260 REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



the European detachment into Shahabad. Always in the 

 front, always in the thick of the battle, he did excellent 

 service as I have said before, on the march. Many a mutineer 

 sank beneath the fire of his rifle. He was beside Dunbar 

 when he fell, and was sprinkled with the life-blood of the 

 luckless leader. Wounded himself, he still fought on gallantly 

 during the retreat, and reached the nullah with a stiffened 

 limb, but with no abatement of vigorous courage. There, 

 having done his best to assist others more helpless than him- 

 self, he entered the last of the boats ; and deliverance seemed 

 to be at hand. But the insurgents had taken away the oars and 

 had lashed the rudder, and though the breeze was favourable 

 for the escape of our people, the current carried the boat back to 

 the river bank and fast and furious came the shower of musket- 

 balls from the pieces of the enemy. The boats were the large 

 covered boats the floating haystacks of the country, which 

 afforded excellent shelter to those who huddled together beneath 

 the clumsy thatch. There were thirty-five European soldiers 

 on board the boat, and McDonell, seeing the difficulty and 

 danger which the impossibility of steering the vessel brought 

 upon them, called upon the men to cut the lashings of the 

 rudder. But no man stirred. So McDonell went out from 

 the shelter, and climbing on to the roof of the boat perched 

 himself on the rudder and cut the lashings amidst a very 

 storm of bullets from the contiguous bank. It was truly a 

 providential deliverance that he escaped instant death. Coolly 

 and steadily he went about his perilous work, and though 

 some balls passed through his hat, not one did him any harm. 

 Thus the rudder was loosened, the boat answered to the helm, 

 and by McDonell's gallant act the crew were saved from 

 certain destruction.' 



"No soldier ever won the V. C. more valiantly or deserved 

 it better. When the struggle against the cow r ardly mutineers 

 was at its height, Eraser McDonell was civil officer with the 



