Three Frenchmen in Bengal Part 10

For some two months the English remained in the French Factory, M.

Law, at Cossimbazar, warmly soliciting their release from Siraj-ud-daula. This he obtained with difficulty, and at last Mr.

Becher and his companions sailed in a sloop provided by M. Courtin for Fulta, where they arrived safely on the 26th of August. When Calcutta had been recaptured by the English, M. Courtin, like a good business man, sent in a bill for the costs of the sloop to the Council at Calcutta, and the Consultations of the 16th of May, 1757, duly notify its payment.

The English did not regain possession of the Factory at Dacca till the 8th of March, by which time the declaration of War between France and England was known, and the likelihood of troubles in Bengal was very apparent. As we have seen, the English were successful in their attack on Chandernagore, but the whole country was aware that the Nawab was only the more enraged with them, and his local officers might at any moment be instructed to take vengeance on Englishmen found defenceless up country. On the 23rd of March, Messrs. Sumner and Waller wrote from Dacca that Jusserat Khan had refused to restore the Factory cannon, and to pa.s.s their goods without a new _parwana_[125] from Murshidabad. It was therefore still very doubtful whether he would a.s.sist the English or the French at Dacca, and though the English obtained the _parwana_ they wanted early in May, on the 9th the Council at Calcutta sent them orders to do the best they could for their own security, and informed them they had sent an armed sloop to Luckipore to cover their retreat. They immediately sent down all the goods they could, but as matters became quieter again they soon resumed business, and appear to have had no further trouble.

It may be imagined that M. Courtin and his friends, knowing that the English had demanded the surrender of the French Factories, had a very uncomfortable experience all this time.[126] Unfortunately no Records of the French Factories in Bengal are now to be found, and I had despaired of obtaining any information about the expulsion from Dacca, when, in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris, I came on a MS.

ent.i.tled, "_Copy of a letter from M. Courtin from India, written to his wife, in which are given in detail the different affairs which he had with the Moors from the 22nd of June, 1757, the day of his evacuation of Dacca, to the 9th of March, 1758_."[127]

M. Courtin had married a Madame Direy, widow of a French Company's servant, and the letter shows she was fortunately in France at the time of her husband's troubles. As was natural, but inconveniently enough for us, Courtin does not think it necessary to trouble her with unintelligible and unp.r.o.nounceable Indian names. Where possible, I shall fill them in from the English Records, otherwise I shall interrupt the course of the letter as little as possible. It runs as follows:--

"Calcapur,[128] April 20, 1758.

"Word must have reached thee in France of the loss of Chandernagore, which was taken from us by the English on the 23rd of March, 1757, after eleven days' siege. I was then at Dacca, and expecting every day to see M.

Chevalier return from his journey to the King of a.s.sam.

Judge, my dear wife, of the chagrin and embarra.s.sment into which I was thrown by this deplorable event. The English had had no idea of attacking Chandernagore until they had recovered Calcutta from the Moors, taken the Moorish village at Hugli, and forced the Moors to agree to a most shameful peace. This was not, as thou wilt see, sufficient for them, for Siraj-ud-daula had offended them too deeply for them to stop when once they found themselves on a good road; but unfortunately we were an obstacle in the way of their vengeance, otherwise I believe they would have observed the neutrality which had been always so carefully maintained by the European nations in the country of the Ganges, in spite of all the wars which took place in Europe. Many of the French from Chandernagore--officers, Company's servants, and others--had taken refuge at Cossimbazar with M. Law, who formed there a party which opposed the English in various ways. The English, however, forced Siraj-ud-daula, against his true interest and in spite of his promise to protect us, to abandon us, and to make M. Law leave his Factory and go to Patna. This imprudent act was the ruin of the Prince and put the final touch to our misfortunes, whilst it has made the English masters of Bengal, and has filled their coffers with wealth.

"I held on at Dacca till the 22nd of June. I was troubled as little as was possible in such circ.u.mstances, owing, I think, to the grat.i.tude which the English felt for the services I had rendered them in Dacca the year before. I had all the more reason to think this was so because, after the misfortune which befell Chandernagore, they had often offered to secure to me all my effects and merchandise in Murshidabad [?]--they were worth a million--provided I made over to them the French Factory and all that belonged to the Company, and would myself leave for Pondicherry in the following October. They said I should not be considered a prisoner of war, and should not require to be exchanged.

