August 28th.—Heavy rain nearly all night, which considerably injured our sap to the right of the brigade mess, in consequence of it leaking; the rain ceasing at daylight, we set to work, and in a few hours got if cleared out, and had our people at work again. A good deal of fever prevalent, and great mortality among the children, who faded away rapidly from want of proper food. A smart cannonade at daylight from the enemy, who fired heavily with two guns on Mr. Gubbins's house; fortunately no casualties occurred. Last night, three men deserted to the enemy from Mr. Gubbins's post. One, a chuprassee of Mr. G.'s, took with him 400 rupees (40l.) belonging to different people; four servants belonging to officers also deserted.
Lieutenant Bonham fired his mortar, equipped as a howitzer, fourteen times during the day, against the new battery erected against Mr. Gubbins's post, and with considerable success, having struck it ten times; but their battery was of great strength, and required a good deal more battering to do it much mischief. We waited with impatience for the enemy's miners to break through our gallery, and were obliged to stop our own men, as the enemy left off work immediately they heard our people's pickaxe.
This night we learnt, by a letter from General Havelock, dated Cawnpore, the 24th instant, that we had no hope of being relieved for another twenty-five days.
August 29th.—Cooler weather. Our miners busily employed endeavouring to break into the enemy's gallery, which, though quite close to our own, had not yet been found. The magazine sergeants at work, making an expence magazine in the Begum Kotee. The upper story of Mr. Gubbins's house was no longer safe, owing to the numbers of round shot through it, and the ladies were removed. Much difficulty was experienced in finding quarters for them, every place being so crowded, and the ladies were already four and five together in very small badly ventilated native buildings; dreadful smells pervading the whole place, from the half-buried bodies of men, horses, and bullocks, and also from the drains—some of which were fearfully offensive, as we had no means of attending to them. Several more servants deserted last night; which caused the very greatest inconvenience, as already very few officers had any. About 10 A.M. our miners broke into the enemy's gallery, which they immediately abandoned, and began to fill in the shaft; we as instantly applied a barrel of powder at the farther end of their sap, and blew up their work altogether. Our men brought away their lantern, tools, and a bottle of oil, which in their haste they had left. Very heavy rain all the forenoon.
Sickness became daily more prevalent, and a number of officers and "the uncovenanted" were daily placed on the sick list. To-day it was decided to issue one month's pay after the 1st proximo, for the month of July. The heavy rain caused one of the enemy's mines, running towards the outpost called Mrs. Sago's house, to fall in. This mine was never known to us, or even suspected. Many and grave doubts and suspicions were entertained that the enemy were running a mine towards the Redan battery. Captain Fulton, Garrison Engineer, did not, however, share in this opinion. A native artilleryman, who belonged to a number entertained by Mr. Gubbins, deserted from his post while on sentry over one of the guns in Mr. G.'s compound. A European sentry fired at him, but did not succeed in hitting him.
Now that it appeared evident that the siege must last in all probability another month, increased care and vigilance in the issuing of all stores was observed. The rain cleared off towards evening. A considerable cannonade all through the night.
August 30th.—A heavy cannonade all night. Four half-castes (Christians) one of whom had been made a local sergeant, and was head-writer in Captain Weston's office, deserted to the enemy; having broke open the door in the barrier they had to defend, and left the post unprotected. He took with him, in addition to Captain Boileau's gun, five drummers, formerly in the king of Oude's service, two drummers of the 48th, and some ten native servants. An eight-inch shell burst in the native hospital this morning, killing one native and wounding two others. An attack was expected to-day, and everything was prepared as far as possible to repel it. A good many cases of fever. Divine service was performed at the brigade mess at noon, and at Mr. Gubbins's house at 2 P.M., when the sacrament was administered, and at Dr. Fayrer's house at half-past 5 P.M. To-day, Lieut. Bonham, of the artillery, was very severely wounded by a musket-ball, while sitting in the doorway of the Post-office: he was a very great loss to the garrison, having very greatly distinguished himself throughout the siege; particularly in the accuracy with which he used his mortars, and the excellent practice he had made with a mortar which he had made to act as a howitzer. This was the third time he had been wounded since hostilities began on the 30th of June. Very little firing during the middle of the day, and not much movement observable among the enemy. A European soldier of the 32nd died very suddenly to-day; he lost the use of his side from sleeping in the wet trenches, and died in hospital a few hours after. Europeans and natives all greatly distressed on account of the want of tobacco, of which we have had none left for distribution for a considerable time past. Great difficulty was experienced in getting shelter for women and children; so many houses had been destroyed by the round shot and shells of the enemy: all suffered greatly from being crowded together in low, small, badly ventilated buildings. The dreadful stench which pervaded that part of the defences held by the commissariat officers and the uncovenanted service, exceeded all belief. It arose from the decayed entrails of the bullocks and sheep daily killed by the butchers, and of which we had no means of disposing, but by throwing them over the defences: the decayed boosah and vegetable matter which here also abounded, assisting in creating a stench which was probably never exceeded. Nearly every officer who slept at this post was laid up with fever at one time or another; but as it was one of the weakest parts of our defences, it was absolutely requisite that two officers should be ever with the party occupying it. A false alarm at sunset, and a heavy cannonade brought the day's proceedings to a close.
August 31st.—The enemy fired at intervals very hard, both guns and musketry, particularly towards daylight. Then we found they had got another very large gun, apparently a 32-pounder, in position under the Lutkun Durwaza, and about 100 yards from the Baillie Guard gates, on which it fired several times, smashing two ammunition waggons with which the gates were barricaded. Towards the middle of the day the enemy were unusually quiet, confining themselves to sharp-shooting. An excellent artillery sergeant was killed at Mr. Gubbins's post, by a rifle-ball, which struck him in the side.
The heat excessive. In the evening, the kitmutghar of the late Captain Hayes, military secretary, who had come in some ten days before, and was believed to be a spy, escaped from the 84th Guard during the night, and contrived to get clear away. He had been kept in confinement from the time of his coming in, and had not been allowed to converse with any one; and therefore could give little or no information. About 10 P.M. the enemy very suddenly opened from nearly all their guns, and threw in a heavy fire of musketry, which subsided in about half an hour. All the 13th Native Infantry employed in making a new sunken battery to the right of the guard-room, in order to oppose the battery of the enemy which was located in the Lutkun Durwaza. Our people in the Redan battery had a narrow escape from an 8-inch shell, which just cleared the parapet and exploded outside.
September 1st.—A fine breezy morning. Not very much firing; but a great deal of bugling was heard among the enemy's troops during the early part of the morning. Rumours that the half-caste Christians who deserted had been murdered. The enemy's 24-pounder fired several shots during the morning, which took effect on the gates, smashing them considerably. The enemy reported to be running another mine towards the brigade mess.