John Nicholson | Page 8

which he knew the rebel troops would be compelled to march,
was a formidable tower situated high up on the hillside. To gain
entrance to this it was necessary to clamber up to an opening in the
outer wall some ten feet from the ground, but Nicholson was not
daunted by this. It was most essential that the tower should be carried
by storm and its position held by his men.
Accordingly he led his troops to the assault in a mad rush that carried
the Pathans to the base of the tower before they could realise what a
foolhardy undertaking they were engaged upon. The rest of his men
very cowardly lagged behind. Then, no ladder being procurable, he set
to work to break down the wall, while from above the defenders rained
down a storm of stones upon them. One of these missiles hit Nicholson
in the face and knocked him over, but the wound was luckily not a
severe one.
In the end he was forced to fall back with his handful of men, the tower
being practically impregnable and a large body of Sikhs having been
observed marching to the relief of the garrison. But the vigour of his
attack had its moral effect. The Sikh soldiers, fearing that the assault
would be renewed next day, and that Nicholson would take some
terrible revenge upon them for their resistance, quietly stole away under
cover of the darkness, leaving him master of the situation!
It was somewhere about this time that the famous sect of Sikhs arose
which honoured Nicholson by elevating him to the rank of a deity. A
certain Hindu devotee in Hazara gave out that he had discovered in
"Nikalseyn" the incarnation of the Brahman god, and he soon gathered
about him a little company of enthusiastic fellow-worshippers. To their
hero's annoyance, the "Nikalseyns," as they styled themselves, indulged
in open adoration, even prostrating themselves at his feet. In vain did

he threaten them with condign punishment, and at last actually resort to
flogging. The devotees admired him all the more for his severity, and
sang his praises still louder.
"After the last whipping," says Sir Herbert Edwardes in a character
sketch of the hero, "Nicholson released them, on the condition that they
would transfer their adoration to John Becher (Abbott's successor at
Hazara), but, arrived at their monastery, they once more resumed the
worship of the relentless Nikalseyn."
In his reminiscences of India[1] Mr. R. G. Wilberforce states that the
Sikhs declared they would raise a Taj to Nicholson, beside which the
famous Golden Taj at Umritsur should be as nought, did he but openly
profess their religion.
"During the time that Nicholson was with the column," he continues,
writing of the days before the march to Delhi, "it was a common sight
of an evening to see the Sikhs come into camp in order that they might
see him. They used to be admitted into his tent in bodies of about a
dozen at a time. Once in the presence, they seated themselves on the
ground and fixed their eyes upon the object of their adoration, who all
the while went on steadfastly with whatever work he was engaged in,
never even lifting his eyes to the faces of his mute worshippers."
[Illustration: "They seated themselves on the ground and fixed their
eyes upon the object of their adoration."]
"Sometimes, overcome perhaps by prickings of conscience, or carried
away by feelings he could not control, one of them would prostrate
himself in prayer. This was an offence against the committal of which
warning had been given, and the penalty never varied: three dozen
lashes with the cat-o'-nine-tails on the bare back."
With Chuttur Singh's open revolt the second Sikh War had fairly begun.
Nicholson was now more and more in demand, doing guerilla service,
or engaged in such useful work as collecting boats for Sir Joseph
Thackwell to cross the Chenab River and acting as intelligence officer
to the forces. At the battle of Chillianwallah he did duty as

aide-de-camp to Lord Gough, and at Guzerat, which followed soon
after, he and his Pathans enjoyed the distinction of capturing nine guns
from the enemy.
A striking tribute to Nicholson's personality, and the valour he
displayed on these occasions, is the well-vouched-for story that for
many years afterwards, when visitors came to view these battlefields,
the country people would begin their accounts by saying, "Nikalseyn
stood just there!"
After the conclusion of the campaign, which saw him a brevet-major,
Nicholson decided to take a two years' holiday and return home. What
influenced him to this most was the desire to comfort his mother, who,
he knew, was grieving over the loss of her two sons, William and
Alexander. But it was not easy for him