
 Non-commissioned OflS.cer close to him was killed 
 by a rocket. Captain Pope was wounded on this 
 occasion by the thrust of a spear. 
 
 The dashing charge at the action of Sewnee^ 
 (near Chappareh), where Colonel Macmorine 
 attacked the Nagpoor troops, when Captain 
 Chambers of the 8th Light Cavalry charged a 
 large and resisting body of matchlock-men and 
 horse, and routed them with great slaughter; 
 at the battle of Sukan Durrah (near Nagpoor), 
 when Major-General Doveton of the Madras army 
 attacked the immense camp of the Nagpoor 
 force. The two 6's, the Madras and Bengal, 
 were brigaded on this occasion, and vied with 
 each other in daring acts of bravery. Two bat- 
 teries of 6 guns each were carried at the charge. 
 A body of 60 elephants covered with matchlock- 
 men checked Captain Fitzgerald's squadron until 
 Captain Poggenpohl, who commanded the Euro- 
 pean Madras horse artillery, came up and fired 
 
 ^ Or Seoni. 
 
CAPTAIN FITZGEBALD. 327 
 
 some shrapnel amongst them, which caused the 
 mass to open out, and Fitzgerald's squadron was 
 soon amongst them. Every matchlock-man was 
 killed, and the whole of the 60 elephants,- &c., 
 &c., captured. The enemy's horse was charged, 
 defeated, and pursued many miles. Sixty pieces 
 of artillery were surrendered or captured by the 
 army on that day. 
 
 In the rains of 1818 the whole of Choteesghur 
 and the districts east of Nagpoor broke out in 
 rebellion against the new Rajah of Nagpoor, 
 Small detachments were sent out in August, one 
 under Major Wilson and another under Captain 
 Gordon of the Madras Army ; with the former a 
 squadron of the 6th Light Cavalry under the 
 command of Lieutenant E.. W. Smith. On this 
 occasion a portion of the squadron assisted to 
 escalade the strong Hill Fort of Ambaghur, which 
 was carried by a most daring but judicious 
 stratagem at mid-day. 
 
 Lieutenant Wilkinson, 6 th Light Cavalry (after- 
 wards Resident at Nagpoor), accompanied Captain 
 Gordon's party with 500 picked Mahratta Horse. 
 He applied for a party of a Jemadar and 25 
 troopers, with non-commissioned officers, of the 
 6th Light Cavalry to lead them into action. 
 
 At the affair or action of Lamba a deep river, 
 the Wyne or Bain Gunga, separated the con- 
 tending forces, when Captain Wilkinson, leaving 
 a Naik and 6 troopers with some of the Mahratta 
 
328 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 horsemen to make a demonstration as if they 
 intended to swim the river, he with the main 
 body made a circuit to gain a ford (a difl&cult 
 one) : when he had nearly got to it the enemy 
 became aware of his intention, and commenced 
 a movement to prevent his party crossing. The 
 Naik and 6 troopers of the 6th Light Cavalry 
 immediately dashed into the river and swam 
 their horses across under a heavy fire of match- 
 locks, and, though thus opposed, made good their 
 landing and dashed into the thickest of the enemy. 
 The Mahratta horse did not follow them. 
 
 This diversion enabled Lieutenant Wilkinson 
 to cross the ford comparatively unopposed, and 
 the enemy met a most severe defeat. The Naik's 
 name was Wahid AUy : he had been promoted 
 for gallantry at Seetabuldee. On this occasion 
 two matchlock balls passed through his cap. The 
 gallant fellow asked, and was permitted, to wear 
 the cap until he was promoted to Havildar, which 
 soon took place. 
 
 These are the men, Mr Editor, that Purwan 
 Durrah stigmatises as cowards ! 
 
 At the battle of Sewnee (beyond or to the 
 south of the Wurdah river), fought by General 
 Adams against the Peishwa, the 5th Light 
 Cavalry, led by the gallant old General and 
 Colonel Clarke, charged into the midst of a 
 vastly superior body of Mahratta horse and de- 
 feated them with great slaughter. Six guns fell 
 
SEONI. 329 
 
 to the exertions of that gallant corps, which was 
 supported by two guns of the Madras European 
 Horse Artillery and two of the old gallopers of 
 the 6th Light Cavalry, and the 6th Light Cavalry 
 itself, which unfortunately was held in reserve 
 by Lieutenant-Colonel Gahan, and thus lost a 
 noble opportunity of adding to their laurels. 
 One troop under Lieutenant Anstruther, how- 
 ever, did good service; for the Adjutant^ of the 
 regiment, having stole away with 30 men, charged 
 a body of horse, and on seeing this Lieut, 
 Anstruther entreated he might be permitted to 
 join them. Whilst this party was thus engaged, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Gahan moved off with the 
 remainder of the regiment to camp. 
 
 The small force was eventually surrounded by 
 large bodies of horse, and at the earnest advice of 
 the Subadar walked, with three camels laden with 
 bags of rupees, through them, showing front and 
 putting on so bold a face that the enemy retired 
 and let them pass unmolested. The Native Officer 
 on this occasion showed cool courage : he said, 
 "If we appear to be in a hurry it will encourage 
 the vastly superior enemy to attack us." 
 
 When Colonel Hopetoun Scott was ordered to 
 proceed with a small force and prevent the Peish- 
 wa entering the large fortified town of Chanda, the 
 garrison and inhabitants who favoured the Peishwa 
 opened the guns upon him, and he was obliged to 
 
 1 Hearsey himself. 
 
330 SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 strike his camp and get out of the range of the 
 artillery. The Colonel was heard to bewail that 
 he dared not attempt to carry the place by 
 escalade, having so small a body of infantry. 
 The Native Officers and men of the 6th Light 
 Cavalry volunteered to act on foot. Ladders were 
 immediately made up, and that very night we ex- 
 pected to have carried the place : unfortunately an 
 order was received from General Adams directing 
 Col. Scott to make all haste and join him at Hin- 
 gunghat on the Wurdah ; we accordingly started 
 at 4 P.M. This volunteering, Mr Editor, did not 
 show any want of pluck in the Native Cavalry. 
 At the siege of Chanda by General Adams, the 
 6th Regiment again volunteered, but the regiment 
 received a dignified check from the General, who 
 told us if we were required he would order us. 
 The senior cavalry corps in camp, the ever-gallant 
 5 th, was eventually employed, dismounted, to keep 
 the breach when the storming-party had entered. 
 I must tell you the fortified town of Chanda was 
 more than- 3 miles in circuit, and it was expected 
 that a tough fight would take place in the town 
 even after the ramparts had been scoured. 
 
 Many very smart affairs took place between the 
 7th Light Cavalry and Appa Sahib's Arabs be- 
 tween the Shahpor Ghat, Baitool, and Mooltye in 
 the rains of 1818. In these Captain Agnew, Cap- 
 tain Lane, and others highly distinguished them- 
 selves, and the men behaved with great gallantry, 
 
BURMA AND SINDH. 331 
 
 charging and destroying an obstinate, resolute, and 
 resisting foe. 
 
 At Donaview in Ava, Captain Sneyd, with the 
 Bodyguard, did gallant service, to the admiration 
 of the force under General Campbell, who wit- 
 nessed their dashing and fearless attack of a mass 
 of elephants covered with matchlock-men and sup- 
 ported by their Cassay Horse, infantry, &c. 
 
 Last, not least, Mr Editor, the battles of Meanee 
 and Dubba or Hydrabad. The former was decided 
 by the gallant charge of the 9 th Light Cavalry 
 under Lieutenant-Colonel Pattle : in this attack 
 he cleared the village of Khuttra, which the Bom- 
 bay Grenadiers, under Major Clibborn, by some 
 mistake or misconception of orders by that gallant 
 officer, had failed to get possession of. Vide second 
 part of the Conquest of Sinde, by Major-General 
 Sir W. Napier. 
 
 / think I have stated enough to rebut the 
 calumny of Purwan Durrah as to the want of 
 courage or pluck (as he terms it) of the Native 
 Eegular Cavalry. 
 
 I have been with the 6th Eegiment Light 
 Cavalry in many affairs, and have always found 
 my men most eager to come to the scratch — 
 perhaps too much so — and could give you a small 
 volume of anecdotes of personal daring of native 
 officers and men that I have witnessed during my 
 thirty-seven years' service, but it would take up 
 too much time and space to detail them. 
 
332 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 I conclude by charging Purwan Durrah, whoevei* 
 lie may be, with gross malignity in thus needlessly 
 travelling out of his way to attack a whole arm of 
 the Bengal Service. He must either be ignorantly 
 stupid or malevolently mendacious, and thus I 
 leave him on either horn of the dilemma. — ^Yours 
 obediently, 
 
 J. B. Hearsey, Lieut.-Col., 
 
 Comdg. 6th Regt. Lt. Cavy. 
 LooDiANAH, ind July 1845. 
 
 P.S. — Purwan Durrah can only instance two 
 occasions when the Regular Cavalry have mis- 
 behaved since the 1st Regiment was raised in 
 1787 — viz., at " Mungrool" in the Kotah country, 
 and at " Purwan Durrah." The 4th Light Cavalry 
 were known to be in a discontented state; some 
 men of the corps had stolen the standards from 
 the Standard Guard and defiled them but a short 
 time previous to their misconduct. 
 
 The late 2nd Cavalry had not been on active 
 service from the year 1805-6 till the year 1839-40. 
 At Purwan Durrah I have heard that the Com- 
 manding Officer of the three troops of the 2nd 
 Cavalry, after having drawn up his party so as 
 to cut off the retreat of the Dost, was waiting until 
 his enemy descended from some high ground, when 
 he intended to give the word forward. 
 
 In the meantime he received positive orders (and 
 these were repeated by another messenger) to re- 
 
THE SIKHS. 333 
 
 turn and join the main body. Vacillation was 
 the consequence : one moment the three troops 
 were put in motion to retire ; the next they were 
 halted and fronted to meet the foe, for the Dost, 
 seeing them about to retire, charged them. A 
 panic was the consequence, and such might have 
 happened, and no doubt has happened, with the 
 best European troops ere this. This must serve as 
 warning. It is not a time to shilly-shally with 
 cavalry when the moment of attacking has arrived : 
 in so doing the troops are jeopardised. 
 
 J. B. H. 
 
 The incessant moves of the 6 th Light Cavalry 
 during the years 1842 to 1845 were caused by the 
 imminence of a war with the Sikhs. 
 
 As Hearsey and his regiment were among 
 the troops who had the bad luck to miss the 
 first campaign, and there is consequently little 
 reference made to the war in his papers, and 
 none to its causes, a brief sketch of our new 
 enemies, and of the first campaign against them, 
 now follows. 
 
 The Sikhs, originally a religious community, 
 principally of the Jat race, were welded together 
 by Mohammedan persecution. After the sack of 
 Delhi by Nadir Shah, the Persian, in 1738, when 
 the Mogul Empire began to fall to pieces, the 
 Sikhs emerged from obscurity and step by step 
 obtained consideration. Nadir Shah was succeeded 
 
334 SIR JOHK HEAKSEY. 
 
 as the scourge of northern India by Ahmad Shah, 
 the founder of the Afghan kingdom, who invaded 
 India five times, but maintained friendly relations 
 with the Sikhs, whose geographical position on the 
 flank of his line of invasion rendered their services 
 useful to him. Ahmad Shah conferred the title of 
 Raja on the chief of Patiala, who became recog- 
 nised as the head of the Sikh confederacies south 
 of the Sutlej ; and Shah Zeman, one of his suc- 
 cessors, also conferred the same title on Ranjit 
 Singh, who, about the year 1808, was well on the 
 way to sovereignty over all the Sikhs north of 
 the Sutlej. 
 
 Ranjit Singh undoubtedly desired to weld the 
 whole of the Sikhs, both north and south of that 
 river, into a great and powerful nation, but this 
 design conflicted with the British policy of that 
 date, which was chiefly framed with a view to the 
 defence of India against the expected attack by 
 Napoleon. Our desire, therefore, was to establish 
 a protectorate over the southern Sikhs and 
 friendly relations with those beyond the Sutlej. 
 This plan promised well for our defence of that 
 great river line, whereas a united Sikh nation 
 might throw in their lot with the invader with 
 fatal results. 
 
 Ranjit Singh, whose hands were full with the 
 task of consolidating his power and with incessant 
 wars with the Afghans, acquiesced in this limita- 
 tion of his dominions, and, until his death in June 
 
THE SIKHS ATTACK BBITISH INDIA. 335 
 
 1839, remained the friend of the British Indian 
 Government. 
 
 After the death of Eanjit Singh a period of 
 anarchy set in at Lahore. Maharaja rapidly fol- 
 lowed Maharaja, and Minister followed Minister, 
 as each was murdered by his rivals or by the 
 turbulent army, which had been so docile under 
 the rule of the great soldier who had created it. 
 
 Each successive murder left the Sikh army more 
 turbulent and more bent on mischief. Finally, in 
 September 1845, Peshora Singh, the last surviving 
 adult son of Ranjit Singh, was assassinated by 
 order of Jawahir Singh, the Prime Minister of the 
 moment, and the uncle of Dhulip Singh, the boy 
 Maharaja. The army was frantic with indignation, 
 and solemnly executed Jawahir Singh in the pres- 
 ence of Rani Jindan, his sister, the mother of 
 Dhulip Singh. The Sikh regents were now des- 
 perate, and, as a last resource, encouraged the 
 army to invade British India, They knew the 
 army to be very powerful. Should it defeat the 
 British, Delhi would be sacked, and there would 
 be great plunder to be divided ; should it be de- 
 feated it would be destroyed, and would no longer 
 endanger their lives, while the British Govern- 
 ment would no doubt accept their assurances of 
 innocence. They acted, in fact, on the old 
 Eastern proverb which advises you to " throw 
 the snake at your enemy's bosom." 
 
 So it was that on the 11th of December 1845 
 
336 SIE JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 the advanced -guard of the Khalsa army crossed 
 the Sutlej and invaded territory under British 
 protection. 
 
 There are very conflicting statements as to the 
 strength of the invading force, but they may 
 perhaps be fairly estimated at 45,000 regulars, 
 supported by some 20,000 to 25,000 irregulars.^ 
 
 The regular troops were of excellent quality, 
 and had been trained by some forty officers of 
 French, Italian, Spanish, and English origin, some 
 of whom had served with distinction under the 
 great Napoleon. The Sikh army was also strong 
 in artillery. To meet this imposing force the 
 British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Hugh Gough, a 
 veteran of the Peninsular War, had very insuffi- 
 cient troops at hand, though Ferozepore and Lud- 
 hiana, the principal frontier posts, had had their 
 garrisons strengthened when war became prob- 
 able. The garrison of Ferozepore,. under Major- 
 General Sir John Littler, was some 7000 strong, 
 whUe that at Ludhiana, commanded by Brigadier- 
 General Wheeler, consisted of about 5000 men. 
 
