RIFLE-SHOOTING 279 



them from ever getting more than a third of the way across. 

 For three hours, with unfailing skill and nerve, Ross shot 

 down the rebel oarsmen whenever they attempted to cross, 

 till at last a body of English troops with three guns came 

 up, and the Sepoys retired. 



By his courage and skill Ross undoubtedly saved the 

 lives of those English women and their wounded 

 companions. 



Another feat of practical rifle-shooting was at Lucknow 

 during the long and terrible siege. It surpassed Ross's 

 achievement, as it was a sustained effort, kept up for many 

 days, under a fearful strain upon the watchfulness and 

 endurance of the solitary marksman. The hero of this 

 exploit was Sergeant Holwell, of the 32nd Foot. The 

 Sepoys had hauled a couple of guns on to the flat roof of one 

 of the palaces which surrounded the Residency. If they 

 had mounted those guns the Residency would have been 

 untenable, and the English would have been compelled to 

 surrender. Holwell, being a crack shot, was supplied with 

 the best rifles the place possessed, and was posted in an 

 angle of the Residency, to prevent the mounting of the guns. 

 The part of the building in which Holwell took up his 

 position had already been battered into a heap of ruins, 

 and behind the shattered masonry he lay at full length — 

 there was just cover enough to protect him in that posture. 

 For days he remained there, never once rising to his feet, 

 or even to his knees, for that would have been to court 

 instant death from the swarm of rebel marksmen. The 

 only change of posture in which he could indulge was by 

 rolling over from his back to his stomach, and vice versa. 

 The Sepoys never succeeded in mounting those guns. 

 Whenever they attempted it Holwell picked them off, till 

 they dared no longer expose themselves to his deadly aim. 

 In the dead of night provisions were conveyed to him by 

 men crawling on their hands and knees, to avoid the shots 

 of their foes. For this service Holwell was rewarded with 

 the Victoria Cross ; and never did any man more richly 

 deserve it. 



Some years ago I saw a tall, soldierly-looking man, 

 in a peculiar costume, outside a shop in New Oxford Street. 



