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Michigan
Libraries
1817
ARTES SCIENTIA VERITA
JAMES OUTRAM

.......

faithfully yours
Nutri
Engraved by Joseph Brown, From a Daguerrotype by Clandet.
London. Smith. Elder&C 15,Waterloo Flace.
JAMES OUTRAM
A BIOGRAPHY
BY
MAJOR-GEN. SIR F. J. GOLDSMID, C.B., K.C.S.I.
"Whose spirit lent a fire
Even to the dullest peasant in his camp'
SHAKSPERE, Henry IV. Pt. II. Act. 1, Sc. 1
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.
LONDON
SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE
1880
[All rights reserved}
DS
475,2
09
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978643-150
ΤΟ
THE DOWAGER
LADY OUTRAM
These Volumes are respectfully Dedicated
WITH THE ASSURANCE THAT
HAD WILL BEEN POWER
THEY WOULD NOT HAVE ILLUSTRATED
DEFECTIVE WORKMANSHIP
IN THE TREATMENT OF AMPLE MATERIALS
AND
AN INSPIRING SUBJECT
PREFACE.
6
SEVENTEEN years ago, in accordance with the expressed desire
of Sir James himself, the late Sir John Kaye had agreed to
write the 'Life of Outram.' What ability and power this
brilliant writer would have brought to bear upon his task,
the many readers of his War in Afghanistan' and other
books will readily understand. But ill-health and press of
official and literary work interfered to prevent progress; and
eventually Sir John Kaye died without carrying out his in-
tention. When in Paris during the winter of 1877-78, the
question was referred to me whether I would assume this
unfulfilled responsibility. Engaged at the time in the com-
pletion of an official report connected with a mission to the
French island of Réunion, from which I had but just returned,
the prospect of continued employment was agreeable to me.
Though recently out of State harness, I had not been so
chafed by the yoke of Fixed Occupation as to seek to throw
it off altogether: nor was I ambitious of a Leisure for which
I did not possess the conventional qualifications.
In undertaking, then, more than two years ago, to write
the biography of one whose name is a household word, not
only in England and British India, but throughout the
civilised world, I perhaps laid myself open to a charge of
imprudence, if not actual presumption. But the subject
viii
PREFACE.
presented was of so great attraction, and the proposal made
was of so flattering a kind, that, in the weakness of human
nature, I succumbed.
While prosecuting the task undertaken, however, I have
found my labours considerably lightened, and in one sense
my responsibilities materially lessened, by the cordial and
continuous assistance received from a member of Sir James
Outram's family. I was aware from the very first that my
materials would be abundant; and a glance at those materials,
when coming into my possession, convinced me that they
had been arranged in the most careful and methodical
manner: but I could not at the outset have anticipated how
much I should have become indebted to any individual
helper for the suggestions, paragraphs, and illustrative details
of which I have availed myself freely in the course of the
work. Had the biography been confined to certain chapters,
such as those on the Mutiny campaign, I must have associated
the name of my assistant with my own, as that of a distinct
collaborateur.
My own personal knowledge of Sir James Outram was
but slight. I was a fellow-passenger with him for a short
voyage in 1849: and some three years later was privileged
to meet him at a dinner in Bombay, when, to the best of
my recollection, there were no other guests. But I had
naturally heard and learnt much of his character and career,
and had had especially good opportunities of studying and
appreciating a section of his work; for it fell to my lot to
investigate the claims of the Ex-Amirs of Haidarabad,
Khairpur, and Mirpur-both as a Deputy, working under the
Collector of Shikarpur, and as Assistant Commissioner for the
settlement of alienations of land and revenue in the Province
PREFACE.
ix
of Sind. A long residence in those parts, and subsequent
political employment in Baluchistan, Western Afghanistan,
and Persia, have, moreover, given me some practical training
in a field by no means the least important of those in which
Outram passed some of the best years of his life.
It is like standing on the threshold of platitudes, to say
that a published biography should have an object beyond
the indulgence of family wishes, or compliance with friendly
opinion. And to explain that object to be the instruction of
the reader, or, more generally, the better being of the human
species, may be to repeat a mere truism.
But we may
assert, in less hackneyed and equally relevant phraseology,
that the lives of illustrious men are comparatively useless
records to after generations, unless they contain plain lessons
which those who run may read: and the one fact which
should be apparent in all-namely, that no successful career
is without its episodes of crosses and failures—may convey a
trite moral, but is an ever fresh, wholesome, and practical text
of sermons.
Many hundreds, it may be thousands, of those to whom
the name of Sir James Outram has become familiar, irrespec-
tive of the multitude who contemplate his bust in Westmin-
ster Abbey, or sit under his statue on the Thames Embank-
ment, picture to themselves the successful soldier-statesman,
who has risen to eminence by the usual routine of conquering
arms and well-applied diplomacy. Among them many will
have heard that he had had differences with his Government,
and differences with individuals; and that his professional
labours led him, more than once, not only within the
treacherous precincts of paper controversy, but to submit
official appeals and protests against treatment which he him-
X
PREFACE.
self had experienced at the hands of local authority. But
few can realise the pain which this extra-professional work
must have cost him, or how much valuable time, and moral
and physical energy were thus expended without profit.
Apart from the feelings of the individual sufferer, in respect
of severed friendships and mistaken motives, who can say
how much good service to the State has been impaired by
the misapplication of State power towards an enthusiastically
loyal servant? The great lesson to be learnt here is not,
however, to be restricted in its meaning to young men whose
conduct is moulded on illustrious exemplars. It is twofold:
one for those in high places, if they will accept it; the other
for aspirants, who will be sure to search it out. For the
former, if put into conventional shape, it would read much
after the manner of one or more of the following proposi-
tions:
'Do not refuse to your official agents that consideration
which you are ever ready to accord your friends, even when
they are no longer fulfilling the particular duty for which
you think them qualified. Do not assume that fitness for
strange and rough work implies necessarily the absence of
refined sentiment, or is incompatible with a keen sensitive-
ness. If it be the proper task of diplomatists to humour
the weaknesses of those with whom they have to do, and
generally to gather advantage from a knowledge of human
character-so is it the duty of statesmen high in office, to
study the dispositions of their confidential agents, and
studiously avoid wounding them in tender points. The
willing horse should never be allowed to get out of con-
dition, or to have any real cause of complaint against his
employers. If a servant of the State has earned his reward,
PREFACE.
xi
assuredly he has earned the right to receive and wear the
honours conferred upon him.'
Outram eventually triumphed, and his triumph completes
the moral lesson of his life in its fitness for the study of
rising generations. But a less strong man than he might
have sunk under like circumstances. Should this be?
In any case it is hoped that one old familiar Truth will be
discerned between the lines of the Biography now submit-
ted to the reader. It is that, independently of work which
claims, and often obtains the recognition of the State, there
is something also to be done which brings its own reward
from the consciousness that it belongs to a higher cause than
that of Governments; something which, if only part fulfil-
ment of the great duty of man to his neighbour, is to hu-
man ken admirable in its very imperfection. Outram's friends
and contemporaries have not been slow to appreciate in his
character an overflowing benevolence void of all cant or
pretension.
But let us glance for a moment on the more practical
uses of a mind like his upon the questions of the present
day. Does he not help us in any way to interpret the
Afghan puzzle which English statesmen and soldiers are
now seeking to understand; and which is after all, perhaps,
as likely to be resolved by Chance or Circumstance, as by any
fixed lines of policy? We say not this in any disparagement
of authority, nor to lay a charge of unwisdom at the door of
any of our rulers. Have not the last forty years' experience
of the Afghan people taught us that Outram's first recorded
estimate of them was a right one; and that the rules he
laid down for our guidance in 1839 are, in 1880, equally
applicable to our dealings with these faithless intriguers?
xii
PREFACE.
We believe that fair conclusions in this respect may be
formed on the information contained in the following pages;
though we cannot but feel that, had our work been confined
to one phase only of a busy life, very much more might
with propriety have been quoted to enlighten the reader.
He admitted the impolicy of any interference on our
part with the internal affairs of the Herátis, or generally of
Afghanistan.' On this subject he thus wrote from Baghdad
in May 1857, to the late Lord Lyveden :- Nothing is more
to be deprecated, in my opinion, than the most distant
attempt on our part to side with this or that chieftain, much
less to foster a policy for incorporating the whole of that
country under one rule or ruler. Any such scheme, however
cautiously pursued, would involve us in inextricable diffi-
culties, and be followed with one only result-failure-as
regards any solid advantage which our Indian Empire would
reap therefrom. The time is not come for British inter-
vention to effect any good among the Afghans themselves;
and the consolidation of an Afghan empire, under present
circumstances, and in view of the geographical position of
that country, might be attended with serious inconvenience,
as well to our north-west frontier as to our political rela-
tions with Russia and Persia.' The italics are not in the
original, but emphasise expressions to be borne in mind by
those who consider them in 1880. I would solicit attention
to the fact that neither in the above quotation, nor in any
other of the writer's recorded opinions, is there anything
like an assertion that British interference could never be
judiciously exercised in Afghanistan; nor that a consolidated
Empire was a sine quâ non for the better government of
three substantially separate States as Herat, Kabul, and
Kandahar,
PREFACE.
xiii
t
His views on the advisability of restricting our frontier
to the Indus caused him to regret up to the closing years
cf his life, that we had ever shackled ourselves with the
Peshawar valley: but let no politicians urge this as a reason
for making a retrograde movement towards the river line
after the events which have transpired under the last three
Viceroys of India. For my own part-whatever judgment he
might have formed on the Scientific Frontier' and our
responsibilities along the Suliman range of mountains-I
do not believe that Sir James Outram, had he been now
living to give his counsel, would—with his knowledge of the
Afghans and their Persian neighbours, and the exterior in-
fluences bearing upon both-have advised withdrawal from
our position in Kandahar.
Independently of politics, Outram has done more to
enlighten the world on the geography of Afghanistan and
Baluchistan than has been hitherto placed to his credit.
From Bamian to Sonmiani is a long stretch of country, in
parts of which he was the first English explorer; the moun-
tain track by which he hit the Kabul road leading to
Bamian-the diversions made to attack the Ghilzai forts
between Kabul and Kwatta-the alternative route to
Pottinger's, by which Baila was reached from Kalát-all
these may need something more of acknowledgment to him
than has been yet accorded by books and maps. Scientific
accuracy may be wanting in actual mapping; but where
the information imparted has been turned to good account,
should not the giver of it be recognised with all due honour?
With regard to the spelling of Oriental names, the prin-
ciple which I have adopted is to transliterate generally on
Dr. Hunter's system; substituting u, i, and a (ă) for the
xiv
PREFACE.
old oo, ee, and u respectively-with an occasional accent',
where necessary, to guide the pronunciation of less practised
readers. Where kh is used, it represents the corresponding
letter in the Arabic word khair, or the two letters in the
Sanskrit dukh. Unfortunately, the numerous extracts, with
which these pages are necessarily studded, show a different
orthography. It need scarcely be stated that quotations, to
be genuine, or copies, to be correct, must be left as much as
possible as found in the original. For, independently of
this consideration, the mode of spelling affects, in some way,
the personality of the speller. There are many civil and
military officers of the Indian Government, at the present
day, whom nothing but a radical change of nature would
induce to write 'Kánhpur' for Cawnpore,' or 'Lakhnau' for
'Lucknow.' As a rule, then, there has been little or no
interference with the spelling of proper names by Outram
and his contemporaries. If, in one instance—the diary in
Chapter X.-the treatment has been exceptional, it is be-
cause it is so woven with the narrative as to form almost
part of the text. I may be told that a wholesale recurrence
to the old system would have saved the apparent incon-
sistency now exhibited. This would have been, in my
opinion, a retrograde step; and it would not have secured
uniformity, for the quoted letters and papers illustrate a
mode of transliteration as varied as it is unsystematic.
6
I have now to offer my sincere acknowledgments to the
many kind friends who have aided the preparation of these
volumes. Among the abundant family records and corre-
spondence supplied to me unreservedly by Sir Francis
Outram were letters and papers of great public interest and
value. The original contributions of Sir Bartle Frere, Sir
PREFACE.
XV
Vincent Eyre, Sir Joseph Fayrer, and others whose names
are noted in the last chapter, speak eloquently for themselves.
So also do the passages scattered here and there from manu-
script papers placed at my disposal by the Reverend Dr.
Percy Badger, a gentleman always ready and able to respond
to my solicitations for aid. The communications of Mr.
Stuart Poole, General Olpherts, Captain Robertson, and
others, rendered available to illustrate the narrative, will
bear similar testimony on behalf of the writers. Sir George
Clerk has evinced his interest in my work by the kind loan
of letters, and in many other ways; and I would add a like
remark with reference to Captain W. J. Eastwick. To Colonel
Henry Yule, Sir William Merewether, Major-General George
Hutchinson, Colonel McLeod Innes, and Colonel Malcolm
Green, I am under very great obligation for looking over
many proof-pages which must, in some cases, have taken
up hours of valuable time. If I do not specify those other
gentlemen to whom I have been, in a less degree, indebted
for help or advice, they will still, I hope, accept my thanks,
and not attribute the omission of their names to forgetfulness,
or failure to appreciate their kindness.
3 OBSERVATORY AVENUE, CAMPDEN HILL:
May 31, 1880.
F. J. GOLDSMID.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
BOOK I.
BOYHOOD-YOUTH-MANHOOD.
1803-1843.
CHAPTER I.
1803-1818.
The Outram Family-Mr. Outram, of Butterley Hall-Dr. James Ander-
son of Mounie, and Mrs. Outram-Sketch by Miss Catherine Sinclair-
Francis Outram-James Outram: his boyhood and education-Re-
ceives an Indian cadetship
CHAPTER II.
1819-1824.
Early military tastes-Arrival in Bombay-Comparatively peaceful state
of India-Joins regiment-Experience of an Adjutant's duties-
Sick-leave to Presidency-Accidental explosion-Home letters-
Lieutenant Ord's stories of shikár—Outram's 'first spears '-Sent in
command of wing to Malegaon-The Commander-in-Chief-Second
sick-leave to Presidency-Kittur-Malair-Appointed to command a
Bhil corps
PAGE
3
22
CHAPTER III.
1825-1828.
Khandesh and the Bhîls-Outram's Bhîl corps
VOL. I.
a
. 51
xviii
CONTENTS OF
CHAPTER IV.
1829-1835.
PAGE
Bhils at school-Francis Outram-Dáng Expedition of 1830-Summary
of remaining service with the Bhîls till 1835-Shikár experiences. 79
CHAPTER V.
1835-1838.
Appointment to a Special Mission-Leave to Bombay-Marriage-Two
years and three quarters in the Mahi Kánta
CHAPTER VI.
1838-1839.
Family affairs-Appointment to Sir John Keane's Staff-Arrival in Sind
with the Bombay Division of the Army of the Indus-Missions to
Cutch, Haidarabad, and Shikárpur-Accident-Accompanies General
Willshire from Gandáva, but rejoins Commander-in-Chief on arrival
at Kandahar--Opinions on Afghan War
CHAPTER VII.
1839.
Ghazni-Outram's employment at, and prior to the Siege-Pursuit of
Dost Muhammad Khan-Return from Bamian, and Mission from
Kabul to Ghilzai Country-Work in the disturbed districts-Return
to Kwatta-Siege of Kalát-Journey from Kalát to Sonmiáni with
despatches for Bombay
CHAPTER VIII.
1839-1842.
Honours and Rewards-Political Agent in Lower Sind-Political Agent
in Sind and Baluchistan-Retrospect of Upper Sind History-Mirs
Sohrab, Rustam, and Ali Murad-Journey to Kwatta-Investiture
of the Khan, and Treaty with Kalát-Work at Dadar-Departure
of Lord Auckland, and arrival of Lord Ellenborough
CHAPTER IX.
1842.
Retrospect of Outram's work in Sind and Baluchistan, from February
to November, 1842-Return from Dádar to Sakhar-Disaster at
Haikalzai-Letter to Mr. Maddock, on available military resources—
114
149
•
174
207
THE FIRST VOLUME.
xix
Return to Kwatta-Subordination to Major-General Nott-Transfer
of the Shál and Sibi districts to Kalát-Displeasure of Governor-
General-Return of General England's force to Sind-Arrival at
Sakhar of Major-General Sir Charles Napier-Outram remanded to
regimental duty
PAGR
244
CHAPTER X.
1842--1843.
Back in Sind again-The Amirs and their Downfall-Extracts from
Journal - Defence of Haidarabad Residency - Embarkation for
England
BOOK II.
MIDDLE AGE.
1843-1856.
CHAPTER I.
1843-1845.
Home-Return to India-Nimar-Disturbances in Southern Maratha
Country-Kolapur and Sawant-Wari
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A
PAGE
383 APPENDIX E
B
386
F
""
""
C
396
D
399
G
H
293
339
PAGE
401
408
410
•
411
PORTRAIT
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IN THE
FIRST VOLUME.
MAPS.
ROUTE FROM BAMIAN TO SONMIÁNI :-
Section I.
II.
""
III.
IV.
V.
To face Title-page
", p. 188
190
194
203
""
205
""
Erratum.
Page 180, line 3: for Captain Laurence read Captain (now General Sir George)
Lawrence.
VOL. I.
8
BOOK I.
BOYHOOD-YOUTH-MANHOOD.
1803-1843.
B
pa
CHAPTER I.
1803-1818.
The Outram Family--Mr. Outram, of Butterley Hall-Dr. James Anderson
of Mounie, and Mrs. Outram-Sketch by Miss Catherine Sinclair-Francis
Outram-James Outram: his boyhood and education-Receives an Indian
cadetship.
WHEN James Outram, the subject of this biography, was
born at Butterley Hall, Derbyshire, on January 29, 1803,
his family had long been resident in that and the neighbour-
ing counties. The race from which he sprang was ap-
parently one of honest yeomen or small landowners and
farmers, little known beyond the limits of their own parishes,
with now and then a representative in the Church. But
undistinguished in history as the family may have been, it
happens that the soldier-statesman is not the first member
of it whose remains have been honoured by a resting-place
in Westminster Abbey. In Poet's Corner may be observed
a monument recording the peaceful virtues of William
Outram, D.D.,¹ Archdeacon of Leicester, and Prebendary of
Westminster, who, though a Court chaplain in the evil days
of Charles II., was acknowledged to be, as Pepys describes
him, 'one of the ablest and best of the conformists,. eminent
for his piety and charity, and an excellent preacher.' He
was moreover a sound and learned Protestant divine, as his
work 'De Sacrificiis,' on the expiatory and vicarious sacrifice
of Christ, which still holds a place among standard works
of divinity, best testifies.
¹ Biographical Encyclopædia, abridged from Biographia Britannica.
B 2
4
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
Passing over the other numerous entries of the name,
variously spelt, to be found in the Bishop's Registry at
Lichfield, through which the family is traced up to Thomas
Outram, Rector of Durton, near Gainsborough, in 1435, we
come to Joseph Outram, of Alfreton, Derbyshire, a well-to-do
surveyor and manager of estates, and himself possessor of
some property in land and collieries, in whose marked vigour
of character, shrewd sense, and kind heart, we begin to
discern qualities which his sons and grandsons were des-
tined to develop in a wider sphere.
His eldest son, Benjamin,' born in 1764, was so named
after Benjamin Franklin, a friend of his father's. He
did no discredit to the sponsorship of that eminent
philosopher and politician, and as a young civil engineer,
gave evidence of talent and energy which raised him to
distinction in a very few years. Of special professional
achievements attributed to him there is no very distinct
record; but his name is associated with that of more than
one of the heralds of railway construction whose voice
1 The second of his numerous family, Edmund, earned for himself in the
Church a high reputation for learning and worth. He became D.D., Public
Orator at Cambridge, Prebendary of Lichfield, Archdeacon of Derby, Chancellor
of the Lichfield Diocese, and holder of more than one substantial preferment.
Named by Chancery co-guardian of his elder brother's orphans with Mr. Seton
of Mounie, he ever proved himself a kind and generous friend to his bereaved
sister-in-law and her family, until his death in 1821, at the comparatively
early age of fifty-five. The third son, Joseph, also a civil engineer, was for some
time associated with Mr. Benjamin Outram in the management of the Butterley
Works, but migrated to the neighbourhood of Glasgow, where his representatives
remain still. His youngest daughter, now Lady Deas, first married, as his second
wife, a kinsman of whom we must record a few words. Sir Benjamin Fonseca
Outram, C.B., Inspector of Hospitals and Fleets, saw much sharp service afloat
in the medical department of the navy, from 1794 till 1803, from which time till
the end of the war he served principally on board the Royal yachts. He lived
to refute the mis-statements in Thiers' History regarding one of the actions in
which he took part, viz., the remarkable exploit of the 'Superb' (Captain
Keats), when she destroyed two Spanish three-deckers, the 'Carlos' and
'Hermengildo,' and captured a French seventy-four, the 'St. Antoine,' during
the night of July 12, 1801. His presence of mind in extinguishing a fire at
-1818
5
MR. OUTRAM.
was heard during the past and at the dawn of the present
century. At first he appears to have been employed chiefly
in the construction of canals, but after a while turned his
attention more especially to supplementing or superseding
water traffic by iron railways in suitable localities. His
energy and success in the introduction of such lines, not-
withstanding much prejudice and opposition, not only in
the neighbourhood of Derby, but also in the Forest of Dean,
in Wales, and elsewhere, appear to have suggested the
generally received idea that the word 'tram' had its origin
from the second syllable of his name. That such a notion
prevails, and that even so high an authority as Mr. Smiles
entertained and recorded it in the first edition of his 'Life
of George Stephenson,' though he subsequently found the
word to be of much older application, is strong presumptive
proof of Mr. Outram's great reputation on the practical side
of the profession.¹
But the undertaking which latterly monopolised his
energies was the foundation and organisation of the Butterley
Ironworks in Derbyshire. About three years before their
establishment he had become purchaser of the Butterley
Hall estate, jointly with Francis Beresford, Esq., and here it
was that he fixed his residence, forming, in association with
Messrs. John Wright, of Nottingham, and William Jessop,
the civil engineer, the company which, having acquired
Codnor Park, an adjacent property rich in coal, iron, and
other minerals, carried on business until his death as Ben-
jamin Outram & Co.' and after that, under the now well-
known designation of 'The Butterley Company.' His career
was, however, cut short when apparently on the verge of
the door of the magazine is said to have saved the 'Superb' from sharing the
fate of her blown-up antagonists.
6
¹ See notes by George Stephenson, in reference to the 'Spayson Railways,'
Smiles's Life of George Stephenson, p. 59; and Wood's Practical Treatise on
Railways (1838).
6
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
success. Shortly before his marriage in 1800, he withdrew
almost entirely from the practice of his profession, then
yielding him from 2,000l. to 3,000l. per annum, in order to
devote himself without hindrance to his ironworks. Endowed
with genius, judgment, and a spirit of enterprise potent in
overcoming every difficulty, it was considered by those able
to form an opinion that, had life been spared to him he would
have become a millionaire. It was otherwise ordained: he
died in 1805, having barely attained middle age, and at a
critical time of the work he had taken in hand; a work
in which more than half his capital and the half share of
Butterley Hall had been sunk-and only just beginning to
make a return. The result of his death was a complete wreck
of his fortunes, and both anxiety and poverty to his family.
He is described as a tall fine-looking man, very determined
and high-spirited, acutely sensitive of honour, with a hasty
and impetuous but generous temper, and a restless energy
which could ill brook either stupidity or opposition-charac-
teristics of disposition inherited by both his sons.
Fortunately for the present biography, the influence of
the mother upon the son is one generally acknowledged; so
that it is now as much to the purpose to lay before the reader
some account of Mrs. Benjamin Outram as of her husband
and his family. Her father, James Anderson, LL.D., was
'unquestionably a man of an ability and mental power far
beyond the average.'¹ Having added the study of chemistry
and other sciences to the thorough agricultural training he
had received at Hermiston, near Edinburgh, he became dis-
tinguished as an experimental agriculturist and weighty
author. For many years he conducted a periodical called
theBee,' remarkable for the practical tone of its contents,
he himself writing much in its pages as elsewhere on agri-
culture, and especially gardening. At the instance of Lord
¹ Chambers' Encyclopædia: 'Dr. Anderson.'
-1818
7
DR. JAMES ANDERSON.
Melville he undertook a circuit of the north-western islands
and coasts of Scotland, which, in respect to any useful
results then obtained, appear to have been virtually a terra
incognita. He made an elaborate report of their capabilities
of improvement, accompanied by charts, statements, and
miscellaneous details. His information and recommenda-
tions were deemed valuable, and led to many improvements,
as well as anticipated schemes which have since been inde-
pendently carried out. A ship was placed at his disposal,
but he received no remuneration beyond thanks for his use-
ful labours. We are told that he was too proud to ask, or
to explain the cost to himself, and the value of the time
expended under his by no means affluent circumstances;
and those were not days when governments volunteered
substantial rewards for services thus incidentally given.
Intimate with most of the literary men of his day in Scotland,
he corresponded with many celebrities abroad, and among
others, George Washington; but by some mischance the
valuable series of letters which he possessed from that great
man disappeared at his death and were lost to his family.
He married the heiress of Mounie in Aberdeenshire, and his
eldest son consequently assumed the maternal name of
Seton,¹ honoured in Scottish annals.
Dr. Anderson's only daughter who survived childhood,
Margaret, was born in 1780. The loss of her mother when
she was only six or seven years old, and the preoccupation
of her father in literary and other pursuits explain the reason
that she received but a poor education. Dr. Anderson had a
¹ One of Dr. Anderson's grandsons was the gallant Colonel Alexander
Seton, of the 78th Regiment, who commanded the detachment which went
down so heroically on the deck of the 'Birkenhead.' His nephew, Admiral
Henderson, was one of Nelson's band of officers, said to have received the same
number of wounds as his illustrious chief. Of his sons who went to India,
one, Major Henry Anderson, of the Engineers, shared in the misery of Monson's
retreat and died from exposure at the siege of Deig. One letter of General
Washington is given in Appendix A.
8
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
horror of ladies' schools, and the curriculum of modern
accomplishments' for girls; and he does not seem to have
given that attention to providing something better in their
place which might have been expected from the judicious
arrangements made for his eight sons. The possession of
remarkable talents, however, soon enabled his daughter to
recover lost ground when brought into contact with society.
By personal application and observation, and a readiness to
turn to account all such chance instruction and training as
were offered her, she acquired a knowledge which, if not so
comprehensive and methodical as that of schools, was quite
as real, and possibly more to the purpose. She was married
to Mr. Benjamin Outram in June 1800, and in May 1805
was left a widow with five young children: Francis, born in
1801; Anna, afterwards Mrs. Sligo, in 1802; James, the
subject of our biography, in 1803; Margaret, afterwards Mrs.
Farquharson, in 1804; and Eliza, in 1805. Her wedded
life, passed at Butterley Hall, though brief, had been appa-
rently a prosperous and happy one; but her widowhood was
beset with trials. As above shown, Mr. Outram's invest-
ments and purchases at the period of his decease had not
yet yielded fruit; the balance sheet exhibited entries almost
wholly on the side of debit and outlay: and to make matters
worse, trade was depressed. The casualty had been so
sudden, that there had been no time or opportunity for the
arrangement of his affairs; and his estate was burdened
with a debt involving endless anxiety on his representative.
Finally, affairs were thrown into Chancery, to await a tardy
and unprofitable compromise. Mrs. Outram faced her
cheerless prospects with characteristic spirit and independ-
ence. Compelled to accept 2001. a year from relatives, she
determined to make that allowance, combined with the little
she could realise from the wreck of her husband's personal
property, suffice for her wants. At first she remained in
-1818
9
MRS. OUTRAM.
the neighbourhood of Butterley Hall, three years at Worksop,
and two more at Barnby Moor. The circumstance that at
the latter place she occupied a house which, on account of
its lonely situation and reputation for being haunted, was
let at a cheap rate, is of itself a strong proof of courage.
Not many women would care to reside under one and the
same roof with the ghost of a proprietor who had cut his
throat on the premises! In 1810 she removed to Aberdeen,
where schooling was good and of moderate cost, and the re-
ceipt, at this time, of a small annuity from Government as
the daughter of Dr. James Anderson, obtained on her own
personal representation of her father's eminent services,
enabled her to provide all the better for the maintenance
and education of her children. The story of her visit to
Lord Melville in London, which resulted in the grant of this
pension, is eminently characteristic. This is her own account
of the interview, given twenty years after its occurrence :—
'My spirit rose, and in place of meanly supplicating his
favour like a pauper soliciting charity, I addressed him like
a responsible being, who had misused the power placed in
his hands by employing my father's time and talents for the
good of the country, and to meet his own wishes and ends,
then leaving him ignobly to suffer losses he could not sustain,
but which his high-toned mind would not stoop to ward off
by solicitations to those who had used him so unjustly. I
then stated my own situation, my dependence and involved
affairs, and concluded by saying that I could not brook de-
pendence upon friends when I had claims on my country by
right of my father, adding, "to you, my lord, I look for the
payment of these claims. If you are an honest or honourable
man, you will see that they are liquidated; you were the
means of their being incurred, and you ought to be answer-
able for them. In making this application I feel that I am
IO
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
doing your lordship as great a favour as myself, by giving
you an opportunity of redeeming your character from the
stigma of holding out promises and not fulfilling them." All
this I stated and much more in as strong language, which
was so different from anything his lordship expected, or was
used to meet with, that he afterwards told me he never
was so taken by surprise or got such a lecture in his life.'
For some years she lived in a small cottage in the out-
skirts of Aberdeen called 'Berryden.' When her daughters
grew older she moved to an upper flat in Castle Street, in
order that the best tuition available for them might be
within their reach. The shortcomings in her own training
made her painfully anxious to complete, so far as practicable
within her limited means, the education of those for whom
she was herself responsible. Possessing a hasty and some-
what imperious temper-like that of her husband, impatient
of misapprehension as of opposition-she had nevertheless
taken occasion of adverse fortune to practise self-denial, and
accept with resignation a position of comparative poverty and
seclusion. If, in her lighter social moments, inborn wit and
vivacity led her at times to say things it had been better to
have left unsaid, or to exact more than was right, she was
ready to acknowledge and recall the error; and all the more
earnestly if a harsh or injurious word had been spoken of an
absent person. While she abhorred, it was her constant cus-
tom to avoid debt and dependence; and her children were
brought up to follow this salutary example.
After the departure for India of her sons, the marriage
of her eldest daughter in 1822 to George Sligo, Esq., of
Seacliff, Haddingtonshire, and the keenly felt loss of her
youngest child, Eliza, in 1824, Mrs. Outram indulged her
taste for travel, and wandered much in France, Switzerland,
and Great Britain. Her brilliant talents and conversational
-1818
II
MRS. OUTRAM.
powers enabled her to shine wherever she went, and these
gifts, combined with a faculty of keen appreciation, enabled
her to enjoy the best society afforded by the place in which
she happened to be. Her reminiscences of the many people
of mark whom she had encountered in her sojourns at home
and abroad, were varied and amusing. In later years she
made Edinburgh or its neighbourhood her head-quarters.
Always dignified, she was far too sensible to run into the
common error of strong-minded and unfettered old ladies,
and allow herself to be outrée, or remarkable from any pecu-
liarity. She was simply natural and in accordance with her
age and position. To the last she resisted the oft-repeated
solicitations of her son that she would indulge herself in
maintaining a house and carriage of her own. Ever simple
and abstemious in her personal tastes, energetic, industrious,
and untrammelled by fashionable innovations, she saw no
reason for dissatisfaction with her neat and comfortable suite
of three rooms in a good Edinburgh house, with her maid as
her establishment' and her dog as her companion.' Her
strength of constitution was exceptional, and until she
became a little lame a few years before her death, health
never interfered with her plans, a little congenial excite-
ment proving the best restorative from passing ailments.
She wrote fugitive pieces of clever poetry, but never came
forward as an authoress. One of the points in which she
proved herself an exception to most feminine characters was
punctuality. She boasted, and it is believed with accuracy,
that she had never of her own fault kept a person waiting
five minutes in her life. With a strict and high sense of
honour, she abhorred meanness and appreciated excellence
in any walk of life. Like her son, she possessed in a singular
degree the power of attracting strangers of worth, and of re-
taining their regard ever afterwards. Few of the numerous
visitors who were daily to be met in her drawing-room but
6
6
12
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
carried away with them a kindly and lasting interest in the
talented and most uncommonplace old lady.
To these reminiscences of Mrs. Outram, given as re-
corded in family memoranda,' we may add the words of one
who is writing of a most intimate friend; of one whose reputa-
tion has been long since recognised in the world of letters as
in the more private sphere of social virtues and accomplish-
ments. No apology indeed will be required for quoting from a
manuscript by Miss Catherine Sinclair.
'Her intimate friends, knowing that her income wast
straitened, made frequent offers of assistance, but all in vain.
Her independent Scottish spirit recoiled from receiving an
obligation, and she struggled successfully on through every
difficulty or privation. . . . Mrs. Outram was formed by
nature to be the mother of a hero, and those among her friends
who knew the gallant and chivalrous son, might see that he had
inherited his noble and generous sentiments, his bright talents,
his inflexible integrity, and his indomitable energy from a
parent of the old Scottish stamp, who has since her recent
decease left few equals behind her. Even after the age of
eighty, Mrs. Outram's conversation continued to be so original,
so sprightly, so full of wisdom and excellence, that every day
there gathered around her a circle. . . . With the most cordial
kindness there was an intellectual dignity in her manner
that commanded respect. Mrs. Outram occasionally received
her friends in the evening, and on her eighty-second birthday
she had about twenty ladies at tea, to each of whom she
presented a beautiful shawl of her own work. Lord
Dalhousie, while Governor-General in India, fully appreciated
the noble character of Sir James Outram, and on his lord-
ship's return, he became so partial to the society of the hero's
¹ In 1844, unfortunately, Mrs. Outram's heavy boxes were burned at
Brechin, and in them all her accumulated family relics, correspondence, and
miscellaneous papers.
-1818
13
FRANCIS OUTRAM,
mother, that he visited her very frequently, and when on his
deathbed he said, "If I ever reach Edinburgh again, my
first visit shall be to Mrs. Outram." . . She had a peculiar
talent for letters, writing the most graphic description of
passing scenes and of daily events, with a sparkle of vivacity
and a glow of kindness never to be imitated.
As years
advanced, her style became more thoughtful, and she read for
hours at a time with those large bright eyes which served her
for above eighty-three years without becoming dim. Many
a sorrowing friend and relative must daily miss the cordial
sympathy, the sound advice, and the abounding anecdotes
of gaiety and gravity of one so endeared to all who knew her.'
Francis, the elder of Benjamin Outram's two sons, re-
ceived his early training at Christ's Hospital. After a long
elementary course of seven years' duration, from which,
agreeably to the wishes of his maternal uncle, classics had
been carefully excluded, he was sent to continue his studies
at Aberdeen. Here his natural ability had fuller scope, and
he soon found opportunity of gaining much lost ground.
At Marischal College, where he attended one session, he
must have made a singularly favourable impression, for
the opinion of him entertained by a contemporary junior
student is now found recorded in the following terms:
'He appeared to my youthful imagination the beau
idéal of all that is elegant and refined; but having been
brought up in England, I think he did not take kindly
to Aberdeen.' But his Scotch schooling was cut short
by the grant of an Indian cadetship; and a nomination to
Addiscombe, obtained from Mr. Elphinstone through the
Duke of Gordon, opened a new field for the exercise of his
powers. At the East India Company's Military College-
now, like the great corporation whose authority it acknow-
ledged, a tradition of the past-his work was brilliant and
14
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
full of promise. Ere long he became a distinguished scholar
and superior draughtsman, while three, instead of the usual
four terms, sufficed to place him at the head of his fellow-
students-enabled to enter Chatham an officer of Engineers
with a reputation for talent and attainments of rare order.
To his brief Indian career allusion will hereafter be made.
*
Perhaps, as a rule, the nursery and school days of a man
who has left his mark on the passing age show no more of
incident and adventure than those of an undistinguished
unit in the immense sum of living humanity. Nor is there
any reason why any such distinction as that alluded to
should be apparent in the two conditions. But it is very
certain that while, in the latter case, few readers would
be found for the story of an ordinary man's boyhood, it is
always a matter of general interest to trace the rise and pro-
gress of a mind which has exercised an exceptional and
acknowledged influence over other minds. We may there-
fore be excused for dwelling somewhat lengthily upon James
Outram's boyhood, of which a fair account is rendered
by contemporaries from his twelfth year. He was but a
child of less than three years old when his father died, and
had probably reached the age of eleven when sent to Udney
School, near Aberdeen. It has been already stated that
Mrs. Outram remained in the neighbourhood of her former
home at Butterley Hall for the first years of her widowhood,
and removed to Scotland in 1810. We find it was in the
autumn of 1814, when residing at Berryden, that she ar-
ranged with Dr. Bisset, the master, for admission of her
second son to Udney. The boy is described at that period
as somewhat pale, but quite healthy, and of prepossessing
countenance. He had his mother's black glossy hair; his
dark hazel eye kept time, as it were, with whatever was
going on, and marked his quick apprehension of, and sym-
pathy with, every scintillation of wit, drollery, or humour,'
-1818
15
EARLY TASTES.
6
yet 'his usual manner was quiet and sedate.' This is his
teacher's picture, and we may believe in its fidelity. Ac-
cording to the same authority, the pupil made creditable
progress in classics and other studies, but showed especial
taste and energy in acquiring a knowledge of mathematics.
and the exact sciences. As an instance of his powers in
the latter respect, it is stated that Mr. Forbes Irvine of
Drum, an accomplished votary of literature and the fine arts,
lighting by chance upon one of James Outram's original
demonstrations left on the dining-room table, was greatly
struck by the accuracy and ingenuity, as well as the draughts-
man's neatness which it displayed; and afterwards made
habitual inquiry as to the young mathematician's fresh dis-
coveries.' One of his favourite occupations in play-hours,
when bad weather or other cause kept him from out-door
sports, was carving figures with a knife out of such materials
as were more readily available; and in the exercise of this
bent he seems to have been both skilful and artistic. The
figure of an elephant continued for many years to adorn the
mantelpiece of the Udney drawing-room, and never failed
to be spoken of, by those who could appreciate perfect truth-
fulness of expression, as a chef-d'œuvre in its kind.' But in
out-door pursuits he gave unmistakable evidence of excep-
tional mettle; here he was in limine the hardy soldier, the
untiring traveller, and the bold sportsman. Whether at
football, shindy, bowls, or cricket, he was equally ardent,
speedily rose to the front rank as a player, and before he was
fourteen was the recognised leader of the school. When
parties were formed, those who had Outram on their side
felt pretty sure of victory.' Renowned, moreover, as a
wrestler, he was as generous as valiant; and it is related of
him that on one occasion, when a front tooth had been
broken and his mouth otherwise damaged in a contest with
a schoolfellow, he was most persistent in exonerating his
•
<
16
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
antagonist from all blame, and in proving the injury to be
accidental. In the swimming ground' we learn that there
was a pond, some fifteen or twenty feet deep, which was gene-
rally shunned, but the few who essayed it gained much in
reputation among their fellows. Of this number was Outram,
soon after joining the school.' He used to return from his
watery exploration with a 'gratified air,' 'bearing generally
some trophy in his hand-pebble, sand, or mud-in proof of
his having reached the bottom.' In climbing trees again, he
obtained honours not easily won amid a host of enterprising
boys, to whom the prospect of rooks' eggs was much as a
decoration or a step in rank to the subaltern officer only a
few years their senior. But his comrades promoted him at
once beyond the subaltern ranks: in their estimation he
deserved higher position, and he was generally known to
them as 'Captain Outram."
From the master's recollection of his pupil we now pass to
the testimony of a younger schoolfellow at Udney, who writes:
'He was always kind to me, protecting me from the
bullying of older boys; and I believe he was equally gene-
rous and just to the others. He drilled us regularly. . . . In
winter he had forts of snow built, in the attack and defence of
which there was many a severe contest. In every adventure
of daring he was the leader, and frequently he exposed him-
self to great danger. There was a tradition in the school
that he let himself down from the top of Udney Castle by
using an umbrella for a parachute. But I can hardly sup-
pose that anything so fearfully dangerous was attempted.
The very fact, however, of the boys believing it, shows their
estimation of him.'
Apart from the school contributions, there are further
authentic and interesting data of James Outram's early
-1818
17
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS.
life, which the reader will doubtless prefer to have in the
very words of the recorder. Mrs. Sligo thus alludes to her
brother's boyhood:-
'He was the reverse of studious, but equally the reverse
of indolent. His play-time was spent in active exercise,
gardening, mechanics, and every athletic sport. His great
enjoyment, however, was to associate with the soldiers at the
barracks, or the sailors at the docks-we, in the meantime,
never knowing where our missing brother had gone. I recol-
lect our surprise one evening when, on returning from our
walk and glancing at the soldiers going through their exer-
cises, we saw our own little Jemmy at their head, as perfect
in all the manœuvres as any among them. He was the delight
of the regiment, but even still more, if possible, the sailors'
pet. There was a mutiny among the latter-I can't remember
the date, but I think he must then have been about twelve
or thirteen years of age. All Aberdeen was uneasy; my
brother, of course, not at home. The sailors were drawn up
in a dense body on the pier. The magistrates went down to
them, backed by the soldiers, whose muskets were loaded;
and they were held in readiness to fire on the mutineers, if
necessary. Between the latter and their opponents, Jemmy
Outram was to be seen, with his hands in his trouser-pockets,
stumping about from one side to the other, like a tiger in
his den, protecting his sailor friends from the threatening
muskets; resolved to receive the fire first, if firing was to be.
'All ended peacefully, however; much to the general
satisfaction, and to our particular thankfulness, when we
were told how our brother had exposed himself. He had
the courage and fortitude of a giant, with the body of a
pigmy (being very small for his age). I never remember
his evincing the slightest sign of bodily pain. When very
young, we all crossed over to the other side of the Dee to
VOL. I.
C
18
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
enjoy a sunny holiday in scrambling on the rocks, picking
up shells and seaweed, and dining in very simple mode in
one of the fisher-huts. There we saw several large crabs
lying on their backs, and we thought that they were dead;
we soon, however, found that this was not the case, when
one of them caught hold of little Jemmy's forefinger. He
calmly held it up, the blood streaming down on the creature,
which thus hung, until of its own accord relaxing its hold,
it fell to the ground. Not a cry had been heard from the
sufferer, nor even a wry face made. He wrapt his hand-
kerchief round the wounded finger, coolly saying, "I thought
he'd get tired at last."
His talent for carving little figures, particularly of animals,
is thus described by the same hand :-'He liked much to be
at the menageries which occasionally visited the town, the
better to represent the creatures they contained. These he
carved out of anything which he could obtain as yielding to
the penknife. Date-stones, fixed together by a cement made
from their own pulverised substance, he particularly liked for
this purpose; and in the attitudes of the monkey race he was
especially successful. My mother thought that perhaps he
would do well as a sculptor, but having no friends in that
line, she did not make any endeavour to follow up this view.'
An anecdote related by a friend of the family, illustrates in
a remarkable manner his mechanical taste when a boy of
thirteen or fourteen at Aberdeen. The lady referred to
remembers her mother's astonishment on coming home one
day after a short absence, and finding the entire works of a
large eight-day clock which stood on the stairs, all laid out
on the school-room table, as well as the locks of all the doors.
Objects of this kind it was the enquiring youth's delight to
take to pieces, and restore to their respective places.
After about four years at Udney, James Outram was
-1818
19
NO BULLYING ALLOWED.
removed to a school then supposed to be the best in Aber-
deen, kept by the Rev. Mr. Esson. Here he distinguished
himself rather by the exuberance of his boyish spirits than
close application to study, and on one occasion a practical
joke played upon the principal usher, resulted in a severe
castigation, the boy's manful endurance of which was
worthy of a nobler cause. His diary-a record, by the way,
kept under school direction and supervision-contained an
entry of the occurrence in the following form, with date and
hour duly inserted. From- till flogged by Mr.
for making him an April fool.' At the same time his pluck
had occasionally a better field for display; and we learn of
one particular case in point, when he appeared at home with
face so bruised and features so changed that he was hardly to
be recognised by his relatives. On this occasion he had upheld
the weak against the strong, and to the anxious ques-
tions put to him by his sister with a view to eliciting an
explanation of his condition, he was able to reply trium-
phantly: 'Never mind, Anna, I've licked the biggest boy in
the school in such a manner that he'll not ill-treat any of the
little boys again, I'll be bound.' Courage was one of his
many characteristics in early boyhood. A playmate much of
his own age-both being about thirteen-was walking with
him in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, when they were
attacked by a large farm mastiff. His comrade's natural
alarm was not in the least degree shared by James Outram.
Without a moment's hesitation, and without any kind of
weapon, he faced the furious brute, ran at him, struck him
with fists and feet, and drove him off in dismay. The
narrator, in recalling this incident in after years, speaks of
the strong impression which it made on him at the time,
and expresses the belief that few boys or men would have
undertaken such a feat; and fewer still would have thought
or said so little of it after it was over.
c 2
20
1803-
JAMES OUTRAM.
His removal to Mr. Esson's was really, however, an
important step on the educational ladder; for it introduced
him to Marischal College, where he attended the second
mathematical class, and Professor Copland's course of natural
and experimental philosophy, for the session 1818-19. The
college reports represent him to be uniformly an attentive
and well-behaved student, evincing good abilities and an
amiable disposition, and making satisfactory progress in his
studies.
measure.
This higher-class education was, however, but a temporary
The year 1819 brought him an Indian cadetship.
Mrs. Outram had applied to her cousin, Colonel Hender-
son, a Peninsula officer, for assistance in getting her son
James into the army; but his reply was unfavourable. Any
profession was, he thought, preferable to one in which there
was nothing but pay to depend on; for, owing to the
seeming certainty of peace, there could be no opportunity of
advancement. Another cousin, brother to the last-named, a
captain (afterwards an admiral) in the navy, made answer
much to the same effect when addressed in respect of his
own calling. The anxious lady then bethought her of the
Church, and had recourse to Archdeacon Outram, her
husband's younger brother, of whom we have before spoken,
and who had been a kind friend to her. He also represented
the little likelihood of success in his own profession, even
were the candidate's habits more studious than reported.
Dr. Outram was, moreover, educating two of his own sons to
take holy orders. Still, he consented to do what he could
in furtherance of his relative's wishes; and the intention
might have been fulfilled had it not been for objections
raised by the boy himself, who, hearing of his mother's
action in the matter, lost no time in giving expression to
his feelings in a quarter where there was a good chance of
meeting sympathy. They mean to make me a parson,' he
6
-1818
21
ACCEPTS A DIRECT CADETSHIP.
said to his sister. You see that window; rather than be
a parson, I'm out of it; and I'll 'list for a common soldier!'
This repugnance to undertake a duty for which he clearly did
not consider himself qualified, having been communicated
to Mrs. Outram, she was perplexed how further to pursue
the quest for her son's provision in life. It so happened
that Captain Gordon, member for Aberdeenshire, called upon
her in the midst of her troubles, and to him she detailed
the circumstances of the case. He readily came to the
rescue, and soon succeeded in obtaining for her the offer of a
direct Indian cadetship. A still better offer, a nomination
to Addiscombe, forwarded about the same time by the Duke
of Gordon, decided her to let the boy follow the profession
of a soldier. He was allowed to choose a starting-point-
a direct commission or college preparation, and the first
presented the greater attraction to his young ambition.
'Frank,' he argued, referring to his elder brother, when
only half the allotted time at Addiscombe, gained all the
highest prizes there, and got into the Engineers. If I
remain the whole three years, I shall at the best come out
only as cadet for the infantry. It's much better, therefore,
that I should at once go out as a cadet; I choose Captain
Gordon's appointment.'
Mrs. Outram thought he had done wisely; for she did
not expect that he would have distinguished himself as his
brother had done. And she was justified in the judgment
which she had formed of her sons. Whatever might have
been the result of his military instruction, it would have
been difficult, within the confined limits of Addiscombe, to
measure the full value of James Outram, who had a part to
play among people and nations of the outer world.
22
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
CHAPTER II.
1819-1824.
Early military tastes-Arrival in Bombay-Comparatively peaceful state of
India-Joins regiment-Experience of an Adjutant's duties-Sick-leave
to Presidency-Accidental explosion-Home letters-Lieutenant Ord's
stories of Shikȧr-Outram's 'first spears '--Sent in command of wing to
Malegaon-The Commander-in-Chief-Second sick-leave to Presidency—
Kittúr—Malair-Appointed to command a Bhîl corps.
WE have already shown that James Outram's tastes were
not of a kind to lead parent or guardian to choose for him
one of the learned professions. It may further be affirmed
that the bent of his mind was essentially that of a soldier.
His yearning for things military did not confine itself to
mimic troops, martial toys, or those counterfeit instruments
and implements of war by which childhood is often attracted
without more serious cause than the love of display and
glitter. In his case the young heart was touched, imagi-
nation was at work, and arrested development might have
been attended with results as pernicious as the too sudden
check of certain physical complaints under mistaken medical
treatment. Instinctively drawn as he had been to the com-
panionship of soldiers and sailors, his boyish ambition was,
moreover, stirred by sights calculated to endear that com-
panionship and graft it into the custom of his after-life.
In 1815, he watched with eager eye the march of a regi-
ment or detachment, largely composed of mere boys; and he
saw some of these return again in a few months, if not weeks,
in the full glory of Waterloo. That spectacle, according to
his own recollection, was the incident which fixed unalterably
-1824
23
PUGNACIOUS PROPENSITIES.
his resolution to be a soldier and nothing else but a soldier
—a private if he could not be an officer. Though scarcely
able to comprehend the anxious aspirations, the tears and
prayers, which had accompanied the body of warriors as it
sped gallantly forth to a field of world-wide renown, he
could heartily participate in the burst of exhilaration,
congratulation, and rapturous welcome with which it was
received on return to its native shores. An incident such as
this might easily make indelible impression on the mind of
an ordinary boy of twelve. On one of sensitive and sym-
pathetic nature, and of generous and enthusiastic tempera-
ment, the impression would be as effectual as indelible.
We are not surprised to learn that in the present instance it
actually determined the after-professional career.
•
His school contests had been rather in the cause of the
weak and oppressed than from any desire of personal dis-
tinction. At college, however, he appears to have been
somewhat more strictly pugnacious. For we learn that he
was the leader in many a 'town and gown' row,
and con-
sequently all but came to grief' on several occasions.
Once, it is said, a kind lady friend paid a considerable fine
imposed by the authorities, and so prevented the report of
delinquency from reaching the ears of his mother, of whom
he stood in great awe. His own account of himself at that
period, according to a confession volunteered in later years,
was ingenuous and condemnatory. And he would laughingly
cap the reminiscence by affirming that he dared not yet
return to Aberdeen, because a reward of 51. hung over his
head, as the undetected leader in a disturbance which had
proved more than usually destructive to the windows of the
college and its neighbourhood.
Mrs. Outram accompanied her son to London, whither
he proceeded on receipt of his cadetship; for there were
several forms and ceremonies to be attended to in Leaden-
24
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
hall Street, beside the demands of an outfit. Their voyage
in the smack was a sufficiently miserable one, but it was
accomplished without mishap. They stayed with Mr.
James Anderson till the sailing of the good ship 'York' on
May 2, 1819.1
Of the passage out we have no details. To Ensign
Outram it was probably monotonous and uneventful; for all
that he has told us on the subject is that, after recovery
from the almost inevitable visitation of sea-sickness, he
acquired the faculty, or it may be, the accomplishment, of
smoking. He appears at this period to have brooded over
his physique; for he refers to being only five feet one inch
in height, and looks upon himself as a 'puny' lad. Sub-
sequent growth to five feet eight inches he attributed to
fever and sickness generally; but even when he had entered
his twentieth year, we find him described by his brother
Francis as the smallest staff officer in the army.' The
vessel in which he was a passenger reached Bombay on
August 15; the 4th of that month is, however, the date
given by the Army List of the year to his lieutenant's
commission in the 1st Grenadier Native Infantry.
(
On arrival the young officer was kindly received by his
cousin, Dr. Ogilvie, in whose house he remained while not
required for duty, or until fairly posted to a regiment. His
impressions on first joining his comrades in arms are not to
be traced in the correspondence now extant. But we may
conclude that he soon found attraction in his surroundings.
His shikár book affords positive evidence that he was not
long in becoming initiated in hog-hunting; for it is there
recorded that he fleshed his maiden spear at Goolygaun,
6
¹ She left the Downs on May 5; as did also the 'Barossa' with the Bombay
Commander-in-Chief, Sir Charles Colville, on board; and the Marquis of
Hastings,' in which the only cadet passenger was the present General Sir
William Wyllie, G.C.B. The late General Stalker was a fellow cadet and
passenger of James Outram in the York.'
-1824
25
INDIA IN 1818.
near Sirúr, in November. He saw much sport with the
Sirúr and Púna hunts during the remainder of the season,
but at that time kept no regular diary or memoranda of
his exploits in the saddle, as later experience led him to do.
<
The period to which we refer was an eventful one for our
Eastern Empire. The deposed Peshwa had reached his
appointed residence at Bithúr-a place destined to attain,
some forty years later, a cruel celebrity in the annals of
British India. The reformed' Pindaris had been disposed
of in two peaceable colonies, strictly according to the dictates
of philanthropy and rules of civilisation. The strong for-
tress of Asirgarh had surrendered to a British general.
Quiet had been restored to Sawant Wari and Berár; and
Bhúj, with its barbarous Rajah, had easily passed into the
hands of our troops. More, much more, had been done; but
we refer to the latest achievements only. The situation in
August 1818 had been well explained by the Governor-General
himself in answer to an address of congratulation from the
inhabitants of Calcutta; and a popular chronicle of the day
sums up, with all semblance of authority, subsequent events
up to the middle of 1819, in the following terms :—
'From the mouths of the Indus, north-east to the Sutlej,
from the Sutlej south-east to Chittagong, from thence to Cape
Comorin and Ceylon, an area containing thousands of miles,
and embracing twenty-five degrees of latitude and twenty-
two degrees of longitude—all is now at peace-we have no
public enemy to oppose. It is little more than twelve
months since we were threatened by a confederacy of the
native powers which had for its aim the renewal of every
sort of plunder and devastation, and the reduction of British
authority where it had long been paramount. The whole
is now dissolved. The turbulent spirits which broke forth,
boasting of their strength and power, have shrunk into
26
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
nothing. The hosts that assembled tumultuously to support
their pretensions are overthrown and dispersed.'1
This was the state of things proclaimed about the time
that James Outram landed at Bombay, and in the ninth
year of Francis, Marquis of Hastings, one of the most distin-
guished of Governors-General. It was natural that a young
and ardent soldier should, under the circumstances, turn
his attention to the dangers and excitement of the hunting-
field.
But peace in India during these years of consolidation
was neither complete nor permanent. A Governor-General's
proclamation, like a royal message, has no time or space for
details; and it would be impolitic and inexpedient to depart
from generalities except as regards matters better under-
stood by the masses than are Indian or Asiatic politics. If
little or nothing was said of external relations to the
Calcutta residents, it was, perhaps, because they did not
interest themselves greatly about them; and that they more
immediately concerned Western than Eastern India. Not
that all was quite satisfactory to the Indian Foreign Office.
Among other outer barbarians' who gave trouble, the
Joasmi pirates in the Persian Gulf were conspicuous. An
attempt had been made to coerce them in 1809, but no stop
was put to their misdoings; they frightened the port of
Bú-shahr, threatened Basrah, and, moreover, plundered ships
and butchered crews from British India. Major-General Sir
William Kier Grant, who had just done good service in
Sawant Wari and Bhúj, was sent in command of troops
against them. These operations lasted from October 1819
till April 1820; but when the expedition returned to Bom-
bay, it was judged necessary to leave a detachment or small
corps of observation in the island of Kishm.
'History of Europe' in Annual Register for 1819.
-1824
27
AN ACTING ADJUTANT.
Although the name of Lieutenant James Outram is found
in the Army List of 1819 among the officers of the 1st
Grenadier Native Infantry, he was first appointed to the
1st Battalion of the 4th Native Infantry, at an up-country
station, and proceeded to join about three weeks after disem-
barkation from Europe. His departure for Satára is at
that time recorded in the Gazette; but he appears actually
to have joined his battalion at Púna, marched with it to
Savandrúg, and returned to the Presidency by Octo-
ber 1. In Government General Orders of November 1
his name is shown as twenty-fifth in a long list of officers
recently arrived, and he is then posted to the 1st Grenadier
Native Infantry, his departure to join the 2nd battalion of
which regiment at Púna¹ is notified in the Gazette as on
December 2. Shortly afterwards he was transferred to the
1st battalion of the 12th Regiment, on its embodiment, at
the same station, and he became its acting adjutant about
the beginning of July 1820. The choice of so young an
officer for this post gives good evidence of the estimation in
which he was held by his seniors.
On October 5, 1820, he wrote to his mother from Púna,
with reference to the regimental appointment :—
'I have now acted upwards of three months, and expect
to act one month longer, as I believe the adjutant will not join
till that time. It is of no immediate advantage to me, other-
wise than that it teaches me my duty, but my having acted as
adjutant four months will give me strong claims for that ap-
pointment when it becomes vacant. Though an adjutancy is
thought by the generality of people to be a very arduous and
responsible situation, yet it really is not much so, as it is a
mere rotation of the same duties monthly, and should a vacancy
¹ His own notes say that he joined at Sirúr.
28
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
happen to-morrow, I would not hesitate a moment about
applying for the situation, as I would feel confident (without
flattery to myself) that I would be equal to the task, with a
little application and trouble on my part.'
This was the natural view of a true soldier, who, like the
poet, nascitur non fit; and who, in his teens as in after
years, ignored difficulty in every professional shape. But
the opinions were hardly sound, and the writer, soon after
expressing them, admitted that he had misapprehended the
full scope of his work. The appointment had a deeper im-
portance than he at first supposed. A young Indian officer,
competent to excel, and laudably ambitious of excellence
in the little restricted arena which lay open to him half a
century ago, could scarcely find a better training-school than
in the adjutancy of a native regiment. Intimate acquaint-
ance with sipahis, from the drill-ground to the commissioned
ranks, and with European officers, especially commanding
officers, both on parade and in quarters, was one of the great
advantages thus obtained, by a sure process to which the
mere company captain or subaltern was a comparative
stranger. More than this, the special gain to the intelligent
novice was the experience of power and self-discipline. He
attained the knowledge how to work under a commandant,
whether smart and strict, or smart and easy; ignorant and
testy, or ignorant and lax; in fine, whatever the type pre-
sented, good, bad, or indifferent. The tact was thus acquired
of exercising delegated authority over equals, superiors, and
inferiors in rank and position, in a manner calculated to ensure
subordination and efficiency. He was not, however, relieved
of his acting appointment so soon as expected. Between
six and seven months after date of the last quoted letter
James Outram again addressed his mother. On this occa-
sion he wrote from Baroda, whither he had marched with his
-1824
EARLY REGIMENTAL EXPERIENCES.
29
regiment from Púna,' making excuses for a long silence, not
to be attributed, as he himself explained, to forgetfulness.
He had had so much to do lately in the adjutancy,' and
had found it 'a much more difficult situation to fill' than he
had before contemplated. Thus he expressed himself:-
Many difficulties were thrown in my way, which I had
not foreseen. Several officers who were removed from the
corps had charge of a company each, all of which were thrown
upon my hands, and I had to make out the papers of almost
all the companies, besides all the battalion ones. Almost all
adjutants have two writers, one which Government allows—a
sergeant-and one which he keeps at his own expense. Now
I have been altogether, I daresay, five months without one at
all, and have never had more than one at any time. At first
a sergeant was not procured (as it is a new corps) till about
seven months after I had begun to act. I had, now and
then, a writer for a few days, but I daresay I was five months
without one altogether; and when I got the sergeant I found
him more a burden than a help to me, as he had everything
to learn. . . . I have also been latterly acting quartermaster.
I am to be relieved by the regular adjutant, I suppose, on
the 1st of next month (May), as he has been relieved from
the corps which he has been obliged to remain with till this
time. I shall then have done the duties of adjutant exactly
ten months.'
1
We doubt not that many Indian officers have been in like
case; and such as these would readily admit that the little
This march is alluded to in a brief entry for the year 1820-21, made in
his shikár book:-'Had little sport on the road, and nothing but coursing at
Baroda.' In the Bombay Gazette of November 22, 1820, it is noted as a
movement 'now taking place;' but the corps did not leave till February 10,
1821, arriving at its destination, viâ Bombay, Surat, and Broach, on March 29.
The 2nd Battalion was ordered at the same time to Kishm, in the Persian
Gulf.
30
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
early and extra responsibilities thus thrust upon them have
had their value. They do more than many books and in-
structions to explain the actual routine of duty, and their
lessons, once acquired, are seldom, if ever, forgotten. Though
times have certainly changed, and the adjutant of a native
regiment has neither the same inducements nor the same
opportunities of equipping himself for the battle of life that
he had in former years, the school he represents may still be
found a good one, and those who profit by its teaching should
not be in too great haste to abandon it for a wider and more
ambitious field. Patience is a more practical virtue than
ever in these days of railways, speed, and restlessness.
In the following year (1822) another letter to his mother,
dated Ahmadabad, April 28, a full twelvemonth later than
the last quoted one, affords a singular contrast between
locomotion in India experienced in 1878-79, and the slow
movements of olden times. The writer had been sent, on
account of sickness, to Bombay, and would have left the
Presidency to rejoin his corps in February, but that an
'unfortunate accident,' just after embarkation, had compelled
him to put back and lay up for a month. On March 9, he
had re-embarked with two companions, and after tossing
about at sea for two days, disembarked on the north side of
the island of Bombay, proceeding thence by land. He had
been about six weeks on the road to Ahmadabad, a journey
now accomplished in, perhaps, twice that number of hours;
and his corps was moving about somewhere to the north-east
of that station. The full (or, according to Indian parlance,
paka) adjutancy had been conferred upon him on January
15, but absence from the regiment had prevented his
receipt of any emoluments accruing from the appointment.
He is not explicit as to the sickness which had driven him
to Bombay, but we gather, incidentally, that it was a fever
which had prostrated many of the residents at Baroda after
-1824
31
FIREWORKS.
the rains of 1821. His own allusions to it are with reference
to the drain thereby caused upon his scanty income. The
regiment had been ordered on field service to the Máhi
Kánta, a province in the east of Gujrát (and the littoral of
the river Máhi), of which we shall have to say much in a
subsequent chapter; and he had made preparations to
accompany it as adjutant. Of these preparations the impor-
tant items of tents and camels will give some support to the
idea that they were on a large scale, when considered in
respect of a single subaltern. Owing to the nature and
severity of his attack, he had had to proceed suddenly from
Baroda to Cambay, and thence to take boat to Bombay, the
cost of which unexpected journey had to be met by the sale
of his camels at a disadvantage. The expenses of the return
journey and purchase of a horse at the Presidency had con-
tributed to swell the demands upon a not over-stocked purse,
and he had found himself with no remedy but, much against
his will, to borrow money.
As regards the 'unfortunate accident' above noted, and
hardly explained by a statement that his enforced detention
was ‘owing to the burn,' we find tolerably detailed accounts
among the family papers. It appears that the medical men
at Bombay were of opinion that he should return home to
recruit strength after his attack of jangal fever. This
arrangement, however, did not suit his own plans; and
feeling sufficiently recovered for the work before him, he
started to rejoin his regiment in Káthiawár, embarking on
board a native boat, with horses and kit, to get over the first
part of the way by sea. From some cause unknown, the
evening was a gala one, and fireworks were to be let off in
the harbour. The convalescent resolved to share in the fun
and signalise his own departure at the same time. So, in
addition to the necessary impedimenta of ordinary travelling
baggage, he laid in a superfluous stock of combustibles, and
32
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
፡
had them carefully brought on board his unpretending craft.
The story continues that he blew up his boat, that its
contents were showered into the water around, that the
horses were killed or drowned, and that he himself was
picked up floating, a 'hardly animate mass of blackened
humanity.' Not even recognised as a European, he was left
uncared for when first deposited on the shore; but in course
of time a charitable Parsi, whose name has never transpired,
had him placed in a palanquin and conveyed to his own
house, whence, his identity discovered, he was removed to
Mr. Willoughby's. It is added that the skin of his face.
peeled off, and was replaced by a second skin coarser than
the first: but that the explosion, however injurious to his
personal appearance, was attended on the other hand with
one good result. All traces of jangal fever had been as
effectually blown out of its victim as they could have been
eradicated by a voyage to Europe and transfer to his native
atmosphere. As no account is rendered of servants or
followers, let us hope that any such may have escaped with-
out serious injury. Two months after the occurrence,
Francis Outram, then still 2nd Lieutenant of Engineers at
Bombay, adverting to it in a letter to his mother, says that
results might have been much worse, but that James luckily
escaped with a good scorching, and that he will be more
careful with gunpowder for the future.'
His own home letters at this period, as indeed for the
first few years of his Indian career, are mainly taken up with
matters of domestic interest. These belong essentially to
his biography, inasmuch as they exhibit the working of inner
life and reveal the secrets of individual character. But for
obvious reasons we shall be sparing in extracts, merely
selecting those passages which may better serve to illustrate
the whole correspondence. The reader may rest assured that
if he were to read over from first to last every line of the
-1824
33
HOME-LETTERS.
four or five original letters now before us, which come
within the chronological scope of the present chapter, he
would see no cause to consider the selections exceptional.
The tone is one of genuine and honest affection; the spirit
breathed is that which fathers and mothers would rejoice to
acknowledge in the writings of their own sons; and if the
language be not remarkable for high educational polish, it
has the more sterling merit of straightforward expression
and simplicity. That he was not trained when a boy in the
art of polite correspondence may be taken for granted. Mrs.
Outram could tell the story of a certain epistle he had to
prepare, in which the mere formula of commencing and
ending was not accomplished without assistance; and she
seemed to think this the only piece of letter-composition that
could be credited to him prior to departure for India.' She
marvelled how he wrote so well when fairly launched on his
Indian career.
We have quoted his views regarding employment on the
regimental staff. Let us turn from self to his care for the
happiness of others, especially of her whom he addressed as
the presiding genius of his home. Assuredly it is manhood.
and not childhood, nor even youth, which realises the poetry
as well as essential charm of the relationship between mother
and son.
'You used to say you were badly off,' he wrote in an
undated letter, bearing the postmark of November 1822,
• but as I had been used to poor Udney, I thought we were
""
The real story is thus told:-'During the holidays, a schoolfellow (one
of the Gordons of Manar) sent him a letter by a servant. His mother said he
must in civility answer it, so he retired to do so. After a while he came back,
saying, "How am I to begin?” 'Why, 'My dear Gordon,' of course.' Thus
prompted, he again disappeared for a considerable time. He then came and
asked how he was to end, and being told, "Yours sincerely, James Outram,"
soon brought his letter. His mother had the curiosity to look at what he had
said. The contents were simply, "My dear Gordon-Yours sincerely James
Outram."
VOL. I.
D
34
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
very comfortable at our humble home. Now, when I see
how many privations you had to put up with, I think you
made wonderful sacrifices for your children, whose duty it is
to make you as comfortable as they possibly can. I, for one,
am certainly sorry that I have not been more prudent, for I
certainly ought by this time to have been able to send you,
at least, something; for I got the allowances of the acting
adjutancy for eight months out of the ten in which I acted,
after a reference to Government.
When I rejoin my
corps I shall be in the receipt of 600 rs. per mensem, as the
corps is at present in the field; out of which I shall at least
be able to save 300 rs. a month, which is about 350l. a year.
I am obliged to keep an additional horse and office establish-
ment and field-carriage, but 300 rs. a month will certainly
cover all expenses in the field, and 250 in garrison. The
above 600 rs. per mensem is the field-pay and allowances,
the garrison is about 400 rs. per month; so that in the
field I shall save about 3501., and in garrison about 150 rs.
a month, which makes about 180l. a year; all of which is,
of course, dedicated to you; and much greater pleasure will
spending it in this manner afford me than if I was amassing
riches upon riches on my own account.'
A little later in the year (though the letter bears the
postmark of October), he continues in the same strain,
entering freely into details of money liabilities, and adding:-
'I was at first undetermined whether to let you know
how I am circumstanced, . . . but then I recollected that
honesty is the best policy, and that being candid with you
would please you more than if I were perhaps not exactly to
fulfil what I promised. I therefore have told you everything,
and always shall.'
It is but fair to remark that Francis Outram shared the
same filial sentiments, and could equally appreciate the in-
-1824
35
MARCHING IN KÁTHIAWÁR.
•
estimable value of a mother's attachment. His letters are
conclusive testimony on this point.
We have already said that when James Outram went up
to rejoin his battalion in 1822, it was somewhere north-east
of Ahmadabad. He fell in with it at the village of Morassa,
where it formed part of a field force assembled with a view
to the suppression of local disturbances which had become
aggravated by long continuance. Lieutenant Richard Ord,
of the same regiment, but of the 2nd battalion, then at
Kishm, was acting adjutant, and from him he received charge
of his substantive appointment. This officer had spent
eighteen months in the Persian Gulf, but ill-health having
prevented his return thither, he had been directed to attach
himself to the 1st battalion of his regiment in the Máhi
Kánta. The campaign being brought to a close by the
capture of the rebel chief Konkaji, the battalion was ordered
to Rajkot for the rains. A march in Káthiawár during the
prevalence of the hot winds is not pleasant, but the weather
does not appear to have abated the energy of the young men
thus incidentally thrown together. They were much of the
same standing, for Ord was only two senior to Outram in
the regimental list of lieutenants. The latter had not
enjoyed much sport on his upward journey. His journal
shows he had had a little hunting at Surat, and had been
unfortunate in breaking down a colt brought from Bombay;
also that he found some hog at Ahmadabad, where he had
experienced two severe falls. But of the 'little sport on the
road' through Káthiawár to Rajkot, to which he refers, Lieu-
tenant Ord gives the following account :-
'A few days after he (Outram) had joined, he and I were
riding in rear of the column, and as day broke we espied
hog at a little distance. Immediately we started in chase,
not anticipating much result from our hunt, as we had no
D 2
36
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
spears, merely our swords. After a short run we detached a
fine large fellow from the herd, who, after a sharp burst of
about a mile, took refuge in a large patch of cactus bushes,
out of which we found it impossible to dislodge him, though
Outram in his eagerness dismounted, and did his best to
make him bolt. From what I afterwards saw of hog-hunting
I think it was as well. . that he did not succeed. Foiled
in our attempt, we galloped back to the regiment, and were
just in time to rejoin it before it arrived at the encamping
ground.'
Again, a little later, a regular hog-hunt was organised.
Owing to the hot weather, however, there was but one
hunter to the fore, besides the same two named; Ord
loquitur :—
6
Off we started, and after riding about three miles,
admiring the mirage, the solemn stillness, and the various
villages flashing on the horizon, we came to a large level
plain covered with grass and stunted trees. Our guides
stopped, and upon our asking them where the hogs were, waved
their arms in a circle and said "There!" We all looked
rather blank, for having no beaters with us, we might as well
have searched for a needle in a haystack as a hog on that
wide plain. Suddenly we caught sight of a little flag waving
from a solitary tree in the distance, and, putting our horses'
heads in that direction, soon started a huge boar. Away we
went as hard as we could lay legs to the ground, my horse
leading—and Outram just behind, calling out to me to turn
him. On, on we rode, but just when I came within nearly
a spear's length of him, instead of turning from me, he
charged furiously at me, and had not my gallant steed
bounded in the air and leaped over him, we should have
been rolled upon the plain. Before I had recovered the
suddenness of the attack, Outram rushed to the rescue; the
- 1824
37
HOG-HUNTING PICNICS.
hog charged him furiously, but being a practised hand, he
received the charge on his spear. In the concussion the
spear was broken in half, one part remaining fast in the
animal's head. Our enemy was now brought to bay but,
sitting on his haunches with the spear in his head, he had
such a strange appearance and charged so furiously when we
approached, that our horses would not go near enough to him
to allow of his getting his coup-de-grâce. We had, at this
time, but one spear, I having dropped mine, and Outram's
being broken-but after a while our horse-keepers came up
with other spears, and the boar was soon despatched. My
companions were much amused at my discomfiture, but gave
me great credit for my first attempt.'
Outram had purchased a house at Rajkot, and into this
he moved shortly after reaching the station. The other
officers who could not find bangla accommodation went into
tents. Ord took up his quarters with a friend in the 1st
Cavalry, joining the mess of that regiment; but Outram, not
thinking this arrangement compatible with a proper esprit
de corps, eventually persuaded him to share his own house
and become a member of his own mess.
<
Colonel Ord, at a comparatively recent date, in reviewing
the weekly hog-hunting picnics of Rajkot held at this
particular period, gives a stirring account of an adventure at
a place called Kerisera,' prefacing it with the remark that
'in India sporting is much encouraged by the higher
authorities, it being the general opinion that these hardy
exercises conduce much to the military training and for-
mation of a soldier.' He had heard both Sir John Malcolm
and Sir Lionel Smith'—and few men could be trusted for
sounder opinions on military training— observe that they
never knew a good sportsman who was not a good soldier.'
We quote the original narrative:-
38
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
'Outram, Liddle, and myself were together; we started a
sounder. Outram looking after one hog, and L. and myself
after another, Outram soon lost sight of his in the thick
jungle, but L. and I pursued our course. Soon we heard
0. galloping up behind us; we pushed on, hoping to get
the spear before he came up. Most unfortunately there was
a deep jungly ravine before us; into that the hog dashed,
and while we stopped on the brink, Outram rushed by us,
and after floundering and rolling over several times reached
the bottom-a dry nullah. We thought that he must have
been severely hurt, but not a bit-soon he was on his horse's
back again, and after a long run he killed the boar, although
he had only half a spear, the shaft having been broken in
his descent down the ravine. When Outram had left us,
L. and I went into the jungle, hoping to finish another hog.
We had not ridden far when we heard a rustle, and saw the
grass moving at a little distance in front of us; we im-
mediately set off in pursuit, but on coming to a more open
space we found that it was not a hog that we were in chase
of, but two lions. The lions, on getting a fair view of us,
stopped and turned to look at us. We stopped also, feeling
no inclination to encounter them.
other for a while, the lions quietly walked away, and we
followed their example. On regaining Outram, and telling
him what we had seen, he was anxious that we should again
go in pursuit, but we resolutely declined. These were the
first lions, I believe, that were ever seen in Káthiawár; since
then I have heard that many have been met with, and some
killed, but with the rifle, not the spear.'
After gazing at each
Running a nílgái down without dogs, and following him
into the middle of a river, is another story of those days
told of his hero by the same authority. One morning, too,
that they were out with the dogs in quest of foxes, they
-1824
39
'FIRST SPEARS?
slipped the whole pack at some wolves which appeared upon
the ground. These fought fiercely, and seriously damaged
their assailants. The result was that most of the dogs went
mad.
For the year 1823 there is recorded in James Outram's
shikár book, that he had 'good hog-hunting in the neigh-
bourhood of Rajkot.' A list of eighty-three first spears is
given, of which fifty belong to the recorder himself, the
rest being divided among twelve other competitors, the
highest of whose individual scores is eight. Of course many
of the party were oftener out than others; Outram always.
The rule of the hunt was that all should go after the same
hog, selecting the largest. For the year 1824 the shikár
register in Káthiawár is roughly continued until March 4
only, at which date thirty-nine hog and one chítá (leopard)
had been killed. Of the first spears Outram carried off
twenty-four, inclusive of the chítá; the remainder being
divided among three comrades, one of whom scored eight.
He also killed in Káthiawár four nílgái, two hyenas, and two
wolves; the nilgáí having been obtained in seven runs, at
the cost of four horses!
¹ A detail of winners of these 'first spears' is given in the shikár book.
Adding the two years together, we obtain a total of 123 (83+40), in the
following order :-
Outram
74
Morris
10
Watkins
8
Wight
6
Scott
6
Rowland
6
Poole
5
Slight
Sparrow
3
1
Wilkes
1
Barlow
1
Stevenson
1
•
Jám Rája of Naunagar
1
123
4C
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
C
But the years 1823 and 1824 were not wholly taken up
with the chase. The account just given of trophies in the
hunting-field begins really in the last week of July and
ends on March 4, thus exhibiting a detail of consecutive
sport for little more than seven months. During this
period Outram, a young man of but one-and-twenty, up to
January 29 took three-fifths of the first spears,' it is true;
but he was winning his professional spears also by energy on
the regimental parade. Independently of the duties of his
own corps, he had already been adjutant of a detachment on
service in Kathiawár under Captain Morris. In January
1823, he commanded the 1st battalion of the 12th N. I.
on its annual review, and was highly complimented by
Colonel Turner, the reviewing officer, in Station Orders
of the day; and in March 1824 he commanded a wing of
his corps on the occasion of its review by Sir Charles
Colville at Junagarh. The state of the battalion generally
may be inferred from the Commander-in-Chief's order, dated
February 29, the day on which he had reviewed its head-
quarters for the first time since 'incorporation into the
Line.' His Excellency expressed to the officers and men how
much gratification he had experienced in witnessing that
their good composition as a body' was 'equalled by their
smart and soldier-like performance under arms, and the
report of their orderly and correct conduct in cantonment.'
No slight praise is hereby implied to an adjutant who,
however able his commandant, must, if he be of the proper
stamp, exercise a strong direct personal influence upon both
officers and sipahis in a native regiment. And he had
then only just entered his two-and-twentieth year. The
good opinion of the higher authorities on his soldierly
qualities was, however, not evinced by mere compliment.
In April 1824, when his regiment moved in wings to relieve
the 19th Native Infantry at Malegaon, in Khandesh, he was
-1824
4I
DUTY AND PLEASURE.
<
6
6
placed in command of the wing reviewed by the chief at
Junagarh, resuming, at the end of the march, his duties of
adjutant. Selection of a junior lieutenant for such respon-
sible work was no poor evidence of efficiency. Dr. Johnston,
of the Bombay army, accompanied in medical charge.
His recorded reminiscence of this chapter of Indian life is of
sufficient interest to be utilised for the benefit of the reader.
The march is described as 'a distance of 250 miles, through
a fine country, not wanting in game.' The strict discipline
maintained by the young commanding officer did not admit
of shikaring' while the men were in movement. But,'
writes the doctor, after reaching our ground, encamping the
men, and discussing a good breakfast in the mess tent, we
generally sallied out in quest of game, and many a wild boar
bit the dust on these occasions. Outram was always ready
to join those under his command in the field sports, of
which indeed he was the great promoter, and in which he
took more first spears than any other man. But this, so
far from leading them to be lax in their duties, made every
man try to do his best. Duty was always a labour of love
with those under him, for he inspired all who were capable
of any elevation of feeling with some portion of his own
ardour, and made all such willing assistants rather than
mere perfunctory subordinates. Thus early did he show
that wonderful tact of commanding which few have possessed
in such a high degree.'
In October 1824 he proceeded on medical certificate to
Bombay. Some four or five months before, his battalion
had been converted into a regiment,' under the designation
1 The order of the Governor-General in Council for the reorganisation of the
armies of the three Presidencies is dated May 6. Twelve regiments of Native
Infantry, consisting of 2 battalions each, were given to Bombay; 25 to Madras,
and 34 to Bengal. The separation into regiments accordingly was notified in
Bombay Government Orders of June 7, when James Outram appeared as
fourth Lieutenant in the 24th N.I. Francis Outram was at the same time
shown as sixth among the Lieutenants of Engineers. On July 29, James
42
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
of 23rd. He himself had been posted next to Lieutenant
Ord in the 2nd battalion or 24th, and appointed adjutant;
but he had been permitted at his own request to return to
his original battalion and his original adjutancy.¹
His Khandesh experiences of shikár had not been as
full as those of Káthiawár, nor were his results so successful.
For a party of four there is only shown a list of ten first
spears; but then seven of these belonged to James Outram.
One of the seven was exceptional, in that it was not taken
upon a hog. The young Nimrod had again run down a
nilgáí, and the exploit had once more cost him a valuable
horse.'
Many old officers of the Bombay army will doubtless
remember a story which obtained credit in those days, to
the effect that Lieutenant Outram volunteered for employ-
ment in the Birmese campaign, and that the Commander-
in-Chief, who had a real appreciation of the volunteer's
soldierly qualities, but may not have cared to move him
from the scene of present usefulness, replied through his
secretary that he would not accede to the application, as,
after giving the matter every consideration, he had come to
the conclusion that the war might be successfully accom-
plished without him! The sequel was said to have been a
challenge, to which the good humour and good sense of the
old General replied by a friendly admonition conveyed
through a third party. We think it probable that the
following is the more correct account. It claims to be that
Outram is gazetted Adjutant of the 24th Regiment N.I. from August 1, 'vice
Allen, who resigns.'
1824:-
The following is the text of the Government Order, dated September 3,
'23rd Regiment N.I.-Lieutenant J. Outram, having exchanged from the
24th to this Regiment N.I. (in order to remain in a corps in which he has
long done duty), to be continued in the discharge of the duties of Adjutant
without alteration of original date of appointment, and his appointment of
Adjutant to the 24th Regiment of N.I., by the General Order of July 29 last,
is cancelled.'
-1824
43
KITTÚR.
related by Sir James himself in after years :-He used to be
nicknamed 'the little general,' and when he asked the chief
to be allowed to go to Birmah, verbally, the reply of 'Oh,
no, little general, I think we can manage it without you,' so
enraged him that he rushed out bent upon the duello, and
eager to find a sympathising second. Of course no one
would act in that capacity; and the General, on hearing of the
matter, said to him, 'It's lucky you did not find one, for I'd
have shot you.' In any case Sir Charles Colville must have
been the chief referred to, and it is not unlikely that the
occurrence took place about the period of his inspection of
the 23rd Regiment in March 1824; for it was in that very
month that Sir Archibald Campbell was appointed to
command the expeditionary force in Birmah. It may be here
mentioned that Lord Amherst had arrived as Governor-
General in Bengal, in succession to the Marquis of Hastings,
in the middle of the previous year.
While Outram was at Bombay, towards the end of the
year 1824, one of those miniature wars occurred, which,
trifling as they are in respect of numbers and area, afford
lessons to young soldiers more practical in their way than the
sand-modelling experience of our military colleges. The story
is instructive because it illustrates an incident of British rule
in India which may have been repeated more or less often,
with variations in detail but like general results; because it
shows the delicate ground on which we tread in enforcing
our morals as well as laws upon a people unwilling to accept
either where they clash with ancient custom or prejudice;
and because it establishes the fact that a rebellion against
authority may be carried on, even by the more uncivilised of
our Indian subjects, in a strange spirit of chivalry, devoid of
personal rancour or animosity.
The Deshai, or hereditary native governor of Kittúr, died
in September 1824 without heirs; and his jágír, or alien-
44
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
ated lands, lapsed to the paramount power. Mr. Thackeray,
British Resident in the native state, consequently assumed
control of the property, pending receipt of the further orders
of Government. But some members of the native household
sought both to conceal the death of the chief, and to palm off
a successor, falsely represented to have been adopted. It be-
came, therefore, necessary to take measures for securing the
treasure and jewels, valued at about 15 lacs of rupees; and a
guard, sufficient to supply the requisite sentries, was ordered
to move into the fort on October 22. The day following the
spirit of resistance was clearly manifested, and admittance re-
fused to a relief of soldiers. Strong measures were necessary;
so the Collector gave orders that Captain Black should proceed
with two guns to the gateway and demand surrender of the
place, with one hour to consider. This done, without answer
returned, and a further half-hour having been accorded with
similar result, the gates were blown open. A heavy fire was
then opened upon our troops from within the fort; Mr.
Thackeray, Captain Black, and Lieutenant Dighton were
killed, and Lieutenant Sewell was badly wounded. Messrs.
Stevenson and Elliott, of the Madras Civil Service, the Col-
lector's Assistants, who had been taken prisoners, were brought
in front of the sipahis to induce them to cease firing. The
device was successful, and the rebels carried their point.
No time was lost in repairing the mischief done to the
prestige of our authority. There were no railways or tele-
graphs in those days, but fortunately Kittúr was not a very
remote locality. On November 7 the 1st European regi-
ment and a detachment of artillery embarked from
Bombay for Vingorla, to proceed to Dharwar; and soon
afterwards a combined force of Madras and Bombay troops,
which had been directed to assemble in the Southern Mar-
hatta country, entered the refractory State under command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Deacon, C.B., of the Madras establish-
-1824
VOLUNTEERS FOR STORMING-PARTY.
45
ment. On December 10 the Governor of Bombay in Council
published the despatches reporting the reduction of the for-
tress, and expressing his entire approbation of the measures
adopted to achieve success, as well as of the conduct of
officers and men engaged. Government viewed with par-
ticular satisfaction the exertions of the several corps to reach
their destination from distant points, under circumstances of
great difficulty attendant on the late unusual season and
the great want of carriage in the country through which
they had to pass.' The affair had been smart and well-
managed, with a total loss on our side of three killed and
twenty-five wounded. It is worthy of remark that Messrs.
Stevenson and Elliott were well treated throughout this short
period of captivity. According to the portion of the local
press then considered the more authoritative, they were
desired by the Marhattas to look upon the fort as their own,
and their keepers, not themselves, as prisoners!
Now it so happened that both Francis and James Outram
were present at the siege of Kittúr: the former in the
course of duty, the latter as a volunteer on leave at the
Presidency. For the parts they respectively played we
must refer to the despatches of the officer commanding the
field detachment, although the Engineer only is mentioned
in them by name. Colonel Deacon says: In reconnoitring
. . . I was ably assisted by the abilities of Captain Pouget,
of the Bombay Engineers; and his decided exertions and
operations, as well as those of Lieutenants Lawe and Outram,
of the same branch, were of the greatest use to me.' He
added, however, that a demur on the side of the besieged to
fulfil the terms of capitulation, which had been intimated
by prearranged signal, had caused him to move forward
'H.M.'s 46th Regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Willshire,¹
and the 3rd Bombay Native Infantry under Lieutenant-
¹ Afterwards General Sir Thomas Willshire, Bart. K.C.B.
46
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
Colonel Seely.' Suspicion of treacherous dealing had been
so far aroused, that the batteries were several times about
to re-open:' but all ended well, for after a little delay in
negotiation 'the prisoners were . . . brought out and the
forts surrendered, about 8 o'clock on the morning of
December 5. By the light of these passages in the de-
spatch, we understand the personal notes which inform us
that James Outram, after successfully volunteering for the
Kittúr expedition, was attached to the 3rd Regiment in
command of the Light Company,' and that he had further
'volunteered to lead the storming-party,' a contingency con-
templated, but rendered unnecessary owing to the submis-
sion of the insurgents.
As their arrival at Bombay is notified in the same day's
Gazette, we may conclude that the two brothers returned
thither from Kittúr together on January 19. The younger
did not tarry many days at the Presidency, and in February
had joined his regiment at Malegaon. One month later,
an insurrection which, unchecked, might have proved of a
serious character, broke out in the western districts of Khan-
desh, in the suppression of which he was called upon to
take a prominent part. The leading rebel, with 800 men,
attacked and plundered Antapúr, and carried his spoil to
the hill-fortress of Malair, a village between Surat and
Malegaon. There, having established his head-quarters,
he raised the banner of the recently conquered Peshwa,
and proclaimed his intention of reviving the glories of the
Marhatta confederacy. Convenient military stations, such as
Surat, Jálnah, and Ahmadnagar, were warned to hold soldiers
in readiness for service; while the more immediately avail-
able force was concentrated for protective purposes upon
Zai Kaira, the chief town of the Malair district, and seat of
the treasury; that place being only twelve miles distant
from the stronghold of the insurgents.
-1824
47
THE FORT OF MALAIR.
On the morning of April 5 a requisition for troops
reached Malegaon and a detachment of 200 men of the
11th and 23rd Regiments was paraded and marched off at 5
o'clock in the evening. Lieutenant Outram, who was to
command, and his friend, Mr. Graham the assistant-collector,
followed at 11 P.M. on an elephant. They reached Zai Kaira
at sunrise on April 6-37 miles in seven hours. On the way
they had seen the fires in Malair; and the surrounding
country had appeared to them in a blaze. For the last five
miles into the town the road had been strewed with sipahis,
completely knocked up. In the course of the day Outram
received information which led him to believe that, despite
of numbers, the fortress of Malair might be successfully
escaladed on the further side. But this day's proceedings,
and those of April 7, will be retold in the words of one who
may be trusted for a knowledge of his subject: 'He there-
fore proposed to carry the place by a coup-de-main, to rout
the insurgents under the panic of a sudden surprise and, by
thus destroying the prestige they had already acquired, to
dishearten the allies that were flocking to their standard.
