CHAPTER IX.

We left Masulipatam to proceed towards Madras, upon the 30th July, 1811, nothing taking place upon the march that I shall trouble you with. When we came to St. Thomas's Mount, (the place where the field force was formed,) it was expected that we were to take the duty of Fort St. George again; but, after being encamped, and in suspense for eight days, we were ordered to proceed to Trichinopoly.--This was a march of four weeks farther; so we left the Mount, and commenced our route towards that place upon the 17th of August, that day three years we left it, to take the field with the centre division of the army. I can hardly entertain you with any new thing upon our march, but an anecdote or two about the elephant. These useful animals, as I said before, carry the soldiers' tents upon the line of march, the oldest in the service generally taking the lead of the rest, carrying a white flag fastened to his load, the rest falling in quite naturally behind him: and I also stated that they follow the regiment or the army; and at no time, that ever I knew of, go before them. And I also, upon the field force, stated that the men frequently fall behind when the journey is very long; being unable many of them to sustain such fatigue. So one day, when we were hard travelled, a young lad who was scarcely able to draw the one foot past the other, (as we say,) was deliberating upon lying down upon the side of the road, and giving it up for a bad job, the leader of the elephants coming up with his white flag, before he was aware, (as they make no noise upon a sandy road,) quietly took the firelock from his shoulder, and gave it to the keeper, who was upon the neck of the animal, where they always ride, as upon a horse's back, carrying a small tomahawk, by which they direct him; but this is seldom needed, as they know every thing almost by the word of command. As I said, he took the firelock from the poor wearied soldier, and gave it to his keeper. The lad being much frightened, not knowing but the elephant intended knocking out his brains with it, gave a fearful stare, and ran off as quickly as his wearied limbs could carry him; but this alarm put fresh spirits into him, and perceiving that the benevolent animal meant him no harm but good, by easing him of his principal load; he came to the camp ground in company with his new acquaintance, whom he every now and then eyed with a look of uncertain satisfaction. I had this story from Serjeant Gray, who commanded the rear guard, a man whom I could believe as firmly as if I had witnessed the whole scene myself. But this is nothing very wonderful, in that truly wonderful animal; for the elephant attached to my own company and I got so very intimate upon the march, that he would not pass the tent of which I had charge, unless I came and spoke with him. Our friendship originated in this way; I used always to keep a piece of rice cake for him, when we could get it to ourselves for money; and while he was getting his morsel in the morning, the men of the tent would be packing the baggage on his back, and thereby we were generally first ready for the march, which was no small matter in our favour.

I could tell you many such stories, which I find more pleasure in, than telling you of men shooting themselves and one another; but these may serve as specimens. Although these creatures are possessed of most wonderful patience, as well as sagacity, yet they can be irritated, as I will make appear. I intend just to state one incident in proof of this, and then I have done with them. It is customary in this country to appoint a soldier of each European regiment to take care that the elephants are attended to upon the march, both with regard to work and provisions; and this person is generally a non-commissioned officer, who receives the appellation of elephant major. A serjeant who held this situation in the 30th regiment, one day loaded a poor fatigued animal with abuse, which he thought he was not at all entitled to. The elephant, observe you, did not immediately avenge himself of his adversary; but coolly waited his proper opportunity, and, in the course of the march, seeing his friend the serjeant at a distance, he embraced the moment when the water of a rice field was flowing across the road, filled his trunk with the sludge, and making up to the serjeant, who happened to have on a new suit of clothes, and of which he seemed to be very vain, he lodged the contents of his trunk upon the proud fellow's coat, and effectually spoiled its new gloss.

