YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Gift of John W. Anery THE GAZETTEER OF THE CENTRAL PROVINCES OF INDIA. EDITED BY CHARLES GBANT, Esq., SECRETARY TO THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF THE CENTRAL PROVINCES. Second Edition. Na'ajiu'r, 1870. PRINTED AT THE I EDUCATION SOCIETY'S PRESS, BOMBAY. ERRATA. Page xix, last line, for " inacessibility " read Page 11, line 19, for "Mulk Haibats' "inaccessibility/ .„ xxv, line 17, for "Chattisgarh"'re«<2 " Chhattisgarh." „ xxxvn, line 16, for "Jabulpur" read " Jabalpiir." „ do. 27 do. do. „ ¦ Lin, line 10, for " Chattisgarh " read " Chhattisgarh." .„ liv, line 18, for " Alhana " read "Alhana." „ lxxii, second note, line 2, for " San- chi" read "Sanchi." -,, lxxxiv, last line, for "Musulmans" read "Musalmans." „ xc, foot-note, for " Aitchinson's Trea ties" read Aitchison's Treaties." „ en, 2nd foot-note, for "Hoshagabad" read "Hoshangabad." „ Cxiii, the references at foot should be transposed. „ cxiv, line 26, for " Chalki " read "Chalki." „ cxx, in foot-note, for "Bhumia" read "Bhumia." „ 1, Article A'degaon, for 1st line, read " A Zamindari in the Western portion of the Seoni District." and in second line, for " transferred by ' ' read "transferred from." ,, „ Article Ahiri, line 5, for "Surjdgarh" read "Siirjagarh, and for "Dewalmari" read " Dewalmarhi." ;, „ ,, line 9, for "Telugti" read Telugu. „ 2, Article Ahiri, line 1 3,/or "Jhimili" read "Jhilmili." „ „ „ A'lbaka, line 6, for "Kois" read " Kois." ,, „ Almod, line 1 , for " Hoshan gabad District" read "Chhindwara Dis trict." 4, Article Andhari, line 4, for "Jham" read "Jam." 6, Article Arpalli, line 11, for "Dhau- ra" read "Dhaura." 7, „ A'rvi, for "A revenue sub division" read "the north-western sub division." 8, „ A'sirgarh, line 20, for "com mon range " read " cannon range." -9, line 31, for " Aswatthhama " read " Aswatthama." „ 10, line 3, for " A' hmadnagar " read >' Ahmadnagar," read " Mulk Haibat.' j) » „ 3rd line from foot, for "and of the " read "and to the." „ 13, Article Aslana, line 2, for " Sonar " read "Sunar." „ 14, „ „ Badniir, line 3,/or " Maeh- na" read "Machna." „ „ „ „ line 7, for "tahsil" read "tahsili." „ 15, Article Bairma, line 4, for " Sonar " read " Sunar." „ „ „ line 8, for " Nauta " read "Nuhta," „ 1 6, Article Balaghat, line 1 1 , and else where in this article, for "Mau" read "Maii." ,, ,, ,, 13th line from foot, for "u»ica- cious" redad "micaceous." „ 18, line 13, from commencement of paragraph,/or "Surma " read " Surma." ,, 19, line 5, for "dahya" read "dahya." „ 24, line 19, for "baolis" read "baolis." ,, 25, line 34, for " Agarias " read " Agha- rias." „ 26, Article Banda, line 5, for " Riija Madan Singh" read "Raja Mardan Singh." ,, „ Article Bankheri, 3rd line, for "Pachmari" read "Pachmarhi." „ 27, line 8, for " Puna, " read " Puna." „ 28, Article Barpali, line 7, for "Somras" read " Saonras." ,, 29, Bastar contents, for " Marias " read "Marias." „ 30, line 1, for " Kutru " read " Kutru." „ 32, line 21, for" Bijapur" read "Bija- pur." „ 36, line 17, for "dahya" read "dahya." „ line 1 , for " Kutru ' ' read " Kutrvi." „ „ line 10, for "Madi palm" read "Mari palm." „ 40, Article Bela, line 4,/or "baolis " read "baolis." „ 41, Article Berkheri, line 2, for "Sonar" read "Sunar." „ 42, Under roads No. 3,/or "towards Mau vid Harda" read "towards Mhow vid Harda." „ 44, line 1 0 from foot of the page, for "Chota Udepiir" read "Chhota Udepur." „ 47, line 6 from foot of the page, for "Pachmari" read "Pachmarhi." „ infoot-note, for " Brigg's Parishta" read "Briggs' Firishta." Page 50, line 25, for "2,400 acres" "4,300 acres." „ „ 26, for "180 maunds" read "430 maunds." „ 54, Article Betiil, for " A Revenue sub division read " The North-Eastern Re venue sub-division." „ 55, line 17, for "Nizam's" read "Ni zam's." „ 58, last word, for " Mhowa " read "Mhowa." „ 59,line 1 0, for "Mhowa" read "Mhowa." ,, 65, line 11 from foot, for "miing" read "mung." >( 66, line 5, for "awari" read "jawari." „ 71, Article Bhandara, line 1, for " a Re venue sub-division " read "the North- Western Revenue sub-division." ,, 73, line 2, for " Sam-ds " read Saonras." ,, „ line 12; for "Uryia" read "Uriya." „ 74, Article Bhiwaptir, line 8, for "baoli" read "baoli." „ „ „ 14 /or "Agar wala" read "Agarwal." „ 75, line I, for "Kois" read "Kois." ,, ,, line 8, for "Sonar" read "Sunar." ,, „ line 6 from foot, for "dahya" read "dahya." „ 76, line 3, for "Kois" read " Kois." „ 77, Contents, Section II., for "Anandi Bai" read " A'nandi Bai." „ 79, line 13, for " Talcheer " read Tal- chir." „ 87, line 18, for "Rani Talao" read " Rani Talao/' „ 89, In list of kings, No. 17, for "Bhum- deva" read "Bhimdeva." „ „ „ No. 19, for "Moha- deva read "Mohandeva." „ „ „ No. 28, for "Bhupal Sinhadeva" read "Bhupal Sinhadeva." ,, 92, marginal list of Rajas, for "Kha- rod" read "Karond." „ ,, line last but one, for "Talao" read "Talao." „ 99, under principal castes, Aborigines, for "Bhumias" read "Bhiimias." „ 108, line 11 from foot, for "Kabirpan- thism" read " Kabirpanthism." „ 11-1, line 30, for "utlises" read "utilises." ,, 117, line 14, for " Agarias'' read "Ag- harias." „ 122, Article "Bilihra" read "Bilihra." „ 124, line 8, for "Binjhals, SauraV' read " Binjals, Saonras." Page 124, Article Bori, line 2, for "Pachnari" read "Pachmarhi." „ 127, line 24, for "orris" read "orhnig.* „ 128, line 35, pr " Tahsildar" read "Tah- sildar." , „ 129, line 24, for "the silver after testing' is cast into the shape of a square ingot (pasa) weighing from thirty-two to sixty tolas and measuring about two feet long and 1£ inch square" red " the silver after testing is cast into the shape of a round ingot (pasa) weighing from 52 to 60 tolas and ruea. suring about 21 inches long and U inch in average circumference." „ 134, list of Zamindaris No. 19 for "Par. vi Mutanda" read "Pawi Mutanda.'' ,, 135, line 5, for "Surjagarh" read "Stir. jagarh." „ 136, line 9, for "Bijesal' read "BijesaL* „ 141, line 25, for "Pawi Mutanda" read Pawi Mutanda." „ 143, line 20, for " Pharsa Pen " red "Pharsa Pen." „ 144, line 7, for " Satara " read " Satf- ra." ,,146, line 24, for " Pandarkonra" red " Pandarkona." „ 159, line 25, for "Brahma" read "Brat ma." ,, 162, line 17, for "Harai" read "Harai." ,, 164, line 8, for "Parasia" read "Parasia." ,, 167, line 1 1 from foot, for "Paehmari" ' read " Pachmarhi." „ ,, ,, 9 from foot, for "Harai" red', "Harai." „ 168, line 24, for "Jagirdaris" red, " Jagirs." „ 170, line 9, for "tabs'il" read "tahsili." „ 171, Article Chicholi, line 3,/or "Baoli* " read "baoli." „ 178, line ll, for "Patera "read" Patera? „ 182, Article 'Denwa, line 2, for "Pach- maris" read " Pachmarhis." „ 187, Article "Dhanora" read "DM- nor a." „ 190, line 9, for " Jumeao" warf" Janei" „ „ line 10, for " Raja Behrat " red " Raj.i Behrat," „ „ Article Fatehpiir, line 3, for " Ban- kheri" read "Bankheri." » » » n for "Pachmari" red " Pachmarhi." „ „ „ line 8, for " Tatia Topia" read " Tfttia Topia." r Page 195, Article Garola, lines 6, 8, and 10, for " Khurai" read " Kurai." „ 196, Article Ghes, line 5, for " Binjhals " read "Binjals." „ 198, line 10, for •' Maratha " read " Ma- ratha." „ 200, line 24, for "Ganpati" read " Gan- pati." „ 202, Article Hatta, line 10, for " baoli " read " baoli." ,, 205, Article Hirdenagar, line 2, for "Raja Hirde Shah " read " Raja Hirde Sa." „ 206, line 5, /0/,"Dudhi" read "Dud- hi." ,,208, lines 26 and 29, for " Pachmari " read " Pachmarhi." „ 209, line 12, for " Pachmari" read " Pach marhi." „ 211, line 24, for " Dudai" read " Diid- hi." „ 214, line 11, for "Pachmari" read "Pach marhi." „ 218, line 10 from foot, for "Gondwana" read " Gondwana." „ 219, lme 29, for" Kalumbar'' read" Ka- lumar." „ 222, Table of average temperature, un der February minimum, medium, for "40 "read "49." „ ,, ,, ,, December minimum, — hottest day, for "39" read "59." ,, 225, line 5 from foot, for " Raghunath Rao" read "Raghunath Rao." „ 234, Article Kanhargaon, line 4, for "Banyan" read "Banian." „ 236, Article Karanja, line 1, for "Oc troi" read "Octroi." „ 239 Article Katangi, line 1, for " Bilas- pur" read "Bilaspiir." „ 245, Article Kharsal, line 9, for "Saura" read "Saonra." „ 246, lines 2 and 5, for "Khurai" read "Kurai." „ 250, line 17, for " Kimlasa " read "Khim- lasa," „ 260, line 1, for " Mandhata " read "Man dhata." „ 262, foot-note, for "Captain T. Forsyth" read " Captain J. Forsyth." and/or initials " T. F. " read "J. F." in 1st line of foot-note,/or "Mandhata" read "Mandhata." „ 265, line 2, for "Mahatmya" read " Ma hatmya." Page 272, line 6 from commencement of par agraph, for " Hirde Sah and Narendra Sah" read "Hirde Sa and Narendra Sa." „ 275, line 23, for "Suraj Deo" read "Su- raj Deo." „ 282, line 4, for " Sagar" read " Sagar." „ „ Garha, Mandla dynasty for " Jad- havaRaya" read" Jadhava Raya." „ 284, line 14 from foot, for Maharaj Sa," read "Maharaj Sa." ,,288, Article "Moharli" read "Mo- harli." „ 291, Article Mutanda for "Pavi Mutan da " read "Pawi Mutanda." „ 319, line 25, for "only salt tax" read "only the salt tax." „ 326, lastline,/or "retadi" read "retari." „ 341, lines 21, 33, 35, 37, for "talao" read "talao." „ 342, line 5 from foot, for "Shakardara" read " Shakardara. ,, 343, line 5, do. do. „ 345, line 2, for "'talao" redd "talao.". "361, line 16, for "Sindia Shahi " read " Sindia Shahi." „ 370, Article " Nawagarh " read "Na- vagarh." „ 388, Article Pachmarhi, for " a chief- ship in the Hoshangabad District " read " a chiefship lying partly in the Chhind- wara and partly in the Hoshangabad District." „ 400, Article Pratapgarh, substitute " Pratapgarh Pagara." „ lines 2 and 4, for Harai read Harai. „ „ line 5, for " 181 villages " read "153 villages." 404, line 11 from foot, for "Nawagarh" read "Navagarh." 427, Article Rampur, line 7, for " Agha- rias " read " Agharias." „ „ " Bhuyas " read " Bhuyas." 435, line 3, for "beds -of the Sagar" read "beds of the Sagar District." „ line 12, for " Narayapur " read " Narayanpur." 443, line 5 from foot, for "Shagarh" read "Shahgarh." 449, the asterisk is wrongly placed in the context, — it should come after Mr. Medlicott's name, and the two notes should form one single note. „ 451, Table of Imports and Exports. Exports for 1863-64 omit figures which are incorrect. "., 459, Article Sambalpfir, line 2, for "dakhili" read " dakhili." ^ Page 463, line 19 from foot, for " Ratanpur read "Ratanpur." „ 477, line 6 from foot, for " Ganjai" r«ad " Ganjai." „ 479, Article Sindi, first line, for " tashil" read " tahsil." „ 434, Article Surjagarh, read " Surja- garh." „ 490, line 15, for " sufficiet " read "suf ficient." „ 512, line 2, after "or right bank" read "(a little above Chanda.)" Page 512, line 3, omit words "(a little above Chanda.)" Throughout the Gazetteer the name of the Mohammadan historian Firishta, has been erroneously spelt Farishta The name of the Gond deity ¦ Dulha Deo has been spelt Dula Deo in the Gazetteer articles. In the Introductiou it is spelt Dulha Deo. This is prob&i bly the more correct spelling. CONTENTS. Preface Introduction — Chapter I. — General Description II.-^Geology t „ III. — Early History IV. — TheGaulis andNagbansfs V. — History under the G o n d s and Marathas. „ VI. — Population PAGE v XI xxvi xlviii lix lxxiii cv , VII. — Administration and Trade cxxxiii Gazetteer Statistical Tables (Appendix I.) . Road Tables ( „ II.)., Glossary ( „ III.). Index ( „ IV.). 1 521 537 549 557 PREFACE. Itt 1867 a Gazetteer was published for these Provinces with the fol lowing remarks from Sir R. Temple, the then Chief Commissioner : — "It has long seemed to the Chief Commissioner that a Gazetteer is needed for the Central Provinces. JSfone will dispute that for the good management of districts local knowledge is necessary. The more detailed and intimate such knowledge is, the better. This remark, however general may be its applica tion, is particularly applicable .to provinces hke these, where the areas are widespread ; where the tribes and circumstances are diverse ; where the component parts are separated from each other by mountain barriers or other physical obstacles ; where informa tion is often difficult of acquisition by reason of the remoteness of localities ; and where the annals of the country, though to some extent existing, are for the most part inaccessible to the majority of our countrymen. " "When such knowledge is merely acquired by individuals, it is apt to be of a fugitive character, owing to those frequent changes which are inevitable in Indian administration. It con stantly happens that when an officer has, by travelling about, and by communicating with the people, learnt very much regarding his district, he is obliged by ill health, or by the requirements of the service, or by other reasons, to leave, and then he carries all his knowledge away with him, his successor having to study everything ab initio. " Thus it becomes of importance that the multiform facts of local interest and value should be recorded by all Avho have the lepg vi PREFACE. means of knowing them ; and that such record should be em bodied in an abiding shape, patent to, and within the reach of all, so that everyone who is concerned to ascertain these things may have the ordinary resources of information ready to hand. " Therefore it was in 1864 resolved to collect materials for a Gazetteer. With this view all officers serving in these Pro vinces were furnished with a sketch of the information required. In due course every officer transmitted the data for his district. Advantage was also taken of the Settlement Department being in operation to obtain therefrom all the facts bearing on the subjects in question. Thus in the course of two years a mass of information in manuscript was accumulated. " The work thus brought out, though probably as complete as it can be made at the present time, is yet avowedly imperfect, and is in some respects only preliminary. The information generally may from year to year be supplemented by further details, and on numerous points will doubtless be found suscep tible of emendation. The statistics especially will constantly be open to enlargement and rectification. Still a broad foundation for future superstructure has at least been raised." The impression of the earlier numbers was soon exhausted, and it became a question whether they should be reprinted. On revision of the sheets, however, so many inaccuracies — unavoidable perhaps in a first attempt of the kind — were discovered, that I undertook to prepare a new edition. I am glad to have this opportunity of cordially thank ing Captain Forsyth, Deputy Commissioner of N i m a r, Dr. Townsend, Sanitary Commissioner, Lieutenant Bradshaw of the Police, Mr. Bar clay and Mr. Vasudeva Ballal Kher of the Chief Commissioner's Office, and most of all Mr. J. Neill, Assistant Secretary, for the assistance which they have kindly rendered me, and also of recording my grateful acknowledgments to Mr. Morris, Officiating Chief Commissioner, for a degree of interest shown in the undertaking, and of consideration to myself during its progress, without which it would have been difficult to carry through a laborious task under the pressure of regular daily duties. PREFACE. VII In the present edition the alphabetical form, usual in gazetteers, has been adopted, and a full Index has been added, so that the diffi culties in tracing information, complained of in the first edition, will be removed, and the descriptions of rivers and mountain ranges, especially, will be found concentrated in one easily discoverable place, instead of being scattered over many parts of the Gazetteer. A great portion of the matter contained is either quite new or has been newly adapted for the purposes of this work. Thus the long articles on A'sirgarh, Balaghat, Burhanpur, Mandhata, Ni na a. r, and the W a r d h a district have not before been published, while those on the Bilaspur, Damoh, M andla, Raipu r, and Up per Godavari districts mainly consist of extracts from the Land Revenue settlement reports, written after the publication of the first edition. The remaining articles too have been carefully revised, word by word, and in many cases amplified, so that at least one-half of the body of the work is new. An introductory sketch of the Province has also been prefixed, containing a geological description of the Pro vince by T. Oldham, Esq., LL.D., Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, and statistical tables and a glossary of vernacular words have been appended. But though no time, toil, or care has been spared in making the present edition as complete as possible, it is not to be expected that a work written and compiled under the unintermittent pressure of severe official duties should be free from many imperfections. Proceeding, too, from the hands of many writers, the Gazetteer neces sarily shows great diversities both of form and of substance. Thus it must be confessed that some of the articles do not reach the standard of the excellent descriptions of N a, g p u r (by Mr. M. Low), Chanda (by Major Lucie Smith), and B a s t a r (by Major Glasfurd), in the first edition, — or of B i 1 a s p u r (by Mr. Chisholm), and Nimar and its places of interest (by Captain J. Forsyth) in the present edition ; but however deficient in uniformity, the articles all possess this com mon recommendation, that they were written on the spot by local officers, thoroughly familiar with their subjects. It would not have been difficult to recast the information, thus obtained, in one rigid viii PREFACE. mould for all districts, but in the process all the genuineness, indivi duality, and freshness of the local descriptions would have evaporated, and substantial value would have been sacrificed to form. The ori ginal arrangement of the district articles has therefore in most cases been retained, revision being confined to the correction of the more prominent errors, and (where necessary) to the simplification of the style. The most effectual method of obtaining a really good description of the country is probably that recently adopted by the Government in some of the other provinces of India, where the task has been en trusted to selected experts, qualified both by literary skill and by special knowledge to collect and give the best possible shape to all the information available from local or other sources. But the present reproduction of the Central Provinces' Gazetteer, was almost ready for the press when the Government of India promulgated its scheme for a general gazetteer, and directed that the local compilations should be so constructed as to . admit of their ready combination into an Imperial Dictionary of Geography for India. It was therefore too late to attempt so thorough an alteration of scheme as these instructions would have involved, and considering the great cost of special agency, and the difficulty of carrying through an official publication of the kind at all, it was thought better to take advantage of its com pletion, even in an imperfect form, and to trust to a future revision for bringing it up to the level which will no doubt be attained by its more matured successors in other parts of India. There was, how ever, fortunately still time to take advantage of some of the suggestions of Mr. W. W. Hunter, LL.D., who had been deputed by the Govern ment of India to inspect the progress of provincial gazetteers, and it is needless to say that where it has been possible to make the addi tions suggested by his practised skill, they have given an increased value to the work. The system of transliteration employed has been that approved by the Government of India, viz. the Jonesian or "Wilsonian system, PREFACE. ix without diacritical marks. To scientific readers it may be necessary to explain that in a few cases where the conventional spelling, and indeed pronunciation, had departed very widely from the correct form, a compromise has been adopted. Thus, for instance, S i v a r i Narayan has been spelt Seorinarain. There has been some difficulty in showing the Arabic letter £ without the usual expedient of an apostrophe; but few Persian words occur in so remote a province as this, and those few have ordinarily been spelt in the manner adopted in "Wilson's Glossary. The vowel e has also been accented in a few words whose pronunciation might otherwise have puzzled an unskilled reader. For names of places in other parts of India, especially in the case of well known localities, such as Cuttack and Cawnpore, the conventional spelling has been retained. To general readers it should be explained that the vowels e and u and the accented a and * should be given the open sound as in Ita lian. The unaccented a should be pronounced something hke the u in the English word ' but,' and the unaccented * like the i in the English word ' it.' In conclusion it is necessary to request indulgence for occasional typographical errors, especially in the names of places. It must always be hard to ensure entire accuracy in the introduction of a new system of spelling, and in the present case there has been the additional diffi culty, that while the work was printed at Bombay, the proofs were corrected at Nagp ur , more than five hundred miles off, and some times in even more distant places, so that close supervision was not possible. CHARLES GRANT. INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. General want of knowledge regarding G o n d w an a— Travellers' Tales— True wonders of the country— Formation of the Central Provinces— Their original amalgamation under the name of Gondwan a — H i n d ii encroachments ; and partition of the country between Northern and Southern II i n d ii s— Reunion of Northern and Southern Gondwana under the Marathas — Isolated position of the present province- Physical subdivisions— Physical Geography— Scenery— N a r b a d a. country— The rivers — Natural beauties— Hill country— Removal of obstacles to its settlement- Forest country — N a g p ii r plain — C hhattisgarh. Ten years ago the country which is now called the Central Pro- n . vinces was for the most part a terra iucoa- General want of knowledge ., , -™ ,., oi.t ,0^ ¦¦ regarding Gondwana. mta to Lnghshmen. So lately as 1853, when the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India had been at work for half a century, and the more detailed surveys for some thirty years, Sir Erskine Perry, addressing the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, wrote, "At present the Gondwana " highlands and jungles comprise such a large tract of unexplored coun- " try that they form quite an oasis in our maps. Captain Blunt's inter esting journey in 1795, from Benares to Rajamandri, gives us almost all the information we possess of many parts of the interior."* In these days such a description would scarcely be applicable anywhere out of Central Africa ; and it is difficult to reahse that at so compara tively late and well known a period of Indian history as the Vicere- galty of Lord Dalhousie, a country, great part of which had been for years under the prosaic but regular administration of Magistrates and Collectors, should have lain so completely beyond the ordinary * Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iv. p. 302 (January 1853). xii INTRODUCTION. currents of information. Even within the last fifteen years Surveyors and Missionaries have lost months of work in the fertile Nar b ada valley from the prevalent idea that camp life there was dangerous till January. If one of the gardens of India could be thus misrepresented,^ no marvels were too great to gain credence regarding the really wild interior. The Southern Forests are marked Travellers' Tales. ^ ^ m^ ^ inhab{ted by men who live in trees, and though fancy never went so far as to reproduce the men " whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders," there were whispers of " anthropophagi" — naked savages who ate their relations ;* while others a little higher in the scale, who had both rehgion and social ties, recognised the one chiefly by human sacrifices, and the other by taking their victims from among alien tribes only.f The writings of three such distinguished men as Sir Richard Jenkins, Sir "William Sleeman, and Sir Donald Macleod j should have done much to dissipate the curious obscurity which shrouded the centre of our Indian Empire; but with the exception of Sleeman' s " Rambles of an Indian Official," these works were not very generally diffused ; and all who have been interested in Indian public life will remember that Sir R.Temple's first report on the N a g p u r Province was awaited with almost as much curiosity as if it had been a story of exploration in a new country. In the eight years which have since elapsed almost every corner of the province has been searched out, and though under a stronger hght the gloomy marvels of the interior have mostly shrunk down to common- * The Bandarwiisgo entirely naked ; are armed with bows and arrows ; never build any huts, or seek other shelter than that afforded by the jungles ; are said to destroy their relations when too old to move about, and eat their flesh, when a great entertainment takes place, tc which all the family is invited."— Sir R. Jenkins' Report on Nagpiir, p. 24, Edn. N a g p ii r , ] 866. t The Maris " pay but a nominal obedience to the B a s t a r R,'j&, * * * and hunt for strangers at stated times to sacrifice to their gods."— Sir R. Jenkins Renort on Nfigpur, p. 23, Edn. N a g p ii r, 1866. % Sir R. Jenkins' Report on the Territories of the R&jfi of N ii g p u r. " Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official." Bengal and A'gra Guide and Gazetteer, 1812. INTRODUCTION. Xlll place dimensions, the process has disclosed many curious pecuharities in the people and the country which may interest even the general reader. The accusation of cannibalism against the Bandarwas seems to have been derived from their taste for eating monkeys.* Human sacrifices undoubtedly occurred in the State of B a s t a r until a com paratively late period, but they were state ceremonials, publicly con ducted by a semi-civilised R aj p u t prince, and there are no traces now of their prevalence among the wild tribes. The Maris, to whom this practice was attributed, though the shyest of the aboriginal races, turn out, when better known, to be cheerful, mild-dispositioned savages, with no pretensions to cleanliness, certainly, but not without a god liness of their own. The true wonders of the country are under the _ , surface, and may be found in such social True wonders of the country. , , ^ . . , n , n . phenomena as the Deist revival and. aboli tion of caste among the Chamars, a helot people of Chhattisgarh, or such historical episodes as the sway of the G o n d dynasties, probably the only aboriginal f races which ever attained so high an organisation as to bear up against the Aryan power in its full development. Some thing has been done to explore these byways of inquiry, but there is no want of fresh ground to travel over, and in the present stage of our knowledge probably no part of the country has more curious pro blems, whether in sociology or in physical geography, to offer to the student of Indian subjects. In 1861 this central tract of highland and valley, with its unknown „ , history, its unsuspected resources, and its Formation of the Central J r . Provinces. strange world of wild tribes, became a separate division of British India, uniting under the name of the " Central Provinces " the tracts then known as the N a g p u r Province, and the Sagar and N a r b a d a Terri tories. Though these component portions are essentially distinct in many of their characteristics, ethnical and physical, there was much in favour of their amalgamation. Originally they had, roughly speaking, * " The Bandarwas would appear to have got their name from the monkey (bandar), which they eat."— Mr. Chisholm's Bil&spur Settlement Report, paTa. 122. f Here, and throughout, the term " aboriginal " is applied to the non-Aryan tribes for the sake of convenience merely, and not as implying any foregone conclusion with regard to their origin. 2 cpg-r- XIV INTRODUCTION. been almost coincident with the old territorial division of Gondwana, and the G o n d s had sufficiently outnum-- unStSofoSKiS bered the residue of the wild tribes, who with them had sought refuge in this un known region of Woods and hills, to take rank as a separate nation ality among the peoples of India. The S^tpura plateau, which, running east and west for nearly 600 miles* may be regarded as the true barrier between Northern and Southern India — the line on which settlers from Hindustan met the opposite Wave of immigration from Maharashtra and the D e c c a! fi — seems to have been to these aboriginal tribes a great natural fastness, making life possible to them amid the surgings and convulsions attendant on their dis placement by more powerful and highly organised races.' As they gained strength and confidence they quitted their earlier seats on the Satpuras, and occupied the rich valleys of the N a r b a d a to' the north, and of the W a r d h a and Wainganga to the south. But they were as little fitted to cope with men of Aryan descent in peace as in war ; and though slow centuries of enervation Under an' Indian sky had relaxed the Northern vigour of the races to whom they had once before succumbed, yet in every quality and attainment which can give to one people superiority over another,, there was probably as much difference between Hindus and G o nd s as there' is now between Anglo-Americans and Red Indians, or between Englishmen and New Zealanders, The second repulse of the aborigi nal tribes, though not so rapid and violent as we may imagine the first to have been, was more thorough, smd probably more irrecoverable. TT . . , , Step by step the Gond cultivators were H in du encroachments. , . " driven back to stony summits and upland val leys inaccessible to the plough, and only eultnrable by the rude expedient of burning the forest and sowing in the Wood-ash ; while the deep rich soil of the plains below Was gradually cleared, and occupied by a yearly increasing body of enterprising farmers1. Those of the aborigines who remained were absorbed, though never' so completely as to attain equality with the people who had overrun them. They form at present the lowest stratum' of the H i n d ut social system, allowed to take rank above' none but the most despised outcastes.- The Chiefs were assimilated by INTRODUCTION. XV the higher race, and found themselves slowly but inevitably trans formed into Hindu rulers of a Hindu population. Both the Southern and the Northern plains obtained their Hindu population in some such manner as this, but from different sources. Thus it resulted that the Nar bad a. valley and the country associated with it became, ethni- And partition of the country „m „ .a? i. j. j? tj jiii -i -• between Northern and South- Call3r' an °ffshoot of B U n d e 1 k h a n d and em H i n d u s . M a 1 w a, while the Nagpur territory proper was overflown by M ar a t h i-speaking tribes from the D e c c a n. The Southern belt of the central plateau may be regarded as debatable land, where the two races meet, each, however, retaining its own distinct characteristics. The M a r a, t h a descendant of a rice-eating race, bred in a tropical but equable cli mate, has neither the physical energy nor the independence of the peasant of the N a r b a d a. In dress and appearance the contrast between the two races is striking ; and on a gala day when a southern crowd presents a mass of white clothing and enormous red turbans, the more northern people may be known by their costume of -mhowa green, and their jaunty, compactly -twisted head-dress of white cloth. Though the difference in latitude and elevation is not considerable, there is a most perceptible variation in the chmate and products " below and above the ghats." The Nar bad a country is a great wheat-field ; while the higher temperature of the Nagpur plain, and its greater facilities for storage of water, are favourable to the production of rice ; so that the opposite advance of either race may in some degree have been regulated by the conditions of life to which it had been habituated ; and the Satpuras may be regarded so far as a climatic as well as an ethnic boundary between Northern and Southern India. When to the encroachments of foreign settlers succeeded the subversion of their native princes, and the Reunion of Northern and Q. q n d g bgt the last trace of a separate Southern G o nd w a n a under , . .... the Ma rat has. national existence, the two provinces still remained (with a brief interregnum) united under the dominion of the B h o n s 1 a Rajas of B e r a r, and they were XVi INTRODUCTION. not separated until the cession of the S a g a r and N a r b a d a terri tories to the British in 1818. So that notwithstanding the want of affinity which has been already pointed out, and^ such minor incon gruities as the existence in the population of U r i y a, T e 1 u g u, and other almost equally heterogeneous elements, there was much historical precedent for their union. More practical arguments in its favour were the difficulty of securing anything like really strong central adminis tration in charges so insignificant as the two provinces would have been standing singly, and their distance and isolation from other seats of British Government. The Nag- Isolated position of the pre- ur province is almost entirely surrounded by independent and semi-independent states, except where it joins the S a g a r and N a r b a d a. territories ; while the latter, with a similar exception, only touch other British possessions at three points, viz. in parts of the districts of L a 1 a t p u r in the north western provinces, ofKhandeshin Bombay, and of the Goda vari in Madras. Thus of a total boundary of some 2,700 miles, not more than 160 march with British territory. Of the nineteen districts which comprise the united province, two, ... Sagar and D a m o h, he parallel to each Fiscal subdivisions. ,, , , TT . , , , . , . , other upon the Vmahyan table-land. Next come to the south, in the N arb a da valley and its offshoots, the districts of Mandla, which includes the upper portion of the river course before it debouches into the plains, Jabalpur, Nar- singhpur, Hoshangabad, and a part of Nima r, the rest of which Hes in the valley of the T a p t i. The next range of districts, continuing southwards, are Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni, and Balaghat, which occupy the S a, t p u r a table-land, and attain at their central stations a height of about 2,000 feet. Still further to the south is the great Nagpur plain, formed by the valleys of the W a r dh a and "Wainganga, and comprising the districts of Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, and Chanda. Eastwards, and still below the ghats, is the Chhattisgarh plain — a low plateau of red soil, containing the districts of R a. i p u r and B i 1 a. s p u r. In this division is also included the district of S a m b a 1 p u r, which is not, however, part of Chhattisgarh proper, either geographically or INTRODUCTION. XVI historically. It was originally attached to the South-west Frontier Agency of Bengal, and hes principally in the valley of the M a h a- n a d 1. Last of all, to the extreme south, almost cut off by forests and wild semi-independent states, is a long strip of territory, lining the left bank of the Goda.vari, and styled the Upper Godavari district. Thus within comparatively narrow limits follow each other a plateau and a plain, and again in similar Physical geography. , , n -, sequence, a larger plateau and a larger plain, ending in a mass of hill and forest, which is probably the very wildest part of the whole peninsula. Even the continuously level portions of this area are broken by isolated peaks and straggling hill- ranges ; while its rugged formation and rapid slopes give to the greatest rivers which rise in it, such as the N a r b a d a and T a p t i something of the character of mountain torrents. Though the scenery is on too small a scale to compare in sub limity with that of the Himalaya, it is on the other hand as far removed from the monotony of the plains of Hindustan. Not only is it characterised by rapid and constant variety of form and level, but it pos sesses a diversity of colour almost peculiar to itself. The recurring contrast of woodland and cultivation, which brings out so vividly the beauties of each, may be seen on a more imposing though not so wide a scale in the noble glades of the Sub-Himalayan Forests ; and the Central Provinces only share with the rest of Central India and with the D e c c a n the alternation of hill and valley, wood and river, which is so grateful to eyes fatigued by the lengthened same- , ness of dusty Indian plains. But pro- Narbada country. . . bably in no part of India are the changes of soil and vegetation more rapid and marked than in the N a r b a d a country. In the pleasant winter months the eye may range over miles of green corn-lands, only broken by low black boundary ridges or dark twisting footpaths. The horizon is bounded here and there by hill-ranges, which seem to rise abruptly from the plain, but on ' coming nearer to them the heavy green of their slopes is found to XV111 INTRODUCTION. be divided from the softer hues of the young wheat by broad belts of gravelly soil — here carpeted with short sward and dotted with noble trees — there uncovered and contrasting their brown-red tints with the deep black of the valley lands. The epithet which occurs to almost every English describer in writing of these border belts is " park-like ;" but though the smoothness of the surface and the noble growth of the Mhowa trees — too valuable to fear the axe — may favour the illu sion, the velvety freshness of English scenery is wanting to complete it. It is only in favoured reaches of the rivers, where the pools never dry, that the water-loving shrubs keep their verdure and brilliancy throughout the year ; and even here the charm of rippling water and grateful shade may not be free from that element of terror which associates itself with all Indian conceptions of beauty. Often the over hanging rock, with its curtain of foliage, or the clump of bushes in the middle of a sparkling eddy, which an artist would select to draw, is the very retreat which a tiger has chosen for his summer lair, and though the high rewards now paid for wild beasts are telling on their numbers, the dwellers on these secluded river-banks have still many a tale to recount of cattle lost, or even of human hves sacrificed. One almost universal characteristic of the rivers is their limpidity. Even in the lowlands the streno-th of their The nv6rs currents cuts down through the deep soil to the rock beneath ; while in their rapid descent through the rocky valleys of the hill-country they gather up no discolouring load of earthy matters ; and the play of the water on successive formations of almost every known class and texture produces an endless variety of form and combination, ranging from the deep weedless pools, separated by dark barriers, of the streams which cross the basaltic region, to the clear sandy beds of the rivers passing through the metamorphic and sandstone formations. The tortuous gorge of white marble through wliich the N a r b a d a winds with a deep silent course is now well JN & tux 3.1 ocftutics. -i , -|- -• . , known to Indian tourists, but there are many spots, hidden away in corners of little-travelled districts which INTRODUCTION. XIX are as Well worthy of a visit. It is often said that the Hindus have no appreciation of natural beauties, but there is scarcely one of these lovely spots, however secluded, that has not been selected to point some ancient legend, or to adorn the favoured abode of some deity. AtAmai'kantak, Where the Eastern hills reach their culmi nating point, in a country so rugged and difficult, that till of compa ratively late years no Eur opean traveller had visited it, the sources of the sacred Nar b ad4 are guarded by a httle colony of priests, who have reared theii1 temples in the middle of the solitary forests* "West- Wards, the caves and awful gorges of the Mahadeo group, which uiay some day become the marvels of a hill sanitarium, are held so sacred that many hundreds Of pilgrims have lost their hves from fatigue ahd cholera in scaling the difficult approaches to them.* The group of temples at Muktagiri in Betul, though selected by Fergussbnf as a type of Jain architecture, owe their reputation as much to their picturesque- position hi a Wooded valley, at the foot of a Waterfall, as to the art and taste1 shdWn in their construction. But it Would be endless to enumer'ate instances. From this hill is heard the goUnd of fairy drains^— hi that lake are seen reflected the ruins of a buried city ; here1 the hill-side's have been holloWed into rUde tem pi^ — there the confluence of two rivers is marked by some solitary temple on the bluff beloW Which the Waters meet. In short almost every spot of eminent natural beauty or interest has been appropriated by a rehgion Whichj hoWever' debased, still retains something of the form, if not of the spirit, of nature worship. On the Satpuras the alternations of scenery are even more frequent than in the loW country. The hills Hill country. , . , -, ., . ,, , n -, ., are higher and more abrupt* the black-soil deposits are deeper, arid the Water-supply is more abundant. Hence in the midst of the grim rolling plateaus of basalt there often may be found little valleys cultivated like gardens* — oases of sugarcane and opium, which, but for their inacessibilitys would tempt away the * The yearly fair is now stopped. f " History of Architecture," vol. ii. p. 632 (1857)* XX INTRODUCTION. best cultivators of the plains. It is thought that in some of these upland basins — where the winds are cooled by passing over miles of natural vegetation, and the air even in May is clear and light — tea, coffee, and other delicate plants might be raised with success, but the obstacles which have so long retarded the settlement of these plateaus, though partially smoothed away, still exist, and can only be surmounted by patient and continued energy. It is from steady settlers, pushing their way by slow degrees, rather than from speculating farmers, that the reclamation of these wastes must be hoped. Much has been done to open out the country of late years. Railways from either coast run up to within a few miles both of the southern and northern limits of the plateau, and there is no more travelled highway than the road which, running through its heart, forms the central link of communi cation between Calcutta and Bombay. Not many years ago the passes, which would now scarcely excite notice but for the boldness of their scenery, were looked forward to, days beforehand, with dread by cartmen, and most of the carriage of the country was effected by means of pack-buUocks. The valleys were sufficiently smooth and easy in the fair weather, but a few hours' rain would convert the track through them into a trough of deep black compost, in which every step was a labour to the most lightly laden animal. It was not till many layers of metal had been sucked in that the road was consolidated; and the local engineering department has now laid down the principle that black-soil roads should be constructed " on the principles applicable to a morass." These are some of the difficulties which lock up vast unoccupied Removal of obstacles to its "J688 a^ainst settlers' The present state of settlement. the trunk-road shows how completely they can be overcome ; but its great cost must, on the other hand, preclude the repetition of a similar attempt from local resources and for mere local interests. Year by year, however, some thing is added by the Forest Department to its system of roads; some thing is done by district officers to smooth the more difficult ascents or to improve the crossings of streams. As these attempts, added to more direct measures of encouragement, attract by degrees a few enterprising INTRODUCTION. XXI farmers from the plains to take up the virgin land which awaits them, the increasing revenues and importance of the upland districts will give those interested in their improvement the opportunity of working for it on a larger scale ; and though they may never attain the prosperity which tradition assigns to them in the best days of the aboriginal princes, it may be hoped that the day is not very far distant when advancing cultivation shall be strong enough to neutralise the evil influences of the jungle, and the life of a settler in these forests shall be no longer a constant battle against tigers and malaria. At pre sent it is almost incredible how quickly the ground which the hand of man has patiently gained, inch by inch, is swallowed up again by the jungle, when the pressure of regular occupation is for a moment intermitted. Sir William Sleeman, writing in 1826, records how a few days' ill-judged zeal on the part of a mere underling threw a flourish ing tract of country out of cultivation for years, and completely closed a line of road. There had been a bad season, and yet the collection of the revenue had been pressed on in one of the wilder subdivisions of the Narsinghpur district, without allowance or consideration, by an overzealous sub-collector. The hill cultivators, at no time much devoted to their holdings, did not care to bear up # against fresh diffi culties, and deserted in a body. WTien better times came it was found impossible to re-populate the deserted villages, for they had been so grown over by jungle in a year or two that the very village sites needed clearing, and tigers had so readily occupied the new coverts thus made for them, that even travellers shunned the country.* The district of M a n d 1 a in the upper valley of the Narbada. is an instance of the same kind, but on a much larger scale, if tradition is to be believed. It is said to have once returned a State revenue of over ten lakhs of rupees (£100,000), but its total assessment is now only Rs. 56,516, or little more than £5,000 a year. The high rewards now offered for tigers have, however, done so much to lessen danger from this source, that it may be almost left out of account in many places in estimating the drawbacks to jungle settlement. But there are still some great unbroken tracts of forest on which man has as yet made * N aar s i n g h p ii r MSS. Records. 3cpg Xxii INTRODUCTION. so little impression that the sums allotted to keeping up communica. tions are spent almost entirely in clearing away the constantly en croaching forest, and it was on a road of this kind that one tigress killed, in 1867-68, 135 men and women.* Though these jungle lands occupy an immense area in the Cen tral Provinces, very small part of it is really Forest country. YaXuiMe forest. The total extent of the Provinces, including Feudatoryships, is computed to be 111,121 square miles, of which only 29,656 square miles, or little more than one-fourth, are cultivated. Of this vast mass of waste land not above 4,000 square miles have yet been reserved as State forests. The rest is principally covered by scrub jungle, which, though often rich in wild fruit and other forest produce, supphes little wood of value for purposes of construction. On these rugged heights and stony plateaus the thin soil can never have furnished susten ance for fine timber; but there is a large residue of rich sheltered grazing lands, which would have been clothed with forest trees but for the improvidence of former generations. Not only was timber recklessly cut, often with so httle regard to the cost of its removal, that it was allowed to lie where it fell, but each one of the more valu able trees had its own special enemy. The teak tree was the favourite prey of charcoal-burners, who from its close-grained wood produced fuel of the strongest and most concentrated kind. The sal (shorea robusta) when tapped supphes a valuable resin, and hence vast num bers of these noble trees were slowly killed by girdling. Even more universally destructive was the habit of ddhyaf cultivation, now fortunately on the wane. * In the Chanda district. f The Dahya system of cultivation is thus described by Captain H. C. E. "Ward ia his Mandla Settlement Report, paras. 109 — 112:— "109. As the Dahya cultivation comprises no small amount of the general area, I will endeavour to describe it clearly. With no other instrument of agriculture but their axe, and a small sickle (hansia) it is astonishing to see the extent of clearing one village of B a i g a s makes on the sides of the hills on which their village is located. " 110. Until lately it was their habit to select the spots for their Dahya with an utter disregard for all the rules of Forest conservancy. Where the trees are large and most numerous, there would the B a i g a, resort, and in the cold-weather months cut down sufficient wood to cover pretty closely the whole of the area he meant to bring under INTRODUCTION. XXU1 The system of Forest conservancy introduced in 1860 has not yet had time to repair the ravages of centuries, and the northern part of the province is almost without tree-forests, except in the wild inac cessible country where the highlands merge into the valley, around and below the sources of the sacred river at A m a r k a n t a kT or in the cultivation. In May and June, just before the setting in of the rains, this wood, and the brushwood in which it has fallen, is set fire to, and almost before the fire is out the B a i g a s may be seen raking up the ashes, and spreading them over the whole surface of their field. This is done either with a bundle of thorns, or with long bamboos, until there is a superstratum of about an inch of ashes spread over the ground. In these ashes they sow Kodo (paspalum frumentaceum), Kutki (panicum miliaeeum), and occasionally a poor specimen of rice called here Baigdna. From being on the side of a hill, the ashes are cut up into furrows by the action of the rains, and often much of the seed must be washed away altogether ; but sufficient seems to remain for the B a i g a ' s wants. When sown, the field is fenced round very roughly and strongly, small trees being felled so as to fall one on to the other ; the interstices are filled in with bamboos, and the boughs are carefully interlaced, so that the smallest kind of deer cannot effect an entrance. In addition to this, where there is any danger of the crops being eaten up by buffaloes or bison, which push through any ordinary fence, the B a i g a s bury a line of broad-bladed spears, called dansds, in the ground, at about the spot where these beasts would land if they jumped the fence ; they then watch their opportunity, and sneaking round to the opposite side, give a series of yells, which send the cattle off terrified over or through the fence. Generally more than one is wounded, and often one killed on the spot ; the rest, once started, make straight away, and never visit that field again. In the fences round these " Bemars," as these patches of cultivation are called, are usually two or three cunningly-contrived traps for small deer, something on the principle of the old figure of four, and several nooses for peacocks, hares, &c. These the B a i g a carefully examines every morning, and great is his delight when occasionally he finds a panther crushed under one of the figure-of-four traps. "111. One of these " Bemars" lasts the B a i g a at the outside three years. He usually leaves sufficient wood on the ground the first season to last for a second season's burning ; the third year, if by chance he should make up his mind to stick to one field for so long, his labour is much enhanced, as he has to cut and drag the wood for some little distance and lay it over his fields ; in addition to this, the outturn of the crops falls off every year ; so that altogether the B a i g a has every inducement to change the locale of his cultivation, and where no restriction has been put on his movements, as a rule he does so. " 112. It takes six or seven years before one of these old "Bemars" is sufficiently covered with wood again to make it worth the B a i g a ' s while to cultivate it a second time ; in three years it is probably densely covered with brushwood ; but this, if burnt, leaves so little ash, that it has to be largely supplemented with timber ; and as this has been previously cut all round the clearing, it becomes a work of supererogation to take up one of these old plots before the wood has well grown, when other and more suitable land is available." XXIV INTRODUCTION. deep valley of the D e n w a, hemmed in between the S a t p u r a plateau and the precipitous masses of the M a h a d e o hills. It is further south, in the hill Chiefships which border the Nagpur and C h h a 1 1 i s - g a r h plains, that the natural forests have suffered least. In these almost unexplored wilds the population is too scanty to have made any serious impression on the dense woods which surround them. Passing from the hills and forests to the lowlands again, it may be said that the western portion of the g p u 1 p am. Nagpur plain has httle to distinguish it in external character from the country north of the " Ghats." There are the same low volcanic hills, and the same deep black- soil bottoms ; but to the east, in the Bhandara and parts of the Chanda district, comes in the far more picturesque metamorphic formation. Here the soil may be lighter, but the intermixture of hill- ranges and the levels of the country lend themselves to the construc tion of magnificent reservoirs, which contribute as much to the beauty of the scenery as to the prosperity of the people. In this " Lake Region" an irrigation tank "is not apiece of water with regular banks, " crowned with rows or avenues of trees, with an artificial dyke and " sluices, and with fields around it, but it is an irregular expanse of " water ; its banks are formed by rugged hills, covered with low forests "that fringe the water where the wild beasts repair to drink; its " dykes, mainly shaped out of spurs from the hills, are thrown athwart " the hollows, a part only being formed by masonry ; its sluices often " consist of chasms or fissures in the rock ; its broad surface is often, "as the monsoon approaches, lashed into surging and crested waves."* The largest of these lakes — that atNawegao n — is seventeen miles in circumference, and has a depth in places of 90 feet, the average depth being 40 feet. The whole of this vast water storage has been effected by means of two embankments 350 and 540 yards in length respectively. The N a g p ii r plain is terminated on the east by a rocky barrier Chhattisgarh. ^ ^T, ^ ^T ^ ^^g P^teaU known as 0 h h a 1 1 i s g a r h, or the " thirty- * Sir R. Temple's Administration Report of the Central Provinces, for 186' 1-62 p 6 INTRODUCTION. XXV six forts." Land-locked on every side by deep forests or hill-passes, and remote from all centres, whether of eastern or more modern western civilisation, this little principahty was till of comparatively late years the least known portion of the obscurest division of India. Its central portion is an open plain, now so fertile that it is known to the bands of B a n j a r a s, who annually come with their long train of pack cattle to carry off its surplus produce, as ' Khalauti,' or the ' Land of the Threshing-floors.'* But this agricultural wealth is new. The marks of human settlement have not hitherto gone beyond the bare necessi ties of agricultural life, and the great central plain of Chhattis garh is to the eye most uninviting. Nature has provided a wide extent of fertile soil, and settlers have within the last quarter of a century multiplied and prospered ; but they have not yet had time, nor perhaps gained confidence, to surround themselves with the amenities of Indian life. Great consignments of grain are sent out almost annually to feed the cotton-growing population of the Wardha valley, and even now Chattisgarh exports wheat to the wheat country round J a b a 1 p u r , and rice to the rice country lying in the lower valley of the M ah a n a di.f But the granary of other countries is as yet rich in nothing but grain. In ordinary seasons the poorest cultivator revels in food, only to feel its depri vation more keenly when rain fails and nature stints her supplies ; but he is ill clothed and ill lodged ; he drinks dirty water ; and he has heard of and seen such terrible suffering from pestilence, that the name of cholera is enough to set the whole country in wild commo tion. There are, perhaps, few who would reahse in the long treeless plain, with its frequent clusters of mud huts, and borders of inhospi table ravine and jungle, the capabilities of a country which, even in its present raw stage, supports its own three milhons, and in spite of difficult communications sends out of its surplus enough to feed some two hundred thousand more annually. * The original meaning of this word is somewhat uncertain. By the people of the country it is pronounced as written above. It may be derived either from Kb.aluti, signifying ' low rice land ' ; or from Khaldvati, meaning ' abounding in threshing-floors.' f In 1868-69 the exports were, wheat to Jabalpiir, 211,587 maunds ; rice to Mahanadi vallev, 53,504 maunds. XXvi INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER II. GEOLOGY. Diversity of the geological character of the country— General correspondence of geologi. cal and physical areas— Geological groups. Crystalline and metamorphic rocks— Sub-metamorphic rocks— Find hy an series— Coal-bearing rocks — Subdivisions— Silt pur a coal-fields— Western limit— B il a s p ii r coal-fields— W a r d h a River coal-fields— G odavari andPranhit k—Kamthi sub-group— Panchet series— Jabulpur be&s—Mahddeo beds—Lametd beds— Intertrappean series— D e c c a n trap features— Post trappean deposits— Tertiary conglomerates— Ossiferous gravels — Stone implements — Saline sands and clays— Surface soils— Regar. (For the following sketch of the geology of the provinces I am indebted to the kindness of T. Oldham, Esq., LL.D., Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India.) To give a general description of the geological structure of the Central Provinces in any detail would in- Diversity of the geological j tll necessity of entering upon a discus- character of the country. •> . sion of the geology of India at large, as these provinces contain representatives of. almost all the formations known to occur within Indian limits, although frequently these are much better seen in other districts, and ought therefore more correctly to be described in connection with the locality where the most typical sections occur. In the very brief notice which follows I am there fore compelled to presuppose a certain amount of acquaintance with Indian rocks, and the classification of them. It is also necessary to state that the few descriptions which follow have been drawn up under great pressure as to time, and while actively engaged in field work of an important and intricate nature, and away from all maps and records. The Central Provinces, divided into nineteen districts, naturally group themselves into separate areas, corres- J^Z^ZJ? P°ndi^ t0 ^11-marked physical features. These again have in a similar way a general agreement with the geological structure. To the north the districts of Sagar and Damoh are altogether on the Vindhyan plateau, and a large part of their surface is formed of the deposits to which the name Vindhyan has been given. These are, however, concealed over consider-. INTRODUCTION. XXV11 'able areas by the overflowing volcanic rocks of the great Deccan trap area. Physically also these districts (as is all the Yindhyan plateau) are connected with the country to the north, all the drainage of the area being into the Ganges valley. Immediately to the south of the Yindhyan escarpment, along the marked depression of the Narbada valley, he the four districts of Jabalpur, Narsin gh- pur, Hoshangabad, and Nimar (taking them in order from east to west), which are in great part on alluvial and tertiary deposits, with a narrow belt of older rocks along the southern side of the valley. South of the Narbada valley rise the extensive highlands constitu ting the S a t p u r a range, or its continuation, which are in great part formed of the Deccan traps resting upon crystalhne rocks, or upOh sandstone and other rocks of later date. Of this region Mandla occupies the extreme eastern end, bounded by the steep escarpment of the trappean plateau, near to the edge of which the Narbada River has its source atAmarkantak. Along this same range to the west lie parts of Ba.lagh.at, Seoni, Chhindwara, and B e t u 1. South and south-east of the Sat pur a. ranges lie the remaining dis tricts. Bilaspur, Raipur, and Sambalpur he in the great drainage basin of the Mahanadi. The two former occupy the low plain country of^Chhattisgarh, formed principally on rocks believed to belong to the Vindhyan series, with a part of their area covered by coal-bearing rocks. Sambalpur is in a rugged jungly country composed of crystalhne and metamorphic rocks. The great drainage basin of the Godavari on the other hand includes Nag pur, Bhandara, Wardha, Chanda, and Sironcha. These districts have no very considerable elevation. The two first are prin cipally on gneissose rocks, with much trap inNagpiir; "Wardha is almost entirely on trap-rocks ; Chanda and Sironcha have a very varied structure, including more or less of all the formations that have been named. These formations may be noticed in ascending order. The crystalhne and metamorphic rocks have not Geological groups. as ye£ keen described in any great detail. Crystalline and metamorphic Gneigg of faffer.eTlt varieties, often highly gra nitoid, predominates. The frequency with XXViii INTRODUCTION. which these rocks appear shows how closely to the surface they form the substratum of the whole area. They are found at intervals all round the irregular boundary or border of the trappean rocks, rising in several places nearly to the full height of the plateau. The principal areas occupied by them are in N a. g p u r and Bhandara and in B e t u 1. Also inSambalpura very large area is formed of these rocks ; but this is naturally connected with, and belongs to the great Gneissic area of Bengal. In obscure relation to the gneiss there occasionally appear sub-metamorphic rocks, schists, slates, and Sub-metamorphic rocks. _. . quartzites. These may be seen at many points along the borders of the Narbada valley, from the north-east ofJabalpiir into N i m a r. The greatVindhyan series of strata which form so prominent and _. „ . important a feature in the geology of H i n- Vmdhyan series. L ° °J d u s t a n are the next deposits in succession of age found in the Central Provinces. There is, however, a wide and complete separation of these from the gneissose rocks. They are universally unconformable to the latter, and they exhibit httle or no mineral alteration, and only very locally any marked mechanical dis turbance. The range or escarpment, from which the name of the series has been adopted, forms the northern boundary of the Nar bada, valley, and the districts of S a, g a r and D a m o h are occupied by the upper member of the series — the Bhdnrer and Rewa groups. Each of these groups consists of a strong band of sandstone resting upon shales with subordinate limestone — an arrangement which, coupled with the nearly horizontal position of the beds, has, through the operation of denudation, produced the peculiar surface features of the country, namely, local plateaus bounded by precipitous scarps, overlooking broadly undulating valley-plains — features even better seen in the Rewa. country. The Bijeraghogarh pargana in the north-east corner of the J a b a 1 p u r district hes within the geolo gical region of the Son valley, where the Lower Vindhyan rocks are so well exposed ; they consist of less uniform alternations of shales, sandstones, and banded limestones, with some peculiar compact silicious (cherty and jaspery) layers, very homogeneous and regularly bedded. INTRODUCTION. XXIX Along the entire southern margin of the Vindhyan area these rocks both ' Upper ' and ' Lower ' are much crushed and contorted, but they are only locally (in the south-west) penetrated by igneous rocks, probably of the same period as those of the great basaltic area. The extensive plains ofBilaspur and R a, i p ii r are formed on rocks very similar in composition, arrangement, and external relations to those of the Lower Vindhyan formation as seen to the north, and these extend from here along the upper courses of the Mahanadi into very close proximity, if not actual continuity, with the similar deposits in the Chanda and Sironcha districts, and beyond the limits of the Central Provinces to the south, extend at intervals into the Madras Presidency, where they cover an immense area in the K a d d a p a and K a r n u 1 districts. Our knowledge of these detached areas is not as yet sufficient to justify an assertion that they were once continuous, although the striking identity in lithological character of the several deposits lends strong support to this view. Throughout all these widely- extended deposits there is constant physical evidence of their having been accumulated in comparatively shallow water, and so far under physical conditions favourable to hfe. The sandstones are false-bedded and beautifully rippled on their surfaces, each successive bed often for hundreds of feet in thickness showing its own ripple-marked surface. Nor is there anything in their mineralised condition to suggest the chance of subsequent obhteration of organic remains, had they ever been imbedded or become fossilised. Yet no success has hitherto re warded our most careful searchings for such traces of early existences. Passing upwards in the historical succession of rocks, we find in „ , , , India a wide gap in the Geological record Coal-bearing rocks. ° x ° between the Vindhyan rocks just alluded to and the next succeeding series of deposits, in which are included the coal-bearing rocks. The whole face of the country wherever these occur must have been entirely remodelled by long-continued denuda tion and other causes before the commencement of the deposit of this great plant-bearing series of beds. This series has attracted much attention, both from its economic importance, and from the fact that it is in all its groups more or less fossiliferous. And the proper sub- 4 cpg XXX INTRODUCTION. division of it as represented at distant localities has been the subject of much study. Nor has the detailed examination of the country yet been sufficiently extended to admit of a final decision of this question. Three great groups have, however, been thoroughly established— the Tdlchir, the Damudd, and the Panchet Subdivisions. rockgj and representatives 0f these three great groups have been found wherever the general series occurs. It is only as to the exact limits of each that any question still exists, which can only be answered after more detailed examination. This question is, however, of high practical importance, because of the three series which I have mentioned only one is proved to contain workable beds of coal. The Tdlchir rocks below contain no coal, and the Panchet rocks above are equally without any coals, the whole of the workable beds of coal of this geological epoch being found confined to the Damudd rocks. The largest area occupied by the rocks of this great series within the Central Provinces hes in the hilly region S a tpurd coal-field. to the SQuth of Hoshangabad and Narsinghpur, partly within the boundaries of these districts, but principally belonging to Chhindwara, and embracing the Pach marhi orMahadeo hiUs. At the base of the series we find the characteristic deposits of the TdlcMr group — greenish silt beds, breaking up into small sphntery flakes and sharp fragments, and hence called ' needle shales,' and greenish brown or whitish earthy felspathic sand stones, in either of which pebbles and large boulders are often irregu larly scattered. Often these are very numerous and form a distinct bed, to which, from its peculiar constitution, the name of " Boulder" Bed has been given. These rocks, generally speaking, are found at the edges of the field, or weathered out in the deep valleys. The thickness of this group is variable, never very great, and it is locally altogether over-lapped. In the N ar b a d a it covers by far the larger portion of the area. As noticed, no coal has ever been found in the Tdlchir rocks, and very rarely any of the dark carbonaceous shales which are so fre quent an accompaniment of coal, with the exception of a few thin and irregular streaks which invariably mark the transition of these Tdlchir INTRODUCTION. XXXI rocks into the Damudd {Bardkar) rocks above. This Damudd series is chiefly made up of thick-bedded, often coarse felspathic sandstones, with subordinate beds of blue and carbonaceous shales and coal. In B e n- g al and towards the east this series is of great thickness, and is easily divisible into several distinct groups. But towards the west and the Central Provinces the series is of much diminished thickness, and the subdivisions so well marked in Bengal are not recognisable. The beds of coal in the same way are much fewer and less important. These variations appear to have only a local development when viewed in detail, while on a general comparison the facts would seem to be ex pressed by saying that the Panchet series, which immediately succeeds the coal rocks assumes towards the west a much greater thickness and importance than in the east, while the Damudd series has been much less developed. In the Narbada valley the latter series is repre sented by one group of beds only, which belong to the lowermost group recognised in Bengal (the Bardhar), of no great thickness, and covered by an immense series of sandstones of varying age. No trace of any one of the subdivisions of this Western limit. * . . , great plant-bearing series — Talchir,JJamuaa, or Panchets — has been found to the west of about the parallel of H o- shangabad (Lokhartalai). The Damudd rocks cover a wide spread of countr yround the bases of the noble Pachmarhi hills, and extend thence to U mr e t h and B a r k o i, about sixteen miles from Chhindwara. They rest in parts immediately on the gneissose* rocks, and are frequently succeeded directly . by the great trappean flows. InBilaspUr (Chhattisgarh) a large area of widely , „ , , undulating country along the H a s d u — 'an Bilaspiir coal-fields. f J , 5 , . affluent of the M a h a n a d i — is also formed of these rocks, and coal has long been known to exist there in some quantity. The district has not been examined as yet, and no trust worthy information exists as to the quantity or quality of this coal. In the Chanda district again, and in B e r a. r adjoining, similar Bardhar rocks are found resting upon the W a r d h a River coal-fields. n , . . _ /7 , , . , , characteristic Talchir beds, and occupying a Xxxii INTRODUCTION. very small area in the large field of sandstones' which there occur. At least one thick group of beds with coal is known in which the coal itself exhibits the same characters which distinguish the bed in the Bardlcar series elsewhere— that is there is rapid and considerable vari ation in the thickness and quantity of the coal. Beds of great thick ness have, however, been met with, and there is a very large supply therefore of useful fuel. Similar rocks extend down the valley of the Godavari and the Pranhita for a long distance, occurring 'in detached locahties separated by wide ridges of the older formations. Near the mouth of the Ta.1 River about fourteen miles above Dumagudem, both Tdlchir and Damudd, rocks occur, the latter containing coal, which form the bed of the River Godavari for some distance, and have probably a considerable ex tension ; and coal is also known to occur about thirty-four miles to the south of the same town, visible on the banks of the river. We are not as yet able to speak so certainly of the limits and relations of the beds which occur immediately above these coal-bearing _ rocks, so far at least as parts of the country under notice are con cerned. In the Narbada valley coarse conglomeratic sandstones with ferruginous bands, which are beheved to be the representatives of the Panchet rocks of B e n g a 1, come in immediate succession on the Bardkar beds (M o h p a. n i, &c.) . And similar rocks occur in the same relation in the wide flats of Chhattisgarh, and probably at the intermediate locality of the Chhindwara fields. But passing into the drainage basin of the Godavari, a series _, ., , of rocks of peculiar lithological character Kamthi sub-group. L ° and locally abounding in fossil plants, is met with, no exact representatives of which are as yet known elsewhere. In their general mineral aspects they come very near to the ordinary Panchet rocks of Bengal, and they appear to pass upwards into undoubted representatives of these, but the prevailing form of fern of which they contain the fossihsed fronds, is one (Glossopteris browniana) which is scarcely known to extend up to the Panchet horizon. These beds would therefore seem to indicate either a commencement in the INTRODUCTION. XXX111 basin of the Godavari of the deposition of rocks having the pecu liar minera character of the Panchet beds at a much earher period than in B e n g a 1 into which these ferns continued to exist : or the flora of the Godavari basin had not been subjected to the same influen cing causes, resulting in a marked change in its character, which in Bengal led to the well-defined separation as to fossils of the Pan- chets and upper groups of the Damudd rocks (Bdniganj). I am disposed to think that, viewed in a very general way, it gives the truer representation of the facts to consider these local rocks, not withstanding their contained plants, as belonging rather to the Panchet series than to the Damudd. And there is one very im portant practical reason for this also, inasmuch as no workable coal has yet been found in either of these groups, while it has invari ably been seen to occur where rocks of the undoubted Damudd age are developed. A local name was provisionally given to these rocks by Mr. "W. Blanford, who first examined them, and as this has been pubhshed '(although unintentionally), it may be retained as a useful subdivision. One of the largest areas of these rocks in the Nagpur country is close to the important mihtary station of K a. m t h i, and from this cir cumstance Mr. Blanford spoke of them as the Kdmthi beds. They consist, lithologically, of hard compact gritty sandstones, fine varie gated sandstones, coarse loose-textured sandstone, very fine-grained deep and bright red and buff argillaceous or argillaceo-silicious sand stones, and bands of hard very ferruginous pebbly grits. These rocks cover an area of about twenty-five miles long from north-west to south-east near Kamthi (Kamthi to Kelod), and at the broadest parts (near Patansaongi) about eight miles wide. Over a large portion of this area the rocks are concealed by thick alluvial deposits, but they are well seen at Kamthi, Silewara., Bhokara, and south and south-east of Patansaongi, &c. A small area of the much older Tdlchir rocks is seen north-east of Bhokara, and a small hill north-east of Patansaongi. Two other localities where these rocks are seen have been exposed within the area of the trap-rocks, these having been removed by denudation. XXXIV INTRODUCTION. One — the larger of the two — is close to B e h a r and Bazargaon, about fifteen miles from N a g p ii r on the road toAmraoti. The rocks here are of the same type, but become more conglomeratic towards the top than is seen near Nagpur. The other inher of these rocks is about thirty-six miles north-west of Nagpur, near the village of Chorkheri. The rocks extend over an area of only about six and a half square miles in all. There is also another very small patch not a mile long near Khutkheri, about one mile south-east of the other. Passing further southward similar rocks are more widely deve loped in the Chanda district, and cover a large area, concealing the underlying Bardkar beds ; there the rocks are as a whole less fine grained than in the neighbourhood of Nagpur, and the tendency to become more conglomeratic in the upper beds of the group is still more markedly exhibited than in the case already noticed. In this field also they appear to be closely connected with, and to pass up into a great thickness of bright red clays with thin-bedded sandstones, which belong undoubtedly to the Panchet series — well seen in the "W a r d h a, about Porsa and in the country round, giving additional evidence of the connection of the two groups. These rocks — the Kamthi beds— yield in many of their beds admirable building stones, while others of a coarser texture are used as millstones or querns. Quarries exist at K a. m t h i, Silewara, Bhokara, &c, also in the Chanda district, but owing to the comparative poverty and sparse- ness of the population, they are here less worked than in the Nagpur country. The white argillaceous band which is used near Chanda town, and which can be traced for miles along the country, is very even in texture, and can be carved into very minute forms of ornaments (a kind of work which is very skilfully done at Chanda), but it is rather soft. The beds, excepting the hard ferruginous peb bly grits, are not generally speaking very compact, and the surface of the ground becomes covered with loose sand resulting from their dis integration. The soil on these, except where they are covered by the alluvial deposits, is poor and little cultivated, almost the whole of this tract being covered with jungle. The fossils found in these Kdmthi beds have been noticed! above. The fine sandstones of K a m t h i, Silewara, &c. have , INTRODUCTION. XXXV yielded very beautiful and numerous specimens of the large Gloss- opteris Browniana — a fossil-fern common in the coal-bearing rocks of Bengal and also in those of Australia. Similar fronds are found, but more rarely, in the finer beds of the vicinity of C h a. n d a. We have noticed these so-called Kamthi beds a little more in detail than their relative importance or a general sketch would justify, because of their local development, and of the interesting fossils which they contain. In ascending order the next important series of rocks is that to „ , . . which the name of Panchet has been given. Panchet series. ° This, which is a very extensive formation in Bengal and in the country intervening between that and Jabalpur, is not so largely developed in the Central Provinces. Indeed there is still much doubt as to the true limits and true parallel of many of the rocks which would probably at first be classed under this group. There is another peculiar feature : in the Ben gal coal-fields, the so-called Lower Panchet group, consisting prin cipally of red clays, with fine-grained, thin-bedded, often calcareous sandstones, both of red and greenish white colours, forms a set of beds of very considerable thickness and wide extent. But on passing to the west this group rapidly disappears and soon seems to be entirely wanting, while the Upper Panchet group, consisting chiefly of coarse red conglomerates, &c, with numerous ferruginous bands, becomes more largely developed, and constitutes almost the whole of the group. Still further to the west however, as in the Chhind wara. fields near Umreth, these red clays and thin-bedded fine grained sandstones recur with a considerable development. And simi lar beds cover a large area on the south of the Chanda coal-field (P orsa and all the country around), and also appear in other minor patches throughout the Chanda field and in B e r a r . These pass upwards into coarser beds, pebbly and conglomeratic, and it is not an easy task to make out the exact relation of these to the adjoining rocks in a country so very much covered as is the greater part of the Chanda district. Similar rocks are seen again further south (M a 1 e d i), and here as at M a n g 1 i to the north of C h a n d a have XXXvi INTRODUCTION. yielded organic remains, which estabhsh with tolerable accuracy their" true position in the general European scale of geological formations. Several forms of Labyrinthodont reptiles from the Lower Panchet rocks of Bengal, remains of the very remarkable genus Dicynodon, pre viously only known from South Africa, and abundance of Estherice (small bivalved crustaceans) mark the fauna of the time in Eastern India. In the Central Provinces similar Estherice and a remarkable reptile (Brachyops laticeps)h&Ye been obtained from M a n gl i thirty miles north of C h a n d a. , while the red clays of M a 1 e d i afford numerous remains of the very curious and interesting Eyperodapedon, Belodon, and some Labyrinthodont fragments also. There is a high probability that the rocks at these different locahties are all truly on or about the same geological horizon (a fact which can only be satisfactorily estabhshed by detailed and careful observation), and that that horizon represents in Indian geological homotaxis the period of the Trias of Europe. In the vicinity of Jabalpur and stretching down the valley of the Narbada to the S h e r River, and a little beyond, and forming also a narrow outcrop fringing the general hne of the trappean boundary to the east and north of Jabalpur, a distinct group of rocks was recognised ; by Mr. J. G. Medlicott in 1856-57. This limited group of beds is partially coal-bearing, and from this fact and from certain other obscure relations, it was at first designated under the inappropriate name of Upper Damudd, with wliich series it was, pending further in quiry, supposed to -be connected, while the fossil plants which it im bedded were closely allied to those occurring in the Jurassic beds of Rajmahal and C u t c h . Subsequent inquiry showed that there was really no ground for supposing any connection of these beds with the true Damudd as parts of one formation, and the name Jabalpur group was substituted for Upper Damudd. At about 100 miles to the north-east of the Narbada coal basin the boundary of the plateau of trap-rocks recedes south-east wards, and the narrow outcrop of these Jabalpur beds expands here into the open ground of Sou th Rewa; there the Jabalpur shales- and silt beds were found passing upwards into massive sandstones (at INTRODUCTION. XXXV11 Bandogarh) so generally identical with the rocks of the great Mahadeo hills, that they were at once accepted as their represen tatives ; while below the Jabalpur shales overlaid strong pebbly sandstones and conglomerates, which again in the southern part of the same area rested upon a coal-bearing group, recognisable at once by its contained fossils and general character as representatives of the Damudd series. The Jabalpur beds have not as yet been traced with any care in other districts, and I am unable to state their true limits. Their contained fossils point distinctly to a Jurassic age and to the lower part of that great period. In the Narbada nothing but plant-remains have been found. We may however, although the connection has not been traced, point to the remarkable beds near K o t a — about five miles from S i r o n c h a — which have yielded several well-marked fish-remains (Lepidotus Deccanensis, Mchmodus, &c.) considered as Liassic in their relations, as a probable represen tative to the south of the Jabulpur beds to the north. There are also some detached patches of rock which occur in "the intermediate country which may be representatives of the same general age. The coal found in these Jabalpur beds is very irregularly developed (S h e r River ;Lametaghat). It is jetty, and has much of the character of a true lignite ; indeed in many specimens the structure of the now-carbonised stems, of which a large portion of it is made, is well preserved. It has been economised recently to a con siderable extent by the contractors on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. But neither in amount nor in quality does it constitute a source of fossil fuel of any importance in a general view. I men tioned above, that immediately resting on the Jabulpur beds, where the succession is best seen (South Retvd), came the massive sandstones of B a n d o g a r h, which were accepted as representatives of the great Mahadeo group, so well seen in the upper and magni ficent scarps of the Pachmarhi hills (Central Provinces). This Mahadeo group was first established after a brief exami- MaUdeo beds. nation of these hills in 1856-57, and was shown to contain "a vast thickness of massive sandstones, with many ferruginous bands which appeared to 5 cpg XXXVlii INTRODUCTION. be entirely unconformable on the Damudd beds forming the lower ground adjoining. Unfortunately the same name was applied to rocks in other places which showed an approximation to the same general character, and which appeared to stand in the same general relation of an entirely unconformable series above the Damudd rocks. It was from the first indicated that these Mahadeo rocks would require further examination. The progress of geological investigation in India has since shown the necessity also of greater subdivision than was at first apparent. These Mahadeo rocks, with the exception of a few badly-preserved and generally large stems, are so far as known unfossiliferous, and have therefore not attracted quite as much attention as some of the other series I have noticed. This absence of fossils also, and the detached, or comparatively detached, positions in which the Mahadeo rocks occur, have rendered the question of their geological age more difficult than it would have otherwise been.* Mr. W. Blanford, carrying up his examination of the country from the west, gave some good reasons for supposing that the Mahadeo beds were the continuation and expansion of the creta ceous sandstones found near B a g h in the western Narbada. A similar general conclusion had been suggested by Mr. Hislop pre viously, but without much proof. On the other hand it is right to state that Mr. Medlicott, working up from the east, saw reason for sup posing that the Mahadeo beds in the Narbada districts, which he presumed to be truly representative of the Bandogarh rocks in ScuthRewa (and as a subordinate member of which he considered the Jabalpur beds), were at the 'same time only an upward extension of the same uninterrupted succession of deposits, which elsewhere had been justly believed to belong to the Panchet series. It will be seen from this that the true position of these beds has not as yet been fixed. When first examined it was by me supposed that they, including the Lametd group (to which we shall pre sently refer), represented the lowest portion of the Tertiary period. * The statement originally made that a very perfect specimen of a true Archegosau- rus found under the P a c h m a r h 1 hills had been obtained from these rocks, was at once refuted by the mineral character of the rock in which it was imbedded. It was from the Damudd beds below. INTRODUCTION. XXXIX The Rev Mr. Hislop, whose untiring exertions have done so much to elucidate the paheontological history of the Central Provinces, was disposed to view them as below all the Tertiary deposits, and as re presenting in India the upper portion of the cretaceous epoch of Europe — a view strongly confirmed by Mr. Blanford, who was dis posed to put them only a httle lower in the series, while Mr. Medhcott would now make them much more ancient, and would place them in the same subdivision as the Jabalpur beds, which latter are probably on the horizon of the K o t a beds — that is he would consider them Lower Jurassic* As stated, the question cannot at present (January 1870) be definitely settled. When first examining the Narbada valley Mr. J. G. Medlicott distinguished in the country fringing the river to the south, and between the Mahadeo hills and Jabalpur, a series of well-marked beds, which he was then disposed to consider as the uppermost group of the Mahadeo formation, and to which he applied the local name of L a m e t a. These Lametd beds consisted chiefly of whitish earthy and silicious (cherty) limestones or calcareous muds, often a good deal indurated. These sandy calcareous beds formed only a thin band im mediately underlying the trappean rocks. Further and subsequent examination, extending more to the east proved that this band was entirely independent of the rocks below it, with which it was associated, inasmuch as, following the trappean boundary to the south-eastwards, the Lametd group was found to accompany the trap-rock steadily and to rest indiscriminately upon all rocks, from the gneiss up. It was therefore clear that it must be viewed as entirely separate from the great Mahadeo series, and as intimately connected with the overlying trappean rocks. As noticed above, these Lametd beds consist chiefly of cherty and gritty limestones, with subordinate beds of a nodular limestone, loose greenish sandstone, and purplish or greenish argillaceous beds either sandy or marly. They have been traced considerably south of N a g p u r, and thence at intervals round * The Rajmahal group of B e n g a 1 would in this view be of course younger than the M a h a d e o of the Central Provinces. Xl INTRODUCTION. by the trappean boundary to Jabalpur, and down the N a r b a d a valley to near Hoshangabad. If Mr. Blanford's views be supported by further examination, the limit must be carried very considerably to the west to Punas a. and the Dhar forest. In all cases, too, the trap-rocks, where any section is seen, appear to rest quite conformably or continuously on these Jjametd beds, and beds which cannot be distinguished from them mineralogicahy are frequently met with interstratified with the traps (as near Nagpur and between Nagpur and Jabalpur). These remarkable sedimentary beds intercalated with the traps of the Deccan and M a 1 w a areas have Intertrappean series. . received much attention. They constitute the Intertrappean series of Hislop, and are interesting from their fossil contents, as well as their mineral character and peculiar stratigra- phical position. It would be out of place here to enter into any dis cussion of the various explanations which have been given of these. It must suffice to say that both in their lithological character [calcare ous muds] ; in their distribution [local and irregular lenticular masses, not extending laterally to any great distance] ; in the fossils contained [fresh-water and lacustrine shells, fragments of plants, &c], and in their occurrence invariably between the successive flows of trappean rock, ' the upper surface in all cases being the only one really indurated or altered by the contact of the igneous, heated mass, they indubitably point to their origin in the small and irregular deposits in lakes or pools of varying size, tranquilly thrown down during the intervals of the successive flows of the lava, which now forms the great covering of this immense volcanic region. And I believe that the true explanation of the Lametd beds of which I have just been speaking, is that they were deposited in a similar way in more widely- extended lacustrine areas, previously to the commencement of the great outbreaks of lava. It need not detain us here to indicate the apparently long interval of time which elapsed during the outflowing of these successive lava streams, nor to point out how entirely different in age the intertrappean beds of the upper part of the series (Bombay, &c.) may be from those which accompany the lower and INTRODUCTION. xii older flows. None of these very much newer beds occur within the limits of the Central Provinces. The geological epoch of these intertrappean beds seems to be tolerably well established as belonging to the Eocene period of Euro pean geologists; it being just possible that the lower beds of the Lametd group may represent a part of the upper cretaceous time. The evidence against this supposition of Mr. W. Blanford seems, however, decidedly stronger than that in its favour. The wondrous features of the great trappean country of the Deccan trap features. Deccan> which exteTld over so large « portion of the surface of the Central Pro vinces, have been well described by many observers. The immense area covered continuously by these volcanic rocks ; the enormous accumulation of horizontal, or nearly horizontal, layers of basaltic rocks ; the distinct separation into beds, or stratification ; the peculiar physical features, — massive flat-topped hills with sharp precipitous scarps ; the abundance of beautiful zeolites and other minerals, and the occurrence of those curious intercalated beds, containing fresh water fossils, which I have just mentioned, could scarcely escape the notice of any observer. I have already briefly alluded to the general distribution of these rocks, so far as the Central Provinces are con- comcd,and shall not therefore delay further than to refer to the labours of Malcolmson, Newbold, Grant, Carter, Hislop, Medlicott, Blanford, &c, for more detailed discussions of this extraordinary series, which extends, or has extended, certainly over an area of 10 degrees of lati tude by 15 to 16 of longitude. " The area covered by them in the " Peninsula of India can be little less than two hundred thousand " square miles." Their limited extent within the boundaries of the Central Provinces is therefore but a very small fraction of their entire area. Of deposits later than the trappean rocks there is a great variety and an immense area. These would include Post-trappean deposits. „ ,. .. „ ,. , „ all the sous of the present surface with their numerous modifications and varying agricultural value. xlii INTRODUCTION. Laterite occurs in detached areas in Sagar and adjoining districts ; it covers a considerable space in the north-east of Jabal pur district, and is found at intervals passing to the south in Chanda, where it covers extensive areas in the eastern and north eastern portions. It presents all the usual characters of this deposit, but nowhere within the Central Provinces attains that great thick ness and massiveness which admit of its being freely used for building purposes. The older gravels and clays of some of the river valleys would appear to be next in succession. These Tertiary conglomerates. have been the object of more careful study, on account of the numerous remains of large animals, as well as ordinary shells which some of the beds contain locally in large number. The largest continuous area of these ossiferous gravels and clays is found in the Narbada valley, along which they extend in unbroken continuity for more than a hundred miles from the falls of the marble rocks near Jabalpur to below Hoshangabad. They also occur in the banks of the river both above and below these limits. Yery similar deposits are found forming the banks and often the beds of the upper feeders of the G o d a v a r i — the W a r d h a, Painganga, &c. — and in the Godavari itself; and here also they locally contain a large number of bones, sub-fossilised, the remains of animals which existed at the period of their deposition. The valleys of these streams are, however, by no means so well defined as that of the Narbada, and the limits of the ossiferous gravels and clays are not easily fixed. The gravels are for the most part cemented into a con glomerate of tolerable hardness by the infiltration of carbonate of lime, and these beds might not unfrequently be mistaken for conglo merates of greatly older date on a cursory examination. There is, however, one fact which enables them to be readily distinguished, and that is the abundant presence in them of rolled pieces of the trappean rocks — of numerous agates, pieces of bloodstone, &c, which at once prove them to have been post-trappean in their origin. The immense' variety and abundance of these pebbles also abundantly indicate the vast denudation to which the trappean rocks have been subjected since their outflowing and deposition. INTRODUCTION. xliii In general character these deposits in their lower portions con- r. .» , sist of gravels and sands, frequently, as Ossiferous gravels. ° i J mentioned, cemented together much in the same way as a concrete is, and sometimes so hard as to be quarried for building. Towards the base the clays become sandy and pebbly. Sandy beds occur even in the clays and irregular deposition and oblique lamination (false-bedding) are frequent— indeed so frequent as to be almost the normal condition. It is not easy to arrive at any just conclusion as to the thickness of these deposits. Actual sections of more than fifty feet in thickness are occasionally met with, but twenty to thirty feet are the more ordinary limits. The greater por tion of the deposits is generally clay, the coarser beds being chiefly confined to the portion near the base. Fossil bones are not generally abundant, but locally considerable numbers have been met with. Shells are not uncommon, and they appear to be all of species now existing in the rivers. These beds are obviously of fresh-water origin, and were in all probability the fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the rivers themselves, at a time when the levels and areas of their valleys were very different from those now existing. It is not intended to give here a complete list of the organic remains found, which would belong rather to a detailed description. But the very remarkable admixture of existing and extinct forms which these deposits exhibit must be noticed ; for along with well-pre served remains of Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, Mastodon, peculiar forms of Elephas, and very remarkable Bovines (which if not identical with European forms, approximate so closely that nothing but the most minute distinctions can be made, while they are entirely distinct from any present Indian forms), are found equally well preserved remains of animals still existing in the country. The not uncommon tortoise (Emys [Pangshura~\ teefa) is found quite as fossilised in these beds as any of the other remains, and yet the species still lives in the valley itself. The imbedded shells, too, are all of species still living, and the evidence is conclusive that the change from the condition under which Hippopotami wallowed in the muds, and Rhinoceros roamed in the swampy forests of the country, where Mastodons abounded, and where the strange forms of the Sivatherium, Dinotherium, Gamelo- Xliv INTRODUCTION. partialis existed, has been one of continuous and gradual alteration, unmarked by any great breaks or vast changes in climate. In the general series of successive epochs into which the geological periods distinguished in Europe have been classified, these ossiferous gravels. and clays would seem to mark the upper portion of the Miocene and the Pliocene ; while, with unbroken succession, and with nothing more than local change or break, these Pliocene beds pass upwards into the deposits now being formed. We thus find that numerous forms of animals, which are now cotemporaries of man, existed at this very early period cotemporary with numerous forms of the larger animals u now utterly extinct in this country. Was not man also cotemporary with these now extinct animals ? As I have endeavoured to show briefly, there is no physical break in the long series that would account for the destruction of these species ; there is not a shadow of proof that the country was not then, as now, fitted for the abode of man. And although no human remains have yet been found, there is not a single fact which would lead to the conviction that man could not have existed and lived under the conditions which then prevailed. In this point of view, the discovery — although not in the Central Provinces — of a well-formed agate knife, which had obvi ously been in use, and which was undoubtedly shaped and made with an intelligent purpose, in gravels of the same age as these ossiferous gravels of which we have been speaking, and also containing remains of large animals, becomes one of the highest interest, as giving some amount of positive proof of the existence of man at this early period (Pliocene'). Of a later date, and scattered through the upper soils of large „ . , , areas, flint (or rather agate) knives, agate Stone implements. ^ o / > o cores, from which these knives have been chipped off, and numerous forms of artificially-shaped agate imple ments, have been met with in the Narbada and Nagpur country. And of a later date still, and invariably in the surface-soils, or taken out of these soils and brought together under trees, or at the rude shrines of the forest races, a large number of well-shaped and polished celts, axes, and other shaped stone implements have been found hi INTRODUCTION. xiv the Central Provinces. The most remarkable fact perhaps con nected with these implements is the identity of form and of design which they exhibit when compared with those found abundantly in Northern Europe — an identity common to both forms of these stone antiquities, the rudely-chipped and almost undressed, or as they have been called the Palaeolithic, and the more finished and pohshed, or Neolithic, types. The Central Provinces present many localities peculiarly likely to throw hght, if carefully studied, on this intensely interesting question- — the antiquity of man. But such inquiries can only be satisfactorily carried out by those who are long resident in the immediate vicinity, and can therefore watch the constant changes which occur, and take immediate advantage of any opportunity which may present itself. Beneath the recent conglomerates and ossiferous gravels of a large c ,. , . , portion of western Chanda is a well- aaline sands and clays. marked deposit of brownish-yellow sand or clayey sandstone. This is seen over many miles of the coun try wherever the streams cut through the upper beds to any depth. It is not at all improbable that it may prove to be of different geological age, and quite distinct from the beds resting on it. No good sections have yet been seen. It is specially noticed here inasmuch as it contains a certain amount of salt, which is thrown out as an efflorescence where this loose sandstone is exposed to the weather, and produces miry places always wet and soft, and often diffi cult to cross. In connection with this deposit we may recall the occur rence of beds very low down in the alluvium, or below it, all containing 'a considerable quantity of common salt, in the B e r a, r alluvial plain not far to the west of C h a n d a. Into this salt-bearing stratum wells are sunk for the extraction of brine, from which much salt is obtained. I am not aware of any brine-wells in the Ch an d a district, but this deposit contains a considerable amount of common salt, although much mixed with impurities, chiefly sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts).* * Two specimens of salt roughly prepared from this sandy clay by lixiviation and evaporation were assayed at the Geological Survey Office, and yielded — Chloride of sodium 82-89 87-58 Sulphate of magnesia .... 1 602 11 -86 Clay and organic matter . . 160 1-40 The first of these was obtained from what is called the^ white chopan soil ; the second was from the dark chopan soil. 6 rpg x{vi INTRODUCTION. It is not impossible that the presence of common salt in sensible quan tities may indicate that the clays containing it have had a marine origin, and are thus quite distinct from the beds which rest upon them. To treat of the more recent alluvial deposits of the country would involve rather more of agricultural than geological questions, and I would leave such to others more competent to enter upon them. The black soil or regar, or as it is not uncommonly called the ' cotton soil,' forms one of the most marked varieties in these Provinces. It is the common soil of the Deccan, Mai w a, Narbada valley, &c. It varies greatly in colour, in consistence, and, with these, in fertility, but throughout is marked by the constant character of being a highly argillaceous, somewhat calcareous clay, being very adhesive when wetted, and from its very absorbent nature expanding and contracting to a very remarkable extent, under the successive influence of moisture and dryness. It therefore becomes fissured in every direction by huge cracks in the hot weather. It also retains a good deal of moisture, and requires therefore less irrigation than more sandy ground. The colour of this soil, often a deep and well-marked black, with every variation from this to a brownish-black, would appear to be solely due to an admixture of vegetable (organic) matter in a soil originally very clayey. Thus deposits of precisely the same character as this regar are being formed now at the botton of every jhil in the country, and • throughout the very area where the regar is best marked, it is not by any means an uncommon thing to find the slopes of the small hills or undulations formed of more sandy reddish soil, while the hollows be low consist solely of the finest regar. This appears to be due to the more argillaceous and finer portions of the decomposed rocks below being washed away by ordinary pluvial action from the slopes and accumu lated in the hollows, where this finer mud forms a soil much more retentive of moisture, and which therefore rapidly becomes more impregnated with organic matter, and is often marshy. Regar can thus be formed, wherever a truly argillaceous soil is formed : and its general, INTRODUCTION. xlvii but by no means universal, absence over the metamorphic and other rocks is easily accounted for by the fact that these rocks for the most part yield sandy, not clayey soils. It is never of any very great depth, and, excepting when re-arranged by rivers in their recent deposits, it is therefore never met with at any great distance below the surface. Obviously formed from the re-arranged wash of the older and more widely-extended soils we find large areas of very fertile soil, consisting of clays rather more sandy than the older alluvium, and not therefore so black or adhesive. Though rarely formed altogether of the true regar soil, it frequently contains a large proportion of this, mixed with other clays and sands. Every intermediate form of soil occurs, and it would by no means be an easy task to distinguish them all. In an agricultural point of view, it is interesting to see how exactly the limits of certain kinds of cultivation coincide with the limits of these marked varieties of the alluvial deposits of the. country — facts which the local officers will doubtless be able to illustrate more fully than I can. The preceding sketch has necessarily been of the briefest and most general character. Those who desire to study the geology of the Central Provinces in greater detail may refer to the many papers more or less immediately bearing on this country — of Malcolmson, (Transactions Geol. Soe. Lond.) ; Hislop (Journal of Asiatic Society, Bengal; Journal of Bombay Branch Royal Asiatic Society; Quarterly Journal Geological Society, London) ; Medlicott, Oldham, Blanford, Theobald (Mem. Geological Survey of India; Records Geological Survey of India), in which full details will be found so far as the country has yet been examined carefully. I shall also leave the discussion of the economic value of the several rocks to the detailed statements of the local officers, who have infinitely better opportunity of knowing how and to what extent such materials are economised within their own districts. I have solely attempted to give as briefly as possible a general connected outline of the successive formations known to occur within the limits of the Central Provinces, trusting that this outline may be filled in with greater detail by future researches. xlviii INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER III. EARLY HISTORY. Isolation of Go n dwa na — Rise of the G o n d power— Early Aryan settlers — Legendary Kshattriyas — Rajpu t traditions — The Jabalpur and C h e d i dynasty — The P r a m a r a Viceroys of N a g p ii r — Y a v a n a dynasty of the Central plateau. Enough perhaps has already been said to show why G o n d- _ , . „ „ , . wanaso long stood isolated from the Isolation of Gondwana. ° _^^ current of Indian history. While equally to the north and to the south of it lay wide plains, over which invad ing armies, marching unchecked by natural obstacles, found rich cities to plunder and fertile lands to annex, these highlands were occupied by a race whose object was protection rather than pro duction, and by whom the natural ramparts of their adopted country were more prized than its corn-bearing valleys. The expeditions organised for the invasion of the Deccan ordinarily left the forests of Gondwana to the east, and traversed the Narbada valley through the pass commanded by the famous hill-fort of A' s i r g a r h in N i m a r. Hence while armies were marching and countermarching, and the Hindu dynasties of the Deccan were succumbing to northern invaders, the Gond people was gradually and quietly attaining a development and organisation which gave it a place among the independent powers of India. Even the far-reach ing power of A k b a r and the fanatic zeal of Aurangzeb made themselves but faintly felt at so great a distance from the seat of empire, and it was not until one of the most powerful of the M a r a t h a dynasties enthroned itself at N a, g p u r in a.d. 1 743 that the history of Gondwana merges into that of the rest of India. INTRODUCTION. xlix The G o n d s, however, had their annalists, from whose lists, ,,. „ . „ , confirmed by contemporary evidence, it liise of the G o n d power. ^ r J seems pretty certain that the aboriginal power had no range or importance until the sixteenth century, though it rose some hundred years earlier. Thus the known G o n d principahties only occupy some two centuries of the history. of Gondwana — a mere fraction of the ages which have elapsed since Rama traversed the forest of D a n d a k a, extending from the J a mn a to the Godavari, on his way to the hermitage of Sutikshna at Ramtek near Nagpur.* Then the Aryan Early Aryan settlers. invaders were represented throughout these Central Forests by a few isolated hermits, who could not even perform their simple devotions in freedom from the mockery of the mischievous savages among whom they dwelt. The picture of their sufferings, given in the Rdmdyana, would be almost pathetic if it were not ludicrous. " These shapeless and ill- "looking monsters testify their abominable character by various cruel "and terrific displays. These base-born wretches implicate the her- "mits in impure practices, and perpetrate the greatest outrages. " Changing their shapes and hiding in the thickets adjoining the "hermitages, these frightful beings delight in terrifying the devotees. " They cast away the sacrificial ladles and vessels, they pollute the "cooked oblations, and utterly defile the offerings with blood. These "faithless creatures inject frightful sounds into the ears of the faithful " and austere eremites. At the time of sacrifice they snatch away the "jars, the flowers, the fuel, and the sacred grass of these sober-minded "men." t When the tale is again taken up by the sacred books of the Hindus, the Narbada valley had Legendary Kshattnyas. , , ,-, ^ , "-, „ become a settled country, governed from * Wheeler's History of India, vol ii. pp. 240, 218. t R a m a y a n a III. 1, 15, as translated in Muir's Sanscrit Texts, part ii. chap- iii. sec. iv. p. 427. (Edn. 1860). 1 INTRODUCTION. Mahishmati* (now M a h e s w a r) by the H a i h a y a s— one of the most distinguished of the lunar Rajput races, who, as will be seen below, retained a connection with Gondwana until the last cen tury. The story of Ar j una with his thousand arms, and the destruc tion of theKshattriyas byParasurama, are too well known to need repetition here. To connect these shadowy sacred legends with the comparatively sober prose of G o n d annals there are but a few ruined cities, some popular traditions, and an occasional inscription on brass or stone. In these unoccupied ages of an unknown country the Rajput bards let their imagination run riot. The line of the Narbada is not only claimed for the Raj put traditions. . J , Haihayas, but for the rramarast(or P o n w a, r s), whose first capital is stated to have been Maheswar; and lastly for the Chauhans, from whose " seat of government "M a k a w a t i (the present M a n d 1 a) the oath of allegiance resounded " in fifty-two castles"; $ while the famous fortress of A's i r g a r h appears to have been appropriated by almost every dynasty whose fame entitled them to carry back their pedigrees into the days of fable. There seems to be nothing to confirm the boasts of the Chauhans, except their own family traditions ; but the P r a m a r a kingdom of M a 1 w a is matter of history, and their power probably extended over the western part of the Narbada valley at some time between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The Haihayas were undoubtedly far more ancient. An in scription in copper found near Mandla, but lost in the pillage of the G o n d Raja's palace by the Marathasin 1780, is said to have proved their dominion over the Upper Narbada valley up to a.d. 144,§ and a Raja of their line is mentioned in an inscription on a temple in Chhattisgarh, dated Samvat 160, corresponding * Hall's Edition of Wilson's VishnuPurana, vol. iv. book iv. chap. xi. p. 56. t Tod's Raj ast han, vol. i. p. 91. (Edn. 1829.) %Ibid, vol. ii. p. 445. § Journal of the Asiatic Society of B e n g a 1 (August 1851), vol. vi. p. 621. INTRODUCTION. Ii to a.d. 103, if the era be that ofVikramaditya.* They ap pear again in the well-known Haihai-Bansi line of Ratanpur which ruled over Chhattisgarh for many centuries, until their deposition by the Marathasin a.d. 1 740. But it is only quite lately that further indications of their presence in the Narbada country have been brought to light. So far back as 1839 an inscrip tion found at K u m b h i, thirty-five miles north-east of Jabalpur, was published with a translation in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of B e n g a l,t but there were then no existing data with which to con nect it, and it was dismissed with the remark that it gave no impor tant information. Subsequently (in 1857) two inscriptions! relating to the same dynasty were found by Professor Fitz-Edward Hall atBheraghat and T e w a r, both places a few miles west of Jabalpur. Again in 1861 Professor Hall sent to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal§ another inscription relating to the same line, or rather to a branch of it descending from K o k a 1 1 a, the second king, and connected by marriage with the Yadava kings of the West, || and in 1862\ he contributed a revised edition of the K u m b h i inscription. Since then two inscriptions in the Nagpur Museum have been examined, one of which, being almost illegible, has only served to confirm a date, but the other, which is on copper, and very well preserved, identifies the dynasty unmistakeably with Ja b alp u r, * It is of course very possible that the era may be neither the Vikramaditya nor the Siha, but a mere local one. The inscription is at C h a p r a in the K a w a r d a State. I have not yet been able to obtain a perfectly accurate transcript, but the gist of it is that a Ri'jd, Bhawani Pal, built a temple to Siva, which was partially destroyed by the II a i h a y a king. This would seem to bring back the inscription to the days in which Buddhism was contending with Brahmanism, and we have independent grounds for inferring that the H a i h a y a kings of Chhattisgarh were at that time Buddhists. f Vol. viii. p. 401 (June 1839). % Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. vi. p. 499. § Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxx. No. iv. (1861), pp. 317 ff. . |] Journal of the B ombay Asiatic Society, vol. iv. p. 101 (1852). ^[ Journal of the Asiatic Society of B e n g a 1, vol. xxxi. No. ii. (1862), pp. 3 ff. Iii INTRODUCTION. the old name of which it gives as Javalipattana.* The only other source of information regarding these princes is in a copper-plate inscription found in a well at Benares in 1801, which gives the names of four of the line,f and, like the Nagpur tablet, testifies to their H a i h a y a descent. * In Professor Hall's translation of the Bheraghat inscription we also find the " Canton of J a u 1 i " mentioned. f Their genealogical table stands thus — Lakshmana Deva or Yuva Raja Deva. I Kokalla Deva. Ganeeya Deva. I Kama Dev a= A' valia Devi, a Hun a. I Yasahkarna Deva. I Gayakarna Dev a= A lhana Devi, daughter ofVijayaSinha Deva and grand-daughter of U d a y a d i t y a of M a 1 w a. Narasinha Deva. Jayasinha Deva. ! "Vijayasinha Deva = Gasala Devi. Ajayasinha Deva (heir apparent). The dates on the various inscriptions are for — Kama Deva.. . . 528 on the Museum plate ; 1 on the 13 e n a r e s plate. Narasinha ....907 on the Bheraghat inscription. Jayasinha.... 926 on the T e w a r inscription, and 928 on the .Museum stone inscription. Vijayasinha .. .932 on the Kumbhi inscription. Here we have three eras-that of K a r n a D e v a himself, quoted in the B e n a r e s * There is some doubt about this inscription, that shown on the Museum* plate for as the part of the plate on which Tr „ „ n i ai , • the date is inscribed has been lost, _^ a r n a D e v a, and that given for the rest of the Kings and that portion of the inscription in the other inscriptions. Professor Hall calculates is now only available in a manu- A,„™ n, 1. j t « ,, -n script copy, which, though other- lr0m the knovm dates of the Pramara kings that wise accurate, may possibly misre- Alhana Devi, the wife of Gayakarna Deva, present e ate. may have been born about a.d. 1 100, whereas accord ing to the dates given for her sons and grandsons, her birth might have taken place as early as 850 of their era. Therefore the V a 1 1 a b h £ era, assuming it to be rightly counted from a.d. 319, is evidently not that to which the later dates refer, and even for them it will be necessary to suppose the existence of some local or unknown era. .The second date assigned to Kama Deva does not correspond either with any known' era or with those given for his descendants, but with regard to the first it is not" difficult to rNTEObUcTioN; liii So far nothing can be gatheredwith certainty but that a line of H a i h a y a princes ruled in or near J a b a 1- ^i,Th,e- JJabalpii* and Pur from the beginning of the eleventh C h e d 1 dynasty. x ° b century until the dose of the twelfth, and that they were sufficiently influential to ally themselves matrimonially with such powerful families as thePonwars of Mai wa, theGahlots of TJ d e p u r, and the Yadavas of the west. The name of their kingdom is shown by Professor Hall to have been Ohedi,* and this estabhshes a curious connection between them and their clansmen, the H aihai-Ban si rulers of Ohattisgarh, who are also called rulers of Ohedi in one of the Ratanpur inscriptions ;f but this will more properly be noticed below, in discussing the history of the kingdom of Chhattisgarh. While they held the Jabalpur province, the present Nag pur province seems to have been under the The Pramara Viceroys of dominion of the Pramaras of Dhar, N ii g p u r. _ ' or possibly of a younger branch of that powerful family, which had established itself in the plains south of the S a t p u r a plateau. The first local mention of the Pramaras of M a 1 w a, is in an inscription from Nagpur, which is translated in the Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society, No. VI. (October 1843)> p. 259. Subsequently a copper-plate inscription was found at explain why he should have adopted an epoch of his own. From all the genealogies it seems clear that he was the most powerful and renowned of the Kalachuri line, as it is called in the Kumbhi inscription. The discovery of a tablet in his honour at Benares need not signify more than that be had endowed a/temple there, and in the N a g p d r Museum plate the holy city is only noticed as a place where " his praises are sung," while the countries which he subdued, or pretended to have subdued, are mentioned in a very different strain. Most of these high-flown boasts are mere pieces of grandiloquence ; but there is a curious mention in ^he N a g p ii r plate of his victory over Bhimeswara, king of A' n d h r a, " at which the Godavari, over joyed, broke into seven channels." The reigning prince of the Kakataya line of A' n d h r a, contemporary with Kama Deva, must i Wilson's Mackenzie Collection, have been either Rudra Deva, or Ganapati Introduction, p. cxxxi. Deva, so that further information is needed to clear up what may be an interesting point.1 * Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. vi. pp. 499 ff. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxx. No. iv. (1861), p. 317- f Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxxii. No. iii. (1863), p. 278. 7 cpg liv INTRODUCTION. S a t a. r a* which appeared to be an exact counterpart of the Wagpur tablet, allowing for some obvious errors in the transcrip tion of the latter, and has therefore been supposed to have been removed by the M a r a t h as from the temple to the portico of which the stone inscription had been affixed. Both inscriptions commence with a King Vairisinha, who, from the dates given for some of his successors, probably lived towards the end of the tenth century ; but the name in their lists which has most local importance is that ofLakshmanaDeva. As this prince is not mentioned in other lists of this dynasty, and as, from the local inscriptions, his brother Naravarman seems to have had power to interfere with his grants, it has been inferred that Nara varman was the head of the family, and carried on the line in M a 1 w a, while Lakshmana Deva was his viceroy in the Nagpur province. Both of these princes must have been nearly contemporary with Yasahkarna Deva of the Kalachuri or Jabalpur line, for being sons ofUdayaditya, they were uncles ofAlhanaDevi, the wife ofYasahkarna's successor. Except these inscriptions there is nothing on record to connect the Prama ras ofMalwa distinctly with these provinces, though a seal was found at A' s i r g a r h, from which it has been inferred that their dominion included that famous fortress. t The mere discovery of so portable an article as a signet cannot be regarded as very conclusive, but on general grounds of probability it may fairly be assumed that a province, to which the brother of the reigning prince was deputed as a Viceroy, was held by something more than a transitory tenure, and as the westernj portions of the Narbada and T ap t i valleys lay between Malwa and Nagpur, some part of them must have * Journal of the Asiatic Society of B e n g al, vol xxxii. No. ii. (1S63), p. 92. In the above-quoted article Babu 11 ;i j e n d r a L a 1 M i t r a mentions this inscrip tion as having come from a temple on the west bank of the Wainganga, near •N a g p ii r, but nothing is said of tbe place whence it came in the Bombay Journal, as the date of its translation co:ucides curiously with the time at which an inscription removed by the Nagpur R'j't from the famous Snake-temple at Bhandak in the Chanda district. In a remaining inscription at the snme temple the P o n w a r s of D h a r are mentioned ; but tbe missing tablet cannot now he traced, unless it should turn out to be identical with the Wainganga temple inscription. f Journal of the Asiatic Society of B e n gal, vol. v. p. 482 (1836). J Western as far as these provinces are concerned. INTRODUCTION. Iv been occupied by the Pramara princes, to keep communications open with their southern possessions. So far these records on brass or stone — more lasting than the" fame of the forgotten princes whom they Central plateau ^^^ ° t& commemorate — have shown points of unison with cotemporary Indian history. The ruler of Nagpur was a scion of the illustrious Pramara house, which counts Raja Bhoja, the Augustus of India, among its members, and the Kalachuri line of Jabalpur was allied by marriage both to the Pramaras and to " the "ornament of the royal races" — the sun-descended princes of U d e p u r. But the other local dynasties which have bequeathed to us their genealogies seem to he entirely apart from the known currents of Indian history. One of them, it is true, is sufficiently important to have been commemorated in the Purdnas, but notwithstanding all that has been done to identify it, no certain date or local habitation can yet be assigned to it. This line was first brought to notice by the discovery of a copper-plate grant at Seoni* (on the Central plateau), but the list of kings thus obtained remained a mere fragment, unconnected even with any known legend, until in 1865 Dr. Bhau Daji's re-examination of the Ajan th a caves enabled him to throw a new light on their history. From an inscription in the Zodiac cave, taken in connection with the Seoni plates, and with certain passages in the Purdnas, he came to the conclusion that this Vakataka dynasty was a line of Y a v a n at princesj who ruled in Eastern and Central India shortly after the * Journal of the Asiatic Society of B e n g a 1, vol. v. p. 726 (1836). f A Greek, a foreigner (Wilson) . % Their genealogy is thus given by him (Journal of the B o m b a y Asiatic Society, vol viii. p. 248, 1865-66):— Vindhyasakti. I Pravarasena. Rudra Sena, grandson, of G a ut a m i, daughter of the king Bhavanaga. Prithvi Sena. 1 Rudra Sena II. Pravara S e n a II., son of Prabh ava t i G u pt a, thedaughter of M ah £r aj.a~ | dhiraja SrfDeva Gupta. Deva Sena. lyi INTRODUCTION. " Sah" or "Sena" kings. This, according to his computation, would place them in the fifth century of our era. The locality of their kingdom cannot be positively inferred from the place in which the Seoni inscription was found, for a oopper-plate is easily moved, but taking the site of discovery in conjunction with other cir cumstances, the Y a v a n a line may fairly be assigned to the Cen tral plateau. The name of its founder, Vindhyasakti, is in itself significant. In the Puranic lists the term V i n d h y a* is sometimes applied to what is now known as the S a t p u r a range. Then the Satpuras lie between the countries which are said in the A j a n- t h a inscription to have been oonquered by one of these princes, viz. Kuntala,fAvanti,J Kalinga,§ Ko sal a,||Trikuta,Tf Lata,** and A'ndhr a,tt and would be a natural centre whence to claim, if not to effect, the conquest of the surrounding kingdoms, j J * Hall's edition of Wilson's Vishnu Purana (book ii. chap, iii.), vol. ii. p. 128. V i n d h y a " according to the V a y u (P u r a n a) is the part south of the N a r- mada, or the Satpuda range." In the Vishnu Purdna the Narbada is made to flow from the V i n d h y a, which must therefore have had a much wider signi fication than it has now. •fKuntala was in the A d o n { or Bellari district of Madra s — (Asiatic Researches, vol. ix. p. 427)- JAvantiwas Ujen— .(Hall's edition of Wilson's Vishnu Purana, vol. ii. p. 164, note 13). §Kalinga was the upper Coromandel Coast — (Hall's edition of Wilson's Vishnu Purana, vol. ii. p. 156, note 3). |] There were several K o s a 1 a s, but this is probably the K o s a 1 a south of the S a t p u r a range, mentioned in the Mahabharat a — (vide Hall's edition of Wilson's Vishnu Purdna, vol. ii. pp. 172-73; and p. 145, Professor Hall's note). See also Asiatic Researches, vol. xv. p. 508, in which the southern K o s al a is placed to the west of Gondwana and B e r a r. An inscription of the H a i h a i-B a n s f kings found at R.atanpiir calls their kingdom Kosala Des, and Hwen Thsang's Kosala, 1,200 li N.W. of K a 1 i n g a and 900 li N.E. of A'n d h r a, corresponds sufficiently with the same locality. It may therefore fairly be assumed that Kosala was the name of a country nearly corresponding to the present Chhattisgarh. ^f Tr i kiita vide Vishnu Purana (book ii. chap, ii.), vol. ii. p. 117. A dynasty of Trikutakas is mentioned in a copper-plate grant dug out at Kanheri, Dr. B h a ii D a j f thinks they were the same as the S a h s— ( Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay, vol. viii. p. 248). ** L a t a is the present Broach. ffA'ndhra or Telingana. XX There are two other dynasties whose inscriptions have been found in these provinces, but as yet they are mere floating lists of names unconnected with any of tbe INTRODUCTION. lvii These broken fragments are all that has been reserved of the story of many centuries. Divested of their dress of pompous panegyric they shrink down to dry lists of unmeaning symbols, which the richest imagination could scarcely warm into life. We read how these unknown princes shamed the king of heaven by their prosperity ; — how their beneficence made earth better than elysium; — how the world trembled at the march of their elephants, and the seas were swelled by the tears of the queens whom their conquests had widowed. But of the more humble home affairs, which would at least have given them a sure place in local annals, there is nothing. The kings of the eastern and southern coasts are awed at the prowess of the great Kama, and his name makes itself felt even in Kashmir and among the Huns, but we have nothing of the real extent of his petty kingdom, nor of the struggles which he must have maintained with the then rising power of the aboriginal chiefs. The alliances of the family with reigning princes of name are pompously recorded, and its genealogy is traced back to heroes and demigods, but there is nothing of its connection with the reclaimed ground of history. But although of little immediate interest, they cannot altogether be omitted in a record which only professes to be a groundwork for future research. The earliest of these is a line of Rah tor Rajputs, whose names are * Journal of the Asiatic Society thus given in a copper-plate found at M u 1 1 af in the of B e n g a 1, vol. vi. p. 869, Octo- B e t ii 1 district on the S i t p u r i plateau* : — ber 1837. Durga Raj a Govinda Raia Maswamika Raja Sri N anda Raj a. The date of the last of these is either 630 or 830 a.d. according to Prinsep. The , ™ . • i.- a • i. other line is commemorated in an inseriptionf found at + Jonrnalofthe Asiatic Society . , r ' of Bombay, vol. i. p. 148, April Nagpur, and consists of the following names : — 1842. S6ry a Ghosha Ku ts a I U day ana r Bhava Deva. They are called sovereigns of U r £ s f, and the date of the inscription is believed to be Samvat 711 or a.d. 654. Iviii INTRODUCTION. chiefs of the same line, who had once held the neighbouring district of Mandla, and who still ruled below the Satpura plateau in Chhattisgarh. Thus, too, Lakshmana Deva, the supposed Viceroy of Na. gpur, crosses the seas with his elephants, and pene trates into supernatural regions ; but from the mass of fable which he has accumulated round his name it cannot even be gathered with certainty whence he ruled and where he ruled. Through the froth and false glitter of these inscriptions all that can really be ascertained is that in the fifth century a race of foreign (Y a v a n a) origin ruled from the Satpura plateau, and that between the tenth and thirteenth centuries the country round Jabalpur was governed by princes of one of the most distinguished lunar Raj pu t races, while a territory south of the S a, t p u r a s was held by the fire-descended Pramara princes of M a. 1 w a. But although, as has been remarked above, theGrond power did not become conspicuous until the sixteenth century, no definite line of demarcation can be drawn between the more vivid period, illustrated by their homely annals, and the inanimate age of inscriptions. The Chanda dynasty of G o n d s probably rose to power as early as the tenth or eleventh century, but their kingdom lay so far to the south, and their history trenches so little on that of their neighbours, that they may be omitted in any general view of this part of the country as a whole, as may also for similar reasons the long-descended H a i h a i-B a n s i rulers of C h h a t- t i s g a r h. We know, too, from Firishta that there were kings of Condwana reigning from K h e r 1 a. in the Betul district in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but though they are often called G o n d s it is questionable whether they were not Kshattriyas.* There is thus a vast though irregular space to be filled up by tradition, or, where that fails, by conjecture. * See below p. lxxv. INTRODUCTION. lix CHAPTER IV. THE GAULl's AND NA'6BAHSl's. The interregnum between the Kshattriyas and the Gonds — The Gaul i's — G a u 1 i traditions — A' s a A h i r — A b h f r a — The two N a g p ii r s — Serpent descent in Gondwan a— Existing traces of Serpent-worship— Serpent-worship once an aristocratic faith, — but now out of fashion — Old Nagbansi families now claim to be R aj puts — Probable date of "Nag a" ascendency — Indications of the existence of a Naga race— Nag a chiefs — Nagbansis among the Gonds— "Naga Jogi" and "Naga Bhiimiain" — Recapitulation. However we attempt to bridge over the mysterious voids lying The interregnum between between the age of inscriptions and the the Kshattriyas and the period illustrated by the Cond annals, on s" questions of curious interest are raised up. If their discussion be regarded as verging too much on the specula tive, the character of this sketch must be pleaded in justification. It is simply an attempt to bring together the information that already exists regarding the obscurest part of the Peninsula, so as to form a groundwork for future investigation, and where the sum of our knowledge is so small, nothing should be neglected which may serve to indicate new paths of inquiry. The history and the physical cha racter of the province are somewhat alike. It is traversed by but few broad, smooth roads, and those who follow them see little of dis tinctive local colouring. But as the wanderers in the interior to this day may make fresh discoveries of unexplored forest tracts and unknown mineral deposits, so the byways of inquiry may prove the most profitable in exploring the past. The traditions, beliefs, and habits of the people — even their names — have a meaning which may yield itself to patient investigation ; but the many who are interested in local problems have hitherto worked in isolation, and without full knowledge of the conclusions to which their neighbours had come, and even an imperfect presentation of existing data will at least serve to remove this obstacle from their way. Local tradition solves all difficulties by reference to a G a u 1 i race of kin^s. Every ruin of unknown age, every floating legend that cannot be traced Ix INTRODUCTION. to H i n d ii mythology, is assigned to these pastoral princes. But where the popular difficulty ends ours must begin. Who were the G a u 1 i s ? It seems unlikely that they had any connection with the known tribes of the same name who now live by tending cattle in the great grazing grounds of the Satpura range* Sir R. Jenkins, quoting Captain A. Gordon, says that in his time (1827) they took " pride in the exploits and reputation of their ancient Rajas, whose " praises were sung by the bards, and listened to with delight by all " classes of Kirsdns."* In these days, notwithstanding the most persevering investigations, nothing of any interest has been ehcited regarding their origin. All their traditions and legends seem to point to M a th u r a — the classic land of cowherds — and to K r i s h n a— the pastoral king and god — and they make no claim to local sove reignty for their ancestors. They are said in some districts to differ from other Hindus in appearance, but they worship the same gods and speak the same language as their neighbours. In the only instance in which the careful inquiries made about them seemed to have led to the discovery of a G a u 1 i clan differing in language and nationality from the people of the country, it turned out that they were a colony from North K a n a r a who still spoke their own language among themselves. If, then, the existing G-auli tribes represent the pastoral chiefs of tradition, they have so drifted away from all ancestral memories that it can serve no historical purpose to investigate the question of their descent. Another theory is that the G au 1 i rule is a mere figment of the popular imagination, arising from the tendency to look back to a pastoral age when land was free to all. Thus Colonel Briggs in a note to his translation of F i r i s ht a, says — " It is worthy of notice "that many of the most ancient hill- forts in India have reference to " the pastoral lives of their possessors ; and when the Indians are at a "loss to fix an era for any ancient structure or sculpture, theyinvari- " ably refer it to the period of the shepherd kings."! He quotes as * Report on the Territories of the Rdjt't of Nagpur, p: 29 (Edn. Nagpur Antiquarian Society). fVoI. iv. p. 286 (Edn. 1829). INTRODUCTION. bd instances among others Gawalgar h — the fort of the cowherd — and A'sirgarh, which is said by Firishta to be the fort of A'sa, the Ahir or herdsman — both well-known fortresses on the Sat pura range.* But evidence of this kind may be used positively as well as negatively. If we find pastoral names applied to the prin cipal places of strength in a tract of country, it is as fair to conclude that it has really been ruled over by herdsmen chiefs, as that imagi nation had been at work in shaping nomenclature. The local tradi tions however, though vague and indefi- G a u 1 i traditions. . , . , , , , ' . , ., -, nite, are not so absolutely intangible as to drive us to the second of these alternatives. From Deo gar h on the plateau — which before its subversion by the midland dynasty of G-onds in the sixteenth century was, according to the popular voice, the last seat of G a u 1 i power — the very names of the G a u li chiefs are handed down. According to one account the predecessor of the G-onds was Pandii Gauli; but a more detailed tradition sets forth that J a t b a,f the known ancestor of the Deogarh Gond dynasty, began his career as a dependent on M a n s u r and G a n s u r, the two Gauli chiefs of Deogarh, and received from them a grant of land." He rose to become their minister, and at length obtained from them the entire management of their country. Having thus gained power, he went on to depose and murder his benefactors and to usurp their principality. But a Gauli chief still retained posses sion of the fort of N a r n a 1 a for a few years longer, when he also was slain by the Mohammadans.J There seems to be no reason for discrediting the main points of this account. It is derived apparently from the traditions of one of the Gond dynasties, § and though it is probable that the Deogarh G a u 1 i s were not princes of much standing, as we know from * He also quotes Gwalior, Golkonda (the shepherd's hill), and Yenna Konda (butter hill). f Mentioned in the A'[n-i-Ahbari under Suba B e r a r , Sark'ir K h e r 1 a. X These details are taken from manuscript notes by Colonel Hervey, C.B., who lived for long in this part of India as Superintendent of the Thuggee and Dacoitee Department at J a b a 1 p d r. § Probably from some descendant of the G a r h a-M a n d 1 a family's retainers, as the representative of the Deogarh line has not even preserved his genealogical tree. lxii INTRODUCTION. Firishta that in the preceding century the Raja of K h e r 1 a* wa3 the chief potentate in this part of the Satpura plateau, it is quite possible that they may have been the last offshoots of a once power- ; fui race. The Sagar traditions bring down the Gauli supre macy to an even later date. The tracts of 1 1 a w a and K U r a i, both north-west of S a g a r, are said not to have passed out of the power of Ga uli chiefs until the close of the seventeenth century. We come perhaps on more questionable ground in quoting F i r i s h t a's men tion of A's a, the Ahir chief of A'sirgarh. The story is well known, but it may bear repetition in the connection which is now given to it. In the beginning of the fifteenth century there hved on the summit of a high hill in Khandesh a rich herds- A'sa Ahir. man chief, who was one of the principal landholders of the country, and whose ancestors had for nearly seven hundred years retained their estates. Although, besides 1 0,000 cattle, 20,000 sheep, and 1,000 mares, he had a strong masonry fort and 2,000 followers, whom he employed for protection as well as for other purposes, he was still known to the people to whom his benevolence bad endeared him by the familiar name of A' s a, the Ahir or herds man, whence his fort was called A'sirgarh.f This derivation is evidently erroneous, as we find the name of A's i r in use long before A's a A h i r ' s time, $ but the story need not on that account be set down as a fable. It is much more likely that the real existence of a chief called A's a. should have suggested a plausible derivation, than that so circumstantial a narrative should have been invented to help out a piece of etymology. Accepting then Firishta' s usually good cre dit for the main features of the story, we may fairly conclude that a line of herdsmen chiefs held part of the T a p t i valley for a consider able length of time before the fifteenth century. A's i r g a r h is called to this day a Gauli fortress. Going still further back we find that " in the Puranic geography the country on the western coast of * See below, p. lxxv. t Briggs' Firishta, vol. iv. p. 287 (Edn. 1S29). \ Vide article on A's ( r g a r h ; also Tod's R a j a s t h a n, vol. i. p. 105. INTRODUCTION. lxhi India from the T a p t i to D e o g a r h is called A b h i r a, the region of cowherds."* Dr. B h au D a i i mentions A -l -I / u having found an inscription of an A b h i r a king at N a, s i k, and suggests that the Gauli kings in the neighbour hood of Nasik and Trimbakeswara were the same as the A b h i r a kings. f There seems then to be a sufficient amount of evi dence for concluding that in the dark ages of Hindu history the west of India was occupied by pastoral tribes, and as we find indica tions of the presence of similar races in western Gondwana so late as the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, there are some grounds for supposing that when pressed out of the plains by increasing cul tivation, those of them who did not merge into the agricultural population retreated to the wild grazing grounds of the Satpura country, and there lingered on tiU they sunk before the rising power of the Gonds, leaving nothing but a name behind them. The G- auli traditions of these provinces seem to be confined to portion of the Nimar district, the Sagar district, the Satpura plateau, and parts of the Nagpur province, but further inquiry may show that they also exist elsewhere. The next question which deserves notice rests perhaps still more than the last upon hypothesis; but The two Nag purs. „ , . . ,..,., ¦1 even if the solution which is here sought for it seem fanciful or erroneous, the facts still remain open to any other interpretation. It must have struck any one who has studied the map of Gondwana that the juxtaposition of the two Nag- purs is at least a curious coincidence. Nagpur the greater J * Sir Henry Elliott's Supplemental Glossary, article " A h e e r." f Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society, vol. viii. p. 243. Tod (Rajas t h d n, vol. ii. p. 443) says that the princes of G a r h a-M a n d 1 a " for ages continued the surname of P a 1, indicative, it is recorded by tradition, of their " nomadic occupation. The Ah i rs who occupied all Central India, and have left in one " nook (Ahirwara) a memorial of their existence, were a branch of the same race, "Ahir being a synonym for Pal," But he does not quote his authority for these statements. X It is true that the present name of the (greater) Nagpur province is not known to be old, but the number of names in the N a gp lir country, into the composition of which the word Ntig enters, shows how strong an impress this term had on the nomen clature of the country. lxiv INTRODUCTION. and the lesser* may be called representative names in this part of the country, as though in their original meaning they were simply cities of the Ndg or Snake, they have been extended to include two of the principal provinces of Gondwana, and the significance of their joint relation to the mysterious serpent-gods and serpent races of Indian mythology is enhanced when we find that the Rajas of Chota Nagpur claim to be Nag ban sis or serpent-descended, and have, or till lately had, the lunettes of ^ Serpent descent in Gond- ^^ gerpent ancestor engraved on their signets in proof of their lineage.f If we cannot trace so direct an analogy between the name of the country and of its princes in the greater Nagpur province, it is probably because we are almost entirely ignorant of its earher history, for all around it we find indications of Nagbansi families. The Rdjds of GarhaMandla were Nagbansi s, and traced back their origin to a serpent ancestor. The Rdjds of Karon d — the most important of the group of Chiefships, which, under the name of the Garhj ats, occupy a vast extent of wild territory to the extreme south-west of the province, bordering upon the Tributary Mahals of C u 1 1 a c k — are N a g b an - sis. So is the Chief of Khairagarhin Chhattisgarh, who owns and rules a more valuable, though not a larger, territory than any feudatory attached to these provinces. The present representatives of the Gond line of Deogarh have lost their pedigree, but in the fragments of it which remain the name Ndg occurs more than once. The Rdjd of B a s t a r claims to be a R a, j p u t of the lunar line ; but the dynasty to which he succeeded is said by tradition to have been of Nag b a n s i race, and inscriptions have been found in his terri tories of a Nagbansi line of princes dated 1130 (Samvat), equi valent to a.d. 1 073, who by their claim to descend from K a s y a p a,{ the mythical progenitor of the sun, show that in Indian genealogies ophite descent may not be held incompatible with claims to the bluest * More properly Chutia Nagpur. f Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxxv., part ii. (Special number) pp. 160/". Elliott's Supplemental Glossary, article "Gour T u g a," p. 422. X Wheeler's History of India, vol. ii. p. 2. INTRODUCTION. IxV blood of the royal races,* and that both sources of origin have been simultaneously claimed by the same family in days when a serpent ancestry was more fashionable than it is now. So too in the small feudatory State held by the Mahdrdjd of Patna, the chief of the Garhj at confederacy, there are curious ruins of temples which are attributed to a devout Rani of the Nagbansi tribe. But perhaps the most curious relic of serpent-connection left in the province is at the temple of Buram Deva in Chhattisgarh, which is evidently of very early origin. It contains no image but that of a cobra, and lying near are two inscriptions, one containing a list of twenty-two kings, who trace their descent to the union of a snake-god with the daughter of a holy man who lived south of the Narbada, and the other relating how the H aih ay a king had opposed the construction of the temple, which was dedicated to Mahadeo. t The inscriptions, taken in connection with the snake image, may perhaps imply that the H a i h a y a king of the time was a snake worshipper, and imposed his deity on the founder of the temple, or if he were a Buddhist, as there is reason to think,$ that his Buddhism was tainted by serpent worship. In short we find frequent traces of this myste rious race on all sides of the present Nagpur country, and there is no great aboriginal house in Gondwana which does not show traces of Nagbansi connection, with the single exception of the former ruling family of Chanda, which is of comparatively late origin.§ On the theory that the aborigines are the " serpent races" of the Hindu writings, this phenomenon, if it can be so called,would offer no difficulty whatever. It would be almost a matter of course that the Gond princes of Mandla, the greater Nagpur, and the Munda (Kol) Rdjd of the lesser Nagpur should claim descent from the gods of their people. But however natural and obvious this * The explanation offered is that the divine sage K a s y a p a was, by one of his wives, K a d r u, father of the Serpent race — (Hall's edition of "Wilson's Vishnu Purana, book 1 , chap. xxi. p. 74). •f See above p. li. ; also Mr. Chisholm's B i 1 a s p ii r Settlement Report, para. 37. X See below p. lxxiv. Unfortunately I have not been able to obtain accurate trans cripts of either of these inscriptions in time for this publication. § This dynasty commences probably in the eleventh century. See below, p. 142. The known origin of the D e o g a r h house is later, but the extant fragments of their alleged pedigree rise to a high antiquity. \xv{ INTRODUCTION. explanation may seem, there are some considerations which tell strongly against it. In the first place there is no trace of reverence for serpents in the hagiology of the Gond people, as distinguished from their chiefs. Their pantheon, including some fifteen gods,* gives a full place to that element of terror which is so prominent in the beliefs of all savage tribes ; but their efforts of propitiation are directed rather against the inscrutable shocks of storm and pestilence, than against the more tangible and visible scourges which they can com bat with fleshly weapons.! In fact, a non-Hinduised Gond, with his omnivorous tastes, would probably sooner think of eating a snake than of worshipping it. The old snake- Existing traces of serpent- worship has not, however, even yet died wor out altogether among the higher classes of G o n d s. It is said that, among the R a j-G o n d s of the R ai- p ur district, a solemn service or pujd is performed every seven years to the snake-gods, but it is kept intensely secret, and may only be witnessed by married worshippers. J This ceremony seems to have died out in the Nagpur country, but the Pardhdns or Gond priests of N a g p u r say that when the G o n d kings ruled at Deogarh, before their subjection by the M a r a. t h a s, the adora- tion of the snake-god was formally and periodically celebrated by the Thdkur or high-priest of the Rdjds. In Serpent-worship once an aristo- fa(jt ^ seems that serpent- worship was cratic faith. ~ _ . , . „ . ,-, among the Gonds an aristocratic faith, unknown to the mass of the people, and that even in the higher classes, where it has not altogether died out, it is carried on in stealth and secrecy. The second point worth noticing is, that the claim to serpent descent is, like the serpent worship, a by- But now out of fashion. x. , 1 , gone ambition. The existing Nagbansi * Papers relating to the Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, by Rev. S. Hislop, edited by Sir R. Temple, part 1, p- 14. •j- An exception to this is the Tiger god (B a g h D e o) of the K u r k ii s (vide Set tlement Report of Ii o s h a n g a b a d, by C. A. Elliott, Esq., p. 255). X This information was given me by Mr. J. F. K. Hewitt, Settlement Officer of Raipiir. INTRODUCTION. Ixvii families either have become, or aspire to be Rajputs. A strong instance of the first class are the Rdjds ofChota. Nagpur,* who, though their family traditions show them to be aboriginal M u n d a s, have for long intermarried with Rajput families. The Chiefs of Khairagarh have not been so fortunate. They call themselves Rajputs, but it is only since a comparatively recent acquisition of territory and importance that their claim has been even admitted to consideration, and they have still to pay very heavily for their R a j- p u t alliances. The Nagbansi name, which was once borne with pride as a mark of N a g a or serpent origin, remains, after the import ance of the stock from which it was derived has vanished ; but it has lost its specific meaning, and the aboriginal princes by whom it was formerly prized, now attempt to gloss it over Old Nagbansi families , / r ¦,. ., ,, r , .f , , . now claim to be R a j p u t s. "J confounding it among the tribal designa tions of the Rajputs, in which it has pro perly no place. This change of feeling seems to have occurred early in the Christian era. The first marked instance of it is in the conversion of the Gond Nagbansi line of G a r h a-M a n d 1 a into a so-called Rajput race by the alleged marriage of the G o n d heiress, the daughter of a king with the significant name of Naga Deva, to a Pramara or Baghela Rajput called Jadu Rai.f This event is placed in a.d. 358 J ; but if the reigns of the princes named in the Mandla inscriptions be calculated at an average length of twenty years, it would be deferred until the seventh century. It is not only curious as indicating approximately the time at which fashion changed, so to speak, and R aj put origin began to be an object of preference to Nagbansi descent, but also as showing how distinct a line of demarcation then existed between the Nagbansi and Rajput stocks, which it has since been attempted to confound. The * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1866), vol. xxxv. part ii. (Special Number), p. 161- f Lassen calls him aPramara. Local tradition calls him either a Baghela or Paulastyabansi. X Journal of the Asiatic Society of B e n ga 1, vol. vi. p. 621 (August 1837). Asiatic Researches, vol. xv. p. 437. Ixviii INTRODUCTION. next evidence bearing upon the question is derived from the Nag bansi* inscription in Bas tar, dated Samvat 1130, or a.d. 1073, in which the N a. g b a n s i Rdjd ofBhogavati has blossomed into a R a. j p u t descendant of K a s y a p a, and a worshipper of S i v a. It would seem then that the Nagbansi phase of the great Probable date of "Naga" aboriginal families was ending, and that ascendency. their transmigration into R aj p ut s was commencing between the fourth and seventh centuries, and that the transition had been completely effected by the eleventh century. The nine Naga Rdjds known by their coins and by the Puranic lists are placed by General Cunningham at Nar war, in the Vindhya mountains, and are assigned by him to the first and second centuries of the Christian era.f A king, Bhava Naga, also appears in the Seoni inscription as great-grandfather of Rudra Sena of the Y a v a n a J line of Va.ka.tak a, and whether these Y a v a n a s belonged to the fifth century or to a somewhat earher date, it would appear that princes of Naga race were in power in Central India in the first centuries of our era. Thus serpent-worship and the pride of serpent-descent were not only aristocratic rather than na tional or widespread articles of belief among the aborigines of Cen tral India, but even among the ruling classes they seem to have gone out of fashion much about the time when Brahmanism, superseding Buddhism, again became the paramount creed of the country, and when perhaps a system of orthodox Rajput tribes shaped itself out of the congeries of ruling races in which Hunas, Yavanas, and other imperfectly-assimilated foreign elements had a place. The conclusions to which these considerations seem to me to Indications of the existence point are that the Naga name, assumed by of a N £ g a race. fae aboriginal princes of G o n d w a n a, was not connected with the national faith or traditions of the aboriginal people, but was an exotic graft, abandoned when the stock from whichit * Selections from the Records of the Government of India in the Foreign Department, No. xxxix. (Report on B a s t ar), Appendix xi. t Journal of the Asiatic Society of B c n g a 1, vol. xxxiv. No. iii. 1865, p. 1 19. X See above, p. Iv. INTRODUCTION. lxix was derived dropped into obscurity, and new dominant races rose up. On any other theory it would be necessary to assume that the aborigi nal races, who have not even yet embraced Hinduism, abandoned their distinctive and favourite divinity, while retaining all the rest, so com pletely as to have preserved no trace of it in their worship. This is of course quite a possible supposition, but it seems to offer greater difficulties than the explanation already suggested. Hindu prose- lytism might, and as we know did, wage war against what was regarded by orthodox Aryans as rank heathenism, but it is not likely to have limited its attacks to one particular god out of a popular pantheon, or to have succeeded in obliterating all memory of one part of a system while the rest remained intact. It seems far more probable that the Hindu legends of serpent-sacrifices should refer to the attempted destruction of a small and prominent class, whether of serpent-worshippers, or of religionists to whom the term " serpent " was applied as a distinctive mark from their alleged origin, than to the extermination of whole nations, whose inferior social organism must have prevented their ever being regarded by Aryan Hindus as formidable opponents. Whether the Nagas of the Hindu legends were Scythian Buddhists, as is supposed by Sir H. Elliott,* or not, it seems probable that they were a race apart in the earlier centuries of the Christian era, and there certainly seems reason for inferring the existence in and round Central India of a small but powerful foreign element, distinguished by its reve rence, whether religious or ancestral, for serpent-gods or progenitors, which in some cases, such as the Naga line of the coins, ruled independently, and in others either allied itself to ruling races, such as the Yavanas ofVakataka, and perhaps some of the present Nagbansi families ; or imposed its name and faith on the aboriginal princes, who now for similar reasons affect Hind u-R a, j p u t origin. The instance of the Khairagarh Chiefs, who are steadily buying their way into Rajputism by costly alliances, has been mentioned, but a similar change may be elsewhere observed in operation by the simple process of imitation and assumption. In the wild feudatory * Supplemental Glossary, p. 422, article "Gour Tug a." 9 cpg Ixx INTRODUCTION. states of B a s t a r and J a i p ur the Rdjds openly sell, or until lately sold, the sacred thread to certain castes,* and among the K a n w a r s ofChhattisgar h — a tribe which, whether or not aboriginal, is appa rently non-Hindu — some sections have worn the thread for a consider able period, and others have assumed it within the last decade, while the great majority do not even yet make any pretensions to it.f With this metamorphosis going on before our eyes, it needs no far fetched theory to account for a somewhat similar assumption by abo riginal chiefs of a title which was then probably as much a passport to respect as the name of R a j p u t is now, especially at a time when the floating elements of Hindu society had not yet taken their pre sent rigid shape, and admission into the ranks of a warlike aristo cracy may still have been partly open to powerful tribes of foreign descent. If the Naga races whose name was assumed by the ab original princes were of Scythian origin, they may have been regarded like Sakas, Yavanas,J and other foreigners, as impure Kshat triyas, and if so, a connection, alleged or real, with them would have been an easier passage to social elevation for aspiring Gond and K o 1 Chiefs, than the pretensions which they afterwards adopted, and still find it so difficult to support, to descent from the more exclusive noble races of the Hindus. But if these inferences have any foundation, and the N a. g a s of Central India were a race of foreign descent, with a status interme diate between that of the aborigines and of the ruling Kshattriya races of Hi n d us, we should expect to find that they had left some more permanent mark on the population than the few indications of their presence which have been noticed above. Their Chiefs may perhaps still be represented by such families as the N a g b a n s i line N a a- a Chiefs °^ -^ a. r o n d, which, so far as can be as certained, is free from any suspicion of aboriginal blood, and intermarries freely with good R a jpu.t families, but the mass of the people, if indeed it was ever settled here in mass, * Colonel Elliott's Report on K a r o n d, p. 9. f Mr. Chisholm's B i 1 ii s p ii r Settlement Report, para. 120. % Muir's Sanskrit Texts, vol. i. p. 4^2 (Edn. 1808). INTRODUCTION. lxxi is more difficult to trace distinctly. The Gonds have, however, a curious legend regarding the origin of one Nagbansis among the » ,, . , . , . , , -,. . . Gonds. ot their historical subdivisions, apparently now almost extinct, which would seem to show that a serpent-descended race of higher origin than their own had been absorbed among their numbers. They say that long after the Gond race had been created, but many generations previous to the Rajput transformation of the Grarha-Man dla dynasty in a.d. 35S,a brother of the K s h at triy a ruler of Del hi, when visiting the Mahadeo hills (in Hoshangabad) formed a connection with the daughter of the serpent-god of the place, and that, as a punishment, their issue was excluded from ranking among Kshattriyas, and was condemned to wander about the earth as part of the Gond* tribe. Divested of romance this may be taken to mean simply that the Nagbansi section of the Gonds are or were a comparatively distinguished and recent addition to their numbers, and, if so, it would be easy to account for the body of the Naga tribe, as well as for their chiefs. It may also be worth mentioning that one of the most curious of the so-called aboriginal races of the Central Provinces, the Bai gas, who are the priests of other wild tribes, claim descent from a pair bearing the significant NagaJogi and Naga f «Na j j» and «N£ga b li u m 1 a 1 n. ° & & Bhumiain".f Though classed as abori gines they have no distinguishing dialect of their own, and their position among their supposed congeners is sufficiently in accord with the social rank which might have remained to the degenerate descendants of a race originally holding themselves above the aborigines, but not admitted to equality by the highest classes of the Hindus. The length to which these remarks have trespassed and the obscurity of the subject may make a brief recapitulation desirable, and indeed the substance of what has been suggested may be put in a very few words. * Note on Gonds and Bai gas — (Appendix to Captain Ward's Mandla Settlement Report). T Report of Central Provinces' Ethnological Committee (186S), p. 52. lxxii INTRODUCTION. The curious prominence of the serpent or "Naga " element in the nomenclature both of places and Recapitulation. families in Gondwana seem to show that a N a g a race must have played an important part in the history of this part of India, and as the claim to N a. g a descent, though indifferently made by chiefs of such opposite origin as the Kolarian Mundas and the Dravidian Gonds, had seemingly never penetrated down to the body of the aboriginal peoples, the natural inference is that the Nagas of Cen tral India were a separate race, powerful enough to be an object of imitation and aspiration to the more ambitious of the aboriginal chiefs, and probably connected with the Naga dynasties, of whom there are traces in the Vindhyan* country. Lastly, the absorption of the Central Indian Nagas, admitting them to have been a separate people, is shown to be at least possible by the existence to this day of Nagbansi chiefs unconnected even by suspicion with any of the known aboriginal races, and of subdivisions among the aboriginal tribes claiming a N a g a descent, and admittedly distinct from the body of their adopted people. t * N a r w a r, where General Cunningham places the nine Nagas of the coins, is in the Vindhyan country, and the Y a v a n a dynasty, which allied itself with the Nagas, spring from a founder bearing the probably allegorical name of " V i n d h y a- sa kt i." f Since the above was written Fergusson's " Tree and Serpent- worship" has been received. From the sculptures at Sanchi and A m r a v a t i he finds evidence of the co-existence with H i n d ii s in the first centuries of the Christian era of a race of bearded serpent-worshippers, probably aborigines. The superior race, whom he calls Hindus, are never represented as worshipping the snake, but certain sections of them seem to have had the snake as their emblem or tutelary genius, and are invariably shown with the cobra hood canopying their head. " The distinction between people with snakes and those without," says Fergusson, " is most curious and perplexing. After the most atten- " tive study I have been unable to detect any characteristic, either of feature or costume, " by which the races can be distinguished beyond the possession of this strange adjunct. " That those with snakes are the Naga people we read of can hardly be doubted' (p. 192). His conclusion is that snake-worship was an aboriginal faith, and that the Aryans adopted it " in proportion as they became mixed with the aborigines, and their blood became less and less pure" (p. 114). May it not be that the people represented in the sculptures with the Naga emblem was the Naga race which has been inferred to have been an object of imitation and respect to the aboriginal tribes of the country ? It would not be unnatural that a savage people should carry their reverence for the national symbol of their conquerors so far as to worship it- INTRODUCTION. lxxiii CHAPTER V. HISTORY UNDER THE GONDS AND MABA'tha's. Commencement of history in Gondwan a — The K h e r 1 a dynasty — Circumstances under which the Gonds rose to power-— The dynasties of Garha- Mandla, Chanda, and Deogar h — The character of the Gond rule — Extracts from Slee man — Remarks of au eye-witness in the last century — Prosperity of the Gond king doms — The Gond people under their own princes and under the Mar at has — Position of the aboriginal Chiefs after the M a r a t h a conquest — Demoralisation of the hill G o n ds — Their pacification under our rule — M a r a th a period — Character of the M a r & t h a rule — The best days of the B h o n s 1 a. s — Deterioration of the Government — ThePindhar is — Their rivals, the Tax collectors — The spoliation of the land — by direct violence, — by form of law — Devices for obtaining contributions from bankers — Ingenuity of general taxation — Forced benevolences — Exhaustion of the country — Errors of our early administration' — Improved system and its effects — Constitution of Central Provinces. It has already been said that history proper does not commence in Gondwana until the sixteenth cen- _ Commencement of history t jt wag then ^^ g a n g r £ m S a, the in G o n cl w a n a. J ° forty-eighth Rdjd of the Gond line of G- a r h a-M a n d 1 a , issuing from the Mandla highlands, extended his dominion over fifty-two garhs or districts, comprising the country now known asBhopal, Sagar, and D a m o h on the Vindhyan plateau ; Hoshangabad, Narsinghpur, and Jabalpur in the Narbada valley ; and Mandla and Seoni in the Satpura highlands. In the same century theHaihai-Bansi lineof Chhat - t i s g a r h emerges from a darkness, only hghted up by occasional inscriptions, into the general history of the country, and in the suc ceeding century the Gond princes of D e o g a r h transformed them selves from obscure aboriginal chiefs into a powerful Mohammadan ¦IXXIV INTRODUCTION. dynasty. The annals of Chanda are difficult to reduce to history, but it may be gathered from them that up to the sixteenth century the Rdjds of this line paid tribute to some stronger power. It is true that the Gar ha- Mandla dynasty dates its sove reignty from a.d. 358, but even their own annalists do not claim any extended dominion for them during the first twelve centuries of their independent existence, and the vestiges of powerful cotemporary dynas ties, now only extant in the inscriptions quoted above, are conclusive in limiting the extent of Gond supremacy down to so late a period as the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The Haihai-Bansis of Chhattisgarh are far older, and might perhaps be traced to times of unknown antiquity, if history could even feel its way through the inanimate era of inscriptions to the more living, if less real, legendary age which hes beyond it. It has been seen that some of the oldest Hindu legends relate to the supremacy of this powerful branch of the lunar race in the Narbada valley, and that their earliest inscrip tions carry them back to the first centuries of our era. The tradi tions of the Ratanpur branch ascend even higher, and there seems to be little doubt that eighteen or nineteen centuries ago they held all the eastern part of what is now known as the Central Provinces. The Kshattriya king of K o s a la, visited by Hwen Ths ang* in the seventh century, was in all probability one of this line, and it has already been mentioned that Professor FitzBdward Hall identifies their kingdom with the Puranic realm of C h e d i.f This identification supplies a link, if one were needed, between the kings of Chhattis garh and the dynasty of the same race, commemorated by the Jabalpur tablets, as both are called rulers of C h e d i in their respective inscriptions. But though there may be in these rude indi- *Hwen Thsang (Julien's Translation, book iv. p. 185, Edn. Paris, 1853) speaks of him as a devout Buddhist, and from the Buram Deva inscription referred to above (p. lxv.) it would seem likely that the Haihai-Bansi kings were Buddhists in the earlier centuries of our era, as a Brahmanical prince, even of a different sect, would hardly oppose the construction of a Saiva temple by main force. j- See above, p. liii. INTRODUCTION. lxxV cations of a dynastic history, extending not over centuries but over thousands of years, the frame-work for a very curious and interesting sketch, they must be passed over here with the bare mention which is all that necessarily limited space can spare to them. Before, however, the simultaneous dominion of the three great Gond houses ofGarha-Mandla, Deo- The Kherla dynasty. n , _,. , , , . , „ , g a r h, and Chanda united, for a time, al most the whole of Gondwana under the sway of aboriginal princes, a dynasty — which is usually called Gond* — had risen to temporary place and power at Kherla, on the Satpura plateau, in the fifteenth century. The only written record now forthcoming of these princes is in the pages of F i r i s h t a,t by whom they are said to have had " great wealth and power, being possessed of all the hills of Gondwana and other countries." They first appear in a.d. 1398, when Narsinha Ray a, the Rdjd of Kherla, is represented as instigated by the kings of Malwa and Khandeshto invade the B a h m a n i territories. A hill chief fighting against the most powerful of the then vigorous Mohammadan dynasties of Southern India had of course little chance, and Narsinha Raya had to buy peace from F i r o z Shah, the B a h m a n i king, by large presents of money, forty -five elephants, and the hand of his daughter. But lying as he did between two far more highly organised powers, not even his high land position could ensure to the Kherla Chief a long immunity from invasion, and about twenty or twenty-five years after,* the king of * The Kherla princes have been generally set down asGon d, but I cannot find on what authority. There seems to be quite as much, if not more, reason for considering them to have been Kshat triyas. The local legends certainly attribute that dignity to them, and in a very legendary account of the death of a Rahman Shah Dulha, who sacrificed his head in order to take the K h e r 1 a fortress with his headless trunk, and to whose head there is a monument at Kherla, while his body has similar honours at E 1 1 i c h p ii r in B e r a r, may perhaps be traced the story of the capture of K h e r 1 a by the B a h m a n i commander-in chief (whose name is not given), and his subsequent assassination by two Rajputs of the garrison, as related by Fi r i sh t a — (Briggs' trans lation, vol. ii. p. 480). f Briggs' Firishta (Edn. 1829), vol. ii. pp. 371—378. Ixxvi INTRODUCTION. Malwa, having failed in his attempt to employ the aboriginal princi pality as a weapon of offence against his powerful southern rival, determined to take advantage of it as a place of refuge in the event of his being hard pressed by his equally dangerous neighbours, the Mohammadan kings of Gujarat. Narsinha Ray a got together an army of 50,000 men, but his attempts at defence were unavailing, and he was defeated and slain. A large booty, including eighty-four elephants, fell to the victors, who. also imposed a tribute onNarsinhaRaya's successor, and left a garrison in his fortress of Kb e r 1 a.f But their grasp on their new acquisition could not have been very firm, for some six years afterwards Sultdn Hoshang of Malwa is recorded as again invading Kherla, though this time with less success. He was three times repulsed, and in the interval which was thus gained the besieged prince was able to appeal to the Bahmani king for help. Ahmad Shah Bahmani showed the usual readiness of these predatory foreign kings to embark in what promised to be a profitable war, but half-way on his expedition a pious doubt occurred to him whether " hawks should pyke out hawks' een," and true believers should embroil themselves with each other for the sake of an infidel. His movements were, however, quite misinterpreted by the king of M a 1 w a, who, less capa ble than his enemy of fine conscientious scruples, put down his hesi tation to simple cowardice. Finding his forbearance so ill appreciated, the Bahmani king threw the whole weight of his power into the scale of the Kherla Chief, and defeated Sultdn Hoshang 's army with great loss. £ This was, however, but a temporary respite for K h e r 1 a, which a few years afterwards, in 1433, again fell before Sultdn H o- s h a n g, and was at last confirmed to him by treaty with the Bahmani kings. § This was renewed after a war between the Bahmani power * The date is differently given in the Bdhraani and Malwa histories. t Briggs' Firishta, vol. iv. (Edn. 1829), pp. 178, 180. The accounts differ with regard to Narsinha R a y a' s death. In F i r i s h t a ' s Bahmani history (vol. ii.) he is recorded as living through this wnr. X Briggs' Firishta, vol. ii. pp. 407/", vol iv. pp. 183, 184. § Ibid, vol. ii. p1 415. INTRODUCTION. Ixxvii and M a. 1 w a in 1467, in which Kherla was taken by the former,* and though, in the disorganisation which followed, the heir of the Kherla line got possession of his ancestral stronghold through the treachery of the governor, and for a time held it in a sort of bandit fashion against all comers, this seems to have been the last expiring effort of his line, of which we read no more.f Indeed it. would seem that the Gonds, J although capable of approaching far more nearly to the Aryan Circumstances under which ,,„ . . , ¦¦ the G o n d s rose to power. level of organisation than any other of the aboriginal tribes of Central India, never got beyond a certain point, and gave way almost as certainly at the contact of an established Aryan power, as their supplanters have since done, in their turn, before a more vigorous branch of a kindred stock. The two opportunities of the Gonds were the disruption of the Hindu dominions by Mohammadan invaders, and the subse quent subversion of the independent Mohammadan kingdoms by a strong imperial power. It was between the era of the Rajput kingdoms of Chedi and Malwa, and the palmy days of indepen dent Mohammadanism in the west and south, that the Kh e r 1 a, dynasty found its place; and the substantial rise of the Gonds in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was probably made possible by the increased security of their external relations, which resulted from the substitution of the contemptuous tolerance of a large imperial power for the territorial greed of a number of restless rivals. The Mo gh al from his far-off court at A' g r a was content with obtaining from the lords of these rugged hills the nominal submission which was sufficient to prevent any break in the continuity of his vast dominions, where the petty neighbouring kings always found something to hanker after in even the poorest lands lying so close under their eyes. Thus when the decadence of the Mohammadan power of ™ , . . „ „ , , Malwa in the sixteenth century had en- The dynasties of G a r h a- J Mandla, Chanda, and abled the G o n d chiefs of G a r h a-M a n d 1 a 0 g a to turn their principality into a kingdom, * Briggs' Firishta, vol. ii. pp. 479 ff., vol. iv. pp. 228, 230. f Ibid, vol. iv. pp. 231, 232. X That isj assuming the K h e r 1 a princes to have been Gonds. 