 At and near Umballa, 80 miles from Lud- 
 hiana and double that distance from Ferozepore, 
 there was a reserve of 10,000 men ; and at Meerut, 
 quite out of reach for immediate use, was a further 
 force of 9000 men. Sir Hugh Gough had, in fact, 
 over 30,000 men at his disposal, but owing to the 
 earnest wish of Sir Henry Hardinge, the Governor- 
 
 ' Gough and Innes's 'The Sikhs and the Sikh Wars.' 
 
CONCENTRATION OF OUR ARMY. 
 
 337 
 
 General, to avert war, they were scattered in a 
 most dangerous manner, he being aware that a 
 concentration would have precipitated a collision. 
 
 The plan of campaign of the Sikh commanders 
 was to fall as rapidly as possible upon the two 
 forces at Ferozepore and Ludhiana, and to crush 
 them before they could unite with one another or 
 with the troops from Umballa. 
 
 Immediately before the Sikh invasion Sir Henry 
 Hardinge, the Governor - General, a very experi- 
 enced and fearless soldier, was in camp near 
 Ludhiana. Hearing on the 8th of December 
 that the Sikhs were preparing to cross the 
 Sutlej in force, he ordered General Wheeler to 
 hold his troops in readiness to march towards 
 Ferozepore at a moment's notice, and on the fol- 
 lowing day he ordered the troops at Umballa and 
 Meerut to advance in the same direction. 
 
 The orders were promptly executed by the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, who marched from Umballa with 
 the troops there on the 12th of December. These 
 troops made a most rapid advance and covered 
 114 miles in five days, thus catching the Ludhiana 
 troops on their way to join hands with Sir John 
 Littler at Ferozepore. The junction of the Um- 
 balla and Ludhiana troops took place on December 
 16th, and two days later, at the end of a march of 
 twenty-one miles, came in contact with the Sikh 
 army at Mudki. Finding that the Sikhs intended 
 to attack. Sir Hugh Gough at once advanced his 
 
 Y 
 
338 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 cavalry and horse-artillery, ordering the infantry 
 to follow in second line. The advance began at 
 about four in the afternoon. Sir Hugh quickly 
 saw that the Sikh line would, owing to its great 
 length, outflank his infantry, and therefore ordered 
 his cavalry to drive in both flanks of the Sikhs, 
 while he opened a brisk fire with his horse and 
 field batteries. 
 
 The cavalry carried out their duty with great 
 dash and gallantry, driving ofi" the Sikh horse with 
 the greatest ease, and subsequently charging down 
 the rear of the Sikh infantry. 
 
 The British infantry meanwhile made a steady 
 advance, driving all before them. Darkness alone 
 saved the Sikhs from a complete disaster, but their 
 losses in men were very heavy, and seventeen of 
 their guns were taken. 
 
 The British loss was also heavy, amounting to 
 nearly 900 of all ranks, of whom 63 were officers. 
 Among the latter three general officers were killed 
 and two wounded. Mudki was, in fact, a very 
 severely contested afi'air, and one which reflects 
 great credit on the troops which won the day 
 after a succession of long marches at the very 
 outset of a campaign, always a severe test of the 
 quality of troops. Sir Hugh Gough and his sub- 
 ordinates handled their men with great dash and 
 skill, and deserve much more credit than is usually 
 bestowed on our commanders by the voice of their 
 countrymen. 
 
MUDKI. 339 
 
 Mudki being sufficiently near Ferozepore to 
 afford help to Sir John Littler's force should it 
 be endangered by au attack of the main Sikh 
 army, Sir Hugh Grough gave his army a much- 
 needed rest on the 19th December, and in the 
 evening received an invaluable reinforcement in 
 the arrival of two British infantry regiments and 
 some heavy artillery. The two regiments had 
 made a very fine march from the hill stations 
 of Kasauli and Subathu, and had strained every 
 nerve to be up in time for the fighting. They 
 had not long to wait, for Gough now decided to 
 attack the Sikh army at all risks with the troops 
 he had, and to drive them across the Sutlej. 
 No other decision was possible, for no more re- 
 inforcements could arrive for a long time, and 
 inactivity before a large invading army would 
 have had a fatal effect on the native infantry, 
 who already evinced a great respect for Sikh 
 prowess. The situation now was that Sir Hugh 
 Gough's force had before it a great Sikh army 
 under Lai Singh, one of the principal chiefs of the 
 Khalsa, while another large army under Tej Singh 
 was watching Sir John Littler with the obvious 
 intention of attacking him the moment that he 
 moved. 
 
 Gough decided to attack Lai Singh at once, 
 directing Littler to join hands with him during 
 the action if he found it possible to do so. Sir 
 John Littler received his orders at midnight on 
 
340 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 December the 20tli, and marched at eight o'cloc 
 the following morning : four hours earlier S 
 Hugh Gough's force moved off from Mudt 
 leaving behind them in the fort there the 
 wounded, camp equipage, and heavy baggag 
 After a six hours' march Lai Singh's army wi 
 found in position about the village of Ferozesha] 
 which formed the centre of their entrenchments. 
 
 Sir Hugh Gough had received intelligence thi 
 General Littler was marching towards him, ar 
 desired to attack Lai Singh as soon as he he 
 reconnoitred the Sikh position and the Britis 
 army had breakfasted. This intention was, hoT 
 ever, frustrated, for Sir Henry Hardinge took tl 
 very unusual course of overruling his Commande 
 in-Chief on the field of battle, and ordered Gou^ 
 not to attack until Littler's force had come u 
 This junction took place at one o'clock, but tl 
 delay (happening as it did on December 21st, tl 
 shortest day in the year) was most unfortunate. 
 
 The battle of Ferozeshah began at four o'clo< 
 with an artillery duel, in which the Sikh gui 
 showed a considerable superiority both in numbe 
 and weight. Daylight was rapidly waning, ai 
 our artillery and infantry were therefore mov( 
 up to closer quarters. 
 
 Sir John Littler's division, which was on t] 
 British left, advanced somewhat prematurely, si 
 fered very heavily, and was eventually compel! 
 to retire. This repulse caused great exultation 
 
FEROZBSHAH. 341 
 
 the Sikh army, but no corresponding emotion 
 among the victors of Mudki, who advanced with 
 grim determination headed by Sir Hugh Gough 
 and the Governor-General in person. The assault 
 was delivered in echelon, right forward, and that 
 made by Major - General Gilbert's division was 
 completely successful. This division was on the 
 right of the Mudki force, and was led by Sir Hugh 
 Gough, though the gallant Gilbert could have well 
 done that work himself The centre division and 
 the left of the Mudki force, commanded by Briga- 
 dier - General Wallace and led by Sir Henry 
 Hardinge, attacked in rapidly increasing dark- 
 ness, and, though successful, fell into great con- 
 fusion. Part of this division penetrated to the 
 village of Ferozeshah, which they found tenanted 
 by Sir Harry Smith's division. Sir Harry had 
 been originally in reserve, but had been ordered 
 up in support of General Gilbert. 
 
 A diagram may elucidate this description. 
 
 Sir Henry Hardinge. Sir HnoH Gough. 
 Littler's Division. "Wallace's Division. Gilbert's Division. 
 
 Sir Harbt Smith's Division. 
 
 Night now came on ; Smith's and Wallace's 
 divisions were mingled together ; the position of 
 Littler's repulsed brigades was unknown ; the cap- 
 
342 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 tured Sikh camp was on fire, and frequent ex- 
 plosions were taking place, one of which caused 
 heavy loss to General Gilbert's troops. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief, Sir Harry Smith, and 
 General Littler, all separated from one another by 
 the darkness, simultaneously set to work to form 
 up their various regiments and to take up suit- 
 able positions for the night, which was passed 
 under most trying conditions, the troops being 
 without food, water, or cover. At 3 a.m. on the 
 22nd December Sir Harry Smith evacuated the 
 village of Ferozeshah and joined hands with Sir 
 John Littler, The night of Ferozeshah was indeed 
 one of the most critical episodes in the history of 
 British India, and it was well for us that our 
 troops were hardy and well-disciplined veterans, 
 led by determined commanders who were not 
 staggered by heavy casualties. 
 
 At dawn on December 22 Sir Hugh Gough 
 prepared to renew the struggle, placing himself 
 in front of the right of the troops with him, 
 while the Governor-General led the left. The guns 
 opened an effective fire on the Sikh army, and 
 presently the infantry advanced in irresistible 
 array, driving the Sikhs before them at the point 
 of the bayonet. Littler's division, and that part 
 of Sir Harry Smith's division which was with him, 
 now came up, and the whole army was concen- 
 trated in the Sikh position. 
 
 A strange episode then occurred. Tej Singh's 
 
TEJ singe's PAILUEE. 343 
 
 army, some 30,000 strong, who had. so tamely- 
 allowed Littler to slip away from Ferozepore, now 
 arrived on the scene with the apparent intention 
 of attacking. A British Staff- officer lost his head 
 and ordered the bulk of our cavalry and horse- 
 artillery to retire to Ferozepore, and all appear- 
 ances pointed to the impending destruction of our 
 exhausted infantry. 
 
 Tej Singh's artillery opened a heavy fire on our 
 troops, and an assault by his army could hardly 
 have been withstood. Fortunately for us none 
 of the Sikh commanders were competent to execute 
 an attack, though they could command their men 
 well on the defensive. Tej Singh saw before him 
 signs of the heavy loss inflicted on Lai Singh's 
 army by our attack of the previous day ; he saw 
 our troops in a strong defensive position, and he 
 reflected that to attack them would be no light 
 task. Finally, he was alarmed by the movement 
 of our cavalry and guns towards Ferozepore ; he 
 lost his nerve and began a hasty retreat towards 
 the Sutlej. So passed away a great danger, and 
 so ended the battle of Ferozeshah. 
 
 The British troops suffered very heavily, but 
 the losses of the Europeans were out of all pro- 
 portions to those of the native regiments. The 
 Sikh army, 60,000 strong, was completely routed 
 and lost seventy-three guns ; and to the British 
 public of to - day, who appear to believe that 
 battles can be won without casualties, we commend 
 
344 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 these words of the great Duke of Wellington in 
 his letter of congratulation to Sir Hugh Grough : 
 " Long experience has taught me that such 
 achievements cannot be performed, and such 
 objects attained as in these operations, without 
 great loss, and that in point of fact the honour 
 acquired by all is proportionate to the difficulties 
 and dangers met and overcome." 
 
 The Sikh army, after Ferozeshah, recrossed the 
 Sutlej, just ten days after their invasion of British 
 India ; but they by no means accepted defeat. 
 On the contrary, they rapidly brought fresh 
 infantry and guns into the field, and by the 5th 
 of January 1846 showed renewed signs of activity. 
 The British army also received large reinforce- 
 ments, 10,000 men arriving at army headquarters 
 on the 6th of January, while the garrison of 
 Ludhiana also received substantial additions. 
 
 In the middle of January a large body of Sikhs 
 under Sirdar Ranjur Singh again crossed the 
 Sutlej, this time near Ludhiana, and threatened 
 our line of communications. Sir Harry Smith, 
 with an inadequate force, was detached against this 
 army, and after fighting a somewhat unsatisfactory 
 rearguard action with Eanjur Singh at Budhowal, 
 was reinforced by a second brigade of infantry. 
 Sir Harry's strength was now over 10,000 men 
 with 30 guns, and with this force he attacked 
 Eanjur Singh at Aliwal on the 28th of January 
 1846. Ranjur Singh's position was strong but 
 
ALIWAL. 345 
 
 dangerous. A fortified village guarded both his 
 flanks, but the broad Sutlej lay behind him. Sir 
 Harry Smith, a most capable and gallant soldier, 
 attacked at ten in the morning after a sixteen 
 mile march. His plan of attack was to capture 
 the village of Aliwal on the Sikh left, and then 
 to hurl himself against their left and centre, and so 
 to penetrate to their rear and cut off their retreat 
 across the Sutlej. This plan was carried into 
 effect by a brilliant co-operation of the three arms, 
 the artillery and infantry advancing irresistibly on 
 their objective, while the cavalry on either flank 
 watched its opportunities and charged in a style 
 that has rarely been excelled in Indian warfare. 
 
 The Sikh force fled in utter rout across the ford 
 in their rear, leaving behind them sixty-seven guns 
 and all their camp and stores. Sir Harry Smith's 
 generalship at Aliwal ranks with that of Sir Hugh 
 Gough at Mudki, and he was admirably seconded 
 by his subsidiary commanders and his whole force. 
 
 After Aliwal the whole British army was con- 
 centrated for a final struggle with the Sikhs, who 
 occupied a very strong position at Sobraon not 
 unlike that of Aliwal. Sir Hugh Grough's plan 
 of attack was similar in principle to that which 
 had proved so successful in the hands of Sir 
 Harry Smith, and the force which attacked 
 Sobraon on the 10th of February 1846 consisted 
 of one division of cavalry, three divisions of infan- 
 try, with sixty guns. 
 
346 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 The Sikhs defended their strongly entrenched 
 position with the utmost determination, and, as 
 at Ferozeshah, our artillery failed to subdue the 
 fire of the defence. An infantry attack was there- 
 fore necessary, and it was nobly executed. 
 
 Sir Robert Dick's division attacked the Sikh 
 right, and after heavy fighting, captured it with 
 the loss of their brave old Divisional Commander, 
 a veteran of the Peninsula and Waterloo. The 
 Sikhs, seeing their defences pierced, concentrated 
 their strength from aU parts of their position to 
 repulse Dick's division. Sir Harry Smith was 
 now ordered to attack the Sikh right, and General 
 Gilbert the centre, with their divisions, and a 
 sanguinary struggle followed. 
 
 At last the entire Sikh defences were carried, 
 and their army completely defeated with very 
 heavy loss. All their guns, sixty-seven in num- 
 ber, were captured. The British loss was about 
 2400, including two general officers killed, and the 
 Sikh loss was at least four times as heavy. 
 
 The battle of Sobraon, fought within two 
 months of the invasion of British India, ended 
 the first Sikh war, and a week after the battle 
 Lahore surrendered to the Governor-General. 
 