Upon this march, which, being in the rainy season, exposed us to constant wet, we crossed four rivers in boats; _viz._ two branches of the Kistna, and two branches of the Cauvery, which overflowed its banks at the time. We were obliged to lie by the side of the last mentioned river some days before we durst venture over, as the basket boats, formerly described, could not withstand such a current; but at last we got over with a considerable degree of difficulty and danger, though without any material damage. I had frequently, upon this march, taken up the resolution of the young man just mentioned, to give it up in despair; and had it not been for that kind of unconquerable spirit I seemed to be possessed of, I certainly would have made application for a doolie, which at this time was hardly to be obtained. I was, indeed, very near dying outright one day. The faithful companion of my toils, who used every means in her power for my benefit, prepared always (if possible) a draught for me when I came to the camp ground; but on this day it would not go down. She entertained very unfavourable hopes of me for some time, but, as the Lord would have it, after I rested a little, I was somewhat recruited; and being near the river last mentioned, we had a respite for a day or two, and being thereby something refreshed, I made out the march, which was four hundred and eighty-five miles, without the help of a doolie. The reader would not at all be surprised to hear of men dying, and giving up, upon a march in this country, if he could form a just idea of their hardships. On the very night before this, there was such a dreadful hurricane, that we could neither sit nor lie, but were obliged to stand and hold the poles of our tents, to keep the wind from carrying them away; and many of the tents were blown down, notwithstanding all the efforts of their inmates to support them; for the pins and cords were no security against the irresistible power of the airy element, but gave way like stubble before the sweeping blast. The ground, on which we had frequently to lie, was so deluged with the rain, that we were often up to the ankles in mud. All we could do in this case was to clear it away with a momatee, (a kind of scraper;) but, after all, the wet ground was a very unwholesome, uncomfortable bed. Our provisions, as I have mentioned before, were mutton and rice; and, had they been good, we would have had no just cause to complain; but, how could the sheep be in good condition in this country, when they live one half of the year upon the roots of grass, not a blade being to be seen during that time, except what grows by the sides of rivers or tanks? and marching them about with the army, you may be sure, did not at all improve their condition. I have looked at a chattie pot, (all their cooking utensils are made of earth, like our tiles or cans,) where half a sheep has been boiled, and, I assure you, there was not a vestige of fat to be seen: and then, the rice being cleaned and cooked in the open air, was always less or more mixed with sand. The only refreshing article we received was our two drams of liquor, which was a very acceptable beverage mixed with water; but I need not labour to make you enter into my feelings, for that would be impossible, unless you had experienced what I have done. However, I would not advise you to try the experiment to gratify your curiosity, or you may think it dear bought; and, in all probability, never come home to tell the tidings. I must say, indeed, that I was quite overjoyed when we received the route to go to India; but if I had known beforehand what I was to be subjected to in that country, I think, and not without cause, that I never would have been able to support the afflictions and hardships which fell to my lot; but the Lord, who is infinitely wise and merciful, in the exercise of that wisdom and mercy, has hid both the pains and pleasures of his dependent creatures from them, that "in the day of prosperity they may be moderately joyful, not knowing how soon afflictions may overtake them, and that in the day of adversity they may consider that the Lord may yet have many even temporal blessings in reserve for them;" and by thus "setting the one over against the other," we may keep an equal, humble, and dependent mind; and thereby act under the injunction of the apostle, namely, to "weep as though we wept not, and rejoice as though we rejoiced not; and buy as though we possessed not; knowing that our time here is short, and that the fashion of this world passeth away."

We reached Trichinopoly upon the 5th October. This march, upon the whole, was the most severe I experienced in India, but it was the last I ever travelled upon foot. I was not long in Trichinopoly till I found the effects of my former troubles; for I was seized with a liver complaint, and a general debility of the nervous system, which rendered me totally unfit for duty. I lingered long in this delicate state, and the doctor proposed sending me home, but the commanding officer was unwilling to part with me, still hoping that my disorder would take a favourable turn. My leading fifer was ordered to do my duty, and I had full liberty to walk about when able, wherever I pleased, and to amuse myself in any way I thought proper. In a word, I continued in this weakly state for about a twelvemonth, when it was found necessary that I should be invalided.

While we lay here, I received an addition to my family, in consequence of my wife having stood godmother for a child belonging to a serjeant of the regiment. But to enable you to understand the story properly, it will be needful to give you an outline of the mother's history, which I will do in as few words as possible.

