by G. A. Henty
Chapter 6: Among Friends.
"It certainly seems to me," Stanley said, when he heard theBurman's account of the state of things below, "that it will not bepossible for us to go any further, by water."
"It would be very dangerous," Meinik said. "It is certain that allthe men in this part of the country have been obliged to go withthe army and, even were we both natives, and had no special reasonfor avoiding being questioned, we should be liable to be seized andexecuted at once, for having disregarded the orders to join thearmy. Assuredly we cannot pass down farther in our boat, but musttake to the land. I should say that we had best get spears andshields, and join some newly-arrived party."
"But you forget that, though my disguise as a native is good enoughto mislead anyone passing us on the road, or in the dusk aftersunset, I should certainly attract attention if travelling withthem, by day."
"I forgot that. I have grown so accustomed to seeing you that Iforget that, to other people, your face would seem strange; as itat first did to me, in the forest. Indeed you look to me now likeone of ourselves; but were we to join a band, someone would be sureto ask questions concerning you, ere long. What, then, do you thinkwe had best do?"
"From what I heard of the country from one of your comrades, who isa native of this province, it would be impossible for us, aftercrossing the river, to make our way down on the opposite side,since the whole country is swampy and cut up by branches of theIrrawaddy. On this side there are few obstacles of that kind but,on the other hand, we shall find the country full of troops goingdown towards Rangoon. Your comrade told me that the hills that wesaw to the east, from the forest at Ava, extended right down intoTenasserim; and were very high, and could not be traversed, forthat no food could be obtained, and that tigers and wild animalsand other beasts abounded. But he said that the smaller hills thatwe crossed on the way to your village--which he called the PeguYoma hills--some of whose swells come down to the bank, extend allthe way down to the sea between the Irrawaddy and the Sittangrivers; and that, from them, streams flowed to one river or theother. Therefore, if we could gain that range, we should avoid theswamp country, altogether.
"A few miles back we passed a river coming in from the east and, ifwe follow that up as far as there is water, we shall be among thehills. He said that there were no mountains at all, there; but justrounded hills, with many villages and much cultivated ground, sothere ought to be no difficulty in making our way along. We shallbe able to gather food in the fields; or can go into villages andpurchase some, for the men will all be away. Besides, we can getspears and shields, and can say that having been away from home ona journey--when the men were all ordered to war, we returned toolate to go with the rest of the villagers, and are making our waydown to join them. Many others must be doing the same, and thestory will be likely enough.
"In that way we can get down till we are close to the troops roundRangoon, and must then take our chance of getting through them."
"That seems better than the other way," Meinik said. "There is sucha river as you speak of, above Sarawa. We can paddle back tonight,and hide near the town; then I can go there in the morning, and buya couple of spears and shields, and get some more rice and otherthings. We have plenty of ammunition for our guns; which we maywant, if we meet any wild beasts."
"You don't think that there will be any danger in your going inthere, Meinik? Of course, there is no absolute occasion for us tohave spears and shields, as we have guns."
"We ought to have shields," Meinik replied, "and it were better tohave spears too, and also for us to carry axes--everyone carries anaxe in war time, for we always erect stockades and, though a verypoor man may only have his knife, everyone who can afford it takesan axe. Most people have such a thing, for it is wanted for cuttingfirewood, for clearing the ground, for building houses, and formany other things; and a Burman must be poor, indeed, who does notown one."
"By all means, then, get them for us, Meinik; besides, we may findthem useful for ourselves."
They now lay down and slept until evening; and then started up theriver again, keeping close in under shadow of the bank and, twohours before daylight, concealed the canoe as usual, at a spot twomiles above Sarawa. Meinik started at daybreak, and returned threehours later with two axes, spears, and shields.
That night they turned into the river running to the east and, forfour nights, paddled up it. The country was now assuming adifferent character, and the stream was running in a valley withrising ground--from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet high--oneach side, and was narrowing very fast. Towards morning on thefifth day the river had become a small stream, of but two or threefeet deep; and they decided to leave the boat, as it was evidentthat they would be able to go but a short distance further.
"We may as well hide her carefully," Stanley said. "It is certainlynot likely that we shall want her again, but there is never anysaying and, at any rate, there is no great trouble in doing it."
