With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire

Upon reaching the village, Charlie at once dismounted all his men, lined the inclosures, and received the enemy's cavalry, as they galloped up, with so heavy a fire that they speedily drew rein. After trying for some time to force the position, they began to fall back; and the English force again mounted, dashed upon them, and completed their defeat. The broken horsemen, as they rode across the plain, met their infantry advancing; and these, disheartened at the defeat of the cavalry, fell back in great haste; and, abandoning the town, which was without fortification, retired at once to the forts commanding it.

Charlie took possession of the town, and spent the next two days in reconnoitering the forts. The largest, and nearest, of these faced the right of the town. It was called Suzarow. The second, on an even steeper hill, was called Guzarow. The third, which lay some distance behind this, and was much smaller, was called Mortz Azur.

Charlie determined to attempt, in the first place, to carry Guzarow; as in this, which was considered the most inaccessible, the rajah himself had taken up his position, having with him all his treasure. Charlie saw that it would be next to impossible, with so small a force, to carry it by a direct attack, by the road which led to it, as this was completely covered by its guns. It appeared to him, however, that the rocks upon which it stood were, by no means, inaccessible.

He left twenty men to guard his guns, placed a guard of ten upon the road leading up to the fort, to prevent the inhabitants from sending up news of his intentions to the garrison, who had, with that of Suzarow, kept up a fire from their guns upon the town, since his arrival there. The moon was not to rise until eleven o'clock, and at nine Charlie marched, with a hundred and seventy men, from the town. Making a considerable detour, he found himself, at half past ten, at the foot of the rocks, rising almost sheer from the upper part of the hill.

He was well provided with ropes and ladders. The most perfect silence had been enjoined upon the men and, in the darkness, the march had been unseen by the enemy. While waiting for the moon to rise, the troopers all wound pieces of cloth, with which they had come provided, round their boots, to prevent these from making a noise, by slipping or stumbling on the rocks.

When the moon rose, the ascent of the rocks began at the point which Charlie had, after a close inspection through a telescope, judged to be most accessible. The toil was very severe. One by one, the men climbed from ledge to ledge, some of the most active hill men, from northern India, leading the way, and aiding their comrades to follow them, by lowering ropes, and placing ladders at the most inaccessible spots. All this time, they were completely hidden from the observation of the garrison, above.

At last, the leaders of the party stood at the foot of the walls, which rose a few feet from the edge of the cliff. The operation had been performed almost noiselessly. The ammunition pouches had been left behind, each man carrying ten rounds in his belt. Every piece of metal had been carefully removed from their uniforms, the very buttons having been cut off, lest these should strike against the rocks; and the muskets had been swathed up in thick coverings.

The men, as they gained the upper ridge, spread along at the foot of the walls, until the whole body had gathered there. They could hear the voices of the sentries, thirty feet above them; but these, having no idea of the vicinity of an enemy, did not look over the edge of the wall. Indeed, the parapets of the Indian fortifications were always so high, that it was only from projecting towers that the foot of the wall could be seen.

When the English force were assembled, the ladders, which, like everything else, had been muffled, were placed against the walls; and, headed by their officers, the troops ascended. The surprise was complete. Not until the leaders of the storming party stood upon the parapet was their presence perceived. The guards discharged their firelocks, and fled hastily.

As soon as twenty men were collected on the wall, Charlie took the command of these, and hurried forward towards the gate. Hallowes was to lead the next party along the opposite direction. Peters was to form the rest up, as they gained the wall, and to follow Charlie with fifty more; while Anstey was to hold the remainder in reserve, to be used as circumstances might demand.

The resistance, however, was slight. Taken absolutely by surprise, the enemy rushed out from their sleeping places. They were immediately fired upon from the walls. The greater part ran back into shelter, while some of the more determined, gathering together, made for the gate. But of this Charlie had already taken possession, and received them with so vigorous a fire that they speedily fell back.