 Neither Sir Henry Hardinge nor the Govern- 
 ment were anxious to annex the Punjab, but it 
 was felt that the Sikhs must submit to some loss 
 of territory in punishment of their aggression. 
 The tract of land lying between the rivers Beas 
 
SOBRAON. 347 
 
 and Sutlej, and known as the JuUundhur Doab, 
 was therefore annexed. The Sikh army surrend- 
 ered all the guns which had been used in the war 
 (250 in number), and an indemnity of a million 
 and a half sterling was exacted. 
 
 The Sikh Council of Kegency continued to ad- 
 minister the governmeBt of the Punjab, but they 
 were placed under the control of Sir Henry Law- 
 rence, who was appointed British agent at Lahore. 
 Feeling themselves still unable to control the 
 Khalsa army, the Sikh chiefs asked that a British 
 force should continue to occupy Lahore until the 
 end of the year 1846. 
 
 As has already been mentioned, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Hearsey was unfortunate enough not to 
 be permitted to take an active part in the first 
 Sikh campaign. His brief narrative of his move- 
 ments during the war runs thus : — 
 
 I was ordered, early in December 1845, to 
 march with the 6th Light Cavalry to Shikar- 
 pore, in Sinde. Brigadier Littler was then com- 
 manding at Ferozepore, and a war imminent with 
 the Sikh nation. I did all I could to persuade 
 Sir John Littler to detain the 6th Light Cavalry 
 at Ferozepore, for the whole regiment was suffering 
 from fever and ague. He told me he could not 
 take upon himself to do so. A very heavy pro- 
 portion of my men were sent on board of boats at 
 Ferozepore and dropped down the Sutlej river, 
 
348 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 being unable to sit on their borses. Fourteen 
 men died in tbe boats. I marched vid Bahawal- 
 pore, Kbanpore, and Abmedpore — within commun- 
 ication of my sick men in the boats. When we 
 arrived at Eoree Bakker we heard of the invasion 
 of the Sikh army and of the battles of Moodkee 
 and Ferozeshah, and I was told to prepare to 
 receive Prince Waldemar of Prussia, who had been 
 ordered from the battlefield of Ferozeshah towards 
 Bahawalpore and Sinde ! However, the victory 
 was gained the next day, and he rejoined Lord 
 Gough's force. I was ordered by Sir Charles 
 Napier, Governor of Sinde, to be ready to oppose 
 any attempt of the Sikh force from Mooltan and 
 Mithenkote on Shikarpore. The force assembled 
 under my command at Shikarpore consisted of a 
 horse field-battery under the command of Captain 
 Olpherts,^ a portion of the Bundelkhund Legion, 
 the 6th and 7th regiments Light Cavalry, the 
 Camel Corps under the command of Captain Fitz- 
 gerald, and the two regiments of infantry of the 
 Bundelkhund Legion : these, as also the regiment 
 of Irregular Cavalry under the command of 
 Captain Verner, formed a portion of the whole 
 legion under the command of Major Beatson. I 
 remained ready to move at the shortest notice, 
 the Police Corps, under the command of Captain 
 Younghusband, watching Mithenkote and keeping 
 the marauding tribe of Boordees in check. 
 
 ^ Afterwards General Sir H. Olpherts, V.C. 
 
A RESERVE ARMY. 349 
 
 I was ordered to march with the 6th regiment 
 of Light Cavalry to Sukker, on the Indus, cross 
 that river to Eoree and encamp on the left bank 
 near that place. A large force was assembled 
 here. I was appointed by Sir Charles Napier 
 Brigadier to command the Cavalry. This force 
 marched by regiments and encamped at Bahawal- 
 pore, half-way to Ferozepore, and it threatened 
 Mooltan. A large and heavy park of artillery was 
 formed ; Sir Charles Napier himself was to have 
 taken the command. The troops from the Bombay 
 Presidency joined, and another column under Major- 
 General George Hunter was to proceed and take 
 possession of Mithenkote and the fort of Shuja- 
 bad. The troops temporarily under my command 
 amounted to 10,000 men and 60 pieces of siege 
 ordnance. We were waiting to cross the Sutlej 
 river. I had found out a place, almost a ford, 
 where a bridge of boats could have been easily 
 made, when the battle of Sobraon took place 
 and Lord Cough's army advanced to Lahore. 
 Sir Charles Napier was ordered to that capital. 
 Major- General George Hunter took command of 
 the troops at Bahawalpore, and I was ordered 
 to march with the 6th Light Cavalry to Feroze- 
 pore. We arrived there in the month of March 
 and the campaign ended. The JuUundhur Valley 
 was ceded and our troops held Lahore, 
 
 I got leave for six months and joined my family 
 at Bareilly ; from thence got leave for England to 
 
350 SIR JOHN HEAKSEY. 
 
 complete my furlough, after thirty - eight years' 
 active regimental service. 
 
 As Sir John Hearsey gives no account of the 
 events leading to the second Sikh war, and relates 
 only what he saw of that campaign, a short nar- 
 rative of the causes and incidents of the war may 
 be acceptable. 
 
 After the occupation of Lahore, the Punjab 
 Durbar endeavoured to govern the country peace- 
 fully. They were aided in the most whole-hearted 
 manner by Sir Henry Lawrence, whose sympathies 
 were entirely with them. The task, however, 
 proved to be beyond their powers ; and when the 
 time came for the withdrawal of the British gar- 
 rison from Lahore, the Punjab Grovernment plainly 
 saw that the immediate consequence would be 
 anarchy in the state and their own destruction. 
 The Sikh chiefs, consequently, unanimously re- 
 quested that their country should be placed under 
 British control during the minority of Maharaja 
 Dhulip Singh, which would terminate in September 
 1854. 
 
 The new Grovemment was to consist of a Council 
 of Kegency of eight members, all influential Sikh 
 chiefs, which Council was again fully controlled by 
 Sir Henry Lawrence, the British Resident. Sir 
 Henry was assisted by a number of officers selected 
 by himself, young and active men, who were prac- 
 tically governors of the various provinces of the 
 
THE SIKHS RISE. 351 
 
 Punjab, responsible to him alone for their conduct 
 of affairs. Seldom have a score of young English- 
 men had more responsibility placed on their 
 shoulders, and never perhaps has such responsi- 
 bility been so admirably borne. The good work 
 of pacification and of the initiation of a just and 
 even system of government was more than half 
 done when, unfortunately, at the end of the year 
 1847, Sir Henry Lawrence's health broke down 
 and he was compelled to return to England. 
 Almost at the same moment Lord Hardinge was 
 succeeded as Governor-General by Lord Dalhousie, 
 and just when the two most important officials 
 connected with the new Government were thus 
 simultaneously removed, a sudden rising in an 
 outlying province threw upon the Punjab author- 
 ities a more severe trial than they could deal with. 
 This rising took place at Multan, where in April 
 1848 the Sikh governor permitted the assassination 
 of two English officers who had been sent to ex- 
 amine his accounts prior to his voluntary retire- 
 ment. Mulraj, the Governor, finding himself com- 
 mitted to hostility, now placed himself at the head 
 of the local revolt against English rule, and, owing 
 to the strength of Multan fort and city, and the 
 difficulty of collecting an adequate force to attack 
 it in the hot weather, was able to hold out until 
 January 22nd, 1849, when Multan was captured 
 after severe fighting. Meanwhile the revolt rapidly 
 spread through the Punjab, the greater part of 
 
352 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 which kingdom, it must be remembered, had seen 
 nothing of the English army. 
 
 To the honour of the Sikhs as well as of the 
 English officers in charge of provinces, it must be 
 recorded that, though imprisoned, none of the 
 latter, nor their families, were assaulted in any 
 way. 
 
 The Sikh troops which were sent from Lahore 
 to assist Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes, the young 
 officer in command in the province nearest to 
 Multan, proved anything but trustworthy; and 
 when in July a British division was sent from 
 Lahore to capture the fortress of Multan, the 
 aspect of affairs was too unsettled for an assault 
 to be risked. On the 9th of September an unsuc- 
 cessful attack on some buildings outside Multan 
 apparently decided the Sikhs on their conduct, and 
 on the 14th of September the whole Sikh force 
 went over to Mulraj. Three weeks later Shere 
 Singh, the Sikh general, left Mulraj to hold 
 Multan, and marched with all the Sikh troops in 
 that province to raise the whole Punjab and the 
 remains of the Khalsa army against British rule. 
 
 Shere Singh at first threatened Lahore, which 
 was weakly held by a force under General Colin 
 Campbell (afterwards Lord Clyde), but finding 
 that a large British army was collecting under 
 Lord Cough at Ferozepore, he turned to meet 
 them, and eventually concentrated on the fords 
 over the Chenab about Eamnuggur. 
 
CROSSING THE CHBNAB. 353 
 
 Lord Gough reached Lahore on November the 
 13th, and his troops crossed the Eavi three days 
 later, coming in contact with the Sikhs on November 
 22nd, 1848. 
 
 Early that morning an advance was made on 
 Eamnuggur with the object of reconnoitring the 
 Sikh position, and of ascertaining the best method 
 of crossing the Chenab. An unfortunate cavalry 
 affair followed, in which General Cuxton, com- 
 manding the cavalry, lost his life ; but in the 
 result Lord Gough obtained the information which 
 he required. 
 
 Gough now decided to hold the ground opposite 
 the Sikh position with part of his force and to 
 secure the crossing of the Chenab by a wide turn- 
 ing movement. This movement was entrusted to 
 General Thackwell, who was given a cavalry 
 brigade, seven battalions of infantry, and thirty- 
 two guns. 
 
 General Thackwell successfully crossed the 
 Chenab ; but, owing to a misunderstanding be- 
 tween him and Lord Gough, Shore Singh was 
 enabled to escape from his position on December 
 4 and to fall back on the Jhelum. 
 
 After the crossing of the Chenab there was a 
 considerable pause in the operations. Lord Gough 
 desiring to wait until the fall of Multan should 
 free the considerable force now besieging that 
 place. 
 
 Eventually, however, Gough decided to attack 
 
354 SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 the Sikhs, and on January 13, 1849, fought the 
 very severe action of Chillianwala. Owing to the 
 national habit of ignorant criticism of the opera- 
 tions of war and the national belief that victories 
 can be won without loss of life, Lord Gough's 
 reputation has been most unjustly aspersed with 
 regard to Chillianwala. He has, until very re- 
 cently, always been accused of making an im- 
 petuous attack without an adequate artillery 
 preparation over unreconnoitred ground. The 
 facts really are, that on finding the Sikh position 
 before him on January 13, he prepared to encamp 
 his force at a safe distance and to select his line 
 of advance for the following day during the six 
 hours of daylight which remained after the Sikh 
 outposts had been driven in. His hand was, how- 
 ever, forced by an advance of the Sikh army from 
 their entrenchments, and at three in the afternoon 
 the British attack began. 
 
 The Sikh line extended for about six miles, 
 covered by thick jungle, and with their right 
 considerably overlapping the British left. With- 
 out attempting to give a full description of the 
 fierce fight which now took place, it must sujBfice to 
 say that, owing principally to a want of co-oper- 
 ation between the two brigades of the left British 
 division, Pennycuick's brigade made an unsup- 
 ported attack on the Sikh centre, and in spite 
 of the most devoted gallantry was repulsed with 
 heavy loss. This, though unfortunate, was not, 
 
CHILLIAN WALA. 355 
 
 however, anything approaching a disaster, for the 
 left brigade of the division (under the personal 
 guidance of Major-General Colin Campbell, the 
 Divisional General) presently attacked the same 
 portion of the Sikh line and completely defeated 
 it, capturing the guns and driving away the in- 
 fantry in confusion. The right division, admir- 
 ably handled by Sir Walter Gilbert, also made a 
 steady and successful attack, carrying the whole 
 Sikh position in their front and capturing all the 
 guns before them. This success was the more 
 creditable to Gilbert's division, as, mainly through 
 bad handling, the cavalry brigade on their imme- 
 diate right had been seized with a panic and had 
 fled, leaving Gilbert's flank exposed. Gilbert's 
 brigades, attacked both in front and rear, behaved 
 with perfect steadiness, and the reserve brigade 
 (Penny's) coming up from the rear, and General 
 Campbell bringing his left brigade over to Gil- 
 bert's assistance, the British force was presently 
 reunited, and 'the Sikhs retreated in great con- 
 fusion under a heavy artillery fire. The services 
 of the British artillery were indeed conspicuous 
 through this severely contested action, and Chil- 
 lianwala is a name of which the artillery can speak 
 with pride. 
 
 The Sikhs, as has been stated, retreated in great 
 confusion during the night of ChUlianwala, but 
 owing to three days of heavy rain it was impos- 
 sible for Lord Gough to follow them up and com- 
 
356 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 plete their defeat. The Sikhs during this period 
 received large reinforcements, and Gough there- 
 fore decided to wait for the Multan force before 
 attacking again. Multan fell on the 22nd of Jan- 
 uary 1849, nine days after ChUlianwala, and the 
 Multan army joined Lord Gough on the 20th of 
 February. On the following day Gough, who in 
 deference to popular clamour had been deprived of 
 his command in England, decisively defeated the 
 Sikh army at Gujerat, and so ended the war. 
 
 The action of Gujerat needs but very brief 
 description. The Sikhs were in great strength 
 and held a fairly strong position, and they fought 
 with their usual gallantry; but Gough was now 
 too strong for them. For the first time in all his 
 fights with the Sikhs he had a preponderance of 
 artillery. After two hours and a half of artillery 
 preparation the British line advanced, and one 
 hour later the whole Sikh army was in flight, 
 leaving their camp, their baggage, and most of 
 their guns in the hands of the victors. 
 
 The story of the brilliant pursuit under Sir 
 Walter Gilbert is told by Sir John Hearsey. It 
 may be doubted if a victory won by our arms was 
 ever so rapidly and thoroughly followed up as was 
 that of Gujerat. 
 