They cooked a meal and then started at once, so as to do a fewhours' walking before the sun became high. They determined to keepon eastward, until they reached the highest point of the dividingridge between the two main rivers, and then to follow it southward.The country was now well cultivated, and they had some trouble inavoiding the small villages dotted thickly about, as the coursethey were following was not the one they would take if makingstraight to join the army. They slept for three or four hours inthe heat of the day; and then, pushing on, found themselves beforesunset on what seemed to them the highest point of the divide. Tothe right they could see the flat country stretching towards theIrrawaddy, to the left the ground was more sharply undulating. Twomiles away was a stream of fair size, which they judged to be theriver that runs down to Pegu, and afterwards joins the Rangoonriver below the town.
Stanley thought that the hill on which they stood was some fivehundred feet above the low country they had left. A great part ofthe hills was covered with trees although, at the point where theyhad made their way up, the hillside was bare. They went on untilthey entered the forest, and there set to work to chop firewood.Meinik carried a tinderbox, and soon had a fire blazing, and by itsside they piled a great stock of wood.
"I do not know that there are any leopards so far south as this,"he said, "but at any rate it will be safer to keep a big fireblazing. I never used to think much about leopards but, ever sinceI had that great beast's foot upon my back, I have had a horror ofthem."
The next morning they continued their journey south, going alongboldly and passing through several villages.
"You are late for the war," an old man said, as they went throughone of them.
"I know we are," Meinik replied, "but we were away with a caravanof traders when the order came; and so, instead of going down theriver, we have had to journey on foot. But we shall be there intime. From what we have heard, there has not been much fighting,yet."
"No; the white barbarians are all shut up in Rangoon. We have notattacked them in earnest, but we shall soon do so and, moreover,they will soon be all starved, for the country has been swept clearof all cattle for twenty miles round, the villages deserted, andeverything laid waste; and we hear that half their number are laidup with sickness, and that a great number have died. I wish that Iwere younger, that I, too, could help to destroy the insolent foeswho have dared to set foot on our sacred soil."
There was no need for haste, now, and they travelled by easy stagesuntil, by the smoke rising from different parts of the forest, theyknew that they were approaching the spot where the Burmese forceslay around Rangoon and, indeed, could see the great pagoda risingabove the surrounding country. They had heard, at the last villagesthrough which they had passed, that there had been an attack madeupon the pagoda on the 1st of July. On that day the Burmese, ingreat force, had moved down in a line parallel to the road betweenthe pagoda and the town, along which a considerable number of ourtroops were encamped. They had advanced until within half a mile ofRangoon, then had changed front and attacked the Br
itish positionnear the town. They occupied a hill near our line, and opened firefrom there with jingals and small cannon; but two British gunsfiring grape soon silenced their guns, and a Madras regimentcharged the hill and recaptured it.
This entirely upset the plan of the Wongee in command of theBurmese. The signal for the whole of the army to attack was to havebeen given, as soon as their left had broken through the Britishline, and had thus cut off all the troops on the road leading tothe pagoda from the town. Seeing that this movement had failed, thegeneral did not give the signal for the general attack, but orderedthe troops to fall back. He had been recalled in disgrace to Ava;and a senior officer, who arrived just after the battle, assumedthe command. He at once set to work to make a very strong stockadeat Kummeroot, five miles from the great pagoda; and also fortifieda point on the river above Kemmendine--the stockade that had beencaptured by the British--and intended from this point to send downfire rafts to destroy the British shipping and, at the same time,made continuous attacks at night on the British lines.
The rains at this time were falling incessantly, and the Burmesedid not think that the British would be able to move out againstthem. The position on the river was connected with that atKummeroot by strong stockades; and the Burmese general wasconvinced that, if an attack was made, it could be easily defeated.However, eight days after the repulse of the Burmese first attack,the vessels came up the river, while a land column moved againstKummeroot.
The position was a strong one. The river was here divided into twobranches and, on the point of land between these, the principalstockade was erected and was well provided with artillery; while onthe opposite banks of both rivers other stockades with guns wereerected, so that any attack by water would be met by the directfire from the great stockade, and a cross fire from those on thebanks.
