A few brief memoranda of some of the public services rendered by Lieut.-Colonel Outram, C. B.

Front matter

Pass D6/f7S'

Rnnk .Pi / K S

A FEW

Preface

Colonel Outram's friends have frequently requested him to publish a narrative of his eventful career in the East. To these requests he has invariably turned a deaf ear ; but, in deference to the strongly expressed opinions of those to whose judgment it was his duty to defer, he at length gave his consent to the preparation, for private circulation, of a few Memoranda of some of his more important services. And he was induced to submit to the Compiler of the following pages a mass of documents, consisting of copies of the official records of his public proceedings during the last thirty years, which have, from time to time, been furnished to him by the authorities, and of his correspondence with eminent Indian functionaries.

vi PREFACE.

Beyond giving- his sanction to the general plan of this little book, Colonel Outram is answerable for none of the statements or opinions it contains. The Compiler studiously avoided submitting- it to him either in manuscript or proof. And thoug-h the proofs of two sheets were placed in his hands by a g-entleman to whom they had been submitted, the final corrections had been made, ere this circumstance became known to the Compiler.

London, March 1853.

Contents

Page

I. — Services as a Regimental Officer. (1819 —

1825.) ..... .. .1

II. Services Amongst The Bheels Of Candeish

1825—1835.

Of the various provinces which, on the subjugation of the Peishwa, were annexed to the Anglo-Indian Empire, one of the most important, but decidedly the least promising*, was Candeish. Once populous and fertile, a Mahrattas, Arabs, Bheels, and Pindarries, had combined to desolate it. And it came into our hands a desert — its towns in ruins, its villages destroyed, its soil uncultivated, its roads broken up, and myriads of its population swept off by famines, plagues, and battles."* Nor, for long, did it seem that the British supremacy was destined to bring repose to this stricken land.

The Pindarries were no more * the power of the Mahrattas had been dissolved * the marauding* Arabs had been driven out ; and the mild sway of a paternal Government had taken the place of misrule, and rapacious tyranny. But the inhabitants of Candeish found not peace. Their plains were still ravaged by the wild Bheels who occupied the neighbouring mountains. And in vain did they invoke the protection of

* History of the British Conquests in India, vol. ii. p. 79. By Horace St. John, Esq. Colburn and Co., 1852.

their new masters against these ruthless Caterans, who, secure in their rocky defiles and dense pestilential jungles, continued^ for seven long* years, to baffle the political sagacity of the British Government, and to deride its military resources.*

From 1818 till 1825, Candeish stood to Western India in the relation which Ireland still hears to Britain. It was u the difficulty" of the Government. It was a difficulty which all regarded as insuperable, till the genius of Elphinstone discovered its solution . And it was one which even an Elphinstone might have failed to solve, had not an Outram and an Ovans been at hand, to give effect to his conceptions, under the able surveillance of Colonel Robertson, the Commissioner for Candeish.

To appreciate these conceptions, and the merits of the officers by whom they were realized, it is

* u Candeish is nearly surrounded by broad chains of mountains, whose sides are clothed in noxious vegetation, where, for many months of the year, none but the hardy denizen of the hill can exist. . . . The tabular trap hills of the Saat-pooras, which form the northern boundary of the province, are separated from each other by ravines of vast magnitude, and are covered with splendid forests, which afford amidst the most romantic scenery, unbounded shelter to the outlaw. On the west the great Sukhein range rises steep and stony ; these Ghauts, however, are not broken but sustain tangled masses of Bamboo, which is found nowhere else in greater luxuriance or more difficult of access, whilst the continuous ranges of Chandore, Saatmulla, and Ajunta, bound the province to the South, and the thick Bauble jungle which shrouds their thousand dark dells, presents equal difficulties to the pursuit of the offender, as do the low sterile hillocks which, to the eastward, separate Khandesh from the rich plains of Berar." — Historical Sketch of the Bheel Tribes, by Capt. Graham.

necessary that we should call to mind the character and antecedents of the people that were taken in hand*

The Bheels a had from the most remote ages been recognized as a distinct race, insulated in their abodes, and separated by their habits and usages from the other tribes of India/'* They regarded robbery as a sacred institution, and eng-aged in it with the spirit of men who ply their calling under divine sanction. Taught to divide their spiritual allegiance between the minor Infernal Deities, they were accustomed to propitiate these Evil Powers with sanguinary sacrifices. In addition to other debasing vices they were greatly addicted to drunkenness ; u and all their evil propensities," we are told, cc burst into a flaming fire when roused by the effects of ardent spirits." By their neighbours they were looked on with horror, as social and religious outcasts, whom it was pollution to associate with, and righteousness to slay ; and as every man's hand was lifted against them, so the measure of wrath was fully returned by the tribe.

