Three Frenchmen in Bengal Part 11

They can go no other way but through the Dinajpur country.

I have therefore wrote expressly to the Rajah to stop the pa.s.sage."

About this time, though Courtin does not mention it till later, he began to see what the inevitable end must be. He could not cut his way through to join Law, and with the whole country in arms against him he was too weak to hold out for any length of time. Accordingly he sent messengers secretly to Mr. Luke Scrafton, at Murshidabad. It was Scrafton, as I have said above, who wrote to Courtin for a.s.sistance when the Nawab of Dacca wanted to take their Factory and imprison the English. Courtin now wrote to him to save him from falling into the hands of the natives, and, on the 18th of February, Scrafton wrote to the Select Committee at Calcutta for the necessary permission.[150]

We now rejoin Courtin:--

"What was my surprise, at the end of an hour and a half, to see that we were followed by a body of four or five hundred men, with two guns drawn by oxen. I pretended not to notice, and continued my march, but at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, seeing this troop approach, within range of my pieces, I pointed them at the Moors, and put my force in a position of defence. Their rascality followed its usual course, and they sent me word that I had nothing to fear, that they would not march so close to me any more, and that they followed me only to preserve the peace and to hinder my people, especially the stragglers, from committing any disorder. I received this excuse for what it was worth, and pretended to be content with, it, seeing clearly that they were looking for an opportunity to surprise and destroy us.

"Several accidents happening to the boats of the rearguard prevented my troop and myself from rejoining the main body of the fleet till far on in the night. I found it anch.o.r.ed in the most disadvantageous position possible, and in the morning I saw at a distance of one-eighth of a league the same body of troops, that had followed me the day before, establishing and settling itself. A moment later I learned that Sheikh Faiz Ulla was on the opposite bank with his army and his artillery, that he intended to wait for me in a narrow place called Choquova,[151] at the foot of which my boats must pa.s.s, and that he was diligently making entrenchments there. My embarra.s.sment was then extreme. I found myself surrounded on all sides; I was without any provisions, dest.i.tute of the most necessary articles of life. In this perplexity I saw only the most cruel alternatives, either to surrender or to fight to the death so as to perish with our arms in our hands. The latter appeared to be less dreadful than the former.

"After repeated consultations, we determined it would be best to risk the pa.s.sage of the fleet by Choquova. We thought that possibly we should find provisions there, and that certainly the position could not be worse (for defence) than that in which we then found ourselves. The pa.s.sage was carried out in three hours' time without confusion or disorder, by means of my Swedish guns on the boat which led the van. What was our delight to find, not only a better position than that which we had quitted, but one that was almost completely entrenched by nature, and had villages full of rice to the right and left of it.

"Next day I collected provisions in abundance, cleared the country round for a quarter of a league, and did my best to ameliorate my condition. The enemy were disconcerted by my boldness. They pretended as usual, in order to deceive me the more easily, that they were not surprised at my march.

They feared rightly that if I commenced new entrenchments all their trouble would begin again. Besides, I had completely protected myself from the possibility of surprise. _Pourparlers_ for an accommodation were renewed and lasted three days, at the end of which it was agreed that I should continue my march, that two hostages should be given me for my safety, and that the army with its guns should retire from Choquova, and should be sent a long way ahead across country, and as, at half a league from this place, the river was no longer navigable because of the bank which had formed in it, I should be supplied with people to facilitate my pa.s.sage. Thou wilt notice, my dear wife, that in all the negotiations I had for various reasons and on several occasions proposed to suspend all hostilities until an answer could be received from Jafar All Khan and the English, to whom I said I would write to come to some accommodation with them, offering to send my letter open. This was repeatedly refused, but the refusal did not prevent my asking for the honours of war. My letters were despatched secretly by my own messengers.

"At last, on the 23rd, I quitted, though with regret (always expecting treachery), my new position, and approached the shallow or bank mentioned. It was night when I arrived. In spite of this I could understand, from the dreadful noise made by the waters, that I should have difficulty in traversing this dangerous pa.s.sage even with the a.s.sistance promised me. I was only too well convinced of the truth of this when day broke, and I saw that I had again been betrayed. There was nothing to be seen of the work which the Moors had engaged to do to lessen the difficulty of the pa.s.sage. However, I did not hesitate to put out with my lighter boats, firmly resolved, if they arrived safely, to sacrifice the larger, with all that was upon them, to my safety, and thus to effect my retreat during the night.

