The Annual Register/1758/Extraordinary Adventures/Black Hole
A genuine narrative of the sufferings of the persons who were confined in the prison called the Black Hole, in Fort William at Calcutta, in the kingdom of Bengal, after the surrender of that place to the Indians in June 1756, from a letter of J. Z. Holwell, Esq. to William Davis, Esq.
The ill conduct of Drake, the late governor of Calcutta, who had, among other things, unjustly imprisoned a very considerable merchant of the country, whose name was Omychund, and who was a Gentoo, having drawn the resentment of the viceroy upon the factory, he marched against it in person, with a very considerable force, and laid siege to the fort.
Drake, who had brought on this misfortune, no sooner saw it approach, than he deserted his station, and left the gentlemen of the factory and the garrison to shift for themselves. As soon as Drake was gone, Mr. Holwell, from whose letter this account is taken, took the command upon himself, and resolved to defend the place as long as he was able. This voluntary opposition of Mr. Holwell incensed the viceroy against him; and, supposing that he would not have undertaken a work of supererogation, attended with such fatigue and danger, upon disinterested principles, he made no doubt but that there were very great treasures in the fort, in which he was deeply concerned as a proprietor; he therefore pushed on the siege with great vigour.
A very good account of the whole transaction is given by Mr. Holwell himself, in the following manner.
"The suba, or viceroy of Bengal, and his troops, were in possession of the fort, before six in the evening. At a third interview with him, before seven, he repeated his assurances to me, on the word of a soldier, that no harm should come to us: and, indeed, I believe his orders were only general, that we should for that night be secured; and that what followed was the result of revenge and resentment in the breasts of the lower Jemmautdaars, or Serjeants (to whose custody we were delivered) for the number of their order killed during the siege. Be this as it may, as soon as it was dark, we were all, without distinction, directed by the guard set over us to collect ourselves into one body, and sit down quietly under the arched Veranda, or Piazza, to the west of the Black-hole prison, and the barracks to the left of the court of guard. Just as it was dark, about 400 or 500 men, who were drawn up upon the parade, advanced, and ordered us all to rise and go into the barracks. We were no sooner all within them, than the guard advanced to the inner arches and parapet-wall; and with their muskets presented, ordered us to go into the room at the southernmost end of the barrack, commonly called the Black-hole prison. Few amongst us, the soldiers excepted, had the least idea of the dimensions or nature of a place we had never seen; for it we had, we should, at all events, have rushed upon the guard, and been, as the lesser evil, by our own choice cut to pieces.
Amongst the first that entered were myself, Messieurs Baillie, Jenks, Cooke, T. Coles, Ensign Scott, Revely, Law, Buchanan, &c. I got possession of the window nearest the door, and Messieurs Coles and Scott into the window with me, they being both wounded (the first I believe mortally.) The rest of the above mentioned gentlemen were close round about me. It was now about eight o'clock.
Figure to yourself, my friend, if possible, the situation of a hundred and forty-six wretches, exhausted by continual fatigue and action, crammed together in a cube of eighteen feet, in a close sultry night, in Bengal, shut up to the eastward and southward (the only quarters from whence air could reach us) by dead walls, and by a wall and door to the north, open only to the westward by two windows, strongly barred with iron, from which we could receive scarce any the least circulation of fresh air.
What must ensue, appeared to me in lively and dreadful colours, the instant I cast my eyes round and saw the size and situation of the room. Many unsuccessful attempts were made to force the door; for having nothing but our hands to work with, and the door opening inward, all endeavours were vain and fruitless.....
Amongst the guards posted at the windows, I observed an old Jammautdaar near me, who seemed to carry some compassion for us in his countenance. I called him to me, and pressed him to endeavour to get us separated, half in one place and half in another, and that he should in the morning receive a thousand rupees for this act of tenderness. He withdrew; but in a few minutes returned, and told me it was impossible. Then thought I had been deficient in my offer, and promised him two thousand; he withdrew a second time, but returned soon, and (with, I believe, much real pity and concern) told me, that it could not be done but by the suba's order, and that no one dared awake him.
We had been but few minutes confined before every one fell into a perspiration so profuse, you can form no idea of it. This brought on a raging thirst, which increased in proportion as the body was drained of it moisture.