10 cpg lxxviii INTRODUCTION. they retained their regal status for two centuries, only forfeiting it when the strong grasp of the M o g h a 1 emperors relaxed, and a hither to unknown branch of the Aryan race, the M a r a t h a s, revived the old system of Aryan division and rivalry, which had once before been so fatal to the prospects of aboriginal independence. Although the Gonds were in name completely dependent on Delhi, and Gar ha, one of their chief seats of dominion, was included in the hsts of Ak bar's possessions as a subdivision of his provmce of Malwa, they were practically so far from the ken of the Moghal court that, except on occasions of disputed succession or other diffi culty, their history runs in a channel of its own, quite unaffected by the imperial policy. Indeed in emergencies they seem to have ap pealed as readily for aid to the neighbouring princes of P anna, (in B u n d e 1 k h a n d) , and of D e o g a r h, as to their nominal suzerains, and their alliances with these powers generally cost them concessions of territory to which it is not very probable that the consent of the imperial court was obtained or even asked. The princes of Chanda and Deogarh, after their first sub mission to Delhi, seem to have been practically even more in dependent than their northern neighbour. The annals of the former show no trace of Moghal domination, except the grant of signet rings to the two last kings, on which they are styled " dependents"* of the emperors. The latter bought his independence by apostasy, and returned from Delhi, which he had visited to make his submis sion, with a dress of honour and the high-sounding Moslem name ofBakht Buland, but thenceforward he seems to have been more powerful and freer from control than any of the other Gond princes, and his descendants to this day are as pure Gonds by blood as if they had never opened out to themselves the possibility of alliances with the higher races whose religion they had adopted. But like their brothers of G a r h a-M a n d 1 a, the princes both of Chanda and Deogarh succumbed almost without a struggle on the advent of the Marathas, and the middle of the eighteenth cen tury saw the absorption of their kingdoms into the dominions of the B h o n s 1 a Rdjds of N a g p u r. The crushing disaster which befel INTRODUCTION. lxxix the M a r a. t h a. confederacy at P a n i p a t deferred the fate of the Mandla dynasty for another quarter of a century, but in 1781 their territories became part of the Maratha. principahty of Sagar, and with them ended the independence of the Gonds. The time has passed to obtain much information regarding the The character of the real character of the Gond rule, apart from rule. ^g pergorial legends and dynastic disputes which make up the tale of the royal chronicles. "When we took pos session of the country, the Marathas had occupied the greater part of it for more than half a century, and the accelerated life of the people during a similar period of British administration has done even more to break the thread of old traditions, and to create new aims and interests. The scanty relics of information that still survived at the time of the cession in 1818 were brought together by Sir W. Sleeman and Sir R. Jenkins, the former of whom especially applied his great powers of observation to the task of studying the people amongst whom he was placed. The following passage, extracted from some manu script notes, dated 1825, and left by him in the Record office at Nar- s inghp ur — the district in which he practically commenced his dis tinguished career as an Indian administrator — gives, probably, a very fair idea of the internal pohty of the Gond principalities : — "Under these Gond Rdjds the district for the most part seems to have been distributed among Extracts from Sleeman. . feudatory chiefs, bound to attend upon the prince at his capital with a stipulated number of troops to be employed wherever their services might be required, but to furnish little or no revenue in money. These chiefs were Gonds, and the countries they held for the support of their families and the payment of their troops and retinue, little more than wild jungles ; and we may almost trace the subsequent en croachments of cultivation by the changes that have taken place in their residences, retiring from the plains as they were brought into good tillage, and taking shelter in or near the hills, where alone any considerable jungle is now to be found. The conveni ence of these jungles in furnishing wood and grass to them and 1XXX INTRODUCTION. their followers is the chief motive of their choice, but I believe they would prefer a wild jungle as their residence to a cultivated plain did no advantage of this kind exist. " Some fourteen or sixteen generations ago a considerable change appears to have commenced in the population and the cultivation of the plains in this district, as well as in the others that border on the Narbada, and indeed all those that I have seen in Bhopal, Nagpur, &c, &c. Families of different castes of Hindus from Bhadur, Antarvedi, and other countries to the north and north-west, oppressed by famine or distracted by domestic feuds in their native countries, emigrated to these parts ; and unlike the Mohammadans or Marathas, who appeared only as military adventurers, they sought a peaceful and a permanent establishment in the soil. " Generally they seem to have come first in single families, the heads of whom took a small but well-chosen tract of rich but uncultivated land from the feudatory Gond Chiefs at a small rent in money, or more eommonly in kind ; and I have traced many of the most respectable, and most extensive of those families — B r a h m a n s, R a j p u t s, and others — back to the time when they paid only a few mdnis of grain and a few pots of ghee a year for immense tracts of waste that are now covered with groves, villages, and rich cultivation, all owing themselves to the industry of the same family. These families, increasing from gene ration to generation, and augmented by acquisitions of new emi grants from the same countries and tribes, who invariably joined themselves to the original establishments, became in time valuable and often formidable to the Gond Chiefs from their superior in dustry, skill, and enterprise ; a better system of tillage and greater industry created a greater surplus produce, while a bolder and more enterprising spirit enabled them to appropriate it in extend ing improvement. " Some of these families from the first held immediately under the prince, and almost all ultimately, for as they became suffi ciently strong to shake off their dependence on the feudatory chief, INTRODUCTION. Ixxxi they never wanted a pretext, either in their own disputes with them, or in the jealousies of the prince himself, who found them better soldiers and more profitable tenants than the Gond Chiefs, who required all the surplus produce of large estates to subsist their large but useless train of followers. " As these families increased and spread over the plains, the Gond population retired to the hills, rather than continue on plains deprived of their jungles. Some of them still live in the plains, near the banks of rivers that retain their jungle, and in other parts, as about Fatehpur, where the soil is too poor to pay the expense of clearing away the plains ; but I have frequently seen a few Gond families detach themselves entirely from the rest of a village, and establish themselves at another end of the estate in some corner affording them at least the appearance of a jungle. " A great many of the villages in Narsinghpur that are now situated in the midst of a fine cultivated plain retain the names of G o n d Patels that formerly held them : and many thus situated, that have the same name with one or more villages in the same pargana, are still distinguished by the prefix G o n d i, as Gondi Jhiria, to distinguish it from the others, and denote it as a village of Gonds, while not a Gond has lived near it for ages ; but in no instance have I been able to discover a well or a tank dug, or a grove planted by a Gond Pat el ; all those that I have found in villages denoted to have been possessed by them having been dug or planted by subsequent occupants. The Mhowa tree, whose fruit is much esteemed by them, they no doubt cultivated, and though it now appears to grow spontaneously in the woods to which they have retired, is the only part of an estate that seems to form in their mind any local tie, and the Patel in his annual assessments is obhged to assign to every G o n d culti vator one or more of these trees, if any stand on his grounds, in proportion to the land he may till. But not only were groves, temples, tanks, and other works of ornament and utility not to be found in the different villages of a Gond Chief's estate; even his lxxxii INTRODUCTION. residence showed no signs of such improvement, and scarce any thing less than the capital of a large principality possessed them. The surplus produce of their rude state of agriculture was small, and had the villages of the Gond Chiefs been distributed among their relations as those of the heads of the R a j p u t s, B r a h- m a n s, and other families from the north were, they would have consumed it all in the enjoyment of indolence, the highest luxury they knew, as at present. On the contrary the new families pos sessed superior knowledge, enterprise, and industry, and their imaginations were excited by what they had seen or heard of in their parent country, and they exerted themselves in such a manner as to render every tolerable village superior, in works which they esteemed useful or ornamental, to the capital of a Gond Chief." Though this picture represents an indolent semi-barbarous race, it conveys no impression of cruel savagery in the Gond character. The princes, hke the people, seem to have been of an easy, unambitious disposition, rarely seeking foreign conquests after their first establish ment, and only anxious to stave off the evil day of dissolution by concessions.* The following passaget from the narrative of a journey undertaken at the close of the last century the\Ttacent°urayn ^^ " *7 a ^mber of the Asiatic Society, which may be regarded as the nearest discoverable approach to cotemporary evidence, speaks well for the stewardship of the Gond princes : — * From the time of the establishment of the Gond kingdom ofGarha-Mandla in a.d. 1530 to its subversion some two centuries after, we do not read of a single accession of territory to it, nor of a single offensive war undertaken by its princes. The only really spirited stand made by them was that ofDurgavat i — a R £ j p u t princess who had married into their line (see below, article Mandla, p. 283). t Asiatic Annual Register, 1806. "Miscellaneous Tracts"— A Narrative of a Jour. ney from Mirz&piir to Nagpur by a route never before travelled by any European in 1 798-99, by a member of the Asiatic Society, eminent for his extensive acquirements in every branch of oriental literature and science," p. 32. INTRODUCTION. lxxxih " The thriving condition of the province, indicated by the appearance of its capital, and confirmed by that of the districts which we subsequently traversed, demands from me a tribute of praise to the ancient princes of the country. "Without the bene fit of navigation — -for the Narbada is not here navigable, — and without much inland commerce, but under the fostering hand of a race of G o n d princes, a numerous people tilled a fertile coun try, and still preserve in the neatness of their houses, in the number and magnificence of their temples, their ponds, and other public works, in the size of their towns, and in the frequency of their plantations, the undoubted signs of enviable prosperity. The whole merit may be safely ascribed to the former govern ment, for the praise of good administration is rarely merited by M a r a t h a. chieftains, and it is sufficient applause to say that the Chief of Sagar in twenty years, and the Rdjd of Berar in four, have not much impaired the prosperity wliich they found." The httle that is known of the history of the Gond dynasties quite confirms this account. Under their Prosperity of the Gond , , ., . , kingdoms. easy, eventless sway the rich country over which they ruled prospered, their flocks and herds increased, and their treasuries filled. So far back as the fifteenth century we read in Firishta that the king of K h e r 1 a, who if not a G o n d himself was a king of the Gonds, sumptuously entertained AhmadShahWali, the Bahm ani king, and made him rich offer ings, among which were many valuable diamonds, rubies, and pearls.* Under the G a r h a-M a n d 1 a dynasty the revenues of the Mandla district — now a wild tract of forest paying with difficulty £5,000 per annum to the Statef — amounted it is said to ten lakhs of rupees, or £100,000. Sleeman writes thus of the reign of the Rani Durga- v a t i (a.d. 1 560), — " of all the sovereigns of this dynasty she fives most " in the page of history and in the grateful recollections of the people. " She formed the great reservoir which lies close to Jabalpur, and is " called after her 'Rani Talao' or queen's pond ; * * many other * Briggs' Firishta, vol. ii. p. 410 (Edn. 1829). t The revenue has been increased by the new settlement. lxxxiv INTRODUCTION. " highly useful works were formed by her about G a r h a."* "When the castle of C h a u r a. g a r h was sacked by one of A k b a r ' s generals, in a.d. 1564, the booty found, according to Firishta, comprised " independently of the jewels, the images of gold and silver and other " valuables, no fewer than a hundred jars of gold coin," and a thousand elephants. Indeed D u r g a v a t i, we read, kept up in all a stud of 1,500 elephants.t Of the C h a n d a dynasty, Major Lucie Smith, the Deputy Commissioner, who has studied his district with the minutest interest, writes that " they left, if we forget the last few years, a well-governed and " contented kingdom, adorned With admirable works of engineering " skill, and prosperous to a point which no after-time has reached."! They have left their mark behind them in royal tombs, lakes, and palaces, but most of all in the grand enceinte of battlemented stone wall, too wide now for the shrunk city within it, which stands, a fitting emblem of its half-reclaimed founders, on the very border-line between the forest and the plain, having in front the rich valley of the "W ar dha, behind and up to the city walls deep forest extending far east. The third contemporary dynasty, that of Deogarh, rose to power in the decadence of the Moghal empire, too near the Maratha epoch, and, as has been already remarked, it Was only the existence of a strong imperial power admitting no rival kingdoms on the field of conquest, but extending a contemptuous tolerance to its more insignificant and distant vassals, which made it possible for the aboriginal principalities to bear up against the surrounding pressure of Aryan invaders. The Deogarh history is therefore but a beginning and an end, with no eventless middle period of peaceful progress, yet it was amidst the wars ofBakht Buland (a.d. 1700), with whom this dynasty practically commenced, that the Nagpur country received its first great infusion of H i n d u cultivators and arti ficers, who were tempted away by him from their homes with liberal grants of land. Sir Richard Jenkins says of him that " he employed " indiscriminately Musulmans and Hindus of ability to introduce * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. vi. p. 627 (August 1837). t Briggs' Firishta, vol. ii. p. 218 (Edn. 1829). X See below, p. 144. INTRODUCTION. lxxxV *' order and regularity into his immediate domain. Industrious set- " tiers from all quarters were attracted to Gondwana, many towns " and villages were founded, and agriculture, manufactures, and even " commerce made considerable advances. It may with truth be said " that much of the success of the Maratha administration was owing " to the groundwork established by him."* The prosperity of the kingdom generally implies to some extent The Gond people under the prosperity of the governed, but it is a their own princes and under curious commentary on the social capacities of the Gonds that their princes should have only been able to advance by leaving the body of the people behind. Their history shows that they were more capable of rising to the Aryan level than other aboriginal tribes, and their supplanters, the Marathas, admitted, even after they had harried them down to the state of mere blood-thirsty savages, that they were not to be classed with the K h o n d s and other mountaineers. Captain Blunt, who has been mentioned above as the only authority on the condition of the Gonds up to a very late period,! Writes that Kamal Mohammad, the officer in charge of the Maratha pargana of Manikpatam, "who "appeared to be well acquainted with the different tribes of mountaineers "subject to the Berar Government," informed him (a.d. 1795) that the Gonds were much larger than the K h o n d s, and had in many instances been made good subjects, while all attempts to civilise the latter had proved ineffectual.! But as their own princes were unable to make farmers and handicraftsmen of them, it is likely that, even if the Maratha power had not supervened, the mass of the people would have been more and more trodden under and driven back by the pushing Hindu yeomen, whom circumstances had forced between them and their natural chiefs, and that but for their reputation for bravery, which made them valuable as soldiers, they would have fared little better under princes of their own race * Report on N a g p ii r, p. 97 (Edn. Nagpur Antiquarian Society) • -j- See above, p. xi. X Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 152 (Edn. Lond. 1803). 11 cpg Ixxxvi INTRODUCTION. than under the H in d u s, to whom they were mere outcasts,— worse than under the British Government, before which they are at least theoreticaUy equal with their feUow-subjects. Although their arms altogether failed to save their independence, they had a high military reputation. To quote Blunt again— " The Maratha s considered them as better soldiers than even the R aj p u t s."* They were pro bably employed largely in the military service, for we read in the A'in-i- Akbarithat Jatba of the Deogarh line, which had not then (to wards the end of the sixteenth century) quite attained sovereign dignity, kept up an army of 2,000 cavalry, 50,000 infantry, and 100 elephants, and that B a b a j i (B u b j e o) of the C h a n d a line maintained a force of 40,000 footmen and 1,000 horsemen.f The smaller chiefs are also mentioned as retaining large bodies of armed men in their service ; so that, allowing also for the retinues of huntsmen and personal retainers supported by all of these forest chiefs, a considerable proportion of the Gond people must have been artificially preserved from the supersession which contact with the Aryan element in the population invariably brought with it. Those who were neither nobles, soldiers, nor huntsmen must have been, as now, mere drudges, and probably lost little by the destruction of their national independence. It was on the chiefs that the levelling Maratha Position of the aboriginal sway pressed most heavily. To the feudal Chiefs after the Maratha . . , , . , .i • i- .•„ conquest. organisation, under which their subjection to the paramount authority was but nomi nal, succeeded a military monarchy which jealously concentrated all power at head-quarters. The loose tribal system, so easy in times of peace, entirely failed to knit together the strength of the people when united action was most required, and the plain country fell before the Maratha armies almost without a struggle. In the strongholds, however, of the hilly ranges which hem in every part of G o n d w a. n a, the dispossessed chiefs for long continued to maintain an unequal resist ance, and to revenge their own wrongs by indiscriminate rapine and slaughter. The Maratha system of Government even in its best— * Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 140. t A'fn-i-Akbari, Snba of Bcrar (Gladwin's Translation) Calcutta Edn. vol. ii. pp. 70, 71. INTRODUCTION. lxxxvii that is in its earliest days — tolerated no powers and honours but those that proceeded direct from the throne, and in the plains and valleys which were accessible to their armies they seem to have succeeded in producing a social dead-level. Blunt says of them that they " keep their " peasantry in the most abject state of dependence, by which means, " they allege, the ryots are less liable to be turbulent or offensive to " the Government."* But it was more difficult to crush out all op position in the highland fastnesses, in which the malcontents of the subject race had taken refuge, and it does not appear that they ever attained undisturbed supremacy in the hill chiefships. " The attention " of the Subaddrs," writes Blunt, " is chiefly directed to levying tri- " butes from the Zaminddrs in the mountainous parts of the country, " who, being always refractory, and never paying anything until "much time has been spent in warfare, the result is often pre- " carious, and the tribute consequently trivial. t" He also mentions that the Gond Rdjd of Malliwar threw down and spat upon " the Mar a. t h a parwdna (pass), which he sent to him for inspec- " tion, saying ' I am not in Nagpur, and I fear nothing from the Rdjd of B e r a r' " $ In such cases the Maratha plan § was to con tinue pillaging and harassing the Gonds, and thus to obtain from the chiefs a nominal acknowledgment of their supremacy, and the promise at least of an annual tribute. ^Demoralisation of the hill Under ^ treatment the hm Gonds SOOU lost every vestige of humanisation, and became the cruel, treacherous savages that Blunt found them. Those of his followers who, overcome by heat, fatigue, scanty food, bad water, and the other privations of one of the hardest marches on record, lingered behind for a httle rest, were cut off and seen no more. The main body, leaving C h u n a r, had traversed amid many dangers the wild forest-country comprised in the present " South-Western frontier agency," and thence passing through Chhattisgarh and the * Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 110. f Ibid, p. 108. X Ibid, p. 121. § Ibid, p. 98. lxXXViii INTRODUCTION. Gond State of K a n k e r, took to the Bast, and attempted to make their way through the T r a n s-W ainganga chiefships of C h a n d a and B a s t a r. They were, however, obliged to turn back from the Indravati, and seek a safer route through the T e 1 i n g a country on the opposite or west bank of the Godavari; and the M a r a t h & A' mil inDewalmari informed them " that it was very fortunate " they had lost no time in their retreat, for notwithstanding the " friendly assurances of the Gond Chief, all his vassals and every " neighbouring Gond Rdjd had been summoned to co-operate with " him for the purpose of plundering and cutting them off."* The Maratha A' mil at Bijur congratulated Captain Blunt on his escape from the mountains and jungles in which " so many of his people had been lost and never more heard of. Even the Banja- r a, s,f" he said, " who never ventured among these Gonds until the " most solemn protestations of security were given, had in many " instances been plundered." J Such was the ^Their pacification under our temper wMch the h&rsh Maratha rule had roused in a race of naturally placable savages. When the constant irritation engendered by a system of government strong enough to harass and injure, but not to secure entire subjugation, gave way to the equable discipline established by our Government, these wild marauders soon settled down into rude tillers of the soil ; indeed some of the Gond Rdjds have gone a step further in civilisation, and after giving up their natural defence of sword and buckler, have become adepts with the more civilised weapons of the law-suit and the usury bond. A remarkable instance of the rapid pacification of a tract once terribly notorious for the character of its inhabitants may be found at M a, 1 i n i, in the Hoshan gabad district, whose aboriginal inhabitants, now mere inoffensive drudges, were not half a century ago the most reckless and daring of plunderers, and gained for their forest-haunt the name of " Chor Malini," or " Mai in i of the robbers." Mr. C. A. Elliott§ quotes * Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 139. t Banjaras, a tribe of carriers and traders. X Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 142. §Hoshangabdd Settlement Report, chap. iii. para. 86. INTRODUCTION. lxxxix from a report of 1820* the following remarks on the Gonds :— " The " capture of A' s i r, the extraordinary fate ofChitii (Pindhari), " the settlement of the Bhils to the southward, and the perfect " tranquillity that prevails in M a 1 w a, have made an impression even " on these savage and intractable foresters, which I trust will last " till, by tasting in some degree the benefit of their ameliorated con- " dition, and contrasting the comforts of peace and comparative " competency with the wretchedness of a life of constant danger and " privation, they will become gradually susceptible of the habits of " civilisation." Mr. Elhott adds : — " This description and the phrase ' savage and " intractable foresters' seems to us now ludicrously inappropriate to " the timid, docile creatures with whom we have to do, and this very " inappropriateness is an adequate test of the great change which has " passed over them. At present nothing is so remarkable in them as " their ready obedience to orders." Numerous other quotations might be adduced to the same effect, but there can be no stronger testi mony than that of Sir Richard Jenkins, who says of the Gonds; — "they are sincere, faithful, and intelhgent; they are less mendacious " than their neighbours, Hindu or Mohammadan, everywhere ; " and since our administration we have had no reason to pronounce even " the wildest of them, with whom Europeans have had direct intercourse, "insensible to good treatment, or unwilling to quit habits of plunder " and rapine, imposed upon them by poverty and oppression, for more " regular and creditable modes of life."f Unfortunately for the abori ginal tribes they were destmed to pass through at least three-quarters . . , . , of a century of Maratha bondage before Maratha period. n „¦,•/. T , the day of relief was to come. In the ten years from 1 741 to 1 751 J the B h o n s 1 a family estabhshed its dominion over the three kingdoms of Deogarh, Chanda, and Chhattis garh, and the Maratha princes of S a. g a r effected a lodgement in * By Major Henley, Political Agent at S e h o r. f Report on N ag p rir by Sir R. Jenkins (Edn. Na gp ii r Antiquarian Society), p. 23. X Ibid, p. 73. XC INTRODUCTION. Bundelkhand and northern Gondwana as early as 1733,* from which year they gradually encroached upon the territories of the last finally independent G o n d dynasty — that of Garha-Mandla — till they subverted it in 1 781 . f They were in their turn expelled from the Narbada valley by the more powerful B h o n s 1 a ten years after, J and in 1818§ the whole of the country, since known as the S a g a r and Narbada territories, was annexed to the British possessions, while the remnants of the once great B h o n s 1 a kingdom were taken under British management during the minority of the young Rdjd R a g h o j i III. Thus in the N a g p u r country the M a r a, t h a. rule lasted from sixty-seven to seventy-seven years, with a second period, from the date of R a g h o j i's majority in 1830 to the British accession in 1854, of twenty-four years. In the Sagar and Narbada territories the duration of their power varied from twenty -nine years in M an dl a itself to eighty-five years in the northern part of S a g a r. Enough has already been said of the inflexibility of the Maratha system to show how Httle allowance it Character of their rule. made fo]. ^ wayward characters of the half-tamed Gond nobles. But however despotic and levelling in their administration, the earher Bhonslas were no mere unre flecting tyrants. To the patient mass of their subjects, which accepted their authority without question, they showed themselves not altogether wanting in sympathy. " They were military leaders, " with the habits generated from that profession. They * * never " left the plain manners of their nation," and being "born in the class of cultivators," had " a hereditary respect for that order, and though " not restrained by it from every degree of cupidity and rapacity, yet " (were) seldom cruel to the lower classes, and almost always (paid) " attention to established forms and institutions." || The Government was, according to Blunt, " well estabhshed, and the country highly * Grant Duff's History of the M a r a t h £ s, Indian Reprint, vol. i. p. 370. f Journal of the Asiatic Society of B en gal, vol. vi. p. 624 (August 1837). X Sir R. Jenkins' Report on N a g p ii r (Edn. Nagpur Antiquarian Society), p. 82'. § Aitchinson's Treaties, vol. iii. p. 109. || SirR . Jenkins' Report on N a g p ii r (Edn. Nagpur Antiquarian Society), p. 99. INTRODUCTION. Xci cultivated,"* even in 1795, by which time the administration had begun to deteriorate. Some degree of consideration was shown even to the Gond aristocracy, provided they claimed nothing more sohd. They were allowed, Jenkins says, to rank themselves as Rajputs or Kshattriyas "by a stretch of complaisance in the Maratha ' officers, owing probably to the country having been so long under ' Rdjds of the Gond tribe. "f The king did not spare himself. " In ' the smallest as in the greatest affairs in every department (he) was ' referred to ; nor did any inconvenience in the matter of delay to the ' public service arise from this system, for even when not sitting actu- ' ally in Darbdr, the Rdjd was always accessible to any person who ' had business to propound to him ; and when in Darbdr, the greatest ' apparent festivity was no bar to more serious affairs, where immediate ' attention was requisite on the part ef the Rdjd. * * * 'When four gharis,\ of the day were spent, he dressed himself and ' came out to an open verandah looking on the street, where he held ' his morning Darbdr, was visible to the people, and accessible to ' their personal calls for justice and redress for injuries. He always ' sat on his masnad§ with his sword and shield before him — badges ' which his less warlike successors disused. The whole of the minis- ' ters, military chiefs, and mutasaddis, || with their daftars,^ attended, and carried on their daily business before him. The Darbdr broke up about noon, at which time the Rdjd went to take his dinner with his family, and afterwards reposed himself." " The'etiquette and ceremonies of the court of Nagpur were " never very burthensome. The Rdjd received almost every " stranger of any rank nearly as his equal, rising to take his salute * Asiatic Researches (Edn. Lond. 1803), vol. vii. p. 107. f Report on N £ gp d r, p. 20. X Spaces of twenty-four minutes. § Throne. || Clerks or accountants. ^f Records. XG[{ INTRODUCTION. "and embrace him. In many cases he gave the Istikbdl, Or "public reception, personally— that is he moved out with all the " principal persons of his court to meet the new comer. On common " occasions in the Darbdr, the Rdjd was not to be distinguished " from any other individual, either by his dress or his seat."* This description refers to Rdjd Janoji, the second of the line, who has " the reputation of having settled M . . , t. "what his father (the great Raghoji) The best days of tbe \ ° . Bhonslas. "had only conquered.' t In his reign it is said that "justice was well adminis- " tered, crimes were few, and the punishment seldom capital. The " revenues were flourishing, and the people in easy circumstances. "The allowances of all officers, Civil and Mihtary, and of the "troops were regularly paid."! Even under him, however, "no " means of making money by traffic was deemed disgraceful, and " the revenues of Government, as well as the interests of the indus- "trious classes of the population, were sacrificed to give them — the " Rdjd and his followers — monopolies in the various articles which " they chose to deal in. Whole bazars in the city were the property " of the Rdjd himself, his ladies, and his ministers, with various " privileges and remissions of duties, totally subversive of free " trade. §" If such was the state of things under the best of the line, the people fared ill indeed when the sole virtues of the Bhons las, as rulers— their military simplicity and self-restraint — gave way, sapped by two or three generations of royalty, and their natural rapacity was heightened by straitened means. Janoji died in 1772, and Was succeeded by his brother Mudhoji, who died after a reign of sixteen years, leaving his dominions in " a perfect state of tranquillity," and bequeathing a considerable treasure, both * Sir R. Jenkins' Report on Nagpur (Edn. Nagpur Antiquarian Society) pp. 106, 107. f Ibid, p. 76. X Ibid, p. 106. § Ibid, p. 107. INTRODUCTION. XClll in cash and jewels, to his son Raghoji.*" It was in the reign of this latter that the character of Deterioration of the Govern- the B h o n s 1 a administration commenced tnent. to deteriorate, and " the inhabitants " began to date the period of misrule and oppressive assessment, " though it was not carried, at first, to the ruinous excess of exaction " which marked the conduct of R a g h o j i after the Maratha war " of 1802." f It was after the crushing defeats of A s s a y e, A' r g a. o n, and Gawalgarh, and the consequent loss of his rich possessions in B e r a r and Cu t tack, that R a gh o j i IL, from the first inclined to regard his subjects as mere money*producing machines, threw off all restraint in his unwillingness to show a reduced front to the world. Not only did he rack-rent and screw the farming and cultivating classes, but he took advantage of the necessities, which his own acts had created, to lend them money at high interest. J He did not even hesitate to play this dangerous game with his troops, whose pay he withheld, lending them money on exorbitant terms through his various banking establishments, and when he paid them at last, giving a third in clothes, from his own stores, at most exaggerated prices. When all other means of making money failed, he organised regular house-breaking expeditions against the stores of men whom his spies had reported, to be Wealthy, and who " had declined the honour of becoming His Highness' creditors." § All through this time the sufferings of the people were aggravated by the ravages of the wander ing robber.bands who have obtained such a terrible notoriety under the name of Pindharis. From their Ihe Pindharis. n. ,. AT , , , nl standing camps in the JN a r b a d a valley these marauders— who raised their operations almost to the rank of warfare by the great scale on which they carried them out, staining them nevertheless by wanton atrocities from which the most debased of ordinary criminals would shrink — poured down * Sir R. Jenkins' Report on N a g p u r (Edn. Nagpdr Antiq. Society), p. 80. f Ibid, p. 124. Xlbid, p. 107. §Ibid, p. 70. 12 rpg Xciv INTRODUCTION. periodically through the valley of the T a p t i over the plains of Berar, and on one occasion (in 1 811) carried fire and sword up to the capital itself, burning one of its suburbs.* The plain of Berar and the valley of the W a r d h a. have even now a semi-warhke appearance from the mud forts which a peasantry, naturally peace ful, was obliged to erect in very self-defence, and there are places at which to this day the shopkeepers, influenced by some fingering tradition, shrink from exposing their goods publicly for sale. There is nothing in history more moving than the pictures of the utter desolation which these human locusts left in their track. Their plan of action is thus described by Malcolmt : — " The Pindharis were neither encumbered by tents nor baggage ; each horseman carried a few cakes of bread for his own subsistence, and some feeds of grain for his horse. The party, which usually consisted of two or three thousand good horse, with a proportion of mounted followers, advanced at the rapid rate of forty or fifty miles a day, neither turning to the right nor left till they arrived at their place of destination. They then divided, and made a sweep of all the cattle and property they could find : committing at the same time the most horrid atrocities, and destroying what they could not carry away. They trusted to the secrecy and suddenness of the irrup tion for avoiding those who guarded the frontiers of the countries they invaded, and before a force could be brought against them they were on their return. Their chief strength lay in their being intangible. If pursued, they made marches of extra ordinary length — sometimes upwards of sixty miles — by roads almost impracticable for regular troops. If overtaken, they dispersed, and reassembled at an appointed rendezvous; if followed to the country from which they issued, they broke into small parties. Their wealth, their booty, and their families were scattered over a wide region, in which they found protec tion amid the mountains and in the fastnesses belonging to * Sir R. Jenkins' Report on N a g p u r (Edn. N a g p vi r Antiq. Society), p. 87. f " Memoir of Central India," (2nd Edn. Lond. 182 1), vol. i. pp. 430, 431. INTRODUCTION. XCV themselves, and to those with whom they were either openly or secretly connected ; but nowhere did they present any point of attack, and the defeat of a party, the destruction of one of their cantonments, or the temporary occupation of some of their strongholds, produced no effect beyond the ruin of an indivi dual freebooter, whose place was instantly supplied by another, generally of more desperate fortune, and therefore more eager for enterprise." Though open and avowed robbers and murderers, with only so much profession of religion* in a country where religion scarcely pretends to be a moral check as would satisfy the superstitious instincts of their followers and serve the purposes of discipline, they had their lands, their titles, their regular organisation, and in short every mark of distinction that could have been accorded to the most orthodox military leaders, even to bearing the name of the king whose countenance they had bought by admitting him to partnership in their gains. f In short at that time of universal instability the life of a Pindhari was the best chance of com petence and security open to a Central Indian peasant. " Arising," says Malcolm, " like masses of putrefaction in animal matter out of the corruption of weak and expiring States," the Pindharis * "The men of this class, however, who are occasionally to be met with in jungly " villages and under the hills were not originally Mohammadans. Their grandfathers " were generally Gonds, Kurkiis, Bhils, &c, whose children were carried off by " the Pindharis in their raids, circumcised, and made to follow that profession. When " the P i n d h a r i s were put down, these menmostly returned to their native villages. They " seem almost utterly without religion, not practising the rites of their faith, nor yet those " of their families. In one case aPindharion being asked, was unable to tell the name " of his prophet, or to repeat the Raima, or profession of faith." — (H oshangabad Settlement Report, chap. iii. para. 30). f There were two main divisions among the Pindharis, known as the H o 1 k a r Shahi and Sindia Shahi respectively. C h i t ii, the most famous of all the Pin dhari leaders, had his head-quarters in the forest tract lying to the north of the Nar bada, which then formed part of the N i m a r district.* He also held the B a r h a estate „t„ . „ . inNarsinghpdr; and Karim Khan, another *Nimar Settlement Report, » £ , ', . ' . para. 86. influential Pindhari chief, had lands in P a 1 o h a in + NarBinghp6r Settlement the same district.f Both these chiefs belonged to the Report, para, 36. Sindia Shdhf division. XCvi INTRODUCTION. " had been brought together less by despair than by deeming the life " of a plunderer in the actual state of India as one of small hazard " but of great indulgence."* When the British Government took it in hand to suppress them, their whole organisation crumbled away at once. To quote Maleolm again, " It was evident that they could not " exist without a home or a support. To drive them from the terri- " tories which they possessed, — to identify with them all who gave " them aid or protection, was the only mode by which the great and " increasing evil could be remedied. No measures were ever more " wisely planned, more vigorously pursued, or more successfully "accomplished, than those adopted for their suppression. There " remains not a spot in India that a Pindhari can call his home. " They have been hunted like wild beasts ; numbers have been killed ; " all have been ruined. Those who adopted their cause have fallen."t The real strength of the Pindharis was in the weakness of the surrounding Governments. The Maratha kings had more important things to think of than protecting their subjects against robbery and murder. Men and Their rivals, the Tax Collec- jQongy for their wars were their great wants, and the Pindharis could help them in both. Neither the Sindia, nor the Holkar Shah? bands of Pindharis kept their hands entirely off the subjects of the kings whose name they bore, j but a sufficient percentage of the plunder probably went into the royal treasury ; and after all, as money was wanted at all hazards, their ways were not so very much worse than those of the more regularly licensed plunderers who called themselves revenue collectors. Indeed in one case at least on record, the maddened cultivators called in the aid of the Pindharis, preferring the crash of a sudden raid, with all its terrible accompaniments of fire and sword, to the slow torture of con stant pressure, or perhaps hoping that, in the general upset, good men might chance to come uppermost. This happened in the Jabalpur district in ] 809, and the landholders gained their object at first, as * " Memoir of Central India," vol. i. p. 431 (2nd Edn.) f Ibid, vol. i. p. 461. I Ibid, vol. i. p. 442. INTRODUCTION. XCVU the arrival of the Pindhari army so thoroughly frightened the Maratha governor that he quite forgot for the time to go on with his exactions ; but before the plunderers left the country they had made themselves as much felt by their friends as by their foes, " appro- " priating all they could seize, insulting the temples of the Hindus, " defacing the images, and committing outrages and excesses such as " will not readily be forgotten, or the horror excited by them be buried " in oblivion."* All revenue reports of those times teem with accounts of the cruel, but often ingenious, processes by which the Maratha collectors slowly bled the people. Inconvenient precedents and institutions were of course at once cleared away as mere clogs upon mi ,. . „ , , . the process of extracting money. The The spoliation of the land. r- . ° . J carefully-adapted organisation of village and circle officers which the M o g h als, wherever they had come, had grafted on the old feudahsm of Gondwana, with all its gra duated structure of rights and duties, gave way to a system of public auction.t Villages were put up to the highest bidder, but even he was lucky if he got to the end of the year safe. After passing with alternating hope and fear through the rainy season, and watching his crops safe through the caprices of the elements, some turn in the tide of war or an unexpected robber- raid might destroy all the fruits of the toil and expenditure of months. In the border districts one day H o 1 k ar's army Bv direct violence. would come and sweep the country before it. Then perhaps Sindia marched down troops to defend his possessions, in which process they pastured their bullocks on the crops, trampled in the water-channels with their elephants, and killed any of his subjects who made objections. Zainabad of Nimar was thus ruined in 18034 In the intervals between regular campaigns, and even * Report on the Settlement of part of the Jabalpur district (1828), quoted in Mr. A.M. Russell's J a b a 1 p ii r Settlement Report, para. 16. + Captain Forsyth's N i m a r Settlement Report, para. 1 54. Mr. Russell's Damoh Settlement Report, para. 50. X N i m a r Settlement Report, paras. 82, 83. XCVlii INTRODUCTION. when there was nominally peace, the rival armies usually did a little plundering in the enemy's country on their own account, having practically no other means of supporting themselves. The unfortunate country-people gave up all attempt at protecting themselves against the troops, whether hostile or nominally friendly, and when they heard of an army coming, hid themselves in the glens and the rocks, creeping out by moonlight in a last desperate attempt to cultivate their land.* But then if they tided through these greater catastrophes there was the never-absent danger of predatory inroads from the hill-tribes, or indeed from any one who was strong enough to get up a following.! To avoid these they clubbed together and paid blackmail, or collected them selves into large villages and built mud fortifications round them, going out armed to their fields many miles off perhaps, and leaving wide tracts of country, in their own expressive phrase, " be chirdgh" — without a light or a village fire. If the crops thus sown in sorrow and tended in fear came to maturity, there were fresh trials to encounter. Sometimes the lease taken at the beginning of the year, and carried through with so much difficulty and anxiety, was unceremoniously * Hoshangabad Settlement Report, chap. ii. para. 27. T The following extracts from the epitomised translation of a petition presented by the inhabitants of the K h a n d w £ pargana of the N i m a r district (quoted in Cap tain Forsyth's N i m a r Settlement Report, p. 83, para. 155) gives a vivid representation of those times, viz. from 1803 to 1814 : — " Robbers and Pindharis oppress the district and levy blackmail, which the Zamind&rs (chiefs) share with them. The Patels (village headmen) bribe the Kama visddr (revenue officer) and Za.mind6.rs to let them appropriate the ryots' fields, and cultivate much land without paying rent for it. Many of the ryots have deserted the pargana, and the rest are preparing to follow. * * * For the last twenty-four years the Zamind&rs have taken cash perquisites and rates far beyond their dues. They connive at the levy of blackmail by plunderers, and take bribes both from plunderers and plundered. Last year Holkar's army came, and the Kamdvisddr arranged with the ryots that they should abscond for a few days, and return after their departure. This they were ready to do, but the Zamind&rs pre vented them. Then the M e w a s i s (aboriginal hill tribes) from the A's i r hills looted two villages, and Holkar's troops came and surrounded the town of K. h a n d w £ and exacted a contribution of Rs. 30,000. The last Kamdvisddr levied a third instalment of revenue from the pargana after the two regular ones had been collected. * * * The hill robbers have desolated villages that had been flourishing for a hundred years. * * The pargana is ruined." INTRODUCTION. XC1X set aside in favour of a higher bidder,* and the unfortunate lessee saw the harvest, on which he had staked his all, go to enrich some private enemy or clever speculator. Sometimes the village would be made over by the authorities to troops in arrearsf to pay themselves, no question of course being asked. Sometimes the crop was seized directly by the Government officials without any pretence of form or reason. In the districts of the interior,- where there was a httle less _, anarchy and confusion, rather more forma- By form of law. v, , -, • ,, e lity was observed m the process of exac tion, though with very similar results. Tracts of country were as signed either to large farmers for a fixed sum, or to military leaders for the payment of troops ; and as the valuation put upon the leases was always of the highest, the assignee had to exercise all his inge nuity to bring his collections up to the mark. Taught by expe rience, the cultivators assumed the appearance of poverty, concealed their stock, and hung back from taking farms. But they were always worsted in the long run. Practically they had no choice except to cultivate or to starve, and the assignee soon found out, by means of his spies, who were in the best position to take the leases. On these " dresses and titles were liberally bestowed, and solemn " engagements entered into, at a very moderate rate of rent, which en- " gagements were most assuredly violated at the time of harvest, when. " the whole produce was at the mercy of the Jdgirddr (assignee) te * * Thus he proceeded from year to year, flattering the vanity " of the Mdlguzdrs (farmers) with dresses, titles, and other distinc- " tions, and feeding their hopes with solemn promises, till all their " capitals were exhausted."! There was a little more difficulty in tapping the wealth of bankers and others, whose substance was buSom\°anSS "^ StOTed * a fo™ leSS aCCeSsible ™* P™^ nent than standing crops or flocks, and * D a m o h Settlement Report, para. 51. f Ibid, para. 50. X MSS. " Preliminary Observations to the Report on the District of N a r s i n g h. pur," by Sir W. (then Captain,) Sleeman, para. 42. C INTRODUCTION. herds. Even in those times it was not for every one to take the royal road, hit upon by Ragh oji III., of going direct to the coveted strong-boxes by means of burglary.* So the notable device was discovered of establishing adultery courts, furnished with guards, fetters, stocks, and a staff of witnesses. When good information was obtained of the existence of a hoard of money, the unfortunate possessor was at once charged and found guilty, and if the disgrace of a crime- which was then held to reflect on the whole family of the accused was not sufficient to bring him to reason, he was chained in the stocks till he agreed to pay ransom. In one case the landholders of the Sr in a gar pargana of Narsinghpur clubbed to free themselves from an incubus of this kind, agreeing to purchase its abolition by an immediate payment of Rs. 45,000, which they raised by a cess of 25 per cent all round on the revenue of their villages. But the only effect of their effort was, that they were presumed to be able to stand another turn of the screw, and the amount which they had managed to raise was thence forward regularly added to their assessment for future years. f The devices for levying money with a show of legality in towns and populous non-agricultural tracts show tion!genUity °f ge"eral taM" almost endless ^genuity, though some of them were such flimsy veils for exaction that it is difficult to imagine why the pretence of form should have been kept up at all. Thus the provisional government appointed at Jabalpur to carry on the administration of the newly-annexed Narbada country (1817) was called upon by its Maratha officials to decide, among other questions, — whether widows should still be sold for the benefit of the State, — whether one-fourth of the proceeds of all house sales should continue to be paid into the treasury,' — and whether persons selling their daughters should not still be taxed one-fourth of the price realised. At a meeting of the same provisional government there is an entry ordering the release of a woman named P u r s i a, who had been sold by auction a few * See above, p. xciii. f Sleeman's MSS. "Preliminary Observations," para. 44. INTRODUCTION. CI days before for seventeen rupees.* The taxes levied in different places varied with the idiosyncrasies of the Government, or of the individual tax-collector; but among them it may be noticed that people were mulcted for having houses to five in, or if they had no houses, for their temporary sheds or huts; if they ate grain, their food was taxed at every stage in its progress through the country ; if they ate meat, they paid duty on it through their butchers. When they married, they paid for beating drums or putting up marquees. If they rejoiced at the set Hindu festivals, they paid again, — at the " Holi," for instance, on the red powder which they threw at each other, at the Fold, on the ornaments which they tied to the horns of their cattle. Drinkers were mulcted by an excise, and smokers by a tobacco duty. Weavers, oil-pressers, fishermen, and such low-caste industrials had as a matter of course to bear a special burthen. No houses or slaves or cattle could be sold — no cloth could be stamped — no money could be changed, — even prayers for rain could not be offered without paying on each operation its special and pecu liar tax.f In short a poor man could not shelter himself, or clothe himself, or earn his bread, or eat it, or marry, or rejoice, or even ask his gods for better weather, without contributing separately on each individual act to the necessities of the State. These were the regular taxes merely, and it certainly does not seem likely that any money could have slipped by owing to their want of comprehensiveness ; but the revenue accounts of the times show that supplementary measures were occasionally found necessary to reach men who would otherwise have escaped. Thus in the accounts of the./Vau*a6Sadik Ali Khan,J governor of Nar s in ghpur, for the years a.d. 1806 — 1816, such entries as these may be found : — " A fine on one of the Kanungos found in good condition Es. 1,000." Forced " A fine on Bhagwant Chaudharf, who benevolences. was building a large house „ 3,000." " A fine on Mehronpurl Gosdin, who was digging tanks and building temples... „ 6,000." * MSS. Records, Secretariat, N a g p ii r. f Mr. C. A. Elliott's Hoshangabad Settlement Report, chap. ii. p. 41 ; Sir R. Jenkins' Report on N £ g p d r (Edn. N ag p d r Antiquarian Society), pp. 1 58/*. X MSS. Notes on the late Mr. Molony's Report on Narsinghpur, by Sir W. (then Captain) Sleeman, Appendix table No. I. (1825). 13 cpg Oil. INTRODUCTION, It is hardly possible that such a state of things could have endured very long, even had it not been destined to termination by the strong hand of the British power, and the people could scarcely have borne up as they did for nearly a quarter of a century, but that in a densely-populated country war to some degree and for a time alleviates the evils which it creates, feeding the country, as it were, on its own life-blood. The more ex tensive the devastation of the crops, and the greater the diminution of the means and number of the cultivators, the higher rose the price of the grain produced by the rest ; and even a Maratha army could not get its supplies entirely free from a country which it per manently garrisoned. Thus great sums of money were set in circu lation among the people, while the number of pockets to fill and mouths to feed was much reduced. The sums spent on military es tablishments alone in the Narsinghpur district averaged nearly nine lakhs of rupees (£90,000) for the ten years previous to the ces sion, while after our occupation of the country the expenditure on all public establishments rapidly fell to less than two lakhs (£20,000).* But this process of stimulation, though it might avert for a time the day of exhaustion, only rendered it the more complete in the end. „ . . „ , All accounts concur in representing the Exhaustion of the country. _ . . condition of the once-flourishing Nar bada districts, which we acquired by the war of 1817-18, as desolate almost beyond conception. An old map of H o s h a n g a b a d in the B e n g a 1 Asiatic Society's Journal for 1834 (p. 70) shows all the Sohagpur valley as waste and jungle. t At tbe recent settle ment (1863-64) nearly two-thirds of the culturable area, including all the good land, were cultivated, chiefly with wheat. Of parts of Nimar it was reported in 1819 that "all traces of former " cultivation had ceased to be perceptible, and, with the exception "of Kanapur, not a dwelling or an inhabitant was to be seen " in any part >of the country." J Their desolation was expressed even * Sleeman's MSS. Notes on Mr. Molony's Report on N a r s i n g h p d r , note 2. t Mr. C. A. Elliott's H o sh a g a b a d Settlement Report, chap. ii. para. 27. X Letter to Sir John Malcolm, dated 26th June 1819, quoted in Captain Forsyth's Nimar Settlement Report, para 163. INTRODUCTION. CUI more forcibly in the saying— " there is not a crow in Kanapur Beria." In writing of those times Sir W. Sleeman says that for two years, Errors of our early admin- " ^J far the most laborious of his life," his isti-ation. whole attention was engrossed " in prevent ing and remedying the disorders of his district."* Had all the colleagues this distinguished officer possessed as large a share of his clear insight, as they undoubtedly had of his sense of his duty, the history of our new acquisitions might have been an almost unbroken record of prosperity, and the ground which it has taken fifty years of often halting progression to gain might have been covered in a quarter of a century. The new administrators of the country — taken many of them from the ranks of the very regiments which had conquered it- found a rich soil, a docile peasantry, and an equable climate. They saw that under the rule introduced by them life and property were safe, that Courts of Justice tried to deserve their name, and that the people had at length breathing time ; and they jumped to the conclu sion that a country with such capacities needed but a well-meaning government to enter upon a golden era of limitless prosperity. Unfortunately, though the world may be generally governed with very little wisdom, there are times when something more than rule of thumb is required to secure success. It has been a common enough mistake among sanguine young officials, prompted perhaps by the wish to satisfy their distant financial superiors, to overrate the vivifying powers of our rule, and to estimate its material value to the people by the measure of its moral advantages. In the present instance the illusion was fostered by the readiness with which farm ers flocked forward to take village leases, some themselves sharing the hopes of their rulers, but the majority mere broken speculators,! who had found land-gambling a paying trade in the "time of trouble," and who took advantage of a change of Government to start again with refreshed characters. Thus misled, the district officers might, perhaps, be excused for forgetting that for the barbaric pomp of * MSS. Notes on Mr. Molony's Report, note 20. f Ibid, note 4. CIV INTRODUCTION. viceregal courts they had substituted the severe simphcity of Indian " cutcherries," — that standing armies had been replaced by occasional police guards, — and that the valley, instead of being a centre of expen diture, had now begun to send away of its own surplus to more im portant localities. The result was, that with all our good intentions, the commencements of our rule were marked by most vigorous taxa tion, and the people found less cause to congratulate themselves than they had expected in their change of masters. They were no longer robbed and murdered, it is true, but then they were equally prevented from redressing the inequalities of fortune by robbing and murdering others ; and while under native rule the greater the disorganisation, the greater was the hope of a general crash and change, the new rigime, with its heavy uniform pressure, seemed too systematic to leave room for evasion — too strong to allow even effecT0™1 SyStem ^ ^ the idea of opposition. The excess of the evil, however, in most cases worked its own cure, and by degrees, after conjecture had been exhausted in seeking causes for the difficulties of the people, the conviction began to gain ground that the fault lay not so much with them as with their masters. Within twenty years from the cession an era of material prosperity had set in for many districts, the effects of which, as shown at the recent land-revenue-settlement, need give us no cause to be ashamed of our stewardship. Some parts of the country have lagged behind others, but our older acquisitions in the Central Pro vinces may now confidently be ranked among the most prosperous of British Indian possessions. To these were added in 1854 the last remaining provinces of the B h o n s 1 a — N agpur and Chhattisgarh, which, having already enjoyed some degree of British protection, directly, during the last Raja's minority, and, indirectly, after his assumption of power, through the influence of the Resident, had comparatively little lee-way to make up. They have since benefited greatly by the enhanced price of produce, and the improvement of communicationa. In 1860 a strip of territory on the left bank of the River Godavari was ceded by the Nizam, and incorporated in the INTRODUCTION. CV British possessions under the name of the "Upper Godavari District." In the following year (1861) the " Central Provinces" were Constitution of Central formed by the union of the Sagar and Provinces- Narbada territories with the Nagpur Province. Three years afterwards (in 1864) the new administra tion obtained an accession of territory by the addition to it of the Nimar district, in the Narbada and T ap t i valleys, and in 1865 it received a fresh accretion of some seven hundred square miles of country, which had formerly constituted the native State of Bije ragh ogar h in Central India, but had been confiscated in 1857. This is neither the time nor the place to put forward specula tions regarding the advantages which long-neglected Gondwana may have derived from the concession to her of an administration of her own, with no rich, smooth home-domain to distract its attention from these far out-lying stretches of rugged hill and valley, but in the succeeding chapters details will be given regarding the population, trade, and present condition of the province, which may enable those interested in the question to form a judgment of their own. CHAPTER VI. POPULATION. Aboriginal section of the population— Dravidians and Kolarians— G o n d legends— Gond character and status— The R aj-G on d s— The Dh dr-G on ds— The Maris— The B ai gas— The B h i 1 s— The K u r k d s— Difficulty of civilising the aborigines— The Kanwars— The H alb as — Aboriginal beliefs and ceremo nies — Aryan races— Aryan colonisation— Changed manners — Satnami Cha- ra£t s— Witchcraft— Punishment of witches— Prevalent H i n d d castes. The Central Provinces have been aptly compared to a " thick bit of cover in the middle of open country"— a thicket in which, "when the plains all round have been swept by hunters, or cleared cvi INTRODUCTION. " by colonists, you are sure to find all the wild animals that have not "been exterminated."* But even this— Aboriginal section of the one of the lagt refwes 0f the aboriginal population. ° races — has been so largely invaded by people of Aryan descent, that out of a total population amounting in round numbers to nine millions of souls, two millions only are classed under the head of hill and aboriginal tribes, three-fourths of whom are Gonds. Whether the ordinarily accepted theory be true, that the less perfectly developed races were expelled from the rich valleys by people possessing a higher organisation, and were forced to content themselves with the scanty produce of the bare hill-sides, or whether, as some suppose,t the aborigines — hunters by taste rather than agriculturists— never cared to make head against the heavy tropical vegetation of the black soil bottoms, the result is equally that the G on d has retained nothing of the old heritage which still bears his name, except the rocky uplands on which a less hardy race would find no sufficient sustenance. The chief remaining aboriginal stronghold is the Satpura plateau, divided among the districts of Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni, and the higher half of Mandla. Commencing from the west, one-fourth of the population of Betul is Gond; in Chhind wara. the proportion is as high as three-sevenths ; in Seoni, which is traversed by the main line of communication through the plateau, it sinks to one-third, rising again to one-half in the wild hill dis trict of M a n d 1 a, where the last Gond kings held sway. To the east and west of this region hill-races of a different stock press in upon the Gonds. In Betul and Hoshangabad may be found the Kurkus, numbering in all some 40,000 souls, whose central seat is the Pachmarhi group of hills. Further west again in the Nimar district we come into the Bhil country, but even including a few scattered colonies of this race in other parts of the province, they only contribute some 25,000 to the population. * Report of Central Provinces' Ethnological Committee (1868), Introductory chapter, p. 2. f Captain Forsyth's Nimar Settlement Report, para, 110. INTRODUCTION. Cvii To the east the natural fastnesses which hem in the head waters of the Son and the Na rb a da— unexplored until of late years by Europeans— give a secure shelter to the wildest of all the hill tribes— the Baigas— who, all told, are under 17,000 souls. The first two of these almost certainly belong Dravidians and Kolarians. to that group of aboriginal tribes which is designated by Mr. G. Campbell as " Kola rian"* or northern, to distinguish them from the Dravidian or southern races; and the Baigas also are conjecturally classed with the former by the Central Provinces' Ethnological Committee. Thus the heart of Gondwana is still occupied in force by the Gonds, who, according to the authorities already quoted, be long to the great Dravidian or southern section of the aborigines, while scattered fragments of the weaker Kolarian races, which have never risen to independent sovereignty, find refuge here and there on its outskirts. The great southern wilderness — covering many thousand square miles between the plains of Chhattisgarh and the Godavari, and extending from the Wainganga. on the west almost to the Eastern Ghats — is another G o n d stronghold. In these unexplored regions are to be found probably the best specimens of the real wild Gond, who shuns the sight of stran gers, and between whom and his rulers communication is only maintained through a sort of quarantine,! his tribute being deposited in a fixed spot, whence the Raja's officers come to take it at certain seasons. Kolarian colonies, in addition to those already men tioned, may be found intermixed, in almost every direction, with the tribes of Gon d descent. The east and west have already been mentioned. To the extreme north in the hill country bordering on * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxxv. part ii. (Supplementary number), p. 28- f " On the B e 1 £ D f 1 a hills they flee at the approach of any native not of their own " tribe. Their tribute to the Rdjd of B a s t a r, which is paid in kind, is collected once a " year by an officer who beats a tum-t&m outside the village, and forthwith hides himself, " whereupon the inhabitants bring out whatever they have to give, and deposit it in an " appointed spot." — (Hislop's Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, part i. p. 8, 1856.) Cviii INTRODUCTION. Rewa, are some 25,000 Kois. To the south-east in Sambalpur there is a large colony ofDhangars, apparently belonging to the Kol stock from Chota Nagpur; while still further south, in the eastern part of the Bas tar dependency, are found the Gad- bas, another Kolarian tribe. But even at these extremities of their country the Gonds and their congeners out-number other aboriginal tribes. Mr. Hislop thinks that, from this curious intermixture within a limited area of tribes of totally different stock, we may conclude that the Dravidian s, entering India by the north-west, here crossed the stream of Kolarian immigrants from the north-east.* . These are matters of which so little is known that there is barely ground work even for speculation about them ; but the aboriginal legends contain one or two curious traditions, which, in the absence of any certain information, may be worth mention. In one of the Gond hymns quoted by Mr. Hislop a legendary account of the origin of the tribe is given, which, though defaced by some interpolations, palpably due to Brahmanical influence, is as evidently aboriginal in its incidents and conception. It purports to relate how the Gonds were created, on or near mount D h a v a 1 a g i r it (in the Himalayas) ; how they displeased the gods and were shut up in a cave, four only escaping through a jungle-country to a place called Kachikopa Lohagarh, or the " Iron valley in the Red Hills" — a name sufficiently applicable to many parts of Gondwana; how here they found a giant, who was at first inclined to eat them, but becoming pacified gave them his daughters in marriage, and from this union sprang the present Gond race.J If any faith can be placed in the antiquity of this legend it would certainly * Hislop's Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, edited by Sir R. Temple part i. p. 27- f Ibid, part iii. pp. 3 — 6. X Hid, part iii. pp. 17, 27- INTRODUCTION. C1X seem to imply that the Gonds found their country already occu pied when they entered it, and that they allied themselves with their precursors. Another Gond tradition runs, that when Sarja. Ballal Sinha, the tenth of the Chanda royal line, by services rendered, had established his right to ask a favour from: the Delhi Emperor, he claimed, as an addition to his kingdom, all the possessions of his ancestor "Kol-Bhil."* Whether this may be taken as indicating that the predecessors of the Gonds were tribes of Kolarian descent, or not, it is at least curious that the G o n d s, who ordinarily assume themselves to have been lords of the soil from time immemorial, should in any of their legends base their pretensions on a succession from rival claimants so well known as the Kois and the B h il s. Another branch of the Kolarians, the Baigas of Mandla, are apparently admitted by the Gond to be autochthonous, being known and reverenced among the surrounding population, which is chiefly Gond, as "Bhumias,"f or children of the soil, and worshipping "Mai D h a r i t r i," mother earth. J The legend first quoted also shadows out, it will be observed, the idea of a direct northern origin for the Gonds, in accordance with Mr. Hislop's theory. Their own re miniscences certainly seem to point direct to the north as the cradle of their race, for till lately they buried their dead, head to south, feet to north, in order that the corpse might be ready to be carried to the northern home of its people. § Whichever of the two races can claim the priority in order of time, the Dravidian Gonds undoubtedly Gond character and status. , . , n , , succeed the Kolarians in order of develop ment. The leaders of the latter — in this part of the country at any rate — never rose above the status of predatory chiefs, while the Gond princes founded kingdoms, received high titles of nobility from the Moghal Emperors, || and even in their decadence were * Major L. Smith's C h a nd £ Settlement Report, para. 183. t Appendix to M a n d 1 a Settlement Report, note on "Baigas," para 2. X Report of Central Provinces' Ethnological Committee, part i. p. 3. § Ibid, p. 5. || Major L. Smith's Chandd Settlement Report, paras. 194 — 197. 14 cpg cx INTRODUCTION. treated by their Maratha conquerors with all the form due to esta blished royalty.* At the present day, however, their capacity for taking a half-polish seems to be absolutely against them. While the Baigas in their isolation from Aryan contact retain the free spirit and honesty of the savage, the G o n d s have sunk, in a rash competi tion with the stronger race, to the level of mere drudges. Though almost everywhere intermixed with the Hindu population, and sometimes so closely as to have almost lost the flat head, the squat nose, and the thick lips, which are the facial characteristics of their race, it is only in the wilder and less populated districts that the ordinary Gonds have retained any share in the ownership of the soil. Throughout the N a r b a d a valley and the Nagpur plain scarcely a village is held by a pure Gond, and in Chhattisgarh their possessions, though still pretty considerable in extent, mostly lie in jungle tracts of little value. t The proprietary lists show, it i§ true, Gond owners even in the richest districts, but these are not of the true non- Aryan blood, but half-bred chiefs, generally claiming Rajput ancestry. Such was the origin of the royal line of Garha-Mandla, and probably of TheRaj-Gonds. „ . „ ... ' , ni , most of the families which now call them selves " Ra j -Gond" or " Royal Gond." If so, however, the lower blood is dominant, for in appearance most of them obstinately retain the Turanian type. In aspiration they are Hindus of the Hindus, wearing the sacred cord, and carrying ceremonial refine ments to the highest pitch of parvenu purism. Hislopt says that, not content with purifying themselves, their houses, and their food, they must even sprinkle their faggots with water before using them for cooking. With all this exterior coating of the fashionable faith, they seem, however, to retain an ineradicable taint of the old * Raghojil. took possession of the Deogarh kingdom, as Protector, or Mayor of the Palace only, maintaining the Gond Rdjd as titular sovereign — (see below, article Nagpur, p. 303). f In Raipdr the average revenue of the 294 villages held by G o n ds is under Rs. 90. (Raipdr Settlement Report, para. 120); see also Bi la spur Settlement Report, para. 125. X Papers on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, part. i. p. 5. INTRODUCTION. CXI mountain superstitions. Some of these outwardly Brahmanised chiefs still try to pacify the gods of their fathers for their apparent desertion of them by worshipping them in secret once every four or five years,* and by placing cow's flesh to their lips, wrapped in a cloth, so as not to break too openly with the reigning Hin du divi nities. The annual sacrifice of cows to Pharsa Pen, the great god of the Gonds, was not given up by the Chanda kings until the reign of Bir Shah, the last of the line but two, who reigned at the close of the seventeenth century, though the Brahmanic faith seems to have been ostensibly adopted by his ancestors four generations before.t Among the Chhattisgarh Gonds there are to this day faint lingering traces of the prehistoric serpent-worship, which is said to have retained a hold on the Deogarh kings even after their nominal conversion to Islam. $ In the social habits of the Gond chiefs there is the same curious compromise between the wild savagery of the hill-man and the sleek smoothness of the modern Hindu, that is observable in their profession of faith. Nearly all of them retain the old love of hunting ; and the taste for thieving, or rather for the encouragement of thieves, still runs in the blood, though with a class, ambitious of recognised gentility, the prospect of anything so vulgar as a jail life has undoubtedly a very cooling effect. On the other hand they surround themselves with Hindu priests and agents, and some of them have even taken to turning an honest penny by the thoroughly Hindu pursuit of money-lending. There is an immense gap between the sensual, Pharisaical half-breed chief and the down-trodden mass of the Gond race. The former has still the prestige of long descent and great possessions to support him against the race-prejudices of the Hindus. A struggling Hindu cultivator, whatever may be his claims to superiority in the abstract, would be very unlike the rest of the world if he could so thoroughly divest himself of material considerations as to look * Hoshangabad Settlement Report, chap. iii. sec. 2, para. 29. f See below, article " C h a n d a," p. 143. X See above, p. lxvi. Cxii INTRODUCTION. down on the man upon whom he and hundreds of his tribe depend, not only for the land which they till, but often for the advances necessary to keep body and soul together until harvest time. Seeing, too, that the purest of his race do not scruple to serve the aboriginal chief as priests, agents, and even as cooks, he must feel that he has quite sufficient warrant for respecting power and place, without inquiring too nicely in whom they are vested. But the plebeian or Dhur-Gond, with no artificial aids to „,, ^, , „ keep his head above water, has sunk to the TheDhdr-Gonds. ** „ , .^ _. , . very bottom of the community. Of his natural recommendations, the savage straightforwardness of speech has suffered somewhat from social depression and enervating contact with Hinduism, but the stalwart limbs and contempt of fear, which are the characteristics of the race, still survive, and render Gonds useful tools in employments requiring strength and courage rather than intelligence. In the Narbada valley the regular and avowed calling of the tame Gonds is driving the plough, but it is well known that unscrupulous masters often use them in thieving expeditions, for which they are fitted, as well by the attri butes already mentioned as by a perfectly unreasoning docility. These qualities have been more legitimately utilised in the M o h p a, n 1 coal-mines, where a considerable number of the miners are Gonds, and even for military purposes — a Gond battalion having been raised for service in the critical times of 1857-58 ; — but though not wanting in courage and coolness, they were found scarcely capable of taking a sufficiently high polish of discipline and order. The exact position which these Gonds occupy in the social scale is ordinarily below the lowest of the recognised Hindu tribes, but above the M h ar s and D h e r s, who, though not known to be of aboriginal descent, are equally denied admission within the pale of genuine Hinduism, and thus have no caste except among themselves. But although beneath the depth to which he has sunk there is a lower deep still, the tame Gond is so low in Hindu estimation that the huts of his people are almost always clustered apart from the better habitations in the villages of the valley. INTRODUCTION. CX111 In the highlands, where the Hindus dVnot care to penetrate, the Gonds are seen to better advantage. On the range of hills north of Ellichpur (in Berar), where they come into contact with other aboriginal races, instead of accepting a subor dinate position, they take the lead, generally becoming the patels or headmen of their villages.* Writing of this class in 1825, " Sleeman says,t " Such is the simplicity and honesty of character " of the wildest of these Gonds, that when they have agreed to a " Jama, they will pay it, though they sell their children to do so, "and will also pay it at the precise time that they agreed to. " They are dishonest only in direct theft, and few of them will " refuse to take another man's property when a fair occasion offers, "but they will immediately acknowledge it. They consider as a "matter of course all the better kind of crops they till to go " exclusively to pay the Government rent, and of that they dare not " appropriate any part. The Kodo and Kutki, or coarser grains, they "eat or sell, with some jungle fruit, to provide themselves the salt " they require, and the very little cloth they use to cover their " nakedness." These particulars are quite confirmed by more modern ob servers, though since Sleeman's time civilisation has extended its, to them injurious, influence over a constantly increasing section of the really wild Gonds. The best specimens of them now remain ing are in the feudatory State of B a s t a r , lying to the extreme south of the province. In this ill-explored wilderness of hill and forest at least four-fifths of the population may probably be classed under the head of G o n d s and their allied races. Hitherto there seems to have been no very hard and fast line between these diffe rent subdivisions, rising from the Maris or the Marias, the wildest of all, to the semi-Hinduised Khatolwars and Raj- Gonds. In Chanda, where the forest-country meets the more civilised plain, the higher classes of Gonds are recruited from f Hislop's Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, part i. p. 13. * MSS. Notes on Mr. Molony's Report onNarsinghpdr, note 2. Cxiv INTRODUCTION. the wilder tribes, and it is said that the process of transfor mation may be observed in actual operation, the Maria, first calling himself " K o i t ur," then " Jangli" or " Forest G o n d," and lastly shaking off the prefix and designating himself " Gond"— pure and simple.* A little more and he might sublimate himself into the Khatolwar or Khatulya class, under which are en rolled all of this family who " have begun to conform to the Hindu religion and to ape Hindu manners,"t except of course the Raj- Gonds, who claim a higher lineage. A very interesting account of the Maris will be found below under the heading "Bastar/'j The The Maris. . _, . „,. „ . , ., . writer, Captain Cilasturd, describes them as a "shy race, avoiding all contact with strangers, and flying to the "hills on the least alarm." He adds that they are timid, docile, and " not quarrelsome — indeed amongst themselves most cheerful and "light-hearted, always laughing and joking. * * * * In " common with many other wild races they bear a singular character " for truthfulness and honesty ; and when they once get over the " feeling of shyness, they are exceedingly frank and communica- " tive." Of the same class, but even wilder, are the Maris, who in habit the difficult country called M a d i a n, or A b aj m a r d. The whole population will fly at the sight of any number of strangers ap proaching their village, and the appearance of a horse is a perfect terror to them. It is not, moreover, very easy to find their habita tions, which are constantly shifting. Revenue is collected from them through an official called a " Chalki," who makes it his busi ness to know where the villages are to be found ; and such other com munication as they have with the outer world is carried on through the medium of the cultivators of a frontier village, who alone find it worth while to venture into so rough a country for a poor trade in cloth, beads, and salt, paid for in coarse grain and wax. The Maris possess no cattle of any kind, and their only implements of * See below, p. 137 (article "Chand ii)." f Hislop's Aboriginal Tribes of tho Central Provinces, part i. p. 5. X See below (article " 15 a s t a r), " pp. 3-1—36. INTRODUCTION. CXV agriculture are a hatchet and an iron hoe. Like the Marias, they seem quiet, truthful, and honest, and though timid they are readily reassured by kind treatment. Putting aside, therefore, their distaste to strangers and to fresh water, they appear to be harmless, well-dispositioned nomads, with little of the sensational barbarism which has been attributed to them. It has been seen that in Sir Richard Jenkins' time they Vere represented as naked savages, living on roots and sprigs, and hunting for strangers to sacrifice.* Even in the far more recent work of Mr. Hislop the Maria women are said to wear nothing but bunches of twigs, fastened to a string passing round their waists. f The least-clothed Maris seen by Captain Glasfurd wore a square patch of cloth, suspended as the twigs are supposed to have been, and he describes even the wildest of them as raising grain for their food, and smoking tobacco grown by themselves. It is difficult to imagine that a race, whom a strange face now puts to flight, should ever have laid themselves out systematically to seek foreign victims, and it seems far more probable that these old marvels arose in city gossip, originated, perhaps, by some Maratha official knowing nothing of Bas tar but its distance and poverty, and hop ing devoutly that unkind fate would never lead him to know more. As the Marias are the most characteristic section of the Dravi dian races in these provinces, so the Bai gas may be taken as presenting the most strongly marked individuality among the Kolarian aborigines. An excellent account of them will be found below under the head ing " Mandla,"J by Captain H. C. E. Ward, who has, during the last few years, devoted considerable time and interest to study ing their habits. Though their associations and their religious ceremonies have stamped them in the general opinion as a non- Aryan race, they have qualities, both physical and moral, which give t * See above p. xii.; also Sir R. Jenkins' Report on N a g p d r (Edn. N £ g p d r Anti quarian Society,) p. 23. f Hislop's Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, part. i. p. 8. X See below (article "Mandla)," pp. 278—280. CXvi INTRODUCTION. them a distinct pre-eminence among their fellow-denizens of the woods and hills. The purest of the race in the Eastern Forests of Mandla approach in feature to the aquiline Aryan type, and as a rule they are above the Gonds in stature. In character not only do they possess in a very high degree the savage virtues of truth and free-bearing, but they show a power of combination and independent organisation very rare among savage tribes. Writing in 1869 Captain Ward was able to record that for three years not one of these wild Baigas had troubled the district courts of justice. All offences and disputes are referred by them to the village tribunal, consisting of a committee of elders, which also manages, with considerable system and success, the internal affairs of the communities. Crime is, however, rare, except it be the appropriation of a stray handful of grain in times of scarcity, or an occasional forgetfulness of the marriage-tie, neither of which are regarded as very heinous offences, or severely visited by the representatives of public opinion. Though their method of culti vation, by burning down the forest and sowing seed in the ash, is wasteful and precarious, it is not adopted so much from idleness as from the unsuitability of regular husbandry to the steep hill-sides and thick forests, in which alone the Bai gas find a congenial soli tude. Indeed at the sowing season, when occasion demands it, they show themselves capable of enduring protracted labour and considerable privation, though these qualities are more generally displayed in the chase, of which they are passionately fond. With their light axes they bring down unerringly small deer, hares, and peacocks, and sometimes even panthers thus fall victims to their skill. Though they are wonderfully nimble in evading beasts of prey, they will not hesitate to attack tigers if it is to save a comrade, and even their dogs are so thoroughly familiarised with these conflicts, that a case is known of a tiger having been turned from its human prey by the attacks of a puny -looking Baiga cur. Whether it be from this superiority in mental and physical qualities, or from some lingering tradition of their exalted descent, the Baigas are the accepted priests of other aboriginal races, INTRODUCTION. CXV11 and their decisions, especially in boundary cases, command most implicit respect throughout the hill country. Their peculiar powers are supposed to lie in the removal of disease, and the pacification of disturbed spirits. No hill-man will go near the spot where a comrade has been killed by a tiger till the Baiga. has per formed his rites, both to lay the spirit of the dead, and to counteract the increased power which the tiger is believed to absorb from his victim. The process is very simple. The Baiga. goes through a series of antics, supposed to represent the tiger in his fatal spring, and ends by taking up with his teeth a mouthful of the blood-stained earth. When this is done the jungle is free again, and there really may be thus much genuineness in the remedy, that if the tiger were still hanging about the spot he would probably commence upon the Baiga, who thus acts as a kind of forlorn-hope in meet ing the first brunt of danger. His power of combating disease commands even a wider acceptance, being admitted and courted by the Hindu population of the adjoining lowlands. When cholera breaks out in a village, every one retires after sunset, and the Baigas parade the streets, taking from the roof of each hut a straw, which are burnt, with an offering of rice, clarified butter, and tur meric, at some shrine to the east of the village site. Chickens daubed with vermilion are then driven away in the direction of the smoke, and are supposed to carry the disease with them. If they fail, goats are tried, and last of all pigs, which never disappoint expectation, the reason being, according to Captain Ward, that by the time their turn has come, owing to the delay incurred in re peated ceremonies, and in getting up subscriptions to pay for them, the epidemic outbreak has ordinarily worked itself out. The Baigas are said to resemble in many respects the un- The B h 1 Is doubtedly Kolarian B h i 1 s, whose head quarters are in the Vindhyan range, some four hundred miles west of the B a i g a. forests ; but there are some striking differences between the habits of the two tribes. The Baigas, as has been seen, have easy notions about the mar riage tie, and build their villages in a very gregarious fashion. The 15 cpg CXviii INTRODUCTION. Bhils are, on the contrary, very jealous of the honour of the other sex, and very doubtful of the continence of their own; they therefore guard against accidents by keeping their houses far apart.* In moral character, however, the Bhils seem to be certainly below their brother aborigines. Whether it be owing to a naturally intractable disposition, or to the temptations offered by their central position throughout the Maratha and Pindhari wars of the "time of trouble," they were certainly more determined marauders than any other of the hill races, till Outram took them in hand. Those of them who cultivate are now said to be scru pulous in keeping their engagements, and instances are quoted of their rising to the position of steady and substantial farmers. The B h i 1 a 1 a s — who are apparently lowland Bhils, calling themselves after their Bhil Rajput chiefs, just as in Scotland the name of a powerful sept was sometimes taken by subordinated races — are the dregs even of the tame aborigines, being proverbial for dis honesty and drunkenness. The Mohammadan B hils are another instance of the ill-effects which the strong meat of civilisation has upon primitive races ill-prepared to receive it. They retain nothing of what should have been to them an elevating faith but its most elementary rites, and are, " with few exceptions, a miserable " set, idle and thriftless, and steeped in the deadly vice of opium- " eating."f The Kurkus again, who live on and round the Mahadeo hills, conform more nearly to the ordi- The Kurkds. nary aboriginal type. They are mostly black, with flat faces and high cheek-bones, so that it is difficult to distinguish them from the Gonds in appearance.! Like most of these hill races and unlike the Bhils, they are not prejudiced about feminine chastity, and " there seems to be almost no possible "form of illegitimacy so long as a Kurku man or woman consort * Captain Ward's Mandla Settlement Report, Note on Gonds and Baigas, para. 19. f Captain Forsyth's Nimar Settlement Report, paras. 410, 411. X Mr. C. A. Elliott's Hoshangabad Settlement Report, Appendix i. para. 3. INTRODUCTION. CX1X " only with their own race."* But they have the virtues, as well as the failings, of their kind. " They are remarkably honest " and truthful ; slow at calculation * * ; very indignant at " being cheated. * * * Though too improvident and " lazy to be good cultivators, they are in great request as farm- " servants and ploughmen, being too honest to defraud their " master of labour or material,"! Everything thus tends to show that civilisation, in the only form in which he as yet knows it, is the abSigS7 °f CiviKsiBS ^ most fatal of a11 influences to the semi- savage aboriginal. He tries to match with the H i n d u in cunning, and loses his simple-minded honesty without gaining a step in the race of life. He learns a more careful method of cultivation, but only to exercise it as the tool of the superior intelligence by which he has been instructed. His brute- courage survives, but it only serves him to become a cat's-paw in dark enterprises, which bring profit to his master, — to him risk and demoralisation. In this dull helot life the spirit of the hill-man, who in his own wilds knew no restraint but the easy sway of vague supernatural powers, becomes cribbed and confined, the constant sense of inferiority wears away his self-confidence, and he sinks to the condition of a mere besotted animal. Thus the natural lever of association with those immediately above him having proved worse than ineffectual, it becomes a difficult problem indeed to raise his tastes and aspirations. If he is too far behind the H i n d ii to enter into competition with him successfully, it may be that the only means of fitting him to hold his own would be to develop his character and strengthen his abilities in isolation from deteriora ting influences. There are malarious localities in which the physical qualities of the hill-men should give them almost a monopoly of em ployment ; and efforts are now being made to induce members of the aboriginal tribes to serve in the police of the wilder districts, and to * Mr. C. A. Elliott's Hoshangabad Settlement Report, Appendix i. para. 30. f Ibid, para. 4. cxx INTRODUCTION. take employment as watchers and woodmen in the Government for ests. The attempts to educate them at the Government schools have hitherto necessarily been mere beginnings, but they have not been so fruitless as to discourage hope, and a scheme is on foot for estab lishing aboriginal schools in connection with the Forest Depart ment, which promises greater results. In the forests of Mandla, where land is plentiful, and malaria keeps competitors at a distance, the education of the wandering Baigas has commenced at an even earlier stage ; and it may be hoped that the measures devised for confining them within fixed though liberal limits, and thus turning them from the chase to agriculture, will in time bear fruit. Altogether the Ethnological Committee compute that there are twenty-three certain and six doubtful aboriginal races in the Cen tral Provinces. Of the former thirteen are classed as Kolarian and ten as Dravidian, while under the head " doubtful " each division contributes three.* It is, however, likely that some of the designations given as generic merely mark subdivisions of the same race,t and that others belong to tribes who, though generally considered aboriginal, are of doubtful origin. Thus it seems * Report of Ethnological Committee of the Central Provinces (1868), Introduc tory chapter, p. 7 : — " Kolarian. Dravidian. Kol. Gond. Kurkd. B h a t r a-G o n d. Bhil. Mari-Gond. B inj w ar. Maria or Gottawar. Bhunjiy a , Dhurw e-G o n d. B h d m i a. Khatolwa r-G o n d. Baiga. A g h a r i a-G o n d. D hangar. Halba. Gadba. Koi. K a n w a r. Khond. N a h a r. Dhanw^r. "^ -g Manji. Nahil. }>! Mah to. P a n k a. J q " S a o n r a. ~] -a Goli. k Agharia. JS f Thus Binj< iv sirs are a subdivis on of the Baigas. INTRODUCTION. CXX1 doubtful whether the Kan wars — a curious primitive race m. _. who hold the greater part of the hill The K a n w a r s. ° r country overlooking the Chhattisgarh country — are not of Aryan stock. It is certain that one of their chiefs — the Zaminddr of N a r r a — obtained his estate some one hundred and fifty years ago as a marriage dowry with the daughter of the R aj p u t chief of K h a r i a r. Another sign of R a j p u t con nection is their worship of the sword under the name of "Jhdgrd khdnd" and it seems that they conquered the country, which they now occupy, from the aboriginal Bhuyas.* On the whole there is much in favour of the theory that they are " imperfect R aj p u ts "who settled in early times among the hills of the Vindhyan "ranges, and failed in becoming Hinduised, like other warlike " immigrants. "f They are now classed with the aboriginal races mainly because their habits and observances are non-Hindu — thus they marry at puberty, bury their dead, and eat flesh and drink liquor, with the exception of a limited section, who conform to the more distinguished Brahmanical faith, in the hope of obtaining recognition as R a j p u t s. So palpable is the innovation, however, that Kan wars wearing the aristocratic cord do not hesitate to take wives from among the unconsecrated septs of their race.t The only other aboriginal or quasi-aboriginal tribe which deserves special notice is the Halba, The Ha lb as. which appears to be an importation from the south, and where not Hinduised, has some very original customs. In the wild country of Bas tar they are said to "gain "their living chiefly by distilling spirits, and worship a pantheon "of glorified distillers, at the head of whom is Bahadur Kalal."§ In the Raipur district, where they hold thirty-seven flourish ing villages, they have settled down as steady cultivators, and, unlike other aboriginal tribes, are quite able to hold their owu * Mr. J. F. K. Hewitt's Raipdr Settlement Report, para. 115. t Ibid. X Mr. Chisholm's Bilaspiir Settlement Report, para. 120. § Mr. Hewitt's Raipdr Settlement Report, para. 117. CXX11 INTRODUCTION. in the open country. Their religious observances are very simple :— " All that is necessary for a good H a 1 b a is that he should sacrifice, " once in his life, three goats and a pig, one to each of the national "deities called Nar ay an Gosain, Burha Deo, Sati,and "Ratna; of these the two former are male, and the two latter "female divinities, and it is to Narayan Gosain that the pig is " sacrificed."* In this brief sketch of the principal aboriginal tribes of the Central Provinces stress has been laid mo^kI beUefa andcere' ratherontheirdistinguishingsocialcharac- teristics than on their rites and ceremonies, which, whether originally peculiar to different tribes or not, are now so intermingled and confused, that they may be regarded almost as common property. The Gonds, according to Hislop, f have about fifteen gods, but few or none of the tribe are acquainted with the whole list. Thakur Deo and D u 1 h a D e o — both household gods— and Burha. Deo, thegreatgod, are the most popular objects of worship throughout Gondwana, and they command a certain respect even among so-called Hindus. All aboriginal tribes have a decided respect for the powers of evil, whether in the form of cholera and small-pox, or under the more idealised guise of a de structive god and his even more malignant wife.| Indeed the theory that the Aryan Hindus drew this element of their worship from aboriginal sources is not without strong confirmatory evidence in these provinces. Theshrineof Mahadeva (Siva), on the Pach marhi hills, which till lately attracted the largest religious fair in these provinces, is still under the hereditary guardianship of Kurku chiefs, and the oldest temples on the far more widely celebrated island of Mandhata, on the Narbada, originally the seat of worship of the aboriginal powers of evil, Kal Bhairava and Kali Devi, and afterwards appropriated by the more civilised * Mr. J. F. K. Hewitt's Raipdr Settlement Report, para. 118. f Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, part i. p. 14. X Kal Bhairava and Kali Devi. INTRODUCTION. CXX111 god of destruction, Siva, are to this day under the charge of Bhil custodians.* Sun worship seems to be a Kolarian proclivity, being found equally among the Kois of Sambalpur in the south eastern corner of the province, and among the Kurkusofthe Mahadeo hills more than four hundred miles to the north west. The Baigas again are distinguished by an extra ordinary reverence for " mother earth." On the other hand the Khonds, who are classed as Dravidian, combine both these faiths. It is in short impossible, in the present state of our know ledge, to found any generalisations on the shifting beliefs of tribes to whom change is almost a necessary of life, and whose customs are constantly acting and 'reacting upon each other. The Ethno logical Committee appointed in 1867 to report on the aboriginal tribes of the Central Provinces, after a careful analysis of the peculiar practices attributed to each race, came to the conclusion that no distinctive customs had been elicited by their analysis as attaching to separate tribes. In their own words, — " It had been "suggested that the worship of dead relatives belonged to the ' ' Kolarians, or supposed immigrants from the north-east ; but " it seems certain that all the wild tribes of Central India worship " relatives immediately after death, and, moreover, traces of this "superstition may be found all the world over. The Hindus "themselves now practise rites of the same kind. Herodotus " and Homer could be quoted to show the antiquity of the "¦custom. And Captain Burton describes the ceremonies as they "are now practised in Central Africa; also, by the way, the " worship of trees— a very early and widely-spread supersti- " tion in India. If it be true that all races in their earlier " periods of development pass through certain states of religious "belief, then a general account of the religion of a tribe will " not assist the ethnographer, though one or two peculiar forms "of worship may give a clue to recent affinities. However, the "gods of the Khonds are plainly the same as the gods of the "south-eastern Gonds. The word Pew, or Pennu for deity, is * See below, article " M a n d h a t £," p. 259. CXX1V INTRODUCTION. ,, " common to both. And that ceremony of bringing back the soul " of the deceased does seem peculiar to these provinces, at any " rate. " As for Dulha Deo, so commonly mentioned as a favourite "Gond deity, he comes from Bundelkhand, and is the apo- " theosis of a bridegroom (Dulha) who died in the marriage pro- " cession, and whose untimely end so affected the people that " they paid him divine honours.* None of these tribes keep a " regular priesthood, but employ medicine-men, exorcists, men " who are the stewards of the mysteries by mere profession, not " necessarily by birth, or by entry into a religious order. In fact " their religion is simple fetichism — the worship of any object sup- " posed to possess hidden influence for weal or woe. " Funeral rites. — Most of the tribes burn, as well as bury, " their dead ; they cannot be divided like more civilised nations " into those that burn and those that bury. Burial is probably "the more ancient custom here as elsewhere; the aborigines "of north-east Bengal are usually said to bury, and it may be "fairly conjectured that the practice of burning is entirely bor- " rowed from the Aryan Hindus. Most of these tribes raise " memorials to their, dead — a pure Turanian feature. " Marriage customs and ceremonies exist in infinite variety all " the world over, and the practice of pretending to abduct the " bride, which is universal among these tribes, is probably known " widely among all such societies. The serving a fixed period for a " bride is curious ; it prevails among the Koch and B o d o people " of the north-east hills (Hodgson), and is easily intelligible among " very poor races where women are at a premium. The tribes " classified do not intermarry among each other, nor do they usually " eat together ."f * "Compare the legend of Adonis — his worship — and that of Thammuz, "whose annual wound in Lebanon allured the Syrian damsels to lament his fate," &c. &c.— Milton." f Report of the Ethnological Committee, Central Provinces (1868), Introductory chapter, pp. 9, 10. INTRODUCTION. CXXV Of all that has been said regarding the gradual displacement . of the aboriginal tribes in one of their last Aryan races. ° refuges by H i n d u races, nothing, perhaps, has marked the course of events more strongly than the simple fact, drawn from the census records, that in Gondwana there are now only two millions of aborigines out of a total population of nine millions. The remaining seven millions almost amount to a micro cosm of the peoples of India; and justice is administered in the Central Provinces in five different languages — -Urdu, Hindi, Ma- rat hi, Uriya, and Telugu. But though nearly every quarter of the peninsula has thus sent forth its representatives to this de batable land, the great mass of the population has been furnished by the Hind i-speaking races of Upper India. In round num bers the seven millions may be thus classified : — 1^ million of Mar ath i-speaking races. ^ do. Uriya do. 5 do. Hindi do. The Marathas proper — consisting chiefly of Maratha Brahmans and Kunbis — scarcely exceed half a million in number, but owing to the prominent and powerful position so long occupied by them in the country, they have imposed their langu age and some of their customs on about twice their own number of menial and Helot races, such as Dhers and Mangs, who, Mara thas in Nagpur, speakers of Hindi in the Narbada valley, only retain their individuality because they are too low in the scale for absorption. The Maratha influence, however, did not penetrate much beyond the Nagpur plain, consisting of the lower valleys of the War d ha. and Wainganga. To the south of this area the Telinga races are intermingled with the settlers from the west, though not in sufficiently large numbers to influence a general calculation, based, like the above, on units of large dimensions only. To the east there is Chhattisgarh, inhabited, after some fifteen centuries of R a j p u t ascendency, mainly by Hindu races, except in the remote eastern district of Sambalpur, which by language belongs to Orissa. The northern line of demarcation maybe 16 cpg CXXVi INTRODUCTION. drawn along the southern crest of the Satpura range, for though a few Marathas are found on the table-land, there are probably more Hindi speakers " below the ghats " in the Nagpur plain, and the almost universal language of the three Satpura districts, Seoni, Chhindwara, and Betul, is Hindi. It would seem indeed as if the stronger race had rolled back the weaker one on their common meeting ground. Though for hundreds of years no R a j p u t king had held sway in Central Gondwana, while every part of it had been subject to the Marathas, there are whole colonies of Ponwars, L o d h i s, and other northern tribes in the Nagpur plain, and the Hindi language is understood throughout it, while above the ghats Maratha would be of very little assistance to a traveller out of the larger towns. The predominance of the northern races may, perhaps, be referred to that seeming law of Indian population which directs the course of immigration from north to south, training up in the rich northern plains a sturdy and prolific population, and causing it in due season to overflow and force its way southwards. For long, however, the stream was turned aside by these isolated heights, and it is only within the lastthree Aryan colonisation. . ,. , „ , , , , centuries that (jrondwana has been occupied by Hindu races. It was ruled by Rajput chiefs, as has been seen,* at a very much earlier period, but those seem to have been days in which R aj p u t s had not been thoroughly assi milated into the Hindu caste system, and it is quite conceivable that they may have reigned as a semi-foreign tribe directly over the aborigines, without the intervention of a middle class of Hindus. Certainly this seems to have been the system in Nimar, where "at a very early period the aboriginal tribes were "more or less subjected to the domination of various clans of "Rajputs, successive immigrations of them subdividing the " country into numerous petty chiefships. In the more central " and open parts of the district these clans appear to have kept them- "selves distinct from the aborigines they subdued, and as their own * See above, p. Iviii. INTRODUCTION. CXXVI1 " members increased, to have gradually passed from the condition " of mere military lords of the soil, exacting the means of livelihood "from the toil of the indigenous races, to the actual cultivation of " it with their own hands."* The country was not really opened out to Hindu settlement till the reign of Akbar. Although' his dominions never included more than the western portion of Gondwana, yet his armies penetrated to the easternmost parts of the Narbada valley, and the gun manufacturers of Katangi in Jabalpur are said to be descended from a party of his soldiers. The returning troops, even more than those who stayed behind, may have contributed to the settlement of the country, by describing its beauty and fertility in their own over-crowded villages; and there are traces of a consider able Hindu immigration shortly afterwards. Sleeman says, — " Probably such emigration from the north began with the invasion " and conquest under Akbar; for though tradition speaks of an " intercourse with Delhi, and a subjection, nominal or real, to its " sovereigns from him down to the paramount sway of the Mara- " thas, no mention is ever made of any before ; nor can we trace " any invasion or conquest of these parts by the sovereigns of the " D e c c a n." He adds — " The oldest rupees that have been found " in the treasures buried in the earth at different times along the " Narbada valley are of the reign of A k b a r ."f The mass of the Hindu population is probably of later date, and, counting by number of generations, may be referred to the time of Aurangz eb.J The older settlers are in many districts called " J h arias" or " J h arias" from " Jhdr" (underwood, — forest), „, . and are much looser in their observances Changed manners. than later coiners of the same caste, eating forbidden food, and worshipping strange gods. For some * Captain Forsyth's Nimar Settlement Report, para. 110. f MSS. " Preliminary Notes," note 2. X Sir R. Jenkins' Report on N a g p d r (Edn. N a g. Antiq. Society), p. 25. Mr. Elliott's Hoshangabad Settlement Report, chap. iii. para- 9. CXXV111 INTRODUCTION. generations after their arrival the northern importations generally keep up their home connection by marriage, fearing to ally them selves with degenerate brothers who may have carried their care lessness in social matters so far as to permit mesalliances, and, perhaps, even to have contracted some taint of aboriginal blood. By degrees, however, the fear of distant public opinion wears off, and they find it convenient to follow the example of their neigh bours. Religious and social standards are thus very imperfectly maintained. Gods of most opposite tendencies find themselves associated in " happy families," and, indeed, some combination among them is probably needed to withstand the influence of the local deities, who muster very strong, and recruit their influence from all quarters. Not only are there the elemental divinities of the hills and the forests, but the spirits of the dead pass very rapidly from a state of canonisation to one of deification. Thus in the Hoshangabad district the Ghori (Mohammadan) kings of Malwa, seem to have attained this dignity without distinction of persons, and a Hindu in difficulties would as soon invoke the "Ghori Badshah" as any other supernatural power.* At Murmari, ten miles from Bhandara, the villagers worship at the tomb of an English ladyf — ignorant, and probably careless, of the object for which it was erected. In social matters ideas are equally confused. There is amongst most castes no restriction on widow marriage, except with the widow of a younger brother ; and when a widow remains unmarried, public opinion allows her to manage her husband's estates, and does not condemn her very strongly for giving him a temporary successor or successors. Indeed there is not much rigidity about the marriage tie at all, and the offsprings of irre gular connections are often allowed to succeed equally with those born in regular wedlock. The conventional character and pursuits of a caste, too, are often quite transformed by the change of associa tions and circumstances. The Guj ars, like other reformed rakes, are among the steadiest members of the community, and have a *Hoshangabad Settlement Report, chap, iii. para. 91, foot-note. f See below, p. 63. INTRODUCTION. CXX1X great deal too much property of their own to admit the idea of pro fessional cattle-lifting as a possibility amongst civilised people. TheLodhis — mere agricultural drudges in Upper India — have attained some distinction as swash-bucklers and marauders in the Narbada country, and some of their chiefs still retain all the popular respect due to families which have forgotten to live on their own industry. On the other hand there may be found Raj put s who have put aside their swords and pedigrees, and taken to banking. But the most striking and interesting of all these movements „,,„,, is the religious and social revolt among SatnamiChamars. ° the Chamars of Chhattisgarh. In Upper India there is no more despised race. In the distribution of occupations nothing has been left for them but the, in Hindu eyes, degrading handicraft of skinning dead cattle, which is so insuffi cient for their numbers that the great majority of them are driven to earn their bread from hand to mouth by ill-paid day-labour. In the great isolated plain of Chhattisgarh, where the jungle has not even yet been thoroughly mastered by man, hands cannot be spared from agriculture simply to gratify social prejudices, and the Chamars, who make up some twelve per cent, of the population, are nearly all cultivators. A considerable proportion of them have acquired tenant-rights, and they own 362 villages out of a total of 6713. Although, therefore, they have not quite risen to an equality with other castes, they have entirely broken the tradition of serfdom which tied them down and dulled their aspirations, and they have been emboldened by the material change in their condition to free themselves altogether from the tyranny of Brahmanism. The creed adopted by them is the " Satn ami" or " Rai Dasi" — a branch of one of the most celebrated dissenting movements in In dian religious history.* The local revival occurred not quite half a century ago, and was headed by one of the brotherhood named * The Ramanandis. See Rost's Edition of Wilson's Essays on the Religion of the Hindds, vol. i. p. 113 (1862). CXXX INTRODUCTION. G h a s i Das.* Since his time corruptions have crept in, and the attempt to start with too high a standard of asceticism, by forbidding tobacco as well as liquor, has produced a split in the community. The theory of their religion is perhaps, like its social practice, too refined for a rough agricultural people, which has only lately emerg ed from centuries of social depression. No images are allowed—* it is not even lawful to approach the Supreme Being by external forms of worship,/ except the morning and evening invocation of his holy name (Satndm), but believers are enjoined to keep him con stantly in their minds, and to show their religion by charity. A faith so colourless and ideal has scarcely motive-power to influence the daily life of the rough Chamars, and their morality is said not to be very strict. The priests are, indeed, accused by the Brahmansof using their power to gratify their sensual tastes, but no Satnami acknowledges the truth of this charge. Even if the creed be weak as a moral support, it is strong as a social bond, and no longer weighed down by a sense of inferiority, the Satna- m i s hold together and resist all attempts from other castes to re assert their traditional domination over them. They are good and loyal subjects, and when they have grown out of a certain instabi lity and improvidence, which are the natural result of their long- depressed condition, they will become valuable members of the community. But the orthodox Hindu has an even greater trouble than „.. , „ dissent in Chhattisgarh. The wild Witchcraft. . hill country from Mandla to the eastern coast is believed to be so infested by witches that at one time no prudent father would let his daughter marry into a family which did not include amongst its members at least one of the dangerous sisterhood.! The non- Aryan belief in the powers of evil here strikes. a ready chord in the minds of their conquerors, attuned to dread by the inhospitable appearance of the country, and the terrible effects of its malarious influences upon human life. In the * See below, article " B i l£ s p d r," p. 100. f Sleeman's " Rambles and Recollections," vol. i, pp. 93, 96. INTRODUCTION. CXXXl wilds of Mandla there are many deep hill-side caves which not even the most intrepid Baiga. hunter would approach, for fear of attracting upon himself the wrath of their demoniac in habitants; and where these hill-men, who are regarded both by them selves and by others as ministers between men and spirits, them selves fear, the sleek cultivator of the plains must feel absolute repulsion. Then the suddenness of the epidemics to which, whether from deficient water supply or other causes, Central India seems so subject, is another fruitful source of terror among an ignorant people. When cholera breaks out in a wild part of the country it creates a perfect stampede— villages, roads, and all works in pro gress are deserted ; even the sick are abandoned by their nearest relations to die, and crowds fly to the jungles, there to starve on fruits and berries till the panic has passed off. The only considera tion for which their minds have room at such times is the punish ment of the offenders ; for the ravages caused by the disease are unhesitatingly set down to human malice. The police records of the Central Provinces unfortunately contain too many sad instances of life thus sacrificed to a mad, unreasoning terror. The tests applied are very various ; as a commencement, either, a lamp is lighted, and the names of the supposed witches being repeated, the flicker of the light is supposed to indicate the culprit;* or two leaves are thrown up on the out-stretched hand of the suspected person, and if that which represents him (or her) falls uppermost, opinion goes against him.t In Bas tar the leaf-ordeal is followed by sewing up the accused in a sack and letting him down into water waist-deep ; if he manages in his struggles for life to raise his head above water, he is finally adjudged to be guilty. Then comes the punishment. He (or she) is beaten with tamarind or castor-oil plant rods, which are supposed to have a peculiar efficacy in these cases ; j the teeth * Mr. Chisholm's Bilaspdr Settlement Report, para. 132. j- Captain Glasfurd's Report on the Dependency of B a s t a r. Selections from the Records of the Government of India in the Foreign Department, No. xxxix. pp. 53, 54. X MSS. Police Records, 1865, Raipdr. CXXX11 INTRODUCTION. are knocked out and the head is shaved. The extraction of the teeth is said in Bastar to be effected with the idea of preventing the witch from muttering charms, but in Kumaon the object of the operation is rather to prevent her from doing mischief under the form of a tiger, which is the Indian equivalent of the loup- garou.* The shaving of the head is attributed by an acute observer to the notion of power residing in the hair, and it seems clear, from the recorded instances, that it is done rather as an antidote against future evil than merely as a punishment to the offender. f Sometimes the suspected persons escape these trials, accom panied as they are by abuse, exposure, and confinement, with life, and then they are driven out of the village. But often the tests are too severe for them, or the fury of the villagers is so roused by the spectacle that they kill their victims outright. The crime is not yet quite extinct, but it has been much checked of late years by the expedient of executing the murderers on the scene of their misdeeds. To quote again from the paper already mentioned — " There is at " this moment no logical method whatever of demonstrating to a mdl- " guzdr of R a, i p ur that witchcraft is nothing but a delusion and " an imposition. Your only chance wouldbethe proving that such " things are contrary to experience ; but unluckily they are by no " means contrary to every-day experience in R aip ii r, and the facts "are positively asserted and attested ; wherefore we are reduced " to abandon logic altogether, and to give out boldly that any one " who kills a witch shall be most illogically hanged — a very prac- " tical and convincing line of argument." % To sum up. The Hindu castes most largely represented in the Central Provinces' population are,from Prevalent H i n d d castes. ,-, ,, ,, , . -n / ¦ the north — Br ah mans, Rajputs, A h i r s (herdsmen), L o d h i s and K u rmis (cultivators), and Chamars ; from the south and west — B raliman s, and K u n b i s. * " Witchcraft in the Central Provinces," by Mr. A. C. Lyall, in " Once in a Way," p. 54. -f Ibid, p. 56. X Ibid, p. 60. INTRODUCTION. CXXX111 Telis (oil-pressers), Kal a Is (distillers), Dhimars (fishermen and bearers), Mai is (gardeners), and Dh ers (outcastes), are also numerous throughout the province, but have taken in each part of it the impress of the dominant race, speaking Maratha in Nagpur and Hindi in the Narbada country. Of Mohammadans there are only 237,962 altogether (not three percent of the population), and many of these of a very hybrid sort. CHAPTER VII. ADMINISTRATION AND TRADE, Ethnical subdivisions— -Formation of the Central Provinces — First measures of administra tion — Non-regulation system — General and Judicial administrative staff — District duties — The revenue — Land revenue — Land Tenure — Salt and Sugar tax— Excise — Stamps and assessed taxes — Forest revenues — Miscellaneous receipts — Education — Higher education — Sanitation and Vaccination — Dispensaries — Jails — Local funds and operations — The Engineering Department — Communications — Trade — Exports, Cotton — Native cloth trade — Grain trade — Remaining articles of export — Imports, Salt — Sugar — Piece-goods and other articles of import — Conclusion. The preceding brief notice of the population cf the Central Provinces shows that though it was originally, so far as we know, homogeneous, or at least that one race — the Gon d — predominated sufficiently to give a name and distinctive character to the country, yet in subsequent times the aboriginal stratum has been so overlaid by foreign accessions from the four quarters of the compass, that the country is now split up into subdivisions, ethnically connected with entirely different provinces of India. Ethnical subdivisions. m, 0 , -. -^ , . _r . 1 hus o a g a r and Damohon the Vin dhyan plateau somewhat resemble Bundelkhand. The Narbada valley population, though more localised and individual ised, has similar affinities. The Nagpur country is a bastard of the M a r a t h a. family. Sironcha and parts of Chanda come within the outskirts of T e 1 i n g a n a. Sambalpur leans to Orissa. Ni m ar and C h h a tt i sg a r h, especially the latter, are exceptions, each possessing a dialect and characteristics peculiar to itself. After the B h o n s 1 a. kingdom was broken up, the experi ment was tried of attaching these disjecta membra of different \7 cpg CXXxiv INTRODUCTION. nationalities to their parent stocks. The northern provinces were first administered by a 'semi-political agency, but were afterwards added to the Lieutenant-Governorship of the North-Western Pro vinces. Nimar was administered directly from In do re, the nearest seat of British power, and indirectly from A' g r a. Sam balpur was included among the non-regulation districts of the Bengal Province. Nagpur only retained a Government of its own, the Resident being transformed into a Commissioner until better arrangements could be made. Chhattisgarh was a kind of no-man's-land, but as it was not easily accessible from any side but the west, considerations of administrative convenience pre vailed, and it remained attached to the Bhonsla capital. None of these dispositions worked quite successfully. The Sagar and Narbada territories were never really amalgamated with the North- Western Provinces, from which they are separated by a vast inter vening tract of independent country. They had an administrative staff, codes, and procedure of their own, and owing to their dis tance from the seat of Government, and the difference, in many important respects, of their physical and moral characteristics from those on which the experience of the North-Western administration had been founded, the orders* of the Government often failed to to strike home, and the province became practically an outlying dependency, in which external authority was rather felt as a check than as a stimulus. Nimar was in much the same case, while the wild chiefships attached to Sambalpur were always hot-beds of disorder. Thus Gondwana had been lopped of its extremities and resolved into two provinces ; neither of them large enough to ensure the healthy circulation of ideas and the emulation among the official staff, which are indispensable to administrative success. The nominal supervision of distant authorities had proved — as must always be the case where a poor, distant, and unattractive dependency is added to the charge of an old Government, fully occupied with the established routine of its more importantand immediate interests— quite inadequate to put spirit into the administration, or to throw clear light on the real wants of the country and the people. Abandoning therefore the INTRODUCTION. CXXXV experiment — which had indeed originated rather accidentally, in consequence of the gradual disintegration of the Bhonsla. king dom, than in any set design of separating the Hindi and Mara- t h ii. elements of G o n d w a n a — Lord Canning decided, in Novem- Formation of the Central her 1861, to reunite British Central India Provinces. under one strong Government. It fell to the lot of Sir Richard (then Mr.) Temple to write the first official account of the new territories, and newspaper readers of that time (1861-62) must still remember the curiosity with which it was await ed, and the interest with which it was perused, not only on account of the high reputation of the writer, but owing to the novelty of the subject which he treated. There was a famous lake at Sagar; Jabalpur produced Thug informers, tents, and carpets ; Nagpur had been the capital of one of the great Maratha kingdoms, and the country generally was inhabited by Gonds (spelt " Gooands"), whom some supposed to be " a low caste of Hindu s," others, to be men of the woods, who lived in trees and kidnapped travellers to sacrifice them to their gods ; — these were the main heads of the popular information about Gondwana. Sir Richard Temple was able, in less than a year, to give an account of the province, its people, its history, and its wants, which subsequent research has supplemented, but has not altered or improved in any important particular. In his first two seasons he penetrated into almost even- corner of a province larger than Great Britain, and with scarcely a mile of made road, except that leading out of it, from Jabalpur to M i r z a. p ii r . The knowledge thus gained by inquiry and obser vation served to facilitate the still arduous work of freeing the administrative machine from time-honoured obstructions— already crumbling away, perhaps, under the influence of air and light from without, — and of building up, almost from the commencement, a First measures of adminis- fresh and more perfect organism. The tratl0n- first year's list of measures* comprises * Among these judicial reform has not been mentioned, because, although perhaps the most important and difficult of all, it does not come under the class of creative measures. The complete and rapid reorganisation of the Courts effected by Mr. John Strachey, was, however, as grent a boon as could possibly have been conferred on a law-loving people. CXXXVi INTRODUCTION. thirty-nine headings, among which— putting aside departments already in full working, which only needed stimulation— may be counted the land-revenue settlement and record of agricultural rights; the introduction of State education (into the Nagpur province) ; the construction of trunk roads ; the repression of drunkenness by the introduction of the Central distillery system ; the levy of a local cess to support village-schools ; the organisation of a regular constabulary ; the creation of an honorary magistracy ; the introduction of jail discipline, and. the erection of suitable jail buildings ; the preservation of forests ; the improved preparation of cotton for the English market ; the extension of irrigation ; the establishment of mercantile fairs ; the suppression of forced labour ; and the collection of reliable statistics of population, trade, and agriculture. In some of these respects a commence ment had been made, especially in the Sagar and Narbada territories, but in all there was much severe up-hill work required to bring the Central Provinces up to the level of other parts of India. Thus, although preliminary settlement operations had for years dragged their slow length along, no single assessment had been announced, and while the Government was losing the benefit of the general enhancement which has since taken place, the people were in places suffering from the pressure of the demand. In the Nagpur province the prisons were "temporary makeshifts of the worst description."* State education had been commenced in about a third of the province, but the scheme comprised no regular village-schools, while in the remaining districts there was no educational system at all. In short in the Sagar and Nar bada territories much had to be done ; in the Nagpur province almost everything had to be done, and public opinion, for the first time called into council, demanded a rate of progress rapid in proportion to the deficiencies to be made up. The essential diffi culties of forcing the progress-rate with a limited command of men, money, and time, were much enhanced in the Central Provinces by the characteristics of the country. The distances were great, * Administration Report of the Central Provinces (1861-62), p. 59. INTRODUCTION. CXXXVU the communications were rough, difficult, and even dangerous. Even now an order from head-quarters can scarcely, under the most favourable circumstances, be in the hands of all district officers under a week's time. The regular post-lines indeed worked with astonishing regularity, considering the rude machi nery by which they were carried on, and the inhospitable country through which many of them passed, though occasionally a man- eating tiger would stop all night-travelling, or a mountain torrent in flood would cause a day's delay, or perhaps a bad fever season would prostrate the post-runners over many miles of road. But when the missives of authority had to be passed on to the subordi nate officials in the interior, quitting the main net-work of com munication, their progress was beset with even greater difficulties. Admitting that they reached their destination safely, effect had to be given to the instructions, which they contained, in a wild, thinly-inhabited backward country, by means of native officials, almost all of whom were foreigners, little interested in the people, driven from their homes, perhaps, by inability to obtain service where competition erected a high standard of qualification, and with no aspiration but to shake off the dust of their feet from this land of jungle, witches, and fever. In short there was a necessary loss of power at every step, and in judging of the past by the pre sent, it must be remembered that these harassing mechanical obstacles are now no longer so formidable, and that their mitigation is mainly due to Sir Richard Temple's energy. A detailed account of the steps by which the administration has reached its present form would be out Non-regulation system. „ . . , ,.„,,„ of place even here, but a brief sketch of the existing constitution of the Central Provinces may be useful for purposes of comparison. The term " non-regulation," as is well known, has quite lost its original meaning ; — it now merely implies that the regulations and laws passed for the B e n g a 1 Presidency prior to the promulgation of the " Indian Councils' Act, 1861" (24 & 25 Vic, Cap. LXVII.) do not necessarily apply to the province thus designated. All acts of an imperial character have the same CXXXvih INTRODUCTION. force here as elsewhere in India ; and the Central Provinces, like other non-regulation provinces, have also had extended to them from time to time considerable portions of the local law of the Bengal Presidency. In almost every respect, then, the legal procedure is as strictly defined as in the oldest provinces, and the only distinguishing feature of the system, in its present form, is the combination of judicial and executive functions in the same officials— a method which has more than a formal value among a simple people, unaccustomed to the subdivision of authority or to the intricacies of law. The administra- General and judicial admin- tion is carried on by a Chief Commis- istrative staff. . . , , , _ J , . . sioner, aided by a Secretary and an Assis tant Secretary, in direct subordination to the Government of India. In addition to his general duties of superintendence, he is charged with the special supervision of the Revenue and the Executive. The Courts, Civil and Criminal, are separately controlled by a Chief Judge, under the name of Judicial Commissioner, in deference to the principle of guarding against abuse from the combination of judicial and executive functions, by keeping the former in the last resort independent of the latter. The administrative staff consists of four Commissioners, nineteen Deputy Commissioners, seventeen Assistant Commissioners, twenty-four Extra Assistant Commissioners, and fifty Talisilddrs or Sub-Collectors, who are distributed over nine teen districts, grouped into four divisions. The police force, con sisting of eighteen District Superintendents, two Assistant District Superintendents, fifty-two Inspectors, and 7,417 petty Officers and Constables, is controlled by an Inspector-General in matters of dis cipline, and in its internal relations generally, but in its executive functions it is subordinate to the district authorities. Education, Forest conservancy, and Vaccination have separate establishments of their own, though the regular civil staff is expected to contribute assistance, direct or indirect, to the operations of these departments. Jail management, Sanitation, and Registration are more or less in the hands of the local authorities, but are supervised by special officers. The Medical staff, consisting of eighteen Civil Surgeons and Apo thecaries, nine Sub-Assistant Surgeons, and ninety-five Hospital INTRODUCTION. CXXX1X Assistants or Native Doctors, is directly subordinate to the executive authorities, though a general control and supervision is maintained over them by the heads of the Medical Department throughout India. The Public Works Department is more detached from the regular administrative staff, owning no subordination to any local authority but the Chief Commissioner, to whom the Provincial Chief Engineer is Secretary in that branch of the administration. Next in the scale of executive authority to the Chief Commis sioner come the Commissioners of division, whose charges in three casesinclude five districts — in one (Chhattisgarh) only three. They are Sessions Judges, having the power of death — subject to confirmation by the Judicial Commissioner, — and of all minor pun ishments ; Civil Judges of appeal with powers under the Central Provinces Courts' Act (Act XIV. of 1865); and are also responsible for the general administration of the coun- District duties. .... . . try. But the unit in the executive scheme is the Deputy Commissioner, whose duties are very various. He is the Chief Magistrate of a district, averaging in these pro vinces 4,316 square miles in extent, with an average revenue of Rs. 6,30,000, and an average population of 420,000 souls, and has also special criminal powers of imprisonment up to seven years in certain cases. His original civil jurisdiction is unlimited in amount, and he hears appeals from his Assistants up to Rs. 1,000. He is also chief ofthe police ; chief collector of revenue ; conservator of the district forests; supervisor of popular education; marriage regis trar ; ex.offi.cio member of all municipalities in his district, and head ofthe local agencies for the management of roads, ferries, encamping grounds, public gardens, stock-breeding establishments, rest-houses and other public buildings not of an imperial character. These duties branch into many others too numerous to mention, but it may safely be said that the miscellaneous work of a Deputy Com missioner in a central district often occupies- more time than his more regular functions. In subordination to him the Civil Medi cal Officer manages the jails, lock-ups, lunatic asylums,* and dispen- * Of these there are only two — one at N a g p d r, and one at J a b a 1 p d r. Cxi INTRODUCTION. saries ; and the police investigate all cases which the law considers sufficiently serious to warrant intervention without special authority from a Magistrate, and bring them before the Courts in a complete form for trial. They also take charge of cattle-pounds, collect vital statistics, guard treasuries and jails, and escort treasure and prisoners, besides their regular duties in the repression and detec tion of crime. The Assistant and Extra Assistant Commissioners aid Deputy Commissioners in their general duties, and try cases within the limits of their powers,* to obtain which they must pass two examina- nations, by the higher and lower standards, and obtain certificates of qualification from their immediate superiors. Assistant Commis sioners are ordinarily drawn from the covenanted class, consisting of members of the regular civil service and officers in the army ; while Extra Assistant Commissioners — who are usually natives ofthe country — belong to the subordinate or uncovenanted Civil service, and cannot rise to the higher appointments except through the in termediate grade of Assistant Commissioner, which is only conferred in cases of special desert. Before dismissing the subject of judicial administration it should be mentioned that much assistance has been rendered to the regular judicial staff, and justice has been in many cases brought home to the doors of the people, by the * Act XIV. of 1865 thus grades the Civil Courts of the Central Provinces : — (1) The court of the Tahsild&r of the 2nd class, with power to try suits not exceeding Rs 100 in value. (2) Do. do. 1st class do- Rs. 300 do. (2) Do. of Asst. Comm. ofthe 3rd class do- Rs. 500 do. (2) Do. do. do. 2nd class do. Rs. 1,000 do. (2) Do. do. do. 1st class do. Rs. 5,000 do. (2) Do. of the Deputy Commissioner with power to hear for any amount. (2) Do. of the Commissioner do. Appeals. do. (2) Do. of the Judicial Commissioner do. The criminal-judicial powers of the Assistant and Extra Assistant Commissioner are as in other parts of India, those contemplated by the Indian Procedure Code (Act XXV. of 1861), viz.— Magistrate— imprisonment up to two years, fine to the extent of Rs. 1,000, or both. Sub-Magistrate 1st Class — imprisonment up to six months, fine up to Rs. 200, or both Do. 2nd Class — imprisonment up to one month, fine up to Rs. 50, or both. INTRODUCTION. Cxli appointment of native Honorary Magistrates. Of these gentle men there are now one hundred and twelve in the province, most of whom are landholders. A considerable proportion, however, belongs to the merchant and banker class. The honour is highly appreciated and eagerly sought, and it is but rarely that those to whom it is awarded are accused of abusing their powers. If the principle be borne in mind of conferring the honorary magistracy only on the accepted leaders of the people, rather as an acknow ledgment of existing status and character than as a stepping-stone to social promotion, there is good ground for hoping that the measure may contain the elements of political as well as of judicial success. The other main occupation of the executive staff is the collection of the revenue. This is no The revenue. . . , _ ,, mere " sitting at the receipt of custom, and taking what comes in. The land-revenue is a fixed amount, it is true, during the currency of the twenty or thirty years' engagements, but it may fail in a bad year. The excise, though less directly, is even more powerfully, affected by the fluctua tions of seasons and prices, inasmuch as the liquor and drug consumers are a poorer and less provident class than the land holders. The form of the assessed taxes has of late been changed yearly, but even if it had been maintained, the changes among the poorer tax-payers are so frequent that minute annual revisions would have been necessary. The Forest Revenue is still in its infancy, and needs careful nursing. The stamp-revenue alone gives the collector little trouble, and the inland customs on salt imported, and sugar exported, to native States are managed by an imperial department. Of these heads of revenue the land furnishes by far the greatest contribution. In 1868-69 it gave Rs. 59,30,603 out of a total revenue, for imperial purposes, of Rs. 1,04,74,699. The whole of the land of the Central Provinces, with the exception of certain assignments for religious and other purposes, made chiefly by former govern- 18 rpg CXlii INTRODUCTION. ments, belongs theoretically to the State, which, however, limits its demands to a fixed share, ordinarily one-half of the gross rental. The remainder of the rents goes to the Land tenure. ., , .,, -n , responsible owners of the villages— a class which our Government has created by consolidating the position of the revenue farmers, whom we found managing their villages and paying the Government dues, often from generation to genera tion, but with no security for permanence beyond what might be conceded to tbe popular feeling in favour of prescriptive occu pancy. Subject to certain conditions, the chief of which is the regular payment ofthe revenue, these men are now firmly seated in their holdings, and feeling no uncertainty about the future, are free to extend cultivation and improve their possessions. Without itself losing anything, the Government has thus conferred upon them a valuable property, in the security of tenure which draws capital and enterprise to the land, while it has fostered in a large and powerful section of society the surest incentive to self-reliance, and the strongest interest in loyalty. While the security of the revenue and the prosperity of the tax-payers have thus been ensured, subordinate interests in the soil have been consulted by liberal measures of tenant-right. Under the well-known Bengal Rent Law (Act X. of 1859) all cultivators of twelve years' stand ing can claim fixity of tenure, subject to the payment of fair rents; but though this concession may amply meet the requirements of a long-settled country, it would not have been a sufficient recogni tion ofthe claims of tenants, many of whom had shared with the revenue farmer, though in a less responsible degree, the toil and some of the risk of reclaiming their villages from the jungle. Accordingly this class has been held entitled to fixity of rent, as well as to stability of tenure, for the period of the revenue settle ments, which run from twenty to thirty years. The next great head of revenue is the salt and sugar tax, from . , . „ which ' Rs. 15,45,985* were derived in Salt and Sugar tax. -.n/r. nn m ¦ • 11,11 c 18o8-oy. 1 his is collected by means of an * Details. Salt Rs. 14,62,406 Sugar „ 83,579 INTRODUCTION. cxliii Imperial customs line, dividing the salt-producing districts from the bulk of the British territory attached to the Bengal Presidency, and enclosing this province, roughly speaking, to the west and south. The duty levied is three rupees per maund of 82 lbs., part of which is taken, in the case of Bengal and Madras salt, at the works on the sea-coast. A'small impost of one rupee per maund is _also levied on British sugar crossing the line outwards — that is from east to west — for consumption in foreign States. The Customs is, however, a quasi-imperial department, worked by an executive of its own; and the second place in the Revenue Collector's duties is occupied by the excise, which in 1868-69 produced Rs. 9,44,931.* The tax on liquor is raised by means of the Central Distillery system, under which all distillation must take place within certain appointed enclosures, the duty being paid on removal of the liquor. These restrictions on free trade in liquor have occasioned some loss of revenue, but the power which is gained by them of adjusting the tax to the circumstances of the payers admits of obtaining the maximum of revenue with the minimum of consumption. All observers concur in representing the good effects of checking the supply of intoxicating spirits to the hill-tribes, who are naturally very prone to indulge in them. In parts of the Upper Goda vari district, where the aboriginal Kois are so unsettled that any interference with their habits would drive them to emigrate in a body, the population of whole villages — men, women, and even children — may be seen drunk for days together at the season ofthe year when the palm-juice ripens for toddy. In the wilder por tions of the Central Provinces generally the practice has so far died out since the introduction of the Central Distillery system, that gur (unrefined sugar) is now habitually used by the Gonds at their feasts as a substitute for spirits. The reform has thus * Details. Liquor Rs. 7,18,061 Opium „ 1,21,150 Drugs „ 1,05,720 Cxliv INTRODUCTION. answered its main object — the check of demoralisation among the people, — but it costs the revenue collector far more labour, care, and thought than the simple farming system which it succeeded. When the excise revenue was derived from the sale of the monopoly of vend, his responsibilities were limited to securing a brisk competi tion at the auction ; but now he has to adjust prices, satisfying himself, on the one hand, that they are not forced up so high as to encourage smuggling — on the other that they are not kept so low as to stimulate consumption ; he has to see that distilleries are supplied in sufficient numbers and at proper places, and to defeat the efforts "both of the distillers and of his own establishment to defraud the revenue. In short he has in the interests of morality to maintain artificial checks on consumption, in opposition not only to the drinking-classes themselves, whose tastes and habits he is obliged to cross, but to the distillers, who know by experience that large consumption at low rates creates a far more paying trade than that which is now imposed upon them. The taxes on opium and intoxi cating drugs are at present farmed, or to speak more accurately, the monopoly of the retail of these articles is annually sold by auction ; but modifications in this system are under consideration. The stamps are nearly as lucrative „, , „„ on , , a source of revenue as the excise. In Stamps and assessed taxes. 1868-69 Rs. 8,37,026 were derived from stamp revenue. The assessed taxes produced in 1868-69 Rs. 3,71,155.* In the present year the certificate tax on incomes over Rs. 500 has given way, as elsewhere in India, to a 1^ percent income tax, from which about Rs. 2,75,000 will be obtained. Incomes under Rs. 500 are taxed by an impost called " pdndhri," which is peculiar to these provinces, having come to the British Government as a legacy from their Maratha predecessors. * Details. Certificate Tax Rs. 1,05,887 Pdndhri. „ 26,526 INTRODUCTION. Cxlv The Forest Revenues are derived, in the case of the Reserved Forests, from the sale of timber and other Forest revenues. _ forest products. Ofthe Reserved Govern ment Forests, which cover some 4,000 square miles of country, and produce Teak (tectona grandis), Sal (vatica robusta), Sdj (ter- minalia glabra or tomentosa), Bijesdl (pterocarpus marsupium), Shisham (dalbergia latifolia), Kawd (penlaptera arjuna), Anjan (hardwickia binata), and other less valuable woods. They are managed by a Conservator, four Deputy Conservators, four Assistant and three Sub-Conservators, besides a subordinate staff. The tree forests of the Central Provinces have, however, been so much exhausted, mainly owing to the destructive dahya system of cultivation practised by the hill-tribes, that, except in one or two localities, the labours of the Forest officers will for many years be limited to guarding against further -damage, and thus allowing the forests to recover themselves by rest. By far the greater part of the uncultivated lands belonging absolutely to the Government are stony wastes, incapable of producing a strong straight growth of timber. But they supply many of the daily wants ofthe people — grass and poles for thatching; firewood; bamboos for mats and fences ; tough small wood for agricultural implements ; wild-fruits ; and above all the fleshy mhowa flower, from which not only is a spirit distilled, but the poorer population draws half its sustenance at certain times of the year. Then the disposal ofthe hill-grazing grounds is a question of the last importance to the villages of the plain, and the lac, silk, wax, honey, resin, and other articles of commerce are eagerly bought up for export. The district officer has therefore to admin ister the Government estates not only so as to secure a full reve nue, but with a due regard to the many interests concerned. Hitherto the revenue has been ordinarily levied by means of annual usufruct farms, but it has been found that the farmers often take undue advantage of their monopoly to make exorbitant terms with the more ignorant villagers ; and a system of commutation under which each village shall pay a small fixed sum for the right to Cxlvi INTRODUCTION. collect jungle produce is under consideration, and has already been introduced in some districts. The Forest Revenues for 1868-69 amounted to Rs. 3,51,014, of which Rs. 1,01,851 were contributed by the Reserved Forests, and Rs. 2,49,163 by the Unreserved Forests. Miscellaneous receipts. . . The receipts from lines, Refunds, Re gistration fees, Profits of jail manufactures, &c. under the head of "Law and Justice, " amounting to Rs, 2,24,527, and the miscellaneous items, amounting to Rs. 2,60,581, make up the total revenues for 1868-69 to Rs. 1,04,74,699.