1835.] 



History of the Ramoossles, 



25 



Patell of the village, not only from motives of humanity but 

 from a dread of the consequences should the gang lay 

 violent hands on their prisoners, interested himself much in 

 their behalf. He entreated Oomiah and the Naiks not to 

 injure the sepoys, because they had surrendered themselves 

 without the least resistance, and delivered up their arms as 

 they had been directed ; and urged, that if any violence 

 should be offered to them, it would involve the villagers in 

 much trouble, as Government would call them to account. 

 The Ramoossies turned a deaf ear to the entreaties of the 

 Patell, and he was seized and dragged along with the sepoys. 



The members of the gang now sat down to determine 

 how they should dispose of their prisoners. During this 

 trying period the sepoys, who had every reason to suppose 

 that the Ramoossies intended to murder them, or to tor, 

 ture them in some horrid manner, begged them in the 

 most earnest manner to spare their lives and to set them 

 at liberty. With the view of exciting the sympathy of the 

 gang, and making a greater impression on their feelings, 

 all the prisoners laid hold of the different Naiks' shoes with 

 their teeth, and put grass into their mouths, indicating that 

 they were on a footing with the beasts of the field, and de- 

 void of the power of making any exertions to save them-i 

 selves. The Havildar and a sepoy contrived to reach Oo- 

 miah ; they threw their arms round him, and clinging to him, 

 prayed of him, in the name of every thing dear to him 

 in this world, to have mercy on them, and not to put 

 them to death. These men most fortunately, by attaching 

 themselves in such a determined manner to Oomiah, at last 

 succeeded in prevailing on him to preserve their lives, while 

 the others were doomed to suffer death. Two of these were 

 handed over to two men of the Mang caste, from the Ni- 

 zam's territories, who had been some time with the Bund ; 

 these men, cut the sepoys down, and afterwards behead- 

 ed them, but some of the Ramoossies did not scru- 

 ple to lend an assisting hand on the occasion. Du- 

 ring this interval the third sepoy endeavoured to excite 

 the pity of the Naiks, but they forced him from them ; when 

 the Mangs were approaching to take him away for execu- 

 tion, the sepoy observed the Naiks fall back to avoid his 

 clinging to them; this he considered a favourable opportu- 



