Title. State. Annual Revenue, Guns. Remarks. * Begum, G.C.S.I. Bhopal £137,625 Maharajah, G.C.S.I. Rewah £260,000 Maharana Odeypur £400,000 19 A clever and popular | princess. 17 A somewhat unsuccessful | administrator. 17 A mere boy, being edu- cated by a native tutor. 17 One of the most able and enlightened rulers in India. A member of the Legislative Council of the Viceroy. + Maharajah, G.C.S.I. Jaipur £423,165 £175,000 17 Maharajah Tukt Singh, G.C.S.I.. Jodhpur.... Maharajah Jai Singh Pal Karauli ..... £45,000 17 An intelligent, well-mean- ing clief. #Maharao Rajah Alwar.. £205,000 15 A fine boy, distantly re- lated to the late ruler : being educated by the Central Asian travel- ler, Pandit Manphul, C.S.I. Maharajah Bhartpur ... £242,000 17 A Jât, who is very jealous of his dignity. Maharawal Jesalmir 17 A young and amiable prince. Maharajah Bikanir 17 Rana Dholepur 15 A bright boy ; being edu- cated under Major Den- nehy's supervision, Gaikwar Baroda £1,500,000 21 A boy ; being educated by a native tutor. Maharajah Rao Shri Sir Prag- malji, G.C.S.I. Kutch £200,000 17 A most intelligent and enlightened prince, rul- ing over a contented population. Junagarh. £200,000 li Nawab, K.C.S.J. $ Rajah Kohlapur £132,416 19 A boy of eleven; being educated by a tutor, to- gether with the young Rajah of Sawantwari, || The Nizam, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Hyderabad A child under guardian. bf Sir Salar Jung humshu-ul-Umra. egum goes about parties at Govern- Times of India handbook of Hindustan George Aberigh-Mackay ng his host. On 6 debaucher who i Dowager nomi. kill at badminton. He is a promising boy, and justifies the Political Agent's discrimination. His stud, of some 350 horses, is well worth seeing, as is his fine oriental library. § The predecessor of the present prince died, it will be remembered, at Florence. This boy will be, if he lives, the most important native prince in India, 1761 .605 Library of Der Viget Sub Numine Privceton Vuiversity. Presented by More. 6. B. Gualego g Gay Orsley Log with Cs & Sarls lind resand is. Scar 2 1889 Jon brean Indian - - BE PREFACE. THE following pages will, it is hoped, furnish a bird's-eye view of the natural, historical, and political characteristics of our Indian Empire. The subject is so great that the compiler, with a very limited space at his command, has only been able to indicate its salient features ; but he has everywhere endeavoured to direct the reader to sources that afford a more exhaustive treatment, and to which he himself is indebted for the materials of his sketch. The approaching visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales will probably bring an influx of visitors to the East, and will certainly direct the attention of the English people generally to this country ; it is thought, therefore, that the present is an opportune moment for the publication of a brief and popular account of its physical aspect, its products, people, and government, together with those more particular instructions and statistics, for the use of travellers, u that are commonly found in the best guide-books. DELHI, 24th July 1875. , i Ins. (RECAP) 09" 484708 .. 1761 .605 ? CONTENTS, Page. Chapter 1.-NATURAL FEATURES : 1. Geography ........... 2. Geology.. 3. Climate ... 4. Vegetable Products ....... 5. Animals ........ 6. People ........... : : 4. : , II.-HISTORICAL SKETCH :- 1. Hindu Period ........... 2. Mahomedan Period .... 3. British Period .......... , III.-BRITISH ADMINISTRATION :- 1. Political Divisions 2. Government of India ...... 3. Foreign Department... Home Department ....... 5. Financial Department ...... 6. Military Departinent.. 7. A., R. & C. Department 8. Public Works Department .......... , IV.--NATIVE STATES .................. Groups Revenue Extent Rulers Population » V.- COMMUNICATIONS :- 1. Railways ...... 2. Canals 3. Telegraphs..... 4. Postal Lines .. as ............. CONTENTS. Page. ... 105 108 110 Chapter VI.-SPORT :- (Tiger-shooting .... 1. Ibex, (Ovis, Ammon,) &c. Small Game .... 2. Cheeta Hunting ... 3. Fishing .............. 4. Pig-sticking » VII.-PLACES OF INTEREST :- 1. Bombay. 2. Madras 3. Bengal ...... 4. British Burmah. „, VIII.-SANITARIA :- 1. Western India ..... 2. Northern India .... 3. Bengal .............. 4. Southern India ....... 115 173 175 184 189 204 216 .......... 223 INDEX. Blosso 182 36 14 . . . . . PAGE PAGE Aborigines ............ 15 Bikanir ......... 64 Agra ....................... .......... 181 Birds ............... Agricultural Department .... 54 Bison ...................... 89 Agriculture ........ 14 Boars ............. Akbar 27 Bombay (Administration).... Alexander (Great) ............... 20 Bombay (Description): Alwar .......... Apollo Bunder .............. Amalgamation of both E. I. Back Bay .. 130 Companies 121 Bandstand. 129 Amherst (Lord) ... ---- Becomes a Regency ...... 120 Amritsar ................. 183 Bestowed on the E. I. Com. 119 Animals ........ Becomes a Presidency need. 122 Aravalli (note) ......... Building of Forts .. 121 Army ............. Ceded to Britain 118 Aryans ..... Convocation Hall 131 Asoka ...... Crawford Market... 150 Astronomical Position ............ Cremation ground ............ Auckland (Lord)..... Dockyard ...... ... 153 Aurangzib..... Early History ............... 115 Ayodhya ......... Early obscurity ................ 116 Bahadur Shab ............. Elphinstone Circle ............. 135 Bahawalpur .... Elphinstone College .. Bangalore European General Hospital... 155 Bara-Singha ...... Fashionable prominades...... 130 Baroda ....................... Frere Fountain ............... 135 Bentinck (Lord) ............... Funeral procession (Hindu). 137 Bears ......... Guvernment House.. 147 Benares .......... Invaded............. Berars (Administration)....... Inhabitants ................ Bharal ........ Its Etymology ........... 115 Bhartpur ......................... Its value .. Bhoja (Rajah) ..... Law Courts 134 Lighthouse .................... 128 Bhutan ........................ Mahomedan Burial-ground.. 137 Black Hole Mahalakshmi Temple ......... Bibliography ..... ......... Malabar Hill ..... ......... 140 148 121 116 119 Bhopal ......... 147 viii INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 633 38 PAGE PAGE Mechanics’ Institute ......... 131 War begap 1824 ............ 186 Mint ........... 151 Buddha .... 20 Municipal Corporation ...... 125 Buffalo .... Native Town ...... 149 Calcutta... ...... New Secretariat ................. 131 Calicut ...................... New Sailors' Home ............ 129 Canals Negotiations with Portuguese 117 Canarese ......................... Observatory .......... 128 Canning..... Portuguese Occupation ...... 117 Canouj .................... Possession acquired............ 118 Cashmere ................. Presidency aggrandised...... 123 Cawnpore .......................... Post Office ... ..... 134 Central India ......... P. W. D. Offices ............... 134 Central Provinces (Adminis- Parell Hill ................. 147 tration)........................... Pinjrapole........................ 155 Chamba .............................. 61 Queen's Statue ................. 135 Chandragapta .................... Sir J. J. Hospital ...... 149 Chaura Dynasty ...... Share Mania, 1862-63......... 125 Cheetahs (Hunting with) ..... Strangers' Lines ............... 130 Climate. St. John's Memorial Church, Clive ......................... Kolaba ........................ 152 Cochin ....................... Sassoon Dock .................. 154 Coonoor...... Threatened by the Mahrattas 119 Cornwallis(Lord)... Dutch ... 119 Dalhousie (Lord)............ The Fort ......... 126 Darius ............................. 20 Time Signals ................. 128 Darjiling .......................... 216 The University 133 , Tea Plantations ...... Telegraph Office 135 Deckan (Geography) ............ 6 Brapn Omce ............ Town Hall .................. 151 Deckan (History) ................ 22 The Cathedral ................ 151 Delhi ........... .............. Victoria Gardens............ 149 Dholepur ......... Worlee Fort....................... 147 East India Company (new) ... 121 Botany ................................ 12 Education ........................... Botany of Bombay ............... 161 | Elephanta ........................... 157 Boundaries ........................ 2 Elephants ......... Brahmaputra (valley of) ...... Ellenborough (Lord) ............ Brahmavarta ......... Ellora British Burmah :- Fauna ......... Annexation of Pegu ......... Financial Department ........... Ava and Ameerapoora ...... 186 Fishing ............ Burman Troops 186 Foreign Department ............ Cession of Arracan and Te Forests ......... passerim ..................... 186 Frontier Treaties .............. Divisions ........................ 184 | Ganges Favourable Climate............ 185 Gaols ... Pagan......... ..... ............ 187 Garhwal ............ Rangoon ........................ 184 Geology ........... The Irrawadi .................. 184 Geology of Bombay ............ Troops at Rangoon ............ 184 Ghâts (The)...... „Thayetmyo ......... 185 Ghonds (The) ,, Tonghu ............ 185 Goa Value of British Burmah ... 185 Godaveri ............... ............. 217 181 64 50 88 37 .......... 186 . . . . . . . . . . ........... INDEX. 186 ........... 10 doaa...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 ...... . ay 8 PAGE PAGE Parsis (The) Pertabgarh 195 Arrival in Guzerat ............ 141 Ranikhet ... ....... 214 Conditions imposed ............. 141 Singarh ..... 202 Device to gain protection ... 141 Simla . 204 First Fire-temple erected ... 142 Tungarh ............... 185 Funeral procession ........... 145 Tithul ................ History and Religion ......... 140 Savanur...................... 67 Landing at Ormuz ..... 140 Salt ........ Progessive spirit.. 142 Sawant Wari 67 Purification of the dead. 144 Shah Jehan Religious belief .............. 142 Sikhim ......... Towers of Silence ............. 143 Sivaji................................. People ........ 15 Spears ............ 113 Pig-sticking .......... 110 Supplementary Defences of Pirate Angria .................. 122 | Bombay............. .............. 126 Plassy 33 Supreme Council................... 45 Police 48 Surat and Broach (capture Pondicherry................ 173 of) ......... ................ Population ................. 17 Surveys .......... ................. Postal Service ............ ......... 81 Suwalik (The)..... Public Works Department.... 55 Tagara Puri 175 Tamil.... .................... Railways 73 Tapti .......... Ramayana................. 19 Teignmouth (Lord) ...... Rampur ................... 61 Telegraphs ............. Raniganj 9 Telingana ................... Revenue 55 Telugu ............ Rewa Kanta .......... 67 Terai (The) 63 Tigers Roads................. 78 | Timur ............................. Sanitaria :- Tonk .............. Almora ......... 213 | Topographical Survey. ......... Assirgarh .. 202 Transfer of Government to Chakrata : 214 Crown ........................... Cherat 215 | Travancore Dapuli ......... 185 Tranquebar ......... Dehra Doon 210 Trichinopoly.................. Dalhousie. 215 Tuticorin Khandalla.. 198 Urcha ............................ Lanauli ......................... 200 Uriya................ Mahableshwur 192 Vansittart and Spencer ......... Matheran .. 190 Vindhya (note) Mount Aboo.. 185 | Vikrainaditya ......... Mussuri ................ 212 Vehar ............... 169 Murree. 214 Vizianagram .............. 68 Nasik.............. 203 War with the Mahrattas Nynee Tal............... 213 Warren Hastings..... Paunchgunny ............ 185 / Wellesley (Marquis) ........... Purundhur 201 Wynaad Punalla .... 185 Zoology of Bombay ............ Powagarh ........................ 185 Rewah ... 73 ...... 122 223 The Times of India HANDBOOK OF HINDUSTAN. CHAPTER I. NATURAL FEATURES, Astr mical posi- tion. Dimen- sions. 1.–GEOGRAPHY. INDIA* lies between 8° and 35° N. latitude, and 67° and 97° E. longitude. Itt measures about 1,900 miles in length, from Cashmere to Cape Comorin; and its breadth, from the mouth of the Indus to the mountains east of the Brahmaputra, amounts to considerably more than 1,500 miles. The superficial extent is estimated at 1,287,483 square miles. The sea-board presents a line of 3,622 miles in length. Major Rennelli may be considered the Father of Indian Geography. His labours extended over a period of nineteen years, and resulted in a survey covering an area of 900 miles in length by about 300 in breadth, from the eastern confines of Bengal to Agra, and from the foot of the Himalayas to Calpi. He was succeeded by other surveyors, many of whom carried on their labours while serving with armies in the field; and eventually a number of general maps was completed, which superseded the Surveys. * Malte-Brun and Balbi, ed. of 1859, p. 679.-Hamilton's Descrip- tion of Hindustan, Introduction, p. 17. + Elphinstone's History of India, 5th ed., 1866. !! Statement of the Moral and Material Progress of India, C. R. Markham, 1874." NATURAL FEATURES: Chiefs of Khelat, the Amir of Afghanistan and his , feudatories, the Maharajah of Cashmere, the petty Chiefs of the Satlej districts, Kumaon and Garhwal, the ruler of Nepal, the Rajah of Sikhim, the Deb Rajah of Bhutan, the wild tribes of the hills between Assam and Burmah, and the Manipur Rajah deter- mine the marches of British India on the land side. Within* these boundaries is found almost every General natural feature or description of landscape which aspect. the world affords. Mountain ranges, comprising the highest peaks in the world, the abode of eternal snows, broad plains fertilised by mighty rivers and bathed in the intensest sunshine, sandy deserts, impenetrable forests, undulating steppes, and elevated plateaux, present us with almost an epitome of the whole earth. For a more particular survey of this vast scene, it will be convenient to view it under the following natural divisions :- 1st, the Himalayan region ; 2nd, Hindustan Proper, Natural containing the basins of the Indus and Ganges, the divisions. Great Desert, and the high tract of Central India ; 3rd, the Deckan beyond the Vindhya mountains, comprising the valleys of the Narbadda and Tapti, and a high table-land supported by the Western and Eastern Ghâts; 4th, the valley of the Brahmaputra. Thef Alpine region of Hindustan, which forms The Hi- its northern barrier, is a strip of land not exceed- malayaa ing 150 miles in breadth. It is composed of a re succession of vast mountains rising far above the level of perpetual snow. These frozen deserts con- sist in many places of rugged and bare rocks shooting aloft into the sky, and divided by deep ravines, very steep and often ending in dark chasms, which are sometimes wooded, but as often bare rocks, several hundred feet in height, with little more space between them than has been worn by the violence of the torrents. Here is concentrated all that is sublime in the scenery or * Chambers' Encyclopaedia. + The Encyclopædia Britannica, 8th ed., vol. xi., p. 446. For fuller information on this region, the reader must consult Fraser's Journal of a Tour through the Himalaya Mountains ; Hooker's Himalayan Journals ; Physical Geography of Western Thibet, H. Strachey ; Thomson's Thibet; Raper's Narrative, As. Res., vol. ii. ; Moorcroft's Journal, As. Res., vol. xii.; Humboldt's Vieros of Nature, Illustrations, NATURAL FEATURES. walik. phenomena of nature. On every side are to be seeni snowy summits of stupendous height and of every form: the conical volcanic peak; the mountain regularly rounded, or broken into rugged and appal- ling precipices rising upwards to a tremendous height, or descending with a frightful declivity into deep hollows—and all covered with snow.* The Terai. At the foot of the Himalayan range lies a belt of tropical forest from ten to twenty miles in breadth. This tract is called the Terai. It is the home of the wild elephant, tiger, buffalo, and of countless antelope and deer. At certain seasons of the year, its mala- rious atmosphere drives the settlers on the cultivated patches to seek refuge in the hills. The Su- The Suwalik rango-a low chain of hills-separates the northern Terai from the plains. The slope The mean slope of the Himalaya, from the plains of the Hi- malaya. to the average greatest elevation of the axis, is only 1 foot in 25 : that from the loftiest peak (which is not on the axis) to the plains is 1 in 12. The Peaks. Among the principal peaks are the following :- Mount Everestf (the highest peak in the world), 29,002 feet above the level of the sea ; Kinchinjunga, 28,178 ; Dhawalgiri, 28,000 ; Nanda Devi, 25,700; Jannu, 23,312 ; Kamet, 25,000; Kubra, 24,005; Chunulari, 23,929; and Donkiah, 23,176. Snow line. Thef elevation of the snow line is about 16,000 feet on the southern ranges. In the loftier parts, near and behind the axis, it rises to 20,000. In winter the snow descends to 10,000, and occasional falls occur at an elevation of 5,000 feet. The basin Thef Panjab to the east of the Hydaspes is open of the In- dus. * The word Himalaya comes from the Sanscrit Hima, 'cold' or 'snow,' and alaya, • a place. Pliny was aware of this :—“Imaus incolarum lingua divosum significans." _Hist. Nat., vi., 17. † So named by Sir Andrew Waugh after his old chief, Sir George Everest. This point has been carefully examined and discussed by Stracbey; and is treated by Humboldt in his Views of Nature, ed. of 1850, p. 74. The following works may also be consulted :-Lloyd and Gerard's Tour in the Himalaya, 1840.-Humboldt's Asie Centrale, t. ii., pp. 435- 437; t. iii., pp. 231-236.-Hamilton's Account of Nepal; and the works of Webb, Forbes, Hodgson, Hugel, Herbert, Vigne, Colebrook, Jacque- mont, Moorscroft, and Royle. See Calcutta Review, vol. ix., pp. 162-177; and No. xcvi., pp. 78-124.-Humboldt's Cosmos, vol. i., p. 337, Bohn's ed., and vol. i., pp. 9 and 338.- Art. by Strachey, Jour. As. Soc. of Bengal, new series, No. xxviii., p. 287.-Jour, Geog. Soc., May 1851. s Malte-Bran and Balbi. NATURAL FEATURES. India. Indus east and west, and the Satlej and the sea north and south, is, with the exception of the above region, a waste of sand forming about one-eighth part of the entire surface of India. Oases of various size occur, the greatest being that around Jesalmir. * Between the Indus and the Luni and the Aravalli mountains the desert forms a conti- nuous succession of sand-hills for a space of 450 miles in length, with a breadth varying from 50 to 100. The sand is a dust of the finest quality. The hills are covered with stunted vegetation till within a few months of the rainy season, when, the herbage being blown up, the entire region is aban- doned to vast columns of sand borne furiously along by the wind. Central Thef fifth natural division of Hindustan is an uneven table-land, rising to an elevation of 2,500 feet above the level of the sea, and extending to 700 miles in one direction, and from 200 to 250 in another. On the west it is bounded by the Aravalli mountains, and on the south by the Vindhya range; in the east it is supported by a lower chain in Bandelkand; and on the north-east it gradually slopes down to the basin of the Ganges. The Dec- Thef most remarkable geographical feature of the Indian Peninsula is a vast plateau stretching from 12° to 21° N. latitude, rising to an elevation of 3,000 feet, and enclosed on all sides by mountains, between which and the sea on the east and west are low narrow strips of rich soil divided into many districts of importance. The supporting moun- tains of this table-land rise in stupendous steps, or terraces, and are accordingly termed Ghâts. The rivers of this region rise on the Western Ghâts, traverse the plateau, and descend to the sea over the Eastern Ghâts. The rivers The Narbaddaş drains an area estimated at 36,400 of the Pe- square miles, and is 800 miles in length. The area kan. ninsula. * Malte-Brun and Balbi, p. 687.-Todd's Rajasthan. + Highlands of Central India, by Capt. J. Forsyth.-Malcolm's Memoir of Central India.-Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, vol. iv. I Chambers.--Paulin de St. Barthélemy, tome 1.-Hamilton, vol.ii. ---Baldaeus' Description of Coast of India.-Hamilton's New Account of East Indies.-Buchanan's Journey through the Mysore, &c., vol. ii. & Blandford's Physical Geography, pp. 104-116. NATURAL FEATURES. of the Tapti basin is 27,000 square miles, and its length is 441 miles. The basin of the Mahanadi is put down at 43,800 square miles, and its length is 520 miles. The river Godaveri drains a region extending over 112,200 square miles, and is 898 miles in length. The basin of the Krishna is com- puted to be 94,500 square miles, and its length is about 800 miles. The* northern portion of the Ghâts seldom exceeds The Ghâts. 3,000 feet in height; the Mahableshwar hills form a table-land of about 4,500 feet high, and between 10° and 15° N. latitude there are granite peaks attaining an elevation of 5,000 and 6,000 feet. Farther south, the Neilgherries reach a height of 8,960 feet. · The Eastern Ghâts extend along the borders of the Lower Carnatic and Northern Sircars, are at a greater distance from the sea, and are less lofty and less continuous than those on the west. Assamf is about 360 miles long and from 20 to 70 The Valley broad. It contains an area of some 18,900 square ofthe ofthe Brah- miles. It is almost perfectly level, save where, here maputra. and there, small conical hills, clothed with the richest verdure, rise above the surface abruptly, and attain to an elevation of from 200 to 700 feet. This pro- vince is everywhere intersected by the affluents and branches of the Brahmaputra, a river that drains a basin of 361,200 square miles, and is 1,800 miles in length. 2.-GEOLOGY. It is now nearly twenty-four years since Dr. Old- Geological ham and his staff commenced their geological survey Survey. of India ; and up to the present time they have examined an area about four times as large as Great Britain. The full and particular results of their sur- vey are published in the "Memoirs” of their Depart- ment; while the vestiges of organic remains, met with during the progress of the survey, are collected in a superb series of volumes, entitled the Palæonto- * Calcutta Review, vol. xxxviii., pp. 286-320. + Calcutta Review, vol. xix., pp. 509-532 ; vol. xxi., pp. 382, 415.-Asiatic Researches, vol. xvii., p. 314.- The Hindoos (Knight), p. 14. NATURAL FEATURES. verse band of altered strata and the diluvial deposits of the north, a large tract of country is occupied with palæozoic rocks, frequently broken through and covered with different kinds of trap, and in some places laid over with Secondary and fresh-water Tertiary strata. In this palæozoic district occur the principal coal-fields of India. The great plateau of the peninsula is chiefly Geology of the pe- covered with Trappean rocks, with, however, scat- nis tered portions of Secondary and Tertiary strata. plateau. Pondicherry presents us with the Lower Cretaceous, Trichinopoly and Verdachellum with the Gault and Upper Greensand Series. . . India’s* mineral wealth lies chiefly in coal seams, Minerals. salt mines, and iron ores. The principal coal-fields lie in a region bounded Coal. by the Ganges on the north, and extending beyond the Godaveri to the south, and having Calcutta as its eastern and the Narbadda as its western limits. Out of this tract, the only coal-fields are those in Upper Assam and the Khasia Hills. Mr. Hughes has estimated the area, over which coal rocks may be presumed to extend in India, at 35,000 square miles. Extent of Mr. Blandford divides the coal-fields of India into coal-fie four groups—1st, those of the Rajmahal Hills and Damuda Valley ; 2nd, those in Rewah, Sirgujah, Chota Nagpur, Talchir, &c.; 3rd, the coal of the Narbadda Valley and Satpura Hills; and 4th, the new fields in the valleys of the Wardha and Godaveri. Raniganjt is the most important of the Indian Raniganj. coal-fields. The latest returns are for 1868, when it appears that out of 497,000 tons of coal extracted throughout the whole of India, 493,000 came from Raniganj. The field is 18 miles long from north to south, by 40 wide, with an area of from 500 to 600 square miles. The seams vary in thickness from 1 to 35 feet. Dr. Oldham has roughly estimated the coal available at 14,000,000,000 tons. This field is now traversed by the chord line of the E. I. Railway. Branches run to some of the collieries, of which there are now 44 at work. * Markham. + See article vol. xii., p. 213. on Coal Resources of Bengal, Calcutta Review, 10 NATURAL FEATURES. In- The qua- Indian coal differs from English in being more dian coal. laminated ; and, while the latter contains only 2.7 per cent. of ash, and as much as 68 per cent. of fixed carbon, the former contains from 10 to 30 per cent. of ash, while the proportion of fixed carbon rarely exceeds 60 per cent. Iron. The manufacture of iron in India brings us back to the earliest ages. Iron weapons are found in the old cromlechs and kistvaens, and we possess ancient sculptured representations of the same rude processes that are continued to the present day. The iron-producing minerals in India may be divided into three classes--1st, magnetic and specular iron ores and red hematite, in beds and veins ; 2nd, clay iron ores from the coal-bearing strata ; and 3rd, surface-deposits derived from the waste of meta- morphic and sedimentary strata and from laterite, this formation contains from 20 to 30 per cent. of iron., Iron in In the Salem district of the Madras Presi- Salem. dency, very remarkable deposits of magnetic iron ore are found. They occur in beds of from 50 to 100 feet. thick, and can be traced cropping up for miles. At Lohara, in the Central Provinces, there is a mass of dense red hematite forming an isolated hill, rising 120 feet above the surrounding country. Hitherto, The ma- all efforts at manufacturing iron on a large scale nufacture have proved failures. Mineralogists now recommend speculators to turn their attention exclusively to the ores of the coal measures. At Raniganj the iron stones cover an area of several square miles in thin beds. There is an unlimited supply of impure lime- stone in nodules (called in India ( kankar"), which The cost might be employed as a flux. The cost of a ton of of manu- coal is estimated at Rs. 3, iron ore at Re. 1, and 6 kankar” at Re. 1-8; and the cost of manufac- turing a ton of pig-iron is estimated at Rs. 24. Salto The* low range of hills running through the Jhilam and Shahpur districts on to Kalabagh in the Panjab affords an inexhaustible supply of salt. Some of the beds attain, a thickness of 200 feet.f The bed of the Sambhar Lake in Rajputana also yields very large quantities of this precious mineral. of iron. facture. * Calcutta Review, vol. xxiv., p. 387. † Blandford's Physical Geography, p. 126. NATURAL FEATURES. 11 Copper is worked on a small scale by natives Copper. in Kumaon, Garhwal, Nepal, and Sikhim, and in Jaipur, Rajputana. The ore is also found in the Gurgaon and Hissar districts, and in Kulu and Spiti. In the form of sulphuret, or galena, lead is found Lead. in Kulu, Garhwal, and Sirmur; there is also a mine worked at Subathu, which yields about 40 tons of ore a month, containing 16 to 72 per cent. of lead. There are rich tin deposits in Tenasserim and Tin. Martaban. Gold* in very small quantities occurs in many parts Gold. of India in stream gravel. A hard day's work at washing in the Panjab will not be rewarded by more than three or four annas worth of dust. Silver, associated with lead, is found in Kulu. Silver. Antimony abounds in the Himalayas. Antimony. Cobalt is obtained near Jaipur. Cobalt. Petroleum is found in the Panjab in small quantities. Petroleum. 3.-CLIMATE. provinseasons the hearth- W Indiat comprehends within its frontiers the opposite extremes of heat and cold. The plains are burned up with intense heat ; whilst winter, with every intermediate variety of temperature, prevails in the mountains. As that part of India is situate to the south of the tropic of Cancer, the climate of the lower provinces is tropical, and the year is divided into two seasons, the wet and the dry. But in travelling northward the heat gradually diminishes, until we find in the North-Western Provinces and the Panjab, during certain months of the year, a climate that will bear comparison with the most highly-favored lands of Europe. Still, even here, the summer is extremely hot, and the rainy season alternates with chilly breezes and a stifling closeness. But, from the end of Octo- ber to the middle of March, nothing can surpass the m otarison Stilla * Tieffenthaler Descrip. de l'Inde, tome i., pp. 222-274 ; tome ii., p. 269.-Hamilton's Introduction, vol. i., p. 21.- The Hindoos (Knight), p. 22. Elphinstone, pp. 4 and 5. + Encyclopædia Britannica.-Tieffenthaler, tome i., p. 102.--Malte- Brun and Balbi.-Bernier.-Pennant's Outlines of the Globe.-Groge's Voyage to India.-The Hindoos (C. Knight), 1884, pp. 16 and 17. 12 NATURAL FEATURES. soons. delicious coolness of the bracing morning air, the mildness of day, and the soft winds of night. The mon- The* most remarkable peculiarity of the Indian climate is the stated change of the winds, which blow alternately for nearly half the year in opposite directions. These are termed the monsoons, and blow from the S.W. and N.E.† The periodical rains are ushered in by the S.W. monsoon, which com- mences about the beginning of June in the south of India, and somewhat later towards the north. The dense masses of cloud which arise on the Indian Ocean are carried forward by the S.W. monsoon over the plains of Hindustan, as far as the Himalaya mountains. On the coast they descend in deluges of rain, which diminish as they recede from the sea, unless where the vapours are intercepted by high mountains, when they pour down in torrents of rain on the plains beneath. Meteoro- In 1865, the Governments of Bengal and the logy. North-West initiated the systematic collection of meteorological statistics. In each province a reporter was appointed to collect returns supplied by subordi- nate observers stationed in widely separated districts. Similar arrangements have now been made in almost every province in India ; but much still remains to be done, and there is a great want of centralization in the existing system. More special attention should be directed, moreover, to the normal and abnormal phenomena of the monsoons. We know that the rains depend upon the prevalence of certain winds, and we know, too, their general direction ; that they are caused and directed by differences in barometric pres- sure is also understood, but of the actual distribution of that pressure little is known. 4.-VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. The following are among the more remarkable trees of India :-The teak and the sal, fine timber trees; the rare and beautiful sandal and ebony; the far-spreading banyan ; the simal with its deep-red flower; the sisu, or black-wood ; the mango, valuable Trees. * Malte-Brun and Balbi. Blandford's Physical Geography, p. 138. of Encyc.-Brit. NATURAL FEATURES. 13 alike for its timber and fruit; the graceful tamarind; the babul, or gum-arabic tree, yielding its sweet- scented yellow flower ; the sacred pipal; the epulotic neem ; and the flowering acacia. The mulberry is extensively cultivated; and the cocoa, palmyra, and other palms are common. The useful bamboo, with its graceful tapering branches and gossamer foliage, is seen almost everywhere. The mahua from its pulpy flower distils an intoxicat- ing fluid. In the hills we find numerous pines, walnuts, hazels, maples, chesnuts, and oaks to remind us of the vegetation of Europe ; and the splendid rhododendron grows to an extraordinary size. Forest* conservancy has now been carried on by Forest con- the Government of India for some sixteen years. servancy. Its main objects are—to meet a rapidly increasing demand throughout India for supplies of timber for building, and railway sleepers, and fuel for steamer and locomotive consumption; to produce teak, sandal-wood, catechu, lac, caoutchouc, and other forest produce in the interests of trade; to clothe the mountain slopes, and obviate the effects of a rapid surface-drainage ; to preserve what is rare and beautiful ; and perhaps, in some cases, to modify the climate by influencing the rainfall. To combine and give unity to the work already An Ins- going on in the various provinces of the empire, pe pare, neral of Dr. Brandis was appointed the first Inspector- Forests. General of Forests to the Government of India in 1864; and, in 1867, a system was adopted by which a supply of young gentlemen, thoroughly trained, Trained in practical forestry, surveying, road-making, and natural science, in Germany and France, was secured for the Forest Department. The forests under the control of Government are Three di- apportioned into three divisions-reserved forests, visions of Forests. unreserved forests, and plantations. The reserved forests cover an area of 6,200,000 acres. These pre- serves, however, owing to past neglect, are generally in a poor and exhausted state; and for a long time pector-Ge- Forest offi- cers. * Markham.-Ryle's Illustrations of the Botany of the Himalaya Mountains and Productive Resources of India.-Baden Powell's Eco- nomic Products of the Panjab.-Dr. Forbes Watson's Textile Fabrics. -Oliver's Indian Botany,--Hooker and Thomson's Flora Indica. NATURAL FEATURES. they will cost the State heavy sums on account of surveys, demarcation, boundaries, roads, and planta- tions. In 1872-73 the total revenue of Indian forests was £477,167, and the expenditure £294,686. Spices, &c. On* the Western Coast, pepper and cardamoms are abundant; and everywhere we find capsicum, ginger, cummin, coriander, and turmeric. India, too, supplies us with many well-known aromatics, and the wildest hills are covered with a highly-scented grass, the essential oil of which is supposed by some to have been the spikenard of the ancients. The chemist is supplied with camphor, cassia, fistularis, aloes, &c.; and the manufacturer receives numerous resins, gums, and varnishes from our Indian forests. Agricul- Vast plains are covered with cotton, tobacco, tural pro- poppy, sugarcane, indigo, flax, mustard, sesamum, and palma Christi ; and in some places we find fields of roses for the manufacture of attar and rose-water. On the hills, the cultivation of coffee and tea flou- rishes. Wheat is the staple food of the people of Hindustan ; while the inhabitants of Bengal and the Peninsula subsist chiefly on rice. The De The Department of Agriculturef formed by Lord partment Mayo, collects statistics regarding every branch of of Agri- cultivation, and does all that lies within the province of a Government to foster and encourage whatever may tend to the material advancement of the country. Mr. Hume, the eminent naturalist, now presides over this bureau. duce. culture. 5.—ANIMALS. Beasts prey. Domestic Thef domesticated animals are-horses, asses, animals. mules, oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep, elephants, and of camels. The principal beasts of preyş are-Bengal tigers, maneless lions, leopards, panthers, lynxes, wolves, jackals, hyænas, foxes, and bears. The wild elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros are found in the Deer,&c. deepest jungles. Wild pig are common. Deer and antelope everywhere abound. The curious nilghye is * Elphinstone, p. 7. + Markham, pp. 32-48. | Chambers, vol. v., p. 538. Š In the Central Provinces alone, during the three years from 1866 to 1869, the number of persons killed by tigers amounted to 946. NATURAL FEATURES. 15 frequently met with on the skirts of the forest. Monkeys of many species are countless. Of the tha- natophidia, * the cobra, karite, sand snake, and manilla Snakes. are the most common. The great Indian tortoise sometimes attains a: length of 43 feet. The two species of alligator, innumerable lizards, and the Alligators. universal frog are the most prominent saurians. In the lower creation we have myriads of mos- quitoes, butterflies, locusts, beetles, spiders, flying Insects, &c. bugs, tarantulas, centipedes, houseflies, fireflies, wasps, bees, ants, scorpions, &c., &c. The mahseer (Indian salmon), mango-fish, bickty, mullet, sable, Fish. eel, porpoise, and murahl people the waters. Thef most characteristic birds are the peacock, pheasant, Birds. partridge, grouse, jungle-fowl, bustard, quail, pigeon, parrot, ibis, pagoda thrush, myna, bulbul, bee-eater, tailor-bird, flamingo, pelican, adjutant, eagle, vulture, kite, falcon, hawk, raven, and Indian crow. Wild- fowl, of every description, abound. 6.-PEOPLE. Thef general theory regarding the ethnology of Aborigines India is, that in very early times it was inhabited by a Turanian people, but that, at an epoch not yet determined, a branch of the Aryan race entered Aryans. from the north-west, established themselves first in the Panjab, and then gradually diffused themselves, as a dominant race, over the whole of Northern and Central India, imbuing the subject population, more or less completely, with their religious system and their language, and thus forming the Hindus. The tribes known as Bhils, Ghonds, &c., still inhabiting the mountainous districts and jungles, are supposed to be outstanding islands of the aboriginal population that resisted the tide of Hindu conquest and civilisation. It is widely believed that the Hinduising influence spread feebly, if at all, in the Deckan, and that the many tribes of * Fayrer’s Thanatophidia of India. In 1869, 14,529 people died throughout India from effects of snake-bite. The total deaths caused by snakes and wild animals in 1871 amounted to 18,078. + Jerdon's Birds.--Stray Feathers : passim.-Calcutta Review, vol. xxviii., pp. 120-195 ; vol. xii., pp. 1-25.-- The Ornithology of Our Indian Empire; A. O. Hume (in the Press),- The Game Birds of India; Hume.—My Scrap Book. I Chambers, p. 529. 16 NATURAL FEATURES. querors. Urdu. that region are consequently not Aryans. (The learned author of the Folk Songs of Southern India dissents, however, from this view.) Whether* this is the case or not, it may be safely asserted that the people of India do not form a homogeneous nation, but differ among themselves as much as do the various peoples of Europe. The Maho- The Mahomedan conquerors were mainly Arabs of medan con- the Semitic branch of the human family, and Moghals, Turks, or Tartars of the Turanian. They introduced the literatures of Arabia and Persia, and, when once mingled with the people of India, formed that mixed language which is to this day the most widely spoken vernacular in Hindustan, Urdu. The basis of the language is Hindi or Sanskrit, but a large Arabic and Persian element has entered it, and it is written in the character of Persia. Speaking roughly, the household words are Hindi ; the learned and scienti- fic terms Arabic ; while the expressions of courtesy, and judicial and military terms, are borrowed from the Persian. Social and The four great orders of society among the religious Hindus are-1st, Brahmans; 2nd, Kshatriyas ; 3rd, orders. Veisyas ; and 4th, Sudras. Note.—Mr. Mill bas quoted a passage from Plato in which it is pretended that the fourfold division of the people into castes prevailed in very ancient times among the Athenians.-Cf. Diod. Sic., lib. i., p. 84.--Strabo. lib. xvii., p. 1135. Brahman. Menuf tells us that a Brahman is the first in rank of all created beings, and that, indeed, only through him other mortals enjoy life ; by his imprecations he can destroy a king, with his troops, elephants, horses, and cars ; can frame other worlds and regents of worlds, and give being to new gods and mortals. Happily, however, Brahmans do not exercise these extensive powers at the present day; and, beyond being recognised as a priestly caste, performing sacerdotal functions, and being usually addressed by the people as “maharaj,” their former grandeur would seem to have passed away. They are strictly * Heber's Journal, i., 9. + Elphinstone.-Sir W. Jones' Translation of Menu.--Journal R. A. s. (Wilson), vol. vii., p. 138.- Asiatic Researches-Colebrooke, V., 63 -- Menu, v.-Sir W. Jones' Works, vol. vii., pp. 75-90.-Haughton's Ed. Menu, vol. ii., p. 13. NATURAL FEATURES." 17 excluded from the enjoyment of earthly wealth, power, ambition, or pleasure. Pain and contem- plation are their part. Yet now we see them everywhere, in violation of their sacred writings, seated on the gadi, holding high and lucrative appointments, and even engaging in trade. Perhaps their influence has passed away with their self-denial. The Kshatriya (pronounced Chattri) is the kingly Kshatriya. and warrior caste. Earthly power and glory are the Kshatriya's portion. The Rajputs claim to belong to this order. The Veisya (pronounced Veish) is the trading Veisya. and agricultural caste. Menu says that besides largesses, sacrifices, and reading the Vedas, the duty of a Veisya is to keep herds of cattle, to trade, to lend at interest, and to cultivate the land. The duty of a Sudra (usually pronounced Sudra. Shudar) is to serve the other classes. According to Menu, the religious penance for killing him is the same as for killing a cat, a frog, a dog, or a lizard. So awful is his degradation, that in his presence a Brahman may not read the Vedas, even to himself. The Sudra is forbidden to amass property, lest he should become proud and vex the Brahmans. In a word, he is in all respects abased, and must remain so. At the present day, the caste system is so modified Metamor- by sub-division and intermixture as to be hardly p recognisable. When you ask a man what his caste is, unless a Brahman, he commonly replies by naming some obscure sect or clan of which nothing can be learned by the uninitiated. The three lower strata are now in what the geologist would call a metamorphic condition. The difficulties of arriving at a just estimate of the Population. population are enormous.* The people view with pbic social strata. * Mr. Markham says that the Bengal census of 1871 was regarded in some districts with much suspicion by the people, who believed it to be the forerunner of a new tax, or still more severe measures. One man hid his babies, and, when remonstrated with, urged that they were too young to be taxed. In Murshedabad it was believed that Government intended to blow the surplus population away from guns : elsewhere it was reported that it was to be drafted to the nills where coolies were required. This year (1875), on the census being announced, similar alarms were propagated among the lower classes at Delhi and other cities of Upper India. is NATURAL FEATURES. horror the inquisitorial nature of census papers, pronouncing them a violation of the privacy and decency of domestic life. Recent attempts at nun- bering the British subjects lead us, however, to the conclusion that the old computations resulted in an under-statement of the numbers. * An official report, laid before a Committee of the House of Commons on Indian Affairs in 1831, makes the population 140,722,700.f From the India Office Blue Book of 1874, we extract the following statistics regarding the population of British India :- Province. Area, in square miles. Popula- tion. Date of Census. Density per Sgr. Mile. Bengal and Assam ..... Madras .... North-West Provinces.. Panjab ........ Bombay and Sind ..... Oudh ...... Ajmir ................ Curg ... .............. e .... Berar ................. 248,231 66,856,839 139,698 31,597,872 81,402 30,769,056 103,748 17,596,752 124,943 16,352,623 23,042 | 11,220,032 426,268 4,672 168,312 27,077" 5,055, 412 17,334 2,231,565 1872 1871 1872 1868 1872 1869 1865 1871 1871 1867 269 226 378 170 131 469 159 84 187 128 Mysore *E.G., the Administration Report of 1870 states the population of the districts of Naddia and Cattack to be respectively 568,712 and 215,835, while the census of 1871 gave the numbers as 1,812,795 and 1,449,784. '+ Hamilton, in his Description of Hindostan, i., 37, places the popu- lation at 134,000,000. In the eighth edition of the Encyclopædia Bri- tannica the population is given as 180,367,148. Mr. Montgomery Martin estimates the population at 200,000,000, that is, about 90 inha- bitants to the square mile. CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 1.-HINDU PERIOD. From the early period of Indian history, it is with A.-Hin- difficulty we rescue a few facts from amidst the dusta superincumbent débris of fable and exaggeration. The* first information we receive leads us to infer that the Hindus dwelt at one time between the rivers Sarsuti and Ghaggar, a district lying about a hundred miles to the north-west of Delhi, and extending for about sixty-five miles in one direction, and from twenty to forty in another. This tract, Menu says, was called Brahmavarta, which may mean either “the land of Brahma,' or the land of sacred knowledge.' va The country between that region and the Jumna, and all to the north of the Jumna and Ganges, including North Behar, is next mentioned as a place suitable for the residence of Brahmans, and is termed Brah- Brahmar- marshi. Here we appear to have another step in the diffusion of the Aryan people. The Puranas do not mention these early lands, but introduce us to Ayodhya (Oudh), about the centre of Brahmarshi, Ayodhya. the fountain-head of the Solar and Lunar families. Some seventy generations of the solar race form the subject of mythology, but can take no place in his- tory. The story of the Ramayana,t however, when The Ra- stripped of its poetical finery, leaves us what would mayana. appear to be the naked fact, that one Rama, a power- ful king of Hindustan, marched through the Deckan and conquered Ceylon. The Mahabharataḥ supplies The Ma- Brahm8- habharata. shi. * Elphinstone's History of India, p. 225.