When the whole circuit of the walls was in his possession, Charlie took a hundred of his men, and descended into the fort. Each building, as he reached it, was searched; and the garrison it contained made to come out, and lay down their arms, and were then allowed to depart through the gate.

Upon reaching the rajah's quarters, he at once came out and surrendered himself. Two guns were discharged, to inform the little body in the town of the complete success of the movement; and the guard on the road then fell back, and joined the party with the guns.

Thus, without losing a man, the fort of Guzarow, regarded by the natives as being impregnable, was carried. Fifteen lacs of rupees were found in the treasury. Of these, in accordance with the rules of the service, half was set aside for the Company, the remainder became the property of the force. Of this half fell to the officers, in proportion to their rank, and the rest was divided among the men. The share of each trooper amounted to nearly two hundred pounds.

Knowing how demoralizing the possession of such a sum would be, Charlie assembled his force next morning. He pointed out to them that, as the greater part of the plunder was in silver, it would be impossible for them to carry it on their persons. He advised them, then, to allow the whole sum to remain in the treasury, to be forwarded under an escort to Madras; each soldier to receive an order, for the amount of his share, upon the treasury there. This was agreed to, unanimously, and Charlie then turned his attention to the other forts.

The guns of Guzarow were turned against these, and a bombardment commenced. Suzarow, which extended partly down the slope, was much exposed to the fire from Guzarow; and although no damage could be done to the walls at so great a distance, the garrison, suffering from the fire, and intimidated by the fall of Guzarow, lost heart. Large numbers deserted, and the governor, in the course of two days, thought it prudent to obey the orders which the rajah had, upon being made captive, sent to him to surrender. The next day the governor of Mortz Azur followed his example; and Vellore, and its three strong forts, were thus in the possession of the English.

At Vellore, Charlie nearly lost one of his faithful followers. Early in the morning, Hossein came into Charlie's room.

"Sahib," he said, "something is the matter with Tim."

"What is the matter?" Charlie said, sitting up in his bed.

"I do not know, sahib. When I went to him, he did not move. He was wide awake, and his eyes are staring. When I went beside him, he shook his head a little, and said, 'S-s-s-h.' He seems quite rigid, and is as pale as death."

Charlie leaped out, and hurried to Tim. The latter was lying on the ground, in the next room. He had carried off three or four cushions, from the rajah's divan, and had thrown these down, and had spread a rug over him. He lay on his back, exactly as Hossein had described.

As Charlie hurried up, Tim again gave vent to the warning "S-s-s-h."

"What is the matter, Tim? What is the matter, my poor fellow?"

Tim made a slight motion, with his head, for his master to bend towards him. Charlie leant over him, and he whispered:

"There is a sarpent in bed with me."

"Are you quite sure, Tim?"

"He woke me with his cold touch," Tim whispered. "I felt him crawling against my foot, and now he is laying against my leg."

Charlie drew back for a minute, and consulted with Hossein.

"Lie quite still, Tim," he said, "and don't be afraid. We will try to kill him, without his touching you; but even if he should bite you, with help ready at hand, there will be no danger."

Charlie now procured two knives; the one a sharp surgical knife, from a case which he had brought; the other he placed in a charcoal fire, which one of the men speedily fanned, until the blade had attained a white heat. Charlie had decided that, if the snake bit Tim, he would instantly make a deep cut through the line of the puncture of the fangs, cutting down as low as these could penetrate, and immediately cauterize it, by placing the hot knife in the gash so made. Six men were called in, with orders to seize Tim on the instant, and hold his leg firm, to enable the operation to be performed. Two others were to occupy themselves with the snake. These were armed with sticks.

Hossein now approached the bed, from which, hitherto, they had all kept well aloof. The snake, Tim said, lay against his leg, between the knee and the ankle, and the spot was marked by a slight elevation of the rug.