This proposition was enthusiastically received by his compa-
nions, Ensigns Whitmore and Paul, of the 11th Regiment;
but it so far exceeded the discretionary powers which their
written instructions vested either in Graham or Outram, that
it was a matter of serious deliberation with the former whether
he was justified in giving his consent. The result of his enqui-
ries, however, satisfied him that a rapid and alarming exten-
sion of the insurrection could only be prevented by offering
a prompt check to the rebels. He accordingly sanctioned the
proposed measures; and soon after nightfall Outram marched
forth to carry them into execution.
'As he neared the hill on which the fortress was situated,
he sent Ensigns Whitmore and Paul, with 150 men, to make
a false attack in front, while he himself, with the remaining
48
1819-
JAMES OUTRAM.
fifty sepoys of his detachment, turning off to the left, pro-
ceeded to assail the rear.
'The operation was completely successful. Both parties
effected the ascent before daybreak, and while the rebels
had their attention drawn to their front by the assault of an
enemy whose strength it was impossible to ascertain in the
dark, Outram dashed in upon them from behind. The
panic-stricken garrison fled with scarcely an attempt at
resistance, and at the head of his reunited detachment,
and some horsemen whom Mr. Graham had in the meantime
collected, Outram followed them up so closely that they
could neither rally nor discover the weakness of their
assailants. Their leader was cut down; many of his ad-
herents shared his fate, and the rest made for the neigh-
bouring hills in a state of complete disorganisation.
'As the infantry had now marched upwards of fifty miles
in little more than thirty-six hours, Outram found it neces-
sary to halt them soon after dawn. But the horsemen
continued the pursuit so far as the nature of the ground
permitted; scouts were despatched to ascertain the point of
rendezvous selected by the scattered foe, and, at night, the
chase was resumed. The insurgents were a second time
surprised; many were slain, numbers were taken prisoners,
and the rest, throwing down their arms, fled to their respective
villages. A rebellion which had caused much anxiety to the
authorities was thus crushed ere the troops intended for its
suppression had been put in motion, and the plunder of
Untapoor was restored to its lawful owners.'1
These services, for which the acknowledgments of Govern-
ment, the Commander-in-Chief, and the Division General,
were received by the smart young adjutant and his supporters,
were the last rendered by Lieutenant Outram in his capacity
¹ Memoir, printed for private circulation in 1853.
-1824
49
PHYSICAL PROBATIONS.
of regimental officer. He had been marked by the authorities
for special employ, and his energy and abilities were to be
displayed in a new and higher sphere. By Bombay General
Orders of April 22, he was placed at the disposal of the
collector and political agent in Khandesh for the purpose of
commanding a Bhîl corps to be raised in that province for
police duties. A fortnight afterwards appeared in the
Government Gazette the appointment of an officer to be
adjutant of the 23rd Regiment N.I. 'vice Outram, appointed
to command a Bhîl corps.' We are not surprised to learn
that when he thus officially, as it were, parted from his
old companions, his commanding officer, Major Deschamps,
recorded a warm eulogium on his services, attributing in a
great measure to his individual merits and exertions, the
good reputation obtained by the newly-formed regiment.
Having now traced the strictly regimental career of the
subject of our biography, it will not be out of place, be-
fore commencing a new chapter, to glance at the result of
this incipient work upon physical powers which an Indian
climate and much out-door work had put to a tolerably
severe test.
He was not one to dwell upon bodily ailments, but he
was not free from those to which flesh is heir; nor was
India more kind to him during the first five years of his
residence than to the generality of his companions. It has
been shown that sickness had compelled him to leave Baroda
in 1821 and Rajkot in 1824, proceeding on each occasion to
Bombay. It has not, however, been stated that just before
the march from Púna in the former year he had been
attacked by a bilious fever which, to use his own words,
though 'got over in three days,' was 'succeeded by a very
curious disease, something between small-pox and chicken-
pox.' He had managed to accompany his regiment out from
Púna in that kind of second-class palanquin called a doolee;
VOL. 1.
E
50
1824
JAMES OUTRAM.
and after four days' rest at his cousin's quarters in Bombay,
whither he had gone by water from Panwell, he had felt well
enough to decline his commanding officer's offer to precede
the corps by sea-passage to Cambay. That this attack, how-
ever, had been of a decided character, may be inferred from
his report of himself when it had fairly passed away: i.e. that
he was 'a greater scare than ever,' and 'a little marked' by the
disease. Moreover, Mr. Elphinstone had not at first recog-
nised him at Baroda, because he had grown so much,' and
his face was greatly altered;' which latter result he attri-
buted to the same circumstance.
6
.
For some years he continued the 'puny lad' of his self-
retrospect, liable to every prevailing sickness, and easily
knocked up by exposure. But we learn that even in his
early days he formed the resolution to fight it out with the
climate or die: to acclimatise himself by surmounting all
the illnesses of Anglo-Indian existence, or succumb to one of
them altogether. If he was not to conquer such contingencies,
he did not care to live in the atmosphere to which they
belonged. And he did fight it out and, strange to say, ill-
ness after illness left him none the worse permanently; while
the result of an unusually varied series of approaches to
death's door was the establishment of a constitution of iron,
proof against all influences, and proverbial in its marvellous
capacity for endurance of deadly trials; nerves of steel—
shoulders and muscles worthy of a six-foot Highlander. He
was given over in cholera more than once, and experienced
fevers and other diseases or complaints which, humanly
speaking, would have killed most men: but excitement and
work soon became, and long remained, his best restoratives
and tonics.
Our
Of his 'moving accidents by flood and field' and 'hair-
breadth scapes,' we shall have to tell hereafter.
immediate business is with the Bhîls of Khandesh.
51
CHAPTER III.
1825-1828.
Khandesh and the Bhils-Outram's Bhil Corps.
THE province of Khandesh, situated to the north-north-east
of the port of Bombay, from which its principal town, Dhulia,
is distant 181 miles, became incorporated in British Indian
territory in 1818, after the Peshwa's downfall. For a time
it formed part of the district of Ahmadnagar; but was
separated in 1849. It is now known as a collectorate, of
which the greatest length is, from east to west, 175 miles,
and breadth, from north to south, 128 miles.¹
1
Thirty-seven years ago, Captain Douglas Graham described
the tract as contained between the Satpura hills on the
north, and that branch of the ghats which passes under the
names of Chandar, Satmála, and Ajanta, to the south. So far
the description holds good at the present day. Let us add
that, beyond the Satpuras, are the Akráni parganna and
the native state of Barwáni. These comprise lands south of
the Narbada, flanked by the territory of Holkar and the
Gáikwár, the last extending also along the Sukhain hills, or
western limits of Khandesh. East and south-east are Berar
and the country of the Nizam. The tabular trap hills on the
north are, according to Captain Graham, 'separated from
each other by ravines of vast magnitude, and are covered
with splendid forests which afford, amidst the most romantic
scenery, unbounded shelter to the outlaw.' The Sukhain
¹ See also Appendix B, as regards Khandesh and the Bhîls generally.
E 2
52
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
range is steep and stony, but the gháts on that side are
broken: they sustain 'tangled masses of bamboo found no-
where else in greater luxury or more difficult of access.' A
thick babul jangal clothes the hilly country on the south.
What with bad roads, sparse hamlets, rugged impracticable
mountain passes, and the spread of jangal over the cultivable
tracts, the aspect of the province, on being brought under
British occupation, was far from inviting. Its decline is
dated at a period within the present century, when Holkar's
ravages were followed by famine, and famine was followed by
misgovernment and official plunder. Irrespective of these
visitations, though in some degree consequent upon them,
lawless men moved, and savage beasts prowled over the face of
the land in quest of mischief. Foremost among marauding
tribes, one, the Bhîl, is especially connected with the work
which we have in hand.
Colonel Briggs, political agent in 1818, estimated the
Bhîls in Khandesh to form an eighth part of the whole
population. Fifteen years later, Mr. W. S. Boyd, an ex-
perienced collector, adopting the same basis of calculation,
fixed the number at 55,000. The former believed them to
be a distinct people; and assigned them a habitat in the
mountainous tract lying between Dharanpur in the Konkan
(20′-23′ north lat.) and Meywar, belonging to the Rána of
Udaipur. Sir John Malcolm saw in them a distinctiveness of
race and class-separation dating from the most remote ages.
Captain Douglas Graham placed on record that, on being
driven out of Meywar and Jodhpur by other tribes, they
had located themselves among the rocky ranges of the
Satpura, Vindhya and Satmála, and amidst the woody banks
of the Máhi, Narbada, and Tapti, 'where, protected by the
strong nature of the country, they have since dwelt, subsisting
partly on their own industry, but more generally on the
plunder of the rich landholders in their vicinity, considering
. 1828
53
THE BHILS.
<
depredation on the inhabitants of the plain as a sort of
privilege, and a tax upon all persons passing through the
country of their occupation as a national right.' He believed
the bulk of the Khandesh Bhîls to have settled in Baglan
(or Baglana), and to the north and north-west, as peaceable
cultivators, proprietors, and village officials-respectable
probably as their fellows, because having the same interest
in the preservation of their rights and property. But there
must have been many exceptions to this hopeful majority
in the indolent, improvident lot whom he found scattered
in numbers throughout the province, refusing intimacy with,
or to acknowledge as kith or kin, those who had become
'degraded' by trade or labour, and had abandoned the normal
ways and habits of the tribe. The most restless and trouble-
some he stated to be those dwelling immediately at the
foot, and amidst the recesses of the surrounding ranges, who
at different periods have either usurped, or have been en-
trusted with all the passes leading into the country, and till
lately have held charge of many of the most important
fortresses in the plains. Their hive-like habitations formerly
crested the top of each isolated hill, where approach from
every side was easily defended or immediately discovered;
and these hovels, not reared for permanent occupation but
hastily put together to be crept into for a few months or
weeks, were without regret abandoned on any occasion that
induced the occupants to shift their quarters. Roving and
restless by disposition, and skilful hunters by necessity,
the woods and jungles supplied them with roots, berries,
and game; a successful foray filled their stores to over-
flowing, and as every man's hand was lifted against them,
so the measure of wrath was fully returned by the tribe,
whose powers of mischief far exceeded those of their nu-
merous oppressors, and whose habits and locations enabled
54
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
them to bid such a lengthy defiance to so many Govern-
ments.' 1
The term, like that of 'Kurd' in Asiatic Turkey, has
been long traditionally associated with robbery and violence,
but circumstances may have had something to do with
turning the hand of the Bhîl against his neighbour, equally
with inborn combativeness and natural predilections. In
village communities the Bhîl of Khandesh was described
to be usually the recognised watchman, who received a
certain amount of rent-free land and grain for the ordinary
fulfilment of duty, and special rewards for special services.
We speak of the system in its condition under native
states unaffected by the changes of European civilisation.
It was observed however that, in the interior, that is, at
some distance from the mountain ranges, the village Bhîl
seldom admitted the authority of an official or hereditary
chief, or acknowledged any superior but one who had acquired
the greatest reputation as a leader of banditti-failing whom,
his choice fell on the oldest and wisest of his fellows.
is therefore good reason to infer that the settlement in the
plains of certain of the tribe as peaceable members of an
agricultural family, was brought about by compulsion or
strong persuasion on the part of the Muhammadan rulers.2
Moreover, on the occurrence of famine and invasion, it
appears that the Bhîl watchmen and cultivators generally
broke away from their more domestic ties, and took refuge
in the surrounding hills.
There
Apart from village organisation and the milder morality
of the plain country, there were the fierce, intractable Bhîl
robbers of the mountain: men of strong animal passions and in-
stincts, who had no sympathy or part with the tiller of the soil,
1 A Brief Historical Sketch of the Bhil Tribes inhabiting the Province of
Khandesh. Bombay, 1843.
Report by Lieutenant-Colonel Robertson, of March 18, 1825.
-1828
55
THE BHILS.
and knew nothing of honest livelihoods or the uses of in-
dustry; who prided themselves in a profession of plunder
invested with the character of sanctity, and whose religion
was allegiance to the powers of evil, illustrated by pro-
pitiatory sacrifices of a sanguinary type. No wonder that
these, and such as had not been grafted into a more civilised
state than these, isolated themselves from, and were readily
isolated by their neighbours, whose bitter and hereditary
enemies they naturally became. Suspicious, cunning, and more
ready to prey on the weak than test the prowess of the strong,
their bravery was perhaps in most cases that of desperation
and recklessness of life, but has also been held to partake
ofmanly fortitude' and 'heroic devotion.'
One authority, admitting two sides to the picture,
speaks of them in the following terms: Small in stature,
lean and wiry, these Bhîls are capable of great endurance,
and from constant exercise their senses of sight and hearing
are wonderfully acute. They seem, in their natural state,
like the Bushmen of Africa, scarcely men, but rather a link
between the human species and the wild creatures among
whom they live. Robbers and marauders by natural descent,
for long their hand was against every man and every man's
hand against them. Hunting, varied by plundering and
cattle-lifting, was their normal trade. There was something
noble in them too; they were in fact the Rob Roys of India
and, like our Rob Roy, they for a long time actually levied
black mail from the inhabitants of the open country. Pro-
scribed by Government and hunted down, they were killed
by hundreds, but never subdued.'¹ Of those who were essen-
tially hill-men, it may be said that, prior to the formation
of the British collectorate of Khandesh, no coercion or per-
suasion had, from time immemorial or according to any
¹ Lecture delivered in Edinburgh to H.M.'s 78th Highlanders, by Colonel
Davidson, late of the Bombay Army.
56
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
tradition extant, succeeded in drawing them from their
mountain abodes and fastnesses.
But we must not now confine ourselves, either ethno-
logically or geographically, to any one particular division of
the race, though the strict range of biographical narrative
be limited to the inhabitants of one British Indian collec-
torate and its immediate neighbourhood. We have to do
with all to whom a particular designation applies, whether
dweller in the hills or plains, or ignorant of one or the other,
or an occasional visitor or frequenter of both; only, be it
premised, our subject is rather warrior than cultivator, and
more commonly a disturber than a preserver of the peace.
The Bhîls had taken advantage of the war between
Muhammadans and Marhattas to give 'vent to their tastes
and powers of misdoing: but on the cessation of that
struggle, a new period of anarchy and confusion arose which
must have been at its height when Khandesh came into
our hands in 1818.
At that time we are told:
'Murder and rapine stalked openly and unrestrainedly
through the land. Fifty notorious leaders infested this
once flourishing "garden of the west," and their every
command was implicitly obeyed by upwards of five thou-
sand ruthless followers, whose sole occupation was pillage
and robbery, whose delight alone consisted in the mur-
derous foray, and whose subsistence depended entirely on
the fruits of their unlawful spoil. Smarting also under the
repeatedly broken pledges of the former Native Government,
and rendered savage from the wholesale slaughter of their
families and relations, the Bhîls were more than usually
suspicious of a new government of foreigners, and less than
ever inclined to submit to the bonds of order and restraint.”¹
The Satpura and Satmála, or northern and southern
¹ Captain Douglas Graham's Memoir.
- 1828
57
British BHIL AGENTS.
hills, as well as western gháts, were alive with large bodies
of warlike and disaffected men, ever ready, more or less, to
ruffle the tranquillity of the plain country beneath. So in-
secure was the condition of the cultivator, that he was con-
strained to refuse the takáwi, or money advanced for seed,
an act in many cases significant of a coming season of desti-
tution. War between British and Bhîls became therefore
a stern necessity; and it was further necessary at once to stop
the forcible seizing of grain in the lowlands.
For seven years every effort was made to bring about a
better order of things. Colonel Briggs, the political agent,
tried conciliatory, as well as repressive measures. Some of
the delinquents were enlisted in the Government service,
some were pensioned, and with others an attempt was made
to organise a local police; but notwithstanding the loss by
death or confinement of many of the more prominent in-
surgents, and that great and reasonable inducement to accept
terms had been held out, little sensible progress was at-
tained. It was not until the new policy inaugurated by
Colonel Archibald Robertson had been rendered intelligible
to the mass, and names such as Ovans and Outram had be-
come familiar to the Bhîl, that a marked change ensued for
the better. This change is dated from the year 1825, when
the Bhîl agency was established and effect given to the
orders specially communicated by the Court of Directors.
The three agents were Captain Rigby in the north-west,
having under his charge the talukas of Nandurbar, Sul-
tanpur and Pimpalnair, with all the independent and tribu-
tary chieftains, those of the Dáng inclusive; Captain Ovans
in the south, in charge of Jamnair, Burgáon, and Chálisgáon,
inclusive of the districts below and adjoining the Ajanta
and Satmala range; and Lieutenant James Outram in the
north-east, superintending the line of the Satpuras, with the
districts of Chopra, Yáwal, and Sauda, to which were after-
58
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
wards added Erindol, Amalnair, and Nasarábád. To the
latter officer was moreover entrusted the duty of raising a
Bhîl Light Infantry corps under native commissioned and
non-commissioned officers of Line regiments.
The agents were certainly instructed how to carry on
generally the important work committed to them, and made
acquainted with the results which it was desirable they
should achieve. But it is manifest that much must have
been left to their discrimination and judgment, and that
individual character would go far to solve the problem of
success or failure in an undertaking of the kind. They had
to combine administrative with executive functions: to
be magistrates, judges, arbitrators, advisers, police super-
intendents, and military commanders: to conciliate as well
as repress, to attract as well as awe, and to inculcate honesty
and fair dealing by example as well as by precept. Outram
had, in addition, to instil discipline and obedience into the
minds of those whom he was to rear as a local force.
To render acceptable the humane and enlightened policy
about to be initiated, military operations were reduced to a
minimum. To stop them entirely would have been unwise,
impolitic, and unfair to the peaceable inhabitants of Khan-
desh: but a general amnesty was offered to all Bhîls but
the more heinous offenders, for whose apprehension large
rewards had been proclaimed; and indeed, a free pardon for
past crimes was granted to those who surrendered at discretion.
Although the order to organise a Bhîl corps under a
European officer was long delayed, and the incident of the
Malair rebellion, in which Outram bore so conspicuous a
part, doubtless hastened its issue and execution, credit may
not be withheld from the local Government for the measures
eventually taken. Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor of
Bombay from 1819 to 1827, had had a long experience of
Western India. Great natural ability, combined with a keen
-1828
59
BREAKING GROUND.
insight into the native mind, and that cool courage which had
caused Colonel Arthur Wellesley to hold him 'certainly born
a soldier,' soon gave him a high local reputation, which was
afterwards not diminished by his tenure of the Presidential
dignity. In the matter of the Bhîls he leaned to the milder
policy of conciliation, and looked hopefully to the possibility
of ameliorating the condition of these proscribed brigands
and outcasts. He would reclaim rather than exterminate;
and happily the Home Government, despite of objections put
forward, eventually supported his proposals. The selection
of so junior an officer as James Outram for the double work
of morally civilising and physically disciplining the rough
and ignorant Bhîl of Khandesh, was not more creditable to
the nominee's character than to the judgment of the
Governor. In at once throwing up his regimental position
and accepting the appointment offered, the young adjutant
acted against the advice of friends, who expatiated on the
poor prospect of a successful result to his labours. But he
was wise in his generation.
A severe illness detained Lieutenant Outram until the
beginning of May in Malegaon, where his regiment was
stationed. Here also were the head-quarters of a field force
designed to keep in check the Bhîls of the Ajanta or
Satmala range, who, under the guidance of one Pandu and
other leaders of local celebrity, had long ravaged the plains
below the mountains with impunity, setting at nought all
attempts to dislodge them from their fastnesses. As it was
not practicable to open communications from this place,
Outram proceeded up to Kanúr, a small station in the
Nizam's country above the gháts, but with no practical result.
Hence he returned to Malegáon in the hope of persuading
the local authorities to consent to active operations; for he
was convinced that his mission would be vain so long as
the spirit of rebellion was fostered by the belief that our troops
60
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
could not attack the evil at its source, by penetrating the
mountain retreats. Again disappointed, he made his way to
a native officer's post at Jatigáon, some thirty miles distant,
also above the gháts, whither the men were detached from
his own regiment. The commandant, recognising one whom
he had long been accustomed to obey, and ignorant that a
General Order, placing the English adjutant of the 23rd N.I.
on separate staff employ, had virtually cancelled his immediate
authority over the sipahis, even though drilled and disciplined
by himself, at once complied with Outram's requisition to
hold in readiness all his disposable men for a march after
nightfall. Thus provided, he set off under guidance of a
native spy, marched upon a strong position where he had
heard the Bhils were then concentrated, and came upon his
quasi-enemy by daybreak. His detachment consisted of only
thirty bayonets, but the surprise had its anticipated effect.
On the first alarm that the red-coats were upon them, given
by the scouts when the distance was too great for actual
assault, the whole body of rebels fled in every direction
panic-stricken, leaving their women, children, and scant
property at the mercy of the soldiers. Separating then his
small party into threes and fours, Outram directed the
sipahis to pursue the Bhîls so long as any came in sight,
and to rendezvous at a particular spot, searching the ravines
closely on their way thither. The sight of the scarlet
uniform and the sound of musketry in many different
quarters confirmed the fugitives in the idea that the whole
British force was upon them, and prevented all attempts at
rallying; in fine, the dispersion for the time was complete.
On this occasion two Bhîls were killed and many supposed
to be wounded, while most of the families remained in the
power of the assailants. But the matter did not end here. It
was determined to prevent, as much as possible, renewal of
mischief. Information of the proposed coup de main had
-1828
61
FIRST PROCEEDINGS.
been sent to Major Deschamps, commanding at Malegaon,
and his co-operation invited and accorded. Reinforcements
consequently appeared, and a pursuit of the Bhîls, carried
out on a more extensive scale than before, ended in the
occupation of their haunts by regular troops, and the
destruction of their power to such an extent that a way was
opened for the introduction of restorative and remedial
measures.
Outram then commenced his work of organisation and, as
he himself expresses it, laid the foundation of the corps
through the medium of his captives, 'some of whom were
released to bring in the relatives of the rest, on the pledge
that they all should be set at liberty.' He has further non-
officially recorded the particulars of this interesting and
remarkable inauguration of a great philanthropic as well as
political movement:
"I thus effected an intercourse with some of the
leading Naicks, went alone with them into their jungles,
gained their hearts by copious libations of brandy, and
their confidence by living unguarded among them, until
at last I persuaded five of the most adventurous to risk their
fortunes with me, which small beginning I considered ensured
ultimate success.'
Outram's first report bears date July 1, and is addressed
from Dharangaon to Colonel Robertson, collector of Khan-
desh. It relates that on May 8 the writer, agreeably
to his instructions, proceeded to Chálisgaon in search of
recruits. At this place he received all necessary aid from
Mr. Graham, the assistant collector, who explained personally
to the superior native officials, and caused them to explain
to those under their orders (as well as to the Bhîls them-
selves, when forthcoming), the nature and advantages of
enlistment in the service of the British Government. Pending
62
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
the result of such appeal, he went to a station above the
gháts privately, to secure the support of Captain Kelly, of the
Nizam's army, an officer generally credited with influence.
among the people with whom negotiations were to be opened.
The gentleman thus addressed was not slow to act upon his
young friend's requisition; but his efforts were unavailing
and, as he declared it to be his decided opinion that the
prejudices and fears of the Bhîls in the matter were not to
be overcome, the applicant returned to Chálisgáon on May
20. Here, too, during the few days of his absence, no
candidates for service had been induced to offer themselves;
but Outram thought too well of this particular part of
Khandesh, in its relation to his main object, to abandon
it in a hurry, so he continued in the district, visiting and
residing at neighbouring Bhîl villages until June 15.
In the official report of these proceedings there is no
mention of the affair in which the sipahis of the Jatigáon
detachment were engaged; but it must have occurred at the
period we have reached, and it was not improbably the result
of the visit to Captain Kelly and failure to obtain recruits at
Chálisgaon. The unsuccessful application to Malegaon for
armed men was doubtless as private in its way as the
promptly met requisition on the native officer; and conse-
quently neither circumstance appears on the record in
official foolscap. It is not hard to understand the shyness
of the Bhîls to enter upon a new line of life on the representa-
tion of comparative strangers. They had had ample cause
to mistrust authority under Native Governments, and insuf-
ficient experience of the British rule to accept it in a
thoroughly trusting spirit. The fears of the men at some
supposed lurking mischief were among the main obstacles
to enlistment; and three or four of the first comers were
frightened away by a report that they had been enticed with
a view to eventual transportation beyond the seas. At length,
-1828
63
OBSTACLES TO PROGRESS.
as already shown, five of the bolder, it may be the more
intelligent of the number, were persuaded to take the shilling
in earnest, and, though not a man seems to have been
actually enrolled until late in June, Outram had, on July 1,
as many as 25 recruits. On September 1 he again wrote
to Colonel Robertson from Dharangaon which, on hygienic
reasons, he had constituted for the time his head-quarters,
and where he had commenced hutting his recruits for the
monsoon. From 25, the number of enlistments had increased
on August 1 to 62, and on the date of writing to 92, but it
will be seen that the progress was held insufficient.
report is explicit :-
<
The
You will be sorry to observe that they have not,
during the last month, increased in number in the ratio
that might have been expected from the former. Several
are the causes of this; partly from the Mohurrum festival
having intervened, during which I kept all my men together
to make them pass a happy holiday; partly because I find it
prudent at present not to appear to press the rapid assembly
of a large number whilst yet unarmed; but chiefly, I am
sorry to say, because the suspicions of our motives gain
ground daily. Alarming reports are doubtless kept alive by
those who are interested in frustrating this measure, in the
success of which they foresee the deathblow to plundering
with impunity.'
The necessity for keeping the recruits unarmed gave
a colour of truth to the mischievous stories circulated,
and an unfortunate coincidence, arising from the locality
selected, rendered the recruiting officer's position more
delicate still :—
'The town of Dharangaon, and the very cutcherry in
which I am residing, having been the scene of the massacre
64
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
of a number of Bhîls (enticed on a very similar plan about
eleven years ago, during the Peshwa's government), the
butcheries of that period are fresh in their memory,
and a repetition is dreaded by all but those who are now
with me. I have spared no endeavour to remove their
fears by constant intercourse with them; by talking of the
cruelty above alluded to with marks of detestation and
without reserve; by explaining the advantages we expect
from their services (for they could not understand, and
would suspect any other motive for the liberality of the
Government); by listening to their complaints, enquiring
into, and obtaining redress for oppression, to which the
families of many were subjected when unable to complain;
by interceding for those who, though proscribed, have sought
my intercession, and by taking every opportunity of display-
ing a perfect confidence in them, and exacting little services
from them.
'By these means I have succeeded in inspiring almost
all who are in the corps with a feeling of security, and a
confidence in me, of which I have had ample proof. Had
this not fortunately been the case, the undertaking must
have been ruined on the 26th instant, when, by some means
or other, a report was spread among them that, in the great
concourse of people assembled in the town on that day (being
the last of the festival), were concealed the agents by whom
they were to be slaughtered in the evening. Well calculated
to strike terror in the minds of people most of whom had
had relations or friends cut off by similar treachery during
the Peshwa's reign, the story was only credited by about
fifteen of the newest and most timorous of the recruits, who
fled on the first alarm.
'The moment I heard of the rumour I ordered the Bhîls
to assemble, and was promptly obeyed. I explained to them
how much disappointed I had reason to be in men who,
-1828
65
RECRUITING PARTIES.
notwithstanding the confidence I placed in them, sleeping
under their swords every night (having none but a Bhîl guard
at my residence), still continued to harbour suspicions of me.
The feeling with which they answered me was so gratifying
that I do not regret the cause which brought it forth. They
immediately went after the fugitives, and returned with
eight in the evening. The others, whose fears had carried
them out of reach, are still absent, but I have not struck
them off the strength of the corps, their friends having gone
to recall them, and I have no doubt they will be happy to
return when they find their fears were groundless.
‘Others have given early proof of their fidelity. In the
beginning of August I despatched two parties to recruit, the
one of a havildar and 20 Bhîls to the Chálisgáon, the other
of a naick and 10 Bhils to the Londir ta'lukas. Most of
them were inhabitants of the countries to which they were
sent, and on their arrival at their homes, they found that
report had been busy with their fate during their absence.
So terrified were their relations from what they had heard
of our intentions, that they endeavoured by every means to
persuade my men to desert, but notwithstanding such solici-
tations they all returned, though they could only prevail on
nine men to accompany them.
'Agreeably to your permission I purchased twenty swords,
which I have distributed among the Bhîls, but they are not
calculated to give the appearance of security I am anxious to
display.
"I have shown that those now with me are free from fear,
but if kept without arms, I could not answer for their long
remaining so.
'Having previously received your assent, on July 1, I
promoted three Bhîls to naicks,' and on August 1, one of
the naicks to havildar.2 My motives for making such early
2 Havildár, a sergeant.
¹ Nayak, a corporal.
VOL. I.
F
66
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
promotions were to excite a spirit of emulation by showing
what they had to look up to as a reward of good behaviour,
and to teach obedience to non-commissioned officers of my
creation, in opposition to what they had only been accustomed
to pay to their hereditary naicks. My wishes have been
completely answered; the non-commissioned officers are
aware of their responsibility, and the privates look up to them
as they ought.
'The great bar to order at first was their frequent indul-
gence in intoxication: this I have put out of their power
by the mode of payment, which provides them daily with
merely the necessaries of life; except on the last day of the
month, when the surplus of their pay is given, which I am
happy to find they are beginning to expend in articles of
finery in preference to spirituous liquors, and I have not
observed a single instance of excess in this respect during
the past month. . .
'To terrify the Bhîls into taking timely refuge in the
corps, I also employed my men on one or two occasions to
apprehend offenders. You have already been informed that
a detachment from the Bhîl corps was anticipated in the
seizure of the notorious Heeria Naick, by one day. They also
apprehended a gang of thirteen which had just committed a
highway robbery; but the stolen articles not being found
upon them, the prisoners were released-though there was no
doubt they were the perpetrators, the information against
them having been given by an accomplice whose evidence
I did not think it prudent to bring forward.
'The alacrity they evince in the performance of these
services convinces me they will soon have no scruple to
bring about their nearest relations to justice when required to
do so.
That these exertions have terrified the Bhîls who
continue to oppose the laws, is fully proved by the cir-
cumstance of two of the most notorious naicks, Lallia and
-1828
67
HOPEFUL RESULTS.
Saibia, who have for years eluded all attempts to apprehend
them, having voluntarily tendered their submission to me.
Although they are proscribed, taking advantage of their
being thus in my hands would have been very detrimental
to establishing the character of the friend of the Bhîls, on
which the success of my undertaking so much depends. I
therefore promised my intercession with you in their behalf,
on which subject I had the honour to address you on the
22nd ultimo.
1
'I may also mention in proof of this position, the circum-
stance of the country for fifteen miles round my head-
quarters, which had hitherto been most particularly a prey
to the rapacity of the Bhîls, having been perfectly free from
their depredations since the establishment of the Bhîl corps
at this place: not a single robbery having taken place, though
formerly of daily occurrence, while travellers, who once
never ventured out without the protection of horsemen and
sebundies, now proceed alone and unarmed. Should the
Bhîls in the corps prove faithful and efficient servants—
which the little experience I have now had in them leads
me confidently to hope I shall render them-the rest of that
class will be compelled to have recourse to peaceable occu-
pations for a livelihood, when it is not unreasonable to
hope that this hitherto degraded race, finding protection
under our mild rule, may become gradually habituated and
attached to the change. Such is what I foresee will be the
reward of this humane measure; and though I am aware it
will at present be treated as a vague speculation, I do not
hesitate thus early to express my confidence of the result.
'In consideration of the irregular class of people I have
to deal with, I entreat that the few propositions I may
submit in the first stages of this undertaking may be treated
with more indulgence than, as coming from so young and
¹ Sibandi, a kind of militia for revenue and police duties.
F 2
68
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
inexperienced a man, they might otherwise be entitled to.
I may possibly in some instances be unable to abide by
former custom or rule in my attempts to reform the Bhils,
wherein I must be guided chiefly by circumstances as they
occur. Placing early trust in them, for instance, will naturally
be regarded as imprudent, and as placing temptation in their
way—- yet I am persuaded that this is the only way to make
them trustworthy. Delay in the sanction of any measures is
what I dread, and to show the necessity of avoiding this is
my reason for making these remarks, and humbly requesting
that you will consider the expediency of sanctioning or
rejecting my propositions—while this undertaking is still in
its infancy—without the delay of reference.'
Long extracts have been purposely made from this early
report of progress, because it affords a very practical illus-
tration of the difficulties arising at the outset of a great
work-difficulties apt to be overlooked or underrated by
those who have had no experience of similar ventures.
Among other annoyances with which the writer had to con-
tend, was the want of a long-expected detachment of regular
sipahis which Government had placed at his disposal.
These men were to constitute the nucleus of the new levy,
and Outram had, with instinctive sagacity, given out from
the first that they were coming. Only it was feared that
their appearance at a late hour might rather impede than
assist the growth of the corps, by encouraging the notion
that they were intended as a check upon the Bhîls already
recruited. As it happened, when the sipahis did arrive
in November, it was necessary to disarm them temporarily,
so as to put them on a like footing with the recruits who
had not yet been provided with weapons. In October,
however, the newly enlisted men had commenced to show signs
of usefulness, and to convince their young commander that
-1828
69
A BHÎL DETECTIVE.
they were unwilling to eat the Government salt, without
making return of some kind for benefits received. One Jambú
Náyak, leader of a large body of marauders, who had slain a
horseman in the Potran district, was brought in a prisoner
to camp, and handed over to the civil authorities. His
capture had been effected by a Bhîl like himself, one of
Outram's recruits, who, by direction of his British leader,
had joined the lawless gang a few days before, without ex-
citing suspicion that he was a mere detective. The man
having accompanied Jambú—at a time that he was separated
from the main body, and attended only by a few of his
followers to the locality of a tribe whose leader was in
British pay, had there found means to secure and carry him
off. This act was soon succeeded by other proofs of in-
dividual or collective zeal and devotion ; and on November 1,
when the total number of Bhîl recruits had exceeded a
hundred, and the whole scheme looked more than ever
promising, and likely to bear fruit in accordance with the
more sanguine expectations of its promoters, the periodical
report to Colonel Robertson showed that the exertions of the
men on police duty had on several occasions merited the
collector's approbation, and that three privates had been
made corporals for specially good service.
-'As
On the other hand the following passage in the report would
infer that all was not couleur de rose at this period:-
was to be expected from suddenly raising the hitherto lawless
Bhîl to be the instrument of power, my parties were in one
or two instances at first guilty of making petty exactions,
which, though given as presents, were of course only granted
from the idea of the donors that more would otherwise be
extorted.' But Outram checked the system by timely
punishment; and the reduction to the ranks of a návak
thus offending, brought the more intelligent of his men to a
correct appreciation of their duties and responsibilities.
70
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
After little more than four months' experience of the work,
he trusted to render his Bhîls fully efficient for the outpost
duties of Khandesh, and contemplated relieving all or most
of the Line detachments then employed upon them.
The corps marched in December, and, passing through
the parganas of Burgaon, Chálisgáon, and Nandigáon,
encamped within a short distance of Malegaon. Nothing
could well be more satisfactory than the behaviour of the
young Bhîl soldiers, to whom the change of scene and camp-
shifting on this occasion afforded a pleasurable novelty.
Some hundred miles were thus traversed with excellent
effect. On January 1, 1826, according to the provincial
report, the levy had increased to 134 men. There had been
36 enlistments since November 1, but 7 desertions and 4
rejections had reduced the number to 25, to be added to
109 previously borne on the rolls. The new year's report
is the more interesting because it refers to the introduction
of drill and discipline in a less indirect way than before
attempted; and chronicles the admirable behaviour of the
older sipahis towards their low-caste brethren. We gather
that the 'regulars obtained the entire confidence of the
Bhîls by their conciliatory conduct;' that the ready associa-
tion of the regular troops with the irregular recruits had the
happiest effect, for these last began to rise in self-esteem,
and feel proud of the service,' which placed them on an
equality with the highest classes.' The behaviour of Outram's
own regiment (the 23rd N.I.) in this respect, when the
men of the Bhîl corps were sent bodily into the Malegaon
cantonment, is told in a manner so characteristic of the
honest heart of the narrator, that we make no apology for a
full quotation:-'Not only were the Bhîls received by the
men without insulting scoffs, but they were even received as
friends, and with the greatest kindness invited to sit down
among them, fed by them, and talked to by high and low—
- 1828
71
ARMS AND ACCOUTREMENTS.
as on an equality from being brother soldiers. This acci-
dental circumstance will produce more beneficial effects
than the most studied measures of conciliation; and Bhîl
reformation will owe much to it. The Bhîls returned quite
delighted and flattered by their reception, and entreated me
to allow them no rest from drill until they became equal to
their brother-soldiers! Thus happily has another obstacle
been removed.' This obstacle-a purely moral one—he ex-
plains to have been caused by the impression that his men
would be unfavourably disposed towards the regular army;
whereas, instead of any such result accruing from the con-
tact, a feeling of regard for the red-coats arose in the minds
of the Bhîls, which would assuredly, in his opinion, be com-
municated to future recruits. A postscript dated January 4
reports the arrival and distribution of arms and accoutre-
ments. The men seemed highly pleased with, and proud of
the former, notwithstanding that a very few months before
they had expressed themselves strongly against receiving
them.
6
Early in 1826, Outram had returned to Dharangáon,
which place he then determined to make his permanent
head-quarters. On May 1 of that year, he states that it is
his intention to discontinue for a time recruiting; and on
July 1 he reports that he has now in the service 308
Bhîls, of whom 258 attend drill.' During the two previous
months the men had been much engaged in the construction
of barracks. Their conduct continued to be satisfactory;
there had not been a single complaint against them from
villagers throughout June, and none that could be remem-
bered in May. They abstained from spirituous liquors,
except on certain special occasions, when the use was
authorised; they exerted themselves with zeal and success
to suppress robbery and violence; and they loyally responded
to the call of their commandant to set an example of
72
1825-
JAMES OUTṚAM.
soldierly obedience and good behaviour, whether on duty or
parade, or in quarters with their families.
In December the Bhîls were inspected by Mr. Bax, of
the Bombay Civil Service, who had succeeded Colonel
Robertson as collector of Khandesh. The corps was reported
competent to take part in the charge and escort of treasure;
to keep the peace in case of plundering or disturbance; to
act in a body, or detachments, against outlaws or rebels; to
assist regular troops in the event of serious field operations;
and to supply ordinary guards and escorts to the local
authorities. Outram concludes an official report, dated
December 13, with the expression of his intention to recom-
mence recruiting so soon as the arrival of his expected
adjutant would enable him to move about the country. 'I
shall endeavour,' he says, 'to draw off recruits from all parts
of the Satpura range, and make myself perfectly acquainted
with every stronghold and place of refuge in these mountains ;
so that, on the occurrence of any disturbances similar to
those of last rains, and every former year, I may be able to
circumvent all such gangs by my Bhîls, and at once.'
In April 1827 an affair took place which enabled the
authorities to judge more fairly of the temper and quality
of the Bhîl corps. A gang of marauding Bhîls had been
assembled for mischief in the hills beyond Sirpur. It had
been just strengthened by the accession of two notorious
characters, Mahdeo Singh and Govinda Náyaks, bringing
more than twenty followers, and one Lahnu who had been
expelled from Outram's levies; and rumours were current
to the effect that emissaries from these men were busily
engaged in endeavouring to draw together the disaffected,
and seduce the loyal inhabitants and Government servants
throughout the province. Their numbers were said to be
increasing daily, and it was generally believed that they
would attack the village of Bonwári, which from its strong
-1828
73
PURSUIT OF MARAUDERS.
position had already resisted one attempt made by them
upon it.
Outram was moving with a detachment of his men in
search of recruits when he learnt the state of affairs, and his
first impulse was to solicit the orders of the collector. But the
news reaching him that six carts and twenty-four bullocks had
been just seized by the gang, he took the responsibility of
action on his own shoulders. Marching his recruiting party
to a village at ten miles' distance, he selected a detachment of
one jama'dúr, one havildar, and twenty-five rank and file dis-
ciplined Bhîls. And this is his account of the sequel :-
'The whole body eagerly pressed to go, but being
desirous to prove the power of discipline, I informed them
that a larger force would detract from their merit, as I
believed the enemy were not above double the number of
those I had selected.
"With the detachment above mentioned, I marched at
nightfall on Boorwarry (twenty miles) at which place we
arrived at about three A.M. The jungle around the village
was all on fire, and fearing that it had fallen into the hands
of the rebels I proceeded to reconnoitre. Being perceived
by the villagers, who in the obscurity took me for an enemy,
I was fired upon, but upon giving them to understand who I
was, the gates were opened, and the detachment received as
deliverers, the villagers having been in momentary expecta-
tion of attack.
'I caused Callian Chowdry, and Dhen Sing, and Anchit
Naicks immediately to assemble their followers, and under
their guidance proceeded to attack the rebels, whose haunt
was represented to be about six miles further in the hills. We
reached a rugged ravine in which it was situated at sunrise,
but I was surprised and disappointed to find they had been
warned of our movements, and were nowhere to be seen. On
dispersing some of my men to look for their traces, they
74
1825-
JAMES OUTRAM.
attacked me very spiritedly from ambush, and before a shot
was fired by our party, had wounded my jemadar. This,
together with their terrific shouts, and showers of arrows and
stones from a height commanding us, at first startled my
Bhîls, but they were speedily rallied, and maintained the
skirmish very steadily. The enemy having the advantage
of the height and the cover of trees and rocks, it was
necessary to draw them from their position. To this end
I feigned a retreat which brought them down from the
heights; my detachment then turned, charged very gallantly,
and put them to flight. There being no prospect of ever
taking a nimble and hardy Bhîl on such precipitous ground,
with men burdened with arms and accoutrements, and who
had marched upwards of thirty-six miles, I again drew my
detachment off, and induced the enemy to follow, when
another charge totally dispersed them, leaving two killed
behind them, besides several wounded, whom they carried
off. Our loss was great in proportion to my small party; the
Bhîl jemadar severely wounded by two arrows, three sepoys
with arrows, and about a fifth of the whole bruised by
stones.
•
'Having returned to Boorwarry, where we were joined by
the remainder of my detachment (which I had directed to
follow in the morning from Tekwarry), at midnight I again
marched into the hills with a detachment of twenty men and
an officer, in the hope of securing the families of the enemy;
but they were secreted, or sent off to other haunts. After
searching till midday yesterday to no purpose (only five
Bhîl scouts having been seen, who fled at our approach), I
returned to Boorwarry, and having left a detachment at that
place sufficient to overawe the dispersed Bhîls from re-
assembling, and to assist the mamlutdar¹ (whom I have sent
¹ Mámlat-dár: doubtless from the Perso-Arabic Mu'ȧmala-dår; a native
revenue official.
-1828
75
EFFICIENT YOUNG SOLDIERS.
with his police to that place to endeavour to apprehend some
of the fugitives), I marched this day with the remainder of
my detachment to Talnair.
'The conduct of the Bhîl detachment on this occasion is
highly satisfactory, being the first opportunity I have had of
proving my men when opposed to their own tribe. They
have freely risked their blood in our cause, and fought boldly.
'The quickness with which they rallied, and the boldness
with which they charged, together with the fatigue which
they had undergone and the eagerness they showed to ac-
company me on the second night, entitle them to the
approbation of Government; especially considering that they
were unsupported by regulars (whom I purposely left with the
remainder of the detachment), and that, of the whole party
engaged, only four were above eighteen years of age, and
that the enemy they had to encounter had obtained consider-
able celebrity by the success with which nearly the same
number of Bhîls, with the same leaders, and nearly on the
same ground, had repulsed a detachment last year, consisting
of an officer and seventy-five regular troops.'
6
The above is extracted from a report dated Camp, Talnair,
April 22, 1827. Fifteen days later a further report, dated
from Ajunda,' shows that Outram had since pushed on to
this latter village, with as many horse and foot' as he could
collect together, and dispersed a gang under one Seepria
Náyak, which had been hovering around the scene of a recent
disturbance with the manifest object of joining the rebels
under Mahdeo. All the Bheels in this neighbourhood,' he
writes, had been more or less concerned, though few had
joined in arms. All had connived at the assembly of the
gang, and maintained correspondence with it. I deemed it
prudent therefore to secure in the first place as many of
their persons as possible, hoth to obtain information, and to
<
76
JAMES OUTRAM.
1825-
prevent their absconding from fear of their connection with
the rebels becoming known-in which case it would have been
difficult to settle the country, whilst they would be driven to
plunder for a livelihood. Accordingly, at midnight, my
parties apprehended simultaneously eighteen Bheels, of
several villages, and having these in my hands, I secured the
attendance of all with whom they are connected. From
them I learnt that the gang had been formed here, but
was chiefly composed of Bheels from a distance; that having
assembled they proceeded to join the rebels in the hills, but
returned and dispersed; and that only two or three were
now in this pergunnah, the rest having separated and found
safety individually.
C
Having now satisfactorily ascertained that no more of
the gang are left in this country, and having no fear that
any of the rebels will dare to return and unite to disturb it,
I took upon me such measures as I deemed immediately
necessary to restore confidence and preserve tranquillity. . . .
I released all prisoners excepting the two who had be-
longed to the gang, after giving them and the Bheels of the
surrounding villages written protections from any further
molestation on account of the late rising, giving them to
understand that this clemency is owing to the speedy dis-
persion of the rebels before the commission of any violence,
and that all who are still absent (except the five leaders)
who return to their villages within ten days shall not be
molested.
'I am happy to state that these measures have had the
desired effect; the peace of the country is entirely restored.
Of the leaders not one is left in the country.
I have explained to the Bheels of the country that they
will not be treated so leniently: that the mere circumstance
of their concealing their knowledge of a rebellion being
meditated or proposed, will subject them to severe punish-
-1828
77
THE BHÍL CORPS.
ment; and that in future Government will not merely make
examples of the principal leaders as heretofore, but that all
concerned in such risings shall equally suffer. They are
now so fully convinced of the utter uselessness of such
attempts, and of my ability and determination to carry my
threats into execution, that I can confidently answer for
their remaining quiet.'
In a history of local progress, there is little more to be
added for the year 1827, beyond the fact of reduction of
establishment in the northern agency and successful coloni-
sation in the south of Khandesh. A new agency on the prin-
ciple of the other three was at the same time created in the
Nizam's territory. As for the Bhîl corps, it grew gradually
stronger and more efficient, and, on the occasion of a review
by the brigadier commanding the province, numbered as
many as 600 men. It was now enabled to relieve the regu-
lars wholly from outpost duty. In 1828, the collector
reported that, for the first time in twenty years, the country
had enjoyed six months of uninterrupted repose.
Fairly to judge of the services thus rendered, the reader
must not lose sight of the material of which the new levies.
were composed. An amusing illustration of the Bhîl recruit
in 1827 occurs in a note of introduction from Captain Ovans,
thus describing its bearer :-'He is a restless and dangerous
character, who will not settle at the plough, and who must
not be left without a subsistence. But he will make a famous
grenadier when you form your flank companies.' On De-
cember 18 in the same year, Mr. Giberne, the collector of
Khandesh, referring to Captain Ovans's views, in which he
agrees, writes:-'You should never consider looks or cha-
racter in taking recruits: yours is a peculiar duty.'
From Outram's private correspondence during the last-
named year, we gather that his mother had been under
78
1828
JAMES OUTRAM.
grave apprehension on the score of his personal exposure to
danger in the hunting-field. He had sought to reassure her
in the following terms: It is not dangerous hunting tigers
on an elephant as I do; it is as safe as firing at the mon-
sters from the top of a tower. If I have been carried away
by enthusiasm occasionally to expose myself unnecessarily,
believe me, I shall bear your advice and admonitions in mind,
and abstain for the future. In my situation a little daring was
necessary to obtain the requisite influence over the minds
of the raw, irregular people I command; and if ever you hear
of
any
act of temerity I may have hitherto been guilty of, do
not condemn me as unmindful of what I owe to you and our
family, but attribute it to having been a part of my peculiar
duty. . . . The necessity for a recurrence of such duties is
now at an end.' Boar-hunting was not to be had in Khan-
desh, and he had not experienced its pleasures and excite-
ment for three years. The rapid diminution in the number
of tigers was, moreover, even rendering that sport a com-
paratively rare one. As regards his bodily health, never
had he felt better or stronger. He spoke of going home,
but thought it well to await the termination of his brother
Frank's proposed furlough, so that the younger son's visit
might succeed the elder's, and the absence of one would in
some way be compensated by the presence of the other.
We shall see with how little of the foresight displayed in his
professional career he was reckoning up the concerns of his
family and home.
To Mr. Giberne, the collector, he expressed himself con-
tented to remain as long as possible in Khandesh. Púna
and Nagar-the two favourite stations, cited as typical of
convivial gatherings-had no special attraction for him. 'I
care not for their society,' he wrote, 'not being calculated to
shine out of the range of my own forests.'
79
CHAPTER IV.
1829-35.
Bhils at school-Francis Outram-Dáng Expedition of 1830-Summary of
Remaining Service with the Bhîls till 1835-Shikar Experiences.
EARLY in the new year Outram had reported to the collector
of Khandesh that the time had arrived when the experiment
might be made of opening a school for the children of his
Bhîl soldiers. Heretofore the scheme had been judged
impracticable; because that, in the eyes of these men, to
educate was to degrade, and no Bhîl had been known, on
the testimony of an existing generation, to be capable of
either writing or reading. A change had, however, been
effected, which, without directly affecting the Bhîl estimate
of education, greatly facilitated the introduction of a
healthier state of things. The discovery had been made
that an Englishman could use the rod with impartiality,
even though it were one of iron. If other Englishmen were
of the stamp of those sent to govern Khandesh, within the
limits of the agencies, then, it might reasonably be argued,
must their words and wisdom be trustworthy; and if they
said that education was essential to those under their charge,
it was more than probable that they were right. It was not
to be expected that so little advanced a thinker as the Bhîl
would stop to inquire whether all Englishmen were alike.
And of course he knew nothing whatever of policies, or of
the views of particular Governments, and particular Vice-
80
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
roys. A school was accordingly established at Bhîl head-
quarters, to teach the sipahis themselves and their
children.
One event in the year 1829 would have, doubtless, cast a
deeper gloom over the routine life of the Bhîl commandant,
had his mind not been so healthily and usefully engaged in
the service of the State. As it was, he felt the blow
severely. The death of his Engineer brother, at the early
age of 28, occurred on September 18, under painful circum-
stances.
We have before stated that Francis Outram was a man of
no ordinary abilities. That he was also generous and unselfish
above the average of his fellows, is demonstrated in a little
incident which occurred on the occasion of his leaving
England for India. He was then, like other cadets of his
stamp, supplied with a first-class passage; but, without in-
forming others of his intention, he exchanged his passage-
ticket for one of the second-class, so as to be enabled to make
parting presents to his sisters and friends out of the money
saved. The discomfort and indignities to which he voluntarily
subjected himself by the arrangement, in a long voyage round
the Cape, were as nothing in the scale to the satisfaction he
derived from the knowledge that the tokens of affection pro-
vided would be received after his departure, and that he had
not become indebted for them to any resources but his own.
Many may consider the story insignificant in its simplicity;
others may agree with ourselves that it illustrates the
morality of a whole life, in which it would be the key to
many apparent anomalies.
In India he soon established a character for talent,
energy, and professional zeal. His standard of honour was
high and well maintained; but his independent spirit in-
volved him sometimes in trouble. On one occasion, when
he came in contact with a superior whom he could not
-1835
81
FRANCIS OUTRAM.
respect, he laid himself open to a charge of insubordination,
and the result was a court-martial, which sentenced him to
the loss of six steps. Opinion was divided on the justice of
the finding, but the severity of the sentence was generally
admitted, and there is every reason to suppose that, had the
sufferer proceeded home as intended, a reversal would have
been obtained. He did not, however, await the result of his
appeal to this effect, for, in a fit of delirium, caused by
jangal fever, he put an end to his life. Feeble in health,
and keenly sensitive, he was morbidly jealous of character,
and a year had scarcely elapsed since the fiat of the court
had gone forth, when some misdoings on the part of a native
subordinate led him to imagine a defalcation in his cash-
sheet for which he would be held morally, if not legally,
responsible. That his apprehensions were in point of fact
unfounded, and the nature of his personal responsibility in
the matter exaggerated, became clear upon after-investigation.
Individual statements of men of position and honour, added
to the proceedings of the court of inquiry, and the Govern-
ment letter-which in exonerating his memory from reproach.
added a high tribute to his worth-give ample proof that the
self-accusation which preceded self-destruction was nothing
else but the delusion of a fevered brain. Among other testi-
monies to his character, those of Sir John Malcolm and Mr.
Elphinstone, both Governors of Bombay, might be cited.
The latter, when in England, had written to Mrs. Outram in
eulogistic terms of her elder son. The former, when in the
discharge of his pro-consular duties in India, expressed a
strong opinion of the harshness of the sentence of the court-
martial, so soon to be followed by a yet more serious
calamity; and in after years, spoke of the young officer in
terms indicating peculiar esteem.
For a Native Infantry subaltern, however intelligent, and
even on staff employ, to address the Governor of the Presi-
VOL. I.
G
82
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
dency in which his corps is serving, on his personal affairs,
is a bold and unusual step. But the object of his appeal
being to seek vindication of the character of a deceased
brother, James Outram felt satisfied that he need make no
further apology for the liberty' taken 'to Sir John Malcolm.'
.After this preface he wrote:-
'The knowledge I have of my late brother's honourable.
sentiments, and implicit confidence in his integrity, impel
me to solicit the influence of your authority to cause the
strictest inquiry into the accounts of the office which was
under his charge, in order that his innocence may be estab-
lished of any knowledge of the defalcations (if such there
were) in his treasury, and that the guilty authors, who in that
case were the murderers of my poor brother, may be brought
to justice. The only information I have received of such
deficiency in the treasury lately under my brother's charge,
is contained in the subjoined copy of a memorandum ¹ found
on his death-bed. No communication from himself, or
other circumstances have led me to believe that such is the
case. I presume the first knowledge my brother had of the
circumstance must have been obtained when on the point of
leaving his station for the sea-coast on account of dangerous
illness.
1
Though he could have had little anxiety on account of
the deficient sums, which he must have known he had
friends able and willing to assist him to replace, yet the
idea, perhaps, that the uncharitable world might be
too apt to impute dishonourable motives to him-together
with the disgrace he had been subjected to by a late
court-martial (which had ever since preyed much upon his
mind)-have driven him, weakened in mind and body
from disease, into a state of temporary madness, during
¹ This paper is not forthcoming, but its nature is evident.
-1835
83
SIR JOHN MALCOLM.
which he committed the dreadful act which terminated his
life. I am confident the only guilt that can be laid to my
brother's charge is neglect. For this there is no excuse;
but to account for it, I have to state that the unfortunate
result of the trial at Poonah must have greatly tended to
lessen his zeal, to the over-exertion of which he attributed
that misfortune; and though he was assured of reinstate-
ment to former rank by your exertions in his favour, for the
kind tender of which he ever entertained the most lively
gratitude (and latterly, by the promise of assistance from
his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief), yet the impression
that he had been disgraced could not be removed from hist
highly honourable mind, and drove him into that state of
carelessness to which he alludes.'
He adds an impression of certainty that his brother would
not have allowed the loss of a single rupee to accrue to Gov-
ernment through his neglect ; and that he holds it a ‘sacred
duty' to that brother's memory to fulfil his wishes in this re-
spect, by personally making good 'the deficiency he appears
to allude to, should any be really found to exist.' He leaves
to the Governor, on becoming officially assured of the inno-
cence of the deceased officer, to give the same publicity to
such assurance as already obtained for the self-accusing
memorandum above mentioned.
Should the style of this letter be faulty,' is the con-
cluding passage, 'I beg you will pardon it, in consideration
of the state of feeling and of excitement under which I write,
for nothing but the highest respect can be intended.'
To this appeal Sir John replied:-
'I have received your letter, and can fully understand,
and as fully approve, the motives which have led you to
write to me upon the melancholy subject of your late brother's
G 2
84
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
death. You may depend upon every effort in my power to do
justice to his memory. He had his errors and failings-and
who is without them? but all, I believe, are impressed with
the same conviction that I have, that he was as distinguished
for zeal and integrity as he was for professional talent. I
assure you, I consider his death a serious loss to the public
service.'
When writing to his sister, Mrs. Farquharson, on the
subject of an epitaph to be inscribed on their brother's tomb,
Outram thus expressed himself: 'It is my wish that nothing
in the usual strain should be written. The feelings of friends,
or the worth of the deceased, cannot be described by words.
The most unworthy and commonplace characters have ful-
some eulogiums written on their tombs by those who despised
the person when living. No estimation of the character is
formed from these memorials. Poor Frank's memory is
esteemed by all: his worth and talents are known by all our
army. The simple inscription I propose is
THE REMAINS OF
LIEUTENANT FRANCIS OUTRAM,
BOMBAY ENGINEERS.
A MOST TALENTED AND HONOURABLE MAN.
DIED IN THE TWENTY-SEVENTH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
Pray let me know your opinion, and that of Colonel Farqu-
harson.'
Some relics of Francis Outram's inventive genius and
scientific attainments are to be found in practical designs
for the economy of manual labour by the use of self-acting
machinery; but they would hardly convey a true notion of
the intrinsic power which his contemporaries considered
him to possess. So marked, indeed, were his artistic tastes
and capabilities, that he seriously entertained the idea of
-1835
85
THE DANG COUNTRY.
resigning the service and adopting the profession of an artist,
in the event of his appeal against the sentence of the
court-martial proving unsuccessful..
In the year 1830 occurred the invasion of the Dáng
country and capture of its chiefs. This tract of tangled
forest, situated on the west of Khandesh, and on the further
side of the Sukhain Hills, had never been penetrated by
troops. Its Bhîl inhabitants, as little used to subjection as
the Arab of the desert, had long been in the habit of seek-
ing prey and plunder beyond their lawful limits, and of
encroaching upon the lands of their neighbours. From
time immemorial retaliatory measures having been found
as difficult as actual suppression, a legacy of disorder had
been left to the successors of native rulers, to deal success-
fully with which would have sorely taxed the powers of a
Government less chary of oppression and generally scrupu-
lous than our own. Captain Douglas Graham looked upon
the Dángchis as the most uncivilised of all the wild tribes
he had come across in Western India; deficient in intel-
lect of the most ordinary description; physically stunted by
hardships of living, climate, and poverty; extremely super-
stitious; addicted to intoxication, and careless of any fixed
home. He thought it no matter of surprise that among a
set of such degraded beings the principle of right and wrong
was entirely lost, or the fear of consequences overwhelmed
in a blind reliance on fortune; that the dread of treachery
was the predominant idea, and that the animal instinct alone
remained in full force to urge the supply of daily necessities.
Outram was convinced that by the medium of his own
Bhîls he could effect a settlement of the Dáng, the unruly
occupants of which could easily be turned one against the
other, and thus prevented concentrating against the sovereign
authority represented by British officers. Accordingly he
undertook to march a body of troops into the heart of their
86
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
country, consisting of 250 of the newly raised Bhîl corps, four
companies of native infantry from Surat and Khandesh, 120
auxiliary horse, and 1,100 auxiliary Bhîls under their own
chiefs or Rajahs.
Entering himself from the eastward,' with two companies
of native regular sipahis, his own Bhîls, 50 of the Púna
auxiliary horse, and some Bhil auxiliaries, and awaiting
simultaneous advances of detachments from four separate
stations on the opposite frontier, he had contemplated a
partial junction of his forces in the centre of the Dáng, but
could give no fixed points of meeting, as his actual routes
were unknown. When he had descended from the Gháts
to the village of Gabrái, after a march of eighteen miles
effected on the first day, the jangal was found so thick on all
sides that, even had he known the localities reached, it would
have been no easy task to open communications with his
detached officers. As for the inhabitants of the country, his
party had not fallen in with even one; they had passed
sites of destroyed huts, and had arrived at the residence of a
petty Rajah, where the dwelling-places were entire but utterly
deserted. On the day following he heard of the arrival of
one detachment of his force at Garvi. Two days afterwards
he visited that village, which eventually became a connecting
post, with forty horse and fifty Bhîl auxiliaries. Two days
later still he was able with three detachments to effect a
thorough scour of a jangal twenty miles in circumference.
The Dángchi leaders soon became fugitives and disheartened,
and the 'Silput,' their chief authority, was openly deserted
¹ One of the great approaches to Gujrat from the eastward was through the
Sindwa Ghat. It appears that the pass in this direction was formerly pared
by the Muhammadan conquerors, and that after consolidation of their powers
they constructed a line of as many as eighty-four forts in a convenient position
west of the Sindwa, to keep the turbulent tribes in subjection. The few of
these that remained on the British occupation were distinguished by the names
of the respective commanders under whose auspices they were erected.
-1835
87
RESULT OF THE CAMPAIGN.
by his more prominent followers. On April 18, or not a
fortnight after commencement of active proceedings, four
local Rajahs had personally presented themselves with offers
of assistance, and two others had expressed a wish to be re-
ceived in the British camp; while 500 head of cattle with
many prisoners were in British hands. Outram promised to
restore the former and release the latter on the apprehension
of the 'Silput.'
On May 22, the British force returned, as its leader him-
self expresses it, with the principal chiefs our prisoners, and
all the others in alliance, after having subdued and surveyed
the whole country.' In the morning of that day, the Silput
himself had surrendered, conditionally that his life be
spared. The followers of the captives had been dispersed;
and an opposing force, said to consist of some 10,000 bows,
had vanished into thin air. When it is borne in mind that
the country was unexplored, and had been reported impreg-
nable because impracticable,' and that the end was attained
with scarce a shot fired, and the loss of one life only; the
feat will doubtless appear eminently satisfactory. This is
one of those expeditions, the importance of which must not
be measured by the casualty list. It is to be judged by a
knowledge of the difficulties of country traversed, and rapid
movements of the lawless enemy, as well as by the results
obtained, and their bearing on the pacification and well-being
of the peoples concerned, whose habitat may be defined as
situated between the Nizam's and Holkar's territories and
the sea. Another element of anxiety not to be forgotten is
to be traced in the connivance of the officers of a neighbour-
ing native state, Baroda, with the movement we sought to
suppress. The Gáikwar was apparently ever willing to lend.
The description of the Dáng in the Collector's Revenue Report, dated
August 1, 1828, was rather an account, and a brief one, by Mr. Bax, of the
chiefs and their resources than of the features of the country.
88
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
assistance to the robbers of the Dáng in their opposition to
British supremacy.¹
Of Outram's share in the miniature campaign we should
give but a faint idea did we restrict it to field operations, or
even to the exact fulfilment of the orders and wishes of the
civil authorities. We have the best authority for stating
that Sir John Malcolm, governor of Bombay, had expressed
his opinion in council that a strong brigade of regular troops
would be insufficient to attempt invasion of the Dáng
country; and it was his confidence alone in the foresight of
his Bhîl agent and commandant that led him to sanction the
project so satisfactorily put into practice. On Outram's
shoulders rested the whole responsibility, and to him was
naturally due the main credit accruing from the expedition.
But though there was barely any loss of life on either
side occasioned in actual warfare, much sickness prevailed
among the troops at the close of the campaign and on their
return from the Dáng. The several detachments had been
scarcely broken up when nearly half the men and officers
were seized with fever, caused, it may be presumed, from
the fatigues, exposure, and privations undergone during the
two months of their employment in an unhealthy climate.
Eventually, it would appear that more harm still resulted
from this expedition, for of the thirteen officers engaged, not
one was exempt from jangal fever; three or four died, and the
rest were compelled to leave Khandesh for change of climate.
Outram alone, of all the Europeans, escaped, and his immu-
nity he attributed to covering his head and face with fine
gauze' when sleeping in feverish tracts, a habit which his
comrades in the Dáng could not be induced to adopt.
On May 20, 1830, the magistrate of Khandesh conveyed
to Lieutenant Outram, and the officers and men under his
¹ Captain Douglas Graham: Synopsis of Bhil Settlement in Khandesh.
See also Public Reports and Despatches of Captain Outram.
**
-1835
89
THANKS OF GOVERNMENT.
6
command, the thanks of the Bombay Government for the
highly meritorious service of the detachment in the Dáng;
and four days later, in acknowledging the report of the
Silput Rajah's surrender, the same functionary added:
'Nothing can exceed the indefatigable exertions made by
yourself and the officers and troops under your command, in
bringing this most harassing duty to a conclusion
which has now been most happily effected through the un-
yielding perseverance maintained, and the judicious measures
you have pursued throughout.' On June 7, Government
endorsed the magistrate's personal opinion by a renewal of
thanks to Lieutenant Outram for the zeal, activity, and
judgment he has displayed on this occasion, to which is to be
attributed the fortunate conclusion of the harassing service
he has had to conduct." It will not do to dwell further on
this brief passage of an illustrious career; but, as the
necessity for economising space and the reader's attention
forbids the indiscriminate recourse to extract, we take the
opportunity of remarking that Outram's final report to Mr.
Collector Boyd (the state of whose health would not admit
of his meeting the Dáng chiefs near their own country),
shows, on the part of the writer, a knowledge of his subject,
and of his men, as well as an administrative ability and a
rare energy of character deserving of appreciation and study.
Not the least noteworthy feature in his recommendations is
the care with which cause is shown for grants of money and
other presents to particular chiefs and native officials who
had rendered good service to the British Government.
In 1831, the collector of Khandesh deputed Lieutenant
Outram to inquire into certain daring outrages committed in
the districts of Yáwal and Sauda, in the north-eastern Bhîl
agency; also to determine and apprehend the offenders.
Accompanied by some of his own Bhîls and a few auxiliaries,
not fifty in all, he captured 469 suspected persons, and in-
90
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
vestigated the charges against them, selecting for trial such
as appeared to be actually guilty. Of 158 so committed, 114
were Bhîls, accused for the most part of gang robbery.
Attacks had been, moreover, made on the Dhúlia treasury,
and on the houses of bankers, showing an inclination to
serious mischief which called for immediate check and
punishment. The official reports on these proceedings show
that, owing to the measures taken, the spirit to break out had
not only been subdued, but the apprehension of all offenders
had been effected without the offer of a single reward, or
any expense to Government further than the maintenance
of the prisoners. The native Mamlutdar of Yáwal and his
Sarishtadar were considered to merit especial notice for
services rendered. Of the first, named Ram Chandar Bálaji,
Outram wrote, with characteristic warmth, that he had
'throughout exerted himself in a manner' he had 'never
found equalled in an officer in his situation.
In March 1831, he learnt the death, in India, of his
sister Margaret, wife of Colonel Farquharson, one whom he
describes, in replying to her husband's letter conveying the
sad intelligence, as 'the warmest and most excellent friend'
he possessed on earth, and the most affectionate of sisters.
About three months later, addressing the same correspondent,
he mentioned also having heard from Glasgow of the death
of his uncle Joseph Outram, and adds: All, all are falling;
I shall have no relations left to welcome me home, if I ever
can return.'
With a short notice of one more minor campaign which
occurred in the spring of the year 1833, we shall bring to a
close the historical portion of ten busy and useful years
among the Bhîls, passing on to consider the less palpable
and direct, but not less efficacious, means employed to
effect the reformation and discipline of this rough and
turbulent people. Let us premise that Outram was no longer
-1835
91
BHIL TO CATCH BHIL.
a subaltern: his Captain's commission dated from Oc-
tober 7, 1832.
The Bhils of the Barwáni territory, in the Satpura
mountains, north of Khandesh, and of the neighbouring petty
states on the Narbada in Nimár, having risen in rebellion,
became so formidable that their Rajahs were unable to control
or face them, and parties of the rebels having entered the
British collectorate of Khandesh under Hatnia and Esnia
Náyaks, sacking several villages, killing a patell,¹ and
wounding others of our subjects, it was found necessary to
send against them such force as could be hastily collected.
On April 24 Captain Outram took 25 men of the Bhîl
corps, and 20 horse, strengthened by some hundred auxiliary
Bhîls, with the intention of cutting off communication
between the gangs of the two leading insurgents, and also of
attacking Náyak Esnia when joined by a coming detachment
of 50 men of the 18th Regiment. After a fatiguing march
of two days through difficult jangal and over strong passes,
and in a country uninhabited and destitute of supplies, his
party arrived in the centre of the Satpura hills. The im-
mediate result of this movement was the capture of Esnia,
who was betrayed into the hands of the British officers by his
uncle. On April 26 Outram was joined by the men expected
from the 18th Regiment N.I., and marched the day following
to a place called Mangwára, where he had appointed a
meeting with the Barwáni Rajah. This chief, however, failing
to appear, though a special escort had been sent to attend
him, it was resolved, after three days' waiting, to push on at
once against Hatnia, who, it was affirmed, had been joined
by a large number of attendant rebels. The small force,
marching 24 miles during the night, came upon his encamp-
ment at daylight of May 1. It was deserted; but the signals
heard among the surrounding heights showed the enemy to
¹ Village head man, or local authority.
92
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
be on the alert. Thither, then, did the detachment move.
Hatnia- observed ascending a hill with two or three followers,
to join his companions assembled on the summit-was cap-
tured by Lieutenant Hart's horsemen, who intercepted his
retreat. The rest fled on the loss of their leader, with the
exception of one small body of bowmen, who stood their
ground for a time and fired many arrows, but finally decamped
on seeing mounted assailants in their rear. One hundred
and seventy head of cattle were recovered on the pursuit of
the fugitives.
This blow, however decisive, was not considered sufficient
to check the misdoing of the Barwani Bhîls and their ac-
complices. Outram accordingly proceeded to the village of
Auli, whither the Rajah came to meet him, bringing the
before-mentioned escort, and about 50 horse and followers of
his own. Having ascertained there that two náyaks and a
patell, suspected of active participation or indirect complicity
in the recently reported outrages in British territory, were
in the camp of his native ally, he obtained the consent of the
latter to arrest and forward them to Khandesh; and it is
worthy of remark that these men, together with the captive
chief Hatnia, were handed over, for this purpose, to the charge
of auxiliary Bhîls under native officers. The next step was
to cross the Narbada and move against one Rajia, Náyak of
Dassowa, said to have harboured the scattered rebels of the
Satpura, to have long committed depredations in the terri-
tories of Holkar and the Barwáni Rajah, and to have become
strong enough to defy the whole body of neighbouring chiefs
in Nimár.
It was at the solicitation of his native friends and our
allies that Outram had come to the resolution to assist in
this matter until the strength of the insurgents had been so
far broken as to enable the more powerful State officials to
act unsupported against their common foe. And he called
-1835
MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE NARBADA.
93
upon the Barwáni Rajah, and a certain Mamlutdar of Chikaldi,
to join him with such troops as they could get together.
But when arrived on the northern side of the Narbada, the
news that Rajia had vacated his stronghold, followed by that
of the dispersion of his followers, caused him to change his
plans; and he judged it prudent to leave the pursuit of a
scattered gang to the chiefs themselves, simply furthering
and facilitating the object in view by the nearness to the
scene of his own detachment. The repugnance of the
Mamlutdar to act on this proposal was, however, so evident
that he was allowed to return to his home, and Outram
himself had eventually to scour the tract in which were
situated Rajia's principal posts. Led by a friendly Rajah,
Durjan Singh of Dhir, he pressed on during the night to one
of these; but on reaching the place at daybreak he found
that the usual occupants had decamped. After a march of
more than 30 miles, with little intermission, he encamped at
Piplod, a deserted village in the Dhir district, and in the
heart of Rajia's retreats. Here he stayed for two full days
in the hope of securing some of the leading offenders; but
the threatening weather operated against him. He was
compelled to recross the Narbada and seek shelter for his
men, who were totally unprovided with tents or extra
clothing, or indeed any necessaries for a prolonged absence
on active service. Arriving at Barwáni on May 13, he
addressed the collector on that date, signifying his intention
to halt there in completion of his arrangements on behalf of
the Rajah, and then to return to Khandesh viâ the Sindwah,
doing such further service with his detachment as he might
'find necessary to insure tranquillity after its departure.'
On June 2, a full report of these proceedings was made
from Dhúlia, satisfactory and to the point. Already, some
three weeks before this date, the collector had addressed
Government on the subject as follows:-'The capture of the
94
1829
JAMES OUTRAM.
Hatnia naïck (the rebel chief), previous to the monsoon, was
what I could not, I confess, feel sanguine enough to expect;
and as he is in reality a person of greater weight and im-
portance in the country than his hereditary chief and
superior, the raja of Barwáni (an independent prince, whose
country is situated between the Satpura hills and the Nar-
bada), his having escaped for the present must in probability
have called for the employment of a regular expedition the
ensuing season, till which period our whole northern frontier
would have been a prey to the numerous gangs which would
have risen at the instigation of Hatnia and his adherents.
'I cannot sufficiently commend the prompt and judicious
manner in which Captain Outram proceeded against and
captured Hatnia, who in considerable force occupied a
position in a tract of country the nature of which can only
be known to those who have entered the Satpura range of
mountains, and considered by themselves as totally imprac-
ticable.
'The effects of this decisive and successful measure will
be experienced not only at present, but for years to come; it
will now check the rising inclinations of our own Bhîls on the
immediate frontier, who showed signs of beginning to join in
the robberies perpetrated in the vicinity, and for the future
it will prove a lasting warning to the foreign chiefs and Bhîls,
that, however little we know of their country and its strength,
no outrages committed upon our territories can remain un-
noticed, or the culprits undiscovered.'
On June 27, Government expressed to the Magistrate of
Khandesh their great satisfaction at the successful termina-
tion of the expedition, and requested him to communicate
to Captain Outram the high sense which they entertained
'of his ability and judgment in concerting, and zeal and
activity in executing those measures by which the insurrec-
-1835
95
A WIDER FIELD REQUIRED.
tion had been suppressed, and the neighbouring parts of the
province of Khandesh preserved from plunder.' The thanks
of Government were also conveyed to Lieutenants Hart and
Partridge, Ensigns Morris and Renny, and Jemadar Allahyar
Khan, who co-operated with Captain Outram on the occasion,
with an intimation that their deserving conduct would be
brought to the notice of the Commander-in-Chief.
Prior to this expedition of 1833, Outram had begun to
feel that he should like a wider field for the exercise of his
powers; and now that it was brought to a happy conclusion
his mind not unnaturally reverted to the prospect of a new
appointment. He had written to his mother in April 1832,
to use her home interest to get him employed in the political
department, the only line in the Indian services which
allows a military officer to display his talents, both civil and
military.' His great wish was to be appointed an Assistant
to the British Resident at Holkar's Court, or Indor, where
he thought that his services might be useful, and an antici-
pated vacancy would give reasonable ground for the applica-
tion. In November 1833, when there was question of the
formation of a separate Agra Government, we find him
writing home in the following strain: I am most anxious
to leave the Bombay Presidency for the new one in Central
India, for there is no further honour and advancement to be
obtained for me here in this confined sphere. . . . In India
I believe I can ensure success, having gained some little
distinction, and many friends in power; therefore, get me
home patronage, and strong recommendations to the new
Governor; I will do the rest. Mr. Elphinstone, I think,
would espouse my cause, as he was my first and best
friend.'
To Mrs. Outram's letter in accordance with, and quoting
the above request, Mr. Elphinstone replied:-
96
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
Albany, May 5, 1834.
Having the highest opinion of Mr. Outram, both for his
enterprise and gallantry, and for his power of conciliating
and gaining the confidence of the natives, I should be most
happy to forward his views, if it were in my power; but I
have not seen Sir Charles Metcalfe for these five-and-twenty
years, and I do not feel myself entitled to address such a
recommendation to him as Mr. Outram desires, or indeed to
make any such application as would be effectual in a case
like the present. This being the case, it is with much
satisfaction that I perceive the date of Mr. Outram's letter,
from which I conclude that he had not then heard who was
to be the new Governor, and supposed that it would be some
stranger from this country, on whom Indian reputation
would have no effect. The Governor who has been named,
however (Sir Charles Metcalfe), spent all his life in India, and
probably is more difficult to approach from this quarter than
from others more within Mr. Outram's reach. I make no
doubt that he is already well acquainted with Mr. Outram's
merits, and he is a great deal more likely to employ him
from his own impression of his fitness, than in consequence
of any recommendation that could be sent from England.'
The Bombay Government, however, were not going to
part with so valuable a public servant without further putting
to the test and reaping the advantages from his capabilities
within the limits of their own control. His work with the
Bhîls was not yet over; nor, when over, was it to be ex-
changed without a second and equally hard apprenticeship
before he would be permitted to acknowledge other imme-
diate superiors.
But we have now to illustrate Outram's 'non-official’
dealings with the Bhîls; that is to say, his off-parade be-
haviour to his men, at times when he might have kept aloof
-1835
97
THE POWER OF SYMPATHY.
from them altogether without prejudice to the strict letter
of his duty to the State. Should it have been no infrequent
practice with young officers of the native Indian army to
avail themselves of leisure hours rather for the indulgence of
their own particular tastes than the indirect advantage of
their profession, they have only done what their fellows
have done in other walks of life. Time and example often
work, in these cases, a wholesome and effectual change. The
real evil is, to ignore, or to forget that the sipahi, whom
they are accustomed to meet at drill or in orderly room, is
a human being like themselves, and susceptible of heart in-
fluences as much as professional instruction. Those who do
this, and consequently touch no chord of personal sympathy
in their relations with the Indian soldier, are assuredly not
acting in the true spirit of the covenant under which they
serve. To use a hackneyed, but appropriate term, they are
to all intents and purposes 'hard bargains.'
Had James Outram followed such impulses, the Bhîl
corps would never have been raised by him, and never would
he have become a power for good throughout these un-
civilised regions. The secret of his success lay in the un-
selfish and unwearied pursuance of principles exactly the
opposite. He spared no pains to establish over his outlawed
friends the power which springs from tested sympathy-not
that inspired by awe alone. They found, not only that he
surpassed them in all they most admired, viz., in all that
was most manly, but that he thoroughly understood them
and their ways; that he loved them; that he could and did
enter thoroughly into their fears and their difficulties, their
joys and their sorrows. Such a bond, all-powerful in its
action, could be established and maintained only by the
genial intercourse of daily life. Though his wild subjects saw
their sahib exercising the open-handed hospitality of Anglo-
Indian bachelor life in his costly residence at Dharangaon-a
VOL. I.
H
98
1829-
JAMES OUTRAṀ.
palace in their eyes-yet they felt that he essentially be-
longed to themselves; while his active habits brought him
into constant contact with the minute interests of their
every-day existence.
No wonder that we hear of his memory still lingering in
Khandesh, shrouded by a semi-divine halo. We are told
that, a few years ago, some of his old sipahis happened to
light upon an ugly little image. Tracing in it a fancied
resemblance to their old commandant, they forthwith set it
up and worshipped it as 'Outram Sahib.'
Reminiscences of Khandesh life must now be brought to
a close by extracting a few of the many anecdotes still extant
regarding those exploits in the jangal which formed an
effective link in the chain of influence the young soldier
made it the business of life to draw around his Bhîls. He
loved dangerous sport for its own sake, but rightly con-
sidered it a duty, though it happened to be a congenial one,
to follow his own instincts in outdaring the brave little
hunters whose hearts he sought to win. It must be con-
fessed that his assurances to his mother were more honoured
in the breach than the observance. For James Outram to
eschew acts of temerity' within his reach, when duty did
not absolutely forbid, seemed a physical impossibility.
The following are among the many gleanings of Captain.
Stanley Scott from the recollections of old Bhîl native
officers. They will serve to illustrate, in some degree, the
kind of impression made on the minds of the narrators them-
selves by the deeds of prowess recorded :—
In April or May, 1825, news having been brought in by his
shikari, Chima, that a tiger had been seen on the side of the
hill under the Mussulman temple, among some prickly pear
shrubs, Lieutenant Outram and another sportsman proceeded
to the spot. Outram went on foot, and his companion on
horseback. Searching through the bushes, when close on
-1835
99
TIGER ADVENTURES.
the animal, Outram's friend fired and missed, on which the
tiger sprang forward roaring, seized Outram, and they rolled
down the side of the hill together. Being released from the
claws of the ferocious beast for a moment, Outram with
great presence of mind drew a pistol he had with him and
shot the tiger dead. The Bhîls, on seeing that he had been
injured, were one and all loud in their grief and expressions
of regret; but Outram quieted them with the remark,
'What do I care for the clawing of a cat!' This speech was
rife among the Bhîls for many years afterwards, and may be
so until this day.
In 1827, it was reported to Outram that a tiger was
lurking in the densely wooded ravine of 'Mahi Burda' in
the Saigaon jangal. He proceeded thither, with his rifle, on
foot. When near the spot indicated, it suddenly occurred to
him that, by commanding the narrow end of the ravine, and
placing the beaters at the other, the tiger must make his
exit through the gorge, and he would get the opportunity of
a close shot; but to find on the bank a place from which to
fire was impossible, as the jangal grew close up to the sides,
and the bottom of the ravine was not visible from the top.
Outram's mind was not one to be baffled by trifles. He and
some followers climbed a tree, a branch of which overhung the
ravine. Securely posted on that branch, the Bhîls tied their
pagris (turbands) and waistbands together, passed a band
round their commandant's chest and under his arms, and let
him down dangling in the air. He now saw clearly all that was
taking place beneath. The tiger, driven down by the shouts
of the beaters, came within easy range of his rifle, and from
his wonderful position he got the desired shot and killed the
animal dead. Instantly drawn up into the tree again, he
turned round laughingly to the Bhîls, and said, 'You have
suspended me like a thief from a tree, but I killed the
tiger.'
H 2
100
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
In 1832, the inhabitants of Virgaon, in the Taluka of
Pimpalnair, brought information to Outram that there was a
tiger in their jangal. He immediately caused search to be
made, and it was discovered that the animal had taken up
his abode in a dark cave. Outram went to the mouth with
three or four native followers and, placing them outside, he
entered. On hearing a low growl immediately in front of
him, he fired; the tiger not coming out, he fired again,
when to his delight he found he had killed him.
In 1833, in the month of April, when encamped at
Sirpúr, the villagers gave Outram information of a tiger
that had been marked down in the thorny jangal to the
north of the village. This part of the country was plain,
and there was no hill or ravine near. Outram started on
foot, spear in hand, a follower carrying a rifle, and some
six others bows and arrows. The tiger broke ground on
their approach; Outram followed him up on foot for three
miles, and eventually speared him to death. This act, it
is affirmed, has never been equalled, before or since, in
Khandesh.
For the following spirited account of Outram and his Bhîl
trackers we are indebted to Colonel Davidson: Selecting
a few of the most dashing and expert men (who could follow
up the trail of man or animal for days together through
those jungly wilds), he formed a band of scouts or trackers,
with a famous little fellow named Khundoo at their head.
In conducting a tiger-hunt on elephants, the first thing to
be done is to disperse the Bheels over the country. They
scatter, and yet act in concert; and when the "pug” (or
print of the tiger's foot) is found, they collect, and follow up
the marks. In this, their dexterity, to one who is not
initiated in the art, surpasses credence. They seem to
follow the game over places where no vestige of a mark
could light. Sometimes they are at fault, at others the
-1835
ΙΟΙ
TIGER TRACKING.
scent (as it were) seems to run breast high, and on they
go at a jog trot, marking as they run, with the point of a
spear, the last decided print. Should they reach any thick
jungle, covered with high grass and herbage, where no trace
can possibly be found, they divide into two parties, right
and left, and circle round the obstructive patch, till they
meet on the opposite side, looking with lynx eyes at every
inch of the line by which they circumscribe the spot. Find-
ing no signs of egress, they conclude at once that the tiger
is within the circle; so they divide again and circle back,
dropping a man at intervals till they have formed a ring of
sentinels round the patch. These sentinels get into trees,
partly for safety, but chiefly to extend their range of vision.
The tiger, perhaps not satisfied with his resting-place, or
for reasons tigers can only know, is about to quit the spot.
A Bheel sees him from aloft, and utters a low deep cough.
The tiger, awed by the human voice, generally retires in-
wards, and tries another place. Again he encounters the
same mysterious cough, till at last, from necessity, he
becomes reconciled to his quarters, and the sun being hot,
he lays himself down to rest. A messenger is then sent to
tell the sahib log¹ that the tiger is marked down. Should
the sportsmen be at a distance, or should any circumstance
prevent their immediate attention to the call, these staunch
pointers will keep their posts; and if the tiger break cover
they track him up from place to place, even for days together,
to his final halting place, when they again surround him
with their guardian wing; and this faculty of tracking is not
confined to the case of animals, for they follow up traces of
men with the same facility. This makes them a valuable
agency for the capture of marauders when they take to the
jungles to escape detection. Outram's band rendered much
1 For the benefit of the few to whom this Indian expression is strange, we
may state that it means British officers or residents generally.
102
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
good service in this way when Khandesh was a sort of hiding
place for outlawed men.
'Khundoo, the naïck or commander of this band of
trackers, was the very beau idéal of a Bheel. Though a little
fellow, he was a great man with his master, and it was one
of the saddest days in Outram's chequered life, when this
faithful follower met his death. A man-eating tiger had
killed a native, and Khundoo, with a few men, was hard
upon his track. Just previous to this, Khundoo had dis-
appointed his master of a tiger, and he laid it so much to
heart that he secretly resolved never again to send in word
unless he had actually seen the beast himself. Following
out this resolution in the present instance, with nothing in
his hand but a slight spear, Khundoo approached the bushes
where he believed the tiger to be concealed. In a moment
the beast sprung out, Khundoo's spear glanced off his thick
head, and in the next instant the tiger's fangs had met in
the upper part of the little fellow's chest. The tiger slunk
back to cover, where he was surrounded by a portion of the
Bheels: the others took up their dying chief, carried him to
Outram's tent, and laid him at his master's feet. Outram's
first impulse was to destroy the savage beast and, vowing he
would neither eat nor drink till the tiger had bit the dust,
he seized his rifle and rushed off.¹ A well-directed shot laid
the man-eater low, and when Outram galloped back, he
found poor Khundoo's life was ebbing fast. It was a touch-
ing spectacle, as the brave Outram bent over the dying chief
to catch his last farewell. Khundoo took the hand of his
little son and, placing it in Outram's, bid him supply a
father's place to him.'
Major C. Giberne, late of the Bombay Army, tells a story
¹ The Bhîls firmly believed that a man killed by a tiger became subject to
the beast in the next world, unless instantly avenged. Hence their com-
mandant's prompt pursuit, to ease Khundoo's mind in his latest moments.
-1835
103
TIGER ADVENTURES.
of these days of Indian shikar too good to be here omitted.
His acquaintance with Outram dated from 1825, towards the
close of which year he proceeded up country to do duty with
the 23rd N.I. at Malegaon :-
A party of us went out under Outram's leadership.
Word was brought us that the Bheels had tracked a tiger
into the dry bed of a river, where he had taken refuge
among the tamarisk bushes on a small island in the centre.
We were at once divided into three or four parties, and sta-
tioned on both banks of the nulla, while the Bheels were
distributed on the rising ground a little farther off to watch
our proceedings and prevent the tiger making his escape.
Outram, followed by a few sepoys, then deliberately walked
across to where the tiger was lying, fired at him and broke
his fore leg. He immediately charged out of his lurking
place and was received by us with a volley of balls, when
he rushed across and laid himself down in a bush on the
opposite bank to where I was. Outram then advanced
towards him, supported in rear by three sepoys with fixed
bayonets, under which it was his intention to cast himself
should his shot prove a failure and the tiger spring out upon
him. Just as he arrived within three paces of the tiger, and
he was on the point of springing upon him, he fired and the
tiger fell down dead.'
The following is from Colonel Ord's notes, but no date is
assigned to the occurrence related :— One day when Outram
was in our camp, some villagers came in from a village
about eight or ten miles off, to pray that some of us
would come out to kill a well-known man-eating tiger
who had just killed a man not very far from the village.
It was not long before Outram, myself, and one or two
others, among whom was Ensign T. Parr, of the 23rd
104
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
Regiment N.I.¹
mounted and were on the spot,
guided by some of the villagers. There lay the body in a
sequestered part of the jungle, with the fleshy part of the
throat torn out, and the legs and arms eaten clean off to
their junction with the body. The trunk alone remained,
and it was neatly covered with green grass, though still
visible. The villagers not being of the hunter caste, knew
not where the tiger was. But there was no lack of foot-
marks, and we were soon in his trail, accompanied by a few
of the Bheels, led by their determined chief, Outram; who,
on all these occasions, was our chief also. After an in-
tensely exciting hour or two, occupied in pugging him
through the jungle, we came suddenly upon him, or rather
he came upon us, or at least on Parr, for on looking to one
side, we saw him standing on his hind legs with his jaws, as
it seemed to us, about to close on our friend's head, who was
instinctively pulling at the trigger of his gun. No explosion,
however, followed, for he, like ourselves, not expecting the
tiger at that precise moment, had not cocked his gun.
Fortunately this was of little consequence, for the brute,
scared either by our appearance or the click of our guns
being put on full cock, turned away without having so much
as touched Parr. He did not go far, however, for a well-
directed shot from Outram's famous gun laid him low.'