"These were, no doubt, very good terms, and most advantageous to me; but should I not have been dishonoured for ever if I had had a soul so servile and base as to accept them? I would have been covered with ignominy in my own eyes, and without doubt in those of all the world. I therefore thought it my duty to reject them.

"Things were on this footing when, at the beginning of June, I learned that the English, having got rid of M.

Law, were marching upon Murshidabad with all their forces to achieve the destruction of a Prince who was already half ruined by his own timidity and cowardice, and still further weakened by the factions formed against him by the chief members of his own family--a Prince detested by every one for his pride and tyranny, and for a thousand dreadful crimes with which he had already soiled his reputation though he was barely twenty-five years old.

"I knew only too well what was preparing against him, and I was also most eager to find some honourable means of escape for myself. M. Chevalier's absence troubled me greatly, and I did not like to leave him behind me. At last he arrived on the 16th or 17th. I had taken the precaution to provide myself with a _parwana_, or pa.s.sport, signed by Siraj-ud-daula, allowing me to go where I pleased. That Prince had recalled M. Law to him, but too late, for I felt certain he could not rejoin him in time to save him or to check the progress of his enemies. I was in a hurry therefore to go and help to save him if that were possible, taking care, however, to choose a route by which I could escape if, as I thought probable, he should have succ.u.mbed beforehand to the efforts of the English, and the treason of his subjects.

"It was then the 22nd of June when I started with about 35 boats,[129] MM. Chevalier, Brayer [possibly a relation of the M. Brayer who commanded at Patna], Gourlade, the surgeon, and an Augustine Father, Chaplain of the Factory, 8 European soldiers, of whom several were old and past service, 17 topa.s.s gunners, 4 or 5 of the Company's servants, and about 25 or 30 peons.[130] There, my dear wife, is the troop with which thou seest me start upon my adventures.[131]

To these, however, should be added my Christian clerks, my domestics, and even my cook, all of whom I dressed and armed as soldiers to a.s.sist me in what I expected to be a losing game, and which, in fact, had results the most disastrous in the world for my personal interests.

"It was not till seven or eight days after I had set out with this fine troop that I learned there had been a battle at Pla.s.sey between the English and the Nawab, in which the latter had been defeated and forced to flee, and that Jafar Ali Khan, his maternal uncle,[132] had been enthroned in his place. This report, though likely enough as far as I could judge, did not come from a source so trustworthy that I could rely on it with entire faith. Accordingly I did not yet abandon the route which I had proposed to myself; in fact, I followed it for some days more, and almost as far as the mouth of the Patna River.[133] There I learned, beyond possibility of doubt, that Siraj-ud-daula had been captured, conducted to Murshidabad, and there ma.s.sacred; that he had just missed being rejoined by M. Law, who was coming to meet him, and could easily have done so if he had followed the instructions given him and had been willing to march only three hours longer; and that the English had sent a body of troops towards Patna to capture or destroy M. Law if possible."

We have seen in a previous chapter the real reasons why Law was unable to rejoin Siraj-ud-daula in time for the battle.

"I now saw that a junction with him had become impossible, unless I determined to run the most evident risk of losing my liberty and all I had."

It appears that Courtin had the Company's effects, as well as his own private property and that of his companions, on board his little fleet.

"This made me change my route immediately. The mountains of Tibet[134] appeared to me a safe and eminently suitable asylum until the arrival in the Ganges of the forces which we flattered ourselves were coming. I therefore directed my route in this direction, but found myself suddenly and unexpectedly so close to Murshidabad that for two days together we heard the sound of the guns fired in honour of the revolution which had taken place. It is easy to judge into what alarm this unexpected and disagreeable proximity threw me. However, we arrived safely, on the 10th of July, at the capital of the Raja of Dinajpur, who wished to oppose our pa.s.sage."

This was the Raja Ram Nath, whom Orme describes as "a Raja, who with much timidity, was a good man."