* Education, as has already been observed, is on something the same footing as Forest conservancy — that Education. ... . . , . . is it is partly conducted by a special depart ment, partly by the regular civil staff. Since the Central Provinces have been established in their present shape, it has been recognised that the real want of a thinly -populated backward country like this is cheap instruction for the many, and that the high education of the few must for the present be quite a secondary object. Aryan civilisation is here an exotic, which in the rude atmo sphere of the camp and the farm has never reached its ornamental prime. There was therefore no basis of time-honoured erudition from which to shape stately schemes of advanced education ; but on the other hand the mass of the people, if apathetic, was unpreju diced, and had no deeper objection to bring against learning than its irksomeness. Thus in eight years the number of pupils grew from ] 6,766 to 72,835. One in every 125 of the population is now under instruction, which, though unfortunately a low enough ratio in the abstract, compares favourably with the results obtained in more settled provinces.! In one district, Sambalpur, where the * There is a small difference between the Revenue and Finance Department figures, arising from their closing the accounts on different days at the end of the year-^a defect which is being remedied. f In the N. W. P.— One in 166. „ Punj&b — „ in 217. „ Bengal— „ in 239. Oudh— „ in 260. INTRODUCTION. Cxlvii population belongs to a more intelligent race (the Uriya) than the people of the Central Provinces generally, a greater advance has been made, nearly two per cent of the people being under instruction, great part of the cost of which is defrayed from their own voluntary subscriptions. Their appreciation of schools is shown not only by the sacrifices which they make to maintain them, but by the crowds which flock to public examinations. This is, however, an exceptional instance of the success which in a greater or less degree always attends the system of enlisting the influence ofthe district officer in the cause of education. The higher education alone in these provinces is left exclusively Higher education. to the care of the Educational Department, which, having its functions thus limited, consists merely of an Inspector-General and three circle Inspectors. Their special charge is confined to the management of two high schools, sixteen middle class schools, and six Normal schools ;* but they also inspect the town and village schools managed by district officers, and are responsible for the maintenance of the prescribed educational standards. The cost of popular education is defrayed from the proceeds of a special two per cent cess on landholders, from subscriptions and from fees. High class education draws something from these last two sources, but is mainly supported by a State grant. Alto gether of a total expenditure of some £50,000 (in 1868-69) consider ably more than half was met from local resources. Sanitation and Vaccination are supervised by a Sanitary Com- . . missioner. For the latter purpose he has Sanitation and Vaccination. . . , an establishment of vaccinators, which, if not numerically adequate to grapple with the disease in all parts of the province, has been of service in familiarising the process to the people, and in thus preparing the way for its extension by * There are also Missionary Institutions at N a g p d r and Jabalpur which teach up to the " High School" standard. Cxlvhi INTRODUCTION. means of local enterprise. The science of Sanitation is as yet in its infancy, and this branch of the Sanitary Commissioner's duties is for the present limited to advising the local authorities in cases of epidemics, and to collecting data, especially with regard to the course and working of cholera outbreaks. A kindred subject is the Hospital Establishment, which, how. ever, is under the charge ofthe Inspector Dispensaries. ._.._. . . of Jails. There are now in existence 79 of these charitable institutions, of which 66 are dispensaries, two are lunatic asylums, one is a leper asylum, and six are poor-houses. The dispensary income is now rather over £10,000 a year, of which the Government contributes about a third, the remainder being obtained in nearly equal proportions from local funds and private subscriptions. Dispensaries are located not only at the head-quarters of districts, but at many places in the interior, and afford medicines and treatment gratis to all who apply for them. In proportion to the numbers of the population the amount of medical aid as yet available is but small, but in so vast an undertaking the Govern ment cannot attempt to do more than show by example the advan tages of scientific treatment in disease, and lately there have been symptoms, in the voluntary establishment of a few dispensaries, that the appreciation for them is gaining ground. The Jails in the Central Provinces resemble those of other parts of India, and need no particular Jails. . r notice. Ihey are conducted on the most approved principles, and the earnings ofthe prisoners defray about half the expenses. It has already been mentioned that, in addition to the duties , „ , . imposed upon them as part of the ad- Local funds and operations. . . . ministrative staff of the country, district officers perform certain functions of a local character. The chief of these are the superintendence and guidance of the municipal bodies which have been created in all large towns. Self-government, even in a very modified form, is so strange to Asiatics that as yet the initiative in deliberation, except where the INTRODUCTION. Cxlix committee includes European members, is almost necessarily taken by the district officers Great efforts have, however, been made to secure a true representation of all classes of the people in these bodies, and as they are not only entrusted with the management of communications, conservancy, &c, and in minor matters with the preservation of order, but have the power of self-taxation, tbe stimulus of self-interest is not always ineffectual in rousing them to a sense of their duties. In addition to his municipal duties the district officer has the management of the ferry fund, arising from the proceeds of ferry leases, pound-fees, and other sources ; of the nazul fund, being the proceeds of public gardens, building-plots and buildings in cities, and other Government property not paying land revenue ; ofthe school fund (already mentioned), derived from a two per cent, cess on land revenue ; and of a similar two per cent. cess for the maintenance of district roads.* The main lines of communication are however, with the Go vernment buildings, military and civil, kept The -Engineering Department. , „ . . , , , ° up by an Engineering department, con sisting in these provinces of a Chief Engineer, three Superintend ing Engineers, sixteen Executive Engineers, and twenty-one Assistant Engineers, besides subordi- Communications. , mi • . «. • ^ i Ai nates, lhis staff is rather larger than would be retained for simply local requirements ; considerable establishments being employed on the river Godavari navigation works, and on the road between Jabalpur and Nagpur, which, pending the completion of the Narbada valley extension ofthe Great Indian Peninsula Railway, has been the connecting link between the railway system of Eastern and Western India. The two railways will meet shortly at Jabalpur, north of the Satpura plateau, and then the line terminating at Nagpur, south of the plateau, will sink to the position of a mere branch. Passing, how ever, through the rich cotton fields of Berar and the Wardha * There is also a half per cent, cess on land revenue for the maintenance of the district posts, but these are managed by the Post Office authorities, who, like the Tele graph Officers, belong to an Imperial Department, independent of the local Government. 19 cpg cl INTRODUCTION. valley, and tapping at N a g p u r the teeming grain stores of C h h a t- tisgar h, it will always be an important commercial line, even if it is not eventually connected with the coal and iron fields of Chanda, which lie some 80 miles to the south. Chhattisgarh is as yet only linked to the Railway system by an unfinished road, but its great capacities as a granary will become yearly more valuable as the grain lands ofthe Nagpur plain are invaded by cotton. The plain of C h h a 1 1 i s g a r h, in itself rich and fertile, is so hemmed in on all sides but the west by hills and forests that its natural outlet is in the direction of Nagpur, and therefore the further improvement of the somewhat costly communications between the cotton country and the grain country is only a question of time and price-currents. An immense field is therefore left for Engineering enterprise before India can profit to the full by the coal fields, the iron mines, and the long stretches of wheat and rice which are still shut in by their hilly borders. The progress already made will best be realised by remembering that the main thoroughfare* in India for mails and English travellers now traverses a country in which five years ago none but occasional Government officials attempted to move about, and there were no means of transit except by the slow, ' patriarchal process of daily marches. The effect of the improve ment in the communications may also be well illustrated by the . course of trade during the last few years. In 1863-64 the exports and imports ofthe province were valued at about four millions sterling. In 1868-69 their value had risen to six and three-quarter millions sterling, not- withstanding that the prosperity of the country had been rudely shaken by the general failure ofthe crops in 1868. The principal articles entering into this trade are cotton, grain, and native cloth among exports; and salt, sugar, and English piece- a-oods among imports, Cotton is the most Exports— Cotton. , , , • n i -i i • xi. valuable item of export, while salt is the * The course of tbe mails will be diverted in a few days (from 1st April 1870) to the Narbada valley railway. INTRODUCTION. cli chief import. Since the extension of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway toNagpur in 1867 the cotton trade has almost deserted its old routes — northward to Mirzapu r, and eastward to Cut- tack vid the M a h a n a d i, — and has turned almost entirely in the direction of the western coast, where the bales are delivered "pressed" in the shape best fitted for marine transport. The excellent quality of the Ward ha valley staple, which under its brand of "Hinganghat" commands a price equal to that quoted for any other Indian cotton, will always give it a good place in the English market, but for some time to come it does not seem likely that the export will exceed 60,000 or 70,000 bales (of 400 lbs.) per annum. Not only is cotton a very sensitive crop, and therefore one on which cultivators hesitate to stake their whole harvest return, but the prices of food-grains have risen so rapidly of late years that it would not pay to bring more land under cot ton at present. The best chance for the extension of the cotton culture is in the improvement of communication with Chhattis garh, now divided from Nagpur by 174 miles of unfinished road. The Chhattisgarh plain is a great granary ; the W a r - dha valley is the best cotton field in these parts of India, and when perfect connection is established between the two, it is only reason able to suppose that each will be enabled, by the division of labour, . to fulfil its natural function, and that the War dha country, having no concern about its food-supplies, will send to England enlarged consignments of cotton, which, returning in their manufactured shape to Chhattisgarh, will set free for grain-production men and land now less profitably employed in providing clothing from an inferior local staple. Meanwhile Hinganghat seed has been largely distributed in the most promising localities, and cotton gardens have been established for the purpose of testing the effects of high cultivation on the local varieties of the cotton plant.* * Among the Administrative Departments the newly created Cotton Department was not specially mentioned, as its sphere of operations is by no means limited to this province. It is but just, however, to record the debt which the cotton industry of the TV a r d h a valley owes to the Cotton Commissioner for the Central Provinces and the B e r a r s. Clii INTRODUCTION. The native cloth manufacture has been severely tried by the development ofthe cotton trade. In the Native cloth trade. . .. first years of the scarcity cotton became almost too precious to be worked up into the coarser native fabrics, and the weavers were undersold by the Manchester manufacturers even in their own villages. On the other hand the finer native fabrics absolutely gained by the " cotton crisis." Great part of the wealth poured into the country by the new trade was absorbed in the cotton-producing districts ofBerar and the Dec- can, where the reputation of the fine Nagpur cloths stands highest, and thus, while in 1863-64 exports to the amount of 60,352 maunds (of 82 lbs.) of native cloth were valued at £250,056 only, 52,893 maunds exported in 1866-67 reached the high value of £560,590. In the next year the quotations for raw cotton fell to 5^d. per lb., and the native manufacture slightly revived in quantity, at the same time falling in gross value. Last year (1868-69) the effects of a disastrous agricultural season and an advance in the price of cotton resulted in a considerable falling off both in bulk and in value. The cotton trade at present attracts most notice, but the grain trade ofthe province is also important and Grain trade. •. _,, , ., , extensive. Ihe exports have of late years amounted to a million maunds (some 170,000 quarters), but against these must be set imports to about a third of that amount ; home-grown wheat being exchanged, especially in the southern part of the province, for millet (jawdr'i), which is both an economical and a popular article of food among the labouring classes. Last year (1869) the imports of grain almost equalled the exports in bulk, an extraordinary importation having set in from Berar late in the year to meet the gaps caused by the failure of the harvest. Not withstanding two bad seasons, however, the export trade has nearly doubled itself within the last six years, and as the quantity exported does not by the most liberal calculation amount to two per cent, of the gross produce, it is certain that the exportable margin will yet very considerably expand. INTRODUCTION. cliii The remaining articles of produce are of minor importance; among them may be mentioned lac, raw Remaining articles of export. _ , ^^^ or manufactured, amounting m 1868-69 to 40,282 maunds, valued at£58,426; spices and groceries, including chillies, turmeric, coriander, mustard, and other condiments, valued at £48,108 ; silk cocoons, valued at £13,470 ; dyes at £22,692 ; and ghee (clarified butter) at £88,700. This last trade was en tirely created by the opening of the railway to Bombay. The aggregate exports of all kinds in 1868-69 represent a quantity carried, exclusive of all through traffic and Government and railway stores, of 88,099 tons, valued at £2,763,421. Turning to imports, the chief article is salt. The Sagar and Narbada territories procure their supply of this necessary of life from the Raj- piitana lakes, the Nagpur country from Bombay, and Chhattisgarh from the Eastern Coast. In 1868-69 the opening ofthe Panjab Railway to Umballa, and the closure ofthe Banjara carrying routes, from the effects of the drought, gave an opening to the Panj ab and Delhi salts which can now be im ported so cheaply that they are likely to retain their hold of the market. In the six years for which statistics are available the price of salt has risen from four rupees to six rupees per maund, mainly in consequence of the extension of the Inland Customs Line so as to embrace the greater part of the province. The quan tity imported, 856,000 maunds, seems, however, sufficient, at six or seven pounds per head, for the ordinary consumption of the people, but it is doubtful whether it allows enough for cattle. Refined sugar is another article which, being beyond the manu facturing skill ofthe province, is imported mainly from Mirzapur. The im ports ordinarily range from 200,000 to 300,000 maunds per annum ; but in 1868-69, owing to the general distress, they fell to 190,651 maunds. Next in importance come Eng- Piece-goods and other articles ligh piece.goods, which the statistics of import. y f show by weight instead of by tale. The eliv INTRODUCTION. average import for the last few years has been 45,000 maunds, and, notwithstanding a steady diminution in prices during the last two years, the trade has remained firm. The largest importations are from Bombay, though, since the opening ofthe East India Rail way to Jabalpur, consignments from Calcutta have increased. Tobacco is imported from the Madras Presidency, from Berar, and from the North-Western Provinces to the extent of some 4,000 or 5,000 maunds, valued at £50,000 ; Spices, such as cloves, cin namon, nutmeg, black pepper, &c, to the extent of 66,000 maunds, valued at £102,420 ; Silk pieces to the extent of 2,791 maunds, valued at £186,527 ; Cocoanuts, mainly from Western Coast, to the value of £187,085. Altogether the imports for 1868-69 amounted to 120,990 tons, valued at £4,031,842. According to the statistics, they have more than doubled both in bulk and in weight in five years, but allowance must be made for the greater completeness of the later statistics and for some uncertainty in the valuation, which in case of imports is not always reliable. Without, then, insisting too much upon the share which the _ . . efforts of Sir Richard Temple and his Conclusion. r successors have had in forcing; the coun- try forward, it is evident that in the rapid extension of trade and communication with the outer world during the last few years, the Central Provinces have been under the influence of stimulating agencies which would have disturbed the sleep of barbarism itself. Under the heights on which the half-tamed aboriginal Kings perched their rude stronghold has grown up a large commercial city, and the centre of the railway system of India. Chhattisgarh, till lately only known to orthodox Hindus as a hateful abode of witchcraft and dissent, is now " the land of the threshing-floors," the granary of Central India. Hinganghat, in the valley ofthe War dha. — a country so obscure as to be absolutely without a history till within the last century — has become a household word in the markets of Liverpool. Chanda, the most remote and wild of all the Gond principalities, is now a familiar name not only INTRODUCTION. civ with Government officials, but among men of science and men of business, and with her rare combination of coal, iron, and cotton, promises to become one of the chief industrial centres of India. All these changes — all this rush of light and air — have taken place within the last decade. The first four-fifths of our half cen tury of rule, after we had once learned that the country was no El-Dorado, but needed careful nursing to restore it even to mo derate prosperity, passed in a sort of conservative quiescence, which, in its dread of interference, stereotyped existing customs and in stitutions. For better or worse our ideal has changed. It tov was indeed impossible that as Western civilisation crept up by degrees from either coast, even these secluded valleys should in the end escape its influence, and when, owing to that very central position which had so long retarded access to them, they all at once became the keystone ofthe system of communication between the Eastern and Western seas, the first tumultuous throbbing and pulsation of new life came upon them with almost overwhelming rapidity and suddenness. Within less than ten years the condi tions of life to the mass of the people have undergone a complete revolution. The food-grains which were once so plentiful, that in good seasons farmers could hardly get labour to carry their harvests, are now jealously stored for export, and meted out at what would have been thought famine prices. The cotton ofthe Nagpur plain, which was worked up by thousands of village looms into a fabric so durable as to make its cost a matter of secondary impor tance, and yet so cheap as to be within the reach of all, is now eagerly bought up to be packed by steam-presses, and sent across the seas to England, to France, to Germany, and even to Russia. In short, food has trebled and clothing has doubled in price within the last ten years ; and a life of rude plenty and implicit dependence on the bounty of nature has been perforce exchanged for a constant exercise of foresight and prudence. On the other hand, if prices are high they are regular ; food, though seldom superabundant, at least never runs altogether short, as in the old days of alternate waste and famine; foreign luxuries and adjuncts of civilisation are Clvi INTRODUCTION. comparatively accessible, and the standard of wages has fully kept pace with the cost of living. Thus the people have gained new powers of resistance, and live easily under a burthen which would have crushed their fathers. Many a laudator temporis acti no doubt still looks back to the day when food seemed to drop into his mouth, nine years out of ten, without exertion ; forgetting that terrible tenth season when capricious nature held back her hand, and there were no means of procuring aid from without ; forgetting the yearly tale of victims yielded without a struggle to cholera and small-pox ; and perhaps scarcely caring to remember or appreciate the many roads which competition and progress are daily opening to him out of the dead level to which inexorable custom had hitherto restricted his career. But it matters little now to balance the passive delights of a life of brutish ease, chequered only by the whims of nature, against the higher, if more hardly earned, advantages, which not even toil and forethought can win till a field is opened to their efforts. Events have decided the question for themselves. The interests of the empire required the connection of the two seaport capitals ; the empty factories of half the world demanded access to the only cotton fields which bid fair to replace the devastated plan tations of the Confederate States. The day had passed even for the most retrograde policy to attempt any check on the advancing tide and struggle of life. It only remained to fit the people for the new order of things, and to ensure them their share in the benefits which it brought, by providing for them an education which should give them a fair standing ground in their dealings with intellects sharpened in a more stirring school, and by showing them prac tically that the issues of health and prosperity were not altogether beyond human grasp. No criticisms can be more misplaced than those which brand the administrative efforts of the last eight years- made to meet changes so sudden and great as those through which the country is passing — with the charges of precipitancy and over- ambitiousness. If the schools, the hospitals, the post-offices, f he roads, the railways, the courts, and the numberless other public INTRODUCTION. clvh institutions which have sprung up since the formation of the Cen tral Provinces could be doubled in number and efficiency ; if the measures of reform to which the governing staff of the province have devoted their energies and abilities — nay sometimes even their health and their very lives — could be enlarged and intensified beyond the most sanguine hopes of their originators, the guardians of the young province would still have but a very incomplete account to render of their stewardship ; and indeed they may well feel content if the foundations laid by eight years' labour with untrained instruments, and in a difficult soil, prove wide enough for the wants of a growing people, and stable enough to bear a super structure worthy of a more advanced civilisation. CHARLES GRANT. Ndgpur, 31s* March 1870. -0 cpg THE CENTRAL PROVINCES GAZETTEER. ABHA'NA'-— A village on the Jabalpur and Damoh road in the Damoh district, fifty-two miles from the former and eleven miles from the latter place. There is a large tank here, which abounds in fish and water-fowl. Supplies are procurable, and there is a good encamping-ground in the neighbourhood. A'DE'GA'ON — A zamindari in the north-east corner of the CKhindwar£ district, formerly a portion of the Harai chiefship, and transferred by the Harai family to one Kharak Bhirtf, a Gosain, who was sdba of Jabalpur, Mandla, and Seoni in a.d. 1801. His successors still hold it. The bulk of it is jungle and hill ; but part of the eastern side is tolerably open, and is well cultivated. It consists of eighty-nine villages. ADIA'L — A small village in the Chanda district, situated eight miles to the south-west of Brahmapuri, and possessing a very fine irrigation-reservoir. A'GAR — A stream in the Bilaspdr district, which, rising in the Maikal range, flows through the Pandarid chiefship and the Mungeli pargana, past the town of Mungeli itself, and falls into the Maniari near the village of Kukusdd. Except in floods it is a very insignificant stream, and is not navigable. AGARIA' — A village in the Jabalpiir district, about twenty miles to the north-east of Jabalpiir near Majhgawan. There is an iron mine here. AHI'BI' — A zamlndari constituting the southern portion of the Chanda district. It is bounded on the north by the Arpallf and Ghot pargana, east by Bastar, south by Sironchd, and Bastar, and west by the Pranhitd river ; and contains an area of about 2,550 square miles. It is hilly on the east and south, the most noted elevations being the Surjagarh, Bamragarh, and Dewalmari hills ; and is famed for its magnificent forests. Much of the teak has been felled, but there still remain thousands of full-grown and half-grown teak trees. The inhabitants are almost wholly Gonds, and the languages spoken are Gondi and Telugti. The zammdarin, Savitrf Baf, resides chiefly at the village of Ahiri, seventy miles south-east of Chandii. She is the first in rank of the Chandd zamradars, and is connected with the family of the Gond kings. 1 CPG 2 AHI— AL AHI'RT — A forest in the chiefship of the same name, in the southern portion of the Chanda district, on the left bank of the Pranhita river. Negotia tions are in progress for leasing the forest from the chief on the part of govern ment. Before it can be systematically worked, however, considerable outlay will be necessary to make it accessible from Chanda or from some point on the river Godavari. Ahiri was first visited by the conservator of forests, Major Pearson, early in 1867, and be then pronounced it to be one ofthe very finest teak forests in India, and certainly one which, considering the immense amount of timber taken out of it, had suffered as little as any. Although, however, the whole country from the junction of the Wainganga and Wardha is covered with teak, the trees in the plains are generally unsound, ill-developed, and crooked, the only valuable timber being found in and around a block of hills which lies between the villages of Korsena, Bemaram, Jhilmili, and Talwara. The two blocks of forest which it is proposed to reserve have been named Bemaram and MirkalM. AIRF — A teak plantation in the Mandla district, about five square miles in extent, and now under the charge of the forest department. It is favourably situated in an angle formed by the junction of the Burhner and Halon. The planting operations are supervised by a European forester. AJMI'RGARH — A hill in the Bilaspur district adjoining Amarkantak. It is about 3,500 feet above the sea, and has an open surface on the top, but the summit is difficult of access. It has at one time been fortified. A'LBA'KA'- — The chief village of an estate of the same name in the Upper Godavari district. It is situated on the Godavari, forty miles to the north of Dumagudem. The naib or deputy of the zamindar is the chief local authority, and resides here. There is a small thatched travellers' bungalow about half a mile to the south-east of the village. The population is about 250, and consists of Kois and Telingas. The water-supply is from the river and a large tank close to the village. There are some Indo-Scythian remains, Cromlechs, &c. on the hills close to the village and in its vicinity. A'LEWA'HT— A small village in the Chanda district, with a very fine irrigation-reservoir twenty-four miles south-west of Brahmapuri. ALITTJ'R — A village in the Hinganghat tahsll of the Wardha district, sixteen miles to the south of WardM. It is perhaps the finest agricultural village in Wardha, and contains 3,303 inhabitants, of whom 1,382 are cultivators. There are besides a considerable number of weavers and spinners. Alipiir was founded by the Nawab Salabat Khan of Ellichpur, whose family held the land in jagfr till about fifty years ago. It is now held, in malguzarl tenure by Madho Eao Gangadhar Chitnavfs, late chief secretary to the Maratha government. It is famed for its irrigation and the number of wells in use, and is surrounded by mango-groves and gardens. Here is a mosque at which there is a small semi- religious fair every March. The chief works carried out from municipal funds have been the clearing and levelling of the market-place in the centre of the town, and the construction of a village school, which is well attended. The municipality support their own police and conservancy establishments. There is a good weekly market here every Tuesday for agricultural produce. ALMOD — A chiefship in the Hoshangabad district, consisting of twenty- nine villages, situated in and round the Mahadeo group of hills. The zamindar AL— AMB 3 is one of the Bhopas, or hereditary guardians of the Mahadeo temples. He receives an allowance from the government of Rs. 200 annually in lieu of pilgrim tax, against which is debited a quit-rent on his estate of Rs. 40. ALON — A river in the Seoni district, which takes its rise near the village of Pempiir (pargana Lakhnadon) and flows from west to east into the Thanwar. It has an affluent called the Panchmonl. No villages of any note are situated on the banks of the Alon, and the country through which it passes is hilly and wild. This unimportant stream is not to be confounded with the Halon. AMARKANTAK — A hill which, though lately transferred to Rewa, with the Sohagptfrpargana, naturally forms part of the Bilaapiir district. It attains an altitude of 3,500 feet above the sea, and has a very pleasant climate. The objects of interest are the temples round the sources of the sacred Narbadd, and the waterfalls. AMARWA'RA' — A large village in the Chhindwara district, once the capital of the pargana. A police force is stationed here,, and there is a pretty good government school. Amarwara is on the main road to Narsinghpur, and is about fifty miles from, that place. The population amounts to over a thousand souls. A'MB — A river which takes its rise in the hills eastward of Umrer in the Nagpur district, and, flowing past the town of Umrer, reaches the Wainganga at Ambhora in the same district. AMBA'GARH CHAUKI' — A zamlndari situated on the north-east frontier of the Chanda district. It is of considerable extent, and towards the Raipiir side is fairly cultivated. Most of it is, however, hilly, and large tracts are covered with jungle. Excellent iron ore is found here. Ambagarh is inhabited by Gonds, with a sprinkling of Gaulls ; and the languages spoken are the Gondl and the Chhattisgarhf dialect of Hindi; The zamindar, Umrao Singh, is the third in rank of the Chanda chiefs, and resides at Chaukii twenty-two miles north-east of Wairagarh. An assistant patrol of the customs department is posted at the village. A'MBGA'ON is the north-eastern pargana of the Mtil tahsll in the Chanda district, and contains, with its dependent zamindarls (excluding Ahiri), an area of about 1,212 square miles- It is bounded on the north by the Wairagarh pargana, east by Bastar, south by Arpalli with Ghot, and west by the Wain ganga ; and contains 67 villages and 4 zamindarls. It is hilly, and, except in the vicinity of the Wainganga, consists of red or sandy soil, covered with dense jungle. It is much intersected with tributaries of the Wainganga, the largest of which are the Kamen, the Potpuri, and the Kurtir. Its staples are rice, jungle produce, and tasar silk ;. and it carries on considerable trade in salt with the east coast.. In the south Telugii is chiefly spoken, which yields to Maratha on the north; but the traders all over the pargana are Telingas. Ofthe agri cultural classes the most numerous are Kunbls, Kapiwars, and Son Tells. The principal towns are Garhchiroli and Chamursi; and the village of Markandi is noted for its ancient and beautiful group of temples. A'MBGA'ON — A village in the Chanda district. It was once the capital of the pargana, but is now a dreary-looking place, consisting of a hundred huts, shut in by dense jungle.. It has two ancient temples, one dedicated to Mahadeva, and the other to Mahakalf, and possesses also two tanks. 4 AM— AN A'MGA'ON — The chief place in the chiefship of that name in the Bhandara district. It has a large weekly market, and is to some extent an entrepot for goods from the Khairagarh chiefship in Raipdr. Near A'mgaon itself extend miles of low rocky jungle, infested with panthers, and the chiefship generally is rather noted for the number of man-eating tigers which have been killed within its limits from time to time. Kunbis preponderate among the population, as the zamindar belongs to that class. The climate is considered unfavourable, and the well-water is usually brackish. The chief resides with his adoptive mother in an old walled enclosure, dignified by the name of a fort, and he is one ofthe most advanced pupils, and chief supporter ofthe flourishing govern ment school at A'mgaon. There are some curious old remains of massive stone buildings in the neighbourhood at a place called Padmapdr, but their origin is unknown. A'MGA'ON — An estate in the eastern portion of the Bhandara district, which originally formed part of that of Kamthi. It consists of fifty-three villages, embracing an area of 146 square miles, of which forty-seven are under culti vation. The population numbers 21,543 souls. A'MLA' — A village in the Betdl district, situated about eighteen miles from Badndr on the Chhindwara road. It contains 368 houses, with a population of 1,616 souls, and is the head-quarters of a considerable trade in brass utensils. There are some old tombs, said to be those of Gond kings. A'NDH A LGA'ON — A town about sixteen miles north-east of Bhandara in the district of the same name. It had a population by the last census of 3,270 souls. The cotton fabrics manufactured here are in good repute. There is a large and flourishing government school in the town, and conservancy is carried out from the municipal funds. The water-supply is good, and the place is considered to be healthy. ANDHA'RI' — A river in the Chandd district ; it has three main branches, the first rising in the eastern slopes of the Perzagarh hills, the second near Bhisl, and the third in the Chimdr hills. The first and second unite at Karamgabn, and are joined by the third near Jham ; and the river falls into the WaingangS a little south of Ghatkdl, after a course from north to south, measuring in a straight line, of sixty-five miles. ANDORI' — A large agricultural village in the Huzdr tahsll of the Wardha district, containing 1,165 inhabitants, and standing on the bank ofthe river Wardha about eighteen miles south of Wardha town. Under the Maratha rule it gave its name to a pargana, but the kamavisdar or revenue officer in charge held his court at Waigaon. It contains a village school and a police outpost. ANHONI' — In the Hoshangabad district. Here is a hot spring, nearly due north of the Mahideo hills, at the edge of the outer range, which divides the Denwa from the Narbada valley; it is said to be good for boils and skin diseases, and is much visited. There is another hot spring south-east of Anhoni, about sixteen miles off, known as Mahaljhir, which is said to be too hot to dip the hand into. A'NJP — A town in the Wardha subdivision of the Wardha district, on the left bank of the river Dham, about nine miles north-west of Wardha. It was quite a small village until the time of the Bhonsla rule, when the present mud fort was erected, and the government officials exerted themselves to attract AN— AR 5 settlers. It then became the principal place of a pargana ; but latterly the kamavisdar, or pargana revenue officer under the Maratha rule, held his court at A'rvi. It suffered also from being looted by the Pindharis. The population amounts to 2,769 souls, principally cultivators, with a few weavers. Octroi is levied here, and a raised weighing-place, within a gravelled enclosure/ for weighing cotton, has been constructed out of the municipal funds. A good weekly market is held here on Thursdays ; and the cloth woven and dyed in the town forms a chief object of trade. There is a vernacular town school j and the municipality maintain their own town police. ANKUSA' — A village in the Upper Godavari district, seventeen miles from Sironcha, on the road to Dumagudem. There is a village school here. The water-supply, which is inferior, is derived from two small tanks close to the village. The population is 550, chiefly Telingas ; one shop. A'RANG — A town on the MaMnadi, in the Raipdr district, comprizing 1,044 houses and 2,267 inhabitants. It has declined since the tahsildar's court was removed from it to Raipdr, about 1863. There are, however, a good number of commercial residents ; and a large trade in metal vessels is carried on. The soil in the neighbourhood is very productive, but the population is scanty. The town contains some ruins of temples and old tanks, as it was formerly one of the seats of the Haihai Bans! Rajput dynasty. One of the temples is Jain, and believed to be of considerable antiquity. There are immense groves of mango trees around A'rang, in which tigers to the present day occasionally take up their abode ; and to the north of the town are extensive foundations of brick buildings, showing that the place was formerly of greater extent than it is at present. There is a branch dispensary, with a native doctor, here ; also an assistant patrol of the customs department. ARJUNI' — An estate in the Bhandara district, consisting of ten villages, traversed by the Great Eastern road, and lying about twelve miles east of Sakolf . It has an area of 13,889 acres, of which 2,633 are cultivated. The population amounts to 2,183 souls. The present chief, Anant Ram, is a Gond by caste : hence this class preponderate. The village of Arjuni is the chief place in this estate, and possesses an indigenous school and a government police post. ARMORI' — The third town in commercial rank in the Chanda district, situated in the Wairagarh pargana on the left bank of the Wainganga, about eighty miles north-east of Chanda. Arm6ri manufactures fine and coarse cloth, country carts, and tasar thread ; and is preeminently a mart at which forest produce, cattle, and iron from the wild eastern tracts are exchanged for the commodities of the western countries. Its foreign trade is with Berar, Wardha, Nagpdr, Bhandara, Chhattisgarh, Bastar, and the eastern coast, and during the rains it carries on some small boat traffic on the Wainganga. Octroi is levied in the town, the farm of which for 1866-67 realized Rs. 2,000. It possesses a police outpost, and government schools for boys and girls, and a handsome market-place is now in process of construction. ARPA' — A stream rising in the rugged range north of Kenda in the BiMspdr district. After pursuing a southerly course past the town of Bilaspdr it falls into the Seo near a village called Urtam in the same district. It is not navigable, though its waters are to some extent utilized for purposes of irrigation. In the dry months the stream is very insignificant, but during the monsoon at floods it carries a large volume of water. 6 AR ARPALLI' (with Gh*ot), the south-eastern pargana of the Mdl tahsll of the Chanda district. It has an area of about 440 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the A'mbgaon pargana and the Pawl Mutandl zamlndari, on the east by Ahiri', on the south by Ahiri and the Pranhita, and on the west by the Wainganga and A/mbgaon. The formation is granitic and metamorphic ; the typical rocks being granite, gneiss, and hornblende schists, through which run masses of quartz, evidently metalliferous. The country is hilly, affording count less sites for irrigation-reservoirs, and is watered by numerous streams, many of which are fed by perennial springs. The soil is chiefly a sandy loam richly impregnated with vegetable mould, for hill, plain, and valley are covered with forest, in which tendd, mhowa, achar, din, dhaura, karam, and bamboo are the most common, while teak and shisham, straight but of small girth, are found in the vicinity of the Pranhita and on most of the hill spurs. The pargana contains eighty- one villages, the principal being Ghot, which is a thriving place, with a considerable stretch of sugarcane fields ; and there are several well-to-do villages along the banks of the Wainganga and Pranhita and about Arpalli ; but excluding these, most of the villages in the pargana are mere small clearings tenanted by Marias. A'RVI' — A town in the Wardha district, situated near the head of the Wardha valley, about 34 miles, north-west of Wardha. Under the Marathd government the kamdvisddr in charge of the A'nji pargana used to hold court here, and now it is the head-quarters of the A'rvi tahsll and police circle. It is said to have been founded some three hundred years ago by Telang Rao Wall, and his name is still associated with the place, which is often styled at length A'rvi Telang Rao. Hindds claim Telang Rao as a Brahman, and Mohammadans as a fellow-religionist of their own :. hence both sects worship at his tomb, which has been converted into a handsome shrine by contributions from the cotton merchants and other townspeople. A'rvi at present contains 8,256 inhabitants, of whom the bulk are cultivators and day-labourers ; but there are also 294 merchants, besides smaller tradesmen, 578 oilmen, and 249 weavers. The following statement of imports and exports for 1868-69 shows that it is a considerable trading town : — O B« Impoiits — Maunds of 80 lbs each Value Exports — Rs, Maunds of 80 lbs each Value Rs 108,176 986,861 90,326 843,084 16,211 389,445 16,583 392,200 6,683 57,721 4,114 30,671 55,622 162,824 36,431 103,594 18,112 59,291 13,879 68,421) 4,860 125,916 6/224 143,112 539 58,994 25fi 25,625 181 32,650 163 16,800 991 18,523 472 1,340 No. 744 7,440 500 14,343 AR— ASH 7 Much has been done for the town from municipal funds. The main street, which has been widened and metalled, leads into a market-place recently laid out, whence a fine broad street with trees on each side leads past the tahsfldar's court-house to the Wardhd valley road, which passes through the outskirts of the town. A range of dispensary buildings has been constructed after the standard plan, and a substantial sarai, with sets of rooms for European travellers, has been commenced. Then a metalled cotton yard has been laid out, with raised platforms for weighing cotton. The avenues and clumps of young trees planted have been well tended, and already begin to add to the appearance ofthe town. The municipal garden is, next to that at head- quarters, the best in the district. A'rvi contains more substantial houses than most towns in Wardhd, even the huts of the poor being generally tiled. There is an Anglo- Vernacular town school here, which is well attended ; and the municipality supports a conservancy establishment. A'RVI' — A revenue subdivision of the Wardhd district, having an area of 868 square miles, with 489 villages, and a population of 110,595 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsll for 1869-70 is Rs. 1,52,511. AS ARALLI' — A village in the Upper Godavari district, twenty miles to the east of Sironcha on the road to Dumagudem. The road from this to Sironcha has been well cleared. There is a village school here, also a thatched travellers' bungalow west of the village. From this to Somndr, the junction of the Indra- vati and Godavari, it is six miles. The population is about 450. The water- supply is inferior, there being one well only and a small tank. There is, however, a large tank about a mile and a half to the west. A road from this branches to Bhdpdlpatnam, distant about twenty-five miles north-east. Palki bearers can be obtained here if some previous notice be given. A ferry is open, except in the rainy season, to Pdlmild, on the opposite bank of the Godavari. The village itself is a mile and a half from the Goddvari. A'SHTI' — A large town in the Wardhd district, containing 5,224 inhabi tants. It lies 18 miles north of A'rvi and 52 miles north-west of Wardhd, just below the southern offshoots of the Sdtpurd range. It is an old town, and tradition says that it was thriving at the time when the Gaulis were lords of the country, but that when their rule ended the place went to waste. The Emperor Jahdngir gave the A'shti, A'mner, Paunar, and Talegdon (Berdr) parganas in jdgir to Mohammad Khan Nidzi, an Afghdn noble who held high rank both under Jahdngir and his predecessor. He restored A'shti, and brought the country round under cultivation. He died in 1037 Fasli, or 241 years ago, and was buried at A'shti. A handsome mausoleum was built over the grave in the Moghal style. Mohammad Khdn was succeeded by Ahmad Khan Niazl, who after ruling over the territories above mentioned for fourteen years died in 1061 Fasli. A similar mausoleum was erected over his tomb, but smaller and of inferior workmanship. The two stand side by side within an enclosure, and are the sights of A'shti. They are indeed striking monuments of art to find in such a remote spot as this. After the death of Ahmad Khdn the power ofthe Nidzls gradually declined ; in time A'shti itself passed from their hands into the pos session of the Mardtha officials, and now nothing remains to them save a few rent-free fields, sufficient merely for their subsistence. The tombs of their ancestors were already falling into disrepair owing to the poverty of the family, when they were taken in hand by the district authorities as worthy objects 8 ASH— ASIR of local interest, and restored from municipal funds. Lately, in consideration of the past history of the family and the local respect which it commands, the Government conferred on Nawdb Wahid Khdn, one of its representatives in A'shti, the powers of an honorary magistrate. The bulk of the inhabitants are agriculturists, but a good trade is carried on in country cloth, grain, sac charine produce, spices, and cotton. The municipal income has been expended on various works, among others damming the stream which passes through the town, so as to retain a supply of water through the hot weather. The dam has been so placed as to bring the reservoir just below the height on which the tombs of the Nawdbs stand, and the effect is very good ; a market-place has also been levelled to the left of this reservoir, and the weekly market there held is well attended. The town contains an Anglo-Vernacular town school, and a suitable school-house has been erected after the standard plan. There is also a police station-house under a head constable. A'SHTI' — A small block of teak forest in the Wardha district, which from its neighbourhood to well-populated towns has been much exhausted. The tract has been reserved as a State Forest more in view to preserve the large number of teak saplings on the ground than for tbe sake of any valuable timber which it now contains. A'SI'RGARH — A strong fortress situated on an isolated hill in the Satpura range ; height 850 feet from the base, and 2,300 feet above the sea level ; it is twenty-nine and a half miles south-west from Khandwd, the head-quarters of the Nimar district, and is situated in latitude 21° 26' and longitude 76° 20'. The following description of the fortress, which holds good to this day, is Description of the fortress given by Colonel Blacker, in his history of the of A'sirgarh. Mardthd campaigns of 1817 to 1819 : — " The upper fort in its greatest length from west to east is about eleven hundred yards, and its extreme breadth from north to south about six hundred, but owing to the irregularity of its shape the area will not be found more than three hundred thousand square yards (60 acres). It crowns the top of a detached hill seven hundred and fifty feet in height ; and round the foot of the wall enclosing the area is a bluff precipice from eighty to one hundred and twenty feet in perpendicular depth, so well scarped as to leave no avenues of ascent except at two places. To fortify these has therefore been the principal care in constructing the upper fort, for the wall which skirts the precipices is no more than a low curtain, except where the guns are placed in battery. This is one of the few hill-forts possessing an abundant supply of water which is not commanded within common range, but it fully participates in the common disadvantage attend ing similar places of strength, by affording cover in every direction to the approaches of an enemy through the numerous ravines by which its inferior ramifications are separated. In one of these which terminates within the upper fort is the northern avenue, where the hill is highest, and to bar the access to the place at that point, an outer rampart, containing four case ments with embrasures, eighteen feet high, as many thick, and one hundred and ninety feet long, crosses it from one part of the interior wall to another, where a reentering angle is formed by the works. A sally-port of extraor dinary construction descends through the rock at the south-eastern extremity, and is easily blocked on necessity, by dropping dawn materials at certain stages which are open to the top. The principal avenue of the fort is on the south-west side, where there is consequently a double line ASIR 9 of works above, the lower of which, twenty-five feet in height, runs along the foot of the bluff precipice, and the entrance passes through five gate ways by a steep ascent of stone steps. The masonry here is uncommonly fine, as the natural impediments are, on this side, least difficult, and on this account a third line of" works, called the lower fort, embraces an inferior branch of the hill immediately above the pettah. The wall is about thirty feet in height, with towers, and at its northern and southern extremities it ascends to connect itself with the upper works. The pettah, which is by no means large, has a partial wall on the southern side, where there is a gate, but in other quarters it is open and surrounded by ravines and deep hollows extending Far in every direction." The chief points in the early history of the fort and surrounding country will be found in the article on the Nimdr district. The Mohammadan historian Farishta* states that the fort was built by a herdsman named A'sd Ahir, who held it when the Mohammadans conquered the country (a.d. 1370), and whose ancestors had possessed it for seven hundred years previously. He is said to have been the landholder of the whole surrounding country, and to have possessed large wealth in cattle and grain stores. But it seems probable that Farishta invented the story as an ingenious etymological explanation of the name A'sir. A'sd Gauli is in fact a fabulous character of Western India, classed in the popular idea along with the Pandava brothers ; and, as all old forts are attributed by tradition to the pastoral tribes, who doubtless at an early period occupied India, Farishta probably saw no harm in advancing the mythical A'sd a few thousand years to fit his story. We know that A'sir was in fact occupied by Rajputs to within a short time of the Mohammadan invasion, it being frequently mentioned by name in Rdjput poetry, and Ald-u-ddln having taken it from the Chauhdns during his Deccan raid in a.d. 1295 (vide article " Nimdr"). f Ab-ul-fazl, who wrote a few years before Farishta, says, with more probability, that when the Fardkls established their kingdom, of Khdndesh there were only a few people in A'sirgarh, which was a place of worship of Asvatthhdmd. It is so still, and is mentioned as such in the Mahdbharat. A'sirgarh fell into the hands of the Fardkl princes of Khdndesh about a.d. 1400, and was by them greatly strengthened, the lower fort called Malaigarh having been entirely constructed by A'dil Khdn I. the fourth of the dynasty. A'sirgarh was frequently the safe retreat of the Fdruki princes when their territory was invaded by the different independent Mohammadan kings of Gujardt and the Deccan. It remained in their possession for 200 years, till in a.d. 1600 the great Akbar, emperor of Delhi, conquered Malwd and Khdndesh, taking the last of the Fdrdkls, Bahddur Khdn, in A'sirgarh, after a siege which is thus described by the historian FarishtaJ — " When Akbar Pddshdh arrived at Mdndd with the avowed intention of invading the Deccan, Bahddur Khdn instead of adopting the policy .of his father in relying on the honour of Akbar, and going with an army to cooperate with him, shut himself up in the fort of A'sir and commenced preparations to withstand a siege. To this end he invited fifteen thou sand persons, including labourers, artizans, and shopkeepers, into the place, and filled it with horses and cattle in order that they might serve for work, * Briggs' Farishta, vol. iv. p. 287. Ed. 1829. t Aln-i-Akbari History of Suba Dades. X Briggs' Farishta, vol. iv. p. 325. Ed. 1829. 2 CTG 10 ASIR and eventually for food and other purposes. When Akbar Pddshdh heard of these proceedings he sent orders to Khan Khdnan and to prince Danidl Mirza to continue the siege of A'hmadnagar, while he himself marched to the south and occupied Burhanpdr, leaving one of his generals to besiege A'sir. The blockade of this fortress continued for a length of time till the air became fetid from filth, and an epidemic disease raged, caused by the number of cattle which daily died. At this period a report was spread, and generally believed in by the garrison, that Akbar had the power of reducing forts by necromancy, and that magicians accompanied him for that purpose. Bahddur Khan, believing that his misfortunes arose from the abovementioned cause, took no means to counteract the evils by which he was surrounded. He neither gave orders for the removal of the dead cattle, for the establishment of hospitals, nor for sending out useless persons, till at length the soldiers, worn out, became quite careless on duty, and the Moghals stormed and carried the lower fort called Malaigarh. Nothing could exceed the infatuation of Bahddur Khan, who, although he had ten years' grain, and money to an enormous amount, still kept the troops in arrears ; and they, seeing that no redress was to be expected, resolved to seize him and deliver him over to Akbar Padshah. Before this project was carried into effect Bahadur Khdn discovered the plot, and consulted his officers, who all agreed that it was too late to think of a remedy. The pestilence raged with great fury, the troops were completely exhausted, and nothing remained but to open negotiations for the surrender of the fort, on condition that the lives of the garrison should be spared, and that they should march out with their property. The terms were acceded to, with the exception of the last propositions regarding the Khan's private pro perty, all of which fell into the king's hands ; and Bahadur Khan, the last „» of the Fardkf dynasty, humbled himself before the a.d. 1599.' throne of Akbar Pddshah in a. h. 1008. ; while the impregnable fortress of A'sir, with ten years' pro visions, and countless treasures, fell into the hands of the conqueror." A vainglorious inscription cut in the rock near the main gateway records the event above described, but gives the date with more correctness a.h. 1009 {a.d. 1600). After this the fort appears to have remained quietly in the possession of the Delhi Emperors up to the invasion of tbeir kingdom by the Mardthds. Another inscription near the large tank in the fort commemorates the building of the great mosque in the reign of the Emperor Shdh Jahdn. This mosque has two elegant minarets, but no cupolas — a feature peculiar to mosques in this part of the country. It is now used as a European barrack. Another inscrip tion is near the first-mentioned one at the south-west gate. It records the transfer (apparently peaceful) of the place to the power of Aurangzeb after deposing his father and murdering his elder brother in a.d. 1660. Another record of the reign of Aurangzeb is to be found in an inscription on the large gun on the south-west bastion. This piece is a magnificent specimen of native gun-casting, and was made at Burhdnpdr in the year 1663. It is made of a kind of gun metal containing a very large proportion of copper (probably the ' ' ashtdhdtu," which was composed of eight metals, including silver and gold). The casting has been made on a hollow core of iron welded ASIR 11 in ribands, which now forms the bore of the piece. Its principal dimensions are the following : — Feet. Inches. Length, muzzle to breech 12 9 Do. do. to trunnions ... 7 3 Girth at breech 8 2 J Do. in front of trunnion 6 6 . Do. at muzzle , 5 7 Diameter of bore 0 8 J The calibre is therefore somewhat larger, while the length is considerably greater than those of the 68-pqunders of the British service. Its weight cannot be less than seven tons. The gun is elaborately ornamented in relief with Persian inscriptions and scroll work commencing from the muzzle ; the inscriptions run thus — 1. "When the sparks of sorrow issue from me, life deserts the body, as grief falls on the world when flames issue from the fiery zone." 2. Aurangzeb's seal, with his full title, " Abul Muzaffar Mohiyuddln Mohammad Aurangzeb, Shdh Ghdzl." 3. " Made at Burhdnpdr in the year 1074 a.h." (a.d. 1663). 4. " The gun ' Mulk Haibats' " (terror of the country). 5. "In the rule of Mohammad Husen Arab." 6. "A ball of 35 seers, and 1 2 seers of powder, Shah Jahdni weight. " It is to be noted that an iron shot fitting the bore would weigh about 70 lbs., so that the shot used must have been either hollow or made of some light stone. This magnificent old gun has long lain uncared-for on the ground in the south-western bastion, but orders have now been received for its removal to England, to be placed in the museum of artillery at Woolwich. A breech-loading wall-piece was also found on A'sirgarh, and now lies in the Khandwd public garden. It is of about one lb. calibre. The breech-loading apparatus is lost, but it seems to have been on the simple plan common in ancient breech-loaders of all countries, namely, a detachable chamber introduced into a slot in the side of the gun, and kept in position by a wedge or bolt. An inscription on it states that it was placed in the fort in a.d. 1589 by All Shah Fdrdkf. In a.d. 1760 the fort passed by treaty into the hands of the Peshwd Baji Rdo, and in 1778 it was acquired from him by treaty by Mahddji Sindid. In a.d. 1803 it was taken with little resistance from DaulatRdo Sindid by a detach ment of General Wellesley's army shortly after the battle of Assaye ; but on peace being concluded with the Mardthds in the same year it was again made over to Sindid. It was a second time besieged by the British in a.d. 1819, its castellan having given shelter to A'pd Sdhib the ex-rdjd of Ndgpdr, and of the famous Pindhdri chief Chitd. After an investment of twenty days the fort capitulated, and during this siege A'sirgarh saw perhaps the only real fighting that had occurred in the course of its history. The following description of the siege is extracted from Thornton's History of India* : — * Vol. iv. p. 573. Ed. 1843. 12 ASIR " The forces assigned to the attack on the pettah were ordered to assemble at midnight on the 1 7th of March, and to move a short time afterwards. The column of attack, commanded by Lieut. Colonel Fraser, of the Royal Scots, consisted of five companies of that regiment, the flank companies of His Majesty's 30th and 67th foot and of the Madras European regiment, five companies ofthe first battalion of the 12th Madras native infantry, and a detail of sappers and miners. The reserve under Major Dalrymple, of His Majesty's 30th, was composed of the companies of that regiment not employed in the column of attack, one company of the King's 67th, one ofthe Madras European regiment, and nine companies of native infantry from the 1st battalion of the 7th regiment, the first battalion of the 12th, and the second battalion ofthe 17th, with detachments from the 2nd and 7th Madras native cavalry, and four horse artillery guns. The attacking column advanced along a ndla running parallel to the works on the southern side, till arriving within a convenient distance of the pettah, they made a rush for the gate, and succeeded in gaining it. The reserve in the meantime, in two parties, occupied points in the ndla by which the column of attack advanced, and in another running parallel suffi ciently near to allow of their rendering eventual support. Sir John Malcolm had been directed to distract the enemy's attention by operations on the northern side, and the duty was performed by a force composed of the 3rd cavalry, the second battalion of the 6th regiment Madras native infantry, and the first battalion ofthe 14th, the first battalion of the 8th regiment of Bombay native infantry, six howitzers, and two horse artillery guns. The town was carried very expeditiously, and with small loss, the troops finding immediate cover in the streets. In the course of the day a battery for six light howitzers was completed on the pettah, and directed against the lower fort. On the night ofthe 19th March the enemy made a sally upon one of the British posts which was considerably advanced, but were soon repulsed. In the course of the same night a battery of eight heavy guns was completed. On the 20th at daybreak its fire opened, and by the evening had effected a formidable breach in the lower fort, besides inflict ing serious injury on some of the upper works. On that evening the enemy made another sally into the pettah and gained the main street. They were repulsed, but success was accompanied by the loss of Colonel Fraser, who fell in the act of rallying his men. On the morning ofthe 21st an acci dental explosion in the rear of the breaching battery proved fatal to two native officers and about a hundred men. The disaster did not extend to the battery, which continued firing with good effect. In the afternoon a mortar battery was completed, and some shells were thrown from it. For several days little occurred deserving report, except the erection, on the night of the 24th, of another battery, three hundred and fifty yards to the left of tho breaching battery. Two other batteries were subsequently erected — one on the south side, to breach in a second place the lower fort ; the other designed to silence a large gun * on the north-east bastion of the upper fort. * " This gun is said to have been an enormous gun-metal piece cast at Bui-hanpur, and to have been thrown over the battlements after the siege, and sold as old metal. A stone shot said to have belonged to it measures 21 inches in diameter, and weighs about 450 lbs. The gun would therefore be (with reference to iron shot) technically a 1300-pounder. This, however, is still only half the size of the great gun of Bijapur in the Deccan, cast in a.d. 1549. The French traveller Bernier states that Aurangzeb had French artillerists in his army about the time these guns were cast, so that they may not be wholly the product of indigenous skill." ASLA— AT 13 " On the 29th two batteries were constructed for an attack on the eastern side of the fort. " On the following morning the enemy abandoned the lower fort, which was immediately occupied by the British troops. The batteries which had been solely directed against the lower fort were now disarmed, and the guns removed from the pettah into the place which their fire had reduced. In the situation which had been gained the firing against the upper fort was speedily resumed from various batteries, aided by others below. This continued for several days, and so many shot had been fired that a defici ency began to be feared, and a reward was offered by the besiegers for bringing back to the camp the shot previously expended. This expedient stimulated the activity of the hordes of followers which hover about an eastern camp, and succeeded in producing an abundant and reasonable supply. The operations of the siege were vigorously pursued till the 5th of April, when Yaswantrao Ldr expressed a wish to negotiate. Some intercourse took place, but the efforts of the besiegers so far from being slackened were increased. On the 8th Yaswantrdo Ldr repaired to General Doveton's head-quarters, to endeavour to procure terms, but in vain, and on the morning ofthe 9th a British party took possession ofthe upper fort, the garrison descending into the pettah, and grounding their matchlocks in a square of British troops formed for their reception." Since then the fort of A'sirgarh has remained in British possession. It is generally garrisoned by a wing of native infantry and two companies of Europeans. There is no artillery, heavy or light, on the fort, except the old guns already mentioned. A gun-road up to the fort is, however, about to be constructed. It is about seven miles from the station of Chdndni on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The road passes through thick jungle the whole way, and has been put in tolerable order. As a place of residence the fort is very healthy. The approximate mean temperature of the year is 77°, or 3° lower than On the plains of Nimdr. The nights are always cool and pleasant. It has some other attractions. It commands a fine view over the Tapti valley. There is excellent shooting to be had in the neighbourhood, and very fair grapes are grown round the foot of the hill. But on the whole life on the hill is generally found decidedly tedious. ASLA'NA' — A large village, pleasantly situated on the right bank of the Sondr in the Damoh district, and about thirteen miles north-west of Damoh town. The river here forms a natural " doh " or pool, which is always filled with water and overshadowed by trees. This part of the river, extending for some- three miles, equals in scenery any part of the Damoh district. The town contains 395 houses, and a population estimated at about 1,500 souls. The inhabitants are mostly Brdhmans of respectable family (said to be descended from the former Chaudharis, or town officers of Damoh), and Chhipds, or cloth-printers. The cloth printed here has a wide sale. There is a government school here, and a good ferry across the river. ASODA' — A perennial stream which rises in the A'nji pargana of the Wardhd district, and flowing near Deoli and Alipdr joins tbe Wardhd below Khdngdon. A'TNER — A village in the Betdl district, lies due south ofthe civil station Badndr, and contains 441 houses, with a population of 1,938 souls. There is a large weekly bdzdr held here, and a considerable trade is carried on with the 14 AITND— BAH Berdrs. A'tner possesses a police station-house, a branch dispensary, and a good school. It is also the head-quarters of an assistant patrol of the customs department. There are the remains of an old Mardthd fort here, and fine squared stone is even now dug out of it. A'UNDHI' — A portion of the Pdndbaras zamlndari in the Chdndd district. B BA'BAI — A flourishing village in the Hoshangdbdd district on the high road to Jabalpdr, sixteen miles east of Hoshangdbdd, with an excellent weekly market. The road to the Bdgra railway station (six miles distant) branches off at this place. There is a neat school-house and a ponce outpost. BADNU'R — The head-quarters of the district of Betul, consisting, besides the European houses, of two bdzdrs. The largest, the Kothi Bdzdr, has 521 houses, with a population of 2,015 souls. The Sadar Bdzdr, on the Maehnd, contains 192 houses, with a population of about 728 souls. Both bdzdrs are well kept, and have lately been much improved by having good roads made through them. The public buildings are the commissioner's court-house, the district court-house, the jail, the tahsll and police station-house, two government school-houses, one for males and the other for females, the post office, the dispensary, and the government central distillery. There is a good sard! for native travellers, and a ddk bungalow for Europeans and Natives who choose to pay the usual fees. Not far from Badndr is Kherld, the former residence of the Gond rdjds, where there is an old fort, now in ruins, which used to be held by them. BA'GH — A river which rises in the hills near Chichgarh in the Bhanddra district, and flows north until it meets with another stream of the same name, when, turning to the west, it forms the southern border of the Baldghdt district. Eventually it empties itself into the Waingangd at Satona in the Bhanddra district. It is not navigable during the rains, owing to a barrier of rocks within ten miles of its mouth, the removal of which has been commenced. BAGHRA'JI' — A village in the Jabalpdr district, about eight miles to the south-east of Majhgawdn. Here the iron sand called dhao is smelted. B A'GRA' — On the Tawd river in the Hoshangdbdd district ; is a little fortress of the rdjds who formerly ruled part of the valley below the spur of the Sdtpurds on which the fort stands, and who seem to have been extinguished by the earlier Mardthd invasions. BAHA'DURPU'R— A town in Nimdr, four miles west of Burhdnpdr, was built by Bahddur Khdn, the last of the Fdrdki dynasty of Khdndesh, about the end ofthe sixteenth century. It is supplied by water by an aqueduct led under the ground from the neighbouring hills in the manner described in the article- " Burhdnpdr." The old Deccan road passes through this place, and there is a staging bungalow, now shut up. Bahddurpdr has a Hindi government school, a population of 1,500, and a weekly market held on Sunday. BAHMANGA'ON— An estate in the Bdldghdt district, held by a represen tative of a branch of the Bargdon family, and consisting of four villages only, eighteen miles south-east of Bdrhd. BAH— BALA 15 BAHMANI' — A large village in the Mandla district. It is on the direct road to Seoni, and situated in the most populous part of the district. The inhabitants are chiefly agricultural, but a large number of them obtain their living by carrying grain and salt to and from Seoni and Mandla, and in other directions, on droves of pack-bullocks. There are a school and a police station here. BATFTAR — A town in the Bdldghdt district, situated about fifteen miles east of Parasward, in what may be called the east centre of the uplands. It has a good market every Monday. There is a police outpost here. About a mile to the north of the town are some old temples which are worth visiting. BAIRMA' — A river in the Damoh district wbich rises in the Vindhya range at an elevation of 1,700 feet above the sea. Its source is a small pond or tank in the Gond village of Bargi. It bas a north-easterly course of about 110 miles, and falls into the Sonar (or receives that river) on the right bank in lat. 24° 20', long. 79° 55'. About ten miles below tbe junction tbe united rivers enter the Ken. The slope of the bed is 700 feet, or about seven feet per mile ; its velocity is therefore considerable. The principal places on its banks are Deori, Hatri, Nautd, Jujhar, and Gaisdbdd. BA'LA'GHAT— ¦ CONTENTS. Page General description . 15 Geographical do. , 16 Hills 17 Rivers and Tanks ti. Forests tfc. Wild animals ib. Minerals _. 18 Agricultural products ii. Government revenue , 19 Communications ti. Population ib. Settlers 20 History 23 A district in the Central Provinces, which was, as a temporary „ , , . .. measure for two years, constituted a separate General description. , jj.i_jj.ii. w. t t :.r . charge and attached to the Nagpdr division in 1867. It may be briefly described as consisting of the eastern portion of the central plateau, which divides the province from east to west, supple mented to the south by a rich lowland tract lying in the valley of the Wain ganga. The highlands of Bdldghdt, formerly known as the Rdigarh Bichhid tract, though peculiarly rich in natural resources, had lain, perhaps for centuries, desolate and neglected, owing to their remote position and the difficulty of access to them, when it was determined in 1866 to open them out to the indus trious and enterprising peasantry of the Waingangd valley. To accomplish this object the parganas of Dhansua, Lanji, and Hattd were taken from the Bhanddra district and added to the high country of Rafgarh Bichhid and the Mau tdluka of Seoni ; and the whole tract was placed under a district officer resident at Bdrhd on the Waingangd. The new district is now bounded as follows : — On the south by the Bdgh nadi ; on the west by the Waingangd ; on the north by the Jabalpiir and Chhattisgarh road and an imaginary line 16 BALA leaving that road between Bichhia and the Chilpighdt. and joining the Wain ganga near the place where its course changes from east to south, about sixty miles north of the junction of the Bagh nadi ; and on the east by the feudatory states of Kawardd and Khairdgarh. It lies between 21° 25' and 22° 30' north latitude, and 80° 5' and 81° east longtitude. Its extreme length is about seventy-five miles from north to south, and extreme breadth sixty-five miles from east to west. None of the country which now forms Bdldghdt was much known until quite a recent period. The plains of Hattd, the best cultivated portion of the district, have, it is believed, been first brought properly under cultivation within the present century ; and the Rdigarh Bichhid tract with the Mau tdluka after relapsing from the little prosperity they may have enjoyed during the best days of the Gond dynasty of Mandla, were, it is said, first taken in hand by one Lachhman Ndik about forty years ago. But it was not until Captain Thomson (then deputy commissioner of Seoni) examined and reported on Rdigarh Bichhia in January 1863 that its condition and resources came prominently to notice. „ ,. , , . _. Geographically the district is composed of Geographical description. , , -, . °. \ , J ¦ r r three distinct parts, via : — 1st. — The southern lowlands, comprising the parganas of Hatta, Dhansud, and Ldnjl. 2nd. — The long narrow valley, known as the Mau tdluka, lying to the north of Samdpdr between the hills and the Wainganga river. 3rd. — The lofty plateau on which is situated the Rdigarh Bichhid tract. The first portion is a slightly undulating plain, comparatively well culti vated, and drained by the Wainganga, Bdgh, Deo, Ghisri, and Son rivers. On its northern and north-eastern edge it is fringed with a belt of forest, which extends from one to five miles from the base of the hills ; and at various places along the banks of the rivers, which form its southern and western borders, are small patches of jungle ; but elsewhere the country is so open that a clear view of the hills can be obtained from nearly any spot on the edge ofthe boun dary streams. The quality of the land varies from the water-scoured soil on the banks of the Wainganga to the rich alluvial black deposits found in the valleys and near the hills. The second portion is a long, narrow, irregular-shaped lowland tract, composed of a series of small valleys intersected by light micacious granite hill ranges and peaks, covered with dense jungle, and trending generally from north to south. From the main range to the Waingangd the breadth varies from five to twenty miles. It is drained by the Waingangd, and its tributaries, the Nahrd, Masmdr, Mdhkdrd, and Uskdl. The soil is as a rule of somewhat inferior quality, and requires a full supply of water to produce good crops; hu,t to counterbalance this drawback, the facilities for irrigation, furnished by the undulating surface of the soil, and the proximity of the hills with their perennial streams, are immense. The third is a vast undulating plateau broken into numerous valleys by irregular ranges of hills, running generally from east to west. The general level of these valleys is about 800 or 900 feet above the plains below, and nearly 2,000 feet above the sea. By far the greater portion of these highlands is covered with dense jungle. Jp. a few places,, such as around Bhiri, Paraswdrd, BALA 17 Baihar, and Bhimlat, there are a few villages worthy of the name, but most of the other' inhabited spots are mere specks in the jungle, collections of ten or twelve Gond or Baiga huts, which remain for about two years, and are then burnt by their inhabitants, who migrate to other places in search of virgin soil. The quality of the soil of this tract is extremely varied, and ranges from the richest alluvium to the stony unculturable soil found in proximity to the higher peaks. It is difficult to describe in detail the hills of the district, as the greater tt-,| portion of it is composed entirely of hill country. The highest points in the district are the peaks above Ldnjf, which are about 2,300 or 2,500 feet above the sea j the Tepdgarh hill, about 2,600 feet above the sea ; and the Bhainsdghdt range, which in places cannot be much less than 3,000 feet above the sea. In the plains of Dhansud, Hattd, and Ldnjf there are no hills, and in the Mau tdluka there are none Worthy of particular mention. The principal rivers are the Waingangd, with its tributaries the Bdgh, R. a t k Nahrd, and Uskdl, and some smaller streams, such as the Masmdr, the Mdhkdrd, &c, and the few tributaries of the Narbadd, which drain a portion of the upper plateau, viz. the Banjar, Hdlon, and Jamdnid. There are no lakes in Bdldghdt worthy of mention ; small tanks, however, which hold water just sufficient to irrigate the rice crops at the end of the monsoon, and to supply the village cattle with water' during the hot months, abound. In many cases the tanks are purposely and completely emptied soon after the rains, and rabl crops are sown in their beds. The forests of Bdldghdt are very extensive. In the low country the bases F of the hills are fringed with jungle, containing timber of various kinds, but not of any great Value. On the banks of the Waingangd are scattered patches of teak ; and in various other places in the plains are isolated jungles, containing stunted timber and grass. On the Deo, near the village of Bhagatpdr, and on the banks ofthe Son, between Ldnjl and Bijdgarh, and at Bijdgarh itself, are found the large katang bamboos, the specimens of which shown at the Ndgpdr and Jabalpur exhibitions measured about ninety feet in length. Above the ghdts the greater part of the country is covered with forests. At the north-east corner is situated the large sdl forest reserve of Topld, where, according to Major Pearson, " the " trees are truly magnificent, many of them measuring three feet in diameter, " and having a height of fifty or sixty feet." From Topld to Bhimldt and Baihar, sdl is very abundant. But httle teak of value is now to be found in these forests. On the Jamdnid, near Bhimldt, some 3,000 trees are still standing, but of these about forty per cent are as yet less than three feet in circumference, and not fit for the market. These forests are tenanted by wild animals * of all kinds, from the bison, which frequents nearly all the hill-crests above Ldnjl and the Bhainsdghdt range, to the hare and the fox in the plains below, but they are not easily to be met with, for their numbers are not in proportion to the immense extent of jungle which they frequent. The following statement shows the number of wild animals which were killed, and for which government rewards were paid, in 1867-68 : — * There is one wild elephant, which it is believed escaped some fifteen years ago from the establishment of the Raja of Nagpur, 3 CPG 18 BALA Description of Animals. No. killed. Amount of Reward paid. 15 1 19 3 28 15 398 Rs.750 20 190 15 140 2 10 431 a. p. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 470 1,558 8 0 There is every reason to suppose that the mineral wealth of the highlands is p , -vr. . considerable ', so much, however, of the whole area is but partially explored that it is impossible to state what the extent of the mineral resources may be. Gold is washed in both the Deo and Son, also in a small stream called the Sonberd nald near the Pancherd ghdt in the Dhansud pargana, and in the Nahrd river of the Mau tract. The quantity obtainable is, however, so small as scarcely to repay the labour. Iron in large quantities is found in very many places on the hills, and it is extensively worked by the Gonds, who smelt it into rough semi-circular shapes called " chdlds," averaging in weight about 10 lbs. each. These are sold in the bdzars at the rate of two to four chdlds for the rupee. Gerd, or red ochre, is found to the west of the Sdletekri hills, and is used by the people for dyeing, &c. ; and a few miles to the east of Bdrhd, surma (sulphide of antimony) occurs in large quantities. The latter is, however, of no value here, and no one takes the trouble to collect it. Both above and below the ghats mica is abundant. Indeed it is difficult to find any place where its ghttering fragments do not at once attract the eye, but no where has it been met with in sheets of such size as to make it commercially valuable. The best specimens as yet brought to light have come from near Chitadongri and Bamni near Baihar, and have measured about two by three or four inches.* Rice is the principal agricultural product, hut Products—Agricultural. other crops are grown, as will be seen by the following table for the year 1868 : — Area of Acres under cultivation. Rice , 188,312 Wheat 585 Other food grains 8,770 Oil-seeds 3,436 Sugar 505 Fibres 100 Tobacco 638 * Mr. Michea, a French gentleman residing in the Mandla district, has taken an experimental lease of these mines. BALA 19 The number of market-gardens and amount of garden produce is extremely small. Only the commonest descriptions of indigenous vegetable are grown in the fields ; but the jungles afford many edible herbs, which are all known by the comprehensive word " bhdji" (or greens). There are also many roots and bulbs which are used by the Baigds and dahyd-cutting Gonds for both food and medicine. For revenue purposes the district is divided into two portions, viz. the Bdrha tahsil, which consists of the parganas of "ev'nue- Dhansdd, Ldnjl, including the Sdletekrf zamln dari and Hattd, and the Paraswdrd tahsil which is composed of the southern portions of the Rdigarh Bichhid tract and the M'au tdluka. The revenues of the district in 1868-69 are shown by the following table : — Land revenue Rs. 67,543 8 0 Assessed taxes „ 6,925 0 0 Excise „ 13,243 0 0 Stamps „ 11,342 0 0 Forest revenue „ 18,412 0 0 Total Rs. 1,17,465 8 0 There are no made-roads in the district. For six months in the year (viz. . . from December till June) the ordinary country ' "'" '!' '" tracks are fairly good, but for the remaining five months they are, generally speaking, quite impassable except for elephants and foot-passengers. The passes leading from the low country to the highlands are as follows : — 1. The Bdnpdr ghdt, to the north of the Ldnjl pargana, in the gorge of the Deo. 2. The Warai ghdt, to the north-east of the Dhansud pargana, near the villages of Odhd and Dhansud. 3. The Pancherd ghdt, to the north of the Dhansud pargana, near the villges of Pancherd and Dhdpewdrd. 4. The Bhondwd ghdt, in the south-east of the Mau tdluka, near Lametd and Bhondwd. 5. The Ahtnadpdr ghdt, lying due east of the town of M'au. Of these Nos. 1 and 2 are at present bad, No. 3 is nearly finished, and good, and Nos. 4 and 5 are very fair, especially the latter. The population is classed under some ninety castes and religious denomi- _ . . nations, but most of these are very scantily P represented. By far the largest element in the population is the aboriginal, in which the Gonds and their congeners are the most conspicuous. Of the agricultural classes the most numerous are Lodhis and Ponwdrs, both esteemed to be good cultivators, though the latter have merely a local reputation, while the former are well known through Northern and Central India. It is from the immigration of sturdy peasants of these classes that the reclamation of the forest wastes may be hoped for, and it was with the main object of facilitating their settlement in Bdldghdt that the new- district was experimentally formed. The trading classes are chiefly represented 20 BALA by oil-sellers and spirit-distillers, who, however, combine other trades, and even agriculture, with their hereditary avocations. The artisan class scarcely exists yet, though there is a sprinkling of ordinary village carpenters, blacksmiths, and metal-workers. The following extracts from a report on the new district by Captain Bloom - field, the Deputy Commissioner, will show what Settlers. gtep_, WQ being taken to induce settlers from below to take up the rich virgin lands of the plateau : — " Since the beginning of 1867 every effort has been made to induce Ponwdrs, Kunbis, Mardrs, and other good cultivating classes to immigrate and take up land in the upland tracts. People applying for land above the ghats have either received grants under the waste land clearance lease rules, where the plot applied for has been entirely waste ; or, in cases where the applicant has expressed a desire to undertake the management of small villages composed of a few squatters with a httle scattered cultiva tion, they have been allowed to do so, and inducements have been held out to them to the effect that if they get the village inhabited, and cause the lands belonging thereto to be brought quickly under cultivation, the proprietary right will be given to them, and a regular settlement made. The former of the conditions above described (clearance lease) is termed by the natives 'jangal tardshi' (forest clearing), and the latter ' dbddl' (colonisation). "Under the clearance lease rules, 46 plots, with a total area of 9,171 acres, have been taken up by 33 Ponwdrs, 6 Gonds, 1 Mardr, 1 Lodhi ; and 37 villages, with an area of about 55,583 acres, have been taken up by 9 Ponwdrs, 2 Kunbis, 3 Gonds, 1 Kayath, 1 Mardr, 2 Rdjputs, and 1 Sondr. The area thus taken up amounts altogether to about 64,754 acres. The number of men (59) thus shown to have gone to the uplands only represents those well-to-do individuals, who have ventured to immigrate from below in the hope that hereafter they may become mdlguzdrs of their holdings. But as a rule, with each of these men several families of cultivators of the same caste, but in poorer circumstances, have gone : thus the total number of persons who have emigrated to the uplands may be estimated at more than 500, exclusive of those who have gone to reside in villages previously settled. Of this latter class I have no certain statistics, but from the number of people I have seen in the act of emigration, and from the great profusion of new houses in the upland villages, I have no hesitation in saying that the numbers of this olass of immigrants are very considerable. " Of all the people who have gone above the ghdts these Ponwdrs promise to be the most valuable and successful. Wherever men of this class have taken up land they have set to work in earnest in embanking up their fields and constructing tanks. In many places where they have settled down, where never sod was turned before, may now be seen fields covering many acres, with their embankments (bandls) three and four feet high, and everything ready for the rains now commencing. " The Ponwdrs and other settlers have perhaps done much, considering the fewness of their numbers and the recentness of their arrival; but their BALA 21 example has, I believe, done more. The former inhabitants of the tracts seem now to have realised the fact that formidable competitors for the rich lahds around them are daily becoming more numerous, and they no longer imagine that they alone are the occupiers of the soil. Gonds and others who were formerly satisfied with their rough and shifting cultivation, now vie with each other in raising embankments round their fields, and in constructing tanks where nothing of the kind before existed." This is only a beginning, but it is regarded as promising by those who know the country. Special causes have been at work during the two years, for which this district has existed, to check immigration, in addition to the ordinary obstacles arising from absence of enterprise among the people. One of the two years has been agriculturally unfavourable, and there has been a question about the rights of the indigenous inhabitants, which, till it was settled, must have deterred many intending immigrants from taking up lands, a clear title to which could not yet be given to them. In addition to the direct modes of encouragement above described, consi derable efforts have been made to facilitate settlement by improving the very deficient modes of communication between the low country and the rich wastes on the plateau. What has been done in this respect is thus described in a late report by Mr. Bernard, the Commissioner of the Ndgpdr division : — " Captain Bloomfield's report describes what has been done, and is still doing, to open good and sufficient intercommunication between the uplands and plains. The villages of the Waingangd plain constitute the markets for the produce of the uplands, and it is thence that the people of the highlands draw their salt, their copper vessels, their cotton goods, and their hardware. Yet two years ago there was not a single road by which a laden cart could get from the plains to Paraswdrd. Up the tract where the Bhondwd ghdt now is, a few half-laden carts used to struggle ; and an occasional cart used to get up the Bdnpdr ghdt by dint of being unladen and lifted at five or six bad places on the road. Now there are no less than three good cart roads by which laden carts can go up and down the ghdts at all seasons, and two more such ghdts will shortly be completed. * * * I have myself seen each of these ghdt roads once or twice during the present season, and I am able to say that they are most useful and economically constructed works. They may be enumerated thus — " The Pancherd ghat, costing Rs. 15,000, is quite complete. It is now standing the present rainy season. This ghdt was formerly quite im passable for carts. During the last six weeks ofthe open season of 1869, 792 carts passed over it, so that the people were fully alive to its conveni ence as soon as it was opened. " The Warai ghdt, costing Rs. 4,000, was barely completed when the rainy season began. Its side drains, however, were finished, and the work will doubtless stand the monsoon weather. No cart had ever been up this ghdt before, but during the past season, while work was going on, a few carts got up. Next open season it will be in full working order. 22 BALA " The Bdnpdr ghdt has been half finished at a cost of Rs. 2,500. It was up this ghdt that carts intended for the uplands used to be carried on mens' heads. Already, now that the most part of the ascent is over come by zigzags, some seventy laden carts have made their way up this ghdt. " The two other ghdts lead from the western edge, while the three above described lead from the southern edge of the plateau. " The Bhondwd ghdt has for many years been used by carts ; the slope was much more gradual (except for a short piece near the foot of the hills) than on the southern ghdts. But the road was extremely rough and uneven, and the proportion of carts which effected the passage of this ghdt without breaking their axles or wheels was formerly small. The road has now been improved, the steep ascent of the foot has been overcome by zigzags, and the whole ghdt has been made very passable at a cost of Rs. 1,920. " The Ahmadpdr ghdt is of the same character as the Bhondwd, but it; is hardly so important a road as any of the other ghdts. Its improvement has not yet been taken in hand, but Rs. 2,000 have been provided for the work in the current year's budget. On most of these ghdts the cutting has taken the road down to gneiss or to schists, which make very fair road surface. The banks too for the most part consist of tolerably hard material ; no expense, or at any rate very httle, will therefore be incurred in metalling the ghdt roads. But the skeleton of the Bdldghdt road system will only be begun when the ghdt roads are finished.. Fair-weather roads will have to be cut from the ghat summits to the different valleys and plateaus ; no metalling will as yet be attempted on these roadsy but the shortest lines will be selected ; the jungle will be cut, rocks and stones will be removed, and the banks of streams will be sloped at the approaches to fords. The lie of these roads has already been settled by the deputy com missioner ; some of them have been aligned, and two or three have been already cleared. When they shall all be completed, the communications of the Bdldghdt uplands will be at least as good as the cross-country roads of the plain country below. " Before passing from this account of what has been done to improve the Bdldghdt communications it may be well to notice that the deputy commissioner has given some attention to the improvement of the river communication in the Bdldghdt lowlands. The Bdgh nadf, the Deo nadi, the Son nadl, and the Waingangd traverse the district, and during the flood season a good deal of grain goes down, and some salt comes up in flat-bottomed cargo-boats. At several places on these rivers there are rocky barriers, which impede, or even stop navigation ; one of these barriers, at a place named Rdjdgdon on the Bdgh nadf, was opened last May by Captain Bloomfield, who blasted away the rocky curtain at a cost of about Rs. 450. The removal of this barrier has opened out a long extra reach on the Bdgh nadi, and has also opened the Deo and Son rivers for cargo-boats. During the current season Captain Bloomfield is taking experimental river trips to all the principal barriers in the district, and has ascertained that the Waingangd might be made navigable to the very north of the district by the removal of comparatively inconsiderable barriers." BALA 23 As yet the district scarcely has a history. The upper part of it belonged to the dominions of the Garhd Mandla kings 1S ory' until their subjugation by the Marathas, and the lowlands were included either in the Haihai Bansi kingdom of Chhattisgarh, which was absorbed more than a century ago by the Bhonsla rulers of Nagpur, or in the Deogarh Gond principahty, which fell even earher before the same power. The high plateau has not, within the memory of man, been so near prosperity as it is at present, and sixty years ago it was almost entirely waste. About that time one Lachhman Ndik planted the first villages on the Paras- wdrd plateau, and it is to his enterprise, and to the industry of the immigrants whom he introduced, that Parasward and the thirty villages about it are now flourishing settlements, surrounded by excellent rice fields, which never want for water even in the driest seasons. There are, however, traces, in the shape of handsome Buddhist temples of cut stone, of a comparatively high civilisation at some remote period. Further researches may some day throw light on this epoch, which may probably be referred to the days when a Haihaya line of kings ruled over Mdrdgarh and Ldnjl (the present Mandla and Bdldghdt). But for the present at any rate the eyes of those interested in the district will rather be turned to the important experiment in colonisation, which is now under trial, than to the almost illegible records of an extinct past. BALA'HI hills, in the Bhanddra district, lying about six miles west of Bhanddra, are about four hundred feet above the level of the plain. They extend over a space of ground about twenty-four miles in circumference, and are quite bare of vegetation, but afford some pasturage for cattle, and plenty of building material in the shape of large slabs of shale and blocks of laterite. BA'LA'KOT — A fortified village situated in a very hilly part of the Damoh district, about twelve miles the south-west of Damoh. The inhabitants are Lodhfs, and rebelled in 1857, when the fort was attacked and dismantled by British troops. There is a police post here. BALIHRI' — A town situated about 9 miles to the south-west of Murwdrd, and 15 miles due north of Sleemandbdd. It is in all probability one of the oldest towns in the Jabalpdr district. The main line of communication between the valley of the Ganges and Narbada used to run through it. AU round and in every street of it are to be seen ancient remains, which prove it once to have been a place of some importance, though it now contains only 450 houses. At various times the name of the town has been changed ; it is said first to have been called Bdbdvat Nagari or Bdbdvatl, then Pdpdvat Nagarl, and lastly it gained its present name of Balihrl, according to tradition, from the defeat here of a Rdjd Bai. The inhabitants ofthe place, however, say that the name of Balihrl is derived from a kind of 'pdn' for which the place was once famous. This may be the case, as even now, notwithstanding the decadence of the place, the fpdn' gardens are numerous and beautiful. Again, others say that the fpdn' derives its name from the town, and not the town from the ' pan.' According to tradition Bdbdvatl was many centuries ago a very flourishing city. Its temples were numbered by hundreds ; and the pilgrims who flocked from all parts of India to do homage at the various shrines were counted by thousands. It is said that in those days it was (8 coss) 24 miles in circumference. In the centre of the town there is now standing an old building formerly used as a " marha," and still called by that name, from which not many years ago was removed a bijak (large stone bearing an inscription), which has only been decyphered so 24 BAL far as to show that this was a very early seat of Jain worship. From the best information now obtainable on the subject it appears that the town of Balihrl, and the pargana bearing the same name, consisting of about thirty villages, belonged to the kings of Mandla, in whose possession they continued until Samvat 1838 (a.d. 1781), when they fell into the hands ofthe Mardthd chief of Sdgar. In Samvat 1853 (a.d. 1796) Balihrl and some other districts were presented to Raghojf Bhonsld I., Rdjd of Ndgpdr, as a reward for services rendered in assisting the Peshwd in a war against the Nizdm. In Samvat 1874 (a.d. 1817) Balihrl was ceded by the Bhonslds to the British govern ment. In a.d. 1857, during the great Indian mutiny, the fort of Balihrf was occupied by a party of rebels under Raghundth Singh Bundela, of Richdl in Pannd. So soon as this became known native troops were sent against the place from Jabalpdr andNagod, but before they arrived the rebels had decamped. Soon afterwards the fort was, by the order of government, dismantled, and not only were the outer walls levelled, but the whole place was converted into a chaotic mass of ruins. The present town of Balihrl is picturesquely situated among fine groves of mango and other trees, in a fertile country, the surface of which is broken by numerous hills. The large tank (Lachhman Sdgar), the many ancient remains, and the fine old baolis in the town itself, are well worthy of a visit from travellers in the neighbourhood. BALLATjPU'R — A village in the Chdndd district, six miles south of Chdndd, on the left bank of the Wardhd. It was the seat of the earher Gond kings. Although now containing only 253 houses, foundations can be traced for a considerable distance in the jungle, showing the large area over which the old city extended. There is a fine stone fort, much of which is modern, having been rebuilt about the end of the last century. Within it are the remains of the ancient palace, among which are two tunnels sloping at a steep angle into the ground. The entrances are a few feet apart, and the tunnels, branching off in opposite directions, lead each to a set of three under ground chambers. When these were explored in A.D. 1865 some ancient copper coins and decayed iron rings were found. There is also a perpendicular shaft, the object of which has not yet been ascertained. North of the village are the ruins of a large and elaborately made tank, in which, owing probably to the falling-in of the under-channels, any water collected sinks through the earth, and appears as a stream a little further down. To the east stands a tomb of one of the Gond kings ; and in an islet in the Wardhd in the same direction there is an exceedingly curious rock-temple which during several months of the year is fathoms under water; it is known as the "Rdm Tirth," and in a.d. 1866 was thoroughly cleaned out and explored. A few hundred yards beyond the Rdm Tirth, in the bed of the Wardhd, is a seam of coal, laid bare by the action of the stream. The situation of Balldlpdr is picturesque, the Wardhd banks being high and rocky, and the river beneath at all times deep and broad, while ancient groves furnish abundant shade. A police outpost is stationed here, and near the fort is an unfinished English house, which visitors are generally permitted to use. BA'LOD — A small town in the Rdlpdr district, situated fifty miles south west of Rdipdr, containing 802 houses and about 1,800 inhabitants; it hes half a mile from the banks of the Tanduld, one of the affluents of the Seo. The town is very straggling, and bears signs of having at one time been much more flourishing than at present. There is an old fort in a state of dilapida tion, said to have been built at the close of the fifteenth century of our era by BAL 25 a cadet ofthe family of the Rajput kings of Ratanpdr. In a.d. 177S it was taken by the Marathds after a very severe contest. There is an old temple in the town, remarkable more for the large stones which form its basement than for any architectural pretensions. BA'MRA' — A feudatory state attached to the Sambalpur district, held by a Rajput family, and formerly subject to Sirgdja, but added to the Garhjdt cluster by Balrdm Deo, first Rdjd of Sambalpur. It lies between S4° 20' and So3 15' east longitude, and between 21° 10' and 22° 15' north latitude. Its formation is extremely irregular, the northern part running up to a point into the Bonai and Gangptir states; and two points also extending considerably to the westward, the one into the Laird zaminddri. and the other into Tdlcher. It is bounded on the north by Bonai and Gdngpdr, on the south by the Garhjdt state of Rairakhol, on the east by Tdlcher and Laird, and on the west by the Sam- balpdr khdlsa and the zaminddri of Jaipur or Koldbird. Taking the extreme length north and south it mav be some seventv-five miles, while the extreme breadth is about sixty-four miles. The total area may be about 1750 square miles. Notwithstanding the masses of hill and jungle in the southern portion of the state, about three-fifths of the whole are cultivated, the north-western part and the centra being particularly fertile. The soil is light and sandy, except in the immediate neighbourhood of the hills where it is more loamy. There are some splendid sal forests in this state; all lost to use, however, for want of means to get the timber to a market. Iron ore is to be found in abundance. The jungles produce a considerable quantity of lac, silk, cocoons, beeswax, and honey. Resin is also extracted from the sal trees. Tbe only river of note is the Brahmdni. But for certain rocky obstructions that occur at one or two places timber might be floated down this river to the coast, as it empties itself into the sea just north of False Point. An old road to Calcutta, now fallen into disuse, runs through the state from west to east. There are no other roads of importance. According to the census of 1866 the population amounted to 22,456 souls, and was for the most part agricultural. As elsewhere in these parts, rice is the staple produce. Oil-seeds, pulses, cotton, and sugarcane are also cidtivated. The principal non-agricultural castes are Brahmans, Rdjputs, and Mahantis, while agriculture is carried on by Chasds, Gonds, Khonds, Agarids, Koltas, Suds, and Dumals. The family is Gangd-bansi Rajput. They do not appear to be in posses sion of any authentic traditions antecedent to Samvat 1602 (a.d. 1545). In that year one Ram Chandra Deva was Rdjd till Samvat 1635, when he was succeeded bv Bikram Deva, who reignaed from 1635 to 1682 Haru Deva ., 16S2 „ 1698 Chandra Sekhar ,. 169S , 1730 Bhagirath Deva ,. 1730 „ 1770 Pratdp Deva .. 1770 „ 1802 Siddsar Deva n 1S02 „ 1836 Arjun Deva ,> 1836 . , 1876 Sujal Deva .. 1S76 , 1890 „ Tribhuvan Deva, the present rdjd. Tribhuvan Deva is a man of some fifty years of age ; he is quiet and unpre tending, but manages his affairs shrewdly and well. He has not hitherto done much for education in his state, but has recently applied for teachers in order to open three schools. •1 CPG 26 BAN BAND A' — A town in the Sdgar district, about twenty miles north-east of Sdgar, containing 204 houses and 626 inhabitants. It is the head-quarters of a tahsil, and is supposed to have been founded about 200 years ago. About the year a.d. 1810 the tract of Beherd, in which Bandd is situated, formed part of the dominions of Rdjd Madan Singh of Garhakotd. After his death his son, Arjun Singh, made over Garhdkota and Mdlthon to Sindia (see " Garhakotd"), and kept Beherd and Shdhgarh for himself. In 1818, after the cession of Sdgar to the British government by the Peshwd, the tract under-mentioned, including Bandd, was acquired by the latter in an exchange of territory with the abovementioned Arjun Singh. Prior to 1861 the head-quarters of the tahsil were stationed at Bindikd, a town about nine miles north of Banda, but owing to the central position of Bandd, and the fact of its being situated on the high road from Sdgar to Cawnpore, at no great distance from district head-quarters, the change was decided on. The town itself is a very small and insignificant place. It should, however, now gradually rise in importance. The new tahsili is situated on a small eminence to the west of the village. It is a handsome flat-roofed building. A boys' school has also been established here. BANDA' — A revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Sdgar district, having an area of 691 square miles, with 299 villages, and a population of 72,066, according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 46,494. This division lies to the north-east of the district, and is bounded on the north by Lalatpdr, a district in the North- West Provinces, and on the east by the native state of Pannd. BA'NDAKPU'R — A village in the Damoh district, containing 200 houses and upwards of 600 inhabitants. It is about nine or ten miles to the east of Damoh. A fair is held here twice a year — once during February for the " Basant " Hindu festival, and once in March for the " Sivardtri." Large numbers of pilgrims attend these fairs, and the traffic is considerable. In January 1869 the attendance amounted to 20,000 persons. The chief articles brought for sale are piece-goods, hardware, and trinkets of various kinds. BANDOL — A small village in the Seoni district, half way between Chha- pdrd and Seoni. There is a road-bungalow here, and supplies and good water are procurable. It is the first encamping-ground after leaving Seoni, from which it is nine miles distant. BANGA'ON— A village in the Hattd tahsil of the Damoh district. It is on the road between Damoh and Hattd, and about twelve miles distant from either place. There is an encamping-ground here for troops passing from Sdgar to Naugdon. Bangdon is also on tho Jabalpdr and Bandd route. BANJAR — An affluent of the Narbadd, into which it falls nearly opposite Mandla. It rises in Sdletekri in the Bdldghdt district, and its course is due north. There are now in the Ndgpdr museum specimens of the gold-bearing sand of this river. It has several affluents ; the principal on the left bank are the Tannor, Gurdr, Bhurbhurid, and Bhongid. On the right bank the chief affluent is the Jamdnid, which rises on the Chilplghdt. BANKHERI' — A small town in the Hoshangdbdd district, on the high road from Jabalpdr to Hoshangdbdd, some fifty miles east of the latter. Here is a railway station ; and the road to the Pachmari sanitarium runs due south from this point towards Fatehpdr. BAN— BAR 27 BA NPU'R — An estate in the Bdldghdt district, comprising fifty-six villages, and an area of 206 square miles, of which little more than five are under cultivation. The population amounted to 2,476 souls by the census of 1866. The chief and only good village, Bdnpdr, lies twenty-eight miles east of Bdrhd. BA'NSA' — A thriving and rather large village in the Damoh district, con taining 541 houses and a population of 1,771 souls. It is situated about fifteen miles to the west of Damoh and three miles to the south of Patharid. The estate attached is held in jdgir by a Mardthd family of Puna, and was granted on condition of military service. There are here an indigenous school, fairly well attended, and a police station. Khadi and other coarse cloths are made in the village. BARBARI' — A village in the Wardhd district, three miles south-west of Wardhd. A small weekly market is held here on Tuesdays, grain and country cloth being the principal articles brought for sale. Barbari contains 1,047 inhabitants, chiefly cultivators, with a few weavers. There is a good village school here. BARBASPU'R — A chiefship attached to the Raipdr district, consisting of twenty -two villages, situated about sixty miles to the north-west of Rdipdr. It formerly formed part of the Gandai chiefship. The chief is a Gond by caste. BARD HA' — A large village in the north-east corner of the Damoh district, twenty -one miles north-west from Hattd and forty-five miles from Damoh. The population is estimated at upwards of 1,000, and the houses number 482. There is a police outpost at this village. The area attached is 17,531 acres, being the largest estate in the Damoh district. B AREI' — A stream which rises in the Korbd hills, and is for some distance the boundary between the Bildspdr and Sambalpur districts. BARELA' — A town in the Jabalpdr district, containing 501 houses and 2,233 inhabitants, and situated about ton miles to the south-east of Jabalpdr. It is said to have been founded in the reign of one of the Gond rdjds, some 1,100 years ago. The present thdkurs obtained fourteen villages in tdluka Pendwdr, for good service, from Raja Seordj Sd of Garhd Mandla, about a.d. 1745. Before the year 1857 the town was noted for the manufacture of gun-barrels. BARELA' — A small forest of about ten square miles in extent in the Mandla district, containing some scattered growth of teak along the ravines which intersect the ground in all directions. The young teak is said to be springing up in large quantities, and altogether the forest is a very pro mising one. BARGA'ON — A small chiefship or zaminddri in the Bdldghdt district, consist ing of one village only, with an area of 1 ,109 acres. It is said to have been granted in zaminddri tenure to the ancestor of the present holder for bravery in killing a leopard. Bargdon lies eighteen miles south-east of Bdrhd. BARGARH — The head-quarters of the subdivision ofthe same name in the Sambalpdr district, situated in the Dakhantir (or southern division), some 28 BAR— BARU twenty-four miles west of Sambalpdr, on the highroad between Sambalpdr and Rdipdr, and within a short distance of the Jird river. BARGARH — A tahsil, or revenue subdivision in the Sambalpdr district, consisting of 332 villages and 254 dependent hamlets. The land revenue is Rs. 49,377, and the population, including that of the zamindarls, 253,540. It includes within its limits ten zamindarls, paying in the aggregate to government Rs. 3,521. There are no large towns in this circle, but there are some fine villages, among them may be mentioned — Population. Remrd 3,076 Kharmundd 2,547 Chakkarkend 2,401 Beniachdl 2,317 Kumhdri 2,260 Pdnmord 2,130 Population. Samparsard 1,983 Khuntpdli 1,877 Birmdl 1,875 Jhar 1,849 Sankirdd 1,846 BARGI' — A small village in the Jabalpdr district, but the principal place in the pargana of the same name. It is situated on the road between Nagpur and Jabalpdr, about fifteen miles distant from the latter place and ten miles from the Narbada. There are a school and a police station here. BAHHA' — A large agricultural village in the Gadarwdra tahsll in the Narsinghpdr district, with a population of 2,726 souls. Within the last century it was the head-quarters of an estate of the same name, extending as far as Sobhdpdr in the Hoshangdbdd district and Chichli in the Narsinghpdr district. It was held at one time by the Pindhari chief Chitu, who built a fort here. Since the cession the cultivated area has been more than doubled, and there are now manufactures in tasar silk, wool, and cloth. A pohce outpost and a village school are the only government buildings here. BARPA'LT — A chiefship attached to the Sambalpdr district. It was created in the reign of Balidr Singh, fourth rdjd of Sambalpdr, about three hundred years ago, as a provision for his second son Bikram Singh. It is situated about thirty miles to the south-west of the town of Sambalpur, consists of some seventy villages, and has an area of about twenty -five square miles, nearly three-fourths of which are cultivated. The population by the last census was 17,304 souls, chiefly agricultural, viz. Koltds, Somrds, &c, but a sprinkling of all the Hindd castes is also to be met with. Rice, cotton, oil-seeds, the pulses, and sugarcane are produced. The manufactures are coarse cloth, tasar silk, and brass vessels. The principal place is Barpdll, which has a population of 2,838. There is an Anglo-Vernacular school here, where some one hundred and thirty pupils are receiving instruction, and also a female school with thirty girls. There are likewise some five or six schools of an inferior class in the villages. BATfcU' REWA' — A stream in the Narsinghpdr district which flows into the Sher at a little distance above the junction of that river with the Narbadd, after a course of some thirty miles. It is crossed by a large railway bridge. BAS 29 BASTAR *- CONTENTS. Page General description 29 Geological conformation 30 Minerals 31 Internal divisions and Roads ib. Trade and Manufactures ib. Diseases and Epidemics 32 Page Tribes and Castes 33 Marias 34 Maris 36 Language and Religion • 37 Superstitions 38 A feudatory state situated between 20° 10' and 17° 40' of north latitude, . , . and 80° 30' and 82° 15' of east longitude, General description. n -, n ,-, ,- ¦, ,-, T^, , °, ,, '. r bounded on the north by the Kanker zamlndari and the Rdlpdr district ; on the south by the Sironcha district ; on the east by the Bendrd Nawdgarh zamlndari under Raipdr, the Jaipdr state, and the Sabari river ; and on the west by the Indrdvati river and the Ahiri zaminddri. The family ofthe Rdjd of Bastar is a very ancient one, and claims to be of the purest Rajput blood, though it is questionable whether it may not be of a mixed lineage — Rajput and Gond. It is said to have come originally from Warangal in the Deccan, about the commencement of the fourteenth century. The supposed gross revenue of Bastar is Rs. 36,102, and the tribute paid by the Rdjd to the British government is Rs. 3,056 per annum. The extreme length of the Bastar state is about 170 miles, and the extreme breadth about 120 miles ; the area may be estimated at 13,000 square miles, and the population at less than 270,000 souls. The general nature ofthe country is flat towards the east and north-east, while the centre and north-west portions are very mountainous, and the southern parts are a mixture of hill and plain. The eastern portion is an elevated plateau, from 1,800 to 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, while the less elevated country to the west and south portion is from 1,000 to 1,500 feet lower. The highland country may be said to extend on the south to the Tdngri Dongri and Tulsi Dongrl hills ; on the west as far as the hills between Ndgatokd and Bdrsdr, beyond which the country falls on the north to where the Mahdnadi and Seo rivers have their rise ; and to the east beyond the boundary of Jaipdr, as far as the eastern ghdts. In this region there are few hills, the streams are sluggish, and the country is a mixture of plain and undulating ground covered by dense sal forests. A fruitful soil, producing rich crops whenever cultivated, covers nearly all the plateau. The principal mountains in Bastar are a lofty range, which forms the boundary between it and the Nugdr and A.'lbdkd tdlukas of the Sironchd district, running north west and south-east, and ceasing abruptly as it approaches the Tdl river — a range of about equal height in the centre of the dependency, known generally as the "Beld Dild" (from a particular peak near Dantiwdrd), which resembles a bullock's hump, and which extends from the Bijji tdluka in the south to the Indrd vati on the north ; a third range running north and south near Nardinpdr ; a fourth, called the Tdngrf Dongri, running east and west ; and a fifth, the Tulsi Dongrl, which is nearly parallel to, and south of, the preceding, bordering on the Sabari river and the Jaipdr state. There is also a small, but very distinctly * This article is taken nearly verbatim from a Report on Bastar by Captain Glasfurd, which will be found published in the " Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, No. xxxix. " 30 BAS defined range which runs north and south from Kutru on the Indrdvati, to Parnsdla and Dumagudem on the Goddvari, where it forms the first barrier on that river. The principal rivers in the dependency are the Indrdvati, the Sabari, and the Tdl or Tdlper. They are all affluents of the Goddvari. The soil throughout the greater portion of Bastar may be said to be a „ , . , . . lierht clay with an admixture of sand, better Geological conformation. g ^ fo£ ^ raising of rice and ^ ^ ^ dry cultivation ; indeed with a good supply of water it is as fertile, as without water it is poor and incapable of producing rich crops. There is also some good soil of the black description, but of the whole area nine-tenths probably belong to the light clayey class. The hills which separate Bastar from the Nugdr and A'lbdkd tdlukas are principally composed of vitrified sandstone, exceedingly hard, and of a pinkish colour. They increase in height as they approach the Tdl river, within a mile or two of which they abruptly terminate in high scarped precipices of 50 to 150 feet high, while the height of the hills themselves cannot be less than 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. They are in fact a continuation of the sandstone ranges which run from near the conflu ence of the Waingangd and Wardhd through the chiefship of Ahiri and the Sironchd tdluka, with similar ranges on the right bank of the Goddvari opposite Sironchd. All these sandstone ranges are parallel to each other, and from five to fifteen miles apart, their direction being invariably north-west and south-east. One peculiarity about them is that as a northern range ceases, a parallel range to the south commences, and when this ceases, a third to the south of it again begins, and so on. The south-eastern falls are generally steep, abrupt, and scarped near their summits, while on the reverse, or north-west side, the slopes are easy. There is but little level space on their summits, little or no water is to be found, and the whole surface is strewn with loose boulders of vitrified sandstone. Eastward from these high ranges of sandstone hills we pass through a narrow valley, on the eastern sides of which there are signs of a change in the formation. Greenstone and hornblende appear near the banks of the Tdl, about twenty-five miles from its confluence with the Goddvari, mixed with coarse quartzose and felspathic rocks in various stages of decompo sition. A small range, which runs from Kutrd in the north to the head of the first barrier of the Goddvari in the south, seems to be composed principally of gneiss with broad bands of quartz. This range is clearly defined, and has but few spurs. From these hills to the eastward an undulating plain of mixed clayey and sandy soil extends to the Beld Dild, which forms a marked feature in the configu ration of this part of the country. This chain extends nearly due north and south. From the south bank of tho Indrdvati it is about 200 feet above the plain, increasing in height as it runs southward, till it culminates in two high peaks called Nandirdj and Pitur Rdni, wliich are between 3,000 and 4,000 feet above the sea. From this point the range slightly bends to the south-east, and extends as far as the Bijji tdluka and the right bank ofthe Sabari, and thence to the junction of that river with the Goddvari. After forming the boundary between the tdlukas of Sunkam and Chintalndr it loses most of its regular and well-defined character, till it is lost in irregular masses of hill as it approaches the Goddvari. The formation is for three or four hundred feet granite, then metamorphic shales, and on the surface ironstone and laterite. Leaving the Beld Dild behind we descend into the valley of the Dankaiif, which abounds with small granitic hills, covered with thin jungle and but scanty vegetation; BAS 31 further eastward the country rises, till after passing Darkari (between Danti- ward and Jagdalpdr) the road gradually descends into the plain in which the capital of tho dependency stands. Up to Darkari the formation is granite, and the hills are abrupt and irregular ; beyond this point a httle vitrified sandstone is seen, which again gives way to clay slate of various colours, from a faint yellow to pink, finely laminated, and covered with the deposit ofthe clayey soil so common throughout this part of the country. This clay slate extends from the Tdngri Dongrl range at Sitdpdr to Jagdalpdr. Proceeding eastwards it becomes harder and of a blue colour, and continues so to the boundary of Bastar and Jaipdr. Blue slate is again found north of Jagdalpdr towards Seoni, and on the banks of the Narangi river, where it contains iron pyrites in considerable quantities. A small steep range immediately south of Sitdpdr is composed almost entirely of limestone. Passing southwards we reach the extreme height of the Tdngri Dongri, where granite, gneiss, and several varieties of talcoze rocks are found, and descending into the more level parts of the Sunkam tdluka clay slates, while near Sunkam compact limestone with gneiss occurs. On the eastern boundary of the Bastar dependency laterite is met with, and at Jaipdr laterite and steatite. This laterite is shaped into blocks for the founda tions of houses in Jaipdr. The steatite here is of a whitish-yellow colour ; it is quarried and used as a building stone, and is soft enough to .enable the workmen to cut and fashion it with an adze. Iron ore is found towards the eastern portion of the dependency in small w . quanties, but it is not much worked. It is also found in immense quantities on the Beld Dild and in the valley of the Jorivdg river. The quality is good, but has hardly ever been worked, there being httle demand for it. It also occurs, though not so plentifully, towards the north-western boundary. Gold is found in small quan tities in the Kutri river and towards Pratdppdr, as also close to the junction of the Kutri and Indrdvati rivers. Bastar is divided into two distinct parts — the Zaminddris or chiefships, and Internal divisions and Roads. J£f ^Mlsa 0r C0Untl7 hel_d ^ectly b7 tte E^jd. Ihe former occupies nearly all that portion of the dependency which lies south of the Indrdvati, and a small tract to the north of it, while almost all the country to the north of the river is khdlsa. There is not a single made road in the state, although, the configuration of the country and the nature of the soil are rather favourable than otherwise to the construc tion of fair-weather cart lines. In many places the country is so favourable for wheeled carriages that if the thick jungle on each side of the present track were cut down and uprooted, the communication would be complete during the fair season. There are, however, at certain points difficulties of a serious nature to be surmounted, and for these, efficient establishments would be necessary. There is one route which as soon as the navigation of the Goddvari is opened will assume considerable importance, viz. the great Banjdrd line from the southern portion of the Rdlpdr district, which passes through a portion of Bastar, and thence through the Ahiri chiefship and the Sironchd tdluka, to the head of the second barrier. At this point one branch leads to the large stations on the south-east coast, the other to Haidardbdd. By this route wheat is exported annually in great quantities from Chhattisgarh. The chief exports are lac, resin, wax, galls, horns, rice, sendri ( a reddish Trade and Manufactures. d^' tikhdr or wild arrowroot, gur (molasses or coarse sugar), teakwood, and cocoons ofthe tasar 32 BAS silk-worms. No cotton, and but a very small quantity of wheat and gram, are produced, and what passes through on its way to the coast is exported from the southern portions of the Rdlpdr district. Large quantities of rice are, however, exported from Bhdpdlpatnam to the Nizam's territory. The imports are considerably greater than the exports ; they consist of salt, piece-goods, brazen utensils, cocoanuts, pepper, spices, opium, turmeric,' &c. from the coast; grain, wheat, and paper from Rdlpdr ; and cotton, partly from Rdlpdr and partly from Wairagarh in the Chdndd district. The coast imports come by the way of Jaipdr, Sunkam, and Kaller. In the western portions cloth, tobacco, and opium are imported from the Nizam's territories. All petty sales in Bastar are effected by barter in rice or by cowrls ; but there is such a scarcity of the latter medium of exchange that barter is generally had recourse to. The money table is — 20 Cowris = 1 Bori. 12 Boris == 1 Dugani. 12 Dugdnis — 1 Government Rupee. Manufactures there are absolutely none worth noticing. The weavers make a coarse description of cloth, and the Mahdrs or Farias weave narrow pieces of an inferior fabric which is used for langotis by the Murias and other wild tribes. There is also a kind of manufacture of brass-pots from the frag ments of old ones by a caste called Ghdsids. The common hatchets and knives always to be seen in the hands of the inhabitants are made at Madder, Bijdpdr, and Jagdalpdr, as even ironsmiths are scarce in Bastar, while it is said that there is not a carpenter in the whole dependency. At Jagdalpdr there are only two shopkeepers, who do little or no business. Throughout the rest of Bastar, with the exception of at Bijdpdr, Madder, and Bhdpdlpatnam, there are none of this class, and necessarily in such a country there is much difficulty in procuring supplies. The system at Jagdalpdr, as in Jaipdr and Kalahandi, seems to be for the raja to keep up granaries and store houses filled with all the common necessaries of life. The grain is obtained at the cheapest rate, being in some tdlukas received in part payment of the land tax ; it is then stored up in the rdjd's godowns, and retailed to his own establishments and travellers. Fever is prevalent to a great extent all over the dependency. It is most Diseases and Epidemics. Be^2 duri^ ^6 months of September, October and JNovember, and is ordinarily accompanied with dysentery and diarrhoea. There are no native doctors, except in Jagdalpdr and in the larger villages, and even they are the most ignorant of their class. The people have but few remedies. The agathotes chirayetus is used by those who live where the plant grows ; where it is not to be found, pepper, camphor, and opium are employed. Cholera is a rare visitor, not generally appearing more than once in twenty years, and even then being chiefly confined to the larger villages on the more frequented routes. Small-pox is common, and is greatly dreaded by the inhabitants. This is evident from the number of temples dedicated to the goddess " Mdtd Devi," which are to be found in nearly every village throughout the dependency and the neighbouring country. The patient in this disease, into whose body it is supposed the goddess Mdtd has entered, is attended to with the most scrupulous regard. On the first appearance of the disease his feet are washed with cow's milk, and wiped upon the head of his nearest relative. Mdtd Devi is then prayed to take under her special protection the family which she has honoured with a visit. The patient is placed on a clean BAS 33 bed of fresh rice-straw, and a screen is put round him. The visits to the temple of Mdtd Devi are frequent, and the idol is anointed with " chandan," or ground sandalwood and water, which is then taken and sprinkled over the house in which the patient hes, and signed on his forehead. The patient's diet is confined to fruit, cooling food, and liquids ; no medicines are administered. Vaccination too is unknown, but inoculation is practised to some extent. Besides these more serious diseases, dysentery, diarrhoea, and rheumatism prevail, the two former especially in the fever season. Hydrocele is also exceedingly common. The tribes and castes in Bastar are numerous. Tribes and Castes. The principal are — 1. Brahman. 13. Murid. 2. Rdjput. 14. Tagdrd. 3. Dhdkar. 15. Parjd. 4. Kdyath. 16. Sundi, or Spirit-dealer. 5. Tell. 17. Ghdsid. 6. Kumbhdr. 18. Nal, or Barber. 7. Gdhira, or Cowherd. 19. Dhobf, or Washerman. 8. Murdr, or Gardener. 20. Mahdr, or Paria. 9. Kewat, or Fisherman. 21. Chamdr. 10. Halba or \ lalwa. 22. Jhurid. 11. Bhatrd. 23. Marid. 12. Gadwd. The Brdhmans found in Bastar are for the most part congregated at and around Jagdalpdr, and are of the following sects : — Kanojas, Jarwds, and Urids or Ukkals. They all eat fish, and are not interdicted from drinking water from the hands of the Gdhiras. The Dhdkars are the illegitimate offspring of Brdh mans, and wear the sacred thread. In Bastar and in Jaipdr a practice formerly existed of either bestowing this distinction for good service, or selling it to particular persons of certain castes ; but it does not follow always that all of those castes are now entitled to wear it. The Halbds, or Halwds, are scattered over the more level and cultivated tracts. They are seldom found far south of the Indrdvati, but constitute a numerous class towards the northern part of the state. They dress and live better, and have a better appearance, than most of the other castes ; they do not eat the flesh of cows nor of swine, and wear the sacred thread. The Bhatrds inhabit the eastern portions of the dependency towards Kotpdd, Pordgarh, and Rdigarh, but are not a numerous caste. They cultivate the soil, and eat nearly everything except the flesh of the cow. A good number have the hereditary privilege of wearing the sacred thread. The Gadwds, or Gadbds, though scarce in Bastar, are numerous towards the east and in Jaipdr. They subsist partly by cultivation and partly by labour. The dress of the men is like that of other castes, but that worn by the women is singular and worthy of remark. A cloth, three feet by six, made from the fibre of the bark of the karing tree, with horizontal bands of red, yellow, and blue, each about three inches in width, is secured round the waist by a girdle, then brought over the shoulder and fastened down in front of the upper part ofthe body. The girdle too is curious ; it is composed of from forty to fifty separate cords of about eighteen or twenty inches in length, lashed together at the ends in front. A chaplet of the large white seeds of the "kusa" grass strung together is fastened round the hair, as are also sometimes strings of white beads; large earriDgs of three coils of common brass wire, certainly 5 CPG 34 BAS three or four inches in diameter, are suspended to the upper cartilage of the ear, and hang down to the shoulder ; and another earring resembhng a brass button with a stalk to it is worn in the lobe of the ear. Nose-rings are seldom worn. At the time of the Dasard, Holi, and other holidays both men and women dance together to the music of a fife and drum. Sometimes they form a ring by joining hands all round, springing towards the centre and then back to the full extent of their arms, while they at the same time keep circling round and round ; at other times the women dance singly or in pairs, their hands resting on each other's waists. When fatigued they cease dancing, and sing. A man steps out of the crowd and sings a verse or two impromptu. One of the women rejoins, and they sing at each other for a short time. The point of these songs appears to consist in giving the sharpest rejoinders to each other ; the woman reflects upon the man's ungainly appearance and want of skill as a cul tivator or huntsman, and the man retorts hj reproaching her with her ugliness and slatternly habits. Like most of lower castes in this country, they are addicted to drinking. The Murids inhabit the more cultivated plains around Jagdalpdr, and extend on the west from Ndgtokd to the boundary of Jaipdr, and from Sitdpdr to about thirty or forty miles north of the Indrdvati. Their dress is a waistcloth, or langoti, with but seldom any covering on the head ; their ornaments are neck laces of red beads and small brass earrings. They are active, hardy, and skilful cultivators, and their villages are generally clean and comfortable. They eat everything except the flesh ofthe cow, and keep great numbers of pigs. Tagdrds and Parjas are found in a small tract of country south of Jagdalpdr, extending from Sitapdr to Sunkam ; they are a poor race, subsisting partly by cultivation and partly by hunting, and are not so well clothed as the Murids, Bhatras, or Halbds. They eat anything, even snakes and other reptiles. On occasions of festivals they dance like the Gadwds, but are not such a characteristic race. Tho Sundis, who are spirit-dealers, are a numerous class, and generally dispersed throughout the dependency. Owing to the habits of the people they derive much profit from their calling. The Ghdsids are an inferior caste, who serve as horsekeepers around Jagdalpdr, and also mend and make brass vessels ; they dress like the Murids, and subsist partly by cultivation and partly by labour. The Jhurids are found principally in the north-western parts about Ndrdinpdr and Pratappdr, and extend towards Kdnker ; they are a numerous class, and subsist partly by cultivation, and partly by hunting and the fruits of the forest. Their dress resembles that of the Murias, with whom they may be said to constitute more than one-third of the population of the Bastar dependency, and whom they resemble in customs and appearance. The Mdrids are the most numerous caste in Bastar. They inhabit the M, .. densest jungles, and are a shy race, avoiding all contact with strangers, and flying to the hills on the least alarm. In appearance they are more uncivilised than the Murias, Bhatrds, Halbds, Parjds, and Tagdrds, about the same in height, but far surpassing them in strength and agility. Their dress depends a good deal on their proximity to civilization, and upon the accessibility of the localities they inhabit. Near Bhdpdlpatnam and Bijdpdr they are tolerably well clad, but in the wilder and more unfrequented parts, such as the valleys ofthe Beld Dild, and towards the Indrdvati and the Kutrd tdluka, their clothing is of the very scantiest description. They seldom wear any covering on their heads, and they rarely possess a dhoti ; if they do, it is usually wrapped BAS 35 round their loins. Generally speaking they are exceedingly averse to the use of cold water; and as they wear but little clothing, and sleep on the bare ground (in cold weather between two fires), they are often begrimed with dust and ashes. They shave the head all but the top-knot, and as they use an iron knife for this purpose, it is not surprising to find that they dread the disagreeable operation, and have recourse to it as seldom as possible ; conse quently their hair, which gets excessively matted, is all gathered up into one knot behind or on the crown. Necklaces of beads, red and white, frequently worked into collars of an inch or two in width, are suspended round the necks of the younger men, but seldom worn by the elders. The ears of all are pierced from the upper part of the lobe, and are ornamented with small earrings of brass and iron. On the wrists the men wear brass bracelets, and round the waist is often a girdle of cowris, double or single, for which is sometimes substituted a belt of about ten or fifteen cords in the same form, but smaller than those already described as worn by the Gadwa women. Attached to the girdle is generally a tobacco-box, made of a small hollow bamboo, with a stopper attached by a string. A small knife, without any sheath, made of iron, slightly tempered, is invariably stuck in the girdle behind. They sometimes wear sandals made of the skin of the bison or wild buffalo, and of the rudest description and shape, being secured round the instep and great toe by cords made of grass. A hatchet hanging from the shoulder, or a bow and arrows, complete the costume of the Mdrid as seen in his native wilds. The Mdrids seldom have matchlocks, their weapons being bows and arrows and spears. The bow is generally made of bamboo or of the grenrica elastica, and is about five feet in length. The string of the bow which, owing to the impossibility of procuring catgut, is composed of a carefully cut slice ofthe outside ofthe bamboo, and secured by cords to the ends of the bow, answers the purpose exceedingly well. All the Mdrids are expert in its use ; they often use the feet in bending the bow, while they pull the string with both hands. An arrow discharged in this manner, it is said, would almost pass through the body of a man or deer ; but it is only used from elevated positions, such as the tops of rocks, hills, and precipices, upon any object below. The arrows are of many forms, shapes, and sizes, but are all pointed with iron. There are arrows for tigers and big game ; arrows for fish and for small birds ; and arrows for boys to practice with. The Mdrids carry very heavy loads on kdwar sticks, and badly as they are fed, no class of men can surpass them in this respect. They are a timid, quiet, docile race, and although addicted to drinking, are not quarrelsome. Amongst themselves they are most cheerful and light-hearted, always laughing and joking. Seldom does a Mdrid village resound with quarrels or wrangling among either sex, and in this respect they present a marked contrast to the inhabitants of more civilised tracts. In common with many other wild races they bear a singular character for truthfulness and honesty; and when once they get over the feeling of shyness, which is natural to them, they are exceedingly frank and communica tive. Curious, like all savages, the commonest article of domestic use is to them an object of interest ; they are quick to observe, and apt to learn. Their food consists of rice, where they cultivate it, but generally it is of kosrd, mdndid, and other inferior grains, with the dried flowers of the mhowa tree and the fruits ofthe forest. They are also fond of tobacco, but opium, ganjd, and drugs are generally unknown among them. The dress of the women is of the scantiest description, and consists of a single fold of cloth about one to two feet in depth round their loins. Where cloth is cheap and easily procurable they wear a small sheet wrapped carelessly around them, extending from the shoulder to 36 BAS the knee, but this is rare. They are tattooed on the face, arms, and thighs, which greatly disfigures them. They wear small brass earrings, and large bunches of beads, generally white, round their necks ; also sometimes an iron hoop about five inches in diameter, on which are strung small brass and iron rings. They seem more careless regarding personal cleanliness and appearance than the men. The Mdris, who inhabit the wild and difficult country called "Mddidn," or . , " Abajmdrd," are of the same class as the Marias ; but from living in a wild tract to which few venture, and which, from its remoteness, is quite unknown, they are even poorer and more uncivilised than the Mdrids, who live in the more level country. The connection between the two is, however, kept up by intermarriage. The revenue is paid in kind in " kosrd" (panicum italicum), an inferior grain, which is their chief food. The collection is made by the chdlki (sdrki in Telugu). a person whose express duty it is to go round and collect it for the zaminddr. He is the only person who is acquainted with the villages, the sites of which are continually being changed, as one patch of dahyd cultivation is forsaken for another. The Tells of a frontier viUage called Pdrkeld form a sort of connecting link between the Mdris and the outside world, as they are the only persons who venture into Abajmdrd for the sake of trade. They take coarse cloths, beads and salt ; and return with kosrd, castor-oil seeds, and wax. In these wild tracts the Maris have the greatest fear of a horse, or of an unusual number of people coming suddenly upon their villages. The course pursued by Captain Glasfurd, the deputy commissioner of the Upper Goddvari district, who first thoroughly explored this part of the country in company with Captain F. G. Stewart, the explorer of forests, was to leave his camp some two or three days' march distant, and go forward accompanied with as few people as possible, and without tents or other incumbrances. On approaching a village he used invariably to dismount, take a guide from among the few Marias who accompanied him as coolies, proceed quietly to the village, and order the rest of the people to follow. In this manner the inhabitants were reassured, and never ran away, as they would certainly have done on the sudden appearance of the whole party. The Mdri villages are all built of grass, the walls being composed of a strong high grass neatly put together, and afterwards daubed with mud. Captain Glasfurd found the men more scantily clothed than any he had hitherto seen, but in all respects very similar to the Mdrids. They did not appear to shave the head. They seemed to be of the same size as the other wild tribes, viz. about five feet four inches in height, and well made, with large and muscular limbs. Most were of an exceedingly light copper colour, while others were actually fair. The dress of the females, like that of the men, was even scantier than those of the Mdrid women, consisting merely of a very small cloth wrapped once round the loins. Their hair was tied in a knot behind, and secured with a bamboo comb with four teeth. As for ornaments, they had few beads and fewer earrings, but were tattooed, which gave even those who might have had somepretensions to good looks a disagreeable appearance. Their practice is to tattoo themselves when about ten years old : the skin is pricked with a thorn, and ground charcoal mixed with the oil of a certain berry is rubbedin. Some of the elder women and children wore only a square patch of cloth, suspended on a cord fastened round the waist, upon which bamboo rings were strung. All the Mdrids seen by Captain Glasfurd seemed healthy, and there was a fair percentage of old people. Like the Mdrids, the Mdris seemed quiet, truthful, and honest, and though timid, they are readily reassured by kind treatment. BAS 37 The portion of the Mddidn country which is under Kutru is very hilly, but towards the north it is said to be of a more accessible nature. Perennial streams of fine clear water are numerous in these hills, the sides of which are covered with a fertile red soil of some depth. On these slopes the Mdris cultivate kosrd, and on the more level places castor-oil seeds and tobacco. They possess no buffaloes, bullocks, or cows, and do not use the plough, their only agricultural implement being a long-handled iron hoe, which they use in the patches where they cultivate tobacco and castor-oil seeds. They are not so much addicted to drinking as the Mdrids in the lower country, for no mhowa trees grow in those hills, and the mddi palm (caryota wrens) is scarce. They know nothing of opium and other drugs. The population of Bastar is divided into castes in about the following proportions : — Mdrids and ) A K , Jhurids } 45Percent- Halbds and 1 1K , Murids j 15 per cent. Bhatrds and 1 - _ , Parjds | l5Percent- Tagdrds and 1 n - , Jr , > 25 per cent. other castes J r The Mdrids and Jhurids are probably a subdivision of the true Gond family. The Halbds are possibly a superior offshoot of the same tribe, while the Bhatrds and Murids may be a somewhat inferior one. The Tagdrds and Parjds are the lowest perhaps of all the many branches of this wide-spread race. The dialects in Bastar are numerous, nearly every caste having its own, but they are most of them so similar that they Language and Religion. cannot be considered as distinct languages. Omitting Telugu, they may be roughly classed as the Mdrid, or aboriginal dialect, and the Halbd. The last closely resembles the Chhattisgarh! dialect. There is a great admixture of Mardthi in it, or rather there are many Mardthi affixes, and it often happens that a pure Hindustdni word is taken, and a Mardthi termination is added. Indeed the whole language in this part of the country is a jargon of Mardthi and Hindi words— grammar and idioms all jumbled up in indescribable confusion. It is spoken by the Halbds and Murias, and may be said to be subdivided into the Parjd or Tagdrd, and Bhatrd dialects. It is spoken by all in Jagdalpdr, from the Rdjd to the lowest of his subjects. The Murids, Bhatrds, Dhdkars, Gadwds, Mdrids, &c. all worship " Danteswari," or, as she is sometimes called, "Mduli," with "Mdtd Devi," " Bhangdrmd" or "Dholld Devi," "Gam Devi," " Dangan Deo," and " Bhim." The higher castes worship " Danteswari " and "Mdtd Devi," with the other well known deities of the Hindu Pantheon. Danteswari, who is the tutelar divinity of the Rdjds of Bastar, and generally of the Bastar dependency, is the same as Bhawdni or " Kdli." She is represented to have taken the ancestors of the reigning family under her particular protection from the time of their leaving Hinddstan and during their stay at Warangal, and to have directed and accompanied them in their flight when driven out of the kingdom of Tehngana by the Mohammadan as far as Dantiwdrd, where she took up her abode. The temple dedicated to her is at the confluence of the Sankani and Dankani upon a narrow point 38 BAS of land between the two rivers. The original building was erected by Anam Rdj, and several additions have been made to it at subsequent periods hj other Rdjds of Bastar. In appearance it is a mere shed, and the sculpture, except of some small idols brought from the ruins near Bdsur, is wretchedly done. Inside the temple enclosure the Pdjdri resides. This person's office is hereditary, and his ancestors are said to have followed Danteswari from Warangal. Two blocks of steatite which stand in the temple bear inscriptions * commemorating a prince of the Ndgbansi line. It is said that Meria sacrifices were formerly practised at this place, but the fact was never satisfactorily brought home to the late Rdjd or his brother, the present diwdn, Dalganjan Singh. The latter was called up to Ndgpdr in 1842 to be examined regarding the matter, and a guard was placed over the temple, which has up to the present time been continued. If the abominable rite ever existed, which is doubtful, it has altogether fallen into disuse, and the Rdjd has been made personally responsible for any recurrence of the practice. Most travellers, however, sacrifice a goat as tbey pass the shrine Danteswari. The grovelling superstition with which the worshippers of this goddess are imbued, and the awe with which she is regarded by the inhabitants, especially in the vicinity of Jagdalpdr, and particularly by the Raja's family, relatives, and attendants, is not to be surpassed in any part of India. Nothing is done, no business undertaken, without consulting her; not even will the Raja or diwdn proceed on a pleasure party or hunting excursion without con sulting " Mdi" (mother). Dalganjan Singh, who is in everything but name the ruler of the dependency, is her most bigoted devotee. Flowers are placed on the head of the idol, and as they fall to the right or to the left, so is the reply interpreted as favourable or otherwise. The temples to " Mdtd Devi" are perhaps as numerous, or more so than those dedicated to Danteswari. Of the remaining deities, Bhimsen, or Bhim Deo, is the principal. He is represented by a post about four or five feet high with a knob on the top. The first grain of the season is always offered to him. He is worshipped greatly in seasons of drought, when pilgrimages are made to certain places, and turmeric, mud, and oil are smeared over his effigy. In seasons of sickness a small effigy of Danteswari is brought from Dantiwdrd to Jagdalpdr and is there worshipped, and after the sickness has abated is sent back again. On these occasions it is carried in a palankeen. Throughout the dependency the grossest ignorance and superstition prevail, Superstitions. and ^old the minds of the people, from the highest to the lowest, in miserable thraldom. The simple and unsophisticated Gond tribes are believed to be expert necromancers, and on the most intimate footing with 'evil spirits. Considering their seclusion from civilised life, their gross ignorance, and the solitary jungles in which they live, it is perhaps not to be wondered at that the people invariably impute their mis fortunes to witchcraft. If a man's bullock dies, he puts it down to witchcraft ; if his crops fail, it is because the land has been bewitched by some one who is at enmity with the owner ; a lingering sickness or painful disease is laid at the door of an enemy ; and in short every evil that befalls a family, from the most common affairs of everyday life to the most serious calamity, is thus accounted for. In such an unhappy state of degradation and ignorance it is not surprising * Vide Selections from Records of Government of India, Foreign Department, No. xxxix. page 63. BATI-BAUR 39 that persons suspected of witchcraft are most cruelly treated. The wonder is that many should be found to confess that they have the power of which they are accused. The usual course of procedure, when any one is suspected and accused of being a sorcerer, is as follows. On the accused person being arrested, a fisherman's net is Wound round his head to prevent his escaping or bewitching his guards, and he is at once subjected to the preparatory test. Two leaves of the pipal tree — one representing him and the other his accusers — are thrown upon his out-stretched hands ; if the leaf in his name fall uppermost he is sup posed to be a suspicious character ; if the leaf fall with the lower part upwards, it is possible that he may be innocent, and the popular feeling is in his favour. The following day the final test is applied ; he is sewn into a sack, and, in the presence of the heads of the village, his accusers, and his friends, is carried into water waist-deep, and let down to the bottom ; if the unhappy man cannot struggle, up and manage to get into a standing posture with his head above water, he is said, after a short pause, to be innocent, and the assembled elders quickly direct him to be taken out ; if he manages, however, in his struggles for life to raise himself above water, he is adjudged guilty, and brought out to be dealt with for witchcraft. He is then beaten by the crowd, his head is shaved, and his front teeth are knocked out with a stone to prevent him from muttering incantations. All descriptions of filth are thrown at him ; if of good caste, hog's flesh is forced into his mouth; and lastly he is driven out of the country, followed by the abuse and execrations of his enlightened fellowmen. Women suspected of sorcery have to undergo the same ordeal ; if found guilty, the same punishment is awarded them ; and after being shaved, their hair is attached to a tree in some public place. BATIA'GARH — An old town and fort in the Damoh district, formerly the residence of a Mardthd " A'mil," and the head-quarters of a considerable tract. It is situated on the right bank of the Biak, twenty miles north-west of Damoh. There are here a police station and a .district post-office. The population is about 1,000 souls. BATKA'GARH — A zaminddri in the Chhindwdrd district. It joins Harai and Sonpdr to the northward and westward, and is bounded on its northern face by the district of Narsinghpdr. It lies almost due north of Chhindwdrd, and is situated partly on the lofty range of hills that intersects the northern portion of the district, running from near A'degdon on the east to A'sir on the western border, and thence to Shdhpdr in the Betul district, and partly on the lesser ranges that intervene between it and the valley of the Narbadd. It consists of eighty-one villages, sixty-five of which are inhabited. The zamindar, who is a Gond by caste, receives an allowance of 960 rupees per annum from govern ment in commutation of rights formerly enjoyed by him, from which is deducted a quit-rent of twenty rupees. B AURGARH — A hill in the Jabalpdr district, situated to the south-west of Jabalpdr, rising about 500 feet above the valley. It is formed of schistose quartzite, and is separated from the general range of trap hills by a narrow gorge. Coal is found in the neighbourhood. This hill must not be mistaken for another of the same name thirty-three miles south of Hoshangdbdd. BAURGARH — An isolated granite (or granitoid) hill near Shdhpdr in the Betdl district, some twenty-five miles north-west of Betul. It is abruptly scarped on all sides but one, and has the ruins of an old fort on the top, 40 BAUR— BEL B AURGARH — -A forest range on the northern border of the Betdl district, of about one hundred square miles in extent, and containing some fine teak and other timber. BA'ZA'RGA'ON — A village in the Ndgpur district, situated in a very picturesque country about twenty-five miles west of Ndgpdr, on the old road to Bisndr and Amrdotl. It consists mainly of one long broad street lining the road on each side. The houses are remarkably good and substantia], and the whole place is clean and well kept. The number of inhabitants is 1,993, mostly dependent on trading. Many of these traders are Jains. Living on the great road to Berdr and Bombay, they were in former days able to forestall the Ndgpdr traders, and taking advantage of the fluctuations of the markets, to make their own terms with the Banjard tandds bringing salt and other merchandise to Ndgpdr. Since the opening of the railway the importance of the through traffic by this— the " Bisndr route" — has greatly fallen off. An excellent building for police, a good school-house, and other municipal works have recently been constructed by the municipality. On the west side of the town a very fine masonry reservoir was made about twenty-three years ago by the father of Ranoji Ndik, the present proprietor of Bdzdrgdon. The grove on its embankment is a favourite encamping place for Banjdrds and travellers. There is a fort on the south side of the village, built about sixty years ago by Dvdrkoji Ndik, a commander of 5,000 mercenaries, and commissary general under Rdjd Idnoji of Ndgpdr, who also founded the town. His grandson Gaurdji succeeded to his lands and honours. Rdnoji Ndik, the present repre sentative of the family, receives a pension from government. BEL — A river rising in the high plateau of Multdl in the Betdl district, and one of the chief affluents of the Kanhdn. BELA' (Vela) — An agricultural town in the Ndgpdr district, ten miles south of Bori on the left bank of the river Wand. It is within three miles of the borders of the Wardhd district. The population numbers 5,092. The local committee have recently constructed here two fine "baolis," school, and police buildings. Strong plain cotton cloth is made at, and exported from Beld ; and "gunny," the fabric of which the Banjdrds' packs are made, is also largely manufactured. The town, according to the local traditions, was founded in the time of the Gaulis. The fort was built by one Rdi Singh Chaudhari, a large landholder in these parts, whose descendants are still mdlguzdrs of Beld, and was twice destroyed during the Pindhdri troubles. BELONA' — A town in the Ndgpdr district, situated four miles north-east of Mowdr and fifty-six miles from Ndgpdr, on the banks of a small tributary of the Wardhd. The houses are generally poor. The surrounding country is rich, and the population, which is purely agricultural, numbers 3,492 persons. Since octroi has been levied here some improvements have been taken in hand by the local committee, and Belond now has its school, market-place, and streets. BELPA'N— A small village in the Bildspdr district, situated fifteen miles west of Bildspi'ir. It is believed that a natural spring here, called " Narbadd," is an emanation from the source of the great Narbadd at Amarkantak. Some centuries ago, the legend runs, a devout Brdhman resided at Belpdn, who at an advanced age was constant in his pilgrimages to Amarkantak. Though his sight was dimmed with years, and his body was weak and emaciated, he still persisted BEL— BET 41 in these journeys, in the face of all the sufferings and inconveniences they entailed. As a reward, this spring was opened near his own residence, and he was informed that it issued from the great Narbadd. A temple was then built near the spring, and a large reservoir constructed. Subsequently the Rdjd of Ratanpdr endowed the temple with the revenues ofthe Belpan village, which was granted rent-free to the descendants of the devout Brdhman. The Mardthds upheld the grant, which continues to be enjoyed under the British government. BELPATHA'R — A village in the Jabalpdr district near Jhdnsighat, at which the viaduct of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway crosses the Narbadd. BEMARAM — -A block of teak forest belonging to the, group described under the article " Ahiri." BENI' — A town in the Bhanddra district, situated on the Waingangd, about fifty miles north-east of Bhanddra. It contains 534 houses, with a population of 2,569 souls. There is here a small trade in cotton-cloth locally manufac tured ; and the dyers of Beni are noted for the excellence of their colours and of their patterns for carpets, &c. There are a small government school and a police outpost in the town. The site is well raised and open, and the climate is considered healthy. BERIA' — A market-town in the Nimdr district, about twenty-eight miles N.E. of Khandwd, containing 1,200 inhabitants. It was founded in the time of the Ghori dynasty of Mdlwd. A large reservoir was then constructed at Ldchord, about two miles south of the town. It had long been breached and useless, when Captain French, political agent, repaired it in a.d. 1846. It now irrigates about two hundred acres of land, and supplies the town with abundance of pure water. There are here a poUce station-house and government school ; and a weekly market is held on Sundays. Among the inhabitants are a good many Jain merchants, who are building a handsome temple in their peculiar style. BERKHERI' — A small village in the Damoh district on the right bank of the Sondr, and on the high road to Sdgar from Damoh. The encamping- ground on the banks of the river is good. BETU'L (Baitool)— CONTENTS. Page Page General description 41 Roads 42 Climate 43 Geology ib. Coal 45 Forests 46 History ib, Population 47 Aboriginal tribes 48 Tenures 49 Agriculture 50 Subdivisions ib. Remarkable places ib. A district lying entirely in the hill country, comprising the westernmost General description. section of the great Sdtpurd plateau. Beyond its western border the Berdr country begins. On the north it is bounded along its whole length by the Hoshangdbdd district and the Makrdl territory, and on the east by Chhindwdrd ; while of its southern border the eastern half touches the Nagpur district, and the western half marches with Berdr.