—Menu, ii., 17-24. + Mr. Ralph Griffith, the Principal of the Government College at Bepares, has, through his exquisite metrical translation, familiarised English' readers with this great poem. It is ascribed to Valmiki, who probably lived sufficiently subsequent to the events he relates to allow the fungus of fable to invest them. i Vyasa, the author of the Vedas (Marshman holds a different opi- nion, p. 9), is the reputed author of this epic; but there is internal evidence to show that it was put in its present form by Sauti, who received it through another person from Vyasa ; 24,000 of the 100,000 verses it contains are ascribed in the same place to the original poet. - Oriental Magazine, vol. iii., p. 133. 20 HISTORICAL SKETCH. us with the next stepping-stone. It relates the history of a contest between two great families, the Pándus and Curus, for the possession of Hastinapura, in which the former were victorious. The war pro- bably occurred in the fourteenth century before Christ. India was now divided into many States. The story sweeps from Guzerat to the Himalayas, and from the Deckan to beyond the Indus. The names of twenty- nine Pándus who succeeded to the throne is embalmed in legend. Delhi seems to have been the seat of their government. Magadha. A more important dynasty was that of. Magadha. The Kshatriya kings of this line figure in the Maha- bharata as chiefs of a confederation in the basin of the Ganges. They were succeeded by a Sudra family. Magadha is rendered famous by its having been the Buddha birth-place of Buddha, and from its language- (Died 477 Magadhi, or Pali-being still preserved in the sacred B.C.) writings of the Buddhists and Jains. Darius. We* must now glance at the Persian and Greek invasions. Darius crossed the Indus on a bridge of boats, and probably formed a satrapy of the provinces washed by that river. We read that he received vast quantities of gold as tribute. Alexan- Alexander conquered the Panjab, meeting with a der, 327 slight but well-organised resistance. Some of the ; B.C. Indians fought from elephants ; and those who did not excite surprise, appear to have inspired respect. Accounts The Greek historianst tell us a good deal about the oftheGreek people of India. They mention the caste system, the asceticism of the Brahmans, and the absence of slavery. The presents made by the Indians indi- cated wealth, while numerous trading cities and sea- ports proved the existence of a flourishing commerce. The police was excellent; and justice was impar- tially administered by the king and his ministers. Village communities are spoken of ; and the accounts given of the mode of agriculture and procession of the crops, conform to what we see around us at the present day. We cannot quite go with the Greek writers, however, when they state that the Hindus Historians. * We pass over the expedition of Semiramis of Assyria as given by Diodorus. † Herodotus and Ctesias. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 21 are a brave, temperate, truthful, and orderly people, averse to litigation. But perhaps they have dete- riorated. . Chandragapta overthrew the Sudra line of Chandra- Magadha, he himself being a man of low caste. We gapta. learn from Arrian that he was visited by Megasthenes, Megas- thenes. an ambassador from the court of Seleucus. Megas- thenes called the people of Magadha, the Prasii, and their capital, Pataliputra, he corrupted into Pali- bothra. Some have identified it with Patna, * others with Allahabad.† Arrian and Strabo both say that the Prasii were the most distinguished of all the Indian nations, the number of which Megasthenes estimated at 118. Asoka, the third of Chandragapta's line, possessed Asoka. a very extended power. The extent of his dominions appears from the wide distribution of his edict columns, and the humanity of his administration appears from the inscriptions they bear, which provide for the establishment of hospitals and dispensaries throughout his empire, as well as the planting of trees and digging of wells along the highways. The era still employed by the Hindus north of the Vikrama- Narbadda is that of Vikramaditya, who reigned at Ujein fifty-six years before the birth of Christ. Although his career is obscured by fable, it is clear that he was a powerful monarch, ruling over a wide and prosperous country, and patronising letters with the discriminating enthusiasm of a scholar. The next epoch is that of Rajah Bhoja. His Raich name is a household word with the Hindus ; but Bhoja. almost nothing is certainly known of him. His reign terminated about the close of the eleventh century. The Balabhi princes of Guzerat were succeeded The Chaura by the Chauras, who, in A.D. 746, established their dyn a sty of Guzerat, capital at Anhalwara. They were Rajputs, and A.D. 746. became one of the greatest dynasties of India. The kingdom of Canouj consisted of a long Canouj. narrow strip, including Nepal in the east, and on the west extending along the Chambal and Banas as far as Ajmir. Both Rajput and Mahomedan * Major Reunell. † D'Anville, B.C. 22 HISTORICAL SKETCH. writers dwell on the extent and magnificence of the capital of this kingdom, the ruins of which are still to be seen on the banks of the Ganges. This kingdom has given its name to one of the highest families of the Brahman order. The* history of the Deckan, if not so ancient, is less B.- The obscure than that of Hindustan; and, it may be Deckan. added, less interesting. Here the Hindus, being mere colonists, are not so conspicuous as in their own seats; while extremely little is known of the Aborigines. aborigines. Before they are brahmanized, the Hindus speak of them either as foresters and moun- taineers, or as goblins and demons ;t but there are evidences of a higher civilization and higher culture in Tamil literature than these contemptuous epithets would allow. Itt is probable that the Hindus first settled upon the fruitful plains of the Carnatic and Tanjore, before venturing to explore the bleak downs of the higher Deckan. Pliny describes these parts of the country as being covered with trading towns enjoying by sea a commerce with other nations. The people of the Indian peninsulas peak five distinct and important languages, the limits of which mark ethnological boundaries of historical impor- tance. Tamil is spoken in the country called Dravida, lying in the extreme south of the peninsula. On the north this region is bounded by a line drawn from Pulicat to the Ghâts between that and Bangalore, and along these mountains westward to the bound- ary line between Malabar and Canara, which it follows to the sea so as to include Malabar. These limits also include the district of the Malayalam. The northern boundary of the above is in part the Canarese. southern of Carnata, where Canarese is spoken. The sea defines it on the west nearly as far as Goa, and then by the Western Ghâts towards Colapur. A line from Colapur to Bidar will mark the northern limit, and from Bidar to a point between Pulicat and Bangalore, the eastern. * Professor Wilson's Introduction to the Mackenzie Papers.- Elphinstone, p. 236.—Marshman's History of India, i., p. 21. + Dr. Caldwell's Dravidian Comp. Grammar. İ Professor Wilson surmises that the south was civilized tep centuries before Christ. Tamil. HISTORICAL SKETCH. Prolong this last line to Chanda on the river Warda, Telugu. and you have the western limit of the Telugu lan- guage; from this, the northern boundary may be roughly drawn to Sohnpur on the Mahanadi. The eastern limit runs from Sohnpur to Cicacole, and thence along the sea to Pulicat. The line we have already drawn, from Goa through Mahratta. Colapur and Bidar to Chanda, gives us the southern limit of the Mahratta country. The eastern line follows the Warda to the Jujadri (or Satpura) hills south of the Narbadda. These hills form its northern limit as far west as Nadod, and thence through Daman to Goa a line may be drawn defining it on the west. The Uriya district is bounded on the south by the Uriya. Telugu, and on the east by the sea. The western and northern boundary may be roughly indicated by a line from Sohnpur to Midnapur in Bengal. The space left between the Mahratta country, or TheGhonds Maharashtra, and the Uriya district, or Orissa, is in the main a forest tract inhabited by the Ghonds. They, too, have a language of their own, though it has not sufficient importance to be classed with the five mentioned above. The* most ancient kingdoms of the Deccan appear The Pan- to have been those of the Pandyast and Cholas in cha the extreme south, where the Tamil language is spoken. The seat of government of the former was The Pan- finally fixed at Madura, where it existed in the time dyas. of the geographer Ptolemy. The reigning family lost its importance in the ninth century, but remain- ed at the seat of its former power till 1736, when the last member was overthrown by the Nawab of Arcot. The kingdom of Chola had Conjeveram for its The Cholas. capital. It maintained its vigor for an immense period ; and about the eighth century appears to have extended its authority over a considerable por- tion of Carnata and Telingana, and to have spread itself over as much of the country up to the Godaveri as lay east of the hills at Nandirug. In the twelfth century the Cholas appear to have met with a check, cient kine Pandy Tamil former inte • dyas and * Marshman, i., 21. + Strabo mentions an ambassador who came to visit Augustus from the court of King Pandion, or the Pandya monarch. 24 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Kerulu. and to have been driven back within their ancient frontiers. Thus they continued, either as independ- ent princes or feudatories of Vizianagram, until the end of the seventeenth century, when the brother of the founder of the Mahrattas, then an officer under the Mahomedan ruler of Bijapur, being sent to aid the last rajah, supplanted him, and founded the Present family of Tanjore. The ancient division of Kerulu appears to have been colonised by Brahmans about the second century, who divided it into sixty-four districts, and governed it by an ecclesiastical senate, presided over by a Brahman re-elected every three years. Subsequently, however, they came under the subjection of the Pan- dyas, and, about the ninth century, the country was broken up into various principalities; one of the most important of which, Calicut, was under the govern- ment of the Hindu Zamorin when the Europeans first landed in India, under Vasco de Gama, in 1498. Telingana. About the eleventh century, the Belala dynasty appears to have become paramount in this region. They claimed to be Rajputs of the Yadu clan, and at one time they extended their dominion over the whole of Carnata, Malabar, and the Tamil country. They were overthrown by the Mahomedans early in the fourteenth century. Orissa. The* early annals of Orissa are extremely obscure. We know almost nothing about the province until 473, when the Kesari family obtained the throne, which they held till 1131. They were succeeded by the line of Gunga-Bungsu. This dynasty was sub- verted by the Mahomedans in 1568. Maha- Theref are only two facts distinctly visible in early history relating to Maharashtra—the exist- ence, more than twenty centuries ago, of the com- Tagara. mercial mart of Tagara,f so well known to the Romans ; this has been identified with Deogiri, the modern Daulatabad (Elphinstone denies, however, their identity), and was the capital of a long line of sovereigns. The second event is the reign of rashtra, * Hunter's Orissa, and Rajendra Lall's Antiquities of Orissa. + Marshman, i., 23. I This was a great emporium of trade in the second century, and is mentioned by the author of Periplus. HISTORICAL SKETCH. Salivahan. We learn of this prince that he was the Salivahan. son of a potter, that he headed a successful insurrec- tion, dethroned the ruling family, and established a monarchy so powerful and extensive that it gave rise to an era which has survived him for eighteen cen- turies, and is still employed in the Deckan.* 1000. 2.-MAHOMEDAN PERIOD. Thef Mahomedan powers, having subdued Persia Mahmud, and the neighbouring countries, made occasional inroads into India ; and, about A.D. 1000, Mahmud entered Hindustan and effected a permanent esta- blishment. This prince was the grandson of Sabak- tigin, the ruler of Ghazni. He invaded India twelve several times, giving no quarter to the Hindus, and defacing their temples. His last invasion was in 1024, and he died four years afterwards. His dominions comprehended the eastern provinces of Persia, nominally all the Indian countries westward of the Ganges to Guzerat, and from the Indus to the mountains of Ajmir. The Panjabalone, however, was now subjected to the regular government of the Mahomedans. In 1158, the Ghaznian empire was divided into two parts. The western portion was seized by the family of Ghor ; while the countries on the Indus fell to the share of Khusru, who fixed Khusra. his head-quarters at Lahore. The Moslems now extended their conquests eastward ; and Mahomed Mahomed Ghori took the city of Benares in 1194, and Ghori, abandoned it to pillage. He also invaded the region to the south of the Jumna, seized the fortress of Gwalior, and reduced the eastern frontier of Ajmir. He was succeeded in 1206 by Qutb- ,. Qutb-ud- ud-din, who fixed his capital at Delhi, and founded the dynasty of the Slave kings. The emperor Altamsh, who next ascended the throne, extended Altamsh, his conquests over Bengal. During this reign, Janghiz Khan subdued the western empire of Ghazni; and the Moghals, his successors, about Moghals, 1242 made frequent inroads into the north-western provinces of Hindustan. The country was now a 06. 1211. Janghiz Kharthe Moghals, hifo the north- 1242. * Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattas. + Encyclopædia Britannica, ed. 8th. 26 HISTORICAL SKETCH. of Dellain tribes. In the plunderin the ambition Tug scene of internal disorder, from the ambition of rebellious chiefs, and the plundering instincts of the mountain tribes. In the meantime, the Slave kings of Delhi were prosecuting their conquests eastward, and the Moghals were making incursions into the western provinces, and a considerable number of Jelal-ud- them, under Jelal-ud-din, were, in the year 1292, din, 1288. permitted to settle in the country. In 1293, this emperor invaded the Deccan. He was deposed and '.. Ala-ud- murdered by Ala-ud-din, the governor of Karrah, din, 1295. who extended his conquests in the peninsula. Kafur, one of his generals, penetrated into the Car- natic in 1310. Rebellions breaking out in Telingana, it was again subjugated in 1312, and 1313, in which year Ala-ud-din died, the Carnatic was swept by his Mahomed troops from sea to sea. In the early part of Maho- 1325. med Tughlak's reign, the Mahomedan empire to the east of the Indus was more extensive than it ever was at any other period ; but, later on, this monarch allowed both Bengal and the Deckan to slip from his grasp, and lost much territory in Guze- Firuz,1351. rat and the Panjab. Firuz, who succeeded, was more intent on domestic improvement than on foreign conquest. The extent of his public works, * and the humanity of his laws, have cast a halo around his memory. He died in 1388, and, . Mahmud after a brief interval, was succeeded by Mahmud Tughlak, 1394. · Tughlak. The minority of this prince created the greatest confusion ; and, in 1398, the country was Timur,1398 invaded by Tamerlane, who advanced to Delhi, which submitted without a struggle, and was aban- doned to the fury of the barbarian soldiery. A frightful massacre of the defenceless inhabitants was carried on indiscriminately for several days. Thef conqueror then advanced on Mirat, where another massacre occurred ; and afterwards crossed the Ganges, and marched up its banks to the point near Hardwar, where it issues from the hills. Several engagements took place with bodies of Hindus on intent on ab; Firuz, wherritory in Guslip * The following is a list of his public works :-50 dams across rivers for irrigation, 40 mosques, 30 colleges, 100 caravan-serais, 30 reservoirs for irrigation, 100 hospitals, 100 public baths, 150 bridges, besides many other edifices of pleasure or ornament.--Elphinstone, p. 412. The round numbers, however, arouse sceptibism. † Elphinstone, p. 416. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 27 516. the skirts of the hill, in which Timur, notwithstand- ing his lameness and age, exposed his person like a private soldier, and underwent the most extraordi- nary fatigues. He marched along the foot of the mountains to Jamu; then, turning to the south, struck the route by which he had entered India, and disappeared* from the scene, leaving anarchy, famine, and pestilence behind him. Mahmud died in 1413, the last of the Tughlaks. A period of great confusion now succeeded. Numerous competi- tors for empire arose. Under Ibrahim Lodi the, Ibrahim anarchy came to a head, and prepared the way to for the conquest of India by "Baber, sixth in Baber,1525. descent from Tamerlane. This prince, whom we know so intimately from his own memoirs translated by Mr. Erskine, had just been driven out of Transoxiana by the Uzbegs, and Bactria alone remained to him when he invaded India, and in 1525 defeated the emperor of Delhi, and possessed himself of the north-western provinces of India. After a reign of five years, he was succeeded by his son Humayun, who was driven from the throne by Humayun, Shir Shah, whose successful usurpation was succeed- ed by such a period of disorder, five sovereigns having appeared on the throne in the course of nine years, that Humayun was recalled in 1554, and died the following year, leaving his son, the famous Akbar, heir to the throne. The reign of this empe- Akbar,1556 ror, which extended over fifty-one years, was the most admirable and magnificent that India has ever known. He reduced the revolted provinces from Ajmir to Bengal, and by the vigor of his policy, tempered with a wise toleration, he consolidated them into one great empire. In 1585 he set out to conquer the Deckan, which, on the dissolution of the Bahmani empire, was divided among the sovereigns of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda. Akbar died in 1605, at which time his empire was divided into the following subahs, or viceroyalties :-Lahore, Mul- tan, Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Oudh, Ajmir, Guzerat, Behar, Bengal, Malwa, Berar, Khandeish, Ahmad- nagar, and Cabul. We know much of the inter- 530. * He was now marching on Bajazet. 28 HISTORICAL SKETCH. nal economy of Akbar's administration from the Ayini Akbari ("Regulations of Akbar'). It* con- tains a minute description of the establishments and regulations of every department, from the mint and treasury down to the fruit, perfumery, flower offices, the kitchen, and kennel. The whole affords an astonishing picture of magnificence and order, where great numbers perform their duties without disturbance, and a wise economy is seen amidst the most splendid profusion. The great emperor was succeeded by his son Selim, who assumed the title of Jehangir, Jehangir. It was in this reign that Sir Thomas 1605. Roe, the first English ambassador to the Great Moghal, arrived in India. The Portuguese had already acquired considerable possessions in Bengal Shah Je- and Guzerat. Shah Jehan, who disturbed his father's han, 1627. reign with constant rebellions, now succeeded to the throne. He now pursued his conquests in the Deckan with renewed activity. In 1633, the first quarrel arose between the Portuguese and Moghals, and ended in the expulsion of the former from Hughli. The country was again disturbed with civil war in 1658, the emperor contending with his sons, and the sons brawling among themselves. Seven years before his death, Shah Jehan was supa planted by his son Aurangzib, and kept in honorable confinement in the fort at Agra. Shah Jehan was the most magnificent prince that ever ap- peared in India. His retinue, his state establish- ments, his largesses, and the economy of his court, were all on the most stupendous scale. The peacock throne, the new city of Delhi, the Jamma Masjid, and the Taj Mahal are monuments of his taste and splendour. At his death, the Moghal empire extended from Cabul to the Narbadda, westward of this river to the Indus, and eastward it comprehended Bengal and Orissa; while to the south the Moghals had conquered a large tract of country, bounded by Berar on the east, westward by the hills towards the Concan, and by the dominions of Golconda and Bijapur to * Elphinstone. † The chief resources of information respecting this reign are- Khafi Khan's History, Gladwin's Reign of Jehangir, Major Price's edition of Jehangir's Memoirs. Sir T. Roe in Churchill's Voyages. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 29 born 1627. the south. Aurangzib, having removed his elder Aurang- brothers from the scene, found himself firmly seated zit Alamgir), on the throne. From 1660 to 1678 Hindustan 1658. enjoyed the profoundest peace. The Deckan was again invaded, and eventually completely subjected to the emperor of Delhi. In 1678, Aurangzib was engaged in quelling the rebellion of the Pathans beyond the Indus, and the Rajputs, by whom he was so hemmed-in among the mountains as hardly to be able to escape. In 1681 he again attacked them, and took and destroyed Chittore. A more formidable enemy than any the Moghal emperors had yet to deal with, now arose. Sivaji, * one of the greatest leaders of Sivaji, light cavalry that the world has ever seen, gathered around him a few other fiery particles like himself, broke his allegiance to the Rajah of Bijapur, whose subject he was, and commenced to form a great nation out of the loose, floating masses of his wild countrymen. The extraordinary vehemence of his character fascinated the most bold and adventurous spirits, whom he bound to himself by the aid of his commanding character and heroic achievements : thus he formed a chosen body of troops, whom he led forth to an unparalleled series of military enterprises. This was Aurangzib's thorn in the flesh. His fron- tiers were incessantly threatened and violated by these desperate horsemen, and it required all the resources of his vast empire to prevent and repel their assaults. Athis death, Sivaji left a kingdom extending for four hundred miles in one direction and one hundred and twenty in another. For the last fifteen years of his reign, Aurangzib was for the most part engaged in the field. While absent in the Deckan, the peace of the empire was disturbed by the insurrections of the Rajputs, and the Jâts, hitherto only known in the character of banditti. During this monarch's reign, the Moghal empire attained to its highest pitch of prosperity. It extended from the tenth to the thirty-fifth degree of latitude, with nearly as many degrees of longitude, and its annual revenue was equal to thirty-two millions sterling. On the death of Aurangzib, the sovereignty was * Grant Duf's History of the Muhrattas. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 31 1533 he was followed by Newberry and Fitch, who Newbury travelled through Syria to India, bearing a letter 1593. and Fitch, from Queen Elizabeth to Akbar. Fitch's account of the country and its inhabitants is still extant. The first English expedition destined for India was rather warlike and buccaneering than commercial. It was destined to cruise against the Portuguese, and was sent out in 1591, under the command of Raymond's command of Expedition Captain Raymond. Sickness, shipwreck, and other 1591. disasters, however, rendered it a complete failure. Yet the design of opening up commercial com- munication with India was not abandoned ; and when the Dutch, in 1595, had despatched four ships with that purpose, English jealousy and cupidity were aroused. In 1599 a Company was formed in The Com- London, with a subscribed capital of £30,133-6-8. pany, 1599. This was the mundane egg out of which was even- tually evolved our mighty empire in the east. In 1600 the Company received a Royal Charter of Privileges, The Cher. conditionally, for fifteen years. In the following ter of 1600. year a little fleet of five small ships sailed from Tor- bay under the command of James Lancaster, who The Ex- had acted as lieutenant to Raymond in the last pedition of expedition. He was furnished with letters from Queen 1601. Elizabeth to various eastern potentates, who had probably never heard of her majesty's existence. The fleet visited Acheen, captured a Portuguese vessel in the Straits of Malacca, touched at Bantam, and returned with a rich cargo of calicoes and spices. In 1612 the Moghal emperor granted them a char- The Fir- tér authorising their first establishment on the man of 1612 continent of India, and in that year the first little factory arose at Surat. A Scotch surgeon, named Boughton, resident in Surat, had performed important professional services for the imperial family, and received from Shah Jehan and his viceroy in Bengal valuable privileges; and in 1656 the English erected u a fortress at Hughli. In 1640 the site of Madras 1656. had been obtained, and a fortress was erected 1 ed Madras, by order of King Charles I. Bombay formed a Bombay, portion of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, and 1668. in 1668 Charles II. made it over to the East India Company, who removed their head-quarters here from Surat. In 1696, the villages of Chattanatti, Fort 1640. 32 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Calcutta, and Govindpur were purchased from Azim, the grandson of Aurangzib. The* history of Calcutta up to 1756 is little more than a record of the efforts of the British merchants to resist the exactions of the Nawab of Murshedabad, a viceroy of the Delhi emperor. In 1716 an embassy was sent to Farokhsir to secure the protection of our commercial interests. It was successful, and the merchants determined to make Calcutta a presi- dency, or head-quarters of their chief agent in the east of India, just as Bombay was on the west and Madras on the south. In 1742 the Mahrattas attacked Bengal, and demanded an impost termed “ chauth," or one-fourth. It was then that the Mahratta ditch was dug around Calcutta, to afford protection against a repetition of this attack. Thet French, who had established an East India Company in the reign of Louis XIV., were the only formidable rivals we possessed in India. The Portuguese were now our allies, and their power was inconsiderable. The Dutch chiefly confined their attention to Java and the neighbouring islands. The French had two important settlements, Chandernagar on the Hughli, and Pondicherry on the coast of the Carnatic. They also possessed the Isle of Bourbon and the Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. The wars of the mother- Madras countries spread to these remote colonies. In 1746, taken by the French, under La Bourdonnais, took Madras ; ench, and Dupleix, governor of Pondicherry, in violation of 1746. the terms of the capitulation, carried the principal inhabitants to that town, and paraded them through the streets in triumph. Madras was restored at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. During the peace, Dupleix, by intrigues with the native princes, endeavoured to extend the French empire in India at the expense of the English ; but he was encountered by the superior Clive- For genius and valor of Clive, a clerk who had been born 1725, died 1774. among the captives at Madras. The taking of Arcot, the victory at Arni, the capture of the great pagoda are achievements which our very limited space will not permit us to detail. After the most gallant the Fren THIS * Lethbridge, p. 101. + Hume, p. 622. 34 HISTORICAL SKETCH, 1763 1763 1764 1764 1764 1765 1765 Massacre of Patna. Flight of Mír Kasim. First Sepoy Mutiny. The Battle of Buxar. Humiliation of the Nawab of Oudh. Death of Mírjafar. Clive a third time in India. Clive’s Second Administration, 1765-67. 1765 Grant of the Dewani to the English. 1766 Confederacy against Haider-Tippu. 1767 Final Retirement of Clive. Verelst, Cartier, and Hastings, successive Governors of Bengal, 1767-74. 1773 Treaty of Benares. 1774 The Rohilla War. THE GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF BRITISH INDIA From 1774 to 1858. Warren Hastings, 1774-85. 1773 The Regulating Act. 1775 The Begams of Oudh. 1776 Nandakumar. 1785 Retirement of Hastings. 1788-95 His Trial. 1784 Fox's India Bill. 1784 Pitt's India Bill. 1785-86 Sir John Macpherson, Acting Governor- General. 1772 Haider defeated by the Mahrattas. 1776-79 His Recovery of Power. 1779 Capture of Mahé by the English. 1779 Triple Confederacy against the English. 1780 Haider invades the Carnatic. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 35 1780 1781 1781 1781 1781 1781 1781-83 1782 1783 1784 1784 Colonel Baillie captured. Sir Eyre Coote brings Reinforcements from Bengal. Battle of Porto Novo. Overland March of an Army from Cal- cutta. Second Battle of Pollilor. Battle of Solingarh. · War between the English and Dutch. Death of Haider. Campaign in Malabar. . English invade Mysore. The Treaty of Mangalore. 1788 1784-87 1788 1789 1790-92 1792 1793 Lord Cornwallis, 1786-93. Annexation of the Gantar Sircar. Tippu at war with the Mahrattas. His Conquest of Malabar. He attacks Travancore. Third Mysore War. Siege of Seringapatam. The Permanent Settlement. Lord Teignmouth (Sir J. Shore), 1793-98. 1797 Trouble in Oudh; Assassination of Mr. Cherry. 1797 Settlement of Nawab of Carnatic's debts. 1798 1798 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 The Marquis Wellesley, 1798-1805. Subsidiary Treaty with the Nizam. War with Tippu. Battle of Sedasir. Battle of Mallavelli. Siege of Seringapatam. The Storming of Seringapatam. Death of the Sultan. Settlement of Mysore. HISTORICAL SKETCH, 37 . 1837 1837 1838 1839 1839 1839 1839 1839 1840 1841 1841 Lord Auckland, 1836-42. Disputed Succession in Oudh. The Persians attack Herat. Tripartite Treaty. Advance of the British Army. Shah Shuja enthroned at Candahar. Storming of Ghazni. Occupation of Cabul. Return of the Main Army. Battle of Parwan. Revolt of the Khiljis. Outbreak at Cabul. Assassination of Macnaghten. Disastrous Retreat. Defence of Jalalabad. The First Chinese War. Retirement of Lord Auckland. 1842 1842 1840-42 1842 1842 1842 1842 1842 1842 1842 1842 1842 1843 1843 1843 1843 1843 1843 1844 Lord Ellenborough, 1842-44. Relief of Jalalabad. Relief of Candahar. General Pollock's Advance on Cabul. General Nott joins him. Rescue of Prisoners. Storming of Istalif. Evacuation of Afghanistan. Causes of the Sind War. Attack on the Resident. Battles of Miani and Haidrabad. Annexation of Sind. Troubles in Gwalior. Battle of Maharajpur. Battle of Panniar. Recall of Lord Ellenborough. 1845 1845 1845 Lord Hardinge, 1844-48. The Sikhs cross the Satlej. Battle of Mudki. Battle of Firuzshahr. HISTORICAL SKETCH. BIBLIOGRAPHY. The following are among the most accessible authorities on the history of India :- Marshman's History of India. Williams' Rise and Progress of Elphinstone's History of India. | Bengal Native Infantry. Mills' History of British India. Verelst's Views of English Go- (Continued by Professor Wilson.) | vernment in Bengal. Macfarlane's History of British Robertson's Historical Disquisi- India. tions concerning Ancient India. Murray's History of British India. Mackenzie's Sketch of the War Auber's Rise and Progress of the | with Tippu Sultan. British Power in India. Vincent's Periplus. Rennell's Memoirs of Hindustan. Priaulx's Travels of Apollonius of Bruce's Annals of the H. E. I.C. Tyana. Malcolm's Sketch of the Political The Hindus (Knight). History of India. Heeren's Uber die Politik, &c., Orme's Government and People vol. 1., p. 3. (On India.) of Hindustan. Hunter's Annals of Rural Bengal. Orme's Historical Fragments of Fraser's History of Nadir Shah. the Moghal Empire. Elliot's History of India, as told Orme's Éistory of the Military by its own Historians. Transactions of the British Sir W. Napier's Conquest of Nation in India. Sind. Grant Duff's History of the Mah Cunningham's History of the rattas. Sikhs. MacGregor's History of the Sikhs. Kennedy's Campaign of the Army Scott's History of Bengal. of the Indus. Keene's Moghal Empire. Hough's March and Operations of Steinbach's Panjab. the Army of the Indus. Stevens' Translation of the History Buist's Operations of British of the Conquest of Portuguese Troops in Sind and Afghanistan. India, by Faria and Souza. Count Bjornstjerna's British Em- Erskine's History of India under pire in the East : translated Baber and Humayun. by Lloyd. Lond. 1840. Thornton's History of British Eyre's Military Operations at India. Garrett's History of British India. Lady Sale's Journal. Shore's Notes on Indian Affairs. Snodgrass' Narrative of the Bur- Thomas' Pathan Kings of Delhi. 1 mese War. Malleson's History of the French Gleig's History of the British in India. Empire in India. Malleson's Historical Account of Malcolm's Our Indian Empire. the Native States. Fullarton's Account of Military Malcolm's Memoir on Central India. Operations in the Southern part Ward's View of the History, Lite- of India. rature, &c., of the Hindus. Wilks' Historical Sketches of the Todd's South of India. Malcolm's Life of Lord Clive. Ainslie's Historical Sketch of Life of Lord Teignmouth, by his Christianity in India. Son. | Whitehead's History of the Esta- Thorn's Memoir of the War in blished Church in India. India conducted by Lord Lake. Cabul. CHAPTER III. BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 1.-ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS. THE following are the territorial divisions into which British India is distributed for administrative purposes. The Lower Provinces of Bengal* have an area, Lower Provinces. considerably greater than France and as great as Austria, with a population surpassing that of either. They are divided into two parts. The one consists of the fertile and populous districts of the basin of the Ganges, constituting Behar and Bengal Proper, with the maritime districtst of Orissa ; and the other the hill tracts of Orissa, and the extensive territory south of Behar, which was till recently inappropriate- ly termed the south-west frontier, but is now usually styled the Chota Nagpur Division. This tract, which has an area not far short of that of England, forms the eastern shoulder of the plateau of Central India. It is, in the main, a wild and mountainous region, clothed with forests and inhabited by aboriginal races. The Lower Provinces are divided into ten Com- missionerships, viz.-Bhagalpur, containing four districts; Bardwan, five districts; Chittagong, five districts ; Chota Nagpur, five districts ; Dacca, four districts ; Kuch Behar, three districts; Orissa, four districts; the Presidency division, five districts; Patna, six districts ; Rajshahi, seven districts. The government of the Lower Provinces is entrust- Local Go- vernment. ed to a Lieutenant-Governor, assisted by a Legislative Council; under him are the Commissioners of Divisions and the Collectors and Magistrates of Districts. Calcutta is the capital, but in summer Government sometimes migrates to Darjiling. The High Court is the supreme tribunal to which appeals are carried from the courts of the local Judges in the principal * Chesney's Indian Polity. Barton's Bengal. + Won in 1803, by an expedition from the Lower Provinces, from the Mahratta Rajah of Berar.--See Hunter's Orissa, 42 BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. West. are nearls, which helft; togetheeded by the districts ; it also has original jurisdiction in a great variety of cases. The Board of Revenue receives reports collated by Commissioners from District Collectors, and is the final tribunal, within certain limits, in questions relating to the land-rent. The North- The North-Western Provinces (of Bengal) were formed of the tracts conquered by Lord Lake and ceded by Scindia, and of the districts ceded by the Nawab Vizier of Oudh in 1801 ; together with the province of Benares, which had been acquired in 1781. They are nearly equal in area to Great Britain ; and are densely populated, having, as we have elsewhere stated, an average of 378 persons to the square mile. This portion of the empire comprises seven divisions under Commissioners, viz.–Agra, with six districts ; Allaha- bad, with six districts; Benares, with six districts; Jhansi, * with two districts ; Mirat, with six dis- tricts; Rohilkand, with six districts; and Kumaon. Local Go- A Lieutenant-Governor presides over the adminis- vernment. tration. He differs from the head of the Bengal (proper) Government in not having a Council : other- wise he employs a similar machinery. Allahabad is the seat of Government ; in the hot weather, how- ever, the Lieutenant-Governor and the heads of departments usually migrate to Naini Tal, a beauti- ful sanitarium in the Kumaon Hills. The Pan- The Panjab has a greater area than the North- jab. Western Provinces, yet its population is little more than half as great. It is a non-regulation province (v. note* below); and is divided into thirty-two districts, distributed among ten Commissioners. The following are the divisions or Commissioner- ships:-Ambala, with three districts; Amritsar, with three districts ; Delhi,t with three districts; the Derajat, with three districts; Hissar, with three dis- tricts; Jallandar, with three districts ; Lahore, with * Jhansi and Kumaon are what are termed "non-regulation divi- sions ;" that is, they are divisions which, not having enjoyed a settled and penetrating system of government for any length of time, are administered with a direct and simple machinery until they become ripe for more advanced institutions. † Shortly after the Mutiny, the country formerly known as the Delhi territory up to the right bank of the Jumpa, and including the city of Delhi and adjacent districts, was transferred from the North-Western Provinces of Bengal to the Panjab; and the Chief Commissioner of that province was eleyated to the rank of a Lieutenant-Governor. BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 43 three districts; Multan, with four districts; Peshawar, with three districts ; Rawalpindi, with four districts. A Lieutenant-Governor presides over the province. Local Go- The principal judicial tribunal is termed the Chief vernment. Court. A Financial Commissioner replaces the Board of Revenue of Regulation Provinces. The administration is carried on by military officers in civil employment, and members of the Bengal Civil Service. Each division has its Commissioner, who is represented in the various districts within his jurisdiction by Deputy Commissioners (analogous to the Magistrates and Collectors of Regulation Provinces). The Deputy Commissioner is assisted by Assistant Commissioners and Extra Assistant Commissioners ; and these have under them Teh- sildars, who preside over the small sub-districts that form the ultimate units of administration. Lahore is the capital; but the hill-station of Marri is usually visited by the Government in the hot weather. This province, which was annexed in 1856, is about Oudh, equal in extent to Belgium and Holland together; and is more densely populated than any other part of India, the average being 469 persons to the square mile. It is distributed among four Commissioners, the following being their divisions-Faizabad, with three districts ; Lucknow, with three districts ; Rai Bareli, with three districts; Sitapur, with three districts. It is governed by a Chief Commissioner ;* and, Local Go- instead of the High Court and Board of Revenue vernment. we find in Regulation Provinces, it has a Judicial Commissioner and a Financial Commissioner. Luck- now is the seat of Government. The Central Provincest are a collection of pro- the cen * The Governors of Bombay and Madras have each two aides-de- vinces. camp, a band, and small body-guard. The Lieutenant-Governors bave & single aide-de-camp, besides a private secretary, and their escort is furnished from the native army. A Chief Commissioner has no staff. The Secretaries of the Supreme Government address Governors and Lieutenant-Governors through their Secretaries, but Chief Commissioners in person. Nominally, the Chief Commissioner has no patronage or authority ; every appointment is supposed to be initiated, and all promotion controlled, by the Supreme Government; while for every administrative act the Central Power is responsible, as it is, nominally, made either under its orders, or subject to its control. + This territorial division was created in 1861 by detacbing the country known as the Sagar and Narbadda districts from the N. W. P., and uniting it to the province of Nagpur, the Commissioner of which became Chief Commissioner of the amalgamated provinces. 44 BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. have an adras, be forest vinces obtained at various times from different Mahratta States ; they have an area nearly as exten- sive as the presidency of Madras, but contain a large proportion of uncultivated and forest land, sparsely inhabited by aboriginal tribes. The nucleus of these provinces was the tract of country near the source of the Narbadda, ceded by the Mahrattas after the war of 1817-18. There are four divisions, and an extra district :-Chattisgarh, with three districts ; Jabalpur, with five districts; Nagpur (which lapsed to us in 1854), with five districts; Narbadda, with five districts ; and the Upper Godaveri district. Local Go- It is governed by a Chief Commissioner and an vernment. administrative establishment similar to that of Oudh. The Berars. This province is somewhat larger than Denmark, with about the same population. It is formed into two divisions-East Berar, with three districts ; and West Berar, with three districts.. Local Go- It is administered by the Resident at the Nizam's vernment. Court, under the orders of the Government of India. Mysore To the above may be considered as added, for purposes of administration, the province of Mysore, forming that portion of the kingdom of Tippu which, on its conquest in 1799, was made over to a descen- dant of the ancient Hindu rulers. In 1832, the management of the country was resumed by the British, in consequence of the Rajah's misrule; and it has since then been administered in his name by Local Go- an English Chief Commissioner, under the orders of vernment. the Government of India. It has now been deter- mined to restore the country to the Rajah's son when he shall be of age. Mysore forms a table- land from 3,000 to 6,000 feet above the level of the sea; and is about as large and as populous as Bavaria. The small mountainous province of Curg, which was annexed in 1834, is attached to it. Mysore is divided into three divisions-Ashtagram, with two districts ; Nagar, with three districts ; Nan- didrug, with three districts. Curg forms a district. Madras. The Governor of Madras* rules over a territory 09 . * This presidency, from a few scattered districts, was developed into the important territory it now forms in 1801, when the Nawab of the Carnatic, whose finances were hopelessly involved, was obliged formally to cede his dominions. BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. Local Go- vernment. in extent only about one-half of that under the Lieutenant-Governor of the Lower Provinces of Bengal, and only a little larger than Great Britain and Ireland. For administrative purposes, the presidency is divided into twenty districts--Bellary, Coimbatore, Cuddapah, Ganjam, Godaveri, Krishna, Karnul (annexed in 1841), Madras City and Chin- galput, Madura, Malabar, Nielghiri, Nellore, North Arcot, Salem, South Arcot, South Canara, Tanjore, Tinnevelli, Trichinopoly, and Vizagapatam. The government is carried on by a Governor, Local Go- Council, and Legislative Council. A High Court and Board of Revenue watch over the administration of justice and the collection of the land-rent. The Bombay presidency is nearly equal in extent Bombay. to the North-Western Provinces of Bengal; but its population is less by nearly one-half. It was, in great measure, formed of the territories taken from the Peishwa, Scindia, and Holkar in the Mahratta war of 1817-18. It is divided into three Com- missionerships—Northern Division, with seven Col- lectorates; Southern Division, with nine Collectorates; and Sind Division, * with five Collectorates. Its administrative establishment is similar to that Local Go- of Madras. the North-Ww presidency of the land-dministration vernment. 2.-GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. Thef business of the Supreme Government has for many years been conducted in separate departments. These are now six in number—Foreign, Home, The six de- Financial, Military, Agricultural, and Public Works. The proceedings of each department are recorded in a separate office, presided over by a Secretary, under whose signature all orders of the Government are issued, and to whom all communications are addressed, excepting the despatches from the India Office. The Supreme Executive Council is a cabinet formed of The Su- six persons, in addition to the Commander-in-Chief Promo of the Forces, who has usually, but not necessarily, a seat ex-officio. Each member becomes the res- ponsible minister of a bureau, the Viceroy taking charge of the portfolio of Foreign Affairs. Thus we * Annexed in 1843. Chesney, p. 146. BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. must act in concert with the, English Cabinet; especially when dealing with an European State, or first-rate oriental power such as China or Persia, at whose court Her Majesty is directly represented. The Vice- But even subject to this limitation, the Indian Foreign tical range roy's poli- Office yet remains the focus of politics for half Asia, of vision. the storehouse of the romance of all the East. Murmurs of Dutch aggression in far Sumatra, and whispers of piratical prahus lurking amid the unex- plored isles of the Malayan Archipelago; rumours of French enterprize in the feverish rice-swamps of Cochin China; and quaint glimpses of Burmese life at the court of the Golden Footed Monarch of Manda- lay-such are the varied contents of a mail packet from the southern seas. Out of the west come tidings of pilgrim-caravans at Mecca, of pearl-fishers in the Persian Gulf, or of burning slave ships on the coast of equatorial Africa; outrages of the Christian emperor in Abyssinia, and the Wahabi fanatic at Riad, have also excited their share of attention. North- eastward, down the Himalayan passes of Bhutan and Nepal, the life that slowly stirs among the lamas and monasteries of Thibet, sends now and then a faint pulsation into Bengal; while the valley of Cashmere, and the passes of the Karakoram, have afforded a passage to envoys from the uncouth Khans of Chinese Tartary, or Eastern Turkistan. Finally, in the farthest north, beyond Afghanistan, and amid the deserts of the wandering Turkomans, looms the giant form of restless Russia. In fact, it would be hardly an exaggeration if the English Viceroy's political range of vision were to be stated in the magnificent syllables of Milton- “His eye might there command, wherever stood City of old or modern fame, the seat Of mightiest empire, from the destined wall Of Cambalu, seat of Cathaian Can, And Samarcand by Oxus, Temir's throne, To Paquin of Sinaean kings; and thence To Agar and Lahor of Great Mogul, Down to the Golden Chersonese ; or where The Persian in Ecbatan sat, or since In Hispahan, or where the Russian Ksar In Mosco; or the Sultan in Bizance, Turchestan-born; nor could his eye not ken The empire of Negus to his utmost port, Ercoco and the less maritime kings, Mombaza and Quinloa and Melind." BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 49 Central e 1872-73, out of 358 murders there were 140 convic- tions. The police force in Oudh numbers 4,898 Oudh and constables ; that in the Central Provinces 7,379, , Provinces. exclusive of municipal and railway police. In Bombay there is now a distinct and complete Borabay. executive for police purposes. The pay of a constable is fixed at seven or eight rupees a month, and, unless he can read and write, he is ineligible for promotion, The railway police was organised by Government in 1866. Convictions are at present only in the ratio of 39 per cent. to the crimes ; the consequence is that crime is on the increase. The village police, under the control of the Magistrates, is composed of the old Mahars, or watchmen of the ancient Mahratta village system. In the Bara Baluta, or body of village authorities, the Mahar stands tenth. The Patel, or head-man, is first, and is responsible for all revenue and police matters. There are still two semi-military bodies of police in the Bombay presi- dency, namely, the Khandeish Bhil Corps of 840 men, and the Guzerat Bhil Corps of 503 men. The Bhils are the aboriginal mountaineers of Khandeish. They are professional robbers, and were long the terrors of the peaceful settlers in Khandeish. The two Bhil Corps have now, however, diverted the energies of the most troublesome spirits into a useful channel. The police force in the Madras presidency consists Madras. of 22,018 men, besides the watchmen. The per- centage of convictions, in cases tried in 1872-73, was 51.7. The force in Mysore numbers 6,440 men. Mysore. The gaols throughout India are usually under the Gaols. charge of medical officers. They are all on the industrial principle. Great attention is paid to sanitation ; and sometimes, it is to be feared, the material welfare of the prisoner renders his con- dition more tolerable than it would be were he in the enjoyment of freedom and innocence. In Ben- Lower gal there are 7 central gaols, 54 district gaols, and Provinces. 87 lock-ups. The number of prisoners in the year 1872-73 amounted to 20,489. Gaol labour is divided into-penal, comprising the treadmill, stone- breaking, and lime and flour-grinding; hard, includ- o penala to 20.4 Prisoners ct saols, ben, 50 BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. The Pet 1,239 con based in his ties, ing earthwork, drawing water, hewing wood, and blanket-weaving ; light, such as tailoring, dyeing, weeding, gardening, and writing. In the above- mentioned year, the Alipore gaol jute-mills yielded a profit of £18,150, and the gaol press £9,422. In Bombay. Bombay, 20,747 prisoners were confined during the year 1872 ; and there were 62 executions. In the Madras. Madras presidency the gaols were tenanted by Port Blair. 23,441 prisoners. The penal settlement in the Andaman Islands contained 7,239 convicts. Education. The system of public instruction is based on the proposals put forward by Sir Charles Wood in his despatch of July 19th, 1854. The objects aimed at were stated to be the provision of a first-class edu- cation for the wealthier classes, and of elementary instruction for the masses of the people. With a view to attaining these ends, departments of public instruction were created in each administrative Universi. division of the empire ; and subsequently universities were established in the three presidencies to control the progress of the higher education ; fix, by examinations, the standards of attainment; and confer degrees. The government of each is vested in a Vice-Chancellor and senate, and diplomas are granted in the faculties of Arts, Law, Medicine, and Engi- neering. The machinery is now in full working Primary order. In every corner of the empire primary schools Schools. are established, aided or authorised by Government, in which the children of the people learn to read and write their own language, obtain a knowledge of the. simpler processes of arithmetic, and acquire a smat- tering of Persian or some other polite tongue. They are periodically visited by Government Inspectors, who carefully examine the children, and test the efficiency and industry of the masters. The more promising boys are often drafted up to one of the preparatory city schools, where they undergo a course of instruction, embracing the elements of an English education, that fits them eventually for the High Schools. School, where English is the medium of instruction. Here, again, they are prepared to matriculate at one of the universities; when they are entered as stu- Govern- dents of some Government college. A curriculum ment Col- leges. of four years at these institutions, and the passing BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 53 arieg. 160 girls go to school with their brothers, and learn needle-work in addition to the ordinary course. A vast amount of educational work is done by Mission- missionaries of all denominations ; their great pro- ficiency in the vernaculars supplying them with extraordinary facilities for instruction. Their presses are also actively engaged in the good work. From 1862 to 1872 they issued 3,410 new works in 30 languages, and 2,375,040 school-books were cir- culated. There are 25 presses at work. The Financial Department does not superintend The Fi- revenue business ; this is dealt with by the Agricul- me io nancial De- partment. tural Department; but it is the final authority in all matters involving an increase to the public esta- blishments, or, generally, a permanent charge on the State. It thus stands in the position of the English Treasury. Another of its functions is to control ultimately the issue of coin and paper money. There* are three mints in India—at Calcutta, Bom- The three bay, and Madras—the masters of which are officers Mint of the Supreme Government, receiving their instruc- tions directly from the Financial Department. The Mint Master is also the Commissioner of Paper Currency. The introduction of a paper currency Paper dates from 1861. India had been steadily draining Europe of bullion at the rate of ten millions sterling a year ; and the circulating medium in India being silver, huge boxes were being perpetually transmitted, at great expense and risk, to and fro over the length and breadth of the land. At the close of 1860, Currency. ** An interesting pamphlet has been published by Mr. Seccombe on the metallic currency of India. It would appear that the silver rupee was first introduced by Shir Shah, the weight being 11% mashas. Akbar's rupee, called the jilály, was of the same weight and value, being 179.5 troy grains of nearly pure silver. The later rupees of Akbar's successors weigh 175 grains. The towns of Agra, Ahmedabad, and Cabul alone had the privilege of coining gold: Allahabad. Suu Delhi, Patna, Srinagar, Lahore, Multan, and Tandah minted silver. On the breaking-up of the Moghal empire, numerous mints were esta- blished by the subadars; so in 1773 the East India Company determined that all rupees coined by them should bear the impression of the seven- teenth year of Shah Alam, and thus the sicca rupee retained the value of the Moghal coio. (V. Remarks on a Gold Currency for India; Colonel J. T. Smith. Lond., 1868.) Colonel Smith proposes introducing the sovereign into India as the equivalent of ten rupees, without alter- ing the weight of the rupee by increasing the seignorage on silver coinage; this, he estimates, it would in some cases be necessary to fix as high as six per cent. 54 BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. and Expen- diture, an This* is lion of the in Council, inomalous partment. Mr. Wilson proposed a scheme to remedy this; but it was not carried out till modified in the following year by Mr. Laing. Income The year 1872-73 may be taken as a specimen of "- the condition of the Indian balance-sheet. The income of the State for that year was £50,219,489, while the ordinary expenditure amounted to £48,453,817. We propose to enter into the items of income in another place. The Mili. This* is the Indian War Office. It controls the tary. De- administration of the army. The presence of the The two Commander-in-Chief in Council, in addition to the Members. Military Member, is somewhat anomalous. Yet if they both confine themselves to their respective executive and administrative spheres, there need be The Army no clashing of authority. Thef established military in India. force of British India numbers 193,005, including officers, of whom about 128,447 are natives and 60,613 British. Of the natives, 47,814 belong to the Bengal Army ; 27,221 to the Madras Army; and 24,712 to that of Bombay. British forces are chiefly stationed in the Panjab and along the valley of the Ganges. There are 38,011 English soldiers in the Bengal presidency, of whom 12,690 are in the Panjab. In the Bombay Presidency there are 10,068 English soldiers; and on the Madras side, including the Nizam's territory and the Central Provinces, 11,612. The Pan- Our great military position in India is the Panjab. jab. It is overlooked by great morntain ranges, the home of formidable robber clans; two great passes on its frontiers communicate with Beluchistan, Afgha- nistan, and Persia, and Central Asia beyond ; while its own population is the most warlike to be found in India. In view of such considerations, the Lieute- nant-Governor has directly under his orders a select body of troops, known as the Panjab Frontier Force, numbering 12,416 men. The Agri- The Dona The Department of Agriculture, Revenue, and Com- cultural Deparë- merce was instituted by Lord Mayo in June 1871. It deals with every branch of the administration that di- rectly relates to the income of Government. Statistics, surveys, meteorology, fisheries, experimental farms, ment. * Chesney. 4 Markbam. BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 55 forests, and cultivation come under the category. Much adverse criticism has been directed against classifying together such various interests ; yet the event has justified the design, and the convenience of the arrangement has been felt in every direction. Agriculture in India is capable of almost indefinite improvement ; while the future development of Indian commerce depends on the quantity and quality of existing staples, and on the introduction of new products. The cultivation of chinchona, cotton, coffee, tea, indigo, tobacco, rhea jute, and many other natural products demands the intelligent and watchful care of a central department, as do all measures for improving the breeds of horses and cattle, for introducing new products, regulating fisheries, and promoting agricultural instruction. Instead of, as formerly, directing its exclusive attention on audit and retrenchment, the far wider duty of developing the sources of revenue is now felt by Government to be a duty of the first impor- tance. To convey some notion of the elements of the Indian revenue, the principal items of income for the year 1872-73 may here be stated. The Total The items amounted to £50,219,489, of which £21,348,669 of Revenue. was derived from land-revenue, £8,684,691 from the sale of Bengal opium, and the duty on Malwa opium ; £6,165,630 from the salt-tax; £8,166,329 from customs, excise, assessed taxes, and stamps ; and £5,854,170 from smaller items. In India* the term “public works” has always been The De- applied to every kind of building operation undertaken partment of on Public by Government, including the construction and repairs Works. of all State buildings, civil and military, as well as the prosecution of roads, railways, and canals. It was in 1854, under the administration of Lord Dalhousie, that the administrative portion of this business in Bengal was handed over to a separate department of the Supreme Government; while the immediate exe- cutive control was transferred to the Local Govern- ments, and a Public Works Department formed for each province. In Madras and Bombay this example was soon followed by removing the control of public * Chesney, 56 BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. The este- blishment. works from local Military Boards, and constituting it a part of the civil administration. In each province a Chief Engineer, ex-officio ay Secretary to the Local Government, is placed at the head of public works. Under him are Superin- tending Engineers of Circles, also Deputy Secretaries to the Local Government; while the actual works are conducted by Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers, aided by subordinate officials of various grades, down to the chuprassies on seven rupees a month, who keep the different gangs of coolies at work. This year (1875), a Minister of Public Works, a Royal Engineer officer, has been added to the Supreme Executive Council. BOOKS.-The most accessible works on the British Administration of India are those of Mr. Mill, Miss H. Martineau, Colonel Chesney, Sir G. Campbell, and Mr. Iltudus Pritchard. The collected speeches of Mr. Bright on India are as instructive as they are eloquent. The India Office Blue Book for 1872-73, entitled the Moral and Material Progress of India, and Dr. W. W. Hunter's Orissa, the first-fruits of his great statistical survey of India, contain great stores of facts. a Rora This yearens the differassies om CHAPTER IV. THE NATIVE STATES. It is roughly estimated that the native states cover Extent, an area of 610,000 square miles, contain a popu- population, lation of more than 55,000,000 souls, and pay a " troops. revenue of £14,500,000. Out of this large sum, only £741,465 is exacted as tribute by the Para- mount Power. A military force of 314,598 men* is maintained by these states—a force nearly twice as great as the entire army with which we ensure the safety of the whole empire, and engage even to support the independence of these very principalities. There are among these troops 3,488 serviceable pieces of artillery, besides a great quantity of cannon capable of doing mischief, though not to be much depended upon. Small and great, the native states number upwards Degree of of 460, and each, though in a different degree, Independ- ence. acknowledges, our supremacy. Nepal, for example, merely admits the fact, and tolerates a half- imprisoned Resident at Khatmandu ; Hyderabad undertakes to follow our advice, and govern her subjects with justice; and Cashmere acknowledges her dependence by the payment of a nominal tribute : while, on the other hand, smaller states are indirectly governed by our political officers, and only possess imperfect judicial powers. Since we have finally abandoned the policy of annexation, almost all our feudatories have received what, to a debauched and effete class, is an important guarantee, namely, the Adoption. right of adopting successors. Itt is convenient to class the native principalities Classifi- into twelve groups :- 1. The Indo-Chinese group of states and tribes ; all (except Kuch Behar) having affinities with China cation. * Our whole army, composed of native and European troops, inclusive of officers, numbers only 193,005. of Thoughout this chapter the information is mainly derived from the Statement of the Moral and Material Progress of the People of India, issued by the India Office in 1874. Aitchison's Treatiea, and Malleson's new work on the Native States, should be consulted by those who desire a more intimate acquaintance with the subject. 58 THE NATIVE STATES. or Burmah, yet forming a fringe round Assam and the Lower Provinces of Bengal. 2. The aboriginal feudatory chiefships, consist- ing of Ghond and Koli tribes in Chota Nagpur, Orissa, the Central Provinces, and Jaipur. 3. The principalities along the slopes of the Western Himalayas, from the west of Nepal to Cashmere, mostly ruled by Rajputs. 4. The Afghan frontier tribes beyond the Indus. 5. The Sikh states on the Sirhind plain. 6. Three Mahomedan states, geographically apart, but otherwise closely associated, namely, Rampur in Rohilkand, Bahawalpur between the Great Desert and the Indus, and Khairpur in Sind. 7. The states and chiefships of Malwa and Ban- délkand in Central India--the former founded by Mahratta conquerors, and the latter representing the older Rajput power. 8. The ancient kingdoms of Rajputana. 9. The Guzerati group of states in the north of the Bombay presidency. 10. The Mahratta group in the south of the Bombay presidency. 11. The great Mahomedan state of Hyderabad, in the Deckan. 12. The Malayalim states of Travancore and Cochin on the Malabar Coast, in the far south. The Gurkha* kingdom of Nepal lies among the deep ravines and ridges of the Himalaya, where the three tributaries of the Ganges, the Gogra, Gandak, and Kosi take their rise. In its rear are the loftiest mountain peaks on the globe. Its constitution is democratic, every little village being independent. The Gurkha dynasty rose to power in 1767, in 1792 the state was invaded by China, and in 1814 repeated acts of insolence brought upon the Gurkhas the chastisement of a British force. A Resident is stationed at Khatmandu, whose observations are jealously restricted to a narrow circle; while, greatly Nepal. * Lawrence's Nepal.-Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i., pp. 258-279. The Law and Police of Nepal; by B. H. Hodgson.- Asiatic Researches, vol. ii. Father Guiseppe's Account of Nepal. Kirkpatrick's Account of the Kingdom of Nepal.-F. Hamilton's Account of the Kingdom of Nepal. THE NATIVE STATES. 59 of Nepal, lyin the most stupendou square miles, ch deep to the detriment of our prestige in India, no other . European is permitted to cross the frontier. The area of Nepal is believed to be about 54,000 square Statistics. miles, the population 3,000,000, and the revenue about £430,000. Sikhim is a little principality on the eastern border Sikhima of Nepal, lying in the basin of the Tista, and over- shadowed by the most stupendous mountains in the world. The area is about 1,550 square miles, chiefly Statistics, consisting of forest-covered mountains and deep ravines ; and the population of Lepcha, Bhutia, and Limba highlanders numbers about 7,000. The capi- tal is Tamlang. On* the east Sikhim is bounded by Bhutan. This Bhutan. country is governed in spiritual matters by a Dhwan Rajah, and in temporal affairs by a Deb Rajah. Insolence to our envoy, the Hon'ble A. Eden, led in 1863 to an armed expedition against Bhutan, and the annexation of the Duars, or passes leading from the mountains into the Darrang and Kamrup districts of Assam. The population is estimated at 20,000. Population Kuch Behar is a small state at the foot of the Kuch Be- Duars, which, when we expelled the Bhutias in har. 1772, agreed by treaty to acknowledge its subjec- tion, and pay a large tribute. The area is 1,292 Statistics. square miles; the population numbers 532,565 souls ; the revenue is about £92,066 ; and it pays the Para- mount Power a tribute of £6,770 per annum. Thef frontier between Burmah and Assam is Wild tribes occupied by wild tribes of the Turanian type, who cost us a good deal of trouble and annoyance, but who, being in a purely savage state, are politically inconsiderable. The names of the Lushais and Dufflas will be familiar from the punishment it has recently been necessary to inflict upon them. Our political relations with the little state of Manipur. Manipur on the Burmah frontier began as long ago as 1762. In 1823 the Rajah was declared independent, and in 1835 a Political Agent was appointed. The state has an area of about 7,584 square miles. arsch Behar is Population ing and Kamcading from * Calcutta Review, vol. xlviii., pp. 92-117. † Geographical Magazine, October 1st, 1874, p. 310 (The Peoples between India and China ; Sir G. Campbell).- Asiatic Researches, vol. .., p. 202, 60 THE NATIVE STATES. Wild tribes. Our space will not permit of our entering into details regarding either the aboriginal chiefships among the wild hills that overlook the littoral provinces of Orissa and Vizagapatam, the wild tribes of Central India, or the small feudatories of Jaipur. The native states along the slopes of the Western The Him- Himalayas were revived by the British Government alayan after the Nepal war in 1814. They had nearly all group. been overrun by the Gurkhas, and the chiefs were fugitives or reduced to poverty. All are under the Panjab Government, except Garhwal, which is under that of the North-West. Garhwal. After the war, the old Rajah of Garhwal was found living at Deyrah in indigence ; his successor now rules over 200,000 people, and enjoys an annual revenue of £8,000. States Including Cashmere, there are thirty-two Hima- under Pan- lovon a jab Govt. "- layan states under the Panjab Government. They are thus grouped :- Trans-Satlej States. Cashmere, Chamba, Mandi, Sukeit, Kailut, Bas- sahir. Cis-Satlej States. Mangal, Bhagal, Bhajji, Shangri, Kumharsain, Kotgarh (or Grukote), Kanuti, Keonthal, Kothi, Madhan, Theog, Gund, Pandar, Raiengnoh, Balsan, Dargoti, Tarochi, Mailog, Bega, Baghat, Kuthar, Kunhiar, Dhami, Nalagarh, Nahan, Jubal. Cashmere. Cashmeret is a state of very considerable impor- tance. It was founded by Gulab Singh, a Dogra Raj- put. He began life as a trooper, and afterwards rose to a high command in the army of Ranjit Singh, who gave him the principality of Jamu. He subse- quently extended his authority over Ladakh and Cashmere, and finally in 1846, for the sum of one millionſ pounds sterling, induced the English to yield to him the sovereignty, and secure it by treaty. * Calcutta Review, vol. xviii., pp. 72-115 (Kumaon and Garhwal). † Vigne's Cashmere. Dr. Ince's Guide to Cashmere. Moorcroft's Journeys, &c. (Account of Shawl Trade, &c., in Cashmere.)- Calcutta Review, vol. xxxiii., pp. 158-185 ; vol. ii., pp. 469-538; and vol. xiv., pp. 209-220. * He is said to have found nearly £800,000 of this purchase-money among the forts of his new kingdom. Calcutta Review, vol. xxviii., p. 381. THE NATIVE STATES. 63 of Central India is called Bandélkand. On the west it is inhabited by the Hindu tribes of Bandélas, and on the east by the Bhagélas. To the west is the river Betwa, flowing to the Jumna ; to the east is the Sone, an affluent of the Ganges. The largest of the native states on this plateau is Rewah. Rewah. It extends from the Tonse across the Kaimur range, and beyond the Sone to the sources of the Amarkantaki, having an area of 12,723 square miles. The population amounts to 1,280,000, and the annual revenue to £260,000. Urcha is a state having an area of 2,160 square Urcha. miles, and a revenue of about £60,000. The* most ancient sovereignties of India cluster Rajputana. round the Aravalli mountains, and the valleys bor- dering on or within the Great Desert. Among the princes of Rajputana, the Maharana of Mewar. Odeypur is highest in rank. His family traces its descent from Rama, and has been of great import- ance for upwards of sixteen hundred years. The state, known as Mewar, has an area of 11,614 square miles, with a population of 1,161,400. The revenue is about £400,000, of which £120,000 is enjoyed by the nobles. Jaipur was founded in 967 A.D. The Maha- Jaipur. rajah also claims descent from Kama. The area of the state is 15,000 square miles, the population about 1,900,000, and the revenue £423,165. About £35,000 a year is spent on public works. The state of Jodhpur, or Marwar, was founded in Jodhpur. A.D. 1459. It has an area of 35,672 square miles, a population of about 1,783,600 souls, and a revenue of £175,000 a year. The young Maharao Rajah of Alwar rules over Alwar. some 3,000 square miles, having a population of about 778,596 (259.3 to the square mile). This state, which was not long ago in a ruinous condition, is now politically healthy, the administration having been taken out of the hands of a debauched and incorrigible chief. The income is £205,000, * Todd's Rajasthan.-History of the Rajput Tribes.—Todd's Personal Narrative. For a good account of the Rajputs, see Dubois' Description &c., of the People of India. 64 THE NATIVE STATES. and the disbursements £165,000. The Rajputana State Railway runs through Alwar. Jesalmir. Jesalmir lies in the Great Desert. The capital is one of the finest native cities in India. It is built entirely of stone, generally elaborately carved. The Maharawal's rule extends over an area of 12,252 square miles, having a population of 70,000. Bikanir. This* is another state lying in the heart of the Great Desert. The area is about 17,676 square miles, and the population about 539,000. Dholepur. The little Jât state of Dholepur has an area of 1,626 square miles, and a population of about 500,000. Bhartpur. The territory of the Jât ruler of Bhartpur embraces an area of 1,974 square miles, having a population of 650,000. The annual revenue amounts to £242,000. Tonk. Tonk is the only Mahomedan state in Rajputana. Area, 1,800 square miles ; population, 182,000; revenue, £108,000. Bombay The native states of the Bombay presidency States. occupy 63,625 square miles, or one-third of the entire area, having a population of 9,250,000 souls. They may be divided into the Mahrathi principalities of the south, and the Guzerati of the north. Baroda. The chief northern state is that of Baroda, of which we have recently heard so much. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Gaikwars were Mahratta leaders, feudatories of the Peishwas, f and farmers of the revenue over a vast region, includ- ing parts of Guzerat, Khandeish, and Kattiawar ; but in 1780, a treaty, offensive and defensive, with the Bombay Government, acknowledged the Gaikwar's independence of the Mahratta chief. Baroda has a population of 2,600,000 souls, and produces an annual revenue of £1,500,000. It is needless to allude to the events which led to the deposition of Mulhar Rao on the 14th January * Elphinstone's Account of Cabul. (Journey Thence.) Geogra- phical Magazine, November 1st, 1874, p. 316.-A Reminiscence. “A fort has Delhi, Agra too, a half one Bikanir; But best of all the Bhati built, the fort of Jessalmir.”- Translation of Local Legend. For a detailed account of the Great Desert, see Journal Royal Geo- graphical Society, vol. xl., 1870. * The representative of the Peishwas is an amiable youth, who resides at Bareli in Rohilkand, and receives a small pension from Government. THE NATIVE STATES. events. 1875, and the adoption by Rani Jumnabai-widow of Khunderao Gaikwar-of a young boy, from the Khandeish line of Gaikwar princes, to the gadi (or Recent cushion,' as the throne is called and in reality is) of Baroda, under the title of Siyajirao Gaikwar. The administration of the state is conducted by the Prime Minister, Sir T. Madhav Rao, K.C.S.I., assisted by the Special Commissioner and Agent for the Gover- nor-General of India for Baroda. Under Sir T. Madhav Rao, important reforms in the administrative machinery are in progress. The Revenue Depart- Important reforms. ment-at the head of which is Kazi Shahabudin, late Dewan of Kutch—is being completely reformed. The different Mahals, or districts, are to be placed on an equal basis ; hitherto certain Mahals were too large to be properly controlled and supervised, whilst others were too small. The new constitution of the Mahals will bring each within a compass that will admit of its being thoroughly supervised, so that any defect in administration may be easily detected. Over each Mahal will be placed an efficient Mamlatdar on a liberal salary. A High Court has been newly constituted, and two gentlemen from Bombay have been nominated to preside over it. The Educational Department is to be thoroughly re-organized, and Sir T. Madhav Rao proposes to have a college at Baroda. Public works are being pushed forward with energy; and a project is now under contemplation to supply Baroda with water from the river Narbadda. Municipal insti- tutions are receiving a fair share of the Dewan's. attention. The filth, which has rendered the city of Baroda a home of pestilence, is being got rid of. Kutch is situated on the coast of Western India, Kutch. north of Kattiawar. It is bounded on the north, Boundaries east, and south-east by the Runn ; on the south and south-west by the Gulf of Kutch and the Indian Ocean ; and on the north-west by the eastern branch of the Indus, or the Runn which lies between that and the territory of Sind. The extreme length from east to west is about 170 miles, and its extreme breadth 50, while in one place it is only 15 miles wide, and for a considerable distance not much more. The reigning prince is Maharajah Rao Shri Sir Prag- malji Bahadur, G.C.S.I. He is about thirty-seven years 66 THE NATIVE STATES. Reforms, of age. He came to the throne about the close of July 1860, on the death of his father, Rao Desulji -a most intelligent prince. His Highness Rao Pragmalji's administration has been marked by several improvements, of which the most noteworthy are the discontinuance of veth, or forced labor; abolition of suttee and sumadh (voluntary burning and burying alive); abolition of the slave-trade; prohibition of torture to extort confession from the accused ; introduction of a gold coinage known as mohurs and kories. It has never been the custom of the Raos of Kutch to leave their territory either for pleasure or travel. The present Rao has, however, overcome these prejudices, owing to his English education and enlightened views. He came to Bombay in March 1870, on the occasion of the visit of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh to that place ; and a second time in Novem- ber 1872, when Lord Northbrook held a grand chapter of the Star of India for the investiture of Her Highness the Begum of Bhopal and the Hon'ble, now Sir John, Strachey. His Highness has two sons and one daughter. The name of the heir- apparent is Prince (or Kuvar) Bapu Bha-a very intelligent lad of about twelve years of age. Cotton Products. is the staple product of Kutch. Alum is another article of produce. Wool is also exported in pretty large quantities. The revenue of Kutch is Ravenue. estimated at about £200,000, of which £20,000 are paid to the British Government, partly as à pecuniary equivalent for the transfer to His Highness of the town and district of Anjar, and partly to meet the expenses of the British troops stationed in the province. The important and well-to-do classes in Bombay known as Bhatias, Khojas, Memons, Lowanas, &c., are natives of Kutch. Pahlan. The Pahlanpur group of states, eleven in number, pur Group. lies to the north of Baroda. These small princi- palities contain an area of 2,700 square miles. The most important chief is the Dewan of Pahlanpur, who enjoys a revenue of £40,000 a year. Mahi The group of states in the Mahi Kanta occupies Kanta. an area of 4,000 square miles, with a population of THE NATIVE STATES.' 69 Travan- core. Far south, between the mountains and the Indian Ocean, lies a rich, damp country, which in the eighteenth century was brought under the authority of the ancestor of the present Rajah of Travancore. The area is 6,653 square miles; the population about 1,300,000 ; and the annual income nearly a million sterling, while the expenditure only amounts to £549,365. Cochin and Travancore are perhaps the two most flourishing native states in India. THE GREAT NATIVE PRINCES. Title. State. Annual Revenue. Guns. Remarks. Sir Jang Bahadur, G.C.S.I., K.C.B., Minister ............... ........ Nepal ......... £430,000 21 Has visited Europe: a very able ruler. £848,000 | 19 A fair Hindi scholar. Maharajah Runbir Singh, G.C.s.i. Cashmere ...... Maharajah Mahindar Singh, Patiala ........ G.C.S.l. ...................... £380,000 An intelligent ruler : speaks English and Per- sian. Rajah.... Jhind...... £40,000 | 11 Anable, active, and popu- lar old prince; conspi- cuously loyal to us. Nabha ........ Rajah.......................... Na Nawab ......... Rampur ...... £65,000 | 11 A ruler of some ability. £100,000 | 13 Aged 39; well read in Ara- bic and Persian. Nawab Sadik Mahomed Khan .. Bahawalpur i. £181,094 | 17 |A smart boy of fourteen ; a good polo-player. Nawab Ali Murad Khan Talpur, Khairpur ...... * Maharajah Scindiah, G.C.S.I... Gwalior........ + Maharajah Holkar, G.C.S.I..... Indore ........! £45,350 Sixty years of age. £854,961. | 19 A very enthusiastic soldier £300,000 | 19 A keen financier. . * In February 1873, Scindiah hold a camp of exercise at Gwalior, consistiug of 5,000 in- fantry, 3,470 cavalry, and 40 guns : he himself commanded the attacking party, and shared the bivouac with his men. In the last century, the ancestor of Scindiab, who founded the family, was a slipper-bearer to the Peishwa. | Holkar is a sudra, of the shepherd caste. THE NATIVE STATES. Title. State. Annual Revenue, Guns. Remarks. * Begum, G.C.S.I. .......... Bhopal ........ Maharajah, G.C.S.I. ......... Rewah ........ £137,626 | 19 A clever and popular princess. £260,000 | 17 A somewhat unsuccessful administrator. £400,000 17 A mere boy, being edu- cated by a native tutor. Maharana Odeypur ...... † Maharajah, G.C.S.I. .......... Jaipur ........ £423,165 17 One of the most able and enlightened rulers in India. A member of the Legislative Council of the Viceroy. £175,000 17 Maharajah Tukt Singh, G.C.S.I.. Jodhpur........ Maharajah Jai Singh Pal ...... Karauli ....... £45,000 17 An intelligent, well-mean- ing chief. | Maharao Rajah .............. Alwar.......... £205,000. 15 A fine boy, distantly re- lated to the late ruler: being educated by the Central Asian travel- ler, Pandit Manphul, C.S.I. Maharajah Bhartpur ...... £242,000 17 A Jât, who is very jealous of his dignity. Maharawal .................... Jesalmir .... | 17 A young and amiable prince. Maharajah .... Bikanir .... 17 Rana ..... Dholepur ...... 15 A bright boy ; being edu- cated under Major Den- nehy's supervision, Gaikwar. ........ Baroda ........ £1,500,000 | 21 A boy ; being educated by a native tutor. Maharajah Rao Shri Sir Prag- -malji, G.C.S.I.. Kutch ........ £200,000 17 A most intelligent and enlightened prince, rul- ing over a contented population. Nawab, K.C.S.J. ..... £200,000 Junagarh ...... ........ Kohlapur ...... § Rajah £132,446 19 A boy of eleven; being educated by a tutor, to- gether with the young Rajah of Sawantwari. || The Nizam, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan .... .... Hyderabad .. 17 A child under guardian. ship of Sir Salar Jupg and Shumshu-ul-Umra. * Contrary to the usual practice of seclusion of eastern ladies, the Begum goes about everywhere. Not long ago she visited Calcutta, was present at evening parties at Govern. ment House, and at a chapter of the Star of India. d of Lord Mayo, and had once the honor of being his host. On that occasion he showed the viceregal party most excellent pig-sticking. I This boy was the son of an Alwar Thakur distantly related to the debauchee who lately vacated the gadi. He was chosen by Captain Powlett (by the Rani Dowager nomi- nally) for his general intelligence. He has pleasant manners and great skill at badminton. He is a promising boy, and justifies the Political Agent's discrimination. His stud, of some 350 horses, is well worth seeing, as is his fine oriental library. $ The predecessor of the present prince died, it will be remembered, at Florence, This boy will be, if he lives, the most important native prince in India. 72 THE NATIVE STATES. Title. State. Annual Revenue. Guns. Remarks. Nawab Jawra ........ £65,524 13 His poppy lands yield 100 chests of oplum a year. Rajah................... 11 Bajah......... Urcha.......... £60,000 Dattia Nananagarh ..£150,000 11 Jam....... Among the principal frontier chiefs of the Panjab are the following all of whom, with one exception, the writer has seen, and for whose picturesquely wild appearance he can vouch. Many of them wear their hair in long curls falling over their shoulders, and are partly clothed in skins; none are ever seen without formidable weapons, often worn rather for use than ornament.-Ata Mahomed Khan, chief of Agror; Muzaffar Khan of Hangu, chief of the Upper Bangashes; Mahomed Sarfaraz Khan, Khan Bahadur, the principal chief of the Isa Khel; Muzaffar Khan, Khan Bahadur, chief of Kalabagh ; Sher Mahomed Khan, Tumandar of the Mazaris ; Bahadur Khan, Tumandar of the Khosas ; Miran Khan, Tumandar of the Drishak clan ; Ghulam Hyder Khan, Tumandar of the Gurchanis ; Ghulam Hyder, Tumandar of the Sunds ; Fazl Khan, Tu- mandar of the Kasranis; Jamal Khan, Tumandar of the Lagharis; Dost Mahomed Khan, chief of the Bozdar tribe; Mahomed Sarfaraz Khan, Arbab of the Momand clan ; Rajah Jahandad Khan, chief of the Gakkar tribe in Hazara ; and Mahomed Guldad Khan, chief of the Gandapurs of Kulachi. CHAPTER V. COMMUNICATIONS. Railway 1.-RAILWAYS. THE* first Indian railway project was broached . The first Railway in the latter end of 1844 by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Project.“ Macdonald Stephenson, who submitted to the The E.I. India House a scheme for a line from Calcutta R to the North-Western Provinces, based upon minute Project. information and statistics collected by himself on the spot. He had already, in the early part of the year, published a pamphlet on the subject, together with a sketch map of the principal lines on which, according to the best information then available, the construc- tion of railways appeared likely to prove beneficial to the country, and profitable to the shareholders. Concurrently with this movement, an effort was made by Mr. Chapman on the Bombay side to interest Government in the establishment of railways in that presidency. He was recommended to submit The G. I. P. his proposals to the India House, and they resulted Railway Project. eventually in the Great Indian Peninsula line. In the following year, a similar scheme emanated from Madras ; but it was not until 1852 that the Hon'ble The Mad- East India Company conceded a guarantee for ra 101 way Pro- an experimental line, running in a westerly direction ject. from Madras. To have raised money in England, however, in the usual manner, for so remote and precarious an enterprize, would have been impossible, had not the Government of India guaranteed a The Gua- fixed interest on the borrowed capital. According rantee. to the contract with the shareholders, this sub- ras Rail- * Report from the Select Committee (of which Lord Northbrook was an active member) on E. I. Railways ; printed by order of the House of Commons, July 13th, 1858. The Quarterly Review, July 1868, article on Indian Railways. Report to the Secretary of State for India on Rail- ways in India; by Ireland Danvers, Government Director Indian Railway Companies, presented to Parliament by order of Her Majesty. The following numbers of the Calcutta Review contain articles on Indian Railways-vol. xix., p. 19; vol. vii., p. 32 ; vol. xi., p. 31 ; vol. vii., p. 321; vol. v., p. 221. The Railways of India ; by Captain Davidson. 10 74 COMMUNICATIONS. tract. vention extended no further than to the pay- ment of five per cent. interest on the capital raised —which is to say, that, in the event of the receipts not being sufficient to cover the working expenses, the deficiency was liable to be made good from the guaranteed interest. This, however, was misapprehended by the shareholders ; and when the Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway proved a failure, the Government of India, with judicious liberality, accepted their view of the contract, and not only refunded their capital in full, but granted a dividend The Con of five per cent. from the date of its investment.-In return for the Guarantee, it was agreed that, “ The said Railway Company, and their officers, servants, and agents, as also their accounts and affairs, shall in all things be subject to the superintendence and control of tbe East India Company, as well in England as elsewhere; and in particular, no bye-laws, contracts, orders, directions, proceedings, work or undertakings, acts, matters or things whatsoever, shall be made, done, entered into, commenced, and prose- cuted by, or on the part of, the said Railway Company; and no money shall be raised, and no extension of the pumber of shares, or of the amount of its capital, shall be made, unless sanctioned by the East India Company." At the end of ninety-nine years, moreover, the whole line was to become the property of Govern- ment ; but the Company could immediately surren- der it, and demand back their capital. After the lapse of twenty-five years, the Government could claim to purchase the line ; or, if default were made in raising funds, or executing the works, or managing the line to the satisfaction of the Governor-General, he might assume possession of it, repaying the capital. The railways constructed on this basis are eight in number. The first in point of magnitude is the The E. I. East Indian (in all, 1,504 miles). Its main line Railway. extends from Calcutta to Delhi, through the Gangetic valley—a distance of a thousand miles with a branch to the Burdwan collieries, which, prolonged to Luckie- serai, forms a chord line (124 miles). It has also a line from Allahabad to Jabalpur, joining there the The G. I. P. Great Indian Peninsula line (1,278 miles from way. Bombay. This railway, in addition to its line from Bombay to Jabalpur, has also a line to Raichur, meeting the rail proceeding north-west from Madras. Thus, Bombay, the great passenger, military, and postal port, is connected, on the one hand, with the seat of government in Southern India, Railway COMMUNICATIONS. 77 na ti ve mind. It is almost needless to say that the railway sys-, Political importance tem has immensely strengthened our hold of India, of railways and given new vigor and life to its administration. Troops can now be massed at any point where they are required, in as many days as it would, in former times, have taken months to bring them together; while Governors, Ministers, and Commissioners can visit with extraordinary rapidity the remotest parts of their provinces, at the same time that the trans- mission of their despatches is accelerated fourfold. Nor* should the effect of the railway on the native Effect on mind be overlooked. The feeling of acquiescence in a Government which, though alien, is not in any sense oppressive, and in many ways beneficent, grows stronger with the lapse of time, which abates the desire for change. This feeling is abundantly strengthened in India by the marvels of scientific skill we have introduced, of which none are more calculated to strike the native mind with wonder and awe than the thundering locomotive whirling along with wondrous speed its prodigious chain of chariots and waggons. As it sweeps day by day from pro- vince to province, it presents to prince and peasant an ever-recurring token of the extent of our dominion, the ubiquity of our power, and the magnitude of our resources. Yet in a still higher sense is it beneficial, Developes inasmuch as it promotes the improvement of the of co of country. country and the well-being of its inhabitants. It diffuses the wealth of fertile provinces over poorer regions, it multiplies articles of cultivation, and it brings the cornfields and forests of remote inland countries within reach of that great highway, the ocean. As far as its influence extends, it mitigates the horrors of famine. It has a strong tendency to foster the spirit of commercial enterprize, and thereby lessen the fondness for military adventure, which was formerly the chief source of national excitement. It tends to weaken the despotism of caste. It breaks up the old habits of isolation, and opens new circles of social and domestic intercourse. By enlarging the sphere of observation, it creates new desires and new wants. It is gradually arousing the native res o urces * The Quarterly Review, July 1868, p. 77. 