THE MASSACRE OF CAWNPORE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXVII, Issue 222, 19 September 1903, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE MASSACRE OF CAWNPORE.

Close upon fifty years (says the London " Mail ") have passed since England was startled and appalled 1 by. the great catastrophe known to history as the Indian Mutiny. The terrible passions provoked by that fierce conflict have been assuaged in -the lapse of years by the hand of Time. The hour was ripe for the official history of the Mutiny and here are to hand two volumes of evidence with regard to the tragical episodes of Liicknow and Cawnpore, hidden under the unattractive title, " Selections from the State Papers preserved in the Military Department 1857-8 (vols 2-3), published by the Indian Government, and edited by the very competent hand, of Mr. Forrest.

Ono of the most curious facts revealed is that there were two Englishwomen who survived the horrible massacre of Cawnpore. Previous writers have hinted at it; Mr. Forrest affirms the tale, and renders it certain. He refers indeed, to an ac- ' count written for me by one .of the | two women, who escaped the mas- ! sacre at the bank of the river. Her | name, for the sake of her family, 1 cannot-be disclosed. Both' women appear to have become Mohammedans, and to have, , married natives, to whom they owe their escape from a frightful death. One of them- seems still to be living, and if so, she is, with General DalafosseT^the only survivor now left of that devoted little baud of English men and women. « ~ The narratives of the various witnesses, interrogated by the British authorities after the recapture of Cawnpore, with regard to the mas-, sacre, see the light for the first time ,in these volumes. Here is a passage from the evidence of a half-caste woman, detailing, the slaughter at the riverside, where all the white men of the garrison of Cawnpoire were killed :—

"As General Wheeler got out of j the palkec, head foremost, a sowar_| (sepoy) gave him a cut with his sword on the neck and he fell into the water. Then' they set all the boats on fire except two. . . .My son was killed close to General Wheeler. Some were stabbed with bayonets, others cut down with swords, little infants were torn in pieces. . . .We saw it, and tell you only what we saw. Other children were stabbed and thrown into the I river. The school girls were burned j to death. I saw their hair and clothes catch fire." The Englishwomen who survived this awful scene were taken back, and placed in a single small house till the hour Cor their murder should arrive. It is well observed by Mr. l^orrest that over the closing scene of this great tragedy darkness seoms to brood, so that oven the native witnesses mention what they saw , with ' bated breath and with many contradictions. Perhaps, indeed, the actual truth will never be known, This is the account of the final massacre as given by one of the natives: " I saw > four or five men with drawn swords, who appeared to b« sweepers, approach the bungalow, and I heard the people say that these men had come, to put an end to all those who might have escaped the musketry. I saw those men enter and disg'. out the ladies, about fift* teen in /number, some of whom were ;wounded (they had hidden themselves among the dead), and massacrs them with their swords; after dragging - their corpses, they threw them down a well in the compound.; I saw a little child about fiv^ years old neer one of the ladies, ■who seeing her killed, tried to escape by rahning away, but was cut

dewn;''

WORLD'S OLDEST RING.

Noteworthy is a find that has been recently made by Professor Petric while exploring tombs of the kings oJ the twelfth dynasty of Egypt. This wonderful relic is the Hdyal signet ring of Usartesen I, who reigned nearly^ 5,000 years ago, making it the oldest Royal ring in the world. Its owner and wearer founded the great: University of Heliopolis mentioned in the Bible. "

It was here that Moses learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians. The mummy of ihe King has not yet been.discovered, but the recovery of his ririgy it is thought, will lead-to the discovery of his tomb.

i^The ringi "was; authentically proved to fcejong, to the King by the Koyai in»CJ?iptions on the same. It is of HiN, solid. gold, weighing 678 grains ajjtd is engraved with the King's bHtes. It is nearly as fresh as when it t came from the Royal goldsmith 50 'centuries ago. ,

The first Royal inscription at the t»p refers to the union of Upper and jbpwer Egypt, the water plant typi^ lying' the River Nile and its bank*, 1 H-hile i the bee is tiie emblem of'- the cultivated Delta. The second 4itlq rafars to the Kingfe position as rep->j fesentafcive of the Biety. upon earth, "Son of the Sun," the %oose bei«g; the symbol, for bob, and the circle representing the srtoa ; lower framed inscriptioas' bear his Riajyal name andi title. 1