^ It is situated between 21° 20' and 22° 35' of north latitude, and 77° 20' and 78° 35' of east longitude; and has a mean elevation above the sea of about 2,000 feet, though some points of course are much higher, reaching to little 6 CPG 42 BET short of 3,700 feet above the sea level. Essentially a highland tract, but pos sessing every variety of external feature, it divides itself naturally into several distinct portions, differing both in outward appearance, character of soil, and geological formation. The chief town of Betdl is centrically situated, and hes in a level basin of rich soil, traversed by the perennial streams of the Machnd and Sdmpnd, and shut in by abrupt lines of stony hills on all sides but the west, where it is bounded by the deep valley ofthe Tapti, clothed on either side with dense jungle. This tract is almost entirely under cultivation, and is studded with numerous and thriving village communities. To the south lies a rolling plateau of basaltic formation, with the sacred town of Multdi, and the springs of the river Tapti at its highest point, — extending over the whole of the southern face ofthe district, and finally merging into the wild and broken line of ghats which lead down to the lower country of the plains. This part of the district consists of a succession of stony ridges of trap-rock, enclosing valleys or basins of fertile soil of very varying extent and capabilities, to wliich the cultivation is mostly confined, except where the shallow soil on the tops of the hills has been turned to account. The whole of the culturable soil has now been taken up ; there are but few trees ; and the general aspect is bare and uninviting. To the north of Betdl there lies a tract of poor country, thinly inhabited, and sparsely cultivated, terminating in the main chain ofthe Satpura hills, beyond which a considerable fall takes place in the general level of the country. North again hes an irre gular plain of sandstone formation, having in places the appearance of a vast park, well wooded, but with a scanty population, and httle cultivated land, much of it being virtually unfit for the plough. To the extreme north the district is bounded by a line of hills which rise abruptly out of the great plain of the Narbadd valley. The western portion of this tract is a mass of hill and jungle, inhabited almost wholly by Gonds and Kurkds. It has but a few hamlets, isolated by long tracts of waste land, and when seen from the top of some neighbouring hill presents the appearance of a vast unbroken wilderness. The principal rivers of the district are the Tapti, the Wardhd, the Bel, the Machnd, the Sdmpnd, and the Moran. The first three of these rise in the high plateau of Multdi, which thus sends its waters both to the western and eastern coasts. The Tawa rises in Chhindwdrd, and flowing, for a short distance only, through the north-east corner of this district, eventually joins the Narbadd above Hoshangdbdd. These are the only rivers of any size ; but throughout the district, and more especially in the Multdi and A'tner parganas amid the trap formation, there are a number of smaller streams which retain water in places all the year round. Some use is made of these for irrigation. t. ¦, Five main roads * radiate from the centre of Koads. ,•, -,. , . . the district — (1) From Badndr (Betdl) towards Ndgpdr; partially bridged. (2) „ „ towards Hoshangdbdd ; bridged the whole way. (3) „ „ towards Mau via Hardd. (4) „ „ towards Ellichpdr and Badnerd; partially bridged. (5) „ „ towards Chhindwdrd. Carts can travel at all seasons ofthe year on the above five roads. There is also a branoh road from Shdhpdr towards Sohdgpdr. * See Appendix A. BET 43 The only high-level plateau is on the hill of Khdmld, in the south-west corner of the district. This forms part of a range ma e" adjoining the hills of Gdwalgarh and Chikaldd in Berdr, and attains a height in places of 3,700 feet above the sea. It is almost out of reach of the hot winds, and would no doubt be an agreeable residence during the hot season. The present difficulty is the want of water, all efforts to obtain well-water having hitherto failed, and all supplies having to be brought a con siderable distance from the base of the hill. The climate of Betdl generally, at least to Europeans, is fairly salubrious ; its height above the plains and tbe neighbourhood of extensive forests moderate the great heat of the sun, and render the temperature pleasant throughout the greater part of the year. During the cold season the thermometer at night continually falls to several degrees below the freezing point; little or no hot wind is felt before the end of April, and even then it ceases after sunset. The nights in the hot season are invari ably cool and pleasant. During the monsoon the climate is very damp, and at times even cold and raw, thick clouds and mist enveloping the sky for many days together. The average rainfall is forty inches. In the denser jungles of course malaria prevails for months after the cessation of the rains, but the Gonds do not appear to suffer much from its effects. Travellers and strangers are,. however, liable to fever of a severe type at almost all seasons of the year. In Appendix B will be found a table of observations taken in 1868. The geology of Betdl is very remarkable. Tho appended extracts, from a description by Mr. Blanford of the Geological Survey*, will give a good idea of it: — " The tract described consists principally of the upper drainage area . of the Tapti as distinguished from that of its great affluent, thePdrnd. A small portion of the country drained by the tributaries of the greater Tawd, and therefore within the Narbadd watershed, is also included. ****** "All the southern and western portions of this area are of trap. Around -, , Betdl, and for some distance west of that town,. infra-trappean rocks are met with. * * South of this (the Tawd valley) is a belt of high ground upon which Betdl stands. To the north this is composed of metamorphic rocks ; to the south all is trap. " The boundary of these rocks from A'mld to Sohdgpdr and thence westward south of Betdl is natural and not faulted. Its features are well marked, the traps rising in a continuous range, flat-topped, as usual, to the south, while the very granitoid metamorpbics either occupy a level plain or form isolated hills and short ranges. Upon some of the latter outliers of trap occur, but they are of no great size. At one spot there is a small patch of conglomerate between the base of the trap and the metamorphics. Gneiss,. rather less granitoid than further east, but still highly crystalline, forms the hills stretching across to the north of the civil station of Badndr. Some crystalline limestone was found in them, but it was so much intermixed with felspar as to be useless for burning into lime. " The highly cultivated plain of Betdl is composed of a thick alluvial deposit, entirely devoid of black soibf It is traversed by the upper portion * Memoirs ofthe Geological Survey of India, vol. vi. part 3, pp. 108^. t This is one of numerous instances in which the boundary of the traps is the boundary of the black soil also. a 44 BET of the Machnd river, a tributary of the Tawd. The range of low trap hills already mentioned bound this valley to the south, and form, in fact, the parting ridge between its drainage and that ofthe Tapti. " Along this low scarp the beds of trap are in part horizontal, in other places they have a very low southern dip. For some distance along the range there is a bed, and in places probably two beds of intertrappean sedimentary deposits, abounding in fossils. The most eastern locality where this is seen is east of Baydwadi ; beyond that to the eastward the intertrappean band probably thins out. An unfossiliferous calcareous mass was met with near Khdpd, still further east, but it was at a higher level, and, if belonging to an intertrappean bed, must have been part of a distinct stratum from that seen at Baydwadi. About Sohdgpdr and further east no trace of any intertrappean bed could be found. The fossiliferous bed is best exposed near the village of Lohdri, and on the sides of the road from Betdl to Dholan and Mausdd. At the top of the ghdt, upon this road, there are many scattered fragments containing shells, wood, cyprides, &c, but no bed is seen in place. On the face ofthe hill, however, a few feet below the top there is a bed scarcely distinguishable in mineral character from the trap, from the debris of which it appears to have been composed, but abounding in fossils, especially physa prinsepii, lymnea, paludina, valvata, nd plants. Lower down there is a thin band of very silicious rock resembling hornstone, also abounding in shells. It is not quite clear that this bed is distinct from the upper one, but it has much the appearance of being so, and it is highly probable that the fragments found on the top of the ghat are from a still higher bed. " The principal sedimentary band was seen in place at Surgdon, and traced by fragments further. The same or another occurs also south of Keri, on the road leading south to the Tapti (the Betdl and Ellichpdr road), and again south of the river, near the top of the ghat, ascending to the tableland. It abounds in fossils everywhere. " The traps south of Betdl are mostly horizontal until the neighbour hood of the scarp at the verge of the Berdr plain. " To the west of Betdl the metamorphic rocks disappear gradually beneath the trap, not being all covered up at once as to the south, but stretching in valley far within the trap hills. Between the two series also in this direction conglomerates and sandstones are met with, which represent similar beds in the Dhlr forest and elsewhere, and are almost certainly representatives of the Bdgh beds. " Commencing north-west of Betul the sandstone represented on the very edge of Mr. Medlicott's map near Koprdbdni is about 100 feet thick, coarse, and conglomeritic in part, and resembling that on the top of Ratanmal hill, north of Chotd Udepdr, and that of the Dhdr forest. Like them it contains small pebbles of red jasper. It forms near Koprdbdni, a small plain on the top of a rise of metamorphic rock. It is represented by Mr. Medlicott as Mahddeva — a circumstance which is in favour of the identification of that formation with the cretaceous beds of Bdgh. "At Chiklf, south-east of Koprdbdni, there is no sandstone at the site of the present village, and trap rests directly upon the metamorphics. Just south, however, at the old site the sandstone recurs, and extends away to the south towards Alampdr, east of which village it becomes much thicker, and covers a tract of country extending for about three miles along BET 45 the Chicholi and Betdl road. Very little, however, is seen at the surface. A well at Alampdr, sunk just south of the road, passed through a few feet of trap, and was chen dug for at least twenty-five feet through argillaceous sandstone, bright brick-red in colour, but in part mottled with white and hlac. The greater part of the sandstone is coarse and conglomeritic, but argillaceous bands, red or purple in colour, occur occasionally.* Some of the sandstones are hard, massive, and white in colour, hke those of Sdlbaldi in Berdr. The whole thickness must be considerable. * * The areas of sandstone and metamorphics are in reality dotted over with outliers of the higher formations, and the lower beds are exposed frequently within the main boundary ofthe traps. " There must be a great thickness of sandstone in the valley of Khattd- pdni and Khamdpdr. The beds are massive, but still distinctly bedded, and have a general dip to the south. On the hills south-west of Khatta- pdni a comparatively thin band of horizontal conglomerate is alone met with. This is in favour of the Khattdpdnl sandstones being something distinct. Similar beds to the last, and with the same close resemblance to the conglomerates of Chikli, are traced between the traps and meta morphics south of the Tapti. They are constantly conglomeritic, containing pebbles of various coloured quartzites, red jasper, &c. They are not fels pathic, nor do they contain calcareous or ferruginous concretions. At Bori close to the road ieading through Jin to Kiri some of the sandstone is so much mixed with silica as to be in part converted into chert. This has been shown to be a common character in the Bdgh and Lametd beds. " There is a peculiar inlier of metamorphics and sandstone exposed in the Tapti south-west of Betdl. To the north about Chikli, Alampdr, (See the traps are horizontal, but they roll over to the south just north of the river, and the lower rocks are for the most part concealed by them. The Tapti, however, runs in a deep narrow gorge, in the bottom of which the infratrappean rocks are exposed again. At the eastern extremity, which is near Kirl, no sandstone occurs, but a few miles to the west it comes in, and continues to be exposed further to the west than the metamorphics are. On the road from Betdl to Ellichpdr this trough of metamorphic rocks is crossed, and the base of the trap south of the river appears to be decidedly lower than to the north, showing the sharp southern dip of the base of the traps. Here the river runs from east to west, but a little higher up it runs from the south, and just above the turn the traps alone occur in the river bed, the top of the metamorphics having dipped under them." The most important outcrops of coal in this district will be found thus r . described in the Memoirs of the Geological Uoa1' Survey of India, Vol. II. Part 2, p. 268 :— " 2. Suki Ndla — Only strings three or four inches thick occur, as noted by Mr. Medlicott. " 3. About two miles east of Shdhpdr, in the Machnd river, a seam two feet three inches thick is seen associated, with shale, and a lower seam three inches thick, as above mentioned. The upper seam can be traced for a short distance, about one hundred yards. " 4. Mardanpur, on the Machnd — Mr. Medlicott saw two seams here ; one was probably concealed by sand at the time of my visit, but it was only six inches thick; the other amounts to three feet in places, but is extremely * It is possible that these rocks may be the same as those of Kamthi near Nagpur. 46 BET variable. The roof is again coarse sandstone. The seam is seen for several yards along the south (right) bank of the stream, but is not seen where, if continuous, it should recur on the north bank. It is possible that there may be a fault, but I could find no indication of one ; it appeared to me that the associated sandstone reappeared without the coal seam, and my impression was that the latter had thinned out and vanished completely. " 5. Bdwandeo, on the Tawd river — A careful description and a measured section of this locality are given by Mr. Medlicott at page 1 54 of the Memoirs ; yet such changes have been produced by the stream in ten years that I had much difficulty in recognising several of the beds. I beheve the rocks in the upper part of the section to be better exposed on the whole now than they were in 1855, while the lower portion is now comparatively concealed. I counted eleven outcrops of coal, Mr. Medlicott thirteen, of which he considers several to be repetitions caused by' small faults. At the same time he mentions that there was no clear evidence of faulting, and I certainly do not think there is any in the upper part of the section, and I think, so far as the number of seams exposed is concerned, that he has underrated the resources of the spot rather than otherwise. Some of the coal is of excellent quahty, and one or two seams are four feet thick, in places at all events. " On the other hand the roof is frequently, though not always, coarse sandstone. The seams are not of even thickness throughout, some, per haps all, being very variable. Most of them are only seen for a few feet, and in only two cases could I trace them the whole distance across the river. One so traced varied but slightly in thickness,being about one foot to one footthree inches ; the other was two feet thick on one bank of the stream and gradu ally thinned away, vanishing completely before reaching the other bank, less than fifty yards distant. Both these seams were associated with flags and shales. "It will thus be seen that, except at Rdwandeo, not one seam is known to occur exceeding three feet in thickness, and I doubt if any seam of that thickness can be profitably mined in India. I am aware that much thinner seams are worked in England, some, I beheve, not exceeding eighteen inches, though that is exceptional. But in England there are three advan tages at least which are wanting in India. These are — 1, A large local demand. 2, Excellence of quality. 3, A skilled mining population." The forests are very extensive, the whole uncleared region occupying Forests some 700 square miles. Five of the best timber- bearing tracts have been reserved by the govern ment ; they contain a vast quantity of young teak, with some fine trees ; some magnificent sdj (pentaptera glabra), kawd (pentaptera arjuna), shfsham (dalbergia latifolia), sdlai (boswellia thurifera), and other good timber trees. The unreserved wastes have been divided into lots of 3,000 acres, for sale or grant on clearance leases. The woods are under the management of the district authorities, and are guarded by the forest law. Of the history of the district we know nothing until we come to quite Histor recent times. We do indeed know that the dis trict must have been the centre of the first of the four ancient Gond kingdoms of Kherld, Deogarh, Mandla, and Chdndd, but except an occasional mention in Farishta, no historical information as to the Kherla kingdom remains. BET 47 The following particulars regarding the Kherld Gond dynasty are taken from Farishta.* These princes are first mentioned in 1398, when they are said to have had great wealth and power, being possessed of all the hills of Gondwdna and other countries . About that year Narsingh Rai of Kherld invaded Berdr, but was defeated by Firoz Shdh, the Bdhmani king. Twenty years afterwards Kherld was invaded by Sultan Hoshang Shdh of Mdlwd, and reduced to the position of a dependency on that kingdom. About 1427 the Rdjd of Kherld invoked the assistance of the Bdhmani kings against Hoshang Shdh of Mdlwd, who was defeated, and had to withdraw into his own territories. Six years later, however, in 1 433 the Mdlwd prince, taking advantage of the war between the kings of Gujardt and the Deccan, again invaded Kherld, and entirely reduced the fortress and its dependent territories. This conquest was recognised by the Bdhmani king on the condition that his claim to Berdr should thenceforward stand unquestioned. For thirty-four years Kherld remained undisturbedly in the possession of the kings of Mdlwd, but in 1467 it was again besieged and taken by the Bdhmani power. It was, however, restored by treaty on the former conditions. A century afterwards the kingdom of Mdlwd became incorporated into the dominions of the Emperor of Delhi. It is said that a Gauli power supplanted the ancient Gond dynasty, and that it again yielded to a second Gond upheaval. Be this as it may, it is not until the commencement of the eighteenth century that we touch upon history at all. At this time (a.d. 1703; the Musalmdn convert Gond Rdjd Bakht Buland reigned at Deogarh, in the present Chhindwdrd district, and possessed the whole of the Ndgpdr country below the ghdts. He was succeeded by Chdnd Sultdn, who had two sons, the elder, Burhdn Shdh, and the second, Akbar Shdh. When Chdnd Sultdn died in 1739, these two boys being very young, Wall Shdh, an illegitimate son of Chdnd Sultdn, usurped the throne. The boys' mother then applied to Raghoji Bhonsld, the Mardthd ruler of Berdr, for assist ance ; he came with an army, killed Wall Shdh, released the boys, and put them both on the throne on their promising to pay him half the revenue of their kingdom. Raghoji then retired to Berdr, but received half the revenue of the Deogarh kingdom, according to agreement, until a.d. 1742. In 1743 Burhdn Shdh and Akbar Shdh quarrelled, on which the Gonds rose in rebellion and plundered the country for a whole year, but were put down by Raghoji, who being again called in, supported Burhdn Shdh and expelled Akbar Shdh. Soon after he (Raghoji) removed Burhdn Shdh to Ndgpdr ; and though the country abovo the ghdts was for some time left under the nominal authority of the Gond rdjd, yet the eastern part at any rate was virtually annexed to the kingdom of the Bhonslds. In a.d. 1818, after the defeat and flight of A'pd Sdhib, this district formed part of the territory ceded to the British for payment of the contingent, and by the. treaty of 1826 ifc was formally incorporated with the British possessions. Detachments of British troops were stationed at Multdi, Betdl, and Shdhpdr in 1818, in order to cut off A'pd Sdhib's escape westward from Pachmari, but he Sassed the line and got off. A military force was quartered at Betdl until une 1862. The entire population aomunted at the census of 1866 to 258,335 souls, and as p , . the area of the district is about 4,118 square miles, opu a ion. ^a g-yea an aye ragerate 0f about 62-7 to the • Bvigg's Farishta, Ed. 1829, vol. ii. pp. 371/., 407/., 415, 479; vol. iv. pp. 178, 180, 183, 228/. 48 BET square mile. In Multdi, however, the population rate is as high as 119 to the square mile, while in the forest reserves and other waste tracts there are often not more than four or five human beings in a similar area. Of the agricultural community the prevalent caste are the Mardthd Kunbis . They occupy the southern parts of the district, and originally emigrated from Ndgpdr and Berdr. Distinct from them are the Pardesi, or foreign Kurmis, a race from Upper India speaking the Hindustdni language ; these are confined to the immediate neighbourhood of Betdl, whither they immigrated under the grandfather of the present proprietor of Betdl, Tezi Singh. Besides the Pardesi Kurmis above noticed, there are the Desi or Dholwar Kunbis, who also speak the Hindustdni language. These are chiefly confined to a few villages of the small tdluka of Rdmpdr. Next to the Kunbis in point of numbers come the Bhoyars, a race said to have come originally from Upper India ; they are hard-working and industrious cultivators, thoroughly alive to the advantages of irrigation, and generally expending much labour and capital in the sinking of weUs. They are unfortunately addicted to drink, which is said to have led many of thorn into debt and difficulties. They are settled chiefly in the Multdi pargana. Rajputs are found in the Multdi pargana, in the villages adjoining the Chhindwdrd district, and also in some few ofthe villages of the A'tner pargana in the south. Their numbers are very inconsi derable. The most skilful cultivators are the Mails; a sprinkling of these is to be found throughout the whole of the open parts of the district. Kirdrs are the next in importance of the agricultural community, and are about equal in numbers to the Malls, and are also distributed more or less all over the district. As regards social status they are inferior to the abovementioned castes, who maintain a general feeling of social equahty, though, of course, keeping completely apart in all ceremonial observances. They are hard-working and industrious ; but the majority of them are poor, and not very good cultivators. The other numerous classes, besides the agriculturists proper, are Tells (oil-pressers), Kaldls (distillers), Musalmdns, and Brdhmans ; these two last hve chiefly in the larger villages ; Gaulis, pastoral inhabitants of these upland regions, who hve by flocks and herds, and by occasional tillage ; a low caste Hindd tribe called Ragars ; Gdrpagdris, whose profession it is to avert hail ; and the usual miscellaneous society of artisans, shopkeepers, and rehgious sectarians. The hill tribes of Gonds and Kurkds demand separate notice, though it must necessarily be short. The Gonds are found in all the wild and jungle villages, and also in some of the more open ones, where they hve chiefly by Aboriginal tribes. manual labour in the fields, following the plough or tending cattle. The Kurkds are almost entirely confined to a few tdlukas of the Sduligarh pargana, which belong to a Kurkd proprietor, Gendd Patel. Some of them are very industrious in the 'cultivation of rice, but the majority of them are very similar to the Gonds in character and disposition. Neither class has any idea or wish beyond living from hand to mouth ; and thus taking no thought for the morrow, they are often obliged to put up with little food and scanty clothing. Their favourite mode of livelihood is by cutting grass and firewood, which they sell in the nearest market ; but they also carry on a little BET 49 agriculture, chiefly in the method termed dahya. The two tribes are clearly distinct one from the other. The Gonds have a religion and language of their own. They are subdivided into about twenty tribes ; and they count twelve and a half religious sects, the separating characteristic being the number of gods worshipped by each. Seven is the number most usually adored. The lowest caste of ah worships any number of gods, and indeed anything having been left out (according to popular tradition) when the formal distribution of deities to each sect orginally took place. Births and marriages are celebrated by certain curious and peculiar customs, and a suitor will serve for his wife during a stated number of years after the manner of Jacob. As a rule they bury their dead, and sometimes kill a cow over the grave ; but the more prosperous families now occasionally burn their dead according to the custom of the Hindus, whose ancient and exclusive rites are invariably imitated by the outcast tribes as they rise in the scale of civilisation. There is some tendency to suppose for the Gonds a Scythian origin, — to view them as the stranded waif of some of the Scythian immigra tions, which undoubtedly penetrated very far into India at a period antecedent to the Christian era. The language has certainly some intermixture with Tamil ; but this may have been subsequently acquired. The religion of the Kurkds, or Muwdsis, is essentially different from that of the Gonds, being imitative of Hinddism. They worship the Hindu Mahddeva, the Sun, and Ddld Deo. They do not touch cow's flesh, and will neither eat nor drink with the Gonds. They Worship their ancestors, as do also the Gonds. They have no priesthood, by class or profession, and their ceremonies are performed by the elders of the family. The rites at births and marriages differ from those of the Gonds, except in the matter of drinking-bouts, which are religiously held on such occasions in either tribe. The Irish practice of waking the dead, or something like it, is also common to the funeral rites both of Gonds and Kurkds. The latter sometimes bury, and sometimes burn, burial being probably the more ancient custom, as in every nation. The Kurkd language is said to have some affinity with the San thai! and Uriya; it has no connection whatever with the Gond, although the habits of life of the two tribes are much the same, and in personal appearance they are not unlike each other. Under the old Mardthd government each village had its patel, or headman, T who collected the rents from the tenants, and paid them into the government treasuries, subtracting his authorised percentage. He had also certain powers to decide criminal charges, and was the general arbiter of village disputes. As long as these duties were satisfactorily performed the office remained in the family, and thus became very frequently hereditary. But the exactions of the Mardthd govern ment in its wars at the beginning of this century drove out the race of Watan- ddrs, or hereditary patels, and brought in a swarm of speculating farmers, who took the villages at rack-rents, and who never lasted long. The farms were continually changing hands; one man got hold of several villages, and the old Patel merged into the modern Mdlguzdr. This state of affairs seems to have lasted up to 1837, when a light settlement for the long period of twenty years enabled those who then possessed the estates to hold on and prosper ; and it is on these men or their descendants that the settlement just completed has finally conferred proprietary right. The present proprietors have full liberty to dispose as they will of their land, subject only to the payment, by the possessor, of the government revenue, and to the recognition of such tenant-right as has been recorded. Many of the cultivators have certain rights 7 Cl'G 50 BET of occupancy, and of holding at fixed rents under certain conditions. All stich claims have been inquired into and determined according to law and custom, ' The principal agricultural products of the district are wheat and pulses, more than three-fourths of the open lands being devoted gncu ure. ^o £j_ese cr0pSi Tne see(j is gown in October, no manure is used, and the fields are very rarely irrigated; the grain ripens early in the spring. The autumn harvest is important only in the hill villages. Cotton is raised, but its cultivation is not well understood ; also jawdri (millet), a little rice, kutki (an inferior rice), kodo (a kind of rye), and other poor grains. The dahya system of cultivation is widely practisedby the bill tribes. A newpiece of ground, generally on a hill slope or edge of a stream, is selected and cleared of all jungle. The surface is then covered over with logs of wood of varying size, and these again with smaller brushwood. This work goes on during the hot weather to let the new-cut wood get properly dry ; just before the rains the wood is set fire to and thoroughly burned to ground, and after the first fall of rain the seed is scattered among the ashes; when the ground is steep it is generally thrown in a lump along the top of the plot, and is left to be washed to its place by the rains. Sugarcane does very well in Betdl. The Otaheite cane was introduced many years ago by Colonel Sleeman ; but the common plant of the country is more extensively grown. It is planted in January and ripens in December.* Opium cultivation is carried on chiefly in the Multdi pargana. The sowing usually begins in November; in February the plant flowers, and the pods are ripe about March. The juice extracted is exported in its raw state by the merchants, who buy it up and send it to Indore or elsewhere for manufacture. The area under cultivation is reckoned at 2,400 acres, which are said to give an outturn of 180 maunds of 80 lbs. weight. The district is divided for revenue purposes into two tahsfls— Multdi „ , ,. . and Betdl; and for police purposes into the six Subdivisions. ... . , ,, ,,- -V/, t, , /i a '_ owl / station circles of Multai, Betul, A tner, Shdhpur, Sdulfgarh or Chicholi, and Bordihi, and twenty-two outposts. Multdi and Bordihi are within the Multdi tahsil, and the other four in the Betdl tahsil. The revenues for 1868-69 are as follows: — land revenue, Rs. 1,91,592; excise, Rs. 72,188; assessed taxes, Rs. 11,367; forests, Rs. 12,183; stamps, Rs. 27,436. Among the objects of interest may be mentioned the fort of Kherld, Remarkable places situated on a small isolated hill about four miles east of the civil station. This was the seat of government under the Gonds and preceding rulers, and hence the district was, until the time of its annexation to the British dominions, known as the " Kherld Sarkar." The local legend is that the fort was built by a Rdjd Jayapdl ; and it is more than probable that he and his family were Gonds by origin. The place afterwards fell into the hands of the Mohammadans, for many parts of the buildings now remaining are unmistakeably the offspring of Moslem art. The temple near Bhaisdahf is supposed to be of Buddhist origin, and was once of considerable extent, as is evidenced by the masses of stone lying about. The entrance, and a portion of the pillars of the facade in front of it, are still standing, and the carving in many parts is still wonderfully clear, though probably not much under three hundred years old. Additions have been made to the original structure, as is shown by the introduction of palpable obscenities into some of the carvings, the majority of which are quite free * The total area under cultivation is (186/) about 8,000 acres, and the yield of gur (molasses) is estimated at S0,000 maunds of 80 lbs, BET 51 from any such objectionable subjects. A large pipal tree has grown out of the rear of the building and displaced large portions of the masonry, and has also destroyed the dome. As in all similar buildings in this part of India of alike age, no cement of any kind was used in uniting the several layers of stone. The temple near Salbaldi is also said to be of Buddhist origin, and is of equal antiquity with that of Bhaisdahi, but is in an even more advanced state of dila pidation. A number of temples of various ages and descriptions of architecture, but none of any remarkable beauty as regards ornamentation, are found at Multdi, surrounding the artificial tank at that place, from the centre of which the river Tapti is said to take its rise : hence the reputed sanctity of the locality, and the consequent accumulation of temples in its honour. Another collection of temples, but of more modern construction, is to be found at Muktagiri on the confines of Berdr and within ten miles of Ellichpdr. They are clustered together on the side of a hill in the immediate neighbourhood of a considerable fall of water ; the site is extremely picturesque, and the place one of considerable resort for the residents of Ellichpdr. These temples are all in good order. There are also ruins of old forts at Baurgarh and Jdmgarh in the north, Sduligarh in the west, and Jetpdr, where was once the seat of a minor Gond dynasty, in the east. APPENDIX A. (BETU'L.) I. The Main Road from Badnur (Betul) towards Ndgpdr, and information regarding it. Badndr Betdl Sdsundrd Multdi.... Chichendd Miles. 14 28 38 Civil station — sarafs in sadar and kothi bazar — charitable dispensary — churcli — dak bungalow — town and female school-houses — sadar distillery — water from river — three tanks and numerous wells — police head-quarters, and imperial post-office. No sarai or covered accommodation for travellers — water from river and wells — several large topes of mango trees for shelter during dry weather — town police post— chari table dispensary — imperial post-office — Banias put travellers up — a patel has a good garden on the English system — vegetables procurable in season — about 5,000 inhabitants. Sardi — water from wells — large village- Europeans. -resthouse for Sarai — water from tank and wells— town — 5,000 inhabi tants — police station-house — district post-office — charitable dispensary — town school— dak bungalow — tahsil — imperial post-office. Sarai — water from river Wardha — supplies cannot be ob tained here for more than two or three people at a time. 52 BET II. The main Route from Badnur (Betul) towards Hoshangdbdd, and information regarding it. Badndr Miles. 13-5 26-6 35-1 43 Same as route No. I. Nimpani Sardi — room for Europeans, with khidmatgar — water from wells and river — police outpost — supplies plentiful. Water from river Machnd — shopkeepers give travellers Shdhpdr Dhar and traders accommodation in their shops — supplies plentiful — police station-house and district post-office — resthouse for Europeans unfurnished — charitable dispensary — village school-house — large bridge over Machna. Sardi — room for Europeans, with khidmatgar — water from a well — supplies very scanty — police outpost — supplies have to come from Bordha, eight miles off. Water from wells and river — shed for travellers — supplies plentiful — police outpost — good encampment under trees in fine weather. Kesla III. The main Route from Badnur (Betul) towards Mhow, vid Harda, and information regarding it. Badndr Miles. 16-6 29 40 8 Same as route No. I. Chicholi Police station-house and district post-office — water from well and tank — sarai — a good large village — supplies plentiful — a village school-house just built. Police outpost — water from river and well — sarai — a few huts — nuilguzar has just built a substantial house — plenty of Gonds — villages within two miles. Police outpost — water from well and river — sarai — no village at all — a Banid's shop established by local fund committee. Police outpost — water from river — a large village — sup plies plentiful — five miles from Seoni. This is now in Hoshangdbdd district. f Chirapatld Lokhartalai BET 53 IV. The main Route fiom Badndr (Betdl) towards Ellichpdr and Badnerd, and information regarding it. Miles. 8 20 30 42 52 Same as route No. I. Kheri Police outpost — water from wells and tank — supplies from the village — a village school-house just built here- Water from well and tank — a branch road to Bhaisdahi ten Jhaldr miles — supplies from the village — a village school-house lately built here. Police outpost — water from well — supplies from the village — a village lies some distance from the road, and is hidden from view. Water from river — old police outpost — one or two huts — no supplies on spot, must be collected. Police outpost — road passable for carts from Dhdba to Lokhartalai — water from river — an old musjid affords protection to travellers — a few Gond huts — trade statis tic post. Sdwalmenda Dhdbd The main Route Road from Badndr (Betdl) towards Chhindwdrd, and information regarding it. Badndr Miles. 16-2 41 Same as route No. I. A'mla A good sized village — water from tank and wells — village school-house — police outpost — supplies plentiful — several large villages close by. A large village — water from river and wells — supplies plentiful — dak bungalow — sardi — police station-house- Bordihi VI. Branch Road from Shdhpdr towards Sohdgpdr, and information regarding it. ShdhpdrDhdnsi... See route No. II. This is a Banjara route — a fair-weather road has been made through the jungle up to Tawd river on the other side ; three miles remain to be finished to meet the road, which has been completed from Hoshangdbdd district. The portion is much used by carts. BET— BHA APPENDIX B. Temperature. Thermometrical Observations taken at Betul in 1868. Thermometer. In Shade. In Sun's rays. Remarks. Maxi mum. Mini mum. Medium. Maxi mum. Mini mum. Medium. 7886 81 110 113 110 102 8885 87 82 75 4744 5367 82 72 7271 70 69 52 48 62 65 67 8897 91 87 7979 78 67 61 104108110119 122126118 118 116 114 112110 50 53 5468 84 72 72 7271 70 60 58 778082 9398 9495 95 93 928686 ly dry in the April „ May „ weather, and very damp in July „ August „ September „ October „ December „ BETU'L (BAITOOL)— A revenue subdivision or tahsll in the district of the same name, having an area of 3,160 square miles, with 1,071 villages, and a population of 179,581 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,21,807. BETU'L (BAITOOL) — A town in the district of the same name, situated on the Sdmpnd nadi, and four miles distant from Badndr, the district head-quarters. It contains 1,212 houses, with a population of 4,466 souls. The inhabitants mostly belong to the Kurmi and Mardthd Brdhman castes, and hve by agriculture ; but there is also a brisk trade in pottery. There are here two schools, a police outpost, an old fort, and an Enghsh cemetery. The district head-quarters were here before their removal to Badndr. BHA'DRA' — A chiefship in the Bdldghdt district, comprising seventy-eight villages. The area is 128 square miles, and the population 16,293 souls. Thirty-six square miles are under tillage. The estate was given by the Subadar of Ldnjl at the end of the last century in zaminddri tenure toZainuddln Khdn Pathdn, whose family still retains possession of it. The chief resides in Beld, one of the villages of the tdluka, which is situated about thirty-eight miles south-east of Bdrhd. BHADRA'CHALLAM— The chief town of the estate of the same name in the Upper Goddvari district. It is situated on the banks of the Goddvari, forty miles from Sironchd and about fifteen from Dumagudem. This place owes its importance to an old and well-known temple of Rdmchandra, which is situated on an eminence in the village, and is supposed to have been built about BHAG— BHAN 55 four hundred years ago by one Rishi Pratishtha, but has been added to at subsequent periods by various rdjds. It consists of one main building covered by a fine dome, and flanked by smaller temples on both sides. The space in the centre is paved, and there is a stone mandap, or open flat-roofed building, in front of the chief shrine. The temples are surrounded by a high wall, and from the river-side are entered by a flight of steps. A good coup-d'ceil of the whole group may be obtained by ascending the hill close by, from whence also there is a fine view of the village and surrounding country. Religious observances are supported by a money grant of Rs. 13,000 (Haidard- bdd currency) per annum. The jewels belonging to the temple are said to be very valuable. There are no manufactures in Bhadrachallam. The trade con sists chiefly of imports for the population ofthe town and surrounding villages. Small country boats come up the river as far as this point from Rdjmandri and the coast, but are precluded from proceeding further by the rocks and rapids which form the first barrier of the Goddvari.* There is a town school and a police outpost here, and the district post from Dumagudem to Ellor passes through the town and crosses into the Nizam's territories. A large fair is held here in April each year, at which about 10,000 people assemble from all parts of the country, chiefly from the coast districts. Business to the amount of about Rs. 50,000 is done on these occasions in English and country cloth, sugar, opium, spices, hardware, &c. The population is about 2,000, chiefly Brdhmans and Telingas. The estate consists of 137 villages; and the zamindarin traces her ancestry to Anapa Aswa Rao, who is said to have obtained the grant from the Emperor of Delhi in a.d. 1324. BHAGWA'NPU'R — A village in the Chdndd district, seven miles south west of Brahmapuri, possessing a fine irrigation-reservoir. BHAINSA'KHAND — A part of the Kaimdr range of hills, situated in latitude 23° 45' 55" and longitude 80° 15' 28", in the Sleemandbdd tahsil of the Jabalpdr district. BHAISD AHI' — A town in the Betul district, situated on the Pdrnd, thirty- two miles south-west of Badndr. It is said to have been founded by Pirdji Haibat Rdo Desmukh, whose family was once very powerful ; the remnants of a fort erected by them still exist, and the town is now owned by them. There are here a police outpost and a government school. The population amounts to 2,343 souls. BHA'MGARH — A town in the Nimdr district, eight miles east of Khandwd, containing 2,240 inhabitants, chiefly cultivators. Rao Daulat Singh, zamindar of the Bhdmgarh pargana, has a fort here, which was captured and burnt by Yaswant Rdo Sahi in a.d. 1806. There is also a Hindi school. Prom the river Bhdm close by are taken excellent -fish. A weekly market is held here on Sunday. BHA'NDAK — Is the eastern pargana of the Warord tahsil of the Chdndd district, containing an area of about 384 square miles, with 76 villages. It is bounded on the north by the Chimur and Garhbori parganas, on the east by the Haweli pargana, on the south by the Wardhd, and on the west by the Warord pargana. By far the larger portion is hill and forest, and it is intersected from north to south by the Virai and Andhdrl rivers. In the vicinity of the Wardhd * This has since been partially opened. 56 BHAN black loam prevails, on which cotton and dry crops are grown ; and beyond this belt the soil is sandy or yellow, chiefly producing rice. Bhdndak and Chandan- khera are the two largest towns. The population is Mardthd, with a mixture of Telingas. BHA'NDAK — A town 18 miles north-west of Chanda and about a mile west of the Southern Road. It contains 470 houses, and is a long straggling place, spread over a large extent of ground, and surrounded, except on the west, by old groves and jungle. Local tradition identifies it with the great city of Bhadrdvati, mentioned in the Maha Bhdrat, extending from Bhatdld on the west to the Jharpat on the east ; and the scene of the battle for the Sdmkarna horse, which eventually was borne away by the demi-god Bhima, for sacrifice by Dharma, the king. The architectural remains in and around Bhdndak are of remote antiquity and great interest, among them being the temple-caves at Bhdndak and in the Winjhasani and Dewala hills, the footprint of Bhima on the latter hill, the temple of Bhadrdvati, the site of the king's palace, the bridge over a now dried-up lake, the outlines of forts on the Winjhasani and Dewdld hills, and numerous ruined temples and tanks — proving the existence of a great city in the far distant past. Bhdndak now has little trade in itself, but an extensive fair assembles here yearly in February, the transactions at which are very large. The products of the town-lands are chiefly pan leaves, turmeric, and rice; and the residents are mostly Marathas. Bhdndak has government schools for boys and girls, a police station-house, a district post-office, and a sarai. BHANDA'R — A village in the Raipdr district. It is the head-quarters or sanctuary of the Satnami Chamars of Chhattisgarh, and came into importance about twenty-seven years ago, when Ghdsi Das, the founder of the new faith, became proprietor of the village. He built in the centre a large square temple like house, and to this place his followers flock three times a year for confession and absolution. BHANDA'RA— QOKTENTS. Pago General description 50 Geology 57 Rivera 58 Forests ib. Minerals , 59 Animals , ib. Tanks and lakes , 60 Road communications 61 Population ib, Manners and customs 62 Page Languages' .., , , 63 Diseases ib. Agriculture ,.. , 64 Manufactures 66 Commerce , ib. School , 67 ChiefsliipS 68 Tradition and history ,.,. ib. Revenue administration 69 Judicial and Police administration ... 70 One of the five districts comprised in the Ndgpdr commissionership, of General description. wllich {t 0CTcuP'es nearly the whole of the eastern portion. It has an area of about 3,922 square miles, and is bounded on the north by Seoni and Bdldghdt, on the south by Chdndd, on the east by Rdlpdr, and on the west by Ndgpdr. The station of Bhanddra is about thirty-eight miles east of Ndgpdr. The district stretches northwards for some miles beyond Itdmpaili, and from that point to a village called Sowerd in the south the distance is about eighty miles as the crow flies, while if a line were drawn through the centre of the district it would measure about eighty miles direct from east to west. There are few mountains of any size within the district; but the north, north-east, and east are bounded by BHAN 57 lofty hills, inhabited chiefly by Gonds and other wild tribes. The west and north-west are comparatively open. Several small ranges — branches of the Sdtpurd — make their way into the interior of the district, generally taking a southerly direction. Different bluffs and marked elevations in these ranges bear the names of the villages near which they occur, but there is no general name for the whole. These hills are thickly covered with forest trees and bamboos, but they do not contain much valuable timber. Another range of hills, about sixty miles in length, skirts the south of the Chdndpdr pargana. Their average height is between 300 and 400 feet above the level of the plain, and they are known by the name of the Ambdgarh, or Sendurjhari hills. This range is clothed with very little timber of any size, but it furnishes a fair amount of firewood. In addition to the above ranges there are a few detached hills worthy of mention, viz. the Baldhi hills, the Kanherl hills, and the Nawegdon hills. The formation of these hills is mostly granitic and schistose, with here and there a range of overlying sandstone. Among eo °sy' certain geological papers on Western India, pub lished in 1857 by the Bombay Government, is an article by Messrs. Hislop and Hunter, in which is described the great granitic area within which the whole district hes, and which, beginning from Ndgpdr town on the west, is said to extend as far east as the Bay of Bengal. The following extracts make up a brief sketch of the geological structure of the country round the Waingangd : — " Granitic and Schistose Rocks. — The plutonic and metamorphic forma tion, the extent of which I shall now briefly indicate, lies chiefly in the east ern portion of our area. It is intersected by the Waingangd for the greater part of its course. The tract on the left bank of the river I have had little opportunity of exploring, but from the cursory examination I have given it, I have reason to believe that there is a large development of granite and its allied rocks, including an extensive outburst of porphyry, which coincides nearly with the upper portion of the course of the Bdgh river. This eruption exhibits crystals of quartz and of white, occasionally red, felspar, imbedded in a dark paste of the same ingredients. On the right bank of the Waingangd, in the district near its junction with the Wardhd, the extent of the formation is not so great. It is observed principally in the channel of the Wainganga, though it may also be traced around the bases of the sandstone chains of hills, which it has been the means of upheaving. In both the districts under consideration the general strike of the strata is north and south, corresponding with the direction of the streams and mountain ranges, and in the last-mentioned the dip is for the most part to the west. But it is on the north that the greatest development of granite and crystalline schists occurs. There we may perceive these rocks rising to the surface (though it would be hazardous to conclude that there are not others of a different character in the hollows covered up by the deep soil) from Ndgpdr north-eastward to the Ldnjl hills. " On either side of the Waingangd we meet with some isolated remnants of the sandstone formation. One of these, but very limited in its dimensions, lies on the banks of the Seldri, a small stream which joins the Waingangd near the town of Paunl. Another, further down the river, extends for some distance, first on the right bank, and then on the left. In the district on the east of the Wainganga a little sandstone proper is 8 CI'G 58 BHAN met with in patches among the hills on the west bank of the Garhvi and Bdgh rivers, reaching from Mahdgdon as far north as A'mgaon." — Geological Papers of Western India, pp. 254 — 256. Extensive beds of laterite, overlying the primary rocks, are found in the district about Kdmthd, and are again seen near Pauni, whence they stretch southward in a broad belt far into the Chdndd district. The chief river, and the only one that does not dry up in the hot weather, p. is the Waingangd, which runs along the whole length of the western border of the district. Its most important affluents in this district are the Bdwanthari, the Bdgh nadi, the Kanhdn, and the Chulban. There are several other small streams, which serve as affluents to those above mentioned, but they are very insignificant, viz. the Pdngoli nadi and the Katangi ndla, running into the Bdgh nadi, and the Sdt nadi into the Chulban. The Sur nadi waters a large tract of land immediately north of Bhanddra, and empties itself into the Waingangd only about a mile from the station. The Chani nadi waters above a hundred miles of the district, and flowing past Rdmpaili and Katangtota, empties itself into the Waingangd at a village called Mahdlgaon, about ten miles south of Rdmpaili. The Bdwanthari runs through the district for about thirty miles of its course, and waters all the country immediately north of Chandpdr and Ambagarh, reaching the Waingangd at a village called Buperd, eight miles east of Chandpdr. All the above streams, with the exception of the Waingangd, dry up in the hot weather. There are no towns of importance on any of them. Of the entire area about 1,509 square miles, or more than one-third, are covered with jungle. The smaller jungles are in Forests. parts of the middle of the district and in the Chandpdr pargana. None of these forests contain many valuable timber trees of sufficient girth for large buildings, excepting the mhowd (bassia latifolia) trees, which are preserved by the people for their blossoms, as they are eaten by the poorer class, and country liquor is distilled from them. The valuable timber trees are — 1 . Tectona grandis (teak) called Sayd in this district, and Sdj in other parts. 2. Pterocarpus marsupium, called Biwld in this district, and in other parts Bijesdl. 3. Dalbergia latifolia, called Siras in this district, and in other parts Shisham. 4. Pentaptera glabra, called A'in in this district, and in other parts Sdj. 5. Diospyros ebenum, called Temrdn in this district, and in other parts Tendd. 6. Nauclea cordifoUa, called Haldi in this district, and in other parts Hardud. 7. Gonocurpus latifolia, Dhdurd. 8. Lagerstrcemia parviflora, Send!, called also Sehnd in this district, and-in other parts Kulid Sejd. 9. Bassia latifolia, Mhowd. BHAN 59 The jungles also yield gum, medicinal fruits and nuts, edible fruits, lac and honey. The gums considered the best for their adhesive qualities and for edible purposes are those exuded by the din or sdj, dhdurd, and palds or chintd. The palds tree is also called dhdk in other parts. The medicinal fruits "are the harrd (terminalia chebula), baherd (belleric myrobolan), baibrang (a medicinal seed, like a black pepper-corn), and bel (cratceva). The nuts are the kuchld (strychnos nux vomica), and bhildwd (semicarpus anacardium) . The fruits which are sold in the markets from jungle trees, and which the poorer class of natives eat, are those of the tendd, achdr or chironji (chironjia sapida), dunld (phylanthus em- blica), bhildwd (semicarpus anacardium) , mhowa (bassia latifolia), plum, kdrindd kawat or kaithd (feronia elephantum), bel (cratceva), custard-apple, umbar (ficus glomerata), and jdmun (syzygium jambolanum). Lac is produced on the plum, palds (batea frondasa), p.pal (ficus religiosa), and the pipri (the small- leafed pipal) trees. Bees settle on all descriptions of trees, and on rocks, where they form their hives and gather honey. The men who generally take down honeycombs and gather other jungle-produce are Gonds. A httle gold is found in the bed of the Son nadi, but hardly repays the M. . trouble of searching for it, as even after cleaning it is somewhat impure, and only fetches from ten to twelve rupees a told. The separation of the particles of gold from the sand and dirt is effected by washing, and subsequent application of quicksilver. Iron is found to some extent, and the supply is not only sufficient for the local demand, but also constitutes an article of export. The chief mines are situated in the parganas of Chandpdr, Tirord, and Pratdpgarh, the best being that obtained from Chdndpdr. The mines are mere pits, being generally only ten or twelve feet in depth; and the vertical clay-furnaces for smelting the ore are very primitive and inefficient, requiring a great deal of time and trouble to produce a very small result. The people usually engaged in this laborious work are Gonds, Godrds, Pardhdns, and Dhimars, from whom the middle-men purchase the rough iron slabs. The iron obtained from the mines at A'gri and Ambdjhari in the Chandpdr pargana is reported to be very tough and malleable. Gerd, a kind of red ochre, is found in the Sdletekri tract of the Bdldghdt district, and is used to some extent in this district for staining wood and dyeing cloth. Of stone for masonry, the laterite, shale, and sandstone are found all over the district, though the largest quarries exist near Bhanddra, at Korambi, and in the Baldhi hills. Hone-stones and white soft stone for pottery are also found in some quantity in the Kanherl hill, near Pohord. Owing to the large extent of forest, wild animals abound. The tiger and the . . . panther are the most dangerous and destructive to human life ; and during the rainy season many people die from the bites of venomous snakes. Deer of all kinds and wild pigs frequently cause great injury to the crops. Of farm cattle, the bullock of this district is noted for its staunchness and endurance, though rather small in build. The cows generally are excellent, and in some parts of the district are of good size. Bulls are usually imported from Berdr, but the government has lately brought in some stock from Nellor in Madras for the improvement of the breed. Sheep-breeding, for the sake of the wool, is carried on to some extent, though suitable pasturage is somewhat limited. The silkworm is also bred in some 60 BHAN parts of the district with success, producing a coarse kind of silk ; but there are very few persons engaged in this culture. The soil and climate generally throughout the district are favourable to the successful cultivation of all grains, as the seasohs are mild and the rainfall abundant, though, from sparseness of population and absence of enterprise, nearly half the area of the district is still (1869) waste land. This part of the country is chiefly cultivated by means of irrigation from tanks, for which the Bhandara district is famous. lanks and Lakes. „ Thege tankgj.. writes a former chief commis sioner,* Sir Richard Temple, " are so numerous, and some of them so large, ' being many miles in circumference, that this tract might almost be called the ' Lake Region of Ndgpdr. Here a tank is not a piece of water, with regular ' banks, crowned with rows or avenues of trees, with an artificial dyke and sluices, ' and with fields around it, but it is an irregular expanse of water ; its banks ' are formed by rugged hills covered with low forests that fringe the water, ' where the wild beasts repair to drink ; its dykes, mainly shaped out of spurs ' from the hills, are thrown athwart the hollows, a part only being formed by ' masonry ; its sluices often consist of chasms or fissures in the rock ; its broad ' surface is often, as the monsoon approaches, lashed into surging and crested ' waves." The principal lakes are known by the names of Nawegdon, Seoni, and Siregdon. Besides these are thousands of minor tanks, used for irrigation, many of which retain an ample supply of water throughout the hot season. There are also numerous sites for new tanks of large size, now ruined and requiring repair, though at such an outlay as to render the undertaking one of doubtful advantage. Major Pearson, late conservator of forests, Central Provinces, in a report upon the irrigation of the valley of the Waingangd submitted to the chief com missioner in March 1863, points out that there are two distinct kinds of tanks in this region. He describes them in the following passage : — " The first and by far the largest are formed in the undulating country of the lower districts in the valley, by taking advantage of the contour of the ground, and constructing a short dam so as to form a lake or basin from the drainage of the surrounding hills. The second class is that commonly found in the flatter country, and away from the hills, where a long low dam is raised across the upper portion of a gently-sloping plain. These are more or less excavated near the centre, where some nald or depression of the ground is taken advantage of to create a reservoir more or less deep. The long arms of the dam collect the drainage, which fills into the centre reservoir, and, when this is full, spreads itself out into a large shallow tank ; the water is thence distributed to the rice fields below ; and although there is an enormous loss from evaporation, yet, as the rice does not require water for above two months, or at most seventy-five days, the tanks generally suffice for the purpose required. Tanks of the last description are sometimes of very large size, but commonly they are what are called " boris," having embankments not more than ten or twelve feet high, and as soon as the rice-crop is gathered the dam is cut, any remaining water let out, and a crop of wheat or hnseed sown in the bed. This is almost a universal practice in the northern parganas of Bhanddra. Indeed it seems the only means of raising a dry crop which the people possess in those districts. I have seen several very large tanks so drained and cultivated. * Administration Report, Central Provinces, 1862, p. 6, para. 12. BHAN 61 There are altogether 3,648 lakes and tanks ; some of the rivers also afford facihties for irrigation. The Bdwanthari, for instance, which runs from east to west of the pargana of Chandpdr, supphes water for the cultivation of sugar cane, wliich is grown in large quantities on both banks. The only road which is raised, bridged, and metalled for any distance is D , . _. the Great Eastern Road, which enters the district Koad communications. ,-, , , .-.¦, ,, „ , „ , ., on the wesn, near the village of Shahpur, and passing through Bhanddra, Sdkoli, Arjuni, and Deorl Kishori, crosses the Bdgh nadi by a substantial bridge into the Rdlpdr district, at a point about sixty-five miles due east of Bhanddra. This road is nearly completed to a point beyond Sdkoli, or upwards of twenty-four miles from Bhanddra towards Rdlpdr, and, with the exception of the Waingangd, all the important streams and ndlds are bridged. At the crossing of the Waingangd during the dry season there is a raised fascine roadway for the convenience of the traffic across the sandy bed, and a couple of platform-boats during the rains. There is a second class of roads, unmetalled and unbridged (except by temporary contrivances), but smoothed, levelled, and sloped at the crossings of watercourses. Of these the following are the most important, viz. the district road from Rdfpdr to Chdndd, which enters this district on the south-east, and passing through Chichgarh, Paldnddr, Nawe gdon, Digori, and Pauni, proceeds to Chdndd via Brahmapuri ; and the district road from Rdlpdr to Kdmthi vid Darekasd, A'mgdon, Bdgarband, and Tumsar. The second route has the heaviest traffic, and where it crosses the Waingangd at Umarwdrd, there is a raised fascine roadway across the sandy bed of the river during the dry season. The minor communications of the second kind are as follows, viz. to and from Rdmpdili and Katangi in the Seoni district vid Arjuni ; and from Rdmpdili and Wdrd- Seoni in the Seoni district via Mendiward; to and from Kdmthd and Mandla via the Samndpdr ghdt, which has been cleared and levelled ; and to and from the Ndndgdon zaminddri in the Rdlpdr district, and Kdmthd vid Dhiri, Mangli, and Nandord, by which route most of the traffic is carried on men's heads, owing to the difficult mountain-passes which separate this district from Rdlpdr at that point. The whole of the roads belonging to the second class are excellent fair-weather roads, but are almost impassable for wheeled traffic during the rains. When all other routes are closed during the monsoon the water communication on the Bdgh nadi and Waingangd is of great use, and would probably rise to some importance if the dangerous barriers of rocks in the bed of the Bdgh nadi at Satond, and in the bed of the Waingangd at Chichgdon, could be removed. At present, owing to these barriers, the com munication by river during the rains is hmited to the interior of the district ; whereas if they were removed the communication might be extended to the heart of Mandla and into the richest parganas of the Rdlpdr district. The carriage used on all these roads is chiefly the common country cart and the pack -bullock ; while on the river the boats employed are dongds, which are usually large logs of teak scooped out and lashed together. According to the census of November 1866 the population amounts to p , . 608,480 souls. Setting aside the primitive, and opuaion. (so called) aboriginal tribes of Gonds, Baigds, and the like, this population may be generally classed under the two great divisions of Hindus and Mohammadans, though the latter do not equal five per cent of the former. Of the Hindds the caste divisions are chiefly as follows, viz. Brdhmans, " Pardesis" or foreigners (generally Rdjputs), Ponwdrs, Lodhls, Kunbis, Koris, Kalals, Tells, Dhimars, Koshtis, Godras, and Dhers. 62 BHAN The two first-mentioned castes are the most educated and intelligent ; the four next are the most industrious and skilful agriculturists, and the last two are the most numerous. The higher castes — such as Brahmans and Pardesls — are usually landholders and land agents, or are found in government employ; the middle castes — such as Ponwdrs, Koris, Kalals, Lodhis, Kunbis, and Tells — are mostly engaged in agriculture, either as farmers or tenants of land ; and the lower classes — such as Godrds and Dhers — furnish the labour for all public or private works, farm service, &c. Besides the above there are a few intermediate classes, which are occupied in commerce — such as the Mdrwdris, Banids, and Parwdrs; and in trades and manufactures — such as Koshtis, Kdsdrs, Panchdls, Lohdrs, Barhais, Beldars, and Kumbhdrs. Of these the Koshtis, or weavers, are the most numerous, while the other intermediate castes are comparatively ill-represented, and confined to certain localities, generally large towns and villages. The Dhimars also are a numerous class, and live chiefly by fishing, and the hire of their boats for carriage. Of the Mohammadan portion the greater part are employed as Pinjdrds, or cleaners and dealers in cotton, and Kdnchdrs, or makers of glass ornaments ; and a few are landholders and cultivators. The lowest section of the people of this district includes the Kaikdris, Holids, Halbds, and Pardhdns. Among these the Kaikdris are notorious as skilful and determined thieves. The inhabitants of Bhanddra are rude and unpolished in their manners, and sometimes say and do things in company with Manners and customs. ¦, ,-, a. a u ¦_. i at. -j c -a each other that would shock the ideas of propriety entertained by any civilised Hindustdni. The higher classes are no exception to fchis rule, though, from their superior education and intelligence, they might be supposed to be more capable of appreciating the advantages of courtesy. Nor can it be said that these defects are compensated for by a very high standard of truth or manliness, for it must be confessed that the people have no larger share of these virtues than more civilised orientals. However, the Gonds and Baigds are generally honest and hard-working when well treated. The Ponwdrs and Koris, too, among agriculturists, are industrious. The two proverbs most current in this district sufficiently indicate the general tone of morals. They are as follows : — " Charity remains at home," and " Deceit is the perfection of wisdom." The higher classes have none of the hardy, active habits of life which are still maintained in Northern India by many persons in good position. They have an indolent dislike of standing if they can possibly sit; and they very seldom mount a horse, using small two-wheeled ox-carts for all journeys, long or short. And it is not easy to get a fair day's work out of the labourer. Cheap food and a stationary population, a mild equable climate, and a land-locked district without roads, are among the causes to which these characteristics may be traced ; but with the cessation of the last of these causes some change is already appearing. There are few social customs or religious ceremonies, current in this district, which are not common to all classes of Hindds in other parts of India ; but perhaps nowhere is the marriage-tie less considered than among the lower castes here, more especially among the women, who often divorce themselves from their husbands, and select, of their own will, several mates in succession, without any opposition from their lawful lords. All, except the higher classes of Hindds — such as Brahmans and Pardesls — also adopt a cere mony called Pdt, in lieu of a formal marriage, for joining a man and woman who agree to live together. This, however, can only take place after the death of the first husband or wife, and is considered a kind of lawful concubinage. The BHAN 63 ceremony much resembles the " Nikdh" marriage common among Moham madans. The Ponwdrs, Lodhis, and Kunbis are most notorious for these peculiar notions regarding the obligations of marriage. Again, contrary to the custom prevalent in other parts ofthe country, in this district girls are more honoured than boys, and the ordinary mode of proceeding in betrothal-engagements is reversed, as the father or relatives of a boy are obliged to seek out and humbly supplicate the parents of the girl with whom they wish to marry their son, instead of being sought after themselves. The proportion of educated and influential men of the higher classes among the Hindds is so small, that in few districts are the mass of the people more ignorant of even the forms and ceremonies attached to their own rehgion. This leads to a great diversity of ideas on the subject, and very loose notions regarding the worship of the various Hindd deities. The most common object of worship, however, throughout the district is the Kngam, or conventional representation of generative power, svmbolising the creative attributes of Mahadeva. But in addition to this common object of worship, all kinds of quadrupeds, different kinds of reptiles, and even remarkable tombs, are all worshipped by their individual votaries : and a large tomb near the village of Murmdri, about ten miles from Bhanddra, where rest the remains of an English lady, is held in great veneration by the surrounding villages. The Mohammadans in this district form only a small fraction of the population, and are rather notorious for the neglect of their religious duties and their disorderly dissipated life. The language in common use is Mardthi, though, from the neighbourhood , of Urdd-speaking districts, Urdd is understood generally throughout the district, with the excep tion of a portion of the villages in the southern parts of the Sdngarhi tahsil. The Mardthi, however, as spoken and written commonly in this district is by no means pure, and is largely, mixed with Urdd. There are also several dialects peculiar to different classes of the people, which are only understood by them ; they are used by the Gonds, Baigds, Goldrs, and Kaikdris. The diseases most prevalent are fever, small-pox, and cholera. Under Diseases. *^is ^as* *^e ^he natives also include without distinction all diseases ofthe stomach and bowels. Fever prevails throughout the year, but is more general and fatal during the months of September, October, and November, at the time of the ripening ofthe rice-crops. Among the lower classes the result of an attack is generally delirium and death within two or three days. Scanty food and clothing, and hard work in the rice-fields in water, with a burning sun overhead, are no doubt predis posing causes ; but in almost all cases in this district an attack of autumnal fever goes to the head, and is exceedingly prostrating in its effects, even when it is not fatal. Small-pox is also very common, more especially during the months of April, May, and June, when it carries off a number of victims, chiefly among the younger members of the community; whereas fever is more prevalent among the village population and those engaged in agriculture. Vaccination has made but little progress as yet, and the superstition and igno rance of the mass of the people place great obstacles in its way. Cholera is common, and commits great ravages, more particularly during the rainy season ; when, however, all deaths occurring from diseases of the stomach or bowels are credited indiscriminately to cholera by the natives. An attack of cholera is almost always followed by a fatal result, as the apathy and superstition of the natives prevent their taking even such remedies as are offered. The 64 BHAN spread of intelligence by means of education, the practical aid afforded by the establishment of branch dispensaries, and the vigorous measures adopted for the enforcement of simple sanitary rules, will no doubt cause a great decrease in the mortality in future. Agricultural operations are carried on much in the same way as in the , . . adjoining districts. The implements used are the !i tifan, or drill-rake, with three shares; the ndgar, or ordinary drill-plough, with one share ; the bakhar, or hoe-plough ; and the dauran, or small weeding-plough. The tifan is used for ploughing the ground only when it is sufficiently moist to be drawn over it. The ordinary drill- plough is used when the ground is hard and caked, or when ample time is remaining to complete the sowings. With the bakhar the weeds in field are destroyed, and inequalities partially levelled before either of the drill-ploughs are drawn over it. The dauran is used to weed jawdri (millet) fields between the drills, to loosen the earth at the roots of the plants, to raise the earth at their roots, and thus promote their growth and give them greater stability, and also to thin the field of some of the stalks. These results are obtained by drawing the dauran once over the field. There are two sowings in the year — one at the commencement of the rainy season, and the other at its close. The former sowings are called " Syari," and the latter " Unhali." The sydri sowings are performed thus : at the setting-in of the rains the bakhar is drawn over the ground a couple of times, after which it is sown with the tifan, which forms three furrows, and drops the seed into them at each turn. The furrows are not deep; but the tifan is well-suited for preparing fields in the rainy weather, when the ground is soft, and the operation of sowing requires to be performed expeditiously. For the unhali sowings the tifan can only be used when the rains continue to the middle of October, about which time these sowings commence. The bakhar is drawn over the fields reserved for spring crops whenever there is an intermission of rain for a week or more, to destroy the weeds, and open out the ground so as to enable it to absorb ns much water as possible. If the rains are not favourable, the ndgar, or drill-plough with one share, is generally used to plough and sow the fields. The furrows formed by the ndgar are deeper than those made by the tifan, and the seeds sown in the furrows by the former are covered by its operation ; that is, the seeds dropped in the first furrow are covered when the second one is formed, and so with the second and every subsequent furrow. Of the drills formed by the tifan, the seeds in the two inner drills, at each turn of that instrument, are left uncovered with earth. In the rainy season this is not of much consequence, as the water, running down the ridges, carries some earth with it into the drills ; but in the unhdli sowings, when there is no rain, the seeds which are exposed are liable to be picked up by birds. The kharif (sydri) or autumn crops are the rice, jawdri (holcus sorghum) , kodo (paspalum frumentaceuni), hnt'ki (panicum milia- cetmi,) tdr (cytisus cajan), cotton, and til (sesamum). The rabl (unhdli) or spring crops are wheat, gram, linseed, mung (phaseolus mungo), ldkh (pigeon pea), batand (common pea), and popat (dwarf bean). Some ofthe seeds are sown in drills, and some broadcast. The seeds sown in drills are wheat, jawdri, linseed, gram, tdr, cotton, ldkh, mung, batdnd, popat, and til ; and those sown broadcast are kodo, rice, and kutki. There is no peculiarity in the mode of sowing any of the seeds but those of rice and sugarcane tubers. The rice is sown in three different ways : one of these is called " both," which is sowing by broadcast ; another is called " hauralc," which is by first steeping BHAN 65 ¦unhusked rice in hot water for a few minutes, after which the rice is taken out and heaped in a dry room. The heap of rice is then covered over with a piece of gunny for three days, when the rice begins to germinate. In the mean time a field is ploughed, water is let into it, and a rake then drawn over, with the teeth downwards, to work up the soil and remove any weeds there may be in it. After this the rake is reversed and drawn on its back over the field to level it. The field being now ready to receive the sprouting seeds, they are removed to it, and sown broadcast. This mode of sowing is only adopted when from some cause the sowing has been delayed. After the fields have been sown, a man keeps off the birds from the seeds till the crops come out. The third mode of sowing rice is called rond. A nursery of young crops is first formed by the rice being sown in a small piece of ground, which is previously ploughed and well manured. When the crops have attained the height of a foot they are taken up, put on sledges, and then taken to the field prepared for them, where they are transplanted. The field is prepared in the same way for the rond sowing as for the kaurak sowing. The plants are sown about an inch apart from each other. The first weeding takes place about one month after the transplantation of the crops ; the second about the same time after the first weeding. A field intended for sugarcane cultivation is utilised by one of the inferior descrip tions of rice which comes early to perfection being first sown in it. These crops ripen by the beginning of October. After they are cut the field is manured, and ploughed with the bakhar three times. The bakhar is then reversed and drawn over the field to break up the clods of earth and level it. The subsequent processes are to divide the field into beds of a square yard each, to water these beds, to cut the upper parts of canes into pieces of three knots each, and then to put these pieces longitudinally into the divided field. After this the field is irrigated till the rains set in. The thick black canes are sown in January and are fit to cut in November. The thin country canes are gene rally perfect in September. A second crop is not raised from the stumps, as in some parts of these provinces. Manure is only used and irrigation resorted to in the cultivation of vegetables, sugarcane, rice, and betel. At the harvest the crops are cut with sickles, and labourers employed in cutting them receive per diem one and a half pdili (equal to one seer, fourteen chhatdnks) of grain, either of the description of crops they cut, or of some other kind of grain. When employed in cutting rice and mung crops, however, they receive different rates of remuneration. For cutting rice crops a labourer receives two pdilis (two seers and eight chhatdnks) per diem, but for cutting mung crops only one pdili. The wages of labourers, in kind, are fixed with reference, to the value ofthe grain cut and the labour of cutting. The labour of cutting rice-crops is as great as that of cutting jawdri, wheat, tdr, &c, which are all cut in a stooping posture, and the market-value is generally much lower. Tbe labour required to cut indng is comparatively less, as it is cut sitting, which is a less tiresome position than stooping. When the treading-floor of the owner of the field is near, the labourers carry the sheaves of corn to it and stack them there, but when it is at a distance, the owner provides carriage to have them conveyed to it. Tdr and castor-seeds are beaten off the stalks with a stick, after which the pulse is trodden out of the tdr pods by cattle, which walk over them round a pole. The til is shaken out of the capsules, as on ripening the capsules open out. All the other kinds of grain are trodden out. The corn is then stored in small cylindrical granaries called bandds, built on platforms, which are supported on slabs of flagstone, and covered with light roofs thatched with grass. They are of various sizes, according to the quantity of grain required to be put into 9 CPG 66 BHAN them, but never very large. The grain is put into and removed from these granaries from the top by lifting the thatched roofs. The cylinders are built on raised platforms of stone, to prevent rats and other vermin from burrowing into them and injuring the corn. Sometimes oblong corn-houses are also built. These are called bakhdrls. The principal staples of the district are rice and awdri. The articles manufactured in the district are native cloth, brass wares, potstone wares, cart-wheels, and straw and reed Manufactures. baskets. Native cloth is made in Bhandara, Pauni, A'ndhalgdon, Mohdri, Sihord, Addr, and Bhdgri. The finest and best description of cloth is manufactured in the town of Pauni. This cloth is much prized by the higher class of natives, who sometimes pay a couple of hundred rupees for a turban or dopattd. Cloth of such high value is now made only to order. The original manufacturers of these excellent descriptions of cloth are said to have come to these parts from Paithan on the Goddvari, and Burhdnpdr on the Tapti, on an invitation from the Rdjd of Ndgpdr in the early part ofthe present century. Very fine chdrkhdnd cloth (called also jhilmili) is also manufactured in Pauni. The cotton-thread used in the manufacture of the Pauni cloths is spun by a low caste of men called Mahdrs or Dhers. The manufacturers of the cloth are called Koshtis. Red sdris, with different-coloured borders of silk and cotton, are fabricated in A'ndhalgdon and Mohdri. They are dyed with fast colours, and are made of qualities ranging in value as high as twenty-five or thirty rupees for a sdri. The town of Bhanddra produces turbans and waistcloths of a superior quahty, manufactured of white cotton-thread. The waistcloths are generally made with coloured borders. The value of a turban or waistcloth is sometimes as much as fifteen or twenty rupees. In Sihord, Addr, and Bhdgri the inferior kinds of native cloth are fabricated. The Bhdgri khddi cloth is of a stout texture, and noted for its durability. Brass-wares are manufactured in the towns of Bhanddra and Pauni, but more extensively in the former. The articles produced are cooking-utensils and water-pots of all kinds used by natives, lamps, drinking- cups, bells, and fountains. These vessels are made by men of the Kdsdr and Panchdl castes. They also work in bell-metal, pewter, and copper. Pot-stone wares are manufactured at Kanherl and Pendri, in the Sdkoli subdivision, by carpenters and turners. The articles turned are cups, plates, and pipe-bowls. They are generally made thick for the village market, as the stone is soft and chalky, but when ordered, very good and light vessels can be produced. Cart-wheels are made in Tumsar and some other towns. Straw and reed baskets are woven in different parts of the district. They are coarse and rather clumsy, yet good enough to find ready sale among the natives of these parts, who seldom see better baskets. The commerce of the district has received a great impetus since its annexa- c tion, with the rest of the province of Ndgpdr proper, by the British government. The vastly improved condition of the Great Eastern Road and of the district communications, and a well-ordered police, have greatly facilitated traffic. The extinction of the Bhonsld rule has, however, diminished the demand for the superior description of Pauni cloth ; and the competition of English piece-goods, together with the simul taneous rise in the price of cotton, has reduced the sale also of the inferior kinds of cloth ; but the export of the cloth from this town is still great, having last year amounted in value to Rs. 50,372. The chief articles imported are cotton, salt, wheat, rice, oil-seeds, hardware, English piece-goods, tobacco, BHAN 67 silk, dyes, and cattle ; and the articles most extensively exported are country cloth, tobacco, and hardware. The direction of the trade is chiefly to and from Ndgpdr and Rdlpdr by the Great Eastern Road, and by another route through Paldnddr. Also to and from Kamthi by the Tumsar route, and towards Mandla by Hattd and Kdmthd. Of the articles imported, salt is brought from Berdr and the eastern coast ; sugar, metal, and spices from Mirzdpdr ; hardware from Mirzdpdr and Mandla; European cloth and silks from Mirzdpdr and Bombay ; country silks from Burhdnpdr ; Khdrwa cloth from Mhow and Rdnipdr in the Jhdnsi district ; wheat and rice from Rdlpdr ; and cattle from the Seoni and Mandla districts. Of the articles exported, country cloth is sent from Pauni, A'ndhalgdon, Mohdri, Bhanddra, and Bhdgri, to Ndgpdr, Puna, and Bombay; hardware from Bhanddra and Pauni to Ndgpdr, Rdlpdr, and Jabalpdr. Articles of traffic are generally conveyed in small country carts and on pack-bullocks. Though education received no attention or encouragement from the „ , . Bhonsld government, yet the people were not in sensible of its value. In the district of Bhanddra, which was formerly called the Waingangd district, there were no less than 55 Mardthi and Persian private schools, numbering in the aggregate 452 pupils, of whom 45 were taught the Persian language, and the rest Mardthi. Twenty- eight of these schools were established in the large towns, and 27 in the villages. The teachers were Brdhmans, or Viddrs.* The teachers were paid a sum varying from two annas to one rupee per mensem by the parents of each pupil, according to their means. There are now 38 government schools, all of which have been estabhshed within the last six years. One of these, which is at the head-quarters of the district, is called the zild school, and has two branches in the town of Bhanddra; six are in the large towns and are termed town-schools; 26 are in villages, and are styled village schools ; and three are female schools. Many of the old town and village schools served as foundations for some of the existing institutions, on the introduction of the present system of education. In addi tion to these government institutions, there are 78 indigenous or private schools, 77 of which are Mardthi and one Urdd. These schools afford instruction to 7,324 children, of whom 7,109 are boys, and 215 girls. Ninty-nine of the boys are taught English, 90 are taught Urdd, and 6,920 Mardthi. All the girls are also taught Mardthi. Neat and commodious school-houses have now been built for the children ; and efficient teachers have been employed to educate them. A girls' school has been built in Bhanddra by Yddo Rdo Pande, one of the principal bankers of the town. The Brdhman and Viddr teachers, who educated the children under the former government, were not scholars, but men who endeavoured to get a living by keeping up schools. Education, before the establishment of the government schools, was generally carried no further than was sufficient to qualify for a profession. The educational establishment of the district consists now of a district inspector, 38 masters, and 23 assistant masters. The annual cost of schools amounts to Rs. 14,016. Of this sum Rs. 4,212 are paid from the imperialrevenues, Rs. 6,900 from the school cess fund, and Rs. 2,904 from the local funds. The management is conducted through local committees, composed of respectable natives of the towns and villages in which the schools are established, Illegitimate descendants of Brahmans. 68 BHAN The chiefships are situated near the eastern limits of- the district, from the left bank of the Waingangd on the north, to the Chietships. Chdndd boundary on the south. They are 25 in number — eight in the Kdmthd pargana, and seventeen in the Sangarhi and Pratdpgarh parganas of tahsil Sdkoli. Their names are A'mgdon, Arjuni, Bijli, Chichgarh, Chikhli, Ddngurli, Dawd, Dalli, Gond-Umri, Jamri, Kdmthd, Knajri, Khairl, Kanhargdon, Karargdon, Mahdgdon, Nansari, Umrl of pargana Pratdpgarh, Purdrd, Palkherd, Palasgdon, Parasgdon, Rdjoli, Tirkherf, andTurmd- purf. The most important and extensive of these estates is Kdmthd, which with Hattd was originally granted by Raghoji I., rdjd of Ndgpdr, to an ancestor of the present ohief of Kirndpdr, named Ram Patel, a Kunbi by caste, to bring into cultivation. The two estates of Kdmthd and Hattd, together with A'mgdon, Bijli, Palkherd, Purdrd-, and Tirkheri Malpuri, formed the Kdmthd zaminddri till a.d. 1856. Narbad Patel, a Lodhi by caste, obtained it on its confiscation, in 1818, from Chimnd Patel, nephew of Rdm, Patel, for the offence of rebellion against the Government. The zaminddrs of Kdmthd and Hattd were styled Patels till a.d. 1843. The Hattd estate was granted by Narbad Patel to his brother Sukal Patel, since which time it has been held distinct from Kdmthd, but continued in subordination to the elder branch of the family till A.D. 1856. The A'mgdon estate was granted away by Gondu Patel, brother of Rdm Patel, more than seventy years ago. The Palkherd estate was granted by Chimnd Patel, nephew of Ram Patel and third possessor of the Kdmthd tdluka, to his nephew Deo Patel. There is no record as to when, and by whom, the Purdrd estate was sliced off from that of Kdmthd. The Tirkheri Malpuri estate is said to have been granted in a.d. 1815 by Raghoji II. to the father ofthe present holder. The Kirndpdr, Bhadra, and Dasgdon estates are the next in importance, but the two former have been transferred to Bdldghdt, and Dasgdon has been broken up. The others are small zamindarls, but of more ancient origin. Ten years after Chimnd Patel lost the Kdmthd tdluka by rebellion he received the Kirndpdr tdluka, which has ever since been held by his family. The whole of these zamlnddris comprise an area of 1,509 square miles, which are formed into 571 villages, and contain a population of 166,005 souls, each square mile sup porting on an average 1 1 0 persons . The proportion of area under tillage is about one-fifth. The rest is composed of culturable waste, jungle, and hill. A brief account of each chiefship is given in its proper place. Of the earlier history of this district nothing is known, but tradition says T ad't' d h' t *^a* *"ae countiy was visited- by some great cala mity at a remote period, when a tribe of men called Gaulis or Gaidars overran and conquered it. The present Gaulis are a pastoral and wandering race of men, who encamp in the jungles and seldom visit villages, except to sell their cattle, dispose of the produce of the dairy, or. purchase provisions. There is a tradition that the country was at one time under the Mohammadan princes of the Deccan, but at the end of the seven teenth century it certainly belonged to the Gond Rdjd of Deogarh. Bakht Buland, the founder of this dynasty, turned Mohammadan in order to obtain the support of Aurangzeb. Under his rule a number of Lodhis, Rdjputs, Ponwdrs, Koris, Kards, and Kunbis were attracted into and settled in the district and the villages in the vicinity of the Waingangd ; Pauni especially improved in tillage from the industry and agricultural skill introduced by them. The Mardthds under Raghoji I. conquered the country about a.d. 1788, but it was not formally administered from Nagpdr until 1743. Under the Bhonslds a BHAN 69 number of the commercial and soldier classes — Marwdris, Agarwaris, Lingdits, and Mardthd Kunbis — came and estabhshed themselves in the district. When A'pd Sdhib's intrigues brought on hostilities with the British in a. d. 1817, the ladies of his palace, his jewels, and other valuable effects were sent by him for security to Bhanddra, whence they were escorted back to Nagpdr by the British troops after the surrender of the city of Ndgpdr. In a.d. 1818 Chimnd Patel, zaminddr of the Kdmthd and Wardd tdlukas, rebelled against the Govern ment, when Captain Gordon was deputed to Kdmthd, where he remained for three or four months, to quell the disturbance. In the same year Captain Wilkinson was appointed superintendent ofthe district, and proceeded to Kdmthd, where he remained till the end of a.d. 1820, and then removed to Bhanddra. Captain Wilkinson continued in Bhanddra till a.d. 1830, when Rdjd Raghoji III. having attainedhis majority, the management ofthe country was made overtohim. Rdjd Raghoji III. governed the country till his death in a.d. 1853. Onthe 1 1th October 1854 Captain C. Elliot was appointed deputy commissioner of the district, and no incident worthy ofnote has occurred since. The district continued perfectly tran quil even during the prevalence ofthe general rebellion in 1857 and 1858. Three companies of infantry and a small body of horsemen were stationed at Bhandara for the protection of the district till a.d. 1860, since when the police is the only armed force which has been maintained here. Under the Gond dynasty the country was divided into departments called „ j ¦ parganas, varying in the number of villages Revenue administration. r-, Y, j a a. j • a. a 1 n allotted to them, and m the aggregate amount of revenue demandable from them. The subdivisions were managed by officials called Huddedars, Desmukhs, and Despdndyds. These offices were abolished under the Mardthd government, and Kamdvisdars, Pharnavises, and Barar Pdn- dyds were substituted. The kamdvisddr was the head fiscal officer of the sub division. An estimate of the annual receipts and disbursements of his pargana was furnished to him in the month of August, according to which he regulated his demands. One or more villages were managed by a patel, who had a kotwdl and pdndyd to assist him. The patel fixed and collected the rents payable by the tenants. The pateli of a village was neither hereditary nor saleable. The sons of patels were, however, often allowed to succeed to the villages held by their father by sufferance, or by a new appointment from government. Leases were only given to tenants for one year at a time, the rent being liable to variation annually. The lands were divided into fields, each having a separate name, by which it was recorded in the village accounts. The lands were let to the highest bidder at the commencement of the agricultural year. In these settlements the patel acted as the government agent. A paper was main tained in each village called the " ldgwan," wliich showed in detail the rents of the tenants as concluded for the season. The revenue was divided into two portions — the first payable in three instalments in the months of September, October, and November, and the other in two instalments in the months of February and March. From the beginning of the Mardthd rule till a.d. 1792 the country prospered under a fair revenue demand, but thence forward the oppressive assessments, exaction of large nazars, and the realisation of the rents in advance, brought irretrievable embarrassments on the patels and tenants, and caused much land to be thrown out of cultivation. During thq minority of Raghoji III. the British government assumed the management of his country, and a new apportionment of the whole province was made into convenient divisions. 70 BHAN The district, then called the Waingangd district, was divided into thirteen parganas. Captain Wilkinson was appointed superintendent of the whole, and under him a kamdvisddr was appointed to each subdivision. The district now contains 1,772 villages, divided into nine parganas, and these again into two tahsils. The parganas of Pauni, Bhanddra, Ambdgarh, Chdndpdr, Tirord, and Rdmpdili form the Bhanddra subdivision, with the head-quarters at Bhan ddra. This tahsil contains 886 villages, and includes the full half of the district from north to south on the western side. The remaining half on the eastern side forms the tahsil of Sdkoli, with the parganas of Kdmthd, Sdngarhf, and Pratdpgarh, and a list of villages exactly equal to that in Bhanddra. The head-quarters of this subdivision are at Sdkoli, on the Great Eastern Road, about twenty-four miles from Bhanddra. A tahsilddr, with the usual staff of officials, manages each subdivision under the direction of the district officer, besides which there is an independent ndib tahsilddr at Tirord, in the Bhanddra tahsil. This officer has no treasury, but he assists in the general administration of the northern parganas. In 1867 a settlement of the government demand on account of land revenue for the term of thirty years for the whole district was completed, and the result was an assessment of Rs. 4,08,942. This is payable in two instalments, viz. in April and January. The settlement was made with regard to the present and prospective capacity of each village, and as the rate is very low, there is a large margin left for the encouragement of industry, and already the numerous improvements to tanks and wells, and a general exten sion of the cultivated area, attest the advantages of a fixed demand. The other revenues of the district are as follows : — Stamps, Rs. 37,749 ; excise, Rs. 55,921 ; assessed taxes, Rs. 50,515; forests Rs. 25,535 (1869). There were no established courts of justice during the Maratha reign, but Judicial and Police adminis- kamdvisddrs f^d patels administered justice tration. according to their own notions of right. There was no written law or custom which was either well understood or generally accepted. In matters of succession the Mohammadan law, in the case of Mohammadans, and the Hindd law, in the case of Hindus, was usually followed. Suits of above one thousand rupees in value generally came before the rajd, who either decided them himself, or referred them for decision to a panchdyat. Kamavisddrs were assisted by the pharnavises, bardr pdndyds, and head patels of their subdivisions. A fee of one-fourth, called "shukrdna," was levied from the winning party in all suits decided, and an equal sum was im posed on the party who lost, as fine. These sums were paid to the government. A fee of from five to ten rupees, called " bhdt masdlah," was also paid to the kamdvisddr, to defray the expense of summoning the defendants. The person- summoned had also to support the man who served the summons on him. In each village there was a mahdjan, or arbitrator, who was chosen by the patels and cultivators for the1 adjudication of their disputes. Among the lower classes the heads of the castes, styled " setyds," decided disputes referred to them. If the parties were dissatisfied, a panchdyat of setyds was convened, whose decision was generally final. The mahdjans and setyds were always persons of consider able consequence in their respective communities. Civil cases were decided by panchdyats. These generally assembled at a " chabutrd" (platform) where an idol of Mahddeva was placed, which was supposed to give the sanctity of an oath to any statement made there. The plaintiff, if a man of wealth, provided victuals, betel, tobacco, &c. for the members. Among the Gonds he provided liquor. The proceedings of ordinary village panchdyats were rarely recorded, except in the case of those assembled by the higher authorities. BHAN 71 when the sentences needed confirmation. The duty of seeing the decision carried into effect devolved on the person under whose authority the panchdyat was assembled. In criminal cases patels imposed small fines for petty offences. Offenders taken to the thdnas were generally flogged and confined in the stocks for fifteen, twenty, or thirty days, and if they were, in a condition to pay, fines were imposed on them. For house-breaking and theft they were punished at times by imprisonment in irons, confiscation of goods, flogging, detention in the stocks, and fine. For second offences they were punished by mutilation of hands, nose, and fingers. If the person robbed was also wounded, the punishment was generally mutilation; if murdered, the award was death. Brdhmans and women were excepted from this rule. Women guilty of the murder of their husbands were punished sometimes with mutilation of their noses. Pecuniary compensation was some times allowed if the relatives of the deceased agreed to the arrangement, the ordinary payment being Rs. 350 to the heirs of the person murdered. Coiners had one of their hands crushed to pieces with a blow from a heavy mallet or pestle. For fornication the person named by the woman was charged with the offence and fined heavily, part of the fine being carried to the govern ment account, and part taken by the officer imposing the fine. The woman was then made over to her caste people, to be dealt with according to their award. The deputy commissioner is now the chief judge in all cases — revenue, criminal, and civil — within the district ; he has also general control over all matters executive or administrative. The assistant commissioners exercise the judicial powers of their grade, and take up any share of the administrative business which the deputy commissioner may allot to them. The tahsilddrs are vested with subordinate judicial and fiscal authority within their circles. The stipendiary officers are assisted on the criminal side by honorary magis trates chosen from the more intelbgent and influential residents. The direction and distance of the country criminal courts from Bhanddra are given below : — Sdkoli 24 miles east. Murddrd 30 miles N.N. east. Tirord 24 miles N., where an independent ndib tahsilddr, officiating as tahsilddr, exercises judicial powers within the hmits of the northern parganas. There are station-houses of the police, each under a chief constable, at Bhanddra, Kdmthd, Sdkoli, Mohdri, Tirord, Rdmpdili, Arjuni (Pratdpgarh), and Pauni. There are also 1 6 outposts under the charge of head constables. The dis trict superintendent of police has his office at head-quarters. The old fort is used as the jail of the district. All classes of prisoners — cjvil, revenue, and criminal — are confined in it, the two first mentioned classes being accommodated in separate wards. There are seldom any revenue, and but few civil, prisoners in it. BHANDA'RA is the name of a revenue subdivision or tahsil in the district ofthe same name, having an area of 1,748 square miles, of which 757 are cul tivated, 384 culturable, and 607 waste. It contains 886 villages, and a population of 345,870, according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 2,80,760. This tahsil consists of two judicial subdivisions with a sub-office at Tirord. BHANDA'RA — The chief station and head-quarters of the district of the same name. It is situated on the Waingangd, close to the Great Eastern Road, 72 BHAN— BHE about thirty-eight miles east of Ndgpdr. The town contains 2,986 houses1, with a population of 12,753 souls, and has a considerable trade in cotton-cloth and hardware locally manufactured. The inhabitants are mostly Dhers, Koshtis, and Kdsdrs, with a fair sprinkhng of Mohammadans and Brahmans. As the head-quarters of the district, Bhanddra contains a district office, post-officei government dispensary, jail, police head-quarters, with district and town police station-houses, travellers' bungalow, assistant engineer's office, public library, . and government zild school. There are besides a female school and two indi genous schools — one for Mardthi, and the other for Persian and Urdd. The watch and ward and conservancy of the town are provided for from the town duties. The town is kept very clean and well drained, and is considered healthy. It is built entirely upon red gravel soil, so that even the lanes are easily kept dry and in good repair throughout the year. The well-water inside the town is generally brackish, but there are several wells of sweet water and some tanks just outside, while the river Waingangd runs at no great distance. BHA'NRER — A portion of the Vindhya hill system, of which it may be said, in the Jabalpdr district and Maihir state, to form the south-eastern face. The limits of the appellation are not very closely defined, but the Bhdnrer range may be taken to commence opposite Sdnkalghdt on the Narbadd, in the Nar singhpdr district, and to run in a north-easterly direction for some hundred and twenty miles, forming in its last section the upper boundary of the Maihir valley. The highest peak in these provinces of the Bhdnrer hills is Kalumbe or Kaldmar, which is 2,544 feet above the level of the sea. BHA'PAIL or BHA'PEL — A village in the Sdgar district, about ten miles to the west of Sdgar, celebrated for its annual fair, which is held in November. In 1868 it was attended by 50,000 people, and merchandise to the amount of Rs. 5,800 changed hands. BHARDA'GARH — A zamlndari consisting of forty villages, in the north of the Chhindwdrd district. The zaminddr is a Bhopd or hereditary guardian of the Mahadeva temples. BHATA'LA' — A village in the Chdndd district, situated twenty-six miles north-west of Bhdndak, and supposed to have formed part of the ancient Bhadrdvati. On a long hill near the village are the remains of a very fine ancient temple, lofty and in good preservation, and the whole hill bears traces of having been fortified, while at the foot are several tanks which once were approached by long flights of steps. Close by there is a quarry of excellent free-stone. BHATGA'ON — A small zaminddri in the Bildspdr district, south of the Mahdnadi. It is a fairly level tract, overlooked by the Phuljhar hills, and contains thirty-nine village_s, covering an area of sixty-two square miles. The extent of cultivation is 10,794 acres, while the culturable area amounts to 12,000 acres. The soil is fully up to the average of the Seorinardin pargana, and most of the villages are in a fairly prosperous condition. The population is 7,904, falling at the rate of 127 to the square mile. The zaminddr is aBijidby caste. BHEDAN or BASAIKELA'— A very old Gond chiefship now attached to the Sambalpdr district. It is said to have existed before the Chauhdn Rdjput dynasty, or some seven hundred years ago. It is situated about thirty miles to the south-south-west of the town of Sambalpdr, and consists of twenty-five villages, with an area of some fifteen square miles, the whole extent of which BHE— BHI 73 is cultivated. The population by the last census amounted to 7,115 souls, and is chiefly agricultural, the principal cultivating classes being Koltds, Saurds, Gonds, and Dumdls. The staple product is rice, but the pulses, oil-seeds, &c. are also grown. Tasar silk and coarse cotton-cloths are manufactured. The principal village is Bhedan, where the chief resides ; it has a population of 1,412 souls. There is an excellent school in this village, where some one hundred and forty pupils are receiving instruction ; and there are also schools in the surrounding villages. The father of the present chief joined the rebellion under Surendra Sd, and was killed in an action with our troops. The other members of the family surrendered under the amnesty, and the present chief, Baijndth Singh, a young man of some eighteen years of age, succeeded to the estate. He can read and write Uryia, and his relations all attend school. BHERA'GHAT — A village in the Jabalpdr district, situated on the banks of the Narbada, at a place where that river forces itself through perpendicular magnesian limestone rocks 120 feet in height. The scenery here is magni ficent. The best way to see it is to hire a boat in the cold weather, and to proceed up the river, wliich is as clear as crystal, between rocks that seem to meet overhead. The channel is devious, and every opening presents new features of beauty. In one place the river is so narrow that the natives call the pass the " monkey's leap." There is a myth that " Indra" made this channel for the waters of the pent-up stream, and that the footsteps of Indra's elephant are still to be seen. The marks on the surface of the rock which pass for these footsteps still receive the adoration of the ignorant and superstitious. The effect of the scenery is very much heightened by the bright light of the moon, which has a weird effect on these stupendous and sometimes grotesque masses of rock. Near this ghdt, which is only nine miles from Jabalpur, there are several conical hills, on one of which is rather a remarkable Hindd temple. The whole hill is covered with wood to the top, except on one side, where a sloping ascent has been made, and steps lined with masonry have been constructed. The temple consists of an inner shrine, and is surrounded by a circular cloister, in which are sculptures of many of the Hindd gods, among which represen tations of Siva predominate. Many of these images have been greatly injured by the Mohammadans. There is a tradition that most of this injury was done when a portion of Aurangzeb's army was encamped in the neighbourhood of Sangrdmpdr. Some rude excavations are also shown here in which ascetics are said to have lived. The view from the temple is exceedingly fine. A fair is held at Bherdghdt every year in November, rather for religious purposes than to promote trade. BHI'MLA'T — A small Gond village in the Bdldghdt district, about sixty-four miles due east of Seoni and twenty-eight miles east of Paraswdrd, on the Banjar river. Near the village is a curious stone pillar or lat, lying on the ground in a grove of mango. trees, which is said to be the lat of Rdjd Bhlm. It is cut out of a peculiarly fine-grained stone, and seems to have been brought from a distance, as no stone ofthe kind has yet been discovered in the district. It has no inscription on it. Bhimldt is also noted for having within its borders one of the finest Banian trees in the Central Provinces. The Banjar and the Jamdnid unite upon its borders. BHIRI' — A town in the Bdldghdt district, lying about four miles to the south-east of Paraswdrd. It is not a place of any great pretensions, but is chiefly noted for the best and most frequented market in the upland tracts of ¦ Bdldghdt. 10 CPG 74 BHI— BHU BHIRI' — An old village situated to the south-west of the Wardhd district, about twenty miles from Wardhd. The population amounts to 1,236 souls, most of whom are cultivators of the lands round ; but there are also a good many weavers. An annual fair of eight days' duration is held here at the time of the Hindd holiday of Janma Ashtami. Monday is the weekly market day, but the market is not of much importance. A village school has been established at Bhiri, and the customs department have a salt post here. The principal building is an old temple of carved stone dedicated to Gopdldeva. BHISI' — A town in the Chdndd district, of 600 houses, eleven miles north of Chimdr. It has a boys' school, a girls' school, and a police outpost. There is also a modern temple handsomely carved. BHITRI'GARH — A range of hills in the eastern part of the Jabalpdr district, bisecting the pargana of Kumbhi. There are remains of a fort on these hills near Bhitri. BHI WATU'R — A town in the Ndgpdr district, sixteen miles south-east of Umrer and forty -four from Nagpdr, on the road from Umrer to Pauni in Bhanddra. Close to it is a small river named the Mard, a tributary of the Waingangd. The town is closed in on the north and west by fine groves of mango trees and by a large tank. The population amounts to 4,557 persons, and is generally well to do. The octroi receipts have been spent by the local com mittee in the construction of two good metalled roads through the town, a new school-house, sardi, and market-place. A large public baoli, or well with steps leading down to the water, has been made in the market-place. Improvements are now going on in excavating the bed of a fine tank outside the town, and enlarging and converting into a road the high earthen retaining- wall. The appearance of the town is neat and clean, and the houses are generally good. A considerable amount of trade and banking is carried on, this last being mostly in the hands of A'garwald Mdrwarls, who have been long settled here. The cloth manufactured is considered inferior only to that produced at Nagpdr and Umrer. Bhiwapdr was a very early settlement of the Gonds, the original settler having been one Bhimsd, who, in the middle of the sixteenth century, built the now dilapidated fort, as a protection to his httle colony. Around this grew up a thriving town, early noted for its manufacture of silk and cloth. A poor blind Gond, confidently asserted both by himself and by the people to be the lineal descendant of the original founder of the town, still lives in the old fort, and receives a small pension from government. His only son is now a pupil in the government school, the last of his race, and probably the very first to cultivate the art of letters. BHOM ATtA — A village in the Rdlpdr district, lying fifty-six miles to the south-west of Rdlpdr, in the middle of the jungles of the Sanjdri pargana. It is noteworthy as being the place to which the forest produce of a large tract of country is brought. BHU'PA'LPATNAM — A zaminddri or large estate of the Bastar depen dency, containing about 700 square miles and 150 villages. It is the most western of the Bastar zaminddris, and lies partly on the Indrdvati, and partly »on the Goddvari. The zaminddr is a Gond. BHU'PA'LPATNAM — The chief place of the zaminddri of the same name in the Bastar state, thirty-two miles east of Sironchd. The population is BI-BIJ 75 about 600, chiefly Gonds, Kois, and Telingas. There is a high hill about eight miles to the south called Krishna Guttd, where a fair is held every February. BIA'S — A river rising in the hills of Sirmau in the Bhopdl state, close by the south-western boundary ofthe Sdgar district; it flows thence near Jaisinghnagar in a north-easterly direction, passing within ten miles of Sdgar, where it is crossed by a beautiful iron suspension-bridge, of 200 feet span, built by Colonel Presgrave, formerly mint-master at Sdgar, in the year 1832. From thence it still keeps in a north-easterly direction, and eventually falls into the Sondr near Narsinghgarh in the Damoh district. BIJERA'GHOGARH — A tract of country in the Jabalpur district. It is bounded on the north by the Maihir state, east by Rewa, and west by the Sleemandbdd tahsil and Pannd. The area is about 750 square miles. It has been thus described by the settlement officer — " The western half is a valley lying between the Kaimdr hills on the north, and a low range known as the Kainjdd on the south. The central portion of this valley appears to be generally high and arid, but there is a belt of rich land under each hill range. The population here belong chiefly to the Brdhman, Kurmi, and Kdchhl classes ; and the hill tracts of the Kainjdd are stated to be inhabited by Gonds. The eastern is the richest half, and contains a good deal of black soil, especially to the north. The southern part consists both of black and light soil, and is interspersed with hill and jungle. Here is a reserved government forest, managed by the forest department of the Central Provinces. The best lands in this portion of the pargana are occupied by Kurmis." The country is chiefly valuable for agricultural purposes, though there is some fine timber in the portion reserved as a government forest. Iron is also found at several places, and is smelted in the native method. Bijerdghogarh was formerly a protected chiefship belonging to a branch of the family which owns Maihir, but was confiscated in consequence of the excesses committed, in defiance of British authority, by the young chief and his followers in the critical times of 1857. The population amounts to about 7Q,000 souls. BIJERA'GHOGARH— The chief town, or rather village, of the tract of that name in the Jabalpdr district, containing a population variously estimated at from 1,200 to 1,500. There is a handsome, but comparatively recent, fort here, which was formerly the residence of the chiefs. Its outer defences are now partially dismantled, but the interior buildings have been until lately used as subdivisional revenue and police offices. The grounds attached to the fort are kept up as a public garden. The trade is not great, and there are only two bankers of any means in the town. BIJERA'GHOGARH — A small sdl forest of about thirty-one square miles in extent, lying chiefly on the banks of the (lesser) Mahdnadi, in the south-east corner of the pargana of that name in the Jabalpdr district. The timber has suffered much in former years from the dahyd system of cultivation practised by the aboriginal tribes, and will require rest for some years. BIJJI' — A zaminddri or large estate of the Bastar dependency, with an area of 850 square miles and 150 villages, is noted for its teak forests, which, though very extensive in former years, have been greatly over -worked. Teak is still exported in large quantities, though felling is said to have gone on 76 BIJ— BIL continuously here for the last forty years. The timber is dragged either to the Goddvari at Parnsdld, or the Sabari river at Kuntd, and from these points floated down to the coast. The population is scanty, and consists chiefly of Kois and BIJLI' — A chiefship on the north-eastern border of the Bhanddra district, consisting of forty-eight villages, with an area of 140 square miles, of which twenty-one are under cultivation, and a population of 8,704 souls. A good deal of valuable timber is foundin its forests. The present holders are Lodhis, and the majority ofthe population are Gonds and Lodhis. The village of Bijli itself is the only one of any size. One of the main district roads to Raipdr passes through this chiefship, and leaves it by the Darekasd pass, which has been recently improved and put in thorough repair. Near the pass there are some curious caves in the adjoining hills, partly natural and partly artificial. They are called " Kachagarh," or the fort of safety, and must have been very useful as a refuge in former times, having a good water-supply from a spring of water close by, and being difficult of approach owing to the denseness of the bamboo jungle. Just below the Darekasd pass there is a large pool of very deep water formed by the fall of the " Kuardds" stream from a height of about fifty feet. This is a favourite camping -ground of the Banjdrds ; and the scenery around is very grand and impressive. BUNA' — A river which rises in the Chhindwdrd district, and flows east, till it meets the Bdngangd. The junction occurs a few miles north-east of Chhapard. BIJUA' — A range of low hills situated about ten miles to the north-east of Sihord in the centre of the Jabalpdr district. They are composed of meta morphic rock. The highest peak is that of Bichua- BILATGARH — A chiefship in the Bildspdr district. This estate is similar to that of Bhatgdon, which it adjoins, namely, a generally level tract broken up by hills on its southern face. It contains fifty villages, and covers an area of 109 square miles. The soil is of average quality, and the staple produce is rice. The cultivated area is 10,977 acres, and perhaps twice as much may be culturable waste. The population amounts to 7,409, and falls at the rate of sixty-eight to the square mile, the low rate being attributable to the partially hilly character of the tract, and to the bad management of the chief, who is a Gond. BILATGARH — The head-quarters of the chiefship of that name in the Bildspdr district. Here are the remains of an extensive fort and the ruins of some ancient temples, showing that the town held formerly a position of considerable importance. It is now an insignificant hamlet, consisting of a few huts, which hold the personal retainers of the zaminddr. [Section I. — General description.] BIL 77 BILA'SPU'R *- CONTENTS. Page SECTION I.— General description 77 Area and appearance ib. Geological formation 78 Subdivisions 79 Description of KMlsa 80 Zamlndari jurisdiction ib. Government waste 82 Main traffic routes ib. Rivers 83 Eainfall and Climate ib. Towns and Markets 84 Temples 85 Forts 86 Tanks 87 SECTION II.— History ib. Antiquity of Ratanpur family ib. Chhattisgarh — origin of name 88 List of Rajas *¦ Traces of first R^jas 90 Surdeva and subsequent Rajas ib. End of Haihai Bansi dynasty 94 Restoration of Raghunath Singh ib. Bimb&ji Bhonsla 95 Vyankoji Bhonsla and Anandi Bai ib. Suba government 96 British protectorate ib. Change of system 97 Return to Native rule ib. Administration since annexation 98 Sonakhan outbreak ib. SECTION III.— Population 99 Its distribution ib. SECTION III.^Population (contmuei). Religious divisions 100 Chamars ib. Satnami religion 101 Pankas 103 Kabirpanthi faith 104 Pankas and Kabirpanthis 105 Hindu races ib. Gonds ib. Kanwars 106 Other hill tribes 107 Landholding castes 108 Habits of the people 109 Prevailing superstitions 110 Education Ill Crime 112 Cheapness of living 113 SECTION IV.— Resources ib. Agri cult oral plenty ib. Shifting tenures 114 Irrigation 115 Wheat and other staples ib. Exhaustion of soil 116 Minerals ib. Waste tracts 117 Eorest products 118 Industrial products ib. SECTION V.— Trade 119 Imports and Exports ib. The weaving trade 121 Administration ib. The most northerly of the eastern districts of the Central Provinces, forms „ , , . ... the northern section of that tract of country which Sec. l.-General descnphon. .g ^ ^^ ag ^ QhhMis gSiA plateau. It Area and appearance. .g situated tetween 21° 45' and 23° 10' of north latitude, and 81° 30' and 83°15'ofeast longitude, and is bounded on the north by the Sohdgpdr pargana belonging to the native state of Rewd, and by the Korid and Sirgdja chiefships subordinate to the Commissioner of Chotd Nagpdr, on the east by the Udepdr estate of Chotd Ndgpdr and the zamindarls ofthe Sambalpdr district, on the south in the main by the open plain of the Rdipdr district, and on the west by the hilly tracts of Mandla and Bdlaghdt. The extreme length of the district north and south is 108 miles, its extreme breadth east and west 136 miles, and it comprises an area of 8,800 square miles. This extensive area possesses, as might be anticipated, marked and varied natural features. If the Chhattisgarh country be regarded as the basin ofthe Mahdnadi, with the tract surrounding the centre open and cultivated, the approaches to the sides wild and woody, and the sides themselves irregular ranges of hills, then the Bildspdr district would be described with fair accuracy as the upper half of this basin. It is almost enclosed on three sides, viz. on the north, west, and east by ranges of hills, while its southern boundary, which extends along the line of the Rdipdr district, is generally open, accessible, and cultivated. The outer boundaries of the district are fairly well defined. The western hills, which may best be de scribed as the "Maikal Range," run continuously in a south-westerly direction from Amarkantak, which is situated at the north-western extremity of the district, and * This article is almost entirely extracted from Mr. Chisholm's Settlement Report on Bilaspur. 78 BIL [Section I.— General description;] merge in the Sdletekri range of the Bhanddra district. From the same point irregular blocks of hills run east, wedging in the district on the north. This irregular chain of hills, though known in each limited locality under special desig nations, is really a part of the " Vindhyan range,*" which stretches from east to west across the whole continent of India. On the eastern boundary the Korbd hills, offshoots of the Vindhyas, running south for some distance from the main range, fringe the plain ; and although these hills strike east into the Sambalpdr district, and leave a break of open country in the vicinity of the Mahdnadf, no sooner is the river crossed than the Sondkhdn block of hills present themselves as a formidable barrier, thus almost completing a semicircle of hills enclosing the plain. Of these different ranges the northern or Vindhya range constitutes, as far as theBildspdr district is concerned, the most important and extensive series of hills. They run along, as it were, the whole face ofthe plain, here thrusting forth an arm or throwing up an isolated peak, and advancing boldly into the level country, there receding into deep hollows and bays, usually covered with luxuriant vegetation. It is from some of the offshoots of this northern range that the best idea can be formed of the natural features of the country. For this purpose there is perhaps no better point than the " Dahld hill," which stands right out in the plain, isolated and detached, at a distance of fifteen miles east of Bildspdr. The sides of this hill are rocky and precipitous, its shape peaky and conical, and it rises very abruptly to a height of 2,600 feet. These peculiarities render it a prominent landmark capable of identification from spots divided and distant, and familiarises it to the people as a silent sentinel of locality. From the summit is seen on one side a great expanse of plain, stretching as far as the eye can reach ; on the other this open country is hedged in by irregular ranges of hills, throwing their reflection in dark shadows on the green surface below. The open country is dotted with villages, which are easily distinguishable in the landscape, even when the huts of the peasantry are hid from view by the one or mor.e tanks in their vicinity, the waters of which sparkle in the sun light, and by the mango, pipal, and tamarind trees, more or less numerous, "which cluster round the village site and break the dull monotony of level plain. The following notice of the geological formation of the district is quoted r, , ¦ , e . ¦ from the Records of the Geological Survey of Geological formation. ^ ^ j^ ^^ ^ L ^ ^ p_ ^ _ 3 " From the Hasdd and the plains of Bildspdr the main mass of the crystalline rocks, which greatly predominate, lies to the north-west, forming the hilly region of Mdtin, while the numerous and almost detached areas of the secondary rocks (chiefly of the talcheer series) are extensions from the eastwards, where the table-topped hills of Udepdr appear to be formed altogether of the sandstones. With this extension of that series of rocks is connected the small coal basin of Korbd. On the Mdtin hills themselves a few remnants of the upper sandstones stand up like old fortresses on the highest summits. " Over the area lying between the Korbd coal basin and the plains of Bildspdr there is no continuous high ground. Isolated ridges, mostly of inconsiderable elevation, and composed of the crystalline rocks, occur. "In this region of the Mahdnadi, as also in that of the Goddvari drainage basin, the only knowledge we had of the structure of the country * It is questionable whether the term " Vindhya" should be applied south of the Narbadd Section I. — General description.] BIL 79 was derived from the Reverend Mr. Hislop's exertions. He had, however, confounded rocks belonging to two distinct series between the deposition of which there had been an immense interval of time. The great plains of Chhattisgarh were coloured as belonging to the same series as the coal field of Korbd. In reality, however, the rocks belong to that very much older series to which the general name of Vindhyan has been given. These cover an area of more than 12,000 square miles, limestone being the prevalent rock. On the north they abut against the crystalline rocks ; on the west they pass under the Deccan traps ; to the south-west stretch to an unknown (as yet) distance in the valley of the Mahdnadi; to the south-east they rest upon crystalline rocks, and to the east they are crushed up with, and upon, similar rocks in a complicated manner. The more recent talcheer rocks are filled with debris from these, but nowhere was the actual contact or superposition visible." The natural divisions of the country have had extended to them from a remote period different modes of detailed revenue u .visions. management, corresponding in the main with their physical features. Thus, the hilly area, covering 5,800 square miles, is almost entirely held by large landed proprietors called zaminddrs, who have always occupied a somewhat independent position, while the open country, with an area of 3,000 square miles, is known as " Khdlsa" jurisdiction, or the tract under direct revenue management through mdlguzdrs. All that is wild, pic turesque, and beautiful in the district is contained in the former, but in the latter or " khdlsa " area alone has population advanced, cultivation increased, and anything like material progress been attained. It is usually to the " khdlsa " that reference is made when points arise in connection with the district, for the zamlnddrls generally are so inaccessible, so thinly peopled, and so backward that they count for comparatively little in ordinary administration. Bila'spu'r <( These different tracts may now Present Parganas. Former Tdlukas. Bijapur.Takhtpur. Baloda. Ratanpiir. Karanji. Bartori. Malhar. Okhar.Bitkuli.Mungeli. Nawagarh. Mungeli' J Mjiru. l)an. Gurha. Patharia. Kharod. Khokra.Bind. TJr^ Khera. Kikarda. Nawagarh. Akaltard.Bhtitia. ,. Sarsua. Seobi'naba'in be briefly described. The " Khdlsa" comprises three parganas, with a tahsil station at the head-quarters of each. The most westerly is the Mungeli par gana, the eastern boundary of which is the Manidri river. The central pargana is Bildspdr, lying in the main between the Manidri stream on the west and the Lild- gar stream on the east, but comprising the tracts of Lormi and Bdlodd. Outside the limit of these streams is Seorinardin, the most easterly pargana, containing the tract of country lying east of the Lildgar stream. This arrangement of parganas is of modern origin, but it renders the jurisdiction of the sub-collectorates in every way convenient and compact. The old division was into tdlukas. In the margin is given a detail of the old tdlukas, indicating the manner in which they have been absorbed in the new 80 BIL [Section I. — General description.] The khdlsa parganas are closely studded with villages, and, except at two __.._. . T., ,_ or three points where khdlsa and zaminddri Description of Khalsa. -,. . a 1 a. i ,. areas adjoin, you may travel over the length and breadth of the entire tracts, encountering — to employ a familiar metaphor — no eminence higher than an ant-hill, and no forest tree bigger than a bramble bush. But although, as thus explained, the villages in khdlsa jurisdiction are numerous, and the cultivation extensive, it would be a mistake to suppose that the country presents a generally unbroken and continuous sheet of cultivation. The nature of the surface and soil alike prohibit this result. The whole plain is a series of undulations, sometimes a long stretch of sandy or stony upland, alter nating gently with a long expanse of low-lying rice land ; at others the alter nations are more abrupt, the surface irregularly wavy, and ravines and beds of streams frequent and prominent. A Chhattisgarh village is not ordinarily an inviting object of inspection. A cluster of mud huts packed closely together, with no kind of order or arrangement, and intersected by narrow and circuitous paths which seem to have no proper commencement or end. In most cases " distance lends enchantment to the view," for the best villages have then their baldness hidden by clusters and groves of trees of varied tint and hue, peeping from under which the most conspicuous objects are not always the thatched houses of the people, but the whited spires or domes of two or three ancient temples. Speaking generally, however, the plain is singularly destitute of shade. Like all tracts where clearance has been going on, it has been cleared too much. In the Bildspdr and Seorinardin parganas there are a fair number of viUages possessing more or less extensive mango-groves, but in the Mungeli pargana such villages are few, and there is consequently no part of the district which in the hot-weather months looks more bleak and desolate, or in wliich moving about is more trying and irksome. Turning to the Zaminddri jurisdiction we find the surrounding circum- „ . ,, , . .... stances entirelv different, and see that in the wilder Zamindari jurisdiction. , , • J . ¦ -i a /. -i . • at. tracts man is making but feeble way against the forces of nature. The marginal entry shows in detail the zamindarls of the district. In two in stances alone — Sakti and Kawardd — have the chiefs been acknowledged as feudatories. The Pendrd zaminddri occupies the north-western corner of the district. It is entirely situated on the hilly uplands of the Vin dhyan range, and presents a varied aspect of hill and dale . At one time is met a vast forest, the unvarying shade broken only here and there by seas of high- t waving grass, and with no indication far and wide of human habitation ; at another a cleared and open valley __ t* I-203 S 1 23 4 5 6 78 9 10 1112 13 14 15 Name of Chiefship. Pendra . ¦ . Matin . . Uprora . . . Kenda ¦ ¦ . Lapha . . Chhuri .. Korba ... Champa . Sakti Bhatg&on . BilaigarhKatangi . Pandaria . Kawardd . Madanpur . Jurisdiction. Ordinary. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Feudatory.Ordinary. Do.Do. Do. Feudatory. Ordinary. [Section I. — General description.] BLLi ol is found, from which the jungle has disappeared and been replaced by thriving village communities. The Mdtin estate lies east of Pendra, and further east again is the Uprord chiefship. These three adjoining zamindarls form together the extreme northern section of the Bildspdr district. Matin and Uprord, like Pendrd, are situated on the hilly uplands of the Vindhyan range, but, unlike Pendrd, they contain no open valleys which have been reclaimed and utilised. The majority of the villages that exist convey no impression of permanence, and are only solitary breaks in a vast mountain wilderness. This is perhaps the wildest part of country in Chhattisgarh, and here it is that the shattered forest trees, the broken and crushed bamboo clumps, the hollows and footprints in a hundred marshes and watercourses, indicate the presence of wild elephants. This fact realised, and the paucity of settlers ceases to surprise. The tale is often told how in a night the struggling tenant sees disappear the crop which has occupied the labour of months, and with no food left for himself and family, finds his only alternative is to seek, not figuratively, but literally, a new field for his exertions. Entire destruction of crop, however, is very unusual, for ordinarily the slightest enclosure acts as a protection. It may be said that the wild elephants are confined, as far as the Bildspdr district is concerned, to these two chiefships. Occasionally a herd may roam into the adjoining zamindarls at that most unwelcome of all periods, when the rice crop is ripening, but from Mdtin and Dprord, unless when hunted, they are never absent, and may be seen at any time on the wooded slopes of the Hasdd river, in the shady depths of the forest, or near some splashing waterfall, or deep still pool in the bed of a mountain torrent. As the chiefship of Pendrd, Matin, and Uprord are in a line — one estate lying east of the other — so south of these, also in a hne, lie the chiefships of Kendd, Ldphd, and Chhdrl. The most westerly of these is Kendd, lying south of Pendrd, then comes Ldphd falling south of Mdtin, and finally Chhdrl south of Uprord. These three zamindarls, though largely covered with hill and forest, have yet fair stretches of open country, and as at their southern extremity they abut on khdlsa jurisdiction, their waste lands often come to be taken up by the discontented spirits of the plain. From the position of these six chiefships — lying three abreast from east to west — it is clear that from the north, viz. from the side of Rewd and Mirzdpdr, there is no direct access to the' open country of the Chhattisgarh plain without passing over several ranges of hills, and encoun tering difficulties aDd drawbacks of no ordinary character. A large portion of the eastern extremity of the district is monopolised by the Korbd zaminddri, which is a very extensive chiefship. It lies to the east of Uprord, Chhdrf, and Khdlsa jurisdiction, extending from the hills and fastnesses of the extreme north to the very heart of the level country. The northern section of the estate is very wild and inaccessible, and though the southern section has large tracts open and well cultivated, yet even here there is a great deal of forest, and frequent interruptions by low ranges of hills. Adjoining Korbd to the south are the two smaU estates of Sakti and Chdmpd, which in the main consist of open country, and require no special remark. Leaving Sakti and Chdmpd there is a stretch of khdlsa jurisdiction up to the Mahanadi river, after crossing which there are, made up with some khdlsa villages and government forests, which have been reserved, three small chiefships, viz. Bhatgdon, Bilaigarh, and Katangi, comprising in each case a compact tract of level country with hills in the back ground, stretching from this point almost uninterruptedly to the wilds of Bastar. The western zamlnddrls alone remain for description, namely," Kawarda 11 CFG oi JjIIj [Section I. — General description.] and Pandarid. They have each a large stretch of level country extending from the base of the Maikal range as far as the Mungeli pargana. This portion of the chiefships is generaUy open and cultivated. The area covered with hill and forest continues from the margin of the plain right into the mountainous tracts of Bdldghdt and Mandla, and thus on the western side, as on the north, these hill-ranges operate as an effectual barrier to easy communication with the Chhattisgarh plain. To complete the roll of zamlnddrls, it need only be added that the small and divided estate of Madanpdr adjoins Pandarid, and is mixed up with the khdlsa villages of Mungeli. It is settled and cultivated, and possesses no special characteristics. This detailed description of khdlsa and zaminddri jurisdiction remains incomplete without a reference to the government wastes. The most important section of these wastes stretches from the base of the Amarkantak range over a vast extent of hill and forest, comprising the tracts known as the Lamni, Lorml, Bijdpdr, and Kori jungles, down to the cultivated plain. All the hilly area lying between the Pandarid zaminddri on the west, the Kendd zaminddri on the east, the Pendrd chiefship on the north, and the open khdlsa lands ofthe south, constitute a separate government waste at the future disposal of the district authorities. Running east from this point, and skirting the zamlnddrls of Kendd, Ldphd, and Korbd, excess wastes have been separated, but these ordinarily are very limited. The most extensive tract is the Bitkuli waste, which contains much valuable timber and extensive resources in bamboos and grass. Independent of these main tracts there are isolated patches, here and there in the plain which, having been entirely cleared of timber, are only useful for grazing purposes. Across the Mahdnadi, however, there is a large tract of government forest called Sond- khdn, the deserted and confiscated estate of a former zaminddr, 16,000 acres of which have been purchased by an English gentleman under the waste-land rules. Adjoining this tract is the forest department teak -reserve of Hdthibdri, and the unreserved wastes of Mahdrdji. Such, concisely, is the position ofthe government wastes in the district. The traffic routes ofthe district are five in number, the three most important ,. . , „ of which are ruge-ed and inaccessible, quite unfit Main tramc routes. « 1 i . • • n i i ¦,_¦ c for wheeled carriage, and only admitting ol export or import by means of pack-bullocks during six months of the year. There are the two northern routes, one leading from the Chhattisgarh plain through Kendd, Pendrd, and Sohdgpdr to Rewd, the other through Ldphd, Chhdri, Uprord, and Sirgdja to Mirzdpdr. Both these routes are, through a great portion of their length, simply tracks across the hills and through the jungles, along which few traders or travellers would venture alone. They proceed through so difficult a country (part of which is in foreign territory), and extend over so great a distance, that there seems little prospect of much ever being done to open communications in this quarter. The necessity too is not pressing now that, owing to the opening of the Railway from Jabalpdr, the trade will tend westward. The construction of a line of road from the plains of Chhattisgarh, through Mandla, to Jabalpdr, is the most urgent want of this district, and until this is undertaken as an imperial work, to act as a feeder to the railway, the tract of country here must continue in a comparatively backward and undeveloped condition. At present the line followed by Banjdrds resembles the northern routes — a circuitous track over hills and valleys intersected by numerous streams, the rocky beds of which present most formidable obstacles. [Section I. — General description.] BIL 83 This hilly and difficult country extends over a distance of about one hundred miles, and even if, without being metalled, it were made* throughout its length a good cold-weather road, with the ghdts properly sloped, and the small streams 'bridged so as to admit of cart traffic, an outlet would be afforded for the surplus produce of this district, and a great impulse given to its prosperity. The whole drainage and river system of the district centres in the Mahdnadf . . _ . The general flow of the streams is from the northern and western hills south and eastwards. These hills, however, constitute a distinct watershed, and are the source of streams which, flowing north and west, and leaving the Chhattisgarh country behind them, gradually gather volume, and assume in their onward course the dignity of rivers. Such are the Son, which first sees the light in a marshy hollow in Pendrd, and the Narbadd, rushing picturesquely over the rocky heights of Amarkantak. The Mahdnadi enters the Bildspdr boundary eight miles west of Seorinarain, and as it only flows for twenty -five miles at the south-eastern extremity of the district, it has not much local importance. It is navigable for six months from Seorlnardin to the coast, but the frequency of rocky barriers renders the navigation by no means an easy task. In this district, however, there are no barriers, the bed being open and sandy, and banks usually low, bare, and unattractive. In the rains the Mahdnadi is a magnificent river, attaining in places a breadth of two miles, and during sudden floods a vast volume of water often submerging the low-lying land in its vicinity, and present ing the appearance of a large inland sea. The contrast, however, between the Mahdnadi in September and the Mahdnadi in May is something astounding. In the hot-weather months it is nothing more than a narrow and shallow channel in a vast expanse of sand, and is then almost at any point forded with ease. The affluents of the Mahdnadi partake of its general character, being propor tionately mighty and formidable in the monsoon months, and comparatively insignificant during the hot season. The most important of its affluents are the Seondth and Hasdd. The minor streams are the Sakri, the Hdmp, the Tesud, the A 'gar, the Manidri, the Arpd, the Kharod, the Lildgar, the Jonk, and the Baref. In the margin are tables showing the average rainfall and the temperature -_.„,. , _,. in each month for some years. As a rule the Kaintall and Climate. . <• ¦ ¦, ¦, -, ¦ -, -, , , rams are fairly regular and copious, and drought w 7,7 /• t> ¦ f 77 rarely occurs. The climate, though inveighed lable of Kamfall. against and dreaded by strangers, is not specially unhealthy. Cholera and fever are the great scourges of the plain, so much so as almost to assume an endemic character. But as regards cholera there have been special local and removeable causes acting as aggravating agents, among the chief of which may be mentioned the fact that the pilgrim route to Jaganndth passed through the plain, and was crowded dui'ing the hot- weather months with a throng of weary and exhausted devotees, among whom the Years. Average Rainfall. 1862 53-86 1863 57-31 1864 62-82 1865 53-93 1866 35-98 1867 3770 1863 30-69 * This will now be undertaken. 84 BIL [Section I. — General description.] disease almost invariably broke out, and was disseminated oyer the whole country. This passage of pilgrims has for two years been prohibited with the best results, there having been during this period no outbreak at all. Then fever, , though very prevalent, does not seem of a worse type than that common to almost all parts of the Table of Temperature. province, and until some kind of reliable mortuary statistics are matured, and have exhibited com parative results for a series of years, it is quite an open question whether the Chhattisgarh fever is more than ordinarily fatal. Small-pox prevails about the end of the cold weather months, but not to an extent greater than elsewhere. It must be acknowledged, how ever, that each season seems to possess its pre vailing type of disease. In the hot weather we have generally cholera, though its outbreak at this time seems to be connected, as noted, with the passage of pilgrims, now interdicted. In the 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. Months. asa« 6 03 T3 aj a 1 a a J 0. t_ aj af_a«a aa . '«-S «-S a 3 §¦ 03a a s a ^^ 93 ia '8 S ¦ar CDiso "miw 02 Vo i-3 a. s -ar a cao *1 -a,PHs o January. . . . 98 38 97 45 98 37 92 45 February . . 98 45 85 59 99 39 102 51 March .... 100 55 105 59 103 6.! 101 62 120 65 110 60 106 63 101 62 107 65 115 72 116 64 110 72 105 76 101 66 116 75 103 76 96 73 100 69 110 73 99 70 August .... 105 74 100 70 99 72 99 68 September. . 100 72 101 67 96 74 100 76 October. . . . 96 60 96 65 98 59 94 6; November. . 86 49 91 40 98 51 89 61 December 95 46 89 38 94 41 88 55 -1868 was an exceptional year, and is therefore not Note.- quoted. rains and at their close fever sets in, and about the close of the cold-weather months small -pox. The climate itself, though relaxing, is not oppressive. From the middle of April till the middle of June hot winds prevail, and the heat is at times very trying. Still it is mild compared with the Upper Provinces, and showers, which are not unusual even at this period, supply a cool day now and again, while the nights, as a rule, are very bearable. After the first heavy fall of the monsoon the climate is cool and agreeable, and pankhds can often be dispensed with entirely. There are comparatively few close, muggy, windless days, and the few that are experienced are soon forgotten from the welcome deluge of showers which is sure to succeed them. The cold weather is not bracing, but altogether from November to February is a very pleasant period. Towns and Markets. The towns in the district containing more than 5,000 inhabitants are Ratanpdr, Bildspdr, and Kawardd. The names of the small townships, or rather large villages, are given in the Seorinarain. 1. Pandai-ia. margin. By Kharod. 2. Pandataral. thelast census Khokra. 3. Pendra. -r, , / „._ Nawagarh. 4. Chhdri. Ratanpdr •con- Sfiragaon. 5. Chdmpa. tamed O,iyo inhabitants, 1. Takhtpur. 1. Mungel.. 2. Nawagarh. 1. 2. Lormi. a. 3. Ganiari. 3. Mam. 3. 4. Ghutku. 4. 5. Baloda. 5. [Section I. — General description,] BIL 85 Bildspdr 6,110, and Kawardd over 5,000. centres as it were in Ratanpdr. The whole history of the plateau The marked absence of towns soon strikes a visitor to Chhattisgarh, and is the more singular that the entire plain is covered with hamlets. It arises from the fact that the people are a simple agricultural community, requiring few of the luxuries which have become necessities in more advanced localities. The tract too possesses, but little amassed wealth, having lain for so long a period distant and remote from all the regular channels of trade. All the demands of the people are fully satisfied by the weekly markets, which are very numerous all over the district. There are, however, no less than 1 70 regular markets, some few of which are held twice a week. The largest bdzars are those of Bdmindi in the Chdmpd zaminddri, Ganidri and Takhtpdr in the Bildspdr pargana, and Mungeli in the Mungeli pargana. These are well known markets at which cattle are largely sold, and are frequented every week by thousands of purchasers, the articles exposed for sale being usually of greater variety than is found at smaller gatherings. The display on the whole at these bdzars to an English taste does not seem very inviting ; more, however, with reference to the mode of its arrangement and exhibition than actually as regards the articles themselves. There is grain of every description] sweetmeats, fish, fruits, vegetables, glass bangles, and other adornments ; baskets, and mat-work ; embroidery, spices, sugar, cocoanuts, metal drinking-vessels, and plates ; iron, and large supplies of cloth, both of English and Native manufacture. The market is sometimes held in a convenient mango-grove, which affords pleasant shelter and shade to all comers, but more usually in some open space near the village, affording neither shelter nor shade, and consequently both in the hot weather and monsoon many of these bdzdrs are but scantily attended. It is strange that cowries should still be found almost the sole medium of exchange among the great bulk of the people ; but, that they are so, is clearly observable on all market days, when it will be noticed that nearly everything purchased is paid for, not in copper, but in cowries. There is no question, however, that while most commodities remain cheap, cowries form a convenient unit for satisfying the petty requirements of the poorer classes, and render them somewhat reluctant to adopt copper, the unit in which does not reach so low. The temples in Temples. structures, either in At Ratanpur. 1. Mahdtnai. 2. Rampahari. 3. Briddheswar. 4. Bhairavanath. 5. Narbadeswar. 6. Kichri Kedarndth. 7. Khantideva. S. Girjaban. 9. Sangameswar. 10. Jagannath. 11. Lachhminarain. the district are very numerous, verifying local tradition as to the great antiquity of the ancient Hindd govern ment. They are almost invariably large stone the shape of an obelisk or a dome, with a long pillared portico in front of the doorway. The carved images are generally very rude, and if here and there a graceful figure or outline is traced, the whole effect is ruined by the immediate proximity of another figure either grotesque or hideous. The names of the most ancient and noted temples are given in the margin. Most • of these are at least from eight hundred to one thousand years old, and are de voted to the service of the different Hindd deities. The most ancient At Seorinarain. Narain. (At Kharod.) 13. Lakhneswar. 14. Seori Debi. (At Janjgir.) Mahadeva. (At Pali, village of Lapha zaminddri.) Mahadeva. (AtChapra, village of Kawardd feuda tory.) 17. Buramdeva. 12 15. 16 86 JdIJj [Section I. — General description.] temple is that of Buramdeva at Chdprd village near Kawardd, which, if the year inserted on its tablet can be relied on, was built in a.d. 103. The inscription sets forth that one of the Haihai Bansi rdjds of Ratanpur tried to prevent its construc tion, but was repulsed. It is built of large blocks of stone closely set, but with out lime cement, and'is picturesquely situated on the banks of a tank. The only image it contains is that of a cobra, which in itself points to a very early period, when fetichism in the form of snake-worship was at least common, if not universal, and certainly before Hinddism held complete sway. The Pali temple is the best specimen of ancient native architecture in the district, and is therefore the only one that need be described in detail. It is to be regretted that timely care has not preserved the original structure intact, for, judging from the portion still uninjured, the entire building must have been elaborately and tastefully finished, and is eminently deserving of preservation. Outside there is a dilapidated desolate air, owing to the slabs and other debris of the temple, which are scat tered everywhere, telling their tale of desertion and decay. What now remains is a large octagonal dome, acting as a portico to an inner building formerly dedicated to the service of Mahadeva. As you enter the dome you are at once struck with the minute and elaborate carvings which extend from the floor to the very summit of the building. The dome is supported by pillars, on all of which are images of mythological characters famous in Hindu legend and song. Above these pillars the lower circle of the dome is a series of minute figures, often chiselled into the most fantastic shapes, the figures running one into another in happy confusion. From this lower circle of petty and fantastic figures to the top of the dome is on all sides a continued line of tasteful carving. The most elaborate workmanship, however, is found at the entrance door to the inner building. Much of the carving here is so minute and so exquisitely executed, that the eye seems ever discovering new beauties. The portals are guarded by two imposing figures, which, in form and proportion, are fair specimens of native art. Above the doorway is much careful chiselling, as of cabinet work, while the panels have carvings of flowers modelled with great care and skill. All round the doorway is a mass of carving almost oppressive from its extent and continuousness — dwarf figures in every variety of attitude; animals, amongst which the sacred bull stands prominent ; birds represented by the pigeon and goose, — the whole work a fitting monument to the taste and ingenuity of the sculptor, whose name tradition has not condescended to hand down. This Pdll temple is said to have been built by Jdjal Deva, rdjd of Ratanpdr, in the tenth * century, and from the nature of many of its carvings, as also the name Pdli, is not improbably of Buddhist origin, subsequently modified by the Hindds. Of the forts in the district the two principal — Ratanpdr and Ldphd — have p already been alluded to. They are the most ancient and the most imposing structures. The great majority ofthe minor forts consist simply of a high earth embankment surrounded by a ditch, supplying a ready protection at a time when the country was overrun by bands of robbers, who plundered the people. In these peaceful days, when men's swords are turned into plough-shares, these formidable enclosures are no longer tended, and show rents and gaps indicating, happily, the desuetude into which they have fallen. There is some stirring legend associated with each fort, which the village bard recites at times to an admiring audience, belauding perhaps the ancestor of some landholder who is present, or else verifying the omnipotent character of some local god. The grand want, which these forts now supply, is a certain amount of irrigation from their deep ditches [Section II. — History.] BIL 87 for the sugarcane crop, so that, when situated between two villages, a dispute the settlement department had often to settle was the quantity of water fairly apportionable to each. One prominent feature remains to be alluded to, and that is the great number of tanks found scattered all over the district. All but newlyrestabhshed and small villages have at least one tank ; large villages have five or six, and Ratanpdr has, within its boundaries, one hundred and fifty. The settlement statistics show a total of 7,018 tanks, and although these include, under the name of tanks, reservoirs of a very petty kind, yet an adequate idea may be formed from these figures of the extent to which tanks have been constructed. There is perhaps no more sacred duty, in the eyes of a comfortable landholder than to devote his surplus to the digging of a tank. Then follows the ceremony of marriage, when the Brdhmans are fed, and a great high pole is placed in the centre ; and this completed, the high embankment is fringed with mango trees. There are very many remarkably picturesque tanks thus lined with shade, but none containing a large sheet of water. In fact tanks of extravagant dimen sions were beyond the means of the people, and the two largest — Rdni Talao, of Ratanpdr, and the tank of Jdnjgir — are not really of any note, except by comparison with others in their vicinity. The prevalence of tanks has placed wells at a discount, and until within the last three years they were in the interior absolutely unknown. Local effort, however, having been unremitting in promoting their construction, there are now several hundred wells, but so inveterate are the proclivities engendered by habit, that though demonstrably the well-water is purer, the people stick to their tanks, and declare that, though the water may be muddy from the wallowing of cattle, it is, all the same, sweet and palatable. The annals of Bildspiir go back to a very early age, and are connected TT . with the history of the Haihai Bansi kings of ection .— i ory. Mandla, Ldnjl, and Ratanpdr. The earliest Antiquity of Ratanpur tamily. -, j ¦ n ,¦> t> a t m . aa/ . n J r J recorded prince of the Ratanpdr or Chhattisgarh line was Mdrta Dhvaja, whose fabled adventures with Krishna are related in the Jaimini Purdna (Jaiminiya Aswamedha). The story runs that Krishna, disguised as a Brdhman, asked half of Murta Dhvaja' s body to test his faith. Mdrta Dhvaja consented to be sawn in two ; but when the operation was com mencing, Krishna revealed himself, and showered blessings on the head of the devout prince. It is said that, in consequence, the use of the saw was entirely prohibited in the Chhattisgarh country, and was only reintroduced under Mardthd rule. It would appear then that from the very earliest period of ascertainable history until the advent of the Mardthds in the eighteenth century this Haihai Bansi dynasty ruled over Chhattisgarh. The traces of their rule are found in tanks and temples scattered over the country, in the ruins of many edifices at their capital, Ratanpdr, and in all the traditions of the people. But unfortunately no local annals exist of these princes, from which could be compiled anything like a detailed history. The only sources of knowledge on the subject are to be found in disconnected old documents, many of them worn and tattered, in the possession of Rewd Rdm Kdyath and Durgd Datt Shdstri, the descendants, re spectively, of a former diwdn and priest of the family, and also in various Sanskrit inscriptions, which have been written on tablets from time to time in different temples. The information thus obtained, though meagre and incomplete, has been thrown into a narrative form as continuous as the materials available admitted. 88 BIL [Section II. — History.] The Chhattisgarh rdjds ruled originally over thirty-six forts, and thus the __, , , , ... tract came to be called Chhattisgarh, or the coun- Chhattisgarh-ongin of name. ^ of thirty.sk forts_ The thirty-six forts were as follows, and are arranged with reference to the subsequent distribution, render ing them subordinate to the senior and junior branches of the family, ruling respectively at Ratanpdr and Rdipdr : — 1. Ratanpur. 1. Rdipdr. 2. Mdrd. 2. Pdtan. 3. Bijdpdr. 3. Sim gd. 4. Kharod. 4. Sringarpdr. 5. Kotgarh. 5. Laun. 6. Nawdgarh. 6. Amir a. 7. Sonti. 7. Drug. 8. Okhar. 8. Sdrdd. 9. Pandarbhdtd. 9. Sirsd. 10. Simdrid. 10. Mohdi. 11. Madanpdr (Chdmpd zaminddri). 11. Khaldri. 12. Ldpha. 12. Sirpdr. 13. Kosgdl (Chhdrl zam inddri) . 13. Fingeswar. 14. Kendd. 14. Rdjim. 15. Mdtin. 15. Singangarh. 16. Uprord. 16. Sdarmdr. 17. Kandri (Pendrd). 17. Tengndgarh. 18. Karkati. In all 18. 36 forts Ekalwdra. These forts, as they were called, were in reality each the head-quarters of a tdluka, comprising a number of villages, and held sometimes " kham," at others as feudal tenures by relations or influential chiefs. To the original divisions additions were made by conquest, so that in Kalydn Sahi's time a detail is given in his papers of forty-eight forts. As regards the eighteen old Ratanpdr divisions, compared with the present district of Bildspdr, it may be noted that the first eleven are, and have been ever since Mardthd rule, khdlsa jurisdiction; the following seven were, and are still zamlnddrls; while the eighteenth division, adjoining the Pendrd chiefship above the ghdts, appears to have been made over to Rewd, as a marriage dowry to his daughter, by Rdjd Dddd Rdi about a.d. 1480. Of other tracts now included in Bildspdr it would seem that Pandarid and Kawardd, on the west, were wrested from the Gond dynasty of Mandla. Korbd was taken from Sirgdja by Bahirsahi Rajd about the year a.d. 1520, and the small zaminddri of Bildigarh, &c, south of the Mahdnadi, together with the khdlsa tract of Kikardd on the east, from Sambalpdr, by Rdjd Lachhman Sahi about the year 1580. This sufficiently explains the present, as compared with the past position of the Ratanpdr half of the Chhattisgarh country. In the margin is given a List of Rajas. list of the rdjds of the Haihai Bansi line who are supposed to have reigned at Ratanpdr. There are many copies of this list extant, but the [Section II. — History.] BIL 89 oldest that has been seen seems to have been written in the sixteenth century in the time of KalydnSahi.Palpably the detail is too complete to be reliable, but . it can safely be as serted that the list is based on fact; that it contains the genealogical tree.cherish- ed as an heirloom by the fa mily them selves, and that where external evi dence, such as tem ple tablets, have been available to verify its entries, these have fairly stood the test both as to dates and names. The temple-slabs in wliich * From this reign downwards the dates are given as computed by Mr. Chishnlm, but they do not seem to rest on sufficient authority until we come down to the sixteenth century. t For the dates from Surdeva as far as Ratna Sinhadeva there are the following authorities : — (1) Amarkantak inscription. — (Nagpur Antiquarian Society's Journal No. 2.) This gives the following list : — Prithvideva. Jajvalyadeva (his son). A distant relation (no name given) = Somaliadevi. Ratnadeva. I Ratnadeva (his grand-nephew) Samvat 1041 = 984 a.d. (2) Ratanpur inscription. — Bengal Asiatic Society's Journal for 1863, p. 277, gives the following list : — Jajaladeva. I Ratnadeva. Prithvideva— who, by computation from the date given for tbe descendant of his con temporary, in the family whom the inscription commemorates, may have reigned about a .d. 950. N.B. — Other inscriptions and lists show that this last prince was also called Bir Sinhadeva. (3) The Ratanpur inscription (mentioned in Asiatic Researches, vol. xv. p. 501) is said to give nine kings, but the inscription cannot at present be traced, and the only king mentioned in 12 CPG No. Name of Raja. Probableperiod of reign. No. Name of Raja. Probableperiod of reign. 1234 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1415 16 171819 20 21 22 232425 28 27 Chitra do. o0 ¦a e»CO_- q- i is nothing of a recordable character to be noted in Lachhman Sahi to Kai Singh. , . ° . ., - . , ml , ¦ j D connection with his rule. The same may be said. of his successors for several generations until we come to Takht Singh who was rdjd between a.d. 1675 and 1689. He built a rude palace at Takhtpdr, now in. ruins, and a temple, and instituted the weekly market there, which is still an important gathering. Rdj Singh, his son, ruled from a.d. 1689 to 1712, and built a new palace at the eastern limit of Ratanpdr, one of the two-storied walls of which now alone remains. He also excavated a large tank in front of this palace, which he ornamented with masonry steps, and a portion of which was enclosed by walls for the convenience of the ladies of the household. The part of Ratanpdr, above alluded to is still called " Rdjpdr," and the tank " Rdnfkd Taldo." The tank after the rains is a fine sheet of water, well worthy a visit, but the ruins themselves are not of an interesting character. [Section II.— History.] BIL 93 Rdj Singh had been married some years and had no offspring. His nearest D th fRA S' v ^eir was *^s grand-uncle Sarddr Singh, son of j ing s son. Banjit Singh, but Rdj Singh had no wish that he (Sarddr Singh) should succeed him, and so he took counsel of his Brdhman diwdn, a hereditary servant of the family. After much and frequent discussion the sacred books were appealed to as authorising a special procedure under special circumstances, and it was finally resolved that a Brdhman, selected by the diwdn, should visit the favourite Rani. In due time a son was born, who was named Bishndth Singh, and the popular rejoicings knew no bounds. Imme diately Bishndth Singh grew up he was married to a daughter of the Rdjd of Rewd, intermarriages being frequent between the Rewd and Haihai Bansi families. Some time after the marriage festivities were over the young couple were one day playing together a game of chance. In the course of their play Bishndth Singh took several questionable advantages over his fair opponent, and sorely tried her temper by defeating her game after game. At last she made the discovery that the play on his part had been false, and is represented as rising and saying, half in jest and half in scorn, " Of course I should expect to be overreached, for are you not a Brdhman and no Rdjput ?" Taunted thus with his birth, of which he had already heard whispers, he went out and stabbed himself. No sooner was Rdj Singh informed of what had happened than he resolved --, A -.t.' / t., _ to have revenge on his diwdn, through whose Destruction of Diwan Para. . , ° ,, , r ?