78 COMMUNICATIONS. Roads. Road. mind from the lethargy of centuries, and throwing a new element of energy into native society; and it will eventually be found to have introduced a greater and more beneficial change in the thoughts, feelings, and habits of the people than has been effected by any of the political changes of the last eight hundred years. 2.-Roads. There are many districts which, from their poverty or the physical obstacles they present, can never be opened up by railways or canals, and, in these, roads are, and must remain, the most important means of communication. The Grand The Grand Trunk Road, however, from Calcutta Trunk to Peshawur, will soon be quite superseded by the railway, which runs parallel to it; and there are many lesser highways in the same plight : but it will be long before the great* engineering works leading Hill roads. to the Himalayan stations, and to the coffee districts of the Wynaad and the Nilghiris, will be found super- fluous; and for many years the littoral districts of Orissa and Ganjam must be satisfied with the south- S.W.Trunk western trunk road communicating with Calcutta. The Berars. In the Berars, the need of good cotton roads is greatly felt, and the difficulty of maintaining them, extreme, the black soil being, in some places, from 40 to 100 feet deep. As long ago as 1863, £20,000 were expended in keeping the roads then in existence open during the dry season of seven months. In 1862 there were not 18 miles of road open through- Central out the whole of the Central Provinces—a region Provinces. nearly as extensive as Great Britain—while now two great trunk lines diverge from Nagpur, and branch out in numerous ramifications over every district. Great Bombay. progress has recently been made in the Bombay Presidency in completing the feeders of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway from the sea, across the Mysore. Western Ghâts. In Mysore there are now 1,817 Road. * One of the most important of these is the road leading from Ambala, through the Terai (here in great part cultivated), across the Suwalik range, to Kalka, Kasauli, Subathu, Dagshai, Simla, and on to Kotegarb, Chini, and Pangi, near the borders of Thibet-a distance of nearly 200 miles. COMMUNICATIONS. 79 miles of road, of which 529 miles are first-class, metalled and bridged. In every part of India the local authorities are year by year paying more attention to their roads ; metalling the old village tracks, and planting trees on either side of those which are most frequented. Wherever it is found, kankar' (nodules of impure limestone) is used for road-making. When damped and pounded, it forms, for a time, a compact and hard surface; but if subjected to severe traffic, it pulverises, and the roads, becoming uneven channels filled with the finest limestone powder, can be traced across the country by clouds of dust raised by the wind. 3.—CANALS. Although irrigation is the primary object of our Canals. Indian canals, they are usually, at the same time, important channels of communication. As soon as the Sirhind canal works are completed, there will be navigable communication from Calcutta, by the Hughli and Ganges, through the canals into the Satlej, thence into the Indus, and so to the sea at Karachi. The* delta canals of Madras are much used for boat traffic, as well as the high level and Cochrane's canal. But it is in the belts of the greatest rainfall—the delta of the Ganges, the valley of the Brahmaputra, and on the coast of Malabar—that water is most largely used as a means of communi- cation. The rivers in the Bengal districts of Naddia, namely, the Bhagirathi, Mattabangah, and Jalangi, have long been used as fluvial highways : and, on the first of these, a minimum width of 150 feet and depth of 4 feet is maintained. Sir Arthur Cotton's Sir A. Cot- famous Godaveri navigation project occupied the ti veri Project. attention of the public for some twenty years, cost £20,000 in preliminary surveys, plans, &c., and was finally abandoned in 1871, after a total expendi- ture of about a million sterling! The line of water communication parallel to the western coast of India, included in the Malabar and Travancore Mala back-waters, is of the greatest importance. By the & Travan- completion of the cut through the Warkalli barrier, ton's Goda- core back- waters, * Moral and Material Progress of India. 80 COMMUNICATIONS. Canal. 1848. and by making another cut from the Venjali lake to the Tirur station of the Madras Railway, there will be a continuous line of water communication from Budagivi, north of Beypur, to Trevandrum, the capital of Travancore, whence the Victoria canal will extend 45 miles towards Cape Comorin. The Ganges The Ganges canal is the greatest work of irrigation ever constructed in any country ; and as it is also a navigable canal, we may speak of it here. It was Begun begun in 1848 by Sir Proby Cautley. After leaving the Ganges, the canal had to encounter serious difficul- ties from mountain torrents. These were either made to flow across the channel on the same level, or carried over it at a higher elevation, or made to The Solani pass under it. The Solani aqueduct, eighteen Aqueduct. miles from the head-works, is 920 feet' in length, has 15 arches of 50 feet span, each connected on either side by an earthen embankment, raised nearly 30 feet above the valley of the Solani, which it traverses for a distance of about three miles. Run- ning through the Doab that lies between the Ganges and Jumna, the canal throws off branches, at intervals, which are adapted for internal navigation, as well as Length. irrigation. The main line is 181 miles long, and bifurcates at Nanun in the Aligarh district. The right branch falls into the Jumna in the Etawah district, and the left into the Ganges at Cawnpore. The entire length of the main canal and branches amounts to 614 miles; in addition to which, there are Opened 3,111 miles of distributaries. The canal was opened by Lord Dalhousie on the 8th of April 1854. In 1872-73 it irrigated 685,170 acres ; and the net profits derived from irrigation were £70,764, while those derived from navigation amounted only to £3,237. The Western and Eastern Jumna Canals are also great works, but our limited space will not permit of our entering into details regarding them. The Agra The Agra navigation and irrigation canal was opened last year at Okhla near Delhi, with great pomp and circumstance, by Sir William Muir, K.C.S.I., then Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces. It is estimated that its waters will irrigate 350,000 acres, while it will afford an easy passage for boats of considerable burthen from Agra to Delhi. The 1854. Profits. Canal, COMMUNICATIONS. 81 Doabs of the Panjab are watered by inundation canals, some of which, at one season of the year, are available for navigation. 4.-TELEGRAPH AND POSTAL SERVICES. A line of telegraph is now in working order along Telegraphs every railway in India ; besides which, numerous independent lines connect almost every station in India, where Europeans are resident, with the various centres of government. Three lines of telegraph connect India with Europe. The postal system throughout India has attained The Postal a very high degree of efficiency. Railway trains ; Service. light carts driven furiously with relays of horses, having all the bravery of red paint, royal arms, and trumpet; running carriers; and horsemen day and night, disperse the orders of Government, the native and English newspapers, and private correspondence, over hill and dale, through jungle, ravine, and river, to every part of the empire. Post-masters in each town of importance, Inspectors of Post Offices in every circle, Post-Master-Generals with all the Local Governments, and a Director-General of Post Offices attached to the Supreme Government, carry on and control the service. The whole yearly corres- pondence of India is estimated at 65,000,000 letters; and 6,500,000 newspapers are said to be transmitted through the post office every year. With the progress of education, these numbers are increasing. CHAPTER VI. SPORT. SHOOTING The Tiger. The* peculiarly striped skin of the tiger, Blyth Descrip- observes, at once distinguishes it from every other tion. feline animal, and equally so does the intensity of the bright rufous ground hue, so exquisitely set off with white about the head. Unless the lion, no other cat approaches it in the massive proportions of the fore, as compared with the hind, paw. Some of both sexes are made more heavily than others, with a greater development of the fold of the skin along the belly, which adds to their apparent bulk. The stripes, too, vary much in different individuals, and occa- sionally are almost throughout double. Jerdon says that the tiger is found throughout all Distribu- India, from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas, ascend- tion. ing the hills occasionally to an elevation of 6,000 or 7,000 feet. It is found in all the forests and jungles throughout the peninsula, occasionally visiting the more open and cultivated parts of the country ; and harbouring in thickets, long grass, and especially in brushwood on river-banks, and on shallows covered with tamarisk. In the Lower Provinces of Bengal, the heavy grass jungles and swamps are its usual lair. In the North-Western Provinces, the tiger is most abundant in the belt of jungle at the foot of the Himalayas, known as the Terai.'. * For further information regarding tiger-shooting, the reader is referred to the following works, which have been freely used in the text:-Jerdon's Mammals of India, p. 92. Wanderings of a Naturalist in India; A. L. Adams. Tiger Shooting in India; Lieutenant Rice, passim. Shakespeare's Wild Sports of India, pp. 73-130. Colonel Campbell's Indian Journal, pp. 69-73 and 163-185. Forsyth's High- lands of Central India, pp. 252-313. Williamson's Wild Sports of the East. A good account of a tiger hunt will be found in Bishop Heber's Journal. We might add that the illustrations of tigers in Rice's book are the best we have seen. 84 SPORT. CS CS LOGIN COCO NO 4760 FNG 0 Dimen- The* dimensions of the tiger form a fertile source sions. of discussion among sportsmen. According to Jerdon, the average size of a full-grown male tiger is from 9 to 97 feet in length ; and that naturalist has not seen any authentic account of a tiger that measured more than 10 feet and 2 or 3 inches. Camp - Colonel Campbell gives the following dimensions bell's tiger. of a tiger killed by him, in company with the well- known sportsman Mr. Walter Elliot :- ft. in. Length from point of pose to point of tail ........ 95 Length of tail ............ Height from heel to shoulder ........... Length from shoulder to point of toe............... From elbow to point of toe ... Girth of body, immediately behind shoulder ..... Girth of fore-arm ........... Girth of neck ... Girth of head ......... With regard to this particular tiger, Mr. Elliot says: Elliot on "A tiger 9 feet 5 inches may be pronounced by some sportsmen, accus- tiger di- tomed to hear of tigers of 12 and even 14 feet in length, to be a small mensions. specimen. But such was by no means the case. The animal was a full- sized specimen, of very thick, robust shape, and was measured with scrupulous accuracy. There are various ways in which measurements of large game are taken. Most men content themselves with taking the length of the skin when pegged out to dry, after the beast has been flayed. It is thus that the 12 and 14 feet measurements are obtained. From the examination of a great number of individuals, not less than from 200 to 300, carefully measured, I am satisfied that few tigers exceed 10 feet in length, and that the majority fall short of that limit. There is a great diversity in the levgth of the tail, which is always taken into the notation of the length.”. Rice and Shakes - Lieutenant Rice, in his charming work on tiger- peare's ti- shootine me shooting, mentions several tigers of 11 feet 6 inches, gers, and one of 12 feet 71 inches. Major Shakespeare speaks of a tiger he shot measuring 10 feet 8 inches ; he adds,—“His tail was only 3 feet 3 inches—an extraordinary short tail.” Captain Forsyth, in his Highlands of Central India, Forsyth has the following regarding the size of tigers :- on tiger “I have said that 10 feet 1 inch is the length of an unusually large dimensions. tiger. The average length from nose to tip of tail is only 9 feet 6 inches for a full-grown male; and for a tigress, about 8 feet 4 inches. The experience of all sportsmen I have met with, whose accuracy. I can rely on, is the same; and it will certainly be found that, when much greater measurements than this are recorded, they have either been taken from stretched skins, or else in a very careless fashion. The skin of a 10-foot tiger will easily stretch to 13 or 14 feet, if required.” Wood's A tiger belonging to the late King of Oudh was tiger, * An ordinary tiger weighs from 45 to 500 pounds : a fat cow-killer will weigh 700 lbs. SPORT. 85 bits. brought to England ; and the Rev. J. G. Wood, in his Natural History, quoting the animal's keeper, gives its dimensions at 13 feet 6 inches long, and 4 feet 8 inches in girth. Mr. W. Elliot says that the female tiger has from Charac- : teristics. two to four young, and does not breed at any parti- Elliot. cular season. Their chief prey is cattle, but they also catch the wild hog, sambar, and more rarely the spotted deer. It is by nature a coward, and always retreats from opposition until wounded or provoked. Although the wild hog sometimes becomes its prey, the tiger occasionally falls the victim. Mr. Elliot once saw a full-grown tiger newly killed by what was evidently the rip of a boar's tusk. It is generally believed that a tiger will not eat carrion; but Elliot on one occasion witnessed a tigress and two full- sized cubs eating a bullock that had died of disease. Major Sherwill gave some interesting particulars Sherwill regarding tigers to Dr. Jerdon, from which we glean on tiger ha- the following. Generally speaking, the Bengal tiger is a harmless, timid animal ; but, when wounded, he becomes ferocious and dangerous. Except in the vicinity of the Sunderbans, man-eaters are very rare in the Lower Provinces. Young tigers remain with their mother until they are able to kill for themselves. When they first acquire this power, they are far more mischievous than their parents, occasionally killing as many as four or five cows at once ; whilst an old one seldom kills more than it requires for food. An old tiger will kill a cow about once a week, and, for this purpose, will quit its place of retreat in the dense jungle, proceed to the vicinity of a village, and kill a bullock or cow. It will remain near the “ kill” for two or three days, and sometimes longer, gnaw- ing the bones before retreating to deep cover. We learn from Captain Forsyth that the regular game- killing tiger is retired in his habits, living chiefly among the hills, retreating readily from man. His killer. hot-weather haunt is usually some rocky ravine, where pools of water remain, and shelving rocks or overhanging trees afford him shelter from the sun. He is a light-made beast, very active and enduring, and, from this, as well as his shyness, difficult to bag. The cat- The cattle-liſter, on the other hand, is usually an older tle-lifter. - The game- SPORT. 87 the sportsman, attended by a crowd of beaters, with drums, old firelocks, and other instruments of noise, assails the tiger on foot, searching him out in the On foot. dense jungle where he makes his mid-day lair. In Rajputana and all along the Bombay side, this plan has been adopted usually ; and it is of such sport that Lieutenant Rice speaks in his book, and of which Colonel Campbell and Major Shakespeare give such graphic descriptions. This is the only mode of hunt- ing that is attended with serious danger. In the jungles of the Terai, and generally in Northern India, the tiger is attacked from elephants. The Collectors On ele- of districts, and other local magnates, make up large pb parties, borrow twenty or thirty elephants from the Commissariat and Canal Departments, and from native gentlemen, and with one or two trained shikari ele- phants* of their own, perhaps-worth from two to four hundred pounds-sally forth to some central point in the jungle, whence, for one or two weeks, they make daily excursions to likely spots. Ladies frequently accompany these parties, and, perched aloft on a good steady elephant, the danger is extremely little and the glory great. The third modus operandi is to From ma- erect a machan, or platform, amid the dense foliage of chans. some great tree, either near water frequented by tigers, or at some spot where they can be driven. This is practised, to our knowledge, in the districts of Benares and Mirzapur, and probably elsewhere. Here the danger is reduced to a minimum, and The dan- ladies have frequently witnessed and partaken of the per ques- sport. Often, no doubt, those who nominally shoot on foot take advantage of a commanding tree or pro- jecting rock ; and we have known gallant South- India hunters to tie up a bullock as a bait, and watch for the great cat from a convenient and safe bough overhead ; but a direct assault in the jungle, on foot, is more common, and, we think, more sportsmanlike. Let us hear, however, what Captain Forsyth has to say on this head :- Dants. “ Some people affect to despise the practice of using elephants in following tigers, and talk a good deal about shooting them on foot. As regards danger to the sportsman, nine-tenths of the tigers said to : * Some capital advice on the purchase, selection, and care of elephants is given as an appendix to Captain Forsyth's book-one of the most useful books on Indian sport that has ever been written. tion, 88 SPORT. be shot on foot are really killed from trees, or rocks, where the sports- man is quite secure. In this method of hunting, many more tigers are wounded than are finally secured, the only danger lying in following up a wounded animal, which is usually avoided ; and thus an inno- cuous animal is often converted into a scourge of the country-side. A very few sportsmen do, for a short period of their lives, make a prac- tice of hunting and shooting tigers really on foot; but they are seldom very successful, and sooner or later get killed, or have such narrow escapes as to cure them of such silly folly for the remainder of their days. A man on foot has no chance whatever in a thick jungle with a tiger that is bent on killing him. Even on the elephant all is not perfect safety, instances being not rare of elephants being completely pulled down by tigers; while accidents from the running away of elephants in tree-jungle are still more common.” Skinning No time should be lost, when a tiger has been and pre- serving secured, in removing his skin, else the hair will begin to drop out. Throwing him on his back, make a cut from one corner of the mouth down the medial throat and belly to the root of the tail. From this cut, four lateral incisions must diverge to the extremities of the limbs. The last metacarpal and metatarsal bones should be left in the skin. When the flesh is com- pletely removed, the skin is usually pegged out, with the fur downwards, dried and anointed with arsenical soap, and sprinkled with powdered alum. Another mode is—instead of pegging it out, to powder the flesh side thick with alum, fold it, and immerse it in a barrel of brine. A number of skins may be placed in the same barrel.—(See Galton's Art of Travel, p. 180.) The Wild Elephant. Habitat. The wild elephant is still somewhat common in most of the large forests of India. It is found in the Terai from Bhutan to Dehra and the Kyarda Dhoon. It abounds in Central India from Midnapur to Mandla, and south nearly to the Godaveri. From Travancore northward along the westward Ghâts, more especially on the Arnimalli Hills ( elephant hills”), the Coimbatore Hills, the Wynaad, Nilghiris, Curg, parts of Mysore and Canara, and the Sherva- Where to roys and Culmallies. The elephant must be shot in shoot. the brain, which lies within a very small compass very far back in the head. Your ball has many inches of bone to traverse ; but, in the forepart and near the base of the trunk, the bone is soft and honey- combed, and above each eye it is thinner. The front is the best spot. Fire at the bump at the upper part of the trunk. If his trunk is in the air when he SPORT. 89 habitat. approaches you, one shot will not kill him. Gordon- Cumming speaks of shooting elephants behind the shoulder. This, no doubt, may be done successfully ; but is very uncertain, unless with guns of great calibre, or shell. Zinc bullets weighted with mer- cury, and steel-tipped conical bullets (see Galton's Art of Travel, p. 239), commend themselves for this sport.—(Emerson Tennant's Ceylon, and Baker's Rifle and the Hound, should be consulted.) The Wild Buffalo, and Bison. The wild buffalo is found in the Terai, the Ben- Buffalo gal Sunderbans, along the Brahmaputra, and on the eastern portion of the table-land of Central India. His habitat lies to the north of that of the magnificent and kindred bison, or gaur. He is an extremely powerful animal, and a very hard dier. Heavy rifles with large hardened balls, or shell, are commonly used. Midway between the withers and the bottom of the girth, and behind the shoulder-blade, is the vital point. Vital point. The ball will thus penetrate his lungs. He is easily approached. The bison, measured to the top of the shoulder, Bison. often exceeds six feet in height, and from nose to root of tail nearly ten feet. It is abundant all along the Western Ghâts, and, indeed, in all the great forests of Southern India. It is commonly said that there are no buffalo south of the Narbadda, and no bison to the north ;* and the truth is thus roughly stated. Sometimes the bison is found in herds of from thirty to forty ; but more often in herds of from ten to fifteen cows and a bull. Bulls, however—and these usually the largest and fiercest are often found alone. Notwithstanding its prodi- gious strength, it is a timid and shy animal, requiring the most careful stalking. Driving is often resorted to, while the sportsman awaits his victim perched on a tree. Like those of the buffalo, the lungs are very large, and the fatal shot is that behind the shoulders. The Lion. The maneless Asiatic lion, although found in The Lion. Habitat, * Forsyth disputes this, 12 90 SPORT. Harriana, Gwalior, and Sagar, is now no longer abundant, except in Guzerat and Kutch. It is said to be a poor-spirited creature, in comparison with its African congener, and to afford somewhat indiffer- ent sport. Donkeys form its favorite food, but it is also partial to beef. Lion-shooting can hardly be considered characteristic Indian sport. Charac- teristics. The Ibex. The Ibex. The* ibex (capra sibirica) affords some of the noblest sport in the world, from the physical strength, moral fortitude, patience, and true sporting instincts called into play, in searching for, or following its tracks among the precipitous and elevated tracts it frequents. It is found in Kunawar, Kulu, Lahoul, Spiti, Cashmere, Baltistan, and various parts of Thibet. In its movements it is extremely agile, bold, and en- during; and this, coupled with the difficult nature of the ground where it is found, just under the snow-line, renders its pursuit highly arduous and dangerous. The sexes generally live apart, often in herds of one hundred or more. Their young are usually born in June and July—twins, commonly. Vigne, in his work on Cashmere, states that one or two hundred ibex are annually killed in Balti in winter, when forced to descend into the valleys. In Ladakh they are snared at night, and shot in the grey dawn of the morning, when they venture down to the streams to drink. They are killed for the sake of the soft under-fleece, which is used as a lining for shawls, stockings, gloves, and is woven into a fine cloth called Tusi. No wool is so rich, soft, and full. The hair itself is manufactured into coarse blanketing for tents, and twisted into ropes. The male stands about forty-four inches at the shoulder, and is strongly sions, and compactly built. The prevailing color is dirty Dimen- · * Wilson's Summer Rambles in the Himalayas. Kinloch's Large Game of Thibet. Vigne's Cashmere. Cunningham's Ladakh. † Wood says in his Natural History that, should the hunter approach too near the ibex, the animal will, as if suddenly urged hy the reckless courage of despair, dash boldly forward at its foe, and strike him from the precipitous rock over which he is forced to pass. But this requires confirmation. † Jerdon's Mammals. Large Game Shooting in Thibet and the North-West; by A, A. A. Kinloch, Rifle Brigadë, p. 32, SPORT. 91 white, with a ridge of coarse, chocolate-coloured hair. Descrip- along the back; the lower parts, legs, and some irregular patches are of the same dark tint. He is furnished with a flowing black beard. The horns are usually large and graceful, curving back over the quarters, varying from 40 to 52 inches in length, and from 10 to 13 in circumference. The females are much smaller than the males, and are of a more uniform colour—a greyish brown, with dark legs : their horns are thin and slightly curved, and generally about a foot in length. The front of the horns is almost always frayed ; and it is commonly believed, and confidently stated by some naturalists, that the ibex, when hotly pursued, hurls himself over the precipices, and alights safely on his stout horns. We extract the following from Mr. Kinloch's admirable work mentioned in the footnote on preceding page:- “The ibes inhabits the most precipitous ground in the highest parts of the ranges where it is found, keeping above the forest (where there is any), unless driven down by severe weather. In the day-time, it generally betakes itself to the most inaccessible crags, where it may sleep and rest in undisturbed security, merely coming down to the grassy feeding-grounds in the morning and evening. Occasionally, in very remote and secluded places, the ibex will stay all day on their feeding-grounds; but this is not common. In summer, as the snow melts, the old males retire to the highest and most unfrequented mountains, and it is then generally useless to hunt for them, as they have such a vast range, and can find food in places inaccessible to man. The females and young ones may be met all the year round, and often at no very great elevation.” Although they are very wary, a careful hunter can How to get a shot. generally, if he be sufficiently bold and skilful a climber to attain a position well above the herd, get a shot at the ibex. Their vigilance is chiefly directed below. Where much disturbed, one or two of the herd usually keep a sharp look-out while the rest are feeding, and, on the slightest alarm, the sentries utter a loud whistle, which is a signal for a general rush to the nearest cliffs. Should, however, a sportsman have time to obtain a shot before being observed, he may follow it up with one or two others, sometimes, ere the herd is out of range; as, at first, they seem quite stupified by the noise, being unable to attribute it to any visible object. Mr. Kinloch states with enthusiasm that he considers ibex-shooting to be quite the finest sport in the Himalayas ; and, except The finest pig-sticking and elephant-shooting, unsurpassed by Himalayas. any in India. sport in the 92 SPORT. Distribu tion. The Markhor. The Mar. The* markhor (capra megaceros) even surpasses the khor_ ibex in selecting the most inaccessible and dangerous Descrip- heights for his feeding-grounds. The broad, spiral tion. horns of this magnificent wild-goat attain to a gigantic size. The general colour of the animal is in summer a light greyish brown, in winter a dirty yellowish white, with a bluish brown tinge. The adult male has a long black beard, and has his neck and breast also clad with long black hair reaching to the knees ; he stands 111 hands high. The females have a short black beard, but want the long mane.† The horns of a large old male sometimes reach a length of 52 inches, not uncommonly 4 feet, the tips ibu- being distant about 34 inches. The markhor is found on the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas, to the south of Cashmere, in the Hazara hills, and the hills on the north of the Jhilam, and in the Wardwan hills separating the Jhilam from the Chenab river ; not extending, it is said, farther east than the sources of the Bias. As we have already said, this goat inhabits the most precipitous and difficult ground, where nearly perpendicular faces of rock alternate with steep and slippery grassy slopes, and patches of forest strewed with fir spines, offering a most pre- carious footing. It is extremely shy and secluded Habits. in its habits, remaining concealed in the densest thickets during the day-time, and only coming out to feed in the mornings and evenings. No animal's pursuit leads the sportsman over such dangerous ground.f Early in the season, the males and females may be found together on the open grassy patches and clear slopes among the forest ; but, during the summer, the females generally betake themselves to the highest rocky ridges high above, while the males seclude themselves in the most remote and inac- cessible ravines. They are always remarkably wary, and require the most patient and careful stalking. * The name is a Persian compound, signifying snake-eater. The natives believe that it devours serpents; and Mr. Kinloch, without giving us his reasons, says he believes there is some foundation for the story: + Jerdon's Mammals, | Kinloch's Large Game of Thibet, p. 38. SPORT. mon. The Ovis Ammon. This gigantic' wild-sheep is properly a Thibetan Ovis Am- animal, but specimens are stated to have been seen on the Indian side ; and, as it affords to the Indian hunter magnificent sport, we must give it a place here. It is said to attain a height of 4 feet 4 inches Descrip- sometimes; but 3 feet is a more usual size. Jerdon tion. mentions one that stood this height, and measured 6 feet 2 inches in length, and whose horns along the curve were 3 feet 4 inches, with a circumference at the base of 17 inches. Colonel Markham says that he has known the horns 24 inches in circumference; and that the skull and horns of one, when dried, weighed 40 lbs. Those of the female are not more than 18 inches in length, and have only a slight curve. The horns of the male are deeply wrinkled, massive, trigonal, and deeper than broad at the base. They run backwards and outwards with a bold circular sweep. The vesture is close and thick, consisting of more or less porrect piles, concealing a scanty fleece. The colour is a brownish-grey, the sides mixed hoary and slatey grey-brown. The throat, neck, and breast are white, with long hair, and the rest of the lower parts are dirty white.* The ovis ammon is never seen in summer lower Habitat. than 15,000 feet, and is often found much higher in the midst of the snows. It lives in flocks, the males and females generally apart. Dr. Jerdon says that it is the shyest and wildest of all animals; and all sportsmen concur in regarding it as one of the most difficult animals in the world to get a shot at. “To shoot,” says Jerdon, “the ovis ammon is the greatest ambition of the sportsman in the Himalayas.” Mr. Kinloch, who succeeded in getting some fine specimens of this sheep, has the following:- “In winter, the ovis ammon inhabits the lower and more sheltered valleys where the snow does not lie in any great quantity : as summer advances, the males separate from the females, and betake themselves to higher and more secluded places. They appear to be particular in their choice of a locality, repairing year after year to the same places, where they may always be found, and entirely neglecting other hills, which apparently possess equal advantages as regar s pasturage and water. No animal is more wary than the ovis ammon, and this, com- bined with the open nature of the ground which it usually inhabits, renders it perhaps the most difficult of all beasts to approach." * Jerdon's Mammals. 94 SPORT. Sometimes, however, it is found on ground where it can be stalked; but the hunter must shoot almost instantaneously, as no sooner does he raise his head than the herd disappears. There is, of course, no second shot to be had. Driving is out of the question. The neighbourhood of the Salt Lake, on the north- western side of the Pangong Lake at Chushul, and the neighbourhood of Hanlé, and the valley of the Satlej beyond the Niti Pass, are among the more accessible haunts of this rare and magnificent animal. poble ort. The Bharal. Bharal Colonel Markham says that the bharal is the noblest animal of chase in the Himalayas. Although we cannot go so far as to say this, we must still, in view of the comparative rareness and wariness of this fine sheep, and of the exceedingly dangerous ground it frequents, consider its pursuit thoroughly good sport. Old males are found only on grassy slopes in the immediate vicinity of tremendous precipices, to which they fearlessly betake themselves on the slightest alarm ; and he who would expect to get good heads must be able to climb cliffs such as would surprise Habitat. the chamois-hunter of the Alps. The mountains separating India from Thibet, between the Satlej and Nepal, are its home. Favorite resorts are the valley of Leptel beyond the Millam Pass, the valley of Spiti between the Manerang and Parangla Passes, and the Baspa valley near the source of the Ganges. The males and females do not appear to separate always during summer, for sportsmen tell of mixed flocks being seen at all seasons ; yet generally the old males form themselves into herds, and live apart. Kinloch says that, in his opinion, the flesh of the bha- ral surpasses the best mutton, and has the advantage of being generally tender soon after the animal is killed, The Brown Bear. The Brown The brown bear is found more or less in the haunts or Snow of the ibex and markhor: near the line-in summer -of perpetual snow. In* autumn they descend, * Jerdon's Mammals. Bear. SPORT. 95 coming into the forests to feed on various fruit, Character- istics. seeds, acorns, and hips ; and often coming close to " villages to plunder apples, walnuts, apricots, buck- wheat, &c. In spring and summer they feed on grass, roots, and various insects. They may be seen shuf- fling home from their feeding-place at day-break, turning over every flat stone they meet, and snuffling into every crevice of the rocks. In winter they hybernate in caves on the steep faces of the moun- tains, whence they issue forth in March and April. They litter in April or May. If* care be taken to avoid giving it the wind, Shooting in the Bear. no animal is more easily stalked, as his sight is t. extremely defective. After hybernating, although very lean and wretched-looking, their coats are in fine condition : but late in the season they are not worth shooting, as their skins then are very poor. The Himalayan Black Bear. Another very common animal in Cashmere is the Himala- Himalayan black bear. It is jet black, with the yan Bear. exception of a white lower lip, and a white, V shaped mark on its chest. The skin is not handsome. This bear does not hybernate completely, and may be Character- met with at any season. It much frequents cultivat- istics. ed land, committing great depredations on the crops. When it can conveniently get it, flesh is greedily devoured, and no fastidiousness is shown as to how the animal devoured met its death. Occasionally, t an old male takes regularly to feeding on sheep, cattle, or ponies, and continues the practice till killed. The Himalayan bear is often very ferocious; and, in almost every hill village, someone is to be seen frightfully disfigured and mauled. The best way of How to shooting it is to beat the wooded ravines, in the sho vicinity of the fields or fruit-trees in which they are known to feed. By sending men out at day- light to mark them down as they return to the ravines, much time may be saved. Early in winter they may often be found on the oak trees greedily eating the acorns, and unconscious of all else; when they may be quietly potted as they sit. * Kinloch's Large Game, &c. † Kinloch, shoot them. SPORT. 97 Dress, who, in addition to his regular duties, can turn his hand to anything, are the only servants absolutely required. The shikari is a local official, and must be changed as one goes along. As to clothes-nothing can be better than the soft, warm, brownish and grey stuffs found in Cashmere, and nearly everywhere in the hills. Made-up suits of this cost a mere trifle. The hat should be a good protection from the sun, as its rays are dangerous, even at the greatest altitudes among the snows. A “ Terai hat” by André* of Bond Street, if well venti- lated, makes a capital head-dress for hunting or shooting in any part of India : the solah hat of the country, if used, should be covered with khaki; and more than one must be carried, as the part that comes in contact with the head soon wears out in rough work. In Thibet, a knitted woollen helmet with a mask, covering head and face, leaving only two holes for the eyes, is necessary to protect one from the awful glare and the piercing dry winds. An excellent shoe for mountain-climbing is manu- factured in Cashmere, of rice-straw twisted into rope and plaited. It affords a firm hold on slippery rocks, and is unequalled for travelling over hard snow and ice. Better than any trunk or portmanteau is the or- dinary (khilta) basket of the hills. It should, however, “Khiltas." be covered with leather, and have a lid that can be locked ; and such can be procured almost everywhere. In shooting big game, one, of course, requires as low a trajectory as possible ; and this is one of the great advantages of the light ball and heavy charge of the Express rifle.f The .450 of an inch Express has a charge of nearly 4 drachms; and the •500, of 5 ind plaited. Itmere, of ricest-clim Guns. * Mr. André should manufacture a " Terai hat” of a slightly darker shade, for sportsmen. Note.-If the sportsman wishes to get shooting clothes from home, he cannot do better than deal with Messrs. Macdougall and Co., of Sackville Street, London. Every sportsman in England knows this firm. Their material is especially excellent, for they are manufac- turers as well as tailors. † The Express system consists in the use of a short conical ballet, hollowed at the point like a shell, but without any bursting charge, and expelled from the barrel by a charge of powder very great in compari- son with its weight. The bullet strikes with tremendous violence, and has its hollow point opened out by the shock into the form of a mush- room, or perhaps broken into fragments, which, taking different courses, inflict a terrible wound. Henry of Edinburgh has been particularly successful with this class of weapon. Turner's (T. Turner, Fisher St., Birmingham) •500 bore Express, 13 98 SPORT. drachms. The former gives a perfectly point-blank range of 160 yards; and the latter a point-blank of rather more than 200, and an extreme effective range of 400. These two rifles for all ordinary purposes may be recommended. For dangerous game, the large rifle, firing the spherical ball, or the shell, should be employed. This, Captain Forsyth (who públished a work on fire-arms) says, should be at least twelve gauge, and eleven pounds in weight. If the shooting is from an elephant, the spherical twelve-bore is sufficient. This, or the short conical ball, hardened with one-twelfth of mercury, or tin, with four and a half or five drachms of powder, forms an excellent charge for buffalo or bison shooting. It would be invidious to direct attention exclusively to any parti- cular gun-maker; but there can be no harm in saying that Messrs. Greener (Messrs. Greener and Co. have published a useful work on guns and rifles), Powell, and Turner of Birmingham, Reilly and Stephen Grant of London, and Henry of Edinburgh turn out first-rate articles. We may add that, for double rifles, there is no breech system better than the double grip' now so generally adopted. In addition to a heavy rifle and gun, a small pea-rifle will be found useful for pot- shooting, when there is danger of disturbing big game. Sporting No sportsman should travel without a binocular, requisites. compass, flint and steel, portable sundial, arsenical soap, alum, a lantern, string, thread, needles, a big knife (nothing better than a good dirk, with horn hilt), small axe, green spectacles, sticking-plaister, caustic, quinine, and chlorodyne. Mr. Kinloch gives Expenses. the following estimate of the expense of Himalayan travelling for one month:- Twelve coolies at 4 annas a day.................................Rs. 90 Flour, rice, milk, &c........ Fowls and mutton, when game is unprocurable ............ Servants and extras ......... Total Rs... 150 This, however, is considerably more than it costs, on an economical scale, to shoot big game in Ladakh, Cashmere, Spiti, and Lahoul. weighing some 9} lbs., and employing a charge of 54 drachms to expel a bullet of 340 grains, is a very powerful weapon; yet this is sur- pagsed for big game by his •577 bore (treble grip), weighing 101 lbs., and employing a charge of 6 drachms to expel a bullet of 480 grains, 100 SPORT. Scientific Name. English Name. Hindustani Name. Habitat. Average | Dimensions. Vital Spot and Mode of Shooting Character, &c. Trophy. Small Rhi- Rhinoce- noceros. ros Sondai- Bengal Sunder- 33 to 3zft. Similar to thatThe same Horn ; about bans. in height; of the Great Rhi- as for the 1 foot long, length 7 to noceros. Great Rhino- 8ft. ceros. Wild Buffalo. Bubalus Jangli Terai, Brahma- At shoulder Inhabits mar- Behind the Skull with horns. Arni. Bhaiñs. putra basin, Sun-up to 6 ft. gins of primæval's houlder. Head in Brit Mus derbans, Central Length 10 ft. forests. Feeds at Hardened with 12 ft. 2 in. India. night, or early in ball, if not Ex-round both horns morning. Not shy. press. Stalked. above forehead. Bison ......... Gavaeus Gauri Gai.. Forests south of Height at Very shy, and Heavy wea- Circumference of Gaurus. Narbadda. shoulder 6 ft. generally timid.pons wanted. horn at base, 1ft. Length 9} toWhen alarmed, 7 in. (Elliot.) 10ft: stamp loudly with their feet. Brown Bear Ursus Isa- Barf ka Only found in 7 ft. or Snow Bear. bellinus. Rich or Himalayas, and at long ; Perhaps iden- Bhalu. Har- great elevations in high. tical with the pâtinCash-summer, close to Syrian Bear. cus. mere. - snow. 6 in. A stupid old Easily stalk- The skin; which 3 ft.creature, with poor ed, or follow-is in its best order leyes, but a good ed up when after the hyberna- nose. The favorite feeding and tion, i.e., in April big game of the moving slow-and May. The Griffin in Cash-ly. Bags of hair is long and mere. Hybernates seven in one thickly set, vary- completely day have been ing from dark- made, and as brown to a yel- many as 28 lowish white. seen. 102 SPORT. Scientific Name. English Name. Hindustani Name. Average Dimensions. Habitat. Character, &c. Vital Spot and Mode of Shooting. Trophy. Samber ...... Rusa Aris-Sambar ... From the ex-l Length 6 to Prefers hilly Stalked and Antlers ; gene- totelis. treme south of In- 7 feet; height ground; rarely driven ; pass rally under 3ft. dia to Himalayas, 13 to 14 hands leaves forest. Usu-in single file. in length. ascending to 9,000 at shoulder. (ally gregarious. or 10,000 feet. Travels wonder- fully over rocky and stony ground. Horns not perfect till end of Sep- tember. Barasingha Cervus Barasingha Inhabits pine Length 7 to Sheds horns early Stalked ...... Antlers ; ave. or Cashmiri Wallichii. forests of Cash-7}ft.; height in October, when rage 40in. long Stag. Proba- mere, at elevation 12 to13 hands. it may be heard bly specifical- in summer of 9,000 all day bellowing ly identical to 12,000 feet. in woods, and with the Red may be easily Stag of Scot- stalked. land. Ibex.... Capr a Sakin ...... Throughout About 4ft. Fréquents the Stalked from Horns; 4 feet Sibirica. Himalayas, from 8in. from tip most inaccessible above ; most long occasionally, Cashmere to Nepal. of nose to root heights. Timid difficult of and 11 inches cir- of tail ; and and wary : agile approach. cum ference at 36. to 40in. a nd enduring. base. high. Sexes live in herds apart. SPORT. 103 ...... Horns ; of large old male some- times 4 feet long. Markhor ..... Capr a Markhor ... Pir Panjal range, 11} hands Associates in Stalked Megaceros. Hazara and high, small herds, Fre- Wardwan hills, quents steep and northern Suli- heights above mani mountains. forest in summer. In winter descends to bare spots in wooded regions. Bharal, or Ovis Na-l Bharal;' Himalayas, from 41 to 5ft. Where much Stalked from Horns; 2 feet blue wild hura. Na, or Napu Sikhim to valley long; 30 to 36 hunted, very wary, above. They and upwards Sheep. in Thibet. of Satlej; a nd in. high. placing sentinels do not heed round the curve, throughout Thibet. in commanding noises much ; and 12 to 13 in. Fairly abundant positions : but nor even the circumference at on higher ranges elsewhere easily report of a base. Horns have of Kumaon and approached. As-gun if shooter but one curve, but Garhwal. Favorite sociates in flocks is unobserved. are quite unique resorts are grassy of from 4 to 50 or and very graceful. slopes near steep spring best time for shooting, as then it often feeds all day. Lamb in June and July. 100. Early in precipices. Urial ......... Ovis Cy- Urial ...... The salt range Male about During the day Stalked. Horns; about 24 cloceros. of Panjab, Suli- 5 ft. long and usually seclude Carry away an feet round curve, mani range, and 3ft. high. themselves : but, incredible 12 inches circum- Hazara hills. Fre- where not hunted, a mount of ference at base. quents rocky and feed during day, lead. stony places. sometimes among Isheep and cattle. 