With the exception of two, which were lost, they all arrived safely. During this piece of work, which took up the whole day, I dissimulated my intentions in the presence of my hostages, merely letting them see I was somewhat surprised to find that, contrary to the promise given, there were no workmen, but that the army, which ought to have been withdrawn, was still close to us. Their excuses were vague and unsatisfactory.

One of them, who, no doubt, knew the enemy's plans, asked permission to go to their camp, promising to come back the next day. Though his demand accorded with my designs, I agreed to it only after much persuasion, warning him not to break his _parole_ to return the next morning very early. This he swore to do. As a rule these people think nothing of an oath. I did not intend to wait for him, which his comrade clearly perceived, for, seeing that he himself had been sacrificed by his master's perfidy, he approved of the resolution I had taken to set out by night, and swore that he had acted in good faith, and was ignorant of the treachery that had been concocted. 'You can,' he said to me, 'have my throat cut. You would be justified in doing so; but I will not quit you, even if you give me permission.

If I went to my own people, they would say that I had disclosed to you the trick which you have yourself discovered, and would certainly show me less mercy than I have experienced from you.' After this I contented myself with having him closely watched.

"Orders being given to the remaining boats to start by night, I mounted on horseback to carry certain necessaries to my detachment on land, which was already a little in advance and had crossed a small river with the guns. I had only three blacks with me, and none of us knew the way. The night was dark, and we wandered from it. I narrowly escaped being drowned with my horse, and at last we lost ourselves entirely. If we had been met by any hors.e.m.e.n, nothing would have been easier than for them to capture me, our arms and cartridges being all soaked with water. Luckily I heard our drums beating, and this told us in what direction we could safely go.

"My intention was to march by land with my troops and guns. They objected to this, as I was wet to the skin and had a cold on the chest, which hardly allowed me to speak; so I went back to the boats, though with much regret, and resolved to manage so as not to lose sight of my detachment.

I was in constant anxiety about the latter till 8 o'clock the next day, when we all came together, except one soldier topa.s.s, who, by his own fault, had remained on a big boat which we had abandoned, and a _manjhi_,[152] who was drowned in one of the two little ones which had sunk.

"Finding myself in the territory of the Raja of Dinajpur, I imagined I had nothing to do with any one except him, and that Sheikh Faiz Ulla and his army would not think of following me through a country which, though tributary to the Nawab of Bengal, still in no way belonged to Faiz Ulla's master. The hostage who remained with me, and to whom I spoke about the matter,[153] did not altogether dissuade me from this idea, but counselled me to continue my march and to get farther away, which I did till 6 o'clock in the evening. What was my surprise when, at 9 o'clock, my scouts reported that the enemy were pursuing me, and were not more than a league away at the most. I could not advance during the night for fear of running on the banks or shallows with which the river was filled, and which might cause the loss of my boats and of my people. Accordingly, I did not set out till the morning, and always remained myself in the rear (of the fleet). I had stopped to wait for my land detachment and the guns, and was at some distance from the rest of my little fleet, when, about half-past nine, I heard several musket shots fired. In an instant I was surrounded by the enemy. M. Chevalier, who conducted the land detachment, fortunately perceived my situation, and, seeing my danger, brought up the two guns and fired about 20 shots, which disengaged me, and gave me time to regain my boats by swift rowing. I had with me only Pedro and the Moorish hostage mentioned before. Then I landed with MM. Brayer, Gourlade, and in general every one who was strong enough to defend himself. At the same time I ordered the boats to go on. In this skirmish our loss was only one man slightly wounded in the ear by a musket-ball.

"My little fleet _en route_, we marched by land on the bank opposite to that on which was, the main body of the enemy, who had only cavalry, which we did not trouble ourselves about It was not the same, however, with the boats. At the end of an hour the boatmen abandoned them in a sudden panic, and hurried tumultuously to join me.

When my people were collected, I would have tried to go and recapture my boats, which the enemy had not delayed to seize; but not only would this have been a rash undertaking with so small a force against 3000 men, but also there was a little river which formed an island between my boats and me, and so prevented the pa.s.sage of my guns This determined me to abandon the boats, and to retreat to Dinajpur, where I hoped to find an asylum with the Raja whilst I waited for a reply to my letters to Jafar All Khan and the English. We marched till 1 o'clock in the afternoon without being hara.s.sed or disquieted--no doubt because during this time Sheikh Faiz Ulla and his people were occupied in plundering the boats. We were now not very far from Dinajpur, when we met a body of the Raja's cavalry, the commander of which begged me to take another road so as not to pa.s.s through his town. Accordingly he gave me a guide, with whom we marched till half-past five, when we arrived at a great _gunge_ (market place) at the extremity of Dinajpur. There they lodged us in a great thatched building.

