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volunteering in india

in their blood, or bleeding to death, dragged themselves up into sitting postures, and with revolvers in hand watched the doubtfnl fight; and others again, having escaped severe injuries and lost their horses, were standing over their helpless comrades, and shooting down the scattered Sepoys as they approached within revolver range of that gory spot. Indeed, in the tumult and hurry that prevailed, the black legs of these red-handed desperadoes were trampling over the bodies of our fallen as they rushed onwards to rejoin their main body, from which they had been cut off by the violent shock of the charge.

While all this was going on, the undaunted remnant — roused to almost superhuman efforts — having ridden into and over the mutineers, drew their revolvers, and an unrelenting and indiscriminate carnage ensued. And now the left squadron, noticing their comrades hard pressed, also raced into the mêlée; and then the clanking of steel, the rattling of musketry, the yells of the mutineers — which might possibly have been heard a mile off — supplemented by a wild chaos of sabres, bayonets, revolvers, and muskets, all mingled in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter. No quarter was sought, nor offered. In fact, these blood-stained ferocious demons had apparently determined to fight out their cause (?) or die in the attempt; and so fierce was their resistance that all the gunners to a man were killed and cut to pieces, fighting in defence of their gun, while the general slaughter was “whole-