Like most savages they were suspicious — had an instinctive sense of danger — were full of cunning and evasion — and rarely attacked the strong while victims were to be found amongst the weak and unprotected. But they were no cowards. When peril presented itself, they met it with manly fortitude, and heroic devotion ) and, as Sir John Malcolm has recorded, " to kill another when the Turvee (Chief) desired, or to suffer death themselves, appeared to them equally a matter of indifference."

* Sir John Malcolm.

In peaceful times, and under the powerful rule of the Mahomedan Government, certain of these wild savages had become so far civilized as to settle in the plains. And while their brethren in the hills (to use the words of Sir John Malcolm) a passed their time between crime and debauchery/' these men had been induced to take service as village watchmen, and, more rarely, to engage in agriculture. But, for many years antecedent to the British occupation of Candeish, the " village" and u cultivating" Bheels, had returned to their predatory pursuits.

This retrogression, which had proceeded almost pari passu with the decadence of the Mahomedan sway, was complete in 1803. In that year, the scourg'e of war was succeeded by a most unusual and withering famine, which extended from the Vindhya Hills to the City of Hydrabad. Candeish became for a time deserted ; many of its cultivators fled to Berar and Guzerat; the few remaining Bheels abandoned the plains, and returned not again. u And now/ ? to quote the words of Major Douglas Graham :—

u Commenced the Bundumul — that period of utter anarchy and confusion which so long reigned throughout this unhappy land. Organized gangs (of Bheels) started up in every direction; and the mountainridges were quickly studded with Hutties, from the tiny hamlet of the freebooter, to the grand encampments of the powerful Naicks, who, assuming the state of petty princes, despatched their armies of a thousand men to sack and lay waste the surrounding countrv-

(c On the occupation of the Province of Candeish by the British Government in 1818 ; anarchy and lawless oppression had reached a fearful height^ and murder and rapine stalked openly and unrestrainedly through the land. Fifty notorious leaders infested this once flourishing* 6 Garden of the West;' and their every command was implicitly obeyed by upwards of 5 ; 000 ruthless followers^ whose sole occupation was pillage and robbery, whose delight alone consisted in the murderous forav, and whose subsistence depended entirely on the fruits of their unlawful spoil. Smarting under the repeatedly broken pledges of the former Native Government, and rendered savage from the wholesale slaughter of their families and relations, the Bheels were more than usually suspicious of a new Government of foreigners, and less than ever inclined to submit to the bonds of order and restraint.

u From Kokurmunda to Booranpoor, the Avhole range of the Sathpoora mountains teemed with the disaffected. The Sathmalla and Ajunta Bheels, under thirty-two leaders, were in arms in numerous parties, carrying fire and sword over the Southern parts of the Province \ and the petty Rajahs of Peint and Abhena having united with the powerful Naick, Govinda, the work of desolation was urg*ed with a bloody hand through the entire range of the Western Ghauts. The roads were impassable \ villages in every direction were plundered 5 and murders daily committed. Cattle and hostages were driven off from the very centre of the Province \ and these ravages rose to such a height that the Ryots refused to receive Tuccavee, whilst their property was thus insecure.*

u The first plan adopted hy Colonel Briggs, on the occupation of Oandeish by the British Government, was to stop the supplies of food, which were chiefly drawn from the plains — to cut off any parties of Bheels that attempted to issue for plunder — and to make vigorous attacks on the points within the hills to which the Chiefs had retired.