The want of provisions had caused us to suffer very much in this retreat."

This was the battle of Cantanagar. Kasim Ali described it as follows to Clive:--

"My people and the French had a battle, and the latter finding themselves much, beat, they run away, and left their boats. They went to Oppoor" "and begged protection of the Kajah's people.... Bahadur Sing came and told my people to go a little further off, and they would deliver them up, but they put us off from day to day."[154]

About the time he was writing this, Clive was writing to say that he had received Courtin's offer of surrender, and that Kasim Ali was to cease hostilities and allow the French to come to him with their boats and necessaries. Kasim Ali had received orders to the same effect from Mr. Scrafton, who informed him he was sending an officer to accept their surrender. This did not however prevent Kasim Ali from trying to get hold of them, which accounts for the following letter from Raja Ram Nath to Clive:[155]--

"The French are now coming from another country by boats to go towards Muxadavad, and Kasim Ali Khan's people have followed them, out of his own country into mine. They have left their boats among Kasim Ali Khan's people and are now travelling to Jangepors" (? Tangepur).

"When I heard this I sent people with all expedition to look after them, and I now hear that they have surrounded them.

The French want the Nawab's and your orders and _call for justice_[156]

from you. They have hoisted the Nawab's[157] and your colours, have put on your cloaths (?) and want to go to Muxadavad. Kasim Ali Khan's people want to carry them to Rungpore but they refuse to go, and say that if one of us is taken they will destroy themselves.[158] I am a poor Zemindar who pays revenues[159] and ready to obey your orders. If the Rungpore people should take them by force, and they should kill themselves, it would be a troublesome affair."

To return to Courtin's letter.

"The Raja of Dinajpur did not fail to be embarra.s.sed by the favour which he had shown to us. Fear was the only motive which influenced him. He sent word to me to depart by night under an escort of 200 of his people, who would conduct me to Murshidabad. I was very nearly accepting his suggestion, but the hunger and thirst, from which we suffered greatly, prevented me. So I postponed giving him a final answer till the next morning, and then, after full reflection, decided not to move from the place to which. I had been conducted until I received an answer to the letters sent to Murshidabad. I thought this all the wiser, as I was informed that nothing would induce my enemies to approach or attack me in my asylum.[160] The place was so retired and so well provided with storehouses, that I found there a greater appearance of security than in the open country or the escort offered by the Raja, as his men were subordinate to the same Prince as the people who composed the army of Sheikh Faiz Ulla, and were likely enough to abandon me or to join my enemies in overwhelming me. My conjectures were well founded, as, several days after, this same Raja, prompted by Sheikh Faiz Ulla, sent me word that he could not answer for what might happen to me if I were attacked; that his troops, being subject to Murshidabad like those of Kasim All Khan, could not support me, nor fire on the latter. Finally he sent a certain priest of his faith, a grave man, who came to suggest to us that our best course was to leave Dinajpur and gain the open country, otherwise we were lost. He said that he knew for certain that if I were so obstinate as to persist in wishing to remain there, orders had been given to attack us, cut our throats, and send our heads to Murshidabad. This person wished to terrify us so as to rid the Raja of us, as he was dying with fright lest war should be made in the very heart of his town. I replied that I was resolved to defend myself against any one who attacked me, to set fire to everything I found within my reach, to kill as many people as I could, and to die on my guns when I had used up all my ammunition; that this was also the intention of my companions, who preferred to die thus, like brave men, rather than to be exposed to the ignominies and indignities that we should undergo if we allowed ourselves to be made prisoners by the people of Kasim All Khan. The timid Raja, threatened by both parties, found himself in the utmost embarra.s.sment, for Sheikh Faiz Ulla, at the gates of his town, put, as it were, his country under contribution, and demanded from him, with all imaginable insolence, that he should deliver us up to him, a thing which the Raja found difficult to do.

