166 
SAUGOR, C.P.—A STORY OF 1857 . 
the fort, and saw the skirmishing, as well as the firing of the station 
gun. I cannot now recollect whether there were any casualties on 
either side; the whole affair appeared to be rather tame, which at first 
led people in the fort to fancy that it was all sham. It will be remem¬ 
bered that the 42nd Regiment Native Infantry had taken possession of 
the station gun on the retirement of the Artillery into the fort, and 
they subsequently caused some wrought-iron shot to be made in the 
bazaar, and these they used against the 31st Regiment Native Infantry' 
during the fight. That same'evening a deputation from the 31st Regi¬ 
ment Native Infantry waited upon the Brigadier, soliciting a couple of 
the Artillery guns, with the aid of which they (the 31st Native Infantry) 
would polish off the 42nd Native Infantry and the 3rd Irregular Cavalry. 
The Brigadier formed an idea that it was just as likely, after he had 
given the guns to the 31st Native Infantry, the whole body of native 
troops would coalesce, and come and attack the fort; he therefore in¬ 
formed the deputation that on the following morning the 31st Regiment 
Native Infantry should attack the 42nd Native Infantry and 3rd Ir¬ 
regular Cavalry in front, and he himself would take out the whole 
Battery of Artillery and attack them in rear. In reality he never in¬ 
tended doing anything of the kind, being under the impression that 
the fight on the afternoon of the 7th July was nothing more than a ruse. 
However, as it turned out, such was not the case, for the Brigadier’s 
reply to the deputation becoming known to the other party, the 42nd 
Regiment Native Infantry and the 3rd Irregular Cavalry, with the 
exception of a few men from each corps who remained faithful, disap¬ 
peared from the cantonments during the night, leaving the station gun 
behind, and the 31st Regiment Native Infantry, free of their bad 
characters, who had joined the 42nd Regiment Native Infantry, re¬ 
mained in cantonments and continued faithful to the last, though at 
first they appeared to be the worse of the two regiments :■— 
(1.) In having at first refused to take balled ammunition, when a 
company was ordered to proceed on detachment to Lullut- 
pore. 
(2.) In refusing to allow the prisoners taken at Balabet to be sent 
into Saugor, and releasing them. 
(3.) In putting the European sergeant and gunner, and 12 gun 
lascars into confinement. 
(4.) In removing the treasure from the Civil Treasury. 
What course the 31st Regiment Native Infantry would have pursued 
but for the quarrel between them and the other regiments it is difficult 
to say. I never heard what route the 42nd Native Infantry and 3rd 
Irregular Cavalry took on leaving Saugor on the night of the 7th 
July, but it is quite evident they did not march through Dumoh, 
40 miles east of Saugor, otherwise they would probably have pre¬ 
vailed upon, or forced, the tw r o companies of the 42nd Regiment Native 
Infantry doing duty there and guarding the Government treasure at 
that Civil Station, to join them. As it turned out the two companies 
were shut up in Dumoh, being surrounded by rebels from the adjoining 