By his fearless bearing in the presence of danger, and
his general prowess in the chase, Outram attracted the
affection and admiration of the wild men among whom his
lot was cast for so many years. Willingly would they have
followed him anywhere. He could excel in tiger-slaying-
a feat in which was their own greatest pride. He could
trust their rude honour-a result at which none of his
1 Now General T. Chase Parr, of the Bombay Army.
-1835
105
DOUGLAS GRAHAM.
predecessors could arrive, though officials of a native
government. He was clearly their pattern of an authority
which they could acknowledge without loss of self-esteem,
or such equivalent for caste as they were contented to
accept. That caste, in the Indian sense, is not a term
applicable to themselves, is perhaps undisputed. Even the
common village barber would not exercise his profession
upon the Bhîl otherwise than on compulsion; and one col-
lector of Khandesh had to administer a fine before the razor
was produced for shaving the men of his guard.
6
6
Lieutenant Douglas Graham, from whose writings we
have already quoted, succeeded Lieutenant Beck as adjutant
of the Bhîl corps. Writing of his commanding officer in
1833, he designates him his own staunchest friend,' and
the boldest and the best sportsman' in Western India.
'We have lived together,' he says, 'for seven long years now
without having had a difference. . . . He has saved
my life; I have done the like good office to him; we have
fought together, and fed together, been for months without
any but our own sweet society; and, to sum up the story, I
do not think friendship can go a step further than what
exists between us two.'
. . .
If Douglas Graham's journals are known mainly by
repute in Bombay, many of the exploits related in them
should be familiar there as household words, especially
among sportsmen, and have doubtless been circulated far
beyond the limits of the Western Presidency. We shall,
therefore, select for extract only three or four of the more
striking narratives :—
'Before starting this morning (June 12, 1828) on very
sure intelligence, I had been wondering why a certain long
spear, one of your real Maratha lances, with a knob of rusty
iron at one end, and a bayonet-like bit of steel at the other,
106
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
was undergoing the process of excessive filing and sharpen-
ing; when I recalled to my remembrance some expressions
of my commandant, that tended to imply a determination
of spearing a royal tiger. And as the exploit was said to
have been once perpetrated on horseback on the Bangalore
race-course, a sort of vow rose floating among the mazy
recollections of the last evening's conversation, of his in-
tention to perform it on foot. Fifty good reasons were
adduced why the attempt was rash, nay, amounted to a
sort of indifference to the least chance of existence in the
struggle; but no, the word had gone forth, and he would
peril to the uttermost to redeem the pledge.
'Fears were laughed at, and dissuasion entirely set at
nought, so we had nothing for it but to see we had French
caps in our pockets (H.B. never miss) and proceed, anxiously
desirous that no opportunity would occur for our too adven-
turous friend. There was a fine thick cover down each side
of the broad nullah that ran past the tents, and at intervals
on either side two or three small topes, with abundance
of under creepers well known to us as frequented haunts.
There were only two elephants out that day, so, of course,
each took his own side. We had beat through the first cover
which was on our line, and had halted abreast of the second,
to observe the operations of the other howdah, on the oppo-
site bank, when a startling volley came provokingly across
from the very centre of the thicket, and the loud and con-
tinued bursts of uproarious music, fully declared that there
was more than one of the right sort on foot. Our position
was by no means so commanding as our wishes. We were
stuck on a bank which extended half a mile on each side of
us, and presented, as far as I could see, a perpeħdicular fall
of ten or twelve feet; but this was no time to stick at trifles,
so we shoved old Hyder at the place, notwithstanding the
remonstrances of the mahout, who declared the descent im-
-1835
LIEUTENANT GRAHAM'S JOURNAL.
107
practicable. But, making a virtue of necessity, for he saw
the butt-end of a rifle coming in contact with his sconce, he
began to manœuvre his "ankoos" in style. Hyder got down
on his belly in the most scientific manner, and stretched
his fore legs to their full extent over the side, but finding
no bottom, and not at all relishing a drop leap, withdrew
speedily from this position. Thrice he was brought down,
but to no avail; in the third attempt, luckily, the bank
gave way, and down we came, elephant, howdah, and all, but
landed in safety on the bed of the nullah. The firing still
continued in the tope, and on our arrival, we found one tiger
mortally wounded on the ground, and two others charging
fiercely from below a thicket of creepers. A cast round the
wood soon put us in possession of their mark. We had
hardly proceeded a hundred yards when the track went right
into a porcupine's earth, and I was indulging in the idea of
enjoying a novel sort of sport, when I saw my friend's eye
turn to the Maratha spear, with a meaning glance that
could not be mistaken, and the condition of my nerves was
by no means improved on seeing him alight from the how-
dah, and on his knees creep a little way into the hole, to
look, as he said, for the glittering of the eyes. Having
· ascertained that there were only two entrances to the den,
he blocked up one passage with thick bushes, placed the
elephant about two yards in front, and my friend took up his
station at the very mouth of the remaining hole.
There he stood, spear in hand, like a gladiator in the
arena of a Roman amphitheatre, ready for the throwing
open of the wild beast's cage. The bushes were set fire
to, and the tiger, by no means relishing the smoke, came
As this word seems to call for explanation, the opportunity is taken to
interpret with it four preceding words in the same letter, i.e. :-Nullah,
strictly nálá, a river or river-bed; tope or top, a wood, tuft of trees; howdah,
strictly hauda, an elephant's turret; mahout, strictly mahȧwat, the elephant
keeper or driver; ankoos or ānkus, ankus, a goad.
108
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
puffing and blowing like a porpoise, every five or six seconds,
to get a little fresh air; but scenting the elephant, he was
always fain to retreat again. This sort of work went on for
some time, and bush after bush blazed away without produc-
ing the desired effect. I could not have stood the suspense,
when life was at stake. At last there was a low angry growl,
and a scuffling rustle in the passage. The tiger sprang out,
and down descended the long lance into his neck, just
behind the dexter ear. With one stroke of his powerful paw
he smashed the spear close to the head. There was a pretty
business. Mr. Tiger one step below, with the steel sticking
in his neck, which by no means improved his temper, had
gathered his huge hind quarters below him for a desperate
spring; and my friend, armed after the fashion of the South
Sea Islanders, standing on a little mound, breathing defiance
and brandishing his bamboo on high-odds by far too over-
powering; so, to bring things a little more to equality, I
threw in a couple of balls from old Hyder, which turned the
scale, as Brennus' sword did of old. The tiger was luckily
stunned and floored by this salute, but shortly recovered,
and finding too many enemies besetting him on the open
ground, scampered away to the thicket. We found him
again below an old bush, and very vicious he was, tearing
through the jungle, and charging in mad fury whenever we
came near his entrenchment. Three times he was on the
elephant, roaring and screaming; charge succeeded charge,
ball after ball went into his inside, and at length he yielded
up the ghost, under the very trunk of the elephant. Had
the spear not been directed with the most cool self-posses-
sion, so as to arrest the progress of the tiger, and give me a
slight chance of hitting, and had not old Hyder remained
perfectly steady, without taking at all into consideration my
fluttering nerves and state of anxiety, there would have
been an end of one whose like we shall seldom see again;
-1835
109
FRAGMENTS OF SHIKAR.
at best it was the happy accomplishment of a very rash
vow.'
Undated, but headed Fragments, 1828 to 1832,' are
two entries appropriate to these pages. It need scarcely
be said that Outram is the 'commandant' whose directions
are so implicitly obeyed in sporting attire as in uniform:
'Moved to Pingulwara, where we killed a very splendid
tiger after breakfast, and on our way home fell in with the
marks of a tigress and cubs, which we followed for about two
miles, when they went into an old tunnel that had been car-
ried for eighty or ninety yards through a small hill. As the
aperture was of just sufficient size to allow us to enter
abreast, we put our rifles, double-barrelled two-ounce ones,
all ready, and went in together, on the understanding that
the moment we saw the glittering of the brute's eyes we
were to fire sharp and fall flat on our faces. I have no hesi-
tation in saying that it was with fear and trembling that
I entered this ugly den; but as my commandant proposed
the thing, I could not be off, so, making up my mind for a
pretty scrimmage, away we went. The place was foul, dark,
and damp; but, as good luck would have it, the tigress had
made no stay in the place, but had gone right through. As
there was no arguing about these things with my com-
mandant, I always did as he did, and left the result, in this
and a hundred other mad tricks, to the entire direction of
the fates. The elephants were close at hand, and we
bagged the tigress and cub among some very high reeds
in the nullah, not a hundred yards from its mouth. She
had no chance, as we saw her crouched for a spring, about
twenty yards off, and took the liberty of checking her in-
tentions by a couple of well-directed balls. A tiger is very
difficult to twig just at the proper moment. His colour
confounds him with the decayed leaves and wood, and were
110
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
it not for his strawberry-leaf shaped ears, which some way
always catch a practised eye, the game would pass often
unseen on very open ground.'
6
The next is entitled The First Accident:
'I remember well the occurrence, whilst on a hunting
trip among the rocky mountain ranges that separate
Khandesh from the Deccan. It was towards the close of a
June day, when but little of vegetation and water remained;
the leaves of the bushes were shrivelled up, the country
parched and cracked, the very stones in a glow of white
heat.
'We had been particularly successful during the trip,
and had upwards of forty full-sized tigers on our list, owing
to the research and sagacity of our Bheels, and the skill and
perseverance of our chief; and flushed with the fulness of
sport, and rendered careless, probably, from success, we all
entertained rather too contemptible an opinion for the tyrant
of the flock.
The country was a difficult and dangerous one to hunt
—the side of a long waving hill, intersected by numerous
broad stony ravines, and covered with short, thick, thorny
babul bush, whose yellow, discoloured leaves increased the
difficulty tenfold of discovering our game. We beat up a
nullah with three elephants, but an accidental shot had
scared the monster. He had quitted his lair, which we
found quite fresh, and sneaked off among the bushes. The
party separated, and each elephant took his line about a
quarter of a mile apart from the other. I had that day
charge of old Hyder-that pink of elephants—and was lean-
ing over the side of the howdah with my rifle in my hand,
half a dozen Bheels close beside me, eagerly examining a patch
of open ground which extended fifteen or twenty yards from
the edge of the nullah where the jungle commenced, and
-1835
III
THE BHÎL'S DEATH.
pressing forward, notwithstanding the strict injunctions they
had received to keep well behind, when a roar loud and deep
startled me from my position. All had either fallen to the
ground or fled, except one, a fine, handsome, active young
fellow, and a particular favourite with us all, named Gurwur.
He stood riveted to the spot, fascinated by the tones of that
awful roar. The huge yellow form came cleaving through
the air with the rapidity of light; in one fell swoop he
pounced on his prey, and in the same instant his paw rested
deep in the shoulder and his ruthless teeth were crashing
through the skull of the unfortunate one. I could see the
fierce glare of his eye as he stood overtopping his victim, and
holding him up in his terrible jaws. It was all the work of a
second. I had scarce time to bring my gun to my shoulder,
but I aimed high, and fired both barrels. The savage
quitted his grasp and disappeared amongst the thicket. Poor
Gurwur's sword was half drawn, but his fight was over!'
About a week afterwards, Lieutenant Graham was sur-
prised at seeing his chief gallop up to camp with an enor-
mous tiger strapped to his saddle-bow. It was the fierce
destroyer of the foregoing story. After committing the act
narrated, the beast, in accordance with invariable practice,
fled across the hills to seek concealment in the thickest cover
available. Outram had followed, with steady determination
to avenge, if possible, his Bhîl. For three days, we are told,
the pursuit lasted, through rain and wind, over mountain
and torrent, and across valley and forest. On the evening
of the fourth day the tiger was brought up by a long shot,
whilst skulking along the side of a palm jangal.
To give some imperfect notion of the continuous nature
of this exciting sport, we might quote no less than twelve
entries in fourteen days, or from May 7 to 20, 1829, in-
clusive, each day after bears or tigers, and usually with the
II2
1829-
JAMES OUTRAM.
sought for result. In the previous year are two successive
entries, very brief, and worthy of special extract. One of
them has just been made familiar to us in the form of a
detailed narrative.
'June 9.-Went out after an immense tiger. Outram
wounded him from horseback. He went into a small
nullah, and when he advanced, he charged, and wounded one
of the Bheels.'
'June 12.-Killed two tigresses and one tiger. The
tiger got into a hole, and we smoked him out. Outram
stood above the hole, and speared him in the neck as he
came out. He turned and broke the spear to pieces, and
was just making a daur upon Outram, when Tapp and I
fired from the howdah and knocked him over. The finest
day's sport I ever saw.'1
In May 1828, there is a vivid account of an assault upon
a herd of wild buffaloes in Meywar, ending in the death of
a fine bull, who made a vigorous defence against the many
spears and rifles brought against him. But we have no
more space for extract from these journals of exceptional
shikár. A summary from Outram's personal record will
aptly illustrate the case, in conclusion.
He has noted that, during ten years, or from 1825 to
1834 inclusive, he himself and associates in the chase, killed
no fewer than 235 tigers, wounding 22 others; 25 bears,
wounding 14; 12 buffaloes, wounding 5; and killed also
16 panthers or leopards. Of this grand total of 329 wild
animals, 44 tigers and one panther or leopard were killed
during his absence by gentlemen of the Khandesh hunt;
but Outram was actually present at the death of 191 tigers,
15 panthers or leopards, 25 bears, and 12 buffaloes. It
is to be regretted that, during the period specified five
¹ See ante, pp. 105–108. Daur—Anglicè—' rush,' 'run,' or 'spring."
-1835
113
SUMMARY OF Sport.
natives, while assisting in the shikár, were killed, and
four wounded; but it must be remembered that the Bhil
is not a participator in such dangerous doings upon com-
pulsion, but under pressure from his own restless nature.
In 1825-26, of the five English gentlemen who composed
the party, two died of janyal fever, and Outram, while on
foot, was severely wounded by a chita. In 1827-28, he,
though usually mounted on his elephant Haidar (who was
twice wounded), killed and wounded two tigers off horseback,
besides spearing one tiger on foot, as before mentioned. In
1831, the highest figure was attained in the account of
spoil. Out of 65 animals then killed and wounded, 46
Outram speared a bear during the same
year. In 1830, however, with the exception of ten days passed
with the Nagar hunt,¹ he had shared but little in the ex-
citements of the chase, owing to the campaign in the Dáng;
and he was again much occupied in the Satpura expedition
of 1833.
tigers were killed.
The time has now come to take leave of Khandesh, and
though the scene of action in the next chapter will not be
very far away from that province, we shall have to treat of a
comparatively new subject, and new characters.
¹ At which time he took 10 first spears-all but one contested-in a party
of six, 55 hog being killed; broke the small bone of his right leg the first day,
and was compelled to give up running altogether on the eighth, in conse-
quence of bruises. He had before been with the Nagar hunt in 1829, when
he managed to take 12 first spears--all contested.
VOL. I.
I
114
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
CHAPTER V.
1835-1838.
Appointment to a Special Mission-Leave to Bombay-Marriage-Two years
and three quarters in the Mahi Kánta.
EARLY in 1835 Captain Outram accompanied Mr. Bax, then
Resident at Indor, through Malwa and Nimar. The scant
supply of home letters received from him at this period finds
ready explanation in his reports of constant marching and
attendance on native darbars and festivals. Later on, the
same deficiencies are accounted for by other and more
pressing demands of the public service. After return from
his annual Khandesh tour in June, he was confidentially
addressed by Government, and his opinion invited on the
affairs of the neighbouring province of Gujrat, which had
long been in an unsettled state, and which, in the Máhi
Kánta, had assumed a threatening aspect. This tract of
territory, literally but incorrectly interpreted as the littoral
of the river Máhi, comprised, in those days, all that portion
of Gujrat proper yielding tribute to the Gáikawár on com-
pulsion only, or realised at the point of the bayonet. It is
situated far above Khandesh and the Narbada, and extends
up towards Sirohi and Udaipur on its north, leaving Kaira
on its south, Dungapur east, and Pálánpur west. From
south-east to north-west its length is estimated at about 100
miles, and its breadth in the direction of the opposite angles
at about 60; the area is given at 3,400 square miles.
The following descriptive account from the Rás Mála is
-1838
115
THE RÁS MÁLA.
so clear and explicit that we make no apology for its insertion
here :-
<
The level country (which, covered with noble groves of trees,
may vie,' says Mr. Grant Duff, the historian of the Mahrattas,
'for hundreds of miles with the finest parks of the nobles of
England,') was almost entirely reduced by the Mahrattas under
direct government; though the jungles of the Choonwal and the
banks of the Myhee, as far south as Baroda, still furnished shelter
to independent tribes, and many villages, including those which
belong to the Rajpoot landholders, in some of the richest districts,
required an annual armament to enforce payment of their tribute.
As the smallest streams branched off, many independent commu-
nities appeared among the ravines and jungle on their banks; as
these rivulets increased in number, and the forest grew thicker
and more continuous, the independent territories also became more
frequent, and were found in more solid masses, until at length the
still untamed principalities of Eedur and Loonawara were reached,
amidst the mountains of the north-east. Many Koonbees,
Waneeas, and others of the peaceable classes, were included
among the population of the Myhee Kanta; but the castes which
bore arms, and in whom the whole authority of the country was
vested, were Rajpoots, Kolees, or Muhammadans; of these the
Kolees were by far the most numerous, though they were for the
most part found under Rajpoot rule. All the Rajpoots used swords
and shields, matchlocks and spears. They often wore defensive
armour either of leather or chain, and placed it upon their horses.
Their plan of warfare was to defend their villages; they seldom,
except after an ineffectual defence, took to the woods like the
Kolees, and were quite incapable of the desultory warfare so con-
genial to the latter tribe. The Kolees or Bheels (for, though the
former would resent the classification, the distinctions between them
need not here be noticed) were more diminutive than the other
inhabitants, and their eyes wore an expression of liveliness and
cunning, their turbans, if they used any, were small; their common
head-dress was a cloth carelessly wrapped round the temples; their
clothes were usually few and coarse; they were seldom seen with-
out a quiver of arrows, and a long bamboo bow, which was instantly
bent on any alarm, or even on the sudden approach of a stranger.
The natives described them as wonderfully swift, active, and hardy;
I 2
116
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
incredibly patient of hunger, thirst, fatigue, and want of sleep;
vigilant, enterprising, secret, fertile in expedients, and admirably
calculated for night attacks, surprises, and ambuscades. Their
arms and habits rendered them unfit to stand in the open field, and
they were timid when attacked, but had, on several occasions,
shown extraordinary boldness in assaults, even upon stations occu-
pied by regular British troops. They were independent in spirit,
and although professed robbers, were said to be remarkably faith-
ful when trusted, and were certainly never sanguinary. They
were averse to regular industry, exceedingly addicted to drunken-
ness, and very quarrelsome when intoxicated. Their delight was
plunder, and nothing was so welcome to them as a general dis-
turbance in the country. The numbers of the Kolees would have
rendered them formidable had they been capable of union; but
though they had a strong fellow-feeling for each other, they never
regarded themselves as a nation, nor ever made cause against an
external enemy.
6
The inhabitants of this country-and we do not confine
the term to the Kúlis,' or supposed aborigines-had long
been known as a warlike and rebellious people: and when
the British Government was first brought into immediate
contact with them in 1820, it soon became evident that
without the application of stronger and fairer measures than
had been attempted by the Gáikawár for the suppression.
and control of these his unruly tributaries, there could be no
security to life and property in the villages and lands which
they occupied. The establishment of a British agency was
due to Mr. Elphinstone, who visited the Máhi Kánta in 1821;
and who had hoped, by this means, to secure quiet to the
country, and a peaceful realisation of his dues to the native
ruler. Our local authorities, however, while using undoubted
goodwill and good intentions to introduce order into chaos,
were unfortunate in the choice of means. Whether right
men were not consulted for right measures, or not put into
right places, it matters little now to inquire. The result
was signal failure to achieve the desired end. But in order
-1838
117
INTERNAL FEUDS.
to make the situation intelligible, we must resort to a sum-
mary of the state of affairs in the Máhi Kánta, when Outram's
services were to be put in requisition there, practically much
in the same way as for Khandesh.
In the year 1828, Gambhir Singh, Rajah of Edar, burnt
the village of Kírí, which belonged to Fath Singh of Rupál.
The latter complained to the British agent at Pálánpur, who
then exercised a temporary superintendence of the Máhi
Kánta. Gambhir Singh was directed to pay a heavy fine;
but, as the decision remained a dead letter, Fath Singh took
the law into his own hands, and imprisoned the brother of
Khem Chand, a minister of the Edar Rajah, when a guest in
his house. Such a hostage would, he thought, prove better
security for damages due than less tangible professions and
promises. Khem Chand, however, pleaded the attachment of .
the Edar State by the British Government as a cause for
non-payment of fine; and his brother remained a prisoner.
At this time, one Suráj Mall, the turbulent son of Jalum
Singh, lowest in rank but greatest landholder of eight Rajput
feudatories of Edar, was in banishment; and to him appeal
was made for assistance against Fath Singh. He readily
undertook the task assigned, and raising a body of 400 or 500
men, attacked and plundered Rupál. But as the unfortunate
hostage was not to be found, Khem Chand refused to pay the
promised reward; and Suráj Mall was left to his own devices.
His ways were those of strong and unprincipled contem-
poraries he supported himself and followers by a course of
pillage and devastation among the villages of Edar. Seven
years after the occurrence of the original cause of quarrel-
and long after the death of Gambhir Singh, the main offender-
the feud threatened to become a chronic infliction. A third
disturber of the peace had, moreover, appeared on the scene,
in the person of Pirthi Singh, son of the deceased Karn
118
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
A
Singh of Ahmadnagar, who, with his brother Hamir Singh and
many adherents, caused three widows of the late Rajah to be-
come satís,' in despite of the injunctions, and almost within
sight of the British political agent. Military operations were
rendered imperative, and a field force was called out against
Suráj Mall and the Thákur of Rupál. By the middle of
March 1835, the principal strongholds of both chiefs had been
destroyed- and Ahmadnagar was in the possession of British
soldiers. But in the former case, the offenders themselves,
both outlaws, were still at large, while the occupation of a
town, was, at best, but a superficial measure of success.
report, favourable to an approaching peaceful settlement of
the Máhi Kánta, sent to the Court of Directors by the Bombay
Government in September, was succeeded by one in October
of a less cheering kind. It was to the effect that, notwith-
standing the 'severest suffering and privations on the part
of the troops in toiling through a most difficult and rugged
country' with which the authorities were imperfectly ac-
quainted, the chiefs had not been captured, and the causes of
disaffection and disturbance had not been removed. What
was required was a better knowledge of the place and people,
and an influence over the popular leaders: something, in
fine, which, in effecting the work of pacification, could be
substituted for the too common remedy of overwhelming
brute force.
In furtherance of its views of amelioration, the local
Government proposed to make a survey of the tract under
report, and to aim at the acquisition of moral control over its
warlike inhabitants through the exercise of a conciliatory
policy such as had been successfully adopted for Khandesh.
Hence the consultations with Captain Outram to which we
have referred, and which only took official shape after a
frequent interchange of thought embodied in a confidential
¹ Anglicè, 'Suttee.'
-1838
MISSION TO THE MÁHI KANTA.
119
correspondence with Government officers. Among the last
was the late Major Orlando Felix, so long on the personal
staff of Indian governors, whose urbanity and tact in the
fulfilment of social duties were on a par with a highly in-
telligent appreciation of the more strictly professional part
he had to perform. One of the subjects discussed with this
gentleman was Outram's own proposal to divide his Bhîl
corps and, instead of raising it, as contemplated, to a thou-
sand strong, to break it into two regiments or battalions of
five hundred men each. The palpable advantage recognised
in the modification was that, in case of emergency, the force
could be doubled in number without any fresh accession
of officers. But another question arose from this discussion.
Should there be occasion to form a brigade of Kúlis in
Gujrat, who more fit than Outram to advise on, and, if
practicable, take under his immediate charge the organisa-
tion of the scheme? His services would be invaluable for
the purpose, and it was natural to try and secure them. A
much wider responsibility, however, than involved in the drill
and discipline of Kúlis, was to rest upon him in his new
sphere of action.
About the middle of March 1835, Sir Robert Grant had
succeeded Lord Clare as Governor of Bombay. In prompt
obedience to the orders of Government, bearing date August
27 of the same year, Captain Outram quitted Khandesh on
September 11 following, for Indor. His object in taking this
circuitous road to the Máhi Kánta was to consult with Mr.
Bax on some details of his mission; but more particularly to
enter, if possible, the disturbed districts from the Malwa
side, through a part of the country on which trustworthy
information was urgently needed. At Indor he was des-
tined to disappointment; for the route he had laid out for
himself was reported impracticable, owing to the deep mud
I 20
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
which, impervious to cattle or carriage of any kind, had
generally covered Malwa, during six weeks of continuous
rain. He was, therefore, forced to make the best of his way
to Baroda, nearer the northern bank of the Narbada, by Bho-
páwar, and Chhota Udaipur. Through the care of the British
resident at Indor, the journey across Holkar's territory
was uneventful and free from obstruction; but the passage
across this section of the Vindhya mountains, and through
the neighbouring jangal, in autumn, are acts always
attended with serious risk to health for Europeans or
natives, and it is not strange that fever and other sickness
should have visited the camp. Out of Holkar's limits a
certain annoyance was experienced in the behaviour of the
Gáikawár's employés. These, it had been inferred, would
have readily aided the progress of a duly accredited British
officer traversing the tracts in which they exercised a little
brief authority; and faith in their friendly disposition caused
Outram, on entering Gujrat, to dismiss the horsemen who
had been placed at his disposal by the Rajah of Udaipur. But
the event proved he had made a mistake. On reaching, late
at night, one of the Gáikawár's large towns, the servants of
the mission were refused a guide to show them the public
resting-place, and could not procure even a little milk on
purchase. Outram himself was not more successful at the
Police Thána, and though supperless, like the remainder of
his party, was glad to accept the shelter offered him by a
kindly Brahmin schoolmaster. From Baroda he proceeded
to Ahmadabad, and thence to Ahmadnagar, Edar, and Dîsa,
returning to Ahmadabad to draw up his report, in personal
communication with the political commissioner, Mr. Wil-
liams, and with the advantage of access to the records of his
office. This report, completed at Baroda, was prepared with
much care and ability, and is an elaborate and comprehensive
State paper.
It set forth the measures necessary for dealing
-1838
121
REPORT AND OPINION.
with the insurgents at once, and under certain future contin-
gencies; it detailed the cases of individual leaders; it investi-
gated the elements of which the hostile forces were composed,
and the sources and causes of hostility; it entered into the
question of Police for preservation of the peace of the coun-
try present and future; it discussed the liabilities of the
native ruling power; it showed the importance of survey,
and the opportunities likely to offer for carrying out the
measure; finally, it expressed the writer's conviction that the
Máhi Kánta could not be tranquillised, nor could a system of
active reform be successfully introduced among its inhabit-
ants, until the unruly clans had been brought under subjec-
tion, and the chiefs punished for their opposition to British
troops. Its date of November 14, little more than two
months after departure from his old Bhil head-quarters of
Dharangaon, gave ample evidence that no time had been lost
by Captain Outram in fulfilling a mission which, mentally
and physically, was arduous, and of special kind.
Later in the same month of November, Outrain was
offered by the commander-in-chief, Sir John Keane, com-
mand of the troops then about to be assembled against the
insurgents of the Máhi Kánta. In the spirit which actuated
him throughout life, but which circumstances have rendered
more conspicuous in his later years, he declined the honour
in favour of a friend very much his senior. His letter to the
chief's military secretary on this occasion is very characteristic.
He declared himself sensible of the distinction conferred upon
him by such mark of confidence, but felt it his duty to point
out that the appointment of so junior an officer might give
umbrage in quarters where unanimity was necessary. The
senior officer on the spot was almost the senior captain in the
army: none above him could be sent with the detached
companies of which the force would be composed; whereas
he himself, from his junior position in the army, would, if in
122
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
command, be the cause of separating captains from their
companies, to the detriment of the service. He wrote,
moreover: the qualifications of the officer now commanding
the detachment in the disturbed districts are far superior to
mine. I willingly stake my humble reputation on his con-
duct. Associated with him, as I presume I shall be in the
duty, while his be the honour of success, mine be the blame
of defeat, in measures of which I am the proposer.'
6
If the sentiment here exhibited appear to some in any
way Quixotic, it was certainly genuine. Nor was it the
expression of an unambitious soldier, or of an untried man,
whose temper was unknown to his employers. Sir John
Keane, while appreciating the objects of Captain Outram, and
admitting the merits of the senior officer on whose behalf he
had written, could not accept the change of arrangements
submitted. His Excellency considers,' replied Major Mac-
donald, that the ultimate success of all the plans of
Government will mainly depend upon your being left in the
free exercise of your own good judgment without anybody
being placed over you to control it. It is not alone the task
of meeting the enemy in the field that devolves upon the
person having the chief arrangement of affairs in these
rebellious districts. . . . His Excellency highly approves of
what he understands to be the intention of Government-
namely, to invest you with civil and political powers, which
will render you independent of the authority of senior officers;
and the military, of whatever rank, must take their directions
from you. This is according to precedent and Indian usage;
and why should it not be acted on in your case, who possess
the confidence of Government, and are looked up to, of all
others, as the person best qualified to put their plans into
execution?
Seldom has a more complimentary letter than this been
addressed to a junior captain under the circumstances. Mr.
-1838
123
APPROACHING MARRIAGE.
Bax, the former collector in Khandesh, wrote privately to
Outram on the subject of this correspondence, that he had
' acted judiciously and most considerately' in declining a
command which must have annoyed many of his seniors in
the service-a result which would have been overlooked by
nineteen men out of twenty,' for the sake of the distinction
to be conferred.
6
On completing his report Outram repaired to the Presi-
dency. It was not alone on public grounds that the requisite
leave to make this visit had been solicited, though a personal
conference with the members of Government on the affairs
of Gujrat seemed an indispensable sequel to the late in-
quiry and proceedings. Another urgent cause prompted
the application. He was about to be married to his cousin
Miss Margaret Anderson; and the bride was daily expected to
arrive in Bombay. He had hoped to have welcomed her in
the previous year: for the engagement had been of some
standing; but passages to and from India were more serious
affairs then than now considered, and not arranged as at
present, irrespective of particular ships and particular seasons.
The settlement of the Máhi Kánta was a matter of so
urgent a nature in the eyes of the local Government that no
time was lost in issuing instructions for the more immediate
guidance of the executive officers; but Outrain's proposals
were held to be too warlike, and conciliation was to be put in
practice, and thoroughly tested, before recourse should be had
to violence. Sir Robert Grant, the Governor, was essentially
a man of peace and a philanthropist. He could not believe in
the existence of disaffection among the chiefs without a cause,
which, at least, demanded full and patient inquiry. He
wished this inquiry, if possible, to precede any sterner mea-
sures and no disarming, or tooth-drawing, would be sanc-
tioned in the interim. In the words of the memoir already
quoted: he had seen a purely conciliatory policy successful in
:
124
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
another province of Guzerat; and, overlooking the difference
in the condition of the two countries, he assumed that the
measures which, under the masterly management of Major
Walker, Captain Barnewell, and Mr. Willoughby, had given
peace to Kattywar and Rajpeempla, must necessarily suffice
for the tranquillisation of the Máhi Kánta. . . . So confident
was this estimable and benevolent governor of the omnipotence
of gentle speech and singleness of purpose, that he actually
diminished the strength of the force which had already found
itself inadequate to control the insurgents, though Captain
Outram had recommended that it should be temporarily
increased, not necessarily for employment, but for purposes
of demonstration.' To what extent such views were con-
curred in by the Court of Directors will shortly become
apparent.
Though we read of breakfasts and interviews at Govern-
ment House at this period, there is no record of any conver-
sations which transpired. The Governor invited; Major
Felix issued the invitations; Outram and others attended:
further particulars are wanting. But there is also no lack of
official correspondence to throw a light on the course of
events. Before referring to this, we have to note that, in
December 1835, Outram's marriage was solemnised in
Bombay, where his affianced bride was temporarily residing
in the house of her brother-in-law, Mr. Morris, of the Civil
Service. During the week or two of leave which preceded
the wedding-day, his time was chiefly occupied at the
Secretariat offices, reporting, or otherwise employed on public
matters. A fortnight after his marriage, or in January 1836,
he was forced to hurry off to his rough work in the Máhi
Kánta, under injunctions to modify his original plans of
settlement in accordance with the benevolent intentions of
Government. He was now to all intents and purposes a
political agent; but notice of confirmation in the appoint-
-1838
125
JUSTICE BEFORE GENEROSITY.
ment was not received by him until the end of March, when
bis friend Douglas Graham succeeded him in the command
of the Bhîl corps.
A very few days subsequent to his departure from
Bombay, he was again at Ahmadabad, and there made
acquainted by the assistant political commissioner, Mr.
Arthur Malet, with the lines of policy laid down for his
conduct of the agency, as defined in writing by Mr. Secretary
Willoughby. The remarkable administrative faculty of the
last-named gentleman, and his general aptitude of expression
in communicating the instructions and meaning of his Govern-
ment to the several officials it was his privilege to address, were
almost universally admitted by those who were capable of
forming an opinion on the subject, and Outram was not
behind his fellows in respect for the Secretary's abilities.
But in the matter of the Máhi Kánta troubles, the new
political agent found it very difficult to believe that the
Government programme was suited to the occasion. 'I will
pay every attention to your remarks on the subjects you
notice,' he writes on February 7, but while Government
thus generously pardons the transgressions of these chiefs
against us, no provision appears in my instructions for the
satisfaction of the claims of others who have suffered at their
hands. Such claims will, I fear, prove numerous and not
easily answered, as, for instance, that of the Edar soukar,¹
Akka Chand, whose capture by Suráj Mall was reported by
Mr. Erskine, and from whom a ransom of 10,000 rupees was
extorted after a long exposure to dreadful tortures; also
for the blood that has been spilt by them, and property
destroyed in their attacks on the Edar village in Kuppora—
in which, I hear, lives were lost, and a hundred buffaloes and
other property taken; and the attack on Bottawur, another
1 Now transliterated såhukár, a merchant or banker.
126
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
Edar village, where one man was killed, and property
destroyed, reported on the 5th instant. On these chiefs
being taken under our protection, it will, I presume, be
necessary to satisfy all well-founded claims against them,
both in justice, and to prevent retaliation; and I beg to
know how far I may hold out hopes of remuneration to the
sufferers, either from the chiefs who plundered them-the
pecuniary claims against the one being already so great, and
the other having no means or estate whatsoever-or from
the Edar Raja, or from the British Government, by whom
their aggressors are protected?'
The language was strong; and it will surprise no one
versed in the ways of official correspondence to learn that the
writer was apprised how, in addressing his Government, he
must find a second word for 'spade,' which was inadmissible
at any cost.
But the rebuke was administered in the
mildest possible terms, and the Governor in Council highly
approved of Captain Outram's determination, distinctly ex-
pressed in his letter, impartially to follow the tenor of his
instructions.
Conspicuous among the refractory chiefs with whom
the political agent had to do were Fath Singh, Thákur of
Rupál, Suráj Mall, the adventurer, Partáb Singh, of Aglor,
and Karm Singh, Thákur of Gorwára. Of the two first we
have already spoken; and we now refer to them, as to the
whole four, in the light of illustrative cases. To understand
the Government position with regard to these persons, it must
be borne in mind that we were fighting the battle of a native
power as much as on our own account. Indeed, one main
cause of contention was the exaction of a tribute called the
Ghás dáná, acknowledged by precedent and the custom of the
country. This was the Gáikawár's, and could not, therefore,
be permanently reduced without that ruler's consent; but
-1838
127
THE THÁKUR OF RUPÁL.
the Bombay Government reserved to itself the right to make
temporary remissions when found expedient. Another pay-
ment exacted was the Richri, regarding which similar diffi-
culties existed.
On first assuming charge of the political agency, Outram
despatched letters, calling the outlawed chiefs to his camp.
An amnesty was granted for all past offences under condi-
tions which well-meaning men, however proud and inde-
pendent, might easily have fulfilled; but which those who
saw more personal gain in lawlessness and vagabondage
would naturally disregard. Fath Singh, Thákur of Rupál,
appeared with others, but soon absented himself, on the plea
of seeking for securities. A long year was consumed in
endeavouring to effect a settlement of his affairs. He shuf-
fled and evaded, argued, objected, threatened, but did not
proceed to violence. Eventually-in 1837-his case was
settled in the spirit of leniency by which the Government
was actuated, and which pervaded all its instructions, in
respect of the disturbers of the peace in Máhi Kánta. The
proceedings are not of sufficient public interest to be de-
tailed; but there are passages in the recorded official corre-
spondence regarding the Thákur of Rupál which we feel it a
duty to reproduce, in proof of the loyalty and honourable
action of the political agent.
There was a little cavilling at the departure of the
Thákur in the present instance without furnishing securities,
which, caused perhaps by suspicion of mismanagement,
called for full explanation on Outram's part. Certainly there
was something expressed or signified in the communications
from Bombay which touched the sensitiveness of this honest
servant of the State; for he had only been three months in
the discharge of his new functions when he stated his
apprehensions that he had lost the confidence of Govern-
ment. A long despatch signed by the Chief Secretary thus
128
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
removes in a concluding paragraph all cause for such appre-
hension:- I am directed to request that you will assure
Captain Outram that the confidence of Government, as it
was not lightly given, will not be lightly withdrawn. The
Right Honourable the Governor in Council trusts that he will
go on cheerfully, under the conviction that though Govern-
ment may dissent from his judgment on some points, it
entertains the firmest general reliance on his zeal, enterprise,
and sagacity, and confidently anticipates from his efforts—
under Providence-the ultimate achievement of one of its
most important and most favourite objects-the civilisation
of the Máhi Kánta.'
At a later stage in the correspondence, 'the Governor in
Council very much commends the tone of Captain Outram's
communications to the Thákur, leaving, as it does, the door
open for the extension of mercy, and the avoiding extremi-
ties.' Later still, the Governor in Council thinks that
Captain Outram's proceedings are entitled to the highest
commendation of Government; for though his own opinions
of the course of conduct to be pursued towards the Rupál
Thákur varied in some respects from those entertained by
Government, he has most faithfully adhered to the latter,
without which they could not have been successful.' But a
higher compliment followed. Outram had recommended to
the favourable consideration of Government the Thákur's
request to be permitted to pay the first instalment of the
sum with which he was authoritatively debited one year later
than the year fixed. To this Government objected on certain
reasonable grounds; but the objection was followed by an
unusual concession to the Government agent, thus expressed:
'Should that officer, notwithstanding what has been stated
above, still incline to think that the advantage of begin-
ning a year earlier is not worth the difficulty or the risk
which may be incurred by insisting on its being yielded, the
-1838
129
SURÁJ MALL.
Governor in Council is willing to forego that advantage, and
to abide by the terms Captain Outram proposed.'
The despatches quoted were written in 1836. In the
subsequent year, the political agent forwarded the bonds re-
quired from the Thákur, and received the further approval of
Government to his proceedings. But he himself was never
satisfied that the settlement was real: for he saw mischief in
the character of the man with whom he was dealing; and
we find it on record that Fath Singh subsequently broke out
when he saw his opportunity, and when there was no Outram
in the Máhi Kánta to keep him to his better behaviour.
Suráj Mall had left the British agent's camp in search of
securities, much in the same way as the Thákur, Fath Singh.
During his absence, his case became further complicated by a
charge brought against him, similar to that which first intro-
duced him to the reader. Some three months before, he had
seized and imprisoned a native merchant of Sidhpúr, a subject
of the Gáikawár; and it was ascertained that he still retained
the man in confinement, with the view of extorting a ransom
of 2,000 rupees.' Outram, already believing that the treat-
ment he had been instructed to pursue with the refractory
chiefs was marked by unnecessary forbearance, could not but
The details of Suráj Mall's offence, gathered from the Rás Mála, are
illustrative of the state of affairs in the Máhi Kánta and neighbourhood at
the time of commission, and also of the extraordinary audacity of the chief
offender. It appears that on the death of the principal of a Hindu monastery
at Sidhpúr, the succession to his authority was disputed by two disciples.
One of these, named Raj Bharti, turned rebellious, donned Rajput attire, and
enlisted Suráj Mall in his cause under promise of payment. The two together
appeared one day with a party of horsemen at a town near Sidhpúr, and ac-
counted for themselves to the satisfaction of inquirers by a made-up plausible
story that they were peaceable travellers. In the evening they entered the
market-place with the intention of seizing the person of the head merchant; but
failing to find him, they went in search of a fitting substitute, one Lakhu Shet.
This unfortunate individual they discovered at his dinner, forced him into the
street, and carried him off on one of the horses of the party. The alarm was
raised, and an attempt made to close the town gates against the marauders;
but boldness and violence won the day, and they escaped.
VOL. I.
K
130
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
feel highly indignant at this new proof of determined misdoing.
And the circumstance that the evil-doer had quite recently
been admitted to pardon, and publicly received by the politi-
cal agent, greatly enhanced the seriousness of the offence.
He therefore addressed a letter to Suráj Mall, informing him
that he was again amenable to punishment for his conduct,
and that if he did not accept certain conditions required of
him to atone for his acts, he would be proclaimed and re-
garded as an enemy. As he was known to be close at hand,
a period of three days was considered sufficient time to allow
for acceptance or refusal of the terms offered. In reporting
this matter to Government, Outram hoped for approval of
his proceedings, but expressed his apprehension lest their
tendency should be considered 'too lenient.' Government,
however, did not approve, and there were no telegraphs in
those days to supersede or supplement postal communication.
The ball had been set rolling, and could not be stopped.
Suráj Mall, declining to take advantage of the peaceable
solution of the difficulty offered, was proclaimed an outlaw.
Captain David Forbes, commandant of the Máhi Kánta field
detachment, was called on to co-operate with the political
agent, and a few troops were moved to take up here and
there a position of precaution. The outlaw was followed up
into his mountain fastnesses, and finally tendered his submis-
sion without striking a blow.
Mr. Willoughby's despatch, animadverting on the pro-
ceedings reported at the outset, was dated April 9. In the
meanwhile, active measures had been taken with complete
success, and the result submitted for the consideration of
Government on the 29th of the same month. The despatch
in acknowledgment of this subsequent report presents a
curious contrast to the preceding one. We have no wish to
criticise the writings of a secretariat so redolent of genuine
philanthropy as that under the control of Sir Robert Grant;
-1838
131
GOOD OUT OF EVIL.
we are, moreover, willing to believe that this ruling spirit of
benevolence was not only appreciated by Outram at the very
time he was supposed to swerve from its teaching, but that
its lessons greatly influenced his own after-career; neverthe-
less, we are bound to continue our extracts from official
`papers, which, if a controversy be admitted as between mas-
ter and servant, give at least an apparent victory to the
latter.
The Bombay Government, on April 9, 1836, expressing
concern at what had occurred, directed that Captain Outram
be called upon, without a moment's delay, to explain a pro-
ceeding which could not, primâ facie, be reconciled with his
instructions; and they stated their strong apprehensions
that the measures he had taken might precipitate the crisis
which it was their wish to avert. On April 26, when all had
ended satisfactorily, the Secretary acknowledged receipt of
the intelligence that Suráj Mall had surrendered on the sole
condition that his life be spared, and, expressing the gratifi-
cation of the Governor in Council, requested that Captain
Outram be congratulated on so fortunate a result of his
spirited, though, in their opinion, somewhat rash proceed-
ings.'
6
Then followed these four paragraphs:-
'The outlawing of Suráj Mall is conceived by the
Governor in Council to have been harsh, and the consequent
march of our forces unnecessary, but the plan has been
executed with a skill and decision worthy of Captains Outram
and Forbes, and which, no doubt, have contributed to the
event.
'I am desired to observe that good may arise out of evil,
and the Right Honourable the Governor in Council is
perfectly willing that Captain Outram's success should be
ascribed, not to his instructions, but to his departure from
K 2
132
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
them, provided only that the spirit of the instructions be
henceforth carried into effect.
With the exception of the measure of outlawing Suráj
Mall, the whole of Captain Outram's proceedings, I am
directed to state, reflect on him the highest credit, and
entitle him to the warmest commendation of Government.
'I am at the same time instructed to observe . . that
in calling Captain Outram's march unnecessary, the Governor
in Council considers it so only in this view, viz., that it was
the consequence of an unnecessary proclamation of outlawry.
Under the circumstances. . . it was an expedient and
excellent measure.'
Not a fortnight after the date of this letter, Suráj Mall
presented himself before the political agent, accompanied
by the merchant of Sidhpúr; when Outram, acting in the
spirit of his instructions, and not perhaps against his own
good judgment, released the turbulent chief from arrest
without infliction of fine. For this act of unexpected
clemency we read that the latter appeared to be deeply
grateful.
In the following year the same Suráj Mall had proved so
good and loyal a subject to the paramount power, by active
assistance afforded to British officers, that Outram was
authorised to present him with a pagri and selá¹ in the name
of his Government for the purpose of indicating the sense
entertained of the service he had rendered. 'We rejoice,'
said the Governor in Council, writing from Bombay to the
Court of Directors, in being able to report the continued
good conduct of Suráj Mall since his admission to pardon,
and we feel pleasure in having it also in our power to state
your Honourable Court that his exertions have been joined
to
6
1 The selȧ is, according to Dr. Forbes, 'a kind of sheet constituting a part
of dress especially worn and given in presents in the Dakhin.'
-1838
133
PARTÁB SINGH.
with those of Captain Outram in re-establishing peace and
good order in the Máhi Kánta.'
Partáb Singh, the third on the list of chiefs whose cases
we have selected for notice, was one of the most dangerous
of the Kúlí insurgents in opposition to his liege lord the
Gáikawár. Though his nominal range was the pargana of
Bijapur, yet he possessed influence, and was likely to do
mischief beyond such narrow limits. In March 1837, owing
to a threatened insurrection at this man's instigation, Outram
made requisition on the officer commanding at Hargol for a
troop of cavalry and company of infantry to proceed to
Parantej for the protection of the Ahmadábád territory, and
to co-operate with detachments prepared to act from
Ahmadnagar and Sadra, amounting in all to one company of
infantry and some Gáikawár horse. The requisition was
duly attended to, and the presence of the troops at Parantej,
together with the arrest of four principal chiefs, must have
had a good effect in checking the general progress of the out-
break. But some of the rebels, to the number of 500, took
up a determined position in the strongly situated village of
Ransipur, on the banks of the Sabar-Matri, whence they
ravaged the surrounding districts, and openly defied the
native authorities.
The Gáikawár's commander-in-chief appealed to Outram
for aid, implying that we were bound to place our available
soldiers at his disposal. The political agent would not for a
moment admit the notion that the men should be transferred
from his orders to those of a native state, but lent a ready
ear to the alternative proposal of acting in concert with an
ally. Accordingly, with no other warrant than that given by
the political commissioner at Baroda, he resolved to become
a party to the attack on Ransipur. A proclamation was
issued in the name of the Gáikawár, allowing eight days'
134
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
reflection. If, within that period, the rebels did not come
in and state their grievances, they were to be treated ast
'thieves' and destroyed, wherever found, in the dominions of
' either Sirkar' (that is, the British Government, or that of
the Gáikawár) by the troops of both Sirkars.'
The eight days having passed without advantage taken
of the offer of peaceable adjustment, Outram proceeded to act
in accordance with the plan of operations agreed upon with
the native commander-in-chief. Colonel Troward commanded
the British troops, consisting of one troop of cavalry and two
companies of infantry. The Gáikawár's force was composed
of 400 horse, and about an equal number of foot sibandis.
The local field artillery was to have been strengthened by a
horse artillery gun supplied from Dîsa; but this did not
arrive until too late for use. From Colonel Troward's report
we learn that the infantry and guns were in position
early in the morning of May 2; that Captain Outram's
endeavours to induce the enemy to lay down their arms
having failed,' the batteries opened; and that after a few
rounds of shell, the town was fired in several places.
'The Gáikawár's troops then attacked,' continues the
Colonel, and, after some brisk skirmishing, entered the
place, when the Kholis crossed the river, and endeavoured to
break through the ravines of the eastern side (where part of
my detachment was formed), but suffered most severely in
the attempt, about 50 being killed and 47 taken prisoners.
A very few succeeded in escaping through some very thick
jungle, where horse could not act or follow them.
"Our loss in the affair was one sepoy of the 17th
Regiment severely wounded, and one of the 9th Regiment
slightly so, but I cannot ascertain correctly the loss of the
Gáikawár's troops.
"When the enemy approached the ravines commanded by
-1838
135
AFFAIR OF RANSIPUR.
our own troops, they were called on to surrender, and assured
their lives would be spared, which they only answered by firing
arrows, and rushing sword in hand upon us, when they were
met by our fire, with the destructive effect above mentioned.
'The slaughter in the town must have been very great,
as His Highness' troops were engaged for some time within
it, and were opposed in a most determined manner.
The principal rebel chief, the Thákur of Paria, was
wounded and taken prisoner; and the other, the Thákur of
Ransipur, was slain by the Gáikawár's troops, who displayed
much gallantry in the attack.'
A subsequent report shows that on the British side there
had been one man killed, and one wounded: 8 killed and 29
wounded of the Gáikawár's troops; and that, while no true
figure could be given for their killed and wounded, 77 bodies.
of the rebels had been actually found.
At
It has been stated, with a certain amount of authority,
that Outram,when proposing to act in concert with the Gujrát
executive against Ransipur, solicited the early instructions of
Government; that, owing to some official accident, never
satisfactorily explained, a delay occurred in placing his letter
before Council; and that no answer to the reference was
received in time to allow operations to be suspended.
first sight such a statement is hardly to be reconciled with the
assertion before made in these pages that the attack on Ran-
sipur had been determined on in communication with the
political commissioner at Baroda. But the question is one
of mere routine and form: the latter functionary was the
natural referee in such matters, and it was his particular
duty, not that of the political agent of the Máhi Kánta, to
address the Bombay Government. Outram reported fully to
Mr. Williams all his proceedings, regarding his sanction or
1 Memoir of the Public Services of Colonel Outram, p. 44.
136
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
disapproval as coming with the authority of the Governor in
Council; and no affair of magnitude could be undertaken
at all without his express concurrence. In the matter of
Partáb Singh, the requisition for troops to protect the Ahmad-
abád territory was communicated to the commissioner on the
day that it was made to the local military authorities con-
cerned, and the subsequent arrangements for co-operation
with the Gáikawár's officers were carefully and systematically
detailed for his approval. Active interference, it was ex-
plained, was not so much desired from a conviction of justice
in the original action of the Baroda darbár, as of necessity
for securing the tranquillity of the Máhi Kánta, in which
district the insurrection had spread, and was threatening to
spread yet further. On the other hand, a combination of
forces might give opportunity for beneficent interposition
between the Gáikawár and the insurgents, both in the
event of submission, and even if submission were delayed.
Outram's last recorded despatch to Mr. Williams, prior to
the assault on the town, is a statement of his cheerful com-
pliance' with a proposal of Ganpat Rao, the Gujrát com-
mander, for the temporary release of an imprisoned Rajah, on
the ground that the act might indirectly tend to a preven-
tion of hostilities.
6
Unfortunately, there was an element of injustice in the
Gáikawár's dealings with Partáb Singh; and the rebellion of
that chief against his sovereign had been in some measure in-
stigated by the sovereign's disregard of the subject's personal
grievances. The Government of Sir Robert Grant was more
likely to keep this ill-treatment in view than to sympathise
with their agent's anxiety for the maintenance of British
prestige and power. Outram saw the mischief of leaving
unpunished the lawless acts of a bold rebel, whose example had
its immediate effect on the surrounding people, British sub-
jects as well as others; while in the eyes of authority in Bom-
1838
137
REASONS FOR DECIDED ACTION.
bay, the first duty was to ascertain and remove the cause of
offence, so as to be in a position to mediate between our
native ally and his dependent before taking the part of either
against the other. Undoubtedly the aims of both were the
same: but the process to be pursued was differently devised.
In one case repression would precede inquiry; in the other,
inquiry would lead the way, and might possibly obviate the
necessity of repression.
But there were other signs which made him act with
determination. During the first year of his work in the
Máhi Kánta Outram had received a confidential communica-
tion from the Governor's private secretary, at Dapuri, to the
effect that there were reasons for apprehending a combina
tion of native powers against the British Government, and
an attempt on their part, through secret agents, to seduce
the sipahis from their allegiance. A Brahmin had intro-
duced two subadars of a native infantry regiment to the son
of the minister of the Satára Rajah, in whose presence they
were informed of the names of many well-known princes and
chiefs who had, it was alleged, united to subvert the British
supremacy. The native officers had reported the circum-
stance, and were instructed to watch further proceedings;
but although their good faith was held unimpeachable, and
a commission had assembled to investigate the charges, the
affair fell through without practical result, the Rajah stoutly
denying his own complicity. Now, notwithstanding the
failure to prove an accusation which, if established, would
have implicated some of the most distinguished of our native
allies and feudatories in the most barefaced sedition, there
was at this time cause for especial vigilance on the part of
British officers who, like Outram, had so much to do with
internal politics. It was essential to show that British jus-
tice was not weak, nor British mercy a mere expediency;
and acts were so much more intelligible to the mass than
138
1835
JAMES OUTRAM.
words. At the same time, the omission of the Gáikawár's
name from the list of compromised Indians of distinction
seemed to afford a strong reason for favourable consideration,
should this ruler ask or need our assistance.
When it did come, the censure of the Bombay Govern-
ment was couched in strong language. Mr. Secretary
Willoughby's despatch, expressing the sentiments of the
Governor in Council on becoming first acquainted with the
measures proposed to be taken by Captain Outram in con-
junction with the Gáikawár's troops, was only dated May 6,
whereas, three days before, Outram had officially reported to
his immediate chief the success of his operations against
Ransipur. The secretary had been instructed to inform the
political commissioner that the proceedings he had sub-
mitted were the most extraordinary that had ever come
under the observation of Government;' for, with a full
acknowledgment that the Kúlí insurrection in the Gáika-
wár's district of Bijapur had originated in wrong and
injustice, Captain Outram had, upon his own responsibility,'
consented to combine his forces with those of an officer of the
Gáikawár, for the purpose of reducing the rebels. He went
on to remark that whatever the result of these injudicious
proceedings, even should Captain Outram succeed, by the
skill and judgment which have heretofore invariably marked
all his military operations, either in inducing the insurgents
to submit, or in capturing them without bloodshed,' the Gov-
ernment could not but disapprove of the interference exer-
cised. And he conveyed to both the political commissioner
and political agent unqualified disapprobation at their omis-
sion to seek in the first instance the instructions of higher
6
¹ Mr. Williams, in acknowledging Captain Outram's notes of conference
with Ganpat Rao Damderah, and plan of combined operations to be undertaken
against the refractory Kúlís, added that he perfectly coincided in the opinions
expressed, and requested that action be taken accordingly.
-1838
139
CENSURE AND EXCUSE.
authority before adopting measures embracing such delicate
and important matters.'
6
(
But nearly six months after this date, a despatch, dated
October 19, was more severe upon the political commis-
sioner in Baroda, who had brought to notice and defended
the exercise of his own responsibility, in suppressing the
insurrection according to the programme recommended and
adopted by the political agent. It matters not to Govern-
ment,' are the words of this communication, whether your
consent was influenced by any strong opinion and plausible
arguments which might have been expressed to you by
Captain Outram in favour of the measure, since such an
excuse, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, could in
no way shift the responsibility from the superior to the
subordinate officer. Whoever suggested the measures in
question, you took it on yourself to order them, and for
having done so, you, I am desired to state, and you alone,
must be held the accountable person.'
As for Outram, he was relieved from the censure with
which he had been visited for assuming an unjustifiable
responsibility, his possible offence of persuasiveness being
left to a tribunal of conscience, with which Government had
nothing to do. The remarks passed upon his conduct in
other respects were such as to leave it questionable whether
the occasional disapproval of superiors might not be made in
form more acceptable than their stereotyped satisfaction.
In one paragraph the Governor in Council, lamenting the
impolitic and mistaken proceedings' taken by both officers
concerned, could not doubt that both acted from a sincere
and honest conviction' that they were doing for the best;
and they could not help taking into consideration the
eminently able and highly valuable services performed by
Captain Outram in the Máhi Kánta since his appointment
to the agency of that province.' In the next, while rudely
140
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
contrasting, to the disparagement of the civilian, the respec-
tive merits of the two public servants addressed, the writer
states that the terms in which Government have felt them-
selves compelled, on the present occasion, to speak of Captain
Outram have been productive to them of indescribable pain.'
The paragraph immediately succeeding we reproduce more
in extenso: Captain Outram is regarded by Government as
one of the finest military officers under this presidency, being
full of courage, resource, activity, and intelligence
. at
those periods when the British power was struggling for exist-
ence or for empire he would have acted a brilliant part; but
his fault is that, though perfectly fitted for the perform-
ance of civil duties, he is essentially warlike. The capture
of Ransipur was of easy accomplishment, yet, so far as was
compatible with operations on so minute a scale, those of
Captain Outram were, in the opinion of Government, perfect
both in conception and execution, and deeply do they regret.
that his great military talents should have been exercised on
such a field.'
Before reverting to the views expressed by the Court of
Directors in England on these acts of their Bombay Govern-
ment and its officers, we will glance at one more case illus-
trative of Outram's first Máhi Kánta career, that of the
Thákur of Gorwára, one of the more notorious bharwattis,
or outlaws of the day. The word bharwattia was expressive
of a kind of self-imposed outlawry or vagabondism, which in
French colonies is known as marronage; and when openly
resorted to by a discontented chief, it was commonly accom-
panied by abduction, plunder, or some act of violence,
which rendered unmistakable the offender's hostility to the
State, and contempt of law and order. Karm Singh was a
chief whose quarrels with other chiefs, and consequent resort
to bharwattia, placed him for the better part of two years in
constant opposition to the authorities. In the spirit of his
-1838
141
JUSTIFICATORY RESULTS.
general instructions, and also in obedience to special orders
bearing on the case in point, Outram tried to arrive at the
root of this man's grievances; and called in the aid of a
native court, known as a panchaiyat, in the hope of a suc-
cessful result. The investigation was held, but the Thákur
of Gorwára declined to abide by its decision. He would
neither heed the political agent, nor the panchaiyat.
Eventually Sir Robert Grant and his council acceded, though
with great reluctance and regret, to the adoption of strong
measures recommended in this case by the political agent. It
was well they did so; for Karm Singh repented of his mal-
practices, and surrendered himself unconditionally to the
latter officer a result which caused great satisfaction in Bom-
bay. We add an extract from the despatch communicating the
intelligence, because it explains how success was obtained:
'This event will, I trust, justify in the eyes of the Right
Honourable the Governor in Council the policy to which I
expressed myself compelled to adhere, though at variance
with the wishes expressed by Government, in Mr. Secretary
Willoughby's letter.
6
Had any negotiations with the bharwatti been at-
tempted, as therein suggested, I am convinced that the
Thakur would have continued "out," in the hope of ulti-
mately gaining his ends; and had any modification in the
terms finally decided on, and publicly promulgated by Gov-
ernment, been allowed, it would have encouraged a continu-
ance of the system of bahrwattia-ism, which I am convinced
it is in our power, as it is our duty, I conceive, to put an
end to.
'The Thakur sent to me last night to say he would abide
by the decision of the panchaiyat, if he might now be
admitted to pardon, and that he was ready to come in on
that condition. I answered that, having committed a breach
142
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
of the peace in the face of the public proclamation of
Government, by seizing a banian, I would give him no con-
ditions; that if he came in, he would be placed in confine-
ment to answer for his conduct, as might be directed by
Government; at the same time, intimating to him that, as
he had since released the banian, and committed no further
excesses, his adopting the step of peaceably giving himself up
would ensure my good offices with Government to obtain his
pardon, on the full understanding, however, that he was to
abide by the settlement of the panchaiyat.
'On this understanding, the Thakur surrendered himself
this morning, and is now a prisoner in my camp.'
In October 1837, the Honourable Court of Directors
wrote an important letter expressive of their sentiments on the
affairs of the Máhi Kánta, and the arrangements then recently
made by the Bombay Government for the political superin-
tendence of Gujrát. It need scarcely be said that this, in
common with many like manifestoes issued in the halcyon
days of Leadenhall Street, was a State paper worthy of at
least as much attention as the despatches of more exalted
but not more qualified critics in ministerial offices. But the
body corporate was just as jealous of its principles as any
individual statesman could be of his, and no cabinet minister
could take more pains to show that he had rightly forecast
coming events than did the Court to prove infallibility in
political prescience. Throughout the Bombay letter there
was an evident tendency to impress upon the Governor's
mind that any success which had attended his benign policy
in the Máhi Kánta was to be attributed to the attention he
had given to fulfilling home instructions, contrary to the
habit of his predecessors. Captain Outram's report, on first
proceeding to reconnoitre his new field of labour, had dis-
appointed them; they would not have expected that an
officer who had assisted in reclaiming by mildness and con-
6
-1838 RULING OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS.
143
ciliation wild tribes which had been driven to desperation
by a system of coercion, would have fallen into the common
error of supposing that severity must precede indulgence:
but that same officer must now, they felt assured, have
become convinced that his recommendation at the outset had
been rightly set aside. They would not refuse sanction to
his nomination as political agent: and they saw no advantage
in making the political commissioner at Baroda the organ for
transmitting his correspondence.
6
A subsequent letter congratulated the Bombay Govern-
ment on the complete success of their 'just and generous
policy' in the Máhi Kánta, and on the re-establishment of a
tranquillity not previously enjoyed for many years,' to be
ascribed to the Governor's 'judicious instructions, and to the
manner in which Captain Outram has carried those instructions
into effect.' And the Court immediately added :—
"In bestowing this commendation upon Captain Outram
we are not forgetful of the fact that on several occasions that
officer has shown a disposition to act in a more peremptory
manner towards refractory chiefs, and to resort sooner to
measures of military coercion than your Government has
approved. In all such cases which have been reported to us
we agree in the main, or altogether, in the opinion of your
Government.'
When the Court's ruling was made known to Outram, he
chafed under what he considered to be injustice or miscon-
ception. His impetuous and sensitive nature could not
brook in silence remarks which he himself described as 'very
severe animadversions on the opinions' expressed in his
report of November 1835. The official communication to
his address bears date June 7, 1838, but the letter to which
it referred may have been six months or more on the road.
On receipt he proceeded with characteristic fervour to reply
144
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
to the objectionable passages seriatim; but he prudently
reserved completion and despatch for some weeks, and the
consequence was that he sent in a fairly temperate and
logical paper. We have no space to analyse, but may allude
to the prominent points of his defence, as a demonstration
that his policy with the Bhîls, admitted to have been suc-
cessful and therefore not quoted against him, had not always
been conciliatory; a disavowal of entertaining warlike views
in dealing with the rebellious Thákurs; a recapitulation of
reasons for disposal of particular cases and assuming un-
sought responsibilities; and an appeal to practical and
apparent results for a general confirmation of his zeal and
devotion. The Bombay Government, in acknowledging the
receipt of this reply for transmission, request the political
commissioner in Gujrát to inform Captain Outram that
'while the Government are fully satisfied with the soundness
of the principles which have governed the Honourable Court
and themselves in the affairs of the Máhi Kánta, the spirited
and energetic manner in which he has frequently acted on
his own responsibility has, whenever the Governor in Council
conceived that officer exercised a sound discretion, received
the commendation of Government, and that whenever, as at
Ransipur, approbation could not be awarded, it has been
withheld under much regret.'
The next paragraph has a force which seems to disallow
compression:
'You are further requested to inform Captain Outram
that on the occasions on which he acted on his own responsi-
bility and received the commendation of Government, he has
shown how judicious was the selection which placed him,
from the experience of his most valuable services in
Khandesh, in the office of political agent of the Máhi Kánta.
But if his energy and prompt decision have been often
-1838
KHANDESH AND THE MÁHI KÁNTA.
145
important in their consequences, not less have been his
execution of instructions varying from his own impressions of
what was best, and his scrupulous obedience when unexpected
events did not call for his assuming the responsibility of
action. The confidence of Government in the influence of
this principle not unfrequently recorded will, I am directed
to state, be particularly pointed out to the Honourable Court
as showing the very high opinion entertained of Captain
Outram's military and political character.'
After the extracts already given in this and the two
preceding chapters, it would be superfluous to quote from
public documents further testimony to the extraordinary
estimation in which were held Outram's services in Khandesh
and the Máhi Kánta. We should have been glad to have
introduced here and there a sketch of the work performed
by other of his fellow-labourers in the same field; but beyond
casual mention of names it has been impossible to carry out
any such intention. Colonel Ovans, for instance, will be
long known in Indian local story as a great reclaimer and
benefactor of the Bhîls; nor can his merit be classed as
inferior to that of any officer associated with him in the
same line of duty. He did not, however, transform the
Bhîl recruit into the Bhîl soldier, nor make, out of the very
materials of disorder and destruction, instruments of discipline
and preservation. In saying this we are not seeking to draw
invidious distinctions; only to explain that there are separate
spheres of action and usefulness in India as elsewhere; and
all workers do not attain the same degree of honour in one
that they would in another.
To those unaccustomed to the ways of Indian public life,
any description of the routine of a political agent in the
Máhi Kánta would be barely intelligible. In his more
strictly official capacity, Outram had to attend to the well-
VOL. 1.
L
146
1835-
JAMES OUTRAM.
being of his barons and minor feudatories: to make judicial
investigations into their complaints, extricate them from
financial embarrassment, and keep them, as much as practic-
able, in the paths of respectability. In other respects, he had
to perform the general duties of a magistrate; to organise
and keep in order a local police; to superintend the formation
of a corps of Kúlís; to establish tribunals for the adminis-
tration of justice; to render the roads secure to merchants and
travellers, especially the main lines of traffic; and to give a
stimulus to commerce by the institution of fairs and reduc-
tion of transit duties. In the last-named efforts he had the
advantage of co-operating with Colonel Spiers, the political
agent for Meywar and Malwa, an able and energetic officer.
He had also to contend with a system of bribery and
corruption, on which we shall have so much to say by-and-by
under its locally familiar name of Khatpat, that a detailed
account of it may be deferred for the present.
Upon the whole, these two years and three-quarters in
the Máhi Kánta were for him a great contrast to Khandesh
existence. Though he and Douglas Graham had been
accustomed to spend the rainy months almost alone in their
'palace' at Dharangaon, they were both good readers, and
seemed never to have lacked occupation; while the open
seasons brought them Nimrod guests in plenty, and Bhîls,
buffaloes, or tigers afforded ample scope for superfluous
energies. But here, the free wild life in the jangal, the
congenial duties and associations of the Bhîl corps, had given
place to the dull jog-trot of an isolated political agency. No
sport attracted kindred spirits to the locality. The days of a
'hundred mad pranks,'¹ and of practical jokes, all well spiced
with danger, were gone. Old Haidar's hauda and the Mara-
tha spear had degenerated into an office chair and an office
quill. But James Outram threw himself into his new duties
¹ Douglas Graham's expression.
-1838
147
SWORD AND PEN.
with the zest and absorption characteristic of Anglo-Indian
soldier-statesmen. He had already learned to wield the pen
of a ready writer; for without pretension to culture of style,
he expressed himself on paper with a fluency and a force
which often proved embarrassing to gentlemen of the
Secretariat. Official platitudes were wasted upon him; how
not to do it' he would not see; to the bottom of the matter
both he and his Government must go; and he could never
manage to sit still under what his too ready sensitiveness
construed into a misrepresentation or an unjust rebuke, no
matter by whom administered. It was well, both for the
public service and for himself, that he served his 'political'
apprenticeship under men who, like Sir Robert Grant and
Mr. Willoughby, not only cherished warm feelings of personal
regard for the young soldier, but could fully appreciate his real
qualifications. Otherwise his outspoken energy would pro-
bably have soon dismissed him to his regiment a disappointed
man— marked as one whose tendencies, both of sword and pen,
were too essentially warlike for any but regimental duties.
Mr. (afterwards Sir John Pollard) Willoughby used to speak
of this as the most critical period of his friend's public life.
Hard and uphill official battles we shall find him fighting in
its after stages, but he had then established for himself a
political reputation and a general sympathy which he lacked
as a captain on special employ in the Máhi Kánta. Here
and throughout his Presidency he was known as one of the
most dashing soldiers and sportsmen in Western India; but
his political spurs he had yet to win.
A despatch from the Court of Directors to the Governor in
Council, Bombay, bearing date March 12, 1840, reviews the
good work done by their officers in the district of which we
have now been treating. Among its later paragraphs is an
expression of regret at reading the earnest defence of his
views, submitted to their consideration by Captain Outram ;
L 2
148
1838
JAMES OUTRAM
an admission that no error had been observed in that officer's
conduct since he had been made acquainted with the policy
propounded by the Honourable Court; an assurance that the
pacification of the Máhi Kánta had never been supposed
capable of accomplishment without some exhibition and
occasional employment of force; a high compliment paid to
Captain Outram and his assistant, Lieutenant Wallace, for
the removal from the popular mind of mistaken impressions
of Government objects; and, finally, acceptance of Captain
Outram's own proposal to issue a proclamation declaring
Bharwattya an offence not to be passed over with impunity.'
At the date of this despatch, however, Outram was far
away from the Máhi Kánta; and by the time that it had
reached its destination, his mind was full of cares and
anxieties on behalf of a people situated beyond the limits of
India Proper.
¹ Appendix C.
149
CHAPTER VI.
1838-1839.
Family affairs-Appointment to Sir John Keane's Staff-Arrival in Sind with
the Bombay Division of the Army of the Indus-Missions to Cutch,
Haidarabad, and Shikarpur-Accident-Accompanies General Willshire
from Gandáva, but rejoins Commander-in-Chief on arrival at Kandahar-
Opinions on Afghan War.
ALTHOUGH James Outram's career was essentially that of a
public servant, we may not altogether lose sight of his
domestic life, nor of those home associations which naturally
influenced his character. In writing to his mother from
Sadra in August 1838, he expresses a determination to
remain in the Máhi Kánta no later than the following
December, and, unless war should break out, to visit England
in February 1840. He deplores the uncertainty and irregu-
larity of homeward and outward bound mails, and encloses
the triplicate of a bill, lest the original and duplicate, both
before despatched, should never reach their destination.
'Some of our packets,' he says, 'have been plundered by the
Arabs, and some have returned from being unable to face the
monsoon.' Altogether, the picture is such as to reconcile
Anglo-Indians to any defects in home communications ap-
parent in 1880.
But the writer had unusual reasons for depression. His
wife had left India in the previous year from ill-health. She
had joined him at Ahmadabad in May 1836, shortly after
their early separation consequent on his sudden and forced
departure from Bombay. A son had been born at Harsol in
September of that year. Danger to life had ensued on the
150
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
event, and Mrs. Outram had been conveyed to the residency
at Sadra, so soon as pronounced able to bear the fatigue of
moving. Hence she was ordered to the hills for the hot
weather of 1837. Not being free to accompany her, Outram
followed at a convenient opportunity, and they passed the
rains at Púna. But he had to wend his way back to Sadra
alone: the doctors would not hear of the lady's return
thither: change to England was imperative.
6
Sadra had now few attractions for the political agent.
The residency bangla, or 'mansion,' as he designated it,
on which he had spent time and money, had suffered during
the latest rains; and its leaking rooms had brought on
serious damage. Renovation of carpets and matting would
entail a tiled roof for protective purposes. All this expense
was annoying at any time; for a quasi bachelor in straitened
circumstances it was most unsatisfactory. He had, moreover,
changed in ways and habits since his marriage. Physical
exertion was in a great measure abandoned. He detested
' constitutionals' in any shape, and soon fell into the mistake
of avoiding exercise if he could possibly manage it. The
early morning, like every period of the day, was devoted to
desk work. At Harsol he would walk beside his wife's
tonjon in the evening; but at Sadra he often passed the
walking hour in inspecting the workmen carrying out pro-
posed improvements in the house, an expensive amusement
to which he was everywhere prone. He had begun to grow
quite stout before leaving the Máhi Kánta. Shikar expeditions
did not engage his attention as before, with their dash and
excitement. At Harsol he sometimes went after hog. At
Sadra there was no sport to tempt him. It is supposed that
he killed his last tiger in the jangal near Kaira, when in
company with a friend during the hot weather of 1837-the
beast had been reported a man-eater, and was giving trouble.
The pursuit of small game he never cared for: indeed he
-1839
151
AN EXTRA A.D.C.
made a vow as a youngster never to fire anything but ball,
and kept it. Outram's intention to return to England in
February 1840 had, we have stated, been saddled with a
condition. The outbreak of war was the contingency which
might materially affect his plans. Now it so happened that,
throughout the early part of the year 1838, movements had
been going on in India which looked decidedly warlike: and
on October 1 was issued the manifesto directing the 'assembly
of a British force for service across the Indus.' There was
to be no advance on Herat as once contemplated, but there
was to be an occupation of Kandahar and other parts of
Afghanistan, in favour of Shah Shuja, the sovereign of our
choice. This, then, was a realisation of a state of things
which had been dimly portended. Outram's regiment was
ordered on service, and Outram naturally volunteered to join.
Lord Auckland had, it seems, heard of him, and had sug-
gested to the Bombay Government, through the channel of
private secretaries, that it might be desirable to attach him
in some capacity to the army; so that his offer was at once
accepted. One recommendation on his behalf was, that he
should command the Shah's contingent; but he disclaimed
all hopes of so great honour or distinction. Eventually Sir
John Keane, commanding the Bombay column, appointed
him an Extra Aide-de-Camp on his staff. To judge from his
own account, he did not at this time aspire to any high
military post: his object was rather recreation than hard
work; but he was evidently amused at the unexpected
manner in which they had provided for his employment.
6 Neither you nor I,' he writes to his wife, 'ever could have
thought I should be an A.D.C.: but recollect, this is not to
flutter about in a ball-room, but to attend the General on
service.' Then, as if apprehensive that he had foreshadowed
a position of too much danger, he immediately changes his
note, and explains how pleasant will be the discharge of duties
152
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
enabling him to see everything as an amateur; adding that,
since the enemy never came near enough to the chief of the
forces to endanger his life, the aide-de-camp ran no risk
whatever!
•
His correspondence with friends in India, during the
months of August, September, and October 1838, show how
keen was the interest with which he regarded the approach
of the then impending Afghan campaign. To Colonel
Sutherland he proposed to raise, on the Shah's account, a
small body of select horse in Gujrat, to be placed under the
command of Mir Sarfaráz Ali, a nobleman whose good service
to the British Government during the Pindári war had
elicited the warm commendation of Sir John Malcolm. He
also suggested the enrolment of a larger number of men from
the same quarter, under English officers. The same subject
was resumed in September in a letter to Major Felix. One
month's notice,' he said, 'would suffice to complete a thousand
sowárs, and they would march at the rate of ten coss a day
without halts-which would take them to the Indus in a
month, via Jaisalmir.' In October, he again wrote to the
same correspondent on the weakness of the cavalry in the
army destined for Afghanistan, and proposed an increase to
that branch of the Bombay expeditionary force, indicating
the regiments he would employ, and forecasting a brigade of
dashing troopers, to be attached to which, 'simply as volunteer,
or in any capacity,' would afford him immense gratification.
That he was right in pronouncing the proportion of cavalry to
be far too small, the experience of the campaign fully showed.
The notification of his own eventual appointment was ex-
pressed in flattering terms by Mr. Secretary Willoughby.
Government, in complying with his request to share in an
expedition for which his regiment had been detailed, could
not 'help feeling the great loss' which temporary absence
from his important duties in the Máhi Kánta would occasion;
viâ
-1839
153
FIRST DUTIES IN SIND.
6
but being impressed with the high qualifications' which he
possessed for rendering the most valuable services' to the
cause on behalf of which his zeal had prompted him to come
forward, the Honourable the Governor in Council had 'not
thought it right to withhold acquiescence' in his wishes.
Captain Lang was appointed to succeed Captain Outram
in the political agency of the Máhi Kánta; and on November
21, 1838, the latter officer embarked at Bombay on board the
'Semiramis' steamer, with Sir John Keane and suite. On the
27th the Hujamri mouth of the Indus was reached; but the
want of camels and boats prevented further progress for a
considerable period. The difficulty was a real one: its im-
portance made it one of those opportunities which men like
Outram can instantly turn to account. Two days after
arrival in Sind, the Extra Aide-de-Camp was despatched on a
special mission to Cutch, to procure that assistance in land
and water carriage which the Amirs had failed, or been
unable, to supply. On rejoining head-quarters at Gorabári,
after an absence of eleven days, he was able to make a
satisfactory report of his work. He had proceeded by sea to
Mandavi, from which port, after arranging for the despatch
of boats, forage, and sheep, he had made a camel and horse
journey to Bhúj, to confer with the assistant Resident, and
visit the Rao, or reigning prince; he had then returned to
Mandavi and sailed, past the mouth of the Hujamri, to
Karachi. This place was, at the time, no more than an
obscure fishing-village; but it possessed one or two wealthy
native merchants, and Outram was enabled to do much
business there, and again on his way thence to camp, in
furtherance of the transports so urgently required. His
return involved an unsafe journey of about ninety-five miles.
'I went,' he explains, 'without servants or baggage of any
kind, determining myself to go overland to camp, and hoping
to excite confidence by displaying it in thus going totally
154
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
unattended-my object being ostensibly merely to look after
camels, but in reality also to feel the temper of the natives,
and to endeavour to ascertain the actual intentions of their
rulers.'
"1 Leaving Karáchi soon after midnight on December
9, he reached camp at 9 p.m. on the 10th, having spent
twenty-seven hours on camel-back. On the way he explored
a ruined city, besides scrutinising the country generally, and
effecting a good stroke of transport work. The people were
excited and suspicious-no wonder-but on the whole' he
had no great incivility to complain of, and experienced no
difficulties of any consequence.' It was not, however, until
December 19 that the camels from Cutch arrived; they had
been delayed en route by the hostile action of Shir Muhammad,
of Mirpur, one of the lower Sind amirs or chiefs. On the
24th the force moved forward, and reached Thatta on
December 28.
6
To make our narrative intelligible at this stage—and
with future episodes of Outram's career in view-it will be
well to attempt a brief sketch of our relations with the rulers
of that province in which were now encamped the troops
forming the Bombay column of the army of the Indus.
The Amirs of Sind were members of a Baluch family
called Talpur. According to the territorial divisions of their
governments, those belonging to Khairpur, or Upper Sind, were
Rustam Khan and his brother, Mubárak; those in Haidarabad,
or Central and Lower Sind, were Nur Muhammad and
Muhammad Nasir Khan, with their cousins-german, Sobdar
and Muhammad; while Shir Muhammad of Mirpur owned
the tracts west of the Indus. Of the three ruling branches,
¹ Extracts from Captain Outram's Journal-letters to his wife were printed
for private circulation, and subsequently published under the title Rough
Notes of the Campaign in Scinde and Afghanistan in 1838-9. We shall have
further occasion to quote sparingly from these unpretending but graphic and
interesting diaries.
-1839
155
OUR RELATIONS WITH SIND.
the Amirs of Haidarabad possessed the better known and
more important State, but the Amir of Mirpur was the
member, personally, most hostile to British influence. Our
knowledge of these chiefs originated in our knowledge of
their predecessors; but time had worked a change, and
passive relations of reciprocal benefit had been converted
into a one-sided activity on our part, which caused the new
generation of Talpurs to regard the Anglo-Sindi alliance as a
sort of inconvenient incubus. There is a formidable blue-
book, containing the 'Correspondence relative to Sinde,' from
1838 to 1843, which commences with a treaty of four articles
dated August 22, 1809. By this treaty the contracting
parties were jointly pledged to 'eternal friendship' and the
interchange of agents; and the less powerful of the two
signatories was pledged to the more powerful not to allow
'the tribe of the French' to be established in Sind. Eleven
years later a second treaty was concluded, much to the same
effect, but with no specification of European tribes.' In
1832 we renewed and somewhat amplified our written en-
gagements with Mir Murad Ali, the then sole responsible chief
of Haidarabad; and made a separate treaty with the State
of Khairpur-vowing'eternal friendship' with it, closing for
ever 'the eye of covetousness' to its good things, and yet
receiving from it, for our merchants, the use of the river
Indus and roads of Sind. Then followed a commercial
treaty' with Haidarabad in 1834; and a treaty of two
articles with Mirs Nur Muhammad and Muhammad Nasir
Khan, sons of Murad Ali, in 1838. This last instrument
was short but significant. It provided for the mediation of
the British Government in adjusting differences between the
Amirs of Sind, and the Maharaja Ranjit Singh; and the
residence of an accredited British Minister at the court of
Haidarabad, with liberty to the Amir to send an agent to our
court in return. The nature of the mediation to be effected
6
"
156
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
is apparent in a later treaty of more note and many more
articles, concluded between the British Government, Ranjit
Singh, and Shah Shuja ul Mulk, of which the sixteenth
article is thus expressed :-
'Shah Shuja ul Mulk agrees to relinquish, for himself, his
heirs and successors, all claims of supremacy, and arrears of
tribute, over the country now held by the Amirs of Sind
(which will continue to belong to the Amirs and their
successors in perpetuity), on condition of the payment to
him by the Amirs of such a sum as may be determined,
under the mediation of the British Government; 1,500,000
rupees of such payment being made over by him to
Maharaja Ranjit Singh. On these payments being com-
pleted...
the customary interchange of letters and suitable
presents between the Maharaja and the Amirs of Sind shall
be maintained as heretofore."
In July 1838-or exactly one month after this treaty was
'done' at Lahor-Colonel Pottinger, the resident in Sind,
was instructed that the minimum of the sum which the
Amirs would have to pay in conformity with the article
quoted, might certainly be estimated at twenty lacs of rupees
(200,000.); that they must be made sensible of the advan-
tage of at once coming to terms; and that in the event of
their declining to meet the wishes of the British Government
and accept British mediation, they must be prepared for an
occupation of their frontier town of Shikárpur and adjacent
country, and other such measures as the Shah might event-
ually determine to adopt.
We need not here enter into the story of this tribute.
How it originated, and what were the circumstances of its
abandonment and revival, are matters which belong rather to
the history of the period than to a separate biography: so
also the right we had to mediate between Sikhs and Sindis
and Afghans, to the gain of one and prejudice of the other,
-1839
157
MISSION TO HAIDARABAD.
when our own interests were at the root of the whole pro-
cedure. It is enough for our present purpose to know that
the Resident exercised the discretion vested in him, to defer
making the ungracious communication to the Amirs; and
that the chapter of accidents in which their enlightenment
on our 'friendly' intentions is recorded, contains many evi-
dences of intrigue and ill-will in active operation against us.
Such being the state of affairs on the arrival of the
Bombay division at the mouths of the Indus, it is not sur-
prising that obstacles were thrown in the way of its progress
to join the Bengal forces moving towards Afghanistan: and
that the services of Sir John Keane's extra Aide-de-Camp
were put in requisition for special duty at Thatta, as they
had been seven weeks before, when the Lieutenant-General's
head-quarters were lower down the river.
On this occasion, however, the question was not one of
boats, camels, or commissariat, but of a new and detailed
treaty. Outram was associated with Lieutenant Eastwick,
the assistant resident, in a mission to the court of Haidara-
bad, the particulars of which may be gathered from a
perusal of the published instructions addressed by the
resident to the former officer. In Colonel Pottinger's letter
to Mir Nur Muhammad the names of both emissaries are
mentioned; but it is not clear that any distinct duties were
assigned to each, nor indeed that the association of a second
delegate meant more than that a great military authority
having appeared on the scene, his dignity required a repre-
sentative at any formal visit to be paid to the local darbár.
The draft treaty was of twenty-three articles, and besides
the usual declarations of peace, and amity, and 'perpetual
enjoyment' of present possessions, it provided for a British
military cantonment at Thatta; the part payment by the
Amirs of our troops permanently quartered in Sind (as these
158
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
princes would derive such vast advantages' from their
presence); the protection of Sind from all foreign aggression,
and the unconditional aid of the Sind army if found
necessary by the British Government. Lest the Amir should
fail to see all the benefits contemplated in this purposed
understanding, Nur Muhammad's particular attention was
called to the obvious intention that the two Governments
should really become one'; and it was pointed out to him
that the wealth about to 'flow into Sinde from the British
force stationed in it,' and which would give employment to
thousands of the people of the country,' must 'cause a vast
increase to the revenues from the demand for grain, and
every other article of consumption,' and would bring mer-
chants from every quarter to settle in the country.' The
later opinions of both Lieutenant Eastwick 2 and Captain
Outram on the Sind question, are suggestive that either the
sympathy of these officers with the views of their Govern-
ment must at this early period have been half-hearted, or
that their acquaintance with the merits of the case before
them was as yet imperfect.
6
1
The steamer conveying to the seat of native government
the representatives of British power, civil and military, was
twice aground on the first, and twice again on the second
day after leaving Thatta. Such occurrences represented too
closely the normal condition of the classical Indus to have
the character of ill omen. On the third day the opportunity
was afforded to the passengers to visit the village of Jerak,
since the head-quarters of a deputy collector; and, on the
¹ See Sinde Correspondence, 1838-1843; presented to both Houses of
Parliament by command of Her Majesty, 1843.
2 For many years, as Captain W. J. Eastwick, a prominent member of the
Directorate of the East India Company, and of the Council of the Secretary of
State for India. This able and upright public servant became one of the most
active champions of the despoiled Amirs of Sind—a hearty ally, in the cause
of justice, of his life-long friend James Outram.
-1839
159
RETURN TO HEAD-QUARTERS.
morning of the fourth, the anchor was cast on the river
bank at a point some three miles distant from Haidarabad.
During the voyage, Outram's keen eye, as we gather from
his diary, was searching out the military features of the
country. A deputation from the Amirs attended to welcome
the new arrivals; but it was not until the afternoon of the
following day that the mission was received by the three
joint rulers, Nur Muhammad, Muhammad Nasir, and
Muhammad Khan. The fourth, Mir Sobdar Khan, owing
to indisposition of some sort, was absent. Outram had not
been idle in the interim, for he had ridden to the town, and
nearly round the walls of the fort, and, in spite of insulting
abuse received on passing the Baluch camps, had effected a
double reconnaissance of the several approaches to these
points. At the reception the chiefs were outwardly polite,
and displayed much cordiality, moribus suis, towards the
British officers; and they readily discussed with them the
subject of the treaty. But the behaviour of the Baluch
soldiery and many general indications of hostility observed
outside the darbár-room, were such as to necessitate a
demand for explanation; and so unsatisfactory was the
reply, that Eastwick and Outram had no alternative but to
re-embark without waiting for a second interview. An attack
upon their small detachment of sixty-nine men was averted
only by its remaining on the alert throughout the night.
The promised answer as to acceptance or rejection of terms
offered had been deferred; but a verbal message, to the
effect that the treaty would be sent back, was brought on
the fourth day by the native agent in our employ. The
envoys rejoined Sir John Keane's head-quarters at Jerak, to
which place the troops had advanced from Thatta. Their
report, and the intelligence received in other quarters,
indicating possible aggression on the part of the Sind
Baluchis, led to the request for a military demonstration of
160
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
our strength from the north, where the commander-in-
chief, Sir Henry Fane, had pitched his camp, and where
Major-General Sir Willoughby Cotton was preparing to cross
the Indus at the head of a Bengal division. The construc-
tion of a bridge of boats on either side of the island of
Bakhar, to facilitate the passage of an army from the left
bank of the river at Rohri, was not a matter of instant
accomplishment. And as it happened that the requisition
for aid in Central Sind came at a season when progress was
suspended on this account, compliance was willingly given.
Accordingly, the major-general had himself marched a
portion of the Bengal force as far as Kandiára, about a third
of the way to Haidarabad, when a dispatch from Sir John
Keane caused him to counter-march his men, and return to
their starting-place. The prospect had brightened.
change had come over the minds of the Amirs; they had
accepted the treaty; friendship had been renewed; and
the Bombay division was in full movement up the river.
Whether this result was owing to the military demonstrations,
and occupation of Karáchi by the naval and reserve forces,
or to Colonel Pottinger's diplomacy, or to all combined, we
need not stop to examine.
A
Although Outram does not appear to have taken any
prominent part in the brief diplomatic discussion at Haidar-
abad, Lieutenant Eastwick doubtless felt the advantage of
having at his elbow so worthy a coadjutor. On return to
Jerak, work was found for him of another kind. He was
sent out by the general with fifty Púna horsemen, to scour
the jangal and make a reconnaissance along the road about
to be traversed by the troops. When this task was achieved,
he took some six or seven hundred camp-followers to assist
in tracking the boats laden with stores, still working up the
stream from Thatta, and closed his day's labours by bringing
in all to within one mile of the camp landing-place, with
-1839
161
THE BURNING FOREST.
6
the single exception of one long flat-bottomed craft, which,
notwithstanding the employment of 200 men on the work,
could not do more than half her prescribed journey. The
last duty gave him the opportunity of exploring a burning
shikárgáh,' or forest, in which the bodies of three officers
of the Queen's Royals had been discovered the previous day,
and of satisfying himself that the deceased must have lost
their way and perished in the flames, without being able to
get clear of the jangal. On the second day all the boats
were brought abreast of the encampment; and the upward
march commenced on the day following.
