MAHRATTA EMPIRE.

25

Governor-general. This, as Colonel Wellesley observed at the time, might be an act of justice to the latter, but to himself it was a serious injury. Still it caused no abatement in his zeal for the public service; and, instead of availing himself of the Marquis's offer to return to his favourite command of the Mysore, he proposed serving under General Baird in the new expedition. This generous intention, however, was defeated, first by an intermittent fever, and afterwards by a violent cutaneous eruption, for which he was ordered the use of nitrous baths, and the army sailed without him. Upon his recovery he resumed, to the great joy of all parties, his former command in the Mysore.

The next year, 1802, was one of peace, except among the native princes, and the time of the English commander, now advanced to the rank of Major-general, was devoted to the internal arrangements of the country. This interval it may be useful to employ in briefly sketching the actual state of the Mahratta empire, which was soon to become the theatre of a fierce and sanguinary struggle.

Hindustan Proper is that part of India which lies north of the Nerbudda river; the Deccan is between the Nerbudda and the Kistna; and south of this last river are the Carnatic, Malabar, and the newlyconquered dominion of the Mysore: the Mahratta territories extend in length from Delhi on the northern extremity to the river Toombuddra on the southern, and inb readth, from east to west, from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Cambay. This immense tract contains the provinces of Delhi, Agra, Ajmeer, Malwa, Guzerat, Candeish, Baglana, Bujapore, the Konkar, Berar, Cuttack, and part of Dowlutabad.

At the period of which we are writing, the principal Mahratta chiefs were the Rajah of Satarrah, the Peshwah, the Rajah of Berar, Dowlut Rao Scindiah, Jeswunt Rao Holkar, and Arund Rao Guick war. These may be said to form a confederation of princes, of which the Peshwah was the acknowledged organ, as all the negotiations with foreign states were carried on through him; but at the same time the Rajah of Satarrah was the nominal head of the Mahratta empire, and from him every Peshwah on his accession received the khelaut, or dress of honour, before entering on the administration of his govern

ment.

At the court of Poonah, Scindiah was all-powerful, and hence the hostility of the Peshwah to the English, which had even induced him, on the fall of Tippoo, to refuse any share in the conquered territory. But Holkar, jealous of his superior influence, though equally hostile to the English, attacked and defeated Scindiah; and the Peshwah, flying from his capital, was now more ready to ally himself with the government of Bengal. It might have been reasonably expected that Scindiah would have been well pleased that his ally the Peshwah had found a friend in the English; but this was far from being the case; and it became requisite for the latter to re-seat the Peshwah on his musnud in opposition both to Scindiah and to Holkar, who, while thus defying the British power, still continued in open hostility with each other. For this duty Major-general Wellesley was selected, at the express desire of Lord Clive, on account of his extensive local knowledge and of that personal influence among the Mahratta chieftains, which he had acquired by his

polítical sagacity in the government of the Mysore. Accordingly a large portion of General Stewart's army was placed under his command; and, breaking up from Hurryhur on the 9th of March, on the 12th he crossed the Toombuddra, which bounds the territories of the Peshwah.

The country had been overrun by Holkar's adherents and stripped of everything; but this made little difference to the General, who was now reaping the benefit of his wise and energetic government of the Mysore. From the flourishing resources of that country he drew all his supplies, and hence rice and other provisions were abundant in his camp. Everywhere the army met with a friendly reception from the inhabitants. This was, no doubt, owing in some measure to the discipline of the English troops, who had before served in these parts; but the confidence and respect of all classes to the south of the Kistna were in a great degree personal to the General himself. Such too was the influence of his high reputation, that the petty Mahratta chiefs, who, like the Highland tribes of old, were perpetually warring upon each other, consented to suspend for a while their private feuds, and cooperate with him in the service of the Peshwah.

The only interruption the British experienced was from parties of Looty horse, a kind of half thieves, half soldiers, who occasionally cut off their foragers. Whenever these marauders were caught in the act of plundering, they were hanged on the first tree without hesitation: a summary mode of proceeding, which in a very short time produced the desired effect upon their companions.

The baggage cattle of the army suffered consider

SAGACITY OF ELEPHANTS.

28 ably from the extreme drought; but great care had been taken to supply the bullocks attached to the guns, and so effectually, that at any time the artillery could outmarch the infantry. Neither did the cavalry sustain so much loss from the dearth of forage as might be imagined, for in the driest season grass is found abundantly on the borders of tanks and rivers. Even when the herbage seems completely withered by the heat, the roots, if dug up and washed, are sufficient, with the daily allowance of about ten pounds of gram, to keep a horse in excellent condition. To the battering train a few elephants were attached, whose strength and wisdom were wonderfully shown in surmounting obstacles. When the wheels sank into ruts or sloughs, these sagacious animals might be seen pushing forward the guns with their foreheads, or lifting them up with their trunks; and some singular anecdotes are recorded on the march, of one to whose superior intelligence a child was used to be entrusted in the absence of its mother. Every movement of the child was carefully watched by its huge guardian, who, whenever his charge strayed beyond its limits, would instantly and gently bring it back again.

The army was now in full march for Poonah, when the General received information that Amrut Rao, the rebellious brother of the Peshwah, still remained in the capital, intending to burn it on the approach of the British troops. Immediately upon this intimation, the commander determined to hasten forward with the British cavalry and the Mahrattas; and such was the extraordinary rapidity of his movements, that he anticipated this design. He had actually marched sixty miles in thirty-two hours.

COMPLICATED NEGOTIATIONS.

29

The time of the General was now occupied in a multitude of complicated negotiations, in which he evinced his usual sagacity and decision. He had to keep the Peshwah faithful to engagements which he had entered into without sincerity; to reconcile the differences of that prince and of the subordinate Mahratta chieftains; to defend the Nizam's territories from the predatory incursions of Holkar; and to persuade Scindiah, who had taken up a menacing position on the Nizam's frontier, to move to the north of the Nerbudda. It requires some degree of attention to unravel and comprehend such an involution of interests. Scindiah and the Peshwah are allies against Holkar, who defeats them; yet, the moment the English enter into a defensive treaty with the court of Poonah, the Maharajah immediately assumes a hostile attitude, and enters into negotiations with the Rajah of Berar, for the express purpose of breaking up this alliance. On the other hand, Holkar ravages the territories of the Nizam, whom the English are bound by treaty to defend; yet at the same time he replies in terms of peace and friendship to the letters of the English General, and at his desire crosses the river Taptee in the beginning of June, when it filled, and formed a sufficient barrier against the junction of his army and that of Scindiah. On his part, the Nizam objects to the new alliance, because he deems it likely to draw on a Mahratta war, to the danger of his own dominions; though, even without this, the rupture seems to have been no less probable, while the political arrangements with the Peshwah promised to augment the force of the English, and considerably strengthen them in their military positions.