 I was in England during the year 1847, but in 
 January 1848 my agents in Calcutta, Cockerell & 
 Co., failed, and I was necessitated to return to 
 
SIR HUGH WHEELER. 357 
 
 India. I was posted to the 7th Light Cavalry. 
 That regiment was at JuUundhur, under the 
 command of Major , with the force com- 
 manded by Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler. Sir Hugh 
 wrote to me to come up by dawk, otherwise he 
 should be obliged to take the command from 
 Major , the regiment being in a very dis- 
 contented state under his authority. I went up 
 by "carriage-dawk propelled,"^ and I found the 
 corps in a sad state. I soon had it all right again. 
 In the cold season of this year commenced the 
 Second Sikh War. A force under the command 
 of Sir Hugh Wheeler moved from JuUundhur to 
 reduce the forts of Eunger Nungal and Moraree 
 in the Manjha beyond or north of Hoshearpore 
 and across the Beas river. When the artillery 
 was crossing this river in boats I sought for a 
 ford and found a deep one. I unsaddled the 7th 
 Light Cavalry, placed the saddles in boats, and 
 was across before the artillery, much to Sir Hugh's 
 astonishment. He ordered me to take the com- 
 mand of all the cavalry, I surrounded the fort 
 of Runger Nungal, but as Sir Hugh had only light 
 guns with him he could not make a breach ; the 
 place had a very deep and wide ditch. He called 
 me off, for he wished the garrison to quit the 
 place during the night. They did so. A party 
 from the 2nd Irregular Cavalry came up with some 
 of the garrison as they forded the Eavee, and some 
 
 ^ Or express. 
 
358 SIR JOHN HEAUSBY, 
 
 of the enemy were destroyed. The force then 
 moved on to the fort of Moraree; we arrived at 
 2 o'clock A.M. and found it evacuated. At this 
 place I learnt that I had been appointed Brigadier 
 of Irregular Cavalry with Lord Gough's army 
 assembling at Lahore. I got permission to join 
 it, made a quick movement across the country to 
 Lahore, and arrived in time to go with Sir Colin 
 Campbell, Brigadier of Infantry, who was en route 
 to join the force in advance under the command 
 of Major-General Cureton. My brigade was to 
 consist of the 3rd, 9 th, and 12th Irregular Cavalry. 
 I found the 12th the only regiment in advance. 
 It was with General Cureton's force at or near 
 Aloowalla. On Lord Gough's force arriving at 
 Nocewalla, I accompanied a light detachment with 
 the 12th Irregular Cavalry and was present at the 
 affair of Eamnugger on November 22nd, 1848, and 
 witnessed the death of General Cureton and the 
 disaster and death of Lieutenant- Colonel Havelock, 
 commanding 14th Dragoons. We recovered the 
 body of General Cureton. Captain Holmes, com- 
 manding 12th Irregular Cavalry, was wounded by 
 a bullet near the shoulder-blade whilst stooping to 
 lift the body. I was put in charge of Lord Gough's 
 camp when Major-General Thackwell was detached 
 with a force to cross the Chenab river; he could 
 not find the difficult ford at Kamghat, and had to 
 go round by the ford at Wuzeerabad and move 
 down the right bank of the river. The enemy. 
 
SADOOLAPOOR. 359 
 
 under the command of Shere Singh, left their 
 camp opposite to Eamnugger in force and met 
 General Thackwell at Sadoolapoor ; an action fol- 
 lowed, in which the Sikh army was defeated, but 
 the enemy managed during the night to recover 
 their guns, which they had deserted. I was sent 
 by Lord Gough to the village of Eamghat on 
 the Chenab, seven mUes from Eamnugger in the 
 direction of Wuzeerabad, to point out the ford 
 over the river near that place. I did so, and 
 sent a party of the 2nd Irregular Cavalry to 
 show it to Colonel Mercer, who had got two 
 boats (!) to cross his brigade. I sketched the 
 ford. Whilst doing so Colonel Armine Mountain 
 came to me and said Lord Gough required my 
 presence in camp. After the defeat of the enemy 
 at Sadoolapore the Sikhs broke up their camp 
 and retired in the direction of Chillian walla ; 
 General Gilbert at the head of the horse -artil- 
 lery and cavalry crossed the ford at Eamnugger 
 and pursued, Major- General Thackwell's force join- 
 ing him. Lord Gough kept me with him, and was 
 pleased at the sketch I had made of the ford at 
 Eamghat, which he retained. The advance force 
 under General Thackwell encamped after an un- 
 successful pursuit all the next day. A bridge of 
 boats was thrown over the Chenab river, and the 
 army crossed ; the river had slightly risen and the 
 ford was dangerous. We encamped two days on 
 the right bank of the Chenab until a tSte de pont 
 
360 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 had been constructed, and then joined General 
 Thackwell's force. I had command of the rear- 
 guard and was on horseback all the day. The army 
 moved on the 13th of January 1849 towards 
 Chillianwalla, and attacked the enemy in the 
 jungle near that village. The battle did not 
 commence till 2 p.m., and lasted till dark; the 
 enemy were driven off the field and left almost all 
 their guns in the jungle. During the night they 
 sent parties and removed them, and slaughtered all 
 our wounded Europeans who could not be removed 
 to the bivouac, the troops having been withdrawn 
 from the jungles and lying on their arms. It 
 rained during the night. Our loss in Europeans 
 in this battle was very heavy. The 14th Dragoons 
 fled from the field in a panic and rode over a 
 battery of horse-artillery, which was captured by 
 the enemy. I again had the command of the 
 rearguard, my brigade being on that duty. The 
 enemy's horse twice attempted to molest me and 
 were twice repulsed with loss. We were guarding 
 the baggage all night. Lord Gough and his Staff 
 was sheltered under the fly of a tent near where 
 my rearguard force was drawn up. At 8 A.M. 
 next morning I received orders to permit the 
 baggage to go to the encampment that had been 
 marked out, just free of the jungle in which the 
 battle had been fought. On reporting all right in 
 person to Lord Gough, he thanked me in presence 
 of his Staff, saying, "You have been protecting 
 
A MOVING WOELD. 361 
 
 a moving world." The baggage of this large army 
 covered more than, four square miles ! Many of 
 the men of the 14th Dragoons sought shelter with 
 the rearguard, shouting out that the army was 
 defeated and in full retreat. I dismounted them 
 and bade them hold their peace, telling them 
 they were quite safe with me. In fact, in conse- 
 quence of Lord Gough having ordered me to bring 
 on the baggage of the army at noon that day, I 
 was within half a mile of Chillianwalla when the 
 action commenced, and had to place all the baggage 
 round the village of Moodjeh, which was con- 
 structed on a height or mound. From the roofs 
 of the houses on top of it we had a very fair 
 view of the field of action. The army remained 
 encamped near Chillianwalla, and had facing it 
 the range of small hills and ravines on and in 
 which the Sikh army had taken post, which they 
 had partly entrenched. Our position was close 
 to the right bank of the Jhelum river, with 
 headquarters at Russoolpore, which village was 
 fortified. Here we rested nearly three weeks 
 in front of the enemy's position. Lord Gough 
 was waiting for the fall of Mooltan, then be- 
 sieged by a force of Bengal and Bombay troops 
 under the command of Major - General Whish. 
 Mooltan fell on the 22nd of January, but, before 
 the junction of General Whish and his army, the 
 enemy left their position and moving past our 
 right flank took the road towards Gujerat, on the 
 
362 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 right bank of the Chenab river, to gain the ford 
 of that river near Wuzeerabad. Our camp was 
 broken up at Chillianwalla, and Lord Gough with 
 the army followed, keeping in a parallel line until 
 the Sikh force arrived at Gujerat. The river had 
 risen, and a force was on the opposite bank with 
 artillery to oppose the enemy crossing. In the 
 vicinity of Gujerat General Whish's force from 
 Mooltan joined us, and the next day the enemy 
 was attacked in a position which they had 
 taken up on the opposite bank of a deep and 
 quaggy nullah, which served as a wide ditch in 
 its front. Their position was held in force by 
 artillery and infantry. The action was com- 
 menced by our heavy siege artillery, mancBuvred 
 as field-guns, and drawn by elephants properly 
 harnessed. I had the honour of commanding the 
 two cavalry brigades on the right flank stretch- 
 ing down to the river Chenab. The enemy was 
 foiled in attempting to turn that flank by the 
 sandy bed, by a charge of my irregular brigade, 
 and on the infantry carrying the centre of the 
 position of the nullah and capturing the artil- 
 lery, the Sikh army attempted to fall back on 
 the town of Gujerat and there camp. Major- 
 General Thackwell, commanding the cavalry on 
 the extreme left flank, met the Afghan Horse in 
 a charge. The Sinde Horse, commanded by 
 Captains Malcolm and Merryweather, utterly de- 
 feated them, and the 9th Lancers following com- 
 
THE PURSUIT OF THE SIKHS. 363 
 
 mitted great havoc. Their chief, the son of Sultan 
 Muhammad Khan of Peshawur, was killed. The 
 cavalry pursued the enemy through their camp 
 towards the lower hills and Bhimber Pass lead- 
 ing to Cashmere, destroying vast numbers. My 
 brigades captured nine guns and aU their materiel 
 in the pursuit, which was continued for 17 miles, 
 till sunset, when we returned to camp at Gujerat. 
 The army had taken up the ground of the Sikh 
 encampment, and all night long the large ghee 
 dubbas, which had served as powder barrels, were 
 exploding, causing much damage and some loss 
 in men and camp-followers. In this action 53 
 pieces of cannon of various calibres were captured, 
 and 1500 stands of muskets and 16 swivel camel- 
 guns were picked up in the course of the pursuit 
 of the brigades under my command. The Sikh 
 officers, with whom I became acquainted afterwards, 
 owned to me that the Sikh armies had never 
 suffered so severe a defeat, — " that they had been 
 driven off the field of battle like a herd of cattle." 
 I slept on the ground, as I did not return from the 
 pursuit till past eleven o'clock at night, having 
 been twenty-three hours on horseback without 
 food. Next day I proceeded in command of all 
 the cavalry, six regiments, with Major -General 
 Gilbert's column and under his orders in pursuit 
 of the enemy. I was directed to move on with 
 two irregular corps, the 3rd and 9 th, to seize the 
 pass of Bukralla beyond the fortress of Rhotas. 
 
364 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 The enemy was in possession of the pass. I 
 manoeuvred to his left to turn his position, at 
 the same time making a demonstration to the 
 front. The enemy was deceived and thought the 
 whole army was about to attack, so blew up his 
 magazine in so hasty a manner that many of 
 his own men were destroyed in the explosion. 
 I took possession of the pass, sending scouting 
 parties after the retreating Sikhs to make them 
 believe we were in pursuit. I remained at Buk- 
 raUa. The next morning General Gilbert arrived 
 with his artillery and infantry and pushed on after 
 the retreating foe. He directed me to remain at 
 the pass and hold it until the Bombay column 
 under the command of Brigadier Dundas (after- 
 wards Lord Melville) arrived, and then to follow 
 and overtake him. I did so, then went to the 
 front of the general's column with the Irregular 
 Brigade and caused the enemy to explode another 
 magazine beyond Manakiyala. The force encamped 
 in the bed of a river (the whole country was a mass 
 of ravines), on the bank of which is built a place 
 called Kala Sarae. We moved on to the village of 
 Aing. The Sikh chiefs sent in proposals for terms. 
 General Gilbert informed them no terms would be 
 given. If they wished to submit and throw them- 
 selves on the mercy of the British Government 
 they must deliver up all their artillery, their army 
 must file past and throw down its arms. They 
 consented, and this was done the next day ; it was 
 a glorious, but at the same time a painful sight. 
 
THE AFGHAN CONTINGENT, 365 
 
 watching tlie countenances of the officers and men 
 when doing so. The Sikh soldiers had each one 
 rupee given to them under the promise not to 
 plunder the inhabitants on the way to their 
 houses; as they had no arms they went quietly. 
 The army next day moved to Eawul Pindee, where 
 the Sikh force had encamped. From hence we 
 made a march to Wah and by Abdul Hussein to 
 Attock ; here we found the Afghan force that had 
 fled from the field of Gujerat occupying the opposite 
 bank of the Indus. Dost Mahommed had ordered 
 his son to retreat without stopping to Peshawur; 
 but he attempted to destroy the bridge of boats 
 at Attock. Our horse -artillery opened upon the 
 enemy on the opposite bank near Akberabad ; three 
 boats only were removed, and the remainder, all 
 joined together, were swung by the stream to our 
 side. The enemy commenced their flight, but by 
 evening the bridge of boats had been restored, and 
 our infantry and artillery crossed and pushed on 
 to Noushera. I crossed with the cavalry and over- 
 took the infantry there at ten o'clock a.m. The 
 enemy had not heart to defend the pass of Geedur 
 GuUee, a mile from the opposite bank; before 
 dawn the force was in motion and we did not 
 halt till we reached Pubbee. The Bombay column 
 under Colonel Dundas had been left in the rear. 
 He wrote that his men were footsore and could 
 not keep up. Next morning we passed through 
 and round Peshawur and on with all haste to 
 Jumrood. The Afghans had only time to get 
 
366 SIR JOHN HEAESEY, 
 
 through the Khyber Pass ere we arrived at the 
 entrance. Here the pursuit ended, and we en- 
 camped on the plain, which was covered with 
 boulders of stone, and the Bombay column 
 arrived two days after. 
 
 Here we remained encamped till the month 
 of March. The force was then broken up. A 
 strong brigade was left under the command of 
 Colonel Dundas at Peshawur, and the remainder 
 of the troops were directed to return southward. 
 On my way back with the 14th Dragoons and 
 12th Irregular Cavalry T received intelligence that 
 I had been specially appointed a brigadier on the 
 permanent staff, and was ordered to proceed to 
 "Wuzeerabad to take up command of the force 
 assembled there. This force consisted of a Euro- 
 pean troop of horse -artillery and a field-battery 
 of Europeans, one native troop of horse-artillery, 
 H.M. 9th Lancers, the 5th regiment of Eegular 
 Native Cavalry, the 6th Irregular Cavalry, H.M. 
 24th and 29th British regiments of foot, three 
 regiments of Native Infantry and a company of 
 Pioneers. The whole to be cantoned on a plain 
 seven miles below the town of Wuzeerabad. I 
 arrived on the 14th April, and by great exertions 
 the troops were put under cover of temporary 
 barracks and huts by the beginning of July. 
 
 I was promoted to brevet-colonel on the 19th 
 of March 1849, and was made a Companion of 
 the Bath for my services in the Sikh War. 
 
367 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 General Hearsey spent the year 1850 at Waz- 
 irabad, and found almost at once that the native 
 infantry were in a most troublesome frame of mind. 
 Owing to circumstances which will be explained 
 presently, this dissatisfaction soon culminated in 
 an act of insubordination amounting to mutiny in 
 the 32nd Native Infantry, who collectively refused 
 to receive their pay. 
 
