at its termination,[1] or subsequently died of the wounds they received; thirty-four more were wounded, but not mortally, and sixteen only surrendered unwounded. But the worst was yet to come; for Hyder Ali was little acquainted with the usages of civilised nations, and he was uninfluenced by that natural generosity which has sometimes thrown a lustre over barbaric conquest more brilliant than the conquest itself. Seated in his tent, the ruffian conqueror regaled his eyes by having his prisoners paraded before him, while from time to time the heads of the slain were deposited at his feet.[2] The sequel was worthy of the commencement; every indignity that malice could devise, every privation that cruelty could inflict, awaited the unhappy Europeans, who were destined for years to remain the prisoners of Hyder Ali.[3] They were conveyed to Seringapatam, where they were used with the greatest inhumanity. All those not wounded were put in irons, and lodged in a kind of open shed, with sleeping places at the corners, supplied simply with mats.[4] Only sixpence a day was allowed for food, and no medicine was provided to counteract the
- ↑ Amongst these was the gallant Colonel Fletcher.
- ↑ "Among the prisoners was a son of Colonel Lang, who commanded at Vellore, a child rather than a youth born in India, who was serving as a volunteer. Hyder sent for the boy, and ordered him instantly to write a letter to his father, offering him a splendid establishment on condition of surrendering the place, and announcing that his own death would be the result of refusal. The boy at first received the proposition with a cool rejection; but on being pressed with direct threats, he burst into tears, and addressing Hyder in his own language, 'If you consider me,' said he, 'base enough to write such a letter, on what ground can you think so meanly of my father? It is in your power to present me before the ramparts of Vellore, and cut me into a thousand pieces in my father's presence, but it is out of your power to make him a traitor.'" – Colonel Wilks, "Sketches of South of India."
It is gratifying to add that this gallant lad survived and attained high rank in the Anglo-Indian Army. He was Commandant at Vellore, when the author of this work visited that fortress in 1812.
- ↑ "The gallant Colonel Baillie, with many more of his companions, after a lingering confinement, during which he suffered much from sickness, died of melancholy and chagrin in Seringapatam prison." – Munro's "Operations on the Coromandel Coast."
- ↑ "Among the wounded of this unhappy day, an English artilleryman had received a sabre wound in the back of the neck, which separated the muscles destined to support the head, and it fell accordingly on his chest. On being roused by threats and other wounds, this extraordinary man raised his head to its proper position with the aid of his hands, and, supporting it in this manner, actually performed the march of six miles, and was perfectly cured." – Colonel Wilks.