Nelly Stevenson, (which was her maiden name,) was the daughter of Wm. Stevenson, weaver in Anderston, Glasgow, with whom she lived until she was twenty years of age, at which time she was married to a young man of the name of M'Dougal, who volunteered into the Royals from the 26th regiment when in Dublin. This young man was one of the many who died of the flux when we lay in Wallajahbad. After his decease, she married a serjeant Fleming of the light company, by whom she had the child for whom my wife was sponsor; but this man lived with her only two years, when he also took the flux and died. In about six weeks afterwards[13], she married a serjeant Lee of the grenadier company, by whom she had one child, and he being visited with the same disorder as her two former husbands, died also while we lay at Trichinopoly. She was now a widow the third time in the course of six years, and left in a destitute state; but she did not need a fourth husband, because she was over-taken by the same fatal disorder that laid them in the dust, and died in about five weeks' illness, in the twenty-sixth year of her age. Now, in this case, it was plainly our duty to look after the child for which my wife stood, agreeably to the vows of God which were upon her; and a Serjeant Brown of the regiment, and his wife, took charge of Serjeant Lee's child, for whom they had become accountable, after the manner of the Church of England. But I will say no more about this at present, as I will have occasion to speak of the last mentioned child again.

[13] The reader will naturally enough think it was a very strange thing of a woman to live so short time in widowhood; but if you consider the situation of these poor women, you perhaps may not be so much surprised at their apparently indelicate conduct; for they had no provision made for them whatever, except one pagoda per month, (eight shillings of our currency) allowed by the East India Company; and a reason fully as satisfactory as the former, was their unprotected state; for the barracks in this country are, in general, divided into two wings, without any partitions whatever. Now, just think of these women, without a guardian, day and night, in a room containing between four or five hundred men; and, alas! too many of them very immoral characters, to whose vile passions they presented a more tempting bait, from the scarcity of white women in the country.

In the course of the time we lay in Trichinopoly, we had one Serjeant Clark affected with that dreadful disorder called hydrophobia, in rather a singular manner. This man being afflicted for some time with a very bad sore in his leg, and hearing that the tongue of a dog licking a sore of this kind had a very healing effect, he had recourse to this expedient, and coaxed a small dog in the barracks, which he took notice of sometimes, to do him, as he thought, this good office; but it would appear by the consequences that followed, that the dog had been disordered before it left off this practice, and before the serjeant was taken to hospital. It may seem strange to the reader, that this dog licking a sore, should produce so alarming an effect; but it was clearly proven, that the man himself had never been bitten; and there was a consultation of the faculty held upon this extraordinary case, who came to the conclusion, that the disease must have proceeded from this cause. The doctors tried repeatedly, and by various methods, to get him to swallow a little water, but all to no purpose; one of them attempted to give some to him in a concealed manner, putting it into what is called a hubble bubble, (a kind of pipe with a long tube, so that he could not see it); but whenever it came near him, he immediately took one of his shaking fits; and they were compelled to take it away without success.

Another extraordinary case of this extraordinary disease occurred while we lay in Masulipatam, which I shall just mention, and no more. One of the Company's artillery men, in the warm season, was seized with the disorder, but no person could tell how he came to be so affected, as there was no appearance of any bite about his body. This nonplussed the faculty completely, for they were sure enough that it was the hydrophobia; but how it had been produced they could not tell. Inquiry was made at his comrade, if he had known of his being bitten at any former period; and he told them, that he recollected perfectly of his being bitten about a twelve-month ago; so, after they had deliberated for some time upon the accounts received, they came to the conclusion, that it was to the effects of this bite, though at such a distance of time, that he owed his death. Before I left the country, a kind of cure, it is said, was discovered for this most dreadful disorder. The cure seems quite natural; but as the way it was commonly said to have been discovered is strange, I shall give a very short account of it. One of the native women being bitten by a dog, and put into a place of confinement, contrived to make her escape, but when she was in the act of running away, some persons discovered her, and pursued her as fast as possible, and the poor creature, in her fright and trembling, fell all her length upon a place covered with broken bottles, and was no doubt cut and mangled dreadfully; however, the great quantity of blood that she lost was thought to have been the means of delivering her from this dreadful malady; and I understand that, since that time, bleeding a person almost to death, has repeatedly been tried with success in India, for this disease.