Four ships came up, and the Burmese guns opened upon them, but theheavy fire from the men-of-war was not long in silencing them; andthen a number of boats full of troops had landed, and stormed thestockade, and driven out the Burmese. The land column had beenunable to take guns with them, owing to the impossibility ofdragging them along the rain-sodden paths; and the Burmese chiefs,confident in the strength of their principal post--which wasdefended by three lines of strong stockades, one above another--andin their immensely superior force, treated with absolute contemptthe advance of the little British column--of which they wereinformed, as soon as it started, by their scouts thickly scatteredthrough the woods.
The general, Soomba Wongee, was just sitting down to dinner when hewas told that the column had nearly reached the first stockade. Hedirected his chiefs to proceed to their posts and "drive theaudacious strangers away," and continued his meal until the heavyand rapid musketry of the assailants convinced him that the matterwas more serious than he had expected. As a rule, the Burmesegenerals do not take any active part in their battles; but SoombaWongee left his tent and at once went towards the point attacked.He found his troops already retreating, and that the two outerstockades had been carried by the enemy. He rallied his men, andhimself led the way to the attack; but the steady and continuousfire of the British rendered it impossible for him to restoreorder, and the Burmese remained crowded together, in hopelessconfusion. However, he managed to gather together a body ofofficers and troops and, with them, charged desperately upon theBritish soldiers. He, with several other leaders of rank, waskilled; and the Burmese were scattered through the jungle, leavingeight hundred dead behind them.
The fact that ten stockades, provided with thirty pieces of artillery,should have been captured in one day by the British, had created adeep impression among the villagers of the neighbourhood--from whomthe truth could not be concealed--and indeed, all the villages, formany miles round the scene of action, were crowded with wounded. Theytold Meinik that the army was, for a time, profoundly depressed. Manyhad deserted, and the fact that stockades they had thought impregnablewere of no avail, whatever, against the enemy, whose regular andcombined action was irresistible, as against their own isolated andindividual method of fighting, had shaken their hitherto profoundbelief in their own superiority to any people with whom they mightcome in contact.
Since that time no serious fighting had taken place. Occasionalnight attacks had been made, and all efforts on the part of theinvaders to obtain food, by foraging parties, had provedunsuccessful. The boats of the fleet had gone up the Puzendownriver, that joined the Rangoon river some distance below the town,and had captured a large number of boats that had been lying there,waiting until Rangoon was taken before going up the river withtheir cargoes of rice and salt fish; but they had gained no otheradvantage for, although the villages were crowded with fugitivesfrom the town, these were driven into the jungle by the troopsstationed there for the purpose, as soon as the boats were seencoming up the river.
In some cases, however, the boats had arrived so suddenly thatthere had not been time to do this; and the fugitives had beentaken to Rangoon, where it was said they had been very welltreated.
Great reinforcements had now come down from the upper provinces.Two of the king's brothers had arrived, to take command of thearmy; one had established himself at Donabew, the other at Pegu.They had brought with them numbers of astrologers, to fix upon apropitious time for an attack; and the king's Invulnerables,several thousands strong--a special corps, whom neither shot norsteel could injure--were with them.
About the 6th of August a strong position that had been taken up,by a force sent by the prince at Pegu, in the old Portuguese fortof Syriam had been attacked; with orders that the channel of theRangoon river should be blocked, so that none of the strangersshould escape the fate that awaited them. The position was a verystrong one. The trees and brushwood round the fort had been clearedaway; wherever there were gaps in the old wall stockades had beenerected; and great beams suspended from the parapet in order that,if an attack was made, the ropes could be cut and the beams fallupon the heads of the assailants.
The British had, however, thrown a bridge across a deep creek,pushed on against the place, and carried it in a few minutes; thegarrison flying, as soon as the assailants gained the ramparts, toa pagoda standing on a very steep hill, defended by guns, andassailable only by a very steep flight of steps. The troops,however, pressed up these fearlessly; and the garrison, discouragedand shaken by the reports of the fugitives from the lower fort, hadfled as soon as the British arrived at the top of the steps.
Notwithstanding this and other, as successful, attacks upon theirstockades, the Burmese troops now felt confident that, with theirnumerous forces, they would be victorious whenever the astrologersdecided that the favourable moment had arrived.