Various expedients were thought of to give more room and air. To obtain the former, it was moved to put off their cloaths; this was approved as a happy motion, and in a few minutes I believe every man was stripped, (myself, Mr. Court, and the two young gentlemen by me excepted.) For a little time they flattered themselves with having gained a mighty advantage; every hat was put in motion to produce a circulation of air, and Mr. Baillie proposed that every man should sit down on his hams. This expedient was several times put in practice, and at each time many of the poor creatures, whose natural strength was less than that of others, or who had been more exhausted and could not immediately recover their legs, as others did when the word was given to rise, fell to rise no more; for they were instantly trod to death or suffocated. When the whole body sat down, they were so closely wedged together, that they were obliged to use many efforts before they could put themselves in motion to get up again.
Before nine o'clock every man's thirst grew intolerable, and respiration difficult. Efforts were made again to force the door, but in vain. Many insults were used to the guard to provoke them to fire in upon us. For my own part, I hitherto felt little pain or uneasiness, but what resulted from my anxiety for the sufferings of those within. By keeping my face between two of the bars, I obtained air enough to give my lungs easy play, though my perspiration was excessive, and thirst commencing. At this period, so strong a urinous volatile effluvia came from the prison, that I was not able to turn my head that way, for more than a few seconds at a time.
Now every body, excepting those situated in and near the windows, began to grow outrageous, and many delirious: Water, water, became the general cry. And the old Jemmautdaar before mentioned, taking pity on us, ordered the people to bring some skins of water. This was what I dreaded. I foresaw it would prove the ruin of the the small chance left us, and essayed many time to speak to him privately to forbid its being brought; but the clamour was so loud, it became impossible. The water appeared. Words cannot paint to you the universal agitation and raving the sight of it threw us into. I flattered myself that some, by preserving an equal temper of mind, might out-live the night; but now the reflection, which gave me the greatest pain, was, that I saw no possibility of one escaping to tell the dismal tale.
Until the water came, I had myself not suffered much from thirst, which instantly grew excessive. We had no means of conveying it into the prison, but by hats forced through the bars; and thus myself and Messieurs Coles and Scott (notwithstanding the pains they suffered from their wounds) supplied them as fast as possible. But those who have experienced intense thirst, or are acquainted with the cause and nature of this appetite, will be sufficiently sensible it could receive no more than a momentary alleviation; the cause still subsisted. Though we brought full gats within the bars, there ensued such violent struggles, and frequent contests to get at it, that before it reached the lips of any one, there would be scarely a small tea cup full left in them. These supplies, like sprinkling water on fire, only served to feed and raise the flame.
Oh! my dear Sir, how shall I give you a conception of what I felt at the cries and ravings of those in the remoter parts of the prison, who could not entertain a probable hope of obtaining a drop, yet could not divest themselves of expectation, however unavailing! and calling on me by the tender considerations of friendship and affection, who who knew they were really dear to me! Think, if possible, what my heart must have suffered at seeing and hearing their distress, without having it in my power to relieve them: for the confusion now became general and horrid. Several quitted the other window (the only chance they had for life) to force their way to the water, and the throng and press upon the window was beyond bearing; many forcing their passage from the further part of the room, pressed down those in their way, who had less strength, and trampled them to death.
From about nine to near eleven, I sustained this cruel scene and painful situation, still supplying them with water, though my legs were almost broke with the weight against them. By this time I myself was near pressed to death, and my two companions, with Mr. William Parker (who had forced himself into the window) were really so....
For a great while they preserved a respect and regard to me, more than indeed I could well expect, our circumstances considered; but now all distinction was lost. My friend Baillie, Messrs. Jenks, Revely, Law, Buchanan, Simpson, and several others, for whom I had a real esteem and affection, had for some time been dead at my feet: and were now trampled upon by every corporal or common soldier, who, by the help of more robust constitutions, had forced their way to the window, and held fast by the bars over me, till at last I became so pressed and wedged up, I was deprived of all motion.
Determined now to give every thing up, I called to them, and begged, as the last instance of their regard, they would remove the pressure upon me, and permit me to retire out of the window, to die in quiet. They gave way; and with much difficulty I forced a passage into the center of the prison, where the throng was less by the many dead, (then I believe amounting to one third) and the numbers who flocked to the windows; for by this time they had water also at the other window.
In the black-hole there is a platform[1] corresponding with that in the barrack: I travelled over the dead, and repaired to the further end of it, just opposite to the other window. Here my poor friend Mr. Edward Eyre came staggering over the dead to me, and with his usual coolness and good-nature, asked me how I did? but fell and expired before I had time to make him a reply. I laid myself down on some of the dead behind me, on the platform; and, recommending myself to heaven, had the comfort of thinking my sufferings could have no long duration.
