in close proximity, surrounded us on all sides, and which, as soon as the siege began, were filled with the enemy’s sharp-shooters, from whose ceaseless fire the garrison suffered more than from any other cause.
53. The gunpowder, which was brought in from the Machhi Bhawan, had been buried, before the commencement of the siege, in the lower Residency grounds,[1] on the east, outside our line of defences. This spot was afterwards found to be too exposed as, on 8rd July, the enemy had got near to it and set fire to some fodder stacks and tents which were close by. Lieutenant Aitken of the 18th N. I., who commanded the treasury and Baillie Guard Gateway, with a few others of his party, went out and cut down the tents, though a bright moon was shining and the spot was commanded, ata short distance, by the enemy’s loopholes and the flames made every object more clearly visible. During the siege all the powder-barrels were exhumed and removed to the Begam Kothie, within the intrenchment, and deposited in the cellar there, where it was protected from the shells of the enemy. The treasure (23 lacs) buried in front of the Residency, east of the site on which the Lawrence Memorial now stands, was, however, allowed to remain undisturbed.
54. On the morning of June 28th, 1857, Major Banks, the Commissioner, and Captain Carnegie, the City Magistrate, were deputed, with a military force, to secure and bring into the Residency, from the King’s Treasury in the Kaiser Bagh, the large amount of State jewelry, value diat no less than £800,000. This included a richly-ornamented throne, crowns studded with gems, and a variety of necklaces, armlets, rings and native ornaments. These were brought in late on the same day.+ The cases in which the jewelry was found were decayed with age, and fell to pieces when it was attempted to remove them. During the siege the room in which these ‘precious ‘articles were kept was broken into and a large quantity of jewels were stolen.
55. By the 26th June many of the mutinous corps were: known to have assembled at Bara Banki, a station 20-miles east of Lucknow. Great excitement prevailed, in consequence, among the wealthier classes in the city, who were afraid of being plundered by the rebels. On
- ↑ In the beginning of July this was abandoned as untenable. It was neutral ground during the siege until re-oceupied after General Havelock’s entry. The carts containing this jewelry arrived so late that they could not be unloaded that night, and as the Residency was invested from the morning of the 30th, the carts remained unladen for several days. After we had recovered from the first shock of the investment, the cats were unladen and the jewelry placed in a room in the main building of the Residency.
