Page:Life in India or Madras, the Neilgherries, and Calcutta.djvu/453

395 since, (in 1806.) The sons of Tippoo, who were kept in a liberal confinement in this fort after the overthrow of their father's kingdom, were regarded with deep interest by the Mohammedans, who lost their power with the dynasty of Tippoo. This source of trouble, combined with an injudicious regulation as to the dress of the sepoys, (native soldiers in the service of England,) lead to a dissatisfaction which ended in a rising of the sepoys against the English troops.

In the dead of night, two battalions of the native soldiery surrounded the barracks of the English force, and poured in upon them a fatal fire through every door and window. At the same time, the sentries, the soldiers of the guard, and the sick in the hospital were cruelly murdered. The sepoys rushed in upon the affrighted victims, shot down those who attempted to escape, and plundered the officers' quarters. But they had not done their work so effectually as they hoped. A fugitive escaped, and flying to Arcot bore the tidings of the slaughter of his comrades. A regiment of British dragoons, burning with a desire to save or avenge their countrymen, hastened from Arcot to Vellore, charged through the