The Bombay division of the army of the Indus broke
ground from Jerak on February 3, reaching Kotri in two
marches. The position of this station on the right bank
of the river, almost immediately opposite to Haidarabad,
rendered it a desirable halt. Advantage was taken of the
comparatively peaceful aspect of affairs to permit officers,
under certain restrictions, to visit the capital. Outram
attached himself to a party consisting of the chief engineer,
the commandant, and brigade-major of artillery, and other
scientific officers appointed to make close examination of
the city, its fort, and environs. It was with no small
satisfaction that he found the plan, sketched during his
diplomatic mission, certified as correct in every respect,
while the mode of attack which he had proposed to the
commander-in-chief was pronounced to be the most ju-
dicious that could be adopted.
Three days were spent at Sehwan, to give time for the
whole force to clear the Lakhi Pass;¹ and during these
the commander-in-chief, Sir Henry Fane, arrived in the
¹ From Kotri the force moved to Sehwan, by the Lakhi Pass, traversing
the rocky spur of that name overhanging the Indus. With the natural
obstacles presented at this stage of the march, the passage of artillery was no
simple matter. Owing to the encroachments of the river and consequent
disuse of the track round the base of the hill, it had become necessary to make
VOL. I.
M
162
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
immediate neighbourhood, on his downward route to Bom-
bay, for embarkation to England. Outram was in personal
attendance on Sir John Keane when proceeding to meet his
senior general, and has recorded the cordial embrace of the
two veteran warriors; adding that he breakfasted in Sir
Henry's boat, and passed the day with him and his staff,
, each member of which had a separate boat comfortably
fitted up.' Sir Henry's health did not admit of his staying
in camp, but he was enabled to ride thither, and derive
satisfaction from inspection of the cavalry and artillery
horses, before re-embarking in his tiny flotilla. The de-
parture of this distinguished and much respected officer left
Sir John Keane commander-in-chief of the army about to
enter Afghanistan.
Inclusive of its progress from the Hujamri mouth of the
Indus to Thatta, the Bombay division had marched some 224
miles in Sind, up to Sehwan. Shikarpur, where Mr. Mac-
Naghten, the envoy with Shah Shuja ul Mulk, had taken up
his temporary quarters, was yet at a distance of 132 miles.
With little exception, such as presented by the river-reaching
spur of the Lakhi hills, the country was sandy, low, and flat,
and the monotonous character of the scenery, though
pleasantly varied by extensive wheat-fields and other culti-
vated land, was insufficiently relieved by village and forest.
Hot weather, acting upon this monotony, would naturally
have a depressing effect upon new-comers; but when
Sehwan was left on February 23, there were yet two or
three weeks to intervene before the actual setting-in of
Sind heat. On February 28, at a point where the upward
direction of troops and travellers would turn inland from the
a practical way over the higher ascent. By the skill and labour of the
engineers and their assistants, the difficulty was overcome in an incredibly
short time by means of a 'zigzag path cut out of and built upon the almost
perpendicular face of the hill.'
- 1839
163
RIDE TO SHIKÁRPUR.
bank of the river, Outram was ordered by Sir John Keane
to start immediately for Shikárpur, and hold personal com-
munication with the envoy. These orders were received
at midday, and the recipient was at Larkhána, more than
thirty miles off, in the evening. Resting there for the
night, he left at nine the next morning, with the two camels
on which he had accomplished the greater part of the
previous day's journey, and reached his destination at
10 P.M.
—a long and weary forty miles, though the distance
would have been nothing to a well-mounted rider. He was
heartily welcomed by Mr. MacNaghten, whom he found
at table with his assistants, Major Todd and Captain
Macgregor.
6
The precise object of his mission is not stated by Outram
in the pages of his printed journal. That it related,
however, in some way to commissariat arrangements, may
be inferred from the fact that the available Bengal officers
vested with the responsibilities of that department were
summoned to the envoy's tent on March 2, to furnish certain
information required by Sir John Keane; and he was able
to report that the result of the meeting was much more
favourable in some respects than he had expected.' On the
same afternoon it had been arranged that the Bombay
delegate was to be presented to Shah Shuja. His Majesty
was so overcome by the heat that he sent to request a
transfer of the scene of reception from the formal audience
chamber to the place of evening promenade. Thither
accordingly went the British officials. Remaining on horse-
back while the king, sitting in a native takht-ruwán, or
litter, conversed with them, they were not detained for a
long interview. Outram noticed the custom, approved by
our authorities, to approach and leave the Shah with much
ceremony, as well as the scrupulous observance of prescribed
etiquette inculcated by the envoy in our outward relations
M 2
164
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
with the Afghan court. He adds that his Majesty re-
ceived him with much affability, and that he appeared to
be between fifty and sixty years of age, and of mild
manners.
But apart from the journal or his own writings, we gather
in another quarter that Outram was really commissioned to
obtain, if possible, through Mr. MacNaghten's agency, a
large number of camels to supply the wants of the com-
mander-in-chief, in whose camp the mortality among baggage
animals had been seriously felt. So grave, indeed, had been
the loss, that it was reported impracticable to move the
whole Bombay division to the Bolan without a further re-
inforcement. The arrangement proposed for attaining this
end was complicated, and its success depended on the dip-
lomatic adroitness of the procedure adopted. Let us see what
light has been already thrown on the situation.
<
'The self-complacency of his Majesty, and the official
dignity of the Envoy,' writes the author of the Memoirs of
Colonel Outram's Services (1853),' quoting in part from
Kaye, ‘had been so seriously offended by the contempt for
their unsoldierly levy which Sir Willoughby Cotton un-
disguisedly evinced, and Sir John Keane barely affected to
conceal, that Sir William MacNaghten, assuming a high tone,
had insisted on a prominent place being given to the Shah
in the approaching operations. And the commander-in-chief
had cogent reasons for avoiding a rupture with the British
Plenipotentiary. He therefore resolved to go through the
form of offering a thousand of his own insufficient herd of
camels for the use of the contingent; but he determined,
at the same time, that the reverse arrangement should be
carried out, if by skilful management it could be effected.'
Outram, we are further told, performed the duty confided
to him with a success beyond even the anticipations of his
chief, who received from the envoy a supply of camels
6
•
- 1839
OFFER OF POLITICAL EMPLOY.
165
more than double in number those he had offered for the use
of the Shah's contingent.'
It should be mentioned that on February 23, or the
day on which the Bombay division left Sehwan, the cavalry,
artillery, the 13th light infantry, and three native infantry
regiments of the Bengal column had marched from Shikárpur
towards the Bolan and Kandahar. The 4th infantry brigade
had been detained to escort the Afghan king, who proposed
moving at an early opportunity. Outram, having sent on
his riding camels half the distance to be got over, took leave
of Mr. MacNaghten after dinner on March 3, and started at
midnight, by palankeen, to return to Sir John Keane's camp,
then pitched at Larkhána. If evidence were needed of the
favourable impression made upon the envoy's mind by his
energetic visitor, none better could be adduced than the
written application for transfer of the latter's services to his
own special mission, which had reached the chief before the
A.D.C. himself. But the offer was thankfully and respectfully
declined on the honourable plea of unwillingness to leave the
army while there was prospect of active employment in its
ranks. That he was useful to the lieutenant-general, even
in his every-day capacity, has already been demonstrated.
Now again, on return to head-quarters, his tact and firmness
were remarkably evinced in bringing to order some refractory
camel-men from Cutch. These camp-followers struck work,
positively refusing to advance a step further; and Outram
was despatched to quell the mutiny. Assembling all, to the
number of two or three thousand, he selected twenty of the
most influential of their jamadárs, and marked them off in
confinement. 'I then,' he writes in his journal, 'ordered the
remainder to take on their camels under the surveillance of
a body of horse; but they refused. Having warned them,
without effect, that we could be trifled with no longer, and
166
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
of my determination to flog them all round unless they
complied, I was under the necessity of tying up one and
giving him a dozen lashes; a second succeeded, and a third
-who got four dozen, he having been observed checking the
rest when they began to show symptoms of giving in. This
had the desired effect; they promised obedience in future,
and took out the camels to graze. On their return in the
evening, they were again mustered, and told that they should
remain under surveillance, unless such of the Cutch jamadárs
as had been faithful throughout should pledge themselves
for their good conduct. The required pledge having been
given, they were sent to their duty.' Those jamadárs who
had been placed in confinement were not released at once,
as further security seemed requisite for their future behaviour;
but on the day after the example had been made, the
mutineers were quite obedient.'
6
A detachment of the Bombay troops, consisting of H. M.'s
17th and 2nd regiments of foot, proceeded from Larkhán
towards Gandáva in the Kalát State, on March 11. The
commander-in-chief and staff, with horse artillery, the 1st
Bombay cavalry, and a wing of the 19th native infantry followed
on the 12th idem. After three short stages, each averaging
thirteen miles, and a long march across the desert of thirty
miles, Outram was despatched on a new mission to the envoy,
then in camp with Shah Shuja. Riding all night on a tired
camel and, for half the distance, quite alone, through a
country of abandoned grain-fields and protective watch-
towers-frequented by Baluch plunderers, who evinced their
hostility by murdering every stranger-he reached Gandáva
(forty-one miles) late in the morning. Thence, on the
following day, March 15, he continued his route to Bagh
(forty-five miles) upon a pony lent him by the commissariat
officer, escorted by two armed Baluchis entertained for the
journey. Here he fell in with Mr. MacNaghten, and com-
-1839
167
A BROKEN BONE.
municated to him the objects of his coming, returning on the
19th to Gandáva, and rejoining Sir John Keane at Panjok,
a few miles beyond. Owing to the information which he
brought from the royal camp, the chief directed him to
hasten back to Gandáva, for the purpose of despatching
thence an express messenger to the envoy, conveying the
intelligence that his Excellency had resolved upon pushing
on with a small escort to Dádar, there to meet the Shah,
and accompany his Majesty and the British officers with him.
up the Bolan, then occupied by our soldiers. The latest
accounts from Sir Willoughby Cotton were to the effect that
the head of his column was within one march of the top of
the Pass, and that it was expected no opposition would be
offered to its progress before arrival at Kandahar.
General Willshire was nominated to command the
'Bombay division of the army of the Indus;' but it was
not to lose the presence of Outram, though attached to the
personal staff of its late commander, and doubtless preparing
to accompany him. On March 21, while riding out from
Gandáva to meet Sir John Keane, an accident occurred
which disabled him for a time from all active work. His
horse, making a sudden turn when at speed, fell flat on his
side with his rider below him: and the bone of the pelvis,
above the hip-joint, was fractured from violent contact with
the hilt of his sword. It can well be understood how
vexatious to him was the contretemps; but there was
consolation in the reflection that things might have been
worse. The medical officers were of opinion that the utmost
detention he could suffer would be for three weeks; and
though he might not accompany his chief in advance, he
could be safely carried in a palankeen with the troops which
would shortly leave Gandáva.
It was on March 31 that the main body of infantry in the
Bombay division, with Outram and the dragoons, managed
168
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
to get clear of Gandáva. Of the first day's short march to
Gagar, the invalid writes, 'I did not feel the slightest in-
convenience from the shaking in the palankeen; and, in
fact, were it not necessary to remain quiet in order to allow
the fractured bone to unite, I believe I might now walk
about.' But although on April 29 he was able to ride
twenty-two miles to join his chief at breakfast in a delight-
ful garden a few hundred yards from the walls of Kandahar,'
he had only abandoned the palankeen and resumed his seat
on horseback on the 25th.
6
We need not linger over that month of April, with its sad
experiences of starvation for animals, and of death, by the ruth-
less hands of robber-tribesmen, for unwary men armed or un-
armed.¹ Outram, whether on horseback, or borne along from
day to day in an ungenial palankeen, noted carefully all the
features of the line of country now so familiar to us, and re-
corded the events of the march. Passing near, or among the
bodies of murdered sipahis and others belonging to the force,
in one narrow defile, at the outlet of the Bolan, he found the
stench arising from the countless putrefying camels dreadful.'
Nor did the horses escape the general suffering. On the
arrival of the Bombay division at Kandahar, it was ascertained
that about one hundred and fifty of those of the artillery and
auxiliary cavalry had dropped on the road from exhaustion.
The surviving animals had suffered much, but were pro-
nounced to be in a better state than the horses of the
Bengal army, three hundred and fifty of which had been
lost. From this and former experiences, the author of
'Rough Notes' takes occasion to remark on the superiority,
for work and endurance, of Arab and Persian horses over stud
and country breds; and gives the palm, in both respects also,
over stud-bred horses to some recent imports from the Cape.
The reason of his hurried ride into Kandahar, broken bone
¹ Appendix D.
-1839
169
DOINGS AT KANDAHAR.
and all, was General Willshire's lack both of provisions and
of information about the road in front-postal communication
having been effectually cut off by the marauding tribes. On
his arrival, he found that only six days' supplies remained in
the commissariat stores. However, his consultation with Mr.
MacNaghten resulted in measures which, it was hoped, would
relieve the wants of the army till the approaching harvest.
Supplies were accordingly sent back, and the Bombay
division came up on May 4.
6
6
C
Kandahar now became the head-quarters of the army
of the Indus; the Bengal and Bombay divisions, and the
Shah's troops being there united under the commander-in-
chief. The Shah had made his State entry a few days before
Outram's arrival; but the latter was called upon to arrange
with Mr. MacNaghten the military programme for a later
ceremony of no less significance the celebration of his
Majesty's restoration to the kingdom of his ancestors,' a
strong expression, perhaps, when applied to a grandson of
the founder of any monarchy at all in Afghanistan. On his
ascending the masnad,' we are informed that the whole
line presented arms, whilst a salvo was discharged from 101
pieces of artillery'; and then that the army of the Indus
marched round in front of the throne, in order of review,
mustering some seven thousand men of all arms, and pre-
senting a most imposing spectacle.' In the evening Outram
attended the commander-in-chief to the residence of the
envoy, who gave an entertainment in honour of the king's
accession, and made a speech for the occasion, as did also
Sir John Keane and Sir Alexander Burnes. It was a bad
omen, perhaps, that the few lamps which loyalty or ob-
sequiousness had lighted in the streets were totally ex-
tinguished when the British guests returned home.
6
It will be appropriate in this place to reproduce certain
opinions entertained and expressed by Outram on the part
170
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
taken by the Indian Government in the expedition to
restore Shah Shuja to the throne of Afghanistan. We do
not ask attention for them so much as pertinent to a
biography, as on account of their significance on all our
subsequent relations with that country. It was his lot in
more than one instance to differ in respect of policy from
the authority which he was bound to acknowledge. And
among other eminent men to whose views he could not
always subscribe were Lord Auckland and Sir William
MacNaghten. Both were aware of this divergence of
opinion, but neither was dissuaded thereby from employing
the intelligent Bombay officer on important military and
political duties. Later on, as the Kabul disasters are
approached, we shall have more to say on this subject. At
present we confine ourselves to letters addressed to friends
from Kandahar, at the period already reached in our pages,
adding one from Kabul which barely anticipates the narrative.
Outram writes thus to Lieutenant Eastwick, assistant
political agent, Upper Sind, on May 6, 1839:-
Every day's experience confirms me in the opinion that we
should have contented ourselves with securing the line of the Indus
alone, without shackling ourselves with the support of an unpopular
Emperor of Afghanistan, whom, to maintain, will cost us at least
thirty lakhs annually, besides embroiling us hereafter with all the
rude states beyond, which it must perpetually do. We have now
stretched out our feelers too far to pull them back, however, and
must and will carry our objects for the present triumphantly; but
I cannot blind myself to the embarrassment we are storing for the
future for it is too plain that the Shah is not popular, notwith-
standing some little temporary enthusiasm displayed by the mob
on his entry into Candahar the other day, and the flocking to his
standard of a few greedy and needy Afghans, who hope to benefit by
any change, and whom the poor Shah is obliged to entertain in his
service, although without the means of supporting them. . . . Neither
is the Shah's popularity apparent in the country we have passed
through, the inhabitants of which have heartily united in injuring
-1839
171
IMPORTANT EXTRACTS.
him and us to the utmost of their power: all classes-peasantry as
well as soldiery-turning against us, robbing and murdering whom-
soever they can get hold of belonging to us, and inveigling our
people to their villages for no other purpose than cold-blooded
murder.
To Major Felix he writes, ten days later :--
If—as I suspect will be the case-Dost Mahomed prefers tem-
porary exile to submission, seeing that the Shah is only upheld by the
presence of a British army which must soon be withdrawn, he will
return with tenfold popularity to raise the standard of the faithful
against a King forced upon bigoted Afghanistan by infidel bayonets.
Then will Shah Shooja be in his turn deserted by those who are now
seduced to his side by British gold, but who only can be held there
so long as the golden stream flows undiminishedly. The fact is not
to be concealed that Dost Mahomed, at the outset of this struggle,
had the preponderance of personal weight in this country, a well-
tried, able, and fortunate ruler, against the bad luck ('bad bakht'),
which goes a great way with natives, and bad name of Shah Shooja:
and it is not to be supposed that the Dost's temporary expulsion will
otherwise than enlist the sympathy of his countrymen, who will
hail his return too as the triumph of the champion of the 'true
faith' over the hireling slave of 'infidels '—as they will then be
taught to consider Shah Shooja, if they do not already do so.
I am of opinion we should be restricted to placing Shah Shooja in
possession of Cabool, leaving officers to discipline his contingent, and
a resident to guide him; and that our army should then descend
to the Attock before winter, thence to operate on Scinde, or to
return to India, as may be required.
For our own sakes I think it better we should pass
peaceably through Afghanistan, and fulfil our mission without
hostilities, because once involved in warfare, we should have to
continue it under lamentable disadvantages in this country. A
blow once struck by us at the Afghans will oblige us to become
principals on every occasion hereafter, much to our cost and little
to our credit.
You will be surprised that I should display
so little desire for actual war; but I hope you will give me credit
for some discretion, which is as necessary as bravery to a good
soldier, and do me the justice to believe that I would weigh well
172
1838-
JAMES OUTRAM.
consequences before plunging into war, when hostilities can honour-
ably be avoided. I have well considered every side of the question,
and am now satisfied that British bayonets need never be pushed
beyond the Hála mountains for the defence of India; that British
armies of any strength could not be supplied or supported for a
length of time on this, the Afghan, side of these mountains; and
that the natural and impregnable boundary of our Empire is the
Indus.
On May 22 he thus expresses himself to Mr. Willough-
by:
It is possible from what we learn of opinions at home, that our
armies may be ordered to withdraw from Afghanistan, after seating
the Shah at Cabool, without waiting for or enforcing the submis-
sion of the rebel chiefs. If unopposed on this occasion, we can do
so without discredit, leaving the Shah in possession of his throne,
with the support of his own contingent and subjects; but if opposed
by Dost Mahomed, we must go to extremity with him, which would
be uphill work if he leads us into protracted warfare, and knows
how to deal with us-i.e., cutting off our communications, destroy-
ing crops and water in our route, attacking baggage on the line of
march, harassing our camp by night alarms, cutting off foragers,
&c., &c. Eager as I am for service, still so convinced am I that
little glory to our arms, and less benefit to the State, could be
gained in such a struggle-where our enemy need never meet us
hand to hand, and has it so much in his power to destroy our very
limited resources-that I shall consider it fortunate if we are per-
mitted the credit of marching in warlike array from the sea, through
Afghanistan, to Attock, without any enemy daring to face us!
We should then leave behind us a high reputation for power,
wealth, and moderation, as, of course, we sumptuously pay as we
go (and most lavishly too), prevent any sort of oppression to the
people, and forego what they see in our power-the appropriation
of any portion of their territory.
The Kabul letter to which we have alluded is to Major
Felix again, and bears date August 20-
Unless to prevent a European enemy obtaining a temporary foot-
ing in Afghanistan, and breathing time therein, I am satisfied that
-1839
173
THE INDUS—OR BEYOND?
our armies need never enter this country, and that such a measure
should be avoided if possible; that it would suffice to maintain our
ascendency tranquilly on the Indus until invasion is threatened,
when our detachments pushed forward to the main passes, within
reach of supplies and support, might defy any army in the world,
especially after traversing such a country as Afghanistan,—or,
were it feared that our enemy's object was to establish himself in
this country in the first instance, that a small force advanced to Ca-
bool-which (being received as friends) would always be practicable
to and within reach of our troops on the Indus-would effectually
frustrate his design. What I mean to say is, that British power on
the Indus must secure the preponderance of our influence here,
above that of any European power; and that that alone would most
probably prove a sufficient bar to the advance of any hostile army
into Afghanistan; but that it would then be in our power at any
time to establish troops at Cabool, if necessary, long before our
enemies could approach, without a hope being left to them of
maintaining themselves in that country, or the possibility of
debouching into the valley of the Indus.
174
JAMES OUTRAM.
1839
CHAPTER VII.
1839.
Ghazni-Outram's employment at, and prior to the Siege-Pursuit of Dost
Muhammad Khan-Return from Bamian, and Mission from Kabul to
Ghilzai Country-Work in the disturbed districts-Return to Kwatta-Siege
of Kalát―Journey from Kalát to Sonmiani with despatches for Bombay.
OUTRAM left Kandahar with the advance column and head-
quarters on June 27. His journal represents the march to
Ghazni to have been upon the whole uneventful: but
habit had inured him to road adventures, and he lays com-
paratively little stress upon transport difficulties, impudent
robberies, and ruthless murders, in which last the Ghilzais
were the heroes. Of these there was a kind of daily record.
He makes the distance traversed 240 miles and a fraction,
and, as there were twenty-two marching days and three halts,
the average daily progress was within eleven miles. About
two-thirds of the way lay near the right bank of the
Tarnak river, the source of which was reached on July 14.
Here Shah Shuja overtook the column. At the seventh stage
out of Kandahar two of Outram's horses were stolen from
their pickets by the Ghilzais. One of the two, a chestnut
Arab charger, which the owner considered without ex-
ception the finest in the whole army,' was a very serious
loss; and a reward of 2,000 rupees (2001.) was offered,
through Sir Alexander Burnes, to anyone who could effect
its ransom. Twelve miles south of Ghazni, at midnight of
July 20, General Willshire's brigade came up with the re-
mainder of the force; and the whole army, arranged in three
1839
175
BEFORE GHAZNI.
columns, moved the next morning over the intermediate
spacious plain. No enemy, however, appeared until the
British troops were actually within a mile of the fort, when
preliminary operations commenced with the discharge of
guns and matchlocks from the walls and outskirts, the clear-
ance and occupation of a garden by our infantry, and the
assignment of a position to our artillery. Outram himself
had the honour of eliciting the first shot from the fort when
reconnoitring; being, moreover, exposed to a heavy fire at
sixty yards' distance.
^.
As the day advanced firing was continued generally by
the enemy; the 35th and 48th regiments of native infantry,
occupying the garden, exchanged shots with the garrison of
an outwork; and there was promise of extended skirmishing,
but Sir John Keane wisely prohibited the further exposure
of his men in desultory warfare. Guns and troops were
withdrawn out of range; a systematic reconnaissance of the
fort and approaches was effected; and the camp was shifted,
across the Ghazni river, to a position commanding the Kabul
road on the north. On July 22 the commander-in-chief
reconnoitred the place in person, and approving Captain
Thomson's proposal to blow open the Kabul gate by bags of
powder, and follow up the act by a dash at the gateway, gave
all the necessary orders, and made all the necessary ar-
rangements for an assault early next morning.
How Ghazni was successfully stormed on July 23 need
not here be narrated. The capture of this strong fortress,
accomplished within three quarters of an hour from com-
mencement of the assault, is an event which occupies too
prominent a place in history, and has already been too well
and circumstantially chronicled, to warrant the obtrusion, at
this late hour, of any new account.' That Outram's name
¹ Perhaps the most recent and circumstantial version is that contained in
Durand's First Afghan War (Longmans, 1879.)
176
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
does not appear in the despatches is one of those unexplained
occurrences, which if it were compulsory on the historian
or biographer to fathom, we venture to affirm that few
histories or biographies would be written at all. Either
would the inquirer not arrive at the root of the matter, or,
arriving there, he would find weaknesses and littlenesses
which, if not unbecoming his office to exhume, would
sorely embarrass him to apportion fairly to the respective
possessors. In this case, the omission cannot be accounted
for as accidental: nor can it be laid at the door of custom
or precedent.
On the eve of the capture of Ghazni, Captain Outram
performed an exploit which, as it has already been narrated
and eulogised by historians of the Afghan war, we will retail
as it has reached us in his own words:
• About noon the hills to the southward of our camp were
crowned by masses of horse and foot, displaying several
standards; their designs appearing to be directed against
the Shah's camp, which lay immediately under their position.
Two of his Majesty's guns, with all his cavalry, supported
by lancers, and by a regiment of Bengal cavalry, moved out
immediately to oppose this demonstration; and the enemy,
who had already begun to descend into the plain, being
met by the Shah's horse under Captain Nicolson, were, with
trivial loss on our side, compelled to re-ascend the heights,
leaving behind one of their standards in our possession, and
four or five of their number killed in the conflict. Having
galloped out to ascertain what was going on, I reached
the scene of action just before this occurrence, and finding
no European officer on the spot, I prevailed on a body of the
Shah's horse to follow me round the hills in the enemy's rear,
where I stationed them so as to cut off their retreat.
enemy, being intimidated by this movement, and repulsed
The
*
1839
CAPTURE OF A BANNER.
177
by Captain Nicolson's gallant charge, ascended the heights
beyond all reach of our Horse, whom I therefore left in
position, returning myself to the front.
'Meeting, at this juncture, a small detachment of the
Shah's contingent, consisting of about one hundred and fifty
infantry and matchlock-men, under a European officer, I
suggested to him the propriety of an immediate attempt to
force the enemy from the heights, in the direction where I
had just stationed the cavalry. He expressed his readiness
to act under my orders and, relinquishing to me the charge
of his detachment, which was composed of piquets from
different corps hastily assembled, we ascended the hill
together. The matchlock men behaved with great gallantry,
advancing steadily under a galling fire, and availing them-
selves of every rock and stone as fast as the enemy were
dislodged. They were followed by the sepoys in close order,
who occupied every favourable undulation of ground, and
were thus prepared to meet any sudden rush that might be
made on the part of the enemy. Step by step we thus at
last attained the loftiest peak, over the crest of which floated
the holy banner of green and white-the largest and most
conspicuous in the ranks of the whole host, the first unfurl-
ing of which by the Moslem High Priest, who had preached
a crusade against the British, had called together a mob of
fanatics, who, judging from their reckless personal exposure,
must have been deceived into the belief that they were
safe under the charm of its sacred influence. Towards this
object we made our way, ascending a very precipitous
acclivity under a smart fire, from which we were sheltered
by the rocks, until on our arriving within fifty paces of the
enemy, a fortunate shot brought down the standard-bearer.
The whole of our party then rushing up with a general cheer,
the banner was seized, whilst the enemy, panic-stricken at
this proof of the fallacy of their belief, fled with precipita-
VOL. I.
N
178
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
tion to a second hill, whither I deemed it useless to follow
them, both because our men were already much exhausted
from thirst and fatigue, and because the range, instead of
terminating, as I had conjectured, at this point (in which
case the fugitives might easily have been driven into the
plain), proved to be a succession of steep hills, among which
it was not practicable for cavalry to act.
'Having rested some time therefore, we finally retired,
bearing off our wounded-nine or ten in number-and leaving
the bodies of five of our opponents lying around the spot on
which the large standard had been planted. Ten or twelve
others, who had fallen in the contest towards that position,
were likewise strewed on the face of the hill, making a total
loss on the side of the enemy of thirty or forty killed and
wounded, in addition to about fifty made prisoners by the
cavalry one of these latter, on being brought into the
King's presence, stabbed one of the principal officers of state
in the open durbar
durbar—an offence for which the whole are said
to have atoned with their lives. On our side the total loss
throughout this affair amounted to about twenty in killed
and wounded.'
Nor had Outram been an idle or inactive aide-de-camp,
in fulfilling the wonted requirements of his office in the field.
On the day of arrival before Ghazni, he more than once con-
veyed his chief's orders to the troops engaged with, or
threatened by the enemy, after fire had been opened on both
sides. He himself has admitted that, during the actual
assault, the personal staff of the commander-in-chief had
very little employment; but he was twice despatched, in
that exciting interval, to ascertain the progress of operations,
and was the first to announce to His Excellency the entrance
of the troops into the town by the Kabul gate. He, more-
over, under Sir John Keane's instructions, placed guns at a
1839
179
PURSUIT OF THE DOST.
point to command the western face of the fortress, with the
view to check the escape of the garrison; and afterwards rode
round the eastern walls to make arrangements to intercept
the fugitives in that direction. However, as before stated, his
name did not appear in the despatches reporting the fall of
Ghazni, and he missed his well-earned honours or promotion.
On July 30 the army of the Indus resumed its march
towards Kabul, and halted at Haidar Khel' on August 3.
Here it was joined by Shah Shuja ul Mulk, who, with the
Bombay infantry, had been left to follow from Kandahar.
Here also Outram received his orders for undertaking a new
and important duty-the capture, if possible, of the Amir
Dost Muhammad Khan. This remarkable man, against
whom we were now unfortunately arrayed in open hostility,
was clearly unwilling to risk a general engagement with the
invading troops; and the loss of Ghazni had not tended to
lower his estimate of our power. Information had just been
received that he had fled towards Bamian, a valley on the
high road to Turkistan, and about a hundred miles to the
north-west of Kabul; and it was determined to send two
thousand of the Shah's Afghans in pursuit of him. One Hajji
Khan, Kakar, otherwise the 'Nasiru-d-daulah,' or Defender
of the State, a person of low origin, who had raised himself
from the condition of a seller of melons to that of a State
minister, and who had passed from the service of Dost
Muhammad Khan to that of the Kandahar chiefs, and had
now transferred his allegiance to Shah Shuja, was placed at
the head of this body. The detachment was to be further
strengthened by one hundred of our own cavalry, regular
and irregular, and the following officers, volunteers :-Captain
Wheeler, Bengal cavalry, Captain Backhouse, Bengal artillery,
''Hyderzye' in the Rough Notes'; but 'Haidar Khel' seems to be the
place intended; it is placed by MacGregor, quoting Hough, Campbell, and
Bellow, at thirty-three miles from Ghazni and fifty-four from Kabul.
N 2
180
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
and Captain Troup, Shah's contingent, Majors of brigade;
Captain Christie, commanding regiment of Shah's cavalry;
Captain Laurence, Bengal cavalry; Lieutenant Ryves,
Adjutant 4th local horse; Captain Keith Erskine, Poona
auxiliary horse; Lieutenant Broadfoot, Shah's Gurkha
battalion; Lieutenant Hogg, Bombay staff; and Doctor
Worral, local horse. Outram was to exercise command of
the whole.
It was a rough bit of work-as the tale of recent experi-
ence in Afghanistan will suggest to the reader-and nobly
done, though the main object of the expedition failed. Hajji
Khan was guide and adviser as well as commandant of the
Shah's detachment, and this Afghan played the double game
of which his countrymen are so fond, and which they think so
suited to their purpose in dealing with Englishmen. On the
day of setting out, the two thousand horsemen were awaited
till dark. Not half the number came; and of those who did
come, not half were considered effective. The greater part
were a mere rabble, mounted upon yábús and starved ponies.
At the outset there was an ominous division of counsels. To
the mind of Outram the direction to be taken was obvious: a
short and rapidly-made cut across the hills offered the sole
chance of intercepting the fugitive. Hajji Khan proposed a
start along the high road' and, though compelled to abandon
his argument, he practically gained his end by the consump-
tion of time and patience. At Goda, after the first night's
march of 32 miles, over ranges of hills and amid tortuous
river-channels, not more than one hundred Afghans came up
with the British officers to the encamping ground: and when,
after another day and night of similar or more hazardous
¹ His proposal was to proceed along the high road between Ghazni and
Kabul up to Maidan, whence they would turn westward to Bamian, by the
high road between Kabul and Bamian. Outram proferred reaching the latter
road at a point about three marches beyond Maidan.
1839
181
THE PURSUIT CONTINUED.
riding, the latter had contrived, by clearing a lofty and pre-
cipitous pass of the Paghman mountains, to reach the small
village of Kádir-i-Safid, barely fifty of their worthless auxili-
aries were present. The information received at this place
that the Dost was at Yourt, only one march beyond, was a
stronger inducement to Outram than the almost utter want
of supplies, to push on at all hazards. But Hajji Khan urged
a halt on the plea that the force at their disposal was in-
sufficient to cope with the enemy. Outram insisted on
moving, and managed in the course of the afternoon to get
together some 750 Afghans of sorts whom he induced to
accompany his own particular party. Through accident or
design, the guides went astray, and in the darkness of the
night the way was lost amid interminable ravines, where
no trace of a footpath existed;' so that Yourt was not reached
until the next morning, when Dost Muhammad was reported
to be at Kharzár, sixteen miles distant, on the high road
leading from Kabul to Bamian. No inducement could get
the Afghans to advance another stage until the morning of
the following day, August 7; and in the interim, their
leader attempted, by every available means, and including
even threats, to dissuade Outram from proceeding any fur-
ther, strongly representing the scarcity of provisions for his
men, and the numerical superiority of those whom he sought
to encounter. He was unable, however, to carry his point:
for he pleaded to one who went onward in spite of every
obstacle. When the pursuers arrived at Kharzár, they
ascertained that the Amir had gone to Kalu, whither, leaving
behind their Afghan adviser, they pressed on the same
afternoon, over the Hajji Guk (or Khak), a pass 12,000 feet
above the ocean, whence they saw the snow 1,500 feet below
them. At Kalu they were again doomed to disappointment.
Dost Muhammad had left some hours previously, and it was
supposed that he had already surmounted the Kalu Pass, the
182
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
highest of the Hindu Kush. Here Outram and his comrades
were compelled to remain the night encamped at the foot of
Kúh-í-Bábá, ‘The Father Mountain,' monarch of that mighty
range, and 22,000 feet high: they had been nine hours in
the saddle, and horses and men were knocked up. The next
day they were overtaken by Captains Taylor and Trevor, with
30 troopers and about 300 Afghans, which reinforcement,
though it seems to have inspired Hajji Khan with courage to
rejoin his head-quarters, did not a whit diminish his ardour
in endeavouring to persuade the British commandant to
delay the pursuit. He tried by entreaty, menace, and with-
holding guides, to keep back this dauntless soldier even
when mounting his horse, and in the act of departure: but in
vain; before nightfall Outram had crossed the steep Shutar-
gardan (camel neck), a pass some thousands of feet higher
than the Hajji Gok, and after dark he halted at a deserted
village at the foot of the Ghát . . . on the banks of a
stream which flows into the Oxus.' Briefly, after six days'
hard riding and roughing he reached Bamian to miss again
the object of his search, and to certify that, with such a guide
and in such a country, it would be madness to continue the
chase. On August 11, the day before leaving Bamian, he
addressed a letter to the envoy, from which the following
passages are extracted :—
6
'On my arrival at this place on the 9th instant, I had
the honour to address you with information that the Ameer
Dost Mahommed Khan had escaped beyond the frontier;
expressing at the same time my intention to await the result
of a letter that had been addressed to his adherents by
Nusseer-ood-Dowlah, myself, and others, or the receipt of
further orders from yourself.
<
The accompanying extracts from my journal will explain
to you the circumstances under which I have been compelled
1839
183
REPORT FROM BAMIAN.
to resolve on returning from Bamian to-morrow, at mid-day,
unless supplies, reinforcements, or orders to the contrary
shall be received by that time; when, having completed
three days at this place, a sufficient period will have elapsed
to admit of an answer arriving from the adherents of Dost
Mahommed Khan, to the letter addressed to them on the 8th
instant, if it ever was really despatched by Hadji Khan
Kakur, which I have now reason to doubt.
6 It will be seen
that the fugitive might have
been overtaken at Hurzar on the morning of the 6th instant,
had not our guides, who were under charge of Nusseer-ood-
Dowlah's people, deserted us during the night; that the
Khan then insisted on delaying at Yourt, only half-way to
Hurzar, instead of pushing on as urged by me to do; and
that, although he promised to make up for the delay in the
afternoon, he ultimately refused to go on, thus retarding
our advance till next morning, the 7th instant, when we
expected to overtake Dost Mahommed Khan at Kulloo-to
which place, in that hope, I was compelled to proceed with
the British detachment alone, unsupported by Nusseer-ood-
Dowlah or any of the Afghan troops, who remained behind at
Hurzar notwithstanding my personal solicitations to that
chief.
'It will be further seen that he next day again endeavoured
to prevent our following the fugitive; that he deceived me
by repeated false assurances of Dost Mahommed Khan's
escape being cut off; and, finally, that he formally announced
to me his inability to face Dost Mahommed Khan with his
own Afghans, not a man of whom, he declared, would fight
against the Ameer; even hinting his belief that they were
more likely to turn against ourselves.'
So they retraced their steps to the commander-in-chief's
camp, now stationed, not where they had quitted it, but at
184
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
Kabul, before the walls of which town Shah Shuja had
appeared with the British army on August 6. But the
letter to the envoy did not contain the statement of what
was done, or contemplated to be done, on the eve of entering
Bamian, where the Dost was supposed to be with 200 staunch
adherents. We must refer to the diary for particulars of the
' council of war' held on this occasion :-
'It was resolved that on the Ameer turning to oppose
us, of which, on our overtaking him to-morrow, as we expect
to do, there can be no doubt, the thirteen British officers
who are present with this force, shall charge in the centre of
the little band, every one directing his individual efforts
against the person of Dost Muhammad Khan, whose fall
must thus be rendered next to certain. It being evident
that all the Afghans on both sides will turn against us, unless
we are immediately successful, this plan of attack appears to
afford the only chance of escape to those who may survive;
and it is an object of paramount importance to effect the
destruction of the Ameer, rather than to permit his escape.
Although crowded as usual into one small rowtie (marquee),
with little to eat, nothing whatever to drink, and no bed on
which to lie, saving our sheep-skin cloaks, our little party,
always cheerful and merry, has never been more happy than
on this night, under the exciting expectation of so glorious a
struggle in the morning. All prospect of danger on such
occasions as these is met by the soldier with the gratifying
conviction that should he fall, he will have earned an enviable
place in the recollection of those loved, though distant,friends,
in whose memory he most desires to live.'
The sober spirit in which the return of the gallant band
from Bamian was effected, may have offered a marked
contrast to the buoyant hopefulness which had characterised
its original outset : but though disappointed and, it may be,
1
1839
ARRIVAL AT KABUL.
185
irritated at the deceit practised upon them, its members
had no cause to be crestfallen. It was not alone with rocks
and ravines, or want of food, shelter, and forage that they
had to contend: but with traitors and enemies in the guise
of friends. Let anyone acquainted with Afghanistan and
other mountainous and roadless tracts on a like scale, study
the detailed map of the country between Haidar Khel and
Bamian; and, after taking account of the physical difficulties
there presented, accept as a truth that these were as nothing
compared to the obstacles raised up, and risks occasioned
within the same limits, by man's duplicity; and he will have
some idea of the whole situation.
6
Outram arrived at Kabul on August 17.' Four days
later, he was placed at the temporary disposal of the British
envoy, for the purpose of conducting an expedition into
certain disturbed districts lying between Kabul and Kandahar,
in order to tranquillise the disaffected Ghilzai tribes, none of
whom had yet submitted to the king.' His duties were
subsequently defined under four heads: the arrest of Mihtar
Musa Khan, Abdu-r-Rahman Khan, Gul Muhammad Khan,
and the 'Mámá,' four refractory Ghilzai chiefs; the establish-
ment in power of three new Ghilzai governors; the punish-
ment of the inhabitants of a certain village of Maruf, who
had wantonly destroyed a caravan en route to India from
Kandahar; and the reduction of the forts of Hajji Khan, the
Nasiru-d-daulah, should his adherents decline to surrender
them. The last-named nobleman had been arrested by the
king's order, for treason and conniving at Dost Muhammad's
escape-a charge eventually brought home to him on
evidence.
This little expedition would take its leader far on the
way to his own Presidency, and his political functions would
¹ He makes the distance from Bamian only 97 miles; but General Kaye
reckons it at 112.
186
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
:
cease on its accomplishment. But there was a prospect of
active employment for him in the field, previous to return to
India and he would be thrown into contact with authorities
likely to avail themselves of his services in a purely military
capacity. It was suggested that he should visit Ghazni, and
thence proceed by the road branching off near Mukur, east of
Kandahar, to Kwatta. Major-General Willshire, who would
probably return to India by the same route, was to be
instructed to assist him with men, if requisite, within certain
limitations. Meanwhile the force to be instantly placed at
his disposal, was composed of the Ghurka infantry regiment,
with a proportion of cavalry and artillery from Shah Shuja's
contingent; he was promised also any detail that could be
spared from the Camel Battery. Further south, at Kalát-i-
Ghilzai, the Shah's infantry regiment from Kandahar, with
a few cavalry, and Captain Anderson's troop of horse artillery,
were to await his orders. His departure was hastened by
a supplementary commission to punish the murderers of
Colonel Herring, an officer of the 37th Bengal native
infantry, who had been waylaid by a body of armed men
near Haidar Khel, and cut to pieces before assistance could
be rendered.
Hitherto, history has rendered but scant justice to the
manner in which this not unimportant mission was fulfilled.
Its general objects were tolerably clear; but the modus
operandi was rightly left to the leader's own discretion, on
which Mr. MacNaghten had every reliance. Independently
of political responsibility, there was work to be done which
would test his qualifications for military command, and in
this respect his instructions were a carte blanche. The en-
voy had quickly taken measure of his man, and selected him
from appreciation of his worth and honour. Shah Shuja re-
ceived his new commissioner in open darbár, on September 6,
introducing him to the Afghan chiefs who were to accompany
1839
187
DEPARTURE FROM KABUL.
him-and whom he cautioned as to their future behaviour
and afterwards conversing with him in his private apartment.
The following day Outram made his first march out, agreeably
to notice; but on that occasion the whole escort was com-
prised in 300 of the Shah's cavalry, and 100 of Skinner's
horse; and his Afghans did not really join him in force until
a full week afterwards.
The semi-official, as well as official correspondence of
the day explains how disturbed were men's minds at the
capital. The Dost was stirring up mischief in Khulm, and
it was considered imperative to expel him from that locality.
Nor was this all to cause uneasiness on the part of those
dressed in the brief authority of the Bala Hissar. 'I do not
remember any period of my life,' writes Mr. MacNaghten
unreservedly to Captain Outram, at which I was more
bothered and oppressed in my business than the present.
Both his Majesty and myself have had the utmost difficulty
in driving these heavy Afghans out to join you.'
Our business is, however, not with Kabul. The city has
been reached, but we have little to do with it in these pages.
We must also take leave of the commander-in-chief's camp,
about to be shifted from Kabul to Peshawar and India. It
is the story of Sir John Keane's ex-aide-de-camp we have to
relate, and he is moving towards Sind again, and the regions
of the Lower Indus.
The first serious opposition which the detachment ex-
perienced in the Ghilzai country was on September 22. It
had then been recently strengthened by a wing of the 16th
Bengal native înfantry, under Major MacLaren, from Ghazni.
Before this, however, Mir Alam Khan, one of the new
governors accompanying it, had secured six of the gang
concerned in Colonel Herring's murder, and Bakhshi Khan,
an eminent actor in the same tragedy, had fallen into the
hands of Outram's native assistants; the difficult Kharwár
188
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
Pass had been surmounted; the Kharwár district crossed;
and the Zurmal¹ valley scoured; forts and property had been
captured and made over to responsible persons on the Shah's
behalf; and nine prisoners had been sent in to the care of
the Ghazni garrison. Outram thus narrates the affair in his
diary:-
'Made a night march, in order to surprise the Kanjak
banditti, whose haunt I had ascertained to be in the Indran
mountains, eighteen miles to the eastward. Arrived as the
day broke at a deep dell occupied by the gang, and while
the infantry advanced from the front, I despatched the horse
in two bodies to cut off retreat from flanks and rear. The
ground being very broken and difficult, however, most of the
enemy had found time to ascend a precipitous hill, along
the ridge of which they must have escaped, had I not
fortunately been mounted on an exceedingly active horse, and
thus been enabled to gallop ahead and deter them from
advancing until the cavalry came up. Finding themselves
completely surrounded, they defended themselves most
stoutly, and maintained their position until their ammunition
was nearly all expended, when on a general rush being made
from every quarter at once, they were induced to throw
down their arms, after sixteen of the more desperate of their
body had been killed, and several others wounded. Even the.
women assisted in the fray, by handing ammunition to their
husbands, and throwing stones at our troops. The loss on
our side amounts to three sepoys and one horse killed, and
two lieutenants, one rissaldar, one dufadar, and several men
and horses wounded. In the evening we returned with 112
prisoners, comprising some women and children who, with
the men killed in the attack, form the whole of the Kanjak
¹ A region reported as too turbulent to be entered by any Afghan king without
a large army at his back.
1839
189
ESCAPE OF A GARRISON.
gang. Not a soul contrived to escape, and the whole of their
arms and property, together with 112 camels, have fallen
into our hands-nearly all the latter bearing the Company's
mark, showing that they were stolen from the British army
during its advance.'
On
On September 23, he selected forty-six of the most
desperate of the prisoners for transmission to Kabul, and
continued his journey to the southward. On the 28th, at
Mushkhail, Mihtar Musa Khan, one of the chiefs he was
specially commissioned to arrest, and leader of the fanatic
army' which had threatened the British camp the day
before the fall of Ghazni, came in and surrendered.'
October 3, at Ushlan, he was joined by the Púna auxiliary
horse under Captain Keith Erskine, from General Willshire's
camp, then only three miles to the westward; and on the
next night, at Mansur, he came up with three nine-pounder
guns sent for his use from Ghazni. Thus reinforced, he
pushed on, marching forty-two miles in twenty-four hours,
to Kalå-i-Murgha, the fort of Abdu-r-Rahman Khan, the
principal Ghilzai chief, whose father, in the days of Shah
Zamán, had besieged Kabul with 50,000 men, and who had
himself kept our army so much on the alert during the march
from Kandahar to Ghazni. Outram succeeded in surprising
him in his castle, a well-constructed defence with a high
citadel and wet ditch.' But a wish to rest his troops, and
follow up the capture of the place with a dash at the two
remaining chiefs in his list (to be brought within reach by a
forced march), induced him to defer the attack till next day
-a delay which proved fatal. In spite of 500 cavalry
surrounding the fort, and two companies of native infantry
placed under cover at less than 200 yards from the gate, the
garrison, which had been purposely reduced to some eighty
select horsemen, sallied forth during the night and, scattering,
6
190
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
rode sharply past the pickets, escaping to a man,'—owing to
neglect of orders by one of the officers on the watch. After
destroying the stronghold, and making the best arrangements
in his power for eventual seizure of the fugitives, Outram
joined General Willshire's camp between Ghazni and the
country of the Utak Ghilzais, east of Kandahar. For this
ride of twenty miles he was escorted by only two Ghilzais, a
proof of the singularly wholesome effect of his recent opera-
tions. He had not, however, marched with his Bombay
comrades for many days, before a second brush occurred with
the Khans opposed to the Shah. Some of the more notorious
happened to be in his immediate vicinity. An expedition
against the Barakzai tribes, who had plundered and ill-treated
the India-bound caravan mentioned in his instructions, was
strictly within his tether-and the presence of a British
column, and the locality they had reached, offered an excellent
opportunity to organise one. Accordingly, a detachment,
comprising cavalry, guns, sappers, and native infantry, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Stalker, moved out in the direction of
the villages of Maruf; and the political officer thus describes
his own share of the work then accomplished :-
'I galloped on with the cavalry and surrounded them
before a soul had time to escape. Abu Khan and Jabar
Khan, the chiefs of the tribe, together with all their followers,
were secured; and they informed against others concerned,
whom I also apprehended by proceeding immediately to their
villages with a few horsemen. Having placed the prisoners
in charge of the infantry, I crossed the valley to the
fort of Maruf, which, in consequence of the approach of the
Bombay column, had been evacuated some days before. To
1 Outram states, in his 'Rough Notes,' that three of the wives of Abdu-r-
Rahman, and his sister, who was one of the wives of Dost Muhammad Khan,
rode out of the fort with the rest, protected by the darkness, which rendered
pursuit of no avail.
1839
FROM THE GHILZAI COUNTRY.
191
my astonishment, it proved to be the strongest fortress
that we had yet seen in the country, being constituted with
double gates, a ditch, fausse-braye, and towers of solid
masonry, which might have held out successfully against
all the matériel with which the Bombay division is pro-
vided.'
In connection with this concluding passage of Outram's
brief but brilliant career in Afghanistan, the following
extracts, written on September 23 from the heart of the
Ghilzai country, are full of interest and have a present sig-
nificance. The first was addressed to Mr. MacNaghten :-
6
Having placed Shah Shooja on his throne, we
have done our duty by him; but we thus have imposed a
further and sacred duty on ourselves, that of seeing that the
government we have so mainly contributed to erect is just
and beneficial to the people; and we know that oppres-
sion and extortion must be the inevitable and immediate
consequence of letting loose the Shah's greedy courtiers upon
his provinces, so prolific a field for bullying and peculation,
especially while yet unassessed
for even Dost
Mahomed's exactions cannot be taken as a fair assess-
ment-latterly, it would appear, having only been limited
by the extent of his power to extort; while those of his
immediate predecessors may, on the contrary, perhaps,
have been too light, owing to their feeble sway.
..
• We should best preserve the people from over-exactions,
and the Shah from imposition-at the same time performing
our duty to both parties and to ourselves, which in justice,
honour, and policy, we are surely bound to exert ourselves to
the utmost to do-by directly supervising and narrowly
scrutinising the first settlement of the Shah's revenues. We
should render our interference, as it is an obligation to him,
192
1839
JAMES OUTRAM..
also a benefit to his people, instead of the contrary—a result
which the new government might soon bring about if not
so controlled, owing to the insatiable demands of those
courtiers who fancy they cannot be too highly rewarded
for their share in the Shah's restoration (the curse of every
restoration), or, that they are essential to his stability
he would be too apt to make over to them the
management of districts, without previously ascertaining their
real value, or instituting any measures whereby to protect
the people from the extortions of such persons, whose only
object would be to extort the utmost, without care for the
interests either of king or people.
'By thus acting the part of mediator between the people
and the new government, we should soon convince the former
of our superior justice and generosity to anything they had
hitherto been accustomed to; for we, with our independent
incomes, can afford to be just and generous, even were we not
so, as by nature and education we ought to be, but which the
native officials cannot be, they having everything to derive
from those they are placed over. So far, our interference
would tend to render us popular in this country, instead of
the very contrary, which we shall too soon become by con-
tinuing only to appear, as at present, in the light alone of
supporters to the Shah; and as our future connection with
the Afghans must now, of necessity, become most intimate,
we cannot too soon secure it on a beneficial footing to all
classes—a result, the direct reverse of which the system of
non-interference, so far from promoting, must, on the
contrary, inevitably insure.'
The second was to Captain MacGregor, secretary to the
Envoy :-
'I fear the Envoy may think me intrusive in thus
volunteering my suggestions, but I think not, for he must
1839
193
A ROVING COMMISSION.
appreciate my motives-being sent here to do my best for
the benefit of all parties-even should he not agree in opinion
as to the propriety, or policy, of assuming to ourselves so
intimate an interference on behalf of these people. Time
will show whether I am right; and I do not hesitate to
prognosticate that these districts, if left to the direct and
uncontrolled management of the Shah's native agents, will
never prosper, and will ever prove a hot-bed of sedition:
whereas, if properly managed, as only they would be through
our intervention, they may become the most prosperous and
contented in the Shah's dominions.
'I shall ever look back to my passing visit to this
quarter with much satisfaction, if I can think I have been in
the slightest degree the cause of so great a blessing to these
poor people as an impartial, but energetic, government, and
fair taxation, without which these districts will cost the
king more than he derives from them, and will ever prove a
thorn in his side. In saying this, I now take leave for ever
of Loghur, Kurwar, Gurdaez, Zoormut, and Kuttywass '-
five of the Ghilzai districts, to establish the Shah's authority
over which he had been deputed.
Marching with, and occasionally detached from the
returning force, Outram continued in discharge of the duty
with which Mr. MacNaghten had entrusted him up to the
time of his arrival in Kwatta. Especially had he to give his
attention to the strongholds of his old associate Hajji Khan,
Kákar, which lay within moderate distance of the main track
he was following. In some cases, the occupants were openly
hostile to the British troops, and to meet these a more
thorough procedure than dismantling was expedient; but
the insignificance of the building for defensive purposes
might save it from destruction. One fort he completely
demolished, blowing up every bastion, gateway, and out-
VOL. I.
0
194
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
work,' to the apparent satisfaction of the inhabitants of the
valley below it, on whom the garrison had exercised a
system of aggression made all the more formidable from the
possession of the higher stream which supplied water to their
villages. On October 31 he marched with the column to
Kwatta; and here, as already shown, his political functions
would have no field for exercise: they ceased, in fact, on his
entering the Shál valley. He would have to find new em-
ployment, or take leave of his friends in camp.
But James Outram was not one to be spared from the
scene of emergencies, when they arose within his sphere of
work. Circumstances had made it more or less imperative,
on the part of our high politicals, to call Mihrab Khan of
Kalát to account for an obstructiveness which had become
dangerous to the interests they sought to protect. It was
therefore decided that General Willshire should march
against him in his head-quarters. Kalát is situated about a
hundred miles south and a little west of Kwatta; and thither
the attacking force moved leisurely on November 4,
through the large and well watered valley of Mastung. A
week from that date they were at a distance of two easy
marches from their goal. Outram had accompanied as an
amateur up to this point. He was now nominated to attend
the general in the capacity of aide-de-camp during the
expected action, and to serve with the engineers during the
siege. Mihrab Khan had threatened to bring out his whole
force to expel or annihilate the Farangi intruders, but, wisely
perhaps if unfortunately, contented himself with preparing
for defence within walls.
In dealing with facts, we are not called upon to discuss
the political merits of the quarrel with Kalát, or criticise the
treatment of Mihrab Khan by the Indian Government. Our
business is at present with the siege. General Willshire's
force consisted of H.M.'s 2nd and 17th regiments of foot, and
1839
195
RECONNOITRING.
the 31st Bengal native infantry: the three together not
numbering one thousand rank and file; two guns of the
Bombay horse artillery, and four of the Shah's; some
sappers and miners, and 150 irregular horse; 'the whole in
the highest possible order. The remainder of the Bombay
column had continued their homeward route by the Bolan
Pass. On November 12, the general advanced fifteen miles
to the station immediately before the capital; and Outram
was sent out with Lieutenant John Ramsay, assistant quarter-
master-general, and an escort of local horse, to reconnoitre.
If the reconnaissance did not elicit the fighting capacities of
our enemies, it cannot be said to have done better for our
allies. A few mounted scouts were observed to gallop away
the moment the party appeared in sight: while, on the other
hand, attack was threatened by some fifty horsemen who
descended into the plain from an eminence off the road.
Beating retreat, however, when they found a resolute front
opposed to them, these only halted when their adversaries
halted; advancing again when the others retired, and now and
then relieving the monotony of the movement by an ineffec-
tual shot. 'This system,' wrote Outram,' was continued until
we had entered a small pass leading through the hills by
which Khelat is surrounded, when the enemy once more
formed, and suffered us to advance within fifty yards of them,
as if here determined to oppose our further progress. They
then fired a volley, wheeled, and galloped off-fortunately for
us, without waiting to see the result of their bravado, which
had sent every man of our escort, saving the jemadar, to the
right-about! Had our opponents followed up their advan-
tage, Lieutenant Ramsay and myself would have been left
to stand our ground as we best might; but it so turned out
that the enemy continued their flight to Khelat, upon per-
ceiving which our party recovered courage, and followed them
a short distance.'
o 2
196
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
On the following morning the British troops arrived
before Kalát; the town and fortress coming in view so soon as
they had surmounted a small range of hills, after a seven
miles' march, varied with desultory skirmishing. To Outram,
'it was truly an imposing sight. Some small hills in front
were crowned with masses of soldiers, and the towering
citadel which frowned above them in their rear, was com-
pletely clustered over with human beings-ladies of the
harem chiefly—who had assembled to witness the discomfiture
of the Feringees, and the prowess of their lords, all of whom,
with the Khan at their head, had previously marched out
to the heights, where they awaited us in battle array!".
We use freely his own words to describe the sequel of that
stirring day :-
'No sooner had the head of the British column showed
itself, than the enemy's guns, of which there were five in
position on the heights, opened upon it; but being ill
directed, they were unattended with effect. In order to
assemble every efficient man of his small army, General
Willshire here halted the troops until the baggage had closed
up, assigning the charge of it, and of the sick, to the local
horse. It was very evident that the enemy, who greatly
outstripped us in point of numbers, were fully bent upon
mischief; and our total strength amounting to less than one
thousand bayonets, we had nothing to spare in the contest.
that awaited us. During this delay two companies were
sent to clear some gardens on our left; and a body of horse
threatening us from that direction, a few shrapnel shells
were thrown amongst them, which caused them to withdraw to
the fort. The cool and determined demeanour of our veteran
general inspired everyone present with confidence of success;
nor shall I ever forget the obvious feeling of delight with which
his deep-toned word of command, 'Loosen cartridges !' was
1839
197
SIEGE OF KALÁT.
received by the soldiers-evincing as it did that an immediate
attack was intended, and that serious opposition might be
expected.'
According to the plan of assault communicated, four com-
panies of each regiment, in three columns of attack, were to
carry the redoubts on the heights under cover of the artillery;
two companies were to advance through gardens on the left;
and the remaining ten companies would form the reserve.
All being in readiness, the columns aforesaid 'moved steadily
forward, preceded by the artillery, which unlimbered at the
foot of the hills, and opened a cannonade of shells and
shrapnel with such admirable precision, that the masses of
the enemy, crowning the heights, were compelled to abandon
their position long before the infantry had gained the
summit. Observing the enemy endeavouring to draw off
their guns, the general despatched me with orders to the
column of the Queen's Royals, which was the nearest to the
gate, to pursue the fugitives, and, if possible, to enter the
fort with them-but at any rate to prevent their taking in
the ordnance. I overtook the head of the column
and
galloped on to the redoubt at the very moment that the
enemy were vacating it; when perceiving them to be engaged
in an attempt to carry off one of the pieces of artillery, I
called on Captain Raitt of the Queen's Royals to push down
quickly with his grenadiers, and if unable to enter the gate
with the enemy, at all events to capture the gun. I accom-
panied this party, which rushed down the hill, but arrived
too late to enter the fort with the enemy, who, however,
abandoned the gun outside, and hastily closed the gate after
them.
'Leaving the grenadiers to take post under cover of a
ruined building . . . within sixty yards of the gate, so as to
be in readiness to enter by it, in case the general might
198
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
decide upon following up this advantage by blowing open the
gate before the garrison should find time to block it up, as
they doubtless would do were the attack to be delayed, I
rode back to report progress. The whole of our troops were
already on the heights, and the guns were also being dragged
up. Four of the latter were directed to play upon the towers
commanding the gateway
whilst the other two were
ordered down . . . for the purpose of battering the gate
itself. The general at the same time despatched me . . .
with instructions to bring up the light companies under
Major Pennycuick to . . . where a mud wall, about four feet
in height, afforded shelter within thirty yards of the wall on
the opposite side of the gate to that near which the grenadiers
of the Queen's Royals were posted. Having brought them
at double quick time across the plain to within two hundred
yards of the walls, and then directed them to scatter and
rush under cover, I returned to the general,' warning the
grenadiers on the way, that the gate would be immediately
blown open, when they were to rush in simultaneously with
the light companies from the opposite side.'
<
Most of the day's casualties occurred whilst Outram was
executing the two duties last named. On both occasions he
was the only mounted officer present; but although both the
nature of his occupation, and the singularity of his uniform,
differing as it did from all others, must have attracted a con-
siderable share of the enemy's observation, he escaped with
his usual good fortune. To resume:-
'The two guns now opened upon the gate, and being
admirably directed (by Lieutenant Henry Creed, of the
Bombay artillery) a few rounds were sufficient to throw down
one half of it. The general's signals for the advance of the
storming parties not being immediately observed, I galloped
down, and accompanied the grenadiers to the gate, after
1839
199
SIEGE OF KALÁT.
seeing them in secure occupation of which, I returned to the
general, whom I met close to the fort, bringing up the main
body of the troops. He immediately despatched me with
Captain Darley's Company of H.M.'s 17th foot, with instruc-
tions to take the 31st regiment Bengal native infantry along
with me, and with these to storm the heights and secure the
gate on the opposite side of the fort. After passing quickly
round the western face, from which we were exposed to a
considerable fire, I placed the company of the 17th under
cover of a spur of the hill, and thence proceeded back to seek
for the 31st regiment, which I found scouring the suburbs.
Having united the two detachments, we stormed the heights
... where we experienced some trifling opposition from match-
lockmen occupying the rocks above; these being soon dis-
persed we rushed down to the gate . . . driving in a party
of the enemy with such precipitation that they had not time
to secure the gate, possession of which was thus obtained, and
the escape of the garrison entirely cut off.
We were here joined by a party under Major Deshon,
which had been sent round by the eastern face of the fort,
when I directed the officers to leave a detachment in charge
of the gate, and with the remaining portion to make their
way up to the citadel, which still maintained a fire upon our
troops, whilst I accompanied Lieutenant Creed for the pur-
pose of selecting a position from whence to bombard it with
the Shah's guns. Placed the guns in position
and
opened a fire on the citadel, which was continued with
destructive effect, until our soldiers had obtained possession.
Rejoining the general in the meantime to report progress,
I found him at the gate first carried, giving orders for
attaching bags of gunpowder to the gates of the citadel, which
had hitherto successfully resisted all attempts to enter it from
this side. Reported that the party from the opposite quarter
had already got well up and, with the aid of Lieutenant
200
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
Creed's guns, would shortly surmount every obstacle. Here-
upon troops were again sent up to co-operate, and a few
minutes more sufficed to display the British standards
waving over the highest of the towers of Kalát. All hostili-
ties immediately ceased, and the soldiers displayed much
greater forbearance than they usually do on such occasions.
Quarter was never refused by them, when craved by cries of
'Amán,'' Amán,' and before nightfall nearly 2,000 prisoners
had been removed from the fort unharmed.
About four hundred of the garrison are supposed to
have fallen in this affair, and amongst them are.. Mehrab
Khan, Wullee Mahommed Khan, and other principal Beloche
chieftains-every person of note having been either slain or
captured. Some anxiety was expressed by the general on
the occasion of my rejoining him at the first gate, in conse-
quence of the rumoured escape of Mehrab Khan; but I
assured him that as the fighting portions of the garrison
had been driven back whilst in the act of attempting to
decamp by the opposite gate, I entertained no doubt that
the Khan was still within the fort, since he could not, in
honour, have previously deserted his followers. This after-
wards proved to be the case. Foiled on that occasion in his
attempt to escape, the chief had returned to the citadel with
Wullee Mahommed Khan, of Wudd, and others of his most
trusty followers, where they had all died sword in hand; the
Khan himself being slain by a shot through the neck, from
whose hand it is not known. Considering the small number
of our troops, not one half of whom were actually engaged,
the loss on our side is severe. Thirty-two were killed, and
one hundred and seven wounded; amongst the former is
Lieutenant Gravatt of the Queen's Royals, and there are nine
officers amongst the latter.'
The next day, working parties were employed in remov-
1839
201
PASSAGES FROM DESPATCH.
ing and burying the dead, as well as in collecting prize
property.
'Scattered as the dead bodies are over every part of the
town, among houses, the numerous dark chambers of which
are not easily explored, it has not yet been practicable to
ascertain the number of the slain. The amount of booty is
supposed to be very considerable, but we unfortunately do
not possess the means of carrying it away, nor is there any
market here in which to dispose of it. The arms especially
are of very superior manufacture, and the sword of the fallen
chief Mehrab Khan in particular, which is of the most costly
workmanship, is estimated to be of great value. The mem-
bers of our little army have with one accord resolved upon
presenting this enviable trophy to their gallant leader,
General Willshire, in token of their admiration of his heroic
bearing yesterday.'
In the despatch, under date November 14, 1839,
reporting to Lord Auckland the fall of Kalát, Captain
Outram's good service, in conducting two companies of
infantry to take up a material position during the siege, is
especially noticed: and the following paragraph is more
precise still-From my aides-de-camp, Captain Robinson,
and Lieutenant Halkett, as well as Captain Outram, who
volunteered his services on my personal staff, I received the
utmost assistance, and to the latter officer I feel greatly in-
debted for the zeal and ability with which he has per-
formed various duties that I have required of him upon
other occasions as well as the present.' Then was added:—
'I have deputed Captain Outram to take a duplicate of the
despatch to the Honourable the Governor of Bombay by the
direct route from hence to Sonmiáni Bandar, the practica-
bility or otherwise of which for the passage of troops I consider
it an object of importance to ascertain.'
202
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
The fulfilment of the hazardous duty here indicated, one
which had been conceived by Outram himself, supplies an
interesting chapter of romance in a singularly active career.
There are two roads from Kalát to Sonmiáni, the more easterly
of which, by Wadd, separating from the other at Sohrab, and
re-uniting at Baila, had been reported on by Colonel Pottinger,
who traversed it in the early part of 1810, moving upwards
from the sea-coast. On that occasion both Pottinger and
Christie had assumed the character of agents to an influential
native contractor for supplying horses to the Governments of
Madras and Bombay; but, although the actual status of the
English officers was a puzzle to most inquirers, and their
European origin was patent to many, the native dress which
they wore kept them from that suspicious and continuous
scrutiny with which the Farangi traveller is distressed in his
wanderings through the less visited regions of the East.
They were three full weeks in getting from Sonmiáni to the
capital of Mahmúd Khan, then chief of Kalát: that is to say,
they performed the journey in fifteen marches, and halted
seven days, reckoning the distance at a fraction above 345
miles.
Outram chose the western route, by Nál; made out his
journey in less than eight days, and reckoned the distance 355¹
miles a figure somewhat higher than that of his predecessor.
His movements were necessarily secret and rapid, too much so
for accurate survey or observation: for he was travelling at a
time of great local excitement, through an enemy's country and
amid a rough and rude people. Starting at midnight, disguised
as an Afghan, with one private servant only, he left camp under
the guardianship of two Saiyids of Shál, who had accepted
the responsibility of escorting him, and whose two armed
attendants made up the whole party. There were thus six
persons in all-mounted on four ponies and two camels,
¹ The Itinerary attached to his Diary has become a valuable reference.
1839
203
ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY.
6
carrying provision for themselves, and as much as practicable
for the animals. On the first day, they were nineteen hours
in the saddle, ran the gauntlet through a host of inquirers
and families flying from Kalát, and met with many adventures.
For some time they had to travel in company with the family
of the prime minister, out of whose wardrobe Outram's
disguise had been provided. Fortunately, it proved of too
mean a character to provoke identification. When resting
or refreshing, the Saiyids skilfully managed, as a rule, to
keep their charge in the background, and to answer all
questions put, as if in every case addressed to themselves.
But Outram had to play more than a silent or sleeping part.
The comparative fairness of his complexion was alone likely
to arouse suspicion, and, this once aroused, any over-anxiety
to escape notice would add fuel to the fire. He had been
introduced as a 'Pír,' or saintly man, and had to support the
character according to his ability. These Pírs' are in great
local request in Sind and Baluchistan. What wonder then
that in one case it fell to his lot, sorely against his conscience,
to utter a charm over a tuft of hair which the owner of a sick
camel brought for that particular purpose! On the second
day, they were little molested, owing to the deserted state of
the track through which they rode; and they slept with
safety and comfort among uninhabited ruins. On the third
day they were in the immediate neighbourhood of Nál, too
large a place to enter into en masse, but too important to be
passed without procuring there a supply of grain for the
horses. Here Outram and his personal attendant lay con-
cealed while his escort did the marketing; but one Saiyid
delayed his return so long that the Englishman, anticipating
mischief, was on the point of declaring himself to the chief
of the village. As to the other Saiyid he was discovered in
a small fort, assisting at the coronach for the dead chief, the
tidings of whose fall at Kalat had been received that very
afternoon.'
204
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
At night they resumed the hazardous march, and did not
draw bridle until dawn; their great object being to outstrip
the exciting intelligence of the capture of Kalát. After
having traversed thirty miles of country without espying a
trace of human habitation, they availed themselves of the bank
of a river to lie down and sleep until 7 a.m. of the fourth
day. The genial mildness of temperature here experienced
was a pleasant contrast to the bitter and perishing cold they
had lately endured. About that hour they awoke to find
that their guide had decamped. But such an occurrence
was not extraordinary; and the mishap was soon remedied
by the enlistment into their service of a stray shepherd.
Eight hours in the saddle, over a good but wholly deserted
road, brought them across a lofty range of mountains to the
bed of the Urnach river, where water and a little green grass
for the horses, and a little tamarisk for the camels-the first
green foliage seen since leaving Kabul, with the exception of
a few junipers on the Kákar hills-supplied a wholesome
addition to the scanty allowance of grain on which the poor
beasts had up to this time subsisted.
After a repose
sufficient for travellers eager to reach a most dangerous
journey's end, they again started at midnight, and, moving
silently through cornfields and straggling hamlets, threaded
the pass over a range of mountains seemingly higher than
that of the previous day, by a road utterly impracticable
for guns, and incapable of being made so, unless at
immense cost of time and labour. This day, the fifth,
was a hard one: they dismounted after having been eleven
hours in the saddle, and passed the day in a ravine scantily
supplied with water, and green pasture for the cattle. In
the evening, they continued the journey for seven hours
over another range of mountains: not having seen the
trace of any inhabitant during the whole eighteen hours'
ride. But the monotony of the brief halt was broken by the
1839
205
SONMIÁNI AND KARACHI.
apparition of 'a ferocious-looking Baluchi . . . armed with
a long matchlock,' to Outram, as he was reading a copy of
the Bombay Times' procured from one of the garrison at
Kalát. How the unexpected visitor came there-on a high
bank overlooking the object of his attraction-was a mys-
tery: no sooner, however, did he hear a call to the Saiyid
and attendants, and see them rise in response, than he
made off. We need not continue the journey in detail.
Passing the large town of Baila, the capital of the Las
Baila district-before break of day, so as to avoid obser-
vation-the travellers reached Sonmiáni in safety at ten
in the forenoon of November 23, having made
a last
march of fourteen consecutive hours. During the entire
journey Outram was obliged to content himself with subsis-
tence on dates and water, to carry out his assumed character of
sanctity.
At Sonmiáni, he made himself known to the Hindu agent
of Sett Nao Mall, a merchant of Karáchi, whose long attach-
ment to British interests has been rewarded in recent years
by the third class Order of the Star of India. This man
treated the new comers with great hospitality, and at once
provided a boat for the conveyance of his English guest to
Karachi. The latter took with him on board his Afghan yábu,
of which he relates that, although not more than thirteen
hands in height, it had carried himself and saddle-bags,
'weighing altogether upwards of sixteen stone, the whole dis-
tance from Kalát . . . in seven days and a half' (an average
of nearly forty-seven miles per day), during which time he
had passed one hundred and eleven hours on his back.'
On arrival at Karáchi, he astonished his brother-in-law,
General Farquharson, by coming unexpectedly upon him in
the dress of a native, sword and small shield inclusive. The
general thought him looking very well, and little changed,
except, indeed, that the hair was thinning on the top of his
206
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
head. His visitor's appearance he afterwards described as
follows:-A small pagri (native turban) composed of a twist
about as thick as one's finger sparsely bound about his head,
the hair cropping through the interstices; white native
tunic and trousers; native slippers; all very dirty and mean-
looking. There was no saddle on the pony-merely a cloth
over his back.
From Karachi he embarked, on the evening of Novem-
ber 24, for Bombay. Not many days after arrival there,
he learnt that at midnight, on the date of his departure from
Sonmiáni, the son of Wali Muhammad Khan, chief of Wadd,
killed at the siege of Kalát, had reached that port from the
interior in pursuit of him, expressing much disappointment
and irritation at missing his intended prey. Outram attri-
buted his escape, in a great measure, to the forced march of
fifty miles he had made from Nál, whereby he had 'out
stripped the flying tidings of the overthrow of Khelat.' Under
Providence, his wisdom and energy had certainly outwitted
his pursuers.
207
CHAPTER VIII.
1839-1842.
Honours and Rewards-Political Agent in Lower Sind-Political Agent in
Sind and Baluchistan-Retrospect of Upper Sind History-Mirs Sohrab,
Rustam, and Ali Murad-Journey to Kwatta-Investiture of the Khan,
and Treaty with Kalát-Work at Dadar-Departure of Lord Auckland, and
Arrival of Lord Ellenborough.
For his services at Kalát, Captain Outram was promoted to
Major on November 13, 1839; but the omission of his name
from Sir John Keane's despatches was one of those undoubted
grievances which, under precedent and prescriptive custom,
he might, had he seen fit, have fairly agitated. That he did
not do so is an instance of that self-denial which was ever a
marked feature in his character. To a man constituted as
he was—possessing a keen sense of justice and great facility
of appreciating the inner, as well as outer life around him-
the consciousness of self-sustained injury at the hands of
authority, however jealously suppressed or hidden, could not
fail to be severely felt. And if it be true Christian teach-
ing, that what we plead in our case should be admitted by
us in the case of others,¹ the converse will not assuredly be
disallowed, that as we judge of others so may we judge of
ourselves. It is not Outram's own ambition, nor is it the
assumption of his friends, but a well-known fact, that, had
common justice been done to his claims, he would have been
gazetted a Major for Ghazni, and, consequently, a Lieutenant-
Colonel for Kalát. The Court of Directors in London seemed
to think he had obtained the two steps, and Lord Auckland
1 F. W. Robertson.
208
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
congratulated him on the supposed well-earned promotion.¹
As it happened, he lost three years of rank in the higher
grade, and after honours.
He also received the thanks of both the Bombay and
supreme Governments for the 'very interesting and valuable
documents' relating to the Kalát-Sonmiáni route, which, in
the spirit of General Willshire's instructions, he had placed
before them. The perusal of these had afforded the
Governor-General 'much satisfaction.' Prior to this, more-
over, the envoy and minister with Shah Shuja had con-
-veyed his Majesty's bestowal of the second class order of the
Durráni Empire, in acknowledgment of the zeal, gallantry,
and judgment' which he had displayed in several instances
during the past year, whilst employed on the King's imme-
diate behalf. Three of the instances in which his merit
and exertions' were 'particularly conspicuous,' are specially
cited
6
First, on the occasion of his gallantly placing himself 'at
the head of His Majesty's troops engaged in dispersing a
large body of rebels, who had taken up a threatening position
immediately above his Majesty's encampment on the day
previous to the storm of Ghazni."
Secondly, on the occasion of his 'commanding the party
sent in pursuit of Dost Mahomed Khan,' when his 'zealous
exertions would in all probability have been crowned with
success, but for the treachery' of his Afghan associates.
6
Thirdly, for the series of able and successful operations'
¹ Paragraph 6 of a Despatch from the Secret Committee of the Honourable
Court of Directors, dated February 29, 1840, expresses concurrence in the
praises of the Indian Government 'bestowed on Captain Outram, and in the
propriety of paying the expense of his journey from Kelat, and of conferring
upon him the brevet rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. No explanation was ever
offered why this particular promotion-officially announced to 'Lieutenant-
Colonel Outram' by the Government of Bombay-did not have effect; and no
remonstrance on the subject was ever submitted by the officer concerned, who
considered that 'honours sought are not to be esteemed.'
-1842
209
SIND-WARD AGAIN.
<
conducted under his superintendence, which ended in the
subjection or dispersion of certain rebel Ghilzai and other
tribes, and which have had the effect of tranquillising the
whole line of country between Kabul and Kandahar, where
plunder and anarchy had before prevailed.
,
Outram's stay at the Presidency was not a long one.
Even before his arrival there, Lord Auckland had addressed
to him a flattering and kindly letter offering him the appoint-
ment of political agent in Lower Sind in succession to
Colonel Pottinger, about to give up his charge of Sind and
Cutch from the first day of the New Year. After consulta-
tion with friends, he quickly made up his mind on the sub-
ject; and on Christmas Day, 1839, he wrote a brief letter to
the Governor-General from Bombay, expressing his grateful
acceptance of the post, and determination to fulfil the duties
which it involved to the best of his ability. He at the same
time despatched a few lines to Mr. Colvin, his lordship's
private secretary, entering into certain details in connection
with his proposed office. The pecuniary gain would not be
great, in exchanging the Máhi Kánta for Sind: because the
expenses in the latter province would be heavier: but he cared
little or nothing for this. Only he doubted lest the abolition
of the title of 'Resident,' held by his predecessor, might, by
an apparent diminution of dignity, impair his usefulness in
the eyes of the natives. It was a question whether the
designation should not on public grounds be retained; but
Lord Auckland preferred for the nonce adhering to his first
proposition, and, on the separation of Lower Sind from
Cutch, reconstructing the former as a political agency.
In a home letter written on the last day of the year, we
have better evidence of his real feelings on the subject of the
new appointment. From it we learn that his experience of
VOL. I.
• See also Appendix E.
P
210
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
the countries he had lately traversed had taught him 'to
look upon Guzerat as a paradise in comparison;' and the
nature of the Sind climate caused him some apprehension on
his wife's account. But he consoled himself with the reflec-
tion that, while Haidarabad would be his permanent head-
quarters, Karáchi, which offered the advantages of sea-air,
was available for a change at any time; and he recom-
mended that Mrs. Outram's outward voyage be so timed that
she should rejoin him at the close of the very hot weather.
When writing thus he contemplated sailing from Bombay
within a week for Cutch, proceeding from the place of dis-
embarkation to Bhúj, where he would receive charge of his
office from Colonel Pottinger, and then continue his journey
across the large waste flat called the Rann,' to Haidarabad.
Let us pause for a moment longer over a page or two of pri-
vate correspondence.
6
6
Mr. Bax-whom we need not re-introduce to the reader
-no sooner heard of his friend's nomination to Lower
Sind, than he wrote from Harsol to congratulate him on the
Governor-General's approbation of his services. How many
people,' he remarks, 'have emerged into fame and notoriety
who have not accomplished a hundredth part of what you
have accomplished! . . . You will get to the top of the
ladder, as you deserve.' Then-in evident allusion to expres-
sions of gratitude towards himself on the part of his corre-
spondent, whom he charges with overvaluing the little he had
ever done in promoting his successful career-he warmly
adds, Your own right hand-your own sound heart and
right sense-your own energy and enterprise-have accom-
plished everything—and I knew a dozen years ago they
would raise you to fame whenever opportunity offered.'
<
The next letter-his own-we give in its entirety. It is
addressed to Mr. MacNaghten, eight days before departure
from Bombay:-—
-1842
211
LETTER TO THE ENVOY.
'I beg to thank you for your two kind letters dated
November 4 and 30, in both of which you express the
expectation of further warfare in the north-west.
My
object in now writing is to remind you that in that case
my humble services are always at your command, and I trust
you will not scruple to command them to the utmost for
any temporary military and political service you may think
me fit. Most gladly shall I obey the summons, for, in addi-
tion to zeal for the public service and anxiety to distinguish
myself, which formerly led me to Afghanistan, I have now
the further impulse of personal gratitude to the Governor-
General, to you, and to the Shah. Pray remember also that
I require no pecuniary advantage, and would accept of none;
for the moiety of my salary in Scinde, which I should still
receive while absent on duty, is most handsome and far
above my deserts. I look upon it not only to more than
compensate for any services I may have to perform in that
country, but also as the purchase in advance of all that I
could ever do hereafter in the public service. My wife will
arrive in Bombay about May, but I would not wait on that
account. As a soldier's wife, she knows, and will admit, my
first duty to be to the public, to which all private and perso-
nal considerations should be sacrificed. She has two sisters
in Bombay to receive her, with whom she will be more
satisfactorily situated-so much nearer the scene of opera-
tions than if in England. Please order me how, when, and
where to go, and what to do; you will find me punctual to
tryste, and ready to perform whatever is expected of me in
any quarter. At the same time pray write for the Governor-
General's sanction to my temporary absence from Scinde, the
duties of which could, I hope, be fulfilled for the present by
my assistants, as no great steps for the improvement of our
relations in that quarter can be entered upon until every-
thing has been effectually settled in the north-west. In the
P 2
212
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
meantime things can be maintained as they are, by them as
well as by me.'
Outram embarked at Bassein on January 13, 1840, arrived
at Mandavi on the 22nd, and was with Colonel Pottinger at
Bhúj on the 25th of the same month. This officer's infirm
state of health prevented his continuous attention to busi-
ness; so that it was not until February 24 that the political
agent reached head-quarters at Haidarabad. He had, how-
ever, been subjected to a five days' delay at Lakpat, whence
the first march includes the passage of a creek, and more
than forty miles of dreary flat on the Sind side. His recep-
tion was all that could be desired. Arrived at a certain
point, the representatives of the Amirs insisted on supplying
him with every requisite for self and suite, without payment,
and at each stage; and at the second march from the
capital he was met by a member of the reigning family,
and other noblemen of distinction. On approaching the
residency, after dark, he was overtaken by the sons of Mir
Nasir Khan, and Mir Sobdar Khan, respectively, deputed to
congratulate him on his coming; they further insisted
on accompanying him to his quarters. The next morning,
according to local custom, fifteen trays of sweetmeats, and
immense quantities of provisions were sent by each of the
four Amirs: the former were accepted, but the latter
respectfully declined.
In all these preliminaries of an intercourse which after-
wards ripened into a fixed deference and personal regard on
the part of the Talpur chiefs for their British adviser, and
into more than common sympathy on Outram's part for the
misfortunes of those to whom he became the representative
of an absorbing power-there was nothing exceptional or
contrary to everyday experience. The sugar of compliments
and smooth speeches has no truer or deeper meaning than
that of the trays loaded with material confectionery; but
-1842
213
FIRST PROPOSALS for sind.
<
the force of personal character works otherwise, and tells
even upon the selfish, sluggish Oriental, when it finds
opportunity. And as weeks rolled on, the political agent,
from a mere diplomatic presence, grew, as it were, into a
benevolent personality. It is quite true that, in writing to
Mr. Secretary Willoughby from Kandahar in May 1839, he
had adverted to the treachery and underhand opposition
experienced from the Amirs,' as justifying our subver-
sion of the native Government. But whatever ideas he may
then or at any other time have entertained, or expressed, on
the political exigency of making Sind a British province, he
had not long received charge of the Haidarabad residency,
before his kindly nature evinced itself in a more congenial
contemplation. The day after his arrival, he addressed to
the Governor-General the formal report of his instalment
in office. Four-and-twenty hours later, he solicited Lord
Auckland's instructions on a proposal suggested by a report of
his assistant, Lieutenant Whitelock, to teach English to the
sons of Mir Nur Muhammad. He was of opinion that 'the
greatest benefit would be derived from the intimate inter-
course that might be established between the sons of the Amir
and the gentlemen of the Agency, who would be reasonably
expected to superintend their education.'¹
And so will it be found, if we trace his subsequent acts,
always remembering the motives which we may safely attri-
bute to the doer. The wish was rather to conciliate and
win the heart by philanthropic measures, to preach the
theory and illustrate the practice of mutual benevolence,
than to enforce argument, and carry out the political objects
of his Government by intimidation and braggadocio.
Where necessity caused him to deviate from the line of
his natural inclinations, he acted but in loyal obedience to
¹ Correspondence relative to Sinde, 1838-43, presented to both Houses of
Parliament by command of Her Majesty, 1843. No, 232, pp. 234-5.
214
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
the orders of lawful superiors, a refusal to acknowledge which
would have been tantamount to mutiny; while to decline the
responsibilities thrust upon him would have been desertion
from his post. To have vacated his appointment at such a
time, moreover, would have been a mistaken kindness to
the Amirs; for no successor that could have been chosen
to support a policy shortly to culminate in territorial annex-
ation, would have been so gentle and sympathetic to the
fallen as James Outram.
We do not dwell in any detail upon his official work in
Lower Sind. It was, upon the whole, more locally impor-
tant than generally interesting. The two main features, in
1840, were the reduction of taxes on inland produce brought
to the British camp at Karachi, to which may be added the
relief of the Indus traffic from vexatious tolls; and the
negotiations with Mir Sher Muhammad of Mirpur, whereby
this restless chief was brought into quasi-amicable relations
with ourselves. In 1841 he had to deal with the very intri-
cate question of the transfer of Shikarpur to his Government,
and no wonder that he was unsuccessful. The Amirs were to
be made consenting parties to an arrangement which would
deprive them of an important possession on the right bank
of the river, and which was to be ceded to us in lieu of the
subsidy guaranteed to our Government by treaty. Such a
task was neither gracious nor easy of accomplishment. The
proposed proceeding was distasteful to the Talpur chiefs,
especially Nasir Khan, who looked upon the cession of lands
as dishonourable,' and was particularly tenacious of the fan-
cied honour of nominal sovereignty2 involved in this instance.
Eventually the negotiation fell through, in favour of alter-
native measures, soon after followed by wholesale confiscation.
Outram's treaty with Mir Sher Muhammad was, on the
¹ Dry Leaves from Young Egypt. By an ex-Political. (James Madden, 1851.)
2 Sind Correspondence before noted, NJ. 308, foot-note.
-1842
215
HENRY POTTINGER.
other hand, a signal success, and called forth the high ap-
proval of the Governor-General of India in Council.
In diplomatic ability to cope with Orientals, few officers
could be found superior to Colonel Pottinger, whose experi-
ence and sound judgment rendered him a more than com-
monly safe representative of his country in Cutch and Sind.
His successor publicly acknowledged the value of the late
Resident's advice, given to him during his short stay
at Bhúj, and stated that it would ever be his wish and
pride to follow, as closely as he could, this gentleman's
example and policy in his personal intercourse with the
Amirs, and the general conduct of his duties. But the
geniality and warmth of heart brought into play for the
occasion were his own; and though these might not fall into
the classification of strictly diplomatic qualifications, they
performed the offices of diplomacy with, at times, admirable
effect. If a sneer at the well-meant exertions of his fellows
be ever justifiable in a patriotic statesman, it is wholly and
especially misapplied when raised at honest men who, dis-
carding the mask and cloak, strive to achieve political objects
by honest means. Success in such endeavours may be, often
is, and oftener still might be, the result of untiring and
uncompromising straightforwardness. The charm of Ou-
tram's character was never more strikingly exemplified than
on the occasion of the sickness and death of Mir Nur
Muhammad of Haidarabad.
The story is told in that opposite of all romance, a Par-
liamentary blue-book. It is in the words of the political
agent himself, and is vivid in its simplicity. Before making
our extracts, we would recall to the reader the figures of the
Talpur Amirs of Sind, drawn or described by Crowe, Burnes,
Pottinger, Eastwick, and others. They were men for the
most part portly in person, but of dignified exterior; of semi-
Persian, semi-Jewish physiognomies; courteous in manner,
216
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
and of frank and open address; dressed, much as their attend-
ants, in angríkhás, or 'tunics of white muslin, neatly prepared
and plaited, so as to resemble dimity,' with kamarbands,
or sashes of silk and gold, wide Turkish trousers of coloured
silk, and the national head-gear, of cylindrical form, resem-
bling an inverted European hat, covered with the gay brocade
known as kimkhwáb. Nur Muhammad, we are told, pre-
sented a great contrast to his brother Nasir. He was, in
fact, rather an exceptional Talpur Baluch, and is described by
Edward Eastwick as possessing 'a thin, cunning countenance,
and quick, twinkling eyes, expressive of suspicion and dis-
trust;' whereas the other was a man of enormous bulk,' with
an eminently handsome face, and winning ways which might
have been those of a highly-polished English nobleman.' We
have now to speak of the former chief, the senior representa-
tive of the reigning family.
6
6
Outram had not seen Nur Muhammad for some days
from motives of delicacy. The Amir's state of health was
such that recovery seemed hopeless; and negotiations were
in progress to which it was neither kind nor prudent to draw
his attention. He would, probably, it was thought, seek for
promises which could not be accorded; and frequent visits
might give a semblance of wished-for interference in family
affairs which was to be avoided. One day, however, the invalid
expressed a desire to see his English monitor, who would, at
the same time, introduce a physician, a fellow-countryman, to
prescribe for his malady :-
We were met at the fort gate [wrote the political agent] by Meer
Shahdad, Meer Noor Mahomed's eldest son, who conducted us to
the dwelling where the Ameer's married wife resides, to which his
Highness had been lately removed to die, on all hope of recovery
being given over. Meer Nusseer Khan, and the other sons of
their Highnesses, received us when we dismounted, and the former
led me to the sick Ameer's bedside, who, on seeing me, attempted
-1842
217
THE SICK AMIR.
to rise, which I hastened to prevent; but his Highness, hailing me
as his brother, put his arms round me, and held me in his embrace
a few minutes, until I laid him quietly down. So feeble and
emaciated had the Ameer become, that this exertion quite ex-
hausted him, and it was minutes afterwards before he could speak,
when, beckoning his brother Meer Nusseer Khan, and youngest son
Meer Hoossein Ali, to the bedside, he then took a hand of each, and
placed them in mine, saying, 'You are their father and brother,
you will protect them,' to which I replied in general but warm
terms of personal friendship, adding that I trusted his Highness
himself would long live to guide and support them; but this the
Ameer had evidently given up all hope of, and appeared to regret
that he had given Doctor Owen the trouble of coming so far,
though very grateful for the prompt manner in which his wishes
had been attended to. Meer Shahdad, the eldest son of Meer Noor
Mahomed, was present when the circumstance above mentioned
took place, but appeared neither surprised nor chagrined at the pre-
ference displayed by his father, and continued to join in the con-
versation as if nothing had occurred.