" During* tfie second year of British Administration, many of the Chiefs, by the prompt decision and praiseworthy efforts of the British Troops, were either seized or killed in battle \ but these chiefs were, in most cases, succeeded by others equally powerful and ferocious with themselves \ and beyond the immediate influence of the British Troops there was little protection for life and property in Candeish. Proclamations were in vain issued that former crimes would be forgotten, and that in future those Bheels who returned to the plains should be fed at the expense of the village. The amnesty was unheeded and rejected, and not one of the tribe repaired to take advantage of the liberal offer.

a No regular Police existed at this time. The Bheels, who formerly had been the village watchmen, were in arms against the State. And reports daily arrived of robberies, murders, and house-breakings, —

* " Ryot " means " cultivator." " Tuccavee," is the advance made by Government to enable the cultivators to purchase seed, prepare the soil, &c< upwards of one hundred complaints of this nature being- made, during* the course of one month, from the singie district of JNFundoobar. An Irregular Corps of Turree Bheels was at length attempted, on the principle of confirming* hereditary Naicks as the superiors of the legion ; but the experiment entirely failed, the men being* constantly in a state of intoxication. And their grovelling 1 habits proving* incapable of restraint by native officers, who were equally licentious with themselves, this body was ultimately disbanded as totally useless.

u Among*st the many plans which w^ere agitated to restore peace to the Province, the political Agent proposed to pension every marauding* Bheel in Candeish on a monthly allowance of two rupees, together with a certain quantity of grain. Military operations were, however, finally resorted to ; and parties of Sebundies* and regular troops were despatched to protect the passes. But they were shortly obliged to quit, leaving* two-thirds of their number victims to the malaria \ and the charg*e of these outlets were ag*ain^ handed over to the loose control of the hereditar} r Naicks on double their former allowances ; but with no happier effect than before.

cc During* the four succeeding* years, the same successive arrangements were pursued, with equally unsuccessful results. Conciliatory measures were first adopted; settlements of the most liberal nature were entered into with many. And, these entirely failing, recourse was had to arms, which only for a time and in the immediate vicinity of the force, had the

* " Sebundies" are irregular foot.

temporary effect of apparently subduing' these untameable spirits." *

Avoiding, as far as possible, any general engagement with the troops sent to attack them, the Bheels waited till the invaders, baffled in their object, commenced their homeward march ; and then, hanging* on their flanks and rear, cut off their stragglers, harassed and often plundered their baggage trains. To the troops employed against them, the service was one of fatigaie, hardship, and peril. Independent of the casualties of warfare, vast numbers annually fell victims to the deadly miasms of the jungle; and of those who escaped with their lives, more than a third had their constitutions irreparably injured. We learn from Captain Graham that every Regiment of the Line, at the close of its usual tour of three years in the Bheel districts, was compelled "to discharge to their homes upwards of a hundred men as unfit (from the effects of climate) for further (active) service ; whilst a like number, entirely disabled, swelled the list of Government pensioners."

Such a state of matters as has just been sketched was felt to be intolerable. But how was it to be remedied ?

Mr. Elphinstone's predecessor in the Government of Bombay had looked to the utter extermination of the Bheels as the only measure by which peace could be re-established in Candeish-t But, so far as past ex-

* "A Brief Historical Sketch of the Bheel Tribes inhabiting* Candeish," prepared by Capt D. C. Graham, Sept. 1843, and printed by order of the Hon. Court of Directors, pp. 4-5.

f Vide Mr. Giberne's Report on Bheel Civilization, subsequently quoted. # perience enabled men to judge, this gubernatorial dictum must have seemed to imply little more, than that one impossibility could only be effected through the performance of another.

Very different from those of his predecessor, were the views entertained by Mr. Elphinstone, who recognized in the wild and degraded Bheel a brother man, in whom dwelt affections that might be won, and were worth the winning — sympathies through the skilful management of which, he might be guided within the pale of civilized life — and faculties that would repay culture. To elevate the proscribed race in the scale of moral being appeared to him a feat of easier accomplishment, and far more glorious than their extirpation. And he resolved that it should be done. Nor was it enough that the Bheels should be gained over from their habits of crime, debauchery, and brigandage — taught the arts of civilization — and made to appreciate the blessings which civilization bestows. He was determined to render them cc the protectors of the peace they had so long disturbed" !