¦ , imprudence, or worse, the shame of his house had been circulated abroad. The " Diwdn Pdrd," or in English phraseology "Minister Square," of Ratanpdr was at the time in question an imposing part of the town. Here lived the diwdn, and congregated round him were a crowd of relations, who, however distantly connected, had in eastern fashion come together near the fortunate representative of the family. The rdjd blew down with his guns the whole of this part of the town, and involved in one common disaster every member of the small community, numbering, it is said, over four hundred men, women, and children. At the same time were destroyed most of the papers and records appertaining to the dynasty, which would have been so useful in later days. Subsequent to these transactions it was generally understood that Mohan c • a a a a- ,. Singh, of the Rdipdr house, had been selected by Succession ot sardar Singh. -n/- a- i . • tvj- i o- ¦_. ¦ Rdj Singh, as his successor. Mohan Singh is represented as a young man of much physical strength and considerable personal attractions. He frequently remained for months with Rdj Singh, who openly exhibited the greatest attachment for the young man. The death of Rdj Singh, however, was somewhat sudden, and circumstances prevented his carrying out whatever wishes he may have entertained regarding Mohan Singh. A fall from his horse was the immediate cause of his death. He sent for Mohan Singh and also for his two grand-uncles, Sarddr Singh and Raghundth Singh. There was some delay in Mohan Singh's arrival, as he was absent at the time on a shooting expedition. Meanwhile the rdjd was sinking fast, so he took the " pagri " and put it on the head of Sarddr Singh, thus, acknowledging him as his successor. In a few days Mohan Singh arrived, and found Sarddr Singh duly installed. He was greatly enraged at being thus superseded, and in leaving said that he would yet return and assume the government. Sarddr Singh, however, ruled quietly for twenty years, and having no son, was succeeded in a.d. 1732 by his brother Raghundth Singh, a man already over sixty, and quite unable to 94 BIL [Section II. — History.] encounter with a bold front the trials and difficulties which were shortly to overtake his country. At the close of 1 740, when Raghundth Singh had been some three years on , „ „ . . , the throne, occurred the invasion of Chhattisgarh ynas y. ^ ^e Mardthd general Bhdskar Pant. At this time Raghundth Singh was bowed down with a heavy sorrow. He bad lost his only son, and had ceased for nearly a year to take any interest in his govern ment. A feeble man at best, but now worn out with years and afflicted in mind, he made no effort to defend his " rdj," but waited in the calmness of despair till Bhdskar Pant had reached his capital. Even then there was no attempt at resistance. Bhdskar 'Pant brought his guns to play on the fort, and a part of the palace was soon in ruins. At this juncture one of the Rdnis mounted the parapet and exhibited a flag of truce. The gates were then opened, and the invading army entered and took possession. In this inglorious manner ended the rule of the Haihai Bansi dynasty, which, from a period lost in the hazy mists of tradition, had governed Chhattisgarh, and now at the very first summons, and without a struggle, yielded up its heritage. No struggle, however bitter, could have altered results, but history almost requires that the last of a long line of rdjds should die sword in hand defending his country, and leave in the memory of posterity a noble example of patriotism and courage. If, at the time, the whole resources of Chhattisgarh and Sambalpdr had been exercised by one central authority, the Mardthds might have encountered a really formidable opposition. But as it was, there was no central authority possessing any vigour, and the Haihai Bansls merely stood at the head of a number of petty rdjds and chiefs, each of whom was to a large extent indepen dent, and among whom the whole country was divided. It was an essentially weak system, adapted for a peaceful state of society alone, and must have fallen long previously had any well-organised foreign invasion ever been attempted. When the Mardthds came, they marched through the whole country without any opposition, and having substituted their own authority for that of the Haihai Bansi rdjds, they demanded, and obtained, tbe allegiance of all the surrounding states. Bhdskar Pant, having reduced Ratanpdr, left a small garrison in it and Restoration of Raghunath Singh. marc\ed &l Cuttaok. A fine of a ldkh of rupees is mentioned as having been imposed on the town, and all that remained in the treasury was appropriated. The army is said to have consisted of 40,000 men, chiefly horse, who pillaged the country in all directions. No violence, however, was done to Raghundth Singh, who in fact was permitted to carry on the government in the name ofthe Bhonslds. Previous mention has been made of Mohan Singh, who left Ratanpdr Succeeded by Mohan Singh. ^gusted when, in a.d 1712 Sarddr Singh ' succeeded Rdj Singh, and threatened to return and assume the government. His efforts to raise a party in his favour, strong enough to create a local revolution, proving fruitless, he left for Ndgpdr and finally joined Raghoji. He became a favourite with this prince, was made a Bhonsld, and accompanied Raghoji in his expedition against Bengal. In a.d. 1745, when Raghoji returned from Bengal, he crossed from Rewd to Ratanpdr, and finding that Raghundth Singh, the late rdjd, whom his general, Bhdskar Pant, had maintained in authority in Chhattisgarh, was dead, he installed Mohan Singh as rdjd, and then proceeded with his army through Chhattisgarh to [Section II. — History.] BIL 95 Ndgpdr. Mohan Singh seems to have ruled in Chhattisgarh till a.d. 1758, when, after the death of Raghoji, his younger son Bimbdji had the Chhattisgarh country made over to him. No sooner did this intelligence reach Mohan Singh than he prepared to oppose Bimbaji's progress. He was taken suddenly ill, however, and died at Rdipdr, where he had collected a force, and thus Bimbdji assumed the government without disturbance. Before dismissing the subject of the Haihai Bansi dynasty it may be noted , „ . that the only surviving representative of the haSS. representatlve °f Hal" family is now a pensioner of the British govern- ment — a quiet, simple-minded Rajput, with no indi cation of a distinguished ancestry. He represents the junior or Raipdr branch of the family, the elder or Ratanpdr branch being absolutely extinct. It has sometimes been suggested that these Haihai Bansis might really have been abori ginal " Kanwars" (a race somewhat numerous and peculiar to this part of the country), and not Rajputs, being raised only to the latter dignity by the fertile ingenuity ofthe Brdhmans after the country was settled, and their power estab hshed. It is possible of course, but the fact of intermarriage with Rewd and other Rdjput houses already alluded to renders it improbable, as also the fact that none of the " Kanwar" zamindarls have any tradition allying them to the reigning house, which, if a common origin, however remote, had existed, they would certainly have claimed. On the whole, the Haihai Bansi rulers may be regarded as veritable Rdjputs. Bimbdji Bhonsld ruled at Ratanpdr from about A.D. 1758 till his death in , a.d. 1787. Though generally regarded as subor- Bimbaji Bhonsla. dmate ^ ^ head of the Bhonslds at Ndgpdr, he was virtually to a large extent independent. In alluding to the respective position ofthe elder and younger brothers in the Ndgpdr family, Sir R. Jenkins* states " that the elder brother as rdjd or sovereign had a right to the allegiance of " the others, and to certain military services on account of their fiefs or appanages. " But the latter managed their country entirely, and they had their separate " courts, households, ministers, and armies, subject to no interference whatever on " the part of the rdjd." This, then, was the position of Bimbdji. He stepped into the place of the old rdjds of Chhattisgarh, maintained a regular court at Ratanpdr, surrounded himself with a considerable Mardthd following, and with their assistance maintained his authority. In the earlier years of hi3 reign he was very oppressive, but as time passed on he more and more identified himself with his people, and has left a memory fairly popular and respected. He was succeeded (a.d. 1788) by Vyankoji, a younger brother of Rdjd Rag- V k i d A di B'i k°_tf H- °f Ndgpdr. Vyankoji though he paid two yan oj an nan ai. Qr ^aree flying vists to Chhattisgarh, and went through it in 1811 to Benares, where he died, never entered regularly on the government, being too much mixed up with the more important politics of Ndgpdr. A sdba was posted to Ratanpdr, but all authority centred in A nandi Bdi, the widow of Bimbdji, one of those strong-minded able women not un common in Indian history. It is to her that allusion is made by Sir R. Jenkins in his report, page 80, when he says, " The only disturbances which existed in " the country were caused by the widow of Bimbdji in Chhattisgarh." These * Report on Nagpdr Territories, p. 99. Edition Ndgpdr Antiquarian Society- 96 BIL [Section II.— History.] disturbances were of a very insignificant character, and consisted in the repulse ofthe first sdba, who was ordered by Yyankoji to assume the government on the death of Bimbdji. The troops ofthe latter supported the cause of his widow. A compromise, however, was effected. It was decided that the government should be carried on in the name of Vyankoji, who should be represented by a sdba on the spot, but that the sdba should be bound to obey all orders of A'nandi Bai. who should be consulted on all the details of the government. Practically, A'nandi Bdi wielded all authority until her death at the beginning of the present century. From this period up to A.d. 1818, when A'pd Sahib was deposed, and the _., administration of the Ndgpdr country, during tbe a gov mmen . minority of the last Raghoji, was assumed by the British government, the Chhattisgarh province was governed by a succession of sdbas, who exercised in all departments a very extensive authority. The head quarters of the sdba was Ratanpdr, the old seat of government, and he was . . assisted in the interior by sub-collectors called 2 Kurd Pant kamdvisddrs. A detail of the Ratanpdr sdbas, 3. Keshava Pant. immediately preceding our assuming charge ofthe 4. Bhik Bhau. country, is given in the margin. They were 5. Sakharam Bapu. subject to very little, if any, control, and as long 6. Yadava Rao Diwakar. ag they were maintailied in power by the central authority at Ndgpdr, most of them were very unscrupulous as to the means pursued to become rich. They were almost driven to this course by the know ledge that their position would certainly be short-lived, and that they must inevitably, within a short interval, be superseded by some new favourite. The tradition still survives of this early sdba government being a period when a system of universal " loot " was a recognised state policy, and Colonel Agnew, a most reliable authority, writing of the administration of the country at the time, describes* it as presenting 'fone uniform scene of plunder and oppression, " uninfluenced by any consideration but that of collecting, by whatever means, " the largest amount possible." One of the last of the sdbas, Sakhdrdm Bapd, was shot by a resident of Ratanpdr. He had under false pretences promised to raise the man to a position of independence and dignity as a large landed proprietor, and thus deliberately robbed him of a considerable fortune. It was in supersession of a government such as described, where power was r, ... , only wielded as an instrument of violence and British protectorate. J . ,-,,- . n,n ,. r oppression, that m a.d. 1818 the country came under the superintendence of British officers. The change under any circum stances would have been a welcome one, but, as it happened, the chief authority in Chhattisgarh was entrusted to an officer whose special qualifications were such as to win the respect and esteem ofthe whole community. Colonel Agnew, who presided for many years at Rdipdr as superintendent of Chhattisgarh, still lives as ahousehold word in the memory ofthe people, and will probably continue, so long as British rule lasts, to represent to the minds of all classes the highest • English ideal which their traditions supply. His praises are sung alike by the largest zamindar and the poorest peasant, and there is no corner so remote where " Agnew Sdhib" will not be affectionately mentioned if any inquiries are made into the former history of the province. There could be no higher tribute * Report on Nagp&r, by Sir R, Jenkins, p. 149, Edition Nagpur Antiquarian Society. [Section II.— History.] BIL 97 to the justice, moderation, and wisdom of the first representative of British rule in these eastern districts, than the respectful gratitude with which his name is still remembered after the changes and trials of forty years. It was Colonel Agnew (after the death of Mr. Edmonds, who had first p, , taken charge of the district) who removed the angeo systm. head-quarters of Chhattisgarh from Ratanpdr to Rdlpdr, as being a more important and central position, and from that time Ratanpdr has ceased to be of any administrative importance. Within the present limits of this district there were three kamdvisdars stationed, namely, one at Ratanpdr for the central, one at Nawdgarh for the western, and one at Kharod for the eastern tdlukas. These kamdvisdars exercised very much the same authority as tahsilddrs under our system, and though their main duty was connected with the settlement of the government demand, and the realisa tion of the revenue, they also exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction. There were altogether in Chhattisgarh eight kamdvisdars acting under the orders of the superintendent, Colonel Agnew, whose position was somewhat analogous to that of a commissioner of division. Administrative details largely devolved on the pargana official, acting under the general control of the British superin tendent. Violence and oppression ceased to exist, while method and order characterised every branch of the administration. It is indeed from the period ofthe British protectorate in a.d. 1818 that prosperity has revisited Chhattis garh. In the time of its ancient rdjds, who were bound to the people by ties of tradition and sympathy, there was an extent of peace, comfort, and happiness sadly in contrast with the evil days which followed the wave of Mardthd conquest. Here was an irruption of soldiers, flushed with victory, among a.people whose past history had been singularly free from " wars and rumours of wars," thus creating a community markedly timid and unwarlike. As a natural result they were trodden down unmercifully, and their country robbed and desolated. To realise what the country must have suffered between A. D. 1740 and 1818, we have to remember that not only was a considerable Mardthd force perma nently maintained in Chhattisgarh, but that large armies were often traversing the country, not only living on the people, but literally fleecing them. Then there were the raids of the Pindharis, whose depredations were connived at by the Bhonsla government, and a regular black mail accepted by the rdjd or his officials from the booty acquired in pillaging the people. Add to all this the exactions and oppressions of the Mardthd sdbas, already referred to, who exercised the chief civil authority, and we need not be surprised that during the half century which immediately followed the Mardthd conquest the country materially retrograded, and tracts relapsed into waste which had formerly been reclaimed, and cultivated. The British protectorate continued from a.d. 1818 till 1830. During the R _. . , greater portion of this period Colonel Agnew conti nued as superintendent. From a.d. 1830 till 1854 the country remained under Native administration. The revenue system seems to have continued much the same as during the British protectorate, the post of superintendent being occupied by a Mardthd suba. During these twenty-four" years Chhattisgarh was governed by sdbas, who resided at Rdipdr, and subor dinate to whom were kamdvisddrs or sub -collectors in each pargana or cluster of tdlukas. Tho time had passed when violence and oppression could be recog nised as fixed principles by those in power, for all protests against the action of the local siibas, if thrown out by the rdjd himself, were almost invariably carried 13 crc 98 BIL [Section II— History.] to the. British Resident at Ndgpdr, whose simple edict was usually sufficient to redress any glaring wrong. Judging by the tone of the people in talking of these days, they seem to have been fairly contented and prosperous, and although there were doubtless many individual sufferers from occasional acts of injustice on the part of native officials, yet such cases are not entirely unknown even under more civilised systems. In this district the people were very remote from the central authority ; they were not inundated by a swarm of unprincipled subordinates, and so little was really known of them and their country, that practically the masses were little interfered with. On the whole then, in this part of the country, the interval of Native government, as controUed by the British Resident, seems to have been a period of slow but steady progress. On the lapse of the Ndgpdr province to the British government in 1854, Chhattisgarh was formed into a separate deputy Administration since annexation. comnnssionership with head-quarters at Rdipdr. After some years' experience the charge was found too heavy for one officer, and finally, in 1861, Bildspdr was constituted a separate district, and, including the additions subsequently made, comprises the northern section ofthe Chhattis garh country. Within the jurisdiction are included, as mentioned before, three sub-collectorates, thirteen zaminddri estates, and two feudatoryships. With the exception of the two small tdlukas of Bhutyd and Sarsud, now forming a part of the eastern pargana of Seorlnardin, and the feudatoryship of Sakti trans ferred from Sambalpdr, the district consists of tracts separated from Rdlpdr, which, notwithstanding the extensive area thus transferred, still remains the largest district in the Central Provinces. In a period less than three years after the introduction of British rule the „ , , , , ,, , Mutiny broke out, and its disturbing influences Sonakhan outbreak. , V . _ m . ±le . a a- j? a. n extended to Chhattisgarh. A section of the small military force at Rdipdr was mutinous and insubordinate, and it was only by the timely and vigorous action of Major Elliot and Captain Smith that an open outbreak was prevented. The central authority being thus preserved, no local disturbances occurred except at Sonakhan, a hilly estate at the south-eastern extremity of the Bildspdr district, the zaminddr of which, having been pre viously confined, on a charge of dacoity with murder, in the Raipdr jail, effected his escape, and returning to his fastnesses, openly defied authority. He was of course supported by his own immediate followers, but neither the surrounding chiefs nor people were attracted to his standard. His small estate was wild, remote, and difficult of access, and if the spirit of disaffection had spread, the nature of the country might have necessitated harassing military operations. Captain Smith, however, at once proceeded to the spot with a small force, and the zamindar, Ndrdyan Singh, finding resistance hopeless, unconditionally surrendered. He was tried and executed, his zaminddri at the same time being confiscated, and this necessary example effectually prevented opposition every where. After his capture the villages on his estate were speedily deserted, and the whole tract became waste. It is still in the main a great wilderness, and has consequently been reserved as a government waste, though the best part of the estate— 16,000 acres— has been purchased by Mr. Meik, an English gentle man. Thus the insignificant rebellion of a petty chief may be the means of attracting English capital to what seems prima fane a very unpromising field, and confer on tho country a most unlooked-for benefit. The surviving descen dants of Ndrdyan Singh now hold land in tho adjacent zamlnddrls. [Section III.— Population.] Section III. — Population. BIL 99 The census statistics show the population as follows : — Males. Females. Adults 211,128 Adults 215,191 Under 14 years ...188,378 Under 14 years ...165,806 399,506 Total 780,503 Principal Castes. 380,997 No. of Population. Percent age of each Caste. * No. of Population. Percent age of- each Caste. Hindds. Chamars 164,388 72,97266,574 51,679 39,843 25,145 17.167 11,09210,702 4.873 133,833 21 9 8 75 32 11 "il 780, Aborigines. Gonds 120,159 30,436 2,264 7,0093,988 9,338 15 Pankas 1 Ahirs or Rauts Telis Kurmis x Mdlis Total 1 Brdhmans Rajputs 173,194 Other Hindd Castes . . . 9,041 1 Total Total . 598,268 Grand total. 182,235 503 The total area of the district is 8,800 square miles, so that with a popula- Tt X t-h f ^on °^ ^80,503 souls the rate per square mile is 88 persons. This, however, is one of those general deductions from statistics on which no conclusions can be based. Viewed in the abstract, these figures indicate that the district is miserably underpopulated, but this is only true of the hilly tracts which enclose the plain on three sides. The level country is as densely peopled as any other district of the Central Provinces. In order therefore to arrive at any clear knowledge of the facts, it is necessary to deal separately with the hilly and plain tracts. This will be effectually done by showing the figures for khdlsa and zaminddri areas apart. The khdlsa parganas, or tracts which have come under regular settlement with proprietors, village by village, cover an area of 3,000 square miles, and contain a population of 530,541 persons. Here there are 1 78 persons to each square mile — an average as high as exists in the rich Narbadd valley. The above too is a general average, while at special points, of course, the population is much more dense. In the zamlnddrls on the contrary, owing to the wild and hilly nature of most of the country, there is only a population of 249,962 persons to an area of 5,800 square miles, or an average of forty-eight persons per square mile. Low as this rate is, it is not an unprecedented average for a hilly 100 BIL [Section III.— Population.] area, for it appears from the North- West census report (para. 40) that in Kumdon the population only attains a density of fifty-eight to the square mile, while in some of the Swiss cantons the average falls as low as thirty. The population, as distributed above, shows Hindds seventy-six per cent, Aborigines twenty-three per cent, and Moham- Rehgious divisions. ma(Jans one per cent. Under the designation of Hindds are included all those classes who are of Aryan origin— the division has been made with reference to race, not religion, for it so happens that, in this district, among the Aryan tribes there are prominent castes who do not conform to the Hindd religion. They may be termed Hindd dissenters. The Chamdrs, who are twenty-one per cent of the population, call themselves " Satndmis," and are followers of their own priest Ghdsi Das. The Pankds and Gdndds, who are nine per cent of the population, are " Kabir Panthis." This same "Kabir" has numerous followers in other castes, viz. among Ahirs, Kurmis, Tells, &c, but their number it is impossible to compute. Approximately it may be stated that ofthe seventy-six per cent of recorded Hindds, half are so in race only. Turning to the Aborigines, the most numerous section consists of Gonds. They are fifteen per cent of the population ; then follow " Kanwars," who are four per cent. All other castes are limited in number. The Mohammadan element is insignificant, being but one per cent, and in the aggregate counts for little. Arranged according to creed, the population would stand as follows: orthodox Hindds, thirty-eight per cent; dissenters, thirty-eight per cent; worshippers of local deities, twenty-three per cent ; and Mohammadans, one per cent. In describing the specialities of the more important classes of the com munity, the Chamdrs should be named first, for almost every fourth man in the district belongs to this section of the people. They have been so long settled in Chhattisgarh that they seem to have no kind of tradition, even in the remote past, of any other home. As a body they possess active and well-set figures, are more brown than black in colour, and are less marked in features than the easy and higher classes. They are fairly energetic and industrious cultivators, are some what tenacious of their rights, and considerable numbers of them have attained a position of comfort and respectability. A description of the religious move ment, which has given prominence to the Chamdrs of Chhattisgarh, may not be out of place. Ghdsi Dds, the author of the movement, like the rest of his com munity, was unlettered. He was a man of unusually fair complexion and rather imposing appearance, sensitive and silent, given to seeing visions, and deeply resenting the harsh treatment of his brotherhood by the Hindds. He was well known to the whole community, having travelled much among them, had the reputation of being exceptionally sagacious, and was universally respected. By some he was believed to possess supernatural powers, by others curative powers only,- by all he was deemed a remarkable man. In the natural course of events it was not long before Ghdsi Dds gathered round himself a band of devoted followers. Whether impelled by their constant importunities, or by a feeling of personal vanity, or both causes combined, he resolved on a prophetic career, to be preceded by a temporary withdrawal into the wilderness. He selected for his wanderings the eastern forests of Chhattisgarh, and proceeded to a small village called Girod on the outskirts of the hilly region, bordering the Jonk river, near its junction with the Mahdnadi. He dismissed the few followers who had accompanied him, with the intimation that in six months he would [Section III — Population.] BIL 101 return with a new revelation, and mounting the rocky eminence overhanging the village, disappeared into the distant forest. Meanwhile the followers, who had accompanied him to the foot of that henceforth mysterious hill were active in spreading through the whole Chamar community his farewell message, with the warning that all should appear at Girod, as the termination of the six months' interval approached. Among a superstitious people these tidings worked marvels, and created a perfect ferment of expectation. During the period of suspense nothing else was# talked of, and the public mind anxiously looked for some revelation. As the close of the appointed time drew near, Chamdrs from all parts of Chhattis garh flocked to Girod. The scene as described by an eye-witness was strange and impressive. The roads leading to this hitherto unfrequented hamlet were traversed by crowds of anxious pilgrims. The young and old of both sexes swelled the throng — mothers carrying their infants, and the aged and infirm led by stronger arms. Some died by the way, but the enthusiasm was not stayed. At last the long-looked-for day arrived, and with it the realisation of the hopes of this hitherto despised community. In the quiet of the early morning their self-appointed prophet was seen descending the rocky eminence overhanging Girod, and, as he approached, was greeted with the acclamations of the assembled crowd. He explained to them how he had been miraculously sustained for the period of six months in the wilderness ; how he had held communion with a higher Power ; and how he had been empowered to deliver a special message to the members of his own community. This message abso lutely prohibited the adoration of idols, and enjoined the worship of the Maker of the universe without any visible sign or representation, at the same time proclaiming a code of social equality. It appointed Ghdsi Dds the high priest of the new faith, and added the proviso that this office would remain in his family for ever. The simple faith thus enunciated may best be termed a "Hinddised deism," „.„, , ,. . for there were mixed up with it certain social and Sat Nam! religion. ,. , -,,. ¦ j r r> /. • dietary regulations copied from Brdhmanism. The movement occurred between the years 1820 and 1830, and is scarcely half a century old. It includes nearly the whole Chamar community of Chhattisgarh, who now call themselves " Sat Ndmis," meaning thereby that they are worship pers of " Sat Ndm" or " The True One" — their name, and a very appropriate one, for God. They would fain bury the opprobrious epithet "chamdr" among other relics of the past, did it not with traditional pertinacity, and owing to the hatred of the Brdhmans, refuse to forsake them. In the early years of the movement an effort was made to crush its spread, but in vain, and Ghdsi Dds lived to a ripe old age to see the belief he had founded a living element in society, constituting the guide, and directing the aspirations, of a population exceeding a quarter of a million. He died in the year 1 850, at the age of eighty, and while the work he accomplished by our clearer light seems darkened with prejudice, ignor ance, and imposture, yet there can be no doubt he did a good fight in demo lishing, even within a small area, the giant evils of idolatry, and thus perhaps preparing his community for the reception of a higher and purer faith. On the death of Ghdsi Dds he was succeeded in the office of high priest by his eldest son Bdlak Dds. This Bdlak Dds carried his feehng of equality to so high a pitch, that he outraged all Hindd society by assuming the Brdhmanical thread. Wherever be appeared he offensively paraded the thin silken cord round his neck as an emblem of sacredness, and hoped to defy Hindd enmity under cover of the 102 BIL [Section III. — Population.] general security against violence afforded by British rule. So bitter, however, was the hostihty he raised, and so few the precautions he took against private assassination, that his enemies at last found an opportunity. He was travelling to Rdipdr on business, and remained for the night at a roadside resthouse. Here a party of men, supposed to be Rdjputs, attacked and killed him, at the same time wounding the foUowers who accompanied him. This occurred in the year 1860, and the perpetrators were never discovered. It exasperated the whole Chamar community, and a deeper animosity than ever now divides them from their Hindd fellow-citizens. Bdlak Dds was succeeded nominally by his son Sdhib Das, a child, but really by his brother A'gar Dds, who is now virtually high priest. The duties of this office are more of a dignified than onerous character. The high priest decides finally all questions involving social excommunication, and prescribes the penalties attending restoration. For those who can attend on him personally, or whom he can arrange to visit, he performs the ceremonies 'at marriage and on naming children ; at the latter ceremony a bead necklace, in token of entrance into the Sat Ndmi brotherhood, is placed round the neck of the child. It is not absolutely necessary, however, that the high priest should officiate at any cere monies. They are sufficiently solemnised by meetings of the brotherhood. Most Chamdrs once a year visit the high priest, and on these occasions a suitable offering is invariably made. They have no public worship of any kind, and consequently no temples ; they have no written creed, nor any prescribed forms of devotion. When devotionally inclined, it is only necessary to repeat the name of the deity, and to invoke his blessing. No idol of wood or stone is seen near their villages. They have a dim kind of belief in a future state; but this does not exercise any practical influence on their conduct. Their social practices correspond for the most part with those of Hindds. They ignore, however, Hindd festivals. As a rule they are monogamists, though polygamy is not specially prohibited. Their women are not in any way secluded from public gaze, and are, equally with men, busy and industrious in home and field pursuits. In fact in most of their arrangements, to a superficial observer, the Chamdrs present nothing peculiar, and it is only after inquiry that many of their distinguishing features are discovered. The account thus given has been gathered from oral testimony — a source of Sat Nam! practices. knowledge liable to error and exaggeration. In » its mam features, however, it is accurate; disputed points have not been touched. One is whether Bdlak Dds was accepted as an Incarnation. Most Sat Ndmis deny regarding him as such. Another is whether Sat Ndmi brides associate with the high priest before being taken to their husbands' homes. No Sat Ndmi will acknowledge this, and the calumny is attributed to Brdhmanical ingenuity. Some forms of prayer, collated from Hindd authors, are said to exist among the teachers, but these are quite unknown to the people, and the only act of devotion which a Sat Ndmi practises is to fall prostrate before the sun at morn and eve and exclaim " Sat ndm," " Sat ndm," "Sat ndm," translated literally "God ! God ! God !" or perhaps implying "God, have mercy! have mercy!" Turning to their social practices, it is found that they eat no meat. They will not even drink water except from one of their own caste, and liquor is prohibited. They marry ordinarily at the age of puberty, the parents selecting a bride ; the marriage itself is purely of a civil nature, being cele brated by the elders, with a feast given to the friends of the family. They bury their dead without any religious ceremony, and in everyday life their moral [Section III.— Population.] BIL 103 notions are not rigid. A fatal split in the community has arisen from a most trivial cause — the use of tobacco. In the first outburst of religious enthusiasm, which animated the followers of Ghdsi Dds, it would seem that drink and tobacco were simultaneously forsaken. The use of hquor apparently was a weakness which was easily and effectually overcome, but the strange solace wliich smokers appear to find in tobacco, and more especially a labouring population, possessed irresistible charms. A reaction set in, and finally a considerable portion ofthe community returned to their pipes. To talk of pipes in connection with an eastern people seems an anomaly, but in Chhattisgarh it is strictly correct. The hooka of Northern India is unknown here, and in its stead the broad " palds" leaf is folded into a pipe-like shape with a bowl at one end, in which dry tobacco is placed. It is called a " chdngi," is universally indulged in by all classes, and field labourers, by its use, break the dull monotony of their daily toil. The Sat Ndmis who again took to chdngis came to be opprobriously designated " Chdngids" by their brethren, and retain the appellation. They maintain their orthodoxy, and urge that Ghdsi Dds had a subsequent revelation conceding the use of tobacco to his people, and that consequently in his latter years he absolutely withdrew his original prohibition. The Sat Ndmis thus remain divided into two grand sections — the "smokers" and "non-smokers." It is said that the smokers eat meat, and are not real Sat Ndmis, but as a body they perfectly repudiate the insinuation. The Sat Ndmis thus described are a strange and interesting people, and as a special mission has lately been inaugurated for their enlightenment and instruction, they are perhaps destined in the future to exercise an influence proportioned to their numbers and position in the annals of Chhattisgarh. There is no class more loyal and satisfied with our rule than this community, and if it should happen that, hke the Kois, they are favourably impressed with Missionary teaching, a time may come when they will be a source of strength to our government. The Pankas, who form about a sixth of the population, are another peculiar p ,, sect, and are all, as already mentioned," Kabir Pan- this." The majority of them now are cultivators, though originally they all seem to have been weavers, and correspond with the Kori tribe elsewhere. As it is, a considerable number stiU stick to weaving, while others weave only during the intervals of field work. The village watch men are usually of the Pankd class, and are then called " Gandds," being distinct, however, from the men known as " Bajgarid Gandds," the great musicians of Chhattisgarh, who play on festive occasions, but are considered somewhat low in the social scale, as they eat meat, drink liquor, and are in other respects impure. The Pankds do none of these things. They are a quiet industrious people, and do not class with the Hindds, because they make no pre tensions to equality, and besides, "Kabir panthism" has been so long estabhshed, that the most orthodox seem to concede that it rests on a basis of truth. The Pankd deity is Kabir, who is supposed to be god incarnate, and is said to have appeared several times on earth, at least once during each cycle of man's history. During the present historic period he has only appeared once, about a.d. 1060, in the vicinity of the sacred city of Benares. The story runs that the wife of a weaver, in drawing water from a tank in the outskirts of the city, heard to her surprise the cries of an infant. She approached the spot whence tho cries proceeded, and there beheld a child struggling among the lotus leaves. Rushing immediately into the tank she rescued the infant, and, returning to the bank, spread a cloth on which she laid her new-found charge' 1 04 BIL [Section III. — Population,] which gradually assumed the proportions of a man. Terrified, she attempted to fly. Seeing this, Kabir revealed himself as a deity, who had appeared in the form of man. He accompanied the woman to her house, and from this humble home commenced his divine career. Kabir worked miracles and had many followers, but the strangeness of his origin, issuing as it were from a weaver's hovel, soon caused the Brdhmans to stigmatise him as the " weavers' god." It is an up-hill struggle to surmount entirely the shaft of satire, and even in a superstitious age, unfamiliar with the principle of a regular sequence in the laws of nature, and prepared to accept at every turn the unknown action of miraculous interposition, a cutting sarcasm has its influence. The taunt of the Brdhmans had the effect of keeping off the higher and educated classes, and of confining his mission to the lower and less influential castes. So it has continued. His followers are mainly among the weaver tribe all over India. In this district nearly the whole community of Pankds, Gandds, and Koshtis, whether at the present time by trade weavers or agriculturists, are in religion Kabir Panthis, not Hindds. Other castes — Banids, Kurmis, Tells, Kumbhdrs, &c. — are Kabir Panthis and Hindds, viz. accepting the Hindd mythology in all its integrity, and adding thereto Kabir as one more divinity. Taking all classes, probably one-fourth of the population are more or less followers of Kabir. The cornerstone of the faith may be said to be this, that a deity named „ , , , , „ . , Kabir appeared on the earth as a man, and during a Kabirpanthi iaitn. ¦ r ___• i 1 1 sojourn of some centuries performed many marvels, underwent trying pilgrimages and privations, led a life of perfect devotion, and then, having firmly planted his religion, voluntarily disappeared, allowing the mantle of earthly apostleship, or representativeship, to devolve on a faithful disciple named Dharm Dds. Kabir himself is represented as having remained on earth from a.d. 1149 to 1449,* or three hundred years. He left a list of the succession in the direct line from Dharm Dds, and the name of each successive holder of the apostleship was recorded. There are to be in all forty-four apostles, each of whom is to govern twenty-five years before his death, and after the list Kabir himself will again appear on earth. The present chief apostle is Parghatndm Sahib, resident at Kawardd, in the Bildspdr district, who succeeded to the headship in 1856. He is the eleventh in the succession, and has thirteen years more of his apostleship to run. As 420 years have passed since Kabir's death, had the twenty -five years' rale for each apostle as instituted been maintained, we should now have found the seventeenth instead of the eleventh succession. Kabir's prophetic prediction of a twenty-five years' life, after succession to the apostleship, for each individual incumbent, has thus clearly been falsified. The chief apostle is always surrounded by a host of disciples, who in turn travel all over the country, per forming religious services, and collecting voluntary contributions for the main tenance of the order. They are the priests of the system. They assume a peculiar dress — a white peaked cloth cap, a loose white tunic, and the usual dhoti. As a rule these garments are kept scrupulously clean, and in religious processions, following their chief in a long line, two or four abreast, they exhibit considerable order and system. They, in common with all Kabir's followers, are prohibited from touching flesh, also spirituous liquors and tobacco. Theoretically there seems no caste in the community, but practically the con verts from the higher castes of Hinddism, who are numerous among the priest hood, maintain certain distinctions. Celibacy is usual among the priesthood, * Wilson's "Essays on the Religion of the Hindus," vol. i. p. 71, Ed. 1862. [Section III.— Population.] BIL 105 though not compulsory, and the chief apostle invariably marries in order to maintain the succession. Setting aside the speciahty of a priesthood, who collect from all parts of r India round Parghatndm Sdhib at Kawardd, and Character ot Pankas. are app0jnte(i Dy nim to their respective posts, there is very little difference between the local and rehgious practices of Kabir Panthi Pankds and Sat Ndmis. They both avoid meat and hquor, marry usually at the age of puberty, ordinarily celebrate their ceremonies through the agency of elders of their own caste, and bury their dead. Practically the one worships a supreme being under the name of " Kabir," and the other under the name of " Sat Ndm," while in each case there is a high priest to whom special reverence is paid. There is a rhyme very common with the people regarding the change of faith among the Pankds, which is regarded by them as pleasing and com plimentary : — Pdni se Pankd bhaye Bdndan hud sarir A'ge Janm men Pankd Pichhe Dds Kabir. which in English doggrel might be translated thus — In former lives the Pankd Dragg'd on a mean career ; Now born again from water, He shines a Dds Kabir.* The said Kabir has a very large following in almost every district, and as no loss of caste results from becoming a believer, his sect has made one of the largest rents in Hinddism. ' Of the essential Hindd population it is not -necessary to speak in any „. , detail. In all main characteristics they resemble their brethren elsewhere, andhave been frequently described. The castes have all northern affinities, and the emigrations to this district have been almost entirely from the north and west. Of southern races there are almost none, and the Mardthd element is nearly exclusively confined to the Brdhman community. The Kurmis and Tells are a very numerous section of the agricultural community, aggregating twelve per cent of the population. In both cases there is the class called " Jharids," from "Jhdrkhand" (the forest), who were settlers here while Chhattisgarh was still a wilderness, and have indeed beea so long in the country that they have altogether lost count of the number of generations. This appellation " Jharid" is found in other castes too, and invariably indicates length of residence. Then there are Desdhd and Kanojia Kurmis and Telis, and a separate class of Kurmis called " Chand- ndhds." These represent tho later immigrations about two or three hundred years since. None of these divisions either eat together or intermarry, though practically their social customs are very little at variance. The Kurmis and Telis are the best of all cultivators. They are not so restless and fanciful as Sat Ndmis, and have to a greater extent an attachment to their holdings. Turning to the aboriginal population, [the most numerous class is Gonds, p , who amount to fifteen per cent of the population. They have mixed here so much with Hindd races * Slave or disciple of Kabir. 14 CPG 106 BIL [Section III.— Population.] that they have lost most of their marked characteristics, and have not even retained their own special language. They are thus not ordinarily distinguishable from the other classes of the labouring population, and so great an intermixture has apparently taken place, that the flat forehead, squat nose, prominent nostril, dark skin, and thick lip, indicating an aboriginal type, are not in any way conspicuous. The Gonds as a rule only worship two gods — Bard Deva (the great god), and Ddld Deva. They have not the variety of deities mentioned in Hislop's published notes.* There is no image of either deity, but while "Bard Deva requires a sacrifice of blood, and is worshipped beneath some sacred tree or by some mound of stones, Ddld Deva is supplicated in the house with an offering usually of rice, flowers, or oil. The worship of Bard Deva is therefore a more expensive ceremonial, involving the offering of a fowl, a goat, or a pig, and is only publicly undertaken on special occasions ; while Ddld Deva, the household god, can be approached at all times, so that devout spirits, especially among the women, make a regular offering from their daily meal. These two deities all Gonds worship, but many in addition take up with Thdkur Deva, Bhawdni, and Kali Devi, which generally require a sacrificial offering. The priestly office among the community is discharged by an elder, who receives the respectful appellation of " Baigd," and is called in on all occasions of rejoicing or sorrow, doubt or difficulty. He is deemed as powerful to circumvent a troublesome tiger, as to dispel a lingering disease. Gond marriages ordinarily take place at the age of puberty, and the main ceremony consists in anointing with turmeric, and circling round a post seven times. They are arranged by the parents, and generally something is paid for the bride — a common feature among all aboriginal races. A feast is invariably given, and liquor freely partaken of. A man never marries more than one wife, though polygamy is not absolutely prohibited. A widower may remarry ; a widow may not, though she may take up with a brother of her deceased husband, or contract a second-hand marriage with a person of her own caste. The tribe bury their dead, on which occasion there is a gathering of friends, who indulge freely in the good things provided, and then disperse. Following Gonds, the Kanwars are the next largest section of the „ aboriginal population. They number over thirty thousand souls, and occupy an influential position, as all the northern zamlnddrs belong to this tribe. It is an eminent weakness among the heads of all aboriginal races, when they come to occupy a good posi tion and are powerful, that, owing to the crafty teaching of the Brdhmans, they soon become fired with an ambition to link their lineage with the great military caste of the Hindus. So it is that the upper crust among the Kanwars would fain pass as Rdjputs, and having imbibed all the sacredness which is supposed to attend an assumption of the thread worn by the twice-born, they call themselves " Tawars," " Rdj Kanwars," " Kanwar Bansis," and so forth. The result of all this is that they have become split up into quite a formidable number of divisions or " gots," hke the more aristocratic tribes whom they emulate. There are said to be more than a hundred gots among them. Two — the Ddld Kanwar and the Dhdngar — have worn the thread for a considerable period ; while the Tilasi or Tawar, and the Sdndil or Sarwaya, have only assumed it within the last decade. None of the others have yet advanced so far, but the affair seems so simple that there is hope for them in the future. Of course those who are now socially elevated will not recognise the poorer and * Hislop's Papers on the Aboriginal Tribes ofthe Central Provinces, Ed. 1865, p. 13. [Section III.— Population.] BIL 107 wilder portions of the tribe as brother caste-men at all, but it is after mixing much with these that the undoubtedly aboriginal type of the whole community is illustrated. There, has, however, been a great deal of mixture with Aryan races, and the Kanwars, like the Gonds, have not here any special language. Their great deities are Thdkur Deva and Ddld Deva, already referred to as common among the Gonds. Pahdr Pdt, the presiding genius of the hill, is worshipped by many, a stone being set aside in some solitary spot, to which at certain intervals offerings are made. Rdtmdi, alleged goddess of night, is worshipped by some during darkness, in order to avert misfortune. Others worship Lachhmi, goddess of wealth, by placing a slab near their grain-store, to which offerings are made in order to elicit the smiles of fortune. The higher classes once a year, at the Dasard, worship the broadsword as an emblem of power, under the name of " Jhdra khand" or " Jhdgra khand." This period is held as a festival, to which followers and retainers are invited, and after proces sion and offerings the evening is passed under the exciting influence of dance and song. No Kanwar marries in his own " got;'" and so palpable is the thread innovation, that he may seek a bride among subdivisions which have not yet adopted it. In the same way he may even receive food from such classes, though this is being gradually prohibited. Where the Rajput tendency is dominant, marriage occurs in infancy, and is celebrated by a Brdhman priest, who avails himself of the opportunity to invest the uninitiated bridegroom with the solemn paraphernalia of the thread. Ordinary Kanwars follow the Gond practice, and marry at puberty, the ceremony of anointing with turmeric, and revolving round a pole, being gone through before relations and elders. Among the poor a money-payment is made to the bride's father, and runs from five to thirty-three rupees, besides the expenses of the marriage feast and garments, which fall on the bridegroom. A considerable number of the Kanwars eat flesh and drink liquor, while those who have abjured these things are as stringent in diet as Brdhmans and Sat Ndmis. In the same way, it is only a small minority who burn their dead, the recognised practice of the caste being to bury. Altogether these Kanwars are a simple, primitive people, found chiefly in the northern and eastern hills of Chhattisgarh, alarmingly superstitious, and marvellously obedient. Other hill tribes scarcely require any detailed mention. The Binjwdrs and .-.-._ r.,1 . -, Dhanwdrs are, in their social practice and worship, Other hill tribes. ,-, ,.- '-,. Tr m\ i * exactly like ordinary Kanwars. ihey have nume rous subdivisions, and are probably mere branches of the Kanwar family. The Dhdngars are the Urdons of Chotd Ndgpdr, and have been described in the Journal of the Asiatic Society * by Colonel Dalton. They have their own special tongue, and are not numerous in the district, being scattered here and there, chiefly in service, for which their laborious habits and fidelity are said eminently to qualify them. The wildest class of all that we have is the Bhdmid. The real genuine Bhdmid is only found in remote tracts, for centuries within the shadow, as it were, of Aryan civilisation, yet entirely unaffected thereby. His sole heritage is an axe, and the veriest shred of cloth attached to a string suffices to cover his nakedness. He apparently scorns regular cultivation, and looks upon ploughing as beneath the dignity of man. He rears a crop under the system known as " ddhya," which consists in cutting down a patch of jungle, firing it in May, and then throwing seed among the ashes. This germinates, and springs up very fast after the first fall of the monsoon. One patch of jungle * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxxv. part 2 (1866), pp. 168—198. 108 BIL [Section III .^Population.] yields in this way for two years, and then a new tract is taken up, while the abandoned land will not recover itself, and be fit to be occupied, for some twelve or fifteen years. This savage and wasteful process has effected the destruction of some of the finest forests, and there seems a very remote prospect of its being abandoned. These Bhdmids are one of the Kolarian tribes referred to in Mr. George Campbell's essay on the Ethnology of India,* but a very wild section of them. They do not collect in villages; in fact their style of cultivation is against this ; but two or three families are encountered in some rude huts on the hill side, and even here, if disturbed too much, they will at once levant. The rice, kodo, kutki or grain which they sow only lasts for half the year, and they have to eke out the remainder by bartering bamboos for rice, or else doing their best on jungle roots and fruits. They are great hunters, and use their arrows with marked skill. Then their patch of cultivation, which is paled in on all sides, has numerous primitive traps for snaring rats and other vermin, on which, when opportunity offers, they make a good meal. The Bhdmids either worship Thdkur Deva or Ddld Deva, but apparently at very protracted intervals. They marry, Hke the Gonds, at the age of puberty, and they pay a few rupees for their bride. They bury their dead without any ceremony except a feast. They are a short, slim black race, often with long shaggy hair, and wild looking, but essentially timid. At page 24 of Sir R. Jenkin's report on the Ndgpdr territories (a.d. 1827) two very wild tribes — Bandarwas and Pdrdhis — are alluded to as inhabiting the hilly and woody country near Ratanpdr. The former are represented as cannibals ; the latter as not quite so bad, but still very savage. The Pdrdhis are not known now at ah, and the few Bandarwas still to be found are not so wild as the hill Bhdmids, but would appear to have got their name from the monkey (bandar), which they eat. This very peculiarity may in fact have originated the story of their eating men. A subdivision of them, rumour still asserts, is addicted to living up in trees, and to wandering about, both men and women, in a state of nature. They were said to be in the Korbd hills, but when inquiries came to be made, they were not to be found, and it seems likely that the description given of them is somewhat mythical. In the khdlsa area nearly a fourth of the villages are held by Brdhmans, and T ,, ,,. half of these are in the hands of Mardthd Brdhmans. Landholdmg castes. m, t ,- • n p ,. • . i lhe preponderating influence of this class, under a Native government, sufficiently accounts for this result. Kanwars follow Brdhmans, but they hold chiefly in zaminddri jurisdiction, and only in a few khdlsa villages, adjoining the zamlnddrls. Gonds have a considerable number of villages, chiefly, however, in the hilly tracts. Then Kurmis, Rdjputs, Bairdgls, Banids, and Chamdrs hold about an equal number of villages. The proportion of Bairdgi and Banid villages is swelled by the fact of a tdluka, in each instance, being held by a member of this caste, for Lormi, containing 103 villages, is held by a Bairdgi, and Tarengd, containing 145 villages, by a Banid. Two or three other members of these communities hold several villages together, which they obtained as grants for cultivation under the Native government. Telis and Mohammadans have a fair position as proprietors, the latter being instances of individuals holding several villages, obtained as reward for service in the old Bhonsld regiments. In the case of other castos no remarks are necessary, except to note how few Pankds havo obtained proprietary right ; — attributable to the * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxxv. part 2 (1866), p. 34. [Section III.— Population.] BIL 109 fact that, although forming so considerable an element in the population, they are largely devoted to the occupation of weaving. It is certainly strange that although this class forms about a sixth of the community, they should not have succeeded in obtaining one village in the khdlsa parganas. Eighteen villages, shown as held by Sikhs, belong to one member of this community, who is a Banjdrd trader, and acquired his villages after the mutinies, when relin quished by their original holders. Reference will now be made to some of the peculiarities ofthe Chhattisgarh population as a whole, when compared with similar a 1 s o peop e. classes elsewhere. One prominent feature is the scantiness of apparel common to the whole cultivating community — a cloth round the loins, and this often of meagre dimensions, constitutes generally a man's full dress. Those who have advanced a stage beyond this throw a cloth loosely over one shoulder, covering the chest, and assume an apology for a pagri by wrapping a cloth carelessly round the head, leaving the crown generally bare, as if this part of the person required special sunning and venti lation. Among women all the requirements of fashion are satisfied by one cloth, measuring from eight to twelve yards, one half of which envelopes the person in one fold from the waist to below the knee, hanging somewhat loosely. It is tightened at the waist, and then the remaining half is spread over the breast, and drawn across the right shoulder. Sometimes the cloth is left to droop down the back from the right shoulder, but in public it is gene rally carried over the head, open like a sheet, and then brought over the left shoulder and arm. There is a sculpture-like simplicity about the solitary garment worn by women, which is calculated to display a graceful figure to advantage, more especially on festive occasions, when those who can afford it appear arrayed in tasar silk ; but to Western ideas it seems more convenient than modest. The most common articles of adornment are bracelets of gold, silver, and coloured glass, according to the pretensions of each individual wearer; as also gold, silver, and bead necklaces. Ear -rings and nose-rings are not usual, nor, except among young Gond ladies, are toe-rings and anklets. By men a gold or silver bracelet is frequently worn ; they also affect small ear-rings not a little, and a silver waistband is perhaps a comfortable agriculturist's highest ambition. The ordinary practice with all classes is to have three meals per diem — rice and ddl at midday, rice and vegetables cooked with ghee in the evening, and rice gruel in the morning before commencing work. This rice ia called "bdsi," being simply the remains of the night's repast, filled up with water, and taken cold. Some men are said to get through three pounds of rice per diem. The castes who eat fish and flesh have of course a greater change of diet. Wheat is very little used by the community, and in fact flour-cakes are only prepared on special occasions. Sometimes rice is pounded and made into cakes, not unlike the oat-cakes of Scotland, and a similar process is adopted with the coarse-grained kodo. Then those who can afford it have an occasional spread of sweet things, and in most villages milk and gur are very common commodities, out of which a matron of resources can turn out morsels which are deemed marvellously inviting. On the whole, the great body of the people may be said to live comfortably and well, and, as regards quantity, will pro bably never enjoy greater abundance. The language spoken by the people is a corruption of Hindi, with an admixture of aboriginal words, somewhat con fusing to a stranger; but it rests on a strictly Hindi basis, and there are comparatively few Persian words in use. The following words may be quoted as 110 BIL [Section III— Population.] specimens. Man and woman are called " daukd" and " dauki," a house is called a " kdrid," a fowl "kukri," while instead of saying "mat jdnd," or "nahfn jdnd" (don't go), as in Hinddstdni, a Chhattfsgarhf would say "jhanjd bo;" or if he were declaring that his field had been forcibly taken, he would never think of saying " zamin hamdri zabardastf le lid hai," but would convey his grievance in the words " bhden mor bar pdli har lis." Sufficient has been said to show that the differences in terms are considerable, and this in a limited space is all that can be attempted. Among the characteristics of the people their marvellous credulity is the _ ... . . most marked. Hemmed in by continuous hill Prevailing superstitions. ranges> ^ interccrarse with the outer w(-rld nas been limited, so that they still remain victims to the most gross and antiquated superstitions, which the steady contact with new ideas has gradually dispelled among more favourably situated communities. Every hill has its god, every stream its spirit ; villages * have generally their protecting deity or deities, who are invariably supplicated when epidemics prevail, when murrain appears among the cattle, when drought threatens the crop, and on all occasions of misfortune or bereavement. A special priest invokes all these deities, excepting Ddld Deva, who at all times can be supplicated, and belongs to one of the aboriginal races, thus showing the origin of the superstition itself. He is ordinarily a Gond, and in virtue of his office is called a " Baiga." The position is generally hereditary, and carries with it not unfrequently a plot of rent-free land, in addition to periodical fees. A successful Baiga, or perhaps more properly a Baigd who has obtained a reputation for success, is a man of great influence, and any injunction -he delivers will almost invariably be imphcitly obeyed. The most public exemplification of this influence is in cases of witch craft, for here the most melancholy consequences have resulted in several trials. A common instance is when cholera visits a village. First one falls, then another, and there is something so unaccountable in the origin of the disease, so mysterious in its selection of an apparently arbitrary route, while its attacks are so sudden and fatal, that we can be little surprised if, among an ignorant people, a state of almost abject despair follows its advent. In this temper of the community a Baigd is summoned, and, after going through certain ceremonies, he declares what should be done. Sometimes it is a cock or a goat that has to be sacrificed to appease the local deity ; and if this is unsuccessful, then the whole community temporarily deserts the village, leaving behind only the dying and the dead. At other times the Baigd declares that a witch (locally known as a " tonhi") is the cause ofthe suffering of the people. The adult males ofthe village are then assembled in solemn conclave, while the Baigd, sitting in their midst, proceeds to ascertain what unfortunate woman is guilty. Of course each individual Baigd has his own particular procedure. One of the most noted in this district had two most effectual methods for checkmating the witches. His first effort was to get the villagers to describe the marked eccentricities of the old women of the community, and when these had been detailed, his ex perience soon enabled him to seize on some ugly or unlucky idiosyncrasy which * The two most common local deities are " Thakur Deva," the Preserver of the village, who bas often a snug little tabernacle, carefully thatched, made for him outside the village ; and " Dula Deva," the Protector of the hearth, to whom a corner inside each house is set apart, and frequent offerings arc made. Thakur Deva requires annually a sacrifice of blood, while Dula Deva is propitiated by an offering, however bumble. -[Section III— Population.] BIL 111 indicated in unmistakeable clearness the unhappy offender. If no conclusion could be arrived at in this way, he lighted an ordinary earthen lamp (chiragh), and repeating consecutively each woman's name in the village, he fixed on the witch or witches by the flicker of the wick, when the name or names were mentioned. The discovery of the witch soon resulted in her being grossly maltreated, and under the Native government almost invariably in her death. Since the introduc tion of British rule these cases are becoming year by year rarer, but the behef itself remains strong and universal, and the same class of superstitions pervades every day hfe. There is no sudden death that is not attributed to the malignity of some evil spirit. A lingering or strange sickness is often supposed to be occasioned by the glance of an evil eye, while any unfortunate family bereavement is in itself usually accepted as necessitating a change of residence, even though it involve the relinquishment of ancestral fields, and the severance of all early associations and ties. Of course the so-called witches come in for the blame of many misfortunes, and there are marked women in every neighbourhood, who obtain special credit for working charms in secret on their enemies, which inevitably result in sickness or death. The wildest tales are told of their power, and with such earnestness and circumstantiality, that eveneducated native officials from other districts almost invariably become converts to the popular idea. In some instances, where results have been verified by indubitable testimony,* they can only be attributed to animal magnetism or mesmeric influence ; and a case lately occurred in which an English police officer stated that he himself saw a girl lying senseless after having been handled by a reputed witch, the girl having been again resuscitated in his presence through the said witch's influence. If the officer in question was not imposed upon, or did not in any way misapprehend the facts, then this solitary example indicates some knowledge of mesmerism, as existing among special portions of the community. The extreme credulity of the people exposes them at times to cruel hoaxes. A strange story is current in the Mungeli pargana of a Pankd named Mangal, resident in Bhadrdli village, who some fifteen or twenty years ago gave out that a deity had taken possession of him. This was nothing strange, for both gods and devils are accused of constant interference with mortals. Mangal was credited with the power of curing diseases, and securing to his worshippers future happiness. He used to sit with a light before him, and his devotees approached, saluted, and touched his feet. He was literally inundated with followers, and the offerings of grain, cocoanuts, and such like gifts were something incredible. His influence was confined to a few short weeks, for his advent occurred about the cultivating season, and he had declared that good mens' crops would spring up without sowing. It appears that thousands of cultivators were fools enough to attach credence to this teaching, and, as viewed practically, this simply amounted to a loss of revenue. When the time for collection arrived, the Native government at once arrested Mangal, who was left to ponder over his departed greatness within the walls of the Rdipdr jail. The belief in Mangal's powers vanished with his imprisonment, and against some of the more respect able men who were his dupes (notably the tdlukaddr of Lormi) the whole affair remains a standing joke. As strenuous efforts are being made for the education of the rising genera- _ , . tion, the cloud of ignorant darkness which now envelopes the people must gradually disappear. The following return shows the number of schools and of children under instruction : — 112 BIL [Section III. — Population.] Schools. No. No. of Pupils. Average daily attendance. Government ... Private 3358 1,934 1,142 1,073 800 Total... 91 3,076 1,873 When the total juvenile population is considered, this can only be regarded as a very small proportion undergoing tuition. The boys under fourteen exceed 188,000, and supposing that a fourth of these are of a teachable age and available for instruction, there are some 45,000 boys as possible pupils. Of these only 3,000 are being taught, so that a vast field exists over which to spread the benefits of education. An allusion to crime may not be out of place, as showing that although the „ . people are ignorant, they are not addicted more than their neighbours to crimes of violence. Murders are not numerous, and there has been no case of dacoity for a consider able period. In fact the following figures, from the Pohce Report of the Central Provinces for 1868, show that crimes of all kinds are less frequent in the Chhat tisgarh division than in any other part of the province : — Population. No. of heinous offences. Petty thefts and burglaries. Total. Ndgpdr division .. .. 2,263,062 72 3,679 3,751 Jabalpdr do 2,024,645 61 4,181 4,942 Narbadd do 1,563,912 79 3,665 3,744 Chhattisgarh do 2,104,570 40 1,797 1,837 There are probably two causes which contribute to this result — the degree of rude plenty which prevails, and the general abstemious character of the population ; for it is worthy of note that the drinking classes are comparatively few, and even these, living amcmg large masses who absolutely abstain, are insensibly influenced, and thus come to confine their indulgence to festive occasions, which are few and far between. There can scarcely be a population more submissive and obedient than the great bulk ofthe people in Chhattisgarh. Whether they are constitutionally timid, or a long course of oppression has created the feeling, is immaterial. Certain it is that they have a great dread of authority, and as they are incapable of distinguishing between a regular and irregular exercise thereof, they are liable to suffer for their meekness at the hands of unscrupulous subordinate officials. Any creature with a badge, or some such insignia of office, is quite a magnate in the interior, and will always be fed, usually obeyed, and often fee'd. It cannot but follow that people so ignorant come to be oppressed, for they are afraid to complain, and the only effectual remedy is the gradual spread of intelligence, which will teach individuals to realise their position and rights. The injurious results of over-submissive- ness are palpably evident in all roadside villages. Ordinarily the mere approach of a road should be a source of profit, for the constant passage along it creates [Section IV. — Resources.] BIL 113 a demand for supplies and carriage, which would tend to enrich the resident community. But in Chhattisgarh it is considered a fatal calamity, and there is scarcely a roadside village that is not in a more or less unhappy condition, verging at times on absolute desertion. The reason is obvious. The people, instead of insisting on payment, have a constant drain on them, and it is only when their weakness has been painfully imposed upon, that they represent the fact and have it remedied. To the non-agricultural population the cheapness of livino- ja a fertile Cheapness of living. source of comfort, and there are a considerable class of pensioners and others who, owing to this cause, have migrated from less favoured regions, and taken up their quarters in the district. With wheat and rice selling often at a maund and a half per rupee, and other articles of native consumption in proportion, a labouring man and family can live comfortably on one anna a day. The classes socially higher in the same way can secure, to an extent, luxury and plenty with means which elsewhere would necessitate stinting and anxiety. Beggars are altogether a rare commodity, and can scarcely ever be pressed hard for food. The greater wealth of the community is a feature which in the future may with certainty be calcu lated on, but it may be questioned whether the humbler classes will ever be so freo from care as they are at present, in regard to the simple necessaries of life. The outward marks of prosperity are, however, few. The passion for display has not yet arisen, and even those, who have means, care not to erect imposing houses, or surround themselves with any ofthe outward marks of affluence. As the country has only been recently and partially opened out, there is doubtless less accumulated wealth here than elsewhere, and almost no rt-ally rich people exist. But hoarding in small sums is a universal habit, and with it all there is an amount of rude comfort among the agricultural population which any one moving among them cannot but perceive. Their grain-stores are generally well filled ; cattle exist in great numbers ; the luxury of a pony for locomotion is a very common feature; earthen plates have been largely displaced by metal vessels ; at all festive gatherings a large portion of the agricultural community are seen to possess jewellery of a more or less expensive character, and on such occasions they are often arrayed in what may be regarded, for Chhattisgarh as quite a superfluity of clothing ; while marriages are said to have increased and to involve a larger expenditure. These circumstances denote an advancing prosperity. The landholders, as a class, are not indebted, and they have had conferred on them the boon of proprietary right, equivalent, at present rates to a sum of twenty ldkhs of rupees (£200,000), so that altogether the people may be regarded as in a comfortable and progressive condition. They require in fact only an outlet for their produce, to occupy a position which would compare, not unfavourably, with that of the agricultural classes of other districts in the province. The chief wealth of the district consists in its agricultural produce. The Section IV. -Resources. adventurous carrier class (Banjdrds), following Agricultural plcntv. Sf^T 1 nSW ^ % ***», * ' which shut in the Chhattisgarh plain, in order that they may return laden with grain, have not inaptly termed this " the land of plenty" (khalauti).* They find here a surplus produce, which from the absence * This is more commonly interpreted to mean " the low country." 15 Cl'G Hi BIL [Section IV .—Resources,] of facilities for export, seems almost inexhaustible, for in a great number of villages they cannot fail to observe the prominent and capacious grain-stores, well raised above the ground, walled and thatched, and containing from fifty to two hundred cart-loads of the great staple, rice. Then wheat and oil-seeds and pulses are produced in great abundance, and there is a kind of reckless improvi dence in many places in feeding, free of cost, all travellers who pass, that indicates a condition in which it may be said that want, using it in the sense of food, is almost unknown. Of the entire produce sixty-five per cent, is rice. It is grown on all soils, and the average yield is often enhanced more from the lie of the land than the quality of the soil. The prevalent soils are black, mixed, red, and sandy. The black soil, as has been often stated is the debris of trap ; the red is probably decomposed laterite ; the sandy, as the name implies, represents deposits from sandstone rocks ; while the mixed is allied to the soil, either black or other, which most preponderates in its com position. The black soil is of course the most valuable, because both spring and autumn crops can be grown on it. But it»seems a disputed point' whether the most abundant yield of rice is generally obtained from black or from red soil. The sandy soil again, when manured and irrigated, is well adapted for sugarcane and all kinds of garden produce, and is much prized, but there is too much percolation in it to suit the rice crop. Looking then at these main divisions of soil, it may be said that the western tracts of the district are the richest, being nearly all black soil. The centre has land of very mixed quahty, while the whole eastern parganas are almost entirely (except in patches) either red or sandy soil. A peculiarity of rice-fields in Chhattisgarh is their extreme minuteness. In every village numbers of fields are found not exceeding a few poles, or about the dimensions of a public dining-table. The practice is said to have arisen from the impossibility of obtaining tenants, unless each received a share in the good or best-lying land. Thus land lying near the village is coveted because it is so easily worked and manured, and a low dip, because, when ridged, it best utlises the annual rainfall. These stretches then come to be very minutely divided. Again, now that the custom of small fields has become stereotyped, it is generally urged that in red soil the smaller the surface enclosed, the better the water is stored, and the larger the crop. Thus what originated for convenience is retained for profit. The reason may be that red soil does not retain moisture, though at the same time surface-water does not percolate freely through it. In soil like this it is therefore important to obtain as much surface-water as possible for rice, and this is effected by ridging-in small areas. This trouble is not taken with soil which retains moisture, and in which, if surface-water remains long, the crop is likely to rot. In fact it is always found that, where the fields are large, the soil is black, and that, where the converse is the case, it is on account of the peculiar attributes of the red soil. Under the present system of rice cultivation, small fields in Chhattisgarh are thus not only a convenience, but an absolute necessity. Another peculiarity is the practice of changing fields. This would occur Shifting tenures periodically, so that no tenants should monopolise the best land. The practice is not universal; it exists in some villages only. The want of attachment, however, to individual holdings is an almost universal feature, and a very trifle will often induce even a hereditary tenant to relinquish his land. The result is that there is little of that minuto and persistent care which is so marked a feature in a peasantry [Section IV. — Resources.] JblJu Ho attached to the soil. Few cultivators feel so deeply rooted as to devote extra labour to permanently enhancing the yield of their fields, and so cultivation generally comes to be desultory, and is carelessly carried out. Where an agricultural population depends so entirely on a solitary crop, _. and that crop one which requires an abundant rain- rll° 1 ' fall, each succeeding season becomes a period of uncertainty and anxiety. A failure of rain involves famine ; — a deficiency, wide spread scarcity. It, however, fortunately happens that Chhattisgarh, being girdled by hills, enjoys a fairly regular monsoon. Thus there are traditions of partial failure of crop, but no tradition of a famine ; for if the absence of rainfall has blasted hopes in one quarter, the area is so extensive that at some other point the fall has been adequately abundant. Besides periodical showers, the rice-crop requires four heavy downpours, namely, one in each of the four monsoon months. The September one should be late in the month, and as this is often untimely or deficient, bumper harvests are the exception, not the rule. It is at this time, if bright sunny "days persistently succeed each other, that heavy care is pourtrayed on every countenance, from a horrid dread that the whole season's labour will be lost. Then the village gods are piteously sup plicated, while the elders find comfort in relating their experiences, and the weatherwise make their prophecies, scanning every cloud lest haply they may find a hopeful omen. At the same time the country is not entirely dependent on the regularity of the monsoon. There are, scattered over the district, some seven thousand tanks, which the forethought of succeeding generations has contributed to construct. Although not entirely available for watering the fields (for many are strictly preserved to provide water during the heats of summer for man and beast), yet a large number are utilised for purposes of irrigation, and thus some portion of the crop in numerous villages at all times comes to be saved. Besides rice the most common crops are kodo, wheat, pulses, oil-seeds, and _T, , , . cotton; iawdri is not cultivated. Kodo (paspa- Wheat and other staples. 7 „ J , \ ¦ ait". 1 turn frumentaceum) is a very poor staple, and has no market value. It is grown generally on inferior soils, and at the same time as rice. The yield, however, is much larger, always exceeding a hundred-fold. It is rarely grown for more than two years in the same land. Wheat, gram, and pulses are only grown on the best land, while oil-seeds and cotton are often pro duced on the light and poorer soils. Both of these are largely produced, and the yield of oil-seeds is considerable. The cotton, however, is generally inferior, from the character of the soil on which it is usually raised, and the returns are limited. The best cotton is found in the zamindarls of Kawardd and Pandarid, where the undulating stretches of black soil are eminently fitted for its pro duction. It is never sown alone, but always mixed with arhar or kodo. Of regular rabi crops a large number of villages have none whatsoever, but where these exist they are tended with considerable care. For both wheat and gram the land is ploughed four times, and for the former some of the fields are regularly embanked to retain moisture and increase the yield. None ofthe rabi crops are either irrigated or manured. They are sown in October and November and reaped in March. In fact, excepting garden produce — the favourite pur suit of Mdlis, Mardrs, &c. — the only crop which is regularly both manured and irrigated is sugarcane. It entails an immense amount of labour, being frequently irrigated, some twelve times ploughed, and manured on two or three 11G BIIj [Section IV. — Resources.] different occasions. The few acres of sugarcane cultivation, however, which each village undertakes are raised by the joint efforts of the whole cultivating community. Each cultivator receives a small plot proportioned to the size of his general holding, the lion's share falling to the proprietor; and all labour together in preparing the field, tending the crop, and extracting the gur. In the western portion of the district there are villages which produce sugarcane without irrigation, but the crop is uncertain and scant. Instances also occur where it is raised without manure, but this is only in the vicinity of streams which overflow their banks in the monsoon, and leave a deposit that enriches the soil. In this district one hears but little of the exhaustion of the soil. Tear . after year rice is produced in the same fields without any change of crop, or even an occasional fallow, and yet the yield is apparently uninfluenced. It seems from the state ments of experienced cultivators that new land falls to the level of old in four or five years, and that, during this interval, the extra yield averages from twenty- five to thirty per cent. There is no further progressive deterioration. Rice is not an exhaustive crop, and then, as has been pointed out, the land is gene rally manured. This may account for the fact that rice is the only crop with which neither rotations nor fallows are practised. Where wheat is sown, it will be followed by gram or masdr one year and then perhaps kodo. And where this is not done, after four or five years the land is left fallow to recover itself. Again, cotton is often succeeded by til or some other oil-seed, so that all through a regular rotation is adhered to, experience having taught the people that their soil is not rich enough, as in some of the Narbada districts, to yield steadily without a change of crop or a fallow, and manure not being available, as it is absorbed by the rice and sugarcane fields. The mineral resources of this district are but httle known, and owing to „,. i r. i remoteness and inaccessibility are not likelv to be Minerals— Coal. , , , „ t ai • ¦ -a r ai developed tor many years. In the vicinity of the Hasdd, coal crops up in several places, and it is probable that if a Railway ever be constructed from Calcutta, through the plains of Chhattisgarh, to Ndgpdr, the Korbd coal-beds would yield an invaluable supply of fuel. On the right bank of the Hasdd, near Korbd itself, there is an exposed surface of coal extend ing for about a hundred yards, and in a drainage channel near this same bed it also crops up in several places. Again, some distance from Korbd, on the left bank of the Hasdd, there are the beds of two hill streams — the Bijakherd and Mundjharid — in which coal appears near the villages of Kalwd and Sankherd, and to such an extent that, walking up the Bijdkherd rivulet, the coal is traceable for at least a mile. Exploration would doubtless lead to other similar disco veries. There has been no digging or searching, and what has been traced has simply resulted by the action of the annual rains exposing the surface. This being the case, it is only fair to conclude that the coaly region is very extensive, and if once regularly worked would yield an immense supply. What the quality of the coal is can only be pronounced after careful professional scrutiny. The surface coal is shaly and inferior, but this in itself is not a discouraging fact, for systematic borings might establish the utility of the lower beds. Until this is undertaken no opinion can be formed, and the question will probably remain undecided until the time arrives, by the opening out of the country, for a final verdict to bo given. At present no attempt is made to work the coal, though [Section IV. — Resources.] BIL 117 a few enterprising smelters use it at times for the manufacture of iron after the native fashion. In the vicinity of all the hill ranges in the district iron ore is found, and its manufacture is confined to the zaminddri estates. As far as can be ascertained there are only some forty furnaces at work, the annual outturn of iron being about four hundred maunds. This is miserably inadequate for the requirements of the people, and the result is that a large importation occurs from Mandla and the Sambalpdr zamindaris. With all this, prices range high, and the ordinary selling rate is not more than three seers per rupee, or say thirteen rupees per maund. The consumption of the district cannot be under twelve hundred maunds annually, two-thirds of which comes to be drawn from other tracts. The limited production of iron does not arise from a deficiency of the ore, but from an absence of the class called " Agarids," who are employed in its manu facture. If Gonds and other tribes would only acquire the art, they would find in it a fertile source of gain. The profession, however, is scarcely an inviting- one, for although the native process of manufacture is extremely rude, the labour involved is very considerable. There is the charcoal to be made, and the ore to be collected. The selected ore is then taken and mixed with charcoal, and is placed in a clay furnace about three feet high. A regular current of air is kept playing on the furnace from the primitive pair of bellows worked by the feet. When the ore is smelted, the manufactured article comes rushing out in a lava-like stream from a crevice at the bottom of the furnace. It is then hammered and run into broad bars fit for sale. The iron which is made is of fair quality, but has no special reputation in the market. In connection with mineral products it may not be quite out of place to „ . mention quarries. The best-worked quarries are '"•"'" arn' those near Bildspdr and Seorlnardin, which con tain sandstone excellently suited for building purposes, to an extent capable of meeting large requirements. Similar facilities exist at many points all over the district, were the people sufficiently advanced to appreciate structures of per manent masonry. For road -making there are everywhere large quantities of suitable gravel ; but no regular beds of " kankar" (nodular limestone), which experience shows to be more durable, have yet been found. The extensive forests of the district are situated in the zamindaris, and are Waste tracts private property, the only large tracts of govern ment forest being the wastes spreading over the Lormi and Lamni hills on the north-west, and the Sondkhdn area on the south- cast. Besides these two tracts there are several considerable patches of jungle, which have been reserved in the portion of the plain skirting the northern hills. The largest of these are the Kori, Bijdpdr, Bitkuli, and Pantord wastes. Again, out in the plain there are a few isolated patches of waste ; of no value, however, except for grazing cattle. The total area of government waste, excluded from the private properties by the operations of the settlement department, is 443,500 acres, or 693 square miles. The chief blocks, as already noted, are Lormi and Lamni 190,269 acres, Sondkhdn and Mdrdji 97,503 acres, Kori 20,776 acres, Bijdpdr 48,571 acres, Bitkuli 25,509 acres, and Pantord 13,604 acres. The annual revenue realised at present is about 6,000 rupees. The smallness of the forest revenue, compared with the extent of waste, arises from the fact that 118 JdIL [Section IV.— Resources.] the most valuable of the government forests are more inaccessible than some of the zaminddri jungles, so that villages in the plain come to indent largely on these latter to meet their annual requirements. Thus the Lormi and Lamni forests are cut off by hills, while Sondkhdn is isolated by the deep waters and wide-spreading sands of the Mahdnadi. The nearer jungles on the other hand having been hacked and hewed at for years, are considerably thinned, and do not now furnish adequate supplies to satisfy the wants of the whole community. Sdl is the only valuable timber which exists in all the forests of the district , in great quantities. Good timber of this descrip- P ' tion is therefore available almost to any extent. Sdj too is much met with, but it is not generally of large size. Shisham and bijesdl are both scarce, while teak is almost unknown, except in the forest reserve of Hdthibdri near Sondkhdn. Of other building timber the most common trees in use are tendd, shisham, kawd, dhdurd, semar, anjan, khair, kalmi, and bijrd. There are some twenty other trees which are utilised, but their timber is very inferior. Besides building-timber, the supply of grass and bamboos in the forests is very extensive. Then the valleys of Lormi, Pendra, Mdtin, and Uprord afford vast grazing grounds, watered by perennial springs, and verdant even in the heats of summer. Here the cattle from the plain find abundant pasture, and are only brought down when the monsoon has commenced. With edible roots and fruits the jungles are well stocked, and they are an immense resource to the hill tribes, who have not unfrequently to remain content with "a dinner of herbs." The tamarind, the mhowa, the tendd, the achdr, the jamun, the gasto, the dunld, and the bel [are the fruits in ordinary use, and are the most palatable. Then for medicinal purposes instinct and experience have promoted the use of many plants, and those who are learned in their application are much resorted to. For fever, decoctions are made of nim, chinhdr, donjari, andgur; for diarrhoea and dysentery, bel and gindel are used ; for weakness, bohar, baridri, gursakri, and kesarwd ; for indigestion, dunld, dandbehrd, and sdtdr; for rheumatism, bansami and behrd; for head aches, jasmdr and dasmdr, and so on through a host of simple remedies for all ordinary and general complaints. Of industrial products the most extensively in demand is lac. The insect . . . . covers the tiny branches of the kusam tree duct? lndustrial Pro- (schleichera trijvya) with its coral-like protuber ances. The crusty material thus formed, includ ing in its recesses several insects, constitutes the stick lac of commerce, and produces, when manufactured, the deep red dye so largely required. Each tree yields from twenty to thirty lbs., a portion being left for seed, or in other words to reproduce the material in demand, and the annual value of a tree runs from three to four rupees. As a consequence the "kusam" is very rarely cut down, and is invariably preserved as a valuable property. Following lac, resin is a product in considerable demand. This is extracted from the sdl tree (shorea rohusta), which unfortunately has been generally ringed in the process instead of being punctured. Some magnificent forests have been thus destroyed, for the ringed trees speedily dry up, and then, when the annual conflagrations come, they are enveloped in the sweeping flame and augment its volume. It is truly melancholy to wander over the charred remnants of magnificent timber thus uselessly destroyed, and it is only to be hoped that in the future the mode of procedure hitherto prevalent in extracting resin will entirely disappear. [Section V.— Trade.] BIL 119 One interesting item of forest resource remains to be referred to — the tasar cocoons, which supply the useful silk so esteemed bilk cocoons. fey the commllnity# The Bllumife and other MU men collect these during the monsoon, and are marvellously active and shrewd in finding them in the jungles. They are found chiefly on the sdj tree (pen taptera glabra). In the month of August the primitive huts of these wild races are invaded by rearers of the tasar worm, from the more open portions of the district. These men come to purchase, and a party usually consists of seven or eight persons. A sufficient stock having been obtained, these rearers return to their selected locahty, which is a tract of stunted sdj trees, covering eight or ten acres near a village skirting the forest. Here in September they tie the cocoons to a series of strings, each string stretching from a branch of one tree to a different branch in another, the cocoons thus suspended looking from a distance like a great row of eggs. By degrees the moths cut through tho cocoons, during which process they are closely watched, and after they have paired, the females are placed in earthen vessels (ghards), in which they lay their eggs and die. The males fly away. The eggs are kept in the huts of the people, generally in cloth, and incubated by heat. They are little round dots about the size of mustard seed. In eight or ten days the worm is formed, and as each female moth placed in the vessel deposits about a hundred eggs, a great outturn is obtained. The worms thus incubated are taken out and placed on sdj trees, on the leaves of which they feed. They are small tiny insects at first, but they grow in size till they attain the thickness of a man's finger, and are perhaps two and a half inches long. At this stage they are very prettily marked; but in three months they have attained their full size, and then commence their cocoons, wliich are finished in two days. It is quite an interesting spectacle to see these insects busily employed throwing one thread round their bodies and then another, until they are completely encased in their silken home. A period of some four months elapses, viz. from September to December, from the time the moth breaks out of the old cocoon to the formation by the freshly generated worm of the new one, through the processes of incubation, develop ment, &c. The new cocoons are sold to the silk-weavers, who steep them in hot water, mixed with tamarind pods or leaves, in order to communicate to the thread additional strength and elasticity, when the thread is carefully wound off, and manufactured into the light-textured tasar silk. One piece requires on an average some 800 cocoons, and as the probable amount of silk woven may be estimated at 10,000 pieces, the annual supply, to admit of this, must be some thing hke eight million cocoons, the outturn probably of some 80,000 moths. It is strange that the Kewats, who rear the worms, instead of depending annually on the Bhdmids' supply from the wilds, do not themselves maintain a permanent stock to breed from. They urge that experience has not proved this process profitable ; but the true reason probably is that it would entail too much system to satisfy their tastes. As it is, while employed in rearing they remain away from their homes, confine their diet to rice and salt, and depend on the prayers of the Bhdmid " Baigds" for success. The absence of this last element has in every instance, it is alleged, been followed by failure. Section V — Trade Tte fouowing view of tne tra(Je of the district ' is tabulated from the Trade Statistic Returns for Imports and Exports. ^ ^ foup years ._ [Table 120 BIL IMPORTS. [Section V.— Trade.] 1864-65 1865-66 : 1866-67 1867-68 Maunds of 82 lbs. Rupees. Maunds of 82 lbs. Rupees. Maunds of 82 lbs. Rupees. Maunds of 82 lbs. Rupees. 1,791 2,927 721 Head. 14,220 9,237 35,820 1,04,703 64,169 1,27,9801,29,298 2,2621,265 310 Head. 16,112 5,941 45,240 47,115 27,590 1,45,008 83,174 2,183 2,822 1,341 Head. 35,565 15,338 43,640 94,451 1,18,8293,30,085 1,16,659 9,6372,9691,269 Head. 10,266 7,522 52,740 1,09,853 1,11,941 92,399 1,05,308 Metals and hard- English piece-goods. Cattle Total ,.., 28,896 4,61,970 25,890 3,43,127 57,249 7,03,664 24,603 4,72,241 514,744 106,017 17,313 12,77112,47928,111 4,408 5,44,744 1,06,017 17,313 1,66,023 49,916 4,17,776 48,488 ESP 134,099 43,354 7,645 15,312 4,053 60 17,72112,428 ORTS. 134,099 43,354 7,645 1,99,056 16,212 120 2,83,536 1,36,708 108,843 18,421 144 1,724 4,38(i 45 6,1696,067 1,06,843 18,421 144 22,212 17,544 90 98,704 66,737 86,591 68,036 1,502 12.621 793 90 9,752 5,099 85,591 68,03« 1,502 1,64,073 2,972 180 Wheat Other edible grain... Gur 1,56,032 56,089 Total ,.,, 723,843 13,50,277 234,672 8,20,730 143,709 3,30,695 184,484 5,35,475 In the above table, for purposes of comparison, a uniform unit of value has been maintained for each item in all the years, adopting for this purpose average rates. The imports consist chiefly of sugar, metals, English piece-goods, and cattle. Salt is not shown, as the customs department registers this on its crossing from the coast, including in the return the whole of Chhattisgarh. The exports are mainly rice, wheat, other edible grains, and lac. The great year for the agriculturists here was 1864-65. They then exported over 650,000 maunds (100,000 quarters) of grain, compared with only 150,000 maunds during 1867-68, and 50,000 rupees' worth of gur compared with 3,000 rupees' worth in 1867-68. As a permanent feature, however, a large export cannot be cal culated on, for so long as pack-bullocks remain the sole means of transport for produce, the grain from Chhattisgarh only repays carriage when prices west ward have risen to a more than ordinarily high rate. Independent of grain the only other large agricultural product that is exported is cotton. The area under cotton cultivation is 83,371 acres, which at alow estimate yields twenty seers or forty lbs. of cleaned cotton per acre, or altogether 41,685 maunds of cotton per annum. The whole trade has a western tendency to the railway at Jabalpdr, and, as has already been urged, to connect the Bildspdr district with so near a market is a matter of paramount local importance. Rather less than a fifth of the produce ofthe district has been calculated to be available for exportation, and of this only a fourth is recorded as having obtained a market. No statistics exist of the trade south vid the Rdipdr district, and east vid Sambalpdr. The former is very limited, and the latter consists chiefly of wheat, gram, oil-seeds, and cotton. If this be estimated at 100,000 maunds per annum altogether, there still remains a lamentable deficiency; for while the country is capable of maintaining a produce trade of 50,000 tons annually, owing to its land-locked condition, the [Section V.— Trade.] BIL 121 trade carried on only amounts to some 14,000 tons. The lac trade represents an important item, the average export ofthe last four years being nearly 15,000 maunds, aggregating in value about two and a half ldkhs of rupees. This is not, however, entirely from this district, but from all Chhattisgarh. The grain exports hitherto alluded to appertain properly to Bildspdr, because the Rdipdr grain export is to the south, mainly along the Great Eastern Road; but this is not the case with lac, which from both districts proceeds over the same lines to Mirzdpdr and Jabalpdr. The stick-lac is purchased up by agents of firms at low rates, and must yield a large profit to the purchasers, compared with the small returns the actual collectors receive. No mere local resident, however, has found it a remunerative process to export on his own account, the manufacture of the dye being almost a monopoly. The whole business therefore is carried on by agents on the spot, who despatch the commodity at the instance of the firms employing them. The expansion of the trade is not a likely contingency, as the demand fluctuates, and the " kusam" trees on which the lac insects are fostered are somewhat limited in number. Of local industries the most important is the weaving trade. There are m, , in the regular weaving trade some 6,000 looms. The weaving trade. m, ° ,, °_. i i ¦ . . -i The average outturn of each loom is a hundred cloths a year, so that the aggregate outturn must be 600,000 dhotis, valued at one rupee each, or six ldkhs of rupees. Then all the Pankd caste weave, in addition to cultivation, and nearly half the cloth in the district is made by them. There are among them about 12,000 looms, the average outturn of each being about forty cloths a year, giving a total of say 500,000 dhotis. They are generally small, and made for the cultivators, selling singly for about ten annas each, so that the aggregate value would be about three ldkhs of rupees. The total number of cloths made must be at least eleven hundred thousand, valued at nine ldkhs of rupees. Besides this some 10,000 pieces of tasar silk are manu factured annually, selling at from five to six rupees a piece. It is estimated that there are 600,000 persons in the district, requiring on an average two cloths each; this would be 1,200,000 dhotis; and now looking at the number of looms we find that the outturn approaches this limit. The estimate given may therefore be accepted as a very close approximation to the real extent of the weaving trade. The great majority of weavers are in comfortable circum stances, but nothing more. They make from two to three annas a day as the price of their labour, which, with grain cheap, is sufficient to support a family. The weavers of the fine cloths make from four to six annas a day, and this is the extreme limit. Administration Tlie revenues of tne district for the year 1868-09 were — Land Rs. 2,71,956 Excise ., 8,922 Stamps ,, 22,338 Forests „ 4,337 Assessed taxes „ 12,220 The executive staff consists of a deputy commissioner with two assistants at head-quarters, and tahsilddrs or sub-collectors at Bildspdr, Mungeli, and Seori- nardin. The police station-houses are at Bildspdr, Mungeli, Seorfnarain, Ratanpdr, Surgdon, Lormf, and Sdrdgdon. 16 crG 122 BIL— BIN BILA'SPU'R — The central revenue subdivision or tahsil in the district of the same name, having an area of 1,674 square miles, with 975 villages, and a population of 223,388 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,01,917-2-0. BILA'SPLTR — The head-quarters of the district of the same name, pleasantly situated on the south bank of the river Arpd. It has a population of 6,190 souls. The town is said to have been founded rather more than three hundred years ago by a fisherwoman named Bilasa, from whom it takes its name. For a long period it consisted of only a few fishermen's huts, but about one hundred years ago one Kesava Pant Sdba, the manager of the district on the part of the Mardthds, took up his residence here and began to build a fort. This fort was never completed, but a portion of it still exists on the banks of the river, at one extremity of the present town. It is a brick structure, in no respect imposing, and with no pretensions to architectural beauty. As the town became the residence of an important official, and the head- quarters of a military contingent, traders commenced to settle in it. Subsequently, however, the ' Mardthds fixed their head-quarters at Ratanpdr, and Bildspdr dwindled into comparative insignificance. It was in 1862 again constituted the head-quarters of a British district, and is now a rising town. The vicinity is well wooded ; there are many gardens and mango-groves ; and the view of the distant hills affords a pleasant prospect. The only buildings of any importance are those erected for government purposes. Bildspdr is 69 miles N.N.E. of Raipdr, 144 S.W.W. of Mandla, and 140 N.W. of Sambalpur. BILIHRA — An estate in the Sdgar district, about twelve miles south of Sdgar, consisting of five villages, with an area of fifteen square miles. As men tioned in the account of " Sdgar," this estate was assigned by the Peshwa to Prithvi Pat, the original possessor of Sdgar. It then comprised twelve villages, which were held at a quit-rent. His descendants remained in un disturbed possession till a.d. 1818, when this, with Sdgar, was ceded to the British. At that time Bahadur Singh, an adopted son of Man Singh, the last lineal descendant of Prithvi Pat, was in possession. With him an arrange ment was made by the government that the quit-rent should be discontinued, and that seven villages out of the twelve should be fully assessed, leaving the remaining five rent-free for ever. The village contains 299 houses, with 1,331 inhabitants. There is a school here for boys. BILTARA' — A small village in the Damoh district, ten miles and a half from Damoh on the Jokdi road. Between this and Damoh are no less than sixteen ndlds, fifteen of which are bridged. Water can be obtained from a tank and from a well. The encamping-ground is tolerably good. BI'NA' — A river which, taking its rise in the Bhopdl state, enters Sdgar in the south-western extremity, and flows almost due north, past Rdhatgarh, where it is crossed by a large stone bridge of fourteen arches. It then turns in a westerly direction towards Bhopdl, forming the boundary between that state and Sdgar for about twenty-five miles, till it passes Eran, and from thence forms the boundary between Sagar and Gwdlior, till it falls into the Betwd. BINATKA' — In the Sdgar district, the chief village of a tract known by the name of " Bindikd P;itan ." It is situated about twenty-four miles north of Sdgar, and contains 256 houses, with 848 inhabitants. The history of this village BIN— BORA 123 and tract till the year a.d. 1733 is the same as that ofthe state of Dhdmoni, of which they formed part. In that year Rdjd Chhatra Sdl made over Bindika to the Peshwd, but on the death of the former, his son Rdjd Jagat Rdj refused to ratify the transfer, and kept possession himself. Some five years afterwards the Peshwd forcibly established his claim, and the tract thus became part of the Mardthd territory. The fort was built, and the village was much improved, during the Mardthd occupancy by Vindyak Rao, one of the Peshwd's governors of Sdgar. In the year 1818 the tract formed part of the territory ceded to the British government by the Peshwd. The tahsil head-quarters were held in this village from the year 1832 to 1861, having been removed thither from Dhdmoni. The fort has been for the most part destroyed since the removal of the tahsil to Bandd. The village itself is one of no importance, though one of the largest in the Bandd subdivision. No trade of any kind is carried on. A weekly market is, however, held on Thursdays, at which provisions and cloths are brought for sale. BINDRA' NAWA'GARH— One ofthe Pdtnd group of chiefships attached to the Rdipdr district. It is situated to the south-west of Kharidr, and adjoins Narrd and others of the south-eastern zaminddris of Chhattisgarh. Only a small proportion of the area is under cultivation. The chief is a Gond by caste. BIRTJL — A large village in the A'rvi tahsil of the Wardhd district, con taining 1,949 inhabitants, chiefly cultivators and oil-pressers. It lies about nineteen miles west of Wardhd. The village mud fort, now in disrepair, was built by the Desmukh family who founded the village some two hundred and fifty years ago, and still retain a share in it. There is a village school here. BISNU'R — A large village in the A'rvi tahsil of the Wardhd district, containing 1,493 inhabitants, chiefly cultivators. It is situated on the bank of the river Wardhd, forty-five miles north-west of Wardhd. The road from Amrdoti to Ndgpdr enters the Wardhd district at Bisndr, so a police outpost has been estabhshed here to guard the traffic. The Bisndr fort has recently been converted into a sardi. There is a good village school, and a small weekly market is held here every Friday. BOR — A stream which rises in the Ndgpdr district and enters the Wardhd district near Hingnf. Thence it flows past the town of Seld and joining the Dhdm flows into the Wand. BORA'SA'MBAR — A chiefship which formerly belonged to the cluster of states known as the eighteen Garhjdts, and is now classed among the ordinary khdlsa zaminddris attached to the Sambalpdr district. It is about forty miles long by twenty broad, thus having an area of some eight hundred square miles. About one-half is cultivated, and the remainder is jungle and waste. The soil is light and sandy, like the rest of the country in this portion of the Mahdnadi valley. A long range of hills, which do not, however, rise over 2,200 feet above the level of the sea, forms a natural boundary to the northward between this state and Phuljhar. A still more continuous and lofty range, of which the height varies from 2,000 to near 3,000 feet, forms the boundary between Bora- sdmbar and Pdtnd. Nearly one-half of the state is covered with forest. Teak is scarcely ever met with, but sdl (shorea robusta), sdj (pentaptera glabra), dhdurd (conocarpus latifolia), tendd (diospyros melanoxylon), khair (acacia catechu), and many other useful woods, as also lac and cocoons of the tasar silkworm, are common. The principal river is the Ong, a tributary of the Mahdnadi; [it rises in the hill range to the westward in the Kharidr 124 BOEI— BOTE zaminddri, and flows through the whole length of Bordsambar from west to east. There is nothing deserving the name of a road in the whole state, but from Kharidr (Thdnot) there is a track, a good deal used by Banjdrds. This is clearly enough defined, but a laden cart could not go along it. The climate is similar to that of Sambalpdr. Tigers, panthers, bears, and wild buffaloes are numerous. By the last census (1866-67) the population is shown at 19,203 souls. The principal agricultural classes are the Koltds, Binjhals, Saurds, Khonds, and Gonds. There are also a few Brdhmans, and a sprinkling of the artisan classes. The Binjhdls have customs somewhat similar to the Gonds, and have also the same type of countenance, but they are not recognised by any of the tribes of Gonds in these parts as clansmen. It is supposed that they have immigrated from the westward, i.e. from the great Vindhyan range of hills. The manufac tures are limited to iron implements and coarse cloths ; rice is the chief agricul tural product, but the pulses, oil-seeds, sugarcane, and cotton are also grown. The revenue is estimated roughly at about Rs. 2,000 per annum in cash, but nazrana payments in kind, &c. would probably increase this by another thousand rupees at least. The chiefship consisted originally of only a few villages/and was known by the name of A'tgarh. By degrees the family, which was a very warlike one, increased in power, and acquired territory from the neighbouring chiefships of Phuljhar and Pdtnd, till Bordsdmbar became an important state, and was deemed worthy of being included amongst the Garhjdt cluster. It has been in the family of the present holder for some twenty-eight generations. BORI' — A thriving village in the Ndgpdr district, on the left bank of the river Wand, and lying between the Great Southern Road and the Railway, about eighteen miles from Ndgpdr. The population, amounting to 3,371 souls, is mostly employed in agriculture, or in weaving and dyeing country cloths, The Rangdris (dyers) are an important section ofthe people. Cloths dyed at Bori are in especial request, as the dye, of a red brick colour, is very durable, This quality the dyers ascribe to properties possessed by the waters of the Wand. There are several fine groves to the north of the town, and some good gardens. Near the railway station is a commodious sarai, lately built, and on the Great Southern Road is a good travellers' bungalow. There is also a government school here. The town was founded by one Safdar Khdn, a Pathan silahdar of Bakht Buland. It remained in his family for seventy-five years. It was afterwards held by Maind Bdi Nimbdlkarin, who, with a garrison of two hundred men, successfully held her fortress against three raids of the Pindharis. BORI' — A small forest tract of some thirty square miles in extent, situated south of the Pachmari range of hills in the Chhindwdrd district, and containing some fine teak and other timber. Plantation operations have been commenced in this forest. BOTEWA'HI'— A river in the Chdndd district. It rises in the eastern slopes of the Perzdgarh hills, and after an easterly course of twenty-eight miles falls into the Waingangd at Ranmanchan. This stream never dries, and the water is considered peculiarly good for drinking purposes. During the rains its clear current can be traced flowing in, but not intermingling with, the muddier volume of the Waingangd. BRAH— BUR 125 BRAHMAPURI'— The north-eastern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Chdndd district, having an area of 1,905 square miles, with 449 villages,, and a population of 158,114 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 87,802. BRAHMAPURI' — A municipal town in the Chdndd district, and the head quarters of the Brahmapuri tahsil, situated eighty miles north-north-east of Chdndd, in a bend of the Waingangd. It contains 1,358 houses, and is more a place of residence for the neighbouring landholders than a trading mart. It manufactures, however, fine cotton cloth and thread, excellent brass and copper utensils, and good driving-carts. The town is prettily situated on red gravelly soil, and surrounded with picturesque groves and undulating rocky ground. In the highest part of it is an old fort, the walls of which have been levelled, making a spacious place, from which the whole of the surrounding country is seen stretched out, and in this square stand the government school-house, the tahsil court-house, and the police station-house ; while it is hoped before long to complete the work by a handsome tank with a broad flight of steps. There are also here a post-office, a female school, and a branch dispensary. The people are chiefly Mardthds. BU'RHA' — The present head-quarters station of the Bdldghdt district; well situated on high and dry soil, about ten miles to the north of Hattd, and a mile from the Wainganga. On the north-east and south sides it is sheltered by large groves of mango trees. Before the country lapsed to the British govern ment a kamdvisddr or government agent had his head-quarters at this place. At the census of 1866 the population amounted to 1,206 souls, but it has since considerably increased. There is no trade peculiar to the place, the inhabitants being principally agriculturists. BU'RHA' — At present the only tahsil in the Bdldghat district, having an area of 2,822 square miles, with 859 villages, and a population of 1 70,964. The land revenue of the tahsil is for the year 1869-70 Rs. 67,987, but the total revenues amount to Rs. 1,18,762. A ndib tahsilddr is stationed at Paraswdrd on the tableland. BURHA'NPU'R — The southern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Nimdr district, having an area of 1,225 square miles, with 133 villages, and a population of 68,914 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 63,924. BURHA'NPU'R— A town in the Nimdr district, situated in latitude 21° 18' General description. a?d lo5,g^de ^ .20', on the north bank of the river lapti, and distant forty-one miles south by west from Khandwd, the head-quarters of Nimdr, and two miles from the Great Indian Peninsula Railway station of Ldlbdgh. It was founded about a.d. 1400 by Nasfr Khdn, the first independent prince of the Fdrdki dynasty of Khdndesh, and called by him after the famous ShekhBurhdn-ud-din of Daulatdbdd. It was held by eleven princes of this dynasty for two hundred years till a.d. 1600, when the kingdom of the Fdrdkfs was annexed by the Emperor Akbar. During this time it was repeatedly sacked by the rival Mohammadan princes of the Deccan, and never seems to have attained to any great state of magnificence. Of the earlier Fdrdki works no traces now remain, except a pair of minarets of rude unshapely form in the citadel called the Bddshdh Kild. An old I'dgdh near the 126 BUR town is attributed to the fifth of the hne, A'dil Khdn.* The tombs of this prince and of some of his successors are also in tolerable preservation, and though not remarkable for great architectural beauty are curious examples of the style of that period. The twelfth Fdrdki raja, Ali Khdn, greatly improved the city, and built the handsome Jamia Masjid, still in excellent preservation. The city was greatly extended and embellished during the reigns of Akbar and his successor on the throne of Delhi. In the " A'in-i-Akbari" it is described as a "large city with many gardens, in some of which is found sandal- " wood, inhabited by people of all nations, and abounding with handicraftsmen. " In the summer the town is covered with dust, and during the rains the streets " are full of mud and stone." It formed the seat of government of the Deccan provinces of the empire till the reign of Shdh Jahdn, when (a.d. 1635) it was transferred to Aurangdbad in the Deccan, after which the city was the capital of the large sdba of Khdndesh. The holder of this government was usually a prince of the royal blood. The first was Prince Danidl, who drank himself to death here in a.d. 1605. In 1614 Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador from James I. of England to the Great Moghal, thus describes his visit to Prince Parviz, son of Jahdngir, governor at Burhdnpdr f : — " The cutwall, an officer of the king so called, met me well attended, with sixteen colours carried before him, and conducted me to the seraglio where I was appointed to lodge. He took his leave at the gate, which made a handsome front of stone ; but when in, I had four chambers allotted to me, like ovens and no bigger, round at the top, made of bricks in the side of a wall, so that I lay in my tent; the cutwall making his excuse that it was the best lodging in the town, as I found it was, all the place being only mud cottages, except the prince's house, the chan's, and some few others. I was conducted by the cutwall to visit the prince, in whose outward court I found about a hundred gentlemen on horseback waiting to salute him on his coming out. He sat high in a gallery that went round, with a canopy over him, and a carpet before him. An officer told me as I ap proached that I must touch the ground with my head bare, which I refused, and went on to a place right under him railed-in, with an ascent of three steps, where I made him reverence, and he bowed his body : so I went within, where were all the great men of the town, with their hands before them like slaves. The place was covered overhead with a rich canopy, and under foot all with carpets. It was like a great stage, and the prince sat at the upper end of it. Having no place assigned, I stood right before him, he refusing to admit me to come up the steps, or to allow me a chair. Having received my present, he offered to go into another room, where I should be allowed to sit ; but by the way he made himself drunk out of. a case of bottles I gave him, and so the visit ended." Tavernier passed through Burhdnpdr (or as he wrote it, Brampour) in 1641, and again in 1658 on his journeys between A'gra and Surat. This is how he -writes of it in 1658 X '¦ — * The Farukis were all entitled Khan, a designation bestowed on them by the King of Gujarat, to whom they paid allegiance as suzerain ; hence, according to some authorities, the name of their country, Khandesh. + Pinkerton's Voyages and Travels, vol. viii. p. 5. X Tavernier's Travels in India, Part II. Book I. p. 31, Edition 1678 (London). BUR 127 " It is a great city, very much ruined, the houses being for the most part thatched with straw. There is also a great castle in the midst of the city, where the governor lives. The government of this province is a very considerable command, only conferred upon the son and uncle of the king. There is a great trade in this city, and as well in Brampour as over all the province; there is made a prodigious quantity of calicuts, very clear and white, which are transported into Persia, Turkey, and Muscovia, Poland, Arabia, to Grand Cairo, and other places. There are some which are painted with several colours, with flowers, of which the women make veils and scarfs ; the same calicuts serve for coverlets of beds and for handkerchiefs. There is another sort of linen which they never dye, with a stripe or two of gold or silver quite through the piece, and at each end from the breadth one inch to twelve or fifteen, in some more, in some less, they fix a tissue of gold, silver, and silk intermixed with flowers, whereof there is no wrong side, both sides being as fair the one as the other. If these pieces, which they carry into Poland, where they have a vast utterance, want at each end three or four inches at the least of gold or silver, or if that gold or silver become tarnished in being carried by sea from Surat to Oormus, and from Trebizan to Mangala, or any other parts upon the Black Sea, the merchant shall have much ado to put them off without great loss. He must take care that his goods be packed up in good bales that no wet may get in, which for so long a voyage requires great care and trouble. Some of these linens are made purposely for swath-bands or sashes, and those pieces are called orris. They contain from fifteen to twenty ells, and cost from a hundred to a hundred and fifty rupees, the least not being under ten or twelve ells. Those that are not above two ells long are worn by the ladies of quality for veils and scarfs, of which there is a vast quantity vended in Persia and Turkey. They make at Brampour also other sorts of cotton linen, for indeed there is no province in all the Indies which more abounds in cotton." The city is shown by the remains of its mosques, houses, &c. to have extended, at the height of its prosperity under the Moghals, over an area of about five square miles, with a circumference of about 10-^ miles. It was plentifully suppbed with pure water by a system of water-works exhibiting considerable skill in their construction. There are eight sets of these still to be traced in the neighbourhood. Two of these were channels led off from running streams, partly under and partly above ground. The channels of both are now destroyed, but the dam on the Utduli river, south of the city, still forms a fine sheet of water. The remaining six consisted of a number of wells, connected by a subter ranean gallery, and so arranged as to catch the percolation of the water from the neighbouring hills towards the centre of the valley. When a sufficient supply has thus been obtained, it is led off in a masonry adit pipe to its destination in the city or its neighbourhood. One set, called the Phutd Banddra, supplied the palace and the centre ofthe city, and still supplies the greater part ofthe town. Another, called Tirkhuti, was mado for a suburban garden called Ldlbdgh. These were both made about i.D. 1610. Three more go to the town of Bahddurpdr, a suburb of the city built by Bahadur Khdn, the last of the Fdrdkis, and were constructed between 1690 and 171 0. The last of the six goes to a palace erected by Rdo Ratan, rdjd of Harauti, who was for some time governor ofthe city in the reign of Jahdngir. All those channels, where they run underground, are furnished at short intervals with tall hollow columns of masonry rising to the level of tho water at the source of the works. They seem to have 128 BUR been manholes to give access to silt traps, and may have been designed for other purposes as well, regarding which authorities seem to differ. They form a marked feature in the plain around Burhdnpdr. The modern city is confined to a much smaller area than this, and is surrounded by a brick wall erected by the Nizdm A'saf Jdh in a.d. 1731. It has numerous bastions, and nine gateways, but does not seem to have been designed to resist artillery. The circumference is about 5£ miles, enclosing an area of If square miles. All the architectural remains of any note, comprising a portion of the Badshah kild or citadel, a pleasure-house called the dhd khana (deer park) on the south side of the Tapti, and numerous mosques and tombs, belong to the period of Moghal rule, and form altogether an exceedingly meagre display, considering the long period during which the city was the residence of princes and nobles. Almost the only one of any merit is the tomb of one Shah Nawaz Khdn, son ofthe famous Abd-ul-Rahim Khdn (khanani) , a soldier of fortune who married his daughter to the Emperor Shdh Jahdn, and afterwards hved the life of a recluse at Burhdnpdr. The tomb was built during his lifetime, and is a really handsome structure. Burhdnpdr continued to play an important part in the wars of the empire, particularly in the reign of Aurangzeb. It was plundered in a.d. 1685 by the Mardthds, just after that prince had left it, with an enormous army and magnificent equipage, to subjugate the Deccan. Repeated battles were thereafter fought in its neighbour hood, until in a.d. 1719 the demands of the Mardthds for the "chauth" or one- fourth ofthe revenue were formally conceded. In a.d. 1720 A'saf Jdh Nizam- ul-Mulk seized the government of the Deccan, and thereafter resided much at Burhdnpdr, where he died in a.d. 1748. He was interred, however, at Aurangdbdd. In 1760 Burhdnpdr was ceded by the Nizam to the Peshwd after the battle of Udgi, and in 1778 was transferred by him to Sindid. In a.d. 1803 the army under General Wellesley took Burhdnpdr and A'sirgarh ; but by the treaty of Surji Anjangdon, concluded in 1804, these places were restored to Sindia. In 1860-61 Burhdnpdr and the surrounding mahdls were ceded by Sindid in consequence of some territorial arrangement, since when the city of Burhdnpdr and the pargana of Zaindbdd became part of the district of Nimdr. It is now the residence of an assistant commissioner and sub-collector (tahsildar) . There is a post-office in the city, and a travellers' bungalow near the railway station at Ldlbdgh, two miles north, of the town. The Ldlbdgh is a finely-wooded park, well supplied with roads, nurseries of trees, flower beds, and vegetable gardens. It is always open to the public. The city is one of the principal seats of the Bohrd trading community — a Gujardti Mohammadan sect. A mulld, subordinate to the chief mulla at Sdrat, resides here. The Bohrd burial-place, though celebrated, has nothing archi tectural to recommend it. Burhdnpdr has long been declining. The removal from it of the seat of m , , „ . native government is one cause of this. Another trade and manufactures. ,, ° . „ » -, , . . ¦ . . is the return of peaceful times, which have induced many cultivators of the neighbouring lands,.who resided within the walls for protection, to move nearer to their fields. A third is the advent of the Railway, which has knocked Burhdnpdr on the head as an entrepot for the trade between Mdlwd, tho Upper Narbadd valley, and the Deccan. Another, and the BUR " 129 one usually adduced as the sole cause, is the falling off in the demand for the rich fabrics of gold and silks, for the production of which the city was long famous, owing to the breaking up of so many native courts. It now contains 8,000 masonry houses, and a population of 34,137, most of whom are dependent in one way or other on the wire-drawing and cloth-weaving industries of the place, which merit some description. They have already been referred to above as having formed the basis of a highly important trade to places as distant even as Turkey and Poland, about the middle of the seventeenth century. They are said to have continued in high prosperity till the Mohammadan power began to wane before the Mardthds, early in the eighteenth century, when they began to decline. The more recent introduction of Enghsh fabrics has supplanted here, as elsewhere, the native production of the " fine, clear calicuts" mentioned by Tavernier, and now the industry is confined to the manufacture of fine cotton and silk fabrics interwoven with -the gold-plated silver-thread drawn in the city, and to the coarser cotton goods, which have not yet been supplanted in the estimation of the people by Manchester piece-goods. .The value of the fine fabrics depends mainly on the purity of the metals employed in the composition of the wire, and to secure this the wire-drawing has always been kept under government inspection. A hereditary tester called the " chaukasi" received and assayed all the silver and gold brought to the " taksdl" or mint (where the Burhdnpdr rupee was also coined), and here the wire was drawn out to a certain degree of fineness before being allowed to pass again into the hands of the manufacturers — an arrangement still continued by us. The silver after testing is cast into the shape of a square ingot (pasa), weighing from thirty-two to sixty tolds, and measuring about two feet long and 1£ inch square, and on this a duty amounting to Rs. 2-6-9, including the fees of the chaukasi and some other servants of the place, was exacted during Sindid's tenure of Burhdnpdr. There were three other places in the neighbourhood where wire-drawing was then carried on, two being in the neighbouring British territory. The duties in these places were somewhat lower than at the Burhdn pdr taksdl. When the city came under our administration the pasa was fixed at sixty tolds (of 180 grains troy each) weight of silver, and the taksdl duty at three per pdsd, subsequently reduced to one-eighth. Two ofthe four taksdls were also then abolished, and the drawing now takes place only at Burhdnpdr, and Lodhipurd, a suburb of the old city. The silver bars are covered with a thin gold leaf weighing from four to forty-two mdshds (of fifteen grains troy each) to each pdsd, that is from about half to six per cent on the amount ofthe silver. The number of mdshds employed is called the "rang " (colour) of the wire. The adhesion appears to be effected purely by mechanical skill on the part of the workmen called " Pdsd Tdnids." It is then passed by the same workmen through a series of holes in steel plates of diminishing size, by manual power, applied by means of a spoked wheel of the rudest construction. It is passed through forty of these holes before it leaves the taksdl, and is then reduced to about the size of an ordi nary sodawater wire. Thence it goes into the hands of another set of operatives called Tdnias, who still further reduce it through a gradation of forty more holes, the last of which is as fine as a human hair. Their apparatus is of somewhat more delicate construction, but the work requires neither the same skill nor hard work as the first operation. The wire is drawn by them down to various degrees of fineness, according to the work for which it is destined. The round wire is then given to the Chaprids, who flatten it into an almost impalpable film, by hammering between two polished steel surfaces, an operation requiring, it is said, superior skill. In this state it is termed " bddld," and is used for some few 17 CFG 130 Bur sorts of work. The greater part of it has, however, to be spun into a thread along with silk, before being woven up. This is done by persons called Bitais, who use no sort of apparatus for the purpose, excepting a couple of wooden spindles twirled by the hand. Indeed the beauty of the result obtained by such primitive implements must strike every one with amazement. The layer of gold on the finest wire must be of almost inconceivable thinness. The mixed thread is called " kaldbatdn," which is woven into the kinkhdbs and other brilliant fabrics worn by rich natives on high occasions. It is partly exported as thread from Burhdnpdr, and partly made into cloth in the city. In either case an export duty of four per cent ad valorem was levied on it by Sindid's government, which has of course been taken off by us. The wire- drawers were originally Pathdns introduced from Upper India by the Emperor Akbar, but now all castes work at the trade. The wages of the most numerous of the classes engaged in this industry are extremely low, varying from about three to six rupees per mensem, or about one-half the ordinary wages of a labourer on the railway works. The Pasa Tdnids get about Rs. 1-8 a day; but their work is much more severe, and they do not get steady employment. At the recent census (1866) the number of persons employed in this work was set down at — Wire-drawers 601 Flatteners 411 Kaldbatdn spinners 412 The cloth-weaving business of the city is quite distinct from the operation of drawing the wire and spinning the kaldbatdn thread above described. The fabrics are of many different sorts, many of them of great beauty. Kinkhdb (vulgarly kincob), wliich is of mixed silk and gold thread, is now httle made in Burhdnpdr ; the Ahmadabad and Bendres articles, from being produced both cheaper and nearer the great markets for such stuffs, having driven it out of the field. The same may be said of mashrdd — a fabric of silk warp with the woof of cotton thread wrought with a pattern in kaldbatdn ; though made to a small extent, it is greatly inferior to the produce of Ahmaddbdd. The chief fabrics still made in the city are zari — a very rich light stuff in which the flattened wire is interwoven with silk in the warp, with a thread woof, chiefly made up into scarves and saris worn by females on wedding and other high occasions. Seldri is half silk and half thread, with brilliant edging and borders of silk and gold thread, mostly in the form of sdris and dopattds. Pitdmbar, all silk with the same edging, is a better sort of the same. Turbans, sashes, &c. are made in all these fabrics. The gold thread also is much woven up with silks into rich borders and edgings, exported to be attached to the cloth manu factures of other places. The silk for these cloths is all imported ; it is mostly from China, generally spun and dyed in fast colours at Puna ; a httle, however, is spun in the city from the material imported raw. The cotton-thread used is extremely fine, and is both English andUmade on the spot. The former costs in Burhdnpdr exactly one-fourth of the latter, but it is greatly inferior both in strength and cleanness. The closely -twisted native thread breaks with a sharp crack, while the English article, from its fluffy open character, parts without any noise. The people attribute this in part to the different nature of the cotton used, the indigenous fibre being hard, though short, while the Enghsh yarn is made from the much-desired " long soft staples." The English thread, from its greatly superior cheapness, has, however, completely supplanted the native for all but the finest stuffs. The city thread is spun by the families of the BUR 131 weavers and others, the best being produced by the Baldhi (Dher) caste. A coarser thread is generally spun throughout the country by the women of almost every caste. It is woven into every description of common cloth by the Bur hdnpdr weavers, even the best of them, when out of fine work, having to take to the commoner stuffs. The latter now greatly preponderate in quantity, and it is said that every day the demand is getting smaller for the finer qualities. It is not difficult to account for this. The supersession by the rough and ready Mardthds of the luxurious Mohammadan princes and nobles was probably the first blow to the trade. The courts of Sindia and the Bhonsla Rdjd of Ndgpdr were, after them, the greatest customers for rich goods ; and both of these have now been lost, the former having ceased to patronise Burhdnpdr since its transfer to us, while the same articles can be got cheaper in Upper India, and the Ndgpdr court having ceased to exist. But besides the diminution of general demand for such stuffs, the Burhdnpdr produce is at a disadvantage compared with other seats of the same industry . The neighbourhood does not produce nearly enough food for the supply of itself and the city, and nearly all the grain, gur, condiments, &c. used have to be imported from considerable distances. Prices therefore range very high in Burhdnpdr, and besides, the materials — silk, silver, and gold — have to be brought further, and the goods have to be taken a greater distance to market than those of many other places. It is not to be wondered at then that the commoner stuffs used nearer at hand, and by a lower class of people, are chiefly made. The increased wealth of the mass of the people, due to the cotton demand and other causes, has recently somewhat revived the demand even for fine goods (as shown by the amount of duty received at the taksdls), and it is not hopeless to expect that, as this wealth increases, Burhdnpdr may at least cease to decline as a manufacturing town, if it does not actually recover its old place. The average earnings of the weavers range from about five to ten rupees a month, besides what their families earn by spinning, dyeing, and odd work connected with the trade. They are thus, it appears, a good deal better off than the operatives connected with the manufacture of kaldbatdn, as was to be expected from the greater decay that has occurred in the gold-wire trade than in the manufacture of cloths. A weaver, if out of fine work, can always make common sdris, dhotis, &c, for which there is a steady demand, and for which little capital is required ; but a wire-drawer can only draw wire, and can never afford the capital to work on his own account ; in fact there is reason to believe that the weaving operatives, like most others at present, are rather improving in their relations to capital than otherwise. Till lately the whole command of both the wire-drawing and weaving trades was in the hands of the merchants of the city. They found all the materials, and merely paid the stated rates for piecework executed by the operatives ; the latter were always kept under heavy advances, and under Sindid's rule they couldnot leave their employers while these were unpaid, unless their new masters chose to clear them ; in short they were regularly bought and sold hke slaves. The employers now complain of their inability to keep them to their work, and seldom now make advances, as the operatives frequently abscond, and being without chattels, debts cannot be recovered from them under our legal procedure. Of course this is altogether advantageous to the operative class; they are thus gradually emancipating themselves from the thraldom of the capitalist merchants, and a good deal of the outcry made by the latter about the decay of the trade may mean only the transfer of a, part of their old profits on fine goods to the independent manu facturers of coarser stuffs. 132 BURH-CHAM • We have taken off the Mardthd export taxes on cloths, which amounted to four per cent on their value, and there is now no direct burden on any part of the trade, except the taksdl fee of Rs. 1-8 on each pdsd of silver made into wire. This the wire-drawers themselves would not desire to be withdrawn, as it is thought to give a sort of protection to the genuine Burhdnpdr article against the inferior imitations made at Rdver in Khdndesh and other places. How it does so, however, it is impossible to understand, for it does not, like the English Hall-mark, impress any stamp on the goods, and there is no law to prevent the importation ofthe inferior article to be re-exported as Burhdnpdr produce, which is in fact already done. Moreover the Burhdnpdr wire is itself deteriorating in quality, for while it was seldom made below from thirty to forty-two mdshds of gold per pdsd of silver, ten to twenty are now much more commonly used, and this only because there is no demand for the more costly sort. The census statements show that there are in Burhdnpdr — Silk spinners 45 Cloth dyers 457 Kaldbatdn weavers 382 Other weavers 4,437 Burhdnpdr offers a singularly promising field for the establishment of a factory, on Enghsh principles, for the production of the coarser cotton fabrics worn by the common people. With so many hands available who are already skilled in thread-spinning and weaving by hand, steam machinery on a mode rate scale would certainly enable such an establishment to supply better and cheaper goods of this description than either the imported Manchester cloth, which has neither the strength nor substance looked for by the common people for their every-day wear, or than the hand-wove native fabrics now in vogue. His Highness Holkar is now establishing such a factory at Indore, and, if possible there, its chance would certainly be much better at Burhdnpdr. BURHNER' — A river in the Mandla district. It rises thirty miles to the south-west of Amarkantak, and before its junction with the Narbadd at Deogdon in the Singhdrpdr estate, it receives the fldlon river at Ghughri. It has a devious, but generally westerly, course, about a hundred miles long. c CHAKRA'R — A river rising in a lofty plateau some thirty miles to the south-west of Amarkantak. It has a due northerly course, and up to its junc tion with the Narbadd may be about forty miles in length. CHA'MPA' — A chiefship in the Bildspur district, containing forty-seven villages, with an area of 120 square miles. The country is level and fairly open, and the population is 18,666 souls, or 155 to the square mile. The zaminddr belongs to the Kanwar caste. CHA'MPA' — The head-quarters of the chiefship of the same name in the Bildspdr district. It is little more than a collection of miserable mud huts ; but there are resident here a considerable number of weavers, whose manufactures find ready sale in the adjoining market, of Bamnidehf. CHAM— CHAN 133 CHA'MURSI'— A town in the Chdndd district, situated near the left bank of the Waingangd, forty-four miles east of Chdndd. It contains 750 houses; and the inhabitants are chiefly Tehngas. The number of wells is noticeable, there being at least a hundred within the town, and their water is peculiarly good. A market is held here on Saturdays, at which groceries, salt, tobacco, and vegetables are retailed. There is also a trade in castor-seed from the Haidardbdd territory, and in ghee, tasar cocoons and tasar thread, and salt from the East Coast. Chdmursi possesses government schools for boys and girls, a post-office, and a police outpost. CHA'ND — A thriving village in the Chhindwdrd district. It was formerly the head-quarters of a tahsil, which was abolished five years ago. It is situated on the right bank of the Kolbird, seventeen miles east of Chhindwdrd. A police force is stationed here, and there is a small fort. CHA'NDA' or CHANDRAPU'R * — CONTENTS. Page General description 133 Rivers 134 Hills ib. Geological features 135 Minerals ib. Forests 136 Natural products and animals ib. Climate ib. Population 137 Language 139 Manufactures 140 Page Trade 140 Lakes 141 History.. ib. Mar&tha rule 144 British rule 147 Maratha interregnum ib. Incorporation of Chanda in British dominions ib. Administration 148 Revenue ib. Local institutions ib. A district lying between 19° T and 20° 51' north latitude, and 78° 51' and 80° 51' east longitude. Its extreme length, north General description. and south, is 120 miles ; its extreme breadth, east and west, 130 ; and the area contained is about 10,000 square miles. In shape it is an irregular triangle, with the northern angle resting on the Rdipdr district, and the western on the junction of the Wand and the Wardhd, while the southern angle on Sironchd is cut off. It is bounded on its northern side by the districts cf Rdipdr, Bhanddra, and Wardhd; on its western side by the Wardhd and Pranhitd, which divide it from Berdr and the Haidardbdd territory ; on its southern apex by Sironchd, and on the east by Bastar and Rdipdr. It is divided into eleven parganas or revenue subdivisions : — 1. Haweli 2. Rdjgarh 3. Ghdtkdl ^constituting the Mill tahsil. 4. A'mbgdon , 5. Arpalli and Ghot 6. Brahmapuri 1 ... ,. 7. GarbWi I constituting 8. Wairdgarh J tahsil the Brahmapuri * The whole of this article, with one interpolation, is from the pen of Major Lueie Smith, Deputy Commissioner of Chdndd. 134 CHAN 9. Warord , ) 1 0. Bhdndak / constituting the Warord tahsil. 11. Chimdr ) And twenty zaminddris or chiefships — 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.9. 10. 11.12.13.14. 15. 16. 17.18.19. 20. Ambdgarh Chauki A'undhi Dhdnord Dudhmdld Gewardd Jhdrdpdprd Kordfhd U !> attacted t0 tHe Wairagaril Par- Kotgal ...¦'.'¦.'.'.'.'.'.¦.'.'.".'.¦'.'.**¦'" gana' Muramgdon , Pdndbdras Palasgarh Rdngi Sirsundi Sonsari Ahiri r... n, , attached to the A'mbgdon par- _?llgaon- ¦•.-. Y gana. Z'Z'.Zj Pdrvi Mutdnda Potegdon , Through the centre of the district, from north to south, flows the Wain- gangd, meeting the Wardhd at Seoni, when their united streams form the Pranhitd. To this point Chdndd mainly consists of a great central valley, the southern portion of the basin of the Waingangd, and of the left slope of a smaller valley trending from the north-west, the eastern half of the Wardhd basin. Below Seoni the Pranhitd valley — a prolongation of that of the Waingangd — commences, and has the southernmost part of the district on its eastern face. This description shows the country according to its most salient features, but going more into detail we find that the north-east corner hes within the basin of the Mahdnadi, while the eastern side of the Waingangd and Pranhitd valley is divided into two portions running north and south, the western of which is by those drained rivers, and the eastern by the Indrdvati, which flows from the east. Thus the lines of drainage in the two portions are at right angles to one another. Numerous large streams fall into the five main rivers, watering the country abundantly in their course, and fed by almost countless rivulets. The principal of these tributaries are : ofthe Waingangd, on its eastern bank — the Gdrhvi, the Kobrdgarhi, the Kdmen, the Potpuri, and the Kurdr ; on its western bank — the Botewdhi and the Andhdri ; of the Wardhd — the Virai and the Sir ; of the Pranhitd — the Dind ; of the Indrdvati — the Bond, the Parlakot, and the Pdmld Gautam ; and of the Mahdnadi — the Seondth. Except in the extreme west, hills are thickly dotted over the whole face of tj.,, the country, sometimes in detached ranges, some times rising isolated from the plain, but all with CHAN 135 a southerly trend. East of the Waingangd they increase in height, and form a broad tableland some 2,000 feet above the sea at the highest point. Among the most noticeable are the Virgdon, Ambdgarh, Pdndbdras, Kotgal, Kordcha, Muramgdon, Dhanord, A'undhi, Khutgdon, Jdrondi, Bhdmrdgarh, Chimdr, and Mul ranges, and the Tepdgarh, Surjdgarh, Perzdgarh, and Dewalmari hills. The general configuration of the country, the strata of its elevations, where „ , . , „ these are of sedimentary origin, their position, and line of direction, appear to point to the con clusion that the detached ranges and isolated hills have chiefly resulted from denudation, and that their summits now mark what was once the level of the surface. East of the Waingangd the formation is mainly plutonic and meta morphic ; granite, gneiss, hornblende, schist, mica-schist, and massive quarts. being the typical rocks. Sandstones occur rarely, and when met with are much indurated. West of the Wainganga sandstones of the Damddd, or true coal- bearing series of India, intermixed with those of other series, form a belt along the Wardha, fairly parallel with its course, from a little above the village of Ekond to the head of the third barrier (ofthe Goddvari navigation scheme) below Kirmiri. This tract is seventy-five miles long, and varies in breadth from eight to twenty-two miles, comprising an area of about one thousand square miles. Seven seams of coal have already been discovered, one- of which is thirty-three feet thick. The varieties of sandstone included in this series and in series associated with it are very numerous, the strata in some places being extremely thick-bedded, in others thin bands of flagstone, and in others again mere laminas not a tenth of an inch thick, while the texture ranges from coarse conglomerate to a stone of the finest grain, and the colours shade from white to purple, and from yellow to red. Fire-clay and other valuable clays are interstratified in the system ; and in the boulder and conglomerate beds of the Tdlchirs, which underlie the Damddds, limestone occurs in great abundance. Bounding these carboniferous sandstones on the north, and surrounded on three sides by granitic, metamorphic, and trap rocks, stretches a larger area occupied by another series of sandstones, all more or less indurated, some very highly so. Along the north of this altered group lie beds of serpentine and steatite of considerable thickness. A large portion of the Brahmapuri, Garhborf, and Rdjgarh parganas is covered with laterite, which here shows unmistakeable signs of aqueous deposition, and its thickness must once have been great, as is testified by the height of the laterite hills scattered about. Chdndd is peculiarly rich in iron ores, which occur from the extreme north M. . to the extreme south, and as far west as the eastern side of the Chimdr pargana. The ore varies in appearance from a bright steely substance to a dull red brown rock, and from a ferruginous earth to a black sand. Gold particles are found in the sand of some of the hill streams, and it is probable that the metamorphic rocks in the south-east contain this metal in considerable quantity, while in the north copper ore is believed to exist ; indeed tradition points out the places where it is said once to have been mined. Diamonds and rubies were formerly obtained near Wairdgarh, but the mines have long since been abandoned. The ochres and plastic clays of the district are numerous and excellent. There is also in the vicinity of the Wardhd a layer of silicious sand, as fine in grain as the finest flour, which is not without value. The soil over the greatest portion of Chdndd is red or sandy, streaked with patches of black or yellow earth, 136 CHAN which, as the Wardhd and Waingangd are neared, change into belts of heavy black loam, and of yellow loam on the left bank of the Pranhitd. Dense forests clothe the country, girdling or intersecting the cultivated _ lands, and feathering the highest hills. Teak grows everywhere, but it is only along the eastern frontier that it is now found of any size. There large trees are sprinkled along the entire line from north to south, the most valuable reserve being in Ahiri, where at present there are standing many hundred thousands of full-grown and half- grown trees. Bijesdl (pterocarpus marsupium), shisham (dalhergia latifolia), and sdj (pentaptera glabra), are widely distributed, the latter in great numbers. Kawd (pentaptera arjuna) is plentiful in the vicinity of water; and mhowa (bassia latifolia) and achdr or chironji (buchanania latifolia) grow profusely in all red and sandy soils. Great tracts of bamboo jungle exist ; some of the canes are of immense size; and rohan (soymida febrifuga), haldi (curcuma longa), khair (acacia catechu), tiwas (dalhergia oogeinensis) ,' shiwan (gmelina arborea), kusum (sleichera trijuga), dhdurd (conocarpus latifolia), bel (cratoeva religiosa), tendd (diospyros melanoxylon) , and wood-apple are common. Chanda.is also rich in wild fibres, lac, tasar cocoons, beeswax, mhowa, and _.. , . , . , other forest produce ; in useful stone of various Natural products and animals, , -, r .,.' » ,, , -, 1 colours and composition, from the hardest granite to the softest soapstone ; in coal, ochres, plastic clays, and iron ores. Rice and gur (raw sugar) are the chief agricultural staples; but excellent cotton, jawdri, oil-seeds, wheat, gram, and pulses are also grown, and the Chdndd pan gardens are famous throughout the province. Horned cattle are bred in great numbers, but are not possessed of any special good qualities. Large flocks of sheep abound, principally kept for their wool and manure, and are of three distinct breeds, which are locally known as the Warord, Mdl, and Goddvari sheep ; the last have hair instead of wool, and are found only in the extreme south. Goats and poultry, both good of their kind, are plentiful. To a sportsman Chdndd offers a magnificent field, for game of every description swarms in the forests, hills, and lakes of the district. In the hilly wooded region on the east the temperature is cooler and Climate more moist than is found further west, but the climate of the district generally does not differ materially from that of other parts of the Ndgpdr country below the ghdts. The annual rainfall in Chdndd registered during the last eight years averages 44"67 inches, but on the eastern frontier it must be much more. The principal rains are from the middle of June to the end of September. Showers are also looked for in November and December, and on these depends much of the success of the dry crops and sugarcane. From the middle of September to the close of November fever of a malarious type prevails all over the district, few escaping an attack, and special care should be taken to avoid exposure to the night air during the period named. Cholera frequently occurs, and in some places with severity ; but as a rule the presence of dense jungle appears to arrest its spread. Many villages of the eastern forests, for instance, have never known the disease. Small-pox carries off yearly a large number of children, attacking but few adults, probably because the great majority of these were infected in their youth. CHAN 137 In the Chdndd country three distinct nationalities meet — the Gond, the . Telinga, and the Mardthd; and every town possesses Population. a proportion of the three. Still, intermingled as they are, the great mass of each may be broadly said to inhabit different tracts — the Gonds lying chiefly east of the Waingangd and the Pranhitd, the Telingas along the east, centre, and south, and the Mardthds in the northern and western parganas west of the Waingangd. The numerous castes included in these great divisions are described in Sir R. Jenkins' report on the Ndgpdr territories ; and it will be sufficient here to note the races of the Chdndd district that are believed to be aboriginal. These are — 1 . The Gond, Pardhin, and Halbd — of the Gond type. 2. The Kohri and Mdna— of the Kohri type. The first are famous for the construction of tanks, the second as agriculturists. 3. The Golkar and Gowdri — ofthe Gauli type. The Chdndd Gonds are divided into four tribes — 1 . Mdrid or Kohitur Gond. 2. Ndik or Dhurwe Gond. 3. Rdj Gond. 4. Khatolwdr Gond. The Mdrids, or as they are called towards the north the Kohitdrs, inhabit the wild wastes of hill and forest which lie beyond the Waingangd, and are in all probability the purest type of Gond. Whether they are the root from which the other tribes have sprung can, in our present state of knowledge, be mere matter of speculation, but it is worthy of note that in villages bordering upon the more cultivated tracts the change of name from Mdrid to Kohitdr, then to Jangli Gond, and then to Gond, can be seen in progress, and it is easy to imagine that a well-to-do Mdrid family calling themselves Gond might in two or three generations adopt the more fashionable style of Rdj Gond. Then again, until a recent period, marriages occasionally took place between members of different tribes, and it is only Hindu example which tends in these latter days to harden the difference of tribe into distinction of caste. The Mdrids have a language, called Mdri, of their own, which is quite distinct from Gondi. They are divided into the following twenty-four families or houses : — I. Worshippers of seven minor deities. 1. Dudd. 5. Tandd. 2. Hindekd. 6. Talandi. 3. Mesram. 7. Wure. 4. Rapanji. II. Worshippers of six minor deities. 1. Gerem. 4. Dosendi. 2. Hichdmi. 5. Werdd. 3. Katwo. 6. Wuikd. 18 CFG 138 CHAN III. Worshippers of five minor deities. 1. Dugal. 2. Koildr. 3. Kumrd. 4. Koddmi. 6. Nugwati. 7. Pdtui. IV. Worshippers of four minor deities. 1. Donde. 2. Kondo. 3. Mohondo. 4. Pugdti. The Ndik or Dhurwe Gonds are found in the south ofthe district, but their numbers are very small. They appear under the Gond kings to have been employed as soldiers, and at the present day they prefer service with a zamindar to agricultural work. Their language, called " Naiki," is a dialect of Gondi, but is so dissimilar that a Rdj Gond often fails to understand it. They are divided into seventeen families or houses, viz : — Worshippers of seven minor deities. 1. A'tram. 3. Kordpd. 2. Kurndto. 4. Wuikd. II. Worshippers of six minor deities. Karndkd.Kohachdr. 3. Kumrdru. 4. Mardni. III. Worshippers of five minor deities. 1.2. A'dd. Paigam. 3. Mdldongre. 4. Kursengd. IV. Worshippers of four minor deities. 1. 2. 3. Kawachi. Ko wd. Mark dm. 4. Parchdki. 5. Tekam. The Rdj Gonds rank first of the four tribes, and the epithet of Rdj may have originally been used to designate members of royal and noble families, from whom it may have spread to their followers and the governing classes generally, or it may describe the tribe which in ancient days conquered the land from the other aboriginal races. The Rdj Gonds speak " Gondi," which is a distinct, though unwritten, language. They are divided into twenty-seven families or houses, viz : — - CHAN 139 I. Worshippers of seven minor deities. 1. 2. Kusndkd.Mesrdm. 3. 4. Mardwi. Marskold. II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Worshippers of A'trdm. Gerdm. Kurmetd. Kopal. Uretd. six minor 6. 7.8. 9. deities. Penddm. Saldm. Toridl. Velodi. III. Worshippers of five minor deities. 1.2.3. 4. Al am. Dhurwe. Gaure. Jugndhkd. 5. 6. 7. 8. Karpetd. Kumrd. KirnahkdSoiydm. IV. Worshippers of four minor deities. 1. 2. 3. Kowd. Naitam. Sardti. 4. 5. 