 General Hearsey writes : " I confined the first 
 man of each company who refused his pay, and 
 brought them before a general court-martial. They 
 were sentenced to transportation beyond the sea. 
 I had them put in irons and manacled in presence 
 of all the troops that evening, and working on the 
 roads the next morning, and then sent them under 
 a strong guard to Lahore on the way to Calcutta. 
 I received the thanks of Sir Charles Napier, the 
 Commander-in-Chief, for my decision and prompt- 
 itude of action, which, Sir Charles Napier was 
 pleased to say, had nipped a serious and concerted 
 mutiny in the bud," 
 
 Sir John Kaye, in the 'History of the Sepoy 
 
368 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 War,' gives a full account of the proceedings at 
 Wazirabad, and adds the following particulars to 
 those mentioned above. 
 
 After the 32nd first refused their pay, " Brigadier 
 Hearsey drew up the men on parade, and addressed 
 them in language so touching, so forcible, and so 
 much to the point, that many hung down their 
 heads, ashamed of what they had done, and some 
 even shed tears of penitence." A second offer of 
 their pay was then made by Hearsey to the regi- 
 ment, and four men who again refused it were 
 promptly tried by court-martial and sentenced to 
 penal servitude. In the presence of the entire 
 Wazirabad brigade these four men were manacled 
 on parade as felons and sent off to work on 
 the roads. 
 
 In his official letter thanking Hearsey for his 
 conduct on this critical occasion. Sir Charles Napier 
 wrote : " Brigadier Hearsey has carried out the 
 instructions communicated for his guidance with 
 an ability, judgment, and decision deserving of the 
 warmest commendation, and the Commander-in- 
 Chief desires to convey to the Brigadier his best 
 thanks and acknowledgments for the excellent 
 service he has thus rendered to the State and to 
 the Army." 
 
 The mutiny of the 32nd Native Infantry, so 
 promptly quelled by Hearsey under the orders of 
 Sir Charles Napier, was no doubt intended to be 
 the beginning of a general rebellion on the part of 
 
A TKIVIAL GRIEVANCE. 369 
 
 all the native troops stationed in the Punjab. The 
 cause of this serious state of affairs was a very 
 trifling one, and was brought about as follows : — 
 
 In 1844 the then Governor-General, Lord Ellen- 
 borough, issued a regulation by which the sepoy 
 received compensation when any one article of his 
 daily ration exceeded a certain specified price. 
 In 1849 Lord Hardinge amended this rule, fixing 
 a value for the total daily ration of the sepoy, 
 and sanctioning compensation when this cost was 
 exceeded. The change was made purely for 
 the sake of convenience and simplification of 
 account, and appears to be fair to the sepoy, but 
 the latter thought otherwise. Doubtless the in- 
 genious frugality of the native of India enabled 
 him to make a slightly larger profit out of the 
 older regulation, and he therefore looked upon 
 the amendment as a fraud. 
 
 Whatever the rights of the case may have been, 
 and whether the grievance was real or imaginary, 
 it appeared to Sir Charles Napier that the 
 Bengal troops in the Punjab were on the verge 
 of general mutiny, and that prompt action was 
 necessary. As soon, then, as Sir Charles heard 
 of the conduct of the 32nd Native Infantry he 
 proceeded in hot haste to Wazirabad, whence he 
 wrote to Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General, 
 on the 5th of January 1850, in the following 
 terms : — 
 
 " On arriving at Wuzzerabad I learned from 
 2 A 
 
370 SIR JOHN HEAKSEY. 
 
 Brigadier Hearsey that the sepoys, and especially 
 the young ones, said, 'When other regiments come 
 up we will do as they do ; this reduction of pay is 
 tyranny, but what can we do alone.' He (Hearsey) 
 further said that an unusual degree of correspond- 
 ence is going on between regiments, which he con- 
 sidered very bad, and wished that the Government 
 could prevent it, or appoint a person to read all 
 the sepoys' letters. I told him that was quite im- 
 possible ; that neither could Government abridge 
 correspondence nor open private letters except on 
 some occasion which would bear out such an act. 
 He also told me that during the war some men 
 were grumbling, and Neville Chamberlain rebuked 
 them, saying, ' You are pretty fellows to pretend 
 to be soldiers, when a few hours' hardship 
 makes you grumble ; had I the power I would 
 dismiss you.' Upon which another soldier, I 
 think a Havildar, replied : ' You had better not 
 do that, for you should not get a man from the 
 country to replace us if you did.' 1 tell you what 
 Hearsey told me, and it marks a bad spirit; be- 
 seems to think there may be more trouble given 
 yet as regiments enter the Punjab. Hearsey does, 
 not want sense, and is perfectly master of th& 
 language of the men, knowing them well also,, 
 as Grant ^ tells me. I know so little of him that 
 I cannot speak as from personal acquaintance, but 
 
 1 Afterwards Field-Marshal Sir Patrick Grant. At this time= 
 Adjutant-General of the Indian Army. 
 
SIR CHARLES NAPIER. 371 
 
 he appears to have conducted this refusing pay 
 affair with great judgment." 
 
 The quicklyrformed reliance of Sir Charles Napier 
 on Hearsey's knowledge and good sense was speedily 
 confirmed, and many of Sir Charles's actions during 
 his brief service as Commander-in-Chief may be 
 traced to Hearsey's advice and information. For 
 instance, when it became necessary to disband the 
 66th Native Infantry, Sir Charles Napier brought 
 the Nasseri Battalion, a Gurkha corps hitherto 
 without a number, into the Bengal army in their 
 room, his general order, dated the 27th of February 
 1850, stating that "the brave and loyal men of the 
 Nasseri Gurkha Battalion " were in future to be 
 denominated the 66th or Gurkha Eegiment. 
 
 This action, following so closely on his conversa- 
 tion with Brigadier Hearsey, shows the impression 
 made on the Commander-in-Chief by the incident 
 related by Hearsey of the mutinous Havildar's 
 remark to Neville Chamberlain. 
 
 Sir Charles Napier, in another letter to Lord 
 Dalhousie, dated the 26th of April 1850, writes of 
 Brigadier Hearsey and Colonel Grant as " the two 
 most capable judges in India, from their position, 
 their abilities, and their long experience in the 
 Indian Army." 
 
 This letter referred to the step taken by Sir 
 Charles Napier which eventually caused his 
 resignation of the office of Commander-in-Chief. 
 Sir Charles, from his personal observation of the 
 
372 SIR JOHN HBAESEY. 
 
 attitude of the Bengal army, quickly came to the 
 conclusion that unless the grievance regarding the 
 compensation for rations were quickly removed, a 
 general mutiny would break out. He had made 
 full reports on the subject to Lord Dalhousie, but 
 the latter, who was in bad health, had embarked 
 on a sea voyage of some duration. Believing a 
 crisis to be imminent, and immediate action neces- 
 sary. Sir Charles Napier took it upon himself to 
 suspend Lord Hardinge's regulation and to revive 
 that of Lord EUenborough. 
 
 This action averted the mutiny, but Lord Dal- 
 housie on his return took a most adverse view of 
 Napier's conduct, holding that under no circum- 
 stance was it competent to the Commander-in- 
 Chief to deal with such matters. He denied, 
 moreover, that the crisis had been real, and de- 
 clined to accept Napier's assertion that a delay 
 of five weeks would have had fatal results. 
 
 At the present moment there is considerable 
 interest in the memory of a conflict of opinions 
 between a Commander-in-Chief and a Governor- 
 General. Lord Dalhousie and Sir Charles Napier 
 were both men of talent and strong character. 
 Beginning their mutual relations in the most 
 friendly and cordial spirit, they speedily degen- 
 erated into bitter hostility. There was, in fact, 
 hardly room in India for both of them, and this 
 situation was no new one where Sir Charles Napier 
 was concerned ; yet he was beyond dispute a 
 
IN THE EAELY DAYS. 373 
 
 brilliant soldier and a great man, and his con- 
 fidence in Hearsey's judgment in a moment of 
 danger conveys no small compliment to the latter. 
 Nor did Sir Charles withdraw his good opinion 
 when he found that the action to which Hearsey 
 had urged him was so strongly disapproved. 
 Writing to Hearsey from Simla on the 11th of 
 November 1850, Sir Charles says : "You know 
 that the Governor- General and I have quarrelled. 
 He chose to reprimand me because I followed your 
 advice about the ration compensation, and says 
 that you misled me. I stood by what you advised, 
 and do so still ! I said, and I say, that you showed 
 good judgment in advising the suspension of a 
 rule which would have diminished the pay of the 
 sepoy at such a critical moment." 
 
 The danger, whatever may have been its gravity, 
 passed for the time, but great mischief had been 
 done. To treat the sepoy, even accidentally, in 
 such a manner as to give him grounds for accusing 
 the Government of mean conduct and breach of 
 faith was bad, but the patent fact that the Gov- 
 ernor-General and Commander-in-Chief had taken 
 diametrically opposite views of a question was 
 even worse. 
 
 " In the early days of British rule in India," 
 once said an enlightened native, "the high, dig- 
 nified Sahebs were of one mind, or it so appeared 
 to the outer world, and we respected and dreaded 
 their unity of purpose ; but now the Sahebs are 
 
3 7 4 SIR JOHN HEAESEY, 
 
 divided and show their differences, and we see 
 in this a proof of weakness." Thus, though the 
 incipient mutiny of 1850 passed away in threat- 
 ening and grumbling, the storm was destined to 
 burst seven years later, and, among other issues, 
 to give John Hearsey the opportunity of doing 
 great service for his country. In 1851 Hearsey's 
 brigade was moved from Wazirabad to Sialkot, 
 where barracks had been built for it. On the 
 28th of November 1854 Hearsey was promoted 
 Major-General, and two years later, in December 
 1856, he was appointed to command the Presi- 
 dency, or Calcutta, district. On his way down 
 country from Sialkot, on promotion, Hearsey and 
 his family broke the journey by a visit to their 
 old friend Major-General Hugh Wheeler, who then, 
 and to the melancholy end of his long and honour- 
 able career, commanded at Cawnpore. Sir Hugh 
 Wheeler constantly corresponded with General 
 Hearsey, and one or two of his last letters wUl 
 be given in their place. 
 
 Hearsey was now sixty-four years of age, but 
 still retained the vigour and activity of body of a 
 much younger man, while his unrivalled know- 
 ledge of the native soldier and of native thought 
 generally, qualified him to be a most useful ad- 
 viser to Lord Canning in the days of trial which 
 now threatened India. 
 
 There is evidence to show that General Hearsey 
 was one of the first, if not the first officer in 
 
A ..WARNING LETTER. 375 
 
 high command, to give warning of the impending 
 trouble. Thus on the 28th of January 1857 he 
 reported officially to the Commander - in - Chief, 
 General Anson, that an ill-feeling was "said to 
 subsist in the minds of the sepoys of the regi- 
 ments at Barrackpore. A report," he said, " had 
 been spread by some designing persons, most likely 
 Brahmins, or agents of the religious Hindoo party 
 at Calcutta (I believe it is called the ' Dharma 
 Sobha'), that the sepoys are to be forced to em- 
 brace the Christian faith." " Perhaps," he added, 
 "those Hindoos in Calcutta who are opposed to 
 the marriage of widows are using underhand means 
 to thwart Government in abolishing the restraints 
 lately removed by law for the marriage of widows, 
 and conceive that if they can make a party of the 
 ignorant classes in the ranks of the army believe 
 that their religion or religious prejudices are event- 
 ually to be abolished by force, and that by force 
 they are all to be made Christians, and thus, by 
 shaking their faith in Government, lead them to 
 lose the confidence of their officers by offences such 
 as incendiarism, so difficult to put a stop to or 
 prove, they will gain their object." 
 
 The belief that a design existed to destroy caste 
 by means of the greased cartridges was now firmly 
 established. Dum-Dum, where that story origin- 
 ated, was near Barrackpore, General Hearsey's 
 headquarters, and the sepoys of the brigade 
 stationed at the latter place now showed signs 
 
376 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 of the disquiet in their minds by nightly setting 
 fire to the public buildings near their lines. 
 Mutiny was clearly smouldering at Barrackpore, 
 and might any day break into flame ; but the 
 first outbreak occurred at Berhampore, a station 
 one hundred miles distant and close to the city 
 of Moorshedabad. Here the 19th Native Infantry 
 on the 28th January, the same day on which 
 General Hearsey wrote the letter which we have 
 quoted, showed a mutinous spirit. The incidents 
 which occurred at Berhampore are, however, 
 obscure, and it appears that judicious handling 
 of the regiment might have averted, or at least 
 postponed, its insubordinate conduct. 
 
 It is now impossible to ascertain whether or not 
 the belief of the sepoy in the intended destruction 
 of caste by means of animal grease in his cartridges 
 was genuine or a mere pretext for mutiny ; but 
 it is noteworthy that as soon as General Hearsey 
 heard of the real or pretended dread of the new 
 cartridge, he officially recommended that the 
 sepoys should be permitted to grease their own 
 cartridges. This suggestion should undoubtedly 
 have been acted on without a moment's delay, 
 but not being treated as exceptionally urgent, 
 was not sanctioned for four days. In these four 
 days infinite mischief had been done. 
 
 In connection with the delay in replying to 
 General Hearsey's suggestion, caused by our 
 routine and "the usual channel" system of army 
 
"the usual channel." 377 
 
 control, it may be mentioned here that as far 
 back as 1853 the then Adjutant- General of the 
 Indian army had pointed out the risk of the 
 sepoys fearing that their caste might be injured 
 by grease in cartridges. This suggestion had 
 been transmitted by the Commander-in-Chief of 
 the period to a now happily defunct " channel " 
 known as the Military Board. The Military Board 
 should in due course have laid the suggestion 
 before the Governor-General, but, in its wisdom, 
 did not do so. It is at least possible that the 
 intervention of the Military Board between the 
 Commander - in - Chief and Governor - General in 
 1853 may have brought about the mutiny of 1857, 
 and the upholders of the present system of a 
 " military member of the Viceroy's Council," with 
 somewhat similar functions, would not do amiss 
 to consider the incident related above. The order 
 permitting sepoys to grease their own cartridges 
 was promulgated on the 29th of January, but had 
 no great quieting effect. Early in February Gen- 
 eral Hearsey wrote in an official letter : " We have 
 at Barrackpore been dwelling upon a mine ready 
 for explosion. I have been watching the feeling 
 of the sepoys here for some time. Their minds 
 have been misled by some designing scoundrels, 
 who have managed to make them believe that 
 their religious prejudices, their caste, is to be in- 
 terfered with by Government — that they are to 
 be forced to become Christians." How thoroughly 
 
378 SIR JOHN HEARSEY, 
 
 fitted General Hearsay was to deal with so dan- 
 gerous a state of affairs in the close proximity of 
 the great city of Calcutta, the seat of Government, 
 whose destruction would have been looked upon 
 as the signal of the impending downfall of British 
 rule in India, may be read in the authoritative 
 pages of Sir "William Kaye. 
 