Meinik had ascertained, from the villagers, the name of the leaderand the locality to which the corps belonged that was postednearest to Rangoon. As soon as it was dark, he and Stanley enteredthe forest. The smoke had served as a guide, to them, as to theposition of the different corps; and they were able to make theirway between these without being questioned. Presently, however,they came upon a strong picket.
"Where are you going?" the officer in command asked.
"To join the corps of the Woondock Snodee," Meinik replied. "Wewere away at Bhanno when the order came, and the rest had gone downthe river before we got to Mew; so we came on by ourselves, notwishing to fail in our duty."
"You are just in time," the officer said. "The Woondock is aquarter of a mile away, on the left."
They moved off in that direction; but soon left the track and,avoiding the camp, kept away until they reached the edge of theforest. Then they crept forward through the jungle and brushwood,pausing to listen from time to time and, three times, changingtheir course to avoid parties of the Burmese acting as outposts.
On issuing from the jungle they crawled forward for three or fourhundred yards, so as to be beyond musket shot of the outposts; andthen remained quiet until morning broke. Then they could perceivered coats moving about, in a small village before which abreastwork had been thrown up, some
four hundred yards away fromthem and, getting up to their feet, ran towards it. Several shotswere fired at them, from the jungle behind; and some soldiers atonce appeared at the breastwork. Supposing that the two figuresapproaching were Burmese deserters, they did not fire; and Stanleyand his companion were soon among them.
They were soldiers of one of the Bengal regiments; and Stanley, totheir surprise, addressed them in their own language.
"I am an Englishman," he said. "I am one of the prisoners whom theytook, at Ramoo, and have escaped from their hands. Are there any ofyour officers in the village?"
"I will take you to them," a native sub-officer said; and Stanley,in a minute or two, entered a cottage in which four Englishofficers were just taking their early breakfast, preparatory toturning out on duty.
"Whom have you got here, jemadar?" one of them asked, in Bengalee.
Stanley answered for himself.
"I am an Englishman, sir, and have just escaped from Ava."
The officer uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"Well, sir," the senior of them said, as he held out his hand toStanley, "I congratulate you on having got away, whoever you are;but I am bound to say that, if it were not for your speech, Ishould not have believed you; for I have never seen anyone lookless like an Englishman than you do."
"My name is Stanley Brooke, sir. I am the son of the late CaptainBrooke, of the 15th Native Regiment."
"Then I should know you," one of the other officers said, "for Iknew your father; and I remember seeing your name in the list ofofficers killed, at Ramoo, and wondered if it could be the lad Iknew five or six years ago."
"I recollect you, Captain Cooke," Stanley said. "Your regiment wasat Agra, when we were there."
"Right you are; and I am heartily glad that the news of your deathwas false," and he shook hands cordially with Stanley.
"And who is your companion?" the major asked. "Is he an Englishman,also?"
"No, sir; he is a native. He is a most faithful fellow. He hasacted as my guide, all the way down from the point we started from,twenty miles from Ava. I could never have accomplished it withouthis aid for, although I speak Burmese well enough to pass anywhere,my face is so different in shape from theirs that, if I were lookedat closely in the daylight, I should be suspected at once. I couldnever have got here without his aid."
"How was it that he came to help you, sir?" Major Pemberton asked."As far as we can see, the Burmese hate us like poison. Even whenthey are wounded to death, they will take a last shot at anysoldiers marching past them."
"I happened to save his life from a leopard," Stanley said, "and,truly, he has shown his gratitude."
"Jemadar," the major said, "take that man away with you. See thathe is well treated. Give him some food, of course. He willpresently go with this officer to the general."
Stanley said a few words in Burmese to Meinik, telling him that hewas to have food, and would afterwards go with him to the general;and he then, at the invitation of the officers, sat down with themto breakfast. While eating it, Stanley told them something of hisadventures. After the meal was over, the major said:
"You had better go with Mr. Brooke to the general, Captain Cooke. Icannot well leave the regiment.
"We can let you have an outfit, Mr. Brooke; though we are, most ofus, reduced pretty well to our last garments. What with the jungleand what with the damp, we have nearly all arrived at the laststate of dilapidation; but I am sure the general would like to seeyou in your present disguise."