For the achievement of these noble objects, he devised two schemes. One was the establishment of Agricultural Colonies of Bheels ; the other, the organization of a Regiment of Bheel Soldiers to be armed and disciplined like the Battalions of the Line, and commanded by a British officer. To most men the proposed plan appeared an inversion of the natural order of things — to imply the pre-existence of that very reform it was designed to effect; but Mr. Elphinstone knew better. The a Colony" experiment he confided to Captain (now Colonel) Ovans ; the organization of the u Bheel Corps' 7 was assigned to Lieutenant Outram. Both schemes were sneered at by the u practical " men of the day as visionary and absurd ; both were, however, gloriously successful ; and it was hardly necessary for Sir John Malcolm to record that the success of both u depended on the selection of the officers to whom the execution was confided." *

The nature, extent, and value of Colonel Ovans' philanthropic services — the difficulties he surmounted —the consummate skill and knowledge of human nature he displayed — and the peaceful triumphs he achieved, are well known to the Indian authorities, and to all who have carefully studied the history of Modern India. And they are deeply engraved on the memories of those reclaimed savages amongst whom he toiled. But they are not understood as they oug-ht to be, by the g-eneral public. And to sketch them is a pleasure which the compiler of these c< Memoranda" promises to himself at an early date, should he not be anticipated by some one better qualified for the task. But, in the mean time, he has to deal, exclusively, with the services of Lieut. Outram.

The organization of a Bheel Corps, under a European officer, had been frequently proposed by Mr. Elphin-

* The anticipations of failure so generally and so confidently expressed, in reference to Mr. Elphinstone's schemes, were the less justifiable, from the fact, that the superiority of a conciliatory over a coercive policy had been already demonstrated by Mr. Willoughby, in respect of the wild tribes inhabiting* the Rajpeempla hills ; whom he had pacified by gentleness, and equitable measures, without firing a musket, or drawing* a sabre.

stone. But so great was the disfavour with which the scheme was received* so many were the objections started to it ) and so full of hazard to the officer who should be entrusted with its accomplishment was it on all hands allowed to be, that, up to the date of the Moolair rebellion, it was not enforced. On the occurrence of that insurrection, however, Mr. Elphinstone resolved that, if he could find an officer to take it in hand, his plan should be no longer delayed.

Outranks friends strongly remonstrated with him against sacrificing his professional position and prospects, and, almost to a certainty, his life, by entering on so insane a project. But the very dangers with which the proffered appointment was beset tended to enhance its value in his eyes. And, requesting Colonel Robertson to communicate to Mr. Elphinstone his glad acceptance of the hazardous commission, he made haste to enter on its exciting duties.

Proceeding to the Head Quarters of his Regiment, he obtained permission to lead a detachment against the Bheels of the Sathmalla Hills, who had, for some months, been playing at bo-peep with his commanding officer. He attacked and routed them with considerable slaughter ; and followed them up, from fastness to fastness, till all had submitted — services for which he received high commendation from the Government, and the Commander-in-Chief.

Having thus satisfied the Bheels that their jungles, and rocky defiles, were not impregnable, he sent back his detachment, and throwing himself amongst his recent foes, unarmed and unattended, and therefore completely at their mercy, he claimed and received a

c reciprocity of the confidence thus reposed in them. He accepted their hospitality, which he repaid with feasts and entertainments. He listened with profound attention to their wild tales and mythological legends ; taught them many simple but useful mechanical devices ; dressed their wounds ; prescribed for their ailments ; joined in their pastimes \ and, accompanying* them in pursuit of the tig'ers, and other large game, with which their mountains abounded, won their admiration by showing* in the chase, as he had previously displayed in battle, his superiority in those very qualities which they valued most highly in themselves.*

After a while, he persuaded some high-caste Native non-commissioned officers and privates of his own regiment, to co-operate with him in his undertaking. And such was the devotion of these noble soldiers to their late Adjutant that, g-rievously as it shocked their prejudices, they associated on terms of equality with the abhorred, and hitherto contumeliously treated Bheels, joined in their rude sports, and accompanied them in their hunting expeditions.