104 SPORT. Scientific Name. English Name. Hindustani Name. Habitat, Average Dimensions. Vital Spot and Mode of Shooting. Character, &c. Trophy. Ovis Ammon. Ovis Am- Nyan ...... Thibet .......... mon. 34ft, high ;Never seen in Stalked ; Horns; along said to be summer lower requires snap curve 3ft. 4in., sometimes 4 than 15,000 feet. shot. circumference at feet 4 inches. The shyest and base 17in. wildest of all animals. Wild Boar ... Sus Indicus Jangli Suar All India, to an A fine boar Frequent jun- Speared, if Tushes from 5 elevation of 12,000 will measure gles along river- with trailed to 7 inches, two- feet. Abounds in 5 feet in banks : large gar- spear, behind thirds internal ; “ Khadar” of Gan-length to root dens amid culti-withers; i f belonging to him ges and Jumna. of tail, stand-vated ground, and jobbed, high who first draws In Upper India, ing over 30 in sugarcane : as-behind near blood. The bacon much hunted at inches high. sociating in small shoulder is his who kills the Cawnpore, Mirat, Measure with herds, called Spear should pig. The soused and Delhi, Near spears, one" sounders." They measure 8 to head is an excel, Jaipur and many laid across are usually astir 10 feet, exclu-lent dish. other places in withers, from long before dawn. sive of head. Rajputana, in the top of shoul- When disturbed hilly countries of der to heel, repeatedly, they the Deckan and a n d two migrate in large Nagpur, and over placed per- numbers. They all Cutch, excellent pendicular at afford the finest sport is to be had. either end. sport in which man ever engages. SPORT. 105 HUNTING WITH CHEETAHS. This sport, called “pretty” by some, and “ cruel" Charac- ...teristics of by most Europeans who have seen it, is so peculiar the Cheetah to the East, and so popular in India, that a short description of it deserves a place in these pages. The cheetah employed is the felis jubata-the hunting leopard of India. It is not maned (jubata), however, when domesticated, and it differs in some respects from the true leopard. The paw is long and narrow, like that of a dog, and the claws are not sufficiently retracted to prevent their points from being worn blunt; hence they cannot be used for the purpose of laying hold of the prey. The limbs are long and thin ; the body slim and lithe, adapted for a high speed at short distances, but with no “stay- ing' power. This lanky leopard is about thirty-two inches in height, yellow in colour, with black spots over the upper part of the body, and black lines from the corners of the mouth to the eyes. The nose is black. The general aspect of the tamed and petted cheetah is not one of fierceness or power ; a certain lackadaisical expression characterises his mild, cat-like countenance, as he yawns away the hours while being driven on a cart to the vicinity of the deer he is employed to chase. He licks his keeper's hand, and looks, like Topsy's New England corrector, " as if he couldn't hurt a 'skeeter." The Indian antelope which is generally his victim, The In- is about thirty inches high at the shoulder, light-built, dian Ante- and of wonderful fleetness. A bound of ten or a dozen yards is nothing to it, and it clears obstacles ten or twelve feet high. In a fair race the cheetah would be left far behind ; and this he appears to know instinctively, for he seldom wastes his energies in trying to follow up a deer that has escaped the first Song to folely, for hel; and th: race the The sport is indulged in by princes and chiefs The Sport all over India, but on the Bombay side it is enjoyed at Baroda. in its greatest perfection at Baroda. Invitations are issued by the Gaekwar, and at dawn the guests assemble at a spot about three miles from the city. The cheetahs are already there on light carts drawn by bullocks. They are fastened by a rope round the 14 106 SPORT. neck, and a leathern hood, descending over the eyes, keeps them in darkness, and in ignorance of the vicinity of animals not to be sprung upon. The sportsmen get into bullock-carts knee-deep in hay, which serves in place of patent springs. No sports- man goes on horseback, for the object is to give a rural and unsuspicious appearance to the caravan. The bullock-carts set out across the country in single file, traversing cotton-fields, ditches, holes, plains, at the rate of about four miles an hour. The jolting, in spite of the hay, is frightful, and those are happy who reach the great antelope preserve-six or seven miles off-without having been shaken into little pieces. Suddenly the line of carts debouches on a vast plain, on which may be seen thousands of deer browsing peacefully in vast herds. They move along slowly, much like regiments in column, the older bucks leading, and the younger ones stationed on the flanks. They eat as they go, and take no notice of the country carts that edge slowly down towards them. When the carts get within a distance of eighty or a hundred yards, they stop. The deer take no thought of the circumstance; they eat and move, and move and eat, all the while presenting their long and exposed flank to the treacherous enemy. The hood is lifted from the cheetah's eyes, and his head is turned by the hand of his keeper in the direction of the column of deer. The rope is slipped from his neck, and he is free. The deliberation of his movements How the is remarkable. He quietly glides down from the cart, Cheetah and walks very slowly towards the herd; if there be grass of any height on the way, he moves through it by preference ; the deer do not see him, and he does nothing to make himself vulgarly conspicuous. When he gets within fifty yards, he quickens his pace to a trot; at thirty he canters ; at twenty he has fixed his hungry eye on a particular deer, and, throwing aside all reserve, dashes boldly at it in a series of magnificent bounds. The herd sees him, and could still get off without the loss of a deer, if it only dashed off away from the foe. But, as we have said, it is moving in column, and nothing will induce it to break that formation. It goes straight forward, presenting its long flank to the cheetah coming against it at right- hunts. 108 SPORT. overhead. bullock-wagon, the sun has got high overhead, and the cheetahs feel the want of a siesta. No more sport is possible that day ; the venison is placed on carts or on camels and carried off, and the herds are once more at peace. Kites This sport is watched by more than the in- vited guests; kites and other fierce hunters of the air gather overhead, ready to swoop upon the car- case, even in the presence of the cheetah and his keepers. We have seen a pair of impetuous falcons swoop at the body of a fawn the instant the cheetah had been removed from its bleeding neck. They dropped from the cloudless sky overhead, and seemed to ignore the presence of the men who were standing around in a circle, until they almost struck the deer with their cruel talons ; then, seeing themselves surrounded and overlooked, they rose reluctantly, and sailed around the spot only a few yards above the ground, waiting for the offal.* FISHING.T If one only knows where to look for it, there is certainly as good fishing to be got in India as in any other country in the world. We once knew a brave old gentleman in Northern India—who, by the way, used to fish from an elephant-that pronounced India to be the great fishing country,—nor altogether without reason, we think. A writer in the field of 9th October 1869 speaks of catching 700 lbs. in five days, with the rod, in the Panjab; and on one day he landed 358 lbs. The river was the Punah, an Fishing in affluent of the Jhilam that rises in the Pir Panjal. the Punah. This river, which is about 120 miles in length, is about the size of the Tweed at Coldstream ; but the pools are deeper, and the current more rapid. The * Sir Johd Malcolm describes a Persian sport in which a species of hawk, called a Cherkb, is employed to attack the antelope. The bird pounces repeatedly on the head of the deer, and with such force as sometimes to knock it over. Hawks are not flown at bucks, because they strike with such fury, and so little regard for consequences, that they would impale themselves upon the horns of their intended victims. † Our chapter on sport has already so much transgressed its limits, : dispose of the section on fishing in a very summary man- ner. We would refer our readers to Thomas' Rod in India-a capital book. See Day's Carps of India. SPORT. 109 Mahsir. mahsir, or Indian salmon, is the fish that affords the best sport in this, as in every other river of India. It is a grand carp that attains a weight of 70 lbs. and upwards ; and affords more play to the angler, and as dainty a dish to the gourmet, as the Spey or Ness salmon. The writer in the Field gives us the following particulars of eleven consecutive days' sport :- Indian fishing. . . . . » ............ ............ 210 . us) ........ Respective Weights of Fish in pounds. Total. March 2nd (1869), 35, 29, 17, 7, 3 (lost 3 fish) 91 lbs. 3rd, 44, 40, 40, 36, 18, 18, 14 (lost 6 fish) 4th, 38, 18, 14,3 (lost 3 fish)... 5th, 52, 22, 19, 14, 4 (lost 2 fish) ........................... 6th, 7, 7 (lost 2 fish) 7th, 17, 16, 10, 8, 3, 2 (lost 3 fish)............... 8th, 30, 18, 10, 8, 54, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1 (lost 3 fish)......... 9th, 25, 24, 18, 16, 11, 10, 8, 8, 8, 7, 7, 5, 4, 3 (lost 2 fish) 10th, 43, 28, 24, 23, 18, 11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 (lost 4 fish) .... 11th, 33, 13, 10, 7, 5, 5, 5, 45, 4, 31, 33, 21, 2 (lost 3 fish)....... » 12th, 30, 3......... ............................ 33 Grand Totul... 1,145 lbs. This gives us an average for the 87 fish caught of more than 13 lbs. 2} oz. each. The mahsir is often fished with fly; but there is the hook. no doubt but that a natural bait, a phantom or spoon with a heavily-weighted line (the mahsir being usually a bottom-feeder and great fish-eater), will always make a better bag. The phantoms used by the writer in the Field were at least 6 inches long, and the spoon the size of a dessert spoon. Both Bowness and Farlow, in the Stand, sell hooks specially adapted for mahsir fishing. This noble fish is found not only in Northern India, but in all the larger perennial rivers of the three presidencies. Mr. Thomas has caught it in Canara. The following extract is from the Rod in India : “ Your best chance for mahsir is when the river is as clear as When to crystal-just the time you would consider most unfavorable for trout fish. or salmon. Though I have taken mahsir freely when the river bas been the least bit tinged by a thunderstorm, still I hold to the opinion that for a fisherman, who keeps carefully out of sight, clear water is best-that, in short, the mahsir takes best in clear water, and for the 110 SP0ᎡᎢ. reason, I fancy, that he sees best then. Although he has a leathery mouth, without a vestige of a tooth, he is a great fish-eater. He kills and holds his fish by violent compression ; he will crumple up a stout spoon bait like a piece of paper." rivens ; which, spis from dawy and The time of year to fish in India is when the rivers are not discolored by the monsoon or snow floods ; which, speaking roughly, is the cold weather. The time of day is from dawn to 9 A.M., and from 4 P.M. to sunset. Between 9 and 4, not only is it intolerably hot for the angler, but the fish will not take. The marral is another Indian fish that affords good sport. He grows to a length of from two to three feet, and is not bad eating ; resembles a pike in appearance and habits, and may be fished for in the same way and with the same tackle. We must now proceed to greater sport. Marral. PIG-STICKING.* Pig-stick- Pig-sticking, or boar-spearing, is, in our opi- nion, the grandest sport that India or any country affords. It calls into play the noblest qualities of a hunter-jungle-craft, patience, self-restraint, presence of mind, and courage. The pig-sticker must also be an expert horseman. He has to gallop at the highest speed over stony and broken ground intersected by ravines, and covered with dense brushwood and grass that conceals every danger. His horse, greatly excited—a hot Arab, or powerful waler-must be kept under perfect control by the pressure of the legs, and the influence of the bridle- hand ; the other being occupied with a spear. The charge of the wild boar, moreover, frantic with rage and fear, has often to be received on a horse either plunging, or trying to bolt ; and it must be remem- bered that the pig rushes at his foe, and, with a twist of his snout, inflicts his terrible wound like a flash of lightning. The hunter loses his seat at the peril of his life, while he misses to catch the boar on his spear at the price of his horse, or his own leg. ing. * “ Youth's daring spirit, manhood's fire, Firm hand and eagle eye, Do they require who dare aspire To see the wild boar die.” SPORT. 111 The* Indian wild hog stands a little over 30 inches “ The boar " the boar,the high at the shoulder, and from the tip of its snout might y to the root of its tail it measures some 5 feet. The boar.” boar's mouth is adorned with tushes from 5 to 77 inches in length-nearly two-thirds being buried in the jaw. Everywhere in India, from the level of the sea to an elevation of 12,000 feet, it is found. It usually associates in herds, known to the sportsman as sounders. When sheltering in long grass, it cuts some sheaves, spreads them carefully out, and creeps underneath, thus thatching itself against the heat of day. It feeds at night, and it is early in the morn- ing, when returning to its 'mid-day lair, that the hunter most easily finds it. Once settled down for the day, it lies very close, sometimes waiting till the horses threaten to trample on it. It is nearly always found close to water, in the jungles skirting great rivers, and high grass round pools of water or abandoned tanks. Sugarcane is also a favorite haunt. Here it does incredible damage, and the cultivators are always delighted to see the pig-stickers when this crop is up. Major Shakespeare, in his Wild Sports of India, writes as follows : “No one but he who has seen it would believe that the wild hog of The swift- India can on his own ground outpace, at his first burst, and run away ness, cours from the fastest Arab race-horse ; but such is the fact. Let the hog a gé, and be mountain born and bred, having to travel, in certain seasons of the ferocity of year, forty or fifty miles every night for his food, then try bim on his the boar. own hillside, or over the rock and bush of the Deckan, and I will back the bog against the hunter." * * * * * “No man who bas not been an eye-witness of the desperate courage of the wild hog would believe in his utter recklessness of life, or in the fierceness that will make him run up the hunter's spear, which has passed through his vitals, until he buries his tusk in the body of the horse, or, it may be, in the leg of the rider. The native shikari affirms that the wild * « On bis bow-back he hath a battle set Of bristly pikes, that ever threat his foes ; His eves like glow-worms shine when he doth fret : His snout digs sepulchres, where'er he goes; Being moved, he strikes whate'er is in his way, And whom he strikes, his cruel tushes slay.” “ His brawny sides with hairy bristles armed, Are better proof than thy spear's point can enter ; His short, thick neck cannot be easily harmed; Being ireful, on the lion he will vepture ; The thorny brambles and embracing bushes, As fearful of him part, through whom he rushes.”— Venus and Adonis. + Captain Newall tells us of tushes 9 inches in length, each forming a perfect semi-circle. 112 SPORT. boar will quench his thirst at the river between two tigers, and I believe this to be strictly the truth. The tiger and the boar have been heard fighting in the jungle at night, and both have been found dead alongside of one another in the morning." Captain Newall, the author of the Eastern Hunters, has a volume of 465 pages (large 8vo.) on Hog Hunting in the East ; but it is chiefly narrative, and hardly gives that amount of precise information which one would expect to derive from so wide an experience as the author possessed. Mr. Kinloch says of the pig :- “No animal exceeds the pig in ferocity,* or equals him in courage and determination. Once roused, nothing will stop him ; he will boldly charge the largest elephant who may have disturbed him, without further provocation ; and in no other species of hunting is the animal pursued treated with such fairness. With two or three horsemen after him, an old boar can, and often does, make a good fight of it, and the wounds are not always all his. In pig-sticking many sports are combined-racing, steeple-chasing, hunting, and fighting." Again, speaking of the hunting-ground on the banks of the Ganges, Mr. Kinloch says- The Kha- "It consists of level plains covered with grass, and intersected with dar. deep ravines—some dry, others full of water, with deep but invisible ditches, holes varying in size from pits large enough to swallow up horse and rider, to others just big enough to admit a hors stumps and tangled bushes—and over this one has to gallop at racing den pace." Colonel Campbell writes- The pace. “Hog-hunting is, in my opinion, the most exciting sport in India. As for the pace, there is but one-the very best your horse can muster, be the ground what it may. A lanky, outlying boar can beat a good horse in a spurt of half a mile over the best ground. What, then, must such an animal do over a country covered with loose stones, and cut up by ravines ? A bog usually selects the very worst ground he can find. Going slowly at a boar is very dangerous ; for not only may a miss occasion an accident, but even if you spear him through, he can run up the shaft, and rip the horse's entrails out before he has time to turn." " The best Pigs fed upon sugarcane soon become too fat to pigs. run far ; but the boars charge famously; the best for wind and endurance are those fed on the hills. They are kept in training by the great distances they have to travel for their food. Hanting. Having said so much about the boar, we must now proceed to give some account of the manner in which he is hunted. In the south of India and Bombay, * Mr. Kinloch ought to know, for on one occasion, when hunting with the Mirat Tent Club, bis horse was ripped, and he himself thrown, and wounded by a boar in more than fifty places ! SPORT. 113 long spears are used lance-wise ; whereas, on the Spears, Bengal side, shorter and heavier spears are jobbed. The shaft of the spear is a male bamboo. Those with the closest joints are the strongest. The best spear- heads are manufactured at Šalem in the Madras Presidency ; shank included, they measure about six or eight inches in length. In selecting them, care must be taken that they have not a shoulder, which will render their withdrawal difficult; and they should be so attached to the shaft as to leave no projecting edge. The Bombay and Deckan spear-shaft is often ten feet and upwards in length ; while that of Bengal does not exceed eight feet. They are both, usually, shod with lead, to correct the balance, and give them weight. The object of the hunter's ambition is not to slay First spear. the boar, but to draw first blood. He who achieves this, is said to have taken “first spear,” and receives the tushes as the trophy. It is necessary, of course, to kill the pig; but that is a subsequent consideration. If riding Bombay fashion, as you approach the Spearing. object of your pursuit, lean slightly forward in your saddle, hold your spear firm, and direct it behind the shoulder; do not push, but ride it in. Then, instan- taneously withdrawing it, wheel off your horse, and prepare to receive a charge ; or, if well backed up, let the others go in at the pig, until you are ready to return to the action. If you are charged, receive the enemy just where his thick neck buries itself in the shoulder, taking care to get inside the shoulder-blade. When pursuing with the short Bengal spear, wait till the boar's shoulder is parallel with your stirrup, then drop in high, behind his withers. A small, light Arab, of from 14 to 14-3, is the best Horses. horse you can ride. He is plucky, handy, and, when galloping, sure-footed on the worst ground ; more- over, he can scramble, climb banks, and take high drops, and is high-hearted, entering into the sport with great spirit. Such a horse costs in India from £80 to £200, according to his breeding and age. A thorough-bred waler (S. Australian horse) is the next best horse. He costs from £40 to £100. His faults, however, are that he requires more room and time to wheel and dodge about, and that he does not stand the heat so well--an important consideration oulder pursuing der in his with the 14.y, and more till then pursuin care to get neck burged, receiady to CHAPTER VII. PLACES OF INTEREST.* 1.-BOMBAY. The best authorities are agreed that the notion, Etymo- that the word "Bombay' is derived from the Bom logy of ile “Bombay." Portuguese Buon Bahia, 'good haven,' is erroneous. The name dates from a time anterior to the arrival of the Portuguese in India. By the natives the name is written Mambé, and very often Bambé, † which, by well-known philological laws, easily became Bombaim, as it is found in Pepys's Diary and other old English books, after which it was written Bombay. The Mahrathi name of Bombay Mabímá, is Mumbai, a word derived from Mahímá, great “the great mother." mother,' a title of Devi, still traceable in the name Mahim, a town on the north side of the island of Bombay. There can be little doubt that the island was called after the goddess just named, and this view is strengthened by the fact that, about a century ago, there was a temple dedicated to Mamba Devi on what is now called the Esplanade. The temple was re-erected near the Bhendi Bazar on the right (entering from the Fort), and opposite to the temple of Bhuleshwar, a title of Shiva, meaning " lord of the simple. Very little is known of the island of Bombay Early bis- prior to its invasion by the Portuguese. It is stated to that in 1318, after the Hindu prince of the Deckan (or the south, as the word means), whose name was Ramdeen Giathu, I had been defeated by Alla-ud- din near Deogar (the Moslem Daulatabad), the Mahomedan power, under the emperor Mubarak I., tory. * Our limited space will not permit our even mentioning in this edition the names of many of the most interesting cities in India. We have accordingly confined ourselves to what is conjectured to be the route of the Prince of Wales during his approaching visit : but should the favor of the public encourage us to produce a second edition, we may try to treat the subject more exhaustively. ť Brigg's Ferishta, vol. iv., chap. iv. | MS. of the Pathani Puryoes (vide Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society). 116 PLACES OF INTEREST. Inbabit ants, Early ob- scurity. was extended to the coast, and, indeed, as far as the cluster of islands of which Bombay is the principal. At this time the islands were inhabited by five races, which, to some extent, are still distinct :-1st, Kolis, or fishermen ; 2nd, Bhandaris, or toddy- drawers ; 3rd, Pulsheas and Josheas, i.e., Hindu doctors; 4th, Pathani or Pathan Purvoes, i.e., writers, clerks, or scribes, as they remain to this day ; and 5th, the Pancholseas or Wadvals, i.e., carpenters and keepers of gardens. The Kolis were the aboriginal inhabitants of Bombay, and seem to have been the only occupants until the island was taken possession of, at a very early date, by Bimb Rajah, a Hindu prince, who planted it with trees, chiefly cocoanut palms. The other races just mentioned are descended from the conquerors who accompanied Bimb. The immediate successors of this rajah were dispossessed by invaders from Choul, of the Chelya or military Banyan caste; and these, again, were succeeded, as above stated, by Mahomedan rulers. Bombay appears to have been a place of no note* whatever until a comparatively recent date. From the period just mentioned until the invasion by the Portuguese, no mention of the place has been found. Odoricus, an Italian friar, was at Tannah (where four of his Christian brethren suffered martyrdom) early in the fourteenth century, and, although in 1330 he published an account of his travels, he says nothing of Bombay. Thomas Stevens, of New College, Oxford, the first Englishman who visited the Western Coast of India, landed in Goa in 1579, and in 1608 was rector of a college in Salsette. He, too, wrote an account of his travels, but he is equally reticent about the neighbouring island of Bombay. There were several other travellers, too, who seem to have been as near to Bombay as those above mentioned, and who yet have not recorded any thing whatever of the place. In 1612, Captain Hawkins was in the Gulf of Cambay ; in the same year Sir Henry Middleton was at Surat ; and Sir Thomas Roe was there in 1615 : but none of these, nor any others, speak of Bombay. * Anderson's English in Western India. PLACES OF INTEREST. 117 of externheld at Sunglah sahip In the seventeenth century, the Dutch and the Dutch and Eng- English were for a brief period allied for the purpose ish. of extending the trade with India. Factories were established at Surat, and, in 1627, a joint expedition of Dutch and English ships was despatched from that place, with a view of forming a settlement at Bombay. With whom the idea originated, and what were the circumstances under which the expedition was planned, are not known ; but the commander, Van Spenlt, died, and, as the scheme died with him, it had been pro- bably originated by him : and, in 1632, the Portuguese Portuguese quietly took possession of the islands of Bombay, occupation. Salsette, and others. Of the history of their domi- nion in those places little is known. Few buildings- and those insignificant-and no forts of any consi- derable importance, are left to testify to their occupation. Indeed, the island was then little better than a sickly salt-marsh, and must have been the abode of a poverty-stricken and semi-barbarous popu- lation; and were it not that the island is still dotted over with numerous Calvary crosses, there are few traces that the Christian had ever placed his foot on the soil up to the time the island passed into the hands of the English. In 1653, the President and Council of the English East India Company at Surat drew the attention of the Directors to the desirability of obtaining the island, as a more secure and convenient position for a factory than Surat; and, in the following year, the Directors suggested to Oliver Cromwell that perhaps the Portuguese might be induced to sell Bombay. * Representations were made at Lisbon, and negotia- Negotia- tions were opened ; but nothing was determined upon. the Portu tions with In 1658 Cromwell died, and his successor had more guese. important affairs to look after than either the East India Company or the island of Bombay. In 1660 came the restoration of Charles II., and Portugal at once sought for a renewal of the alliance which the Protector had made with that country ; and, in order to bind the friendship closer, an offer was made to the king of the hand of the Portuguese Infanta, Catherine of Braganza, with a dowry of £500,000, * Bruce's Annals, 1626-27 and 1652-53. 118 PLACES OF INTEREST. Britain, Ceded to the fortress of Tangiers in Africa, and the much- coveted island of Bombay. This was accepted, and the marriage took place in a private room at Portsmouth. On the 18th September 1661, the Earl of Marl- borough* and a Portuguese viceroy with five ships arrived in Bombay harbour to see the cession carried out. This, however, was evaded by the Portuguese governor. It seems that the English admiral imagined that the treaty embraced Karanja, Salsette, and the adjoining islands, the immediate cession of which he demanded ; but the Portuguese viceroy maintained that the treaty only provided for the cession of the island of Bombay, and that the Portu- guese résidents of the island should trade with Bandora, and other ports in Salsette, free of duty. Some time was wasted in negotiation, and Marl- borough returned home without carrying out his instructions. He, however, left behind four hundred men under the command of Sir Abraham Shipman, who encamped on the island of Anjideva, about thirty miles south of Goa. Shipman and most of his men fell victims to the climate ; and the senior officer, Cook, then took the command. This officer, glad to leave such an unhealthy spot on any terms, renounced all claim to the neighbouring islands, upon which the Portuguese ceded Bombay, on condition that they Possession should be exempt from all customs dues, that all acquired deserters from Portuguese territory should be sent income from . back, and that there should be no interference with the rites of the Roman Catholic religion, but that, on the contrary, if any Portuguese should offer to embrace the Protestant faith, the English shonld not receive him.t The English Government were dis- pleased with these terms, and disallowed the convention. Cook was deposed, and a staunch royalist, Sir Gervase Lucas, was sent to take forcible possession of the island. He found that Cook had * James Ley, third Earl of Marlborough, an eminent mathematician and navigator. He was afterwards Lord Admiral. He commanded the Old James in a sea-fight with the Dutch in 1665, when he was killed. His body was taken home and buried in Westminster Abbey. His honors reverted to his uncle, the fourth Earl, with whom the peerage became extinct. † Ancient Record at Goa in the Transactions of the Bombay Geo- graphical Society, vol. iii. PLACES OF INTEREST. 119 the island. extorted large sums of money from the inhabitants, which he had appropriated to his own uses. Lucas landed at Bombay on the 5th November 1666, but died the following May, and Captain Cary was appointed deputy governor. Sir Gervase Lucas had pointed out to the Govern- Value of ment that, if properly cultivated and governed, the island might become very valuable; but his represen- tations were disregarded. The value of the island was then estimated at Rs. 51,542. The Government considered their new accession as worthless, and got rid of the place by bestowing it, in 1668, upon the East India Company, “in free and common Bestowal soccage, as of the manor of East Greenwich, on on the E. I. Company. payment of an annual rent of £10 in gold.” The Company, however, do not seem to have prized the island very much—and, indeed, its condition must have been wretched; for, nearly forty years after its transfer to England, a quaint writer says of it “ A sheep or two from Surat is an acceptable pre- sent to the best man upon the island. And the unwholesomeness of the water bears a just proportion to the scarcity and meanness of the diet, and both of them, together with a bad air, make a sudden end of many a poor sailor and soldier. Two monsoons are the age of a man." So little were the advantages of the harbour appreciated, or the future greatness of the island anticipated, that, in 1669, it was seriously proposed to exchange it for Jinjira*-a place a little to the south, insignificant then, and still more insigni- ficant now. In 1672, however, the island was thought worth Threaten- defending. Sivaji threatened it, and the English were so alarmed that they strengthened their fortifica- tions. His intentions, however, were not distinctly hostile. Indeed, he was rather indifferent to the port, and all he did was to build a fort on the island of Heneri to stop its trade. Bombay, therefore, suffered no injury from his approach, but can hardly be said to have felt secure until the Mahratta power was shattered to pieces. ed by the Mahrattas, * The present chief of Jinjira is a representative of the Seedee chiefs who possessed the principality during the existence of the Moghal empire.-Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattas (2nd edition, Times of India Office, chap. xxxvi., p. 508.) 120 PLACES OF INTEREST. Threaten. In 1673, a Dutch fleet with six thousand troops on ed by the boond throtoned to cont Dutch. board threatened to capture the island ; but, on the governor drawing out his forces, which consisted of three hundred English, “ four hundred topazes” (Portuguese militia), and three hundred natives armed with clubs, &c., the enemy, thinking discretion the better part of valour, withdrew. General Aungier, the then Governor, distinguished himself in Bombay annals by the gift of a large chalice and cover to St. Thomas's Church, which are still preserved. With the exception that, in 1681, a Mr. Smith was sent out from England, on a salary of £60* per annum, to establish a mint, nothing of importance appears to have occurred in Bombay until 1683, when the garrison revolted. It seems that falsé rumours were spread by rival companies that the great East India Company at home had quarrelled with the Government, and that force had been resorted to. Unfortunately, at this time the expenses of the fort were being reduced, and there was much discontent in consequence. The garrison seized the pretext of the supposed rupture at home, and, with Captain Keigwin's Keigwin, their, commander, at their head, declared Revolt. that they held the island for the king, and not for the Company. When Charles II. heard of this, he at once issued an order that Keigwin should give up the island; and Sir Thomas Grantham, the commander of the Company's fleet, proceeded to the island to Keigwin carry the order into effect. Keigwin surrendered, however, on condition of a pardon to himself and adherents; but so slow were communications in those days, that he had held the place eleven months. For the more effectual coercion of any turbulent propensities, the expedient was adopted of removing the seat of government from Surat to Bombay. Bombay The humble pretensions of a President and Council, becomes a however, were deemed incompatible with the rising Regency. grandeur of the Company, and, in 1687, Bombay was elevated to the dignity of a regency, with unlimited power over the rest of the Company's settlements. In 1670, two courts of judicature had been estab- lished ; and, in 1683, the king authorised the Company to exercise the powers of admiralty jurisdiction gurrend IULI! * Mill's History of British India, BOMBAY. 121 throughout their possessions. A short time before this, small-sized forts—the same, doubtless, as those Building still remaining—were built at Mazagon, Sewree, Sion, Mahim, and Worlee, and there were works of some extent on the site of what were recently the fortifica- tions. The walls were built in the year 1768 and succeeding years. The fortifications extended from Apollo Bunder to Fort George, and went almost completely across the island. The wall has gradu- ally disappeared as its uses have become less and less, and now there is little of it left, except at Fort George and a portion near the present European General Hospital. In 1689, the emperor Aurangzib, in retaliation The Island for the piracies of individual English traders, seized invaded. several of the Company's factories, and ordered the Seedee to drive out the English from Bombay. Yakoot Khan accordingly made a descent upon the island, and possessed himself of Sion, Mazagon, and Mahim -all places in the neighbourhood of the town ; but he could make no impression on the town itself. The attack, however, continued, until, after twelve months, the English appeased Aurangzib by the usual expedients of bribes and the humblest submission. In 1998, a new East India Company was estab- A new E. I. lished ; and, in 1700, Sir Nicholas Waite, its President, Company. landed in Bombay. Then ensued a series of misun- derstandings between the heads of the two Companies, and intrigues by them with the native chiefs; and both the misunderstandings and intrigues were increased when an ambassador was sent from England to the emperor's court, where he must have occupied a difficult and anomalous position. The squabbles and intrigues resulted in Sir N. Waite Imprison- winning over the governor at Surat, who thereupon John Gayer seized Sir John Gayer, the President of the old Company, and kept him, with one hundred and nine others, a close prisoner in the Surat factory for three years. In 1702, a nominal union of the two Com- Amalga- panies was effected, but the real amalgamation did not mation of the Com- take place until 1708, when they became one, under panies. the title “ United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies." ment of Sir 16 122 PLACES OF INTEREST. Presidency. rate Becomes a From this time Bombay became a distinct presidency, with a Governor and Council ; and its rise, both in commercial and political importance, was rapid. The trade was not limited, as hitherto, to the Com- pany's own ships, but other vessels were chartered. In 1750, the Bombay presidency was strong enough The pi- to combine with the Mahratta power to destroy the power of Tulaji Angria, a celebrated pirate, who was in possession of several strong forts, which in 1755 were attacked, and four of them captured by Commo- dore James. The following year, Clive (then lieute- nant-colonel) arrived in Bombay from England, and assisted in the capture of other forts, and of Angria himself, whom they handed over to their allies, the Mahrattas, by whom he was imprisoned. The pre- sidency then set about the task of breaking up the power with which they had so recently been allied. In 1756, the Peishwa was induced to cede to the Bombay presidency the sovereignty of the Bankot river and ten villages. Three years afterwards, the Company's troops took possession of Surat, and gradually extended their conquests, until, in 1773, they Capture captured Broach. The next year they seized Tannah of Surat, Broach,&ć. and Salsette, their hold on which, with Bassein and other places, was afterwards ratified by a treaty with Ragoba, the Peishwa; the result of which was to increase the revenues of the presidency by twenty-two and a half lakhs. Communications with England were then so slow that, two years after the above events had taken place, orders came that nothing of the kind should be done. The result was a series of undignified squabbles between the Bombay presidency and the Supreme Council at Calcutta, and the Directors at home. The Governor-General denounced the con- quests by Bombay as “ unseasonable, impolitic, unjust, and unauthorised,” ordered them to cancel the treaty, and forbad the Bombay Council to receive Ragoba within the limits of their government. This was protested against, and even disregarded, by the Council of Bombay; but, in the end, they were successful in their negotiations. War with About this time the English were alarmed at the party the Mah- rattas. - then in power at Poona, because the latter received an emissary from the French, and suspicious negotiations BOMBAY 123 seemed to be going on. It was feared that the treaty regarding the Mahratta powers, entered into some years before with Colonel Upton, would be disregarded, while the well-known desire of the English to instal Ragoba in the office of Peishwa, filled the Poona Government with distrust. An army was despatched to Poona. The portion from Bombay consisted of a force of 4,500 men, under the command of a 6 Com- mittee.” The Bombay army set out early in December 1778 ; on the 23rd they had ascended the ghâts as far as Khandalla, where they first saw the enemy. On the 4th of the following month they began their march to Poona; but as Ragoba's friends did not join them as was expected, they hesitated and delayed, not arriving within sixteen miles of that city until the 9th January, when they found themselves confronted by an army so large as to render an advance hazardous. They, therefore, withdrew from Engage- their camp on the night of the 11th ; but their retreat ment at Talegaum. was cut off.* The Mahrattas were then able to dictate their own terms, and the English were obliged to give the Mah- up their previous conquests, while Ragoba surrendered rattas suc- himself to Scindia. Broach was given to Scindia ; and the army returned to Bombay, sorely dispirited. It is beyond the scope of this work to detail the The Pre- gradual extension of territory which is now included sidency ag- in the Bombay presidency. The English recovered all they had lost; and in 1820, when Mr. Mount- stuart Elphinstone became Governor, the dimen- sions of the presidency had just been tripled, the whole dominions of the Peishwa having in one swoop been placed under our authority; and shortly after- wards, minor states rapidly came in. Elphinstone was a popular ruler, mixing freely with all around him, Elphin- having “open breakfasts” at Parell once a week, and stone's po- otherwise showing his desire to gain the affections of the people. It was by his influence that the prejudices against educating the natives were removed, and, in Native 1823, Government assisted in establishing the present education. native general library. A few years later, Govern- ment hinted that the establishment of a medical school A medical was desirable; and the hint was not disregarded. For blished. cessful. *Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattas, chap. xxviii., p. 415 (Times of India one-volume edition). randised. school esta- 124 PLACES OF INTEREST. hableshwar Malcolm. an account of the Elphinstone College we refer the Retirement reader to another page. Mr. Elphinstone left the phinstone. Fonel Governorship of Bombay in 1827, and was succeeded by Sir John Malcolm, who ruled until 1830, to a great degree extending the works initiated by his Ma- predecessor. To the energy of Sir John Mal- Sanatarium colm is due the establishment of the sanatarium at Mahableshwar. He did a great deal for the cause of Indian literature and science. The library of 100,000 volumes at Government House was got together by Sir John him ; and he was instrumental in establishing a botanical garden at Dapuri, for the production of silk Lord Clare. and the cultivation of European vegetables. Lord Clare was Governor from 1831 to 1835. He was the last Governor under the old charter, and the first who ever came out overland. Although Bombay escaped the horrors of the Mutiny of 1857, yet it was by no means free from intrigues, chiefly by the Mahomedans ; but they were vigorously suppressed. In 1858 an Act was passed transferring the government of India from Transfer the Company to the Crown, still retaining, however, of the gov- the form of rule by a President who is appointed by eroment to the Crown. the Crown, and a Council who are appointed by the President. The Viceroy and his Council at Calcutta are supreme over the other Presidents and Councils. Divisions. The Bombay presidency at present consists of three divisions of British territory, viz.—the Northern Division, which contains seven collectorates; the Southern Division, which contains nine; and the Sind Division, which contains five. The total area of these divisions is 124,461 square miles, and the population 16,228,774. The presidency also Native contains several native states, which occupy 63,252 States. square miles, or one-third the entire area of the presidency, and have a population of 9,250,000 souls. They are divided into two main groups—the Guze- rathi states, to the north ; and the Mahrathi, to the Baroda. south. The principal northern state is Baroda, with a population of 2,600,000 souls. The area of Bombay city is 18 square miles, and its population 644,405– a decrease of 31,477, or 21 per cent., on the census of 1864. Of the population of Bombay ncy, and one-thistates, which residences, and The princip north ; and groups06 BOMBAY. 125 2-68 city, 7,253 are Europeans, and 25,119 native Christians. In 1862-63, there was a great demand for Indian cotton, in consequence of the cessation of supplies from America on account of the war. Surat cotton, Share ma- of which the value in England had been from threepence to fourpence a pound, rose to nearly two shillings, while all others had increased in proportion. The value of the exports rose in Bombay from £43,000,000 to £63,000,000 in a single year. In consequence of this, there was a great influx of money into Bombay, followed by a great deal of speculation. Joint stock companies sprang up in all directions. Large fortunes were rapidly made and as rapidly lost; and the “share mania” raised many to affluence, but sank many more in ruin. It was not until after some years that commercial confi- dence was restored. The Right Hon'ble Lord Elphinstone was Governor of Bombay from 1853 to 1860, when he was succeeded by Sir George Russell Clark. Sir Bartle Frere followed in 1862, and remained five years, when Sir Seymour Fitzgerald was appointed Governor, hold- ing office until 1872, the year in which the present Governor, Sir Philip Wodehouse, took office. The most important event in connection with Bombay in recent times is the Bombay Municipal Act of 1872. This gave for the first time the right of voting to the people of Bombay. It gave to Bombay a Corpora- Municipal tion of sixty-four persons, sixteen of whom are Corporation nominated by Government, sixteen elected by the Justices of the Peace, and thirty-two by house-holders who have paid their rates. From the Corporation a Town Council is selected, consisting of twelve members, eight of whom are elected by the Corpo- ration, and four chosen by Government. The Corporation and Town Council are all elected for two years. At the first election in 1873, out of 3,927 rate-payers entitled to votes, only 700 recorded them; but the elections this year showed an improve- ment, as, out of 3,470 entitled to vote, 1,211 recorded them. There are some strange anomalies in the arrangements : thus, in one ward which contains 24,352 inhabitants, there are only 13 voters. 