The offenders were at once arrested, and
tried by a court-martial of native officers; they were found guilty, and
sentenced to various periods of imprisonment, but recommended for mercy.
General Hewitt saw no grounds for mercy, excepting in the case of eleven
young troopers; and on Saturday, May 9th, the sentences were carried
out. The men were brought on parade, stripped of their uniforms, and
loaded with irons. They implored the General for mercy, and, finding it
hopeless, began to reproach their comrades; but no one dared to strike a
blow in the presence of loaded cannon and rifles. At last the prisoners
were carried off and placed in a jail, not under European soldiers, but
a native guard.
The military authorities at Meerut seem to have been under a spell. The
next day was Sunday, May 10th, and the hot sun rose with its usual glare
in the Indian sky. The European barracks were at a considerable distance
from the native lines, and the intervening space was covered with shops
and houses surrounded by trees and gardens.
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