I shall never forget a native galloping along for hours on a road that ran parallel to the river, waving and gesticulating frantically to stop our vessel. The poor man came on board that evening, when we made fast for the night, and told us that his daughter had been shot in a field by a spent bullet. Whether it was true or not (he was much doubted by our native crew) we never knew; but 20 rupees was all he got--and seemingly all he wanted, for he went ashore in great glee. We were a considerable time steaming up the Ganges, owing to the strength of the current. Every evening we had to make fast for the night, and at daylight we started off again. A good deal of organising went on daily, and all preparations were made for landing the Royal tar, and turning him into a soldier. What a novelty to us, all trained to the sea as we were, to be suddenly turned into soldiers! Such we were for twenty months, as we remained up-country until the whole neck of the Mutiny was broken and peace restored. We had our horsed battery and companies of infantry; and it was really astonishing how soon the sailors learned to ride and gallop their horses and guns about, very often like horse artillery. We picked out the most horsey blue-jackets for our battery: some that had had in their boyhood to deal with horses, or, at any rate, who knew something about them. The men were all armed with the Brown Bess. Rifles were not to be had at Calcutta, and in those days only our marines had been supplied with the Minié rifle. Brown Bess was good only up to 300 yards in reality. Not until the Mutiny was far advanced were we supplied with rifles, and, even then, there were not enough for the whole Brigade. Our 4-gun battery was, later, increased by two 9-pounder brass guns. These ranged some 1700 yards or more, and that made all the difference in the world to our effectiveness. Often we longed for the rifle instead of the old Brown Bess. Luckily, the Sepoy mutineers were little better off. Still, they had better artillery on the whole. Anyhow, they always found our range before we got theirs; though in our part of India very few shells were used by the Sepoys, and that only at the beginning, for they ran shorter and shorter of ammunition as time wore on, and latterly even had often to use bullets made of clay. We arrived at our destination on the 2nd of November, having left Calcutta on the 12th of October. There were no railways, and thus our journey up-country took an endless time. We landed not many miles above Patna, on the opposite bank of the river; marched four miles inland, and bivouacked in an old schoolhouse for the night. At 4.30 A.M. the reveille was sounded, and we marched on ten miles. Then we remained two days, waiting for baggage, collecting bullocks, hackeries, and elephants; and two days later we joined Sotheby and the first detachment, who were awaiting our arrival before proceeding up-country.