But his most common mode of punishment was, that of drawing to death by the elephant’s feet; the manner of which was as follows: the poor wretches (for several were drawn at one time) first had their arms tied behind them, above the elbows, and then a rope put about the small of their legs, which was fastened to the elephant’s foot. This being done, the criminals stood with their backs towards the elephant’s posteriors, waiting sometimes an hour for an order for their execution. The distance they stood from the beast was about six yards, and the first step the elephant took would throw the poor unfortunates on their faces; thus they would be dragged over rough and smooth ground till dead, and with no faces left. There was a singular circumstance respecting one of his elephants, called Immaumbucies, which, when young, and about the size of a buffalo, came into Seringapatam with a herd of those animals. It was the largest he had, and measured fifteen feet in height. He was much caressed, and appeared sensible of every kind action; in fact, he was more sagacious than any of his fellows, and wonderfully docile. This incident transpired about fifty or sixty years prior to Hyder Ali’s usurpation, when Seringapatam was in the possession of the Mysorean chief, as sole monarch of the whole country.
Some error, of no great import, was discovered in the accounts of fifteen fine young Bramins, who were in one of his offices as clerks; for which they lost the fore-finger and thumb of their right hands, all except one, who was left-handed, and he had his left finger and thumb cut off: but the sufferings of the Bramins in general were indescribably cruel. Poor inoffensive men! Were they accused of being rich, it was enough; and no small pains were taken to procure their accusation, Tippoo’s emissaries and spies being in every corner of his kingdom. Once informed against, all pleas were useless, and they were instantly dragged to Seringapatam. On their arrival, they were sent for by the paymaster-general, who would address them mildly, stating, that he had received information they were worth a certain sum of money, which he named, and that he wanted so much for his master’s services. If the proposal was acceded to, all was well, and perhaps the Bramin would be put in a more lucrative situation; but a denial, or a supposed prevarication, was sure to be accompanied with the most exquisite tortures. In this process, the first mode was, piqueting for a given number of hours; then, if this was found of no avail, the addition of scourging; if this also proved ineffectual, needles, fixed in corks, were incessantly applied to their bodies, while still under the scourge. This mode of punishment continued several days; and if all this could not make them confess where their supposed riches were, they would be then led to the large pagoda yard, and there put into cages of iron, on half a pound of rice, and a certain quantity of salt, per day, but not a drop of water, or any thing but those two articles. In this situation I have seen them, with their souls looking through their eyes, and God knows my feelings at the time; but a look of pity at them from us would have been construed into guilt. They would thus linger a few days, and expire in agonies.
The situation of the oppressors and the oppressed, in pecuniary matters, is, I believe, widely different now. It is generally believed in India, that the Bramins are very tenacious of their money; which may be the case, and I give it credit; but I am strongly of opinion, that numbers of these inoffensive people suffered as above described, having no property whatever; a strong information against them being a just ground with Tippoo for all these cruelties.
About this period, in the year 1785, he seemed more bent on barbarities, than at any other time that I was in his country. It was not unfrequently that two or three hundred noses and ears would be exhibited in the public market, but to whom they belonged we could not learn. We must, however, leave these tragic scenes awhile, and turn to something less horrible.
We were one day strangely informed, that each of us, who was of proper age, was to have a wife; for this piece of news we were extremely sorry, but there was no possibility of our preventing their designs. There were, at this time, a number of young girls, who had been driven with their relations out of the Carnatic, when Hyder infested that country, which he almost over-ran, as already stated. Some of these poor creatures were allotted for us; and one morning, we were ordered to fall into rank and file, when those girls were placed one behind each of us, while we stood gazing at one another, wondering what they were about to do. At last, the durga gave the word, “To the right about face;” with the addition (in the Moorish language) of “take what is before you.” This, when understood, some did, and some did not; but the refractory were soon obliged to comply. Thus they fed their vanity, by making our first interview as ludicrous as possible, each being by this means supplied with a piece of furniture, for which, however valuable in general, we had neither want nor inclination. When this ceremony was completed, we were ordered back to our square, and on our return with our young black doxies, we had the bazaar, or public market, to pass, where the crowd was so difficult to penetrate, as to separate us. This laid the foundation for some serious disputes afterwards, many insisting that the women they had, when they arrived at the square, were not the same they had at first. This scene was truly comic, for the girls, when we understood them, which was many months afterwards, had the same views that we had; and were frequently engaged with their tongues, on this score, long before we could understand the cause of their disputes. Our enemies seemed to enjoy this in a manner that would have done honour to a British theatre. Two months passed on, when the priest came to consummate our nuptials; and the conclusion of the ceremony was as curious as the beginning. The bride and her consort were led to an eminence, with flowers round their necks, and seated; after which, their thumbs were tied together, when the priest muttered something which we could not comprehend, and we were married. They, however, gave us to understand, that we were subject to pay eighty rupees to the cadi, in case we divorced our wives, very few of whom exceeded eleven years of age.[[9]] The one who fell to my lot was a native of Arcot, and had been driven with thousands more when Hyder and Tippoo spread destruction almost throughout the Company’s territories. She was an affectionate creature, by whom I had two children; one died, and the other I left in the arms of its distracted mother. But I shall wave this subject for the present, and resume it again, if possible, towards the close.
About four months prior to the ratification of peace with the Company and Tippoo, our circumstances were bettered, and we had liberty to walk where we thought proper in the fort, and sometimes permission to go to Sanagangam, about two miles from the fort, where Hyder Ali lies buried, in a garden called Col-bog, or the Red Garden. We were taken to this spot, with many more good mussulmen, to pray for the soul of the deceased, when we had an opportunity of viewing his mosque. It is situate in the centre of the garden, and in the centre of the mosque is the tomb of this hero. It is a magnificent square building, with four doors, east, west, north, and south; and is ascended by steps, on the top of which, you immediately see, through the doors, his tomb, which, when I saw it, was covered with black velvet, and a steel ball was suspended over it, larger than a 42 lb. shot, of an amazing brightness. Here are always a number of faquirs (priests) of the highest order, to perform religious ceremonies, and keep the place inviolate.
There is another garden worth notice, called Derea, Dowlah-bog, or, the Rich Garden of the Sea; this is a most charming spot, nearly surrounded by a lofty wall, at the foot of which runs the river. Here was a great variety of fruits of the most exquisite flavour, lofty trees of a sublime appearance, together with a representation of the defeat of the brave but unfortunate Colonel Bailey: peace to his manes! Outside of this delectable spot, and near the walls, is a vast tank, in which numbers of large fish were kept (consecrated, I suppose, for they were never disturbed) by the highest order of the faquirs, who had their dwellings on the margin of the tank. But when the English took possession, no doubt these fine fish were appropriated to some other use. The Bramins had a spot also, directly under the fort walls, containing a great number of very fine fish, which were daily fed by them; but doubtless they also have long since been destroyed by some of John Bull’s sons.
CHAP. V.
Description of Seringapatam—Ferocious Games—Observations on Lions and Tigers—Sent to Mysore—Tyranny of Tippoo—War with the Nizam—Author put in Irons—Misery of his Condition—Fate of some Bramins—Author separated from some Companions in Misfortune—Marched to Chitteldroog—Disturbed by Snakes—Expedient to procure Money—Anecdote of a Fanatical Native—Visited by Apes—Singular Snake—Forlorn Condition.