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COL. T. HOLBEIN HUNDLEY, CLE., ON THE 



she wishes to preserve her reputation for honour amongst her 

 fellows. The sacrifice of the Johar was not confined to great 

 national occasions, but was an accompaniment of even small 

 intertribal conflicts. The whole story turns upon the Eajput's 

 jealousy of his honour, a feeling of which the following extract 

 from the memoirs of James Skinner affords a good illustration. 

 Fraser, who writes his memoirs, says, " If we seek for a picture 

 of chivalrous gallantry, unswerving fidelity, and fearless self- 

 devotion, we have only to turn to the cavalry of the Eajput 

 states ; particularly to that of the Bahtores. We shall find 

 there acts of resolute heroism that have not been surpassed by 

 the troops of any age or country. In the history of their own 

 wars we find repeated instances of bodies of their horsemen 

 dashing against lines of spears and bayonets in the field, and 

 against batteries bristling with cannon, regardless of the havoc 

 in their own ranks made by grape and steel, while in defence 

 of their fortresses we find them dying to the last man, rather 

 than accept quarter from their assailants on any terms but 

 such as they deem consistent with military honour, for it is the 

 Izzat, the Abru, of the Eajput which is dearer to him than life, 

 which instigates him to imperil that in its defence ; while his 

 devotion to his chief and clan, like that of the Highlanders of 

 yore, makes all sacrifices easy when these are in peril." Skinner 

 gives an instance of a small garhi or petty fort in the Doab 

 which was threatened by a detachment of the British army. 

 The thirteen Rajputs who held it agreed to surrender to 

 Skinner if permitted to go free and carry off their arms ; but 

 when the younger officers told them to give them up (as 

 Skinner had promised), they said it was against their custom. 

 Unfortunately, in spite of Skinner's remonstrances, they were 

 refused, and then turned back. They opposed the twenty men 

 sent against them and killed or wounded as many in number 

 as themselves, and finally all died in the little post, surrounded 

 by three or four times the number of their assailants dying or 

 dead around them. The famous La Borgne, or Count de Boigne, 

 who was such a prominent and good specimen of the military 

 adventurer, who was the means, thanks to his training of the 

 infantry of the Mahrattas, of doing more harm to the Eajput 

 cause than perhaps any one else, bears testimony to the 

 gallantry of the Eahtore horse. At the renowned battle of 

 Mairta they charged and recharged up to the very muzzles of 

 the guns. Again and again they charged, each time with 

 ebbing effort and weaker effect ; again and again they flung 

 themselves against that hedge of bayonets with merciless 



