The Tiger of Mysore: A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib

by G. A. Henty

The troop encamped outside the town, while the Rajah and his party occupied some rooms that had been secured beforehand for them. In the morning, the ladies proceeded in a native carriage; with the troop, an officer and ten men following, in charge of the bullock carts containing the baggage.

On reaching Madras, they encamped on the Maidan--a large, open space used as a drill ground for the troops garrisoned there--and the Rajah and his party established themselves in the house occupied by him on the occasion of his last visit. The next day, the Rajah went to the Government House, and had an interview with the deputy governor.

"I think," the latter said, after some conversation, "that your troop of cavalry will be of little use to the Nabob. If Tippoo comes down from the hills, he will not be able to take the field against him, and will need all his forces to defend Arcot, Vellore, and his smaller forts, and cavalry would be of no real use to him. Your troop would be of much greater utility to the battalions from Bengal, when they arrive. They will be here in three weeks or so, and as soon as they come, I will attach you to them. I will write to the Nabob, saying that you were about to join him, but that, in the interest of the general defence, I have thought it better, at present, to attach you to the Bengal contingent. You see, they will be entirely new to the country, and it will be a great advantage to them to have a troop like yours, many of whom are well acquainted with the roads and general geography of the country. Your speaking English, too, will add to your usefulness."

"I have a nephew with me who speaks English perfectly, and also Hindustani," the Rajah said. "He is a smart young fellow, and I have no doubt that the officer in command would be able to make him very useful. He is eager to be of service. His father, who was an Englishman, was wrecked some years ago on the west coast, and sent up a prisoner to Mysore. He was not one of those handed over at the time of the peace, but whether he has been murdered, or is still a prisoner in Tippoo's hands, we do not know. My sister came out with the boy, three or four months ago, to endeavour to obtain some news of him."

"I will make a note of it, Rajah. I have no doubt that he will be of great use to Colonel Cockerell."

In the last week in July, the Rajah moved with his troop to Conjeveram, and on the 1st of August the Bengal forces arrived there. They were joined, at once, by three regiments of Europeans, one of native cavalry, and a strong force of artillery, raising their numbers to nine thousand, five hundred men.

Colonel Kelly took command of the force, and begged the Rajah to advance with his horsemen, at once, to the foot of the ghauts, to break it up into half troops, and to capture or destroy any small parties of horse Tippoo might send down, by any of the passes, to reconnoitre the country and ascertain the movements and strength of the British forces. He was also to endeavour to obtain as much information as he could of what was going on in Mysore, and to ascertain whether Tippoo was still with his army, watching General Meadows in the west; or was moving, as if with the intention of taking advantage of the main force of the English being away south, to descend into the Carnatic.

The order was a very acceptable one to the Rajah. His troop made a good appearance enough, when in company with those of the Nabob of Arcot, but he could not but feel that they looked a motley body by the side of the trained native and European troops; and he was frequently angered by hearing the jeering comments of English soldiers to each other, when he rode past them with his troop; and had not a little astonished the speakers, more than once, by turning round on his horse, and abusing them hotly in their own language.

He was, therefore, glad to be off. For such work, his men were far better fitted than were even the native cavalry in the Company's service. They were stout, active fellows, accustomed to the hills, and speaking the dialect used by the shepherds and villagers among the ghauts.

Proceeding northward through Vellore, he there divided his force into four bodies. He himself, with fifty men, took up a position at the mouth of the pass of Amboor. Another fifty were sent to the pass of Moognee, to the west of Chittoor, under the command of Anwar, the captain of the troop. The rest were distributed among the minor passes.