Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant B——

by Robert Butler

[1 ] The Reserve were enlisted for five years, or during the war, and were not obliged to go out of the three kingdoms.

[2 ] Most of these fellows belonged to the thieving bazaar, (a market here for receiving and selling stolen goods,) and took this method of obtaining some booty. I think it is a great shame (to say no worse of it) that such a place should be protected by law; for the goods taken from us could not be gotten from thence unless they were regularly paid for, in the same manner as if we had never seen them; but if the thief was caught before he reached the bounds assigned for the bazaar, he could be prosecuted and punished. As a proof of what I have stated, Captain M'Lean of our regiment had his regimental coat stolen, and it was found there, but he durst not touch it without agreeing with the bazaar man for a certain sum. However, before I left the country, they were much restricted, no goods being allowed to be publicly exposed until four o'clock in the afternoon.

[3 ] The grenadiers who were on board of the East India Company's ship, Surat Castle, had been obliged to part with the fleet, in consequence of the leaky state of that vessel, when we were near the latitudes of South America, and with difficulty reached the port of Rio Janeiro. But had it not been for the extraordinary exertions of these able-bodied men, the ship, and every soul on board, must, in all human probability have perished; for they were under the absolute necessity of working the pumps night and day for a considerable time before they reached that port, and, notwithstanding all their endeavours, the water gained upon them to such a degree as to be two or three feet deep upon the harlop deck; but in spite of their excessive hardships and fatigues, that company was the most healthy of any in the regiment. For during the whole voyage they had very little sickness, and none of their numbers diminished by death, in a natural way. They had, indeed, one struck dead by a thunderbolt, and another killed by the natives of a certain island, where they touched for a supply of fresh water. The way that this man came into the power of these savages was as follows:—A party of the grenadiers were sent ashore with a few water casks to get them filled, and while they were performing this piece of duty, some misunderstanding took place between them and the natives; and the soldiers not being aware that they were going to get such rude treatment, were quite unprepared with weapons offensive or defensive, so that some of them were cut and mangled most dreadfully by their assailants. But the man I allude to, whose name I do not recollect, and another of the name of Campbell, with whom I was very intimate, wrested each a weapon from the blacks, and, as the saying is, "made their own sticks break their own heads;" and, in this manner fought their way, retreating backward toward the boat, which some of their companions had reached; but before they could attain their object, the poor fellow sunk under the repeated blows of his overpowering enemies, and Campbell received seven severe wounds, several of which were in the head. Those who had not the good fortune to reach the boat were taken prisoners. No sooner did the news of this disaster reach the ship than the officers were fired with indignation at the treatment which their men had received, and the soldiers, particularly, for losing several of their comrades, while those who escaped came on board streaming with blood. Such outrages were not to be tamely submitted to by those who had not only the name, but also the courage, of British soldiers. Orders were immediately given for the men to get ready their arms and ammunition, to go in quest of their companions who were detained ashore, and these orders were attended to with all the alertness that could have been displayed had the ship been on fire, and they themselves obliged to fly for their lives to a safe and commodious shelter. No sooner were the grenadiers landed than they marched steadily towards a town not far from the shore, where the king lived, defying all opposition to their progress, and striking terror into the hearts of every beholder. And when they reached the place, the determined countenances of the men, and the dazzling appearance of their shining arms, so enervated the hearts and arms of his majesty's loyal subjects, that they could make little resistance until our party was in the royal presence itself. One of the men, named John Love, literally took the poor trembling Nabob by the neck like a dog, and the royal suite, seeing his majesty treated so unceremoniously, perceived well what was to be their fate if they continued to hold the soldiers in their place of confinement, and therefore prudently made all the haste in their power to restore them to the embraces of their brave mess-mates, who all returned to the ship in safety, and were warmly received by those on board. My wife has now the pillow that the Captain gave to Campbell, to lay under his mangled head, after he went on board. However, with proper medical attendance, and kind treatment, he recovered, and was raised to the rank and pay of serjeant after the company joined in Wallajahbad. March 3, 1808, I was married to Mrs. Allan. This is the circumstance I told you to mark before we left England, after I had obtained liberty from Colonel Stewart for her to go with her husband. But I had then very little knowledge that I was taking out a wife for myself, and one too, that was to be the means in the hand of Divine Providence of prolonging my days, for had it not been for her nursing care, I must, in all human probability, have gone the way of hundreds of the regiment, as I had much severe trouble after I was joined to her. She had no children, save one daughter that was left at home with her grandfather, whom I may have occasion to speak of afterwards. I was in a very poor state of health when married to her; for the complaint I caught in the frigate had never left me, and I really had at that time more need of a doctor than a wife; but I knew her to be an excellent woman, and as she had no objections to me as a husband, I could have none against her as a wife; but happily for me I found in her both a doctor and a wife, and I daily recovered and enjoyed a tolerable state of health for some time.

[4 ] These bandies are a kind of cart for the baggage, drawn by two bullocks.

[5 ] Paria takes its name from a despised class of persons in India, who, it is said, have sold or lost caste, and signifies any thing base or contemptible.

[6 ] I would here remark, that sleeping in the day is very dangerous in that country, for I have often known men lying down upon their cots to take a nap in perfect health, that would rise in the rage of a fever, and were obliged to be taken to the hospital.

[7 ] Those who had not Bibles of their own, had access to the Company's Bibles, which were served out to us before embarking at Portsmouth.

[8 ] The Sammy Hawk is a kind of brown bird that frequently flies about the barracks, to pick up any thing that it can find for its subsistence; and it has a kind of religious homage paid to it by some of the poor, ignorant natives. The meaning this nickname was intended to convey was, that those to whom it was applied were men of sober habits, who had not the heart to spend their money in the same jovial manner as their thoughtless comrades, who were determined, therefore, if they saved their money, that it should not be with both ease and honour.

[9 ] A great proportion of the regiment had been enlisted in that city, and its neighbourhood.

[10 ] Two drams of arrack were served out daily to each of the men, and as there were at that time no canteens in the regiment, the jovial fellows could not obtain more than their allowance but by getting it from the women, the Sammy Hawks, or from such of their boon companions who had put in the pin or kegged, which expressions signify to take an oath against liquor till some given time, such as the new year's day, the king's birth day, some particular fair in their native place. From the regimental store nothing beyond the ordinary allowance could be obtained but by drawing out a chit or line, and having it subscribed by the commanding officer, addressed to the keeper of the store, who delivered the quantity specified upon receiving payment for it; but it required a very sufficient reason indeed; such as a marriage, the baptism of a child, or something of that nature, before our Colonel would subscribe such an order. I understand that canteens are now common in every barrack in India, from the belief that the men will not be so mad upon liquor when they have the power to spend their money as they think proper.