"It makes no difference to me, sir," Stanley said, with a laugh. "Iam so accustomed to this black petticoat, now, that I should almostfeel strange in anything else. I am afraid this dye will be a longtime before it wears itself out. It is nearly three weeks since Iwas dyed last, and it has faded very little, yet."
"You need not take your arms, anyhow," Captain Cooke said. "Youwill attract less attention going without them, for it will only besupposed that you are one of the natives who have been brought inby the boats."
Meinik was sitting on the ground, contentedly, outside the cottage,the jemadar standing beside him.
"Have you had any food, Meinik?" Stanley asked.
The man nodded.
"Good food," he said.
"That is all right. Now, come along with us. You can leave yourweapons here--they won't be wanted."
Meinik rose and followed Stanley and Captain Cooke. There werehouses scattered all along the roadside. These were now alloccupied by officers and troops, and there were so many of themthat it had not been necessary to place any of the men undercanvas--an important consideration, during the almost continuousrain of the last three months.
"Why, Cooke, I did not know that you talked Burmese," an officerstanding at one of the doors remarked, as the officer came along,chatting with Stanley.
"You don't know all my accomplishments, Phillipson," the captainlaughed, for the idea that there existed such a thing as a Burmesepeasant who could talk English had not occurred to the other. "I amtaking him to the chief, to show off my powers;" and passed on,leaving the officer looking after him, with a puzzled expression onhis face.
On their arrival at Sir Archibald Campbell's headquarters, CaptainCooke sent in his name and, as the general was not at the momentengaged, he was at once shown in; followed by Stanley, Meinikremaining without.
"Good morning, sir. I see you have brought in a deserter," thegeneral said.
"He is not a deserter, sir. He is an escaped prisoner, who has madehis way down from Ava through the enemy's lines.
"This is Mr. Brooke. He was serving as an officer with the nativelevy, at Ramoo, and was reported as killed. However, he wasfortunately only stunned and, being the only officer found alive,was sent by Bandoola as a prisoner to Ava. I may say that he is ason of the late Captain Brooke, of the 15th Native Infantry."
"You are certainly wonderfully disguised," the general said; "and Icongratulate you heartily on your escape. I should have passed youby as a native without a second glance though, now that I am toldthat you are an Englishman, I can see that you have not the widecheekbones and flat face of a Burman. How did you manage to makeyour way down?"
"I travelled almost entirely by night, sir; and I had with me afaithful guide. He is outside. I don't think that I should everhave got down without him, though I speak Burmese well enough topass--especially as the language differs so much, in the differentdistricts."
"Is he a Burman?"
"Yes, general."
"Have you arranged with him for any particular sum for hisservices? If so, it will of course be paid."
"No, sir; he came down simply in gratitude for a service I renderedhim. I do not know whether he intends to go back; but I hope thathe will remain here, with me."
"I have brought Mr. Brooke here, sir," Captain Cooke said, "at therequest of the major; thinking that you might like to ask him somequestions as to the state of things in the interior."
"I should like to have a long talk with Mr. Brooke," the generalsaid; "but unless he has any certain news of the date they intendto attack us, I will not detain him now. The first thing will befor him to get into civilized clothes again.
"By the way, poor young Hitchcock's effects are to be sold thismorning. I should think that they would fit Mr. Brooke very well.
"Let me see. Of course, your pay has been running on, since youwere taken prisoner, Mr. Brooke."
"I am afraid, sir, that there is no pay due," Stanley said. "Ihappened to be at Ramoo at the time, looking after some goods of myuncle, who carries on a considerable trade on the coast; and as Italk the language, and there were very few who did so, Ivolunteered to act as an officer with the native levy. I preferredto act as a volunteer, in order that I might be free to leave, atany time, if I received an order from my uncle to join him atChittagong.
"I could give an order on him, but I do not know where he is to befound. I have with me some uncut rubies; though I have no idea whatthey are worth, for I have not even looked at them yet; but
theyshould certainly be good security for 50 pounds."
"We can settle that presently, Mr. Brooke. I will write an order onthe paymaster for 500 rupees; and we can talk the matter over,afterwards. I am afraid that you will have to pay rather high forthe clothes, for almost everyone here has worn out his kit; and Mr.Hitchcock only joined us a fortnight before his death, so that hisare in very good condition. Of course, they are all uniform--he wason my staff--but that will not matter. You could hardly be goingabout in civilian clothes, here.