Hossein drew his tulwar, examined the edge to see that nothing had blunted its razor-like keenness, and then took his stand at the foot of the bed. Twice he raised his weapon; and then let it fall, with a drawing motion. The keen blade cut through the rug, as if it had been pasteboard; and, at the same instant, Tim sprang from the other side of the bed, and fainted in the arms of the men. Hossein threw off the rug, and there, severed in pieces, lay the writhing body of a huge cobra.

Tim soon recovered, under the administration of water sprinkled in his face, and brandy poured down his throat. But he was some time, ere he thoroughly recovered from the effects of the trying ordeal through which he had passed. Many of the buildings in the fort were in a very bad condition, and Charlie had several of the most dilapidated destroyed, finding in their walls several colonies of cobras, which were all killed by the troops.

Chapter 25: Besieged In A Pagoda

A few days later Charlie received a message from the Rajah of Permacoil, saying that he was besieged by a strong native force, aided by the French. He at once moved his force to his assistance. He found that the besiegers, among whom were two hundred French troops, were too strong to be attacked. He therefore established himself in their rear, attacked and captured convoys, and prevented the country people from bringing in provisions. Several times the besieging infantry advanced against him, but before these he at once fell back, only to return as soon as they retired to their camp. Whenever their horse ventured out against him, he beat them back, with considerable loss.

Ten days after his arrival, the enemy, finding it impossible to maintain themselves in the face of so active an enemy, and suffering greatly from want of provisions, raised the siege and fell back.

As soon as they had drawn off, Charlie entered the fort. The rajah received him with the greatest warmth. He was, however, much distressed at the capture of a hill fort, at some distance from Permacoil. In this he had stowed his wives and treasure, thinking that it would be unmolested. The French, however, had, just before Charlie's arrival, detached a strong force with some guns, and these had captured the place. The force which had accomplished this had, he now heard, marched to Trinavody, a fort and town thirty miles away, upon the road by which the force which had besieged the town was retiring. The treasure was a considerable one, amounting to seven lacs of rupees, and as the rajah stated his willingness that the troops should take possession of this, if they could but rescue his women, Charlie at once determined to attempt the feat.

The main body of the enemy would not reach the place, until the afternoon of the following day. Charlie soon collected his men and, making a detour through the country, arrived next morning within a mile of Trinavody.

The town was a small one, and the fort one of the ordinary native forts, built in a parallelogram with flanking towers. The place, however, contained a very large and solidly built pagoda or temple. It was surrounded by a wall, forty feet high; and at the gateway stood an immense tower, with terraces rising one above the other.

Capturing a native, Charlie learnt that the fort was tenanted only by the troops of the native rajah of the place, the French detachment being encamped in the pagoda. He at once rode forward with his troops, dashed through the native town, and in through the wide gateway of the tower, into the courtyard within. Beyond two or three straggling shots from the sentries, he had so far encountered no opposition, and the native troops in the courtyard, thrown into wild confusion by this sudden appearance of a hostile force, threw down their arms and cried for mercy. From the temple within, however, the French infantry, a hundred strong, opened a brisk fire.

Charlie sent some of his men on to the tower, whence their fire commanded the flat roof of the temple, and these speedily drove the defenders from that post. The field pieces were unlimbered, and directed towards the gate of the inner temple, while a musketry fire was kept up against every window and loophole in the building. The gate gave way after a few shots had been fired, and Charlie led his party to the assault.

The French defended themselves bravely, but they were outnumbered and were driven, fighting, from room to room, until the survivors laid down their arms. The assault, however, had cost the British a loss of twenty-five men.

The Rajah of Permacoil's treasure, and his women, fell into the hands of the captors. Charlie ordered the chests to be brought down, and placed in bullock waggons. Just as he was about to order his men, who were scattered through the temple looting, to form up, he heard a shout from the tower; and, looking up, saw one of his men there gesticulating wildly. He ran up the tower, and on reaching the first terrace saw, to his surprise, the whole of the force which he believed to be fifteen miles distant, already entering the town.