Doctor Owen, having satisfied himself as to the nature of the
complaint, galloped home to prepare some preliminary medicine,
I remained for some time afterwards, at his earnest request, with the
Ameer, who became quite a changed person, rising from the depth of
despondency-in the conviction that he could not live beyond a
few hours, or days at the utmost-to cheerful hope, on my impart-
ing the Doctor's opinion that his case was not hopeless, if his
Highness would implicitly follow medical advice in all things. He
declared his determination to accept the condition, but begged of
me to return with Doctor Owen in the evening to see that the
gentleman was fully informed of his case from first to last.
In the evening I returned accordingly, accompanied by Mr.
Whitelock and Dr. Owen. We were met a few hundred yards
from the palace by Meers Shahdad and Hoossein Ali, and
conducted to the Ameer, whom we found very cheerful and
happy, from the impression that the medicine which Doctor
Owen had sent in the morning had already benefited him.
He conversed cheerfully with Mr. Whitelock and myself, especially
expressing interest in our success in China
and trust
that all enemies of the British would ever be discomfited
with much apparent sincerity.
•
218
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
In the course of the interview, Meer Hoossein Ali, the Ameer's
younger son, came from the inner apartments and whispered in
his father's ear, who smiled, and informed me that the Khanum
(the mother of his sons) sent to say she hailed me as her brother
with much gratification, to which I made a suitable acknowledg-
On inquiry afterwards, I learnt that this is considered an
extraordinary proof of friendship, such as never heretofore displayed
except to the nearest relations.
ment.
Ten days later, Major Outram reported the demise of the
sick Amir on the previous morning. Dr. Owen had been
unremitting in his attendance on his patient, and his pre-
scriptions had been the means of alleviating the sufferings
of the dying chief, although it had been out of his power to
check the progress of disease. The report continues:
The remains of his Highness were carried to the grave at 10 a.m.,
and buried within the mausoleum of his father, the late Moorad
Ali, attended by a large concourse of chieftains and followers, besides
the immediate relations of the deceased, and sons of Meer Sobdar
Khan, and by Lieutenant Whitelock and myself in mourning
costume—a mark of respect to the memory of Meer Noor Mahomed
Khan, which my public duty, as well as personal friendship for
the departed chief, induced me to pay. The attention appeared
to be deeply appreciated by all, and especially by the brother and
sons of the deceased, who embraced me affectionately before the
assembled, multitude, and placed us with themselves and Meer
Sobdar's sons during the mournful ceremony.
I have every reason to lament the loss of Meer Noor Mahomed
Khan, and do so most sincerely, both on public and private
grounds. Whatever that chief's secret feelings towards the British
may have been, certainly his acts latterly were all most friendly,
and I cannot but place faith in almost the last words the dying
chief uttered, solemnly protesting the sincerity of his friendship for
the British Government, not only because, being then perfectly
aware that he had but few hours to live and, seeking nothing, he
could have had no motive for deception, but also, because I had my-
self always found his Highness most ready to forward our interests,
and least ready to welcome reports prejudicial to us, which, during
-1842
219
DYING EXPRESSIONS.
late exciting times, were so industriously propagated, and greedily
devoured by those more inimical to us. In fact I am satisfied that
Meer Noor Mahomed Khan at last perceived that it was wiser to
cultivate our friendship than hopelessly to intrigue against our
power; and he had sense enough on more than one occasion, when
the signs of the times encouraged others to hope for our discomfiture,
to prognosticate that temporary reverses, or the machinations of the
factions, would but cause the firmer riveting of our power; and
I have lately ascertained that, on the occasion of Meer Nusseer
Khan's deputing agents to Mecca, Meer Noor Mahomed positively
forbade making use of the opportunity to communicate with the
Shah of Persia, and strongly expressed his sense of the folly of con-
tinuing their former underhand practices, and determination not to
countenance them in future.
Of the late Ameer's personal feelings towards myself, I had
latterly received many affecting proofs, especially during the last
three days of his existence-when I daily visited his Highness, on
finding that my doing so gave him real gratification. On the 4th
instant, the morning before his death, the Ameer, evidently feeling
that we could not meet again, embraced me most fervently, and
spoke distinctly to the following purport, in the presence of Dr.
Owen and the other Ameers: 'You are to me as my brother
Nusseer Khan, and the grief of this sickness is equally felt by you
and Nusseer Khan; from the days of Adam no one has known so
great truth and friendship as I have found in you.' I replied,
'Your Highness has proved your friendship to my Government
and myself by your daily acts. You have considered me a brother,
and as a brother I feel for your Highness, and night and day I
grieve for your sickness.' To which he added, 'My friendship for
the British is known to God. My conscience is clear before God.'
The Ameer still retained me in his feeble embrace for a few
moments, and, after taking some medicine from my hand, again
embraced me as if with the conviction that we could not meet
again.'¹
On the Amir's death, the question of succession and
inheritance arose, and immediate decision was urgent, in
1 Correspondence relative to Sinde, 1838-1843, presented to both Houses
of Parliament by command of her Majesty, 1843, pp. 268–69.
220
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
anticipation of coming difficulties. Well it was that its dis-
posal was not left to the will of native partisans. Outram
undertook it, as he undertook everything, in an earnest and
honest spirit, and entered upon the task with single-minded-
ness and thorough conscientiousness. His long and elaborate
reports on the subject are lasting certificates of the labour
so ungrudgingly bestowed, in fulfilling a trust which was
almost as much personal as official. In acknowledging the
uses of his individual influence exercised in the matter,
Government directly approved of the part he had taken in
bringing about a settlement. But his time was occupied in
affairs of a more distasteful nature than even family disagree-
ments among Sindi-Baluch chiefs in whose welfare he was in-
terested. The frauds and general peculations of one Jetha
Nand, a Múnshi in the employment of the British Govern-
ment, gave him untold trouble, and tried his patience sorely.
This person-besides unlawfully enriching himself at the cost
of his employers to the value of nearly 40,000l. by business
transactions, the accounts of which were falsely rendered—
had bribed the servants of the darbár with such judicious
roguery as to deter the Amirs themselves from giving
evidence against him. To English ideas of justice, the im-
prisonment and dismissal which followed the detection of his
misdeeds were but mild awards in satisfaction of a long
course of complicated villainy. Among Orientals the shame of
such offence is rather in discovery than commission. Neither
in perjury nor in forgery is there the same intensity of crime
recognised in the East as in the West; but we shall hereafter
have more to say on the Indian idiosyncrasy in this respect.
On August 18, 1841, Outram had taken his leave of the
Haidarabad ccurt; and we find him then addressing in-
structions, on board the river steamer Comet, bound for
Sakhar, to his assistant, Captain Leckie, regulating the con-
duct of our future relations with the Amirs in those parts.
-1842
221
LORD AUCKLAND.
6
His official despatch concluded with a request that certain
presents might be given to certain native secretaries attached
to the darbár, as a trifling mark of gratification with the
very friendly tone' pervading every international discussion
in which he had had a share during the eighteen months of
his residence in Sind. In the previous October, the Secretary
to the Government of India had written to the political
agent at Haidarabad, informing him that possible failure in
health might compel Mr. Ross Bell, the political agent in
Upper Sind, to relinquish his duties, and that in such case it
was Lord Auckland's wish that Major Outram should assume
them, in addition to his existing charge of Lower Sind, with
the full authority committed to that officer. Now, the con-
tingency spoken of had arrived.
Men in high places had formed their own opinion on
Outram. They had judged him for themselves apart from
the wretched intervention of interested advisers, too ready to
submit a false estimate of character of those whom they per-
sonally dread or dislike; and consequently their appreciation
was a true one. Lord Auckland's letters to him in Sind are
full of confidence and friendliness. On one occasion, he had
thought it necessary to explain to the Governor-General the
particulars of an untimely honour paid to him at Haidarabad.
His Lordship good-naturedly replied: You need not have
made any apology for the salute which was prematurely fired
by the Ameer of Sinde upon the rumour of your promotion. I
must feel that goodwill exhibited . . . whilst it is an evidence
of kind personal feeling towards you, is an exhibition also of
goodwill towards the Government which you represent, and I
readily therefore admit of such a compliment being paid you.'
At a later period, when he had taken up the higher post for
which the Governor-General had specially selected him, Lord
Auckland refers to a certain policy which his nominee had
adopted, slightly at variance with home instructions. It is
222
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
generous and bold,' are the expressions used; 'I am always
disposed to turn to the judgment of those in whom I place
such confidence as I place in you.' But the fulness and free-
dom from reserve with which these semi-official papers were
written, afford the truest and strongest evidences of the
Governor-General's sentiments towards his political agent. In
like manner, at Bombay, successive governors were proud to
acknowledge him as one of the officers of their own Pre-
sidency. The signs of distinction which Sir John Malcolm
had observed in the dawn of his career were not delusive.
Some twenty years afterwards, Sir James Carnac, the out-
going governor, addresses Outram, when still political agent in
Lower Sind, in the following strain:- I cannot bid adieu
to this country without bidding you, if you will allow me to
use the expression, an affectionate farewell. I shall always
hail the day when we became personally acquainted, as one of
the bright spots of my career in life. I entertain for you
most sincere sentiments of regard and respect, and you will
ever find me, I trust, when thinking or speaking of you and
your valuable services, influenced strongly by those im-
pressions. I foresee, please a kind Providence, a career before
you which will give full scope for the display of all those
eminent qualities with which you are endowed.'
The appointment to Upper Sind, honourable and flatter-
ing as it was, had its drawbacks and inconveniences, in that
it was subversive of domestic arrangements. Mrs. Outram
had again arrived in India before the first half of 1840 had
quite passed away; and it had been agreed that the hard-
worked political agent in Lower Sind should obtain leave to
visit the Presidency, meeting and returning thence with his
wife to Haidarabad, where his principal amusement in leisure
moments had latterly been the superintendence of the build-
ing of a 'Residency.' But a delay of months had scarcely
been anticipated; and although the lady had reached Bombay
-1842
223
LOGIC OF DIPLOMACY.
at the beginning of June, it was not until January 24 in a new
year that Outram was enabled to fulfil his intention. And
then-such were the continuous exigencies of his employment
-their short sojourn together in Sind was but the prelude to
another lengthened separation. In May 1841, Mrs. Outram's
delicate health rendered a change necessary to Karachi, where
her brother-in-law, Brigadier Farquharson, was in command;
and when her husband was summoned to the still more un-
healthy region of Upper Sind, where no proper accommoda-
tion for ladies then existed, it was judged advisable for her
to return to Europe once again, he, meanwhile, proposing to
follow her thither, on well-earned and long-anticipated fur-
lough, at the earliest possible opportunity.
Colonel Pottinger had not been left alone in the conduct
of Sind diplomacy. It had been found necessary to depute
a second agent to Khairpur; so Sir Alexander Burnes, always
en route somewhere, was stopped on a mission to Kalát, and
directed to revisit the old Ráis of Upper Sind. He was to
explain to him the part he would have to play in the approach-
ing spectacle of the army of the Indus, and the few require-
ments he would have to meet-among them the cession to
his English allies of the fortress of Bakhar. It was true that
he had taken this island-stronghold, in his younger days, by
the aid of his own good sword; but what of that? it was only
required as a loan by very intimate friends. These friends
could not, by the terms of the treaty before concluded, covet
anything similar on either bank of the river; and this
posses-
sion was happily isolated in mid-stream. And so one army
came from the north-east; and another army from the south-
west; and Sind was thrown into terror and confusion. The
Amirs of Haidarabad struggled, and were silenced; the Amir
of Khairpur groaned, and gave in. A further treaty with Mir
Rustam was the result of these proceedings. On January
10, 1839, the ratification of the Governor-General thereto
224
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
fairly annulled the independence of the Khairpur State.
'Friendship, alliance, and unity of interests' ushered in a set
of articles whose general tendency was to prove, as it appeared,
the existence of the two former an anomaly, and the latter
impossible. Shortly afterwards, Burnes found another, though
not a fresh field for employment, and plunged, for the second
time, into the vortex of Afghan politics. A new star was now
observed in the Sind horizon.
Towards the middle of 1839, Mr. Ross Bell, of the Bengal
Civil Service, was appointed political agent at Shikarpur.'
The policy which he had been sent to carry out with the
Amir of Khairpur and his brother, would occupy, if set forth
in detail, several pages in the exposition; but the substance
of it may be expressed in very few words. It was to befriend
those who did what we required them to do, and to punish
those who thwarted and opposed our objects. His official
labours were not confined to Sind. He had important duties,
besides, beyond the Sind-Kalát frontier, which required his pre-
sence and the exercise of all his energies. The burden of re-
sponsibility was heavy, and the strain upon the mind excessive
The action required was for the most part impulsive, and too
immediate to brook the delay of a reference to Calcutta ; and
consultation with others on the spot, whatever the issue, would
be ignored at head-quarters, where all confidence and control
were given to, and intended for acceptance by a single in-
dividual. The situation in Kalát in 1840-41 was especially
critical. Mihrab Khan had paid the penalty of resistance to
our armies and failure to advance our interests, with his
life, and we had put up in his place young Shah Nawaz-a
descendant of Mahabbat Khan, the chief deposed by Ahmad
Shah-arbitrarily annexing part of the country to Afghanistan.
But our proceedings had not satisfied the people; and a re-
volution shortly broke out in favour of Nasir Khan, son and
¹ Appendix E.
-1842
225
LOST GROUND.
heir of the deceased Mihrab. Our nominee was compelled
to abdicate; and the British representative at Kalát was im-
prisoned and afterwards murdered. We found ourselves
engaged in a serious and untimely conflict; to retire from
which, with the least possible loss of honour and prestige, would
necessitate a reversal of Government policy. The dilemma
had been caused by our awkward interference in the affairs of a
neighbouring State in a spirit of selfish interest; and though
late in the day for moral reflections, there was no more politic
remedy than to practise justice. Wisely, but tardily, we paid
attention to the popular cry; and Mr. Ross Bell, at the time
of his last illness, was busily engaged in conciliating the
ruler whom we ought never to have refused to recognise. In-
dependently, moreover, of the Kalát succession, the prestige of
our native soldiery had been shaken by more than one
military disaster in the hill country of the Baluchis.
In Upper Sind we were involved in the most ungracious
task of extracting payment, from doubtful and not over-solvent
debtors, of an obsolete money claim on behalf of our parti-
cular king of Afghanistan; and the arguments of Mir Ali
Murad, in the matter of his inheritance under Sohrab's will,
had gained an attentive hearing from the British agent.
This same Ali Murad, his half-brother Mir Rustam Khan
(old enough to be his grandfather), and Nasir, eldest son of
another brother Mubárak, were the leading native chiefs
awaiting Major Outram's arrival at Sakhar, in August 1841.
The political agents in Upper and Lower Sind were not
personal acquaintances; but their correspondence is that of
men trusting, to say the least, in each other's ability, zeal,
and good faith. Among the many private and semi-official
letters which passed between them, one from Mr. Ross Bell at
Kwatta, dated June 1841, informed Outram that, in the event
of ill-health, the writer had been instructed to make over
his office to him; that he had become a constant invalid,
VOL. I.
226
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
whose only chance of permanent restoration was, according
to the medical officer, to proceed home or to sea by the
earliest date possible; and that he proposed to leave Kwatta
at the end of September, en route to the coast by the Bolan
and Sakhar. On July 21, Lord Auckland wrote to Outram
in anticipation of his assuming charge of Mr. Bell's agency,
calling his attention to the urgency of impressing on the
native mind that such appointment would in no way imply
a change in the Government views with regard to Baluch-
istan; the main object being the pacification and the pros-
perity of the countries' within his range. On August 11,
Outram had heard a rumour of Mr. Ross Bell's death,
and thus wrote to the assistant political agent, Lieutenant
Wallace:-
6
'Should Mr. Bell have fallen a sacrifice to that abomin-
able climate, I shall post up immediately, and I hope you
will be able to stay till then. In the event of the head
of the office being now vacant, I shall at once write officially
to Captain Brown and yourself to inform you that I have
assumed it on the strength of my confidential instructions
of September, and in the meantime request you to act
conjointly.'
But a week before the date of this last letter, Mr. Ross
Bell had died, and Lieutenant Wallace had assumed charge
of the agency on his own responsibility, reporting the act
and his reasons to Lord Auckland's private secretary, Mr.
Colvin. Outram had received confirmatory tidings of the early
report of the casualty on August 12, within a week from
which date we have seen him writing farewell instructions
on board the river steamer. A detention of three or four
days at Haidarabad was unavoidable, to enable him to com
plete his pending business with the Amirs; but as this was a
State necessity he could submit to it with comparative com-
- 1842
227
CLIMATE OF DÁDAR.
posure.
He must have chafed, however, over the slow
passage of the vessel up the stream to Sakhar, which place
he reached (in company with Lieutenant French, who had
left Sakhar to join him) on the evening of August 24. Two
whole days spent upon a sandbank had prolonged the weari-
ness of that Indus journey. From Sakhar to Kwatta is a
distance of some 250 miles, of which three-fifths are over a
dreary desert. He appears to have left the former station
on the morning of the 25th, but he was in all probability
detained nearly two days at Shikarpur to allow for posting
bearers, or such other dâk arrangements as were necessary.
We know that he reached Kwatta on September 2, for his
report to that effect caused the Governor-General to express
satisfaction at the promptitude with which he had joined
the headquarters of his office. It is also on record that he
halted two days at Dádar to let the dâk be laid up the
Bolan Pass, the same bearers that brought him thus far on
his way having to go on. He must therefore have accom-
plished his arduous journey, at a fearfully hot season, in the
short space of five days of actual travelling. Whether the
time be reckoned from Sakhar or Shikárpur (a shorter
distance by 24 miles), the feat is a remarkable one when the
climate, country, and means of conveyance are taken into
account.2
1 Memoir of Services, page 92.
1
2 The following extracts from Colonel Dennie's letters, published in that
officer's Personal Narrative of the Campaign in Afghanistan, will give some
idea of the sufferings of a solitary European traveller, wending his way from
Sakhar to Kwatta-sufferings experienced by Outram, not only in August
1841, but again in June 1842; to say nothing of return journeys. If by
rapidity of movement he was less exposed to the evils noticed by Colonel
Dennie, it should be remembered that he took this route in the height of the
hot season:—‘We ascended from Dadur to that place (Quetta) through the
Bolan Pass, an elevation of between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, having previously
traversed at its foot a long dreadful desert plain, from Shikarpoor to Dadur, of
about 150 miles . . . As for the heat, God be praised you can form no con-
ception of it! I have escaped, and can only tell you that I shudder to look back
Q 2
228
1839
JAMES OUTRAM.
The work before Outram was of a difficult and compli-
cated kind. His letter to Lord Auckland of August 13, from
Haidarabad, had broken ground in his new sphere, and well
deserved the term 'excellent' applied to it by the Governor-
General. It indicated a wonderful aptitude on the part of
the writer to comprehend the large question with which
he had to deal, and it boldly grappled with detail. In it,
among many other subjects discussed, he advocated the
union of Upper and Lower Sind and Baluchistan, including
the districts of Shál and Kachi, under one control, rather
than the formation of two distinct agencies, likely to be
conflicting; he proposed stations for European soldiers in
case necessity should arise for the permanent occupation of
Baluchistan; and he showed cause for sending down de-
tachments of corps from Kalát to Sonmiáni, in place of
marching up from the latter port with reinforcements, as
had been authoritatively contemplated. A few days later
he supplemented this despatch by one addressed to Mr.
Colvin, from the Indus steamer, in which he drew out a
scheme of establishments. His proposal was to give fourteen
assistants to the political agent, and to divide them into
three classes: three first class for Upper Sind, Lower Sind,
and Baluchistan; five second class for the same localities,
with Sonmiáni and Shál; and four third class for all these
except Sonmiáni. The cost would be about 500l. per annum
less than that already sanctioned, irrespectively of the
Colonel Thompson, who com-
at what I and those with me underwent.
manded one of the regiments of my brigade, and who followed me a few days
in the rear, died instantly in his tent, and Lieutenant Brady, H. M. 17th Foot,
fell dead in the same manner, their bodies turning as black as charcoal.
Between fifty and sixty persons of another convoy were suffocated by the
breath of this same deadly simoom, which sweeps across the desert at intervals
during the hot season, dealing destruction to all within its influence . . . To
give you a correct notion of the temperature, the thermometer stood, in the
tent of a young officer, my aide-de-camp-a smaller one than mine, and termed
a hill tent at 125 degrees!'
- 1842-
229
COLONEL STACY.
political agent's own salary, on which there would be a
further reduction; but the appointment of a first and third
class assistant for the management and revenue collections
of Shikarpur, would show a counterbalancing expenditure
apart from political charges.¹
After the re-occupation of Kalát in November 1840, by the
troops under Major-General Nott-a measure resulting from
the revolutionary action taken by its inhabitants-Colonel
Stacy of the Bengal army had been directed to assume
charge of our relations with the Brahúi State. This delicate
and difficult duty involved the reconciliation of the young
Khan and his adherents with the destroyers of his house.
Undertaken in pursuance of a voluntary offer, it appears to
have been performed with single-mindedness and ability.
The Colonel's own narrative has the ring of conscientiousness
and honesty, and is at the same time interesting and in-
structive. We see in it a fit sequel to the romance of the
previous twelvemonth, during which the fatherless boy had
been, more or less, a fugitive, debarred from his lawful
inheritance. For ten months Nasir Khan coquetted with
those who, in spite of protestations and profession, could
hardly be regarded as disinterested well-wishers, but whose
responsible representative eventually won him over by perse-
verance in a new and honourable policy. On the eve, how-
ever, of full attainment of the object desired, when the
young Khan had consented, and was actually on his way to
visit the camp of the British political agent, the news of
Mr. Ross Bell's death caused inevitable delay in bringing
matters to a satisfactory conclusion. It became essential
to await the coming of a successor invested with similar
powers. Meanwhile, Colonel Stacy was requested by Lieu-
tenant Wallace, the acting agent, to repeat the assurance
of continued kind feelings on the part of his Government
¹ Appendix E.
1
230
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
towards Kalát; and to say that in Major Outram the ruler
would find a warm advocate and friend. A month passed,
at the close of which the newly appointed agent arrived at
Kwatta. Nasir Khan had been kept amused and much in
the same temper as before, through the unremitting exer-
tions of Colonel Stacy and his countrymen. On September
4, he set out from Mastung, attended by his English adviser,
to meet Major Outram. Captains Browne and Knyvett
went out to welcome him a march from Kwatta. We quote
Colonel Stacy's own account of the meeting :
We rested the day of our arrival; and according to the custom
of the country mutual inquiries passed between Major Outram and
the Khan. After seeing him comfortably established in a tent
pitched for him, I went to Major Outram, and was most kindly
congratulated on the success of my exertions, and the zeal with
which I had pursued the object of my duties. The next morning
was fixed for darbár.
At 8 a.m., I accompanied the young Khan to the darbár, and
introduced him to Major Outram. The brigadier commanding
the troops, Major-General England, Captain Bean, and eight or
nine officers were present. As might be expected, the youth was
rather embarrassed at first, but on Major Outram's assuring him
of the kindly feelings of Government towards him, he expressed
his desire to become an ally of the Company, the value of whose
friendship he said he was fully aware of. He added that he had
often heard of their justice and liberality, and he had come to enrol
himself amongst the number of their servants (khizmatgar-i-kam-
pani), to live under the shade of their flag, and that he was willing
to agree to whatever terms the Company might prescribe. Though
abashed at first, he gained more confidence as the novelty of the
scene wore off. In about half an hour the presents were introduced,
and the Khan shortly after took his leave. A salute of twenty-
one guns from the civil lines, which was repeated in camp,
announced the happy event of the Khan's acknowledging the para-
mount power of the British Government and his alliance with it.
The next important day to be marked, in the political
annals of the place and period, was that on which occurred
-1842
231
TREATY AND INSTALLATION.
the Khan's installation under British auspices. But the
importance of this procedure was greatly enhanced by the
circumstance that, two or three hours prior to its occurrence,
there had been formally concluded a treaty of friendship
between the Indian Government and State of Kalát. The
earlier business was transacted at a darbár held in the
forenoon by the British political agent; to which Nasir
Khan came, accompanied by the whole of his sardárs and
principal people, with one or two exceptions owing to sick-
ness. On this occasion the treaty was publicly produced,
as agreed upon, and read out by the minister, the words
being repeated by the young chief himself, who, at the close,
said, 'I agree' (kabul), and, taking his signet from his
bosom, put on the ink and applied the seal. The later
ceremony was carried out in the afternoon at a darbár held
by the Khan, whither Outram proceeded, in company with
the brigadier-general, and attended by all the gentlemen of
the agency and escort. Indian custom at Muhammadan
courts seems to have regulated the details of investiture.
When the formalities were over, we learn that every
British officer heartily shook hands with the Prince, fol-
lowed by every individual in the room, while a royal salute
was fired from the Khan's own guns in very good style.
The young chief was visibly affected-almost to tears-by
the good feeling displayed towards him by the English
gentlemen; and general and sincere were the thanks, loudly
expressed by the principal natives, to Colonel Stacy for his
friendly exertions to bring about so happy a consummation."
Outram and the other officers then accompanied the Khan
on horseback to an open space without the walls, where the
Brahúis exhibited their horsemanship. At night they re-
turned to the Mírí, or palace, to see the national dance, in
which all ranks and classes heartily joined.'
¹ Major Outram to Mr. J. R. Colvin, October 7, 1841.
232
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
The treaty with Nasir Khan was one of nine articles, of
which the first four were almost identical with a draft which
had been prepared by Sir William MacNaghten, and sent to
Colonel Stacy before Outram's appearance on the scene. It
so happened that Lord Auckland's specific instructions for
guidance in the matter did not reach the political agent
until the second day after the Khan's formal acceptance had
been signified. The fortunate hour for the investiture had
been fixed by the Mullas and, when so fixed and approved,
it was thought that ample time had been allowed for the
receipt of the expected despatches from India. Execution
of the treaty would precede installation, because the last
and more popular ceremony would thus be admitted as
a consequence of the first, in due regard to British pres-
tige. But the modifications of the Governor-General were
not such as to cause any serious difficulty; and eventually,
ratification was accorded to eight articles to the following
effect :-
1st. Acknowledgment of vassalage to Kabul.
2nd. Restoration to Kalát of the two first of the three
districts of Kachi, Mastung, and Shál, which had been re-
sumed on the death of Mihrab Khan.
3rd. Power to station British, or Shah's troops in Kalát
when necessary.
4th. British counsels to be paramount.
5th. Protection to be afforded to merchants, and no undue
exactions made.
6th. No negotiations to be carried on with foreign
powers, without consent of British and Shah's Govern-
ments.
7th. Assistance to be rendered by British Government, if
judged necessary, in the event of external aggression or
dispute,
-1842
233
DUTIES IN BALUCHISTAN.
8th. Provision secured for the maintenance of Shah Nawaz
Khan, the former chief named by British Government.¹
It is not too much to say that if, in our recent war with
Afghanistan, the previous occupation of Kwatta has facili-
tated the advance of our troops from the southward, we owe
something of the advantage so gained to the annulled Anglo-
Brahúi treaty of October 6, 1841.
Outram remained at Kalát until October 14, when he set
out on his return to Dádar, which station he reached in a
fortnight, travelling to and through the Bolan Pass. His
letters at this period, official, semi-official, and private, show
how actively he was employed in keeping order and open
communications, both jeopardised by the action of hostile
tribes and the numerous robbers infesting the neighbourhood
of the Passes. The brief experience of the country gained
two years before had not been without its value; and he
knew his surroundings well enough to apprehend the true
distinctions which marked the strange, wild characters
brought up daily to his tent, whether calling themselves
Afghan, Brahúi, or simply Baluch. At Dádar he fixed
for a
time his head-quarters, and would, doubtless,
have carried into effect many proposals for the pacification
and well-being of the Khan and his subjects, which he sub-
mitted to the Governor-General, had not disastrous tid-
ings from Afghanistan drawn his attention to more pressing
matters.
He was a little sensitive on the subject of certain guns
which the Marri Baluchis had captured from our soldiers;
and he had written semi-officially to Mr. Colvin, point-
ing out, with characteristic detail, his reasons for seeking the
1 This treaty became a dead letter within a year of its ratification, as the
Vassalage contemplated was to Shah Shuja and his heirs, and not to the
Barakzais. It was formally annulled by a new treaty in May 1854, the third
article, however, being retained in a modified form.
234
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
peaceful recovery of these uncomfortable trophies, reserving to
his own unfettered diplomacy the actual process he would
adopt to bring about their ready restoration by the Marri
chief. On November 14-the day after writing this letter-
he communicated to the secretary that he had received from
Major Rawlinson, at Kandahar, information of a nature
likely to arrest the homeward progress of the Bengal troops,
whose arrival at Dádar, from Afghanistan, he had been con-
templating. Four days later, he reported, 'with much regret,'
for Lord Auckland's information, a still more serious state
of things as represented in a letter from the envoy with
Shah Shuja to Major Rawlinson; and on November 20 he
wrote as follows to Mr. Willoughby, then looking forward to
the coming of Sir W. MacNaghten, the Governor elect of
Bombay:
'There are deplorable accounts from Cabool! I sent you
the day before yesterday copy of a note from Sir. W. Mac-
Naghten, dated November 1, showing that he was still there;
so there is no possibility of his getting away before spring, I
should say.
Neither can the brigade from Candahar go
beyond Ghuznee, on account of the snow. But it is impossible
the rebels can keep the field during winter. neither
can they hold the city under the guns of the Balla Hissar
Under the present aspect of affairs, however, we must
keep all the troops we have in the country, and it may be
necessary hereafter to push more troops to Candahar,
which may be sent by the Sonmeanee route in February.
Moreover, Captain Hammersley reports from Quetta that
he considers the desertion of his Kaukers from the Rangers
the prelude to a general Kauker insurrection connected with
the Cabool disturbances, and it is possible I may have to act
against them from hence. But this I do not apprehend to
be likely; nor do I think a general rising of that tribe will
-1842
235
SUBMISSION OF KÁKARS.
take place. . . . It is proper to be prepared however.' To
Mr. Colvin, on the same date, he writes:-
'I have every confidence that the Murree chief is coming
to me, and, if he does, the peaceable submission of all the
Hill tribes of Northern Cutchee is certain. It is possible
that the machinations of the traitor (suspected) Naib of
Shawl may have extended to them; but it is not likely, for
there can scarcely have been time to communicate with them,
and I really am not in the least degree apprehensive on the
subject.'
Later again-but still in the same month of November
-his letters express a fear lest communication with Kan-
dahar should be rendered insecure by the enforced evacuation
of Kalå Abdullah, near the entrance, or at about eight miles
east, of the Khojak Pass. Annoyance on this score is, how-
ever, somewhat mitigated by the arrival in his camp of the
'high priest' of the Kákars and others of the tribe, to tender
the submission of their chief Ghafúr Khan, who had been, up
to that time, opposed to all conciliatory advances on our
part. December was naturally a month of great anxiety.
The following extract is from a letter to Mr. Willoughby,
written on the 4th :-
'So critical a state of things, as represented throughout
the whole line of communications with Cabool and in the
capital itself, at the last accounts dated November 9, renders
it incumbent on me to devise every means of preparing sup-
port for Candahar, from whence principally we must look for
the retrieval of our affairs should we be driven to extremity
at Cabool; for our line of posts is more complete, and the
obstacles are neither so numerous nor so serious by the Bolan
and Sonmeanee routes as they appear to be by the Khybur. I
consider we are secure in the Bolan Pass, with the command
236
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
above and below, and the Brahoe tribes on the left of the Pass in
our interests-even should the Kakurs turn against us, which I
do not apprehend. I do not think the inhabitants of the
Pisheen valley are likely to become malcontent, and if they do,
there are no commanding situations from Quetta to the Ko-
juk where they could attempt to arrest our troops, except the
Koochlack Pass, which is commanded from Quetta; and our
position at Killa Abdoolla could be strengthened in case of
necessity, to afford a flanking party to take up a command-
ing position at the crest of the Kojuk on all occasions of
troops and convoys passing over. From thence to Candahar,
no very commanding positions occur easily tenable by an
enemy in the face of our troops. At Kelat-i-Ghilzie and
Ghuznee we are impregnable, provided provisions have been
laid in in plenty, which I presume must be the case, as those
places were to be held under any circumstances. Our com-
munications with Cabool can therefore, I'consider, be best re-
opened by that route.'
On the 7th, a hopeful disposition had apparently restricted
his main attention to the work immediately before him. "We
are still,' he writes to Mr. Colvin, 'without direct accounts
from Cabool; but the tranquillity at Candahar is a strong
proof that the insurrection is quelled. . . . The Khan com-
menced his progress through Cutchee this morning, accom-
panied by Colonel Stacy, who is instructed to encourage the
young chief to personal inquiry into the affairs of the country,'
also to induce his pupil to invite all aggrieved parties freely
to state their grievances.' The Kákar negotiations had pro-
gressed favourably, and Ghafur Khan was to be taken to one
of the assistant politicals, in order that the settlement with
him might be formally concluded. But so far from the insur-
rection being quelled at Kabul, the disasters to our army in
that city were, when Outram was writing, fast approaching to
the bitter end.
.
- 1842
237
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.
On the 11th, owing to the receipt of bad news again, he
thought it prudent to warn the head-quarter wing of H.M.
41st foot at Karachi, to be ready to embark for Sakhar, in
the event of having to push on the other wing from Dádar
up-
ward. He also directed the 2nd native grenadiers, under
orders to return to Bombay when relieved, to stand fast for
the time in Upper Sind. On the 15th he heard of the flight of
the Durráni Naib of Shál, a disaffected Afghan, closely related
to one of the more prominent opponents of the Shah; and
requested Brigadier-General England to send up the wing of
a sipahi corps, so as to complete a force at Kwatta consisting
of two strong regiments of native infantry (minus three
companies at Kalå Abdullah), two nine-pounders of European
(Bombay) artillery, and two nine-pounders of the Bolan
rangers, with a company of Bengal artillerymen. He would
then be under no anxiety whatever, were the rebels to come
in their utmost strength against that post:'a contingency
which might reasonably be contemplated with the object of
stopping communications with Kandahar. In the young Khan
he placed full confidence: he was satisfied of his disinclination
to join any combination against the British. He closed a long
letter to Mr. Colvin, discussing these subjects, with the state-
ment that he was about to send up his report on the assistants
and establishments of his agency, which he had reduced
nearly a lakh (10,000l.) annually, without detriment to effici-
ency, and independently of reductions in the cost of the
Indus flotilla. On December 18 he officially reported to the
Governor-General the reforms already effected in these re-
spects, and those about to be effected, addressing to Mr. Colvin
a semi-official communication on the same question the day
following. He also wrote to Mr. Colvin on the latter date to
point out that, should rebellion break out at Kandahar (but
only in that case), it would be advisable to withdraw the
detachment of troops at the intermediate post of Kalá
Abdullah; and he added:-
238
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
'Should the counter-Suddozye league prove true, I shall
have no fear of any serious agitation extending to this quarter
and to the Ameers; but I have little doubt the early ap-
pearance of reinforcements from Guzerat and at Sonmeeanee
will keep down the disaffected under any circumstances.
Colonel Stacy has effected a satisfactory treaty with the
Murrees . .
and nothing but the most untoward events
in Afghanistan, and the spread of insurrection to our very
borders, will cause any risk of serious agitation within my
charge, and I am not apprehensive that it will extend so far,
or that I shall be unable to quell it if it do take place.
Although I have no fears for our Quetta post, I agree with
Major Rawlinson in the policy of moving up as many troops
as the accommodation at Quetta can possibly shelter.' Five
companies were to march thither on the day following, and
this addition to the force was, he believed, the utmost that
could be accommodated. It was afterwards arranged with
Brigadier-General England that a company of the 41st
regiment of foot, completed to one hundred men, should at
once move through the pass with the head-quarter wing of
the 25th native infantry. Outram explains his chief aim to
have been, the moral effect produced by the passage of troops
up
the Bolan, at a time when, according to Major Rawlinson,
there was a growing impression that we were about to eva-
cuate the country.
He wrote to Mr. Maddock, Secretary to the Government
of India, on December 22:
'No excitement has been caused in this country by the
exaggerated rumours of disasters to us in Affghanistan which
pour in from Candahar. There is little sympathy between
the Affghans and Brahoes; and nothing but a general rise
against us on the score of religion would tend to infect
the tribes of Beloochistan. I consider that it must be
impossible for the rebels to overcome our troops, if in the
-1842
239
SAD NEWS FROM KABUL.
Balla Hissar, and with three months' provisions-as reported
in the last accounts we have received from Jellalabad.' And
to Mr. Colvin on the 23rd :—
'Lest his Lordship should be under anxiety regarding
Quetta, I enclose the copy of a letter just received from
Lieutenant Hammersley which, although evidently written
for no other eye than my own, shows so exactly the feeling
of the garrison, that I need not apologise for sending it, as
affording the best security that our troops at that post cannot
be beaten. I never had any anxiety on that subject; but the
dangerous move of evacuating Killa Abdoola was, I confess,
a source of some anxiety.' Then, in allusion to the return of
the detachment from that fort: I was much delighted to
learn of its safe arrival at Quetta, only five stragglers having
fallen, slain by the Affghan horse in our own pay, who turned
upon us when they found us in retreat."
The traitors referred to belonged to a body of cavalry
known as Bosanquet's; but what were these events to the
more widespread calamity which had overtaken our country-
men and their native associates at Kabul? On the date last
named, while Outram, in his usual untiring spirit and readi-
ness to cope with detail, was discussing on paper, with Mr.
Colvin, as also Colonel Stacy and Lieutenant French, the
questions arising in his more immediate entourage, Sir
William MacNaghten was shot by Muhammed Akbar Khan-
the last of a series of individual murders soon to be followed
by wholesale slaughter and all but annihilation. This intelli-
gence did not reach Dádar for some four weeks; but in those
days there was little in the general condition of Afghanistan,
or the political situation in that country, to render the
Anglo-Afghan alliance a fit subject of congratulation to
British officers in North-Western India, especially at Christ-
mas and the New Year. How cheerily, however, our 'warden
240
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
of the marches' wrote to despondent friends, even at this
gloomy Christmas-tide, and notwithstanding his thorough
grasp of the real perils of the situation—a grasp of which
his many letters of this period give detailed proof—the fol
lowing note to Mr. Willoughby, dated December 27, is a
specimen :-
6
Depend upon it you need have no fear of my napping
in fancied security, from the fair professions of these people.
Of course I know that, however individuals might feel well-
disposed, they could not resist a sudden and general impulse
of religious enthusiasm. But I have little fear of any out-
break being attempted, having so many screws secured in
every direction that each chief would wait for his neighbour
to begin first, and they cannot combine without my know-
ledge. Keep a good heart, my dear friend-"nil desper-
andum"-all will yet go well-we shall rise like the phoenix,
resplendent from our ashes.'
On January 20, 1842, when retribution was all that
remained to complete the tragedy, Outram wrote to Colonel
Stacy: This is a lamentable finale to poor MacNaghten's
career: but just what he ought to have expected from treat-
ing with the rebels at all. I am glad that after-negotiations
appear to have been broken off under another attack on the
cantonment, which I trust must have been followed by the
garrison cutting its way into the Bala Hissar. . . . I think it
may be as well to tell the Khan the whole truth at once,
ascribing all our losses to treachery. . . . and giving hope
that we still hold the Bala Hissar, which it is possible the
cantonment garrison may have made their way to. How-
ever, exercise your own discretion as to at once informing the
Khan and chiefs, or delaying till arrival here, which would
perhaps be better. Tell what great preparations are making
for re-invading the country, and that in three months all
Afghanistan will again be subdued.'
-1842
241
HARD-WORKED POLITICALS.
Little by little, the whole truth became known,' and
Outram's abundant energies were taxed to the utmost to sup
port the failing prestige of his country.
Throughout the trying occasion how keen was his morti-
fication, how ardent his desire of honourable retrieval, how
competent his appreciation, can only be thoroughly known
to his fellow-workers, apparent as they may be from the
numerous letters of which the record has been preserved.
Nor should the labours of his coadjutors be lost sight of in
this retrospect. It has been already well said, in reference
to the occasion, that 'to provide for the sustenance and safety
of the weak and scattered military posts within their juris-
diction; to inspire confidence in quarters wherein panic
threatened to consummate the very evils it apprehended; to
aid in the retrieval of our tarnished honour by providing our
generals with the means of prosecuting a war of retribution;
and to do so through the agency of those whom we had
wronged, and who were incited to rise against us-such were
the duties which Major Outram and his able staff were called
on to perform.'2
We now approach the period when a great change was made
in the personnel of the Indian Government. Independently
of special and exceptional circumstances, the season had just
arrived for new appointments in high places at Simla and
Calcutta, and prescribed habit would take its course. On
February 28, 1842, Lord Auckland was relieved from his
arduous and responsible duties; and British India passed
under the rule of his successor, Lord Ellenborough. Two days
before, the departing Governor-General addressed a long
and highly interesting letter to Major Outram, from which
we feel at liberty to make the more pertinent extracts :—
'You will feel, as we all of us feel, that our first solici-
¹ Appendix E.
VOL. I.
2 Memoir of Services.
R
242
1839-
JAMES OUTRAM.
tude must be for the troops in advance; but you will never
lose sight of the great consideration that the basis of safety
and of power throughout the districts under your influence
is at Sakkar and Shikarpore. And I should generally prefer
a moderate force very securely placed at Shikarpore, to a
large cantonment at that place, and I would have your
magazines and the main body of your strength in the more
healthy and accessible position of Sakkar.
'It has given me pleasure to learn that you think it
possible that the Khan of Kelat may at no distant period be
safely entrusted with the defence of Shál, of Dadur, and
Seebee-and it might perhaps be good policy that he be
made to feel at once our disposition to give to him and
his tribes this accession of power and of territory as soon
as our difficulties in Afghanistan shall be brought to a
close.
'It is possible that a very large force may in the end be
collected by you for the summer in Shál and Mastung, and
you might safely hold the language which may please you
best, to all around you: and as the cold weather may
approach, you might settle on your own terms all the
countries which lie between Shál and Kurachee, always
following out, however, that excellent plan of conciliation
on which you have acted towards Belochistan. I would
endeavour to save at least thus much of our late accessions
of power from the disasters which have been brought upon
them. This is probably the last letter that I shall have to
write to you, and I would take my leave of you with an
assurance to you, that you have from day to day, since your
late appointment, added to that high estimate with which I
have long regarded your character, and which led me to place
confidence in you. It is mortifying and galling to me to feel
that plans which you had nearly brought to successful
maturity, for great improvement, for the consolidation of
-1842
243
WORDS OF THE WISE.
security and influence, for the happiness of the popula-
tion of immense tracts, and for your own and our honour,
should be endangered by events of which our military
history has happily no parallel. You will, I know, do well
in the storm, and I trust that, as far as the interests con-
fided to you are concerned, you will enable us to weather it.'
And he did well, as the world has testified; and the
storm was weathered, as history has certified. But the race
is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet
bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding,
nor yet favour to men of skill.' Were there not thousands
of instances of merit unacknowledged, to be drawn from the
annals of everyday life; did not lame and halt ones reach the
goal, when the nimble-footed fail; was not strength subdued
by cunning, the bread of the wise given to charlatans, and
wealth marred by ignoble uses; and were not the ignorant
and unworthy set in honourable seats-how could we inter-
pret this passage of an undying record left by the wisest
of kings to after-generations? Surely the wisdom of these
golden words is in their truth.
# 2
244
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
CHAPTER IX.
1842.
Retrospect of Outram's work in Sind and Baluchistan, from February to
November, 1842-Return from Dádar to Sakhar-Disaster at Haikal-
zai-Letter to Mr. Maddock, on available military resources-Return to
Kwatta Subordination to Major-General Nott-Transfer of the Shál
and Sibi districts to Kalát-Displeasure of Governor-General-Return of
General England's force to Sind-Arrival at Sakhar of Major-General
Sir Charles Napier-Outram remanded to regimental duty.
LORD Auckland's departure might have been personally a
source of greater distress to Outram, who had so long enjoyed
that nobleman's confidence, had it not occurred at a time
when the honour of his country was at stake, and when so
much responsibility in the maintenance of that honour
devolved upon himself. Had it been possible to instigate his
zeal and energy yet further in the cause, the arrival in India
of a new Governor-General would have proved a likely means
of imparting the required stimulus. But he was in reality at
boiling-point; and his efforts were now directed to putting
pressure upon others-in many cases upon men invested with
public functions like himself, though higher in the official
scale, and some of them cast in a different mould. He had
written, only a few days before Lord Ellenborough had set
foot on Indian soil, to Major Rawlinson in Kandahar, ex-
pressing delight at being made the channel of communica-
tion to General Nott, in forwarding the direct orders of
superior authority to hold fast in that city. The Govern-
'Among the many official reports left by Sir James Outram is the copy of
a correspondence between General Nott and Major Rawlinson, bearing date
1842
245
INSPIRITING COUNSELS.
ment of India,' he told Mr. Willoughby, 'had at last
recovered from its panic, and displayed the determination
and vigour necessary for this crisis.' In a previous letter to
Lieutenant Hammersley, he had expressed his hope that
Kandahar would hold out as Sale had resolved to do at
Jalálabad, at any rate until the views of the new Governor-
General became known; adding, "I cannot believe that a
retrograde movement will be allowed by Lord Ellenborough
... until we have rescued or avenged our captured
countrymen at Cabool. I doubt not General Pollock will
immediately force the Khaibar Pass to Jallálabad, and, having
discretionary power, will then push on to Cabool, where by
that time dissensions among the Afghans will favour him.'¹
To Colonel Palmer, commanding at Ghazni, he addressed
a remarkable letter, almost on the eve of Lord Ellenborough's
disembarkation, giving strong reasons why the orders to
evacuate his post, issued upon due compulsion from Kabul,
February 1, 1842, consequent on the receipt of orders to evacuate Kandahar.
We quote two remarkable passages, each worthy of preservation. The latter
officer writes:-'I am led to believe that we should avail ourselves of the dis-
cretion which is left to us by Government, and shape our proceedings rather
with the view to prospective, than immediate retirement, aiming to create
such an impression of our power in the minds of the inhabitants of this part of
Afghanistan, while we remain in the country, as shall efface the memory of the
disasters at Cabul, and lead the people to respect our national character, if not
to remember with gratitude the many benefits we have conferred on them.'
In the reply, the view of the situation is thus stated :-' I think our in-
structions from Government will be widely different from those dated December
3, 1841, and until we receive further orders I will not consent to retire from this
country. I could offer many reasons for this determination, but at present it is not
necessary.' Some one has underlined in pencil the words here rendered in italics,
and written in the margin of Outram's copy: 'This is very good; we may be sure
he is in his position at Candahar.' Kaye alludes to Major Rawlinson's letter
of February 1 in an extract from that distinguished officer's MS. journal of the
21st idem, but does not quote from it.
¹ In the P.S. of a letter to Major Rawlinson at this period we find Outram's
summary of the tactics most suitable for warfare in Afghanistan, viz.: 'Attack
the enemy on every occasion, and disabuse the opinion now obtaining that the
Afghans are a match for us in the field.' So think, and so act, our gallant
frontier officers now.
246
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
should not be obeyed. He strove to re-assure him by the
prospect of speedy relief which the despatch of a brigade up
the passes from India would enable General Nott to afford
him from Kandahar. We can have no fears for your force
in the meantime
.' he wrote:-
•
Nothing could touch you in the citadel, even though the enemy
may be in possession of the town; for of course you would leave
no artillery in the town, and your musketry from the citadel alone,
must render the town a dangerous occupation for the enemy.
We
hear they attempt to mine you, but fear not that you will fail
to counteract such efforts by sallies, and the occasional favour of
shells and other combustibles, for nowhere could they find shelter
to commence their operations under so commanding a fire; if a
lodgment is effected, we know it would be destroyed by counter-
mines or outward sally;-doubtless you would have frequent
opportunities of destroying any stores of powder the enemy might
collect for the purpose of loading a mine, by the rifle practice of
your officers with Norton's shells (egg-ball, with tin tube let in at
the small end, filled with powder, and closed at the outward end
by a percussion cap)-by mining they may draw off the water
from your wells, but still we fear not for you, the river running
directly under and within range of your musketry. In fact, we
are quite satisfied that you would cheerfully meet and undergo
every difficulty rather than surrender on any terms, which, as in the
dreadful Cabool instance, would be destruction. It is feared that
the Cabool artillery given over to the enemy, may be brought against
you when the roads will admit of their transport, but we have
every hope that in the meantime the rebel chiefs will be too much
occupied by dissensions among themselves to think of you; or, in
the expectation of our advance from Peshawur, they may keep the
artillery at the capital, or send it to oppose our troops; but even
should it be brought against you, you have some good artillery to
oppose, by the aid of which we doubt not you would successfully
resist all efforts of the enemy, in the confidence of ultimate relief.
General Sale has no fears for Jallalabad, where he has strengthened
the works and laid in provisions. All is quiet at Quetta, and in
Scinde and Belochistan at present; Lord Ellenborough, the new
Governor-General, is expected at Calcutta about this time; the
1842
247
SIR GEORGE RUSSELL-clerk.
birth of a Prince of Wales, and an extensive brevet in consequence,
is the only news of interest by the last mail. Our affairs are pros-
pering in China, and the Burmese, Nepaulese, &c., betray no
hostile intentions.
The history of the first Anglo-Afghan campaign is too
well known to require any separate, or expository sketch in
these pages. We do not, therefore, think it necessary to
explain all allusions to passing events, in our extracts from
the papers before us. Yet it is well to state that, in review-
ing the work of one man at that critical period, we are not
confining the retrospect to Outram's own correspondence ¹—
full and varied as it is. Reference also is made, where desir-
able for truth and clearness, to independent narratives.
It must be premised that the position of Major Outram in
Sind, and of Mr.-better known in later years at the Council
Board as Sir-George Russell-Clerk, on the north-west fron-
tier, was that of men who had good reason to fear that an
ignominious withdrawal of our forces from Afghanistan was
contemplated, without an effort either to release our captives
or to restore our most dangerously shattered prestige. They
both foresaw the disastrous results of such a solution of our
embarrassments, a solution fatal to the future peace and
prosperity of India. They both saw how easy it would be for
Pollock and Nott to open the way for retreat by aggressive
action and the consequent release of our prisoners and
reassertion of our power. And they both risked their all in
persistent endeavour to induce the Governor-General to see
things in the same light and act accordingly. It is not
our province to follow the fortunes of the chivalrous Bengal
¹ Of the twelve correspondents, whose names appear on the title-page of
the selections from Outram's letters written in 1841-42, and printed for private
circulation, but two are now living, Sir Henry Rawlinson, and Sir George Clerk.
Sir Henry Lawrence, General Nott, Colonel Sutherland, Sir James Carnac,
Sir Richmond Shakespeare, the political assistants, Hammersley and Browne,
and the secretaries Maddock, Durand, and Willoughby-have all passed away.
248
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
civilian, but it will be seen how his like-minded comrade fared
in the struggle. It would but weary the reader to multiply
quotations from Outram's many letters bearing on the one
aim. Directly and indirectly, officially and demi-officially, by
appeal and by allusion, he continued to press the matter during
these drearily busy months; others, besides the Generals
Pollock and Nott, strove towards the same end, and at last
prevailed-after a fashion. Henry Lawrence, himself commis-
sioner of Peshawar during the crisis, and a correspondent of
Outram's-though personally, then and for many years after,
a stranger to him-has had naturally something to say on
the subject; and thus wrote in the Calcutta Review'
of September 1845: James Outram in one quarter, and
George Clerk-a kindred spirit-in another, were the
two men who then stood in the breach; who forced the
authorities to listen to the fact against which they tried to
close their ears, that the proposed abandonment of the British
prisoners in Afghanistan would be as dangerous to the State, as
it was base towards the captives. These counsels were success-
fully followed: the British nation thanked our Indian rulers,
while, of the two men, without whose persevering remon-
strances and exertions Nott and Pollock might have led back
their armies, without being permitted to make an effort to
retrieve our credit-Clerk was slighted, and Outram super-
seded!'
These words supply the key to what has now to be related
in regard to a cloudy period of James Outram's career.
The experiences of 1879 will enable the English reader the
better to appreciate the events of 1842. But it must be
borne in mind that we were then strangers throughout the
independent territories which lay within Major Outram's
jurisdiction-from Karachi on the ocean to the Khojak Pass-
strangers, moreover, whose proceedings had tended to
alienate into enmity both Sindis and Baluchis; that the
<
1842
DUTIES, VARIED AND IMPORTANT.
249
passes above Dádar and the Peshin valley swarmed with pre-
datory tribes then unaccustomed to the curb, and who had yet
to learn the inexorable sweep of the Farangi sword and the
inexhaustible flow of Farangi gold; that these were days
when the spell of our success had just been rudely broken,
while all those upon whom we intruded ourselves had
only too good cause to dread our rapacity, and distrust
our motives; and that while 'etappen' arrangements were
then undreamt of, it was the political agent who had to
extract from these invaded territories means of transport,
local supplies, and nearly all else needful to an army in mo-
tion, save hard cash, powder and shot. On him it fell to
manage' predatory hordes, to maintain communications, to
organise local levies, to be the 'intelligence department,'
and much else besides. All this in addition to what may
be termed 'diplomatic' functions throughout these varied
principalities and tribes; with which were connected unde-
fined, or one might say infinite, civil duties involved in efforts
to check misrule and ameliorate the condition of the peoples
within his influence. In the case of Baluchistan, these duties
included the administration of Shál, and other important
tracts. This is but an incomplete résumé of the work which
tasked the energies of Major Outram and his single-minded
assistants during the protracted crisis of 1841-2. We must,
however, confine our extracts and allusions to a few of the
more personal features of the time, leaving the reader to fill
in, ad libitum, the everyday details of duty and of danger,
of worry and of anxiety, of responsibility and of perplexity.
The mass and variety of correspondence available are enor-
mous. Illustrations of points dwelt upon might be multi-
plied to any extent; but patience must not be overtried,
and to condense without obscurity is no easy task. We
may insert here a letter of May 19, 1842, to Mr. Clerk, not
only as illustrative of the above remarks, but as contain-
250
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
ing views of general policy which are of weighty interest in
our own days:—
I note with regret-but not surprise-that your opinions
as to the measures proper to be pursued in Afghanistan do not
meet those of the Governor-General, who cannot with all his home
Indian experience, help being swayed in his estimate of the
physical difficulties to be encountered in Afghanistan, and of Afghan
prowess, by the results of the past six months Now these, it
must be evident to any practical man capable of judging the true
value of both, were brought about by neither the one nor the other.
There exist no further physical difficulties (to signify) than what
have already been overcome-the passage of the Khybur on one
side, and that of the Bolan and Kojuck Passes on the other; and
as to the prowess of the Afghans, our experience of four years among
them, during which we have had some twenty or thirty hand to
hand engagements with them, ought to have lowered instead of raised
in our eyes their character in that respect; for in no instance-except
in that absurd business of Hykulzye-have they ever been able
to cope with us, however superior in numbers, or in strength of posi-
tion! Every engagement only tended to heighten the despair of the
enemy of ever being able to compete with us in the field; and had
it not been that our own measures at Cabul drove certain chiefs to
desperation, and our insane arrangement of placing treasure and
godouns (depôts) within their power, enabled those chiefs to inflame
the rabble, and commit the whole city, by laying open those stores
to indiscriminate plunder-at the same time incapacitating our
troops—at this moment, I say, the Afghans would have continued
subservient; and as it is, will succumb to any demonstration of
our strength. This you and I know, and every officer of experience
in Afghanistan is convinced of. But his Lordship cannot but give
heed to the more timid counsellors who preach 'prudently with-
drawing from further contest' against an exasperated NATION
having in his recollection the struggles of Spain against Napoleon's
efforts, and his disastrous expulsion from Russia! True, the
parallels appear complete, but they are not really so, and cannot
be drawn until 30,000 British bayonets can keep all Europe in
subjection, as they now do India. Then-but not till then-will
the rules of European warfare extend to Asia. Had we heretofore
estimated our enemies in this quarter of the globe on such equality,
1842
251
PLAIN SPEAKING.
we never should have obtained India, nor should we have retained
it; and if Lord Ellenborough is induced to swerve from the only
course now left us for recovering our honour, through an over-
estimate of any Asiatic enemy—from that period will be dated the
decline of our power in India; and those nearer home will be en-
couraged to lay their heads together, and to oppose the Government
on every favourable opportunity for raising a disturbance. Our
armies must be increased to overawe the then turbulent, but
hitherto peaceable population of India, while at the same time
the revenues decrease owing to such disturbances, until either the
people become too powerful, or the country too impoverished to
admit of our continuing the government.
With such a result in view, I shall continue to urge, by every
means in my power, directly or indirectly, what I with you feel to
be the most advantageous course, until we are committed beyond
recall, which I still hope the favourable turn of affairs in Afghan-
istan, and General Nott's decisive opinion, may avert; or, until
reproved for intruding such opinions-which I may now expect to
be, since you, whose opinion is entitled to so much greater weight,
have been checked in expressing what, as coming from me, has
hitherto escaped notice only from being less entitled to con-
sideration.
One other extract will complete the general view of
Afghan politics. The anxiety here expressed regarding the
course of action to be decided on by Government, and by
General Nott under his perplexing instructions, formed the
chief of the heart-burdens which weighed upon Major Outram
throughout this period of doubt and mystery. In June his
hopes were raised by Pollock's call to Nott to advance on Kabul
upon his (Pollock's) own responsibility as senior officer, and the
strength of the indefinite latitude just accorded to the gene-
rals. Outram urged Nott strongly to act on this soldierly
summons, but was disappointed; and anxieties were only set
at rest by the tardy advance in August. He thus continued
his train of thought in a letter to Sir R. Shakespear, General
Pollock's military secretary, of May 21 :—
252
184+
JAMES OUTRAM.
I am much obliged to you for your very interesting and instruc-
tive, letter, dated 4th inst. and lose no time in thanking you for
it, and in assuring you that I cordially coincide in all your views,
excepting in the advisability of assuming Afghanistan to ourselves,
which you appear to lean towards, in preference to the alternative
of withdrawing after re-occupying Cabul, which I would prefer.
I have always been opposed to the location of our troops in
Afghanistan; and to show you what my sentiments were on the
subject so far back as this time three years ago, I enclose an extract
from a letter I wrote the Bombay Secretary when we were at
Candahar in 1839. Late events have of course strengthened that
opinion; but I have ever been adverse to withdraw our troops,
after we were committed in the country, until we can do so with
honour and I agree with you that cannot now be, until we have
re-asserted our power at Cabul. You will have been thunderstruck,
as I was, on the receipt of the Governor-General's orders of the
19th ult., which I observed were forwarded to General Pollock,
and, I conclude, were to the same effect as those sent through me
to General Nott, of the same date; and I am pretty sure that the
sentiments of Generals Pollock and Nott, yourself, Mr. Clerk,
and indeed every practical man concerned, coincide with mine.
:
I must say, however, that I would recommend the
return of the united armies by this route, instead of by the Khybur,
which for the reasons stated in a letter I addressed to Mr. Maddock
on the subject, I would abandon altogether; returning the whole
army by this route, wherein there is no chance of obstruction, such
as retiring troops would be subject to in the Khoord Cabul and
Khybur passes. The only pass of any difficulty on this route,
the Bolan, we hold the key of in the Brahooes, and I am sure I
could ensure the passage of our armies by this route without the
slightest loss. From hence, a portion might be shipped round to
Calcutta, and the rest march by land to the upper provinces. I
shall continue in much anxiety till I hear General Pollock's deter-
mination on receipt of the order of the 19th April-still feel little
doubt as to the course he will adopt.
2
¹ In an official despatch, dated May 2 (which is not given in the Blue
Book).
2 It will be seen hereafter how Outram fulfilled this pledge, in with-
drawing General England's portion of the army, under far less favourable
circumstances than would have attended the return of the whole united army,
after having been victorious at Cabul.
1842
253
LETTER TO CAPTAIN DURAND.
About March 10 he left Dádar for Sind, and Sakhar on
the Indus was selected as a convenient spot both for his local
work and keeping open the communication with Afghanistan.
As regards the change of locality, Sakhar may have the
advantage over Dádar in cheerfulness and beauty of outer
scenery, but for the six months commencing with March the
heat is simply indescribable in both places. At such a time
the charms of landscape can only be appreciated by the most
æsthetic of Englishmen as a brilliant opera can be appre-
ciated by a listener with a splitting headache. He had been
at Sakhar for two or three days when, on March 27, he thus
addressed Captain Durand, private secretary to the Governor-
General:
:
I am waiting with much anxiety the development of Lord
Ellenborough's views in our present most difficult position. I
almost fear the very many and serious obstacles which present
themselves against the only course left to retrieve our honour, will
deter his Lordship from attempting it at present. The most
serious is, the feeling which has displayed itself among the sepoys
of General Pollock's force of late but if he can induce them to go
on to Jellalabad, I do hope the rest would be plain sailing.
certainly if they can be persuaded to pursue their march on Cabool
it would be so, aided by a simultaneous advance from Candahar—
and provided Colonel Palmer maintains his position at Ghuznee,
which I am sorry to find by the accounts from Cabool, dated 5th
inst., he was thinking of evacuating; but I am in hopes that my
letter from Dadur (which I despatched on the 24th ult., and was
to have been delivered in twelve days) would reach that officer in
time to cause him to defer such a step until he receives the
positive orders of Government, for I am happy to see that young
Conolly has thrown obstacles in the way, calculated to cause delay.
I hope that having thrown up the Pass General England's brigade,
will be approved of by the Governor-General: whatever course
may be resolved on, it was equally necessary—either with the
view to the advance or retreat of General Nott's army-and indis-
pensable to provide supplies of treasure and ammunition, which
were absolutely necessary to enable the Candahar troops to move,
254
JAMES OUTRAM.
1842
or hold out. Moreover, the movement up the Pass was equally so
to prevent the hill tribes rising, and closing the Bolan Pass, and
stopping our communication altogether; independently of the moral
effect of that movement in favour of our captive countrymen in
Afghanistan under any circumstances, and of our cause, should it be
determined to relieve our positions. Whatever may happen else-
where, I am under no apprehensions of the Ameers of Scinde
openly committing themselves, or that their united powers could
shake us here if they did; but I am relying on our being reinforced
by one regiment from Ferozepore, which is necessary for the security
of this extensive and straggling cantonment.
To Mr. Willoughby he also wrote on the same date, for-
warding a copy of the letter from which we have last extracted.
In this he says:-
I think Brigadier England wrong to move on to Pisheen as he
appears to intend, before the remainder of his brigade ascends the
Pass, for that movement will now do no good either to General
Nott (who says he is not prepared to send an escort to receive the
supplies) or to any one else; whereas, bis remaining at Quetta a
week longer, will enable his rear detachment to join, and deter the
tribes from attempting to oppose it going up the Pass, or, he
would be at hand to aid the ascent of the troops should they do so.
As General England is not prepared to march on to Candahar till
his whole brigade is assembled, surely he should wait till the rear
detachment joins him, when the mere fact of his doing so insures
its safety, which otherwise may be jeopardised.
Being at Quetta, he was ready to carry on the supplies to the
Kojuck, had General Nott been prepared to send so far to receive
them; but the latter not being so, and, moreover, it having been
determined that Brigadier England's whole brigade is to take on
the supplies the whole way, what possible use can there be in
moving off from Quetta to Pishen, there to await the junction of his
rear detachment, at too great a distance to support it in the Pass
should it be opposed?
Outram was no diplomatist in the too commonly received
sense of the term 'diplomacy.' Had he belonged to the
1842
255
AFFAIRS AT HAIKALZAI.
times of Machiavelli and Richelieu, or moved in the social
spheres of Talleyrand and Metternich, he could not have
shared the laurels of success with adepts such as these.
Open and honest in his ordinary dealings, only under some
strong conviction of doing service to his country could he
have been otherwise than plain-spoken. But reticence may
be a virtue on occasions: and he could not brook that the
rumour of our proposed abandonment of Afghanistan should
be spread abroad one moment before the dread fiat to that
effect had gone forth. Don't let out,' he said to Lieutenant
Hammersley in the postscript of a note dated March 28:
'that Government contemplates ultimately withdrawing from
Afghanistan. It is satisfactory to find, however, that it is
determined to re-establish our power in the meantime.
That I shall let out readily enough.' The very day on which
this note was written, occurred a serious disaster to our
troops. General England was defeated at Haikalzai, a village
in the Pishin valley, about 30 miles above Kwatta, suffering a
loss of 27 killed and 71 wounded. He had left the latter can-
tonment, escorting treasure, en route for Kandahar, without
awaiting a detachment in completion of the full force at his
disposal which had yet to work its way through the Bolan.
His reasons for moving thus early, contrary to Major Outram's
advice and General Nott's orders, were stated to be the want
of forage at Kwatta, and the probability of obtaining a better
supply at Kal'a Abdullah, four marches beyond. At this place,
some eight miles east of the mouth of the Khojak Pass, he
had purposed to remain until joined by the remainder of his
brigade.
This serious mishap was retrieved on April 28, exactly
one month after its occurrence, when the enemy's position at
Haikalzai was attacked and carried by General England, with
a loss of 10 wounded only, and the brigade passed on, with
its treasure convoy, to Kandahar. But its effect was not fa-
256
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
vourable to British prestige, weakened the influence of British
political officers, and materially embarrassed the local govern-
ment. There arose from it, moreover, questions of a dis-
agreeable nature, the discussions of which were attended with
bitterness, though confined to our own camp. On one side it
was urged that the military authorities had been misinformed
of the strength of the enemy and the erection of stockades;
on the other, the accuracy of the information afforded was de-
fended in both respects, and the supposed importance of the
enemy's defensive works was disallowed. The controversy found
its way into the Bombay newspapers, and in one of them-the
'Times' an account of the Haikalzai disaster appeared, so
closely resembling the general's own official despatch on the
subject dated two-and-twenty days before, as to lead to the
impression that the text of that record had through some
unknown agency been made available for the public en-
lightenment before attaining the period of legitimate
publicity. Outram felt keenly the matter of this premature
publication for two especial reasons. First, because he con-
sidered the reflections made therein upon the conduct of the
sipahis engaged to have been unjust, and based upon wrong
assumptions; and secondly, because he could not acquiesce
in the censure awarded his assistant, Lieutenant Hammersley,
for want of proper acquaintance with the disposition and
movements of an enemy which had successfully opposed our
troops in their advance from Kwatta.
As regards the native soldiers, it was his belief that they
would ever follow and ably second a European leader. They
had already proved on fifty occasions,' he maintained, that
they were 'able and willing to meet Afghans in the field—aye,
and always beat them too when led against them, without any
other European assistance than that of their European offi-
cers.' In the case of Lieutenant Hammersley, Outram's open
and generous advocacy brought him under the displeasure of
1842
257
LIEUTENANT HAMMERSLEY.
the higher authorities. Construing the remand of that officer
to regimental duty as consistent with temporary retention of
appointment, pending a further inquiry into the supposed
cause of his removal from political employ, Outram took
upon himself if not actually to suspend a Government order,
certainly to interpret it to the advantage of his subordinate,
whom he looked upon as a hardly-treated Government ser-
vant. He kept Hammersley in his post at Kwatta, on the
fair plea of urgent requirements; and addressed letters on
his behalf to Generals Nott and England, and Colonel Stacy.
But those were busy times, and there were not many who,
in the midst of heavy, responsible, and very serious work,
would willingly go out of their way and devote their little
leisure to inquiring into an individual grievance on which, if
they had not themselves already spoken, the opinion of
superior authority had been openly expressed. Among the
names of men who came forward on the occasion that of
Outram was almost the only influential one denoting a
thorough-going, fearless advocate of the officially condemned
lieutenant. It is little to be wondered that the result was
failure to establish his case; and to his request that his as-
sistant might be allowed to draw office allowances up to date
of final decision on his appeal, the Secretary to Government
with the Governor-General informed the political agent that
compliance was impossible. It would,' to quote the despatch,
'sanction the step which you took of suspending that officer's
removal from his situation, pending a reference to the Gov-
ernor-General as to the ground upon which you assumed that
he had been removed.' This decision, however, was never
communicated to poor Hammersley, who died three days
before the date which it bore. His mind had become
seriously affected by the treatment he had experienced, and
this treatment formed the subject of his incoherent utter-
ances to the last. What Outram himself anticipated, as the
VOL. I.
6
S
258
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
result of his chivalrous stand on behalf of his subordinate, we
find in a letter to Mr. Willoughby:-'See this correspondence
about Hammersley, which I take it will end in his Lordship
sending me to my regiment.'
Lord Ellenborough's despatches, or the withdrawal orders,
written on April 19, have given rise to much comment and
controversy. We have no intention of discussing their
merits in these pages, or comparing them with the previous
instructions to Generals Nott and Pollock, Sir Jasper Nicolls,
and Mr. Clerk, of March 15. Such a criticism of general
policy belongs to history rather than biography. But one
arrangement of the Government of India, ruling the subor-
dination of the political to the military authority in Lower
Afghanistan, Sind, and Baluchistan-in other words, investing
General Nott with the chief political as well as military
control in those parts--directly affected Outram. His first
impression, on receipt of it, was that the change in his posi-
tion was due to a too free expression of opinion in his
correspondence with General England, of which a copy had
been submitted by himself for the Governor-General's in-
formation. The conclusion was natural enough under the
circumstances: for this was not the sole instance in which
the tone of his Calcutta letters, contrary to former practice,
might be judged significant of mistrust or even censure, quite
as much as of confidence or cordiality. At the same time, he
admitted the wisdom of leaving the military commander
unfettered and wholly responsible during the operations of
war; and in due course received a laconic reply to a question
put on the subject to Captain Durand, explaining that the
extension of Major-General Nott's command had no reference
to him individually, but was part of a general measure.
Mr. Clerk, having forwarded a copy of two important
letters he had addressed to Government, regarding the
possible military movements and political questions to which
1842
259
REVIEW AND FORECAST.
the violent death of Shah Shuja had given rise, Major
Outram thus wrote officially to Mr. Maddock on May 2,
1842:-
"We are well-informed that Kelat-i-Ghilzie and Candahar
are amply provisioned at present; and General Nott, having
the means of keeping a strong brigade in the field, to which
will be added Major-General England's brigade, now march-
ing on Candahar, insures the command of the resources of
the country, communication with Kelat-i-Ghilzie, and the
ability to provision that fortress and Candahar to any extent
requisite. Upwards of 20 lacs of treasure are now at the
disposal of General Nott, which, with the facility of selling
bills on India, arising from so large an introduction of specie,
removes any apprehension of want in that respect for a long
time to come. A sufficiency of medicines, rum, &c., for six
months for the whole force above the pass is now with the
army. I believe, also, that a considerable supply of ammu-
nition has been taken on by Major-General England. . .
He then proceeds to estimate the probable strength of
the Kandahar garrison, when reinforced, the means of car-
riage available, and the defensive arrangements requisite for
posts such as Kwatta, Dadur, Sibi, and Chatar, adding :
'So long as we are in power at Candahar, there is no risk
of disturbance below the passes in Cutchee or Sind.
'I have thus shown that General Nott will have it in his
power, on the junction of the Bombay troops, either at once
to take the field at the head of 10,000 men in support of
General Pollock's advance upon Cabool-leaving every mili-
tary position throughout southern Afghanistan, Beloochistan,
and Sind in sufficient strength; or, should the forward move-
ment from Jellalabad be delayed for a season, his troops
may maintain their present positions so long as necessary.
8 2
260
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
... I now proceed to state what are our prospects of securing
increased means in camel-carriage for further reinforcements
during such delay.'
The details then given in respect of camels would hardly
interest the reader, however indicative of the writer's capacity
to deal with the most practical of commissariat questions in
the East. His conclusion is thus expressed :-
"With the above means, and the carriage which can be
hired in this country, I estimate that two strong brigades
could be equipped in time to ascend the Bolan early in
October next, so as to pass though Shawl and reach Candahar
before the severity of winter.'
The proposals contained in the remainder of the letter
are based on the hypothesis of a concentration of the whole
force, for the cold weather, at Kandahar, after the re-occupa-
tion of Kabul. They embrace the question of the future
government of Afghanistan, and suggest the fitting course
to facilitate the return to India of the British troops. We
add one paragraph which bears directly upon a leading topic
of the past year's campaign, and involves a consideration
which may at any time be revived ;-
'As so immediately connected with the interests of my
charge (Beloochistan), I may be allowed to offer an opinion
on the Candahar portion of the arrangement: 1. If this were
a separate kingdom under Timour Shah, maintained by a
British subsidiary force, our troops could always be supported
via the Bolan or Sonmiáni routes (for the late temporary
suspension of our communication could never have occurred
had the simple precaution of securing water in Killa
Abdoolla been taken, or a fortified post been placed in the
Kojuck Pass); they would never have to encounter the vicis-
situdes of the extremes of climate; we should secure as
1842
261
AS IN 1842, SO IN 1880.
commanding an influence over the neighbouring kingdom of
Cabool as if our armies continued there--because its principal
channels of commerce would lay through the Candahar terri-
tory, on which the ruler of Cabool would rather depend than
either the routes through the Khyber and Punjab on the one
side, or Balkh and Bokhara on the other; even the products
of those countries would reach Cabool more cheaply, safely,
and perhaps more expeditiously by the well-protected (as
they might be under this arrangement) roads from Shikar-
poor, or Herat, viâ Candahar; we could exercise an equally
commanding check to the maturing of hostile designs against
British India, either at Cabool or Herat; and we should
the better secure our engagements to Kelat. 2. Leaving
Timour Shah in possession, but without military support,
our influence at Candahar would always be paramount from
being in power on the Indus, and commanding her commu-
nications with India, but of course, without military support
Timour's kingdom would be liable to constant anarchy,
commerce would not be fostered, and the territory of our
ally, the Khan of Kelat, would be liable to infringement.
Whether those evils, or the advantages on the other
side, are of sufficient magnitude to warrant the expense and
inconvenience of maintaining a large army at such a distance
as Candahar, it is not my province to discuss; and the ques-
tion which must arise as to how we are to maintain our
pledges to Kelat under the second arrangement, can be con-
sidered hereafter if required.'
It has been remarked, with truth, that Indian officials of
the higher grades are often much overtasked in the perform-
ance of their professional duties; and that the daily routine
of a London Government office is, as a rule, child's play to
that of a zealous, conscientious, and responsible Anglo-Indian
functionary, engaged in civil and political administration. If
162
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
this be so in ordinary times, how much stronger would be.
the argument under the influence of the crisis resulting to
British India from the Kabul insurrection of 1841? Ou-
tram's work at Sakhar-for the ten weeks of his sojourn there
in the hot weather of 1842-if judged from his correspond-
ence only, must have been arduous in the extreme. Yet
contrasted with like evidences of the immediately preceding
months at Dádar, it was much in accordance with his usual
practice. At these times, the number of his correspondents,
the precision and frequency of his semi-official communica-
tions to each, the scope, length, and minute detail of his
strictly official despatches, addressed on one occasion to the
Supreme Government, on another to Bombay, or to Generals
Nott, England, or Farquharson-cannot but strike the
observer as marvellous. They certainly give speaking testi-
mony to the clearness of head and exceptional ability of the
writer.
On May 10, Outram received a letter from Mr. Maddock,
in which was the following sentence:-Unless you should
have received instructions of a different tenor from General
Nott, you will, without prejudice to your health, at the first
convenient period proceed to Quetta, or to such other point
as may enable you to give the greatest aid in facilitating the
movements of Brigadier England and the Major-General.'
The same day he wrote to Captain Durand:--
I have to-day received his Lordship's orders to proceed to Quetta,
and shall make immediate arrangements for doing so, which I
might have hesitated to do, supposing that the order arose from
my own proposition to you in my letter of the 18th ultimo. This
had chiefly in view to induce General England to advance to
General Nott's support, that event having happily been already
accomplished; but as I observe Mr. Maddock's letter, dated 28th,
has taken twelve days on the way, mine of the 18th could hardly
have reached you on the 28th, or tenth day. I conclude, therefore,
that the order for my proceeding to Quetta must be solely caused
1842
263
LETTER TO CAPTAIN DURAND.
by his Lordship's opinion that my place is above the pass just now;
and as I can with perfect confidence entrust the conduct of affairs
here to Lieutenant Brown during my absence, I must admit that
Quetta is the most important position for my exertions-to facilitate
so delicate an operation as the retreat of a large army down
mountain defiles before an elated enemy; and moreover to carry
into effect the necessary arrangements of our future relations with
the Khanate of Kelat, prior to the abandonment of the upper
countries, on the subject of which I addressed Mr. Maddock officially
on the 7th instant.
You must be well aware that it is at some personal risk I shall
pass the burning plains of Cutchee so late in the season, or ascend
the Bolan when no military escort is available for me; and I re-
mind you of this circumstance, not with any view to enhance my
services, which I value not as anything equal to what is due by me
to my Government, but in the hope that this, perhaps my last
opportunity of advocating a policy which I deem vitally essential
to our interests in India, may be permitted to me—should you see
no objsc ion to lay my humble opinion privately before his Lord-
ship, which it would be presumptuous in me to have intruded offici-
ally thro gh Mr. Maddock.
You have seen with what confidence General Nott looks for-
ward to the result of a combined advance on Cabul from Candahar
and Jellalabad. General Pollock also appears to have no doubts
on the subject, provided carriage can be furnished to him before
the proper season to advance is past, which I consider may
be any
time from the beginning to the end of June or even July. In the
meantime dissensions between the Barukzye and Suddozye factions
with, probably, the secret influence of the Kuzzilbash tribes on our
side, will weaken the enemy to such a degree that while the one
party would hail our support with delight, the other would be in
no condition to oppose our entrance to the capital; nor, even allow-
ing that the enemy did continue united to oppose us, can there be
a doubt of the result, at a season when the harvest is available, and
the climate is congenial to our troops. Even supposing that the
Bala Hissar is held against us, I should be equally confident of
speedily reducing Cabul with General Nott's siege train (four 18-
pounders), in addition to the splendid field artillery with Generals
Pollock and England, and also at Candahar, and we know that the
rebels are deficient in gun ammunition.
264
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
Had I any personal military reputation, however great, I should
have no hesitation in staking the whole on this result, i.e. that we
should take Cabul, by the end of June or July, dictate our own
arrangements there, and march on Ghuznee (which need not be
approached by General Nott on his advance to Cabul, as it can be
turned), having taken which, winter the whole army at Candabar,
if too late to pass Quetta (although during ordinary years the
Bolan Pass may be descended at all times), and then withdraw
from Afghanistan on such terms as will preserve us and our allies
-the Seikhs, Brahoees, and Sindians-from future insults at the
hands of the Afghans.
Or, should General Pollock be disabled, by deficiency of carriage,
from a forward movement this season, and find it inconvenient to
support his large army at Jellalabad, he might leave adequate gar-
risons there and in the Khybur, and await his time at Peshawur,
while General Nott can preserve his positions at Kelat-i-Ghilzie and
Candahar, by securing his communication with Quetta by a post in
Kojuck, without a chance of the enemy attempting any one of
those positions, disheartened by previous failures, and by seeing
them newly stored, reinforced, and strengthened. To this alone
General Nott would confine his operations this season, if our final
triumph is put off till the next. Moreover, his troops could be
better supplied while thus divided, than if all were united on one
spot, and he would be more ready and able to take the field when
the time arrived, with a certainty of meeting no opposition on the
side of Kelat-i-Ghilzie at all events.
If, therefore, a temporary retirement on Quetta only is contem-
plated-which the orders to General Nott to destroy the defences
of Candahar and Kelat-i-Ghilzie would denote—I would beg most
earnestly to advise that the orders to General Nott be so far modi-
fied as to leave it to his own discretion either to abandon or sustain
his present positions, at any rate till October, before which period
he could not descend the Bolan Pass, or traverse Cutchee, on
account of the heat.
By remaining as at present, he commands, and will gather in,
the resources of the country sufficient to provide for the campaign
next season, if it cannot be concluded in this; he holds all the
strong positions and a secure communication throughout the country
from Sukkur to Kelat-i-Ghilzie; he breaks the confidence of the
enemy, whose dissensions in the meantime he would be in a posi-
1842
DISCRETIONAL POWER TO GENERALS.
265
tion to take advantage of, should any particular turn, favourable to
the views of his Lordship, in the interim occur; he insures the
safety of the Cabul prisoners who, so long as we hold our positions
in the country, would be preserved by those in whose possession
they are, with a view to making their own terms when we re-assert
our power, which they will dread so long as we do not withdraw ;
he revents agitation in Scinde and Beloochistan so long as he
remains in power at Candahar; and he preserves his troops in
health and plenty, who, if all are brought to Quetta during the hot
season, will suffer from that dreadful climate, even more severely
than last year, owing to the assemblage of so large an army on the
spot; while the valley of Shawl and neighbouring districts under
Kelat would be unable to afford provision and forage for so long a
period.
How far you may deem yourself warranted in com-
municating the opinion of so humble an individual as my-
self to his Lordship I cannot judge; but such is my opinion,
founded on some practical experience and much consideration, i.e.
that if Generals Pollock and Nott are allowed to exercise their own
discretion as to advancing on Cabul this season, they may very
probably find that they can do so without risk of failure; but that,
if the campaign is deferred for a season, we shall be in a much
better condition to enter upon it at our convenience by retaining
our present positions until then, which we can do without
difficulty.
I think an apology to a comrade, having the honour and
interests of our country equally at heart, can hardly be required for
this letter, which, however, I leave to your discretion, and that of
Mr. Maddock-should you both do me the favour to exercise your
judgment upon it—whether or not to lay before his Lordship.
I hope to have everything ready to leave this by the 15th, and
to arrive at Quetta in a few days, being unencumbered with bag-
gage or followers, who cannot pass through Cutchee now.
True soldier as he was, Outram, as will be seen, resolved
not only to obey the letter of the instructions received, but
to carry out in a loyal spirit the duties required at his hands.
He was, however, mortal, and could not but feel aggrieved
at the modus agendi adopted towards him, so different from
266
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
that to which he had been accustomed under former masters.
Opening his heart to Mr. Willoughby, he has left us another
letter bearing the same date as that just laid before the
reader, but couched in a different strain. 'I go up,' he
writes to the friendly and sympathising secretary, 'to
officiate in the immediate neighbourhood, and as the humble
subaltern of General Nott, where so lately I was supreme; I
pass through the heat of Cutchee, and the dangers of the
Bolan, to the deadly climate, privations, and annoyances of
Quetta, from a comfortable house, and the comparative ease
and luxury of this station-with certainly less cheering pro-
spects, under these circumstances, but with undiminished
zeal, and determination to fulfil the duty assigned to me,
however degrading that may be in my opinion, and however
lowered my personal position; but I must here in justice to
myself add, that it is not my intention to remain in this
country, in the subordinate capacity so assigned to me, one
hour after the withdrawal of the army, and hostilities have
ceased; when the necessity for a military dictator in these
countries no longer existing, I should degrade myself by con-
tinuing in a lower position than that to which Government
had thought proper to raise me, and in which, so far from in
a single instance incurring displeasure, every act of mine
has been highly approved, and every measure successful.
Unless, therefore, the Court of Directors are pleased to
order that, on the termination of hostilities in Afghanistan,
General Nott's political powers over me are withdrawn, I
most assuredly must respectfully resign the line in which I
have so long endeavoured to serve them, and join my regi-
ment, a poorer man than when I left it, nearly twenty years
ago.
It is in no bitter spirit I write this; these are simply
the feelings of an honourable man willing to do his duty
so long as he can do so without dishonour, but not gro-
1842
267
HALF-WAY NO WAY.
velling enough to submit to the least degree of disgrace. Às
such you have long known me, my dear friend, and ever shall
know me while I live.
'I might have hesitated, probably, so strenuously to urge
an immediate advance on Cabool, now the Shah is removed,
had we not been fully equal to the task but being so, and
having been at the cost of throwing the troops into Afghan-
istan, why now stop half-way?
Fifteen days later, he transmitted intelligence to General
Nott, which appeared to warrant the assumption that if he
and General Pollock could advance that season on Kabul,
they would carry everything before them. Stating his own
opinion that Lord Ellenborough's orders of April 19 were
based on the supposition that Nott's actual strength was
insufficient to carry out the objects in view, and that the
advanced positions of Kandahar and Kalát-i-Ghilzai would
be untenable in winter, he dwelt upon his Lordship's evident
intention to recommence active operations at a later period,
when reinforced from England. I still hope,' he con-
tinued, ‘that late favourable events in Afghanistan
may induce Lord E. to allow you to exercise your own discre-
tion as to whether or not to prosecute the campaign at once,
or to hold on your present positions.' Then, after discussing
the present and prospective means of carriage for the army,
and stating in detail the number of camels and bullocks avail-
able, or likely to be available, for possible movements, he
thus referred to home intelligence which had recently
arrived by the Overland:
'This does not look as if the instructions Lord Ellen-
borough received by this Mail would authorise backing out
of the scrape we have got into; and I have every hope we
shall soon see the consequences of the home advice in new
instructions from his Lordship of a more wholesome tenor
268
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
than those of the 19th ult. I leave this on the 1st proximo,
and expect to be at Quetta on the 10th, where I shall be
ready to receive, and most willing to execute, your com-
mands.'
Accordingly, on the night of June 1, installing Lieu-
tenant Brown in his own vacated post at Sakhar, he left
that place to repeat the old, dreary, and perilous journey to
the Passes beyond the desert. The frontier posts of Khan-
garh, Chatar, and Sibi were taken on the way, and sub-
jected to minute inspection. Reaching Dádar on or about
the 8th, he was delayed there two days, to enable him to
move rapidly through the Bolan, and on the night of the
11th he was again at Kwatta. Here Outram remained until
the end of September, to play, as he had done elsewhere, an
active and important part in the drama then engaging the
attention of our statesmen at home and in India—and, be it
added, to contribute materially towards its happy dénoue-
ment. But his personal action, while patent to the world
about him, was unrecognised where it should have been
rewarded: in some cases it was misrepresented, and, as we
shall have to show, an incident of zeal on his part was mag-
nified into deliberate error. At first there were, amid the
thunder-clouds, gleams of sunshine and other signs of fair
weather. Notwithstanding the little consideration evinced
towards their political agent in the matter of subordinating
his work to military control, and the doubtful courtesy of
the curt replies to his references, the authorities in Calcutta
were occasionally pleased to throw out expressions of appro-
bation at a devotion out of the common order. His Lord-
ship wrote to you,' are Captain Durand's words, in a letter
of May 21, replying to Outram's of the 10th idem, already
reproduced in extenso, ‘upon the subject of your moving up
to Quetta prior to the receipt of your request for permission
•
1842
269
THE DESPATCH OF MAY 22.
to go there; and with the hope that it might be done with-
out too great a risk on your part of health and safety. His
Lordship anticipated that neither of these considerations
would by yourself be allowed to weigh against a call for your
services where deemed most necessary; but still, he fully
appreciates the readiness with which you willingly incur such
risks in the execution of your duty.' Again, on learning of
his later movements, the private secretary was instructed to
forward to him the Governor-General's approval. 'I am
directed . . . to inform you that his Lordship highly appre-
ciates the public zeal you have manifested in the perform-
ance of your duty at much personal risk, by proceeding at
this season to Quetta, where your exertions are especially
required in aid of Major-General Nott's army.' Between five
and six weeks later, came the merest scrap of a note written
by Lord Ellenborough himself, in which was the following
passage :—' I am much gratified by the accounts received
from you to-day of the extent of carriage now at Major-
General Nott's disposal, and of the facility with which
you
think it can be immediately increased. It is essential that
the Major-General's army should have furnished to it ample
means of moving in any direction; and I indulge the hope
that, through your zealous and able exertions, this has now
been done.'