6. Sirdrn.Sirndhkf. Talandi. The Khatolwdr Gonds have the same family names as the Rdj Gonds, but they wear the " Janed," and try hard to believe that they are of Rdjput descent. They are found in the north-east of the district, and speak Gondi ' and the Chhattisgarh dialect of Hindi. They come originally from the Rdipdr plains. All Gonds of whatever tribe worship one Supreme God, called by them Pharsd Pen, and they also all acknowledge a minor deity named Bhim Pen ; but there is no sufficient reason to suppose that this Bhim is identical with the second of the five Pdndavas. The so-called out-castes are the Khdtik, Chamdr, Mhdr or Dher, Mddgf, and Bhangi, Of these the Mhdrs play no unimportant part in the polity of the district, for they are very numerous and widely spread; they form the chief thread-spinners and weavers of coarse cloth in the country, and the village watch and ward are mainly^ in their hands. It may be surmised that they are in fact an aboriginal race which, conquered by more warlike tribes, and forced to perform degrading offices, sank at length into the position they now hold. Few foreigners, beside those ofthe Mardthd and Telinga nations, have settled in Chdndd. Deccan Musalmdns are the most numerous; and Mdrwdris, Bundelds, and men from northern India are occasionally met with, but the aggregate of all these classes is small. The Gond, Telinga, and Mardthd each speaks his national language, and T v the two latter have generally in addition an ac quaintance with each other's tongue, or with Hindi. Neither Mdri, Ndiki, nor Gondi is a written language, and for their documents the Gonds in the south use Telugu, in the centre Mardthi or Hindi, and in the 140 CHAN north Hindi. All the Gond chiefs have a knowledge ofthe latter. Sir R. Jenkins mentions that in a.d. 1826 Telugu and Mardthi were spoken in nearly equal proportions ; but the ratio now is in favour of Mardthi, which is also the language of the courts. The chief manufacture of the district is coarse and fine cotton-cloths, which are largely exported to Western India, and Manufactures. formerly found their way as far as Arabia. The Telinga weavers turn out cloths of coloured patterns, some of which are in very good taste ; and cotton-thread of a wonderful fineness is spun, chiefly for export. Silk fabrics are well made, though the demand for them is not great ; and there are also stuffs manufactured of a mixture of silk and cotton. Large numbers of tasar silkworms are bred in the forests, and the wound silk obtained, both in a dyed and undyed state, forms an important item of export. In some places it is woven into pieces for local consumption. Great quantities of excellent iron are smelted, alike for home and foreign use, the industry employing a consider able body of men. Carts for driving purposes and for the carriage of goods are extensively made, as may be gathered from the fact that the value of those sold at the Chdndd fairs during 1865-66 amounted to Rs. 3,38,700. Chanda was formerly distinguished for workers in precious and in baser metals, but much of that fame has now been lost. The district still, however, has a few good goldsmiths, silversmiths, and cutlers ; and the Brahmapuri braziers turn out utensils of combined brass and copper of a superior sort. The Chanda stone-cutters are skilful as a body ; some possess no mean talent for carving, and others gain their livelihood by shaping bowls and platters out of the Jam- bulghatd soapstone. Good carpenters are found only in Chanda itself, and are scarce even there ; but some of these are excellent workmen. In minor trades the district possesses a reputation for native slippers, which are made chiefly in the city of Chdndd and at Brahmapuri, and its basket-work and matting hold a high place. The external trade of Chdndd is principally with the Wardhd, Ndgpurj T- . Bhanddra, and Raipdr districts, with Bastar and the Eastern Coast, and with the Haidardbdd terri tories and Berdr. The sales of the year are mostly transacted at fairs, which assemble annually at Chdndd, Bhdndak, Chimdr, Mdrkandf, and Warha, the two first being by far the most numerously attended. They are held in the following order : — Chimdr, in January, Bhdndak, in February, Markandi, in February, Chdndd, in April, Warhd, in November, and are frequented by visitors from distant parts of India. The sales actually effected at them in 1868-69 amounted to Rs. 15,22,238 (£152,224). Subsequently to the Mardthd conquest of Chdndd trade gradually dwindled away, and the capital, being on no highway of traffic, felt the change with special severity. Within the last few years, however, trade has wonderfully revived, and the posi tion of Chdndd now promises to be of great commercial value, for in all proba bility a few years will see the city connected by railway with Bombay on the west and Haidardbdd on the south, while water communication will open out traffic with the Eastern Coast. The resources of Chdndd in coal, cotton, and iron CHAN 141 will then doubtless create great manufacturing industries, and the district may in time become the Lancashire of India. Chdndd is thickly studded with fine tanks, or rather artificial lakes, occur ring in greatest number in the Garhbori and Brahmapuri parganas ; indeed thirty-seven can be seen at once from the heights of Perzdgarh. These lakes are formed by closing the outlets of small valleys watered by a stream, or throwing a dam across sloping land intersected by rivulets ; and the broad clear sheets of water thus created are often most picturesque in their surroundings of wood and rock and hill. Among the finest are those at Rajdli, Adydl, A'lewahi, Dongargdon, Palasgdon, Mdngrdl, Jdndld, Ekald, Tekri, Taroba, Sindewdhi, Nawargdon, Gunjewdhi, Junona, Naukhala, Jamni, Moharli, Katwali, Madndgarh, Rdjghdtd, Kunghara, Saighdtd, Bhagwdnpdr, and Mhesd. The chief architectural objects of interest are the cave-temples at Bhdndak, Winjhasani, Dewald, and Ghugds ; the rock-temple in the bed of the Wardhd, below Ballalpdr ; the ancient temples at Markandi, Neri, Bhatdld, Bhdndak, Wairagarh, A/mbgdon, Wdghnakh, and Kesldbori; the monoliths near Chdndd; the forts of Wairagarh and Ballalpdr ; and the walls of the city of Chdndd, its system of water-works, and the tombs of the Gond kings. The following places are also worthy of visit : — the rapids of the Wardha at Soit ; the junction of the Wardhd and the Waingangd at Seoni ; the Rdmdighi pool near Kesldbori ; the Mugdai spring and cave in the Perzdgarh hills, about a mile from Domd ; the coal seams near Ldti, Ghugds, and Ballalpdr ; the quarries in the vicinity of Chdndd and Jdmbulghdtd ; and the iron mines at Lohdrd, Ambdgarh Chauki, Dewalgdon, Wagarpeth, Pipalgdon, Tatoli, and Pdwi Mutandd. The characters which trace the early history of Chdndd are her ancient „. temples, but as yet we can only read their mean ing dimly. Three eras, however, are distinctly marked — the first by the cave-temples ; the second by the massive unadorned temples, put together without mortar, and clamped with iron ; and the third by the temples of a construction similar to the second, but richly carved. Turning to tradition we find narratives connecting these temples with events recorded in the sacred books of the Hindds. We hear the wide-spread legend that great kings once reigned over the land ; that some fearful and unknown calamity swept them away, devastating their cities and leaving them unpeopled ; and that a dark age succeeded in which forests overgrew the silent land. Lastly we hear that as late as a.d. 800 the country was one vast wilderness in which a few savage tribes lived and warred, and that none of the temples of the three eras were constructed by the race which then rose to power. A curious and romantic chronicle of the Chdndd Gond dynasty, whose own annals carry them back to a.d. 870, has been compiled from extinct genealo gies, and various oral and written traditions, by Major Lucie Smith, deputy commissioner of the district. Although, like most of these family histories, the story of the Gond dynasty is almost entirely made up of extravagant legend, and the periods assigned to the various reigns are often of almost incredible length, the genealogy need not be altogether rejected. It has been collected from so many concurrent sources that it may be accepted as a fairly correct list of the princes of this line, though some names are probably omitted. From a.d. 870 to a.d. 1751 nineteen reigns only are recorded, which would give more than forty-six years to each. Making the ordinary allowance of twenty years for a reign, there would only be names sufficient to carry back 142 CHAN the dynasty to a.d. 1371, but we find in the A'in-i-Akbari that a prince named Bubjeo was ruling, when the list of Akbar's territories was compiled, towards the end of the sixteenth century. This Bubjeo is evidently the Bdbdji Balldl Sd or Shdh who is recorded as reigning from 1442 to 1522. He is therefore placed in the lists about a century too soon, while, as they only give him five successors up to 1751, he should, according to the doctrine of averages, be brought down to the middle of the seventeenth century, or nearly three-quarters of a century after his real date. The probable explanation is, that not only some names may have been omitted, but that an average, calculated from the reigns of powerful princes, who were exposed from the prominence of their position to constant dangers, does not apply to the case of these Forest chiefs. No one under whose notice many of these genealogies have come can fail to have been struck by the regularity of the successions, and the long average duration ofthe reigns or tenancies, in even the best authenticated examples. Fathers are almost invari ably succeeded by sons, family assassinations are rare, and, as may be imagined, insurrections are scarcely known against the authority of princes, who were recognised by their subjects as their natural and tribal chiefs. Therefore in the absence of more exact information, the reigns of the Chdndd kings may be fairly assumed as equalling in average length the usually accepted term for a genera tion, or 33 £ years. On this assumption, and allowing for the possibility of occasional omissions, the origin of the dynasty would be carried back to tbe eleventh century. Sir R. Jenkins,* it is true, says that " the reigning family at " Chdndd, termed Baihar Shahi — probably a remant of the Warangal race of " kings — were supplanted by successors of the Gond tribe." But he gives no authority for^ his historical sketch, and his information must have been imperfect, for the Baihar Shahi line, which he thinks may have belonged to the Hindd stock of Warangal, was in fact the very Gond dynasty which he mentions as having succeeded to the earlier race. This will be clearly seen from the following list of names as given by Major L. Smith : — Bhim Balldl Sinha 870 to 895 Kharja Balldl Sinha 895',, 935 Hir Sinha 935,, 970 Andra Balldl Sinha 970,, 995 Talwdr Sinha 995 „ 1027 Kesar Sinha ,...1027 „ 1072 Dinkar Sinha 1072 „ 1142 Rdm Sinha ', 1142 ,, 1207 Sarjd Balldl Sinha "I 1907 loio Sher Shdh or Balldl Shdh ...j" iM" " yM Khdndkid Balldl Shdh 1242 „ 1282 Bir Shdh 1282 „ 1342 Bhumdand 1 1342 im JLokhd, jointly J " Kondid Shdh 1402 „ 1442 Bdbdji Balldl Shdh 1442 „ 1522 Dhundid Rdm Shdh 1522 „ 1597 Krishna Shdh 1597 „ 1647 Bir Shdh 1647 „ 1672 Rdm Shdh 1672 ,; 1735 NilkanthShdh 1735 „ 1751 * Report on Nagpur Province, Edition of Nagpur Antiquarian Society, p. 22. CHAN 143 Although no one who has seen the curious old city of Chdndd; with its six miles of stone walls and battlements, its fine gates — with the Baihar Shdhi cognisance engraved upon them, — and its regal tombs, can suppose that the Chdndd princes were nothing more than petty aboriginal chiefs ; their history is even more obscure and uneventful than those of the kindred dynasties of Kherld, Garhd Mandla, and Deogarh. From amid the mass of fable which represents their annals it may be inferred that up to the time of Hir Shdh, the eleventh of the line, who may have lived in the end of the fifteenth century, and is said to have built the Chdndd citadel and founded the city walls, the Baihar Shdhi kings were tributary to some great power, for it is expressly stated of him " that he paid tribute to no one." There is, however, nothing in Farishta to show that the dominions of the Bdhmani kings, whose power collapsed when Hir Shdh's is supposed to have risen, extended east of the Wardha. In none of the descriptions of their territories is any place on this side of the river men tioned. From the prominent manner in which his grandson Kondia, or Karn Shdh, is represented as having summoned large numbers of Telinga and other Brdhmans, set up lings of Mahadeva, and built numerous temples, it is not improbable that he was the first of his line to relinquish the Gond deities a.nd to adopt the Hindd faith; though not until the days of Bir Shah, the last of the line but two, was the yearly sacrifice of cows to Pharsa Pen, the great god of the Gonds, entirely abolished. It is the son of this Karn Shah who is mentioned in the A'in-i-Akbari as an independent prince, paying no tribute to Delhi, and having an army of 1,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. His territories are also stated to have included the lately conquered territory of "Beeragarh " (Wairagarh), in which was a diamond mine, and eight parganas properly belonging to " Sarkdr * Kallem " of Berdr. The only mention -f of this line in Farishta seems to be more than a century earlier, in a.d. 1437, when a Rdjd of Gondwdna is recorded as having helped Nasir Khan, ruler of Khdndesh, in an attack on Berdr. As the Kherld Gond line was extinguished in 1433, the Rdjd mentioned was probably one of the Chdndd kings, who were at that par ticular time the only Gond dynasty in power, and if so the contemporary name in the lists would be that of Khdndkid Balldl Shdh, the father of the Hir Shah, who is stated to have raised his dynasty to an entirely independent position. From the time of Akbar until the days of the Mardthds the Chdndd princes seem to have been tolerably independent and powerful, for both in their own annals, and in those of the Deogarh line, we find them recorded as gaining an important victory over -that rising Gond power in the middle of the seventeenth century. Indeed the conversion of the Deogarh princes to Mohammadanism is said to have been due to their hope of obtaining the aid of the Emperor Aurangzeb in re-establishing their power after its temporary subversion by the Chdndd kings. Probably it is to this period that may be referred the carvings of the Chdndd device — a winged lion — which have lately been found on the walls of Gdwalgarh, a famous hill fortress on the southern brow of the Satpura range, which was for long the stronghold of Berar. Sir R. Jenkins observes J that if the Mohammadan historian of the Deccan, Kdfi Khdn, is to be believed, the amount of tribute in cash, jewels, and elephants taken in Aurangzeb's time from the Gond rajas of Deogarh and Chdndd * Gladwin's A'in-i-Akbari, Suba of Berar. t Briggs' Farishta, vol. ii. p. 427, Edition 1829. X Report on Nagpur, by Sir Richard Jenkins, Edition Nagpur Antiquarian Society, p. 22. 144 CHAN indicates -considerable opulence. According to Captain Smith's chronicle, the rdjd contemporary with Aurangzeb was Rdm Shdh, who is known to have built the Ramdld tank and the Rdm bdgh, the latter near the present Chdndd court-house. The Govindpdr suburb and the Nagind bdgh (on part of which the Chdndd public garden now stands) were constructed by Govind Shah, father to Ram Shdh. In a.d. 1718 we find the Rdjd of Satdra attempting to obtain from the Delhi Emperor the cession of Chdndd; and about the same year the former sent Kdnhoji Bhonsld to invade Gondwana. Kanhoji met with no military successes in the Chdndd kingdom, and latterly betook himself to plundering, chiefly west of the Wardhd. He appears subsequently to have been recalled, but the summons having been disregarded, Raghoji Bhonsla was ordered to enforce his return, and about a.d. 1730 Raghoji captured him near Mandar, in the Sirpdr pargana (now of Berdr), and forwarded him to Satdra. Raghoji then proceeded to the city of Chdndd, where he was courteously received by the king ; and tradition states that the Mardthd soldier was so awed by Ram Shah's calm mien and bearing, that, in place of seeking pretext for quarrel, he did him homage as a god. Rdm Shah was gathered to his fathers in a. d. 1735, and he still lingers in the memory of the people as a saint-like man, unruffled by the cares of earth, inspiring a love not unmixed with solemn dread. His son Nilkanth Shdh, who now succeeded to the throne, was an evil and cruel prince . He put to death his father's trusted diwdn, Mahddoji Vaidya, and dismissed with contumely all the high officers of the former reign. The people he ground to the dust ; and he interfered in the political disputes of Deogarh. Retribution overtook him swiftly, for in a.d. 1749 the Mardthds were at his gates and the city fell, not by the award of battle, but by the treachery of an estranged court. Raghoji thereupon dictated a treaty of partition, by which two-thirds of the revenues were alienated to the Mardthds ; but the remnant of power then spared soon vanished, for in a.d. 1751 Raghoji took entire possession of the kingdom, and made Nilkanth Shdh a prisoner. The latter afterwards died in confinement,* and thus ended the dynasty of the Gond kings of Chdndd. Originally petty chiefs of a savage tribe, they spread their sway over a wide domirnqn, reclaiming and peopling the wild forests in which they dwelt, and, save a nominalf allegiance to the Delhi throne, preserving their soil for several hundred years inviolate from foreign rule. When at length they fell, they left, if we forget the few last years, a well-governed and contented kingdom, adorned with admirable works of engineering skill, and prosperous to a point which no after-time has reached. From this time Chdndd became a province of the Bhonsld family, and it will M . . , . be sufficient to record only those events which diiectly affected the former .J In. a.d. 1755 Raghoji died, leaving four sons, Jdnojf, Sdbdji, Mudhoji, and Bimbdji. Jdnoji, the eldest, succeeded; but the succession was disputed by Mudhoji, who was supported by the court of Puna, and several encounters took place between * Report on the Territories of the Raja of Nagpur, by Sir Richard Jenkins, Edition Nagpur Antiquarian Society, pp. 73, 74 et seq. t Both in architectural remains and in local tradition there is a complete absence of the Mohammadan element. X In the narrative of events from a.d. 1755 to a.d. 1819 Sir R. Jenkins's Report and Grant Duff's History of the Mardthds have been largely drawn upon. Where the two authorities differ the latter has been usually followed. CHAN 145 the brothers. Mudhoji having been worsted, the matter was referred to the Peshwd, who confirmed Jdnoji in the government of Ndgpdr with the title of Send Sdhib Sdba, while Mudhoji was granted Chdndd and Chhattisgarh, with the appellation of Send Dhurandhar.* Mudhoji was wasteful and rapa cious, and did much to ruin the country under his rule. In a.d. 1758 he left Chdndd in the hands of his creditors, and proceeded to Hindustan with Raghundth Rdo, the uncle of the Peshwd. Janoji died in 1773, and during the struggle for power between the two brothers Mudhoji and Sabdji, who both claimed the regency on the death of their elder brother, Chdndd was not undis turbed. Balldl Shdh, a son of Nilkanth Shdh, escaped from confinement in the Balldlpdr fort, and collected a considerable force of Gonds, with the intention of seizing Chdndd and Mdnikdrdg. The insurgents, however, were routed at Ganpdr, in the Ghdtkiil pargana, by Mahipat Rdo, the sdbadar of Chdndd ; and Balldl Shah, after receiving a gunshot wound, was captured and sent in to Ndgpdr. About this time a party of the Puna ministerial forces penetrated to Chor- mori near Bhdndak, and made prisoners of the ladies of Mudhoji's family. Vyankat Rdo, zaminddr of Ahiri, and his brother Mohan Shdh, were at the time military governors of the Chdndd city, and a third brother, Visvas Rdo, was in charge of the Mdnikdrdg fortress. These three attacked the Puna troops, and rescued the ladies, who were escorted into Chdndd. Mudhoji finally defeated his brother, whom he killed with his own hand in battle. He himself died in a.d. 1788, and his son Raghoji II — till then but titular rdjd — assumed the government. He obtained from the court of Puna, for his younger brother Vyankdji, the title of Send Dhurandhar, and allotted to him Chdndd and Chhattis garh. In a.d. 1789 he released Balldl Shdh, and granted him a yearly pension of Rs. 600. Vyankdji, commonly called Nand Sdhib, resided at Chdndd, and was of a quiet and religious disposition. He rebuilt the Ballalpdr fort and the Chdndd citadel, both of which had fallen to ruin, and he erected a palace, a fragment of which forms the present kotwdli. Several temples owe their construction to him, the handsomest being the new building over the ¦shrine of Achaleswar, and the Murlidhar temple within the palace precincts. In September a.d. 1 797 the Virai rose to an extraordinary height, flooding the entire city of CMndd, and submerging numerous dwellings. In a.d. 1 803 Raghoji II, by the treaty of Deogdon, lost Cuttack, and the provinces west .of the Wardhd — Mdnikdrdg and Sirpdr, the ancient seat of the Balldl Shdh dynasty thus passing away from Chdndd. About this time the Pindhdris first made their appearance in the district, and gradually overran the country, few villages escaping pillage, and many being rendered wholly desolate. Their visits roused the plundering classes into action, and the injury inflicted, •directly and indirectly, was incalculable. In a.d. 1811 Vyankdji died at Benares, and his son Mudhoji, known as A'pd Sdhib, succeeded to the title of Send Dhurandhar. A'pd Sdhib appears to have been born and brought up at Chdndd, but no act of his, prior to his becoming the head of the Ndgpdr state, has left its mark on the district. In a.d. 1816-j- Raghoji II died, leaving but one son, Parsoji, who was imbecile in mind and * Grant Duff's History of the Marathas, Indian RepriDt, vol. ii. p. 53. f Do. do. do. vol. iii. pp. 280— 317 et seq. 19 CPG 146 CHAN body. After some opposition A/pd Sdhib was declared regent, and sedulously courted the British alliance. In January 1817 he proceeded to Chdndd, and during his absence from Ndgpdr Parsojidied — murdered, as it was subsequently learnt, by A'pd Sahib's. secret orders. The latter, as nearest heir, now became Rdjd of Ndgpdr. Avowedly a warm friend of the British, he privately intrigued against them in all directions, until November following, when he threw off the mask and declared hostilities. The battles of Sitabaldi and Ndgpdr followed, in which he was signally defeated, and was forced personally to surrender and to agree to terms, which rendered him wholly dependent on the British. In January 1818 he was permitted to resume the government, and imme diately recommenced his intrigues. He invited the Peshwd, Bdji Rao, to move on Ndgpdr, stirred up the Gonds to oppose the British, and ordered the Kildddr of Chdndd to recruit, intending to escape to that city ; but the Resident, Mr. Jenkins, was watching his plans, and on the 1 5th of March caused him to be seized and brought a prisoner to the Residency. In the meanwhile his adherents were hastily making efforts to garrison Chdndd. Bhujang Rdo, zamindar of Ahiri, and his brother Kondo Bdpd, zaminddr of Arpaili, threw themselves with their followers into the place, and every able-bodied citizen of the lower classes was pressed into the ranks. On the 2nd April the van of Bdji Rao's army reached Warha, ten miles west of Chdndd, on the left bank of the Wardhd, but was there checked by Lieutenant-Colonel Hopeton Scott, who had been despatched from Ndgpdr to prevent Bdji Rdo getting into Chdndd. Colonel Adams, with a second division, shortly arrived in the vicinity, and on the 17th April the combined forces attacked and routed Bdji Rdo at Pandarkonrd, west of the Wardhd. The British troops then laid siege to Chanda, one brigade taking ground at Kosdrd, on the right bank of the Virai, north-west of the city, while the second was massed south-east of it, at the junction of the Jharpat and Virai. Batteries were posted on an eminence (called the Mdneh hill) in the latter position, and fire being opened, a breach was soon made in the line of curtain between the Pathdnpurd gate and the Hanumdn wicket. On the morn ing of the 2nd May the storming parties moved to the assault, and were met in the breach by the regular garrison, who are said to have fallen to a man in its defence, while the kildddr, Gangd Singh, was also slain, rewarding with his dying breath one All Khan, who claimed to have shot an English officer. The struggle, however, was of short duration, and the British were quickly masters of the place, which was given up to sack ; but in the general plunder which ensued, the kildddr slain protected his home far better than his living arm could have defended it, for the English, in admiration of his conduct at the assault, caused his house to be scrupulously respected. A'pd Sahib's repeated treachery having proved him unworthy of trust, the British Government decreed his deposition, and placed Raghoji, a grandson of Raghoji IL, at the head of the Ndgpdr state. As the new Edjd was only some nine years old, a regency was appointed under his grandmother Bdkd Bdi, and the administration of the country was conducted by the Resident, acting in the name of the Rdjd, and assisted by British officers in charge of each district and department. The mean, rapacious spirit wliich characterised the Bhonslds in all dealings with their subjects had caused infinite harm to the Chdndd district, and from a.d. 1803 constant disturbances and lawlessness had added their evil fruits. It is on record that the population in a.d. 1802 was double that in a.d. 1822, and that the houses in the city of Chdndd had decreased during that period in nearly the same proportion. CHAN 147 The able men* who from a.d. 1818 to a.d. 1830 now administered the district in succession did much, each in his time, is ru e. j.0 j-gg^j-g ^he former prosperity of the country. The Gond chiefs who had rebelled were brought to submission ; plundering was stopped, and order established ; the heavy assessments on land were reduced ; deserted villages repeopled ; and* ruined irrigation works repaired. Education was encouraged, and during this period Suddji Bapd, a Telinga Brdhman of Chdndd, gained an Indian reputation by his published works in Mardthi, Telugu, and Sanskrit, the scientific value of which, particularly of his treatise on the Copernican system, was warmly acknowledged by the Government of India and the Asiatic Society of Bengal. But in June a.d. 1830 the management ofthe country was made over to *, .... the raid, Raghoii III. and progress stayed. Maratha interregnum. 0i a - i a j • a i at ". 6 Short-sighted, grasping measures took the place of a broad and generous policy ; men without interest found their lands taxed to almost their full return, while those with influential friends paid less than their just due ; many of the old proprietors were ejected, and the best villages bestowed on relatives and favourites ofthe rdjd, or on official underlings. Thus. sprang up a body of absentee proprietors, holding the richest estates in the dis trict, but knowing nought about them, and having hardly an interest in common with the country or its people, anxious only to obtain the largest possible income, and utterly careless of the well-being of their tenantry — a striking contrast to the policy pursued by the Gond kings. Plundering revived in spite of military parties posted thickly over the district ; and as late as a.d. 1852 a Government treasure escort was attacked and robbed by Gonds on the Mdl road, not sixteen miles from Chdndd. In a.d. 1853 Raghoji III died heirless, and the Nagpdr province was then incorporated into the British empire, the adminis- Incorporation of Chanda in trat,jon being conducted by a commission under British dominions. the gupreme Government. The first deputy com missioner of Chdndd, Mr. R. S. Ellis, of the Madras Civil Service (since created a Companion ofthe Bath) assumed charge ofthe district on the 18th December a.d. 1854. The swell of the great wave of rebellion which swept over India in a.d. 1857-58 was felt in Chdndd ; and the wild nature of the country, the predatory habits of the Gonds, and the proximity of the Haidardbdd territory, combined to render the management of the district during this period a task of peculiar anxiety; but Captain W. H. Crichton (the then deputy commissioner) prevented any outbreak until March 1858, when Bdbd Rdo, a petty chief of Monanipalli in the Ahiri zaminddri, commenced plundering the Rdjgarh pargana, and was shortly afterwards joined by Vyankat Rdo, zamindar of Arpalli and Ghot. These two leaders then openly declared rebellion ; and collecting a mixed force of Rohillas and Gonds, withstood the troops sent against them. On the night of the 29th April a party of the insurgents attacked Messrs. Gart- land, Hall, and Peter, telegraph employe's, who were encamped near Chunch- gundi on the Pranhitd, and killed the two first. Mr. Peter escaped into the Ahiri keep, and as soon as possible joined Captain Crichton, who was in the vicinity, directing operations. Subsequently, when it was desired to communicate with Lachhmi Bai, the zaminddrin, Mr. Peter disguised himself as a native, and * These were Captain G.N. Crawford, Captain Pew, and Captain L. Wilkinson. 148 CHAN safely delivered to her Captain Crichton's letter. The rebels made a stand at several points, but never with success; and at length, by the exertions of Lachhmi Bdi, Bdbd Rdo was captured, and was immediately sent in to Chdndd, where he suffered. death on the 21st October 1858. Vyankat Rdo escaped to Bastar, but in April a.d. 1860 he was arrested by the rdjd of that dependency, and on being handed over to the British authorities was sentenced to trans portation for life, with forfeiture of all property. On the 2nd March 1861 the Ndgpdr province and the Sdgar and Narbadd . . territories were formed into the government of Administration. ^ 0entral provinces. and Chdndd then became a district of the Ndgpdr division. The administration ofthe district is conducted by a Deputy Commissioner, assisted by a District Superintendent of Police, an Assistant Commissioner, an Extra-Assistant Commissioner, a Medical Officer, and three Tahsilddrs ; the five first having their head-quarters at the station of Chdndd, and the three last being located at Mdl, Brahmapuri, and Warora respectively. The imperial customs line runs through the district, and is officered by one patrol and two assistant patrols. The station is garrisoned by a detachment of Native infantry, and in military matters is under the officer commanding the Ndgpdr force. It is occasionally visited by the chaplain ofSitdbaldi. The revenues for the year 1868-69 were — Imperial. Rs. I. Land revenue......... 2,40,659 II. Forests 23,823 III. Excise 52,956 TV. Customs 2,557 V. Pdndhri tax 32,412 VI. .Stamps 22,228 VII. Certificate tax 6,112 VIII. Miscellaneous 4,855 Total 3,85,602 Local. Rs. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. School cess 6,055 Dak do 1,572 Road do 6,044 Ferry fund 3,577 Nazdl do 240 Municipal do 32,551 Total 50,039 The chief local institutions under public management are dispensaries, T , . ... .. schools, district post-offices, and a museum. Of Local institutions. ,-, r ,-. ¦ n , -, -,. ¦_._.,. the former there is a first-class dispensary in the city of Chdndd, with branch dispensaries at Armori, Brahmapuri, and Warord. The government schools for boys consist of a high school at the head-quarters of the district, where pupils are carried as far as the matriculation standard of the Bombay University ; three Anglo-Vernacular and three Vernacular town schools ; eleven branch schools subsidiary to the high and town schools ; twenty-seven village schools ; and one police school, making forty-six in all. For girls there are twenty-five schools, and one normal school for the training of mistresses. There are also eighteen indigenous schools, which declare them selves open to government inspection. In addition to five imperial post-offices, seven district post-offices, with the necessary establishments of runners and deli very-peons, are distributed over the district. Lastly, at the station of Chdndd a museum and an extensive public garden are being formed, and a Protestant church will shortly be completed. CHAN 149 CHA'NDA'— The capital city ofthe Chdndd district, situated in 19° 57' north latitude and 79° 22' east longitude, in the angle formed by the junction of the Virai and Jharpat. For its history the reader is referred to the article on the Chdndd district. It is surrounded by a continuous line of wall crowned with battlements, five and a half miles in circuit, of cut stone, in perfect preservation, with crenellated parapet and broad rampart, traced in re-entering angles and semicircular bastions. It is pierced with four gates, called Jatpurd, Bimbd or Ghormaiddn, Pathdnpurd, and Mahakdli or Achaleswar; and five wickets, named Chor, Vithobd, Hanumant, Masdr, and Bagar. Inside the walls are de tached villages and cultivated fields, interspersed with buildings more worthy of a city ; and without the walls are the suburbs of Jatpurd, Govindpdr, Hiwarpurf, Ldlpeth, and Bdbdpeth, the whole having a total of 4,326 houses. The popula tion is chiefly Mardthd and Telinga, the traders, shopkeepers, and craftsmen (notably the masons) being generally the latter. The city was formerly famous for the learning of its Brdhmans, and this fame has not been wholly lost. The principal products and manufactures are pdn leaves, sugarcane, and vegetables, and fine and coarse cotton-cloths, silk fabrics, brass utensils, leather slippers, and bamboo-work. A considerable trade is carried on, the imports and exports in 1868-69 amounting in value to Rs. 17,80,444 (£178,044), and Rs. 11,43,424 (£1 14,342 ) respectively, mainly in cotton, grain, country-cloths, metals, and hard ware, cotton, spices, English goods, tobacco, sugar and gur, timber, carts, oil seeds, and salt. A large portion of the transactions occur at the Chanda fair, which commences in April and lasts for about three weeks. The booths and sheds, which cover a large area, are erected east of the city, near the Mahakdli temple ; and it is a remarkable fact that, though this fair is held during the height of the hot weather, no instance is remembered of cholera having spontaneously broken out at it. Goods brought to the fair are free of municipal tax, and the town duty receipts are consequently somewhat small; the octroi farm, for instance, in 1866 only realised Rs. 12,100. The appearance of the city from without is most picturesque. Dense forest stretches to the north and east ; on the south rise the blue ranges of Mdnikdrdg, and westward opens a cultivated rolling country with distant hills. Set in this picture sweep the long lines of fortress wall now seen, now lost, among great groves of ancient trees ; in front glitters the broad expanse of the Ramdld tank ; and the Jharpat and the Virai gird either side. The objects in Chdndd which a visitor should inspect are the city walls and gates, the Ramdld tank, with its system of water-works, the tombs of the Gond kings, the citadel (now enclosing the jail) with its large well and underground passage, the latter leading no one knows whither, the Achaleswar, Mahdkdli, and Murlidhar temples, and the massive monoliths at Ldlpeth. The public buildings consist of the kotwdli, the zild school-house, the dispensary, the jail, the travellers' bungalow, and the sarai. In front of the kotwdli is the kotwdli garden, and nearer the Jatpurd gate the Victoria market (under construction), while between the city and the station a public park, called by the natives Nagind Bdgh, is being formed. The civil station, or head-quarters of the district, is situated north of the city, having the military cantonment at the west end, with the civil lines in the centre and east. The public buildings consist of the district court-house, the head-quarter police station-house, and a Christian cemetery, to which a Pro testant church will shortly be added, and the usual military buildings for a regiment of Native infantry. There are also an imperial post-office and a district post-office. 150 CHAN CHA'NDA'LA' — A small zaminddri, containing seven villages, attached to the A'mbgdon pargana, in the Chdndd district. It is of recent creation, having been granted to the first holder by Captain Crawford, about a.d. 1820. CHANDANKHERA' — A large village in the Chdndd district, situated on the Virai, twenty-eight miles north-north-west of Chdndd. It was founded by a branch of the Balldl Shdhi dynasty, and from this branch descended Rdm Shdh, who by adoption became King of Chdndd in A.d. 1672. Chandankherd possesses two forts, now in ruins, and is under the protection of the Gond demi-god named " Daiyat," who has an invincible antipathy to women, and to mud, stone, and brick walls. The latter dislike is unfortunate, as in consequence the best houses are mere structures of grass and bamboo. CHANDRAPU'R with Padmapu'e — A chiefship which was formed from two khdlsa parganas of the Sambalpdr district in a.d. 1860, under the following circumstances. One Rdi Rdpsingh, a Rdjput, who had held the position of Deputy Collector in this district for some eight or ten years, had certain estates made over to him in 1858, the owners of which had joined the Surendra Sdf rebellion. When, however, the amnesty was extended to the district, the landholders in question represented to the authorities that they could not take advantage of it unless their lands were restored to them. The annual profits accruing to the landholders were roughly estimated at Rs. 3,000, and as the revenue payable to Government from the parganas of Chandrapdr and Padmapdr at that time was Rs. 7,548, the late deputy commissioner, Major Impey, recommended that, in lieu of the lands above specified, these parganas should be made over to Rdi Rdpsingh at a fixed demand of Rs. 4, 130 for forty years, so that the outlawed landholders might come in under the amnesty, and be restored to their posses sions. The proposal was sanctioned by the Government, and the parganas have since been held in zaminddri tenure. Some arrangement will, however, have to be made at the time of settlement to secure the rights of proprietors of long standing. Padmapdr is situated about forty miles N.W. of the town of Sambalpur, and Chandrapdr is some twenty miles further westward. Both are on the Mahdnadi, but a portion of the Bdigarh feudatory state intervenes between the two parganas. In Padmapdr there are fifty-seven villages, with an area of about twenty-five square miles, nearly the whole of which is cultivated. The population numbers 14,959, and is chiefly agricultural. In Chandrapdr there are 182 villages, with an area of about ninety square miles, and a popu lation, also chiefly agricultural, of 36,157 souls. At both places tasar silk and cotton-cloths are manufactured. Some very pure limestone rock is also to be found near Padmapdr in the bed of the Mahdnadi. It is the most fertile tract of the whole of tho Sambalpdr district. Rice, cotton, the pulses, oil-seeds, and sugarcane are the chief products, and in parts of Chandrapdr wheat and gram are also grown. There is a good Anglo-Vernacular school at Chandrapdr, where some eighty pupils are receiving instruction. At Padmapdr there is a good Vernacular school with ninety-two pupils. There are alsp several other schools distributed throughout the villages. The present chief is Harihar Singh, son of the aforenamed Rdi Rdpsingh. He is still a minor, being only some fifteen years of age, and is a student at the Sambalpdr zild school. He has had a good vernacular education, and has also acquired a fair knowledge of English. His two younger brothers are also pupils at the same school. The estate is managed by his maternal uncle Nakdl Sahi. CHAN- CHAU 151 CHA'NDU'R — A thriving and somewhat picturesque village in the Chdndd district, fourteen miles west of Chdndd. In the bed of a small stream, about a ' mile south of the village, a seam of coal shale strikes the surface. CHA'NWARPA'THA' — The northern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Narsinghpdr district, having an area of 269 square miles, with 179 villages, and a population of 44,348 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the subdivision for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 57,379-14-0. CHA'NWARPA'THA' — A village in the Narsinghpdr district, containing a population of 1,230 souls. It lies twelve miles distant from Narsinghpdr, on the right bank of the Narbadd, and is the residence of the tahsilddr of the subdivision of Chdnwarpathd. CHARLA' — The chief village of the estate of the same name in the Upper Goddvari district. The naib or deputy ofthe zamindar resides here, and is the chief local authority. There is a police outpost and a small travellers' bungalow at Tegddd, three miles distant. Here are also the remains of a small mud " garhi" or fort, and of a large tank. There is a limestone quarry, worked by the public works department, Upper Goddvari works, about a mile and a half to the east, at a place called Bumdlankd. Charld is distant about twenty-one miles from Dumagudem, ninety-nine from Sironchd, and three from the river Goddvari. The estate consists of thirty villages. The chief is of the family of the Sardes- mukhs of the Aramgir Sarkdr of the Nizam's territories, whose ancestor, Jagpati Rao, obtained the estate about a.d. 1698. CHA'RWA' — A small town in the Hoshangdbdd district lying west of Harda, on the old highroad to Bombay. There are one or two substantial traders here, and a police station and good weekly market ; but the place lies away from the railroad and the main routes north or south. It is best known as giving a name to a very extensive tract of scrub jungle. CHAURA'DA'DAR— -A hill plateau in the eastern ghdts of the Mandla district. Its height is between 3,200 and 3,400 feet above the level of the sea, being nearly equal to that of its celebrated neighbour and rival, Amarkantak, on which are the sources of the Narbadd. On the plateau of Chaurddddar in the winter months the nights are intensely cold, while in December and January the thermometer often registers 6° or 7° of frost, and in the hottest days of April and May the heat is not oppressive. Water is abundant near the surface, and but for its inaccessibility Chaurddddar might be an eligible spot for a sanitarium. CHAURA'GARH — A ruined fortress in the Narsinghpdr district, situated on the crest of the outer range of the Sdtpurd tableland, and twenty miles south west of Narsinghpdr. It embraces within its circle of defences two hills, and the plateau enelosed is eight hundred feet above the level of the Narbadd valley. There are three approaches to it — one from tho little village of Ghaugan to the east ; another by a road, which winds at the foot of the northern face of the fort, known as the artillery road, and joins the first road near the fort gate ; and the third from the south, by the hills on a level with the fort. The northern, eastern, and western faces of the fort are scarped for several hundred feet. Water is to be found all the year round inside, for numerous tanks enclosed by stone walls have been constructed to catch the rainfall and receive the drainage of the two hills enclosed, which are divided by a dip of about one hundred yards. A place is shown to the south ofthe fort called " Bundeld Kot," commemorating a traditionary Bundeld attack. On the enclosed hill to the west are ruins of the palaces of the old Gond rdjds, and in many places the colours 152 CHAU-CHHAT painted on the walls are still very fresh. On the hill to the east are remains of buildings erected by the Ndgpdr government for infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The exterior walls of the fort are still good in many places, but all the interior" buildings are in ruins, and the place is very seldom visited. To the south a small hill has been fortified as an outwork. CHAURAI' — A large village in the Chhindwdrd district, situated about twenty- four miles east of Chhindwdrd. A police force is stationed here. The soil is black for miles around, and great quantities of wheat, grain, &c. are exported from the neighbourhood. The number of inhabitants is 1,248, most of whom are cultivators. CHAURIA' — A chiefship in the Bdldghdt district, consisting of some twenty-five square miles of country, only 705 acres of which are cultivated. The grant appears to have been made on condition of guarding, the neigh bouring passes. The chief village, Ldfrd, is thirty-eight miles east by south of Bdrhd. CHHAPA'RA' — A decayed town in the Seoni district, on the road to Jabalpdr, about 22 miles to the north of Seoni. The past history of Chhapdrd will be found described in the article on the Seoni district. It has never recovered the sack of the Pindharis under Wazir Mohammad Khdn of Bhopdl, and the removal of the head-quarters of the tahsil to Lakhnddon. There are here an excellent encamping-ground under a grove of trees, a travellers' bungalow, a road bungalow, and a fair school, attended by about sixty pupils. The bridge over the Bdngangd (Waingangd) is worth looking at, and the remains of the old Gond fort still exist. CHHA'TER — A chiefship or zaminddri in the north of the Chhindwdrd district, consisting of fourteen villages. The zaminddr is a Gond. CHHATTI'SGARH— CONTENTS. Page General description 152 Chiefships 153 Natural divisions ib. Climate 154 Wild animals ib. Character of surface 155 Population -ib. Agriculture 156 Superstitions ib. Education 157 Communications ib. Carriers 158 History 159 Maratha rule 160 This forms the south-eastern division or commissionership of the Central , , . . Provinces, and comprises the districts of Rdipdr, p , . Bildspdr, and Sambalpdr. The first two — Rdipdr and Bildspdr — constitute Chhattisgarh Proper, and will be found noticed separately. Chhattisgarh lies between 80° 30' and 83° 15' of east longitude, and 16° 50' and 23° 10' of north latitude. On the north it is bounded by Sohdgpdr in tbe Rewd territory, and the Sirgdja and Udepdr states subordinate to the Chotd Ndgpdr agency ofthe Bengal presidency ; on the east by Sambalpdr ; on the south by the territory of the Rdjd of Bastar, a feudatory of the Central Provinces; on the west by the Chdndd, Bhanddra, Bdldghdt, Seoni, and Mandla districts. On the north-west corner of Chhattisgarh, being the terminal ridge of the Maikal range, which is the continuation of the Sdtpurd range, stands Amar kantak. From the side of this well known hill rises the Narbadd, flowing CHHAT 153 nearly due west to the Bombay coast, and the Son, a tributary of the Ganges. From Amarkantak the hills run in an easterly direction, inclining slightly northwards in a semi-circular form till a point is reached near Korbd, east ward of the Hasdd river; from thence they run due south till they reach the valley of the Mahdnadi eastward of Seorlnardin ; then, reappearing on the opposite side of the Mahdnadi, they continue close to the eastern branch of that river till they connect themselves with that great southern range from which the Mahdnadi takes its rise, and which bears its name. Again, from Amarkantak running south-west are the hills of Chilpi and Rdjadhar, forming part of an offshoot of the Maikal or Sdtpura range, commonly called the Ldnji hills, but which should more properly bear the name of Sdletekri, their principal point ; while below these, and still running south-west, are several irregu lar ranges, which become blended in the Mahdnadi range. These several moun tain boundaries form a vast watershed drained by the " Great River " and its tribu taries ; the enclosed area consists chiefly of plains generally open, for the most part culturable, partly cultivated, partly inhabited by a considerable population, in places very rich, and on the whole offering an enormous field for improve ment. The plateau is called Chhattisgarh, which means " thirty-six garhs" or subdivisions of territory. They, with the rest of the Nagpdr districts, were annexed to the British dominions in 1854. During Mardthd rule the Chhattis garh country did not improve, in some respects it probably deteriorated. During the twelve years that have elapsed since the introduction of British rule the rate of progress has been nothing like what may in future be obtained. Cultivation and population are universally believed to be increasing ; but still at this moment Chhattisgarh is probably the most backward of all the plain or champaign districts of British India. The whole of this great plateau is under British rule, but parts are not exactly under British administration. At the base ofthe various hills, which have been described as forming the _,. ... four boundaries of Chhattisgarh, there run tracts " ' which constitute what are called zaminddri estates, managed by their own chiefs or zaminddrs. The zaminddrs are of ancient origin, and some have held a feudal and partly independent position under our predecessors as well as ourselves. They are in some respects subject to the British civil authorities, but in several important particulars, especially those concerning the land revenue and landed tenures, they are masters in their own territories, and within, those limits they receive all the revenue ordi narily leviable by the state, paying a fixed tribute to the Government, and maintaining some sort of police and establishments at their own expense. The zaminddris form a sort of girdle round the plateau. The chief of them in the north are Pendrd and Mdtin ; on the east, Korbd and Kaurid ; on the south, Kdnker and Lohdrd ; and on the west, Ndndgdon, Khairdgarh, Chhui Khaddn, Kawardd, and Pandarid. The last-named are strips of noble country between the base of the Sdldtekri hills and Seondth river, and are in fact the very finest portions of all Chhattisgarh. There remains the centre and heart of the plateau — British territory — administered in the usual way. It is divided into two civil districts, viz. Bildspdr, comprising the northern portion ofthe tract, and Rdipdr, comprising the southern. v , , ,• • • In respect of productive resources the plateau Natural divisions. - r , , . r „ ,.„, , ,. r may be regarded m four different sections : — 1st. — The valley of the Seondth, and the tract between that river and the Sdletekri hills. 20 cpg 154 CHHAT 2nd. — The tract between the Seondth and the Hasdd rivers. 3rd. — The tract between the Seondth and the Mahdnadi. 4.L — The tract south of Rdipdr, extending downwards towards the Mahdnadi. The tract between the Seondth and the hills has a rich soil, in some places red, in others black, and, as already stated, belongs to the western zaminddri estates. It is the principal cotton field in Chhattisgarh, and the cotton grows on the red soil as well as on the black. The culture was, up to a recent period, insignificant, but it is fast increasing. Besides cotton this tract produces sugarcane (of middling quality as yet) ; gram and wheat of excellent quality ; and linseed and other oil-seeds of various sorts. The principal mart in it is Kawardd. The tract between the Seondth and the Hasdd has a darkish clayey soil, producing abundant harvests of rice, wheat, and pulses, It is quite open, fairly cultivated, and fairly populated ; almost every village has its tank, and every tank has its grove of trees ; but the fields are bare of foliage. The tract between the Seondth and the Mahanadi has chiefly a reddish soil, yielding fine crops of rice, wheat, and oil-seed, and some sugarcane. Here also there are numerous tanks and groves ; otherwise the country is bare of foliage, and there is but little jungle. It is strange that, situated in the midst of terri tories where the forests are so superabundant and overwhelming, the plateau of Chhattisgarh itself is so destitute of wood and shrubs, that fuel has to be obtained from long distances. The tract south of Rdipdr is, in essential charac teristics, similar to that last named, but as it proceeds southwards the country becomes poorer, and scrub jungle begins to appear, till at length the greater forests and the hills encroach upon the plain. The climate is on the whole good. There is sickness at certain seasons, „,. owing to excessive moisture; and in most villages the people injure their constitutions by drinking water from swampy and dirty tanks. Weils for the supply of drinking-water to the inhabitants are now being sunk in almost every village. Deadly epidemics are not unfrequently prevalent. Owing to the vicinity of hills and forests ah round the plateau, the rains are so regular and copious that droughts are almost unknown, and artificial irrigation is not attempted. So good and moist is the soil that even sugarcane can be raised without regular irrigation. But this plateau, so propitiously endowed by nature, is but an oasis surrounded by com paratively desolate regions. Though in itself rich, it is on all its four sides cut off from civilisation. Its trade, though absolutely not inconsiderable, is yet out of all proportion small as compared with the population and the produce of the country. One consequence is that the produce, especially that of the cereals, so exceeds the demand for consumption on the spot, that some years back the prices of grain used to be as low as one-fourth of those elsewhere, and the com often rotted in the stacks for want of a sale. Chhattisgarh offers great excitement and amusement to the sportsman : --_-.., . in the hot-weather months tigers and leopards are found in the vicinity of the several streams and rivers which intersect the country ; in the hills bears also are abundant. In the hills to the north the elephant, till lately sole master of the posi tion, ranged oyer a picturesque tract of country, and so serious had tbe devastations of these animals become, that in 1864 it became necessary to establish a government khedd for their capture. During the two seasons of CHHAT 155 1865-66 and 1866-67 there were 117 elephants caught. To the east of the district the wild buffalo may bo pursued over plains stretching as far as the eye can reach, and in every direction the antelope, the spotted deer, and other varieties of game may be met with. The area of the plains of Chhattisgarh is computed at about 10,000 square miles, including most of the zaminddri estates, but excluding tracts of hill and forest. It is supposed that about half, or 5,000 square miles, may be cultivated. Of the remainder at least a considerable portion is culturable and fit for culti vation. If all the outlying hill and forest tracts attached to the Rdipdr and Bildspdr districts be included, then the total area of hill, forests, and plain may amount to 20,000 square miles. Some parts of the Seondth valley near Drug are splendidly cultivated, with scarcely an acre of waste to spare. But in all other parts of the plateau there is great room for increased cultivation within the area of every village. In the plains the culturable waste is generally interspersed with cultivation. There are no large prairies, no uninterrupted expanses of rich land awaiting only the plough and the tiller ; but there are numerous pieces and patches of culturable waste scattered among the villages and fields. There is therefore not much scope for European settlement, nor for sale of waste lands, in the plains of Chhattisgarh. The greatest proportion of waste will probably be -found in the tract known by the name of Laun, south of the Seondth and the Mahdnadi ; in Khaldri and Sehdwd, on the left bank of the Mahdnadi ; in Sanjdri and Bdlod, south of Raipdr ; in the tract south-west of Ratanpur, known as Lormi and- Bijdpdr ; also in the tracts of Kdnker near Dhamtari. The population of Chhattisgarh, according to the census of 1866, is 2,103,165. _ , .. The races which inhabit this part ofthe country Population. ,-, - a j v • • j- r a^e the same m caste and religious prejudices as those found in other parts of India. Their clothing and diet still indicate a primitive simplicity. A narrow cloth about the loins is almost universally the only covering in use. They wander in the sun, and toil in their fields with the head perfectly unprotected, and exhibit in this respect a marvellous capacity for exposure. Their diet is almost entirely rice, eaten once at night and again cold as gruel in the morning. It is then called " basi," and without this morning gruel no man will enter on the business of the day. These habits are not found among the poor only, they are peculiar to all classes, and it is only of late years that village headmen and others on coming before official supe riors assume more clothing. Taking the community as a whole, it will be found that the Chamdr caste maintain here a numerical preponderance. They are not, however, leather-workers, like so many of their brethren in other parts of India ; on the contrary they are eager and industrious agriculturists, and nearly a fourth of the cultivation of the district must be in their hands. Having changed their traditional occupation, it has so happened that they have also changed their traditional faith. About fifty years ago a large portion of their body passed through a religious reformation, throwing over Brdhmanical teach ings, and evolved a new faith, which may be styled a Hinduised form of deism. This strange movement had its origin at Girod, a small hamlet in the Bildspdr district, on the south bank of the Mahdnadi and on the borders of the Sondkhdn estate.* Vide article on Bilaspiic. 156 CHHAT This class of deistical Chamdrs now numbers at least 200,000. They are a thriving and industrious race, occupying a very important position as cultivators and village headmen in the Bildspdr district. They are regarded naturally with hatred and contempt by the Brdhmans and other castes of Hindds, which their ever-reiterated assertion of equality only tends to aggravate. The idea that such social refuse as Chamdrs should, by any change of religious belief, acquire a higher social standing is galling and painful to the Brdhman mind. On the other hand there can be no doubt that this change in their faith has practically changed their character, by creating an independence of spirit to which they were formerly strangers. In many respects the feehng of antagonism which exists between them and the higher castes of Hindds is to be regretted. It has, however, engendered among Satndmis a wish to learn, in order to remove one formidable barrier which degraded them in the eyes of the enhghtened class, hitherto the repositories of all knowledge. This desire is a good omen as regards future progress and improvement among tbe community, and indicates the field as a favourable one for Christian Missionary enterprise. In addition to Chamars there is a large sprinkling of Brdhmans, Rdjputs, Kurmis, and Rauts. These, however, have no distinctive peculiarity. The Mohammadan element exists to a very limited extent, and in a very modified form. The Mohammadans are poor and uninfluential, and borrow largely the customs of Hindds — celebrating Hindd festivals, and respecting Hindd traditions. Turning, however, from the plain to the hilly tracts of the district we find a complete change in the nature of the community. In the latter, Gonds, Bhd mids, and Baigds are the sole inhabitants. The Gonds are partially civilised, and carry on to some extent a rude system of cultivation. The Bhdmids, on the other hand, seem thoroughly uninfluenced by the progress of events at their very thresholds. Their home is the wilderness; they mix Httle with other classes ; they rarely approach the open plain ; they migrate into more remote forests if their hamlets are resorted to ; they hunt much, being adepts with the bow and arrow ; they cultivate little ; they relish largely the spontaneous products of the woods ; and they live more as isolated families than as commu nities. Thus then, though the people generaUy are in a backward state, we have in striking contrast to the bulk of them still ruder and more barbarous races, who fly from the approach of the white man. Agricultural arrangements are ofthe most primitive character ; thus it is cus- . . ,, tomary for the landlord of a village to change the fields of his tenants every third or fourth year in order that every man may have his turn of the best piece. If this were refused, the tena,nt would migrate to another village, so httle regard have the tenantry for the occupancy of particular fields, and so great is the demand for their labour on the superabundant land. A belief in witchcraft and in evil-spirits is universal, leading not unfre- g , .... quently to the commission of the most atrocious crimes. When unusual numbers of deaths have occurred in any village or in any particular family, they are attributed to witch craft, and the following method is adopted for discovering the witch or wizard. A pole of a particular wood is erected on the banks of a stream, and each sus pected person after bathing is required to touch the pole, and it is supposed that when this is done the hand of the person in whom dwells the evil-spirit CHHAT 157 swells. No rules are laid down for attaching suspicion to any particular person, for persons of all ages and both sexes (though women are generally the victims) are selected, and accused upon the most whimsical and arbitrary grounds ; while the treatment which they receive varies according to the amount of inventive genius for torture possessed by the inhabitants of the village. Shaving the head with a blunt knife, knocking out two front teeth, firing the buttocks, tying the legs to a plough-share, seating in the sun and administering a potion of the water of a tannery, are the usual orthodox methods of exorcising the evil-spirit ; and scourging with rods of tamarind tree or castor-oil plant is never neglected, as these are supposed to possess some peculiar virtue for the detection of witches. Education up to 1862 was almost unknown. When an educational system , . was 'commenced there was nowhere found in Chhattisgarh, save in the town of Rdipdr itself, one institution that could be called a school, or a single person who could be called a schoolmaster. There are now, however, in Chhattisgarh government schools for boys, schools for girls, and indigenous schools affording education to children. The language of the people of the plains is a corrupt dialect of Hindi, commonly called Chhattisgarhi. The Gonds and some of the other hill tribes have languages peculiar to themselves. The existing traffic connected with Chhattisgarh follows several land r, routes. The principal of these is that now known Communications. .. a T i • . c -n-r. . , as the eastern line, which runs from Ndgpdr to the Mahdnadi. By this line the cotton and surplus grain of Chhattisgarh is conveyed on carts to Ndgpdr. After leaving the Chhattisgarh limits it passes through the jungle country in a westerly direction till it reaches the Waingangd, and crossing that river at Bhanddra proceeds due west to Ndgpdr. During the winter months this road is literally blocked and choked up with endless strings of carts laden with cotton and all sorts of cereal produce. From Chhattisgarh the line proceeds eastward till it touches the Mahdnadi at Sambalpdr, having a branch to Binkd, also on that river. For the greater portion of this line — from Ndgpdr to the Mahdnadi — surveys, plans, and estimates have been prepared by the public works department, and several sections of it are under construction. There are also two other roads — one north and the other south — running parallel to the main line, by which the produce of the valley of the Seondth is conveyed to Ndgpdr. One of these passes from the north-west corner of the valley through Khairdgarh, and skirting the apex of the Sdletekri plateau proceeds a little south of A'mgdon and Tirord, in the Bhanddra district, and passing the Wain gangd near Mohdri proceeds direct to Kdmthi. This route is traversable by carts after the rice is off the ground, and is much used. The other passes from the south of the valley of the Seondth through the hilly country of Chichgarh, and crossing the Waingangd below Bhanddra, proceeds direct to Ndgpdr. The latter route is difficult, and only available for pack-bullocks ; but both are much used. At present the Great Eastern line, with its northern auxiliary route, is the only one on which the principal carriage consists of carts. For the other lines now to be mentioned the carriage consists chiefly of pack-bullocks. Of these lines the first to be noted is that from Rdipdr to Jabalpdr by the Chilpi pass, which leads from the north-west corner of the Chhattisgarh plateau across the mountains to Mandla, on the Narbadd, and thence to Jabalpdr. This has heretofore been an unimportant line ; it is now in parts uuder survey and in parts under construction, and it has recently been made passable for carts iii fair weather. Again, from the upper extremity of 158 CHHAT Chhattisgarh, near Ratanpur, there run northwards two hilly routes, one of which, winding round the Amarkantak mountains, falls into the valley of the Son- near Sohdgpdr, and thence proceeding onwards joins the Great Deccan road near Rewd en route to Mirzdpdr; while the other, passing the mountains which overlook the plains of Chhattisgarh, and the undulating and upland country of Sirgdja, crosses the Son near Mirzdpdr, and so reaches that great mart. These last named routes are used solely by pack-bullocks. Another route follows the banks of the Mahdnadi downwards from Seorinardin, and passing by the towns of Chandrapdr, Padmapdr, Sambalpdr, Binkd, Sonpdr, Bod, and Kantdlu, so reaches Cuttack. This road has been more or less roughly made throughout, and in the section below Bod it has been greatly improved under orders of the Bengal government. Portions of it are traversed by carts at certain seasons. There is a direct road from Seorinardin to Binkd and Sonpdr, on which at certain times of the year there is some traffic ; it passes through the Garhjdt; state of Sdrangarh, and is greatly frequented by pilgrims from the North-Western Provinces going to Jaganndth. There is also a direct road from Sambalpdr to Cuttack vid Angdl. This was partly made for purposes of postal communication ; and it has not any traffic worthy of mention. Again, there is a route from Raipdr across the countries of Kharidr, Pdtnd, and Kdldhandi to Ganjam on the eastern coast ; and it is by this that the supplies of salt for all Chhattisgarh are brought. It is one of the wildest and most unhealthy routes in all India, though it is at present a most important one. Lastly, there is the route from Dhamtari, south of Rdipdr, which crosses the wilderness of Bastar, a most inhospitable country, and joins the Goddvari at Sironchd. The improvement of this latter route is in contemplation. These routes, even the most wild and unhealthy, are traversed by troops of „ pack-bullocks, often several hundreds in number, and sometimes numbering even thousands. They belong to a peculiar class named Banjdrds, who are both traders and carriers. These men are of a daring and adventurous character, and are habituated to the most insalubrious climates. In order to exhibit at one glance the extent to which land carriage, generally over rugged country, is made use of in this part of India at considerable expense, at some risk of human life and health, and with great wear and tear of cattle and carriage, it may be worth while to state the distances of the various routes above mentioned : — From Rdipdr via A'rang and Sonpdr to Cuttack Rdipdr to Ndgpdr Rdipdr to Sambalpdr direct Raipdr to Sonpdr Rdipdr vid Mandla to Jabalpdr Khairdgarh to Ndgpdr ... Seondth river via Chichgarh to Ndgpdr Ratanpdr vid Sohdgpdr to Mirzdpdr ... Ratanpdr vid Sirgdja to Mirzdpdr Seorinardin vid Sambalpdr and Sonpdr to Cuttack Sambalpdr vid Angdl to Cuttack Raipdr to Ganjam Rdipdr to Sironchd Miles. 339 183 163180 218 130 125 305 299313 155 339 230 CHHAT 159 On the early history of this part of the country even tradition throws „. no light. It seems probable, however, that the aborigines were Gonds, and that the country passed from them to the Rajput Haihai Bansi dynasty which ruled at Ratanpdr. For many years there seems to have been a perpetual struggle between the Hindds, who under their Rdjput chiefs had migrated here, and the wilder inhabitants of the country. As a result we find that the primary characteristic of the first positions taken up by the Hindds is one of security. They built fortresses on high plateaus, from whence they could descend for a raid on the plains, and, returning with their spoil, lodge it in safety with their women. The increasing strength ofthe Hindds and their greater resources, as representing a higher civilisation, in time ensured their triumph over the wilder and weaker race, and this led to the establishment of a capital which was fixed at Ratanpdr. This event occurred under a rdjd named Prithvi Deva, in the latter half ofthe ninth century. From thatperiod the gradual clearance and cultivation of this part of the country commenced. Tracts were given to warriors to whose valour the chief owed his position, to favourites of various kinds, and to aboriginal Gonds of position and influence whose good-will it was important to secure. In this way the Haihai Bansi dynasty of Chhaiitisgarh became consolidated, and hamlets and towns began to spring up where hitherto there had been nothing but the solemn silence of the forest. In common with other Hindd dynasties the origin of the Haihai Bansi rdjds is carried back to the most remote antiquity, i.e. through the seventeen hundred thousand years which comprised the Satyayuga epoch, to the origin of mankind by the creative act ofthe great Brahma. After the lapse ofthe Satyayuga period, and before the commencement of the Samvat era, 3,044 years of the old Hindd calendar, or " Yudhishthir" era elapsed. During this period, as shown in the Haihaya genealogical table, only eight rulers are supposed to have reigned, which would give to each rdjd on an average a reign of over three hundred years. In fact some of them are recorded as having ruled for nearly five hundred years. Such marvellous longevity accorded to those who'lived in the remote past is not peculiar to the chronicles ofthe Haihaya dynasty, and is attributable to that great respect for the past which characterises all nations in certain stages of civilisation, and makes them concede to the ancients virtues and powers which the pigmies of the present cannot achieve. Tradition asserts that at the end of the Satyayuga period a monarch named Sudhyum presided over the destinies of the East. Of his descendants one son, Nila Dhvaja, got the throne of Mahismati (Mandla or Maheswar) ; a second, Hansa Dhvaja, became monarch of Chandrapdr, supposed to be Chdndd ; and the third received the kingdom of Ratanpdr, then called Manipdr, by which name it is known in some of the Purdns. The two former kingdoms of Mandla and Chandrapdr, after the lapse of some generations, were overthrown by the Gonds, and the Manipdr or Ratanpdr kingdom alone survived till the advent of the Mardthds. The first rdjd of whom anything of a veritable character is recorded is Karnapdl, the tenth ofthe line, who reigned from Samvat 172 to 251 (a.d. 115 to 194). He made a city at Amarkantak,* and raised temples there. He consecrated the spot as the source of the Narbadd, and from that time it has been considered a holy and worthy object of pilgrimage among Hindds. Between Samvat 367 and 427 (a.d. 310 to 370) a successor of * This is also attributed to Chandra Dhvaja, the fifth of the line. 160 CHHAT Karnapdl, called Mohanpdl, built a city called Dhanpdr on a high flat hill between Pendra and Amarkantak. There was a formidable fort erected here called Ajmirgarh, and the place was for many years a great stronghold, and thickly peopled. Although centuries have passed since its greatness vanished, there can still be seen on this plateau, amidst the towering sdl trees, remains of walls, tanks, and enclosures, which evidence the prominent position it formerly occupied. In the eighth century, on the death of Mohan (or Moha) Deva, his two sons Sur Deva and Brahma Deva divided the kingdom, the elder branch remaining at Ratanpdr, and the younger proceeding to Rdipdr. The latter, however, was to a certain extent subordinate to the former. The Ratanpdr rdjd ruled over Bildspdr, Sirgdja, and Sambalpdr ; the Rdipdr ruler held the present district of Rdipdr, with Bastar and Karond. These seem to have been the limits of the Haihai Bansi rdjds for many years, in fact until the arrival of the Mardthds. The change of capital to Ratanpdr above adverted to is the next event of any importance. Ratanpdr was built and made the capital by Prithvi Deva. The old capital Manipdr was situated on the top of the Ldphd hill, about fifteen miles north of Ratanpdr. There is a large expanse of tableland on the top of this hill, which stands at an elevation of about 3,400 feet above the sea. Tbe remains of a fort, tanks, temples, and buildings are still apparent, and the posi tion possessed the advantages of prominence and security. From Samvat 895 to 1620, beyond the record of some temples erected and towns established, of which now no traces remain, the Brdhmanical narrative is occupied with tbe imaginary virtues of different rulers. In Samvat 1620 (a.d. 1563), however, the influence of the Mohammadan emperors of Delhi was felt even here ; and Baja Kalydn Singh proceeded to Delhi with the view of being acknowledged as ruler of the Ratanpdr territory. He was acknowledged, and he and his successors continued to pay tribute to the royal house of Delhi. The Haihai Bansi dynasty continued in undisturbed possession of tbe M _. _ . , Ratanpdr rdj till a.d. 1741-42, when the Mardthd authority was partly established in Chhattisgarh during the expedition of Bhdskar Pant to Bengal. In 1745 Raja Raghoji Bhonsld sent an expedition into Chhattisgarh under Viswandhar Pant, who conquered and deposed the last ofthe Rdjput kings named Raghundth Singh, but afterwards entered into a treaty with him by which the affairs of the country were to be conducted conjointly by Raghunath Singh and himself. Shortly afterwards Vishwandhar Pant, having occasion to proceed to Calcutta, nominated one Kalydn Gfr Gosain to act for him in his absence, but he died on the road, and his locum tenens (Kalydn Gfr Gosain ) was thrown into prison by Raghundth Singh, the old rdjd. These proceedings having come to the knowledge of Raghoji, while on his way to Calcutta in 1745, he finally deposed Raghundth Singh, allowing him a small jagir for maintenance. The Mardthd rule of Chhattisgarh may be considered to commence from 1745, the year in which Raghundth Singh was deposed. His place was taken by Mohan Singh, an illegitimate son of Rdjd Raghoji, who administered the affairs of the district for eight years, and died in a.d. 1753. In this year Raghoji also died after reigning seventeen years, leaving four sons : Jdnoji, Sdbdji, Mudhoji, and Bimbdji; and during a difference regarding the succession between Jdnoji and Mudhoji (sons of Raghoji by different wives) one Rdnoji, the brother- in-law of Mohan Singh, assumed charge of Chhattisgarh, which he held for a year. In a. d. 1 755 Jdnoji sent bis youngest brother Bimbdji to Chhattisgarh, CHHAT 161 which he allotted to him as an appanage ; and the Mardthd rule was now extended over the whole of Chhattisgarh, Sambalpdr, and the neighbouring zam inddris. Bimbdji held the district for not lass than thirty-two years, when he died in the year a.d. 1787, leaving a widow, Rani A'nandi Bdi, who managed it for a year. She was then relieved by one Yashwant Rdo Bhawdni, appointed sdba from Ndgpdr. Since that time the district has been under subas, with the exception of the interval during which the province of Nagpur was under the superintendence of the British Government — from 1818 to 1829 — until its annexation in 1854. In a.d. 1803 Raghoji having united with Sindid to oppose the objects of the treaty of Bassein, two victories, obtained over the united armies of these chiefs at Assaye and A'rgdon, led to the treaty of Deogdon with Raghoji, by the provisions of which he was deprived of a great part of his terri tories, and among others of Sirgdja, Sambalpdr, Pdtnd, Kharidr, and Nawdgarh- Bhendri, attached to Chhattisgarh, and bordering on its present northern and western limits. Although these districts were in a.d. 1806 restored and re-annexed to the Ndgpdr state, they were resumed during the arrangements consequent on the defection of A'pd Sahib in 1818, and transferred to Chotd Ndgpdr. The Rdipdr branch of the family shared the same fate. Amar Singh, the raja., however, carried on the government subordinate to the Mardthds till 1812 Samvat (a.d. 1755), when Bimbdji Bhonsld assumed the government himself, and allowed Amar Singh a grant of one rupee from each village. This allowance, as also a rent-free village, was continued to Amar Singh's son Mudj Singh in Samvat 1879 (a.d. 1822). Mr. Jenkins granted to the successor of Mudj Singh, Raghundth Singh, five rent-free villages in lieu of the allowance of the one rupee from each village enjoyed by his father. Raghundth Singh still survives, and is now the representative of the Haihai Bansi line — a quiet, simple-minded Rdjput, showing no indications of a distinguished ancestry. The recognised extent of the Ratanpdr kingdom included the present dis tricts of Rdipdr, Sambalpdr, and Bildspdr, with Sirgdja. The Ratanpdr Brdhmans certainly believe that many centuries back Bengal, Cuttack, and the Carnatic were also subject to the sway of the Ratanpdr rdjds, but there is no evidence to support their traditions, and their accounts of so extensive an empire are very visionary. Tbe districts above mentioned, in all probabihty, alone formed the territory of the Haihai Bansi sovereigns. These rulers do not seem to have been a powerful race, possessed of standing armies, and capable of carrying on extensive warlike operations. The long existence of the dynasty must be attributed to the geographical features of the country, and partially perhaps to its poverty. The territory was surrounded on all sides by ranges of hills, and offered formidable obstacles to an invading force, either from the north or the south. When at last the Mardthds invaded Chhattisgarh on their way to Bengal, the Haihai Bansis fell almost without a struggle. The only existing remains of the former dynasty now existing consist of temples scattered over the country, and the ruins of former forts and buildings. None of these seem to have possessed any architectural beauty, nor do they exhibit any traces of refined taste. They show that the people had arrived at a certain rude state of civilisation, but there are no signs of any progressive tendency. In fact it is not improbable that we found the people at the commencement of our rule very little changed in their social feelings, habits of thought, and general acquirements from the condition of their ancestors six centuries before. 21 CPG 162 CHHIN CHHINDWARA'— CONTENTS. Page General description 162 Geological formation ib. Coal 163 Forests 165 Climate 166 Population ib. History ib. Page Administration 167 Eevenue 168 Education ib. Agriculture, cattle, and wild animals. ib. Eoads 169 Towns and trade ib. A district with an area of 3,852 square miles, lying between 21° 25' and ,--,._. 22° 50' north latitude, and 78° and 79° 30' east General description. , ., -, tat. a ta-a a i it- longitude. It has two distinct natural subdivi sions — the hill country above the slopes of the Sdtpurd mountains, called the Bdldghdt; and a tract of lowland beneath them to \ the south, and called the Zerghdt. The Bdlaghdt may be roughly described as that section of the Sdtpurd range which hes between the districts of Seoni to the east and Betdl on the west. Northwards the district does not extend beyond the outer line of the hills south of the Narbadd valley, and on the north-west it stops at the Denwd river within the hills ; but on the south its boundary extends into the plain, and includes three parganas which form the Zerghdt, touching upon Nagpdr and Berdr.* The high tableland of the Bdlaghdt lies for the most part upon the great basaltic formation which stretches up from the south-west across the Sdtpurds as far east as Jabalpdr. The country consists of a regular succession of hill and fertile valley, formed by the small ranges which cross its surface in a general direction east and west. The highest of these ridges commences on the confines'of the Harai jdgir, and runs westward across the district, with a mean breadth of about eight miles. Throughout its extent this ridge can be approached from the south and north only by ascending passes more or less difficult, the ascent from the south being much the easiest. A beautiful valley skirts the southern base of this highland, and is again divided by an ill-defined range of hills from a tract of broken country, through which is the descent to the plains of Ndgpdr by the ghdts. The average height of the highest uplands is 2,500 feet; but there are many points very much higher : Chhindwdrd, on the second level, is 2,200 feet; and the third step above the ghats is about 1,900 feet, or 800 feet above Ndgpdr. The appearance of the Zerghdt below the hills is generally open and undulating. The country is intersected by several streams, of which the Kanhdn is the most considerable, and is chequered by isolated hills and low ridges covered with nodular trap and limestone. Near the hills and along the streams are strips and patches of jungle, while the villages are often surrounded with groves of tamarind, mango, and other shade-giving trees. The following is a short geological description Geological formation. from the pen of the late Mr. Hislop, but hitherto unpublished . — " The district of Chhindwdrd presents a considerable variety of rocks. Around the chief station, and in a strip of country to the west of it, as well as below the ghdts, granite occurs with the usual metamorphic strata, * This description of the physical features of the district is taken for tbe most part from Sir R. Jenkins' Report on the Nagpur Province. CHHIN 163 including marble. The greater part ofthe district, however, is covered with trap, which on the south rests directly oh the plutonic rocks, and in the north on sandstone. Enclosed in the trap there is found an interesting fresh- water deposit which at Butdria, east of Chhindwdrd, and Misldnward, south of it, and various other localities, yields shells, &c. of the Eocene epoch. The strata next to this in age are of iron-banded sandstone, which constitutes the mass of the Mahddeo hills to the north-west of the district. From the locality where these arenaceous beds are so largely developed Dr. Oldham has given the name of ( Mahadewa ' to this group, which I am inclined to consider the equivalent of the upper cretaceous rocks of Europe. Underlying the ferruginous sandstone there are met, in beds of argillaceous sandstone, shale, and coal, the last of which is wrought at Barkoi north of Umreth. " The soil is black where it overlies the trap, and red where it rests on sandstone or plutonic rocks. There is nothing particular about the water, except the hot spring at Mahdljhir on the east of the Mahddeo hills." The only important mineral product as yet discovered is coal. The oldest- „ . known coal-field in the district is at Barkoi, and has been experimentally worked since 1860, though hitherto with little success, owing to the high cost of carriage. It was first discovered in 1 852, and was mentioned by the late Reverend Mr. Hislop in his Memoir " On the age of the Coal strata in Western Bengal and Central India," published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XXIV. p. 347, and repubhshed in the quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 1855. The mine was visited by Colonel Harley Maxwell, Chief Engineer of the Central Provinces, in 1861, when he reported that " the extent of the "present known coal is decidedly limited ; it measures about two feet in thick ness, one foot of which may be considered good coal, the remainder has much "of lignite mixed with it ; but still the whole burns freely together, and will be " invaluable for brick-burning and other building operations. For three miles " this seam is traced along the bed of a stream ; and allowing this spot to extend "one and a half mile on each side of the stream, there will be about nine " square miles, or thirteen and a half million tons of coal." Since the date of Colonel Harley Maxwell's visit our knowledge of the coal resources of the district has been much extended. The seam at Barkoi, at first believed to be two feet only in thickness, one foot alone of which was thought to be good coal, is now known to yield over five feet of good coal, with the certainty of another seam below the one now explored. The chemical analysis of this coal goes to prove that it, as a fuel, is superior to any of the yield produced in the "Damudd" valley, and that its heating qualities are equal to two-thirds of the best Welsh coal. There would seem also to be a great extent of coal-bearing strata extending to the east from Barkoi as far as Sirgorf, a distance of ten miles, and to the west stretching not less than forty miles in a direct line, within which distance the actual presence of coal has been detected in forty-one distinct localities, in many of which the outcrops are numerous and extensive. It is estimated that the area over wliich coal may be said to be in plenty is more than 250 square miles, the width of some of the seams being as much as eighteen feet. i In the beginning of 1866 Mr. W. T. Blanford, of the Geological Survey, visited the Chhindwdrd district, and drew up a report on the Chhindwdrd coal- 164 CHHIN n fields after examining the out-crops of coal at eleven different places, (1) Sirgori, the most eastward locality where coal was found ; (2) A second coal-seam to the west-north-west of Sirgori ; (3) A seam in the bed of the Pench river, four miles west of Sirgori, and half way between the villages of Chendd and Digawdni ; (4) Harai, two miles south-west of Digawdni ; (5) A seam about a mile north of the Harai seam and half a mile south-west of the village of Rdvanwdrd ; (6) A second seam a mile west of Rdvanwdrd; (7) A seam three-quarters of a mile west-south west of the village of Pdrdsia ; (8) A second seam rather more than a mile south west of Pdrdsid and on the boundary of the village lands of Parasia and Bhanddrid; (9) A seam about a mile west of the village of Butdrid and half a mile east of Bhanddrid ; (1 0) Barkoi ; (11) A seam near a small shrine dedicated to Hingld Devi Gogri. In this report he writes as follows : — " The above details will, I think, serve to show that these discoveries . , ,. . of coal-seams are the most important that Importance of these discoveries , -¦ -¦ • T -, ¦ c L of coal-seams have been made m India for many years. Amongst all the previously known coal loca lities in Central India to the west of the parallel of Jabalpur there are hut two seams, both at Mohpdni, in Narsinghpdr district, which exceed four feet Thickness of the coal-field. in thickness. Near the Pench, within an area of sixteen miles in length from east to west, no less than six (or including Bhanddrid seven) localities have now been dis covered in which seams exceeding that thickness occur, and when it is borne in mind that, with two exceptions only (Barkoi and Hingld Devi) the whole of these localities have been discovered since the month of October last, and solely through the researches of Major Ashburner, I think it is only reasonable to believe that many other workable seams may still remain undiscovered in this neighbourhood, and that there is every probability that this portion of the great Narbada coal-field equals in mineral wealth the coal-fields ofthe Damudd valley in Bengal. "The circumstances under which the coal occurs appear in most Favourable conditions for j^*™?68 to be fayouraDle *° mining enterprise. mining. -Lne dips are very low, and, so far as a judgment can be formed from the very imperfect sections exposed at the surface, there appears good reason to anticipate that both the quality and thickness of most of the seams will be found constant, at all events over a considerable area. Faults are numerous, but the majority do not appear to be of sufficient amount to affect mining operations injuriously. It is probable that these faults will be found to decrease in number, the greater the distance from the fault, bounding the coal measures to the south. " The quality of the coal, so far as judgment can be formed by inspec- Quality of coal. tl0n an(^ by burning it in heaps, is similar to that of the coals of Rdniganj and other mines in that neighbourhood. It is a free-burning, non-coking coal. It is decidedly inferior to the better qualities of English coal, both on account of the larger proportion of ash, and of the lower percentage of fixed carbon. At the same time I see no reason for doubting that for railway purposes the Pench river coal is perfectly adequate : it is just as well suited as the Rdniganj coal, with which the East Indian Railway is worked for some CHHIN 165 hundreds of miles, and I believe that for all local purposes, or for fuel for stationary steam-engines, it is excellently adapted ; while for the manufac ture of iron, the freedom from pyrites possessed by the Sirgori seam, if found to be constant, should give that coal advantages over most other Indian coals with which I am acquainted. " There is one circumstance connected with the Barkoi coal (and the „ , , . other seams are probably similar in this respect) Coke from Barkoi coal. ^^ ^fa* it possible that it may excel the coals of Rdniganj in the kind of coke produced. Mr. Stanbrough's agent at Barkoi, Mr. Adams, showed me some heaps of coke which he had made from the Barkoi coal in pits. True coke it was not ; none of the non-coking coals will yield by heating the same description of coke which the highly bitumenous coking-coals will produce. But the result was very much more compact, and apparently contained more carbon than any specimen I ever saw of coke obtained from the coals of the Rdniganj field.* " The question may possibly arise whether some or all of the seams discovered may not be identical. Without a much Seams discovered probably cioser examination of the country than it has been <"stinct- possible to make hitherto it would be impossible to answer this question precisely in every instance, and even were an exact survey made, the large area of ground covered and concealed by trap and other formations more recent than the coal-bearing rocks would render the tracing of each seam a hopeless task until mining operations had advanced considerably. But there can, I think, be no question that the majority of the seams are quite distinct from each other, and I have not been able in a single instance satisfactorily to ascertain that any seam examined was identical with one seen elsewhere. " Amongst the localities I have described above I am disposed to ,. . . , . . . believe that those best suited for mining purposes ^Localities hest suited for ^ girg0rfj But^ and BarkoJ . but furtlier explorations by boring, as I have shown above, are desirable in every instance. The availability of the splendid seam on the Pench, at Chendd, depends, as I above stated, on its continuance to the north, beneath the trap in the river. Further exploration is required at Pdrdsid, and it is extremely desirable that the thickness of the seams there and at Butdrid, and above all at Sirgori, should be ascertained at once." The forests of Chhindwdrd are very extensive, and lie principally on the _-, southern slopes of the Satpuras. They contain teak, saj, shisham,kawa, and most of the commoner jungle trees. In the extensive forest which stretches from Deogarh eastward to the Pench river the large teak had all been cut down before it was taken in hand by the Forest department, but some fine sdj timber has escaped. These * " I am inclined to believe that this coke, at all events if mixed with coal, might be " well adapted for railway purposes. From its much smaller weight the cost of transport would " of course be greatly diminished by using it. It has the advantage too of being to a great extent " desulphurised." 166 - CHHIN tracts, measuring in the aggregate upwards of 250 square miles, have now been reserved by the Forest department, which is taking efficient steps to check the system of burning for cultivation, and of indiscriminate felling. The climate above the ghats is temperate and healthy. In the cold season the thermometer falls low, the average tempera- Uimate' ture being from 47° to 82° in the four cold months during the past five years. Frosts are not uncommon; and ice is frequently seen in the small tanks at an elevation of about 2,000 feet. Until May the hot wind is very little felt, while during the rains the weather is very cool and agreeable. The average rainfall is about thirty-six inches. The totalpopulationof the district, according to the census of 1866, is 327,875 persons. In the towns are the usual non-agri- opu a ion. cultural castes and classes of this part of India, with a few Mdrwdrfs and Agarwdls among the richer shopkeepers. Above the ghdts the country-people are chiefly Kunbis, Lodhis, Ponwdrs, Rdjputs, and a few Kanojia Brdhmans, with Telis and a sprinkling of Mohammadans in the larger villages. Along the edge and slopes of the ghdts the hamlets are inhabited by Gonds and a few Gaulis. The language generally prevailing in the Bdlaghdt (or montane) portion of the district is a mixture of Hindi and Mardthi, while the Gonds and Kurkds speak dialects of their own. The Brdhmans of the district and some of the agricultural tribes seem to have come down from Hindustdn about 180 years ago, when the first Gond raja of Deogarh visited Delhi and induced some of the more civilised classes to emigrate to his dominions. The Mdrwdris and Agarwdls came in with the Mardthds. The Gaulis are herdsmen and shepherds. The Gonds and Kurkds are the descen dants of the wild tribes who, whether aboriginal or not, inhabited this country before the Aryan immigrations. Of these two primitive races the language, customs, and system of worship are quite distinct. The Gondi tongue seems somewhat allied to Tamil, while the Kurkd seems to have some affinity with Santhdli * ; but these languages have never hitherto been scientifically studied. Any long digression about these curious tribes would be out of place in this article. Their physiognomy classes them apart from other races : they have usually broad flat noses and thick lips. They are simple, truthful, and good labourers ; and nothing about them is more remarkable than the docihty with which they have turned from a life of thieving and gang-robbery under the Native rule to settled habits and honest labour under the British Government. The following account of the Deogarh Gond dynasty, taken principally -,. from Sir R. Jenkins' report on the Nagpdr province, contains in outhne almost all that is known of the history of these obscure hill tracts before they were annexed by the Mardthds. Tradition says that most of the country of Deogarh above and below the ghdts, after being ruined and devastated by some great calamity, had been overrun and conquered by tribes of Gaulis. Farishta f indeed mentions A'sd Ahir, the Gauli chief and founder of A'sirgarh, as having ruled over Gondwdna; but how he acquired it is not hinted at. Jdtbd, a Gond, subverted the Gauli power above the ghdts, and his descendant Bakht Buland carried his arms south beyond Nagpur, and made conquests and acquisitions both from Mandla and Chanda. * The affinity between the Kurku as spoken in Hoshangdbdd and Santhdli is very great, especially in the pronouns and nouns denoting familiar objects. t Briggs' Farishta, vol. iv. p. 287, Edition 182°. CHHIN 167 The origin of this family, and the steps by which it rose to be a powerful dynasty, are lost in obscurity. It is known, however, that Bakht Buland visited Delhi in the time of Aurangzeb and turned Mohammadan, in order to obtain the imperial protection, taking at the same time the name by which he is known. His rule was an era of great improvement in the country which he governed. He employed Mohammadans and Hindds of ability to introduce order and regularity into his immediate domain ; industrious settlers were attracted from all quarters ; and agriculture and manufactures made some progress. Bakht Buland. usually remained in the districts above the ghats, except when prosecuting his military expeditions. Towards the latter end of Aurangzeb's reign he plundered in Berar, and extended his devastations over the districts held by the Moghals to the southward and westward of Ndgpdr. The Gond Rajds up to this time, it appears, paid a tribute to the Emperor of Delhi, and an officer resided at one of their hamlets for the purpose of collecting it on the part of the Faujddr of Paundr, which was the chief seat of the Musalmdn government east of the Wardhd. The next rdjd, Chdnd Sultdn, resided principallyin the country below the ghdts at Ndgpdr. On his death the government was usurped by an illegi timate son of Bakht Buland, whom the Mardthd chief, Raghoji, put to death, and replaced by two legitimate sons of Chdnd Sultdn. When these two brothers, Burhdn Shdh and Akbar Shdh, quarrelled, Raghoji took the side of Burhdn Shdh, and after expelling Akbar Shdh with his adherents, the Mardthd leader gra dually usurped the whole territory of the Gond prince whom he had supported. About the middle of the last century the Gond rdjds' sovereignty above the ghdts became virtually extinct. The earher Mardthd princes are said to have managed the country well, and to have improved it ; but Sir R. Jenkins records that when the districts above the ghdts came under British superintendence they had suffered much from the ruinous rack-renting which had been carried to. its highest excess under Raghoji II. It should be mentioned that the mountainous parts of the country above the ghats had long been occupied by petty Gond or Kurkd chiefs, who were under feudal subjection, first to the Gond rdjds, and afterwards to the Mardthds. When A'pd Sahib, the Ndgpdr rajd, escaped in May 1819 from tho custody of a British escort, he made his escape to the territories of these chiefs, and was there joined by the Pindhari leader Chitd. A'pd and Chitd were well received and supported by the Gonds ; they ravaged the neighbouring districts, and gave some trouble before the leaders could be expelled and the country pacified. When order had been permanently established, the British agents adopted the policy of allowing the petty rajds to retain their lands and rights as tributaries, and of making them responsible for the peaceful management of their estates. This system was entirely Successful, and was still continued when the whole district finally lapsed to the British empire in 1854. In 1865 the jdgirs of Almod, Pagdrd, and Pachmari in the Mahddeo hills were transferred from the Chhindwdrd to the Hoshangdbdd district. There remain with Chhindwdrd the jdgirddrs of Harai, Batkdgarh, and others. The district is now under the charge of a Deputy Commissioner and his Administration. assistants whose head-quarters, fiscal and judi cial, are at the station of Chhindwdrd. The sub divisions of Chhindwdrd and Sausar are under tahsilddrs, who exercise petty judicial and revenue powers. Sausar lies below the ghdts. The stations of the district police are at Chhindwdrd, Khamdrpdnf, Bordehf, Pandhurnd, Sausar, Mohkher, Chdnd, Chaurai, and Amarwdrd. There are likewise outposts of police 168 CHHIN at Singdri, Bijogord, Jambai, Belpeth, Jhilmili, Mohgdon, Lodhikherd, Bichud, Ghordr, Rdmdkond, Rdjna, Amberd, Moi, and Salid. The annual revenue derived from land for the year 1868-69 amounts to Rs. 2,10,729; from dbkdri (excise on liquor and x™6™*- drugs), Rs. 46,368 ; pdndhri and certificate taxes, Rs. 5,412 ; stamps, Rs. 32,138 ; forests, Rs. 15,764. There are in the district four town schools * and twenty-seven village schools, which are periodically inspected by a ucation. district official, and visited as opportunity offers by all the officers of the district. Education is, it is believed, beginning to make some impression upon the masses, and the movement is becoming more popular. The number of children now voluntarily attending the government schools is 1,312. The system of agriculture is in no way peculiar to the district ; it is rude . . „ ^. . of its kind; and chiefly owing to the absence of anfmals ' system in the rotation of crops, and the non- employment of manure, the produce is less than it should be. The crops depend entirely on the seasons, as, with the exception of the sugarcane, there is little cultivation aided by artificial irrigation. The harvests are the kharif and rabi — the former gathered between September and, in some places, as late as February ; the latter reaped from February up to the close of May, according as the season may be an early or late one. The area under cereals is about 450,000 acres ; but this estimate is exclusive of the jdgirdaris, wherein the cultivation is very inconsiderable, and the population sparse. The cotton cultivation may be estimated at about 15,000 acres, and this crop is for the most part confined to the Sausar subdivision. Sugarcane again is chiefly grown above the ghdts, whilst the wheat-producing country is mainly in the valley ofthe Pench, and in the neighbourhood of Mohkher, Chaurai, and Khamdrpdni; the pulses are grown generally near Chdnd ; and the oil-seeds are nearly confined to the high tablelands near the Pencil and in the Umreth pargana. The cultivation of potatoes has been introduced for many years ; indeed in the time of Mardthd rule it was practised ; and the tuber is not only appreciated and readily eaten by the natives, but its cultivation is steadily increasing. The produce is chiefly exported to Kamthi, but in every village bdzdr it is to be seen exposed for sale ; it amounts annually to about 3,000 maunds. The best breed of cattle is that produced in the pargana of Khamdr pdni ; their colour is usually white, and they have all the attributes of a pure race ; in size they are large, with no great bulk of body, and more adapted for draught than for slaughter purposes. The dewlap is unusually large, and the cattle appear to be allied closely to, if not identical with, the pure Gujardt breed. The breed is much esteemed in this part of the country for its tractability, and staunchness in yoke ; they are hardy, and easily kept in condition, and are; quite distinct from what are called locally the Gond cattle, which are a much smaller breed, but famous as being good milk -producing animals. The animals which are destructive to human life are the tiger, panther, and bear, occasion ally the hyaena ; there are in addition the hunting chitd, the wild dog, and the wolf, which prey upon flocks and herds. The wild boar, and deer of all kinds,' * Including a school at the station of Chhindwara under superintendence of the Missionaries of the Free Church of Scotland. CHHIN 169 including the sdmbar, nilgai, and chftal cause incessant damage to the crops. There are other wild animals, such as foxes, jackals, and lynxes, &c, which keep down so successfully the quantity of small game in the district that it is disproportionately scarce. But there are hares, partridges, and quails ; and in the cold season the district is visited by the migratory birds, such as snipe, wild-fowl, and the kulang, which latter disappear after the gathering of the rabi harvest. The bustard and florican are to be met with occasionally, but in no great numbers. In the Khamdrpdni jungles the bison is to be seen, and also in the hills forming part of the Sdtpurd range. There is only one so-called imperial road ; it runs between Chhindwara and _ , Ndgpdr. All the other communications have been classed as local. The Ndgpdr road has made some progress towards establishing a permanent communication : many bridges have recently been built, and the greater portion of the earthwork has been laid as far as Ramdkond. The descent into the low country by the Silawdni ghdt has been rendered easy, and the road there has been remarkably well chosen. The greater number of the bridges on the ghat have been constructed, but the line of road between Ramdkona up to the limits of Chhindwdrd district to the south is over a very difficult country — black cotton soil, crossed and cut up incessantly by ndlds or watercourses, with deep channels and muddy beds. The remain ing roads in the district are only fair-weather ones, but at that season they are all quite practicable for wheeled conveyances, except towards Narsinghpdr. Nothing has been done yet to reduce the natural difficulties of the latter route, and consequently it is rarely attempted as a line of traffic by any but camels, pack-bullocks, or buffaloes. Dak bungalows (rest-houses) are kept up at Rdmdkona and Chhindwdrd on the imperial line, at Uinreth and Bordehi on the Betdl road, and at Pdndhurnd on the road between Betdl and Ndgpdr. There are sardis at Ramdkond, Lodhikerd, Sausar, and Chhindwdrd. The chief towns are Chhindwdrd, about seventy-six miles north of Ndgpdr ; T , , Lodhikherd, on the same road about midway, situated on the Jdm river; Mohgdon, about ten miles direct west of Lodhikherd, which, under the Maratha rule, was always the head -quarters ofthe Zerghdt (submontane) country; Pdndhurnd, on the direct route from Ndgpdr to Betdl ; and lastly Sausar, now the residence of the tahsilddr. Nearly all the houses are built of mud, and until very recently were thatched ; in this latter respect much reform is being worked, by the sub stitution of tiles for grass. The greater portion of the district trade is internal, but the surplus takes the direction of Ndgpdr, the Berar country, and Bombay. CHHINDWA'RA' — The northern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the dis trict of the same name, having an area of 2,167 square miles, with 1,479 villages, and a population of 201,354 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,14,375. CHHINDWA'RA' — The head-quarters of the district of the same name. It is situated on the banks ofthe Bodri ndla, one of the affluents of the Kolbird, which again falls into the river Pench, about seventy-six miles north of Ndgpdr. The site is on high ground, elevated 2,200 feet above the sea, and surrounded by ranges of low hills, the landscape being filled up midway by cultivated fields interspersed with groves of mango trees. The soil is excellent for a station, being composed of light gravelly red earth, whioh never remains long moist. The site of the European station extends nearly two miles 22cpg 170 CHHIN— CHICH in length, and in parts is well wooded. It is generally considered to be very healthy, and is resorted to by European visitors from Ndgpdr and Kdmthi during the hot weather. A public garden is kept up by local funds, and is a great attraction. The supply of water is plentiful ; but most of the wells inside the town contain brackish or bad water ; the best are nearly all outside the town. A large masonry tank is in course of construction, and will, when finished, be a great boon to the people. The conservancy arrangements are good, and the town is clean and cheerful. The principal public buildings are the district court house, the commissioner's circuit house, the jail, the tahsil, and the police buildings. The charitable institutions are the dispensary, the Free Church Mission native school, the poorhouse, and the sardi. The number of inhabi tants is 8,185. CHHINDWA'RA'— A small town on the Ebna ndld in the Narsinghpdr district, twenty-three miles east of Narsinghpdr. The main road from Jabalpdr to Narsinghpdr passes through the town, and the Great Indian Peninsula Railway has a station here. The population amounts to about 1,500 souls, and a large cattle market is held here weekly. Chhindwdrd was established by Sir W. Sleeman about 1824 for the convenience of travellers through the Narbadd valley. CHHUIKHADA'N or KONDKA'— A feudatory chiefship attached to the Raipdr district, situated to the north of, and contiguous to, Khairdgarh. It consists of three tdlukas, separated from each other by the Gandai, Parpori, and Barbaspdr zaminddris, and lying at the foot of the Sdletekri hill. The area in the plains is not large, but it is well cultivated and fertile. It comprises 101 villages, and the chief pays a tribute of Rs. 11,000 per annum to Government. The town in which he resides is situated ten miles north of Khairdgarh and forty-eight miles west by north of Raipdr, and contains 400 houses, with 1,000 or 1,200 inhabitants. The chief's own house is a substantial stone building, standing in a fortified square, and is in strange contrast to the thatched mud huts of his people. He is a Bairdgi, but belongs to a sect among whom marriage is permitted. The grant was obtained by his family in the reign of Mudhoji, rdjd of Ndgpdr, in a.d. 1750. CHHU'RI' — A chiefship in the north-east of the Bildspdr district, cover ing an area of 320 square miles, and containing 120 villages. The country is a mixed tract of hill and plain, with a population of 13,281 souls, at the rate of forty-one to the square mile. The extent of cultivation is 27,907 acres, and the culturable area is estimated at 48,538 acres. The chief is a member of the Kanwar caste. CHHU'RI' — The head- quarters of a chiefship of the same name, in the' Bildspdr district. It is a small town, situated at the foot of the Vindhyan range, south of Uprord, east of Kenda, and about thirty-five miles north-east of Bildspdr. The chief's residence is a mere mud structure with thatched roofs, and there are no indications that his ancestors were in a more flourishing condi tion than himself. CHICHGARH (CHEEZGURH)— An extensive but poor estate situatednear the south-eastern borders of the Bhandara district, on the road leading from Sangarhi, by the Nawegaon lake, to the Chanda district. The area is 237 square miles, of which twenty-one and a half square miles are cultivated ; the rest con sists of culturable waste, and barren hill and forest lands. The population, numbering 8,371 souls, is very small compared with the enormous area of this CHICH-CHIM 171 estate, and consists chiefly of Gonds, Godrds, and Halbas. The forests abound in valuable timber, and there is a good deal of fine young teak well cared for. The two chief villages are Chichgarh and Palanddr, each of which possesses an indi genous school ; besides which there is a government police post at Chichgarh. One of the main district roads passes through this chiefship by a formidable pass near Chichgarh, more than three miles in length, and bordered by dense bamboo jungle. At the foot of this pass the chief has dug a well and built a sarai for the convenience of travellers. The holding is believed to be a very old one, and the chief is a Halbd by caste. CHICHLI' — A large village in the Narsinghpdr district, only noticeable as giving its name to a tdluka which has been held for many generations by a family of Raj -Gonds, whose hereditary representative still resides here. The estate comprises thirty-nine villages, and lies in the main to the south of Gddarwdrd, on the left bank of the Chitd-Rewd, extending down to the hills. When Amir Khdn invaded this country in 1809, Raja Sangram Singh of Chichli stood manfully by the defeated representative of the Ndgpdr government, and, distinguished himself in a skirmish whereby the Pindharis received a decided check. Brass vessels are largely manufactured here. CHICHOLI' — A small agricultural village in the Chhindwara district, on the main road from Betdl to Ndgpdr, and forty-four miles south of Chhindwdrd. Here is a wonderfully-spreading bargat or banian tree, with a large baoli underneath it. The tree covers several acres of land, and it is said that 500 horses can be picketed underneath it. A fakir receives a small allowance from Government to keep the place in proper order. CHI CHOLI' — A large village in the Betdl district, lying twenty miles to the west of Badndr, on the Wardhd road. It has a population of 1,776 souls. There are a police-station and a government school here. CHIKHLI' — An estate in the Bhanddra district, which, though ranking as a zaminddri or chiefship, consists of two villages only. The present holder is a Halbd by caste. Chikhli is situated to the south of the Great Eastern Road, about nine miles south-east of Sakoli. CHIMU'R — The northern pargana of the Warord tahsil of the Chanda district, bounded on the north by the Nagpdr district, on the east by the Brah mapuri and Garhbori parganas, on the south by the Garhbori and Bhdndak parganas, and on the west by the Bhdndak and Warord parganas and the Wardhd district. It contains an area of about 416 square miles, and has 158 villages. It is hilly along the east and south, and branches of the Andhdri and the Virai intersect it from north to south. The southern half is largely covered with forest, which also extends along the west and east. The soil is principally red, sandy, or yellow, with considerable stretches of black loam. Rice, sugarcane, oil-seeds, wheat, cotton, gram, and jawdri are largely grown ; and there are many fine tanks, chiefly under the eastern hills. Mardthi is the prevailing language. The principal towns are Chimdr, Nerf, and Bhisi, and midway between them is the village of Jdmbulghdtd, where the largest weekly market in the district assembles. CHIMU'R— A town in the Chdndd district, situated on a branch of the Andhdri, forty-eight miles north of Chdndd. It is the fourth town in commercial rank in the district, and contains 1,000 houses, the population 'being Mardthds, with a sprinkling of Telinga traders, and artisans. The manufactures are fine 172 CHIN— DAL and coarse cotton-cloths, chiefly the former, which have a local reputation for peculiar durability, also carts, both for travelling purposes and for carriage of goods. The principal trade is in cotton, grain, cotton-cloths, sugar and gur, oil-seeds, and carts; and a large portion ofthe sales are effected at the annual fair which is held in January. There are some fine groves in the vicinity of the town, and it possesses several temples worth visiting. There are also here a town school for boys, a girls' school, a police station-house, and a district post-office. A handsome place has been nearly completed on the raised area of the old fort. ; and here, facing the river, stands the town school-house. East of Chimdr commences a range of hills, which runs due south as far as Moharli, and is twenty miles long by six broad. Both slopes and summits are covered with thick forest, and the range forms a striking feature in the scenery of the surrounding parganas. In a basin in the south-west is the Tdrobd lake, and all along the foot of the hills run numerous springs, which never fail. CHINTALNA'R — A zaminddri or chiefship of Bastar, with an area of 480 square miles, and 100 villages. The zaminddr resides at Jigargunda. The estate has some fair teak forests, the timber from which is exported by the Chintdlong — a small stream flowing into the Tdl river. The population con sists of Telingas, Kois, and Mdrids. Chintalndr, one of the principal villages in the zaminddri, is situated 105 miles south-east of Sironcha. CHITA' REWA'or SI'TA'REWA'— An affluent of the Shakar. It rises in the Chhindwara district and joins the Shakar, after a course of some fifty miles or more, about a mile above the railway bridge at Patlon in the Narsinghpdr district. The coal, now worked by the Narbadd Mining Company, crops out in the gorge through which this river leaves the Sdtpurd tableland. CHULBAN — A river in the south-east part ofthe Bhandara district, which, rising in the hills about twenty miles south of A'mgdon, and passing near Sdngarhi, joins the Waingangd at a village called A'uli. D DA'BHA' — A town in the Chanda district, situated forty miles south-east of Chanda, and containing 416 houses. It is built on both banks of abroad and shallow tributary of the Wardha, and is surrounded by numerous groves. The manufactures are tasar silk, handkerchiefs, and coloured cloths, and the place is noted for the production of neat silver snuff-boxes. It formerly turned, out handsome woollen rugs, but this industry has died out. There is a small irade, principally in cotton-cloths, groceries, and salt. The population is almost wholly Telinga. Until a recent period Dabha was subject to constant raids by the wild tribes on the other side of the Wardha, and to this day the shopkeepers do not expose their goods for sale. The town possesses a government school for boys, a girls' school, a police station-house, and a district post-office, and an assistant patrol of customs is stationed here. DABWA'RA' — A village in the Jabalpdr district, twenty miles to the north east of Jabalpdr. Coal is found here. D ALLI' — An estate in the Bhandara district, composed of seventeen villages, situated on the Great Eastern Road, about midway between Sakoli and the eastern borders of the district. The area is 33,506 acres, or nearly fifty-three square miles, of which five and a half only are under cultivation. The population DAM 173 amounts to 2,331 souls. The holding is an ancient one, and has always been included in the list of chiefships. The present holder is a Gond, and the population mostly belongs to this class. There are no villages of any size,, and the cultivation is very rude. The Mundipdr pass, on the Great Eastern Road, falls within the limits of this estate ; and the hills adjoining furnish an abundant supply of bamboos. DAMOH *— CONTENTS. Page Paga History 176 Gond rule 177 Mohammadan rule ib. Bundela rule ib. Maratha rule 178 Population 179 Administration 180 General description 173 Hills and rivers ib. Roads and communications 174 Principal towns 175 Pairs ib. Trade ib. Climate, temperature, and rainfall. 176 A district lying between 22? 10' and 23° 30' of north latitude, and 79° 5' _, . _ . . and 80° of east longitude. It is situated on the rl" tableland of the Vindhyan range of hills, and in its extreme length measures about ninety miles north to south, with an average breadth from east to west of some fifty miles, being broadest about the centre, and narrowest towards the southern extremity. The total area is 2,457 square miles, and the population 262,641 souls, giving an average of 107 souls to the square mile. To the north Damoh is bounded by the native states of Fannd and Chhatrapdr in Bundelkhand, to the south by the districts of Narsinghpdr and Jabalpdr, to the west partly by the Pannd state and partly by the Sdgar district, and to the east by the Jabalpdr district and Panna. The general contour is irregular, and in some parts not well defined ; there is no well-defined natural boundary to the north, but here the tableland on which the district is situated ends, and an abrupt dip in the surface occurs, beyond which lie the plains of Bundelkhand, visible for many miles. The southern boundary, however, is well defined by a high hill range lying west and east, effectually separating the Damoh from the Narsinghpdr and Jabalpdr districts. In the east again the boundary line is not definite or regular throughout, as portions of the Jabalpdr district and the Pannd state in several places run quite into the Damoh boundary. The western limit is somewhat better marked, as in the lower half there are the small hills which hem in the Pitihra raja's jdgir in Sagar ; then there is the Bids river for a few miles, and lastly the low broad-backed Vindhya- chal hills for the upper half. For fiscal and administrative purposes the district is divided into the two tahsils or subdivisions of Damoh and Hattd, each of which is again subdivided into parganas. In the former are included the parganas of Damoh, Narsinghgarh, Patharid, Tejgarh, and Mangarh, and in the latter those of Hattd, Batidgarh, Paterd, Marid-Doh, and Kontd or Kumhdri. A larger number of parganas were recognised before, but several have been abolished since the recent settlement commenced. Generally speaking the southern and eastern portions of the district are _-.... , . hilly and wooded, while the rest of it consists of l iii is mill nv6rs. -i P . -* . ,-> .,. . open plains of varying degrees of fertility, inter spersed with detached hills and low ranges, the richest tracts lying in the centre. To the former class belong the parganas of Tejgarh, Mangarh, and Kontd, and to the latter those of Damoh, Patharid, Batidgarh, Narsinghgarh, Hattd, Paterd, * This article is taken mainly from the Settlement Report by Mr. A. M. Russell. 174 DAM and Marid-Doh. The river-system is most complete. The two principal streams — the Sundr and the Bairmd — traverse the entire length of the district from south to north, receiving in their progress the waters of the Bids, Koprd, Gurayyd, and other minor streams. At the extreme northern boundary the Sundr takes a bend eastwards and joins the Bairmd, which, emerging from the district, is met a httle further on by the Ken of Bundelkhand, and the united streams then flow into the Jamnd. There are, besides, three principal and several minor streams in the district. The names of the former, in the order of their importance, are the Bids, the Gurayyd, and the Kopra. They all take their rise beyond the limits of the district and flow northwards, the fall of the country being in that direction. Among the minor streams may be mentioned the Son in Mangarh, the Bakrdi, and the Biak in Batidgarh, the Bdrdnet in Marid-Doh, and the Sajli in Patharid, besides several others of lesser note. None of the streams are utilised for irrigation to any extent, although well situated for the purpose in many places. The hills ofthe district may be described in a few words. To the south there are the offshoots of the Vindhyan range, which, however, are not remarkable here for height or scenery. The Bhdnrer range of hills run along the eastern boundary for some distance, and attain to a considerable height in several places. The Vmdhydchal hills run along the western boundary for a considerable distance, and in several places open out into broad plains of tableland, thickly wooded with low jungle. Towards the north-east of the Damoh pargana rise the Bhondld hills — a low range, which follows an easterly course until it is lost in the offshoots of the Bhdnrer range. These hills generally consist of the coarse sandstone of the Vindhyan series, but to the west of the district the overlying trap ofthe Sdgar plateau is met with. ' The district does not at present possess any metalled roads ; consequently _ , , . . wheeled conveyances cease to run between July Roads and communications. -, .-, , , J ¦ , ai „ -v a _¦ and October, owing to the prevailing nature of the soil being black loam, which becomes quite adhesive after the first fall of rain. The principal road is that which connects the military station of Sdgar with the important town of Jabalpur, and, passing through the station of Damoh, runs some forty miles in the district, out of a total length of one hundred and ten miles. It is partly bridged, except the larger streams, which, however, are all fordable during the open season, when much traffic passes this way. The line next in importance connects Sdgar with Jokdi on the Mirzdpdr road, and traverses some thirty miles of the Damoh district, commencing from the town of Damoh itself. This route is considerably shorter for the Mirzdpdr and Sdgar traffic than that vid Jabalpur, and it should become an important railway feeder. The only other line deserving separate notice is the road from Damoh towards Nagod via Hattd, the largest town in the district. By this route all foreign goods from Mirzdpdr and the Upper Provinces are imported, and the surplus cotton produce of the district is exported. The rest of the communications are simply tracks. The most frequented are two lines leading into Bundelkhand from the north-west and north-east of the district, by which a large number of Banjdrds carrying grain, and other traders who employ pack-bullocks, travel during eight months of the year. Another line of the same kind extends southwards, traversing the entire length of the wooded pargana of Tejgarh, and runs down to the Narbadd valley. By this route a great deal of grain finds its way into Bundelkhand. The only other line which may be mentioned is a direct road from Rehli in Sdgar to Pdtan in Jabalpdr, which is a much shorter route than that vid Damoh, but it is very little used, owing to the wild nature of the country. DAM 175 The principal towns in the district are Damoh, Hattd, and Hindorid. p . . . Those of lesser note are Narsinghgarh, Patharid, p '"" Paterd, and Marid-Doh. Of these Hattd is the richest, and contains the wealthiest population : it is in fact the emporium ofthe district for all foreign goods. Hindorid and Paterd are manufacturing towns in brass and metals. Marid-Doh is noted for its cloth and woollen manufactures, and Patharid and Narsinghgarh for wealthy grain-dealers. Two, or more properly speaking three, annual fairs are held, viz. one at _ . Kundalpdr and two at Bdndakpdr, with an interval of one month between them. They all have their origin from rehgious gatherings, but have now in course of time commenced to attract large numbers of visitors and traders from all parts of the country, and occupy a respectable place among the important fairs of the Narbadd country. The fairs at Bdndakpdr are held in the latter end of January and February, at the Basantpanchmi and Sivardtri festivals respectively, when thousands of devotees, both men and women, visit the place for the purpose of pouring Ganges or Narbadd water on the image of Jdgeswar Mahddeva, in fulfilment of vows made for wishes gratified or favours solicited. Offerings are made on these occasions to the idol, amounting to nearly Rs. 12,000 in the year, three-fourths of which are claimed by the proprietor of the temple, and one-fourth by the priests. The local legend with regard to the origin of this temple is that the father of Ndgoji Balldl, a respectable Mardthd pandit of Damoh, in a.d. 1781 dreamed a dream that at a certain spot in the village of Bdndakpdr lay buried under the earth an image of Jdgeswar Mahddeva, and that if he built a suitable temple over the spot indicated, the image would make its appearance. On the strength of this dream tho pandit built the temple, and in course of time, it is asserted, the image developed itself without the help of man ; hence its great fame in the surrounding country. The share of the offerings appropriated by the proprietor of the temple is said to be expended on religious objects. The Kundalpdr fair commences with an annual gathering of Jains, immediately after the fioli festival. A Jain temple had been erected there by the Ponwdr Banids, and all of that sect in the neighbourhood used to visit the place for the purpose of worshipping their idol (Nemindth or Pdrsvandth), and for settling all caste disputes. These disputes used frequently to be settled by the imposition of fines on the delinquents, and the sums thus realised were thrown into a fund for the repairs of the temple, and for embel lishing its vicinity with tanks, groves, &c. In this manner, and from special endowments, the number of Jain temples has greatly increased, and they now attract a large concourse of people, of which traders in the surrounding country take advantage. *t>v The import trade on the north-east frontier is considerable. It consists of European and country-made piece-goods, betel, cocoanuts, hardware, tobacco, spices, rum, salt, sugar from Mirzdpdr and the north-west. The imports in transit through the district may be valued at thirteen ldkhs of rupees. A great proportion of these is sent to Sdgar and Bhopdl, and merely passes through Damoh. Salt is brought by the Banjdrds in large quantities from the Rdjputdnd salt lakes vid Sdgar, to supply the markets of Bundelkhand. The value of the salt annually carried throuo-h the Damoh district has been estimated at three ldkhs of rupees. The exports consist of wheat, gram, rice, hides, ghee, cotton, and coarse cloths. 176 DAM The climate is on the whole salubrious. Cholera, as in other parts of the country, sometimes does sweep over the district, WalT*6' temperature* and and small-pox carries off a number of children annually. Fevers too are prevalent about the conclusion of the monsoons, but not to so great an extent as in the adjoining district of Jabalpdr. But a decrease in small-pox cases and in fevers may now be confidently looked forward to — in the one from the introduction of vaccination operations, and in the other from an improved system of conservancy, which is gradually being extended even to villages in the interior, which formerly used to be choked up with filth and manure. The disease most common to the district, however, is the guinea- worm. This was supposed to be engendered from the unwholesome water of the tanks in and around Damoh, but as people in the interior of the district are as subject to it as the inhabitants of Damoh itself, the hypothesis must be incorrect. Europeans are seldom or never attacked by it ; and it generally breaks out at the commencement of the rainy season. The first attack is severe, but with careful treatment the patient generally recovers in a couple of months. The temperature is lower than in the Narbadd valley districts generally, and the hot winds are milder and of shorter duration than in Upper India. The nights especially are cool throughout the year. In the winter it generally rains, and then the weather becomes really cold ; heavy frosts too sometimes occur. The atmosphere is not nearly so damp in the rainy season as at Jabalpdr or Sdgar. The following tables give the average tempera ture and rainfall for three years : — Temperature. — In the shade. Rainfall — Average of three years. Maximum 105° During 1865 55-7 inches. Minimum 60° „ 1866 37-8 ., Medium 75-50° „ 1867 45-5 ,, Exposed to the Sun's rays at 4 p.m. Highest 130° Average 115° to 120° The early history of an isolated and unimportant district like Damoh is Hist necessarily involved in a good deal of obscurity, especially as no remarkable events would appear to have occurred within the district limits, or in its immediate vicinity, to connect it in any way with the general history of the country. The only sources from which information can now be drawn are local inquiries based on popular tradition, and such fragments of documents as our predecessors — who enjoyed greater facilities of acquiring historical facts — may have left us. In the latter respect, however, Damoh is particularly unfortunate, having lost all its earlier records during the mutinies of 1857. According to the universally accepted tradition, the first known government in these parts was that of the Chandel Rdjputs, commonly called the " Chandelf Rdj," whose seat of government was at Mahobd in Bundelkhand, with a local governor stationed at Balihri in Jabalpdr, to whom the territory now comprised in the Sdgar and Damoh districts was subordinate. The Chandel rule is supposed to have terminated about the end of the eleventh century, but Durgdvati, the queen of Sangrdm Sd, one of tha Gond rdjds of Garhd Mandla, who reigned in the sixteenth century, is said to have been the daughter of a Chandel prince. DAM. 177 The only monuments left by the Chandels are some temples known as " marhs," which are attributed to them, but they are entirely devoid of inscrip-. tions. After the decadence of the Chandels the country seems to have fallen _ , into various hands at different times, but the most definite of the local traditions point to a period of Gond supremacy exercised from Khatold in Bundelkhand, the seat of a long- since extinct Gond principahty, and subsequently, as regards the southern portions of the district, from Chaurdgarh in the Narbadd valley, one of the capitals of the Mandla dynasty. The Khatold principality is believed to have been subverted at the beginning of the sixteenth century by the notorious Bundeld chief, Rdjd Barsinghdeva of Orchhd, who estabhshed the head-quarters of his new conquests at Dhdmoni in Sagar. The Mohammadan power had made itself felt in the district from a very ,, _ _ . early period. The first indication of it is in a Mohammadan rule. t. • • • a- a- . ai i a a. - • i .Persian inscription formerly affixed to the principal gateway of the town of Damoh, which purports to have been put up during the reign of Ghiyas-ud-din, and bears the date Hijra 775 (a.d. 1373.) The actual occupation of the district by the Mohammadans did not take place till some two centuries later, and seems to have been accomplished without much opposition, except at Narsinghgarh, where the Gonds made a show of resistance to Shdh Taiyab, the commander of the imperial forces. During the Mohammadan occupation, Damoh, Narsinghgarh (the name of which was changed by them to Nasratgarh), and Lakhroni were their principal centres of authority, and evidences of their presence are still to be found there in the ruins of forts, tombs, and mosques. The Mohammadan element in the population is now very insignificant both in numbers and in position, and though the Kdzis of Narsinghgarh claim descent from Shdh Taiyab, they have fallen so low that they are glad to take occupation as messengers and process-servers. When the Moghal empire began to crumble before the rising Mardthd -, , ,. . power, the Mohammadan hold over such an out lying dependency as this naturally weakened, and Chhatrasdl, the powerful rdjd of Pannd, took the opportunity to overrun Sagar and Damoh, and to add them to his territory, though he does not seem to have ever established his authority over the Gonds and other wild tribes of the south and east of the Damoh district. In his time was built the fort of Hattd, now in ruins. In the year a.d. 1 733 * Rdjd Chhatrasdl's possessions being threatened by an invasion from the north by the Nawdb of Farukhdbdd, he had to solicit assistance from Bdji Rdo Peshwd. This assistance was rendered in good time, and the invader was repulsed. To mark his sense of gratitude Rdjd Chhatrasdl ceded a third of his possessions to the Peshwd. This memorable cession was called the Tehrd, all the territory held by Rdjd Chhatrasdl being divided into three equal parts, one for each of his two sons Hirde Shdh and Jagat Rdj, and one for Bdji Rdo Peshwd, whom also he formally adopted. By this division the districts of Sdgar and Jdlaun, and part of Damoh, fell to the share of Bdji Rdo Peshwd ; Shdhgarh. Garhd Kotd, and part of Damoh to that of Hirde Shdh; Charkhdri, Bijdwar, Jetpdr, and part of Damoh to that of Jagat Rdj. The Mardthds subsequently wrested the whole of Damoh from the Bundelds. It was some time, however, before the petty chiefs and relatives who held the * Grant Duff's History ofthe Marathas, Indian Reprint, vol. i. p. 3/0. 23 cpg 178 DAM different parganas during Rdjd Chhatrasdl's reign could be induced to vacate and hand them over to the Peshwd's officials, and some had to be ejected by force. ¦'• Damoh then became subordinate to the governors at Sdgar, the first of ,„ , , . , whom was Govind Pandit, who was killed near Maratha rule. Pdnipat in a.d. 1760*, when his son Bdldji suc ceeded, and he in his turn was succeeded by his son Raghundth Rao, alias A'bd Sdhib, in a.d. 1800. After his death in 1802 his widow Rukmd Bdi conducted the government until the cession of these territories to the British Government in 1817-18. During the Maratha rule the district was administered by two principal and seven subordinate dmils or mamlatdars. The former were stationed at Damoh and Hattd, and the latter at Narsinghgarh, Patharid, Patera Batidgarh, Tejgarh, Jujhar, and Kontd; and there were as many parganas in the district. The dmils were all Mardthd pandits, and to each was attached a farnavis or accountant of the same class, also a kdyath kdndngo, who kept the fiscal accounts in Hindi. The authority of the dmils was supported by a military garrison amounting in all to some 1,600 infantry, 400 cavalry, and 10 guns; but of course the full complement was seldom maintained, although regularly charged for in the annual accounts submitted to Sagar. For the administration of civil and criminal justice no regularly salaried agency was kept up. There were, however, several officials styled "chaudharis" who .assisted the governors in " dand mdmild ;" that is to say in regulating the amount of fine ' to be divided, and then negotiating for its realisation. These men were paid by fees on the amount thus realised. The only punishments recognised by the Code of Criminal Procedure were (1) fines for the wealthy, (2) banishment and confiscation of household property for the middle classes, and (3) banishment for the poorer classes. Civil suits were neither brought for hearing nor enter tained. The revenue system of the Mardthds was to keep as many villages as possible under government management, collecting direct from the cultivators. Leases or ijaras were, however, frequently given for short terms from one to three years. The terms on which these leases were given left but a very small margin of profits to the lessees, seldom more than one-tenth of the rental assets, and very often the demand exceeded the estimated assets of the village. The profits left to village lessees were called " dupsi," which would appear to be a contraction of the words do-biswi, and if so would have amounted to two biswds in the bighd of twenty biswds. Thus one-tenth of the whole income constituted the lessee's profits, and nine-tenths were appropriated by the state. Village lessees, however, had the option of making what they could out of the cul tivators, who had no redress at all, as cultivating rights were not recognised. Another method of realising the revenue was to tell off a certain number of troops in arrears of pay to recover the amount of their wages from khdlsa villages, or from village lessees, in the best manner they could. The revenue instalments were so regulated that unrealisable arrears of revenue were unknown in the Mardthd accounts. The plan adopted was to fix all the payments, of which there were three — -and hence the term " tihdi " for revenue instalments in this district — before the spring harvest came on, so that if any of them were not made good at the appointed time, there were the standing crops which could at once be seized. Thus the first instalment was taken in " Srdwan" or July, the second in " Kdrtik" or October, and the third in " Phdlgun " or February. Under such a system of revenue administration landed property quite lost its * Grant Duff's History ofthe Marathas, Indian Reprint, vol. ii. p. 104. DAM 179 value, the people were demoralised, and the cultivating classes reduced to a hopeless state of poverty. Half a century of British administration has now brought about a very different state of things. Although our earher settlements followed too closely the native models, and for long depressed the agricultural classes, the district now enjoys a light assessment and fixed tenures, the result of which is already evident in the spread of cultivation and the very high market value of land.* The mass of the population, which amounts to 262,641 souls, at an average . . rate of only 107 to the square mile, is Hindd. op lon" The Mohammadan element, composed mainly of the lower orders, such as cotton-carders, weavers, and the like, is barely equal to three per cent of the whole. There are upwards of sixty different castes or sects of Hindds ; but the classes which prevail most among the agricultural population of the Narbadd valley — such, for instance, as the Gujar, the Jdt, the Kdonrd, the Kirdr — are hardly represented in Damoh. The Kurmis are the most numerous caste. Then follow the Lodhis, Chamdrs, Gonds, Brdhmans, Ahirs, &c. They may be roughly classified thus — Kurmis 34,907 Lodhis 31,980 Chamdrs 28,401 Gonds 26,724 Brdhmans 23,666 Ahirs 15,281 Banids 9,783 Rdjputs 9,187 H-i ¦ . .- ¦ 179,929 souls. Other castes 82,712 „ Total 262,641 „ Some of the castes inhabiting the district are indigenous, and some have Immigrated in large bodies from Bundelkhand and the upper provinces at remote periods. Thus the Lodhis are from Bundelkhand, and have now been established here for nearly three centuries. The principal tdlukaddrs and landholders are of the Lodhi caste, the Mehdela subdivision predominating over all others. The Kurmis too are foreigners, having immigrated here from the Dodb about two and a half centuries ago. Then there are the aboriginal Gonds and the Ahirs, who, whatever their origin, appear to have quite lost their nationality and even the peculiar patois, which many castes in the Narbadd valley have retained almost unaltered, particularly the Kirdrs, who to this day speak the broad sort of Hindustdni peculiar to the Farukhdbdd people. The best agriculturists are decidedly the Kurmis, but they seldom occupy the wilder portions ofthe district, and are found mostly in rich black-soil tracts. It is a common saying that no Kurmf can exist where he is unable to raise rabi crops. They are a most peaceable set of men, and have always been remarkable for their loyalty to the ruling power. They are very tenacious of their ancestral holdings, and seldom alienate rights in land unless under the greatest * Some villages sold lately by auction realised more than thirty years' purchase, 180 DAM pressure of circumstances. A Kurmi is rarely known to follow arty other- profession but that of agriculture, whether as cultivator or farmer ; and the real secret of their -unfailing success in agricultural pursuits generally does not appear to lie so much in their reputed superior skill, as in the fact of the women as well as men engaging equally in field work, while the women of several other agricultural classes are precluded, from prejudice or custom, from assisting the male population in their labours. Scarcely inferior to the Kurmis as agri culturists are the Lodhis, who, however, are the opposite ofthe former in natural temperament, being turbulent/ revengeful, and ever ready to join in any disturb ance. They make good soldiers, and are generaUy excellent sportsmen. Both among Kurmis and Lodhis there is no distinction between a mistress and wife, provided always that the former is of the same caste as the husband, or better still the widow of an elder brother or cousin, however far removed. The chil dren born from such connexions are on an equal footing as regards inheritance of property, whether personal, real, or ancestral, with those born from regularly married wives. Large numbers of the Gonds and Ahirs too are agriculturists. They are the only tribes which inhabit the wooded and hilly portions of the district, and are generally poor, of unsettled habits, and indifferent agricul turists. In the plains they are principally employed as farm servants. .Among village proprietors, as among cultivators and the population gene rally, Lodhis occupy the first place, holding as they do 316 villages out of 1,228, or more than a fourth ; the Kurmis come next in order, and hold 154 villages, or fully an eighth; then the Brahmans, who hold 145; then Banids, who hold 116 ; and Gonds, who hold 75. Musalmdns hold 71 villages; but of this number 63 are in the possession of one family, to whom a whole tdluka was awarded in proprietary right as a reward for loyal services rendered during the mutinies. The remaining 351 are held by various castes. The Lodhis abound in the parganas of Tejgarh, Damoh, Mangarh, Batidgarh, and Kumhdri ; Kurmis in Narsinghgarh, Damoh, Hattd, Batidgarh, and Fatehpdr ; Brdhmans in Hattd, Damoh, and Narsinghgarh ; Gonds in Tejgarh and Fatehpdr. The district staff consists of a Deputy Commissioner, an Assistant or Administration Extra-Assistant Commissioner, a Civil Medical Officer, and a District Superintendent of Police at head-quarters, with Tahsilddrs or Sub-Collectors exercising judicial powers at Damoh and Hattd. The police number 410 of all ranks ; they have station- houses at Damoh, Hattd, Mariddoh, Batidgarh, Patharid, Tejgarh, Jaberd, and Kumhdri, besides eighteen outposts. Revenues. The revenue of the district for 1868-69 was— Land revenue Rs. 2,55,547 Excise „ 4,997 Stamp duties „ 24,575 Forests „ 8,886 Assessed taxes , 8,218 Educational cess „ 5,110 Road cess „ 5,110 Postal cess ,, 1,277 Total Rs. 3,13,720 DAM— DAWA 181 DAMOH — The southern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the district of the same name, having an area of 1,787 square miles, with 798 villages, and a population of 168,513 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,43,301. DAMOH — The head-quarters of the district of the same name. Here reside the Deputy Commissioner and his staff. The town contains 1,908 houses and a population of 8,563 souls. Near it are some bluff hills which radiate the heat in the hot weather, and tend to increase the temperature. In spite of the fine tank called the Phutera Tdl, there is a difficulty in obtaining good water. The ' sandstone on which Damoh is built is of so porous a character that it does not easily retain water, and there are but few wells. Most of the old Hindd temples here were destroyed by the Mohammadans, and their materials were used to construct a fort, which in its turn has been destroyed, so that few buildings of interest remain. The inhabitants are mostly Lodhis, Kurmis, and Brdhmans, but there are also some Mohammadans. Damoh is situated on the highroad between Sdgar and Jabalpur, and between Sdgar and Allahdbad via Jokdi. It is 45 miles east of Sdgar, 55 north-west of Jabalpdr, and 775 miles from Calcutta via Allahdbdd. DA'NGURLI' — A small estate on the left bank of the Waingangd in the north of the Bhanddra district, which ranks as a zaminddri or chiefship. The total area is only 1,905 acres, of which two-thirds are under cultivation. There is only one village'' on the estate. A very large quantity ofthe castor-oil plant is grown here. The chief is a Rdjput. DANTIWA'RA' — The chief village of a subdivision of the same name in the Bastar state. It derives its importance from a celebrated temple to " Dantes wari " or Kdli, the household goddess of the rdjds of Bastar for many genera tions. There is nothing remarkable about the building, which is unpretentious. It is said that Meria sacrifice used to be practised here in former years, and in front of the shrine is the stone-pillar or block to which the animals now sacrificed are tied up before being killed. The village is situated at the con fluence of the Dankani and Sankani rivers, about sixty miles distant from Jagdalpdr, and about one hundred and twenty from Sironchd, on the direct route between these places to the west of the Beld Dilds — a large and lofty range of hills. The population amounts to about three hundred souls, and consists of Gonds, Rdjputs, and other castes. DARSANI' — A village in the Jabalpdr district, two miles to the north west of Sihord, containing some 743 inhabitants. It is said to stand on the site of a legendary town called A'ndhernagarf, so called from the vices of its inhabitants. DAWA' — A chiefship in the Bhanddra district, about thirty miles north-east of Bhanddra and a little north of the Great Eastern Road. It consists of twelve villages, with an aggregate area of twenty-six square miles, of which 4,709 acres are under tillage. The population amounts to 4,085 souls. The present holder is a Halbd by caste, and the majority of the population are Gonds and HalbdSj though there is a strong colony of Koris at Kor Seoni. There are only two large villages, in the estate, viz. Dawd and Kor Seoni, both of which possess indigenous schools. 182 DEN— DEO DEN WA' — A river in the Hoshangdbdd district, running almost in a rough semi-circle round the scarped cliffs on the eastern and northern faces of the Mahddeo hills. It winds through a deep glen out into a smaller valley shut off from the main Narbadd valley by an irregular line of low hills, and entering the hills again towards the west it meets the Tawd a few miles above Bdgrd. DENWA' — A forest reserve in the Hoshangdbdd district, with an area of about one hundred square miles, extending close under the Pachmaris along the valley of the Denwd river ; it is a level tract, with a good deal of fine large sdl wood. DEO — A river in the Bdldghdt district, which rises in the Bijdgarh hills and flows westwards, until, arriving at a gorge to the north of Bdnpdr, it turns southwards and after reaching the plains, maintains a south-westerly course until it empties itself into the Bdgh, about ten miles to the south of Hattd. DEOGARH — A village in the Chhindwdrd district, situated in the hills, about twenty-four miles south-west of Chhindwdrd. It was the ancient seat of the midland Gond kingdom. The village at present consists of only fifty or sixty houses, but foundations can be traced, in what is now jungle, for a considerable distance round. These, with the numerous remains of wells, tanks, &c, show that the former city must have extended over a very large area. There are also several old temples. Outside the village the ruins of a line stone fort are still standing on a high peak. The whole of the buildings are constructed of the finest limestone. The situation of Deogarh is extremely picturesque. DEOGARH — A state forest in the west of the Chhindwdrd district, of about ninety square miles in extent, and containing some fine teak and other timber. DEOLAPA'R — A village in the Seoni district, forty miles from Seoni, on. the Nagpdr road. There are here a travellers' bungalow, a road bungalow, a police station, and an encamping-ground. The village is small, containing some sixty houses only. DEOLI' — A town in the Wardhd district, eleven miles to the south-west of Wardhd. This has long been a place of importance, and is now the second largest cottop-mart in the district. The weekly market which lasts two days — Saturday and Sunday — is also important; it is well attended, and much property, especially cattle and agricultural produce, changes hands here. The trade returns for the year from 1st June 1868 to 31st May 1869 show the imports and exports of Deoli, thus — [Table DEO 183 Articles. Impoets. Quantity. Value. Exports. Quantity. Value. Cotton ,;. Sugar and gur. Grain Oil-seeds Metals English piece-goods Timber and wood . . Dyes Country cloth Ghee and oil Cocoanuts Tobacco Spices Country stationery .. Hides and horns Miscellaneous Mds. 23,317 5,890 6,200 50,639 14,300 86 107 1,510 963 1,303 668 127 2,3993,874 6 71 1,915 Rs. 5,38,437 47,721 26,977 1,26,203 53,564 1,672 13,722 4,520 14,620 1,23,281 14,549 708 36,363 44,910 151 2,052 16,243 Mds. 22,742 482 3,204 8,240 3,135 31 ' 500 73 306 219 8 1,288 506 2,761 Rs. 5,04,348 5,026 16,41827,683 11,815 325 1,0001,122 3,790 5,624 69 21,210 8,029 7,011 Total. 113,375 10,65,693 43,495 6,13,470 Cattle No. 6,397 1,43,049 No. 539 12,953 Grand Total. 12,08,742 6,26,523 A large and well arranged market-place has been constructed at Deoli from municipal funds, consisting of rows of raised and masonry-fronted platforms for the tents and stalls of the traders, with metalled roads between, and ground fenced off for the cattle trade. A special market-place has been set aside for the cotton merchants, the ground being here covered with loose stones to preserve the cotton from dirt and white-ants, and two raised platforms being provided in the centre for the cotton to be weighed at. A fine broad street has been opened up the middle of the town, and a frontage wall with masonry drains built down either side, up to which the principal resident merchants are building their houses. There is a good Anglo-Vernacular town school here, and a government garden has recently been laid out. A sardi has been provided for the convenience of travellers, with a set of furnished rooms for Europeans. A dispensary is now being erected, and the police have an outpost here. The population amounts to 6,333 souls, about a fourth of whom are agriculturists. Rdjd Jdnoji Bhonsld, the representative of the former rulers of Ndgpdr, is the proprietor of Deoli, at a quit-rent. DEORL — A chiefship attached to the Rdipdr district, consisting of fifty villages, only nine of which are under cultivation, and they are all poor and unproductive. It is situated on the west of the Jonk river between Kaurid and Sondkhdn. The revenue demand is only ten rupees. The grant is of very ancient origin, and the chief is by caste a Binjwdr (one ofthe aboriginal tribes). 184 DEO DEORI' — The chief town of a tract of the same name in the Sdgar district, is situated about thirty-seven miles south of Sdgar, on the Narsinghpdr road, at an elevation of 1,700 feet above the sea, in latitude 23° 22' north, and longitude 79° 4' east. The place is sometimes called Bard Deori to distinguish it from another village of the same name. The old name was Ramgarh Ujargarh, and the present name is said to have been derived from a temple, which is still largely resorted to. In a.d. 1713, according to tradition, Durga Singh, the son of Himmat Singh, the Gond ruler of Gaurjhdmar, took possession of the place. He enlarged the fort, and built it as it now stands, at a cost of about a ldkh of rupees. In a.d. 1741 Deori was attacked by the troops of the Peshwd, who took the fort and put Durga Singh to flight. Under the Mardthds the popu lation rapidly increased, and the town grew in importance. In a.d. 1767 Deori and the Panj Mahal, or five tracts attached to it, were bestowed rent free by the Peshwd on one Dhondo Dattdtraya, a Mardthd pandit. In a.d. 1813 Zdlim Singh, rdjd of Garhdkota, attacked one of Dhondo Dattdtraya's descend ants named Govind Rdo, and having defeated and killed him, plundered the town and set it on fire, and thus nearly destroyed it ; 30,000 persons are said to have perished in the conflagration. He appears, however, to have made no attempt to keep possession of the place, and so Rdmchandra Rdo, the son of Govind Rdo, succeeded his father. At the cession of Sdgar to the British Government by the Peshwd in 1817, the Panj Mahdl, with Deori, were included in the territory ceded, but they were made over to Sindid by the treaty of 1818 for the adjustment of boundaries,* and another estate was assigned by Government to Rdmchandra Rdo (see " Pithoria"). In the year 1825-f Deori was again transferred to the British Government for management by Sindid. At that time the country round was in a state of great desolation, a number of the villages were uninhabited, and the town of Deori in particular was entirely ruined by the ravages of Zdlim Singh (mentioned above). The Panj Mahdl were finally made part of British territory by the treaty of 1860.J Deori was at first, in 1827, made the head quarters of a tahsil, including the subdivisions of Gaurjhdmar and Naharmaii. It is now part of the Rehli tahsil. Deori is an essentially agricultural place, and contains no very large houses. The population amounted at the last census to 4,237 souls. The town stands on the southern bank of a small river called the Sukhchin, and is traversed by the highroad from Sdgar to Narsinghpdr. The chief trade is in corn, which is usually procurable here at a cheaper rate than in other parts of the district. A kind of coarse white cloth is also largely manufactured here for export, and a weekly market is held on Saturdays. The fort is situated to the west of the town. It must have been a place of considerable strength, and is even now in tolerable preservation. Within the walls is included a space of three acres which was formerly for the most part covered with buildings, but is now a complete waste. In 1857, soon after the beginning of the mutiny, a Gond named Durjan Singh, who owned Singhpur and other villages adjoining Deori, took possession of the fort with a band of insurgents, and expelled the officers of government. About a month after this, however, Safdar Husen, the officer in charge of the Deori police, having collected * Aitchison's Treaties, vol. iv. p. 253. t Do. do. vol iv. p. 262. X Do. do. vol.iv, p. 272. DEWA— DHA 185 a number of men from the neighbouring estate of Pitihrd, attacked the fort and captured a number of rebels, putting the remainder, with Durjan Singh, to flight. A dispensary was established in 1862 in a small native building on the north side of the river. There are here also a police station, a district post-office, a customs post, and three schools — two for boys, and one for girls. DEWATJA' — A village in the Chdndd district, six miles west of Bhdndak. It is a place .of some interest on account of its architectural remains, for an account of which see " Bhdndak." DEWALGA'ON — A village in the Chdndd district, ten miles south-west of Wairdgarh, known by a remarkable hill in the vinicity, from which excellent iron-ore is quarried. DEWALWA'RA'— A small village in the Wardhd district on the bank of the river Wardhd, six miles west of A'rvi. It is noted for the large fair held annually during November in the bed of the river close by. This fair, like most others in India, is of a semi-religious nature : pilgrims congregate to worship there, and advantage is at the same time taken of the gathering to buy and sell. It is said that immediately opposite Dewalwdrd stood Kundinapdr, described in the tenth chapter of the sacred book " Bhagvat " as extending from the bank of the river Vidarbha (modern Wardhd) to Amrdotl, which accord ing to the legend was the capital of Bhimak, king of the Vidarbha country, whose daughter married the god Krishna. The present religious gathering is rather more than a century old; and the great object of attraction is a fine temple of the goddess Rukmi. The fair lasts from twenty to twenty-five days, and is attended by pilgrims and merchants from Ndgpdr, Puna, Ndsik, Jabalpdr, &c. The value of business done is estimated at Rs. 1,00,000 or Rs. 1,25,000. DHA'M — A stream which rises in the Dhdmkund (or pool of the Dhdm) in the north of the Wardhd district, and passing the towns of A'njf and Paundr finally falls into the Wand near Mdndgdon. DHAMDA' — A town in the Rdipdr district, situated about twenty-four miles to the north-west of Rdipdr. It contains 600 houses, with some 2,500 inhabitants. Around are fine groves of trees, and the remains of some tanks of considerable size, and of an old fort, at one time the head- quarters of a Gond chief, who was subordinate to the kings of Ratanpdr. On the conquest of Chhattisgarh by the Mardthds, the Chief of Dhamdd was for some treachery seized by the officers of the Rdjd of N%pur an|l blown away from a gun. The fort has two very fine gateways in a fair state of preservation. Dhamdd has a town school, a district post-office, and a police station-house. Among the inhabitants are a great number of brass-workers, who manufacture the heavy brass anklets worn by the females of the country. DHA'MONI' — A village in the Sdgar district, situated about twenty-nine miles north of Sdgar, in latitude 24° 11' 32" and longitude 78° 48' 34". It was founded about four hundred years ago by one Sdrat Sd, a scion of the great Gond dynasty of Mandla. The Gonds were then rulers of the whole of this part of the country. About the end of the sixteenth century Rdjd Barsingh Deva, the Bun deld chief of the neighbouring state of Orchhd, attacked and defeated Sdrat Sd, and took possession ofthe fort and country. He completely rebuilt the fort and town on an enormous scale, and made it the capital of a large tract containing 2,558 villages, and including the greater part of the present districts of 24 cpg 18G DHA Sdgar and Damoh. He Was succeeded by his son Pahdr Singh, whose rule continued till the year a.d. 1619, when the country became an integral portion of the Delhi empire. The Mohammadans retained it for about eighty years, during which time it was ruled by five successive governors appointed from Delhi. The last of these — one Nawdb Ghairat Khan — was, in about the year 1 700, at the time of the decline of the Moghal empire, attacked and defeated by the celebrated Bundeld chief, Rdjd Chhatrasdl of Pannd. He at first assigned the subdivision of Beherd for the maintenance of Ghairat Khan, but after a short time resumed it. Chhatrasdl died about the year a.d. 1735, and the State of Dhdmoni remained under his descendants till the year 1802, when Umrdo Singh, raja of Pdtan, a small place near Dhdmoni, obtained possession of the fort and country by treachery. After ruling there some five months he was himself attacked and defeated by the army of the Rdjd of Ndgpdr, who annexed the country. In a.d. 1818, soon after the defeat and flight of A'pd Sdhib, rdjd of Nagpdr, the fort was invested by a British force under General Marshall, who, having ineffectually offered the garrison Rs. 10,000 in payment of arrears of pay, on condition of immediate evacuation, opened batteries against the place with such effect that in six hours it was yielded unconditionally. Dhdmoni thus came under British rule, but the tract then had been reduced from its former dimensions to thirty-three villages only. The present condition of the place is desolate and miserable in the extreme, the whole population being little more than one hundred souls. The ruins of mosques, tombs, and buildings that may be seen for nearly a mile round the fort and lake show what a large and important town it must have been, especially during the Mohammadan rule. Tbe town is situated to the west of the fort, and the lake, which is of considerable size, to the south-west of the town. The supply of water is very good, and" the soil near the village is remarkably fertile, as is shown by the luxuriant and varied vegetation. Inside and close to the fort are large groves of custard-apple trees. The fort stands on an eminence at a short distance from the summit ofthe ghdts leading to Bundelkhand, and commands the valley ofthe river Dhasdn. It is of a triangular ground-plan, and encloses a space of fifty-two acres, The ramparts are in general fifty feet high, and in most parts fifteen feet thick, with enormous round towers. There are besides interior works strengthening the defences of the eastern quarter, where the magazine and officers' quarters were probably situated. DHAMTARI' — The southern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Rdipdr district, having an area of 2,089 square miles, with 1,140 villages, and a popula tion of 228,575 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,22,169-4-0. DHAMTARI' — The largest and most important town in the southern portion of the Edipdr district. It is situated thirty-six miles to the south of Rdipdr, and is the head-quarters of a tahsil (sub-collectorate). It contains 1,500 houses and 4,632 inhabitants. It is not a place of any great antiquity, nor is there anything remarkable connected with it. The main road from the north to the territories of Bastar and Kdnker passes through the town. The country around is level, and the soil of great fertility. The crops of wheat, rice, cotton, oil-seeds, and sugarcane are not surpassed in any other part of Chhattisgarh. Here are a town school, a girls' school, a dispensary, a post-office, and a police station-house. There are also several lac agencies, which purchase the raw material as brought in by the collectors from the jungles, and export from DHA-DOI\ 187 2,000 to 2,400 bullock-loads yearly. The lac is bought on the stick called liari, and is cleaned at the agents' godowns by women. The loss in weight may on the average be put down as four to five maunds in the bojha of twelve maunds. Thus cleaned it is styled dal ; it is then bruised small, and having been securely packed for export in gunny bags, is removed on the backs of bullocks. Banjdrds reckon the bojha of lac at eight maunds, or 128 seers, and for each such bojha receive fromRs. 