126 PLACES OF INTEREST. The Fort. THE FORT. That portion of Bombay now called the “ Fort,” is the city proper, which used to be surrounded by fortifications. It forms by far the greater portion of the European portion of the town. The forti- fications at present extant are those of Fort George, which enclose the old Portuguese castle on the west side. This castle was probably founded by the Portuguese shortly after they acquired the island in 1530. Marks of the cannon fired by the besieg- ing Moghal admiral in 1690 are still to be seen. We learn from Fryer, who travelled between 1672 and 1681, that Cook, the Company's officer to whom the Portuguese ceded Bombay, on landing in 1664, 66 found a pretty well-seated but ill-fortified house, four brass guns being the whole defence of the island. About the house was a delicate garden, voiced to be the pleasantest in India ; intended rather for wanton dalliance, love's artillery, than to make resistance against an invading foe.” The present fortifications do not date further back than 1760, when Sir Archibald Campbell, Chief Engineer in Bengal, was sent out with instructions to fortify Bombay. Some ten years ago, six distinct works were Sapple- designed to supplement the defences of the fort. mentary The* most important and costly of these is the fort defences of Bombay. on the Middle Ground Shoal, in the midst of the anchorage, 1,800 yards from the shore. It was intended to carry twelve 300-pounders, in iron- fronted casements ; and two 600-pounders, in a turret. Another fort was to have been built on the Oyster Rock, a patch dry at high-water, near the south end of the anchorage, 1,000 yards from the shore, and 3,000 south-west of the Middle Ground. These works have been stopped ; but, on the latter site, a temporary battery of eight 10 and 9-inch guns has been erected. The third work is a battery on Cross Island, 1,000 yards from the shore and 4,000 from the Middle Ground, to be armed with seven 300-pounders. The island has been levelled, and a battery of six guns placed on the battery thus formed. A tower on the shore, called the Twelve e Ground, dº has been battery thuhe _ * Moral and Material Progress of India, p. 192. BOMBAY. 127 Foot Patch, is to have two 600-pounders. There is an earthen battery with five 7-inch guns en barbette at Malabar Point ; and at Kolaba Point there are four 68-pounders en barbette, and four 13-inch landservice mortars. Two iron-clad monitors, the Monitors. Abyssinia and Magdala, specially designed for Bombay, arrived there in 1871. They have each four 10-inch guns in two turrets. In 1872, Colonel Jervois reported on the state of Col. Jer- the defences, pointing out their inadequacy, and j' vois' Re- port. recommending that two circular forts, each with eighteen 25-ton guns, should be built at the entrance of the harbour. An enemy would be detained under their guns by electric torpedoes placed in the chan- nel, and exploded by observation from the forts, and further annoyed by three gun-boats carrying 25-ton guns. The cost of such a system of defences is estimated at £932,000. THE ISLAND OF BOMBAY. There are four magnificent views of Bombay, with Four views the harbour, the sea, and the adjacent islands, which of Bombay. should be seen by every one who desires to behold the Portal of the East in all its beauty. There is the view from the eastern spur of Malabar Hill, whereon stand the Towers of Silence ; the view from Kumballa Hill, at the point where stands the late Mr. Anstey's bungalow, is different from the first, but hardly inferior in loveliness ; the view from Maza- gon Hill over the upper part of the harbour, with a glimpse of the Konkan—the narrow plain which lies between the coast and the Western Ghâts—and the curious forms of the hills beyond it, mountains in their mass, but cathedrals and citadels and weird fortresses in form ; and finally, the view from Parell Hill, whence, facing the east, the spectator looks down into the picturesque cemetery of Sewree at his feet, and, looking towards the west, he sees over the tops of a forest of palm and other trees, with a glimpse of water between. The highest point of the island of Bombay is Extent of Malabar Hill, 190 feet above the level of the sea. the island. A line drawn from the temple of Mahalakshmi to Mazagon-a distance of less than three miles-gives 128 PLACES OF INTEREST. Kolaba. ment. tory. the greatest breadth of the island. From the old light- house at Kolaba to Sion the length is fifteen miles. Bombay island communicates with that of Salsette by the Sion causeway; and the railway gains the main land a little to the south of Tannah, on Salsette, by a similar work. Until a few years ago, Kolaba, at the southern extremity of the island, was a separate island itself, sometimes called Old Woman's Island ; but it has been joined by a causeway. For many years it was only used“ to keep the Company's antelopes and other beasts of delight.” None of its land was appropriated to individuals, as it was reserved to be a military Canton- cantonment.* At Kolaba is the cantonment for European troops, and fine barracks have been recently Lighthouse erected. There is also an excellent light-house at Kolaba, but it is now, however, superseded by the Prongs' light-house, which, unfortunately, is placed in the middle of the Prongs' reef, instead Observa- of at its end. There is also a Government Obser- vatory, under the able management of Mr. Charles Chambers, F.R.S. The principal services of the Observatory consist in recording the phenomena of meteorology and terrestrial magnetism, either by means of photographically self-registering instruments, or by personal observation. The correct time is communicated to the shipping, and the public gene- rally, by a daily signal. One of the purposes of the Observatory is the rating of chronometers, of which the Government store is kept at the Observatory, whilst others are received from the ships in harbour, and kept under regular comparison with the standard Time clock. The time signal-ball drops at the Grand Signals. Arsenal Tower at 1 P.M. daily; and a clock is also placed in the Tower and kept in electrical connection with a clock at the Observatory, which compels the former to beat in unison with it, though miles away. A gun is also fired at one o'clock every day. At Kolaba, too, is the Lunatic Asylum for the district. Standing at Kolaba Point and looking landward, the harbour is on the right. Atits far mouth are the islands Heneri and of Heneri and Keneri, fortified in the time of the Keneri. Mahrattas, long the favorite resorts of the pirates of * Fryer-Hamilton's Hindustan, and East India Gazetteer. 130 PLACES OF INTEREST. field known as the Strangers' Lines, where tents are Strancera' often erected for the accommodation of members of Lines. the Civil and Military services. From the Band Stand there is a fine view across Back Bay. Back Bay to Malabar Hill, where the bungalows are embosomed in the luxuriant foliage. Kolaba stretches away to the south-west. The bay is shallow, and studded with reefs. A ship mistaking it for the harbour-an error sometimes committed before the Prongs'light-house was erected—would be doomed ; it could never get out. Only a few fishing-boats navigate its perilous waters; no pleasure-yacht has ever ventured into them. During the share mania already referred to, a company was got up to reclaim the bay from the sea; a million sterling was squandered, and the only result was the reclamation of a few hundred acres near Chowpati, about two miles from the Band Stand, and of little value. A new and splendid ride—the Kennedy Sea Fashion- pro: Face-skirts the eastern shore of Back Bay. The menades. Bombay and Baroda Railway runs between it and the Queen's Road, the most frequented drive in Bombay. Rotten Row is situated between the Fort and the continuation of the same railway. The magnificent buildings on the Esplanade overlook Rotten Row, and the fine promenades and drives adjacent. The buildings; the grassy rides ; the spacious roadways bordered with trees; the broad and brilliant, if shallow, waters of the bay, reflecting the rays of the declining sun ; the boundless sea beyond; the palm-crowned promontory to the north ; flat Kolaba with its church and factories and light- house to the south-west ; the elegant European car- riages drawn by handsome Arab or large Australian horses ; the ladies and gentlemen taking equestrian exercise in the row; Hindus, Mussulmans, Parsis in striking and many-colored costumes ;-all combine to form a picture which, for beauty, variety, extent, and movement, cannot be surpassed by any city in the world. * able pro- * The scene which presented itself to a traveller on the same spot some threescore years ago was not so brilliant. “I entered Bombay with the impression that it was the seat of wealth, splendour, fashion, and extravagance ; but a stroll upon its esplanade removed the 132 PLACES OF INTEREST. heretofore erected in India, but one of the hap- piest efforts of its architect, Sir Gilbert Scott. With the exception of the Minton's tile-flooring, the patent roofing-tiles, and some portions of the orna- mental iron-work of the galleries, none of the build- ing materials have been obtained from England, Colonel Fuller, the Superintending Engineer, having succeeded in procuring all his materials from one portion or other of the Bombay presidency. The yellow facing-stone is a basalt obtained at Kurla, nine miles from Bombay ; the carved and moulded work is of white limestone from Porebunder in Kattiawar, the red pillars from Poona, the long and slender pillars of the stair-cases are of grey granite from Ratnagiri, and the internal masonry generally is of Bombay blue-trap. The teak-wood, of course, is from Burmah, Indian teak being now hardly obtainable. The Convocation Hall seats a thou- sand persons comfortably. It is 150 feet long and 65 feet wide, with high-pitched gabled roof. At the north end is a magnificent circular window, 20 feet in diameter, the outer ring of which has twelve lights, with stained-glass signs of the Zodiac. The Gothic vaulting in the porch, 75 feet high, is remarkable for the absence of the cross groins. The lines of this vaulting were so traced that, notwithstanding the omission of stone ribs, the lines might accurately spring from the pointed arching without fear of collapse and failure. The stone-work is light and thin, in order that as little weight and thrust as possible may be thrown on the outer walls and buttresses. Un- fortunately, the acoustic properties of the Hall are not his good. Next the Convocation Hall is the University versity Li- Library and clock-tower ; the latter will be 250 feet brary. high. "The Library is cruciform in plan, the nave being 150 feet long and of two storeys. It is a light and brilliant specimen of decorative architec- ture, with a thousand beauties ; though, in the opinion of competent judges, it is supposed that these are lost-and, indeed, the building itself The Tower. dwarfed-by the enormous tower, beautiful in itself, which is now slowly growing up by its side. It is worthy of note that the whole of the work, both at the Library and at the Convocation Hall, was executed by The Uni BOMBAY. 135 Fountain. -a very pretty structure, adorned with allegorical Frere figures. Continuing along the route towards the fou Town Hall, the visitor must pass through Elphinstone Circle-an ornamental garden, containing white- stone Cir- marble statues of Lord Cornwallis and the Marquis cle. Wellesley ; and surrounded by a series of handsome buildiesley; and of Lord garden, through eywards the fou rere Office. Retracing one's steps to the Post Office, the Telegraph building next to it, the Telegraph Office,* attracts On attention. THE QUEEN'S STATUE. On the north side of this building, where two roads meet, is a white-marble statue of Her Majesty. This statue was ordered by Khunderao, Gaikwar of H. M's Baroda, but he died before it was completed ; and Statue. Mulharao Gaikwar carried through the work his bro- ther had begun. The statue was given to the citizens of Bombay to commemorate the day upon which Her Majesty assumed the direct administrationof her Indian empire. It is a very elegant piece of workman- ship, and cost a lakh and a half of rupees. Mr. Matthew Noble is the sculptor. It is a colossal sitting statue, in the best Carrara marble, with a richly orna- Descrip- mented cupola nearly 40 feet high, also executed tion, in the best marble of various colours. The royal coat-of-arms is placed in front of the pedestal, and the Star of India in the centre of the canopy ; while on the enriched part, immediately above the statue, are the rose of England and the lotus, with the mottoes “ God and iny right,” and “ Heaven's * At this office telegrams are despatched to any station in India at the rate of Re. 1 for every six words (exclusive of address), between the hours of 6 A.M. and 6 P.M. At orber hours the charge is doubled, as well as on Sundays, Christmas Days, New Year's Day, Good Friday, and the Queen's Birthday. The charge for press messages, at all hours and on all days, is one rupee for twenty-four words. The tariff for private messages from India to British Burmah or Ceylon is Re. 1-8. All cypher messages are charged double. The Railway Companies also send messages from their stations at the rate of Re. 1 for six words, but make no allowance for press messages. The Indo- European Telegraph Company send messages viâ Russia, to Great Bri- tain and Ireland, at Rs. 21 for ten words and Rs. 2-2 for each additional word; or vid Turkey for Rs. 19-12 for ten words, and Rs. 2 each additional word. The tariff by the Eastern Telegraph Company (Bom- bay office : Government Telegraph Office) is Rs. 21-4 for ten words, and Rs. 2-2 each additional word. The rate to New York and Boston is Rs. 42-8 for ten words, and Rs. 4-3-8 for each additional word. An extra charge is made to the other American towns. 136 PLACES OF INTEREST. Light our guide.” Besides these accessories, others are introduced into the design, such as the oak and ivy leaf, as the symbols of strength and friendship respectively, adorning the plinth and capitals of the columns ; and the oak, ivy, and lotus leaves enriching the moulding surrounding the entire work. The statue, and its elaborate canopy, are works of great beauty, and worthy of the splendid buildings by which they are surrounded. THE CREMATION GROUND. Burning- Leaving the Statue and crossing the Marine Lines ground, —a row of bungalows, occupied chiefly by the officers of the garrison—the visitor arrives in Queen's Road, the fashionable drive, where on the right hand is situated the Hindu cremation-ground. Cremation. The method of cremation is worth describing. When a Hindu dies, information is sent to the friends and relatives of the deceased. These assemble forthwith, and some of them go to the bazar to buy the necessary articles for the ceremony. They procure two strong bamboos for the bier, some split chips of bamboos, some coir, about half a piece of white-shirting, one earthen-pot, some copper-pots, some pieces of sandal-wood, some clarified butter, rice, and, if the weather be wet, some rosen and oil to replenish the flames. When the men return from the bazar, they make a bier, over which, when ready, some tulsi leaves, and sacred grass called durbhas, are spread. The ceremony ought to be performed by the son of the deceased ; in his absence, by the brother or father, or by any other member of the family. He who has to perform the ceremony must bathe, then Cerę - shave off his moustaches, and bathe again. All the while, muntras (or sacred hymns) from the Vedas are recited by the officiating priest. In fact, every part of the ceremony is attended with the recital of muntras. Sacred fire is kindled in the earthen-pot, after which the body is taken out of the house by the friends and near relations ; it is well-washed, a piece of cloth is passed round the waist, and the body is then stretched upon the bier and covered by a cloth, but the face is left monies ob served. . 138 PLACES OF INTEREST. trated and shut up in the head, when death is the consequence."* It is said that when the spirit was com- manded to enter the body of Adam, the soul, having looked into it once, observed—“. This is a bad and dark place, and unworthy of me. It is impossible I can inhabit it.” Then God illuminated the body of Adam with “ lamps of light,” and commanded the spirit to enter. It looked in a second time, beheld the light, Why Al, and saw the whole dwelling, and said~" There is no lah created music. pleasing sound here for me to listen to ;" and it is believed that it was owing to this circumstance that the Almighty created music, on hearing which the soul became so delighted that it entered the body. It is also believed that the sound that pleased the soul resembled that produced by the repeating of the soora-e-yaseen ; and it is therefore read at the hour of death for the purpose of tranquillizing the soul. Other passages are also read by those around the bed, after which sherbet made of sugar, &c., is poured down the dying one's throat, to facilitate the exit of the vital spark. The moment the spirit has fled, the mouth is closed; the two great toes are brought into contact, and fastened together with a thin slip of cloth ; and ood or ood-buttee is burnt near the corpse. The burial takes place as soon after death as possible-generally within a few hours. There are professional male and female “ washers,” whose duty it is to wash and shroud the corpse. The washers dig a hole in the earth to receive the water and prevent its spreading over a large surface, as it is considered unlucky to tread on such water. The washing is performed with great ceremony, and every time water is thrown on the body, the washers say=“I bear witness that there is no God save God, who is the One and who has no co-equal ; and I bear witness that Mahomed is his servant, and is sent from him.” The body is then shrouded with much cere- mony. Should the relict of the deceased be present, they get her to remit, in the presence of two wit- nesses, the dowry which he had settled upon her, unless that has been done while he was alive. When his mother is present, she says-" The milk with which I suckled thee I freely bestow on thee.” This is done * Qanoon-e-Islam. (London, 1832.) BOMBAY. 139 because a person who has sucked a woman's milk is considered to be under great obligations to her, as, without it, he could not have lived ; that debt she now remits. Wreaths of flowers are then placed on the body, which is carried to the grave on a bier, or, in the case of those who can afford it, in a box or coffin, It is considered highly meritorious to follow a bier, and on foot.* There are then recited four creeds and the blessing, and one or two persons (rela- tives or others) then get into the grave, and lay the body on its back, with the head to the north, feet to the south, and the face turned towards Mecca. The grave for a woman is only to the height of her waist, and for a man to his chest. The grave is made about 4 cubits long; and if the body turns out to be longer, that is considered by the ignorant proof that the deceased was a great sinner. Each person takes up a little earth, and, throw- ing it into the grave, whispers—“ We created you of earth, and we return you to earth, and we shall raise you out of the earth on the day of resurrection.” Steps are then taken to prevent the body from being crushed by the earth which fills up the grave, and a mound is made in the shape of a cow's tail or the back of a fish, and water is sprinkled on it in three longitudinal lines. After the burial, fateeha are offered in the name of the defunct, and again in the name of all the dead in the cemetery. It is believed that, while this is being done, two angels examine the dead, making him sit up while they enquire of him as to his life and religion. belief. If he has been a good man, he replies to their queries ; if not, he is mute; and in the latter case the angels torment and harass him with an instrument of torture called the gurze, similar to that with which fakirs beat and stab themselves. After a funeral, wheat, rice, salt, and money are distributed to the poor. The cloth which was spread on the bier Religious * It is highly meritorious to accompany a bier, and that on foot, following behind it : for this reason, that there are five furze Kufacea incumbent on Mussulmans to observe--1st, to return a salutation; 2nd, to visit the sick, and inquire after their welfare ; 3rd, to follow a bier, on foot, to the grave ; 4th, to accept of an invitation ; 5th, to reply to a sneeze, e.g., if a person sneeze and say instantly after Alhumd-o-Lillah ( God be praised'), the answer must be Yur-humuck- Allah (“God have mercy upon us'). -Qanoon-e-Islam, chap. xxxviii. 140 PLACES OF INTEREST. Hill. becomes the grave-digger's perquisite. This, however, he spreads on the grave on every ziarat day until the fortieth, after which he keeps it to himself. Old Ceme- Contiguous to the Mussulman burial-ground is the tery. old European Cemetery, now no longer used. The old wall was recently removed, and some new iron fencing substituted. The tombs are, for the most part, in a state of decay, and the action of nature has been accelerated by native thieves, who steal grave-stones for the purpose of using them to crush the ingredients before mixing in their curry. Continuing his progress along the Queen's Road, the visitor now approaches the pleasantest part of Malabar the island, Malabar Hill. This rocky promontory was formerly the resort of tigers, &c., but it is now dotted over by the bungalows of the leading inhabitants of Bombay. A bungalow prettily situated on Malabar Point is occasionally occupied by His Excellency the Governor. It is on the eastern spur of this hill, too, that are situated the Towers of Silence, where the Parsis dispose of their dead. THE PARSIS. The Parsis—the Medes* and Persians of the Scrip- tures—are almost peculiar to Bombay and its neigh- bourhood. They are followers of Zoroaster, and the history of their arrival and sojourn in India is as fol- Their bis- lows :-In the middle of the seventh century, the Arabs ndre- invaded Persia, under Caliph Omar, and traversed the ligion. country, compelling the conquered nation to accept either death or the Koran. Almost the whole of the Zoroastrian population of Persia embraced the faith of Islam, and nearly every trace of the religion of Zoroas- ter was obliterated. Some who held firm fled to the mountainous districts of Khorassan, and remained there about a hundred years, in the unmolested enjoyment and practice of their religion. Persecution, however, at last reached them in their retreat, and a considera- able number fled from their enemies and emigrated to the little island of Ormus, at the mouth of the Landing at Ormus, Persian Gulf. Here, too, they were followed by their pursuers, when, engaging some ships, they set sail with * The Parsi priests claim to be descended from the Medes who fur- nished the priestly caste of the old Persian empire. torv andre BOMBAY. 141 a small islana neteen years. hut there is reaso their wives and families, and landed at Div or Diu, a small island in the Gulf of Cambay, where they remained for nineteen years. Their reasons for leav- ing this refuge are not known, but there is reason to suppose that it was on account of some augury. They sailed thence A.D. 717, and, encountering a storm, they prayed and promised the Lord that, if they reached the shores of India, they would kindle on high the flame sacred to Him, in grateful remem- brance of His kindness and protection. They arrived Arrival in safely in Sanjan on the coast of Guzerat, and were Guzerat. well received by the ruler of that part of India, of whom they asked protection. Before granting their request, the chief asked them the nature of their faith. They told him that they worshipped the sun and five elements, as well as the cow ; that they wore the sacred shirt, as well as a cincture for the loins, Device and a cap of two folds; that they ornamented and practised to perfumed their wives; that they were liberal in their w Yon lihool in the gain protec- charities, especially in excavating tanks and wells ; that they fed the sacred flame with incense; that they practised devotion five times a day, &c. The historian of the Parsis, Mr. Dossabhoy Framji, cautions his readers against supposing the foregoing to be the fundamental principles of the Parsi reli- gion. “It is necessary," he says, “ to state frankly that the first refugees of our faith in India played the part of dissemblers ;” and that their religious code was framed with a view of gaining the favor of the Hindu Rajah whose protection they sought; and it is ņot unlikely that, having learnt something of the Hindu castes, customs, and religion, they knew the points which would please him most. The device succeeded, and permission was given them to reside in the country on condition of their adopting its language, eating no beef, and wearing the sugar-loaf hats which were then the fashion in Guzerat. They were also required to dress their females in the Indian fashion, to wear no armour, and to perform the marriage ceremony of their Conditions children at night, in conformity with the practice imposed & of the Hindus—all which they stedfastly do now, ed to. although it is nearly twelve centuries since the compact was made. The hideous Guzerat hat they femzerat." Thats making condition given the Them the 142 PLACES OF INTEREST. wear to this day ; but it is not for those who carry the European “chimney-pot” to throw the first stone at them on that account. Settled in their new home, the Parsis did not forget the promise they had First fire- made, and, erecting a fire-temple in Sanjan, they temple kindled the sacred flame, which is still burning, erected. never having been allowed to die out. From the practice of praying before the sacred flame” in their temples, the Parsis are known as “fire- worshippers,” but they do not adore the flame; they simply honour it as the emblem of the Pure and the Bright-Ormuzd. The Parsis gradually spread over Guzerat. There are now more of them in Bombay than in any other city of India, numbering no less than 44,091, or 6.84 per cent. of the whole population of the island, and about one-third of the total number of Parsis in India. The social life of the Parsis, formerly very similar to that of the Hindus, is gradually becoming Progres- sive spirit. assimilated to the European model. Their respect for fire prohibits their smoking tobacco, but chairs and tables, and a European mode of eating, has given place to the customs which, until recently, they practised in their houses, though in most Parsi families the males take their meals separately from the females. The Parsis are a far more sociable race, both among themselves and with strangers, than either the Hindus or the Mussulmans. They are a commercial class of people, fond of speculation, and are seldom found in menial employ- ments. A great many of them are wealthy, while others are members of the professions, and what are considered the most lucrative callings, such as bankers, merchants, brokers, &c. They worship Religious belief. God alone ; and they base their code of morals on the teachings of Zoroaster. A good con- science, they consider, is the best court of equity, and truth is laid down as the basis of all excellence. Virtue is to be practised, and industry is recommended as a guard to innocence and a bar to temptation. Principles of hospitality, general philanthropy, and benevolence are also strongly inculcated. The Parsis always pray aloud, and crowds of them may be seen at their devotions on the Back Bay 144 PLACES OF INTEREST. old Suggree, a low stone building open on all sides, in which prayers are offered for the dead. The chief object, of having the court-yard lower than the level on which the old Suggree is built, is to prevent the ceremonies from being profaned by the gaze of unbelieving eyes. When the mourners are numerous, they group themselves around the building, and, as it is open, they can, of course, see all that goes on within, and take part in the prayers. The dead, it should be mentioned, are never taken into the Suggree. Between the Suggree and the garden is the new Suggrèe-a large and handsome building with arched roof, erected at the expense of Mr. Dinshaw Manockji Petit, when the old one was found to be inconveniently small. Passing this new erection, we enter å beautiful garden ablaze with flowers, amongst which roses are conspicuous. Along the walks are iron garden seats of elegant design and European make. Here the relatives of the dead rest after the toilsome ascent of the basalt staircase, and on subsequent occasions they come hither to pray. Beyond the garden, on the undulating summit of the hill looking towards Malabar Point, is the park-like, grass-covered tract in which, at irregular intervals, are the Towers The Six of Silence where the dead are laid. The Towers, of which there are six, are round, and on an average from thirty to forty feet high, and about as much in diameter ; one or two are, perhaps, higher. They are solidly built of stone, the walls being some three feet thick; and they are all colored white. There is no window, and only one door, which covers a small aperture about a third of the way up. To this aperture access is obtained by a narrow stone cause- way, up which the bier-bearers with the dead alone may venture. So sacred are the Towers, that no one, except the bearers who are set apart for the purpose, may approach within thirty paces of them. Inside, on the rock pavement, spaces are marked out on which the dead are placed to await the vultures, and pathways are marked out for the bearers to walk upon, without defiling the place where their unconscious burdens are to rest. Towers. BOMBAY, 145 Funeral When a Parsi dies, his soul goes to heaven, or . Purifica- tion of the elsewhere, according as he has spent a holy or a wicked Dead. life ; but his body must not be tainted by corruption. Therefore it is förthwith washed and purified, and, if there be yet time, it is at once carried to the Towers before sunset. If death takes place, however, after, say , three o'clock, when there would not be ti me to gain the Towers and pray becomingly before dark, the body is kept till the early morning. Having been rendered undefiled, it is clothed in white, and prayers are offered at the house by the family and friends. None may, henceforth, touch it; it is pure, and must so remain. The women of the family take a last look, and the light bier, on which it has been placed, being covered with a white shroud, it is carried by the bearers to the hill. No vehicle can on any account be used; no one must even follow in a procession. vehicle; the whole journey, no matter what the distance, must be made on foot. All who form part of the cortége must have been washed and purified and clothed in white, and to touch any one would be to become defiled. The women, in some cases, wear mourning-black ; but the men never. No woman ever attends a funeral ; the female relatives of the deceased always remain at home on that day, but they may and do go after- wards to the garden near the Towers to pray. Following the bier-bearers in procession, holding scarfs passed from one to the other, those forming the cortège wend their way slowly to the foot of the steps leading to the top of Malabar Hill. Laboriously ascending these, they reach the crest in a quarter of an hour, and the priests go through the sacred ceremonies in the Suggree. Some Parsis consider that the prayers thus rendered have the effect of averting all decomposition or other defile- ment; but this view is not universally entertained. When the prayers are over, and those who have come the long and weary journey are somewhat rested, the body is borne to the foot of the causeway leading to the door of one of the Towers. Here, the face is uncovered, so that all may take a last lingering look; it is then covered again, and the form disappears into the Tower. The six Towers are scattered over a large and park- 19 146 PLACES OF INTEREST. like enclosure, secluded by its elevation from every eye. Outside the lofty wall which encircles the whole space, there are hundreds of acres of land, partially cultivated, which the Parsis possess, and which they have care- fully kept as a sort of neutral territory between the domain of outsiders’ bungalows and that of the Towers. What goes on inside, therefore, no one can see; but The Val- what happens is this. Some fifty vultures make tures. their abode in the lofty palms within the enclosure, and when the body is deposited in the Towers, they swoop down, and do not rise again till all the flesh has disappeared. In a few hours, nothing of the body remains except the bones. Those who retail stories about fragments of human bodies being taken up by the vultures and carried outside the park and the surrounding neutral belt, and then being dropped on the roads, are ignorant of the habits of these jackals of the air. On the American Pampas, when they alight upon their quarry, they are so loth to quit the spot that they eventually become unable to fly from it on the approach of horsemen, who find no difficulty in knocking them over with their whips. Within the Towers they are secluded from all disturbance, and those who have watched for the purpose have never seen them come to the top with any substance what- ever. It is only when all is over that they come to the summit of the Towers, where they remain for hours without moving. Then they take their heavy flight to the palms around; seldom, indeed, do they go beyond the trees in the rough ground outside the vast compound. There is nothing of a Sacred character ascribed to these obscene but useful birds. They are regarded simply as a means of preventing decomposition, and in accomplishing that task they perfectly succeed. The consequence is that the grounds about the Towers have nothing of the hideous taint of the charnel-house. There is nothing obnoxious to health; there is not the faintest odour of death to mingle with the perfume of the roses blooming around. The View Turning from these sombre, but necessary, details, over Bom- let us spare a word for the magnificent view which bay. bursts upon him who stands on the Suggree steps and looks across the island and the bay beyond. Never has eye beheld a lovelier or more varied scene. The white walls of innumerable bungalows BOMBAY. 147 lakshmi and public buildings gleam upwards through a forest of palm trees, over the tops of which you seek in the middle distance the great sea, which is our harbour. Beyond rise, in majestic shade, Elephanta and other mountain-islands; while high over all is the clear sky, which permits all to be seen as through a glass of power. Casting the eye towards the south, we see the Fort with its public buildings glistening in the sun, while Back Bay, with Kolaba beyond, make up another, and only a less beautiful, picture. Filled with the visions of this matchless paradise, the mind forgets the swift fate of the mortal part of man in the vulture-haunted Towers, and follows the swifter flight of his immortal soul to heaven.* Descending by the northern slope of Malabar Maha- Hill, we pass Mahalakshmi temple, the most westerly a Temple. point in the island, and arrive at Breach Candy, where is a pleasant drive by the sea-side, and whence can be seen Worlee and Worlee fort. This portion Worlo. of the island was at one time marshy, being flooded Fort. at high-water. But the vellard constructed by General Hornby kept out the sea, and thus changed the sanitary conditions of the whole island. From being the most deadly, it has become one of the most healthy places in the East. At Mahalakshmi, the visitor has the choice of two courses-either to keep to the coast, and, skirting the picturesque Mahim woods, leave the island and cross over to Bandora, or, turning down Clark Road and proceeding along Arthur Road, he may proceed to Parell Hill, from the top of which a view of the whole Parell Hill, island may be obtained. At Parell is Government House, the principal residence of the Governor of Bombay. Government House, Parell, was at one time a Portuguese place of worship. It was confiscated by ment the English in 1720. The first Governor who lived there was General Hornby, from 1771 to 1780; and it has since been used as a residence for successive Governors. When Sir Evan Nepean quitted Bombay in 1819, he left a minute regretting that he had been compelled, by the necessities of Government, to Govern- House. • Times of India, July 27, 1873. 148 PLACES OF INTEREST. neglect the house at Parell.* Mr. Elphinstone, wher Governor, built the right and left wings, in the latter of which are the rooms set apart for the use of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales during his stay in Bombay. The house is not one of very great pretensions, though there is a fine dining-hall 38 feet long by 30 broad, with a fine verandah on three sides 10 feet broad. There is also a large ball-room. These two rooms occupy the place of the old Portuguese chapel ; and where the altar was, the billiard-table now is. The house is surrounded by a pretty garden. Elphin- Returning now towards the Fort, the Elphinstone stone Col- College is passed. This elegant building is well worth lege. visiting. The College arose out of the separation, in the year 1856, of the professorial element from the Elphinstone institution, which from that date became a High School. The Elphinstone institution was started in 1827, when the Bombay Native Education Society called a meeting to consider the most appropriate way of testifying the affectionate and respectful sentiments of the inhabitants of Bombay to the Hon'ble Mountstuart Elphinstone on his resignation of the Governorship of Bombay. The result of the meeting was that a public subscription was opened, and Rs. 2,29,656 collected towards the endowment of Professorships for teaching the English language, as well as the arts, sciences, and literature of Europe. These were called the “ Elphinstone Professorships.” The above-named sum was afterwards increased to Rs. 4,43,901, and the interest of it is augmented by an annual subscription from Government of Rs. 22,000. In 1860 the Bombay University recognised the College ; and the present buildings, which bear the name of “ Cowasji Jehangier Buildings,” were built in consequence of a gift to Government of Rs. 2,00,000 by Mr. (now Sir) Cowasji Jehangier Readymoney. The foundation-stone was laid by Sir Bartle Frere Ope ned 1871. in 1866, and the building was opened in 1871. The building contains, on the basement floor, four lecture-rooms very handsomely furnished, and one large room, which looks like an entrance-hall. Above * Murray's Handbook of India. BOMBAY. 149 these are, what some believe to be, the two finest rooms in Bombay. The top floor is a huge dormitory, containing about fifty separate rooms. Opposite this building are the Victoria Gardens, Victoria and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum Gardens. was begun as a private work ; but, owing to the diffi- culties of 1866 so often referred to, funds could not be obtained in support of it; and it passed into the hands of the Public Works Department, to be completed from imperial funds. The museum was established for the purposes of exhibiting the raw products and manufactures of India, and for illustrat- ing the process of important manufactures. As yet, however, the specimens are almost entirely from this presidency. The gardens surrounding the building are extensive, and are a favorite pleasure resort. Crossing the railway bridge at Byculla, the native' Native town is entered. The peculiar style of the shops Town. in the bazars--as the long streets are called - together with the numerous temples, form one of the most attractive features to the traveller fresh from Europe ; while the great tanks which are occasionally met with, also present a picture peculiar to the East, Tanks, especially those of Mombadavi and Bhuleshwar, in which Hindus purify themselves after assisting at the cremation of a deceased friend or relative. The tanks are for the collection of water in case of drought; and it is a very favorite mode of showing charity, and of propitiating the gods, to construct one for the public. The water in the tank at Mahalakshmi is the only one in Bombay used for drinking, and indeed, Bombay being constantly supplied with water from the Vehar Lake, the tanks have sunk into comparative disuetude. In the Parell Road is the Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy Jamsetii Hospital. Though Bombay had long possessed Hospital, a European hospital, it was not until 1845 that any accommodation was made for the treatment in-doors of poor native patients. Dr. Mackie, in 1834, established a dispensary, where medicine and advice were bestowed gratuitously. Numerous contributions were received in support of this from the charitable, Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy taking the lead in munificence. The dispensary, however, was utterly inadequate for 150 PLACES OF INTEREST. Market. the wants of the suffering, and Sir Jamsetji resolved on the erection of a suitable establishment. In 1843 he gave Rs. 1,70,000 towards the erection of the present hospital, which was completed in 1846, at a cost of Rs. 2,00,000, the balance being found by Govern- ment. It accommodates 300 patients. Grant The lofty Gothic building in front of the hospital is Medical College. the Grant Medical College, erected in 1843 to the memory of the late Sir Robert Grant, Governor of Bombay from 1836 to 1838, at a cost of Rs. 90,000, one-half of which was raised by public subscriptions, and the other half by the Court of Directors of the East India Company. Here medical assistance is given to natives free of charge ; and there are Profes- sorships of Chemistry, Anatomy and Surgery, Mid- wifery, Materia Medica, and Medical Jurisprudence. The visitor, on leaving these buildings, comes Crawford out of the native town near the Crawford Market. This splendid market is a monument of the energy of Mr. A. T. Crawford, whose name it bears. The necessity for a really good market having become apparent, Mr. Crawford, when Municipal Commis- sioner, had designs, prepared ; and that by Mr. Emerson, architect, was adopted. A site was granted by the Bombay Government on the Espla- nade Cross Road, and the works commenced in 1866. In the course of 1870, the group of buildings was completed. The estimated cost was set down at Rs. 5,59,866, but the actual cost was Rs. 11,18,492, or nearly 100 per cent. over the estimate. The entire cost of the Municipal markets and slaughter-houses in Bombay and its suburbs amounted to Rs.15,90,408. All this was wholly defrayed by the Municipality. The Crawford Markets will bear comparison in architectural pretensions with any similar erection in Europe. It comprises two wings, containing 511 stalls and 12 shops, besides store-houses, granaries and offices, and quarters for the Superintendent. It is an iron building, and is lighted up with 116 gas lamps. There is a fruit, a vegetable, and a grocery market; one for mutton and fish, another for beef, and one for sundries. It faces south-west-the length of the south-east wing being 218 feet, and the north-west wing 416 feet-the building being cos Bombay and wholly, defra vill bear simila Dimen- sion 8. BOMBAY. 