Perhaps, however, the highest as the most substantial
testimony to the value set upon his services by the Indian
Government would have been the despatch of May 22, had
its provisions ever been carried into effect. This paper was
a remarkable one in its way, pregnant with matter, and withal
brief and business-like. It opened with a quasi-lament over
a system which admitted the employment, in countries
to the north of India, new to our intervention, of a number
of British officers equal to that of the salaried employés in
H. M. diplomatic service throughout Europe. It expressed
270
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
the Governor-General's intention to reduce this overgrown
institution to within reasonable limits, and sketched out
an administrative staff for the Lower Indus, consisting of
an envoy, with private secretary, and three secretaries of
legation, besides whom, and a commandant of escort, no
European officers would be required. It gave the envoy
power to nominate and remove any and every member of
his establishment, and to leave their distribution and dis-
posal under his absolute control. It touched upon the deli-
cate question of individual fitness, for the service contemplated,
of certain European officers then in Sind or Baluchistan.
Finally, Outram was requested at once to prepare nominal
lists of natives whom he would propose to employ, together
with a note of the duties to be entrusted, and salaries to
be awarded, to each; and, as a climax to the whole project,
the last of the twenty paragraphs in the despatch informed
him that he himself was to be the Envoy. Thus was it
worded: It is necessary for me to acquaint you that, on the
formation of the reformed establishment, it is the intention
of the Governor-General to bestow upon you the appoint-
ment of Envoy, his Lordship being perfectly satisfied with
the zeal and ability you manifest in the discharge of your
duty.'
C
But the promise here held out was not fulfilled; and, as
we have already led the reader to infer, Outram never was
the Envoy. He replied with sufficient fulness to the requi-
sition made, to elicit an expression of the Governor-General's
pleasure, in finding that his 'zealous attention' had been
given to the subject; but there the matter dropped. Only
he was desired, without waiting his Lordship's final orders,
to adopt 'every practicable means of economy' to reduce
the expense of the offices under his supervision, an object
to which it will be remembered he had already turned his
thoughts with substantial result.
1842
271
THE KHAN OF KALÁT.
Had the situation been more favourable to the work re-
quired, he would have fulfilled these Government behests
both readily and completely. But he had other and more
urgent work to attend to, in the interests of the same
Government in Kalát, and to these he gave his first spare
hours. In this instance, his views were, unfortunately, not
those of the Governor-General. Again, had there been no
Kabul disaster to repair, and had our troops never penetrated
the passes of the Bolan or Khaibar, Outram would have found
ample occupation of his time in putting on a sound basis
British relations with Sind and Baluchistan. In neither
country had our interference produced a result on which the
nation, in or out of Parliament, could be heartily congratu-
lated and where justice has been once superseded by ex-
pediency, it is not always easy to prove satisfactorily, to
comparative strangers, that the act is a mere exception to
the rule. As it happened, the exigencies of the moment
made Afghanistan a primary consideration; but Baluchistan,
represented by Kalát, was not to be shelved or set aside; for,
even in connection with the larger State, it had a special
political value. To Sind we shall have to revert a little
later.
:
During his stay at Dádar, in the winter of 1841–42, a
period to which we have already referred, Outram's hands
were indeed full. Had it been possible, he would then have
gladly devoted himself exclusively to secure to Kalát a good
government, and to enhance generally the influence of its
Khan. But the urgent nature of his exceptional duties on
the occurrence of the crisis in Kabul, and for many months
afterwards, not only forbade the concentration of his energies
on any isolated measure of diplomacy, but took him away for
a time from the side of his Brahúi protégé. Thus, in March
1842, under the pressure of circumstances, the young chief
had been deprived of his two best friends and supporters.
272
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
Colonel Stacy-rejoining his regiment to accompany Briga-
dier General England up the Pass, and share in the reverse
as well as after-success at Haikalzai—had been replaced,
in attendance on the Khan, by Captain Pontardent, of the
Bombay artillery. Just three days later, Outram himself
left Dádar for Sakhar, whither, for the time, he was to shift
his head-quarters. But the political agent would allow
neither locality, nor the pressure of internal politics, to
draw off his attention wholly from his double charge, or
lessen his responsibility a whit in the conduct of our rela-
tions with Kalát or Sind. His correspondence with the
new agent at the former place was continuous and com-
prehensive. Among the topics discussed in it, none. had a
greater importance than the ownership of the Shál district,
better known to us under the more popular name of Kwatta,
its principal town.
Early in May, from the furnace of his summer quarters
at the Sakhar residency, Outram put before the Governor-
General his proposal-since virtually adopted by Lord
Dalhousie and his successors-to substitute pecuniary for
military help to the Khan of Kalát, upon the withdrawal
of British troops from Kandahar. To this end, he recom-
mended that a lakh and a half of rupees (15,000l.), the sum
originally suggested by Captain French, be given—ostensibly,
and in some sense practically-in commutation for tolls as
well as remuneration for protection of merchandise. At the
same time, he enclosed extracts from demi-official letters
which he had addressed to Mr. Colvin in the beginning of the
year, on the policy to be pursued with the Kalát State in the
contingency that had now arisen, viz., our impending with-
drawal from Afghanistan. As the writer was informed, in
reply, that his correspondence, when embracing matter of a
political nature, should be submitted through Major-General
Nott, disposal of the reference became an affair of considerable
-1842
273
NEGATIVE RESPONSIBILITY.
C
duration. Two despatches on the subject were transmitted
to the General. A fortnight after, he wrote this demi-official'
to Mr. Maddock:
'General Nott merely acknowledges the receipt of my
various letters relating to Kelat, but gives me no instructions
whatever, or any intimation of what are his views. Neither
does he appear into to intend to enter any consideration of
the subject; for in a private letter to Lieutenant Hammersley
he thus expresses his opinion: "When the Government gave
me political authority, it could only have been intended the
power of putting my veto on what I may deem injurious; it
could not have been meant that I should interfere with details.
The charge of an army of 25,000 men is quite enough." See-
ing that I can look to no instructions from the General re-
garding the settlement of Kelat, and considering that our
future quiet in Sind depends so much on a wise permanent
arrangement with the chiefs of Baluchistan before we leave
this country, I shall be obliged again to solicit his Lordship's
consideration to the subject. . . . As I have been directed
to address Government only through General Nott, offici-
ally, I must trouble you in a demi-official form, so soon
as I receive a reply to a reference I have made to Captain
Pontardent."
But between the date of his second despatch to General
Nott, and this letter to Mr. Maddock, he had written to the
former officer asking for sanction to make over to Kalát the
districts of Shál and Sibi, in the spirit of Lord Auckland's
intimation that it might be good policy if the Khan were
'made to feel our disposition to give to him and his tribes
this accession of power and of territory so soon as our diffi-
culties in Afghanistan should be brought to a close.' The
young Khan had behaved loyally towards us throughout a
VOL. I.
T
274
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
6
period of disquiet and disturbance. Even on the very day
that the assistant political agent at Kwatta heard of General
England's reverse at Haikalzai, that officer reported well of
Nasir Khan's fidelity. The Khan is staunch to us,' he then
wrote, but would like a Barukzai at Kandahar.' There
were other reasons why Lord Auckland's views of a fitting
reward to Kalát should be acted on in anticipation of the
winding-up of our relations with Afghanistan. To Outram's
mind, the aspect of affairs in his neighbourhood gave an
urgency to the case which brooked neither delay nor circum-
locution. We quote from two paragraphs of his letter to the
Major-General:-
'It appears to me that by now placing the territories in
question in the Khan's hands, he will be enabled to secure their
possession before the withdrawal of our troops, which, if delayed
till that event, he might be unable to effect; and as I can see
no advantage to us from holding them (further than merely
continuing their general control as at present but on his be-
half), I think that in fairness to the Khan we should now make
them over, and during the remainder of our stay assist him in
establishing government.
'Should any treaty be entered into with any of the Afghan
powers, I beg to suggest that the cession of Shál and Sibi be
formally stipulated; otherwise, the Khan being in possession
of those districts will be a plea for the Afghans making war
on him, whom we are bound by treaty to protect against
foreign enemies. Although the late Khan of Kelat was not
possessed of Sibi at the time we took possession of the
Khanate—and that district, though once in his possession,
had generally continued an appendage to Kandahar—still, as
the high road of the Afghans into Kachi (which the fortress
of Sibi commands), as well as being a check on the hill tribes,
and as a natural fortress of Kachi, I would most strongly
-1842
275
SHORT, BUT ‘IN EXTENSO?
recommend that it be not given up to the Durranis on any
consideration. . . .
How the general regarded the acknowledgment of his
political suzerainty, expressed by the submission to him of
the political agent's proposals, may be gathered from his
already quoted letter to Lieutenant Hammersley; but perhaps
the following full text of his reply to two out of the three
references on the Shál and Sibi transfer will not be bad pre-
sumptive evidence:-
Kandahar, June 28.
'My dear Sir, I have the pleasure to acknowledge the
receipt of your letters as per margin.
6
(Signed) W. NOTT, Major-General.'
At this particular juncture, there were dangerous intriguers
moving about the State of Kalát. One Muhammad Sadik, a
leader of Afghans hostile to Shah Shuja's cause, was seeking to
bring about a coalition of Brahúis against the British power;
and one Muhammad Sharif, who had fled from British custody
at Sakhar, was supposed to be plotting with similar intent,
using Muhammad Sadik as his instrument. Outram would
have rejoiced in receiving renewed sanction to strengthen the
Anglo-Brahúi alliance, and so defeat the machinations of its
opponents, by an act of such palpable friendliness as restoring
a whole district to the Khan's territorial possessions. But
the unwillingness of the Calcutta magnates to take so decisive
a step was a difficulty not easily to be removed without a
bold stroke of individual responsibility. Time was precious;
opportunities once missed might never occur again. There
was no veto against carrying out Lord Auckland's expressed
wishes referred to by Outram. The latter, reasoning from
experience that he was right, and risking the rest, took upon
T 2
276
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
himself to do that for which he had vainly asked sanction,
and to which sanction, if withheld, had not been refused. He
cut the Gordian knot by making over Shál to the Khan,
acquainting the Supreme Government with the circumstance,
and soliciting authority to dispose in like manner of the dis-
trict of Sibi.
case.
As an independent exercise of judgment, the accomplished
fact was coldly accepted and curtly noticed by Lord Ellen-
borough and Major-General Nott. Neither censure nor
approval of the policy followed were vouchsafed in either
In the letter addressed to Major Outram on the
occasion from the Governor-General's head-quarters at
Allahabad, we read that it may have been expedient to trans-
fer Shál to the Khan of Kelat at that particular time, if it
were determined that it should ultimately belong to him' ;
while the communication from Kandahar, acknowledging the
report, with pleasure,' and adding, 'I daresay the Govern-
ment will approve of your proceedings regarding Shal,' qualifies
the courtesy so evinced by the words immediately following:
6
but it was my wish to retain Quetta until my army en-
camped there; this would have been convenient. I regret
you did not wait for my orders.' Fortunately, Outram could
inform the General that the transfer would in no way inter-
fere with his arrangements; for that our military occupation
of the town would remain as before, and the resources of the
district were at his disposal. More trouble, however, was
involved in disposal of the question at Allahabad.
The despatch of the Supreme Government did not confine
itself to the abstract fact of the transfer effected under Lord
Auckland's implied sanction. It dealt with certain collateral
circumstances. Outram, in excess of zeal for the interests of
the State, having had recourse to a diplomacy foreign to his
nature, had laid himself open to a charge of error; and the
action thus taken, though not even noticed by his immediate
-1842
REPLY TO GOVERNMENT STRICTURES.
277
6
superior at Kandahar, was commented upon by the Governor-
General in a manner which could not but wound him
grievously. Not a word of objection to his proposal had been
communicated by Government; so that when the General
declared himself unwilling to interfere in political matters, he
interpreted his position to be that of a responsible officer,
virtually authorised to act on the responsibility vested in him.
In this view he had addressed the Khan to the effect that he
had received authority to make over the district to his
Highness, as though a reply on the subject had just been
received.' We quote from Outram's own letter, in which he
certainly did not make the best of his case, but reported the
occurrence against himself with the most ingenuous frankness
and persuasion of rectitude. And he further aggravated his
imputed offence by laying before Government a copy of his
letter to Captain Pontardent, instructing that officer to
explain to the Khan that the political agent had come to
Kwatta mainly with the object of carrying out the transfer
aforesaid—a statement strictly in accordance with the an-
nouncement contained in his letter to Captain Durand of
May 10, already quoted. In the last-noted communication
the two main objects of his projected move to Kwatta were
specified-viz., to facilitate the retreat of the army down the
passes, and to 'carry into effect the necessary arrangements
of our future relations with the Khanate of Kelat, prior to
the abandonment of the upper countries, on the subject of
which I addressed Mr. Maddock officially on the 7th inst.'
The restoration of Shál, in accordance with Lord Auckland's
unrepealed instructions, was unquestionably the most im-
portant of these necessary arrangements, and, of the two
objects, the settlement of Kalát affairs was that which most
called for the presence of the political agent in person.
The term 'error' has been applied to Outram's procedure :
but assuredly it was something more than the desire to
278
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
dispense even-handed justice which prompted a rebuke such
as this:-
'The Governor-General will not now consider to what
extent, if at all, and under what circumstances, if any, it may
be justifiable to resort to fiction in political transactions, but
his Lordship must observe that to resort to fiction in com-
munications to a native chief, without the shadow of justifying
necessity, if any such there can be, is conduct inconsistent
with the character which he desires the diplomacy of India
to maintain, and calculated to shake the confidence of the
Government in the fidelity of the communications it may
receive from its own officers.
'The Governor-General trusts that he shall never again
have occasion to remark upon similar conduct, which he has
witnessed with the greater regret on the part of an officer so
able and so zealous in the performance of public duty as you
have heretofore shown yourself to be.'
Outram's reply was respectful and dignified. We quote
from the concluding paragraphs of an important public de-
spatch which introduces the personal exoneration, as it were,
incidentally :-
6
• In conclusion, I beg to be allowed to express my regret
that my measures should have caused the severe displeasure
of Government, and with the utmost deference to declare
that throughout my public career no measure of political
expediency, however urgent, has ever in my mind warranted
a wilful departure from, or perversion of, the truth, such
as I understand to be imputed to me in the despatch
alluded to.
'In the enclosures to my despatch to your address
I intimated the necessity for making over Shál and Sibi to
Kelat before evacuating Baluchistan-a measure, the prospect
-1842
279
APOLOGY FOR ZEAL.
•
of which the late Governor-General had authorised me to
hold out to the Khan. In your reply no objection was
made to that proposition, but I was directed to communicate
in all matters relating to Kelat through Major-General Nott.
It never occurred to me, consequently, that any objection was
intended to the transfer of Shál, which I naturally considered
one of the most important measures to be carried into effect
previous to our withdrawal from Baluchistan, and a part of the
final political settlement with the Kelat State
• the
principal object of my being sent up to Quetta, as a matter of
course—although to aid General Nott to withdraw the troops
was certainly specified, and was considered by me as a con-
sequent duty.
<
Your despatch . . . adverts to there not having been
"the shadow of a necessity" for the communication to the
chief of what is designated "a fiction"—I had declared in
my letter on which you thus animadvert, that the
necessity was extreme, in the following words which I beg
leave to quote, to save the trouble of reference: "I hope the
measures I have had recourse to, with a view to counteract
such designs-which, if successful, would have thrown Baluch-
istan into a flame, and involved a war with the Brahúis-will
be approved by his Lordship, and have the desired effect."
Under this explanation, I sincerely and earnestly hope
that I may be exonerated in his Lordship's mind from the sup-
position that I could wilfully pervert truth under any circum-
stances; and at the same time I submissively claim for any
errors of judgment which I may inadvertently commit, such
indulgent consideration as his Lordship may deem just to an
individual situated as I here am, with no instructions or pre-
cedents to guide me; .. harassed in body and mind by
my incessant endeavours to forward the public service; kept
in ignorance of the measures intended by the authorities at
Kandahar, which I am expected to forward;. and surrounded
280
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
by a fanatical and treacherous people whom I have to pre-
serve in good faith, although naturally opposed to us by
religion, and by awe of our enemies their neighbours-
besides being goaded by recent recollections of the many hard-
ships they have suffered at our hands, such as spoliation of their
territory, sacking of their capital, and slaughter of their Khan
and principal chiefs. In successfully working as I have been
under these disadvantages to effect almost impossibilities,
and at the sacrifice of health and every reasonable comfort,
I had hoped to earn the approbation of his Lordship's
Government; but although so bitterly disappointed, I shall
not relax in the slightest degree my endeavour to forward the
public interests.'
We have purposely dwelt upon an ungracious passage in
the high and honourable career under review, hitherto little
discussed, because it relates to a charge which, in the heat
of much-to-be-deplored after controversy, was the severest
that could be revived against James Outram; and because
the rude form of its expression so affected his sensitive
temperament that, were we to slur over the incident or
leave it wholly unnoticed, our biography would be unwar-
rantably incomplete.¹
¹ Mr. Lushington, an advocate of Lord Ellenborough's policy, in A Great
Country's Little Wars, thus speaks of the restoration of Shál: The portion of
his dominions taken from him (the Khan of Kelat) has since been restored by
Lord Ellenborough. It is worth observing that to this single act of justice we
may attribute the subsequent tranquillity of the country.' Further on, he alludes
to this measure as 'almost the only spot upon which the eye can dwell with
pleasure, in the dark history of our four years' supremacy beyond the Indus.'
Palmam qui meruit ferat! How can we doubt that this act of justice, and
the efforts of Outram and his assistants in 1841-2, paved the way for a better
understanding with the Baluchis in later years, the full fruit of which has
been seen in our operations of 1878-9. When Dr. Stocks travelled through
these regions in 1850, he found the name of Outram still honoured above all
others in Baluchistan. He transmitted to him a letter from one Kurd chief,
old Allah Dinah, of Merv, with a postscript from another, in which the former
offers to be always ready, as in 1842, to perform any service that may be re-
-1842
281
TWO MEMORABLE MONTHS.
Not many hours after despatch of his letter reporting the
cession of Shál, Outram was present at the capture of
Muhammad Sharif, effected by Lieutenant Hammersley in
command of a party of Púna horse. He explains with charac-
teristic modesty and consistent self-denial, that he had him-
self accompanied his political assistant merely to afford the
weight of his authority for any ulterior measures that
might have been necessary.'
6
Though General Nott must have received his famous
permission to withdraw viâ Kabul on July 20, Outram
could only thus write on August 1 to Mr. Willoughby: 'Not
being honoured with his Lordship's confidence regarding
what is to be done by General Nott, and the General having
bound Rawlinson to the strictest secrecy, he is unable to
inform me; I can but give you, therefore, such insight into
what is intended, as I glean from officers of the camp who
have correspondents at Kandahar. This, it appears, is
decided: i.e. that General Nott takes the bulk of his army
northward, and General England brings the remainder this
way.'
We need not linger over the events of that memorable
month of August, during which Generals Nott and England
moved out of Kandahar, the one in the direction of Kabul,
the other in that of Kwatta; or of the still more memorable
month of September, when Ghazni was deprived of the
Somnát gates, and Generals Nott and Pollock entered
Kabul from different sides, triumphantly to reassert the
power of British India. Throughout the two months named,
Outram was at his post, ever active and busy, striving to
quired of him;' while his comrade, Syud Wais Shah, of Mastung, 'desires re-
membrances of former passages and adventures of the road,' adding that many
others, be they of greater or lesser note, hold yet good memory of Outram Sahib.'
Allah Dinah told Dr. Stocks that he was ready at Outram's call, with his whole
clan, to open the Bolan and act according to orders.
282
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
fulfil the instructions, while conscious of the unjust dis-
pleasure of the Supreme Government; marvellously successful
in counteracting the opposition, and obtaining the support
of those among whom he was placed; and finally securing,
in despite of many and serious obstacles, the practically safe
and unobstructed passage through the Kohjak to Kwatta of
General England's troops on their way back to Sind and
India, the impedimenta' of the column being carried on
Brahúi camels. Constant mental worry, and the distress
naturally caused by the death of his assistant, Lieutenant
Hammersley, at whose bedside he had watched for several
nights, brought on an affection of the brain, which might
have terminated fatally in the case of a man of less sea-
soned strength, and which compelled him, hardy as he was,
to employ Captain Richardson as a temporary amanuensis.
But his energy and fine spirit carried him safely through
the crisis.
A letter to his old friend Mr. Bax gives a graphic view
of what was really a most critical act in the drama then in
progress. Its date is September 6. Elsewhere he speaks of
his illness as having 'speedily brought him to the brink of
the grave':-
We have weathered a storm, which had long been brewing in
this quarter-fomented by the Ameers' agents from Scinde, and
Mahomed Sadeeq and Saloo Khan, rebel Affghan leaders, all of
whom were striving to cause the Brahoes to rise—the former, with
a view to occupy us above the passes, while they should disturb
the small force in Scinde, the latter that the Candahar troops
should be unable to detach towards Cabool. All these schemes
were thwarted, however, by various precautions and counter-
workings, and by the capture of the principal mover, Mahomed
Sherif-a Syud who escaped from confinement at Sukkur (two days
after I left that station to come here), at the instigation of the
Ameers' minister, who deputed him to embroil the Brahoes with us.
I 'chuppaoed' (surprised) him in the midst of the Kakur tribes,
-1842
283
LETTER TO MR. BAX.
whom he had enrol'ed for the purpose of bringing against us here,
simultaneously with certain disaffected tribes of Brahoes (who had
been successfully tampered with), and the Affghan rebels. This
averted the first convulsion; but a second nearly followed when it
became known that Candahar was evacuated, and that only a
very small force was to return this way, having no Europeans in
its composition, and scarcely any artillery, and no cavalry, the
main body of the forces being taken on by General Nott to Cabool.
This caused the mischief-brewers again to bestir themselves in the
endeavour to seduce the Brahoes to join in opposing General Eng-
land in the Kojuck, and to close the Bolan Pass. Suffice it to say
that in this again they were foiled, and not only have the Brahoes
continued faithful, but they will also fulfil their pledges to supply
our forces with the requisite carriage cattle (6,000 camels), for
which we are dependent on them, General Nott having taken
almost every beast of burden with him. The very delicate opera-
tion of passing the troops down the Bolan, when having the appear-
ance of a retreat, will, consequently, be effected without opposition,
I trust, and with the aid, moreover, of the very tribes whom it was
scarcely but fair to expect, under such circumstances, wou'd at least
do all in their power to discompose us, if not openly turning against
us.
·
From the above you will observe that I have incurred his
Lordship's displeasure, and that I have been ill. The first was
caused by my taking on myself to restore the province of
Shawl to Kelat, after in vain seeking instructions for two
months (having stated that its immediate restoration was essen-
tial to preserve the Brahoes faithful)—which restoration had
previously been pledged by Lord Auckland!! Notwithstanding
which, and our treaty with the Khan of Kelat, Lord Ellenborough
was for leaving him and the Affghans to scramble for what
we ourselves had robbed Kelat of in the first instance! My
having taken this . . . on my own responsibility, caused the
extreme wrath of his Lordship. .. So much for my own affairs
-Oh! by the bye, I forgot the allusion to my late illness; it was a
serious bout of brain fever, of which I thought little, and the doc-
tors thought serious. Now to turn to the satisfactory fact
that our troops are on the march (though at the eleventh hour,
and doing what ought to have been done two months ago) to Ghizni
and Kabul.'
•
284
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
To his mother he wrote cheerily at the same time:-
'We are about to withdraw to Sukkhar, and then we shall
have 10,000 men, which insures the peaceful management of our
affairs in Sind, and all will be satisfactorily settled by the end of
the year. In the course of this month we move down into the
plains, and by about the middle of next, not a British soldier will
be on this side of Sukkhar. In the intended new arrangements, I
am to be styled Envoy, with Secretaries of Legation, &c.-higher
titles than Political Agent and Assistants-but I do not expect any
increase of salary. The duties of my new appointment will be quite
a sinecure compared to what it was heretofore, when I had per-
sonally to traverse all Sind and Baluchistan with fifteen Assistants
scattered over the country. Everything is quiet within my
charge; and I am enabled, without difficulty, to furnish the means
of moving our troops from the people of the country, which is
satisfactory, considering how strenuously it has been the endeavour
of our enemies to turn the Brahúis against us for some time past,
and how much their people had suffered at our hands until their
Khan submitted a year ago.'
•
•
On or about October 1, he bade farewell to Kwatta.
Before leaving, he despatched one of his last letters to his
esteemed friend and trusted adviser, Colonel John Sutherland.
In this he poured out his vexations' on public and private
matters, and entered into a long account of the ungenerous
treatment which he had experienced at the hands of the
Supreme Government. And it was unjust as well as
ungenerous; but the climax had not yet been attained.
Another injury was to be inflicted, the cause of which can
only be traced, on the one hand, to that secret pernicious
influence which affects an Indian pro-consul as well as a
European Court, and, on the other, to the infatuation
yielding to that influence. He thus unburdened himself to
his confidant :-
'Human nature could hardly be tried beyond what I
have had to endure during the past few months. The disgrace
-1842
285
REASONABLE GRIEVANCES.
of our Cabul disasters; the bare thought of the possibility
of the more disgraceful abandonment of our honour and of
our imprisoned countrymen, which was contemplated; the
anxiety regarding my own Mahomedan charge; all this of a
public nature have I had to endure-which, however, could be
compensated by the retrieval of the honour of our army, in-
sured by the order to march on Cabul, although issued at the
eleventh hour, were it not for anxiety regarding the prisoners
who now are jeopardised, but would not have been so had we
advanced, as we could have done and should have done, two
months earlier. Now for my private vexations. I complain
not of military supersession, because where warfare is likely
to occur, the responsibility should never be divided, and of
course should rest on the military commander; I complain
not of being bandied like a racket-ball, up and down this
abominable pass, because it is my duty to go wherever it is
thought I am most required; but I do complain of the
lackey style in which I am treated by the Governor-General;
of the bitter reproof he so lavishly bestows on me when he
thinks me wrong, and I know I am right; of the withering
neglect with which he treats the devoted services of those in
my department; of the unjust sacrifice of one of my most
deserving assistants; of the unceremonious dismissal of five
others without any communication to myself whatever on the
subject. Such treatment (caused solely by his Lordship's
vexation at my advocacy of the advance on Cabul and poor
Hammersley's cause) would have goaded many men to mad-
ness; but I verily believe it has been the resurrection of me
from the very jaws of death-like Marryat's middy-for,
when in extreme danger the other day (brought on, by the
bye, by attendance on the death-bed of poor Hammersley,
whose death the medical men declare was accelerated, if not
positively caused, by the treatment he received), the most
insulting letter I ever received in my life . . . arrived; my
286
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
eager desire to reply to which gave a fillip to my system from
which I benefited at any rate.'
Accompanying General England through the only part
of the Bolan Pass where molestation was considered likely,
and himself aiding to flank the heights at the head of
Brahúi auxiliaries, he pushed on alone to Dádar. Here he
prepared his long report of the evacuation of Baluchistan,
and of the services rendered by himself and the officers
under his orders during the critical period through which
they had lately passed. At the expiration of three days, he
rode rapidly into Sakhar. There were reasons for this
speed, independently of political requirements and the
storm-cloud overhanging the province to which he was re-
turning. He had to report himself to a new superior officer
one whose acquaintance he had yet to make, and whose
sympathy he sought to enlist, if not for himself, at least for
those who had done good service in his department. But it
is now time to introduce a new actor, destined to play an
important part in the drama of which the closing scene was
to be laid in Sind.
In the autumn of 1841, Major-General Sir Charles
Napier,
a tried soldier of the Peninsula, and ex-governor
of Cephalonia, then in his sixtieth year, accepted from Lord
Hill the offer of a command in India. Arrived at Púna,
after taking over his military charge, he did not restrict his
attention to the mere neighbourhood of his place of sojourn,
but soon turned his thoughts to the critical state of British
relations with Afghanistan. Before long he had submitted
to Lord Ellenborough, among more general remarks, his
opinion on the operations necessary to be undertaken for
recovering our prestige and strengthening our position in
that quarter. Eventually, in August 1842, he was directed
to proceed to Sind and assume command of the troops there
287
-1842 MEETING WITH SIR CHARLES NAPIER.
and in Baluchistan, with entire control over the political
agents and civil officers. If the action of their chief be any
criterion, this nomination was neither distasteful to the
latter, nor unexpected by them. Some months prior to its
notification, Outram, with a view to securing the presence
of a military leader fitted by rank, experience, and energy,
to direct the movements requisite to retrieve his country's
reputation, had set his eye upon the old soldier as the
wanting man for the left bank of the Indus, and sought to
impress upon Mr. Willoughby his own conviction to that
effect. Despatch him in a steamer,' he wrote unreservedly
to the secretary on April 14, even if he has to stop at
Sukkhar.' Referring again to the wished-for arrangement
in a letter to Captain Durand of April 16, he says of the
proposed nominee: General Napier, whose character seems
formed for such a crisis.'
6
6
6
The General had been at Sakhar for about a week
when Outram arrived there on October 12. There is every
reason to believe that their mutual regard was as genuine
as their first meeting was outwardly cordial. They con-
sulted together freely and unreservedly on the more urgent
political questions of which they had to take professional
cognisance; and the long Dádar report was willingly de-
livered over to the superior officer for submission to the
Governor-General. Especial attention was given to the
pending negotiations with Sind, where both the Haidarabad
and Khairpur rulers were, more or less, disposed to resist
the demands of the British Government. It is not im-
probable that the return of General England's troops may
have led to the supposition that we had been compelled to
evacuate Afghanistan, and thus encouraged them in their
unfriendliness. Under the orders of Government, com-
municated before his departure from Kwatta, Outram drew
out a return of complaints against the Amirs for submission
288
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
to Sir Charles Napier. Before receipt of this paper the
General had himself commenced a memorandum of observa-
tions on the occupation of Sind for the Governor-General's
information. Among many pertinent paragraphs one as-
serted that several chiefs had neglected their treaty obliga-
tions; and pleaded' abundant reasons' why, in the position
then held by us in the country, we should take to ourselves
Karáchi, Sakhar, Bakhar, Shikarpur, and Sabzalkot. With
reference to this view, Outram repeated his impression that
the parties who had 'most deeply committed themselves'
were Mirs Rustam and Nasir Khan of Khairpur, and Mir
Nasir Khan of Haidarabad. But the proposals involved a
considerable amount of detail, into which it would be im-
possible to enter. We will therefore only add, to this notice
of them, that the memorandum' was completed after
personal communication with Outram, to whom the original
sketch was handed for perusal. His experience of these
countries,' wrote Sir Charles Napier, his abilities, and the
high situation in which he has been placed by the Governor-
General, render his opinion very important.' 'Since his
arrival,' he continued, he has given me every assistance.'
6
On October 22, Outram told Mr. Willoughby: 'I work
with hearty goodwill under Sir Charles, because he works
heartily with me, and sympathises in my degradation.' The
term is a strong one; but the severest blow of all had not
then been delivered. On October 26, as we gather from a
letter of that date again addressed to Mr. Willoughby,
Outram had been remanded to his regiment, and the
political establishment had been dissolved. Of the promised
appointment of Envoy to the States on the Lower Indus, not
a syllable was said. Neither by official nor semi-official com-
munication was a word of explanation on the subject offered.
The order bore date the 20th of the month; and thus it
ran :-
-1842
289
SCANT WAGES.
The Governor-General requests that Major-General Sir
C. Napier will express to Major Outram and the other
political officers, his thanks for the zeal and ability they
have manifested in the collection of the means of carriage
and supply, and in their various transactions with the native
chiefs and tribes, tending to facilitate and secure the descent
of the several columns of the army.'
Such was the only recognition, such the only reward,
ever vouchsafed to Major Outram and his hard-wrought
assistants, so far as Lord Ellenborough and the Government
of India were concerned: and in point of fact the only
official return Outram ever received for 'these three eventful
years' of exceptionally arduous and important service, was
this curt remand to regimental duty. Nevertheless Lord
Auckland stated in the House of Lords on February 26,
1843: He took that opportunity of saying that, throughout
these transactions, to no man in a public office was the
public service under greater obligations than to Major
Outram ; a more distinguished servant of the public did not
exist, and one more eminent in a long career.' And the
President of the Board of Control, Lord Fitzgerald, in reply,
expressed his cordial' concurrence in the terms applied by
Lord Auckland to Major Outram's services.¹
1
6
6
The reasons assigned by Outram himself for Lord Ellenborough's dis-
pleasure are detailed in the letter to Mr. Willoughby of October 22. Be it
observed that in each case he had deliberately sacrificed his own interest to
the demands of right and public honour :—
'My real offences being such as he cannot forget, i.e. my advocating poor
Hammersley's cause, and opposition to the disgraceful retreat (from Afghan-
istan) once determined on; for in the only instance in which he fancied he had
room to find fault, he has tacitly admitted that I was in the right—at least so I
read the acknowledgment of my letter defending the cession of Shál, without
comment or disapproval, which otherwise would have been expressed freely
enough, I presume.. As my name does not go up with his despatches, an-
nouncing the Kabul victories, of course I shall have no share in the honours
that will be showered. But I regret nothing that has passed; indeed you
are well aware that I fully laid my account to suffering personally in the cause
VOL. I.
·
·
U
290
1841-
JAMES OUTRAM.
Many personal regrets at the treatment experienced
might be added to many personal testimonials of unrequited
service, to prove how public opinion was shocked at this
unexpected result of a campaign to the success of which
Outram had so essentially contributed.
ourselves with an extract here and there
before us.
But we content
from the papers
The late Brigadier-General John Jacob was, at this time,
a subaltern in command of the Sind Horse. His services in
protecting the line of march of the returning troops through
Kachi had been handsomely acknowledged by General Eng-
land, who had attributed to his exertions the miraculous
tranquillity of the country,' and who had given him charge
of the outpost of Khangarh-now Jacobabad-with two
companies of infantry and two guns, in addition to his own
irregulars. I have just received,' be wrote to Outram on
October 27, 'your letter. . . about the abolition of the
politicals. As far as we small fry are concerned it must be
a matter of perfect indifference, I should think, to all; but
everyone must be indignant at the... way in which you have
been treated. . . . Pray accept my best thanks for all your
kindness to me. One thing you may be sure of, namely,
that no man was ever looked on with more profound respect
and admiration than yourself, not only by your friends, but
the very party against you. They might as well try to put
out the sun as to throw your services in the shade !'
Much in the same strain is Colonel Sutherland's letter
of October 31, in which he writes :—
'I was ... prepared to congratulate you on attaining
the highest office in the department, and you may judge of the
dismay with which I received last night the order of the 19th.
I could not at first believe that it applied to you, and I
of Hammersley, months ago; and were it all to do over again, I would not vary
I am prepared for the worst, and fully expect it.'
my course.
-1842
291
GRATEFUL TESTIMONIALS.
cannot yet believe that it is intended to affect you injuriously.
If services such as yours are not to be rewarded,
what is to become of us who have been leading inglorious
lives in tranquil India; and if his Lordship seeks to reward
only military services, where, in the lists of those who have
most distinguished themselves, or raised the military
reputation of their country, will he find anyone more deserv-
ing than James Outram ?'
=
An address from the clerks of the Sakhar agency, under
date October 29 - among the eight signatures to which are
those of men who did much good after-service in Sind, in
higher and more responsible positions—was full of gratitude
and sympathy. The language may have been a little soar-
ing and ambitious, but there can be no doubt that its spirit
was genuine, and that the good wishes expressed in it were
sincere. To Outram this evidence of appreciation must have
been gratifying; and none the less so because it especially
acknowledged the kind consideration he had shown for the
personal welfare of each member of his establishment in
seemingly trivial but really significant acts.'
6
On October 28, Sir Charles Napier had officially written
his compliance with Major Outram's request to proceed,
when convenient, to Bombay, intimating at the same time
that a steamer had been placed at his disposal. I cannot
allow you to leave this command,' he added, without ex-
pressing the high sense I entertain of your zeal and abilities
in the public service, and the obligations I personally feel
towards you for the great assistance which you have so
kindly and so diligently afforded to me; thereby diminish-
ing in every way the difficulties that I have to encounter as
your successor in the political department of Sind."
Nor was this all that the newly arrived commander had
1 See Appendix F.
v 2
292
1842.
JAMES OUTRAM.
to say of one whose single-minded usefulness and nobility of
character had been foreshadowed to him during his short
stay in Bombay, and personal acquaintance with whom set
the seal of truth upon local report. We learn from the
journals of the day that on November 5, a public dinner was
given to Major Outram by the Military Society at Sakhar,
on the occasion of his departure from Sind. At this, nearly
one hundred officers of the three Presidencies were present;
among them Sir Charles Napier, who, as chairman, spoke
as follows:
"Gentlemen,-I have told you that there are only to be
two toasts drunk this evening; one, that of a lady (the
Queen) you have already responded to, the other shall be
for a gentleman. But before I proceed any further, I must
tell you a story. In the fourteenth century there was in
the French army a knight renowned for deeds of gallantry
in war, and wisdom in council; indeed, so deservedly famous
was he, that by general acclamation he was called the knight
sans peur et sans reproche. The name of this knight, you
may all know, was the Chevalier Bayard. Gentlemen, I
give you the "Bayard of India,¹ sans peur et sans reproche,
Major James Outram, of the Bombay army."
¹ This honourable epithet has since become permanently linked to the
name of Outram. The fitness of the connection was quite recently referred to
in an anniversary sermon, grandly eloquent in its simplicity, delivered by
the Dean of Westminster to a crowded congregration in the Abbey.
293
CHAPTER X.
1842-1843.
Back in Sind again.-The Amirs and their Downfall.-Extracts from Journal.—
Defence of Haidarabad Residency.-Embarkation for England.
Ir Outram's departure from Sind occasioned a spontaneous
ebullition of personal regard on the part of his many friends.
in that province, his return to Bombay was, in every sense,
a moral triumph. A Government letter, acknowledging his
report of arrival, expressed the great satisfaction with which
the Governor in Council had perused Sir Charles Napier's
letter to his address, on taking charge of the political de-
partment he had vacated, and further assured him of the
'high gratification' which the Bombay authorities had derived
'from observing the eminent zeal and ability' with which he
had discharged the important duties confided to him during
the three past eventful years.' And in token that these were
not mere words of compliment, the Governor, ten days after
his arrival, offered him command of the Púna horse, an ap-
pointment just placed at his Excellency's disposal; stating
his regret that there was then no post available which, in point
of responsibility and emolument, would approach nearer to
those he had already held in the Western Presidency, ‘with
such distinguished advantage to the public service, previous
joining the Commander-in-Chief, in the field."
to
•
6
But Outram was not disposed to remain in India one day
longer than necessary, unless the State really required his
presence. The formation of an army of reserve at Firúzpur
had certainly made him scent possible warfare, and he had
294
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
written to Captain Durand on the subject before leaving
Sakhar. But Lord Ellenborough's reply to his request to
be allowed to perform in the field the military duty for which
he had become available, received in Bombay, held out little
prospect that his wishes would be gratified. His Lordship,
it was set forth, would with pleasure make use of his services
for active operations, but he trusted that there could be no
necessity, after return of the army from Afghanistan, for any
such taking place.' The Bombay appointment, honourable as
it was, offered no temptation to him to forego his homeward
visit after nearly twenty-four years of almost incessant work.
So returning his grateful acknowledgments for the Governor's
consideration, he declined the cavalry command on the plea
of having sent in his application for a year's furlough.
How it was that the home project was again deferred,
and that the further aid of the superseded political agent
was again required in Sind, under a new designation but for
the solution of an old question, we shall leave Outram to re-
late presently in his own words. It so happened that he was
invited to a public dinner organised by the community of
Bombay for the purpose of bidding him an honourable fare-
well, and testifying to him, on his embarkation for Europe,
that his Indian career had been highly appreciated by his
fellow-countrymen in the East. At this banquet all political
and official matters were carefully eschewed; and Mr.
Fawcett, of the house of Remington and Co., who presided
on the occasion, being hampered by no ties or traditions
of the covenanted service, must have been regarded as a
thoroughly independent chairman. Among other happy
eulogies on the guest of the evening, he said: 'Well has he
been compared by a gallant officer, in another place, to the
knight who, above all, bore the character of being sans peur
et sans reproche-the noble Bayard, the pride of chivalry,
the glory of France; for like him, bold in the field, wise in
council, courteous and gentle in the chamber, wherever he
}
-1843
295
REPLACED IN HARNESS.
has moved he has been admired, respected, and beloved. The
whole course of his service has been so marked with distinction
that, were I to endeavour to follow it, I should have to tres-
pass too long on your patience.
But the speaker was compelled to add that, contrary to
the original object of the great gathering, their guest would
need encouragement for renewed work rather than their good
wishes for temporary repose. Relieved from his duties, and
about to revisit his native land, he had just re-appeared
among them. Now, under sudden exigency, at the call of
the State, he had been replaced in harness :-
"With that readiness to sacrifice all personal considerations
which marks his character, knowing that the post of duty is
that of honour, without hesitation he is preparing to return,
and a few hours will see him on his route. Those who know
him best cannot but be assured that, whatever the duties
may be that will be entrusted to his charge, they will be ful-
filled in a manner beneficial to the public interest, and
honourable to himself. We will not say "Farewell,” but
we will cheer him on his course.'
6
A few days later, a similar entertainment followed at the
club--more of the nature of an affectionate recognition of a
comrade's merits by members of the civil and military services-
but we have no space to quote the expressions of confidence
and esteem to which utterance was then given. Truly, the
sunshine of social and official sympathy which the battered
' regimental captain' found awaiting him when he returned,
a snubbed and degraded man, to those who had known him
best and longest, was well calculated to cheer the warm heart
which had so long chafed and toiled under the mysterious
despotism then ruling the destinies of India. It encouraged
him as he entered on one more phase of depressing duty
under circumstances which his own journal will best ex-
plain :---
296
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
<
Having made every preparation for returning to England
after twenty-four years' absence, on the first application for
leave from my duty that I had ever made-taken my passage
in the steamer which was to sail on January 2, 1843-written
by the previous mail to my wife and mother to meet me in
London (from Edinburgh) by February 10 or 12—and in the
belief that the Government of India had no further occasion
for my services after the summary manner in which I had
been dismissed, on November 15, from the political control of
Sinde and Beloochistan, without thanks or acknowledgment
of any sort (and even without the direct communication from
Government which courtesy, at least, would dictate towards
a person who held one of the most responsible situations in
India, and who had committed no error, or, at least, had been
accused of none)-I was surprised at receiving, on December
12, the following letter directing me to return to Sind, should
Sir Charles Napier require me, but without expressing the
slightest consideration for my own wishes or convenience, and
without any reference to the Bombay Government, and its
Commander-in-Chief, at whose disposal I had been placed.
"From the Secretary to the Government of India.
"To Major Outram, &c., &c.
6
"d/ Camp Buddee, November 24, 1842.
"Sir,--Major-General Sir C. Napier having intimated a
wish to employ you as a Commissioner for the arrangement
of the details of a revised treaty which is to be proposed to
the Ameers of Sinde, I am directed to inform you that the
Governor-General will sanction any such appointment; and
you will hold yourself in readiness to proceed to join the
Major-General as soon as you may receive from him the
notification of his requiring your services.
"I have, &c., &c.
"(Signed) T. H. MADDOCK.'
.-1843
297
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
<
The summary manner in which I had been removed
from my late important charge, where I had been so long
the representative of Government, and the unceremonious
manner in which I was ordered back to serve in a subordinate
capacity where I had previously been supreme, caused my
most intimate friends to advise my declining again to place
myself at the Governor-General's disposal to the sacrifice of
my private interests, especially considering my previous
treatment at his Lordship's hands, and the ungracious manner
of my recall to Sind.
'But the principle which has ever guided me throughout
my career of service-implicit obedience to the orders of
Government (and when, as in this case, orders were con-
veyed, and no option was left to me)-I had no hesitation in
following on this occasion, and accordingly replied as follows:
-"Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter dated 24th ultimo; and to forward, for the information
of the Right Honourable the Governor-General of India, the
copy of a letter I addressed in consequence to the Political
Secretary to the Government of Bombay, with that gentle-
man's reply, and of my letter to the Adjutant-General of the
Bombay army, in accordance with which I purpose embark-
ing in a steamer which proceeds to Sind to-morrow.
expect to arrive at Sukkur about the 30th instant. Dated
Bombay, December 13.”¹
I
'My departure from Bombay was delayed till December
16, in consequence of the arrival, by the Suez mail on De-
cember 14, of General Ventura, for whom the steamer in
which I was to proceed to Sind was directed to be detained
a couple of days. The only notice I received from the
Governor-General of the devotion to Government I had thus
¹ We regret that economy of space compels us to omit the letter which
Major Outram drafted in his journal as expressive of what he would have
written had he considered his private conscience and feelings prior to public
duty.'
298
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
displayed, was the simple acknowledgment of my letter
through his secretary.'
Outram embarked on the date stated in the steam-frigate
'Semiramis,' which anchored off the Hujamri mouth of the
Indus on December 21. He then shifted into the 'Euphrates,'
one of two river-steamers towed by the larger vessel, and
moved up the stream. On December 24, after dark, he was
at anchor off the Haidarabad agency. During her upward
course from Thatta, the Euphrates had been hailed by
numerous boats bringing deputations from the several Amirs
sent to welcome their old acquaintance and adviser, and
anxious to obtain his assistance under the continually re-
curring perplexities which met them at every new step in the
negotiations with his countrymen and successors. To avoid
embarrassing discussions, he had been compelled to pass
them by on the plea of insufficient time. At Haidarabad
also, though he left the landing-place at an early hour in the
morning of the 25th, he found messengers from the Amirs
begging him to await visits from their masters; and excused
himself from receiving them on board much in the same
words used to the deputations. He, however, availed himself
of the occasion to address a letter to the darbár, thanking
the chiefs for their attentions, and expressing regret at in-
ability to attend upon their Highnesses then, with a hope
to return soon from Sakhar, after consultation with Sir
Charles Napier.
The journal continues :—
"The information I obtained during my voyage up the
Indus, and my previous knowledge of the chiefs of Sind,
satisfied me that the reports of their warlike preparations
were unfounded, probably promulgated by themselves, in the
hope that our demands would be less stringent, if we supposed
them in any way prepared for resistance. . . . I well knew
-1843
299
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
that they themselves were quite conscious of their inability
to oppose our power; that they had no serious intention
of the sort; and that nothing but the most extreme proceed-
ings and forcing them to desperation would drive them to it.
'On my arrival at Sakhar on the night of January 3, I
was much distressed, therefore, to learn that Sir Charles
Napier had actually marched some days previously to depose
Mir Rustam induced thereto by the subtle acts of Mir
Ali Murad, who, in the first place, had promulgated reports of
the hostile intentions and preparations of the other Amirs
.. and led the General to address them in a strain to
which they had not been accustomed. . . . At the same time
their fears were promoted by the misrepresentations of Ali
Murad as to the General's real intentions towards them, he
pretending to keep well with us . . . to save them, but
really playing his own cards to their ruin. Accordingly Sir
Charles having written to Mir Rustam and the others to
disperse their troops and disarm their followers . . . Ali
Murad led Mir Rustam to believe that
our intention
was to seize his person and family. In that supposi-
tion the old chief was induced to fly in one direction; Mir
Nasir Khan and Muhammad Husain in another; and Mir
Muhammad Khan to his fort in the desert, Imamgarh; all
these parties being represented as in hostile array. Rustam's
party was said to number upwards of 2,000 warriors, daily
increasing; Nasir Khan's about 8,000; and Mir Muhammad's
fort to be garrisoned by 500 men. On the flight of Mir
Rustam the Amirs of Upper Sind were directed to
obey Ali Murad as Ráis, to whom was to be given over also
the fourth shares of their territories, or the customary sup-
port of the chiefship. This, in addition to the cession of
Sakhar, Bakhar, and Rohri, and all the territory on the
eastern side of the Indus above Rohri, which had been
previously required by the new treaty. . . . Such was the
300
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
state of affairs when I joined Sir Charles Napier at Diji,
about 30 miles SE. from Sakhar, on January 4. I found the
General preparing an expedition to proceed against Imamgarh,
for which we marched the next night with a detachment con-
sisting of about 350 men of H.M. 22nd regiment, mounted
on camels, two 24-pounder howitzers of the camel battery,
and 60 of the Sind irregular horse, and accompanied by Ali
Murad and a few mounted followers.'
At Diji, Outram took the opportunity of submitting to
Sir Charles Napier his views as to what were the real objects
of the Amirs in pursuing the shuffling practice for which they
had become distinguished, and especially in the intrigues
and self-seeking of Ali Murad. The general, on his side,
discussed with Outram the course which it seemed most
advisable to approve for the better government of Sind in the
future. He inclined to the belief that a single chief would
be preferable to the oligarchy under which the province had
groaned for so many years. Outram, while admitting the
advantage of a powerful and undivided rule, doubted the wis-
dom and dwelt on the injustice of subverting, impoverishing,
and rendering hostile to ourselves the feudal chiefs as then
acknowledged; and had no confidence in the measures which
Ali Murad would introduce if placed at the head of affairs.
But let us revert to the pages of the journal:-
'We marched from Diji at 2 A.M. on January 6. While
riding with the advance shortly after sunrise, we met a man
on a camel, whom I recognised as an attendant of Mir Rustam,
and who, on seeing me, immediately dismounted and threw
himself at my feet. I took him aside and asked him why his
master had fled. . . . He replied that, having heard of my
arrival, the Amir had sent him to seek me to represent his
miserable state, and to beg my kind offices with the General.
Having ascertained from the man that the Mir's camp was
-1843
301
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
situated only a few miles off our line of march, I went back
to Sir Charles, told him what I had learnt, and begged to be
permitted to go myself to Mir Rustam to communicate the
messages of assurance which he (the General) had transmitted
through Ali Murad previous to the Amir's flight, but which
I was sure the latter had not honestly delivered. Sir
Charles allowed me to go: I took with me Captain Brown
A. D. C. (at his own request) and two horsemen. Having to
pass Ali Murad as I diverged from the road, I was necessi-
tated to inform him where I was going, and to avoid show-
ing mistrust invited his minister to accompany me. Luckily
there was no time to precede me with any false reports to
Mir Rustam's camp; otherwise the old man would have
again, doubtless, been scared away by representations that
the British troops were coming to attack him, it being Ali
Murad's object to prevent any direct communication between
us and his victims, and to promote the belief that Mir
Rustam was only bent on hostility. We came upon the
Amir's camp, at the distance of about ten miles, pitched on
an elevated spot in the midst of jungle. On our approach
being seen the utmost consternation was observable in the
shouting and hasty assemblage of the armed followers, while
the chiefs themselves mounted their horses to fly on the
supposition that we were the advance of a chuppao. My
name being called, however, I was gratified to see confidence
immediately restored: the chiefs dismounted and came to
meet me, at the same time keeping back their somewhat
excited followers. I was embraced by them all most cordi-
ally, and taken into their principal tent, a single fly not twelve
feet square, in which and a few wretched routies they and
their families had been exposed during the late heavy rains.
I was distressed to observe that Meer Roostam, who is seventy-
two years old, looked very much older and more broken than
when I last saw him; he had been, and still was unwell,
302
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
caused, doubtless, by exposure and anxiety, the evidences of
which were plainly traceable on his benign and venerable
countenance. The poor old chief freely disclosed, in the
presence of Ali Murad's own minister, how basely he had been
deceived; how he had been driven by his brother (Ali Murad)
to fly in dread of seizure and transportation; further, how
Ali Murad had pledged himself to watch over his interests
whilst he himself stayed with the British General. I gave
the old man, who expressed anxiety to go in person to Sir
Charles, every comfort that it was in my power to offer; but
not wishing to expose him to the heat and fatigue of the
journey in his then weak state, I said it would suffice to
send the eldest of the other chiefs to receive the General's
assurance in his behalf, and recommended that he should go
back with his family and followers to Khairpur, there to await
in quiet and shelter our return from the expedition on which
we were engaged-the object of which I told the chief in
order that he might see that we had not been in pursuit of
himself. After conversing a short time and drinking sherbet
with the Amir, I took a cordial farewell of all the chiefs old
and young, and proceeded to the spot fixed on for Sir Charles's
encampment, accompanied by Mirs Ali Akbar (second son of
Mir Rustam), and Dost Muhammad (brother of Mir Nasir
Khan); we arrived at about 3 P.M. In approaching the
General's quarters we had to pass through Ali Murad's camp,
who seeing the chiefs with me, came forward and embraced
them with an affected cordiality, and desired them to visit
him on their return from the interview with Sir Charles.
Meeting his visitors outside, the General took them into his
tent, where we all sat together on the carpet in the absence
of chairs. The chiefs delivered their message, setting forth
that Mir Rustam Khan had previously signified his ac-
quiescence to the new treaty, and was ready to sign it, and to
submit to any condition that might be imposed; that he had
-1843
303
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
Bled in consequence of its having been represented that, not-
withstanding the General's assurances, transportation was to
be the lot of himself and family; and more to the same effect.
Sir Charles replied, through the Munshi, in kind words, but
in the decided tone and terms which would be addressed to
European rebels. The chiefs evidently considered the mat-
ter less than the manner, and remarked moreover, that the
General neither referred to, or spoke to them through me,
which was further calculated to weaken their confidence. I
endeavoured to remove this impression by suggesting to Sir
Charles, after he had finished, to proffer them his hand, with
a view to show his sincerity; and this he very readily did.
Before returning to Mir Rustam the chiefs unfortunately went
to Ali Murad, who had a long conference and secret interview
with them—which ended, I was afterwards grieved to learn,
in buying them over to his interests against those of their
own father. They saw Ali Murad's power established, and
that of Mir Rustam gone, and the ingrates gladly secured
to themselves the pledge of the continuance of their own
possessions, with an increase thereto from the rising sun:
consequently (as I have to-day ascertained through a spy I
sent into Rustam's camp for the purpose of watching pro-
ceedings) so far from giving any confidence to the poor old
Mir, his scheming deputies described the angry tone of the
General, and conveyed only, as his orders, that they were all
to proceed with their families to the fort of Diji, and there
remain under Ali Murad's protection. They also dwelt on the
obviously little influence I had with the General, and argued,
therefore, that no dependence could be placed on my doing
anything for them. Thus was effected Ali Murad's object
in preventing the return of Mir Rustam to his own home at
Khairpur . . . where it had been appointed that all parties
were to meet me for the arrangement of the details of the
treaty and settlement of all differences.
He sought to
304
1842.-
JAMES OUTRAM.
drive the other Amirs to commit themselves either by acts of
aggression, or by keeping "out," so as to induce the General
to confiscate their lands and make them over to him-the
rapacious man not being content with the whole power, and
upwards of half of their remaining possessions which had al-
ready been assigned to him.
'I represented this to Sir Charles, and suggested-with a
view to convince Ali Murad that he would gain nothing more
by persecuting his brethren further, and that, therefore, his
best policy would now be to obtain for himself the merit of
appearing a mediator in their behalf-that it should be dis-
tinctly intimated to that chief that, should the other Amirs
drive the British Government to confiscate their estates, they
would not devolve on him, but be attached by the British
Government. Sir Charles, whose kind heart always induces
him to adopt the most humane course, readily acceded to
this, and wrote to Ali Murad accordingly; but unfortunately
here, where a decided expression would have convinced that
chief, the whole effect of the measure was annulled by the
termination of the letter thus :-' at least I think that
would be done,' or some expression to that purport, which,
encouraged as Ali Murad is by the uniform kindness with
which the General always treats him, while it gave the Amir
an idea of our object, left him the hope of still effecting his
aim. Indeed he had now the assurance to write a long letter,
advocating the advantage of giving him the entire control of
the property of the State, as well as its government—all
the other Amirs and chiefs to rely on him for support.
'These discussions occurred during our march to Imam-
garh, where we arrived on January 11. Mir Muhammad
Khan, who never had an idea of opposing us (as had been
represented), of course fled on hearing of our march from
Diji, leaving nothing in the fort but a little grain, and a
large quantity of powder which had apparently been stored
-1843
305
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
there for years, and which, although a very inferior stuff, and
caked like hard mud, came into play in blowing up the for-
tress. This, as a stronghold to which the chiefs of Sind
might hereafter have recourse in the event of rebellion, it
was a good measure to destroy; for although we had made
good our march with a detachment of artillery, infantry, and
horse, sufficient to take the place when it got there, it was
very evident we might very easily have been prevented
reaching it, by filling the few scanty cutcha wells at our
halting places in the desert. The demolition of this fort will
also destroy the confidence of the chiefs of both Upper and
Lower Sind in their other desert strongholds, such as Shah-
garh, Umarkot, and others.
'The distance from Diji to Imamgarh measured very
nearly eighty miles, which we had made in seven marches
-the first three through thick jungle, and a not very bad
road, the remaining four through an ocean of loose sand hills
sometimes very high and steep, over which we had much
difficulty in taking the guns (two 24-pounder howitzers of
the camel battery). Fatigue parties of infantry were con-
stantly required to drag these up the ascent, although some-
times 25 camels were yoked to each besides. During the
13th, 14th, and 15th, the detachment halted, while the
sappers were occupied in blowing up the fort, in utterly
destroying which all the powder found in the place (7,000
pounds) was expended.
<
During our stay at Imamgarh a confidential Munshi
arrived from Mir Rustam, charged with a last appeal to the
General (as he communicated to me verbally on the evening
of his arrival, when too late to present him). During the
night Ali Murad's minister, Ali Husain, got hold of the
man, and bought him over to his master's interests. Next
morning I ascertained that they were occupied together
for upwards of an hour: the result was the delivery of a letter
VOL. I.
X
306
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
of a very different purport, more calculated to irritate than to
conciliate, the fictitious document having been substituted
for the real one by inserting it within the cover to which
Mir Rustam's seal was attached. Fortunately I had obtained
a clue to the villainy that was going on, and warned Sir
Charles of it prior to the receipt of the letter, which accord-
ingly he estimated as it deserved.
'On the night of the 15th, I departed from Imamgarh for
Diji, en route to Khairpur, to prepare for the meeting of the
chiefs of Upper Sind, and Wakils of the Amirs of Lower
Sind, which had been fixed for the 25th, and determined
to make one more effort to save Mir Rustam. I made
a détour to his camp (which still continued where I had
left it) and arrived there about 10 A.M. The old chief
and all about him received me very civilly, and appeared
grateful for the trouble I took on their account, but
their confidence in me was evidently much shaken. The
corrupted Munshi (who had returned from the General's
camp) had doubtless aided those previously in Ali Murad's
interests in misrepresenting my real feelings and their
suspicions, consequently, that I was insincere in my friendly
professions, were further confirmed when I declared to the Mir,
in order that no unfounded hopes should be raised, that it
was not in my power to alter the arrangements which had
already been decided by the Governor-General, i.e. the terms
of the new treaty, and the elevation of, and pledges to Mir
Ali Murad; but I said it was my desire to settle all details,
and the arrangement of the territory that remained, as much
as possible, fairly towards all parties. The Amir then re-
marked, “What remains to be settled? Our means of
livelihood are taken;" adding, "Why am I not to continue
Ráis for the short time I have to live?"
'He gave me a sort of vague promise to follow me in
two or three days to Khairpur, but at the time appeared so
-1843
FAVOURABLE FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
307
dejected and despairing, that I had little expectation he
would do so. He parted kindly from me, however, as did the
others, and I continued my journey to Diji, which I com-
pleted on one camel (upwards of 90 miles in consequence of
the détour I had taken) by six o'clock on the evening of the
16th. My only escort through this "hostile " country was a
couple of Baluch horsemen.'
It was, perhaps, in the brief interval after meeting at
Diji, and before setting out for the desert-fort at Imamgarh,
to which we have already referred, that the marked difference
of opinion on Sind politics between Sir Charles Napier and
Major Outram first found expression; and that the germs
appeared of a controversy which, to whatever extent developed
in later years, was unfortunately never, at any subsequent
time, exhausted in manuscript or printed volumes. Amid
the many statements and counter-statements addressed to the
public by the principals in this paper-war and their advo-
cates, there might be no serious difficulty in seeking out the
main issues, but no material object would be gained in the
process, and there is manifest harm in needlessly reviving
an ungracious theme. Nothing could have been of brighter
augury than the first impressions mutually derived at
Sakhar in the autumn of 1842. Our acquaintance has
been very short,' then wrote Sir Charles to the younger
officer, with that generous frankness for which he was
remarkable, but I trust it will continue long. I assure you
that the high opinion which I everywhere heard expressed of
your character before I had the pleasure of your acquaintance,
has been more than confirmed in my mind during the few
days we have served together; and I only regret that we did
not meet at a more early period and in the field. Believe
me when I say that wherever you may be, my best wishes and
sincere respect and friendship will follow.' Outram's openly
avowed admiration of the General has been already noted in
x 2
308
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
the preceding chapter. But his letter to his mother dated
January 12, 1843, is more to the point still. It was addressed
from Imamgarh, at the close of the week's march they had
had together over a desert country; and after that each must
have opened his mind to the other in personal conversation
on the nature of the work they had undertaken :—
'You will not know where to look for the place whence
this is dated so I must explain that it is a small
fort, situated in the midst of the desert, about 100 miles
a little to the eastward of south of Khairpur, the capital of
Upper Sind a stronghold where the chiefs of Sind are in
the habit of taking refuge when in rebellion or pressed by
foreign invasion. . . . I found, on joining the General, that
he had been led into the field by hostile indications on the
part of the Amirs, and that he had been encamped in the
neighbourhood of Khairpur some days before my arrival.
I had ascertained sufficiently on my voyage up the Indus,
however . . . and by previous experience of these people,
that they were instigated to feeble attempts to arm by mis-
trust of us, and with a view to defence rather than any idea
of acting offensively: and, as my duty is peace-maker, I hope
I shall have the happiness to be instrumental towards pre-
serving amity. My present chief, Sir Charles Napier, is fortu-
nately so good and kind-hearted a man that he never would
drive the Amirs to extremity so long as he could prevent
bloodshed, and I myself am satisfied that all will be quietly
settled . . . he and I are equally anxious to prevent war-
fare. We shall be back at Khairpur about the 20th instant,
when, I doubt not, the chiefs will combine to arrange matters
amicably. After arranging with the Upper Sind Amirs
I shall have to go to Haidarabad to effect a settlement with
those of Lower Sind: so I fear my calculation of going home
in the March steamer is wrong, and that I cannot, at any
rate, get away before April. In the meantime I am very un-
•
- 1843
309
ALI MURAD.
comfortably situated, having brought nothing up with me
but a few suits of clothes, in the determination not to stay in
this country. My position as subordinate, where formerly I
was supreme, is very grating; but of course I must suppress
all such personal considerations in a sense of public duty;
neither do I complain, or work less zealously than if I were
as formerly. Indeed it would be most ungrateful to Sir
Charles Napier were I to do otherwise; for he is most kind
and considerate.'
On January 20, Outram proceeded to Khairpur, and
there he found the Wakils of the Lower Sind Amirs; but
no representative on the part of those of Upper Sind was in
attendance except Ali Murad's minister, who had accompanied
him. That Amir himself remained with Sir Charles, and
must have been well pleased to be rid of an English officer
who, with full knowledge of Sind affairs, had such good cause
to suspect and scrutinise his acts. We need not now pause to
inquire to what extent the non-fulfilment of Outram's wish
to bring about an interview between the General and Mir
Rustam is to be attributed to the scheming of this ambitious
younger brother. Certain it is that the old chief, impelled
to destruction, under some strong and secret influence, fled,
and became confounded with our enemies. January 25, the
last day allowed to the futigive Amirs for submission, passed
away without the appearance in the British camp of any of
the parties, either personally or by proxy.
About this period, Outram was informed through Sir
Charles Napier that the Governor-General had fixed his
salary, as 'Commissioner' in Sind, at 1,500 rupees (150l.) per
mensem. He acknowledged the intimation in the following
non-official letter:
'My dear Sir Charles,—I have to-day received your letter
forwarding that from Government fixing my salary at 1,500
310
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
rupees per mensem. So far from murmuring at the amount,
(although less by 200 rupees than I received as political
agent in Guzerat years ago,' from which I was transferred to
Sinde on no suing of my own) I really do not consider that I
deserve so much, for, in fact, I have been unable to effect
anything as commissioner as yet, and see little prospect of
doing more.
'Whatever may be my private objections to receiving what
possibly might be construed as a pecuniary favour,2 I must,
without reference to any personal feelings whatever, abstain
from accepting public money which I have not earned. I
beg you will not be annoyed with me, therefore, for declining
to take advantage of the authority to draw salary as "Com-
missioner," or rather the salary assigned to me personally not
being that which commissioners in India enjoy.
"Pray do not suppose that I purpose officially objecting
to receive the money, or that I purpose taking any notice
whatever of the matter: I merely purpose allowing the half-
sheet of Government foolscap to remain a dead letter-or,
rather, I have destroyed it, that I might not be tempted
hereafter to make use of it.
'I shall simply draw my Captain's pay in the field to which
I have an undoubted right without being beholden to any.
I am too glad of the honour of your friendship and confidence
to require or wish for further advantage so long as I continue
with you. I shall defer sending this letter, however, until
you dispense with my services, lest it should induce you to
do so one day sooner than you otherwise intended.
'I am, &c. &c. &c.
' (Signed)
J. OUTRAM,'
¹ The political agent's monthly salary in Sind and Baluchistan was 3,250
rupees (3251.)
2 The following note was Outram's own on the record :-This has no
allusion to my dismissal from office of course, but to an accusation from his
Lordship of political dereliction from veracity which was not withdrawn,
although the refutation was received, and was unanswerable.
-1843
311
LETTER TO SIR CHARLES.
The writer of this letter, delivered to the General on
February 20, was, however, influenced by other motives than
here expressed, in acting as he had done. Foreseeing the
utter ruin of the Khairpur chiefs, he dreaded lest they should
involve in the same calamity their cousins of Haidarabad,
men towards whom he was attracted by the recollection of a
lengthened friendly intercourse, and he had solicited the
General's permission to remove to the city of that name, in
the hope of adjusting matters by personal interference. In
another letter to Sir Charles Napier, bearing the precise date
of that declining the salary, will be found the following
passages :-
'I am sorry to confess myself unable entirely to coincide in
your views, either as respects the policy or justice of, at least
so suddenly, overturning the patriarchal government to which
alone Sind has been accustomed. . . . I say patriarchal, for,
however we may despise the Amirs as inferior to ourselves,
either in morality or expansion of intellect, each chief
certainly lives with, and for, his portion of the people; and
I question whether any class of the people of Sind, except the
Hindoo traders . . . would prefer a change to the best
government we could give them. . . .
'The specific I advocated was, affording protection to the
trading classes who should seek to locate in the bazaars of
our cantonments, and refuge to the serfs as cultivators in the
proposed Shikarpoor farm (obtained on fair terms of purchase).
I was sanguine that the mere force of example, which the
prosperity of our bazaars and flourishing state of our farm
must have afforded to the neighbouring chiefs, would have
caused them, from motives of self-interest, similarly to pro-
mote trade-consequently to cherish their Hindus and foster
agriculture-and consequently, again, to improve the state of
the serf. The facility of obtaining protection under British
312
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
laws in the heart of Sind, must have compelled the rulers
so to govern their people as to prevent their seeking our
protection: thus our object would have been gained without
either the appearance or reality of injustice.
'It grieves me to say that my heart, and the judgment
God has given me, unite in condemning the measures we are
carrying out for his Lordship as most tyrannical—positive
robbery. I consider, therefore, that every life which may
hereafter be lost in consequence will be a murder, and I
cannot but think that the sudden revolution we seek to
effect is as little called for by necessity, as unjustifiable in
fact.
'Until we entered Sind, I verily believe all classes in the
country were as happy as those under any government in
Asia. The amity with which four rulers at Haidarabad,
and four at Khairpur, acted together, was dwelt upon by all
who visited these countries with wonder and admiration.
Although every chief ruled his own people, each brotherhood
had one head, or "Rais," for the conduct of the foreign re-
lations of the State, and whose power interposed in internal
quarrels. I do not justify our location in Sind under the
terms of the former treaty (my objections to which, stated to
Colonel Pottinger at the time . . . I submitted to you), and
undoubtedly our coming here has been the cause of much
misrule. For instance, we destroyed the ruling head of
Lower Sind where now six chiefs have equal powers; and we
undermined the power of the "Ráis" of Upper Sind to his
ultimate destruction. I am, therefore, very sensible that it is
our duty to remedy the evils which we have ourselves caused,
and my idea as to the mode in which we might have done
so I have stated above.
'You observe that I myself had pointed out Ali Murad's
previous consistency of character, and advocated his claims
to the "Ráis "-ship. I did recommend that his claims to that
-1843
313
LETTER TO SIR CHARLES.
dignity, when it became vacant by Rustam's death, should
be admitted, as consonant with the customs of the country,
and as politic, because Ali Murad never would have sub-
mitted to the domination of any of his nephews, and in
any struggle with them would have been victorious.
and because Ali Murad is personally a more able man, as far
as we can judge, than any of the others, and, under our
strict control and guidance, might be prevented from mis-
using his power; but I never contemplated conferring the
chiefship on him before the demise of Mir Rustam-a usurpa-
tion which must turn all classes against him, who otherwise
would have been as ready to support Ali Murad as any of the
others. . . I never had any idea of dispossessing any of the
other chiefs of any portion of their territory to uphold Ali
Murad's power, which is sufficiently secured by our counte-
I consider that the superior share of territory
assigned to the Ráis by Meer Sohrab, was for the main-
tenance of troops necessary to protect the State against
foreign aggression which, as I before remarked,' is no longer
required under British protection.
nance
'Had I been in your position, of course I must have
obeyed; as it is, I consider myself fortunate that I am here
as your subaltern . . . for I know you will never order me
to do what my conscience condemns; and if I find it im-
possible to arrange details which the parties spurn, and you
are satisfied that I have honestly exerted myself to the ut-
most of my ability, I hope you will allow me to depart-which
I shall do, I assure you, with a heavy heart, for it is my
most earnest desire to serve you usefully, in gratitude for
the extreme kindness I have ever experienced from you.
'I fear I can be of no manner of use here now, but still
hope I may possibly do something at Haidarabad, both with
the Upper and Lower Sind Amirs, should you send me there.
¹ Appendix G.
314
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
'I make no excuses for the freedom with which I have
expressed myself, because you asked my sentiments, and, I
know, would expect me to give them without disguise.
'I cannot close this without expressing my sorrow that
you should have such a very low estimate of the Amirs
personally. I call them "children" merely in reference to
their puerile dealings with us and foolish suspicions, but
they are much like most Oriental princes, and, in my
opinion, equally able to manage their own affairs. . . .
'It is with very great concern I write what may possibly
cause you annoyance, or presume to differ from you in
opinion, my dear Sir Charles, but you would consider me un-
worthy of your esteem did I hesitate to express my sentiments
when you call for them.'
In restricting our extracts, we have omitted very much
valuable matter; but the object of selection has been rather
to show the general views of the writer on the question with
which he had to deal, than to instruct the reader in the very
intricate details of Sind history and politics, a thorough com-
prehension of which must be acquired out of the range of
biography. It is but fair to add the General's brief but
genial reply:--
'My dear Outram,-Your long letter, and dinner, came
in together, and I only write just to say I have not read it—
ergo, can't answer it. I went to the end just to see if you
had heard aught of the Vakeels, and see a few words about
giving me annoyance. My dear friend, you cannot do that;
a man that can be annoyed at a friend who tells him frankly
his opinions, even had they not been asked and are honoured,
has neither good sense nor good feeling; and I assure you,
you may trust that I have enough of both to avoid such
weakness.
'Whatever your letter contains, whether we agree or
-1843
315.
THE CRISIS APPROACHES.
not, nothing can affect the sincere regard with which I am,
always,
'Yours, &c., &c.,
(Signed) C. Napier.'
Sir Charles Napier did not long tarry in the deserts
around Imamgarh. Having shown that this isolated strong-
hold was not inaccessible to his troops, and having destroyed
its more material defences, he thought it well to abandon
the uninviting locality. On January 18, he was within
reach of provisions and water in abundance. Four days
later he was at Pir Abu Bakar, a station near Diji. Here,
agreeably to his report to the Governor-General, he was to be
joined by the remainder of the force, with which he would
advance towards Haidarabad, should the negotiations which
Major Outram had undertaken not progress satisfactorily.
We have shown that nothing had been done up to January
25. On the 28th the General wrote from Haláni, about
twelve miles from the Indus, and on the high road between
Khairpur and Haidarabad, that the Lower Sind Amirs had all
sent vakils with full powers to Major Outram. Those in
Upper Sind having made no sign, had been addressed by a
special proclamation extending the time for appearance up to
February 1. Military operations, it was stated, would go
forward; but the persons of the chiefs would be respected,
and all considered as friends up to the specified date. Outram
himself was, in accordance with his request, ordered to Haidar-
abad; but the letter of instructions miscarried, or was treacher-
ously withheld, and he did not leave Sakhar until February 4,
reaching his destination by steamer on the 8th idem. Sir
Charles was then at Daulatpur, about 90 miles north of
Haidarabad.
Amid the clouds and smoke of controversy in which this
particular passage of history has been enveloped, we discern
316
1842
JAMES OUTRAM.
and may safely lay down as fact that, while the General
officer who exercised civil and military control in Sind was,
in accordance with his own views and under the thorough
sanction of the Governor-General in India, hastening to
bring about a crisis which he believed to be both excusable
and imperative, his Commissioner was in the false position
of one acting against his judgment and conscience, but under
a sense of inexorable duty.
On the day of his arrival at Haidarabad, and on the day
following, Outram held conferences with the Amirs. At these
were present Mir Nasir Khan and sons, and Mir Muhammad
Khan, representing the ruling chiefs of Lower Sind, and
Mirs Rustam Khan and sons, Mir Nasir Khan, and Mir
Muhammad Khan of Khairpur. The Commissioner pressed
upon them the acceptance of the new treaties; but the
resistance displayed was of a determined character. It was
argued by the Amirs that, having never broken the old
agreements into which they had entered with the British
Government, there was no necessity to impose upon them new
and objectionable terms as punishment for an offence which
they had not committed. In the light of free agents, they
declined them in toto. There was one condition, however,
on which they would be induced to submit: that was, the re-
storation to Mir Rustam of the turban of sovereignty. They
further begged that the march of the British troops might
be delayed; otherwise it would be impossible for them to
withhold the Baluchis from aggressive operations. On the
afternoon of February 9, deputies from the Haidarabad
Amirs waited on Major Outram, and applied the seals of their
Highnesses to a written pledge to sign the new treaty.
Three days afterwards, a further conference was held, at which
the Persian copies of the draft treaties were produced, and
a formal request made to the Amirs, both of Upper and
Lower Sind, to affix their seals in the presence of the British
-1843
317
THE CRISIS ARRIVES.
Commissioner. The meeting was so far satisfactory that the
Haidarabad Mirs, also Mirs Rustam and Muhammad of Upper
Sind, did as required, and Mir Nasir Khan of Khairpur
promised compliance on the following morning. But it was
evident, from the signs out of doors, that the Baluchis meant
mischief, and, notwithstanding the precaution taken by the
chiefs against outrage, one of the British officers of the
escort was struck by a stone. On the following afternoon,
confidential agents from the Amirs waited upon Major Outram
to ask for assurances on behalf of Mir Rustam, whose rights
the Baluch Sirdars had pledged themselves to uphold. As it
was impossible to give these, the deputies expressed themselves
to the effect that there was little hope of allaying the excite-
ment of the people. The Commissioner, they urged, had
demanded that the Amirs should control their soldiers and
subjects, and had promised that the General would carefully
consider their alleged grievances. If any replies on these
points were to be made they would bring them that night.
Otherwise it was to be taken for granted that their masters
could do nothing further. The messenger did not return that
night. Sir Charles Napier was then sixty miles from the
capital, at Sakarand, where he had halted three days in
compliance with Major Outram's request.
On February 14, Outram saw cause to believe that open
hostility was intended by the Amirs. Independently of ap-
pearances in his immediate vicinity, our seizure of certain
men of the Marri tribe, reported by the General, would, he
thought, bring matters to a crisis. He wrote to Sir Charles
accordingly, and addressed a request to the officer command-
ing H.M.'s 41st regiment, then en route to Karachi, to halt
at Thatta, or the former place, pending further orders for its
disposal. On February 15, he wrote his now historical de-
spatch to the General, describing the attack upon the British
Residency near Haidarabad. It was characteristic of the
318
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
writer that he desired the officer in command of the escort
to report the brilliant affair. Sir Charles Napier, however,
returned Captain Conway's despatch, insisting that as Major
Outram's diplomatic functions had ceased with the first shot
fired, it was his duty to report, as senior officer present. To
this Outram was only reconciled by the General's assurance
that his representation of Captain Conway's gallant service
would most benefit the latter. The official account is brief:
but we curtail it in order to add a few particulars heretofore
unpublished :-
My despatches of the last few days will have led you to expect.
that my earnest endeavours to effect an amicable arrangement with
the Ameers of Sinde would fail; and it is with much regret I have
now to report that their Highnesses have commenced hostilities
by attacking my residence this morning, which, after four hours'
most gallant defence by my honorary escort, the Light Company
of Her Majesty's 22nd regiment, commanded by Captain Conway,
I was compelled to evacuate, in consequence of our ammunition
running short.
At 9 A.M. this morning, a dense body of cavalry and infantry ¹
took post on three sides of the Agency compound (the fourth
being defended by the Planet' steamer, about 500 yards distant),
in the gardens and houses which immediately command the in-
closure, and which it was impossible to hold with our limited
numbers. A hot fire was opened by the enemy, and continued in-
cessantly for four hours; but all their attempts to enter the Agency
inclosure, although merely surrounded by a wall varying from four
to five feet high, were frustrated by Captain Conway's able distribu-
tion of his small band, and the admirable conduct of every indi-
vidual soldier composing it, under the gallant example of their
commanding officer and his subalterns, Lieutenant Harding and
Ensign Pennefather, Her Majesty's 22nd regiment, also Captains
Green, of the 21st regiment native infantry, and Wells, of the
15th regiment, who volunteered their services, to each of whom
was assigned the charge of a separate quarter; also to your aide-de-
'Ascertained, afterwards. to have amounted to 8,000 men under the com-
mand of Mir Shahdad Khan, his cousin Mir Muhammad Khan, Nawab Alımad
Khan Laghári, and many principa! chiefs,
1
-1843 DEFENCE OF HAIDARABAD RESIDENCY.
319
camp Captain Brown, Bengal engineers, who carried my orders to
the steamers, and assisted in working her guns and directing her
flanking fire. Our ammunition being limited to forty rounds per
man, the officers directed their whole attention to reserving their
fire and keeping their men close under cover, never showing them-
selves or returning a shot, except when the enemy attempted to rush,
or showed themselves in great numbers. Our hope of receiv-
•
•
ing a reinforcement and supply of ammunition by the 'Satellite '
being disappointed, on the arrival of that vessel without either,
shortly after the commencement of the attack, it was decided at
12 A.M., after being three hours under fire, to retire to the steamer
while still we had sufficient ammunition to fight the vessel up the
river; I requested Captain Conway to keep the enemy at bay for
one hour, while the property was removed, for which that time
was ample, could the camp followers be induced to exert them-
selves: accordingly, after the expiration of another hour (during
which the enemy, despairing of otherwise effecting their object,
had brought up six guns to bear upon us), we took measures to
evacuate the Agency. Captain Conway called in his posts, and all
being united, retired in a body, covered by a few skirmishers, as
deliberately as on parade, carrying off our slain and wounded.
1
So far the official report. We add a supplementary
statement from a source not less authentic. It should be
premised that the Residency, as already shown, was situated
in an enclosure or compound, the wall of which was from
four to five feet high. This wall was built more or less
parallel to the then river bank; its length-roughly N.W.
to S.E.—was probably 300 yards, and its breadth 200. In-
cluded herewith were two smaller enclosures on the N.W.
face, in which the doctor and his assistants had houses. At
the S.E. end was a village, with bazar and orchard apper-
taining. The gate was on the N.E. side, the direction in
which lay the city of Haidarabad.
'An original draft in Outram's handwriting, which has had the advantage
of supervision by an officer who bore the chief part in the honourable and notable
exploit narrated-Captain, now Major-General, T. S. Conway (C.B.).
320
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
The position for the first three hours is thus described :—
To the westward an approach by the bed of a nullah was
watched by a party of fifteen men under Lieutenant Penne-
father, guarding the wall.
To the front,¹ four scouts watched a body of horse, and
occasionally fired shots to keep the assailants at a distance.
Twenty men, under Captain Wells, manning part of the
wall, watched the gate: some ten men more being placed in
reserve under cover of the cook-house, in readiness to repel
any sudden rush to this quarter.
Twenty men under Lieutenant Harding manned another
part of the wall. The whole were obliged to lie very close in
consequence of the commanding fire from the flat-roofed upper-
storied houses in the neighbouring compounds; and never
showed their heads above the wall, except when the enemy.
threatened a rush at the gate, or to surmount the wall on the
opposite side. Each man bored a hole with his bayonet,
through which to watch the enemy, and to fire at every
favourable opportunity.
There was also a party of thirty men to watch the enemy
occupying the adjoining village, outbuildings, and detach-
ment lines, in dense masses. Of this party a corporal and
three men were posted in a convenient building to pre-
vent the enemy surmounting some flat-roofed stables available.
One particular position, considered the most important, was
occupied by Captain Conway himself, although from time to
time he visited other posts. Conductor Keily, with a com-
missariat guard of a Naigue and three sipahis, kept the
entrance from the bazar.
A flat-roofed office of considerable elevation was held by
Captain Green and fifteen men-stationed at the windows, or
wall, and on the roof. This position commanded the bazar
square and communication with the vessels, and prevented
¹ The gate-side-i.e. looking towards the city-is the 'front.'
-1843
321
RETIREMENT IN ORDER.
the enemy showing himself outside the orchard wall; he was,
moreover, kept in check by the fire from the 'Planet' steamer.
At the expiration of three hours-when it was de-
cided to withdraw after one hour more, and the enemy
were bringing up their guns, not before observed-it was
resolved, as a preparatory measure, to abandon the front
positions of the compound. Accordingly, at a preconcerted
signal, the parties posted there fell back to the Residency,
which then became the front line of defence.
The hour allotted for carrying off the baggage having ter-
minated, the retreat was sounded, on which all posts except
one were abandoned, and the men closed in double march at
a gate appointed. When formed, Captain Conway marched
the party by sections to the river front of the still guarded
post, and then marched in column directly down to the
steamer, the march being the signal for the last batch of
defenders to drop from the windows, and cover the retiring
column by skirmishing to the rear in extended order.
About the period of the second formation, Captain Brown,
having observed the enemy preparing a battery behind
the embankment of a nullah, transferred himself from the
'Planet' to the 'Satellite' steamer, which had then arrived,
and took up a position in her, so as to rake the nullah and
prevent the enemy placing three guns they were bringing
up against us and which were afterwards used in position
to annoy the vessels in their upward passage. While the
'Planet' was occupied in bringing off the flat,' three guns
were brought through the Agency compound, and placed in
battery under the trees in front of the gate where our
soldiers had last formed. Their fire was met, and almost
Planet's 'single twelve-pounder;
embarked without loss-the
entirely kept under, by the
and the detachment was
"
wounded and corpses of the slain having been previously
removed on board.
VOL. I.
Y
322
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
}
The first object being to secure the fuel depôt at the
village of Kotri, about three miles up the opposite bank of
the river, ere yet the enemy had time to destroy it, the
'Satellite' steamer was immediately despatched for its protec-
tion, until a sufficiency of wood to enable both vessels to
pursue their course up the river had been laid in. The
three guns formerly alluded to as having been withdrawn,
which in the meantime had been brought into position
higher up the river, opened their fire as the 'Satellite'
passed. She returned the fire, and by her good practice dis-
mounted one gun.
6
The next point was to carry off the large flat which
was moored to the shore immediately opposite the enemy's
guns, to effect which the Planet' remained. The flush
decks of the river-steamers affording no protection from
shot for those on board, the officers commanding them
had prepared bulwarks, previous to the embarkation of the
troops, by piling up every movable article. Under this
cover all except those employed in working the vessels were
well protected; but the removal of the unwieldy flat was
an operation which obliged all hands belonging to the
'Planet' (and especially her commander, Mr. Cole) to expose
themselves much. That they did so with impunity is extra-
ordinary, because they were under a very hot fire for more
than twenty minutes. The enemy, emboldened by the
departure of the 'Satellite,' sought to approach the remaining
vessel across the dry bed of the river; and only fell back to
the 'long shot' position after examples had been made
among the more venturesome of their number. Three times
did the ‘Planet' fail to attain her object: and three times
had she to return and go round before bringing off her charge in
tow from under the hostile guns. During this proceeding the
soldiery on board had kept their fire in reserve, as heretofore,
only opening as opportunity was afforded by the increased
audacity of their opponents.
-1843
323
KILLED AND WOUNDED.
The 'Planet' then followed the 'Satellite,' running the
gauntlet of the artillery, and the fire of the enemy from every
hollow which afforded cover, with no loss. Large bodies of
the enemy kept company with her for about two miles up the
river, when they departed. The 'Planet' having delayed at
Kotri on the right bank, while the 'Satellite' was completing
her fuel, both vessels continued their upward course until
sunset, when they anchored for the night about ten miles
above the Agency. On the 16th they pursued their voyage at
daylight, and at 9 A.M. anchored opposite to and about a mile
from Matári, where, shortly afterwards, the advanced guard
of the army arrived.
Outram wrote that in the operations above described, the
loss on our side was only two killed and eleven wounded; while
there were, on the side of the enemy, more than sixty killed,
and 'probably the usual estimate-quadruple of that number
wounded.' This extraordinary disparity he attributed to the
'judicious disposal of our men, and their steady maintenance
of their posts, to draw them from which all attempts of the
enemy failed-except to the extent of springing up,' when-
ever the latter tried to close, 'delivering their fire, and again
squatting, before the enemy had time to take aim or even
fire.' Thus it was, he continued, that the assailants became
momentarily less daring, and were at last obliged to bring
up six guns to force an imperfect low-walled enclosure of
200 yards square, defended by only one hundred men against
countless numbers possessing commanding positions and cover
up to our walls on three sides.'¹
1 In the rough memorandum written by Outram, from which the above
account is taken, it is added that when the army reached the Residency on
February 19 (four days after the assault), three of the guns were found still
on the river bank. The other three had broken down on the road between the
Residency and town, in the attempt to take them back. The official report
gave two men killed of H.M.'s 22nd regiment and one camp follower; ten
Y 2
324
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
He joined his chief at Matári, a town situated only sixteen
miles north of Haidarabad. Between the two places was the
village of Miáni-a name common in Sind to the abode of
fishermen; and around Miáni were gathering the available
forces of the Sind Amirs.¹ From Matári, on the day of his
joining, it was arranged that Outram, in company with Captain
Green, Lieutenants Wells, and Brown, his co-defenders of the
Residency, and 200 convalescent sipáhis, should be despatched
on a night expedition. The object was to attain a position
which would enable them, at an early hour of the morning, to
burn the Miáni and neighbouring shikárgáh, or forest, in which
it was expected the enemy would collect, and from which, when
collected, their dislodgment would be difficult. That the
proposal was Outram's own may be certified on perusal of
his report of arrival at the Matári ferry, addressed to the
General before the latter had reached the town of Matári,
and had pitched his camp between it and the river. But
the necessity of clearing the shikárgáhs by some means,
whether by land or water, was obvious to Sir Charles Napier,
who had, moreover, reason to suppose that the enemy's left
flank was posted in them, and that an army of 22,000 men
was in position at Miáni! In Outram's diary of February 16,
the entry is as follows:- At 12 . . . force arrived at Matári,
and encamped about a mile from the steamer. Visited Sir
Charles Napier, who instructed me to take two hundred men
next morning to burn the shikárgáhs which skirted his line
of march, while he should continue his advance to within a
few miles of the city, where I was to join him.'
wounded, among whom were Mr. Conductor Keily, Mr. Carlisle, the agency
clerk, two of the steamer's crew, four men of H.M. 22nd regiment, and two
camp followers, and four camp followers missing.
Outram's belief that there was really 'no preparation' for hostility on
the part of the Amirs, will be readily reconciled with this aggregation of
armed chiefs and retainers hastily brought together. Such Oriental local
armaments are commonly procurable at a very short notice; and in the then
temper of the Baluchis, a summons to arms would be rather anticipated than
awaited.
-1843
325
BATTLE OF MIÁNI.
On the 17th we read :— Occupied all day in endeavouring
to destroy the shikárgáhs, in which we had to traverse many
miles. There being no wind, the woods burned very slowly
and partially. We only saw one body of about 500 of the
enemy, who made off on observing our approach; we heard
firing in the direction of the army, which continued till
1 P.M. I proposed to take our detachment round the shikár-
gáh, so as to fall upon the retreat, towards the city, of the
enemy, who would doubtless have retired before Sir Charles.