"We made it in spite of him, threatening to attack him if he showed any further intention of opposing us. I do not know what would have happened if he had had a little firmness, for we learned afterwards that he had always in his service a body of 5000 infantry and cavalry. The persons whom he sent to us had at first suggested that I should pretend I was English, a.s.suring me that by that means all difficulties would be removed; but I thought this trick too much beneath a man of honour for me to make use of it, and, in fact, I objected to pa.s.s for anything but what I really was.

"I found here a French soldier, who had been at the battle of Pla.s.sey, where the brave Sinfray,[135] at the head of 38 Frenchmen, had fought like a hero for a long time, and had retreated only at the order of Siraj-ud-daula, who, seeing himself betrayed and the battle lost, sent him word to cease fighting. This worthy gentleman afterwards took refuge in Birbhum, the Raja of which country betrayed him, and disgracefully handed him over to the English in October last."

Courtin is somewhat unfair to the Raja (apparently a Muhammadan, as he was called a.s.saduzama Muhammad),[136] for this Prince was an ally of the English, and had offered Clive the a.s.sistance of his forces before the battle of Pla.s.sey. It could be no treachery on his part to pick up fugitives from the battle, like Sinfray, and hand them over to his allies. I may as well quote one of the Raja's letters to Clive, received 28th October, 1757:--

"Before your letter arrived the French were going through, some woods in my country. I knew they were your enemies, therefore I ordered my people to surround them. The French being afraid, some said they were English, and some Dutch. In the meantime I received your letter that if I could apprehend them I should send them to you, therefore I have sent them. Surajah Dowlat has plundered my country so much, that there is hardly anything left in it."[137]

Courtin continues:--

"To return to my journey and my adventures. I now found myself outside of Bengal and in sight of the mountains of Tibet, a month having elapsed since my departure from Dacca. I was only two or three days distant from these mountains, and my intention, as thou hast seen above, was to go there; but I was prevented by the murmurs of my people, especially the boatmen, who already began to desert in small parties. Accordingly I accepted an offer made me on the part of the Raja of Sahibgunj, to give me a site for a fort, and to aid me with everything I might want. I descended the river again for a little, and near this site, which was on the river bank, I commenced a fort, but the thickness of the forest forced me to abandon it, and I entered a little river close by, which conducted me to a marsh, on the borders of which I found an elevated site admirably situated and in a very agreeable neighbourhood.[138] This belonged to the same Raja, and with his consent I again set to work, and that with such prompt.i.tude that in less than a month my fortress commenced to take form, and visibly progressed owing to the extraordinary efforts I made to complete it. It was triangular, with a bastion at each angle. At two of the angles I had found superb trees with very heavy foliage, and on the third I erected the mast of my boat and hoisted our flag. All three bastions had four embrasures, a fine entrance gate opening on the marsh, and a little open turret above, A small entrance gate led to the open country. The curtains were carefully pierced for musketry, and strengthened outside with a trellis work of bamboo, and finished off with banquettes on the ramparts. An excellent powder magazine was built in the same way, and, being situated in the interior of the fort, was quite safe from any accident.

"As I had brought workmen of all kinds with me, the work went on well, especially as the care of our health made us all industrious. I was not without cannon, and I mounted on our ramparts two Swedish guns, which afterwards proved our safety and preservation.[139] Also being provided with the requisites for making gunpowder, I very soon had nearly 3000 lbs. weight of very good quality.

"Hardly anything remained to complete my fortress, which I had named 'Bourgogne,' except to provide it with a glacis. It was already furnished with a market which was sufficiently flourishing, when to my misfortune I received the false information that our forces, which were said to be considerable, were ready to enter the Ganges, and that there was certain news of the arrival of a very strong squadron at Pondicherry.[140] On the 8th September there broke out at Purneah, and in the province of that name, a Evolution headed by a person named Hazir Ali Khan,[141] who, having seized the capital, at once wrote to me to join him, and a.s.sist him against the English and Jafar Ali Khan.[142]

"These two events made me stop everything else and devote myself entirely to getting my boats out of the little river by which I had entered the marsh, and which was now almost quite dried up. I succeeded in doing so after some time, by means of ditches which I cut from the marsh, but this took me more than a month and considerable labour, as I was about two leagues from the great river. To complete my misfortunes, my troop was attacked by sickness, which raged with a violence such as I had scarcely ever seen. It cost me nine soldiers, of whom three were Europeans. The latter were luckily replaced some days after by the same number who joined me.[143] Poor M. Brayer and M. Gourlade had been during almost the whole campaign in the most pitiable condition, especially the former, who I thought a thousand times must have died. As for me, the powders _d'Aillot_ preserved me from the pestilential air, and cured me from the effects of a fall in my _bajarow_,[144] caused by the clumsiness of my boatmen. I narrowly escaped breaking my ribs and back.