My thirst grew now insupportable, and the difficulty of breathing much increased; and I had not remained in this situation, I believe, ten minutes, when I was seized with a pain in my breast, and palpitation of heart, both to the most exquisite degree. These roused and obliged me to get up again; but still the pain, palpitation, thirst, and difficulty of breathing increased. I retained my senses notwithstanding; and had the grief to see death not so near me as I hoped; but could no longer bear the pains I suffered without attempting a relief, which I knew fresh air would and could only give me. I instantly determined to push for the window opposite to me; and by an effort of double the strength I had ever before possessed, gained the third rank at it, with one hand seized a bar, and by that means gained the second, though I think there were at least six or seven ranks between me and the window.
In a few moments the pain, palpitation, and difficulty of breathing ceased; but my thirst continued intolerable. I called aloud for Water for God's sake. I had been concluded dead; but as soon as they found me amongst them, they still had the respect and tenderness for me, to cry out, Give him water, give him water! nor would one of them at the window attempt to touch it until I had drank. But from the water I had no relief; my thirst was rather increased by it; so I determined to drink no more, but patiently wait the event; and kept my mouth moist from time to time by sucking the perspiration out of my shirt-sleeves, adn catching the drops as they fell, like heavy rain, from my head and face; you can hardly imagine how unhappy I was if any of them escaped my mouth.
I came into the prison without coat or waistcoat; the season was too hot to bear the former, and the latter tempted the avarice of one of the guards, who robbed me of it, when we were under the Veranda; Whilst I was at this second window, I was observed by one of my miserable companions on the right of me, in the expedient of allaying my thirst by suching my shirt-sleeve. He took the hint, and robbed me from time to time of a considerable part of my store; though after I detected him, I had even the address to begin on that sleeve first, when I thought my reservoirs were sufficiently replenished; and our mouths and noses often met in the contest. This plundered I found afterwards was a worthy young gentleman in the service, Mr. Lushington, one of the few who escaped from death, and since pain me the compliment of assuring me, he believed he owed his life to the many comfortable draughts he had from my sleeves. Before I hit upon this happy expedient, I had in an ungovernable fit of thirst, attempted drinking my urine; but it was so intensely bitter, there was no enduring a second taste, whereas no Bristol water could be more soft or pleasant than what arose from perspiration.
By half an hour past eleven, the much greater number of those living were in an outrageous delirium, and the others quite ungovernable; few retaining any calmness, but the ranks next the windows. They all now found, that water, instead of relieving, rather heightened their uneasinesses; and, Air, air, was the general cry. Every insult that could be devised against the guard, all the opprobrious names and abuse that the suba, Monickchund, &c. could be loaded with, were repeated to provoke the guard to fire upon us, every man that could, rushing tumultuously towards the windows, with eager hopes of meeting the first shot. Then a general prayer to heaven to hasten the approach of the flames to the right and left of us, and put a period to our misery. But these failing, they whose strength and spirits were quite exhausted, laid themselves down and expired quietly upon their fellows: others who had yet some strength and vigour left, made a last effort for the windows, and several succeeded by leaping and scrambling over the banks and heads of those in the first ranks; and got hold of the bars, from which there was no removing them. Many to the right and left sunk with the violent pressure, and were soon suffocated; for now a steam arose from the living and the dead, which affected us in all its circumstances, as if we were forcibly held by our heads over a bowl of strong volatile spirit of hartshorn, until suffocated; nor could the effluvia of the one be distinguished from the other; and frequently, when I was forced by the load upon my head and shoulders, to hold my face down, I was obliged, near as I was to the window, instantly to raise it again, to escape suffocation.
I need not, my dear friend, ask your commiseration, when I tell you, that in this plight, from half an hour after eleven till near two in the morning, I sustained the weight of a heavy man, with his knees on my back, and the pressure of his whole body on my head; a Dutch serjeant, who had taken his feat upon my left shoulder, and a Topaz[2] bearing on my right: all which, nothing could have enabled me long to support, but the props and pressure equally sustaining me all around. The two latter I frequently dislodged, by shifting my hold on the bars, and driving my knuckles into their ribs; but my friend above stuck fast, and, as he held by two bars, was immoveable.