The officers, however, considered their men too much knocked
up to attempt an enterprise involving a further march of some
miles. We returned to our vessels about sunset, and shortly
after learned from the natives the severe action which had
taken place. I decided on making my way to Sir Charles's
camp with 100 men, to be in time to partake in the advance
on the fortress, which we considered would take place next
morning.'
The firing heard was indeed from the battle-field. The
severe action reported by the natives was that of Miáni. A
struggle had occurred, the result of which, in the words of
the Governor-General, 'placed at the disposal of the British
Government the country on both banks of the Indus from
Sakkhar to the sea, with the exception of such portions thereof
as may belong to Mir Ali Murad of Khairpur, and to any
other of the Amirs who may have remained faithful to his
engagements."
Sir Charles Napier prefaces his despatch describing the
victory with a notice of the risks run at Haidarabad by his
Commissioner, and of a plot laid to murder Major Outram
and his companions which had happily been frustrated; and
thus speaks of the attack on the Agency:The report of
this nefarious transaction I have the honour to enclose. I
heard of it at Hala, at which place the fearless and distin-
326
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
guished Major Outram joined me, with his brave companions
in the stern and extraordinary defence of his residence against
so overwhelming a force, accompanied by six pieces of cannon.'
At the close of the same paper, he reverts to the subject:
"The defence of the Residency by Major Outram and the
small force with him against such numbers of the enemy
was so admirable, that I have scarcely mentioned it in the
foregoing despatch, because I propose to send your Lordship a
detailed account of it, as a brilliant example of defending a
military post.'
Of the burning the shikárgáhs, he says:-
This was an operation of great difficulty and danger, but
would have been most important to the result of the battle.
However, the enemy had moved about eight miles to their
right during the night, and Major Outram executed his task
without difficulty at the hour appointed, viz., nine o'clock,
and from the field we observed the smoke of the burning
wood arise. I am strongly inclined to think that this circum-
stance had some effect on the enemy. But it deprived me
of the able services of Major Outram, Captain Green, and
Lieutenants Brown and Wells, together with 200 men, which
I much regretted, for their sakes.'
But we left Outram about to rejoin the victorious army.
The diary continues :--
February 18.-At 2 A.M., marched with 100 men for
the camp, eight miles distant, which we reached just before
daybreak; our road lay along the course of the Falaili. The
field of battle, over which we passed, plainly showed, in the
bright moonlight, from the heaps of slain covering it, how
severely contested the action must have been. We were soon
in possession of the particulars of this very sanguinary, at one
time doubtful, and finally decisive conflict. Our loss, in pro-
-1843
327
SUBMISSION OF THE AMIRS.
portion to the numbers engaged, was very heavy: 19 officers
and 256 men, and 95 horses killed and wounded out of about
2,700 actually in the field. There were many chiefs, and up-
wards of 5,000 killed and wounded of the enemy.
<
Early in the morning, messengers came into camp to
tender the submission of the Amirs. Sir Charles gave them
till mid-day to surrender unconditionally; otherwise, our
troops would march at that hour on the capital. Before the
time specified had elapsed, Mirs Hasan Khan, Shahdad, and
Husain Ali Khan, the Amirs of Haidarabad who had led the
enemy, came into camp and surrendered unconditionally.
The two former were detained as prisoners, but the latter
was released by Sir Charles at my intercession, out of respect
to the memory of his late father, Mir Nur Muhammad, who,
on his death-bed, had consigned the youth to my guardianship.
Overtures were also made by the Amirs of Upper Sind, who
were informed that no other terms than unconditional sur-
render would be given.
<
• February 19.-Marched past Haidarabad to the banks
of the Indus, and encamped close to the Agency, now a heap
of ruins. Mir Rustam Khan, and one of his sons, and
Nasir Khan of Khairpur came into camp, and surrendered as
prisoners of war unconditionally. As nothing further can
now be done until the Governor-General's orders are re-
ceived, and as my functions as commissioner ceased on hos-
tilities breaking out, Sir Charles Napier has granted me
permission to return to Bombay, for which I shall embark in
the "Satellite" steamer to-morrow at noon, bearing the de-
spatches.'
On the march from Miáni to the site of the Haidarabad
Residency, the British commissioner rode side by side with
the fallen chiefs. One of them, Mir Nasir Khan, asked him,
with some show of curiosity, where he had been during the
328
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
action of the previous day? He had looked for him, he
affirmed, through his spy-glass, after the rout of his Baluchis,
in order that he might surrender to a personal friend ; but,
failing to recognise him among the British officers, he had
gone on his way with the rest. This statement accorded
with the testimony of Lieutenant Fitzgerald, of the Sind
Horse, who had observed one of the principal Amirs, mounted
on a camel, answering to Nasir's description, long hovering
about the retreating army, and otherwise acting in an unac-
countable manner. On Outram's explaining the cause of his
absence from the field, the Amir admitted that there had
been an intention, on the part of his people, to occupy the
shikárgáhs, but that they had changed their minds. It is
highly probable that the plan of firing the forests from the
rear having transpired before the period of its execution had
arrived, the enemy modified his tactics accordingly, and was
driven to fight at once in the open-a course which gave the
British general the opportunity of bringing the campaign, in
a few hours, to a comparative close. Outram gratified Nasir
Khan much, by telling him how great credit he had gained
with the British officers for the gallant fight he had main-
tained; and amused him, even in his natural despondency,
by turning to Mir Shahdad, also riding near, and stating
that his failure to make good the assault upon one hundred
men with a force of eight thousand, was as much the ridicule
as the other's action was the admiration of the English army.
The fact is that the treachery of Shahdad, which had become
evident, merited severer treatment than conveyed in a road-
side rebuff. This chief had asked Outram's permission to
bring his followers to the Residency, for the protection of its
occupants, on the very eve of the attack upon the place,
which it was felt that he himself, to all intents and purposes,
had led and instigated.
Taking leave of the General, his companions in arms and
-1843
329
RETURN TO BOMBAY.
native friends, Outram embarked in the river steamer. It
cannot be said that he parted from any with a light heart,
or free from cares, as much for others as on his own account.
The widow of the late Mir Nur Muhammad had petitioned him
on behalf of her sons. Of these, although Shahdad was en-
titled to little consideration at his hands, the other brother,
Husain Ali, was his especial protégé. But for the Talpurs
generally, he felt a sympathy which few of his brother officers
in Sind could quite understand; and he had misgivings on the
future, too, of the Amirs and their families, whose unsought
association with the powerful foreigner had brought about
their ruin. Off Thatta, on February 22, he wrote to his
friend, Lieutenant Brown, the following brief letter :—
'As you are the custodian of the captive princes, let me
entreat of you, as a kindness to myself, to pay every regard
to their comfort and dignity. I do assure you my heart
bleeds for them, and it was in the fear that I might betray
my feelings that I declined the last interview they yesterday
sought of me. Pray say how sorry I was I could not call
upon them before leaving; that, could I have done them any
good, I would not have grudged
any expenditure of
time or labour on their behalf; but that, alas, they have
placed it out of my power to do aught, by acting contrary to
my advice, and having recourse to the fatal step of appeal to
arms against the British Power.'
•
Before the last day of February, Outram had again landed
in Bombay, and been received with kindly consideration and
cordiality by the Governor, Sir George Arthur. He had pur-
posed returning home by the steamer of March 1, but the
result of his conference with His Excellency made him defer
his departure for at least another month. The suggestion
that he still might be wanted in Sind had been put to him
with new arguments which his own modesty and self-abnega-
330
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
tion had not before suffered him to entertain: and he could
not brook the bare notion that personal pique in one instance,
and mere difference of opinion in another, had caused him to
abandon a scene of action in which he might still be excep-
tionally useful. Instead, therefore, of taking leave of his
Presidency friends preparatory to embarkation, he wrote, on
the last day of February, a letter to the Governor, enclosing
a long memorandum on the merits of the 'Sind question,'
but personally, full of excellent feeling. One passage may be
extracted :-
'You are so good as to think that although Sir Charles
permitted my departure, he might really have wished my
stay; and that I might be of use in the arrangement of the
details of whatever settlement may have to be carried into
effect in Sind. It never occurred to me that possibly Sir
Charles, in his kind consideration for my personal convenience,
may have let me come away sooner than he otherwise would
have wished; and it is with compunction that I reflect on
the enormous labour which he certainly will have to go
through during the coming hot season, much of the minor
details and drudgery of which I might save him from.
'If such is really the opinion of Sir Charles, I would re-
join him with alacrity and pleasure on the footing of an acting
aide-de-camp, as which, I should have no voice of my own in
the policy Sir Charles might adopt, and merely should have to
carry out to the best of my ability the details which he might
entrust to me, which would be far preferable to me to the situa-
tion in which I was formerly placed, when, having a voice, I
was bound to raise it as my conscience dictated.
'Simply as aide-de-camp to Sir Charles, the military
allowances of which situation are defined, there can be none
of the personal scruples which I entertained to receiving his
Lordship's bounty on the former occasion, and I should not
-1843
331
POLICY OF THE SWORD.
grudge the time and trouble that might be incurred in
working out the settlement of Sind during the ensuing hot
season, so long as I were serving under, and for, Sir Charles
Napier.'
Sir George Arthur, in replying to this letter, generally
approved of the course which the writer had pursued in
delaying his return. About a week afterwards, Outram him-
self wrote fully to Sir Charles. Speaking of Sind, he wished
to Heaven the General were out of that country, adding :-
'or that if you do stay, I were with you, as a humble mili-
tary aide-de-camp (not a political or commissioner) for I
cannot but fear you will have a most troublesome time of it,
the dangers of which I would with all my heart share with
you in that capacity. As I believe Sir George Arthur wrote
you, I have not the presumption to think that I could be
of much use in a purely military line, but it would gratify
me to share your fatigues and dangers, and I should be no
longer called upon to officiate out of that line.
to
'I am sick of policy; I will not say yours is the best,
but it is undoubtedly the shortest-that of the sword. Oh,
how I wish you had drawn it in a better cause ! '
He touched, moreover, on other than official matters:
for he had been to see Lady Napier, and her family. Had
he had ten times the distance to go, he wrote, he would have
been more than rewarded by the outward indications of a
happiness which the sight of one who had so recently shaken
the gallant general by the hand had afforded.
While at Bombay, the rumour that a second engagement
in Sind was imminent, caused him formally to volunteer his
services there in a military capacity; and he proposed to ac-
company a detachment of artillery then preparing to embark.
In reply he was informed by the Secretary to Government
that with reference to his former position in Sind, and distin-
<
332
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
guished services,' considerations existed which induced 'the
Hon. the Governor in Council to think it inexpedient that
Government should accept the offer.' Independently of his
letter to Sir Charles which we have quoted, he wrote twice
to his secretary on the subject, using, on the second occa-
sion, these words: I certainly did not anticipate any
further open hostilities when I left and I shall ever
blame myself for having come away when I did if they do take
place. I wish I was again with Sir Charles, to share his
fatigues and dangers. as his subaltern and a mere
volunteer. As such I asked to return the other day, when
unfavourable reports were brought down.'
6
We have alluded to Outram's warm reception at Govern-
ment House in Bombay. It need scarcely be said, however,
that on his return to the Presidency, he had been welcomed
in all quarters, official and non-official, with every demonstra-
tion of regard and respect. On March 25, a meeting of his
friends was held, at which it was unanimously resolved to
present him with a sword of the value of 300 guineas, and a
costly piece of plate. The copy of the resolutions then
passed and forwarded to him was acknowledged with feel-
ings of gratitude and pride,' which he expressed himself at a
loss to describe. I have always felt,' he wrote to Mr.
Le Geyt, one of the committee of subscribers, that to
obtain the applause of my comrades in arms is the highest
honour to which I could aspire, but when I perceive men of
all classes unite with them in according to me this distin-
guished mark of approbation, I feel my merits have been
greatly overrated, and that it is to their partial estimate of
the services I have performed that I am indebted for this
splendid token of their approbation.
'I accept with gratitude the sword thus presented to
me. It will be my most cherished possession while I live,
and, on my death, it shall be bequeathed to my representa-
--1843
'SANS PEUR ET SANS REPROCHE.
333
tive, as the most highly valued gift I can bestow.' There
were no fewer than 511 subscribers to this testimonial.
On the sword ran this inscription:-
'Presented to Major James Outram, 23rd Regiment
Bombay Native Infantry, in token of the regard of his
friends, and the high estimation in which he is held for the
intrepid gallantry which has marked his career in India, but
more especially his heroic defence of the British Residency
at Hyderabad, in Scinde, on the 15th February, 1843,
against an army of 8,000 Beloochees with six guns.-
Bombay, April, 1843.'
Marked on one side of the blade :-
'Major James Outram.'
On the other :—
'Sans peur et sans reproche.'
With further reference to the Bombay meeting, the
following letter was addressed to him in whose honour it
was held, three or four days later, by Bishop Carr, of Bombay.¹
¹ In fitting contrast to this honourable testimonial from his own church, may
be mentioned the award to Major (then Colonel) Outram of a gold medal from
the late Pope Pius IX. for services referred to in the following letter, dated
from the English College in Rome, January 31, 1850 :—' His Holiness Pius IX.
has commanded the undersigned rector of the English College in Rome to for-
ward to you a gold medal; and he has desired that it should be sent without
delay, as a testimonial of gratitude for the kindness displayed by you on various
occasions to poor Catholics under your command, or stationed within your
Residency. As soon as the Holy Father received information that an English
bishop was on his way to Calcutta, he ordered this medal to be prepared and
sent by that opportunity to you; but as the bishop had unfortunately quitted
Naples, it was sent to me, and I write by the earliest post to apprise you of
this act of consideration on the part of His Holiness, and to ask you whether
you wish me to send it to England, to your agent in London, or whether I am
to send it by Malta through some other channel.
'Allow me to add that I feel highly honoured in having been chosen by the
Holy Father as the medium of communication with you; and I shall be happy
if you ever visit Rome, to present you to His Holiness, and to render you any
other service in my power.
334
1842-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
Accompanying it were a Bible and Prayer-book, with these
words in the good old prelate's hand writing, Thou hast
covered my head in the day of battle;' and 'This is Life
Eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent':-
Bycullah: March 29, 1843.
'My dear Sir,-Amongst the friends who assembled in
the Town Hall on Saturday, in order to offer you a tribute
of their respect, there probably was none who felt more
admiration of your conduct in the late campaigns, and in
your former situation, when you were reducing the Bheel
tribes to habits of order, than myself. I felt, however, that
I could not consistently take part in the offering of a sword,
as it is the object of my office and ministry to keep the
sword in its scabbard, and to labour to promote peace. With
these views, and with feelings of great respect for the
intrepid bravery, ability, persevering activity, and I will add,
forbearance towards the weak, which have marked your con-
duct, I venture to offer you a small tribute of respect, and
to request your acceptance of a Book, a blessed Book, in
which you may find support in the hour of trial, and conso-
lation at that time when the sword must be laid aside, and
when external things must cease to interest. In it, my
dear Sir, is to be found a peace which the world cannot
disturb. I pray that this peace may be yours, and with
sentiments of much admiration and respect, believe me to
be, Sir, very sincerely yours,
6 THOMAS BOMBAY.'
Outram returned home by the steamer of April 1.
Though he was not to reappear in Sind, either in a civil or
military capacity, his connection with that country was by
no means severed. His acquaintance with its people and
-1843
335
ENGLAND AGAIN.
politics would be soon put to a new and crucial test. It
would occupy his thoughts in the West, as it had already
done in the East. But nearly twenty-four years of unbroken
service in India should suffice to complete one section of the
career we have undertaken to describe: and a thorough
change of scene points to an appropriate division of our
subject.
BOOK II.
MIDDLE AGE.
1843-1856.
VOL. I.
Z
339
CHAPTER I.
1843-1845.
Home.-Return to India.-Nimar.-Disturbances in Southern Maratha Coun-
try.-Kolapur and Sawant-Wari.
ABSENCE from England for a quarter of a century may bring
about distaste and unfitness for the climate and ways of the
old country; but the sight of home, even after so many years,
can hardly prove a matter of indifference to the returning
wanderer. In Outram's case this long period had been al-
most reached: the full vigour of manhood had replaced the
undeveloped powers of youth; and there had been much
growth and formation of taste in India to dim the colour of
boyish association. But family ties and patriotic instincts
ever exercised a strong influence over him; and in a letter
addressed to his mother from Malta, on his homeward voyage,
the old filial affection burns brightly as ever. He thanks
heaven that he is now on the high road' towards her, and
calculates the precise date on which he may be actually
proceeding from London to Scotland.
6
As it happened, the satisfaction of revisiting his native
land had more of alloy for Colonel Outram than falls to the
average lot of the Indian officer availing himself of a long-de-
ferred furlough to Europe. Even his richly-deserved honours
were not to be matter of pure congratulation. True that the
Sind gazettes enabled him to turn his face homewards a brevet
Lieutenant-Colonel and C.B.; but this was exactly what he
had been officially led to consider himself three years before.
How friends and comrades viewed his promotion was well
z 2
340
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM
expressed in the words of the most eminent of the Governors
under whom he served. Mr. Elphinstone, in a letter to an
East India Director of the day, took occasion to remark that
had the honours been received agreeably to original promise,
Colonel Outram would then, under ordinary precedent for
distinguished military service, have been an aide-de-camp to
the Queen and K.C.B.-rewards quite irrespective of excep-
tional work in the political department.' But, personal
considerations apart, his mind was full of cares and anxieties
concerning the honour of his country and on behalf of the
Amirs of Sind; and it was natural that he should wish the
home authorities to understand what had been his own
share of responsibility in the treatment of the deposed and
exiled chiefs and the annexation of their lands. He felt,
moreover, constrained by honour and duty to represent the
circumstances of these unfortunate princes in the light which,
to his appreciation, was that of truth. His own intimate
acquaintance with the more prominent members of the fallen
dynasty, and especially the legacy of trust committed to him
by one of the number on his dying bed, made him keenly
sensitive to the necessity of pleading a cause which, without
such advocacy, could not obtain a legitimate hearing. In
taking this course he knew full well that he once more, and
1 The exact words may be quoted:-'. . . . two distinctions which had
been promised, and more than promised, long ago. Had he received these
honours at the time, he would now (on the principle which must have been
observed of advancing each officer one step) have been made aide-de-camp to
the Queen and K.C.B. All this is written as if Colonel Outram was merely
a military officer who had distinguished himself in the Afghan campaign, and
who now again shared with many others in the services lately performed in
Scinde; but you are well aware how far this is from Colonel Outram's real
position. Besides his ample share in the planning and conduct of various
military enterprises, his political services for several years have been such as
it would be difficult to parallel in the whole course of Indian diplomacy.
Considering all these services, and the high station held by Colonel Outram
when he performed them, the appearance of his name among crowds of subal-
terns is rather a humiliation than an honour.'
-1845
341
DETENTION IN LONDON.
this time perhaps hopelessly, imperilled both reputation and
prospects. Indeed, to initiate at head-quarters an attack
upon the policy of the Governor-General and of others high
in power and influence might seem deliberate official suicide.
He did not at the time anticipate that disinterested efforts
on behalf of the Amirs would involve a breach with a man
whose friendship he especially valued, and whose character he
especially admired-Sir Charles Napier. But no considera-
tions whatever could restrain him from what he believed to
be the straight line of duty, particularly when it implied
justice to the oppressed, the misrepresented, or the maligned
-and such he believed the deposed Amirs to be.
Lord Ripon was at that time President of the Board of
Control; but it was not only with that nobleman that his
Indian experience and repute placed him in communication.
Sir Robert Peel, then Prime Minister, sent for, and received
from him a statement of his views on the Sind question :
and he had also to meet similar requisitions from the Chairs
of the Court of Directors, as well as from the Duke of
Wellington through his secretary, Mr. Arbuthnot. He
found that most important official documents had never
reached the home authorities-such as his notes of confer-
ences with the Amirs; and he was enabled to supply copies,
as well as to submit verbal explanations of these. Arrival
in London was consequently not immediately followed by
departure to join his family in the North. It was on a
Saturday afternoon in May. Installing himself at the
Burlington Hotel in Cork Street, he proceeded at once to the
India Board, where he had to await the coming of the
President, who was on a Cabinet Council, and did not appear
until 6.30. P.M. too fatigued for new work. There was no
remedy but to defer the interview until Monday.
Monday, his Lordship was closeted with the Prime Minister,
and on appearance at the office in the afternoon, apologising
On
342
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
for the exigencies of his high position, had to hurry off again
to a Cabinet Council. We need not continue these details to
explain how it was that days passed before Outram rejoined
his family at Cheltenham, which place was fixed upon as a
more convenient temporary residence than any part of
Scotland. A letter to his mother, dated May 25, may,
however, be quoted:-"The truth is that my going to
Edinburgh at all till the next India Mail arrives, is very much
against the wish of the Court of Directors. I believe
they concede it out of kindness to me; and discussions daily
arise from which reference has to be made to information
which I have to afford. To-day, for instance, I was closeted
with the Duke of Wellington's secretary two hours, and shall
again be required by Lord Ripon to-morrow, and am liable
to be so every day till it is decided what has to be done. I
feel, therefore, that I should be deserting my post to go
away at this moment.'
During his nominal stay at Cheltenham, he was perpetu-
ally on the move between that place and London. In the
former town he was invited to a dinner to be given to him
by the Anglo-Indian residents, but declined the honour.
His health was good, although he was annoyed by the
remains of an enormous Sind boil on his cheek. This at one
time kept him under treatment and, in a note to his wife
written from London, he mentions that his face is such a
figure he is ashamed to go' even to the club.' From
Cheltenham he and Mrs. Outram moved to London before
the close of the season, and were presented at Court. It
was a great pleasure to them in those days to meet with
their old friends of Khandesh, Mr. and Mrs. Bax. After the
ceremony of presentation, in which both ladies bore a part,
Outram ran up to Scotland for a hasty visit of less than a
fortnight to his sister Mrs. Sligo at Seacliffe, and his father-
in-law in Forfarshire. This absence from London and the
-1845
343
OMISSION NOT COMMISSION.
vicinity was the occasion of an unfortunate contretemps which
he imagined ever afterwards might have afforded grounds for a
misapprehension affecting his loyal courtesy-if such a term
be admissible. He received an invitation to a State Ball when
in Scotland, and having no skilled courtier at hand to point
out the command which the honourable compliment implied,
he took it as an ordinary civility, and excused himself on the
plea of absence from London. Had he understood the true
nature of the case he would, of course, have made a point of
hurrying up, at any cost, in obedience to the gracious
summons. Not only was the fault overlooked, but the
great honour was accorded him of an invitation to a second
State Ball immediately succeeding the first. This, however,
through some mischance, he did not receive until the speci-
fied day had passed; and in tendering his explanation he
unwittingly fell into the error of preferring it demi-officially,
through a personal friend among the nobility, instead of
submitting a formal apology, which he vainly regretted he
had failed to do when too late conscious of the omission.
Those who knew him, and how deep and chivalrous were his
loyalty and attachment to the Sovereign, would rightly
interpret acts such as these to be mere indications of a camp
and 'out-of-door' training-results which men are accus-
tomed to consider the accidents rather than the incidents of a
career.
From the lodgings and distractions of London, and the
lionising, which he cordially disliked but now found himself
subject to, it was decided to move to Brighton. Mrs.
Outram preceded him; but he soon rejoined her, having
accomplished in the interim his journey to Scotland and
back. From Brighton, after a short stay, they crossed to
Dieppe and went on to Paris. The dweller among Bhîls
and Brahúis, Afghans and Sindis, not being an expert in
the French language, found little permanent attraction in
344
1843
JAMES OUTRAM.
Parisian theatres and other amusements; and avoided
'sights,' in the general sense of the term. His mind was
full of Sind; and he had already, before coming to the Con-
tinent, placed certain papers in the printer's hands and
received the proofs for correction-processes which, when
once essayed, are seldom restricted to the one occasion. He
missed even the frequent official references made to his
knowledge and experience by the Directors, or by authorities
less immediately connected with India; and he longed again
to talk over at the clubs, with men interested like himself
in the subject, past and passing events and possible future
contingencies affecting the honour and welfare of our still
growing British Empire in the East. Accordingly a sudden
return to lodgings in Brook Street took place before the end
of September; and in London he remained, until quitting
England for India on December 1 of the same year. In
November, when he had been only six months in the en-
joyment of his furlough, intelligence was received in London
of the revolution of Lahor and murder of the Maharaja Sher
Singh. War with the Sikhs was foreshadowed; and Outram
indulged in the hope that his services would be made avail-
able in the North-West.
He addressed himself in the first instance to Lord Ripon,
expressing his desire to return by the next outgoing mail,
instead of awaiting the expiration of his furlough; and
solicited his Lordship's good offices to enable him to find
employment under Lord Gough in the capacity of a mere
volunteer, without encroachment on the General's patronage
in respect of personal staff and field appointments. At the
suggestion of Lord Ripon, however, the application was
transferred (and with success) to the Duke of Wellington,
who, as Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's army, both at
home and abroad, would naturally have less scruples than
a civilian in recommending an officer for military service.
-1845
PREVENTION MADE UNAVAILING.
345
Nor was this the only communication that Outram had to
make to the Board of Control preparatory to re-embarkation
for the East. Circumstances had transpired to render advis-
able the submission in the same quarter of a memorandum
designed to counteract any injurious misrepresentation of
his proceedings in Sind which might possibly reach the Home
Government; and this paper was given in, as a precau-
tionary measure, on the eve of his departure. The 'possible'
misrepresentations had then, indeed, reached the Home offices,
but they were not shown to him whom, personally, they
chiefly concerned, nor was he favoured with any intimation
of their existence or arrival. Before he could learn anything
of them they were to be put before Parliament and the
country, a procedure which occurred in March 1844. The
memorandum which he had thought proper to prepare by
way of precaution had been returned in the previous January,
with an intimation that it should have been sent through
the Government of India!
Fortunately we need not dwell at length on the painful
controversy occasioned by his strictures on the annexation
which followed the battles of Miáni and Dabba, the utterance
of which at home was but a natural consequence of the situa-
tion in which the late political agent and commissioner in
Sind found himself placed on leaving Western India. When
Outram was at Bombay in March, just before embarkation,
the question arose as to the propriety of putting a full ex-
position of his views on the Sind complication before the
Governor-General. Nothing, however, was done in the
matter. Sir George Arthur, then Governor, did not think
that his Government could express any opinion on the subject,
and it was doubtful whether the submission of any indi-
vidual remarks, without an accompanying letter of comment,
might not lead to the writer's detention in India. But his
sympathy with the Amirs was well known to the authorities
346
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
both in Sind and Bombay; and, when about to leave Sind, he
had placed before Sir C. Napier a full and clear statement of
our relations with those princes. After his arrival in England,
some of his Indian friends kept him au courant of local
events. Among them Major Gordon forwarded from time to
time an account of the captive Amirs, over whom he had
been placed as superintendent at Sasur, noting the affec-
tionate manner in which they spoke of 'Outram Sahib' as
their best friend. Mirs Sobdar and Nasir Khan, and the
old Mir Rustam Khan of Upper Sind, all took advantage of
Major Gordon's correspondence to address their old acquaint-
ance, detailing their griefs, and assuring him, in their own
handwriting, of their kindly remembrance and regard. He
had, therefore, always at hand, the case of the Amirs of Sind
up to the latest dates; and, in imparting freely to the Home
Government his information and opinions, he laid himself
open to no charge of secret or inconsistent action. He was
advocating a cause which he had before openly espoused in
India, and attacking a policy from which he had already
publicly dissented in the same quarter. That the difference
of opinion with his temporary chief, admitted at first in so
friendly a spirit by Sir Charles Napier, should have become
aggravated into a serious rupture, must be attributed to the
excitement of the times and the introduction of new elements
of discord as the controversy progressed-elements aggra-
vated by the intervention of partisans whose bitter pens
revelled in paper warfare. Ample evidence has been recorded
on both sides to guide the impartial reader to a correct
judgment; and if he wade through all the volumes that have
been printed on this one subject only, he will hardly fail to
regret the time spent and energy wasted by the litigants on
an argument which would better have been debated by
professional pleaders in the law court or council chamber.
Whichever view he take, we have no fear that the abilitv.
-1845
347
SOMETHING ABOUT SIND.
integrity, or honesty of purpose of the subject of this bio-
graphy will suffer in his estimation. As regards the sentence
of history, Time, the great soother of contention and often
the fairest discriminator between public controversialists,
has already, in part, pronounced its judgment; and the full
decision will follow in due course. One of those incidental
revelations which afford pregnant materials of history' has
recently laid bare to us the secret councils of the powers
that were in 1843. An article by the Right Hon. W. E.
Gladstone, in the "Contemporary Review' of November 1876,
apropos of Russian proceedings in Asia, contains the follow-
ing most remarkable passage :-
6
A notable example occurred in 1843, when Sinde was conquered
by Napier, under the auspices of Lord Ellenborough. That
conquest was disapproved, I believe, unanimously by the Cabinet
of Sir Robert Peel, of which I can speak, as I had just entered it
at that time. But the ministry were powerless, inasmuch as the
mischief of retaining was less than the mischief of abandoning it,
and it remains an accomplished fact.
Under the unexpected light which thus breaks upon an
otherwise shrouded page of our annals, we see the Bayard of
India stand more than justified in his riskful championship
of the helpless Amirs. But the contest proved a long and
costly one for him. Allies able and not uninfluential took
up the cause with him, and eventually he emerged from the
struggle, firmer in the saddle than ever-scathed, indeed, and
weary, but with his modest scutcheon brightened rather than
blurred. For years the uncongenial paper warfare dragged
on, the incubus of a life-each day of which brought its full
burden of public care-and the source of misrepresentations,
misunderstandings, and aspersions peculiarly trying to a
sensitively honest nature.
For ourselves, long and close experience with the chiefs
and people of Sind under British rule has not shaken our
348
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
faith, acquired at first sight, in the justice of Outram's argu-
ment. It shall now be our business, in these pages, to give
as much as possible an incidental character to this phase of
the Sind question. In the excellent spirit which has guided
a comparatively recent biographer in his allusions to it,' we
see a precedent and a model which may well and wisely be
followed as closely as circumstances permit.
There is one passage, however, in the book under reference,
which we may not leave quite unnoticed. We do not revert
to it so much on account of its pertinency to our own bio-
graphy, as from the wish to complete a deeply interesting
correspondence which cannot but reflect lustre on the
memories of those between whom it arose. No reprint
of already published letters, or summary of their contents,
will now be given. The consciousness that certain feelings,
though essentially human, are too sacred, in some sense,
for repeated expression, forbids us to retrace, in any but the
faintest outline, the following occurrence of the year 1858.
The elder Mrs. Outram, then an octogenarian, wrote a letter,
full of sorrowful reproach, to General Sir William Napier, in
correction of a too hasty statement on his part as to the
death of her son Francis, which had caused her much pain.
To this appeal the General sent a short but touching and
noble reply. We have now to add that this reply was for-
warded, with a copy of Mrs. Outram's generous acknowledg-
ment, to James Outram, then almost at the zenith of his
fame. Upon receipt, he addressed to his mother the follow-
ing letter, from which few portions have been omitted, lest
the force of the original should be impaired. It must have
¹ Life of General Sir W. Napier, K.C.B. By H. A. Bruce, Esq., M.P., vol.
ii. p. 165-This painful controversy, which thus arose between the two
brothers. and a man who has gained the respect and admiration of
thousands, and who possessed in a very remarkable degree the quality of con-
ciliating the warm affection of those about him, is here dismissed.'
• •
-1845
349
THE HEART SPEAKS.
been written and the text bears evidence of the accuracy of
the date on the very day that its writer, at the head of the
1st division, retook the Residency, during that brilliant
series of operations which resulted in the final capture of
Lakhnao by Sir Colin Campbell :—
'As you did not send me a copy of your first letter I can
only infer its substance and tone from the very meagre
allusions you make and from the manly and touching
acknowledgment it drew forth from one who-may God
forgive me for the harsh and unjust judgment I believed
incapable of acknowledging an error. Your reply to this
brief but affecting note was worthy of yourself, my noble-
minded mother, and due to your correspondent. And his
concluding note was worthy of a brave and good man.
'I was very much affected when I read these documents,
and my first impulse was to write a letter to Sir William Na-
pier expressive of the emotions their perusal had awakened—
and venturing a hope that there might henceforth be a cessa-
tion on his part of all bitter feelings towards your son. But,
on reflection, I abandoned the idea. For our controversies
have been so numerous, and so complicated, that I could
not, without writing a volume, have explained to him how
thoroughly he and his brother had misunderstood my feelings
and misinterpreted my conduct to the latter. Nor could I
have satisfied him how innocent I was of those unworthy
innuendoes and unmanly sarcasms which their over-zealous
partisans had persuaded Sir William and Sir Charles to dis-
cover in my writings. And I feared, moreover, that he
might attribute my communication to wrong motives-to a
dread of future attacks—or to a sneaking anxiety to get him
to modify, in future editions of his books, what he has already
written. But I am not even yet satisfied that I ought not to
have written to him. If to write was my duty, as a Christian,
350
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
no consideration of the trouble it would involve and no fear
of misconstruction, ought to have prevented my performing
it. Think over the matter, dear mother, and give me your
opinion. If you think that I ought to write, I will; even
though my doing so were to bring down on me fresh attacks
from his powerful pen-though it is most ungenerous to
suppose that such would be the case. It would be a satisfac-
tion to me, situated as I now am-of whom it may em-
phatically be said that in the midst of life I am in death—to
feel assured that others were at peace with me. But it most
concerns me to be certain that I am at peace with them, and
if I know my own heart, I can solemnly declare before that
great God at whose judgment-seat I may in half an hour be
called to stand, that I do, from the bottom of my soul, forgive
Sir William Napier all the harsh, and, as I believe, utterly
undeserved, epithets he has lavished on me, all the mon-
strously untrue statements regarding me which his ardent
temperament led him to believe without due inquiry, and
his fraternal affection to record as history-and all the
injury to my worldly interests and advancement which has
resulted from his own and his brother's hostility towards me.
As regards his brother, few have even heard me speak harshly
of him. All who have been much with me can testify to the
warmth with which I ever dwelt on his noble and generous
qualities, even when he was most bitterly assailing me. You,
mother, know the intensity of the love that I ever bore that
man. You know how deep the pain which the severance of
our friendship cost me. You, at least, know how little I
imagined that I was preparing for its severance when-im-
pelled by a sense of the duty I owed my ward,' and giving
effect to an intention of which I had apprised Sir Charles,
and of which he seemed to approve-I implored Lord Ripon
1 The Sind Amir, Husain Ali, consigned to Outram's charge by his father
Mir Nur Muhammad, on his dying bed.
-1845
351
THE HEART HAS SPOKEN.
to show that mercy to him, and the other Ameers, which I
thought it cruel in Lord Ellenborough to withhold. And you
know that when Sir William accused me of seeking to injure
my late chief-to intercept the gratitude of Parliament, and
the favour of his sovereign from one whom it was then my
proudest boast to call my friend-he accused me of that
which (though doubtless he believed it) was as utterly the
reverse of true, as that I was under pecuniary obligations to
mercantile firms connected with the Indian Press, or any
of
the other egregious fictions which he and Sir Charles were
persuaded to accept and promulgate as facts. It was not in
human nature not to feel indignant when misrepresented.
It was too much in consonance with fallen human nature to
regard and treat the misrepresentations as intentional-to
repay harsh words and unkind imputations with harsh and
unkind rejoinders—to return railing for railing. All this I
did; but long ere Sir Charles was called away, I often bitterly,
and with a deep sense of humiliation, deplored the loose run
I had given to my irritated feelings, and the licence I had
allowed my pen. And when the grave closed over him, I
had, from the bottom of my soul, forgiven him in respect of
all I had thought he had done requiring my forgiveness.
Once, and once only, since then, have I spoken of what I
considered the wrongs he had done me. This I did in the
excitement of a speech delivered at a dinner given me at
Calcutta, just at the time his posthumous work appeared.
And the words—such as they were-were hardly uttered ere
they were repented of. But this is too painful a subject to
dwell on longer. I have said enough to satisfy you as to the
Advise me as to whether I should
state of my own feelings.
write to Sir William. If so, suggest to me what I should
say—and I will act on your suggestions.'
Assuredly, the seal has now been set to a controversy
352
1843
JAMES OUTRAM.
so ill according with the heart-spoken sentiments of the
controversialists.
Armed with a letter from the Duke of Wellington to the
Commander-in-Chief in India, Colonel Outram left England
for the second time, bright with the sentiments of loyalty,
cherished from his boyhood, but in far more serious mood
than on first setting out. He contemplated returning by
an early steamer from Bombay, should no prospect of imme-
diate service offer: and it is probable that a communication
from Sir Charles Napier, which only reached him at Malta,
confirmed him in this intention. It was now evident that,
owing to his statements to the Board of Control, and other
official quarters in London, aggression was threatened at
home, requiring measures of self-defence: and there would
at the same time be a hostile influence to counteract in
India. Writing from the outward-bound vessel near Aden,
on the last day of the year, he begged Mrs. Outram to form
no plans for joining him until she had received his letters,
or heard definitely of his movements, by the mail of Feb-
ruary 1.
By that opportunity, though he had no positive informa-
tion to impart of his prospective movements, he could show
that a return to old associations had worked a change in his
way of thinking. Disembarkation on Indian soil had had,
for the moment, something of the effect of the trumpet-
sound upon the war-horse. He now stated his resolution to
remain for a time in India. That resolution was made at
the instigation of men on whose judgment and friendship he
could rely, and its wisdom was evident, inasmuch as with-
drawal from the land of his professional career because he
could not find active service there, or employment to his
liking, would have been to avow himself an aggrieved man.
A letter addressed to his wife on January 23, told of his
arrival at Asirgarh, en route to the Governor-General's camp
-1845
353
AN INTERVIEW DECLINED.
at Gwalior. The battles of Panniah and Maharajpur had
been recently fought, and were still the subject of current
conversation at Indian mess-tables. To Outram's mind it
was not clear whether the result of those victories might not
rather encourage than discourage the Sikhs to face us, be-
lieving themselves, as they did, greatly superior to the Ma-
rathas. He could say nothing of his own chances of field
service until reaching Sir Hugh Gough's head-quarters; but
the Bombay friends with whom he had held personal com-
munication since his return, were not sanguine of his success
in the teeth of opposition from an authority higher than that
of the military chief. A still deeper cause of distress to him
was the indifference expressed by so many of his brother
officers on the annexation of Sind, coupled with subversion
of the native rule in that province-a proceeding which he
looked upon in the light of usurpation. His rate and mode
of travelling at this time were not such as to soothe his
temper, or lead him to forget his cares. Bearers could not
be procured to carry him at all stages, and between Aurang-
abad and Asirgarh he had to ride on village tattoos, putting
his palankeen in carts. From Indore he anticipated having
recourse to camels.
Three weeks later, he thus wrote to his mother from
Fathpur :- Fancy my being in the same camp yesterday
with Lord Ellenborough, to whom I proffered my attendance
as in duty bound, and to show I did not shun to meet his
Lordship, after all I had done at home. He, however,
declined the interview, unless I would state my reasons in
writing; so we did not meet,' and now he is on his way to
¹ The draft of a letter to Mr. Melvill on this subject is more explicit, and
may here be quoted :— With a view to lay my proceedings in England before
Lord Ellenborongh, if allowed the opportunity, and to show the respect due to
the Governor-General, being in the neighbourhood of his Lordship's camp, I pro-
ceeded there to solicit the honour of an audience, intimating to the private
secretary that I had no official objects, but that I was ready to display all that
VOL. I.
A A
354
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
Calcutta, having previously sent me the offer of an appoint-
ment.'
The inferiority of this post,' political charge and revenue
management of Nimar, an appendage to Indore, compared
with the offices which he had previously held, certainly gave
a warrant to the supposition that its refusal was anticipated;
but Outram had the good sense, acting under the advice of
Colonel Barnewell and others, to conquer his personal objec-
tions, and accept the offer. He thus describes the scene of
his impending labours:-
'It is situated on the banks of the Narbudda, on the
road between Asirgarh and Mhow, called Mandlesir. There
we shall have a good house and garden, a doctor and his
wife, and one or two officers. A detachment of troops is
always stationed there; it is a pretty place also . . . but
there are jungles to pass between it and Khandesh, which are
not safe till January. . . . I had fully made up my mind to
return home for another year, when I found there was no
chance of anything to do in the Punjab, and in the supposi-
tion that I should never be restored to the political depart-
ment during Lord E.'s régime. Having now been replaced in
it, however, I trust he will see the necessity. . . of raising
me to my proper position, a year or two in which will enable
I had advocated or communicated at home relative to Sind before the Governor-
General, if required to do so. The interview was declined on the ground that
no private audiences are granted, except under certain rules (with which, by
the bye, I had already complied) . . . His Lordship having previously objected
to my joining Sir Hugh Gough, a situation was then offered to me of a very
inferior natureto what I had held (an assistantship under Indore), but which
under my peculiar circumstances, and denied military service-with which
view I had returned to India before the expiration of my furlough-I was necessi-
tated to accept, and did so, I trust, in sufficiently submissive and becoming
language.'
1 Both in salary and importance, it was less than that which he had held
ten years before. Thus, the whole of his services since leaving Khandesh in
1835, as political agent in the Máhi Kánta, political agent in Lower Sind, and
political agent in Sind and Baluchistan, became, as it were, annulled.
-1845
355
LIFE AT MANDLAISIR.
me to return to you, for I declare I am determined to do so
in two or three years at furthest.'
His journey from Bombay to the Upper Provinces, and
back to Mandlaisir, occupied a period of nearly two months.
This, for a part of the country where there were no facilities
for locomotion, was considered quick travelling. He reached
his new destination on March 10, having seen Gwalior and
the Taj at Agra—' which alone,' he wrote, 'would repay the
journey'—and having met with much civility and attention
from everybody except Lord Ellenborough.' We obtain
some insight into his daily life after a fortnight's experience
of his Nimar head-quarters, in a letter again addressed to
his mother:-"I go to office at sunrise, stay there till 10
o'clock, receiving petitions, and transacting business person-
ally with the natives; breakfast at 10; then remain in my
office at home, doing official correspondence, &c. till dinner
at 4; ride out after dinner; then have tea, and read till
bed-time.' He was in anxiety at this time about Mrs.
Outram's health, and desirous of ascertaining through his
mother whether she would be strong enough to join him in
India after the rains, so as to guide his own prospective
movements. As to the position which he had advisedly
accepted, he comes philosophically to the conclusion that he
is 'banished in this quiet corner until Lord Ellenborough
goes home.'
His craving for active service may in a measure have
been abated by the consciousness that his military rank was
insufficient to obtain for him high command in the field;
but he could not shut his eyes to the fact that, had his good
work already performed met with the reward bestowed on
his comrades for far less brilliant achievements, this obstacle
would not have existed. 'I can scarcely hope,' are his words
in a draft letter to Mr. Melvill, written during his first
A A 2
356
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
month at Mandlaisir, that I may be so fortunate as to
obtain the honour of a Queen's A.D.C., but the sooner you
do confer it on some of your lieutenant-colonels, the better,
to afford a few active officers sufficiently high in army rank
for the secondary commands in the field. . .
We have already stated that Outram's precautionary
memorandum, left in the hands of the authorities in London,
was returned to him in January 1844. Let us now add
that the option of withdrawal was part of the same proce-
dure, and that the honest-hearted soldier, ignorant of
coming blue-books, and of publications more or less con-
demnatory of his views and actions, did as his masters at
home evidently wished him to do, and cancelled the
pièce justificative which was so soon to reappear as an
essential instalment of after volumes. And what was the
bitter sequel? In his comparative seclusion the news
reached him that Parliament had discussed the affairs of
Sind and its Amirs, the debaters having been guided by
the light of incomplete despatches and papers wholly unaf-
fected by his anticipatory comments, although these, in
some instances, had the full force of counter-statements.
This was a severe blow to him, and hard to bear. He had
foreseen that the fate of the deposed chiefs was sealed; and
he daily became more sensible that neither could voice be
raised, nor pen or brain exercised with any practical
success on their behalf. But the manner in which his efforts
to benefit them had been received at home, and the little
regard paid to his Sind experiences and long Indian service
in the acceptance of a decision which ought in fairness to
have been directly influenced by both, disheartened and
hurt him. His personal character, was, moreover, involved;
and to remain silent looked to him like admission of error.
Yet, while he felt in possession of ample material wherewith
to establish his ase, cand defeat his opponents, he was de-
-1845
357
FRIENDLY LETTERS.
barred from defending himself without official permission;
and he doubted whether such permission would be granted in
compliance with any request on his part. Write an appeal,
however, he must to the Secret Committee. If not to get
abroad, it might, he reasoned, be placed among the secret
archives: and he consoled himself with the reflection that his
heir might extract it thence at a time when his own contempo-
raries had passed away from the busy world around. Mean-
while he would submit in silence to the injurious condemna-
tions to which he had been subjected, and to the ruin which
he not unnaturally, if somewhat impulsively, conceived had
befallen him as a public man.
The residence at Mandlaisir was not of a protracted cha-
racter, nor were the duties of the post which kept him there
calculated to draw out the high qualities of the holder. Yet
if it be regarded for him as an episode of repose, the notion
must be restricted to the exigencies of official routine, for
beyond giving due attention to local requirements, his mind
was busy and 'perplexed in the extreme.' In his home and
Indian correspondence the tone is less buoyant than of old;
and the mood is occasionally the reverse of cheerful. He
goes so far as to complain that his friends forsake him in his
difficulties; he laments the waste of days in the, to him,
inaction of Nimar life. That this gloomy picture was
mainly that of a harassed isolation we may judge from the
many letters of the period addressed to him from various
quarters in terms of evident affection. Friends and advisers,
such as Colonel Barnewell, and Messrs. Tucker and Melvill
1
¹ Permission was solicited for publication of his letter to Sir Charles
Napier, in reply to one which that officer had published, but the request was
declined by the Government of India.
2 Mr. St. George Tucker, the well-known Director of the East India Com-
pany. Outram, hearing that one of this gentleman's sons (St. George), a young
civilian, had been wounded in a gallant encounter with Dacoits, about the time
that he himself was going to the Governor-General's camp in 1844, posted more
358
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
in England, and Mr. Willoughby in India, showed that he
possessed the sympathy of the old Company's best and truest
servants. Mountstuart Elphinstone always expressed an
interest in his career, and at this period of it, as before and
after, proved himself his sincere well-wisher. But he
dreaded for him the threatening paper-warfare. If he were
sure of complete success,' he wrote to Colonel Barnewell, it
would be no compensation for devoting himself to a life of
obscure controversy, instead of going on in his career and
forcing people to acknowledge his former services by fresh
instances of his zeal and ability.' The distinguished states-
man, however, who gave such sound counsel, would never
have lent his sanction to the confinement of his protégé to
the obscure limits of an assistant-political's duties at Mand-
laisir. Out of the circle of civilians and his native infantry ,
companions, he found a valued correspondent in his old
acquaintance, Major Orlando Felix, whose shrewd, cheery
letters have in them much of solace and sunshine.
Lord Ellenborough's recall in May, and the succession of
Sir Henry Hardinge to the Governor-Generalship, did not
restore his equanimity or fill him with new hope. He had
reason to believe that his name had been favourably men-
tioned to the latter; but he was conscious at the same time
that the endeavours of his friends might succumb to a power-
ful hostile influence. On September 10, 1844, the day on
which he had completed a six months' service at Nimar,
Outram resigned his appointment, and proceeded to Bombay
with the intention of returning to England. The resignation
had been contemplated from the time of his acceptance
of the office, but the resolution to go home was sudden. It
had not been mentioned in his August letter to Mrs. Outram,
on the arrangement for whose outward passage he had then
than 100 miles out of his way to visit him and offer a twofold tribute of con
dolence and congratulation.
J
-1845
359
SOUTHERN MARATHA COUNTRY.
written at length. Had the application for leave been
answered in time from Calcutta, he would have left by the
mail in the beginning of October; but delay in the receipt
of the reply¹ necessitated his waiting for that of November
1, when he would take leave, in the first instance, only to
Egypt-afterwards, to Europe or not, according to circum-
stances.
The detention proved a fortunate one, for, meanwhile, an
outbreak in the Southern Maratha country, or that part of
Western India which is situated within the coast line between
Bombay and Goa, had assumed a greater importance
than had originally belonged to it in the eyes of the
local government. A detachment of troops under Colonel
Wallace of the Madras army, sent from Belgám for the re-
storation of order, had been checked in an attempt to take
from the Garhkaris (or hereditary occupants) the strong fort
of Samangarh on September 24; and, two days before, the
troops of the Kolapúr Rajah had been driven away from the
fort of Budargarh by a bold sally of the rebel garrison. The
British commander was awaiting reinforcements and battering
guns; alarm was spreading throughout the disturbed tract;
and fears, in some cases amounting to panic, were entertained
for the stations of Ratnagari, Vingorla, and even Belgám itself.2
As might have been expected, Outram, with alacrity, placed
his services at the disposal of Government. They were
accepted: he was put on 'special' duty; and on October 11,
he appeared in Colonel Wallace's camp. On the morning of
¹ By notification in the Calcutta Gazette, dated September 24, 1844,
Lieutenant-Colonel Outram, C.B. Assistant in charge of Nimar, obtained per-
mission to resign his appointment, preparatory to applying to the Government
of Bombay for permission to proceed to Europe on furlough on urgent private
affairs.
2 Calcutta Review, No. 7, Article 7, Volume iv. (1845).
³ He had left Bombay in a patamar, or large native boat, disembarking at
Vingorla, whence to Samangarh, be describes his ourney to have been a very
unpleasant one, 'in a deluge of rain the whole way.'
360
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM:
the 13th, he was present at the taking of Samangarh ; and in
reporting that event the next day to division head-quarters,
the officer in command of the troops wrote thus: "I cannot
conclude without giving expression to the feelings of pride
and gratification I could not but entertain when an officer
of Lieutenant-Colonel Outram's high character, well-known
gallantry, and established fame, placed his services at my
disposal, not only during the storm of the Fort of Saman-
garh,' but during the subsequent operations on the same
day of the wing of the 5th light cavalry, under Captain
Græme, against a large body of the enemy. On both these
occasions Lieutenant-Colonel Outram's services were valu-.
able; and I have requested Lieutenant-Colonel Outram, C.B.,
in this day's orders, to accept my best thanks and grateful
acknowledgments.' The despatch from which this is an
extract, was supplemented by Captain Græme's report, ex-
pressing his sense of the obligations under which he felt
himself to Colonel Outram, who had accompanied him
'throughout' the cavalry affair noted, and to whose 'experi-
ence and guidance' he attributed much of the success ob-
tained.
The fall of Samangarh was, however, by no means the
termination of these disturbances. A few days prior to this
event, the detachment from Belgám became a part only of
the force brought together to crush the rebellion against
authority, which now threatened to spread far and wide; and
Major-General Delamotte, commanding the southern divi-
sion of the army, had been placed at the head of the troops
in the field. Outram had reported himself, as in duty
bound, to the General; and we are told that he joined his
camp 'in a political capacity.'2 But this definition of the
1 There is good authority for stating that he was the first man in at the
assault, and, for several minutes, stood alone among the enemy
2 Calcutta Review.
-1845
361
SOLDIER AND CIVILIAN.
'special duty,' on which his official designation showed him
to be authoritatively employed, would give but a faint idea
of the work he had actually to perform. The term, be it
said, is a vague one at all times, and is not unfrequently
used in the case of officers whose zeal and intelligence in
responsible positions are more trusted by Government than
are the judgment and capability of its own secretariat in
providing them with distinct instructions. It is, moreover,
convenient in its very vagueness, for while allowing to the
ruling powers the full merits of an agent's success, it saves
them from a too direct responsibility in the event of failure.
In the present instance, irrespective of a distinction in grade,
Outram's duties were practically those of a joint special
commissioner with Mr. Reeves, the recognised commissioner
or political agent for the Southern Maratha country: for
the two officers advised together, or acted independently,
according to circumstances. He was also an improvised
chief of the staff, or head of the intelligence department,
to the General commanding, careful to take advantage of
his military rôle to join in all active operations in the field.
It was the intention of Government to set aside the civilian
'inter arma,' and place him under Colonel Outram; but to
this the latter objected, in recollection of many a well-con-
tested 'first spear' in pig-sticking days long gone by;
and he was accordingly appointed in conjunction with his
old friend. While the detailed tactics of the British autho-
rities and their native opponents at this early stage of the
imbroglio are not without interest, they involve too compli-
cated a story to be here repeated. A glance at the main
incidents will suffice to illustrate generally the part taken in
the campaign by Outram until his return to Bombay in
December. We learn from a distinguished and trustworthy
writer, reviewing the events in the year following their
362
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
occurrence,' that this officer wherever employed, threw into
all proceedings that moderation, energy, and ability which
have everywhere so strongly marked his career;' that he
and Mr. Reeves offered at a fitting opportunity, and with
certain exceptions, an amnesty to all who would willingly
return to their allegiance,' but that 'few, if any, accepted the
terms: a strong presumptive proof that the unfortunate men
had real grievances.' Further, that 'the day after the capture
of Samangarh, Colonel Outram, with Colonel Wallace and 500
men of his brigade, proceeded to Kaghal, one march from
Kolapur, to procure the release of the minister,' a certain
Daji Pandit, whose training in an Anglo-Indian kachchari
may have rendered him obnoxious to the Rajah's refractory
subjects; but that it was not until October 24, when the
detachment had been strengthened, that the prisoner was
set at liberty from the strong fort of Panála, on which occa-
sion, 'the young Rajah of Kolapur, with his aunt and mother
and the majority of his chiefs, left the city, and joined the
British camp.' The real leader of the rebellion, Babaji Ahir-
akar-who had imprisoned the minister, usurped the govern-
ment, and instigated a raid into British territory, with the
robbery of a local treasury-absconded at the head of 500
Kolapur troops to the fort of Budargarh, whence, on the
subsequent surrender of the place to the general command-
ing, he again found means of escaping to Panála. Six days
afterwards, Colonel Ovans, the British resident at Satára,
who had been appointed special commissioner in the South-
ern Maratha country, and would, on joining, have taken the
place of the joint commissioners, was captured on a dâk
1 Calcutta Review. The article is attributed to the late Sir Henry
Lawrence. The reviewer prefaces his remarks thus:-'The tone of our remarks
upon Colonel Outram may savour of partial panegyric to those of our readers
who have not followed Outram's career as we have done; but no personal
feelings can mingle in our praise of a man whom we have never seen, and whom
we know only by his public acts.'
-1845
363
MISTAKEN MEDICINE.
journey from Satára to Kolapur, and carried prisoner to the
same Panála stronghold.
A few words of comment are here necessary. Colonel
Outram had been just a fortnight in camp when Sir George
Arthur wrote to offer him the appointment of political agent
in the Southern Maratha country, subject to the confirma-
tion of the Government of India, explaining that the situa-
tion contemplated was 'a post of honour, the duties of which
required great decision and vigour, combined with discretion.'
Knowing, however, his strongly-expressed intention to take
advantage of his unexpired furlough, unless required for
particular service, the Governor considerately stated that if
that intention were still unchanged, he need not, of course,
consider himself under any obligation to remain in the
Southern Maratha country. The wound was now re-opened;
Outram respectfully declined the offer; not on the ground
surmised, but from a sense of self-respect. Pleading the
unremedied wrong, he briefly drew attention to the parti-
culars of his treatment in Sind, and since his last return to
India. He had been removed from one of the highest and
most responsible situations under the Government of India-
the political charge of Sind and Baluchistan,' notwithstand-
ing the expressed approval of his services in it by high
authority, and he had accepted an inferior position to prove
his zeal and loyalty. Circumstances had occurred to obviate
the necessity of his return home; but, on completion of the
work in hand, he would be grateful for permission to revert
to regimental duty. I do hope,' he wrote, 'that when I
have restored quiet, and have placed matters in this country
6
1
¹ His friend, Colonel Barnewell, wrote strongly to dissuade him from the
step, and he had reason to believe that the appointment of Resident at Baroda
might be offered to him if he remained. This he could accept with honour,
and would be some kind of compensation for his late treatment at the hands of
Government. Above all, Mrs. Outram's health had so much improved that
she proposed joining him very shortly in India.
364
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
on such a footing that they can be satisfactorily transferred
to any person whom you may appoint permanently to the
office, I may be allowed to join my regiment, there to
remain in humble repose after the incessant wear and tear of
body and mind which I have had to undergo for so many
years past; for I consider that by accepting permanently
any situation inferior in rank, importance, and emolument to
what I have heretofore filled with-I presume to think-
advantage to the State, although the contrary to myself, I
should sign my own admission of the justice of the treatment
to which I allude.' Upon receipt of this reply, intimation
was made to Outram that Colonel Ovans, Resident at Satára,
had been appointed special commissioner for the settlement
of the Kolapur state and territory, on whose arrival he was
requested to return to Bombay.
It is important that these facts should be clearly under-
stood, because the proceedings of the special commissioners,
Mr. Reeves and Colonel Outram, were not all approved by
the Bombay Government, and the impression may have been
left on the minds of some persons, that this disapproval had
to do with the nomination of Colonel Ovans. As to the
particular acts which elicited adverse comment, it appears
that objection was taken to the division of forces at Kolapur,
when concentration had been desired; as also to the move to
Kaghal; but above all to the proclamation of the amnesty, of
which mention has been made above, and which the au-
thorities erroneously inferred had been so worded as to
include all the leaders. The responsibility for these mea-
sures was not merely accepted, but actually claimed by
Outram.¹ More characteristic of his chivalry than illustrative
1 The subsequent despatch of the Court of Directors, dated September 17,
1845, reviewing the whole proceedings in the states of Kolapur and Sawant-
Wari, satisfactorily explains Colonel Outram's conduct, and attributes the
disapproval of his measures to the imperfect information obtained on the
subject by the local government.
-1845
365
RELEASE OF COLONEL OVANS.
of his worldly wisdom, was the reply to the despatch which
first communicated the doubts of Government on the pro-
priety of the action of the joint commissioners. He therein
says:- Had the responsibility . . . rested avowedly with
me, I should have left the result to prove the policy, but
as my immediate superior, Mr. Reeves, has alone incurred
the displeasure of Government for those proceedings, I feel
myself bound to say that if blame is merited, I at least ought
to share it; for I cannot but be conscious that I advocated
the course which has been thus condemned; and, under the
circumstances in which I was placed, when I so advised, it
is possible that that gentleman may have been somewhat in-
fluenced by my opinion.' He then continued an elaborate
defence of the line of conduct pursued by himself and his
colleague, which eventually brought upon him the severe
strictures of the Governor-General, as well as of his own
immediate superiors. The tendency to justify his acts was
displayed on this occasion in so marked a manner, that we
can hardly wonder at the sequel; and explanations of his
boldness, if it be not indiscretion, must be looked for in the
circumstance that the chief blame had been laid on other
shoulders than his own, and that he was rather censured
by implication than directly.
But, however open to question was the decision of error
in judgment passed upon the joint commissioners, the un-
expected seizure and imprisonment of Colonel Ovans on
November 16 kept them for some time longer in their
responsible posts. It was not until December 1 that Colonel
Ovans was released by the Gadhkaris on the reduction of
their stronghold; and Outram did not take his departure
from camp before the 17th of that month. In the interim
he had won fresh laurels in the field, as we find from the fol-
lowing extracts.
Lieutenant-Colonel Poole, of H.M. 22nd regiment, re-
366
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
porting to Major-General Delamotte, on November 29,
1844, the capture of the Pettahs near the gate on the north
side of the Forts of Páwangarh and Panála, writes:—
'On ascending the hills, the enemy, who were in consider-
able numbers, commenced firing on us from behind rocks
and other cover, and were immediately driven into the Pettah
by the skirmishers. The main body of the party were there
halted under cover on the edge of the Pettah, the advance
parties, half European and half Native, moving on under
Ensign Budd, H.M. 22nd regiment, and Ensign Black, 2nd
grenadiers, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Outram, and attended
by Captain Clarke, 2nd grenadiers acting brigade-major.
The enemy were speedily driven into the Fort of Panala;
the party then passed close under the gate of the Fort,
enabling Colonel Outram to make a full and satisfactory
reconnaissance; then, moving on, took post under cover just
below the neck of land connecting the two Forts, whence
Captain Clarke was despatched by Colonel Outram to the
main body, which was conducted by that officer, under
Colonel Hickes's orders, through the whole of the Pettahs in
succession to the spot where Colonel Outram was posted, the
enemy during the whole time keeping up a heavy fire of
artillery and matchlocks from the walls.'
Lieutenant-Colonel Brough, of H.M. 2nd regiment, re-
porting, on December 2, the storm of Panála on the previous
evening, remarks:-
The heroic Lieutenant-Colonel Outram, C.B., was in his
accustomed place, the front rank.'
And Major-General Delamotte, in his own despatch of
December 3, says:-
"The difficulty of reaching the walls was very great from
-1845
367
CERTIFICATES of honour.
the rugged and steep ascent which led to a ledge or path
by which they (the storming party) were obliged to proceed,
flanked by a very heavy fire from the walls, and large stones
hurled down upon them as they advanced, which they did in
the most gallant manner, to the breach. Among the first
and foremost I noticed:
'Lieutenant-Colonel Brough, commanding the storming
party; Lieutenant Graham, leading engineer after Major Peat
was disabled; and the gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Outram,
C.B. I beg now to bring to the favourable notice of his
Excellency the Commander-in-Chief. . . .
. . Lieutenant-
Colonel Outram, C.B., who, on all and every occasion, tendered
his services, and from whom I received valuable information
and suggestions.'
A Government notification, of December 9, announcing
the storm and capture of Panála, thus recognises the service
here alluded to:-
'The Honourable the Governor in Council begs in parti-
cular to offer his best thanks to . . . and to Lieutenant-
Colonel Outram, C.B., of the 23rd regiment of Bombay
N.I., who volunteered his services and was among the fore-
most who entered the Fort of Panála.'
That he had, at this time also, regained the full appro-
bation of Government for his political work may be inferred
by perusal of the Secretary's two despatches to his address,
dated December 2 and 12 respectively. The first, referring
to his reception of a delegate from the rebel camp, states:-
"The Honourable the Governor in Council entirely ap-
proves of the whole of your proceedings now reported. The
letters addressed by you to the Sirdars and to the Gadhkaris
of Panála and Páwangarh are written exactly in the proper
368
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM
spirit.' The second bears upon his prolonged detention on
special duty:—
"The seizure and confinement of Lieutenant-Colonel
Ovans, the officer appointed to relieve you, having still kept
you for a longer period than was intended in your position
at Kolapur, the Honourable the Governor in Council has
much gratification in recording his great satisfaction that
you have thereby had an opportunity, during the military
operations that have been in progress, of displaying those
high qualities as a soldier, for which you have been ever dis-
tinguished; whilst your subsequent proceedings at Kolapur,
more particularly after the seizure of Lieutenant-Colonel
Ovans, have generally been marked with prudence and firm-
ness.' Finally, the Government of India thus addressed
the Governor of Bombay in a later despatch on the same
subject: The Governor-General in Council entirely concurs
in the opinion of Lieutenant-Colonel Outram's conduct since
the capture of Colonel Ovans, and while the latter officer
was retained by the garrison of Panála, as mentioned in the
fifteenth paragraph of your letter to Lieutenant-Colonel
Outram; and it is with much satisfaction the Governor-
General in Council records his entire approbation of that
conduct, and his opinion of the temper, judgment, and
discretion which have marked Lieutenant-Colonel Outram's
proceedings on every occasion subsequent to the occurrence
above alluded to.'
6
During the imprisonment of Colonel Ovans, Outram
begged repeatedly that he might, on public considerations,
be allowed to take his place, but the former officer would
not entertain the idea for a moment. Outram argued that
the rebels, knowing how favourably their prisoner was disposed
towards them, would readily consent to his release, in the
belief that he might, when at large, effect an arrangement in
-1845
DISTURBANCES IN SAWANT-WARI.
369
their favour; but Ovans thought that the exchange would
only place his substitute in danger, do him himself no good,
and be injurious to the character of Government.¹
While yet en route to Bombay, the receipt, at Satára,
of a letter from Mrs. Outram, intimating her proposed de-
parture from England on February 1, confirmed him in his
resolution of remaining in India; but he still entertained
the idea of going to Egypt, for he could meet his wife at
Alexandria. Scarcely, however, had he reached the Pre-
sidency when his services were placed at the disposal of the
Commander-in-Chief, and his presence was required to aid in
the suppression of serious disturbances in Sawant-Wari—a
tract south of the country which he had just quitted.
Writing to his mother on December 29, he tells her that
the quarter to which he is moving is so inundated with
troops' that he expects to find all warfare over' almost
before he gets there; that he has a month to spare' before
proceeding to meet Mrs. Outram, and will occupy it with the
portion of his regiment then employed in the field; and that
6
We are enabled to supply two of the letters which passed on this oc-
casion, dated November 21 and 22 respectively :-
'My dear Ovans,—I again beg that you will propose to the garrison to take
me as your substitute; they see yon are favourable to them, and they deem
me inimical; the hope, therefore, that (were you) at liberty you might effect
something for them, while they would consider me nearly equal security in
their hands, will induce them readily to accede to this arrangement which, for
private as well as public considerations, I earnestly implore you to consent to.
'J. OUTRAM.'
'My dear Outram,-As I said before, your coming to take my place here is
quite out of the question. It would only place you in danger, and would do
no good, and would be injurious to the character of Government. My object
is, whatever may happen, to uphold our name and fame. But these men have
not, as yet, by word or deed, thrown any indignity on me or the Government.
It is natural enough their keeping me here for their own safety, but this is the
extent of their present offence. But, under no circumstances will I consent to
your coming here, or to any other person coming here, in my place.
'C. OVANS,'
VOL. I.
BB
370
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
his sudden departure that evening must account for a hurried
letter. But he had not attached the importance to his new
military duties which they merited. It was no matter of
mere regimental command, for which his services had been
required by the head of the Bombay army. On January 4,
we trace the first of his detachment orders, dated Vingorla,
appointing his staff; a week later, he is at Sawant-Wari,
detaching a hundred men under an English officer back to
Vingorla; and three days afterwards, he is, under instructions
from division head-quarters, organising a light field detach-
ment of his own, 1,200 strong, composed of European and
Native infantry, sappers, artillery, and local troops.¹
The truth is that the insurrection had taken a shape that
foreboded all sorts of evil consequences, unless the prestige
of British power were at once asserted and maintained by
strong, decided action. The fugitives from Kolapur had, on
the destruction of their forts, and about the time that Outram
was relieved from his joint commissionership, sought to
avoid the detachments of troops overrunning the surround-
ing lands by taking refuge in the nearest jangals, whence
they effected a junction with some two thousand of the Wari
people under the Phund Sawant and Anna Sahib. These
two chiefs had become notorious by acts of violence and
lawlessness, and were then engaged in stopping the roads
and laying waste a great part of the Konkan. Their strength
was mainly in the difficult nature of the country they
occupied; but there were not wanting other obstacles to the
successful progress of invaders than inaccessible rocks, im-
1 In his first march from Vingorla,' according to Murray's Handbook of
India, part ii. Bombay, Colonel Outram had a narrow escape. Riding at the
head of the column with Captain Battye, of the 21st N.I., he was observed
by a party of rebels posted in trees, and was known by his blue coat to be the
bara sahib, or officer of the highest rank. A volley was fired at him, but the
bullets intended for him struck Captain Battye's horse, which fell dead, shot
through in three places.'
-1845
371
OUTRAM IN THE FIELD.
penetrable forests, and impassable ravines. Miasma, which
had ceased to affect them, was a powerful element in checking
the advance of their foes. Frustrated attempts to reach the
more prominent offenders had already given confidence to
the rebel forces, in spite of defective organisation and the
absence of discipline; while owing to their readiness to
scatter on all occasions, it was not easy to assail them with
an effective or decisive blow. To an officer directing opera-
tions against such an enemy, experience with Bhîls, Kúlis,
and even Afghans would not have been thrown away. He
of whom we are writing possessed this qualification, and
natural gifts besides peculiarly suited to the due accomplish-
ment of his task. Never,' says the before quoted writer in
theCalcutta Review,' was the magic power of one man's
presence more striking than on Outram's return to the seat
of war.
From January 14 matters took a different turn ;
6
6
hitherto the three brigades had been playing bo-peep
with the enemy. But now, at length, a decided movement
was announced for hemming in the rebels in the valley of
Sirapur. Twelve hundred men were placed under Outram,
with orders to beat up the low ground from Wari towards
the forts of Manohar and Mansantosh; Colonel Carruthers,
with a brigade, was to occupy the Seevapoor valley on the
other side of the ridge on which those forts are situated;
while Colonel Wallace was on a given day to descend the
Ghats. .' The date named was that on which the de-
tails of the light field detachment were assembled at Sawant-
Wari. On the morning of the 16th their movements had
been planned, their marching arrangements completed, and
they advanced upon the enemy.
If there has been controversy on the merits of certain
commanders engaged in the operations that ensued, and in
respect of certain of those operations, there has been no
question raised as to the good work then done by James
BB 2
372
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
Outram. If there had been complaints of delay and in-
activity in attacking and dispersing the rebels before his
appearance on the scene, when he did appear, no such charges.
could be laid at his door. His progress in suppressing the
rebellion was rapid: his movements were well considered
and well executed; and his success was brilliant. Cutting
his way through thick and hitherto unexplored jangal;
ascending high and steep passes; seeking, where practicable,
to co-operate with his brother leaders, but generally compelled
to act on his own sole discretion; marching, in one stretch
of twenty-four hours, a distance of forty-six miles-in fine,
allowing no moral or physical obstacle to be insuperable, he
drove the enemy from one stockade after another, occupied
their villages, and, on the 8th day after setting out, stationed
himself before the fort of Mansantosh. On January 24,
disappointed in not obtaining two expected mortars, his
energies were restricted to watching the play of the single
howitzer which his old friend Captain Pontardent had
brought up the previous evening, and was now directing
against the stronghold. His own report may be quoted for
the proceedings of the next day :-
'Two 5½-inch mortars, having arrived during the night,
were placed in position 600 yards from the Fort, and the
howitzer moved up to the same. Having determined on
storming the stockades, lest longer delay should enable the
enemy to strengthen them still further, I sent Lieutenant
Peyton with the company of 23rd regiment to occupy a
belt of jungle running up to the scarp of the Fort to the left of
the stockades, with orders to ascend till within forty or fifty
yards of the scarp, where the cover was sufficiently dense to
shelter his men from the stones hurled from the Fort above,
or shot from the stockades in flank.'
Here let us explain that Manohar and Mansantosh are
-1845
373
MANOHAR AND MANSANTOSH.
situated on two lofty rocks, perhaps a mile from the foot of
the Ghats, and thirty-five miles from Vingorla; they are
separated from each other by a profound chasm. The height
above the plain is about 2,500 feet.
The lieutenant's instructions were to lay close until the
advance for the storming party was sounded, and then to
push up and take the stockades in flank while the attention
of the enemy was distracted by the assault on their front.
A false attack on the neighbouring fort of Manohar, by the
pickets on the opposite side, was to be made at the same
moment, so as to draw off the defenders of the stockades to
that quarter. But the shelling with which the day's proceed-
ings opened had not the immediate effect expected, and the
attack was deferred until 11 A.M., a later hour than intended.
Then, the advance being sounded, Outram was disappointed
at seeing the 23rd skirmishers (his own regiment) rise from
their cover at the bottom, instead of near the top of the
jangal belt. Not being so high up as the head of the
storming party, they could not attain, in time, the position
requisite to bring about the contemplated diversion.
'Relying, however,' he continues, 'on the gallantry of
the troops composing the storming party, and feeling the ill
effect of further delaying to take the stockades, I sounded
to the head of the stormers to throw out skirmishers to the
left. . . . Lieutenant Gardiner gallantly led, thus turning
the flank of the enemy's position. The whole steadily
ascended the steep ridge, at the top of which a succession
of three stone stockades were occupied by about 150 of the
enemy, who opened a heavy fire upon the stormers . . .
also exposed to showers of stones from the top of the Fort
immediately over them. The stockades were carried with
little further difficulty than that of climbing the very steep
ascent, and the enemy fled the moment they saw their flank
374
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
turned. Lieutenant Munbee, of the engineers, who led the
advance, and Lieutenant Gardiner, who led the flankers, were
the first to enter the stockades, immediately followed by
Captain Jacob, 2nd grenadiers . . . also Lieutenant Belfield,
H.M. 17th regiment, and Lieutenant Battye, 21st regiment
N.I. Those officers then pushed on to the steps leading
up to the gate of the Fort, with the few men up with
them, and were there awaiting further support when I arrived
on the spot.'
As the fugitives from the stockades avoided entering
Mansantosh, it was doubtful whether serious opposition was
to be looked for from behind its walls. Its immediate capture
was, in any case, an important object, because its fall would
ensure that of Manohar also, and possibly result in the
apprehension of the chiefs in both places. Upon the whole
Outram thought it well to lend a favourable ear to the step
which Lieutenant Munbee gallantly volunteered to take—
viz. to apply powder-bags to the gate. Five officers¹ and a
few men of H.M. 17th and 22nd regiments, accompanied
the directing engineer on this occasion, but the attempt was
unsuccessful and some loss ensued.² The result was distress-
ing, and circumstances would not have justified any hasty
instructions for a second experiment of the kind. Meanwhile,
attention was given to prevent the egress of the garrison pre-
paratory to repetition on the following night. One party was
left in possession of the steps leading to the gate; a second
party was placed under shelter in the gap between the two
1 Captains Le Grand Jacob, and Hume; Lieutenants Gardiner, Battye, and
Schneider.
2 The return of casualties had not been made up when Outram wrote the
report from which the above account is obtained. But he knew that in this
attempt, and the previous advance on the stockades, five men had been killed,
and five officers and several men wounded. He attributed the check received
to the delay in the original attack, which enabled the enemy to collect the piles
of stones with which the storming party was overwhelmed,
- 1845
375
ESCAPE OF GARRISONS.
Forts, to prevent the despatch of succour from Manohar;
and the third side of Mansantosh was secured by the occu-
pation of the stockades and a cave at the bottom of the
scarp on the west. Outram had had no opportunity of recon-
noitring the scarp on the fourth side, which was not within
the limits of his charge; but he understood that it was so
perpendicular as to prevent the possibility of escape, in the
face of the troops co-operating in that quarter, whose mortars
had opened fire on the previous day.
Accordingly, at an hour after dark on January 26, Lieu-
tenants Munbee and Schneider, supported by Lieutenant
Mardell, who had volunteered his services with some native
riflemen, were in position on the steps; but the storming
party had miscalculated the time necessary to reach the spot,
and did not arrive until the rising moon made their purpose
too apparent for successful accomplishment. The enterprise
was therefore again deferred for another twenty-four hours,
at the end of which time Outram, confident in the secure re-
tention of the garrison of Mansantosh, hoped to see effected
a complete investment of Manohar as well, by the exertions
of his brother commanders. He was, however, greatly sur-
prised and chagrined to find in the morning that both forts
had been evacuated; their garrisons having slipped out
on the sides supposed to be watched by the co-operating
brigades.
Writing on the date of this unlooked-for event, Outram
says:
'The escape of the garrisons, including, I believe, the
young Rajah and all the chiefs of the rebels, at a time when
their capture was so possible, and their escape might have
been so easily prevented, is most deeply to be regretted. I
hear that they have made their way down the jungle in front
of the Menohur gate, and coming over the Sassudroog ridge,
376
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
some distance beyond the post which I established thereon
(and made over to the other brigades), passed on to the
Visla jungles, where they were seen at four o'clock this
morning. I shall now direct my endeavours to follow them
up.'
He did follow them up, and there was more fighting in
the thick jangal, in which some sipáhis were killed on our
side and much loss of life occurred on that of the enemy.
Eventually the resistance subsided, and negotiations were
opened with the Portuguese authorities of the bordering
State of Goa for the delivery of those insurgents who had
sought a refuge there. By the end of April the campaign
was at an end. We have attempted no account of it as an
historical narrative; but in confining ourselves to Outram's
story of his own operations, we have certainly not drawn the
reader's attention to the least stirring part of the whole.
One or two brief extracts, however, from the 'Calcutta Review '
may be added with advantage. It is there stated :—
On January 20, a combined movement was ordered upon the
high peak to the west of Munsuntosh. The main attack was
to be made by Colonel Carruthers, who, supported by a portion of
Colonel Wallace's brigade, was to carry some stockades in his
front, and then move up the Dakhan-wari or Sivapur side of the
ridge, while Colonel Outram was to make a diversion from the
Shirsaji or Gotia valley. This last detachment performed their part;
but on reaching the summit of the peak, from which an extensive
view was commanded, no sign appeared of either brigade. They
saw the stockades which Colonel Carruthers was to have attacked,
but which being now taken in flank were abandoned, the enemy
flying to Munsuntosh, within 800 yards of which fort Outram
established a post. Colonel Carruthers's brigade had been prevented
by the nature of the country from taking their full share in the
operations of the day. The next morning another combined
movement was made on the village of Gotia, immediately below
the forts; again the nature of the country favoured Outram, the
1
-1845
377
PROCEEDINGS AT GOA.
advanced guard of whose detachment captured the village with all
its stockades, though very strongly situated. . . .
... Colonel Outram
was... left unsupported, to carry on operations against Munsun-
tosh. One of those accidents which no human foresight can obviate,
frustrated his attempt to gain that fortress by a coup de main.
Outram had skilfully thrown out parties to command the debouches
from the south and south-west faces of the forts, leaving the re-
maining portion of the cordon to be filled up by the brigades.
failed on his part, and thus suffered the rebel chiefs, who had all
been engaged, to escape over the Sisadrug ridge, close to one of his
posts, into the Goa territory. Outram followed hard upon their
track, had several skirmishes, took many prisoners, and on one
occasion nearly captured the chief. Again he scoured the wild
country beneath the Ghats, encouraging the loyal, and beating up
the disaffected villages. The nature and value of his services
during the operations are not to be measured by the actual
opposition experienced or loss sustained, but by the estimate formed
by other commanders of the obstacles and enemy to be encountered
•
•
•
the promotion bestowed on him amply proves that Govern-
ment took the same view of his conduct throughout the campaign
as did General Delamotte, Colonels Brough and Wallace, and
indeed all his comrades.
His proceedings at Goa were distinguished by tact com-
bined with firmness, and a straightforwardness which, though
natural and void of effort, was highly effective. In the first
instance, Captain Arthur, military secretary to the Governor
of Bombay, had been deputed to confer with the Governor
of the Portuguese settlement on the best means to be
adopted for preventing insurgents from Sawant-Wari finding
an asylum in his territory, and for apprehending those
already there. Further personal communication becoming
necessary, Major Stevens, Outram's able staff officer, was sent.
Then Outram himself had to go; and the letters which he
addressed at this period to Mr. Secretary Gomez are instruc-
tive and interesting, read in connection with his reports to
Government. The question under discussion was a delicate
one, and all the more so because, independently of British
378
1843-
JAMES OUTRAM.
6
prestige, the credit of a second European Power was involved
in its solution. On April 15, Colonel Outram was enabled
to report, for Sir George Arthur's information, that all the
objects of his mission to Goa had been satisfactorily con-
cluded by the surrender to that Government of all the
insurgent Sawant-Wari chiefs, and most of the inferior
leaders in the insurrection. The Hon. the Governor in
Council has great satisfaction,' wrote the secretary in acknow-
ledging this report, in now recording his approbation of the
temper, ability, skill, and judgment which you have evinced
in all your communications with the Goa Government. I
am at the same time desired to intimate to you that the
Governor in Council chiefly attributes to your exertions the
present favourable prospects of the immediate restoration of
tranquillity in the recently disturbed districts.'
But this was a small part only of the publicly-expressed
recognition of services rendered. Official acknowledgments
were indeed multiplied. The Governor in Council recorded
his opinion that 'the energy, boldness, and military skill
displayed by Lieutenant-Colonel Outram, and the rapidity
and success which characterised all the movements of his
detachment in a particular degree, entitle him, and the
officers and men under his command, to the thanks and
approbation of Government.' The Commander-in-Chief of
the Bombay army, Sir Thomas MacMahon, expressing the
pleasure felt in communicating the praise thus bestowed
'for zeal, activity, skill, and gallantry,' added the words
'which you have so conspicuously evinced on all occasions.'
Not only did Lord Hardinge endorse the approval of Sir
George Arthur, but the Home Government also; and we
learn that Her Majesty's Ministers considered that 'but for
the conciliatory policy adopted by Colonel Outram, they might
have been involved in a disagreeable misunderstanding
with the Government of Portugal.' The despatch on the
-1845
379
A NEW APPOINTMENT.
6
subject of the Kolapur and Sawant-Wari disturbances, which
reached India from the Court of Directors near the close of
the year, was highly eulogistic of the share taken in their
suppression by this distinguished officer.'1 As an instance
of how universally admitted was his high character through-
out India, even at this stage of his career, the Adjutant-
General of the Madras army-referring to his favourable
notice, for the Marquis of Tweeddale's information, of the
services of an assistant-surgeon of that Presidency—writes:—
'His Lordship receives with much pleasure a testimony of
merit from an officer whose praise is so honourable to Dr.
Forester.'
As early as February 3-when intelligence of the
events immediately following the evacuation of Mansantosh
and Manohar must have just reached Bombay—the appoint-
ment of Resident at Satára was offered to Outram by the
Governor, through his military secretary. Acceptance having
been notified in the interim, the formal nomination was
communicated in the following terms:-
"The Honourable the Governor in Council having observed
with great satisfaction the gallant and energetic spirit in
which your late operations in the Sawant-Wari territory
have been undertaken, and the ability with which they have
been carried into execution, I am desired to inform you
that, to mark the approbation with which these services are
regarded by Government, he is pleased to appoint you to the
office of Resident at Sattara and commandant of the troops
at that station.'
Owing to the work still before him in Sawant-Wari, his
orders to join were not issued until May 3, when they were
forwarded by the Commander-in-Chief, writing in his own
¹ See Appendix H.
380
1845
JAMES OUTRAM.
name to express the satisfaction with which he made the
communication. Again did his Excellency avail himself of
an opportunity to publish his 'high sense' of the zeal,
ability, and energy' evinced by Outram throughout his
services in the Southern Maratha country and Sawant-Wari—
thereby signifying how fairly and honourably the promotion
accorded had been earned.
It was now stated that the presence of the new Resident
was urgently required at Satára. Handing over, therefore,
all necessary papers to Captain Le Grand Jacob, political
superintendent of Sawant-Wari, he left for his new destina-
tion, and joined his appointment on May 26, 1845,
APPENDICES.
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.
GENERAL WASHINGTON AND DR. JAMES ANDERSON, page 7.
THE following letter, from a copy found among the papers of Mrs.
Margaret Outram, will be read with interest :-
<
Mount Vernon, July 25, 1798.
'Esteemed Sir,-Your favour of February 8 came safe, and
would have received an earlier acknowledgment if anything had
sooner occurred worthy of communication. I hope you have not
only got relieved of the fever from which you were then recovering,
but of the languor with which it had affected you, and that you
are now engaged in the literary pursuit of which you gave the out-
lines; and which, with your pen and arrangement of the subjects,
must be curious, entertaining, and instructive. Thus persuaded, if
you propose to carry the work on by way of subscription, it would
give me pleasure to be numbered among the subscribers. I little
imagined when I took my last leave of the walks of public life, and
retired to the shades of my vine and fig-tree, that any event would
arise in my day that would bring me again on a public theatre;
but the unjust, ambitious, and intoxicated conduct of France to-
wards these United States has been, and continues to be such, that
they must be opposed by a firm and manly resistance, or we shall
not only hazard the subjugation of our government, but the inde-
pendence of our nation also, both being evidently struck at by a
lawless, domineering power, who respects no rights, and is re-
strained by no treaties, when it is found inconvenient to observe
them. Thus situated, sustaining daily injuries, even indignities,
with a patient forbearance, from a sincere desire to live in peace
384
JAMES OUTRAM.
and harmony with all the world, the French Directory, mistaking
the motives and the American character, and supposing that the
people of this country were divided, and would give countenance to
their nefarious measures, have proceeded to exact loans (or in other
words contributions), and to threaten us-in case of non-compliance
with their wild, unfounded, and incoherent complaints-that we
should share the fate of Venice and other Italian States. This
has roused the people from their slumbers, and filled their minds
with indignation from one extremity to the other of the Union;
and I trust, if they should attempt to carry their threats into effect,
and invade our territorial as they have done our commercial rights,
they will meet a spirit that will give them more trouble than they
are aware of in the citizens of these States.
'When everything sacred and dear to freemen is thus threat-
ened, I could not, consistent with the principles which have actu-
ated me through life, remain an idle spectator, and refuse to obey
the call of my country to head its armies for defence; and therefore
have pledged myself to come forward whenever the urgency shall
require it.
'With what sensations, at my time of life (now turned of sixty-
six), without ambition or interest to stimulate me thereto, I shall
relinquish the peaceful walks to which I had retired, and in the
shades of which I had fondly hoped to have spent the remnant of
a life worn down with cares in contemplation on the past, and in
the enjoyment of scenes present and to come of rural growth, let
others, and especially those who are best acquainted with my ways
of thinking, decide; while I, believing that man was not designed
by Providence to live for himself alone, shall prepare for the worst
that can happen.
6
The gardener you were so obliging as to send me continues
to conduct himself extremely well; he is industrious, sober, and
orderly, and understands his business; in short, I never had a kind
servant that pleased me better; and what adds to the satisfaction
is, that he himself is content, having declared that he never was
happier.
'My best wishes always attend you; and, with great esteem
and regard, I am, Sir,
'Your most obedient and obliged humble servant,
'GEO. WASHINGTON.
(Signed)
'Dr. Jas. Anderson, in or near London.'
APPENDICES.
385
And again :-
'Philadelphia, Dec. 10, 1798.
'Esteemed Sir,-Hearing that the ship (“Suffolk") by which the
enclosed letter was sent was captured by the French, who never
restore any of mine, I do, to avoid the imputation of inattention to
your favours, and the correspondence with which you honour me,
send a duplicate, being, with very great esteem and regard, Sir,
'Your most obedient and obliged humble servant,
'G. WASHINGTON.'
(Signed)
VOL. I.
CC
339
JAMES OUTRAM.
APPENDIX B.
KHANDESH AND THE BHÍLS, page 51.
THE area of Khandesh, roughly estimated in 1833 at 20,000, and
in 1843 at 13,000, is recorded in the latest published reports at
10,162 square miles. Official statements make the population
1,070,000; or an average of 105.33 to the square mile. The Trigo-
nometrical Survey, has yet, we understand, to publish the full
results of its work for this particular subdivision of Western India ;
but the unhealthiness of the country at certain seasons, and physi-
cal difficulties encountered, have been productive of delay. Much
is in progress, or remains to be done on the western side, and
something on the south-east of Khandesh to complete the survey.
Khandesh once played an important, if a brief, part in Indian
history. At the dawn of the fifteenth century, it became an inde-
pendent State; and one Malik Raja, son of Khan Jahán, to whose
family belonged some of the most respectable of the Dehli nobles,
under Allahu Din Ghilzai, is considered by Farishta the first of its
thirteen Faruki kings. Entrusted by Firuz Toghlak with the
command of 2,000 horse he was afterwards granted by the same
monarch the districts of Talnair and Kerind. He was also made
Sipah Salár, or chief military commander of the whole province
and, the 2,000 horse having been authoritatively raised to 3,000, he
found means to increase the number of his mounted retainers to
12,000. On the death of Firuz he invaded Gujrát, laying waste
the districts of Nandurbar and Sultánpúr. In 1399 he was suc-
ceeded by his son Nasir, and up to the close of the sixteenth
century, when the province became absorbed in the Imperial terri-
tory, and its affairs were administered by Abul Fadhl, Wazir of
Akbar the Great, Khandesh remained a separate State, or, as we
read it, kingdom.¹
¹ See vol. iii., passim, Elliot's History of India, edited by Professor Dowson.
APPENDICES.
387
Low, bare hillocks, sinking gradually to the valley beyond,
mark the south-eastern boundary of the 'Collectorate' of Khandesh,
which contains sixteen tálukas, independently of recent transfers
to Nassik. Of these, Sauda, Yáwal and Chopra, on the east, touch
the Northern or Satpura hills, while the Chálisgaon district is
merged in the Southern or Satmala range. The land revenue is
estimated at 40 lakhs (40,000Z.): total gross revenue about 50.
Although Khandesh is stated by Thornton to be a great valley, or
basin, traversed throughout, from east to west, by the Tapti, the
passage of this river is through the more northern of its territorial
divisions, and therefore hardly answers the description of a central
line. According to the same authority, the lower part of the
Collectorate is in general fertile, the soil consisting principally of
a rich mould of a dark reddish-brown colour, formed, apparently,
for the most part, of the disintegration of the Trappean rock.