"Before quitting Fort Bourgogne I must tell thee, my dear wife, that I often played there a very grand role. I was called the 'Fringuey Raja,' or 'King of the Christians.'

I was often chosen as arbiter amongst the little princes in my neighbourhood, who sent me amba.s.sadors. My reputation spread so wide, and the respect that I gained was so great, that the King of Tibet did not disdain to honour me with an emba.s.sy of nearly eight hundred persons, whom I entertained for nine whole days, and whose chiefs I dismissed with presents suitable to their rank, their king, our nation, and the idea which I wished to leave behind me in this country of the European name. The presents which were made me consisted of five horses, some bags of scent, three or four pieces of china, pieces of gilt paper, and a sabre like those used by the Bhutiyas, or people of Tibet, who are men as strong and robust as those of Bengal are feeble.

Though pagans like the latter, they eat all kinds of things, and live almost like the Tartars, from whom they are descended.

They have no beards, and are clothed in a fashion which is good enough, but which looks singular. They are very dirty. The complexion of those whom I saw was very dark, but I know it is not the same in the interior of the country and in the mountains, where all are as fair as the Chinese, who are said to be their neighbours. I took some trouble to form an alliance and to make a party amongst them. They appeared very willing, but I soon had occasion to convince myself that not only were they not fitting persons for my designs, but also that they were playing with me.

It is not that they do not make raids upon the lower country, but they make these only in the cold weather, always withdrawing at the commencement of the hot, without trying to make any permanent conquests.

"There, then, my reign is finished, or nearly so, for the good news that I continued to receive (though always without foundation, as I learned afterwards), joined to the entreaties of Hazir All Khan and to the unhealthy air which continued to decimate my poor little troop, induced me at last to abandon my fort, to embark again upon my boats, and to reapproach Bengal, from which I had hitherto been travelling away. The second day after my departure was marked by a very annoying accident, namely the loss of one of my largest boats, on which was my library and a quant.i.ty of my effects. These were quickly drawn out of the water, but were none the less ruined for the Company and for me.

From that moment commence my misfortunes. The sixth day--I had pa.s.sed three in the salvage of the effects on my boat--I received a _pattamar_ (messenger), who informed me that the English and the troops of Jafar Ali Khan were at Purneah, from which they had chased Hazir Ali Khan and wholly destroyed his faction."

From Broome we see that this was in the middle of December, 1757. It was now that Clive first heard what Courtin was attempting. He immediately sent orders direct, and also through the Nawab, to Kasim Ali Khan, Faujdar of Rungpore, and to Raja Ram Nath of Dinajpur, to seize the French.

"It was almost impossible for me to reascend the river because of the dry banks and the strong currents which would have put my boats in danger. However, I found myself in the country of Rungpore, which was a dependency of Bengal. I determined nevertheless to remain where I was, flattering myself the English would not come to look for me, nor the Nawab or the ruler of the province think of disturbing themselves about me, as I was doing no harm in the country, and as I was very strict in observing proper order and discipline. I was so confident on this latter head that I did not think of throwing up now entrenchments, and occupied myself only with hunting and walking whilst I awaited the arrival of the French forces. However, one day, towards the middle of January, a secret rumour came to me that Kasim Ali Khan, Faujdar of Rungpore, was coming to attack me. I sent out scouts, who reported that all was tranquil in his town, and that, far from wishing to come and look for a quarrel, he was in fear lest I should march against his town, which was three days' journey from where I was.