5-12-0 to Rs. 6-4-0 for transport to Mirzdpdr, or Rs. 4 to Jabalpdr. DHANORA' — A zaminddri in the Chdndd district, situated twenty-three miles east-south-east of Wairagarh, and containing twenty villages. DHANORI' — A village in the A'rvi tahsil of the Wardha district, situated about twenty -six miles north-west of Wardhd. It contains 1,100 inhabitants, principally cultivators, with some dyers and weavers. Only separated from Dhanori by a small stream (which dries up in the hot season) is the village of Bahddurpdr. The two are so close together that their names are often joined. Dhanori contains a village school and a police outpost. A small market is held here every Friday. DHA'PEWA'RA' — A small town in the Ndgpdr district, bisected by the Chandrabhdgd, and in the midst of a plain of great fertility. It is twenty miles north-west of Ndgpdr, and equidistant between Kalmeswar and Sdoner. The population amounts to 4,566, of whom a great proportion are Koshtis, employed in the manufacture of cotton -cloth. The manufacture of cotton goods was estabhshed here earlier than in almost any other town in the district, so that the skilled workmen of the place have been in much demand elsewhere. The fort, which stands in a commanding position overlooking the town and the river, was built for protection against the Pindhdris about sixty years ago. The town is well-drained, clean, and healthy. DHASA'N — This river rises in Bhopdl, a few miles to the north of Sfrmad, at an elevation of some 2,000 feet. After a course of ten or twelve miles it enters the Sdgar district, through which, after flowing about sixty miles, it runs along the southern boundary of the Lalatpdr district of the North-West Pro vinces, and finally falls into the Betwd. Its total length may be about 220 miles. On the road between Sdgar and Rdhatgarh it is crossed by a stone bridge. DHU'MA' — A village in the Seoni district, situated thirteen miles to the north of Lakhnddon, and thirty -four miles from Jabalpdr on the Northern Road at an elevation of 1,800 feet above the level ofthe sea. There are here a school, encamping-ground, police station, a travellers' bungalow and road bungalow. The population exceeds 1,000 souls. DINA' — A river in the Chdndd district, which rises in the north of the Ahiri zaminddri, and after a southerly course of twenty-five miles falls into the Pranhitd a little below Bori. DOMA.' — A flourishing village in the Chdndd district, situated under a western bluff of the Perzdgarh range, fourteen miles north-east of Chimdr. It is held in mokhdsa tenure by a Mardthd sarddr, whose ancestor was present with Raghoji I. at the conquest of Chdndd. About a mile east of Domd is the Mugdai spring. DONGARGA'ON — A prosperous village in the Chdndd district, twenty-six miles south-west of Brahmapuri, possessing a very fine irrigation-reservoir. DONGARGARH — A small village, situated in the south-east of the Khairdgarh zaminddri, attached to the Rdipdr district. It was once a town of 188 DON— DUM importance, and a large weekly market is still held here. The' place is now chiefly remarkable for the ruins of the fort, which must have been a place of considerable strength. Its remains are still visible along the north-east base of a detached oblong rocky hill, about four miles in circuit, near the village. The spurs of the hill, which is very steep, and covered with large boulders, were connected by walls of rude and massive masonry, inside of which tanks were dug; and there are traces of a deep fosse beyond the walls." There are no remains of buildings on the hill, nor can any vestiges of military works on any of its other faces be traced. Indeed no other defences were necessary, as the hill is in most parts all but inaccessible. It must, however, if held for any time have required a very large garrison : and it is hard to see, in the absence of any building for storing grain, how the necessary garrison could have been fed during a long siege. DONGARTA'L— A village in the Seoni district at the foot of the ghdts, celebrated for its breed of cattle, and inhabited by Gaulis. It is situated on the old road between Seoni and Ndgpdr, and is not far from Deolapdr, through which the new road runs. There are here a very fine tank and the ruins of an old fort, both of which are attributed to Taj Khan, the ancestor of the Diwdns of Seoni. DRU'G — The western revenue subdivision, or tahsil in the Rdipdr district, having an area of 977 square miles, with 516 villages, and a population of 168,403 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,38,131. DRU'G — A town in the Rdipdr district, situated on the Great Eastern Road, twenty-four miles to the west of Rdipdr ; is the head-quarters of the tahsil (sub-collectorate) of the same name. The fort, now in a dismantled condition, is known to be of great antiquity. The Mardthds made it their base of opera tions in a.d. 1740-41, when they overran the Chhattisgarh country. Besides occupying the fort, they formed an intrenched camp on the high ground on which the town stands, and from which a clear view of the surrounding country is obtainable, thus rendering a surprise next to impossible. Drdg now con tains about 500 houses and 2,200 inhabitants. The cloths manufactured here are celebrated throughout the district for their excellence. The public institu tions are a tahsili, a police station-house, a girls' school, a town school, a post- office, a travellers' resthouse, and a dispensary. DU'DHI' — A river rising in the Chhindwdrd district and flowing into the Narbadd after a course of some fifty miles. For the greater part of its course it divides the Hoshangdbdd and Narsinghpdr districts. It is crossed by a railway bridge near the village of Junhetd in the Hoshangdbdd district. DUDHMAT/A' — A small zaminddri or chiefship in the Chdndd district, situated seventeen miles south-east of Wairdgarh. It contains thirteen villages. DUMAGUDEM — The head-quarters of the Upper Goddvari navigation works, distant about one hundred and twenty miles from Sironchd and one hundred and twenty miles from Ellor. A magistrate resides here permanently, and the place has a post-office, telegraph office, and police station-house. There is regular communication with Rajamandri and the coast by river for six months, and more or less for the remainder of the year, by tramway for twenty miles to Gollagudem, and thence by steamer or boat. The Church Mission Society have a branch establishment here, besides several schools in the village and in its vicinity. EKA— ERAN 189 E EKA'LA' — A pleasantly situated and thriving village in the Chdndd district, twenty miles south of Brahmapuri, possessing a very fine irrigation-reservoir. ERAN — The chief village of a tract of the same name in the Sdgar district, about forty-eight miles west of Sdgar. It contains 107 houses, with 446 inhabi tants. The following account of the antiquities for which it is famous was contributed by General Cunningham to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal* in August 1847 :— " Ehrin, in the Sdgar territory, is now a village on the left bank of the Beena near its junction with the Betwah, about twenty-five miles N.E. from Serong ; but it appears once to have been a town of some local repute. Small copper coins can still be found after each successive annual denudation of the mounds which mark its site; and several adjoining monuments of stono — remains perhaps of an extensive integral series — make the place well known for many miles around. Some of the coins accompany this letter, but nothing perhaps can be made of them.f " The most remarkable of the monumental remains is Vishnu, manifest as the Boar. The animal stands about ten feet high, with his snout in the air, and it is in length perhaps twelve feet. The body is carved all over with successive rows of small figures> having the short tunic and high cap or head-dress remarked at Oodehghir and Satcheh. A band, ornamented with human figures seated, encircles the neck of the animal. The tongue projects, and supports a human figure erect on its tip. A young female, here, as at Oodehghir, hangs by the arm by the right tusk, while the breast is occupied with an inscription, of which a copy has been made as accurately as its mutilated state and the shortness would allow.J " The Boar itself is ill-shaped, but the human figures show more skill in design. " To one side of this c Owtar' stands a four-armed divinity, twelve or fourteen feet high. His habiliments are Indian; that is, his loins are girt. He has a high cap or head-dress, while round his neck and reaching to his feet there is a thick ornamental cord resembling a modern ' boa,' with its ends joined. The vestibule of a small cupola which once probably covered this statue is still standing. On these entrance columns are seen figures who wear the Juneeao or thread of the noble Indian races, in addition to the ornamental cord above described. Other devices consist of twisted snakes, suspended bells, of figures of elephants, fishes, frogs ; of women naked, recumbent, and giving suck to children ; and of seated Buddhas. There are also many faces of Satyrs filling bosses or compartments. " Behind a small pillared temple there still stands a figure with the face perhaps of a lion, but with a human body and with human limbs. " The above three figures form one row or series, with, however, other undescribed remains between them or beyond them. In front of them there are three figures of couching lions, and in front of these again * No. clxxxi. pp. 760, 761. t " Small, square, and much worn copper coins, with the bodhi tree, swastica, and other Buddhist emblems." — [Eds.] I " This inscription has been published, with a translation, in vol. vii. p. 632 of the Journal." —[Eds.] 100 FAT— GAD are two columns, or rather one pillar and a fragment, and a small temple, half buried in the soil. The column has a broad base ; for about fifteen feet the shaft is square, and for about ten feet more it is round. The bell capital, described at Satcheh, occupies perhaps two feet ; a second capital, so to speak, adds three feet more to the height, and forms a pedestal for a small double-fronted four-armed statue. On this column there is likewise an inscription, which has been copied as well as time and decay would allow. 'f Among the many figures carved on fallen pillars, the use of the Juneeao may be observed ; and the whole of the remains are attributed to one Raja Behrat." It may be added that these remains are principally interesting on account of the inscription on the column, from which the date of Buddhagupta, ofthe great Gupta line of Magadha, is established. FATEHPU'R — A large village in the Hoshangdbad district, situated on the outer slope of the low limestone hills which shut in the Denwa valley just below the Mahddeo mountain. The road from Bdnkheri up to Pachmari passes through this place, which was formerly of some importance as being the resi dence of an old family of Gond rajas, who held a kind of semi-independent dominion over the surrounding country from the days of the Mandla dynasty down to our own times. The present representatives ofthe line hold large pro prietary estates in the neighbourhood, and still live at Fatehpdr. Tatia Topia passed this way to the Sdtpurds in 1858. FINGESWAR — A chiefship attached to the Rdipdr district, and situated thirty miles to the south of Raipdr. It is said to have been granted in a.d. 1579 to an ancestor of the present family. It consists of eighty -villages, and contains some valuable forests. The chief is by caste a Rdj-Gond. Gt GA'DARWA'RA' — The western revenue subdivision or tahsil of the Narsinghpdr district, having an area of 654 square miles, with 361 villages, and a population of 147,280 souls according to the c ensus of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,70,884. Gddarwdrd is the most flourishing portion of the Narsinghpdr district. GA'DARWA'RA' — A flourishing commercial town in the Narsinghpdr dis trict, situated on an undulating piece of land on the left bank ofthe river Shakar, with two main streets, which, though narrow, are well-kept. The supply of water is abundant, there being besides the river Shakar, which has a perennial stream, seven masonry and twenty-eight unlined wells. The popula tion consists of 5,523 souls, the majority of whom are tradesmen and artisans. The preponderating castes are Brdhmans, Rdjputs, and Kurmis. Gddarwdrd is the centre of a brisk and extensive trade in cotton, salt, and grain. Khdrwd cloth and " chhdnti" are manufactured here. Some of the bankers are known to be men of means, and among these may be mentioned Seo Baksh and Mohanldl Se"th, who have shown their public spirit by building a large resthouse, at a cost of Rs. 5,825. The public offices ofthe fiscal and judicial officers and of the police inspector are in the small fortress on the banks of the Shakar, the outer walls of which are said to have been built by a family of Gond-Rdjputs GAD— GAR 101 for their own protection in the early part of the Mardthd rule. Government offices were built within the quadrangle by Lachhman Sahi on his appointment by Nawdb Sddik Ali Khdn, the governor of the province, as kamdvisddr of the district, in Samvat 1863 (a.d. 1806). Thenceforward the town rose in impor tance, and the population and trade increased. Its position is commercially a good one, being situated on the bifurcation of the roads to Jabalpdr and Sdgar. There is a boys' school here of the town school grade, with an Enghsh class. Two markets are held weekly — one on Monday and the other on Friday. The station of Narsinghpdr is distant twenty-eight miles by the main road. GADHAIRI' — An affluent of the Sundr in the Sdgar district. On the ground at the confluence of the Gadhairi and Sunar stands the town of Garhdkotd. GAISA'BA'D — A village in the Damoh district, on the road from Hattd to Ndgod, sixteen miles from the former place, on the left bank of the Bairmd. It now contains only 237 houses, with a population of 874 souls, but was an important place under the Bundelds. An annual fair is still held here, and there are a police outpost and a government school. GANDAI — A chiefship attached to the Rdipdr district, lying at the foot of the Sdletekri hills, about fifty-six miles to the north-west of Rdipdr. It was once much larger, but in a.d. 1828, by the sanction of the Rdjd of Ndgpdr, the estate was divided into three parts, and given to the three sons of the former holder. This portion now consists of eighty-five villages only. The chief is by caste a Gond. GANESGANJ — A small village in the Seoni district, with an encamping- ground, situated on the Northern Road, 32 J miles to the north of Seoni. There is here a bridge of five arches over the Bijnd. P. AN.TATi — A stream in the Hoshangdbad district, which rises in the Sdtpurd hills, and after traversing the plain between Seoni and Harda falls into the Moran, and so joins the Narbadd. During the rainy season it is a mountain - torrent, impassable when the floods are out, but for the rest of the year it is a clear shallow stream, flowing over a deep gravelly bed. GARHA' — In the Jabalpdr district, once the capital ofthe Gond dynasty of Garhd Mandla, whose ancient keep, known as the Madan Mahal, still crowns the low granite range, along the foot of which the town is built. These hills form a detached group of about two miles in length, and the town extends itself for about the same distance. Tradition gives Garhd a great antiquity, and it probably existed before the Christian era. Its dechne in importance dates from the removal of the Gond dynasty to Singaurgarh, and subsequently to Mandla. The Mahal was built about a.d. 1100 by Madan Singh, and is now a ruin. Under it, to the west, is the beautiful Gangd Sdgar tank, and near it is the large sheet of water called the Bdi Sdgar. The trade of Garhd is insignificant, though the place consists of 1,045 houses, and has 4,126 inhabitants. There is an excellent government school here, numbering about 100 scholars ; and there was formerly a mint in which an inferior rupee called the Bdla Shdhi was coined, which was current throughout Bundelkhand. The mint was in full operation when Mr. Daniel Leckie passed through the place in 1790. Garhd is 90 miles S.E. from Sdgar, 200 S.W. from Allahdbad, 303 S. from A'gra, and 273 W. from Mhow. GARHA'KOTA' — The chief town of a tract of the same name in the Sdgar district, situated in an angle formed by the rivers Sunar and Gadhairi, about twenty-seven miles east of Sdgar, and two hundred and six miles south-west of 192 GAR Allahdbdd, in north latitude 23° 47', and east longitude 79° 12'. It contains 2,553 houses and 10,330 inhabitants, and has an elevation of about 1,435 feet above the sea. The place is supposed to have been founded by the Gonds about four hundred years ago, the whole of the adjacent country being also probably at the time under their rule. They remained in possession till about a.d. 1 629, when a Rdjput rdjd named Chandra Sd came down from Bundelkhand and expelled them. He built the fort, which is now standing, between two small streams — the Gadhairi and Sundr. His descendants retained the place till a.d. 1703 when Hirde Sd, son of the famous Bundeld chief Chhatra Sdl, rdjd of Pannd, invaded the country and took the fort, giving the Rajput chief in lieu the single village of Naiguwdn in Rehli, which is still held on a quit-rent by one of his descendants named Guldb Singh. Soon after this Hirde Sd built another town east of the fort on the other side of the river, and called it after his own name — Hirde Nagar. He also improved and enlarged the fort and town. He died in a.d. 1739, and for three generations after him the territory remained undisturbed. But in the year a.d. i 744, duringthe reign of Subha Singh, a younger brother named Prithvi Singh, who had failed in obtaining'what he considered a proper share of the inheritance, invited the Peshwd to his assistance, promising that- if the territory should be recovered for him, a fourth of its revenues should be paid regularly to that power. This being agreed on, troops were despatched, by whom Subha Singh was defeated, and Prithvi Singh set up as ruler of the town and tract of Garhdkotd with other subdivisions adjoining. In a.d. 1810, when Mardan Singh, a descendant of Prithvi Singh, was in possession, the Rdjd of Ndgpdr invested the fort. After some fighting Mardan Singh was killed, on wliich his son Arjun Singh begged assistance from Sindid, promising that if effectual rehef was afforded, one-half of the territory should be ceded to him. Sindid acceded to these terms, and despatched an army under the command of Colonel Jean Baptiste. The latter defeated and put to flight the Ndgpdr troops, and according to the stipulation retained possession of Mdlthon and Garhakotd, leaving to Arjun Singh the country of Shdhgarh with other territory. Baptiste remained at Garhakotd for some time as governor of the fort. Some eight years after this, in a.d. 1819, Arjun Singh managed by treachery again to seize the fort. After he had been there, however, for about six months he was ejected by General Watson with a British force. The place was taken possession of on behalf of Sindid, but the management of the country was carried on by the British, the revenues being annually accounted for to the Gwalior darbdr, till a.d. 1861, when an exchange of territories was effected, and Sindid's nominal possession was terminated. Garhdkotd is now one of the largest and most flourishing towns in the Sdgar district. It consists in fact of two towns, viz. Garhdkotd and Hirdenagar, the former situated on the west, and the latter on the east, bank of the river Sundr. It is in Hirdenagar that all the trade of the place, which is considerable, is carried on ; but Garhdkotd has always been the name of the combined towns. The chief articles of manufacture are red cloths called " ddhi" and " pathi," worn chiefly by women. Gur, or coarse sugar, is also largely produced and exported. Grain, especially rice and wheat, is also sent both north and south. A market is held here every Friday, and is well attended. The chief articles of sale a,re cattle, grain, and cloths, Native and English. A large fair is also held here yearly, generally lasting for six weeks, commencing from the 18th of January. It is essentially a cattle fair, and is usually attended by about 30,000 people, who bring their cattle from Gwalior, Bhopdl, Bundel khand, Ndgpdr, and most districts of the Central Provinces. Besides cattle, GAR 193 fruit and eatables of every description, copper and brass-wares, and cloth of all kinds, are exposed .for sale. According to an ancient custom a small fee is levied for the registration of sales of cattle at this fair. The total fees some times amount to as much as Rs. 5,000 per annum. The accompanying table exhibits the Imports and Exports of the town of Garhdkotd for the year 1868-69 :— Articles. Imports. Quantity. Value- Exports. Quantity. Value. Cotton Sugar and gur Salt Wheat Rice , Other edible grains Oil-seeds of all descriptions Metals and hardware English piece-goods , Country cloth Lac Tobacco Spices Country stationery Silk and silk cocoons Dyes Hides and horns Opium Wool Timber and wood Ghee and oil Cocoanuts , Miscellaneous Total. HorsesCattleSheep Total. Grand Total. Mds. 1,375 421 3,7132,261 4,768 986 226 209 143 1 327 Rs. 1,810 10,500 3,980 9,253 7,782 9,-391 2,599 5,322 14,743 9,083 10 4,572 125 1,819 102 22 3 183461215 4,617 1,442 790 40 91 427 80,449 3,017 2,463 20,246 1,69,583 No. 35 1,233 2,220 Rs. 1,000 6,982 2,275 3,488 10,257 1,79,840 Mds. 6,160 549 7,869 5,319 507 6,414 408 7434 588 7634 108 20 42 6 144 541 3,103 31,996 No. 245 1,825 2,070 Rs. 83,897 6,477 5,183 15,949 2,290 14,818 1,303 2,8904,551 30,028 673351 1,615 215 570 113 2,2009,647 17,912 2,00,682 Rs. 5,400 2,173 7,573 2,08,255 2a CFG 194 GAR Town duties have been collected in this town since the year 1855. The charges for town police, conservancy, &c. are defrayed from the local funds thus raised. The public institutions here are a district post-office, and boys' and girls' schools. The fort is situated on a lofty eminence to the east of the town, between the rivers Sundr and Gadhairi. A natural moat is thus formed on three sides of it, and on the fourth side an artificial one has been constructed. The place, both from its natural advantages, and the solidity and excellence of its construction, must have been one of enormous strength, and without large guns almost impregnable. The inner walls enclose a space of eleven acres, the greater part of which is covered with buildings and palaces. These are for the most part now in ruins, as are also the outer walls and bastions. The latter were breached by Sir Hugh Rose in 1858, when the fort was taken, and were afterwards partly levelled by sappers. About two miles north ofthe town, on the borders of a large forest (the Ramna), there stand the remains of what appears to have been a large summer-palace built by the abovementioned rdjd, Mardan Singh. The most remarkable part of these ruins is a lofty tower to the north of the buildings, which is still standing in tolerable preservation, although some of the lower part of the wall has fallen down. The ground-plan of this tower is almost square, each side measuring about fifteen feet. It is built in six stories, each one slightly tapering upwards. The total height amounts to about one hundred feet. There is a winding stone staircase the whole way up. Close by these ruins a large flat-roofed house was built in a.d. 1823 by Sir Herbert Maddock, . then Agent to the Governor-General at Sdgar, as a kind of country residence. This has been lately placed in charge ofthe Forest department, by whom it is kept in repair. GARHA'KOTA' RAMNA' — A forest of six square miles in extent, in the midst of a highly-cultivated country in the Sdgar district. The character of the timber and the freedom of the indigenous-growth prove the soil to be very favourable for teak. GARHBORI' — The south-western pargana of the Brahmapuri tahsil in the Chdndd district, bounded on the north by the Brahmapuri pargana, on the east by the Brahmapuri and Rajgarh parganas, on the south by the Rdjgarh and Haweli parganas, and on the west by the parganas of Bhdndak and Chimdr. Its area is about 576 square miles, and it contains 129 villages. It is very hilly, being intersected from north to south by four branches of the Andhdri ; and large tracts are covered with forest. The soil is chiefly red ; and the cultivation consists of rice and sugarcane. This is par excellence the lake pargana of Chdndd — the most picturesque, and the one best deserving the visit of a tourist. Here are found the Kohris (or Koris) in greatest numbers, too often dispossessed of the magnificent tanks their forefathers constructed ; and here too the Mdnds abound. Mardthi is generally spoken, but in the south Telugu prevails. The chief places are Sindewdhi, Talodhf, Nawargdon, Gunjewdhi, and Garhbori. In early times the Garhbori pargana was held by Mdnd chiefs, who subsequently were conquered by the Gonds, and the pargana then became an appanage of the Gond princes of Wairdgarh. GARHBORI' — A town situated sixteen miles north-north-west of Mdl, on a branch of the Andhdri. The houses cluster round a fortified hill in the centre, and the whole is enclosed by forest. A number of the neighbouring landholders reside here, but the place is in a decaying state, and there is very GAR 195 little trade. A speciality of the town is a sdri (native female garment) of a pecuhar pattern, which is only manufactured here ; and the Garhbori pdn has a high reputation throughout the Ndgpdr province. In the vicinity are quarries of excellent freestone and limestone. Here are government schools for boys and girls, and a police outpost. GARHCHIROLI' — A town in the Chdndd district, situated on the left bank of the Waingangd, twenty-three miles east-north-east of Mdl. It has 750 houses, and is the largest trading mart in the A'mbgdon pargana. About one-fourth of the population is Telinga, and the remainder Mardthd. Rice and sugarcane are grown in the neighbourhood ; and the manufactures are chiefly cotton-cloths, tasar-thread, and carts. The trade is in cotton, cotton-cloths, tasar-cocoons and tasar-thread, jungle produce, carts, and salt. Here are government schools for boys and girls, and a police outpost . GARH PIHRA' — A village in the Sdgar district, about seven miles to the north of Sdgar, before the foundation of which Garh Pdhrd was the principal place in this part of the country. GA'RHVI' — A river which rises near Chichgarh in the Bhanddra district, and after a southerly course of about 150 miles falls into the Waingangd on its eastern bank, a little below Seoni in the Chdndd district. There is a legend that this stream issued from the earth at the prayer of a holy man named Garga Rishi. GAROLA' — A rent-free estate in the Sugar district, about twenty-seven- miles north of Sdgar, consisting of one village, with an area of 5,479 acres, and yielding a revenue of Rs. 886 per annum. The village is supposed to have been founded about four hundred years ago. It appears soon afterwards to have risen to some importance, and to have become the head-quarters of a tract of 161 villages, including Khurai, which, together with the tract of Eran, including fifty-two villages, was bestowed by the Emperor of Delhi on one Rdo Kam Chandra as a reward for his services. ' Shortly before the latter's death, Khurai, with forty-four villages, was transferred by him to two of his relations (men tioned under " Khurai"), and nineteen other villages to his son Dal Singh. When Rdo Kdm Chandra died in a.d. 1705, Garold, with the remaining 130 villages, passed to his son Rdo Chandjd. On the death of the latter, his eldest son Bahddur Singh obtained the tract of Eran, and the next son, Bishan Singh, that of Garold, with ninety-eight villages. Tho former of these was driven out of Eran soon after this by the Nawdb of Kurwdri, and came to live with his brothor. In the year 1746, soon after the acquisition of Sdgar by tho Mardthds, the Peshwd resumed all the villages belonging to Bishan Singh, giving him back nine, with Garold, on a quit-rent. Aftor the cession of Sugar in 1818 the exaction of this rent was discontinued by Government, and in lieu eight villages were resumed, and Garold was secured rent-free to Hindd Pat and Bhabhdt Singh, the sons of Bishan Singh. Shortly afterwards, on account of Hindd Pat's character, the village was assigned to his brother, an assignment of land being made to Hindd Pat for maintenance. Bhabhdt Singh died in 1820, and the village was soon after bestowed on his son Balwant Singh and his heirs rent-free. The village of Garold contains 413 houses and 1,018 inhabitants. It is of tolerable size, and contains a small fort and the remains of several old buildings. Tho whole is surrounded by a stone wall. To the east of the village there is a large lake of seventy-six acres in extent. The soil about is very fertile, and 196 GAUR— GHES rice is largely produced close to the lake. Mangoes and plantains also flourish- here. There is a government school for boys in the village. GAUR — A river rising in the Mandla district and emptying itself into the Narbadd near Silwd. It has in the Jabalpdr district a westerly course. GAURJHA'MAR — A large village in the Sdgar district, about twenty- seven miles to the south of Sdgar, and nine miles to the south-west of Rehlf. The road from the latter place lies through dense jungle. This is an ancient village, and is said to have been established by the Gonds, who once held Deori and the Panj-Mahdl. There are excellent government schools here for boys and girls, and a good encamping-ground in a grove of mango trees. GEWARDA' — A chiefship in the Chdndd district, situated fifteen miles north-north-east of Wairagarh, and attached to the Wairdgarh pargana. It nominally contains fifty-six villages, but a large number of these are waste. It is of comparatively modern origin, being a Mardthd grant. GHANSOR — A village in the Seoni district, some sixty-four miles to the north-east of Seoni, on the direct road from Bargi and Khalautd. Here are the remains of some forty or fifty temples, very elaborately ornamented with sculptures carved in a beautiful sandstone. The Nagpdr museum possesses specimens representing the incarnations of Vishnu. The village is now quite insignificant. There is a police post here. GHA'TKU'L — The southern pargana of the Mdl tahsil in the Chanda district, is bounded on the north by the Haweli and Rajgarh parganas, on the east by the Waingangd, and on the south and west by the Wardhd. It contains an area of about 368 square miles, and has eighty-one villages. The western half is very hilly, and the north, west, and centre are covered with heavy forest, the cultivated tracts being chiefly along the Waingangd. In the vicinity of the rivers the soil is mostly black loam, and in the centre and north red or sandy. Rice, sugarcane, and wheat are the chief products. The people are principally Telingas, but in most cases speak Mardthi or Hindi in addition to their own tongue. The chief places are Ddbhd, Talodhi, and Tohgdon. This pargana in the beginning of the present century was continually overrun by plunderers from the opposite side of the Wardhd,, and numerous villages were in consequence deserted., and have remained desolate to this day. GHA'TKU'L — A village in the Chdndd district, situated at the junction of the Andhdri and Waingangd, twelve miles north-north-east of Ddbhd- This was formerly the pargana town, but is now only a moderate-sized village. GHES — A chiefship attached to the Sambalpdr district, situated some fifty miles west and a little south of the town of Sambalpdr. The area is from ten to twelve square miles, of which about three-fifths are cultivated. It consists of nineteen villages, and the population amounts to 5,333 souls, chiefly of the agricultural classes, such as Koltds, Binjhdls, Gonds, and Khonds. Rice is the staple product. The principal village is Ghes, with a population of 652 souls. There is a fine school-house in course of erection here at which some 130 pupils are receiving instruction. The chiefs family are Binjwdrs (or Binjdls) and were much mixed up in the Surendra Sdi rebellion. Kurgal Singh, uncle of the present chief, remained in outlawry several years after the amnesty had been proclaimed. He was captured in 1865, and was hanged for murder. His father was also transported in 1864, and died while undergoing sentence. GHIS— GIR 197 GHISRI' — A river in the Bdldghdt district. It rises in the hills to the north-east of the Dhansud pargana, and, flowing due south through the Hattd pargana, empties itself into the Bdgh, within five miles of the junction of the latter with the Waingangd. GHOT— A chiefship in the Chdndd district— (see "Ahiri"). GHOT — The principal village of the Arpalli and Ghot pargana, in the Chdndd district, is a thriving place, with government schools for boys and girls. GHUGHRI' — A picturesque spot at the junction of the Burhner and the Hdlon in the Mandla district. The village itself is but small, but there is an excellent encamping-ground on the banks of the river under a grove of mango trees. The estate, comprising ninety-eight villages, was given to Lachhmi Parshdd, a Brdhman, who behaved very well in the disturbances of 1857-58. He was also presented with a sword of honour. GHUGU'S — A large village in the Chdndd district, thirteen miles west of Chdndd, with abundant shade, and possessing remains which show it to have been formerly a place of importance. It has three temple-caves, and in their vicinity are some carved stones, apparently meant to represent animals, but so weather worn that the intention of the sculptor can only be guessed at. Near the village, about the end of the seventeeth century, occurred a battle between the Gond king Rdm Shdh and the insurgent princes Bdgbd, A'gbd, and Rdgbd. A'gbd fell on the field, where his tomb is still to be seen; and in the neigh bourhood is the " Ghord Ghdt," so called from Bdgbd's fabled leap across the Wardhd. On the bank of this river, between Ghugds and Chdnddr, a seam of coal thirty-three feet thick crops out on the surface, and a shaft has been sunk, from which coal has been taken out for trial on the railway. GHUTKU' — A town ten miles north-west of Bildspdr in the Bildspdr district, containing a population of 2,000 souls, chiefly weavers. Cotton and silk cloths are manufactured here to a considerable extent, and the community is in a fairly flourishing condition. Although the town is said to have been established by the Gonds in the remote past, there are no indications of anti quity in the vicinity, nor objects of interest to attract the visitor. GILGA'ON — A zaminddri or chiefship attached to the A'mbgdon pargana of the Chdndd district. Its extreme dimensions are twenty-six miles by sixteen, but it only contains twelve villages, as most of the area is hill and forest. There is some good timber, mostly sdl and bijesdl. The tenure is said to be ancient. GIRAR — A town in the Hinganghdt tahsil of the Wardhd district, thirty- seven miles south-east of Wardhd. It gains much local importance from the shrine of the Musalmdn saint, Shekh Khwdja Farid, on the top of the hill close by, which attracts a continual flow of devotees, Hindd as well as Musalmdn. The story goes that Khwdja Farid was born in Hindustan, and that after wandering about for some thirty years as a fakir he came and settled on the Girar hill about the year a.d. 1244. Several fantastic legends have grown up in celebration of the power which he gained by his devotions, but the only one worth mention is that by which the zeolitic concretions on the Girar hill are accounted for. These are said to be the petrified cocoanuts and other articles of merchandise belonging to two travelling traders who mocked the saint, on which he turned their whole stock-in-trade into stones as a punishment. They 198 GIR— GODA implored his pardon, and he created a fresh stock for them from dry leaves, on which they were so struck by his power that they attached themselves per manently to his service ; and two graves on the hill are said to be theirs. The hill bears the appearance of having once been fortified, and indeed a solitary hill of this description, rising like a truncated cone from the plain around, is well fitted for a stronghold. Local tradition says that the walls were built by a worshipper at the shrine, in fulfilment of a vow that he would do so if God granted him a son. But this is probably a mere fable to increase the honour of the saint, for the remains of the fortification seem older than the shrine. The shrine of Girar absorbs the revenues of five villages ; in Marathd times it also received considerable grants of money. Girar itself, however, is not among the number. It is a small municipality, with a population of 1,836 souls ; and has a police outpost, a good village school, and a weekly market. GIROD — A small and insignificant village in the Bildspdr district, contain ing some sixty huts, with a population of 200 or 300 souls. It is situated fifty miles south-east of Bildspdr, on the south bank of the Mahdnadi and on the borders of the Sondkhdn estate. The spot itself has no peculiar attraction, but here originated the religious reformation of the Chamdrs of Chhattisgarh — ¦ (see "Chhattisgarh" and "Bildspdr"). GODA'VART — Of the whole course of this river, which is some 900 miles in length, about 150 miles border the Central Provinces to the south-west. Regarding the earlier part of the river's course it will be sufficient here to say that it rises near Nasik, on the eastern declivity of the western ghdts,- and flows south-east and east for some 650 miles through the Bombay presidency and the Nizdm's territories, until it is joined by the Pranhitd at Sironcha, in the Upper Goddvari district. The portion of it touching on these provinces has been thus described by Sir. R. Temple, whose account, it should be premised, commences from the highest point of the projected navigation system, viz. at the Falls of the river Wardhd : — " Starting then from the Falls of the Wardhd near Hinganghat the voyager would see on the right hand the wild hilly country of the Nizdm's dominions, and on the left, or British side, a broad level valley covered with cultivation. Further down the river, past the junction of the Pain- gangd, as the third or upper barrier is approached, the rich valley on the left becomes narrower and narrower, more and more trenched upon by hill and forest, till it is restricted to a fringe of cultivation along the river's bank ; while on the right hand the country somewhat improves, and, though still hilly, is more open. The junction of the Waingangd is hidden from view by the hills. The barrier itself lies closed in by rocky hills and dense forests, a narrow strip being left on the right bank, along which the tram- road or the canal is to pass. Below the barrier the river is called the Pranhitd. On the left, or British side, the hills at first arrange themselves in picturesque groups, one of which has been compared by some to the group of Seven Mountains (Sieben Gebirge) on the Rhine, and after that continue for many miles almost to overhang the river, sometimes display ing the fine foliage and blossoms ofthe teak tree down to the water's edge. On the opposite or Nizdm's bank the most noticeable feature is the mouth of the Bibrid stream, justly noted for its beauty. Further down, on the British side, the only point of note is Sironchd, with its old fort overlooking the water ; the country continuing to be hilly or jungly with patches of GOL 199 cultivation. But on the opposite or foreign side the junction of the Godd vari Proper causes great tongues of land and broad basins to be formed, all which are partially cultivated, and are dotted over by such towns as Chindr, Mantdni, Mahadeopur, and the sacred Kaleswar. Then the hills, of some variety and beauty, cluster thick round the second or middle barrier. This junction of the Indrdvati also is concealed from view by the hills. Below this, on the British side, long ranges of hills, rising one above the other, run almost parallel with the river, till the junction of the Tdl is reached. On the opposite or Nizdm's side again the country is more cultivated and open, and marked by the towns of Nagaram and Mangam- peth. Below the latter place again the sacred hill of Rutab Gutta rises into view, immediately opposite to Dumagudem, on the British bank, where the head- quarters of the navigation department are established. Proceeding downwards at the first or lower barrier, the country is comparatively level on both sides, and this barrier is far less formidable than the two preceding ones. Below the barrier, down to the junction of the Sabari, the prominent object on the British side consists ofthe small hills of Bhadrd- challam, crowned with cupolas, cones, and spires of Hindd temples. On the opposite or Nizam's side is that Tank region already mentioned, which extending inland some 250 miles to beyond Warangal, the capital of ancient Telingana, is marked by the remains of countless works of agricultural improvement, attesting a wisdom in the past not known to the Native dynasties of the present. " Near the junction of the Sabari the Goddvari river scenery begins to assume an imposing appearance. Hitherto as it passed each barrier, and gained the successive steps in its course, the river has been increasing in width, generally being about a mile broad, and sometimes even 2 {\ miles. Here also the whole range of the eastern ghats comes fully into view, some 2,500 feet high, bounding the whole horizon, and towering over all the lesser and detached hills that flank the river. Passing the Sabari junction the Goddvari becomes more and more contracted and pressed on either side by the spurs of the main range, till at length it forces a passage between them, penetrating, by an almost precipitous gorge, through the heart of the mountains that mark the frontier of the Central Provinces. It is at this gorge that the scenery of this river has been justly compared to that of the Rhine. Imprisoned for some twenty miles between the hills, the river flows in a narrow, but very deep channel, with a current that sometimes lashes itself into boiling whirlpools. Then escaping from its imprisonment, the mass of water spreads itself over a broad smooth surface, resembling a lake surrounded with hills and dotted with islands, some of which are surmounted with Hindd temples. Then finally emerging from the hills it forms itself into one mighty stream between flat cultivated banks, till passing by the Madras station of Rajdmandri, and approaching the Great Dhawaleswaram Anicut, it breaks off into those numerous channels which permeate the Delta. At Dhawaleswaram there commences that network of canals which not only irrigate the lands, but also afford perfect navigation to the seaport of Cocanada." GOLLAGUDEM — A small village on the bank of the Goddvari in the Upper Goddvari district, twenty miles below Dumagudem ; only important as being the point at wliich the steamers and boats belonging to the Upper Goddvari navigation works take in and dehver cargo. There is a small 200 GOND— GWA inspection bungalow here, belonging to the public works department, which travellers are allowed to occupy. GOND-UMRI' — An estate in the Bhanddra district, consisting of ten villages, situated from five to ten miles north-east of Sdngarhi, and containing much jungle and waste land. The area is 17,715 acres, of which 2,862 only are cultivated. The population numbers 2,282 souls, chiefly Gonds and Dhers. The present chief is a Brdhman. Gond-Umri is the only large village, and possesses an indigenous school. Near the village of Kokna on this estate there is a banidn tree in full vigour, and of remarkable size, being capable of sheltering at least one hundred and fifty men. The forests generally are of little value. GOS ALPUR — An ancient and considerable village in the Jabalpdr district, on the road to Mirzapdr, about 19 miles N.E. from Jabalpdr. There are a government school and police post here. On the high downs surrounding the village a house has been erected, which is much used by the European residents of Jabalpdr for change of air. Gosalpdr is mentioned in an old narrative of 1 790 " as a large and clean place," and it still maintains its reputation. GUMGA'ON — A small town in the Ndgpdr district, on the left bank of the Wand river, twelve miles south of Ndgpdr. Its population amounts to 3,342 souls, and is mostly employed in agriculture, though a considerable quantity of cotton-cloth is manufactured by the Koshtis. The municipal funds have been spent by the town committee in making a street through the town, in building and supporting a school, and in improving the bdzars. Near the pohce quarters, in a commanding position overhanging the river, are the remains of a very con siderable Maratha fort, and near this is a fine temple of Ganpati, with strongly- built walls of basalt facing the river. Both fort and temple were erected by Chimd Bai, wife of Rdjd Raghoji IL, who may be said to have founded the town, and since whose time this estate has continued in the direct possession of the Bhonsla family. GUNDARDEHI' — A chiefship attached to the Rdipdr district, containing fifty-two villages, wliich cover an area of about eighty or ninety square miles. It lies in the northern portion of the Bdlod pargana, and is surrounded on all sides by khdlsa villages. It contains no jungle, and is generally well cultivated, the population and crops being similar to those in the cultivated portion of the district. The estate has been in the possession of the present chiefs family for three hundred years. He is by caste a Rdj-Kanwar. GUNJEWA'HI' — A large village in the Chdndd district, twenty-six miles south of Brahmapuri, possessing a fine tank. The inhabitants are almost wholly Telingas. It has a police outpost, and government schools for boys and girls. About two miles from Gunjewdhi is the Tdtoli hill — a long low ridge from which iron-ore is quarried. GUNJI' — A hill near Sakti, in the Bildspur district, of local interest and sacredness. GURAYYA' — A river which forms part of the boundary between the Damoh and Jabalpdr districts. It rises at Katangi in the Jabalpur district, and after a devious course of about thirty miles flows into the Bairmd. GWA'RI'GHA'T — In the Jabalpdr district. Here the Narbadd is crossed on the main road between Jabalpdr and Ndgpdr about five miles from the former. The river is fordable during part of the cold weather, and all the hot season, HAL— BAR 201 but in the rains it is a rapid torrent more than fifty feet in depth. Here there is a post for collecting duties on timber, which is floated down from the Mandla forests. H HA'LON — A river which rises about eight or ten miles to the south of the Chilpighat in the Maikal range, and after a northerly course of some sixty miles through the Bdldghdt and Mandla districts flows into the Burhner. The average elevation of its valley is about 2,000 feet. It is not to be confounded with the comparatively unimportant stream of the Alon. HA 'MP — A stream in the Bildspdr district, having its rise in the Pandarid hills. It flows south and east through the Pandarid chiefship and the Mungeli pargana, and then forms for several miles the boundary line between Raipdr and Bildspdr, finally falhng into the Seondth near Ndndghdt. HANDIA' — An old Mohammadan town in the Hoshangdbdd district, formerly the head-quarters of a sarkdr or district under Akbar's rule. It had a handsome stone fort on the river, said to have been built by Hoshang Shah Ghori of Mdlwd, but now dismantled. Handid was on the old highroad from the Deccan to A'gra, and was once a large and flourishing place, of which the extent may still be traced by the ruins scattered for some distance along the bank of the Narbadd. On the withdrawal of the Moghal officials, about a.d. 1700, and the construction of a straighter and better road across the Vindhya hills vid Indore, it fell into ruin, and its present population is only 1,992 souls. There were here once a large number of Juldhas, or Mohammadan weavers, but they have all emigrated. The place was given up to the British by the Mardthds in 1817. HARAI' — This is the most important of the hill chiefships or zaminddris, ip the north of the Chhindwara district. It lies mainly in the mountainous tract to the north of Amarwdrd, but a portion lies below the ghdts leading into the valley of the Narbadd. The chiefs residence is a moderate-sized masonry fort in the lowland tract. The estate comprises ninety-one villages, of which eighty-six are inhabited. The chief, who is a Gond, receives an allowance of Rs. 6,000 per annum from Government, in commutation of certain privileges formerly enjoyed by him. HA 'RAT — A village in the Damoh district. It was a place of some impor tance under the Bundelds, but is now only noticeable for some Mohammadan tombs, and a waterfall of the Sundr, on the left bank of which the village stands. It is three miles south-west of Hattd, and about twenty miles north of Damoh. HARDA' — The western revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Hoshangdbdd district, having an area of 2,001 square miles, with 409, villages, and a popula tion of 120,546 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,29,761-0-3. HARDA' — The chief town in the subdivision of the same name in tho Hoshangdbdd district. It is on the highroad to Bombay, and has risen on tho ruins of Handid, which is twelve miles off. Under the Mardthd government Harda was the residence of an umil or governor, and on the opening of tho '•ampaign in 1817 Sir John Malcolm established here the head-quarter- ofthe '2ft era 202 HAS— HAT army under his command. Since the cession in 1844 a resident assistant commissioner has held special charge of the subdivision, aided by a tahsilddr holding subordinate criminal, civil, and revenue jurisdiction. This was already a thriving place when the country was ceded, and since then a good deal has been done for its improvement. Its principal street is broad and well built, and a handsome market-place has been laid out, surrounded by substantial houses. In 1 864 a dam was thrown across the river close by, which secured a good and convenient water-supply to the people. These and many other improvements were carried out by Mr. J. F. Beddy, who resided as assistant commissioner at Harda for several years, and to whose activity and practical resources the town owes very much of its prosperity. There is a railway station here. The principal trade is in the export of grain and oil-seeds. The popula tion amounts to 7,499 souls. HASDU' — A stream which, rising amid the hills of Matin, flows nearly due south till it joins the Mahanadi, eight miles east of Seorinardin, in the Bildspdr district. Owing to many barriers in its course this river is very rarely navigable. In high floods boats of fair size can ascend from the Mahdnadi fifteen or twenty miles, but as the country in the vicinity of the river is wild and sparsely populated, boats laden with merchandise rarely ascend. In the hot and cold weather months Hasdd is a very insignificant stream. HA'THTBA'RI' — A state forest of about fifteen square miles in extent, in the Bildspdr district, lying along the Jonk river, twenty miles from Seori nardin. There is some fine teak still remaining here, and a plantation of teak lately formed gives very fair promise of success. HATTA' — A chiefship in the Bdldghdt district, originally part of the Kdmthd chiefship, which was bestowed upon a Kunbi family about a.d. 1 750, and on their rebellion in 1818 was granted to the Lodhi family in whose posses- ' sion it now is. The prosperity of the Hattd chiefship is entirely due to the grantee, who is still alive, and though more than one hundred years old, retains his faculties to an extraordinary extent. The estate covers an area of 134 square miles, of which sixty-six are under cultivation ; and contains seventy- five villages. HATUA' — A town in the Bdldghdt district, well situated on a piece of high ground studded with mango-groves, about eighty miles to the north-east of Bhanddra, and eight miles to the east of the Waingangd. The fort, which now encircles the residence of the zaminddr, is a relic of the Gond days, when the surrounding plains, now well cultivated, were covered with thick jungle. The present zaminddr, Ganpat Rdo, who was created an honorary magistrate in 1865, has done much for the town. In the centre he has erected a good school-house, and contiguous to it a spacious dispensary ; he has also improved the town roads, and keeps up a regular conservancy establishment. Close to the entrance of the forj; is a remarkably fine baoli (a well with sloping descent to the water), which was constructed by the former Kunbi zaminddr, Chimnd Patel. At the last census the inhabitants numbered 2,655 souls. There is no trade peculiar to Hattd, the inhabitants being chiefly agriculturists of the Kunbi, Lodhi, Godrd, and Rangdri castes. HATTA' — The northern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Damoh district, having an area of 1,007 square miles, with 546 villages, and a popu lation of 115,118 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,20,107. HAT— HIN 203 HATTA' — The head-quarters of the subdivision of the same name in the Damoh district. It has always been a place of some importance. The Gonds had a fort here, near the north gate, of which scarcely anything now remains. A second and larger fort was erected here in the seventeenth century by the Bundelas, who then ruled in this part of the country, and was afterwards enlarged by the Mardthds. When the district was ceded to the British in 1818 the head-quarters were established here, and were not removed until 1835. The public buildings are a tahsili or sub-collector's office, a police station, a dispen sary, a sardi, and a fine government school-house. There is a market twice a week, and a considerable trade in red cloth, which is manufactured for export to Bundelkhand and elsewhere. The population amounts to 7,100 souls. Hattd is situated on the right bank of the Sundr, twenty-four miles north of Damoh, one hundred and seventy miles south-west of Allahdbdd, and sixty-one north-east of Sdgar. Latitude 24° 8' north, longitude 79° 40' east. HAWELI' — Is the western pargana of the Mdl tahsil, in the Chdndd district, and is bounded on the north by the Bhdndak and Garhbori parganas, on the east by the Rdjgarh and Ghdtkdl parganas, on the south by the Wardhd river, and on the west by the Wardhd and the Bhdndak parganas. Its area is about 448 square miles; and it contains 102 villages. On the north-east and: east the country is hilly, and more than half of the pargana north and east is covered with dense jungle. The Virai intersects it from north to south, and the Andhdri flows in a south-easterly direction along its eastern boundary. The Soil in the vicinity of the Wardhd is black loam, and in other parts sandy and somewhat stony. The language spoken is chiefly Mardthi. Dhandji Kunbis form the largest agricultural elass. Chdndd is the only large town in the pargana. HINAUTA' — A large market-village in the Damoh district, thirty miles north-east of Damoh and ten miles from Hattd, on the highroad to Ndgod. It contains 389 houses, with a population of 1,154 souls, and has a considerable grain-trade with Bundelkhand. There are here a government school and an encamping-ground for troops. HINDORIA' — The third town in importance in the Damoh district, situated nine miles north-east of Damoh. It is held in ubdri (or quit-rent tenure) by Umrdo Singh, a Bundeld. During the mutiny of 1 857 the inhabitants of this village rose in rebellion, and burnt all the records and public offices in Damoh. The place was reduced by a small body of troops from Sdgar ; and the fort, then in a good state of preservation, was demolished. The town contains 1,135 houses, and a population of 3,600 souls. The inhabitants, who are mainly Lodhis by caste, still maintain the bad reputation acquired by them in 1857. A very fine description of betel leaf, called " desd bangld," is here cultivated by Mochfs. A weekly market is held on Tuesdays. There are here a police station and a government school. t HINGANGHAT — The south-eastern revenue subdivision of the Wardhd district, having an area of 722 square miles, with 415 villages, and a population of 93,680 according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for 1869-70 is Rs. 1,45,057. HINGANGHAT — A large trading town in the Wardhd district, situated twenty-one miles south-east of Wardhd. The following table shows the Imports and Exports of the town for 1868-69 : — 1204 mK Imports Exports. ( Maunds.. '.Value, Rs ( Maunds . . ( Value, E= 89,218 18,80,175 65,393 11,48,940 9,145 63,166 2,752 22,755 52,595 2,17,79" 7,102 22,033 ";0 3,889 2,59,706 2,503 1,77,114 ,3 O w o ^ M 402 44,613 a. 5,646 65,042 62 1,868 3,217 26,161 O -a -3C5 480 12,137 04 1,782 15,553 61,226 1,253 4,924 1,271 15,564 555 9,432 £ 1,90,399 28,84,882 97,602 14,61,912 Hinganghdt cotton has established for itself a name in the mercantile world, and is admittedly one of the best staples indigenous to India. It is properly speaking the produce of the rich Wardhd valley, brought for sale to the Hinganghdt market ; but a good deal of the cotton known in Bombay as Hin ganghdt is not really produced in the neighbourhood of the town, but is grown elsewhere, and attracted to Hinganghdt by the ready market there found . thus some inferior stuff goes into the market as Hinganghdt. The best foreign cotton is that brought from Edaldbad in the Haidardbdd territory, where the growth of the Paingangd valley is collected. This cotton is reckoned quite as good as the Hinganghdt staple, and is eagerly sought after. Messrs. Warwick & Co. have established an agency here, with capacious iron-roofed warehouses, and a stock of full and half-presses ; and they press for shipment direct to England. The principal native traders are Marwdris, many of whom have large transactions, and export to Bombay and elsewhere on their own account. But the greater number merely act as middlemen between the cultivators and the large merchants, buying up the cotton at the villages and smaller marts, and introducing it on speculation into the Hinganghat market. The municipal committee have opened a large gravelled market-place and storage-yard for general use, with raised platforms, and scales for weighing the cotton. Round this yard are ranged the ginning- sheds and private cotton-enclosures of the native traders, but these at present are mere temporary structures of bamboo- work. The committee contemplate erecting permanent structures of safer materials, and letting them to the traders. Meanwhile the latter are obliged to provide small reservoirs for water in their enclosures, and these are kept full from funds provided by the cotton department. The municipal committee have further erected two half-presses in the cotton-yard ; but the natives, rather than take the trouble of entertaining pressmen and finding their own ropes and gunnies, prefer to make over their cotton to Messrs. Warwick & Co. to be full or half-pressed for them, at so much a bale. The chief native resident of Hinganghdt is the khildtkdr, Rdm Rdo. He traces his origin to Puna, where, about ninety years ago, his ancestors were attached to the court of the Peshwd, their service being " mdnkari," or personal attendance on the Peshwd. They were summoned thence by Rdjd Raghoji Bhonsld of Ndgpdr, and after holding various offices, obtained one-fourth of these town lands, which they had reclaimed from the jungle. Their descendants now hold several villages and a cash pension. The population of Hinganghdt amounts to 8,500 souls, chiefly traders of all kinds or their servants, weavers, and day-labourers. The octroi collections for the three years 1865-66,1866-67, LILN-HIK 205 and 1807-68 let respectively for Rs. 61,600, Rs. 45,000, and Rs. 45,100. The last-mentioned farm was only for eleven months. The money has been expended principally in laying out streets, avenues, and shop-frontages for New Hinganghat. Old Hinganghdt was a straggling, ill-arranged town, liable to be flooded by the river Wand during the monsoon. The new town has been laid out on the rising ground to the south of the old town in broad parallel streets, marking off rectangular blocks. Of the total population, about three-fifths, including all the principal traders and more respectable residents, live in the new city, while the remainder cling to the old town. One main reason of this is the difficulty of procuring water in New Hinganghat. Springs have, however, recently been struck to the west of the new town, and there is now every prospect of a good water-supply throughout the year. The people in New Hinganghdt are fast becoming attached to the place, which, with its broad clean streets and rising avenues, begins to present quite an attractive appearance. The zild (or chief) school of the district is at Hinganghdt, and here both English and Verna cular are taught up to an advanced standard. A female school has also been opened here, but has not as yet met with much success. Hinganghdt contains a tahsil office, a furnished travellers' bungalow, a large sarai, with several good rooms in it reserved for Europeans, where travellers may halt three days free of charge, and a dispensary, with a range of hospital buildings after the standard plan. HINGNI' — A town in the Huzdr tahsil of the Wardhd district, about sixteen miles to the north-east of Wardha, founded about 150 years ago by Ragheundth Pant Sdbadar, grandfather of the present malguzar. A large masonry fort, two temples, two large houses, twenty-one wells, and three hundred fine mango and tamarind trees, remain to attest the energy of the founder. In the time of the Pindhdri disturbances the then mdlguzdr held the fort with two hundred of his own followers. The population of Hingni is 3,061, of whom about a fourth are cultivators and another fourth weavers. An annual fair is held here on the second day of the Holi, and the wreekly market on Fridays is well attended. A government village school has been established here. HIRAN— A small but deep and rapid river, rising in latitude 23° 30' and longitude 80° 26'. After a course of more than one hundred miles it falls into the Narbadd at Sdnkal, in latitude 23° 4' and longitude 79° 26'. Its general course is south-west. HI'RA'PU'R — A village in the extreme north-east of the Sugar district, on the road from Shdhgarh to Cawnpore. There are here an encamping-ground and a staging bungalow. Iron-ore is found in the neighbourhood; and the reserved government forest of Tigord lies to the north-east of the village. HIRDENAGAR — A large and populous village in the Mandla district. It was founded by the Rdjd Hirde Shah about a.d. 1644. An annual fair is held here on the banks of the Banjar, at which there was an attendance in 1 868 of 25,000 persons. The value ofthe merchandise exposed for sale was estimated at Rs. 1,14,250, and the value of that sold at Rs. 79,524. 206 HOS HOSHANGA'BA'D— CONTENTS. Page General description 20l> Geology ib. Forests and rivers 211 Communications ib. Climate and rainfall 212 Agriculture ib. Minerals, forest products, and cattle ... 213 Administration ib. Area and population , ib, Tenures 214 Manufactures and trade 215 History ib. A district forming a portion of the Narbadd Valley, lying entirely On the left _ , , - . bank of the river, and including some large tracts esc p ion. ^ ^e Sdtpurd hills. It is bounded on the north by the territories of Bhopdl, Sindid, and Holkar, from which it is separated by the Narbada. On the east the Dudhi river divides it from the Narsinghpdr district; On the west it adjoins the Nimdr district, the boundary being the Chhotd Tawd river, which flows into the Narbada— a stream called the Guli, which flows into the Tapti, — and an imaginary line across the hill joining the sources of those two streams. On the south lie the districts of Western Berdr, Betdl, and Chhindwara. The boundary line on this side is very uncertain and arbitrary. For many miles it lies along, the foot of the hills, or includes only the outer spurs and low hills which fringe the Sdtpurd range. But in four places it makes a great sweep to the south, and brings in four large hill tracts known as the Mahddeo hills, and the tdlukas Mdlini, Rdjdbordri, and Kdlibhit respectively. The boundary line includes Kdlibhit by following the river where it flows out of the Rdjdbordri hills to the Tapti ; it marches with the Tapti for sixteen miles until it meets the Nimdr frontier, and turns northward again along the little stream called the Gulf. The district may be generally described as a long valley of varying breadth, running for 150 miles between the Narbadd and the Sdtpurd- range.. The soil consists in the main of the well-known black basaltic alluvium, often more than twenty feet deep ; but there are submontane tracts of red soil and rock, with low hills of various formations. From Lokhartalai (near Seoni)- eastward to the extremity of the district these are almost invariably of the Mahddeo sandstone, its line " faulted" or broken here and there by the intrusion of other rocks, notably at Patrotd, where the road from Hoshangdbdd towards Betdl strikes the base of the Satpurds, and " passes close under two high pointed hills, which are formed of nearly vertical beds of schistoze quartzite."* It is to the east of the glen of the Tawd river that the district boundary takes its southern sweep, which brings in the Mdlini forests and the Mahddeo hills. Below the northern base of the Mahddeo hills lies an inner valley shut out from the main Narbadd valley by an irregular chain of low hills, and drained by the Denwd river. A little beyond Fatehpdr, which stands in the gorge through which the Denwd valley is entered from the plains, the boundary line of the district turns north to the Narbadd. All down along the Narbadd, as far west ward as Handid, the champaign country is only broken by a few isolated rocks, but to the west of Handid the plain is crossed and cut up by low stony hills and broad-backed ridges. Here the Vindhyas throw out jutting spurs, which occupy a large area, and are known as the Bairi hills ; and from the south west the Sdtpurds push up similar branches, which almost touch the Vindhya outposts. The following extracts from the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India „ , will give an idea of the geology of Hoshangdbdd. The hills which bound it on the south belong * Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, vol. ii. p. 231. HOS 207 mainly to the series classed as " Mahddeva " and " Lower Damddd," but in places basaltic, metamorphic, and crystalline rocks occur. The Mahddeva group is thus described by Mr. J. G. Medlicott * :— "The range of hills which forms the south side of the Narbadd valley is formed of these ; and along much of that part of the valley which extends from Jabalpdr to Handid and Seoni they form a series of escarpments quite as remarkable, and more picturesque, since less regular, than do those of the Vindhyan range on the north. In the central portion of this range they attain their greatest development, and form the fine masses of the Pachmarhi or Mahddeva hills, from which their name has been taken. Here they present a thickness of at least 2,000 feet, and many miles away from this central culminating mass they still attain very considerable development. _r|C 2J€ 3|* *|* *Jv 5|* *f£ Lithologically considered, the Mahddeva group consists of sandstones and grits, with a few exceptions hereafter to be described. In their typical localities these grits (thick and thin bedded) make up the whole thickness of the formation as seen in the Mahddeva hills, and are characterised throughout, but more especially near the top, by hard earthy ferruginous partings. A very prominent characteristic of the Mahddeva area is the way in which these great sandstone masses are disposed : vertical escarp ments, with clear rock faces many hundred feet high, are constantly met, and this remarkable feature is presented wherever these rocks are (in this district) found." The lower Damddd (including the Tdlchir groups) are describedf as ascending from " obscurely bedded or unbedded masses of green mud" into shales, flags, and coarse sandstones. The occurrence of these rocks in the Hoshangdbdd district is thusj mentioned : — " The Moran river exposes some beds of the Lower Damddd series : . , . shales, flags and sandstones, and a bed of poor Moran river beds. . » a ji r rn -l. n . i coal § come to the surface. The beds have been considerably disturbed, and the massive thick sandstones of the Mahddeva group (see below) rest unconforraably on them. " The Damddd beds are found only at the bottom of the Moran glen, and only a very small patch of them can be seen. Both sides ofthe glen are formed of Mahddeva sandstone (as stated above), and on the west these are almost immediately covered up by trap. * Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, vol. ii. part 2, pp. 183, 1S4. t Ditto ditto ditto p. 148. X Ditto ditto ditto pp. 149, 160, and 165— 167. § " With respect to the coal seam here we may remark that it is at its outcrop about three feet thick, but very much impregnated with pyrites. A strong efflorescence of sulphur and of alum covers its exposed surface, as well as that of some of the accompanying shales. Such impurities, if equally abundant throughout, would render the mineral com mercially useless — a circumstance the more to be regretted as no coal is known to exist to the west of this place, and the position of the outcrop gives it many advantages over Sonadi, which is, next to this, the most westerly coal of the district. From that place a quantity of coal was taken to l.ombay some years since under the auspices of Sir R. Hamilton. Situated on the level of the Narbada valley, and many miles to the west of any other known outcrop, this locality will doubtless receive a trial whenever a demand for the mineral exists within a distance sufficiently short to admit of its being worked to a profit, after cost of transport has been paid." 203 nos " Proceeding hence towards the cast tho Damddd and Tdlchir beds , .. will be seen to occupy a large area in the valley ofthe Tawd. The Tawd is a considerable stream confluent with tho Narbadd, a little above Hoshangdbdd, and issues from the hills on the south side of the valley through a gorge, at the entrance of which the old fort of Bdgrd stands. It drains a very large area within the range to the south ; its numerous tributaries reach many miles to the east and west among the hills, and itself flows across a wide plain surrounded almost on all sides by the high ground. All the low ground of this plain, and of many of the glens which open into it, is occupied by the rocks under consideration, and many fine sections of them are exposed. " The green muds and boulder bed are occasionally met with in almost every part of this area, but they are far more largely developed towards the south of it, and it is there that they may be best studied. " Leaving the Tawd valley and proceeding up the Narbadd valley for about thirty-five miles (in a straight line) the hill district may be again entered through a gorge, at tho mouth of which the fortified -village of Fatehpdr stands. Within and south of the narrow glens which connect it with the Narbada valley lies a wide spread of flat country. "The flat ground is occupied by the Tdlchir and Lower Damddd beds; De wd Vallev ^ *S drained by the Denwd river, which, passing from here to the west among the hills, joins the Tawd just above Bdgrd. This may be called the Lower Denwd valley, and if we follow that stream up its course, it will be found to wind through deep glens and between high vertical scarps as it works its way from south to north among the eastern and lower spurs of the Pachmari hills ; again to the south of these its- valley becomes once more wide and flat. The stream itself, and its tributaries, draining the country under the southern face of the great Mahadeva sandstones of the Pachmari, expose many fine sections of the rocks of the Lower Damudd series, similar to those seen in the Tawd valley. Similar to these in texture and structure we have fossiliferous shales, flags, and seams of impure coal, and like them in habit we find an irregular and sometimes inverted dip, faults/ and trap ' dykes. ******** " As in the valley of tho Tawd, we here find the rocks of the Tdlchir and Lower Damddd groups presenting a flat or gently Upper Denwa valley. undulating surface, from which the massive vertical scarps of the Mahddeva sandstone rise." The type of the granitic rocks, which occur in one or two places only in this part of the valley, is thus* described : — " Below Hoshangdbdd much granite is exposed in the banks of tho Narbadd, and here also it is mostly either this syenitic porphyry with pink felspar, or a pink felspar granite ; this latter is tho rock seen at Handid. A similar red felspar granite forms a range of hills in tho southern portion of the country surveyed, and is also well seen in tho Chitd Rewd section near Bcrkhcrd." Memoirs (if the Oologicnl Survey of India, vol. ii. part L\ pp. 122, 12.'"! HOS 209 Westward of Hoshangdbdd the following account is given * of the district by Mr. W. T. Blanford :— " This tract, from Hoshangdbdd to Hardd, consists of a gently undulat ing plain of cotton soil. No rocks appear in general even in the streams, although outcrops would probably be met with here and there, in the deeper ravines, if the place were thoroughly searched. About Hardd rock begins to appear more generally in the streams, and occasionally at the surface of the ground, and farther west trap to the south, and metamorphic rocks to the north are largely exposed. This is especially ^he case in the neighbourhood of the Narbadd, which runs through a rocky bed between low hills of Bijdwars and gneiss. To the south is the western extension of the Pachmari and other hills, much diminished in height, and gradually sinking more and more towards the plain. It is chiefly composed of trap. Mr. Medlicott's map comprises the only portion of the range consisting of older rocks, with the exception of a small patch of Mahddeva beds in the Ganjai river, the existence of which is proved by pebbles brought down by the stream, but which was not reached.-)- It is far within the hills, and is evidently of small extent. The section of Mahadeva rocks at the Moran river has already been referred to in the chapter devotsd to those rocks in general. For about two miles south of Lokhartalai trap is seen in the river, then from beneath the trap coarse conglomerates crop out, dipping at about 10° to west, 20° north. These conglomerates contain pebbles of various kinds, some of metamorphic rocks, amongst which quartzite predominates, others of the peculiar purplish quartzite sandstone of the Vindhyans ; a few are of red jasper, and mixed with the mass are blocks, frequently two or three feet across, of soft felspathic sandstone, evidently derived from the Damddds, which are in place close by. Below the coarse conglo merate is brown sandstone, slightly conglomeritic. This rests on felspa thic sandstone, succeeded by flaggy beds and carbonaceous shale, the latter clearly belonging to the Damddd series. Despite the unconformity between the two series shown by the Damddd detritus contained in the Mahddeva conglomerate, it was impossible precisely to determine the line of separation. It is clear, however, that the Mahddevas do not, at this spot, exceed two hundred feet in thickness, and probably half that amount is nearer the truth. Up the Moran river the Damddds soon turn over to the south, and dis appear again below the traps. The Mahddevas appear to be wanting. They are, however, much thicker in the hills east of the Moran than in the river. No good sections are seen. The hills further west, about Makrdi, are composed of bedded trap, either dipping at low angles to the south or horizontal. Some intertrappeans occur in the upper part of the Agni stream, west-south-west of Kdlibhit. South of Harda, towards Chdrwd, there is a great bay of the alluvium stretching further to the west than is the case near the river. This larger quantity of surface-deposit away from the river appears to indicate a former distribution of the rivers throughout this country different from that at present prevailing. It may have some connexion with the great break near A'sirgarh, in the hills which separate the valleys of the Tapti and Narbadd. The trap demands but little * Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, vol. vi. part 3, pp. 83 — 86. f " Its existence was only discovered just before leaving the field. I had no map of the country, and could not spare the three or four days it niigtit have required to hunt it out and survey it." 27 cpg 210 HOS notice, and the neighbourhood of the Narbadd west of Hardd received so very hurried an examination that but little of importance can be stated concerning it.* The rocks consist principally of metamorphics and Bijdwars, overlying trap occurring here and there. On the Narbadd a range of hills formed of quartzite rises from the alluvial plain about two miles west of Handid. This range stretches along the river for some distance to the westward. Similar quartzite occurs, as already mentioned, at Nimdwar, north of the river, opposite Handid. f About Hardd syenitie and granitic rocks occur. Much alluvial cotton soil covers the 'surface, but it is often very thin. Thus in one place, a few miles west of the town, on the road to Khandwd, although no rock what ever was visible on the surface, blocks of granite for the railway works were being quarried from a depth of only six or eight feet. In the Mdchak river trap is found about Danward. In the upper part of this stream no rock is met with as a rule, although trap is exposed near Mohanpdr and Gdhdl. About half a mile below Danward coarsely crystalised peg matite ( or rather protogene), containing a chlorite-like mineral, is met with, and forms the bed of the stream for a considerable distance. At Devdpdr there is metamorphic limestone. The rocks are extensively metamor phosed, and no foliation can be recognised. In the country between the Mdchak and the Tawd large outliers of traps overlie the metamorphic rocks. The same is the case north of the Mdchak, but to a smaller extent. No attempt has been made to ascertain precisely the boundaries of these numerous little patches. The larger areas have been roughly surveyed so as to indicate the general mode of occurrence. Most of the patches are oval or oblong, their larger axis corresponding with the general strike of the metamorphic rocks, or about east 20°, 30° north, and it is evident that they are due to the traps having overflowed the irregular surface of tbe under lying formations, in which, as at the present day, ridges of the harder beds, chiefly quartzite or compact granitoid gneiss, stood up above the general level of country. Where denudation has so far removed the traps that the old surface is once more visible, the hard ridges again protrude, while some trap yet remains in the hollows between them. Trap dykes occasion ally occur in the metamorphics. They were especially observed in the jungles north-east of Punghdt. They appeared at that place to have two principal^ directions, south-east and east-20°-north, the latter coinciding with the lamination of the metamorphics. A very interesting section occurs in the Tawd river J near its junction with the Narbada. At the mouth of the Tawd the Bijdwar hmestone is seen presenting a pecuhar concentric structure ; the alternating bands of siliceous and calcareous minerals, instead of being plane, are concentric around nuclei of quartz. Many of these concentric masses are of great size. A little further south there is an immense mass of hard quartzose breccia similar to that seen north of the river north-west of Chdndgarh, composed of purphsh jasper-like rock, with enclosed angular fragments of quartzite; upon this rest Vindhyan shales, sandy as usual, and passing upwards into the typical quartzite sandstone, which forms hills west of the stream. It is difficult to say what * " It has since, like the neighbouring country north of the river, been examined by Mr. Mallet, who will probably describe it in greater detail." t "This quartzite has been shown by Mr. Mallet to belong to the Bijawars." X " This is the smaller Tawa, called the Chhota Tawa or Suktawa river," HOS 211 is the position of the breccia. It was at first supposed to be Bijdwar, but the occurrence of similar breccia, apparently interstratified in the Vindhyans on the Narbadd close by, renders it possible that it may belong to that series.* The shaley beds appear to be unconformable upon the breccia, and the breccia upon the Bijdwar limestone, but neither unconformity is very clearly made out, and apparent unconformities of breccia or quartzite beds resting upon Bijdwars must be regarded with suspicion on account of the predominance of cleavage fohation in some of the beds of that series, and its absence in the hornstones and ^quartzites. Higher up in the Tawd trap comes in, and further on still there is a patch of metamorphic rocks. It is of no great extent. The rock is granitoid." The finest forests are the two reserved tracts which were made over to this district from Chhindwdrd in 1865 — the Bori and Forests and rivers. -^^ reserves. but throughout the woodland country the teak is very common, and the saplings thrive well where they are protected. There are some such tracts on the Narbadd, and a good deal of forest lies west of Handid. Of jungle, scrub, or brushwood, there is more or less throughout the valley, but least in the eastern and most in the western parganas. To the east of Seoni the jungle has been only allowed to remain in the poor sandy soil, which is not worth cultivation. Strips of wood run down along the sandy banks of the streams wliich cross the flat plain from the hills. But in Chdrwd there is an extensive tract of dense low forest. The chief rivers are the Anjan, Tawd, Hdthir, Denwd, Ganjdl, Moran, and Dudhi, besides the great boundary streams of the Narbadd and Tapti. The district is, however, throughout intersected by innumerable little streams, many of them perennial, which run down from the hills to the Narbadd. The best road in the district is now the line from Hoshangdbdd by Itdrsi . towards Betdl. It is already partly metalled, ' ' !i " "n '''"'" bridged, and embanked, and work on the remainder is in active progress. It passes the railroad at the Itdrsi station, eleven miles from Hoshangdbdd. The highroad to Bombay, which runs right through the district from east to west, is only aligned in parts, and nowhere well embanked or drained. Bridges have been built over a few of the streams, and causeways thrown across others. The road from Hardd to Handid — the old highroad in the days of the Moghals from the Deccan to A'gra — is a wide track, well defined, but not metalled, and out of repair. All other roads in the district are merely fair-weather routes, which are being gradually demarcated and drained. The roads from Seoni and Hardd towards Betdl are pretty good, except in the rainy months. The Great Indian Peninsula Railroad (expected to be completed to Jabalpdr in 1870) now intersects the whole district from west to east, with stations at Bdgrd, Hardd, Seoni, Itdrsi, Sohdgpdr, and Bankheri. It crosses the Tawd by a viaduct at the opening of the gorge through which the river issues from the Sdtpurds, and it is carried by a short tunnel under an interposing projection of the hill close by. A system of railway feeders has for some time been under the consideration ofthe local Government, and is gradually being carried out. * " This was pointed out by Mr- Mallet." 212 HOS The temperature is said to be higher than that of Narsinghpur or Jabalpdr, . but it is of a very medium character, free from excess of heat and cold. The direct rays of the sun are very powerful ; but hot winds are the exception, and are seldom very violent, while the nights in the hot weather and rains are always cool. The thermometer seldom rises above 100° in the shade ; the average maximum of July, August, and September 1864 was 91° in the shade, the average minimum was 73°. The cold weather is seldom bitter, and often hardly bracing, though frosts of one or two nights' duration are not uncommon. The rainfall is exceed ingly variable, ranging between the limits of forty and sixty inches in the year. The winter rains are very regular, insomuch that it is a local proverb that there have been famines from too much rain, but never any from drought. From the position of the district, as a long valley or gorge between the two great ranges of the Sdtpurd and Vindhya hills, it is subject to violent atmospheric changes, and the harvest is seldom gathered without hailstorms and thunder- showers; dust-storms, however, are unknown. On the whole, considering that the district is within the tropics, and not raised above the ordinary level of Indian plains, it may be considered fortunate in having a climate which is decidedly better than might have been expected. Hoshangabad itself is about 1,000 feet above the sea ; but as the fall ofthe valley is twenty feet in seven miles, the eastern end of the district is about four hundred feet higher, than the western end. An east wind blows often in the cold weather, and is rather bitter and piercing. From the thinness of the population and the plentifulness of waste land all . . . round, it naturally follows that the cultivation is 11 ' not laborious, nor of a high order. Cereals are raised entirely without manure and irrigation, and the rich black soil of the valley is almost independent of any system of rotation, and produces fine crops of wheat without change or fallow for thirty or forty years. Only garden crops and sugarcane are manured and watered. The total cultivated area of the district in the year 1868 was 891,587 acres, and the principal crops grown are cotton, gram, wheat, jawdri, and til; since 1864 a great quantity of the land formerly under gram, jawdri, and til has been given up to cotton. But the great flatness of the land is against the cultivation of cotton, and is the chief cause why kharif (or rain) crops bear so small a proportion to rabi (or cold weather) crops. The black soil will only grow rain crops when it is thoroughly well drained, and in default of a good system of subsoil draining, this amounts to saying that rain-crops will only grow in ground which slopes considerably, and which is generally light and stony. The black soil, when supplied with unlimited moisture and heat, throws up a crop of weeds which choke whatever is sown, and which, from the deep muddy nature of the soil, cannot be hoed up till dry weather comes ; consequently this soil, which is the prevailing one, will only grow rabi crops, and is devoted almost entirely to wheat. In 1 860, before the American war, the cotton-growing area was calculated at 24,000 acres, produc ing 40 lbs. to the acre. In 1864 the extent of area had doubled ; but the cotton is never, or very seldom, grown on what is called the "black cotton soil"; it is confined to the lighter or inferior soils. The Government waste lands are chiefly hilly tracts, only useful for pasturage, or fit for growing teak or other timber. But at the western extremity of the district, in the Chdrwd pargana, there are some very fine waste lands, which would well repay the expense of cul tivation. South of the highroad to Bombay there are about two hundred square HOS 213 miles of such land, interspersed only with three or four villages. Low ranges of stony hills run through the tract, covered with low scrub. In the valleys between, which are often of considerable depth, the soil is of very fine quahty. Coal is found in small quantities in the bed of almost every stream which Minerals, forest products, and cuts through the Mahddeo sandstone range, cattle. notably in the bed of the Tawd ; but no coal mines of any value have yet been worked in this district. Ironstone occurs in several places, especially in the low hills near Hardd, and is roughly smelted by the hill tribes. Fruits, drugs, dyes, and tanning-barks are brought down from the hills, a little tasar silk is produced and some lac is collected, but not in any large quan tities. There are a few good brood-mares in the district; most of them belong to substantial Gujar Mdlguzdrs, who breed in a small way ; and the better class of farmers from Hindustan seem always to have kept horses for riding. But horses and ponies are by no means so common as in Upper India. Two fine stallions have been procured by the Government for improving the district stock. The cattle belong mostly to the Mdlwd and up-country breeds, the Mdlwd stock being in highest favour. The oxen are stout beasts, useful for heavy draught and for ploughing the deep black soil, but much inferior in pace and activity to the small Berar bullocks. Of late years there have been very large importations of high-priced cattle from the north, to meet the demand among the prosperous agriculturists of this valley. Sheep -breeding is not carried on to any large extent ; the supply is from Bundelkhand. At Hoshangdbdd are the courts, civil and criminal, of the Deputy Commis- ... sioner and of his assistants. Here also is the office Administration. of the collector of customg) an(J 0f a patrol. The district has four administrative subdivisions, under tahsilddrs, who have their head-quarters at Hoshangdbdd, Sohdgpdr, Seoni, and Hardd respectively, and who exercise judicial and fiscal authority. There are police stations at all the four places above mentioned, also at Bankheri and Chdrwd near the eastern and western extremities of the district. Several outposts of police are stationed at various intermediate points. The police force is 429 strong, including all ranks. An Assistant Commissioner resides and holds court at Hardd. The imperial revenues of the district for 1868-69 are — Land Rs. 4,37,694 Excise 53,818 Stamps Forests Customs Assessed taxes 95,280 65,866 1,06,151 15,277 Total Rs. 7,74,086 The area of the district is 4,300 square miles. Of this 2,300 square miles Area and population. are contained in the fertile valley of the Narbadd, and the hill tracts are estimated to cover about 2,000 square miles. The population, according to the census of November 1866, amounts to 440,433 souls, giving an average of 102 to the square mile. Of this 47 per cent are returned as females. The agriculturists are to the mercantile and artisan population as 100 to 114. The non-agricultural portion ofthe people is very small as compared with the agriculturists. Almost all the principal 214 HOS traders in the towns are Mdrwdris . There are also the usual classes of petty shop keepers ; and there are large colonies of weavers, Mahdrs, Kolis, Chamdrs, and Koshtis. The principal agricultural classes are, in the east, Kirdrs, Gujars, and Raghubansis, emigrants from Bundelkhand and from Oudh. Westward, Gujars, Jdts, Rajputs, and Bishnois from Mdrwdr and Mdlwd, Kurmis and Menos from Nimdr and Khdndesh. There are also a large number of Gonds and Kurkds — aboriginal hill tribes — with non-Aryan languages and non-Aryan habits of their own. In the valley they are considered too improvident to be good culti vators, but they are hardworking and trustworthy farm-servants. In the hill tracts they form the sole population, Gonds and Kurkds alone inhabiting the eastern tracts of Pachmari and Mdlini ; Kurkds, with an admixture of Gonds, occupying Rdjdbordri and Kdlibhit. They are chiefly remarkable for their truthfulness, inoffensiveness, and shyness, and it is hard to beheve that only fifty years ago they were the most reckless and daring of robbers, and that their depredations filled the whole valley with terror, and gave to Mdlini its title of Chormdlini, or "Robber Mdlini." There has probably never been a stronger instance of the character of a whole race being completely changed in a generation by peaceful government. The subjoined figures, which are understood to be rather under the mark, show that the population is most numerous in the eastern parganas, and decreases rapidly from pargana to pargana going towards the west : — Persons. Rdjwdrd 166-j Sohdgpdr 165 | Hoshangdbdd 146 )- per square mile. Seoni 130 | Harda 123 J In this district, as throughout the Narbadd valley, there are some estates „ which have for generations belonged to petty chiefs or heads of famihes, who have been strong enough to keep their lands together, and to pay only tribute or feudal service to the ruling power. Such have been the Rdjds of Fatehpdr and the Rdjds of Sobhdpdr, who held their fiefs originally from the princes of Mandla, and who have contrived to retain the bulk of their ancestral estates through the changes of times and dynasties up to the present date. With these also may be classed, but at a long distance below them, the Tdlukaddrs of Bdbai, and one or two other small proprietors, who hold at a quit-rent some half-cultivated tracts of Hardd. These families were undoubtedly lords of their domains, and their proprietary right as tdlukaddrs or quit-rent holders has been recognised in the recent settlement of land revenue. In some cases, where long hereditary occu pancy appeared to give some prescriptive title to the farmers of villages on these tdlukaddri estates, or where the farmers have sunk capital in the land, a sub-settlement has been made recognising their possession of inferior proprie tary rights, and protecting them from being ejected at the pleasure of their landlord. The status of the petty hill chiefs in the Mahddeo hills also deserves special mention. For many generations their ancestors held the difficult and unproductive country, on and around the Pachmarhi plateau, under a sort of feudal subjection to the rulers of Deogarh and Ndgpdr, but were never entirely subdued until 1818. They sheltered and supported A'pd Sdhib when he escaped into their fastnesses ; they raised their clans in his favour ; and were thoroughly put down by the British troops sent to expel him. But the British agents HOS 215 adopted the policy of maintaining these tdlukaddrs in their rights, continuing the same system of receiving nominal tribute from some, while others received stipends from the state. Upon the recommendation of Sfr R. Temple, late chief commissioner, the Government formally confirmed in this position all of these jdgirddrs, except the Zaminddr of Rdikheri, who rebelled in 1858, and whose lands were confiscated. Of these jdgirddrs or zaminddrs those of Almod, Pachmarhi, and Pagdra are the most important. There are no manufactures of any note, and few handicrafts, except the or- Manufactures and trade. dinf ^ leather-curing, weaving, and the like. The workers m brass have a good name m the country round. The local weaving trade was flourishing until the enormous demand for cotton in 1863-64 raised the price of raw material beyond their means. Cotton was then exported, and English piece-goods were imported. These dis advantages, with the high price of day-labour, stopped a large number of looms ; but the trade has by no means succumbed yet, and will probably continue for some time to supply the coarser and stouter fabrics in which the outdoor working-man clothes himself and family. The export trade is almost entirely composed of agricultural produce. It is a very large and increasing trade, affording employment to a great deal of capital and a large number of merchants, and pouring an immense quantity of silver into the district. It has received a great stimulus of late by the high prices which have prevailed in Mdlwd and Berdr, in consequence of bad seasons, increased consumption, and other causes. The value of wheat exported has been roughly calculated at four ldkhs of rupees (£40,000) annually. Besides wheat, the export of gram, oil-seeds, and cotton is considerable. In return, English piece-goods, spices, and cocoanuts are the principal imports from the west, salt from Bhopdl, sugar by way of Mirzdpdr from the east. But the gradual approach of the open railway from the west increases every year the tendency of the district trade in that direction. When the line is completed it is most probable that this part of the Narbadd country will deal almost entirely with Bombay. It has been roughly reckoned that five ldkhs of rupees (£50,000) worth of English piece-goods are imported every year. Little is known of the ancient history of the district before the Mardthd „. invasion. The eastern portion, or the Rdjwdrd 0ry' pargana, is owned by four Gond Rdjds,* who derive their title from the Rdjds of Mandla. The centre ofthe district was subject to the Rdjd of Deogarh either directly, as Sohdgpdr, or indirectly through his feudatories, the petty Rdjds of Bdgrd and Sduligarh. In the extreme west the Gond Rdjd of Makrdi is said once to have had an extensive independent jurisdiction. But there are hardly any writings or traditions belonging to this period. In Akbar's time Handid was the head-quarters of a sarkdr, and was occupied by a faujddr and diwdn, and by Moghal troops ; Seoni was attached to a province of Bhopdl ; and Hoshangdbdd is not mentioned at all. Several reasons concur to give probability to the idea that the eastern part of the district was never conquered by Delhi at all, but was thought too wild and valueless to wrest from the Gonds who occupied it. Dost Mohammad, the founder of the Bhopdl family, took Hoshangdbdd itself, and annexed a considerable territory with it, from Seoni to the Tawd, or to Sohdgpdr, as some say. From the dates of sanads now existing he must have done this about the year a.d. 1720. * The Raja of Sobhapdr and the three Rajas of Fatehpdr mentioned before. 216 HOS In a.d. 1742 the Peshwd, Bdldjf Bdji Rao, passed up the valley on his way to attack Mandla ; but he seems to have kept permanent possession of the Handid parganas only. In 1750-51 Rdjd Raghoji Bhonsld of Ndgpdr overran the whole range of hill from Gdwalgarh to Mahddeo, and reduced the country east of Handid and south of the Narbadd, except the portion held by Bhopdl. The Rdjwdrd Gond rdjds seem to have retained their independence until a.d. 1775, and we hear of no hostilities between Bhopdl and Ndgpdr about this time. But in a.d. 1795 an officer of Raghoji's attacked and took Hoshangdbdd. In a.d. 1802 Wazir Mohammad, the ruler of Bhopdl, retook it ; he also occupied Seoni, thirty miles to the west of Hoshangdbdd, and made an unsuccessful attack on Sohdgpdr. The Bhopdl chief held the country round Hoshangdbdd, until he was driven across the Narbadd by the Nagpdr troops in 1807. During the war which followed between Ndgpdr and Bhopdl, Wazir Mohammad called in the Pindharis to his help, and till they were finally extirpated in 1817 the whole of this fertile valley was a prey to their insatiable thirst for plunder and dis regard of life. Large tracts of country were laid entirely waste, and the accu mulated wealth ofthe district was effectively dispersed. In 1818 that part of the district which was owned by Ndgpdr was ceded under the agreement of that year,* confirmed by the treaty of 1826.f In 1844 the district of Hardd Handid was made over by Sindid at an estimated value of Rs. 1 ,40,000, in part payment of the Gwalior contingent, and by the treaty of 1860 it was per manently transferred, and became British territory. The mutiny of 1857 dis turbed the district very little. There was some trouble with the police at Hardd : a petty chief rebelled in the Mahddeo hills, and Tdtia Topid crossed the valley in 1858. But the authority of the British officers was at no time seriously shaken. HOSHANGA'BA'D — The north-eastern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the district of the same name, having an area of 987 square miles, with 392 villages, and a population of 136,178 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for 1869-70 is Rs. 1,47,479-3-7. HOSHANGA'BA'D — The head-quarters of the district of the same name ; is situated in latitude 20° 40' north, and longitude 77° 51' east, on the south side of the Narbadd, which is here 700 yards wide from bank to bank, though in the hot weather the stream is not more than 300 yards across, and is fordable both above and below the town. The road from Bhopdl to Betdl and Ndgpdr passes through it, as also the highroad to Bombay, although the greater part ofthe through traffic cuts off the angle made here, and passes about five miles to the south. The town is supposed to have been founded by Hoshang Shdh, the second of the Ghori kings of Mdlwd, who reigned about a.d. 1405 (according to Prinsep's genealogical tables). It is said that he died and ,was buried here, but that his bones were removed to Mdndd and buried again there. The town, however, remained very small till the Bhopdl conquest, about a.d. 1720, when the fort was either built or enlarged, and a trading population began to collect round it. The fort was a very massive stone building of irregular shape, with its base on the river commanding the road to Bhopdl. It has now been mostly removed piecemeal. It was attacked in a.d. 1795 by Beni Singh Subaddr, an officer of the Rdjd of Ndgpdr, and after a two months' siege was evacuated by the Bhopdl troops. In a.d. 1802 the kildddr or governor of tho fort was a Mardthd Brdhman, a man of peace, and his fears were so * Aitchison's " Treaties," vol. iii. p. 109. t Do. do. do. p. 113. IXD— IT A 217 worked on by men under the Bhopdl influence, that he gave it up without a blow, and' it was immediately reoccupiedby Wazir Mohammad, then the virtual ruler of Bhopdl. This success added so much to his prestige and military strength that he overran all the Sohdgpdr pargana and besieged the fort of Sohdgpdr, but before he could take it the siege was raised by the arrival of a force from Seoni Chhapdrd, which defeated him with heavy loss. He was hotly pursued into Hoshangdbdd, and making a stand outside the town his horse was killed under him. A rude stone figure of a horse still marks the spot. He mounted his celebrated tail-less horse Pankhrdj (which gave him the title of Bdndd Ghorekd Sawar), and escaped only by leaping him over the battle ment of the fort. The Ndgpdr army besieged the fort for some time, and, being unable to take it, contented themselves with burning the town, and departed. In 1809 Hoshangdbdd was again attacked by a Ndgpdr force, and after a siege of three months, when their communications with Bhopdl were cut off, and a battery had been erected on the north side of the river against them, the garrison surrendered. In 1817 General Adams occupied the town, and threw up some earthworks outside it, to protect it against an enemy coming from tho south and east. From a.d. 1818 it has been the residence ofthe chief British official in charge of the district, and lately it has been made the head-quarters of the Narbadd division. A church has just been built, and a central jail is under construction. There is a dispensary, and there are one or two well-filled school-houses. It is also occupied by the wing of a Native regiment. It is the head-quarters of the Enghsh piece-goods trade of the district, and a good deal is done in cotton, grain, and bills of exchange. The bdzdr is a good one, with some petty shops at wliich European articles are sold. The railway passes about eleven miles off. The nearest station is Itdrsi on the Betul road. The population of the town is 8,032 souls. INDRA'NA — A village in the Jabalpdr district, picturesquely situated near the Hiran river; latitude 23d 24' 2", longitude 79° 56' 22'. It" is said to have been founded by Rdjd Niz;im Shdh of Mandla; and a garden laid out and a well dug by Pandit Bdldji Sdba, under the Sdgar rdjd's administration, still exist. There is a mud fort here belonging to the petty chief who owns the surrounding estate. On the south of the town runs the Hiran, which is here two hundred feet broad. The place is noted for dyeing cloths. The country round abounds in game, and there is good fishing in the river. IXDR A'VATI' — A river which rises in the highlands of Thuamdl, in the eastern ghats, and after a course of about 250 miles becomes the boundary between a portion of the Upper Goddvari district and the Bastar dependency for a distance of about twenty-five miles, and then falls into the Goddvari, about thirty miles below its confluence with the Pranhita. Its bed is full of rocks, and is a succession of rapids. INDUPU'R — The ancient name of Chdndd in the pre-historic age. ITA'WA — An estate in the Sdgar district, about thirty-eight miles north west of Sdgar. It contains forty-four villages, with a total area of seventy- seven square miles. At the cession of Sdgar to the British Government by the Mardthds in a.d. 1818, this tract, which then consisted of forty-six villages, yielding a yearly rental of Rs. 8,964, was assigned rent-free for life to a Maratha pandit, by name Edm Bhdd, in lieu of Malhiirgarh and Kanjid, the former -!S ii'o 218 JAB being an estate situated to the extreme north-west of the Sdgar district on the other side of the river Betwd, which he held under the Marathas on the same tenure, and which was made over by the Government to Sindid. At the late settlement sixteen villages were given to the tdlukaddr in proprietary right, and in twenty-eight the superior proprietary right only was given to him. The village itself is of tolerable size and importance. It contains 371 houses, with a population of 1,402. It is supposed to have been founded about 325 years ago by a Bundeld officer of Akbar named Indrajit. From the Moham madans the country appears to have passed into the hands of a race called Gaulis, who were succeeded about the beginning of the eighteenth century by Diwdn Anup Singh, rdjd of Pannd, then in possession of Khimldsd and the surrounding country. The small fort now standing was built by him about that time, and large improvements and additions were made to the town. In a.d. 1 751 he made over the place to the Peshwd in return for assistance sent him by the latter against the Bundelds. The Marathas improved the fort and town, and enlarged the latter considerably. There are some fine buildings in and close to the town, the stone-work and carving in which are really remarkable, especi ally in an unfinished temple now under construction. A market is held here every Friday, the chief sales at which consist of corn and native cloths. There is no trade worth mentioning. A boys' school has been lately established here. JABALPU'R (JUBBULPORE)— CONTENTS. Page General description 218 Watersheds and rivers ib. Geological formation and minerals . £19 Climate 221 Forests 222 Page Manufactures and trade 223 Communications ib. Administration 224 Population and languages ib. History 225 One of the largest and most populous districts in the Central Provinces, bounded on the north by Pannd and Maihir; on the east by Rewd; on the south by Mandla, Seoni, and Narsinghpdr ; and on the west by Damoh. It lies between latitude 22° 40' and 24° 8' north, and between 81° 6' and 79° 35' east longitude; and contains an area of 4,261 square miles. The main body of the district is a large plain of rich soil watered by the . . Narbadd, the Paret, and the Hiran, extending from escnp ion Sihord- on the north to the Bhera and Lametd ghdts of the Narbadd on the south, and from Kumbhi on the east to Sdnkal, where the Hiran unites with the Narbada, on the west. It is surrounded by spurs of the Gondwdnd range on the south, by the Bhdnrer and Kaimdr hills on the north and west, and by the Bhitrfgarh hills on the east. These hill-ranges break the monotony of the prospect in the plain, in every part of which the horizon is marked in more than one direction by high ground, and give a very diversified character to the scenery of the borders of the district, where hill and valley, forest and stream, succeed each other in rapid variety. There are two principal watersheds in the district. The one is a curved Watersheds and rivers irregular line, with a general north-easterly and south-westerly direction, and hes to the north of the Bhdnrer and Kaimdr ranges, bv which it is formed. Rivers to the north of JAB 219 this watershed are affluents of the Jamnd. The second commences in the Bhitri- garh range of hills, and crossing the Great Northern Road between Sleemandbdd and Sihord passes to the north of the latter place. In this watershed the Katnf (sometimes called Katnd) river takes its rise, and after a circuitous course crosses the Great Northern Road near Murwdrd, and falls into the Mahdnadi, an affluent of the Son, which debouches into the Ganges, and finally unites its waters with the Bay of Bengal. Thus travellers from Jabalpdr to Mirzdpdr pass over the great watershed between the Gulf of Cambay and the Bay of Bengal. Water falling to the north and east of them pours into affluents either of the Ganges or Jamnd, whilst that shed to the south or west unites with the rapid stream of the Narbadd. The principal rivers are the Mahdnadi, which, rising in the Mandla district, pursues a generally northerly course, till in the Bijerdghogarh subdivision it bends to the east and discharges itself into the Son ; the Gurayyd, between Jabalpdr and Damoh ; the Patnd, on the boundary of Pannd and Jabal pdr; and the Hiran, which flows into the Narbadd at Sdnkal. The affluents of the Mahdnadi are the Sakan river, a very small portion of whose course lies in the Jabalpdr district, the Katni, and other smaller streams. The principal affluents of the Hiran are the Ker, the Bilord, and the Lamberd, the whole of whose course is within the Jabalpdr district. The above join the Hiran on its right bank, whilst the Paret is the principal affluent on the left bank. The Narbadd also flows through the district for about seventy miles from east to west. On its right bank is the Gaur, and on the left bank the Timar. The geological aspect of the Jabalpdr district proper may be thus gene- . rally described from the map attached to the minSs!810 tl0n Memoirs ofthe Geological Survey of India, Vol. IL, Part 2. Its most valuable portion is a long, narrow plain running north-east and south-west, which may be regarded as an offshoot from the Narbadd valley. To the north-west it is bounded by the Bhdnrer hills, which belong to the Vindhyan sandstone series, though the Kalumbar hill to the north-west of Katangi is trappean. To the south-east the boundary line is a thin irregular strip, consisting chiefly of rocks ofthe Upper Damddd and Mahddeo series, interspersed in places with metamorphic and crystalline rocks. The plain itself is covered in its western and southern portions by a rich alluvial deposit of the black cotton soil class, while to the north-east it merges into an undulating tract of metamorphic and lateritic formation. The country from Pdndgar on the south to Gosalpdr on the north, and Majhgawdn on the west, is also metamorphic, thus breaking to some extent the continuity of the central plain. The southern and eastern portions of the district, lying paraUel with the black soil plain, belong to the great trappean area of Central India and the Deccan. In the north-eastern part of the district, rocks of the Lower Damddd series occur, intermingled with kindred formations. The granitic rocks are thus mentioned* by Mr. J. G. Medlicott : — "Rocks of granitic type, although often seen at the surface, do not occupy large areas in this portion of Central India ; the largest of these areas is found near Jabalpdr, where the granite forms a range of low hills running from Lametd Ghdt on the Narbadd in a north-east direction. * Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, vol. ii. part 2, pp. 120— 121' 220 JAB " Near where the old town, of Garhd stands the hilly area of the granite is about two miles wide, and abuilding now in ruins, called the Madan Mahal, stands on the highest point of this part of the range. * * * From this place the granite may be followed for many miles to the north east, forming a narrow irregular band among the metamorphic rocks ; it is not even quite continuous, but sometimes thins out and disappears for a short space, coming to the surface again in the same general direction. This line of the granite is approximately parallel to the strike of the metamorphic rocks, though not absolutely so. Whenever we find the igneous rocks near to the altered bedded formations, their relations seem equivocal; a definite line can rarely be drawn between the two, and the transition from the que to the other is often imperceptibly graduated. " Lithology of the Granitic Bocks. — The mineral characters of rocks included under this head are in our area very various. That variety which is most widely spread, and occupies the greatest extent of surface, is a porphyritic syenite, whose matrix is a mixture of glassy quartz with pale pink br pale green felspar, along with a small proportion of hornblende, and which contains embedded crystals of dull lead grey felspar (adularia), about one-third of an inch long, and in great number, frequently forming a large proportion of the mass. A rock answering more or less closely to this description forms the Garhd hills, much local variation in the composition of the mass obtains, and this sometimes to the extent of totally altering the general aspect of the rock. Thus the adularia crystals are sometimes altogether absent ; elsewhere they become so numerous as to constitute of themselves two-thirds of the rock mass; again, minute crystals of black mica are found replacing the hornblende, and were in one case noticed along with it in a hand specimen ; sometimes the rock becomes fine-grained syenite without any detached crystals, and with very little quartz. A good case of this occurs at the second bridge from Jabalpdr on the road thence to Sohdgpdr, where the hornblende is in unusually large proportion." The most remarkable of the metamorphic rocks are thus described * : — " The saccharine limestone shows, save only in a few of its massive beds, a more or less distinctly observable laminated structure ; the lines of lamination are sometimes marked by variations of colour and texture, evi dently due to the presence of new ingredients, and the shading off above spoken of is effected by a gradual increase in the frequency of the recur rence of such indications, and by the intermixture of these argillaceous and arenaceous partings becoming a more and more prominent ingredient in the mass, until, from being impurities in a calcareous schist, they come to constitute the rock, an argillaceous, or siliceous schist, with layers, bands, and veins of carbonate of lime scattered through it. ******** " About nine miles from Jabalpdr, on the south-west, a considerable extent of tolerably pure and beautifully saccharine white limestone is seen ; the river cuts a deep channel through the mass of this rock, exposing sheer vertical surfaces ofthe white limestone, in places 120 feet high; it is scarcely possible to exaggerate the picturesque effect ofthe varied outline and colour ofthe whole. The locality is well known as the 'Marble Rocks.' " * Memoirs ofthe Geological Survey of India, vol. ii.part 2, pp. 134 — 136. JAB 221 Coal is found at Rdmghdt, Lametdghdt, Bheraghdt, and near Singapdr on the Mahdnadi. The latter seam is eighteen inches thick, and is said to be " poor and unworkable." The Lametdghdt coal, for long thought useless, has again attracted attention, and now promises well. Iron is found in more than a hundred places, of which the principal are Simra, Gogri, Bolid, Agarid, Dalrora, Jautf, Pdndgar, and Lametd. The iron is worked entirely by native processes. The ores of the Narbada valley have been classed as follows : — 1 . The detrital ores. 2. The iron clay sands of the Damddd a,nd Mahddeo sandstone, sometimes, though rarely, smelted. 3. The ores extracted from the beds ofthe crystalline rocks, which are interstratified with the quartzite. 4. The ores which are accumulated along fault lines. To this last class the mines of Dabwdrd, Agarid, and Jauti belong. They are by far the most productive mines. " The ore is chemically hydrous peroxide." No. 3 is that next in importance commercially, and includes Lametd, Pdndgar, and other mines. Near all of the above mines limestone is believed to be abundantly obtainable. But perhaps the most important iron mines in the Jabalpdr district are those of the Kumbhi pargana, about twenty or thirty miles to the north-east of Jabalpdr, which belong to the second class. The ore occurs in the form of a black iron sand, which is an article of extensive traffic. It is known by the name of " Dhdo," and having been smelted, is made up into all kinds of utensils at Pdndgar. The iron trade of the Jabalpdr district is con siderable ; but it would be fallacious to quote the returns here, unless iron imported for railway purposes could be separated from that produced from native ore. The limestone of the hills at Bherdghdt is celebrated ; and at Murwdrd is said to exist a limestone suited for " lithographic purposes." The limestone of the marble rocks is adolomite ; and sandstone of every variety abounds. Clay suitable for bricks is found everywhere, and for pottery in some parts. Roofing-slate is found near Sihord at Kuan, about thirty miles north of Jabalpdr. The collection of agates in the Nagpdr museum from this district is worthy of remark. At Jabalpdr itself, where the cantonment is built, the soil is sandy, and water is found very near the surface. Thus the roads of this station are pro bably superior to those of any other in the Central Provinces. There is also a freshness and greenness even in the hot season which is not observable in stations situated on basaltic soil. To the north-east, north, and west opens out the plain of the Narbadd and Hiran, which has been already described. It includes the parganas of Garhd, Sihord, and some portion of Kumbhi. In some places the soil of this plain is " black soil," whilst in others there is a thick deposit of pale, brownish-coloured alluvium ; and again in other localities the " regar" has been entirely removed by causes now in action, and its place is occupied by deposits of silt brought down by the Narbadd. This silt is said to be highly productive. Beyond the limits of the parganas named above the soil is sandy, and all the small ranges of hills are of sandstone. The climate is salubrious. The rainfall ordinarily exceeds forty inches. _,.. The temperature is extremely moderate. ~- In the cold weather the thermometer on the ground in the neighbourhood of Kundam has been recorded as low as 26° Fahr. There 222 JAB are only two months of hot weather, and, except immediately before tho rains, no great heat is experienced. The rains commence early in June and last until late in September. The prevailing winds are westerly. In the rains the wind varies a few points to the south, and in the hot weather as much to the north. The coldest wind is from the north and north-east ; westerly winds in the cold weather usually bring clouds and increased temperature. A south-east wind is rather uncommon, north-westsrly winds are rare. Hail storms occur in February and March, and sometimes occasion great damage to the rabi crops. Annexed is a register of the thermometer kept for a single year by the late Dr. Spilsbury, from whose records the above account of the climate is taken. The average temperature has not varied much since 1840, when the register was kept : — • Months. Coldest day. Hottest day. Medium. Remarks. 40 67 40 68 5272 58 91 76 99 72 74 72 77 71 79 71 8254 78 42 77 39 68 61 83 58 89 72 100 82 105 88 110 90 107 76 90 77 92 76 93 75 92631 84 3980 50175" 40 78i 62 86 70 88 82 1041 81901 74 83| 74 851 734 87i 84| 85 521 80148 74 -p, _ f minimum May f minimum 1 yrifi.-s--irm.Tm . ... , September ...< _ , . f minimum 1 maximum November ...< December ...-. 67 J. Av The peop]e are for the most part Gonds, Gond-Rdjputs, Lodhis, Ponwdrs, Kurmis, Kahdrs, Dhimars, Dhers, and Chamdrs. There are also Brdhmans, both from the Mahdrdshtra and from Mathurd, Kdyaths from Farukhdbdd and- elsewhere, and Musalmdns. There are now no Goncl landholders of any importance, but there are some, JAB 225 Lodhi chiefs who once possessed a local celebrity. Under the Mardthd rule all Kahdrs and Chamdrs were required to pay a portion of their earnings to the state ; and Kurmis and Lodhis were not allowed to marry a second time without paying a fine. The Gonds were probably the indigenous inhabitants of Jabalpdr. The Lodhis and Kdyaths appear to have settled in Jabalpdr when Bakht Buland was rdjd of Deogarh, that is in the time of Aurangzeb. Con cerning this immigration Sir R. Jenkins remarks *: — " He employed indiscri- " minately Musalmdns and Hindds of ability. Industrious settlers from all quar- " ters were attracted to Gondwdna ; many towns and villages were founded ; and "agriculture, manufactures, and even commerce, made considerable advances." He appears to have made considerable conquests from Mandla ; and although Jabalpdr never formed part of his kingdom, yet we may conclude that the Lodhis first settled in the district about the time of his reign. The language spoken is a dialect of the Hindi. Urdd is commonly understood, and is the language of the courts. The Hindi dialect is commonly known as the Bagheld. Its peculiarities that particularly attract the attention of a stranger from Northern India are the elision of nearly all short vowels, and the substitution of ^ for *T and cut up with deep ravines and pur' rivers, and intersected with high ranges of hills, some very wild and inaccessible. People appear to have a superstitious dread of many parts of it, and caves are pointed out as the homes of evil spirits, into which no human being can venture in safety. There are many Gond villages in the heart of these jungles , which had never been visited by any travellers, and which were quite unknown, except to their own inhabitants, until they were inspected by Captain Ward in the course of the land revenue settlement just completed (1869). Shdhpurd and Niwdns are both much more advanced, with some extent of <.,., , really good cultivation. Contact with the people pura' of the Jabalpdr district has made the inhabi tants more civilised, if such an expression can be used of a wild Gond, and better able to hold their own in transactions with traders than their brethren further east. One peculiarity of Shahpurd is that the river Silghi, which runs through its south-eastern portion, has a fall to the eastward, being an affluent of the Narbadd, while in the north-west the Sonkal and Kupdbd fall to the west, being affluents of the Mahdnadi, a tributary of the Son, so that the high land dividing these streams becomes a watershed between Eastern and Western India. Niwdns is much in the same style ; but even in its best lands the trap rock „, , is very near the surface, and consequently its covering of black soil is not rich, and is incapable of bearing any crops for long continuously. The range of hills spoken of in the previous paragraph divides its lands, and causes its rivers to flow both to the east and west, the Silghi and Gaur falling into the Narbadd, while the Mahdnadi, which rises not many miles from the Gaur, but on the northern ridge of the same high land, flows to the north-east until it joins the Son. The chief reason for the backward state of the district is the total absence Want of roads °^ roa^8- On coming into the district from the westwards the wildness of the country and its MAND 269 jungle aspect is striking : the hills are blue, wild, covered with dense scrub jungle, and apparently deserted; through these are nothing but narrow foot paths, touched on either side by jungle and long grass ; and stories of deaths from starvation, tigers, or thirst are numerous. From hunger and thirst in the hot weather there is really some danger, but the accounts of tigers are absurdly' exaggerated, for when the immense extent of the country is taken into consi deration, the number of deaths from tigers is very small. Still there is sufficient truth in the stories to deter timid travellers from undertaking trips into the interior of Mandla. The local authorities have never had any money to spend in opening out communications. The road fund amounts to only about Rs. 1,000 per annum, and the bulk of that is usually expended in keeping open the communication with Jabalpdr. It is now under contemplation to make the section of the road between Jabalpdr and Rdipdr, and until this is done much cannot be expeoted from Mandla. Once this road is opened, and trade from the south begins to flow through the district, as it gives every promise of doing, the prosperity of the country must increase. Already even the opening of the Railway to Jabalpdr has given an impetus to Mandla trade, and been marked by a greater influx of carts and traders than has ever before been known. A description of the district would be incomplete without some account of the hills. Of these Chaurddddar in the Maikal range is the highest and most important. Its height is nearly that of Amarkantak, which is given by Major Wroughton as 3,328 feet at the temples, where the source of the Narbadd is said to be, and the hill above these must be from 80 to 100 feet higher, so that the height of Chaurddddar may be computed to be between 3,200 and 3,400 feet above the level of the sea. The plateau comprises about six square miles, overlooking, to the south, the taluka of Lamni, now a portion of the Bildspdr district, and to the north the tdluka of Pratdpgarh. In the winter months the cold here at nights is intense, and in January and December the thermometer (Fahrenheit) not unfrequently registers six and seven degrees of frost. So late as April the heat is not oppressive even in the hottest hours of the day. Water is abundant near the surface, more than one stream taking its rise in the plateau, and were it not for its inaccessibility, it would be well suited for a sanitarium, for it is cleared of jungle, and consequently feels the effects of all the cool breezes from whatever quarter they may come. It is not nearly so pretty as the Amarkantak plateau, which is about twelve miles to the east of it, but the latter is in the Rewd country, while Chaurddddar forms part of the Mandla district. In Shdhpdr, north of the Narbadd, and overlooking the Johild Nadi — an affluent of the Son — there are some high and very wild hills, covered with sdl forests or their remains, and with precipitous descents into the valley of the Johild, which here flows at an immense depth through rugged hills, occasionally opening out into small basins. This section of the Maikal ghdts in Shdhpdr is also a part of the watershed of Eastern and Western India, for the Johild flows east, and the water from the top of the hill overhanging it flows into the Narbadd, and is carried west to the Gulf of Cambay. The hills here are wild in the extreme, very rugged and inaccessible, with but a small Gond and Baigd population. Out ofthe numerous small affluents of the Johild, which flow down the northern sides of these hills, the Ganjar and Ganjari are the only rivers worthy of mention, and they, not for their size, but for their pecuhar falls from the highlands into the valley below, into which they descend by a succession of jumps, as it were, from one plateau, on to another. The highest fall is about 270 MAND sixty feet, and behind this are some vast caves of unkown extent, which arer carefully avoided by the people, as being the homes not only of wild beasts, but of evil spirits, who are said to have resided there ever since the time of the Pdndavas. All these hills are considered to be especially under the protection of Mahddeva. The formation of almost all the hills in the Maikal range is laterite. ,,. , . Iron-ore is therefore abundant, and the mines Mineral products. -n ? i -ia j'at. at 1 near Ramgarh are said to produce the most valu able metal ; but in Mowai, also of the Rdigarh Bichhid tract, there are many good mines, which supply most of the neighbourhood with axe-heads, plough shares, &c. Coal has not been discovered in any part of the district, though Dr. Spilsberry* notes that it has been found in the Johild river near Pali of Sohdgpdr. The course of that river, however, lies for but a short distance within the Mandla district. No other minerals have been discovered. The geology of the Mandla district presents but little variety; excepting „ . at its southern and eastern confines nearly the "" ' whole of its area is covered by overflowing trap. To the south, the formation of the tract of country, on either side of the Banjar, to within a short distance of its junction with the Narbadd, consists of crystalline rocks, but they are not superficial over any wide extent. Eastward of the Banjar valley, though granite, syenite, and limestone frequently appear on the banks of the streams and form the sides of hills, yet almost everywhere, even to the tops of the highest peaks, trap is the uppermost rock, and sometimes the trap is itself covered by laterite. A bed of this formation occupies a considerable area north of the Chilpi Ghat and Rajddhdr, interposed, as it were, between the crystalline and trappean rocks. Mandla has few villages which are worthy of the name of town. Mandla, _, , , , Bahmani, and Shahpurd, whose population is re- Towns and trade. ,. , . r,.,,, n /-„ , . ,/,r , . -, , spectively 4,doo, 2,179, and 1,497, maybe said to be, the two first, the only towns in the Mandla tahsil, and the last, in the Ramgarh tahsil. In many villages bdzdrs are held, but none of these can be said to have any real trade, either export or import. There is a considerable traffic in grain throughout the district, but in Rdmgarh it is almost entirely dependent on the foreign traders, who travel through the district with large herds of cattle, and as the people are, to a great extent, dependent on them for a market, they can as a rule pretty well command their own rates — a state of things which would be quite impossible were the country more open and accessible. In Mandla itself there are a few indigenous grain-dealers, as also in the Rdmipdr tdluka of Rdm garh, and in Shdhpurd, on the borders of the Jabalpdr district, where the people just come within the range of the high prices prevailing now throughout the surrounding country. In Bdjdg, until lately, there used to be considerable traffic in country cloths brought for barter in exchange for forest products with the wild tribes who inhabit the Maikal ghdts. The climate is throughout the district very variable. There is none of „,. , . . , „ the in tense heat of Upper India, and the nights as Climate and rainfall. , - T rJT, -,, -, 1(. -, ¦ ° t a rule are cool. In Mandla itself it is perhaps hotter than in other parts of the district which are more open, for surrounded as it is by hills, the hot wind blows only in fitful gusts, which prevent the khaskhas tattis working with any continued good effect. Away to the east of * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. ix. part 2, p. 90-1, July to December, 184Q. MAND 271 Rdmgarh the hot winds only last a few hours, beginning between eleven and twelve o'clock and ceasing at sunset, seldom blowing with any great force, and not overpoweringly hot. The hottest time in the year is at the break of the monsoon in June, just before the rains commence, and in September, when they cease. The cold weather commences in October or November and lasts till the end of February ; but even in March the heat is nothing to speak of, the ther mometer generally ranging between 60 and 85 degrees. During the monsoon the rainfall is heavy, the average measurements being from fifty-six to sixty inches during the season. Rain seldom falls for more than three days without a break, and while the rains last the climate is generally pleasant and variable. Pankhas are not absolutely necessary at nights, as fre quently the wind off the river Narbadd comes up very cold ; it is, however, con sidered dangerous to sleep exposed to its ill effects. Storms are frequent, even during the hot weather. Hail is much dreaded all over the district, as the stones are sometimes of such size, and the storm so violent, that whole fields are swept of their crops as clean as if they had been cut, carried, and carefully gleaned. The hailstones in the month of March are sometimes as large as pigeons' eggs; and heaps of these stones, when collected in a shady place, often remain unmelted the whole of the following day. Mandla has, throughout its length and breadth, a very bad name for fever, and not without cause, as the local type is a virulent ease- one, more typhoid than the ordinary kind of fever and ague. It is very fatal in its effects if not properly treated, and does not succumb easily to quinine ; strangers are peculiarly subject to it ; and the people have a theory that, once cured of a really bad attack, you are free for seven years. Cholera visits the country occasionally, apparently about once in every four or five years. Small-pox is very virulent and fatal ; the district can hardly ever be said to be thoroughly free from it, and vaccination having made but little progress, the people suffer greatly. No census of the whole district appears to have been taken prior to that . of November 1866, nor are there any old settle- pu a lon' ment records. No comparison therefore can be made in the Mandla tahsil between the present and former rate of the popula tion. Throughout Rdmgarh Captain Wroughton completed his revenue survey in 1842, and in his report the population statistics of each tdluka are given. From these it appears that twenty- six years ago the whole population amounted to 41,766 souls. At the time of the last census in 1866 there were 71,621 inhabitants throughout the tahsil — an increase of some seventy-five per cent. The population for the whole district is given by the census of 1866 as amounting to 187,699 souls, and of these 127,958 are returned as agriculturists. The average per square mile is only seventy-six, and this alone would 'seem to be sufficient to account for the very backward state of the district. There is some hope that since this census was taken the population has increased some what by foreign immigration, especially during the current year 1869, for the harvests of the two past seasons have been above the average, and consequently, in spite of the high prices ruling for food-grains, the agricultural classes have been prosperous. This has proved a temptation to outsiders, and a considerable number of people both from Rewd, parts of Sihord ofthe Jabalpdr district, and even from the native states of Bundelkhand, have taken up land in Mandla lately. The following extract from the Census Return of 1866 classifies the population :— ¦ 272 MAND No. of houses 42,506 Males. /Adults 54,458 \ Under 14 years... 41,203 u , /Adults 55,703 females. ^Tjnder 14 years... 36,335 Principal Castes. Brdhmans 6,242 Rdjputs 882 Kurmis 4,341 Kdchhis 2,452 Mehrds 6,456 Pankds 8,085 Basors 2,470 Ahirs 7,829 Lohdrs 2,847 Kdyaths, &c. / ' Telis , 5,524 Lodhis 3,546 Mardrs 2,525 Other castes 23,121 Dhimars 6,934 Mohammadans 1 ,403 Gonds 87,652 Baigds 10,388 Kois 3,550 Total... 187,699 The original inhabitants of this district are undoubtedly the Gonds and Baigds, who at the present time form the larger share of the population. Next to these the oldest residents may be considered the Brdhman families, some of whom affect to trace back their arrival in Mandla to the time of Jadhava Rdya in Samvat 415 (a.d. 358), though it is much more probable that they settled here in the reigns of Hirde Sdh and Narendra Sah, from Samvat 1663 to 1 788 (a.d. 1606 to 1731). The former of these two kings introduced a number of foreigners into the country, especially a large colony of Lodhis, who settled in the valleys of the Banjar, Motiari, and Narbadd, gave the name of Hirdenagar to the tdluka thus brought into cultivation, and did much, by digging tanks and otherwise, to colonise the best parts ofthe district. With these exceptions, and that of the Mdhto Teli immigration into Rdmgarh at a much later period, there is no other trace of the population of the district having been recruited from foreign resources. These Mdhtos are without exception the best culti- M„ „ ,, vating class in the Rdmgarh tahsil. They have almost taken possession of the rich tdluka of Rdmipdr, and brought it into really fair order. They are a thriving, pushing race, a little inclined to be turbulent, but devoted to agriculture. The first pioneers of this class are said to have been brought into Rdmgarh some eighty or ninety years ago, but these were only a stray family or two. The bulk of the Mdhto emigrants who have settled in Rdmipdr must have come in since 1842, for Captain Wroughton then reports that the population there was comprised solely of Gonds and Baigds, and that the cultivation then amounted to 18,500 acres, most of it ofthe poorest kind, whereas now (1869) there are 28,785 acres cultivated. These people are Hindds, originally of the Teli caste, and formerly resident at Maihir. Their tradition is that between two hundred and three hundred years ago a Rdthor Teli of that place became disgusted with his hereditary avocation of oil-pressing, and determined to do what he could to raise himself and his people to a better position. As he was a wealthy and influential man, he succeeded in collecting around him a considerable number of followers, who accepted him as their leader, gave up oil-pressing as a profession, and took to cultivation. The other tribes disliked his proceedings. He was sufficiently powerful to hold his own against them, and eventually the then Rdjd of Maihir MAND 273 was persuaded to take the new sect under his protection, raise them above the rank of the common Telis, and allow them to take the name of a Sanskrit word signifying great, which has been corrupted by course of time into " Mdhto." The Rdjputs are but few ; they are supposed to be descendants of the -,,. hangers-on of the old kings of Mandla, andappear jpu to be mostly of impure blood. Among them are a number of Rdj-Gonds, who ape the manners and customs ofthe Hindds, and are often more attentive to their religious observances than the Hindds. These always wear the Janed or Brdhmanical thread, while the original Rdjputs of purer descent are frequently seen without it. With the exception of the Gonds and Baigds, none of the other tribes appear to call for separate mention. In Mandla the Gond race is divided into two classes, which again are sub- r , divided into forty-two different castes or gots. The two classes are the Rdj-Gonds and the Rdwan Bansis. The former is the highest of the two, and shows the advantage of even the spurious civilisation with which it has been brought in contact. They outdo the highest caste Hindds in the matter of purifying themselves, and ape them in all their religious ceremonies. They wear the Janed or Brdhmanical thread, and consider themselves deeply insulted if compared in status with a Gond. Mr. Hislop * says that they carry their passion for purification so far that they have the faggots with which their food is cooked sprinkled with water before use. They may be said to have benefited by their connection with the Hindds so far that they have certainly given up many of the filthy habits of their own tribe, and if they are a little over-scrupulous in aping the Hindd rehgion, they are very much the cleaner for it. The Rdwan Bansi tribe is split up into the following castes or gots : — Marobi. Kumbard. Markdm. Danketi. Warkard. A'rmon. Sri A'm. Tekam. Kordpd. Sim*. Dhordd. A'mdan. Karyain. Warwiti. Temeria.Darzdm. Partili. Kinddm. Sarjdn. Korchd. Chichain. Kalkd. Marskold. Temiracbi Sarotd. A'megd. Paoli. Mehrdm. Bhagdyd. Wuikd. Kurdm.Nakmd. Pandd. these may be. added the folic wing : — Agharid or Muki. Pardhdn Pathdrf Barhayd. Bhend. or Gugyd. Dhdlyd. Bhiman. Ghasid. * Papers relating to the Aboriginal Tribes of tbe Central Provinces, Edn, 1866, p. 5. 35 cpg 274 MAND These last differ in some slight peculiarities from the Gonds, but undoubt edly belong to the same race. The Pardhdns act as bards to the Gonds, and attend at births, deaths, and marriages. The Agharid is a worker in iron ; he frequents the Baigd villages, and acts as blacksmith to the whole community- no light task where the iron-ore has to be dug from the hill, carried to the Village forge, smelted, and then worked up to meet the wants of the people. These people may be set down as the laziest and most drunken of all the Gonds. Mr. Hislop,* no mean authority, describes the Gond of the Ndgpdr country thus : — " A little below the average height Appearance. ie of Eur0peanSj an(j in complexion darker than the " generality of Hindds ; bodies well proportioned, but features rather ugly—a " roundish head, distended nostrils, wide mouth, thickish lips, straight black hair, " and scanty beard and mustaches. * * Both hair and features are decidedly " Mongolian." The description agrees very well with the Gonds above the ghdts. Their women are as a rule better looking than the men. Gonds' wives are looked upon as so much property, for they are expected to do not only all the household work, but the bulk of the agricultural labour also. It is a common expression among them, when speaking of a well-to-do farmer, to say that he is a man of some substance, having four or five wives ; occasionally they have seven, but this is exceptional, and the poor content themselves with one. In dress the women are usually decent, .though they wear only the dhoti and shoulder-cloth of coarse country-made stuffs, white, with a coloured thread . border. For ornaments they wear strings of red and white beads, ear-rings of brass wire in coil, and polished zinc bosses ; sometimes nose-rings of the same, and anklets and armlets of copper and zinc mixed, or of pewter and zinc. These, with the inevitable " kards" of lac, make up the sum total of their attempts at adornment. Wild as these people are, and scanty as is their dress, they are by no means above a certain amount of vanity, and show that the use of false hair is not confined to their civilised sisters of Europe. On festive occasions they wind long tresses of sheep or goat's wool in their own hair, which is generally worn long, and tied up in a bunch behind, somewhat in the style adopted by European ladies of the present day. They wear no other covering for their heads, but occasionally adorn their hair with small brass coins and glass beads. They are tattooed at an early age, some much more than others, and allow themselves to be put to a considerable amount of pain in the performance. The Pardhdns and Dholyds are the people who practise the art of tattooing, and some have quite a local reputation for their skill in the art, and for the successful patterns with which they adorn the bodies of their victims. They usually work with needles, and rub in indigo and gunpowder or saltpetre. Wild, uncivilised, and ignorant, the Gonds are among themselves honest, _, faithful, and trustworthy, courageous in some points, and truthful as regards faults they have committed (as a rule they plead guilty when brought before the courts). Asa race they are now well behaved and very amenable to authority, however turbulent they may have been in former days. They occasionally exercise their talents in cattle -lifting, but when the innumerable opportunities which they have are taken into consideration, and the facihties with which crime of this sort might be committed, it seems wonderful that there is not very much * Papers relating to the Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, Edn. 1S66, p. 1. MAND 275 more. The Gond in service is exceptionally faithful and obedient to his employer, so much so that he would not hesitate to commit any crime at his orders, and sooner* than turn informer would himself die. This description apphes only to the really wild Gonds, who have not become contaminated by contact with spurious civilisation, for the domesticated Gond is mean, cringings cowardly, and as great a har as any other low class of Indian. Under favourable circumstances Gonds are strong and well proportioned, though slightly built, very expert with the axe, and, though lazy, do not make bad farm servants. They still like strong liquors ; but Mr. Hislop's remark* that " their acts of worship invariably end in intoxication" is too sweeping at the present day. Spirits are a necessary part of their religious ceremonies ; but drinking to excess appears to be becoming less common among them, and in some parts the Gonds have almost given up the use of spirits and taken to gur (unrefined sugar) as a stimulant in its place. This change has been in a manner almost compulsory, for the intro duction of the central distillery system, and the enforcement of the prescribed penalties for illicit distillery, for a time rendered it difficult to procure spirits, and afterwards the natural apathy of the Gond and his dislike to over-exertion made him prefer doing without spirits, to travelling a number of miles to the nearest licensed vendor's shop. The number of their deities seems everywhere to differ. Mr. Hislop says f _ .. . . that he never could get any one man to name gious ceremonies. more than seven. The best known are Dulddeo, Nardin Deo, Suraj Deo, Mdtd Devi, Bard Deo, Khair Mdtd, Thdkur Deo, and Ghansydm Deo. Besides these the Gond peoples the forests, in which he lives, with spirits of all kinds, most of them vested with the power of inflicting evil, and quite -inclined to use their power. To propitiate them he sets up " pats " in spots selected either by himself or by his ancestors, and there performs certain rites, generally consisting of small offerings on stated days. These pats are sometimes merely a bamboo with a piece of rag tied to the end, a heap of stones, or perhaps only a few pieces of rag tied to the branches of a tree. However, the spirit is supposed to have taken up his abode there, and in con sequence, on the occasion of any event of importance happening in the Gond's family, the spirit has his share of the good things going, in the shape of a little spirit, and possibly a fowl sacrificed to him. In Mandla, Thdkur Deo is sup posed to represent especially the household deity, and to preside over the well- being of the house and farm-yard; he has no special residence, but has the credit of being omnipresent, and is consequently not represented by any image. In Rdmgarh too this deity is held in great reverence, but there he is supposed to occupy more than one shape. One village (Jdtd) in the Shdhpdr tdluka is said to be very highly favoured as one of the residences of their deity. Captain Ward was shown there a few links of a roughly-forged chain which the supersti tion of the people had gifted with the power of voluntary motion ; this chain looked very old, and no one could say how long it had been at Jdtd ; it was occasionally found hanging on a ber tree, sometimes on a stone under the tree, and at others in the bed of a neighbouring ndla. At the time of Captain Ward's visit it was on the stone under the tree, from which it was said to have descended four days before. Each of these movements is made the occasion of some petty sacrifice, of which the attendant Baigd priest reaps the benefit, so that * Papers relating to the Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces, Edn. 1866, p. 1. t Ibid, p. 14. 276 MAND it is of course to his advantage to work on the credulity ofthe Gonds ; he doesnofi, however, appear to abusehis power, as these movements only occur about once infour months, so that the Gonds can hardly complain of being priest-ridden to any extent: None of the people will touch the chain in which they suppose the deity to be incor porated. In the tdluka of Shdhpdr there are several places where Gond deities are said to reside, and the wild rugged nature of the country, with its hills rent into vast chasms by volcanic action in former periods, and full of vast caverns and passages, apparently running deep into the bowels of the earth, is quite sufficient to persuade a superstitious creature like the Gond that it must be the very home of deities and evil spirits. Throughout the greater part of Rdm garh, and also in parts of Mandla, Ghansydm Deo is held in great reverence, and about one hundred yards from each village where he is in favour a small hut is built for him. It is generally of the rudest material, with httle attempt at orna mentation. A bamboo, with a red or yellow rag tied to the end, is planted in one corner, an old withered garland or two is hung up, and a few blocks of rough stone, some smeared with vermilion, are strewn about the place, which is thus especially dedicated to Ghansydm Deo. He is considered the protector of the corps, and in the month of Kdrtik (November) the whole -village assembles at his shrine to worship him ; sacrifices of fowls and spirits, or a pig occasionally, according to the size ofthe village, are offered, and Ghansydm is said to descend upon the head of one of the worshippers, who is suddenly seized with a kind of fit, and after staggering about for a Httle, rushes off into the wildest jungles, where, the popular theory is, if not pursued and brought back, he would in evitably die of starvation, a raving lunatic; for, as it is, after being brought back by one or two men, who are sent after him, he does not recover his senses for one or two days. The idea is that one man is thus singled out as a scape goat for the sins of the rest of the village. Small-pox is worshipped under the name of " Mdtd Devi," and cholera D „ , , , under that of "Mari." They try to ward off the Small-pox and cholera. « , -. ., ... a, • -¦ ,, r anger of these evil spirits, as they consider them, by sacrifices, and by thoroughly cleaning their villages, and transferring the sweepings across their own boundary into some road or travelled track. Their idea is that unless the disease is thus communicated to some passer-by, who will take it on to the next village, it will not leave them. For this reason they decline throwing the sweepings into a jungle, as no one passes that way, and consequently the benefit of the sweeping is lost. Bard Deo and Ddld Deo are also favourites among the people, and have a considerable amount of attention paid them ; while Sdraj Deo, Narain Deo, and the others are more or less neglected in Mandla, where religious ceremonies are never carried to any very high pitch. The priests of the tribe are the Baigds, and as these people seem to belong to a different stock from the Gonds, they will be described separately. Some of the Gond ceremonies are peculiar. Thus they have seven different j, • kinds of marriages, some much more binding than others, but all supposed to contain a suffi cient quantum of matrimonial sanctity about them. The first and the surest is the Bydh Shddi. When a Gond wants to marry his daughter, he first looks for a husband among his sister's children, as it is considered the proper thing for first-cousins to marry whenever such an arrangement is possible ; though, strange to say, the rule is only thought absolutely binding where the brother's child happens to be a girl, and the sister's a boy. Even in the opposite case, MAND 277 however, it is very generally done, as by so providing for a relation for life, the man is said to have performed a very right and proper act. Another reason is that less expense is entailed in marrying a relation than the daughter of a stranger, who is apt to be more exacting. Among the poorer classes who can offer no money as a dower, the bridegroom serves the bride's father for periods varying from seven or eight months to three years, or sometimes more, according to arrangements made by the parents. When the children are ten or twelve years old only, a committee of the village elders is generally held, and the term of the apprenticeship decided ; the term of service being usually somewhat longer when the youth is serving his uncle for his cousin, as relations are supposed not to exact so much work from the " Lamjind." The youth lives in one ofthe outhouses, and has to perform all the menial work ofthe household, both in the house and in the field. During his period of proba tion he is forbidden to hold any intercourse with the girl. This is called Lam jind Shddi. Another description of marriage is when the woman makes her own match, and declining the husband provided for her by her relatives, runs away with the man of her choice ; this is called the marriage " Ba ikhtiydri aurat," or of the woman's own will. A case of this sort seldom happens. It is, however, quite recognised among the Gonds that the women have the right to take their own way if they have the courage ; and the elders of the village in which the man resides generally endeavour to arrange matters to the satis faction of all parties. Connected with the above marriage is another called "Shddi Bandhoni," or compulsory marriage. Even after the girl has run away from her father's house, and taken up her residence in the house of the man of her choice, it is quite allowable for the man she has deserted to assert his rights to her person by carrying her off by force ; in fact not only is this right allowed to the deserted lover, but any one of the girl's first-cousins may forcibly abduct her and keep her himself, if he has the power. Once carried off, she is kept in the house of her captor, carefully watched, until she finds it is useless to attempt to resist, and gives in. Occasionally where the girl has made what is considered an objectionable match with a poor man, who has few friends, abductions of this sort are successfully carried out ; but as a rule they are not attempted. The " Shddi Baitho" is for the very poorest people, or girls with no relations. In the latter case she selects some man of her acquaintance, and going to his house takes up her abode there. He signifies his acceptance by putting on her arms the bangles or " chdris," and giving a small feast to the village elders. Sometimes he objects, if the woman is useless or of bad character ; but he gets little redress from the elders ; and unless he can induce some other man to take her off his hands, he is generally supposed to be bound to keep the woman. As, however, the women are usually good labourers, and well worthy of their hire, a man of property seldom raises any objection ; the women too are usually quite sufficiently worldly-wise to choose for their keepers men fairly well-to-do. Widows are expected to remarry, and the Gond customs provide for their -_.., . remarriage in two ways — the " Chdrid Pahannd Widow marriage. g-^-, and ^ „ ^ g^^j,, -^ ^ ^ sists simply in the woman proceeding to the house of the man she has agreed to live with after her husband's death. The other is where the younger brother marries his elder brother's widow, which he is expected to do by the custom of the tribe, unless the widow should insist upon making some other arrangement for herself. The ceremony in both of these cases consists simply of a presentation of bangles by the husband to the wife,, and of a feast to the village elders. Elder 278 MAND brothers are not allowed to marry the widows of their younger brothers. The only limit to the number of wives a Gond may have is his power of supporting them. Cremation is considered the most honourable mode of disposing ofthe dead, .„.,., but being expensive, is very seldom resorted to, Ceremonies alter death. , . °, r rl-, ,-/ _. at. a -t. rm except in the cases of the elders of the tribe* The rule is that, if possible, men over fifty should be burned; but as these wild tribes have no means of telling the ages of their friends, it results that all old men are burned. Women are always buried. Formerly the Gonds used to bury their dead in the houses in which they died, just deep enough to prevent their being dug up again by the dogs ; now they have generaUy some place set apart as a burial-ground near the village. Their funeral ceremonies are- very few ; the grave is dug so that the head shall lie to the south and the feet to the north ; the idea being that the deceased has gone to the home of the deities,, which is supposed to be somewhere in the north ; but the Gonds do not appear to have any real theory as regards an after-life, or the immortality of the soul. They seem to consider that man is born to live a certain number of years on the earth,. and having fulfilled his time to disappear. When the father of a family dies his spirit .is supposed to haunt the house in which he hved until it is laid. The ceremony for this purpose may be gone through apparently at any time after death from one month to a year and a half, or even to two years. During that period the spirit of the deceased is the only object of worship in the house. A share of the daily food is set aside for him, and he is supposed to remain in the house and watch over its inmates. After his funeral, when, if the relatives can afford it, they clothe the corpse in a new dress, a little turmeric and a pice is tied up in a cloth, and suspended by the Baigd to one of the beams of the house ; there it remains until the time comes to lay the spirit, which is done by the Baigd removing the cloth, and offering it, with a portion of the flesh of a goat or a pig, to the god of the village ; a feast is given to the relations and elders, and the ceremony is complete. The Baigds are the acknowledged superiors of the Gond races, being their _ . , priests and their authorities in all points of religious observance. The decision of the Baigd in a boun- ' daiy dispute is almost always accepted as final, and from this right as children of the soil, and arbiters of the land belonging to each village, they are said to have derived their title of Bhdmid, the Sanscrit word " Bhdmi" meaning the earth. In the Mandla district the two words Bhdmid and Baigd are certainly synonymous and interchangeable. In language the Baigds differ entirely from the Gond, their vocabulary consisting almost altogether of Hindi words. They belong to three sects or castes— the Binjwdr or Bichwdr, the Mundiyd and the Bhirontiyd — each of which is subdivided into seven other classes as follows : — 1. Mardbi. 5. Chulpuryd. 2. Markdm. 6. Kusydr. 3. Umarid. 7. Barharyd. 4. Subharyd. The Binjwdrs are said to be the highest caste, and from these chiefly the priests of the tribe and of the Gonds are derived. They live quite distinct from any other race, and though nominally often in the same village as Gonds, the Baigd settlement is usually at some little distance from the Gond quarter — often on the very top of a high hill over the latter. MAND 279 In physical appearance the Baigds differ so much as almost to defy de scription. One sect — the Mundiyd — is known by Physical appearance. the head being shaven &n baJ. one look- The Binjwdrs on the other hand wear their hair long, never cutting it, and tie it up in a knot behind ; so do the Bhirontiyds. In stature some are taller than Gonds, but as a rule they are all very much below the average height of Europeans. The Baigds to the eastwards, on the Maikal range, are much finer specimens of humanity than those near Mandla. In habits too they are superior, being a fine manly race, and better looking than their brethren near Mandla. They have not the flat head and nose and receding forehead so common among the Gonds ; the head is longer, the features more aquiline, and the hands are peculiarly small. Some among them have, however, all the types of low civilisation — flat heads, thick lips, and distended nostrils ; but on the whole the appearance of these Baigds of the Eastern Ghats is striking, as compared with that of other wild tribes. In character too they differ much from the more degenerate aboriginal _ races. Fearless, trustworthy, independent, ready enough to give their opinion, and very willing to assist, they manage their communities in a way deserving of high praise. Social crimes, such as abduction of women, are more or less prevalent among them, but these cases are always decided by the village elders, generally to the satisfaction of all parties. Thefts among each other seem unknown, except perhaps in years of scarcity, when it is not uncommon for a man to help himself to grain from his neighbour's field ; but self-preservation is held to be the first law of nature, and the elders do not punish these offences very severely. Of slight wiry build, they are very hardy, extremely active, and first-rate sportsmen. Cunning in making traps and pitfalls, and capital shots with their small bows and arrows, they soon clear the whole country of game ; persevering to a degree, they never leave the track of blood ; and the poison on their arrows is so deadly to the animal struck, that sooner or later it is certain to die. Unarmed, save with the axe, they wander about the wildest jungles ; and the speed with which they fly up a tree on any alarm of tigers is wonderful ; yet the courageous way in which they stand by each other, on an emergency, shows that they are by no means wanting in boldness. Their skill in the use of the axe is extraordinary, and they often knock over small deer, hares, and peacocks with it. It is indeed by no means rare to see panthers brought in either speared, or knocked on the head with the axe. Their capabi lities of standing fatigue and privation are remarkable. On their hunting expeditions, which sometimes last three or four days, they subsist almost entirely either on what they kill, or, if unsuccessful, on roots and fruits found in the forests. When they are preparing a hill side for their dahya cultivation, from morning till night in the hottest weather the ring of their axes is incessant, and even this is followed by harder work still, when they set to work dragging the logs into proper position. Even when occupied with his fields, the love of field-sports seems inherent in the Baigd, and in the rains, when he has little else to do, he and his companions amuse themselves with running down sdmbar and spotted deer with their dogs, following them into the water, and killing them with their axes when brought to bay. Their dress is as scanty as it well can be — in the hot weather certainly not ^ sufficient for decency, consisting of the very smallest rag round the loins in the shape of a 280 MAND "langoti." This is supplemented in the cold season with a cloth worn crosswise over the shoulders and chest. The women dress decently, and are like the Gonds in appearance, wearing much the same ornaments. Both sexes affect strings of red and white beads, but the males leave them off when they are married. A very favourite ornament among them is the rupee, and to the east the fortunate possessor of so large a coin generally wears it round his neck. The women are all tattooed, and, like the Gonds, they wear bunches of Wool tied up in their own hair. They are no cleaner than their neighbours, neither sex affecting the use of cold water any more than can be helped. In their religious ceremonies they much resemble the Gonds, reverencing the „ .. . . same gods, but adding to them as the chief object Rehgious ceremonies. of W0?sWp' the motlfer earth, " Mdi Dharitri." Thdkur Deo is supposed to have special charge of the village, and is honoured accordingly. But the Baigds have a great belief in the spirits which are sup posed to haunt the forests ; and in the localities which are more especially the homes of these spirits, "pats" are set up, each under the charge of an appointed Baigd. There appears to be no especial rule regarding the institution of a pa.. Sometimes it is the place where a man has been killed by a tiger or a snake ; sometimes no reason whatever is given for the selection. In connection with these pats they have a peculiar ceremony for laying the spirit of a man killed by a tiger. Until it is gone through neither Gond nor Baigd will go into the jungle if he can help it, as they say that not only does the spirit of the dead man walk, but the tiger is also possessed for the nonce with an addi-. tional spirit of evil, which increases his powers of intelligence and ferocity, rendering him more formidable than usual, and more eager to pursue his natural enemy — man. Some of the Baigds are supposed to be gifted with great powers of witchcraft, and it is common for a Baigd medicine-man to be called in to bewitch the tigers, and so prevent their carrying off the village cattle. The Gonds thoroughly believe in the powers of these men. Their other religious ceremonies are mostly the same as those of the Gonds ; and at marriages, deaths, and births, much the same rites are observed. The Baigds take considerable care in selecting the sites for their villages, ?.