Many English gentlemen afterwards stepped forward to aid him in a similar manner. Whenever, in the course of his migrations round the province, his rough levies came in contact with Native Begiments of the Line, the European officers were readily induced to give them a warm and cordial reception, and to treat them with the respect shown, under ordinary circumstances, only to high-caste Hindoos. And, to the honour of the Bombay Army

* Vide Mr. Giberne's, Major Douglas Graham's, and other official reports on Bheel Rcfm-m be it said, that the conduct of the officers was imitated by the men, who, not satisfied with displaying* mere negative civility, presented their a out-caste" visitors with betel-nut and sweetmeats, and g*ave entertainments in their honour. The violence they thus rendered to their own feelings from affection for their officers, can be appreciated by those who understand the Hindoo system — and by them only.*

Persevering* in the course which he had originally sketched out. Lieutenant Outram contrived to enthrone himself in the affections of his uncouth associates ; to establish over their minds a moral ascendancy which was a source of profound astonishment to all who witnessed it ; to inspire them with sentiments of self-respect; and to imbue them with an earnest desire to become participators in the civilization with which, from time to time, they were confronted.

In less than two years from the date of its adoption, the philanthropic and farsigiited polic}^ of Mr. Elphinstone had been completely vindicated. The Bheel recruits had ceased to u pass their time between crime and debauchery." Sober, gentle, obliging*, and

* Conspicuous amongst the regiments who thus co-operated with Government in the elevation of the Bheels, and the first to do so, was Outram' s own corps. Captain Graham thus writes : — " The reception of these wild recruits by the 23rd Regt. Bombay Native Infantry, in the camp at Malligaum, was greatly conducive to the good cause. Men of the highest caste behaved in a manner most nattering to the feelings of the mountaineers, visiting and presenting them with betel-nut, to the no small amazement of the guests, and to the gratification of Government, who complimented the regiment on their conduct." The 23rd was composed exclusively of High-Caste Hindostannees.

well-behaved, they had Avon the esteem of every English gentleman who had seen them; and they had shed their blood freely in the cause of order, and in conflict with insurgent bandits of their own tribe I

But though these gratifying results were obtained with a celerity that excited marvel, their accomplishment had been no easy matter. Numerous were the discouragements that beset Outranks path ; often did his schemes seem on the eve of frustration ; many times was his life in peril.

u Inveterate habits were not to be changed in a day \ and, in addition to the natural repugnance to restraint and subjection to law, strange rumours and reports were afloat throughout the Province, regarding the intentions of Government in thus forming the Bheels into a Corps. They were told by the evil-disposed that the object was to link them in a line, like galleyslaves, and then to extirpate their race ; that their blood was in high demand as a medicine in the country of their masters; that assemblage of the Bheels in the Corps would be followed by massacre as of yore, &c. &c. &c. ?? *

They were reminded that, at the very place where their head-quarters were fixed, there had been a most treacherous and cruel slaughter of their tribe under a former Government. And, pondering on these things, they could not but deem it strange that an English officer should leave the comforts of a settled home, and the society of his countrymen, to rove through pestilential jungles and lead a life of hardship and fatigue, from no more credible motive than love for

* Mr. Giberne's Report on Bheel Civilization.

loathed and despised outcasts, whose kinsmen he had slain in battle. It was not in human nature — still less in the nature of suspicious savages against whom, for generations, every hand had been raised — to resist altogether the influences thus brought to bear on their minds, or to maintain undeviating fidelity to the man who, they were told, beguiled their affections only to secure their destruction.

It is not within the scope of these a Memoranda " to narrate the progress of the formation of the Bheel Corps, or to recite the numerous startling and romantic incidents which marked the career of its young Commandant, and discovered in him a presence of mind that never faltered, and a promptitude of action equal to all emergencies. Such details must be deferred to a future and more fitting- occasion. But it will not be out of place, and may not be altogether uninteresting to the readers of this volume, if I briefly notice a few leading' passages in the history of the Corps, and some of its more remarkable services.