The repeated trials and efforts I made to dislodge this insufferable incumbrance upon me, as last quite exhausted me, and towards two o'clock, finding I must quit the window, or sink where I was, I resolved on the former, having borne, truly for the sake of others, infinitely more for life, than the best of it is worth.
In the rank close behind me was an officer of one of the ships, whose name was Carey, and who behaved with much bravery during the siege, (his wife, a fine woman tho' country born, would not quit him, but accompanied him into the prison, and was one who survived.) This poor wretch had been long raving for water and air; I told him I was determined to give up life, and recommending his gaining my station. On my quitting, he made an attempt to get my place; but was supplanted.
Poor Carey expressed his thankfulness, and said he would give up life too; but it was with the utmost labour we forced our way from the window (several in the inner ranks appearing to me dead standing[3].) He laid himself down to die: and his death, I believe, was very sudden, for he was a short, full, sanguine man: his strength was great, and I imagine had he not retired with me, I should never have been able to have forced my way.
I was at this time sensible of no pain, and little uneasiness. I found a stupor coming on apace, and laid myself down by that gallant old man, the reverent Mr. Jervas Bellamy, who lay dead with his son the lieutenant, hand in hand, near the southernmost wall of the prison.
When I had lain their some little time, I still had reflexion enough to suffer some uneasiness in the thought that I should be trampled upon, when dead, as I myself had done to others. With some difficulty I raised myself and gained the platform a second time, where I presently lost all sensation: the last trace of sensibility that I have been able to recollect after my lying down, was, my sash being uneasy about my waist, which I untied and threw from me. Of what passed in this interval to the time of my resurrection from this hole of horrors, I can give you no account.
When the day broke, and the gentlemen found that no intreaties could prevail to get the door opened, it occurred to one of them (I think to Mr. Secretary Cooke) to make a search for me, in hopes I might have influence enough to gain a release from this scene of misery. Accordingly Messrs. Lushington and Walcot undertook the search, and by my shirt discovered me under the dead upon the platform. They took me from thence, and imagining I had some signs of life, brought me towards the window I had first possession of.
But as life was equally dear to every man (and the stench arising from the dead bodies was grown so intolerable) no one would give up his station in or near the window: so they were obliged to carry me back again. But soon after Captain Mills, (now captain of the company's yacht) who was in possession of a seat in the window, had the humanity to offer to resign it. I was again brought by the same gentlemen and placed in the window.
At this juncture the suba, who had received an account of the havock death had made amongst us, sent one of his Jemmautdaars to enquire if the chief survived. They shewed me to him; told I had appearance of life remaining; and believed I might recover if the door was opened very soon. This answer being returned to the suba, an order came immediately for our release it being then near six in the morning.
As the door opened in wards, and as the dead were piled up against it, and covered all the rest of the floor, it was impossible to open it by any efforts from without; it was therefore necessary that the dead should be removed by the few that were within, who were become so feeble, that the task, though it was the condition of life, was not performed without the utmost difficulty, and it was 20 minutes after the order came before the door could be opened.
About a quarter after six in the morning, the poor remains of 146 souls, being no more than three and twenty, came out of the Black-hole alive, but in a condition which made it very doubtful whether they would see the morning of the next day; among the living was Mrs. Carey, but poor Leech was among the dead. The bodies were dragged out of the hole by the soldiers, and thrown promiscuously into the ditch of an unfinished revelin, which was afterwards filled with earth.
Mr. Holwell, Mr. Court, Mr. Walcot, and Mr. Burdet, were ordered into the custody of an officer, and the rest were immediately set at libery, except poor Mrs. Carey, whose youth and beauty caused her to be detailed for the conqueror, or some officer of state.
Mr. Holwell when he came out of the prison was in a high fever, and not able to stand; he was, however, sent for to be examined by the viceroy, and was in this condition carried to his presence. It was some time before he could speak, but as soon as he was able, he began to relate the sufferings and death of his unhappy companions.
The viceroy, without taking any notice of this tale of distress, stopt him short, by telling him, that he had been informed, there was treasure to a very considerable value secreted in the fort, and that if he did not discover it, he must expect no mercy. Mr. Holwell replied, that he knew of no such treasure: and then began to remind him of his assurance that day before, that no hurt should come either to himself or his friends. To this remonstrance he paid no more regard than he had done to the complaint, but proceeded in his enquiry concerning the treasure; and when he found no intelligence could be got, he ordered the general of his houshold troops, whose name was Mhir Muddon, to take charge of Mr. Holwell as his prisoner.
