162 
SAUGOR, C.P.—A STORY OP 1857. 
commissioned officers, and with their aid to place the fort into a state 
of defence by mounting such ordnance on the walls as were most 
suitable, and to take any other necessary precautions. On the same 
day the Brigadier issued an order appointing me to the command of 
the fort and placing the “Madras Ordnance subordinate establishment” 
under my “ immediate orders : ” whereupon myself and wife went into 
the fort and took up our quarters in my office there; and all the warrant 
and non-commissioned officers of both Ordnance Departments moved 
in at the same time and obtained quarters in some of the gun-sheds 
which had to be emptied out for the purpose. As I wished to rid 
myself of several Native Infantry sentries posted in different parts of 
the fort, I directed the withdrawal of all, except the one over the 
entrance gate, giving as my excuse, that as the warrant and non¬ 
commissioned officers occupied the further end of the fort, there was no 
need for sentries about the place. I also ordered two 8-inch howitzers 
loaded with case shot to be placed every evening by my warrant and 
non-commissioned officers, for the night, on the road (see f -j- in 
Plan B.) near the entrance gate, but out of sight of the Native guard. 
The warrant and non-commissioned officers furnished a guard during 
the night over these howitzers, and had orders to fire into any un¬ 
authorised body of natives approaching them at night. We were all 
fully employed by day selecting positions and mounting ordnance of 
the most suitable natures for each position. This was tedious work, 
for, owing to the terreplein of the curtains not exceeding from two to 
four feet in width and no ramps existing, it involved the erection of 
derricks to hoist up both ordnance and their carriages. 
At the same time that the Ordnance Department was ordered into 
the fort, the Brigadier issued a District Order directing the Commis¬ 
sariat Department to provision the fort, which was immediately 
commenced, and for the Civil authorities to send into the fort all the 
treasure not required to accompany the force which was to proceed 
under his command to attack the rebels in the district. No such 
expedition was intended: it was merely a ruse to allay suspicion and 
to prevent the Native guard over the Treasury from interfering with 
the removal of the treasure into the fort. My own opinion was that 
the Native troops did not much care what we did, for as in other 
stations where no European troops were quartered, no one exhibited 
any signs of distrust, officers in many cases sleeping in the Native lines 
in their respective regiments, they could not help feeling that we were 
entirely in their hands. They could never have anticipated our acting 
beforehand with them and turning out of the fort so quietly and 
unexpectedly the Native guard which were in actual possession. 
No words can express the thankfulness I felt to an overruling Provi¬ 
dence that He put it into my head to speak up and impress on the 
Brigadier the advisability of our anticipating a mutiny at Saugor, 
instead of waiting for it to overtake us. What was actually done in 
the issue of the District Order above noted was to send into the fort 
all the boxes containing silver coin, leaving in the Civil Treasury only 
the copper coin, which might subsequently have to be abandoned. Ot 
course, the Sepoys on guard could not know from the outward appear- 