"Some days pa.s.sed in this way, during which we had frequent alarms, but the letters I received from Murshidabad filled every one with perplexity. The English sent me people on their own account. One of my private friends,[161]

whom I had been so fortunate as to oblige on a similar occasion, wrote me not to trouble myself about my boats or my effects, but to come at once to him, and he would see that they restored or paid for my property, and that they gave me all that I might need. The orders received by Sheikh Faiz Ulla and the Raja at the same time, ordered the one to leave me in peace and the other to furnish me with everything I wanted. This put my mind in a condition of serenity to which it had long been a stranger, and threw my enemies into much confusion. They proposed that I should resume possession of my boats. I knew, with absolute certainty, that they had been half looted, still I accepted them on condition they were brought to Dinajpur. They did not wish, to do this; but next morning after reflection they consented, when, in my turn, I declined, and asked only for provisions and other things necessary for my journey.

This they had the harshness to refuse, doubtless because they thought that I, being dest.i.tute of everything, would have to go down by whatever route they pleased. I would not trust them in anything, fearing treachery.

"At last, without linen, without clothes, except what we had on our bodies, on the 1st of March, the seventeenth day after our retreat[162] we set out with our arms and our two Swedish guns to go to Murshidabad to the English, from whom I had demanded the honours of war."

We learn from the correspondence between Mr. Scrafton and Clive, that Drake, the cowardly Governor of Calcutta, very naturally could not understand what was meant by this claim to the honours of war.[163]

"My guns were conducted by land by a small detachment, the command of which I gave to M. Chevalier, and we embarked on some small boats belonging to the Raja, in which we had hardly room to move.

"I was not yet at the end of my troubles, for on the 3rd of March, after dinner, as I was getting back into my boat, one of the boatmen, wishing to put down a gun, managed to let it off, and sent a bullet through my left shoulder. It pa.s.sed through the clavicle between the sinew and the bone. Luckily the blow was broken by a b.u.t.ton which the bullet first struck; still it pa.s.sed almost completely through the shoulder and lodged under the skin, which had to be opened behind the shoulder to extract it and also the wad.

However unfortunate this wound was, I ought to be very thankful to G.o.d that it was so safely directed, and for the further good fortune of finding with one of my people sufficient ointment for the surgeon, who was quite dest.i.tute of all necessaries, to dress my shoulder until the ninth day after, when we arrived at Murshidabad.[164] This wound caused me much suffering for the first few days, but, thanks to the Lord, in thirty-two or thirty-three days it was quite healed and without any bad effects.

"We rested ourselves from our fatigue till the 20th at my friend's house, when, with his concurrence and in response to their offers, I went to the Dutch gentlemen at Cossimbazar, where M. Vernet, their chief and an old friend of mine, received us with the greatest kindness. It is from their Settlement that I write to thee, my dear wife. Until the ships sail for England I shall continue to write daily, and tell thee everything that is of interest.[165]

"August 10, 1758.

"My dear wife, I resume my narrative to tell thee that my boats have been restored by the English, as well as all the goods that had not been plundered by Sheikh Faiz Ulla and his people, except the munitions of war. Still, so much of the merchandise, goods and silver, has disappeared that I am ruined for ever, unless the English, who have promised to cause everything to be restored, are able to make the Moors give them up. The English have at length decided on our fate in a way altogether honourable to us. We are not prisoners of war, and so we are not subject to exchange; but we are bound by certain conditions, which they think necessary to their security, and which only do me honour. What has flattered me even more is that the two Swedish guns which I had with me on my campaign have actually been given to me as a present by the commander of the English troops, who is also Governor of Calcutta, with the most complimentary expressions."

Courtin had written to Clive, asking permission to go down to Pondicherry. Clive replied on the 15th of July, 1758, granting permission. His letter concludes:--

"I am at this moment sending an order to the Captain Commandant of our troops to restore to you your two guns.

I am charmed at this opportunity of showing you my appreciation of the way in which you have always behaved to the English, and my own regard for your merit."[166]

Courtin continues:--

"Saved from so many perils and sufficiently fortunate to have won such sensible marks of distinction from our enemies, ought not this, my dear wife, to make me hope that the gentlemen of the French Company will do their utmost to procure me some military honour, in order to prove to the English that my nation is as ready as theirs to recognize my services?[167]

"Now, my dear wife, I must end this letter so that it may be ready for despatch. For fear of its being lost I will send in the packet another letter for thee.

"Do not disquiet thyself regarding my health. Thanks to G.o.d I am now actually pretty well. I dare not talk to thee of the possibility of our meeting. Circ.u.mstances are not favourable for thee to make another voyage to the Indies.