^ , ... which are usually located on the southern side Sites and communities. „ .... , • . . n .. . - of a hill, and on rising ground, a little above where their supply of water is taken from. They are generally sufficiently elevated for the square, in which they are arranged, to be naturally well drained ; and the women are expected to keep it clean. In the middle a heap of firewood is piled up, round which the village elders assemble if there is work to be done. Buried as they are in the heart of the jungles, these villages are very difficult to find, for one may be on the top of a high hill, and the next is low down in the valley. The manner in which their village communities are regulated is really remarkable ; and it is impossible not to admire their wild and independent spirit. They do not hide themselves in the jungles from any fear of man, but simply because they prefer the wild life, free from restraint, to any more civilised state. As the ddhya cultivation covers a large area in this district, it must be D'h a cultivation prominently mentioned. With no other instru ment of agriculture but their axe, and a small sickle (" hansyd"), it is astonishing to see the extent of clearing that one village of Baigds makes on the sides of the hills on which their village is located. Until lately it was their habit to select the spots for their ddhyas with an utter MAND 281 disregard for all the rules of forest conservancy. In the cold weather months they cut down sufficient wood to cover pretty closely the whole of the area they mean to bring under cultivation. In May and June, just before the setting in of the rains, this wood and the brushwood into which it has fallen, are set on fire, and almost before the fire is out the Baigds may be seen rakin.' up the ashes; and spreading them over the whole surface of the field. This is done either with a bundle 'of thorns or with long bamboos, until there is a superstratum of about an inch of ashes spread over the ground ; in these ashes they sow kodo ( pas- palum frumentaceum), kutkf, and occasionally a poor specimen of rice called nefe " baigdnd." Owing to their position on the side of a hill, the ashes are cut up into furrows by the action of the rains, and often much of the seed must be washed away altogether, but sufficient seems to remain for the Baigds' wairtis. When sown the field is fenced round very roughly and strongly, small trees being felled so as to fall one on to the other. The interstices are then filled- in with bamboos, and the boughs are carefully interlaced, so that not even the smallest kind of deer can effect an entrance. In addition to this, where there is any danger of the crops being eaten up by buffaloes or bison, which push through any Ordinary fence, the Baigas bury a line of broad- bladed spears, called "damsds," in the ground, at about the spot where these beasts would land if they jumped the fence ; they then watch their opportunity, and sneaking round to the oppo site side give a series of yells, which send the cattle off terrified over or through the fence. Generally more than one is wounded, and often one killed on the spot ; the rest, once started, make straight away, and never visit that field again. In the fences round these " bemars," as these patches of cultivation are called, are usually two or three cunningly -contrived traps for small deer, and several nooses for peacocks, hares, &c. ; these the Baigd carefully examines every morn ing, and great is his delight when occasionally he finds a panther crushed under- one of the traps. One of these " bemars" lasts the Baigd at the outside three years. He usually leaves sufficient wood on the ground the first season to last for a second season's burning. The third year, if by chance he should make up his mind to stick to one field for so long, his labour is much enhanced, as he has to Cut and drag the requisite wood for some little distance, and lay it over his fields. In addition to this, the outturn of the crops falls off every year, so that altogether he has every inducement to change the locale of his cultivation, and, where no restriction has been put on his movements, as a rule he does so. It takes six or seven years before one of these old " bemars" is sufficiently covered with wood again to make it worth the Baigd's while to cultivate it a second time. In three years it is probably covered with densly-covered brush wood; but this, if burnt, leaves so little ash that it has to be largely supplemented with timber, and as this has been previously cut all round the clearing, it becomes a work of supererogation to take up one of these old plots before the wood is well grown again, when other and more suitable land is available. The ordinary cultivation in Mandla does not differ from that prevailing in the Province generally, and therefore needs no special notice. It was only three centuries ago that Mandla became known as the chief seat of the Gond kingdom. Prior to that it formed but an insignificant part of the country known as 36 opg 282 MAND Gondwdna. According to Sir W. Sbeman* the Garhd Mandla dynasty first became powerful in the reign of Sangrdm Sd, who before his death .in a.d. 1530 had extended his dominion over fifty-two " garhs " or provinces, comprising the present districts of Mandla, Jabalpdr, Damoh, Sdgdr, Narsinghpdr, Seoni, and part of Hoshangdbdd, and the principality of Bhopdl. Mandla itself seems, however, to have been added to the dominions of the Gondwdna princes by Gopdl Sd as early as a.d. 634, and then it was that the whole kingdom became first known as Garhd Mandla. To give even a brief history of this dynasty would be impossible here. Their names and the dates of their probable acces sion to the throne, as given by Sir W. Sleeman, are shown in the following hst : — Years. 1. Jadhava Rdya An: Sam 415, reigned 5f 2. Mddhava Sinha, his son 33 3. Jaganndth 25 4. Raghundth 64 5. Rudra Deva 28 6. Behdri Sinha 31 7. Narsinha Deva 33 8. Sdraj Bhdd 29 9. Bas Deva or (Vdsudeva) 18 10. Gopdl Sd 21 11. Bhupal Sd 10 12. Gopindth 37 13. Rdmchandra 13 14. Surtan Sinha 29 15. Harihar Dhvaja 17 16. Krishna Deva 14 17. Jagat Sinha 9 18. Mahd Sinha 23 19. DurjanMall 19 20. Jaskarna 36 21. Pratdpaditya 24 22. Jaschandra or (Yaschandra.) 14 23. Mandhar Sinha 29 24. Govind Sinha ....25 25. Rdmchandra 21 26. Kama 16 27. Ratan Sen 21 28. Kamal Nayana 30 29. Bir Sinha or (Virsinha) 7 30. NarharDeva 26 31. Tribhuvan Rdya 28 32. Prithvi Rdya 21 33. Bhdrtya Chandra 22 Years. 34. Madan Sinha 20 35. Okar Sen 36 36. Rdm Sabi 24 37. Tdrdchandra 34 38. Udaya Sinha 15 39. Bhim Mitra 16 40. Bhawdni Das 12 41. Siva Sinha 26 42. Harinarayan 6 43. Sabal Sinha 29 44. Raj Sinha 31 45. DadiRaya 37 46. GorakhDasJ 26 47. Arjun Sinha 32 48. Sangrdm Sa 50 49. Dalpat Sd 18 50. Bir Ndrdyanor (Virnardyan).. 15 51. Chandra Sd, his paternal uncle 12 52. Madhukar Sd, his son 20 53. Prem Nardyan, ditto 11 54. Hirde Sa 71 55. Chhatra Sd 7 56. Kesri Sd 3 57. Narendra Sd 44 or 54 58. Mohrdj Sd 11 59. Sdraj Sd 7 60. Durjan Sa -•• 2 6 1 . Nizam Sd, his paternal uncle. 27 62. Narhar Sd, his nephew, son of Dhau Sinha, brother of Nizdm Sd, but of a different mother 3 63. Samir Sd, ditto 9 months * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. vi. p. 621 (August 1837). The whole of this historical sketch is abstracted from the above article, which is believed to he founded principally on the chronicles of the Bajpai family, who were the hereditary prime ministers of the Gond princes. t Some of the periods given for reigns are probably open to modification, as is shown by Captain Ward in the Mandla Settlement Report, but it has been thought best to follow a single authority, as it would be difficult to clear up the discrepancies. X " He built the town of Gorakhpur near Jabalpur, and another of the same name inBargi." MAitfD 283 The names, from that of Jddhava Rdya, the first, down to Prem 'Sa, the "fifty* third on the list, were found engraved in Sanskrit on a stone in the temple at Rdmnagar, which was built, it is said, by the son of the latter prince. Though the history of Gondwdna prior to the accession of Jddhava Rdya is more or less shadowy and uncertain, it seems at least highly probable that he received the kingdom from his father-in-law, the Gond rdjd Ndgdeva, about Samvat 415, or A.D. .358, and that while with the latter passed away the old Gond dynasty, in the person of Jddhava Rdya, there commenced the long line of Gond-Rdjput sovereigns, who ruled for a period of 1,400 years. The story regarding the end of the original Gond rulers, and the succession of the Rdjput Jadhava Rdya, as told by Sir W. Sleeman, is as follows: — Jddhava Rdya while in the service of one of the Haihai-Bansi rulers dreamed that he should one day receive sove reign power. A certain holy Brahman interpreting his dream advised him to enter the service of the Gond rdjd Ndgdeva (also called Dharu Sd), which he did, and eventually married the old raja's daughter and only child. Ndgdeva finding himself sinking, and having no hope of an heir to his throne, determined to appeal to heaven to choose one for him, and on an occasion of great solemnity, Jddhava Rdya was unmistakeably pointed out by the gods as his successor. On ascending the throne, Jddhava Rdya made the Brdhman, Sarbhi Pdthak, his prime minister, and while the descendants of the one reigned from a.d. 358 down to the time of the Sagar conquest in a.d. 1 781, the descendants of the other discharged the duties of prime minister for the same long period. After, Sangrdm Sd, who has already been mentioned as the founder ofthe Gond power on a large scale, there is little worthy of record until we come, in the year 1560, to the regency of Rdni Durgavati, widow of Dalpat Sd. " Of all the sovereigns " of this dynasty," says Sir W. Sleeman, " she lives most in the grateful recol- " lection of the people ; she carried out many highly useful works in different "parts of her kingdom, and one of the large reservoirs near Jabalpdr is still *' called the ' Rdni Talao,' " in memory of her. During the fifteen years of her regency she did much for the country, and won the hearts of the people, while her end was as noble and devoted as her life had been useful. In 1564* A'saf Khdn, the imperial viceroy at Kara Mdnikpdr on the Ganges, invaded the Gondwana kingdom at the head of a considerable force. The queen regent met him near the fort of Singnurgarh (in the Jabalpdr district), whence, having been defeated, she retired upon Garhd, and again towards Mandla, where she took up a strong position in a narrow defile. A'saf Khdn, who could not bring up his artillery, was here repulsed with loss, but on the following day the battle was renewed, and by that time the guns had come up, and the queen was compelled to give way. Mounted on an elephant, she refused to retire, though she was severely wounded, until her troops had time to recover the shock of the first discharge of artillery, and notwithstanding that she had received an arrow-wound in her eye, bravely defended the pass in person. But by an extraordinary coincidence the river in the rear of her position, which' had been nearly dry a few hours before the action commenced, began suddenly' to rise, and soon became unfordable, Finding her plan of retreat thus frus trated, and seeing her troops give way, she snatched a dagger from her elephant- driver and plunged it into her bosom. A'saf Khan acquired an immense booty, including, it is said, more than a thousand elephants. He was so elated with his success that he determined to become an independent prince, and actually maintained some show of independence for a few years, when "he * Compare Briggs' Farishta, Edn. 1829, vol. ii. pp. 217, 218. 284 MAND was pardoned, * and returned to his allegiance. On his departure the dominion reared up by Sangrdm Sa received its first serious shock in the loss of ten districts (afterwards formed into the state of Bhopdl), which were ceded to the Emperor Akbar, to obtain his recognition of the succession of Chandra Sd, the brother of Dalpat Sd. Thenceforward, until the Moghal empire lost its prestige, the princes of this line seem to have admitted their subjection to the imperial power, for we find the next two of them visiting Delhi to pay their respects to the Emperor. In the reign of Prem Ndrdyan, the grandson of Chandra Sd, occurred the Bundeld invasion, conducted by Jdjhdr Singh, rdjd of Orchhd, which is remarkable, as the first of those encroachments by neighbouring princes which by degrees sapped away the strength of the Garhd Mandla kingdom. Prem Ndrdyan took refuge from the invading army in the, castle of Chaurdgarh, in. the Narsinghpdr district, but he was treacherously assassinated, and the fort fell. His successor Hirde Sd repulsed the Bundelds and re-established his power by the aid of the Mohammadan chief of Bhopdl, to obtain which, however, he had to cede territory containing 300 villages. After this Hirde Sd had a long and prosperous reign, during which he con structed, among other works of utility, the Gangd Sdgar — a fine piece of water near Garhd. An inscription on a stone at Ramnagar, made in his reign, bears the date Samvat 1724, or a.d. 1667. Again, in the reign of his great grandson Narendra Sd the Garhd Mandla territories suffered serious diminution. The young prince, opposed by his cousin Pahdr Singh, had to obtain the recogni tion of the Emperor by the cession of the four districts of Dhdmoni, Garhd Kotd, and Shdhgarh (in the modern Sdgar), and Maria Doh (in the niodera Damoh). Even after Pahdr Singh's death, his sons, obtaining for the first time in Mandla history Mardthd aid, kept up the family feuds, and though they were eventually defeated and killed, the struggle cost Narendra Sd great part of his dominions, which he was obliged to cede to neighbouring princes to buy their aid. He thus lost the country forming the modern district of Seoni to Bakht Buland, the celebrated ruler who had raised the Gond chiefship of Deo garh to the rank of a powerful principality ; while to Chhatra Sdl, the equally well known Bundeld rdjd, who made Pannd a formidable power, he ceded the western and the southern portions of Sdgar and the southern portion of Damoh, the northern parts of both districts having already passed out of his hands into those of the Emperor. He died in 1731, leaving to his son Mdhdraj Sd only twenty-nine of the fifty-two districts which had composed the Mandla dominions in the reign of Sangrdm Sd. In 1 742 the Peshwd invaded the country, and after defeating and killing Mahdrdj Sd, placed his son Seo Raj Sd on the throne, on condition that he should pay four ldkhs of rupees a year as *' chauth" or tribute of one-fourth. " By this dreadful invasion of the Peshwd," writes Sleeraau, "the whole country east of Jabalpur was made waste and depopulate^ and has never since recovered." The day of the Mardthds had now come, and the Peshwd was followed by the Bhonsld Rdjd of Ndgpdr, who annexed the districts which had anciently comprised the whole of the dominions of the the Haihai-Bansi sovereigns of Ldnji, and now form part of the modern districts of Mandla, Bdldghdt, and Bhanddra. The next loss of territory occurred on the accession of Nizdm Sd, about a.d. 1749, when the succession being disputed, the three districts which were afterwards known as the "Panj Mahdl" of Deori, lying in the north of the Narsinghpdr and the south of the * Briggs' Farishta, Edn. 1829, vol. ii. p. 225. t Journal of the Asiiitic Society of Bengal, vol. vi. p. 636. MAND 285 Slgar districts, were ceded to the Peshwd, who had now replaced the Emperor as paramount power, in return for his recognition. Thenceforward the Garhd Mandla kingdom lay entirely at the mercy of the semi-independent rulers of Sdgar, who represented the Peshwd in this part ofthe country, until in 1781 the last of the Gond-Rdjput line was deposed, and his territories were added to the Sdgar principality. The country was ruled from Sagar for eighteen years. Only one of the Sdgar chiefs, Vasudeva Pandit, has left any mark on the district,: and of him it is said that, in a few months, he did more towards the ruin of Mandla: than either internal dissensions or the raids of the Pindhdris would have effected in as many years. In 1799 Mandla was annexed by the Bhonsla rajds of Ndgpdr, and during the period of eighteen years which followed, the town of Mandla was fortified against the Pindhdris, who, though they freely pillaged the rest ofthe country, never succeeded in plundering the town itself. In a.d. 1818 Mandla was transferred to the British, * and the Mardthd garrison in the fort making a difficulty about the surrender, a force under General Marshall marched against it, and on the 24th March 1818 it was taken by assault. The first year of British rule was marked by a severe famine, and the first outbreak ef cholera ever known in the country, which commenced some days only after its occupa tion by our troops. At the commencement of the mutiny in 1857 the chiefs of Rdmgarh, Shdhpdr, and Sohdgpdr joined the mutineers, for which, when order was restored, Sohdgpdr was made over to Rewd, and the estates of Rdmgarh and Shdhpdr were confiscated. Early in 1858, after some further unsuccessful attempts at mutiny, British administration was firmly established at Mandla ; and on further inquiry it turned out that the people themselves had been little disaffected, — the Gonds, whose ideas of English rule were indistinct, having followed their respective chiefs with the unquestioning faithfulness which with them is a second nature. The imperial revenues of the district as it now stands are as follows : — Land Rs. 56,5 1 6 Excise „ 15,654 Assessed taxes „ 4,206 Forests „ 7,193 Stamps „ 5,073 Miscellaneous „ 502 Total Rs. 89,144 The administration is conducted by a Deputy Commissioner, a Civil Surgeon, . . . and an Extra- Assistant Commissioner at head quarters, with Tahsilddrs or Sub-Collectors exercis-- ing judicial powers at Rdmgarh and Mandla. The police force consists of 280 of all ranks, under a District Superintendent, aided by two Inspectors. They have station-houses at Mandla, Pindrai, Nardinganj, Rdmgarh, Shdhpurd, and Selwdrd, besides ten outposts. Without increased population the state of the country and people must _ . . remain very backward; but the increase can only be very gradual, as the surrounding countries are too thinly populated to spare people for an immigration on any large scale. Much of this backwardness may be safely attributed to the unpopularity of Mandla, and the ignorance entertained by the population ofthe vicinity of its advantages. On the principle of omne ignotum pro terribili, the Mandla district * Aitchison's Treaties, vol. iii. p. 109. 286 MAND is supposed to be a wild and dense jungle, surrounded by impenetrable hills, and guarded by numberless wild beasts, instead of being known as a series of magnificent valleys, watered by streams which, never dry, offer unusual oppor* tunities of irrigation, and rich prairies of black soil, capable of producing anything. The present inhabitants may be said to be, if not well off, at least well satisfied with their condition. Having once faced the hills with which Mandla is surrounded, they have now no wish to leave the fertile spots where they are settled. There is yet but little accumulated capital in the country, and with the exception of the " Haweli" lands round Mandla, it is still in a state of transition ; but as the new road opens it up, and the people acquire enlarged markets for their goods, their prosperity cannot but increase, and the time may come when Mandla under British rule will recover the position and wealth which it gained by centuries of fostering care from its native princes, and lost by a few decades of Mardthd oppression. MANDLA — The south-western revenue subdivision or tahsil in the district ofthe same name, having an area of 2,215 square miles, with 920 villages, and a population of 130,929 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 46,991. MANDLA — The principal town ofthe district of the same name, situated in latitude 22'1 43', and longitude 80° 35', at an elevation of 1,770 feet. It is 59 miles south-east from Jabalpur, 635 north-east from Bombay, and 135 north-north-east from Nagpdr. The town is naturally one of some strength, being surrounded on three sides by the Narbada. It now contains a population of about 5,000, and the number of houses is estimated at 1,200. Of these some 50 only are built of stone or brick, about 150 are made of mud, and the remainder of " wattle and daub." The town was made the seat of his government by Rdjd' Narendra Sd, the fifty-seventh rdjd ofthe Garhd Mandla line, in 1680. He erected a fort on a piece of ground having the river on three sides, and separated from the town by a deep ditch. Within the fort he built a large palace. He also constructed a temple, a ghdt, and several houses for his followers. About a.d. 1739 Mandla was taken by the Peshwd, Baldji Bdji Rdo, who named the gate on the Jabalpdr road, where he entered the town, the " Fateh Darwaza." The Mardthds built a wall with bastions and gates on the side of the town not pro tected by the river, and otherwise strengthened the place. In 1818, when it was taken by General Marshall, the fort and palace were found in a very dilapi dated state, and were partially destroyed. The streets of the town are narrow, but from a distance the temples and ghdts give the place a picturesque appear ance. Of the latter there are as many as thirty-seven on the banks of the Narbadd, the earliest built in 1680, and the latest in 1858. The trade of the town is inconsiderable. The only manufacture is one of so-called " bell-metal" vessels, made of an alloy of zinc and copper. MANDLADAI' — A hill in the Seoni district, about twenty miles to the north-east of Seoni. It has an elevation of 2,500 feet above the sea, but is difficult of access. MANDU MAHAL SIRGIRA— A small chiefship attached to the Sam balpdr district, situated to the south-west of Bdisf. It consists of four villages only, and the area is not more than six square miles. The population is com puted at 1 ,005 souls, of the agricultural classes, viz. G -mds, Khonds, Sdonrds, and Binjdls (Binjwdrs). Rice, as elsewhere in the Sambalpdr district, is the staple agricultural product. The principal village is Sirgird, the population of which is 577 souls. MA'N— MA'R 287 MA'NGRU'L — A village in the Chdndd district, lying twenty miles south west of Brahmapuri, on the eastern side of the Perzdgarh range. It possesses a very fine irrigation-reservoir, and is picturesquely situated. MANIA. 'RI' — A stream in the Bildspdr district, which has its rise in the Lormi hills, and flowing south and west past the towns of Lormi, Bijdpdr, and Takhtpdr, forms, for a greater portion of its course, the boundary line between the Mungeli and Bildspdr parganas. After a circuitous course of some seventy miles it falls into the Seondth river in the Tarengd tdluka. It has a wide straggling bed, but, except at intervals in the rains, contains no volume of water. In the hot and cold weather months many parts of its channel are quite dry, while in other places there are reaches of water, which are utilised for purposes of irrigation. MARIA'DOH — A village and fort, prettily situated on a pool of the Jogidd- bdr ndld, about ten miles north of Hattd, in the Damoh district. The fort was built by the Bundeld rdjds of Charkhdri, to whom, until 1860, the place belonged. It was then made over to the British in exchange for some territory in the Hamirpdr district. There is a building still standing in the fort called the "Bdradari," where the Charkhdri rdjds used to live when they visited Mariddoh, and not far from the village is their game-preserve or "ramnd." A good deal of coarse cloth is manufactured in the village, which contains a police station- house, a district post-office, and a village school. MA'RKANDI' — A village in the Chdndd district, situated on the left bank ofthe Waingangd, three miles north-north-west of Chdmursi. It contains twenty- five houses only, and derives its name from a beautiful group of temples which stand on a high bluff overlooking the river. Here the waters of the Waingangd flowing south suddenly change their course, and roll backwards to the north, then sweeping round in a wide curve they resume their progress. The Mdrkandi group comprises a monastery, and is enclosed in a quadrangle, with entrances from the river front and the two sides, while along the rear side runs a row of cells facing the Waingangd. The buildings themselves are of great antiquity, but much of the rich carving which adorns the centre temple is of comparatively recent date. Its apex has fallen, and some of the stones on the top are twisted round, overlapping the base, so as to give the idea that at any moment they may come crashing down; but it is stated that they have hung thus for two generations. Formerly a broad flight of steps led from the front to the river's bed, but much now has been swept away. The monastery is constructed of a purple stone, obtained from rocky islets in the Wainganini. Among the ancient sculptures are several of warriors with sword or battle-axe, and bow and arrows. The host of these is about three feet high, and displays a soldier with a short, straight sword in his right hand, and in his left a lono- bow, while at his buck he carries a quiver full of arrows. All the warriors have anklets. The more modern carving is of rare excellence, cover ing every inch of space on the centre temple, and consisting mainly of human figures about two feet high, which appear to represent scenes in a continuous tale. Tho village is s.iid to have been founded as early as the fourteenth cen tury (of the Christian era) by Vyankat Rdo, a Gond chief of Arpalli. It is now subject to yearly inundation, and in consequence few will reside here. A fair is held annually near the monastery in February, but the attendance of late years has not been large. Good stone for mills is found in the islets of the Waingangd close to Mdrkandi, and is worked up by the Chdmursi masons. 288 MA'EU'— MOH MA'RU' — A smalltown in the Bildspdr district, situated twenty 'miles south-west of Bildspdr. It is said to have been founded about three hundred years ago by a brother of the then ruler of Ratanpdr. It was protected by a large earthwork and ditch, the former of which is nearly level with the ground, but the latter, forty feet wide, still remains. The present population amounts to about 1,500 souls. A well-attended weekly market is held here. MA'TI'N — A chiefship to the north of the Bildspdr district, containing forty villages, with an area of 569 square miles. The population by the last census amounted to 2,760 souls only, giving the low average rate of four to the. square mile. The estate lies entirely in the hill country, and is infested by wild elephants, which until lately almost entirely prevented cultivation. A " khedd " was established a few years ago, which has now been transferred to fresh ground, after having materially diminished the herds. The chief is of the Kanwar caste. MA'TI'N DEVA— A sacred hill near Mdtin, in the Bildspdr district. MAU — A tract of country in the Bdldghdt district. It appears to have been settled some thirty or forty years ago by Ponwdrs from the Wainganga valley, under the enterprising management ofthe grantee, Lachhman Ndik, and is now the most flourishing portion of the Bdlaghdt highlands. MAU — A village in the Bdlaghdt district, well situated on high and well- drained ground, in the centre of the extensive estate of the same name. It is about thirty-six miles to the north of Bdrhd, and five miles from the Wainganga. There is a police outpost here. MAUNDA' (MOHODA')— A town in the Ndgpdr district, situated on the eastern bank of the Kanhdn, half way between Nagpdr and Bhanddra. The Surrounding estate belongs to Yaswant Rao Gujar, who has a fort in the town, which also contains a large market-place and a good main street. There are here a government school-house and a police station. The population, great part of which is employed in the cotton-cloth manufacture, amounts to 3,148 souls. MHESA' — A village in the Chdndd district, situated three miles west- south-west of Segdon, and possessing a fine irrigation-reservoir. MIRKALLU' — A block of forest forming part of that described under " Ahiri " in the Chdndd district. MOHA'RI' — A town in the Bhanddra district, situated on an affluent of the Sur river, about ten miles due north of Bhanddra. The population amounts to 7,622 souls, and there is a considerable trade in the cotton-cloth manu factures of the town, which are well known and esteemed in the country round. There is also some trade in g:ain. The watch and ward and conservancy are provided from the town duties; and the town is kept fairly clean. It is con sidered healthy, though the well-water is brackish, and the supply is scanty in the hot season. There are here a large and flourishing government school, a police station, and a district post-office. MOHARLI — A village in the Chdndd district, situated twenty miles north of Chdndd, in the midst of thick jungle. It possesses a very fine tank, and produces a good deal of rice and sugarcane. The Chdndd and Chimdr road passes here ; and there are a police station-house and a district post-office in t.he village, MOH— MOW 289 MOHGA'ON — A municipal town in the Chhindwara district, situated on a tributary of the river Jdm, about thirty-eight miles south of Chhindwara. The population numbers 4,789 souls, chiefly cultivators ; but there are also a good many traders; and this is said to be almost the only place in the Chhindwdrd district where there is an appreciable proportion of beggars, chiefly Brdhmans, among the inhabitants. On either side of the river is a large Hindd temple, one of which, sacred to Mahddeva, is said to be three centuries old. MOHKHER — A large village in the Chhindwdrd district, situated fourteen miles south of Chhindwdrd, formerly the capital of the pargana. It possesses a good school, a police station-house, and a tank. The population numbers 2,174 souls, a good many of whom are carriers by trade. Leathern vessels for ghee are largely manufactured here. MOHPA' — A town in the Ndgpdr district, between Sdwargaon and Kal- meswar, twenty miles from Ndgpdr, on the left bank of the Chandrabhdga. It has a population of 5,509 souls, mostly agricultural. The Mali caste musters strong here, and in consequence most of the rich land close to the village is cultivated and irrigated like a garden. This is the chief place in a small but rich estate belonging to the Nawdb Hasan Ali Khdn, the representative of an old and distinguished family. The Nawdb collects his own octroi, and arranges for con servancy and watch and ward. The new road through Kalmeswar to Sdwar- gdon 'will pass through this town. A good school-house has been recently built. MORAN — A stream rising in the Sdtpurd hills in the Betdl district, and entering the Hoshangdbdd district near the town of Seoni. During the rains it is a mountain torrent, for the rest of the year a clear, shallow stream. It unites with the river Ganjai before reaching the Narbadd. In its bed, before leaving the hills, a vein of indifferent coal has been found. MORTAKKA' — The north-western revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Nimdr district, having an area of 690 square miles, with 133 villages, and a population of 19,079 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 16,758. MOTU'R (MOHTOOR)— A plateau in the Chhindwdrd district, thirty-four miles to the north-west of the station of Chhindwdrd. The following short description of this place is taken from Sir Richard Temple's Administration Report for 1861-62 :— " The height above the sea is 3,500 feet. The neighbouring hills and valleys are clothed with low and thick wood. And this circumstance is calculated to injuriously affect the climate during the rainy months and the autumn. But during the winter, spring, and early summer, or more than half the year, the climate is delightful. The plateau of the hill itself is open, and generally free from jungle. The soil and water are everything that could be desired. On the northern aspect the scenery is fine. In the hot months the atmosphere is cool and invigorating, and the sun is not overpowering." The place has been tried as a sanitarium for European troops from Kdmthi, but has been abandoned, partly owing to the difficulty of reaching it at an inclement time of year, and over a bad road, and partly owing to the distaste of the soldiers for so solitary a situation. MOWA'R — A town in the Ndgpdr district, six miles north of Jaldlkherd, and about fifty-six from Ndgpdr, on the left bank of the Wardhd. The country around is extremely fertile, and is covered with groves and garden cultivation, which completely surround the town on all sides but that ofthe river. Mowdr is flourishing, having 3,762 inhabitants, mostly engaged in cultivation 37 CFG 29i) MUG— MUL or in the manufacture of ordinary cotton-cloth. The municipal funds have been laid out in the construction of a good bazar, new streets, and school and police buildings. Two large dams have also been made on the banks ofthe river, which used often at these points to overflow and flood the town during the monsoons. The town has the reputation of being somewhat unhealthy. The trade of Mowdr is considerable. The declared value of its exports for the year 1866-67 was Rs. 1,21,501, and of its imports Rs. 3,24,869. MUGDAI' — A spring and cavern in the Perzdgarh hills, about a mile east of Domd, in the Chdndd district. On ascending this portion of the range a plat form of rock is reached, and beyond it rises a smooth sheer precipice, a hundred feet in height, of sandstone rock, black from exposure, but naturally white. Over this in the rains plunges a broad cascade, and in the driest weather a slender stream trickles from the foot of the precipice, and falls into a cleft in the rocky platform, four feet long by one foot wide, where throughout the year is an unvarying depth of seven feet of water. A few yards from the crevice is a large shallow cavern, sacred to the Mand goddess Mugdai. During the ravages of the Pindhdris the Mugdai platform was the refuge of the neighbour ing villages ; and a small fair is still held there. MU'L — A range of hills in the Chdndd district, situated three miles west of Mdl, and measuring eighteen miles from north to south, and thirteenfrom east to west. They are covered with forest, among which is a good deal of large bijesdl, and under the southern slopes nenr Pipalkot teak is springing up in great profusion. Numerous perennial streams abound along the foot of the range, dotting the forest with patches of sugarcane. The valleys of Dhoni and Jhirri on tne south, and of Kholsa on the west, were once immense artificial lakes, with large villages on the slopes of the hills, at which extensive markets met. Now there are only a few clusters of Gond huts onthe site of the lakes, and thick forest on the hill-sides. In the very driest weather the grass in these valleys, is brilliantly green, and the streams running through them bright and limpid. The Dhoni valley especially is worthy of a visit during the summer months ; but the visitor should be careful to boil the spring-water before using it. On the hills is found a species of snowdrop, the leaves of which are eaten by the Gonds as a vegetable ; and under the southern slopes is a large excavation in which the elephants that once abounded in this part of the country were entrapped by the Gond hunters. MU'L — The southern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Chdndd district, having an area of 1,952 square miles, with 430 villages, and a population of 163,519 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue ofthe tahsil for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 69,150. MU'L — A town in the Chdndd district, situated thirty miles north-east of Chdndd, onthe eastern side ofthe Mdl hills. It is the head-quarters of the Mdl tahsil, and contains 776 houses. Three-fourths of the population are Telingas. Rice and sugarcane are grown in the neighbourhood; and the chief manufactures are coloured cotton-cloths and native shoes and sandals. There is little trade beyond what arises from the consumption of the inhabitants. A tahsilddr is stationed here ; and there are a town school for boys, a girls' school, a police station-house, a post-office, and a nursery for young trees. MULTAT' — The southern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Betdl district, having an area of 958 square miles, with 365 villages, and a population of 78,764 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 68,601. Opium is more largely cultivated in this tahsil than in any other part of the Central Provinces, MUL-NA'CH 291 MULTAT'— -A town in the Betdl district, situated on the Tapti, twenty- eight miles east of Badndr. The population amounts to 3,320 souls, and there is some trade, especially in opium and unrefined sugar, which are produced in the country around. There is a large tank here, which is reverenced by Hindds as the source of the Tapti, and is ornamented by several temples. The public buildings are a tahsil court-house, a police station-house, a government school, and a charitable dispensary. There is also an English burial-ground here, now disused. MUNGELI' — The western revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Bildspdr district, having an area of 679 square miles, with 609 villages, and a population of 140,500 souls according to the census of 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 1,32,556-6-0. MUNGELI' — The head-quarters of a sub-collectorate in the Bildspdr district. It is situated on the river A'gar, thirty-six miles west of Bildspdr, on the direct road between that place and Jabalpdr. The river at this point is so tortuous in its course as to envelope the town on three sides. Mungeli is daily increasing in importance, being conveniently situated for traders. Two large markets are held here weekly, and there are a police station-house and a town school. MCRAMGA'ON — A small chiefship in the Cbdndd district, situated thirty- five miles east-south-east of Wairagarh. It contains twenty-five villages. MURWA'RA' — The northern revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Ja balpdr district, having an area of 1,276 square miles, with 577 villages, and a population of 146,135 souls according to the census of lti66. The land revenue for the year 1869-70 is Rs. 91,975. MURWA'RA' — A small but rising town in the Jabalpdr district, on the road to Mirzdpdr. It is fifty-seven miles north-east of Jabalpdr, and has a popu lation of 1,735 people, chiefly agriculturists. There is a government school here ; and the Katnd river is crossed by two fine bridges, the one on the northern road, and the other on the Railway. MUTA'NDA'— See " Pavi Mutdndd." N NA'CHANGA'ON— A town in the Huzdr tahsil of the Wardhd district, lying two miles to the south of the Pulgaon railway station, and about twenty-one miles from Wardhd. It is said to be very old, and parts of the wall which formerly surrounded it still exist. The sardi is the most conspicuous building in the place. With its strong stone walls and gateway, it more resembles a fort than a sardi, and it was successfully used by the inhabitants for purposes of self-defence against the Pindhdris. The rooms for travellers,- also of strong masonry, abut on the inside of the walls, leaving a clear space containing a well in the middle. A carved stone on the well purports to show that the building was constructed nearly four centuries ago by one Bddshdh Ldr. One of the principal works carried out by the muncipality has been the clearing and levelling of a square or market-place in the centre of the town. A weekly market is held here every Thursday, but it has fallen off of late years. An annual religious fair is held in the temple of Purdnik, on the fourth of A'swin Vadya, the month corresponding to the latter half of September and the first half of October. There is a good village school and a police outpost in the town. It contains 3,571 inhabitants, chiefly agriculturists. 292 NA'G [Section I. — General description.] NA'G — A small stream which, rising amongst the little hills north-west of Sitdbaldi in the Ndgpdr district, flows through the city of Ndgpdr, and after receiving the Pili and other smaller streams empties itself into the Kanhdn. NA'GAR— A range of forest-covered hills lying between Jabalpdr and Mandla. They may be considered as forming a portion of the northern boun dary of the Narbadd, whose course in the Bargi pargana of the Jabalpdr district is nearly due north and south. NA'GBHI'R— A town in the Chdndd district, situated twelve miles west- south-west of Brahmapuri, and containing 900 houses. The population is chiefly Mardthd. Fine cotton-cloths of peculiar excellence are manufactured here, and there is some little trade. Rice is the chief product of the surrounding country. The town possesses an old fort now in ruins, a boys' school, a girls' school, and a police outpost. NA'GPU'R*— CONTENTS. 299 301 ib. 302 303 ib. 305 306307 Page SECTION IV.— continued. Social condition 324 Towns and villages 325 SECTION V.— Productions 326 Cultivation ib. Kharif crops 327 Rabi crops ib. Garden crops 328 Live stock 329 Forest produce ib. Stone and minerals ib. Manufactures >• 330 SECTION VI.— Trade 331 Under the Maratha rule -¦ ib. Cotton traffic ib. Imports and exports 332 Country cloth ib. Entrepots 333 Banking • ib. SECTION VII.— Communications ....... 334 Eoads ib. Old lines 335 New lines 336 Northern Road ib. Eastern Road 337 Southern Road ib. North-Western Road ib. Local lines • 338 Progress of the country ib. River communication 339 SECTION VIII.— Education ib. Central Provinces, bounded on the north-west by a short stretch of the river Wardhd, on the north by the districts of Chhindwdrd and Seoni, and on the east by the district of Bhanddra. A small portion of the Chdndd district adjoins its ex- and throughout its whole length, from north-west to south-east, it is bounded by the new district of Wardhd. Thus, with the exception of the short frontier on the river Wardhd, beyond which lies Bast Berdr, it is entirely enclosed by other districts belonging to the Central Provinces, and is situated in the south-western portion ofthe extensive territory * This article, with the exception of one or two slight interpolations, is by Mr. M. Low, late Deputy Commissioner of Nagpur, wh > acknowledges tbe assistance be has received from Messrs. Nichoils, Macdougall, and Munton, his subordinates. Page SECTION I.— General description. .. 292 Geographical description ib, Hill tracts 293 Plains 295 Detached hills 296 Rivers ib. Climate 297 Geology • < SECTION II.— History Gauli kings • Gond dynasty The Bhonsla family Raghoji I Janoji Sabaji and Mudhaji Raghoji II ApaSiihib 309 Raghojilll 313 Bhonsla polity ib. Bhonsla administration 314 British administration ib. Mutiny of 1857 315 SECTION III.— Administration 317 District staff ib. Imperial revenue 318 Local revenue 819 SECTION IV.— Population 321 Classification ib. Date of s-ttlement 322 Language and religion 323 Occupations and customs ib. A. district in the SECTION I.— General description. Geographical description. treme southern frontier [Section I.— General description.] NA'G 293 now subject to that administration. It lies immediately below the great table land of tbe Sdtpurds. It comprises the central portion of the Upper Dodb be tween the Waingangd and the Wardha, and is identical with the most important part of that tract of country which was known in by-gone days as " Deogarh below the ghdts." Nagpdr, the chief town, and the present seat of the adminis tration of the Central Provinces, is situated nearly in the centre of the district, in north latitude 21° 9', and east longitude 79° 11'. The outline ofthe district is uneven, but in general terms its shape may be called triangular. The apex of the triangle would be the short reach of the river Wardhd in the north-west, and the base, the boundary line of Bhanddra on the east ; while the other two sides would be formed by the Sdtpurd hills on the north, and the Wardhd district boundary on the south-west. The extreme length of the district from east to west is eighty miles-, and its extreme breadth from north to south seventy-eight miles. Its total area is 2,356,809 acres, or 3,682 square miles, being just a little smaller than the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire. For revenue and administrative purposes it is divided into four subdivisions or tahsils. These are Ndgpdr, Kdtol, Ramtek, and Umrer. The Ndgpdr tahsil may be said to comprise the central and south-western parts of the district. The north-western portion belongs to Kdtol, the north and north-eastern to Rdmtek, the south and south-eastern to Umrer. The entire district, as thus comprised, possesses great varieties of surface and scenery. Before describing the hill tracts, the plains, and the rivers, each in their turn, it will be well to turn for a moment to the map, in order to see the local disposition according to which these features ofthe country are severally grouped. It will be found that the hill ranges form, so to speak, the skeleton. The plain country is as it were the body, the whole of which is knit together, and its different portions separated by this upland framework. Throughout each portion is distributed its own system of rivers and streams as arteries and veins. The northern frontier of the district is one continuous range of hills, consisting sometimes of spurs from the Satpurds, and sometimes of the Satpurds themselves. A second great division of hills encloses the district from north-west to south-east, except at a break where the river Wand passes through, and again lower down where the range is resumed in the same direction, but is shifted, so to speak, further north, leaving the Ndnd valley between the southern side of the range and the Wardhd district boundary. The whole of the plain country (excepting the Ndnd valley) is thus enclosed between two great hill ranges and the boundary line of Bhanddra. But these two mountain ranges are themselves connected together by a third hill range running across the plain thus enclosed ; so that the whole country is divided into three great hill ranges, and three great plains, which the hill ranges either enclose or de marcate, while each one of these plains has its own system of streams or rivers peculiar to itself. The hills and hill ranges are extensive in area, though they attain no great altitude. The chains exhibit great variation in Hill tracts. height, breadth, contour, and outline. They are sometimes in ahigh degree picturesque. Sometimes they are covered only with loose stones and low brushwood. In some cases, again, they are quite bare and arid ; in others their slopes and summits possess a good soil for trees, and carry, or could carry, valuable timber. Generally they run on in unbroken chains, save at certain intervals, where perhaps a stream with fertile tracts on either bank has to pass through ; some again are absolutely detached. They must all, however, it seems be regarded as offshoots belonging to the Sdtpurd range on the north ; and themselves generally rocky and comparatively 2 94 JN A Gr [Section I. — General description.] sterile, they have this peculiarity in common, that the valleys and lowlands intersecting and adjoining them possess a soil not merely culturable, but even extremely fertile. In the midst of barren hills, covered with nothing but loose boulders and low scrub, the traveller unexpectedly finds himself looking down on valleys studded with fruit trees, and teeming with corn and garden cultiva tion. Strips of rich, highly cultivated soil, entering from the lowlands below stretch away through the hill gorges, creeping as it were up the sides until they abruptly terminate in rock and brushwood. It is in the abruptness and frequency of the contrasts thus offered between hill and dale, rock and black soil, scrub and corn-field, jungle and homestead, and in the ever-recurring juxtaposition of desert and garden, that the most striking feature of the hill scenery is to be found. The first division to be noticed is the northern boundary range. This consists of the outlying hills below the Satpurds, on the west, and of the actual ghdts themselves, and of spurs from the lower part of the ghdts, on the east. Commencing with the extreme western point, and continuing on in a straight line eastwards to the river Kanhdn, this strip is exceedingly narrow ; and the Chhindwdrd district is reached at all points before the ascent of the ghats ; but between the Kanhdn and the Pench it is widened by a deep inden tation into the Chhindwdrd district ; and the entire ascent of the ghats is made opposite Khamdrpdni in Chhindwdrd, before the Ndgpdr boundary is passed. The strip here, including the Tikdri hill ( 1 ,668 feet above the sea level) and other offshoots, averages twelve miles broad. It has some excellent young timber, and the whole of it forms part of a great forest reserve. The scenery about Bheogarh and along the banks of the Pench is very picturesque. The views commanding the plain from the top of the ghats are striking and even grand. This tract contains the old Gond site of Bheogarh, with some interesting ruins. Beyond the Pench the district boundary, proceeding east wards, again recedes, leaving only a comparatively narrow strip south of Gauli- ghdt. Further east it becomes narrower still at Jundwdni, but broadens again as the district boundary extends towards Seoni. For the last seven or eight miles, before the eastern boundary is reached, it again broadens to about ten or eleven miles; but here the hills are only offshoots from the ghdts, not the ghdts themselves. The breadth then of this division varies from two and three to ten, twelve, and even eighteen miles. Its entire length from west to east is about sixty-four miles. It is most of it capable of bearing excel lent forest timber, and contains useful stone and minerals of various kinds. To the south of this division, near its eastern extremity, and detached from it by a few miles of cultivation, stands the sacred hill of Rdmtek, with its ancient temples and fortress. This hill attains the height of 1,400 feet above the sea. It is in the form of a horse-shoe, the heel of which stands to the south-east. At the outer extremity, towards the north, the cliff is scarped, rising sheer from the base about 500 feet. On the summit are the old fortress and the temples. Below in the hollow, formed by the inner sides of the hill, and embosomed in groves of mango and tamarind, nestles a lake, its margin adorned with temples, and enclosed by broad flights of steps of hewn stone, reaching down to the water. From above the prospect is highly picturesque. To the east aud south the eye stretches across the Dodb of thePeuch and Kanhdn, and again over the plain of Ndgpdr as far as the Sitdbaldi hill. On the north and north-east is seen, first, a narrow belt of cultivation, then a broad reach of low hills and forest bounded by the Sdtpurd ghdts. On the east lies the valley of the river Sur, winding its way towards the Waingangd, its course marked by a silvery line [Section I. — General description.] NA'(-C 295 fringed with the green of the sugarcane ; then undulating forest land ; while in the distance appears the blue outline of the hills at Ambdgarh. To the south, far away beyond the lake and its encircling heights, lies extended for miles and miles a vast cultivated plain, dotted with trees and tanks, and terminated only by the low, jagged hills below Umrer. Again, a little to the right of Umrer may be faintly seen on the horizon the abrupt peak of Girar, where is a mosque dedicated to Pir Shekh Farid, a place of pilgrimage as celebrated with the Musalmdns, as Rdmtek itself is amongst the Hindds. The second great hill tract is that adjoining, and in great part extending into, the Wardha district. This range is a branch of the Sdtpurds. It enters the two districts at nearly the same point of latitude. In this district, with the exception of a single break of seven or eight miles at the river Wand, it may be said to extend from the north-west to the south-east, either along or close to the entire length cf the frontier. Above the Wand valley its breadth is very variable, ranging from two or three miles at the extreme north, to not less than twenty-five miles at the south. Its length down to the Wand valley is about fifty miles. In this range is the hill of Kharki, south-west of Kdtol, rising to almost 2,000 feet above the sea. This is the highest elevation in the district not actually belonging to the Satpurds. Below the Wand valley the chain is resumed, but diminished both 'in breadth and height, and though running in the same direction as before to the confines of the Chdndd district, is yet, as it were, shifted a little northwards, so as to leave between its southern side and the district boundary the cultivated strip through which flows the Ndnd. The length of this second portion is twenty-two miles ; its average breadth may be about ten miles ; but it is much broader in the middle, and tapers away to the south-east. The upper tract is full of culturable waste land, and abounds with young teak and other valuable saplings. It contains some cultivated land of great richness, and possesses some wild and beautiful scenery. For the most part the hills are clothed with trees or brushwood up to the very top. In the lower tract the hills are generally dwarfed and rugged, vegetation is scanty, and the country uninteresting. The third hill range — another spur from the Sdtpurds — bisects the Kdtol tahsil from north to south, forming a connecting link between the two hill divisions already described. Its length is from sixteen to eighteen miles. Its breadth varies considerably, being nowhere more than ten miles, and in some places not more than two. The hills are bare and sterile, both in aspect and in reality. Their internal scenery is relieved from insipidity by their rugged and grotesque outlines. They contain the hill named Pilkdpdr (height 1,899- feet), which is their culminating point. The whole of the plain country is, as said before, either encompassed or . demarcated by these ranges of hills. By far the greatest part of it is comprised in the two great tracts of level or undulating country on either side of the third mountain range, culminating in Pilkdpdr. The first of these tracts forms the western half of the Kdtol tahsil, and contains the most highly cultivated land in the district. It is surrounded on three sides by mountain chains, and on the fourth side by the river Wardhd. It possesses a soil profusely fertile. It abounds in mango and other fruit trees, and teems with the richest garden cultivation. Its total area is probably about three hundred square miles. Its slope is towards the river Wardhd. The second great tract, in area at least six times larger, lies to the east of the Pilkdpdr range, extending between the Sdtpurds on the north, and the second great division of hills on the south, to the confines of Bhanddra and Chdndd 296 NA'Gr [Section I.— - General description.] on the east and south-east. It consists of one vast cultivated plain. Its surface, however, is hardly ever level. It abounds in mango-groves and trees of all sorts ; and in some portions, especially towards the east, it is studded with small tanks, which form quite a feature in the landscape. As was before shown, it pierces the second division of hills by the Wand valley, which thus connects it with the great cotton field of Wardhd. Except in this valley, the general slope of the country is towards the Waingangd. The third and last tract of plain country is the narrow belt of cultivated land lying between the southern side of the hills, described as the lower portion of the second division of hills, and the district boundary. This tract naturally belongs to the great Wardhd cotton field, of which it forms the most eastern and elevated part. It possesses for the most part the black soil common to the rest of the Wardhd cotton field, and is throughout well cultivated. Its slope, as indicated by the course of the Ndnd river, is westwards to the Wand valley. Its breadth varies from four to ten miles, and its length, measured south-east to north-west, is almost twenty-four miles. But in the largest of these three tracts of plain country there are some t- f 1. j T_-n detached hills that merit a passing notice, such as the Haldoli hills (highest point, 1,300 feet) in the south-east; the hills at Chdpgarhi and Bheokund; the hill of Sitdpahdr (height 1,433 feet) in the south-east corner of the tahsil of Rdmtek, and the hills at Ambhord on the Waingangd. These last are in themselves insignificant both in heigbt and extent, but they are interesting as having originally belonged to a range in the Bhanddra district on the other side of the river, which must have forced its way through the chain at this spot. Lastly, towards the middle of this plain is the isolated little hill on which stands the Sitdbaldi fort — insignificant as to its mere altitude, but interesting from its historical associations, and remarkable for the expanse of country which the view from it commands, and for the distance from which it can be seen from all surrounding directions. The mean elevation above the sea of the plain country is 1,000 feet in its central portion, lessening to below 900 feet towards the Wainganga and Wardhd. The district has been described as being bounded on the north-west R. , by a short stretch of the river Wardhd ; similarly the course of the Waingangd adjoins it for a short distance on the east. As these two rivers in no way belong to the Ndgpdr district, any description of them would be out of place here. It should, however, be observed that it is into them that the drainage of the whole area under description finds its way. Of all the streams flowing through this dis trict there is not one which does not eventually discharge its waters either into the Waingangd in the east and south-east, or else into the Wardhd on the west and south-west. It has been said that each of the three plain tracts described in the foregoing paragraphs has its own system of rivers. The waters due to the first and third of these plains flow westward to join the Wardha. The rivers draining the second, and by far the largest plain, and that portion of the Sdtpurd range which immediately overhangs it, flow (with one exception only) eastwards to the Waingangd. The rivers traversing the first tract are the Jam and the Maddr. The single stream in the third tract is the Ndnd. The rivers of the second, or great plain, are numerous, and will be found described under their proper headings. The two largest are the Kanhdn and [Section I. — General description.] NA'G 297 the Pench. These and the Koldr unite — the two first at Bind, the last at Waregdon — a little above Kamthi, and thenco flowing in a single stream (the Kanhdn) past the military cantonment, join the Wainganga at Tidi, a little above Ambhord. In the next rank come the Sur, the Marbti, the A'mb, the J\dg, the Niind, the B'or, and the Wand. The main characteristics common to all these streams are their high banks and confined channels, which, however, become less steep and more sloping where the tracts they traverse are open and undulat ing; — the depth of their channels far below the surface of the adjacent country ; —their sandy beds interspersed at intervals with abrupt and jagged ledges of rock ; and most of all, the astonishing suddenness with which their waters rise and subside, and the extraordinary impetuosity of their currents while a flood lasts. During the dry season the largest of them — the Kanhdn, the Pench, the Koldr, the Wand, the Sur, the Bor, and the Ndnd — have indeed always water ; but what there is may be said to be in the pools, some of which are very fine. Where the water flows, the volume delivered during this season is quite insignificant, in many instances but a mere rivulet ; the rest, as streams, may be said to be completely dried up, having water only in pools here and there. On the other hand, during a flood in the monsoon the largest among them assume the dimensions of great rivers, while every paltry rivulet and dry ndld is, in an hour, swollen into a powerful stream, or changed into a channel or a torrent. The mean temperature is higher than in many other parts of India ofthe p.. same height above sea level. But the absence of the really bracing air in the cold season for Upper India is in some degree compensated for by fresh cool weather during the greater part of the monsoon, and by tolerably cool nights in the summer months. The following table gives the temperature for twelve months: — Months. 1866.* June July August September October Novem ber December 1867. January February ... March April May Maximum. Degrees- 112 97 90 97 978885 9296 106 109113 Minimum. Mean Degrees. 73 7073 65 59 54 48 5253 63 6470 Degrees. 81-7 81-7 80-581- 78- 71- 66- 71-175- 84-5 88-6 93-5 * This is selected as an average year. 38 cpg 298 NA'G [Section I. — General description.] As in other parts of India, there are three seasons— the hot, the cold, and the rainy. The positively hot weather ordinarily commences about the 1st of April, and lasts till the first week in June. The monsoon lasts throughout June, July, and August. At this season the climate, though full of moisture, is fresh and pleasant to the feelings. In September there are long breaks between each fall of rain, when the weather is often close and sultry, though never so much so as in the plains of the north of India at this time. October is generally sultry and unpleasant, but diversified occasionally by refreshing showers. The cold weather does not fairly set in till the middle of November. From the 15th of November to the end of February the air is generally cool and pleasant. Often, however, with the appearance of clouds the thermometer rises as much as seven or eight degrees, and the climate becomes disagreeable and cloSe. From the 15th of February the weather gets warmer, and the hot winds blow from the beginning of April till the monsoon. Rain falls during every month in the year, usually during the hot and cold season only in showers,_ but some times accompanied with violent storms. Hail falls occasionally m January, February, and the early part of March, sometimes in very large stones, doing much damage to the spring crops. It is considered that the average annual rainfall, taking a great number of years back, is about forty inches. The following table gives the rainfall for three years : — Months. January February March April May June July August Septemb er October November December Total 1864. 2-04 •50 1-957-34 9-70 10-46 8-45 "b'.5 35-59 1865. 1-56 2-59 1-22 1-27 10-2210-77 8-33 3-32 1-75 •14 ¦46 41-63 1866. 610 10-1014-42 8-89 1-40 • • • • •20 41-11 Remarks. o 0 IPSa. m OO CS r-l CD rt ^) CO. an<^ ^ seems that immediately y ' after this a scheme for rising was concocted in the lines of the irregular cavalry, in conjunction with the Musalmdns of the city. Secret nightly meetings in the city had been discovered by Mr. Ellis ; and the Scotch Church Missionaries, who had. schools and some influence in the city, had given warning that the public mind was much disturbed. The rising was fixed for the night of the 13th of June, when the ascent of a fire-balloon from the city was to have given the signal to the cavalry. But just before, probably to allay suspicion, tho cavalry had formally volunteered for service, and had asked to be led against the mutineers in Upper India. On the 13th one squadron of the regiment received orders to march towards Seoni as part of a force moving to the north from Kdmthi. This was just a few hours before the time fixed, and it took them by surprise. A dafaddr by name Dddd Khdn was deputed to the infantry lines to rouse the regiment to action. Dddfl Khdn was at once seized and confined by the first man' whom he addressed. Mr. Ellis and Mr. Ross, as soon as they had been made aware, through informa tion communicated by one Pdran Singh, the jail ddrogha, of certain suspicious movements in the cavalry lines, at once communicated personally with Captain Wood, second in command of the cavalry. At Captain Wood's house it was discovered that the regiment were saddling their horses. It was now past ten o'clock at night, and by this time the alarm was general. Mr. Ellis sent the ladies of the station for safety to Kdmthi ; and troops were summoned from that place. Meantime the arsenal had been cared for by Major Bell, commis sary of ordnance. Loaded cannon were brought up to command the entrance and approaches, while a small detachment of Madras sepoys proceeded to the * Mr. R. S. Ellis, C.B., the present Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras. 316 NA'G [Section IL— History.] Sitdbaldi hill, and got all the guns in position. The behaviour of these last was such as to remove any anxiety as to the Madras troops having been tampered with. But at this juncture, until the arrival of troops from Kdmthi, everything depended on the temper ofthe irregular infantry and artillery. The officer com manding the infantry was prostrate from wounds received from a tiger ; the only other officer of the regiment was away from the station. Accordingly Lieute nant Cumberlege, the Commissioner's personal assistant, who had previously been with this regiment, proceeded to their lines, and took temporary command. He found that the regiment had fallen in of their own accord on their parade* ground, most ready and willing to execute any orders. The battery of artillery, commanded by Captain Playfair, evinced a spirit equally good. Having made sure of these portions of the troops, Mr. Ellis now went down to the city. Everything was found perfectly tranquil. The conspirators must have become aware'that the authorities were on the alert, that their co-operators in the cavalry had failed to get the infantry to join, and were now hesitating. The fire-balloon was never sent up. The cavalry, when they heard of the fate of their emissary, seem to have lost all heart. They unsaddled their horses and remained quiet. Subsequently they were turned out on foot without their arms, the infantry and the artillery being- drawn up in position fronting and flanking them. It was in vain that efforts were made to induce them to name the ring-leaders, or those who had been saddling their horses. The dafdddr who had been seized in tbe infantry lines was tried by court-martial on the next day, and condemned to death. The behaviour of the native officers of the cavalry had been closely watched by Mr. Ellis. The senior risdlddr, the " wurdee major," and a " kot dafdddr" were arrested. Within a few days, chiefly through the instrumentality of a native gentleman, Tafazul Husen Khdn, whose loyalty had been throughout conspi cuous, complete evidence was brought forward, by means of which these three, together with another risdlddr and a jamaddr, were convicted. They were hanged from the ramparts of the fort overlooking the city. Also from among the Musalmdns of the city two persons were executed, viz. the Nawdb Kddar Alf Khdn and Vildyat Midn, both men of high family and position. The bulk ofthe treasure was now removed for security to the fort on the Upper Sitdbaldi hill, into which, and the arsenal situated at its foot, a supply of provisions for three months was speedily thrown. On the 24th June the cavalry were disarmed. Their arms and accoutrements were removed to the arsenal. The men were kept till November under surveillance in their own lines. In November they were again armed, and employed towards Sambalpdr, where they performed their duties well. Besides this there was no actual disturbance within the district of Ndgpdr. In the cavalry there had been one squadron composed almost entirely of Mardthds, and these seem to have been implicated just as much as the Musalmdns, for amongst a number of officers and men expelled from the regiment were one Mardthd risdlddr, one ndib risdlddr, and two troopers. The vast majority of the population having hitherto remained quiescent, and the fidelity of the Madras force at Kdmthi being now placed beyond question, the local crisis was passed. For the skill, the forethought, the judgment, and the resolution with which affairs were managed in the city up to the time of the crisis, for the discovery of the meetings, for the subsequent watch put on the conspirators, and for the promptitude with which punishment fell on the chief offenders, no small meed of praise is due to Mr. Ellis and to his coadjutor Mr. Ross. And it ought not to be forgotten that here again the aged princess Bdkd Bdi brought all her influence to bear on the side of the authorities in [Section III.— Administration.] NA'G 317 dealing with the doubtfully-inclined Mardthds connected with the late reigning family, when the Southern Mardthd Country was much disturbed, and was looking to Ndgpdr as to a beacon, — when, too, the turbulent subjects in the north of the Nizdm's territory would hardly have remained quiet had there been any serious difficulty at Ndgpdr. The course of events after the year 1857 does not find its place here, except to mention that the necessity for guarding against any irruption into the Ndgpdr province by the ubiquitous Tdtid Topid, who had at the close of the year 1858 crossed the Narbadd, east of Hoshangdbdd, was met by sending out to the banks of the Wardhd river fr&m Kdmthi a column consisting of one troop of European horse artillery, the 7th Madras Cavalry, and the 26th Madras Native Infantry, under Colonel Osborne, with Mr. Ross as civil officer; while Major Henry Shakespear, with a body of irregular cavalry, accompanied by Lieutenant Cumberlege in a civil capacity, proceeded to the Chhindwdrd district. The effect of these dispositions was that Tdtid Topid, who had penetrated as far as and burnt Multdi, in the Betdl district, was turned off in an easterly direction, when he was met by a column from Amrdoti under Brigadier Hill, defeated, and again driven northwards. It remains only to add that in the year 1861 the " Ndgpdr Province" was amalgamated with the provinces known as the " Sdgar and Narbada Territories," the whole forming the present " Central Provinces," with the head-quarters of the administration at Ndgpdr. The method of revenue, general, and judicial administration will be SECTION III. — Adminis- noticed very briefly, as it is precisely the same as tration. — District staff. in other districts belonging to these and to other provinces in India, governed under what is termed the non-regulation system. The Deputy Commissioner, or head executive and administrative officer in the district, is collector of the general revenue in all its branches, the head civil judge, and the chief magistrate. He is charged also with general control over the police, with the superintendence of public instruction, with the collection and expenditure of local funds, with the construction of local public works, and with other general and miscellaneous duties which it is needless here to mention. To assist him in his revenue, judicial, and miscellaneous duties, the Deputy Com missioner of Ndgpdr has generally four Assistant, or Extra-Assistant Commis sioners, who are assistant or deputy collectors, assistant magistrates, and assistant civil judges. At the head-quarters of each ofthe four subdivisions or tahsils* is a Tahsilddr, who is in his turn sub- collector, and subordinate magistrate, and civil judge. Sometimes the naib-tahsilddr, or deputy sub-collector, has juris diction in petty civil suits. At Kdmthi is a Cantonment Magistrate, who is sub ordinate to the Deputy Commissioner in judicial matters. There are thus nine stipendiary magistrates' courts subordinate to the Deputy Commissioner, besides fifteen non-stipendiary courts presided over by honorary magistrates. These native gentlemen answer in some respects to justices of the peace in England. They decide a considerable number of cases. The Deputy Commissioner, the Cantonment Magistrate of Kdmthi, and generally two of the Assistant Commis sioners, are also justices of the peace, with jurisdiction to try and punish European offenders in petty cases, and to commit for felonies to the High Court at Bombay. The civil judicial courts are at present ten in number, and are presided over by eight of the above-named officers in their capacity as civil judges, by a Small Cause Court Judge, and by a Sub-Collector. * The four subdivisions are Nagpur, Umrer, Ramtek, and Katol. 318 NA'G [Section III.— Administration.]- The civil and criminal courts of the Deputy Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioners ordinarily sit at the head-quarters of the district — Sitdbaldi, a suburb of Ndgpdr. The Ndgpdr court of small causes, and civil and criminal courts of the Tahsilddr of Ndgpdr, sit in the city of Ndgpdr. The Cantonment Magistrate of Kdmthi holds his civil and criminal courts in the Cantonment. Of the honorary magistrates, thirteen hold their courts at Ndgpdr, one at Kdmthi, and one inMohpa. The Divisional Commissioner's court is held at Tdklf, another suburb of Ndgpdr. On the civil side it is an appeUate court only. On the criminal side it is a sessions court, with powers up to fourteen years' imprisonment and transportation for life, and is competent also to pass sentence of death, subject to confirmation by the court of the Judicial Commissioner of the provinces. The whole of the district administration, whether in the Tevenue, judicial, or miscellaneous departments, is subject to the general super vision and control of the Divisional Commissioner, who superintends, besides this district, the four neighbouring districts of Bhanddra, Wardhd, Chdndd, and Bdldghdt. The constabulary force consists of two distinct bodies — the district pohce,. and the town police. The former are paid from the general revenues, and are available for service throughout the Central Provinces; the latter are paid from the municipal funds of the towns in which they are stationed, and theoretically their duties are confined to that town alone. The district superintendent of pohce (always an English officer, who ordinarily has under him a European assistant) is at the head of the whole force. The Government revenues are derived from the land tax; the income tax; T . , the excise on spirits, opium, and drugs ; stamps ; forests ; salt, " pdndhri ;" and a few miscellaneous petty taxes. The land revenue demand for the year 1868-69 was Rs. 7,98,476. This branch of revenue will remain fixed at the same, or almost at the same, annual amount until the close of the present settlement. The excise revenue in the year 1868-69 amounted to Rs. 1,91,848. It is levied according to the central distillery system, which consists in the prescription of certain places in which alone spirits may be manufactured, and the payment of a fixed duty on their removal by licensed vendors ; and the tendency is to diminish consumption, but to prevent any large fiscal loss, by the higher duty levied on the diminished amount manufactured. The revenue realised on opium and drugs is obtained chiefly by leasing out monopolies of right to sell by retail, and in some small part by fees levied on the cultivation of the poppy. The total revenue from this source for 1868-69 was Rs. 40,945. From the stamp revenue of 1868-69, realised under the rules of the Stamp Act (Act X. of 1862), was obtained the sum of Rs. 1,66,644. The increase in this branch depends on the increase in commercial transactions and litigation, and on the efficiency of the arrangements for the detection and punishment of offences against the stamp laws. The unreserved forests and waste lands ofthe district are for the most part let out on usufruct leases, and thus afford a considerable amount of revenue. The system has been introduced of leasing out the right to collect or levy dues on minor forest produce only, viz. grass, mhowa and forest fruits, gums, fire wood, and the hke, the district authorities reserving the right to duty on all timber excepting firewood. The area from which this revenue is produced will annually diminish as the plots are disposed of under existing waste land sale and clearance lease rules. These rules permit the sale in freehold of all waste lands [Section III.— Administration] NA'G 319 at a minimum price of Rs. 2-8-0 per acre, and provide for their disposal on long leases, conditional on final clearance and reclamation. But it is hardly necessary to say that any loss thus effected in annual revenue will be more than counter balanced by the proceeds of sale in the one case, and by the additional area ultimately brought under assessment in the other. The forest revenues of 1868-69 amounted to Rs. 19,274. The pdndhri is a tax pecuhar to this part of the country, and has the sanction of long usage. It was levied under the Mardthds nominally on all non-agriculturists, and was calculated on the ostensible means of each rate payer. It has generally been considered to partake of the nature of a house tax ; but without doubt there used to be many non-agricultural householders specially and somewhat arbitrarily exempted; nor was much care taken to equalise its incidence so as to distribute it equitably over the rate-paying popu lation. The tax, however, is one to which the people are accustomed, and not indisposed. It provides, moreover, a legitimate means of making the non-agri cultural classes pay their fair share towards the expenses of the state. The assessment lists have recently been revised ; an improvement has been made by exempting many of the poorer classes ; while the result on the whole has been a large increase in revenue. Act XIV. of 1867 has now placed this tax on a firm basis. This impost yielded Rs. 53,305 in 1868-69. The income tax reimposed in the current year 1869-70, on incomes exceed ing Rs. 500 per annum, will yield about Rs. 73,360. The revenue under the heading miscellaneous is unimportant. It consists of royalties on certain quarries, oil-mills, fisheries, and the like. There remains under general revenues only salt tax. This is levied not under district arrange ments, but by a special department (the customs) . The duty is three rupees per maund of 82 lbs. The local revenues, or the funds spent in the district, arise from the _ . road, school, and post cesses ; from the nazdl and ferry funds; and from octroi. The road and school cesses are paid by the landholders, and are calculated at the rate of two per cent respectively on the full assessment rate (kdmil jamd) of each estate. The revenue in 1868-69 under these two heads was Rs. 31,940, or for each Rs. 15,970. The proceeds are applied to the purposes which their denominations import — the first to the repair and construction of local roads, the latter to the maintenance of rural schools. The former, since the year 1866-67, has been augmented by large grants from the municipal funds of the towns most benefited by the construction of local lines and railway feeders ; the latter forms only a part of the educational funds, — the remainder accruing partly from other local sources, such as grants from municipal funds and voluntary contributions, and partly from state grants-in-aid. Similarly the dak or postal cess, imposed for local postal service, is a tax on the proprietors of land. The rate is one-half per cent on the full assessment of each estate. The funds realised under this head are not spent exclusively in the district. The realisations from every district in the province are lumped together, and an allotment up to the amount of its own actual requirements is then made to each district. The amount raised under this head during the year 1868-69 was Rs. 3,992. The nazdl consists of the annual proceeds of rent, farm usufruct profits, or sale of buildings, lands, orchards, gardens, and other real property belonging to Government, and not subjected to assessment of land revenue. This is a 320 NA'G [Section III.— Administration.] very important heading of local revenue. The proceeds are spent in keeping the different Government buildings and gardens in good order and repair, in defrayment of charges for model farms, purchase of improved agricultural implements, breeding live-stock, in horticulture, arboriculture, experiments with foreign cotton and cereals, and in other matters intended to promote the good of the people, and the general advancement of the district in agricultural and com mercial prosperity. Rs. 7,050 were realised from this source in the year 1868-69. The ferry fund, as its name imports, consists of the proceeds of fees levied at ferries, or from the annual sale of ferry contracts. It is supplemented by the profits of pounds and other minor headings, and is expended in purchase and repair of boats, improvement of ghdts or approaches to rivers, and such like matters. The proceeds in 1868-69 amounted to Rs. 12,650. The most im portant of the local revenues is the octroi. This tax is now levied in twenty-six towns. The administration of these funds (after the deduction of cost of town police) is entrusted to the different municipal committees. The right to collect octroi is let out in annual contracts, separately for each town. The tax is one to which the people have long been accustomed during the Mardthd government under the name of " sair." Generally it is paid with the utmost contentment, and is certainly the form of local tax most suitable to the inhabitants of this part of India. The Mardthd " sdir" was in reality more a transit than an octroi duty. But pains have been taken to re-constitute it on a proper basis, and now no imports but those intended for actual local sale or consump tion are subjected to duty. This branch of local revenue is the main source from which funds have been derived to carry out the extensive municipal improve ments, which have been going forward for the last few years. The impost is regulated so as to fall lightly, except on certain articles, and the schedules have lately been revised so as to make the burden lighter than ever. The octroi funds of the municipal towns in 1866-67 reached the large sum of Rs. 3,07,050, of which Rs. 52,489 were set apart for watch and ward, Rs. 33,349 for grants- in-aid to district road fund, and the remainder spent in municipal improve ments. This income has, however, been much diminished by the recent reduc tion of rates, and will fall still lower after the present year (1869-70) when, under the orders of the Government of India, octroi will cease on ah but a few selected articles. The following table will show the receipts of revenue under the different heads, imperial and local, for four years : — Description of Revenue. Imperial. Land revenue Excise Opium and other drugs... Stamps Forests Pdndhri Miscellaneous petty taxes , Total Imperial Proceeds in Rupees. 1865-66. 1866-67. 8,01,2472,00,797 23,828 1,13,228 16,417 70,833 5,979 12,32,329 7,96,941 2,29,888 25,016 1,23,366 14,000 83,307 2,935 12,75,453 1867-68. *4,34,820 2,15,063 43,309 1,50,909 20,906 89,352 3,171 9,57,530 1868-69. 7,98,476 1,91,848 40,945 1,66,644 19,274 53,305 2,720 12,73,212 * The apparent diminution of receipts under this head arises from an alteration ofthe year of account. [Section IV.— Population.] NA'G 321 Description of Revenue. Local. Road cess Ferry fund Nazdl School cess Postal cess Octroi Total Local. Grand Total. Proceeds in Rupees. 1865-66. 17,714 5,152 5,857 17,714 3,726 2,99,375 3,49,538 15,81,867 1866-67. .17,535 8,126 8,869 17,535 4,436 3,07,050 3,63,551 16,39,004 1867-68. 8,696 13,000 13,000 8,696 2,174 2,93,323 3,38,889 12,96,419 1868-69. 15,970 12,650 7,050 15,970 3,992 3,02,760 3,58,392 16,31,604 SECTION IV.— Population. The total population as ascertained by the census Classification. taken in November 1866 may be classed thus — 1. Europeans and Eurasians 2,462 2. Parsees , 28 3. Hindds of all classes 573,562 4. Musalmdns 27,371 5. Gonds and other aboriginal tribes 30,698 Total 634,121* The population rate is 172 to the square mile. When it is considered that 1,841 square miles of the district are uncultivated, this rate will not appear very low for this part of India. The Hindd tribes are as follows : — 1. Brdhmans 26,597 2. Rdjputs , 3,458 3. Mardthds, Kunbis, and cognate Mardthd tribes... 177,183 4. Pardesis, Telis, Mdlis, Ahirs, Pardhdns, and Barais 106,483 5. Viddrs (mostly) illegitimate descendants of Brdhmans 5,094 Carried over 318,815 Including the military force at Kamthi. 41 CPG 322 ISA'G [Section IV. — Population.] Brought forward 318,815 6. Banids, Ponwdrs, Mdrwdris, Halwais, and Kaldls. 17,118 7. Gosdins 5,203 8. Kdnsdrs, Sipis, Sondrs, Guraos, Belddrs, Barhais, Koshtis, Dhobis, Khdtiks, Ndis, Bhois, Dhi- mars, Banjdrds, Madrassee castes, Bhdmtyds, andRangdris 118,019 9. Outcastes, consisting of Dhers, Chamdrs, Mdngs, andBhangis 114,407 Total 573,562 The tribes described as " Gond or other aboriginal tribes" consist almost entirely of Gonds, with a very few Kurkds and Bhils (mostly cultivators). The Musalmdns, divided under the customary great divisions, are as follows : — Shekhs 14,838 Saiyads 5,392 Moghals 388 Pathdns 6,753 Total 27,371 Under the Shekh class are included aU Musalmdns whose tribe does not come distinctly under any one of the other three classes. The Musalmdns are thus to the Hindds and Gonds as one to twenty-one. A very brief account of the order of time in which the different castes settled _ . . in the district may not be out of place. In Bakht Buland's time (a.d. 1700) the bulk of the popula tion was undoubtedly Gond ; but during his reign, and possibly to a slight extent before it, there had set in an immigration of Brdhmans and Kunbis from Berdr and the West, and of Musalmdns and Hindds of all castes from Hindustdn. Bakht Buland's visits to Delhi had shown him the superiority of foreigners over his subjects in all branches of industry. He encouraged foreigners to settle by granting them unredeemed, or partially redeemed, tracts on very favourable terms, and furthermore attracted them to his own military and administrative services by large grants. These persons again induced numbers of their fellow- countrymen to settle as cultivators ; and so, long before the arrival of the first Raghoji, the wild original tribes (never probably more than sparsely distributed over the face of the country) had begun to recede before the more skilful and superior settlers. Yet the great influx of the Brdhmans, Mardthds, Kunbis, Koshtis, and Dhers doubtless did not commence until the usurpation of the Gond sovereignty by Raghoji in a.d. 1743, when Burhdn Shdh, Bakht Buland's descendant, was deposed. Before these tribes the Gonds gradually receded into the mountain tracts, leaving most of the cultivated and culturable tracts in the [Section IV.— Population.] NA'G 323 hands of the new comers. The Gonds are now as one to eighteen of the strictly Hindd population. The Musalmdns have come from all directions — some from the Delhi country, some from Berdr and the West, but probably the greatest number from the Nizdm's dominions in the south. Only a very few trace their ancestry in these parts as far back as the time of Bakht Buland. By far the greater portion came with, and after, the Mardthds. The language of the bulk of the population is Mardthi ; but Urdd (excepting T , ,. . amongst the women) is generally understood. The ° language ofthe country -people is not pure Mardthi, but a patois consisting of an ungrammatical mixture of the two languages. There is nothing in the religion or in the customs of either Hindds or Musalmdns espe cially pecuhar to this part of the country. The Brdhmans profess to worship Brahmd, Vishnu, and Siva equally. It is probable, however, that Siva is most worshipped. The Mardthds, Kunbis, Koshtis, and even the outcaste Dhers (the classes forming the great bulk of the population), almost exclusively worship Siva, under the appellation of Mahddeva. TheMdrwdris are many of them Jains, worshippers of Pdrsvandth. The agricultural classes are chiefly Kunbis, Mardthds, Pardesis, Telis, Lodhis, „ , Mdlis, Barais, and Pardhdns. The best, as well as Occupations and customs. ' ' ... , -, - . .- ' -„¦ - , r most numerous^ are without doubt the Kunbis. They are simple, frugal, and generally honest in their dealings with each other. In general industry, in capability for sustained labour, and in agricultural skill, they will bear no comparison with the Jdts and other good cultivators of Upper India ; but still they may be regarded as the backbone of the country. The Brdhmans follow many different professions. They are priests, shopkeepers, grain-sellers, bankers, servants, writers, and a few of them soldiers. Their manners are more rude and homely than those of their kindred in Hindustdn. They are often fair scholars and efficient public servants. The most impor tant of the industrial, but non-agricultural, classes are the Koshtis and Dhers. These are the weavers and spinners of the country, the manufacturers of the different fabrics of cloth wliich the district has for many years past so largely produced. The Gonds now form a very unimportant section of the people, and any detailed examination into their religion and habits would be out of place here. They still preserve in some degree the rude forms of their old rehgion, the chief object of their worship being Bhimsen, who is represented by a piece of iron fixed in a stone or in a tree. But many of them have betaken themselves to the worship of Mahddeva, and most of them have adopted more or less of the Hindd religious observances. Among the Mohammadans there is nothing specially peculiar to this part of the country. They engage in every sort of occupation — farming, trading, service, and the like. Most of the Brdhmans and the trading and the artisan classes take two meals a day — one in the morning, and the other in the evening. Field labourers take three — one in the early morning, one at midday, and the third after sunset. All classes, except Brdhmans, Mdrwdris, and a few others, eat animal food when they can afford it. All the Mardthd tribes eat fowls and eggs — the food held in so much abhorrence by all the higher castes in Hindustdn. With the same exceptions, viz. the Brdhmans, Mdrwdris, and a few others, all the people use spirituous liquor distilled from the fruit of the mhowa tree. The Mardthds and Kunbis indeed profess not to drink, but in private almost all do consume spirits. Generally, however, the people drink in moderation, and the use of spirits appears to have no bad effect on them. But two castes — the Dhers and the Gonds — 324 NA'G [Section IV. — Population.] are notable exceptions to this rule of moderation. Many of these are habitual drunkards. The mass of the people are orderly and well-disposed. They are quiet, peaceable, and without much physical courage ; they are rather simple than crafty ; their manners, if we except the Brahmans, are rude and unpolished. They are neither treacherous, vindictive, nor cruel. They are kind to their relations and to their women, who are allowed a large amount of liberty. Jealousy is rare, not perhaps because of any great amount of chastity amongst their women, but more because the general standard of conjugal fidelity is low. They have httle of that cringing servility to superiors seen in many parts of India. Amongst each other they are usually truthful and straightforward, but when they disagree and have to bring forward their disputes in the courts, they are often regardless of truth. The Brdhmans, Mdrwdris, Banids, and other classes, who are either wholly or partly traders or bankers, are intelligent and generally trustworthy. They are quick to enter into undertakings of enterprise, and to adopt any modern improvement likely in the end to be serviceable to them selves. The agricultural classes are for the most part honest, stolid, apathetic, and naturally averse to innovation of any kind. Heinous crimes are rare, as will be seen from the following table for three years : — Crimes. Murders Cases of culpable homicide Dacoity Robbery Thefts Number of Crimes perpe trated during Population. 1866. 1867. 1868. 4 5 6 7 1 0 . — r 2 4 3 CO 6 4 3 COCO 1,009 743 661 Number of Cases of Crime to each 100,000 souls in 1868. •9 •0•5 •5 103-2 Of late the condition of the agricultural classes has been steadily improving. Social condition. £?*? t from ,the v?ri°US benefi*s ^ting from the thirty years settlement, the last few years have brought with them the greatly enhanced demand for cotton for the Enghsh market, and the flow of a steady exportation of grain and cereals to Berdr and the West ; and these conditions have been accompanied by increased means of transit and exportation by road and rail. Large tracts of country hitherto growing edible grain have been brought under cotton cultivation ; and ofthe grain grown, the ryot or farmer, after laying by sufficient for his own or for local supply, proceeds to sell the remainder for exportation towards the West. The country, thus drained of its edible grain, has had in a large measure to look for its supphes to districts on the East and North, from which a steady tide of importation has set in. The result has been that though the price of food and the general expenses of living have nearly trebled, the agriculturists, having found markets so profitable for the disposal of their produce, are now in a condition of hitherto unexampled prosperity. They have for the most part been able to dispense with the money lenders altogether, and have indeed, many of them, saved a considerable amount in cash, which, it is to be feared, they still prefer to hoard, instead of expending it [Section IV.— Population.] NA'G 325 on improved stock or instruments of tillage, or in tho gratification of secondary wants. Improved fanning stock, and indulgence in tho gratification of hithurto unknown luxuries, will no doubt follow; it in after all only a question of time. But at present the possession of a surplus of cash suggests to tho ryot but little beyond tho treasuring of rupees, or the purchase of ornaments for his wife and family. Ah regards tho non-agricultural portion of the people, they too are on the whole better off than tlioy used to bo, though their share in the increased prosperity is but small when compared to that of tho agriculturists. The increase in tho wages of labour, if it has not overstepped, has at least kept pace with the rise in the prices of food ; and the demand ibi- labour, especially for the lower classes of skilled labour, has largely increased. Most of the artisans and labourers aro woll fed, well lodged, and sufficiently clad. Of real indigence there is little or none. Tho total number of towns and kashas containing above 2,000 inhabitants _ ... is thirty-five, and tho aggrogato number of their in- lowns and villages. habitants is 315,851. The total number of villages and hamlets containing u population below 2,000 is 2,193. Tho size, population, and importance of tho largo towns, whon compared to tho total district population and area, are rather remarkable Tho circumstance is perhaps, in some measure, to be accounted for by tho system of the Mardthd government, which in ado the kamdvisddr, or hoad administrative official of each pargana, rosido at the head -quarters of tho pargana. Tho parganas woro small and many. The kamdvisddr brought in his train a numerous retinuo, for whoso food, lodging, and clothing arrangements had to be made on tho spot, and thus tho nucleus of something Hko a town was commoncediitonco by tho drawing together of a body of artisans, grain-sellers, and others, who were required to provide for tho wants ofthe officials and their followers. The cloth trade again, which is so largely followed and so widely dispersed over the district, must havo done much to increase tho towns. There may bo other spocial causes on which it would here be out of placo to spoculate. At all events, to whatever cause ascribable, the preponderance in number of the rural over the urban population is here much smaller than in most other districts in India. Tho principal towns aro the following : — Niigpit r Tahsil. 1. :..4. Ndgpdr.KiimUti,(lumguon. Bdzdrgdon. r>. 0. 7. 8. Kalnieswar. Dhiipowdrd. Tdkalghdt. Bori. Umrer Tahsil. 0. 10. 11. Umrer. I.hiwdpdr. Mdndhal. 12. 13.14. Kuhi.Wcl tdr. Ik-Id. ndm Ick Tahsil. 15. Hi.17. IS. Rdmtok. Pdrsooui.I'dtansdoiigi. Khdpd. 19. 20. 21.22 Koddmendhi. Maundd (Mohodd). Nandardhan (Nagardhan) . Wdkori. Kdtol Tahsil. 23. Kdtol. 28. 24. Sdwargdon. 29. 25. Kondhdli. 30. 26. Narkher. 81. 27. Mowdr. 32. 326 NA'G [Section V— Productions.] Belond. Sdoner. Kelod.Jaldlkherd.Mohpd. But none of them, excepting Ndgpdr and Kdmthi, were, until very lately, any thing more than an agglomeration of houses, built for the most part of mud walls ; sometimes, it is true, tiled, but oftener thatched. They had no regularly-defined streets, and no drained roads ; the houses were ugly, and built not in rows, but anyhow, the corners and fronts pointing in any direction, according to the fancy of the builder ; the roads (such as they were) were narrow lanes — in the dry season passages, and in the rains water-channels. There was no attempt at conservancy ; and the habits of the people being in some respects the reverse of cleanly, the state of the interior of the larger towns was excessively filthy. Heaps of cattle- refuse, manure, and rubbish lay piled about and exposed in the most pubhc places, while great chasms, from which the mud had been originally excavated to form the walls of the houses, diffused pestilential malaria from the drainage and filth collected in them. Even now, after the expenditure of no small amount of pains on the part of the government officials, the smaller towns and villages are much behind those of many other parts of India. Still a beginning has been made towards persuading the people of the advantages of the more obvious sanitary precautions. Many of the landholders have adopted a regular system of whitewashing all the houses in the villages, and of insisting on proper conser vancy. But as regards the larger towns the advance made within the last few years has been really great. Municipalities acting under the district officials have been appointed, and systems of conservancy have been matured and carried out. Funds have been raised, and municipal works have been pushed forward with a rapidity and effect sufficient in some cases to transform the appearance of the places ; wide thoroughfares, metalled and drained, have been driven through the more populous quarters, commodious school buildings, dispensaries, pohce stations, and sardis have been erected, central market-places have been formed, and the people have been induced to build their dwelling-places in a style suitable to the new streets. The agricultural produce may be divided into three classes — the kharif or SECTION V -Productions ™.n Cr0PS ; tte rabi 0r sPrin? cr0Ps ' and the _ " . . Baghdit or garden crops. For Bdghdit the best black soil is almost invariably selected. The kharif and rabi crops usually grown on the different soils are as follows : — Crops. i -* 1 Soils. Kharif. Rabi. Kdli (black soil). Cotton, jawdri (holcus Wheat, linseed, safnower, peas. sorghum), tdr (cajanas indizus) Murand (brown clay with Jawdri, mung (phaseolus Gram, masdr ( ervum lens ) limestone nodules). mungo), rice. wheat, peas. Khardi (white clay with Jawdri, tdr, vetches. Wheat, castor, gram, peas. limestone nodules) . Bardi (stony). Cotton, jawdri, tdr. Castor. Retddi (sandy). Castor. Castor. [Section V.— Productions.] NA'G 327 The ploughing for the kharif (autumn) harvest commences in April. The „, ,. paring-plough (bakhar) is first used to level any " ' irregularities of the surface ; the ground is then ploughed three or four times or even more. The seed is not sown till after the first fall of rain, which ordinarily takes place early in June. The tifan or treble drill-rake is the instrument ordinarily used for sowing. Three furrows are thus sown at once. Shortly after the crop appears above the surface, the ddvan or hoe-plough is passed between the furrows to destroy the grass and, if necessary, to thin the crop, while the earth is turned over so as to cover the roots. After the lapse of a few weeks the hoe-plough is once more used, and sometimes even a third time. Cotton has now become the most important, and generally the most remunera tive, of all the crops. During the last four years its cultivation has been so stimulated by the demand in the English market, that it is now raised throughout large tracts of country formerly devoted to the cultivation of edible grain. The most valuable crops are grown in the north-west corner of the Kdtol tahsil ; but the whole of the Kdtol and Ndgpdr tahsils may now be said to be cotton- growing country. The total out-turn of this crop in the year 1868-69 was calculated at 86,081 mds. or.6,886,480 lbs. The indigenous staple is in itself of a fair quality ; but much improvement is to be looked for by introduction of foreign seed, and from the sowing in one part of the country of seed selected from another part. Some extensive experiments in this interchange of in digenous seed are now being tried; and seed-gardens designed to afford picked seed for distribution have been established. Improvements in the method of cultivation have followed the increased demand for the staple, and there seems little reason to doubt that the cotton of this district may in a short time equal any producible in the country. The weeding and picking are better and more carefully done than they used to be ; and many cultivators have already begun to adopt that plan of light but careful manuring which seems in this soil to produce the heaviest crops. Rice is not extensively cultivated, but wherever irrigation is available from artificial tanks a few rice-fields rarely fail to be seen. Jawdri is grown in great abundance, chiefly in the Ndgpdr and Kdtol tahsils. The crops are very fine. A good deal of tdr is grown ; it is often raised in the same field as cotton, generally five ridges of cotton to one of tdr. For the rabi (spring) harvest the fields are first worked with the paring- It b' croos Plough in June*and July. They are then ploughed p ' throughout the rains (the oftener the better) according to the means and leisure of the husbandmen. The sowing takes place in October and November, and the crop is ready for harvest at the end of Feb ruary or beginning of March. Wheat is the grand rabi crop. The great wheat-field is in the Umrer and Rdmtek tahsils, in a tract lying to the south of Rdmtek, and enclosed on the east by the Bhanddra boundary, on the south by the hills below Umrer, and on the west by a line drawn north and south through Nandardhan, Harbolf, Magardhokrd, and Sirsi. Here this cultivation is uninter rupted over many miles of country. In February the whole country appears covered with one vast expanse of yellow corn. The crop is usually cut at the end of February. The corn is trodden out by bullocks, and winnowed in the wind. The other rabi crops do not need any particular mention. Chand (gram) is grown chiefly in the Umrer and Rdmtek tahsils ; the remaining crops, perhaps, most in the tahsils of Ndgpdr and Kdtol. The alsi (linseed) of the district is said to be very good. The erandi (castor plant) of the Kdtol tahsil is particularly fine. 328 NA'G [Section V.— Productions.] The garden cultivation is devoted to sugarcane, plantain, tobacco, poppy, Garden crops betel-leaf, yams, ginger, turmeric, garhc, onions, v' carrots, turnips, and other vegetables. Sugarcane is cultivated, but not nearly so much as it might be. It is chiefly raised in the valley of the Sur in the Rdmtek tahsil, and in the rich garden villages of Kdtol. The crops raised are fair, but the gur (molasses) manufactured from the cane is said to be poor. One reason for the comparative neglect of sugarcane culti vation may be this, that here the mhowa flower is used instead of gur for the distillation of spirituous liquor ; another reason is, that the people have not yet learnt the art of manufacturing sugar from gur. The ground for sugarcane cultivation is first prepared by the bakhar, and then by the plough. It is next covered with a thick layer of manure, channels and cross-channels for irrigation are then made, and the whole field is well watered. The plants are raised from cuttings from the old canes. They throw out their sprouts (one from each knot of the cutting) commonly in the course of thirty-five or forty days. The young sprouts are at first carefully supported with earth, which is not removed until they are grown to some height above the ground. As the plant grows up, the branches are tied up. From ten and a half to eleven and a half months elapse from the planting of the cuttings to the complete ripening of the canes. Continued irrigation is required until the monsoon sets in ; and as this crop is considered the highest branch of garden cultivation, so its successful management demands skill, patience, and capital aU combined. The plantain is largely cultivated in all the garden villages ; it has a triennial duration, and is generated from sprouts of the old plants. The betel-leaf culti vation is carried on with much success in a few gardens. Those at Rdmtek are celebrated throughout this part of India for the excellence of their produce. A large portion indeed of the crops is now sent by rail to Bombay. The plant requires a particular kind of soil, and has to be partly sheltered from the outer air. This is effected by enclosing the plantation round the sides, and by roofing it over at the top with a framework made of grass and bamboos. Much manure is employed. Ghee, or clarified butter, is used largely for this purpose. The plant has a triennial duration, and requires ground that has lain fallow for some time. It is propagated from cuttings, and is planted in July. The leaves are not fit for use until twelve months after the shoots are put in, and thereafter they are picked every fortnight. The poppy is cultivated in a few places for opium. The cultivation might easily be increased. The juice is extracted by scoring the poppy heads from top to bottom wi^h a sharp knife. The juice thus expressed is subjected to the usual processes ; but there are no skilful manipulators in this part of the country, and the opium is not considered very good. None of the other garden-crops need special description. The fruit-trees cultivated in gardens and orchards may be briefly noticed. The oranges, lemons, sweet limes, mangoes, and guavas are plentiful, and remarkably fine. The Nagpdr oranges in particular are justly celebrated for their size and flavour. Their cultivation is increasing, and they are exported in large quantities to Bombay. Manure is applied to all kinds of garden cultivation. It is usually produced from the culti vator's own stock. Sometimes flocks of sheep and goats are turned out into the fields. The people quite appreciate the use of manure for all crops. The supply, however, is very limited, as large quantities of cow-dung are used in fires for cooking. Vegetable manuring is not much practised, but stubble after being burnt is often used as manure. Irrigation is almost entirely confined to garden cultivation and rice. Wells are ordinarily the means used in the case of the former, and artificial tanks for the latter. Enclosures are only used for garden [Section V.— Productions.] NA'G 329 cultivation and for fields adjoining jungles, where they are required to protect the crops from wild animals. The rest of the cultivation is all open, a narrow strip of unploughed land serving to demarcate field from field. The village boundaries are marked by stone pillars. Horse-breeding has hitherto been quite neglected. Indeed, excepting at ,. , Ndgpdr and Kdmthi, there are no horses. Ponies of an inferior breed are to be met with, but not very many even of these. Recently an attempt has been made (on a very small scale) to improve the breed of these ponies by crossing them with Arab blood. Horned cattle are bred in large numbers. The breed is smaller than that of Upper India, and very inferior in size and appearance to the Mysore and Nellore stock. On the other hand they are compact and wiry, and possess great bottom, endurance, and speed. The trotting bullocks used with the light travelling cart, or rengi, are well known, and one or two pairsof these little animals are possessed by every well-to-do mdlguzdr. They will frequently travel long distances of thirty miles or more, at the rate of six miles an hour. The district, however, does not appear to breed cattle in sufficient numbers for its own consumption. Numbers are imported every year from Rdipdr, and also from Upper India, especially from Cawnpore. The price of a good pair of plough bullocks ranges from 70 to 150 rupees. For- a pair of fast-trotting bullocks from 200 to 250 rupees is frequently given. For field operations it seems certain that it would be an improvement to have animals of more power than those of the indigenous breed. The district authori ties have lately imported some very fine bulls of the Nellore breed to cross with the indigenous cows, but sufficient time has not yet elapsed to judge of the results. There are plenty of buffaloes, but the breed is not more than ordinarily good. Sheep and goats are to be met with in abundance all over the district. The best flocks of sheep are reared in the Kdtol and Ndgpdr tahsils; but the wool is coarse and inferior, and the mutton coarse, though sweet. Some Patna and other foreign rams have recently been imported, and have been very successfully crossed with indigenous ewes. Domestic fowls of every sort and description are reared in great numbers. The Mardthd game-fowls are remarkably fine. The total area of forest lands may be computed at about 320,000 acres. Until lately there was no system of conservation, Forest produce. and the regult hag feeen ^ mogt large.si;ze(j timber of the valuable sorts, such as teak (tectona grandis), sdl (shorea robusta), and shisham (dalhergia latifolia), has been felled. To prevent the total destruction of the best timber, it was found necessary altogether to prohibit for the time the cutting of these valuable trees, and to adopt a system of regular conservation, which has been in force since 1862. The saplings are now making progress, but it will not be for some years to come that any large timber wiU be fit to cut. Of forest fruit-trees the most important is the mhowa, from the flowers of which is distilled ddru — the spirituous liquor most used in this part of the country. A little honey and bees-wax are annually gathered from the wild honeycombs, which the insect generally constructs on the loftiest forest trees. Excellent grass grows in most of the forests. This grass is cut and stored as fodder for cattle, and is also used for thatching houses. The district is rich in the different sorts of building stone. In speaking of geology, the trap, sandstone, laterite, and granitic Stone and minerals. formati0ns have all been described. The basalt is not always found, near the surface, of a sufficiently large grain for building purposes. Wherever it is so found, it forms an excellent building material. 42 cf-g 330 NA'G [Section V.— Production!.] The Railway Company have used it largely in their bridges, and lately it has come into use for building in the town and station of Ndgpdr. Broken up into small fragments, it forms the very best metalling procurable for roads. A very fine sandstone found near Kdmthi is much used for building. The sandstone at Sflewdrd is much prized for ornamental carving, being fine-grained, soft, of good colour, and free from impurities. Granite rock is plentiful, but is not much used for building ; it is- of short grain and of variable composition. Laterite is used, and might be more utilised than it is. When dug from the quarry this composition is quite soft, but when exposed to the air it rapidly hardens and forms a durable building material. The limestones are also used for building. The lime used for making mortar is procured from the quarries of kankar, which are to be found almost everywhere in the alluvial and regar soils. Coal has not yet been found, but probably it does exist more or less in the sandstone formations, which he between the coal-producing sandstone tracts of Chhindwdrd and Chdndd. Associated with the trap-rocks, or enclosed in them, are occasion aUy found chalcedony, flint, heliotrope, and jasper. Some clays weU adapted for pottery are to be met with here and there, especially in the Tdkli beds near Ndgpdr, and at Chicholi north of PUkdpdr. Of metals there is a scarcity. Gold is said to have been noticed in a quartz matrix near Nandardhan, but this seems doubtful. Indubitably it exists in very small particles in the sand of some of the rivers, notably in that of the Sur. The particles are, however, so minute, and the labour of washing the sand so great, that very few persons foUow the occupation of gold-washers. Sulphuret of lead (galena) has been noticed in one or two places. Iron-ore of good quality is found near Mansar, and must exist in many other places. It is too hard to be worked by natives, who prefer extracting the metal from tbe softer oxides contained in laterite rock. Manganese exists with the iron, especially connected with the laterite beds in the vaUey of the Sur river, and at Maundd (Mohodd) on the Kanhdn. The great article of manufacture is cloth. Cotton and silk fabrics of all M . sorts and descriptions are produced in abundance, from dhotis (cloths worn round the loins), valued at 500 rupees a pair, to the common cloths, costing a rupee and a half, worn by common ^coolies. Pagris (turbans), sdris (garment pieces worn by women), and dhotis and dopattds (cloths worn by men), are the articles most manufactured. The most noticeable of all are the Ndgpdr and Umrer dhotis. These are made of the very finest cotton-cloth (undyed), fringed with a border of silk. The pattern and colour of the silk border is according to the taste ofthe wearer. Some of the designs are very tasteful ; they are formed by interweaving silk of different colours with gold thread, the groundwork of the whole being generally of a brflliant crimson. The pagris are generally made of finely-woven cotton-cloth either coloured or undyed, with a broad fringe of gold. Sdris and dopattds are sometimes made of plain white cotton-cloth, with handsome silk borders, sometimes entirely of silk, sometimes of dyed cotton-cloth with silk border. The very best of these finer cloths are made in Ndgpdr and Umrer ; but Khdpd, Maundd, Bhiwdpdr, and many other towns also manufacture superior fabrics. The manufacture is in the hands of the Koshtis — an industrious and skilful class of workmen. The looms are somewhat elaborate in their gear, and difficult to work. The weaver has to serve a long apprenticeship before he be comes a skilled workman. High commendation and several prizes were awarded to specimens of these fabrics at the recent Exhibitions at A'gra, Lucknow, Ndgpdr, Jabalpdr, and A'kold. The coarser fabrics consist of stout cotton-cloth, either white or dyed in various colours. The manufacture is carried on all over [Suction VI.— Trade.] NA'G 331 the district. Indeed there is hardly a considerable vulage that has not a number of persons engaged in this manufacture. The workmen are chiefly Dhers. The rest ofthe manufactures are unimportant, and may be dismissed in a few words. They consist of blankets, white and black, made from indigenous wool, tdtpattf or sacking, coarse basket-work, common pottery, and some creditable brass work consisting of lotds, katords, and cooking utensils. These last, however, are made only in a very few towns. There are a few workers in steel. One house is noted for the manufacture of steel weapons, such as daggers and hunting spears. Stone and wood carving had in former days reached a very creditable stage of progress, as old carvings abundantly testify. The art has to a certain extent fallen into disuse. There are still however, especiaUy at Ndgpdr itself, many excellent workmen ; and some efforts have lately been made to revive the art. The workmen are found quite capable of excuting European designs, and some- of the indigenous patterns show excellent taste and workmanship. The trade of the district was always considerable. In the time of the Mard- SECTION VI Trad-b thds, grain, ofl-eeeds, and country cloth formed the Under the Mardthd rule.' cMef articles of export In exchange for these commodities the district received Hairopean piece and miscellaneous goods ; salt from Bombay and Berdr; silks,, sugar, and spices from Bundelkhand, Mirzdpdr, and the North ; and rice from Rdipdr, Bhanddra,. and the East. Except in times of depression, produced by the foreign struggles- or internal commotions of the State,, the general tendency of trade under the Mardthds was to increase ; but there were three prominent causes at work to- prevent the rapid development of commerce. The first was the difficult nature ofthe country, and the wretched means of communication,. impeding, equally import and export. The second was the feeling of insecurity from- the greed of the rulers of the State or their agents. Forced loans were frequently taken from wealthy merchants and bankers,, without any pretext whatever} except that the State wanted money, with the full understanding on both sides that the amount was to be wholly or partially left unpaid. It would seem indeed that the later Ndgpdr rulers indulged in this species of plunder to a greater degree than almost any other native government. The result of this system was to make the merchant board his surplus wealth, and secrete it in the form 6f buUion and jewels, instead of embarking it in profitable, but visible, mercantile invest ments. The third cause is to be found in the existence of certain regulations trammeUing the free export of grain, and in the establishment of vicious Systems of private monopolies and transit duties. The two last causes have been removed for many years ; indeed nothing of them but a few of the transit duties remained after the deposition of A'pd Sdhib in 1818. The last of these duties were not removed until after the annexation of the Ndgpdr kingdom in 1853, The last six years have been marked by a sudden, and hitherto unprecedented, „ „ commercial activity, and accumulation of wealth. Many causes,, diversified in their character, but simnar to those operating- in other parts of India, have contributed to produce this effect. But two of them stand prominently forward. Tbe first is to be found in the increased demand for cotton for the English market; the second in the very recent development of communications by road and railway. The latter subject will be treated of separately. The effect produced on the district by the increased demand for cotton requires some brief mention. The increased demand for the Enghsh market first affected the cotton sowings in the agricultural year 1862-63. In that year the price of cotton at Bombay more 332 NA'G [Section VI.— Trade.] than doubled. In the district of Wardhd and in the Berdrs — always cotton-grow ing tracts — the cultivation was at once enormously extended, taking up large tracts of country hitherto devoted to the cultivation of edible grains. A similar, though less extended, movement took place in this district, where the cultivation probably doubled. In 1863-64 the prices at Bombay rose still higher, and the cultivation and export of the staple continued to extend. This district, always in the habit of drawing considerable quantities of grain from Chhattisgarh and Bhanddra, and also of exporting grain towards Wardhd and the Berdrs, now required more from the former country, and could afford less for the latter. The Chhattisgarh and Bhanddra country was able to meet the demand, and exported in enormous quantities to Nagpdr, Wardhd, and the Berdrs. The local prices of food rose, but on the other hand so great was the profit from the cotton exported to Bombay, that the aggregate result was a large augmentation of agricultural wealth. In 1864-65 theprices of cottonfeU. In 1865-66 theyagam slightly rose. The increased cultivation and export of the staple had, however, been too firmly established to yield much to these fluctuations. On the other hand, partial failure of the grain crops in Chhattisgarh during these two years lessened the import of cereal produce from that country, and this district, obhged to look elsewhere for its supplies, began to draw from an entirely new source, viz. Jabalpdr and the North. At the same time the extended cotton cultivation in the Ndgpdr and Kdtol tahsils had now withdrawn so much land from cultiva tion of jawdri, that for the first time there was an ebb in the usual tide of traffic from East to West, and there sprang up an import of this grain from Berdr. At the present time the agricultural produce exported consists of cotton, T , , oil-seeds, and some edible grain ; while the imports *D-*ports and exports. ¦ -i, ~i_t i*i i * ii f* are rice, wheat, and other edible grain, partly from Chhattisgarh, and partly from Jabalpdr and the North, and some jawdri from the Berdrs. In articles not being agricultural produce, the chief imports are Euro pean piece and miscellaneous goods from Bombay, salt from the Concan, sugar and spices from Mirzdpdr and the North, and hardware from Bhanddra and from the Narbada districts. The only export of consequence is the country cloth. The trade in salt and in European miscellaneous goods appears to be greatly on the increase. The annual import of sugar, spices, and hardware is probably stationary, or nearly so. It seems probable that the manufacture of the commoner sorts of country Countrv cloth cloth is on the decline. The increased local prices of raw cotton arising from the late exports, and the sharp competition of machine-made stuffs from England, have combined to depress the local manufacture. Last year indeed the exports were apparently in excess of those of the year preceding, the fall in the prices of cotton having again tended to stimulate local manufacture, while at the same time there was a diminution in the import of European piece-goods. There appears, however, to be little doubt that this was a mere fluctuation, arising chiefly from the depressed condition of the Bombay market. Some of the ordinary sorts of cloth pecuhar to Ndgpdr and Umrer have now been imitated in England, and are actually sold here at much lower prices than their local prototypes. There seems, too, to be a growing preference for the English goods, and already many ofthe weavers, weary of competing any longer, have betaken themselves to more profitable employment. On the whole then, although the manufacture and export of home-made cloth is still briskly maintained, it seems probable that in the natural course of things the trade must decline, and perhaps eventually disappear before machine-made stuffs. [Section VI.— Trade.] NA'G 333 By far the largest entrepot for wheat, "rice, and other edible grain is -p Kdmthi, , where there are many wholesale dealers; repo other considerable entrepots are Ndgpdr, Umrer, Sdoner, Khapd, and Kdtol. With one or two important exceptions the trade is in the hands ofthe Mdrwdris, who have their agents for the purposes of purchase and import stationed in Bhanddra and Chhattisgarh, and latterly at Jabalpdr. They also buy in the open market from the Gdonthids (village headmen), who bring in the corn at their own venture from the countries where it is grown. They export again, either by consignment to their own agents stationed in Wardhd and in the Berdrs, or else sell at the entrepots to agents sent by the wholesale dealers in those districts. The district has no entrepots for cotton, if we except Kdmthi, which does a small trade in this staple. The cotton of the Ndgpdr tahsil mostly finds its way to the great entrepot of Hinganghdt in the Wardhd district ; that of the Kdtol tahsil to Amrdotl in Berdr ; and from these places it is sent to the different stations on the railway for transport to Bombay. The trade in European cloth and mixed goods is chiefly in the hands of the Bohrds, who have large shops at Ndgpdr. The retail dealers buy from these Bohrds, and disperse the stuffs throughout the town and country bdzdrs. Brdh mans and Mdrwdris are also engaged in this trade, as also in the export trade of country cloth. The entire interchange of commodities may be thus summarised. The district exports raw. cotton, grains, and other agricultural produce and cloth, and receives in return salt, sugar, English piece and miscellaneous goods, cattle, hardware, and cutlery. The balance of trade is without doubt greatly in favour of the district, and is adjusted by imports of bullion, which it is to be feared is still extensively (though less so now than formerly) hoarded in cash or ornaments, or in other unproductive representations of wealth. Almost all the " sdhukdri " or banking transactions are carried on by the Mdrwdris. There are, however, a few banking houses conducted by Brdhmans. The rate of interest is certainly less than it used to be. This is the natural result of the increased plentifulness of money. It is impossible to give any average rate of interest, as this varies with so many variable conditions, such as the amount to be borrowed, the nature of security, and the tightness of the money-market, but it may be said that money can always be obtained, on good security, for twelve per cent per annum, and often for considerably less. The security demanded is usually the pledge or pawn of valuable jewels and the like, mortgages on real property, or personal security of men of known substance. Ordinarily the better class of bankers will not lend very small sums. But some few ofthe very wealthiest of them combine the largest with the smallest sorts of transactions. Besides their large establishments at Ndgpdr, these men have their agents established at every petty town in the district, and lend out the very smallest sums to poor people at high interest. Gold and silver bullion used to be imported both from Calcutta and Bombay, but now it comes almost entirely from Bombay. The gold importation has probably quadrupled during the last few years. The value of this import, it is believed, reached in the year 1866-67 the enormous sum of forty ldkhs of rupees in Ndgpdr alone, while the silver bullion was valued at ten ldkhs. The increased demand for the precious metals is directly traceable to the flourishing state of the export trade in cotton and grain. The successful agriculturist has as yet little idea of investing his savings in anything but ornaments, and the bankers have regulated their importations accordingly. The profit derived by the bankers in this branch of their business is not so large as might be expected, 334 JNA G [Section VII,— -Communications.] being probably not more than from four to- six annas-- on? every hundred rupees' worth of bullion. The most extensive transactions in bilk of exchange are with Calcutta, and after Calcutta with the following towns according to the order in which they are placed : — Bombay, Mirzdpdr, Benares, Indore, Amrdoti;, Jaipdr,, and Haidardbdd. All the principal bankers have agents and correspondents at these places. It would be impossible to state the annual amount of transactions,, but it may be confidently affirmed that their increase of late years has beten enormous. The rate of exchange varies with the variable conditions- governing- the state o€ the money-market, both at home and at the place on which a bill is to be drawn, but bankers generally manage to make a fair profit at alls times, and under all conditions of the money-market. There are regular quotations of exchange well known and kept to by the Sdhukdr brotherhood in their dealings with one another, but they are not the least ashamed to> make- as- much as they possibly can out of chance customers. In granting bills they will charge such people far beyond the current rates of exchange, and think it quite in the legitimate line of business. In Ndgpdr the money-market is generaUy tight from October to March, when money is out in the purchase of cotton and grains, and easy feu the remainder of the year. It is not usual to grant hills payable at sight, though these can always be procured at a high rate of exchange- In the ordinary course of business bills are drawn thus : — Bills drawn on — Calcutta are payable , 61 days after sight.. Bombay MirzdpdrBenares Indore Amrdoti Jaipdr Haidardbdd IS >y y 51 n 3 51 yr y. 21 st >) IS yy y> 45 yy yy 21 ?_> y The construction of roads, whether main or branch lines, is of very recent <_.. nri-rz-nvr tttt r^ ^ate- Under the Mardthds the only made road catS vii--Communi" was the hne towards Sambalpdr— a fairly service- Roads, able road made under English superintendence for postal service between Calcutta and Bombay. This postal route was long ago discontinued, and the road fell into disuse. Excepting this, the only road, until very lately, was the short line (nine miles) from Nagpdr to Kdmthi, which was metaUed and bridged some years ago. The history of road-making, in short, is comprised entirely in the period succeeding the year 1861, when the Central Provinces administration was- formed. During the past eight years strenuous exertions have been made to open out both main and branch lines. A liberal expenditwire of money and labour, and a large amount of professional skill, have been brought to bear on their construction, and the operations have been continuously maintained. In this respect Ndgpdr has been obviously at a great advantage as compared with any other district in the Central Provinces ; for as most of the new imperial lines of communication leading to distant places have aU been planned so as to radiate from Ndgpdr, the capital ofthe Central Provinces, so it has happened that the Ndgpdr district has reaped both in the first instance, and in the most plentiful degree, the advantages which these great works have conferred on the country at large. The recent prolongation of the railway to Ndgpdr has linked the district with Bombay. Four great imperial roads, starting from the city of [Section VII. — Communications.^ NA G 335 Ndgpdr, traverse the district to the north, to the south, to the east, and to the north-west, whhe district cross-roads and feeders (purely local works) are being pushed forward from town to town, and from tract to tract, with due regard to the trading and agricultural interests, wliich the railway and the great imperial roads seem most hkely to subserve. The result of these operations has been to work a complete metamorphosis in the circumstances and conditions on which traffic and transport depend. And since the change is remarkable, not merely from its magnitude, but still more so from the rapidity with which it has been brought about, it may be worth while to describe the old, before enumerating the new routes of communication, so as to portray the full contrast between the present and the scarcely past. The following descriptions will be easily under stood by a reference to the revenue survey map. Before 1862 the main line of communication from the north, via Seoni from 0-,-. Mirzdpdr and Jabalpdr, descended the Sdtpurd ghdts at Kurai in the Seoni district, and passing through Deolapdr entered this district a little above Chorbdoli, twenty-eight miles from Nagpdr. Here the hne doubled, one branch going vid Rdmtek, the other by the village of Songhdt, and both again converging at a village called Kherdi,proceeded thence in a single line via Sdtak to Kamthi, crossing the Kanhdn at the Yerkherd Ghdt, in the centre ofthe military cantonment. Again, between Kdmthi and Ndgpdr there were two routes — the one by the present metalled road (Great Northern) to Sitdbaldi, the other from the place where the Kdmthi sardi now stands to the heart of the Ndgpdr City. This line was in full use for seven months of the year, but traffic was all but impossible during the rains and October. The whole line lay through a dense jungle from Chorbdoli to the top ofthe ghdts ; and this region was unhealthy from malaria for at least four months of the year. Nobody ever travelled at night on account of wild beasts. People obliged to travel in the rains preferred to go from Seoni to Chhindwdrd, and so to Ndgpdr by the old Chhindwdrd line. The principal routes from Bombay and Berar entered the old Ndgpdr province at three separate points on the Wardhd river. These points are (1) Jaldlkherd, in the north-west corner of the Kdtol tahsil ; (2) Bisndr ; and (3) Ndchangaon, both in the present district of Wardhd. The first of these places was in distance from Ndgpdr fifty-six miles, the second sixty-seven miles, the third fifty-eight miles. The most important of the three routes was that crossing at Ndchangdon. Traversing the present district of Wardhd from west to east,it entered the Ndgpdr district near Asola, twenty-six miles from Ndgpdr, which it reached by way ofthe villages of Tdkalghdt and Gumgdon. It was by this route that tbe bulk of the export trade of cloth and sflk fabrics was conveyed to Jalnd, Aurangdbdd, Satdrd, Puna, and other distant cities in the Deccan. The line by Bisndr was used in a degree hardly less. It proceeded by Kdranjd (Wardhd district), Kondhdli, and Bdzdrgddn. The Jaldlkherd route went by the town of Kdtol, and traversing the Kdtol tahsil from north-west to south-east, and then passing through Kalmeswar, entered Ndgpdr at Tdklf . All of these lines were practicable only during the dry months, and then only for the light country carts used here. During the rains they were only passable for pack-bullocks. Such traffic as was obliged to be taken in the rains would generally choose the Bisndr line, which is the stoniest ofthe three, but which traverses less morass and black soil than either of the others. The traffic both ways in the dry months along the Bisndr and Ndchangdon lines was enormous. Security at night was afforded by well-known Paraos, which were supplied with ordinary provisions for travellers. The traffic from the Bhandara, Rdipdr, and Chhattisgarh country entered the 336 NAG [Section VII. — Communications.] district by two main lines — the first leading direct from the town of Bhanddra to Maundd (Mohodd) — twenty miles from Ndgpdr — onthe Kanhdn, and so through the Pdldi suburb into Ndgpdr ; the second connecting with Ndgpdr the towns of Mohdri and Tumsar, in the Bhanddra district, and the northern portion of the Raipdr country, entered the district east of Virsi, and passing through Tdrsd went westwards to Kdmthi. So far as can be ascertained these lines were occasionally used by strong convoys of Banjdrds with pack-bullocks even during the rains, but like all the rest they were at that season utterly impracticable for wheeled traffic. By these lines were delivered the imports of wheat, rice, and other grain from Chhattisgarh. There were two routes from Chdndd and the south — one entering the district below Umrer, which it reached vid Chimdr (in the Chdndd district), and thence led to Ndgpdr in a straight line north-west ; the other entering just above Jdm (in the Wardha district) passed through Tdkalghdt, and entered Ndgpdr by the suburb of Sonegdon. Lastly there were the routes to Betdl and Chhindwara, and from these places to Mhow, Ajmir, and Rdjputdna. These routes, after descending the Sdtpurds by the Talao and Mohi ghats, joined at Sdoner (twenty-one miles north of Nagpdr), reaching Ndgpdr by the villages of Adhdsd and Brahmapuri. The traffic on these was inconsiderable. Like the others they were nearly impassable during the rains. As for the purely local lines, they did not exist at all as defined tracks. Excepting through moun- , tain-passes, their courses were not even demarcated. Pedple made their way from town to village, and from village to market-place, as best they might ; the tracks being shifted from watercourse to upland, and from field to field, according to the seasons and alternations ofthe crops. Such were the great arterial lines of communication along which, with no constructed roads, and in despite of every obstacle interposed by nature, a vast traffic to and from this country contrived, during eight months of the year, to force its way to Jabalpdr and the North, to Berar, the Deccan, and Bombay; to Bhandara, Chhattisgarh, and the East ; to Haidardbdd and the South ; to Raj- putdnd and the North-West. The little Mardthd carts, convoys of bullocks and buffaloes, and to some slight extent camels, formed the only means of transport ; and with these means the entire imports and exports of the country had to be dragged through tracts of pestilential jungle, through quagmire and morass, down the precipitous banks and across the stony beds of rivers, and over narrow and dangerous hill -passes. The time occupied in transit -was of course enormous. The marvel is how so great a traffic could have been conducted at all. What has been done during the last few years to facflitate communication wiU now be shown. That portion of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway known as the Ndgpdr N .. branch, leaving the main line from Bombay to Jabalpdr, at Bhosdwal, in the Bombay district of Khdndesh, traverses the Berdr country from west to east, and crossing the Wardhd, near the station of Pulgdon, enters the Central Provinces. From Pul- gdon its course is still east. It has stations at Wardhd and Sindf, in the Wardhd district, and another at Bori, in this district. At Bori (nineteen miles from Ndgpdr) the line curves sharply to the north and continues in that direction to its terminus at Sitdbaldi, tbe western suburb of Ndgpdr. The Railway was opened N , _ , to the terminus on the 20th of February 1867. The new Northern Road is now complete the whole way to Jabalpdr. The only rivers stiU unbridged are the Kanhdn at Kdmthi, and the Narbadd at Jabalpur. The Kanhdn bridge is now under con- [Section VII.— Communications.] NA'G 337 struction. Meantime a temporary pile-bridge is annually erected immediately after the rains, and is in use for eight months of the year. The road leaves •Ndgpdr close to the railway terminus, and goes to Kdmthi. Thence, after cross ing the Kanhdn, it proceeds northwards by Mansar and Chorbdoli (twenty-one and twenty-seven miles respectively from Ndgpdr), and passing through Deola- pdr enters the Seoni district, ascends the Sdtpurd ghdts at Kurai, and so on through Seoni over the tableland of the Sdtpurds, whence it descends again at a point distant about thirty mUes from Jabalpdr. In the Ndgpdr district its entire course is about thirty-three miles. In this length it has three sardis, exclusive of those in Nagpdr itself, two excellent hew ones at Kdmthi and Mansar, and an old one at Chorbdoli ; two travellers' bungalows at Kdmthi and at Mansar ; four police posts at Indord, Kdmthi, Mansar, and Chorbdoli. An avenue of trees has been planted along almost the whole length, and there are numerous wells and grain- dealers' shops at convenient places throughout. The Eastern Road leaves Ndgpdr by two branches, starting from the north v t . -o 3 and from the south of the city. Thence it pro ceeds still eastward to Bhanddra (forty miles from Ndgpdr), crossing the Kanhdn at Maundd half way. The line is completed as far as Bhanddra, the only stream unbridged being the Kanhdn. Beyond Bhanddra a large portion of this road has been completed towards Rdipdr, but as a metalled road it can at present only be said to be open for through traffic between Ndgpdr and Bhanddra. Its course in this district is about twenty-nine miles, in which distance it has three police posts, viz. Pdldi, Maundd, and Kharbi, the last twenty-seven and half miles from Ndgpdr. There is a travellers' bun galow at Maundd, where there is also a sardi. An avenue of trees lately planted lines it almost throughout its course to Bhanddra. The Southern Road, like the last, starts from Ndgpdr by two distinct a .. T. -, branches — the first from Sitdbaldi, the second from the south-west of the city. These converge at a point two miles out of the city and station. Then in a single line the road goes southwards to Bori (nineteen miles from Ndgpdr) , generally parallel to the railway, which, however, it thrice crosses before it leaves the district. From Bori there is a separate branch of seven miles to Asold — a village on one of the old routes to Bombay. Crossing the Wand at Bori, the main line goes on in a southerly direction, leaving the district a little below a small village called Sonegdon, twenty-eight mUes from Ndgpdr. Thence it continues by Jam (Wardhd district), from which place there is a branch to Hinganghat, to Warord (Chdndd district), and so on to Chdndd. It has now been completed as regards metalhng, but the Wand and other streams have not yet been bridged. This road too is planted with young trees throughout its course in this district. It has a travellers' bungalow and a sardi at Bori, and there are police posts at Bori and Sonegdon. N 1. W T. 1 ^e Norim-Western Road leaves Ndgpdr at the northern suburb of Tdkli, and crossing the Pili nadi and the Koldr by masonry causeways, touches the village of Dahigdon (ten miles from Ndgpdr) . At this place it is met by a similar metaUed road coming from Kdmthi. Thence proceeding in a single line the road passes Pdtan- sdongi a little to the right, and so leads on to Sdoner. From this point it is still incomplete, but it is to be continued over the ghdts to Chhindwdrd. It is partly planted with trees. The chief streams are not yet bridged. There is an excellent sardi at Sdoner, and a smaller one at Pdtansdongi (fourteen miles from 43 cpg 338 NA'G [Section VII. — Communications.] Ndgpdr) . There are wells at short intervals. There are police posts at Takli, Patansaongi, Sdoner, and Kelod. , ,. The local lines now under survey and con- Local lines. a a- taj struction, or completed, are — (1) Road from Ndgpdr via Kalmeswar, Mohpd, Sdwargdon, and Narkher to Mowdr, on the extreme north-west frontier, on the river Wardha, to open out the Kdtol subdivision of the district, and connect it with the railway. Of this road twelve miles have been completely bridged, fourteen nhles have been partially bridged, and in the remaining twenty- three nnles bridging is going on. An avenue of trees has been planted along eleven miles. At Kalmeswar there is a sardi. (2) Road from Umrer to Bori (railway feeder) — total distance twenty miles. This is to connect Pauni (in the Bhanddra district) and Umrer with the nearest point on the raUway. This road has been completed for the first eight miles from Bori. Bori has a good sardi and a police outpost. (3) Road from Khdpd to join the imperial road t© Chhindwdrd at Patansaongi, so as to connect Khdpd directly with Ndgpdr — total distance seven miles. This line is completed, and has avenues of trees all the way. There are sardis and police stations both at Khdpd and at Pdtansdongf. (4) Road from Bori railway station, to join the southern road — one mile and a half. This is completed, and an avenue of trees has been planted. (5) Road between Ndgpdr and Umrer — twenty-eight miles. Of this seven miles have been completed and bridged. None of the above roads are to be metalled for the present. (6) Road from Mansar through Rdmtek to the Ambdld tank — distance seven mUes. This is metalled throughout, and an avenue of trees has been planted. This road connects the town of Rdmtek with the imperial Northern Road. (7) Road from Ndgpdr to Kdmthi from the heart of the city to the new Kdmthi sardi — eight nhles.- Five nnles have been completed with bridging and metalling. The effect of all of these recent works on the trade and general progress of _ „ ., . the country is already very manifest. The goods' Progress of the country. t -, t i aa- a at -t , • 8 sheds and platform at the railway termmus are crowded with merchandise and wares of all sorts from Bombay and the West, and with cloth, cotton, and agricultural produce from the suiTOunding country for export. The old routes to Bombay must be, and indeed already are, given up altogether for any other use than mere local traffic. The caravans of oxen bring ing salt and jawdri, the long string of carts taking hence cotton, cloth, wheat, rice, and other articles to the West, must soon disappear altogether. Merchandise, instead of taking two months in transit between Ndgpdr and Bombay, is now conveyed in three to four days. Again, the traffic with Mirzdpdr and the East Indian Railway, Jabalpdr, and the North, heretofore spread over several local lines, is now compressed into one channel along the new Great Northern Road. The large roomy waggons used on the good roads" in Upper India are rapidly supplanting the miserable Mardthd carts, giving the trader the power of transporting four times the amount of bulk with the same amount of draught, while transit takes up half the time that it did with the old lines, and is carried on continuously throughout the year. Nor are these improvements, whether as regards the ease, the speed, or the continuity of the means of transport, less apparent in the case of the three other great imperial [Section VIII.— Education.] NA'G 339 lines, though, from the larger rivers being still nnbridged, the effects are not yet so complete. Even the local lines, unfinished as they are, have aheady done something to facUitate internal trade in the district, and to perform their work as feeders to the raUway and the great lines. The conditions of the rivers in the district are such that navigation, even in „. . the largest of them (including the Wainganga River communication. -a t_>\ t t. • t -i ¦ i V5 ,? itself), can only be carried on during and shortly after the rains. Even during the rains the difficulties in the way of navigation are great. They arise, first, from the velocity and strength of the currents, rendering an upward voyage, even of empty boats, an affair of great toU and duration ; secondly, from the suddenness of the rise and fall of the waters, and the consequent continual variations in the depth of the different channels ; thirdly, from the ledges of rock which sometimes form barriers right across the beds. This last difficulty may be found to be partially capable of remedy. For example, the bed of the river Kanhdn, between the town of Khdpd and the Waingangd (sixty- three mUes), has only four points where the rocks dangerously threaten navigation in the rains. A scheme has been discussed for blasting the rocks at those points so as to afford a clear passage. Again, as regards the river Waingangd, supposing an artificial channel could be made, so as to avoid a heavy barrier of rocks at Tidi, above Ambhord, there would be nothing whatever to impede navigation by light boats, in the monsoon, from, the junction with the Kanhdn down to Pauni, one of the largest towns in the neighbouring district of Bhanddra. Notwithstanding all these drawbacks the rivers Kanhdn, Pench, and Koldr, and of course the Waingangd, during and after the monsoon may be, and are navigated by loaded boats and rafts. They are not even as much used as they might be ; yet timber from the jungles below the Sdtpurds, and forest produce, are brought down in considerable quantities to Kdmthi, and some consignments of grain from the north ofthe Bhanddra district find their way down Pauni and below. None ofthe other rivers are either navigated or navigable. Education, stUl comparatively backward, is now undoubtedly making rapid ™.„ ,T,TT t, advances. Formerly the only educated classes SECTION VIII.-Education. ^ the Brallmans ^ a fe_/of the Musalmdns. The agriculturists generally were devoid of any education whatever ; the traders and shopkeepers knew just enough to be able to keep their accounts. There were some indigenous schools, but the standard of learning to be acquired in them was extremely low. The present system of public instruction was inaugu rated in the year 1862. The total number of boys' schools in the district is now 122 or 1 to every 934 of the non-adult male population. The different institu tions may bo thus classified : — Class of School. Number of Institutions. Normal school ' ... ... ... 1 Zild do. ... ... ... 1 Grant-in-aid schools ... ... ... 7 Anglo -vernacular town schools ... ... 8 Vernacular schools ... ... ... 8 VUlage do. ... ... ... 55 Indigenous do. ... ... ... 42 The Normal school — the local institution for teaching and training masters — is at Ndgpdr. This establishment has not been able completely to meet the local demand for masters, many of whom have had to be brought from 340 NA'G [Section VIII. — Education.] the Bombay presidency, but so far as it has gone it has done well. Bach pupil receives from four to ten rupees monthly for his support. At the Zild school, the Normal school, and three of the Grant-in-aid schools a superior education is given both in English and Vernacular. The zila school is at Kamthi, and the grant-in-aid schools are at Ndgpdr and Kdmthi. Of the latter, four have been established by the Free Church of Scotland Mission. They are called " grant- in-aid" from the fact of their receiving regular pecuniary assistance from Government. In the Anglo -Vernacular town schools is given a thorough instruction in the vernacular (Mardthi), a fairly good course of Geography, Mathematics, and Grammar, and the groundwork of the study of English. The other town schools give the same course, with the exception of Enghsh. These town schools are established only in the larger and more populous towns. They are supported partly by grants from general revenues, partly by municipal funds, and partly by voluntary subscriptions. The cost of village schools is defrayed, entirely from the educational cess, which is a tax of two per cent, on the land revenue of the district, and is paid by the landowners. In these schools the standard is lower than in the town schools. The indigenous schools are supported by fees from pupfls. They are estabhshed by the people themselves, and have no connection with Government, except that they are inspected by the educational authorities. These schools receive grants-in-aid according to the payment-by-results system. The course of study is rather lower than that ofthe village schools. The total number of boys now studying in these schools is 6,763. The total number of non-adult males in the district is 113,996. So that about one boy in seventeen is receiving education. And if due aUowance be made for boys too young or too old to go to school, then the proportion would be about one to twelve. In the matter of female education only a commencement has been made. There is a Normal school at Nagpdr for the purpose of training schoolmistresses ; and there are now seven ordinary schools — two at Ndgpdr itself, and five at towns in the interior of the district. The statement below shows the progress of education in each of the different classes of schools from the commencement of the system up to the present time : — Statement showing the state of Schools in the Nagpur district during the last 7 years. 1862-63. 1863-64. 1864-65. 1865-66. 1866-67. 1867-68. 1868-69. Description of Schools. 00O O rd o CO CD Mrd CO 3 o rd o CO W CO m0 rd 0 CO CO M-a 0 CQ -5 00 .a GO r.C_ rd u 0.0 CO _n S -ord O CQ O O CQ DO 1rd O CO 0 rC CJ co a 3 rd O CO 1 13 70 100 531 767 1,244 2,712 114 193839 102 "2 54 112 640 1,281 838 1,082 1 1G 174140 39 102 670 1,239 901 1,069 1 1 7 174141 45 174735 1,2631,276 1,070 1 1 7 89 4532 103 59 130 704 1,003 664 1,7531,341 5,654 11 6 8 9 4844 05 130719 815 719 2,3771,465 11 . 88 55 42 78 193 Anglo- Vernacular town 847 746 Vernacular town schools ib 58 82 670 2,700 1,529 ._ 4,007 "43 106 "2 4,020 108 4,563 117 6,290 122 6,763 39 1 3 2253 75 1 9 10 19 190 209 1 10 14 259 17 23 232 Z . _. Total Female schools 2 43 2 39 4 11 273 8 255 NA'G 341 NA'GPU'R — The central revenue subdivision or tahsil in the Ndgpdr district, covering an area of 835 square miles, with 555 villages, and a population of 246,376 according to the last census in 1866. The land revenue of the tahsil for 1869-70 is Rs. 2,20,466. Ni^'GPU'R — The principal town in the district of that name, and the seat of the administration of the Central Provinces. It is situated in the centre of the district, on the left bank of a small stream called the Ndg. The municipal limits include, besides the city, the suburb of Sitdbaldi, the European station of Sitdbaldi with Tdkli, and a considerable area of land under cultivation. The sod is for the most part "regar" or black soil. The drainage of Tdkli and Sitdbaldi is good ; the site of the city is low, and the drainage is ill-defined, but the general slope is to the south-east. The Sitdbaldi lull, on which stands the fort, may be regarded as the centre of the municipal limits, and from its summit is to be seen the best view of the station and surrounding country. Below, on the north and west, lies the prettily-wooded station of Sitdbaldi ; beyond this, on the north, are the military lines and bdzdrs ; and again beyond these, partially hidden by low basaltic hills, is the Tdkli suburb — once the head-quarters of the Ndgpdr irregular force, but now occupied only by a few bungalows. Close under the southern side of the hill is the native suburb of Sitdbaldi. Below the eastern glacis is the railway terminus. Beyond this lies the broad sheet of water known as the Jumd Taldo, which separates the city from the station and suburbs. The view is bounded on this direction by the buildings on the extreme east of the tank. The city itself, though immediately east of the tank, is completely hidden from the sight by a mass of foliage. The site of the European station is pretty and undulating. It is in general well wooded, though some parts, especially towards the extreme west, are somewhat bare. The roads are lined with ornamental trees. The bungalows of the European residents are generally thatched, and plain in appearance ; but most of the enclosures have gardens immediately sur- roimding the house, and contain good trees planted here and there, so that the general aspect of the place is cheerful and pleasant. During the hot weather the ground looks parched, but in the rains and cold season the verdure is bright and pleasing. Outside the city there are handsome tanks and gardens, constructed by the Mardthd sovereigns. The three finest tanks are the Jumd Talao, between the city and station, and the two artificial lakes of Ambdjhari and Telingkheri. Of these the largest is the Ambdjhari, and the smallest Jumd Taldo. The storage of water in these artificial reservoirs is very great. The retaining-walls are buUt of massive basalt masonry, and are admirably constructed. The Jumd Taldo supplies a considerable portion of the city with water. The other two lakes are at some distance from the city. They afford a partial supply of water to certain portions of the city and station by means of pipes. These great artificial tanks are real ornaments to the place, and form a lasting monument of the best times of the Bhonsld rule. The principal public gardens are the Mahdrdj Bdgh, in the station of Sitdbaldi, now managed by the Ndgpdr Agri-Horticultural Society; the Tulsi Bdgh, inside the city ; and the four suburban gardens of Pdldi, Shakardara, Sonegdon, and Telingkheri. These four are maintained in good order by local funds, and form agreeable places for public resort and recreation. There are no Mohammadan mosques of any note. Hindd temples are numerous. Some of these are in the best style of Mardthd architecture, with elaborate carvings. The Bhonsld palace, which was burnt to the ground in 1864, was the only dwelling-house of any structural magnificence. It was built of black basalt, profusely ornamented with wood-carving. The courts in its interior possessed 342 NA'G small gardens and fountains. The great " Nakdrkhdna" gate, which is now the only remnant of the palace, is an imposing structure. The tombs of the Bhonsld kings are in the Sukrawdri quarter, to the south ofthe city. These are in no way magnificent, though their construction is curious. The best is that erected over the ashes of the great Raghoji. It is in the form of a cross, the arms projecting some ten feet from the body of the tomb. It has some narrow pillars or minarets, said to be in memory of the Rdnis who immolated themselves on his funeral pyre. The tombs of the Gond Rajds are ordinary plain Musalmdn monuments, without any architectural merit. In spite of the extensive municipal improvements of the last five years, the general aspect of the city is even now poor and insignificant when compared to the wealth and number of the inhabitants. The new great thoroughfares are indeed excellent roads, well metalled, and well drained ; and there is a consider able number of handsome edifices belonging to the richer inhabitants ; but the great majority of houses are of mud walls with tUed roofs. The walls are often made to look weU by a coating of white or straw-coloured plaster ; but the houses are older than the roads, and were built originaUy without any regard to frontage, so that it was impossible to secure a good frontage when the new roads came to be made through the most populous quarters. Thus many of the houses in the new streets appear irregularly built, and of a style not suitable to the excellence of the roads. StUl perceptible improvement is being made : the old houses are gradually disappearing in several ofthe principal thoroughfares, and new buildings of a superior description, and built in regular line, are taking their places. The total number of houses is 32,450, of which 1,580 are built of stone or brick with flat masonry roofs, 23,553 are tUed, and the remainder, 7,317, thatched ; some of the better classes of houses are ornamented with weU-executed wood-carving. The principal thoroughfares in Sitdbaldi are Bdti street, and the Sitdbaldi bdzdr road, with the Temple bdzdr square between them. As has been stated before, the fort lies between the European station and the city. Imme diately east of the fort is the railway terminus, and the raUway line running north and south. East again of the raUway hne is the Jumd lake, immediately beyond which is the " Jumd darwdza" entrance to the city. The city is connected with the European station by three great lines, of wliich two are respectively on the north and south banks of the lake, while the third, the most northern, crosses the railway by an over-bridge north of the terminus. The last after crossing the raUway becomes the Gurganj road, and traverses the north part of the city from west to east. The two first are connected together by a road on the eastern embankment of the lake. In the centre of this road is the entrance to the Jumd darwdza street. This is the main street of the city. A double- storied line of shops extends for about a third of a mile up to the site of the old Bhonsld palace, through a square called the Gachi Pdgd, and so on eastwards through the town. The Jumd darwdza and the Gurganj roads are the main lines of traffic running east and west through the northern and southern portions of the city. They converge in the suburb of Pdldi, some little distance out of Ndgpdr. They are connected by various hnes running north and south, the principal of which are the Pdnch Pduli road and the Itwdri. The other principal streets are the roads leading from the Nakdrkhdna gate of the old palace, and from the Gachi Pdgd to the Tulsi Bdgh ; the Sukrawdri and the Shakardard roads lead ing from the Jumd darwdza road to suburbs on the south side of the Ndg ; and the new Kdmthi and Indord roads leading through the northern outskirts of the city towards Kdmthi. The best streets are the Jumd darwdza, the Gurganj, and the Itwdri. The houses belonging to the Mdrwdris at the northern end of the NA'G 343 Itwdri are curious old buildings, of three and even four stories high, and profusely ornamented with woodwork. The street here is very narrow, and is the only really oriental-looking part of the town. The principal grain markets are those at Bagarganj at the eastern end of the Jumd darwdza road, and the Sukrawdri and the Shakardard, to the south of the Jumd darwdza. The bulk of the cloth trade is done in the Gurganj road and its immediate neighbourhood. The jeweUers and bankers reside mostly in the northern end of the Itwdri. Large weekly bdzdrs are held in the Gurganj square and in the Gachi Paga. Municipal concerns are managed by a committee, of which the Divisional Commissioner is the president, and the Deputy Commissioner of Ndgpdr the vice-president. The committee consists altogether of twenty-seven members, of whom ten are official, and seventeen elected annually. Of the last, two are English, and the rest Native gentlemen of position and influence. The muni cipal revenue is spent mainly in watch and ward, in conservancy, and in material improvements. The improvements of the last five years have consisted chiefly in opening out and improving the main lines of communication. These works have been carried on with a rapidity and comprehensiveness which have sufficed to alter the entire appearance ofthe place. Before 1862 the only well- constructed road within the city was the Jumd darwdza, and that only as far as the site of the old palace. The station roads too have of late been greatly extended and improved. The conservancy arrangements are good. The public latrines are on the dry-earth system ; the private latrines are periodically inspected. The supply of water is plentiful, but many of the weUs in the city do not contain good water. Pipes from the Ambdjhari and Telingkheri lakes supply only a few of the houses in the station and city. A scheme of water-supply for the whole city and station has lately been proposed by the committee, and is now under consideration. Both town and station are considered healthy. Liver- complaint is the most frequent illness amongst the Europeans, and fever amongst the Natives. Visitations of cholera occur at intervals. Small-pox is common, but is gradually yielding to vaccination. . The entire population of the city and suburbs pu a 10n" of Ndgpdr, inclusive of military, is as follows : — Adult males 29,532 Do. females ... ... ... ... ... 33,035 Male infants 11,621 Female do 11,473 Total ... 85,661 Of these, 456 are Europeans and Eurasians, and 10 are Parsees. Among the Native Hindd population the most numerous class are the Brdhmans, who number 17,413 souls. Then come Koshtis (weavers) 8,642, Kunbis 7,271, and Mardthds 6,453. The Musalmdns are under 10,000 in number. The occupations, under which are classed the largest proportions of the population, are those of farm- servants and day-labourers, which number 18,397 and 17,395 respectively. Of the banking class there are 6,367 persons. Among artisans — weavers, carpenters, and masons are most largely represented. The trade of the town is large and increasing. The chief articles of import are wheat and other grain, salt, country cloth, European piece and miscellaneous goods, sUk and spices. The grand article of manufacture and export is country cloth. The finer 344 NA'G fabrics of Nagpdr have long been celebrated for their richness and good quality, and are still, in spite of the competition of English stuffs, in great request, not only here, but in distant parts of the country. The following table shows the entire trade for the years 1867-68 and 1868-69 : — • Cotton Sugar and gur Salt Wheat Rice Other edible grains Oil-seeds of all descriptions.. Metals and hardware English piece-goods Miscellaneous European goods Country cloth Lac Tobacco Spices Country stationery Silk and silk cocoons Dyes Hides and horns Opium Wool Timber and wood Ghee and oil Cocoanuts Miscellaneous Imports. 1867-68. Weight in Maunds. Total. Horses Cattle Sheep Total Grand Total 3,513 25,908 68,742 224,786202,439103,452 55,743 3,908 4,844 399 3,370 243 4,964 30,259 86 872 095 467 108 119 50,283 6,6773,296 51,511 Value in Rupees. 846,681 No. 833 881 39,433 38,963 2,54,1232,98,6884,86,0673,75,4582,23,6092,14,367 92,504 2,54,457 34,405 55,652 3,572 49,433 2,40,662 2,039 5,00,953 59,709 9,385 72,371 2,524 53,857 1,71,297 32,964 5,58,071 10,85,130 1868-69. Weight in Maunds. 12,55516,29066,381 41,147 95,220 Value in Rupees. 2,293 28,930 83,892 210,727 104,090 157,116 65,698 4,649 2,573 649 2,758 178 3,289 36,210 2 574 701 433214 262 62,621 7,9142,884 33,503 812,160 Ko. 810873 42,261 41,80,356 43,944 49,923 2,59,514 3,61,4756,86,378 3,94,187 4,38,067 2.51,785 1,02,9682,54,053 62,899 4,76,778 2,070 46,131 2,99,397 100 3,40,606 89,215 9,497 1,14,833 5,071 77,022 2,09,833 17,947 6,39,735 ExroitTs. 1867-68. Weight 51,S9,48