The French officer in command, knowing the activity and dash of his opponent, and fearing that an attempt might be made to carry Trinavody and recapture the rajah's treasure, had marched all night. When within a mile of the place, he heard what had happened, and at once pushed forward.

Charlie saw that, already, his retreat was cut off; and, running to the edge of the terrace, shouted to Peters to hurry out with all the men already in the courtyard, to occupy the houses outside the gate, and to keep back the advancing enemy. Summoning another party to the tower, four guns upon the terrace were at once loaded, and these opened upon the head of the enemy's column, as they entered the street leading to the temple.

In a short time, a brisk fight began. The enemy planted guns to bear upon the tower. The cannon of the fort joined in the assault, the infantry pressed forward through the houses and inclosures to the temple, and were soon engaged with the men under Captain Peters, while the guns and musketry from the tower also opened upon them.

Having seen that the preparations to repulse an immediate attack were complete, Charlie again ran down to the courtyard. The weak point of the defences was the gateway. This was fifty feet wide, and unprovided with gates; and Charlie at once set a strong party to work, to form a barricade across it.

For some hours, the party outside the gates maintained their position, but they were gradually driven back; and towards evening, by Charlie's orders, they retired within the temple. The barricade was now eight feet high. The face was formed of large slabs of stone, piled one upon another, backed by a considerable thickness of earthwork. This, however, although capable of resisting a sudden rush of infantry, would, Charlie knew, be incapable of resisting artillery.

During the night, he divided his men in two parties, which alternately slept and worked at the inner defences which he had designed. These consisted of two walls, running from each side of the gateway to the temple. They were placed a few feet farther back than the edge of the gateway, so that an enemy advancing to the storm would not see them, until within the gate. These walls he intended to be eight feet high; and to be backed with earth, four feet high, so as to form a bank on which the defenders could stand, and fire into the space between them. To obtain materials, he pulled down several buildings forming a part of the temple. The distance from the gateway to the temple was fifty yards, and although the men worked without ceasing, the wall had made but little progress when daylight dawned.

During the night, Charlie lowered one of his men from the wall farthest from the enemy; with instructions to make his way, as fast as possible, to Madras to ask for succour. In the morning, Charlie found that the enemy had, on their side, been also busy. A house, which faced the end of the street leading to the temple, had been pulled down; and a battery of four guns erected there.

As soon as it was light, the combat began. The enemy had sixteen pieces of artillery, besides those on the fort; and while the four guns in front played unceasingly upon the barricade across the gateway, the others cannonaded the tower, whence the English guns kept up a fire on the battery in front. So well were these directed, and so heavy was the musketry, that the enemy's guns were several times silenced, and the artillerymen driven from them.

Behind the barricade, a working party threw up fresh earth, to strengthen the part most shaken by the enemy's fire, and then set to work to form a similar barricade, in a line with the back of the gateway. This was completed by nightfall, by which time the enemy's guns had completely shattered the stone facing of the outer barricade, rendering it possible for it to be carried with a rush. As, from the windows of the houses, they could see the new work behind it; they would, Charlie judged, not attempt an assault, until this also was destroyed.

During the night, large quantities of fresh earth were piled on the outer barricade, which was now useful as forming a screen to that behind it from the guns. All night the work at the parallel walls continued, and by morning these had reached a height of three feet.

During the next two days the fight continued, without much advantage on either side. Each day the enemy's guns shattered the outer barricade, but this was as regularly repaired at night, in spite of the heavy artillery and matchlock fire which they kept up towards the spot.

On the fourth day the enemy pulled down a house, standing just in the rear of their battery, and Charlie found that behind it they had erected another. It was a solidly built work, of fifteen feet in height, and the enemy must have laboured continuously at it, every night. It had a strong and high parapet, of sandbags, protecting the gunners from the musketry fire of the tower. The muzzles of four guns projected through embrasures, which had been left for them, and these opened fire over the heads of the gunners in the lower battery.