151 markets. The Hall. lawn on account of gun in 1820, toween” in surmounted by a tower, with a handsome illuminated clock by Dent, which cost £300. It was during the Governorship of Sir Bartle Frere that the construction of the Crawford Markets was undertaken ; and in 1867 he opened the first portion with a Flower Show. Besides the Crawford Market, there are small iron markets in the Fort, at Bhuleshwar, and in the Minor Erskine Road, and one in Mazagon is in course of m construction ; there are also three slaughter-houses at Bandora-all maintained by the Municipality. The total income is about Rs. 2,14,000 per annum realized from fees, &c. ; but it does not quite cover the expenditure, as the amounts paid to Railway Com- panies for the meat trains, and the outlay for drainage and repairs, are very heavy. There are several places of interest in addition to those already mentioned. The Town Hall is situated upon “ the Green” in The Town front of the castle. It was begun in 1820, took fifteen years to build on account of various delays, and cost about six lakhs, part of which was raised by lottery. In the upper storey is the grand Assembly Room, in which public meetings are held, and banquets and balls take place ; and the Museum, Assembly Room, and Library of the Bombay Asiatic Society. The latter was founded by Sir John Malcolm, and furnished with 100,000 volumes. Here also are the Levée Rooms of the Governor and Commander-in- Chief, and the Council Chamber. The statue of the Hon'ble Mountstuart Elphinstone in the Assembly Rooms, of Sir J. Malcolm at the head of the stair- case in the grand vestibule, and of Sir C. Forbes are all by Chantrey, and merit attention. There are also statues to Mr. Stephen Babington, Sir Jamsetji Jiji- bhoy, Mr. Charles Norris, and other worthies. The Mint is close to the Town Hall, but somewhat The Mint. farther back. It was completed in 1827. The machi- nery is capable of producing Rs. 1,50,000 in a day. CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. The Cathedral of St. Thomas stands in the Fort. It The Cathe- was built in 1720 as a garrison church ; and dignified aral. with the rank of cathedral on the see being established in 1833. It cost Rs. 43,992, raised principally by 152 PLACES OF INTEREST. Churches. subscriptions amongst the European inhabitants, Government subscribing Rs. 10,000. It is a very plain building, but the interior is elegant and com- modious. The present Bishop is the Right Rev. Henry Alexander Douglas, D.D. Round the walls of the church are several monuments, chiefly in memory of worthies of the East India Company. Several of them are worth examination, as they are from the studios of celebrated English sculptors; and one to Captain Hardridge, by Bacon, is a fine work of art. The other places of worship in Bombay are- St. John the Evangelist, Kolaba, generally called the Memorial' church, because it was erected “in memory of those officers and private soldiers who fell in the invasion of Affghanistan, in the retreat from Cabool, and in those days of victory at the Khyber Pass, at Jellalabad, Gugdulluck and Tezeen, at Kandahar and Ghuznee, and in the re-occupation of Cabool, which restored the supremacy of the British power, and the dignity of the British name, in the East.” It is a very pretty church, erected at a cost of two lakhs, partly contributed by the public and partly by Government. In addition to the usual services, the church is opened from sunrise to sunset for all who seek retirement for prayer and meditation. Christ Church, Byculla, is a fashionable place of worship. Holy Trinity Church, Sonapore, was opened in 1840, and was established by the Indo-British Mission. St. John's Church, Mazagon, is the resort of the ritualists in Bombay, and divine service is conducted by the Cowley Fathers. The Church of Scotland.--The functions of this church-court are to superintend the training of candidates for the ministry in the Church of Scotland in the presidency of Bombay, to grant licences to qualified preachers, and to ordain to the office of pastor in the church, under the authority of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland.” St. Andrew's Church (Church of Scotland) is situated near the Apollo Bunder. The Presbyterian Free Church is on the Esplanade. All the seats are free. and partly by he church isoment for p BOMBAY. 155 pensioners are charged according to the amount of pension they receive, and the other men Rs. 30 monthly, including all extras, such as bed-clothing, &c. The Home could not, however, be maintained without Government assistance, as the private con- tributions do not cover the expenses. Although there is a limited time fixed for the non-boarders, these men are seldom turned out after the expiry of the limit, unless they be irreclaimable characters, when they are then sent into the Government Workhouse. The European General Hospital is intended for the reception of all European seamen, those of the General Bombay Marine, as well as those belonging to mer- chant-ships ; for all the warrant and non-commis- sioned garrison staff; for European pensioners, the Governor's band, constables of police, and Govern- ment office clerks ; also for Europeans, males or females, unconnected with the service of Government. It has accommodation for 150 patients, who are received at all hours, day or night. Visitors are admitted daily between the hours of 9 to 11 A.M. and 5 to 6 P.M. The present building is inadequate for the work of the hospital, and it is expected that before long a more suitable place will be built. An Endowment Fund is being raised by public subscription, and it has already reached upwards of Rs. 50,000. REFUGE FOR DECAYED ANIMALS. Pinjrapole is a charitable institution of a peculiar Pinjrapole. character, its only object being the saving of animal life. Founded some forty years ago by the first Parsi baronet, the late Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy, and Mr. Khemchund Motichund, the well-known banker, it has since continued to flourish, until the fund, which originally amounted to about three lakhs of rupees, has now reached upwards of eight lakhs. It is situated in the heart of the native town in Bhuleshwar, the buildings covering an area of about 2,000 square yards. The structure is irregular and thoroughly Indian, and is divided into courts, around each of which are ranged sheds for the accommodation of animals, birds, and insects; one court-yard being set apart for the caretakers and other Hi, P and is divide is irregular and 2,000 square 156 PLACES OF INTEREST. re are no this and island How sup- domestics of the establishment, and for the storing Its uses. of food, &c. There are also sick sheds for dogs and cattle attached. To this asylum are sent all the aged and infirm cattle of the island, besides which the more orthodox Hindus purchase bullocks and sheep from the butchers to save them from the knife, and then send them to Pinjrapole. The institu- tion is maintained by donations, which depends a great deal upon the state of trade, as a percentage is levied, ported. or at least asked for, by the managing committee and trustees upon opium, raw-cotton, sugar, and jewellery. It is not, however, compulsory upon the native traders to subscribe ; and, of late, the contribu- tions have fallen off, owing to the depression of trade. The institution here has a branch at Chimmur near Kurla, and another at Bhewndy near Callian; to Branches. the former place, most of the horses are sent. Besides maintaining these branches, Pinjrapole contributes about Rs. 25,000 annually towards establishments of a similar nature at Surat, Poona, Ahmedabad, Palitana, and other places in the presidency. It maintains in all about 2,000 bullocks and cows, 125 horses, 500 sheep, numberless dogs, Animals, deer, pigs, poultry, parrots, pigeons, monkeys, &c., kept. rabbits, cats, porcupines, rats, caterpillars, snakes, turtle, and all kinds of vermin. The cats are kept at Chimmur, as they are destructive ; and the snakes are, after a time, taken into a jungle, or any uninhabited part of the country, and set free. Since the Act for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals came into force, a great influx of superannuated cattle has taken place from the pounds and other places. The annual cost of the maintenance of the live-stock and the establishment generally was, in Cost of 1873, Rs. 93,851-7-10, while the contributions mainte- amounted to Rs. 1,10,453-4-4. A veterinary surgeon is attached to each of the three institutions, as well as an overseer. There is also a manager, a treasurer and two assistants, and a warehouse-keeper- the whole being under the control of three trustees (Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy, Mr. Cursetji Furdunji, and Mr. Mullukchund), and a committee of thirteen Hindu and two Parsi members. Formerly the animals were not properly taken care of, and were Dance, BOMBAY 159 Hog Island is also worth visiting on account of its Hog Island celebrated hydraulic lift. This apparatus is often styled “ White Elephant,” not only because it is coloured with some seven acres of white paint, but also because, though erected at an enormous cost by Government, it is not used, while it requires a large outlay to keep it up. The structure is well worth a visit. Eighteen iron pillars rise out of the Deecrip- water in a row, exactly opposite eighteen in another tion of by- draulic lift. row, eighty feet off. The water between the rows is about seventy feet deep, so that it is evident we do not see half of the pillars, which are only about forty feet above the sea-level. What is not seen is more important perhaps than what is, for it contains the hydraulic chambers into which the tiny streams of water are forced, which compel the rams,' or round iron shafts, to rise when it is necessary to lift'any- thing. These round iron shafts go upwards inside the great hollow pillars, and at their tops are fixed strong iron arms-cross heads—which each lay hold of chains of enormous strength. We do not see the other end of these chains, for they are full fathoms deep beneath the surface of the water; but if we could see them, we should see that they are each made fast, below, to a gigantic girder, eighty feet long, which goes straight across to the foot of the opposite column, where a similar chain lays hold of it. There are thirty-six of these girders ; and when the water is forced into the hydraulic chambers at the bottoms of the columns, they must go up, for the “rams' can by no means stay down. The little rills of water sent in through little pipes of only a couple of inches in diameter, exert a pressure of something like eight or nine hundred hundredweights on the base of each ram, and force it up, very slowly indeed, but quite irresis- tibly. When the girders are coming up, they generally, but not necessarily, bring up a big pontoon-large enough to carry, on its equivalent for a deck, the biggest ship afloat. The pontoon is not necessarily brought up, as we have said, for it may have been floated right away from the lift with a ship on it. In that case, if there be no second pontoon—and in Bombay there is but one-of course the girders come up, as it were, empty-handed, and looking most ignobly like a gridiron with nothing to fry upon it. 160 PLACES OF INTEREST. When full of water, the pontoon weighs twelve thousand tons, and that is not too much to be lifted with ease. When it is empty, it floats, and, in order to make it sink, large valves are opened, and down it goes in a few minutes if the girders are lowered from under it. The water comes in with such force that fish in quantities are brought in with the rush, and are of course given over to be devoured by their enemies. When the pontoon is far down, the ship to be docked is floated in over it. Then the girders are raised, and Its uses. the pontoon is forced up under the vessel's bottom. Blocks are drawn in so as to fit the contour under water, and wedge her up tight; then ship and pontoon come up into the air, and she can be examined and repaired at leisure. A large steamer filled with cargo was thus raised out of the water in a few hours at Malta ; a new screw was put in, and the next day she was afloat, ready to proceed on her voyage. The water is forced into the hydraulic chambers by steam-power. Two engines, of fifty horse-power each, occupy a building on shore about sixty yards from the lift. When the lift was first tried, the ship she had to lift fell foul of two of the pillars and smashed them. They remain smashed to this day, and, of course, two of the girders are consequently useless. But so great is the power of the remainder, that the damaged ones are not wanted, and a ship of any size or weight could now be lifted just as if nothing was amiss.* CLIMATE. It has already been stated that, when first known, Bombay was a very unhealthy place, Europeans being especially liable to fever, colic, and other diseases natural to marshes; but now that the insanitary conditions have been removed, there are few places within the tropics so healthy and agreeable. The thermometer ranges, on an average, between 60° to 90°-never falling below 50°, seldom reaching 96º; and as in the evenings there is a regular westerly breeze, they are very pleasant. The death-rate in 1873 was 24:31 per 1,000. The year is divided into wet w and dry seasons, or the S.W. and N.W. monsoons- and N. W. this being an Arabic word to note the seasons. The Monsoons. * Times of India, The S. W BOMBAY. 161 wet season lasts from the middle of June to the end of October. The rainfall is very heavy, sometimes exceeding 100 inches. In 1874 it was 93.56 inches. GEOLOGY. The chief rocks throughout the group of islands Rocks. about Bombay are volcanic; but there are probably a greater variety of trap-rocks to be found on the island of Bombay itself than on any similar area elsewhere. The traps are interstratified by Neptu- nian rocks, chiefly of fresh-water origin, and covered over with marine alluvium of three or four different ages and formations mostly extremely recent. From Malabar Point to Mahalakshmi, i.e., Malabar Hill, is a fine bold ridge of black basalt, nearly three miles in length and about half a mile across. Under the highest part of the ridge, the rock is tumbled about in huge pieces, many of which are detached. At Mahalakshmi the basalt becomes tabular, and soon sinks under the level of the sea, but re-appears on the eminences on the island. On the parts below the sea-level are strata abounding in organic remains. At the old castle on the south-western extremity of the little island of Versova, it is columnar. On the Different El descrip- west side of the island facing Salsette, it is highly til 18y tions of porphyritic, the felspar crystals embedded being rock. nearly half an inch each way. Just round the pro- montory to seaward, a fine picturesque group of columns rises from high-water mark, which ring like metal when struck. At Bassein it runs into some- what bolder cliffs, and, indeed, this basalt barrier passes into the main land, broken through only by the creek opening into Bombay harbour. From this ridge two miles eastward, the island is flat, rising at the highest to eight or ten feet above sea-level, and, before the artificial means already alluded to were carried out, was submerged at high-water. BOTANY. The vegetation is rich, but not diversified. The Cocoanat principal product is the cocoanut (cocos nucifera), a tree. fine grove of which is found at Mahim. The grove is known as Mahim wood, and is two miles long. The tree grows on open gravelly soils, where fresh 162 PLACES OF INTEREST. uses. myra. water is abundant near the surface. It is seldom found far from the sea. By the Hindu the cocoa- nut is held in great veneration, and is considered one of the most successful of propitiatory offerings to Its various his gods. The respect in which the cocoanut is held is not surprising when it is remembered how many are its uses. From the tree the native draws his toddy,' which is not only a favorite beverage, but is also used as yeast to ferment bread. The nut is eaten as food, and from it the oil chiefly used in India is extracted. The husk of the nut is separated in a fibre, and then made into ropes, and woven into matting, &c. It is also used for stuffing mattrasses, pillows, &c. The large leaves are also made into matting, and the small ones into “punkhas,' or fans, while the trunk itself, being hollow, is used for water- The Pal- piping when dried. The palmyra is the most imposing of the palms in Bombay. It is taller and straighter than the cocoanut, and often attains an Date tree. altitude of 40 to 60 feet. The date-tree is more abundant, but less conspicuous, than the palmyra, and less plentiful than the cocoanut. It is greatly injured by the incessant tappings for its toddy; and Betelnut its fruit is useless. The betelnut palm (palma palm. gracilis) is a beautiful tree. It grows to the height of about 60 feet, with a tapering stem of only four or five inches in diameter at its base. It prevails along the borders of the cocoanut groves. By far the most noble-looking trees in this part of India is the banyan (ficus Indicus), which is held in great venera- tion on account of the shelter it affords, and also because it was beneath its shade that Buddha was said to meditate. Out of the branches of this tree grow other branches, which, reaching the soil, take root ; and, in this way, some of the trees have been known to cover several acres of ground. A celebrated specimen is near Broach. There are only a few banyan trees on Bombay island itself; but they abound at Bandora, Salsette, and on the main land. There is, however, in Sewree Cemetery a very peculiar specimen of the banyan, the branchlets having the appearance of ropes, entwining themselves amongst the parent branches, and, indeed, actually tying themselves into som bout Goh es in die hele coco in this held in the The Ban. yan. knots. BOMBAY.. 163 Swallows. ZOOLOGY. Although wild beasts had formerly their habitat in Bombay, the presence of man has had the effect of driving them to a distance. Tigers, Tigers, &c. panthers, and leopards are occasionally seen on the neighbouring islands, and, within the recollec- tion of persons still living, have been killed on the island. They are still plentiful a few miles off on the main land, as is also the jackal. The hyæna is scarce. A large species of monkey is numerously represented. Rats abound all over, and may be seen scampering Vermin. about the streets of Bombay every night. There are three or four species, of which the bandycoot is the largest, most numerous, and ugliest. The trees abound with a pretty little striped squirrel. Birds. There are several birds of plumage, but Parrots,&c. few of song. The small green parrot is numerous. The king-fisher is common, as is also the grey heron. Hawks, kites, carrion-crows, and vultures are the most numerous. The raven is scarce. There are three varieties of swallows-the swift, the martin, and the house-swallow. The house-swallow does not use mud for its nest, as is the case with the Euro- pean species. There are also several varieties of the wagtail; and sparrows are plenty, as are also the mina and the chatterer. Wild pigeons abound. Reptiles. — The island swarms with snakes of Snakes. several kinds, though it is rarely that any is seen in the Fort, and then only when carried there in a load of hay, or by some other chance. Only four, however, of the thirty species found in the island, are poison- ous-viz., the cobra de capella, cobra manilla, the tree-snake, and the carpet-snake. The first-named (known also as the hooded snake) is the most nume- rous. It is sometimes seen at Kolaba, and abounds on Malabar Hill and at Parell. Though seldom seen unless looked for, they occasionally find their way into the drawing-rooms of the bungalows. The poisonous snakes are not amphibious. In length, when full-grown, they are from four to five feet. Of ; the other kinds of snakes, the most important is a small species of the python, or boa-constrictor, known as the rock-snake. It is found on Malabar 164 PLACES OF INTEREST. Hill ten feet long. Most of the harmless snakes live in water, feeding chiefly on frogs, &c. There are also some poisonous sea-snakes, which are occasionally left by the tide dead or dying. There are also several species of lizards and frogs. Two kinds of turtles are met with on the shores; but they are little sought after as articles of food. Six or eight varieties of sharks are caught, and their fins form a trade with China. Insects.--The principal insects are the mosquito; the white-ant, which eats away wood; the black ant, which seizes the beautiful web of the spider it cannot spin, and lines its nest with it ; and numbers of beautiful butterflies. INDIAN COTTON INDUSTRY. The Cotton There* areat present 28 cotton pressing and ginning Presses. companies. The manufacture of cotton cloth and yarn is the most important industry in the Bombay presidency. The cotton is cleaned and spun into thread by all classes of the people, and there are weavers and dyers in every town. Within the last ten years, steam spinning and weaving mills have been introduced. The mills, with their tall chimnies, form a marked feature in the Bombay landscape. First cot. The first cotton-mill erected in Bombay was that of the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, Limited. It began with a capital of Rs. 5,00,000, divided into 250 shares of Rs. 2,000 each. The erection of the mill began in 1854, but it was not until February 1856 that it commenced working. Its working profits enabled a dividend of Rs. 600 per share to be declared to the shareholders at the end of 1858. The success of this mill stimulated capitalists to work in that direction. In 1855, the Oriental Erection Spinning and Weaving Company was formed ; and of several in 1857 the Throstle Mills Company, since known as the Alliance Spinning and Weaving Company, was projected. The year 1860 witnessed the establish- ment of four more mills on the Joint Stock principle, viz., the Bombay United Spinning and Weaving Company, the Kurla Mills (now known as the New Dhurrumsey Poonjabhoy Spinning and Weaving * Moral and Material Progress of India. ton-mil. other mills BOMBAY 165 Bombay ine generald and sildaily ena Sh&r8 roperty, ton, however, their concerns with in Bombay the mills increasholders. Company), the New Great Eastern Spinning and Weaving Mills, and the Royal (recently called the Fleming) Mills. In 1861, the foundation was laid of the Arkwright Miļls, and of the Manockji Petit's Spinning and Weaving Company-one of the largest and most successful of cotton-mills in India. The American war, and the high price of cotton which ruled in India in consequence of the cotton famine, gave the first check to the extension of this industry in Bombay. For a time, Bombay mills not only made no profits, but their working resulted in a positive loss to those interested in them. With the conclusion of the war, and the terrible shock which it gave to Bombay, Inill shares suffered considerably, in common with the general depreciation of every mania. valuable property, except gold and silver. The fall in the price of cotton, however, gradually enabled mill-owners in Bombay to work their concerns at a profit. The earnings of the mills increased, and, with them, the dividends payable to shareholders. The result, as may be imagined, was an extension of mills, both in the island of Bombay and in the interior of the Bombay presidency. The year 1874 witnessed a sudden and extensive development of this industry, and as many as a score of new projects arose in Bombay and other parts of the presidency. Bombay capitalists have gone even beyond the limits of the presidency, and Madras, Nagpur, and Hyderabad (Deckan) have cotton-mills erected, or which are in course of erection. In Bombay island itself, there are eighteen mills in actual work, and thirteen mills in course of erection or completion. There are also mills at Broach, Surat, and Ahmedabad. They employ altogether 4,500 looms, 405,000 spindles, and 10,000 hands ; and turn out daily 100,000 lbs. of yarn. The weekly consumption of cotton is about 1,500 bales, being 6) per cent. of the average cotton crop. Many cotton printers are settled in Bombay, and much of the cloth manufactured in the mills is dyed in their vicinity. The subjoined tables contain particulars of the mills in Bombay, their dates of formation, capital, num- bers of shares, numbers of spindles and looms, &c. 166 PLACES OF INTEREST. (1) Alphabetical List of Mills in actual work in the Island of Bombay. YARN. NAMES, Date of Formation. | Capital. Number of Spindles. Number of Looms. Secretaries, Agents, or Owners. Total Produc- tion. Used in mak- ing Cloth. Available for Sale. Rs. 8,00,000 9,00,000 13,50,000 1,80,000 19,000 None 25,032 200 27,000 None 5,000 None lbs. lbs. lbs. 4,500 None None Allarakhy Abhoy Shivji. 5,500 3,500 1,500 6,100 None 6,100 Tapidas Vurjdas & Co. 1,200 None 1,200 Purunmull Chimniram. 1. Albert Mills Company, Limited....... 11th May 1865 .... 2. Alexandra Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld........ 9th October 1868...... 3. Alliance Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld.......... 10th January 1857 .... 4. Arkwright Mills .. Foundation laid in 1861. 5. Bombay Spin, Co... Erection of Mill began in 1854 ..... :6. Bombay United Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld... 21st February 1860 .... . Colaba Spin. and Weav.Co., Ld....... 9th July 1873 .... 8. Fleming Spin, and Weav. Co., Ld....... 8th August 1860.. 9. Hindustan Spin, and Weav. Co., Ld........ 27th August 1873. 10. Jevraj Balloo Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld.... 28th December 1872 u. Manocki Petit's Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld .. 17th June 1861 ..... 12. Morarji Goculdas Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld.. | 10th August 1871..... 13. New Dhurumsey Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld.. Ist August 1860 ...... 14. New Great Eastern Spin. and Weav. Co. .... 17th September 1860 .. 15. Oriental Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld.......... 19th September 1855 .. 16. Shamji Jadowji Mills ........... Foundation laid in 1871. 17. Sunderdas Spin. and Weav. Co., Ld........ 5th February 1872 .... 18, Victoria Manufacturing Co., Ld, .......... 22nd March 1860 ...... 5,50,000 9,00,000 9,00,000 18,75,000 10,00,000 10,00,000 25,00,000 12,00.000 50,00,000 15,00,000 25,00,000 8,00,000 10,00,000 6,00,000 29,000 None 21,000 399 35,000 300 35,900 748 25,200 250 22,500 225 61,000 1,000 33,000 345 100,000 1,002 30,488 608 51,000 920 25.000 None 21,000 None 13,885 None O Morarji Goluji & Co. 5,100 None 5,100 Cowasji N. Davur. 5,300 3,300 2,000 Khatao Mukunji & Co. 5,000 None 5,000 Nursey Kessowji & Co. 8,000 6,000 2,000 Nursey Kessowji & Co. 5,500 None 5 500 Vishram Mhowji & Co. 6,000 None 6,000 Dwarkadas Vussunji. 14,000 8,1 00 6.000 C. & F. Dinshawji & Co, 6,000 3,000 3,000 Morarji Gokuldas. 20,000 14,000 6,000 Merwanji Framji & Co. 7,500 5,500 2,000 Muncherji N. Banaji. 11,500 9,500 2,000 Merwanji Framji & Co. 5,000 None 5,000 Shamji Jadowji. 5,000 None 5,000 Moolji Jaitha & Co. 3,250 None 3,250, C. & F. Diashawji & Co. 00 14,000 2,45,55,000 5,79,405 5,997 1,24,450 52,800 66,650 170 PLACES OF INTEREST. corner of the Nizam's dominions, not far from the ancient city of Daulatabad, or Deogiri. Hamilton, in his charming Description of India, &c. (vol. 2, p. 148), very properly remarks that the profuse architectural details of these marvellous temples can never be done justice to without plates ; and we can only here attempt to direct the reader's attention to their curious grandeur. The various excavations have been divided into Jain, Brahmanical, and Bud- dhist. They are situated in the face of a crescent- shaped hill, about a mile from the little rural village of Ellora. “ The first view of this desolate religious city," says Mr. Erskine, " is grand and striking, but melancholy. The number and magnificence of the subterraneous temples, the extent and loftiness of some, the endless diversity of sculpture in others, the variety of curious foliage, of minute tracery, highly-wrought pillars, rich mythological designs, sacred shrines, and colossal statues, astonish, but dis- tract the mind. From their number and diversity, it is impossible to form any idea of the whole ; and the first impressions only give way to a wonder, not less natural, that such prodigious efforts of labour and skill should remain, from times certainly not barbarous, without a trace to tell us the hand by which they were designed, or the populous and powerful nation by which they were completed. The empire, whose pride they must have been, has passed away, and left not a memorial behind it. The religion, to which we owe one part of them, indeed, continues to exist ; but that which called into exist- ence the other, like the beings by whose toil it was wrought, has been swept from the land." barbarous should such prodio way to the whole BOMBAY. 171 Goa. Euchbishop: prebendassistanetan is to the itted Goa. The* Portuguese settlement of Goa is well worth a visit. There are two cities-old Goa, the ancient seat of the Portuguese Government, built nineteen years before the arrival of Vasco de Gama (1498), with its magnificent cathedral and fine churches ; and modern Goa, with its neat white rows of houses, and extensive public buildings. The cathedral of old Goa is really a very grand ecclesiastical building, worthy of any European capital. Its establishment consists of an archbishop, dean, precentor, archdeacon, ten canons, four semi-prebendaries, two quaternians, and several treasurers and assistant treasurers. The church of the palace of St. Cajetan is an exact model of St. Peter's at Rome. It belongs to the Theatins, or order of St. Cajetan. This order admitted into its ranks many Brahman converts, whose successors still, we believe, here perform Christian sacerdotal functions. Few cities in Europe can boast of a finer edifice of its kind than the Augustinian convent. Its cloisters, pillars, galleries, halls, and cells are indeed magnificent. There is a library still contain- ing about 1,500 old and valuable books, fast going to decay. The Church of Jesus is a noble edifice in the form of a cross, containing the splendid shrine of St. Francis Xavier, hardly surpassed by anything of the sort in the world. It is of richly giſt and chased copper, placed within a silver enclosure, and resting upon an altar of Italian marble, profusely sculptured, with the story of the great missionary whose mortal remains lie underneath. The church of the Domi- nicans is also a fine building, as are the church and convent of the Carmelites, and the church and convent of the Franciscans. Goat is perhaps the cheapest place in India. £100 a year is sufficient to support a large (European) family, and £300 a year is affluence. The Portu- guese who come from Europe are called “ Reinols," while the native Portuguese are known as “ Castis- sos," and the Eurasians « Mestici.” The Viceroy has a huge palace assigned him (in New Goa), and Life in * Burton's Goa and the Blue Mountains.-Historical Sketch of Go« ; Cottineau de Kleguen, 1831. † Goa is visited weekly by the steamers of the B. I.S. N. Company. Goa. 175 3.-BENGAL. The great shrine of Jagannath at Puri is thus The Shrine of Jagan- described by Dr. W. W. Hunter in his great work nath. on Orissa :-“ The sacred enclosure is nearly in the form of a square, protected from profane eyes by a massive stone wall, 20 feet high by 652 long and 630 broad. Within it rise about 120 temples, dedicated to the various forms in which the Hindu mind has imagined its God. In the list I count no fewer than thirteen temples to Siva, besides several to his queen, the great rivals of Vishnu. The nature worship of primitive times is represented, even in this most complex development of modern superstition, by a temple to the sun. But the great pagoda is one dedicated to Jagannath. Its conical tower rises like an elaborately-carved sugar-loaf, 192 feet high, black with time, and surmounted by the mystic wheel and flag of Vishnu. Outside the principal entrance, or Lion Gate, in the square where the pilgrims throng, is an exquisite monolithic pillar, which stood for centuries before the temple of the sun, twenty miles up the coast. The temple of Jagannath consists, like all the larger shrines in Orissa, of four chambers, opening one into the other. The first is the Hall of Offerings, where the bulkier oblations are made, only a small quantity of choice food being admitted into the inner shrine. The second is the Pillared Hall, for the musicians and dancing-girls. The third is the Hall of Audience, in which the pilgrims assemble to gaze upon the god. The fourth is the sanctuary itself, surmounted by the lofty conical tower. There sits Jagannath, with his brother, Balabhadra, and his sister, Subhadra, in jewelled state. The images are rude logs, coarsely fashioned into the form of the human bust from the waist up. On certain festivals, the priests fasten golden hands to the short stumps which project from the shoulders of Jagannath.” The* income of this temple, from offerings, lands, The reve- and religious houses, amounts to nearly £70,000 a monu year. More or less directly connected with the ser- vice of the temple, are some twenty thousand men, nue and ea- tablishment • Calcutta Review, vol, 10, p. 255. BRITISH BURMAH. 185 Burinah. miners. Thayetmyo, on the Irrawadi, ten miles Troops at below the frontier, has a garrison consisting of Right Ti Picht Thayetuyo. Wing European infantry regiment, one battery field- artillery, and one regiment native infantry. Tonghu, At Tongbu. on the Sittang, forty miles below the frontier, is garrisoned by Left Wing European infantry regi- ment, one battery artillery, mountain-guns drawn by ponies, and one regiment native infantry. Detach- At other ments of native infantry are also stationed at Shwe- places. Gyeen (on the Sittang), Moulmein, the Andamans, and Nicobars. The native regiments belong to the Madras establishment, and the province is under the military control of the Madras Commander-in-Chief. ADMINISTRATION.–British Burmah is administered by a Chief Commissioner, who owes his appointment to the Viceroy. The civil servants belong to the Bengal Civil Service. Burmah is the most flourishing part Value of of the British eastern possessions. It not only pays British its own way, but remits annually to the central Government about half-a-million sterling. Trade has enormously increased of late years. New roads, canals, &c., are being made. A railway to Prome on the Irrawadi, forty miles below the frontier, has Railway. been already commenced. There is telegraphic com- Telegraph munication with all the military stations and chief trading towns, and the line is extended on to Manda- lay in Upper Burmah; but its working in the Golden City is very uncertain. ČLIMATE. -The unfavorable ideas which prevail (among the uninitiated) regarding the climate Favorable of Burmah, are very erroneous. They are doubtless due primarily to the terrible losses our troops sustained by sickness during our first campaign in the Irrawadi Valley, when the military authorities showed the utmost negligence in caring for the health of the men by providing either proper shelter or good food. On the sea-coast the climate is very damp, but it is much drier inland. There is a very pleasant cold weather at Thayetmyo and Tonghu. The health of the European troops in Burmah at the present day is good, and contrasts favorably with some of the best (plain) stations in India. The up-country stations are the healthiest. mate. 21 186 PLACES OF INTEREST. Begun STEAM COMMUNICATION.-Ocean--Steamers ply between Rangoon and Calcutta, calling at Akyab week- ly, and between Rangoon and Madras fortnightly. A small steamer maintains weekly communication between Rangoon and Penang, calling at intermediate sea-ports. Inland–There is weekly communication with Mandalay, and monthly with Bhamo, the farthest navigable point on the Irrawadi. The trip up to Bhamo is an exceedingly pleasant one, occupying, there and back from Rangoon, about six weeks. It costs Rs. 150, with Rs. 4 a day table-money. Beer, &c., extra. WARS.—There have been two wars between the conquerors of India and the Burman empire. The first was commenced in March 1824, and concluded in 1824. February 1826 by a treaty made at Yandabo, when the British army was within forty miles of Ava. On Cession of this occasion the Burmans ceded Arracan and Tenas- Arracan & l'enasserim serim. The second war commenced in January 1852, and, though all warlike operations came to an end in a few months, peace was not proclaimed till June 1853. No regular treaty was signed, the king refusing to cede any territory. The Governor-General (Lord Annexation of Pegu. Dalhousie) annexed Pegu by proclamation in Decem- ber 1852. INDEPENDENT BURMAH.-A few words on Inde- pendent or Upper Burmah may not be out of place Boundaries here. It is bounded as follows :-West by British territory ; south by Pegu, Siam, and Laos ; east by Anam and China ; north by the unexplored Himalayas. Its area is estimated at 42,000 square miles, and Statistics. its population at 3,000,000 souls. The capital is Mandalay, a city of wood, built by the present king, who succeeded to the throne in February 1853. Its population is computed at 80,000 souls. There are a few Europeans, including, of course, the ubiquitous Scotchman, settled there in trade. The ruins of the Ava and two previous capitals, Ava and Ameerapoora, may be Ameera- роога. seen ten and five miles respectively from the present capital. The King of Burmah has no regular stand- Burman ing army. The few troops he maintains at Mandalay are miserably armed, with the exception of the inner palace-guard, which is provided with Enfield rifles. The nominal commander-in-chief of the Burman army troops. BRITISH BURMAH. 187 Pagan. is a Frenchman named De Facieu, whose sole duty it is to draw his pay (occasional), and to practice the sage precept quieta' non movere. The ruins of Pagan, one of the old capitals, situated on the Irrawadi, about midway between the British frontier and Mandalay, will well repay a visit. There are three magnificent temples maintained in excellent repair. Our limits will not allow us entering into any descrip- tion of them ; but in the recollection of Ananda, Thapinyu, and Gaudapalen the present writer realises the force of Keats' well-known line—“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.” CHAPTER VIII. SANITARIA. WESTERN INDIA. In Not- thera Kon- The principal hill-resorts or sanitaria in Western India, more especially those readily available to the residents of Bombay and Poona, are—on the Ghâts, On the or Syhadri Range, Mahableshwar with Panch- Ghâts. guni, Khandalla with Lanauli, and Matheran : in the Deckan, Singarh, Purundhur, Punalla near In the Colapur, and Nasik, just beyond the Thul Ghât Deckan. ascent on the north-east line of the G. I. P. Rail- way: in the northern Konkan is Tunghar Hill: th thirty miles north-east of Baroda is the once-fortified kan. hill of Powagarh : and, far away to the north beyond Mount Deesa, is the famed Mount Aboo, the southernmost most Aboo. point of the Aravalli Range : in the southern Konkan In Sou- thern Kon- is the now-neglected but salubrious Dapuli ; in kan. the extreme south is the hill near the port of Carwar-a very fine site. At several points on the coast, from Balacherri on the Gulf of Kutch and Gogo on the Gulfof Cambay in the north, to Mangalore Sea-coast and Honore (at the mouth of the Gairsappa, leading to the celebrated falls) on the south, there are several pleasant coast stations where the unfailing south- western sea-breeze from March and June mitigate the severe heat of the season. * As there are no hills sanitaria. * In the opening chapter of the ‘Bombay Administration Report' for 1872-73, is a very good sketch of the physical geography of the presidency-including an appropriate extract from Mr. Blandford's contribution to the Geological Survey of India. It is to be regretted, however, that the multifarious appendices of that bulky volume do not contain any compendious statistics of the temperatures, altitudes, and rainfalls of the various hill-sites in Western India. There is a list of the rainfall for two years (1871-72) at most of the places wbere civil hospitals exist ; but only in one or two instances do these include the hill-stations, and the figures are usually distrusted by scientific men. There are two pages filled with excruciatingly detailed figures of the values of the principal meteorological elements in Bombay island.' but this only refers to the extreme western and sea-encircled point of the whole presidency. 25 WESTERN INDIA. 195 breaks up slowly : circling round the mountain summits, lingering in wreaths among their glens and precipices, and clinging to the forests, until dissipated entirely by the fierce beams of the sun. Then, quiver- ing under the fervid heat, long ridges of rugged valleys are spread out below, and range beyond range melts tenderly into a dim distance of sea and sky, scarcely separated in colour, yet showing the occasional sparkle of a sail like a faint cloud passing on the horizon. Most glorious of all, perhaps, is the evening, when in the rich colours of the fast-rising vapours, the mountains glow like fire, and peak and precipice, forest and glen, are bathed in gold and crimson ligbt, or, as the light grows dimmer, shrouded in deep purple shadow, till they dis- appear in the gloom which quickly falls on all.” Somewhat to the south rises the mountain fastness of Pertabgarh, the stronghold of Sivaji, to which his Pertabgarh emissaries lured the ill-fated Afzul Khan, the general of the Bijapur kingdom, who, as Grant Duff relates (albeit contradicted by some less noted autho- rities), was slain by a perfidious stroke from Sivaji himself.* We have now no concern with the trucu- lent struggles which in bygone centuries have marked these romantic scenes; but there is a certain historical sequence between the grim story just alluded to, and the smiling scenes of British civilisation which the Mahableshwar season presents. It was a lineal Exchanged descendant of Sivaji, the Rajah of Sattara, who, in lage, 1820. 1820, in exchange for a lowland village, made over this plateau to the Bombay Government. This His Highness did, partly because of his strong liking for Sir John Malcolm, the Governor of the day, and in honour of whom he named the station Malcolm Peith. The Rajah also paid greater part of the cost incurred in forming the lake, which is now the principal source The Lake, of the water-supply on the hill, and for fertilising the market gardens below, at the side of the Panchguni road, the produce of which conduces so much to the well-being of visitors. This lake is chiefly formed by damming up the Yenna river, the spare waters of which find their way to the south-eastern declivities of the hill, where, at Lingamalla, they further contribute to the maintenance of a coffee and cinchona planta- Coffee tion; and, when the abundance of water serves, furnish i plantation. a picturesque though rather slender waterfall. These gardens, which are provided with a good garden-house, and appliances for the planting and nursing of plants, for a vil * For Grant Duff's historical account of this incident, see History of the Mahrattas, chapter V., Times of India one-volume edition, p. 78. For a dramatic account of it, see Meadows Taylor's Tara, chapter 78 (one-volume edition, pp. 442-3). 196 - SANITARIA. from war. Walimised roa4 miles 119 miles have been carried on for several years past with varying results, but, as is understood, with more advantage to botanical science than to the public reve- nues. The experiment has been rather an exten- sive one. The plantation contains nearly 20,000 cinchona trees of all sizes ; so that if, as some think, its want of decided success has been mainly due to lack of continuous water-supply during the hot months, the failure must be regarded as a preventi- ble one, and as reflecting blame somewhere. The usual and easiest, also the longest and Journey to most expensive, route to Mahableshwar Mabablesh- from Bombay, is by rail to Poona 119 miles, thence by phaeton or tonga 74 miles along an ex- cellent macadamised road ; the final pull up the ghât from Wai being the only formidable or tedious part of the journey. The ancient and most obvious route to Mahableshwar is across Bombay harbour, by ferry steamer or country-boat, to Nagotna, pro- ceeding a considerable distance up the river of this name, and then by horse—with bullock-cart for lug- gage—a distance of 70 miles, most of it up the moun- tain-sides. There is another old route by sea, river, and road—that by the Bankot or Savatri river in the Konkan, which, in the course of the 1874 season, was by modern improvement made easy and attrac- tive. It is by the coasting steamer from Bombay to Dasgaun-a place on the above-named river within a few miles of the old river port of Mhar. The 100 miles' steamer voyage from Bombay is accomplished in one rather long day. From Dasgaun, near which is a good travellers' bungalow, a 40 miles' journey of good new road lands the visitor on the breezy heights of Mahableshwar. This road, which winds in and out, all round the grim fortress hill of Pertabgarh, and, by the spectator on · Bombay' and “Sydney Points, may be traced for many miles amidst the ravines and terraces below, is considered rather a notable achievement by the Bombay P.W.D. As a public work, its revenue value is less notable than its convenience to the Bombay visitor, and the pleasure it may afford for easy-going tourists in search of the picturesque ; but by it communication is gained with the road down the south-eastern side of the WESTERN INDIA, 197 Rainfall. ghât, 33 miles to Sattara, and it thus completes a good cart-road-almost the only practicable one between the sea and the centre of the Mahratta Deckan. The formidable character of the natural barrier thus surmounted may be readily inferred from the few figures which it remains for us to mention. At Mahableshwar, the highest point, or nearly so, of the Western Ghâts or Syhadri Range, the altitude is from 4,400 to 4,700 feet above the sea-level : the rise from the Konkan is abrupt, being quite 4,000 feet; but the ridge is only about 2,300 feet above the average level of the Deckan on its eastern declivity. The basalt, which is the prevailing stratum of all this part of India, is at this sanitarium, as also at Matheran, mostly covered with laterite or ferruginous clay. This is often blended with vegetable deposits, and forms rich brown soil. The mean annual temperature of Mahableshwar is 66°—of the hot season a little over 70° (in noon sun 104°), of the cold season 65° (in noon sun 97°). The chief natural phenomenon of the Mahableshwar climate is the rainfall, which, in 1874, was close on 300 inches, and has not unfre- quently exceeded that. In 1871 it was as low as 200 inches. It is suitable thus to mention the meteorological characteristics of Mahableshwar, by way of compari- son with the remarkably different conditions which obtain at Panchguni, only twelve miles down the ghât on the north-eastern side, that being the Poona road. The crests of the ghât arrest so much of the monsoon discharge that, at this station, the rainfall is only 50 to 60 inches.