"I shall be very glad if you will dine with me, at six o'clock thisevening. Have a talk with your man before that, and see what hewants to do. If he is a sharp fellow, he might be very useful tous."
The general wrote the order on the paymaster, and Captain Cooketook Stanley across to the office and obtained the cash for it.Making inquiry, he found that the sale was to come off in a quarterof an hour.
"I will do the bidding for you, if you like, Brooke," Captain Cookesaid. "I dare say you would rather not be introduced, generally, inyour present rig."
"Much rather not, and I shall be much obliged by your doing it."
"All right. I will make your money go as far as I can. Of course,the poor fellow brought no full-dress uniform with him, or anythingof that sort."
"You will find me here with my Burman," Stanley said. "We willstroll round the place for half an hour, and then come back hereagain."
There was very little to see in the town. Meinik was astonished,when they mounted the river bank and had a view of the ships lyingat anchor. For a time he was too surprised to speak, never havingseen anything larger than the clumsy cargo boats which made avoyage, once a year, up the river.
"It is wonderful!" he said at last. "Who would have thought of suchgreat ships? If the emperor could but see them, I think that hewould make peace. It is easy to see that you know many things morethan we do. Could one go on board of them?"
"Not as I am, at present, Meinik; but when I get English clothes onagain, and rid myself from some of this stain, I have no doubt Ishall be able to take you on board one of the ships-of-war.
"And now, will you let me know what you are thinking of doing? Itold the general what service you had rendered me, and he asked mewhat you were going to do. I told him that, as yet, I did not knowwhether you were going to stay here, or go back again."
"Are you going to stay here?"
"I think so--at any rate, for a time. I do not know where the uncleI have told you about is, at present. At any rate, while this waris going on he can do very little trade, and can manage very wellwithout me."
"As long as you stay here, I shall stay," the Burman said. "If Iwent back, I should have to fight against your people; and I don'twant to do that. I have no quarrel with them and, from what I see,I am not so sure as I was that we shall drive you into the sea. Youhave beaten us, whenever you have fought; and I would rather staywith you, than be obliged to fight against you.
"Not many men want to fight. We heard that in the villages, andthat those who have not got wives and children held, as hostagesfor them, get away from the army and hide in the woods.
"You will be a great man now and, if you will let me stop, I willbe your servant."
"I will gladly keep you with me, Meinik, if you are willing tostay; and I am sure that you will be better off, here, than out inthe woods, and a good deal safer. At any rate, stay until afteryour people make their next attack. You will see then how uselessit is for them to fight against us. When we can attack them intheir stockades, although they are ten to one against us, and drivethem out after a quarter of an hour's fighting; you may be surethat in the open ground, without defences, they will have no chancewhatever.
"I hope they will soon get tired of fighting, and that the courtwill make peace. We did not want to fight with them--it was theywho attacked us but, now that we have had all the expense of cominghere, we shall go on fighting till the emperor agrees to makepeace; but I don't think that we shall ever go out of Rangoon,again, and believe that we shall also hold the ports in Tenasserimthat we have captured."
"The emperor will never agree to that," Meinik said, shaking hishead positively.
"Then if he does not, he will see that we shall go up the river toAva and, in the end, if he goes on fighting we shall capture thewhole country; and rule over it, just as we have done the greaterpart of India."
"I think that would be good for us," the man said philosophically."It would not matter much to us to whom we paid our taxes--and youwould not tax us more heavily than we are now--for as we came downyou saw many villages deserted, and the land uncultivated, becausethe people could not pay the heavy exactions. It is not theking--he does not get much of it--but he gives a province, or adistrict, or a dozen villages to someone at court; and says, 'youmust pay me so much, and all that you can get out of it, besides,is for yourself;' so they heap on the taxes, and the people arealways in great poverty and, when they find that they cannot paywhat is demanded and live, then they all go away to some otherplace, where the lord is not so harsh."
"I am sure that it would be a good thing for them, Meinik. Thepeople of India are a great deal better off, under us, than theywere under their native rulers. There is a fixed tax, and no one isallowed to charge more, or to oppress the people in any way.
"But now we must be going. I said that I would be back at the placewe started from, in half an hour."