That must depend upon events, thy health, peace, and wishes, which, in spite of my tender longing for thee, will always be my guide.

"If the event of war has not been doubly disastrous to me, thou shouldst have received some small remittances, which I have sent, and of which I have advised thee in duplicate and triplicate. If the decrees of the Lord, after my having endured so many misfortunes and sufferings, have also ordained my death before I am in a position to provide what concerns thee, have I not a right to hope that all my friends will use their influence to induce the Company not to abandon one who will be the widow of two men who have served it well, and with all imaginable disinterestedness?

"For the rest I repeat that, thanks to G.o.d, I am fairly well.

"I kiss thee, etc., etc."

One would be glad to be a.s.sured that Courtin re-established his fortune. If he is, as I suppose, the Jacques Ignace Courtin, who was afterwards _Conseiller au Conseil des Indes_, we may be satisfied he did so; but French East India Company Records are a hopeless chaos at the present moment, and all that one can extract from the English Records is evidence of still further suffering.

From Murshidabad or Cossimbazar, Courtin went down to Chandernagore, whence the majority of the French inhabitants had already been sent to the Madras Coast. The Fort had been blown up, and the private houses were under sentence of destruction, for the English had determined to destroy the town, partly in revenge for the behaviour of Lally, who, acting under instructions from the French East India Company, had shown great severity to the English in Southern India, partly because they did not think themselves strong enough to garrison Chandernagore as well as Calcutta, and feared the Moors would occupy it if they did not place troops there, and partly because they dreaded its restoration to France--which actually happened--when peace was made. At any rate Courtin found the remnants of his countrymen in despair, and in 1759 he wrote a letter[168] to Clive and the Council of Calcutta, from which I quote one or two paragraphs:--

"With the most bitter grief I have received advice of the sentence you have pa.s.sed on the French Settlement at Chandernagore, by which all the buildings, as well of the Company as of private persons, are to be utterly demolished.

"Humane and compa.s.sionate as you are, Sirs, you would be sensibly affected--were your eyes witnesses to it as mine have been--by the distress to which this order has reduced the hearts of those unhappy inhabitants who remain in that unfortunate place, particularly if you knew that there is nothing left to the majority of them beyond these houses, on whose destruction you have resolved. If I may believe what I hear, the motive which incites you is that of reprisal for what has happened at Cuddalore and Madras: it does not become me to criticize either the conduct of M. Lally, our general, who, by all accounts, is a man very much to be respected by me, or your reasons, which you suppose sufficient.

Granting the latter to be so, permit me, Sirs, to address myself to your generosity and humanity, and those admirable qualities, so universally esteemed by mankind, will encourage me to take the liberty to make certain representations.

"All upbraidings are odious, and nothing is more just than the French proverb which says, to remind a person of favours done him cancels the obligation. G.o.d forbid, Sirs, I should be guilty of this to you or your nation by reminding you for a moment, that these houses, now condemned by you, served you as an asylum in 1756, and that the owners, whom you are now reducing to the greatest distress and are plunging into despair, a.s.sisted you to the utmost of their power, and alleviated your misfortunes as much as they were able. But what am I saying? Your nation is too polished to need reminding of what is just. Therefore excuse my saying that this reason alone is sufficient to cancel the law of retaliation which you have resolved to execute, and to make you revoke an order which, I am sure, you could not have given without much uneasiness of mind. I cast myself at your feet, imploring, with the most ardent prayers, that compa.s.sion, which I flatter myself I perceive in your hearts, for these poor creatures, whom you cannot without remorse render miserable. If you really, Sirs, think I too have had the happiness to be of some use to you and your nation, whilst Chief at Dacca, and that I have rendered you some services, I only beg that you would recollect them for one moment, and let them induce you to grant the favour I request for my poor countrymen. I shall then regard it as the most happy incident in my life, and shall think myself ten thousand times more indebted to you.

"If, Sirs, you have absolutely imperative reasons for reprisal, change, if you please, the object of them. I offer myself a willing victim, if there must be one, and, if blood were necessary, I should think myself too happy to offer mine a sacrifice. But as these barbarous methods are not made use of in nations so civilized as ours, I have one last offer to make, which is to ransom and buy all the private houses at Chandernagore, for which I will enter into whatever engagements you please, and will give you the best security in my power."