In spite of the efforts of the besieged, the enemy kept up so heavy a fire that, by the afternoon, the inner as well as the outer barricade was knocked to pieces. By this time, however, the inner walls were completed, and the English awaited the storm with confidence. The doorway of the temple had been closed, and blocked up behind; but the doors had been shattered to pieces, by the shot which had passed through the gateway, and the entrance now stood open.

Inside the temple, out of the line of fire, Charlie had the two little field pieces, each crammed to the muzzle with bullets, placed in readiness to fire. The lower floor of the tower had been pierced, above the gateway, and here two huge caldrons filled with boiling lead, stripped from the roof, stood ready for action.

At three in the afternoon, after a furious cannonade, the fire of the enemy's battery suddenly ceased. They had formed communications between the houses, on either side of the street; and, at the signal, the troops poured out from these in large bodies, and rushed to the assault.

The guns from the tower, which had been awaiting the moment, poured showers of grape among them; but, believing that the temple now lay at their mercy, the enemy did not hesitate, but rushed at the gateway.

Not a shot was fired, as they entered. Scrambling over the remains of the two barricades, the enemy poured with exulting shouts into the courtyard. Then those in front hesitated. On either hand, as far as the doorway of the temple, extended a massive wall, eight feet high; roughly built, certainly, but far too strong to be battered down, too steep to be scaled. They would have retreated, but they were driven forward by the mass which poured in through the gateway behind them; and, seeing that their only safety was in victory, they pressed forward again.

Not a defender showed himself, until the head of the column had reached a point two-thirds of the distance across the courtyard. Then suddenly, on either side, the wall was lined by the British, who at once opened a tremendous fire on the mass below. At the same moment, the guns were run into the doorway, and poured their contents into the struggling mass.

Pent up between the walls, unable to return the fire poured down upon them, with lanes torn through them by the discharge of the cannon, the greater portion of the mass strove to turn and retire. The officer in command, a gallant Frenchman, called upon the survivors of the fifty French infantry, who had led the attack, to follow him; and rushed forward upon the guns. Here, however, Charlie had posted his Europeans, and these, swarming out from the temple, poured a volley into the advancing French, and then charged them with the bayonet.

The pressure from behind had now ceased. Streams of boiling lead, poured through the holes above the archway, had effectually checked the advance; and through this molten shower, the shattered remnants of the assaulting column now fled for their lives, leaving two hundred and fifty of their best men dead behind them.

As the last of the column issued out, the guns of the battery again angrily opened fire. As Charlie had anticipated, the enemy, finding how strong were the inner defences, abandoned all further idea of attack by the gateway; and, leaving only two guns there to prevent a sortie, placed their whole artillery on the western side of the pagoda, and opened fire to prepare a breach there.

For a week the siege continued, and then Charlie determined to evacuate the place. The rajah's treasure was made up into small sacks, which were fastened to the horses' croups. Had it not been for these animals, he would have defended the place to the last, confident in his power to devise fresh means to repel fresh assaults. The store of forage, however, collected by the enemy for their own use in the temple, was now exhausted. Charlie directed Peters, with twenty men, to sally out from the gate at midnight, to enter the nearest house on the right hand side, and to follow the communications made by the enemy before the assault, until they came to the end of the street. Lieutenant Hallowes, with a similar party, was to take the left side. If they found any guards within the houses, they were to overpower these; and, rushing straight on, to attack the battery, and spike the guns. Should they find the houses deserted, they were to gather in the houses nearest the battery, when Peters was to fire his pistol as a signal to Hallowes, and both parties were to attack the battery.

One of the inner walls had been pulled down, and the main body of the force, having the wounded and the ladies of the rajah's zenana in their centre, were to sally out, the instant the guns were taken.

The plan was carried out with the greatest success. The houses on both sides of the street were found to be deserted, and as Peters fired his pistol, the party dashed at the flanks of the battery. The French gunners leaped to their feet and, believing that they were attacked in front, discharged their cannon. The grapeshot swept along the empty street, and through the gateway; and Charlie, leading one of the troops, at once dashed down the street.