Among the guard that marched before Mr. Holwell, when he went out from the presence of the viceroy, there was a man who carried a large Moratta battle-ax on his shoulder, which occasioned a report, first, that his head was to be struck off, and afterwards that the sentence was executed.
It happened unfortunately, that Mr. Holwell, in the hurry and confusion of the siege, after the fort had been deserved by Drake, forgot to set Omychund, the black merchant, whom Drake had injuriously imprisioned, at liberty, This neglect Omychund resented as an act of wilful injustice, and Mr. Holwell is of opinion, that if it had not been for Omychund's insinuations, he should have been discharged with the rest, notwithstanding the offence he had given to the viceroy by defending the fort; and the notion that prevailed of his being privy to the concealment of money; and in this opinion he says he is confirmed by the confinement of the three gentlemen who were detained with him, who were all of them persons against whom Omychund was known to have conceived a particular resentment.
Mr. Holwell and his associates in captivity, were conveyed in a kind of coach, drawn by oxen, called a hackery, to the camp, where they were loaded with fetters, and lodged in the tent of a Moorish soldier, which being no more than 4 feet by 3 feet, they were obliged to lie, sick as they were, half in and half out the whole night, which happened to be very rainy; yet the next day their fever happily came to a crisis, and boils broke on every part of their bodies, which, though they were extremely painful, were the certain presages of their recovery. The next day they were removed to the coast, and, by order of General Mhir Muddon, were soon after sent by sea to Maxadavad, the metropolis of Bengal, to wait the viceroy's return, and be disposed of as he should farther determine.
At Maxadavad they arrived, after a voyage of 13 days, in a large boat, in which they had no better provision than rice and water, and no softer beds than some bamboos laid on the bottom timber of the vessel; they were, besides, exposed alternately to excessive heat and violent rains, without any covering but a bit of old mat and some scraps of sacking. The boils that covered them were become running sores, and the irons on their legs had consumed the flesh almost to the bone.
When they arrived at Maxadavad, Mr. Holwell sent a letter to Mr. Law, the chief of the French factory, with an account of their distress, and Mr. Law, with great politeness and humanity, sent them not only cloaths, linen, provision and liquors, in great plenty, but money.
About 4 o'clock on the 7th of July, they landed, and after marching a considerable way as a spectacle to the multitude that thronged round them, they were depositied under an open shed, not far from the palace.
In this place they received every possible relief, not only from the great kindness of the French and Dutch chiefs, but from the Arabian merchants.
On the 18th of July, the viceroy arrived, and the prisoners then learned that he had enquired for them, in order to set them at libery before he left Calcutta, and was offended with Mhir Muddon for having so hastily removed them to Maxadavad. He did not, however, order their immediate discharge when he arrived, which it is natural to suppose he would have done, if they had been detained in custody contrary to his inclination.
On the 25th they were conducted to the palace, to have an audience, and to know their fate; but they could have no audience that day, which as it happened, was a favourable circumstance, for at night the viceroy's grandmother solicited their liberty, at a feast, to which she was invited on his safe return, and the viceroy promised that he would release them on the morrow.
On the morrow, about five in the morning, they were waked, and told that the viceroy would in a few minutes pass by to his palace of Mooteejeel. Upon this intelligence they got up, and when the viceroy came in sight, they paid him the usual homage, and uttered their benediction aloud. He looked at them with strong marks of compassion in his countenance, and ordering his litter to stop, he called them to him, and having heard a short extemporary petition, which was spoken by Mr. Holwell, he made no reply, but ordered two of his officers to see their irons instantly struck off, and conduct them safely wherever they chose to go, giving them a strict charge to see that they suffered no injury or insult by the way.
This act of mercy, however late, or from whatever motive, was the more meritorious, as great pains were taken by some time-serving sycophants to prevent it: they told the viceroy, that Mr. Holwell, notwithstanding his losses, was still possessed of enough to pay a considerable sum for his freedom; to which the viceroy nobly replied, "If he has any thing left, let him keep it; his sufferings have been great, and he shall have his liberty."
Mr. Holwell and his friends being thus dismissed, immediately took boat, and soon after arrived safe at the Dutch settlement at Corcemadad, where he afterwards embarked for England.
- ↑ This platform was raised between three and four feet from the floor, open underneath; it extended the whole length of the east side of the prison, and was above six feet wide.
- ↑ A black christian soldier; usually termed subjects of Portugal.
- ↑ Unable to fall by the throng and equal pressure round.