 " There could," he writes, " hardly, in such a 
 crisis, have been a better man in command of 
 the division than General Hearsey ; for he was 
 one who steered wisely a middle course between 
 the troubled waters of alarm and the dead calms 
 of a placid sense of security. He had a large- 
 hearted sympathy with the sepoys in their 
 affliction. He understood them thoroughly. He 
 saw that they were labouring under a great fear ; 
 and he was not one, in such a case, to think 
 that ' the black fellows ' had no right to suspect 
 the designs of their white masters. He saw 
 clearly what a tremendous significance, in the 
 eyes both of Mohammedans and Hindoos, there 
 was in this incident of the greased cartridges, 
 and he could not wonder at the mingled feeling 
 of terror and resentment that it had excited." 
 It was a case that in Hearsey's opinion required 
 kindly treatment and delicate handling, and he 
 decided to hold a parade of the Barrackpore 
 Brigade and to address the sepoys, as well he 
 could in their own language." 
 
 General Hearsey was now a man of sixty-six years 
 
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 379 
 
 of age, but still active and strong. He retained 
 his riding powers, and had the manly and com- 
 manding presence, the strong voice and straight- 
 forward manner, that can both attract the atten- 
 tion and gain the confidence of Indian soldiers. 
 His fame was great throughout the Bengal army, 
 and had it lain in the power of one man to hold 
 the sepoy to his allegiance, that man was Hearsey. 
 His speech on the eventful 9th of February 1857 
 has been preserved, and every word of it was 
 well chosen for the emergency. " Earnestly and 
 emphatically he explained to the brigade that 
 they had laid hold of a dangerous and foolish 
 delusion ; that neither the Government which 
 they served, nor the ofiicers who commanded 
 them, had ever thought for a moment of inter- 
 fering with their religious usages or depriving 
 them of their caste ; and that it was but an idle 
 absurdity to believe that they could by any means 
 be forced to be Christians. He told them that 
 the English were * Christians of the book ' — Pro- 
 testants ; that they admitted no proselytes but 
 those who, being adults, could read and fully 
 understand the precepts laid down therein; that 
 if they came and threw themselves down at our 
 feet, imploring to be made Book Christians, it 
 could not be done ; that they could not be bap- 
 tised until they had been examined in the truths 
 of the book, and prove themselves fully con- 
 versant of them. And then they must, of their 
 
380 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 own good will and accord, desire to become Christ- 
 ians before they could be made so." ^ 
 
 For a time this address seemed to have re- 
 lieved the minds of the Barrackpore sepoys, but 
 the good effect was transitory, and on the 17th 
 of March it was considered necessary by Lord 
 Canning for General Hearsey again to address the 
 Barrackpore Brigade. 
 
 On this occasion he used a new argument as 
 to the harmless nature of the cartridge paper, 
 the shining and greasy appearance of which was 
 believed by the native army to prove the 
 presence of the fat of oxen or swine, the former 
 sacred to the Hindoo and the latter obnoxious 
 to the Mohammedan sepoy. General Hearsey, 
 with his full knowledge of the child-like character 
 of the Indian soldier, explained to the brigade, 
 as he would have explained to children, that the 
 glazed appearance of the paper was due to the 
 starch used in its making, and that Princes of 
 high caste used paper which had a similar smooth 
 and shiny appearance. In proof of this he pro- 
 duced from a bag of golden tissue a letter written 
 to him by Maharaja Gulab Singh of Kashmir, 
 and this letter (which, with its silken envelope, 
 is stUl preserved by the Hearsey family) he 
 handed to the native officers, directing them in 
 turn to show it to the rank and file. Maharaja 
 Gulab Singh was, as the sepoys well knew, a 
 
 * Kaye. 
 
GULAB Singh's letter. 381 
 
 Dogra Eajput and a zealous protector of kine. 
 It was inconceivable that he would have used 
 paper in the making of which the fat of oxen or 
 swine had been used. 
 
 General Hearsey then warned the brigade that 
 he expected orders to disband the 19 th Native 
 Infantry on account of their mutinous conduct 
 at Berhampore, and he told them if such orders 
 were received by him, that he would carry them 
 out in the presence of all the troops at Barrack- 
 pore. He added that he knew that their enemies 
 were misleading them by pretending to them that 
 European troops were being secretly sent to attack 
 them while paraded to witness the disbandment 
 of the 19th, but that no such action was contem- 
 plated, and that they had nothing to fear. Then, 
 having done his best to reassure their minds, 
 General Hearsey rode among the regiments and, 
 in the fatherly manner which the sepoys of old 
 valued so highly, spoke to those whose medals 
 marked them as veterans, and questioned them as 
 to their services. Kaye states that Lord Canning 
 had not authorised Hearsey to announce the pro- 
 bable disbandment of the 19th, and that, indeed, 
 that step had not yet been decided on ; yet he 
 had full confidence that no harm would be done 
 by anything that Hearsey might say, — such was 
 his trust in the discretion of the old soldier. 
 
 The next stage in the development of the 
 Mutiny was now at hand. The 19th Native In- 
 
382 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 fantry were marching from Berhampore towards 
 Barrackpore, apparently in a state of torpid re- 
 signation ; but, day by day, as they approached, 
 the excitement increased in the minds of the 
 Barrackpore sepoys, and on the afternoon of 
 Sunday the 29th of March, when the 19th were 
 only some 18 miles away, the storm broke. The 
 story of Mungul Pandy, the young sepoy who 
 fired the first shot of the great mutiny, and thus 
 gave his name to the mutineers, is a hackneyed 
 one, but cannot well be omitted in the story of 
 John Hearsey's life. 
 
 Mungul Pandy was a soldier of good character 
 but of an excitable disposition, and on the 29th 
 of March he was under the influence of an in- 
 toxicating drug. He therefore suddenly became 
 imbued with the belief that the hour of the destruc- 
 tion of the sepoys by the English was at hand, 
 and that he, Mungul Pandy, must be up and 
 doing. He then put on his accoutrements, and 
 seizing his musket went out of his hut, calling 
 upon his comrades to follow him if they did not 
 wish to bite the cartridges and become Kafirs. 
 Mungul Pandy then walked up and down in 
 front of the Quarter Guard of his regiment, the 
 34th Native Infantry, and ordered a bugler to 
 sound the "assembly." The bugler did not 
 comply with this order, but neither the native 
 officer on guard nor any of his men attempted 
 to arrest Mungul Pandy, and when presently 
 
MUNGUL PANDY. 383 
 
 the English sergeant-major appeared on the scene 
 they allowed Mungul Pandy to fire at him with 
 impunity. The shot went wide. Mutiny was, 
 however, not yet universal, and a corporal hurried 
 to tell the adjutant of the regiment, Lieutenant 
 Baugh, what was going on. Baugh at once rose 
 to the occasion, buckled on his sword, loaded his 
 pistols, mounted his horse and galloped down to 
 the Quarter Guard. As he pulled up, Mungul 
 Pandy, hiding behind the gun which gave the 
 station time, fired at him and again missed his 
 aim, but brought down Baugh's horse. Baugh 
 then fired at Mungul Pandy, but also missed. 
 The 34th were perhaps not a good shooting regi- 
 ment. Baugh then drew his sword and fell upon 
 the mutineer, and as the sergeant-major also joined 
 in the fray they had odds in their favour. Mungul 
 Pandy, however, showed himself more skilful with 
 the sword than with the muslset, and presently 
 wounded both his assailants. He would doubt- 
 less have kUled them but for the loyal assistance 
 of a Mohammedan sepoy named Shaikh Pultu, who 
 seized Mungul Pandy and averted his blows. 
 Far difierent was the conduct of the guard, who 
 struck at the wounded adjutant and sergeant- 
 major on the ground with the butts of their 
 muskets, while one of the guard fired at them, 
 but, as usual, missed. 
 
 Meanwhile General Hearsey heard of what was 
 going on — that a single sepoy was defying the 
 
384 SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 State and that no one could grapple with, the 
 emergency — and immediately ordered horses to be 
 saddled for himself and his two sons, John and 
 Andrew. (The former, a lieutenant in the 38th 
 Native Infantry, was aide-de-camp to his father, 
 and Andrew Hearsey, lieutenant in the 57th 
 Native Infantry, was extra aide-de-camp.) 
 
 The story of what followed has been told so 
 graphically by Sir J. W. Kaye that it is here given 
 as he wrote it. 
 
 " It was plain that no time was to be lost. So, 
 mounting their horses, Hearsey and his sons gal- 
 loped down to the parade-ground and saw for 
 themselves what was passing. There was a great 
 crowd of sepoys, mostly unarmed and undressed, 
 and there were several European officers, some 
 mounted and some on foot ; much confusion and 
 some consternation, but apparently no action. 
 Mungul Pandy, still master of the situation, was 
 pacing up and down in front of the Quarter G-uard 
 calling upon his comrades, in vehement tones and 
 with excited action, to follow his example, as the 
 Europeans were coming down upon them, and to 
 die bravely for their religion. But the crowd of 
 sepoys — though none remembered at that moment 
 that they were servants of the State, none came 
 forward to support discipline and authority — were 
 not ripe for open mutiny; and when Mungul Pandy 
 Teviled them as cowards, who had first excited and 
 then deserted him, they hung irresolutely back, 
 
"damn his musket!" 385 
 
 clustering together like sheep, and wondering what 
 would happen next." 
 
 What happened was the arrival of General 
 Hearsey — the oldest man in that assembly, but 
 ready as ever to face the emergency. 
 
 As Hearsey rode on the ground his quick eye 
 took in the situation, and he made straight for 
 the Quarter Guard, accompanied by his sons, 
 who rode on either side of him, and by Major 
 Ross, a staff- officer. As the General passed by, 
 it is recorded that an officer called to him 
 warning him to take care, as Mungul Pandy's 
 musket was loaded. " Damn his musket ! " re- 
 sponded Hearsey, and the bluff sentence has 
 passed into history. 
 
 He then ordered the native officers and the 
 sepoys of the Quarter Guard to arrest Mungul 
 Pandy, and, awed by the revolvers of the 
 General and his sons, which they could see 
 ready for instant use, the guard reluctantly 
 moved after the three Hearseys. Mungul Pandy 
 now brought down his musket as if to shoot the 
 General, and John Hearsey cried out, " Father, 
 he is taking aim at you." " If I fall, John," 
 said the General, "rush upon him and put him 
 to death," Mungul Pandy's resolution, however, 
 now gave way. He saw that the game was 
 up and attempted to commit suicide, but only 
 succeeded in wounding himself slightly. Hearsey 
 then rode among the excited troops and fearlessly 
 
 2 B 
 
386 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 reproached them with their conduct in allowing 
 a single man to disgrace them. Some of the 
 sepoys excused themselves by saying that Mungul 
 Pandy's musket had been loaded, but Hearsey 
 scornfully rejected this plea and ordered the men 
 to their lines. 
 
 Mungul Pandy's regiment, the 34th, now sent 
 messengers to the 19th Native Infantry, who, on 
 the 30th of March, the day following, were only 
 eight miles from Barrackpore, and urged them to 
 rise in arms and resist disbandment. The 19th, 
 however, had no such intentions. General Hearsey 
 rode out to meet them as they marched into 
 Barrackpore on the 31st of March, and himself 
 led them to the parade-ground. It cannot be 
 doubted that in so acting the brave old man 
 showed astonishing confidence in a regiment which 
 had so recently defied its own ofiicers and was 
 about to be punished for its misconduct ; but he 
 was right, and the 19th followed him without a 
 murmur. They were promptly disarmed and paid 
 off. Hearsey then, says Kaye, " addressed them 
 in tones of kindness, saying that though the 
 Government had decreed their summary dismissal, 
 their uniforms would not be stripped from their 
 backs, and that, as a reward for their penitence 
 and good conduct on the march from Berhampoor, 
 they would be provided at the public cost with 
 carriage to convey them to their homes. This 
 kindness made a deep impression upon them. 
 
A PAINFUL DUTY. 387 
 
 Many of them lifted up their voices bewailing 
 their fate, and loudly declaring that they would 
 revenge themselves upon the 34th, who had 
 tempted them to their undoing." 
 
 Hearsey now pointed out to the Barrackpore 
 troops that the 19th, though disbanded for their 
 mutinous conduct, were being sent back to their 
 own homes, free to worship at the shrines where 
 their fathers had worshipped before them, thus 
 showing how baseless was the belief that the 
 Government intended to interfere with their re- 
 ligions. A touching incident now occurred, for, 
 when the 19th had all been paid off and were 
 moving off the parade-ground, " they cheered the 
 fine old soldier whose duty it had been to disband 
 them, and wished him a long and happy life." 
 Those who have any understanding of the affec- 
 tionate, even fatherly feelings of an old officer 
 towards the men he commands, will realise that 
 any feeling of satisfaction which Hearsey may 
 have experienced on the completion of a most 
 difficult task was outweighed by the deep sorrow 
 which the disgrace of the unhappy 19th Regiment 
 must surely have caused him. 
 
 When about to meet the 19 th Native Infantry 
 and lead them to the parade - ground. General 
 Hearsey received the following letter from the 
 Governor - General, interesting as showing the 
 anxiety with which Lord Canning was watching 
 the proceedings at Barrackpore and the confidence 
 
388 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 which he placed in Hearsey's strength and benev- 
 olence of character, the two qualities which Lord 
 Canning so earnestly desired to see in combination 
 in all dealings with the native army : — 
 
 Government House, 
 March 30, 1857. 
 
 Dear General Hearsey, — This wUl be de- 
 livered to you by Captain Baring of my staff. 
 I wish him to be present at the disbanding of 
 the 19th N.I., — to keep his eye open to all 
 that happens, and especially to observe the de- 
 meanour and spirit of the other Native Infantry 
 regiments. I shall be much obliged to you if 
 you will let him accompany your staff to the 
 ground. When there he must use his own sense 
 as to where to go and what to look at. If he 
 can be of any use to you, you will of course turn 
 his services to account. 
 