Doubtless my men deceived me or did not take the trouble to go to Rungpore, for on the 15th of the same month, at 3 p.m., on the opposite side of the river to that on which we were, there appeared a body of soldiers, cavalry and infantry, about 600 in number, who approached so near my fleet that I no longer doubted the correctness of the first advice which had been given me. I ordered a discharge of three guns on this troop, which was so well directed that the enemy were forced to take themselves off and to encamp a little further from me. Next day the commander sent me a present of some fruit, and an intimation that he only wished to see me quit his country. He knew I could not do this without risk, and, according to the custom of the infidels, he gave me the strongest possible a.s.surances of my safety and tranquillity. I took care not to trust to them; I was then, as I said above, without entrenchments and without defence, so in the evening I set to work at surrounding myself with a ditch, the mud taken out of which would serve me for embrasures. I was short of provisions, which made me very anxious, and I was still more so when I learned that the enemy were trying to cut me off from provisions on all sides, and that their intention was to capture me by famine or treachery. Their number quickly increased to 3000 men, of whom a part came over to my side of the river, and hara.s.sed my people whenever they went out for provisions. This forced me to detach. MM.

Chevalier and Gourlade, with about 10 men, some peons and boatmen, against one of their little camps, where there were about 150 men, foot and horse. Our men received their fire, stormed the camp, and destroyed it after having put every one to flight. There was not a single person wounded on our side. This little advantage gave me time to make a good provision of rice and other things in the villages near my entrenchments. I cleared out these villages and drove out the inhabitants, but I was still in need of a quant.i.ty of things necessary to life. To procure these, I tried to frighten the enemy by cannonading their chief camp on the other side of the river. This only resulted in making them withdraw altogether beyond the reach of my guns, not with the idea of going away, but of starving me out, and, as I learned later, to give time for a reinforcement of artillery which they were expecting to arrive. They had already 4 or 5 guns, but their calibre was small compared with mine, as I was able to see from the b.a.l.l.s which fell in my camp when it was entrenched only on the land side.

"The 19th of January, early in the morning, I sent across the river a number of workmen, supported by a little detachment under M. Gourlade, to cut down a grove of bamboos which masked my guns, and to burn down some houses which were also in their way. I forbade them to engage the enemy, and all went well until some topa.s.ses and peons advanced too far towards the enemy's camp, and I heard discharges so loud and frequent on both sides, that I ordered a retreat to be beaten in my entrenchments, to make my people recross the river. I fired my guns continually to facilitate this and to cover the movement. In this skirmish I had only one soldier wounded, and I do not know whether the enemy had any losses. This day more than 1500 shots were fired on both sides. Some of the guns which the enemy brought up troubled us greatly, as we were not entrenched on the water side. Several b.a.l.l.s fell at my side or pa.s.sed over my head.

This determined me to set all my people at work the next night with torches, to put us under cover on this side also."

[It was apparently this fight which Kasim Ali reported to Clive on the 24th of January:--

"I wrote expressly to my people to go and take them"

(the French) "and they went immediately and found them ready to fight. On both sides there were cannon and _jenjalls_.[145] A _nulla_[146] was between them, which the French crost, and advancing upon my people, fought with great intrepidity: but luckily, three or four of them being killed, they retired into their fort."[147]]

"The Moors saw, from my manoeuvre, how important it was for them to seize the ground which I had intended to clear, and, contrary to my expectation, established themselves on it the same evening without my being able to hinder them, keeping themselves always well hidden behind the bamboos, where they had nothing to fear from my artillery, and still less from my musketry. Like me they worked at night, and, having as many prisoners or other workmen at their command as they wanted, I saw, with regret, next morning the progress which they had made opposite me. I could not dislodge them without risking everything. Weak as I was, I thought it wiser not to hazard anything more in sorties, but to hold myself always on the defensive.

"Sheikh Faiz Ulla (that was the name of the Moorish general) sent me one of his men next day with a present and proposals of peace, the first condition of which was, of course, that I should quit his country, and as, since the dry weather had set in, a very large and dangerous bank had formed in the river seven or eight leagues below me, he offered me one or two thousand workmen to a.s.sist in making a pa.s.sage for my boats. The shocking treachery used by the Moors being well known to me, I refused to accept his offers except on his furnishing me with hostages for his good faith. He first proposed himself, but with such a strong escort that it was not difficult to see that it was a trap which he was setting for me, so as to seize and ma.s.sacre us. After many debates between our emissaries, he consented to come to my _bajarow_, he and his servants, and that all of them should serve as hostages until I was quite out of the domains of his master.