* The same obstacle postpones in Panchguni the burst of the monsoon; so that * The variations of the rainfall at different places in India cannot be easily borne in mind by the European reader who bas not visited this country. On the eastern frontier of the Panjab, in the Kassia Hills, the average fall of rain during the three summer months is fifty-three feet ;-as much falls there in forty-eight hours as in England during a year (Dr. Buist). The following table will show the variations in this respect over extended areas :- EASTERN INDIA AND BAY OF BENGAL. SHORES OF WESTERN INDIA. Height. lat. long. Fall of rain. rain. Cheerapoonja.. 4,500 250°16' 91°43' 610 in. Mahableshwur 4,500 248 in. Sylhet ........ .. 22 209 Attagherry.. 2,200 170, Tavoy ..... ... 16 208 Kandalla .... 1 740 168, Maulmain .... .. Sea-level .. 189 , Untraymallay. Nil'ry Hills 164, Sandowy... ... .. 178 ,, Dapoolee ..... .... 138 Akyab'...... 18 155 , Angara Kandy Ml'bar Coast 124 Darjeeling .... 7,000 27°3' 88°18' 125 ,, Cannanore.... Do, 121 ,, At Matheran 460 inches of rain fell during one monsoon ; the average Height. Fall of 26 WESTERN INDIA. 199 Climate.. the next station, is reached, three miles further on, the ridge has been passed, and the passenger will then observe that the streams run eastward, ultimately to join the great rivers of the Deckan which pour their floods into the Bay of Bengal. Khandalla, though only about the same height as Matheran, is much more in the midst of mountain scenery, and offers a greater change from the humid atmosphere of Bombay. On the other hand, it has few civilised appliances; the bungalows are few, and seldom in good repair ; the visitors are few and generally make but a brief stay. As with Matheran, the climate is unpleasant from January to the beginning of March ; thence until the close of May, when the clouds begin to afford shadow and moisture, the air is dry and the general absence of trees causes the heat to be felt un- pleasantly during the day, though the nights are always cool enough for sleep. It is from October to Decem- ber that Khandalla is to be desired ; and, until near the middle of November, the absence of luxurious vegeta- tion makes it preferable in several respects to Matheran, while there is sufficient verdure left for these few weeks after the monsoons to clothe the rugged hill-sides with beauty. Many of the views from this place are lovely. The prospect from the bungalow farthest from the station (now belonging to Mr. Byramji Jijibhoy), situated on a spur of the ghất, and perched high above the railway incline, is one of the finest in Western India. Scarcely inferior, except in extent, is the view from the barrack-hill, where, for some years past, with a contemptuous disregard of the gifts of Providence, good though old-fashioned barracks, sufficient, or nearly so, for two companies of European troops, have been left to stand empty season after season, until the hot weather of 1874, when invalids and details' were sent, principally from Poona, to derive re-invigoration from the moun- tain air and change of scene. It is believed that the experiment, if such it should be called, was successful; and there can be no doubt whatever that, if the Khan- Barracks dalla barracks were regularly and intelligently utilised, at Khan- dalla. more especially in the hot season, the rate of military invaliding,' both from Bombay and Poona, would be sensibly diminished. Owing to some prejudice amongst the authorities concerned, the station has been 200 SANITARIA. a good deal neglected of late years, and some of the subsidiary buildings belonging to the barracks have fallen into disrepair ; but these could easily be supple- mented. There is a neat little church on the hill, which affords a touch of English association ; and the excellent highway which passes through the village,-the great ghât road up to the Deckan on which Khandalla is situated--is a good specimen of the Bombay engineers' work, dating from the time of Sir John Malcolm. This road is in no wise superseded by the railway, which crosses and re-cross- es it ; so that a good deal of passing country traffic prevents this sanitarium from feeling the excessive quietude which, from the very small number of bungalows, might be expected. Besides the mansion on the ghầt already alluded to, there is a large substantial bungalow belonging to Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy ; and, nestling under the ghât on the same ridge as the barracks, but far away from them, stands a good summer residence, under the shade of large casuarina trees, which was built by some Bombay Civilian long before Khandalla used to be frequented by visitors. The travellers' bungalow, which is within easy reach of the railway station, has generally been well kept, and two or three days may be spent there very comfortably. Lanauli. Lanauli is also on the ghât road, which here becomes nearly level, and, being only about three miles distant, may be easily reached either by road or rail. While in temperature similar to Khandalla, the climate is generally more genial. There is a good deal of undulating grass-grown land ; and a piece of ancient forest is near where sheltered walks are found. The chief attraction about Lanauli is that it is the most convenient point of departure for Karli cave visiting the Karli cave-temples, which are excavated temples. in a hill side about four miles to the north of the station. The capitals of the pillars, and other sculptures at these caves, are more finished and elaborate than any other of their class, except those of Ellora and Ajunta, and, therefore, are as attractive to the ordinary visitor as to the learned antiquarian. Except temporarily at the railway station, there is little or no accommodation for European visitors to Lanauli, besides the one hotel ; but this is a good WESTERN INDIA. 203 invigorating. The rock of Assirgarh is a detached portion of the Satpura Range.* Having come so far west, we may here refer to Panchmari in the Central Provinces-a valuable mili- tary sanitarium, having an elevation of nearly 4,000 feet above sea-level. The nearest railway station is Bunkeri, about one hundred miles west of Jabalpur. Thirty miles of country road intervene between the railway and Panchmari, and the ground is much morar broken up by streams and nullahs ; but the sanita- rium (since some reforms in the conservancy have been carried out) is one of much importance, as being available to the several army corps scattered over the Central Provinces from Saugor to Kampti. Nasik is about 100 miles from Bombay, just Nasik. above the Thull Ghât Incline on the north-east line of the G. I. P. Railway. It is thus easily reached, and, being at an altitude of nearly 2,000 feet, for a considerable portion of the year the climate offers a salutary change, alike from the steamy heat of Bombay or the scorching winds of the Deckan stations further inland. Nasik is from ancient times a place A sacred of sacred resort for Hindus, second only to Benares. His The holy stream of the Godaveri, which rises resort. in the ghâts just to the eastward, is considered almost as efficacious as the Ganges for washing away the stain of sin, and restoring peace of soul to the conscience stricken devotee. Thebathing-ghâts about the river brink are studded with temples, and Brah- manism is in full sway ; but in a hill within a mile or two, are numerous Buddhist caves in fair preserva- tion, and affording one more indication of the firm hold which this simpler faith once had over the masses of the Indian populations. Alike for the artist, the antiquarian, and the invalid, Nasik and its vicinity present numerous attractions. The rainfall is light, being a little over 20 inches, while at Egut- pura-only about 25 miles west—the fall is often 100 inches. The station nearest to Nasik is Deolali, where are the extensive barracks and rest-houses used as the great arrival and departure depôt for nearly all the British troops who come to or leave India. * For a full and interesting account of Assirgarh, see Times of India, November 5, 1873. 204 SANITARIA. Simla. Route. NORTHERN INDIA. SIMLA, What shall we say of Simla, the Himalayan ridge whence, during the greater part of the year, the Governor-General and his half-dozen Executive Councillors, aided by as many clever departmental Secretaries, supremely govern this vast peninsula, from Peshawur to Calcutta and Cape · Comorin ? First we must sketch the route by which this earthly paradise can be reached by the voyager landing on the western shore of India. He will proceed by the G. I. P. Railway as far as it can take him, that is, to Jabalpur, where the E. I. Railway territory commences. Still pursuing the same north-easterly direction, he arrives at Allahabad; thence, turning sharp to the north-west, he passes Cawnpore, Agra, and so to Delhi, where he comes on the line of the S., P. and D. Railway, which takes him to Umballa- and so ends his railway journey of 1,370 miles, all of which, if so determined, he may accomplish in a trifle short of three days. But if not a Queen's messenger, or a claimant for a lucrative appointment, the traveller will do well to break his journey at Jabalpur, and at Cawnpore, Agra, or Delhi. At Umballa—which is about 30 miles short of the station for Sirhind, or • Head of India'—the traveller must accept the usual method of hill journeying, on horseback, on a dâk-gharry' (posting carriage), or on the mail- cart. He now proceeds 38 miles along a hilly road, which brings him to Kalka, where the difficulties of the mountain-road fairly begin-as this station is on the lower part of the ridge where Simla stands. From Kalka---which is an important official station, we may remark in passing the military sanitaria of Kassauli, Subathu, and Dagshai are easily reached. The traveller here must accept a rougher kind of wheeled carriage, or proceed on horseback, if not afraid of the hill-pony taking him over a khud' as the deep precipices at the roadside are called. If determined to be safe and take it com- fortably, he will accept a “jampan,' or lounging-chair carried by coolies. This mountain climb is nearly 60 miles as measured on the road, but by the pony dâk-tonga' it is accomplished in seven or eight SIMLA. 205 hours. Arrived at Simla, we are at an elevation of nearly 8,000 feet above sea-level, at a distance of more than 1,000 miles from Calcutta and 1,470 from Bombay. Having thus given our visitors instruc- tions how to get to Simla—the travelling expenses alone being at least Rs. 150—we should tell him what to expect on arriving there ; but the chief characteristics of Simla are so generally well known, and this seat of imperial rule has been described by so many facile pens, that we need not go into much detail here. Perhaps one of the most compendious and unbiassed accounts of the climate, customs, amenities, and public business of Simla, is that which may be culled from the pages of The Abode of Snow. Mr. Andrew Wilson, the author of this pleasant Descrip- volume, went up this way in 1873 on his venture- inturation, some journey through the mid-Himalayan region, and thus observed Simla and its society as a sojourner, not as one of its periodical visitors whose too favor- able testimony is sometimes open to suspicion. At some little risk of insequence, we quote the following passages from this book : “But I now felt determined to make a closer acquaintance with these wondrous peaks-to move among them, upon them, and behind them; so I hurried from Masuri to Simla by the shortest route, that of the carriage-road from the foot of the hills through the Suwaliks to Saharunpur; thence by rail to Ambala, by carriage to Kalka, and from Kalka to Simla in a jampan, by the old road, which, how- ever, is not the shortest way for that last section, because a mail-cart now runs along the new road. Ambala, and the roads thence to Simla, present a very lively scene in April, when the Governor-General, the Commander-in-Chief, the heads of the Supreme Gove baggage and attendants, and the clerks of the different departments, are on their way up to the summer retreat of the Government of India. It is highly expedient for the traveller to avoid the days of the great rush, when it is impossible for him to find conveyance of any kind at any price-and I did so ; but even coming in among the tagrag-and- bobtail, --if deputy commissioners and colonels commanding regiments ---men so tremendous in their own spheres--may be thus profanely spoken of, there was some difficulty in procuring carriage and bungalow accommodation; and there was plenty of amusing company, --from the ton-weight of the post-office official, who required twenty groaning coolies to carry him, to the dapper little lieutenant or assista ant deputy commissioner who cantered lightly along parapetless roads skirting precipices; and from the heavy-browed sultana of some Gangetic station, whose stern look palpably interrogates the amount of your monthly paggar, to the more lily-like young Anglo-Indian dame or damsel, who darts at you a Parthian yet gentle glance, though shown more in the eyelids than the eyes,' as she trips from her jampan or Bareilly dandi into the travellers' bungalow. . "In the neighbourhood of Simla there is quite a collection of sapi- tariums, which are passed or seen by the visitors to that more famous place. The first of these, and usually the first stopping-place for the night of those who go by the old bridle-road from Kalka, is Kassauli, ir SIMLA. 207 1 famine led the Supreme Government to remain in Calcutta this year. In the height of the season, Simla has now usually & population of about fifteen hundred Europeans, and as many thousand natives. In a former chapter I have briefly described its general appearance and surrounding scenery. One of its drawbacks is a deficiency in the supply of water; but this might easily be remedied, at some expense, and probably would be if the house-proprietors were assured tbat the Supreme Government tended to continue its summer residence there; though I do not quite see how that doubt should be allowed to have so much influence, because many of them argue that the example of Masuri has shown that Simla might flourish even if it were unvisited by any Government, and might thus secure a less uncertain income. 66 The permanent residents of the place are enthusiastic in their praises of its winter climate, and that is really the only season of the year ia which Simla is calculated to do much positive good to invalids, the cold then not being extreme, though it bas been known to fall ten degrees below freezing-point, while the air is still, dry, and both invigo- rating and exhilarating ; but it is as a retreat in the hot weather of April and May, and of the rains, that it is most used, and I do not know tbat much can be said in its praise as a sanitarium during that long season. Of course, it is a great thing to escape from the fiery heat of the Indian plains in April and Mav, and from their muggy oppressive warmth during the five succeeding monihs; but that is about the extent of the sanitary advantages of Simla in summer, and the climate then has serious drawbacks of its own. I derived no benefit from it, por did any of the invalids there with whom I was acquainted ; and its effects upon some of them were such that they had to leave before the stay they had marked out for themselves had been accomplished.” (pp. 80-2.) Whether it is politically fit and salutary, from an administrative point of view, for the Supreme Government of India to be regularly settled more than half of the year at this Himalayan station, are ques- tions not to be discussed here. They have been, and will yet be freely discussed elsewhere, and not only in Calcutta, where, as may be supposed, the withdrawal of the viceregal entourage is felt as a local injury and personal wrong. But there is one Simla subject of controversy which, as it concerns, more or less, most of the Indian hill-resorts, should have some notice here. We allude to that anxiety of modern civili- sation which it is convenient to speak of as conser- vancy. It has only been by degrees that these Neglect various hill retreats have become frequented or º of Conser- vancy. settled. The first visitors found themselves in the midst of nature's solitudes, so that in conservancy, as in some other matters, it became the habit to fall back on first principles. Gradually the bungalows and visitors increased; but still more rapidly do the followers and bazar population multiply. True, they leave with their masters at the close of each season ; but they are creatures of habit, and each recurring influx of the migrating population trace 210 SANITARIA. and concentragues, withical residenertain that and his from this matter ande, before receptible and concentration of thought-which the Viceroy and his colleagues, with their assistants, are said to derive from their periodical residence at this attrac- tive retreat. And it is quite certain that some strenuous effort will be made, before next season, to remove all proximate and readily perceptible causes of offence. One high sanitary authority is said to have advised that, for the space of three years at least, the station should be left to the uninterrupted operation of nature's own disinfectant forces. In reference to the scepticism sometimes expressed as regarding any probability of noxious elements accu- mulating on such a sloping site, open to all the cleansing influences of wind, rain, and snow, we must point out one significant circumstance—the character of the soil, in and around the station, is porous on the surface and retentive below. In the Sanitary Commissioner's report for 1872, it is remarked that the water-supply of Simla is s at all times very liable to contamination.” He adds—“ The springs afford a naturally excellent water ; but, after every shower, this is more or less mixed with the drainage of the hill-sides, which are far from clean.” It was stated that, up to that period, “ the station has enjoyed a very remarkable immunity from the (cholera) disease.” Doubtless, great pains will be taken to restore that immunity if possible—for Simla is now strong alike in social, political, and vested interests. N. W.P. The hill-stations in or adjacent to the North-West The hill-statio bill-sta- Provinces—as the territories under the Allahabad tions. Lieutenant-Governor are absurdly designated-are so well known that little need be said here about them. They may be conveniently divided into two groups—those below, and, so to speak, allied with Šimla (most of which have been already mentioned); and those more readily accessible from the valley of the Ganges. These last are chiefly comprised within the wide irregular upland valley of the Dehra Dun, this being an elevated and sheltered tract lying between the great barrier of the Himalaya on the north and east of it, and the Suwaliks on the south. These form the outer range of that vast mountainous 212 SANITARIA. composed of sál and sain, above which, on the higher crests, the pine (pinus longifolia) frequently raises its head, indicating the proximity of a cooler climate. For all the strategic and political advantages which could be secured by making Mussuri the metropolitan city and fortress for all India, we must refer the reader to Mr. (now Sir George) Campbell's “ Modern India," 1858. There also will be fouud most that can be said on behalf of encouraging European colonisation on a large scale in this temperate sub- Himalayan region ; but the reader would do well to compare the views of 1858 with the more matured and discriminating observations of Mr. Williams in 1874. The climate of these sanitaria, though removed from both extremes, fluctuates through many degrees. Thus at Mussuri the full range is from 27° to 80°; but the mean temperature from November to February is 50° to 42º. From March to October the mean is from 53° to 66°. Snow occasionally falls ; rain is some- times very heavy, but the rainfall for the year is not over an average of 80 inches. As vegetation thrives in the Dun, so animal life abounds; all kinds of game can be had from elephants to woodcocks, though the frequent and unregulated sporting excursions of the officers from the several military stations in and near the valley are thinning off alike the fiercer and more timid game. Mussuri is 56 miles from Saharunpur, the nearest Mussuri. railway station on the S., P. and Delhi Railway; but the high-road approach is by way of Rurki where may be seen the very complete Government engi- neering works and College. One great recommenda- tion of Mussuri is its comparatively equable tempera- ture, ranging from 42° in January to 68° in July. During a considerable portion of the year, the range is between 50° and 60°, which affords a delightful and bracing climate ; but there is the drawback of the site being very much exposed to the beating of the south-west monsoon. Speaking of the exposed situation of Mussuri, because of the abrupt rise of the mountain from the plains beneath, Mr. Andrew Wilson remarks that, looking at the settlement from beneath, it “ has a very curious appearance. Many of its houses are distinctly visible along the ridges; but they are so very high up, and so immediately BENGAL. 217 The imports by that ingress were then (1854) valued at half a lakh (£5,000) annually ; but, since that time, the hand of the Pekin authorities has been stretched towards the Llama rulers, in order to check communication with British territories ; and Sir Richard Temple, who is just groping or knocking at this gate of Thibet, is not likely to find it flung open to his plausible persuasions. But it is chiefly with the character of Darjiling as a sanitarium, and its accessibility to the Bengal capi- tal, that we have to do. The road principally used proceeds from the north bank of the Ganges, opposite Rajmahal on the E. I. Railway. It was long supposed that when a railway should be made for Darjiling, it would proceed from that point, or thirty miles further up from Caragola, where, from Sahib- gunge, there is a better ferry crossing; but the "Northern Bengal,” now well-nigh finished, proceeds from opposite Kushteå, the western terminus of the Eastern Bengal Railway, thereby securing much more direct communication with Calcutta than the East Indian Railway could have afforded. The total railway journey to Darjiling from Calcutta, when the new line is opened, will be about 370 miles. Now, what advantages, in respect of climate and altitude, will thus be brought within reach of Government servants and the well-to-do people of Lower Bengal ? The average altitude of the Darjiling district is spoken of as from 4,000 to 9,000 feet above sea- level. The convalescent station for troops was placed 800 feet higher than Darjiling itself, which is at an altitude of about 7,000 feet, situated within twelve miles of the northern frontier, and twenty-four miles from the southern foot of the hills. The mean temperature is 54°, and the range from 39° in January to 631° in July : the rainfall is 120 inches. Though the extension Tea-p of tea-planting has been far greater in Assam, and tations in also more successful in the Kangra and other western orn Darjiling. sub-Himalayan valleys, the growth of the industry in Darjiling has been very remarkable. In 1853, Dr. Campbell boasted that there were in the district 2,000 plants--some mere seedlings, though the shrubs included several that were twelve years old. plan- H 218 SANITARIA. is Rs. 7. En of Darjiling he ailmentsd be glad to tance, In 1872 the number of acres taken up for tea cultivation within the two Darjiling districts was 133,024, of which 14,639 were under active cultiva- tion. The produce of marketable tea in that year was estimated at three millions of pounds. The out-turn of all the Bengal tea-plantations was reckoned at 6,150,764 lbs.* From Caragola on the Ganges to Darjiling--a distance of above 260 miles—the cost of a special carriage is Rs. 120. The East Indian Railway fare Cost of from Calcutta to Sahibgunge (22 miles) is Rs. 201. journey, To Kushtea, on the Eastern Bengal Railway, the fare is Rs. 7. Enjoyment of the grand scenery and bracing atmosphere of Darjiling is beyond the pecuniary means, or unsuited to the ailments of thousands of Anglo-Indians in Bengal, who would be glad to avail themselves of some retreat within moderate distance, and to secure a change less trying to the enfeebled constitution than is that of the sub-Himalayan cli- mate. For those to whom expense is not an obstacle, there is the alternative of a river voyage up the Brahmaputra, by Goalundo on the Eastern Bengal Railway, to Assam, where, at Gowhatti or Debrugarh, a genial and refreshing sojourn may often be found salutary To Debrugarh, the steamer fare from Goalundo is Rs. 170, and to Gowhatti Rs. 108. Assam presents a considerable variety of cool and temperate climate ; the rapid progress of the tea- planting industry within its borders, and in Cachar on its southern border, attracts many Anglo-Indians in that direction ; while the detachment of Assam from Bengal, and its establishment as a separate Commissionership under the energetic and intelligent management of Colonel R. H. Keatinge, throws new life into all the affairs of this too long neglected north-eastern province. * See Sir G. Campbell's admirable Bengal Administration Report for 1872-3, compiled in great measure by Mr. H. J. S. Cotton, c.s. 220 BENGAL bibove the abrupt Benczeographia Tru kind in a line of 200 miles north-west from Cal- cutta—is about 2,000 feet, and the mean temperature for the year is nearly 19°, going down to 621° in January. The place is reached by a good road of about 60 miles from the Kurhurbali branch of the East Indian Railway line, at 220 miles from Calcutta. Its possi- Were there any adequate aptitude of co-operation ble atitliy. amongst the residents of the capital, so as to join in the erection of a few bungalows and maintenance of an hotel at Hazaribagh, that place might become the means of rescuing many residents in Bengal from the first attacks of tropical disease, and enabling many invalids to postpone or avert the necessity of a costly and inconvenient journey to Europe. This condition precedent--that of co-operant public action for social advantage-applies with still more force, and would be more abundantly rewarded by any successful effort to utilise the really fine Parasnath. hill site of Parasnath. This mountain (4,624 feet above the sea-level)—for such it appears by reason of its almost abrupt rise on its south-eastern side from the dead level of Bengal—is the termination of the chain of hills which geographically separates that province from Behar. The old Trunk Road passes it, about the 230th mile from Calcutta ; but in these · Route. days the approach is generally by rail. This is by the Chord Line of the E. I. Railway, on its branch to the coaly station of Kurhurbali. From this to the base of the hill is about 16 miles. Parasnath can also be approached from the south-east by the Barakur coal branch and the high road to Hazaribagh already referred to. The former of these stations is about 230 miles from Calcutta, the latter 144 ; and either can be reached under six hours, after which about twelve hours by horse-dâk will suffice to scale the ascent of sacred Parasnath. The hill is sacred so far as having been at one time claimed as almost like the Sinai of the Hindustani Jains, and its name is given from the last of their Tirthankars, or sanctified men- a native of Benares, who, after spending his latter days on this mountain, from its highest peak soared to the empyrean and was absorbed in the Divine infi- nity. The Jain temples, of which there are twenty small ones, on the hill add to its picturesqueness, and ADVERTISEMENTS. CUTLER, PALMER & OF INDIÁ AND BORDEAUX, &c. NEW DUTIES! NE W DUTIES ! ! 0ᎢFICATION. The recent augmentation of Duties, in addition to recently imposed Toun Dues, has rendered it compulsory for us to alter quotations. We are obliged to treat the Cash disbursements now demanded of us by Government and the Municipality as a Cush advance, upon which, if Credit is taken, we mu t charge 5 per cent. Interest, but not otherwise. We shall, therefore, from henceforth quote an "in Bond” Price for all our Wines, Spirits, and Cordinls, adding to Invoice the Forwarding Charges, Duty, and Town Dues. We regret that there has been so excessive an increase in Customs Duties on our "article de commerce" in particular, for to Europeans in India, Wines and Spirits are in numerous instances necessaries and not luxuries. AGENTS. ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO........ Mr. ANTONIO MONFERRATO. KURRACHEE (SCINDE) .......... Mr. JAMSETJEE RUSTOMJEE. ALLAHABAD AND AGRA ........ Messrs. A. JOHN & Co. LAHORE..... ..... Messi 8. GILLON & Cn. BUENOS AYRES...... ...... ROOKE, PARRY & Co. M-DRAS ARBUTHNOT & Co. COLOMBO .... , ARMITAGE BROS. MANILLA ..... » BARRETO & Co. CONSTANTINOPLE. ..... Mr. A. BAKMANGI. QUEENSLAND .... H. Box & Co. HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI .... Messrs. JARDINE, MATHESON & Co. SIMLA ......: Mr.”T. VON GOLDSTEIN. HYDERABAD (SCINDE) .......... Mr. DURMAH TEGSING. LOCAL AGENTS. Mr. EDULJEE PALLONJEE, Bora Bazaar Street, and Mr. JAMSETJEE NOWROJEE, Poydoni. M A I UU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . BOMBAY PRICE LIST. IN BOND. PER Doz. PORTS. Qis. Pts. Rupees. old Crusted (5 years in bottle) .......... Original seal. 33 - Invalids' Wine ..... Gold capsule. 24 26 Dessert Wine ........................... Black seal... 20 A very good sound Wine... Red seal .... 16 18 22 IN BOND. Per 1 doz. QUARTS and 2 d z. PINTS. BORDEAUX Rupees, Qis. Pts. Chateau Lafite or Mouton ...... Gold capsule.......... 28 30 » Rauzan................ Black capsule ........ 23 25 , Palmer ................ Blue capsule.......... Larose ..... ...... Yelow capsule.. St. Julien ..................... Green capsule ........ Cantenac ...... ...... Red capsule .......... 15 St. Estephé ........ White capeule........ Petit Médoc .... ....... Violet capsule .. WHITE. Haut Sauternes ...... ... Red capsule .......... 20 Sauterne or Barsac...... .... White capsule .. 19 17 14 10 SPIRITS. Per Doz. ,,. in Flasks .. Cognac, the finest imported, old pale ........ Black capsule .. 26 superior old pale............... ... 14 » » Superior old pale................... Yellow capsule.. 22 15 ADVERTISEMENTS. ili 12 » 22 19 "' ............... .. .. .. I ICUNA S . . . . . . . . . . . . BURGUNDIES-RED. in Flasks .. Cbambertin, the elite of Burgundies............ Red cap. 28 30 ós soft and pale........................ White capsule .. 18 Nuits, a high class Wine ..... in Flisks .. 10 Volnay, an excellent Dinner Wine............. i, pale, very good, White label ........ Blue capsule .... 16 Beaune, .. 16 in Glass-stoj pered Barrel Bottles ... in Flasks .... WHITE, Finest. Old Jamaica Rum, Ist quality. 14 Chablis (La Moutonne).. ...... White cap. 22 24 Gin, London Old Tom, 1st quality .......... White capsule .. light...... 15 17 Whisky, Irish, lst quality .................. 16 CHAMPAGNE. , Scotch, 1st quality. ...... .. 15 Geneva, in flasks ... ... 9 (Wachter's ; Cutler, Palmer's). Cutler, Palmer's extra Finest, extra dry Sparkling...... Wachter and Co.'s "Prince of Wales' " Brand .... ASSORTED LIQUEURS. * Also per H amper of 24 half-pints, Rs. 24. Glesler and Co.'s...... Each Case containing 12 Pint bottles, viz.- Fine Dry Sparkling, good bouquet, Silver foil .. White Curaçao, Anti-Choléra, Cherry Brandy, Crême) Good Sparkling Star......... de Thé, White Anisette, Curacao Sec, Crême de Vanille, Per Case. Carte Blanche Sibadey's Brands, particularly dry, and Noyau de Martinique, Oranges Amères, Persicot, Roses 22 specially suited for Breakfast and Ball purposes ...... sans Epines, Maraschino ....... GERMAN WINES. Nonpareil Sparkling Hock and Moselle Per 1 doz. QUARTS Sparkling Hock and Moselle, Muscatel..... and 2 doz. PINTS. Moselle (Still) Braunberger .......... 24 26 LIQUEURS. Rupees. Hock . Johannisberger...... 40 43 Qts. Pts. Rudesheimer........ 24 26 Hochheimer ........ 21 23 Curaçao, finest Amsterdam, Orange or White ......... 37 39 Laubenheimer ........... 19 Maraschino di Zara, best ... 33 Stein-Wein in Bocksbeutel .......... Noyau ........... PER Doz. Cherry Brandy, best Copenhagen........ SHERRIES, &C. Qta. Orange Bitters, best.... Amontillado, A-1, extra quality, rare old........ Gold seal.... 34 Kill the Crow Bitters. Amontillado, choice and sup rior .............. Black seal .. 31 Amor060, very choice, full flavored, 80 Oloroso, full-bodied, straw color ................ Green seal .. 21 INDIA PALE ALE, BASS'S. Vino Puro, very pale, dry and delicate.......... Blue seal.... 22 Our Own Bottling. Vino Fino, pale .... Brown seal.. 20 Pale, medium colour..... ........ Yellow seal.. 18 In Casks of 3 doz. Qts. Rs. 5-8 per doz. Net Cash ......Dort Vino de Pasto, remarkably pale and very dry.... Pink seal.... , 3 of 6 Pte. » Duties included. 3-12 1 2 A good Dinner Wine..... .... White seal .. 14 Marsala, Virgin, pale, fine flavor .... ........... 14 Madeira, East India, very superior ...... Madeira, excellent Wine...... ......... ... 28 Wood T-p, tor Jars Rs. 1-8 Bott'ed by the London Cooper Company, Plated Tap , 3-8 In Casks of 3 doz. Qts. Rs. 5-8 per doz. Net Cash ...... . SACRAMENTAL WINE .... 22 „ of 6 » P. B. , 3-8 » » ........] per doz. Net ca.n .... Duties included. The above quotations do not include Customs Duties, Town Dues, or Forwarding Charges. Duties on Claret and Burgundies, R8.2 per case : on Sherries, Ports, aud Still Hocks, Rs. 3 per case ; on Sparkling Wines, Rs. 5 per cage, On Spirits and Liqueurs, Rs. 8 per case. Town Duties A8. 8 per cage. 16 .... 24 ..... ..... ..... 24 17 34 "COOPER," A MIXTURE OF ALE & STOUT. la, Vito India wine.." ADVERTISEMENTS. WINE MERCHANTS TO MESSRS. WATTS MILBUR & Co.'s FLEET. I WINE MERCHANTS TO THE CIVIL SERVICE SUPPLY ASSO- AGENTS FOR MESSRS. MOUNTAIN & Co.'s LONDON “COOPER.” CIATION. WINE MERCHANTS TO MESSES MACGREGOR GOW & Co.'s LINE. PROVIDENT SUPPLY ASSOCIATION. THE REFORM CLUB. FIFTY MESSES OF H.M.'s REGIMENTS. THE ATHENÆUM CLUB. TEN INDIAN CLUB HOUSES. HOUSES IN BORDEAUX, LONDON, CALCUTTA. AGENCIES IN HONGKONG. MAURITIUS. QUEENSLAND. SHANGHAI. BUENOS AYRES. MADRAS. COLOMBO WACHTER & CIE., E PERNAY. CHA MPAGNE. In introducing their Brand somewhat particularly to the Iudian public, MESSRS. WACHTER & Co., who have for many years enjoyed extensive patronage in the United Kingdom, the Australian and other markets, desire to call special attention to a few of a series of flattering communications they have been honoured by receiving from the Gentleman of Her Majesty's Cellars. To these they have added a few extracts from the journals of the day, and with such Testimonials they venture confidently to ask for a share of the Indian trade, satisfied that they will be able to meet the wishes of the consumer through the agency of the oldest Wine House in India, MESSRS. CUTLER, PALMER & Co., whose long acquaintance with the country, its requirements, &c., will place this beyond a doubt. MESSRS. WACHTER & CIE. would add that as the Prince of Wales is shortly to visit India, they have shipped ample supplies to meet the demands of those whose privilege it will be to entertain H. R. H. MESSRS. WACHTER & Co. have also been instructed to place on baard the “SERAPIS" a supply for the use of H. R. H. the PRINCE OF WALES; while MESSRS. CUTLER, PALMER & Co. will hold, in a few weeks, stocks of the same Wipes, which they confidently anticipate will be as much appreciated in India as tbey are in England. WITH reference to the above, C., P. & Co. have the pleasure to inform their Constituents that a FURTHER SUPPLY of this celebrated BRAND is to hand ex 8.8. “Hindoostan." Price in Bond Rs. 42 per doz. qts., and Rs. 44 per 2 doz. pts. ADVERTISEMENTS. 32 DESCHAMPS & Co., MADRAS AND BOMBAY, Cabinet Makers, @arriage Builders, AND • » 1 100 140 AND GENERAL MANUFACTURERS, Next to KEMP & Co.'s, BEG to invite the attention of the PUBLIC to their large STOCK of every description of FURNITURE for Drawing-room, Boudoir, Dining room, Offices, Ante-room, Camp, Messes and Clubs, Durbar-hall, &c., &c. CHURCH FURNITURE-Altar Tables, Pulpits, Desks, Fonts, carved Chairs, Arm chairs, Lecterns, Fauld Stools, Priedieu, Benches, Communion Tables, Railivgs, Scre os, Carpets, Velvets, Fringes, Cushions, &c., &c. D. & Co. have furnished St George's Cathedral, Emmanuel Church, Christ's Church, and many othere all ver Iv dia. BILLIARD TABLES, full size, 12 feet hy 6 feet, with Slates, Scroll Legs, India Rubber Cushions, &c. &c., complete.--Rs. 900 Casb. SPARE INDIA-RUBBER CUSHIONS, Rs. 90; Billiard Cloth, Rs. 16, Rs. 18, and Rs. 20 per yard. Set _of 3 Balls.......................................................... Rs. 25 Pool Balls 12 1 .............................................. Psramidal 16 , BILLIARD CUES-No. 1 Rs. 2-8; Nos. 2 and 3, from Rs. 3 to Rs. 10 each. BAGATELLE BOARDS, all sizes, with or without Slate, coinplete--from Rs. 80 to Rs. 350. CARRIAGE of EVERY DESCRIPTION of the BEST MAKE, combining Elegance of Design, Superior Finish, and Lightness of Construction. BROUGHAMS, with two and four Seats, for one or a pair of Horses. PILINTHUMS, very light Evening Carriages, four Seats, for one and two Horses. MAIL PHAETON and WAGGONETTES, for four to eight persons, with Patent Revolving Buck Seats, DOG-CARTS, 4 and 2 Wheels, with or without Topa, American and London Patterng. PONY PARK, VICTORIA and BASKET PHAETONS, very light, for two and four persons, for one or a pair of Ponies, or a Horse. CANOE BAROUCHES, newest pattern, received from London, Paris, and Vienna ; handsome Carriages for a pair of Horses. STATE CARRIAGES, with gilt and plated mountings, lined with the richest Silk and Darnask. BREAKS, MAIL COACHES, and other CARRIAGES made to order. ICE MACHINE-Works as a Pump, gives two, three, and four decanters of Ice in leg. than three minutes, GARDEN PUMPS, double action, easy to work by hand ; quite a novelty in Bom- bay- Rs. 12 each. MADRAS MATTING, very strongly made, for Verandabs, Ante-rooms, Stair- cases, &c. READING LAMPS—New models for candles, used principally for Verandabs, Tente, Bedrooms; they are Pupk-proof. KEROSINE LAMPS, expressly made for India, Punka-proof; give a light equal to that imparted by 14 candles.- Rs. 25. MARBLE, for Pavement, white and black. 1 square foot; Mosaic Pavements of very handsome design. WALL PAPERS_Border Papers for Half-doors, Ceilings, Punkas; for Theatres, representing Landscapes, Streets, and Drawing-rooms, &c., &c. The large Patronage D. & Co. have been favoured with all over India for many years, and baving furnished from their Manufactory the Government Houses of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharajahs of Travan- core, Vizianagram, Oodeypore, and others, makes them hope for a continuance of it. viii ADVERTISEMENTS. ADELPHI HOTEL, BYCULLA, AND THE MY V M 怒郑屠​”是愛器 ​XZ恩愛醫么​。 NEAR THE BYculla RAILWAY STATION. Mr. PALLONJEE PESTONJEE, Proprietor of the Adelphi and Adelphi Family Hotels, begs to state that he has now completed the erection of his new Hitel, which, in addition to being open to the sea-breeze, is fitted up on the model of the best Hotels in Europe, each resident having a separate bed-room and sitting-room, bath-room (with reclining bath, hot and cold water pipes, &c.) The Hotels are specially fitted up for the accommodation of Ladies, Gentle- men, and Families, and will be found to be the best in Bombay. The Table is, as usuul, supplied with the best Viands procurable, the Wines, Liquors, &c., are of the finest quality, and the charges strictly moderate. CARRIAGES AND HORSES KEPT ON THE PREMISES. THE VICTORIA HOTEL, No. 1, ESPLANADE, BY PALLONJEE PESTONJEE. (Situate 200 yards North of Her Majesty's Statue, and 3 minutes' drive of the G. I. P. Railway Terminus, and the Church Gate Station of the B. B. and C. I. Railway.) The Building is fine, commodious, and airy, elegantly furnished, fitted up with Gas and Vehar Water, and has excellent Bath Rooms attached to every Bed-room. Amongst other advantages, it is situate in a central position, being close to the Fort, both Railway Stations, Public and other Offices, Apollo Pier, &c. It is moreover shaded by fine trees, is open to the sea-breeze, and is one of the quietest and most salubrious localities in the Island. ADVERTISEMENTS. ENTAN R P. & 0. STEAM SULAR WASH NAVN NAVIGATION CO., U SNIN PARA TATU COMP. BOMBAY STATION. MAIL CONTRACT LINES. The Company's Steamers are despatched from Bombay as follows, conveying H. M.'s Mails, Passengers and Cargo. To Aden, Suez, Brindisi, Venice, and Southampton.-Once a week-namely, every Monday during the N.E. Monsoon, and every Friday during the S.W. Monsoon. To Ceulon, Madras, Calcutta, Straits, China, and Japan - Every alternate Tuesday during the N.E. Monsoon. Every alternate Monday during the S.W. Monsoon. To Australia.-Every fourth Saturday. Cargo.-In addition to the Ports named above, Cargo can be booked through to London, Liverpool, Odessa, Trieste, Ancona, Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, Marseilles, Havre, and New York. The Insurance of Baggage against all risks can be effected on moderate terms. Passengers wishing to telegraph their safe arrival in England to friends in India, can do so on payment in Bombay of Rs. 8; the receipt for which must be forwarded to Reuter's Telegram Company, 24, Old Jewry, London, on reaching Home, when the message will be immediately despatched. Full particulars of rates of Passage-money and Freight can be obtained at the Company's Office, No. 3, Rampart Row. GEORGE F. HENRY, Superintendent. THE GRAND INDIAN ALTERATIVE TONIC. DR. E. J. LAZARUS'S ESSENCE OF HEMIDESMUS. This Preparation of the INDIAN SARSAPARILLA UNUNTAMUL is equal if not superior, to the more costly Jamaica or Honduras Sarsaparilla, INDIAN MEDICAL AUTHO. RITIES, both European and Native, with one accord bear testimony to its valuable alterative tonic, diuretic, and diaphoretic properties, pronouncing it a most efficacious remedy in all those Diseases arising from an impure state of the blood, and most strongly recommend it in SCROFULOUS COMPLAINTS, BOILS, PIMPLES and BLOTCHES OF THE SKIN, CONSTITUTIONAL DEBILITY, CACHEXIA, especially of Children, CONSTITUTIONAL SYPH- ILIS, CHRONIC RHEUMATISM, certain Diseases of the Skin, &c., &c. Prepared only by Messrs. E. J. LAZARUS & Co., Medical Hall, Benares, from the original receipt of E. J. LAZARUS, M.D., and sold by Medicine Venders at Rs. 2-8 per bottle. The great Indian Remedy for all Bilious Complaints. INDIAN FEVERS, INDIGESTION, SPLEEN, AGUE, JAUNDICE, PILES, COSTIVENESS, GENE- RAL WEAKNESS, and every disorder depending on FUNCTIONAL DERANGEMENT OF THE LIVER, is DR. E. J. LAZARUS'S ESSENCE OF CHIRETTA, Prepared only by Messrs. E. J. LAZARUS & Co., Medical Hall, Benares, from the original receipt of E. J. LAZARUS. M.D., and sold by all Medicine Veaders at Rs.1-8, Rs. 2-8. and Rs. 4-0 per bottle. IS NONE OTHER IS GENUINE. O An indubitable proof of the great value of this wonderful Remedy is the various Imitations which are being made. ADVERTISEMENTS. V D. S, KEMP & Co., SASSOON HOUSE, my ELPHINSTONE CIRCLE, BOMBA Y, Manufacture all the most recent Medicinal Preparations, and deal in all goods connected with Medicine. Their Catalogue (which will be supplied on application) furnishes particulars and prices of SELECT MODERN REMEDIES, REQUISITES FOR THE SICK-ROOM, MEDICINE CHESTS, PERFUMERY, FOODS, AËRATED WATERS, WINES, BITTERS, CONDIMENTS, HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS, OPTICAL AND METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS. ad holesale Price List of Drugs, Snrgical Enstruments, &c., pnblished periodically. BOLTON & CO., General Merchants, NO. 4, ELPHINSTONE CIRCLE, THE FORT, BOMBAY, Importers of Fancy Goods, Ammunition of all kinds, Air Beds, Beer, Brandy, and Wine, Hair Brushes, Chubb's Cash Boxes, Cutlery, Cricket Kit, Badminton Games. Gymkhana Kit, Meerschaum Pipes, Musical Boxes, Mechanical Toys, Lamps of ali kinds, Oilman's Stores, Office Requisites, Patent Medicines, Perfumery, Racket Kit, Spectacles, Smokers' Requisites. Stationery, Toilet Soaps, and all Household Sundries and Travelling Requisites, &c., &c. INSPECTION INVITED, BOLTON & Co. LONDON HOUSE, Opposite JAFFER SULLIMAN, A. COOK & co. TAILORS SHIRTMAKERS HOSIERS AND GENERAL OUTFITTERS. Overland Passengers and Tourists will find this the Cheapest House in Bombay. EVERY REQUISITE READY FOR USE. HATS RIDING SUITS MADE TO ORDER IN 5 HOURS. OF ALL HABITS. No. 11, HUMMUM STREET, DESCRIPTIONS. BOMBA Y. ROWLAND & Co., Saddlery and Harness Establishment, MEDOWS STREET AND RAMPART ROW, BOMBẢY. EVERY DESCRIPTION OF SADDLES, BRIDLES, HARNESS, HORSE CLOTHING, SADDLE CLOTHS, HUNTING, RIDING, AND DRIVING WHIPS, ALWAYS ON HAND. Orders promptly attended to, and the Repairs of Saddlery, Warness, &c., carefully executed. Outstation Orders should be accompanied by a remittance, or reference for payment in Bombay.