 God speed you, my dear General, in this anxious 
 task. All that unbending firmness, tempered with 
 a kindly feeling towards the men, can do, will, I 
 am satisfied, be accomplished by you. — Yours 
 very faithfully, 
 
 Canning. 
 
 Major-General Hearsey, C.B. 
 
 It may here be added that, although the arrange- 
 ments for the disbanding and paying off of the 
 19th Native Infantry were carried out on a method 
 
LORD canning's LETTERS. 389 
 
 suggested by the Calcutta authorities to General 
 Hearsey, he was given free leave to make any 
 alteration in the procedure that he might think 
 fit. The actual phrase used in his final letter of 
 instructions was, "Every arrangement is left im- 
 plicitly to you." To complete the story of the 
 memorable 31st of March, the letter conveying 
 Lord Canning's thanks, which was one of 
 General Hearsey's most treasured possessions, now 
 follows : — 
 
 Government House, 
 March 31, 1857, \\\ a.m. 
 
 Dear General Hearsey, — One line to con- 
 gratulate you — and, still more, to thank you, for 
 the events of this morning. Captain Baring is 
 just returned, and nothing can be more satisfac- 
 tory upon every point than the account which 
 he has given me. I had already directed that a 
 Court of Inquiry by field officers should be in- 
 stituted to examine into the conduct of . 
 
 Every consideration of justice and policy requires 
 this. You will receive instructions upon it im- 
 mediately. Inquiry must also be made into the 
 behaviour of the guard of the 34th Regt. N.I. 
 on Sunday last. 
 
 Once more accept my cordial thanks for all that 
 your sound judgment, kindly temper, and invalu- 
 able experience have achieved in this anxious 
 crisis. I shall not easily forget it. The official 
 reports will give me an opportunity of recording 
 
390 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 publicly in due time what I now desire to express 
 to you privately without delay. — Believe me, my 
 dear General Hearsey, yours very faithfully, 
 
 Cajstning. 
 
 Major-General Hearsbt, C.B. 
 
 The punishment of Mungul Pandy and of the 
 more guilty of the spectators of his crime swiftly 
 followed the events of the 31st of March. 
 
 Mungul Pandy was tried by court-martial on 
 the 6th of April, and hanged on the 8th in the 
 presence of all the troops. The native officer in 
 command of the guard of the 34th Native Infantry 
 was tried on the 10th and 11th of April, and sen- 
 tenced to the same disgraceful and appropriate 
 punishment ; but owing to a legally incorrect and 
 most mischievous ruling of the Judge Advocate- 
 General, there was a delay in carrying out the 
 sentence — which delay worked great mischief. 
 
 General Hearsey urged the immediate disband- 
 ment of the 34th Native Infantry, whose conduct 
 had been much worse than that of the 19th ; and 
 after a full and careful inquiry this step was car- 
 ried out on the 4th of May, the regiment being 
 disarmed, stripped of its uniform (an indignity 
 not inflicted on the 19th N.I.), and marched 
 out of cantonments. Meanwhile the revolt has 
 spread rapidly up - country. The native troops 
 at Meerut broke into rebellion on the 10th of 
 May, and, in spite of the presence of a powerful 
 
DANGER AT CALCUTTA. 391 
 
 force of white troops, were permitted to marcli 
 away unmolested to Delhi, where the native gar- 
 rison rose on the following day and murdered the 
 greater part of their ojfficers and of the white 
 population of that great city. 
 
 Delhi now became the focus of rebellion, and as 
 the native troops in the various stations of the 
 Bengal Presidency threw off the bonds of dis- 
 cipline, they iiocked into the Moghul capital, 
 where Bahadur Shah, the last emperor of the 
 family of Babar, was now acclaimed as the leader 
 of the revolt against English rule. 
 
 Far removed from Calcutta as were the scenes 
 of bloodshed and violence, it was impossible for 
 Lord Canning to feel anything but extreme 
 anxiety for Calcutta and its large and helpless 
 white population. It was clearly an imperative 
 duty to send every English soldier who arrived in 
 India to the sphere of active operations up-country. 
 Yet Bengal itself was in a most dangerously weak 
 state. From Barrackpore to Agra, a distance of 
 750 miles, there was but one European regiment, 
 which was stationed at Dinapore. At Allahabad 
 there were a hundred invalids, and that was all. 
 
 Although the situation gradually improved as 
 time went on, and the native regiments which 
 did not break into active mutiny were one by 
 one disarmed and rendered innocuous, yet it was 
 not until Lucknow had been relieved and Delhi 
 captured that General Hearsey could feel that the 
 
392 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 great district for which he was responsible was 
 positively safe. During all those anxious months 
 he rendered invaluable service to the Governor- 
 General, who relied very much on his advice and 
 constantly called him into consultation. 
 
 Of the other regiments at Barrackpore, General 
 Hearsey was obliged subsequently to disarm the 
 2nd Grenadiers and the 32nd Native Infantry. 
 The 70th Native Infantry volunteered for China 
 and went there. This regiment remained loyal, 
 and is now known as the 11th Rajputs. 
 
 In August General Hearsey received the follow- 
 ing cordial letter from Lord Canning, one of whose 
 characteristics it was to write such encouraging 
 and appreciative words to those who, under him, 
 served the State to his satisfaction : — 
 
 Government HonsB, August 14, 1857. 
 
 Dear General Hearsey, — With the sincerest 
 pleasure I send you at once a copy of a dispatch 
 which I have just received, and which I hope 
 will be as welcome to you as it is deserved. 
 Pray accept my hearty congratulations, and be- 
 lieve me, dear General Hearsey, yours very 
 faithfully. Canning. 
 
 I need hardly say that this is not a formal 
 announcement of the Queen's pleasure. That 
 will come to you in due course ; but I wish that 
 you should not have to wait for it. 
 
APPOINTED K.C.B. 393 
 
 How as to sepoys for China? Do they show 
 any disposition that way? 
 
 The second P.S. refers to a suggestion of 
 General Hearsey's that he might induce some of 
 the disarmed sepoys to volunteer for active 
 service in China. In this he was successful, and 
 over 4000 men volunteered and were sent to 
 China. 
 
 The dispatch forwarded by Lord Canning was 
 as follows : — 
 
 Military Department, 
 No. 115 of 1857. 
 
 Our Governok-General of India in Council, — 
 
 It is our pleasing duty to announce to you 
 that, in consideration of the admirable manner in 
 which Major- General John Bennett Hearsey, C.B., 
 of the Bengal Army, carried into effect the com- 
 mands of your Government for the disbandment 
 of the mutinous 19th Eegiment of Native Infantry, 
 the Queen has been advised to issue a special 
 statute of the Order of the Bath authorising the 
 appointment of that officer to be an Extra 
 Member of the second class of the Military 
 Division, or Knight Commander of that Order. — 
 We are, your affectionate friends, 
 
 (Sd.) E. D. Mangles, 
 
 and 
 Nine other Directors. 
 
394 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Another letter of congratulation received at this 
 time, and carefully preserved by Sir John Hearsey, 
 evidently gave him pleasure. The letter was from 
 the officer commanding the 2nd Irregular Cavalry, 
 the regiment, it will be remembered, in which Sir 
 John first distinguished himself, and which he 
 commanded for nearly ten years. 
 
 GooEDASPOOR, Punjab, 
 Auff. 26th. 
 
 My dear General, — It was with very great 
 pride and pleasure that I read out of the mail 
 received this morning to the Native Officers of the 
 Eegiment, the announcement of your being ap- 
 pointed a K.C.B. With my own hearty congratu- 
 lations accept the accompanying from your own 
 Regiment (an address from the Native Officers). 
 It will afford you great pleasure to hear the corps 
 remains staunch and loyal in this time of turmoil 
 and trouble. Owing to a double furlough this 
 year, I have been deprived of the services of many 
 of the senior officers, whose presence would have 
 been invaluable ; but I am happy to say all those 
 with me have supported the name of the Regiment, 
 and shown themselves anxious to prove their loyalty 
 to the Government. 
 
 Five individuals have gained the Order of Merit 
 for gallant conduct against the mutineers ; and I 
 have no doubt the list will increase if opportunity 
 offers. I am much concerned for poor old Koodru- 
 
THE 2nd lancers. 395 
 
 toolah Beg. Since he went on furlough I have not 
 heard of him ; and as his house was not far from 
 the magazine at Delhi, I almost fear he was sacri- 
 ficed in the explosion of the 1 1th May. I hope he 
 may have escaped that and other perils, for I am 
 anxious to see the old man rewarded with the Order 
 of British India ere he leaves us for the Invalids. 
 He has served the Government honestly and faith- 
 fully 54 years, and in all that long period has never 
 been absent from his duty one day from sickness. 
 
 With best wishes for your health, and that the 
 K may ere long be changed to G. — Believe me, 
 my dear General, yours very sincerely, 
 
 George Jackson. 
 
 It is pleasant to add that the 2nd Irregular 
 Cavalry remained loyal to the end, and that on the 
 reorganisation of the Bengal Army in 1861 it 
 became the 2nd Bengal Cavalry. As has already 
 been stated, its present title is the 2nd Lancers 
 (Gardner's Horse). 
 
 Two other letters of this period which possess a 
 painful interest are inserted here, somewhat out of 
 their place, in order not to break the narrative of 
 the events at Barrackpore. 
 
 The writer was the unfortunate Major-General 
 Sir Hugh Wheeler, who, after a gallant defence, 
 was massacred with every man, woman, and child 
 of the garrison of Cawnpore, except four men who 
 escaped by swimming. 
 
396 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Cawnpoeb, 
 Mm-ch 22nd, 1857. 
 
 My dear Hearsey, — My most sincere thanks 
 are yours for your letter regarding the 19 th 
 N.I. The men are some of the finest looking 
 in the service, but the regiment has always had 
 the reputation of being a turbulent one. Surely 
 the whole will be disbanded. Your advice on 
 that head I know to be good. Some years ago, 
 when an exception was made in favour of the 
 native officers, the Subadar-major of my regiment, 
 speaking of it, said to me, " There is the mistake 
 that Government has made. Every native officer 
 should have been dismissed ; for nothing can take 
 place in the lines without their knowledge at 
 least. It may not, sir, be in my power to prevent 
 or put down a mutiny ; but my commission is in 
 your hands if, in case such a thing should ever 
 occur, I do not acquaint you of it before it is an 
 hour old." They should not be allowed to be inert, 
 but every man who cannot prove that he had 
 actively opposed the disturbers of the peace should 
 be, for that inertness, sent about his business. A 
 few examples of this kind would, I feel assured, be 
 most advantageous to the service. 
 
 I think that Colonel (of the 19th N.I.) 
 
 made a sad mistake in allowing himself to be 
 dictated to instead of dictating, and his sending 
 away the guns and cavalry before they (his men) 
 had piled arms was most injudicious. I conceive 
 that mutineers with arms in their hands should 
 
SIR HUGH WHEELER. 397 
 
 never be treated with or listened to. It is opposed 
 to the first great principle of military discipline 
 and subordination. He had the power to put 
 them down, the want of which could alone justify 
 his measures. Everything is quiet here, but from 
 what I hear there is an unquiet feeling amongst 
 the men, — nay, amongst the people at large. The 
 general tenour of all the reports is that every 
 exertion is being made, hy the orders of Govern- 
 ment, to deprive the natives of their castes by 
 making them use materials and food tainted with 
 forbidden articles. But the way the country is 
 left without artillery ! We have guns and a 
 European company, but no carriage for them. 
 There should be at least a troop or battery at 
 Cawnpore ; and the Post Guns, which were so 
 injudiciously taken away by Lord W. Bentinck 
 for a miserable and paltry economy, should be 
 forthwith restored wherever there is a wing of a 
 corps. The two sixes are invaluable in the case 
 of an emeute or disturbance ; and in India you can 
 never be certain when either will occur. 
 
 Lady Wheeler and my daughters unite in kind 
 regards to every member of your family, with, my 
 dear Hearsey, your old, true, and sincere friend, 
 
 H. M, Wheeler. 
 
 The second letter is dated Cawnpore, May 10, 
 1857, and describes the beginning of the Mutiny 
 at Lucknow. 
 
398 SIR JOHN HEARSBY, 
 
 My DEAR Hearsey, — Much as I have desired to 
 reply to yours of the 3rd current, I have been 
 unable until this day, Sunday. What with courts 
 of inquiry and courts-martial, and the correspond- 
 ence they have entailed, I have not had half an 
 hour to myself. 
 
 I take advantage of this "dies non" to com- 
 mune with my old friend, to congratulate him 
 and Mrs Hearsey on the addition to their happi- 
 ness in the advent of another olive branch, and 
 to express my satisfaction at the well -merited 
 credit given in both Lord Canning's private and 
 public communications. I said from the first 
 that they were peculiarly fortunate in having 
 you as commandant of the division at this 
 particular crisis. I know of no one so well cal- 
 culated for the occasion. 
 
 It is wonderful how this belief that the Govern- 
 ment is bent on making the whole population 
 Christians could have extended as it has done. It 
 is not confined to the soldiery ; it is general over 
 the country. When it has been explained to the 
 men that they cannot point out a single instance 
 where Government has interfered with their castes 
 or used force to overcome any other religious 
 scruples, they reply that they do not apprehend 
 force, but that it is to be done by artifice (hikmat) 
 and cunning. 
 
 Six bungalows have been burned down at Now- 
 gong, and one, I hear, at Jhansi, and the hospital 
 
Sm HUGH WHEELER. 399 
 
 at the former place, which was undergoing repairs, 
 was set fire to but extinguished. 
 
 The 7th Oude Irregulars sent a letter to the 
 Subadar-major, 48th N.I., who had been absent on 
 furlough since the 1st April. He not being there, 
 it was carried to the senior subadar. The contents 
 were as follows : — 
 
 " From all the 7th Oudh Infantry to the 48th 
 N.I. all high Brahminical greetings. We should 
 be of one mind. Cartridges have been given to 
 us at three parades. You are our superiors. 
 What you order that we will do. This concerns 
 our religion." 
 
 The native ofl&cer, by name Sewah Tewarry, 
 brought the messenger, a grass -seller, and the 
 drill -havildar, who had brought the fellow to the 
 subadar, to Colonel Palmer, who immediately took 
 them over to Brigadier Handscomb, and the whole 
 party went off to Sir Henry Lawrence. The 
 result you will have heard no doubt. I shall 
 therefore only add that the subadar's house was 
 fired by a brimstone firework about 3 p.m. 7th 
 inst., and the whole lines burnt down excepting 
 the Light Company, half of the Grenadier Com- 
 pany, and the huts of seven native officers. No 
 Government property destroyed except the out- 
 offices of the sergeant-major's bungalow. It was 
 blowing a gale, as it has been for some days, and 
 there was no arresting the flames. 
 
