Page 112 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

Colquhoun was a sick man, he suffered from ‘the most excruci­
ating headaches’. What troubled him most, preventing him from
sleeping, was the catawauling of ‘myriads of cats that infest the
place’. To prevent being disturbed at night, he ordered his
sepoy guard to drive away the cats which assembled below his
room. This they did by letting offonc of their muskets-although
one would suppose that the sound of shots at night would be even
more distasteful to an invalid than the noise of courting cats.
When the musket was not in use it was put back in the arms rack
in the guard room.
‘A poor Turkish Idiot’ was in the habit of coming to the
Residency, where he was given food by the guards. Sometimes,
if he did not think that he had been given enough, he became
abusive. When this happened, the sentry used to ‘swap a musket
at him’ to drive him away. One morning The Idiot appeared,
as usual, and became very aggressive. A sepoy pulled out a
musket from the rack, not knowing that it had been loaded for
shooting cats in the night. ‘He levelled it against the unfortunate
wretch, and pulled the trigger.’ The Idiot fell dead at his feet.
There was an uproar in the town, and the Residency was sur­
rounded by an angry mob. The Turkish Governor was away in
Baghdad, and his young son was acting for him in Basra. The
situation was dangerous, and it seemed likely that the populace
would attack the Residency. ‘It now became necessary for some
decided steps to be taken. Mr. Colquhoun assembled his Turkish
guards, mounted his horse, and rode boldly through the mob to
the Palace.’ He informed the young man that he had no intention
of handing over the sepoy, but he promised to send a full state­
ment of the circumstances through Baghdad to Constantinople.
He also warned the acting Governor that if the Residency was
attacked, he would defend it to the last, and would not be answer-
able for ‘any act of desperation committed by his sepoys. This
determined and bold conduct of Mr. Colquhoun, brought the
young man to his senses, he begged that the whole matter might
be considered a mere riot of the rabble, which should immediately
be put down. All was now glossed over, and the arrival of the
Eden opposite the town, assisted in scaling the quiet.’
The Governor returned to Basra before the Eden sailed, and
Loch with some of his officers watched the Governor’s procession
passing the street behind the Residency. They were on the roof,
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