"I loyally agreed to this arrangement and made preparations in consequence, but at 7 in the morning on the 23rd of January, the day I expected the hostages, I was awakened by a cannon-shot quickly followed by a second, the ball of which pierced the _rezai_[148] at the foot of my bed from side to side, and made a great noise. For a long time I had been accustomed to sleep fully dressed, so I was able to go out quickly and give orders in the entrenchments. The treachery and perfidy of the enemy were too manifest; nevertheless, I forbade a single shot to be fired with musket or cannon, and simply recommended my people to be on their guard on the land side. The enemy kept up a continuous and very lively fire until 4 o'clock in the evening. I considered that it would be useless for me to reply, and wished to see how far they would push their insolence. That day we picked up 40 cannon-b.a.l.l.s, and our whole loss was one boatman slightly wounded in the leg. From 4 o'clock till night the enemy's fire was continued, but at long intervals. It began again the next morning. I suffered this as on the previous day for a couple of hours, at the end of which. I fired several shots and silenced it. My firing seemed to trouble the enemy more than I expected it would. One of my boats was sunk by a cannon-ball, several were pierced through, and my _rezai_, which used to serve me as a coat, was much damaged.

"The succeeding days pa.s.sed much in the same manner until the 3rd of February, when, on the same bank and to the north above my fleet, I saw a new entrenchment, which had been thrown up during the preceding night. Its batteries enfiladed mine along their whole length. It was necessary either to risk everything by making a sortie in order to destroy it, or to arrange terms. I determined on the latter, which appeared to me all the more necessary, as I was beginning to be in want of everything, and as I had just received letters which deprived me of all hope of the arrival of our forces in Bengal until April or May. I therefore informed Sheikh Faiz Ulla that I was ready to enter upon negotiations, and the same day he sent me some of his people, with whom I agreed to leave my entrenchments and go down the river. I consented to do this without hostages, but, that it might be done in security, I promised them a sum of money for themselves as well as for their general.

This arrangement being agreed to by Sheikh Faiz Ulla, he sent me word that, in order that he might not appear to betray his master, it would be necessary for me next morning to open the fiercest fire possible on his camp; that he would reply; that on both sides it should be with the intention of doing as little hurt as possible; that I should pretend it was to force him to give me a pa.s.sport, which he would send me in the evening; and that I should then send him the money I had promised. All these precautions were only to a.s.sist his rascality, and they appeared to me all the more surprising, as he had already repeatedly informed me that he had his master's permission to give me a pa.s.sport, and to let me go where I pleased. But of what are these Moors not capable? Without being blind to the continuance of his perfidy, I flattered myself that it might happen that he would not trouble me on my march when he had received my money.

"However this might be, my cannon fired from 10 in the morning till 3 in the evening. Our people, perceiving that the enemy were firing in earnest, did not spare them any more than they spared us, and that which was at first, on our side, only a pretence, finally became serious. At 4 o'clock I received an envoy, who brought me the pa.s.sport, and to whom I paid the money. He a.s.sured me that I might embark my artillery the next morning, and set out the day after without the slightest apprehension of being interfered with, I took my precautions, and, in fear of treachery, kept on sh.o.r.e my two Swedish guns. At last, at seven in the morning, my boats started, having on board only the sick and helpless, and I set out by land with my two guns and the rest of my troop, at the head of which I put myself."

This triumph of time and treachery was reported by Sheikh Faiz Ulla's master, Kasim Ali, to Clive, on the 14th of February:[149]--

"I before wrote you that I had sent forces to fight the French, that they had a fort and strong intrenchments, and that we had a battle with them.... ever since I wrote you last we have been fighting, my people have behaved well, and I make no doubt but you have heard it from other people.

G.o.d knows what pains and trouble I have taken in this affair. The French being shut up in their fort and undergoing much fatigue by always fighting, and likewise being in want of provisions were obliged to run away in their boats by night, and went towards the Dinajpur country.

My people being always ready to fight followed them....