 The subadar had committed himself by dis- 
 
400 SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 covering the plot, and I learn that the discoveries 
 in consequence are of considerable importance. 
 This man, the drill-havildar, and a Sipahee con- 
 cerned ought to be rewarded by Government — the 
 Order of Merit to the native officer and promotions 
 to the others. I have sent in their roll to the 
 Commander-in-Chief, and recommended them most 
 strongly to the favour of Government. 
 
 Everything should be done to counteract this 
 system of terrorism and to induce the well-dis- 
 posed (the great majority, I fully believe) to 
 separate themselves from the disaffected. Effect 
 this and you destroy mutiny. But it is easier said 
 than done ; but that is no reason why it should 
 not be attempted by every means and on every 
 opportunity. 
 
 Sir Henry Lawrence has offered a reward of 1000 
 rupees for the discovery of the scoundrel. He told 
 Colonel Palmer on the 8 th that a Brahmin of the 
 mutinous 7th Irregular Infantry offered to eat a 
 cartridge if he were pardoned ! I would have let 
 him do it before all the troops had I had any 
 power in the matter. It would have effected 
 wonders. 
 
 I have neither troop nor battery here, and have 
 been obliged to extemporise one on the chance of 
 requiring it. One should be stationed here. — 
 Believe me, my dear Hearsey, your sincerely 
 attached old friend, H. M. Wheeler. 
 
A LOYAL FAMILY. 401 
 
 General Hearsey was destined to receive no 
 more letters from Cawnpore, and it was witli 
 the most heartfelt grief that he and his family 
 heard of the terrible doom of their kind and 
 valued friends there. 
 
 Happily the disaster which befell Cawnpore was 
 averted elsewhere, and after a hard struggle the 
 great rebellion of 1857 was suppressed. Delhi 
 was captured on the 20th of September, and 
 Lucknow, reinforced by Havelock and Outram 
 five days later, was relieved in November by 
 Sir Colin Campbell. Oudh was reconquered by 
 operations which lasted throughout 1858, and 
 although skirmishes in various disturbed districts 
 continued for nearly a year longer, the great 
 revolt practically ended with the destruction of 
 the armed forces of the rebels in the province 
 which had been its birthplace. 
 
 During his last year's service Sir John wrote 
 the following interesting letter to the Governor- 
 General's Military Secretary in reference to a 
 member of the family of Afghan soldiers who so 
 faithfully served Major Hyder Hearsey, as recorded 
 in his memoir : — 
 
 Baerackpore, Sth January 1860. 
 
 My dear Birch, — In forwarding the enclosed 
 letter sent to me, signed by Lieut. -Colonel Hughes, 
 commanding Hodson's Horse, regarding Eessaldar 
 Sirdar Bahadoor AUadad Khan, 1st regiment of 
 that corps, I beg leave to bring the following 
 
 2 c 
 
402 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 circumstances regarding the Sirdar Bahadoor's 
 family and their devotion to British interests to 
 the Eight Honble. Viscount Canning's notice. 
 Alladad Khan's grandfather fell in battle with 
 the Goorkhas in the 1814-15 Nepal War at 
 Champawat. He was serving under the com- 
 mand of my relative Major Hyder Young Hearsey, 
 who was grievously wounded in the action (shot 
 through the knee) and taken prisoner, confined 
 in the Fort of Almora, and released on the fall 
 of that fortress after a short siege by Major- 
 General NicoUs in 1815. 
 
 The Sirdar Bahadoor's uncle, Gholam Hyder 
 Khan, went with Mr Moorcroft and Dr Trebeck 
 to Balkh, Bokhara, and Koondooz. On the death 
 of those gentlemen their property and servants 
 were seized, and Gholam Hyder Khan was sold 
 into slavery to the Tartars. 
 
 Gohlam Hyder Khan, after five years' slavery, 
 and when his wife and family had mourned him 
 as dead, suddenly made his appearance at Bareilly, 
 he having escaped from slavery, and, after fearful 
 hardships, found his way through Afghanistan to 
 his home. This uncle of Sirdar Bahadoor Alladad 
 Khan's fought against the rebels of Bareilly in 
 the " 6meute " there in 1816, before he accom- 
 panied Mr Moorcroft, and received a bullet in 
 the head, which lodged in the upper part of the 
 skull, and remained embedded there until he died 
 several years afterwards. . . , 
 
RETIREMENT. 403 
 
 Another uncle, Ahmed Khan, served as kotwal 
 of the large town of Mirzapore, as also a third 
 uncle, Nusseer-ood-deen Khan, who died holding 
 a similar post. Major H. Y. Hearsey brought up 
 all these young men at his house at Kurraillee, 
 near Bareilly, and I recollect the Sirdar Bahadoor, 
 an infant, playing with Major Hearsey 's children 
 at Kurraillee. Alladad Khan has served the State 
 with zeal and faithfulness, and has been severely 
 wounded in action more than once." 
 
 This interesting letter shows Sir John Hearsey 
 performing a task that pleased him well — that of 
 recommending for reward the claims of those who 
 had done the State some service. The letter 
 illustrates also the patriarchal life led in India 
 by the Hearsey family, a condition not without 
 parallel eighty to a hundred years ago, but ex- 
 tremely rare nowadays. 
 
 Sir John Hearsey, with the dogged tenacity and 
 quiet endurance of duty which were among the 
 leading features of his character, remained in com- 
 mand at Barrackpore until the 8th of March 1861, 
 when he retired from active service and returned 
 to England after a total service of fifty-two years 
 five months and twenty-four days. Of this long 
 period only four years and four months had been 
 spent in England. 
 
 It is noteworthy that Sir John left India just 
 ninety-six years after Andrew Wilson Hearsey 
 
404 SIR JOHN HEARSE Y. 
 
 went there, an unusually long period to be covered 
 by the Indian careers of father and son. 
 
 Those ninety-six years had seen a wonderful 
 development indeed, for it was in 1765, the first 
 year of Andrew Hearsey's Indian service, that 
 Clive laid the foundation of our territorial sov- 
 ereignty by the acquisition of the right of receiv- 
 ing revenues of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa ; while 
 in 1861 all India lay beneath the yoke of England, 
 whose power had so recently risen triumphant 
 over the great revolt of 1857. 
 
 What share John Hearsey took in quelling the 
 Mutiny has been sketched in these pages. Cal- 
 cutta, at least, should not forget her debt to his 
 memory. Students of the history of the Indian 
 Mutiny will hardly doubt that had an incom- 
 petent man commanded at Barrackpore in March 
 1857, a great disaster, whose extent hardly 
 bears imagining, would have befallen the capital 
 of India. 
 
 Hearsey's life was not long prolonged after his 
 retirement. The strain of his last command, 
 coming as it did at the end of so long a career, 
 had sapped the strong constitution. 
 
 In 1863 he was promoted a Lieutenant-Greneral 
 and appointed colonel of the 21st Hussars (now 
 "The Empress of India's" 21st Lancers), and he 
 died at Boulogne on the 24th October 1865. 
 
 England is happy in the possession of many 
 
SIR JOHN HEARSEY's DAUGHTERS. 405 
 
 families who, like the Hearseys, have devoted 
 themselves to the public service, and who take 
 pride in giving their best to their country for 
 scanty rewards. 
 
 Yet it is well that the memory of these faithful 
 servants should be preserved, and that the story 
 of men like Sir John Hearsey should be set before 
 the rising generation as an example of loyal devo- 
 tion, sympathy, generosity, and courage. 
 
 THE FAMILY OF SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 Sir John Hearsey was twice married. His first 
 wife was Harriet, daughter of his kinsman Hyder 
 Hearsey, and the marriage took place at Nussera- 
 bad on the 7th January 1832. 
 
 By his first wife Sir John had a family of four 
 sons and three daughters. The sons, of whom a 
 brief account follows, are all dead; two of the 
 daughters survive — viz., Harriet, widow of Cap- 
 tain George O'Brien Carew, CLE., a distinguished 
 officer of the late Indian Navy ; ^ and Amelia, who 
 married her cousin, Lionel Douglas Hearsey, grand- 
 son and representative of Major Hyder Hearsey. 
 Mr and Mrs Lionel Hearsey live at Lakhimpur, 
 
 ' Mrs CareVs second daughter is the wife of Mr W. L. Wyllie, 
 A.E.A. Their son, though an artist like his distinguished father, 
 was impelled by the military instincts of his mother's family to 
 serve in the field during the South African war. 
 
406 SIR JOHN HEARSEY. 
 
 near Kheri, in Oudh, where they keep up the 
 hospitable traditions of their family. Mr Lionel 
 Hearsey is a far-famed shikari, whose knowledge 
 of the craft of the jungle is acknowledged to be 
 of the highest order. 
 
 Sir John Hearsey's eldest son by his wife 
 Harriet also bore the name of John, and was born 
 in 1833. 
 
 John Hearsey received an ensign's commission 
 in the Company's service at the age of seventeen, 
 but he had already smelt powder, having accom- 
 panied his father in the early portion of the second 
 Sikh war. His first regiment was the 38th Bengal 
 Native Infantry, to which he was gazetted in 1850. 
 Three years later he was appointed quartermaster 
 of his regiment, and in 1854 he was promoted 
 lieutenant. 
 
 In 1857 John Hearsey was appointed aide-de- 
 camp to his father when the latter received 
 command of the Presidency Division, and, as has 
 already been described, accompanied Sir John in 
 his historic ride on to the Barrackpore parade- 
 ground, riding on his right hand and assisting 
 in the capture of Mungul Pandy. John Hear- 
 sey was also present in attendance on his father 
 when the 19th and 34th regiments of Native 
 Infantry were disarmed, and at the subsequent 
 disarming of the remainder of the Barrackpore 
 brigade. 
 
ANDREW HEARSEY. 407 
 
 John Hearsey suffered severely in health from 
 malarial fever contracted at a station in which he 
 served with his regiment, and although his merits 
 as an officer were recognised by Lord Clyde, who 
 was also anxious to further his interests on account 
 of the claims of his father, he was unable to accept 
 any more active employment than that of quarter- 
 master. He was therefore in 1861 appointed to 
 serve in this capacity with the new 7th. Native 
 Infantry, and in 1862 with the 6th Native In- 
 fantry. 
 
 In 1863 John Hearsey was promoted captain, 
 and in the following year he died at the early age 
 of thirty-one, a victim to the climate of India so 
 successfully defied by his father. 
 
 Captain John Hearsey married on the 20th De- 
 cember 1858 Ann Maria, daughter of Eobert S. 
 Homfray, and granddaughter of Sir Jeremiah 
 Homfray of Llandoff House, Gloucestershire. He 
 had an only son, John Hampton Hearsey, who 
 died young, a captain in the 2nd Volunteer Bat- 
 talion of the South Wales Borderers. 
 
 The second son of Sir John Hearsey, named 
 Andrew, was born in 1839, and entered the Com- 
 pany's service as ensign in 57th Bengal Native 
 Infantry at the age of sixteen. He was promoted 
 lieutenant in 1856, and in the following year was 
 appointed extra aide-de-camp to his father at 
 
408 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 Barrackpore, and was present at the seizure of 
 Mungul Pandy. 
 
 Andrew Hearsey, who possessed great strength 
 and activity, determined to take an active part in 
 the suppression of the Mutiny, and, throwing up 
 the post of aide-de-camp and waiving his rank, he 
 joined Havelock's column as a trooper at his own 
 expense, although invited by General Havelock to 
 join his staff as orderly officer. Andrew Hearsey 
 served in all the severe fighting which resulted 
 in the first relief of Lucknow, and was severely 
 wounded during the subsequent defence of the 
 Kesidency. In consequence of his wound and 
 of a severe attack of dysentery, he was compelled 
 to return to Barrackpore, and then it was that 
 the Governor-General, Lord Canning, wrote to his 
 father : " My dear Sir John, I congratulate you 
 on the return of your young hero from Lucknow. 
 If it is his right arm in which he is wounded, you 
 are bound to pardon his unpunctuality of corres- 
 pondence." 
 
 Sir James Outram, than whom there was no 
 better judge of courage, also wrote: "Dear Sir 
 John, — How is your son Andrew ? I have not 
 heard of him since we left Lucknow. He is a son 
 of whom any father might be proud. He wanted 
 to dismount during a very heavy fire when I was 
 hit to bind up my wound," &c. 
 
 Having recovered from his wound and illness. 
 
CHARLES HEAESEY. 409 
 
 Andrew Hearsey was appointed adjutant of the 
 Shekawati Brigade, and served on to the final sup- 
 pression of the Mutiny. He was promoted captain 
 in 1864 and retired from the service in April 1865. 
 He married on the 10th March 1862 his cousin 
 Harriet, daughter of Captain William Moorcroft 
 Hearsey, and consequently granddaughter of 
 Hyder Hearsey. 
 
 Captain Andrew Hearsey was remarkable even 
 in the Indian Mutiny for his conspicuous courage, 
 and it is for this quality and for his generous sym- 
 pathy with the poor and oppressed that his friends 
 remember him. 
 
 Andrew Hearsey died at Eanchi on the 19th 
 July 1896, leaving several children. 
 
 Sir John Hearsey had two other sons by his 
 first marriage. Albert, who was drowned at Bar- 
 rackpore in 1864 when a young lieutenant in the 
 19th Hussars, and George, who died when a cadet 
 at the Eoyal Military College, Sandhurst. 
 
 Sir John's second wife was Emma, daughter 
 of Thomas Eumball of Friday Hall, Woodford, 
 Essex. 
 
 The eldest son of this marriage. Lieutenant 
 Charles John Eumball Hearsey, 9th Lancers, a 
 gallant and handsome young soldier, very like his 
 father in appearance, was killed in action, charging 
 
 2 D 
 
410 SIR JOHN HEAESEY. 
 
 at the head of his squadron in the Chardeh Valley 
 during the Afghan war of 1878-80. 
 
 The second son, Clarence Canning Hearsey, 
 served in the Indian Marine, and died in' 1893 
 when port-master at Masulipatam. 
 
 Thus all the six of Sir John Hearsey's sons who 
 attained manhood entered the public services. 
 
 FEINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS. 
 
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