१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

TEMPORARY PACIFICATION
sides of Tatia, the enemy was closing round and narrow-
ing the circle. Then, Rao and Tatia had a consultation
and came suddenly to Kajuri; but there, too, was an
English army. They entered the jungles again and
marched northwards up to Talbahat. So, the English
thought that at last Tatia had given up the idea of
marching to the south. But, from there, Tatia and Rao
Sahib suddenly dashed forth, crossed the Betwa, fought
a skirmish with the English at Kajuri, and again at Rai-
garh, and then marched straight to the south, now seen,
now unseen. The English were in utter confusion at the
audacity of the attempt; they ran in all directions to
stop him. But, brushing aside and eluding these armies
by extraordinary marches, this Mahratta with the speed
of lightning, crossed ghats, forded rivers, rushed right
through forests and pushed straight towards the south !
Parke rushed from the flank, Mitchell in the rear and
Becher from the front, but still Tatia persisted in his
wonderful southward march ! There, he has come to the
Narbada, he is on the river—and the astonished and
dumbfounded world clapped its hand in applause !—
Tatia, has, at last, crossed the Narbada ! Malleson says:
“ It is impossible to withhold admiration from the perti-
nacity with which this scheme was carried out.”²
2. “Our very remarkable friend, Tatia Tope, is too trouble-
some and clever an enemy to be admired. Since last June he has
kept Central India in a fervour. He has sacked stations, plundered
treasuries, emptied arsenals; collected armies, lost them; fought
battles, lost them; taken guns from native princes, lost them; taken
more, lost them; then, his motions were like forked lightning; and
for weeks, he has marched thirty and forty miles a day. He has
crossed the Narbada to and fro; he has marched between our
columns, behind them, and before them. Ariel was not more subtle,
aided by the best stage mechanism. Up mountains, over rivers,
through ravines and valleys, amid swamps, on he goes, backwards
and forwards, and sideways and zig-zag ways, now falling upon a
post-cart and carrying off the Bombay mails, now looting a village,
headed and burned, yet evasive as Proteus”—The Times, 17th Janu-
ary 1859.
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