§9. On the morning of the 27th of June, 450 Europeans left the barracks and proceeded to the river side. The sick and wounded were carried in palanquins; the women and children were placed on elephants and bullock carts; the men went on foot. Forty boats were moored in the shallows of the river, and the men waded through the water whilst the others were carried to the boats. All were on board by nine o'clock, and the boats were loosened from their moorings. A crowd of sepoys and rebels was assembled on both banks of the river to witness the departure of the Europeans. Suddenly a bugle was sounded. Volleys of musketry were fired upon the boats, and shrieks of agony and terror rose from the hapless passengers. Presently the thatched roofs of some of the boats caught fire, and the flames rapidly spread as the boats were huddled together. Many of the doomed passengers jumped overboard. One boat escaped down the stream, but only four individuals survived to tell the story. Many were shot dead or were drowned in the river. The rest were all dragged ashore helpless and unarmed. The men were allowed a few moments to prepare for death, and one of their number who had preserved a Prayer Book, read a portion of the Liturgy. All the men were then shot dead by volleys of musketry. The women and children, who escaped alive, to the number of 125, were carried off and lodged in a building close to the head-quarters of Nana Sahib. [Sidenote: Triumph of Nana Sahib.] That night there were great rejoicings in the station at Cawnpore. The Mahratta Brahman was puffed up with his so-called victory over British captives. Money and bangles were freely distributed to the murderers, whilst salutes were fired from the cannon, and the whole station was ablaze with fireworks and illuminations. The infamous Nana Sahib, the last faint shadow of the Mahratta Brahmans who had once reigned at Poona, was proclaimed conqueror of the British, and Peishwa of Hindustan. [Sidenote: Terrors.] But the avenging furies were already at the heels of the Mahratta Brahman. Neither drugs nor dancing girls could quiet his terrors. The Mohammedan sepoys were already plotting his destruction; they wanted to restore the reign of Islam, not to set up the idolatry which was denounced in the Koran. The lavish distribution of treasures might please them for a while, but would not satisfy them in the end. Meanwhile, the Rajputs were ready enough to accept his rupees and bangles, but they were his masters, and compelled him to do their bidding. To crown his anxieties, a column of European soldiers was soon on its way from Allahabad to avenge the slaughter of their countrymen at Cawnpore, and to deliver British wives, mothers, and widows, together with their helpless children, from the hands of the perjured destroyer. [Sidenote: Massacre at Jhansi.]