In March 1826 — that is, in less than eleven months after Outram commenced the a conciliation" of his Bheels, by attacking them in their haunts, and following them up to their fastnesses — Mr. Bax, Colonel Robertson's successor in the Chief Magistracy of Candeish, reported to Government that the recruits amounted to 255 in number • that a rapid progress had been made in disciplining them j w that desertions were becoming u extremely rare f and a that no complaints whatever had been preferred against any individual of the Corps, by the townspeople, since their arrival" at Malligaum.

In the following* July, the same gentleman intimated that he should be a wanting* in justice to Lieutenant Outrain, and remiss in the performance of a gratifying* duty, if he neglected to record the very great merit attaching to him in bringing* the Corps to its present state."

u This/ 7 he added, a has been principally effected by g-reat personal kindness, combined with decision on all proper occasions, whereby the Bheels (and I speak from personal observation) have learned to consider their Commanding Officer as the best guardian of their individual welfare."

In December of the same year, that is, within twenty months from the date on which he undertook its organization, Lieutenant Outram reported the Corps as fit to be entrusted, to a certain extent, with the maintenance of order in the Province. And, in handing up his report, Mr. Bax observed as follows :—

66 I have great satisfaction in adding* my testimony to the efficient and orderly state of the Bheel Corps ; and in congratulating the Hon. the Governor in Council on the complete success of a system which, however difficult in operation originally, and doubtful in result, has been achieved by the indefatigable exertion and excellent management of Lieutenant Outram, assisted by a few meritorious Native officers, and sepoys of the Line.

" As to the progress of the Corps in military exercises, ... I have the authority of Captain Ovans, who was also present at their parades, for stating that, in this respect, they were remarkably steady and accurate. But although this circumstance is, no doubt, a source of much gratification to Lieut. Outram, the Hon. the Governor in Council will probably derive greater satisfaction from reflecting' on the alteration which this submission to a mild system of military discipline is calculated to produce on the habits and feelings of the men of the Corps,, and the advantage to which their reformation may be progressively turned, by creating an extended interest on the part of the Bheels and their connections, in supporting peace and good order throughout the Province."

And in the following month, the same functionary, after alluding to a the eminent success that had attended the plan under the able management of Lieutenant Outram," announced that the Corps was a already becoming an efficient arm of Police, and highly useful in presenting an established point of union and confidence for the unsettled and scattered Bheels of the Province."

On the 22nd April 1827, u the first opportunity was offered to these reformed Bheels of shedding their blood for their new masters ; and they freely risked it, and fought boldly, though opposed to their own caste, and probably relations." And in reporting this interesting action, in which u a small detachment of Bheel recruits" had routed with loss u a considerable g'ang of Bheels," Captain Hodges, then officiating as Chief Magistrate, expressed his conviction that while Government would derive much gratification from a the gallant and admirable conduct of the young Bheel recruits, . . . the high spirit and exertions of Lieutenant Outram himself, to whose example the meritorious conduct of his small detachment may be fairly attributed, would be no less appreciated/* Nor was he mistaken. Lieutenant Outram and his gallant band received the most gratifying 1 and cordially expressed commendations of Government.

In the following* September, on the eve of Mr. Elphinstone's departure from India, Mr. Giberne, Mr. Bax's successor as Chief Magistrate in Candeish, deemed it his duty to furnish to the benevolent and venerated author of " Bheel Civilization," a special report, on the subject of the new Corps. And as a proof of its success, he mentioned that 200 regulars were about to be relieved by Bheel soldiers — C( men who once carried dread and terror in their very name throughout the country were now to become its defenders and supporters."

The Bheel Corps had, for wise and obvious reasons, been placed by Mr. Elphinstone under the exclusive control of the Civil authorities. But the latter, diffident of their own judgment in such matters, requested the General, commanding the Division, to have the military efficiency of the Regiment (now 600 strong) fairly tested, and fully reported on. Sir Lionel Smith accordingly deputed Colonel Campbell, the Brigadier commanding in Candeish, to review the Corps.

He did so on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd of September 1827 5 and reported that their performances were a such as would claim a favourable comparison with many of the best Native Regiments of the Line." That his eulogium was not unmerited will be readily granted by any one who may take the trouble to refer to Colonel Campbell's report contained in Appendix 1.