Out of the twenty-nine
men who composed the party when the attack commenced, seven had been
killed and eighteen wounded. Mr. Ravenscroft died during the night of
the 7th, after great suffering. He retained his consciousness till
near the last; but the blood continued to flow from his mouth, and he
could articulate nothing. On the morning of the 8th, he was buried in
the grove, and Ensign Platt read the funeral service over his grave.
Mrs. Ravenscroft and her child were taken to Colonel Patton, at
Secrora, and soon after sent by him to Lucknow.
On the 10th, he reported the circumstances of this murder to the
Resident, Mr. Ricketts; and sent him the narratives of Mosahib and
Deena; and his report, with translations of these narratives, was
submitted by the Resident to Government on the 12th of that month.
But in these narratives no mention whatever was made of a British
officer having been present at the murder and the burial of Mr.
Ravenscroft. This suppression arose, no doubt, from the apprehension
that Government might be displeased to find that the military
authorities at Secrora had become aware of Mr. Ravenscroft's
residence at Bhinga without reporting the circumstance to Government;
and still more so to find, that he had been there visited by a
British officer, when search was being made for him throughout India.
In acknowledging the receipt of the Resident's letter on the 23rd of
May, the Secretary, Mr.
Pages:
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232