There is indeed a considerable portion of sand as well as hard,
unkindly soil mixed with gravel; yet the better descriptions pre-
dominate.' l
<
Farishta, in his account of the Kings of Khandesh, associates
the Bhíl with the predatory Kúlí of Gujrát. According to this
historian, they both suffered severely from the famine in the days of
Malik Raja, the first king; and had habitually infested the roads
and disturbed the peaceable inhabitants of towns prior to the
reign of Adil Khan Faruki I., at the close of the fifteenth
century.2
Noting the local tendency to limit the term 'Bhíl' to lawless
and savage men who live separate from their fellows, Captain
Graham explains at the same time that it is also given to many who
do not acknowledge it. He is of opinion that, irrespective of the
common Bhíls of Khandesh who vauntingly merge all class distinc-
tions in the one generic name, there are no more than seven clans ·
in the province which merit mention. These are the Tarvis, a fine
race of Muslim converts, with the dark, diminutive, and barbarous
Nahals in the north-east; the fierce and surly Muhammadan Hindhis
in the south-east; the milder Matwaris, Burdas, and Dorpies in the
north-west; the wild Khotils of the Satpura mountains, and the
unmitigated savages of the Dáng, or Dángchis, who reside below the
Western Ghats. Mr. Boyd makes three divisions of Bhíls only :
¹ Gazetteer, under the head 'Candeish,'
2 Briggs: translation of Farishta.
cc 2
388
JAMES OUTRAM.
i.e. those of the hills, almost all under different chiefs or Naiks ;
those of the plains and villages; and the Tarvis or Muhammadans
in the east. The Nahals and others, he does not consider suffici-
ently important for separate notice.
With regard to the amnesty generally offered on the inaugura-
tion of the humane policy adopted in 1825, there was diversity of
opinion as to the degree of blame to be attached to offenders. Some
thought the Bhíl a victim of treachery and cruelty in the past, and
attributed his ruffianism and malevolence to" misconception of his
fellows believing that if he could only discriminate between the
humanity of the newly-arrived Western ruler and that of the dis-
placed Oriental despot, he would readily recognise in the first a bene-
factor and friend. Others again were less disposed to wholesale
judgment in favour of a white and in condemnation of a dark-visaged
administrator, and these naturally threw the onus of misdoing on
the Bhíl himself, setting down his mistrust and estrangement to his
conviction that he deserved no forbearance at the hands of any
government under the control of which he might chance to come.
This was the view of Colonel Robertson, an able and experienced
officer of the old and justly-honoured school of Indian politicians.
His opinion on the Bhíls may be further quoted with advantage:-
To relinquish
'They had in general no property, and what they had there is
no instance of their having been deprived of. The Government
would not, I think, from mere wantonness, have selected this class
as the objects of cruel and merciless persecution.
the life they were leading was a course very far from the wishes of
the Bheels. . . . If for the Naiks such a change was unpalatable,
it was more so for those who adhered to them; who, comparatively
speaking, rioted in the plenty which their leaders' courses yielded,
and who, by forsaking them, returned not only to a listless life,
but also to an income not more than sufficient for their support, as
well as to a humble station in the community and corresponding
duties-none of which would be agreeable to them, after passing a
long time in a state of the rudest independence (almost of all
restraint)—who, in the hills, beyond yielding a very slight obedience
to their leaders, were under no control, and came and went as they
chose; they were all equals, and they shared in all that was got by
plunder, the extent of which was only limited by their own exertions.
We may fancy how unpleasantly the call to return to their proper
APPENDICES.
389
station and duties must under such circumstances have sounded
to the Bheels in the hills; and how, even if tempted by prospect of a
provision their leaders felt inclined to yield, their adherents must
have thwarted their intentions.'
The town of Chalisgaon bears the name of a tȧluka or district,
containing in 1863 a population of between thirty and forty thou-
sand, and more than one hundred and forty registered Government
villages. To the natural advantage of a river on its northern and
eastern side, it adds the possession, by artificial endowment, of a
railway in its centre. But its contiguity to the Nizam's territory
on the south-where a high wall-like range of hills, supporting on
their summit an extensive table-land, extends to almost the entire
breadth of the district-has made it, even in recent years, a difficult
ground for satisfactory settlement: and in the days of which we
write, it had none of the benefits of more modern skill and appli-
ances. The revenue commissioner, Mr. (now Sir Barrow) Ellis,
in reporting of the locality in question some sixteen years ago,
speaks of the 'turbulent characters' of this frontier, whom he
would suggest keeping in order by a more effective police super-
vision than theretofore exercised.
Exclusive of the small nucleus of regulars, Outram's light
infantry consisted of Bhíls only; the pay of the men being fixed at
five rupees monthly, with an additional rupee for outpost duty.
Clothing was supplied by Government. At the outset only 4 rupees
was actually paid over, and that in daily instalments of two annas,
the balance of twelve annas in a long and ten in a short month
being given on the last day when acquittances were taken. The
clothing consisted of a pagri (pagiya), or turban, dyed green;
a white angrikha (angarkha), or vest; and a gurgi, a kind of knee
breeches, made double and of strong cloth. This was found suited
to their tastes, and gave them a respectable appearance.
In
Outram's report of September 1, quoted in the text, are the following
passages, regarding his new levies :-
"
They are daily improving in cleanliness, and beginning to ex-
The reader, desirous of becoming acquainted with this part of Khandesh,
can do no better than refer to the published papers on the assessment proposed
for the Dhúlia and Chálisgám talukas contained in the Selections from the
Bombay Government Records, No. lxxii., New Series (1863).
390
JAMES OUTRAM.
pend their surplus pay at the end of the month in purchasing shoes
or ornaments. This dress will last about six months, and is well
calculated for a police, being uniform and looking well with native
arms; it is also the cheapest that could be given, the whole expenso
being 3 rupees.
'I was unable to proceed in hutting more than thirty men, grass
not being procurable so late in the season; the rest I have quartered
in empty houses in the town without infringing on any prejudice
of the inhabitants, who were, at first, very averse to their neigh-
bourhood, and had many causes of complaint against the Bheels,
who were then rather disorderly; but latterly such complaints
have entirely ceased, and their behaviour is to the satisfaction of
everyone.
The
'I have, for the present, divided the corps into two classes, the
one consisting of the men for general police duties, the other of those
whom I hope to train and discipline as light infantry.
latter are selected from the youngest and most intelligent; of this
class there are only at present about twenty.
"The duties I yet exact are light; from the former a daily and
nightly guard of a Naick (or lance) and six privates; from the
latter whom I wish to attach as much as possible to my person, two
orderlies are supplied daily.
'In pursuance of what I deemed prudent, i.e. exacting early ser-
vice from them, I detached several parties to recruit. The ill-success
of two which were sent to the greatest distance I have already
shown, but the fidelity they evinced on that occasion was more
gratifying than the most complete success. I have reason to be
equally well pleased with all the parties I detached in the neigh-
bourhood, all of which, though meeting with little success, deserved
the trust I placed in them, and exerted themselves to the utmost.'
The following interesting particulars from the pen of Sir Bartle
Frere came to hand at too late an hour for embodiment in the
text, but in time to be here added :—
'Candeesh is one of the richest provinces of Western India,
formed by the basin of the Taptee river, somewhat lower and more
sheltered than the general table-land of the Deccan, with better
soil and better water. It had been rich and populous during the
flourishing days of the Delhi empire; but as that empire fell into
APPENDICES.
391
decrepitude, Candeesh suffered from being on the great roads
leading from the cradle of the Mahratta race in the southern Deccan
to the fertile plains and cities of Hindoostan. From the rise of
the Mahratta power every year saw the Mahratta hordes advancing
northwards to their annual plundering expeditions, or returning
with their plunder to the safer recesses of the Deccan and, as the
province possessed but few great fortresses between the range of
Ghauts on its western border and Asseeghur on the east, Candeesh
gradually became devastated by passing bands of plunderers to
such an extent, that the jungle overpowered the cultivation, and
the greater part of the province lapsed into a state of forest-while
the few inhabited portions suffered from almost annual inroads of
Pindarees or Mahrattas, or from the incursions of Bhils. This
wild mountain race had in previous ages been driven to the rocky
fastnesses of the ranges which encircle Candeesh on all sides; but,
encouraged by the distracted state of the country after the rise of
the Mahratta power, they plundered what little was left to the
defenceless villagers, and perpetuated the desolation caused by the
passage of armies.
'To such an extent had the devastation of the land and the
increase of jungle proceeded when the country came into our pos-
session rather more than sixty years ago, that Mr. Chaplain, the
first Commissioner who took over that part of the Mahratta Peish-
wa's dominion after its conquest in 1817-18, reported that the first
year's police returns showed a total of 30,000 cattle destroyed by
tigers within the province. It soon after fell to the Hon. Mount
Stuart Elphinstone to arrange for measures required to render life
and property secure in Candeesh, and to restore its ancient pros-
perity. He selected for this purpose two men whom he used to
name “his sword" and "his plough." Outram was
"the sword,"
and Captain Charles Ovans was "the plough," and to both were
allotted young military officers carefully chosen for their enter-
prise, courage, and other military qualities. I know of only one
who still survives, Colonel Patrick French, who assisted Captain
Ovans from the first, and subsequently succeeded him as Bhil
agent, his business being to make the acquaintance of the wild
Bhil tribes, to settle them down to agriculture, train them, and
teach them to use the ploughs and cattle which were given them
by the Government.
392
JAMES OUTRAM.
'Whilst this was the work of the "plough," Outram was to raise
and command a corps of Bhils, who were to be employed as military
police in the wilder parts of the country, to stop marauding and
gang robbery, to rid the country of tigers and other wild beasts,
and to do whatever else was required to render life and property
in the province secure.
'It is difficult to convey an adequate idea of the difficulties
which beset both classes of officers. The country, unsurveyed and
imperfectly known, was everywhere covered with dense jungle;
the climate was often malarious and dangerous to health; but the
great difficulty of all was the seeming impossibility of gaining the
confidence of the Bhils, and inducing them to accept the well-meant
measures devised for them by the British Government.
'This was mainly owing to the manner in which they had been
treated by our predecessors, the Mahratta governors of the province,
who had adopted a system of forcible retaliation, often accompanied
by treachery, which had rendered the Bhils suspicious of every-
thing offered to them by their civilised fellow-men. The following
anecdote may illustrate the kind of treatment the Bhils used to
receive from their Mahratta rulers. About forty-five years ago I
was trying, as assistant Magistrate, a magisterial case, in which
two Bhils were accused of theft, when a Brahmin of high rank
under the Mahratta government came in to draw the pension which
had been assigned him after the conquest. He sat and listened
with some interest to the proceedings till the case was concluded,
and then remarked that "the sahib was taking a great deal of
unnecessary trouble; that these kind of people would go on thieving
as long as there was anything to steal; and that formal trials and
civilised punishments were altogether misapplied in their case." I
asked him how he would deal with them, and he said, Well, I
was once employed in Candeesh myself, when I was a young man,
under a Soubedar famous for the vigour of his administration and
the peace he maintained in the country. These Bhils were then
very troublesome, and after sundry expeditions, with very little
result, the Soubedar came to the conclusion that formal military
operations were useless against such an enemy. He, therefore,
desisted from sending out detachments of troops, and having
managed to communicate with some of the Bhil chiefs, invited
them to a conference. At the conference he told them that he had
1
APPENDICES.
393
become convinced of the necessity of making it worth their while
to abstain from plundering, and that if they and all the chiefs of the
neighbouring forest country would meet him, he would arrange terms
by which they would be in the receipt of fixed money allowances.
The bait took, and on a day appointed they all assembled to have
a grand feast to ratify the arrangement made, when the Soubedar
caused troops who had been in concealment to fall upon them, and
they were all exterminated." In answer to my expressions of
horror at such a proceeding, my visitor informed me "that it would
doubtless have been wrong had they been reasonable beings, but
they were little better than monkeys, and had all the attributes of
wild beasts, and could only be dealt with by measures similar to
those necessary for exterminating beasts of prey"- and he left me
with evident pity for the philanthropic weakness which prevented
a young Englishman from agreeing to the lessons of age and ex-
perience.
'Such had been the treatment to which the Bhils had been used
under our predecessors, and it was long before Outram and those
who joined him in the undertaking could regain the confidence of
the Bhils, even sufficiently to induce them to join his camp.
'One young officer who gave me graphic accounts of his early
life with Outram was Douglas Graham-afterwards well known as
one of the most daring huntsmen in Western India; some thirty-
five years ago, the companion of Sir William Harris in his mission
to Shoa, the southern kingdom of Abyssinia; and later again,
political agent at Kolapoor in the southern Mahratta country.
Graham had come out strongly recommended by some of his Scotch
connections to the Governor, the Hon. Mount Stuart Elphinstone,
and as soon as Mr. Elphinstone had gauged the capacity of his
young protégé, he told him that he thought he could not do better,
in order to make a man and a soldier of him, than send him up to
assist Outram in the task on which he was then engaged, the
civilising of the Bhils, and raising a corps for the protection of
life and property in the wilder parts of Candeesh, to be com-
posed entirely of that race under officers, some native and a few
Europeans, carefully chosen from the ranks of the Bombay army.
'Young Ensign Douglas Graham accordingly journeyed up to
join Outram (mounted on a pony, the only means of conveyance at
that time), by paths through jungles, which are now traversed by
394
JAMES OUTRAM.
the great railway from Bombay to Calcutta over the Thul Ghaut.
Nassik, the famous Hindoo city of pilgrims, and Maligam, the head-
quarters of the troops which garrisoned Candeesh, were almost the
only towns he saw till he joined Outram at a village on the verge
of civilisation on the eastern skirts of the great chain of the Syadri
Ghauts. Outram had come to this village at the earnest request
of the inhabitants, who represented to him that-suffering as they
always did from the depredations of the tigers, who had almost
the whole of the country between that and the Surat coast to
themselves—their existence had been made quite intolerable by a
huge tigress, who preyed upon their cattle and occasionally their
women and children. She had taken up her abode in a long
tunnel, cut through a spur of a hill, in more prosperous times, by
the Mogul rulers of Baglan, to convey to the village the water of a
distant stream. Douglas Graham found Outram with a few Bhils
recently attached to him by what they had heard of his hunting
prowess, planning with the villagers his scheme of operations.
against the tigress. She had ensconced herself in the tunnel, a
passage of considerable length through a hill composed of soft tufa,
which had been cut out sufficiently to enable two men, stooping,
to walk abreast and clear the water channel of obstructions. The
water was, at that dry and intensely hot season, only a few inches
deep, and afforded a pleasant lair to the tigress after her nightly
foray. The villagers could not tell, as she had walked along
the watercourse, by which end she had entered, and there
were places inside large enough for her to turn, so that it was
impossible to say which way she might be lying in watch for
anything she heard approaching. Outram's first question to his
young friend was, "whether he had brought his gun." Of course
he was answered in the affirmative, and the single-barrelled fowling-
piece, duly inspected, was pronounced to be strong enough to be
loaded with ball; in fact, Graham, for the last two days of his
journey, had been convinced that there were beasts of prey behind
every bush, and like a brave young Scot had charged his piece
with a bullet, determined to do his best in any encounter which
might offer. He saw that Outram was evidently musing whether
it was fair to deprive his young assistant of a chance of distin-
guishing himself, or whether it might not be better to wait till he
was more practised as a shot. Graham felt bound in honour to
APPENDICES.
395
press his right to accompany his chief, so Outram explained to him
that they would have to walk in with the water over their ankles,
and stooping, with the certainty that the tigress would hear their
approach, and would turn round and enable them to see her
position by the glare of her eyes. "We will go in as quietly as we
can,” he said, “but if you catch a sight of her eyes, take a very
steady aim and fire between them: take care not to fire too high,
and you will be sure to hit her in some bad part. If she cannot
turn round in the tunnel she will come straight to us, and you
must throw yourself flat on your face; do not mind the water,
but keep your head low, and she will to a certainty make for the
light behind us, and get out into the open; be sure you take good
aim between the eyes." This was a comfortable position for a boy
perhaps of sixteen, but Graham begged not to be left behind, and
accompanied his chief, devoutly praying, as he afterwards confessed,
that the tigress might go out at the other end and give them a
chance on more equal terms. This she did, and Graham had the
gratification of putting a shot into her before she was killed among
the bushes on the outside, having satisfied his chief that the youth
was made of the right stuff for a Bhil agent's assistant.'
396
JAMES OUTRAM.
APPENDIX C.
PACIFICATION OF THE MÁHI-KÁNTA, page 148.
THE following extract from the 'Bombay Gazette,' published in
´Allen's Indian Mail' of March 1, 1879, appears to be a fitting
addendum to a chapter relating Outram's experiences and work in
the Máhi-Kánta. Though the name of this distinguished officer may
not have been mentioned by the framer of the address presented to
Sir Richard Temple, it is probable that among the Europeans and
natives in whose presence it was read and responded to, there may
have been one, or more than one, to whom it would naturally
occur in connection with the reforms inaugurated at the dawn of
the preceding half century:-
'SIR RICHARD TEMPLE AND THE MAHI KANTA CHIEFS.-
During his recent tour in Guzerat H.E. the Governor of Bombay
held a durbar at Sacha, which was attended by thirteen chiefs of the
Mahi Kanta, headed by the Maharaja of Edar. One Thakore was
offended at the place assigned him and went away, and a second
was accidentally absent. After the presentation, H. H. the
Maharaja of Edar read the following address with a strong, clear
voice, and distinct, tolerably correct pronunciation, showing a fairly
good knowledge of English :-
"To his Excellency the Honourable Sir Richard Temple, Bart.,
G.C.S.I., C.I.E., Governor of Bombay.-May it please your
Excellency, I beg on my own behalf, and on that of the other
chiefs, sirdars, and people of this province, to bid your Excellency a
hearty welcome to the Mahi Kanta. Your Excellency is the
second Governor of Bombay that has visited this province.
hail your arrival, and rejoice that you should see and judge with
your own eyes the vast changes and various reforms that have
taken place since the Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone paid a
We
APPENDICES.
397
visit to the Mahi Kanta more than half a century ago. Owing in
a great measure to the policy adopted by that statesman, rapine
and violence have given way to peace and tranquillity. Where
there were marauding bands of robbers and outlaws, a thriving and
prospering agricultural population now till the ground, secure of
reaping the fruits of their toil, and the habits of nearly all classes
have changed for the better, while education is extending even
to the Kolee. We cordially acknowledge that to the protection
of the British Government the Mahi Kanta is indebted for this
happy change, and we trust that under its fostering care the peo-
ple of this province will rise still higher in the scale of civilisa-
tion. We rejoice in your Excellency's visit, not merely on official
grounds, but also because we are glad to meet thus face to face
the statesman whose administrative ability and untiring energy
are so renowned throughout India. In conclusion, we beg to
express our sincere and grateful thanks for the kindness you have
shown, and to assure your Excellency of our firm loyalty and
unswerving devotion to our gracious Sovereign Queen Victoria,
Empress of India, and we pray that you will be pleased to lay
these our sentiments at the foot of the Imperial Throne.”
'In reply his Excellency said that he was glad to make the
personal acquaintance of the Mahi Kanta chiefs in their own
province, and to hear an address in English so well read by the
Maharaja of Edar. His Excellency was aware that an English
education was not within the reach of all of them at present, being
more or less expensive, but hoped that such vernacular education
as was obtainable would be availed of for the rising generation.
His Excellency was glad to be able to visit the Mahi Kanta, and to
see for himself the state of the province. He enjoined the Thakores
to make it their business to increase the productiveness of their ter-
ritories and ameliorate the condition of their subjects, by carrying
out irrigational projects, by the careful study of agriculture, and
by introducing reforms. His Excellency animadverted on the
Byad system, regretting the frequency of disputes between the
Thakores and their relations and dependents; and ascribed it to
the faulty system of allotting to the Byads some portion of land or
village property, whilst reserving the right of levying certain local
imposts on the produce or tenure of these allotments. His Excel-
lency advised the Thakores to accord to the Byads some means of
398
JAMES OUTRAM.
subsistence less calculated to cause trouble and dissatisfaction,
averring that a small allotment free of reserve was much better
than a large assignment burdened with some bond of contention.
On the other hand, his Excellency admonished the Byads not to
embarrass their tribal rulers, the Thakores, by factiousness, and
warned them that such conduct would be gravely discountenanced
by Government. In conclusion his Excellency congratulated the
Thakores on the complete abolition of female infanticide.'- Bombay
Gazette.
What a contrast does the educated Maharaja of Edar present to
the Fath Singhs and Suraj Malis of Captain Outram's time!
APPENDICES.
399
APPENDIX D.
FIRST ADVANCE INTO AFGHANISTAN, page 168.
THE occurrences of April 1839, as regards the Bombay column,
were not of an importance or interest commensurate with the pro-
gress of an army of invasion or occupation in a country so disturbed
as Afghanistan. The experiences gained, however, were useful,
and may be studied with advantage by present and future soldiers,
merchants, or travellers. Let us examine them as handed down to
us, and select the more salient passages on the record. Attacks
and robberies, or attempted robberies, by Baluchis were very fre-
quent, and required to be met with spirit and promptitude. Severe
examples were made to deter the offenders; but their audacity
knew no bounds and, on the very skirts of the camp, camels were
driven off and camel-drivers stripped of their property in the broad
light of day. During the six marches through the Bolan, only on
one day, the second, were the troops with whom Outram proceeded
really opposed, and they suffered no loss in repulsing their adver-
saries by means of a cavalry charge. Not so with the Major-
General, who was a march or two in rear. His baggage was
attacked with considerable spirit at the pass; forty-nine camel-
loads of grain were carried off, five horses killed, and three troopers
wounded. On the other hand, many of the enemy are said to
have been then slain by our men. Beyond Kwatta, at Haikalzai,
the rear guard was fired on and a camp-follower missed, but no fur-
ther harm done; beyond Haikalzai, a peon was cut down and three
camels and an officer's horse were abstracted without redress
obtained; but few, if any, like misadventures, between the Bolan
and Kandahar, have place in Outram's journal, as coming under
his own observation. He mentions, however, that, as at the Bolan,
so, before and after joining the artillery at the Kohjak Pass,
General Willshire was subject to molestation, and that his brigade
400
JAMES OUTRAM.
had had several affairs with horsemen hovering about the baggage,
in which upwards of fifty of the assailants were killed, with the loss
of only two or three on our side.
The Bengal column and Shah's contingent had been harassed
by these attacks on a larger scale: and their losses must have been
more considerable. With reference to the proceedings of the mixed
force in its integrity, it was estimated that at least five hundred
Baluchis, Kákars, and Afghans, had fallen before our soldiers since
leaving Shikarpúr and Larkhána; the casualty roll on our side
showing thirty or forty killed in open combat, besides some hundreds
of followers murdered. The loss in baggage animals, owing to death,
desertion of drivers, abandonment, robbery, and the many causes
presenting themselves in a country where forage was scarce, water
not always procurable, and travelling dangerous and difficult, must
be set down at a very high figure. Sir Willoughby Cotton's
regiments and detachments had so suffered from defective commis-
sariat arrangements that, on arrival at Kwatta, the men composing
them were placed on half-rations, and the camp-followers on an
allowance barely sufficient to support nature. If, in such case,
human beings died of starvation, the lot of beasts of burden could
hardly have been less cruel.
APPENDICES.
401
APPENDIX E.
HONOURS AWARDED TO OUTRAM, page 209.
BUT for the General's unexplained silence regarding his varied ser-
vices as extra aide-de-camp, Outram's brevet for Kalát would have
been a lieutenant-colonelcy, probably accompanied by a C.B.-ship.
Indeed, he was actually on the list for promotion to that rank, but
at the eleventh hour some occult influence in London prevailed to
cancel it. As it was, he remained a major till 1843, much to the
prejudice of after-advancement, for his regimental promotion was
exceptionally slow, and always lagged far behind his brevet rank.
It is pleasant to remark that among the most active of those
admirers whose kind exertions, twenty years later, secured the suc-
cess of the 'Outram Testimonials,' was one whose warm friendship
for him dated from the time when they served together on the
Commander-in-Chief's staff in Afghanistan, viz. the second Lord
Keane of Ghazni. And although both Sir William Macnaghten
and Lord Auckland had been fully aware of the Bombay captain's
outspoken condemnation of their Afghan policy, it in no way
affected their generous recognition of his merits. They not only
showed their confidence by selecting him for responsible duties, but
they omitted no opportunity of expressing their unreserved appro-
bation of his manner of fulfilling them. A friendly correspondence
with the high-minded Envoy continued till his tragic death. His
last official letter is that noticed in the text, intimating the grant
of the Order of the Duráni Empire.
The Governor-General's approbation did not evaporate in public
and private expressions of commendation. It marked out, for the
young Bombay' political,' a wider and more responsible field of
action than any available within his own Presidency.
VOL. I.
DD
452
JAMES OUTRAM.
MR. ROSS BELL, page 224.
MR. ROSS BELL, of the Bengal Civil Service, was designated by
Lord Auckland as an officer of tried energy and intelligence.'
Much has been said and written of this gentleman's love of display
and of the pomp and parade attendant on his movements from
place to place, in the fulfilment of his official duties. Contrasted with
the simpler ways of Colonel Pottinger and his assistants, it is quite
intelligible that the style of living and moving of the Upper Sind
magnate was considered by many to be unnecessarily costly and
luxurious. But we believe the difference to have been as much one
of Englishmen's habits generally in the two Presidencies of Bengal
and Bombay, as of idiosyncrasy. In other respects, Lord Auck-
land was well satisfied with his nominee; and from first to last,
throughout the late Mr. Ross Bell's short career in Sind and
Baluchistan, did not hesitate to express himself in the strongest
terms of the importance and value of his services. Unfortunately,
a weak state of health, brought on by an ungenial climate, greatly
aggravated the difficulties of his position. Regulation and prece-
dent, which commonly guide and render smooth the routine of
Indian kachahris, were almost wholly wanting within the limits
of a Baluchistan political agency. Their place would here be sup-
plied by common sense, knowledge of native character, moral and
physical courage, tact, energy, and sound discrimination: and no
amount of high principle and zeal could atone for the absence of
qualities such as these.
It may be well here to say a few words on our relations with
Upper Sind at the time of Mr. Ross Bell's agency. If Lower
Sind was important as the seat of the higher class local government,
the Amirs of Khairpur, or the Upper Sind districts, were far
from insignificant members of the Talpur clan, and could boast a
family history quite as interesting as that of their cousins lower
down the river. One 'Kaka,' or 'Bijan,' was the common an-
cestor, from whose son, Hotak, sprang the respective founders of
the two houses of Haidarabad and Khairpur, and whose other
son, Manik, numbered among his immediate descendants the first
ruler of Mirpur. His grandson Shahdad, eminent among the
Baluch settlers in the country during the rule of the Kalhoras
(who preceded the Talpurs), was perhaps more than an ordinary
APPENDICES.
403
landholder, and exercised a sort of feudal sway in the land
of his sojourn. First of the family to quit his native hills and
take service in Sind, he had brought many Baluch followers
to the newly adopted standard. These had not the patience to re-
main long in obscurity; and stirring times were near to test their
prowess and nationality. On the death of Shahdad, his sons Chákar
and Bahram became the recognised heads of the Sind Talpurs. The
murder of the latter, and other acts of violence and oppression
committed by the chiefs in power, brought about a revolution; the
government was subverted; and eventually Sohrab the son of
Chákar, in Upper Sind, and Fath Ali, Ghulam Ali, Karm Ali, and
Murad Ali, sons of Bahram in Lower Sind, together with Tára in
Mirpur, became the de facto sovereigns of the country.
It is of Sohrab and his children we have now to speak. He
had aided in the expulsion of the Kalhoras from Haidarabad, and
might therefore reasonably claim a share of the spoil in the general
partition of the province; but the tract which fell to his lot was
insufficient to satisfy his ambition, and he was not long in extend-
ing its limits. To this end, both Bhawalpur and the Afghans were
destined more or less to contribute a quota; the first, on clear com-
pulsion, the second, with comparative indifference to the transfer of
ownership.
One hundred and forty years ago, the Persian conquerors of
Dehli, under the leadership of Nadir Shah, possessed themselves of
extensive lands west of the Indus. The helpless Sindians were
driven to Umarkot and the Eastern deserts. On the death of
Nadir in 1747, Ahmad Shah Abdalli raised up a new kingdom be-
tween Northern India and Persia, which, while it saved the former
country from the aggressions of the latter, made little change in it
otherwise, for it merely replaced there one plunderer by another.
The Afghan monarch was an awkward neighbour; invaded on his
own account, and scattering his followers over Sind and the Punjab,
demanded a certain amount of black mail from the inhabitants in
return for holding his hand. In Sind this tribute became heredi-
tary, both to givers and receivers. Throughout Ahmad Shah's
reign every art and evasion was called into play to get rid of the
incubus; but the Afghan was needy and could never dispense with
the money. When taking the province from the Kalhoras, the
Talpurs had also taken the debt, but, more fortunate than their
D D 2
404
JAMES OUTRAM.
predecessors, they found means of staving off the liability. The
relief, however, was not permanent, nor was the claim suffered to
become obsolete. Taimur Shah, the less formidable successor of
Ahmad, had been quieted by pretexts; the next king, Zamán, had
accepted a shabby settlement in lieu of arrears; and Shuja-ul-
Mulk, brother to Zamán, had followed the latter's example. Nay
more, the Amirs of Sind had so far turned the tables on their old
oppressors, as to abstract Shikarpur from the hands of its local
governors, and make that important possession their own.
Sud-
denly, new interests arose; the question of Sind tribute was
revived with a purpose hitherto unknown; a new power had
interfered to exhume the buried accounts; and the debtors were
consigned to so-called justice. We have already shown the nature
of the tribunal before which the Amirs were arraigned, and the
sentence passed upon them. British mediation is a serious affair
in circumstances such as these.
But Sohrab himself had retired from public life in 1811, and
made over the dignity and cares of government to his eldest son
Rustam, with whom, twenty years later, Alexander Burnes
opened treaty relations. This popular and kindly chief not only
suffered from his hospitable attention to strangers, but was doomed,
through the intrigues and ambition of a near relative, to experience
hard treatment in his own home. Even prior to the negotiations
of 1831, he had begun to be involved in domestic and dynastic
perplexity. His father had but recently died at a very advanced
age-probably in his ninetieth year-and, before dying, had con-
trived, by wills and codicils, to throw disorder into his succession.
Abdication of the riyásat, or office of Ráis, had been followed by
marriage with a young wife, and this wife had presented old
Sohrab with a son, when the son of a former wife, Rustam, was a
quinquagenarian, and busily engaged in directing the affairs of State.
In process of time the child became a man, and a covetous and
very aspiring man, who rested not until he had brought his vene-
rable half-brother to ruin. Indian history knows the youngest son
of Sohrab as Mir Ali Murad of Khairpur. His career affords a
remarkable illustration of Sindi-Baluch character, and may be
studied with advantage by our own political officers in India, as
well as by native candidates for Government service. To the first
it should supply an incentive to understand our subjects as closely
APPENDICES.
405
as these strive to understand their rulers, and with better results.
To the second it should be a caution to deal heedfully and, as
much as in them lies, honestly, with individual representatives of
the British Government, who are not all cast in the same mould
nor professors of one and the same political creed.
ESTABLISHMENTS IN SIND AND BALUCHISTAN, page 229.
With reference to Outram's scheme, submitted to Mr. Colvin in
August 1840—of the first-class assistants in Sind and Baluchistan,
Captain Edmunds was already in the Kalát State, Lieutenant
Leckie was at Haidarabad, and Lieutenant Postans at Shikarpur.
It was proposed to complete the number by nominating Captain
French to Upper Sind. Of second-class assistants, as there were
six (i.e. Captains Kennedy, Gordon, and Kynvett, with Lieutenants
Eastwick, Hammersley, and Whitelock) at the time, on the roll of
officers employed in the agency, one was in excess of the proposed
number. But the supernumerary officer would be available to fill
one of the vacancies in the third class, in which four new names
were submitted for approval, viz. Captains Hart and Christal,
Lieutenant Pelly and Lieutenant Agar. Under the old system of
separate agencies for Upper and Lower Sind, Captain Bean was
the political agent at Kwatta (for Shál), but as he might not elect
to remain under the arrangement which placed his office among
the limited agencies, his tenure was not treated as a permanent one.
Three officers, Messrs. Brown, Varden, and Wallace, then employed
in Sind and Baluchistan, were not included in the programme,
because it was understood that the first had resigned, and the two
last would be compelled, by ill-health, to leave the country. Lieu-
tenant Eastwick, a second-class assistant, had, moreover, gone on
sick leave to Karachi.
EVENTS IN AFGHANISTAN, page 241.
The busy Political Agent's voluminous correspondence abounds
in suggestive comments upon Afghan events generally, but space
406
JAMES OUTRAM.
forbids lengthened quotation. In a letter to Colonel Sutherland,
dated December 26, 1841, for submission to the Governor-General
if deemed advisable, he reviews the existing situation :---
'I had long contemplated the possibility of the Afghan explo-
sion, and revolved in my mind the most creditable, and least dis-
advantageous, way of shaking off the Cabool connection, if it should
become necessary; and in that case, what arrangement would best
secure our influence in Afghanistan. To allow ourselves to be
driven out, or to withdraw, under present circumstances, would, I
really think be tantamount to throwing up our hold on India, for
such a declaration of weakness would be a death-stroke to power
principally based on opinion. That, therefore, is not to be thought of, I
trust: neither will the necessity occur, I confidently hope, for humili-
ating capitulation by any of our garrisons throughout the country,
every one of which is capable of holding its position on the defensive
until spring, if provided with ammunition, of which, I trust, every
post has a sufficiency, at least for mere defence, behind walls which
need not call for much expenditure; and I have every expectation
that among so mercenary a people, provisions will be obtained with-
out difficulty, after the first enthusiasm of the revolt abates, and the
vigilance of the besiegers begins to relax and dissension to arise,
as inevitably must result from delays in attaining their objects. I
rely upon it, that by the time for our troops to advance on Cabool,
from Jellalabad and Candahar, the league will be greatly weakened,
if not entirely broken; and that little or no opposition will be
offered, or if so, nothing that will not be overcome by fresh and
eager troops, at infinitely less cost than the weak and worn-out
brigade under Sale suffered on retirement from that capital.
I would, after the resubmission of the chiefs, admit their right to
choose a king for themselves, since the national voice has declared
against Shah Soojah, on the condition of a British representa-
tive being retained at that court, and pledges for due deference to
British counsels. A Barukzye would most likely be nominated;
and if Dost Mahomed, it would be to our advantage.'
•
How accurately these anticipations were in accordance with
actual facts, the events of 1842, the journals of Eyre, of Mohun
Lall, and of Lady Sale fully testify. But the military crime' (as
he expressed it) witnessed at Kabul, and the non-provisioning of
Ghazni, were beyond the ken of those who, like himself, had based
APPENDICES.
407
their predictions of the safety of the large and well-provided force
upon knowledge of place and people, and upon ordinary military
considerations. He writes to Sir J. Carnac on February 10, 1842 :
'I have proved a false prophet, alas! as regards the issue of
affairs at Cabool; but who could conceive that five thousand
British troops would deliberately commit suicide, which literally
has been the fate of the Cabool garrison? From first to last such a
tissue of political and military mismanagement the history of the
world has never shown.'
After commenting in detail upon the errors committed, he con-
cludes: 'Within my own charge, I confidently trust to all going
on well, in spite of the volcano around us.
•
you will see that I
then (in 1839) predicted everything that has come to pass so far as
the Affghans are concerned, though certainly I never could have
believed that our troops in that country could be humbled to such
a depth of degradation.'
408
JAMES OUTRAM.
APPENDIX F.
TREATMENT OF MAJOR OUTRAM, page 291.
In reference to the peculiar treatment of Major Outram described
in the text it would be unfair to his memory to pass by altogether
the spontaneous expressions, however eulogistic, of two such com-
petent observers as Henry Lawrence and Mountstuart Elphinstone.
The former remarks in his already quoted article in the 'Calcutta
Review' of September 1845 :
'In the year 1838, Outram carried to Affghanistan a character
such as could not be paralleled by any officer of his standing in India.
His services during the first Affghan war were second to those of
no officer then and there employed. And had he remained in the
Ghilzee country, or at Khelat, many of our disasters might have
been averted. But it is by his civil management, first of Lower
Sind, and then of both the Upper and Lower Provinces, and of all
Beloochistan, that Outram has won our highest admiration.
'When the European inhabitants of Calcutta trembled for our
Indian Empire—when, in the highest places, men grew pale at the
evil tidings from Affghanistan-Outram held his frontier post
with a firm hand, a brave heart, and cheerful tone that ought
to have been contagious. Vigilant, conciliatory, courageous, he
managed, with his handful of troops, not only to prevent the Ameers
from taking advantage of our disasters, but to induce them to aid
in furnishing supplies and carriage for the relieving, then considered
the retreating, army. The merits of his exertions on that occasion
are little understood. He obeyed as was his duty; but he did not
the less clearly perceive the ruinous tendency of the Government
orders. He had the moral courage to sacrifice his own immediate
interests by stemming the then prevalent tide of cowardly
counsel.'
Regarding Hammersley's fate, Sir Henry remarked: 'Outram's
APPENDICES.
409
chivalrous defence of his assistant, Lieutenant Hammersley, is
one of the many instances in which he advocated the right, at the
peril of his own interests. Hammersley was as brave, as honest-
hearted a young soldier as ever fell a victim to his duty. We knew
him well; and no man who did so need be ashamed to shed a tear
over his fate. He was literally sacrificed for telling the truth-
a truth, too, that was of vital importance to the beleaguered
Candahar army-nay, to the interests of British India! Peace be
to the memory of this noble fellow !'
Mr. Elphinstone thus writes to one of the Directors of the East
India Company in 1843: Besides his ample share in the planning
and conduct of various military enterprises, his political services
for several years have been such as it would be difficult to parallel
in the whole course of Indian diplomacy. We forced a subsidiary
grant and tribute on Sind; we made open war on the Brahoes of
Khelat, killed their chief, and took their capital; and on these two
powers, all our communications with Candahar depended. To keep
them quiet, and prevent them thwarting our measures, would have
been difficult even in times of peace and prosperity; yet such was
Colonel Outram's management as to obtain their cordial co-opera-
tion during the whole of our dangers and disasters in Affghanistan.
Our movements in every direction from Candahar depending
on the country supplies we received from them, all of which they
might have withheld, without any show of hostility or ground of
quarrel with us, had they been disposed for more open enmity—
General England's detachment could neither have retired or
advanced, as it did; and it is doubtful whether Nott himself could
have made his way to the Indus, through the opposition and
privations he must have suffered in such a case. In an advance
towards Cabul, he certainly could not, without the assistance he
received through the Sind and Khelat country.'
410
JAMES OUTRAM.
APPENDIX G.
CONDITION OF THE AMIRS IN UPPER SIND, p. 313.
THE letter from which extracts are given in the text was written
from Kháirpur on January 26. One of two days' earlier date from
the same place, had put the General in possession of certain facts
and figures, illustrating the reduced circumstances of the Upper
Sind Amirs-brought about by our interference-which Sir Charles
frankly acknowledged to have 'grieved him exceedingly.' The
following extract will convey some notion of the money value of
the territory and revenues lost to the chiefs :—
'The balance which now remains to the Ameers of Upper
Sinde is rupees 14,29,000, and you are bound, I understand,
to make good to Ali Moorad his share of the ceded country, which
he claims to the value of 1,50,000 and which, in addition to his
original territory of 2,95,000, gives him rs. 4,45,000. Added to this
you are, I believe, pledged to give him one-fourth of the remaining
property of Upper Sinde (or, of rupees 14,29,000)=rupees 3,57,250
-Total rupees 8,02,250. Consequently, all that will remain for
the support of the other Ameers and their families and feudal
chiefs and dependents, as well as most of the Belooch chieftains
who have hitherto enjoyed Jaghires in the portion of the territory
to be made over to Meer Ali Moorad (who will undoubtedly eject
them all sooner or later to make room for foreign mercenaries,
relatives, and countrymen of his minister Ali Hoossein, and
Afghans whom Ali Moorad particularly patronises)-will be rupees
6,26,750, who formerly enjoyed rupees 17,44,000, the revenue
shared among them previous to our entering the country (exclusive
of Ali Moorad's portion).
APPENDICES,
411
APPENDIX H.
EXTRACTS FROM A DESPATCH OF THE HONOURABLE THE COURT OF
DIRECTORS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY TO THE GOVERNMENT
OF BOMBAY: DATED SEPTEMBER 25, 1845, NO. 25, page 379.
3. On the death of the late Rajah at Kolapoor in November
1838, it became the duty of the British Government to make
arrangements for the government of that country during the
minority of the present Rajah. The treaty of 1829 had given us
the right of appointing a minister, but your predecessors preferred
to give their support to the administration which might be accept-
able to the persons of greatest influence in the State itself. The
Sirdars of Kolapoor had mostly attached themselves either to the
Rajah's mother (Tara Báee) or to the Diwan Sahiba, widow of a
previous Rajah. After a short and successful attempt to combine
these parties in a joint administration, the Diwan Sahiba was made
Regent, and the two principal Sirdars of her party, Rowjee
Wukuns and a Dinkur Row Guicowar, were appointed to assist
her, as Karbarrees (or minister), with the aid of another Chief
named Moro Punt.
4. The arrangement proved a failure, the corruption, profusion,
and incapacity of the Administration led you in the beginning of
1843 to set it aside and to banish the two Karbarrees, Rowjee
Wukuns and Dinkur Row Guicowar, from the seat of government.
In our letter dated February 28, No. 3, 1844, paragraphs 3 and 7,
approved this course.'
we
5. The attempt was now made to form an administration from
the other of the two rival parties, that of Tara Baee, the Maee
Sahib. A Regency was formed consisting of the Raj Adnya (the
principal Sirdar of that party) and Hindoo Row Guicowar, a
Mahratta Chief, of whom Mr. Townsend, at that time Political
Agent, entertained a high opinion. It was intended still to
412
JAMES OUTRAM.
retain Moro Punt, as a member of the Regency, but he declined
to act.
(
6. The new administration proved itself equally incompetent
with the former. In a letter dated September 12, 1843, Mr. Towns-
end, after representing various instances of its 'inertness and folly'
declared that 'no actual revenue settlement had been made for the
last two years,' that 'for that period no exact accounts of income
can be given,' that the corruption and mismanagement at Colapore
are on a gigantic scale,' that every reform was utterly hopeless
' under a management so devoid of energy as that of the Raj
Adnya '-' whether imbecility or knavery be the cause, whether
fear of those around him, or a hope that the Agent will be changed
and a change of measures adopted, I cannot say for certain, but the
result is the same, nothing is done towards a reform, things continue
at the worst.' On January 15, Mr. Townsend reiterated his con-
viction of the indolence, inefficiency, and deceit' of the 'Raj
Adnya,' and said that to effect any improvement while he is
Karbarree is out of the question.' He reported that it had been
impossible by any amount of importunity to obtain from the
Karbarree the accounts of receipts and disbursements since the
Rajah's death, and that 'his yads to the Durbar were mere waste
papers.' He expressed, as he had previously done, his conviction
that it was necessary to appoint as chief manager a person wholly
independent of the Durbar of Kolapoor.
7. The two Kolapoor parties having thus successively proved
their unfitness to be entrusted with office, you abandoned the
attempt to form an exclusively native administration; and, on the
recommendation of Mr. Townsend, Dajee Kristna Pundit, a servant
of the British Government and Dufterdar of Dharwar, was placed
at the head of the Regency. With him were at first associated
Hindoo Row Guicowar, a member of the preceding ministry, and
Kassinath Punt, the government Akhbár-navis. These individuals,
however, were shortly suspended by Mr. Reeves, who had suc-
ceeded Mr. Townsend as Political Agent. The grounds of their
suspension were, in the case of Hindoo Row, that the administra-
tion of which he had formed a part was found to have left a great
deficiency in the treasury, and to have, immediately before giving
up office, unauthorisedly, and (it was suspected) corruptly, released
a number of Enams which had been attached. The suspension of
APPENDICES.
413
Kassinath Punt was caused by his having withheld from Mr.
Reeves a knowledge of the release of the Enams and by various
complaints of his having abused the influence which he derived
from his office of Akhbár-navis; and we must here remind you
that
the inquiry into the conduct of this individual has never been
completed, Mr. Reeves (in consequence, no doubt, of the subsequent
press of more urgent duties) having never furnished the additional
information called for in your Secretary's letter of October 2, 1844.
8. On April 5, 1844, Dajee Kristna Pundit commenced his
functions as chief minister of Kolapoor. On July 22 the first
manifestation took place of armed opposition to his administration.
The Ghudkurees or hereditary garrison of the fort of Boodurghur
shut the gates against the Mamlutdar, and were immediately joined
in their insubordination by those of Samunghur. Attempts were
made by Mr. Reeves to open a communication with the Ghudkurees
for the purpose of conciliation, but without success.
The only
grievance which they alleged was that the number of Mamlutdars
of the Kolapoor State having (for reasons of economy) been reduced,
the forts had no longer, as before, Mamlutdars to themselves, but
were included in larger districts. It was from the first the
opinion of Mr. Reeves and of Dajee Kristna that the Ghudkurees
acted at the instigation of some persons of influence at Kolapoor.
9. A force under Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace marched from
Belgaum on September 16, to reduce the refractory forts and
reached Samunghur on the 19th. The Ghudkurees persevered in
their resistance. From a variety of causes, among which imperfect
information respecting the strength of the fort (for which imper-
fection it is very difficult to account) appears to have been the
principal, the defence was unexpectedly and most unfortunately
protracted, and Samunghur did not fall into the hands of our
troops until October 13, when it was taken by storm.
During
the interval the insurrection had become general. The town of
Chickodee in the British territory was surprised, and its treasury
plundered. The Ghudkurees of Munshur, a fort in the Kolapoor
country, but overlooking that of Sawunt Warree, commenced
aggressions upon the last-mentioned territory. The strong forts
of Punalla, and Pownghur in the northern part of Kolapoor were
placed in a state of defence. The troops at Kolapoor itself, under
a leader named Babajee Ahirakur, seized upon the minister Dajee
414
JAMES OUTRAM.
Kristna, and upon the young Rajah's tutor, threw them into con-
finement at Punalla, and recalled the former Karbarrees, Rowjee
Wukuns and Dinkur Row Guicowar, whom, together with the
Dewan Sahib, they reinstated in the administration.
10. After the capture of Samunghur and the defeat of a
party of the Kolapoor insurgents who were on their way to relieve
that place, the primary object was to suppress the insurrection at
Kolapoor itself. For this purpose Lieutenant-Colonel Outram
(who, having volunteered to proceed to the scene of disturbance, had
been placed by your Government under the orders of Mr. Reeves)
moved forward with a light detachment towards Kolapoor, and in a
few days succeeded in obtaining peaceable possession of the town and
fort and of the Rajah's person. A large portion, however, of the
Sebundy, headed by Babajee Ahirakur left the place and continued
in arms.
Before Lieutenant-Colonel Outram was admitted into
the town he had promised (on condition of immediate submission)
what was called an amnesty, and this measure, being in the first
instance imperfectly reported to you, appeared to you extremely
objectionable. On further explanation, however, it appeared that
(besides the exception made of all who were concerned in the affair
at Chickodee, or who had committed any other act of aggression
against British territory) the chiefs themselves had received no
promise of pardon, in case they should afterwards prove to have
instigated the rebellion, and the amnesty altogether was conditional
upon establishing the existence of grievances. Lieutenant-Colonel
Outram gave every facility and even encouragement to the troops
and people to make their grievances known. Very few complaints,
however, were made, and these were not only trifling, but appeared
on examination to be unfounded. The Karbarree Dajee Kristna
came out with unblemished character from the investigation,
and the amnesty was nullified by the failure of an essential con-
dition.
*
11. The movement of Major-General Delamotte's force against
Boodurghur, which had been suspended while Kolapoor itself was
in insurrection, was now resumed, and on November 10 the Major-
General obtained possession of the fort, having first granted terms
to the Ghudkurees considerably more favourable than was con-
sistent with the intention or even the orders of your Govern-
ment, and this too although Babajee Ahirakur and his followers
APPENDICÈS.
415
had been admitted into the fort and were hurried out at one gate
while Major-General Delamotte entered by another.
12. Boodurghur is at no great distance from Munohur, and the
force under Major-General Delamotte was about to proceed against
the latter place when it was summoned to the northward in con-
sequence of the intelligence that Lieutenant-Colonel Ovans (who
was on his way to Kolapoor by order of Government to assume the
temporary management of that State) had been waylaid and carried
off by the Ghudkurees of Punalla. The necessity of this north-
ward movement was the more unfortunate as at the same time a
formidable insurrection broke out in the Sawunt Warree. The
Phond Sawunt family (who since their pardon by Government
appeared to have resumed their former turbulent habits) rose in
arms, and persuaded Anna Sahib, the son of the Surdessye, to go
off with them to Munohur. In a short time no part of Sawunt
Warree could be said to be in the possession of the Government,
except the town itself, and the posts actually held by detachments
of troops. Plundering incursions were also frequently made into
British territory towards Baitsee and Parghur on the one side,
Rairee, Vingorla, and Malwa on the other.
•
•
Paragraph 13, referring to the imprisonment of Colonel Ovans,
states: 'We must express our satisfaction
that Mr. Reeves
and Lieutenant-Colonel Outram refused to listen to any propositions
from the insurgents previously to his release. That release, when
it took place, not having been accompanied by any offer of sub-
mission, except upon conditions which could not be granted to
armed insurgents, it unhappily became necessary to storm the
fort; and the chief insurgent leader, Babajee Ahirakur, fell in the
assault.'
on :-
The origin of the insurrection is thus sketched and commented
16. The territory of Kolapoor contains thirteen forts, twelve of
them hill-forts, and in point of situation among the strongest in
the world. Of these thirteen, eleven have on this occasion been in
arms against our Government, the exceptions being the two
forts of Gunjundurgur and Sewghur, belonging to the dependent
Chief of Bowra. The resistance has in general been obstinate; no
less than six of the forts were either taken by storm or evacuated
after a first unsuccessful assault. Besides this, all, or nearly all
416
JAMES OUTRAM.
its troops were concerned in the establishment of the unauthorised
Government at Kolapoor.
17. According to your statement, 'there are strong reasons for
believing that there is not a single person of any note connected
with the Kolapoor State who will not be found more or less
implicated in the late unlawful proceedings in that territory.'
18. Such a display of hostility cannot in our opinion be
explained by the intrigues of a few persons, or by any partial or
local dissatisfaction. The feeling must have been national. What
has taken place is not an insurrection of disaffected subjects against
the Kolapoor Government, but a general rising of the Kolapoor
State against the British power.
19. The British Government had given no just cause for any
such manifestation of animosity. Its interference in the affairs of
Kolapoor had been entirely disinterested, having no other aim than
the benefit of the Rajah and of the State. Nor had it attempted
any fundamental alteration of existing institutions. Its object had
been to correct gross abuses and to secure the better working of the
existing machinery of government.
20. The motives of the Kolapoor Sirdars and those of Ghud-
kurees require to be distinguished.
21. Mr. Reeves and Lieutenant-Colonel Outram have made a
careful investigation in relation to both.
22. From the evidence forwarded with Mr. Reeves' letter dated
December 30, 1844, it appears that before the commencement of
operations against Samunghur (but not before the Ghudkurees
began their resistance) Babajee Ahirakur and other leaders of the
Sebundees had a secret interview with Dinkur Row Guicowar;
that the prolonged resistance of Samunghur determined their sub-
sequent conduct; that several of the Mankurries or dignitaries of
the State, came into their views at an early period; that after the
seizure of Dajee Kristna 'all the Mankurries, and Huzzrias of the
Putucks assembled, and in the presence of Dinkur Row, Rowjee
Wukuns, Humunt Bahadoor and both Princes, all touched the
Maharajah's idol, and bound themselves by an oath to be faithful
to one another, and to obey the two Karbarrees, Rowjee Wukuns
and Dinkur Row; and that they immediately despatched agents
to seek assistance from Goa and Sawunt Warree.' The motive
assigned is dissatisfaction at the appointment of a foreign Kar-
APPENDICES.
417
barree. On the part of those connected with the two previous
administrations, resentment at the loss of power and of legitimate
or corrupt emolument was the obvious inducement. On the part
of the military leaders the motive was said to be 'that they were
now under a Karbarree sent by the British Government with whom
nobody's intercession had any weight, who did not send for any of
them, and to whom they could not apply for any presents, which
they used to do when they were under their own Karbarrees.
23. There is evidence to show that even after the Chiefs at
Kolapoor had ostensibly submitted to Lieutenant-Colonel Outram,
some of them were in communication by emissaries (Lallgeree
Gossavee, Sukharam Ghutkey, and others) with the Ghudkurees
of Punalla; it seems even probable that the seizure of Lieutenant-
Colonel Ovans was brought about by information received from
Kolapoor, and it was the arrival of Sukharam Ghutkey and
Lallgeree Gossavee of Punalla which, after the Ghudkurees had
almost resolved to submit, decided them to hold out. It is asserted
the Ghudkurees and Babajee Ahirakur expected that the Dewan
Sahib and the Rajah's brother would come out and openly counten-
ance their resistance, and there is considerable reason to believe
that such was really the intention of those persons, though
frustrated by Lieutenant-Colonel Outram's vigilance. On the
several points, however, which relate to Punalla, Mr. Reeves (as
appears from his letter of March 19) is much less decided in his
opinion than Lieutenant-Colonel Outram.
24. The motives of the Dewan Sahib and the Kolapoor Sirdars
for the course they adopted are obvious, and those of the leaders of
the Kolapoor troops are also sufficiently intelligible. But the
Ghudkurees were differently situated. They do not appear to
have been deprived of any illicit gains by reforms in the adminis-
tration.
25. There is, however, no sufficient reason to believe that any
instigation from Kolapoor preceded the first acts of insubordination
by Samunghur and Boodurghur Ghudkurees. The evidence points
rather to the conclusion that the discontented at Kolapoor were
encouraged to what they did by the previous resistance of the
Ghudkurees, and especially by the prolongation of the siege of
Samunghur.
26. We feel little doubt that the Ghudkurees of the two forts
VOL. I.
E E
418
JAMES OUTRAM.
were originally acted upon by fear of encroachment upon their rights
and privileges, though they may have been encouraged to prolong
their resistance by inducements held out from Kolapoor.
27. It has been proved that the rights of the Ghudkurees had
not in fact been encroached upon. Their only actual grievance was
that their forts and the villages from which they derived their
revenues were merged in larger revenue districts; and even this
arrangement had been adopted (though not carried into effect)
under the Karbarrees who preceded Dajee Kristna Pundit in the
administration. But under the former system the Mamlutdar was
under the orders of the Chief of the Ghudkurees who communicated
directly with the Durbar. Under the new system the Chief of
the Ghudkurees was under the orders of the Mamlutdar, a change
naturally offensive to their pride, and which in minds probably
distrustful of the general tendency of our system might easily appear
to be a preparation for placing the districts altogether under Khálsa
management. They might also very reasonably presume that the
revenue officer of a large district would be less acquainted with,
and less careful of, their rights than an officer who resided in the
midst of them; who was, ostensibly at least, under their orders;
and who, having the charge of their district and of no other, was in
a manner identified with themselves.
28. The evidence of the Boodurghur prisoners transmitted by
Mr. Reeves in his letter of December 3, 1844, gives strong con-
firmation of these opinions. Although the dues of the Ghudkurees
had not been interfered with by the new Mamlutdar, it appeared that
alarm had been given by counting their houses and fruit-trees,
and the privilege of sealing with their own seal all the orders and
letters issued from the fort had been discontinued. It is also
asserted that they had been threatened with the discontinuance of
some minor privileges.
29. Mr. Reeves says 'they had ample opportunity afforded
them for making known all circumstances in their condition
which they felt irksome and grievous.' But men who were ac-
customed, as these doubtless were, to look upon their military
prowess, and the strength of their forts, as the only security for their
prescriptive rights against the usurpations of even their own Govern-
ment, naturally shut the gates of their fort on the first serious indi-
cation of what they deemed a purpose of encroachment.
APPENDICES.
419
Paragraph 34 is illustrative of the enlightened spirit and sound
judgment of the Court. It states:
That portion of the Kolapoor troops who did not quit the
place with Babajee Ahirakur, nor commit any subsequent acts of
insubordination, have been pardoned unconditionally, and you have
directed that their former situations and privileges be continued
to them as long as they conduct themselves properly.' At a later
period an amnesty was tendered to the Sawunt Warree insurgents,
except the leaders and those personally implicated in any outrage,
provided they laid down their arms within a certain time. We
should have been glad if, on the termination of military operations
in the Kolapoor country, a similar amnesty could have been granted
to the misguided subjects of that State. You have determined that
such of the Kolapoor offenders as it might be necessary to bring to
justice (including the Sirdars Rowjee Wukuns and Dinkur Row
Guicowar), should be tried by Mr. Lumsden aided by native
assessors. By a subsequent arrangement, those taken in our own
territory of the Coulon are to be tried by Mr. Brown, an acting
judge of the Sudder Adawlut on circuit.
We conclude our extracts with the nine following para-
graphs :-
38. The forts of every description are to be dismantled (except
that, with respect to Munsontosh and Munohur, you were waiting
for a report from Lieutenant-Colonel Outram), the functions of the
Ghudkurees, an hereditary garrison, being thus superseded; the
Ghudkuree system is to be abolished, but the hereditary privileges
of the Ghudkurees are to be retained by them (except when
lawfully forfeited) on conditions to be clearly stated and under-
stood by them, that their services are to be made available for
other useful State purposes, such as a local police force for every
district, &c.
39. The military force of the State, already limited by treaty
to 400 horse and 800 infantry, is to be disbanded, saving (we trust)
the faithful execution of any promises which have been given to the
portion of the Sebundy who, as already noticed, had received a
full pardon from Government.
40. A local corps, similar to that of Sawunt Warree, is to be
formed, and employment given in it to as many as possible of the
able-bodied Ghudkurees; to such of them as cannot be employed
}
EE 2
420
JAMES OUTRAM.
either in this manner or on police duties you intend to hold out
encouragement for engaging in cultivation.
41. An addition of three companies and a second in command
is to be made to the Sawunt Warree local corps, and some portions
of the forfeited possessions of the chiefs of the insurrection in that
territory are to be bestowed as rewards on those who have adhered
to our interests.
42. The little territory of Vishulghud, subordinate to Kolapoor,
has been taken, for the present, under British management.
43. Finally, Lieutenant-Colonel Ovans having resigned the
offices of Resident at Sattara and the command of the troops at that
station, you have conferred those appointments upon Lieutenant-
Colonel Outram, in consideration of the gallant and energetic
spirit in which his operations in Sawunt Warree have been under-
taken, and the ability with which they have been carried into
execution.
44. To all these measures we have the satisfaction of giving
our entire approbation.
45. In consideration of the zealous and valuable aid which
Chintamun Row, the Chief of Sanglee, has afforded to your
Government, both in troops and by advances of money during the
disturbances, you recommended that, as one of the most gratifying
marks of honour which could be conferred upon that respectable
Chief, a sword, with a suitable inscription, should be presented to
him by the Court. We shall take immediate steps for carrying
this suggestion into effect.
46. In conclusion, we feel it a duty to express our sense of the
vigour and promptitude with which the powers and resources of
your Government have been placed at the disposal of the officers
entrusted with the immediate conduct of the late operations. We
must also applaud the sincere desire which you have manifested to
ascertain and redress all real grounds of complaint, and we trust
we shall find that you have been equally disposed to make due
allowance for even groundless apprehensions and to be satisfied with
the fewest and least severe examples, consistent with making the
needful impression on the minds of the disaffected.
APPENDICES.
421
EXTRACTS FROM SIR JAMES OUTRAM'S MINUTE
OF JANUARY 2, 1860.¹
ON THE AMALGAMATION OF HER MAJESTY'S INDIAN FORCES WITH
THE BRITISH ARMY. (75 Paragraphs.)
The so-called mutiny.—Bear in mind how unspeakably great
had been our recent obligations to the European troops of the East
India Company, as well as to their glorious comrades of the Royal
Army, who had cheerfully laid down their lives to save an empire
that then appeared tottering to its fall. Think of the marvellous
deeds of valour they had just performed, of the privations and
hardships they had endured, and of the (to them) heavy losses
which many of them had sustained beyond the destruction of that kit
for which alone they could hope to obtain compensation. Re-
member that the Press had long teemed with denunciations of the
Government on the ground that we were cruelly negligent of the
claims of our own countrymen, while, as was alleged, we were
needlessly caressing and enriching natives who had but scanty
claims on our consideration. Recollect that for years past a pain-
ful conviction had pervaded the Army that the Government had
not behaved fairly to it in the matter of prize-a conviction which
led to the destruction, in Lucknow alone, of property to the extent
of many tens of thousands of pounds-to the destruction, indeed, of
all frangible property which could not be appropriated by the
captors, who (and the men were not Company's soldiers) declared
that Government should make nothing by it.' Keeping all these
facts in view, let us place ourselves in the position of the Company's
European soldiers, when informed that, owing to financial difficul-
ties arising out of that mutiny which they had so zealously and
successfully aided in subduing, they were- on what they regarded
as a lawyer's quibble-to be deprived of that re-enlistment (with
6
1 These Minutes are referred to in Book III. Ch. VI., near the close of the
Second Volume.
422
JAMES OUTRAM.
the bounty which that re-enlistment implied) to which the Prime
Minister of England had declared them fully entitled. And doing
this we must admit that some allowance should be made for their
conduct.
Injustice to India of amalgamation.-But granting, as I readily
do, that for all the purposes of real soldiership—for marching, for
bivouacking, roughing it in the field, and fighting, Indian regiments
are superior to those that have not had the like experience of the
real and distinctive elements of military life; I cannot admit either
the policy or the equity of upsetting the military system under
which India was gained and has been maintained--dealing a grie-
vous blow at our Eastern Empire, imposing vast burdens on our
Eastern native fellow-subjects, and inflicting cruel wrongs on six
thousand English gentleman who have well acquitted themselves
of their duties, though unfortunately they have but little aristo-
cratic interest, and no Parliamentary or Press influence, simply
that an increased number of the regiments of Her Majesty's Line
may acquire a greater practical knowledge of their profession. If
the real objects of the proposed amalgamation be merely to give
Indian experience to a greater number of Royal regiments, let the
twenty four corps of the line and four regiments of cavalry, which
before the mutinies were found sufficient to supplement the local
force, be relieved every ten, every seven, or if need be every five
years, the Imperial Treasury bearing the additional cost.
Comparative cost.—It is a fact that the local European corps of
India actually cost less than the line regiments supplied from
England. The pay of officers and men is alike—their rations,
clothing, &c., the same. But, partly owing to the costliness of the
separate depôt system, two companies of each regiment being kept
up in England—partly owing to the greater sickness to which, as a
rule, they are subject for the first few years of their service—the
fact is as I have stated it. The average number of line regiments
coming out to India before the mutinies was 12 per annum : under
the amalgamation system it would, even with reliefs only after
fifteen or twenty years' service, be five or six per annum, involving
a proportionably increased cost to the State.
The cadets of the old régime.—They have come out to India as
boys-healthy, ingenuous, manly boys, ignorant of the enjoyments
and dissipations of 'life' in England, and full of eager expectations
APPENDICES.
423
in respect of the country which is to be their home for the next
twenty or thirty years. On their arrival they have been thrown
into close contact with men who had resided long in India and ac-
quired a knowledge of its people, its languages, its religions, and
its civil and military history. From these they have taken their
tone-acquiring from them a vast fund of information not to be
obtained in books, and practical maxims, the result of the experience
of many generations. Associating with such men, they have early
become 'ambitious to emancipate themselves from griffinhood '-in
other words, to acquire a thorough familiarity with the country,
its customs, and its concerns. Taking readily to field sports, they
have necessarily been thrown into intimate intercourse with the
natives under circumstances which begot in them kindly feelings
towards the latter. They have thus early learned to penetrate
below the surface of the native character, to admire its good
features, and to understand and guard against its less amiable pecu-
liarities; and thus did they acquire that knowledge of the work-
ings of the native mind which enabled them in after-life to
discharge with efficiency, and in kindness, the various military,
political, departmental, and administrative duties assigned to them.
Such were the men, and such was the training of the men, who
have hitherto commanded the regular and irregular corps of the
local army; who have been the private friends and official counsel-
lors of the chiefs and nobles and gentry of India; who have managed
and controlled those enormous commissariat and other military es-
tablishments, through the working of which the native masses are
brought into contact with Europeans; who have wandered amongst
the rural population, and been brought into intimate relations
with it in the pursuit of sport, and when officially engaged in con-
ducting surveys, adjudicating disputes, constructing bridges, roads,
and tanks, suppressing violence, redressing wrongs, and performing
those numberless miscellaneous duties that so constantly devolve
on military officers in this country. Deeply interested in the native
masses, such men were to be found sitting for hours under the
shade of a village tree in earnest colloquy with the people-listen-
ing to their tales, answering their questions, clearing their minds
of misapprehensions, giving them advice, and rendering them prac-
tical aid in many ways. It may be said that when amalgama-
tion takes place, India will be supplied as before with young men
•
424
JAMES OUTRAM.
who, inspired by the prizes which the staff and departmental
offices hold out, will exert themselves as earnestly and as success-
fully in the acquisition of local knowledge and experience as their
predecessors of the local army. I reply :-'the thing is impossible;
the lads may bring the same earnestness, but it is impossible they
can achieve equal success. They will not be placed under those
conditions of early association and local training to which, much
more than to formal study, the success of their predecessors was
due.
[The Appendices A and B to Sir James Outram's 'Amalgama-
tion' Minute of January 2, 1860, must be read as a whole in order
to obtain any idea of the elaborate scheme for the instruction of
both private and officer, and of the equally elaborate scheme of
organisation of the army staff in all grades, military and medical,
which their one hundred and fifty paragraphs or clauses set forth.
The following are selected from those which, in Appendix A, relate
to the professional prizes to be held out for attainment by privates
of the Indian Local European Army.]
Commissions.—I desire to replenish the local force with a higher
class of men than those who form the present average of our British
armies to entice into our ranks the steady, sober, and moral
peasants and artificers of Britain, and steady, sober, moral, and
intelligent men of a still higher parentage and education, but of
humble means and uninfluential connections. Such men I would
seek—in the interests of the State, and for the honour and moral
influence of our nation in this country-to attract to our colours by
opening to every private of high moral character and superior zeal
and ability, the opportunity of working his way up to the highest
of our staff appointments and the highest of our military ranks and
commands. I propose to make such a feat difficult of accomplish-
ment-too difficult to awaken any reasonable jealousy of those who
enter the army as commissioned officers, but still sufficiently prac-
ticable to the worthy, the able, the resolute, the industrious, to offer
a strong inducement to such to enter the service.
Unattached commissions. And I propose to allow steady, sober,
intelligent, and industrious privates to attain the dignity of a com-
mission on still lower terms. I propose to allow any private who
by professional excellence and good conduct has raised himself to
the position of a non-commissioned officer, and who having for a
APPENDICES.
425
certain length of time served with honour in that position, has
possessed himself of the accomplishments (general and professional)
required of an ensign aspiring to a lieutenant's commission, to ear”.
for himself, as of right, by honourable service as a non-commissioned
officer, an ensign's commission, with subsequent promotion according
to certain defined rules. Without contending against the conversion
of deserving non-commissioned officers into regimental commissioned
officers, I abstain from recommending it as part of my scheme. I
only ask that they should be furnished with unattached commis-
sions; and I propose to employ them (with the position and all
the social considerations attaching to commissioned officers) in the
various departments and administrative posts now held by 'clerks,'
deputy' and 'assistant commissaries,' 'conductors,' &c., whose
monthly salary is equal to and above that of regimental ensigns,
lieutenants, and captains.
Results of proposel scheme.—And what would not be the advan-
tage to India of the presence of such a body of men as our European
local corps would become under the moral influence of the class of
men I speak of, and under the influence of that fine spirit of emu-
lation in steadiness, and mutual accomplishment, which the adop-
tion of my scheme would induce? In what respects is that scheme
impracticable? As to its expense, even if it did to a small extent
increase the annual military outlay of the country, it would still be
cheapness itself as compared with the cost of the amalgamation
scheme; and I am convinced that if fair play be given to my scheme
in its integrity-which involves superior sanitary arrangements, the
encouragement of industry, &c.—the health and longevity of the
troops would be so improved that a very considerable saving would
be annually effected in hospital expenses (a terribly large item), in-
validing charges, &c. The retiring pensions I propose conferring on
unattached officers would probably be less, certainly not greater,
than the average amount of retiring pensions enjoyed by uncove-
nanted civilians.
[From Supplementary Minute' by Sir James Outram, of
February 11, 1860, intended as an additional appendix to his
'Amalgamation' Minute of January 2, 1860. (114 paragraphs.)
On Sanitary and General Improvements for the well-being of the
European soldier in India.]
'Board ship' arrangements-Officers.-Considerable care should
426
JAMES OUTRAM.
be taken in the selection of the officers placed in command even of
the smallest detachments. I solemnly declare that I would rather a
detachment were put under the control of the captain of the ship,
than subjected to the command of a military officer inexperienced
in, or unsuited for the management of European soldiers-of a
tyrannical, hard, unsympathising, foul-mouthed man-of a puppy
who, considering duty a bore, cares not to disguise his feelings; or
even of a good-natured, well-meaning man of indolent and slovenly
habits, given to the perfunctory performance of his work. Still
more do I deprecate recruits being placed under an officer who
cannot command himself, whether his inability to do so arise from
want of temper or from intemperance in the use of wine. Yet,
painful as it is, I am constrained to confess that I have known of
many cases, in which such exceptionable men have been placed in
charge of recruits; in fact I know that I accurately describe the
present state of matters when I say that, in the nomination of
officers to the charge of troops, these special qualifications for the
officer are little considered. It is assumed that any man who has
served a certain number of years in the army, and obtained a
certain rank, is fit for the post. But this is a grievous mistake.
Thrown together as officers and men necessarily are on board ship,
no evasion of duty on the part of the former, no disingenuous fudg
ing of work, no vicious habits, no deficiency in the qualifications
for command, no indifference to the feelings or comfort of the men,
can possibly escape the observation of the latter, who, poor fellows,
have not much else to observe. And little idea can be formed, by
those who have not investigated and pondered over the matter, of
the demoralisation and permanent contempt for authority-nay,
of the positive vindictiveness towards all exercising it—which may
thus be acquired by soldiers in the course of a four months' voyage;
to say nothing of the evil habits into which they fall, under the
ennui of a long confinement on board ship, when deprived of that
of which they never ought to be deprived—the ever-vigilant control
and paternal guardianship of a firm, but benevolent, conscientious,
and intelligent officer.
Non-commissioned officers on board.—But, besides subalterns, the
commanding officer should have a staff of experienced and efficient
non-commissioned officers, in a proportion of not less than one to
every fifty men. And, as well to secure an adequate supply of
APPENDICES.
427
these for every batch of recruits, as in acknowledgement of the great
merits of that most estimable body of men, I would recommend
that four non-commissioned officers per regiment should annually
receive an eighteen months' modified furlough to Europe.
•
Instruction on board.--In my former Minute I recommended
that, so far as might be practicable, the systematic course of instruc-
tion in which the men had been engaged in depôt should be con-
tinued on board ship. . . . But in addition to the ordinary school
tuition thus recommended, it is, I think, desirable that the troops
should be instructed in matters specially relating to the country
whither they are proceeding: what to look for, and how to observe'
that which will be presented to their eyes—the general geographical
and ethnographical features of India-its climatic peculiarities, the
influence of these on health, and the mode in which their morbific
tendencies may best be neutralised. These are topics on which the
medical and other officers would generally be competent to en-
lighten the men. But to avoid all risk of this species of instruc-
tion being neglected, I would recommend that a course of lectures
(prepared under authority by some competent person) should be
printed and supplied to the commanding officer of each detachment,
together with an adequate supply of maps, pictures, models, and
diagrams for their due illustration.
Two or three hours per week, devoted by each of the officers to
the instruction of those solicitous for it, in drawing, mathematics,
fortification, or such other branches as they might be qualified to
teach, would be but a slender tax on them, and might hereafter
prove a boon of exceeding value to some of their humbler fellow-
voyagers. A single hour per diem, devoted by each officer to
friendly conversation with the men on the library books they were
perusing, would not be missed by him, and could hardly fail to be
appreciated by them.
And no one who has seen much of the European soldier on his
first arrival in India can doubt that the lessons thus given (in Hin-
dustani colloquial phrases, &c.) would prove to him very useful,
smoothing away many of his early difficulties, and saving him from
many an imposition, and many a fracas with natives. Were the
medical officer to devote three hours per week, on a four months'
voyage, to the instruction of such men as chose to avail themselves
of his offer, in bandaging, in the use and application of tourniquets,
428
JAMES OUTRAM.
in the art of extemporising these by sticks and handkerchiefs—and
in other such-like minor items of surgical procedure, I feel assured
he would find an abundance of apt pupils.
Punishment of the brute' on board.-Adequately aided by the
non-commissioned officers who, I have recommended, should be
sent with each detachment, I believe it to be perfectly possible for
a firm and judicious commanding officer entirely to put a stop to
the use of that coarse and prurient language, intended for the
women's ears, which, too generally, I believe, is made use of in the
lower deck at night. I am as averse as any man can be to corporal
punishment; but I do not hesitate to say that, were I in command
of troops on a sea voyage, I would for the third offence of this
nature, scourge the filthy scoundrel's back till he howled in very
agony. The first offender I would put on bread and water for
forty-eight hours, keeping him a prisoner near the wheel the whole
time, if the weather permitted: the second I would additionally
subject for a week to fatigue work of the hardest and most menial
character: the third, as I have said, I would appeal to in the only
way in which such a degraded animal could be successfully appealed
to on board ship-by the torture of his unmanly carcase.
offence is a brutal and a cowardly one-its possible results very
dreadful; and the punishment should be that suited to a brute and
a coward, and one calculated by its severity to prevent a repetition
of the offence by the same man, or by others.
6
The
Effect of careful attention to board ship' life. And I maintain
that, under a judicious system of training during a four months'
voyage, very much may be done to invigorate the constitutions of
our men, and to repair the evil effects of previous enervating habits
—very much to enhance their efficiency as soldiers-very much to
beget in them a taste for reading and simple and inuocent recrea
tions-very much to fortify them against the temptations, and
moral and constitutional dangers, to which they will be exposed
on landing-and very much indeed to awaken and foster in them
kindly, grateful, and reverential feelings towards their commissioned
superiors, by practically demonstrating to them that their present
comfort and future welfare are objects of affectionate solicitude to
the latter.
Refinement in barracks.—But I confess myself one of those who
believe that external circumstances very powerfully influence the
APPENDICES.
429
inner man—that there is a very intimate connection between ma-
terial and moral refinement. Every argument in favour of sub-
stituting neatness for squalor in the dwellings of the humbler
classes in civil life, appears to me as logically establishing the pro-
priety of elevating mere neatness into elegance.
And every
argument in behalf of uncostly and modest elegance, which is valid
in respect of the civil population, I conceive to be a fortiori
applicable to their military brethren.
•
I ask not for the dandyism, but for the decencies of the mess-
house, for extreme cleanliness, and for such little elegancies as
matting for the floor, chicks for the doors and windows, uncostly
but artistically commendable prints for the walls, chairs and
benches a little above the roughest products of bazaar manufacture,
trays (be they of the coarsest tin) to preserve the tables from the
stains of porter mugs and coffee cups, metal plates for receiving
pipe-ashes, and decent spittoons. . . .
Canteens.-Whatever decision be arrived at as regards the ap-
pearance and furniture of our military canteens, let us, at all events,
do our utmost to induce our soldiers to seek such refreshments as
they require (or fancy they require) where wholesome beverages
are supplied to them, rather than go in quest of them to the vile
dens which are, and ever will be, accessible to them, be our canton-
ment regulations ever so stringent. Give them, in our own can-
teens, shade and coolness (by punkahs and tatties when necessary)
in the day-time--abundant illumination in the evenings-light,
unadulterated beer to any extent they choose to pay for-wholesome
spirits (that is spirits as little prejudicial as absolute purity can
render them), when only spirits will satisfy their morbid cravings-
and though they may at times exceed, their excesses will injure
them less than if practised in the hot dirty bazaars, where the
veriest poison is sold under the name of liquor—and where the
drinking den and the brothel, when not identical, are conterminous.
In the canteens they will, at least, be under surveillance and con-
trol, and when tipsy they can be at once removed to their barracks,
thus avoiding the scan lal and injury which the public display of their
debauchery inflicts on the British name and the Christian faith.
And just in proportion as we carry out the recommendations I have
made in this and my previous Minute, and supplement these re-
commended measures by compelling our canteen-keepers to furnish
430
JAMES OUTRAM.
rich, strong, delicious coffee, genuine and well-made tea, and good
and cheap ginger-beer, lemonade, and soda-water-by bestowing on
our canteens the comforts, in the English-looking elegancies for
which I plead --by supplying them with the means of innocent and
sedentary recreation—and by covering their tables with the lightest
of light and amusing, but wholesome, periodical literature-just
in the same proportion shall we win our soldiers from the love
of alcohol, and gradually give them a distaste for those coarser ex-
citements in which only at present can the rougher of them realise
what they call 'life and fun,' but from which not a hundred-
brigadier-power, however energetically exerted, could drive them
until substitutes are provided such as I have suggested.
Mental culture.-I would endeavour to supply stimuli to mental
culture, and to furnish its means, to those whom the regimental
school, and the prizes it holds out, fail to attract thither. And I
look, in the event of the arrangement above recommended being
adopted, to the officers of our military stations supplementing the
efforts of Government by the delivery of lectures to the men on
many interesting subjects.
Effects of such a system.-That, by providing him with amuse-
ments and offering him remunerative employment, you will con-
vert a drunkard into a sober man, or a bad soldier into a good
one-inspire a grumbler or a 'lawyer' with contentedness and the
spirit of prompt and willing obedience-drive out invincible in-
dolence from a lazy fellow, or confer smartness on the man of
slovenly tastes and habits—I do not for a moment suppose. But I
do believe that you may reclaim those who are only negatively bad,
and confirm those who have good and healthy principles, and keep
in the right path an overwhelming majority of those who hereafter
join the army; elevating them in their own and the world's esti-
mation, preserving their health, vastly enhancing their efficiency,
and bestowing upon our own military service a prestige which shall
make it popular amongst classes higher in the social scale than
those from which its ranks are now mainly recruited.
a
APPENDICES.
431
FROM A MINUTE BY SIR JAMES OUTRAM,
OF FEBRUARY 21, 1860.
ON MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AFFECTING THE ORGANISATION AND
EFFICIENCY OF THE INDIAN ARMY.' (30 Paragraphs).
•
The ‘individuality' of the soldier.-I believe that the tendency
of our military system has been mischievously to repress his indivi-
dualism, to weaken his sense of personality, and thus to check the
development of that intelligent consciousness of personal capacities,
and of that desire to multiply his resources of independent action,
the want of which is apt to prove most lamentable in many of the
contingencies of active service. I believe that much more
could (and ought to) be done, to augment the individual efficiency
and practical knowledge of our men. I would not leave the
matter one altogether of choice. I would compel our men to ac-
quire a practical knowledge of everything that could influence their
individual comfort, safety, and efficiency, in every conceivable con-
tingency of active service. I would take care that each soldier
was thoroughly indoctrinated in all such practical expedients and
their philosophy, as are, for example, laid down in Mr. Galton's
useful little book, 'The Art of Travel.' . . . He should, moreover,
be made thoroughly to understand the rationale of all the move-
ments, formations, and evolutions, to the mechanical performance of
which he is drilled. He should be habituated to contemplate, and to
frame for himself rules of action in trying emergencies, which may
at any time occur on field service-such, for instance, as those in
which detached posts lose their commissioned and non-commissioned
officers, or pickets are cut off from their supports (as has happened
sometimes in jungly districts during the recent campaigns and in
the immediate neighbourhood of the enemy, for hours, and even
JAMES OUTRAM.
432
days together). He should be not only theoretically, but practically
trained to the procedure and precautions indispensable in that
street, suburb, and jungle fighting to which no judicious leader
will ever unnecessarily expose him, but which it is impossible
always to avoid in the conduct of military operations. Very much
more attention should be prid to his perfection in marksmanship than
I fear, is, or at all events used to be, the case. I conceive
moreover that every infantry soldier (and not merely a percentage
of each corps) should be taught artillery drill, and often exercised in
it, so as to keep him qualified to act as a gunner on any sudden
emergency. . . Four or six hours per week, in the hot season,
devoted to (what for want of a better term I shall call) the theo-
retical instruction of their men,' would not be an excessive demand
on the captain of a company and his subalterns.
•
:
•
Practical drills.-I believe that they might be advantageously
substituted for some of the regular horse in the mill' battalion
parades, in which zealous commanding officers luxuriate morning
and evening in the cold season, and which, in some regiments, are
carried to an extent that not only wearies, but positively stupifies
both officers and men. It is amidst ruined buildings, and the
débris of old villages, hedges, cornfields, topes of trees, broken
ground, the unequal banks of nullahs, &c. &c., that the 'light
infantry drill' of the smooth parade-ground can alone be perfected
into that which will often be demanded of the soldier in the
field. . .
Military topography.-I hold it to be a primary duty with each
officer above the rank of lieutenant, on the arrival of his regiment
at any station, to familiarize himself most thoroughly with its
military topography. I would that I could lay my hands on Sir
Henry Lawrence's remarks on this subject . . . Like all his words,
they were words of wisdom; and as the voice of that great and
good and sagacious man, speaking from his grave, they would have
an influence far beyond that which I can hope will be accorded to
my own feeble utterances.
Independent commands.-Most earnestly do I advocate-and for
the reasons so ably and forcibly adduced by Sir Bartle Frere—the
maintenance of the present arrangement by which each of the three
older Presidencies is provided with a separate army. And with
him I most sincerely believe, that the less we trammel our com-
manders-whether regimental, brigade, divisional, or chief-with
APPENDICES.
433
'regulations,' and the more we allow them full scope for the play
of their individual energies—so long as we scrupulously exclude
from commands of every kind any save those most fit to hold them,
the more efficient will be our armies.
Red-tape and suspicion.-When we catch a rogue let us punish
him with exemplary severity; but let us not perpetuate a system
which seems to assume that every officer would be a rogue if he
could, and, by its infinity of invidious checks, almost exonerates
our functionaries from any regard for the pecuniary interests of the
public not prescribed by the strict letter of the regulations.
Most of the details I have given involve principles-all of
them I deem of practical importance—and when I have seemed to
urge for adoption that which has been already adopted, I have
merely meant to express my conviction that it has not been carried
out as it might and ought to be carried out.
As regards Sir James Outram's forebodings of the evil results
of amalgamation of the Royal and Indian armies, we recall attention
to the following extract from a letter which appeared in the‘Times'
of September 15, 1864, from its Calcutta correspondent, writing
after a three years' experience of the dreaded measure:
Be the cause what
Queen's officers hate
'Everyone acquainted with military affairs can perceive that
the “amalgamation" of the Indian and English armies has not
worked well. Indian officers used to take a sincere interest in their
labours: they knew their men well, they tried to turn them into
efficient soldiers, they were content to spend their days here in the
discharge of duties of which they were proud.
it may, it is certain that this is all changed.
the country with a bitter hatred, and the army has been weakened
by illiberality and injustice. The disadvantages of destroying the
Indian army,—disadvantages which such men as Lord Stanley, Sir
John Lawrence, Sir James Outram, Sir R. H. Vivian, and Colonel
Durand foresaw when they opposed the amalgamation,-are work-
ing their full measure of evil. The army now shares the feeling
which is so prevalent in English society here of hating the country,
and the ever-present desire to get home. Is it desirable to
strengthen these views in the army?'
VOL. I.
F F
434
JAMES OUTRAM.
A despatch from Lord Cornwallis, written in 1795 to the Court
of Directors, contains the following important paragraph, which, if
forgotten in the letter, is not obsolete in spirit :
"The conditions on which the European non-commissioned officers
and soldiers at present in the Company's service have enlisted
cannot be altered, and therefore those men who do not choose on
receiving a new bounty to re-enlist voluntarily on the usual terms
in the King's service can only be required to perform the engagements
in India which they have contracted to the Company, subject during
those periods to the Articles of War (which in no essential point
differ from those of His Majesty) under which they enlisted, and after
the expiration of those engagements they are to be furnished with
passages to Europe in the Company's ships.'
The above extract, found among Sir James Outram's papers,
was on a proposal, in 1795, to transfer the Company's army to the
Crown.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
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IS NOW COMPLETE IN TWENTY-FOUR VOLUMES, IMPERIAL OCTAVO,
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ALL THE ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS by the AUTHOR, RICHARD DOYLE, FREDERICK
WALKER, A.R.A., and GEORGE CRUIKSHANK, have been retained; while to supply the
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS deemed desirable the Publishers have had the advantage of
the skill of the following EMINENT ARTISTS:-
J. E. MILLAIS, R.A., LUKE FILDES, A.R.A., Mrs. BUTLER (Miss Elizabeth Thompson),
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The Paper has been specially made for the Work by Messrs. DICKINSON. The full beauty of
the Illustrations can thus for the first time be appreciated ; and this EDITION DE LUXE will find
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an ESSAY on the WRITINGS of W. M. THACKERAY by Mr. LESLIE STEPHEN.
The NUMBER of COPIES PRINTED is LIMITED to ONE THOUSAND, each copy being
numbered. The whole of the Twenty-four Volumes are Now Ready, and may be obtained
through Booksellers; any Bookseller will furnish information regarding Terms, &c.
Extracts from Notices by the Press :-
From THE TIMES.
'The noble reproduction of Thackeray's writings
which suggests this article may be considered the
most fitting monument to his memory. Few writers
have had so splendid a memorial built up by so
famous an array of artists and craftsmen, and none
have had it so soon. There are also some reasons
besides his great literary merit which in Thackeray's
case render such an edition of his writings especially
fitting. With all his genius, he is essentially the rich
man's author.. While all the original illustra-
tions have been retained, including those of Doyle,
Walker, and Cruikshank, as well as his own, Millais,
Fildes, Mrs. Butler, Du Maurier, Linley Sambourne,
and many other great names in art, have given each,
as it were, his stone to build up this stately cairn to
the great novelist's memory.
•
From the ATHENÆUM.
If we are not mistaken, all the copies of this costly
work will soon be disposed of..... The publishers
deserve to be congratulated on their achievement.
Every page of these sumptuous volumes shows that
care and thought have been expended on it, and in
honouring the great_novelist they have done much
honour to themselves."
•
From the WORLD.
The superb edition of Thackeray's works. . . . . It
is satisfactory, but in no way surprising, to hear that
the substantial approval with which this enterprise
has met has been such as to fully justify the experiment.
Here are twenty-four magnificently got-up volumes
which appeal directly to the class whom Thackeray
addressed. It was the cultivated and moneyed
audience that the great novelist commanded during
his life, and such an audience could scarcely neglect
the opportunity of possessing itself of his works in a
sumptuous shape after his death.
4
From the BOOKSELLER.
A lasting memorial of the author's fame and of
the spirited enterprise and admirable taste of his
publishers. Henceforward a set of this édition de
luxe will become one of the most prized possessions
of collectors.'
From the STANDARD.
'No author could possibly desire a more mag-
nificent memorial than the superb edition of the works
of Thackeray for which all bibliophiles will for years
to come hare to thank Messrs. Smith & Elder.
It is such an edition that every true lover of a great
author always craves.
It is a duty we owe our
favourite author to possess the best possible edition
of him, and in the present instance we have an edition
sufficient in itself to make the reputation of any firm
of publishers.'
•
From the SPECTATOR.
'It is an effort by Messrs. Smith, Elder, & Co. to
do honour to the author by producing an edition
that shall be unrivalled in typographical and artistic
perfection, and we are bound to say that they have
succeeded. The execution of the engravings is mar-
vellously fine.'
From the SATURDAY REVIEW.
We cannot but congratulate the publishers of this
edition on having produced a series of volumes which
do honour at once to English bibliography and to
the name of Thackeray. We can point with some
national pride to the volumes before us. If it is
gratifying to an author's vanity to be passed through
thousands of hands, it is surely more pleasing to be
immortalised in a row of rolumes, splendid in wide
margins, bold type, and costly illustrations.'
From the DAILY NEWS.
The best and most fitting distinction that can be
conferred on a great author is the publication of an
edition of his works that shall be in all things worthu
of his name. Such an appropriate monument to
departed arnius have we in the noble edition of the
works of Thackeray which is just now completed in 24
magnificent volumes. It is nécessarily expensive: but
on the other hand, it is likely long to retain its value,
and yet more likely to grow scarce, and therefore
more precious still: for, in the interests of the artistic
qualities of the edition, the number of copies is strictly
fixed at one thousand, each copy being numbered, as
a guarantee of this necessary limitation.'
London: SMITH, ELDER & CO., 15 Waterloo Place.
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